• A cool page to visit: Steve Gaines: The most under-rated guitarist ever  (Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist...excellent!!!!!!)
• Guitar Gods

Name:  Johnny Allen Hendrix..changed to James Marshall Hendrix Sept. 11, 1946
Born: November 27, 1942 in Seattle, Washington

Name:Joe Satriani
Born:July 15, 1956 in Westbury, (Long Island) New York

Music History:  Playing guitar by age 14;  1971 starts teaching guitar; has taught the likes of Steve Vai & Kirk Hammet; The Squares;  was recruited by Mick Jagger for his (Mick's) solo tour; toured with Greg Kihn; solo

Name:  Eric Patrick Clapton

Inspirations:  Jerry Lee Lewis, blues and American R&B
Music History:  expelled from Kingston College of Art for playing guitar in class; the Roosters,  Casey Jones, the Yardbirds, Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith, Derek and the Dominos

Name:David Michael Navarro
Born:June 7, 1967 in Santa Monica (L.A.), California
Facts:began w/ piano (about age 6-8 or 9), then started fooling around with guitar around age 11
Inspirations:Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Daniel Ash, Robert Smith, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton
Music History:  South Dakota Railroad, Dizastre, Jane's Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Current Project/Band: Spread
A great discography...and page!:http://davenavarro.simplenet.com/disco.html
Gear:various Fenders, Sunburst Stratocastor, Modulus with 3 single coil pickups, Fernandes Z0-3, Gibson Les Paul, PRS, Ibanez, Ovation 12 string, Parker Fly Deluxe with vibrato, sigma 6 string acoustic, "...uses Dean Markley 9s, but only because he gets them for free. He doesn't really care about the name of the brand he is using. He cares about the sound." (http://davenavarro.simplenet.com).  EBows (loves 'em),  Jim Dunlop CryBaby, 2 digital delays, and Boss turbo distortion, super phaser, chorus, power supply, and an A/B box to the tuner.  And lots more stuff!!!!

Name:  John Frusciante
Born:  March 5,1970, New York
Inspirations:  Red Hot Chili Peppers, Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, Lou Reed, "Moving with his mother to Santa Monica, California, John, like a million other California kids, became obsessed with skateboarding, Aerosmith and Kiss", "Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton in Cream and Jimi Hendrix. I think they are the best guitarists, those people. But I really listen to a wide variety of music, like, I'm a big David Bowie fan, I love Black Sabbath and Captain Beefheart....there are so many people really. I love the Butthole Surfers, I love the Cure, Bob Marley, Joy Division....there's very little good music that I'm not into. Right now, I'm really into John Coltrane and the music he was making in the 60's when he got on a really spiritual trip." (http://www.rpi.net.au/~mutha/johnsview.html)
Music History:  Red Hot Chili Peppers, solo artist, Came very close to being in Frank Zappa's band. He stood in line for the audition for hours, but then "chickened out" as he put it.
Current:  back again with the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Gear:(From Guitar World 7/99) '55 Strat, '62 Strat, '65 Tele (this one is similar to Syd Barrett (Pink Floyd) and Jimmy Page when he was in the Yardbirds)  2 of his fave guitarists 1955 Gretsch White Falcon "That's probably the most beautiful guitar I've ever seen."
Gretsch is strung w/ .012s 1950s vintage Gibson ES-175 (Porcelain) strung w/ .013s Strats are strung w/ .010s (From Guitar Player 9/99):  Amps: Marshall JTM 45 on top of a 25/50 Silver Jubilee; 200 watt Marshall Major; blackface Fender Showman;100 watt Marshall SuperBass (all powering JCM 900 4x12 cabs)  Guitars: Australian Maton acoustic; '55 Gretsch White Falcon; '55 and '62 Fender Strat; '62 Fender Jaguar  Pedalboard includes: Boss Chorus Ensemble; Ibanez WH-10 wah; Boss FZ-3 fuzz; MXR Phase 90 reissue; Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion  In addition: Boss DS-1 distortion; (another) Boss Chorus Ensemble
stacked behind all of the effects: Uni-Vibe stereo chorus; Electro-Harmonix 16 Second Digital Delay; Electro-Harmonix Micro Synth
Great Linx:
Words of Wisdom:  "How do you practice?
What I do is play along with records. My ear is such that I know how to play the guitar part of an album, but putting very little energy into figuring it out. I've heard it enough times I just know how to play it. I mostly just play along with things because it deepens my sense of all the different colours I can draw upon when making music - and every day I am inspired by a new group of musicians. Like right now I'm thinking about Pete Townsend, but a week before that it was Eddie Van Halen and so on"

