Here's a link to the new Marty Stuart video that just dropped a couple of days ago. Kenny and Marty's guitars sound frickin phenomenal. Tell 'em Otis sent ya! ruclips.net/video/TsrktylH5mc/видео.html
Hey, Mr. Otis....I'll do ya one better than that one. This one sends me into orbit. Marty & Kenny head-to-head on David Letterman show "Country Boy Rock & Roll".
Kenny Vaughn is a treasure trove of music history. I could listen to him talk all day. Even though I’m only in my 30s, I’m pretty biased when it comes to country music and I love how brutally honest he is when being asked questions about country music.
Marty Stuart is also a treasure trove for country music and doing his best to keep it alive. Also has a good collection of guitars and other country music memorabilia He's been involved with real country music since he was young kid. Flatt and Scruggs and Johnny Cash are couple examples.
Between Kenny, Marty and Chris Scruggs, I'd venture to guess they could all teach a university course on these things. I imagine that Handsome Harry is too, although I don't know for sure.
Kenny the historian. Really dig these stories almost as much as his guitar playing which is 2nd to none as far I'm concerned. More Kenny Vaughn please Otis. He's an American treasure although he'd probably scoff at that
My father was Texas guitarist Steve Rodriguez Davis and grew up playing with Leon Rhodes, Tommy Morrell, Ronnie Tutt, Maurice Anderson, Buster Smith and the Heatwaves of Swing, and all of the Texas greats. He said Leo Fender would give them his early guitars and ask them to play them and give him feedback on what they liked and didn’t like. He said they would play them then give them to their friends. I have a picture of my father playing one of the first Fender broadcasters ever made at the big D jamboree in Dallas in 1952.
Sid and Billy King (Erwin) and the Five Strings from Denton, Texas bought one of the first Telecasters and Stratocasters in Dallas. About 1953/54. They played the Big D Jamboree around that time too.
@@dr.krinkleweldon5934 My father played with Red Foley, Ray Price, Trini Lopez, Donnie Gilliland, Jack Peterson. Jack started the guitar program at University of North, Texas, and my father was a guitar player at UT in their 1 o’clock lab band and was a studio player at King Record. I’m sure he would have known Sid and Billy since they were all part of the Dallas music scene at that time. My father told me that Dallas was full of smokin hot musicians in those days.
@@JohnDavis-hv7nf Sid tells the story that a young Pat Boone came to North Texas State and was trying to get started in the singing business. He married Red's daughter. Shirley. So Sid helped Pat get some gigs. In turn Pat helped Sid and his group get on Red's radio show. Dallas was on the way to being the 2nd Nashville. But it never happened. Eventually Austin took the lead in Texas.
@@dr.krinkleweldon5934 My father and steel guitarist Maurice Anderson, drove to St. Louis in 1956 and played on some of the first televised Red Foley shows. Maurice told me the story and he knew it was 56 because he had just bought a brand new 56 Chevy and that’s what they drove in. After my father passed away, I would go to benefit’s for his friends and they had their stories that they would tell about being on the road. In the 60s my father was the house jazz guitarist at the Adolphus Hotel.
That was new to me about Hank Garland using a Fender on Little Sister. Bigsby was kind of a Thomas Edison with the things he came up with. His work on Cooper Motorcycles and guitars were groundbreaking at the time. The Bigsby tailpiece will outlive us all.
I paused the video and listened to El Paso. Super cool listening to the guitar knowing who it was that played it. These interviews are so fascinating and informative. Love it. I could listen to Kenny all day long. 💪🏻
Man, I could listen to Kenny Vaughn talk about guitars and guitar player history all day long! Who has the depth of knowledge to flow so seamlessly from a story about Monk's introduction to the P-bass to Buddy Merrill from Lawrence Welk being one of the early Strat players? And you ask good questions, Otis. These videos are relevant historical documentation.
You could have this depth of knowledge if you read the right books and articles. There's 100s of us geeks who somehow retain this all of this arcane info. I couldn't recall the last thing my wife said to me, but I can tell you when Fender went from the white twill covering to the tweed suitcase type covering on TV front amps. When Gibbs asked if Buddy Holley was the earliest prominent Stratocaster player, the name Buddy Merrill came outta my mouth before Vaughan said it. The Jimmy Bryant story, all of that, it's all in in books, like the one by Forrest White...speaking of White, Vaughan was less than accurate about him and Leo in the Radio shop...White never worked at Fender till Fender amps and guitars were in full production. White tells of his own friendship and times hanging out with Paul Bigsby. This happens all the time when you get a room full of "experts"/historians together...one guys will be relating a story and all the other ones will be correcting him. Don't get me wrong...I love and respect Kenny Vaughan and love to hear him relate what he knows...and he gets most of it right!
So informative! Much respect for Kenny AND Otis. The most impressive thing here is Kenny’s objectivity: if you can’t hear it, don’t pay for it. He sees and hears possibilities with almost every guitar and amp. None of the trash talking so present is many other opinions. I think he sees all the gear as tools, to build great sound. He knows his way isn’t the only way. I loved his statement that he really doesn’t harbor favorite gear opinions. Whatever works. Technique, being adventuresome and flexible. If you really dig his opinions, go see him live. Buy records he is on. He needs to get paid.
