THE UNIQUE GUITAR BLOG

Danny Gatton's Telecaster

2011-12-11T18:12:00.000-08:00

"The Humbler” is the nickname that Amos Garrett gave to Danny Gatton. Gatton was a Telemaster that held the title of “World’s Greatest Unknown Guitarist.” He was an amazing player and ususally weilded a 1953 Telecaster that his father purchased new for him. Occasionally he played a Gibson ES-295, that also was new when he bought it.

Danny Gatton’s father played guitar and as a teen, Gatton began playing. Some would call him a prodigy. He lived in Maryland and played music in clubs in the Washington D.C. area. He could go from Country Tele licks to Jazz to Blues to slide guitar during the same song.

He was in Roger Miller’s back-up band. He also jammed with reknown steel player, Buddy Emmons.

To the music listener, Gatton was an unknown. To guitar afficienados and well known players, such as Les Paul, Clapton, Willie Nelson, Alvin Lee, Steve Earle, Chris Isaak and Jimmy Vaughn, Gatton was appreciated and envied. He appeared on-stage with some of these artists.

During Gatton’s career a rumor surfaced regarding the competition between Danny and Roy Buchanan.

Buchanan and Gatton were frequent jamming partners. Both were Tele-masters, both underappreciated by the public and both met an untimely end.

Note the metal plate on the body

His 1953 Fender Telecaster was modified and included two Joe Barden pick-ups and a device Gatton called, “The Magic Dingus.” The pickup switch on the Tele had been bent down and the original knob had been replaced with some sort of green monster-like toy.

The Magic Dingus was a controller that fit on the bottom section of the Teles body. Gatton had mounted a metal plate that ran from the end of the pickup and bridge mount to the far end of the body. On this he mounted the Dingus, which was actually a remote effects controller.

Gatton idolized Les Paul and originally used the Dingus on a 3 pickup Les Paul guitar to control reverb, tremolo, a phase shifter and an Echoplex. I’m going to guess the Magic Dingus was Gatton’s version of The Paulveriser.

After he was criticised for relying to heavily on effects, Gatton removed the Magic Dingus, but not the mounting plate. After that the only effect Gatton relied on was an old Echoplex or a Chandler digital echo unit.

As far as amplifiers, Gatton was a Fender player. He used two ‘50’s Twin amps, a blackface Super Reverb and three modified Fender Vibrolux amps.

Gatton’s other passion, beside guitar, was restoring vintage automobiles. I recall reading that Gatton traded his 1953 Telecaster for a valuable old car that he wanted to restore. I’ve looked to see if I can find cooberating evidence, but I cannot find any and apparently Gatton’s widow and daughter have his old ’53 Tele, among the many guitars he left them.

Custom Shop Tele/Slide with Bottle

As I recall after the sale, Mike Stevens, one of Fender’s Custom Shop more well known designers, built Danny a new Telecaster that was based on his 1953 model.

The guitar, which was numbered DG00001, featured early-model Joe Barden pickups, a .05 capacitor so Gatton could create wah effects. Stevens had applied a beautiful butterscotch finish to the instrument. But Gatton’s brother redid the finish by applying Ditzler Sunshine yellow over a gold base to recreate the look of Gatton’s ES-295.

On October 4, 1994, Gatton went to his garage, where he restored his cars. He locked the door and shot himself with a gun. He left no explanation.

Hamilton Steel Guitars

2011-10-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I received a great email from Chris Hamilton regarding The Unique Guitar Blog. It turns out that Chris is a professional metal worker and a highly skilled luthier. He has combined his talents to create Hamilton Steel Guitars.

You may have seen some of his instruments featured in Guitar Player Magazine or other guitar related literature.

His guitars are not guitars that are played with a steel bar, but guitars with mainly steel bodies.

In my reply to him, after a cursory view of his webpage, I commented that the guitars reminded me of Veleno instruments. But after further study, these guitars are nothing like Velenos. Hamilton Steel Guitars are among the most unique instruments that I have ever seen.

The instruments that Hamilton creates are works of art, sculptures in metal if you will.

Chris Hamilton

Hamilton Steel Guitars, which he abbreviates as HSG, is located in Van Nuys, California. Chris’ business is a one man operation, turning out one instrument at a time, so each is 100% handmade. All guitars are made of steel with an aluminum neck pocket and bridge block. Chris accomplishes this through his skillful use of T.I.G. welding (tungsten inert gas) to bind the instruments shapes together.

Chris began building and customizing motorcycles and prerunner, off road, racing trucks. But his passion is the guitars that he builds.

I'll note that he machines the bodies and necks on pre-WWII era milling equipment. Parts are made on an old LeBlond lathe. Unlike other manufacturers, there is nothing digital about Hamilton Steel Guitars. They are made in the same manner as luthery artisans of the past.

Chris' guitars are amazing. In a market that is flooded with replicas of American made guitars, Hamilton Steel Guitars stand out. Hamilton's instruments are hollow metal replicas of well-known electric instruments, such as Les Pauls, Gibson Explorers, Fender Telecasters and Stratocasters, however each instrument is made of rolled steel. Chris also builds his own unique designs and is able to customize an intrument to each customers specifications.

These guitars feature unusual twists, such as a radiator style grills, custom contours or decorative paneling on the body. Chris offers custom necks made of aluminum, graphite or exotic woods.

HSG offers custom finishes, such as Brushed Steel, Chrome, Nickel or one he calls Heavy, Medium or Light Rusting. This one gives the metal instrument an unusual aged look reminiscent of modern art sculptures. The visual impact of his creations is awesome.

As I have intimated, your order can be customized to fit any specifications you desire.

Pickguards and pickup rings can be fashioned from aluminum, copper, stainless steel or brass.

Your HSG does not have to come with a natural aluminum finish. The guitars are offered with Candy, Pearl, Metalflake, Powder Coat and any popular automotive or motorcycle finish. Chris even does Wallpaper finishes.

Pickups brands and types are left up to the purchaser. You can include however many pickups you desire, even piezo pickups.

HSG can be order with any style headstock. The bodies come with or without F-holes. Despite being made from metal, the hollow build allows the instruments to weigh anywhere from 6.5 to 11 pounds, which is no more than most solidbody wooden guitars.

There is one last thing you need to know about Hamilton Steel Guitars...They are not just entirely handmade, they are also bulletproof!

Check out the website at: http://www.hamiltonsteelguitars.com/

Chris was kind enough to send me some pictures of his remarkable creations. Enjoy!

Check out this video of Chris building a body. It is fascinating.

Tommy Smothers - Comedian Guitars Part Four

2011-10-22T13:11:00.001-07:00

The final installment of Comedian Guitars is about Tommy Smothers, the guitar playing brother of The Smothers Brothers. He was the one his mother did not like best.

Tom was born in New York City. Tom’s father was Major Thomas Smother, a West Point graduate and military officer during WWII. The Major died when he was being transported from a POW camp in Japan. Tom’s mother moved the family to the Los Angles area and raised her children in Califonia’s Redondo Beach area.

Tom and Dick Smothers both attended San José State University. The brothers joined a folk group called the Casual Quintet. By 1959 they were playing at the popular Purple Onion, a San Francisco folk club. A few years later they developed the Smothers Brothers act and recorded a successful comedy album at the same club. In 1961 they made their first national appearance on The Jack Paar Show, and later on The Steve Allen Show, which was the forerunner of the Tonight Show.

The brothers set out ot be serious folk singers. Tom would introduce a song by making things up. Dick would chime in by disagreeing with Tom. Then a brotherly argument would ensue with a comic ending.

By 1965, CBS television offered them an hour long variety show. The brothers agreed to the show and it was a huge success. By 1967 their contract came up for renewal. In the contract language, they insisted on total creative control.

Now this was at a time when the United States was in the midst of the very unpopular Viet Nam War, social unrest was rampant due to the war and civil injustice to Black citizens. The drug culture was emerging, as was free love and an interest arose in alternative forms of religion. The Smothers Brothers, led by Tom, felt a calling to speak up on these topics by use of their humor. This did not sit well with the CBS censors. Each show became a battle. This led to the show’s demise.

Tom became very politically active. At one point he joined his friend John Lennon on the recording of Give Peace A Chance.

Tom Smothers found other work in the entertainment industry and won acolades for his talent and determination to take a stand. He owns a vineyard in Sonoma County and creates wines under the Remick Ridge Vineyards label.

Tom Smothers has used only two brands of guitar during his career. He played a Martin or a Guild.

The guitar that he is primarly seen with is the Guild D-55TV. This is Guild’s top-of-the-line dreadnaught. Although it is not as fancy as a Martin D-45, the Guild is a fine instrument.

It has been used by Folk, Country and Bluegrass artists and hearlded for its big voice. The D-55 is a true workhorse of a guitar. Unlike the Les Paul TV model, which had a yellow hue to show up better on black and white television, the Guild designation of TV is due to the use of the best woods and craftsmanship, that Guild Guitars would be proud to display on television.

I have heard it said that in Guild’s nomiclature, the designation T, noted an instrument with a natural top. I cannot find evidence to support this claim. The D-55TV is an updated and fancy version of their model D-50.

Tom Smothers is generally seen playing a sunburst D-55TV.

For those unfamiliar with Guild’s history, the company was founded by Alfred Dronge and George Mann in 1952. The Epiphone guitar company had been sold to Gibson by the Stathopoly family. This left employees of the Manhattan firm out of work. Dronge and Mann put together a Guild of the finest luthiers in New York to start up their company. Their venture was a big success and the headquarters moved to Hoboken, New Jersey, since the company outgrew its original plant.

The advent of folk and blues music was a big assist to Guild and they concentrated less on archtop jazz guitars and more on flattop guitars in the Martin style.

Alfred Dronge was killed in an airplane accident. In 1966 the company was acquired by the Avnet Corporation and moved to Westerly, Rhode Island. Guitars from Westerly are considered to be the best that Guild made. Guild expanded into the electric guitar market in the mid 1960’s, due to the increased interest in the electric guitar.

The Fender Musical Instrument Corporation never seemed capable of producing a really great acoustic guitar.

The company was in an acquisition mode in the late 1990’s. They had purchased the small, Washington State based Tacoma guitar company and next set their sites on Guild.

The Rhode Island plant was old and the machinery was not modern. In Fender’s eyes, it was inefficient. Fender had just built a brand new factory in Corona, California. The employees in Westerly were offered jobs, if they wanted to relocate to California. I don’t believe anyone took up the offer.

Production of Guilds in Corona did not last very long, before Fender moved Guild to the Tacoma facility in Tacoma, Washington. It was during this time that Fender started importing Asian made Guilds, using the Guild name.

Kaman Incorporateds main business was building precision industrial parts and building heliocopters. They had devoted almost 40 years to their founders dream of building a guitar by using synthetic materials. This was the company that made and sold Ovation Guitars.

The company decided in 2004 to unload the guitar division. Fender was right there and bought the company and their facility in New Hartford, Connecticut. Fender not only went on the manufacture Ovation guitars in the Connecticut facility, but moved production of Guild there as well.

American made Guilds are a bargain when compared with similar Martin and Gibson instruments. Their D-55 model sells new for around $2800 USD, with a hardshell case included.

This last video features The Who on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. They are singing My Generation. Stay tuned for the end of the clip. Keith Moon put explosives in his bass drum, however without Moon's knowledge a stage hand put in extra explosives. Moon is stunned at the end of the clip. Townsend blames this for hearing loss.

Ranger Doug (Green) Comedian Guitars - Part Three

2011-10-19T19:15:00.000-07:00

In the early 1990’s, a local public radio station from Cincinnati, Ohio, WVXU, played host to the Rider’s Radio Theater, featuring The Riders In The Sky. Two shows would be taped for broadcast on each visit. To be there was like going back in time to the early days of radio, complete with a sound effects man and each of the Riders doing different character voices.

The group consists of Woody Paul (Dr. Paul Chrisman) on fiddle, Too-Slim (Fred Labour) on upright bass, Joey the Cow Polka King (Joey Miskulin) on accordion and Ranger Doug (Douglas B. Green) on guitar.

As we are dedicated to guitars, I’ll be talking about Douglas B. Green. Doug is not just the guitarist, but sings lead vocals and yodels. He is also arranges for the Rider’s songs. He has won awards for songwriting. He sings lead vocal and yodels with the Riders In The Sky. Ranger Doug also lays claim to be The Idol Of American Youth.

Green didn’t start out to be a musician. He got a degree from the University of Michigan and did his post-graduate work at Vanderbilt, with a degree in Literature. It was during this era that he became interested in folk music, particularly Western Cowboy songs.

Prior to Riders In The Sky, Green played in a number of Bluegrass Bands. He even was in Bill Monroe’s group for awhile. He also joined the Buck White Family group, which performed Gospel songs. Green supplemented his income by doing guitar repair work at Gruhn Guitars in Nashville.

In my opinion, Ranger Doug is this generations foremost rhythm guitarist. He plays in the chunky style of Freddie Green and all of the big band era players. In 2006, he evened published an instruction book called, “Rhythm Guitar the Ranger Doug Way.”

Doug’s beloved Gibson L-5 was stolen years ago. He currently prefers vintage Stromberg guitars. Luthiers Charles and Elmer Stromberg designed these based on the Gibson L-5. However, the lower bouts on their Master 400 measured 19” across.

These guitars were cannons of sound. They had to be, to be heard above big band brass, reeds and drums. Strombergs are scarce, hence extremely valuable and collectible.

When he is not touring and recording with The Riders, Doug Green plays rhythm guitar in the well known Nashville, Western Swing band known as The Time Jumpers.

The Time Jumpers are omprised of nine of Nashville's finest studio and musicians and vocalists. The group started in 1998 with an idea from bandleader Hoot Hester to get together and play Western swing for their own enjoyment. If you are ever in Nashville, check them out to see if they are playing.

Green has authored a couple of books. One is called Playing Guitar the Ranger Doug Way. (One of the oft quoted Riders in the Sky taglines says, “It’s not always the easy way, but it’s the Cowboy way.”) Green also authored a book on cowboy singers and guitarists, called Singing in the Saddle. The History of the Singing Cowboy. He is also an avid collector of vintage instruments. So it is not going to be easy to discuss all of his guitars. We will stick to the ones he is most seen playing.

In the Cincinnati shows, I recall that he was playing a sunburst Gibson L-5C.In an interview, Doug goes on to say, the Gibson L-5 was an offshoot of a guitar that Gibson produced in the mid 1930’s called the Super 800. This was a fancy version of the Super 400 and it was Gibsons top of the line instrument of that era.

Allow me a minute to digress. Wes Tuttle is probably not a household name. Wes was in a handful of movies with singing cowboy, Stuart Hamblin. Hamblin had a hit song in 1955 called This Old House. Tuttle owned and played a left handed 1939 Gibson L-5 throughout his career.

Aside from working with Hamblin, Tuttle’s biggest claim to fame was dubbing in Dopey’s part in “The Dwarf’s Yodeling Song” in the 1937 Disney version of Snow White. Tuttle was also in the Sons of the Pioneers.

During the golden age of radio, he performed in Cincinnati on the Boone County Jamboree on 50,000-watt radio station,WLW.

Tuttle had a couple of notable hit songs. One was called Detour and the other called With Tears in my Eyes. In the 1950s he was a writer and performer on the “Town Hall Party” TV show in Los Angeles. Wes Tuttle was inducted into The Western Music Hall of Fame in 1997.