Name:  James Alan Hetfield
Born:  August 3, 1963 Los Angeles, CA
Music History: Obsession, Phantom Lord, Leather Charm
Current: Metallica
Inspirations: Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Diamond Head, Motorhead, Led Zepplin, Lynyrd Skynyrd (listens to:  Thin Lizzy, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Spegetti, Western Soundtracks)
Gear:  GUITARS Black Explorer (Wolf), Black Explorer (Snake), Black Explorer (Deer Skull), Black Explorer (Dot), Black Explorer (Eagle), E.S.P. Black Explorer/Double Neck (Ducks), E.S.P. Flying V's (Red Flame/Green Flame), E.S.P. Explorer (Barbed Wire)
AMPS Mesa Boogie Strategy 400 Power Amps, Mesa Boogie Triaxis Preamp (Stock), Mesa Boogie Triaxis Preamp (Modified), Mesa Boogie Custom Graphic E.Q. Unit, Mesa Boogie Amp Switcher, Mesa Boogie 4x12 Speaker Cabinets
OTHER  Aphex Parametric E.Q., Ascot Road Cases , Boss SE-50 Stereo FX Processor, Bradshaw RSB-12 Switching System and Pedal Board, Bradshaw Patch Bay Custom, Dunlop Guitar Picks, Earth III Guitar Straps, EMG Pickups, Ernie Ball Strings, Gibson Strings, Juice Goose Rack Power 300, Morley Rack Mount Unit Custom, Nady 950 UHF Receivers and Transmitters, Peterson 520 Strobe Tuner , Pro Co Sound Cables, Silver Bullet (Extra Cold), Sony 820 Wireless Receivers and Transmitters, and Ultra Case Guitar Stand

James HetfieldKirk Hammett

Music History:  Exodus; recorded a track with Les Claypool and Mike Bordin set for possible future release; produced demos for Death Angel; recorded solos for Pushead's band, Septic Death.

GUITARS E.S.P. M-2 Skull #1, E.S.P M-2 Skull #2, E.S.P M-2 Ouija , E.S.P M-2 F*ck You, Fly-V Devil, Les Paul, Jr. Spider, black Gibson Les Paul, black Fender Stratocaster-S.R.V., natural finish Fender Stratocaster, black Jackson Fly-V, black Ibanez Stratocaster.
AMPS ADA MP-1 preamp, ADA MQ-1 E.Q. , Marshall practice amps, Mesa Boogie Strategy 400 power amps, Mesa Boogie MK IV Amp, Mesa Boogie 4 x 12 speaker cabinets, Mesa Boogie Triaxis preamp, Nady 1200 Wireless receivers and transmitters

Name:  Edward Lodewijk Van Halen

Born:  January 26, 1957, Nijmegen, Netherlands - where he lived until 1962; Raised in Pasadena, CA

Name:  Jimmy Page
Born:January 6th 1944
Inspirations:  blues, rock, and early rockabilly guitarists like Cliff Gallup and Scotty Moore, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, B.B.King, Freddie King, Elmore James, Hubert Sumlin, George Harrison, and Ravi Shankar putted in the indian-music influences
Bands:  Neil Christian 's Crusaders, Carter Lewis And The Southerners, appeared on releases by Lulu, Them, Tom Jones, Dave Berry and producer Shel Talmy, Yardbirds, Led Zepplin
Current:  Page & Plant
Gear:  No.1 '58 Les Paul, '59 Fender Telecaster, Telecaster with a B-bender, and his 1969 Gibson SG 6/12 double-neck, Gibson EDS-1275 6/12 Doubleneck; supro amp 12" speaker (later used marshall 100 watt top), vox ac30 & fender concert combo; a Danelectro, and his 1969 Gibson SG 6/12 double-neck; (practice) custom built Hiwatt 50 top that incorporates a
power booster switch , and an old Vox AC30 with blue speakers that has had treble boost added; on stage:  a pair of Marshall heads boosted to 180 watts apiece accompany three Marshall 4x12's as Page's side of the stage, with a fourth located by the drum riser on the other side. The main amp drives the two inner cabinets at stage right and both amps are driven about 75 percent of capacity, not flat out.-Max Kay. Guitar World 10/88; Sola-Sound Tone Bender, Crybaby Wah pedal, a Boss Chorus and Distortion, an Echoplex, and an MXR Phase 90, Theramin
Links:http://www.oocities.org/SunsetStrip/Limo/9801/page.html

