LR: Wednesday June 6, 2012

[zombywoof]

Whew, tshought I was going to crash and burn yesterday.

Lunch today is a roast beef and swiss chesse sandwich and some potato salad my wife made as she was tired of hearing me bitch about having to eat the Healthy Choice stuff.

One of the things that always makes me smirk a bit is how the opinions of certain guitars change over the decades. 1970s Fenders, of course, immediately come to mind. At one time, you could not give one of these away now they have become much sought after. How about those old Harmony guitars. Back in the 1960s I recall wanting to dump these things to get me a "real" guitar - a Fender or Gibson electric or a Martin acoustic. Fast forward to today - have you seen what some of those Harmony Stratotones are selling for - never mind the Silvertones with the Gibson pickups (todayknown as the Chris Isaak guitar)

I would love to hear from any of ya'll who started out with an el cheapo guitar - dumped it for something better only to find yourself lured back to that old mail order sweetie or perhaps some bizarro MIJ or elsewhere import from your youth.

I have two of those old war horses hanging around. A 1963 Alden-badged Harmony Stratotone Mars and 1960 Harmony Sovereign acoustic. The Stratotone was close to the bottom of the Harmony electric food chain while the Sovereign was at the top of of the acoustic line. Making it even better -the Stratotone sits with a Surpro-made Airline (Montgomery Wards) amp and the Sovereign with a Sears Silvertone Twin.





So what do ya'll think of the approach G&L has been taken such as offering relic finishes and now the Thin Skin line. Athough I do not think this kinda stuff would entice me to buy one guitar over another, personally I like it. Our local store here has ordered in one of the Thin Line guitars - a Classic S. I have been toying with the idea of buying a new G&L and having recently sold two guitars so have some money sitting in the guitar fund. And I do like those
Classic S's.

Lunch is over so I gotta boogie. See ya'll tomorrow and c'mon guys, don't leave me here going "Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?"

[repoman]

Hi Zombywoof,

My first electric was given to me by my cousin. It was a Hasgstrom http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Early-1 ... 2c65c76df9 that looked a lot like this model on ebay.
It wouldn't stay in tune worth a damn but the neck felt real nice and when I put the pickups into a different guitar they sounded pretty sweet. Wish I still had that guitar but it was stolen about 20 years ago.

I have nothing against the relic finishes but don't see myself ever buying one. Same with the thin skins.


Jef

[darwinohm]

Woof, my first guitar in 1955 was a Harmony archtop acoustic and I used a pillow case when I took it somewhere. Sad part is I have no idea what happened to it. My next was Gibson ES125 TDC in 1961. I later sold that and don't miss it but would like to have my Gibson EBO bass from 1962.

I am not a nitro or thin skin fan as they are fragile. The only relic I would own would be one that had been worn from playing myself. I do not understand why one would buy a new relic. Many of the guitars in the GC should go up in price because they are dinged and scratched? I need a lesson in logic!!!!-- Nice vintage gear by the way--Darwin

[oneeyedog]

Hi, heres my 1st guitar, got it mid 1990's (i dont have a pic to hand but its like this!)

http://www.electromusic.co.uk/images/D/yammy.jpg
i'm not sure about the relic thin finish thing.. i always think they look great but dont know if i'd take one over a new paint job! an old roughed up guitar is fine but there's something about the "false" wear that bugs me!

[westsideduck]

Funny you should bring this up, look what I just bought, Aria Diamond should be here in a couple of days

[louis cyfer]

Hi, heres my 1st guitar, got it mid 1990's (i dont have a pic to hand but its like this!)

http://www.electromusic.co.uk/images/D/yammy.jpg
i'm not sure about the relic thin finish thing.. i always think they look great but dont know if i'd take one over a new paint job! an old roughed up guitar is fine but there's something about the "false" wear that bugs me!

those were great guitars. the other guitarist in my first band had one exactly like that.

[blargfromouterspace]

My first guitar was an '80 Squier that was sold on to a friend for nix. It's worth more than nix now. I can't remember if it was Japanese or Korean.

I think the relic thing is a bit silly (pre worn jeans blah blah blah...), but I do like the look of a worn guitar. The thin skin is a neat idea. If either of those guitars felt better than one with the regular bomb-proof poly finish I'd buy it.

[louis cyfer]

My first guitar was an '80 Squier that was sold on to a friend for nix. It's worth more than nix now. I can't remember if it was Japanese or Korean.

I think the relic thing is a bit silly (pre worn jeans blah blah blah...), but I do like the look of a worn guitar. The thin skin is a neat idea. If either of those guitars felt better than one with the regular bomb-proof poly finish I'd buy it.

if it was an 82-92 squier, those are quite valuable today. the jv's go for 1500+, the sq's for 100 or so.

[Philby]

I still have my first guitar. It is an '84 Westone Concord, made at the revered Matsumoko factory as one of the 'in-house' brands. Of course I REALLY REALLY wanted a Fender Strat, but there was no US production in the mid-80's and the Japanese strats weren't widely available yet, so you had no choice but to buy a copy. I still play it regularly - it has a great neck and super resonant body.



I don't much like relic'd guitars and was sceptical on thin-skin finishes. But my last purchase, a Gibson LP 50's Tribute, has a very thin layer of nitrocellulose lacquer and no clear coat that I can tell and it completely changes the feel of the guitar compared to a standard LP. I love being able to feel the grain of the wood in the neck and body and it is a very light, resonant guitar also. I've never liked standard LP's with their glossy painted necks and bodies and binding and weighing a ton etc., but a thin-skin finish is one of the things I like best about the Gibby Tributes. Here she is......

[Jaystrings]

My first guitar was an old electric Silvertone Somethingorother. POS, really. Glad I didn't keep it; although it would be nice to have kept for sentimental reasons or "the story behind it" reasons. Paid $35 which I'd saved from lunchmoney - cheapest thing in the pawn shop.

I love mojo'd / naturally relic'd guitars. Can't beat that look. Not a huge fan of the "manufactured" or "aftermarket relic'd" doings. I have seen some really great results from the wrecking crews, but prefer the natural process. I've sold a few that were chipped & had some really good crazing going on; but I've also kept some 80's G&Ls that get a little purtier each year. My ears don't always hear the improvement in sound that comes with aging, but sometimes it does. I A/B'd a couple of my mojo'd SC-2's vs my SC-2 resissues & I must say that I coulld acutally hear the improved vintage sound difference. Kept the mojo'd; sold the R.I.

j

[louis cyfer]

My first guitar was an old electric Silvertone Somethingorother. POS, really. Glad I didn't keep it; although it would be nice to have kept for sentimental reasons or "the story behind it" reasons. Paid $35 which I'd saved from lunchmoney - cheapest thing in the pawn shop.

I love mojo'd / naturally relic'd guitars. Can't beat that look. Not a huge fan of the "manufactured" or "aftermarket relic'd" doings. I have seen some really great results from the wrecking crews, but prefer the natural process. I've sold a few that were chipped & had some really good crazing going on; but I've also kept some 80's G&Ls that get a little purtier each year. My ears don't always hear the improvement in sound that comes with aging, but sometimes it does. I A/B'd a couple of my mojo'd SC-2's vs my SC-2 resissues & I must say that I coulld acutally hear the improved vintage sound difference. Kept the mojo'd; sold the R.I.

j

to hear the improvement that comes with aging, the guitar needs to be played, and played a lot. sitting in a case, the tone won't improve much. it is the constant vibrations that help the wood over the years. that's why those perfect condition 50's guitars don't interest me, they don't really sound that good. a guitar that has been played for 60 years will not look new.