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Eric C. Shoaf | Vintage Guitar® magazine - Part 5

Author: Eric C. Shoaf

  • Bill Dixon – Guitar Collecting: How I Built a $65,000 Collection

    Guitar Collecting: How I Built a $65,000 Collectio

    Bill Dixon has done what many of us have done. He bought, traded, and sold guitars.

    And he has done well. He made a profit that he plowed back into his collection. He built up a nice collection of instruments and had a lot of fun doing it. The one thing Dixon did that most of us did not is document his trail of success all the way from the beginning. And though he’s a bit of a Johnny-come-lately, having begun true collecting in the mid ’90s, Dixon has developed a useful system of locating and re-selling (at a profit) the guitars he doesn’t want to keep, then using the profits to buy guitars he does want. It’s not rocket science, but neither is it buying from unknowledgable original owners or taking advantage of uninformed sellers. In fact, Dixon bought many of his instruments at guitar shows and from the pages of VG . He shares where to look for bargains, purchasing and negotiating techniques, avoiding common pitfalls, and how to focus your efforts to maximize results.

    Dixon himself certainly got results. His “keeper” collection, as of 2003, contains a number of nice acoustic and electric guitars nearly all of which were obtained using profits from the sale of other instruments. Proof positive that with the right approach, you can still get great deals, even in these days of high prices, Ebay, and picked-over offerings at shows. Dixon’s approach is a great place to start.

    Boiled down to its essence, that would appear to be knowing what you want to accomplish, keeping careful records of your progress, celebrating your successes, and having fun.

    Softbound 96 pages, ISBN 0-9725699-0-1, $14.95


    This article originally appeared in VG‘s March ’04 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

  • Jimi Hendrix – Live at Berkeley

    Live at Berkeley

    Experience Hendrix has settled into a regular schedule of new Jimi releases. This latest is taken from a live performance in May, 1970, and shows Hendrix in good form with a now well-indoctrinated Billy Cox on bass, and a newly returned Mitch Mitchell on drums.

    Previewing several of the in-progress songs slated for a new album release (and which appeared on the posthumous Cry of Love), the band moves through a set that includes a bit of old and new. Standouts include the instrumental “Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)” and an explosive “Machine Gun,” as well as surprisingly spirited takes of oldies “Purple Haze,” “Hey Joe,” and “Foxey Lady.”

    Sound quality is excellent, thanks to the experienced hand of Eddie Kramer, and the performance certainly ranks an 8-plus on a 10 scale. An excellent booklet with an essay by John McDermott captures the tenor of the times surrounding the show. A few of the cuts here were deemed worthy of the original Hendrix: In the West album that was released in ’71, but the rest were previously unavailable except on bootleg recordings of dubious quality.

    The Experience Hendrix people appear to have a steady stream of unreleased Hendrix material to keep enthusiasts happy, and win new converts. Bravo!


    This article originally appeared in VG‘s Feb. ’04 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

  • Epihone Deluxe Archtop

    Webster’s latest defines the word “deluxe” as “…notably luxurious, elegant, or expensive.” The Epiphone Deluxe archtop guitar was certainly luxurious. When introduced in 1931, it sported a triple-bound top with rope-pattern purfling, fancy diamond-and-triangle position markers on the neck, a bound “Masterbilt” headstock inlaid with flowers, gold-plated parts, curly maple back and sides, and a carved spruce top.

    The Deluxe was also an elegant design, marketed to compete with Gibson’s L-5, and to offer the guitarist just a little extra. At 163/8″ across the lower bout, it was a tad wider than the L-5. Fingerboards were rosewood and necks noticeably chunky. All the better for comping to jazz standards, except that this music was still in its infancy. Sales figures were low for the new model, no doubt due to the raging depression that swallowed up every last dollar.

    Because of the difficult economic times, at least upon its introduction, the Deluxe was expensive, being the top-of-the-line acoustic guitar made by Epiphone. And over time, it was improved to near perfection.

    By 1934, the more familiar Epiphone vine inlay had replaced the “Masterbilt” headstock design, and in 1936 the body was enlarged by one inch in response to the new larger “Advanced” model Gibson L-5. This new Deluxe had standard f-holes and a new “cloud” inlay at the fingerboard positions. The proprietary “Frequensator” tailpiece was added in 1937 as Epiphone sought to further differentiate its offerings from Gibson.

    By now the Deluxe had been overtaken by the mighty 181/2″ Emperor, which was introduced in late 1935, and was second in the archtop range. But it was no second banana. Many players found the slightly smaller size (one inch narrower across the lower bout) easier to handle, and at no loss of volume or tone. Period photos and film of jazz orchestras reveal many an Epiphone logo peeking out among the horns. All indications are that the Deluxe outsold the L-5 through the 1940s.

