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Sat 3/1/2003
Yesterday I was watching Mark
price a box of small goods that arrived... pitch pipes, machine
heads, that kinda stuff... I started to notice all of the small
stuff we carry. We don't have the vast variety of items that
Giant Eagle has, especially those giant Giant Eagles that even
carry sushi... hmmmmm... sushi.... but we do have everything
you'll need for your guitar-playing pleasure. I even saw Mark
un-packing more harmonica holders... and I said to myself, "I
don't think I'd like to hear harmonica in EVERY song, but it's
nice to hear a little now and then..." And then I said,
"How the heck do people play those?... after all, you can't
see what you're doing since it's in your mouth..." And then,
just as I was starting to wonder why I was talking to myself,
while at the same time being surprised at how well I was getting
along with myself, I thought, "I just watched an old Ed
Sullivan repeat, and I saw Stevie Wonder playing 'Fingertips,
Part 1 & 2' and, man, was he great..."
Here's your chance to give it
a try... (And once you master playing it, we have the harmonica
holder you'll need to play it and your guitar at the same time...)
See You soon,
Carl
PS: This week's Customer web site:
Science Fiction Idols
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Sat 3/8/2003
Well, it sure has been an interesting
winter. At least that's what I was thinking yesterday morning,
as I was scraping 3 inches of ice off of my windshield. But,
you know, spring HAS to be right around the corner. (I hope...)
And when it's finally warm enough
to go outside without a giant winter coat, and when it's finally
light out when you leave for work, and STILL light out when you
come home from work... then our thoughts will turn to.... love...
and music. (OK, we thought about both during the winter, too...
but not about doing them in the street!)
Summer is the time to take the
ol' guitar out on the porch, or the sidewalk, and let some music
loose into the air. Why not get started on your acoustic repertoire
now, so you'll be ready when the sun eventually starts to shine
again.
This week's special is our best
selling acoustic guitar. It's an inexpensive, easy playing, full-size
dreadnought, by Fender. It makes a great first acoustic, or would
be a nice second guitar if you don't want to play your Martin
in the rain.
See You soon,
Carl
PS: This week's Customer web site:
John Doe
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Sat 3/15/2003
As I'm sure you know, Lloyd Loar,
working for Gibson, developed one of the first electric pickups
in 1924. And, of course, the first commercially successful pickup
was designed by George Beauchamp for Rickenbacker, and used in
their 1932 Electric Lap Steel. And we all know that from that
point forward, lots of pickups were designed for lots of different
instruments. They varied in size, from the thin pickup on Leo
Fender's Telecaster, to the wider P-90 on Les Paul's early Les
Pauls... but what they all had in common was the basic design:
a magnet with a coil of wire wrapped around it.
And who could forget that day
in 1954 when Seth Lover, also working for Gibson, realized that
if you hooked two magnetic coils together, wired in Series, you
would eliminate the hum inherent in all single coil pickups.
(Like you, I've always been disappointed with the name he chose:
"Humbucking"... He should have called it a "Hum-cancelling
Pickup" or a "Hum-stopping Pickup"...or even an
"Un-hum Pickup"... but.....) Gibson started to use
the new Humbucking Pickup in 1957.
Since economics is always a concern
with manufacturing companies, Gibson only used the (slightly)
more costly dual coil pickup on their more expensive guitars
(Les Paul, ES-335, SG) and they continued to use the older single
coil P-90 on lower priced models (Les Paul Jr, ES-330, SG Jr,
SG Special). What's interesting is that, although the Humbucking
Pickup is a technological upgrade, the P-90, with it's grittier,
harsher sound, has a distinctive place in Rock & Roll. Which
is probably why last night, simultaneously, on two major network
shows two bands' lead guitar players were using mid-60s Gibson
SG Specials, with P-90s. With rapid channel-changing power, I
saw Ringo on Jay Leno and American Hi-Fi on Letterman. I don't
know who either of the guitar players were... the guy playing
for Ringo was twice as old as the guy with the SG Special in
American Hi-Fi... but they both sounded great!
