So, this is closely related to guitar...ok, it's just a fun couple of videos. An experienced genius of a pro and a rising star.
EDIT: I added this video too because it's a better, cleaner version of Jake Shimabukuro doing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." It's a lot longer but it's amazing and better sound quality.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Bass Equipment
This blog has a huge gaping void (some may think many) and I believe that to be information related to the bass guitar. I feel like this blog needs to cover this side of "guitar world" to really fulfill its purpose but unfortunately I don't know much about bass gear. I would love for someone to help me out with this. Please email me at billsguitarblog@gmail.com if you want to help out.
-Bill
-Bill
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Matchless Ampliefiers
Are you a fan of Matchless amplifiers? Do you want to get to know Matchless amplifiers a little better? The link below is a really interesting interview with the founder for the company. I found it to be very enjoyable.
Sampson Matchless Interview
Sampson Matchless Interview
Monday, December 14, 2009
New Facebook Fan Page
There is a new Facebook Fan Page for Bill's Guitar Blog. Become a fan!
Facebook Fan Page
Facebook Fan Page
Beauty of Guitar
So I was looking through the blog and I saw a comment that was posted that I must have overlooked. I found it to be amazing. It "contested" a lot of what I said in a post and I think that's great. The points made are very true and accurately demonstrate what I believe is a double edged sword. The guitar industry in general is definitely making things that are better than ever along with all of the crap in the market. The sad part is that the magic of the old days isn't there anymore, but as you will read in the comment, that's just the way it has evolved. "Back in the day," kids were listening to the Beatles, Cream, Hendrix, the Beach Boys, Rolling Stones, etc... Today we have Lady Gaga and Kanye.
I really like this response and the thought behind it. Well played, Bob Pauly.
Bob Pauly said...
...
The gear manufactured today is light years better than the gear made in my day: from a Squire Strat to a Collings I-35, the gear is better, more reliable and more affordable than ever. Amps, pedals - you name it - if you think it sounded better then - a TS9 over a Fulldrive - or that anything better than a DC-30 or Shiva (well maybe, a '65 SR), you need to be taken out to the woodshed (Make 'n Music).
As for the state of guitar playing, well, how about the state of guitar based music? Lady Gaga? We had Cream. Kayne? We had Hendrix. Yet I'm slightly optimistic about the future of guitar - my 6 year-old was jamming to GNR and Eric Johnson last night (Guitar Hero, of course) - if parents keep their kids off the sugar and on the classics - if parents demonstrate to kids that making music can be a part of daily life, the future of the guitar is bright.
As for the impact of the internet on the guitar, I thing it's fantastic. Hey - you like Haynes? - now check out Grissom. You can do this instantly. Want a more reliable AC30? Do a Google search. Want a great cab to go with that Belov head? Never has been more information, or more good gear, been more readily available. And never has access to like minded musicians been easier. The access to a great, guitar passion is only limited by your desire and imagination.
May 30, 2009 9:19 AM
I really like this response and the thought behind it. Well played, Bob Pauly.
Bob Pauly said...
...
The gear manufactured today is light years better than the gear made in my day: from a Squire Strat to a Collings I-35, the gear is better, more reliable and more affordable than ever. Amps, pedals - you name it - if you think it sounded better then - a TS9 over a Fulldrive - or that anything better than a DC-30 or Shiva (well maybe, a '65 SR), you need to be taken out to the woodshed (Make 'n Music).
As for the state of guitar playing, well, how about the state of guitar based music? Lady Gaga? We had Cream. Kayne? We had Hendrix. Yet I'm slightly optimistic about the future of guitar - my 6 year-old was jamming to GNR and Eric Johnson last night (Guitar Hero, of course) - if parents keep their kids off the sugar and on the classics - if parents demonstrate to kids that making music can be a part of daily life, the future of the guitar is bright.
As for the impact of the internet on the guitar, I thing it's fantastic. Hey - you like Haynes? - now check out Grissom. You can do this instantly. Want a more reliable AC30? Do a Google search. Want a great cab to go with that Belov head? Never has been more information, or more good gear, been more readily available. And never has access to like minded musicians been easier. The access to a great, guitar passion is only limited by your desire and imagination.
May 30, 2009 9:19 AM
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Guitar Buying Guide
After discussing the guitar world with a friend of mine this past weekend, we hit on the topic of making good choices when it comes to purchasing a first guitar (specifically electric). There are always a few internal battles that new players seem to go through, and as always, there are a million different answers.
Anyway, I thought I would have a look at what people are advising new guitar buyers to look for and the provide some my input on the process.
This is a good general information guide for a new buyer:
General Information Guide - Sweetwater
There are some basic fundamentals and concepts in that guide that make a lot of sense. But ultimately, I want to provide my views and hopefully they will someone make the right choices.
There are many important pieces to consider in buying a first guitar. Most people are looking to spend as little as possible and get a decent instrument. Unfortunately, the days of walking into Sam Ash and getting a nice Made in Mexico Fender Telecaster are long gone, but that's fine because there are many options out there if you want to do the legwork. For cheaters who don't want to read the entire post, some inexpensive brands that I really like are Epiphone, Crafter (acoustic), and G&L.
Epiphone makes some great stuff that really doesn't cost that much. Their Les Pauls have been notorious for bad wiring but that can be fixed easy enough. You can make your Epiphone Les Paul just as good as a Gibson by getting a good setup and throwing in some aftermarket pickups. In lower-end guitars, the electronics are typically a weak spot. For some guitars, the wood is good enough (Epiphone) that an upgrade in components makes it worth it. In other brands like Squier, it isn't even worth the effort.
Crafter makes really nice budget acoustics. I wanted to primarily write about electrics but I just have always found Crafter stuff to be SO nice and their prices can't be beat; great bang for your buck. If interested, see if you can track down one with a Cedar top. I wish I got one back in the day. Though it was a budget guitar, it sounded that good.
Ok, so G&L isn't that inexpensive but if you compare them to their Fender counterparts, they are really good deals. Their craftsmanship is impeccable and they sound amazing. True, they don't have the signature Fender headstock and are not as well known, but they are definitely worth every cent. If I wasn't such a humbucker/Gibson guy, I would probably almost play G&L exclusively...but currently I don't own any and I own two Fenders. Yep, that makes sense...
For people that are willing to spend some money and are not questioning whether or not they want to play guitar, I will provide some other options. I already provided G&L which could fall into this category. But the Gibson Les Paul Studio is a good "high end" option for a lower price. Gibson also had a line of Faded and/or Special guitars that are pretty good value.
It is said that Gibson took their Gothic series that didn't sell well and stripped the paint off of these guitars and resold them as the Gibson Special. The Gothic series was always rumored to be the line Gibson used to sell off their junk wood under the disguise of heavy black paint. The Special line was sold in Faded Red and brown, and then a couple of painted finishes. It is said Gibson used the good pieces of wood in the Faded finishes and the bad wood they kid with the paint jobs. So now you can find yourself an inxpensive Gibson SG Faded special. I have them go for as low as $475 and as high as about $800. Guess it just depends on the demand...
One brand that I can't "endorse" for the life of me is Squier by Fender. I have never heard one that sounds good, I have never played one that feels good, and I have never seen one that looks good. I can't tell you how many times I have seen a Squier at a store with a twisted neck where the repair would cost more than the guitar.
Generally, a good mindset to standby is that quality is the most important part of a guitar purchase. I wholeheartedly believe that you are better off spending $100-$200 extra dollars on a guitar made of better quality no matter what. If you're just learning to play, a bad guitar will be more difficult to play and won't sound good so you will become frustrated and not want to continue to learn the instrument. If you are already a somewhat experienced player, you need to consider the investment. Maybe the guitar feels fine to you now, but as you continue to grow as a player, will it still meet your needs? You will always be better off at saving up a little more money to get better quality than buy something because "it was cheap." The more expensive guitars get, this becomes a grey area, but that will come down to personal taste. While you're trying to develop that "taste" you should make sure to make good choices in purchasing an instrument. Of course, just because the price tag is bigger, that doesn't mean it's necessarily better. The only way you will know what guitar is best is spending time with it. If you are going to buy a guitar, make sure you feel it worth every cent.
Another thing to address is resale value. When you are buying an intro level guitar you might as well ignore the resale value factor. Entry level guitars are not investments...simple as that. Even intro level Gibsons from 50-70 years ago are valued much lower than anything in the vintage market. True, Guitar Center or Sam Ash will always give you a few bucks on it as a trade-in but it will always be at a significant loss. That said, don't buy a guitar because you think it will fair better when you're ready to move on. Buy a guitar that you know you will be satisfied with. You like how it plays and you like how it sounds.
Quick tips:
1. Make sure the guitar feels balanced
2. Make the neck isn't twisted. Twists are virtually impossible to repair WELL no matter what anyone tells you.
3. Make sure there isn't any hidden damage to the guitar.
4. Plug it in and make sure all the electronics work.
5. If you are torn between two guitars because of price and the more expensive one feels better, get the one that feels better.
If you're looking for more advice on buying a guitar or have any questions, feel free to email us at billsguitarblog@gmail.com. Hopefully we can get you pointed in the right direction and narrow down some choices for you.
Anyway, I thought I would have a look at what people are advising new guitar buyers to look for and the provide some my input on the process.
This is a good general information guide for a new buyer:
General Information Guide - Sweetwater
There are some basic fundamentals and concepts in that guide that make a lot of sense. But ultimately, I want to provide my views and hopefully they will someone make the right choices.
There are many important pieces to consider in buying a first guitar. Most people are looking to spend as little as possible and get a decent instrument. Unfortunately, the days of walking into Sam Ash and getting a nice Made in Mexico Fender Telecaster are long gone, but that's fine because there are many options out there if you want to do the legwork. For cheaters who don't want to read the entire post, some inexpensive brands that I really like are Epiphone, Crafter (acoustic), and G&L.
Epiphone makes some great stuff that really doesn't cost that much. Their Les Pauls have been notorious for bad wiring but that can be fixed easy enough. You can make your Epiphone Les Paul just as good as a Gibson by getting a good setup and throwing in some aftermarket pickups. In lower-end guitars, the electronics are typically a weak spot. For some guitars, the wood is good enough (Epiphone) that an upgrade in components makes it worth it. In other brands like Squier, it isn't even worth the effort.
Crafter makes really nice budget acoustics. I wanted to primarily write about electrics but I just have always found Crafter stuff to be SO nice and their prices can't be beat; great bang for your buck. If interested, see if you can track down one with a Cedar top. I wish I got one back in the day. Though it was a budget guitar, it sounded that good.
Ok, so G&L isn't that inexpensive but if you compare them to their Fender counterparts, they are really good deals. Their craftsmanship is impeccable and they sound amazing. True, they don't have the signature Fender headstock and are not as well known, but they are definitely worth every cent. If I wasn't such a humbucker/Gibson guy, I would probably almost play G&L exclusively...but currently I don't own any and I own two Fenders. Yep, that makes sense...
For people that are willing to spend some money and are not questioning whether or not they want to play guitar, I will provide some other options. I already provided G&L which could fall into this category. But the Gibson Les Paul Studio is a good "high end" option for a lower price. Gibson also had a line of Faded and/or Special guitars that are pretty good value.
It is said that Gibson took their Gothic series that didn't sell well and stripped the paint off of these guitars and resold them as the Gibson Special. The Gothic series was always rumored to be the line Gibson used to sell off their junk wood under the disguise of heavy black paint. The Special line was sold in Faded Red and brown, and then a couple of painted finishes. It is said Gibson used the good pieces of wood in the Faded finishes and the bad wood they kid with the paint jobs. So now you can find yourself an inxpensive Gibson SG Faded special. I have them go for as low as $475 and as high as about $800. Guess it just depends on the demand...
One brand that I can't "endorse" for the life of me is Squier by Fender. I have never heard one that sounds good, I have never played one that feels good, and I have never seen one that looks good. I can't tell you how many times I have seen a Squier at a store with a twisted neck where the repair would cost more than the guitar.
Generally, a good mindset to standby is that quality is the most important part of a guitar purchase. I wholeheartedly believe that you are better off spending $100-$200 extra dollars on a guitar made of better quality no matter what. If you're just learning to play, a bad guitar will be more difficult to play and won't sound good so you will become frustrated and not want to continue to learn the instrument. If you are already a somewhat experienced player, you need to consider the investment. Maybe the guitar feels fine to you now, but as you continue to grow as a player, will it still meet your needs? You will always be better off at saving up a little more money to get better quality than buy something because "it was cheap." The more expensive guitars get, this becomes a grey area, but that will come down to personal taste. While you're trying to develop that "taste" you should make sure to make good choices in purchasing an instrument. Of course, just because the price tag is bigger, that doesn't mean it's necessarily better. The only way you will know what guitar is best is spending time with it. If you are going to buy a guitar, make sure you feel it worth every cent.
Another thing to address is resale value. When you are buying an intro level guitar you might as well ignore the resale value factor. Entry level guitars are not investments...simple as that. Even intro level Gibsons from 50-70 years ago are valued much lower than anything in the vintage market. True, Guitar Center or Sam Ash will always give you a few bucks on it as a trade-in but it will always be at a significant loss. That said, don't buy a guitar because you think it will fair better when you're ready to move on. Buy a guitar that you know you will be satisfied with. You like how it plays and you like how it sounds.
Quick tips:
1. Make sure the guitar feels balanced
2. Make the neck isn't twisted. Twists are virtually impossible to repair WELL no matter what anyone tells you.
3. Make sure there isn't any hidden damage to the guitar.
4. Plug it in and make sure all the electronics work.
5. If you are torn between two guitars because of price and the more expensive one feels better, get the one that feels better.
If you're looking for more advice on buying a guitar or have any questions, feel free to email us at billsguitarblog@gmail.com. Hopefully we can get you pointed in the right direction and narrow down some choices for you.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Feelin' Good
I will forewarn you now, this post will be very limited in terms of guitar talk. I just wanted to take a minute to reflect on the blog a bit.
This evening I have had quite a few moments of satisfaction centered around Bill's Guitar Blog and general gear talk. I'm currently in the market for a new amplifier after having a complete reawakening at a show I was at last night and I have spent the day exchanging emails with my uncle who is fellow gearhead. I realized that I was at a point in the conversation where I was no longer seeking relevant information but was just enjoying exchanging essays on amplifiers and guitars. Very little makes me happier than gear talk.
