For some players, nothing says “hot rod” like a
souped-up Gretsch, tweaked for looks and revving
to full throttle, just like a hot-rodded ’57
Chevy.
This G6120SSC Brian Setzer Tribute comes
to us from Fuller’s Vintage Guitar. One of only 59
being made, it is a replica of the hot-rodded ’59
Gretsch 6120 that Setzer used on his early Stray
Cats albums, and still uses on tour today. This
cat is Trestle-braced and almost all maple (back,
sides, top, neck) with an ebony fretboard (9.45”
radius) and 22 frets. It has a 24.6” scale length,
with a 1-11/16” width at the nut. It has Schaller
machine heads, a “chop shop” pickguard and a
bent output jack. Two TV Jones Classic Pickups
are controlled by a 3-way pickup selector and
three volume knobs (individuals and master).
The
Bigsby is a B6CB and the Space Control bridge is
custom fortified with double-sticky carpet tape.
The empty hole by the pickup selector is where a
tone knob is supposed to be. In addition to exact
replicas of the skull, black cat and “Lucky Lady”
stickers on Setzer’s original, the guitar also features
two dice for pickup volume knobs—not just
any dice, but Monopoly dice. These guitars have
been selling for around $25,000.
Before Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, marketing was done through business cards. A well-done business card demands respect and attention. Case in point: Patrick Bateman in American Psycho shriveling when his business card was outdone by his colleagues. For luthiers, it’s a bit more complicated than logo placement, font selection, and what background color exudes more confidence. Their business card is their axe, and the most beneficial way for a luthier to exchange credentials is by getting their guitar directly into a pro’s hands. That’s exactly what Gabriel Currie of Echopark Guitars did when given the chance.
In early May, Currie received an out-of-the-blue call from friend Rob Timmons of Arcane Pickups, notifying him that Queens of the Stone Age were rehearsing nearby and he should stop over. “I couldn’t go over empty-handed because I’m a guitar builder—that’d be embarrassing—so I grabbed a few pieces that I recently completed to introduce myself and my brand,” Currie remembers. “I met Josh, we shared a laugh, and I welcomed him to try out one of my guitars.” Homme was immediately taken aback by the Downtowner Custom Koa’s beefy neck size (he has a tough time finding necks to fit his hands) and its feedback-resistant P-90s. Homme asked if he could borrow them for a few days to show the rest of the band—Currie excitingly obliged.
The next week during tour rehearsals, Homme pulled Currie aside and told him that he, Troy Van Leeuwen, and Dean Fertita were all interested in buying guitars, but only one of the guitars was available for purchase. So Currie agreed to build Troy his own model. “That’s when Josh’s eyes lit up and he asked me to build him a custom model, too.” Van Leeuwen’s guitar was fairly easy because Currie had an idea in his head and the templates were based on the Trisonic he found in Leo Fender’s shop while working at G&L. But Homme’s guitar was custom from the ground-up.
“I had no safety net or platform to go off of because of the organic nature of this build. I usually have the benefit of knowing the design and how it’ll balance tonally with all the different woods and pickups.” confesses Currie. “So other than the aged-neck timbre and the body-chambering, I had no actual knowledge of how the end result would sound, just a familiarity with all the pieces individually.”
Currie and Homme had several conversations about feel, look, vibe, tones, body size, shapes, pickups, and playability. After hearing the custom Gold Coil in the neck position of Currie’s ’59 Custom model, Homme insisted that it be part of the equation. For the bridge position, Currie went with a customwound Arcane Ultra’Tron. Homme wanted a big neck profile so Currie based it on his early ’59 double-cut Les Paul Jr.—about .098" at the nut and .115" at the 13th fret. “I like to do a 1938-style ‘soft V’ carve and roll it into a ’59 ‘D’ carve at the 9th fret so that it feels natural and fills your hand but remains playable for long gigs,” Currie says. “It’s carved from a 200-year-old piece of Honduran mahogany that came out of the Los Angeles library and the fretboard is old-stock Brazilian I had stashed.”
