Friday 12/4/2009 ~ The Gibson "Thin-Line" Series

Thanksgiving dinner with the family last Thursday was very pleasant. But Friday night, by myself, was pretty sweet, too.

It all started twenty-nine years ago. During a break between sets, Cindy, the lead singer in my band The Flashcats, was talking to several of us outside the Liberty Lounge. (Like many of the places we played, it's no longer there.) (And I don't mean that it's a different business... It's an empty lot!) She said, "Now that we have so many members in the Flashcat Fan Club, why don't we record a Christmas song and send it out to all of them?" (She was so young at the time, I'm not sure if she knew that The Beatles had done that sixteen years earlier...) I said, "Yeah, that'll be fun!"

Little did I realize that twenty-nine years later we'd still be doing it. (Although, how often in life do you look ahead twenty-nine years?) (From now that would be 2038, by the way.)

So, last Saturday, the band got together to record "Flashcat Christmas record #29." (I bet those folks who joined the Fan Club in 1980 for $5.00 didn't anticipate this either!) And since I didn't know what kind of songs the band members were going to bring, I spent the night before pulling out different types of guitars to record with. Naturally, I grabbed a Martin acoustic... and a Telecaster... and just in case, a Rickenbacker 12-string. Then, in the corner I noticed a guitar that I haven't played in six months... my 1967 ES-345.

When I opened the case I was struck by what a beautiful guitar it is. And when I plugged it in, it played like a dream. Now, as I'm sure you know, I have an appreciation for guitars in general. But this was a joyful experience. It was like marveling at the visual impact of a work of art, and then adding an audio dimension. Even with my limited guitar playing skills, the guitar sounded wonderful. It made me very happy. And it led to so many different intellectual associations. First, I felt a personal connection with this guitar. (Every instrument is different... some feel like strangers, and some feel like life-long friends.) Then, I couldn't help but think about the history of this model, and the family of models related to it. And the many people who have played those models over the years. And the state of the guitar industry in 1967, when this one was made.... or for that matter,1959, when the first 345 was made... or 1958, when the 335 was introduced. Plus, I contemplated my history, buying and selling and enjoying guitars for the last thirty years... what they've meant to me, and still mean to me.

Yep, strumming a few chords brought with it a lot of stuff. It was nice. I'm glad I opened that case.

Here's John with my 1967 ES-345.

At this point you're probably thinking, "Hey, you said '345' and then '335'... What's up with that? And how can I tell them apart?"

I'm glad you asked.

In the mid-1950s Gibson's Les Paul was catching on, but many players were still skeptical of the new solid-body concept. And the only electric alternatives Gibson offered were their large hollow-body guitars, which were big and bulky and prone to feedback at louder volumes. So to attract new players, in 1955 Gibson introduced new thinner versions of their hollow-body electric guitars, called the "Thin-Line" series. These were much more comfortable to play. And slightly less feedback-prone. Then in 1957, Gibson perfected a new double-coil pickup, which would be loud, powerful and wouldn't hum when near other electric items. (Because it didn't hum like the older single coil pickups, it was dubbed a "humbucking" pickup.) Since this new pickup would allow even louder performances (and with rock & roll gaining momentum, 'louder' was important!), Gibson's design department realized that they needed a new Thin-Line model for the humbucking pickups... one even LESS likely to feed back.

The R&D team, led by Ted McCarty, came up with a great idea: a semi-hollow guitar. The guitar would have a thin body with a solid block running through the center, and it could be turned up loud without the feedback issues of a completely hollow instrument.

Introduced in 1958, new guitar was designated the "ES-335." Here's a picture of John with a 1964 ES-335.

Gibson loved the design (and spent a lot of money on the molds) so they immediately introduced variations on the theme. The first option was a "Custom" version. Just as with the Les Paul Custom, it featured gold hardware, block inlays, an ebony fingerboard and a fancy, bound headstock. Oddly, rather than call it an ES-335 Custom, they named it the "ES-355." The 355 also featured a unique six-position rotary switch called a "Varitone" which, thanks to a series of capacitors, gives different tonal variations. (The Varitone has a big circular metal piece numbered 1 thru 6 under the switch. You can recognize it from across the room.)

