The Vintage Guitar News and Views March 2010.

"Staying on Top"

Why are some guitar tops painted and some guitar tops plain? Why do some builders use polyurethane paints and some guitar builders use nitrocellulose paints? Is the reissue bug just a fad or craze ?Are older guitars really better? In the later issues of The Vintage Guitar News and Views I said to ask questions and boy have I been hammered ! It has been a phenomenal response from you the readers and I thank all of you for your questions.So as to some of the questions you the readers have asked ,let me try to give what I believe are reasonable answers.
 Why are some guitar tops painted and some not ? I believe it has nothing to do with tone or sound (duh) it is about the aesthetics  of color for the buying public as well as a way for builders to hide imperfections in the wood and to be able to splice several pieces of wood together to complete a top. I know ,your top should be 1 or 2 pieces of wood joined at the center seam but even as far back as the 50's companies have had to use all the wood they could for their products ,they never imagined that we would be all freaky about this sort of thing 50 years later.It just make plain good business sense to utilize all the woods available and to hide these seemingly imperfections with paint. Personally I covet the mismatched, wood grained, mineral stained, unflamed tops myself.
Now "pretty" wood such as flame, fiddleback,curly,bearclaw and the like are perceived to be more pleasant to look at and (now at least) they are not covered up with paint. At one time though some of the prettiest tops I have seen were "uncovered" during a restoration or conversion and rescued from under the painted tops that were hiding them.
But these types of tops can now command a higher price tag and are displayed behind a clear ot more transparent finish rather than hidden away never to be seen. All at the same time by creating a larger buying market and even so much as creating smaller "divisions" among the market base of clients.I will leave that subject alone for now and leave it to many a articulate or even imbibed discussion amongst yourselves.
Poly finish or Nitro?  To me the best ,well one of the best smells there are is when you pop open a guitar case and the smell of nitro permeates the room. That unmistakable smell is what makes this question kinda hard, you see nitro never really cures fully and is in a constant state of evaporation from the moment it is applied to the day it returns to sawdust with that old guitar.
I like nitro on all my acoustics as I do believe it does, as time passes contribute to the opening up of the tonal qualities as many people subscribe to. On electric guitars I think the switch to a poly finish was as mentioned by others before me a decision to make the finish on the guitar harder and last longer without fade, a protectant and a cost cutting decision for the production plants as poly dries faster and more guitars can be made to sell.As far as sound qualities on the electric guitars? Well there have been a whole lot of sweet sounds and great players that played those poly coated beauties now haven't there? Some poly coats seemed to fare better than others and the reissues from overseas tend to age and pock just a little differently than their American counterparts. Why? I do not know, they just "relic" differently.
Which brings up the next topic,the relic craze. Nostalgia? The bygone days of youth when you first started playing ? From the mildly and elegantly understated aged guitars that are made by master builders and custom shops which are limited in run and will possibly retain and gain in value to the obviously overdone relics that  look "cookie cutter made" all intended to stir these emotions in the consumers.
Truthfully, do some play better or sound better than others? You bet they do. Limited runs and custom reliced guitars are more hand crafted and have more attention to detail even when it comes to aging the parts and pieces that make of our lovely ladies. Where the mass produced guitars all look the same and are more budget priced, they seem to just use the standard parts and pieces,  and if one plays better or sounds better ,lucky you.
Which brings us to the next subject. Are old guitars better? Hmmm ,gotta pick my words carefully here.Well some of the appointments look better, I mean I'll take cloth covered wiring and paper caps over plastic any day, but today's wiring is probably better made and the shielding is superior but then again isn't  it the quirks that make guitars so lovable? Pickups are next, I mean a good pickup will make any guitar sound better and a bad pickup will make  good guitar sound lousy and I am sticking to that statement.I prefer older alnico magnets to todays blends and ceramics ,nope ain't gonna do it.  Appointments? well the old parts do seem to get real brittle and crumble to dust and often need replacing, personally I prefer steel tuning keys over others and multi-ply covers and guards over the older single plys ,but that is just my preference.
Which brings us to the bare bones of any guitar,the wood used. I do think older wood is better, and older guitars are made of superior wood in my opinion, not that the wood is actually better but more the process of air drying for years wood that gets cut and air dries for years more stored on racks and shelves then is made into various parts of a guitar and again sits until orders are placed or new models are designed and then the wood was hand caressed into works of art, that's what I mean by old wood. Todays guitars are being shaped as the axemen strip the branches from the trunks of the trees, green wood being forced kiln dried and mass produced to be shaped and shipped to the consumer. I cringe every time I see a "modern " guitar assembly plant in operation on tour videos, I understand the economics and the tighter tolerances touted, but it just ain't the same as far as I can tell. The marriage of certain parts and pieces seem to be another quandary to amuse all of us guitar nuts.Think about it , most of the guys we idolize play guitars that are made from several different guitar, which dispels the myth of certain era guitars being better than others now doesn't it? Take "Blackie" and Duane's Burst , parts guitars........We all know that certain points have counterpoints and in the guitar world the greatness lies in the diversity, we as guitar lovers want to spend our money on something we can hold,touch,feel,smell,play and admire for  all our own reasons and that makes us all part of this huge family no matter what we think individually about certain brands,makes,parts or pieces,diversity is the key because if all guitars are eventually created equal then we would all own the same guitar and it would be like every other guitar on the planet, well except for the color..........Till next month may all your days be memorable ,all your friends stay true and all your riffs be killer, Greg at Greg's Guitars. 

