Case-In-Point/ Peter

How about all the things that can hurt your electric guitar (or Acoustic guitar)?  We all think of them, but we don't totally believe they are true.  I keep most of my blinds shut in my guitar room... since I have heard that direct sunlight hurts not only the finish on a guitar, but also heats the guitar up and hurts the overall guitar itself.  I opened my blinds today, and briefly was of the mind that Muddy Waters probably put his guitar down on his front porch, in direct sunlight... and it actually sounded better.  After this brief thought, I shut my blinds again.  ALL necks, for instance, end up with warps, twists and bows... most are easily fixed, with a minor truss rod adjustment.  More major repairs require heating and reshaping.  Wood is alive, and to believe your neck should always be razor-straight is incorrect.  Even if your guitar is kept in a good environment, these things can occur. Each neck is an individual... and that individual needs (along with the whole guitar) to be kept away from: direct sunlight, radiators, heating vents, attics, car trunks, damp cellars... and also away from direct sunlight when in their black cases (most guitar cases are black).... if unnecessary damage is to be avoided.  No... these things will not relic a guitar... they are more  likely to RUIN your guitar.

Firecaster

I Played the Nash Firecaster through my KR-12 amp... and she's fantastic.  True Tele vibe... pure blues.  There is nothing between your hand and the music.  From there, it's straight through from the pickups to the amp.  The neck feels fantastic, and Bill did a wonderful job dressing the frets.  I asked him to 'sand' my fretboard, similar to the neck on my Sadowsky Strat (this is the Sadowsky neck).  I also have to mention that the Lollars on the Firecaster sing. The only other thing I have is my trusty Variac, to turn-down the voltage on my amp to around 90V.... 

Update: Fralin Pickups

My Lindy Fralin rewinds came back. If you remember, Oliver Leiber brought them back to my house (after he had a problem with the Tele I sold him)... and I swapped them out for a brand new set of  GVCG Tele pickups that I had on hand.  The ones I gave Oliver were straight from Jonathan at GVCG... some aged Lollar AL3's... that have staggered poles.  The ones I sent to Lindy took a month or so for the rewind, and came back as good as new.  I haven't put Lindy's pickups in anything yet, but will keep everyone posted when I do.  

Firecaster by Nash

Well... it's about time to 'test drive' my brand new Firecaster from Bill Nash.  I have been playing it acoustically, and through a Rockman™ Metal Ace.  My amp has been under plastic wrap, for construction in my 'music room'... the amp is a Louis Electric KR12.  I'll keep everyone filled in... now if I can just find that electrical  outlet...

Steeltops

I like to keep all people reading this blog posted on 'new' things in the world of guitars... if it is not Versoul guitars in Finland (more on that later), or Linhof Guitars (as previously mentioned).. it must well and truly be James Trussart's Steeltops.  Just look at this beauty... this guitar takes a little bit of Resonator styling and adds some humbucker pickups, this... together with a lot of engineering and design input from James Trussart, means a brand new blip on the new guitar horizon.  Up until now, James was mainly building his line of 'Steelcaster' guitars.  Recently though, he has come up with this little beauty... the 'Steeltop'... and well-known artists (like Rich Robinson, of the Black Crowes) have not been slow to recognize this... so why should you?  Check it out... also check out their entire site...for roughly what you would pay for either a nice Fender Tele, or a New USA Made Les Paul, you can also have one of these...I have one, and one on the way... 

Fretboard Magic

The ebony fretboard on my new James Trussart Steeltop has a wonderful look to it, that I have only seen once before on another hand-made-in-small-batch instrument... made by Tony Zemaitis (who actually, James Trussart reminded me, turned out even fewer instruments per year than James does).  The wood has been hand detailed, and the binding actually has an ever-so-slight dip to it on the edge, just as it leaves each fret..to rise slightly again when it reaches the next fret.... it is so slight, that you can barely notice it...for me it is a sign of a truly hand-made instrument. In today's time of machine-made necks, it is truly a rarity... so get 'em while you can folks...

Prizefight

DING DING DING....Welcome to the champion fight of the year... in the left corner... those who hate relic guitars... in the right.... those who either love 'em, or try to just go by how they sound.  Imagine if you had picked up a Paisley Tele (in Pink) in 1968... 'Darn... I can't play this in front of anyone... I'm a guy'... but nobody is around you in the store... so you strum a few chords... and WOW... for some reason (as it sometimes is)... they just GOT IT RIGHT... and no matter WHAT color she is, you've got to have her.  Well.. for those who HATE relic guitars... they are probably here to stay for a while...  but if you find one that really rocks, don't miss the boat based on how she looks.  It's quite a topic of discussion I know... and it can get heated at times...  but it's about how they play, and how they sound.  I write about them here, because most of the Masterbuilders are putting their time into Relic's... because that is what SELLS... so if you want a great guitar, you might have to close your eyes when you play...

Another Pretty Head

Look at these three headstocks... just like a Fender headstock... timeless and beautiful.   Gibson also has a wonderful headstock... If you don't  get yourself a nice looking head... who's going to care about the body?

Love Child

I am still playing the Steeltop I just got from Mr James Trussart yesterday.  The steel-meets-wood tone of this guitar is reminiscent for me of the sound of 'The Black Keys'.  It's also very Black Crowes  in it's tone.  I cannot say enough... I have never really owned a metal-wood electric guitar, but I am SOLD on them now forever...  this guitar is sort of like if a Dobro had an illicit affair with a Les Paul... this would be the love child.  The finish on the ebony fretboard reminds me of the hand-detailing of  an original Zemaitis.  The workmanship is wonderful... you will NOT find any bad 'edges' on this guitar. It is totally small-batch, hand made... and I haven't even got to all the wonderful variations you can get out of the knobs and 3-way toggle switch... wow again.

