@rusty Wow! I have two electric guitars. Mid 60's SG and an old beat up Stratocaster I picked up at a yard sale years ago for $300. I use to think the bridge pickup was two single coils wired together but it's a humbucker with out the cover. I think it's a 1962.
Both old guitars stay in tune very well and have true necks and good tone. Both sound good except a bit different on slow blues.
Now I wonder if they are fakes. Got both for less than $500.00.
I don't know much about pedals. This guy was on Letterman with a strange tone awhile back. Almost a bell tone with a shimmer that trailed off on each note.
There used to be tons of fake Les Paul's on ebay but I think Gibson worked to take them down.
Good articles on how to spot a fake
https://killerguitarrigs.com/how-to-spot-a-fake-gibson-les-paul/
And another about fakes
https://www.premierguitar.com/gear/the-growing-problem-of-counterfeit-guitars
@robertdee Probably depends on when you bought those guitars. An old guitar used to just be an old guitar ("an old guitar is all he can afford ..." - Knopflfer).
Old guitars and old cars use to be available cheap! One of my retirement dreams was to find an old VW bus and restore it. I can remember seeing them for nearly nothing ... 20 years ago. Now, one rusting in a junkyard sitting up on blocks will cost ya a chunk! You start to realize that the cost of buying a piece of junk and restoring it come to about the price of a new vehicle!
If you bought your old guitars 10 - 20 years ago, you might have "vintage" instruments. Sometimes though, old guitars are just old guitars. The Melody Maker that I talk about so often - one identical to what I owned typically goes for $3 - 4K. They're neat looking, old guitars but they are not really useful in a band situation.
@rusty Thank you Rusty. Very informative stuff. Don't know why I never thought about this but it never occurred to be there are Gibson and Fender and probably other makes out there which are FAKES!! No even made by those companies. And that really sucks. There are people in this world who will steal your stuff and sell you a lie!!
Now I'm wondering about my Buick LeSabre outside!
Had to link this after you mentioned that old guitar is all he can afford.
@bill_graham Thanks Bill. I'm going to have the guys at the big music store here check my old Gibson SG and Fender Strat and see if they are fakes. They don't sound like other guitars of that type in away but I thought it'd because I'm not that good as a player:)
This is similar to what my old Strat looks like. Beat up man. Bought it at a yard sale years ago for three hundred.
Traditionally and historically, Fenders (especially Strat's) are ... easier to bootleg. There are a number of shops that sell replica Strat' bodies, necks - even the Fender name decal. The neck/headstock usually bears the original serial number. The problem here is that Fenders get "Frankensteined" - necks get moved to other bodies. Duane, himself had a Telecaster with a Strat' neck!
It's almost how car thieves take VIN numbers (plates) from totaled vehicles in junk yards and put them on stolen vehicles so that they can get registration. Or so I'm told.
Gibsons - typically with no bolt-on neck, etc. have been harder to clone but it happens - especially in recent years. This is why I'm usually reluctant to buy a used guitar sight-unseen on-line. Usually, you can tell pretty quickly if it's a fake or not when you pick it up and strum it for a few seconds.
A while back I posted a Craigslist ad for a wine red LP Custom that had a too good to be true price on it. I actually e-mailed the link to Gibson. They looked at it and replied that the guitar in the pictures was likely the real McCoy. The price was a tip that this seller was attempting some sort of scam. Just as I was prepared to bite, Craigslist removed the listing. The guitar in question was within driving distance so I would've demanded to see it in person. The lesson that I take - don't ever send/wire anybody money for a guitar unless you KNOW that the deal is legit!
I am a big fan of ex Dokken guitarist George Lynch who is known for playing unique custom guitars.
Well he has his own boutique guitar company, Mr. Scary Guitars, which offer very unique and exotic guitars. He even makes them himself evidently.
https://georgelynch.com/mrscaryguitars.html
Not my cup of tea as I am a traditionalist but interesting designs.
I am a big fan of ex Dokken guitarist George Lynch who is known for playing unique custom guitars.
Well he has his own boutique guitar company, Mr. Scary Guitars, which offer very unique and exotic guitars. He even makes them himself evidently.
https://georgelynch.com/mrscaryguitars.html
Not my cup of tea as I am a traditionalist but interesting designs.
George always seems to be keeping busy with bands and projects. He has been involved in alot of stuff. Here is his latest.
Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,
@rusty Don't know if Duane was kidding but he told some fans at a show ( summer 1971) I attended when asked about having a different guitar every 10 months or so said. " I'm always looking for something that is better and easier to play man. Right now I'm thinking about a Tele body with Humbuckers and a good Strat neck".
I found out later Duane used a guitar like that as his number one for several months.
Top electric rock guitar solos as part of an instrumental!!
I emailed and wondered why Jessica on Brothers and Sisters and Dickey and Duane on Liz Reed on At Fillmore East didn't make the cut.
