Memorial Day Lunch Report, May 27, 2013

A hearty "Thank You" to all those in the US Armed Forces.

We can never repay the the debt of freedom to the soldiers "...who gave their last full measure of devotion..." It is a good day to re-read The Gettysburg Address...and let the full meaning of those words sink in. They are humbling, and timeless.

I bought another guitar this last week. It is a beautiful new 2012 Gibson ES-335 in Vintage Sunburst, but it was dropped in the store and has a broken headstock. The repair seems solid but could be better cosmetically. I got a fabulous deal, so it was worth the risk. Headstock repairs on Gibsons are pretty common and if done right are relatively insignificant, in my opinion.

Sometime I have a real weakness for rescuing these "stray cats and lost puppies."

Do you have any broken or messed up guitars you've rescued?

Tell me about the last "club band" you've seen. Were they good, did you like them? Why or why not? What could they have done better? What did you learn from watching them?

With the talk of finishes last week, has anyone has the chance to compare a Rustic to a standard G&L of the same model? Impressions?

Have a good one.

Bill

I also have a lot of admiration and appreciation for our vets. When I was young some of our neighbor boys did not come home from Korea. There were many MIA's and the famlies never did get closure.

I have a Hamer with a broken neck repair. It is fully functional and probably stronger that new. It is in my list of restorations and I will give it to my daughter when I have completed it. Gibsons are notorious for the problem and most of the properly repaired ones are stronger than original. I have never seen a broken headstock on a Fender.

I have watched several club bands that get boring after after one set as they do everything the same. I like being in a cover band for the variety. It does make it more interesting.

I have looked at several Rustics and have never played one. I have zero interest and cannot comprehend why someone would pay more for a new guitar that is visually destroyed. I have spent most of the afternoon working on a Fender 62 reissue Strat that is all beat up and I can understand why the owner bought it cheap. Cheap is all that it is worth. At least in now plays well. All it is missing is a couple of bullet holes. Have a great evening everyone. -- Darwin

Hi Bill,

Funny you should mention 'lost puppies'. I just bought a MIM Fender Special Run ash tele this weekend off Evil Bay. It's new with tags, but was dropped in a store and has a 1 inch ding in the poly near the output jack, not through to the wood though. I fancy my chances of repairing the damage, but dings don't really bother me so I'll probably leave it as is. I was actually looking for a cheap Tribute ASAT to drop some spare tele pickups in, but I couldn't go past the 'buy it now' price on the tele. It's my first 'F' branded tele. I've played mainly ASAT's till now. It's also my first cherry burst guitar. I've loved cherry burst finishes ever since I saw a picture of John Lennon's cherry burst Rick as a kid, so I hope she doesn't disappoint. I'm kinda partial to the 9" radius necks on Tribbies and Fenders too.

Darwin, I wouldn't buy a relic'd guitar for looks, but I've picked up at least a dozen Fender Roadworn strats/teles in shops and they've all played superbly. Much better than the shiny American standards sitting next to them. The raw necks and thinly finished bodies make them really light and resonant. I can overlook a guitar's appearance if it is a joy to play. I imagine the Rustics, or even the NENA's are going for the same kind of raw sensory vibe as the Roadworns.

I'm not sure exactly what a club band is, but the last band I saw play in a club were a modern county quintet who were the support act at a gig we played on the weekend. They were all good players but the music was indistinguishable from '80s commercial-radio rock - Bon Jovi etc. Totally dated and painful to listen to.

Never played a rustic G&L, but if they feel anything like the Fender nitro finishes then I don't think I'd like them too much. However, I agree with Phil on the Road-worn series feeling overall better than the US Standards. The band I mentioned earlier all had over the top "relic'd" guitars, one looked like it had been attacked by a large pack of hungry wolves. Our bass player has a '70s Precision that has been a genuine work-horse since it was made. It has some serious wear and blistering on it, and everybody think he bought it new like that!

Hey Bill,

Nice work scoring the 335, i would like to own one someday but refuse to remortgage the house for one I too would have no problem buying a repaired guitar if the price was right.

As far as the "lost puppies" one of my first EBay purchases was my semi-hollow ASAT. The owner had put a hum bucker in the bridge and outfitted it with a mirror guard. Don't get me wrong, i do like the look of a mirrored guard on the right guitar, but this one just didn't look right. Anyway, as soon as i got it i got a new guard and put the original MFD back in her and she was as good as new!