Ranger Doug with L-5

A year after Wes Tuttle passed away, his widow, Marilyn, was thoughtful and generous enough to present Tuttle’s L-5 to Doug Green. Green states, “In the course of my getting to know these people I got to know Wesley Tuttle, and he helped me with the book greatly.”

After receiving the Gibson L-5, Green had it refretted, added a bone nut, cut for right handed playing and had a new right-handed pickguard built for the guitar.

Green admits to owning quite a collection of Gibson archtops, including a blonde L-5C, a 1941 L-5 Cutaway, and a pre-World War II J-200 (a fancy flat top model that was also a favorite of the singing cowboys). There are pictures of him playing a vintage Epiphone Regent model.

Doug Green had an affinity for guitars like Tuttle’s Gibson L-5 ever since he formed Riders in the Sky in 1977. The L-5 is an “archtop” style, a style invented and perfected by the Gibson company, featuring a top that is carved into an arched shape, like a violin. Prior to the availability of electric guitars, guitarists in big bands found that archtop models were the only guitars that could produce enough volume to be heard above drums and horn sections.

Gibson’s L-5 was the original f-hole archtop, and it was the favorite of many performers throughout the 1930s and ‘40s. As Green says, “A lot of people think 1939 was the best year for Gibson archtops. No question, they made the most attractive guitar. They came up with the design and nobody could top it. To me, the 1939 Gibson…. you’re just not going to top that.”

Green’s style of playing is much like the “comping” of Freddie Green’s swing playing with Count Basie. Ranger Doug plays a lot of 3 note chords, many times using five or six strings, but muting all strings but three. The chord changes occur each half measure. This makes the guitar the rhythm instrument for the Riders.

Aside from being an authority on Singing Cowboys, Green is also an authority on Stromberg guitars.

Charles and Elmer Stromberg built instruments using the Gibson L-5 as a template, however they scavenged for old wood, used their own system of bracing, and on their Master series made the lower bout 19 inches wide. This was almost a full two inches larger than Gibson or D’Angelico.

Stromberg’s top models were their colossal, nineteen-inch-wide bodies that provided the tremendous volume and projection needed for a rhythm guitarist to be heard in the large jazz orchestras of the 1940s. Charles and Elmer, father and son, worked together in Boston, beginning in the early 1930s. Both men died in 1955. I have never been fortunate enough to play a Stromberg, however I am told these are the greatest guitars for playing rhythm.

This cutaway version of the Stromberg G-3 model was made circa 1950 and has been owned and used by "Ranger Doug" Green and was offered for sale by Gruhn Guitars of Nashville.

In a handwritten letter accompanying this guitar, Ranger Doug writes, "It is with considerable regret that I part with Stromberg G-3 #602, a guitar that has traveled all over the country and been on the Grand Ole Opry many times."

As I have stated, Green is an authority on Stromberg instruments. He states there are only five G-3 cutaways known to exist. So this is indeed a rare guitar. The guitar was professionally refinished in cherry sunburst..

During one of the Cincinnati Rider’s Radio Shows that I attended, Ranger Doug took a break from his usual large-bodied F-hole guitars to play a Gibson J-200 on a couple of songs. I suppose many of us associate that guitar with Miss Emmylou Harris, but it was the singing cowboys and other country artists that were attracted to this guitars “bling” factor and the fact that it was big and loud. Though we associate Gene Autry with Martin Guitars, he also held court with a Gibson J-200.

As a tribute to Ranger Doug’s preference for Gibson guitars, The Gibson Musical Instrument Company has presented Green with two great instruments.

In 2009, Gibson Master Luthier, Ren Ferguson, sent Ranger Doug a handmade contemporary version of the Gibson J-200, made especially for the Idol of American Youth.

In 2010, Gibson once again honored this generation’s most famous singing cowboy with a beautiful new blond, Gibson L-5C, that was also made by Ren Ferguson. This is a prototype of the Gibson Ranger Doug model.

During his long career, Doug Green counts himself fortunate to have met many of his guitar inspirations such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, as well as Wes Tuttle, Jimmy Wakely, Eddie Dean, Bob Nolan, Lloyd Perryman, and Ray Whitle.

I’ve always been a fan of acoustic music and close vocal harmony arrangements. The Riders in the Sky are at the top of my list.

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The George Gobel Gibson L-5CT - Comedian Guitars part 2

2011-10-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

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In the 1950’s, comedian, singer and guitarist, George Gobel was a hot commodity. In 1954, he was the star of his own television show on the NBC network. This variety show featured the most popular TV and movie stars of the day. The show ran for six years.

Gobel was a rather short fellow. Much like Drew Cary, George Gobel was known for wearing his hair in a crew cut.

His musical career began when he was a child and was known on the radio as Little Georgie Gobel. Later, he toured with country bands by singing cowboy songs and billing himself as The Littlest Cowboy. Gobel appeared on radio shows of the day, including The National Barn Dance from Chicago’s WLS radio.

Unfortunately, his career was cut short due to WWII. During these years, he joined the Army Air Force and served as a flight instructor in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Later in his career, he would joke that none of them enemy ever made it through to Tulsa.

Gobel’s sense of humor was very low-key. He talked about his home and referred to his over-bearing wife as Spooky Ol’ Alice. He referred to himself as Lonesome George. He had several catch phrases that brought laughs, such as "Well I'll be a dirty bird" and "You can't hardly get those any more." Gobel was featured in several movies.

George Gobel was one of a handful of players honored by the Gibson Guitar Company, during their Kalamazoo era. Gibson made a special guitar bearing his name; the Gibson L-5CT George Gobel Model. The prototype of the guitar was presented to George by fellow comedian Tennessee Ernie Ford on Gobel’s TV show.

The original model that Gobel played had the same features as the L-5C model, but the bodies depth was only 2.25”. This short depth helped Gobel play more comfortably. The prototype presented to Gobel had a scale of 25.5”, which was unusual for a Gibson instrument. The production models all used a 24.75” scale. Gobel’s guitar had a beautiful dark red finish, that showed up nicely on television. His instrument had a venetian or rounded cutaway.

For those unfamiliar with Gibson’s designation, the letter C is for cutaway, the letter T is for thin, the letter E designates an electric guitar and the letter S indicates a Spanish/six string guitar. For example, a Gibson ES-335T, designates a thinline instrument.

The fact the guitar is a double cutaway is factored in to the 335 designation. Another little known fact is the numerals at one time indicated the instruments price. A Gibson ES-335T, sold for $335. A Gibson ES-175, sold for $175. Those were the days!

From Guitar Center $25,000

Between 1958 through 1962 only 44 George Gobel L-5CT’s were manufactured, which makes this an extremely rare guitar. How did it sound? I’m told that despite the narrow body depth, the guitar produced a very nice and big tone.

This is it, the "one-off" custom-built especially for Gobel by Gibson, with Serial Number 27318, which the Gibson archive dates to March 20, 1958 and hand-notes "Lonesome George Gobel Spec." The Gibson label inside this guitar notes the serial number and "L5 C- Special" as model.

Gibson L-5C

The guitar is slightly thicker (2 5/8 in.) than the production model and has a standard L-5 25 1/2 inch scale to the production model's 24 3/4 inches.

Gobel's L-5C "Special" has a 17 inch wide body, weighs just 4.90 lbs and has a nut width of 1 11/16 inches.

The top is carved spruce. The back and sides are curly maple and so is the neck. The neck is bound and capped with an ebony fretboard and 20 jumbo frets. It also features inlaid pearl block position markers. The tuners are made by Kluson and the tuning buttons are Kluson's bell-shaped models.

The pickguard is feaux tortoiseshell with a five ply binding. The saddle is made of rosewood and compensated. The guitar's distal end features a distinctive L-5 trapeze tailpiece. All the hardware is gold-plated. The factory number on the orange label is A 27318.

Despite the shallow depth, the guitar has a remarkable tone.

Homer Haynes Guitars - Comedian Guitars Part 1

2011-10-02T00:20:00.000-07:00

Henry D. Haynes aka Homer (of Homer and Jethro) was one of THE best rhythm guitarists ever. At least that is what Chet Atkins had to say about him. Chet should know, because he frequently called him as a session player.

Haynes started his career at age 16 when he and Kenneth (Jethro) Burns won an audition on Knoxville radio station, WNOX. At the time, the host could not remember their names, so he christened them Homer and Jethro.

The duo played live on the great Country Music shows of the mid 1930’s, such as the Renfro Valley Barn Dance, the Midwestern Hayride, the Ozark Jubilee, and the National Barn Dance. These all not only had a live audience, but were broadcast on the radio. So millions of listeners became aware of the comedy duo. The guys hit it big when they discovered their niche of doing parodies of popular songs. And though Homer and Jethro were funny, both were serious musicians.

Haynes played guitar in a style known as comping (accompianing), which was popular with most big band guitarists of the era. Instead of playing a single chord, the player would play variations of the chord or related chords, which made the song more interesting and made great use of the guitar as a rhythm instrument. One of the few guys that has mastered this technique is Doug Green aka Ranger Doug of Riders in the Sky and the Time Jumpers.

Homer Haynes favored a beautiful red-burst Gibson L-5C throughout his career. He occasionally was seen with a natural finish and a sunburst L-5C.

Early in Haynes career, he played an Epiphone Triumph. He can be seen in videos with a Gibson J-200. The main instrument was always the L-5C.

Homer with #001

In the mid 1950’s, Leo Fender bestowed Haynes with a Stratocaster that bore the registration 001. The instruments body was painted gold. The pickups were white. The knobs were white and the scratchplate was tinted gold and all the hardware was gold plated. It was a beautiful instrument. But you never saw Homer playing it. Perhaps he realized its value and left it at home under the bed.

In 1988, Fender made a decision to reissue a Homer Haynes Limited Edition Stratocaster that was limited to 500 units (Though some authorities say 200 units.)

This was an exact replica of the original intrument that utilized the same machine bent bridge saddles and five spring tremolo. The neck was maple. The pickguard was attached to the body by eight wood screws. The pickup switch was the older 3-position model that is found on all 1956 Strats.

The Gibson L-5C is the cutaway model of the L-5. This beautiful instrument was carved by Gibson's craftsmen out of solid spruce. The body is 17” wide at the lower bout. The bound neck is fitted with an ebony fretboard, with pearloid, block inlays. The neck and binding features a point at the distal end of the neck. The headstock is bound and capped in black maple with a flower-pot inlay.

The binding around the body features six plies, while the binding on the neck and headstock are made of two plies.

Homers guitar came with a beautiful, black, bound, celluloid pickguard. The adjustable, movable bridge is made of rosewood and the deluxe tailpiece is gold plated. The tuning pegs are also gold plated. The neck has a 25.4” scale. It is a beautiful instrument and the very guitar that John D’Angelico and Elmer Stromberg looked at as a model for their instruments.

Homer and Jethro’s humor may seem a little dated by todays standards, but it was always good clean fun. Both men’s instrumental musical ability was overshadowed by their fame as comedians.

Seagull S6 - Your First Guitar

2011-09-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

“If I was just starting to learn guitar, what instrument should I buy?” I am asked that question from time to time. My response is always the Seagull S6.

When I started to play guitar, my Dad bought a Harmony Patrician from Will’s Pawn Shop for $20 USD. It came with heavy gauge Black Diamond strings, which were the only strings Will sold. Those strings were at least a half inch above the neck at the twelfth fret. It was difficult to play. The cheap open gear tuners were hard to turn and one of the tuning posts bent to the side. It was a better instrument than the ones some of my friends owned. At least it was made of wood.

The new beginner guitars at the time were made of birch and had ladder bracing. The necks were thick. The tuners were not much better than my Patrician was. The strings were just about as high off the neck. A dull finish came painted on to the guitars top. The pickguard was just a painting of a pickguard.

Guitar technology has come a long way. CNC machines turn out exacting measurements on just about any instrument. Heavy strings are still available, but most of us choose light or medium gauge. However, some parts of a guitar differentiate a good guitar from a bad guitar.

Many beginner models now come with a solid top or soundboard instead of a laminated top. However, even though the top is solid, there are other considerations. Many instruments are made of high-pressure laminate; wood shavings and dust that have been mixed with a bonding agent and pressed together, with a veneer covering to make a board.

DX-1

Even Martin uses this technique on their DX series of guitars. Low priced instruments use this process on guitar soundboards. Some guitars may come with solid spruce tops, but the high gloss polyester finish erodes the sound.

What makes the Seagull S6 unique?

The top is solid and made of book matched cedar. Cedar is a material used on guitar soundboards for centuries. Most Flamenco guitars come with cedar tops. A book matched top is made by sawing a plank of wood in half then reattaching the halves together. This enhances and evens out the grain of the wood. As the guitar gets older and is played, the vibrations produced on a solid guitar soundboard become more robust. This is the aging process.

Another unique factor on the S6 is the top is made in such a way that the top slightly arches around the bridge area. Seagull calls this “the compound curve.” When it comes to producing sound vibrations on a guitar, the area around the bridge is the most active. Therefore, the arching emphasizes the vibrations and makes the sound more dynamic.

Although the Seagull S6 utilizes laminate for its sides and back, but not made from high-pressure wood material. Seagull uses wild cherry wood sawn into three thin strips glued together with the center strips grain going the opposite way from the top and bottom strip.

Though solid wood is preferable, this process gives added strength to the body.

The Seagull’s neck is made of silver leaf maple wood that is readily available. The feel of the neck may be a little bigger than on other guitars; however, the instrument is very playable and the slight bulk of the neck enhances the sound. The fretboard is made of Indian rosewood.

The neck is attaches to the guitar by two wooden dowels that come through the guitars heel and glued into the inner neck block. This eliminates glue between the heel and body, thus allowing a continuous wood-to-wood fit.

The headstock is unique in a couple of ways. The most obvious is the diamond shape taper. The purpose of this shape is to allow the strings to be pulled straight back instead of pulling to the side. This accomplishes two things. The string does not bind up at the nut, which will adversely affect tuning and the straight pull minimizes fatigue on the neck.

The other unique factor on the S6’s headstock is the way it attaches to the neck. The process is known as the reverse headstock. The neck starts out as a straight piece of lumber. Wood is sawn at a 45-degree angle at the top of the neck. The top piece is turned upside down, so the grain runs in the opposite direction and re-glued to the neck. Older guitars were made using this process.

High quality guitars costing four times as much as the Seagull utilize this technique.

A truss rod placed in the guitars neck is accessible for adjustment through the soundhole.

The last factor affecting the neck of the S6 is the pitch of the neck. An improper angle will cause the sound to be too thin or too muddy. Seagull utilizes a machine that adjusts the neck pitch perfectly.

The S6 is custom polished instead of spraying with a thick coat of polyester. The coat applied is similar to the French polish used on violins and some guitars. This method does not dampen the sound emanating from the guitars top.

Perhaps the most desirable factor of a Seagull S6 is the price. This instrument sells for less than $400 USD. You may even find a used S6 for half of that price.

A few comparable instruments to the Seagull are the Epiphone Masterbuilt line and the Taylor Big Baby. The Masterbuilt Epiphones are excellent guitars that are made entirely of solid wood. However most sell for at least $100 USD more than the Seagull S6.

