2018: The Year Gibson Goes Down?

Could 2018 mark the end for Gibson guitars? According to a recent Nashville Post article, Gibson’s financial troubles are so serious that time is running out fast. In short, the company is on brink of bankruptcy, and no one – really, no one – knows what the future holds.

One thing you can count on, though – the company will survive. It’s too big, too popular, too iconic to fail. But the big question is how will it survive. Heads will roll, jobs will be lost, and one could hope, perhaps, that CEO Henry Juszkiewicz will go, too.

Gibson – more than guitars

What many people forget, is that Gibson don’t just sell guitars. its a veritable empire, that owns over 100 brands such as Epiphone, Dobro, Valley Arts, Kramer, Steinberger, Tobias, Slingerland, Maestro, Baldwin, Hamilton, Chickering, Wurlitzer, KRK Systems, TASCAM, Cakewalk, Cerwin-Vega!, Stanton, Onkyo, Integra, TEAC, TASCAM Professional Software, and Esoteric.

On a recent press-release, Henry Juskiewics said:

“While the musical instrument and pro audio segments have been profitable and growing, they are still below the level of success we saw several years ago.”

So all is not lost, if not necessarily going great. There’s no doubt some financial wizards will be able to do their black magic to keep the company from drowning. But while one of the company’s strengths is that it’s so big, it’s also one of their weaknesses – after all, guitars are the heart and soul of Gibson. It’s what they should always have been about – and many guitarists are not so sure the brand gets it anymore.

What kinda Gibson do we want?

Common complaints about Gibson is that their guitars are way overpriced, that quality control is not great, and that they’ve made more than enough bad moves in recent times – from robot tuners to new, undesirable designs such as Firebird X, the more recent S-Series etc.

But one thing is unquestionable. Gibson still holds a spell on most of us, guitarists. Their classic designs are a thing of beauty, and you can’t beat a good Les Paul, ES-335, Firebird, SG, etc. Those are guitars that our idols have played and still play. They won’t go anywhere. And whoever controls the destiny of Gibson will have to ultimately come to the same conclusion – it’s gotta be about the guitars, stupid.

Perhaps the financial woes will make Gibson realise that what people want are not their brand logo on bluetooth wireless speakers – but on great guitars! Guitars that play great and which people can actually afford. And yes, it’s true that many guitarists today are moving to smaller brands such as Eastwood, Reverend, Pure Salem and others – because they know they won’t be ripped off.

That’s the reason Epiphone still does well – you simply can’t argue with their quality vs. money ratio. As for Gibson – most people would agree they’re overpriced today.

Maybe Gibson will have to finally start to listen to their customers. If they get the quality/ value right, they can’t go wrong.

Now… is it such a difficult task, Mr. Henry?

Time will tell… and maybe sooner than we know!

Jimmy Page Led Zeppelin live

WHAT’S THE FUTURE FOR GIBSON? POST YOUR COMMENTS AND SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH US!

Is This The End? Gibson in Financial Troubles from MyRareGuitars.com

Singer, songwriter, star guitarist. Glen Campbell had a fantastically rich musical career – spanning different genres, instruments and playing with some of the greatest names in music. Not to mention stints as TV presenter and award-nominated acting roles! With over 45 million records sold, Campbell was also a true crossover artist like few other musicians before or since – with 48 country hits and 34 pop hits between 1967 and 1980.

His attitude was the he didn’t really care about being bound to “genres”, but just about whether something was good:

“I felt my music wasn’t aiming at anybody. Everything I was doing was because it was a good song” he once said.

From a guitarist perspective, there’s no doubt he was an inspiration to many, being one of the most notable players of baritone guitars – and, for us fans of vintage and rare guitars, a look at his instruments over the years is nothing less than mouth-watering!

Here’s just a few reasons why Glen Campbell was such a musical legend, who won’t be forgotten:

1) He was a former member of the Wrecking Crew

The Wrecking Crew was the greatest assembly of session musicians ever – the L.A. group played in innumerable legendary sessions, and, with Campbell, performed on tracks by names such as Bobby Darin, Ricky Nelson, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, the Monkees, Nancy Sinatra, Merle Haggard, Jan and Dean, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Phil Spector.

One of the session tracks featuring Campbell is The Beach Boys ‘I Get Around’:

Despite the Wrecking Crew featuring so many extremely talented people, only Glen went on to become such a massive solo star in his own right – some feat!

2) He was a touring member of The Beach Boys…

Carl Wilson and Glen Campbell ready for another Beach Boys gig

As part of the Wrecking Crew Glen also played on the sessions for Pet Sounds, but, before that, he also toured with the Beach Boys in 1964, replacing none other than Brian Wilson  on bass and vocal harmonies, while Wilson recovered from a nervous breakdown. No small job!

And once a Beach Boy, always a Beach Boy – Glen joined the band onstage on a number of other occasions since.

3) … and Brian Wilson was forever grateful

As a “thank you” to Campbell, Brian Wilson wrote him a wonderful song, ‘Guess I’m Dumb’, one of Glen Campbell’s finest moments – with the Beach Boys singing backing vocals!

Wilson, unsurprisingly, was one of the first to pay tribute to the news of Campbell’s passing:

4) Glen Campbell introduced America to Cream

During his stint as a TV show host, Campbell was the man who introduced Cream to mainstream America. His TV show brought together a very diverse mix of musical acts, which people paid attention to thanks to his popularity as a performer himself. Respect.

Coincidence – or not! – only 2 weeks after Cream’s appearance on Glen’s show, the band entered the Top 10 with “Sunshine Of Your Love”. Other songs on that same week’s Top 10 included The Doors (who Glen had once opened for) at #1 with “Hello, I Love You”. Mason Williams (who was a writer on Glen’s show) close behind with “Classical Gas” while the 5th Dimension (who appeared on Glen’s show & had big Jimmy Webb hits!) were on #3 with “Stoned Soul Picnic”. And that was not all – “Lady Willpower” by Gary Puckett & the Union Gap was at #7 featuring Glen on guitar, and the Vogues had their first Top 10 in three years with (the Glen Campbell-penned) “Turn Around, Look At Me”.

5) He was an award-nominated actor…

What was the last time you heard of a celebrated session musician who went on to join one of the biggest bands in the world, and who was also nominated for a Golden Globe? Exactly – but that was Glen Campbell for you… nominated for “Most Promising Newcomer” for his turn on the original ‘True Grit'(1969)! 

6) … and an Oscar-nominated songwriter!

Glen was brilliant until the end. After announcing his retirement due to Alzheimer’s, Glen recorded his final song, “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” with members of the Wrecking Crew, for the documentary “Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me.” The result? A heart-breaking beauty that got him nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar at the 87th Academy Awards!

7) Glen inspired a generation of younger rock musicians

Like Johnny Cash before him, Campbell branched out to perform modern rock’n’roll songs in his later years, covering tracks from bands as diverse as U2, Foo Fighters and Green Day on one of his last albums. Musicians who lined up to work with him in his final records include Paul Westerberg from the Replacements (who wrote Ghost On The Canvas), Jellyfish, The Wallflowers singer Jakob Dylan, Chris Isaak, Rick Nielsen and Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins.

8) ‘Wichita Lineman’

The song, written by Jimmy Webb, is arguably Glen Campbell’s greatest moment. A timeless classic, which also inspired many guitarists to try a baritone guitar!

9) All those guitar solos…

At the end of the day, we can’t underestimate Glen Campbell as a guitarist… what a wonderful player! This video compilation says it all:

10) …and let’s not forget the guitars!

Besides having introduced the baritone guitars to many players, over the years he could be seen playing some amazing guitars, including many Mosrites which, as those who are familiar with My Rare Guitars will know, is one of our favourite brands!

Here’s some of our top Glen Campbell guitar photos:

Glen Campbell and a Mosrite 12-string

Glen Campbellin the studio with a Mosrite Celebrity III semi-acoustic

Glen Campbellin with a Ovation semi-acoustic

Glen Campbell and a Gretsch Country Gentleman

Glen Campbell and a customised Mosrite Californian dobro guitar

Young Glen Campbell with his Teico T60

Read more:

Glen Campbell: the guitar prodigy represented the best of pop and country

Remembering Glen Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) from MyRareGuitars.com

It came as no surprise that the Washington Post’s The Slow Death Of The Electric Guitar article got everyone talking, a few weeks ago. After all, we all love guitars, so this couldn’t possibly be true! Or could it? The fact is, though, that even though nothing the article said was factually incorrect – hence the fact it was  a relevant read – the conclusions it came to where quite off the mark. Not quite fake news territory then, but misleading news. 

What was wrong about the Washington Post article?

The very title of the article seems to suggest that at some point, the guitar will simply die off – which is a totally ridiculous idea. 

Jimi Hendrix guitar on fire

Rock’n’roll is still alive and kicking – and while it does, so will the electric guitar. Even jazz is still alive and, while not a major chart concern, there’s still a wealth of jazz musicians making a living worldwide. So when it comes to electric guitars and rock’n’roll music – both of which penetrated popular culture far more deeply than jazz – you can amplify this for a thousand times, and realize we’re all in safe territory here, after all – any news about the demise of rock’n’roll and/or electric guitars is just nonsense.

With this in mind, we’ll discuss 5 points that show that the Washington Post article was simply… wrong!

1) The big brands are in trouble, not the electric guitar

One of the guys knows everything about guitars. The other one is Slash. Or so Henry Juszkiewicz probably thinks…

The nature of popular music and of the market have changed dramatically, that’s for sure – but that doesn’t mean the electric guitar will die anytime soon. The main problem with that article, is that it just gives too much importance to the big names such as Gibson, Fender, Guitar Center, and to mainstream music.  

We all know what happened to dinosaurs. And the same is bound to happen with people who think like dinos, in this business! Even though we all owe a lot to brands such as Gibson and Fender, who made some of the most legendary guitars ever, it doesn’t mean they are God-given gifts to mankind who should expect to have loyal customers no matter what, just because rock legends have played their instruments.

These brands are subject to the same market forces as any other, smaller brands – and if their products are not good enough or not available at the right price point, they won’t sell. What’s true to a bunch of bananas at your local market is true to a Gibson Mike McCready 1959 Les Paul Standard Vintage Gloss guitar. 

It shouldn’t be a surprise that people are not queuing around the block to pay $6699 for a Gibson Mike McCready 1959 Les Paul Standard Vintage Gloss…

It’s not that the electric guitar as an instrument is dying – it’s just that the biggest brands associated with it are, well, not in the best health:

“Gibson and Fender are in debt, and a third, PRS Guitars, had to cut staff and expand production of cheaper guitars” – The Washington Post

Is it any wonder??? For far too long, they’ve made guitars which are far too expensive and, sometimes, not even that great. Therefore, sales were bound to go down. What did anyone expect?

Many guitarists will tell you that a Squier Classic Vibe will look, feel and sound as good if not better than some more expensive Fenders, for instance.

And in fact, lots of people are still collecting guitars – but the notion that there’ll always be a vast demand for top-of-the-range expensive models is unrealistic – even though that’s exactly what Fender, Gibson and PRS expect.

There is still a (small) market for very expensive guitars, and that’s why many boutique luthiers still survive and even thrive. But the bigger brands are just counting on their name – and this is just not cutting it anymore. If a guitar is not good value-for-money, it won’t sell.

2) And YES: Guitar Heroes still matter!

Jack White is proof that modern guitar heroes DO exist

Baby Boomers became guitar collectors, but most younger people won’t  – however, this doesn’t mean they feel less inspired by guitar heroes than past generations.

Younger players have grown up in a world that’s increasingly unstable, with unstable jobs and future – not as many will have money to spare on very expensive guitar collections. 

“Now those boomers are retiring, downsizing and adjusting to fixed incomes. They’re looking to shed, not add to, their collections, and the younger generation isn’t stepping in to replace them.” – The Washington Post

Big brands need to realise that the era of the moneyed “Baby Boomers” buying lot sof guitars is coming to an end – and no amount of guitar-hero worshipping will change this. 

The Washington Post mistakenly assumes that younger people are not becoming collectors because they don’t have guitar heroes. This is not quite true.

There are still lots of people picking up a guitar and being inspired by the same idols who inspired their (grand)dads! Anyone can go to YouTube and feel inspired by the sounds and antics of all the great guitar heroes – Clapton, Hendrix, Page, Townshend and so on… even though they are not in the charts anymore, their music is actually more accessible than it has ever been!

Not to mention more recent names such as Kurt Cobain, Noel Gallagher, Jack White and Dan Auerbach, who still inspire many new guitarists. (as we know from sales of the Airline models, for instance…)

But are they going to spend mega bucks on a guitar collection just to copy their idols? Hell, no! 

Younger people can love Sixties Eric Clapton as much as anyone who grew up in the era, and still this wouldn’t make them spend thousands to buy a new The Journeyman Relic Eric Clapton Signature Strat!

3) Guitar x Amp x FX Pedals: It’s not all about guitars, you know…

Guitarists are NOT spending less on FX pedals… that’s for sure!

From a gigging guitarist perspective, it’s also important to notice that collecting expensive guitars is NOT necessarily top of the list for most people active in music, be it playing in bands or just making music at home. 

Why buy a super expensive guitar when you can spend the money on lots of cool FX pedals and valve amps? Jack White was a recent proof that you didn’t need to have an expensive guitar to create a great sound. But he had the help of a great Fender Twin Reverb, Electro-Harmonix Big Muff, Digitech Whammy etc.

There’s lots of bands playing with cheap or reasonably priced guitars – but at the same time using expensive valve amps, boutique FX pedals like the ones by Strymon… sometimes it’s not even a matter of money – but HOW you spend it. And in this day and age, expensive guitars will always lose, and quite often musicians will prefer second-hand guitars, but get brand new boutique fx pedals.  Which lead us to the next point…

4) The Booming Second-Hand Market

Buying second-hand is often a great option, from sites such as Reverb.com

The declining sale numbers for new guitars does not necessarily reflect a loss of popularity of the instrument. Well, it probably does a bit, but the point is that many guitarists prefer to buy second-hand instruments on sites such as Ebay and Reverb.com.  You can bet there are still many guitar collectors out there who buy lots of guitars – but the vast majority of them probably won’t be buying new models.

Also, is it realistic to expect that the market for brand new guitars (especially high-end Fender, Gibson, PRS…) should be an ever expanding one? Many guitar buyers are not that bothered about having a brand new instrument when they plan to buy a guitar. If you want to make your money go further, or want to get something maybe cool and more interesting, you might look at second-hand guitars, rare vintage guitars etc.

A guitar brand might even have “loyal” customers who’ve never bought more than one new guitar off them – if that! This kind of player won’t be helping the fortunes of a guitar brand like Gibson, because their commitment to the brand does not reflect on year-on-year sales.

5) Go to a gig & see it for yourself!

Is rock’n’roll dead? Is the electric guitar dying? Go tell Thee Oh Sees and their sell-out crowds…

The bottom line? It doesn’t matter if more or less people are buying brand news guitars, or how many bands in the Top 20 are inspiring kids to get guitar lessons! We don’t need Taylor Swift to save the electric guitar.

There are LOTS of people out there buying used gear, getting inspired by bands who’d never been in the Top 20, and learning instruments on their own. 

Young people still feel inspired by all the (fewer than before, sure) major acts who play guitar – but the point is, so many other bands not in the top of the charts are still out there, playing live to thousands of people at sold out gigs, festivals worldwide etc. Just go to a gig by acts such as Thee Oh Sees, Black Angels, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Courtney Barnett and so many others, and festivals such as SXSW, Austin Psych Fest etc and you’ll see that guitar music and rock’n’roll music is as alive as ever – if not more! 

It just feels that people who periodically announce the death of rock’n’roll and/or of the electric guitar actually know nothing about either. They’re both alive and well. At the end of the day, it’s up to each one of us to make sure this song remains the same…

BREAKING NEWS: The Guitar Is NOT Dead from MyRareGuitars.com

On a recent interview on the Eastwood website, Jeff Senn Explained the inspiration behind his new design, which also has a certain hint of the legendary Supro Ozark to it.

“When I was building the original Continental for myself it was built with a vintage Supro pickup in the bridge position and a vintage Guyatone pickup in the neck position. When we decided to make The Continental available as a production instrument I chose pickups that evoked a similar tonality but were easily accessible. 

“It’s a very versatile combination as the guitar can twang, growl, sparkle and cover many genres of music from Punk to Western Swing, Blues and Jazz. I’m personally drawn to guitars that I can take on almost any gig without worrying if they will fit the style of music. Versatility is a good thing and this is what I had in mind for The Continental. Another aspect of the pickup choices is that they are easily replaceable with a plethora of choices should the player want a different sound or output. By mounting the mini-humbucker in a P-90 rout the mini can be traded out easily for a P-90 should the owner wish to, which would be another great version of the instrument.”

Read the full Jeff Senn interview here.

More about the Continental by Jeff Senn

The Continental by Jeff Senn

It’s worth mentioning that The Continental is NOT in production just yet (March 31 as we write this) because this is a new crowdfunding project by the Eastwood Custom Shop. Even though the guitar was designed by Jeff Senn, this model won’t be manufactured or sold by Jeff Senn Guitars, Senn’s own brand.

Those interested can simply pay a deposit ($200 for hardtail version, $250 for Bigsby version) via the Eastwood Continental Page, to guarantee theirs – if Eastwood reach their target! If they don’t reach at least 100% of their goal, the guitar won’t be made and those who left a deposit will be refunded.

Crowdfunding ends on April 27, 2017.

But, oh boy… it’s such a beautiful guitar, that we can only hope she’ll get made! It would be a shame otherwise, wouldn’t it?

New Jeff Senn & Eastwood Custom Shop Guitar from MyRareGuitars.com

David Bowie has had many different faces and personas over the years, but, surprisingly, one has been overlooked by most – David Bowie, the guitarist. In a way, it’s not very surprisingly, considering he was far from being a guitar hero, and, most importantly, has collaborated with some truly stellar guitarists who contributed greatly to his music, including: Mick Ronson, Carlos Alomar, Earl Slick, Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Nile Rodgers and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Quite an impressive list!

Which Guitars Did David Bowie Play?

Though not primarily a guitarist, Bowie had a consistent taste for vintage, rare guitars and his choice of instrument often changed with his ever-changing musical directions. Here’s a guide to some of his most notable guitars. We usually talk about electric guitars, but in Bowie’s case we can’t help but mention a few acoustics, too… after all, he was a huge fan of 12-string acoustic models, throughout his career! In any case – Bowie was a true connoisseur, and his choice of guitars over the years is nothing short of fascinating! 

Here’s Bowie’s career – in 20 rare, amazing guitars.

1) Framus 12-String Acoustic (1965-66)

Of course, many of you will know that Bowie started his musical career as a saxophone player, and then became the frontman of different bands (The Mannish Boys, The Lower Third) but never playing a guitar. This pic of an young David Jones with a Framus 12-string  is the earliest photograph of Bowie with a guitar.

David Bowie circa 1965-66 with Framus 12-string 

According to Bowie biographer Paul Trynka, Bowie bought a guitar in late 1965. Considering Bowie’s well-documented taste for 12-string acoustics in later years, it’s fair to assume that the Framus in the photograph was indeed his first guitar, though there has never been any specific information about it. It’s interesting to note that his guitar had pickup, volume and tone controls – perhaps it was modded and bought second-hand by the still struggling Bowie. Little trivia: the guitar was redburst. 

Playing guitar was an important step in David Bowie’s career, as he started to use the instrument to compose songs, such as “Maid Of Bond Street” and his first true classic, “Can’t Help Thinking About Me”.

2) Gibson B45 12-String (1968-69)

Bowie performing with Feathers

After the commercial failure of his 1967 debut album, Bowie tried other directions, including joining Lindsey Kemp’s mime troup, buddhism and forming folky trio Feathers with his girlfriend Hermione Farthingale and John Hutchinson. During this period, Bowie used a Gibson B-45 12-string acoustic.

Gibson B-45, as played by David Bowie

He’s never been seen or photographed with this guitar again, after the end of Feathers. We actually believe this is the first time this guitar has ever been mentioned in relation to Bowie, as we couldn’t find anything else elsewhere. Well, now you know!

3) Hagstrom 12-String Acoustic (1969-1972)

Bowie live at the Beckenham Free Festival in 1969, with his Hagstrom.

This is perhaps Bowie’s most legendary guitar. It’s believed it’s the one he used to write his first hit, ‘Space Oddity’, as well as used live and to write most ‘Ziggy Stardust’-era songs, including ‘Starman’.

Curiously enough, the guitar is now on display at the ‘Beatles Story’ museum, in Liverpool. At some point, it seems to have had pickup and tone & volume controls added to it, though it’s not shown with this configuration in any Bowie photos.

David Bowie’s Hagstrom on display in Liverpool.

4) Espana 12-String Acoustic (1969)

Bowie and his Espana 12-string

This guitar was used on a famous promo shot for the ‘Space Oddity’ single, but strangely enough, there’s not a whole lot info about it. It might have been used just as a prop for the photograph. It looks very similar to the Hagstrom 12-string, and it could indeed be the one he’s using in other pics and footage, but it’s hard to be sure!

5) Guild 12-String Acoustic (1971)

David Bowie live in 1971 with Guild 12-string

When David Bowie toured the US for the first time, to promote ‘The Man Who Sold The World’ in 1971, he could be seen playing a Guild 12-string acoustic. There’s no report or pics of him using one before or since, so he probably just borrowed it for the tour.

6) Harptone 12-string (1972-83)

Bowie and his Ziggy-era Harptone 12-string

This Harptone 12-string is “the” Ziggy-era Bowie acoustic. He used it when touring with the Spiders From Mars and this guitar can be seen on most footage from the era. 

Curiously enough, it seems Bowie decided to dust it off years later, after the release of Let’s Dance, as this live pic suggests:

Eighties Bowie meets Ziggy-era acoustic.

7) Harptone 12-String Jumbo (1972-75)

Bowie Harptone 12 Jumbo

Many people don’t realise this, but Bowie also regularly used ANOTHER Harptone 12-string, which at first sight looks similar to the previous one, but you’ll notice that it has a different scratchplate and is also bigger. He used this model on the second, Ziggy-era “Space Oddity” video; during the Ziggy tour and up until the Young Americans- era.

8) Egmond 12-String, Blue (1972)

Bowie and his blue Egmond.

This is one of Bowie’s most important guitars – if not for anything else, simply for being the guitar he used on the watershed moment of his career – playing “Starman” on Top Of The Pops, which finally launched Bowie as a bona fide popstar in the UK! He also used the Egmond on a few promo shots, and that seems to be about it.

9) Vox Teardrop Mark XII 12-String (1972)

There’s no record of Bowie using this cool Vox guitar other than in 1972, for promo pics. Years later, he used a Vox Teardrop Mark VI for the recording of one of his best songs in the Eighties, ‘Absolute Beginners’. The guitar is now on display at the Hard Rock Cafe in Warsaw. There’s no photo of him and this guitar, though.

10) Gibson 1972 Deluxe Les Paul (1972)

David Bowie and a Gibson Les Paul

David Bowie was always very conscious about his image and symbolism. That’s why he posed with a borrowed Les Paul on the cover of the “Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars” album – to show the world he was now a tougher, “rock’n’roll” act.  Maybe for this reason, he was up for using a Les Paul during his 1972 USA tour.

Presented to Bowie by Gibson, he used it live and on the ‘Jean Genie’ promo film. But given his more esoteric tastes in guitars, it’s not surprising that it soon became Mick Ronson’s back up guitar, never to be used by Bowie again. 

11) Hagstrom I Kent PB- 24-G (1974)

Now we’re talking! The red Hagstrom I Kent PB-24G guitar was Bowie’s first truly iconic electric guitar, which Eastwood Guitars are now bringing back – check it out HERE.

Though many fans will recognise and love it, this guitar was only used in promo shots for his ‘Diamond Dogs’ album, and there’s no record of him ever using it elsewhere, apart from a TV appearance:

As most hardcore Bowie fans may know, he played most guitar parts on the ‘Diamond Dogs’ album, but according to those who worked with him, his guitar choice during the sessions was a Dan Armstrong plexiglass model – which he’s never been pictured with… a shame! Unless, those recollections are slightly wrong and they really meant the next guitar…

12) Dan Armstrong 341 (1976)

Bowie’s Dan Armstrong 341

Yes, David Bowie had for sure another Dan Armstrong guitar, but it was not a plexiglass model! Auctioned in 1991, this is an important guitar. Besides featuring on a famous pic used for the Sound + Vision compilation, it was also used to write one of Bowie’s finest albums. According to Bowie, in ’91: “I’ve had this Dan Armstrong guitar since the early 70s. I wrote most of the songs for Station to Station on it.” Considering the cronology, it may have been used on ‘Diamond Dogs’, too.

13) Custom Fender Telecaster, Natural (1976)

Bowie and a customized Fender Telecaster

During the tour to promote ‘Station To Station’, Bowie played a custom Fender Telecaster, with 3 pickups with individual on/off switches. A pretty cool guitar, never seen since.

14) Fender Stratocaster, Red and Sunburst (1977)

Bowie and his Red Strat

Two  more conventional choices, during Bowie’s least conventional period! In 1977 Bowie could be seen playing a red Stratocaster for the ‘Be My Wife’ promo, one of the most commercial tracks from ‘Low’, which became a single. 

Bowie was also spotted playing a sunburst Strat that same year, for his duet with Marc Bolan, on Bolan’s TV show. This guitar belonged to Marc, who gave it to Bowie as he turned up without one on the day!

David Bowie with a Strat and Marc Bolan.

