Once again we went to NAMM Show in Anaheim, CA in January.
One of the cool things about NAMM Show, besides meeting lots of our partners and friends, is the chance you get to discover lots of new great gear. Hahn Guitars was one of the highlights. Especially the 910 model that the builder, Chihoe, makes became one of our favourite hand built guitars on the show this year.
Hahn Guitars can be ordered directly on Vintage & Rare here
Here is a demo of the 910 model.
Interview with Chihoe Hahn
1) Chihoe, Tell us about your background
– Well I’ve been building guitars for over 16 years and professionally for about 10. Before that I was involved with several start ups, before that I was a lawyer, and throughout I’ve been a musician.
During the Namm Show, we took a ride out to Socal World Guitar Show 2016.
“Socal World Guitar Show is a 2 day event being held from 23rd January to the 24th January 2016 at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, United States Of America. This event showcases products like musical instruments and accessories, varied other accessories, dealers of vintage musical instruments and sound gears, parts, books and records. Moreover, some of the other major exhibitors here are varied maintenance and other services providers etc. in the Musical Instruments industry”.
At one time I had three Strats in my workshop: a 1963 sunburst worth 9.000 Euros, A 2001 white Custom Shop, master-built by John English, worth 5600 Euros, a 2004 Mexican ‘Buddy Guy’ signature strat, worth 600 Euros.
They all needed a fret leveling job, and they all needed new strings and a proper set-up.
All three are built to exactly the same design, and they all had alder bodies, and Maple necks. They were all fitted with three single coil pickups each, and sported a vintage-style Fender Synchronized tremolo bridge The Buddy Guy had a maple fretboard, the two others had rosewood fretboards.
Which one did I like the most? Not an easy question to answer, since I am four ‘I’s.
I like listening to guitar playing, I like playing guitar myself, I like teaching guitar, and I like working on guitars. To each guitar, I am audience, user, instructor, and caregiver.
Each guitar that comes in, gets plugged into the dry channel of my Roland Jazz Chorus.
It is not the most musical of amps, but it is plain honest. Tube amps are instruments in their own right, that is why I find it difficult to distinguish between the sound of the guitar, and that of the amp. It is like tasting a Frankfurter, wrapped in a bun, embedded in tasty Sauerkraut and with French mustard on top. You can say you had a great hotdog, but you can’t really say much about the Frankfurter inside it, that way, right?
Interview w. Cristian Mirabella at Holy Grail Guitar Show 2015.
We had the pleasure of meeting up with luthier, Cristian Mirabella, of Mirabella Guitars from New York in Berlin during Holy Grail Guitar Show 2015. On this video Cristian tells us a little bit about the history around him as a builder and also tells us a bit about one of this unique creations that he brought to the show. Guitarplayer, Ratko Zjaca, was kind to lend his time to demo the guitar.
“Mirabella Guitars and Restorations specializes in the creation of fine stringed instruments, the recreation of exact reproduction vintage pick guards and parts, as well as custom one of a kind parts and inlay work.”
Def Leppard is a band known to most people, not at least guitar-enthusiasts due to the bands unique sound of playful melodies and powerful guitar riffs and solos. Rising to prominence in the early to mid 1980s the band was part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, however the bands sound is not so easily contained by specific genres, and Def Leppard can with no doubt in their voices claim to have a sound completely unto themselves. This is in no part due to the hard workmanship of the various guitarists that have blessed the band with their talents through out the years. Currently the role of main guitarist of Def Leppard is shared between two people; Vivian Campbell and Phill Collen. Front singer and founder Joe Elliot also provides guitar from time to time and so does bassplayer Rick Savage, but currently the real guitar talent resides with Campbell and Collen.
Both guitarists have more than two decades of experience behind them, and as during their extensive time of playing guitar at a highly professional level have both gone through a host of guitars of different kinds, brands and wild looks. Campbell appears to perhaps be the more populist or classicists guitar player of the two in regards to brand as he have a long history of playing mostly Gibson Les pauls guitars, however for extended periods of time Campbell have instead favoured playing on the number of custom made guitars he have made for him or have come by during his years of playing, including a three-colour (pink, red and yellow) Rand guitar, handmade by Rand Havener and a guitar built for him by luthier Buddy Blaze. These instruments was however more featured during his time with DIO and Whitesnake, while his Les Pauls have come more into play once again during his time at Def Leppard.
