Nothing But Looks

I was driving today and came around a corner only to be greeted by none other than John Cameron Fogerty jogging in the other direction on my side of the street. I would never had known this if I had not seen a photo of him jogging in some magazine the other day, while I waited to get my hair cut. He actually had on the identical outfit he did in the photo... for descriptive purposes...a bandana, t-shirt, and shorts. He played guitar in one of the bands I remember from my childhood...heck, he helped make my childhood. Creedence Clearwater Revival (1967-1972) had hits such as Susie Q, Proud Mary, Have You Ever Seen Rain, Fortunate Son, Bad Moon Rising... ok... too many to mention. Mr Fogerty wrote all the songs for the band. His first guitar was a Silvertone and a 5 watt amplifier which he (of course) got at Sears using money from his paper route. After that, while with the Golliwogs, he played a Fender Mustang.... then a Rick '325 with Bigsby. His time with Creedence was spent playing a Gibson ES-175, then afterwards two Les Pauls. His amp during this period was a Fender Vibrolux silver, a Fender Concert, and a Kustom (which was the main amp for performances). I'll end here, and say that the quilted sparkle padding on those Kustom amps make them amongst my favorite amps... even if some say it's nothing but looks.

Button of Choice

I found out today that my 1955 Esquire has been modified... just a little... to the tune of those little buttons (two of them) that are used to attach your guitar strap to the guitar. Somebody wisely added Schaller strap locks. Apparently, if you are a collector, this is not good. I am not a collector (hence none of my cases are correct for any of the years of my guitars). But if I was... to find replacement 'buttons' is not as easy as it seems. The button in the photo above, on the blond guitar, is a 1950-1951-style strap button...or the 'first type'... the original 'steel rod' is nickel plated with a sharper top edge and a flat base (apparently). I have illustrated some later strap buttons, including the 1970's ones... with 'fatter' dimensions. What does this mean to the sound or feel of your guitar? Apparently nothing. It also means the thing doesn't fall off your shoulder though.

Je Ne Sais Quoi?

Like the song says... "Who Do You Love?"... I have two wonderful, amazing guitars... both owned by very successful
musicians before me. Each musician would have said their guitar was amongst his favorites (when he owned them). I have taken each of them away with me and played the heck out of them. One seems to be like an extension of my own body... each string resonates, and each minute I get to play that guitar is heaven... meanwhile, my wife says that the other one is the best sounding guitar I have ever owned... but the second guitar doesn't yet feel like an extension of my body. The one that sounds so good to me is a joy to play, and I would happily pay for each minute I have with it... just like that girl in 12th grade you never got. It must be some je ne sais quoi ... in addition to a basic, great sounding guitar... that makes for this magic. I can understand why BB King felt he had to name his guitar Lucille. The musician that has never felt like naming a guitar, has never met his or her true love yet. (ok... blech!...as Mad Magazine used to say). People say "sell me that guitar that sounds so good in Keith Richard's hands", but a lot of that mojo may still stay with Keith. I can't explain why the last three or four guitars only sounded great when I got it all just right... right time of day, right mood, right amount of being tapped in... and yet, this current guitar sounds so great at any time of day. UPDATE: Finally got used to the neck and specific sounds on the second guitar, and now can say I have two to love.... everyone should be so lucky (as they say).

Don't Hold Your Breath...

There is nothing new in the world. I just got done chopping a tele bridge, so I could use another pickup (other than the usual Telecaster bridge pickup) on the guitar. I thought I might have stumbled onto something totally new and original... heck, maybe there would even be some way to one day do it for other musicians. My neighbor is the one who mentioned that nothing is new in the world. He also mentioned that if you take a Cadillac and customize it... and call it a Schmaddilac, it is really still a Cadillac. You can't go around and sell Schmadillacs to people. OK... you make your Caddie look fantastic.. maybe you chop the roof and add one of those searchlights on the drivers side... you know, the ones cops had on their cruisers in the fifties... the ones you can turn on and direct from inside the car. Maybe you hang some curtains inside all the windows, with those little pom-poms on them... And add a baby Jesus on the dash. It's still a Cadillac. Can you market it, and sell it as something else, to other people? Well... you can't patent it or trademark it... but maybe your neighbor suddenly wants you to Schmaddilac his Cadillac for him too... and then another guy in the next town sees one of your Schmaddie's, and he wants you to do one for him too... maybe yet another guy in another town starts making them (to compete with you)... but his aren't as good as the ones you're turning out... so you are up to your ears in orders for Schmaddie's...and making a living at it... maybe... just maybe......but don't hold your breath.

Tampa Red

Tampa Red/ Hudson Whittaker was born in Smithville GA in 1904. He was an orphan who went to live with his grandparents in Tampa. His nickname came from his red hair. He was a guitarist and a singer who moved to Chicago in his early twenties. He had an amazing talent with slide guitar, and was often referred to as a 'guitar wizard'. He was one of the first big stars of the Chicago blues scene. He was also a prolific composer and wrote many memorable songs. He was good friends with Big Bill Bronzy (more about Big Bill in another post). Tampa Red was very kind to musicians less fortunate than him, and would offer them a meal and a place to sleep. He performed throughout the great depression. Unfortunately, he was a drinker, which he attributed as a cause of his health problems. He died in a nursing home in Chicago in 1981, at the age of 77. He left a great legacy of music available on iTunes™... including some really great guitar on 'Things 'Bout Coming My Way'. You can also imagine the Stone's doing a version of his 'When things Go Wrong with You'... still as pertinent today as it was back then. For more information on obscure Blues greats, go to the Blues Trail.

Necks ... and How I remember them.