The Taylor Big Baby is a large version of Taylor’s travel guitar. The top is solid spruce, but the back and sides are laminate. The neck screws into the neck block with two screws exposed at the 16th fret. There is no neck heel. The Big Baby is only slightly smaller than a full size guitar. It has a 15/16th scale. Despite these drawbacks, the Big Baby has a great sound and the factory set up is great. This instrument sells for about $50 more than the Seagull, but it does come with a gig bag.

One thing about the Seagull S6 you need to know is the action is set a little higher than I prefer. This is remedied by removing the bridge saddle and sanding down the underside slightly. There are instructions on the internet for this process.

The saddle and nut are made of a synthetic material called Tusq. This is much better than the plastic used on most guitars in this price range. A benefit of Tusq is that it is very easy to work with and comparable to bone. You can also have the music stores repair department do this for you.

I would recommend before removing the saddle, place a mark on the lower side. The saddle is compensated. If you put it in backwards, you will not get the guitar in tune.

The S6 can be ordered with the Godin Quantum Electronic system. This raises the price of the guitar by around $100.

Seagull guitars are made in La Patrie, Quebec Canada and are owned by Robert Godin. Mr. Godin produces several other brands including Godin guitars (mostly electric instruments), Simon and Patrick guitars (named after his sons), La Patrie classical guitars, Norman guitars, and Arts, and Lutherie guitars (his budget line).

Looking at the inner sticker of a Seagull, you may note that it says "handmade." To some extent, this is true. Guitars are labour intensive and a lot of the work involves an individual working by hand to make the instrument. Most guitar manufacturers work this same way. I do not want to diminish the quality of work these folks do. A truly handmade instrument by a luthier is something special, made by one individual, and is going to set you back a lot of money.

Perhaps the ultimate aspect that sets the S6 apart from other guitars, even those that are more expensive, is the Seagull's sound. The Seagull S6 has a boomy, but crisp tonal quality. It is a most excellent instrument for strumming or fingerpicking.

La Patrie is a small community in eastern Quebec. Godin employs almost half of the population.

Seagull guitars are wonderful instruments. I own a Seagull Grand, which is a parlor-sized guitar. I love the tone it produces. As I have said before, as these guitars get older, they sound better. The S6 is the first guitar that Seagull produced back in 1982. It is not just an excellent instrument, but a great value as well.

Prince's Guitars

2011-09-01T22:56:00.000-07:00

Quite a few years ago, in the Cincinnati, Ohio area, there was a department store called Swallens. This company specialized mainly in furniture, appliances, and electronics.

In the late 1970’s Swallens started offering a few musical instruments, mainly Gretsch guitars, for sale. This may have been because Cincinnati was home to the Baldwin Piano Company, which at the time owned the Gretsch Company.

I will also mention that Duke Kramer, who was running Baldwin’s guitar division, made his home in Cincinnati. Mr. Kramer had been Gretsch number one salesman.

Duke Kramer of Gretsch

Swallens was the first place I had encountered a Gretsch White Falcon. In addition to the Gretsch line, they also stocked a few brands made in Asia.

One of the guitars was a distinctive Telecaster style instrument that had an ash body surrounded by a dark tortoise-shell binding on its top and bottom. The plastic pickguard appeared to be tortoise-shell. There was also a thin strip of binding material down the center of the body, from the end of the bridge to the rear of the guitar. The headstock was very similar to that of a Fender Telecaster, except for the brand, which said Hohner.

The other feature distinguishing this instrument from a genuine Fender was its bridge. Instead of the typical Telecaster bridge, this guitar had a bridge similar to that found on a hard-tail Stratocaster. Surrounding the bridge was an oval of plastic that matched the pickguard. It was a very distinctive look.

Most of us know that Hohner is a German company well known for their excellent harmonicas, accordions, and reed based instruments.

During the 1960’s Hohner branched out into manufacturing the Pianet electric piano and the Clavinet, which was an electric version of the 17th century instrument called the clavichord, which simply described is a smaller version of a harpsichord. In the 1970’s, I was unaware they were manufacturing guitars.

Hohner, founded in 1857 by Matthias Hohner, became the world’s largest producer of harmonicas. The company continued under his family heirs through the 1965. By the 1970’s the company branched out into electric instruments.

It was in the early 1980’s when Hohner joined forces with the Sabian Cymbal Company and Sonor. Due to declining sales, the company underwent massive lay-offs in 1986 and the Kunz-Holding GmbH & Co acquired most of its assets.

By 1997, the assets became the property of K.H.S. Musical Instruments Co. Ltd., based in Taiwan. Most of the manufacturing moved to Asia, although some high-end products are manufactured in Europe.

The next time I saw a Hohner guitar exactly like the one I have described is when I saw the film Purple Rain, which featured Prince. I was astonished that someone who could afford to play an expensive, big-name instrument would be playing this knock-off by Hohner.

However, I have friends and know of pros that continue to stick with the instruments they started out playing.

I later learned Hohner designated this instrument the Hohner TE.

Through the years, Hohner continued to offer the guitar.. Changes occurred to make its appearance more like a Telecaster. The bridge changed to a metal plate with a six adjustable bridge saddles. The colours changed and the binding on the rim disappeared.

Hohner continues to offer a well-made version of this instrument, now known as the Prince guitar. The headstock has changed to include the German-cut, popularized by Roger Rosmeisl.

Prince had changes made to his Hohner that included the installation of Kinman Broadcaster pickups, accomplished by changing the routing of the pickguard and bridge plate.

The Kinman units come with a pre-wired harness, which replaced the original controls. You can see the neck pickup has exposed pole pieces, much like the bridge pickup.

As his fame grew, Prince commissioned some custom guitars. The first being built in 1983. The builder, David Husain, was employed at the Knute Koupee music store in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He created The Cloud Guitar.

This is the guitar with the extreme upper horn. The original seems to have a white finish. The wood for the entire instrument was maple. It has a 24.75” scale with 22 frets and a 12” radius. The two pickups are EMG’s. The bridge pickup is an active humbucker and the neck has a single coil pickup. Schaller made all the hardware.

This includes a tune-o-matic style bridge and tailpiece and machine heads. All hardware is gold plated. The controls are simple; one volume, one tone and a 3-way pickup switch. The nut on the headstock is brass. The entire instrument, including the neck, is painted one colour.

The original instrument came in a white finish and featured spade symbol fret markers. It was seen at the end of Purple Rain. Unfortunately, it became a casualty during a concert.

Prince had thee other Clouds made, although some of these underwent multiple paint changes. The next version has a black paint job; however, the fretboard is natural maple. Another Cloud Guitar has a peach finish with small black dot markers.

Prince gave this away as a price. Prince later commissioned a blue Cloud guitar that he called Blue Angel. Like the peach version, this also has black dot markers. Another black Cloud produced, that had an entirely black finish with “bat” fret markers.

The next Cloud had a yellow paint job. Finally, another blue Cloud guitar was produced. This time the knobs were gold plated and the body’s profile was rounded. The Yellow Cloud sold for $18,750 in Minneapolis.

There is a White Cloud on exhibit at the Smithsonian. Others are at various Hard Rock Cafes. Prince named the four Cloud guitars, North, South, East, and West.

Schecter guitars offered copies of the Cloud guitars for sale on Prince’s website. However, the website recently shut down. Some of the Schecter guitars have bolt-on necks, and some have through-the-body necks. The bolt-on instruments have a 25.5” scale. None of the Schecter instruments has the “Love” symbol.

The other guitar identified with Prince is the Symbol Guitar. This instrument was custom built by German luthier, Jerry Auerswald. This guitar made from antique maple and has neck-through-body construction. The neck scale is 24.75” and the fretboard has 24 medium jumbo frets.

Mr. Auerswald installed EMG pickups on this guitar similar to those on the Cloud guitar. The luthier custom built the bridge and installed Schaller machine heads, with custom-made buttons. The original guitar came with a gold finish.

Prince had his guitar technician built two more of the Symbol instruments. The tech accomplished this by taking measurements of the original instrument and sending them to Schecter. One guitar was white and the other was painted black over the mahogany bodies.

Due to Prince’s guitar acrobatics, the guitars did not last too long. He would throw the instruments in the air and let the guitars drop to the ground. Thus, the horns snapped off and the techs would patch them up.

Much like the Cloud guitars, the tech-made Symbol guitars underwent repainting. At times, the guitar were not only black and white, but also yellow, gold, orange and of course, purple.

Auerswald designed another guitar for Prince. This one is known as the Model C. It is a very unique instrument with two distinct features. The obvious is the stabilizer bar that runs from the body to the headstock. This is very reminiscent of the first Roland Synth guitar. If you look carefully you will notice no tuners on the headstock. The tuners are at the end of the bridge.

Prince has used several other guitars, which include a Fender Stratocaster that has an entirely gold finish. This instrument recently fetched $100,000 at a charity auction held this past April.

Prince and Hamilton

The buyer was race car driver Lewis Hamilton. The proceeds are benefiting the Harlem Children’s Zone, a non-profit organization that serves over 8,000 children and 6,000 adults.

The Fender Champ

2011-08-20T02:51:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite amplifiers is the Fender Champ. These little guys have been around since 1949 and still remain in Fenders line-up.

Though they were meant to be student amplifiers for home use, players have found out, they make excellent recording amps and even sound great when miked. Cranked up and miked, these amps sound like a 50-watt Marshall.

The Champ is Fenders only Class A amplifier. Most Fender amplifiers come with two to four power tubes and operate in Class AB mode. This means the amp comes with a phase inverter tube (usually a 12AX7) that oscillates the power between the two power tubes, or two pairs of power tubes in high watt amps. This lessens the load on the power tubes and makes the amp run more efficiently.

The Champ has but one 6V6 power tube and therefore a phase inverter tube is unnecessary. The Champs power tube runs hot at 100% when the amp is running. Some players that believe this gives a punchier sound. Tom Jennings and Dick Denney, the creator of Vox amps, utilize Class A in most of the British made Vox AC line.

The oldest Fender Champ design was the Fender Champion 600. It had it’s beginnings in 1949 and was in the line for four years. Most of us are familiar with it due to the Chinese reissue. The 600, model 5B1 was a very minimalistic amplifier. It came with only one control, a volume control that went from 1 to 12 and served as an on/off switch, mounted on the amps rear along with the fuse and pilot light, along with two inputs. The knob on this potentiometer was known as the chicken-head variety.

The tube configuration featured a 5Y3 rectifier, a metal envelope 6V6 power tube, and a metal envelope 6SJ7 pre-amp tube. The electronics produced four watts of sound into a Jensen 6” Special Design speaker.

The cabinet came with a large leather luggage strap. The chassis was angled in the back and covered with a brown metal plate, that had white silk screened lettering.

It is interesting to note on the new version of the Champion 600, the rectifier is solid state, the power tube is a 6V6 and the preamp is a 12AX7. The tubes are glued to their bases to prevent rattling.

The original Champion 600 sold for $49.95 (today’s Chinese model goes for $149.95). In 1949 dollars, 50 USD was expensive.

The Champions cabinet underwent a design change in 1953 to go along with the larger amps in the Fender line-up. The cabinet now was the so-called wide panel tweed model or model 5C1. This may be the most collectible amp in the Champ line.

Except for the slightly larger cabinet, the speaker grill material, and the size of the grill, not much inside the amplifier was different. The same tube configuration existed, however they were glass tubes instead of metal envelope tubes, The speaker was still 6” and made by Jensen.

Up through 1955 the amp was labeled as the Champion 600. In 1955, the name underwent and update to The Champ Amp and the model became the 5D1.

In 1956, Fender changed the look of its amplifier line. They adopted the narrow panel tweed look. This held true for the Champ line. Fender designated this model as the 5E1 until 1956 when it listed as the 5F1 model. This style held its own up through 1964.

This amp underwent some changes from the prior models. The most striking was the control panel now mounted on top of the amp was chrome plated instead of painted brown.

The lettering was black. The controls were similar to the other models; just a single volume/on-off knob, a pilot light, a 2-amp fuse and two inputs. Depending on the model year, the carrying strap underwent some changes. Originally, it was the leather luggage style strap, this became a leather fold-down strap and finally in 1964 it was made of black plastic that folded down, typical of today’s Fender amps.

The speaker started as a 6” Jensen, but as the years went by, it became an 8” Jensen.

The tweed material covering the amp lasted through 1964 when it changed to the familiar black tolex. 1964 brought about a change in the grill covering. From 1955 until 1963, the covering was dark brown material. Fender changed this to white/silver/black woven material in 1964.

The tubes underwent an update. The rectifier remained the 5Y3. A 6V6GT became the power tube and a 12AX7 filled in as a preamp tube. This added an additional watt to the power rating, bumping it up to 5 watts.

By 1964, Fender amplifiers underwent a total redesign to what is known as Blackface models. The control panel and inputs moved to the front of the amplifier to allow easy access for the player.

The chassis was angled in the control section and a black plate with white screened lettering covered the control section. The cabinet was slightly larger and covered in black Tolex.

Non original speaker

It housed an 8” Oxford 3.5-ohm speaker. The grill covering remained white/silver/black sparkle material and topped with a large silver metalic badge that announced this was a Fender amp, with Fender in slanted script. Instead of one potentiometer, there were now three, volume, treble, and bass. Two input jacks graced the front, as did a slider switch for off and on and a red pilot lamp.

The controls were numbered 1 – 10 (instead of 1 – 12). The tube configuration included a 5Y3 rectifier, a 6V6GT power tube, and a 12AX7 preamp tube that pumped out 6 watts. The fuse was underneath the chassis. The speaker cable hooked into a jack on the chassis’ underside.

Black skirted knobs that had a chrome center replaced the chicken-head knobs. The strap was made of plastic. This style was manufactured from 1964 through 1967.

The Fender Vibro Champ had all the same features as the Champ Amp, with the addition of a second 12AX7 tube for the vibrato. Two additional knobs labeled Speed and Intensity graced the control panel.

By 1968, CBS was running the factory and the amplifiers were revamped with a new look. The black front plate was replaced with a silver front plate. Hence the name Silverface models.

The lettering was in a blue Arial font block letters, instead of the classic script. The badge on the grills front remained in large silver lettering.

The style of the badge changed as the years went by, from having a “tail” off the final letter “R” that underlined Fender, to not having a tail. The grill changed slightly as well. On early models, the grill covered the speaker baffle. In later years, Fender used a detachable frame covered with grill cloth, which attached to the baffle by means of Velcro.

This was designated model AA764. The tube configuration changed slightly. The 5Y3 rectifier and the 6V6GT power tube remained, but a 7025 now was the preamp tube. The cabinet covering once again was black Tolex. This model was in production for the longest period of any of the Champ line. It was available from 1968 to 1982.

The Fender Vibro Champ was also changed during these years to a silver-face model with the same features as the Black-face amplifier. The Silver-face Vibro Champ utilized the same 12AX7 as the Black-face model.

In 1982 the Fender Champ underwent a radical change. Fender acknowledged the work Randall Smith had done in modifying Fender Princetons and Champs with larger transformers, speakers and added power. Paul Rivera was now on the Fender designed team. For two years, 1982 and 83, the Fender Champ II became part of the line-up.

This little beast produced a respectable 18 watts. The control panel, once again, was black with white lettering. Instead of three knobs, a fourth was added for master volume. The Treble knob also pulled out to allow for a mid-range boost. The knob design remained the skirted version with chrome centers. The amp included a hum control on the rear of the chassis.

