zombywoof Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 ...Lordy, I think I have changed more in my attitude towards guitars in the past three years than has taken place in the more than 45 or so years I have been playing. First, the electrics just sit in their cases. In an attempt to shake things up a bit and kick myself in the butt to get going I recently traded a solid body for a hollow body guitar. I have never owned a hollow body 'lectric guitar. I had never even thought of owning a hollow body. I have also re-learned the love of playing anything with six strings - I don't care what company's monker is on the headstock. Last time I played in front of people, my Gibsons stayed at home. I took a late 1940s Harmony Stella and mid-1930s Kay round soundhole archtop. Maybe it was just the mood I was in. Or could just be a case of reverse snobbery I guess. But the folks listening did not seem to give a hoot about what guitar I had in my hands and I had a blast. This doe snot mean I am going to sell off my Gibsons any time soon but while I used to see them as a necessity I now view them as a luxury - icing on the cake kinda thing. Don't know whether it is the approaching chronological milestone of 60 years of age or maybe just too many years in the trenches but things have certainly gotten weird around here. So how about ya'll - are you solid as an oak when it comes to guitars or does the passing of time and gatheirng up of experiences play havoc with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grampa Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Do not minimize those old Harmonies and Kays. They rock! I'm 63 and have always tried to keep the mind open. I mostly play my old - '62 vintage - Gibson F-25 which itself was an abandoned stepchild when I rescued it so it has its own funk value as well as being great sounding, but I never pass up the chance to play something "new" or unusual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I started on Fender electrics. When I quit music I sold EVERYTHING. When I figured I couldn't stay away, I bought my Gibson Jubilee, (about 1974-1975 time frame). Found I enjoy the "freedom" of the acoustic guitar, and LOVE the sound! so, I have my P-Bass; Strat, Schecter C-1 Classic, Ovation 12-string, a couple of custom made solid-body electrics, the Jubilee, Dove and DIF. If I grab one, it's still usually the Jubilee, ('cause I don't care if I bump it on something). I could easily sell the Schecter.. I have nothing invested in it...and also the Ovation....but nothing else will ever go while I'm alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 My attitude towards playing changed a lot in the last couple years. See my 'heavier strings' post in the lounge for my latest epiphany though. I feel like a new man. God knows the old one is worn out..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAMELEYE Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Zomby, I share your absence of pain. After recently unloading several rather expensive and very powerful flattops, I find that I'm not searching for the next best one like I used to. Been playing my Arlo and RJ and they suit me just fine. I don't feel like I'm missing anything. These little guitars work for me and I'm content. This is a new state of being and it's a bit unsettling. Maybe it's due to age and 45 years of owning and playing some very nice guitars, but I just don't feel like rushing out for the next great guitar. Ce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I feel like a new man. Okay... everyone stay out of the showers 'til KSDaddy gets over his obsession!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I'm watching Nancy Wilson spank a blue Telecaster on tv right now. Trust me, you guys are safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markob Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Yeah Zwoof at times I'm convinced that I'm solidly set with what I have and how I play. As a gigging bass player music became work and at times not fun. Now I enjoy sitting on my couch pickin as much as the club thing. At 52 the long nights got old. I like what DanvillRob said about the "freedom" of the acoustic guitar. No amp to drag out or along. I have 3 acoustics that all get played. None an outstanding collector or high end acoustic. My recent 59 LG0 rescue was kind of dropped in my lap. I had no attention of buying anything but the little mutt had to be saved. I have a Favilla F-5 all hog that I keep in open G and a 92 Martin D16-H that was a gift from a dear friend. I've sold alot of gear over the last year. Most of my bass amps and big cabs. Reverbs units I never used. Old low watt tube amps. Lots of "stuff" I wanted but never used. I pretty content with my small collection and I try to play everything I have. Down to my 73 Tele, a 99 ASAT Deluxe (for slide) My 57 P-bass, My SVT head and my 62 Super. All that being said....I know I've said alot[blink] already. I still get a bug to get that "good" Martin (M-38) or a good stumming Gibby (J-200/J45) Do I need it? Heck no! Do I want it? Heck yeah! So as much as I think I've "settled" in the happy, content place of acceptance I guess I'm still a bit scattered...No more coffee Mark and get off CL now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 My attitude towards certain guitars, or guitar types, has not changed, but the music I listen to, and play, has gradually (and considerably) changed over the years. From the Les Paul rocker (70's), to the Strat rockin' bluesman (80's), to the ES-345 jazzy blues guy (90's), to the L-5 Jazzman (00's). It's pretty much nothin' but archtops for me anymore. I've become very set in my ways of guitars and related equipment, and could/should probably sell off a couple of truck loads of stuff I have accumulated since the early 70's that I don't use anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Ferguson Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I am approaching 58 and I have several Gibsons and Martins. I love acoustic guitar for the sound. It