Then, a year later, they decided "Hey, let's make something in-between the 335 and the 355!" And in 1959 they introduced the ES-345. It wasn't quite as fancy as the 355 (no binding on the headstock), but it did have gold hardware and the Varitone switch. And it also had really cool split-parallelogram inlays on the fingerboard.

So, there are three very similar models, utilizing the same body-shape and semi-hollow design: the ES-335, the ES-345 and the ES-355.

To the man-on-the-street they may look the same. But YOU can tell the difference! Despite the fact that some features have been modified on all three models over the years (different tailpieces, for example), the neck and headstocks will always allow you to determine the model. The ES-345 will have split-parallelogram inlays and an unbound headstock. And the ES-355 will have block inlays and a fancy bound headstock. (And 99.5% of the time both the 345 and 355 will have the rotary Varitone switch, not found on the 335.)

Feel free to use this, if the conversation lags when the family gathers for Christmas dinner!!

See you soon,
Carl

PS: In 1959 Gibson decided they could make yet another model using the 335 body. The new version, which was less expensive, skipped the center block and it featured P-90 single-coil pickups instead of the ES-335's humbucks. This completely hollow model was designated the ES-330. Here's John with a 1968 ES-330.

PPS: Gibson also figured that they could use the 335 body for a bass, and they did. It was called an EB-2. Here's John with a 1958 EB-2.

PPPS: So, in the space of a few years Gibson used its new body design on the ES-335, the ES-345, the ES-355, the ES-330 and the EB-2. Later, in the 1970s, Gibson added to the collection with the ES-320 and ES-325 (different pickups) and the ES-340 and ES-347 (different wiring). That's a lotta guitars with the same body! But, you're probably wondering, could there be more? Yes!! In 1957 Gibson bought the Epiphone name, and during the 1960s, Gibson manufactured Epiphone guitars in the same Kalamazoo factory as the Gibson guitars. Some Epiphone models were unique to the brand, but several were almost identical to Gibson models. Except for cosmetic details, the Epiphone Casino was the same guitar as the ES-330. Likewise, the Epiphone Rivoli Bass used the same body and electronics as the Gibson EB-2.

PPPPS: Customer of the Week: The AcoustiCafe

Friday 12/11/2009 ~ Big Bands, Brass Bands, and Songs of the Seasons

Have you ever stood next to a trumpet player?

Man, those guys are loud. The first time I heard a 1940s-style Big Band play live I was blown away by their power and volume... and all without amps. No wonder our grandparents got so worked up by those bands. And no wonder our great-grandparents thought swing music was evil. (Thankfully the great-grandparents didn't live long enough to hear rap music!)
Anyhow, last week I had a chance to see a holiday show by an all-brass band. There were twenty or twenty-five of them, and they only used solid-metal-mouthpiece horns like trumpets, trombones, tubas, etc... no strings (violins, cellos...) and not even reed instruments (saxophones, clarinets...). (Although, they did have a couple of percussionists. But, hey... you gotta have drums!)

So I expected them to be super-powerful. I expected to get the chills... but I didn't.

And I'm still wondering why. It wasn't the over-all volume. They had that. And they used everything from piccolo trumpets to tubas, so they had the highs and lows covered. There was just something missing. Perhaps it was a frequency thing. Perhaps saxophones and violins fill in some frequency range that you can't get with just brass instruments, even if they are hitting the same notes. I keep thinking about one of my favorite powerful classical pieces, the Lone Ranger Theme. (It's really the "William Tell Overture" by Gioachino Rossini.) The trumpets blare at the beginning (not the real beginning of the original Overture... you'd recognize that from Bugs Bunny) when the Lone Ranger first appears on the screen. But after the horns catch your ear, it's the violins that get things moving. And when the horns and violins combine, the real power of the piece is achieved. So even though one trumpet could easily drown out one violin, it seems that you really need them both for maximum aural satisfaction. I wonder how this relates to our field... rock & roll?

Meanwhile, during the show the conductor introduced "Winter Wonderland" by saying that although it's thought of as a Christmas song, it really doesn't mention any holidays. (The lyricist, Dick Smith, was merely describing his fondness of the winter weather in his home town of Honesdale, PA, near Scranton, PA. He was in the hospital when he wrote it, so perhaps the drugs enhanced his appreciation for northern Pennsylvania winter weather!)