Kenny, Marty, and Scruggs are all amazing music history nerds. They just love it all, and when telling a story they exude that joy. The same joy a 15 year old kid has, who plays that newly discovered 45 over and over again. Know what I mean? They're not jaded. They're still big music fans. For me as a guitar player, this was one of the best Kenny vids you've done. He's the coolest cat. And he's in the best band in town. Thanks, Otis.
The first time I saw Kenny, was in Nashville circa 1992 at a warehouse that had multiple venues inside. I can't remember the name of it. He was playing with Hal Ketchum. Can't remember the guitar he was playing, but he was playing through an AC 30. Love Kenny's work!!!
Could you imagine THAT first meeting?!!! Wow!! The old Epiphone building where Les Paul put together the Log still stands as a design school on 14th St in NYC.
I read and reread the book, and it really is an amazing story. I only wish that I could have been alive and there with Leo and the others to see how those first instruments came together.
It was probably a great time in music history. So many great bands were growing their careers. Everyone who could really play was offered the latest and greatest equipment.
Got an '85, and while the difference is the neck plate in the '83/'84 (which has 3 screws vs the later having 4 screws). Bad news (sorta) is I was a metal dude, so I moded mine, put a Hot Rails in the bridge, and put a Schecter Trem in it with a locking nut. All black chrome hardware. I also have a 2020 Squier CV Telecaster and I think it's fantastic.
I was heading that way, then I decided to listen to the rest of the show. Then I read Otis's comment, and now I'm laughing. I might go and have a look, but the last thing I need is another dang guitar. I have too many as it is, but you pick up one here and there for 40 years, and you end up with what is known scientifically as a shitload. And I'm a sucker for finding cheap, crappy old guitars and making them better. My current favorite is an old Silvertone/Dano 1448 with one lipstick pickup, modded with better tuners, nut, and bridge, and the tone control replaced by a kill switch. It is super light, with great tone, and that lipstick pickup cuts right through whatever is going on. One volume knob, all I need. I love it. I always think of Jack Pearson, who will play any Squier that feels right, and make it sound like the best Strat you can think of. It's the hands, baby, the hands...
Hey Otis , let Kenny know fender did make a factory purple pearliod pick guard in the early 70s. They’re rare as hen’s teeth. I’ve seen them in books and at vintage dealers. I believe well strung guitars in NY had one for sale that was from the song birds museum collection.
I love Kenny Vaughn. I am embarrassed to say I didn't know who he was until he started playing with Marty Stewart. Just an incredible player and a treasure trove of musical knowledge.
I wished you would have asked him why you don’t see more G&L guitars in Nashville, since they are the latest creations of Leo Fender. Great content here. Thanks for bringing Kenny on, he is so cool.
Thank you, Otis. I could listen to Kenny talk gear for as long as he wanted to talk. It would be awesome to listen to the fabulous superlatives talk shop!
Hey Otis, I’m not a musician but a music lover! But, I really dig listening to the great musicians and songwriters you have on here! Keep it up, brother!
I worked with Sammy Pruett, one of Hank Williams's Drifting Cowboys, at Gibson Guitars in Nashville in the late '70s. He was a fantastic jazz player. Mr. Vaughan knows what he's talking about. Interesting, informative video. Peace.
Fantastic history here. Fascinating about the late acceptance of the Telecaster in Nashville. Wow 84 and 84 Squires!!! Cool!!! "What would the would be without a the Stratocaster?" Unimaginable. Thanks for posting this.
I enjoy your interviews with Kenny Vaughn. Kenny is a great player who has a vast knowledge of electric guitars, amps, pickups and the people who created and made them. I really enjoy the stories about famous players and his personal experiences, great stuff
22:50 those Yamaha P-basses are great, they captured the essence of the P-bass and brought it into a price point below what a genuine Fender would cost. They aren't exactly like a Fender, Yamahas are somewhat their own beast but the thump and feel are there, closer in feel to a Fender than what other manufacturers (Memphis or early Ibanez, and certainly Teisco) were able to attain at that point for less than half the price. THANK YOU YAMAHA, you were there until many of us could afford the real deal.
Kenny is someone you could have an endless beer with. Such a smart, affable guy. He's a walking encyclopedia, with lots of first hand experiences, and a better memory than most of us amateur hacks out here retained. Videos like these are treasures, thanks once again Otis.
❤ Kenny Vaughan, What A Smithsonian Guitar Artist & Historian & Musicologist, like Yourself Otis! When I Started Playing in My First Band, “The Young One’s” at Twelve Years Old in 1966 in Delaware, Ohio as the Lead Singer using a An All Tube 100 Watt Bogen PA With The Big Fiberglass Horns like you see at a Horse Track for The Loudspeaker System! Delaware, Ohio is where the Famous Sulky Race is held every September called “The Little Brown Jug”
Very interesting. He mentions his Squier guitars. 83 & 84. I've had an 84 Squier Tele that I bought off the rack in the mid 80's brand new. It has always been my go to. It's just a perfect guitar. Literally never goes out of tune. The neck is perfect for me. I would be lost without it.
