Custom Built, “Dumble Amplifiers”

Dumble musical instrument amplifiers are custom manufactured in very limited numbers by Alexander "Howard" Dumble of Los Angeles, California. Dumble began making amplifiers in the late 1960s in Santa Cruz. There are reportedly fewer than 300 in total. Amplifier models have included the Overdrive Special (ODS), Overdrive Reverb, Steel String Singer (SSS), Dumbleland, Phoenix (a rack mounted amp), Hotel Hog and Winterland. Dumble amplifiers are considered to be one of the few precursors to the explosion of Boutique amplifier companies on the market.

Musicians who have used Dumble amplifiers include: Carlos Santana, John Mayer, Al Di Meola, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, Eric Johnson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ben Harper, Lowell George, Steve Lukather, Sonny Landreth, Stephen Bruton, Jackson Browne, David Lindley and Dean Parks.

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        Carlos Santana                   Larry Carlton & Robben Ford

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         Al Di Meola                          Stevie Ray Vaughan

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      Eric Johnson                      Steve Lukather from ‘Toto’

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Influence:

A number of companies have produced amplifiers somewhat based on the Dumble Overdrive Special. Some DIY amplifier-building hobbyists have also started to build Dumble-influenced amplifiers from unofficial schematics and inside-chassis photographs circulating on the Internet, although many have been voluntarily taken down following requests from Mr. Dumble.

Dumble's German importer in the 1980s made a clone called the Kitty Hawk Standard. Since the 1980s, Mr. Dumble has covered the preamp circuitry of his amps with a thick layer of usually opaque epoxy, protecting his schematic's exact design. Several amplifiers are known to have been "de-gooped" and their component values measured. Some of the companies that produce Dumble type designs have evolved the design, adding features and creating their own sound that in some cases are a departure from the "classic" Dumble tone, functionality, layout and styling. Some companies prefer to faithfully reproduce the Dumble tones and aesthetics as closely as possible, making them available to a much wider range of players than could otherwise afford originals.

Amp makers who openly promote their "Dumble Clones" include:

• Bludo-Tone Amp Works – Bludo-Drive model based on the Over-Drive Special, and the Hi Plains Drifter based on the Steel String Singer
• Bruno Amps - Super 100 model based on the Over-Drive Special (models for both 6L6 and EL34 power tubes)
• Carol-Ann - OD-2 model based roughly on the Over-Drive Special with a more British tone
• Ceriatone – Over-Tone Special models based on the Over-Drive Special with models for different voicings, tone stacks, and power tubes
• Fuchs Audio Technology - Overdrive Supreme models based on the Over-Drive Special
• Glaswerks - Super Over-Drive II model based on the Over-Drive Special with voicings for amps produced in different eras
• K&M Analog Designs - A large number of amps that borrow the basic Dumble topography.
• Sebago Sound - Double Trouble line of amps based on the Over-Drive Special, Steel String Singer and ODSR
• Welagen Musical Sound - Overdrive Special based models, Overdrive Reverb based models, Steel String Singer based models, Angel's Breath model based on both ODS and SSS circuits.

Amps made by Mr. Dumble reportedly sell new for more than $20,000. Given the small output from Dumble, used Dumble amps often sell for more than $30,000.

 

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Circuitry:

The circuitry varies somewhat between individual amplifiers, as each one was built and voiced for a specific player. Amplifiers built around the same time tend to share some of the same circuitry and component values. However, several amplifiers were later sent back to Dumble to have their circuitry updated.

Part of the characteristic sound of Dumble amplifiers is alleged to come from Dumble's choice of parts:

• the type of capacitors used in the tone stack and in the overdrive stages
• the type of plate resistors
• the output transformer
• the lead dress, and the use of shielded wire.

Dumble amplifiers are built on eyelet boards . The chassis is made of aluminum.

All Dumble amplifiers operate using vacuum tubes. Overdrive Specials use 12AX7 tubes in the preamp and 6L6 tubes in the power amp in older models. A few Overdrive Specials, notably #167 and #183, were equipped with EL34 tubes in the power amplifier section. EL34 tubes are associated with a more "British" or "Marshall" sound while 6L6 tubes are associated with a more "American" or "Fender" tone.

A separate Dumblelator; buffered effects loop (a cathode-follower output with a triode gain stage for recovery), is recommended for using effects processors with a Dumble amplifier.

