John Shiflet

Thanks to everyone for the kind words. No Schmoozing was necessary...just patience, persistence, and a willingness to pay for a beautiful Gibson ES-335. I explained to a family member that it was for me like waking up and remembering you had a Lamborghini down in the garage so you go down there and spend a lot of time just looking at it and admiring all that went into creating it. Once in a while, when the weather's perfect, and the mood seems right, you take the exotic car out for a drive then carefully return and park it in the garage, again. I feel that protective about my Gibson although it's not in the most expensive guitar class by a long shot. I'm very pleased and glad I had the patience to let things take their course. When I first picked up the guitar in the store, I just instinctively knew it was the one for me. I don't expect it to be a workhorse, all kinds of weather, take it to the local gig night, kind of guitar. Some things deserve a sheltered life and it is one of them. Kudos to Gibson for keeping their quality standards high and continuing to produce instruments of exceptional quality.

Just saw this now. Sad to witness yet another notable musical figure has been reassigned off-planet. Most recognized musicians get to leave something behind that others don't, a musical legacy that now in digital form can last as long as machines have memories. The Moody Blues were such a musically different group that their music has held up well over the years, My father even liked In Search of the Lost Chord and he was a dyed in the wool Big Band era music fan. Mike Pinder will be missed-may he rest in peace.

Sad news, indeed. Rest in peace Richard as you join so many musical greats who departed before you.

Guess what the UPS Santa delivered today? A red ES 335 brand new from the Chicago Music Exchange. A big shout out to the fine folks at this Chicago Guitar mega-store there especially Geoff Tinta, their asst. Sales Manager. He more than met me halfway to make the deal happen. I don't want to talk about costs, but I already love it so much I'd ask for it to be buried with me like Egyptian funeral goods, but the practical side of me would want it passed down. Until then, I intend to play it like no other guitar I've ever owned. I literally kissed it when I took it out of the case for the first time. Overjoyed now to say I'm no longer Gibson-less. Only took a month of intense searching and negotiations but was well worth the wait and the effort. My sincere Good Luck wishes to all those who are seeking their own version of this Gibson guitar legend.

Some "ES-capade " news to share today. The asst. sales manager at the Chicago store (Geoff Tinta, a really nice guy with a sense of fairness) took my fervent wish to purchase a 335 to heart and he thankfully came back to me with a quote noticeably under $5K . (even a dollar would have been acceptable) So, now the waiting game... but that Red 335 and I did meet at the store in person a couple of weeks ago, and she's a really nice, classy lady with a charming voice. I can hardly wait until we can make beautiful music together and I will soon have the privilege to experience what makes Gibsons so special. I feel like I just acquired a new family member and my only advice to others is to not give up on your dreams. They may not come true today or even tomorrow, but with patience and perseverance, they will come true in their own good time.

This weekend I finally finished cleaning and reassembly of the 20 W Rocktron practice amp I bought on e-bay for $50. It looks pretty good with my 100 W 2x12 Rocktron Replitone modeling amp: At first the sound didn't work but I remembered on the "mama" amp I had experienced sound problems related to using headphones, so I then tried headphones and there was sound. So, I unplugged the headphones, switched off the amp, then turned it back on and the speaker sound worked fine. I tweaked the knobs a bit and got an acceptable sound blend. The Replitone model weighs around 60 lbs and is a lot to lug up and down stairs so anytime I need to go make some noise "baby" amp can take care of it. The little amp was full of dust, dirt, and yard debris and the grille looked like it had fallen into an oil pit, The power cord had slid through the grommet in the back of the amp chassis so the power cord was dangling by the wires so had to fix that issue, just one of several that needed attention-this photo was just before I started reassembling it:

Thanks Pinch, I appreciate the information and I will check it out. I had bought a Tascam mini studio recorder a few years back but didn't find much use for that either. Right now, I primarily need a WMA (Windows Media Audio) file to MP3 converter-I tried a couple of the free ones and for some reason the sound quality was becoming degraded. Anyhow, thanks again and maybe someday I'll actually get into a budget mom & pop type recording studio, sit down, and make a legacy CD of my guitar playing to be handed down. I received no encouragement to pursue music growing up but despite acknowledging my playing shortcomings, I've always known that music had a power effect on me and it still does. In my young adult life, much of my discretionary income went towards buying high end stereo equipment. We still made some decent Hi Fi gear in the U.S. back then (Empire, Phase Linear, Rectilinear) and that happily coincided with the full blossoming of Rock & Roll going on at the same time. Lots of good memories there.