The Fender Blue-Frame speaker enlarged to 10 inches. It was boosted to 8 ohms, instead of the previous 3.5 ohms. The amplifier utilized a solid-state rectifier (as did most Fenders) and a pair of 6V6GT power tubes and a pair of 7025 preamp tubes. The amp was now Class AB.

During this same era, another Rivera creation was the Fender Super Champ. This amp lasted from 1982 through 1985. It was somewhat similar the Fender Champ II with the addition of reverb.

Like on other Fender reverb amps, the rear of the chassis had two jacks labeled reverb out, reverb in for the chords coming from the Hammond reverb unit on the cabinets’ floor.

The controls had changed. They were labeled, Volume (pull for lead), Treble (pull for mid), Bass, Reverb, Lead Level, and Master. The amp had only one input, but came with a separate headphone output. The pilot light was red. Like the Champ II, the amp came with a 10” Blue Frame Fender speaker, although Fender utilized Eminence and EV as well. The grill covering was the white/silver/black sparkle material on this amp and the Champ II model. The covering material once again, was black Tolex.

In 1983, Fender issued a limited Pro model of this amplifier, known as the Fender Super Champ Deluxe. Only 100 of these amps were manufactured. The cabinets were not covered in Tolex, but made of polished oak. The chassis panel on this model was brown, instead of black. This is a highly desirable collector’s amplifier, due to its limited run.

It was not until 1987 that Fender changed the Champ design. This now was the Fender Champ 12. This amp produced 12 watts into a 12” Fender Blue Label speaker. The tube configuration, included one 6L6 power tubes and twin 7025 preamp tubes. According to one alert reader, the tube diagram within the amp stated 12AX7 preamp tubes. Either tube would work. The rectifier was solid state. Because there was only one power tube, this amp runs in class A mode.

The cabinet was available with quite a few different coverings. These were Black, Red, White, Grey, or Tweed Tolex. Fender even offered snakeskin Tolex. The front panel was a black covering with white letters that housed twin input jacks and red knobs. The controls were Treble (pull for mid boost), Bass, Volume, Gain and Volume (labeled overdrive and Reverb. There were two input jacks for Tape in and a one volt line out jack. Additionally the amp had a stereo headphone jack.

The grill cloth material for this model came in a grey cloth. The amps production lasted through 1992.

The Fender Champ SE was manufactured from 1992 through 1994. This was the loudest of all the Champ Amps producing 25 watts of power into a 12” – 8-ohm Fender speaker.

The rectifier was solid state. The preamp section was also solid state. The amp utilized twin 6L6GC power tubes and one 12AX7 that acted as a phase inverter. This was similar to the Music Man amps that Leo Fender made after leaving Fender. The cabinet changed to a box design without a slanted control panel.

The amp controls were divided into two sections, one for clean tones and one for overdrive. These knobs were Volume, Treble, Bass, Mid and a push-push switch for Mid boost. The overdrive section knobs were Drive, Volume, Gain, Treble, Bass, and Contour. Another section was labeled Master Volume and Reverb. The amp had two input jacks on its right side and Effect Out, Effect In and Line Out on the left side. The amp included an on/off power switch as well as a standby switch.

I’ve already mentioned the modern Chinese made reproduction of the Fender Champion 600. The electronics in this amp are updated versions the original. The rectifier on this model is solid state. This uses a 6V6 power tube and a 12AX7 for its preamp tube. The gain is set higher than on the original Champion 600. Players seem to love this amplifier. The simplicity allows for a variety of sounds. The speaker is a 6" model, like on the original.

Fender also presented the Vibro Champ XD and the Super Champ XD.

The Vibro Champ XD utilizes a single 6V6GT tube for its power section and a single 12AX7 preamp tube. The speaker is 4 ohms, which is quite similar to the original. It produces 5 watts of power.

The amp is a Class A hybrid, meaning that it is both a tube amp and a solid-state amp. The amp comes with a voice control that yields a multitude of differing and useful amplifier models. The clean section is the tube amp. The overdriven and distorted tones come from the solid-state portion of the amp. The amp also features a unique effects section. It is an interesting concept.

The Super Champ XD is somewhat similar to the smaller Vibro Champ model, however this amplifier is a Class AB hybrid.

The amp utilizes twin 6V6GT power tubes, a solid-state rectifier, and one 12AX7 that does double duty. This tube is a dual triode tube. One half of the tube is used as a phase inverter for the power tubes and the other half is used as a preamp tube. Both channels of the amplifier pass through the preamp tube section.

The amp has two distinct channels. The clean section is 100% a tube amp and has only a Volume control. Pushing a channel switching control button on the front activates the Gain section, which includes controls for Gain, Volume 2 and Voice. This section is solid-state.

The voice control offers the same 16 different amp selections as the Vibro-champ. The Treble, Bass, FX Level and FX control works on both channels. This is an interesting and well thought out amplifier.

Fender Esquire

2011-08-09T14:46:00.001-07:00

I caught the guitar bug when I was 13 years old. These were the years of the British Invasion. I owned an old Stratocaster (which I wish I still had), so I was very keen on Fender instruments.

At the time practically all Fender guitars came with a bridge cover. Many players thought this was a cool feature and kept it on the instrument. The bridge cover in fact served a purpose. It helped in shielding the pickup from electrical interference, as well as providing a palm rest for the player.

In my naivete, I thought the Telecaster only had one pickup, since the metal bridge cover was in place. I was totally amazed when I saw the album cover of a long forgotten British group, in which the guitarist was holding a Telecaster-shaped instrument with no visible pickups!

It was not long after this one of my friends purchased a Telecaster and I discovered the hidden neck pickup. Shortly after that I received a 1965 Fender catalogue with pictures of the Fender Esquire.

The Esquire has the distinction of being the first guitar sold by Fender. It was introduced in 1950.

Remember, at the time, Fender’s market was steel guitars. So the Esquire utilized a similar set up to that of a steel instrument, which had only one pickup placed near the bridge and a tone and volume control.

Leo Fender transposed this to the electric Spanish guitar (which differentiated it from a guitar played with a steel bar.)

We have all seen pictures of Leo’s prototype guitar, which he created in 1949. The bodies shape was similar to the slab style of the Esquire/Telecaster, with its single cutaway, which allowed the player access to the upper frets.

The neck was dissimilar in that it had a 3 on a side headstock. Like the models to come, it was attached to the body by four wood screws.

The maple neck on the prototype and on 1950 Esquires did not have a truss rod. Nor did it have a fretboard. The frets were attached directly to the top side of the maple neck. The neck was wider on the prototype than on the production model. The bridge had the same 3 saddles that are still featured on vintage models.

The single pickup was slanted to enhance the bass and treble strings. The pickup was not covered and featured six pole pieces. The prototype lacked a selector switch and the wiring pattern of the Esquire. It was mounted at an angle. The pick guard only covered the bottom portion of the guitars. The prototypes body was made of pine.

Leo Fender redesigned the guitar to include the trademark six-on-a-side headstock. He reshaped the neck so it was narrower at the nut. He also ran the strings through the body to rivets on the back that served as string stops. This gave the guitar more resonance.

Country bands usually consisted of an acoustic player and a steel player, a drummer, a fiddler, an electric guitar player, maybe a banjo player and possibly a string bass player. Leo’s concern was about the electric player. How could he add some versatility to the guitars sound? What if there was no bass player? Could the electric player cover the bass lines?

To solve this, he added a unique three position tone circuit. The third position was the pickup wired directly to the 250k volume potentiometer, but not the tone control. This gave the guitar an added boost and a bright sound. Eddie Van Halen did the same thing to give his home-made guitar a hotter sound.

The middle position was the pickup wired to the volume and 250 tone potentiometer with a .05uF capacitor running between the tone and volume pots to ground.

The first position included a .05uF capacitor wired to a 3.3k resistor which was wired to yet another .05uF capacitor that is wired to ground. This position yielded a fixed bass tone. Fender thought this would allow the guitarist to cover bass lines.

The original Esquire was slightly shallower than the prototype and had a solid ash body. The body had a butterscotch colour and the scratch plate was solid black. The control plate was mounted parallel to the bridge plate.

The next logical step was a two pickup Esquire, which Fender called a Broadcaster. Unfortunately, the Gretsch Company manufactured a drum set called The Broadcaster and requested that Fender not use the name.

"Telecaster" guitars from this period did not have a model name on the headstock. These have come to be known as Nocasters.

Fender briefly discontinued promoting The Esquire during this period. However it was reintroduced in 1951 and this time it came with a truss rod. The Esquire and The Telecaster now utilized the same bodies. Both were routed out for two pickups.

The Esquire with its one pickup sold for a slightly lower price. A guitarist could easily convert an Esquire to a Telecaster with the purchase of an additional pickup and a Telecaster scratch plate. Many guitars modified their Esquires.

The Esquire remained in the Fender line up until 1969, when it was discontinued due to lack of sales.

During the transition years of the mid 1980’s, when Fender guitars were all produced in Japan, a Japanese Fender Esquire model was produced based on the 1954 specs.

Several years ago, Fender offered a Squier Avril Lavigne model, with only one bridge pickup. I suppose this could be construed as an Esquire.

The Esquire is once again being offered in Fenders current line up. I played the new model last week and guarantee it is a beaut!

The Original Crate Amplifier

2011-08-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

Gene Kornblum

In the late 1970’s, Gene Kornblum was shopping at a Crate and Barrel store and was impressed with how the products were displayed in wooden crates. Kornblum just happened to be the CEO of St. Louis Music.

For those unfamiliar with the company, St. Louis Music started out in the 1920’s as a music store and a publisher of sheet music. Over time, the business grew and they started selling their own line of imported instruments.

These included Alvarez, Yari and Electra guitars as well as violins, violas cellos, Remo drum heads and many other music supplies.

Bernard Kornblum started the company. After Bernard retired, he handed the reigns over to his son, Gene.

Gene Kornblum, impressed with the display crates, wondered if a crate could be used to house a guitar amplifier. That is how Crate Amplifiers came into being.

The original Crate CR-1, introduced in 1978, was housed in a bare wooden crate. It just made common sense to call this, “The Crate Amplifier.” The amp was marketed as a practice amplifier. It was only 10 solid-state watts, but came with a 12” speaker that gave it a rich full sound. As a plus, it was manufactured in the USA.

By the 1980’s St. Louis Music had sold enough Crate Amplifiers to warrant enlarging their existing business and manufacturing capabilities. Within a few years, the wooden crate housing look was left behind in favor of traditional tolex covering. A whole range of Crate solid-state amplifiers was being offered.

As tube powered amplification gained popularity, Crate launched a line of tube-based models that became popular. St. Louis music eventually took on some other amplifier lines other than Crate, which included Vox and Ampeg.

However, the one unique amplifier that stands out in my mind is the original wooden Crate model.

The original 10-watt solid-state amp featured Gain, Treble, Bass, Master Volume controls with 2 inputs all going into a 4 ohm, 12-inch speaker. The rear of the amp featured a lineout jack. Everything was housed in a simple pine cabinet.

In 2005, Kornblum and his family sold the St. Louis Music business to a company called Loud Technologies. Along with the sale, the new owners acquired all of the company’s brands including Crate, Ampeg, Blackheart, and Alvarez.

As you can see below, Loud has kept the St. Louis Music brand name.

The Fender VI (six string bass)

2011-07-19T23:24:00.000-07:00

Although referred to as The Fender Six String Bass and The Fender Bass VI, Fender actually named this guitar, The Fender VI.

In the late 1950’s, the Danelectro Company developed the first six string bass guitar called the model UB2. Many recordings during the late 1950’s through the 1960’s featured this Danelectro six string bass, played with a pick with the high end accentuated. The sound was refered to as Tic-Tac, and the tic-tac bass was a new arsenal to add a special sound to recorded popular music. Some players strung these basses with extra heavy guitar strings and tuned down a fifth to get a baritone guitar sound. Duane Eddy specialized in this sound and he used a Danelectro instrument.

In 1961, Leo Fender believed he could build a better instrument. Fender designers used a body pattern similar to a Fender Jazzmaster, however the upper horn had more of a curve.

The first model employed three single pole passive pickups with metal pickup rings and three single throw switches to turn each on or off. The neck had a 30” scale and a 7.25” radius. By bass standards, the neck was extremely thin. The guitar was equipped with a Fender Floating Tremolo that had a long bar, once again similar to the accoutrements of a Jazzmaster.

The adjustable bridge came with a removable Chromed cover. The body included a large pickguard and an input, master volume and tone control that were mounted on a chrome plate. Leo Fender intended this to be a bass guitar tuned an octave below regular guitar pitch. The wound first string in the set had a .025” diameter. Because the strings were wound, the tone was quite different from that of a guitar. The tuning was much different from modern five or six string basses, which extend beyond low E.

The close proximity of the strings and the narrow neck did not win any praise from most bass players, although a few did use it in performances. Notably Jack Bruce, John Entwhistle, and Rick Huxley of the Dave Clark Five. Robert Smith of The Cure and other such as Glen Campbell utilized it as a lead instrument. The Fender VI was an excellent crossover instrument for guitarists. Harrison and Lennon both utilized it on their recordings. It is easy to play chords on this instrument and the short scale helps guitarists that are used to guitar necks as opposed to bass necks.

The tremolo bar on this instrument did not win many fans and did not receive much use. Though well designed, the Fender VI was not at all popular. From its inception to its demise, less than 800 units were manufactured.

1963 brought about a change in the instruments design when a “strangle” switch was added to the lower horn. This condenser boosted or cut the bass frequency to help provide that Tic-Tac sound or a deeper bass sound.

A foam rubber muffler became part of the guitars equipment and was located right above the bridge. A flick of a spring-loaded switch pressed the rubber mute against the strings. A modification to the pickups also came about. The metal rings were gone and the pickups resembled those found on a Fender Jaguar, although the VI still came with three pickups. The capacitor/condenser switch carried over from the Jaguar design.

Although Mr. Fender meant for this instrument to be an actual bass, many guitarists set it up as a baritone guitar and tuned it from A to A or B to B, using extra heavy guitar strings.

In 1964, a plastic pickguard replaced the celluloid one. A bound neck became standard equipment in 1965. In late1966, block inlays were added. In 1968 the headstock logo with printed with black ink instead of gold ink. Additionally a polyester spray-on finish, replaced the nitrocellulose finish.1975 brought about the discontinuation of the Fender VI.

During Fender’s transition years, all manufacturing moved to Japan. In 1996, a ’62 reissue of the Fender VI was offered.

One of the main downfalls of the Fender VI was price. A Stratocaster sold for $239 and a Precision bass sold for around the same amount. However, the Fender VI was priced at $400. Though the Fender instrument was far superior to the Danelectro six-string bass, the Danelectro model, priced at less than $150 in 1961, was more popular. Guitarists saw this as a side instrument and were not willing to spend the extra cash.

In 2004, they released a similar instrument known as the the Fender Jaguar Baritone Custom or the Jaguar Bass VI Custom, There were several differences in this guitar. The body had a Jaguar shape. It came with only two pickups with Jaguar switching options and the neck scale was 28.5”. The bridge was fixed instead of having a tremolo.

