1956 GRETSCH FIREBIRD JET

1956 GRETSCH FIREBIRD JET

THE COLOUR ON THIS GUITAR IS SPECTACULAR.

It plays like a dream, due to the fact it just had a complete rebuild.

Neck re-set, frets, etc, are just what these old Gretsch's need to get them back into playable condition. I don't know if the wood was not completely dry or they were just susceptible to weather change.

Block fret markers, back natural mahogany wood colour.

I was told, after I purchased this guitar, that it was played by Stella McCartney.

1958 545 Hofner Mandolin

1958 Hofner 545 Mandolin

I know that you are thinking to yourself  "this guy accidentally posted his picture of the old mandolin upside down".

Not so.....I just thought it was cool the way it looks like an extraterrestrial when viewed like this.

 Splendid workmanship and quality materials add up to a beautiful sounding instrument. It still looks like new.
It sounds "OUT OF THIS WORLD"
Sorry I couldn't help myself.........

EDGAR MONCH TORONTO 1967

EDGAR MONCH TORONTO 1967

1967 TORONTO, was an exciting time and place, it was Canada's centennial year. 

Canada had been a country for 100 years and the whole country was in a great partying mood.  

Toronto was a hot spot for musical talent, the Yorkville scene was home to what would become Canadian icons in the music world.

Edgar Monch had been living in Toronto for a few years and was very generous in sharing his talent for building superior quality guitars. 

FAST FORWARD 40 YEARS.......

I an always Looking for Vintage Instruments; Today I am at a yard sale just around the corner from my house and stopped because there was a twenty foot aluminium ladder on the front lawn.

I soon forgot about the ladder when I spied a couple of guitar cases in the corner by the garage.

I love yard sales because you get to meet the nicest people. They love to talk about their stuff and it is a great way to get the history of the items you purchase. 

Knowing the history and keeping it with the instrument has always been an important part of being the custodian of the instrument.

This lady had been a folk singer back in  the day, and classical music study was the norm for learning music.

She never made a name for herself and gave up on the instrument years ago. That was obvious by the amount of dust caked on the case. The guitar inside was immaculately clean though.

I had never heard of Edgar Monch before this day, but I could tell from the quality of the workmanship that this was a fine instrument. Her price was reasonable so I took a chance and bought it.

Once at home and after some research, I was pleasantly surprised to fine out just how well revered Edgar Monch was. His lists of students and guitar users are quite impressive. 

EDGAR MONCH TORONTO 1967

1984 LES PAUL FLAME TOP BURST ---1959 REISSUE

1984 LES PAUL FLAME TOP BURST

The original 1959 Gibson LP's are so fantastic and of course expensive, many reissues have been made.

This 1984 Les Paul 59 reissue is one of the earliest comparable.  

Gibson outdid themselves with the quality of this beauty. It has the Tim Shaw pickups in both positions.

This guitar came up from Texas and was played hard in a smokey, blues bar just the way a vintage guitar should be played. The Mojo is just dripping off of this rock Comet.

1956 REISSUE LES PAUL BURST

1956 REISSUE LES PAUL BURST

1959 GIBSON GA-80 AMP

WITH VARI-TONE SELECTOR

 The P-90 pickups in the 56 burst sound awesome, 

with the genuine tubes in the authentic 59 Gibson GA-80 amp.

A good friend gave me her father's 1959 Gibson amp.

He played a keyboard through it in  the 50's while attending dances at his social club.

I had the wiring updated to a grounded 3 prong plug and the tubes and caps tested and now it kicks.

1964 Rose Morris Rickenbacker model 1997 Jet Glow

1964 Rose Morris Rickenbacker model 1997 Jet Glow

How weird is it that in 1964 someone thought to name a model of guitar a 1997. 

Could be confusing after 1997, good thing for the serial numbers.

TEA BOX BASS OR WASHTUB BASS

TEA BOX BASS OR WASHTUB BASS

I really love the sound of the bass, that low, steady, beating string sound that seems to drive the rhythm. 

The sound of the washtub or tea box bass is half way between the percussion and the string section of the musical group, bringing them together nicely.

Thirty years ago, I could not afford a real electric bass, but as I am kind of handy I thought I could make  an acoustic bass. That I still have thirty years later due to the quality workmanship.

A friend suggested to just use a broom handle and a screw to attach the rope, the washtub was the expensive part at $35. 

 I Love Vintage Instruments, therefore my bass had to be something special. I hand picked all the wood to be used in  the construction of my bass.