Reverb, like e-Bay, prefers for all written communications between buyer and seller to be using their messaging system. He sends me his email address then puts "Zelle!" in a separate email. As stated, I don't use Zelle even though my bank thinks I should. I asked the seller 3 times to give me an invoice total with sales tax (he appears to be a retailer) I got the impression there might be a language problem. With CME, its pay the king's ransom, get your cherished custom shop guitar, shut up and be happy. So far, that's still to be determined.

Change of plans...the Reverb seller of the red '63 Nashville block inlay re-issue suggested we take our communications to personal email which to me is a red flag. He also said he only accepts Zelle, but I don't do Zelle. So I came groveling back to CME humbly asking if we could go ahead and do the deal on their custom shop 335 reminding him that anything over $5K was going to be like poking me in the eyes with sharp sticks. I've noticed when it comes to business, the asst. sales mgr. has little sense of humor. I suppose that's what he gets paid for. The saga isn't over yet as the Chicago mega guitar store has such a huge turnover of merchandise, My practical advice is if you see something there that you want or see in one of their online sale's circulars, get it then because there's probably going to be a half dozen people at the store looking it over on that same day. How that store manages to do so well in such a horrible, parking-spaces poor location is a mystery but, I saw people getting off buses with guitars and walking in. So, one ES-335 door has now closed and we'll see if the other one opens...

Note to Rob 64: I now have a promising lead on my long sought after 335. I should know by Monday if I need to keep looking or not.

Justin Hayward is justly proud of his vintage 335. I did find the article where he describes his connection to his beloved Gibson: https://justinhayward.com/blogs/news/from-justin-my-cherry-red-gibson-335, As you accurately mentioned, Mr. Hayward had so many other projects going on besides the Moody Blues. There was an extensive article a month or so ago about Hayward's career and commercial success which, in hindsight, I should have bookmarked. As for the subtle and not so subtle differences between technology standards in the U.S. vs. the U.K., it's hard to know where to begin. Take household electrical supplies. ..in Europe and the U.K. household currents are 220-250 volts while in the U.S. they are 110-120 volts and the cycles measured in Hertz are different as well,. Metric standards were long ago adopted in U.K. and were implemented in Europe even before that, but the U.S. still stubbornly clings to the archaic British system of miles, yards, and feet. Road speeds are in Miles rather than Kilometers, Americans drive on the right side of the road while the British drive on the left. I would be terrified to get behind the wheel of an automobile in the U.K. and then have to make right and left turns. At least U.S. made Gibson guitars speak a more universal language. Perhaps I got it wrong on the "cheaper priced" Gibsons in the U.K. back in the '60's and '70's but there were so many bands back then and apparently a lot of gear was swapped, bartered, and sold amongst the bands and artists as groups broke up, changed members, or some decided that music wasn't enough to support them so they put down or sold off their guitars and drums and sought other gainful employment. Smuggling seems to have been a known phenomenon for quite a while in the U.K.. (and in the U.S. as well) It's seems there was the dreaded VAT (value added tax) on imports although the tax burden is probably less now than in decades past. I noticed that Gibson recently opened up it's first retail store in the U.K. in London. I'm curious to know how that venture is working out.