James Trussart Workshop

I was lucky enough to visit the James Trussart guitar workshop, in Silverlake California today. After walking up some steps inside a private compound, I was greeted by Robert, (after pushing an antiquated metal doorbell).  The house is a California Craftsman... and inside you feel like you are in a movie.  Mr Trussart has a wonderful view of downtown LA on one side, and the Hollywood sign on the other.   I met Mr Trussart, and also William (on the left) and Robert... also another really nice guy, but I didn't get his name... who was also working away on guitar parts.  I picked up my new Steeltop guitar today (see photo).  I think most people are familiar with James' Steelcaster guitars, but just recently, he has added many new models...including this one,  and people like Rich Robinson and Billy Gibbons are already on the boat. The one I picked up today is a Paisley 'Steeltop', with one of James' custom humbuckers, (with it's own  serial number and all...).. not to get too excited, but I also saw another one while I was there....a Steelcaster, also in Paisley.. the first one he has done, and I had to stick my name on it.   Mr Trussart told me that he was inspired to do the paisley guitars while he looked into a store window, at some Paisley fabric...which reminded him of his childhood and his mother.  What a great idea... I'll also be playing this guitar, and reporting back on how it sounds... preliminary acoustic test;  ... very, very resonant, and full sounding..very balanced... so I am sure when I plug her in, it will only get better. Wow! (Go to James Trussart here).

Carlos

I bought this guitar from a guitar store in Miami some time ago.  It was sold as 'Almost definitely made for Carlos Santana'.  Well, I contacted customer service at PRS, and got the reply from Shawn in customer support that '...your guitar... was built for Carlos several years ago'.  I used to know Ralph Perucci, in the White Plains store in 1987, one of Mr Smith's good friends.  Ralph helped him get his guitar business off the ground in the early days, and has worked with many famous artists himself.  At the time, I had the chance to own many prototype PRS guitars, and luckily I took Ralph up on many of Mr Smith's offerings.  I turned down the chance to have Mr Smith build me a 'Signature Series' (1/1000) with a Floyd Rose bridge (which would have been wild), but I did get a nice one with the original PRS bridge.  Mr Smith offered to sign anything I wanted on the guitar, but I opted just to have him sign his name on the back of the headstock.  In 1988 I also bought two of the original 'prototype' bolt-on guitars, that had been shown at the NAMM show.  BOTH had the serial number '1988' (I think there where 6 in all).  I also had one of the very first sparkle-red Customs.  All where sold down the line... but... hey, I still have the 1989 Carlos. If anyone out there has an old bolt-on, with the serial number '1988'... yup, you didn't know it, but it's a prototype.

Dear Bollocks,

Yeh... you DO make me wanna puke.  You ponsy little stock trader...

Nick

Bread

People don't want the good times to end.  My issue of VGM (Vintage Guitar Magazine) mentions unheard of auction prices for vintage instruments (see 'The Value of Actual Sales Data', p.92)...that were achieved... in OCTOBER 2007. Vintage guitar prices hit (for my mind) an all-time high last October, then fell slightly in November, then fell sharply in December 2007.  The article mentions a 1955 Les Paul that sold for $70,500 (an all-time high, for my mind) on October 14th. Now, in April 2008, I feel we are sitting around wondering if the vintage guitar bubble has burst.  Apart from the dates mentioned... all this sounds a little like the current housing market.  Why am I, as a player, talking like this... will Nick write to me in my 'letter' section again, and tell me that I make him puke?  Of course he will... but a lot of musicians are not wealthy, and don't want their beloved guitar going from 17K to 8K.... and as everyone knows, most musicians keep their money IN their instruments..not under their beds.... some things near and dear to every musician's heart are women, guitars, booze, food and shelter... not all in that order, but close.  I feel if I continue to talk about how to tune your Floyd Rose and also my love of all things Charvel, I might be just a little in denial about what REALLY is on all our minds...... bread.  We all need a little bread to eat....man.... so this really hurts.  I still have one 50's guitar for sale at my local guitar store.. but she ain't movin' on down the road.... if she doesn't sell soon, I am tempted to sand her neck, give her jumbo frets, and do a Jeff Beck...hey... they were all meant to be played... and maybe I can find some bread somewhere else...

EVH (Again)

Why does EVH love his Charvel so much that I have seen and have photos of 57 EVH Art Series Guitars that I have personally seen sell on EBay.  I don't know what the total is, but someone online totalled up  the tally from the last time he did this a few years ago.  EVH loves and plays Charvel guitars... all of his custom guitars have a non-symetrical neck, made especially for Eddie, and so do all his Art Series guitars, (which are played by him in concert, and hand designed individually by EH).  They also have EVH specified humbuckers, and only a volume control (no tone).  EVH seems to derive most (if not ALL) his signature sound from what goes on AFTER THE CABLE leaves his guitar.  These guitars go for between 8K and 11K, with the occasional one going much higher (because it is one of the ones with a red background and white and black stripes... currently that's the one that goes for over double what other colors can go for.  What do you do with one of these?  If you have an office, I guess it goes in the case above the table where you serve coffee to future clients... if you're a crazy, you play it...