JohnnyB
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Posts posted by JohnnyB
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I have a Revival. In a word: FFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!! Outside your range me thinky.
You might be thinking of Breedlove Revivals and those are too rich for me. Here's the one from GP
http://www.revivalacoustics.com/gp0609_gea...undup_pg106.pdf
Interesting. I wonder where to find them? Thx.
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Guild hasn't had a noted electric user/endorser since Jack Casady (who since moved on to Epiphone) and Muddy Waters (who isn't endorsing anything these days).
I have to respectfully disagree...Kim Thayil from Soundgarden using the S100 Polara back in the 90's was popular enough by himself to prompt Guild to reissue this guitar.
You mean I missed one from just 16 years ago?
Oh, and let's not forget Tommy Smothers and his D-55. But even he moved on to Martin.
I like Guild Guitars, but endorsements and high profile players were never their strong suit either.
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well... Hamer is owned by... Kaman music? And they got bought out by FMI, which in the past has done a great job of buying up and then ruining brands. Jackson was bought up and pretty much everything but the custom shop and the high end USA models was shipped overseas. Guild was virtually gutted and turned into an acoustic-only company, probably to avoid competition with Gretsch, which was allowed to stay pretty much like it wanted, and even expanded.
It would be very sad to see Hamer go the way of Guild, stripped down to avoid cross competition, but unfortunately that's the way it goes. ...
Anyway, I have two hamer guitars from 1993, and they rock, and it would be sad to see Hamer get gutted, now that it finally is back to how it used to be "in the old days"
This is not a fair characterization of FMIC. They did not "gut" Guild. They have shown a consistent effort to restore the brand to premium status. They have tried many things to do this, including contracting with the NYC archtop luthier Benedetto to produce premium but affordable archtops and moving flattop production to Tacoma, WA to use Tacoma Guitar facilities. When the quality of Guilds coming out of Tacoma didn't meet their satisfaction they moved Guild back to the Ovation/Hamer facility. If Hamer USA has been put on a low-output back burner it's been to save and restore Guild.
As far as what they've done with Jackson, that's what Hamer under Kaman did to/for themselves in the '90s. It's a survival trend that has been followed by many boutique brands, including PRS, Brian Moore, MTD (Michael Tobias Designs) basses, Lakland basses (the Skyline line is made in Indonesia), and even very upscale German bass-maker Warwick, who now makes various lines in Korea and China.
Gibson has shown an inept, hamfisted handling of many of its acquisitions (e.g., Tobias, Steinberger, Slingerland), but I can't say the same about FMIC. They have tried very hard to bring out the best in the brands they've bought, trying to find the best facility to produce them, refining the product lines to enable the brands to become profitable again. Gretsch is a success story because it has iconic status in pop music. George Harrison played a lot of Gretsch, as did Chet Atkins and the Monkees. Brian Setzer and others still play and endorse them. Guild hasn't had a noted electric user/endorser since Jack Casady (who since moved on to Epiphone) and Muddy Waters (who isn't endorsing anything these days).
Let's not forget that when a music company goes on the block, it's probably because their business model isn't working. Fender buys these companies up hoping to turn them around, but sometimes maybe that can't be done. There are a lot of guitar companies that thrived during the shred/metal boom of the '80s that have shrunk significantly since, including Jackson, Charvel, Kramer, Hamer, BC Rich.
It's not just metal either. A lot of guitar-based pop/rock has been replaced by sampled and synthed hip-hop. Tough times for guitar companies, and there will be casualties.
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The 1778T, known as the Elite T, is the best bang for the buck. They come in an industrial textured top finish in flat black, a deep rusty red, or more rarely in silver. The regular 1778LX is a super nice guitar with a high gloss finish. The GC178LX is the same guitar with a slightly different trim. The 6778LX is a slightly lesser bling model than the 1778LX. The 1777LX is the traditional center sound hole version equivalent of the 1778LX. All of these guitars could be found in very nice condition in your price range.
+1 on the Elite T. About 5 years ago the Elite T was made in USA and could be had for $700-800. About that time Pesocaster was in the market for an acoustic and he tried dozens of acoustics in all price ranges. He generally wasn't fond of Ovations and didn't want to like the Elite T, but after the dust settled, he found that it stood alone in its price range, and a noticeably better guitar would cost $2500. He bought the Elite T and he liked it so much that a year later his wife surprised him with a 12-string version for his birthday.
