Something I Did Not Know About Steve Stevens

[shredmeister]

This was posted by Emerald over at the Jackson/Charvel forum..... never knew this and thought some may find it interesting....

Steve Stevens Glow Charvel #4790

Hello all here at JCF. I am involved in researching the 1985 San Dimas Charvel Strat Head Dinky custom made for Steve Stevens by Grover and the team. This guitar was used by SS for virtually every recording he was involved with from 1985 onwards until final retirement in 1993.

This amazing guitar was all over Whiplash Smile and toured with Steve for that tour in 1987 which is where I first saw Steve/Idol and that guitar. The tone of this guitar when I first heard it at the Philadelphia Spectrum was just incredible and was something that has been permanently burned into my memory banks ever since.

One of the unique qualities of this guitar is that it was a key aspect of Steve's live sound as well as being his main recording guitar. This truly represents a Charvel at it's best, just a fantastic well built versatile working guitarists main tool in his arsenal!

Another facet of the guitars history is that it is not well known just how significant this San Dimas birthed monster has been in rock music.

Among the highlights would be it being the guitar Steve used in the Top Gun sessions, which he participated in while in the middle of the Whiplash Smile recording session. Everyone has heard this tune the Top Gun Anthem in fact it won a Grammy for Steve and Harold Faltermeyer.

Also it was in the studio with Micheal Jackson and Bubbles the chimp for the great track Dirty Diana. Steve's brilliant project in my opinion The Atomic Playboys which he initiated post his leaving Idol after the Whiplash Smile tour.

The album has Glow all over it. Steve was involved in many many sessions for people as diverse as Rick Ocasek, Robert Palmer and The Thompson Twins.

What many metal/rock fans would have heard this beast on would be the legendary album with The Vince Neil Band.

Released in 1993 this record Exposed is regarded by many as one of the zeniths of recorded Super Strat humbucker Original Floyd Rose Marshall Plexi TONE!

After many years of touring the guitar was 'retired' then, SS using primarily the EB MM EVH guitars given to him by close buddy Edward Van Halen on the tour they jointly did in '93.

Also in all of the videos of Steve, whether with Idol, Playboys, Top Gun, MJ, he is seen playing his signature Hamers SS-2 and SS-3's.

In reality, the Charvel was the guitar recorded with..

The Glow was the direct inspiration in fact for the bolt on neck Hamer SS-3 and the 1993 Washburn Steve Stevens Signature SS80 and SS100 guitars.

You can read all about it in the history of the Washburn Steve Stevens guitars that I wrote in 2010 featured on the website Vintage Washburn.

Here is the link: http://www.vintagewashburn.com/Elect...veStevens.html

That site has really gone viral with huge view numbers and I am really proud that I was able to present the story of these guitars which are even more unknown than the Glow as they basically were only made for a few months in 1993.

The configuration of the guitar is reverse angled single coil in the neck and reverse angled humbucker in the bridge with pickup mounting ring.

The hardware is in black, with of course Steve's favorite (and many others as well) top mount Original Floyd rose which is slammed onto the basswood body literally!

Also the original pickups were provided by Seymour Duncan, a SSL type in the neck and a JB in the bridge.

Currently the guitar has awesome Bare Knuckles pickups fitted with cream colored covers. These were specially wound for SS by Tim Mills around 5 years or so ago. Details of the pickups I will reveal in the future.

Steve used Glow on one track of his last solo album Memory Crash as well.

[Bennyboy-UK]

They'd better rename all the SS1 sigs, after me then. So that would make them BS1 sigs!

I'll get a decal run ordered and an industrial drum of thinners!

[FrettyMcgee]

They'd better rename all the SS1 sigs, after me then. So that would make them BS1 sigs!

I'll get a decal run ordered and an industrial drum of thinners!

After reading that article Bennyboy, make me up a BS decal and I'll use it for my SS restoration project.

[Disturber]

Who knows if it's 100% true? I've heard he used a Les Paul for some of the Idol stuff, as well as the Hamer's.

[andrew m]

Who knows if it's 100% true? I've heard he used a Les Paul for some of the Idol stuff, as well as the Hamer's.

So true.

I also have articles in guitar mags from the 80's that state he used a 53 gold top , as well a kramer pacer. I will have to dig that mag up becasue it has a break down on what effects, amps, and guitars were used on certain tracks of Rebel yell.

[cmatthes]

Sorry - that reads like a lot of revisionist history to me. Mr. Stevens is either lying about that, or he's been lying for the last 30 years about what guitars he used.

Get factchecker.org on the case!

[shredmeister]

Lying ? Go over to hugeracksinc.com Steve yourself. He hangs out there. I don't think the pictures support a revisionist history.

Steve owned the Monsters Ball of 1493 graphic Jackson Dinky Strat Head. He owned it at least until 1991, it was sold to that guy in Switzerland who owns the "Jackson Museum"

You can read about the history of this guitar, graphic wise on my web blog: http://daveonrock.com/?paged=2

Steve also has a 3/4 sized Soloist 'Glow' that he brought out again recently

From back in the day....