That's great to hear, Rob. No one could ever fault Chet Akins' virtuoso guitar playing. Maybe he did feel more comfortable picking his notes from a lower fret level. Soaring past the 12th fret seems akin to an acquired taste for certain foods-some really enjoy these sonic embellishments that come from the upper register frets but, as mentioned, unlike a piano where all keys (notes) are equally accessible and evenly spaced, finger space room can become problematic as you get nearer to the last frets. Some players like to dazzle listeners with these high range notes and their close spacing between frets appears to make lightning fast "shredding" easier. (or, at least, I would think so) For myself, this upper range offers new and heretofore untapped sounds, so presently, I'm still in the discovery or exploration phase. Over time, I expect a more balanced playing approach will involve using all the frets that the piece being played requires. As for finding and selecting that elusive ES 335, (I'm looking for mine too, BTW) to me, that's almost like looking for a wife or soulmate. The search is not for just a man-made object made to produce sounds, but for a device to be used to best express yourself musically. To do so ideally, it must accurately transfer the musical thoughts in your mind, or taken visually from a written musical score, then through your hands and fingers to direct the guitar to make the exact sounds you want. The perfect ESS guitar will be one that you pick up and it just naturally feels right. The action or strings level should seem ideal, sliding up or down the fretboard is smooth and easy, while everything is visible that needs to be visible. I'm sure you've noticed that sitting down and playing the guitar is different than standing up and not seeing the fretboard clearly, thus making it more likely to make mistakes due to visibility limitations. Makers like Gibson long ago understood this issue and placed dots or marks on the upper side of neck still visible whenever you're holding the guitar upright. It's takes time, but eventually, you'll know where on the fretboard you're playing just by glancing at the dots or marks. Keep in mind there are several well known blind guitarists who've done quite well in their playing and they just memorized the spacing and note positions on the fretboard as a mental map rather than being able to see them. Seasoned performers seldom look at the fret position dots because over time with enough practice, you'll have a mental map of the fretboard and playing just one note will inform you exactly where you are position-wise. I'm not there yet, but I'm working on it. Quality Gibson guitars at very affordable prices must have been fairly common in the U.K. in the late 1950's and 1960's as I've read a number of well known U.K. players tell about causally finding their signature guitar in some little shop or by word of mouth from a friend of a friend. Justin Hayward, founding member and guitarist extraordinaire of the Moody Blues. told such a story about finding his ES 335 casually (without a formal search) back in those days and it sounded entirely plausible. My only suggestion is to be patient and follow all leads. It's akin to dating...you may go out on many dates but you'll instinctively know when you've met your one true love. That special ES-335 guitar is waiting for you out there somewhere. Let us know when you find it. Good Luck!

Good to meet you online Rob,where distances between continents are not so obvious. Although my beloved SG was with me from age 24 to now, (well, until 2 weeks ago to be precise) almost 50 years later, I'm currently in the awkward state of being Gibson-less so there's not much I can authoritatively speak of about the various ES models' technical aspects. I can relate well to the picking up the guitar to get immersed in playing at a later stage in life, as really, despite sporadic playing on tender-soled fingertips over the years, I only plunged into my guitar playing in a big way after my spouse of many years passed away. In those first grief filled months afterwards, I felt almost inconsolable but guitar playing took me away and out of the depths of grief. I finally had plenty of time to carefully examine where I was and where I wanted to be in my new reality. First, I threw away my arbitrary don't go beyond the fifth fret training wheels I had self imposed for years, and decided to go out and explore the entire fretboard. Finding those notes on the higher fret range that sounded good was my goal but also-and this was very helpful-playing those dissonant notes loudly and clearly and then trying to remember where they were. Dissonant or non-harmonious notes still have a legitimate place in melodies but like strong spices in foods, they should be used/played sparingly. After I freed myself from my fifth fret limitations, I started hunting for good notes and chords on the upper frets. As you have surely found, once you get past the 12th fret you find that making chords can become difficult due to finger space limitations but there are still tricks where you can produce those higher note chords by changing fingering positions. My new cut-away profile acoustic that I traded my SG for, offers 19 frets unlike my other brand electric guitar that offers 22 frets. Even though finger room on the acoustic's upper fret range is at a premium, I've found a way to fret one of my favorite high range chords on the acoustic with an unconventional finger placement-I lay my fingers flat on the strings rather than raised. I think many of us are prone to getting hung up on doing things by the instruction book or video but the real journeymen (and women) working guitarists have all of these less easy to master approaches long worked out, so again, you're your own teacher here so play according to what works best for you. I can't over-emphasize one discovery that did more to help me become a better player especially since I have no one here to jam with in my one stoplight size eastern Ohio town. After buying some rather useless (to me) software in a vain attempt to record some of the noise I was making, a simple basic built into my PC recorder came alive on Dec. 21st, last. I had purchased a decent condenser Microphone ( A Pro-formance P755USB originally designed by engineers in Ohio, BTW) and had watched music store videos showing guitars mic'ed at a distance in their promo ads and videos so I sat mine up at what I thought was an optimal distance and clicked on the very basic Windows record program. It has about a one inch by three inch screen window as well as a waveform graphic display as it's recording. 82 tracks later, I'm still recording and I can tell almost immediately, the difference between those early tracks in December and those from the past week. Had I not had the ability to replay my recorded tracks, I wouldn't know what the weak spots were so doing so has arguably made me a better player. As for what kind of music to practice and play, there's always the old hit parade standbys House of the Rising Son, Smoke on the Water, Sunshine of my love, and even more simple three chord progressions. I'll offer another add-on...if you do embark on a journey of musical discovery, sooner or latter you're going to come up with notes, riffs, or chords that aren't recognizable as coming from any songs that you remember. My advice would be to take these random notes and chords and save them for a future time to work with them and see if you can craft them into a pleasing melody. Add some more chords, more notes, change the tempo from slow to fast or the opposite. One huge benefit that comes from playing your own stuff is that only you know when you've made a mistake and if you're ever going to get out there and play in front of other's, they'll spot a playing error almost immediate if its from a well known cover song but not if it's something you've composed yourself so I recommend you giving it a try. You may find over time that some of the simpler homemade tunes become boring so develop new ones or change things around adding or subtracting as you're going along.. I have probably an album full of these musical doodles I've come up with over the years and it keeps changing and evolving. My goal of finding some sympathetic players to jam with have gone nowhere. I even took out a local newspaper ad and ran it for two weeks, earlier this month. Not a single received call was the disappointing result. Another aggravating factor was that Windows, being the proprietary focused beast that MSN is, is incompatible with Apple based sound software like MP3's so I therefore have hours of WMA (Windows Media Audio) files. I tried to download them and run them through Cakewalk by Bandlabs (now Singapore based) but never could get it to work. I tried a free third party WMA to Mp3 converter program but the sound quality seemed to degrade during the conversion. I guess I need to get a Mac or maybe just a Mac-Pad and hook the microphone to the USB port there. But I continue to look for better solutions. I keep looking for those who might like to share their compositions and with whom I could share some of mine allowing me to practice while listening to someone else's recordings. (Sort of a stripped down "We Are The World" thing but far less grandiose.) Not like jamming with a few of your best musical chums in person but maybe still worthwhile so you can see what others are playing and if asked, you could provide unbiased but non-judgemental constructive feedback on the other player's melodies being played. I think there should be a gentleman's type of agreement that neither party will take anything the other party created and incorporate it into their next multi-platinum album and if so, do the right thing, provide liner notes with credits and if appropriate provide to the creator a share of the sales and royalties in whatever success you've had using their tune(s). Good luck on finding that perfect ES model you're seeking. I have a lot to say about that, (because I'm looking too and, also quite wordy) but I'll withhold that for another time. Play hard and play often.