The next event trips me out. Believe it or not (I believe I have alluded to this before), playing in my band and Bill's Guitar Blog don't pay the bills and I actually have to work a day job. I work in the world of IT and part of our team is based in India. A member of the team from India spent a considerable amount of time working in our Chicago office where I got to know him pretty well. He eventually finished his work in Chicago and headed back to India. Little did I know while he was here that this guy was a guitar player! One day when I wa perusing Facebook I saw a video he posted on Youtube of him playing. Since then, we have discussed our music every now and then. ANYWAY, I logged into my personal Gmail account and this friend started chatting with me via G-Chat and brought up my blog. Turns out he follows it and finds it interesting. Imagine that!
Clearly, I'm a nerd. I love the tools of music so much. At this show last night, I turned to my wife and said to her, "I love music. Not just the sounds, but the tools used to make them." I got the usual "yeah" and a "you gotta be kidding me" head shake. But it's true, I love the science of guitar and through this blog I get to discuss everything I love about it. Not only that but it allows me to connect with someone on the other side of the world who also loves music.
Ultimately, I'm just really happy that there are a few people reading this and they seem to enjoy it. It really makes me feel good and excited about whatever I write about next. Hopefully by this time next year the blog will have lots of new followers and will gain some momentum.
So as always, thank you and please help spread the word. The more people that dig the blog, the more motivated I am to keep working on it and improving it. I'm hoping that I will be able to get more people to start contributing writeups and/or anything else to the blog. I truly want this blog to be exactly what the readers want and the only way to do that is to allow them the ability to contribute. So remember, you can email me at billsguitarblog@gmail.com and let me know what you want to see.
Again, thank you and KEEP TELLING YOUR FRIENDS! Let's spread this blog and make this thing huge!
This evening I have had quite a few moments of satisfaction centered around Bill's Guitar Blog and general gear talk. I'm currently in the market for a new amplifier after having a complete reawakening at a show I was at last night and I have spent the day exchanging emails with my uncle who is fellow gearhead. I realized that I was at a point in the conversation where I was no longer seeking relevant information but was just enjoying exchanging essays on amplifiers and guitars. Very little makes me happier than gear talk.
The next event trips me out. Believe it or not (I believe I have alluded to this before), playing in my band and Bill's Guitar Blog don't pay the bills and I actually have to work a day job. I work in the world of IT and part of our team is based in India. A member of the team from India spent a considerable amount of time working in our Chicago office where I got to know him pretty well. He eventually finished his work in Chicago and headed back to India. Little did I know while he was here that this guy was a guitar player! One day when I wa perusing Facebook I saw a video he posted on Youtube of him playing. Since then, we have discussed our music every now and then. ANYWAY, I logged into my personal Gmail account and this friend started chatting with me via G-Chat and brought up my blog. Turns out he follows it and finds it interesting. Imagine that!
Clearly, I'm a nerd. I love the tools of music so much. At this show last night, I turned to my wife and said to her, "I love music. Not just the sounds, but the tools used to make them." I got the usual "yeah" and a "you gotta be kidding me" head shake. But it's true, I love the science of guitar and through this blog I get to discuss everything I love about it. Not only that but it allows me to connect with someone on the other side of the world who also loves music.
Ultimately, I'm just really happy that there are a few people reading this and they seem to enjoy it. It really makes me feel good and excited about whatever I write about next. Hopefully by this time next year the blog will have lots of new followers and will gain some momentum.
So as always, thank you and please help spread the word. The more people that dig the blog, the more motivated I am to keep working on it and improving it. I'm hoping that I will be able to get more people to start contributing writeups and/or anything else to the blog. I truly want this blog to be exactly what the readers want and the only way to do that is to allow them the ability to contribute. So remember, you can email me at billsguitarblog@gmail.com and let me know what you want to see.
Again, thank you and KEEP TELLING YOUR FRIENDS! Let's spread this blog and make this thing huge!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Cool Build Video
I recently acquired my first HomeBrew Electronics (HBE) pedal which is a surprise to me considering how much I love their stuff. Every single effect I have heard from them sounds amazing.
Anyway, I was perusing their site and found this 10 minute video on how their hand-building process and thought it was pretty impressive. Check it out.
HBE Build Video
Head over to their website:
HomeBrew Electronics
Anyway, I was perusing their site and found this 10 minute video on how their hand-building process and thought it was pretty impressive. Check it out.
HBE Build Video
Head over to their website:
HomeBrew Electronics
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Feeling Unappreciated.
Ok, so admittedly the title of this post seems a bit depressing and like I'm going to write a big "woe is me" piece, but do not worry, that is not what I'm doing here. There's always been a staple piece of equipment that never gets the credit it deserves...the guitar strap. I have three guitar straps that are far and away the best straps I have ever seen. I got so sick and tired of using garbage straps all the time that I decided it was just time to take the plunge on a serious strap.
What most people fail to realize is that the guitar strap is what physically connects the guitar to your body and you wouldn't be able to play comfortably in a standing position without it. That said, it's important to have an adequate strap for the job. The good ole $7.99 Ernie Ball nylon strap is fine for sitting in your room practicing but I can't tell you how many times I have seen one of these straps break "on the job."
After realizing the nylon straps weren't going to cut it, though Gibson and Fender make nice lower end models FUNCTION-WISE, I decided to give leather a go. As a kid, this wasn't much better because I couldn't afford anything of decent quality. A $30-50 leather guitar strap was a piece of junk. Somewhere around 2000 or 2001, I heard of this company making absolutely killer leather guitar straps. They were too expensive for my pockets containing nothing but some unspent milk money at the time but the name always stuck around. Around the time of Fall 2008, I decided that I have had enough of junk guitar straps and it was time to check out this company.
The company was El Dorado guitar straps. In my mind, there are three companies making good high quality leather guitar straps: El Dorado, Jodi Head, and Gretsch (I'm sure there are more, but these are my top 3). In my opinion, El Dorado is the best of all from top to bottom. The straps are incredibly durable, comfortable, and the best looking strap I have ever seen. I called the El Dorado phone number expecting to speak to some receptionist used to fielding mundane phone calls day in and day out. To my surprise, Bill Silverman, owner and founder of El Dorado, answered the phone and fielded all of my questions. After about a twenty minute phone conversation about his company, I ordered my first El Dorado strap. It was a hand-tooled original model in dark brown; a perfect match for my cherry red ES-355. I received it four days later and couldn't have been happier.
I have since ordered two more straps and spoken with Bill a few more times and can't say enough about how "right" he's doing things at his company. El Dorado also makes other guitar accessories such as pickguards and hardware and I hope to one day check some of that out as well. For now, I'm perfectly content with my guitar straps. Although we're only talking about guitar straps, El Dorado captures some sort of magic that seems somewhat lost in the guitar industry as a whole. They focus on creating a high quality product that will create a connection with the owner (literally if you think about it). Many companies used to be known for creating this experience but it's unfortunately becoming a thing of the past.
Personally, I will only use El Dorado from here on out, but everyone should really consider getting themselves a high quality strap of their choice. Maybe you'll choose El Dorado, maybe you won't, but don't underestimate the value of having a high quality guitar strap partnered up with your instrument.
Trust me, this isn't the last you'll hear of El Dorado from me.
Me using my El Dorado strap. Photo courtesy of Studio B (www.hellostudiob.com).
What most people fail to realize is that the guitar strap is what physically connects the guitar to your body and you wouldn't be able to play comfortably in a standing position without it. That said, it's important to have an adequate strap for the job. The good ole $7.99 Ernie Ball nylon strap is fine for sitting in your room practicing but I can't tell you how many times I have seen one of these straps break "on the job."
After realizing the nylon straps weren't going to cut it, though Gibson and Fender make nice lower end models FUNCTION-WISE, I decided to give leather a go. As a kid, this wasn't much better because I couldn't afford anything of decent quality. A $30-50 leather guitar strap was a piece of junk. Somewhere around 2000 or 2001, I heard of this company making absolutely killer leather guitar straps. They were too expensive for my pockets containing nothing but some unspent milk money at the time but the name always stuck around. Around the time of Fall 2008, I decided that I have had enough of junk guitar straps and it was time to check out this company.
The company was El Dorado guitar straps. In my mind, there are three companies making good high quality leather guitar straps: El Dorado, Jodi Head, and Gretsch (I'm sure there are more, but these are my top 3). In my opinion, El Dorado is the best of all from top to bottom. The straps are incredibly durable, comfortable, and the best looking strap I have ever seen. I called the El Dorado phone number expecting to speak to some receptionist used to fielding mundane phone calls day in and day out. To my surprise, Bill Silverman, owner and founder of El Dorado, answered the phone and fielded all of my questions. After about a twenty minute phone conversation about his company, I ordered my first El Dorado strap. It was a hand-tooled original model in dark brown; a perfect match for my cherry red ES-355. I received it four days later and couldn't have been happier.
I have since ordered two more straps and spoken with Bill a few more times and can't say enough about how "right" he's doing things at his company. El Dorado also makes other guitar accessories such as pickguards and hardware and I hope to one day check some of that out as well. For now, I'm perfectly content with my guitar straps. Although we're only talking about guitar straps, El Dorado captures some sort of magic that seems somewhat lost in the guitar industry as a whole. They focus on creating a high quality product that will create a connection with the owner (literally if you think about it). Many companies used to be known for creating this experience but it's unfortunately becoming a thing of the past.
Personally, I will only use El Dorado from here on out, but everyone should really consider getting themselves a high quality strap of their choice. Maybe you'll choose El Dorado, maybe you won't, but don't underestimate the value of having a high quality guitar strap partnered up with your instrument.
Trust me, this isn't the last you'll hear of El Dorado from me.
Me using my El Dorado strap. Photo courtesy of Studio B (www.hellostudiob.com).
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Used or Vintage? Player's Vintage?
Gibson recently posted a piece about distinguishing the difference between vintage, player's vintage, and used guitars. This is an always ongoing battle in the buyers market so I thought others may find this interesting.
Click the link and have a read.
Gibson Tone Tips #35
Click the link and have a read.
Gibson Tone Tips #35
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Who doesn't love a pedalboard?
I spent the better part of weekend...ok an entire weekend...building a new pedalboard with my dad. It was a good time, especially since it was some quality time with my old man. The pedalboard came out awesome and I couldn't be happier with it (unless it was bigger of course).
Before we built it we looked though a huge thread from The Gear Page to get some ideas. This thread is a lot of fun to sift through because you get a lot of cool ideas, learn about a lot of cool, and start crafting big dreams in your head.
Anyway, have a look for yourself.
The Gear Page Pedalboard Thread
Before we built it we looked though a huge thread from The Gear Page to get some ideas. This thread is a lot of fun to sift through because you get a lot of cool ideas, learn about a lot of cool, and start crafting big dreams in your head.
Anyway, have a look for yourself.
The Gear Page Pedalboard Thread
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Gibson Custom Shop
Do I think Gibson makes the best stuff in the world nowadays? No. Do I still like Gibson in general? Yes. Are they iconic and thus always keeping us curious? Yes. Below you can find a link to the Gibson Custom Shop blog. It's pretty interesting to see what's going on at that shop regardless of your views on their current state of existence.
Gibson Custom Shop Blog
Gibson Custom Shop Blog
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
New Feature!
I've been doing a lot of searching on the web for various weird pieces of gear. Ryan and I have been discussing how fun it is to see what cool, unpopular things you can discover via ebay or message boards. We talked about starting up a game where we'd look for dirt cheap effects on Ebay and buy them in hopes of discovering a completely unknown gem at a great price, because let's face it, even legends like us need to save a few bucks.
(DISCLAIMER: Ryan and I aren't really legends...yet)
So that got me thinking...which is always dangerous as the cliche goes. As mentioned on the blog many times before, the hunt for gear is one of my favorite parts. Don't get me wrong, playing it is just as fun, if not more. I look at it as two completely separate things. If I could find things on the internet and buy them all day long to have ultra cool gear, I would but I simply can't afford it even if my every day schedule allowed for me to do this. So how can I make this love for scouring the depths of the e-world worthwhile? My guitar blog!
Most people bidding or negotiating for goods on the internet don't like their auctions "blown up" but oh well. I am going to start posting up Ebay auctions, message board posts, Craigslist listings, etc... that I just find interesting or think someone should actually go for. Basically it will be things that I would love to have but don't need, can't afford, or don't want but still think is cool and someone else may like to be exposed to it. It could also do a few sellers a favor here and there.
Keep your eyes peeled for a cool listing or two. The intent is to briefly write something up on why I posted the link, but at the least you'll receive the link and go from there.
If you are looking to sell something, get in touch with us (billsguitarblog@gmail.com) and if it meets our criteria we have at that exact moment, we'll work on posting it up on the blog. Maybe it isn't much but at least it's a free advertisement for you. Also, if you happen upon anything cool you think the music e-world might finder interesting, send it our way as well and we'll work on getting it up on the blog.
So let's start with our first "listing." My latest searches led me down the path of the Crowther Audio Hotcake. There are multiple versions of this pedal (Standard, Bluesberry, and Double) and different variations of each over the years. If you do the least bit of research, you will quickly find that it is a highly revered pedal and highly sought after. I won't go into much detail about the pedal itself because I want to give it its own write up soon but Google it and have a look. You can find a few being sold on HarmonyCentral.com or TheGearPage.net as well as Ebay. The Ebay prices are a bit high, but it's a rare pedal and moderately hard to come by. The Ebay prices reflect the ease of search. They did the work for you so you have to pay the price. Hardwork in searching outside of Ebay will result in MUCH better prices. The prices still aren't terrible on Ebay considering it's a handmade pedal made by the man who invented it back in the '70s. Paul Crowther makes them all by hand in his own kitchen...in New Zealand. Good luck finding one at your local shop, and if you do, buy it on sight.
Here are some links:
Ebay
Some other pretty cool effects mixed in here in addition to the Hotcake:
Harmony Central Classified
(DISCLAIMER: Ryan and I aren't really legends...yet)
So that got me thinking...which is always dangerous as the cliche goes. As mentioned on the blog many times before, the hunt for gear is one of my favorite parts. Don't get me wrong, playing it is just as fun, if not more. I look at it as two completely separate things. If I could find things on the internet and buy them all day long to have ultra cool gear, I would but I simply can't afford it even if my every day schedule allowed for me to do this. So how can I make this love for scouring the depths of the e-world worthwhile? My guitar blog!
