Jimmy Page, John McLaughlin, Don Felder and the Gibson Double Neck SG, or the Gibson EDS-1275

Jimmy Page with Led Zeppelin, and his famous double neck Gibson SG

John McLaughlin and the Gibson EDS-1275

Jimmy Page and the Gibson Gibson EDS-1275, the double neck SG guitar, two musical icons.

It's one of the most iconic, most famous, most revered guitars in the world, right? Well, facts are, Jimmy Page used this guitar for so few songs it's hardly even notable in mentioning the thing insofar as his body of music goes. What it is, is a stage guitar, a damned good one. Page used THIS guitar every time Led Zeppelin played Stairway To Heaven live. No, Stairway to Heaven wasn't the only song page used the double-neck SG for, he also used it for The Rain Song and The Song Remains The Same.

If you ever thought about becoming an icon, a "god" of music; then Jimmy Page should sure give you some pointers on how to go about it. For starters, you have to be different. You've got to have your own thing going to where everyone identifies things with you. The Les Paul had been around for a long time, and Page was hardly the only person to play that instrument, but when he busted out the Gibson EDS-1275, the double neck SG; well, THAT thing was something which everyone identified with pretty much one musician, Jimmy Page.

The guitar itself is a 1968 Gibson EDS-1275, Page, probably the only person who served as a representative of the thing, an unofficial salesman, except I believe the amazing John McLaughlin had one too, and Page had taken guitar lessons from John once. It's not particularly important, but I own the magazine with the particular interview where it was discussed, it was Musician magazine.
MUSICIAN: "John McLaughlin gave you guitar lessons?"

PAGE: "He did, that's true. It was great. He could hear things which I
couldn't hear. He certainly taught me a lot about chord progressions and
things like that. He's fabulous. He was so fluent and so far ahead, way out
there,
and I learned a hell of a lot. I must have been about 20."

There's really no question as to who the most technically proficient guitarist is, It's John McLaughlin,Jeff Beck considers John maybe the world's best guitarist. McLaughlin is maybe the only guy who actually owned and played not just one double neck solid body, but two. He's also got a custom made one based on the design of the Gibson EDS-1275, you can read about it here. Page definitely took some lessons from John, so maybe Page got the idea to use this Gibson EDS 1275 SG double neck from John? I'd say it's very very likely.

Robert Plant and Jimmy Page at Madison Square Garden

When I was a kid, I thought of the members of Led Zeppelin as absolute gods of music. I've never been able to place exactly what it was about the music which captivated me so very much, but it's there, and though I'm quite a lot older now, I can still catch a glimpse of what I used to feel about it all sometimes. I never thought of Jimmy Page as "the best" guitarist, but I was certain he'd tapped into something in the spiritual realm or whatnot that I desperately wanted to be a part of, something very mystical, something timeless. I still think that way too. The only thing that has changed for me is I get some of those same feelings from very different artists and art forms too now.

Oh I'd watched The Song Remains The Same a hundred times or more. Loved it, but knew from things I'd recorded off of the radio it wasn't really an impressive concert for them, it was just the one that got made into a film. Their concerts were epic in scope and in length; and how drained they must have all been to have played so intensely and for so long on stage! Probably every concert after Led Zeppelin IV was produced included the usage of the double neck Gibson EDS-1275. When Houses Of The Holy was produced, well then, we've two more songs as reasons for the Gibson EDS-1275 to appear on stage, and it was good.

Musically, Led Zeppelin did a lot of very interesting things, and there were very few songs that ever sounded remotely like another song of theirs. Those four persons were and the three left now ARE highly creative musicians. The three songs Page used the Gibson double neck SG electric guitar for were all three very unusual songs; and there's little to anything you'll hear like any of them - although there are tons of Stairway To Heaven controversies. I'm not myself big into Led Zeppelin controversy, as I tend to believe all of it is based in jealousy of the band's success - and that no man or group of persons could ever own a chord progression.

Don Felder and the Gibson EDS-1275

Plenty of room at the Hotel California.

