Adrian Vandenberg and Randy

[AndrewT1976]

Anyone ever notice how similar Adrian's playing style is to Randy's? Did they ever meet?

I heard a track by Vandenberg on Pandora Radio today. The song was called "Time Will Tell" off of the 1983 album "Heading for a Storm." It sounds like Randy could have ver easily written the song and especially the solo.

It must have been recorded in 1982, so there is a possibility Vandenberg was heavily influenced by Rhoads.

I still say - Adrian Vandenberg...best looking guy ever. I'm not gay, but man, that dude looked like a blonde beach babe! Go ahead and flame me. See if I care.

[electricmombie]

Yeah. There's some cool Vandenberg stuff. "Burning Heart" and "Your Love Is In Vain" are cool. He had a cool guitar tone during his time doing that band. I need to pay a closer ear to live Whitesnake from '87 - '90 (I know he stuck around a few years after that, but...). I never thought of the sonic similarity to Randy. Nice observation. Cool.

[tedeeoo]

Adrian was a different player after his injury which occured prior to recording "Slip of the Tongue", he just didn't hit strings as hard as he did when I saw him in 87 and he played alot different to me than he did in Vandenberg. I have the Live from Donington dvd and highly suggest it to any fan of Adrian and Whitesnake (or any Steve Vai fan also), very good dvd, there's even a snippet of David Coverdale singing "Burning Heart". To me, current WS guitarist Doug Aldrich reminds me more of Randy than Adrian ever has, especially when you meet Doug. Very mild-mannered, humble guy, thin like Randy, and although Doug is more blues-based, he even sounds a little like Randy, especially when he does his spotlight solo (Doug does site Randy as an influence also). And its just plain eerie when you are actually watching him live with a Les Paul, he reminded me alot of Randy. Adrian playing wise always reminded me more of Michael Schenker than anyone, just something a little more European about his playing to me. Of course I've read that Randy liked Schenker to so who knows. I love those first 2 Vandenberg records, love the guitar he designed with Peavey even moreso. Great player and looked absolutely incredible onstage.

[shred1]

Loved the roto-toms on the 1st Vandenberg album.
Super good player for sure. Ditto Doug Aldrich.

Really enjoyed the Manic Eden LP too.

There was an original issue, all bound, black neck-thru Peavey Vandenberg at a local pawn shop recently for under $200 bucks....

Went back for it and it was gonzo.

[RR-ElectricAngel]

I love Adrian's playing on Back on My Feet Again. That just rocks!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_00LKG0 ... re=related

[tedeeoo]

[quote="shred1"]Loved the roto-toms on the 1st Vandenberg album.
Super good player for sure. Ditto Doug Aldrich.

Really enjoyed the Manic Eden LP too.

There was an original issue, all bound, black neck-thru Peavey Vandenberg at a local pawn shop recently for under $200 bucks....

Went back for it and it was gonzo.[/quote]


Black Vandy Customs (neck-thru) are extremely rare, Peavey did not do many of them at all. I have a Black Custom with a maple board and my friend at Peavey (who actually built most of the customs) said they did less than 5 of them. Love those guitars, thanks to my friends at Peavey I have 7 of them, 3 of which belonged to Adrian at one point.

[shred1]

This one was a hardtail, rosewood board, reverse headstock, again, fully bound and neck-thru.
Very nice. Perhaps it wasn't an eighties version? Had some miles on her.

Beautiful guitar. Someone else thought so too.

cheers

[Geo Sav]

I see some similarities in Adrians playing with Randys. I definitely felt doug aldrich reminded. Me of Randys also.

[tedeeoo]

I am guessing that is not an original Vandenberg but a V-type re-issue, Peavey didn't even do any prototype hard-tails for Adrian and the only Rosewood Fretboard guitars were the quilt tops which all had a quilt maple top (none were done in black). The V-types are nice guitars also, if I remember right Peavey even got Adrian's okay to do them. My best friend who worked at Peavey during the 80's said Adrian was one of the nicest people you could ever meet. I can tell you from personal experience that Doug Aldrich is a first class guy all the way, he really went out of his way for me , my son and my best friend, and he is a smoking guitar player.

[tedeeoo]

By the way, the guitar in my avatar picture was one of Adrian's personal guitars and one of only 2 bolt-on neck Vandy's done with a maple fretboard.