For his custom builds, Currie uses old mahogany he amassed while working in the historic restoration of old buildings around Los Angeles and Southern California. “All of it is very old, very mature, very dry, and very bell-like,” he says. “I started using it for two reasons: One, because it was old, stable, and resonate. And two, because it was readily available and the best way to get a new guitar to feel, behave, and sound old."
The reclaimed Honduran mahogany body of Homme’s guitar is a chambered, one-piece slab. “We didn’t chamber it simply for weight-reduction. We agreed during our conversations that the tone of a semi-hollow instrument has the best warmth and growl without the howl [laughs].” The top is a 300-year-old burl walnut (the knots still have moss and earth in them) and it was outfitted with a trapeze-style tailpiece like one from a very rare ’50s Kay guitar. The headstock is made of nitrate celluloid—tortoiseshell—with a custom-made sterling silver crow skull inlaid in the center. The tuners are aged nickel, pre-war-style, 18:1-ratio Grovers.
“Josh freaked when I finally gave it to him the night they taped the KCRW special in L.A.,” says Currie. “It was great seeing him playing it that night at the showcase and it sounded better than I hoped and planned because of its round, creamy articulation. I’ve been a big fan of the band and I’m honored to get the unusual request from an artist like Josh—that’s the type of guitar building I live for.”
A special thanks to Gabriel Currie of Echopark Guitars for allowing us to feature this fine piece of gear and its story.
Blues-rock guitarists have squabbled over
the last quarter century about what
contributed most to Stevie Ray Vaughan’s
colossal tone. Some believe it was his heavy-handed
attack or the beaten-with-love Strat
with an alchemy all its own from a ’63
body, ’62 neck, and ’59 pickups. Perhaps
that’s true, but the bedrock of his signature
“Texas Flood” firepower was his two 1964
Fender Vibroverb amplifiers.
Introduced in February 1963, the 40-watt
Vibroverb was Fender’s first amplifier to feature
both onboard tremolo and reverb effects.
The first iteration of the 2-channel amp was
built with the 6G16 circuit (based on the
Vibrolux), two 10" Oxford speakers, and an
output transformer from Fender’s Super. It
used two 6L6GC power tubes, three 7025s
for its preamp and phase inverter, a GZ34
rectifier, and two 12AX7s—each controlling
reverb and tremolo. The normal and bright
channels both had two inputs and controls
for volume, treble, and bass. The bright
channel had additional knobs for reverb, and
speed and intensity dedicated to the tremolo.
Cosmetically, the seminal Vibroverb was covered
from head to toe in brown.
The following year, Fender overhauled
most of their amp models, including the
Super, Twin, and Vibroverb. (The Super
was given two more 10" speakers, the Twin
was given two 12" speakers, and both were
outfitted with reverb.) The second version
of the combo saw several modifications,
like swapping the two 10" Oxford speakers
for a single 15" speaker from either JBL
or Jensen. Power-wise, the ’64 Vibro was
constructed with an AA763 circuit, 12AT7
tubes for the phase inverter and reverb, and
the optical-coupler tremolo that replaced
the tweed-style effect. This also marked the
first year Fender’s amps were decked out in
the now-classic blackface design that incorporates
black tolex, a black control panel,
and skirted black knobs. In addition, each
channel had its own bright switch and the
second channel was now labeled vibrato
instead of bright.
While SRV’s tech, César Diaz, heavily
modded his Vibroverbs—swapping input
resistors, coupling capacitors, and countless
tubes—the ’64 blackface shown here is
nearly mint. “I have seen some nice vintage
amps come through the shop, but the rarity
and condition of this one is unmatched,”
says Zach Smith, store manager of The
Minor Chord. “There’s not one crackle to
any knob, switch, or jack. We even had a
copy of the original bill of sale, all the original
paperwork, and the original dust cover
is still in great condition.”