Most people bidding or negotiating for goods on the internet don't like their auctions "blown up" but oh well. I am going to start posting up Ebay auctions, message board posts, Craigslist listings, etc... that I just find interesting or think someone should actually go for. Basically it will be things that I would love to have but don't need, can't afford, or don't want but still think is cool and someone else may like to be exposed to it. It could also do a few sellers a favor here and there.
Keep your eyes peeled for a cool listing or two. The intent is to briefly write something up on why I posted the link, but at the least you'll receive the link and go from there.
If you are looking to sell something, get in touch with us (billsguitarblog@gmail.com) and if it meets our criteria we have at that exact moment, we'll work on posting it up on the blog. Maybe it isn't much but at least it's a free advertisement for you. Also, if you happen upon anything cool you think the music e-world might finder interesting, send it our way as well and we'll work on getting it up on the blog.
So let's start with our first "listing." My latest searches led me down the path of the Crowther Audio Hotcake. There are multiple versions of this pedal (Standard, Bluesberry, and Double) and different variations of each over the years. If you do the least bit of research, you will quickly find that it is a highly revered pedal and highly sought after. I won't go into much detail about the pedal itself because I want to give it its own write up soon but Google it and have a look. You can find a few being sold on HarmonyCentral.com or TheGearPage.net as well as Ebay. The Ebay prices are a bit high, but it's a rare pedal and moderately hard to come by. The Ebay prices reflect the ease of search. They did the work for you so you have to pay the price. Hardwork in searching outside of Ebay will result in MUCH better prices. The prices still aren't terrible on Ebay considering it's a handmade pedal made by the man who invented it back in the '70s. Paul Crowther makes them all by hand in his own kitchen...in New Zealand. Good luck finding one at your local shop, and if you do, buy it on sight.
Here are some links:
Ebay
Some other pretty cool effects mixed in here in addition to the Hotcake:
Harmony Central Classified
Thursday, August 13, 2009
RIP Les Paul - Legend of All Music
Today marked the death of an icon in the passing of Les Paul. Everyone made a big deal about Michael Jackson passing away and how big his impact was on music worldwide, but how much did he really contribute compared to Les Paul? Les Paul is arguably responsible for modern music as we know it.
Up until Les Paul's irritation of the lack of volume from guitars, the world did not have the machine that is the electric guitar. After having a desire for bigger volume and projection, Les Paul went to work on trying to different methods of amplifying his guitar. His final creation resulted in guitar strings on a board which ended up being the birth of the electric guitar. I could go on for days about this story, but I just want to make sure people realize he is/was more than just a signature on a Gibson guitar.
Also, do some research and you will find that Les Paul was a major player in the creation of multi-track recording and tape echo. I read the article of his passing today and they explained his method to accomplish multi-track recording and it was really quite amazing for that time. As I read, the story goes that this "invention" was born out of a tape recorder he received as a gift from Bing Crosby. There's a story for you. This man was clearly a genius, enough said.
Les Paul's legacy will obviously carry on for quite some time. He is as important to all the music that we love as the Beatles, Elvis, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion...ok maybe not Celine Dion (I'm only kidding). Gibson made him the signature Les Paul in the 1950's and so many of us are still playing them to this day as a major staple in all of music. Every genre with performed music will see the Les Paul in its presence and will continue to for years to come.
Rest in peace Les Paul, we will all remember, appreciate, and honor you for years to come. If you have one, make sure to play your Les Paul tonight in his honor.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
New Hit Counter
I suspect something went a little funny with my original hit counter. At the moment, I don't have huge amounts of traffic hitting the page but one day my counter jumped by the hundreds. I have been unable to troubleshoot the issue so far so I added a second counter.
Until I can find more detail as to what happened, I am going to leave both hit counters up. I don't either are EXACT right now, but the lower number is probably more accurate. How did I come up with the starting number for the new hit counter? I had an idea of what my hits were before I set up a statistical analysis page for the blog so I used that number in addition to the number of visitors according to my analytics page. It's not exact but extremely close. Close enough to get the point.
Thanks for reading. Keep stopping by and passing the blog to any of your friends, peers, family, etc... that may find it interesting.
-Bill
Until I can find more detail as to what happened, I am going to leave both hit counters up. I don't either are EXACT right now, but the lower number is probably more accurate. How did I come up with the starting number for the new hit counter? I had an idea of what my hits were before I set up a statistical analysis page for the blog so I used that number in addition to the number of visitors according to my analytics page. It's not exact but extremely close. Close enough to get the point.
Thanks for reading. Keep stopping by and passing the blog to any of your friends, peers, family, etc... that may find it interesting.
-Bill
Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler
I have had the Line DL4 Delay Modeler in my rig for around 6 months now. As far as effects and versatility are concerned, it's an absolutely stunning machine. Durability isn't necessarily so great on it. Anyway, I'll write more on it some other time. For now, he's a really cool demo of it. I would love to be able to use it to the potential this guy is using it at. My delay usage isn't as "prevalent" at the moment, but who knows what the future holds?
Friday, May 29, 2009
BrightER Future?
Last weekend was a pretty big one for me. May 22nd was my fiancee Sarah's birthday and my band had a headlining show at the Elbo Room in Chicago. It was a very exciting and eventful day and I couldn't be happier with how things were going. I brought out my two most faithful guitars, the "Big Red" Gibson ES-355 ('97 Historic series with Bigsby) and my '96 Honeyburst Les Paul Standard. The 355 sees the bulk of the playing time as my number one so it's always important that it is well maintained. As I was playing a lead on one of our songs, the high E string popped out of the saddle so I basically was down to five strings for the rest of the song. No big deal, popped it back after the song and re-tuned. Then it happened again in the next song. Fast forward a week, mix in the day job duties and that brings us to Friday night (May 29th).
Tonight, Friday, May 29th is the night before my band's gig at the House of Blues in Chicago (shameless plug/brag) and I haven't been able to tend to fixing up the saddle on "Big Red." I called my good friend, Eric, during the day and asked if I could come over to his house (he lives across the street, longtime family friend, full blown wood shop in his basement, fellow guitar enthusiast/blog reader,recreational guitar luthier, etc...) and use his tool/workshop to work on this saddle. In all my tool glory, I don't have any files small enough for the job. We looked the guitar over, assessed that there was an awkward double notch in the saddle, headed down to the shop, five minutes later it was fixed and good as new. But I ended up spending around two hours at Eric's house (sorry Tina and newborn Owen).
(Big Red right after I received it.)
If I'm outright honest, Eric and I are two dorks, nerds, whatever you want to call it. We both have a lot of goofy hobbies, some relating skills, and not enough free time. Although we share this similarity, we are both at very different stages in our lives. Eric is well established in his career and married with a wife and two kids, although, he's still pretty young relatively speaking so don't get the idea that he's old and slowing down by any means. I'm a just out of college, getting married in September and looking to get my first place with my fiancee as well as just getting established in my "day job" career. Believe it or not, Bill's Guitar Blog and the band don't pay the bills yet! Regardless of these "differences," Eric and I both share a HUGE passion for guitars and a lot of similar views.
Eric and I are currently in the process of building replica Gibson Non-Reverse Firebirds in the workshop and we were reflecting on our progress in the project. First, let me tell you that these guitars are coming out REALLY nicely and we're both really excited about them. Once we reach a good write up point, you'll have one. Now during our reflecting period, we were remembering what the guitar industry used to be like in terms of brands, stores, quality, culture, etc... Even considering prior to the hard economic times, the guitar world was diminishing and it was a shame then just as it is now. As I said in a previous entry, the internet is drastically altering the guitar world. There are a lot of great parts to the culture that have died or are in the process of dying and we both miss that. We were thinking about how much we love anything and everything involving guitars and how we wish there was so much more for us to do with it on a daily basis. Ultimately, we both have dreams and hope to some day be able to realize some of them. Who knows if we will, but it's fun to dream.
There's a lot more to that story, but that's not the interesting part I took from the whole visit. As I said, Eric and I are different but really, we aren't worlds apart. More or less, just different stages of life. But the guitar world is full of all walks of life. Whether or not everyone agrees on everything is a different issue, but they all can cross paths. A big focus on our conversation was the audience that all the guitar forums reach and one has to think that these audiences cover every demographic imaginable. Guitars are really a universal obsession and it's a beautiful thing. In "the old days," there were more reasons for all of these people to cross paths harmoniously, but that has disappeared over the recent past. See my post about the Chicago Guitar Show. These shows used attract every demographic but are now flooded with about one type of person. There are exceptions to every rule mind you, but I will let you decide what you think the general audience of these shows might be. You don't see 17 year old death metal players crossing paths with 70 year old players like you used to. I'm not saying those interactions were always pleasant, but they were possible.
I worked at a small guitar shop in high school and the most fun part was the different people you would come across. True, there were quite a few negative interactions, but there were a lot of amazing ones and I met a lot of amazing players and people. One memory that I still vividly recollect was when this jazz player from the city came in with his goofy custom jazz guitar one Saturday. He was in his mid to late 60's, African-American, weathered, and amazing. This guy had been playing the clubs downtown Chicago since his 20's and had stories for days. It was amazing to just sit and listen to his tales. He also taught me lot of concepts and techniques I had never seen before and was very inspiring. Anyway, then he plugged into a Vox AC-15, totally nonchalantly, and just started jamming. There was just something in the way he played every note and how they all came through the amplifier that told all his stories just as well. You could just tell that this guy lived life and every experience he ever had somehow came out in his playing. It was amazing! My boss took out his 1942 Gibson acoustic and started playing along with him. It was, and still is, the best piece of playing I have ever witnessed in my life. I never saw or heard from that guy again but the lessons he taught me that day and the experience he gave me will always be with me.
This guy was so nice to me and so interesting. Since that encounter, I can't remember a single time I have come across anyone like that. The face-to-face culture isn't as intimate and friendly as it used to be and it's becoming more and more difficult to immerse yourself in the guitar and music culture. I will say that it's absolutely brilliant having anything you need to find at your fingertips vi the web, but it will never be the same. There just isn't the same sense of romance. I understand that this blog can be considered exactly what I'm talking about, however, I consider this blog a mere reflection of my thoughts or my personal day-to-day experiences. I want it to motivate people to immerse or re-immerse themselves into the guitar culture.
Ultimately, Eric and I decided that we are making an effort to revive the old days of a fun, well-rounded guitar culture. Maybe it will just be a small circle of us, but it will be better than nothing. Hopefully you readers will come along for the ride, or at least enjoy following it.
Now, I'm going to go play "Big Red" for a little bit and then head to bed. Big day tomorrow! I get to play at the WORLD FAMOUS House of Blues!
Thanks for reading!
Tonight, Friday, May 29th is the night before my band's gig at the House of Blues in Chicago (shameless plug/brag) and I haven't been able to tend to fixing up the saddle on "Big Red." I called my good friend, Eric, during the day and asked if I could come over to his house (he lives across the street, longtime family friend, full blown wood shop in his basement, fellow guitar enthusiast/blog reader,recreational guitar luthier, etc...) and use his tool/workshop to work on this saddle. In all my tool glory, I don't have any files small enough for the job. We looked the guitar over, assessed that there was an awkward double notch in the saddle, headed down to the shop, five minutes later it was fixed and good as new. But I ended up spending around two hours at Eric's house (sorry Tina and newborn Owen).
(Big Red right after I received it.)
If I'm outright honest, Eric and I are two dorks, nerds, whatever you want to call it. We both have a lot of goofy hobbies, some relating skills, and not enough free time. Although we share this similarity, we are both at very different stages in our lives. Eric is well established in his career and married with a wife and two kids, although, he's still pretty young relatively speaking so don't get the idea that he's old and slowing down by any means. I'm a just out of college, getting married in September and looking to get my first place with my fiancee as well as just getting established in my "day job" career. Believe it or not, Bill's Guitar Blog and the band don't pay the bills yet! Regardless of these "differences," Eric and I both share a HUGE passion for guitars and a lot of similar views.
Eric and I are currently in the process of building replica Gibson Non-Reverse Firebirds in the workshop and we were reflecting on our progress in the project. First, let me tell you that these guitars are coming out REALLY nicely and we're both really excited about them. Once we reach a good write up point, you'll have one. Now during our reflecting period, we were remembering what the guitar industry used to be like in terms of brands, stores, quality, culture, etc... Even considering prior to the hard economic times, the guitar world was diminishing and it was a shame then just as it is now. As I said in a previous entry, the internet is drastically altering the guitar world. There are a lot of great parts to the culture that have died or are in the process of dying and we both miss that. We were thinking about how much we love anything and everything involving guitars and how we wish there was so much more for us to do with it on a daily basis. Ultimately, we both have dreams and hope to some day be able to realize some of them. Who knows if we will, but it's fun to dream.
There's a lot more to that story, but that's not the interesting part I took from the whole visit. As I said, Eric and I are different but really, we aren't worlds apart. More or less, just different stages of life. But the guitar world is full of all walks of life. Whether or not everyone agrees on everything is a different issue, but they all can cross paths. A big focus on our conversation was the audience that all the guitar forums reach and one has to think that these audiences cover every demographic imaginable. Guitars are really a universal obsession and it's a beautiful thing. In "the old days," there were more reasons for all of these people to cross paths harmoniously, but that has disappeared over the recent past. See my post about the Chicago Guitar Show. These shows used attract every demographic but are now flooded with about one type of person. There are exceptions to every rule mind you, but I will let you decide what you think the general audience of these shows might be. You don't see 17 year old death metal players crossing paths with 70 year old players like you used to. I'm not saying those interactions were always pleasant, but they were possible.
I worked at a small guitar shop in high school and the most fun part was the different people you would come across. True, there were quite a few negative interactions, but there were a lot of amazing ones and I met a lot of amazing players and people. One memory that I still vividly recollect was when this jazz player from the city came in with his goofy custom jazz guitar one Saturday. He was in his mid to late 60's, African-American, weathered, and amazing. This guy had been playing the clubs downtown Chicago since his 20's and had stories for days. It was amazing to just sit and listen to his tales. He also taught me lot of concepts and techniques I had never seen before and was very inspiring. Anyway, then he plugged into a Vox AC-15, totally nonchalantly, and just started jamming. There was just something in the way he played every note and how they all came through the amplifier that told all his stories just as well. You could just tell that this guy lived life and every experience he ever had somehow came out in his playing. It was amazing! My boss took out his 1942 Gibson acoustic and started playing along with him. It was, and still is, the best piece of playing I have ever witnessed in my life. I never saw or heard from that guy again but the lessons he taught me that day and the experience he gave me will always be with me.