There's a bunch of weird Fender stuff from that 83-88 or so. They were putting stuff out that was old parts and imported parts and all kinds of stuff. I had an 86 '62 Reissue Strat' that was nowhere near an exact reissue of the 62 but they were hand made in California and were great guitars. But 100% agree, for the first ten years, Leo barely missed. If anyone had come up with any _one_ of the Strat, Tele, P-Bass and the tweed amps that would have made him a legend. Cool interview as always.
Wow! You guys must have hung out for 10 hours that day. Love the stories. Kenny Vaughan should write a book of his own some time. Sooner than later. These stories are fascinating!! Thank you!
He needs to get a ghost writer if he doesn't want to type it out himself. Just talk into a recorder like Billy Bob Thornton did for his autobiography. A friend of Billy Bob's turned his talks into a really entertaining autobiography. Lots of anecdotal stories in that book like Kenny tells.
Thank you, Otis & Kenny. Looks like I have some reading homework ahead of me. Funny to think that Leo created guitars that we're still playing and enjoying 70 years later, with a few improvements and modifications along the way.
So Very Cool, Thankyou. Such an interesting discussion. Kenny is fascinating and entertaining story teller and Leo Fender is a Champion. So Awesome to see Kennys respect for Leo. Cheers
Masterful, the way the story of Fender getting feedback from playing musicians gets led to the story of Yamaha trying to do the same thing. Thanks Otis and Kenny!
Otis this was an amazing post. Kenny is just an absolute gangster walking talking musician. This story on Leo, Les, and Paul, good lord what a great history lesson. Amazing also of Leo going to live gigs and fixing his amps in real time.... come on that's how it was I get it! only Kenny makes that story so dam Rock&Roll.... Love love this channel Cheers Doug 😎
Man I could listen to you interview Kenny all day long.Real smart on your part to split this interview & some other Fantastic interviews up you didn't just fall off of the back of that old turnip Truck.Keep it up I know u will.👍 Thanks & God Bless you & Amy. ⚡TCB⚡
Great interview...one small correction...Forrest White joined Fender in 1954, a few years after Leo closed the radio shop. I believe Ray Massie was employed at the radio shop and followed Fender when K&F was dissolved, and Leo started out on his own. Ray later went on to produce Massie amplifiers in the 60's, which were very tweed-like in circuit design and used similar eyelet board construction. Love Kenny's beautiful playing, chill attitude, and all around ultra-cool vibe. Thanks so much for all your great content!
Thanks so much, Otis. Love Kenny. Always have loved to watch that guy work and now I find that he’s very engaging in conversation. What stories he tells! Read Leo’s book last year - actually devoured it - and found it so cool to hear Kenny recount that history. More, more!
Kenny's great and the albums Marty Stewart and The Superlatives are making (along with the videos) are amazing. There's a video here on RUclips of them playing acoustic on KEXP that's mind blowing. There's also a full length concert video of them at the Swanee Music Festival that's a must see. While the audio isn't top notch just imagine tuning this in on an AM radio station late at night with the ability to see them play. When the concert ends you'll know you really went somewhere special. They are true blue professional musicians. Thanks for the interview Otis!
Deep knowledge from Kenny! In the late 70's he was the first guy I knew who played an "old guitar" on purpose. I'd never seen anybody use the wang bar on a Stratocaster and keep it in tune like Kenny. Cheers to you both.
I've been a subscriber for a while now. I think I have seen all or most of your back interviews. You do a really good job Otis! I have to say that Kenny Vaughn is my favorite guest. Such a cool guy but he's still down to earth. I'm a little older than you and my favorite country stars are mostly the old guys from the 50's and 60's. You're a pretty damn good singer/songwriter yourself! Best of luck to you Otis with your show and your touring!
Very interesting. Thanks for the history. I lived in Orange County in the late 60s and 70s and bought a Telecaster and a Twin Reverb but got sidetracked by Bluegrass and never followed the Fender story.
If you ever do another interview with Kenny Vaughan would you consider asking him about his time with Lucinda Williams? His playing on her stuff in the 90's was pure gold.
Thank you for this information. I find it really cool Mr Vaughan touched on the fact the Leo, Paul and Les were discussing things before they started really engineering and building guitars in earnest. There are a lot of people that trash talk how Leo Fender stole Paul's design. It's more likely they were all bouncing ideas off each other. While Les Paul and Leo Fender's ultimate goal was to develop a mass-produced electric instrument, Paul Bigsby had different goals. Maybe I'm guilty of trying to see the good in people and not always think they are underhanded towards each other?
The Fabulous Superlatives do a surf medley as part of their show. There are several youtube videos of Marty and Kenny and the boys tearing up 60's surf tunes.