 

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Models:

Overdrive Special

50W ODS Combo

There are two inputs: a "normal" input and FET input where the signal from the guitar goes to a J-FET line level booster pre-amplifier before entering the first tube stage (originally intended for use with acoustic guitars and other instruments with low output levels).

The first tube is followed by a passive tone stack with adjustments for treble, middle, and bass. Typical switching options available in the different models include:

• Bright (bypasses the volume potentiometer with a capacitor to boost the high frequencies)
• Deep (changes the voicing of the tone stack for a warmer tone by increasing the low mid frequencies)
• Mid (increases the value of the treble capacitor to boost the mid-range frequencies)
• Boost (disconnects the treble potentiometer from the bass potentiometer for a preamplifier level boost)
• Rock/Jazz (switches between a Fender-esque voicing and a more "hi-fi-type" of voicing).

The tone stack is followed by another clean preamplifier stage. The resulting signal is either fed straight into the power amplifier ( clean channel), or into the (two-stage) overdrive section. The power amplifier uses a standard long-tail pair phase inverter with negative feedback. It will break up , but only at very high volume levels, or when the preamplifier "boost" switch is engaged.

In some newer models (1990s to present), the overdrive stages are followed by a passive tone stack (treble , middle and bass), which is adjustable using trimmer potentiometers inside the amplifier. This is known as the "Hot Rubber Monkey" (HRM) modification (these amplifiers are voiced for the overdrive channel to be used with the preamplifier boost engaged). Most players use three tones: clean, clean with boost on, and overdrive with boost on.

The "Skyliner" EQ refers to a newer (mid-1980s to present) way of voicing the tone stack. It is said to provide a better clean tone than the earlier voicing of the tone stack. Some lower serial number amps have been retrofitted with this EQ.

The so called "Robben Ford Mod" (terminology used by DIY-hobbyists) refers to using a power resistor instead of a choke in the power supply in order to induce more "sag" in the amplifier.

Borderline Special:

This amp was built for Ry Cooder and is a 50 watt overdrive special with added tremolo.

Overdrive Reverb:

Much of the circuitry in the Overdrive Reverb is similar to that of the Overdrive Special. The reverb circuit in one known specimen uses three tubes ( two tube configurations are commonly used). The first tube is used to amplify the input signal, which is then sent to the second tube that drives the reverb tank through a transformer in a configuration similar to that used in Fender amplifiers. The third tube mixes the clean and the reverberated signals . Both reverb "send" (the signal level sent to the reverb tank) and reverb "return" (how much of the signal returned from the reverb tank is mixed with the dry signal) are individually controllable.

Steel String Singer

This model was made in very limited numbers. Power output was usually 100W, although Stevie Ray Vaughan's famous "King Tone Consoul" SSS was rated at 150W. It was a "clean", loud amp with no overdrive section. The standard model used 4 x 7025 high-mu twin triodes; 1 x 5751 high-mu twin triode and 4 x 6L6 power tubes. The amp used a standard Dumble tone stack with an optional two tone switch tone filter.

Dumbleland:

300 W DUMBLELAND 300SL (six 6550A beam power pentode output tubes).Power tubes were drive by a 12 BH7 (one in special , two in 300 SL) as a direct coupled cathode follower. Instrument inputs include FET input as found in ODS. Front panel controls include two rotary switch controls labeled as tone expander (special) or tone-filter(300 SL) and controls for reverb in 300 SL model (send and return). Tone controls/switches are standard Dumble style. One amplifier intended/ordered as a "blues" amplifier ( derivative of the standard model) uses two EF 86 pentodes (the first configured as a triode), rather than the single 7025/12 AX 7, in the pre-amplifier section.

150W “Dumble” Overdrive Special

Back Panel of 150W Dumble ODS

In 1987, Dumble made two otherwise unique amplifiers for Todd Sharp at 150W utilizing signature components from several of his other famous models. The power supply is similar to that of the 150W Dumbleland amplifier, but using 7025 tubes as in the Steel String singer. It is switchable from 150W to 75W. Preamp tubes are: a)6 x 7025, b)1 x 7247, c)1 x 5751 while the power amp uses 4 x 6550A tubes. The amplifier also uses the SSS 3-spring reverb. Dumble also included a tremolo. The back panel includes controls for adjusting the bias and dynamic balance which are believed to be unique to this model; speaker outputs are switchable at 2,4 or 8 ohms. Inputs include normal and FET as with most Dumble amplifiers. The footswitch permits turning on and off the overdrive, the pre-amp boost, the tremolo and reverb. The intention according to Dumble was to combine the best features of the Overdrive Reverb and the Steel String Singer with the distinctive overdrive circuit of the Overdrive Special. One of Sharp's amplifiers was stolen and has not been recovered. The other, pictured here, is in Los Angeles, reportedly in a recording studio. The power circuit has been described in Aspen Pittman's "The Tube Amp Book."

