dhanners623

Thanks! I’ve not been to Hebburn but should go sometime, although the plant was closed in 1990 and demolished in ‘92. And it’s weird — Hebburn is about a 2.5-hour drive northeast of Manchester, but I’ve played the song out a couple of times and only a couple of people recall hearing of the coke works. I guess my audiences skew young….

Admittedly no Gibson content here, but I did consider taking my J-35 when I headed out to catch the train to go down to Norfolk to film this clip. Wound up taking my kit-built D-18 clone, though. This was recorded in the offices of Home Stage in Blakeney. They are having an initiative called pFITE24 (for Poetry and Folk in the Environment) and it’s meant to get artists involved in raising environmental awareness. My entry is “Monkton Coke,” a song I wrote about a coke works that ran for many years in Hebburn in the northeast of England. It polluted the air and land and caused myriad health problems for the workers and residents of a council estate the plant was built next to. A local homemaker named Jennie Shearan — who came to be known as “Battling Jennie” — organized the community and eventually, the owners shut the plant and were required to clean up the land. Here’s the deal, though…. The video entries for pFITE24 are judged by viewer “likes.” So if you watch the video, I’d be most appreciative if you’d click on the little thumbs-up “Like” button. If you’re so inclined, that is. And feel free to tell your friends. Thanks! And next time, I’ll grab the J-35….

I have no dog in this fight, but I’m wondering what would compel you to say that. Low-grade wood? Bad workmanship? Design? Lousy sound? And what personal experience do you have with the guitars?

Interesting history. I’m no expert, but I have a tough time seeing it bring in that type of money.

The last two Gibsons I bought — a ‘96 J-45 and a ‘16 J-35 — intonated just fine. But, as has been noted, nearly every guitar requires a set-up of some sort coming out of the factory. Why people expect a guitar off the showroom floor to play perfectly is beyond me.

The issue is finding them here in the U.K. Amazon has them but they are ridiculously expensive. For example, a set of medium 80/20s goes for £17.42, which works out to over $21 at today’s exchange rate. StringsDirect, which is kind of the U.K. equivalent to JustStrings, doesn’t carry them. Some individual brick-and-mortar shops my carry them. I’ll have to check.

Sounds like a song in there, as long as the guitar was strung with Black Diamond strings…. (Speaking of which, when I taught myself to play my late brother’s Stella in the very early ‘70s, I strung it with Black Diamonds. The only place to buy strings in my East Central Illinois hometown of 2,500 was Millikan’s Pharmacy (!?!) and all they carried were Black Diamonds. I was thinking of getting a set to throw on the Stella when it arrives, but they seem hard to come by in the U.K. I seem to recall trying a set a decade or so ago just for nostalgia’s sake, and took them off after a couple of days.)

If you’re talking about gluing on a saddle, yeah, I’m sure Jim could use hide glue. I don’t know about it being reversible, though, as he’d need to remove the lacquer and finish where the bridge would go in order to allow for wood-to-wood contact. I may just leave well-enough alone….

Thanks. I’m kind of inclined to keep it as it is, but at least get a new nut and get the floating bridge and saddle up to modern standards. I ran my questions past a friend of mine, Minneapolis master luthier Marty Reynolds, who has a sideline of rebuilding vintage Stellas and Harmonys into really good players. He said that if the top was secure and there was a good break angle between the tailpiece and the floating bridge, a conversion would be possible and it probably wouldn’t add a lot of strain to the top, provided an appropriate bridge plate was installed. But he also said that sometimes, there’s a big lateral brace right where a bridge plate would go. A conversion may be more expense than it is worth. At this point, I’d probably prefer to spend the money on a decent pickup. The guitar should be arriving Friday or Saturday. The seller had hoped to send it out yesterday but said he ran into a “bubble wrap issue,” so it’ll go out today or tomorrow. Hopefully today.

I have a general question regarding acoustics with floating bridges vs. acoustics with pin bridges…. I scored a 1954 Stella H929 off eBay. Hasn’t arrived yet, but the seller says it’s in very good condition, recently had a neck reset, has had all the other issues addressed, plays great, yadda yadda yadda. I taught myself to play (years ago) on my late brother’s Stella and I’ve been wanting to get one for awhile. The H929 is a ladder-braced 12-fret with the top and body built of solid birch. They were built in Chicago. Elvis actually played a couple of different H929s in “Jailhouse Rock,” according to Scotty Moore. The guitar has a floating bridge and tailpiece. I’ve long been fascinated by Scott Baxendale’s conversions of vintage Harmony guitars, including some where he replaces the floating bridge with a pinned bridge. (He glues in a bridge plate, and often makes some other changes/additions to the bracing.) I have an experienced luthier/repair guy in Stockport, Jim Fleeting, who is willing to tackle the job if I go the conversion route. Every guitar I’ve owned since my brother’s Stella has had a pinned bridge. In all my years of playing, I’ve never stopped to consider if there are sonic or other differences between floating vs. pinned bridges. Is one more advantageous than the other? Thoughts? Warnings? Considerations?