This guy was so nice to me and so interesting. Since that encounter, I can't remember a single time I have come across anyone like that. The face-to-face culture isn't as intimate and friendly as it used to be and it's becoming more and more difficult to immerse yourself in the guitar and music culture. I will say that it's absolutely brilliant having anything you need to find at your fingertips vi the web, but it will never be the same. There just isn't the same sense of romance. I understand that this blog can be considered exactly what I'm talking about, however, I consider this blog a mere reflection of my thoughts or my personal day-to-day experiences. I want it to motivate people to immerse or re-immerse themselves into the guitar culture.
Ultimately, Eric and I decided that we are making an effort to revive the old days of a fun, well-rounded guitar culture. Maybe it will just be a small circle of us, but it will be better than nothing. Hopefully you readers will come along for the ride, or at least enjoy following it.
Now, I'm going to go play "Big Red" for a little bit and then head to bed. Big day tomorrow! I get to play at the WORLD FAMOUS House of Blues!
Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Chicago Guitar Show
Imagine, if you will, a place where guitar players, collectors, buyers, sellers, and dreamers can all come together and feel like they are in a place that only their imagination would be able to create. This is a place I was supposed to be entering this past Saturday as I attended the Chicago Guitar Show with my good friend, Eric. It was a mere $15 just to enter the venue so chances are that this event means business and is no small order for a guitar enthusiast.
Upon entering the show from its single point of entry, I was immediately face to face with the famed guitar dealer, Chicago Music Exchange (CME). Do your research on these guys and you will see that they are highly coveted all over as one of the top vintage guitar dealers (you will find a special shout out to them as well in the liner notes of the most recent U2 album). Though I feel I understand the purpose, I was actually very disappointed with CME’s representation at the show. I’m sure the company would prefer to keep their hottest items in their store on a nice Saturday afternoon in Chicago rather than a showroom in the far western suburbs, but I think they could have brought out much better guitars for the consumer than they did. I would be surprised if they had more than a dozen guitars on their two card tables they had set up. Frankly, this was a good representation of what I would see at this show as the afternoon went on.
In the good old days of the guitar world, the shows were where the enthusiasts would come to find parts they needed, high quality vintage guitars, rare equipment, etc… Though a lot of this was to be found at the show, the prices were unrealistic and it appeared to be more of a museum than a place for someone looking to buy. There were a few booths of small luthiers making nice instruments but the rest was overpriced show pieces that seemed to be more of an attempt to show off collections than anything else.
First let’s address the topic of the people working the booths at this event. I was fairly disappointed in the friendliness of the vendors. They all looked bored and like they didn’t want people to look at their gear they had on display. It should be noted here that there are exceptions to every rule, but there seemed to be two types of people. The first was the vendor who didn’t say a word to you or make eye contact unless you engaged them first. At this point, they would be perfectly friendly and semi-helpful. The other type of person found in the vendors was someone that wanted nothing to do with anyone and was merely waiting to pack up and go home. The whole point of this event is to have your product seen and make money so I found the lack of salesmanship surprising and disappointing.
The exception? There was a HUGE booth set up toward the West side of the building and they had a lot of really nice guitars and basses. Also, they were very friendly as you entered and exited their area. The most impressive part was the cause they were representing. The vendor was handing out fliers (I lost mine) for a program to help war veterans get into music. All donations go to providing free instruments and lessons to veterans of the American military. The vendor was more concerned about pushing this cause than they were about selling their instruments which I found extremely admirable.
As far as the products, so many of the instruments and prices were really an insult to the audience and a true shame to see. Two guitars specifically jumped out at me and they were both 1973 Les Paul Customs (black). The prices were about $1200 and $1700 if memory serves. Upon spotting these two guitars, I was ready to whip out the checkbook and buy both on the spot. However, I have learned that if it’s too good to be true then it most likely is. Sure enough, the $1200 guitar was pretty beat up and Eric and I found a pretty serious repair at the neck joint. Based on the extent of the repair, the guitar had to have had a refinish. Also, the guitar looked terrible once you got up close and it all came together. On top of the $1200 for the guitar, you would have had to probably put in at least $2000 of professional work to make it respectable again. The $1700 guitar was even worse. It had MASSIVE cracks in three places through the body as well as the worst refinish job anyone has probably ever tried to spin off as a acceptable. The entire guitar had an extremely gritty feel to it in the paint and the genius who painted it didn’t understand how to use painter’s tape apparently. The control covers one the back were painted over and there were paint runs all down the body in addition to the white binding on the guitar. Again, the buyer would be looking at $2000+ to make this guitar moderately worth their while. The sad thing in both of these guitars is that the quality wasn’t even close to the “adjusted” prices that were set for their imperfections. I would have to believe that these were an investment gone wrong and the seller was just trying to stay out of the red on them.
Not all was bad at this show. I did see quite a few nice guitars and a few good deals. There was a lot of stuff I liked and was very impressed with but I just wasn’t in the market for. A vendor had a very impressive G&L lineup for good prices so that was nice to see. I also saw a rare light burst 1966 (I believe, don’t quote me on the year) Gibson non-reverse Firebird for around $4500. I haven’t seen too many of those and the price was fair. Wouldn’t mind adding that one to my collection.
What about effects, parts, and amps? There were parts here and there but I would say there two parts booths that stole the show. In retrospect, I wish I grabbed their cards. One booth had all sorts of replacement parts for all generations of gear and a little bit of vintage parts scattered in. Another booth just had loads and loads of vintage parts. Prices were decent. The vintage parts market is pretty difficult to really put prices on. Basically, it comes down to the buyer paying whatever they feel necessary to finish off that ongoing project or really make that vintage guitar scream. There were a few amps and cabs, but really not too much to choose from. It truly was a GUITAR show. Fair enough.
All in all, I wasn’t all that impressed. Yes, there was a lot of impressive stuff to be seen, but at the end of the day there were a lot of outrageous prices and just more and more of the same selection. I was talking about it with my dad over dinner and we discussed how much the internet has changed the guitar market. In today’s world, we can just jump on the internet and find better quality for lower prices. In the old days, these guitar shows were the only access that buyers had to the vintage market outside of the local stores but that has changed. It’s a double edged sword really. As consumers, we have such an advantage in getting truly great instruments at great prices but the good old days of the hunt, meeting new people, and handling the guitar before purchasing seem to be dying out. I do my best to keep it alive within myself, but I feel this World Wide Web thing completely grabbing hold of me. Try and do what you can to support a local “Mom and Pop” guitar store now and again and go back to the roots. It most likely won’t replace the internet for you but it can help keep the spirit alive. Who knows how much longer the “Mom and Pop” world will survive.
Upon entering the show from its single point of entry, I was immediately face to face with the famed guitar dealer, Chicago Music Exchange (CME). Do your research on these guys and you will see that they are highly coveted all over as one of the top vintage guitar dealers (you will find a special shout out to them as well in the liner notes of the most recent U2 album). Though I feel I understand the purpose, I was actually very disappointed with CME’s representation at the show. I’m sure the company would prefer to keep their hottest items in their store on a nice Saturday afternoon in Chicago rather than a showroom in the far western suburbs, but I think they could have brought out much better guitars for the consumer than they did. I would be surprised if they had more than a dozen guitars on their two card tables they had set up. Frankly, this was a good representation of what I would see at this show as the afternoon went on.
In the good old days of the guitar world, the shows were where the enthusiasts would come to find parts they needed, high quality vintage guitars, rare equipment, etc… Though a lot of this was to be found at the show, the prices were unrealistic and it appeared to be more of a museum than a place for someone looking to buy. There were a few booths of small luthiers making nice instruments but the rest was overpriced show pieces that seemed to be more of an attempt to show off collections than anything else.
First let’s address the topic of the people working the booths at this event. I was fairly disappointed in the friendliness of the vendors. They all looked bored and like they didn’t want people to look at their gear they had on display. It should be noted here that there are exceptions to every rule, but there seemed to be two types of people. The first was the vendor who didn’t say a word to you or make eye contact unless you engaged them first. At this point, they would be perfectly friendly and semi-helpful. The other type of person found in the vendors was someone that wanted nothing to do with anyone and was merely waiting to pack up and go home. The whole point of this event is to have your product seen and make money so I found the lack of salesmanship surprising and disappointing.
The exception? There was a HUGE booth set up toward the West side of the building and they had a lot of really nice guitars and basses. Also, they were very friendly as you entered and exited their area. The most impressive part was the cause they were representing. The vendor was handing out fliers (I lost mine) for a program to help war veterans get into music. All donations go to providing free instruments and lessons to veterans of the American military. The vendor was more concerned about pushing this cause than they were about selling their instruments which I found extremely admirable.
As far as the products, so many of the instruments and prices were really an insult to the audience and a true shame to see. Two guitars specifically jumped out at me and they were both 1973 Les Paul Customs (black). The prices were about $1200 and $1700 if memory serves. Upon spotting these two guitars, I was ready to whip out the checkbook and buy both on the spot. However, I have learned that if it’s too good to be true then it most likely is. Sure enough, the $1200 guitar was pretty beat up and Eric and I found a pretty serious repair at the neck joint. Based on the extent of the repair, the guitar had to have had a refinish. Also, the guitar looked terrible once you got up close and it all came together. On top of the $1200 for the guitar, you would have had to probably put in at least $2000 of professional work to make it respectable again. The $1700 guitar was even worse. It had MASSIVE cracks in three places through the body as well as the worst refinish job anyone has probably ever tried to spin off as a acceptable. The entire guitar had an extremely gritty feel to it in the paint and the genius who painted it didn’t understand how to use painter’s tape apparently. The control covers one the back were painted over and there were paint runs all down the body in addition to the white binding on the guitar. Again, the buyer would be looking at $2000+ to make this guitar moderately worth their while. The sad thing in both of these guitars is that the quality wasn’t even close to the “adjusted” prices that were set for their imperfections. I would have to believe that these were an investment gone wrong and the seller was just trying to stay out of the red on them.
Not all was bad at this show. I did see quite a few nice guitars and a few good deals. There was a lot of stuff I liked and was very impressed with but I just wasn’t in the market for. A vendor had a very impressive G&L lineup for good prices so that was nice to see. I also saw a rare light burst 1966 (I believe, don’t quote me on the year) Gibson non-reverse Firebird for around $4500. I haven’t seen too many of those and the price was fair. Wouldn’t mind adding that one to my collection.
What about effects, parts, and amps? There were parts here and there but I would say there two parts booths that stole the show. In retrospect, I wish I grabbed their cards. One booth had all sorts of replacement parts for all generations of gear and a little bit of vintage parts scattered in. Another booth just had loads and loads of vintage parts. Prices were decent. The vintage parts market is pretty difficult to really put prices on. Basically, it comes down to the buyer paying whatever they feel necessary to finish off that ongoing project or really make that vintage guitar scream. There were a few amps and cabs, but really not too much to choose from. It truly was a GUITAR show. Fair enough.
All in all, I wasn’t all that impressed. Yes, there was a lot of impressive stuff to be seen, but at the end of the day there were a lot of outrageous prices and just more and more of the same selection. I was talking about it with my dad over dinner and we discussed how much the internet has changed the guitar market. In today’s world, we can just jump on the internet and find better quality for lower prices. In the old days, these guitar shows were the only access that buyers had to the vintage market outside of the local stores but that has changed. It’s a double edged sword really. As consumers, we have such an advantage in getting truly great instruments at great prices but the good old days of the hunt, meeting new people, and handling the guitar before purchasing seem to be dying out. I do my best to keep it alive within myself, but I feel this World Wide Web thing completely grabbing hold of me. Try and do what you can to support a local “Mom and Pop” guitar store now and again and go back to the roots. It most likely won’t replace the internet for you but it can help keep the spirit alive. Who knows how much longer the “Mom and Pop” world will survive.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Interesting Gibson Youtube Video
Last night I went and saw the band formerly known as the Grateful Dead, The Dead, with my dad and I was fortunate to see Warren Haynes playing guitar and singing with the band. Needless to say, I was blown away. I have been looking around Youtube watching some videos of him tonight and came across this one. It talks about his signature Les Paul and what went into the building of it and why he chose what he did. It's a good video for us guitar geeks who like to break down all the components of the instrument.
Anyway, I really found it interesting so I thought the rest of you may as well. I wish I had one of these!
Anyway, I really found it interesting so I thought the rest of you may as well. I wish I had one of these!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
More To Come
Hello, readers.
We have some more stuff in the works for the next few posts. We'll have some gear and brand reviews coming your way when they're complete. We're hoping to get that Silvertone reviewed for you soon along with some other interesting things that may have never crossed your mind, or at least not from the same perspective.
Thanks for reading and keep spreading the word so we can all really get this blog off and running and possibly draw some interest from the industry in order to provide more posts spanning a greater range.
Keep reading!
Bill
We have some more stuff in the works for the next few posts. We'll have some gear and brand reviews coming your way when they're complete. We're hoping to get that Silvertone reviewed for you soon along with some other interesting things that may have never crossed your mind, or at least not from the same perspective.
Thanks for reading and keep spreading the word so we can all really get this blog off and running and possibly draw some interest from the industry in order to provide more posts spanning a greater range.
Keep reading!
Bill
The Fender Starcaster
I seem to have this ongoing problem where I more enjoy the hunt for gear than the actual gear itself. Really, finding gear isn't that complicated if you have deep pockets. I have such a love for the gear hunt that I get just as excited when other people unearth gems and are going through the process of obtaining something. The other day I was exchanging emails/Tweets (that's messages via Twitter for those that aren't of that world) with my friend and fellow gearhead, Matt. Matt is currently in the process of landing a 1960's Ampeg Gemini 1 and the anticipation was, and has been, killing me...and it's not like I'll even cross paths with it! He found a good deal on one in his local area via the web and was properly hounding the guy to complete the transaction. I'm hoping the next time I talk to Matt, he'll have his new amp and can tell me all about it.
The fun in hunting down gear is to find the best pieces in the best condition for least amount of money. Makes perfect sense right? The beauty in all of it is the stories you'll have to tell about landing that magical guitar, amp, pedal, whatever. Consider it reliving the great quest of Moby Dick over and over. It's all about obtaining the unobtainable whether it's a killer guitar for a great price, just some unique equipment that's just hard to get your hands on, or something that was so outrageous that very few have survived into the current era...or a big white whale.