Greetings. It occurred to me lately that my sudden arrival at this group may have been perceived as too intrusive and outspoken. I sincerely regret that. In truth, I happily felt like I had landed on my home planet when I first posted here a few weeks ago. What's not to like here? You have here a forum dedicated to one of the most respected brands in the world of guitars-Gibson-that has attracted thousands of loyal fans and followers around the world who have spread Goodwill for Gibson wherever they go. I've already shared that I have a business background and classify myself as semi-retired at 73. And can you imagine this, I tend to write a lot? I write for our local Newspaper, the Harrison County News Herald that goes back to the early days of my adopted hometown of Cadiz, Ohio, which was founded in 1803, the same year Ohio gained statehood. I'm a staunch believer in a free and independent Press and feel privileged to be allowed to make regular contributions to the local paper including coverage of our local musical performances at our uniquely named Sally Buffalo Park with it's small lake, Wallace Lodge, a large year-round RV park, as well as its new Mark at the Park music performance shed, opened last year that may be the genesis of something much bigger as this small Ohio River Valley town has some very passionate musical fans. Maybe that's an Ohio thing-I've only been here just a little over 3 years have arrived here from Fort Worth, Texas. But the Rock & Roll Hall of fame is in Cleveland to my north, and Rock & Roll music has deep roots in the Buckeye state. I should confess that one of the reasons I can basically furnish written articles to be published whenever I wish is because I insist on donating my writing rather than charging the paper the 45 cents per word rate for paid writers. And if you think that's cheap, you should see how much I'm willing to pay to get people to listen to my guitar playing! Seriously, though, I'm presently Gibson-less because after trading in my 50 year old firstborn, well almost, my '74 Gibson SG, for a stellar acoustic, my full Chicago Music Exchange visit game plan included bringing home a Cherry Red ES 335 Custom Shop example but my SG trade-in value was somewhat low-balled (I even had my original sales slip, owners manual, and key, for heavens sake! And the guitar had slept in its case for over 30 years) not leaving me with enough trading Shekels to do a Gibson 335 deal. A last ditch quote made in writing by the assistant sales manager, reached that hallowed ground where sellers and buyers are seeing eye to eye. but all that came crashing down when the tax man and shipping man stepped in the way, pushing the total sales price to over 5 grand. Sorry, but as much as I wished, I'm not a five grand guitar buying kind of guy , I don't live in the rarified exclusive world of Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Versace. Instead, I buy Robert Graham $200 designer guitar themed button down shirts used for $38 on e-Bay so that I can make a splash at the Chicago Music Exchange mega guitar store and BTW, I actually did that. Also BTW, no one even noticed the shirt with guitars printed under the cuffs... No, that 335 custom shop Goddess of Guitar beauty remains elusive making me feel like Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea character with his trophy of a lifetime being in the grasp of his hands for just a little while before disappearing again forever. As I glumly emailed back to the CME sales manager, the added taxes and shipping pushed my Ramen-noodles-every-night budget beyond it's stretchable limits-apparently, it's the over 65, fixed income thing, ya know? So, now I promise to take a more measured approach to my posts and not fall guilty to charges of hogging the message board, Last, if a post is Gibson related, I never get tired of reading it. I opined in one post that I thought Gibson was a National Treasure, and I was sincere in that statement. Gibson truly is a larger than life company and helped launch the careers of some of America's greatest singers and musicians. (side note: yeah, I know, no amount of Gibson schmoozing is going to bring that Custom Shop 335 any closer to me, so please don't take it that way) No, I sincerely mean everything I've written about Gibson as being true and from my heart. Thanks for allowing me a place to socialize here with people I have things in common with, I feel like I'm in very good company whenever I'm here.