Kenny’s a great guitar player. I watch the Marty Stuart TV show regularly to watch Kenny and Marty tear it up! And he’s right about Nashville and Telecasters. When I first went to Nashville in 1976, everybody was playing Les Pauls, and I had a Tele. When I moved there in 1978, I had a Yamaha SG2000, a neck-through solidbody with humbuckers, sounded like a good Les Paul-and Strats were now the Nashville guitar! I’m always a day late and a dollar short…In 1981 Iwound up working for a singer who had a Peavey endorsement, and I already had a Deuce VT amp and a T-60 guitar, so I got another T-60. Those were nice, if a bit heavy, and for once I was on top of the curve! Jerry Reed played one when he wasn’t playing his nylon-string acoustic, and Phil Baugh had one with a pedal-steel-type pedal rack. As he was producing the artist I was working for, I got to sit next to Phil and watch him with that pedal setup. Amazing! On that show, the Nashville Superpickers, with Phil Baugh and Buddy Emmons, went on first, and we went on next-to save setup time, I used Phil’s Peavey Session 500 amp! Seems like Teles started catching on in Nashville around that time as well, with Brent Mason using one. I’d be all set now if I was still there (and if I could still walk)!
Love,love,love interviews with Kenny! Otis, your interview style is great. Really appreciate how you will let someone talk away with no interruption, but still keep things going on track. The best!! ....and thank you for the video. Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives are my all time favorite band.
Eye-witness. As a teenager I worked at CBS in London for Arbiters the Fender dist for Europe. A rep frim Tokai brought a white mn strat exact 50s replica, the next day I came to work to find the original blue prints(or photostats) of the Mn and rw 50s and 60s strats on the floor and a few if the "Old boys" were furious about the Tokaii thing so off they went to Japan. The 83 Fender Squiers were fast sellers and then the 52 Tele turned up and at first only the proplayers knew how good they were. We only realised how good they were till the Tele arrived , it also had the vintage wiring with the tone set on the neck. The Teles were hottest...the rest is now history. They had to hit Toka with a hammer blow response to the "Springy sound" . Funnily enough the Tokais are more revered in UK then. The Buddy Holly fans bought the 57 Squier and the Hendrix fans the 62. There were some black mn strats at the start too. They a had Fender on the headstock and Squier in small letters later. The basses came soon after. They also had bound 6os Tele in CAR and Sb and then a paisley Strat and Tele pink and a blue flowery pattern.
Here's a link to the new Marty Stuart video that just dropped a couple of days ago. Kenny and Marty's guitars sound frickin phenomenal. Tell 'em Otis sent ya!
ruclips.net/video/TsrktylH5mc/видео.html
Otis,
I couldn’t stop watching that video. What a fabulous song. And you’re right, the guitars are fantastic!
Thank You Otis, and Tried To Have Two Friends in Columbus, Ohio catch Peter Case’s Show at Natalie’s Kitchen in Grandview last Saturday Night,too!
Hey, Mr. Otis....I'll do ya one better than that one. This one sends me into orbit. Marty & Kenny head-to-head on David Letterman show "Country Boy Rock & Roll".
Awesome. And love the new album. Primo.
Mercy!
Kenny Vaughan is a national treasure, protect him at all costs
Yes!!!
love these talks 😎
Kenny Vaughn is a treasure trove of music history. I could listen to him talk all day. Even though I’m only in my 30s, I’m pretty biased when it comes to country music and I love how brutally honest he is when being asked questions about country music.
Marty Stuart is also a treasure trove for country music and doing his best to keep it alive.
Also has a good collection of guitars and other country music memorabilia
He's been involved with real country music since he was young kid. Flatt and Scruggs and Johnny Cash are couple examples.
Between Kenny, Marty and Chris Scruggs, I'd venture to guess they could all teach a university course on these things. I imagine that Handsome Harry is too, although I don't know for sure.
It's Amazing how much music history he knows
@ it is. The man truly loves good music. That’s a very important person to be interviewed with the lack of that kind of passion now.
What a National Treasure Kenny is.
Gibbs/Vaughn 2024 “Make America Cool, Talented and Vintage Again”
The genuine awe in Kenny's face when recounting Leo's brilliant inventions - The Esquire, Broadcaster, P-Bass and strat. Priceless!
Kenny the historian. Really dig these stories almost as much as his guitar playing which is 2nd to none as far I'm concerned. More Kenny Vaughn please Otis. He's an American treasure although he'd probably scoff at that
Thanks for this interview here, Kenny is my Hero, Cousin Figel
Kenny F’ing Vaughn… This dude is a treasure…
My father was Texas guitarist Steve Rodriguez Davis and grew up playing with Leon Rhodes, Tommy Morrell, Ronnie Tutt, Maurice Anderson, Buster Smith and the Heatwaves of Swing, and all of the Texas greats. He said Leo Fender would give them his early guitars and ask them to play them and give him feedback on what they liked and didn’t like. He said they would play them then give them to their friends. I have a picture of my father playing one of the first Fender broadcasters ever made at the big D jamboree in Dallas in 1952.