The Gibson EDS-1275 Jimmy Page

So what can we say about the Gibson EDS-1275? Guitar player magazine hailed John McLaughlin's use of one through a one hundred watt Marshall amplifier as one of the fifty greatest sounds in guitar playing history. Jimmy Page's EDS-1275 though, is a bit different from John's, and others which had been produced from 1963-1968, which was the first run of production for the instrument. When Page decided he'd need a guitar like the one in question, Gibson had stopped producing them, and so he had one custom made for himself. The differences between Page's guitar and McLaughlin's are Page's has two solid mahogany necks, whereas the production guitars from 1963-1968 had three piece maple necks. Page's guitar also had the tailpieces in a different position, and this supposedly increased the guitar's sustain, and he had his made with T-top humbucking pickups.

Besides Jimmy Page and John McLaughlin, other outstanding guitarists to play the EDS-1275 are none other than Alex Lifeson of Rush, and Eddie Van Halen. Don't forget Don Felder of The Eagles, when you hear Hotel California, that is the Gibson EDS-1275! In 2007 Gibson produced the Jimmy Page signature model, and only 250 of those were produced. The guitar is available, but it is not a production instrument, it requires a special order, and if you order one from Gibson, they will gladly make one for you. Both Epiphone and Ibanez make similar guitars. Here's some specifications for the instrument:
Body & Hardware
Period-correct solid mahogany SG-style body

Dark Cherry finish with walnut filler

Chrome hardware

Chrome ABR bridge with chrome thumbwheels

Schaller Strap Locks (chrome)

Period-correct 5-ply pickguard

Neck & Headstock
One-piece mahogany necks

20-fret rosewood fingerboard

Corian nut

Period-correct headstock style for 12-string

Page profile neck

24-3/4 in. scale length, 1-11/16 in. nut width for 6-string, 1.715 in. for 12-string

Push-in bushings, double band nickel plate tuners

Page fretwire

Electronics & Strings
Page pickups

Black speed knobs with dial

Glenn Danzig

 Everything below was written years and years ago. I used to be a huge fan of the music of Glenn Danzig. Rumors these days are he's going to do shows with the original Misfits band again. I hope that's true.

Glenn Danzig

Source

Heavy Metal Icon

Glenn Danzig is right there next to Ozzy Osbourne in terms of being an Icon in both heavy metal music, and American pop culture. His music is inspiring in it's uniqueness in both lyric and musical form and structure. Glenn has never been afraid to experiment with his image and his music, and if you buy into the image very much; you might think that Glenn's never been afraid of anything at all, Devils included.
While Glenn Danzig has never been a staple on American Radio, this has never been an issue for him in terms of music sales, concert tickets, and other merchandise sales. I've no idea how much money that he has; what I'm saying is that the man has a huge following of very loyal fans, and most everyone in the world seems to know who he is, despite only having exactly ONE song that I've ever heard played on FM.radio.
Glenn Danzig, like anyone with such an over the top image or persona; is also someone that you are likely to hear all sorts of rumors about, and some of them might even have a grain of truth to them. I think that it's important to note here that the IMAGE that Danzig has created is what is so intoxicating, and compelling. I'm positive that Glenn Danzig is a pretty cool guy, but I'm also reasonably certain that any time that you see him on a stage, in an interview on some cable television program, or in a magazine. . . .that what you are seeing is the Glenn Danzig IMAGE, not the real Glenn Danzig. He is, after all, a business man; and the world, after all - tis indeed a stage. I hope that made sense to you.

Years of Head Banging Experience

Glenn Danzig has been doing this a long time. He's basically been in the entertainment industry since the year 1977, and at that time he was a mere SIXTEEN years old, can you imagine being on stage, and a professional recording artist at SIXTEEN YEARS OLD? When I'd just got to the age that allowed me to legally drive in the state of Texas, Glenn Danzig, at 16, was in New York and New Jersey recording Horror Punk albums with The Misfits, my favourite punk metal, or Horror punk band of all time.