The conditions right now, depending on whose opinion you get, are excellent for picking up gear because of the poor economy. People are just looking to make a buck on their gear to pay the bills so prices are low and a lot of gear is entering the market. If I had more money, I would have a Nigel Tufnel (reference Spinal Tap) guitar collection sitting in my house with the amount of gear that's currently out there and for the prices you can get it at.
So where am I going with this? I'm going to tell you about my HOPEFUL next hunt. I am looking to pick up an original Fender Starcaster. The Starcaster was Fender's "answer" to the Gibson ES-335 but it never quite lived up to that Gibson reputation. It had two humbuckers set in a semi-hollow body, offset "horns," a Fender headstock that would be unique to this guitar, and a bolted on neck typical of the common Stratocaster and Telecaster. On paper, this guitar sounds very similar to the Gibson outside of the neck joint and that's where it ends.
As I wrote, the Starcaster never lived up to the Gibson ES-335 and quickly exited the Fender guitar line. Some believe that the guitar's completely unique tone just never really fit in well enough to become mainstream. Very few Starcasters were purchased during its run from the mid 70's to the early 80's so today they are hard to come by and are not very popular. However, don't be fooled. There is a pretty solid cult following of these guitars.
The first place I looked was ebay, an obvious choice. There seems to always be a few original Starcasters up on ebay but they are typically going for $1500 to $2500. Maybe this is a fair price, but I REFUSE to pay that...so the hunt begins! The factor that makes this hunt so difficult other than the survival rate from the original run is the reuse of the Starcaster name that Fender is using for a really cheap Strat/Starter pack. If one were to Google "Fender Starcaster," the majority of the returned results would be for this starter pack crap. Same goes for ebay. Given this clutter, my conventional search methods are not as efficient and I have become somewhat stuck in matching my required search criteria (such as price, condition, etc...). Remember, the whole fun of the hunt is finding exactly what you want for how much you want to spend. Anyone can throw a ton of money at something but where's the fun in that? Although I may be stuck in this search, I embrace it. I could have one of these guitars in the mail tomorrow but I much more prefer to find as good of a deal as possible. Making the search as close to impossible as you can is what adds the most entertainment value.
With that being said, who knows how long I'll stay on this search before I move onto something else. I'm in no hurry and don't HAVE to get anything right now. Afterall, given the times, saving money is the best option of all, but you never know what's going to cross your path. Since I don't NEED this guitar, I'll wait for the right one to cross by my path, but for now I'll have fun trying to uncover as many Starcasters as I can from around the web.
The fun in hunting down gear is to find the best pieces in the best condition for least amount of money. Makes perfect sense right? The beauty in all of it is the stories you'll have to tell about landing that magical guitar, amp, pedal, whatever. Consider it reliving the great quest of Moby Dick over and over. It's all about obtaining the unobtainable whether it's a killer guitar for a great price, just some unique equipment that's just hard to get your hands on, or something that was so outrageous that very few have survived into the current era...or a big white whale.
The conditions right now, depending on whose opinion you get, are excellent for picking up gear because of the poor economy. People are just looking to make a buck on their gear to pay the bills so prices are low and a lot of gear is entering the market. If I had more money, I would have a Nigel Tufnel (reference Spinal Tap) guitar collection sitting in my house with the amount of gear that's currently out there and for the prices you can get it at.
So where am I going with this? I'm going to tell you about my HOPEFUL next hunt. I am looking to pick up an original Fender Starcaster. The Starcaster was Fender's "answer" to the Gibson ES-335 but it never quite lived up to that Gibson reputation. It had two humbuckers set in a semi-hollow body, offset "horns," a Fender headstock that would be unique to this guitar, and a bolted on neck typical of the common Stratocaster and Telecaster. On paper, this guitar sounds very similar to the Gibson outside of the neck joint and that's where it ends.
As I wrote, the Starcaster never lived up to the Gibson ES-335 and quickly exited the Fender guitar line. Some believe that the guitar's completely unique tone just never really fit in well enough to become mainstream. Very few Starcasters were purchased during its run from the mid 70's to the early 80's so today they are hard to come by and are not very popular. However, don't be fooled. There is a pretty solid cult following of these guitars.
The first place I looked was ebay, an obvious choice. There seems to always be a few original Starcasters up on ebay but they are typically going for $1500 to $2500. Maybe this is a fair price, but I REFUSE to pay that...so the hunt begins! The factor that makes this hunt so difficult other than the survival rate from the original run is the reuse of the Starcaster name that Fender is using for a really cheap Strat/Starter pack. If one were to Google "Fender Starcaster," the majority of the returned results would be for this starter pack crap. Same goes for ebay. Given this clutter, my conventional search methods are not as efficient and I have become somewhat stuck in matching my required search criteria (such as price, condition, etc...). Remember, the whole fun of the hunt is finding exactly what you want for how much you want to spend. Anyone can throw a ton of money at something but where's the fun in that? Although I may be stuck in this search, I embrace it. I could have one of these guitars in the mail tomorrow but I much more prefer to find as good of a deal as possible. Making the search as close to impossible as you can is what adds the most entertainment value.
With that being said, who knows how long I'll stay on this search before I move onto something else. I'm in no hurry and don't HAVE to get anything right now. Afterall, given the times, saving money is the best option of all, but you never know what's going to cross your path. Since I don't NEED this guitar, I'll wait for the right one to cross by my path, but for now I'll have fun trying to uncover as many Starcasters as I can from around the web.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Silvertone Add on
I feel like I should add that the Silvertone post was written based off of my own opinions, ideas, thoughts, and various readings around the internet (the MOST reliable source of information, right?). I have already read a few more articles/posts/essays/... and have ran across some discrepancies in the post. There was a lot of history in the diverse Silvertone line and I barely scratched the surface. There's a lot more interesting stuff out there regarding the Sears house brand that's worth taking a look at.
Thanks for stopping by, I thought it would be more professional to make a disclaimer regarding the information.
Check back soon. I received my Silvertone head today and played it a it tonight. Maybe a review is around the corner... I also received another interesting "piece" in the mail today but that will have to remain a secret for now.
Thanks for stopping by, I thought it would be more professional to make a disclaimer regarding the information.
Check back soon. I received my Silvertone head today and played it a it tonight. Maybe a review is around the corner... I also received another interesting "piece" in the mail today but that will have to remain a secret for now.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Silvertone Amplifiers
(Silvertone 1484 "Twin Twelve" on its 2x12)I have recently become enamored with a new amplifier in my usual “gear” viewing sessions on the internet. Actually, the line of amps is far from new but is one of the most underrated (until recently) line of amplifiers of all time. The amps I’m talking about are the infamous Sears Roebuck Silvertone amplifiers. Sears stocked these amps in the 1950’s and 60’s and they were considered a budget amplifier for the aspiring guitarist. Even back then, it was tough for the average consumer to afford the favored Fender amplifiers and there were not many other alternatives available.
Most guitar/gear enthusiasts immediately think of the legendary Fender amplifiers from the 50’s and 60’s but there are many other great amplifiers that have flown under the radar for decades. That’s not to say that the old tweed or black face Fenders aren’t deserving of their accolades since they are unbelievably good amplifiers, but their vintage market prices reflect this. The high prices of old Fender amps are unrealistic for many guitar players, especially now during a global economic recession, so the search for substitutes has started to really hit full force.
A couple of months ago I stumbled upon a well-used 1956 Gibson GA-20 so I did my research and found that there was a recent movement where players were starting to use old Gibson “tweeds” in place of Fenders. These amps always flew slightly under the radar and prices were typically low for Gibson amps of the 50’s and 60’s. Obviously, this recent movement drove prices up in the market and now there are a handful of old Gibson amplifiers that are just as coveted as a lot of old Fenders from the same era and the prices are more on the level of highly touted vintage equipment.
After researching the Gibson GA-20 a little bit, I thought this ‘56 sounded like the perfect, basic, little amplifier for me. I had a hard time finding any negative reviews on it and the tone was supposed to be incredibly similar to some old Fender tweeds. When I received the amp, it was in need of a little work. I had to repair a small hole at the edge of the cone in the original Jensen speaker, secure a few things within the chassis, replace a screw here and there, and fix up the baffle a little bit. After a few hours of some good care, the little 12 watt tube amp was up and running and sounding amazing! I played a couple of different Fenders and Gibsons through it and they all sounded fantastic. There was, however, one glaring issue and it was no surprise to me as it was expected. It’s a basic amp and very one-dimensional. It plays low volume clean tones very well and you can also get a little bit of gain out of it when cranked, but I wouldn’t consider gain one of its stronger points. The GA-20 does its job and serves its purpose very well but I found myself still wanting more, even out of my clean tones.
Fast forward a couple of months to mid April…
Now before I go any further, I feel I should insert my personal preference disclaimer here. The band to be mentioned is a band I like and nothing more. I am not making any claims as to how good they are, or trying to push them on anyone, etc… To each their own, right?
…and I find myself at the Death Cab for Cutie concert at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. One thing that completely jumped out at me was how good their clean tone was and just how good everything sounded in general. I have always known that I really liked their tone, but the live show seemed to reiterate this for me. Once I got home from the show, I started to do some research to figure out what gear they used and how they got their desired tone. The amps the two guitarists were using were a Fender Tremolux, Orange Tiny Terror (modified), and a customized Silvertone. The Silvertone jumped out at me because I felt like I had been hearing a lot recently about artists using Silvertone amps and guitars again in the modern era so maybe they were all onto something.
First, a little background and some basic information on Silvertone amps. As stated earlier, they were budget amps available at Sears stores in the 1950’s and 60’s. The top of the line amp, the “120 watt” 1485, sold for a whopping $240 (give or take). I have read a few sites and forums that have said Silvertone amplifiers frequently came in well below their published wattage and the commonly stated actual wattage of the 1485 seems to be around 90 to 100 watts. Also, to keep costs down, Silvertone amps and cabinets were made out of a material similar to particle board or pressboard, and tolex wasn’t used to cover the boxes, but rather a material similar to wallpaper. Though many sites seem to say this wallpaper material was used because it was cheap, I don’t know if I agree because there were quite a few amplifiers near the higher end during that era that used a similar material. I’m sure I could research that a little bit more, but for now I’m going to assume that this could have been an industry standard and merely a preference of a manufacturer based on certain internal and external factors.
Some of the more positive aspects of these amps are actually pretty impressive. First, bargain amps or not, they were manufactured in the USA with the high quality standards of 50’s and 60’s. The amps were wired point to point which can be considered better because the connections between components are kept as short as possible. Also, the amps and cabinets came with Jensen speakers. Jensen was, and still is, one of the top speakers of its time. Now, clearly, Sears Roebuck is not a guitar and/or amplifier manufacturer so they had to have someone make their line of gear for them. The company to do this for Sears was Danelectro. Danelectro has always been notorious for extremely unique designs and sounds so at the time this was a perfect marriage for Sears. Sears knew it would be getting a high enough quality product that could hold up with the major guitar/amp companies but was different enough that it may be able to develop a niche in the market.
The most popular modern artist, and the one that seems to be credited with the Silvertone revival, is Jack White of the White Stripes and Raconteurs. The older guitar enthusiasts have held the Silvertone name in high regard as time has passed due to many of their favorite legends using Silvertone amps but very few of the young players even knew about them until Jack White came on the scene with his amp and guitar. That said, a whole new wave of people was brought into the cult world of Silvertone.
(Jack White with Silvertone amps)With the recent influx of new players looking for old Silvertone amps to play, the prices have been driven up much like the old Gibson amps. At one point a high end Silvertone head could be picked up for under $200. Now, good luck finding one for that much! I was watching a 1485 head (ironically, the same model Jack White uses) on Ebay and the auction ended at $452.50 and I saw another one with its matching 6x10 cabinet in excellent condition go for about $1500. If you have the matching cabinet in good working condition with any of the heads, add on a couple hundred dollars to the price. Still, the prices are a great deal for an amp comparable to a Fender amp of the same era. Good luck finding an old Tremolux or Bassman for that kind of money!
(Silvertone 1485 with 6x10 Cabinet)I eventually figured out, my desired amp was the Silvertone 1484, commonly known as the Twin Twelve. This is supposedly the same amp that Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie plays and about half the power of the 1485 used by Jack White. The 1484 seems to be the preferred amp of many players because it doesn’t have so much power that it’s either heavy with gain or a really loud clean but enough to be a solid clean amp that can be cranked to a tasteful crunch. If you’re looking for a heavier crunch, you will need to use some sort of pedal.
Finding a 1484, aka the Twin Twelve, or a 1485 for a low price has become very tough although still possible with some good hunting. I spent a few days searching Ebay, Craigslist, and the far reaches of the internet that Google manages to work itself through and I eventually found a pretty good price for a 1484 head with all the tech work already done that would be needed on one of these amps. I found it at a pretty cool little store out of Pennsylvania that had it and ended up buying it from them. I like this store so much that once I receive the amp, I plan on doing a write up about the store. It’s a pretty unique store with a really cool concept.
I eagerly anticipate the arrival of this amp and have a lot of plans for it. Once I get some serious time with it, maybe I will write up a thorough review of it, but for now, the little insight into the Silvertone name will have to suffice.
Thanks for reading!
Friday, March 27, 2009
What's next on the blog?
Attention all Bill's Guitar Blog readers, we need your help! We could post up some new material on the blog but we want our blog to become more interactive with the readers so what we are asking of you is to send us ideas of what you would like to read about next. It can be about anything guitar gear related! At this stage in the life of our blog here, we really want to make sure we're catering to you, the readers. We want to make sure you are getting exactly what you would want to see on a blog like this. You can either email us ideas at BillsGuitarBlog@gmail.com or simply leave a comment with your idea in it.
Start sending your ideas!
Start sending your ideas!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
MythFX Minotaur and Midas Review
Bill's Guitar Blog recently acquired two effect pedals from MythFX and below you can read how we felt about them both.
A Look at the MythFX Minotaur Distortion Pedal
By: Ryan Coe
Let me preface this review by saying that ultimately, opinions of guitar pedals vary by personal taste, and the preference within. Over my years of playing, I have been recommended pedals that I think have sounded terrible. I have also found myself loving pedals that have gotten terrible reviews. I honestly think that half of the problem in reading reviews by everyday people on the internet is their inability to set the pedal how it is supposed to be used within a rig. Some people prefer to have a pedal that destroys other sounds that are trying to be put through your guitar. Personally, I cannot stand this. To me, guitar pedals should be looked at as building blocks and should be used to build additions on top of one another, as opposed to cancelling each other out, and even worse, interfering with the natural sound of your guitar.