I just had a person on EBay contact me to ask what the neck radius was on a guitar I am selling. I tend to classify my necks less mathematically, more tactilely. I know the feel of a '50 Broadcaster neck... baseball bat sanded into a U-shaped V, really meaty... and (of course) those odd bevelled edges on the side of the fretboard. I know the feeling of a 52 or 53 Tele/ Esquire neck... (I have owned 4 or 5... one was sprayed totally metallic green, and otherwise mint... in it's thermometer case... thermometer cases came with Tele's from 50 to 53). The 52/52 Tele's still have that 'bat' neck, but not a Broadcaster neck (these are not my favorite). Then comes the 55/56 Tele, with a neck everyone describes as anything from a thick baseball bat neck, to a large and chunky 'V'. I love my 56 Tele... and it has a neck similar to a 58 D-Shaped neck... which (by the way) is what Fender puts on most of their reissues now. It is a little thicker than a 58 D Neck. Meanwhile, my 55 Esquire is indeed clubby, but somewhere between a 58 and a 53 neck. What I am trying to say here is... it obviously was not rocket science back then, so there was variation even in the same year, between necks. We all know what works for us... and for me, neck radius is not the way I remember them...

The Big Kahuna

Quick... which pickup has more power on your Telecaster? Which one gives the Tele it's distinctive sound? The distinctive sound of the Telecaster is due to the fat bridge pickup and internal electronics. That would also account for why my Esquire sounds amazing... even without a second pickup...so much so in fact, I keep thinking my Esquire is a Tele when I play it. Something to remember is that the coil resistance of the main bridge pickup is roughly twice the resistance of that little "lipstick tube" like pickup near the neck. This means the bridge pickup is the big kahuna. Some would even accuse the neck pickup as being ineffective... but a lot of that tele "snap" is due to that pickup near the neck. An internal bleed capacitor... this means that as the volume is turned down, the treble still can be heard... works the magic on that neck pickup, to give your Tele that special Telecaster sound. A good setting to remember for your volume is to have the it at about 3/4 to get the Tele sound we all know and love.

Urban Legends?

This thread is from four years ago... but I had not heard it.
There is a story online about one Buddy Chambers and his wife Clara (a country music act), who were flying from Fullerton California to Reno Nevada in 1951... and you can guess what they were carrying... yes... Two Brand New Blackguard Tele's in their small airplane that went down in bad weather. Apparently, they crashed in a remote area and after all these years logging crews found the airplane upside down. After the remains of Clara and Buddy were verified, two tattered boxes, with two equally tattered tweed cases were found lodged in the back area of the plane... with the new guitars inside intact. The story supposedly originated from PPI news service, which may or may not be based out of Pakistan... hold it... is that something pulling on my leg? (I love this story, and indeed hope the part about the new guitars is true... I am now off to leave my Xmas note for Santa in my chimney).

Scrapper Blackwell

Every so often there will be a 'lesson' in the Blues... by the end of the year, you should have a working repertoire of Blues Musicians. Francis Hillman Blackwell was born in North Carolina and was one of 16 children. He was also part Cherokee. He spent most of his life in Indiana and was a self-taught guitarist. His first guitar was built out of wood, wire and cigar boxes. In his teens he travelled as far as Chicago, as a part time musician. He was known for being hard to work with and withdrawn, but still managed to create a productive working relationship with Leroy Carr, who played piano. His solo recordings included "Kokomo Blues". Blackwell and Carr toured the South between 1928 and 1935 as stars of the blues scene, recording over 100 sides together. Carr apparently also did time for bootlegging. Their last recording together was in 1935, for the Bluebird Label. They split due to financial/ payment disputes. Carr died soon later, from heavy drinking. Blackwell retired, but returned to music in the 1950's. Blackwell died when he was shot and killed in an alley at the age of only 59. The crime remains unsolved.

Cannon's Jug Stompers

When I was talking with that well-known lead guitarist Monday we got to talking about musicians, and their working process... how do musicians get their inspiration? He mentioned an older gent (possibly some older blues player...it was not the lead in
Cannon's Jug Stompers....)...
This older gent would trail the aisles of supermarkets, and take half an hour to do one aisle. His niece or daughter wanted to get to know him better, and was told the best way to do this would be to join him at the supermarket. Nobody else in the family wanted to ever go shopping with this man, because it took too long... he would be reading the cans of obscure items, looking at ingredients. For writers the inspirational behavior (Hi Rob!) might be Googling, or reading the Obituaries... or I know a woman who vacuums in the nude until she feels ready to write. Got Milk™?

Bolin Guitars

I had to show you Bolin Guitars... isn't this great?

Ingredient 'X'

If anyone has ever read Poe, I recall it was his stories that would always have a line like..."Dear Reader... I am now about to recount to you a most amazing story about a Mr "A___". This 'literary device' was used to make the story being told more believable, as if it was necessary to protect someone's identity. Yesterday I met with a very well known lead guitarist, indeed a "Mr A__". It seems musicians do indeed love everything Guitar, including those little Caps, Pots and wires that go into making them sound so great... Mr A__ agreed ... nobody really knows what special 'Ingredient X' makes one guitar sound great, and another sound like a log with strings. We both agreed that those amazingly perfect collector-grade guitars we always see for sale (the ones where you have to remove all your metal items...just like at the airport... before you play them) generally sound like those logs I just mentioned. The reason why many of those 'Collector grade' guitars are indeed so perfect is that some musician bought it, and then put it away in a closet where it belonged. It wasn't 'one of the good ones'. Mr K__ (Mr A__'s tech) recounted the story of an original 1950's Flying V, in perfect condition... that he had been shown, that sounded like it should be put under the bed. There are the Collector guitars worth tons of money, and then there are Player guitars... messed with, tweaked, dropped and scratched... that sound great... and also cost much less. So what do you want?