I laminated a piece of Oak and Maple woods together and hand carved the back of the neck with a spoke shaver. There are six coats of lacquer over top of a linseed oil finish. The neck is about five feet long with notch on the bottom so that it stays on the rim of the washtub. There is a drilled bolt with a wing nut tuner and washer at the headstock. Though, there are many suggestions for string such as clothes line and aircraft cable, my choice is heavy gauge steel tie wire.

There is a difference between the Tea Box and the Washtub when used as a resonator. The tone of the Tea box is much more mellow and woody, as compared to the Washtub which is a bit louder and tinny.

I use a heavy guitar pick to pluck the string, This enables me to get a  nice loud clear note each time.

TEA BOX BASS OPEN AT THE FRONT FOR BEST SOUND

WASHTUB BASS WITH HAND CARVED NECK

1969 Fender Mustang Bass and Big Brother

1969 Fender Mustang Bass and Big Brother

2010 Jazz

These are a couple of nice basses the 1969 Bronco has been stripped and roughly refinished.

The sound and feel can't be beat. The neck was not touched as far as refinishing goes.

These are both natural wood finish and the picture give a good comparison of the size difference between the two basses.

1960's WHAT ON EARTH

1960's WHAT ON EARTH

WHEN YOU GO TO YARD SALES YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU MIGHT FIND.

I Love Vintage Instruments no matter what, where, who or how.

Yard sales, auctions, internet sales sites, word of mouth, any lead will be investigated.

I found this home made beauty at a sale many years ago and held on to it for some time.

We are really just custodians of these fine instrument while we are here. 

Does any one recognizes this odd shaped guitar?

Please don't tell me it is a priceless Bloobenhymer.... because I sold it at a yard sale for $5.

Good luck hunting.

1980 LARRIVEE C-10 SEAHORSE HEADSTOCK

1980 LARRIVEE C-10 SEAHORSE HEADSTOCK

I had been working in construction for twenty years, and had raised my family to a advanced stage.

 I thought that to mark this occasion, I would treat myself to a super special guitar. It had to have bling... 

 I am not a particularly shy person and to have something flashy around my neck is not a problem.

There was a great guitar shop in Peterborough Ont.that I would visit now and again. You never know what Don was going to have hanging behind the counter. We do miss the Music Workshop.

Martin D-45's were not too available here in Canada. However we do have a luthier that is arguably as qualified at guitar building as Mr. Martin's predecessors.

In 1980 Jean was still building guitars by hand in Victoria, British Columbia. The cool thing with this guitar is that his wife Wendy did the beautiful Abalone inlay. This guitar was originally made without a truss rod. The previous owner had it was returned to Jean Larrivee and one was installed. 

Rosewood back and sides Sitka Spruce top.

Crystal clean sound and lots of bling.......

1984 Rickenbacker 4001

1984 RICKENBACKER 4001 BASS

IT WAS A SNOWY JANUARY MORNING WHEN I CHECKED THE CLASSIFIED ADS. 

THERE WAS ANOTHER STORM FOLLOWING CLOSE BEHIND THE LAST ONE.

When I called, the owner of this guitar  said he had another guy coming in from Kingston Ont. but was not sure if he would make it. One hour later he called to say the gent from Kingston did not want to chance the trip with the major snow storm anticipated. I decided to risk it, and jumped into my car. It was going to be an hour there and an hour back if everything went well. The sky was cloudy and dark and the traffic was unsurprisingly light. The Weather Channel had recommended unnecessary travel--ill advised. 

The seller had put a ridiculously low price on this spotless mint 4001 Rickenbacker. It would not last long. Safely at my destination I took my time and checked the bass over very thoroughly, it was awesome.

It is a latter 4001 with some of the features of a 4003 Rickenbacker in that it has the dual truss rods.

There is some debate over when the last 4001's were released, this is well past the average consensus of when the last ones came out. Truss rod cover says 4001 and the serial number is XB suggesting a 1984.

Cool Bass 

1979 Gibson Explorer II

1979 GIBSON EXPLORER II

 In 1979, Gibson introduced the E2 model (also known as the Explorer II), featuring a 5 piece walnut/maple laminated construction and a contoured body. 

This model was discontinued after 1983.

My Explorer is a rocking time machine. 

It comes with DiMarzio pickups that put out tons of power.

The most popular way to seek out your dream guitar these days is to check out the on line personal sale sites.

