Jeff Beck still rocks — and rolls in his hot rods - Entertainment - Music - TODAYshow.com: He is a sonic Magellan, going to places unfathomable by the complacent human. He thinks out of the box, and in this case the box is usually hand wired, with bass, treble and reverb knobs. He has countless imitators, but no one can duplicate his knack for originality.
Les Paul? Exactly right.
Jeff Beck? Right again.
The two men have seats next to each other in the music pantheon, in the room with the killer acoustics. Even though Paul passed away in August 2009 at the age of 94 and Beck is still wired, rough and ready at 66, their legends remain intertwined. They forged reputations as guitarists who wanted to go to places no one else had ever been.
“And that all started when I was offered a gig in ’64 in Richmond (England). It was a big athletic ground. And I just had a real concern about being heard. I figured, if I’m going to get the biggest gig of my life, they’re going to hear me.
“I got some people to contact Vox, who made big amps. I said, ‘Bring every one you got.’ So I had this big row of Super Beatle amps. I plugged into that and it sounded not too bad. It was right for the venue. I suppose I could have been the first person to play through that many amps.
“Then it went stupid. Then Marshall got a hold of the idea and started making higher wattage. So it was all my bloody fault, really.”