With that being said, I want to give some background to my taste of music and my preference of sound within. I am a big fan of the blues, and all styles of music that incorporate its basic principles (most music). I love the simplicity and creativity of the music on the surface, but even more so, I love the complex train of thought that rests within, and this is where guitar tone becomes pivotal. Typically, I use low output pickups to let my amp (and pedals) maximize their tone. When it comes to distortion pedals, the common misconception is to maximize your gain. People like SRV, and bands like Led Zeppelin played so hard and heavy, that it led people to believe that gain in distortion is what was creating that sound. Truth be told, it was getting natural sound out of your amp, playing thick strings, playing hard, and putting the gain no further than 50%. The last step made it possible for every note to ring out clearly in their recordings. This misconception eventually became a style of its own when the evolution of hard rock created bands like Metallica and so-on. I say this because the MythFX Minotaur can play into both trains of thought for distortion pedals.
When I first plugged this guy into my rig, I set the 3-Way clip to their “soft” setting. This setting had a nice tone, and this was what I was most impressed with. The grind was mellow and not forced, and I could still hear my guitar’s natural tone within the sound being produced. Just a great “clean” sounding distortion and the sustain on it was practically non-existent, which I love in a distortion pedal. Although sustain will happen when it comes to distortion.
Their “hard” setting on the pedal was not within my taste of pedal at all, but all bias aside, it sounded great. This setting is for the likes of players who love to play into their gain, and love to double up distortion with maybe a tube screamer to get that naturally “loud” sound. I was also impressed by the lack of clipping between these settings, which is a great quality for the sake of live show. Just for the hell of it, I doubled up the “hard” setting with my Tube Screamer, and the Minotaur very much overwhelmed the sound of my Tube Screamer, leaving it only to pretty much serve as a boost/sustain. If this is your preference of sound, than this is the pedal for you.
Bill used the Minotaur with his band, a very Southern, heavy Marshall and humbucker, loud, rock band. In this capacity, it was perfect for leads or any time Bill had to create a large wall of sound within the rhythm section. Typically, Bill uses a TS-9 Tube Screamer to step up his sound for solos and leads but he was substituting the Minotaur and it filled the void nicely. Although a completely different tone than the TS-9, it served the purpose well.
Like almost all pedals, I have a few complaints about the pedal as a whole. Cosmetically, I believe it is too small. On the MythFX website, they seem to pride themselves in the size of this pedal, and I understand their angle. Some people enjoy small pedals so they have more room on their board. I however, am a huge fan of not having to worry about actually hitting the pedal or not. I am not the most coordinated person in the world, so by preference, I prefer a wide switch on the front just so I don’t have to think twice about it as I hit the pedal, which effects my play. Different strokes for different folks, Bill really liked the small compact size of the MythFX pedals.
Also, the gain on the pedal did not have as much range as I had thought. The 3-Way Clip was fantastic in terms of diversity of sound, so maybe that is how I became disappointed in the lack of range in the gain. Overall, I felt like the gain did not cater to either side of the push all too well, and I definitely expected bigger outcomes as I adjusted the pedal. There was no light gain, or really heavy gain, but the middle range was great.
All in all, it’s a good little pedal to have. Personally, I would only use the first soft setting, and part of me almost wishes they had created two separate distortion pedals so as to tweak the gain according to each Clip. I think that would be the best route, but I understand that people love combo pedals these days, so as to (mildly) diversify their sound. As far as the hard setting is concerned, this pedal absolutely dominates, which like I said, if that is your preference, you will not be disappointed.
A Look at the MythFX Midas Boost Pedal
By: Bill Bush
When I first held the MythFX Midas Boost pedal in my hands, the only thought that crossed my mind was “you can’t be serious.” How can anyone make a pedal so small and how can anyone possibly use a pedal this size? As everyone has heard since childhood, never judge a book by its cover.
Typically, a boost pedal is a boost pedal and that’s the end. They are notoriously unexciting pedals and there is nothing all that complex about them by nature. When trying out various boost pedals, it was important to me that there was minimal (if any) effect on my overall tone. The obvious goal is, you guessed it, to boost your tone. As simple as this sounds, this is a very difficult set of attributes to find in a boost pedal and I managed to only come across two pedals that accomplished this.
I put the MythFX Midas Boost pedal up against a Carl Martin Hydra Boost in my rig. Each pedal was used to try boosting my signal at the start of my effects chain as well as at the end of my chain to boost my tone for leads and thicker tones. Both pedals added absolutely zero coloring to my tone, which is exactly what I was looking for. The difference came in the power of each pedal. The Hydra Boost started to crunch up around 7 on its single boost knob and though this is fairly high up in its range, the boost only adds about 15 dB total so the added crunch is kicking into the tone at pretty low levels overall. On the Midas boost, there was absolute no overdrive whatsoever until I turned the single boost knob up to about 8. This would appear to only be “one higher” than the Hydra Boost but the difference is that the Midas has a range of 32 dB. The Midas gave me many more decibels of increase before any overdrive kicked in, thus giving me more clean and clear power.
I ended up trying the Carl Martin boost at the start of the chain just to give a very light boost to my overall signal. I had the boost turned to about 3 or 4 and just left it on the whole time. The Carl Martin simply did not provide the power/boost that Midas was able to give me so the Midas was the best option as a “step up” pedal. My main benchmark test was using the boost pedal to step my sound up slightly over the rest of an already loud Southern Rock band. I was able to set the pedal to either put me just slightly louder to make what I was playing stand out just a little bit, or crank the boost to completely jump on top of the sound for solos. I ended up completely removing the Carl Martin boost from my rig as I did not feel it was really serving enough of a purpose to take up valuable space and power on my pedalboard.
The construction of the MythFX Midas Boost pedal is not at all what I’d expect from a one-man company making the pedals out of their house. The pedal is extremely small and comes with the total fear of breaking it with the lightest step to hit the switch. After overcoming the intimidation, I quickly realized this pedal is plenty sturdy and would hold up just fine. The pedals are solidly constructed and do not waste any space. The input/output jacks are staggered so that there is just enough room for each cable to be plugged in.
Another space cutting measure, and possibly the only negative I have for this pedal, is the lack of a battery. These pedals do not take batteries and can only be used when a 9V power supply is available to you. This works fine for me because I use the VooDoo Lab Pedal Power 2 power supply, but many guitar players out there still just run their effects off of 9V batteries. Not having the ability the use a battery for this pedal immediately cuts out a rather large portion of the guitar playing market, however, if you have a power supply to use with this pedal, you will not be disappointed. I have ended up keeping the pedal in my rig and couldn’t be happier with it.
Overall, I find the Midas Boost by MythFX to be a wonderful, basic little (and I mean little) pedal. My original intention was to try out the pedal, review it, and then figure out a way to offer it up to the Bill’s Guitar Blog readers to get the word out about the blog as well as MythFX, but after all the use I’ve gotten out of it, I simply can’t part with it.
If you’re interested in checking out a little more about MythFX, and possibly acquiring their gear, head over www.MythFX.com. Tell them you heard of them from our site!
A Look at the MythFX Minotaur Distortion Pedal
By: Ryan Coe
Let me preface this review by saying that ultimately, opinions of guitar pedals vary by personal taste, and the preference within. Over my years of playing, I have been recommended pedals that I think have sounded terrible. I have also found myself loving pedals that have gotten terrible reviews. I honestly think that half of the problem in reading reviews by everyday people on the internet is their inability to set the pedal how it is supposed to be used within a rig. Some people prefer to have a pedal that destroys other sounds that are trying to be put through your guitar. Personally, I cannot stand this. To me, guitar pedals should be looked at as building blocks and should be used to build additions on top of one another, as opposed to cancelling each other out, and even worse, interfering with the natural sound of your guitar.
With that being said, I want to give some background to my taste of music and my preference of sound within. I am a big fan of the blues, and all styles of music that incorporate its basic principles (most music). I love the simplicity and creativity of the music on the surface, but even more so, I love the complex train of thought that rests within, and this is where guitar tone becomes pivotal. Typically, I use low output pickups to let my amp (and pedals) maximize their tone. When it comes to distortion pedals, the common misconception is to maximize your gain. People like SRV, and bands like Led Zeppelin played so hard and heavy, that it led people to believe that gain in distortion is what was creating that sound. Truth be told, it was getting natural sound out of your amp, playing thick strings, playing hard, and putting the gain no further than 50%. The last step made it possible for every note to ring out clearly in their recordings. This misconception eventually became a style of its own when the evolution of hard rock created bands like Metallica and so-on. I say this because the MythFX Minotaur can play into both trains of thought for distortion pedals.
When I first plugged this guy into my rig, I set the 3-Way clip to their “soft” setting. This setting had a nice tone, and this was what I was most impressed with. The grind was mellow and not forced, and I could still hear my guitar’s natural tone within the sound being produced. Just a great “clean” sounding distortion and the sustain on it was practically non-existent, which I love in a distortion pedal. Although sustain will happen when it comes to distortion.
Their “hard” setting on the pedal was not within my taste of pedal at all, but all bias aside, it sounded great. This setting is for the likes of players who love to play into their gain, and love to double up distortion with maybe a tube screamer to get that naturally “loud” sound. I was also impressed by the lack of clipping between these settings, which is a great quality for the sake of live show. Just for the hell of it, I doubled up the “hard” setting with my Tube Screamer, and the Minotaur very much overwhelmed the sound of my Tube Screamer, leaving it only to pretty much serve as a boost/sustain. If this is your preference of sound, than this is the pedal for you.
Bill used the Minotaur with his band, a very Southern, heavy Marshall and humbucker, loud, rock band. In this capacity, it was perfect for leads or any time Bill had to create a large wall of sound within the rhythm section. Typically, Bill uses a TS-9 Tube Screamer to step up his sound for solos and leads but he was substituting the Minotaur and it filled the void nicely. Although a completely different tone than the TS-9, it served the purpose well.
Like almost all pedals, I have a few complaints about the pedal as a whole. Cosmetically, I believe it is too small. On the MythFX website, they seem to pride themselves in the size of this pedal, and I understand their angle. Some people enjoy small pedals so they have more room on their board. I however, am a huge fan of not having to worry about actually hitting the pedal or not. I am not the most coordinated person in the world, so by preference, I prefer a wide switch on the front just so I don’t have to think twice about it as I hit the pedal, which effects my play. Different strokes for different folks, Bill really liked the small compact size of the MythFX pedals.
Also, the gain on the pedal did not have as much range as I had thought. The 3-Way Clip was fantastic in terms of diversity of sound, so maybe that is how I became disappointed in the lack of range in the gain. Overall, I felt like the gain did not cater to either side of the push all too well, and I definitely expected bigger outcomes as I adjusted the pedal. There was no light gain, or really heavy gain, but the middle range was great.
All in all, it’s a good little pedal to have. Personally, I would only use the first soft setting, and part of me almost wishes they had created two separate distortion pedals so as to tweak the gain according to each Clip. I think that would be the best route, but I understand that people love combo pedals these days, so as to (mildly) diversify their sound. As far as the hard setting is concerned, this pedal absolutely dominates, which like I said, if that is your preference, you will not be disappointed.
A Look at the MythFX Midas Boost Pedal
By: Bill Bush
When I first held the MythFX Midas Boost pedal in my hands, the only thought that crossed my mind was “you can’t be serious.” How can anyone make a pedal so small and how can anyone possibly use a pedal this size? As everyone has heard since childhood, never judge a book by its cover.
Typically, a boost pedal is a boost pedal and that’s the end. They are notoriously unexciting pedals and there is nothing all that complex about them by nature. When trying out various boost pedals, it was important to me that there was minimal (if any) effect on my overall tone. The obvious goal is, you guessed it, to boost your tone. As simple as this sounds, this is a very difficult set of attributes to find in a boost pedal and I managed to only come across two pedals that accomplished this.
I put the MythFX Midas Boost pedal up against a Carl Martin Hydra Boost in my rig. Each pedal was used to try boosting my signal at the start of my effects chain as well as at the end of my chain to boost my tone for leads and thicker tones. Both pedals added absolutely zero coloring to my tone, which is exactly what I was looking for. The difference came in the power of each pedal. The Hydra Boost started to crunch up around 7 on its single boost knob and though this is fairly high up in its range, the boost only adds about 15 dB total so the added crunch is kicking into the tone at pretty low levels overall. On the Midas boost, there was absolute no overdrive whatsoever until I turned the single boost knob up to about 8. This would appear to only be “one higher” than the Hydra Boost but the difference is that the Midas has a range of 32 dB. The Midas gave me many more decibels of increase before any overdrive kicked in, thus giving me more clean and clear power.
I ended up trying the Carl Martin boost at the start of the chain just to give a very light boost to my overall signal. I had the boost turned to about 3 or 4 and just left it on the whole time. The Carl Martin simply did not provide the power/boost that Midas was able to give me so the Midas was the best option as a “step up” pedal. My main benchmark test was using the boost pedal to step my sound up slightly over the rest of an already loud Southern Rock band. I was able to set the pedal to either put me just slightly louder to make what I was playing stand out just a little bit, or crank the boost to completely jump on top of the sound for solos. I ended up completely removing the Carl Martin boost from my rig as I did not feel it was really serving enough of a purpose to take up valuable space and power on my pedalboard.
The construction of the MythFX Midas Boost pedal is not at all what I’d expect from a one-man company making the pedals out of their house. The pedal is extremely small and comes with the total fear of breaking it with the lightest step to hit the switch. After overcoming the intimidation, I quickly realized this pedal is plenty sturdy and would hold up just fine. The pedals are solidly constructed and do not waste any space. The input/output jacks are staggered so that there is just enough room for each cable to be plugged in.
Another space cutting measure, and possibly the only negative I have for this pedal, is the lack of a battery. These pedals do not take batteries and can only be used when a 9V power supply is available to you. This works fine for me because I use the VooDoo Lab Pedal Power 2 power supply, but many guitar players out there still just run their effects off of 9V batteries. Not having the ability the use a battery for this pedal immediately cuts out a rather large portion of the guitar playing market, however, if you have a power supply to use with this pedal, you will not be disappointed. I have ended up keeping the pedal in my rig and couldn’t be happier with it.
Overall, I find the Midas Boost by MythFX to be a wonderful, basic little (and I mean little) pedal. My original intention was to try out the pedal, review it, and then figure out a way to offer it up to the Bill’s Guitar Blog readers to get the word out about the blog as well as MythFX, but after all the use I’ve gotten out of it, I simply can’t part with it.
