Aggressive, Soulful & Vital. Lance Lopez is bringing his unmistakable brand of Blues Rock with Supersonic Blues Machine (Fabrizio Grossi & Kenny Aronoff) and he’s not alone, with a who’s who guest list including: Billy Gibbons, Warren Haynes, Robben Ford, Walter Trout, Chris Duarte & Eric Gales. Plus, a solo live album “Lance Lopez Live in NYC” produced by Paul Nelson (Paul Nelson band/Johnny Winter). Lance joins us for an in depth conversation.
Quick! Name the guitar company that had Carl Perkins, Mike Rutherford, Mark Farner, and Martin Gore as one of their many fans?
Nope, it’s not Fender, Gibson or even Gretsch .
I’ll give you a couple of hints, the majority of their guitars were semi hollowbody electrics and some even featured a built in wireless system.
You may be forgiven if you said Rickenbacker but it was Micro-Frets.
Who?
You’re forgiven if you hadn’t heard of Micro-Frets because they sank beneath the waves in the Seventies.
Started by Maryland based engineer Ralph S. Jones in the early Sixties Micro-Frets had more to do with Washington state based builder Harvey Thomas than any of the major builders at the time.
Like Harvey Thomas’ designs Ralph Jones’ guitars where both idiosyncratic and forward-looking.
Jones’ guitars used a 52-piece “Micro-Nut” compensated nut that allowed a player to intonate each string at the nut.
While some of Jones’ guitars sported DeArmond pickups quite a number of Micro-Frets also sported pickups by the late Bill Lawrence.
During their heyday Micro-Frets produced mandolins, baritones and basses but they are most closely associated with their unique looking guitars.
Both rockabilly legend Carl Perkins and Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore favored the dual cutaway Spacetone. While difficult to describe the Spacetone looked somewhat like a Gretsch Duo Jet with the paintjob of a Burns Double-Six.
Somewhat more unusual was the Orbiter. Imagine what would happen if you hired Gumby creator Art Clokey to cross Gretsch Billy-Bo Jupiter Thunderbird, and a Rickenbacker 360 then you may get an idea what an Orbiter looked like.
Yeah, funky but in a good way.
Another standout is the Huntington. To say that the Huntington is something like a paring of a BC Rich Seagull that has gone through some radioactive mutations does the guitar a disservice. But there are some guitars that are so amazingly bizarre they are beautiful.
Information concerning Micro-Fret guitars is somewhat spotty but there appears to be an effort during the Seventies by a man named David Sturgill to keep the name going with the short lived Diamond-S model.
In my research I’ve only been able to find one demonstration of a Micro-Fret guitar on YouTube, a Stage II posted by mjm33mjm. Tonally the Stage II seems to have it’s own thing going for it and is somewhere between a Jazzmaster and a Rickenbacker or some sort. The sound is throaty, woody but still has plenty of punch and sparkle. Granted, a Micro-Fret Stage II would probably not the first guitar you would reach for if you were in a Gorgoroth cover band but it wouldn’t be out of place if you were playing early Elvis Costello songs.
More recently, however, a partnership between Will Meadors and Paul Rose has arisen to get Micro-Frets back on their feet again. I have a soft spot for early Sixties oddity guitars so I for one can’t wait to see them up and running again.
500 Words European Guitar Builders You Should Know
We’re kind of spoiled in the US. What I mean by that is we have a lot of great guitars to choose from. We have Gibson, Fender, Guild, C.F. Martin, etc., etc., etc. It can be argued there are almost too many guitars!
What if, however, you live in Europe or the UK? Welcome to the world of European guitars. While there isn’t enough room to talk about every company I have narrowed things down to a few notables.
Framus; Started in Germany in 1946 and originally started as a violin manufacture but as rock ‘n’ roll became more popular they started making guitars. Today they are a division of Warwick GmbH & Co Music Equipment KG that also makes Warwick basses. Notable users have been Paul McCartney, Willi Stich (a.k.a. Bill Lawrence), Jan Akkerman, Earl Slick and Devin Townsend. http://www.warwick.de/en/Home.html
Eko; If Framus were the upper tear guitars Eko were decidedly more pedestrian. Perhaps more famous for being cheap and funky rather than “good” Eko guitars started in Italy in 1956 was more than happy to cash in on the rock ‘n’ roll craze. Eko were notable for making the teardrop Vox Phantom and Mark III guitars. Eko is still around but gone are the sparkly metaflake guitars of the past but in their place are high quality acoustics and electrics with a distinctly Euro vibe. http://ekousaguitars.com
Vigier; Vigier are a relative unknown in the US market but are well respected in Europe and England. Based in France and started in 1980 Vigier are noted for their 90/10 design (90% wood, 10% carbon) and the use of stainless steel frets. Like Framus, Vigier has also have an impressive lineup of players including Geezer Bulter, Guthrie Govan, Stanley Jordan, and Gary Moore. http://www.vigierguitars.com/index.php
Hofner; You can’t talk about European guitars without mentioning Hofner. Besides making the infamous “Beatles bass” Hofner makes a wide range of stringed instruments and the Verythin 335 style electric. Starting in 1864 Hofner is still based in Germany. http://www.hofner.com/?___store=store_en&___from_store=store_de
Burns London; I don’t know any guitar that screams “swinging London” more than Burns London. Starting in 1959 Burns London were a cheap alternative to Gibson and Fender and found a ready champion with Hank Marvin. Granted, the Burns London guitars have their own sort of funky appeal. Think of them as the Vauxhall Velox of the guitar world. http://www.burnsguitars.com
Nik Huber; Perhaps one of the best known European guitar brands Nik Huber are known for their painstaking approach to guitar building, great sound and jewel colored finishes. http://nikhuber-guitars.com
Fibenare; Stepping out and doing something different Fibenare not a yet another Gibson, Fender or PRS clone. Fibenare are unusual because they are based out of Budapest Hungary and have their own artistic flair. Despite their “arty” look these guitars are extremely well made and are amazingly comfortable to play. http://www.fibenare-guitars.com
For us at Guitar Radio Show, there’s one show we really look forward to every year. The Dallas International Guitar Festival, the part guitar show/part concert is truly a yearly Woodstock for the most popular instrument in the world.
People from all over the planet make the mecca to Dallas Texas to gawk, wheel and deal and get treated to some of the most intense guitar performances ever to take place under one roof. As you walk the dealers hall you can see and purchase some of the most incredible new and astounding vintage guitars, amps and accessories known to man.
This year was the 39th year for this show, one can only speculate what Jimmy Wallace the events creator has in store for us next year when the show turns 40. One thing for sure, we’ll be there.
If you ever been to this event you know what i’m talking about, if not, you need to experience this amazing weekend.