Phill Collen on the other hand uses the less popular Jackson Guitar brand almost exclusively. Formerly known for being one of the most exquisite brands when it came to custom made heavy metal guitars the brand have fallen out of favour since the 1990s, and a now a subsidiary of Fender Guitars. Collen still stands by them however and for almost all of his recording and turing work he exclusively uses Jackson guitars, and more specifically PC1 models. Some of them are modded to suit particular needs while other are left more or less in the state they were in when first bought. Collen having have a unique and self sure sounds for many years, and though his talent and personal flavour is part of this, some of this is also due to the way that his PC1s are equipped. All of them feature Dimarzio which is not unusual in any way, however the fact that almost all of his guitars are also fitted with Floyd Rose Sustainer pickups and the fact that most of them also feature Floyd Rose tremolos makes them stand out from other Jackson PC1s.
In every way a truly iconic band with a unique sound, Def Leppard continues to play and deliver fantastical songs with great splendour, in no small part due to their fantastic and hugely talented guitarist, and for that we are very grateful!
For more on Def Leppard, visit their website here.
For more Premier Guitar videos, visit their youtube channel here.
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Most people will not associate Punk rock, metal and hard rock with luxurious or unique guitars, while many heavy metal guitars look wild most of them are technically normal guitars with nothing exceedingly special to offer beyond decent sound and wild shapes. However sometimes one does find instruments and artists who breaks this idea in two. One such artists is the guitarist known as Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein (born Paul Caiafa) brother to one of the earliest members of the iconic Punk rock group The Misfits, Doyle later joined the band himself as their main guitarist. Though not in any way a talented guitarist (Doyle’s own words) his iconic imagery, ability to turn simply pickings into great songs and never-stop-for-nothing attitude has made him a major celebrity in an exclusive scene. This might all seem relatively uninteresting to guitar-fanatics, yet even for people like that mr. Frankenstein have something to offer.
As part of the horror-punk look that Doyle have adopted since his time in the Misfits, his guitar the Annihilator is of similar shocking visage, sporting hooks and edges that look sharp enough to cut yourself on. However that is in no way the most interesting part about it. What is on the other hand, is the fact that Doyle have build the entire guitar by himself, first trying to create his dream guitar out of wood, but quickly giving up on that when he realised it was to difficult to work with. The neck is instead made of a solid graphite cast, which goes all the way down through the body. In fact, most of the boy is part of the neck, while the “wings” on either side on the neck are removable parts, making sure that maintenance is easy and within the capabilities of Doyle himself.
Being a trained machinist, Doyle does not only do work on his own guitar, he has produced several different instruments, including the amplifiers that he used on his most recent tour, though some parts of each piece of equipment may be brought from other companies and manufactures, Doyle assembles and put together the whole thing by himself, a very cool thing to do for a guy who according to himself doesn’t really understands guitars (we think he might be exaggerating a bit!). And though the Annihilator has quite a couple of years behind it, and have received a fair amount of bashing and banging, Doyle isn’t ready to retire the guitar just yet. To get a replacement guitar would be easy enough however, as Doyle has entered a partnership with guitar company Oktober Guitars who manufacture a number of Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein signature series of guitars and bass-guitars – including a copy of Doyle’s own Annihilator. So it would seem that replacing the old with a new one would be quite straightforward. However for Doyle is isn’t that easy, to him the original guitar has a sound and a feel that Oktober guitar could never duplicate, and though the signature Annihilators are almost exact copies of the original, Doyle’s own unique graphite design ensures that though they might be alike, only Wolfgang von Frankenstein wields the true axe of Annihilation!
For more info on Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein visit his webpage here.
For more info on Okotober Guitars go to their site here.
For more Premier Guitar videos, visit their youtube channel here.
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Brian May, famous for his role as the main guitarist in Queen, is not only an incredible talented guitarist, who stills plays his instruments just as good (if not better) as he did in the heydays of Queens success. However though May himself is an interesting, talented and curious person, for guitar players like us there are two more sides to him that makes him even more interesting. First of all his first guitar (which is still in use) was homebuilt by May and his father, mainly from scraps and random pieces of wood. Though fashioned in this way the guitar has a professional sound and due to a number of renovations still plays perfectly to this day. Another curious thing about may is that he doesn’t use picks, at least not in the traditional sense, instead he plays with coins!
