Hilton Valentine played that classic guitar riff.
Looked him up on Wikipedia, and lo and behold, they have all the details (which I would never have remembered otherwise)
Quote:
Valentine is credited with the instantly recognizable electric guitar arpeggio introduction to the Animals' 1964 signature song "The House of the Rising Sun", which inspired countless beginning guitarists.[4][5] It was played[6] on his Gretsch Tennessean[3] guitar which he bought in Newcastle in early 1962 while he was still with the Wildcats, and a Selmer amplifier.
Here is a list with pics of all of his equipment
Hilton Valentine Equipment
The Gretsch is 3rd from top, but probably hard to get one of these today IMO
The Selmer is gone, but you can get very close today with Vox amps.
Guitar Center has best prices but even the little practice amps are $120, and the AC30VR 2 X 12 120W that I would recommend go for about $550......not cheap
He plays a Fender Telecaster these days, guess you're never too old to rock n roll
Last edited by PapaPyrite; 10-18-2011 at 01:07 AM.
Reason: Actually, these old English guys need to give it up - looking at you Mick!