LR for 11/2/12: And Then There Were Some

Priorities Change

One thing about getting older is I don't think we lose what was important, fun and core to ourselves, but we hopefully make better decisions and use our energies more wisely. After my last band broke up in 2008 I decided I was done with lugging equipment, eating crappy food, arguing with band mates and the rest that goes with it. I was also mad and sad since collaborating with others was one of my greatest joys in life. But life goes on and perhaps one day I'll do the band thing again. Probably something along the lines of covering all the great songs and not so great ones, the obscure and the well known. Original music will always be my first bent but seeing folks smile, dance and sing along when you play something they know or perhaps didn't remember is really a wonderful thing. I still keep my hand in by doing audio mastering and just finished up project # 300, which is for a young band out of VA. 99% of these projects are for DIY'er's and it's nice to be able to breathe some life and "mids" into their tracks. That said, a good song is a good song whether recorded on a state of the art studio system or a boom box. But a bit of tweaking can help a lot. Sometimes more than a lot. The biggest change for me the past couple of years has been a return to acoustic guitar and currently I'm honing my finger style skills and digging deeply into acoustic and delta blues. In many ways it's a return to what I started with, and while I love electric guitar, there's is something very immediate, personal and intimate about playing an acoustic. Here's a shot of mine. From the top: Takamine Rosewood and Spruce 12 string, Taylor 510 (Lemon Grove) which I bought at the urging of old board member Ches, Martin OMC28V which has Juber specs, Collings 0001, Larrivee Pete Anderson, and my newly acquired Bourgeois mahogany short scale that I traded a whole bunch of pedals for. 53 to be exact.



Some tunes I've been working on but can't play anywhere near where these guys do and a couple of songs that I started out with long ago:

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[youtube]rQhGEo8X-8I[/youtube]
[youtube]KUUr0eE1Feg[/youtube]
[youtube]pTVjCWekS1Q[/youtube]

And Then There Were Some

I touched on this yesterday and the replies run the gamut of why guys keep certain guitars, how they go about collecting, etc. Like Louis, I've given away a few guitars to neighbors kids who couldn't afford one, or to the local school or church group. But for the most part I was a major guitar whore. At one point I had well over 125 guitars with 100 of those being G&L's, and all but 7 being Leo-era. Sometimes I bought because the deal was just too good to pass up, sometimes just on impulse and other times with an eye to future collector value and as part of my "retirement account." I had multiples of so many models I almost lost track and when I finally did an inventory I found I had for example 17 different SC models. The tolex cases kept coming and between that and the shipping boxes, the storage space was starting to get pretty small. And this is a 15x15 unit. Values went up and I was thinking great, and then things starting dropping and bottoming out. I won't rehash all of this and I agree with Will, Tim and others that the market will come back. If not to where it was, then at least better that what it is now. A mint Cav for $625??? If you have $$$ this is a great time to buy. But for me I realized enough was enough when I could no longer open the door to my storage unit. I had already been selling off a few here and there, and some guys on the board are now the owners of some of my "castoffs" LOL, but I finally made the move and off-loaded the majority of what I had, including the non-G&L's as well.

So how did I pick what to keep? Simple, same as how I "mostly" went about buying things. While a mint condition instrument is always a nice to have and will hold the most value, I always went for the best playing and sounding ones I could find. So while I have maybe one or two "mint" guitars left, the rest are players, and there's a reason they are. They came out tops in the way I value most. Did it pain me to give up so many babies? Hell yeah, and it still does. But others will now get the joy of having some cool Leo-era G&L's and I have a few left, although I'm thinking that a couple of these might go as well one day. We'll see. At least now I can get into my storage space.

At the start and for me G&L was a way to enjoy the genius of Leo and George without paying outrageous sums for the guitars I traded away or sold cheap years ago before any of us, other than those with a crystal ball, realized the value they would have. That G&L's blow away most every vintage Fender I owned or played was not only the icing on the cake, but a realization that Leo and George really were building some of the best guitars of their lives. I also found a wonderful group of like minded "addicts" and have enjoyed every minute. I'm not as into the BBE-era G&L's as much and given my acoustic bent, no electrics interest me greatly at present. But it's fun to read about the new guitars and basses and see what guys are buying and jawing about.

Thank you to all who participated this week or just lurked, and prayers and best wishes to those or their loved ones effected by the storm. Take care and keep the dream alive.

Best always
Jon

Great week Jon. I have enjoyed the topics and the photos have been outstanding. I wish you had posted pictures of all of them!