        

 Proper Grammer
 The Grammer Guitar.

Many people know that I am a follower and lover of The R.G. and G.factories Grammer acoustic Guitars that were made is Nashville during the 1960's. I have bought and sold over 40 of these fine American made acoustic guitars and I am constantly looking for more. I field questions almost every day about these instruments from prospective clients and people just interested in them.
Here are a few tidbits of information for those people who have never heard of them.
A more in depth informative site can be found here. In the early 1960s, Billy Grammer was finding success and keeping very busy. He had a big hit record that crossed genres, a membership in the famous Grand Ole Opry and was gearing up to record his next album. Ever since starting his career as a professional musician, Billy envisioned building the perfect flat top guitar. It would be built to his specifications, combine all the best features of his favorite acoustic guitars, and be made out of the finest materials available and felt  the time was right to build the Grammer guitar. (cited from the works of Rob Kilgore)

   Clyde Reid. Clyde operated a music store in Donelson, Tennessee, right outside of Nashville. Billy knew he would need the help of an experienced luthier to build his flat top guitar. He contacted J.W. Gower, a Nashville resident who came from a family of luthiers and wood workers. With Billy at the helm, Clyde with his managerial skills, and J.W. with his guitar-building know-how, all the pieces were in place. They approached a Nashville lawyer named General Howard Butler and under his legal representation, established a corporation. The new company would be called RG&G Musical Instruments, Inc. (Reid, Grammer, and Gower).Billy told me "that his name by chance looked the best on the headstock hence the name The Grammer Guitar was chosen".

Eventually some problems did occur and with the help of Fred Moore (see this link) some financial help did arrive in time to keep the plant afloat. With the help of Ampeg to infuse capital and produce and distribute his guitars, Billy's factory stayed alive. Many people are under the impression that Ampeg owned Billy's guitar factory , but according to Billy that was not the case. There were changes to the guitar ,but the same experienced luthers still produced the guitars. Some of the changes are what I call the transitional Grammer guitars in which the "railroad track" inlays on the finger board were still there but the Ampeg logo was on the headstock are the earliest examples, other notable changes was the blue label being replaced with a black and white inner label bearing the Ampeg logo on the right side of the label as well as the lettering changing on the headstock from capital T,G and G to lowercase letters .

Some model number discrepancies as well as serial numbering also came into being ,and as Billy stated "I didn't even know what serial numbers were being used at this time" can only lead to confusion among followers and collectors alike. In the spring of 1968 a fire decimated the factory and almost everything was lost. By 1972 the last of Grammer guitars were produced and with the influx of cheap guitar from overseas the Grammer factory close its doors forever with left over inventory and parts being auction off to the highest bidder(s).

Many people like myself have developed an almost cult like following of these fine American made vintage acoustic guitars. Many dealers are also becoming interested in these guitars and can be seen listing several for sale at any time. Ebay will have one or two for sale from time to time as well. The Grammer guitar has even finally been listed in the Vintage Guitar Guide, It must be noted that Billy himself once told me that after the auction several loads of unfinished guitars and guitar parts were sold , so buyer beware .Billy Grammer is still alive and I have the chance to chat with him from time to time and is still active in the music industry, He has just completed filming for several installments to be aired on the RFG channel sometime in March of 2010. Billy has even been so kind to allow me to use the Grammer guitar headstock outline as part of Greg's Guitars logo.