The Early Life Of Glenn Danzig

Glenn Danzig was born as Glenn Allen Anzalone in Lodi, New Jersey, the third of four sons born to a Protestant family of Italian, German, and Scottish heritage. Very typical of what we respectfully call an "American mutt," or even a "Heinze 57." From the proper birth surname I believe it's safe to say that Glenn is heavy on the Italian, and from the chosen stage and professional name, medium on the German.
According to Wikipedia, young Glenn actually started off in the music business at eleven years of age, as a rodie; or stage set up and tear down "man." It's debatable to me that that job should be considered part of the music business, but what can not be disputed is that young Mr. Anzalone was involved in music then; and how one could even be allowed to do much as a rodie at eleven years of age, I don't know; but suffice it to say that Glenn Danzig had started learning actual music as a child, on both the clarinet and the piano. While Glenn had never had any sort of formal voice training at all, he has always been recognized as an individual with spectacular vocal prowess and skill. The baritone of Johnny Cash, who he'd much later even write a song for, and Mr. Cash would record that song, comes to mind. Jim Morrison is another name that is is thought of when hearing Glenn's vocals; and I'd even read that Jim Morrison is Glenn's biological father, in one of those no account trash magazines that are in every grocery store. People have insinuated that Glenn Danzig had set off to sing and sound like Elvis Presley, but Glenn Danzig will tell you that he'd always enjoyed listening to, and imitating the vocals of another fine singer, Roy Orbison.

The Misfits

The latter part of the 1970s saw America and English heavy music and musicians, evolving from the blues based metal of bands like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple, into something that moved faster, seemed to contain more violence; and even anarchy, and this is what became known as Punk music. Though the many musical styles that Glenn Danzig would explore, and still explores in his career would also involve the older, and more traditional blues metal; the band The Misfits would be a decidedly punk band, and on top of that, Danzig and the other Misfits would create their own version and style of punk, and that is known as Horror Punk.
The music of The Misfits is mostly fast, very fast, furious; and crude. It is head banging, acid tripping, push ups and fighting music. I've blared it out of every stereo or computer I've ever owned or had access to. The lyrics are forever within one of two realms, and that is B Grade Horror and Science Fiction movies; and Kennedy era atomic political scandals. When Glenn Danzig set about to try to get a contract for his band, The Misfits, he was promptly told that he'd never have a career in music. But we've all heard similar stories about other artists, and Glenn Danzig's story is one where talent and persona won out; and I'm thankful for that.
Despite the tough guy image that Glenn was growing even then, and the almost un-printable lyrics to songs like The Last Caress (trust me on that, Google wouldn't like it) Mr. Glenn Danzig, on a night in 1979, so the story goes, brought an older, grandmotherly looking woman into the studio during a recording session. He was worried about her, and her son, Sid Vicious, had just died.
I've listened to The Misfits more than any other Danzig fronted band. I just love The Misfits. The first album by The Misfits that I'd bought, I bought the first of the two 20 song compilation albums on CD while going to Junior College at Tyler Junior College. I'd always known that Glenn Danzig was the singer of The Misfits, and I'd always heard of The Misfits, but I was unfamiliar with their music. I bought that album after the image intoxication that came after an acid trip, and the new live video of the song "Mother," off of the first Danzig album. Well, I almost threw The Misfits album into the garbage because I was so disappointed with it. It didn't sound anything like Danzig, the band, and it sounded like it was recorded in someone's New Jersey garage, and it probably was. I didn't see the beauty in it, and I didn't catch the vibe it presented. I didn't throw it away though, and two hits of some potent blotter later; I would seldom want to hear anything else.
By the early 1980s though, Glenn had outgrown the style of music and lyrics that The Misfits featured, and he'd wanted to both create a darker, and more experimental sound; and always, Glenn Danzig's bands feature ever changing sounds and styles, and soon, after meeting bassist Eerie Von, he would move on.

Samhain.

The ancient Celts celebrated the New Year on the first day of November, and that day of celebration, called Samhain, is a major influence on the holiday that is more likely to be celebrated here in America today, Halloween, on the preceding day. Comprised of members from various other punk rock groups, the band Samhain released it's debut album, Initium; advertising itself as a "supergroup," of sorts. Someone might have to forgive me here, but I'm not aware of any musicians involved in punk that could be called virtuoso musicians; but that doesn't take away from the intensity, and excitement of such musicians, and their music; in fact, it had always seemed to me that punk rock music was meant to be completely different from the album rock music era that preceded it.
Of course I own all three Samhain albums; and I especially enjoy Initium, and November Coming Fire; but the lyrical content and mood of the music is very dark and brooding, and often angry. It is music that is very different from the music by The Misfits, but there are some songs from the earlier group that Samhain would record.  My personal favourites from these albums are the songs Archangel, which is obviously about Lucifer and the Anti Christ, and In My Grip.  I find that scream therapy does me much good at times; and I think you all should try it too.