15) Gibson L4, Black (1989-90)

Bowie and his Gibson L4

Owned and used by David Bowie in the studio, on stage and while on tour with Tin Machine, accompanied by a Sound + Vision tour program showing Bowie playing this guitar, a signed letter of authenticity from Reeves Grabels and guitar picks. The guitar can be seen in videos for the Tin Machine 1 album, in Music News reports and was used heavily in the studio for the recording of Tin Machine II. 

16) Gibson Chet Atkins Country Gentleman, Wine Red (1990)

Bowie and his Gretsch Chet Atkins Country Gentleman

The guitar was used on stage by Bowie during his March – September of 1990, Sound + Vision World Tour.

Bowie also subsequently used this guitar during studio sessions for his 1995 concept album “Outside.”

17) Takamine FP 400SC (1990)

Bowie and his 12-string Takamine

Bowie used this guitar during his 1990 Sound + Vision tour. It was his main acoustic guitar then, used on classic hits such as ‘Space Odyssey’. The tour included 108 concerts over seven months in more than 80 cities around the world. Bowie promoted the tour as a “greatest hits” tour and stated it was the last time he was going to play songs from his back catalog. 

18) Steinberger GL2, Custom Silver (1991-92)

Bowie and hiscustom Steinberger

Bowie was a big fan of headless guitars, since he saw Tin Machine’s Reeves Gabrel’s: “David saw mine and decided he wanted one like it. My guitar tech, Andy Spray, called the factory in Newburgh to see if they could make another chrome L series. Apparently, they had a guitar they used as a test run for the chroming process. That one had a normal fretboard (it did not have a chromed fretboard) making Bowie’s copycat completely playable while mine was not. The non chromed fretboard is the easiest way to tell them apart.”

19) Supro Dual Tone (2003)

Bowie and his Supro Dual Tone

The Supro Dual Tone is one of his most iconic later-years guitars. He used it during his last world tour, in 2003, and it even appears on his 2010 live album of that tour, ‘A Reality Tour’:

Bowie ‘A Reality Tour’ cover

More recently, Eastwood did a great job at recreating this model (first made famous by Link Wray in the Fifties) as the Airline Twin Tone – a fitting tribute to Wray’s model, but now also a great choice for fans of Bowie who also play guitar…

The Airline Twin Tone DLX, inspired by a Supro like Bowie’s. NOW FOR SALE! Only $754 USD

20) Hohner G2, Red (2013)

Bowie and his Hohner G2

Bowie went back to a headless guitar in the video of ‘Valentine’s Day’, from his superb comeback album ‘The Next Day’. As ever, his choice of instrument was unusual but made total sense with his tastes over the years. Unique just like the man himself.

The Guitars Of David Bowie from MyRareGuitars.com

Booking is an integral facet to your business. Your product is your music and there are only 2 real ways to consume music; listening to recorded material and going to a show to listen to a band. In a lot of ways, booking shows can be very easy.  Often times band members / managers make it harder on themselves than they should. Like anything in the business world, there are do’s and don’t’s that will either help propel you forward or keep you stagnant. 

First and foremost, you need recorded music.  A talent buyer at any venue will require that you send over a physical press kit or an EPK (electronic press kit). Your press kit must have audio files of your music (preferably .mp3 or .wav), band photos, a band biography, a list of venues you have played, a stage plot and input list, a rider (specific needs for the show: i.e. hospitality, lodging, etc.), and bands you have played with.  Additives that help your press kit stand out include a cover page, any accolades or awards, and / or live videos or music videos (more applicable for an EPK).  There are platforms online that can assist you in making a press kit. Reverb Nation and Sonic Bids are both helpful in creating EPK’s within their specific network. If you aren’t interested in connecting with either of those platforms, you can always customize your own via your website. If you don’t have a website, you should consider making one. Websites are a one-stop-shop for talent buyers and promoters to find the information the need from bands. Website building sites like squarespace, wix, or weebly are great for musicians that aren’t familiar with coding.

 
Next, you need to understand your market. If you are a folk group, you probably won’t have great shows playing night clubs (given that the night clubs agree to take you). I say probably because every situation is different. This goes back to really understanding your market.  If the night club specializes in folk music then my example is null and void. The best rule of thumb is booking shows in the places where your colleagues (those playing similar sounding tunes) have previously booked shows.  Understanding your market also derives from understanding who the talent buyer is in each club / venue.  Make a list of names / emails and provide a fun fact about each talent buyer (if possible).  It’s good practice to keep track of who you’re dealing with professionally, but also who they are as people (life skill ALERT). 

“Music and music business are two different things” – Erykah Badu

With thousands of venues that exist in any one region, it can be difficult to get a grasp for each club’s genre preference.  If you aren’t familiar with your local scene, investigate by going to shows and seeing what clubs are doing. Look for handbills / posters for other shows and investigate the sound of the bands on the line up. If you are looking to book outside of your local scene, you can lean on websites like Indie On The Move or Do DIY.  These sites have concise lists of existing venues and genres of music they have performing. Fair warning, I have run into issues where their websites were out of date and the venue has changed or no longer exists.  Make sure you double check your work by following up with a phone call or email.

A big part of the booking process deals with the onsite behavior of the band you are in/manage. It’s good practice to establish a courteous culture among your group while at your shows.  Often, bands confuse being an artist with being an asshole. If you sell out your show, but are still a pain to work with, the venue has reason not to ask you back. Many artists are plagued by this due to the classic example of musicians demanding only blue m&m’s. Most often these bands ask for blue m&m’s to see if the venue is paying attention to detail. If the m&m’s are different than requested in the rider, that translates to other, potential more damaging mishaps with the rider (i.e. bad sound, no hospitality, etc.).  Simply clean up after yourself, mind your p’s and q’s, and be thankful for the opportunity to play a show.  By and large, you can always conduct your business professionally and courteously.

Lastly, once the show is over and you are moving on to your next venue, be sure to stay in touch with the venues you played previously.  “Thank You” notes are a great way to follow up with the buyer.  It may seem frivolous, but as I mentioned before, we are all human and like being appreciated. At very least, send a follow up email to say thank you. Now go book some shows.

Once again, if you have any questions relating to booking a show, or have any suggestions for me to write specifically on any particular topic, feel free to email me at bcspencer2013@gmail.com

Your Band as a Business: Booking Shows from MyRareGuitars.com

Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead, one of the players who discovered the joys of a Teisco offset – she plays the bass version of the TG-64, the TB-64 now being resurrected by Eastwood. VIEW INFO

Don’t get us wrong – we love a good Jazzmaster, Jaguar or Mustang. Fender was and still is the big daddy of the offset guitars. But if familiarity doesn’t always have to bring contempt, on the other hand many of us prefer guitars with that little spark of mystery, which add to an unique touch when you’re on stage, or simply helps making it more interesting to play. That’s why a few lucky guitarists can’t help but loving their rare, 1960’s Teisco TG-64. Let’s be honest, it has a certain mojo lacking in modern-day Jazzmasters!

The Forgotten Offset Classic?

While its shape is familar, it’s all about those other details: three single coil pickups stripy scratchplate, push buttons and that cut-out handle on the body – what’s it all about? One of those features no one really needs, but which in fact looks pretty cool. It was the Sixties, after all, and who knows what the designers were smoking, then!

Original Teisco TG-64

The thing about Teisco guitars, is that they were unashamedly cheap knock offs of bigger brands such as Fender – but with enough personality to stand out on their own. They were never meant to be GREAT guitars, but put them through a valve amp and a good fuzz pedal, and it could be the coolest thing ever.  Originally unpopular offset models such as the Jazzmaster and Jaguar were affordable, and for this reason rediscovered in the Seventies by Punk and New Wave acts, but as soon as they became a staple in 90s alt-rock, thanks to Nirvana, Sonic Youth and others, they became prized commodities – and, somewhere along the way, lost just a little bit of their “cool” factor (for all it’s worth!).

Owning a Teisco TG-64 is a bit like owning a Jazzmaster back in 1976 – because it’s still an odd and rather cool choice, not seen too often. Some of the people who’ve used one recently include Blonde Redhead and Conor Oberst. But this model is still not the easiest to find! This is perhaps the coolest of all non-Fender offset guitars, and certainly a “forgotten classic”!

Conor Oberst and his Teisco TG-64

Eastwood Custom TG-64 Monkey Grip

It’s great news that Eastwood Custom are planning to reissue the Teisco TG-64. The plan is to make it even better than the original, but still quite affordable. While in the past Teisco were cool but cheap guitars, the new ones are of much better quality. If you’re looking for a cool alternative to a Fender Jaguar or Jazzmaster that really stands out, maybe the new Eastwood Custom TG-64 will do the trick for you.

Eastwood Custom TG-64 Monkey Grip

At the moment guitarists have to pledge a small amount to guarantee theirs… if you’re interested, hurry up, because opportunity ends TODAY (17th November)

VIEW EASTWOOD TG-64 PAGE FOR INFO

Eastwood Custom TB-64 Monkey Grip

Teisco TB-64… new Eastwood custom project. Find out more

The Teisco TB-64 looks very closely to the TG-64, but with a few differences besides the longer scale: a more “Fender-y” headstock, different neck joint and a vibrato arm closer to the edge of the body. Yes, it might’ve been inspired – in principle – on the Fender Bass VI but, frankly, has quite a marked difference… and, dare we say, looks much better?

Eastwood launched a custom shop project to reissue the TB-64, ending on April 20, 2017. They’ve successfully crowdfunded the TG-64 and it looks likely the TB-64 will also get made… but the best way to make sure this happens, and to guarantee yours, is of course to help crowdfunding and leave your pledge, too!

VIEW EASTWOOD TB-64 PAGE FOR INFO

Watch: Teisco TG-64 Demo

Forgotten Offset Guitars: Teisco TG-64 from MyRareGuitars.com

Strange but true, reissues can become collectables too (on the left an early ‘60s Danelectro Longhorn, on the right its late ‘90s reissue).

Sound familiar?

While I’ve been a long-time happy member of the Guitar Nut fraternity, I’ve also had a little advantage: I’m also a trained and accomplished guitar tech, and that means I can buy an instrument that needs work and do the work myself, whether I intend to keep it or re-sell it. Often, that’s not just a cost saving, it can also mean the difference between snapping up a bargain on a decent guitar (for fun or profit!) or getting stuck with an unplayable and unsellable pile of wood and metal.

About that “pile of wood and metal”, I’ll mention here that a repair client of mine who is a piano technician once referred to any piano that needs more work than it’s worth as a Piano-Shaped Object or PSO for short. I liked that and have since referred to any guitar as a Guitar-Shaped Object (or GSO) if it is so far gone that its restoration would take much more time, effort and money than it’s worth. GSO…remember that term. It will come up from time to time.

Anyway, that’s the angle I’d like to take in this series of articles for Eastwood: the happy marriage between technical knowledge and smart guitar collecting. For me, it’s a marriage that has worked for more than forty years.  For you, I want it to be an introduction to what you need to know to become a Smarter Guitar Nut too, with a special focus on oddball and unusual instruments. This is, after all, written for Eastwood!

The subjects I’ll cover include:

• Generally, what to look for (and look out for) in a guitar
• How to recognize whether the instrument is in original condition
• What parts can be replaced to improve playability without hurting its collectable value
• What types of repair work or improvements are usually required in most guitars and how to do those repairs without affecting a guitar’s collectable value
• Originals vs. reissues: which is better for you and how a re-issue can become a collectable itself

Probably the most common modification to vintage instruments: New tuners. When should this be done? How should it be done ? And, when should it not be done?

For each of these subjects, I’ll be getting into how you can do these things yourself and when to know that a pro should become involved. Ultimately, the goal is to make you a more knowledgeable guitar owner and collector.

First, here’s a little relevant personal history. I started repairing instruments when I was a teenager. I’d brought my prized Rickenbacker bass to a local shop to have it set up. I don’t think I even knew what “set up” meant…all I knew was it ought to get done. I must have read it somewhere.

When the bass was ready, the shop charged me only $6 rather than the expected $8 (remember, this was a long time ago!) because, as they explained, they couldn’t intonate the E string; the bridge saddle had been pulled back as far as it would go and the string was still slightly sharp when played up the neck. I was happy enough to save $2 (like I said, this was a long time ago) but, as well, my interest was tweaked. I asked what “intonation” meant and the explanation I got inspired me to pursue the issue.

The modern solution for Riks with intonation problems: The Hipshot Bridge. There are many modern parts that can improve vintage instruments without modiufication.

I went home and filed the E string saddle slot to enable a bit more backwards adjustment and the operation was a complete success. From that moment on, I was both able to set up my own instruments and do favours for my musical friends. Most important, I’d learned two important basic principles about guitar repair that I’d like to impart to you now:

• If you understand why and how something is supposed to work on a guitar, you will more likely be able to figure out what needs to be done when it isn’t working as it should; and,
• If you inspect the situation, plan and carry out the work carefully, you can be successful.

Should you install side position dots on a vintage neck that doesn’t have them? We’ll discuss.

All that, of course, has to be considered in the context of your skill level with basic repair techniques and tools. At the very least, applying the principles above will help you recognize when you need professional help. It will also make you a much more knowledgeable repair customer. That’s a real head start for you and, again, a potential cost savings.

So, to conclude my own story, I eventually got a job with Fender’s Canadian distributor doing warranty repairs, set-ups and even some custom work on new instruments. I went on to become one of the early partners in The Twelfth Fret, Toronto’s premier guitarists’ pro shop that’s still going strong almost 40 years later. I then formed the Amazing Musical Instrument Company, which manufactured innovative acoustic-electric instruments, primarily violins. For the past 30 years I’ve maintained a shop in my basement to do various repairs for a number of local guitarists and on the guitars that I buy, sell and keep.

In the foreground, this Longhorn has had a metal strap button installed on the horn rather than the heel to improve balance and stability. Ideally, a modification to a vintage instrument should be reversible, like this one.

At each phase of my work I acquired new skills, experience and knowledge that I think will be useful to you and anyone interested in guitars and guitar collecting.

In my next article, we’ll start that process by looking at what you should look for in any guitar to make sure you don’t end up with – as you now know it’s called – a GSO.

THE SMARTER GUITAR NUT #1: So, You Want to be a Smarter Guitar Nut from MyRareGuitars.com

First and foremost, congratulations for taking the time to better curate musical success. Seeking out articles of this nature will take you, as well as those involved in your music, to the next level.

Do yourself a favor and continue to research periodicals that will help advance your knowledge of this ever changing industry. I’ll attach some of my favorites at the end.

You did it. You formed a band, or a band has approached you to help them get to the next level. Now what? There are 3 things that will get you far in the industry. Those 3 things can be incredible assets on their own, but in unity, they will continue to open doors throughout your career.

Talent: Let’s be completely honest. In any business your product needs to reflect what people desire.  You will be hard pressed to sell your work to anyone that isn’t close friends or family (not to discount those folks, but they are your ‘ride or dies’. They are in it for the long haul). Put in the hours in the practice room or put emphasis on the creative process for the band you manage. The better the music, the more people that will gravitate to you. That means more money to put into your pocket or, IDEALLY, to put back into the band (I’ll get into fiscal responsibility later).

“The man at the top of the mountain didn’t fall there.” – Vince Lombardi JR.

Knowledge: Not knowing how to plan ahead is one of the biggest mistakes made by band operators. You need to constantly check where the best music is being heard, where that music is being played, and what opportunities are best for exposure.  These are the fun questions.  You need to get to know the PRO’s that exist (Performing Rights Organizations) so that your music is protected and you can hopefully start collecting royalties. Learn how to best route your band when putting together a tour.  Learn how to balance your profit / loss with every penny that comes in and out. Watch your favorite bands and see how they put together marketing campaigns for releasing music. Basically, the learning never ends, but this shouldn’t come as a shock. If you want to do something to your best ability then you have to eat, drink, sleep, dream (day / night) whatever it is that you are involved in.

Drive: In my subjective opinion, this is quite possibly the most important asset of the 3.  Without drive, the other two assets can be hampered exponentially.  If you ONLY have drive, you will be better off than someone with talent, knowledge, or potentially even a combination of those two.  You have the ability to work incredibly hard, and nobody should convince you otherwise. If you have the magic combination of all 3 assets, then doors will continually open for you.

 There is a plethora of roads that we’ll go down in the coming articles that will introduce you to specifics within the industry.  Throughout your career, managing your “Big 3” will be incredibly important to the success of your band. Continue to seek out periodicals and learn more about the industry. Ask lots of questions and continue to work at your craft.

Here are some books that have helped my business grow.  Keep in mind that some of this information is out of date, but the themes are still incredibly important.

http://amzn.to/2d8abBV

http://bit.ly/2e29jff

http://bit.ly/2e6vxB6

If you have any questions for me, or want me to write about any specific topic within developing your band as a business, don’t hesitate to email me at bcspencer2013@gmail.com

Your Band as a Business: The Big Three from MyRareGuitars.com

Limited Edition Airline Twin Tone Double Cut – only 24 Made. (Reg Price $499)

Airline Guitars has produced a limited edition Twin Tone Double Cut. Order yours TODAY!

20% OFF this week only. Just $399 while supplies last plus FREE SHIPPING

Specifications:

• Colours: White
• Body: Basswood
• Neck: Maple, Bolt-on
• Fingerboard: Rosewood, Block Markers
• Scale Length: 24 3/4″
• Width at Nut: 1 5/8″
• Pickups: Two Hot-Rail Humbuckers
• Switching: 3-Way
• Controls: 2 Volume, 2 Tone
• Bridge: Fully adjustable Tune-O-Matic
• Hardware: Gotoh style Nickel/Chrome
• Strings: 10-46 D’Addario
• Case: extra – gigbag $39, hardshell case $99
• Unique Features: Limited Edition – only 24 available

Watch this product demonstration by Keith McFadden:

Limited Edition Twin Tone Double Cut – only 24 Made from MyRareGuitars.com

Intruducing the Airline NEWPORT. It is Eastwood’s take on the rare National Newport Val-Pro 88 from the late 50’s and early 60’s. It features two NY Mini Humbuckers and a Piezo pickup in the bridge with a 5-way swtich. Tones of tonal variations! 

Buy Yours Here!

SPECIFICATIONS:

Body: Tone Chambered Mahogany
Neck: Maple, Bolt-on
Fingerboard: Maple, Sharks Tooth Fret Markers
Scale Length: 24 3/4″ Scale, Zero Fret
Width at Nut: 1 5/8″
Pickups: Dual NY Mini Humbuckers, Piezo Bridge
Switching: 5-way
Controls: 1 Volume, 1 Tone for each pickup, master volume
Bridge: Tun-o-matic
Hardware: Grover Style Nickel/Chrome
Strings: D’Addario #10
Case: INCLUDED
Unique Features: Rubber body binding, Piezo bridge pickup

More pictures:

Airline ’59 Newport features PIEZO Bridge Pickup from MyRareGuitars.com

Phil Jones Pure Sound

by Dave Anderson

It’s interesting to think that the majority of gear that we lust after as players was designed over 60 years ago. Strats, Les Pauls, 335’s, Tele’s, Fender tube amps, even the Flying V and Explorer, all designed in the 1950’s. In fact the majority of boutique gear currently being made is a rehash of these same designs from decades ago.

In an age where we have bluetooth everything, cell phones, touch screens, online commerce, LED lighting, MP3s, etc…we still plug our archaic electric guitars into our vacuum tube amplifiers and proceed to rock out. Other than our ’50’s era eyeglass wear (which will most likely fall out of fashion sooner or later), I can’t think of another facet of our lives that is a throw back to the mid century…ok, there is that IKEA coffee table…

Not even throw back….we don’t seek out these hand wired relics of rock because it is simply fashionable, it really is the best means for great tone! Right?

England native, Phil Jones is a natural born electronics/audio geek. Around the age of 13, he “borrowed” some magnets from school and hand wound a double bass pickup on a record player, ( He dug it out of a closet and showed me…amazing!). As a child he raided dumpsters in search of old tv’s and radios that he could dissect and turn into amplifiers. He even collected old tobacco tins, turning them into hand built stomp boxes!

After an apprenticeship with British Telecom, Jones studied orchestral arrangement and earned a degree on the double bass. He worked as a professional musician for a while before moving to Iran to work as a specialist in Navigation Systems while studying audio and acoustics in his spare time. A few years later Jones moved back to England to start his own live audio concert sound company running sound for large outdoor venues using his own designed horn loaded speakers. He soon built his own 24 track studio, leading him to designed his own near field monitors which led him to start his first company Acoustic Energy and designing the AE 1 near field monitor.

Jones moved to the states to take a designing job with Boston Acoustics after a disagreement with investors of Acoustic Energy led him unable to continue designing speakers in England due to interest conflicts with what became his former company. After a four year stint with Boston Acoustics in the US, Jones started up another company; Platinum Audio. in New Hampshire, making high end audio speakers . In 1998 Phi moved to China to start American Acoustic Development and in 2002 Jones started Phil Jones Bass Amplification using AAD resources. Jones then moved back to the States in 2003 and settled in the St. Louis area where he still runs his company, commuting to China 6 times a year making high end bass amps, guitar amps, and audio gear.

To clarify, though his factory is in China, this doesn’t mean Jones works with sub par materials or is trying to cut corners. He spent two years building his factory from the ground up with his partners Edifier International: a public corporation to insure top notch quality, and components are produced in house to his expectations. Parts that can’t be built in his Chinese factory up to his expectations are imported in from other countries such as USA Japan and Europe.. Having his bench in China keeps his cost affordable enough to produce his personal standard of quality and enables him to control every aspect of the process.

Phil Jones bass amps are designed under the principle of a series of proprietary small, high efficiency, 5″ drivers that move as much air as a large bass speaker, but retain the clarity and fidelity of a high end studio monitor. The result is a bass amp that allows the listener to feel the low end yet hear the notes clearly.

Jones also builds acoustic guitar amplifiers and even has a model ( the AG300 Super Cub), that is a 300watt, two channel acoustic/ electric amplifier. Though Jones admits that it is hard to design a single amp that does multiple tasks at a superior quality level, the AG300 is a top of the line acoustic and electric guitar amplifier. Weighing only 26lbs, the two channel amp houses six, 5″ drivers that will fill a room. Channel one is voiced to handle the midrange of an electric guitar and accepts pedals beautifully, while channel two is voiced for the sonic pallet of acoustic instruments. It also has built in effects allowing the amp to perform excellently by it’s self. Because the amp is full range, you can use it for practically any acoustic/electric instrument, pedal steel, electric guitar, and even keyboard. I had the opportunity to try the AG300 at a wedding gig and used it for both pedal steel and electric guitar. I found that it worked well with my pedal board and was a joy to load in and out at 26lbs.

Jone’s most recent line of amps are the AirPulse EG300 and EG500. These new designs are a departure from Jone’s previous amplifier designs housing a 1×8″ speaker in the EG300 and a 1×12 in the EG600. Both amps use the same 500 watt Class D amplifier. I AB’d both amps against a vintage Fender Concert tube amp and the difference was astounding! The AirPulse amps were fuller and richer sounding with plenty of power. Switching between the tube amp and the AirPulse left the Fender sounding weak and flat. I consider myself to be a bit of a tube aficionado, but I believe if I had tried both amps in a blind test, I would have totally picked the AirPulse as the vintage tube amp.

Jones will be releasing the EG series AirPulse amps at the winter NAMM show in Anaheim, CA this coming January. Although he has been recently focusing on the electric guitar market, Jones is still working on more goodies for bass players and has recently developed the Double Four, a 70watt bass amp the size of a small lunch box that has amazing bass tone. I tried it with a five string bass and the Double Four handled the low B string with ease. Perfect for studio and practice applications.

So when we think of boutique tone, do we look to the past or move forward? Is vacuum tube technology the best we will ever see….or more importantly hear? Are we able to get past the psychology of what we think is the best tone, and open our ears and minds to the possibility of what could be…the future?

Let me go on the record to say that I personally love tube tone. There is no modeling amp, studio plug in, or effects rack, that I have encountered that surpasses the feeling of playing through a vintage tube amp, for me anyway. But if I never keep my self open to the possibility of new technology, I might end up missing out on a whole lot more. I also want to make clear that I am not heading to the mountain to preach of the new savior that Phil Jones is to our ears, but I have to say the amps I tried that Phil Jones has created where pretty cool. It’s even more cool that he is in our own back yard.

Phil Jones currently offers tons of gear for the music and audio world including bass amps, guitar amps, headphones, studio monitors and more.

For more information on Phil Jones and his equipment visit http://www.philjonespuresound.com/

Written by: Dave Anderson

Phil Jones Pure Sound: Breaking New Ground In Our Own Back Yard from MyRareGuitars.com

First come, first served. Order yours today!

Here is the back-story…

Since 1998 myrareguitars.com has been sharing its knowledge  and history of the bizarre guitars from the late 50’s and early 60’s. As we approach our 15th anniversary, we’ve been looking for something unique to mark the “brand” and create some historical goodies for all those passionate about weird guitars. We’ve decided to issue one or two new models each year – focusing on the real “fringe” bizarre – branded with the MyRareGuitars label. These oddball collectables will feature top quality, professional materials and construction, but will keep the prices at a fun and friendly level – a thank you to all who have supported us over the years. We especially look forward to your suggestions for future models! Our initial release – the Solo King.

MRG Solo King

Only $479. FREE Shipping North America ONLY.

Details & Specifications:

• Colours: Black
• Body: Basswood
• Neck: Bolt-on Maple
• Fingerboard: Rosewood, Dot markers
• Scale Length: 24 3/4″
• Width at Nut: 1 5/8″
• Pickups: Dual Mini Humbuckers
• Switching: 3-Way
• Controls: 2 Volume, 2 Tone
• Bridge: Fixed Tun-O-Matic Bridge
• Hardware: Gotoh style Nickel/Chrome
• Strings: #9-#46
• Case: optional hardshell case $99 extra.

