Accordo: Interview with Mark Erlewine

Mark Erlewine is a myth who deserves to be much better known. We can’t attribute the invention of the "Superstrat" to him with total certainty, however with his Automatic he definitely marked the point of no return in the evolution of the Stratocaster concept and in its contamination with the characteristics and sounds of Gibson. Fans know that Billy Gibbons is an avid admirer of the Texan maker’s early work, since he had him build various guitars including the extraordinary "Have Mercy". However, not many people know that in his long artistic quest for full-bodied sounds, for a long time Mark Knopfler used an Automatic instead of Fenders or Schecters, before going over to the Pensa-Suhr. Nonetheless, the ranks of fans of this extraordinary guitar-maker have remained predominantly Texan, and he also became loved by another two major musicians from the Lone Star State: Johnny Winter and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Mark Erlewine, a gentle, amenable person like all great artists, has given us a fascinating interview. Special thanks to Dianne for her help and for the pictures.

Alberto Biraghi: your Automatic is an outstanding instrument and one of the first (if not the very first) "superstrat" in the guitar history. How did you have the idea of mixing Gibson & Fender specs?

Mark Erlewine: At that time I was making a lot of Les Paul and Strat copies for clients, and I realized that many of them would like to have certain qualities from each blended into one instrument. I started experimenting with different versions and eventually came up with the Automatic design.

A: what qualities were you looking for when you designed the wine-o-matic bridge?

M: I wanted the Wine-O-Matic bridge to be small in size in order to allow the beautiful flame tops to be the prominent feature of the guitars. I had a friend who made jewelry do the casting for me out of bell bronze in order to get the best tone.

A: you have a list of famous customers. did you have any inputs from them?

M: Yes, I had input from many great guitar players. Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top is certainly an artistic visionary who had an impact on the Automatic. Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Mark Knopfler all had an influence on my design with their suggestions.

A: why did you decide to design the Chiquita?

M: Billy Gibbons often complained about having to buy a seat for one of his guitars, “Pearly Gates”, and suggested we design a travel guitar that met the FAA regulations and would fit in the overhead bin of an airplane. We worked together on the design, making several prototypes and finally ended up with the Chiquita.

A: did you know that the Chiquita was going to be used for Back To The Future?

M: No. A friend called me one day and said he thought one of my guitars was in a new movie that had just opened called “Back to the Future”. I went to go see the movie and realized it was the Chiquita in one of the very first scenes. Since then I have been in touch with Michael J. Fox and donated a Chiquita to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s research. The Chiquita was also used in the film, "Spinal Tap", and I also did not know about it until it came out.

A: how did you come out with the design of the Lazer? Did Johnny Winter participate in the project, or did he just like it and adopt it?

M: Ned Steinberger had come out with his headless bass design when I was working on the Chiquita Travel Guitar. I realized the headless system allowed for a reduced length. With that in mind, I thought about the smallest, most comfortable, body shape that would still produce the tone and quality of a classic electric quitar. I decided a neck-through construction of Honduras mahogany would allow the headless system to sustain much like the set-neck Gibson SGs do. Johnny Winter had previously bought one of my Chiquitas, and he was in town for a gig so I took him one of the first Lazers. He loved the great tone and how lightweight it was, and has recorded about 14 albums with it so far.