You have a fine group of acoustics and some great clips. I bet that you hear all kinds of music in the production business. I have always told the bandmates, " if you sound good, I can make you sound darn good" If it is bad, that is what it will be regardless. It has been fun to hear others experiences with buying and selling. I finally got my Pro Tools back on the air last night after a hard drive failure 3 weeks ago.

Guitars and cases do take up a lot of space and I do not have room for any more. Maybe that is a good thing. Thanks again for the fun week!-Darwin

Looks like it's just you and me today Darwin. I've been mastering since the mid-90's and back in the 80's was working as an engineer. The one "problem" I had is my boss wanted me to work on sessions where the music was so far removed from what I felt I could help with. Granted an engineer should not be a producer, but I always thought you need to have some affinity for the music you're working on to be of value to the clients. Instead I opted to move into film production and did that for many years before moving over to Internet publishing. Mastering has been the best of both worlds and I have had the opportunity to work on some great projects, though 90% have been pop and indie pop in particular. Working with young bands has always been my greatest interest and perhaps that comes out of teaching and the like that I did for many years. As for pics of all the herd... hmm, I do have a full inventory but don't know how compelling it would be to show 40 ASATs, a variety of Hawks and SC's, basses, etc. Suffice to say I'm glad I owned them and also glad they'll be going to others. I'm also pretty well set on acoustics but might pick up another short scale or OM at some point. I'm particularly fond of Collings and have been looking at their varnish versions and the shaded, burst tops as well. Then again there are so many fine builders and a Santa Cruz, Huss & Dalton, Sexauer or other might be in the future. Who knows? For now, I'm good to go and feel very lucky to have the collection that I do. That said, sometimes I just have to haul out the ol LP and Tremolux and turn it up. But I think I've already said that once this week. Glad you got your PT setup going again. I've switched over to Logic myself but at the end of the day it's just systems, and the real magic is in the ears, hands, mind, the talent and the vision. Amazing when you think how few notes there are in western music and how much you can do with them.

Looks like it's just you and me today Darwin.

I've been lurking all week, once I have some 'me' time I'll be back , with pictures .

Great week Jon !!
back soon...EW

Jon,

Great week, fun videos and cool pictures. Please leave some guitars for the rest of us.

Y2kc

Jonc,
Interesting week of reports. Your collection is great. I'm glad there are guys like you and Darwin around because it makes my meager collection of about twenty instruments look small in comparison. It makes it a little easier to justify another acquisition to my wife.
Fred

Joni RAWKS!

Nice to see folks come out of the woodwork.

Gdub: how the hell you doing? first record i "stole" from my sister was Blue. played the hell out of that one along with Clouds and the first album produced by David Crosby. A GF got me into later Joni during her jazzy phase with Larry Carlton, Robbin Ford, et al. But it was still Joni and her impact and influence on so many who came after is huge.

Elwood: show us the pics!!!

y2 -- hmmm, i didn't think you'd be lacking for guitars. but in any case there are certainly plenty Leo-era G&L's available now and at silly low prices. btw, wasn't that your B-caster at one point? i get confused sometimes of where i got what.

Fred: actually that's just about the number i have left. While the pics I've posted throughout the week were of some guitars I still own, most are now in the wild either with some new G&L addict or waiting for one to come along. It was great being a steward of those guitars and at one time I thought I would own them for years and years and years, but as mentioned, priorities change, and while I miss them, it's nice that they're being played instead of in storage. Btw, here's the rest of the harem including my favorite "335-type." The Ibanez AM series from the 80's are just incredible guitars and it only took Gibson another 20 years to offer a small-body 335-type. These guitar can do just about everything, have some of the silkiest playing necks ever, and are still relatively affordable. I highly recommend them to anyone looking for a great 335 but wanting the comfort of a smaller body. The LP was probably my sweetest deal ever. I traded a Yamaha amp for it and it's the one guitar that will be with me for a very, very long time. I guess you could say that given the LP, LP Jr. and SG Jr. that I love P90's! Probably some of my all-time favorite pups along with large MFD's and Leo hummers.