Smith and his colleague Gary Supernor
test-drove the cherry Vibroverb with three
era-correct guitars—a Rickenbacker 330,
a ’66 Fender Mustang, and an original
mid-’50s Fender Stratocaster. They weren’t
surprised when each guitar sounded outstanding.
“The Ricky had a nice warm meaty
tone,” remembers Smith. “For the Mustang,
we cranked the reverb and it was surfing
time. And the each pickup position of the
’50s Strat was its own little slice of heaven [laughs]." Smith believes the amp’s
original 15" CTS speaker is what
makes the ’64 so special. The amp easily handled anything they threw at it and has a nice low-end oomph, he says, but
it can maintain a brighter, clearer crispness as
you turn up the treble.
The original Vibroverb lacked in sales
compared to other Fender amps and was
made only two years, with under 1,500
produced. The ’63 model was reissued
from 1990–1995 and the ’64 Custom reissue—designed with César Diaz—ran from
2003–2008.
A special thanks to Carl Strathmeyer and
Zach Smith of The Minor Chord in Littleton,
Massachusetts, for allowing us to feature this
fine piece of gear and its story.
Got some gear that would make a great Gear of the Month?
Then email pics and its story to us at gotm@premierguitar.com.
The 1969 Summer of Love is often
remembered as a time of classic
music, flower power, and few inhibitions,
all of which was epitomized by
the 3-day Woodstock Music & Art Fair.
For the Rolling Stones, however, it was a
tumultuous year of firsts and lasts. It was
the last year Brian Jones contributed to a
Stones album (two tracks on 1969’s Let
It Bleed) before passing away that July.
Consequently, it was the band’s first year
with guitarist Mick Taylor, who hit the
ground running and contributed parts on
two songs for Let it Bleed and performed at
the band’s November concerts, which were
released on 1970’s Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out. And
1969 was also the first and last year of the
Altamont Speedway Free Festival—which
was headlined and organized by the Stones,
and billed as “Woodstock West.” Sadly,
it’s primarily remembered for its fatalities,
including the infamous scuffle between a
Hells Angel and a murderous meth user.
Gear-wise, 1969 was the birth of
Ampeg’s SVT amplifier—the backline
choice not just for bassist Bill Wyman, but
also for Mick and Keith Richards during
the band’s 1969 U.S. winter tour.
Ampeg’s Bill Hughes and Roger Cox
designed the “Super Vacuum Tube” amps
with help from Bob Rufkahr and Dan
Armstrong. They debuted at the ’69
NAMM Show in Chicago. The 95-pound,
2-channel, 300-watt head was originally
loaded with 14 tubes, including six large,
volatile 6146 power tubes. A year later, the
6146s were switched out for more reliable
6550s. The earliest “blue-line” SVTs like
the one shown here (which has since been
updated with KT88 tubes) had control
panels engraved with blue lines and text,
though Ampeg later switched to a more legible
black format.
SVTs of this era had volume, treble,
midrange, and bass knobs for the first
channel, while channel 2 only had volume,
treble, and bass. Extra flexibility came via
the five rocker switches along top, which
engage ultra-hi and ultra-lo boosts for each channel, and a 3-position mid-tone control.
There were also four inputs, normal and
bright for each channel.
The Stones’ 1969 U.S. tour, their first
since 1966, was the group’s seminal run in
American arenas—up until then they’d been
playing smaller theaters and auditoriums.
The need to move and groove fans in the
nosebleed seats made the powerful SVTs
a perfect choice. The amps were so loud
they came with a Surgeon General-esque
warning: “This amp is capable of delivering
sound pressure levels that may cause permanent
hearing damage.”
During rehearsals, the band reportedly
pushed the prototypes to the brink of
meltdown. Production models weren’t out
yet and backup rigs weren’t an option, so Ampeg’s Rich Mandella joined the tour as
the official SVT babysitter.