Now this is not meant to be an all inclusive complete history of these fine guitars but merely a reference and starting point for those who may be interested in them.  So until next month May all your friends stay true ,all your days be memorable and all your riffs be killer , Greg.

        

  As with my peers concerning the state of today's guitar and vintage guitar market I will add in my own opinion for what it is worth.(no pun intended ). What I see is a halt to the sudden and rapid rise in prices that mint vintage guitars will bring in, such as those we have seen in the last 3 to 4 years and a slow down or market correction,which we are seeing today, not that these guitars are worth any less  but rather a more informed market and a hesitance on buyers reluctant to make larger purchase as thy have in the past. I do strongly believe that vintage electric guitars (pre 1964) and pre war vintage acoustics will always be a wise investment for diversity and collect ability . 

 The market for less than mint vintage guitars will not command the prices they did in the past (for now). Usually the price for for a less than mint vintage guitar was worth roughly 20 to 60 % of the going price for a mint version(depending on many factors) but as collectors today can hold out  and purchase more guitar for less money in todays market ,they can and will seek the best version and price for a particular make and model that they have been desiring.This being the case as a player first and collector second now is an excellent time to purchase a less than stellar example of that desired guitar that you have been seeking. Which as a guitar enthusiast I welcome , due to the fact that more and more of these guitars will actually be in the public eye and be played and not tucked away in an unseen vault ,which in turn will fuel the market for more of these great old guitars

 As the builders are flooding the market with every type of conceivable reissue they can think of I also think this will fuel the market and interest in the earlier (pre 2000) released reissue and relic guitars (think Murphy and Cunetto ) and the limited run custom shop guitars. I do not see a substantial rise in price or value of later releases or cookie cutter relic guitars and actually see the prices of these later versions probably going down as was once the norm for a used guitar.

 I also think large auction styled sites will continue to confuse an be a detractant to most new and irregular buyers and sellers as the pricing on such sites tends to be spotty and not an actual informed area where true guitar sellers place most of their gear for sale but rather use these type of sites to increase awareness and traffic to their regular web site.  Just because it is old does not mean it is valuable and just because it is valuable does not mean it has to be old and like my peers we tend to do a lot of research and spend a lot of time when doing listings ,so purchases will continue to be made more (I think )from well knowledged and customer attentive dealers as opposed to the auction styled sites.

 I have also always believed the acoustic market was way under valued and it has started to respond as I anticipated with prices starting to edge up on certain guitars , an area which I believe will continue to rise. We as guitar players and collectors are a diverse and finicky group to say the least and as older players acquire the guitars they want , the newer player collectors with different guitar hero's ,memories and styles will start to effect the market, so don't be surprised to see guitars enter the arena that 10 years ago you would not have dreamed would. This always is just my news and views to inform and entertain. May  all your days be memorable,all your friends stay true and all your riffs be killer, till next month, Greg at Greg's guitars."Bottom side up."The Vintage Guitar News and View January Edition.

        

                

Going for the gold, The 1952 Gibson Goldtop Les Paul.

The December edition of The Vintage Guitar News and Views. 

 