Sid and Billy King (Erwin) and the Five Strings from Denton, Texas bought one of the first Telecasters and Stratocasters in Dallas. About 1953/54. They played the Big D Jamboree around that time too.
@@dr.krinkleweldon5934 My father played with Red Foley, Ray Price, Trini Lopez, Donnie Gilliland, Jack Peterson. Jack started the guitar program at University of North, Texas, and my father was a guitar player at UT in their 1 o’clock lab band and was a studio player at King Record. I’m sure he would have known Sid and Billy since they were all part of the Dallas music scene at that time. My father told me that Dallas was full of smokin hot musicians in those days.
@@JohnDavis-hv7nf Sid tells the story that a young Pat Boone came to North Texas State and was trying to get started in the singing business. He married Red's daughter. Shirley. So Sid helped Pat get some gigs. In turn Pat helped Sid and his group get on Red's radio show. Dallas was on the way to being the 2nd Nashville. But it never happened. Eventually Austin took the lead in Texas.
@@dr.krinkleweldon5934 My father and steel guitarist Maurice Anderson, drove to St. Louis in 1956 and played on some of the first televised Red Foley shows. Maurice told me the story and he knew it was 56 because he had just bought a brand new 56 Chevy and that’s what they drove in. After my father passed away, I would go to benefit’s for his friends and they had their stories that they would tell about being on the road. In the 60s my father was the house jazz guitarist at the Adolphus Hotel.
@@dr.krinkleweldon5934 How did Austin accomplish that? Strange.
That was new to me about Hank Garland using a Fender on Little Sister. Bigsby was kind of a Thomas Edison with the things he came up with. His work on Cooper Motorcycles and guitars were groundbreaking at the time. The Bigsby tailpiece will outlive us all.
Kenny playing with Lucinda live is pure magic..love his sound and style so much..
AND Marty Stuart head-to-head. Jaw dropping.
I paused the video and listened to El Paso. Super cool listening to the guitar knowing who it was that played it. These interviews are so fascinating and informative. Love it. I could listen to Kenny all day long. 💪🏻
Kenny does an incredible job on Marty’s version of El Paso. Such a great tune and performance on both versions!
Same thoughts ,,
the BEST story teller
Man, I could listen to Kenny Vaughn talk about guitars and guitar player history all day long! Who has the depth of knowledge to flow so seamlessly from a story about Monk's introduction to the P-bass to Buddy Merrill from Lawrence Welk being one of the early Strat players? And you ask good questions, Otis. These videos are relevant historical documentation.
You could have this depth of knowledge if you read the right books and articles. There's 100s of us geeks who somehow retain this all of this arcane info. I couldn't recall the last thing my wife said to me, but I can tell you when Fender went from the white twill covering to the tweed suitcase type covering on TV front amps. When Gibbs asked if Buddy Holley was the earliest prominent Stratocaster player, the name Buddy Merrill came outta my mouth before Vaughan said it. The Jimmy Bryant story, all of that, it's all in in books, like the one by Forrest White...speaking of White, Vaughan was less than accurate about him and Leo in the Radio shop...White never worked at Fender till Fender amps and guitars were in full production. White tells of his own friendship and times hanging out with Paul Bigsby. This happens all the time when you get a room full of "experts"/historians together...one guys will be relating a story and all the other ones will be correcting him. Don't get me wrong...I love and respect Kenny Vaughan and love to hear him relate what he knows...and he gets most of it right!
So informative! Much respect for Kenny AND Otis. The most impressive thing here is Kenny’s objectivity: if you can’t hear it, don’t pay for it. He sees and hears possibilities with almost every guitar and amp. None of the trash talking so present is many other opinions. I think he sees all the gear as tools, to build great sound. He knows his way isn’t the only way. I loved his statement that he really doesn’t harbor favorite gear opinions. Whatever works. Technique, being adventuresome and flexible. If you really dig his opinions, go see him live. Buy records he is on. He needs to get paid.
Kenny, Marty, and Scruggs are all amazing music history nerds. They just love it all, and when telling a story they exude that joy. The same joy a 15 year old kid has, who plays that newly discovered 45 over and over again. Know what I mean? They're not jaded. They're still big music fans.
For me as a guitar player, this was one of the best Kenny vids you've done. He's the coolest cat. And he's in the best band in town.
Thanks, Otis.
Always excited to see a video featuring Kenny. Very informed, thoughtful guy -- and a monster player.
Amazing cat! His genuine attitude is very apparent. His playing is seriously off the charts. Killer tone!
Awesome. Could listen to him all day
The first time I saw Kenny, was in Nashville circa 1992 at a warehouse that had multiple venues inside. I can't remember the name of it. He was playing with Hal Ketchum. Can't remember the guitar he was playing, but he was playing through an AC 30. Love Kenny's work!!!
Kenny is so conversational . . with a wealth of knowledge. This one is gold! More Kenny, Otis!
Could you imagine THAT first meeting?!!! Wow!! The old Epiphone building where Les Paul put together the Log still stands as a design school on 14th St in NYC.
I read and reread the book, and it really is an amazing story. I only wish that I could have been alive and there with Leo and the others to see how those first instruments came together.