Additional photos:

OMG!! It’s Back!! MRG 1960 SOLO KING Replica from MyRareGuitars.com

Airline Tuxedo (pearloid)

These are normally a custom shop pre-order with 3-5 month lead time, but we have one in stock NOW. This is a spectacular guitar and quite a collectors item. Grab this one today and have it in your lap in 5 days, or order one later and wait a long time to get it.  $1,750 includes hardshell case.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Here are some more photos:

RARE Airline Tuxedo Pearloid Top and Head – One of only 3 made from MyRareGuitars.com

CONGRATULATIONS TO Finn Keaney of London, England. WINNER of the Classic 6!

Nov 15th, 9:00AM EST: I would like to thank EVERYONE who made a donation in the last 24 hours. Your generosity exceeded our expectations TENFOLD. You should all be very proud that together we raised over $12,000!! We are going to top it up to $12,500, so along with the Canadian Government match it, we are sending

to the Red Cross Typhoon Haiyan Fund

 On behalf of Eastwood employees, artists and customers worldwide, we thank everyone for this spectacular effort! Bravo!

Nov 13th: Folks, the Canadian Red Cross has partnered with the Canadian Government and they are MATCHING DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR any donations we can raise. So quickly, let’s get on board and help a cause that needs us all, NOW. We are awarding an Eastwood Classic 6 guitar and FREE shipping worldwide to the winner of this 24 hour raffle. Winner will be notified at 8AM EST Nov 15th. Every penny will go to the Red Cross. Let’s get this done!http://www.redcross.ca/

You can read more about the matching program here:

Canadian Red Cross thanks Government of Canada for Typhoon Haiyan donation matching program

24 hr. $5 Raffle to WIN an Eastwood Classic 6 sends $25,000 to Typhoon Haiyan Fund! from MyRareGuitars.com

We just received 24 of these in stock, Warren Ellis 2P in Black, and we are offering then with either the Vintage Cream pickguard or the Tortoiseshell pickguard.  Only 24 so they won’t last long.

Only $579.

SOLD OUT

SPECIFICATIONS:

Body: Solid Alder
Neck: Maple, Bolt-on
Fingerboard: Maple, DotMarkers
Scale Length: 23″ Scale
Width at Nut: 1 5/16″
Pickups: NY Mini Humbucker bridge, Blade s/c neck
Switching: individual on/off pickup switches
Controls: 1 Volume, 1 Tone
Bridge: adjustable tele style
Hardware: Grover Style Nickel/Chrome
Strings: D’Addario .32, .22, .14, .10
Case: extra
Unique Features: Warren Ellis Signature Design

More pictures:

NEW Warren Ellis 2P Tenor – Black with Cream or TSPG from MyRareGuitars.com

STD model with Stop Tail only $779

DLX model with Bigsby only $899

(optional hardshell case $99. VAT extra for UK and EU).

SPECIFICATIONS:

Body: Tone Chambered Mahogany
Neck: Maple, Bolt-on
Fingerboard: Rosewood, Block Markers
Scale Length: 27″, 22 frets
Width at Nut: 1 11/16″
Pickups: Dual Humbuckers
Switching: 3-way Vintage Tone Control
Controls: 1 Volume, 2 Tone
Bridge: Tun-o-matic Roller Bridge, Bigsby B-50
Hardware: Grover Style Nickel/Chrome
Strings: 13-62
Case: extra
Unique Features: Tone Chambered Mahogany Body

More pictures:

Here are some photos of the STD Stop Tail model:

For comparison, here is the Baritone model next to the standard 24 3/4″ scale guitar. You can see the bridge is further back on the body and the overall neck length is longer, but the body size/shape is identical. The Baritone model is extremely well balanced and will add a new dimension to your playing, tuned B-B. Enjoy!

New Airline MAP Baritone – 27″ Scale – B to B Tuning from MyRareGuitars.com

Airline Folkstar Limited Edition Sky Blue

Feast your eyes on this new Limited Edition Airline Folkstar in Sky Blue. Available TODAY, only 12 in this production run, so don’t wait too long to pull the trigger.

only $749 (optional hardshell case $99. VAT extra for UK and EU).

Body: Tone Chambered Mahogany
Neck: Maple, Bolt-on
Fingerboard: Rosewood, Dot Markers Scale
Scale Length: 24 3/4″ (628mm) 20 frets
Width at Nut: 1 11/16″
Pickups: NY Mini Humbucker neck, Piezo bridge
Switching: none – Blend Potentiometer
Controls: 1 Volume, 1 Blend, 1 Tone
Bridge: Biscuit Bridge Single Cone
Hardware: Grover Style Nickel/Chrome
Strings: 12 – 54 Phosphor Bronze Resophonic Guitar
Case: extra
Unique Features: Rubber Body Binding, Pickup Blend
Suggested Retail: $949.00 US

More pictures:

Airline Folkstar Limited Edition Sky Blue

Airline Folkstar Limited Edition Sky Blue

Airline Folkstar Limited Edition Sky Blue

Airline Folkstar Limited Edition Sky Blue

Airline Folkstar Limited Edition Sky Blue

Airline Folkstar Limited Edition Sky Blue

Airline Folkstar Limited Edition Sky Blue

Airline Folkstar Limited Edition Sky Blue

New Shipment of Airline Folkstar SKY BLUE – Now Shipping from MyRareGuitars.com

Eastwood has produced a limited edition color of their top selling Mandocaster, this one-time run of only 24 pieces in Metallic Indigo, shipping now. Order yours TODAY!

North America shipping $29. $129 Elsewhere.

Specifications:

• Colours: Metallic Indigo
• Body: Solid Alder
• Neck: Maple, Bolt-on
• Fingerboard: Rosewood, Block Markers
• Scale Length: 14″
• Width at Nut: 1 3/16″
• Pickups: Two Single Coil pickups
• Switching: 3-Way
• Controls: Volume, Tone
• Bridge: Fully adjustable Tele-Style bridge
• Hardware: Gotoh style Nickel/Chrome
• Strings: Both E- .010 / A- .014 / D- .024 / G- .034
• Case: extra – gigbag $30, hardshell case $90
• Unique Features: Limited Edition Metallic Blue – only 24 available

Watch this product demonstration by Wendel Ferguson:

Additional Pictures:

Limited Edition Metallic Indigo Mandocaster – only 24 Made from MyRareGuitars.com

For years many of the naming and color schemes found in vintage guitars can also be found in the vintage automobile market. Last year while surfing the net for new color ideas, I stumbled upon a fantastic blog from Rickworks that features illustrations of the some of the finest classic cars ever to rule the road.

The Airline ’59 series has a unique rubber binding around the perimiter of each guitar, so this offers us the unique opportunity to have a two-tone color scheme on the front and back. We’ve decided to produce an exclusive limited edition series – only 24 of each model – that will be inspired from the Richworks blog. The second in the series is the “Airline Manhattan”. Here is a photo of the 1954 Kaiser Manhattan:

Below are some photos of the guitar. Each will include an Airline DLX hardshell case and a signed Certificate of Authenticity. We will release only one new “59 Two-Tone” model each year, so grab your collectable guitar now! The manhattan is only $999 including DLX Form-Fit Airline Tweed case (optional Bigsby B-50 add $139)

Pictures of the Airline Manhattan:

Take a look at the other car images in this fantastic blog from Rickworks and let me know which one you think we should do next!

New Limited Edition ’59 Airline Manhattan 2P LTD Guitar from MyRareGuitars.com

only $999 (case included). $49 Shipping to North America, $149 to UK and Europe. $189 Australia, Japan, etc. $285 South America.

NEW Airline Jupiter PRO – Dallas Green Signature Model from MyRareGuitars.com

This design is based around the early 60’s Silvertone Jupiter H49 which was also available with the Airline brand. Here we have upgraded our existing Airline Jupiter to create the Jupiter PRO. We’ve added a unique blend control that lets the player dial in a wide variety of tones. We have also replaced the wooden bridge with a Tone Pros Tun-o-matic, upgraded the bolt-on neck with a set maple neck and upgraded the hardware to create a solid, tour worthy guitar for today’s modern player.

This model features dual Airline Argyle pickups, three way flipper switch, two volume, two tone controls and a unique “blend” control that pans between the two pickups when the flipper is in the center position. The blend control ranges from hi-tone bridge pickup to neck pickup with the tone rolled off. Very versatile! Black finish with gold metal flake. Also check out the Jupiter PRO – Dallas Green Signature Model.

All PRE-ORDERS will receive a Body Glove Hybrid gigbag (factory list price $199) at no extra cost.

only $879. $49 Shipping to North America, $149 to UK and Europe. $189 Australia, Japan, etc. $285 South America.

**SOLD OUT**

All PRE-ORDERS will receive a Body Glove Hybrid gigbag (factory list price $199) at no extra cost.

NEW Airline Jupiter PRO – Metallic Black Finish – June 2013 from MyRareGuitars.com

Rob Roberge

But, is has been some time since we’ve had the pleasure of a Roberge contributions. Why? Well he’s been busy writing his latest novel, The Cost of Living, that’s why! Here’s the note from the publisher:

To the shock of lovers and rivals, indie guitarist Bud Barrett is finally—if tenuously—married, clean, and sober. Now he faces the challenge of staying that way. To avoid repeating the past, Bud needs to confront the ghosts that dwell there. After decades of seeking redemption in the arms of “pervy Florence Nightingales,” Bud finds himself still haunted by his mothers abandonment, his own array of crimes, and a murder he witnessed as a child. As he revisits his life of grief and reckless excess, all paths lead to his long estranged father, a man with his own turbulent history and the only one who can connect Buds fragments, unlocking the answers that just might save him.

The Cost of Living, a novel by Rob Roberge

Rob’s new novel is a seat-belt-buckled crazy ride through the world of rock and roll, substance abuse and the nutty people you’d meet along the way . It did not yield as many laugh-out-loud moments as I’ve become accustomed to with his work, but the subject matter is a lot heavier than usual. Most of the day I had trouble putting the book down long enough to grab a bite to eat – at other times I wanted to put it down for fear of finding out what was to happen next. Rob has a knack of turning the most dark, frightening, pathetic human circumstances into a funny yet heart breaking thrill ride. His narrative about the horrific lifestyle of the drug addicted central character – Bud Barrett – is troubling. Yet it is written with such brutal accuracy that you feel like you are in the car with him, in a band with him, in and out of the hospital with him, being rejected with him and being loved with him. But most of the time you’ll feel deeply in trouble with him. Not just in trouble, but troubled. A front row seat to trouble. You’ll feel like the guy holding the boom mic just off camera for the entire novel, so close that you’re afraid, but thankful it’s Bud Barrett, not you.

So if you’re like me and want to read the book before the movie comes out, dig up fifteen bucks, click here, grab your imaginary boom mic and settle in for a wild ride. You’ll be glad you did.

The Cost of Living from MyRareGuitars.com

John Rauhouse – Neko Case – Classic 12 (photo by Bob Wittaker)

2) Richard Hawley – Sidejack BASS VI

Richard Hawley – Sidejack BASS VI

3) Jenn Grant – Airline Tuxedo Guitar

Jenn Grant – Airline Tuxedo Guitar

4) Fountains of Wayne – Chris Collingwood – Saturn ’63 Guitar

Fountains of Wayne – Chris Collingwood – Saturn ’63 Guitar

5) The Sharks – Alan Wilson – Sidejack Bass VI Guitar

The Sharks – Alan Wilson – Sidejack Bass VI Guitar

6) Ariel Rurin – Warren Ellis Tenor Guitar

Ariel Rurin – Warren Ellis Tenor Guitar

7) Salvador Dalai Llama Farm – Classic 4

Salvador Dalai Llama Farm – Classic 4

8) The Pungent Bros. – Eastwood VG6

The Pungent Bros. – Eastwood VG6

9) Black Marquee – Airline Tuxedo / Classic 4

Black Marquee – Airline Tuxedo / Classic 4

10) Diamond Rings – Airline MAP Guitar

Diamond Rings – Airline MAP Guitar

11) Sleepy Sun – Jack Allen – MAP Bass

Sleepy Sun – Jack Allen – MAP Bass

12) Sleepy Sun – Matt Holliman – Airline ’59 3P DLX Guitar

Sleepy Sun – Matt Holliman – Airline ’59 3P DLX Guitar

13) Fuzztones – Allen Devine – Airline Twin Tone Guitar

Fuzztones – Allen Devine – Airline Twin Tone Guitar

14) Surface of Atlantic – Marco Gervais – Nashville 12 / Mandocaster

Surface of Atlantic – Marco Gervais – Nashville 12 / Mandocaster

15) Dahlmanns – Stormbird Bass, Ichiban

Dahlmanns – Stormbird Bass, Ichiban

16) Dahlmanns – Andre Dahlmann – Stormbird

Dahlmanns – Andre Dahlmann – Stormbird

Eastwood Celebrity Sightings (November 2012) from MyRareGuitars.com

Airline ’59 Coronado Electric Guitar (White, Left-Handed)

Airline ’59 Coronado Electric Guitar (Metallic Blue)

Check out this video demo:

More pics of the metallic blue ’59 Coronado:

Airline ’59 Coronado Electric Guitar (Metallic Blue)

Airline ’59 Coronado Electric Guitar (Metallic Blue)

Airline ’59 Coronado Electric Guitar (Metallic Blue)

Airline ’59 Coronado Electric Guitar (Metallic Blue)

Airline ’59 Coronado Electric Guitar (Metallic Blue)

Airline ’59 Coronado Electric Guitar (Metallic Blue)

Airline ’59 Coronado Electric Guitar (Metallic Blue)

Airline ’59 Coronado Electric Guitar (Metallic Blue)

Airline ’59 Coronado Introduces Two New Models from MyRareGuitars.com

Airline Map Electric Guitar (Custom Color: Black)

Is there an Eastwood or Airline guitar you’ve always wanted but in a different color? Different hardware? Or perhaps a left-hand model of something that is only available in right-hand? Well now it may be possible to have whatever you want. Read on…

Earlier this year a customer came to us asking for a custom shop guitar. He wanted an Airline MAP guitar, but he wanted it with gold hardware, gold switchplate and gold pickguard. Our standard reply was, “Any time we introduce a new color/model, our factory has to make a minimum of 8 pcs, so if you want to buy 8 of them, we’ll do it”. Typically at this point the customer will say, “Oh, I guess that’s out of the question then”.

But this customer was different. He said, “I’m willing to pay a LOT more for this, so name your price and let’s get it done!”. That got me thinking. I liked his concept of the gold hardware MAP model and I thought it would appeal to some of our existing customers, but did not want to make 8 of them only to sell just one. So I went back to him and suggested the following arrangement:

1. Send us deposit of $3,000 to commit to the order, and within 3-6 months, the 8 custom guitars will be completed.
2. Once complete, we send him his one guitar.
3. Then we offer the next 7 guitars at $999 each (including hardshell case) to our customers via www.myrareguitars.com
4. Once we have sold 4 of them, we refund $2001 back to him, making his cost on the custom guitar of his design only $999.

He agreed, and here is the guitar (sorry, they SOLD OUT within the first week!!).

So if there is something you are looking for that we do not currently make, send me an email and we can talk about it: michael@myrareguitars.com

More pictures of the Airline Map in black:

Airline Map Electric Guitar (Custom Color: Black)

Airline Map Electric Guitar (Custom Color: Black)

Airline Map Electric Guitar (Custom Color: Black)

Airline Map Electric Guitar (Custom Color: Black)

Airline Map Electric Guitar (Custom Color: Black)

Airline Map Electric Guitar (Custom Color: Black)

Eastwood Special Order Guitars – Order Yours Today! from MyRareGuitars.com

I am using the term “stage fright” but for recording musicians it might be better labelled “mic fright” and for YouTubers “camera fright.” In both these situations you may have just played a song perfectly but as soon as the record light goes on you tense up and there goes the performance! And there’s not even an audience watching – yet.

Athletes know all about this too, usually giving it the unlovely name of “choking” – missing an easy score or play in a crucial situation. There are even players who are normally excellent but can be depended upon to choke in critical (i.e. game-winning) situations. And since major league sports are major financial industries, a lot of money has been spent on personal trainers and life coaches to help individual athletes perform better. Somewhat surprisingly though, there has been relatively little serious psychological study into the mental mechanism of sudden poor performance.

Like athletes, musicians tend to blame themselves for their stage fright. We try all sorts of techniques to “improve ourselves” out of it. And some of these work. For instance, there is no substitute for getting out in front of people so that performing for a crowd becomes “just something you do” like anything else. And of course you need to practice until you can practically play your whole set in your sleep, and then practice some more. But even with the best preparation and a whole battery of techniques (and I have to admit that “seeing the audience naked” has never worked for me), we are still likely to run into a night where our playing is awful, and it is most likely to be the night that someone you want to impress is there to hear you for the first time.

Why, oh why?!

A new study conducted by researchers at CalTech and University College of London sheds some fascinating light. Some of the results of their study seem obvious at first: we get excited when our performance will get us a reward, and excitement goes up as the reward increases. OK, so we hardly need a multi-million dollar fMRI machine to tell us this. Ah, but what it told the researchers was that there is a point where the higher the reward goes, the lower the excitement level becomes. In more specific terms, at some point our performance starts to suffer as the stakes get raised. We care too much.

The operative condition is loss aversion. Simply put, this means that it is more painful to us to lose, say, $100 than it is pleasurable to win it. (Set that figure wherever it becomes meaningful to you.) When the stakes are high, it is more important for us not to lose than it is to “win.” This ratchets up the pressure on us. But wait – we aren’t “losing” anything with a bad night are we?

In fact, our minds conceive of it as losing a lot. Things like reputation, chance to impress, may even a job if it’s an audition, but even that doesn’t explain the problem for recording or video at home. This is where it gets really insidious. When we head out on stage, we have in mind our perfect performance, just as when we push the record button. To our minds we have already envisioned it, we already have it in the can! So it’s not just a case of “I can walk away with a pretty good performance here” but “I can’t mess this up and ruin my perfect performance!” In the back of our minds we are more worried about losing the great performance than gaining a record of a good one. Again, there is a threshold where this begins to matter. So maybe you play great recording a song for Mother’s Day but totally freeze when it comes to a public YouTube offering. Sure you care about what Mom thinks, but you are really worried about making a big impression on the entire world.

So as the pressure rises, we “try” harder. We try to do things consciously that we have been doing automatically all along. Our fingers know the song, but suddenly our head wants to dictate their every movement, and it usually turns out that our head doesn’t know it as well as we might hope. The harder we try the worse it gets because our head gets more and more in the way of our fingers. My own worst moments happen when I suddenly become aware that a song I am playing is going extremely well, and I suddenly think: “OK, now don’t blow it in the last 30 bars!” Guess what happens?

This is why so many books are written on Zen and similar approaches to arts and sports. They are describing a technique that works and that you can practice yourself – clear your mind and let your fingers play. You’ve played it perfectly at home a thousand times that way, so allow your fingers to keep doing it on stage, or CD, or video. This is the wisdom behind the idea of “don’t over-think it.”

So how can we keep from over-thinking it? Like anything else, it takes practice. In this case, as part of your regular practice session for songs that you already know, start to clear your mind of thoughts about what you are playing. You might even want to start the process by thinking “what comes next?” and then consciously clearing your mind to let your fingers decide. The ultimate comes when you can force yourself to feel stage fright – maybe using vivid imagination or an actual memory – and then convincing yourself to not over-think what you are playing. Don’t so much force the thoughts out of your head as let them go. Realize that they are not helping your playing. You are teaching your head to trust your fingers. It takes time, but you can train your mind to stay out of the way of your fingers. This can really lift the pressure of performance, and you will also get the benefit of more enjoyment in your playing, no matter what the stakes.

Written by: Dr. Dave Walker

The Science of Stage Fright from MyRareGuitars.com

Chuck Berry

What makes a great guitar riff? Does it come down to the technical brilliance that goes into playing it, or the ease by which a simple but effective riff can be played by beginners? Similarly, what riffs act as useful indicators of changing periods in music, and how have they transcended their status within songs to almost stand in for a whole band’s career? The following list represents an effort to put together some of the best guitar riffs, which are presented in rough order of influence through to some personal favourites at the top of the list.

10. Johnny B. Goode, Chuck Berry

Included on this list almost solely due to its iconic appearance in Back to the Future, ‘Johnny B. Goode’s’ electric riff arguably stands in for early rock and roll as much as Elvis Presley’s hip jigging on the Ed Sullivan Show. Simple, but invested with considerable power, Berry helped inspire a new generation of performers.

9. Start Me Up, Keith Richards

Reflecting The Rolling Stone’s powerful, pop-edged take on the blues, the open G tuning and percussive opening to Start Me Up by Keith Richards says all you need to know about the band’s swaggering sound. Originally Recorded in the mid 1970s, ‘Start Me Up’ appeared on the 1981 album Tattoo You.

8. Paperback Writer, George Harrison/John Lennon

Signalling the rock power that underpinned The Beatles’ melodies and harmonies, George Harrison’s overdriven mono riff on Paperback Writer demonstrated a band making a crucial turn towards more complex albums in the mid 1960s.

7. Smells Like Teen Spirit, Kurt Cobain

Perhaps the first riff that everyone tries when they get their first distortion pedal, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’s stripped down appeal and instinctive use of a few chords still sounds as powerful today as in 1991.

6. Sweet Child O’Mine, Slash

If ‘Teen Spirit’ marked the breakaway of Seattle grunge from the excesses of West Coast hair metal, ‘Sweet Child O’Mine’ remains the key example of how the pomp and swagger of the LA scene could be boiled down to Slash’s virtuoso opening riff.

5. Smoke On The Water, Ritchie Blackmore

Perhaps the most imitated riff for beginners, Deep Purple’s ‘Smoke On The Water’ is simple but highly effective, and represents a rare riff that can be picked up by a new player on the first day of owning a guitar.

4. Enter Sandman, Kirk Hammett

For heavier riffs, look no further than Kirk Hammett’s building intro and main riff for Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’. Pure, pulse pounding guitar playing at its best.

3. Sweet Home Alabama/Free Bird. Ed King/Lynyrd Skynyrd

A tie for third place, Lynyrd Skynyrd can be criticised for turning every rock encore into a crowd chant for ‘Free Bird’, the band’s oftentimes 14 minute closure to their shows. ‘Sweet Home Alabama’s’ infectious riff, however, remains one of the most memorable, and oft imitated examples of its kind.

2. Stairway to Heaven, Jimmy Page

The perfect embodiment of Jimmy Page’s technical mastery during Led Zeppelin’s peak, ‘Stairway to Heaven’ gradually builds around an opening riff that most just about manage to learn before taking on the rest of the song.

1. Walk This Way, Joe Perry

Just edging out ‘Stairway’ is Aerosmith’s ‘Walk This Way,’ if only for the fact that it fused rock and rap music around a central riff that has been much imitated, but rarely bettered.

Rob James, guitar enthusiast, rocker, and fan of the Lick Library

Top 10 Greatest Guitar Riffs from MyRareGuitars.com

New 34" Scale Electric Bass Models from Eastwood Guitars & Airline Guitars

What is the downside to the short scale bass?

1. Shorter strings have less tension, and therefore the tone tends to sounds tubbier or even muddy, and with far less sustain. Not a bad thing for many 60’s style applications, but does not give you a huge, booming tone.
2. Longer scale basses have more overtones, clarity and punch.
3. 30-inch scale feels noticeably short or awkward to a P-bass player and may be tough to make the adjustment.

Although I still feel every bass players needs a short scale bass in their arsenal, I too feel that Eastwood should have more 34″ scale options for our customers. In fact, we have had many customers over the years asking us to reach out to the 34″ crowd. So that time has come and we are now introducing 3 new Bass models this summer:

• The Hurricane ($429)
• The Stormbird ($469)
• The 34″ Airline Map ($879)

Enjoy!

Order before June 30th and we will throw in a $99 hardshell case for FREE.

New Eastwood & Airline Electric Bass Models – Moving Upscale from MyRareGuitars.com

Sailor Jerry (January 14, 1911 - June 12, 1973)

The Guitar: Earlier this year Eastwood Guitars and Sailor Jerry teamed up to produce a Limited Edition tribute to the 1960’s Airline Tremolectric model. The guitar has been customized with Sailor Jerry’s iconic artwork both front and back. Also a cool anchor logo on the truss rod cover. A very limited run of these start shipping June 12th.

The Contest: On June 12, 2012, we’re raising a glass to Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins to commemorate his passing in 1973. This year, to honor his life and legacy, we will be giving away this Limited Edition Airline guitar valued at $1200 USD. Here is a link to the contest details, hurry because it ends in a few days! http://sailorjerry.com/Social/Sailor-Jerry-Day-Twitter-Rewteet-Contest/

Limited Edition Sailor Jerry Guitar from Airline Guitars (front)

Limited Edition Sailor Jerry Guitar from Airline Guitars (back)

Specifications:
Colors: Custom Artwork
Body: Tone Chambered Mahogany
Neck: Bound Maple, Bolt-on, Zero Fret
Fingerboard: Rosewood, Block Markers
Scale Length: 25 1/2″ (648mm)
Width at Nut: 1 11/16″
Pickups: Alnico Hot-10 Humbuckers
Switching: individual mini on/off switches
Controls: 2 Volume, 2 Tone
Bridge: Tone Pros Roller, BIGSBY tremolo (optional)
Hardware: Grover Style Nickel/Chrome
Strings: D’Addario #10
Case: Deluxe AIRLINE Case INCLUDED
Unique Features: Sailor Jerry Logo front and back
Suggested Retail: $1499.00US

OUR PRICE: $1199 (free shipping until June 30th)

New Limited Edition Sailor Jerry Airline Guitar & Contest – Hurry, Ends June 11th! from MyRareGuitars.com

For years many of the naming and color schemes found in vintage guitars can also be found in the vintage automobile market. Last year while surfing the net for new color ideas, I stumbled upon a fantastic blog from Rickworks that features illustrations of the some of the finest classic cars ever to rule the road.

