Now don’t be too impressed yet – this wasn’t a “moment of discovery” where record producers and agents saw me and made me an overnight sensation. Tommy was in Toronto doing one of his pre-concert workshops and I was in the audience. He usually ends by asking volunteers to come up and play a song with him. I sat there sweating while friends got up and played, wondering if I would actually have the nerve to do it. Then I impulsively threw up my hand and before I could chicken out I was sitting on stage with one of my greatest guitar heroes.

Dr. Dave Walker on stage with Tommy Emmanuel

This was a moment I had dreamed about for years, and I wasn’t really unprepared. I had been practising one of my favourite Chet Atkins tunes ‘All Thumbs‘ and thought that it would be perfect since Tommy was such a huge Chet fan and knew every one of his songs (or so I thought). So when he asked me what song I wanted to play and I said All Thumbs, imagine my shock when he said: “Oh, I don’t know that one! I’ll have to fake it. You can start.”

Gulp! I took a few deep breaths to calm down before starting, but as I did Tommy addressed the audience. “This one is really hard,” he said to the crowd, “REALLY, REALLY hard!” Just what I didn’t need to hear. Then he turned to me and said: “Go!” One more deep breath and to my amazement my fingers began playing the song, and Tommy joined right in.

It all went well right up to the last few bars. That’s the trickiest part in the song, because Chet plays one of his patented cascades of sixteenth-notes all across the strings, and it had been hit-and-miss almost up to that very day. I was dreading the spot, and sure enough when I got to it, my fingers failed and I stopped. Ouch!

There was a sort of gasp from the audience and Tommy whispered to me: “Keep going! Don’t stop!” But it was too late – I HAD stopped. So I looked up at him with a grin and said: “Wait for it” and to my own (and everyone else’s) amazement I ripped off the cascade perfectly and ended the song. Tommy let out a whoop, jumped up and gave me a huge hug. With his arm still around me he turned to the audience and said: “THAT is how you play All Thumbs!”

I have never been so nervous playing in my life, nor have I been so proud on stage as that day. So do I still dream of doing it again? No way! That one performance was a pinnacle that I doubt I could reach again. And besides, it turns out that it did give me my little niche in posterity after all.

A couple of months later I was at the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society convention in Nashville talking with a group of the guys from Toronto. Tommy recognized us and came over to chat and reminisce about his recent visit. I was to his side and slightly behind him, and was shocked but very pleased to hear him say: “Hey, remember that crazy doctor who got up on stage with me and played All Thumbs? How amazing was that?!”

by “Dr. Dave” Walker
blog.davewalkermusic.com

Dr. Dave Walker is a writer for blog.davewalkermusic.com and for Just Jazz Guitar. A former computer science professor, he has since come to his senses and now teaches music.

Be Careful What You Wish For – You May End Up On Stage With Tommy Emmanuel! from MyRareGuitars.com

Vintage 1984 Quest Atak-6 MK II Electric Guitar

I first encountered a Matsumoku guitar (I didn’t know what it was at the time) back in the early 1990s. I was hanging out with Mac and Joe at the Axe Factory in Southwest Philadelphia (long gone) after work one evening. They were just about to close down when a car pulled up to the curb and out came two guitar cases. One was a ‘70s Gibson Les Paul and the boys started to drool over it. The other was the most spectacular flametop guitar I’d ever seen, an Electra Endorser (recently profiled in Vintage Guitar Magazine). Without taking their eyes off the Paul, they sold me the near-mint Endorser for three bills. I walked out like the Chesshire Cat. Later I found out that beauty was made by Matsumoku.

Matsumoku Motto (or the Matsumoku Industrial Co., Ltd.) was founded in 1951 to manufacture sewing machine cabinets. They were located in an area with a long tradition of musical instrument making, so when the demand for guitars heated up in the early 1960s, it wasn’t so big a stretch to apply their woodworking talents to guitars. They began building guitars in around 1963.

Vintage 1984 Quest Atak-6 MK II Electric Guitar

Early Matsumoku guitars display that tentative awkwardness shared by most Japanese guitars of the time, but the workmanship is almost always a notch up compared to, say, Teisco, Kawai, or Zen-On. One of the early brands produced by Matsumoku was Cortez for Westheimer Music, the name that eventually gave us Cort guitars. By the middle ‘60s the factory was producing Arai and later Aria Diamond and Aria guitars. In around 1975 the luthier Nobuaki Hayashi managed guitar production and Arias became Aria Pro II. Meanwhile Matsumoku was producing guitars for St. Louis Music (SLM), including some, if not all, their late ‘60s Apollo line. When SLM changed its brand to Electra in 1970, the better models, at least, came from Matsumoku. Matsmoku also made the first Japanese Epiphones for Gibson beginning about this same time.