(American Hi-Fi was wonderful
by the way. They were really rockin', and though both guitar
players in the band were using distortion they had different
tones, which were distinctive yet complimentary. Ringo was his
usual happy self, and sang a nice song about George.)
At this point I really wish I
had some SGs with P-90s to put on the email special...but I don't.
The closest thing I have is two Les Paul Specials, with P-100s...
so I'm gonna use those......
See You soon,
Carl
PS: The P-100 is the modern day
version of the P-90. It's 2 stacked P-90s, so you get the fat
sound of a single coil, but no buzz
PPS: Famous P-90 usage: Pete
Townshend, The Beatles, Leslie West (the intro to "Mississippi
Queen" is a perfect representation of the sound!) ,Santana,
and hundreds more...
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Sat 3/22/2003
Step One: Place your case on
a flat surface. Make sure that the latches are on the bottom
half, so you know which side is the top of the case. (Unless
you have a Danelectro case from the late 50s... They have the
latches on the top so your guitar will be upside down when you
open the case...)
Step Two: Open case and remove
guitar. (If you're in the basement watch that you don't hit your
headstock on the water pipes.)
Step Three: Attach your strap
to the guitar. (Unless you're from a punk band from the 1980s,
in which case the strap is already duct-taped on.)
Step Four: Plug in to your amp,
and turn it on. The on/off switch will be in the back, on the
right. (Unless it's an old Fender, in which case it'll be in
the center... or if it's a Marshall, it'll be on the front...
or if it's a Vox it'll be on the top...) (Oh yeah... one more
thing- if you're in the basement, make sure that you're not standing
in a puddle of water... in your bare feet...)
Step Five: Make an "A"
chord in the first position... and do it the rock & roll
way, with one finger barring the D, G, and B strings on the second
fret.
Step Six: Crank up the amp. And
hit that chord the way Angus Young would.
Step Sev.... You know, this is
gonna take a while... Let's just make it this week's email special...Hal
Leonard and Fender Present: "Getting Started on Electric
Guitar" DVD!
See You soon,
Carl
PS: This week's Customer web site:
The Yards
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Sat 3/29/2003
I'm very happy today! I just
made a trade with a guy from Wisconsin. I sent him an expensive
new Martin,
and he sent me a 1964 D-28E. Now, you're probably saying, "I
know what a D-28 is... Martin has been making them since 1935.
But what's a D-28E, and why are you so happy about it?"
Well, Leo Fender caused quite
a stir in those fun-lovin' 1950s, first with his Tele and then,
in `54, with the Stratocaster. Gibson was keeping up with the
Les Paul line. And the world was going electric.
In 1959, Martin, the world's
finest flat-top acoustic maker, thought they'd try to jump on
this electric bandwagon. In a fit of temporary insanity (perhaps
alcohol was involved...) they decided to take a perfectly wonderful
sounding D-28 and screw two big DeArmond pickups, four knobs
and a toggle switch to the spruce top! They only added an "E"
to the model name, but they added enough weight to prevent that
top from ever vibrating. Bottom line: you can plug it in, but
don't expect much in the way of acoustic sound.
Martin made 179 D-28Es in 1959...
and only another 62 over the next five years until they came
to their senses in 1964. Grand total: 238
To get to the second half of
your question: I like it because it's an interesting piece of
American guitar history. It's an example of a grand old company
trying to keep up with the times in an era of guitar-electronics
technical infancy.
Pickups have come a long way
since 1959. If you a need great, natural-sounding acoustic pickup,
and don't want to drill any holes in your guitar, try the Dean
Markley Pro-Mag. It's a removable sound-hole pickup and it's
this week's email special.
See you soon,
Carl
PS: With only 238 ever made,
not many D-28Es were ever used in high profile situations. The
most famous use of this model: Kurt Cobain on MTV Unplugged,
November 18, 1993.
PPS: Another reason I'm particularly
happy about this guitar- I already have one from the first year,
1959... now I have one from the last, 1964. Bookends of the model,
so to speak. (Martin is checking the serial numbers for me to
see how close to the beginning and the end these are.) I know
that doesn't justify extreme happiness... but it's kinda cool
to a guitar nut like me...
PPPS: This week's Customer web site:
Mercury
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