The ironic thing is that the Elite T is the most synthetic-looking Ovation while sounding the woodiest. I really wish they made a bass guitar version. And they are as slick to play as an electric.
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Of course there are tone metals. It's why brass instruments are brass (copper and zinc), the best cymbals and bells are bronze (copper and tin), why triangles are steel, why the best flutes are sterling silver or 18K gold if you can afford it (e.g., James Galway), and why a vintage Ludwig Supraphonic 400 with an aluminum alloy shell (Ludalloy) is $250 but the same thing in brass might fetch $1,000. It's why Gary Burton has used the original aluminum alloy keys from the Musser Vibraphone he played as a kid throughout his entire adult career.
And many of us have seen discussions of the merits of chrome plated brass, steel, and aluminum bridges on electric guitars.
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I'm all tube . . . all the way. I just like to plug in to a good, small tube amp, run it wide open and use the volume control on the guitar, and my right hand attack to work from clean to dirty.
What I've found works pretty well is that you can use a simple little tube combo (such as a Champ or old Alamo or the like) and mic it into the PA or into a big 100w 2x12 SS amp and still get that small amp tube magic plus high volume. The close proximity mic into a powerful 2x12 restores the bottom end that's typically missing from little tube amps with 6" or 8" speakers.
Sometimes I'm puzzled by folks who insist on tubes, but rely on solid state devices out front to get gain and distortion. But, if it sounds good and works for them, that's all that matters!
What I've personally found is that a good tube amp with simple straight signal path (e.g., my 5-knob Top Hat) can withstand a fair number of pedals of all topologies in front before getting noticeable tone suck.
I can definitely use it with a reverb pedal, a Maxon OD-808 overdrive, and a tube-driven tremolo daisy-chained in front of the amp and get tonal versatility plus that big lush phat tube sound.
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I've owned a few SS amps over the years (Fender London Reverb, Fender Roc Pro, Line6 Duoverb) and heard many more. Nothing delivers the dynamic testicular fortitude of a tube amplifier.
Who else will plug into a tray of glowing glass until they die?
Me. Although I traded in a Mesa DC-10 for a SS bass amp, it was only because I still have my truly all-tube Top Hat combo with 3 JAN Philips 12AX7WA's, two RCA Greyglass 6V6GTs, and an RCA NOS MIJ 5AR4 rectifier tube.
Clean, dirty, or in-between, tubes just sound so natural and expressive.
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The Way We Were and A Star is Born. That would be it. Oh ya she could sing.
She sang in the 90's 2000? I'll look it up, nev-mind..................15th on the ALL-TIME Best Selling Artists list? Thats impressive. Had a bigger following than I remember.
She had a platinum album in 2000 and had another album released in 2007 that sold 200K copies. She has had top 10 albums in the '60s, '70s, '80s, 90s, and 00's.
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She has albums?
Yes. Go to any Thrift store and look in the LP bin. They're right next to Neil Diamond and Jerry Vale.
As for the OP's question, Stoney End is pretty impressive and the title song was a pretty big crossover hit single. Her best stuff is probably in the '70s and early '80s when she was at prime singing age and didn't turn everything into a torch song. That can get annoying after awhile. Her collaboration, "Guilty," with Barry Gibb, probably helps keep that in check since Gibb's voice isn't nearly as strong. Yet their duets on that are pretty good. Guilty was 6x platinum with 5.4 M copies sold. Go to the discography here and take your pick.
The title track from the film "The Way We Were" was a huge hit and is beautifully sung. There was a soundtrack album as well as one for "A Star Is Born." Like I said, '70s to early '80s is probably her best, though she has the distinction of being the only artist to have top 10 albums in 5 consecutive decades.
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Great access to the higher frets... for players like Jeff Healey.
Yeah, but he's not accessing much of anything these days.
Bah! He accessed enough for long enough to be considered a true guitar hero. Most of us will never make it that far... nor that high --hoping he's in Heaven now.
Yeah, I know. I always liked Healey and was really sorry to lose him. The original conversation, however, is about the Mosrite-inspired body shape that puts the deeper cutaway on the thumb side, and is of no value to conventional players. I read that Semie Moseley came up with the shape of his guitars by tracing a Stratocaster face down.
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Some guys also rave about their arch tops. Supposed to be killer guitars for around 2-2.5K. The is hella cheap for a quality arch top.