There answer was Dickey, Duane, Warren and Derek Trucks don't stack up well with the guitarists on this list. That the guitarists on this list are the absolute cream of the crop technically!! They have the licks, speed and perfection to play circles around most famous players including Clapton. I DON'T AGREE but here it is. And yes all these guys are technical wizards.
https://medium.com/the-riff/the-greatest-instrumental-rock-guitar-solos-of-all-time-d6a3f7a863e7
@robertdee It only took a partial scroll down that list to determine that the compiler was most interested in shredder types. Probably a generational thing - opinion based on taste and preference. My PERSONAL top 100 list probably wouldn't include many of the players on his list, as I am an old fart. I respect his opinion - probably more so than his taste. 😉
@rusty Yes. I'm 76 and first saw the ABB in 1970. Hendrix, Clapton, Peter Greene, Richie Blackmore, Jimmy Page, Duane and Dickey, Carlos Santana and others plus the blues greats including the Kings (B.B., Freddie, Albert) and Joe Walsh and others were our guitar idols.
And the ABB was and continues to be the best band I ever saw.
Looked the list over again and Larry Rinehart didn't make it either!!! Probably because he was playing in bars again during his last years.
This is cool. Joe tried to get Clapton...
And this happened.
@rusty Yes. I'm 76 and first saw the ABB in 1970. Hendrix, Clapton, Peter Greene, Richie Blackmore, Jimmy Page, Duane and Dickey, Carlos Santana and others plus the blues greats including the Kings (B.B., Freddie, Albert) and Joe Walsh and others were our guitar idols.
And the ABB was and continues to be the best band I ever saw.
Looked the list over again and Larry Rinehart didn't make it either!!! Probably because he was playing in bars again during his last years.
I always liked what Larry brought with Capt Beyond.
Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,
New bass from Epiphone
Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,
@jszfunk Nice look! Retro to the days when Epiphones looked like ... Epiphones! 😉
Let's not forget HOW HOT THE ABB WAS in 1991.
Hot Guitar porn here man. Smoking 🔥
Fender Vibro Champ
https://www.champ Reverbpremierguitar.com/pro-advice/state-of-the-stomp/all-hail-the-champ
Steve Vai says it's very difficult to tour these days. Bus drivers are hard to find, fuel is so expensive, getting your equipment moved from town to town etc.
And he has friends with big bands and it's impossible to make any money with large bands these days.
https://killerguitarrigs.com/steve-vai-financial-issues-touring-big-bands-cant-make-money/
Steve Vai says it's very difficult to tour these days. Bus drivers are hard to find, fuel is so expensive, getting your equipment moved from town to town etc.
And he has friends with big bands and it's impossible to make any money with large bands these days.
https://killerguitarrigs.com/steve-vai-financial-issues-touring-big-bands-cant-make-money/
Interesting as Gov't Mule keeps ticket prices reasonable, <$75 usually for prime orchestra seats, and while they are on constant tour they must be making money?
I can see lesser known or popular big bands struggling to make money unless they charge higher ticket prices. I passed on recent Tedeschi Trucks concerts due to the high prices for good seats here in the Boston area but since their band is so big it now makes sense they have to charge higher ticket prices to make any $$$.
They did have reasonably priced seats in the upper balcony at the Boston Orpheum Theater for TTB but as I have gotten older I don't enjoy sitting in the nosebleeds and those $250 platinum choice orchestra seats are too rich for my blood.
@robertdee Understanding that musicians (especially guitarists) want their own personal rigs - why can't bands who are not the Rolling Stones (for example) RENT all the keyboards (Hammond B-3), Drums and back-line gear (amps) in the venue city - travel with bare minimum guitars and bases? This gets done at a lot of smaller festivals and club venues who simply don't have the space available for a truckload of gear. You can carry a guitar on an airplane! Just an idea.
@rusty Yes you can rent organs, electric keyboards, grand size pianos and drum kits just about anywhere.
The first time I saw Sea Level was July of 1976 at a club in Greensboro, N.C. A band popular in the Carolinas and Virginia then called Arrogance out of Chapel Hill, NC opened.
Arrogance had a piano player and he and Chuck Leavell used the same Steinway and Son piano and it was a piano that belonged to that club.
Jimmy Nalls plugged his Strat into the same amp the SG played by the guitarist in Arrogance and I think Lamar Williams used the same amp as the opening bass player.
Jaimoe brought in his drums and Lamar helped him. Just four drums, a small bass drum and the one floor Tom still had a mushroom sticker on the side with the Allman Brothers Band logo. Wow what a come down from the excesses of the ABB just a few months earlier and teaching biggest American band status in 1973.
Had an opportunity to speak with Chuck and asked if the ABB was done for good and he said it sure looks like it. Dickey and Butch claim they will never work with Gregg again for ratting out his roadie in a drug bust and Butch had been fed up with Gregg since 1974.