Today, Ampeg builds recreations of
this beloved behemoth in the Classic and
Heritage lines, both of which mix vintage
SVT soul with modern needs such as cooling
fans, tube-bias controls, Neutrik connections,
and direct outputs. The SVT Pro
series has models with more modern voicings,
solid-state and class D power amps,
graphic EQ, and power-reduction circuitry.
And Ampeg’s recent GVT amps are specifically
voiced for 6-stringers looking to emulate
Ya-Ya-era Keef.
A special thanks to Jeff Sadler of Rock N
Roll Vintage Guitars in Chicago and Ampeg
for the opportunity to feature this fine piece of
gear and its story.
Got some gear that would make a great Gear of the Month?
Then email pics and its story to us at gotm@premierguitar.com.
Since the vintage craze of the last two
or three decades began, we certainly
haven’t heard the highest of praise about
the instruments Fender produced from
late 1965 to 1985, when it was owned by
the Columbia Broadcasting System conglomerate.
Stratocasters, Telecasters, and
Jazz and Precision basses from the ’50s and
early ’60s sell for far more than CBS-era
guitars—sometimes fetching as much as an
exotic sports car or a comfortable middle-class
home.
Perceived design flaws introduced to
models during the CBS years include Strats
and Teles that went from 4- to 3-bolt neck
construction, and a larger headstock with
an exposed “bullet” truss rod. Later in the
’70s, cost-saving measures, such as using ash
rather than alder for bodies, and finishing
necks in polyester, were seen as missteps.
And cosmetic, finishing, and/or consistency
issues such as misaligned fret markers struck
many as a sign that Leo Fender’s innovative
outfit had lost its way.
However, plenty of everyday players—both now and then—think collectors’
derision of CBS-era Fenders is just
nitpicking. For instance, in 1973, David
Gilmour took his late ’71 bullet Strat’s
pickguard assembly—including the middle
and neck pickups—and put it in his
prized black Stratocaster. U2’s the Edge
used a black ’70s Strat on early hits like “I
Will Follow” and “Where the Streets Have
No Name,” and R&B session and touring
guitarist Josh Sklair jammed on the ’71
Strat pictured here with legendary musicians
like Etta James, Roy Orbison, and
Bo Diddley.
“I grew up on my ’61 SG/Les Paul, a
’70s Les Paul Custom, and an ES-175, but
I was always a stone-cold Jimi Hendrix
disciple,” says Sklair. “Living in Hollywood
in the ’80s, I decided it was time to get a
Stratocaster. So I bought one out of the
Recycler for $300.” His ’71 Strat had a natural
finish, Schaller tuners, and the bullet
truss rod. Sklair wasted little time customizing
the axe to make it his own.
First, he took it out to his backyard and
let loose with a can of white spray paint.
Then he enlisted the expertise of guitar
guru John Carruthers (Carruthers Guitars,
Fender Custom Shop, Yamaha, G&L), who
re-fretted the guitar’s neck, installed a midboost
feature, converted the neck joint to
a 4-bolt array, and added copper foil and
shielding paint to minimize hum from the
pickups and controls. Carruthers also added
a new 5-way switch and reversed the polarity
of the middle pickup to make the second
and fourth positions dead quiet.
“I took it on tour with Dick Clark’s
Good Ol’ Rock ’n’ Roll Show,” Sklair recalls.
“It was my go-to guitar when I joined up
with the amazing Etta James in ’85, and
was used all the way until she retired in
’09. I even used it on the recording of Roy
Orbison’s ‘Careless Heart’ in 1988.”
Even though Sklair revamped several
aspects of his Strat, he never dreamt of
altering one thing. “What brings me back
to this little Strat is its neck. By industry
standards, it’s not a great neck—because
it’s fat and not very wide. But it has been
really comfortable for my average-sized
hands, and I believe the big headstock
adds an almost Gibson-like mellowness to
its tone.”
While Sklair’s beloved ’71 Recycler find
is special to him because of how it plays
and sounds, as well as the countless memorable
performances and sessions he’s played
with it, it’s also special because on the
back it bears the signatures of five rock ’n’
roll greats—Roy Orbison, Dick Clark, Bo
Diddley, Chuck Berry, and Del Shannon.
