|
|
|
Fri 10/1/2004 ~ Bud Ross and
Kustom amps
Yesterday we bought a used Fender
Blues DeVille amp. After lots of bar gigs the previous owner
thought that it looked too ragged... he recovered it in red tolex.
It's not the best recovering job, so even though it's a great
amp we'll be selling it for $200 less than normal.
The recovering concept made me
think of Bud Ross. In 1959 he was playing in a band in Chanute,
Kansas. His bass player was using an mid-1950s 4X10 Fender Bassman.
As was often the case with `50s tweed-covered Fender amps, the
Bassman was ragged from regular use. One night, with the bass
player's blessing, Bud decided to recover the amp.
As you probably remember from
"Happy Days," a lot of kids in the late 1950s were
really into cars. Bud was no exception; and he especially liked
the tuck-and-roll upholstery used in hot rods of that era. He
recovered his friend's amp in a tuck-and-roll vinyl called Naugahyde.
It was a tremendous hit with both the audiences and other musicians
in town. Soon he was recovering other bands' stuff. Eventually
Bud decided to start manufacturing his own amps featuring this
distinctive new look. Since he was making the amps one at a time
in his garage, on a custom order basis, he called his new company
"Kustom."
Over the next few years Bud designed
an entire line of amps, and in 1965 he was ready to go big time.
He set up a booth at the summer NAMM show, took a ton of orders,
and by 1966 Kustom tuck-and-roll amps were everywhere! They came
in a variety of great colors: red sparkle, blue sparkle, gold
sparkle, white sparkle, silver sparkle and, of course, black.
A very popular model was the Kustom PA, a four channel high impedance
head, with two 4X12 columns. (I still have a blue one in my basement
as a reminder of the good old days...)
Unfortunately, a few years later
in the early 1970s, music took a distorted turn. Guitarists started
cranking up their amps to get a much heavier, more distorted
sound. As a child of the 1950s, Bud had designed his amps for
pure, clean sound. You simply couldn't play "Iron Man"
on a Kustom. And if you were going to play "Iron Man"
you certainly wouldn't look "evil" enough with a colorful
padded amp! Furthermore, as band's amps got louder and louder,
PA systems needed to get larger and larger. Low impedance mics,
and snake, and a mixing board out-in-the-audience became the
standard. The small Kustom PA was an instant technological relic.
(Although, I still have one in my...)
By the mid-1970s Kustom was gone...and
all we have now are fond memories of an amp you could walk into
in the middle of the the night and not hurt yourself. (Oh, and
we have the "Naugas," those strange little animals
used as Naugahyde promotional items. There are several at the
store, up above the Martin guitars.)
In honor of the sparkle of Kustom
amps, this week's email special is the Fender Sparkle-Tone Guitar
Tuner. It's a nice little guitar tuner with both blinking lights
and a moving needle. And it comes in red or blue sparkle!! This
week at more than half off!
See you soon,
Carl
PS: Kustom made some interesting
pieces. They were the only company to make a 3X15" bass
cabinet. And it was three 15s vertically! THAT was a hard cabinet
to lift by yourself! They also made cabinet with two 12"
speakers and a 15" metal horn. THAT had a piercing tone!
And then there was the padded-Naugahyde organ with a 100 watt
amp and four 12s built in! THAT hurt your back just to look at
it!!
PPS: A few years ago we sold
a silver sparkle Kustom amp to Stone Temple Pilots and they used
it in the "Big Bang Baby" video.
PPPS: Speaking of strange things,
at the last NAMM show I couldn't help myself and I ordered a
"FlipOut" guitar. It's hard to describe...but it's
a Strat-style body with the neck coming out of the other end....
If you'd like something that's truly weird, come down and check
it out. (I'd also like to mention that Pittsburgh Guitars was
the FIRST store in THE ENTIRE WORLD to order one!! I was the
first person there when they opened their booth... and I said
"I'll take one!" and they said "Yea!")