The Airline ’59 series has a unique rubber binding around the perimiter of each guitar, so this offers us the unique opportunity to have a two-tone color scheme on the front and back. We’ve decided to produce an exclusive  limited edition series – only 24 of each model – that will be inspired from the Richworks blog. The first in the series is the “Airline Catalina”. Here is a photo of the 1955 Pontiac 870 Catalina:

1955 Pontiac 870 Catalina Car

Below are some photos of the guitar. Each will include an Airline DLX hardshell case, vintage style Airline Leather Strap and a signed Certificate of Authenticity. We will release only one new “59 Two-Tone” model each year, so grab your collectable guitar now! The Catalina is only $1079 including DLX Form-Fit Airline Tweed case, vintage Airline Strap (optional Bigsby B-50 add $139)

Pictures of the Airline Catalina:

Limited Edition Airline Catalina Electric Guitar (Two Tone Yellow/Black)

Limited Edition Airline Catalina Electric Guitar (Two Tone Yellow/Black)

Limited Edition Airline Catalina Electric Guitar (Two Tone Yellow/Black)

Limited Edition Airline Catalina Electric Guitar (Two Tone Yellow/Black)

Limited Edition Airline Catalina Electric Guitar (Two Tone Yellow/Black)

Limited Edition Airline Catalina Electric Guitar (Two Tone Yellow/Black)

Limited Edition Airline Catalina Electric Guitar (Two Tone Yellow/Black)

Limited Edition Airline Catalina Electric Guitar (Two Tone Yellow/Black)

Take a look at the other car images in this fantastic blog from Rickworks and let me know which one you think we should do next!

New Limited Edition ’59 Airline Catalina 2P LTD Guitar from MyRareGuitars.com

The NEW 34″ scale Airline Map Bass in Seafoam Green!

For a few years now customers have been asking us for a “Bass Players” version of the popular Airline MAP Bass. Well, that day has come. We only have 12 of these new models in stock, so if you are ready to rumble, hit the BUY NOW button right away as they are shipping now and won’t last long. Special Price only $879

SPECIFICATIONS
Body: Tone Chambered Mahogany
Neck: Bound Maple, Bolt-on
Fingerboard: Rosewood, Block Markers
Scale Length: 34″
Width at Nut: 1 5/8″
Pickups: Two Alnico Hot-10 Humbuckers
Switching: 3-Way
Controls: 2 Volume, 1 Tone
Bridge: Tune-o-matic bridge, trapeze tail
Hardware: Grover Style Nickel/Chrome
Strings: D’Addario #45-#100
Case: extra
Unique Features: NATIONAL Style Striped Pickguard
Suggested Retail: $1099.00 US

I’m not sure who this fella is, but he has some nice things to say about Eastwood and Airline models:

Stephan Wickham: Eastwood Guitars basses and guitars are real sleepers for most people. It will surprise many that they have large acceptance with musicians in alternative genres such as West  Coast Punk, grunge and modern alternative rock. Eastwoods are popular with some top players like John Fogerty, Mick Karn and groups like Foo Fighters.  People expect the build quality of original Danelectro (e.g. particleboard  bodies) and Valco / National guitars / basses and are surprised to see Eastwood Guitar reproductions that there are improvements, such as the body tonewood. While the Airline MAP bass carries Airline name it is actually based on Valco 1962 Val-Pro 85 bass. It produces a killer low rider tone and works best with a medium-to- fast player. In addition to punk, grunge it fits well with 60s rock, Grateful-Dead tone, reggae, modern country & blues. The body is chambered mahogany, rather than acrylic resin / fibreglass of original Val-Pro 85. I would swap out the bridge, nut and knobs to better quality components and it would be good to go. For people that don’t like the Sea-Foam Green, it also is available in White or Black. In Black it comes with black & white pick guard with white binding on body, which gives it a bit of art-deco Duesenberg design flavour. The addition of a 34″ scale to the Eastwood Airline MAP bass product line offers an excellent tone alternative to original 30″ short-scale model and more familiar length for most bassists.

More Pictures of the new 34-inch scale Airline Map Bass:

The NEW 34″ scale Airline Map Bass in Seafoam Green!

The NEW 34″ scale Airline Map Bass in Seafoam Green!

The NEW 34″ scale Airline Map Bass in Seafoam Green!

Airline Introduces New 34″ Scale MAP Bass from MyRareGuitars.com

Eastwood Sidejack Bass VI Guitar (Vintage Cream)

All orders in the month of August will receive a free Green Room gigbag (value $29).

Three things make the Bass VI better than anything else on the market,

1. The tremolo makes for a much more versatile instrument
2. The P-90 pickups allow for a much brighter tone, most competitors use humbuckers and have a muddy tone
3. The price. This is a solid gig-worthy workhorse of an instrument at an unbeatable price.

Here are a couple of demos showing the versatility of the Bass VI:

New Sidejack Bass VI from Eastwood Guitars! from MyRareGuitars.com

Eastwood Classic 12 Guitar in White Finish with Gold Hardware (12-String Guitar)

BUY NOW before April 15th, $499:

The Classic 12 is also available in Walnut and Fireburst. Our good friend Wendell Ferguson takes the the Classic 12 for a test drive, take a look at this video:

Eastwood Classic 12 Guitar Now Available in White Finish With Gold Hardware from MyRareGuitars.com

Eastwood Classic 6 LTD Electric Guitar (Greenburst)

This model features a set maple neck with a flamed maple top, finished in a stunning Greenburst color and gold hardware. All DLX models come with the Bigsby B-70 tremolo. Each of the first 20 guitars in this limited edition run will include the deluxe 5-latch archtop hardshell Eastwood logo case.

Our Price: $799. FREE Shipping in North America. $129 Elsewhere.

More pictures of the Eastwood Classic 6 LTD in Greenburst finish:

Eastwood Classic 6 LTD Electric Guitar (Greenburst)

Eastwood Classic 6 LTD Electric Guitar (Greenburst)

Eastwood Classic 6 LTD Electric Guitar (Greenburst)

Eastwood Classic 6 LTD Electric Guitar (Greenburst)

Eastwood Classic 6 LTD Electric Guitar (Greenburst)

Eastwood Classic 6 LTD Electric Guitar (Greenburst)

Eastwood Classic 6 LTD Electric Guitar (Greenburst)

Pre-Order your Eastwood Limited Edition Classic 6 DLX from MyRareGuitars.com

10) Felt – Forever Breathes the Lonely Word

Felt - Forever Breathes The Lonely Word

I’ve been a fan of Felt for many years brought on by some early compilation CD’s I picked up in the early 90’s. But last year I went back to fill in the gaps by picking up most of their LP’s in the original format. This 1986 release is one of their best. A great collection of pop nuggets with their trademark shimmering guitars throughout. This is a good place to start if you’re not on the Felt bandwagon, if you like Johnny Marr (The Smiths) and Tom Verlaines Television, you’ll like this.

9) G.Love and Special Sauce – Best of

G Love & Special Sauce - Best Of

Who doesn’t like a Cold Beverage? I know I do and that single off his first release is hard to beat. If you have not grooved down this road yet, here is a great place to start. Sort of a cross between Jack Johnson and The Beastie Boys. With his unique style of Rock & Roll with a hip-hop slant and a chill out funkiness, G’s records are always a party favorite and his live shows are a non-stop romp. I’m not a fan of “best of” records, and this one is certainly NOT a great reflection of the bands capabilities. However, as an introduction to his work, this will ignite your curiosity to delve a little deeper.

8) The Icarus Line – Penance Soiree

The Icarus Line - Penance Soiree

Lat year I got an email from a guy named Joe Cardamone telling me he recently met Warren Ellis in an LA recording studio. So as I like Nick Cave/Grinderman, he figured I should check out his band, The Icarus Line. His new LP – Wildlife – is the best place to start. But once you get into that one, going back to this 2004 release cranks it up a few notches. Sort of a modern day version of The Stooges, Black Flag and The Birthday Party, not many bands have the guts and raw power to grind out a record like this. Not for the faint of heart, but if you’re in the mood to rock out, why go half way?

7) Can – Ege Bamyasi

Can - Ege Bamyasi

Can were the leading avant-garde rock group of the ’70s. For the uninitiated, this 1972 record is the best place to start. Many of the tracks sound like an unrehearsed jam session and someone accidentally pressed the record button. If that’s the case, someone deserves a big “thank you” for getting the tape rolling. It’s funky, it’s cool and it’s a must have in any record collection.

6) James Hunter – People Gonna Talk / The Hard Way

James Hunter - The Hard Way

James Hunter - People Gonna Talk

I discovered Hunter one night last year watching a rerun of “Later with Jools Holland”. His recordings feature rhythm & blues in the style of the 1950s, pitched between R&B, early rock & roll, and early soul with a twist of the Caribbean – a modern day Sam Cooke? What makes these records better than the rest of this genre is that they sound like they were recorded in the 60’s – I don’t mean poor quality – I mean the arrangements are minimal, crisp, clean, almost MONO without sounding dull. Just makes you want to forget all your daily worries, kick off your shoes and get up and dance. People Gonna Talk (2006) and The Hard Way (2008) are best listened to back to back. Although two years apart they string together like they were recorded the same day. And believe me, you can’t get enough of James Hunter in one CD, so you’ll NEED them both! Speaking of Sam Cooke…

5) Sam Cooke – Night Beat

Sam Cooke - Night Beat

Most music comes to us when referred by friends. I was telling Carl Cook (Eastwood Guitars, UK) about James Hunter, and he told me to check out this record. Unlike the Sam Cooke I was familiar with (You Send Me, Cupid, etc) this 1963 release focuses on the most important part of his genius — his glorious voice. If Sam Cooke had lived longer, there would’ve been several more sessions like this, but Night Beat is an even richer treasure for its rarity. Hard to believe this was recorded almost 50 years ago. What a treat.

4) Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish I Were an Eagle

Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish I Were An Eagle

I’ve been a fan of Smog (Bill’s earlier stuff) for many years. His dark and moody songs are delivered with a rather soothing baritone voice and minimalist arrangements. This records (2009) opening track – Jim Cain – is one of the best songs I’ve heard in years, and the closing track – Faith / Void – leads right into my next fave, David Bazan.

3) Pedro the Lion – Achilles Heel

Pedro The Lion - Achilles Heel

Prior to David Bazans solo work he recorded under the moniker of Pedro the Lion. This final LP (2004) was essentially Bazan on his own. Sorry I missed this 7 years ago, but glad I’m catching up now. The opening track – Bands with Managers – is a treat. “Bands with managers, are going places. Bands with messy hair and smooth white faces.”

2) David Bazan – Curse Your Branches / Fewer Moving Parts

David Bazan - Curse Your Branches

It was pure coincidence last year that I had just finished reading Dawkins – The God Delusion – when I discovered Bazans’ 2011 release – Strange Negotiations – so it made my top 2011 ten list. Moving backwards from there, every LP seems to get better and better. The music and lyrics from this 2009 release are equally compelling and the opening track – Hard to Be – is a perfect introduction to his work. Also check out the song Bearing Witness with the lyric, “so sick and tired and trying to make the pieces fit, cause it’s not what bearing witness is,”. Off his typical subject matter, the single “Fewer Broken Pieces” is a must listen to anyone who has ever played in a band.

1) Bill Nelson – The Practice of Everyday Life

Bill Nelson - The Practice of Everyday Life

The year 2011 marked the 40th anniversary of BILL NELSON’s recording career and to celebrate Esoteric Recordings released this wonderfully packaged boxed set containing more than 150 tracks over Eight CDs. Beginning with his earliest recordings, the set includes previously unreleased material by Be Bop Deluxe, along with examples from Bill’s extensive solo catalogue and is rounded off with a bonus CD featuring two previously unreleased BBC Radio One sessions from 1981 and 1983. If you are like me, you probably have most of this already. But hey, I’ve got over 50 CD’s from Bill, so it’s unlikely you are anything like me. If you are like most others, you have a Be Bop Deluxe LP and maybe one or two other LP’s from Bill over the years. Here is your chance to get caught up. It’s not cheap, here is a link to the best price I could find, and there is also an interesting video interview posted there.

My Top 10 Albums of 2011 List (Part 2) from MyRareGuitars.com

Wandre Tri-Lam Electric Guitar from Eastwood Guitars (Blue)

Wandre Tri-Lam Electric Guitar from Eastwood Guitars (Red)

Order before the NAMM show (Jan 18th) and get a FREE Custom Hardshell Case.

BUY NOW: $799

Colours: Blue, Red
Body: Full Hollowbody, Maple Top, Back, Sides
Neck: Bound Maple, Set
Fingerboard: Rosewood, Block Markers
Scale Length: 24 3/4″ (628mm)
Width at Nut: 1 5/8″
Pickups: New York MINI Humbucker
Switching: none
Controls: Master Volume
Bridge: Floating Tune-O-Matic, Custom Chrome Tail
Hardware: Grover Style Nickel/Chrome
Strings: D’Addario #10
Case: Extra
Unique Features: Custom Chrome tailpiece, grilled F-holes
Suggested Retail: $1029.00US

* North America shipping $49. Outside north America $149.

More Pictures of the Wandre Tri-Lam:

Wandre Tri-Lam Electric Guitar (Blue)

Wandre Tri-Lam Electric Guitar (Blue)

Wandre Tri-Lam Electric Guitar (Blue)

Wandre Tri-Lam Electric Guitar (Blue)

Wandre Tri-Lam Electric Guitar (Blue)

Wandre Tri-Lam Electric Guitar (Blue)

Wandre Tri-Lam Electric Guitar (Blue)

Wandre Tri-Lam Electric Guitar (Blue)

Wandre Tri-Lam Electric Guitar from Eastwood Guitars (Blue)

Wandre Tri-Lam Electric Guitar from Eastwood Guitars (Red)

New Wandre Tri-Lam from Eastwood Guitars from MyRareGuitars.com

Josh Klinghoffer with the Airline Bighorn Guitar (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You album cover

10) Red Hot Chili Peppers – I’m With You

When I first saw a photo of Josh Klinghoffer with his green Airline Bighorn, I knew I was going to like this album.

Magazine - No Thyself album cover

Magazine Reunion Tour 2009 concert ticket

9) Magazine – No Thyself

Even if there was no music on this disk – just the lyrics – it would make my top ten list. In fact, it was on my top ten list before I heard it, that is how much a fan of Magazine and Howard Devoto I am. Crazy really, so much so that I bought a concert ticket to their reunion concert in 2009. It was in UK, I am in Canada and I had no intention of going, I just had to have a ticket. Who spends 50 bucks on a ticket to a show they do not plan to attend? Anyway, great record, great lyrics, great to see Magazine back in the saddle.

Bazan - Strange Negotiations album cover

8 ) David Bazan – Strange Negotiantions

You’re a god damn fool, You’re a god damn fool, You’re a god damn fool, and I love you.

Wire - Red Barked Tree album cover

7 ) Wire – Red Barked Tree

WIRE just keeps on impressing. Just when you thought they can’t get better, they do. WIRE should be proud, and all those whom they’ve influenced over the years, get confirmation once again.

Buzzcocks - What Do I Get? album cover

6 ) Buzzcocks – What Do I Get?

It’s a 2011 release, but a LIVE album from a 2003 Sheppard’s Bush concert. It also includes a DVD of the performance and manages to fit 28 tracks into true Buzzcocks breakneck speed. More than a quarter of a century into their career at the time of this show, there’s not even the hint of a suggestion of them slowing down . Word is also out that 2012 will include a couple of shows in UK featuring Howard Devoto and the Spiral Scratch tunes. Too cool.

Dum Dum Girls - Only In Dreams album cover

5 ) Dum Dum Girls – Only in Dreams

The popularity of the single “Bedroom Eyes” (link to the video) brought the The Dum Dum Girls to a much wider audience this year. That’s good. This second album from the band is a leap forward. Give it a spin.

Blackie & the Rodeo Kings - Kings and Queens album cover

4 ) Blackie and the Rodeo Kings

What do you get when you take one of best bands to ever come out of Canada and make a record with an all-star cast of singers? Perhaps the best album of the year, that’s what.

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Mirror Traffic album cover

3 ) Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – Mirror Traffic

I’ve been a Pavement fan since day one and Malkmus has done it again. The meandering vocal lines intertwine with the seemingly sloppy and lazy guitar playing to create a fantastic collection of inspired pop gems. Did I say sloppy/lazy? Not really, just very refreshing to not hear a guitar played along to a click track. Long live this music.

City and Colour - Little Hell album cover

2) City and Colour – Little Hell

Dallas Green’s City and Colour is making us Canadians proud. Lavishly produced, beautiful vocals, haunting electric guitars over warm acoustics – just a great record. Go get it.

The Black Keys - El Camino album cover

1) The Black Keys -El Camino

What a killer record. Something about this album makes me want to quit my job, get the old band together, buy a crappy used van and hit the road. The production on this record makes you feel like you are right there in the middle of The Black Keys rehearsal space – it is compelling and it is making me want to pick up a guitar right now and jam along with them.

My Top 10 Albums of 2011 List (Part 1) from MyRareGuitars.com

Call for Papers

Submit your Stories – Earn MRG Cash from MyRareGuitars.com

FREE SHIPPING until October 31.

Eastwood Airline 1P DLX Electric Guitar

Airline 1P DLX – $549 – Features tone-chambered mahogany body, bolt-on maple neck. Single Alnico HOT-10 Humbucker (case extra).

Or upgrade to the new Airline ’59 Custom 1P…

Eastwood Airline '59 Custom 1P Electric Guitar

Airline ’59 Custom 1P – $899 – Adds the Airline Vintage Voiced Single Coil pickup, striped pickguard, rubber body binding, Tone Pro’s Bridge, Wilkinson tuners, and the Airline DLX hardshell case.

Video Review:

TWO New AIRLINE Single Pickup Models – $549 DLX and $899 ’59 Custom from MyRareGuitars.com

Airline '59 Custom Coronado Electric Guitar (White) from Eastwood Guitars

Eastwood Guitars has some new Airline models out this month, notably the ’59 Custom Coronado – a tribute to the old Supro used by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. The originals were made of Res-O-Glas and had a floating bridge. Eastwood has upgraded the design to a tone-chambered mahogany body and an adjustable roller bridge. Other upgrades to the standard Coronado model on this ’59 include rubber body binding, a zero fret for super fast low action, a Tone Pros bridge and Deluxe Airline hardshell case.

Pricing and Availability:
’59 Custom Coronado: $1079.00 US

Airline '59 Custom Coronado Electric Guitar (White) from Eastwood Guitars

New Model: Airline ’59 Custom Coronado Guitar from MyRareGuitars.com

Airline Folkstar Resonator Guitar

Here are some video demos to get you in the mood:

Airline Folkstar Resonator is Back in Stock! from MyRareGuitars.com

1953 Gibson Les Paul Guitar (Serial #3 0621)

To The People Who Stole My Les Paul from MyRareGuitars.com

John Varvatos Bloomingdales Window Display Features 100 Eastwood Guitars

As we speak, about 100 Eastwood guitars and Airline guitars are being installed in a window display in Bloomingdales on 3rd Ave, New York City for two weeks with John Varvatos. The display ends June 26th.

Send us a photo of you in front if this display, pointing at your favorite guitar!

John Varvatos Bloomingdales Window Display Features 100 Eastwood Guitars from MyRareGuitars.com

New from Eastwood Guitars: The Airline Bighorn Electric Guitar (Red, Sunburst & Green finishes)

We have a small pre-shipment of the new BIGHORN ready to ship today. Based on the original 1960’s AIRLINE Bighorn, it features an updated adjustable bridge and the popular Diamond Argyle single coil pickups. The first four orders for each color will receive a gigbag, tuner and strap so that your Bighorn will be ready to rock the day UPS delivers! Order yours today, only $469.

Airline Bighorn Guitar Specifications:

• Colors: Red, Sunburst, Green
• Body: One Piece Basswood
• Neck: Bolt-on Maple
• Fingerboard: Rosewood, Dot Markers
• Scale Length: 24 3/4″
• Width at Nut: 1 5/8″
• Pickups: AIRLINE Argyle Diamond Single Coil
• Switching: 3-way
• Controls: 2 Volume, 2 tone
• Bridge: Hardtail Strat Style Adjustable
• Tuners: Chrome Vintage Kluson Style
• Retail Price: $579

BUY NOW ONLY $469

Video Review:

More Pics of the Airline Bighorn:

The Airline Bighorn Electric Guitar (Red)

The Airline Bighorn Electric Guitar (Sunburst)

The Airline Bighorn Electric Guitar (Green)

New from Eastwood Guitars: Airline Bighorn Electric Guitar from MyRareGuitars.com

Custom Airline Vintage Guitar Straps (Leather)

Custom Airline Vintage Guitar Straps (Leather)

Custom Airline Vintage Guitar Straps (Leather)

New! Custom Vintage Airline Leather Guitar Straps from MyRareGuitars.com

The 2nd Annual Tenor Guitar Gathering (June 3-5, 2011)

Three days of performances, workshops and a variety of events to celebrate the Tenor guitar.

Eastwood Guitars has generously donated a Warren Ellis Signature Tenor Guitar as a raffle prize, so please visit http://www.tenorguitargathering.com/fr_home.cfm for more information.

The 2nd Annual Tenor Guitar Gathering (June 2011) from MyRareGuitars.com

Instro Summit 2011

Instro Summit 2011 is our third annual event, held from 7pm Friday, April 29th to 1am Sunday, May first. Currently the largest festival of its’ type in the Southeast, it features bands from as nearby as Durham to as far away as Ulm, Germany, all eager to share their lyric-free music with fans-and bands-that appreciate the genre.

Highlights this year include our three annual audience participation events. First is our “Can You Play as Wack’d as Link Wray?” contest, second is “The Big Bass-Off!”, third event, the “Rumble Jam”. Of note to folks who are fans of Eastwood’s products is our first annual Instro Summit Raffle, in which our grand prize is a Brand-new Eastwood Saturn 63 guitar donated by – you guessed it – Eastwood guitars. This custom model has the Instro Summit Logo on the pickgaurd for extra coolness.

Instro Summit 2011

Tickets for the Instro Summit are Eleven dollars for Friday, and Saturday, and Nine bucks for Sunday. A three day pass can be purchased for 24 bucks. A measly five bucks gets you a raffle ticket, and you need not be present to be eligible. Those interested in purchasing tickets can contact us at instrosummit@gmail.com. Just make sure you contact us by April 22th, as we’ll be having the drawing on Sunday, May 1st, and we want to make sure all tickets purchased-raffle or otherwise-get to where they need to be on time.

To learn more about the summit check out their Facebook page.

Instro Summit 2011 from MyRareGuitars.com

Mike & Troy at Southpaw Guitars in Houston, TX

Next we made the mistake of planning a peaceful seaside family beach vacation on South Padre Island. You see, my wife was there with her family 35 years ago, so now that our son is 12, she thought it would be cool to revisit that trip. A truly great place to visit, but our timing could not have been worse. Check this out.

So we cut that short and headed up to San Antonio. What a great city, plenty of family things to do there and plenty of great restaurants. Will certainly look forward to going there again. Then I was lucky enough squeeze in a one-afternoon whirlwind stop in AUSTIN, TX for the 2011 SXSW festival. First I had lunch with Lance Keltner who took some EASTWOOD’s for a test drive on YouTube.

Then I dropped my wife Kay and son Troy off at the Austin Duck and dove headfirst into the SXSW crowds, battling my way to the Pitchfork outdoor stage, waiting for Edwyn Collins to appear. One real surprise was catching a set by Toronto based one-man-band Diamond Rings. Great set of energetic pop tunes, quite like Depeche Mode. An hour later the legendary Edwyn Collins cruised through a perfect 30-minute set of new and classic tunes. As always, “Rip It Up” had the crowd dancing away in the hot afternoon sun. Great to see Edwyn again as well as his son William pitching in for one of his new tracks.

Edwyn Collins & his son William at SXSW 2011

A rather LONG walk across 6th to the far side of SXSW and GINGER MAN bar. There was a lineup so I missed the end of Steve Wynn’s set, but got in just in time to see him switch hats and the BASEBALL Project took the stage.

Steve Wynn's 'The Baseball Project' at SXSW 2011

Great tunes, great players and a really great crowd made for a memorable set. A little icing on the cake for me personally was Peter Buck pulling out his EASTWOOD Nashville 12 string for to tracks. Cool.

Peter Buck with his Nashville 12-String guitar from Eastwood Guitars at SXSW 2011

Hard to beat that for a quick afternoon drop-by at SXSW, but it got even better when Mike Watt took the stage!

Texas in March & SXSW 2011 from MyRareGuitars.com

Shortly after 5PM I worked my way up front, minutes later Watt took the stage, looked as the back-line BASS AMP and started laughing as if to say, “How am I going to light up this crowd with that little thing?”. Another minute later, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind. This three piece band (Tom Watson on guitar and Raul Morales on drums) proceeded to kick-ass like no other 3-piece ever has. I not suggesting you go catch the them live – I am DEMANDING you do – do not miss this show. What a trip, and hats off to Mike Watt once again, D. Boon would be proud.