Well shucks, Prairie Dog (I like that name) I guess we all have to cope with the challenges we are faced with. When you have to look back to see 70 and your spouse and Mom left the living within 11 months (no, I'm not trying to play the pity card) the road upwards and forwards has been slow and halting at times. I still think the missing ingredient is finding good hearted female companionship. I won't deny it, I'm attracted to nice perky, usually younger, women-does Susan Tedechi have any unmarried sisters who play guitar too? Getting back into music may somehow present a pathway to meet my next soulmate. OK, that sounds kinda' hokey but I do need someone who I can trust and can keep me energized and engaged with life. All that said, music to me is stepping into another sensual realm made of sound but sound or more properly, musical sounds, can help the mind to form mental imagery. Ok, that sounds too esoteric and ephemeral...must have somethin' to do with the calendar date, huh? Sit down and bring out the best tonight with your Gibson. I'm still "Ferengi" haggling with a Chicago music store about obtaining a red custom shop ES335 re-issue-I can meet their nosebleed price but can't meet the added taxes and shipping which would be taking me over an insane 5 grand. Frankly, I'm not five grand guitar owning material. I like nice, but Gucci and Prada are outside my realm. Gibson guitars are different- I held that beautiful guitar gently in my hands carefully looking every inch of it over and it was like looking at a sculpted work of art. I reverently strummed it a bit without amplification and still the limited sound wasn't bad. I spiritually called cosmic dibs on that 335 while in the demo sound booth and we'll see if I've put out enough good Karma vibes to make it happen. If not, it's not the only one ever made. I just want to find one with soul, like my next lady in life, so I can add my energy to it and pass that forward. Now, as far as the Rock Star life and what the groupie scenes were like back in the day, the movie, Almost Famous, gives a somewhat accurate account of what the Rock world was like in the '70's when great talented bands and artists were popping up like mushrooms after the rain. The bands changed with each new cover of the Rolling Stone magazine and getting you and your crew on the cover meant you were in the spotlight of fame, maybe only for Warhol's 15 minutes of fame, ( https://warholiana.com/post/81689862604/in-the-future-everyone-will-be-world-famous-for ), but such was the Rock world in those halcyon days. I may have missed the bus back then and the the last train has left Clarksville long ago, but the guitar still provides a sensual link to those glory days as the song reminds us. Don't forget this either, please, assuming you're a "Boomer" try to play the Age card as often as you can because maybe that's about all we've got left, huh? (and you're thinking: speak for yourself, punk, and keep on pretending to be an immature, 40-something Grandpa and see where you end up) Have a great 420 weekend, Folks, and enjoy the arrival of Spring.

