One of the country’s biggest guitar dealers goes to court…
but can’t get inside. -JV
4 comments May 2nd, 2008
Posts filed under 'Guitar'
Strictly for the Collings Guitars completists …
At the Newport Guitar Festival in Miami Beach last weekend, Bill Collings regaled us with tales from his latest hobby–Spec Miata racing. Here’s the video proof. At around :09, your favorite guitar builder is seen passing the car with the built-in camera. At around :22, Collings makes a mistake and drives off into the dirt. Like we said, this one is only for completists … even Bill admits this isn’t the greatest spectator sport to watch. -JV
Add comment April 15th, 2008
The First Ever Gathering of the Santa Cruz Guitar Company Tribe
I wrote about Tom Walzem’s great surf band, The Neptunes, back in issue 5. Apparently his musical life extends beyond twangy reverb-laden tones and includes an appreciation of mellower acoustic sounds because he’s putting together the first ever gathering of Santa Cruz Guitar Company instrument owners at Noon on April 26th, 2008. (Rumor has it that Bob Brozman, who plays an SCGC Bob Brozman Baritone,will attend.) It’s going to be in Santa Cruz at Bocci’s Cellar and if you are planning to attend you need to RSVP to Tom. You can find Tom’s contact info, along with directions to Bocci’s, here. And this YouTube clip of the Neptunes doesn’t have anything to with the Santa Cruz gathering, but it does answer the question, “What would it have sounded like if Django Reinhardt had retired to Southern California instead of Samois?”-MJS
1 comment April 9th, 2008
Update for Issue 9: Richard Thompson
Here’s a great clip from 1984 of Richard Thompson, our Spring Issue cover boy, talking about his ‘55/57 Strat. Or, as the interviewer called it, a Frender Stratocaster. The clip was forwarded to us by Allen St. John, who wrote the Thompson story for us. St. John is the author of Clapton’s Guitar : Watching Wayne Henderson Build the Perfect Instrument a wonderful book about hanging out in the workshop of a master luthier and watching how he puts a guitar together.-MJS
2 comments March 25th, 2008
FJ Photographs at the Old Town School of Folk
We know at least a few of you from Chicago read this board, so here’s a head’s up for you: Photographer Eric Futran, the guy behind the lens of our Specimen Guitars photo essay (Fall 2006 issue), our Old Town photo essay (Summer 2007) and our new photo essay on Paracho, Mexico (Spring 2008 issue), will have an art opening tomorrow night at the Old Town School of Folk’s Harris Gallery. The opening reception takes place between 7 and 9pm and copies of the new issue should be available for purchase and autographs. Go say hello to Eric and see (or buy) these gorgeous shots up close!
Add comment March 6th, 2008
The Fretboard Journal Spring 2008 Issue Is Here!
We are pleased to announce that the ninth issue of The Fretboard Journal (a.k.a. our Spring 2008 issue) is out. Subscribers have begun to receive their copies and stores should have them by now. As always, you’ll see plenty of music heroes and world class guitar porn in its 128 pages. Acclaimed Clapton’s Guitar author Allen St. John interviews singer-songwriter Richard Thompson for this issue’s cover story. Also inside: Alanna Nash interviews Vince Gill; Dave Hunter talks to Mark Baier of Victoria Amps; an in-depth feature on Fred Walecki and Los Angeles’ Westwood Music; a photo essay on the “guitar town” of Paracho, Mexico; luthier Kim Walker’s Solo Novo archtop; and much more. It’s not too late to subscribe and start with this issue (and land a nice discount over the newsstand price). Just head on over to our Subscription page.
9 comments March 1st, 2008
The Ones That Got Away: A new site for us nostalgic types
In addition to being a darn fine graphic designer, musician Jaimie Muehlhausen is the mastermind behind such labors of love as the Sho-Bud Acoustic Guitars site and the Unofficial Home of Locobox Effects Pedals. His latest site, The Ones That Got Away, proves that he hasn’t run out of music ideas just yet. On The Ones That Got Away, Muehlhausen reminisces about all those guitars from his past that, for one reason or another, are no longer in his possession. It’s something that pretty much every collector can relate to and it makes for fun reading. The best part of all is that Muehlhausen’s lost guitars aren’t predictable old Les Pauls and Strats … this is a guy who gets nostalgic about Epiphone Crestwoods, an Old Kraftsman Bass and, of course, Sho-Bud acoustics. I hope Muehlhausen has held onto at least a few of his favorite guitars but I also hope that the posts to this great website keep coming. Check it out! -JV
3 comments February 27th, 2008
Music Emporium’s Limited Edition Collings Guitars
What do you give someone for their 40th anniversary? Apparently, it’s snakewood! We don’t usually post in the blog about news or events taking place at guitar stores, but this isn’t your typical in-store performance, so here goes: The Music Emporium, the Lexington, Massachusetts music institution is celebrating their 40th anniversary. To celebrate, they’ve commissioned a limited run of Collings Guitars featuring a pretty amazing set of woods and appointments. Each guitar boasts: an Adirondack spruce top and bracing; a varnish finish; a snakewood fingerboard, bridge and binding (a first for any Collings) and some amazing inlays from artist Doug Unger on the headstock. You can of course choose between a D, OM, CJ, 000 or 01 body size (they’ve made a few of each). Price on these beauties is $10,475 and up and we hear the limited run is selling out extremely fast. Call Stu or the rest of the gang over at Music Emporium if you want to get in line. -JV
2 comments February 4th, 2008
Rocking in the U.S.S.R.
Cheesy Guitars is a wonderful website devoted to electric guitars made behind the Iron Curtain in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. I have only seen a few of these instruments over the years, but I have to say the range of styles is breathtaking. There are pages devoted to instruments from Russia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland and other Eastern Bloc countries. There is also a page devoted to guitars that can’t be indentified. If you have one of these wonders and know something about it, head on over and help them out.-MJS (via Guitarz)
1 comment January 17th, 2008
Update for Issue 8: Roger McGuinn
Last month, Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music put on a 50th Anniversary concert that included performers like Jeff Tweedy, Béla Fleck, Abigail Washburn and David Bromberg. I’m sorry I couldn’t make the show because I would have loved to have seen the performance in the photo by Roger McGuinn, who attended the school in the late 1950s, and Frank Hamilton, who was his teacher back then. McGuinn is featured in our latest issue and talks a bit about taking lessons at the school. Also, in issue 6, we ran a photo essay about the school by Eric Futran, who, along being an excellent photographer, takes harmonica lessons there.-MJS (Photo by Steven Gross)
Add comment January 10th, 2008