Another brand associated with Matsumoku was Univox, promoted heavily from 1968 on by the company known as Merson Musical Products, A Division of Unicord Incorporated, A Gulf+Western Systems Company. In 1975 the Merson part departed and the company became Unicord, Inc. In 1976 Unicord introduced the Westbury line, made by Matsumoku, which replaced Univox in ‘78. In 1979 and 1980 Matsumoku made the Washburn Wing and Stage Series guitars. In 1982 Matsumoku took over production of the D’Agostino Bench Mark series.

Vintage 1984 Quest Atak-6 MK II Electric Guitar

The Merson folks moved to Garden City Park on Long Island, New York, and became Musical Technologies, Inc. (MTI). This company would eventually bring Korg to the U.S. and still exists. In 1981 the Westone brand appeared in the U.S. This may have been a proprietary brand name owned by Matsumoku because, while it was appropriated by SLM as its brand name in 1984, other Westones continued to be sold outside the U.S. until the end. Anyhow, it appears that MTI began to sell Matsumoku-made Vantage guitars in 1982, at least.

Which finally brings us to Quest. With heavy metal riding high, a taste for weird-shaped guitars developed. In 1984 MTI introduced a new line of Matsumoku-made guitars called Quest by Vantage. These were a little more outré than the Westone/Vantage aesthetic, but why they felt they needed a new brand name remains a mystery. But included in the new line was the Quest Atak 6, kind of a take on the Ibanez Destroyer. In the brochure were the A-6 of laminated mahogany and the A-6TX with a bound ash body. This example has “Mark II” on the truss cover and is like the A-6TX but with a bound spruce top over a solid mahogany body. With an SN of C400578 this dates to March of 1894. Controls are volume and two tones, with the volume a push-pull coil tap.

The only brochure seen for Quests is from 1984. I own two and both are from mid-1984. If they lasted beyond that, it’s unknown at this time. In 1987 Matsumoku was purchased by the Singer Sewing Machine Co. and guitars were not in their future. It’s not clear if production ended immediately, or if they limped on until 1989 or even into 1990. At some point in the early 1990s the Vantage brand was transferred to the Samick company in Korea, mainly Gibson and Fender inspirations, sold by Music Industries Corporation of Floral Park, New York. These were certainly produced from 1995-97, and probably before and after.

Active sales of the Vantage brand have since ceased. Music Industries now rents instruments. I love the Quests, and many other Matsumoku guitars, but nothing is as sweet as that first kiss…er, Electra.

Matsumoku’s Atak Gains The Ad-Vantage (Vintage 1984 Quest Atak-6 MK II Electric Guitar) from MyRareGuitars.com

David Anderson

So, it’s cold out side and the snow is falling. You decide to sit by the fire with your favorite hot beverage and your guitar for a little one on one time. You give your prized axe a strum, but it seems someone has replaced your instrument with an imposter. This guitar looks like your old friend in every way, but it’s buzzing and rattling, and the frets are sharp. You ask yourself what is going on.

Humidity is what’s going on, or more accurately, the lack of humidity. Guitars and other stringed instruments require 45 to 55% relative humidity in the environment in order to function properly. If your guitar gets below 45%, it will actually begin to shrink. Your instrument can easily loose 1/8 of an inch of mass from shrinkage due to a dry environment, and that means sharp fret edges, notes that buzz, cracks in the wood, lifting bridges, and even failing neck joints. If your instrument is over-humidified, on the other hand, you will notice an immediate difference in the way it plays due to the neck relief changing and the top rising and bellying up. You may even notice a difference in tone.

But don’t “fret”…it’s not too late! You can reverse the condition of your guitar by simply changing the relative humidity of the environment in which it resides. If you have a hard shell case, you can easily add humidity by purchasing a guitar/case humidifier, but you must be sure to keep the guitar in the case while not in use to allow the case interior to act as the immediate environment for the guitar. If you like to hang your instrument on a wall or display it on a stand, you will need to get a cold mist humidifier for your room (home furnaces with built in humidifiers will not suffice). It’s a good idea to purchase a hydrometer so you can keep track of the relative humidity in your area. Expect it to take a few weeks for your guitar to acclimate to its proper environment. This may seem like a lot of effort, but so is humidifying and repairing a top crack or dressing frets due to dryness, fixes not covered by the manufacturer as warranty work. Prevention is key!

So, if you want to give that special stringed someone the gift that keeps on giving, give the gift of humidity. Your guitar will be happy, and you will too.

Written by: David Anderson

Guitars & Humidity: Taking Care of Your Guitar from MyRareGuitars.com

10. Fender Showman (Blonde Brownface)

Song: Miserlou
Artist: Dick Dale
The unmistakable sound of surf guitar was created by Dick Dale’s Fender stratocaster and a Fender Showman amp. One of the most important pieces of his signature sound was a custom Fender reverb unit (built by Leo Fender and given to Dick Dale as a prototype) driving a cranked up dual showman into 2 X 15-inch JBL D1 30 speakers. On the opening low E run from Dick Dale’s version of Miserlou you knew surf guitar was born, and that super cool reverb-laden sound would change the history of instrumental guitar music.

