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Thread: Mike Campbell's Little Ricky

  1. #1

    Default Mike Campbell's Little Ricky

    Premier Guitar has an article on Heartbreakers guitarists rig which includes a Rickenbacker styled 8-string electric mandolin with a whammy bar. Anybody know anything about this? It's the green on on the far left.

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  2. #2
    Martin Stillion mrmando's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mike Campbell's Little Ricky

    It's by Tony Revell of the UK.
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  3. #3

    Default Re: Mike Campbell's Little Ricky

    Thanks. Is it stock or custom?
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    Notary Sojac Paul Kotapish's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mike Campbell's Little Ricky

    Quote Originally Posted by Verne Andru View Post
    Thanks. Is it stock or custom?
    I believe it's a one-off--in green, anyway, with maybe a handful of similar ones made around the same time in the early '90s.

    I'd love to get my hands on one of those, but as far as I've been able to tell, Tony made a few of these but never pushed it into any kind of regular production. Some old contact info and a few more pictures here:

    http://www.emando.com/builders_active/Revell.htm

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  5. #5
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mike Campbell's Little Ricky

    I always liked the loom of the guitars much more than the one electric mandolin that Rickenbacker produced. Those are cool.
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    Martin Stillion mrmando's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mike Campbell's Little Ricky

    IIRC Tony made 3. One ended up at the Twelfth Fret in Toronto, where Mike bought it. One reportedly was owned or is owned by Nigel Kennedy. The photo of the orange one is from an eBay ad a few years back -- I can't recall whether that one was supposed to have been Kennedy's or not. Tony, I believe, was threatened with a lawsuit if he made any more of these.

    There are a few Little Rickys made recently by AntonioTsai for Dillion Guitars, but the quality of those isn't all that great.
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  7. #7

    Default Re: Mike Campbell's Little Ricky

    Love the idea of the whammy bar. Any idea how stable it is?
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    Default Re: Mike Campbell's Little Ricky

    Someone mentioned this on facebook and googling brought me - here, of course. It also brought me to this video excursion through Mike Campbell's instruments with his tech as tour guide, backstage at a show during sound check. We get to see it up close from various angles. Little Ricky's segment starts at 3:30.
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    Default Re: Mike Campbell's Little Ricky

    Here are a couple of clips of it in action. The first one gives a good idea of what Mike has in mind for his part on the song. It's mostly a showcase for Benmont Tench's piano playing, and the mandolin doesn't show up much after Mike's solo around the 2:00 mark. The second one gives a good close-up view of it, and the way Mike uses it. It's got some effects on it and keeps producing sound after he blunts the strings. Looks like he has to swap out a bad cord after the song starts, which may have thrown him off.

    Full-screen is available by following the links to youtube. Writer's note: he song is living proof that one can indeed rhyme "Melinda" with "window" if one is from the South and pronounces it "winda."



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    Furthering Mandolin Consciousness

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  10. #10

    Default Re: Mike Campbell's Little Ricky

    I found this thread after listening to Mike Campbell play mandolin (nothing fancy, no solo) on the acoustic version of "Even The Losers" that's included in the recent American Treasure Tom Petty box set.

    I had either forgotten or never known that Campbell played some mando. It's no surprise that the Mandolin Cafe community already knew this cool fact and had discussed it on this and 2-3 other forum threads.

  11. #11
    Notary Sojac Paul Kotapish's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mike Campbell's Little Ricky

    Here's one of my favorite clips of Mike playing that mandolin with the Heartbreakers.

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    Notary Sojac Paul Kotapish's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mike Campbell's Little Ricky

    Just for good measure, here's a nice clip of Tom and the Heartbreakers doing an acoustic version of "Insider" with Stevie Nicks. Mike is playing fills and tremolo on some sort of F-4 (a copy, maybe ... see 2:55). Nice setting of the song.

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    Default Re: Mike Campbell's Little Ricky

    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Kotapish View Post
    . . . here's a nice clip of Tom and the Heartbreakers doing an acoustic version of "Insider" . . . Mike is playing fills and tremolo on some sort of F-4 (a copy, maybe ... see 2:55).
    I can't quite make out the name on the headstock, but if I were a betting man, I would lay down a half-weeks salary to say it was a Flatiron . . .

    . . . and just for the record, ANY instrument that looks like a Rickenbacker turns my head!

  14. #14
    Notary Sojac Paul Kotapish's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mike Campbell's Little Ricky

    Quote Originally Posted by MikeZito View Post
    I can't quite make out the name on the headstock, but if I were a betting man, I would lay down a half-weeks salary to say it was a Flatiron . . .
    The logo seems right for a Flatiron, but I wasn't aware that they ever made any F-4 style instruments.
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  15. #15
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mike Campbell's Little Ricky

    It looks like it has a letter with a tail toward the end which would eliminate Flatiron.

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    Jim

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