Mike Watt & The Missing Men at the Ginger Man in Austin, TX for SXSW 2011

Mike Watt & The Missing Men at the Ginger Man in Austin, TX for SXSW 2011

Mike Watt & The Missing Men at the Ginger Man in Austin, TX for SXSW 2011

Mike Watt & The Missing Men at the Ginger Man in Austin, TX for SXSW 2011

Mike Watt & The Missingmen at SXSW 2011 from MyRareGuitars.com

First Look: Eastwood Warren Ellis Signature Tenor Guitar with Cherry Finish

First Look: Eastwood Warren Ellis Signature Tenor Guitar with Cherry Finish

Model	Buy Now!
Warren Ellis Signature Tenor Guitar (Cherry) It is only available in a limited run of 24 pieces this production, more coming in September. If you want one NOW order here only $499 (first come first served)

Notes:

1. If you want a hardshell case, send us an email after you complete your order and we can bill you for the case when we are ready to ship.
2. If you already have a Vintage Cream one on order and would like to switch to Cherry, email question@myrareguitars.com

Warren Ellis with his signature Eastwood Tenor Guitar (Cherry Finish)

Warren Ellis with his signature Eastwood Tenor Guitar (Cherry Finish)

Even Warren's Dad thinks it's cool!!!

Limited Edition Warren Ellis Signature Tenor – CHERRY from MyRareGuitars.com

Legendary Guitarist: Melvin Sparks

For more information about Melvin and his awesome guitar playing:

• Jambands.com – Melvin Sparks: 1946-2011
• JazzWax – [story]
• Jazz901 – [story]
• Melvin Sparks on Wikipedia
• Melvin Sparks on MySpace
• MelvinSparks.com

Melvin Sparks’ funeral (Janaza) service will be this Thursday, 10:00 am at Lee Woods Funeral Home 23E 2nd St Mt Vernon, NY (914) 699-1199 between 2nd and 3rd Avenues

RIP Melvin Sparks from MyRareGuitars.com

Eastwood Airline Tux Deluxe Electric Guitar (Natural Finish)

Eastwood Guitars and Randy Bachman have collaborated on the new Airline Tux Deluxe guitar. Bachman plays the Airline Tuxedo model, and recently pitched the idea for Airline Tux Deluxe, which captures a ’60s vibe with multi-ply binding, flamed maple top and back, and black sides. Technical changes include a Zero-Fret, upgraded tailpiece and custom coil-tapped pickups, giving the player a choice of 70% or 100% of the P-90 output levels.

Airline Tux Deluxe Electric Guitar

Features:

• Colors: Natural
• Body: Flamed Maple Top/Back, mahogany sides
• Neck: Set Maple, Zero Fret
• Fingerboard: Rosewood
• Scale Length: 25 1/2″
• Width at Nut: 1 11/16″
• Pickups: P-90 Tapped
• Switching: 3-Way
• Controls: 2 Volume, 2 Push/Pull Tone
• Bridge: Tun-o-matic
• Hardware: Vintage Style Open Back Tuners
• Strings: D’Addario #10
• Case: Deluxe AIRLINE hardshell INCLUDED
• Unique Features: Black Sides and Neck Back
• Suggested Retail: $1399.00 US
• Street Price: $1099

BUY NOW

Eastwood Airline Tux Deluxe Electric Guitar (Natural Finish)

Airline Tux Deluxe Electric Guitar from MyRareGuitars.com

Sons of OTIS

If you purchased an EASTWOOD Guitar in the past two years, there is a good chance it was setup by Ryan Aubin. When Ryan is not acting as a guitar tech for EASTWOOD, he is teaching guitar at the local shop, PINECONE Music. But sometimes Ryan gets sick of looking at guitars, so he throws down his pic and picks up his sticks. As drummer for SONS OF OTIS, Ryan is off to Europe for one month to tour with his band. On behalf of everyone at EASTWOOD we wish him a safe and fun trip! If you get a chance, drop out to see their show, here is a link to the tour dates.

Sons of OTIS

2) Keri on the Ellen show

Mike Robinson with Keri (from the Ellen show)

For the past few years, every other month we have lunch at Alice Fazooli’s where our waitress Keri has a way to make every day seem a little brighter. As it is unlikely that any of you will ever get up here for lunch, it turns out Ellen found a way to make it seem like you were here. Watch this:

and here she is at the Grammy’s:

Happenings Around Eastwood HQ from MyRareGuitars.com

Airline Guitars: Winter NAMM Booth 2011

The Airline Guitars Booth at Winter NAMM 2011

Twin Peaks Moment

Guitar.com Interview

Strange Alien Visit

An Alien Stops by the Airline Guitars Booth at Winter NAMM 2011

Guitar Geek Festival on MSNBC

A Nice WANDRE Comes Home

Me & My Wandre Guitar!

Musicians Network Interview

Winter NAMM 2011 Recap from MyRareGuitars.com

AIRLINE MANDOLA LEFT-HAND

Our wildly popular MANDOLA is now available in left-hand, but this is a LIMITED QUANTITY of only 24 pieces. Act now! ONLY $579

Eastwood Airline Electric Mandola in Seafoam Green (Left-Handed)

Eastwood Airline Electric Mandola in Black (Left-Handed)

MAGNUM BASS 34″ SCALE LEFT-HAND

Yes, the all new MAGNUM BASS is available in left-hand, but this is a LIMITED QUANTITY of only 24 pieces are available. Act now! ONLY $579

Eastwood Magnum Electric Bass Guitar in Sunburst (Left-Handed)

Thanks for checking us out!

New Left-Handed Models: Mandola & Magnum Bass from MyRareGuitars.com

Eastwood Magnum Electric Bass Guitar (Sunburst)

New Eastwood Bass Model coming next month! Here is a sneak peak at the new Eastwood MAGNUM Bass, the first 34″ scale BASS from Eastwood in many years. A tribute to the 1970’s Ovation Magnum Bass which features:

• Model: Eastwood Magnum Bass Guitar
• Colors: Sunburst, Natural
• Body: Mahogany
• Neck: Bolt-on Maple
• Fingerboard: Rosewood, Dot Markers
• Scale Length: 34″
• Width at Nut: 1 1/2″
• Pickups: Neck Humbucker, bridge Single Coil
• Switching: 3-Way
• Controls: 2 Volume, 2 Tone
• Bridge: Fender Style Adjustable, Rear String Mount
• Hardware: Gotoh Nickel/Chrome
• Strings: #45-#100
• Case: extra
• Unique Features: Wide Tonal Palette
• Suggested Retail: $759.00 US
• Availability: Early February 2011
• Street Price: $579

Eastwood Magnum Electric Bass Guitar (Sunburst)

Eastwood Magnum Bass Guitar Coming Soon! from MyRareGuitars.com

Macari's Music in London, England

Brighton, England

We continued on to Birmingham then Manchester, which led us back to Liverpool. The next day I flew to Germany to visit our distributor – iMUSIC NETWORKS in the beautiful city of WURZBURG. Then it was off to Spain for a 2 day visit with EDEN ROC our distributor for Spain, Italy and Portugal. The trip started in the wonderful city of BILBAO in the north where I was treated to some fabulous traditional Basque food and a tour of the city.

Wurzburg, Germany

Bilbao, Spain

The next day we drove to Madrid for the grand opening of the EASTWOOD Guitars Showroom, featuring a great night out with live bands and an interview with local TV station.

I will be writing more details about the showroom later, but in the meantime here are a couple of photos from the showroom. Eden Roc is a great group of hard working people and we are proud to have them as our distributor in that region!

Eastwood Guitars Showroom in Madrid, Spain

Eastwood Guitars Showroom in Madrid, Spain

With little sleep it was back to UK for the 2nd half of our UK tour. Before heading north I met with Will Seargent from Echo and the Bunnymen who was rehearsing for their upcoming tour. Pictured is his original VOX 12 string that was used on the 80’s hit song The Killing Moon. Will is using an EASTWOOD Classic 12 in the upcoming tour.

Will Seargent from Echo & The Bunnymen

Next we headed up to Glasgow where we had a great pub visit with long time Eastwood players Tippi and Greg Kane (Hugh and Cry). We dropped in to CC Music the next morning for a tour of their recently expanded shop, the best in Glasgow!

Eastwood Guitar Player: Tippi

CC Music in Glasgow, Scotland

We visited a few more cities and shops along the way including Edinburgh, then off to YORK for the annual NELSONICA event with Bill Nelson. This year Bill put together a live band for a Friday night show featuring some Be Bop Deluxe classics. Carl and I had dinner and a few pints with famous British music producer John Leckie. John shared some great stories ranging from the early days with Be Bop Deluxe to Stone Roses and Radiohead.

John Leckie (British Music Producer)

A few months earlier we sent a couple of BREADWINNER guitars over to Bill so that he could turn them into pieces of art. One came home with me to Canada; the other was auctioned off at Saturday nights Nelsonica.

Bill Nelson art guitars

All-in-all a great trip and was good to see the EASTWOOD and AIRLINE brands continuing to grow in popularity in UK and Europe. I look forward to my next trip!

17 Days In Europe With Eastwood Guitars from MyRareGuitars.com

While clearing out the warehouse in anticipation of our new shipment, we came across some AIRLINE 3P Limited Edition Guitars – the INDIGO ’59 Custom – that were never sold. Somehow during the transition to our new website we lost the page to this model, so here is your chance to grab one. Comes with Deluxe Hardshell case and lots of other goodies.

Eastwood Airline '59 Custom Electric Guitar (Limited Edition Indigo)

We only made 24 of them last year, and here are the remaining serial numbers in stock: 12, 15,16, 17, 20. First come, first served! Order using the BUY NOW button below, then send a separate email with your serial number request.

Eastwood Airline '59 Custom Electric Guitar (Limited Edition Indigo)

Eastwood Airline '59 Custom Electric Guitar (Limited Edition Indigo)

Eastwood Airline '59 Custom Electric Guitar (Limited Edition Indigo)

Eastwood Airline '59 Custom Electric Guitar (Limited Edition Indigo)

Eastwood Airline '59 Custom Electric Guitar (Limited Edition Indigo)

Eastwood Airline '59 Custom Electric Guitar (Limited Edition Indigo)

Eastwood Airline '59 Custom Electric Guitar (Limited Edition Indigo)

Eastwood Airline '59 Custom Electric Guitar (Limited Edition Indigo)

Eastwood Airline '59 Custom Electric Guitar (Limited Edition Indigo)

Limited Edition Airline ’59 Custom Electric Guitar in Indigo from MyRareGuitars.com

Under Pressure [$69 USD]	Black Hole [$69 USD]
Come Again? [$79 USD]	Good Vibrations [$69 USD]
The Stooge [$89 USD]	Vaughnabe [$79 USD]

To order the THREE PACK bundle for $250: Enter 3 choices + 4th FREE

To order the SIX PACK Bundle for $400:

Check out these video samples:

Valco Effects Pedals Now Shipping! from MyRareGuitars.com

“The new UK based operation and website makes our products easier and less expensive for our UK fans,” said Mike Robinson, President and founder of Eastwood Guitars. “Eliminating expensive North America shipping makes them more affordable and gets the guitars to our customers faster, without any unexpected import costs.”

The Eastwood Guitars UK facility is managed by Carl Cook, whose prior long standing association with Eastwood guarantees that the expert knowledge and enthusiasm that Eastwood Guitars have become renown for is brought to the UK shores. This new UK operation is part of the overall international expansion plan of Eastwood Guitars and it will also support the many new distributors of Eastwood and Airline products across Europe.

Eastwood Guitars UK: Now Up & Running in Liverpool from MyRareGuitars.com

Last year Eastwood Guitars got together with Warren Ellis of Grinderman to design a new custom TENOR electric guitar which starts shipping next month. The Warren Ellis Signature Tenor is on sale now and selling fast so get your order in soon, only $499!

Eastwood Warren Ellis Signature Electric Tenor Guitar

Model	Buy Now!
Eastwood: Warren Ellis Signature Tenor Guitar

Be sure to check the Grinderman tour schedule as many dates have already SOLD OUT and for those Nick Cave fans, some classic lyrics are in store, such as “My baby calls me the Loch Ness Monster. Two great big humps and then I’m gone”.

Warren Ellis Signature Tenor Guitar from Eastwood Guitars from MyRareGuitars.com

Valco Chicago '52 Electric Guitar (Natural Blonde)

Valco Chicago '55 Electric Guitar (Black)

Valco Chicago '59 Electric Guitar (Cherryburst)

Valco Guitars & Effects Pedals Now Shipping! from MyRareGuitars.com

The Guitars of Our Lives (Vintage Guitar Picture Contest)

I get a lot of people sending pictures to me. The most interesting ones always fit into two categories: 1) photos of people with their earliest guitars and 2) kids with guitars. It strikes me that they are kind of the same. Us “older” folks reminiscing of our youth, and us “older” folks seeing the young kids today finding the same passion we did so many years ago. So, I want to build a picture collage of all that stuff, right here on the net so all can enjoy it.

I want to keep it “vintage” looking for the most part, with pictures of kids as well. So please, only send old pictures (1950-1980) or modern pictures of people under 12 years old. OK? I won’t bother posting pictures that don’t fit this criteria.

The contest:

1. Submit your pictures using the form at the bottom of this page.
2. And (within reason) we will include them all on this page.
3. Please make them INTERNET friendly (less than 1000 pixels in width and height).
4. The contest will run forever (we hope!).
5. Every few months we will randomly draw an entry from a hat and the winner will receive a FREE EASTWOOD Guitar of their choice, up to $600 value (including shipping which is $49 N. America, $99 Europe/Japan, $179 elsewhere). If you want to get something more expensive, pay the difference.

We will store the photos under your email address name, that is the only way we can figure out the winner. When the winner is selected, we will email them and they will have 72 hours to respond. If we do not hear back, we will pick a different wwinner. All photos on this page remain in the contest forever!

Keep it simple, keep it fun!

Vintage Guitar Picture Contest from MyRareGuitars.com

Eastwood Sidejack DLX Electric Guitar (Sunburst, Left-Handed)

BUY NOW:  $449

Left-Handed Eastwood Sidejack DLX Back in Stock!!! from MyRareGuitars.com

Eastwood Airline Electric Mandola (Seafoam Green)

Following on the success of their top selling Mandocaster, Eastwood introduces the Airline Mandola. It features a solid Seafoam green alder body in a USA map shape with an 18” scale maple neck and rosewood fingerboard. A single Humbucker pickup with volume and tone controls delivers a deep, dark, mysterious tone that is completely unique sounding – like a baritone mandolin. The Mandola is tuned in fifths (C-G-D-A low-to-high) and a fifth lower than a mandolin. Historically, the larger Mandola is the actually ancestor of the Mandolin, the name of which means simply “little Mandola”.

“As with all our Eastwood and Airline models we are striving to offer something a little different for today’s modern players,” said Mike Robinson, President and founder of Eastwood Guitars, “Last year we introduced a Lap Steel and a very successful electric Mandocaster. The Mandola fits perfectly into this new family of instruments along with the Folkstar, Ukulele and Tenor. All of these models will continue to help our customers expand their sound.”

The New Airline Electric Mandola from MyRareGuitars.com

Throwback Suburbia have long been endorsees of Eastwood Guitars and now the two have joined forces for the band’s summer tour, hoping to reach fans of both classic melody and stylish guitars.

Throwback Suburbia will play a series of shows up and down the west coast, promoting their self-titled album and the guitars they faithfully depend on. Throwback Suburbia will share their tour experiences with fans by posting daily video entries with ultimate plans for releasing an extended documentary in the coming months.

Come out to one or more of the following shows and mention the catch phrase “I Get It,” to receive free Eastwood swag.

July 23
Old Ironsides – Sacramento, CA

July 24
The Joint – Los Angeles, CA
International Pop Overthrow Festival

July 25
Cat Club – Hollywood, CA

July 27
Zia Records – Las Vegas, NV

July 27
Beauty Bar – Las Vegas, NV

July 28
Beauty Bar – San Diego, CA

July 29
Alex’s Bar – Long Beach, CA

July 30
Thee Parkside – San Francisco, CA

August 5
Oregon Gardens w/ Pat Benetar – Silverton OR

Eric, Mike, Jimi, Paul and Mark
Throwback Suburbia
Web: www.throwbacksuburbia.com
Email: info@throwbacksuburbia.com

Throwback Suburbia: Summer 2010 West Coast Tour

Throwback Suburbia on West Coast Tour from MyRareGuitars.com

Eastwood Doral Electric Jazz Guitar

The Eastwood Doral is a full size archtop guitar, featuring a laminated spruce top with curly maple sides and back as well as a three piece rock maple neck. Where the Doral separates itself from other archtops is the versatility of the coil tapped humbucking pickups that afford you the opportunity to switch between vintage voiced humbuckers and P90 voiced singled coil pickups. Joey Leone, Doral design team leader said, “As a professional player I’ve always dreamed of having two L5’s, the mid sixties humbucking model Wes Montgomery played, and the 50’s era L5 CES Scotty Moore played with Elvis. This guitar delivers both sounds.”

Eastwood Doral Electric Jazz Guitar

One other feature of the Eastwood Doral electric jazz guitar is the pickup spacing, the neck pickup is spaced slightly away from the neck an idea that was used on several Gibson one pickup models in the 50’s and 60’s, and on the sleeper of a guitar, the Ibanez Joe Pass Model from the 70’s. This gives the front pickup a bit more of a low mid voicing, a real plus on a spruce topped guitar which can be a bit muddy and have trouble cutting through a larger ensemble. The Doral replicates the natural acoustic sound of the guitar more accurately. The bridge pickup is moved slightly away from the bridge as well, this gives you a more useable sound as opposed to the “treble pickup” with no treble sound found on L5’s. Lastly, this gives you a slightly different sound when both pickups are employed, very similar to the sound many players love on the short scale Byrdland.

“Since the overwhelming success of the Joey Leone Signature models last year, we have been looking for other ways to introduce high-end models at mid-range prices,” said Mike Robinson, President and founder of Eastwood Guitars, “Many guitarists are accustomed to paying $3,000+ for a “quality” high-end guitar. We’ve found a way to deliver that guitar, at half the price and twice the features.”

For a great review of the Doral, check out Guitar International.

The New Eastwood Doral Electric Jazz Guitar from MyRareGuitars.com

Chris Haney: Co-Creator of Trivial Pursuit

Trivial Pursuit was born when Haney and friend Scott Abbott got together for a game of Scrabble in the late ’70s. Their banter turned to ideas for their own game and by the end of the evening they had come up with the formula that would eventually turn them into millionaires. Released in 1982, it took off after a slow start. “We had no idea just how successful it would become,” Scott added. “We didn’t realize it would transcend games players and become, with the Cabbage Patch Kids, what Time magazine in 1984 called an American social phenomenon.”

The duo sold the rights to toy giant Hasbro in 2008 for $80 million US. Like all his friends, Abbott chuckled when asked to suggest a defining anecdote about Haney, suggesting there were too many to choose from. “He was not a scholar in the conventional sense,” Abbott laughed. “He had no use for the classroom. He always said, ‘I quit school in Grade 12. It was the biggest mistake I ever made. I should have done it in Grade 10.’

Why BLOG about Chris Haney at MRG? As some of you know, my passion for golf is equal to my passion for goofy guitars. Four or fives times each week I have the honor to play a couple of GREAT golf courses here in Toronto – The Devil’s Pulpit and The Devil’s Paintbrush – both of which are ranked in the top 20 in the country and both exist due to the vision of Chris Haney and Scott Abbott. In the late 1980’s they followed their passion for the game and built the Devil’s Pulpit which opened in 1990 followed by the second course two years later.

Toronto golf courses: Devil's Paintbrush & Devil's Pulpit

So, if you are a guitar player, trivia fan and you like to play golf, you should some day plan to take a walk in the house that Haney built. Both courses are a worthwhile experience, and Chris was very proud of them. Sad to see Chris go so early, a crisp reminder of our mortality and the need for some personal legacy. Fortunately by virtue of the Devil’s Pulpit and Paintbrush, Chris succeeded in doing that, and in my mind FAR beyond the legacy of Trivial Pursuit.

Guitars, Golf Courses & Trivial Pursuit from MyRareGuitars.com

• Some very cool products come out.
• Some slimy companies try to sell their (generally) useless products with scantily clad women (and, hey, I’m all for scantily clad women, but it seems out of place, silly and kind of skanky in a bad way at a trade show).
• There are rooms and rooms of guitars and amps and pedals to check out.
• And there is what seems like a whole floor of drummers and drum products to avoid. (Only the most aurally masochistic of us should ever have to endure the “World’s Fastest Drummer” competition.)
• A surprisingly large amount of guys (most in their 40’s, but some younger, however this is an offense that even youth offers no excuse for) walk around with sunglasses inside and look pretty much like their trying to win a “look like a pathetic moron” contest.
• And so on.

But, it’s still a blast and a half to go—largely because the Eastwood crew (Mike Robinson, et al) are some of the greatest people to hang with. So, what happened this year at NAMM? What follows are some random notes and observations, things I saw and heard, from the NAMM show, this year’s model.

• One of the things about booth placement at NAMM, is that you’re pretty much at the mercy of the gods…or, at the very least, whomever it is who decides what booths go where. The Eastwood booth was in the company of several very cool booths. It was, however, maddeningly placed kitty-corner to some “carry it in a bag” acoustic amplifier. The theory behind this gizmo seemed to be that any singer-songwriter could carry this tall thin speaker and amp and play a gig anywhere without back strain. Unfortunately, the makers didn’t seem to consider ear strain when making this. The sound quality was not helped by the fact that everyone who demo’d the thing seemed to be the first handful of people they could find off the street who knew a G C and D chord and who promised to howl out of tune at any public opportunity. But the amplification system itself sounded so bad that I don’t think Bob Dylan himself could have sounded good through it. As the great and funny Peter Robinson said at one point, “That thing sounds like someone strumming a screen door.”
• The booth directly behind us seemed to be for some brand of bass. However this wasn’t some company trying to take business from, say, people who play Fender Precisions. People who play, you know, actual bass. No, this bass was for guys who thought holding down the bottom and playing tastefully and melodically were archaic notions and quaint ideas of the past. Not for them subtlety or musicality…bass is made for playing as fast as possible. And it gets even better if you can tap and snap as often as possible. Spend four eight hour days with this tuneless rumble directly behind your booth, and you will go insane. You’ve been warned.
• Relic guitars are, inexplicably, as popular as ever. I may get some flak for this but, damn it people, if you want a beat-up looking guitar, beat up your own damn guitar. For one thing, there’s something truly disingenuous about having a fake cluster of wear on your guitar. Do it yourself! Play the hell out of it. It’s not hard to beat a guitar up—I’ve done it to several. However, the worst thing about these “relics” is that they LOOK fake as all hell (including the ones that cost about as much as a car coming out of various custom shops in, not to name names or anything, places like Corona, CA). I have a 1969 Telecaster I’ve had since 1982. It was beat up when I got it. In the twenty-eight years I’ve had it, I’ve played it more than any other of my guitars. It’s been on several tours. It’s been through THREE sets of frets. It has acquired beer and sweat and blood (all, literally) in its electronics. It’s been banged around by luggage carriers, band-mates, tour vans with crappy suspension and questionable brakes and played night after night for years by yours truly. It’s full of dings, scratches, wear marks and a couple of cigarette burns. Why do I tell you all this? Because, as beat up as my Tele is (and I’ve hardly taken great care of it, physically) is has NOWHERE near the “wear” of the average “relic” guitar. I checked out several “relics” (from several well known brands—all the big players) and they, without exception, looked extreme, ridiculous and phony. I can see the logic of wanting to feel a worn-in neck, but these relic bodies are goofy. Most look like a stoned teenager took a belt sander and mallet to them in shop class.
• Boy, are there a LOT of pedals for guitar players available. Many of them seem to have so much gain, it has NO importance what amp you put behind it. It kind of cracks me up that people will buy a three thousand dollar amp and then put a pedal in front of it that so blocks the tone and personality, they might as well be playing guitar through a Radio Shack PA.
• There are, and this is an estimate, about five thousand guitar players at NAMM better than me (I say this estimating the number of guitar plays at NAMM at about five thousand). Somewhat reassuring in this estimate, however, is that fewer than a hundred of them play anything I’d want to play. There’s an astounding amount of truly stunning, and truly awful, noodling out there.
• Based on the purely anecdotal evidence of walking around the NAMM show, I would say that there are a LOT of bass players who don’t know what a bass player’s job is. Yes, Jaco Pastorious and Stanley Clark may have been geniuses, but I think they may have ruined a generation or two of bass players. I’m not saying you have to play Nashville bass and just sit on the root, or that you can’t play it as a lead instrument at time—hell, I love Mingus, for instance, or Entwistle, and they didn’t play “traditional” bass. But, damn, I heard so many profoundly AWFUL bass players just cramming a bunch of notes and slapping and pulling and not seeming to know a thing about the bottom or the melody. It’s an epidemic, people. If you have a bass player like this in your family or band, it might be time for a thud staff intervention. This “style” of playing needs a drastic reaction. Say, public shunning, or something.
• I had to listen to a guy, some “artist” at a pedal booth demo (wearing a purple suit and purple fedora and more makeup than Tammy Faye Baker) play “Pride and Joy” and (yes, really) “Mustang Sally” several times in four days. He was, sadly, on the way to the bathroom, the food and the beer. He was also, sadly, on the way BACK from the bathroom, food and the beer. He played a Strat through a Tubescreamer and a Wah and he sounded exactly like Stevie Ray Vaughan, except for those ever so subtle little things we like to call originality and genius.
• A lot of guys (the ones not shredding like someone named Blackie, or Sinister, or Diabolical Jones or Really Scary Larry or whatever their mascara-stained faces are) play “Pride and Joy” when they sit to test a guitar.
• An otherwise stunningly attractive woman in her mid 40’s with a “SCORPIONS” tattoo tramp stamped at the small of her back. Just sad.
• Along with the bozos who wear sunglasses indoors (and NO, I will never let up on you clowns until you’re swept from the Earth), there were plenty of guys trying to dress like rock stars—long coats, silly boots, one Goth guy trying to look all scary with those weird “look! My eyes are red! Ooooh, scary,” contact lenses, and so on. Really, NAMM is an interesting place to go to see how pathetically some men handle middle age. Guys, the pencil-thin mustaches, the pancake makeup, the black wigs…it would be funny if it weren’t so obvious and so naked in its Peter Pan desperation.
• I checked out the Peavey booth, thinking I’d been unfair a couple years back saying everything they made was ugly. But, no, I was right. They make fine, dependable, at times first-rate products. But they slap that hideous early 80’s ‘lightening bolt’ Peavey logo on everything and they seem to have the worst aesthetic sense in the business. Obviously they’re doing something right, having been in the biz since 1965, but boy, their stuff is tough on the eyes.
• What else? Well, lots of cool guitars. Some fine looking amps (it’s hard as all hell to tell if they’re good sounding at NAMM, since you can’t turn the volume up, which is good, in the long run). More Ukuleles than I’ve ever seen in one place. A Paul McCartney impersonator at the Hofner booth who didn’t look much like Paul McCartney. And, perhaps much sadder, a Catwoman impersonator at the Hallmark booth who didn’t look nearly enough like Julie Newmar. But, then, not enough people in this world look enough like Julie Newmar, so what’s one to do?
• I’d be remiss not to mention National Treasure Deke Dickerson and his annual Guitar Geek Festival. The man knows how to put on a show and this year was no exception.