Dick Dale's 1965 Fender Showman Amp at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, AZ

9. Marshall JTM 45 Combo (Series 2, Model #1962)

Song: Hideaway
Artist: Eric Clapton (John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers)
In the mid 60′s – after Eric Clapton left the Yardbirds – he joined with the John Mayall Bluesbreakers. Within one year earned a huge reputation and the nickname “Slowhand”. The Bluesbreakers recorded the Beano album in April 1966 and Clapton used a Marshall Series 2 1962 JTM 45 combo with KT 66 tubes. This amp coupled with the Les Paul guitar created a new kind of sound no one had ever heard before in blues. Some dubbed this the “woman” tone, and players have been chasing it for decades.

The Marshall Bluesbreaker: The Story of Marshall's First Combo

8. Fender Deluxe Reverb

Song: Sweet Dreams
Artist: Roy Buchanan
Roy Buchanan and his trusty, well-weathered 50′s telecaster never abused a finer vintage amp than the Fender Deluxe Reverb. Roy was known for cranking his Fender Deluxe Reverb full blast and facing it toward the back of the stage to cut the stage volume. Roy gave his fans one screaming note after another and some of the sweetest tear-jerking blues you’ve ever heard. If there was ever a player that could wring blood, sweat and tears from a guitar, it was the late, great Roy Buchanan.

1960's Blackface Fender Deluxe Reverb Amp

7. Fender Bassman (Blonde Brownface)

Song: Rock This Town
Artist: Brian Setzer

Brian setzer is the king of cool when it come to rockabilly guitar style. He brought 50′s style blues/jazz guitar back in a time when AOR rock and new wave ruled the airwaves. One of the secret weapons in his tone is a Roland RE-201 Space Echo between his Gretsch guitar and two blonde Fender Bassman amps. That setup creates a great rowdy slap back echo which has become part of his signature tone.

Brian Setzer's Blonde Brownface Fender Bassman 6G6-B Amps setup with Roland Space Echo

6. Fender Tweed Deluxe

Song: Like A Hurricane
Artist: Neil Young
Neil Young is the godfather of grunge. bands like Pearl Jam and Nirvana pay tribute to Neil’s wild, unleashed crunchy chords and ruckus feedback swirls in many of their songs. Neil sports his worn black beauty Les Paul, feeding his 1959 Tweed Deluxe on many of his classic tunes live and in the studio. One amazing part of Neil’s rig is the Whizzer. In order to access the Deluxe’s varying degrees of overdrive and gain, Young uses a custom-made amp-control switching device known simply as “the Whizzer,” which consists of 2 parts: the foot pedal and the mechanical switching device that physically turns the amp’s knobs. The Whizzer allows Young to stomp a footswitch on the floor to command the unit to twist the Deluxe’s volume and tone controls to any of a number of determined preset positions. This allows Neil to run a pure tone set up: guitar-cord-amp. No booster, overdrive, or distortion pedals are needed to achieve his classic agro-tone…just the little 50′s Fender Tweed Deluxe and the Whizzer.

Neil Young's 1959 Fender Tweed Deluxe Amp

5. VOX AC30

Song: Bad
Arist: The Edge (U2)

The Edge is one of my all time favorite guitarists. He created a signature sound early on in his career with a Fender Stratocaster, Electro Harmonix Memory Man delay pedal and a VOX AC30 on albums such as WAR and The Unforgettable Fire. This winning combination has served him well from the early days all the way through recent records and live work. The Edge creates complex echo manipulations coupled with the airy chime of the Vox AC30. The Edge has used a massive catalog of guitars and multi FX units over the years, but the AC30 has remained a staple regardless of the other changes. These gear details coupled with his brilliant parts make U2′s catalog of songs distinguishable with just one note of the Edge’s guitar. Very few guitar players in history have created such a powerful and recognizable signature sound like The Edge.

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The Edge's 1964 Vox AC30TB (Top Boost) Amp ['64 chassis in a 70's cabinet

4. Supro Thunderbolt

Song: Communication Breakdown
Artist: Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)
There has been a lot of speculation over the years regarding the amps that Jimmy Page used in the studio during the groundbreaking debut release Led Zeppelin. Jimmy will neither confirm nor deny which amp(s) were used in the studio, and there are no known photos in the archives to corroborate my story. But…based on the tones heard on the record, it is entirely possible that the Supro Thunderbolt was used. So in keeping with the mythical ethos of Led Zeppelin, I added it in to the mix.