Winterland

The Winterland was designed primarily as a bass amplifier. It is rated at 450W at 8 ohms. It was named after the San Francisco concert hall.

Dumbleator

Dumbleator

Dumbleator II

Dumble also occasionally makes a tube-buffered external effects loop called a Dumbleator. A few Dumble amps have a Dumbleator circuit built into them, but most do not. Many users insist that a Dumbleator is required to obtain the optimal sound when using effects boxes and pedals. The Dumbleator has separate "Send" and "Receive" circuit for the effects; a gain control, "Bright Switch" and a return level. Dumbleators are even rarer than Dumble amplifiers. The original Dumbleator was mono-in with mono-out, and follow-up Dumbleator II allowed for stereo output instead.

 

External links

• Amp Treasures - a collection of photographs of Dumble amplifiers, some with descriptions
• Vintone Circuits - Detailed photos of Dumble Overdrive Special(not original) Cabinetry and Faceplate
• The Amp Garage - Discussion forums for people interested in Dumble and Trainwreck amplifiers
• Rob Livesey's Page - A collection of photographs, datasheets, and other information about Dumble amplifiers
• [1] - a collection of Dumble history and stories, various Interviews with Howard Alexander Dumble and others and a wide selection of Dumble amplifier photographs.

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Dumble Amplifiers

        

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I’ve owned a Marshall Double-Stack, a multitude of different Fender Models including a Custom-Built Fender Princeton model from Los Angeles, CA, as well as a  Custom-Built Ampeg.  I’ve also had the opportunity to use a Mesa Boogie Mark III Combo several years ago, and of all the amps I’ve played with, nothing has held a candle to the Mesa Boogie Mark III Combo.  I can only imagine what the Dumble Amplifier sounds like considering they cost between $20,000.00 and $30,000.00 and you can purchase a Mesa Boogie for under $4,000.00, and that’s if you special order it in a custom wood such as ‘Babinga’, ‘Private Reserve Quilt Maple’  or ‘Tasmanian Blackwood’ w/Amber Stain Wicker Cane Grille.

In 2012, In finally plan to purchase my first Mesa Boogie amplifier.  I’m looking to purchase a Mesa Boogie Mark V Combo Model in a Custom Wood and Finish w/ the Wicker Cane Grille.   My preference would be the Tasmanian Blackwood w/ Amber Stain or the Babinga, as shown below.

        

Mesa Boogie Mark V Combo

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It’s not enough to have a great guitar, a good quality amp is equally important.  And just like guitars, the price points for amps are all over the place!  While I can reasonably expect to be able to set aside enough money to purchase a Mesa Boogie later this year, there is no way that I could justify spending the purchase price of a new car for a piece of musical equipment.  I applaud the musician who can, however; maybe one day I’ll earn enough as a musician myself to warrant it.  In the meantime, it doesn’t hurt to look!

Do you have your eye on a piece of equipment to add to your studio this year?  How about a beyond-your-reach-but-in-your-sights-item?  Please share; I would enjoy comparing notes!

Until next time ~

Musician By night . . .

 

Charlie Christian AKA Charles Henry Christian . . . Happy New Year 2012 !

Charles Henry "Charlie" Christian (July 29, 1916 – March 2, 1942), was an important early performer, American swing and jazz guitarist, and is cited as a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. He gained national exposure as a member of the Benny Goodman Sextet and Orchestra from August 1939 to June 1941. His single-string technique combined with amplification helped bring the guitar out of the rhythm section and into the forefront as a solo instrument. John Hammond and George T. Simon called Christian the best improvisational talent of the swing era. In the liner notes to the 1972 Columbia album Solo Flight: The Genius of Charlie Christian, Gene Lees writes that "many critics and musicians consider that Christian was one of the founding fathers of bebop, or if not that, at least a precursor to it".

