From Pop to Rock
while most of the records i had access to were those stuffed in my parents draw, my sisters Del Shannon 45's, or friends who has older sisters and brothers and had lots of vinyl, the first records i bought with my own (paper route) money were Tommy by The Who and Hush by Deep Purple. i got those and a bunch others from Frank's Music Store. his place looked right out of the "swinging 60's;" orange walls, green carpet, the works. Frank himself was a sharp looking guy always dressed in a blazer, slacks and tie and sporting a folded $5 bill ring on his right hand. later he taught me how to make one but mine never were as crisp or the "5" perfectly centered. he finally gave me one of his and a short time later sold out. more on this later. music wise the 60's and early-to-mid 70's there's a ton of great stuff coming out in all genres, and the electric guitar is expanding in so many different ways. By then my album collection has grown quite a bit. what i guess would later be called GAS.
while i've always been more of a single rather than album guy, there are some "rock" albums that i wore out. some multiple copies of:Rory Gallagher - Irish Tour
Savoy Brown - Looking In
Johnny Winter - Second Winter
Robin Trower - Bridge Of Sighs
Cactus - Cactus, One Way Or Another, Restrictions
Blue Oyster Cult - BOC, Tyranny and Mutations, Secret Treaties
Lou Reed - Rock and Roll Animal
Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
Led Zepplin - Zep 1
Derek and the Dominoes - Layla
what was the first record you bought with your own money, and any you played so often you wore it out? did you have a local small shop like Franks, or a big chain retailer like Virgin or Tower?
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G&L - 3 bolt necks that worked!
my first good guitar was a 74 Gibson SG that i bought new for $370 with the hard shell case. I loved that guitar and after a number of Sekova "Tele's," Tesico's and the like, i felt like i was ready for the big time. unfortunately for me rock was going into the doldrums and a lot of the local places to play either shut down or converted to disco. so a couple of buddies and me converted a friends basement into a hangout / practice space and spent hours plaguing the neighbors and the guys parents with our renditions of Rolling and Tumbling, Train Kept A Rolling and the ever ubiquitious "slow blues." the other guitar player had just got a brand new sunburst Strat and while it sounded good the 3 bolt neck and pocket on it was total crap. of course this was due to the sloppy work Fender was putting out, but it also colored player perception as well. fast forward to 1982 and i'm now working at "Franks music shop." and while the name had changed the decor remained the same, and would for another 20 years. working at the shop was a blessing and a curse. it introduced me to G&L when a co-worker bought in his new L1K for sale, but also meant my buying, selling and swapping gear really took off. usually to the detriment of my paycheck.
and why did he get rid of it? the 3 bolt neck of course. he told me 3 bolts are crap and as my only experience up to then had been Fender 3-bolts, i was inclined to agree with him. but we were wrong. George's design and Leo and George's manufacturing techniques and craftsmanship turned out a 3-bolt, micro-tilt neck that not only worked the way it was meant to, it made setting up the guitars and basses a breeze. tht L1k was just the first of many G&L's to come over the years, but being my first, it still holds a special spot. we know that BBE switched back to 4-bolt necks due to buyer perception and that there's been some clamoring for 3-bolt micro-tilts to come back. i personally would like to see it offered, but can't see it making a lot of sense given the marketplace and the direction BBE is going with G&L. what's your take on the 3-bolt neck and micro-tilt? does it matter how many bolts are used, or is it just the mystique of the 3-bolt neck that has value for those of us driven by nostalgia? what was your first G&L, why did you get it, and do you still have it?
The one next to the Interceptor!