tpbiii
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Posts posted by tpbiii
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Here are some from the 30s and early 40s. Note the burst color went over the pickguard.
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3 hours ago, DanvillRob said:
Those are simply wonderful! What great memories you have.
I think anyone would enjoy sitting around somewhere, sipping an 'adult beverage' listening to you two!
God Bless your sweet wife.....looks like you guys had a lot of fun!
We did. Here are 200+ videos in which she played and sang. Remember these are best described as practice to see how we sounded.
https://vimeo.com/showcase/7165735
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3 hours ago, Salfromchatham said:
Tom, may your dear wife’s memory always bring you smiles. Thank you for sharing her with us. (And your instruments !)
Thanks. She was shy, but we played music together for more that 50 years. She also was very funny == and unpredictable. This was spontaneous and I had no idea she might do this.
You are right -- it makes me smile.
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About 15 years ago, I set up an acoustic audio/video faithful reproduction system originally intended to demo the tone of vintage guitars. My late wife and had lots of musical instruments, knew lots of songs, and had lots of friends and we loved variety. So I later added a green screen and used the system to listen to lots of combinations -- 1000s. Well that is now sort of all that is left of those years. When I was seeing if there were any recordings of FOX ON THE RUN, this recording of THE FOX showed up. It was one of the few recordings that used our 1935 ROY SMECK RADIO GRANDE, so thought someone here might be interested.
Tom
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When we first started playing bluegrass with a locally performing band, that song was already worn out -- so popular bands were sick of it. Like Rocky Top and Wagon Whee today. We played it in secret and occasionally in jams and on street corners. I have one existing practice recording.
That is a 1943 RW batch 910 SJ. Pretty disreputable for bluegrass.🙂
Best,
-Tom
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GIBSONS from that period sometimes had both, one or the other, or neither. Here is a 36 KT-00. If it is 31-33, it would have this body shape. A picture would help.
-Tom
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The more recent common definition of "OLD TIME" is really actually pretty new, a form that evolved out of the folk revival. Fiddle and banjo centered string band session music. The modern form is mostly populated by claw-hammer banjo style campaigned bu Oak Publications -- banjo for muggles. It is sort of related to the mountain string band music practiced around places like Galax VA, but more refined and less powerful. These sessions have singing, but generally not too much. The generally get in a key -- A or D - and do fiddle tune after fiddle tune.
If not that, then probably heavy of Carter Family. I love to jam that vocal stuff with friends.
Last it might be just "folk revival" stuff.
All three can be fun.
Let us know how it goes.
Best,
-Tom
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21 hours ago, jedzep said:
With prices the way they are these days, I wouldn't invest 2K in these soul-less Gibson models, known for their uninspiring tone and volume. Hate to blaspheme on this site, and all, but in that range a new-ish used Martin 0-18 or even a D-Junior would blow either of these out of the water. Those F-25 pick guards couldn't be uglier, on top of the dull tone reputation. Maybe you can find a good modern used L00 for a couple hundred more.
My minty 60's B-25 cost me 900 bucks 12 years ago. I dumped it shortly after not realizing until playing how dull the tone was, and jumped up to an LG-2, still less than 2K then.Sellers are out there hyping name and vintage, but there are great sounding guitars out there in the 2.5K range that make those models sound like student models.
Well that has not been my experience -- at least on the F-25. The closest thing I have to a B-25 is a 46 LG-2 -- which is not close IME to the 60s stuff at all. The 46 has much more power. I do have an c. 64 F-25, which is one of the most surprising guitar I own. In power and in-your-face tone, the closest thing I have is a 39 HG-00 conversion -- both will definitely peel paint. Also I should say that there seems to have been some kind of (maybe) bracing change in about the middle of the F-25 run -- maybe 64-68? The later ones seem quite different according to the people who own them -- mine is early. That is about the same time the factory automation started -- maybe something to do with that..
The closet thing I have to a newish 0-18 is a 52 00-18. It is indeed a strong guitar, but the F-25 has it beat in raw power. BUT they are tonally worlds apart -- F-25 has sparse raw power and 00-18 has the characteristic full, warm Martin mid-range. I have a show and tell comparison in the works between the 46 LG-2, 49 CF-100, and the 52 00-18. Maybe I will throw the F-25 into the mix.
