Welcome back to Guitardoor.com, where we celebrate the true masters of the instrument—the players that other players study in awe. Today, we’re heading to the heart of Austin, Texas, to spotlight a living legend and a true unsung hero of the guitar: the one and only Redd Volkaert. A Grammy-winner and the long-reigning king of the Austin honky-tonk scene, Redd is a “guitarist’s guitarist” of the highest order, revered for his jaw-dropping technique, his encyclopedic knowledge of American music, and his unwavering devotion to his six-stringed partner, the Fender Telecaster.
The Austin Sound Personified
Redd Volkaert’s musical style is a masterful and joyous tour through the entire landscape of American roots music. He is a walking, picking encyclopedia, able to effortlessly summon the authentic sounds of old-school honky-tonk, sophisticated Western swing, blistering rockabilly, and harmonically rich bebop jazz, often all within the same improvised solo. For years, he held the daunting position as the lead guitarist for Merle Haggard’s legendary band, The Strangers, proving his mettle on the biggest stages in country music.
However, it is as a bandleader, holding court at his long-standing residency at Austin’s famed Continental Club, where his genius is on full display. His live shows are the stuff of legend—a showcase of his incredible improvisational skill, where he can take a simple country tune and launch it into the stratosphere with long, inventive, and technically dazzling solos. He is a master showman, weaving in quotes from other songs and injecting his trademark wry humour, all while delivering a performance of breathtaking musicianship.
Anatomy of a Tele-Master: Technique and Tone
To watch Redd Volkaert play is to witness the absolute pinnacle of Telecaster technique. He has total and complete command of every country guitar trick in the book, and has written a few new chapters himself. His playing is a flawless display of:
- Chicken Pickin’ and Hybrid Picking: He can produce the snappy, percussive “cluck” of classic country and seamlessly blend it with lightning-fast hybrid picking (using a pick and his fingers) to create intricate, banjo-roll-like passages.
- Bending Mastery: He executes perfectly intonated double-stop and pedal steel-style bends, making his Telecaster cry, sing, and moan with incredible soulfulness.
- Jazz and Bebop Fluency: He can effortlessly switch from a country shuffle to playing fluid, harmonically complex lines worthy of any jazz master, showcasing a deep theoretical knowledge that is rarely found outside of the jazz world.
His choice of gear is as pure, simple, and iconic as it gets. Redd is a Fender Telecaster devotee through and through. His main instrument for decades has been a famously road-worn 1953 Fender Telecaster, a guitar that has become an extension of his own hands. For Redd, the Telecaster is not just a tool for one genre; it is the perfect, versatile workhorse for every style of American music he plays.
His amplifier setup is the gold standard for authentic, clean guitar tone. He is a lifelong user of vintage Fender amplifiers, most famously a blackface Fender Super Reverb. This amp provides the perfect platform for his style: a loud, sparkling, and incredibly clear clean tone with a massive amount of headroom. This allows the true, unadulterated sound of his Telecaster and his incredible technique to be heard with absolute clarity. His rig is a testament to the “less is more” philosophy; there are no complex effects, just a guitar, a cord, and one of the greatest tube amps ever made.
Essential Redd: A Masterclass in American Guitar
Redd Volkaert’s recordings are a treasure trove for any fan of authentic, high-level guitar playing. To get a sense of his incredible skill and his diverse musical vocabulary, these tracks are a perfect starting point.
“Telewacker”
“She’s, Gone, Gone, Gone”
“Home in San Antone”
Redd Volkaert is a true living legend and arguably the greatest living exponent of traditional Telecaster playing. He is a keeper of the flame, preserving and extending the rich traditions of American guitar music with every note he plays. In a world of digital effects and fleeting trends, he stands as a monument to what can be achieved with a simple guitar, a great amp, and a lifetime of dedication to the craft. Still hungry for more great guitarists? why not check out Ed King: The Unlikely Architect of Southern Rock or get the southern sounds by visiting Appalachian Blues Lowdown With Scott Low
Cover Photo Photo “Redd Volkaert” by Karen Miller Photography is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