Supro Thunderbolt Amp (front)

Supro Thunderbolt Amp (back)

Now, just to add to the mystery, here’s the Supro amp that Jimmy page gave to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It’s actually a Supro 1690T Coronado, but the features of the amp do not match up with details Jimmy previously provided when questioned about the Supro amp he used on Led Zeppelin. And the mystery continues…

The Supro 1690T Coronado that Jimmy Page gave to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Supro 1690T Coronado Amp (catalog ad)

3. Marshall Bass 50w #1986 (Head)

Song: Statesboro Blues
Artist: Duane Allman (Allman Brothers Band)
Anyone that loves electric guitar cannot deny the impact Duanne Allman had on the legacy of blues slide guitar. His liquid lines and fluid tone seem to jump from the neck of his Gibson Les Paul without effort. He used a simple rig of two 50 Watt Marshall heads into two 4 x 12-inch cabs. His tone on the legendary Allman Brothers recording Live at the Filmore East is a destination for anyone wanting to capture the ultimate blues tone. Nobody plays it the way Duane did. If you don’t own a copy of this record, I recommend you head to the record store and pick it up immediately because you are missing out on a legendary sound and performance.

Marshall Bass 50w Head Model #1986

Duane Allman's Last Show (Oct. 1971, Los Angeles)

2. Dumble Overdrive Special

Song: Josie
Artist: Larry Carlton (Steely Dan)
During the 1970′s and 80′s Mr. 335 laid down over 500 tracks a year as a session player and on his own records. He is definitely one of LA’s guitar royalty. Armed with his trusty ’68 Gibson ES-335 and two Dumble Overdrive Special amps, his monster jazz fusion guitar line are unmistakable and can be heard all over popular music. Steely Dan’s 6th release, Aja, employed a huge jazz influence and was their most guitar heavy record to date. This was mostly in part to the amazingly tasty tones and licks from Larry Carlton. Aja is one of Steely Dan’s best and most popular records for sure. Mr. 335 obviously helped push that record to the top.

Larry Carlton's Dumble Overdrive Special Amps (2005)

1. Marshall Super Lead #1959 (12,000 Series Metal Panel Plexi 100-Watt)

Song: Running With The Devil
Artist: Eddie Van Halen
With the release of Van Halen I in 1978, the world of rock was changed forever. Edward Van Halen hit the scene with a new guitar sound that was so fast and furious no one had ever heard anything like it before. Eddie was a do-it-yourself kind of guy, always tweaking around with modded guitar pickups, different fx pedals on the floor and different ways to drive his Marshall amplifier into saturated overdrive. In the legend of EVH, many myths about how he created his early guitar tone have run rampant for decades. Speculation about DIY mods like power resistors across the power tubes plates, AC variacs to raise or lower the input voltage of the amp, and large resistant power loads over the speaker out have spawned endless articles and arguments on forums about how the legendary early EVH sound was created. Sketchy details from the era and no solid proof of what was used from EVH or his camp during those days continue to feed the tone chasers fuel tanks. And to this day the holy grail tone from Van Halen 1 has players frothing at the mouth. But you and I know the only real truth: The tone is 95% in the hands, and Eddie’s legendary sound has more to do with the notes he played rather than the tone in which he played it with.

Eddie Van Halen's Marshall Super Lead #1959 100-watt Plexi

Eddie Van Halen's Marshall Super Lead #1959 100-watt Plexi

Eddie Van Halen's Marshall Super Lead #1959 100-watt Plexi

10 Classic Guitar Amps & The Songs That Made Them Famous from MyRareGuitars.com

• Pink Floyd & The Who (New Year’s Eve, 1966, Manchester)
  Admission 1 pound?!?! Honestly, if I only had a time machine for 1 trip, I’d have to use it to go back and see this show. I mean, SERIOUSLY?!?
  

  Pink Floyd with The Who (New Year's Eve, 1966, Manchester)

• Red Hot Chili Peppers with Nirvana and Pearl Jam (New Year’s Eve, 1991, San Francisco)
  Three of the biggest bands from my childhood together on New Year’s Eve. Wow.
  

  Red Hot Chili Peppers with Nirvana & Pearl Jam (New Year's Eve 1991, San Francisco)

• The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show (1964)
  If *anyone* has a time machine, I’m pretty sure this is a mandatory stop. This is one of those moments that changed our music world forever.
  

  The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show (1964)

• Bob Dylan with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (Portland, Oregon – June 29, 1986)
  I got this picture in a forwarded email. Apparently, someone found these ticket stubs in a book they checked out at a local library. Pretty sweet deal, I’d say! Anyways, I bet that was a kickass concert.
  

  Bob Dylan with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers concert ticket stubs (June 1986 - Portland, OR)

• Bob Marley, Mick Jagger & Peter Tosh (1978)
  Peter Tosh is one of my all-time favorite musicians. I’m not exactly certain of where this picture was taken, but I’m going to assume that it was during the recording of Tosh’s album Bush Doctor because both Jagger and Marley contributed to that album. I would have LOVED to be in the studio during those sessions!
  

  Bob Marley, Mick Jagger & Peter Tosh (1978)

• Charles Barkley hosts SNL with musical guest Nirvana (1993, Saturday Night Live)
  I’m a big fan of Saturday Night Live. Yes, I know. It’s terrible these days, right? Well, that’s what everyone says every year.  But I’ve stuck with it this long. What’s another year? Anyways…back in 1993, there was an episode that featured Charles Barkley as host and Nirvana as the musical guest. I could probably find this on Hulu or YouTube, but I would have loved to be in the audience that night. I’m sure the chemistry was magical. And to make things even more awesome, there were cameos by RuPaul and Muggsy Bogues. Now that is outstanding.
  