It was probably a great time in music history. So many great bands were growing their careers. Everyone who could really play was offered the latest and greatest equipment.
Raise your hand if you just went to Reverb dot com looking for 83 or 84 Squires?
Got an '85, and while the difference is the neck plate in the '83/'84 (which has 3 screws vs the later having 4 screws). Bad news (sorta) is I was a metal dude, so I moded mine, put a Hot Rails in the bridge, and put a Schecter Trem in it with a locking nut. All black chrome hardware. I also have a 2020 Squier CV Telecaster and I think it's fantastic.
😂😂😂
I was heading that way, then I decided to listen to the rest of the show. Then I read Otis's comment, and now I'm laughing. I might go and have a look, but the last thing I need is another dang guitar. I have too many as it is, but you pick up one here and there for 40 years, and you end up with what is known scientifically as a shitload. And I'm a sucker for finding cheap, crappy old guitars and making them better. My current favorite is an old Silvertone/Dano 1448 with one lipstick pickup, modded with better tuners, nut, and bridge, and the tone control replaced by a kill switch. It is super light, with great tone, and that lipstick pickup cuts right through whatever is going on. One volume knob, all I need. I love it.
I always think of Jack Pearson, who will play any Squier that feels right, and make it sound like the best Strat you can think of. It's the hands, baby, the hands...
Hey Otis , let Kenny know fender did make a factory purple pearliod pick guard in the early 70s. They’re rare as hen’s teeth. I’ve seen them in books and at vintage dealers. I believe well strung guitars in NY had one for sale that was from the song birds museum collection.
Paused the video and immediately went there! 😀
I love Kenny Vaughn. I am embarrassed to say I didn't know who he was until he started playing with Marty Stewart.
Just an incredible player and a treasure trove of musical knowledge.
First knowledge of him was watching The Marty Stewart Show.
Who is this nerd playing with Marty ?
He ripped into a lead , a fan ever since .
The more I learn about Kenny Vaughn, the more respect I gain for him.
I wished you would have asked him why you don’t see more G&L guitars in Nashville, since they are the latest creations of Leo Fender. Great content here. Thanks for bringing Kenny on, he is so cool.
i didn't want to this end...More Kenny !
I started on strats, and a friend of mine gave me a tele last week. The sound.....I love this guitar. Nobody gets it unless they play one, once.
Thank you, Otis. I could listen to Kenny talk gear for as long as he wanted to talk. It would be awesome to listen to the fabulous superlatives talk shop!
Hey Otis, I’m not a musician but a music lover! But, I really dig listening to the great musicians and songwriters you have on here! Keep it up, brother!
I worked with Sammy Pruett, one of Hank Williams's Drifting Cowboys, at Gibson Guitars in Nashville in the late '70s. He was a fantastic jazz player. Mr. Vaughan knows what he's talking about. Interesting, informative video. Peace.
Fantastic history here. Fascinating about the late acceptance of the Telecaster in Nashville.
Wow 84 and 84 Squires!!! Cool!!!
"What would the would be without a the Stratocaster?" Unimaginable. Thanks for posting this.
Probably one the best guitar players around - one of the best around live - a huge talent!
I enjoy your interviews with Kenny Vaughn. Kenny is a great player who has a vast knowledge of electric guitars, amps, pickups and the people who created and made them. I really enjoy the stories about famous players and his personal experiences, great stuff
I love Kenny’s playing great player. Cool dude.
22:50 those Yamaha P-basses are great, they captured the essence of the P-bass and brought it into a price point below what a genuine Fender would cost. They aren't exactly like a Fender, Yamahas are somewhat their own beast but the thump and feel are there, closer in feel to a Fender than what other manufacturers (Memphis or early Ibanez, and certainly Teisco) were able to attain at that point for less than half the price. THANK YOU YAMAHA, you were there until many of us could afford the real deal.
Love these interviews! I don't play guitar. I'm not a gearhead. But it's just so interesting!
Do you pass any pawn shops in you daily travels? Us guitar guys do…and our wives love us for it!! 😉
Absolutely fabulous!! Kenny is such a dude. Love the way he tells a story. Keep on twangin!!
I could listen to Kenny all day!
Kenny is someone you could have an endless beer with. Such a smart, affable guy. He's a walking encyclopedia, with lots of first hand experiences, and a better memory than most of us amateur hacks out here retained. Videos like these are treasures, thanks once again Otis.
❤ Kenny Vaughan, What A Smithsonian Guitar Artist & Historian & Musicologist, like Yourself Otis!
When I Started Playing in My First Band, “The Young One’s” at Twelve Years Old in 1966 in Delaware, Ohio as the Lead Singer using a An All Tube 100 Watt Bogen PA With The Big Fiberglass Horns like you see at a Horse Track for The Loudspeaker System! Delaware, Ohio is where the Famous Sulky Race is held every September called “The Little Brown Jug”
Thank you for this. I am grinning ear to ear.