[Feynman]

God I love Soloists.

[silentman]

Steve is quite the monster player, but I think he lost all steet cred for being associated with Idol.

[jisham]

I dig his playing big time and his instrument of choice at any given time makes no difference to me. I think he used a lot of LPs and an EBMM Axis on the more recent Billy Idol tours.

Steve is quite the monster player, but I think he lost all steet cred for being associated with Idol.

Not sure I agree with that....in fact, where would he be WITHOUT Idol?

[Disturber]

What ever you choose to believe is fine with me. He talks about a Coral Sitar in that article. He also did a load of drugs back then, so who knows what he remembers...

[silentman]

Yes Jaye, Idol put him on the map, but certainly his chops are not showcase there.

[jisham]

All good. I like everything he's done with Billy Idol so I'm biased. But I also like all his solo efforts and the CD he did with Vince Neil.

[jisham]

God I love Soloists.

What's the difference between a Soloist and a Dinky? I don't think I've ever even picked up a Jackson although the local GC has a few on the wall all the time.

[Disturber]

I like his rythm playing. Like Van Halen he's got something there that is quite unique. His Idol riffs might be easy to play but they groove like hell and they cary the songs, often being the secret ingredient that makes the hit.

They are not metal or hard rock riffs but they are full on distorted, snotty and groovy at the same time. They are often based on classic rock n roll riffs, still he made them sound really fresh and new on the first three Idol albums.

I love his guitar tone on the three first Idol albums. From there on it went down hill. The Vince Neil album has a tone that is too late 80s for me. It's just all on 10, no funkieness at all, just a brain dead metal tone. He sounded better on the Jerusalem Slim album from the same time period.

Here is where it is. A raw rock n roll tone. I think he ran the guitar in to an early Rat then in to the Plexi.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq55L6A5sBc

Gotta love the Whiplash Smile album too. He never sounded better than on this album, and blended his riffs in between rock and dance music like no one before.

There are certanly players out there with better chops. But they are mostly the run of the mill ordinary metal players, and as such just as boring to listen to. Steve made guitar plaing fun, just like Van Halen. No one can take that from him. Even if he has become quite booring in later days.

[Jeff R]

God I love Soloists.

What's the difference between a Soloist and a Dinky? I don't think I've ever even picked up a Jackson although the local GC has a few on the wall all the time.

Soloist is neck-through, Dinky is bolt-on.

[Crimsontider]

Great article. One thing I do know is that Billy Idol would have been a passed over punk rocker without him. Steve Stevens added the timeless melodic qualities that will keep their collaboration relevant for years to come and enabled a sex pistol sidekick to head the charts during the metal years of the 80's.

Steve Stevens should always be mentioned with the best rock guitarist of the era. He arguable obtained the best sound quality out of his Hamer and rig.

[cmatthes]

Let's just say that I'd take whatever Steve says with a grain of salt. He's changed his stories many times over the years.

Maybe it depends on who he's endorsing at any given time or who is interviewing him?

[andrew m]

Let's just say that I'd take whatever Steve says with a grain of salt. He's changed his stories many times over the years.

Maybe it depends on who he's endorsing at any given time or who is interviewing him?

Ahmen!!

[shredmeister]

Update FWIW.

It has been fairly common knowledge that SS used his Charvel Dinky ever since 1986 when he received it. Really the last tour with Idol before he took that hiatus, Steve used the Glow Charvel exclusively live for the 1987 "Whiplash Smile" tour where I first saw the guitar at the Philadelphia show.

Steve has had a love hate with his Hamer's and he has none of them anymore.

I have seen him say on Facebook that he misses his first Prototype and wished he still had it.

The much maligned SS-3, the last developed Steve Stevens Hamer, which they labeled a Centura for production but was vastly different than Steve's personal bolt on necked SS-3's.

The SS-3 was never offered to the public and Steve used the guitar for his Atomic Playboy era and live.

There appears to be some confusion about that time as Steve used his LP Custom black that he had back then, which preceded the LP Custom he presently has from L&M Music and his SS-3 live with the Playboy's according to one of my sources who I have been waiting for a rare AP video from NYC transferred to DVD form VHS, but haven't seen yet...if he will ever send it to me??

Much confusion reigns on about what guitars Steve used when and where.

Take for example the video for "The Top Gun Anthem" which shows him playing a Hamer SS-2, where in fact the Glow is on the recorded version.

Steve didn't reveal all this until I questioned him about the Glow for my extensive research on the Washburn SS Signature model.

He used the Glow on "Dirty Diana" even though in the official video he is pictured with a Hamer Hollowskull Chapparal, I don't think it was a Californian.

I just had to sell my Jim O'Connor painted 1987 Hamer Chapparal Custom set neck with boomers, top mount OFR and OBL's which sucked but I am in a crisis in my life financially and with my health.

Then the Madison Square Garden 'Live' recorded version of "Dirty Diana", Steve is playing his Hamer SS-3 called the white/black, as he had two with reverse paint jobs, the other one black/white had black on the top and white on the back.

