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In Reply to: RE: Jay Geils' 1959 Les Paul posted by FenderLover on June 18, 2012 at 03:25:17
The 'death' of another guitar is nigh.
So may 'collectors' toss them into shadow boxes, never again to make music.
Follow Ups:
That's exactly right!
I am a guitarist and have been for more years than I want to recall. I sold a Fender for about $175 that is worth $15,000.00 these days.
Vintage guitar shows have been in existence for many, many years. I've read that Japanese collectors, especially, have bought up a large share of the old Gibsons, Fenders, and Martins. What the Japanese are doing now, as a token of their appreciation, is making forgeries even with replicated actual serial numbers and these are coming back to America getting sold as vintage collector guitars.
So many of these fine old instruments end up in the hands of collectors who can't play and some are wealthy musicians who now have hundreds of instruments. Rick Nielson, of Cheap Trick, used to have thousands of guitars. I think he sold a bunch and is down to 500 or something like that. The former drummer, Bun E. Carlson (spelling?) owns three old large three-story houses in Rockford, IL and these are filled with old drum kits spanning from the oldest to the newest available.
Some executive with Gibson admitted to the guitar snobbery that is going on. He said that the wealthy doctors and lawyers buy Gibsons and musicians buy Epiphones (now made in China and elsewhere). That was a real turn-off to me. I bought a REAL Gibson made in the Heritage Guitar factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan by the guys who used to build Gibsons when it was a small company and not this corporate gorilla it has become.
You've hit the nail on the head. As a gigging guitar guy for 25+ years, whether a guitar is old or new, or where it comes from, doesn't matter to me... As long as it's a good guitar that plays & sounds the way I want it to and stays in tune, I'm good.
For the last several years my electric guitar stash has consisted of:
'92 Gibson LP Studio
'76 Gibson Marauder
'84 Fender made in Japan Strat
'94 Fender American Standard Strat
2010 Xaviere Tele copy (made in China) bought for $160 from guitarfetish.com
Late 60s/early 70s Crestline "Lawsuit" LP copy (used to be my dad's, then my wife's dad's guitar. Sentimental value.)
The Gibsons rarely get played these days. They're nice guitars, but they're heavy as Hell, and IMO, the Strats & Tele copy are more versatile for my applications. The $160 Tele copy has become a favorite for gigging. After replacing the tuners with Fender USA tuners I had laying around, sticking a set of string saver saddles on it and tweaking things up, I'd put it up against any genuine USA Tele I've played. In fact, it plays better and sounds a little hotter than a friend's '52 Fender Custom Shop Tele reissue.
Bottom line is, as long as you have a good chunk of wood, the neck's good, and the electronics are up to par, you don't need to spend thousands of dollars to get a great guitar. It's mostly in the setup.
Vintage guitars are largely a racket. I've played quite a few 60s Gibsons & Fenders, and honestly... I think from a player's standpoint, the new ones are at least as good, and frequently much better.
Cheers,
Bobbo :-)
and was very sad to realize that NONE of the instruments will ever be played again. George Harrisons' guitar will only weep in recordings, never to be heard again live. At least classical instruments get bought & sold for centuries keeping audiences’ entralled.
I have mixed feelings about that. If his guitars were kept in the hands of purists who would play them, I'd agree.
On the other hand, I'd rather see a few on public display, rather than in a display case in some rich guy's home, kept for bragging rights.
Speaking of Rick Nielson, and Cheap Trick,
i did some Roadie work back then when they came to town. I recall having to wipe down about 100 instruments placing them on stands for him to choose back stage. I liked the one with the faces of the Beatles on a White guitar.
One time i was sent out to buy some LP's from the band KISS. During the show they would fling them out into the audience - misleading them into thinking they were getting the latest Cheap Trick album. Ha hahaha Cheap Trick.
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