    However, Gibson managed a coup in releasing its cutaway body design before the war, and Epiphone, perhaps believing that real jazz players never go beyond the 12th fret, did not add a cutaway to the Deluxe until ’48. By then, Epiphone was falling behind and control of the company was turned over to Conn in 1953. Epiphone was sold to CMI (who owned Gibson) in ’57.

    Production of the Deluxe officially ceased in ’58, though it is unlikely any were made even in ’57 (there’s no sign of them in the inventory Gibson shipped to Kalamazoo) as Gibson overhauled the line and eliminated obvious threats to its own archtops.

    Special thanks to George Gruhn and Walter Carter for their consultation on this piece.

    1953 Deluxe


    1953 Deluxe photo courtesy of Joe Vinikow, archtop.com.

    This article originally appeared in VG‘s Feb. ’03 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

  • Leslie West – Blues to Die For

    Blues to Die For

    Mountain had just one real hit – the two-and-a-half-minute blast of “Mississippi Queen” can still be heard on classic rock radio. And while it has a 12-bar structure, it isn’t a blues song.
    In fact, a look at the Mountain catalog shows no real blues songs, but rather music that is quite sophisticated – a direct influence of producer-bassist Felix Pappalardi.
    Lesie West, the guitarist and driving force behind Mountain, has released several albums since Mountain disbanded in the mid ’70s. With this album, though, he finally has a record in which he can take pride.
    The album is marked by West’s first use of vintage gear in the studio since he ditched the famed Les Paul Junior he used on the Mountain records. It all helps the listener focus on the music and guitar, both of which are fine. Mostly blues covers, songs range from slow to medium-tempo arrangements of classics from John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, and Robert Johnson, among others.
    Never much of a vocalist, West was always more of a shouter/screamer. For whatever reason though, here he keeps the register low and husky, which lends the sort of whiskey-and-cigarettes growl these songs demand.
    The playing here is fine, as well. And for West, it’s the pentatonic scale and that glowing, violin-like vibrato he developed early on. More stinging than Clapton, slower than B.B., more pure than Trower, it’s the vibrato so many of us tried to get, only to find we lacked the technique and touch. But West had long ago put aside his classic vibrato, and for 20 years leaned on the whammy bar to color his phrasing. Maybe that’s why this return to form is so satisfying. The three best cuts on the record feature West, alone with an electric guitar. His reading of “Born Under a Bad Sign” is full of LP Junior tone, don’t-mess-with-me vocals, tasty licks, and a shimmering vibrato. Creamy guitar tones, pinch harmonics, and the basic pentatonic scale are the rocker’s stock in trade. And West hasn’t forgotten a thing. The original “Down By the River” co-written with Mick Jones from Foreigner, also gets a solo reading while “I Got the Blues” is a riff-fest over West rapping about how he started playing guitar.
    Many have forgotten that West was a hell of a slide player, but searing slide tones abound here, particularly on “Crawlin’ Kingsnake.”
    This album makes it very clear that West has a great feel for the blues, and has retained the abilities that make him a force to be reckoned with.

    This article originally appeared in VG‘s Oct. ’04 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

  • Jimi Hendrix Experience – Paris 1967/San Francisco 1968

    Paris 1967/San Francisco 1968

    Got to hand it to the folks at Experience Hendrix, who keep coming up with good Hendrix music and packaging it in fine releases. This new work, on its Dagger Records subsidiary label, is a typical audience recording that has been tweaked by the master hands of Eddie Kramer. There’s still evidence of its origin, like when the tape runs out in the middle of “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” and pauses while the tape is hastily turned over. But in the main, the sound is remarkable.

    Taken from two sets recorded a few months apart, the performance is fine, especially the San Francisco show, which is as bluesy a set as Hendrix could ever present, possibly because Albert King had opened the show and set the tone for the night. It also features an extended version of the aforementioned “Mr. Fantasy” with Buddy Miles sitting in on drums, possibly the first time he played with Hendrix. The Paris show includes tunes from the Hendrix set list of the time, but the performance is above average.

    Other highlights are the excellent liner notes by John McDermott and a number of period photos showing Jimi with white Fender Strat and Gibson Flying V guitars backed by Marshall amps with Sunn cabinets.


    This article originally appeared in VG‘s Sep. ’04 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

  • Dick Boak – Martin Guitar Masterpieces

    Dick Boak

    Martin guitars are revered, collected, and played by performers, singers, songwriters and by legions of avid collectors and enthusiasts.

    If there has been a hallmark for Martin guitars over the years, it is that the guitars were plainly adorned. No expense was spared on achieving the best sound, but no extra expense was deemed necessary simply to make the guitar look nicer. Those 40-45 series guitars were comparatively rare and unusual until the 1970s. Nowdays it seems everyone is making fancy guitars, and Martin is no exception. Neither has any expense been spared for many custom instruments.

