django49

My dearly departed jazz buddy looked for his "ideal" Tele for a long time. (He had some excellent Andersen archtops, but.....) He finally did get a custom T-type built for him by Danocaster (before his prices skyrocketed). Had a Lollar Low Wind Imperial in the neck. He was also a proponent of the Charlie Christian pickups. Note that Lollar makes that in the traditional size and also a smaller one that seems like it would be a good fit for a Tele. This demo from a guy that knows his way around guitars may not be 100% on point, but might point you in the right direction. I know there are other Tim Lerch videos around if you want to chase them down. FWIW, when I ordered my Grez Grand Tour (archtop) I had it equipped with a pair of CCs. Yeah, not at all like a Tele, but......😉 ETA......

Hmmm. Would not mind TRYING it. Ponying up $500 (or whatever with tariffs, etc)? Yeah, not today......

In some neighborhoods, that is pronounced Pa taw toe. Endorsed by Spuds Mackenzie, I think. Very little a peel to me.

My 2 cents.....I do have an Elite. Goldtop with non-original P90s. Lollars, IIRC. IMO, it is a better guitar than the original 1956 Goldtop I had for nearly 2 decades. (Longer story on what happened there). Suffice to say it fills that niche very well. Yeah, there IS a difference in market value! 😉 The "shelf" is not an issue for me on either that guitar or my number 1 Hamer (Monaco Superpro). Do not expect either to pop up for sale.....

Highly recommended. Wire that up with a pair of 8 ohm speakers and you are in business.

So, when they first came out, I picked up a Mesa Road King at the Mesa Boogie store in Hollywood. Way over the top in all sorts of ways. 4 channels, 12 modes, 6L6 AND EL84 tubes. A 7 B speakers, with flexibility to preset speaker and tube combinations for each channel separately. 50, 100, 120 watts. Big and heavy. Back then, I used it with 2 Mesa cabs. A Rectifier closed 2 x 12 and a 4x10 (Super Reverb style). Just amazing and super versatile. Way overkill for anything I ever needed and a load to tote when I did play out with it. May even be "better" now when I can also hook it up with a very rare Mesa 4812 cab (4 Celestion 8s, one v30 12---A 300 watt rated, a "4 x 10 on steroids"). Man I love that cab! Still have it all and it weighs a ton. And takes up a lotta space. But all good things come to an end. And I do not even wanna think about hauling it out any more. And totally impractical to ship. Assuming nothing changes, it will be sold locally this weekend. Someone is getting a deal. My better half will not be unhappy. Ah, the good old days......

Good review! FWIW, the Talladega PRO might have been the best Hamer ever. Unfortunately, they made very few. Impossible to pin down, but I would guess maybe 25. According to the lore, it was an attempt to go upmarket emulating the Nik Huber Dolphin. At that time, the economy was tanking and Hamer ended up shuttering. Perhaps it would have succeeded if there had been a different environment. But (IMO) it did not quite match up to the Huber. YMMV. IMO, the best of the 3 I owned (tone wise, if not LOOKS) had been modded with Lollar Imperial pickups. But when I DID get my first Dolphin, I decided to cut the Tally Pros loose. BTW, Jol Dantzig has carried on post-Hamer. One of his models (Tulsa) is very much like the Tally Pro. I am attaching a link to one of them that is listed for sale by a reputable seller. It should give you an idea of what the original was all about. (Probably a fair price, but I am not looking to add at this point). https://rebel-guitars.com/preowned-jol-dantzig-guitars-tulsa-in-blood-red/ http://rebel-guitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/jol-dantzig-guitars-tulsa-blood-red-935-1.jpg

Cuz they came late in the history and not a lot were made, esp the Tally Pro. If you search this site (or elsewhere on line) you should be able to get a lot of good info. (I owned several, but no longer have any of them).

"Only a Gibson is Good Enough" (???) Here is an interesting video that popped up here this Monday morning. It is an interesting take (to me, at least) on how this has evolved. And a sort of take on how such as Epiphone has moved up and down the quality and price scale over time. And the decisions Gibson has made. I have been known to be more than a little "guitar snobbish" and probably always will be. Too many stories......😉 Not really thinking in terms of "Chibson" or "Chender". But the talent transfer has had an impact. Case in point (non-Gibson design). I have always admired the Languedoc guitars. I do not even know the cost of ordering one. Into 5 figures I reckon. Used ones? Just try to find one. Anyway, something popped up with a Chinese made version. I looked at a few videos and said, WTH. Worst case, it is a POS and I dump it. OR, it is okay but the pickups and parts need replacing......Placed an order for a Firefly Pegasus. It arrived and I was impressed right outta the box. Yeah, the pickups COULD be better, but to me they sound very good, either in HB or split mode. Played great, except.....The second day, I was a bit more critical and realized it did not play cleanly at 3 frets on ONE string. Rather than mess with it myself, I brought it to my local guy who did some minor work on the ONE fret that was high and reset the bridge. So, add $26.93. Keeping my total cost for a very decent instrument to well UNDER $300. (No case, of course). Decided to take a second swing. Same seller/make was (is) offering a "single cut" that will make you do a double take on an Ace Frehley mood. No need for a tech touch. Except....For me, the pickups are too hot. For my taste. BUT, if I was more the "hard rock" guy.......And I can always compensate a bit with amp settings, EQ, etc. So, even less invested than the Pegasus. Note again, these are not exactly "Chibsons" in the sense that the design, headstock, inlays are NOT pure replicas intending to be passed off as a Gibson (or PRS or whatever). But for something that could be taken to a gig and fit right in, not bad at all. The few that have seen/heard them so far have been impressed. Hmmm.....Maybe a "PRS" take with dragon inlays(?) next..... Anyway, should anyone be in that mood, worth checking out. Look up Guitars Garden (California) on line. No need to order from some seller in China and hope for the best. Neither will replace my favorites....Breaking out the Shishkov for rehearsals lately....But color me impressed.

Scottsdale is not too far away. You might look up Artistic Guitars. I have made three purchases there, but not any time recent. There was one I seriously coveted 2-3 years ago, but at $14k or so ("discounted") there was no way. The 3 I did get were all spectacular, but way less than half that. IMO. they were very fairly priced. But markets have changed. Gary is a private operation. He generally has a very small collection of very high end, usually custom ordered guitars. Not the one to look at for a casual browse or drop in. If anything on the site appeals to you, best to contact him for an appointment. I am not sure how many things in "Gary's Collection" imply current ownership, let alone whether they are for sale. But fun to look at.