Tag Archives: The Beatles

Isolated guitar and bass tracks

August 15, 2012

| Author: Vintage & Rare

We love vintage musical instruments and we love vintage recordings.

The sixties and the seventies have been the most exciting decades in terms of sound research and recording technique. However, we love it when the technology which is surrounding us nowadays provides us with a whole new way to listen to our favorites.

Digital technology such as the moog file format and even popular video-games such as Guitar Hero allow us to tear a song a part and listen to one isolated track at the time. Whether the purpose of doing this is to learn thoroughly a song on guitar or find out what kind of mixing tricks have been used to create the sound that we love so much, what we discover is astonishing and inspiring. The musicians’ skills and technique don’t seem to be quite as important as the feeling they’ve put into it. We often find mistakes in the execution, mistakes that disappear or even add a magic feeling when we listen to the track in its whole.
Many isolated tracks are hosted on youtube. As Vintage & Rare we picked our top 5. Needless to mention that these tracks are taken from the history of rock.

So, whether you’re looking for inspiration or if you want to analyze how your guitar hero used to rip his instrument in the studio, or how he wanted his track mixed in your head, go ahead and check these links. But beware! It might sound bad from time to time..but hey!! Who cares about perfection? These people wrote a piece of history. And we all should be grateful.

Enjoy!


The Beatles – SUn King – Guitar track

The guitar bounces softly from the left to the right and back again creating endless space in our mind..


The Who – My Generation – Guitar Track

In this live recording from the 1970 Pete Townshend’s shredding guitar. You can hear a couple of the purely valve sounds we still love so much. Something punk rock bands are still trying to reproduce today. Pure rock ‘n’ roll.


Black Sabbath – Into the Void – Guitar Track

Pioneers of heavy metal..Double tracking fills up your ears and kicks ass. At 3:08 min Tony Iommi gives his best.


Nirvana – Kurt Cobain – You know you’re right – Guitar Track

Noisy and cool..this track reveals Kurt Cobain’s taste in guitar sound and songwriting. His typical alternating quiet verses with noisy choruses. And how he holds the feedback at 1:16. Amazing!


Rage Against The Machine – Killing in the name – Bass track

Tim Commerford grooves his way through the song..It’s hard not to imagine the drums pattern though..The rhythmic session in this song is a badass rolling stone.

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

If you are looking for vinyl records on the internet, then please pay us a visit

Joe Satriani interview: ”To my fans: I owe you everything”.

March 23, 2012

| Author: Vintage & Rare

Joe Satriani is one of those guitarists who can be described in a single word – legend. Vintage & Rare is proud to present you interview with Joe, the guitarist whose music has no requirement for lyrics. He told us something about his musical beginnings, his inspiration and his plans for the future.

Could you please tell us a bit about how you got into playing music ? Do you remember any specific moments that sparked your interest in music and playing guitar?
I started playing the drums at age nine after seeing The Beatles and The Rolling Stones on TV. Then in September of 1970 I switched to guitar the day Jimi Hendrix died. He remains my main inspiration.

Which musicians or bands have been the greatest inspiration and have had the greatest influence on your understanding of music and your playing?
Besides Hendrix, I was influenced by early American blues, rock ’n’ roll, Motown, R & B, jazz and classical music. I played Black Sabbath and Led Zep in my early bands, and then some fusion. My greatest understanding of music came from my high school music theory teacher Bill Westcott. He gave me my foundation.

What advise you you give to fans wishing to perfect their playing and broaden out their understanding of music?
Practice being a musician everyday, be creative and curious and never stop learning.

How many days a year do you spend on road? Is it hard to be on a tour and still keep the mindset to create and produce music?
It seems like I’m on tour half of every year these days. Some years see me touring more, some less. The music business is always changing, you have to be able to adapt.

Can you please tell us about the guitars, amps and effects you are mainly  using, and why you have chosen the guitars & gear you have?
My main guitar now is my Ibanez JS2400. I have come to really love the 24 fret JS model now. I have put a Sustainiac pickup in a few of my 2400’s as well, they are very useful and add functionality to the guitar. My new signature Marshall JVM410H JS head is fantastic! I love playing through this new system as it really sets me free.

Do the guitars & gear you play live differ from the guitars you’re using during recording sessions?
Not really. The last two records and tours both solo and with Chickenfoot saw me with the same gear.

Maybe you could eloborate a little bit about your collaboration with Ibanez and the cool Chromeboy project?
Chromeboy was born back in 1990! It is so very hard to successfuly chrome a guitar body made of wood. We have tried everything you can think of, but it still eludes all who try. Eventually the chrome lifts away from the body, cracks and becomes dangerous. Now, the very process of chroming is being restricted due to safetey concerns for the environment as well as the people doing the chroming. So, if you’ve got an original Chromeboy, keep it safe!

Are you into vintage guitars & old amps/effects? If yes which brands/models and why? Maybe you have a special story to tell around one or more of your guitars?
I like to collect vintage Fender, Gibson and Martin guitars. Mainly Strats, Tele’s, Les Pauls and acoustics. My current favorite is a 1969 Olympic White maple-cap Stratocaster. It’s a total Hendrix-fetish collectable, and it sounds great too!

Any exciting new projects that you would like to tell us more about? Could you please eloborate more on your movie Satchurated 3D.
Having ”Satchurated 3D” playing theaters around the world is just so cool! Think about it, an instrumental rock guitar movie in theaters, what a crazy world we live in! When we release the DVD and people see the whole show and the bonus features they will freak out!

Any famous last words?
To my fans: Thank you so much for listening to me play my guitar! I owe you everything and will keep playing my best as long as I live.

www.satriani.com
www.facebook.com/joesatriani
www.youtube.com/websatch
twitter.com/#!/chickenfootjoe

Would you like to add something about Joe Satriani? Please leave a comment…