Understood. I learned in my childhood I was different because I preferred using my left hand rather than my right. No one else in my family was left handed. If I wasn't already mixed up enough, when I first picked up a guitar, I had a beginner's How to Play Guitar booklet and everything illustrated was right hand oriented. I followed the instructions perhaps a bit too closely because a zillion years later, this lefty still plays guitar right handed. I can and do play Barre chords with ease and work hard maintaining hand and finger strength by using some Corona by-pass shears to cut limbs into smaller pieces. Our local waste hauler will only take yard wastes in recyclable paper bags, so big limbs get chopped and whittled down into chips which takes a lot of time and makes my left hand sore from chopping up limb pieces for hours. When I had my first computer in the '90's several family members used it so it was obligatory to keep the mouse on the right side of the keybboard. I adapted to that arrangement pretty well and I know now that helped immensely to develop better right hand fine motor control. That practice took me into digital art for a while including a collaboration with NYC photographer Mark Lentz, a/k/a the Roving Rube, in 2002. Honestly, I hate name dropping, but I've known some pretty cool people over the years. Here's a sample of some digital artworks I did during that hot Texas summer: (can't get the link to not change into an image-how do I fix that?) Getting back to the small hands and oversized neck, you overcame that challenge and probably that made you become a better player. Kind of like the famous Greek guy with a speech impediment who practiced speaking with a mouth full of marbles and later, he became one of the best speakers of the ancient world. I'm convinced at this stage of the game, that life is mainly about overcoming obstacles and challenges-we all have our human frailties and shortcomings but we find creative ways to cope and overcome them allowing us to live a meaningful life. Sounds like you took that love of guitar playing, and continued to grow in your artistic pursuits. I'm sure you've had moments when you thought to yourself, if only I could have played that well when I was a kid, music would have been my life-long career. (assuming nothing here, if it's now your paying gig, then more power to you)

Hmmm....somethin' about that log cabin story doesn't quite add up, Forty Years, but I'm no mathematician and not even a particularly gifted guitar player, but I put my heart and soul into it. Ya'll folks down thar in Texas are gonna get baked like adobe bricks in a few days- and, a month later, it's Welcome to Texas time and it's gonna get even hotter. By August, it becomes a matter of survival- Texans don't even listen to the weather people anymore or glance at thermometers in August-by then, they've become like climate refugees always seeking a cool shelter from the relentless Texas summer heat. I should know, I spent 31 years with my home in downtown Fort Worth, a few blocks from the County Courthouse and now the old home-place is swarming with new apartments by the hundreds. My son and his family and my daughter with her family are all still down in Texas and I suppose the old song about not gettin' to Heaven but finding Texas is just as good, still inspires a lot of folks around there. I keep preachin' to those who would listen back home that the reason I ended up in eastern Ohio is because I couldn't take the infernal Texas summers any longer-a couple of summers before our move, I came dangerously close to having a heat stroke, during one brutally hot summer. I had gulped down a couple of cups of coffee early that morning and went outside before sunrise to get started on yard work. Fast forward, and it's noon, almost 100 F., and I had stopped sweating because I wanted to quickly finish up and go back inside. When a wave of dizziness set in I dropped everything and went inside straight to an air conditioned bedroom with some ice water and sat two feet away from the air conditioner's blower with it set on Max Cool. I eventually hydrated and recovered but that was a close one. Here's in the eastern Midwest (Pittsburgh is an hour away) summers can still get hot but are more tolerable than further south. Oh, about those dreaded horrible Eastern winters. Really? Pray tell...I've just wrapped up my fourth winter here and as they say in Appalachian Ohio, them winters 'round here ain't been no Hill for a Mountain Man. Now, I need to shut up and see how a darn spiffied up Avatar photo is going to fix things up for you? If you've been pickin' for forty years, surely there's a better than mugshot quality photo of you somewhere with you doin' your pickin', right? Such an Avatar would tell the whole world who you are and what you stand for. Oh, and before I forget... Willie Nelson is doing his legendary July Fourth hootennany celebration (I know, you easily guessed it) this year in CAMDEN NEW JERSEY! Now what part of the country stands for Country & Western music better than Jersey? Y'all down in Texas probably need to do a little thinkin' bout this getting your brains baked and steamed every summer. This Ohio region has got something everyone in the world now wants: abundant fresh water and plenty of rains. Keep on Pickin' Forty Years, Pickn, and best wishes that life will get better for you soon.

PrarieDog, I have to say we both have the same philosophy about acoustic instrument construction. Using the best, most efficient methods helps to keep models affordable, relatively speaking. Inflation has hit guitars like everything else. Despite mechanization and modern production techniques, quality acoustic guitars still have a lot of hand made input. When I read stories by veteran well known guitarists who bought some of their rarities way back when, I sigh when reading that they paid a couple of hundred dollars or Quid for a vintage guitar that would be valued at $25,000 or higher today. Making guitars is surely not an easy business to be in because so many aspects have to be very carefully watched to maintain a profit margin. I'm seeing a certain brand now based in Scottsdale, AZ trying direct marketing to customers which surely makes their dealers smile. I think they are realizing artificially battered "relics" don't quite have the same buyer appeal that real classics with honest patina, have. I hope they are like Crypto currencies, maybe collected in the future for their novelty value and being questioned as a "what were they thinking?" fad. I'll salute Gibson once again for re-issuing "classics" and not getting too caught up in the make it look old no matter what it takes phenomenon. I'd be just as happy with a 1964 ES-335 reissue as an original because playing a $50,000 guitar makes me a little nervous. In 50 years, that re-issue will have some genuine patina of its own and is likely to climb in value just like the originals that inspired it. I screen copied one of Martin's Facebook ads because it shows the elaborate bracing in their guitars. Doesn't matter if some pieces were entirely machine milled, the focus should be on a extreme degree of bracing making this look like an elephant could stand on it without breaking it. (please don't try that with your pet Elephant!)

