My first guitar was one of those legendary acoustics with 3/4″ action, outfitted with heavy gauge (one gauge only) Black Diamond strings.  I was seven.  My teacher, an authoritarian Austrian gentleman, insisted I practice 1 hour a night.  I did.  I cried.  My fingers bled.  I was so happy, somewhat later, when someone ordered a Gibson ES-225, returned it to the store, and it became mine, outfitted with flatwound strings, of course, and a factory Bigsby.  So, it might surprise you to learn that I hated that guitar.  I hated those P-90 pickups.  I hated the ugly sunburst.  I was so glad when the neck twisted and I got rid of it.  So, it might not surprise you to learn that I’m not fond of thinlines.  Even when they’re as cool as the Yamaha SA-15.

It’s no wonder Yamaha produced some cool guitars.  Yamaha may be Japan’s oldest manufacturer of Western-style musical instruments.  In 1887, Torakusu Yamaha developed a reed organ in Hamamatsu, Japan, starting a factory the following year. In around 1900 Yamaha began making pianos and those were the primary musical instruments the company would be known for thereafter, although Yamaha would later branch out into electronic organs and wind instruments (not to mention motorcycles, vacation resorts, lifestyle products, and semiconductors!).  

It appears that Yamaha began selling Yamaha acoustic guitars in around 1946, but there’s some buzz out there that those might have actually been re-branded Suzuki products.  Yamaha developed the “Dynamic Guitar” probably during the 1950s.  These were similar to a Harmony “Convertible” guitar I once got from Montgomery Ward as a kid, meant to be strung either nylon or steel.  Yamaha Dynamics are way better than most other acoustic guitars made in Japan at the time.

In 1960 Yamaha established Yamaha International Corporation in Los Angeles, creating probably the first American beach-head for a Japanese musical instrument company.  This was still primarily for selling pianos, but it would include guitars once Yamaha decided to export those.

Picture: 1968 Yamaha SA-15

1966 seems to have been the seminal year for guitar-making.  That year they brought the Spanish luthier Eduardo Ferrer to redesign their classical guitars.  Yamaha also introduced its FG line of steel-string guitars.  And its first solidbody electric guitars, the SG-2 and SG-3.  I’ve always suspected that the SG-1 was earlier, but that’s not the party line.  Oh, and their first amplifiers.

I’m not sure that Yamaha exported its earliest electric guitars, at least, to the U.S.  Acoustics may have preceded electrics.  I don’t recall seeing any Yamaha electrics during the 1960s, but then I was living out in “fly-over country” back then.  I have a Yamaha catalog that was sold as being from 1966, but the code on the back is “692” and the Japanese, being a generally meticulous race, often coded their periodicals and that would make it a 1969 catalog.  The electric guitars feature in it are all “semi-acoustics” and, since those were not introduced until 1968, that reinforces the later date.

In any case, the electrics in that ’69 catalog include 3 equal cutaway guitars (SA-50, SA-30, SA-20), one bass version (SA-70), a full-body single-cutaway jazz box (AE-11), and two versions of their asymmetrical thinlines, the SA-15D and SA-15, seen here.

While Yamaha’s acoustic guitars were pretty conventional, these electric guitars show Yamaha’s penchant for distinctive design.  The equal-cutaway models are not just Gibson clones, but have classy squared-off cutaway horns.  And the asymmetrical 15s…well, I think these are splendid!  

The extended lower horn of these guitars reflects a particularly Japanese obsession with everything Ventures.  The Ventures toured Japan early in their careers and Japanese fans loved them.  When Flower Power eclipsed the Ventures’ Surf sound, they were able to keep their careers alive on the strength of their fans in Japan.  This meant, of course, a love of the Mosrite Ventures guitars, which was, after all, just a Fender Stratocaster flipped over!

The SA-15 was a little more conservative take on Yamaha’s iconic ‘60s solidbody, the SG-7, itself inspired by the Mosrite.  The SA-15 and SA-15D mainly differed only in trim.  The SA-15 seen here was the plainer, with an unbound rosewood fingerboard and dot inlays.  The SA-15D had a bound fingerboard with top-edge-inlaid markers (a la Gretsch) and special checkerboard top binding.  The pickups were “noise-free high-sensitivity type”…with “high-performance anisotropic ferrite magnet and pole-piece,” with two volumes and two tones on a threeway switch.  Basic.  Decent.  Great for playing “Walk, Don’t Run!”

I was glad to see my old Gibson ES-225 leave for someone else.  And I’m still not wild about thinline semi-acoustic guitars.  But if I was a fan, I’d sure prefer to go on stage sporting a Yamaha SA-15 for a couple bars of “Telestar.”

By Michael Wright

The Different Strummer

Eastwood Custom Shop SA-15

The Eastwood SA-15

The new Eastwood Custom Shop SA-15 is a fantastic tribute to the legendary Yamaha SA-15. If you’re not lucky enough to own one of the originals, this new guitar really does a great job a recreating the Yamaha…

Salute to the Ventures: the 1968 Yamaha SA-15 from MyRareGuitars.com

Funny thing: some of the greatest guitar heroes ever were British. Think Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend, Peter Green, Richie Blackmore and so many others… but most of them had another thing in common – they were inspired by American music.