  Charles Barkley and Nirvana on Saturday Night Live (1993)

  

  Charles Barkley, Nirvana, RuPaul & Muggsy Bogues on SNL (1993)

• Madonna, Sting & Tupac (1994, Tribeca dinner party)
  Not much to say here. Just an odd grouping. I miss Tupac.
  

  Madonna, Sting & Tupac (Tribeca dinner party, 1994)

• Michael Jackson & Freddie Mercury (circa 1980)
  I’m not sure when or where this picture was taken. All I can find out is that Michael Jackson stopped by the studio in 1980 when Queen was recording The Game. And from there, the legend goes that Michael and Freddie struck up a friendship. And apparently, they collaborated on some duets that have yet to be released. Some websites are reporting that the Michael Jackson/Freddie Mercury duets album will be released in 2012.
  

  Michael Jackson & Freddie Mercury (circa 1980)

• Mick Jagger forms group
  “I hope they don’t think we’re a rock ‘n’ roll outfit.” Classic!
  

  Mick Jagger forms group (newspaper clipping)

• Nirvana casting call for Smells Like Teen Spirit video
  I’ve got a few Nirvana references in this list so far. I know a lot of people hated them. But oh well. They were a big part of my childhood, as they were my favorite band. This video was huge, and it would have been awesome to be in it.
  

  Nirvana video casting call flier for 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' video (1991)

• Willie Nelson & Snoop Dogg smoking backstage at the Glastonbury Music Festival (June 2010)
  Okay. I probably wouldn’t use my time machine to go back to witness this. But I thought it was a cool picture. I wonder what they talked about. I’m pretty sure they don’t remember!
  

  Willie Nelson & Snoop Dogg smoking backstage at the Glastonbury Music Festival (June 2010)

Like I said, I’m hoping to update this every month. Please comment and share!

If I Had A Time Machine… (Part 1) from MyRareGuitars.com

Josh Klinghoffer with the Airline Bighorn Guitar (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You album cover

10) Red Hot Chili Peppers – I’m With You

When I first saw a photo of Josh Klinghoffer with his green Airline Bighorn, I knew I was going to like this album.

Magazine - No Thyself album cover

Magazine Reunion Tour 2009 concert ticket

9) Magazine – No Thyself

Even if there was no music on this disk – just the lyrics – it would make my top ten list. In fact, it was on my top ten list before I heard it, that is how much a fan of Magazine and Howard Devoto I am. Crazy really, so much so that I bought a concert ticket to their reunion concert in 2009. It was in UK, I am in Canada and I had no intention of going, I just had to have a ticket. Who spends 50 bucks on a ticket to a show they do not plan to attend? Anyway, great record, great lyrics, great to see Magazine back in the saddle.

Bazan - Strange Negotiations album cover

8 ) David Bazan – Strange Negotiantions

You’re a god damn fool, You’re a god damn fool, You’re a god damn fool, and I love you.

Wire - Red Barked Tree album cover

7 ) Wire – Red Barked Tree

WIRE just keeps on impressing. Just when you thought they can’t get better, they do. WIRE should be proud, and all those whom they’ve influenced over the years, get confirmation once again.

Buzzcocks - What Do I Get? album cover

6 ) Buzzcocks – What Do I Get?

It’s a 2011 release, but a LIVE album from a 2003 Sheppard’s Bush concert. It also includes a DVD of the performance and manages to fit 28 tracks into true Buzzcocks breakneck speed. More than a quarter of a century into their career at the time of this show, there’s not even the hint of a suggestion of them slowing down . Word is also out that 2012 will include a couple of shows in UK featuring Howard Devoto and the Spiral Scratch tunes. Too cool.

Dum Dum Girls - Only In Dreams album cover

5 ) Dum Dum Girls – Only in Dreams

The popularity of the single “Bedroom Eyes” (link to the video) brought the The Dum Dum Girls to a much wider audience this year. That’s good. This second album from the band is a leap forward. Give it a spin.

Blackie & the Rodeo Kings - Kings and Queens album cover

4 ) Blackie and the Rodeo Kings

What do you get when you take one of best bands to ever come out of Canada and make a record with an all-star cast of singers? Perhaps the best album of the year, that’s what.

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Mirror Traffic album cover

3 ) Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – Mirror Traffic

I’ve been a Pavement fan since day one and Malkmus has done it again. The meandering vocal lines intertwine with the seemingly sloppy and lazy guitar playing to create a fantastic collection of inspired pop gems. Did I say sloppy/lazy? Not really, just very refreshing to not hear a guitar played along to a click track. Long live this music.

City and Colour - Little Hell album cover

2) City and Colour – Little Hell

Dallas Green’s City and Colour is making us Canadians proud. Lavishly produced, beautiful vocals, haunting electric guitars over warm acoustics – just a great record. Go get it.