“I’m not much of a signature guy
because I don’t want to be creepy,” Sklair
laughs. “I never asked Etta for hers because
it just didn’t feel right, but I did get a few
rock ’n’ roll heroes to sign it. It reminds me
of where this guitar and I have been.”
The 21st century guitarist wants endless
amp/effect/cabinet options in a
sardine-tin-sized package at the cost of a
dinner for two at Applebee’s. (Yes, we know
some purists still plug their ’57 Strat into
an original tweed Fender Twin with a coil
cable.) That said, it’s always fun to take a
look at vintage effects that paved the way.
In 1967, long before the current multi-effect-Maxwell-Smart craze, the Japanese
company Honey launched the dual-purpose
Psychedelic Machine. The briefcase-sized
unit combined two of the world’s most
unmistakable sounds for the first time—
the fuzz and chorus/vibrato. A year later,
Shin-ei took over manufacturing for Honey
and decided that these effects would fare
better as stand-alone offerings (Univox was
Shin-ei’s U.S. distributor). In 1968, they
unveiled two separate stompboxes—the
Super-Fuzz and the Uni-Vibe.
These pedals were taken to Mt.
Olympus-heights by two heavy hitters—
Pete Townshend and Jimi Hendrix. The
Super-Fuzz was deified after Townshend
used it throughout the Who’s 1970 Live at
Leeds performance, but most notably during
the rambunctious opening in “Sparks”
and the grisly, snarling solo in “Young Man
Blues.” The Uni-Vibe helped Hendrix mystify
guitarists and listeners with its swirling
chaos in the Band of Gypsys’ “Machine
Gun” and the more silky, waving textures in
“Izabella” off of First Rays of the New Rising
Sun. Today, the Super-Fuzz still breathes
fire in Dan Auerbach’s speaker-eating tone,
playing a central role in Black Keys cuts like
“Thickfreakness” and “’Till I Get My Way.”
The following year, Shin-ei developed
the U-250 Uni-Fuzz, which was an
AC-powered brother to their Super-Fuzz.
As seen here, the Uni-Fuzz is housed within
a brick-sized enclosure resembling a military-
ammo canister. Its minimal controls
are balance (volume) and expander (fuzz),
a 2-way tone switch, and an on/off switch.
The tone switch engages a 1 kHz filter that
scoops the mids creating a robust, bass-y
tone. The on/off switch kicks on the circuit
that produces both an upper octave and a
slight, lower octave—giving the Uni-Fuzz
some compression and a mild ring-modulator
effect.
Photo courtesy Univox Corp
“Like many purveyors of fuzz, my interest
had primarily been focused on Fuzz
Faces and Tone Benders, but after sampling
a late-’60s Super-Fuzz at Rivington
Music in NYC, I realized designer Fumio
Mieda caught magic in a bottle,” says Mark
Hunter, owner of this ’69 Uni-Fuzz. “I have
a few other fuzzes and have spent some
time with a Super-Fuzz, but there’s nothing
quite like the Uni-Fuzz I found on eBay.
Its sound is very intense and fat, but still
is responsive to how your guitar volume is
set—lots of shades of fuzz and destruction
to be had.”
Unabashedly so, Hunter admits to dropping
a small chunk of coin on his vintage
dirtbox, but says the Uni-Fuzz has repaid
him by way of woolly inspiration and musical
journeys.
“Whenever I get in a rut or just need
something to perk a few new ideas out
of my fingers, I can always count on the
Uni-Fuzz to break things up [laughs],” says
Hunter. “The ring-modulator aspect of it
inspired me to write some music based specifically
on that sound. To me, that’s worth
the investment in itself.”
A special thanks to Mark Hunter for the
opportunity to feature this fine piece of gear
and its story.
Got some gear that would make a great
Gear of the Month? Then email pics and its
story to us at gotm@premierguitar.com.