    This book features more than 100 of Martin’s most desirable guitars, including instruments belonging to Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Joan Baez, Sting, and Eric Clapton. We also get a look at Martin’s one millionth instrument, the fanciest Martin ever made.

    Author Dick Boak is the head of artist relations and publicity at C.F. Martin and Co., collaborating with artists in the design of their Limited Edition and Signature Models. A prolific artist, luthier and musician in his own right, he is a founder of the Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans, and has organized numerous national instrument-making symposiums. Here he enthusiastically outlines his experiences as liaison in these collaborations.

    Many players prefer a more plain guitar, and most still associate Martin with unadorned instruments or, at the most, with herringbone trim. However, others appreciate the beauty of pearl-trimmed and otherwise festooned guitars as art objects as well as instruments you can play. This book is for the latter, though the former will also be rather interested, as well.


    Bulfinch Press 2003, Hardbound 144 pages, ISBN 0-82122-835-8, $40


    This article originally appeared in VG‘s Aug. ’04 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

  • Epiphone Deluxe Archtop

    Archtop

    Webster’s latest defines the word “deluxe” as “…notably luxurious, elegant, or expensive.” The Epiphone Deluxe archtop guitar was certainly luxurious. When introduced in 1931, it sported a triple-bound top with rope-pattern purfling, fancy diamond-and-triangle position markers on the neck, a bound “Masterbilt” headstock inlaid with flowers, gold-plated parts, curly maple back and sides, and a carved spruce top.

    The Deluxe was also an elegant design, marketed to compete with Gibson’s L-5, and to offer the guitarist just a little extra. At 163/8″ across the lower bout, it was a tad wider than the L-5. Fingerboards were rosewood and necks noticeably chunky. All the better for comping to jazz standards, except that this music was still in its infancy. Sales figures were low for the new model, no doubt due to the raging depression that swallowed up every last dollar.

    Because of the difficult economic times, at least upon its introduction, the Deluxe was expensive, being the top-of-the-line acoustic guitar made by Epiphone. And over time, it was improved to near perfection.

    By 1934, the more familiar Epiphone vine inlay had replaced the “Masterbilt” headstock design, and in 1936 the body was enlarged by one inch in response to the new larger “Advanced” model Gibson L-5. This new Deluxe had standard f-holes and a new “cloud” inlay at the fingerboard positions. The proprietary “Frequensator” tailpiece was added in 1937 as Epiphone sought to further differentiate its offerings from Gibson.

    By now the Deluxe had been overtaken by the mighty 181/2″ Emperor, which was introduced in late 1935, and was second in the archtop range. But it was no second banana. Many players found the slightly smaller size (one inch narrower across the lower bout) easier to handle, and at no loss of volume or tone. Period photos and film of jazz orchestras reveal many an Epiphone logo peeking out among the horns. All indications are that the Deluxe outsold the L-5 through the 1940s.

    However, Gibson managed a coup in releasing its cutaway body design before the war, and Epiphone, perhaps believing that real jazz players never go beyond the 12th fret, did not add a cutaway to the Deluxe until ’48. By then, Epiphone was falling behind and control of the company was turned over to Conn in 1953. Epiphone was sold to CMI (who owned Gibson) in ’57.

    Production of the Deluxe officially ceased in ’58, though it is unlikely any were made even in ’57 (there’s no sign of them in the inventory Gibson shipped to Kalamazoo) as Gibson overhauled the line and eliminated obvious threats to its own archtops.


    Photos courtesy of Joe Vinikow.

    This article originally appeared in VG‘s Feb. ’04 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

  • Frank Moriarty – Seventies Rock: A Decade of Creative Chaos

    By Frank Moriarty

    It’s the music many of us grew up on.

    But it was different from the ’60s. The Beatles were over, Jimi and Janis were dead, and the feel-good ethos of Woodstock had given way to the dark mood of Altamont. Rock music was splintering into a myriad of categories and subcategories, defined as much for the record buyers as by and for radio formats.

    New superstars were about to emerge. Each former Beatle became a successful solo performer, rock and roll became glam rock, progressive rock, hard rock, soft rock, country rock, punk rock, Southern rock, even disco-rock, and listeners were introduced to Bruce Springsteen, the Eagles, Peter Frampton, and the Allman Brothers Band.

    This new book explores that time and chronicles the changes year by year, cramming into each chapter a full recounting of both the superstars and the also-rans.

    Sure, there’s Clapton, Led Zeppelin, the Stones, all the big names you would expect. But there’s also Jo Jo Gunne, The Motors, Mountain, Motorhead, and a raft of punk rockers we’ve probably forgotten about.

