Rico's baby, The Eric Clapton "Blackie" FrankenStrat and the new heavily modded Eric Clapton "Whitie" Strat addition. "Blackie" has been restored to original condition and retired!

"My pick is the only thing that stands between me and abject poverty!!"

"I am so grateful to have had the chance to live in such a Time & Place where the Music was Simple, Heartfelt, and Timeless."

Thank You Rock N' Roll!

"I get off on 57' Chevy's, I get off on screaming guitar!"

Bruce Quintos replies (Finally!)

Greetings to my brother guitar players. I've been getting  e-mail and guestbook requests to explain my miss-matched Strat along with the misplaced volume dial. I can't believe anyone would notice or even care!  I will explain this a little later but first!

My first major guitar influence was Elvis in the mid-50's and then James Burton in the late 50's and very early 60's. James was Ricky Nelson's guitar player and later played with Elvis, The KING, until he went away to the Promised Land. James played a Fender Telecaster from the very start and continues to this day.

"This young man on lead guitar is one of the finest guitar players I've ever met.

His name is James Burton"

ELVIS PRESLEY  69'

ARNIE EVENSON INFLUENCE!

I was able to gain entry into Chicago's famous "Pepe's Show Lounge" on 63rd street.  I was at the impressionable age of 18. Up until that time I was a Rock N' Roll'r. It was there I first heard and saw JAZZ being played. I was listening to 26 year old Arnie Evenson playing a Gibson L-5 . The band was "The Millionaire's". Arnie later became my guitar instructor and jazz mentor. Absolutely the best guitar player I have ever heard or seen live.

My first guitar was a 56' Gibson ES 125T. The 125T was an Archtop Thinline version of the Gibson ES 125. It had one P90 pickup , no cutaway and a bound body with a sunburst finish . My parents bought it with lessons for about $150.00.  I wish I still had it!

My second guitar was a candy apple red 62' Fender jaguar. In 65' I switched to a 64' white Gibson SG and a 65' Epiphone Rivera. Finally I got my cherry red 67' ES 335 in 1968 and kept it until 2005. I sold it to one of my old guitar students, Mike Krupowicz. More on Mike latter!

"GO FORTH AND MODIFY!"
My favorite guitar is a late 90's Eric Clapton re-issue strung with Ernie Ball 10 gauge. I didn't like the position of the volume dial because I kept banging into it when I played. This is  always a problem when I play any Strat.  I had it rerouted and moved to the front of the pick-guard. Works great!

The Clapton Strat comes with an active pick-up system than runs on a 9 volt battery. I got sick and tired of replacing batteries especially during the middle of a show! I had the active pick-up system removed.

 I replaced the stock Fender noiseless neck pick-up with a Seymor Duncan JB Junior humbucker and the stock Fender noiseless bridge pick-up with a Seymour Duncan SHR1Hot Rails humbucker pick-up giving the FrankenStrat a fatter, meatier sound.

The 5 way selector switch was re-wired to suite my playing style. I also replaced the white pick guard with the one pictured and cut the selector switch down to keep it out of my way. I also had the guitar re-fretted with jumbo frets.

I have no idea what the guitar is worth. I think it's pretty jazbo'd with all the changes I made. I love it and ain't gonna part with it anyway.

                     Les Paul Double-Cut                       

I own and have owned many guitars but the one I use for shows is the FrankenStrat. I use the Tele for practice.  And yes I do own a Gibson Les Paul Double-cut and yes I have used it on a FEW Rico jobs. I always go back to the Strat.

Acoustic Guitar?!?!

I have two acoustic guitars. I have a Taylor CE710 and a Ovation Ultra 2178. The Ovation neck feels very close to the Eric Clampton Strat V neck. I have it strung with Ernie Ball 10 gauge for ease of playing. The Ovation is great! It's action is very close to my FrankenStrat so I use it for Acoustic Shows. Guitar player/tech extraordinaire Mike Krupowicz, owner of Players Guitar in Worth Il., did a great amount of work on the neck and the bridge. No fret buzz even with the light gauge strings.

                                 Ovation Ultra 2178          Taylor CE 710

Oh by the by, The Taylor hasn't been out of the case in over a year!

I'm proud to say I was Mike's first guitar teacher way back in the early 70's.

Now he's a giggin' player, a guitar store owner and has his own Band,

"SLIPPERY WHEN WET"

This is a picture of me giving Mike a guitar lesson at my guitar studio a long, long time ago! 

POSTED ON OUR MESSAGE PAGE:

158. Bill and Quigley gang - 2008-06-02 10:54:17
Hey Rico, We were the gang sitting in front of the stage at Quigley's Saturday. Great band one of the best up here. We left before I could ask about the stuff on your amp. I read the Frankenstrat page but it just talked about guitars.