I think you're thinking of Eastman guitars, which makes acoustics, mandolins, and jazz archtops, vs. Eastwood, which reimagines retro designs of guitars, basses, and one electric mandolin.
Eastman
Eastwood
I was originally confused the same way
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All the great (and expensive) guitars have great headstocks. Only the cheap-o's have clunkers.
Like Martin?
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Great access to the higher frets... for players like Jeff Healey.
Yeah, but he's not accessing much of anything these days.
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I love to come across a Mosrite. I was looking at them on Ebay yesteday. Does Eastwood do a six string in that design?
In addition to the Sidejack previously shown in greenburst, they have these. The baritones have a 28" scale:
They even did a reissue of the unusual and extremely rare Musicraft Messenger, played by Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad:
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I've been staring at the Ampeg for a while. Rick Danko of The Band used the real-deal fretless on a lot of stuff. It got a good thub-thub doghouse-ish bass sound.
Yeah. Well back then that Ampeg would have been just a few years old. From what I've read they don't age well and run about $2500 when you can find one. They used some strange pickup located under the bridge which no doubt contributed to the thump, so this re-imagined one probably will sound more conventional.
Italia also makes an Ampeg-inspired bass called the Imola, available as a 4- or 5-string, including a 5-string fretless w/ghostlines. These use Wilkinson Jazz bass pickups and bridge. Nice alternative but I like the Eastwood headstock, inspired directly by the Ampeg.
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The ones that are hardest to find on the vintage market, or the hardest to keep in good condition, or way too expensive.
Hofneresque Club Bass:
A practical update of the Ampeg Horizontal Bass:
Airline (Supro/Montgomery Ward)
Airline Map, available in Seafoam!
Hi-Flyer-inspired by the Univox Hi-Flyer and Mosrite:
The one I have my eye on--Gretsch-style semhollow:
I'm thinking of getting one and putting in TV Jones Thunder-Trons.
Most are available in 2 or more colors, and some as lefties. The Gretsch style is available in orange, white/gold like a Falcon, or Walnut.
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I just thought of a way to eliminate the impasse, but you have to make sure Mann agrees to these terms:
1) Drop the PayPal dispute
2) Cancel the order with the understanding that you don't lose your place in the order/shipping queue.
3) Re-order the bridge via PayPal. This gives him payment in advance for the order and restarts the clock on PayPal protection for you order in case you have to file a dispute again later.
With these safeguards established, I'd give him a week to get it to you; otherwise file a new PayPal dispute.
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Ditto for me, no dealers that I could find in the Philadelphia area. Sure, there were a couple of dealers listed but when I went to the stores there was no guitars in stock.
There's a Hamer dealer in Lemoyne. I hear it's worth the trip.
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I hear ya man... back in the eighties and early nineties a MIDDLE CLASS individual could afford to own a Hamer without absolutely KILLING his bank account or racking up his credit card.
Somewhere along the way, the corporate assholes that run the music gear industry decided that MIDDLE CLASS people were no longer welcome to buy their American made products.
What kind of an asshat company decides to only make guitars for the upper class?
I am middle class and would have to make a LOT more money to afford a $4000 guitar. I mean, if I drove a $40,000 car and had a half million dollar home, I could afford one right? How many fucking Americans can afford to drive a $40,000 car and have half million dollar homes? I certainly don't... I drive an economic Mazda and RENT my home.
In 1986 I managed to scrape up the money to buy my first USA Hamer when I was 13 years old. What fucking 13 year old can afford a $4000 guitar delivering newspapers today? Absolutely none.
Hamer's elitist attitude that they will only allow the wealthiest of Americans to purchase their guitars is downright WRONG! If they continue down this road, then they will have nobody to blame besides themselves.
Hamer's import line was an outright deplorable decision... I don't want a fucking Korean or Chinese guitar, I am an American and we have this AMAZING history of making the world's finest electric guitars HERE in our own country. It's sooooo fucking sad that Hamer has decided that only the wealthiest of people will be able to own their American made products.
Out and out elitism along with TONS of hubris = tragedy
Hamer started as a custom shop targeted primarily at artists who were shopping for quality instruments, not headstock logos. They were an unknown company that had the audacity to charge more than Gibson for a similar instrument, but better made. They continued that way until the early '80s when they joined the Spandex hair band movement with Floyd and Kahler-equipped pointy guitars. That generated a lot of sales and visibility on the music videos, but it also had the negative effect that in the minds of many, "Hamer" is a relic of the hair band shredder days.
