Lovely axes to grind at Montreal Guitar Show
Written by vintage on June 30, 2009 – 4:41 am -By Bernard Perusse, The Gazette June 29, 2009 Rediscovering his inner Hendrix inspired Jazz Festival marketing vice-president Jacques-Andre Dupont to launch musical instrument shows and a blues camp. If Jacques-André Dupont hadn’t had one of those benign midlife crises, it’s entirely possible that a depressed 15-year-old kid wouldn’t be healed by playing the blues this summer. If Dupont hadn’t rediscovered his inner Hendrix, guitar fanatics from all over the world might not have a place in Montreal to gather every year and talk guitar geek. Most important, if a meeting with Montreal International Jazz Fest sponsors hadn’t been cancelled at the last minute, he might never have walked into Steve’s Music Store in Toronto. That unexpected... more
Tags: electric guitar, fender jazzmaster, fender stratocaster, fender vintage guitars, gibson acoustic guitars, investing in vintage guitars, Vintage Acoustic Guitars, Vintage Amplifiers, vintage amps, vintage fender stratocaster, vintage gibson guitars, vintage gretsch guitars, vintage guitar
Posted in Epiphone, Fender, Fender Bass, Gibson, Gibson, Gretsch, Guild, Ibanez, Martin, Stratocster, Vintage Acoustic Guitars, Vintage Amplifiers, Vintage Bass Guitars, Vintage Electric Guitars, Vintage Guitars | No Comments »
1963 Fender Stratocaster Review
Written by vintage on June 27, 2009 – 5:26 pm -The Fender Stratocaster guitar is probably the most popular solid body electric guitar ever made. Early models (1954 to 1965, known as "pre-CBS" models, since CBS Broadcaster Company bought Fender in January 1965) are the most collectible. Originality and condition are the two most important features of a vintage Fender Stratocaster guitar, and Fender Strats do seem to have been easily modified (due to their "bolt together" nature). 1963 did not bring any huge change to the Fender Stratocaster (compared to late 1962 models). The one subtle change is the movement of one pickguard screw, located between the neck and middle pickups. Other similar very subtle changes were seen. Probably the biggest change was the Tolex case material was now white... more
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Determining the Production Year of a Vintage Stratocaster
Written by vintage on June 27, 2009 – 5:20 pm -Determining the production year of a potentially vintage instrument requires more than basing your opinion on just one piece of information. In the case of the Fender Stratocaster, what can make determining the guitar's probable year of manufacture difficult is simply the fact that the instrument bolts together, so that over the years, the original body, neck, pickguard assembly, and pickups could have been replaced or be missing. I'm going to start the discussion of the identification process by briefly breaking down production eras by neck and fingerboard information. In 1954, the introductory year of the Stratocaster, the instrument featured a one piece maple neck that included the fretboard, and it would retain that design until early 1959... more
Tags: fender stratocaster, fender vintage guitars, vintage fender stratocaster, vintage guitar
Posted in Fender, Vintage Electric Guitars | No Comments »
Vintage Gretsch Guitars
Written by vintage on June 20, 2009 – 3:57 pm -Gretsch musical instrument production began in 1883 when Friedrich Gretsch, a German immigrant, set up a shop in Brooklyn for the manufacture of banjos, tambourines and drums. The company was immediately prosperous, but in 1895 Friedrich Gretsch died at 39 and his 15-year-old son, Fred, took over. By 1916 Fred Gretsch had moved the company into a 10-story building at 60 Broadway in Brooklyn and become one of America's leading importers and manufacturers of musical instruments. At this time, Gretsch still produced very few guitars, because there was little market for guitars. The banjo reigned supreme until well into the big-band era, when the archtop guitar came to the fore. Gretsch responded with the Synchromatic line. When Fred Gretsch retired... more
Tags: gretsch chet atkins, vintage gretsch guitars, Vintage Guitars
Posted in Gretsch, Vintage Electric Guitars | No Comments »
Tips For Purchasing Vintage Amplifiers
Written by vintage on June 13, 2009 – 4:47 am -There are some fun and funky amps out there that can still be had for a steal, as well as a few bargains remaining in good vintage amps that come out from under the bed now and then, but you need to know what you’re looking at to determine whether that tweed suitcase is a tone machine in the rough, or just an old sparky that’s about ready to pop. Take this checklist with you when shopping, and you’ll be a few steps ahead of the game. 1. Play your own guitar through it. You want to be in familiar territory to judge an amp objectively, and it’s difficult to assess an amp’s suitability if you’re testing it with an unfamiliar instrument. Work from your comfort zone, and you’ll better know whether this one could be of use to you, or... more
Tags: Vintage Amplifiers, vintage amps
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