Verotik

• DANZIG | VEROTIK
  Glenn Danzig also draws comics, and this link goes to his mature themed comic book site. It's probably not very "comic" in the traditional sense of the word.

1987 Through 1994, the Danzig Classic Years.

It's pretty sad that it happened this way, and I say that because the first Danzig album came out in either late 87' or 88'; and so I should have already been aware of that music. Of course I was aware that the band Danzig existed, I just didn't know that I would love that music so much. I learned about all things Glenn Danzig while I was going to school at Tyler Junior College, in Tyler, Texas; a town so conservative that you have to have no throwing arm to speak of to be able to throw a rock in any direction, and not break out a window in somebody's church. It was a time of great growth for me, and the LSD shipment came in like clockwork each and every Wednesday evening. I shared a two bedroom two bathroom apartment upstairs in a complex called "Strawberry Ridge," with three other guys that I'd always know from home. We had cable tv, and I spent all of my extra money on beer, and compact discs, someone else bought all the weed; and if we weren't watching movies, then we were forever smoking, drinking, and listening to whatever music I'd just bought. I still passed my classes. I even earned an extra buck or twenty by writing papers for my apartment mates. . . .but I think all of them wound up dropping all of their classes altogether before it was over and done with.
So anyway, it was during this time that Danzig released an album call Thrall/Demonsweat Live, which is an album with an ep's worth of new studio material, and some live cuts. They made a video of some live footage, and played it behind the original studio version of the song, Mother, and that was a super huge metal video that year, and was played constantly on MTV, or "empty V," as I prefer to call it now. I bought the original, or first Danzig album, and a few hits of acid later we were all way into it; but when the song Possession played, we all got very frightened by the seemingly subliminal chants of "Incubus" that is there in the background of the tune. Oh, it's there even when you're not fried on acid, just give it a listen. It's not even too far back in the mix, we'd just the none of us ever noticed it before; and it was causing us to jump away from the speakers, as if some fallen angel might jump out of them, and abuse us on the spot. Fun times!
Concerning the first Danzig album, my opinion is that it is one of the greatest albums in all of heavy metal. My opinions are that it, and it's sound and style, completely unique, is only equalled by works such as Metallica's And Justice For All, Black Sabbath's Heaven and Hell, and Sepultura's Chaos A.D. And though the original line up for the group Danzig had such a tremendous sound, Glenn, as he is forever doing; changed the tone and the themes up for the Danzig II album, and he'd made that album to incorporate a lot more traditional blues styled metal in it, and even the wonderful ballad, Blood and Tears. If you watch the Blood and Tears video, you see all of those images of the latter years of Elvis, and of course, the implication is that Glenn is trying to sound like Elvis; but he's not, at least I don't think. I think Glenn was doing what any sane man would do, and working his image for some pu$$y, and can you blame him for that? I damn sure can't.
With the Danzig III album, Glenn would bring it back to a more Samhain - ish sound and lyrical mood, but he's still working the female dollar there too, with the female fan favourite, Sistinas. Also prominent on that dark, brooding metal album are the songs Godless, and Dirty Black Summer.  I've not a clue what Glenn's strategies and plans are with his image, and believe me, he's definitely spent some time working on , and selling an image.  What gets me, what I don't understand. . ..is that a lot of the music by The Misfits was just. . .you couldn't take the lyrics seriously at all.  It's crazy, it's art, it's fun, and it's wonderful; but you can't take it seriously.  The on to the Samhain, and everything is so dark, or trying to be. . .that you go, "damn!"  But when Glenn throws something as silly as the song Bodies into the mix in an otherwise pretty dark and serious seeming album like Danzig III; I'm just left scratching my head, and going, "What the fuck?"

Over The Top.