If you’re interested in checking out a little more about MythFX, and possibly acquiring their gear, head over www.MythFX.com. Tell them you heard of them from our site!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Delay
Sorry everyone for the big time lapse in posts here. We have some pretty interesting stuff in the works (so WE think) but health issues have kept me/us away from the blog. Once we kick this, we'll be back in action.
Don't worry, nothing really serious, just energy zapping. Keep checking in to see what's here and tell your friends.
-Bill's Guitar Blog
Don't worry, nothing really serious, just energy zapping. Keep checking in to see what's here and tell your friends.
-Bill's Guitar Blog
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Gibson ES3xx Guitars
For whatever reason, ever since I have been remotely interested in guitars, I've always been partial to the semi-hollow Gibsons. To this day my favorite guitar of all time is the Gibson ES355. I didn't always know that much about the entire 3xx line of guitars but over the years I've managed to research them all quite a bit.
I did some work on Google and found a couple of basic articles regarding ES3xx guitars that I feel are pretty good introductions to them. There's obviously a lot more information to be found on all of them, but this may be a good starting point to learn a little of the history.
The first "article" discusses the history of the ES335. The 335 has easily been the most popular of the Gibson semi-hollows over the years so I thought it would be a good starting point to read about. The second "article" just shows a few examples of other Gibson semi-hollows and some information about them. There are A LOT more Gibson semi-hollow models out there than are discussed, but this gives you quite a few interesting models to start the investigating process. My favorite uncommon guitar discussed the in second article is the Trini Lopez...a really cool and rare guitar.
I didn't edit any of the articles. I literally just copied and pasted them into our blog. I aplogize for any grammatical errors in advance. I just felt there was some good basic information to be had in these reads.
Onto the pieces:
Vintage Gibson Guitars: Gibson ES335 (pasted from vintage-guitars.blogspot.com)
Gibson Es-335
--
Gibson Es-335 Guitar ( 1958 to present )
Thinline Semi-hollow Electric Archtop Guitar Also Known As The Es-335 TD.
1959 gibson es-335 guitarIn 1958 gibson introduced a guitar with a wood block that was glued to the top and back of the body which ran through the guitars' center leaving the sides empty , the guitar was called the gibson es-335 , the first semi-hollow body guitar.
The wood block not only made the es-335 guitar more solid but it also enhanced its woodiness warm sound and sustain.
Its ingenious body design structure plays a major role in gibson' history and paved the way for many gibson legendary guitars to come.
Cherished by many artists such as bb-king , eric clapton, chuck berry , joe perry, keith richards , george harrison, ritchie blackmore ... just to name a few.
The es-335 is coined by many as the best all around guitar in the world because of its versatility.
In 1958 when gibson first launched the es-335 at a list price of approximately $270 the guitar became an instant success and continued its historical journey until this very day.
The first year in production the es-335 had a brazilian rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays , 2 humbuckers , bigsby vibrato or stop tailpiece , bound top and back , neck joins the body at the 19th fret , 4 knobs ( 2-vol 2-tone ) , tune o matic bridge , pickguard extends below the bridge , large fat neck , and were made in sunburst or natural finishes. ( this model is highly desirable and sought after by collectors)
1959 : Cherry finishes were added
1960 : The es-335 had shorter pickguards and thinner necks
1961 : Natural finishes were discontinued
1962 : Dot inlays on the fingerboard were replaced with block inlays
1965 : Trapeze tailpiece replaced the stop tailpiece 12 string version also introduced
1966 : indian rosewood fingerboard instead of brazilian
1969 : walnut finishes were available
gibson es-335-12Note : In 1965 a 12 string version of the es-335 was also introduced and was called the gibson es-335-12 , ( see pic ) were made in cherry or natural finishes , various colors in 1968 and were discontinued in 1971.
In 1981 the gibson es-335 was discontinued and replaced with the gibson es-335 dot which was a reissue of the original 1960 es-335 with dot inlays.
The gibson es-335 dot was discontinued in 1990 and replaced with the gibson es-335 reissue in 1991 which are still in production today.
From 1981 to present gibson also introduced more variations of the gibson es-335 such as the :
Gibson es-335 artist :( 1981 )
had a large headstock logo , metal truss rod plate , gold hardware with 3 knobs .
Gibson es-335 Dot CMT :( 1983 - 1985 )
like the es-335 dot but with curly maple top and back , gold hardware , and were made in various colors .
Gibson es-335 Studio :( 1986 - 1991 )
No f-holes , 2 dirty finger humbuckers , cherry or ebony finishes .
Gibson es-335 Showcase Edition : ( 1988 )
black hardware , emg pickups ,white or beige finishes and were made in limited quantities - 200 made .
Gibson es-335 Centennial : ( 1994 )
Gold medallion on the headstock , were made in cherry colors , diamond inlays in tailpiece . ( not more than a 100 were made )
Gibson es-335 '59 Historic Collection : ( 1998 )
basically a replica of the original 1959 model with dot inlays .
Gibson es-335 '63 Historic Collection : ( 2000 )
based on the original 1962 model with block inlays .
Gibson also made es-335 custom shop guitars during the 80s and 90s with a custom shop logo on the back of the headstock .
Vintage Price Value For 2008 :
1958 > $60 000 to $75 000 ( Natural )
1958 > $50 000 to $60 000 ( Natural-Bigsby )
1958 > $34 000 to $41 000 ( Sunburst )
1958 > $32 000 to $39 000 ( Sunburst-Bigsby )
1959 > $75 000 to $100 000 ( Natural )
1959 > $50 000 to $65 000 ( Natural- bigsby )
1959 > $40 000 to $55 000 ( Sunburst )
1959 > $35 000 to $40 000 ( Sunburst-bigsby )
1960 > $25 000 to $35 000 ( Cherry )
1960 > $35 000 to $50 000 ( Natural )
1960 > $25000 to $35 000 ( Sunburst )
1961 - 1962 > $26 000 to $32 000 ( PAFs )
1961 - 1962 > $25 000 to $32 000 ( Pat # )
1963 - 1964 > $19 000 to $27 000 ( prices vary according to specs & color )
1965 - 1969 > $4 500 to $9 000 ( prices vary according to specs & color )
1970 - 1976 > $3 500 to $4 600
1977 - 1981 > $2 000 to $3 200
1965 - 1971 > $2 600 to $3 000 ( es-335-12 string )
1981 - 1990 > $2 300 to $ 2 950 ( es-335 Dot )
1981 - 1982 > $2 300 to $2 600 ( es-335 artist )
1981 - 1999 > $2 700 to $3 000 ( es-335 custom shop )
1983 - 1985 > $2 700 to $3000 ( es-335 Dot Cmt )
1986 - 1991 > $1 100 to $1 400 ( es-335 Studio )
1988 - 1989 > $2 300 to $3 500 ( es-335 showcase edition )
1994 - 1995 > $4000 to $4200 ( es-335 centennial )
1998 - 1999 > $2 200 to $2 700 ( '59 historic collection )
2000 - 2001 > $2 700 to $3 000 ( '63 historic collection )
1991 - 2000 > $1 700 to $2 300 ( es-335 reissue )
guitar price guide1958 - 1969 > Avg Upward Trend Of 21% A Year Since 2000
1970 - 1981 > 9% ( does not include the es-335 dot reissue )
Prices are according to 4 different vintage guitar price guides and rounded off to the nearest dollar .
***************************************************************************************
Gibson Archtop Guitars (from rocknrollvintage.com)
A brief history on Gibson Electric Acoustic Archtop models
Gibson Archtops come in an amazing range of models. The ES-350 was launched in 1947, and the first "new generation" Gibson electric archtops. It featured 2 fitted pickups and was designed ground up as an archtop electric acoustic archtop guitar. The single pickup ES-175 followed the ES-350 in 1949. Many consider the ES-175 as the first mass produced electric archtop from Gibson. Gibson launched a beginner electric in 1950 with the new 3/4 scale ES-140 model. In 1953 the ES-175 was offered with a second pickup. The L5 and Super 400 were top of the line jazz guitars and in 1951 Gibson added a CES designation with permanently installed twin pickups and controls. In 1955 Gibson launched Thin Line models often using the "T" designation after the model number. The new thin line guitars included the Byrdland and the ES-350T. Thin line guitars appealed to players who wanted a thinner, less bulky guitar.
The ES-335 was introduced in 1958. While it looked like it had a thin line body it was actually a semi-hollow body guitar as it featured a solid block of wood running through the center of the body. This made the guitar much less prone to feedback when played at high volume. The ES-345 and 355 were introduced in the same time frame however they offered stereo wiring and a six way selector switch called a "Vari-tone". TD models were deluxe variations. Vari-tone was unpopular with players and and many guitars had the vari-tone wiring removed. Gibson continued to introduce variations of standard and thin line guitars and in the 60's they began to release signature models including the Barney Kessel Custom (1961), Johnny Smith (1961) and the Tal Farlow (1962). The 1961 ES-330 is a little unusual as it did not feature a solid central block in the body and the neck was set further into the body. Gibson continued to release models in the 70's, 80's, 90's and may of these guitars are still available today.
The ES-345
The ES-345 was introduced in 1959 Gibson and was available until 1982. It was a a semi-hollow thin double cut body double cut body, 2 humbuckers, 2 volume and 2 tone knobs Vari-Tone. The fingerboard was Rosewood with parallelogram inlays and gold plated parts.
The Super 400 CES
Available in 1951 and still being sold today, originally featured a spruce or maple top, dual P-90 pickups, 2 F-holes, ebony fingerboard, inlays, sunburst or natural finish. Alnico V pickups soon replaced the P-90 pickups the humbuckers were added in 1957. The 1969 Super 400 CES had a solid 2 piece back. This guitar is still in production.
The ES-225T
Sold from 1955 to 1959. Feature a thin body single cut body 1 or 2 P-90 pickups, a trapeze bridge/tailpiece and a rosewood fingerboard with dot fingerboard inlays.
The ES-140T
Sold from 1956 to 1968. This is a 3/4 scale thinline guitar with a single P90 pickup and dot inlays.
The Gibson ES355-TD
In production from 1959 to 1982, the 355 was a thin body double cut semi-hollow with maple block down center. Vari-tone rotary tone switch and stereo wiring, 2 humbucking pickups and 2 volume and 2 tone knobs. Note the Bigsby vibrato and walnut finish.
The ES-175-D
Sold 1949 to the present. Originally had one P-90 pickup, and available in sunburst or natural finish. The D designation on this model denotes it's a dual pickup model. Still available but only as a dual pickup model.
The ES-330
Sold from 1959 to 1972. This is a hollow thin body rather than a semi-hollow with a deeply set neck. Featured 2 P90 pickups, trapeze tailpiece, pearl dot fingerboard inlays. This model has rectangular inlays where were added in the 60's.
The ES-335
Sold 1958 to present. 1958 Gibson ES-335 specs include thin double cutaway body, semi-hollow body, 2 humbucking pickups, 2 volume and 2 tone knobs, tune-o-matic bridge, and rosewood fingerboard. This later model has rectangular inlays.
The Gibson ES-340
The 340 was available from 1969 to 1984. It was a semi-acoustic double round cutaway with arched maple top, tune-o-matic bridge-trapeze tailpiece. It included two humbucker pickups, ,volume, mixer and two tone controls plus three position selector switch. It was available in Natural and Walnut finishes.
The Trini Lopez
Sold from 1964 to 1971. This guitar utilized a ES-335 thinline body with diamond-shaped soundholes, 2 humbuckers, Tune-O-Matic bridge and trapeze tailpiece.
The Byrdland
Gibson Byrdland Thinline Electric Archtop was first available in 1955 and is still available today. This was a thinbody short scale version of the L-5CES. Originally featured a carved maple back, 2 Alnico V pickups,ebony fingerboard with block markers, narrow neck in a sunburst or natural finish. The Alnico pickups were replaced with humbucking pickups in 1957.
The Barney Kessel
Available from 1961 to 1974. Featured double pointed cutaways, 2 humbucking pickups, tuneomatic bridge, trapeze tailpiece, rosewood fingerboard with parallelogram inlays, nickel plated parts in a cherry sunburst finish. In 1961 inlays were also available in a bow tie pattern.
I did some work on Google and found a couple of basic articles regarding ES3xx guitars that I feel are pretty good introductions to them. There's obviously a lot more information to be found on all of them, but this may be a good starting point to learn a little of the history.
The first "article" discusses the history of the ES335. The 335 has easily been the most popular of the Gibson semi-hollows over the years so I thought it would be a good starting point to read about. The second "article" just shows a few examples of other Gibson semi-hollows and some information about them. There are A LOT more Gibson semi-hollow models out there than are discussed, but this gives you quite a few interesting models to start the investigating process. My favorite uncommon guitar discussed the in second article is the Trini Lopez...a really cool and rare guitar.
I didn't edit any of the articles. I literally just copied and pasted them into our blog. I aplogize for any grammatical errors in advance. I just felt there was some good basic information to be had in these reads.
Onto the pieces:
Vintage Gibson Guitars: Gibson ES335 (pasted from vintage-guitars.blogspot.com)
Gibson Es-335
--
Gibson Es-335 Guitar ( 1958 to present )
Thinline Semi-hollow Electric Archtop Guitar Also Known As The Es-335 TD.
1959 gibson es-335 guitarIn 1958 gibson introduced a guitar with a wood block that was glued to the top and back of the body which ran through the guitars' center leaving the sides empty , the guitar was called the gibson es-335 , the first semi-hollow body guitar.
The wood block not only made the es-335 guitar more solid but it also enhanced its woodiness warm sound and sustain.
Its ingenious body design structure plays a major role in gibson' history and paved the way for many gibson legendary guitars to come.
Cherished by many artists such as bb-king , eric clapton, chuck berry , joe perry, keith richards , george harrison, ritchie blackmore ... just to name a few.
The es-335 is coined by many as the best all around guitar in the world because of its versatility.
In 1958 when gibson first launched the es-335 at a list price of approximately $270 the guitar became an instant success and continued its historical journey until this very day.