Otis! This interview should be Grammy material! Who wouldn't want Kenny for a best friend? Forget about it
that kenny dude is just the best story teller....fantastic as always
Very interesting. He mentions his Squier guitars. 83 & 84. I've had an 84 Squier Tele that I bought off the rack in the mid 80's brand new. It has always been my go to. It's just a perfect guitar. Literally never goes out of tune. The neck is perfect for me. I would be lost without it.
Great stories.. Love to hear him talk...
There's a bunch of weird Fender stuff from that 83-88 or so. They were putting stuff out that was old parts and imported parts and all kinds of stuff. I had an 86 '62 Reissue Strat' that was nowhere near an exact reissue of the 62 but they were hand made in California and were great guitars. But 100% agree, for the first ten years, Leo barely missed. If anyone had come up with any _one_ of the Strat, Tele, P-Bass and the tweed amps that would have made him a legend. Cool interview as always.
It's so much fun listening to Kenny nerd out over guitars and gear.
Love the Kenny Vaughan interviews! I just bought that book online.
Otis @ Kenny interviews are the best - Kenny’s voice is so relaxing and Otis is pretty damn mellow too.
Looking forward to any future instalments
Loved comin' to hear you and Rodger at the Stardust in Denver, thanks for letting me set in!
Mr. Vaughan, you are the coolest, most humble guy…thanks for honoring the guitar makers history…
Wow! You guys must have hung out for 10 hours that day. Love the stories. Kenny Vaughan should write a book of his own some time. Sooner than later. These stories are fascinating!! Thank you!
He needs to get a ghost writer if he doesn't want to type it out himself. Just talk into a recorder like Billy Bob Thornton did for his autobiography. A friend of Billy Bob's turned his talks into a really entertaining autobiography. Lots of anecdotal stories in that book like Kenny tells.
Hope Kenny puts out a book someday.
Thank you, Otis & Kenny.
Looks like I have some reading homework ahead of me.
Funny to think that Leo created guitars that we're still playing and enjoying 70 years later, with a few improvements and modifications along the way.
You're my favorite channel. LOVE your content.
These sessions with Otis and Kenny, pure gold.
Great interview and Kenny has an encyclopedia in his brain.
Great suggestion on the Birth of Loud! Reading it now and the stories are as cool as described by Kenny.
Kenny is my favorite guest you bring on. Pure Joy. Peace
Cool that Kenny loves and plays early 80s MIJ Squiers. They are great guitars. Lov his story telling.
So Very Cool, Thankyou. Such an interesting discussion. Kenny is fascinating and entertaining story teller and Leo Fender is a Champion. So Awesome to see Kennys respect for Leo. Cheers
Kenny is the best storyteller as he is interesting and so are his stories
Masterful, the way the story of Fender getting feedback from playing musicians gets led to the story of Yamaha trying to do the same thing. Thanks Otis and Kenny!
As a guitarist, I loved geeking-out on this. Good stuff!
Me too
Otis this was an amazing post.
Kenny is just an absolute gangster walking talking musician.
This story on Leo, Les, and Paul, good lord what a great history lesson.
Amazing also of Leo going to live gigs and fixing his amps in real time.... come on that's how it was I get it! only Kenny makes that story so dam Rock&Roll....
Love love this channel
Cheers Doug 😎
Man I could listen to you interview Kenny all day long.Real smart on your part to split this interview & some other Fantastic interviews up you didn't just fall off of the back of that old turnip Truck.Keep it up I know u will.👍 Thanks & God Bless you & Amy. ⚡TCB⚡
Great interview...one small correction...Forrest White joined Fender in 1954, a few years after Leo closed the radio shop. I believe Ray Massie was employed at the radio shop and followed Fender when K&F was dissolved, and Leo started out on his own. Ray later went on to produce Massie amplifiers in the 60's, which were very tweed-like in circuit design and used similar eyelet board construction. Love Kenny's beautiful playing, chill attitude, and all around ultra-cool vibe. Thanks so much for all your great content!
Thank you, an excellent and enjoyable interview 👍
Thanks so much, Otis. Love Kenny. Always have loved to watch that guy work and now I find that he’s very engaging in conversation. What stories he tells! Read Leo’s book last year - actually devoured it - and found it so cool to hear Kenny recount that history. More, more!
The Birth of Loud is a great read! Loving all these interviews, thanks Otis!
Kenny's great and the albums Marty Stewart and The Superlatives are making (along with the videos) are amazing. There's a video here on RUclips of them playing acoustic on KEXP that's mind blowing. There's also a full length concert video of them at the Swanee Music Festival that's a must see. While the audio isn't top notch just imagine tuning this in on an AM radio station late at night with the ability to see them play. When the concert ends you'll know you really went somewhere special. They are true blue professional musicians. Thanks for the interview Otis!
Deep knowledge from Kenny! In the late 70's he was the first guy I knew who played an "old guitar" on purpose. I'd never seen anybody use the wang bar on a Stratocaster and keep it in tune like Kenny. Cheers to you both.
Man do I adore Kenny Vaughn. In a just and verdant universe, V would have been a smash hit.