After the first several Danzig albums, and the super hit song Mother; the image of the man, Glenn Danzig just went over the top. Now, I don't know if it was something that was intentional on his part, and meant as a show biz strategy, or not; but that is what I like to think that it is. I can enjoy that, appreciate that; and respect that, however, if the image that has been created is something that Glenn really thinks of as his personal reality. . .then that is very sad. I can enjoy his head banging, fist pumping, screaming in anger; and I can relate to all of that, and work it out of myself in that fashion, and so should you should you be so inclined to do so. However, you can't take lyrics like those for the tune, The Last Caress, seriously, if you do take that seriously; you're soon for death row, and especially here in Texas. For that reason, I do declare Glenn Danzig as a very successful niche marketing and showbiz genius, with great taste in music, a tremendous vocal skill, and a fantabulous ability to create great music. I wish I could do all that, rather than just talk about it. But regardless, the next several videos will be for laughs, and I'll never forget that I've spent more than one night of my life in convulsive laughter with a friend as we'd watch the Danzig parodies over, and over, and over, and over again. Tis good for the soul.

Third Party Parody.

Trust me, the Third Party Parody, executed well, and by two hot chicks in a grocery store; it's rare. The Third Party Parody featuring Damn Hot Brunettes in a grocery store on your behalf is an honour that is so rarely bestowed in America; that only a threesome of the parody making brunettes ,and I, Wesman Todd Shaw, could top the original offering. Forget the fact that I'm not Glenn Danzig.

The Obnoxious Interviews, and the Knockout

Another of the many intricacies of the mighty Glenn Danzig legend, and these do not pertain to his music, but the persona; is the legendary obnoxious idiot that he appears to be in his interviews; and who could ever forget the time he got knocked to the floor by that giant fat guy?

Conclusion.

Glenn Danzig is a great American Artist, his art is not limited to his music, it overflows into his comic books; and indeed, his stage persona is a work of art. He's still creating these works of art to this day; and I hope that this presentation here today has gave you something towards understanding it.

Zakk Wylde and the Gibson Les Paul

Zakk Wylde with his number one "bullseye" Les Paul

 

 

We were all excited about it, as the expectations were very high. Zakk Wylde didn't disappoint us either. You see, when you get the job as guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne, things are expected of you. Mainly, we expect you to be a monster guitarist. Zakk didn't disappoint any of us.

My entire life, and even before I was born, Ozzy Osbourne has been a big deal. He's still a big deal. Ozzy is one of the elder statesmen of heavy metal music. He's "the prince of darkness," or at least he used to be. Following up the distinctive and creative works of former guitarists who'd played alongside Ozzy, men like Tony Iommi and Randy Rhoads - that's not an easy gig. It wasn't too hard for Zakk though, Zakk Wylde was the man for the job, and he still is.

Zakk Wylde is the man with what is probably the most prestigious job in heavy metal music.Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt, Zakk's real name, was born in New Jersey in 1967. He's not JUST the guitarist for Ozzy either, he's a solo artist, an actor, a multi instrumentalist. He's got an official website, of course, and I just linked it for the interested persons.

Zakk Wylde and Four of his Gibson Les Paul guitars.

Guitar gladiator Zakk Wylde and some of his battle axes.

Zakk Wylde -Heavy Metal Guitarist

My idea of it all, this thing we call heavy metal, is that Tony Iommi created it; and almost by himself. Oh Ritchie Blackmore had a hand in it, he helped fill out the soloing ideals of speed metal, he kinda added that to heavy metal all by himself, Tony Iommi was the riff man, the man who defined the outline of the genre. Jimmy Page helped too, of course. Some could even figure Hendrix, Clapton, and even stretch it to where Jeff Beck played a role, I won't argue.

Replacing an underprepared Brad Gillis who had to jump into the least happy role in the guitar playing world, attempting to replace Randy Rhoads, the creator of neo-classical metal guitar; had to have sucked for Brad. Jake E. Lee wasn't a chump by any stretch, but he couldn't replace Randy either, he could replace Brad though. Finally filling the shoes, but without filling them at all, instead, doing his own also badass thing, was Zakk Wylde.

He'd greeted us on No Rest For The Wicked, a studio album where finally Ozzy had another guitarists that truly suited him. Ozzy'd found a guy who could not just fill the shoes left empty by Randy Rhoads, but do his own things with the songs Randy had made so legendary for lovers of the electric guitar, and heavy metal music.

