Archive for November, 2007
We’re pleased to announce that the Winter 2007 issue of the Fretboard Journal is in music and book stores everywhere. And it may very well be our best issue to date. Features include: a lengthy cover story on jazz guitarist John Scofield (along with plenty of great “guitar porn” shots of his Ibanez and related gear); an interview with Norman and Nancy Blake; an interview with the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn; a look at the guitar designs of acclaimed dealer George Gruhn; a peek inside the workshop of Nashville luthier Manuel Delgado; and a visit to 78 collector Joe Bussard. If you are a subscriber, you should already have your copy. If you aren’t a subscriber, or you just want another copy, you can find the new issue on newsstands and in guitar stores everywhere right now.
November 23rd, 2007
FJ contributor Andy Volk alerted us to this great online find: “The University of Rochester has digitized and posted online its archive of public domain scores and music ephemera. Included are copies of the amazing S.S. Stewart’s Banjo and Guitar Journal from the 1890’s.”
Andy describes the rag as “The Fretboard Journal of a century ago” (which we’ll take as a compliment). For those who don’t know about the Banjo and Guitar Journal (original copies sometimes show up on eBay), the mag was published by the S.S. Stewart company, ostensibly to promote their instruments and network of dealers. But the writing is filled with fascinating (and sometimes just plain bizarre) commentary on the then-current state of music (when banjos and mandolins were more popular than guitars): how lazy music students can be, random notes about instructors who have moved or plan to sometime and now quaint editorials about gear and live performance trends. There’s also sheet music in each issue. At the risk of getting even more obscure in this posting, if any of you are fans of illustrator Chris Ware (and especially his self-published Ragtime Ephemeralist magazine), when you download these files, you’ll see the huge influence that magazines such as this have on his artwork. -JV
November 15th, 2007
For years, we’ve known that the members of Wilco were true gearheads. Now we have even more proof. Today, Breedlove announced a signature edition Jeff Tweedy model. Officially titled the Breedlove Revival 000 Jeff Tweedy Ltd. Edition (remember, this band is fond of long titles), the guitar will be made in a limited edition of 25. Based on the older Revival 000, the guitar has Red Spruce top, Indian Rosewood back and sides, a pretty neat bee-themed inlay (Tweedy’s idea) and a label signed by the musician. You can also get Tweedy’s electronics preferences added to the setup or, if you’re feeling really spendy, get Brazilian Rosewood for the back and sides (only five of these models will be made). With a retail of six grand for the basic model, the guitar isn’t cheap, but for a few lucky die-hard Wilco fans, it seems like a sure-fire ticket to capturing the band’s acoustic tone. On a side note, perhaps this is a sign of a change in the industry. Between Fender’s Buddy Miller acoustic guitar and J. Mascis Jazzmaster and now this guitar from Breedlove, it seems the big guitar companies are finally catching on to the fact that some of today’s left-of-the-dial artists have influenced a ton of us guitar nerds. Now we just need Epiphone to make a signature David Rawlings Olympic and Gibson to churn out some new Neko Case signature model tenor guitars and we’ll be set! - JV
November 15th, 2007
We’re pleased to announce that the Winter 2007 issue of the Fretboard Journal is in music and book stores everywhere. And it may very well be our best issue to date. Features include: a lengthy cover story on jazz guitarist John Scofield (along with plenty of great “guitar porn” shots of his Ibanez and related gear); an interview with Norman and Nancy Blake; an interview with the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn; a look at the guitar designs of acclaimed dealer George Gruhn; a peek inside the workshop of Nashville luthier Manuel Delgado; and a visit to 78 collector Joe Bussard. If you are a subscriber, you should already have your copy. If you aren’t a subscriber, or you just want another copy, you can find the new issue on newsstands and in guitar stores everywhere right now.