Sometimes you have to travel long distances to obtain your rocking dream machine, but if it all works out, it is so worth it.

Happy hunting. 

Sentchordi Hermanos (Valencia, Spain, c. 1861-1905)

The Sentchordi Hermanos firm made a variety of guitars, bandurrias, and other instruments in Valencia from 1861 until 1905. The shop was on the Calle de la Bolseria No. 5. and the two brothers traced their roots to Manuel Sentchordi (1700-1765).   

I wonder how a guitar from Valencia Spain, that was made 120 years ago ends up in a small auction house just north of Toronto. As I walked into the auction house, I didn't even have a chance to get my bidder number. The auctioneer was holding up this guitar calling it a child's guitar because of the size. All I saw was the ornamentation and the rich dark colour of a fine old instrument.  I put my hand up while waiting in line to register, 3 dollars, who will give me 3 dollars, the auctioneer called out. Unreal this guy didn't know what he was selling. Apparently neither did any of the other locals, mostly farmers looking for tools. 7 dollars sold... It was like music to my ears. I did not even see the guitar except from 50 feet away as I walked in the door. (In a previous post I had suggested looking your guitar over completely before purchasing.) It was pretty beat up around the edges but still quite playable and sounds very classic.The guitar has 52 points of abalone around the sound hole, I assume one for each week of the year.   
While visiting Spain one year we went to the builders address, It is now a candy shop.....my two favourite things.

1980 Tokia Les Paul Custom

1980 Tokia Les Paul Custom

The Black Les Paul Custom is one of the most iconic guitars out there. Especially if you are a huge Neil Young fan, as I have been since the mid 60's. Yes I know Neil does not play a Custom and definitely not a Tokia. We all know the history of Old Black so ....
I bought my Tokai second hand at the infamous Richmond's Trading Post on Queen St. in Toronto in the mid 80's. Part of the trade was for an El Greco bass guitar with built in equalizer, man it was a heavy beast.
I remember the feeling of excitement that Friday afternoon as I made the biggest guitar deal of my youth.
To finally own a "replica" iconic guitar, I was going to Rock until I Dropped. I had an old Trainer (Yorkville) amp head and a Hiwatt 2x15 cabinet , there was no shortage of bass on this rig.
This guitar is one of the easiest playing, loudest, comfortable, cool guitars I have played.
All original except for the very well repaired headstock break which I didn't discover until I got it home from Richmond's. Life lesson ...Always check your guitars all over before purchasing. It still rocks.

1980 Tokia Les Paul Custom

My First Acoustic 1965 KENT

A 1965 Kent from Sears, not the most up scale guitar in the world but it was mine. I practiced on it for years, though it never sounded right. I probably should have got a guitar tuner when I got the guitar!
The trouble with being self taught is you have to go by trial and error, and error, and error.
It was patriotic in those days to paint your countries flag on your guitar, so that's what I did. That didn't help the acoustic qualities at all.
Over time the neck needed a reset. You almost needed a yard stick to measure the distance between the strings and the 12th fret.
Being handy...I thought I would take this project on. There was not Google back in those days, so I was on my own.
Step 1-  I loosened off the strings.
Step 2-  I got a wood saw out of my Dad's tool kit and cut wedge shape cut out of the heal of the neck. I did this knowing you need to take less wood out as you approach the fret board.
Step 3-  I drilled a hole clean through the heal of the neck and the neck block inside the guitar.
Step 4-  I installed a bolt through the heal of the neck and a nut on the inside block.\
Step 4-  The more I tightened the nut the farther back the neck went.
I now had the adjustable neck that those better guitars had.
** I don't know why this method of adjustment ever caught on.**
I  eventually gave this guitar to a kid across the street, man he was thrilled.

This is a 1960 KAY not at all like my KENT 

I went back to playing my electric RAVEN.

I never thought about taking pictures of my guitars back in those days

Looking for Vintage Instruments

WELCOME TO MY FIRST GUITAR POSTING

It was about 44 years ago I got my first guitar for Christmas.
It was 1963 the Beatles had just been on the ED SULLIVAN SHOW. The whole world was getting caught up in Rock and Roll music.All I wanted to do was play guitar.
This excitement and passion for the guitar had never quit.
I am happiest when I am talking about, play, repairing, modifying or just thinking about guitars.
Welcome to my first posting and blog about guitars.
Over the years some guitars have come and gone, sadly gone like my very first one.

My first was a 1967 RAVEN  similar to this SATURN