About the Maker:
Norik Renson is known as guitar technician and runs his shop since the '80, Renson Guitars located in Studio City, North Hollywood, CA. His client list is like the who's who of L.A. guitar players. He was guitar technician among others for Kenny Loggins.
He built also some guitars in the '80. One customer was Carl Verheyen. Carl is a member of that elite (and shrinking) group of musicians known as “session guitarists.” Super-qualified pickers, they’re the hired guns brought in for the most demanding and important recording dates. In the ’80s, he had a few hotrodded Strats with hum buckerss, some stunt guitars with Floyd Rose vibratos built by Norik Renson.
About the Guitar:
This guitar comes from the liquidation of the Record Plant. According to one of the guitar technicians, Norik had built this guitar around 1989 (or earlier) and it was played by Carl Verheyen for a while and then ended up in "the Plant". The three Barolini pickups really make this a loud guitar.
In a recent interview with Wolf Marshall pubished in Vintage Guitar magazine April 2011 , Carl Verheyen remembers:
"At first, the Strat was harder to chord when I had to stretch because of the difference in fretboard scale. My first custom guitar was made with a Gibson 24¾” scale by Dale Fortune. It was cool, but didn’t sound like the longer 25½” scale. I like to play a Strat through Vox AC30s, and I really need those harmonics and that sparkle.
In the ’80s, I had a few hotrodded Strats with humbuckers, some stunt guitars with Floyd Rose vibratos built by Norik Renson. I used one on The Crow. But since the mid ’80s it’s mostly been a true Strat."
Even if Carl has switched to true Strats, this guitar remains a great guitar.
