Guitar Jr Views
The official U.S. Army digiflage camo pattern is applied to the JR Special’s flattop basswood body with Peavey’s patented ArtGuitar printing process. (Peavey can now affix practically any image or photo onto a guitar top through its custom graphic portal at peaveycustomshop.com.) Basswood’s natural ability to control resonance and balance high-gain tones makes this soft wood an excellent choice for the JR Special’s intended marriage to heavy distortion. Remember that players like Steve Vai and Eddie Van Halen have favored basswood bodies for most of the past 20 years. As for the flattop, this was Rand’s preference, as he likes how it feels under his picking hand.
Through a high-gain amp like my Elmwood or FJA-modified Mesa Rectifier, the JR Special’s X2N humbucker pummeled the speakers, producing a crisp thud every time I slammed a muted chord. The guitar cuts a wide and deep path through the mix, just above a bassist’s midrange territory, which is where so many bands lack power. This low-mid focus made it possible for me to engage more of the power amp’s presence and derive an earthier crunch from the power tubes, rather than rely on the preamp’s gain. Lead lines absolutely roared, and sweeps flowed gracefully through the X2N’s extreme output, but I ultimately preferred to use this bridge bucker for rhythm and then switch to the PAF Joe for my lead sounds.
The signature JR Special’s heavy DiMarzio armament, oiled maple neck and Dual Compression tailpiece combine to deliver the powerful lower midrange tones that drive Josh Rand’s sound. At the same time, this guitar is no one trick pony. The JR special is a very warm and organic rock guitar with one of the better out-of-the-box brown sounds. And you can feel good about buying it, knowing that you’re doing your part to help veterans through the Wounded Warrior Project.
Lee Baker Jr. (aka Guitar Jr. and Lonnie Brooks) was born December 18, 1933 in Dubuisson, Louisiana. Lee was encouraged to play music by his grandfather who played banjo. He didn't start playing guitar seriously until he was in his early 20s and living in Port Arthur, Texas. Rapidly assimilating the licks of B.B. King and Long John Hunter, he landed a gig with zydeco pioneer Clifton Chenier. In 1957 he began his own recording career with the influential swamp-pop ballad Family Rules for Goldband Records. The young rock roller, then billed as Guitar Junior, enjoyed more regional success on Goldband with the rocking dance number The Crawl (later covered by the Fabulous Thunderbirds). The late blues scholar Mike Leadbitter wrote that it was songs like these that established Goldband Records as a professional concern.
Guitar Jr Images