You wrote: I was clueless when I was a kid. My guitar was a cheapie Yamaha classical, picked up at the local school band supply shop. Otherwise I borrowed nice electrics from friends. Even later on, I tended to lump brands into uniform, general sounds: Gibsons= full and rich, guitary, Martins=muddy and dark, Taylors=shrill. My dear old Grandma, wanted to give me a nice present when I turned 21 and I knew her financial means were limited so I picked out a $110 Yamaha steel string and told her I'd be happy with that one, and, I was. That was back in 1972 (after completing 3 years of duty in the Air Force) but it's complicated because I also had dual citizenship-a story for another time. My reference for quality acoustics was a Gibson J160e or was it an L160e (?) that a kindred spirited neighbor actually let me take home and practice on for a week. He just called it a "Jumbo" but it had a deep bass resonance I've not encountered since, very low string action-barely enough to avoid fret buzz, and a wide but very thin neck which made making chords easier. I've made do with the Yamaha for over 50 years, still have it, and although the sound output has improved only slightly in over a half century, it's still a $110 guitar which even back then wasn't a lot to pay for a decent acoustic. Not to sound cryptic, but my current acoustic love affair involves a certain 324CE and because I'd like to keep it for a while, that's about all I'm comfortable iwith disclosing. (Warning: I have a very vicious Beaded Dragon lizard loose on the premises who will immediately change over into Jurassic Park mode if a stranger approaches her-now, you've been warned!) The New T sounds sweet to my old ears but I've noticed the factory strings are harder and I have to limit my playing sessions because my left finger pads get sore. Never had that problem with electric strings (I prefer Cleartones and Thomastik-Infeld Power Brites ) and I always thought that acoustic strings weren't as hard on the fingers to fret. My venerable old Yamaha will probably be the only one to go outside in the future but its 50 year old inexpensive case, although still functional, is getting to be on the Woebegone side so I'll need to find a case replacement soon. I won't sell or trade the old Japanese cheapy because of it's sentimental qualities. I did play a lower end Martin at a campfire setting about 15 years ago (loaned) and I thought, this dull sounding thing is a MARTIN? I also sat and listened to someone play what was obviously a higher end Martin because of the amount of Mother of Pearl inlay from the headstock down to the sound hole. Now, it had some sonic presence-I guess one should understand that Chevrolet base models and fully loaded $100K Cadillacs are still built by the same company. From a savvy marketing standpoint, the lowest priced base model acoustic should still have a sound that compares favorably with the more expensive models. Give the lower end buyer a better deal for their money and less profit margin, because when they are ready for that commemorative anniversary model priced ten times higher than the base model, they will still be loyal to the brand. As a side note, I've long been fascinated with the oddball Ovation acoustics with their round carbon fiber (or is it fiberglass?) backs. They do seem to have a slightly different sound than most acoustics. I saw them being used on the Rod Stewart's video of Every Picture Tells a Story and that distinctive Ovation sound came through. i've heard that they are prone to structural problems but that's all I know. Paul Simon used to play a high end Ovation so they must be fairly good. 12 string models to me are like Dobro guitars-I owned a Dobro made by National for a couple of weeks in my 20's because a co-worker owed me money and he said I could have the guitar instead. It was an older model, dirty, and poorly cared for. I put new quality strings on it, cleaned it up, and was just starting to enjoy it when the guy knocked on my door and he had the cash in his hand to pay off the debt as he stated he wanted the guitar back. Being the easy going kind of guy I am, I said, OK, I'll take the money and here's your guitar back with new strings and all cleaned up for you-please take better care of it. End of story. I'll have to have someone show me how to play a 12 string and I have no idea about how they are tuned. (did I mention I've lived in a dark cave most of my life and only come out to see the seasons change?) I recently bought a slide stainless steel sleeve but slide guitar, I'm finding out, is a tough nut I've yet to crack. The sleeve seems too constricting for all but my pinkie finger so I think I'll get a Derek Trucks glass slide sleeve and give that one a whirl. At best, I may eventually be able to squeak out a few slide notes, but the Blues players have no reason whatsoever to worry about me.

