Tag Archives: eric clapton

Rock My World: Guitar Cover Art

June 15, 2012

| Author: Vintage & Rare

Those of you that love guitars and the history of guitars, may also feel an affinity with vinyl records. Here is a little piece about the cross-over between the two worlds, and the appearance of iconic guitars on vinyl record cover art

Rock My World: Guitar Cover Art

Sometimes the album cover is just as (or more) interesting and fascinating as the album itself. Great cover art catches the eye and makes any record stand out from the rest. Cover art also provides clues as to the band or artists’ intent – will this be an upbeat or melancholy collection of songs? Or will it be a journey through various musical stylings that will evoke a multitude of emotions and feelings? You can also determine the time period by looking at clothing, famous architecture, and icons (peace signs and smoke rings should be a dead giveaway) featured on the cover.

What Do Guitars in Cover Art Mean?
For many musicians, musical instruments are much more than just a medium on which to play – these instruments are an extension of the soul, spirit, and body. Featuring an instrument on the cover usually means more than, ‘Hey, you’re going to hear a lot of guitar work on this album.’ Usually portrait shots (Johnny Cash or John Lee Hooker holding their guitars) or abstract images of guitars floating in mid-air (Dire Straits Brother in Arms), the guitars featured can provide some clues as to the main theme of an album.

For example, Brother in Arms, features a steel blue National Style 0 Resonator, manufactured between 1930 and 1941. This guitar relied decorative steel sheets (also called cones) to help it produce a louder and more distinctive sound than traditional acoustic guitars. The design helped keep the instrument from being overshadowed by other instruments like the drums and horns.

Interestingly, the album features several songs including Brothers in Arms, and Ride Across the River that explore the nature or war and military life. The guitar on the cover was probably designed during WWII and, while beautiful, appears to have been pieced together with various metals (may cause some people to think of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome – a post apocalyptic movie about people surviving war and rebuilding a society – the movie came out in 1985, the same year as Brothers in Arms).

Musicians Known for Their Guitars

Other famous musicians such as Eric Clapton, Santana, Hank Williams, and B.B. King, who named his original guitar and all those that came afterwards ‘Lucille,’ are known for their expert guitar work. King even wrote a song about his guitar, several of which have been featured on album covers.

This may be why Eric Clapton is seen holding a guitar on many album covers – Slowhand , Just One Night and 24 Nights just to name a few. The cover art for 24 Nights, a live album Clapton released in 1991, was done by Sir Peter Blake, who also designed the cover art for The Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. The cover, a squiggly, free-hand drawn sketch of Clapton playing his guitar, is appropriate for the album because, according to Clapton, the album was not an easy one to produce. The album chronicles Clapton’s impressive 24 nights of performances at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

This piece was written by Sylvia from www.vinylstall.com

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Lukas Schwengeler Artist Interview

November 7, 2011

| Author: Vintage & Rare

Lukas Schwengeler is the no.1 session guitarist in Switzerland. We talked to Lukas about his guitars, amps and his taste in music.

Hi Lukas thank you for taking your time to speak to us. Could you please tell us a bit about how you got into playing music in the first place? Do you remember any specific moment that sparked your interest in music?
Since I was the youngest of 6 kids and all of them played an instrument I was elected to start up playing the violin with 6 years of age and enjoyed playing this instrument until I was 12. During that time my hippy neighbor gave me her guitar because she moved abroad. I picked up that lovely instrument and I was hooked. From that moment on I started to play and play and play. I stumbled into some old blues tunes and worked my way up.

Could you explain to us why you initially got into the genre you’ re currently playing? What musicians or bands inspired you in the beginning?
Blues and old hippie stuff was the start up. The first band I started to admire was the Spencer Davis Group. My first guitar hero was definitely Eric Clapton. Later I got into the tunes of Jimmy Hendrix, Duan Alman and Gary Moore. Today one of my favorites is Robben Ford.

Can you tell us about the gear your using, and why?
One of my favorite guitars is a custom made from Claudio Pagelli. Next in line is my 62 Fender Stratocaster Relic from the custom shop. I also have a Gibson Les Paul Slash Sig and I also use a Gibson Les Paul R6 . And sure enough I also play the standard Fender Tele. Besides that, I have a full set of acoustic guitars. The amp I mostly use is Fender Deluxe Reverb and Bogner Extasy.

Can you please tell us about your collaboration with Good Tone Pickups?
Claudio Pagelli made my guitar and we started to discuss possible pickups. He told me about a small swiss manufacturer that handwired pickups. We decided to give it a try and I got into contact with Ralf from Good Tone Pickups. He was open to all my suggestions and really created a pickup after my desires.

What kind of Good Tone Pickups do you prefer in your guitars?
I am using the customized pickup Ralf created for me. He made a Humbucker with low output in order to do coil tapping without significant loss of output . The result is amazing. This Good Tone Pickup is now selling it under the label Lukas Schwengeler Signature Pickup.

Does the gear you play live differ from the gear you’re using in the studio?
The guitars are pretty much the same. But the amps, stomp boxes and other stuff can vary. In the studio you can include some gimmicks in order to specialize the sound. On stage you need to stick to the stuff that definitely works.

Are there any special guitars, brand or a model, that fit your specific sound or genre better than others, and if so, why?
Sure. If the music requires the sound of Strat I use a Strat . If it requires Les Paul … I will use that guitar. I do have no matrix to show.

How important do you find the gear to be, in relation to the sound you’ re trying to produce?
Absolutely elementary. I only use the best gear I can find, because this is making the difference of the output.

Any famous last words?
There will be guitars in heaven.

Visit Lukas here:

http://www.lukasschwengeler.ch/