As far as the "club band" - I haven't had a chance to see one in a long long time, mainly cause i am in the club band up on the stage! You have asked some great questions.... I would love them all to be answered by patrons at our shows. .... Hmmm then again maybe not... Can you imagine the responses from a bar full of drunks at 2:00am? - For us, we just try and be loose and have fun. From the other local bands i have seen it seems to be something that is really missing. If you look like you don't want to be up there then the people in the bar will certainly not want to be there either!

I have never seen a rustic in person... i am sure it would be an outstanding instrument. I don't think i would order one new, but i would certainly check one out if the $ was right.

Scott

My dad served in the worst of the Korean war.My son served in the army. I have the greatest admiration for anyone who is a vet.

I've rescued a few guitars a Washburn Force 3 that looked like it had been dragged behind a truck missing pickups put some pickups in it and
a little work it became a fairly good player. got a new s 500 tribute that had a big chunk out of the body. Dings and cracks don't matter to me
as long as it sounds and plays well and in tune.

Funny you should ask about club bands. I had last sat. night off first time in a long time me and the wife went out with a friend from work and his wife. took us to a club he likes. The musicians were really good but they needed a vocalist in the worst way. I don't think that I would open the
night with a jazzed up version of Micheal Jackson's Billy Jean in a key that the singer couldn't hit. I really didn't like Tom Petty's Last dance with
Mary Jane with a Reggie Beat. They did some jazzy instrumentals that I really liked. I'm 57 was in a club full of college kids I felt kind of out of place

I agree with darwinohm I'd never pay more for a new guitar that looks worn

I also salute our vets and I have a lot of respect for all who served and certainly those that did not come home.

I have had nephews in Iraq and Afghanistan. My war was Vietnam. My brother went to Vietnam because he enlisted in the Army after graduating high school in 1969 but I was lucky enough to get a high enough draft lottery number to allow me to start college in 1971.
That was the summer my brother went over and the strange thing is that he came home about 10 months later without us even knowing it. He scared my mom when he came down from his room because he arrived in the early morning and went to sleep.
I was glad that he made it home.

I have always rescued beat guitars and basses. My collection is full of them. I love a project.

One of my favorites is a 1971 Fender precision that had been re-necked with a cheap copy brand bass neck so it was sold for $125 back in 1991. It is candy apple red and I had a Precision bass neck for it and it turned out to be a great bass.

I have a G&L L-2000 that has a bad truss rod. I swapped the neck with one of my L-1000s and it is a great bass.

I am starting to repeat myself. LOL

I agree with the other experienced players who balk at paying for fake wear on a guitar. There is just something wrong with that, even if they are good instruments.

i salute all our veterinarians as well. they work on the front lines to help all the suffering animals.

Gotta salute the veterans, life wouldn't be much the same without them.

As far a the rustics, I prefer non-relicced instruments, but I had a run in with a relic I would have bought recently regardless. It was a 64 J reproduction and it played oh so fine. Made me want to look the other way on the stance. Yes, you are paying more for something 'damaged' but the contrast is you are less likely to baby the damned thing and more likely to just let loose with it, after all, it isn't pristine anyway. So I can see both sides of the coin on this one now, and if I had stability when I played that one I probably would have walked out with it, relic or not. I keep my guitars as good as I can, but overall they are going to get beat a bit over time, that is their job, and I won't take undue precautions to prevent it.

We didn't have veteran's day in canada, but I salute all the veterans for sure!!!!

I remember 60 minutes did a piece on 3 soldiers who were fighting in afganistan. Touching piece where you got to know the 3 soldiers and what they were about, follow them around, etc. 6 months later they did a followup and all 3 had been killed. VERY SAD.

I was in Greenville, SC this past week and there is a small bar, Smiley's that has a small stage and they really promote the local music scene. I went there on tuesday night and tuesday's is supported by a local music store, Penrells. It was cool, a bunch of folks all wearing the music store teeshirts, they put a bunch of guitar picks on all the tables. Then some of them brought in gear and setup and started playing. It was awesome, they were great. A bunch of music teachers, store employees and they were jamming, way cool.

No G&Ls but a lefty bass player. They had a store Frankenstrat that the folks shared and the main player had a gibson 335. I asked them about the store and the stuff they sell and its mostly low end stuff, BC Rich guitars etc. They said that its all they can move.

Crosby Stills and Nash were also in town that night, sold out!