I've been a subscriber for a while now. I think I have seen all or most of your back interviews. You do a really good job Otis!
I have to say that Kenny Vaughn is my favorite guest. Such a cool guy but he's still down to earth. I'm a little older than you and my favorite country stars are mostly the old guys from the 50's and 60's.
You're a pretty damn good singer/songwriter yourself!
Best of luck to you Otis with your show and your touring!
Love to listen to Kenny telling stories.
Very interesting. Thanks for the history. I lived in Orange County in the late 60s and 70s and bought a Telecaster and a Twin Reverb but got sidetracked by Bluegrass and never followed the Fender story.
Another home run Otis!
Excellent! My 83 Squire is the very reason I have never owned a real Strat to this day. Great interview with Kenny as usual brother!
Kenny is one of those guys I'd like to a long road trip with and just listen and learn, man what a great storyteller.
If you ever do another interview with Kenny Vaughan would you consider asking him about his time with Lucinda Williams? His playing on her stuff in the 90's was pure gold.
Man I love Kenny’s stories!
Fantastic! I have an 83 squier tele. I love it. Bought it in 1991 for a couple hundred.
Thank you for this information. I find it really cool Mr Vaughan touched on the fact the Leo, Paul and Les were discussing things before they started really engineering and building guitars in earnest. There are a lot of people that trash talk how Leo Fender stole Paul's design. It's more likely they were all bouncing ideas off each other. While Les Paul and Leo Fender's ultimate goal was to develop a mass-produced electric instrument, Paul Bigsby had different goals. Maybe I'm guilty of trying to see the good in people and not always think they are underhanded towards each other?
Kenny is playing in a blues trio right now in Nashville but I’d love to hear him doing Surf Rock
The Fabulous Superlatives do a surf medley as part of their show. There are several youtube videos of Marty and Kenny and the boys tearing up 60's surf tunes.
Now that was super fun to hear.
Kenny might be my favorite honky tonk guitar player. Just so cool
Learn so much from Kenny every time!!! Thank you Otis! ... just put on my Gunfighter Ballads LP to listen to El Paso with fresh ears!!♥
Kenny’s a great guitar player. I watch the Marty Stuart TV show regularly to watch Kenny and Marty tear it up! And he’s right about Nashville and Telecasters. When I first went to Nashville in 1976, everybody was playing Les Pauls, and I had a Tele. When I moved there in 1978, I had a Yamaha SG2000, a neck-through solidbody with humbuckers, sounded like a good Les Paul-and Strats were now the Nashville guitar! I’m always a day late and a dollar short…In 1981 Iwound up working for a singer who had a Peavey endorsement, and I already had a Deuce VT amp and a T-60 guitar, so I got another T-60. Those were nice, if a bit heavy, and for once I was on top of the curve! Jerry Reed played one when he wasn’t playing his nylon-string acoustic, and Phil Baugh had one with a pedal-steel-type pedal rack. As he was producing the artist I was working for, I got to sit next to Phil and watch him with that pedal setup. Amazing! On that show, the Nashville Superpickers, with Phil Baugh and Buddy Emmons, went on first, and we went on next-to save setup time, I used Phil’s Peavey Session 500 amp! Seems like Teles started catching on in Nashville around that time as well, with Brent Mason using one. I’d be all set now if I was still there (and if I could still walk)!
pure gold,,,thanks Kenney and Otis
Can listen to Kenny all the time . Enjoy his knowledge and history .
Love,love,love interviews with Kenny! Otis, your interview style is great. Really appreciate how you will let someone talk away with no interruption, but still keep things going on track. The best!! ....and thank you for the video. Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives are my all time favorite band.
My favorite of the Kenny Vaughan episodes so far, and they've all been great. Thanks Otis!
That was a really interesting conversation between you two. Thanks for sharing it.
Both of you guys are a wealth of cool memories and stories. I enjoy hearing them.
Eye-witness. As a teenager I worked at CBS in London for Arbiters the Fender dist for Europe. A rep frim Tokai brought a white mn strat exact 50s replica, the next day I came to work to find the original blue prints(or photostats) of the Mn and rw 50s and 60s strats on the floor and a few if the "Old boys" were furious about the Tokaii thing so off they went to Japan. The 83 Fender Squiers were fast sellers and then the 52 Tele turned up and at first only the proplayers knew how good they were. We only realised how good they were till the Tele arrived , it also had the vintage wiring with the tone set on the neck. The Teles were hottest...the rest is now history. They had to hit Toka with a hammer blow response to the "Springy sound" . Funnily enough the Tokais are more revered in UK then. The Buddy Holly fans bought the 57 Squier and the Hendrix fans the 62. There were some black mn strats at the start too. They a had Fender on the headstock and Squier in small letters later. The basses came soon after. They also had bound 6os Tele in CAR and Sb and then a paisley Strat and Tele pink and a blue flowery pattern.
What a delight. Good on you, Kenny. Long may you live.
OG - "How many teles do you own?"
KV - "I don't know"
We should all be so lucky. Can you have too many??
Otis you never disappoint.