Anyone likely to be reading this knows Ozzy isn't nearly the only outlet for music which the terrific Zakk Wylde has. Black Label Society is on tour at the time of this writing, and in South America metal music is quite popular. Zakk has made numerous appearances on the albums of other bands, and also numerous appearances on stage too. He's even appeared with the Allman Brothers Band filling the roll of Dicky Betts

The Gibson Zakk Wylde Les Paul

The Gibson Les Paul is Zakk Wylde's favorite model of electric guitar, and you can read an article I found where he talks about the five favorite Les Pauls he has. Obviously, Zakk has lots of guitars. Zakk's primary electric guitar is a 1981 Les Paul he refers to as "the grail," and it's the black and white vertigo paint job Les Paul one so often sees Zakk playing.

Zakk is sort of a Wylde man, and at one point he'd lost "the grail" in an not an auto accident, but the guitar, in its case, luckily, somehow or another had flew out the back end of Ozzy's tour bus while travelling down the road. Later on, Zakk managed to barter for his instrument in order to get it back. You too can own a Les Paul like "the grail," and in more than just black and white, you will suffer the vertigo, however.

This guitar is neither inexpensive or cheap. It's a five thousand dollar instrument; but if the looks are more important, and the money is just not available, there is a considerably less expensive Epiphone version. The Gibson Zakk Wylde Les Paul specifications are as follows:

• Color: Black and antique white bullseye
• Top: Carved maple
• Body: Solid mahogany
• Multi-ply black/white binding on top & back
• Gold hardware
• Nashville TOM bridge, stopbar tailpiece
• 3-piece maple neck, no finish
• 22-fret Richlite fingerboard
• Pearl block inlays
• Multi-ply white/black binding
• Rounded neck profile
• 24-3/4" scale length, 1-11/16" nut width
• Kidney bean tuners
• EMG-81 and EMG-85 humbucking pickups
• Controls: Two volume, Two tone, 3-way selector switch
• Brite Wire .010 strings
• Includes certificate of authenticity
• Custom Shop case included

Stevie Ray Vaughan and the Fender Stratocaster

Stevie Ray Vaughan with his famous Fender Stratocaster

Stevie Ray Vaughan - One of the BEST of the modern blues guitarists

When it comes to any sort of musician, writer or speaker of any kind who starts talking about things like "best of all time," well, it's complimentary and such, but most often someone is really only ever telling you, "the person was my favorite." There are just too many styles of music for someone to be one of those best of all time persons unless we narrow the scope down considerably; and should we do so, we are then to a place where maybe an opinion can be judged for what it is, an educated opinion based on such and such criteria, or a bad opinion.

Stevie Rah Vaughan, I submit was one of the finest electric guitar bluesmen ever; one of - I won't say he's the best, because there's quite a lot with quite a lot of highly individual styles; and my opinion is just that, an opinion. I am a Texan, and so my opinion might be influenced by this, seeing as how Stevie was a Texan, and seeing as how I've even visited his grave a few times; but you see where I'm at here, I hope; and let us face it, the man was a stunning guitarist and there's nobody who's up and taken his place and become a popular international electric blues guitarist on such a scale since his passing.

Vaughan was easily one of the greatest slingers of the six string Stratocaster there ever was, and out of him the instrument came with more twang, and louder twang, and a more energetic twang than I ever heard from anyone else; it was damned spectacular.

A Young Stevie Ray Vaughan with his famous Fender Stratocaster

Stevie Ray Vaughan - One of the Texas master guitarists

Stevie was born and raised in Dallas, Texas; began playing guitar when he was just seven, and would dedicate most of his life to it. He's similar to Jeff Beck in that way, a man who knew what he wanted to be known for, what he wanted to do. Later on when he'd earned all the same sort of respect Jeff had, they'd tour together, and persons like me can only reek of the jealousy we have for persons lucky enough to have seen those concerts.

In the 1980s when Stevie was becoming well known, he was, of course, becoming known as a super hot blues rock guitarist out of Texas; but most of the popular rock music world was way into a very different sound; Stevie was busy reviving the blues while at the same time reviving the respect for the Texas music scene. Chris Gill of Guitar World commented:

 "Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitar tone was as dry as a San Antonio summer and as sparkling clean as a Dallas debutante, the product of the natural sound of amps with ample clean headroom. However, Vaughan occasionally used pedals to augment his sound, mainly to boost the signal, although he occasionally employed a rotating speaker cabinet and wah pedals for added textural flair."