PPPPS: Thanks to everyone who
entered last week's T-Shirt Contest, and congratulations to our
winners, Doug, Rockin' Ronnie, Jennifer, Ed and Jim.
PPPPPS: This week's customer web site:
Mojo Filter
|
|
Fri 10/8/2004 ~ Album artwork,
the EB-2
I spent some time in the attic
this week looking though my album collection. I was digging out
songs to do at this year's Halloween Show, "Night Of The Singing Dead, Part XII."
(By the way, we still need a good male singer to do Johnny Cash,
and a good female singer to do the Disco song "It's Raining
Men." Give me a call if you can do either of those.) (Or
both...)
I was surprised at how much I
enjoyed looking at my old LPs. I had forgotten what fun it is
to see big artwork and cool pictures. I'm a fan of new technology
like CDs, but there was a certain magic in LP cover art. Just
holding the cover in your hands gave you a sense of what the
band was about, and added to the experience of listening to the
record.
I particularly liked the covers
featuring instruments. Look
at this cover by The Astronauts.
There are two Fender Jaguars,
a Jazzmaster and a Jazz Bass, all in white! And matching white
Fender amps! Three guitarists, and not a Strat among `em! Why,
you can hear the surf music before even putting the record on!
Another favorite cover of mine is "Having
A Rave Up!" by The
Yardbirds (this record I actually listened to).
Of course, when I bought this
LP I had that same question that all young kids have: "Why
does the Epiphone Rivoli Bass that Paul Samwell-Smith is holding
look just like a Gibson EB-2??"
Ah... the innocence of youth!
That was before I learned that after Gibson bought Epiphone they
started using the same bodies and parts to make both Epiphone
and Gibson instruments. The Rivoli *IS* an EB-2 with a different
headstock!
(And for some strange reason
99% of the British bands who played this hollow body bass in
the 1960s used the Epiphone version, rather than the Gibson.
There must have been a big Epiphone dealer in the UK...)
The most notable example of this
Gibson/Epiphone model similarity, of course, is the Epiphone
Casino. On The Beatles last tour John and George both had Casinos
(and Paul used one extensively in the studio). Except for the
headstock and pickguard, the Casino is a Gibson ES-330.
Speaking of 330, this week's
email special is Ernie Ball Electric Guitar Strings for $3.30.
Nine different gauges available.
See You Soon,
Carl
PS: The Yardbirds have the distinction
of having three guitar superstars as members of their band. At
one time or another, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page all
played in The Yardbirds. In fact, in 1968, when everyone else
decided to quit, Jimmy Page added new members and continued on
as The New Yardbirds. After their first tour they changed their
name to Led Zeppelin, and I believe were relatively successful...
PPS: Some friends of ours are doing a charity "Tribute To
Elvis Costello" show this Saturday, October 9th, at The
Rex Theatre. All of the proceeds from the show will go to the
Surgical Breast Disease Program at West Penn Hospital. More info.
PPPS: There actually was someone
named Ernie Ball. He recently passed away at the age of 74. Ernie
started out as a guitar store owner. He wanted thinner strings
than were available in 1962, so he repackaged string sets, throwing
away the heavy low "E" and adding a .010 gauge banjo
string as the high "E". He called the new gauged sets
"Slinkys." Eventually all other string manufacturers
followed his lead and made sets starting with a .010.
PPPS: Night Of The Singing Dead, Part XII - October
30th!!
This Halloween extravaganza is now in its 19th year (we skipped
a year here and there). A musical/comedy featuring Rock Stars
who have gone to that great stage in the sky!
|
|
Fri 10/15/2004 ~ Changes
I was out shopping yesterday
and I saw a sign in a clothing store window that said "Nicole
Miller Introduces All New Designs For Her Fall Line!"