This issue of The Vintage Guitar News and Views we will look at what has made the Les Paul guitar such an iconic guitar and also some of the changes that it has undergone throughout the last 57 years.
Wanting a guitar to compete and to overshadow the guitars that the competition was making out in California ,Ted McCarty introduced the first Gibson solid body electric guitar in 1952,The Les Paul. In body wood choices Gibson deemed an all mahogany model may sound to dull and lifeless and an all maple guitar would (get it?) be far to heavy .So a compromise was agreed upon to make a solid maple carved top,to take advantage of the old world craftsmen employed by Gibson with a set neck and solid mahogany back. Complete with 2 P - 90 pickups ,2 volume and 2 tone controls as well as a 3 way selector switch and  a trapeze tail piece.
This was Gibson's first solid body guitar to be produced and was released in 1952 with the patent number of 2714326 in January of 1953. It was produced in two standard ( no pun intended) colors, Black and Gold,although it is acknowledged in several publications that sunburst was the traditional Gibson color in name recognition ,according to other sources Mr. Les Paul himself requested these options. Gibson enlisted Les Paul (r.i.p.) to promote it's new guitar with his (Les Paul) name emblazed across the headstock, securing not only Les immortality but also securing Gibson a bonafide name recognition with their new guitar. Originally produced with a trapeze tailpiece that was  replaced in the start of 1954 with the wrap around stop tail piece.
The standard pickup was th P-90 single coil and it was not until 1955 that a test version of Mr. Seth Lovers pickup the "humbucker" was applied to a Les Paul guitar. Even though most guitars would not receive this upgraded pickup until mid 1957. A late 1955 " consolette steel guitar was actually the first Gibson product to receive the new "humbucker" pickups in the Gibson line. But , 1957 is perceived as the era that the humbucker pickup was available guitars. In 1957 the "fretless wonder" was introduced(smaller ,low action frets) along with the "Bigsby" vibrato unit. The tune o matic bridge was also introduced in 1957.
By 1960 the last production year of the first run of Les Paul guitars a 3 pickup version aptly named the Les Paul "Custom" was offered for sale. Interestingly enough these guitars sold for $395.00 without the plush lined "California girl" case and the Les Paul standard sold for a mere $265.00 (if we only knew).
Yes The Gibson Les Paul solid body guitar from it's inception through 1959 only suffered slight but significant changes,from the trapeze tailpiece to the more familiar stop tail piece ,tune o matic bridge configuration. From the P-90 pickups to the P.A.F. Seth Lover humbuckers,structurally and production wise it remained the same, even in it's second incarnation when  this icon of rock and roll was reintroduced into production. A true testament to the golden age of guitars and guitar manufacturing in America. Now of course this is not an all inclusive article to list all the minute changes from the headstock angle and size,bindings,color choices,etc.etc... but as always this is just my news and views. So untill next month may all your friends stay true all your days be memorable and all your riffs be killer,Greg at Greg's Guitars.Classifieds Advertising

        

Treating yourself.

The October edition of The Vintage Guitar News and Views.                                                                  

With a lot of inventory sitting on dealers shelves this may just be the time of year especially  with our current economic climate being what it is,  be a good time to score a great guitar at a good price. By scouring many dealers bargain bins and sale items who knows what kind of treat may be in store for you. Not just on top shelf items that may be discounted but also on the guitars or gear that  you may have overlooked when the economic situation was better.

You may want to take a look now at some  refinished guitars that may be priced right, especially if you are a gigging musician looking to get more bang for your buck these days. Even as a budding collector just starting to acquire some really nice guitars or gear this may  be a area you may want to explore. Why refinished guitars you ask? Well in my own humble opinion as long as the guitar in question is at least 70% intact to the original components, but may have at some point been either stripped completely of it's finish or refinished in a more desirable color or the original color reapplied ,now may be the time to score that guitar at a reasonable price. Face it ,you still get that old wood  but at a substantial savings.

As prices for guitars rebound with the rest of our economy you may get even more bang for your buck as the more pristine examples of vintage guitars increase in price and become more and more scarce to the buyers market. As this happens I seem to think that the refinished guitars of the same eras will also increase in price as supply will be outstripped by demand.

Now as far as some of the repaired guitar go, I personally shy away from those that have had questionable repairs done to cracks, splits or headstock repairs. It is also a good thing to ask in this area if the luthier that did the repairs is able to field some questions on the particular piece in question or if some before and after photos exist.As for the really bad repairs I tend to stay away from them as it usually costs more to repair a bad repair that to purchase a repairable guitar and have the work done correctly the first time.Sometime these guitars do deserve a second look , especially if the price is right and you are more interested in playing the guitar than retaining it for an investment.

Then there are what I call top shelf second tier guitars. These are the guitar that are offered by one of the guitar manufactures other than the big three. Most players and collectors alike tend to look at specific name brand guitars but if you say look at guitars made by builders such as Gretsch and Guild in the hollow body and semi hollow bodied guitars you may be pleasantly surprised at the price difference within the same era produced guitar. Respectable vintage pieces at a fraction of the price as opposed to the better known and more sought after guitars on the market.With a multitude to choose from available from guitar dealers worldwide.