Christian's influence reached beyond jazz and swing — in 1990 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Christian was raised in Oklahoma City and was one of many musicians who jammed along the city's "Deep Deuce" section on N.E. Second Street. In 2006 Oklahoma City renamed a street in its Bricktown entertainment district Charlie Christian Avenue.

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Christian was born in Bonham, Texas, but his family moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma when he was a small child. His parents were musicians and he had two brothers, Edward, born in 1906, and Clarence, born in 1911. All three sons were taught music by their father, Clarence Henry Christian. Clarence Henry was struck blind by fever, and in order to support the family he and the boys would work as buskers, on what the Christians called "busts." He would have them lead him into the better neighborhoods where they would perform for cash or goods. When Charles was old enough to go along, he first entertained by dancing. Later he learned guitar, inheriting his father's instruments upon his death when Charles was 12.

He attended Douglass School in Oklahoma City, and was further encouraged in music by instructor Zelia Breaux. Charles wanted to play tenor saxophone in the school band, but she insisted he try trumpet instead. Because he believed playing the trumpet would disfigure his lip, he quit to pursue his interest in baseball, at which he excelled.

In a 1978 interview with Charlie Christian biographer Craig McKinney, Clarence Christian said that in the 1920s and '30s Edward Christian led a band in Oklahoma City as a pianist and had a shaky relationship with trumpeter James Simpson. Around 1931, he took guitarist "Bigfoot" Ralph Hamilton and began secretly schooling the younger Charles on jazz. They taught him to solo on three songs, "Rose Room", "Tea for Two", and "Sweet Georgia Brown". When the time was right they took him out to one of the many after-hours jam sessions along "Deep Deuce", Northeast Second Street in Oklahoma City.

"Let Charles play one," they told Edward. "Ah, nobody wants to hear them old blues," Edward replied. After some encouragement, he allowed Charles to play. "What do you want to play?" he asked. All three songs were big in the early 1930s and Edward was surprised that Charles knew them. After two encores, Charles had played all three and "Deep Deuce" was in an uproar. He coolly dismissed himself from the jam session, and his mother had heard about it before he got home.

Charles fathered a daughter, Billie Jean Christian, born December 23, 1932, with Margretta Lorraine Downey of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They never married. Billie Jean (Christian) Johnson died 19 July 2004.

Charles soon was performing locally and on the road throughout the Midwest, as far away as North Dakota and Minnesota. By 1936 he was playing electric guitar and had become a regional attraction. He jammed with many of the big name performers traveling through Oklahoma City including Teddy Wilson and Art Tatum. It was Mary Lou Williams, pianist for "Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy", who told record producer John Hammond about Charlie Christian.

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Christian's solos are frequently referred to as "horn-like", and in that sense he was more influenced by horn players such as Lester Young and Herschel Evans than by early acoustic guitarists like Eddie Lang and jazz/bluesman Lonnie Johnson, although they both had contributed to the expansion of the guitar's role from "rhythm section" instrument to a solo instrument. Christian admitted he wanted his guitar to sound like a tenor saxophone. Belgian gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt had little influence on Christian, but he was obviously familiar with some of his recordings. Guitarist Mary Osborne recalled hearing him play Django's solo on "St. Louis Blues" note for note, but then following it with his own ideas. By 1939 there had already been electric guitar soloists—Leonard Ware, George Barnes, trombonist/composer ("Topsy") Eddie Durham had recorded with Count Basie's Kansas City Six, Floyd Smith recorded "Floyd's Guitar Blues" with Andy Kirk in March 1939, using an amplified lap steel guitar, and Texas Swing pioneer Eldon Shamblin was using amplified electric guitar with Bob Wills. However, Charles Christian was the first great soloist on the amplified guitar.

Guitarists who followed Christian and who were influenced by him include Oscar Moore (Nat King Cole trio), Les Paul, Tiny Grimes, Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis, Jimmy Raney, Tal Farlow, Kenny Burrell, Grant Green, Wes Montgomery, and Jim Hall. Tiny Grimes, who made several records with Art Tatum, can often be heard quoting Christian note-for-note.

Christian paved the way for the modern electric guitar sound that was followed by other pioneers, including T-Bone Walker, Eddie Cochran, Cliff Gallup, Scotty Moore, Franny Beecher, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Carlos Santana and Jimi Hendrix. For this reason Christian was inducted in 1990 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an "Early Influence".