As I contemplated "Winter Wonderland" as a "Winter" song, it made me wonder about other songs featuring seasons. Let's make a list! I'll start:

Winter songs:
1. I Am A Rock - Simon & Garfunkle
"A winter's day, in a deep and dark December..."
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Spring songs:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Summer songs:
1. Summer In The City - Lovin' Spoonful
2. Hot Fun In The Summertime - Sly And The Family Stone
3. Anything by The Beach Boys
4. Dancin' In The Street - Martha And The Vandellas
"Summer's here, and the time is right, for Dancin' In The Street"
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Fall songs:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Speaking of Winter, don't forget to keep your guitar humidified. Dry air in your house is very bad for the wood in your guitar, and last winter we saw a lot of cracked instruments. As the temperature drops, and the furnace runs constantly, your guitar can dry out. And bad things will happen! We recommend a guitar humidifier... and they are featured as this week's email special.

Here's John with a properly humidified guitar.

Here's what can happen if you don't use a humidifier!

(OK, it won't really get THAT bad... but first you'll notice sharp fret edges...ouch!... and then cracks... double ouch!!)

See you soon,
Carl

PS: Other "Christmas" songs that don't mention Christmas: Jingle Bells, Frosty The Snowman, and Sleigh Ride.

PPS: Customer of the Week: Barenaked Ladies

Friday 12/18/2009 ~ End-Of-The-Year Wrap-up

I see by the ol' calendar on the ol' wall, right behind the ol' desk (seriously... I've been using this same desk for 30 years), that this year Christmas and New Year's Day are both Fridays.

So that means that this will be the last Email Special of the year! AND the last Email Special of the decade!!
Or am I counting wrong? Is the upcoming year, 2010, the start of a new decade, or still part of the last one? Hmmmm... Well, you usually start counting things with "one." It doesn't sound right to say: "I wonder how many apples are in my basket? After counting them I see that I have zero apples."

So that would lend credence to the "start with one" argument... and the next decade would start with 2011.

But, when I think back to December 31, 1999 (when we were partying like it was...), most people considered January 1, 2000 to be the start of the new century. (I know that's what our store computer thinks. It's so sentimental for the old days that it won't work with any date prior to 12/31/99.) (Hey, I wonder if it'll start working properly once the last two digits become "10"? Were the Y2K issues related to the fact that the first digit in the old two-digit year format was zero??)

SO.... if 2000 was the start of a new century, then ipso facto, 2010 should be the start of a new decade! That makes *THIS* the last Email Special of the decade! Whew... OK, now that's settled.

Anyhow, thanks to everyone who wrote in last week (and every week!). We received lots of lists of seasonal songs. Well, at least lots of songs mentioning Winter, Summer and Fall... Spring was a bit light. Perhaps most songwriters are so happy to see Winter end, that they skip Spring, and turn their lyrical sights to Summer.

Here is a sampling of the many songs folks sent:

Winter songs:
1. I Am A Rock - Simon & Garfunkle
2. California Dreamin' - Mamas & Papas
3. Hazy Shade of Winter - Simon & Garfunkle / The Bangles
4. Sometimes In Winter - Blood, Sweat & Tears
5. Song for a Winter's Night - Sarah McLaghlan / Gordon Lightfoot
6. Winter of A Broken Heart - Alison Krauss & Union Station
7. Winter - The Rolling Stones
8. Winter & My Soul - Grand Funk Railroad
9. Baby, It's Cold Outside - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Jordan / Dean Martin / Michael Buble / Jessica Simpson
10. A Long December - Counting Crows

Spring songs:
1. Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles
2. Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring - The Four Freshmen / The Beach Boys
3. Southland in the Springtime - Indigo Girls
4.
5.
6.
7.
8. At least it mentions Springtime: The Rain Song - Led Zeppelin
9. At least it mentions Springtime: If Ever I Would Leave You - Robert Goulet
10. At least it mentions Springtime: Springtime for Hitler - Mel Brooks