You often see ads like this in
the fashion world. Every season brings new designs. Yet here
we are, at Pittsburgh Guitars, selling Strats and Teles that
have remained basically unchanged in 50 years! And our biggest
selling Martin is the D-28... a design that's 70 years old!
Speaking of Martins,
it has occurred to me that occasional customers might think that
our giant wall-o'-Martins never changes... After all, if you
see a new D-28 on the wall and then come back six months later
and see a new D-28 on the wall you might think it's the same
one. Though the used guitars change daily, the new ones are often
replaced as soon as they sell. When we find a product that we
really like, like the D-28, I want to have it in stock at all
times. Does that make it seem like things never change? Is there
not enough change in the store?
Although, now that I think about
it, we did change our computer monitor to a flat screen. And
we did hire John, the new guy, two years ago. And soon Mark will
go from his short sleeve summer t-shirts to his long sleeve winter
sweatshirts... So there's *some* change...
Oh, and since Fender changes
it's amp designs every year we do have the newest amp models
from Fender. The old Champion 30, the Princeton 65, the Deluxe
90 and the Stage 100 have been replaced by the Champion 300,
the Princeton 650, the Deluxe 900 and the Stage 1000. They have
not only beefed up the built-in digital effects, they've also
added a "0" !!
This week's special will be an
extra discount on last year's models, the ones without the extra
"0"... We have one left of each. They're brand new
with Fender's Five-Year Warranty.
See You Soon,
Carl
PS: Although I'm calling them
"Last Year's Models" they're really "Earlier This
Year's Models." The new amps just arrived last week.
PPS: Customer Web Site:
The Povertyneck Hillbillies
PPS: Night Of The Singing Dead, Part XII - October
30th!!
Starring Steve Hansen, Larry Richert, Monty & Zeke from Y108,
Susie Barbour, Rob Rogers, Miss Cindy from The Flashcats, and
many more!!
The Rex Theatre, Saturday, October 30th, 9PM
|
|
Fri 10/22/2004 ~ Mysterious coincidences
Have you ever experienced something
that wasn't easy to explain?
Last week I went on a mini-vacation.
Friday was the Friars Club Roast in New York City, and since
I'm a member, and they were roasting Donald Trump, I figured
it was worth the trip. One thing led to another, and I made plans
to spend the early part of the week in Cape May (the southernmost
point in New Jersey). I then scheduled a visit to Cindy, the
lead singer of my once-a-year band, The Flashcats. She lives in Farmingdale,
New Jersey, right on my way to NYC.
I had a very relaxing time at
a Bed & Breakfast in Cape May. It's a seven hour drive from
Pittsburgh, but worth the trip. While I was there I did a bunch
of stuff, and had normal everyday life experiences. You know,
the kind of things that sort of register in your brain, but you
don't really pay much attention unless it's something important.
A hundred things happen to us every day that we accept as unimportant
typical life experiences.
On Wednesday I drove to Cindy's
house. She said, "What do you wanna do?" I said, "I
don't care. Let's look for some guitar stores." We got in
her car and she randomly drove through some small New Jersey
towns. (By the way, in three different stores I did not see one
used American-made guitar. It made me feel pretty good about
the selection we have here at Pittsburgh
Guitars.) Eventually we ended up in the really cute town
of Red Bank, New Jersey. It looks like the South Side, with lots
of cool shops. We drove around the block a few times and finally
found a parking spot. We visited some antique stores and toy
stores and found their one guitar store (all new stuff). As we
were getting back into the car to head home I looked up and noticed
that we were parked right in front of a CD/DVD store. I said,
"Hold on a second. Lemme just pop in here." (At this
point, I'd like to mention that earlier that morning I had talked
Cindy into coming back to Pittsburgh on October 30th, to be in
our Halloween show, Night Of The Singing Dead. One of the roles
she agreed to play was Marilyn Monroe, singing "Diamonds
Are A Girls Best Friend.") I walked over to the DVD section
and right in front of me was the DVD of "Gentlemen Prefer
Blondes," the movie that features Marilyn singing that very
song! I was surprised. Naturally, I bought it, took it back to
the car and gave it to Cindy and said, "Now we can learn
the dance steps!"