So we thought – why not do something different, and make a list of the greatest American guitarists?

Why would that be interesting? This is our list of guitarists who were made by America. This is just a top 10, trying to encompass players from many different styles and generations. There will be some missing… so share YOUR list with us, too! You may not agree with our choices but there’s no question about this – those are not just players who happen to have been born in the U.S.A. by a happy geological coincidence, but guitarists whose very music could’ve only have come from America, and nowhere else in the world… 

10) Elmore James: The Blues

The Blues is perhaps the most crucial of all American musical genres. It’s the source of all popular American music made after it, but so much more. It documents American history – especially a part of history that is perhaps not as well documented elsewhere. We could’ve chosen any of the great Blues guitarists such as B. B. King or Robert Johnson, but we’ll stick with Elmore James – his primal voice and guitar playing tell a whole story in their own right, and songs such as ‘Dust My Broom’ are informed not just by the simplicity of rural Blues, but also pointed to the electrified future of the genre – and by doing so, encapsulated the journey of many Black Americans in the early part of the 20th-century, from rural South to urban North.

9) J. Mascis: Noise, Grunge & the reaction to 80’s America

J. Mascis could be described as the greatest virtuoso of the so-called “grunge” scene, so we’ll pick him. A scene that spawned many bands worldwide, but which could’ve only have originated from America. The messy, f*cked up America of the Eighties, where if you couldn’t be a winner, you were a loser. But the “slackers” and Generation X-ers who loved rock’n’roll just wouldn’t fit with this world view – and the noisy music scene represented by bands such as Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr and which eventually exploded with Nirvana was a direct reaction to the mainstream 80s in the US, so this new kind of noise could’ve only have come from America!

8) Tom Verlaine: New York, New York

The proto-punk scene around CBGB’s in the mid-Seventies could’ve only have happened then, and only in New York. Bands such as Television translated the grittiness of a semi-apocalyptic New York City into rock music. To listen to Television is to be transported to that time and place. 

7) John Fahey: Rootsy Americana

John Fahey was one of the greatest acoustic guitar players ever. His best music harks back to an older, almost mythical America – a rural, simpler, pre-War America. His debut album, Blind Joe Death, was originally released as a “fake” album, supposedly containing old recordings by a forgotten bluesman. In a very American display of entrepreneurship, the album was the first ever “indie record”, self-financed by Fahey with the money he earned working at a gas station!

6) Dick Dale: Let’s go Surfing…

Well, we hear Australians are pretty good at surfing, but no one beats America when it comes to Surf Music! This is a sunny, optimistic and even naive style, that could’ve only have come from America, a child of the optimistic 50’s, and with the help of some all-American gear such as Fender amps and guitars! And no one played it better than Dick Dale! (Having said that… ‘Misirlou’ in particular is an adaptation of a traditional Middle East song! Listen here…)

5) Duane Allman: Drivin’ South

Duanne Allman was a players like few others – who could humble Clapton, who could play slide like few others, who had one of the best Les Paul tones. He could do seemingly so naturally what players such as Clapton actually laboriously studied for year – that fluid, bluesy guitar thing, you know… listening to Duane is like driving a convertible down a highway, on a sunny hot day somewhere, down South. Yep – great driving music, the likes of which only Americans could make!

4) Eddie Van Halen: California Dreamin’

Van Halen’s music couldn’t be more Californian if it tried. It’s loud, silly, colorful… it’s widescreen rock’n’roll. Silly, fun, sunny. And so is Eddie’s guitar style. What could be a bit “too much” for those who are not crazy about Eighties hard rock, is actually quite enjoyable if you’re listening to Eddie’s playing – a true innovator.

3) Jack White: Detroit Pop Art

Pop Art is one of the defining styles of American art from the past 100 years. It’s as American as apple pie. And Jack White is pure Pop Art, when you think about it: he’s all about bright primal colors, about style, and about making many people wonder what is real and what is fake, who is the true Jack White, why is he singing like Blind Willie McTell, and whether is it real blues or just a commercial copy? These questions of originality vs. imitation, commercialism vs. authenticity, are pretty much the same questions people asked when confronted with the work of Pop Art names such as Warhol. 

He’s got the same unstoppable lust for creating stuff and churning out his products that drove people as different as Henry Ford or Andy Warhol. The quality of his work speaks for itself – he’s a true post-modern blues player, deeply influenced my traditional American music – but with a shameless knack for turning it all into business, too! Could Jack White have come from anywhere but America? 

2) Stevie Ray Vaughan: Texas Flood

The great guitar duel that never happened – SRV versus Hendrix. Who was the best? Many, many people swear that Stevie was every bit as good as Hendrix, if not better. SRV was 100% the son of Texas, deeply influenced by his roots, as authentic and as Texan as it gets – and still a hugely influential player. Listen to SRV and you’ll have a taste of Texas with every note.

1) Jimi Hendrix: a melting pot, like America itself

Sure, Jimi was born and grew up in the United States, but could he be considered a truly “American” player, since his band The Jimi Hendrix Experience was formed in London, with two English musicians? Well… of course!