In 2006, the Fender Custom Shop offered a reproduction of the original 1961 Bass VI featuring three single-coil pickups and identical electronics.

At present, Fender no longer offers the Fender VI. One offshoot of the Fender VI was the Fender Jaguar guitar which was introduced in 1962.

Roy Orbison's Gretsch/Gibson/Sho-bud Guitar

2011-07-12T03:02:00.000-07:00

There was an article in this month’s Vintage Guitar Magazine about Roy Orbison. Roy was THE VOICE. He had one of the best voices in rock music and his songs were amazing. Each one was a story. In fact Roy was so good that Elvis would not perform on the same venue.

The VG article is about a new boxed set of Orbison's recordings, however it devotes a couple of sentences to one of Roy’s most unique guitars. I have seen pictures of this guitar many times and never paid much attention to it. At first glance, it appeared to be a typical 1960’s Gretsch guitar. But this guitar is by no means typical.

The body is from a Gretsch guitar. (I never bothered to look beyond the body.) However, the neck is by Gibson. I have searched extensively for information on this instrument and there is not much available. It also seem that no one knows what has become of it.

Roy used this guitar extensively in the 1960’s and then went on to play a variety of Gretsch instruments. Later in his career, he embraced Gibson guitars. He usually played an ES-335. There are also pictures of him playing a Fender Telecaster.

I attempt to avoid mentioning guitars currently featured in current popular publications, but I have been obsessing over this guitar. This instrument is on the cover of an album titled Roy Orbison’s 50 Greatest Hits.

Mid-50's Country Club

The body appears to be from mid-1950's Chet Atkins model or a Country Club. In researching the guitar, most folks have commented it looks like a Gretsch Country Club body. The Country Club came with a master tone potentiometer, making three knobs on the lower bout until 1965, when a tone switch replaced the tone potentiometer, leaving the lower bout with two volume controls.

Roy was playing this guitar prior to 1965. However, at the time, Gretsch guitars could be ordered with differing combinations of controls.

In 1958, Gretsch White Falcon guitars came with a master volume pot on the top lower bout, a neck and bridge potentiometer on the bottom lower bout, a pickup selector and a three-way tone switch on the upper bout. However, the White Falcon came with fancy sparkle-gold binding around the body and neck.
Roys black guitar has white binding.

Both the Country Club and the single cutaway 6120 Chet Atkins model had thick bodies. The Country Club was thicker at 3 and 3/8” deep through 1959, while the 6120 was 2 78th" in depth. The older Chet Atkins 6120 models came with a "G" etched into the guitars body. However, this was no longer on the instrument by 1957.

By 1958, the model came with two separate pickup potentiometers and the tone control was replaced by a three-way tone switch.

Chet Atkins 6120

It is very difficult to pin down which instrument supplied the body on this guitar. The guitars body was refinished in black and had a Bigsby vibrato. Both models came with a Bigsby. Both the 6120 and Country Club guitars were hollow body instruments with actual "F" holes. Both instruments came with white binding.

The neck on Roy’s guitar looks like a Gibson Super 400 neck of the era. It is a fancy bound neck with split block inlay position markers and a split diamond design on the headstock. The bottom of the neck ends in a fancy volute, just like those on a Gibson Super 400. There is no logo on the top of the headstock. I imagine if someone at Gretsch modified the guitar for Roy, it would make sense they did not want a Gibson logo on the guitar.

To further complicate things, the single coil pickups are from a Sho-bud steel guitar and have eight pole pieces. They are surrounded by metallic pickup rings. The vibrato is a Bigsby B-6 model.

The remaining feature that set this guitar apart was the four switches on the upper bout. Gretsch introduced stereo wiring in 1959 and called this feature, “Projectosonic.”

Note the pole pieces

The Gretsch stereo guitar evolved from an idea by Jimmie Webster. Mr. Webster is well worth mentioning.

He was a Gretsch designer and endorser and considered by many to be the father of tap guitar playing. Jimmie Webster was the main force that designed the Gretsch 6120 for Chet Atkins. He also designed the White Falcon.

He meant the White Falcon guitar to only be a presentation piece for the 1955 NAMM convention, and not an instrument in the Gretsch lineup. The guitar became so desirable that Gretsch began offering the guitar for sale. Webster then went about modifying it, by splitting the humbucking pickups to run in stereo, then routing each signal to a different amplifier.

Webster used this single cutaway White Falcon with the four switches as his personal instrument. Jimmie Webster was also a presenter for Gretsch and traveled around the country giving demonstrations at music stores and in concerts.

In 1959, this feature was added to the Gretsch Country Club, but with only two switches.

The stereo design on the Country Club was achieved through "half" pickups.

Although each pickup housing looked like a normal Gretsch humbucking pickups, the neck pickup only had the magnets and polepieces under the lower three strings and the bridge pickup was designed in a similar fashion with the magnets and polepieces under the first three strings. The "bridge" pickup was centered in the middle of the Country Club.

The 1958 Gretsch White Falcon was the first to use the four switch option.

The four switches on Roy’s instrument are evidence of the Gretsch Projectosonic stereo wiring. A close inspection reveals this may have been an afterthought or special order. The washers on the two lower switches are a different shape than the top switches. Perhaps Roy had seen a stereo Gretsch and decided that would be a good option.

Reproduction

I wish I had more information on this unique instrument. There was an Asian knock-off on ebay for sale. The seller mentioned the four switches on the upper bout did not work. I note also, the body of this instrument appears to be only around 2” deep. Orbison’s instrument was deeper.

It would be interesting to learn more about how this guitar came about and what happened to the instrument. If I learn anything more, I will share it.

Gretsch Bass Guitars

2011-07-03T22:16:00.001-07:00

The Gretsch Musical Instrument Company, never well known as a maker of bass guitars, got a relatively late start in the bass manufacturing business.

Gretsch Musical Instruments had its beginning in 1883 when a German immigrant named Friedrich Gretsch opened a small music store in Brooklyn, New York. It was there he manufactured drums, tambourines, and banjos and built a solid reputation. Friedrich Gretsch died at age 39, in 1895, at the age of 39.

His fifteen-year-old son Fred took over the business and maintained the drum manufacturing business. It was not until 1927 that Gretsch not only produced their first line of American made drum, they also started in the guitar manufacturing business. As early as 1939, Gretsch produced their first electric guitar.

A few years later, in 1942, Fred Senior retired and handed over the company to his sons, Fred Junior and Bill Gretsch. Bill passed away in 1948.

Fred Junior retired in 1967 and sold the company to the Baldwin piano company. Fred Gretsch III was able to buy what was left of the company and the Gretsch trade name back in 1985 and once again, Gretsch was in business.

Fred Gretsch III

In 2002, Fred III entered an agreement with the Fender Musical Instrument Company to distribute manufacture and distribute Gretsch guitars. Mr. Gretsch and his wife are still very actively involved in running the company.

The first Gretsch bass, produced in 1961, had a dismal reception. The Bikini Bass had a modular design and one model in the Gretsch Bikini line.

These instruments came with interchangeable necks that bolted onto a wooden slab that contained the instruments pickup(s), bridge, and tailpiece. The body of this bass came with a hinged back, made to be folded in half, for storage and transportation when the neck and slab were removed.

The Bikini line also offered a double neck option that could be set up as a bass/guitar or guitar/guitar combination. Not well liked, those that have played it state that it did not sound as good as other basses of the day. By 1963, the Bikini Bass was out of production.

In that same year, Gretsch produced a bass guitar with a similar appearance to the double cutaway Country Gentleman and dubbed the model 6070. The guitar had a 34” scale, which is comparable to most long-neck bass guitars, a single pickup placed near the bridge, a built in muffler, adjustable near the bridge, a padded back and 24 carat gold plated hardware.

Five years later, in 1968, Gretsch introduced an updated version with the same accoutrements, but twin pickups. This was the model 6072.

Nineteen-sixty-eight was a happening year for Gretsch. They released the models 6071 and 6073. These were both single cutaway, hollow body bass guitars, with short scale necks of only 29 inches. The 6071 came with one pickup and the 6073 had two pickups. The bodies of both models were hollow, however the F holes were simulated.

The headstock had four-on-a-side chrome plated tuners. All the hardware was chrome plated and the back was padded. I will confess to seeing the Monkees in concert at the Cincinnati Gardens. (Hey, I was 13 years old!) Monkees bass player, Peter Tork, used a model 6073. Production on both models ended in 1972.

In nineteen-seventy-two saw the introduction of model 7615. This was a double-cutaway, solid body bass guitar, with a long-scale 34” neck.

This guitar, produced until 1975, when the Gretsch Broadkaster Bass became its replacement. The Broadkaster name was a Gretsch trademark, originally used on a drum kit.

Most recall that Fender had to cease use of the name Broadcaster, since Gretsch objected.

Ironically, the Broadkaster Bass looked somewhat like a Fender Bass, but for its two-on-a-side headstock. The solid-body Broadkaster came with a 30.5” scale.

The solid-body Gretsch Committee Bass, model 7629, developed in 1980 came with a single Supertron pickup, two on side-chromed tuners, chromed hardware and a beautiful walnut finish.

The bass was made with a large black scratch plate that covered much of the body or with a laminated walnut and maple body, with a clear scratch plate and matching maple neck with a walnut stripe in the center that runs into the body.

The Committe bass was a nice instrument with a 34" scale.

The 1979 Gretsch model TK300 was a very odd-looking instrument. Its appearance is reminiscent of a Teisco or old Ibanez model. The bodies’ cutaways are straight. The bottom of the body has a slight indentation and the headstock is almost rectangular. The guitars pickguard is also quite unusual.

This was a product of the Baldwin years. There are complaints about the quality of parts on this model.

Gretsch entered a deal with luthier/pickup designer T.V. Jones in 2005. They would market and sell his guitars and basses known as the Spectra Sonic series. By this time, all Gretsch manufactured all instruments in Asia.

Many famous players had switched out their Gretsch Filtertrons and Supertrons to TV Jones pickups. The Spectra Sonic Bass, model G6145, came with twin TV Jones pickups. The body came in black with a large white pickguard. The $2000 price point effected sales.

Gretsch has dropped the line; however, Jones is manufacturing Spectra Sonic guitars and bass guitars and selling them on his own.

Gretsch has introduced several new models at varying price points. The most expensive current model is the double-cutaway White Falcon Bass, model G6136L. This comes with gold plated hardware, ebony roller bridge, and twin TV Jones pickups. Scale is 34”. Suggested retail price is $4700.

The new Broadkaster Bass, G6119B, is a single cutaway design in the Tennessee Rose style. The hardware is entirely chrome plated. The F holes are simulated. The bridge is adjustable and the twin pickups are both Filtertron humbuckers. Scale is 30.3”. Suggested price is $2500.

The Gretsch Electrotone model G6073, is somewhat similar to the Broadkaster. Although it is a hollowbody instrument, the F-holes are sealed. Scale on this bass is 30.3”. This bass comes with TV Jones pickups and retails at $2900.

The Gretsch Thunder Jet model G6128B bass is a chambered body, single cutaway instrument in the style of Gretsch Jet guitars. Like the previous two models, this has chrome-plated hardware. It comes with twin TV Jones pickups. It has a 30.3” scale and retails at $2800.

The Gretsch 6199B Billy-Bo Jupiter Thunder Bass is the style of Bo Diddley’s guitar, with touches by the “Reverend” Billy Gibbons. The solid mahogany body is topped with twin TV Jones pickups and a rosewood “space controlled” bridge. This unique instrument retails for $3600.

For the more economically minded, Gretsch also produces the Electromatic series. There is only one current model.

The Junior Jet model G2202 comes with a bolt-on neck and a TV Jones mini-humbucking pickup. Like most other Gretsch basses, this also has a short scale 30.3” neck. It is only $250.

Awesome John's Pink Dream Strat

2011-06-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

I became aware of Awesome John some years ago, when I used to post on The Fender Forum. There is no question about it, Awesome John is...well...Awesome!

One of the guys from the Forum, who is a player in New York City wrote that Awesome John is one of the nicest guys he has ever met and John is indeed a master of the guitar.

At the time, Awesome John was playing a beautiful custom made Fender Stratocaster, that looked like no other.

While Fender was building it, many famous guitarists who saw it in Fender's shop, including Brian May, just had to get their hands on it.

For those how have never with Awesome John, he grew up in New York City. In the 1980’s he put together a 3 piece band that played original material in local clubs. At the time he was known as John Gundez.

John is of Turkish heritage. About the same time he was becoming popular in New York music circles, family obligations forced him to return to Turkey. Not being one to give up, he started playing his same original music and same style there and has become a hugely popular performer in Turkey.

In addition to periodically returning to New York City to play, John is well known in Europe, has toured the Soviet Union and of course is beloved in Turkey. Not only is John a wonderful guitarist, but he is a super showman as well.

His given name is Asim Can Gündüz, but uses the stage name Awesome John, since it sounds similar and is much easier to prounce. When he sings, he sounds a little like George Benson, but with the high tenor range of Vince Gill. He plays guitar better than Jimi or Eddie Van Halen and he looks a little bit like Fred Flintstone. Awesome John can play shred, jazz, pop and he will amaze you.

When John was first mentioned on the Fender Forum, he had put up his beloved pink Custom Shop Fender Stratocaster for sale, in order to help out people from his home in Turkey.

The Strat is a beautiful instrument known as the Dreamstrat.

It is said this guitar cost $70,000 to build. Custom Shop designer and master luthier Gene Baker worked on the instrument and it took him over three years to complete the guitar.

The 24 fret neck is custom designed by Sims in the UK.

Sims is a company that speciallizes in building necks with light-emitting-diodes as part of the design. This Stratocaster has LED’s on the side of the neck for position markers.

The colour of the neck matches the body. In fact, the neck goes through the body. It is adorned with gold-plated Lace Sensor pickups. The hardware likewise is entirely gold plated. This is truly a remarkable and unique instrument.

The guitar was purchased by UK rocker and guitar collector Tony McKenzie for an undisclosed price. On McKenzie’s web page, he states the guitar is now owned by “Peter” in the south of England.

Currently Awesome John is playing a custom made stratocaster style guitar with no name on the headstock.

The guitar has 3 humbucking pickups. The neck and bridge pickups are possibly DiMarzios and have blades instead of pole pieces. The center pickup is a stacked humbucker.

Look closely at the video and you will see the Sims neck. The LED's are position markers on the neck and the side of the neck.

Recently Awesome John became an endorsee with a fairly new company called Early Bird International. They are the world-wide distributor for a line of guitars called Master Guitars. These guitars are designed by Latvian luthier George Gorodnitski, who has been building guitars for over 35 years.

The guitars are currently made in Korea using Gorodnitski’s design and instruction for wood and hardware. The wood is beautiful and the workmanship is superb and the guitars are awesome. The designs are based on strats, Les Pauls and BC Rich guitars, but all have original features.

Awesome John also uses and endorses the StepMax tremolo system for his guitars.

This unique device allows you to pull the strings up or down a whole step without pulling the strings down to the fretboard. It is not a floating tremolo, but is self-contained and requires no drilling or routing.

It comes with an adjustment that allows you to bend to a specified pitch up or down. The plastic tip for each of the StepMax tremolos is uniquely designed.

In addition to being a superb player, Awesome John does charity work and service to the needy within his country.