Then, as we were pulling out
of the parking space, I looked down at the bag from the store.
It had orange and white stripes and pictures of playing cards,
along with the store's name, Jack's Music. I couldn't believe
it!! Two days earlier, in a randomly chosen room, in a randomly
chosen Bed & Breakfast, in a city two and a half hours away
I had randomly opened the room's chest of drawers, even though
I had no intention of putting anything in there. That chest of
drawers in Cape May was completely empty... except for an orange
and white striped bag from Jack's Music in Red Bank, New Jersey!!
I initially picked up the empty bag because I thought it might
be from a guitar store in Cape May. When it wasn't, I put the
bag back in the drawer, and completely forgot about it until
two days later when we were pulling out of that parking space.
Now, you might say, "Hey,
it's the same state. And you have an interest in music, so it's
not that unusual that you'd go into a CD/DVD store called Jack's
Music..."
But what are the odds that a
very clean Bed & Breakfast would accidentally leave an empty
bag in their chest of drawers, and that I'd find it (after I
drove there with no reservations and picked that B&B at random),
and then Cindy would randomly drive to Red Bank, and pull over
in the only parking space we could find, and I'd decide at the
last minute to stop into a store where I found a DVD that I needed
but didn't even know to look for, and then I would be handed
a bag exactly like the one I previously found????
It's a mystery to me. And there
doesn't seem to be anything profound about it. It's just a mystery.
If you have any insight into
this, please let me know.
Speaking of DVDs this week's
email special is Fender's "Getting Started on Guitar"
DVD series. We have "Getting Started on Acoustic Guitar"
and "Getting Started on Electric Guitar." They're over
three hours long and feature rhythm techniques, soloing techniques,
practice tips, 3-D fretboard graphics, essential chords and scales,
as well as play-along tracks.
See You Soon,
Carl
PS: Night Of The Singing Dead, Part XII - October
30th!!
** Yes, we will predict the outcome of the Presidential Election
four days early! At Night Of The Singing Dead's "Election
Fright Coverage." Late-Great Rockers, representing different
areas of the USA, will appear as Republicans or Democrats, and
their performances will predict the election results!!! New to
the show this year: Ray Charles, Rick James, Marlon Brando, Julia
Child, and many more!
** Starring KDKA's Steve Hansen, Larry Richert, John Shumway,
and Susie Barbour; plus Monty & Zeke from Y108; plus Rob
Rogers, Miss Cindy from The Flashcats, Ron Moondog, Chuck Beatty,
John McDonald, Joey Murphy, Deanna Dean, "Mayor Maggie"
Stewart, Kerry Kost, Rich Dugan, Dave Romesberg, and many more!!
** The Rex Theatre, Saturday, October 30th, 9PM
Tickets available at Pittsburgh Guitars and The Rex.
More info: 412-381-9200
PPS: Pictures from previous shows....
|
|
Fri 10/29/2004 ~ What's my guitar
worth?
You may have heard me on Susie
Barbour's Show on KDKA radio last Sunday discussing guitars.
It's always fun talking to the phone-in callers about something
they have in the attic or under the bed. (The first thing I tell
them is, "Don't keep your guitar in the attic!")
One caller had an old P-Bass
that he used in a big band in the 1950s. Another guy had an old
Vox Teardrop solid-body. (Yeah, I know what you're thinking!
We mostly see the hollow-body teardrop... You know, the one that
always has big finish checks in it `cause they put the lacquer
finish on too thick, and with any sort of a quick temperature
change it cracks... The solid-body is far cooler.)
Folks always ask what their guitar
is worth, but I try to be as general as possible. There are so
many things that can happen to a guitar in 40 years that it's
tough to evaluate one over the phone.