So, that’s something of a wrap on this year’s NAMM show. In between all the guitars, the amps, the goofy guys with sunglasses indoors were many hours spent laughing and hanging out with the guys from Eastwood (and I would quote some of the jokes and conversations, but none of them approached anything like a G-rating, so you’ll have to be out of that vulgar loop, my friends)—truly some of the greatest guys I know and people who make even a casual gathering in a hotel room better than most parties. Even though I’m still hearing really bad folksingers and slappy bass bozos as I try to sleep at night, I can’t wait until next year.

Report from NAMM 2010 from MyRareGuitars.com

Small Is Beautiful: Under 10 Watt Guitar Amps Grow Up
Last year I discussed what I believed to be the growing fascination with power reduction. At that time I reviewed the ways in which an amp’s power can be reduced: attenuators, variable power reduction, switchable power reduction, pentode/triode operation and single tube, low watt amps.

One year later it turns out that the industry seems to have focused on single tube amps and either variable or switchable power reduction.

In 2009 the already crowded ranks of the ‘under-10-watt’ category grew significantly. Three aspects of that growth are, I believe, interesting and give us an indication of what’s coming.

1. VERY low power. Not only did many manufacturers introduce under-10-watt amps, a number of them provided the ability to reduce power to under 1 watt – sometimes well under 1 watt. I believe this acknowledges the fact that the vast majority of electric guitar players – if not all – spend a significant portion of their time playing at home. Therefore, it makes sense to provide amps optimized for home playing and less than a 1 watt output is necessary to obtain the best tone at bedroom volume.
2. The economy made me do it. The impact of the economy has helped fuel the industry’s interest in low power amps – 2009’s Mesa’s Mark V and the PRS amp line being notable exceptions. In the worst economy since The Great Depression it makes sense that manufacturers introduced lower priced products. Relatively few guitarists were willing and able to spend over $1,000 on a guitar amp this past year – and likely won’t for some time to come.
3. The economy made me do it, part II. Boutique builders embraced low power for the same reason the rest of the industry did: to have something to sell! Good news for tone hounds! Prior to the world’s economic bubble bursting, boutique amps were overwhelmingly focused on 15-18 watts and above – (2+ power tubes).

Where are we headed?
I believe that the low power amp trend will have legs at least as long as the ’18 watt’ trend – that is 5+ years. For the next few years expect to see more under-10-watters hit the market. This trend will be long lived for two reasons:

1. First, with the global economy expected to experience only limited growth over the next two years (and perhaps longer) and unemployment expected to decline at a very slow rate, high ticket guitar amps will not be selling like hot cakes. As I mentioned above, amp companies have to have something to sell at a price people are able to pay. Hello under-10-watters!
2. Second, I predict the electric guitar world will discover that under-10-watt amps can provide GREAT tone and surprising flexibility – they can be legitimate tone machines suitable for more than just bedroom strumming.

The positive result for all electric guitarists is that as more and more builders pursue low power amps of their own, the quality and variety of under-10-watt amps will increase – just like 15-18 watters did a few years ago, which were considered low power amps before the under-10-watt trend took hold!

Guitar Amp Industry Reacts to Change – Extension, Contraction and Caution
It’s no surprise that this year the Crystal Ball is clouded by the effects of the economy. Most industries (all?) have been forced to change tactics. Here’s how I think the guitar amp industry will cope.

Up until the fall of 2008 the overall guitar market was as overheated as the rest of economy. Vintage guitar prices were sky high, manufacturers were introducing new products at a rapid rate, a boutique builder baby boom was in full swing with new arrivals being born almost every week. Music Industry revenue statistics confirmed double digit annual growth: guitarists were buying gear like there was no tomorrow.

Sound familiar? Substitute guitars and amps with almost any product you can think of and the scenario was the same.

And then we hit the wall.

How have manufacturers reacted and how will they struggle through until sales start to grow?

Product Line Extension – Want More Pedals?
As mentioned above regarding low power amps, many guitar amp companies that previously relied on $1,000+ products to sustain business are searching for lower priced offerings that appeal to income battered guitar players.

This is confirmed by an interesting fact about how this recession differs from those of the past: the sale of ‘luxury’ products have dropped right along with everything else. In every recession since the Depression, luxury goods manufacturers (in our case think boutique builders) enjoyed relatively robust sales: those with money kept buying high-end items. Not this time.

So, I believe that in addition to under-10-watt amps many amp builders will extend their product lines by creating their own line of effects pedals. After all, compared to a guitar amplifier an effects pedal requires less labor, fewer components (usually), no power supply (or an off the shelf, cheap wall wart), a dramatically smaller and less costly cabinet and, as is the case with combo amps, they don’t require a large and expensive speaker.

To an amp company, that looks like a promising path to a relatively inexpensive product line add-on. I’m certain that I am not the only amp builder who has thought of that!

However, will extending a previously amp-only product line by adding pedals be the ‘answer’ to increased sales? Maybe.

We all know the pedal market is as crowded as the amp market if not more so. Will amp company offerings cause guitarists to buy a pedal when they otherwise wouldn’t or cause them to choose the amp company’s product vs. a pedal company’s?

Time will tell, but those amp companies that successfully launch a line of pedals will do so solely on the merit of their product (and their marketing budget!): amp builder pedals will have to be sufficiently different from the crowd to garner attention and sales.

Can that happen? Who knows for sure, but I believe you will see an increasing number of pedals offered by amp companies that are, of course, designed using their knowledge of tube amp design and tone – not from a pedal manufacturer’s ‘pedal-centric’ perspective.

So, expect to see pedals that are designed to form a ‘system’ with an amp rather than being simply an add on. How a pedal compliments, enhances and changes the amp’s tone (and vice versa) and how the pedal interacts with the amp’s first preamp stage will, I think, be areas of interest for amp-centric pedal designers.

Pedals designed to, in effect (bad pun), add another channel or multiple channels to an amp… pedals designed with a frequency response perfectly matched to an amp’s voicing… overdrive and distortion based on the detailed knowledge of how tubes produce their particular mojo and long experience ‘voicing’ amps. I think that amp builder’s will have their own take on pedal design, particularly in conjunction with their own amps.

Guitar Amp Product Line Contraction – Less Choice
I think we will see some amp companies narrowing their product lines. Following the unfortunate theme of this article, higher priced and/or lower volume models may see the end of their life cycle in the coming 12 months.

Too bad for guitarists, but inevitable at least to some extent I think.

Guitar Amp Product Line Caution – Fewer New Products
This is another prediction that isn’t a surprise. When sales are down there is less money available for research, product development and product launches. Plus, these days the risk inherent in any product launch is much greater than in the past.

So, as was evident in 2009 – aside from low power amps – I believe that the number of new amp product introductions will significantly lag that of past years.

Again, too bad for guitarists, but inevitable.

2009 Tube Tone Crystal Ball Revisited.
Last year I made three predictions. As it turns out, it looks like I called two of them correctly!

1. End of the 18 Watt Guitar Amp Trend: In my opinion 2009 proved what I believed was already happening in 2008: the fascination with dual EL84 amps has ended. Although I don’t have precise statistics, I think there were dramatically fewer amps of this type launched in 2009 – yes, launches were down overall, but other than perhaps a small hand full none were twin 84s. As I pointed out last year, this is not to say that EL84 based, 18 watters aren’t good amps! In fact, the trend was legitimate – these things can sound fantastic!!
2. Guitar Amp Power Reduction – enough said above.
3. PCB Amps On The Rise: My prediction that more ‘high-end’ amps will feature printed circuit boards (PCBs) instead of hand made, stuffed and soldered circuit board has not been realized. Nonetheless, I believe that this change will occur, but when it will start given the current industry situation, who knows.

I’d like to know what you think is happening in the world of tube amps. Send me an email at: Don@MackAmps.com.

Mack Amps: Skyraider SR-15 Amp (front)

Don Mackrill
www.MackAmps.com

Tube Tone Crystal Ball 2010: Amp Trends & Future Predictions! from MyRareGuitars.com

Neko Case on David Letterman featuring Jon Rauhouse on his Eastwood Classic 12:

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John Fogerty playing some killer slide guitar on his Airline Coronado:

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The Decemberists on Late Late Show, Chris Funk with his Eastwood Messenger:

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Another cool video featuring the Eastwood Coronado guitar by The Jett Blackk Heart Attack:

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Chris Spedding with his Airline Town & Country:

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Music Radar demo featuring the Airline RS-II guitar:

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German player Einar Gast with his Airline Town & Country:

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Colin Newman of GITHEAD with his Eastwood Breadwinner:

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Liverpool band OWLS with a lefty Eastwood Ichiban:

Eastwood Guitar Sightings on YouTube in 2009 from MyRareGuitars.com

The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show

Since 09/09/09 I’ve been listening to the fab four round the clock until I couldn’t bear it any more, with mixed emotions (to quote Mick Jagger). As a whole there are a lot of good songs, several great songs and then quite a bit of rubbish some of it downright embarrising, and I’m not just talking about Revolution 9.

All The Beatles albums… rated! 

Let’s start from the very beginning (a very good place…but enough of the kitch, I’ll leave that for Paul.)

Please Please Me: definitely one of their purer efforts, pure rock and roll, simple lyrics, but that was what was expected of them then. A good start and still good today.Of the fourteen tracks six were covers of other artists including songs written by Carol King and Burt Bacharach. Now remastered the harmonies and simple music renditions make it feel even more alive. Grade: A-

With the Beatles: released only four months later. Another great raw album. You don’t change a winning combination. Finally Ringo gets to play drums – not the best drummer in the world by far. Again six of the fourteen tracks are covers. Grade: A-

A Hard Day’s Night: down to 13 tracks, this album was entirely self written. Another strong production Grade: A-

Beatles for Sale: the Beatles are by now tired and pressed for time and a bit fed up – thus the title. Between a concert tour in the U.S. and one in the U.K. they had all of five weeks to put together and record this album. Luckily they could lean heavily on successful covers they sang on stage in their Hamburg days. Much due to this fact, the album is almost flawless and great fun to listen to, especially after being remastered. It has a very live, gritty feeling to it, something that was actually missing from their actual concerts (see my blog ). Grade: A-

Help!: The soundtrack from their second film. Who could dare fault an album including Yesterday, Ticket to Ride and and the beautiful You’ve got to Hide your Love away. Grade: A

Up till this point definitely a great group. Not a rock group or a revolutionary force but still great enough to be worthy of all the hype.

Rubber Soul: the first hint that the Beatles wanted a change. There is a candid attempt to add hidden meaning to the songs. Here the Beatles try to go beyond the boy / girl love / dove lyrics and attempt to make a statement. Hints at drug use are abundant as is the influence of Dylan and the Byrds. Ambiguity is the name of the game; Norwegian Wood, Drive my Car, Looking Through You. Though it has it’s great moments, the album is uneven. There are initial signs of the banal McCartney love songs to emerge in future years – Michelle Ma Belle!!!. Gone are the rhythmic, exciting numbers that got all the girls screaming – the Beatles concert years are behind them. Grade: B

Revolver: Electric Rock has replaced the folk rock of the previous album and once again the vitality is back: Got to get You into my Life, Taxman, And your bird can Sing. Several songs, notably Tomorrow Never Knows, offer a shift to the East with the use of the sitar. At the time many critics hailed Revolver as one of the greatest albums of all time. In retrospect their praise seems overrated. The songs are strong but the mixture of different styles make it more a unconnected collection of songs than a concept album. Grade: B

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band: Often voted the best and most revolutionary album of the twentieth century, the real question is does it hold up to the test of time. In my opinion no. Marketed as a concept album it falls flat after the second song and leaves us with a batch of psychedelically touched pieces that are unlikely to get you excited today. On the one hand there’s With a little help from my friends (Joe Cocker’s half stoned version sounds far superior), A day in the Life (actually two songs knitted together) and When I’m 64 but how many times are you willing today to listen to Getting Better,McCartney’s Lovely Rita (Wings are on the way) or Mr Kite (more of a joke than a song really). A great album cover but not my favourite album or even my favourite Beatles album by far. Grade: B-

Magical Mystery Tour: not really worth mentioning. A failing BBC TV special with no script, turned into a disastrous EP set and then reshuffled to make an album. Eleven songs in all, luckily including Fool on the Hill, Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane, otherwise worthless. Can you really listen to All you need is Love or Flying without throwing up? Grade: C-

The White Double Album: The Beatles didn’t even bother themselves with a name or cover. Not really a group album at all. This album has enough good songs to fill a short, single album but it as a double album it is full of garbage. High marks for Back in the USSR, Dear Prudence and While my Guitar Gently Weeps, but new lows for Revolution 9, Why don’t We do it in the Road and Happiness is a Warm Gun, not to mention Paul’s idiotic Rocky Raccoon, and Mother Natures Son. Even George and Ringo got in the act with Piggies and Goodnight. Did they really believe they they could sell anything? A real embarrassment. Grade: C- (and I’m being nice)

Yellow Submarine: don’t even get me started. Just let me give them an E and leave it at that.

Abbey Road: After three previous no shows, no one really saw this coming. True it’s as much a George Martin album as a Beatles one, but finally it all comes together. My favourite Beatles album by far. The Beatles finally get it together again. A masterpiece Grade: A+

Let it Be: I wish they had. The title song is more gospel than Beatles. Then there’s The Long and Winding Road – George Martin and Paul really went overboard there. Apart from Get Back and The One after 909, which returned them to their rock and roll era, the album isn’t worth mentioning. Grade: D-

So there you have it. Six great albums, three not so great and four pretty awful ones. So were they really that great. As a rock and roll group they could even get your grandmother up and dancing. As rock psychedelic revolutionists they were out of their league.

Post by: Steve Taite
The Taite Gallery Blog

The Beatles: Were They Really That Good? from MyRareGuitars.com

Congratulations to Beth McKeever from MN, USA. Here she is posing with her new ’59 Custom Airline 2P guitar. Great photo:

Congratulations to Beth McKeever from MN, USA

Here is Francois Ducrohet from Bagnolet France, who won the Draw Prize for the Airline 2P Guitar:

Francois Ducrohet from Bagnolet, France

Congratulations and thanks to all who entered!

2009 Airline Guitar Contest Winner! from MyRareGuitars.com

There’s been buzz on the Web and an actual broo-ha-ha this week in anticipation of the announcement of Gibson’s “Jimi Hendrix Guitar” package. As even the most casual Hendrix fans know, his main axe was a Fender Stratocaster. Especially devoted followers are likely aware that Jimi occasionally played a Gibson Flying V. Gibson’s Custom Shop already offered a high-end tribute model Flying V of just 300 copies with a list of $12,300 in 2007, so this new model would surely be some variation on that, right?

Signature Jimi Hendrix Strat Guitar from Gibson Guitars

What was instead unveiled is something that is baffling many: it’s a Strat copy.

Gibson is clearly excited about the project. At Gibson.com a Hendrix image is on the main page, top of the fold, and when one clicks through it, a long tribute to Hendrix with pictures of the iconic guitarist are posted, including one with his Fender Strat.

According to the press release, this new product will be an entry-level guitar package that includes the guitar, a Hendrix signature Voodoo Child amplifier, and a Foxey Fuzz pedal. Hendrix’s face is on the pick guard. The pack also includes an instructional DVD and a USB drive containing exclusive Hendrix media content and a “Hendrix inspired tie-dyed tee-shirt and bandana.” It is reported to retail at $199.

When asked for a comment, Fender’s media department replied: “I understand you’re interested in a comment regarding the recent product announcement from Gibson. As it is not an FMIC product, it would be inappropriate for us to comment on it.”

Gibson Guitars Presents the Jimi Hendrix Package of Goodies

Gibson’s media department did not respond to several requests for a comment of any kind, including how they thought the product would do, or whether or not they are concerned with possible patent infringement. President/CEO Henry Juszkiewicz’s office was contacted directly but calls and e-mails were not returned at press time

Reaction
Out in the blogosphere, virtual tongues were wagging. Musicradar.com, one of the first to break the news, commented on the irony: “Gibson sued Paul Reed Smith in the early 1990s over the latter’s Singlecut design, claiming it breached design copyright. In that drawn-out case, Gibson finally conceded in 2006 that only ‘an idiot’ could confuse PRS Singlecut with a Gibson.”

Guitarist.co.uk featured an interview with Hendrix’s daughter, Janie, his sister and head of Authentic Hendrix, the estate. In it she points out that it’s not “Gibson branded” but “Jimi Hendrix branded.” Also she says: “It was Gibson who saw a vision from the beginning and was willing to work with us. We don’t have anything against Fender, we have no bad blood, but it’s just that we built a better relationship with Gibson over the years.” She stressed that with Gibson they hope to bring music making to a new generation, something her brother would certainly approve of.

When asked if this might be seen as exploiting her brother’s name, she states: “Jimi was our family member and we’ll just make sure that we take care of him the best way we can. We are committed to keeping Jimi’s legacy alive and intact and bring it to you in the most authentic form.”

In reporting this, the U.K. music trade magazine, MI Pro, writes: “The bewildering move by Gibson to create, essentially, a copy of a guitar it has been in direct competition with for over 50 years seems at best ill-advised, at worst arrogant bravado, particularly when considering Gibson’s continual recourse to the law courts, suing those that encroach upon what it sees as trademark design.”

Some retailers, upon hearing the news, were surprised. “Is this for real?” responded Bob Moggio of Mojo’s Music, Edwardsville, Ill.

“I guess April Fool’s Day is early this year,” sighed Gary Gand, of Gand Music and Sound, Chicago. “One more low-cost toy to try to tap into the babies of the baby boomer market. Dad will buy it for himself but give it to the kids…what was that old saw about one born every minute?”

“If it does as well as the Wayne’s World Strat, none of us are gonna get rich,” Gand cracked.

“As an independent retailer nothing seems to amaze me more than stunts like this,” says Gordy Wilcher of Owensboro Music, Owensboro, Ky. “The lines from the major guitar players are more blurred than ever. There is no loyalty. Even more surprising, these manufacturers have completely lost site of working to maintain the integrity and value of their products. This newest “Jimipaulcaster” is just the latest in any attempt to ‘move’ some wood. Guess what? Most new consumers don’t have the emotional investment and love for the logo. Our customers want something unique and of value. Sorry guys, I just ain’t buying it!”

REPRINTED from MMR: Musical Merchandise Review E-newsletter (9/26/2009)

Gibson Creates Signature Jimi Hendrix Strat from MyRareGuitars.com

The celebrations took nearly two months to get through. It started early in August with a 2 week getaway vacation with my wife Kay and son Troy. We went to eastern Canada and hit every spot imaginable from Cape Breton to P.E.I. to Halifax and over to Newfoundland. If you have never been to Newfoundland, you should. Here is a picture of Troy and me hiking in Western NFLD:

Troy and me hiking in Western Newfoundland

Here is 10 yr. old Troy in charge of steering the Lobster Boat in P.E.I. He may look calm, but in fact he is very serious because this was a pretty big boat!

Upon returning to Toronto, my brother Peter from California decided to make his second trip up to Canada this summer for the 50th celebrations. We kicked it off with a couple of rounds of golf and more than a couple of rounds of drinks. The big party was Sept 5th, featuring a baseball game with 25 friends from High School – Yes, I said HIGH SCHOOL FRIENDS – question: who can round up 25 high school friends on their 50th Birthday? I think not many. That is what I call good friends! Butch came from Texas, Big T came from Vancouver, Heter from California. Amazing that most of us still hang out together all the time. Here is one of the photos:

Who can round up 25 high school friends on their 50th Birthday? I think not many.

The party lasted well into the wee hours, featuring numerous guitars, amps, basses, vocals, and of course cocktails. Good thing the neighbors were out of town. After that we went up north to a friend’s cottage in Muskoka for 3 days of fishing. Here is brother Peter, trolling the shoreline for PIKE:

Peter, trolling the shoreline for Pike

Then back to Toronto for a short sleep and right on through to the Catskills in New York – a total of 8 hours driving – to the ATP Festival. What a blast that was. Take a look at this shot. Yes, I might be 50, yes, I might look 50, but I am dead center in the middle of the mosh-pit acting like a 20 year old, which is how I feel most of the time. This photo was taken during the kick-ass set from legendary JESUS LIZARD. That is David Yow with the MIC, me right in front of him:

Me in the pit at the Jesus Lizard show at ATP (David Yow with the mic)

Also that first night I ran into Nick Cave (who was not on the bill) after sitting in with Warren Ellis and The Dirty Three. Warren and I get to talking about making an Eastwood TENOR guitar. This is really going to happen! Here I am with Nick and his AIRLINE TUXEDO guitar the following week back in Toronto:

Nick Cave with an Airline Tuxedo

Not often you see Nick smile, but somehow it feels like a fitting photograph to cap off the 50th Birthday celebrations. So the partying has finally come to an end and it’s time to get back to work. Summer has also officially ended and the leaves are starting to fall. Here is one final photo from this summer. This is Troy up at our cottage, where most evenings we have a fire and roast marshmallows. Troy decided it would be cool to put a marshmallow on the end of an arrow and fire it out into Georgian Bay. Who has more fun than kids? Looks like the 50 year olds?

Troy decided it would be cool to put a masrhmellow on the end of an arrow and fire it out into Georgian Bay

We’ve Only Just Begun: My 50th Birthday from MyRareGuitars.com

Jackson 5: Jermaine Jackson plays Airline Town & Country Guitar

ABOVE: A chubby-cheeked 10-year-old Michael flanked by his four brothers (middle row, left-right) Tito, Marlon, Jermaine and (back row) Jackie in 1968, two years after they formed the Jackson Five. Back then the world really was black and white for Michael and family. This shot is interesting for us because Jermaine is sporting an AIRLINE Town & Country model.

BELOW: Here is a beautiful and haunting song from NYC’s singer Sharon Van Etten playing her song “For You”. It was filmed by Kevin Serra in Central Park in a rowboat.

Hollerado - Send the Boys to China

ABOVE: Thank you to everyone that participated in the SEND THE BOYS TO CHINA contest. Here is a shot of HOLLERADO during one of their shows on that recent trip to China.

BELOW: This is just a weird shot from www.myspace.com/davidchazam

David Chazam

Odd’s & End’s from MyRareGuitars.com

Githead (featuring Colin Newman)

Webcast With Githead Featuring Colin Newman from MyRareGuitars.com

Eastwood Airline 2P Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Electric Guitar (Metallic Gold)

Details:

• Release Date: April 2009
• Quantity: 50 available
• Color: Metallic Gold
• Price: $899 (Deluxe Case Included)

Features:

• Bound Tone Chambered Mahogany Body
• Vintage Striped Pickguard and Chrome Tone Switch
• Two ALNICO Hot-10 Pickups Standard
• Optional VVSC Pickups ($99)
• Optional BIGSBY Tremolo ($129)
• Bolt-on Maple Neck, raised Metal AIRLINE logo
• 25 1/2″ scale, 1 5/8″ at the nut, Vintage Tuners
• Vintage Cream Rubber Body Binding
• Airline DLX Vintage Hardshell Case INCLUDED
• ONLY 50 GUITARS MADE, each with unique serial number
• Includes certificate of authenticity
• Shipping only $49

Options:

• Original VALCO Knobs – $50
• BIGBSY tremolo – $129
• Airline VVSC Pickups – $99.

Eastwood Airline 2P Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Electric Guitar (Metallic Gold)

Eastwood Airline 2P Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Electric Guitar (Metallic Gold)

Eastwood Airline 2P Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Electric Guitar (Metallic Gold)

Eastwood Airline 2P Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Electric Guitar (Metallic Gold)

Eastwood Airline 2P Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Electric Guitar (Metallic Gold)

Eastwood Airline 2P Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Electric Guitar (Metallic Gold)

Eastwood Airline 2P Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Electric Guitar (Metallic Gold)

Eastwood Airline 2P Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Electric Guitar (Metallic Gold)

Eastwood Airline 2P Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Electric Guitar (Metallic Gold)

Eastwood Airline 2P Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Electric Guitar (Metallic Gold)

Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Airline ’59 Custom Guitar from MyRareGuitars.com

Dave Hogan: Hollerado Guitar Contest Winner

Dave Hogan, CT USA is the winner of the Hollerado guitar contest. CONGRATULATIONS Dave! We gave him the choice of a new one or the one that Hollerado beat up on their tour, Dave chose the new one. The beater will remain in the Eastwood Hall of Shame… Rock ‘n Roll, gotta love it!