Brian May and his farther began the construction of his unique guitar back in 1963, when May was around 17. Having already built at least one guitar beforehand the pair had some experience, but no education in the matter. Being a poor family, the bulk of the guitar had to be fashioned out from pieces of scrap and what could be found for cheap or free. The guitar called the Red Special, the Old Lady or the Fireplace, is constructed form a number of various bits and pieces. The neck for instance is made from the wooden mantle of a fireplace (hence its name), while the body is made from the wood from a table, some block-board and a veneer of mahogany. The entire guitar is made with hand tools, as the whole instrument was made in the work shop of the May’s family home. And not only is the entire thing hand built and carved, even the wiring is made by May and his father, even the frets and everything else besides the strings and the pickups (which he have personally restrung, leaving only the strings unmodified) are made from random pieces of material – the whammy is made from part of a bicycle saddlebag holder, the springs attached to it from a motorbike and the tremolo is made from parts of an old knife. Truly a patch work instrument one should expect it to sound like that as well. Surprisingly enough the guitar has a truly amazing sound, as if it were made form a professional luthier. Having been feature on every single Queen record to date. Actually the only period of time when May does not use it is when it is required for him to change guitars for specific songs or if the Fireplace is receiving maintenance.
When being maintained May often uses replica guitars made from his own guitar building company Brian May Guitars, guitars that he often takes with him on tour to be sure that replacements are ready should the need arrive during a concert. However the guitars alone are not the single reason behind his unique sound. His own personal flavour is of course the main reason behind his sound, yet those two factors alone is not the only thing that creates the Brian May sound; his curious choice in guitar-picks is also a major contributor as May have become fond of using coins instead of picks! He mostly uses British sixpence coins, but is also known to use american cents or dimes or other coins that are of equal or similar size and thickness. May claims that the rigidity of the coin helps him when he plays, and that the ridges on the edge of the coin aids him in creating unique sounds, that he does not feel he could get in other ways.
No matter how he goes around it we think that Brian May is a guitar legend in every way and we hope that he will continue to contribute to the world of music in years to come, both as part of Queens live tours and as a featured guitar player for other artists.
For more info on Brian May visit his website here.
For more Premier Guitar rig rundown videos, visit the rig rundown playlist on youtube here.
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John Lowery, more commonly known as John 5, famous for his work as guitarist for Marilyn Manson, David Lee Roth Band and Rob Zombie is not only a blessed guitar player, but also an avid guitar collector, with an obsession for Fender guitars, and especially Telecasters.
Already falling in love with guitars at the tender age of 7, John 5’s career began in earnest when he was 17 years, when he became member of the band Alligator Soup, and not long after that he joined the group Sun King, recruited by Rudy Sarzo of Whitesnake fame. A few years later on John 5 began his real breakthrough when he became the next guitarist to join the David Lee Roth Band. Like most other guitarists that have been part of David Lee Roth Band, John 5 experiences great publicity and fame, earning a reputation as a true guitar virtuoso. During the same period of time John 5 also played with Marilyn Manson. During the mid 2000s John 5 left Marilyn Manson on good terms and put a temporary hold on his collaborations with David Lee Roth, and began a more focused work on his solo career as well as forming the group Loser all the while he also joined as guitarist for Rob Zombie. Though Loser quickly disbanded John 5 have had quite some success with his solo career and even more as part of Rob Zombies line-up. Known for his mixture of country picking and wild guitar shredding, his solo albums features a variety of styles, yet all show his talent in equal measure.
When it comes to guitars John 5 have been collecting them for many years, beginning as early as in his teens, and made his first real venture into collecting guitars when he sold his large collection of KISS posters in order to fund his guitar shopping-needs. Having always been a fan of the Fender Telecasters, his collection soon became a reflection of this fascination, and most of his collection is now composed by various Fender models. Though for most people the collection might seem abnormally large while at the same time quite narrow, it seems it is John 5’s dream to have a copy of every Fender model ever released. Though it might be an almost be a bit too much it appears that John 5 is well on the way to reach that goal. Though he for a period of time he played Ibanez models instead when turing with Marilyn Manson, the Fender guitars have always been his favourite and as shown in the video above most of the time his touring rig consists almost exclusively of Fenders. While for some it seems strange when musicians play their own signature guitars, for a fan as John 5 it makes a lot of sense that the most used guitars on his tour are all signature models from is own series, even the custom made double-neck guitar is a version of his signature series guitars. Sadly though last year John 5 was burglarized and lost 5 very precious guitars from his collection, and as far as we can tell the perpetrators and the guitars have yet to be found. We here at Vintage & Rare hope that this will not stop John 5’s collection adventure, and we are happy that it didn’t put a stop to the production of his newest album Careful With That Axe, which was released last month.