Agreed, great technique and fluidity but almost like Android Data on Startrek playing it.

Well thanks. I think it's a sign of the times that many folks past 50 are returning to their youthful passions of guitars and music. I will skirt around the brand issue by saying I recently acquired an acoustic-electric from the brand you mentioned. Hand's down, it's one of the nicest acoustics I've ever played and most expensive too. I wouldn't rule out a Gibson acoustic in the future as each guitar has its own unique sound. I can relate to the "shunning" thing- for two consecutive weeks lately, I took out local newspapers ads asking for other interested players to jam with. Not a single phone call so I;m trying to come up with a plan B. Guess I shouldn't have put "Older Rock guitarist" in the ad but I didn't want a bunch of high school kids calling me about joining a band. The search continues.

I think you're right about Joe Bonamassa...long ago, he crossed the line from being a guitar collector to being a guitar hoarder. I hear he has a whole wall of '59 LP's. A few folks are still making money off music (and T-shirts!) and Bonamassa is one of them.

Thanks PrairieDog. I always feel like I'm on thin ice mentioning other brands on a brand dedicated site, but I think the good folks at Gibson realize not everyone can be brand exclusive in their musical equipment choices but, of course, Yamaha would like to have you think so, There's certainly a place for Gibson in every discussion as I consider this plucky Industrial Age survivor a National Treasure. I suppose you could call me a true believer, but I do allow that other brands may have a role to fill in an artist's quest for musical excellence. As for the "grungy" amp, I have a "Mama" Amp from the same brand in a 2x 12" speaker configuration and of the modeling Amp variety so this small one would be the sit out on the porch in the Summer type amp and I look forward to seeing what kinds of sounds I can get out of it. I'll later share a present, ready to be reassembled photo, and last, a ready to play photo. (you know, just before the Amp catches fire and blows up) One tiny detail I'm working on is on a knob that has a tiny sliver of white metal that goes in a groove to mark the knob's position. Somehow, during toothbrush scrubbing with simple green, the sliver fell out and promptly disappeared into the carpet or ??? So, I have some white sheet plastic (actually x-ray film dividers courtesy of my late wife) of exactly the right thickness so I'm trying to carve off a suitable tiny piece and glue it into place so that nothing will be missing. Impossible to find replacement knobs. Yeah, it's the perfectionist thing... (but not OCD!)

Yeah, that's kind of what I thought. My daughter likes sentimental stuff so maybe I can fob those off to her. I have a friend in northern California who had 16 Bitcoins someone paid him to settle a debt and those, if he had the good sense to cash them out recently, ,could have raised him up to millionaire status for a while. Small wonder the always practical Japanese saw quality American made guitars as good hedges against inflation so they must have bought thousands of them. Type in almost any Gibson model on E-Bay and you'll find a wide variety available from Japan and they always are being offered as "Brand New" in their listing descriptions, The only way that could be true is if they were bought factory fresh, stashed in a vault (never played, of course) and now, for reasons the sellers only know, are being re-offered to American buyers. A fair number appear to be reasonably priced so maybe the phenomenon is dying out.

Sgt. Pepper, you're only kidding about the Beanies, right? My late wife, God rest her soul, collected those (can't use those words here) Beanie Babies for years and every time we would go to a flea market she'd dig around and find a rare limited issue "Beanie" while I'd roll my eyes and groan. Now, I'm stuck with a tractor trailer load and I have no practical use for them. Ok, maybe not a tractor trailer load, but for me, even one is too many. How can I unload them and use the proceeds for a Gibson ESS 335? Chicago Music Exchange re-quoted me $4.5K for their custom shop red 335 model plus taxes and shipping which would still push it over $5K and result in too many nights of eating Ramen noodles. Couldn't someone accidentally put an inconspicous scratch on the underside of the neck to bring it into my price range? Anyhow, I'm patient...I waited 31 years to sell my Texas home, 50 years to trade in my SG, so what's another decade or two to wait for my ES 335? I'm only 73 and surely I'll be spry enough to shred when I'm Willie Nelson's age, right? I'm pretty bummed there was a 2006 red 335 for $2,295 a few weeks ago and I was asleep at the wheel on that one while someone else, wasn't. Strike while the iron is hot applies...