What the man from Guitar World didn't mention was that part of the big Stevie Ray Vaughan sound was Stevie used thicker strings than nearly anyone else anywhere was using, he even had a wound G string on his guitar, and that's virtually unheard of, but so was the very fat sound Stevie was getting from his Stratocaster.

The late, great, Stevie Ray Vaughan with his Fender Stratocaster

The death of Stevie was tragic for it being just bad luck on his part, he was just a passenger, had changed his life altogether from where he'd been in his dark days, and was touring with another stratocaster slinging legend, Eric Clapton. He'd returned to the top of his game.

"He seemed to come out of nowhere, a Zorro-type figure in a riverboat gambler's hat, roaring into the '82 Montreux festival with a '59 Stratocaster at his hip and two flame-throwing sidekicks he called Double Trouble. He had no album, no record contract, no name, but he reduced the stage to a pile of smoking cinders and, afterward, everyone wanted to know who he was." -James McBride

But then he was just gone, years later, but after leaving us with lots of great music. I think we should hear some of it here.

Stevie's Fedner Stratocaster

While Stevie Ray Vaughan has and has used a lot of guitars, there is definitely just one which people will always remember him with; and it is a Fender Stratocaster. The guitar wasn't factory specifications, it was more a Frankenstein, put together from parts of others. The instrument is a 1962 body with a 1961 neck, and pickups from 1959. Stevie called it or referred to it as a 1959 Strat. Like a lot of other great guitarists, he thought of his guitar in terms of a woman he loved.

Only persons like Hendrix, Beck, and Clapton have really done so much for the Fender Stratocaster and 1960s to present day blues music as has Stevie, and so of course Fender has recreated Stevie's guitar. Facts are the guitar was being collaborated with Stevie on just before his death in 1990. One thing which is very important here to anyone attempting to sound like Stevie Ray Vaughan on a Fender Stratocaster is to remember Stevie Ray Vaughan used thicker strings than probably any other guitarist playing a Strat, and that sound isn't going to be reproduced without duplicating the guitar string size. Here are the specifications for the instrument which is available today:

• Color: Three-color sunburst.
• Body Type: Solidbody electric.
• Finish: Polyurethane.
• Neck Wood: Maple.
• Neck Shape: Deep, thick oval with 12-inch radius.
• Body Wood: Solid alder.
• Machine Heads: Fender / Gotoh vintage style tuners
• Fingerboard: Pao ferro.
• No. of Frets: 21.
• Position Markers: Dot inlays.
• Pickups: Three Texas Special single coils.
• Controls: Master volume, two tone.
• Bridge/Tailpiece: Reversed (left-handed) American vintage synchronized tremolo.
• Pickup Switching: Five-position blade switch.
• Hardware: Gold.
• Case: Vintage tweed case.
• Scale Length: 25.5 inches.

St. Vincent and the Ernie Ball Music Man St. Vincent Guitar

St. Vincent and the Music Man St. Vincent guitar.

Source

Out of the great state of Texas comes a shining star of modern music. Her name is Annie Clark, but she's known everywhere as St. Vincent. She's the voice of countless women everywhere, heard in concert, and on FM radios across the world. While she is lovely to behold, she brings more to the game than that, she's emotionally stirring, honest, and she doesn't just stand there holding a guitar, she plays the thing.

It is easy to see that the guitar is a musical instrument that is dominated by men. The domination by men is in numbers. Playing guitar is sometimes a boy's club sort of venture, but it need not be so, as there is no reason, nor was there ever, that a woman couldn't play the guitar every bit as well as a man. Maybe the gods of guitar sent Annie to us to deliver the message to her fellow females - here is the guitar, and you can play it, and play it well too.

That all said, St. Vincent, or Annie Clark; is a woman from Dallas, Texas. You could take her out of Texas, but you'd not be able to take Texas out of her. She's someone we can relate too.

St. Vincent with one of her Music Man guitars.