The Black Keys - El Camino album cover

1) The Black Keys -El Camino

What a killer record. Something about this album makes me want to quit my job, get the old band together, buy a crappy used van and hit the road. The production on this record makes you feel like you are right there in the middle of The Black Keys rehearsal space – it is compelling and it is making me want to pick up a guitar right now and jam along with them.

My Top 10 Albums of 2011 List (Part 1) from MyRareGuitars.com

Baxendale Guitar

Harmony Conversions

Scott Baxendale’s legacy of building custom instruments began in 1974, when he arrived in Winfield, Kansas to work for Stuart Mossman, owner and founder of Mossman Guitars. Scott joined Gruhn Guitars in Nashville, Tennessee, In l978, where he specialized in the restoration of classic vintage instruments. During this time he repaired or restored guitars for such professionals as Billy Gibbons, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Jr., Steve Howe, Elvis Costello, John Hartford, Marty Stuart, Norman Blake, Roy Acuff and many others. Here is the Mick Jones Custom.

Scott Baxendale Acoustic Guitar

Scott Baxendale Acoustic Guitar

Scott purchased Mossman Guitars, in l985, moving the company to Garland, Texas. He manufactured over 250 acoustic guitars, averaging five instruments per month, some of which are owned and played by Carl Perkins, Joe Walsh, Willie Nelson, Donovan, Greg Lake, Jorma Kaukonen, John Mellencamp, Chris Hillman, James Burton, Travis Tritt, Dave Alvin, B.J. Thomas and Ray Wylie Hubbard.

Scott’s work on Harmony conversions was brought to my attention by long time friend and customer of Eastwood, Dewitt Burton, guitar tech for R.E.M. If you have ever owned an old Harmony guitar, you’ll know how cool they are, but Scott can take a mediocre instrument and turn it into a world class guitar.

Vintage Harmony Guitars Catalog

The Harmony conversion is a process by which they take old USA-made Harmony and Kay guitars and remanufacture them using our proprietary bracing and internal design, giving the guitars a new life and a world class tone that compares to vintage guitars of the highest order. This re-manufacturing process allows them to create a guitar that is also green, recycling and repurposing by starting with an existing guitar that was originally made with quality woods, and requiring no finish work. These are great guitars that retain their vintage patina and mojo at a price that the average musician can afford.

Vintage Harmony Guitars Catalog

Many musicians have an old Harmony or Kay laying around that was their first instrument. Some have sent them to Scott to be rebuilt, and these guitars subsequently became their favorite instrument! Many of his customers are professional recording artists and musicians. If you would like to purchase a remade Harmony or Kay, have one rebuilt, or have one to sell, contact Scott baxendaleguitar@att.net

Mick Jones - The Clash

Scott Baxendale Guitar & Harmony Conversions from MyRareGuitars.com

Imagine what you would do if you were a member of a seminal electronic music band that influenced musicians in a myriad of genres over multiple generations and whose stature still remains unparalleled to this day? And then imagine what would you do if your chosen instrument was not a synthesizer but instead a guitar? If you were Michael Rother you would leave Kraftwerk taking drummer Klaus Dinger with you and form the equally acclaimed, if not as well-known, Neu!

A rare television appearance of Kraftwerk with Florian Schneider, Rother and Dinger can be seen here:

Check out the video for Part 2/2 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU0Ls80ZhsY

Michael Rother in studio

Neu!

In 1971 Rother and Dinger formed Neu! after six months of filling in for Kraftwerk’s founding member (and half of the band at the time) synthesizer player Ralf Hütter while he pursued his studies in architecture. The duo quit Kraftwerk reportedly for – what would eventually become a supreme irony – their lack of vision and the following year released their self-titled debut album. Neu! consists (when there is a beat) almost entirely of Dinger’s relentless 4/4 pulse with minimal fills and Rother’s predilection for sticking to one chord throughout an entire song as well as playing a propulsive (often two note) bass line. If this sounds like a cure for your insomnia on paper, on record nothing could be further from the truth. While many of their peers in America and England at the time were exploring the kind of drones that would be suited to zoning out in pharmacologically induced states, Neu!’s music evoked a sense of forward motion particularly the kind found on driving open roads (Dinger’s signature beat was later dubbed Motorik by the music press). Almost always instrumental, Rother took Dinger’s unwavering beat as his starting point which he would then embellish with his layered, loping guitar vamps which ranged from fluid and shimmering (no doubt influenced by his time spent absorbing native music in Pakistan as in his early adolescence) to squalls of feedback to slashing, explosive crescendos at times within the same song. Completely abandoning any sense of traditional song structure including verses, choruses, and bridges, they instead opted for open ended, largely improvisatory workouts with the shortest song on their debut clocking in just under five minutes. While obviously not pop music their songs were also devoid of the virtuosic riffing so abundant at the time. Rother understood the importance of negative space and what he didn’t play was just as important as what he did play. One of the most focused and fully realized albums of all the so-called “Krautrock” bands, Neu! would also become central in redefining Kraftwerk’s previously unfocused sound and its influence looms large over their breakthrough 1974 album Autobahn (even employing the Motorik beat for a time on the title track).