Best,
-Tom
Here is a slightly relevant video comparison of 60s Gibsons. No LG-2/B-25
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Before it was the ERNEST TUBBS RECORD STORE it was something else -- THE OLD TIME PICKIN PARLOR. This was founded and owned by legendary lutherer RANDY WOOD, TUT TAYLOR and GRANT BOATRIGHT. Prior to that, Randy and Tut had been part of GTR -- GEORGE, TUT, RANDY -- the initial version of George Gruhn's instrument store. It was a combination lutherie, vintage instrument store, bar, restaurant, and performance venue. Starting in the 1970s, Randy did most to the guitar work for all the legends of the Grande Ole Opry -- one block over from the Ryman.
Well Randy Wood's OLD TIME PICKING PARLOR still exists and is going strong. After he left Nashville, Randy reopened it near Savannah -- all the same components as the Nashville operation except the bar. Randy and I are the same age now -- 78 -- but he is still ongoing strong. His venue is still a gathering place for many of the music legends he has served over the years. For the last 20+ years he has cared for my vintage guitars and banjos.
Once a year, many legends and muggles gather at his establishment for a picking party. I have not gone for a couple of years, but I am going with many friends this year.
https://www.randywoodmusic.com/
Here is me and some of my instruments (39 D-28, 36 AJ, and 30 Gibson built Studio King) picking with a couple of Bluegrass legends -- **** Smith (County Gentlemen and many more) and Brian Aldridge (Dry Branch Fire Squad).
Now you know the rest of the story.😉
This year I am going to pick up a custom open back version of one of these.
Mostly to be played by my (mostly online jamulus for the last couple of years) picking buddy Dr. Kelly Moore.
Best,
-Tom
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F#?
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1931 L-2 -- the high end version of that guitar. Done my folk guy George Hergen with a bit of harmony from by late wife.
Best,
-Tom
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If it is 1953, the leading character in the FON should be a Y. 52 was Z, 54 was X, ....
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I have about 50 Gibsons and 50 Martins (1893-1969). I have no slot head Gibsons: 17 Martins.
EG:
1967, 1968, 1968, 1968, 1995 -- My late wife loved these things for her 60s folk revival stuff
She later went over to the dark side and played bluegrass
Best,
-Tom
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String changing takes longer -- at least for me.
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I have a 31 L-2 and a 39 HG-00. They were both out, so I took their picture in a chair.
1931 and 1939 guitars are pretty different. 31-32 are almost Martin like -- it was a transition period -- whereas the 1939 is a bit more of a blues engine. The neck on my HG-00 is only a tiny bit larger than the L-2.
Best,
-Tom
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Well I now have two 50s LG-1s -- 56 and 59. I am not supposed to have two of the same guitar, but I bought the 56 in Texas in December. It seemed like a reasonable price for one in such great condition -- it was an impulse buy.
My first real guitar was a late 50s/early 60s LG-1 -- I played it until it was stolen out of my office in the late 70s. When I got it, I played some old folk revival stuff on it and stuck some pictures from c. 1962 on the video. I may have already put this video up.
I also have a 42 LG-1, a 46 LG-2 and a 49 CF-100 -- similar guitars but x-braced.
Here is an old video comparison.
Best,
-Tom
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8 hours ago, ratherbwalkn said:
Thanks Tom, the 34 HG-C has such sweet tone IMO
The question of how to demo guitars has haunted me for the past decade and a half. When you compare digital speech systems, you can use materials are pretty much emotionally neutral -- for music not so. The best way to compare instruments is actually to strum them and pick them with no frills and listen to the tone. When you add great hot or beautiful picking or beautiful guitar/vocal combinations, most people -- especially musicians- can't hear their way through their long term and short term bias and actually hear the instruments. I have tried to explain the science behind all this for years, but I have decided I no longer care -- it is not my job educate anyone. So the demo on this thread are just whatever I feel like posting at the time -- I like them all.
1936 Advanced Jumbo
1936 Jumbo35 (Trojan)
1937 Roy Smeck Stage Deluxe
1938 L-Century
Next -- late 30s and early 40s.
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How many would you like?
1934 Carson Robeson (KG-11)
1934 HG-C
1935 JUMBO
1935 ROY SMECK RADIO GRANDE
Last half of the 30s tomorrow if I have time.
Best,
-Tom
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I don't have a perfect match, but sort of close. I have a mid 40s pair -- 44 J-45 and 46 LG-2 and 53 J-45 and 50 CF-100. The CF-100 is often called a fancy LG-2 with a cutaway. Personally, I have found the J-45s more personally attractive for me -- might not be to you. It is sort of like they are similar, but I like the low end a bit more on the J-45. I must say this is not a primary style for me. Also the mid 40s pair is stronger than the early 50s pair, but that is to be expected.