Christian's exposure was so great in the brief period he played with Goodman that he influenced not only guitarists, but other musicians as well. The influence he had on "Dizzy" Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Don Byas can be heard on their early "bop" recordings "Blue'n Boogie" and "Salt Peanuts". Other musicians, such as trumpeter Miles Davis, cite Christian as an early influence. Indeed, Christian's "new" sound influenced jazz as a whole. He reigned supreme in the jazz guitar polls up to two years after his death.

 

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Bebop and Minton's Playhouse

Charlie Christian was an important contributor to the music that became known as "bop" or "Bebop". Private recordings made in September 1939 in Minneapolis, Minnesota by Goodman aficionado Jerry Newhouse capture the newly hired Christian while on the road with Goodman and feature Goodman tenor sax man Jerry Jerome and then local bass man Oscar Pettiford. Taking multiple solos, Christian shows much the same improvisational skills later captured on the Minton's and Monroe's recordings in 1941, suggesting that he had already matured as a musician. The Minneapolis recordings include "Stardust", "Tea for Two" and "I've Got Rhythm", the latter a favorite piece of bop composers and jammers.

More of the unrestrained Christian is apparent in recordings of the partial Goodman Sextet made in March 1941. With Goodman and bassist Artie Bernstein absent, Christian and the rest of the Sextet recorded for nearly 20 minutes as the engineers tested equipment. Two recordings were released from that session years later: "Blues in B" and "Waiting for Benny", which showed hints of bop jam sessions. The free flow of these sessions contrasts with the more formal swing music recorded after Goodman had arrived at the studio. Other Goodman Sextet records that foretell bop are "Seven Come Eleven" (1939) and "Air Mail Special" (1940 and 1941).

An even more striking example is a series of recordings made at Minton's Playhouse, an after-hours club located in the Hotel Cecil at 210 West 118th Street in Harlem by Columbia student Jerry Newman on a portable disk recorder in 1941. Newman captured Christian, accompanied by Joe Guy on trumpet, Kenny Kersey on piano and Kenny Clarke on drums, stretching out far beyond what the confines of the 78 RPM record would allow. His work on "Swing to Bop", a later Esoteric Records company re-title of Eddie Durham's "Topsy," is an example of what Christian was capable of creating "off the cuff."

His use of tension and release, a technique employed by Lester Young, Count Basie and later bop musicians, is also present on "Stompin' at the Savoy", included among the Newman recordings. The collection also includes recordings made at Clark Monroe's Uptown House, another late-night jazz haunt in the Harlem of 1941 that include Oran "Hot Lips" Page. Other recordings include tenor sax man Don Byas. The Minton's recordings were long rumored to feature "Dizzy" Gillespie and Thelonious Monk, but that has since been proven untrue, although both were regulars at the jam sessions, with Monk a regular in the Minton's house band.

Kenny Clarke claimed that "Epistrophy" and "Rhythm-a-ning" were Charlie Christian compositions that Christian played with Clarke and Thelonious Monk at Minton's jam sessions. The "Rhythm-a-ning" line can be heard on "Down on Teddy's Hill" and behind the introduction on "Guy's Got To Go" from the Newman recordings, but it is also a line from Mary Lou Williams' "Walkin' and Swingin'".

Clarke said Christian first showed him the chords to "Epistrophy" on a ukulele. These recordings have been packaged under a number of different titles, including "After Hours" and "The Immortal Charlie Christian." While the recording quality of many of these sessions is poor, they show Christian stretching out much longer than he could on the Benny Goodman sides. On the Minton's and Monroe's recordings, Christian can be heard taking multiple choruses on a single tune, playing long stretches of melodic ideas with ease.

Christian was just as adept with understatement as well. His work on the Goodman sextet sides "Soft Winds", "Till Tom Special", and "A Smo-o-o-oth One", show his use of very few, well placed melodic notes. His work on the Sextet's recordings of ballads "Stardust", "Memories of You", "Poor Butterfly", "I Surrender Dear" and "On the Alamo" as well as his work on "Profoundly Blue" with the Edmond Hall Celeste Quartet (1941) show hints of what was later to be called "cool jazz". Although credited for very few, Christian composed many of the original tunes recorded by the Benny Goodman Sextet.