Harmonia (with Michael Rother)

After a second Neu! album the following year (side two of which consisted of various primitive manipulations of two recordings from the first side after the band ran out of money to record any additional songs), Rother collaborated with Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius of Cluster under the name Harmonia even being joined for a time by Brian Eno. Regrouping for Neu!’s final album, Neu! ’75, drummer Klaus Dinger emerged as a competent guitarist (and singer) in his own right though only on the second side of the album in which Thomas Dinger and Hans Lampe played drums simultaneously. While Rother’s contributions to Neu!, as well as his string of fine solo albums, tended more to the ambient and reflective end of the spectrum (especially as he incorporated more keyboards), Dinger was more interested in straightforward, aggressive rock in particular his song “Hero” (from Neu! ’75) which seems to have eerily presaged John Lydon’s vocal style as well as Public Image Ltd’s music. (Here’s Dinger playing a beautiful Hagstrom Goya on “Hero”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPuBCfvMrBA) This line up of Klaus Dinger, his brother Thomas and Lampe would continue after Neu!’s split in 1975 as La Düsseldorf while Rother would go on to become a solo artist.

Harmonia's Gear & Set Up

In the midst of beginning his solo career in 1977, Rother was tapped by David Bowie to be his new guitarist as Bowie was relocating to Germany to record what was to become his Berlin Trilogy of Low, “Heroes”, and Lodger. Bowie, as always, was tuned in to what was happening in music and had been taking inspiration from the then current Krautrock bands. Kraftwerk’s 1977 song “Trans-Europe Express” contains the lyrics “From station to station / back to Düsseldorf City / Meet Iggy Pop and David Bowie” while Bowie returned the favor later in the year by naming “V-2 Schneider” after both a German ballistic missile and Kraftwerk’s Florian Schneider. Due to an apparent miscommunication (depending on who you ask), however, Rother never worked with Bowie but it’s probably not a coincidence that Bowie’s ‘”Heroes”’ was released two years after Neu!’s “Hero.”

Michael Rother (2005)

Although their records sold modestly at the time and they rarely played live (due to difficulties of translating their multi-tracked guitar and drums set up to the stage), Neu!’s influence has only grown in the intervening years exerting a strong influence on the genres of post-punk, new wave, post-rock, and electronica overtly influencing everyone from Stereolab (frequent employers of the Motorik beat), Mogwai (check out “Mexican Grand Prix” for a straight up Krautrock homage), Negativland (who named both their band and their label Seeland after Neu! songs), Julian Cope (who titled a song “Michael Rother”), Sonic Youth (whose drummer Steve Shelley played Neu!’s ’music with Rother in a band called Hallogallo in 2010), and even the Red Hot Chili Peppers who Rother joined onstage in Hamburg in 2007 for a nearly 25 minute improv set.

by Kevin C. Smith

Michael Rother of Neu! & Harmonia from MyRareGuitars.com

From the Temple of Doom (I): Koob, Albert, Patricia, and Adeline

By Michael Wright
The Different Strummer

Imagine someone telling you about an old-time music store that had a huge stash of unsold guitars from the 1960s, plus some guitar effects from the ‘70s lying around in its upper floors in Newark, NJ. Well, you can bet it didn’t take long for me to beat a path to the door of Newark Music City (calm down; this was a long time ago and, while the company still exists, it’s long gone from Newark). Even though I was late in the game, there were still unmined treasures to be had. A real Temple of Doom!
I pulled a lot of good stuff out of Music City and owner John Ciarfella was great to work with. The store was full of New-Old-Stock gear, not to mention a bunch of vintage pieces taken in on trade over the years and just never sold. Maestro pedal effects, replacement Victrola parts, Japanese guitar hardware. Plus this NOS c. 1966 Kapa Continental No. CO-XII-V 12-String, culled from a huge pile in their old cardboard boxes stacked in a corner on the 3rd Floor. All leftover from when John’s father ran Newark Musical Merchandise and distributed Kapas, but was never able to sell. More about the Kapa later.

But the trip to the trip was the upper floors.  Music City was actually two joined 4-story buildings on a corner near the “new” Newark performance center.  The stairs were rickety and the floors unfinished, everything dusty.  The 2^nd floor was full of old shelving and drawers filled with the NOS stuff.  The stairs between the floors and buildings were a maze.

After I’d bought a number of things on several trips, John took me up to the 4^th floor of the corner building.  That had originally been a speakeasy and on the 4^th floor was a Burlesque theater.  It was still there.  The proscenium stage, all the seats, tattered curtains.  Water damage and some graffiti by locals who’d broken in through the skylight.  It was awesome, almost dwarfing the Kapa find.