Name:Jerry Cantrell

Music History:  began to play the guitar at age 11, but didn't get serious about  it until he was 17; various Seattle garage bands; Alice In Chains

Name:  Carlos Santana
Born:  1947 Autlan de Navarro, Jalisco, Mexico
Music History:  the Santana band began in 1966; historic appearance at the Woodstock Festival in 1969; 1998 induction (along with the Santana Band) into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame
Current:  Solo (great new album out, we suggest you go and get it!!)
Inspirations:  "...(at) age five, Carlos was introduced to 'traditional music' by his father, Jose. An accomplished mariachi violinist and experienced musician, he taught Carlos the basics of music theory and gave him an understanding of the value of a note...Carlos wanted to play what he heard on the radio: rock 'n roll.  The family moved to the boom town of Tijuana in 1955. Eight-year-old Carlos picked up the guitar, studying and emulating the sounds of B.B. King, T-Bone Walker and John Lee Hooker."
Gear:  (this info given on www.santana.com) Carlos uses a combination of Mesa Boogie Simul-class, MK-I and Heartbreaker Amplifiers. The three channel multi-amplifier rig is described as "Clean Boogie Crunch" to describe the tonal characteristics of each channel.Carlos' main guitar is the PRS Carlos Santana Model. This is a reproduction of the original guitars that Paul Reed Smith built for Carlos in the early 80s. Two of the three original guitars have a volume control only and no tone control. The one original guitar with a tone control is the guitar that the Santana Model is reproduced from. It was the only remaining guitar after a theft in 1994. This is the guitar Paul used to develop the Santana Model. Fortunately, the other guitars were later recovered and now stay at home.
The new guitars are true to the originals with the same distinguishing features such as the OM symbol on the truss rod cover and mini toggle switches for pickup selection. Carlos has a few custom versions of this guitar, including a duplicate of the original with volume control only, a red one with a solid rosewood neck (volume control only), a red one with a solid rosewood neck (volume and tone control), and a turquoise one.
Carlos plugs his handmade cable into a classic mu-tron wah, then into a custom selector box made by Jim Dunlop. The selector box has four outputs (Carlos uses 3, number 4 is a backup). Each output has a switch and there is a "mute" switch . A "mode" switch toggles between The two modes of the selector box: single mode- foot buttons switch between outputs, only one output active at one time. Combined mode - foot buttons switch all outputs on or off, all outputs active at one time. The three channels, Clean, Boogie, & Crunch, each drive their own amp/speaker chain
All 12" speakers are standard.
Cool Links: http://www.csv.warwick.ac.uk/~amuet/, www.santana.com

Name:Keith Richards
Born:  December 18, 1943 in Dartford, Kent, England

Music History:  The Doors

Inspirations:  "The first music I heard that I liked was Peter and the Wolf. I accidentally sat and broke the record (I was about seven). Then I listened to rock'n'roll -- I listened to the radio a lot -- Fats Domino, Elvis, The Platters...When I was seventeen, I started playing guitar. I used my friend's guitar. I didn't get my own until I was eighteen. It was a Mexican flamenco guitar. I took flamenco lessons for a few months. I switched around from folk to flamenco to blues to rock'n'roll.  Records got me into the blues. Some of the newer rock'n'roll, such as the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. If it hadn't been for Butterfield going electric, I probably wouldn't have gone rock'n'roll. I didn't plan on rock'n'roll. I wanted to learn jazz; I got to know some people doing rock'n'roll with jazz, and I thought I could make money playing music. In rock'n'roll you can realize anything that you can in jazz or anything. There's no limitation other than the beat. You have more freedom than you do in anything except jazz -- which is dying -- as far as making any money is concerned." (taken from www.thedoors.com)

Born:  October 3rd 1954, Dallas, Texas;  Died. August 27th 1990, East Troy, Wisconsin

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