[sytharnia]

By the way, the guitar in my avatar picture was one of Adrian's personal guitars and one of only 2 bolt-on neck Vandy's done with a maple fretboard.

is it black and the lights make it look purple/pink???......either way a bloody nice guitar that has given me gas for a long time now

There was a US one for sale here earlier in the year that I was going to buy but after doing some research about the guitar it turns out it had been repair after the truss rod was over tightened and broke through the back of the neck ...apparently there is only about 2mm of wood between the rod and the layer of paint on the neck

[Cpt Matt Sparrow]

Interesting comparison! do you mean more the Quiet Riot type writing/playing than the Ozzy material? I can see more of a link there with Whitesnake personally.A lot of people you wouldn't suspect have tipped a hat to Randy, even Ritchie Sambora gives a credit to him on the sleeve notes to Slippery When Wet.

Matt

[tedeeoo]

By the way, the guitar in my avatar picture was one of Adrian's personal guitars and one of only 2 bolt-on neck Vandy's done with a maple fretboard.

is it black and the lights make it look purple/pink???......either way a bloody nice guitar that has given me gas for a long time now

There was a US one for sale here earlier in the year that I was going to buy but after doing some research about the guitar it turns out it had been repair after the truss rod was over tightened and broke through the back of the neck ...apparently there is only about 2mm of wood between the rod and the layer of paint on the neck

It was originally black, when I got the guitar the body and paint were in pretty bad shape, Adrian had sent the guitar back to Peavey at some point and it had sat in their "boneyard" for quite awhile before my best friend acquired it. When he decided to get rid of the guitar he, knowing how much I love these guitars, offered it to me. When I got it, I got Tim Litchfield at Peavey (the person who built most of the original Vandy's) to re-paint it candy apple red and it turned out just spectacular. 3 of the 7 Vandenbergs I own were at one point Adrian's, I have 4 customs, 1 signature (bolt-on neck), 1 puzzle prototype and 1 quilt-top. The necks are extremely thin which is probably why I like them so much as I have small hands. They were basically Adrians vision of a super-strat combined with a Les Paul, the quilt-top I have is sonically so close to a Les Paul Std. its not even funny. Of course its a mahogany body/neck with a maple top and a rosewood board so it should be. I've noticed over the last year or so that the Vandy's are starting to go up in value, used to, you could get a signature model in great condition for 300-400 dollars, that is getting harder to do now. Maybe one of these days I'll put some pictures up somewhere, lol!!

[tedeeoo]

[quote="Cpt Matt Sparrow"]Interesting comparison! do you mean more the Quiet Riot type writing/playing than the Ozzy material? I can see more of a link there with Whitesnake personally.A lot of people you wouldn't suspect have tipped a hat to Randy, even Ritchie Sambora gives a credit to him on the sleeve notes to Slippery When Wet.

Matt[/quote]

To me the guy that has maybe the most interesting tie to Randy is Paul Gilbert, I never realized how much they sound alike when they alternate pick until I heard the tapes of Randy's seminar from whatever music store it was. A young Paul Gilbert was at that seminar and Paul sounds VERY similar to what I heard Randy do on that tape. I could see Randy developing that same kind of technique had he lived, he wasn't that far from it anyway.

[Cpt Matt Sparrow]

[quote="Cpt Matt Sparrow"]Interesting comparison! do you mean more the Quiet Riot type writing/playing than the Ozzy material? I can see more of a link there with Whitesnake personally.A lot of people you wouldn't suspect have tipped a hat to Randy, even Ritchie Sambora gives a credit to him on the sleeve notes to Slippery When Wet.

Matt

To me the guy that has maybe the most interesting tie to Randy is Paul Gilbert, I never realized how much they sound alike when they alternate pick until I heard the tapes of Randy's seminar from whatever music store it was. A young Paul Gilbert was at that seminar and Paul sounds VERY similar to what I heard Randy do on that tape. I could see Randy developing that same kind of technique had he lived, he wasn't that far from it anyway.[/quote][/quote][/quote][/quote]

I see where you are coming from regarding a stone cold technique, but on the reverse, I don't think Paul Gilbert has developed (yet) that sense of musicality that Randy had.

Of the rock guitarists that are well known, there are a few that have been discussed here (many times) that I think sound very similar to RR. Of those, the most similar to my ears is probably Brian May. The phrasing, the very well structured solos and even the ethos of serving the song first and foremost (and not their ego's) definitely makes them on the same page (IMHO)

Janet Robin said to me something a few years back to me when we were discussing RR that I agreed with whole heartedly; she said (paraphrasing) " a lot of people lump Randy in as a shredder because he had a great technique, but he wasn't a a tall; he was a musician and played what needed to be played"

It may not be the exact words but it was something similar to that. I love hearing (even if I don't 'see' it) what others see in Randy and and what of Randy people see in other guitarists.

Matt