Don’t forget to down the Hollerado album for FREE.

Here is a PRIMER, starting back 6 months ago with the DAVE FOLEY incident:

..they take a moment to talk about the residency tour:

..we interview them as the tour winds down, and talk about the contest guitar:

..and now 6 months later, they apologize and are forgiven:

..and play a song for us at the Eastwood Players Lounge:

Eastwood Guitars and rebelSonic are proud to be a part of the craziest tour going… the Hollerado Residency Tour!

Montreal’s fun loving gonzo rockers “HOLLERADO”, are doing an insane 28 day tour in February, covering over 9,500 km, playing one club in seven cities for four weeks straight: Boston to New York to Lacolle to Hamilton to Toronto to Ottawa to Montreal to… Now that’s indie music on steroids!

Menno and the boys are taking the new Eastwood Monolith guitar with them! This guitar features “the biggest pickup on the planet”, the all new three voice Monolith from rebelSonic, and at the end of the tour it could be yours!

And go to www.hollerado.com to download their new album… FREE!

Eastwood Monolith Guitar

Hollerado Band

Hollerado Guitar Contest from MyRareGuitars.com

We build exceptional guitars. We build metal bodied guitars, that are either chrome, machined etched surface treatment or Harley Davidson candy paints for a look that is brilliant and bright and unique and cool. The one you are looking at now is our chromed beauty, the LMG-T Guitar.

LMG-T Guitar from Liquid Metal Guitars

the body
All of our guitar bodies, the “T”, starts as a solid block of 6061 T6 Aircraft Aluminum and is then hogged out until we have the perfect body thickness. This is way denser than wood and the plucked string’s energy stays intact much longer. This ultimately makes for clearer, more pure sound. Now Apple has gone and copied us, ( just using a little hyperbole here…:) ) ..and made their new Mac Book out of a solid block of aluminum. The surface of the guitar is a machined cross hatched texture. You can definately see the patterned tool marks. Then the machined body is coated with the latest in scratch resistant clear coat, the same as is used on the Mercedes-Benz cars. This gives the machining a sense of depth, it is an amazing 3d look with an absolutely stunning luster. Again, with all our guitars this is a feature that is unique to metal, you can’t do this machining in wood, you cant do the clear coat in wood and you can’t get this damn fine sound in wood…

the pickups
Now when you want something that is absolute unequivocally amazing and nails exactly what you are after, you go to those who have the world wide reputation for making the best and for old school sound, there is none better than Lindy Fralin. For the “T” Lindy and his crew in Virginia put together a pick up set that is massively cool. The high out put bridge is 15% over wound The unmistakable twang and solid feel make this workhorse an exceptional take on a classic guitar sound. His bridge pickup is a reproduction of the 50’s style using black fiberboard bobbin parts, cloth leads, ALNICO V or ALNICO III magnets, or 1/2 & 1/2. (ALNICO III’s were used in some pre-’55 Fender Telecasters.) The neck we have put the P92, these are humbuckers in size and shape, and they are quiet, but the sound is pure single coil. The “P-92” (has adjustable pole pieces) is fat but still has clear, bright wound strings. The dynamic range of the guitar is fantastic. We have a three position switch, bridge, blend and neck. the pick up set gives you a dazzling array of sound options off this guitar.

the neck
Stainless dual-action truss rod, 12″ FB radius an absolutely fabulous 8 degrees of headstock angle to put the right amount of tension on the strings, med-jumbo steel frets, .103 wide and .048 tall, 1.71″ wide @ nut, 2.22″ wide @ 22nd fret. The neck is made of canadian hard rock maple and it shaped and sanded to 600 grit to shape, then tung oiled and sealed. This makes for perhaps the most organic feel of a neck you will ever experience. It is fast and smooth and sweet to play. We do 8 coats of tung oil, sanding the first 4 times with 800 grit sand paper and the last 4 times moving up and ending with 1200 grit and then a clear sealer. There is nothing like it. This another beautiful thing, we take a block of ebony and find the sweet spot grains on it and hew, yes, hew our finger boards from it. Beautiful long smooth fingerboards.

LMG-T Guitar from Liquid Metal Guitars

string holes, through the body
As you know the holes for the strings come through the body, we’ve taken it a step further. the string guide and through the body piece is cut out of the same block as the rest of the body, it is absolute integral, no separation, it is part of the body. This is just another unique feature that contributes to the over all exceptional “T” sound.

the nut
The self lubricating nut with tone; increases sustain, improves the tone of open notes, eliminates tuning ping, allows you to stay in tune

the saddles
Graphtech String Saver Saddles are a unique combination of materials made to enhance tone and dramatically reduce string breakage. Try them and you’ll see why so many of our customers say String Savers are absolutely the best guitar modification they’ve ever made!

the strings
We put DR strings, they have the most incredible sound, just perfect guitar sound. They are hand wound on a round core. This is based on a very old method, but executed with the latest most advanced metal available. The other thing about these strings, is the feel, absolutely unbelievable, so smooth and easy to touch, nothing harsh on them at all. Even if you don’t buy our guitars , you should put these on your guitar.

PRICE
$3600 USA. Includes deluxe hardshell case.
(* Shipping to North America and most European countries is FREE. $50 extra for others. Please email first for a quote.)

LMG-T Guitar from Liquid Metal Guitars from MyRareGuitars.com

We build exceptional guitars. We build metal bodied guitars, that are either chrome, machined etched surface treatment or Harley Davidson candy paints for a look that is brilliant and bright and unique and cool. The one you are looking at now is our chromed beauty, the M1 T.V. Jones Premium.

M1 TV Jones Premium Guitar (Liquid Metal Guitars)

And on top of the look the sound is exceptional. We have found ways to make absolutely incredible sound. Nothing you have to get used to, just better cleaner, clearer sound. In all of our guitars we use custom pickup sets designed for us by T.V. Jones, Lindy Fralin and soon Joe Barden, some of the highest regarded boutique pick up designers in the business. They have taken their skill and built pickups sets exclusively for the qualities and dynamics of our metal bodies. And we can put it all in the hands of a player at the same price as most custom guitars.

M1 TV Jones Premium Guitar (Liquid Metal Guitars)

Over the years, we have figured out what works best for sound in the body of the guitar, we have come up with a proprietary widths and thicknesses, that has the best sustainability and dynamics. We have learned how to cut the body to the approximate shape and weight we needed, at a cost that is acceptable, we learned a ton of tricks.

The hand polishing and smoothing is still one man, one wheel and time, the aluminum smoothed, sanded to a 1200 finish for chrome or gold but worth it in the end. The surfaces are smooth and glossy, just like liquid metal. That’s what I kept telling everyone, remember, we are liquid metal, that is what we are after, liquid metal. The by-line is that we do things exclusive to metal not something you can duplicate in wood.

M1 TV Jones Premium Guitar (Liquid Metal Guitars)

When we started years back I went out to look and see if there was anyone doing this same thing, no there wasn’t, not out of a solid block of aluminum. ( Interestingly, Apple in their new notebook is using clamshells made the same way as what we do, machined out of a single block of aircraft aluminum, Apple Design, because of the integrity of metal.)

I was really encouraged when I found some serious instrument makers in the past had done cellos and violins out of aluminum and had excellent results. that told me there had to be some great sound qualities.

I read about John Veleno and how he had made an aluminum guitar that really caught the attention of marquis players in the late 60’s and 70’s. What really set me off was this Harley Davidson Strat, chromed Strat, at the big music store here. Loved the chrome look, that just nailed it for us, it was breathtakingly cool and they had a price tag on it of $45,000 , no kidding, $45,000. We knew we could do it for just a bit less, just a bit.

More info about the M1 TV Jones Premium Guitar:

• BODY: A solid block of aluminum alloy is machined to our proprietary thickness. This is the thickness that we found in our researching and prototyping to have the best qualities for sound. The guitar is hollowed out, but plays as a solid body guitar.The chromed body is 17 ” long from the tip of the top horn to the back, 13 1/2 ” at the widest body point, with a 7 3/4″ waist. The guitar weighs 9.75 lbs.
• NECK: Ebony fingerboard with 22 frets and 25 1/2″ scale, 1.71″ wide @ nut, 2.22″ wide @ 22nd fret. Graphite nut which incorporates Teflon and match the grooves to each guitar’s intonation. This makes the guitar exceptionable playable. A diamond ground fingerboard is accurate to within one thousandth of an inch for super low string action. Hard alloy precision medium jumbo frets are .103 wide and .048 tall. The neck is painted black, with three coats of black paint then seven thin coats of clear, that is wet sanded and buffed after each coat. Tuners Gotoh’s six in line mini – tuners, are beautiful to look at and a dream to use, with an 18:1 ratio. The tuners have unique permanent Lubri-Plateâ„¢ coating on the gears assures consistent lubrication without grease, for smoother tuning. Gotoh’s new Rock-Solid string posts eliminate looseness for better tuning stability, they stay in tune.
• PICKUPS: TV Jones LMG powertrons. Tom used a thicker, higher pole piece to take advantage of the sustaining qualities of our metal.
• PRICE: $3600 USA. Includes deluxe hardshell case.
• Shipping to North America and most European countries is FREE. $50 extra for others. Please email first for a quote.

M1 TV Jones Premium Guitar from Liquid Metal Guitars from MyRareGuitars.com

Guitars & Amps store (The Netherlands)

Whether you are an absolute beginner or a professional artist, you will find our shop packed with high-value musical instruments and accessories, carefully chosen from the worlds leading suppliers and manufacturers.

Of course we have the big names in store like Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, PRS, Ovation, Takamine and Taylor. We also stock guitars from quality brands like Larrivée, Furch, Jackson, Schecter, Framus, Duesenberg and the one and only Nik Huber. In addition, we keep an eye on new and interesting developments on our visits to international trade shows (Los Angeles, London, Frankfurt). There, for instance, we spotted up-and-coming brand Eastwood from Canada: professional quality guitars at a very affordable price. Another brand we took on board is Spear Guitars, who also absolutely amazed us with their great value for money.

We also stock the best in amplifiers, effects and audio solutions. You will find a great selection of Koch, Marshall, Vox, Bogner, Mesa Boogie, Brunetti, Orange, Hiwatt, Fender and Blackstar amps, to name a few, and cool effect pedals from brands like Dunlop, Vox, Ernie Ball, Fender, RMC, Fulltone, Voodoo Lab, Z-Vex, T-Rex, MI Audio, Visual Sound, Emma, Toadworks, Blackstar, Maxon, Lehle, Love Pedal, Menatone, Mad Professor etc. You’re welcome to take your time and test anything and everything in our separate test rooms. After all, nothing is more personal than tone.

Guitars & Amps
van Berchenstraat 3-B
6511 BA Nijmegen
the Netherlands
+31 (0)24-3604582

Dealer Profile: Guitars & Amps (The Netherlands) from MyRareGuitars.com

Joey Leone & Wendell Ferguson at NAMM 2009 from MyRareGuitars.com

• Wed10/01/08 – Nick Cave
• Fri10/03/08 – The Wedding Present
• Sat 10/04/08 – Alkaline Trio
• Sun 10/05/08 – Beck with MGMT
• Tue 10/07/08 – Wire
• Fri 10/10/08 – The NOTWIST
• Sat 10/11/08 – Lucinda Williams
• Sun 10/12/08 – Crooked Fingers

Here are some photo’s, videos and comments from a few.

BECK with Jessica Dobson playing her AIRLINE TUXEDO Guitar. If you have never been to a BECK show, do yourself a favor, GO!

Here is BECK again the following Friday night in David Letterman:

My thanks to Jessica for making that AIRLINE Tuxedo look better than it ever has!

MGMT performing their mega cool #1 2008 summertime song TIME TO PRETEND featuring the EASTWOOD WANDRE Guitar.

A certain highlight of the week was WIRE at Lee’s Palace. I recently read a review of their new LP OBJECT 47, being called “music from the year 2038″. Why? Because WIRE has always been 30 years ahead of their time. I must agree, find out for yourself. I did not manage to get any video or photo’s (too much beer, perhaps?) but here is some footage on youtube from an earlier show on the tour – featuring Colin Newman with his AIRLINE MAP Guitar.

And perhaps the best show of the week – even though NO Eastwood or AIRLINE guitars were to be seen – was The Notwist. This is a band that you should see. Five piece, with many more than 5 instruments – 2 guitars, bass, Piano, synth, drums, a variety of synth drums, turntables, vintage LP’s, weird remote controlled percussion digital whateverf!!?@, the list goes on… some of the most exciting music being written today. Make sure to check them out, buy the CD NEON GOLDEN check out this track -ONE WITH THE FREAKS – is #1 in my IPOD for the past 12 months, and played LOUD was a HUGE 3rd encore crowd pleaser at the Lee’s Palace Show. Here is the video (turn it up because the audio is REALLY low):

Live in Toronto (October 2008) from MyRareGuitars.com

Eastwood Airline Tuxedo Guitar with Copper Finish

Eastwood Airline Tuxedo Guitar with Copper Finish

Eastwood Airline Tuxedo Guitar with Copper Finish

Eastwood Airline Tuxedo Guitar with Copper Finish

Eastwood Airline Tuxedo Guitar with Copper Finish

Airline Tuxedo Guitar in Metallic Copper Finish from MyRareGuitars.com

If you are not an Eastwood Artist yet, here is the link to apply.

Artist Page at Eastwood Guitars from MyRareGuitars.com

Toronto Maple Leafs Team Photo (2007-2008 Season)

Toronto Maple Leafs Team Photo from MyRareGuitars.com

Eastwood Airline H44 Guitar in Taxi Cab Yellow

Eastwood Airline H44 Guitar in Taxi Cab Yellow

Eastwood Airline H44 Guitar in Taxi Cab Yellow

Eastwood Airline H44 Guitar in Taxi Cab Yellow

Eastwood Airline H44 Guitar in Taxi Cab Yellow

Airline H44 Guitar in Taxi Cab Yellow from MyRareGuitars.com

Korean Baby Singing Hey Jude from MyRareGuitars.com

Nope, that is a GIBSON non-reverse Firebird. About FIVE times more expensive than our Stormbird – had me fooled for a moment too. So why am I writing about this? Because the band was awesome! What a great performance by Gossip! As soon as I saw this I went to ITunes and bought their 2005 release, Standing in the Way of Control. A great merger of Punk and Soul. Check out the video and you decide…

Eastwood Stormbird Guitar Sighting on Letterman? from MyRareGuitars.com

For those who can’t remember, Live Earth was a series of worldwide concerts held on July 7, 2007 to combat climate change, spearheaded by Al Gore. The concerts brought together more than 150 musical acts in eleven locations around the world and were broadcast to a mass global audience through televisions, radio, and streamed via the Internet.

Live Earth 2007: Cleavage Climatologists

As Rex observed, “NBC gave 3 hours of prime time and managed to stir up only 2.7 million viewers – a number that would be embarrassing for a re-run of Three’s Company. It featured such acts as Madonna, Shakira and other “cleavage climatologists”. It was a flop. Why? The spectacle of the world’s most wasteful people, rock star plutocrats with their cribs and bling, caravans and trailer trucks and 100,000 watt amps, taking a day out of their wealth-stuffed lives to preach about the moral importance of consuming LESS, set the hypocrisy bar so high that it put too great a strain on the digestion of ordinary people”. Private Jets for climate change sums it up.

For the whole story, click on this link: Live Earth? How about live irony?

Live Earth 2007: Private Jets for Climate Change from MyRareGuitars.com

I would have never guessed five years ago when we developed the Sidejack that this day would arrive. I’m quite proud indeed. In fact, rumor has it that you’ll get a chance to see it again tonight on the Colbert Report. R.E.M. with an EASTWOOD Guitar on the Colbert Report? Can’t get much better than that… Very Cool. Here is a picture of Pete Buck with Robyn Hitchcock, earlier this year on the west coast – Peter with his AIRLINE 2P DLX and Robyn with his AIRLINE TWIN TONE. Proud father indeed!

R.E.M. plays Eastwood: Pete Buck & Robyn Hitchcock

Eastwood Sidejack DLX on the Today Show! from MyRareGuitars.com

Troy in Paris (Eiffel Tower in background)

Since returning (and before we left for that matter), I kept hearing, “How can you take your son out of school for that long, won’t he fall behind!?”. And the question always comes with some sense of panic – as if the parent asking the question truly believes the child will fall behind in life, never to recover. Ridiculous. Today our school systems are (IMHO) a pile of crap, with outdated curriculum being run by a system that motivates the teachers to give the kids more and more homework – to hopefully improve the grades – to make the system look better. But in the end, it is stripping away the most important thing – giving the kid an opportunity to develop some common sense and the ability to learn make decisions on their own. I believe the time we spend away with Troy in Europe is far better developmentally than if he would have stayed in class.

I might be wrong, but here are a couple of articles that Kay has clipped from the past few years that shed a deeper light on the subject. The first deals with the issue of homework. Right now Troy is in Grade 4 and he is spending HOURS and HOURS trying to memorize the different names and situations from Medieval times. That should come in handy some day… Or not? The second deals with how we are over protective of our kids and consequently stripping them of their ability to learn about risks and rewards.

This was my experience in school – I was board out of my mind for most of my time, being force fed statistical information on subjects that ultimately served no purpose in my life thus far (I’m turning 50 in 2009, perhaps the Medieval stuff might come in handy yet!?). A third article that I will include in a future ramble talks about how many C+ students (much more than you think) turn out to be our community leaders. Winston Churchill, Richard Branson, Bill Gates and many others were reportedly bored to tears in the school system too. But they all had curiosity and an appetite for risk – the very things that homework and our child protective society is squelching.
This quote rings true for me, “The A Students end up teaching the B students how to work for the C students.” MARKS DON’T MATTER.

Marks Don’t Matter from MyRareGuitars.com

Details:

• Release Date: March 2008
• Quantity: 24 available
• Color: Electric Indigo
• Price: $999

Features:

• Rare Electric Indigo LTD Finish
• PEARLOID Top-Hat Knobs
• White Curly Cord Instrument Cable
• DELUXE Hardshell Case
• Unique Serial Number
• Signed Certificate of Authenticity
• FREE SHIPPING
• (Europe and North America ONLY)

Pictures:

Eastwood Airline Map Limited Edition Electric Guitar (Electric Indigo)

Eastwood Airline Map Limited Edition Electric Guitar (Electric Indigo)

Eastwood Airline Map Limited Edition Electric Guitar (Electric Indigo)

Eastwood Airline Map Limited Edition Electric Guitar (Electric Indigo)

Eastwood Airline Map Limited Edition Electric Guitar (Electric Indigo)

Eastwood Airline Map Limited Edition Electric Guitar (Electric Indigo)

Eastwood Airline Map Limited Edition Electric Guitar (Electric Indigo)

Eastwood Airline Map Limited Edition Electric Guitar (Electric Indigo)

Eastwood Airline Map Limited Edition Electric Guitar (Electric Indigo)

Eastwood Airline Map Limited Edition Electric Guitar (Electric Indigo)

Eastwood Airline Map Limited Edition Electric Guitar (Electric Indigo)

Eastwood Airline Map Limited Edition Electric Guitar (Electric Indigo)

Limited Edition Airline Map Guitar in Electric Indigo from MyRareGuitars.com

Musikmesse 2008: Hand-Painted Guitar from Africa

And here is a picture of one of MANY Vintage Framus guitars that were on display with Vintage CARS:

Musikmesse 2008: Vintage Framus Guitar & Vintage Car

And here we are with Scott Hager from KARPATENHUND. Maybe next year he will come and join us!

Musikmesse 2008: Scott Hager from Karpatenhund

And here is Santino from POWER TRIO GROUP, one of the best guitar players I met all week. Check him out:

Musikmesse 2008: Santino Giambersio from Power Trio Group

And here is my new friend SPIROS Zafeiriadis from Greece. Proud owner of the EASTWOOD Tuxedo:

Musikmesse 2008: Spiros Zafeiriadis

More Messo at Musikmesse 2008 from MyRareGuitars.com

Britta Phillips with her Eastwood Hiflyer Bass (Dean & Britta)

In the meantime, SXSW was in full swing last week while I was in Europe at MUSIKMESSE. There were many EASTWOOD sightings at the festival, including this EASTWOOD SIDEJACK DLX in Greenburst taking stage with REM – Here is a link to the REM slideshow from NPR at SXSW.

I’ll post more MUSIKMESSE shots tomorrow night.

Now back to my Sangria. Cheers,
Mike

Britta Phillips & Her Eastwood Hi-Flyer Bass Guitar from MyRareGuitars.com

Here is Arne, owner of Taranaki Guitars in Germany and dealer for EASTWOOD Guitars:

Musikmesse 2008: Arne from Taranaki Guitars in Germany

Here is Bryan and Brian from St. Blues Guitars, which were also on display at the Taranaki booth. Nice to meet you guys:

Musikmesse 2008: Bryan and Brian from St. Blues Guitars

Here is Wendell Ferguson and John Newman manning the EASTWOOD booth. Wendell was dazzling the crowds with his finger picking:

Musikmesse 2008: Wendell Ferguson & John Newman

Our new AIRLINE TWIN TONE guitar got quite a workout at the show, and it was especially cool to see a couple of original SUPRO Dual Tones on display:

Musikmesse 2008: Original Vintage Supro Dual Tone Guitar

Our Eastwood Airline Twin Tone guitar is a tribute to the Supro Dual Tone guitar – one of which was used by Keith Richards:

Musikmesse 2008: Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones with a vintage Supro Dual Tone guitar

Our ESTWOOD Twin Tone got plenty of interest at the show, and was purchased by this 14-year-old lad:

Musikmesse 2008: A future UK blues guitar legend?

…Whom I’m making the early prediction will be one of the next great British Blues Guitarist – except he is from Germany – and as I am away until the 28th, I don’t have his name and website address! One of the other EASTWOOD boys took it back to Canada! I’ll post an update with the info soon.

Check back in a couple of days, I have a bunch more pictures I am sifting through.

Frankfurt Musikmesse 2008 is a Hit! from MyRareGuitars.com

The Eastwood Messenger Guitar

The original Messenger guitar was developed 40 years ago in California by a small company named Musicraft and is now best known as the guitar of choice by Mark Farner (Grand Funk Railroad) in the early 1970’s.

The new EASTWOOD model captures the seductive look of the original but simplifies the design with a Set Maple Neck mounted to a hollow body with Maple center block, Mahogany back, sides and a spruce top. The guitar features the distinctive cat’s eye f-holes giving it an unmistakable look.

The original Messenger guitars are now selling on the Vintage market in the $5-$10,000 range. The new EASTWOOD model starts at only $849. Limited Edition production run will be available in Greenburst or Cherry only, they start shipping in early April 2008.

Introducing the Eastwood Messenger Guitar from MyRareGuitars.com

Eastwood Radio is on the air!

Eastwood’s new Artist Endorsement Program is in full swing. In addition to the upcoming Compilation CD, Eastwood has launched Eastwood Radio. It plays 24/7 featuring artists that use Eastwood Guitars. If you are already an Eastwood player, submit your MP3 for consideration at www.eastwoodguitars.com!

Eastwood Radio Hits the Airwaves! from MyRareGuitars.com

Eastwood Guitars Announces Artists Compilation CD 2008

Although still in the planning stages, we are working on a new project here for 2008. The Eastwood Artists Compilation CD. We plan to release at least 2 CD’s per year, each featuring 20+ tracks from Artists that use Eastwood Guitars. If interested in having your song included, please send us an email.

Eastwood Guitars Announces Artists Compilation CD (2008) from MyRareGuitars.com

11/15/07: Thirty years after its retirement, the STARWAY Guitar made famous by Pete Shelley of the BUZZCOCKS is back. Eastwood Guitars and Pete Shelley have teamed up to make a replica of the guitar Pete used in the early days of punk, including the recording of the famous SPIRAL SCRATCH record. Each guitar is hand-signed by Pete and includes loads of BUZZOCKS memorabilia. This Limited Edition Release will start shipping early in 2008. The FIRST one will go to the WINNER of this contest before Christmas Day 2007.

The contest? Guess the RETAIL PRICE. EMAIL your guess TODAY!

More info about the guitar:

• Limited Edition, only 88 made in this initial production
• Each guitar is hand-signed by Pete Shelley
• Custom form fit hardshell case with original ’76 buzzcocks logo
• Signed and numbered Certificate of Authenticity
• 8×10 Reproduction 1976 buzzcocks photo
• Leather buzzcocks logo strap
• Pete Shelley Signature strings from Rotosound

Pete Shelley autographs his signature Starway guitar

Pete Shelley Signature Starway Guitar from Eastwood Guitars

Custom Pete Shelley Starway Guitar Case

Pete Shelley Signature Starway Guitar from Eastwood Guitars

Pete Shelley Signature Starway Guitar from Eastwood Guitars

Pete Shelley Signature Starway Guitar from Eastwood Guitars

Certificate of Authenticity

Custom Buzzcocks Guitar Strap

Pete Shelley onstage with the Buzzcocks

Pete Shelley (the early years)

Pete Shelley newspaper clippings

Contest Rules:

1. Entry must be received before December 10, 2007.
2. Limited to THREE entries per email address.
3. You can guess in UK Pounds, USA Dollars or EUROS. We will convert the value on December 10th to determine the winner.
4. In the event of a DRAW, we will pick the winner at random from the DRAW pool
5. All shipping, duties and taxes for the prize will be paid for by Eastwood Guitars, INC.
6. The winner will agree to have their name, city and country published by Eastwood and Buzzcocks.
7. The winner will be notified by email on Dec 11, 2007. They will have 72 hours to respond and accept the prize. If we do not receive a reply in the allotted time, we will move to the next winner, and so on, until a winner is determined.