I often have recordings but not this time. Sorry.
=Tom
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It does look like a refin. That cuts the selling price a lot. Here is an original 54.
The covid market is crazy, so it is hard to say. I would guess you might get 3K or a bit more from the right buyer.
Good luck,
-Tom
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Personally, I would leave it alone. The point is to add power, but it will never be a powerful guitar. Gibson built power guitars in the 30s, but it was downhill after that. They had sort of collapsed by the 70s, but the acoustic music of the 60s -- the music of my youth -- was very comparatively and mild inclusive. I still love that stuff, and I have a 62 HB which is an acoustic jewel for that stuff. It is old enough to have picked up a lot of tonal clarity -- you would lose that -- or most of it -- with a new bridge modification.
Now since the 60s, I have played a lot of more power genres -- bluegrass, mountain folk, ragtime, traditional gospel. I use a lot of old Gibsons to do that, but never mind what you do to that 63, it will never really compete with the 1934-1954 stuff. And my HB is generally very useful -- it records better than the older stuff and to me it is a perfect match to the folk revival era. For all these reasons, I think the collector/player divide may well be dominated by collectors, so there is a good chance such a modification will ultimately depress its value.
Here are most of my J Gibsons -- 1935-1965.
The 62 and 65 up front will never do what all the high $$ stuff behind will do, but the opposite is also true.
Here is the 62 HB as folk revival acoustic instrument.
A full you bluegrass band would overpower this room -- but the HB, 1/4 Kay and the 30 Larson Brothers makes it work acoustically while preserving the vintage tone.
Of course whatever you decide to do must match your agenda -- not mine.
All the best,
Tom
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11 hours ago, olie said:
True that, but when they shipped only 139 it falls into a category of rarity.
Don't confuse "shipped" with "manufactured."
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WOW -- they are pretty rare, but not that rare. I paid $250 for mine -- a long time ago I wonder what it is actually worth.
Here is what mine sounds like.
It is good for some stuff IMO.
Let's pick,
-Tom
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This is from a 1962 HB.
I am no expert on modern Gibson "Vintage Models."
I do have 50+ old Gibsons -- mostly 1900-1954, but a few 60s. I can't tell for sure what this is. My guess is it a new Gibson "Vintage" model -- they build a dizzying number of those, almost none with actual correct vintage features.
Best,
-Tom
Define "Old Time" Music
in Gibson Acoustic
Posted · Edited by tpbiii
I really like this kind of discussion! I am in my Texas home right now, and I actually did some kind of jam or band practice (side man for my daughter's DEAD GIRL SONG band -- mostly finger style guitar, harmonica and flat picked guitar) every day. A nice week after a long lockup in Georgia. One called itself old time, one Cajun, and the rest bluegrass -- all were organized as a song circle -- the bluegrass sessions had more breaks. Lots of breaks. None of these would pass for bluegrass in North GA. I really like bluegrass jamming rules even if it is not bluegrass. This is my article on bluegrass jamming.
https://barnwell.ece.gatech.edu/rolesx.htm
Soo
What model is the 33 mandolin? Since it belonged to Scotty, maybe F5 or similar?
Which version of Shady Grove -- Doc Watson with the minor, or the straight bang and go almost one chord older version. The first is a fine finger style version which is oddly not well known in bluegrass circles but very well known to folkies.
Did you get harmony -- on the whole song? On the chorus? I actually did blue ridge mountain blues once this week, forgetting that the chorus changes -- that makes it a bit of a jam buster for bluegrass harmony singers who like an unchanging chorus. Did you sing harmony?
In the Cajun session, I mostly played rhythm guitar and harmonica and hung on. Not too good a fit. In the old time, rhythm guitar and clawhammer banjo and a bit s singing -- only an approximate fit for bluegrass style harmony. I often go out with my dear friend Dr. Kelly Moore - an excellent singer and clawhammer banjo player.
This week all of those songs showed up somewhere except KING OF THE ROAD. I often sang harmony if appropriate, and I did lead on DARK HOLLOW once. I do that in D -- high lonesome. What about you?
Alone and retired, for me this is as good as it gets.🙂
Here is Kelly doing A ROVING ON A WINTER'S NIGHT -- from an online JAMULUS sessions a few weeks ago. JAMULUS is good, but live s better. As they say, she can sing tenor to a dog whistle.
Like I often say
Let's pick,
-Tom