For more John 5 information go to his website here.
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In Norway a group of go-getters and passionate guys have begun crowdfunding what they believe is the next step in the world of guitar pedals and effect equipment. The company is called Aalberg Audio and the new product they are trying to get out to the world is called EKKO and AERO and they are committed to see their dream and idea become a successful reality, which they also hope will bring new innovation and inspiration to the world of guitar effects in general.
It all began in 2010, when co-founder and inventor Rune Aalberg Alstad was out in town with a couple of friends. During a discussion on effect pedals Alstad was suddenly hit by the idea of a wireless remotely controlled effects pedal. The ideas came pouring in and Alstad quickly scribbled it all down on a napkin, laying the early foundations for what would later become the EKKO and AERO, as well as the Aalberg Audio company. Basing his masters thesis in Music Technology at the Norwegian University of Science & Technology on this idea, he afterwards received enough funding to start Aalberg studios and to begin prototyping the products. Now four years later, the one thing that truly lacks is the last bit of funding to ensure that the first batches of EKKO and AEROs can be shipped to early bird supporters and retailers around the world. Two weeks ago they went online with their Indiegogo campaign in hopes that crowdfunding would be the answer to quickly get the product out of production and into the hands of guitarist around the world.
We here at Vintage & Rare think that the idea they are trying to bring into fruition sounds interesting and we were lucky enough to get a interview with one of the co-founders behind Aalberg Audio.
“Vintage & Rare(VR): Where did you get your inspiration from? You mention it shortly on your Indiegogo page, but is there any further information you could give in regards to the story behind the idea?
Aleksander Torstensen of Aalberg Audio(AA): The product is made in Trondheim at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) together with world leading wireless chip manufacturer Nordic Semiconductor. It was Rune´s master thesis in Music Technology. Rune was inspired by the need for increased flexibility and new creative possibilities a wireless controller could add to the guitarist.
VR: How come you feel this is the time for making the pedal board wireless? Are you yourself musicians who have felt the lack of wireless control limiting or is there another reason?
AA: There are three main reasons for making the pedal board wireless:
– Technology: Recent technology development has made it possible to make small sized, stable and secure products with wireless connection. Also to a reasonable price. Our remote controller for example is palm-sized and very light.
-Trend: We saw a clear trend with more wireless products and also companies making already invented products better. Like Pebble did with a regular watch we have improved the classical stompbox.
– Need: A motto we have is “for guitarists by guitarists”, the contributors of Aalberg Audio are guitarists or have played guitar in the past. We have seen experienced and witnessed the need for increased control. Guitarists are often locked to the pedal board and spending time staring down at the effects rather than out towards the crowd. The effects industry also lacks innovative changes, which limits the creativity possibilities for guitarists.
VR: What made you confident that this is the right time for the pedal board to go wireless? Is there some technological know-how behind the idea?
AA: Again, technically it is the right time to realize this concept. Wireless technology has evolved the recent years and has become both stable and secure. This technology is for example used in gaming consoles (Playstation 3, XBox etc.) with great success. There is of course know-how behind the idea. We have used 4 years of trial and error to build this [with] competence and develop the perfect solution.
VR: Do you think that with time the wireless pedal board will be common practice? And are you looking to work with other companies to include your soft and hardware, or is it a solo operation?
AA: Yes, I think a wireless pedal board is “a natural step in the evolution of effects pedals”. The television got its remote controller decades ago, with increased flexibility and possibilities. It is just a matter of time before all effects pedals are Aalberg Audio compatible. We are building a brand that will deliver high-end wireless music equipment in the future. This does not mean we are not open to suggestions from other companies regarding development and/or marketing.
VR: Do you think that any learning difficulty or force of habit will limit your product?
