Hari's Chick
Aug 14, 2010, 05:24 PM
http://www.swtimes.com/features/article_b60b46d8-a6dd-11df-b4e4-001cc4c03286.html
excerpt ~
*****************
In the Petty documentary, the "Damn the Torpedoes" LP is almost dissected by Petty, the band, producer Jimmy Iovine and studio engineer Shelly Yackus. Released in 1979, the album spawned some of Petty's biggest - and greatest - tracks in the form of "Refugee," "Here Comes My Girl," "Don't Do Me Like That," "Even the Losers," "Shadow of a Doubt (Complex Kid)" and "Louisiana Rain," and the viewer can enjoy portions of the song when Petty randomly isolates a bass track, guitar lines, drum patterns and lead, harmony and guide vocals at the soundboard.
The stories behind the songs are even more interesting on the DVD, which might be the best in the "Classic Album" series so far. Petty and lead guitarist Mike Campbell talk about how the red Rickenbacker guitar featured on the album's cover has an almost-unknown connection to the late George Harrison, and how the outspoken Iovine often locked horns with equally strong-willed drummer Stan Lynch.
*****************
What was the unknown connection to George? I searched a little and think I found it here...
http://www.vintageguitar.com/features/brands/details.asp?AID=1132
excerpt ~
******************
Three 12-string prototypes were made in '63; two 360/12s and one 625/12 (a solidbody). An inventory sheet mentioned a backordered 360F/12 (which would have had a single cutaway), but there is no evidence the factory made it. The company displayed the first 360/12 at the '63 summer trade shows. It had gold-backed Lucite pickguards, TV-style control knobs, and a double-bound Fireglo body. The flat tailpiece resembled those used on other non-vibrato Capri models. Triangle fingerboard inlays and a non-bound slash-shaped soundhole rounded out the design. Like all of the 360 Deluxe models made after June 1960, the 12-string versions normally had Rick-O-Sound stereo. The first prototype soon went to Suzi Arden, a country/western lounge singer who worked in Las Vegas.
The second 360/12 also sported a double-bound body with a Fireglo finish, a slash sound hole, triangle inlays, and a flat tailpiece. But while Arden's guitar had conventional stringing, by the end of '63, Hall had devised a novel way to make his 12-string play easier and sound even more distinctive; he intentionally reversed the traditional string setup. The 12th string became the low E and the 11th string became the octave, etc. Strumming down, the lower-pitch string was hit before its octave counterpart. Since the second prototype was the first with trademark stringing, Hall always called it the first Rickenbacker 12-string. Besides using the reverse stringing, the factory substituted double-white pickguards and black control knobs for the earlier style Lucite guards and TV knobs. This guitar went to George Harrison in February '64.
Rounding out the saga of '63 prototypes, the first 625/12 traveled to a few trade shows (but no further) during this decade. Rickenbacker would produce a more economical solidbody 450/12 instead. Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers bought the original 625/12, used, for $125 in the '70s, when reading the classifieds paid off. At the time, he had no idea what he'd found. Petty held the guitar on the cover of Damn the Torpedoes, which sparked a 12-string revival of sorts and pushed the 625/12 into production.
**********************
Pretty cool!
excerpt ~
*****************
In the Petty documentary, the "Damn the Torpedoes" LP is almost dissected by Petty, the band, producer Jimmy Iovine and studio engineer Shelly Yackus. Released in 1979, the album spawned some of Petty's biggest - and greatest - tracks in the form of "Refugee," "Here Comes My Girl," "Don't Do Me Like That," "Even the Losers," "Shadow of a Doubt (Complex Kid)" and "Louisiana Rain," and the viewer can enjoy portions of the song when Petty randomly isolates a bass track, guitar lines, drum patterns and lead, harmony and guide vocals at the soundboard.
The stories behind the songs are even more interesting on the DVD, which might be the best in the "Classic Album" series so far. Petty and lead guitarist Mike Campbell talk about how the red Rickenbacker guitar featured on the album's cover has an almost-unknown connection to the late George Harrison, and how the outspoken Iovine often locked horns with equally strong-willed drummer Stan Lynch.
*****************
What was the unknown connection to George? I searched a little and think I found it here...
http://www.vintageguitar.com/features/brands/details.asp?AID=1132
excerpt ~
******************
Three 12-string prototypes were made in '63; two 360/12s and one 625/12 (a solidbody). An inventory sheet mentioned a backordered 360F/12 (which would have had a single cutaway), but there is no evidence the factory made it. The company displayed the first 360/12 at the '63 summer trade shows. It had gold-backed Lucite pickguards, TV-style control knobs, and a double-bound Fireglo body. The flat tailpiece resembled those used on other non-vibrato Capri models. Triangle fingerboard inlays and a non-bound slash-shaped soundhole rounded out the design. Like all of the 360 Deluxe models made after June 1960, the 12-string versions normally had Rick-O-Sound stereo. The first prototype soon went to Suzi Arden, a country/western lounge singer who worked in Las Vegas.
The second 360/12 also sported a double-bound body with a Fireglo finish, a slash sound hole, triangle inlays, and a flat tailpiece. But while Arden's guitar had conventional stringing, by the end of '63, Hall had devised a novel way to make his 12-string play easier and sound even more distinctive; he intentionally reversed the traditional string setup. The 12th string became the low E and the 11th string became the octave, etc. Strumming down, the lower-pitch string was hit before its octave counterpart. Since the second prototype was the first with trademark stringing, Hall always called it the first Rickenbacker 12-string. Besides using the reverse stringing, the factory substituted double-white pickguards and black control knobs for the earlier style Lucite guards and TV knobs. This guitar went to George Harrison in February '64.
Rounding out the saga of '63 prototypes, the first 625/12 traveled to a few trade shows (but no further) during this decade. Rickenbacker would produce a more economical solidbody 450/12 instead. Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers bought the original 625/12, used, for $125 in the '70s, when reading the classifieds paid off. At the time, he had no idea what he'd found. Petty held the guitar on the cover of Damn the Torpedoes, which sparked a 12-string revival of sorts and pushed the 625/12 into production.
**********************
Pretty cool!