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!

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.

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!

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

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.