A paper boy can still get plenty of good US-made instruments. Gibson, Fender, Gretsch, G&L, Music Man, and Heritage all offer many US-made models in the $800-1800 price range. $1200 today is equivalent to $619 in 1986. It's just that Hamer has decided not to compete in that market anymore.
As far as creating import lines, who hasn't done that? Technically all Gibsons are USA, but Epiphone is their import line. Fender's standard line is now MIM and some MIJ, and Squier does the stuff from Indonesia and China. G&L has the Tribute line, PRS has low cost imports, as does Dean, Music Man, and just about anybody else you can think of. Even the custom shop bass makers, Lakland, MTD (Tobias), and Ken Smith have Indonesian-made basses called Lakland Skyline, MTD Kingston, and KSD (Ken Smith Design).
For every Hamer fan lamenting the closing of a USA factory operation, there must be 10 Guild enthusiasts eagerly awaiting handcrafted Guilds coming out of New England again. Fender Music has been pretty conscientious about keeping the brands alive that it bought, but sometimes it requires shifting of resources and rewriting mission statements to keep them all alive. I'd much rather know Hamer was surviving as a custom shop with Jol in charge--even if I can't afford their product anymore--than see them completely shut down.
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Any opinion on the bottom feeder bluray players?
Like the Panasonic BD605 vs. the Sony s360
I'm leaning tward the Panasonic because I had a GREAT experience with the warranty/service group on my 42" 1080p plasma (which I love). and the Viera link might be usefull.
I have a super low tec sound set up at the moment (old skool bang&olufson reciever into a Phase-tech sat/sub speakers, just feeding from the plasma outs. Don't laugh, I can get it rumblin' pretty good in my tiny house!) so, zoomy surround sound is not a priority.
Mostly interested in which would look best on the plasma and which might up-convert the best since we have a bunch of non BR dvds.
Thanks!
Mark.
If not the Panasonic, consider the new Toshiba BDX2000. I haven't personally used it, but Toshiba probably has the most concentrated development in upconversion. Back when they were fielding HD DVD, those Toshiba players consistently beat the Blu-rays when it came to upconverting std. DVDs. Second, when Toshiba scrapped their HD DVD product line, they transferred the upconversion development over to make better upconverting DVD players. They were so pissed at Sony that they refused to make Blu-ray players and tried to narrow the performance gap between DVD and Blu-ray playback. Anyway, Toshiba has been developing upconverting DVD players for over 4 years as if their life depended on it.
I have a Toshiba HD DVD player and still use it occasionally (I have around 20 HD DVDs). It's nice.
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The USA Guild's are now produced in the same facility that houses Hamer USA.
I didn't know that. Still, to me, a Guild isn't a "real" Guild unless it was made in Westerly, RI.
That's kinda like saying it's not a "real" Gibson unless it was made in Kalamazoo, or a "real" Fender unless it was made in Fullerton, or a "real" Hamer unless it was made in Arlington Heights...or Wilmette.
That's like saying the only real Catwoman is Julie Newmar...or Lee Merriweather...or Eartha Kitt.
Guild didn't start in Westerly, RI anyway. They were moved there 13 years after their start in NEW YORK CITY because they were bought and moved.
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I was thinking about the OPO but don't think my finances will let me go there this year.
Considered the PS3, which my son would love, but don't want to have to shell out for a new AV receiver...
Why do you think you would have to? What's your current audio setup?
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Now all the Fender electric hollowbodies, semihollows, and archtops are gone (except for what comes out of Hamer). Their electric guitar line is now Strat, Tele, Jazzmaster, Jaguar, and Mustang.
If we're including "what comes out of Hamer" we should also include Gretsch, which means "Fender" electric hollowbodies are alive and well, yes?
Correct you are, sir. Gretsch always had a bigger market impact on electric hollowbodies than Guild. Fender has to pick its battles; I suspect there is a lot more demand for Gretsch electric hollowbodies than for the Guild Starfires and Manhattans. My local vintage dealer (who deals in a lot of '50s and '60s Gretsches) said the Fender-made Gretsch guitars are the best, unit-to-unit, he's ever seen.
Jol where are you?
in Hamer Fan Club Messageboard
Posted
Jol was with Hamer Guitars twice as long as Leo Fender was with Fender Musical Instrument Corporation, and way longer than Orville Gibson was with Gibson Guitars in any capacity.