Pete Shelley Signature Guitar Contest (2007) from MyRareGuitars.com

Our first day in London included a visit with Chris Spedding

That afternoon we drove up to OXFORD to catch of Ian Hunter of Mott The Hoople fame. Unbelievable showman, he rocked the SOLD OUT show.

The next day we drove up to Nottingham in search of Robin Hood, but instead ran into John Cooper Clarke. For those of you unfamiliar with his work, your are missing out. John is one of the best comedians the UK has ever produced, and one of these days I will convince him to come back to North America to treat us to his twisted sense of humor. Here is a sample of what we heard: “A man goes to his doctor for his annual medical examination. Doctor says, “I’m afraid you’re going to have to stop masturbating”. The man exclaims, “Stop masturbating? WHY?” Doctor says, “Well, I’m trying to conduct a medical examination!”

Me with John Cooper Clarke, comedian

Next stop was Sheffield to visit some friends and check out the new JOY DIVISION movie, CONTROL. Great movie, even better because “Ian Curtis” in the movie is playing and EASTWOOD VG6 Guitar. =)

The Undertones

Up to Holmfirth to spend some time with one of the best bands around, The Undertones. The SOLD OUT audience was treated to a memorable set of non-stop hits. I can’t remember seeing a more appreciative group of fans. Just another band on the list of bands we need to get back over the pond. Thanks guys for your hospitality and for getting those EASTWOOD Guitars up on stage and put to good use!

Mike Robinson & Bill Nelson at Nelsonica 07

Next stop was YORK in the North of England. I’ve been planning this trip for a couple of years, and it finally came together. I had to opportunity to interview Bill Nelson, live on stage at Nelsonica 07. An incredible, memorable event. We will have the entire video interview available in the coming months, on-line. I’m hoping to get Bill to bring NELSONICA to North America in 2009. More info to come….

The next morning we braved the 5 hour drive, back down to London (in typical British weather and traffic) to get to the comeback show of Edwyn Collins. Worth twice the drive….

At the Edwyn Collins comeback show

Quite an emotional event. Edwyn suffered a near fatal brain hemorrhage in 2005 and had to relearn how to walk, talk, read and write. All his friends were on hand to support this comeback show, including the BBC, and what a show it was.

Colin Newman and his wife Malka Spigel, who are half of the band GITHEAD

After a day off in London, we made our way over to meet with Colin Newman and his wife Malka Spigel, who are half of the band GITHEAD. We visited them in their home studio, discussed the recent GITHEAD release and then popped out for a couple of pints to discuss the music industry in general. Colin gave me an advanced copy of the new WIRE release, READ & BURN. I will post a review in next months newsletter.

Last leg of the trip we spent with Pete Shelley of BUZZCOCKS fame

Last leg of the trip we spent with Pete Shelley of BUZZCOCKS fame. We are nearing completion of the soon to be released Limited Edition replica of Pete’s famous STARWAY guitar – here we are discussing final details. All the pickguards are signed, the custom signature hardshell fitted cases are in, the signed original photo’s are on their way, and the BUZZCOCKS leather straps are in production. We will be launching a contest in the next few weeks, so stay tuned. Send an email if you want some advanced photographs and specs.

UK Trip (October 2007) from MyRareGuitars.com

Details:

• Release Date: October 2007
• Quantity: 24 available
• Color: Metallic Copper
• Price: $945 (includes deluxe hardshell case)

Features:

• Over $300 in upgrades
• Dark Metallic Copper LTD Finish
• VALCO NOS Volume and Tone Knobs
• Chrome Top-Hat Master Volume Knob
• AIRLINE Custom Chrome Tail
• AIRLINE Vintage Voiced Single Coil Pickups
• Authentic KLUSON Deluxe White Button Tuners
• BIGSBY Tremolo (Optional $129)
• DELUXE hardshell Case
• Unique Serial Number
• Signed Certificate of Authenticity

Pictures:

Eastwood Airline 2P Limited Edition Electric Guitar (Metallic Copper)

Eastwood Airline 2P Limited Edition Electric Guitar (Metallic Copper)

Eastwood Airline 2P Limited Edition Electric Guitar (Metallic Copper)

Eastwood Airline 2P Limited Edition Electric Guitar (Metallic Copper)

Eastwood Airline 2P Limited Edition Electric Guitar (Metallic Copper)

Eastwood Airline 2P Limited Edition Electric Guitar (Metallic Copper)

Eastwood Airline 2P Limited Edition Electric Guitar (Metallic Copper)

Eastwood Airline 2P Limited Edition Electric Guitar (Metallic Copper)

Eastwood Airline 2P Limited Edition Electric Guitar (Metallic Copper)

Limited Edition Airline 2P Guitar in Metallic Copper from MyRareGuitars.com

Thayrone Coolarity Radio - Listen Now!

Mail your CD today to:

Coolarity Radio, INC.
The Bone Conduction Music Show
P.O. Box 970389
YPSILANTI, MI
48197

You can email Thayrone directly bcms@thayrone.com

A message from Thayrone…

Hello. If you are not aware of The Bone Conduction Music Show you should be. I started doing the show in January of 1984 and have kept it alive and well ever since. It’s been an uphill struggle but I’m up to the task. My show is ALL ABOUT the music. It’s not about program directors, corporate weasels, media consultants (they are the worst!) or guys with perfect hair and $3,000 suits that control what passes for the ‘entertainment’ industry. Musicians and labels respect what I do. They know that I’ll play their music. Major label players and independents as well are almost completely ignored by main stream radio. The only thing that gets airplay is what the specious crew listed above thinks will be a ‘hit’. To them it’s all form over content.

I don’t work like that. I play it all. I get a CD and I play almost every track off of it. All it has to do is rock…and that is the case more often than not. My criterion: make my blood boil and you are on the air. It ain’t that hard to do. Musicians know that folks will hit their sites and **buy** their CDs after they’ve been heard on The Bone Conduction Music Show, which is heard on stations around the US and all over the world via COOLARITY RADIO on the web. Again, it’s all about the music on The Bone Conduction Music Show. That is never the case with most FM and AM radio…

FM and AM terrestrial radio is on one end of the broadcast spectrum very boring, tightly formatted, repetitious, disposable drivel. On the other end of the spectrum it is more often than not academic, pretentious, politically correct, extremely tedious ‘culture’. At both ends of the spectrum squares rule. I state this without malice–it is just a fact of our times. The Bone Conduction Music Show stands firmly against the squares that rule radio and the lame pseudo ‘radio’ culture’ that breeds them.

Won’t you join us in the fight to do good radio? Get us your music. Send your CDs to:

COOLARITY, INC.
THE BONE CONDUCTION MUSIC SHOW
P.O. BOX 970389
YPSILANTI, MI 48197
USA

The intro to my show says it all, ‘…Wig-singeing rock, hip-shakin’ soul music, and industrial strength rhythm and blues!’ It’s The Blues Work of The Lord, baby! Join the good fight and get me your music. I look forward to making your acquaintance and spinning your tunes. In the meantime, *DO* check out the playlists on the PLAYLIST page on my site and *DO* check out the show for yourself. And *DO* get the word out. Link our site to your site, if you have one. And tell everybody you know to check out the show of shows, The Bone Conduction Music Show.

You’d be insane to be any place else,

Thayrone X
The Bone Conduction Music Show
www.thayrone.com
www.myspace.com/thayronex
www.myspace.com/thewitchdoctors

Thayrone’s Call For Music from MyRareGuitars.com

San Francisco Guitarworks (San Francisco, CA)

My goal is to make your instrument into something that you truly enjoy. We all know how frustrating it is to have a guitar that won’t tune, won’t stay in tune, has high action, buzzes, makes noise or makes no noise. The list goes on. It is also frustrating to have your instrument repaired”, only to find that the improvement made was minor, and did not solve the problem. I see plenty of work from other shops, and although some is OK, most displays a general lack of care and/or skill. I promise that won’t be the case at SF Guitarworks.

San Francisco Guitarworks (San Francisco, CA)

I am here for you, the player. I want to fully understand the problem with your instrument. What is that characteristic that is getting in the way of your playing, and how do you think it should be? After we are both sure we understand each other, the instrument will be transformed – meeting or exceeding your expectations. I believe that it should be a joy to pick up your guitar, bass, banjo, or other stringed instrument and know that it will perform as you expect. I am here to help you achieve that goal. My work is backed by a satisfaction guarantee, which no customer has taken advantage of since I have been in business, and all work that I perform is covered by a lifetime warranty. I am a perfectionist, and although I can’t tell you what will happen at other shops, I can guarantee that it will be done right the first time at SF Guitarworks. Professional service, no attitude. If you are at odds with your instrument, even if it seems nit-picky, please give me a call or stop by and I will do my very best to help you.

Thanks so much,

Geoff Luttrell

San Francisco Guitar Works
323 Potrero Ave
San Francisco, CA 94103
www.sfguitarworks.com
(415) 865-5424
sfguitarworks@hotmail.com

Dealer Profile: San Francisco Guitarworks (San Francisco, CA) from MyRareGuitars.com

Elliot Easton of the New Cars

Elliot Easton of the New Cars

Mike Robinson, Troy Robinson & Todd Rundgren

The New Cars in Detroit, MI (September 2007) from MyRareGuitars.com

Tom Holland, blues guitarist

Tom will perform some of his original compositions like “Worry and Wonder” and “Zeb’s Blues” as well as some tried and true blues standards. In addition to his performance, Tom will discuss his guitar and what he looks for in an instrument. He’ll also take questions from the audience so come prepared. This will be a listen and learn session.

All Fat Tone After-Hours events are free however we ask that attendees email us to confirm attendance as seating is limited. In appreciation for coming, all attendees will receive a $25 gift certificate good at Fat Tone Guitars.

About Tom Holland

Tom started playing professionally in Chicago at age 19, landing his first gig with L.V. Banks, in a beauty salon on Chicago’s south side. Tom worked with L.V. Banks on and off for four years. It was also during this time that Tom was introduced to Muddy Waters last guitarist, John Primer. Tom toured the United States and Canada for 2 years with John as a member of his band, the Real Deal Blues Band.

In late 1999 Tom was asked to join Chicago blues guitarist Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater’s band. Tom toured with Eddy Clearwater for three years as bandleader, and toured across the U.S., Canada, and made his first trip to Europe. It was during this time that his status as one of Chicago’s top sidemen was solidified, also freelancing with Carey Bell, Phil Guy, A.C. Reed, Atlanta vocalist Sandra Hall, and countless other Chicago bluesmen and women.

In November of 2003, Tom was approached by harp legend James Cotton, who was in need of a guitar player. Tom accepted and has been touring with James now for over a year. In July of 2004 Tom toured Japan for the first time with James Cotton, as well as Switzerland.

Tom also tours extensively with his own band The Shufflekings.

Fat Tone Guitars (Northbrook, IL)

This is Fat Tone Guitars first after-hours showroom performance. Fat Tone after-hours events are designed to allow local artists to showcase and discuss their music as well as their tone AND their gear. All after-hours events will be held at Fat Tone’s showroom in Northbrook, IL and begin at 7pm. Events are free and light food and drink will be served.

Fat Tone Guitars
1857 Janke Dr.
Northbrook, IL 60062
847-272-5117
info@fattoneguitars.com

Fat Tone Guitars (Northbrook, IL)

Dealer Profile: Fat Tone Guitars (Northbrook, IL) from MyRareGuitars.com

Mike Robinson & John Fogerty & Peter McCracken

John Fogerty Band in Toronto (July 2007)

John Fogerty Band in Toronto (July 2007)

John Fogerty Band in Toronto (July 2007)

John Fogerty Band in Toronto (July 2007)

John Fogerty Band in Toronto (July 2007)

John Fogerty Band in Toronto (July 2007) from MyRareGuitars.com

Rudy's Guitar Stop (New York City, NY)

Here is my son Troy standing out front of the famous Rudy’s Guitar Stop on 48th Street.

Rudy's Guitar Stop (New York City, NY)

Rudy has built one of the most beautiful guitar stores on the planet. You must go there! Here we pose in front of one of his displays, this one dedicated to Eastwood Guitars.

Ludlow's Guitars (New York City, NY)

Can’t get up uptown?

Ludlow's Guitars (New York City, NY)

Well just go one block southeast of First & First to Ludlow’s Guitars.

Ludlow's Guitars (New York City, NY)

Drop in for a visit to Ludlow Guitars, 164 Ludlow St, well stocked with all current Eastwood Guitars models.

Our Trip to Guitar Stores in New York City (March 2007) from MyRareGuitars.com

Thayrone Coolarity Radio - Listen Now!

Thayrone-X & The Bone Conduction Music Show from MyRareGuitars.com

Peter McCracken and me after the booth setup

Dumb Luck Wins in the End – for our first 5 years we decided not to exibit in the NAMM show. Most companies would think this was a mistake – a new product, a new audience – damn, you have to get out there and tell the world!! But for five years we stayed at home and just serviced our customers on-line. In hindsight, (dumb luck) I think we were right to do so. By the time we hit the NAMM show last week, we had an army of friends and followers that were beating down the door to meet and greet us! It was a genuine Eastwood love-in. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life to finally meet face-to-face with so many customers that have supported us through the first few years.

We were espeically happy to expand the dealer network in USA and Europe with some of my favorite guitar stores picking up the Eastwood line. Although the list is too long, some of those new dealers include Rudy’s in New York City, True Tone in Santa Monica and McKenzie River Music in Oregon. Check the Eastwood Website for a full listing of new dealers in the next two weeks. Thanks to all the new dealers for joining us, and we look forward to a fun and profitable 2007!

I was fortunate to enlist the help of some friends and customers at NAMM to work the booth with us, we all had a blast! Thanks again to Pete McCracken, Don Mackrill, Phil Meyrick, Rob Roberge and my brother Peter for his on-booth Surf Cinema entertainment.

Who has more fun than Eastwood?

Peter Robinson from Surf Cinema entertains on the MAP guitar:

Peter Robinson from Surf Cinema

Danny Amis from Los Straitjackets takes an AIRLINE 3P DLX for a test drive:

Danny Amis from Los Straitjackets

Not sure who this guy is, but he dropped by the booth and posed for some pictures with our new AIRLINE MAP BASS prototype:

Our new AIRLINE MAP BASS prototype

This is a 30″ scale model that will be available in April.

Before heading home we did the Hollywood tourist trek. Here I am having a quick snooze beside Clint EASTWOOD mark:

Hollywood tourist trek: Here I am having a quick snooze beside Clint EASTWOOD mark

Report from NAMM 2007: Wow! What a Trip! from MyRareGuitars.com

• The NAMM show is incredibly HUGE. It’s fitting that it’s across the street from Disneyland, as you end up walking just as much as you would at the self-proclaimed happiest place on earth (not when there’s a million guitars across the street, Walt). On a further plus, there’s a lot less puke and fewer children at the NAMM show.
• Parking is a slice of hell. Maybe two slices. And that’s with Disney running the parking, and Disney does parking with an efficiency that rivals the train schedules of Fascist Governments.
• NAMM is, however, one of the most incredibly organized colossal endeavors I’ve ever seen. We’re not just talking about hundreds upon hundreds of booths with guitars and amps and accordions and ukuleles, but full rooms of grand pianos and other enormous instruments. Add to this the complexity of visitor lists, vendors, exhibitors, performers, and so on, and it’s just incredible that the whole thing comes off without a train wreck of disasters.
• People who wear sunglasses indoors look like idiots. The NAMM show is no exception. Knock it off, people. If you don’t have some eye condition and you’re wearing sunglasses inside during the day, you look stupid. You do not look like a rock star. You look like a guy trying to look like a rock star. Which is really not an admirable goal for anyone over 14.
• The guys at the Eastwood booth were a kick and a half to hang out with for four days. Many laughs, much guitar geek love and a cool surf guitar show for the first two days by fellow Buster Keaton fan Peter Robinson of the CA surf band Surf Cinema. Thanks for the great time, guys!
• Metal and shredding are with us to stay. As is guitar-face. And sunglasses inside. And men in their fifties in leather pants. We can ask why, or we can accept it and move on.

I also learned there were a lot of guitars I wanted. The short list:

• A radical Fritz Bros Jimmy Reed Thin Twin model (high end…got a spare four grand for a fellow down on his luck?)
• A cheapie (retail under three bills) Dano Pro (in Aqua, and several colors that were not Aqua…which is what happens to me when a guitar is offered in Aqua and/or Sea Foam Green…I know only that it is offered in other, non-essential colors. Aqua, people!). It played really well, and it had an improved bridge over the last re-issues. And it comes in Aqua.
• Some very cool Italia models, including an absolutely stunning twelve string electric with a beautiful headstock. Why aren’t there more sparkly guitars in the world? Well, Italia is doing their part to right that wrong. A big sparkly thanks, folks!
• See-through Ampeg Dan Armstrong. I didn’t play it, but it’s see-through. That’s enough cool factor.
• SEVERAL Eastwood models released at NAMM, but there were also a couple of others that will be ready in April – the AIRLINE Tuxedo “Kay Barney Kessel” Model and the Map Shaped Bass. The Saturn (man, that’s a fun guitar to play…and I got one!), The Town & Country (ditto), but the big hit was the Map Shaped Guitars. I’m guessing EASTWOOD sold out of those at the show. All great lookers and players.

And a bunch more. What else did I learn?

• Peavey continues to make solid, well-made really ugly stuff. 40 years and counting of truly aesthetically challenged design. You would think they might have accidentally made a cool looking guitar by now, but nope, you’d be wrong.
• There was a guy who always dressed in camouflage and sold machine-gun shaped electric guitars. I kept my distance.
• In a world of large booths, Fender and Gibson have REALLY large booths. No stunner there, but the Fender booth did have some cool historic guitars. They also had a new Eddie Van Halen model that costs a lot of money for something that looks like it was made in a high school shop class by a stoner in 1982.
• Randy Bachman seems like a nice guy in addition to being a legend who has played on lots of great tunes.
• I learned there were a lot of amps I wanted.

Again, the short list:

• The new. Which isn’t really a re-issue, as I don’t think they ever did a Jet with 6V6 output tubes (a early Reverberocket, yes, maybe a Jet, but I don’t remember that…I’m pretty sure they all had 7591’s). But, anyway, it sounded great, and had only Volume, Tone and Tremolo Speed and Intensity knobs. Cool. Low wattage, few knobs. Gotta love that.
• Our very own Don Mackrill’s Airline 18 Watt amplifier. Just a great looking and sounding amplifier. Hand made, with style and care and great tone. What’s not to love? Don, I want one in Sea Foam Green! (Everything should come in Sea Foam Green with a Bigsby option. I’d put a Bigsby on my Sea Foam kitchen table if I could).
• Ben Fargen’s 4x6V6 amp. Yummy. Four 6V6’s, which is such a cool way to get to your 30-40 watts, rather than the more conventional two 6L6’s.

What else?

• Joel Weaver of Home Brew Electronics, in addition to making my favorite overdrive pedal (The Power Screamer), is a nice guy. Check out his pedals. Great stuff.
• I begged Groove Tubes…I cajoled JJ Tubes…Nobody is going to make a new 7189A tube. Argh. This is sad news to a Magnatone M10 lover. They just don’t run on EL84’s, no matter how rugged, and there is an ever-dwindling (and ever-expensive) supply of 7189A’s. As my niece likes to say, this news is “poopy.” Poopy, indeed.
• A lot more people that I might have expected wanted Paul Stanley’s autograph. But, hey, it’s a big world. More power to him, I suppose.
• There’s one very cranky and not incredibly competent woman who checks your bags on the way out. There may be more than her, but I kept running into the same one. She would demand I open my bag, not really look in, and then bark at me to move on. I could have had a severed head in that bag for all she knew. (I did NOT have a severed head, for those wondering at home).
• There are a LOT of people who play guitar better than me. That’s not a huge surprise to me, but when they’re all in the same room with you (albeit a VERY LARGE room), it’s pretty humbling. A lot of people who can play out there in the world. Pretty cool.
• I learned that I had to sell some stuff to make some room for what I carried out of there. NAMM is a heady experience, a gear freak’s nirvana (or close…maybe it would be nirvana with vintage axes, too), and a tiring sensory overload that’s a ball.

There’s nothing quite like it, and I can’t wait until next year to see what’s new.

See you in next month’s newsletter.

What I Learned at My First NAMM Show from MyRareGuitars.com

We will be exhibiting at the 2007 NAMM show in Anaheim California

For the first time since we started Eastwood Guitars in 2002, we will be exhibiting at the NAMM show in Anaheim California. For those who don’t know, NAMM is the National Assc. of Music Makers. This trade show is a once a year event where music industry people meet to share their knowledge and check out “what’s new” in the world of music.

NAMM 2007 in Anaheim, CA

For many store owners and guitar dealers, this is their once-a-year trip to stock up their shelves for the coming year with some new and improved goodies. Although predominately a North American event, dealers come from all over the world to this 4-day convention. Since we have never exhibited at the show, this will be the first opportunity for most dealers to check out EASTWOOD. We will have most of our 30+ models at the show, including some new releases. Here are some sneak peaks at the new stuff:

Eastwood EEB-1 Bass (like the Ampeg AEB-1)

Full 34″ scale tribute to the AMPEG AEB-1 from the late 1960’s. Yes, those F-holes go right through the body! Available this month. Black or Sunburst.

Eastwood Red Special: our tribute to the beautiful Brian May model

Here is our tribute to the beautiful Brian May model. Set mahogany neck, bound mahogany body, replica switching system. Red or Sunburst. Available this month.

Nice huh? We also have a few other goodies up our sleeves for NAMM. We finally gave in to the pressure, and have created a “correct” 30 1/2″ scale model of the Hi-Flyer BASS. This might be the most powerful short scale bass on the market. Also, we are ready to release the production model of the MAP guitar. It will have all the standard components of the other AIRLINE models in that family, and will be available in Black, White, Red or SEAFOAM Green. $799. We will have the pictures ready in 2 weeks. Here is a picture of the LIMITED EDITION version that SOLD OUT last year:

Eastwood Airline Map Guitar (Surf Green)

NOTE: The new MAP production model will NOT include the case or the upgraded VVSC pickups.

So, if your are planning to attend the NAMM show this year, please send us an EMAIL to schedule an appointment or just drop by booth #`1151 to say hello and to test out some of these new beauties!

See you at NAMM!

Preview of NAMM 2007 in Anaheim, California from MyRareGuitars.com

Eastwood Guitars Webcast with Joey Leone (2006)

Thanks for Watching! Our first webcast was broadcast on November 7th, 2006 – LIVE on the Internet. It was a huge success! If you were not able to “tune-in” at the time, we have pasted together some of the songs listed above. The entire Webcast will be available in the New Year on a full-length widescreen DVD.

Something Inside Me:

Bright Lights, Big City:

Early in the Morning:

Hip Shake:

As the Years Go Passing By:

Baja & Surf Medley:

Misty:

Thunder Road:

Wichita Lineman:

You Never Can Tell:

Hoochie Koochie Man:

Eastwood Webcast Replay (2006) from MyRareGuitars.com

Wally with Nick Cash, lead singer of legendary punk rockers 999

Two days later my brother Peter (guitarist from Surf Cinema) caught up with us, rented a car, and we drove out to Swindon to see the legendary punk rockers, 999. Here is a picture of Wally with lead singer Nick Cash. Wally had dragged his original Vinyl from Toronto – back in 1981 he had stood in line at a record shop to have the lads from 999 sign his record – 25 years later Nick and the boys would sign it again. We ran into the band at a pub before the show, got the album signed, and proceeded to have a great night of music and laughs!

The historic ROYAL St. Georges Golf Club (host to 12 Open Championships)

The following day we changed hats and moved to the gold courses. We played Walton Heath Golf Club south of London, then drove to Dover for the night. The following day we played the historic ROYAL St. Georges Golf Club – host to 12 Open Championships. It was an unforgettable day for Peter and me.

The next day we headed back to London for a three days of LIVE music, Indian food and a long pub crawl. Another friend – Jimmy Lango – decided to fly in and surprise Peter (Peter lives in California, Jim in Toronto, they are childhood friends). So Jim shows up at the hotel, unannounced, playing a Taylor travel guitar and singing a song that Peter and him co-wrote 20 years ago. What a surprise! Good reason to go for a pint! That night we went to see Lloyd Cole at the Arts Theater where he featured his fantastic new CD, Anti-Depressant. Another great show. The following night was an unbelievable and edgy treat by PERE UBU.

The next morning we headed up North….

The Wedding Present in Wolverhampton. David Gedge played his Eastwood Supro.

Our last show of the tour was The Wedding Present in Wolverhampton. David Gedge played his Eastwood SUPRO at the gig. My brother talked me into getting right up in front of the stage for this show, and as you can see in the next shot, it was a tight squeeze fro the entire show. (I turned my camera backwards over my head for this shot). I’m not sure how to setup my camera, so this video I shot is lousy.

It was a tight squeeze for the entire show.

We caught last-call and hoisted a toast

After the show we caught last-call and hoisted a toast to the country and to the great hospitality we enjoyed. Below is our last walk down London streets before heading home for another year. I look forward to my next trip there; in fact Wally is already lobbying for the upcoming ATP Festival 2007 as Wally is a huge Nick Cave fan. After listening to the new GRINDERMAN CD, I agree with Wally!

Our last walk down London streets

UK Trip (Oct. 2006) from MyRareGuitars.com