ANSWER: Brother Bill, I think you also play guitar am I right? Talking about guitars and stuff is my favorite subject. There's a vintage guitar shop on 111th Street in Worth Il. called Players. All the ax slingers go there and shoot the BS. It's a great place.

I have three amp set-ups for gigs. The first is a Fender DeVille (all tube amp of course). It has two 12's and carries well in a mid-sized room.

For smaller rooms I use a Fender Delux Vintage Modern tube amp covered in 50's brown. It has one 12 inch speaker and also has on-board delay, chorus and reverb.

For festivals or big venues I use the Fender Delux VM piggy-backed on top of  a Fender DeVille cabinet with a second 12 inch speaker. I was fortunate enough to get a "Brownface" Tolex covered one!

I mike all three set-ups with a Sennheiser evolution e906 Dynamic Guitar Amp mic that goes into the mixing board. I can add or subtract volume from there. I try to keep my rig as simple as possible.  For the Fender DeVille I only use 4 pedals on the pedal-board I built myself. They are set in the following order: Tuner, Blues Driver, Chorus and Delay.

I have a Sure wireless ULXS4 velcro'd to the top of the amps along with the power supply and chord. It looks like a lot of cables and stuff but it's only the send and return from the pedal board, the XLR from the Sure mic, and the 1/4 inch going into the amp from the wireless. SIMPLE!  Talk soon I hope, Bruce

Rico's retirement plan.

"Sell a vintage guitar every 3 years and hop ya' don't live past 102!!!"

67' Gibson ES335	70' Gibson Johnny Smith
The Gibson Johnny Smith again	And Again!
Not a very good shot of Rico's 71' Gibson SG but check out that guitar strap!	Ofc. Phil Wasek and pre-PoPo Rico. Not a good way to transport a 69' Country Gentleman, gentlemen!
Gretsch 69' Country Gentlemen	72' Ovation

Very hard to see but that's a first run Vox Super Beatle on stage powering Rico's sound pushed by a Gretch Country Gentleman. Sports coats and turtlenecks? Very cool!

67' Gibson ES335 played through a 1968 Fender Super reverb amp. The year was 1996. Bruce was practicing some new arrangements with Ed Kane and Don McGrath on bagpipes

Question from the Guestbook:

173. Rico fan - 2008-07-12 17:25:33
Is that Bruce playing country guitar on Put Me Out Of Business? Just heard it on one of the old Bluestack CD’s. That and Danny Boy.

An  undisclosed cemetery!            At Gaelic Park         Music Row in Nashville!

BLUESTACK, Irish Rebel Rock!

Answer: Yes, but the original song is called SAXON CAGE. I recorded that CD with Brendan Loughrey shortly before our trio Bluestack broke up. I recorded it direct into a CD recorder using onboard effects. No amp or pedals. It was an over-track and I had to listen as I was recording thru headphones. I recorded Danny Boy the same way. Kinda tricky on a cold winter morning in Brendan's basement but it worked!

ANGUS YOUNG!

"I just go where the guitar takes me. I wouldn't know any newer bands. We're past the pimple stage. I'm sick to death of people saying we've made 11 albums that sounds exactly the same, In fact, we've made 12 albums that sound exactly the same. There are all sorts of cute puppy dogs, but it doesn't stop people from going out and buying Dobermans. We're a rock group. we're noisy, rowdy, sensational and weird. When I'm on stage the savage in me is released. It's like going back to being a cave man. It takes me six hours to come down after a show."

"Yes, we're still five little people with a noisy attitude!"
 

The MAN!!

Mr. Keith Richards, 2010 & beyond!

Few humans have cheated death more often than Keef. He has survived multiple near-fatal drug over-doses and knocked back enough booze to disease two-dozen livers. On occasion his blood has become so toxic he's required a full transfusion. Richards has lived through incarceration, tumbles from trees and peril at the hands of Hells Angels. He seems to know no fear!

Keith's remarkable durability inspires faith in the adolescent dream that if you stay true to the spirit of Rock N' Roll, you can swagger through this whole damned life with a cigarette dangling from you lip, a strong drink in one hand, guitar in the other, and a scarf flung nonchalantly over your shoulder. At public appearances "Keef" often observes,

"It's good to be here.....It's good to be anywhere!"

It's certainly great to have them both here....STILL!! Long Live the Keef & Angus!

Savin' The Best for last.

Stevie Ray Vaughan

"Like my brother Jimmie says, I play like I'm breaking out of jail."

Rest In Peace SRV. Your music lives and is safe with us.

PROMISE!