 

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Health

Proposed gravesite of Charlie Christian in Gates Hill Cemetery, Bonham, Texas, based on eyewitness accounts from the funeral taken by Christian biographer Craig McKinney.

In the late 1930s Christian had contracted tuberculosis and in early 1940 was hospitalized for a short period in which the Goodman group was on hiatus due to Benny's back trouble. Goodman was hospitalized in the summer of 1940 after the band's brief stay at Santa Catalina Island, California, where the group stayed when on the west coast. Christian returned home to Oklahoma City, in late July 1940 before returning to New York City in September 1940. In early 1941, Christian resumed his hectic lifestyle, heading to Harlem for late-night jam sessions after finishing gigs with the Goodman Sextet and Orchestra in New York City. In June 1941 he was admitted to Seaview, a sanitarium on Staten Island in New York City. He was reported to be making progress, and Down Beat magazine reported in February 1942 that he and Cootie Williams were starting a band.

After a visit that same month to the hospital by tap dancer and drummer Marion Joseph "Taps" Miller, Christian declined in health and died March 2, 1942. He was 25 years old. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Bonham, Texas, and a Texas State Historical Commission Marker and headstone were placed in Gates Hill Cemetery in 1994. The location of the historical marker and headstone has been disputed.

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It is just amazing to me that he accomplished so much in such a short life.  It is also pretty remarkable that he has been gone for almost 70 years, yet his contribution to music lives on.  It certainly sets the bar pretty high for those of us looking to make our own contributions!  But then, a bar set high helps us stretch our limits.

Wishing you a wonderful, musical 2012.  Until next time,

Musician By Night . . .

Orianthi

Orianthi Panagaris (born 22 January 1985), better known simply as Orianthi, is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and guitarist. She is perhaps best known for being Michael Jackson's lead guitarist for his ill-fated This Is It concert series. Her debut single "According to You" has peaked at No. 3 in Japan, No. 8 in Australia and No. 17 in the US; her second album, Believe, received a worldwide release in late 2009. In 2009, Orianthi was named one of 12 Greatest Female Electric Guitarists by Elle magazine. She also won the award as "Breakthrough Guitarist of the Year" 2010 by Guitar International magazine.

Orianthi Panagaris was born in Adelaide, South Australia, and is of Greek and Australian descent. Orianthi first started learning piano and playing at the age of three and moving to acoustic guitar at the age of six. She learned to play the acoustic guitar at six at the encouragement of her father, started electric when she was eleven and left her school, Mercedes College, enrolling at Cabra Dominican College.

At the age of 15, she turned her focus to writing songs and so began her professional career. She has been playing in bands since the age of 14 in England and in France, and performed in her first stage show for Steve Vai at the age of 15. Orianthi met and jammed with Carlos Santana when she was 18. He invited Orianthi to get up and jam with him at soundcheck then later asked if she would join him on stage that night to jam at his Adelaide concert, Memorial Drive on 30 March 2003.

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Orianthi independently released her debut studio album, Violet Journey in 2005, composing all the material, contributing guitar, vocals and drums on most cuts. She produced and mixed the final product at her home studio. Carlos Santana brought Orianthi to Paul Reed Smith's attention which led to her endorsement. Orianthi relocated to Los Angeles, signed with Geffen Records in late 2006 and struck a management deal with 19 Entertainment.

Orianthi has played with Prince, made a commercial for Panasonic HD, featured in the song Now or Never for Bratz: The Movie, played at the Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival, appeared in The New York Times business section promoting eco-friendly acoustic guitars, and opened for Steve Vai in the US

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At such a young age, it is amazing how Orianthi has worked her way to play with the likes of Steve Vai, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton and the late Michael Jackson just to name a few.  Also, at age 24, she’s had a signature guitar engineered, developed and built by Paul Reed Smith’s guitar factory to meet all of her specifications.  That’s quite impressive !

      

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I hope you’re enjoying learning more about the successful female guitarists in the business. Over the years, there have been more of them than I’ve realized so I’m going to continue to share those names I uncover with all of you.  Their music will live on with the like’s of Nancy Wilson from ‘Heart’, Pat Benatar, Joan Jett and many others. Clearly there are some key female rock guitarists whom we’ve all heard before but who I plan to listen to again to pick-up some new guitar riff’s for myself.  I appreciate their music and would certainly like to be able to listen to them from time-to-time; that’s for sure.

Well, until next time ~

Musician By Night . . .