Source

Are there hindrances to a woman playing the guitar? Well yes and no - there's no physical reason a woman can't play the guitar every bit as well as any man can. Men do have a size advantage. Let me explain - with an acoustic guitar the instrument is usually no big deal for even a child to handle. With a solid body electric guitar, however, sometimes the instrument can be a bit heavy. Oh, you don't notice the weight right off the bat, but if you've got a great old Les Paul around your shoulder and you're standing and playing, it doesn't take long for the weight of the guitar to become a real issue.

Les Paul's are heavy guitars. The Fender Stratocaster isn't always so lite either. So St. Vincent, being a small built lady herself, was infinitely aware of the issue of weight in solid body electric guitars, and she designed her Music Man guitar specifically to be ergonomically fit for women.

St. Vincent and the Music Man St. Vincent guitar.

Source

Custom specifications for the Ernie Ball Music Man St. Vincent signature guitar.

From the body shape all the way down to the paint color, and everything else in between this instrument was designed by St. Vincent with the people at Ernie Ball Music Man. Besides being shaped to resemble the female form, the form of the guitar also compliments the female figure, due to its shape, in performance. The body is African mahogany with a high gloss polyester finish.

The neck and fret board are both rosewood, so the tonality will be dark with long lasting sustain. There is also the custom St. Vincent fret board position markers, custom Schaller tuning machines, and a custom music man chrome plated tremolo bar bridge. The guitar is a real looker, as is its inspiration. Three mini-humbucker pickups, and a light weight of just seven pounds; ideal for females, or anyone at all, really.
Purchase one of these guitars for your wife, your daughter, or your girlfriend - and she'll have an instrument which will last forever and perform like a dream.

The Ernie Ball Music Man St. Vincent signature series guitar.

Of course Annie Clark has other guitars, most notably, she was the very first person I ever knew of to pimp out the Harmony Silhouette or Bobkat. Those are great guitars, and you can be certain she still plays them. Who would turn down the chance to design a totally unique guitar from a premium manufacturer though? Not St. Vincent. She designed one that isn't even close in appearance to any other guitar. You play one of these Music Man St. Vincent guitars, and you're going to stand out for it. She's made certain of that.

Now take a look closely at the guitar, and imagine it standing up with the head stock facing upwards. Looking at it this way you can see how the guitar evokes the figure of a woman. This is by design. Don't put so much stock in just looks when it comes to a woman or a guitar, as such things are only on the surface, and there is much more beneath. The guitar is more than just a looker, of course, it is also a player's guitar.
In the January 2016 Guitar World magazine issue there is an article on this specific guitar and, of course, Annie Clark, and in the article she says something I like to repeat a lot here online. She says, implying that buying up in guitars, that

 "If you have a great instrument you're going to play better." Then she goes on, "You're going to play up to the level of the instrument because it makes it easier for you to succeed." 

I find this to be true, and especially true for someone who's already playing the guitar on a less expensive one. Once you've invested the time and effort to purchase a truly professional guitar, the fine guitar will make you better because the guitar itself is better, but also it does this because you already invested so much time and money and desire into the thing. Specifications are as follows:

• Body shape: Single cutaway
• Body type: Solid body
• Body material: Solid wood
• Top wood: Not applicable
• Body wood: Mahogany
• Body finish: Gloss
• Orientation: Right handed
• Neck
• Neck shape: Not specified
• Neck wood: Rosewood
• Joint: Bolt-on
• Scale length: 25.5"
• Truss rod: Standard
• Neck finish: Gloss
• Fretboard
• Material: Rosewood
• Radius: 10"
• Fret size: High profile, medium width
• Number of frets: 22
• Inlays: Dot
• Nut width: 1.62" (41.3mm)
• Pickups
• Configuration: HHH
• Neck: Mini humbucker
• Middle: Mini humbucker
• Bridge: Mini humbucker
• Brand: DiMarzio
• Active or passive pickups: Passive
• Series or parallel: Series
• Piezo: No
• Active EQ: No
• Special electronics: Custom pickup switching
• Controls
• Control layout: Master volume, tone
• Pickup switch: 5-way
• Coil tap or split: No
• Kill switch: No
• Hardware
• Bridge type: Fixed
• Bridge design:
• Tailpiece: Not applicable
• Tuning machines: Schaller locking
• Color: Chrome
• Other
• Number of strings: 6-string
• Special features: Pickups
• Case: Hardshell case
• Accessories: None
• Country of origin: United States