For example a guy called on Sunday
about his 1962 EB-0. The EB-0, of course, is the Barry White
of bass guitars. With that big ol' pickup all the way up next
to the fingerboard, you get nuthin' but low end. It's great in
a Polka Band, but doesn't have enough punch for most rockers.
Because of the serious lack of high end, the EB-0 has never been
a particularly valuable guitar. For years and years we sold them
for $250 - $350-ish. Lately, however, they've been going up in
value. Maybe it's because bass amps are so elaborate and powerful
these days. Maybe it's because people are now used to the low
rumble of a 5-string bass. Maybe it's because everything else
from the 60s has appreciated so much in value that the EB-0 has
been dragged along...
Anyway, I told the caller that
we've seen higher and higher prices on basses like his, and we
recently sold one for $895. He said, "Great!"
Then, yesterday, he brought it
in... It *IS* a `62 EB-0. Yep, that part is correct. But... all
of the finish has been stripped off. And the pickguard and backplate
have been replaced with homemade versions. And even the front
of the headstock was stripped!
Needless to say, the collectors
value of this bass has been seriously impacted. It still works,
and it's not broken, so it has that goin' for it... But this
is a perfect example of why you have to actually see something
to even come close to gauging it's value.
If this bass DID have the original
finish, and I wanted to wipe it off, I'd ask John-the-new-guy
what he'd use. And he'd tell me about his favorite polish cloth,
the Dean Markley Micro Fiber Cloth. John uses these all the time
to shine the guitars hanging on our walls. The micro fiber cloth
is safe for all finishes, and it's a great way to wipe off fingerprints
or smudges on any color guitar, even black ones. Unlike your
basic cotton sock, this cloth is extremely smooth... you could
clean your glasses, or shine up your diamond ring, or wipe your
fingerprints off your guitarist's Les Paul that he left at your
house after rehearsal and you were jammin' on it while he was
gone.... It's our email special this week....
See You soon,
Carl
PS: We call this bass the "Eee-
Bee- Oh" but actually it's the "Eee- Bee- Zero."
Gibson's first electric bass was 1954's violin shaped EB-1 (EB
= "Electric Bass"). When they introduced the six string,
hollow-body ES-335 in 1958, Gibson put a bass neck on a 335 body
and called it the EB-2. In 1959, when the single cutaway Les
Paul Juniors and Specials became double cutaway models, Gibson
gave up on the unpopular violin shape, and put a bass neck on
the new double cutaway solid-body. And rather than go on to "EB-3"
they back-tracked to EB-0.
In 1961, when they discontinued
the Les Paul, and introduced the SG line, they put a bass neck
on an SG body, and that became the new version EB-0.
Oddly enough, when they realized
that their basses needed some high end and they added a second
pickup near the bridge, the two pickup EB-2 became the EB-2D,
but the two pickup EB-0 was called an EB-3! Go figure!
PPS: Night Of The Singing Dead, Part XII - this
Saturday October 30th!!
** Yes, we will predict the outcome of the Presidential Election
three days early! At Night Of The Singing Dead's "Election
Fright Coverage." Late-Great Rockers, representing different
areas of the USA, will appear as Republicans or Democrats, and
their performances will predict the election results!!! New to
the show this year: Ray Charles, Rick James, Marlon Brando, Julia
Child, and many more!
** Starring KDKA's Steve Hansen, Larry Richert, John Shumway,
and Susie Barbour; plus Monty & Zeke from Y108; plus Rob
Rogers, Miss Cindy from The Flashcats, Ron Moondog, Chuck Beatty,
Joey Murphy, Deanna Dean, "Mayor Maggie" Stewart, Kerry
Kost, Rich Dugan, Dave Romesberg, and many more!!
** The Rex Theatre, Saturday, October 30th, 9PM
Tickets available at Pittsburgh Guitars and The Rex.
More info: 412-381-9200
PPPS: Customer web site:
Joe Bonamassa
|
|
|