But, unlike the KAPA, I couldn’t take the theater home with me. Kapa was a brand started by another music distributorship begun in 1960 and owned by a Dutch immigrant named Koob Veneman in Rockville, BD.  Veneman’s father had operated a music store in Holland and distributed guitars carrying the AMKA brand, an acronym made up of the first letters of his childrens’ names (K was Koob).  In 1962 Veneman decided to plunge into the Guitar Boom and manufacture his own line of solid- and hollowbody electric guitars and basses in nearby Hyattsville, MD.  He named the guitars KAPA after his family, himself, son Albert, daughter Patricia, and wife Adeline.

KAPA began in 1963 or ‘64 (sources differ) with three solidbodies, the Challenger (sort of a two-pickup mini-Strat), the Wildcat (three-pickup version), and an occasional single-pickup Cobra, made from scraps.  KAPAs were famous for their ultra-thin necks, made by KAPA, not Höfner as some online sources claim.  Until 1966 the pickups, which looked like Höfners, were made by KAPA.

In 1966 KAPA’s lumber stock got thinner and they began using Pix pickups made in Germany, the same as used by Höfner (but not made by Höfner).  They also switched from threeway toggles to sliding on/off switches about this time.  KAPA also introduced the Jazzmaster-style Continental in ‘66, including the 12-string example seen here.

KAPA guitars were actually quite well made, very easy to play, and give off a nice vintage ‘60s vibe.  They made upwards of 120,000 of them, so they’re not especially rare, but then, not too many people ever thought they’d be of interest to anyone in the future!

1966 Kapa Continental 12-String HS

Unfortunately, KAPA doesn’t seem to have been very concerned about consistency, and you’ll find Continentals with Challenger decals and vice versa, and dating is primarily a matter of guesswork.  In 1968 KAPA added a Minstrel teardrop-shaped solid to the line and in 1969 some thinline hollowbodies with bodies made in Japan.  However, by then sales were in decline and in 1970 Veneman shut KAPA down, selling leftover supplies and machinery to Micro-Frets and Mosrite.  Veneman sold Bradley copy guitars during the 1970s.  In the 1980s the shop got into the mailorder music biz.  The shop still exists, but as a premier Guitar Center location.

In any case, besides being a relatively rare ‘60s soldibody 12-string, this KAPA Continental carries the cachet of having been found unsold in a musty old corner of a musical Temple of Doom in Newark, NJ, next door and an obscure staircase away from a mothballed attic burlesque theater!

Michael Wright, The Different Strummer, is a collector and historian whose work is featured in Vintage Guitar Magazine.

From the Temple of Doom (I): Koob, Albert, Patricia, and Adeline from MyRareGuitars.com

TEISCO guitars sold in the United States were badged “Teisco Del Rey” beginning in 1964. Teisco guitars were also imported in the U.S. under several brand names including Silvertone, Kent, Beltone, Duke, Heit Deluxe, Jedson, Kimberly, Kingston, Lyle, Norma, Tulio and World Teisco. Likewise, they were imported in the UK under such labels as Arbiter, Audition, Kay and Top Twenty. While guitars manufactured by Teisco were ubiquitous in their day, they are now very collectable. In fact, highly sought after models are now being reproduced.

Vintage 1960's Teisco Spectrum 5 Guitar

The cream of the crop was certainly the Spectrum 5:

This model was a massive achievement on many levels: deep german carved body, stereo pickups and switching, wild colored switches and a crazy body contour. So no wonder forty years later that it is the serious collector’s version of a TEISCO, at least three times more valuable than any other model. “So how do you make the rare, rarer??” I asked. Make a Plexiglas version of it, that’s how. Here is where the story gets interesting…

I’ve said it before: one of the cool things about being in this business is the people you meet. I’ve recently come to the following conclusion – If you are really into weird guitars, and you live long enough, you’ll eventually meet every other person on the planet that is into weird guitars.

Vintage 1960's Teisco Plexi Spectrum 5 Guitar

A while back I got an email from one of the worlds best “out there” guitar players – Henry Kaiser. He saw an older article from the My Rare Guitars website that circled around a particularly wierd guitar and was interested in trading something for it. What did Henry have to trade? A Teisco Spectrum. Yes, a Teisco Spectrum is always in the top ten in my “trade-for” list. But wait… this one was a plexi Spectrum!! What the hell??? Apparently they made 100 or so in Japan (where Henry got it earlier in the decade) so I’m guessing not many – if any other than this one – ever made it across the pond.

So goes the lifetime obsession of guitar collecting. Cool things come and go every month, but this one was worth a mention for sure. For the most part, I enjoy the pursuit. Once I get them, I start looking for the next and the initial romantic attraction wanes. As a customer once stated, it is like fishing, catch and release. But sometimes you catch a really big one, and relling it in is so much fun!

Oh, by the way, do yourself a favour and catch up with Henry Kaiser.

Back Catalog Memories: TEISCO Spectrum 5 Plexi Guitar from MyRareGuitars.com