Frankly, there are times I think some of us are prone to owning too many guitars; in that case, they own us. If you’re a bona fide collector then, yeah, owning lots of guitars is what you do. But how many guitars does the average player really need? I’ve got two really nice guitars — a handmade D-18 clone and a J-35 — and one that’s pretty darn good, a Farida OT-22. There are times I think I could get by just fine with the OT-22. Plugged in (with a Baggs M1) it is great. Stays in tune forever, good tone/volume and easy to play. Records well. As they say, it’s 90-percent of an LG-2 at a fraction of the cost. The guitar is just a tool. Yeah, it’s nice to have good tools, but it doesn’t make your songs any more authentic. I think of all the great old blues guys who made great music with whatever guitar they could afford at the time. The older I get, the less stuff I want. Living and moving abroad over the past decade has taught me that if I’m unwilling to lug it through an airport, I probably don’t need it.

Ok. Here is, “Where the Wabash Meets the Ohio.”

Ooops is right. Here’s a video from that night, but of a song called “Oxyana Blues.” I’ll see if I can get the other song uploaded.

I won’t let success go to my head. Hahahahahahahaha. I’m a folk singer. Success is measured in whether anybody offers to buy you a drink, and since I don’t drink, that’s kind of moot. Ursula, the barkeep at the Whiskey Jar,, did stick a lime in my Diet Coke last night, though. The meeting went well, and we’ll see. I kind of feel at a crossroads. I enjoy playing to a live audience — there’s nothing quite like it — but I’m getting to the age where I wonder if the hassle is worth it. If I had a string of decent gigs in listening rooms, I’d be ok. I’m not in it for the money; I’d just prefer not to go broke. When it comes to music, I gave up the profit motive a long time ago, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t still devoted a long time studying the craft of songwriting, stagecraft, etc. If the link works, here’s a clip from last night’s set. I was joined by three members of the Underground Folk Collective, a relatively new combo in Manchester. We never got together to rehearse. Next time, we will. The tune is a murder ballad I wrote called, “Where the Wabash Meets the Ohio.” https://www.facebook.com/100001307451553/posts/pfbid04zS6GEKXXpoPxehHutWUzEJkKDsRk3xCdg5PXdEo3m9c6DBCf5CAstoALTbeZNYDl/

I wouldn’t quite put it like that. Moved here because I have dual US/UK citizenship and living in the UK is just easier, cheaper and less stressful right now. Have lived abroad (Kuwait, Cyprus and the UK) for all but six months of the last decade. I played plenty when I lived in the US. Lived in the Twin Cities, which has a fairly vibrant music scene. That scene pales in comparison to Manchester, though, and that is where we wound up. The city bills itself as the music capital of the UK and opportunities to perform are everywhere. There is a healthy Americana and folk scene. I’m trying to figure out where I fit in, though, and how much effort I want to expend. The US (and Texas) aspect of my music makes me quasi-unique here so I can usually get a foot in the door. In fact, I have a Zoom chat this morning with an outfit that represents, among others, Martin Simpson and Paul Brady. No idea if anything will come of it, but it was nice of them to ask.

An LG-1 that has had its ladder bracing replaced with X-bracing doesn’t become an LG-2. It becomes an LG-1 that has had its ladder bracing removed and replaced with X-bracing. Unless the guitar is already in pieces, it sounds like a labor-intensive (read “expensive”) experiment that may not produce the results you are hoping for. Rejoice in the guitar you have, not the guitar you think it should be.

The Baggs M1 (or M80) with the cord hanging out is a great and affordable solution to getting a good sound with a pickup that involves zero modification to the guitar. (I’m reminded, though, of Lyle Lovett, who famously uses a Sunrise with the cord hanging out. He says he does so because he can’t bear the thought of having someone take a drill to his Collings guitars to make a hole for an endpin jack. Of course as people at the Collings shop have noted, the irony is that the tape Lovett uses to secure the cord to his guitar screws up the finish.) I will posit there is no “best” guitar pickup. What sounds like a great pickup in my guitar might sound lousy in yours, and vice versa. Also, you’re not the only person in the equation; there may well be a sound person involved at the gig (or an engineer in the studio) and they will have their idea of how the guitar should sound. Then there’s the equipment the sound is actually coming out of. A great pickup played through lousy speakers is going to sound bad. Another factor to consider for what is “best” is how much alteration you want done to the guitar. A Baggs M1 requires none. The Maton system referred to elsewhere requires cutting a rectangle of wood out of the lower bout to install the rather sizable control panel. Heaven knows what the whole shebang weighs. Years and years ago, I was a broke college student who could only afford a “lawsuit” Takamine F-360. From 20 feet away, you’d swear it was a D-28. When you started playing it, you definitely knew it wasn’t a D-28. It had a plywood top and the sound was on the tinny side. I got a Baggs LB6 pickup installed — the very first pickup Baggs offered. Plugged in and with just the right EQ, it was an excellent-sounding guitar. One guitar repair guy told me it was because of the combination of the pickup and the plywood top, which vibrated less (and made for a cleaner signal) than most solid tops. So the bottom line is, there are a lot of variables is what pickup might sound good in your guitar.