As far as solid body styled guitars go ,their are alternatives to the major players but we mainly see strat,tele and LP styled guitars in this area.Again a refinished guitar should in most cases be a lot cheaper than its pristine counterpart and this is where I would look for bargains to surface.Even the third and fourth tier guitar in all ares seem to have had a price increase as demand is created(think catalog and department store guitars) and I have seen those heavier guitars that were produced in the less than stellar years of manufacturing form guitar makers creep upward as the years go by.

It all boils down to how much you can live with giving up to get what you desire guitar and gear wise. Refinished?stripped ?routed? and even the more worn models of particular guitars all cost less than the pristine examples. Yes their are bargains to be had and treats to be found ,all that is required is for you to look. These are  after all is just my own news and views. So until next most ,may all your days be memorable ,all your friends stay true and may all your riffs be killer, Greg at Greg's Guitars. 

        

Need a date ? well then ask Martin.                         

 Most guitar companies have for the most part kept records of production ,unfortunately incomplete would be the best description of these records with the exception of one small but albeit giant company,Martin guitars. Martin guitar company can trace most every guitar it has made since 1898 and well, that is pretty good record keeping by anyone's standards. How important is this ? well knowing that there are accurate records of production numbers for a given model of guitar as well as since the 1930's the serial numbers are also recorded helps to establish serious provenance of any given instrument and it also helps you in identifying almost any Martin guitar ever made and how many were manufactured as well as the years of manufacturing for that model. Pretty impressive I think, as all this can come into play when you decide to sell your Martin guitar or when you are looking to purchase a very rare or limited production model Martin.

 Martin has tried to keep this system relatively simple in nature with regards to model numbers and  suffix designations as example the A suffix denotes ash and the C suffix denotes a cutaway body style, MB denotes maple binding and so forth. At last count I believe that Martin has or has used  43 separate suffix designations and at least 29 different model style designations, daunting but at least consistant which is more that can be said for other guitar manufacturers.

Luckily Martin guitars have a two part model designation separated by a hyphen, the first being the size of the guitar the second being the body style of the Martin guitar, where a 00-18 would be a 00 body size and the 18  being the style of the guitar followed by the suffix designation within each separate body size,i.e. 00-18C would indicate a sized 00,style 18 and C for classical guitar.Martin guitar record keeping also includes the chronology of their production for their guitar (the year(s) a certain guitar was or was not offered) .

 In general terms Martin guitars can be laced into at least 1 of 3 period production areas. Period number 1 were the Martin guitars made between 1833 and 1898, these guitars usually have light tops and are not sized larger than the OOO size guitars, they usually have no serial number no fingerboard inlays and no truss rod. The second period of Martin production were from 1898 to 1931.These guitars usually have a serial number on the guitar itself and many do not have a pick guard, they also have the C.F.Martin designation on the headstock and the "D" sized guitar were not yet into production. Last but not least the third era of Martin guitars were produced from 1932 to the present day. All of these guitars were seldom made without a pick guard, they all have serial numbers and and most importantly is the fact that they all (with few exceptions)  are numbered consecutively, usually stamped inside the body or neck block for flattops and the center seam for their arch top guitars.

 So in conclusion it is nice to know that my 1985 D-21-LEV is made of Indian rosewood with herringbone sound hole ring complete with tortoise binding and tortoise pick guard, it has a sweet vee neck and is one of only 75 produced for that year and I know all this because of the fact that Martin guitars excellence in record keeping.So my hat is off to Martin guitars for making things a little easier when it comes to the daunting task of guitar identification. So until next most may all your days be memorable ,all your friend stay true and all your riffs be killer. Greg at Greg's guitars.

        

The Vintage Guitar News and Views August Edition.        

                                              Got Tone?

                                         

Good tone can be attributed to a lot of different factors and a lot of different factors can contribute to good tone.This month let us look at some of those factors that may possibly help you in your own quest for tone(s).Almost every guitar manufacturer today makes several levels in the guitar entries to sell, many are branded by the builders under different names or country(s) of origin by these manufactures.
 These guitars are in some respect very good guitars, maybe not as good as their premium conterpart ,but as far as basic construction goes they are a great starting place for many a guitarist. Sometimes the woods used are less than superior such as  veneers but the basic shape and funtion is there.