I remember Butch was quoted in Rolling Stone in 1975 " You can't count on Gregg Allman for a thing. I mean nothing".
Chuck said he, Lamar and Jaimoe had already been playing clubs during the long stretches between Allman Brothers shows. That Gregg just wasn't that interested in the ABB after he did Laid Back and those tours and got involved with Cher. That it was about impossible to get Gregg to show up to record or anything. They did about half of Win, Loose or Draw without him and what he is on, Sandlin had to fly to LA with the tapes and record Gregg in a studio out there.
Said Dickey wanted to go back to the format of the original ABB with twin guitars and drums, bass and organ.
I said what is Butch going to do and Chuck said he is odd man out right now. That Butch wanted to be in Sea Level and Jaimoe talked them into trying it with Butch and they did the first leg of the tour with Butch on drums with Jaimoe but Chuck said it didn't work for him. Chuck said he liked it better with just the four of them.
Remember all that yesterday. I was sad. It seemed the Allman Brothers Band was over for good!!
I think there is a mistake in the write up on Clapton. Not about that great sounding Martin he used on Unplugged but using the 1956 Brownie Stratocaster with Cream in 1968. Both times I saw Cream Clapton played a Gibson SG with a wild paint job.
@robertdee Here's a Clapton Guitar History rundown from the Clapton site. No mention of a Strat in the Cream. I've seen pictures of him playing a red es335 with Cream.
Another site - not sure how reliable this one is:
https://www.groundguitar.com/eric-clapton-gear/
Steve Vai says it's very difficult to tour these days. Bus drivers are hard to find, fuel is so expensive, getting your equipment moved from town to town etc.
And he has friends with big bands and it's impossible to make any money with large bands these days.
https://killerguitarrigs.com/steve-vai-financial-issues-touring-big-bands-cant-make-money/
Interesting as Gov't Mule keeps ticket prices reasonable, <$75 usually for prime orchestra seats, and while they are on constant tour they must be making money?
I can see lesser known or popular big bands struggling to make money unless they charge higher ticket prices. I passed on recent Tedeschi Trucks concerts due to the high prices for good seats here in the Boston area but since their band is so big it now makes sense they have to charge higher ticket prices to make any $$$.
They did have reasonably priced seats in the upper balcony at the Boston Orpheum Theater for TTB but as I have gotten older I don't enjoy sitting in the nosebleeds and those $250 platinum choice orchestra seats are too rich for my blood.
I read an article awhile back with Michael Sweet from Stryper . He mentioned the same thing that Vai talks about.
https://loudwire.com/stryper-tour-dates-postponed-september-2022/
I think alot of factors come into play as far as touring, paying everyone involved(band, road crew, food, lodging, gas ,maintance etc..) to keep all of that afloat where you are not going broke is probably difficult. Maybe not for some, but I can see how it could be a strain for sure. We all have bills to pay, mouths to feed and the kids need shoes!
Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,
@jszfunk Musicians like Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen etc can go on tourr if they are charitable and want to treat their fans and give their usual suspects who go on tour with them badly needed work and paychecks. From sideman musicians to roadies to truck and bus drivers etc.
When a artist is worth HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars you can eat a 5, 10, 50 million dollar loss.
But even for Clapton or Keith Richards, does that make good business sense? No is does not. Even the Rolling Stones with their great wealth or Exxon Mobil or Walmart or Coca-Cola will not do that.
President Biden recently scolded Exxon Mobil for "making more money than God" and raising prices at the pump causing working people to choose between gas and food or gas and medicine and running the lower income people completely off the road.
But that is capitalism. Is all about the dollars baby.
Here is what they want! MONEY!! All of the members of this band are worth HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of dollars each!$$$$$
“I believe that with great wealth comes great responsibility, a responsibility to give back to society and a responsibility to see that those resources are put to work in the best possible way to help those most in need.”
@rusty Yes people worth zillions of dollars should fund programs and originations who help those in need.
Clapton's guitar auction was for that purpose I suppose.
Keith Richards worth over $450 million and owns over $1,000 guitars...I don't know what he does to help the poor. .
In my town people on the downtown streets approach with " Hey man you have any spare change?"
It would be difficult for Keith Richards to say no.
When I was in my 20's I had a job and never thought I was good enough to join a band. I played guitar with records at home for enjoyment. But I knew several young men who drove completely in as guitar players, drummers and keyboard players and a few wrote their own songs but even when the band they were in was playing some dive 5 or 6 nights a week they struggled financially.
There was an old joke going around back then.
"What do you call a musician who's girlfriend broke up with him? HOMELESS!!"
@robertdee Why is a musician like a 10" pizza? Neither can feed a family of four.
How do you get a musician off of your front porch? Pay him for the pizza.
All my musician jokes seem to be pizza related... except for:
What do you get if you drop a piano out of a plane over a military base? A-flat major.
What do you get if you drop a piano down a mine shaft? A-flat miner.
