Hi i was just wondering what kind of guitar other players out here use for funk music, im playing an epi LP irght now and its decent for funk but i was wondering what kind of fender would be most recommended?

I would go Stratocaster or Telecaster.

Play both and see. :]

Nile Rodgers' Strat.

Mike Eldred will be meeting with Nile later this year to discuss the new model!


Nile Rodgers
By Jude Gold


“THE HARRY FOX AGENCY ONCE FIGURED OUT THAT something like two billion dollars worth of music has flowed through this one guitar,” says Nile Rodgers. He’s talking about “The Hitmaker,” the ’59/’60-era hard-tail Fender Stratocaster you hear him playing on hit albums he produced for Madonna, David Bowie, Diana Ross, Sister Sledge, Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck, Duran Duran, and myriad other stars. You also, of course, hear that Strat featured prominently in the riffs that power Chic, the band Rodgers formed in the late-’70s with his late, great partner in groove, bassist Bernard Edwards. The Rodgers/Edwards tag team is considered by many to be the funkiest guitar/bass tandem that ever existed, and Chic’s dance floor smashes “Good Times” and “Le Freak” remain two of the most influential funk clinics of all time.


And no, Rodgers, who got his professional start as guitarist in the Apollo Theater and Sesame Street house bands, is not bragging when he mentions all the success he has enjoyed as producer and performer. In fact, having launched the We Are Family Foundation (named after the Sister Sledge mega-hit) some years back, the New York producer has proven to be quite the humanitarian. Success or no success, though, he remains first and foremost a guitarist.

“All my life, I’ve been working on records and playing, and I’m happy to do it, and quite lucky—lucky that I get to groove behind great artists and write songs that people will remember or feel. Times are different now. If I were 19 today, I’d probably be playing in a hardcore funk band, and not making much money. I probably wouldn’t have a record deal. I’d probably be playing a lot of cover songs off Ohio Players records—and [laughing] Chic records, too!”

I was in the fourth or fifth grade when I first heard “Le Freak.” Right then and there, I knew I had to play guitar. Was there a specific recording for you that put you on the guitar path?
It’s interesting, because when I was a kid, the guitar was much more vital to black music. In fact, when you look at classic R&B music, funk music—whatever you want to call it—a lot of the bandleaders were guitar players. What has happened with R&B now is that just about everything is programmed, and that part of the groove that would traditionally be played on guitar by a guy like me can be supported with samples of other things that add a similar percussive element. On one level, it sounds interesting, because there is new sonic information. But spiritually, it doesn’t fill the same void. I used to love walking down the street with a gig bag on my back, and everyone knowing that I made my living playing guitar.

Early on, all of my favorite guitarists were jazz players. I was really into Wes Montgomery— the early stuff at first, when he was really burning, but also the later stuff, when he went into the smooth thing. I liked the smooth stuff a lot because it had an R&B vibe. Then, my whole world changed when I heard James Brown. I realized that almost every one of his records was just two guitars, bass, drums, and a horn section, and it was the funkiest stuff in the world. As a black musician, guitar is really about the rhythm and supporting the arch—you’re usually behind somebody and rarely do the guitar players become stars. So I grew up supporting stars, and felt very comfortable doing that, but, nonetheless, I tried to figure out a style that would allow my own voice to be heard. Funk was the perfect opportunity for that, because with funk records, when someone hums the song to you, it’s usually the guitar riff they’re singing.

Who did you get to play guitar for at the Apollo?
Aretha, Nancy Wilson, Parliament, the Cadillacs—whoever came through and needed guitar. My first show was the most memorable— Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. I’m from New York, so I was more into Motown, etc., and didn’t know much about blues, or Hawkins’ whole act. So, while I’m getting ready to play, reading through the charts, they roll this coffin out. I didn’t know what was going on, when all of the sudden, Hawkins jumps out of the coffin and scares the sh*t out of me. They set me up, because I was the new guy!

Nowadays, it seems that not as many guitarists can read charts.
Back then, if you couldn’t read, you couldn’t make a living. Not only did you have to read, you had to have great powers of interpretation. And you had to be fast, because most of the time you went from one studio to the next, and the producers had only three hours to cut all of the instruments on a song. It helps to be fast when you start doing production, as it keeps costs way down. Chic’s first album cost only $35,000, and we had half the New York Philharmonic on it, plus Bob Clearmountain engineering! I recorded and mixed Bowie’s Let’s Dance—the whole album, from start to finish, with musicians who had never heard the songs before and were reading charts for the first time—in just 21 days.

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

Actually, the answer is, "Any guitar played by Nile Rodgers."

"It ain't the shoes, Mars."

You can't fake the funk. Or buy it at a guitar store.