G'day JC
Man I started buying G&L's for the exact same reason as you. I could get a Leo guitar at a great price, albeit from a different vintage and without the headstock name.Thanks to advice from Gabe I have come to realize my game plan was spot on. G&L made incredible guitars in the 80's .
I agree it is a great time to buy guitars, the big problem I have is many EBay sellers don't ship to Australia as a G &L case is too large for USPS to send . Just got to get creative.
Regards
Anthony

jon,

Great week of LRs and finally have some time to react. It's going to be a kind of response to everything. I thoroughly enjoyed any and all of the vids that you showed. Great tracks; many the soundtrack of my youth and young adulthood. The Bram Tchaikovsky vid of last Wednesday I had never seen, but the name sounded very, very familiar. After jogging my brains a while, I realized that he had had a hit in The Netherlands with a song called 'Sarah Smiles' (just play it in the background because there is not much imagery to go with it, but the sound quality is excellent):
[youtube]G_Kgf5k7R0o[/youtube]
Interesting observation: many posted music vids of songs of the pre-CD era use a recording from vinyl. Comparing different versions of the aforementioned song, you'll notice the difference in speed between different turn-tables.

Like you once were, I'm currently a hoarder especially of ASATs. But I try to keep duplicates to a minimum; there has to be something unique in each and every one of them. I just love keeping up my website trying to tell the story of each and every one of my 'babies'. I like both the Leo- and BBE-era guitars, although I'll admit there is some added mojo to my Leo-era Broadcasters, SC's, (rear-loaded) G-200, and Cherryburst ASAT III. I have found less optimal specimen from both eras, but the vast, vast majority is incredibly well built and sounding. Does it bother me that G&L now even gets closer to Tele copies by using AlNiCo pups? Not in the least. If I were to criticize them for that, I would have to criticize Paul Reed Smith too by building the SC 58. But both of these 'copies' do a better job at being a Telecaster or LP, respectively, than the (currently) produced 'originals'. And we should ignore the Legacy, because it is a Strat copy with different type of tone control?

Love your taste for acoustics. I'm a big fan of Bill Collings too owning a DH-2A and sunburst OOO-2A. And the work of Dana Bourgeois I've always admired since I played an A-500 (I believe it was) at the local GC of all places more than a decade ago. Wich I had had the emasn to buy that one then.

Sandy once more demonstrated that, in the words of the great Richard Feynman, "... nature cannot be fooled." I sure hope everybody on this forum and/or family living on the eastern borders got through safe and sound. Funny how the difference between 'hurricane' and 'tropical storm' can make such a difference in insurance coverage.

Thanks again jon,

- Jos

Great stuff this week. I dig acoustics too, but now down to only two. They cover finger-style to John Denver, so it's all good. I'd like a nice parlor guitar like the one Sting used last night on the NBC fundraiser...


Cheers,

Will

If you have $$$ this is a great time to buy.

I dig this blue and blonde Legacy..and the price is tempting [549+30 shipping ?]
...the timing's not quite right for me. I'm saving for a new computer and PT 10.
(though I'd have bought the Cav if I saw that no matter what).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/G-L-Legacy-USA- ... 1149025359

back Asap,
Elwood

Hi Jon
Sorry I missed your week while we were travelling - I really enjoyed following your musical journey and many of the clips you posted brought back a lot of memories. I’d all but forgotten Cactus and after reviewing your post I dragged out a couple Cactus and Son of Cactus (yeah, yeah I know) this afternoon.

As for the musical styles I play I guess to use your phrase I;m “all over the place. My father was a trained classical violinist who moved over to rock’n’roll guitar in the ‘50s. I grew up in a home surrounded by a diverse musical tapestry and some great players. As a result I’ve always have very broad musical tastes and continually looked out for and assimilated (resistance is useless lol) new artists and styles. The band I’ve been with since high school (with a few changes now and again) have always played with multiple identities and side projects allowing us to play different genres and styles.

… anyhow, it was an interesting week and I wish I’d been able to contribute more than a drive by response to Jamie’s question.

Cheers, Robbie

I have a lot of instruments, but not a ton of duplicates. (most) everything is there to add a new sound. So, I end up with a bass banjo instead of an L-1000 which is arguably better (and arguably not) than any fretted four string bass guitar I own. Some people will go "this strat has a bridge humbucker" or something to that effect, but for me it's more like "this is a banjo" or "this doesn't have frets". I like the diversity of sound, and work for that more than nuances. I'm definitely a "musical instrument as a tool" guy, though I do own a Mark II Ashbory so I did deviate from the program once. But c'mon, they only made about 100 of them total
http://www.largesound.com/ashborydoc/other/mkiiflyer/

Great report! (don't know how I missed it the first time)

Hey Brock - at the risk of hijacking this thread, do you have any info on when the Traveler CD might be available? Thanks, and I hope your holiday was a great one. -ed