Jimi more than paid his dues on the road all over America, playing with people such as Little Richard, King Curtis and The Isley Brothers, and it was his rich musical influences that he took to England in 1966 – he certainly turned a few things upside down and kicked things up a few notches, but deep down, Jimi was an authentic blues man, full of soul, groove and a down-to-earth sincerity you would be hard-pressed to find in England at the time. Musically, and even racially (with his Cherokee heritage) Jimi was a true representation of that big melting pot which made America what it is.

No wonder that his legendary performance at Woodstock, playing the Star Spangled Banner, summed up America at the time better than most songs. And yes – he’s still the best! 

Did we forget anyone? Post your Top 10 in the comments below and let us know!

Top 10 Great American Guitarists from MyRareGuitars.com

Everyone listed here could easily be seen as a great guitar player if they were in somebody else’s band. In fact, some of the examples I chose to link to here ARE songs where the guitar player is doing a cover version, or a song written or sung by someone else in their band. While some are the artist’s own creations, I picked some covers here for a couple reasons:

A lot of these guitarists seemed to cut loose often on songs they didn’t write. But since this is a column about their guitar playing, I wasn’t that concerned with whether or not it was a song they wrote.

So, as a note: Some of these songs are, in fact, written by the artist in question – or at least by their own band – but I wasn’t bound by this as a requirement. Also, this is not at all meant to be anything close to a comprehensive list. So, please, feel free to add some of your own underrated guitar players in the comments section. Thanks!

On to the players, in no particular order:

Prince: “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (live)

A songwriter who penned a ton of classics over the years, Price is known justifiably as one of the great songwriters of his generation. And his own catalog has plenty of examples of not only his great lead playing, but also his often sophisticated and subtle rhythm playing. But it was hard to gain a full appreciate of Price as a guitarist unless you got to see him live, where he tore into several memorable solos a show.

Here he is during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction performance for George Harrison. While I don’t think this solo on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” is necessarily better than Clapton’s incredible solo (one of the best of his storied career) on the original version (I’m not a big believer in saying what’s better when both are brilliant), it definitely holds its own in a very original and exciting way.

Bruce Springsteen: “Because the Night” (from an appearance on Jimmy Fallon) and/or his Grammy wining duet with Warren Zevon, “Disorder in the House” (off Zevon’s final album The Wind). 

Here’s a guy who started his career as a young hotshot lead guitar player on the Jersey Shore scene. Eventually, he would become known more for his songwriting (justifiably), but these performances show his aggressive, high-energy style. Also, killer tone out of his Tele (and out of his main guitar—a modified vintage Esquire with the Tele neck pickup added that often gets mistaken for a vintage Tele) and Bassman. Check out the first solo on the Zevon tune at 1:27. It burns, and it may not even be his best solo on the song.

Jeff Tweedy (Wilco): “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” off A Ghost is Born.

Wilco has lived a charmed life as far as their main lead guitar players go. Both Nels Cline and Jay Bennett are/were brilliant players in different ways. But for one record, Jeff Tweedy was the lead (and, on tour, only) guitar player. And while the album has quite a few high water marks, guitar-wise (“At Least That’s What You Said”, which explodes from a stunning ballad to a Dinosaur jr./Neil Young and Crazy Horse blowout), it’s on this ten plus minute track that Tweedy really shines.

With both the fills in the verses and over several solos, Tweedy manages to play an angular, unexpected, and unique guitar. The tone is fabulous and the solos manage to cover several minutes of the long track without a single cliché. This song announced Tweedy as more than just a supremely gifted singer/songwriter, but also a guitar player who wasn’t like anyone else. Check this one at, especially what starts around the five-minute mark.

Ira Kaplan (Yo La Tengo): “Today is the Day” (live)

As with anyone on this list, a person could pick any number of songs that showcase the player’s greatness. There are several songs in the YLT catalog that show off Kaplan’s melodic side better than this—but it’s his ability with catchy melody and dissonance where he often shines. Check out the frenzied, aggressive, and altogether cliché-free solo that starts around the 3:15 mark. You’d be hard pressed to find a player more capable of hitting that blissful point where melody and unhinged noise come together. So much beauty coming from so much Jazzmaster abuse.

Bob Mould (Sugar / Husker Du): “Shoot Out the Lights” (live)

Mould is, understandably, known for his chainsaw rhythm guitar and outstanding songwriting in the seminal Husker Du, and for his more textured, cleaner work in Sugar and as a solo artist. He’s been writing great music for over thirty years now, and there are any number of his own tunes (again) I could use here as examples. Instead, I’m going with his live cover of the Richard Thompson classic, “Shoot Out the Lights.” The reason? For one, anyone who can hold their own while covering Richard Thompson is almost by definition a great guitar player.

Thompson is one of a kind, and it takes some guts to even try this, let alone succeed as well as Mould does here. Jagged, dramatic, and unexpected—this is one hell of a performance.

By Rob Roberge

www.robroberge.com

Five Great Guitarists Not Known for Their Guitar Playing from MyRareGuitars.com