    The fact that author Moriarty is one of us, a mid-40s guitar player, means that in addition to “being there,” he knows enough about the equipment to describe instruments and amplifiers as well as playing styles and chord progressions. He is also handy with a camera, and the book includes a couple dozen photos shot by Moriarty himself. It’s quite a collection.

    If there are any quibbles, it’s that there is just so much information packed into each chapter that you have to read slowly to catch it all!


    Taylor Trade Publishing 2003, Softbound 364 pages, ISBN 1-58979-024-3, $18


    This article originally appeared in VG‘s Dec. ’03 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

  • Robin Trower – Living Out of Time

    Living Out of Time

    Following up his last work, 2001’s Go My Way, could hardly be easy for Robin Trower. That effort was his best album in 20 years.

    On his latest, Trower ditched the band from Go My Way and brought in some of his ’80s cohorts, including journeyman vocalist Davey Pattison, who has worked with Ronnie Montrose and other familiar names.

    Longtime fans may recall the ’80s were not a time of Trower’s best work; a few albums from that period were real stinkers. This new disc is better than those, but still lacks cohesion. It seems that for this live-in-the-studio effort, the idea was to focus on the songs and bring as much soulfulness as possible to the proceedings. Unfortunately, on many cuts it just doesn’t work.

    The guitar work is economical and understated, the vocals lacking spirit, the rhythm section workman-like. But to dismiss the entire album would mean overlooking fine songwriting and the tightness and structure of the songs themselves. While most are slow- or medium-tempo, there are a few rockers and the trademark Trower Strat attack shows up. But this is much less a guitar-oriented album than his ’90s releases, and only on the final track, “I Want to Take You With Me,” does Trower really open up some solo work.

    One thing that made his last couple of albums endearing was that Trower handled the vocals. Though limited in range, he managed to bring an earthy growl to those works and the simpler arrangements allowed for atmospheric guitar overdubs. Bringing in a pro like Pattison should have spiced things up, but he sounds drowsy and dozing through these tracks. One supposes there is a fine line between soulful and sleepy, and Pattison never seems to find the right energy level for his delivery.

    Finally, the dry mix means little of the spacey Univibed/layered Trower sound many fans are accustomed to. In all, this is a solid set of 11 songs that, unfortunately, never quite take off.


    This article originally appeared in VG‘s Jan. ’04 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

  • Chet Atkins and Mel Cochran – Chet Atkins: Me and My Guitars

    Chet Atkins and Mel Cochran

    Chet Atkins has a deserved reputation as a great guitar player and all-around nice guy. So it’s a pleasure to see a book that is part biography and part history of his personal guitars. Atkins is no guitar collector. He owns, and has owned, a number of nice instruments over the years, but they are his tools of the trade. They haven’t been babied, but rather used (some for decades) and their scars come not from abuse but rather from the touring trail and the studio log. So his D’Angelico Excel was modified over the years with pickups, switches, even a Vibrola tailpiece!

    There are an assortment of archtops featured, many of them Gibsons, and a variety of flat-tops, from the ornate to the sublime. Many were used for album covers, and these are included where appropriate. One would guess, after reading the book, that Atkins has about 50 guitars. And the point isn’t how many, because the book isn’t about just guitars, but about Chet and his guitars.

    The narrative is told by Atkins in first-person style. He recalls how he came to own the guitars, and where they were used. He reminisces about other players and cohorts; his many stories come alive in this book. The reader learns about Atkins’ involvement with Gretsch in the ’50s, which resulted in a line of guitars bearing his name, and again in the ’80s with Gibson to produce an electric archtop. Turns out that Chet prefers to set up his own guitars and likes to tinker with them and customize them to his taste.

    This edition of the book is limited to 1,200 numbered copies hardbound in a custom slipcase. They were originally to have been signed, but it does not appear, based on information at press time, that they will be. Certainly, it is a sumptuous product, with beautiful photography, binding, and paper quality. But many may find the a bit on the high side. Note, however, that the book was meant for fans as a sort of retirement “thank you” and is being distributed through Atkins’ fan club, which is quite large and easily capable of snapping up all available copies. It wouldn’t be a big surprise to see a softbound edition made available.

    One of the most telling photos in the book is one of Chet’s workbench in his home studio. Here one finds the true tools of the master: strobe tuner, files, saws, sanders, boxes of amp tubes, soldering iron, drill bits, screws, and hardware… and a quart of Quaker State motor oil (?). At last, the secret to that smooth Atkins picking style is revealed! No wonder there are never any squeaks on his fretboard…


    Russ Cochran Books, West Plains, MO, Russ Cochran 2001, Hardbound in slipcase, 183 pages, No ISBN, $150.00

    This article originally appeared in VG‘s Aug. ’01 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.