happens to be my favorite type of guitar. I don't have any electrics. That said, I plan on buying a Telecaster before long. I would like to add an electric guitar sound to the palette, and the preferred sound is Tele and tube amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august_reader Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Once when touring the Gibson factory in Memphis I almost bought an electric guitar, but I've never really wanted one. Now that I'm older I think I have all the instruments I really want/need but I played a J-45 for the first time a few weeks ago and have been jonesing for one of those. Did it feel much different from my D18? Yeah, some. Did it sound any nicer? Any worse? Just sounded a little different. Did it sound great? Sure did. But so far I've been able to resist ... I did buy a new mandolin though so maybe I'm just full of beans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 Do not minimize those old Harmonies and Kays. They rock! Ain't puttin' 'em down Bro. I love 'em' date=' particularly the Kays. One of my "Holy Grail" guitars is an X braced Kay Jumbo (a J-200 knockoff). Plenty of the ladder braced versions around but the X braced ones are rare as hen's teeth. Here are my two Kays [img']http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g5/zombywoof51/Guitars/TRICCASE005.jpg[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkharmony Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 The old Harmonies and Kays are trés chic right now, especially in the "indie"scene. I see them all the time on Conan and Jimmy Fallon's shows. That's cool and all, but as someone who has always loved these guitars (see my name) it's getting harder to find and afford them now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxson50 Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Every few years I get the urge to play electric, I go out and buy a Tele, or a Strat and a ear crusher amp, then a few months later I end up selling them as they just collect dust. Now that you brought it up, I have been looking at Tele's and SG's..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 The old Harmonies and Kays are trés chic right now' date='.[/quote'] I guess I'm always about 10 years ahead of "chic". You should have seen the clothes I wore in the sixties, they were right out of the Disco era of the seventies (thanks Mom...yeah, right). Here's a photo of my two Silvertones, one is a Harmony built, and the other one is a Kay built. Let's just say I paid $125 for both of them, before they became "chic". The one on the right I actually performed with at some major concert halls after I put the Kent Armstrong pickup and the 1957 intercom knobs on it. As I did this restoration project what I realized was that the difference between a Gibson and a Kay was materials. The basic designs were identical, the difference was making guitars out of plywood and poplar versus making guitars out of carved spruce and maple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Things do change. Ive been pretty much all acoustic for close to 10 years now. Like many of you, I've come to appreciate the intimacy and immediacy of wood. That said, I took my stepsons's tele out to a jam last summer. Good times, but I dont have a context for it. As for guitars, since i got my 00018, my Gibbys have stayed in their cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoss Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 If this is about being behind/ahead of curves, I'll throw my hat in the ring. Ol Hoss is finally GOING electric after nothing but acoustics. For several years I've lingered over the old archtops in several used guitar stores, and am going to see about wiring one up. See, the best musician I know - a Bobby Hicks style fiddler and phenom of a bluegrass mando player- wants to put together a trio with me and a doghouse picker. When he and I jam, my old L7 works great, but I don't want to bring that out to bars and have it disappear or get otherwise abused. So it's onward and upward!! Or backward..... I can't be certain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted December 19, 2009 Author Share Posted December 19, 2009 If this is about being behind/ahead of curves' date=' I'll throw my hat in the ring. Ol Hoss is finally GOING electric after nothing but acoustics. For several years I've lingered over the old archtops in several used guitar stores, and am going to see about wiring one up.[/quote'] A DeArmond Rhythm Chief and you will be good to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoss Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 A DeArmond Rhythm Chief and you will be good to go. I am googling that ......Ah, Yes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 For several years I've lingered over the old archtops in several used guitar stores' date=' and am going to see about wiring one up.[/quote'] Seymour Duncan makes the pickups for Benedetto guitars, and they have a pickguard mounted unit that I put on my 1947 L-7. The amplified sound of that guitar is absolutely amazing. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Pickups:_Guitar,_archtop/Benedetto_Pickups/Benedetto_Suspended_Jazz_Pickup.html Here's the installation photo: I've since changed the vol knob out to a vintage chicken head, and for a winter project I'm going to remount and refit everything to a repro multi-bound L-5 (non-cutaway) pickguard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoss Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Seymour Duncan makes the pickups for Benedetto guitars' date=' and they have a pickguard mounted unit that I put on my 1947 L-7. The amplified sound of that guitar is absolutely amazing. [/quote'] Sweet, Larry! I guess I have some tires to kick! I would imagine that I'd run any pickup through a small mixing board to tweak the sound. (Don't want this to sound too purty--more on the rockabilly side of life.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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