John is also a popular talk show host on TV and radio in Istanbul. He is a Muslim, but one of his best friends is Rabbi Jay Levy aka the Rock and Roll Rabbi. Levy grew up in New York City and played in studio bands before he took up his religious career.

Levy met Awesome John at a street booth in New York City where John was selling Turkish cymbals and drums. Their mutual love for music has made them fast friends.

Check out Awesome John in action:

Help Find Stolen 1953 Les Paul

2011-06-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

I heard a story on the radio tonight about a stolen guitar. The victim’s friend made a statement, “Stealing a guitar is like kidnapping.” I could not agree more.

Stolen 1953 Gibson Les Paul with modifications

A fellow that goes by the name of Maurice and lives in Vancouver, British Columbia was recently a victim of the theft of a number of guitar and amplifiers this past June 5th. Despite losing some very nice guitars and his sound rack, the one guitar that he wants back the most is his 1953 Les Paul. He purchased this guitar as a 18 year old kid and has owned it for 43 years. It has a special place in his heart.

The features on this instrument are unusual and somewhat modified. The serial number is 3 0621 which is stamped on the back of the headstock. It was an original gold top Les Paul, but was sent back to Gibson to be retrofitted with an ABR-1 bridge and stop tailpiece, instead of the trapeze model that came with the guitar. The original P-90’s were changed to humbuckers with black bobbins. There are no metal pickup covers. The neck has been thinned. The back and sides were refinished. The old plastic tipped tuners were replaced with Gibson gold plated tuners. The original plastic parts are now made of brass, including a brass switch plate, back plate and cavity covers. These were custom made by his brother-in-law, who was a jeweler until his death.

Perhaps the most unusual feature is the guitars colour. Maurice indicated it has a greenish-gold top like none other he has seen. He indicated this is the finish of the guitar when he purchased it.

In an effort to recoup his instrument, he has posted a Facebook page asking for its return. He has also put up an ad on Craigslist in hopes of getting back his guitar.

His Craigslist post reads:

"It's my most personal possession, and I have always planned for my son to have it one day. By the way, the other Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier head you took was his.

It's not of much value to you, but to me, I can't buy another Les Paul like it because another one doesn't exist.. Here's a thought:

Have some decency and redeem some karma. Bring my guitar back. You've fucked my studio up and stolen a life-time collection of my shit. You stole my guitar rig, which was MY sound that I've spent years achieving.

You haven't ripped off a guitar, you've ripped off my life and my spirit immeasurably by taking away the tools of the pursuit of my passion. I've worked extremely hard for my whole life to earn my right to do so, and you took it all away in an hour or two. You've also ripped off my son, now, and in the future. I don't have the money to replace the gear, so it's just gone.

Just give it back - NO QUESTIONS ASKED. PLEASE"

There is another ad on Craigslist that is advertising the sale of a 1953 Les Paul with the same description as Maurice’s guitar. The police have been made aware of this advertisement. They are not sure if it is for real or just a prank.

Should anyone come across this instrument, contact Maurice at http://web.me.com/outgolfing/Equipment

or use
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvancouver.en.craigslist.ca%2Frds%2Fmsg%2F2449158332.html&h=8b98e

Here is a link to the Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Help-my-53-Les-Paul-come-home/207699815939399?sk=wall#!/pages/Help-my-53-Les-Paul-come-home/207699815939399?sk=wall

Below are some pictures of the other stolen equipment.

Maurice's Equipment Rack

Mesa Dual Rectifier Head

A 1963 Gibson ES-335 in pristine condition

Ovation 1868 Elite

Here is a video from a blogger named Zennie62.

The Gibson L-1 Flat Top - Robert Johnson's Guitar

2011-06-11T04:14:00.000-07:00

Robert Johnson was the consummate bluesman. His songs and lifestyle influenced countless blues players. Even today, guitar players/singers attempt to copy his method of singing and playing.

Johnson is the blues player that claimed he sold his soul to the devil in exchange for being the greatest blues player.

Legend has it that as a young man living on a plantation in rural Mississippi, Robert Johnson was branded with a burning desire to become a great blues musician. He was "instructed" to take his guitar to a crossroad near Dockery Plantation at midnight. There a large black man (the Devil) who took the guitar and tuned it met him. The "Devil" played a few songs and then returned the guitar to Johnson, giving him mastery of the instrument. The site of the meeting is the crossroads of Highway 61 and Highway 49 in Clarksdale Mississippi.

Decades ago, Highway 61 was re-routed, so these roads no longer cross in the same place as Johnson claimed the meeting took place. Whether or not this actually happened, I’ll leave up to you. However, Robert Johnson skill as a guitar player, singer, and blues man advanced very quickly.

Johnson choice of guitar had a lot to do with price and availability. His friend and companion, Johnny Shines, claimed that Johnson favored a 14-fret Kalamazoo flat top and sometimes played a Stella. Both were selling for around $12 new at the time.

In his most recognized photo, his left hand is positioned to play an A7th barre chord on a Gibson L-1. Johnson is wearing his nephew’s suit.

Was he the owner of the Gibson guitar? We do not know for sure, but this guitar has been forever associated with Robert Johnson

The Gibson L-1 that Johnson is photographed with was offered for sale in 2006. The asking price was 6 million dollars.

Gibson introduced the flat top L-1 in 1926. Before that, they had made an arched top version of the L-1 with a round soundhole, as early as 1918. The most unusual feature of the L-1 is it’s elongated lower bout.

The 13 ½ inch body was singly bound both on the top and bottom sides with ivoroid binding. The top, made of 2-piece quarter-sawn red spruce, placed on a 2-piece quarter-sawn maple back and maple sides came with a very distinctive narrow waist. The top came with an amber stain. The back and sides had a tobacco brown stain applied. The back was arched.

The C-shaped, mahogany neck was fat, by today’s standards. However, this may have been due to the guitar lacking a truss rod. The unbound fingerboard and bridge plate were made of solid ebony and had pearl dots on the 5th, 7th, and 9th positions.

The 6 Million Dollar Guitar

The thin bracing was an unusual variation of A bracing, known as H bracing. The 3-on-a-side tuners came capped with plastic tip buttons. The neck joined the body at the 12th fret.

The sound of this instrument emphasized its treble and midrange.

This was perfect for blues or finger-style playing. The L-1 has the distinction of being Gibson’s first flat top instrument.

Gibson reintroduced the guitar recently, but made a few changes. The new L-1’s top is made of solid AA grade Sitka Spruce. The back and sides are Honduran mahogany. The neck is maple with an ebony fretboard that is marked the same as the original. The headstock on the new model comes with a mother-of-pearl Gibson logo, whereas the original model had a painted logo.

The Pignose Amp

2011-06-05T09:45:00.000-07:00

Did you know that Pignose Industries, the company that makes that cool little amplifier, was originally started by Chicago guitarist Terry Kath and Chicago’s record producer Jimmy Guercio in 1972?

The beloved Pignose 7-100 amplifier, was conceived, invented, and patented by Richard Elund and Wayne Kimbell.

They built a low watt amplifier inside a wooden English Leather Cologne box that distorted like all get out.

Impressed with this amp, Terry Kath took their idea to the Summer NAMM show in 1973. In the style of P.T. Barnum, Kath marketed it as The Legendary Pignose Amplifier. A star was born. The first year sales were over 50,000 units.

Pignose was THE first portable, battery-powered amplifier made specifically for guitar. It sounded like an over-driven Marshall 50 stack, but could be put on a guitar strap and slung over your shoulder.

The amp had that same gritty, dirty distortion of refrigerator-sized amps, but only pumped out 3 to 5 watts and weighed in at around 5 pounds! The Pignose represented The Counter-Culture thumbing their nose at the status quo of the day. Namely, when it comes to amplifiers, bigger is better.

The popularity of the Pignose soared. It was cute, with its one pig nose volume knob and tan vinyl covering. In addition, it was not expensive. It was originally priced at $79.95. Due to manufacturing costs, the price jumped to $159.95.

However, it is once again selling for $79.95. Clapton, Joe Walsh, Zappa, and Led Zeppelin used the Piggy for recording. The Eagles joked about having a wall of Pignose amps in concert.

The origin of the name is questionable and may have its origin in a drug-induced conversation.

The amp looked like a small valise. The Pignose was a 5” speaker, mounted in a hinged box that contained a solid-state battery powered amplifier and six AA batteries. The box can be used for storage as well. The only control is for volume; however, tone can be controlled by opening or closing the box. When the Pignose is un-hinged, the tone turns into screaming treble. A closed cabinet provides more midrange and bass. By having a friend rapidly open and close the amp, it can produce a wah-wah type sound.

The amp comes with a pre-amp output jack on the back allowing it to overdrive a larger amp. To emphasize the pig-nose joke, a molded metal knob that bore (or boar) resemblance to a pig’s snout was used as a volume control. The amp was covered in tan vinyl to give it the appearance of pigskin.

By 1974, Chicago’s accountant purchased the rights to Pignose Industries and held on until ownership passed. In 1985, Howard Chatt purchased the company and has been running it ever since under the name Pignose-Gorilla. (There was a budget line of low powered solid-state amplifiers under the brand name Gorilla.)

Elund and Kimbell are also responsible for the design of two other Pignose Industries products. These are the Hog 20 guitar amp and the Hog 30 bass guitar amp. Both are powered with rechargeable batteries.

I am not certain who designed the Pignose 30/60 amplifier. This was Pignose Industries first attempt at a larger amplifier, which was offered for sale in around 1977. The 30/60 put out a respectable 30 watts RMS and 60 watts peak power into a 12” Eminence speaker. The advertising states it goes from clean to dirty. Most reviews emphasize its distorted tone.

In 1997, Pignose Industries introduced a tube amplifier, The Pignose G40V. It was designed by Dennis Kager to have a similar schematic to a Fender Bassman. This amplifier was among the first to be manufactured in China, perhaps accounting for some criticisms and lack of acceptance. As of now, many guitar and bass amplifiers that carry famous USA and European trade names are being exported from China and have gained acceptance. This was not true in 1997.

The G40V had a tube compliment of twin 6L6 power tubes and three 12AX7 preamp tubes. Like many Fender amplifiers, the rectifier was solid state. It cranked out a very loud, 40 watts.

Unlike the Bassman, the G40V came with a preamp volume and master volume control. Like the Bassman, it had treble, middle, bass and presence potentioments. There was no standby switch. The stock 8 ohm, 10” speaker was rated at 80 watts. The tube sockets were ceramic, which was a very unusual feature for a low priced amplifier.

The amp was originally offered at $199 and as the years went on the price got up to $329. This was all housed in a 14” X 9” X 11” package that weighed around 28 lbs. When played through a larger speaker cabinet, the bass and midrange perked up and gave this amp some bottom. It had speaker jacks for 4 or 8 ohms. Interestingly, the cabinet is very similar in size and shape to the one used for the 30/60.

A few years later Pignose furthered their adventure in tube amps by introducing the G60VR (60 watt valve with reverb) and the B100V (100 watt bass tube amplifier).

I have never seen the B100. I assume very few were manufactured. The G60VR was an improvement over the 40-watt model. It came with a 12” speaker, which provided more headroom. The tube compliment was similar, except it had an additional 12AX7 preamp tube. The reverb was a plus. The tolex covering was black and thicker than the tan vinyl on the G40V.

Dennis Kager

Pignose enlisted Dennis Kager to design all these amplifiers. Kager is a legend in the industry. As a young man, he hooked up with Ampeg and Jess Oliver in designing and building Ampeg amplifiers.

Kager launched his own brand called Sundown Amplifiers, which had a brief following. He was the force behind Reverend Amps. He has consulted for Fender, Yamaha, Mesa Boogie, Tone King, and Soldano. Kager runs an electronic repair company in New Jersey known as Central Jersey Music Service.

When my Pignose G40V was experiencing an unusual hum, my local tech spoke directly with Mr. Kager who resolved the problem. He was very impressed to speak to the man that modified amplifiers for the Allman Brothers, Bruce Springsteen, Peter Frampton, Rick Derringer and many others.

Pignose Industries venture into tube amplification lasted for about ten years. Their corporate action dictated they concern themselves only with solid-state amplifiers.

They have since offered a few new models of guitar amplifiers; some housed in a cabinets very similar to the G40V.

The original Legendary Pignose 7-100 is still the company’s mainstay. Over the years, it has indeed become legendary.

Chet Atkins Peaver and Gibson CGP Phasor Guitar

2011-06-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

Chet Atkins is best associated with Gretsch guitars. Early on, he started playing the Gretsch 6120, which evolved to the Chet Atkins model. Or I should say models, since they kept changing. It is a fact that Chet’s input went into most of his guitars with Gretsch and later with Gibson.

Chet was not well known for playing a solidbody guitar, with the exception of his nylon string model, the Gibson CEC. However he did use a couple of solidbody instruments on several recordings and in a few concerts. The original solidbody was referred to as The Peaver.

Chet’s accompanist and guitar tech was Paul Yandell. Paul deserves the title CGP behind his name. (Certified Guitar Player) He is a fabulous finger style artist. He spent many years playing guitar behind Chet and taking care of Chet’s guitars.

Paul took a Peavey T-60 guitar and removed the neck, replacing it with a Fender Stratocaster neck. Paul then rewired the guitar, installing two EMG pickups and a phase switch. Chet named this guitar, The Peaver.

The pickup placement is unique. For anyone who has tried to get harmonic notes on a Stratocaster, you may have found this difficult if using the neck pickup. The placement of the neck pickup is under a section of the string that can be divided to create a harmonic tone. Therefore, this placement cancels the tone out. To resolve this, Yandell installed a middle and bridge pickup.

Paul made one for himself, but his has twin humbucking pickups.

Chet signed on with Gibson guitars, due to the fact that Gretsch had stopped making guitars. Gibson built a fancy model for Chet called the CGP Phasor, which was based on The Peaver. Not much is known about this instrument. I recall seeing Chet play it on Nashville Now. He later played it in a concert with Mark Knopler. A long time ago I asked Paul Yandell about it on the Chet Atkins message board. All he said was it had two single coil pickups and a phasing switch.

Chet is rarely seen with this model. The video below shows him playing The Peaver and the Phasor.

More of The Peaver

Zemaitis Guitars

2011-05-31T23:25:00.000-07:00

Zemaitis guitars are perhaps the worlds most original, stunning and beautiful electric guitars.

British luthier Tony Zemaitis, (Antanus Casimere Zemaitis) was originally from Lithuania. As a boy, Zematiis was obsessed with creating things, such as handmade bicycles, cabinets, and model airplanes. He also learned to play guitar.

By the 1950’s, the 20 year old Zemaitis was building his own guitars. By the early 1960’s he was building guitars for some of the well-known British players. These musicians influenced The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

He sold these acoustic instruments to friends and only was able to make a few guitars each year.

Zemaitis experimented with his instruments to determine acceptable string scale and differing soundhole shapes.

1961 Zematis

By 1965, he devoted his career to luthery and began building guitars.

We all know that single coil guitar pickups have a propensity to capture 60-cycle hum from other electric devices, including amplifiers.

In an effort to solve this problem, Tony Zemaitis placed a metal cap on the tops of some of his electric guitars. This was successful solution for shielding out the undesired noise. As a plus, it looked great.

Zemaitis did not stop there. He recalled the beautiful engraving designs on high-end firearms such as Western pistols, rifles, and shotguns.

