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Make your voice heard! Choose the people and instrument you think should be inducted to the VG Hall of Fame and you could win a genuine '60s Eko 500/4V from Rudys Music or one of the six runner-up prize packages!
For nearly 20 years, the Vintage Guitar magazine Hall of Fame has been honoring the players, innovators, and instruments that have made a difference in the history of the guitar. Visitors to VintageGuitar.com were asked to submit names and instruments for nomination. Finalists have been chosen, and if you vote today you could win the vintage Eko!
Current members of the VG Hall of Fame and the year they were inducted can be seen at Instrument, Player, and Innovator.
The contest is open to vintageguitar.com registered members and void where prohibited. New inductees and contest winners will be announced in the March '09 issue. Deadline for entries is November 15, 2008.
Finalists PLAYERS BO DIDDLEY His approach to playing the guitar was as simple as it was hugely influential. In creating "the Bo Diddley Beat" on songs like "Who Do You Love" and "Pretty Thing" and taking his show on the road for decades, he cemented his place in rock and roll history. Players from Richards to Thorogood might just be lost without him! EDWARD VAN HALEN His supernatural talent blended with a host of influences, popular and obscure, to form an amalgam of unique sounds. His playing spawned the era of the rock guitar superhero before the words "tapping" and "dive bomb" were part of the rock-guitar vernacular. DUANE ALLMAN He died after crashing his motorcyle at age 24, just as The Allman Brothers Band was headed toward its apex. Still, his style has been infinitely influential, especially when it included his Coricidian-bottle slide. Soul-laden and completely original, his playing paved the way for acts ranging from The Marshall Tucker Band to Phish. ALBERT KING Playing his trademark Gibson Flying V flipped over to accommodate his being a lefty, he stood an imposing 6'4" and played like the big man he was. Some thought his style of blues drifted too close to the mainstream, but those who stood in his very large shadow of influence include names like Clapton, Hendrix, Bloomfield, Moore, and especially SRV!
INNOVATORS BERNIE RICO The founder and creator of B.C. Rich guitars, his fascination for building started as a child watching his luthier father build banjos and guitars. Seeking to do something different from what the major builders offered, his unusual shapes and experimental approach to electronics soon took hold amongst hard rock and '80s heavy metal players. Today, his guitars are among the first of that era's collectibles. RANDALL SMITH Founder of Mesa, his Mark I amplifier, dubbed the "Boogie" by Carlos Santana, was the first guitar amp with a "cascading" gain stage (a.k.a. master volume). It introduced high-gain guitar tone without deafening sound-pressure levels and rose to prominence after being used by Santana on Abraxas. LINK WRAY Wolf Marshall's March '07 "Fretprints" column said it all; "His notorious and prescient 'Rumble'... not only harnessed the power of a Les Paul and championed amp overdrive, primordial fuzz, and over-the-top tremolo effects, but addressed the mindset of rumbling juvenile delinquents everywhere." Pete Townshend and Jeff Beck cite him as their first guitar hero. FLOYD ROSE In 1977 he introduced the locking-design vibrato and with the help of Eddie Van Halen, the device played a major role in how the solidbody electric guitar would be built and played for the next 15 years. More recently he introduced the Speedloader bridge design.
INSTRUMENTS Gibson LES PAUL MODEL (GOLDTOP) Les Paul tried for years to convince Gibson it needed a solidbody in its line. Finally, Ted McCarty brought a single-cut experiment guitar to Les for his approval. Though its origianl bridge/tailpiece was far from perfect, the instrument served as Gibson's test bed through the '50s. Eventually, it reached the pinnacle among guitars and today sits among the top collectibles. FENDER DELUXE REVERB Introduced in 1963 as a dressier version of the stalwart Deluxe (with tube-driven reverb), its 6V6-powered 22 watts of output made beautiful early-breakup tones that blues and rock players couldn't resist. It is now one of vintagedom's most prized collectible amps. HöFNER 500/1 "BEATLE" BASS Presented to the world at Musikmesse in '56, it was Walter Höfner's way to market a playable, lightweight electric bass that could be manufactured alongside his company's double basses. History was made one day in 1961, when a certain lefty Brit tried one at a shop in Hamburg. AMPEG SVT The Super Vaccum Tube amp, introduced in '69 was configured as a head (weighing 85 pounds!) with two 8x10" cabs (145 pounds each). Powered by 14 tubes including six 6146s and producing 300 watts, the Stones borrowed a few to rehearse for a tour and ended up taking them on the road for bass and guitar!
2008 VG Hall of Fame Ballot To Vote, Log in and take the survey below. If your not a registered member, Click Here to become one. You need to be a member so we know where to send the prize if you win.
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VG magazine's Hall of Fame
It's a distinct few who have been immortalized in Vintage Guitar magazine's Hall of Fame. And the elite who are members owe the honor to you, faithful reader, because it is you who each year selects the people and instruments to enter the esteemed VG HoF.
Links To HOF
these links contain more detailed information on our Hall of Fame Inductees.
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