 In most cases because the wood(s) used are very similar it is in the  electronics or "under the hood"  where many of the cost savings facors come into play. These guitars can be produced and sold for less and therefore make good purchases for the beginner or guitarist who wants more than one guitar but may be on a budget.  So if you find yourself buying a guitar that is less than the builders premium made brand , what if any contribution can you make to get some tonal payoffs?

The first thing I would reccomend would be a pickup replacement.Most of these guitars pickups are o.k. but are probably made with less superior materials.Ceramics as opposed to alnico magnets,the winding wire gauges, the windings around the bobbins and the wiring used all help in achiving or not achiving good tonal properties. You can get a good used set of quality pickups to save money for other upgrades as well.Just insure the pickups ar what they are stated as being and work.I prefer alnico magnet material as opposed to ceramic matrials used for the magnets  as these seem to have (for me) a smoother less brittle sound and a better "sweet spot" .
 when adjusting your pickup height Also be aware tere are many differnt types of pickup also, hotter pickups,passive pickups,vintage reissue  pickups, etc.etc.knowing the basic sound you are trying to achive will be a plus when you make your selection. Many pickup builders offer sound clips on their web site for you to listen to to aid in this decision.You can get them straight from the builder or an auction site or many dealers such as myself also carry pickups for sale.

 The next link in the tone game is probably the potentiometers or"pots". Again to cut costs in manufactring many builders place good but not as good pots in their cheaper guitars.again there are many custom an vintage reissue potentiometer makers on the market today  as well as the premium pots used by the major guitar manufacturers.While your replacing your pots you can also experiment with different rated capacitors or "caps" and some are even made the old fashioned way, paper and foil( which I prefer).You can take a piece of cardboard and tape various "caps" onto it and with a long lead mad with 2 pieces of wire with alligator clips soldered at both ends, attach the caps to your pots wiring(remove old caps first)find the one(s) that you seem to favor without having to take apart your guitar and resolder everything over and over again. A good solid position switch is a positive upgrade also as well as a good output jack. If your really into this upgrading then replace the cheap wiring with good quality proper gauge  wiring or reproduction cloth or steel braid covered wiring.

 What if anything else can you as a guitarist and guitar lover  do to help your guitar achive its maximum potential? A good quality bone nut, a fret dressing and leveling, some quality tuners (tuning keys) and proper neck adjustments all come into my mind. It does surprise me that even today how many new guitars have less than stellar fretwork and neck adjustments leaving the factory. We can't forget good coupling at the bridge ,tail piece area  either. The correct spring tension on tremolo styled guitars is a must ,My preference is to use all 5 springs and have the trailing edge of the tremolo bridge plate lifting off the body of the guitar only an eighth of an inch or so when tuned properly.On many guitars supplied with separate bridge tail piece set ups I usually like to see if the bridge studs actually go all the way to the bottom of the hole that they sit in, man times I find a gap between the bottom of the anchor post and the bottom of the hole. For this trick I use allen set screws to find the one that fills the gap while allowing me to properly adjust my bridge height to my desired level.

shielding paint and proper grounding(s) usually eliminate most buzzing and unwanted noise(s).All this may sound like a lot of work and it is. But some people find it enjoyable and for my personal guitars,I want them to perform  at their best ,It may not help me play better but it does help me sound better when I play and that in turn will make me want to play more which will eventually will make me a better player. If you do not feel comfortable doing these types of upgrades to your guitar(s) have a qualified guitar technician do them for you.

 I hope this article was informative and will inspire you in your lifelong journey with guitars, but like always this is just my news and views. So may all your friends stay true, may all your days be memorable and may all our riffs be killer,

Greg at Greg's Guitars.    

        

Dependence or Independence.

The July edition of” The Vintage Guitar News and Views.”

 

 

 

In considering this months installment of The Vintage Guitar News and Views I found myself thinking not only our freedoms we enjoy, but also the pursuit of ambitions, dreams and the protection of our country and the sacrifices that have been made by the many that have came before us and those that are serving now, not only in the service to our country through the military but also serving our country through the shining example(s) of the dedication that they brought to the business world and in particular to the industry of guitars and what (if anything) could be learned through the exploration of the two icons in our industry (I think so at least ).