Tony then hired engraver Danny O’Brien to engrave decorations on the metal-topped Zemaitis instruments. These guitars went from musical instruments to works of art.

Zemaitis’ basic design looked somewhat like a Gibson Les Paul Special, with its Florentine cut-away. However, his guitars were much narrower than the Gibson.

Early models had single-coil pickups. Humbucking pickups are what are typically seen on a Zemaitis. His other design has two cutaways.

The lower one is similar to the Les Paul Special design and the upper is a rounded extension, and the bottom cutaway was Florentine.

The metal-topped guitars came in two versions. On the fancy version, the top covered most of the top of the body.

Zemaitis also produced a disc-front version in which a round metal disc covered the area housing the pickups and bridge.

Zemaitis next came up with the beautifully adorned Pearl Top guitar. The top of this guitar featured a mosaic of pearloid tiles and in some cases abalone surrounding the pearl, causing a sparling illusion of colour change under stage lights.

Despite the fancy top, the rosewood fretboard on most Zemaitis guitars is rather plain, bearing only dot markers. Some models have bound necks and others have plain necks.
By the 1980’s Zemaitis’ fame was widespread. His guitars were very expensive. They were hand built and handcrafted.

Many popular artists such as Ron Wood, Eric Clapton, and George Harrison owned and played Zemaitis guitars. The bodies were made of three pieces of high quality wood, as were the glued-in necks. The headstocks were topped off with an engraved metal emblem. All through his career, Zematis continued making acoustic guitars.

I recall seeing a very young Donovan playing a Zematis. All the Zemaitis acoustics were handmade and sold at a premium.

In the year 2000, Tony Zematis retired and his son, Tony Jr. took over the business. Mr. Zematis passed away in August of 2002.

That same year, the company entered into a relationship with Greco guitars of Japan.

Greco is the trade name used by the Japanese musical instrument manufacturer Kanda Shokai of Tokyo. This Japanese firm was founded in 1948 and is still building guitars, more often these were replicas of U.S. instruments such as Gibson and Fender.

In 1982, Fender tapped Kanda Shokai as the builder of Fender Guitars in Japan. (This was a transition period for Fender when they did not have an America manufacturing facility.) This is currently where Zematis guitars are produced.

Zematis offers hand-built and hand-engraved guitars, which still command premium prices. Danny O’Brien manages the engraving staff. Zematis currently offers lower cost models, selling under the Greco-Zematis name, which has come to be known as their GZ line.

Hoyer Guitars

2011-05-24T19:13:00.001-07:00

Randy Bachman collects Hoyer guitars. That ought to make your ears perk up. Besides being a first rate rock guitarist and singer, Bachman is one of the foremost guitar collectors in the world. Here is a man that knows guitars. He recently sold a part of the collection that he had amassed over a 30-year period. Fred Gretsch of Gretsch Guitars purchased his entire cache of 360 vintage Gretsch instruments.These will be housed in the Gretsch museum.

When Gretsch restarted the business, he owned no original models. The originals were destroyed in a fire at the Arkansas based factory. At the time, Gretsch was able to borrow some of Bachman’s collection as a basis for the measurements of the current Gretsch guitars.

As I alluded to, Bachman is a collector of Hoyer guitars. When it comes to guitars, Hoyer is one of Germany's best-kept secrets. The company started in 1874 and to this day is building excellent guitars. In my opinion, the guitars they produced in the 1950’s through the 1960’s are the best. The wood is beautiful, the woodworking is classic with the German Carve on the bodies perimeter, the f-holes are unique to Hoyer and included a lightening bolt style and a cats eye style reminiscent of Rickenbacker guitars. These guitars are works of art and craftsmanship.

As for some background, in 1874, Franz Hoyer followed in his families business of making stringed instruments. His son, Joseph, opened his own shop at this time to concentrate on building classic and folk guitars. By 1945, Hoyer had to leave Schönbach, which was the town his family had lived. At the end of the ware, the town became part of the Czech Republic. The family settled near the town of Erlangen, in Bavaria. Erlangen was home to many instrument artisans, including Fred Wilfer, who founded Framus guitars. Shortly after the relocation, Hoyer’s son Arnold took over the company.

By 1948, Hoyer guitars were making a name as preeminent Jazzgitarran in

Germany

. By the 1950’s most Hoyer guitars were semi-acoustic and equipped with pickups. By the end of the 1950’s, the company had started producing solid body guitars.

Arnold Hoyer passed away in 1967 and his son Walter took over the business. Walter concentrated mainly on the line of electric guitars and classical instruments. Quality, design and beautiful wood were hallmarks of Hoyer. During the 1960’s, Hoyer even invented a guitar with a foldaway neck.

In 1977, Walter Hoyer left the business. His staff of luthiers ran it through 1987 when the company closed its door. Three years later it was purchase by a German acquisition group. They concentrated building a contemporary line of solid body instruments. Much of the production was outsourced to Asia, though some high-end instruments were still built domestically.

In 2005, AMC Compernass, a company owned by Michael Compernass, acquired the Hoyer brand name. By 2009, a

company, Ritter Europe LTD entered into an agreement with AMC for the purchase of Hoyer. Compernass has stayed on to provide expertise and by the sole distributor in the German market. The company is still building guitars in

Germany

and importing some from the Far East.

However the golden years of Hoyer stretched from 1945 to the end of the 1960's, when they produced gorgeous German-crafted, hand-built guitars.

The top-of-the-line guitar for Hoyer is the Special SL. This guitar combines many of the features of the Bianka and the Special. The body is similar to the Hoyer Special, but has black or white pearloid inlay surrounding the top, much like the Bianka. The top and bottom sides are bound with large herringbone inlay. The top is carved spruce and the back and sides are flamed maple. The Special SL has cats eye tone holes that are bound with herringbone inlay. The controls come mounted on a metal plate. On some models the controls mounted in the traditional manner. The usual Hoyer rolling bridge is used. The bound neck is flamed maple and came with a traditional ebony fretboard with bow-tie style markers. It also came with a white plasticized fretboard with black bow-tie position markers. The tailpiece was elaborate and interesting.

One of the most beautiful instruments was the Hoyer Bianka. The body is carved from spruce, with unusual engraving. This engraved top is emphasized by the German carve. The top of the body bears a beautiful pearloid border and bound by a white plastic inlay. But for the pickups and controls, the back of the body mirrors the front. The sound-holes are lightening bolt style, the body is extra wide, the neck is flame maple with laminated mahogany strips, and the six individual tuners have engraved buttons. In the break between the neck and headpiece is a large volute.

The fretboard is bound ebony with sort of bow-tie inlays. The metal roller bridge saddle is unique and so is the tailpiece. The roller bridge is unusual since the guitar does not have a vibrato. The controls sit on a chromed metal pad on the lower bout. The parallelogram pickups are unique to Hoyer guitars. Looking closely, the output jack is an old-style DIN plug. The sunburst Bianka is even more stunning.

The Hoyer Special does not have the engraving of the Bianka, or the German carve or even the lightening bolt inlays. It is a more subtle instrument with bound cats eye sound holes and a beautiful tailpiece. The arched top is carved from spruce and the back and sides are flame maple. Both front and back come bordered with herringbone inlay. The neck is laminated with maple and mahogany. The bound ebony fretboard is similar to the Bianka’s and has a zero fret. The tuners had engraved pegheads.

This guitar also came as a twin pickup electric model with the Hoyer parallelogram pickups. It was available in with a natural or red sunburst finish. Some models have the metal plate to house the controls. Later models have more traditional controls that were mounted into the wood. This guitar came in acoustic or electric models. Some of the electric models featured the Hoyer parallelogram pickups and others featured pickups that appear to be made by DeArmond.

A most unusual guitar manufactured by Hoyer sometimes did not bear the Hoyer logo. Instead, the headstock read Herr Im Frack or Gentleman Dressed for the Evening. This all black hollow archtop bore a small round soundhole as well as twin cats eye soundholes. The black non-cutaway body was bound, front and back, in white pearloid inlay.

The neck was bound in white and came with a rosewood fretboard inlaid with white blocks, except for the 12^th fret, which had a red marker, mimicking a bowtie. The guitar had the zero fret, which is found on most Hoyers. The usual Hoyer roller bridge saddle was paired with a beautiful gold-plated tailpiece. The headstock was bound in white and bore the name Herr Im Frack in gold pearloid lettering.

Hoyer also produced a very unusual model, somewhat similar to the Herr Im Frack. They called this the Volttal. The instrument was not as fancy. It bore the Hoyer logo. The bizarre feature was the 18 individual sound holes that surrounded the body's perimeter.

The Hoyer Soloist was a beautiful guitar. Different models had different features. It came in a very plain natural version with a spruce top and maple back, sides and neck. The body was bound with white inlay, the bound neck featured an ebony fretboard with small position markers. The headstock came with 3 white pearloid inlays. The machine heads were plain with pearloid buttons. A fancier version of the Soloist was also available with a multi-striped top that featured alternating strips of spruce and mahogany. It was bound with triangulated wood pieces.

Without a doubt the most bizarre Hoyer guitar was the Fantastik model. This was sort of an experimental instrument that Hoyer created and sold. Due to its unusual construction, it became known as the organ guitar.

The body is constructed of six wooden pipes or tubes lined up in three differing lengths. Each pipe is an individual resonator and each has a sound hole. The beautifully carved body is lined with a dark binding. The back of the guitar is flat.

The guitars accoutrements include a trapeze tailpiece, the Hoyer roller bridge; white binding on the back of the body and Hoyer fancy butterfly shaped tuning buttons. The guitars ebony fretboard came bound in white and came with unusual white inlays, but for the 12^th fret, which had a red inlay.

The unusual pointed headstock came bound with black and white strips and adorned in fancy script announcing this was an Arnold Hoyer guitar. A DeArmond floating pickup attached to the scratchplate topped the body and contained the output jack, volume, and tone control.

As futuristic, well constructed, and thought out as this instrument was, according to those that played it, the instrument did not have much of an acoustic sound. However, it was surely and eye catcher.

Though many US music stores offer new Hoyer guitars, one would be hard pressed to find a used Hoyer in the USA. They occasionally show up on eBay.eBay.

Weird Guitars

2011-05-18T14:45:00.000-07:00

Did you ever look at a product and scratch your head and say, “What were they thinking?”

I have stumbled across a few guitars over the years that made me wonder this very thing. The LaBaye 2x4 and the Musicvox guitars come to mind.

We are living in an age in which there are more amateur and professional luthiers than ever before. Most are creating wonderful instruments. But there are some that make you wonder if someone forgot to lock the cage door. That's what this is about.

Though this looks something like a teenage girl mannequin, it is actually a guitar. It was made by a fellow named Lou Reimuller. I'm sort of concerned about Lou.

This one was not made by Cheech or Chong, but by Basone Guitars, located in Vancover, BC. Judging their web page, they make some fine quality guitars. But this one is...uh...different.

It appears an individual that uses guitars as art projects made this Egyptian objet d’art. Or perhaps it was a rare find from one of the pyramids.

I have seen hundreds of 12 string guitars, and played many 12 string guitars, but I have never played a 12 neck guitar. I believe this guy attempting to outdo Rick Nielsen.

I do not know who made this, but they must think they are a cut above the rest.

Here is a hodge-podge of strange-but-true guitars. Most are a mystery as to the creator. If I knew who they were, the question I would ask is why?

This must be Taylor’s new Evenrude tribute model.

I never was keen on snakes, not even if they have six strings and a humbucker.

Let’s give a polite hand to this builder. Hooooraaaayyyy!!!

Is it a guitar? Is it a horn? I’m so confused.

What the @#$%???

“Oh the shark has, lots of teeth dear,

and he keeps them pearly-white...”

This is a Jay Turser JT-Shark Guitar. I am not sure why someone would want one, however get one and be the life of your next party!

I am not sure whose head that is, but I do know that John Hall, the president of Rickenbacker, ain’t going to like this guitar.

Hamer Guitars

2011-05-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

Hamer & Dantzig

The Hamer Guitar story is a most interesting tale that began as early as 1970 when graphic designer Jol Dantzig became a partner in a Chicago guitar shop called Northern Prairie Music.

Northern Prairie was one of the first vintage guitar shops in the

. Northern Prairie did warranty work for Gibson, so they had a lot of knowledge about how the guitar was made and how to repair it and put it together. They also worked repairing guitars for other companies. Both of the partners wanted guitars that were constructer better than the ones they repaired.

Paul Hamer

Though their main business concern was to sell and trade guitars, it was in 1973, that Dantzig built the first Hamer guitar. This was a Flying Vee bass. This process of creating instruments, at first, became an important part of their business.

Jol Dantzig

After completing their 10^th guitar, they knew building guitars was their business.

When customers came in looking for a Les Paul or an elusive Explorer, (At that time, Gibson had not reissued this guitar and there were only about 100 originals), Hamer or Dantzig would show them one of their models. Being located in a major city was helpful in spreading the word about Hamer guitars, since they had connection with some major players.

Interestingly enough, when Gibson introduced the Explorer in 1959, they could not give it away. When Hamer found success with The Special, you had better believe Gibson took note and reintroduced The Explorer.

In 1974, Hamer and Dantzig took out advertisements in popular guitar magazines. These were the days before anyone else was producing boutique guitars. Hamer was the first to take on this task.

In 1977 Cheap Trick guitarist, Rick Nielsen, became acquainted with Hamer and endorsed their instruments. Dantzig had discovered a way to imprint graphics on a guitar and convinced the 3M Corporation to invent a new kind of tape that would make production of checkerboard guitars easier.

Whatever strange guitar request Nielsen made, Dantzig and Hamer were able to produce.

Tom Petersson, also of Cheap Trick, asked Hamer to build a 12 string bass. Up until then, the only company to build a bass with double courses was Hagstrom with its eight-string model. The 12 string Hamer bass was a first and not only did it have 12 strings, it was also quadraphonic. The bass had a miniaturized mixer built into the controls so each course of strings could be placed anywhere in a quad mix.

One of the craziest things about Hamer Guitars is Paul Hamer and Jol Dantzig were not even 30 years old at this time.

Well known band personnel such as Wishbone Ash's Martin.Turner, Bad Company's Boz Burrell and Mick Ralphs, and Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson and Martin Barre, Paul Stanley of KISS, Warren Zevon, Lita Ford, Tommy Bolin, Dave Hlubek of Molly Hatchet, Pete Townsend and John Entwhiste were all Hamer users. However, it was Cheap Trick that put Hamer on the map. Hamer had come up with all these fancy and bizarre guitars for Nielsen. Nielsen also purchased guitars from Hamer that were customized to his specification.

The first production Hamer guitar, called The Standard, was an Explorer shaped guitar. The body was British mahogany and the fretboard was ebony or rosewood. There were Standards made through 1978 and these were all handmade. The hockey-stick headstock was somewhat different from the original Gibson Explorer. From 1975 to 1985, Hamer built approximately 750 Standards. The Standard became the company’s flagship guitar and at the time sold for around $1200. It originally sold for around $800 in 1975.

Pickups on Hamers made in 1977 and before were genuine Gibson PAF's that they purchase from old parts at the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo. After 1977, Hamer used DiMarzio or Seymour Duncan pickups. Later Hamer manufactured their own pickups, called Hamer Slammers.