AA: Guitarists will need some time to get used to the product. That being said, this is a plug & play system. It is very simple and I´ve seen guitarists learn it and play cool bits in minutes. This is a product much like Poker, it takes a moment to learn but a lifetime to master. I´m constantly learning new stuff and possibilities with the product and I think we have only scratched the surface if regards to the possibilities the product offers.
VR: Are you taking steps to ensure that the EKKO & AERO limit signal delay and how much time have you spent on fine tuning such elements of the technology?
AA: The controller only transmits the control signal to the effects pedal, not the audio signal. The control signal is extremely fast and even when changing parameters from the max distance of 30 meters (98 feet) there is negligible latency. It is key and has been our #1 priority for the 4 years of development to ensure a stable, secure and fast transmission of the wireless signal. The wireless technology used is start-of-the-art by world leader Nordic Semiconductor.
VR: Finally, what are your plans for getting your product out there and into the general guitar-world, both in regards to consumers and retailers?
AA: We have already attended NAMM and Musikmesse in 2014 where we have connected with hundreds of retailers, press and guitarists. We also have support of Steen Meldgaard, former Export Manager and CEO at T-Rex, who took the company from a startup to export in 65 countries. Our first step is crowdfunding and next year [to] get EKKO+AERO into retailers. It will also be important with some well known ambassadors and reviews in guitar magazines.
For those of you who visit our YouTube channel it will already be known that we are currently facilitating the sale of a 1959 Les Paul Standard Burst guitar formerly owned by Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi fame. To spread some more awareness on this beautiful and incredible guitar with a very rich history, we have decided to make this blog post a bit about Richie, a bit about one the other former owners of the guitar and, of course, a bit about the fantastic 59′ Les Paul itself.
The first owner of this particular guitar, that we know the name of anyway, is John Squire, who is best known for his time as the main guitarist of the British rock group The Stone Roses. Pioneers of the Britpop movement that ravished England in the 1990s, Squires career have also included a solo album and stints with The Seahorses and The Shining band, though he is without a doubt most known for his time with The Stone Roses, for whom he is playing again. This particular 1959 Les Paul guitar is featured heavily on The Stone Roses second album, and as such hold a big part of their iconic sound. When John Squire sold the guitar off, it went into hiastatus for a couple of years before being picked up by Richie Sambora, who have since then used it extensively, often pointing out that his 1959 Les Paul guitars are among his wery favorites in his collection.
Richie Sambora brought this 59′ in 1996, but it is far from his first Les Paul guitar. He started playing guitar at age 12, inspired to pick up the axe following the death of Jimi Hendrix. Around age 17 he brought his first real Les Paul, an, for him, iconic instrument which he owned until he was 23 when it was stolen during a rehearsal period with the Bon Jovi band. Though he is most known for his part as the main guitarist for Bon Jovi, Sambora have also toured with Joe Cocker, auditioned for KISS, released a number of solo albums as well as featured on a large number of records with such different artists such as LL Cool J, Kel Spencer and Superbus, as well as having played and released albums together with the bands Shark Frenzy, Message and Cher among others. Never a man to stop playing or touring Sambora is still playing and recently toured as a solo artists, and is expected to join Bon Jovi for their newest album, with an expected release date in 2016.
The 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard Sunburst guitar series is by many viewed as the epitome of guitars. With no real competition to the title of most expensive guitar series in the world. Originally made as an improved version of the 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard, the 59′ version features a number of elements that set it apart from its older brother. Though the 1959 guitars were produced to help fix the declining sales figures of Gibson’s guitar sale, the 1959 models did not succeed. Only a few hundred models were ever made and in the years 1958-1960 less that two thousand Les Paul Standards were created. However the popularity these guitars gained with the most popular rock and pop stars of the late 60s and onwards ensured that the Gibson Les Paul Standards of that time, especially the sunburst models, have received an explosive amount of fame and recognition. It could even be said that the popularity of these models is what have helped Gibson stay in the guitar making business for good. A beautiful example of the famed 59 edition this specific guitar is less bursting that others of its type, giving it a truly unique look. As said in the video above it looks, plays and sounds marvelously, and though some might argue that the autograph on the neck is a blemish on such a beautiful guitar, we have to agree with New Kings Road Guitars in that it only ads to the rich history of this model.
For more on Richie Sambora go his website here.
For New Kings Road Guitars, visit their website here.
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