Summer songs:
1. Summertime Blues - Eddie Cochran / Blue Cheer / The Who
2. Summertime - written by George Gershwin, performed by 6,523 people, including Janis Joplin
3. Summer Breeze - Seals & Crofts
4. Dancin' In The Street - Martha And The Vandellas
5. In The Summertime - Mungo Jerry
6. School's Out - Alice Cooper
7. Boys Of Summer - Don Henley
8. Hot Fun In The Summertime - Sly And The Family Stone
9. Summer In The City - Lovin' Spoonful
10. Yankee Doodle Dandy ("Born on the 4th of July") - George M. Cohan
... and anything by The Beach Boys

Fall songs:
1. Moondance - Van Morrison
2. September In The Rain - Dinah Washington / Frank Sinatra / The Beatles (1960)
3. Autumn Leaves - Nat King Cole
4. California Dreamin' - Mamas & Papas
(The lyrics in this song say:
"All The leaves are brown, And the sky is gray
"I went for a walk, on a winters day..."
He says it's a winter day, but if the leaves were brown it could have been fall. I read John Phillips autobiography, and I'm pretty sure he was too stoned to know what season it was. This one's a toss-up.)
5. Autumn Goodbye - Britney Spears
6. See You In September - The Happenings
7. Shine On Harvest Moon - Ruth Etting (1935) / Leon Redbone / etc
8. Wake Me Up When September Ends - Green Day
9. Autumn Almanac - The Kinks
10. Fall Is Just Something That Grownups Invented - The Hives

Last week I also mentioned Gioachino Rossini's "William Tell Overture." It's most famous for its use as the theme song to the 1950's "Lone Ranger" TV show. But that section was only part of the original 12-minute Overture. Other sections were often used in cartoons in the 1940s and 50s..

Here's a section of Rossini's "William Tell Overture" that was often used in dramatic ocean scenes. Picture Donald Duck attempting to steer a boat, surrounded by giant, dangerous waves, and click here.

Here's another section of the 12-minute overture that was used for peaceful morning-in-the-meadow scenes. Picture Bugs Bunny waking up in the morning, yawning, in a quiet field... and click here.

And here's the end of the Overture... as used by the Lone Ranger.

Yep, all of those musical bits are from the same piece of music, Rossini's "William Tell Overture." Hey, at least we're ending the year on a Classical piece!! No one can accuse us of only knowing rock & roll!!

See you soon,
Carl

PS: Speaking of songs about seasons, Rob S. suggested songs with "season" in the title. So far we have two:
Season Of The Witch - Donovan / Brian Auger & Julie Driscoll / Bloomfield, Kooper & Stills
Seasons In The Sun - Terry Jacks

PPS: This has nothing to do with seasons or Rossini, but I was just cleaning out my desk and found a guitar article by Dave Barry. It's five (or ten) years old, but still relevant... and still funny. Here's the article.

PPPS: From the Just-When-You-Think-You've-Seen-Everything Dept:
In February 1964 The Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan Show three Sundays in a row. Yet, they were only in America for a week. The trick: They filmed their third Sullivan appearance, which was broadcast on Feb 23, 1964, in the afternoon on Feb 9, 1964. So their Ed Sullivan appearances were:
- Feb 9, 1964 Live at 8PM from New York
- Feb 16, 1964 Live at 8PM from Miami Beach, FL
- Feb 23, 1964 filmed before a live audience at 4:30PM on Feb 9, 1964
Now, of course, we've all known this for years (decades, actually). That explains why John Lennon is using his old Rickenbacker 325 in the first and third shows, and his shiny new 325 in the middle show. And we've also known that they performed their current big hit, "I Want To Hold You Hand," on all three shows. BUT, someone has recently analyzed the camera angles from shows 1 and 3, and it's really cool to see that the Ed Sullivan director used the exact same camera blocking on "I Want To Hold You Hand" for both shows. Of course, nowadays, this would all be done by computers and would be nothing special. But in 1964 it was some guy sitting at the video mixing board with a piece of paper. It's fascinating. Check out this youtube video. Just when you think you've seen everything!

PPPPS: Hey, it's been a great year here at Pittsburgh Guitars. I hope things are well with you. And I hope you get to spend the holidays with the people you love. Merry Christmas!