 

 The two men I have chosen for my own guitar hall of fame are who I consider (and many will agree) the two most important men in the history of guitar manufacturing. Leaders, visionaries and capable men who through trial and error, listening as well as leading  ,have brought us(guitar nuts) the items we consider the best of the best ,in guitar enthusiasts,players and collectors circles.

 

 These two men not only developed skills in electronics and business at an early age .  in the development of their products they  listened to their clients, they participated in the development process and most of all these two men set the tone of their respective companies with their caring demeanor, thus insuring great products for musicians around the world then and in retrospect for us now.

 

 Not only were they educated they were also dedicated. They were dedicated to their jobs and the jobs and lives of their subordinates, this last observation is what I feel is and shall always be the building block or stumbling block of both any company in the past, present and future.

 

 So let us take a brief look at the two“founding fathers” of our guitar nation and see what I mean, Ted McCarty ofGibson guitars and Leo Fender from Fender Musical Instruments.

 

 The similarities are spooky to say the least,Mr. McCarty at a young age had an aptitude for business, and in elementary school he started a school newspaper was very athletic and showed an interest in radio, not just for the entertainment they provided but also the inner workings. He built many a radio and experimented with the internal workings from kits. Excelling academically, athletically and socially off to college he went. Mr. Fender born to a farming family showed interest in the tools of the trade rather than the trade itself also interested in electronics and inner workings of things he tore apart radios to see how they worked, interesting enough he also built an acoustic guitar at the age of only 16.After an unassuming early education Leo went on to Jr. college where he worked as a bookkeeper and then became an accountant , learning the practices of making a business work through checks and balances ( no pun intended ). Still the everdying tinkerer he was always drawn to his love of electronics and working on musical instruments. Catching the notice of a local bandleader for his ability to work on P.A. systems he was given a chance to build several systems under contract and this led the way for what we know today as the great Fender Musical Instrument company.

 

 Mr. McCarty after elementary education went onto the University of Cincinnati. Majoring in engineering and studying in a co op program where he studied and worked at the same time. This education process and its rigid structure of the school Ifeel set the tone for his success later in his life. By also learning bookkeeping  like Leo, Ted also learned the strategies to make a company work from the inside out. More outgoing Mr. McCarty belonged to the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity, Mr. Fender although excelling was a little more reclusive.

 

 Both Leo and Ted learned the business of business from the bottom up, inside out and most importantly learned that their product(s) were only as good as the people that made them and that the people that made their products were only as good as the leadership at the helm of operations. This aspect I feel was fundamentally lost after they both relinquished their leadership to others and most people in the guitar world  feel that the golden age of guitars(the first anyways) was over by the time both of these men left the companies that they had either run or founded. These men put their passion of what they enjoyed doing combined with the passion for guitars out in front of everyone to see, they purposely made and improved their products for the end consumers .Sure they wanted to turn a profit and succeed but they also believed in what they were doing. I wish that companies today would take the lessons these two gentlemen taught us both in the desire to produce superior products and act independently of market conditions instead of depending on past successes to invigorate sales. Also in the way these two men listened to not only their clients but also their  genuine care for the people they employed . Enabled them to create the guitars that we today so covet. Both these men although taking different paths, followed their desires and interests that they cradled at an early age to build what most consider the most successful instrument(s) we think we have ever seen.

 

 So many of us as parents seem to try to mold our children instead of letting them mold themselves (I ‘m guilty). Granted they(our children) can not run amok , but there may be something to the innate abilities that one is born with that can lead us all to success in one form oranother. After all look at the two iconic guitars ever produced by the two men that independently followed the path that led them to their place in history.Well this like always its just my news and views, so until next month, may all your friends stay true all your days be memorable and all your riffs be killer,Greg at

Gregs Guitars.

        

Amps and the general scheme of things.

I get questions concerning amps all the time, some easy to answer and some a little harder to answer. Here in this issue of The Vintage Guitar News and Views I will lay some very basic groundwork for you to digest concerning guitar amplifiers. Class A amps have low distortion and low power output with full power always flowing to the amps tubes, these style amps consume a lot of power and have great sustain, think of the Vox AC 30 as one example.
 Class B style amps turn Ac power into current and have more distortion are more efficient energy wise. Class A/B ,which most Fender amps are and most B class amps give the best in design of both sustain and breakup or distortion ( natural) , they are cheaper to build, reliable and easy to work on.