The first year in production the es-335 had a brazilian rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays , 2 humbuckers , bigsby vibrato or stop tailpiece , bound top and back , neck joins the body at the 19th fret , 4 knobs ( 2-vol 2-tone ) , tune o matic bridge , pickguard extends below the bridge , large fat neck , and were made in sunburst or natural finishes. ( this model is highly desirable and sought after by collectors)
1959 : Cherry finishes were added
1960 : The es-335 had shorter pickguards and thinner necks
1961 : Natural finishes were discontinued
1962 : Dot inlays on the fingerboard were replaced with block inlays
1965 : Trapeze tailpiece replaced the stop tailpiece 12 string version also introduced
1966 : indian rosewood fingerboard instead of brazilian
1969 : walnut finishes were available
gibson es-335-12Note : In 1965 a 12 string version of the es-335 was also introduced and was called the gibson es-335-12 , ( see pic ) were made in cherry or natural finishes , various colors in 1968 and were discontinued in 1971.In 1981 the gibson es-335 was discontinued and replaced with the gibson es-335 dot which was a reissue of the original 1960 es-335 with dot inlays.
The gibson es-335 dot was discontinued in 1990 and replaced with the gibson es-335 reissue in 1991 which are still in production today.
From 1981 to present gibson also introduced more variations of the gibson es-335 such as the :
Gibson es-335 artist :( 1981 )
had a large headstock logo , metal truss rod plate , gold hardware with 3 knobs .
Gibson es-335 Dot CMT :( 1983 - 1985 )
like the es-335 dot but with curly maple top and back , gold hardware , and were made in various colors .
Gibson es-335 Studio :( 1986 - 1991 )
No f-holes , 2 dirty finger humbuckers , cherry or ebony finishes .
Gibson es-335 Showcase Edition : ( 1988 )
black hardware , emg pickups ,white or beige finishes and were made in limited quantities - 200 made .
Gibson es-335 Centennial : ( 1994 )
Gold medallion on the headstock , were made in cherry colors , diamond inlays in tailpiece . ( not more than a 100 were made )
Gibson es-335 '59 Historic Collection : ( 1998 )
basically a replica of the original 1959 model with dot inlays .
Gibson es-335 '63 Historic Collection : ( 2000 )
based on the original 1962 model with block inlays .
Gibson also made es-335 custom shop guitars during the 80s and 90s with a custom shop logo on the back of the headstock .
Vintage Price Value For 2008 :
1958 > $60 000 to $75 000 ( Natural )
1958 > $50 000 to $60 000 ( Natural-Bigsby )
1958 > $34 000 to $41 000 ( Sunburst )
1958 > $32 000 to $39 000 ( Sunburst-Bigsby )
1959 > $75 000 to $100 000 ( Natural )
1959 > $50 000 to $65 000 ( Natural- bigsby )
1959 > $40 000 to $55 000 ( Sunburst )
1959 > $35 000 to $40 000 ( Sunburst-bigsby )
1960 > $25 000 to $35 000 ( Cherry )
1960 > $35 000 to $50 000 ( Natural )
1960 > $25000 to $35 000 ( Sunburst )
1961 - 1962 > $26 000 to $32 000 ( PAFs )
1961 - 1962 > $25 000 to $32 000 ( Pat # )
1963 - 1964 > $19 000 to $27 000 ( prices vary according to specs & color )
1965 - 1969 > $4 500 to $9 000 ( prices vary according to specs & color )
1970 - 1976 > $3 500 to $4 600
1977 - 1981 > $2 000 to $3 200
1965 - 1971 > $2 600 to $3 000 ( es-335-12 string )
1981 - 1990 > $2 300 to $ 2 950 ( es-335 Dot )
1981 - 1982 > $2 300 to $2 600 ( es-335 artist )
1981 - 1999 > $2 700 to $3 000 ( es-335 custom shop )
1983 - 1985 > $2 700 to $3000 ( es-335 Dot Cmt )
1986 - 1991 > $1 100 to $1 400 ( es-335 Studio )
1988 - 1989 > $2 300 to $3 500 ( es-335 showcase edition )
1994 - 1995 > $4000 to $4200 ( es-335 centennial )
1998 - 1999 > $2 200 to $2 700 ( '59 historic collection )
2000 - 2001 > $2 700 to $3 000 ( '63 historic collection )
1991 - 2000 > $1 700 to $2 300 ( es-335 reissue )
guitar price guide1958 - 1969 > Avg Upward Trend Of 21% A Year Since 2000
1970 - 1981 > 9% ( does not include the es-335 dot reissue )
Prices are according to 4 different vintage guitar price guides and rounded off to the nearest dollar .
***************************************************************************************
Gibson Archtop Guitars (from rocknrollvintage.com)
A brief history on Gibson Electric Acoustic Archtop models
Gibson Archtops come in an amazing range of models. The ES-350 was launched in 1947, and the first "new generation" Gibson electric archtops. It featured 2 fitted pickups and was designed ground up as an archtop electric acoustic archtop guitar. The single pickup ES-175 followed the ES-350 in 1949. Many consider the ES-175 as the first mass produced electric archtop from Gibson. Gibson launched a beginner electric in 1950 with the new 3/4 scale ES-140 model. In 1953 the ES-175 was offered with a second pickup. The L5 and Super 400 were top of the line jazz guitars and in 1951 Gibson added a CES designation with permanently installed twin pickups and controls. In 1955 Gibson launched Thin Line models often using the "T" designation after the model number. The new thin line guitars included the Byrdland and the ES-350T. Thin line guitars appealed to players who wanted a thinner, less bulky guitar.
The ES-335 was introduced in 1958. While it looked like it had a thin line body it was actually a semi-hollow body guitar as it featured a solid block of wood running through the center of the body. This made the guitar much less prone to feedback when played at high volume. The ES-345 and 355 were introduced in the same time frame however they offered stereo wiring and a six way selector switch called a "Vari-tone". TD models were deluxe variations. Vari-tone was unpopular with players and and many guitars had the vari-tone wiring removed. Gibson continued to introduce variations of standard and thin line guitars and in the 60's they began to release signature models including the Barney Kessel Custom (1961), Johnny Smith (1961) and the Tal Farlow (1962). The 1961 ES-330 is a little unusual as it did not feature a solid central block in the body and the neck was set further into the body. Gibson continued to release models in the 70's, 80's, 90's and may of these guitars are still available today.
The ES-345
The ES-345 was introduced in 1959 Gibson and was available until 1982. It was a a semi-hollow thin double cut body double cut body, 2 humbuckers, 2 volume and 2 tone knobs Vari-Tone. The fingerboard was Rosewood with parallelogram inlays and gold plated parts.
The Super 400 CES
Available in 1951 and still being sold today, originally featured a spruce or maple top, dual P-90 pickups, 2 F-holes, ebony fingerboard, inlays, sunburst or natural finish. Alnico V pickups soon replaced the P-90 pickups the humbuckers were added in 1957. The 1969 Super 400 CES had a solid 2 piece back. This guitar is still in production.
The ES-225T
Sold from 1955 to 1959. Feature a thin body single cut body 1 or 2 P-90 pickups, a trapeze bridge/tailpiece and a rosewood fingerboard with dot fingerboard inlays.
The ES-140T
Sold from 1956 to 1968. This is a 3/4 scale thinline guitar with a single P90 pickup and dot inlays.
The Gibson ES355-TD
In production from 1959 to 1982, the 355 was a thin body double cut semi-hollow with maple block down center. Vari-tone rotary tone switch and stereo wiring, 2 humbucking pickups and 2 volume and 2 tone knobs. Note the Bigsby vibrato and walnut finish.
The ES-175-D
Sold 1949 to the present. Originally had one P-90 pickup, and available in sunburst or natural finish. The D designation on this model denotes it's a dual pickup model. Still available but only as a dual pickup model.
The ES-330
Sold from 1959 to 1972. This is a hollow thin body rather than a semi-hollow with a deeply set neck. Featured 2 P90 pickups, trapeze tailpiece, pearl dot fingerboard inlays. This model has rectangular inlays where were added in the 60's.
The ES-335
Sold 1958 to present. 1958 Gibson ES-335 specs include thin double cutaway body, semi-hollow body, 2 humbucking pickups, 2 volume and 2 tone knobs, tune-o-matic bridge, and rosewood fingerboard. This later model has rectangular inlays.
The Gibson ES-340
The 340 was available from 1969 to 1984. It was a semi-acoustic double round cutaway with arched maple top, tune-o-matic bridge-trapeze tailpiece. It included two humbucker pickups, ,volume, mixer and two tone controls plus three position selector switch. It was available in Natural and Walnut finishes.
The Trini Lopez
Sold from 1964 to 1971. This guitar utilized a ES-335 thinline body with diamond-shaped soundholes, 2 humbuckers, Tune-O-Matic bridge and trapeze tailpiece.
The Byrdland
Gibson Byrdland Thinline Electric Archtop was first available in 1955 and is still available today. This was a thinbody short scale version of the L-5CES. Originally featured a carved maple back, 2 Alnico V pickups,ebony fingerboard with block markers, narrow neck in a sunburst or natural finish. The Alnico pickups were replaced with humbucking pickups in 1957.
The Barney Kessel
Available from 1961 to 1974. Featured double pointed cutaways, 2 humbucking pickups, tuneomatic bridge, trapeze tailpiece, rosewood fingerboard with parallelogram inlays, nickel plated parts in a cherry sunburst finish. In 1961 inlays were also available in a bow tie pattern.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Bill's Guitar Blog on Myspace?
Yes! You can now find us on Myspace. The profile is as bare bones as you can get. We did send out some friend requests, but that's it so far. We just wanted to get the page registered but we will be working on building and developing the Myspace page in our spare time. Head over and add us as your friend! THEN, tell your other friends and help us spread the word!
The Myspace URL is:
www.myspace.com/billsguitarblog
Thanks, everyone!
-Bill
The Myspace URL is:
www.myspace.com/billsguitarblog
Thanks, everyone!
-Bill
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
MythFX
We have some pretty exciting news. We are in the process of developing our first relationship with an up and coming pedal/effects company called MythFX. We found them in a search for some gear and have been very intrigued ever since. We've reached out to them to do some work with them and they have been very positive and receptive. Keep checking back for some equipment reviews, articles, and possibly interviews.
We love what this young company is doing and we are really interested in their products. We will provide more detail and insight when we get some of the equipment in to review. For now, head over to their site and check them out (found below). Stop on over and say hello to Brian at MythFX!
Contact Information
We now can be reached via email at BillsGuitarBlog@gmail.com.
Email us with any ideas, comments, contributions to the blog, requests, etc... We're really looking forward to growing this blog and we need help from everyone to do it.
Thanks for stopping by!
Email us with any ideas, comments, contributions to the blog, requests, etc... We're really looking forward to growing this blog and we need help from everyone to do it.
Thanks for stopping by!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Introduction to Bill's Guitar Blog
Welcome to Bill's Guitar Blog. We thought it was time to start getting some formal blog posts out there for potential new readers.
First let us provide you with a little background to how this blog made its way to your computers. Creator, Bill Bush, has spent many years in the guitar world whether it's collecting gear, playing in bands, working in guitar stores, etc... To this day, guitars are a continuing passion for Bill and he has been looking for an outlet to share his love with others. Being in the heart of technology era, Bill figured what better vehicle to use than the internet?
After spending time considering the direction for the blog, Bill reached out to longtime friend, Ryan Coe. Ryan has also spent many years immersed in the guitar world and shares the same passion for music. Though a very diverse student of music, Ryan's true love is blues and the stratocaster. Once Ryan heard about Bill's new blog idea, he was 100% committed to coming up with ideas and directions to take the new venture.
So what kind of information will be found on this blog? Well, it could be anything guitar related. The intention is for the blog to be educational, entertaining, insightful, and diverse, however, the goal is not to have it bogged down with filler that very few people are interested in. We hope to make everything somewhat appealing to anyone that crosses the blog.
On the blog, you'll find equipment reviews of guitars, effects, amplifiers, and other equipment odds and ends. That's about as organized as we are hoping to keep it. We want the blog to be exactly what someone would imagine in a blog. Very open ended and free. You may read about gear projects people are working on, new equipment someone bought, personal rigs, articles, store reviews, etc...you name it!
Together, Bill and Ryan felt they wanted the blog to be extremely interactive with the readers and a semi-open forum in order to bring a well rounded presentation of guitar information for those interested. Though most of the information, reviews, etc... will come from Bill and Ryan, keep an eye out for guest contributors from time to time. Also, we will be setting up some form of contact so readers can submit information to us or make requests of things they would like to see up on the blog.
Hopefully Bill's Guitar Blog can gain some momentum and be a haven for guitar fans everywhere. We're looking forward to the future and developing relationships with the readers, other players, equipment companies, and generally anyone that may be interested in our little corner of the web.
Thanks for reading and keep your eyes posted for some updates coming soon.
-Bill's Guitar Blog
First let us provide you with a little background to how this blog made its way to your computers. Creator, Bill Bush, has spent many years in the guitar world whether it's collecting gear, playing in bands, working in guitar stores, etc... To this day, guitars are a continuing passion for Bill and he has been looking for an outlet to share his love with others. Being in the heart of technology era, Bill figured what better vehicle to use than the internet?
After spending time considering the direction for the blog, Bill reached out to longtime friend, Ryan Coe. Ryan has also spent many years immersed in the guitar world and shares the same passion for music. Though a very diverse student of music, Ryan's true love is blues and the stratocaster. Once Ryan heard about Bill's new blog idea, he was 100% committed to coming up with ideas and directions to take the new venture.
So what kind of information will be found on this blog? Well, it could be anything guitar related. The intention is for the blog to be educational, entertaining, insightful, and diverse, however, the goal is not to have it bogged down with filler that very few people are interested in. We hope to make everything somewhat appealing to anyone that crosses the blog.
On the blog, you'll find equipment reviews of guitars, effects, amplifiers, and other equipment odds and ends. That's about as organized as we are hoping to keep it. We want the blog to be exactly what someone would imagine in a blog. Very open ended and free. You may read about gear projects people are working on, new equipment someone bought, personal rigs, articles, store reviews, etc...you name it!
Together, Bill and Ryan felt they wanted the blog to be extremely interactive with the readers and a semi-open forum in order to bring a well rounded presentation of guitar information for those interested. Though most of the information, reviews, etc... will come from Bill and Ryan, keep an eye out for guest contributors from time to time. Also, we will be setting up some form of contact so readers can submit information to us or make requests of things they would like to see up on the blog.
Hopefully Bill's Guitar Blog can gain some momentum and be a haven for guitar fans everywhere. We're looking forward to the future and developing relationships with the readers, other players, equipment companies, and generally anyone that may be interested in our little corner of the web.
Thanks for reading and keep your eyes posted for some updates coming soon.
-Bill's Guitar Blog
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