I know pretty much all the people who own Steve's SS-3's and Matt Phillips and I used dimensions and photographs to build my white/black replica tribute SS-3, which is the closest to the real thing of the few SS-3 replicas that Matt has built.

Apparently my Photobucket Pro account is frozen as I got a email from Photobucket yesterday telling me they will be down for 4-6 weeks while they redo their system, like I would like a credit for being totally unable to access my paid account..hello!

Anyway, anything you JCF'ers want to know about SS, guitars, amps, you name it just ask me.

I have a great reply from Paul Hamer back in 2009 when he explained what happened when SS left Hamer.

Much of the research I garnered from Hamer/Washburn I have kept to myself out of respect for the privacy of Steve. Nothing terrible, just things were the way they were back then and that's it.

Steve loved all his Hamer's it's just that the Glow was the go to guitar mostly for recordings and the last full album she is on is the 1993 Vince Neil Band Exposed", though for rhythm tracks Steve used the Les Paul Custom to a greater extent than the AP project.

One track on his 2nd solo project "Memory Crash" Steve used his Glow one more time.

It has been retired since 1993 for all practical purposes.

As far as Steve's history with Hamer, I personally spoke with Jol Danzig in 1996 and later via his secretary around 2009 about Steve and what happened.

Steve wants to move on and to this day he will not play a Hamer or Washburn, privately or in public.

He still has his prototype Washburn SS-100 Frankenstein graphic guitar, the rest are all gone.

There are reasons for all of this, but this is Steve's private business.

[cmatthes]

Who the hell is Jol Danzig? Glenn's brother?

Uh, Muthaaaah...

[Disturber]

Steve wants to move on and to this day he will not play a Hamer or Washburn, privately or in public.

He still has his prototype Washburn SS-100 Frankenstein graphic guitar, the rest are all gone.

There are reasons for all of this, but this is Steve's private business.

Seems like he's acting like a spoild child then. I guess he took to much blow back in the day to remember anything now.

[cmatthes]

Seems like he's acting like a spoild child then. I guess he took to much blow back in the day to remember anything now.

It was either that or those F^<!ng boots!

[yngwie308]

Hamer Fans, yes stories have changed over the years, but I have done my homework. As I said over on JCF, Steve replied to me when questioned about the Glow Charvel and please no slagging off of Steve's Jackson's and Charvel's.

I know it is heretical over here to suggest that SS used anything other than a Hamer. I have spoken with SS at length about a lot of things and to do my 2010 published Washburn Signature story, an episode of CSI had nothing on what I uncovered.

I have spoken with Paul Hamer back then and of course the ever personable Jol Dantzig once in person 1996 and later through his secretary where I had a promising line of inquiry going regarding the Gary Moore Hamer's, but I said the SS word and immediately was issued a scathing reply saying how unprofessional it was to bring up what had or had not happened with Mr. Stevens and they were disconnecting with my any further.

http://www.vintagewa...eveStevens.html

I know I refer to my well researched article ad nausea but really, it's what I don't wish to repeat out of respect for peoples privacy that answers many questions.

I do know that as much as I love HFC when I have brought up the topic of SS in the past, I get all sorts of flip responses, ect.

So I stopped trying.

I remember posting some great SS-3 pics from Europe that I was sent and that one had a reverse headstock, no SS sig logo and the response was like ho hum, ect.

I do know where at least three of Steve's SS-3 are, Roland form Europe has no problem sharing his pics and was a great help with my replica/tribute SS-3 white/black, in measurements, ect.

This nowhere approaches real BS which would be Van Halen style in the past.

Steve is a great guy, great to his fans, he even says hey it was the eighties, ect.

But if you want to call him out on BS, at least do it where he can see it..

Ok Jol Dantzig mispelled sorry mates.

Steve is still relevant works all the time, when I read the history of Hamer A-Z a few years back, it was almost to the point of ethnic cleansing..seriously, he put Hamer on MTV, ect as much as anyone.

Let me return to my own manic depression please, this rock star stuff has burnt me out.

Plus I was dragged into this by a JCF forumite which has a curious mixture, not the high level of expertise like HFC...

One last caveat, I offered to share what I have learned about the SS-3's to those here doing the history of Hamer..no reply. Just leave the guy alone, again I didn't start the fire here..

Peace out

Dave

[Bennyboy-UK]

I have to say that I have never felt any heretical feeling versus SS on this forum regarding his use of anything other than Hamers. I'm not trying to be inflammatory here, I've just never felt that.

I would hope that I'm correct in suggesting that the boys and girls on here have a healthy level of tongue in cheek in general. Apart from Mitch of course, who has all sorts of stuff in his cheek.

On the SS3 personally I find it an interesting development... However as there are so few about, and the design is close to Centauras, I'm so unlikely to ever see one let alone have a chance of having a go one one or owning one, that for me it's a bit of a white elephant, and I know you are a person close to source on this subject, and the man, so I do respectfully choose my words carefully.

I think you might be a trifle unfair in your observations, especially as you have the personal connection.

B