The output stages being one .the push pull style can be summed up as to whatever one tube is doing in the circuit the next tube is doing the opposite in operation ,hence the name "push pull " Capacitors or "caps" as they are commonly called store a charge and block out or taper low frequencies and allow higher frequencies to pass through the circuit, There are several different caps available in amps , the "vintage " paper caps, then the mylar caps,electrolytic caps,and the most common used today the mylar caps. They all do the same job in the circuit but some people prefer one type over another.

Hard wired or point to point amps are generally more expensive although almost all "vintage " amps are wired this way. this is where each component is linked to the next inline via the solder joint and is not attached to a circuit board of any kind. The circuit board in most amps built since the 1960's is usually made of a fiber material and most components are attached to the board .

Speakers have changed over the years also, the best by general consensus are the alnico magnet type of speakers, but in the mid 1960's the ingredients used to produce these magnets became to expensive and newer magnet material(s) were developed with a combination of oxide(s) and ceramic (s), these are pretty much the norm today.I like the blue back celestions myself.

Then there were the manufacturing companies that produced amplifiers( to many to list) but makers such as Oahu,Gibson,Supro,Danelectro,Rickenbacher(Rickenbacker today ) ,Fender, Magnatone, Alamo,Vox ,Marshall,Gretsch,Kelly,Music man,Mesa, and hundreds of other companies. My personal amps consist of my Magnatone M-10,Gibson GA-5, Fender Vibroverb, 1960 Concert amp, and my Fender Bassman, all different but all the same , I still search for really cool amps to offer my clients as well as myself.

As far as tubes go, some work better than others and some work better in different spots along the amp circuitry, you have to experiment and mix and match until you get the desired effect out of tube placement  and that can and is a whole article within itself.So  until next month, may all your days be memorable, may all your friends stay true and may all your riffs be killer, Greg at Greg's Guitars.

        

 

 

Arguably the point has  been  made that the best acoustic guitars were constructed in a short 9 to 12 year span and that span in time was before most off us were born. Now I am not going to argue that particular point in this issue of The Vintage Guitar News and Views, but rather inject some food for thought. I as much as any player or guitar collector love those old guitars made in the late 1930's through the late 1940's  and like any guitar made today ,some were good some were bad and some where tonally ugly. True, acoustic guitars made in this era will probably always be highly sought after by players and collectors alike to those that can afford them but I tend to disagree ( surprised ? ) that these are the best of the best in acoustic guitar production. I personally have heard and own many acoustic guitars that sound amazing and are extremely well built. Some of these guitars were constructed by now defunct and out of business companies due to financial or natural disasters. The R.G. and G. company out of Nashville Tennessee is one such guitar company that made some fine guitars ,they were highly regarded and played by anyone who was someone  in Nashville in the 1960's and early 1970's while these guitars were still in production. Unfortunately the company founded by Billy Grammer ( The Grammer Guitar) was consumed by fire and never rose from the ashes to build another guitar .Takamine guitars started flexing there muscle  in the 1980's and many big named stars to this day play those and more recently produced Takamine guitars. As newer innovations and technology crept into the guitar manufacturing process a more conforming and standard product started arriving for the consumer, now granted none of these guitars may never achieve the cult like status and glory that the older acoustic guitars have acquired, but you never know. I also believe that the Vintage acoustic guitar market is ready for an upswing in pricing. They have played second fiddle to the electric slab of wood long enough in my opinion and I predict that the electric guitar market will soften and stabilize while we acoustic guitar collectors will see a rise in value. All this almost brings me to my point, that most acoustic guitars that have been built since the 1930 era are all bench marked against the big two guitar makers of the time, i.e. It sounds like a "Gibson" or is made like a "Martin" and so on. Much as most amps built are compared to either Fender or Marshall as if these companies are the only companies to ever build a good product.If this were the truth  then why are their so many different choices even within the major companies themselves? The answer to me is simple, with such a wide tonal palette to enjoy and such a varied playing spectrum in which we can participate then choice is paramount to the player to the artist and to the collector. Granted some guitars will be worth more than others because of the perceived magical era in which they were produced, but what is judges as good or not good collectible or not narrowed down to just a handful of guitars made in a certain time frame is rather shallow and narrow minded, but this as always is just my news and view. So until next month , may all your days be re memorable may all your friends stay true and may all your riffs be killer, Greg.