The difference in sound (if there is any) comes not from drilling a small hole for the wire(s) attached to the piezo element. The difference comes from inserting the piezo element between the saddle and the bottom of the saddle slot. Unless everything is perfectly flat, there will be issues, plus you’re breaking the connection between the saddle and the guitar. Also, I’m convinced — although others can argue otherwise — that the added weight of a volume/tone control and a battery pack have an impact on the tone. I had the Baggs Element system removed from my ‘16 J-35 and the guitar was lighter and sounded better to my ears. I’m confused by your reference to being unsure of the “goal” of the guitar. The guitar’s goal is to make music. It is a tool. While it is an expensive guitar, it is not an heirloom vintage guitar that requires babying. Take care of it, yes, but it’s built to be played. At open mics. At gigs. At festivals. At the local farmers’ market. In your living room. I’m always intrigued by people who go to the expense of buying a good guitar and then develop a phobia about taking it out of the house. If you’re a recording artist, perhaps provide us with some samples of your work or a performance video or two. It might be easier to judge what might work best for you after hearing/seeing those. There are a lot of knowledgeable people here with many years’ experience. I have learned much from them.

Does the Fishman Rare Earth Blend have a cord that comes out through the soundhole? When I do a quick look online, they all seem to have endpin jacks. I’m hip to the desire to get a great sound, but don’t overthink stuff….

I think the issue with whether it is a real vintage (i.e., old) guitar has more to do with a reluctance to alter it in any substantial way, namely adding an endpin jack and/or affixing volume/tone controls, a battery, etc., to the inside of the guitar. The wise course is if it’s old, don’t drill a hole in it. In a perfect world, the absolute best way to amplify a good acoustic guitar is to mic it. If you start with a great guitar and a quality microphone (and a sound person who knows what he or she is doing) then you’ll get a sound that’s hard to beat. Given my choice, that’s what I’d do. It’s not a perfect world, though. Some sound people have no idea how to mic and EQ an acoustic guitar. Also, some players like the freedom of moving around when they play, and that requires plugging in. Another consideration to keep in mind is that unless your audience is made up of gearheads, they don’t care if you’re playing a pricey Gibson or a cheap Chibson. Their two main criteria are 1) can we hear the guitar? and 2) can we hear the guitar? That’s it. We obsess over the intricacies of the guitar and sound, but they don’t.

Enlarging the end pin hole to install a jack doesn’t impact the tone. You’re just reaming out a hole in a big block of wood. (And it is a job best left to a professional. There’s a particular reamer for Baggs endpin jacks.) The M80 is a very good pickup. I have one. I also have a couple of M1s, one of which I use in a J-35. They do a real nice job of capturing the guitar’s sound, and you avoid that piezo “quack.”

I think part of the issue is we fell in love with music, not the music business, and it can be easy to forget they are two very different things. The latter doesn’t necessarily reward the former.

Thanks. That’s kind of you to say and right back at ya, as they say. When you’ve posted songs here, they’ve always been killer. Over the years, I’ve had a few friends move to Nashville to try and make it. A couple of them came back pretty quickly when they saw what the Real World was like and that being a big fish in a small pond had not really prepared them for it. A couple of them are still plugging away (and both still have day jobs…) and the thing is, they’re really good but so is everyone else there. I’m no expert but I think there’s just a combination of factors required, including that mysterious “X” factor that few can define but you know it when you see it and hear it. I sure as heck can’t define it, but Tyler Booth has it.

Played the support set for Tyler Booth last night and all went great. I made it through without a problem. The sound guy was wonderful to work with and was very complimentary. I got lots of nice comments afterwards. Played the J-35 with the Baggs M1. The two are a dependable combination. The headliner, Tyler Booth, was an outright force of nature. If I’m being honest, he’s a very good writer but as I listened to his Nashville-produced stuff before last night, it sounded like everything else coming out of Nashville. If you’re into that, great, but it generally gives me pause. But alone on stage with an acoustic guitar, there is nowhere to hide and Booth brought it. To start with, he’s a darn-good writer who genuinely cares about the craft of songwriting, and when he does a cover, he makes great choices. And he has a voice that really resonates. It didn’t really grab me in the videos I’d watched but live, in person, it did. Lastly, he’s a VERY good guitarist. Again, that’s something that doesn’t come across in his videos, but his set was a master class in how to accompany yourself on acoustic guitar. He may wear a cowboy hat, but he’s no “hat act.” I was impressed and I like to think I’m jaded. The bottom line is, I have no trouble seeing what Sony Music Nashville sees in him. Guitar-wise, he left the Gibsons at home. He was playing a new Martin D-18 “StreetLegend” with a Baggs Anthem. It sounded really good. (His dad, who serves as his tour manager, said Martin had just provided him with the guitar before they left for the U.K. Their Custom Shop had inlaid his logo at the 14th fret.) He did a lot of tunes in dropped-D tuning and the guitar really resonated. Renewed my lust for a good D-18….

How big is the “black box”? Is it the battery pack? If so, they’re held in with Velcro. If not, I don’t have a clue and, yeah, it shouldn’t be banging around in there. If you’ve got a GC close by, head on over. A photo might help us here….