Interestingly, Hamer had the pickups mounted with no pickup covers and was the first company to take this approach. They had the pickups specifically designed with cream and black bobbins.

Grover tuners were used on the neck and all instruments had a tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece. The guitars were 24.75” scale, similar to Gibson’s standard. The guitars came with individual volume controls and one tone control.

Dantzig worked on that tone control. Many of us find our guitars tone control provides only subtle differences based on turning the capacitor on or off.

Dantzig made sure the tone control gave a full contour of sounds. Hamers came with a 3-way toggle switch. The bridge was what Hamer called The Sustain Block. This was somewhat similar unit to that found on a hard tail Stratocaster, with the strings going through the body; however the aluminum bridge was mounted on a raised shim of either rosewood or ebony.

The Sunburst Archtops shape had its basis on the Les Paul Jr. Double cutaway. However, it was certainly an improvement. The arched top was finished in a variety of colours. The

Honduras

mahogany body was beautifully polished. The controls were similar, with twin volume knobs and a master tone knob and the toggle switch placed on the bottom bout, behind the bridge, where it was out of the way.

The 22 fret fingerboards were rosewood with trapezoidal or dot inlays. The headstock bore Grover kidney bean tuners on early models. Later productions used Schaller tuners. The Sunburst was the first guitar to have Hamer’s familiar trapezoidal headstock with the indention. These instruments came with DiMarzios or Seymour Duncans, which were wired out of phase. Prototypes were on display at the 1977 NAMM Show. It proved to be one of Hamer’s most popular guitars with some 1500 guitar built by 1980. By the time the company moved to Arlington Heights they were producing 2000 Sunbursts per year. Some later models, produced by Kaman, used a flat top instead of the arch.

The Hamer Special was a Sunburst without any of the frills. The two-piece mahogany body had a thin maple top. Body and neck were unbound and position markers were dots on the 22-fret fingerboard. Hardware included Schaller tuners and the Sustain Block Bridge. The guitar came in a variety of colours. A Floyd Rose Tremolo System was an option. By the early to mid 1990’s, the guitar was available with a flamed maple top. It is interesting to note that Hamer was the first guitar manufacturer to utilize the Floyd Rose Tremolo system on their instruments. Additionally, they were the first to produce guitars with locking tuners. Because the Floyd Rose system on many of their instruments was black-plated, Hamer also was the first to utilize black hardware.

Hamer used the Special body on long neck four string basses and its eight string single pickup bass.

By 1978, Hamer set its sights on world markets. By 1980 production warranted moving to larger quarters in Arlington Heights, Illinois due to rapid sales expansion.

It was in 1981 when Hamer introduced a custom order Vee style guitar they called The Vector.

The Vector had similar accoutrements as the aforementioned guitars on a

Honduras

mahogany top that could be ordered with or without a maple top, in a variety of colours. Tuners were made by Schaller. It also came with the Hamer Sustain Block Bridge.

During the 1980’s and the age of Metal and Hair Bands, Hamer introduced some guitars aimed at this market. The Scepter was based on another Hamer Explorer guitar called the Blitz. The Blitz was more of an affordable basic model. The body was beveled and it came with a Floyd Rose Tremolo system. The Scepter V was an updated version of the Vector. It too came with a beveled body and boomerang inlays.

The Hamer Scarab had its basis in the Explorer style body, but the guitars bottom had a unique curved cleft cut.

During the Metal years, Hamer came up with some interesting concepts, which included adding 27 frets to the neck, adding 36 frets to the neck, introducing a fretless guitar, introducing a 3 coil humbucking pickup, adding hologram images to the body, and they were the first to introduce a seven string guitar.

Early on, Dantzig had recognized the issue of stress on the neck. Because of this Hamer changed building techniques to use three-piece maple that was made so the center strip had the wood grain reversed from the outer laminates. This is a method utilized by a number of guitar manufacturers and prevents warping. The necks are dovetailed into a hand- chiseled cavity for a tight fit. The control cavity is flawless and painted with nickel-based paint, then covered with an anodized aluminum cover. This prevents RF interference and hum. The bodies and necks receive a special method of applying lacquer to assure a beautiful finish.

By 1987, Paul Hamer left the company that carried his name. He served as sales manager and was ready to move on to another career. In 1988, Kaman Music, the parent company of Ovation guitars purchased Hamer and moved manufacture ring to Hartford Connecticut.

Dantzig left Hamer five years later, but returned as a technical consultant in 1997.

At the end of 2007, Kaman Inc sold its music division to Fender Musical Instrument Company. Dantzig stayed on until 2010 and left to start his own high-end, boutique guitar company, known as Dantzig Guitar Design.

Hamers current ownership has recognized “the times, they are a’changin’”, and has abandoned to Metal market to take a more traditional approach to guitar design. Hamer still offers its original models, including the 12 string bass and the Vector bass.

They have introduced the Duotone, which has a belly bridge with a piezo pickup in addition to the humbuckers and the Hamer Artist, which has sort of a PRS shape. Hamer manufactures its guitars in the USA, but also produces the Hamer XT series of Asian made guitars that have a considerably less expensive price tag.

One very interesting fact about Hamer concerns Dean Zelinsky, the young creator of Dean Guitars. Dean worked as a roadie for Dantzig and Hamers band. Dean took advantage of his lessons from watching and being with these fellows. It was after that experience when he launched his own business.

The Gibson SG - Happy 50th Birthday

2011-05-10T03:53:00.001-07:00

The Gibson SG is one of the more unique electric guitar shapes to come down the pike. It was designed by Gibson guitars as early as 1959; however, it did not actually make its debut until 1961. That makes it 50 years old this year.

By 1958, Gibson’s sales of the various Les Paul models were slowing down. The following year was when Gibson, led by Ted McCarty, decided to produce some radically different guitars, in hopes of striking competing with Fender and Epiphone.

The Flying Vee, the Explorer and the elusive Moderne were all offered in 1959. But sales of these extreme instruments were dismal. Gibson was looking to produce a twin cutaway, solid body instrument, to boost sales and cut costs. McCarty came up with the Les Paul SG.

Originally, it was labeled The Les Paul SG, SG standing for solid guitar. It was flat-topped, with neck access to the last fret. The 24.75” scale neck joined the body at the 19^th fret. The neck had a thinner profile than The Les Paul guitars. Likewise, the neck heel was very shallow.

The mahogany body was beautifully finished in cherry, as was the neck. The guitar came with a tune-o-matic bridge, a trapeze tailpiece or more commonly either a Bigsby vibrato or a Maestro side-to-side Lyre Vibrola.

This instrument was equipped with twin humbucking pickups, with volume and tone controls for each pickup and a Switchcraft 3-way selector switch.

The upper sides of the body were beveled to accentuate the symmetrical twin horns. The bound rosewood fretboard had trapezoidal position markers. The headstock veneer was black with a Gibson flowerpot inlay and the truss rod cover was emblazoned with "Les Paul."

However, Mr. Paul was not at all happy with the changes to his model and asked that his name be removed. This was done in 1963. There are pictures of Les Paul and Mary Ford holding their Les Paul SG’s. By 1963 the guitar was dubbed The SG Standard.

The Les Paul SG outsold the Les Paul guitar in its first 3 years of existence.

If you recall, Les Paul originally designed two colour schemes for his guitar. The more popular was the Gold top model, that was based on the ES-295 guitar. He also designed a solid black guitar, especially for players who wore tuxedos.

This was the close of the big band era. Gibson decided on a similar strategy for the Les Paul SG and came up with a fancy model called the Les Paul SG Custom. It came with a Polaris white finish and gold hardware, including pickup covers, tuners, the Maestro Vibrola, and its cover. This guitar had 3 humbucking pickups and an ebony fretboard, which was dressed with very thin frets, similar to those on The Fretless Wonder (Gibson Les Paul Custom). In fact, this guitar was dubbed by some, The Fretless Wonder.

The bound fretboard came with block pearl position markers. The headstock was bound with a split trapezoidal inlay. It had the smaller 3-ply scratch plate that came on the cherry model, only it was white instead of black. This was a beautiful instrument; however most players are not fond of the thin fret wire that promised to make playing faster. Gibson called this model The Les Paul SG custom and after 1963 The SG Custom.

The small pickguard was offered through 1965. The neck joint was thickened in 1962 and in 1966, a redesigned neck joint was added, as was the enlarged pickguard, which aided in wiring the guitar.

One of the flaws in this guitars design was the thin neck joint. If the guitar was dropped, the headstock joint generally cracked, rendering it unplayable to be sent back to the factory for warranty work.

Late in that year, a larger pickguard was also added to the model. This surrounded both pickups.

Other models came into being. They were all variations on the original design, but generally with less features. A Gibson Les Paul Jr.SG. was available as early as 1961.

It was a beautiful and simple guitar. There was one P-90 pickup in the bridge position. The pickguard was enlarged to cover the body where the neck pickup would be placed. There were only two controls, for volume and tone, both at the distal lower bout, right next to the input jack. Most models came with a wrap-around tailpiece, which doubled as a bridge saddle and bridge, although a model was offered with a tremolo unit and a compensated, none adjustable, metal bridge saddle. The vibrato arm was a flat chromed bar. The strings on the vibrato model attached to a flexible piece of metal that allowed for movement. The rosewood fretboards on these models were topped with dot position markers. The headstock had no inlay. The tuners were tipped with plastic buttons.

The Gibson SG Special was a less stripped down version of the Standard. It featured one or two P-90 pickups, with the usual controls. The neck was similar to the SG Jr. with its dot markers and plain headstock. This model came with a tune-o-matic bridge and a stop bar. Although the guitar was offered with a vibrato similar to the SG Jr. but the arm was fancier with a decorative plastic tip.

There have been numerous changes to the SG since the early 1970’s, which have included differing colour options, further changes to the fragile neck and changes to the pickguard and control placement.

SG R-1

Around 1980, Gibson had Robert Moog design active electronics, similar to those in the Gibson RD Artist guitar. This became the Gibson SG-R1 and later the SG Artist.

The mid 1970’s a version was offered with carving in the body. The SG-100 was a budget version, in which the controls were mounted on the top under a metal cover. A limited run of The SG Standard3 was offered not too long ago. This guitar came with 3 single coil pickups, a single volume and tone control and a chicken head style knob as a pickup up selector switch.

Robot SG

Most recently, Gibson has experimented with the instrument as a limited edition robot guitar. Motorized tuners, which attached to a computerized tuner, automatically brought the instrument into perfect tune.

In 1965, the Gibson Melody Maker guitar was reinvented with the SG shape and was available with one, two or three pickups and with or without a vibrato. Some people mistake the Melody Maker for an SG, however the pickups on this guitar are single coil with a plastic cover.

Gibson also produced a Kalamazoo line of electric guitars and basses. One of the models bore a resemblance to the Melody Maker SG, however this guitar was made out of MDF (medium density fiberboard).

Gibson’s short scale basses, including the EB-0 and EB-3 also received the SG shape.

The original price for a 1961 “Les Paul” SG standard was $310. This was similar to the price one would pay for a Fender Stratocaster.

Charvel Jackson Guitars

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Wayne Charvel

Wayne Charvel ran a guitar repair business in southern California, in the town of Azusa. Charvel had begun this endeavor in the late 1960’s and was successful. One of his employees was a Tennessee native named Grover Jackson.

Grover Jackson

Charvel sold the business to Jackson in November of 1978.

The company had been building guitars under the Charvel name, and had built up a good reputation, so Jackson continued to use the trade name.

Jackson was able to offer his line of Jackson built Charvel guitars at the 1979 Summer NAMM convention, which was held in Atlanta,

Georgia

at the time.

NAMM Jackson display

If you are unfamiliar, NAMM, the National Association of Music Merchants, holds a trade show twice a year (it might have been once a year in the 1970’s) so that manufacturers of musical instruments and related products can display the wares to wholesalers and retailers. It has grown over the years, and one can bump in to not just the merchants, but also some of the world’s great players.

These were the days leading up to Heavy Metal Music. Marshall Amplifiers and pointy guitars were the forte of the day. Record labels were hot to sign contracts to promote Metal.

In 1980, the management of Ozzy Osbourne’s band, Black Sabbath asked Jackson to build a special guitar for their new guitarist, Randy Rhoads. Rhoads had just left Quiet Riot and signed on to play lead guitar for Ozzy. Jackson and Rhoads got together for dinner and lay down their plans for the style of what would later become the Jackson Concorde.

The guitar was sketched on a paper napkin. It was V shaped with an offset and very angular. The distinctive six-on-a-side headstock bore the Jackson name and became Jackson’s trademark.

Rhoads began using this instrument in concerts, but soon asked for changes to the guitar. The second version is the Randy Rhoads Concorde that most associate with him. It later became known as the Jackson-Rhoads guitar.

Charvel guitar

The more traditional looking Charvel guitars continued to be manufactured; however, Metal players preferred the radical looking Jackson models.

This was the era of the Super-Strat. Many of these guitars were loosely based on a Stratocaster design, but had smaller bodies and pointy horns, the necks were fast, the pickups were wound to be hot, and the headstocks pointed down or upwards.

Floyd Rose had designed the locking-tremolo system that allowed for a variety of effects including the dive-bomb sound. This system not only kept the strings in tune, but the strings pitch could be adjusted by violin-like mini tuners on the guitars bridge.

Jackson included DiMarzio Sustainer-Driver pickups in some models, such as the Phil Collen signature Dinky. Active electronics were added to Charvel model 4 and model 6. The Charvel Surfcaster 12 string had a headstock similar to what you would find on a Rickenbacker 12 string guitar.

Many of the Jackson models, such as the Rhoads, either had a built in neck joint or were neck-thru-body guitars.

Jackson Dinky

The Jackson Dinky was his first bolt-on neck model. The Dinky was a 7/8^th style guitar, which gave the player a shorter scale, enabling faster changes. Jackson guitars preferred DiMarizo pickups.

The unique Jackson headstock served a couple of purposes. First, it prevented the company from patent infringement since it was different from the Fender headstock and second the strings had a somewhat straighter pull than those on a Fender guitar. As of 2002, Fender Musical Instrument Company owns and distributes Jackson and Charvel guitars. You will find a Fender style headstock on current models.

Charvette

Grover Jackson was associated with his company through 1989 when it was sold to Japanese manufacturer AMIC. The company continued to build high-quality Jackson and Charvel guitars through 1991. A Korean budget model named the Charvette came out during this era.

It was in the 1990’s when music styles changed and Grunge music outpaced Metal. Grunge players favored cheap old guitars. The era of pointy guitars and hair bands for the most part ended.

Fender has maintained the same look and feel of traditional Jackson guitars.

Ibanez guitars copied the look of Charvel Jackson, and are still building pointy guitar models.

Soloist

Besides the Rhoads and Dinky guitars, some other models worth mentioning are the Soloist, which came with a neck-thru body and a super strat design, the Kelly, which was based on the Gibson Explorer, the King V, which had a symmetrical V style body with long wings and the Warrior with four pointy ends on the body.

Jackson Kelly

During the time that Jackson ran the company, he moved the business to differing sites several times. Glendora, California became the first new home of Charvel Jackson. In 1986, he moved his company to Ontario, California.

The address listed on the back of some of the

U.S.

made guitars lists a P.O. Box in San Dimas, California. These “San Dimas” guitars are the ones that are now prized and highly sought after by collectors.