Month: October 2013

Guitar-playing Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter, the fourth American to journey into outer space, died today in a Denver hospice. A U.S. Navy Commander, Carpenter was one of the original seven astronauts selected for the U.S. manned space program. His flight, on May 24, 1962, consisted of three orbits aboard the Aurora 7 spacecraft; he was the second American to orbit the Earth, following John Glenn’s flight in February of that year.

While in training in the early ’60s, Carpenter purchased a Gretsch 6117 Double Anniversary guitar on a visit to New York City. His daughter, jazz guitarist Candace Carpenter, still owns the instrument, which was profiled in the March ’06 issue of Vintage Guitar magazine.

John Brinkmann, an innovator of the guitar-show concept and pioneer in the vintage-guitar market, passed away October 8, 2013. He battled diabetes and a heart condition.

Brinkmann was one of the first people to advance vintage-guitar sales from early “car trunking” at flea markets to organized, promoted events where instruments were displayed on tables and the public was invited to shop.

Born in 1937, as a child growing up in Estherville, Iowa, he learned to play Hawaiian guitar and developed a passion for music. In 1956, he married fellow Iowan Ruth Barry and they moved to St. Cloud, Minnesota, where John attended St. John’s University. After graduation, he went to work for the 3M Company at its headquarters in St. Paul. In 1969, the family moved to Waco, Texas, where John spent 22 years working for the Success Motivation Institute and helped develop what would become the “books on tape” concept. They also raised four children – Jacque, Jenine, John, Jr., and Janalle.

Brinkmann’s passion for music being as strong as ever, he continued to play guitar and became a proficient fingerpicker who favored archtops. He began collecting Gretsch guitars, and those pursuits involved attending flea markets and similar events; along the way, he envisioned an event where participants could focus on buying and selling guitars and other stringed instruments. In July of 1978, he teamed with Charley Wirz (proprietor of Charlie’s Guitars) and Danny Thorpe to organize the Greater Southwest Guitar Show, at the Sheraton Inn, in Dallas. It was widely recognized as the first such event and in the following years saw an increasing audience. The three produced two more shows before they split over differing personal goals and managerial philosophies. In ’84, Brinkmann partnered with veteran guitar dealers Larry Briggs and Dave Crocker. In ’88, they added Eugene Robertson and became known as 4 Amigos Productions; to date, the group has produced more than 180 shows. In 1992, Vintage Guitar became a co-sponsor of the 4 Amigos shows.

In 1987, Brinkmann opened a retail shop, Waco Vintage Guitars, and in ’93 moved it from College Station to Mansfield, Texas, where it remains today with an inventory that includes a noted collection of mandolins.

In a 2003 interview with VG to mark the Amigos’ 100th event and the 25th anniversary of John and Ruth working together as show promoters, Brinkmann recalled how early guitar shows were primarily get-togethers for dealers and saw relatively few walk-in customers. By the mid ’80s, that had changed and when the Amigos staged their first show at Arlington in ’86, there were some 70 booths. “We filled half of the hall,” he chuckled. Today, the show fills that 48,000-square-foot hall plus an adjoining 40,000-square-foot hall.

“I met John first in 1980, and, on the advice of Tom Wittrock, followed him to Dallas to experience my first guitar show,” said Dave Crocker. “It changed my life forever. I considered John one of my best friends and I tried to follow his path in raising my family. They have always come first.

“I told John, in his last days, that we never had a fight – not because he was always right, but because I respected him too much to dishonor him by raising my voice! His contributions to the vintage-guitar industry cannot be overstated. His vision and love for the instruments – and those of a like mind – helped nurture and sustain this industry over the last 35 years. I will miss him immensely and am forever thankful that I was blessed to be his amigo since our first meeting.”

“I have always been impressed with John’s organizational skills and his business-like approach to life in general,” said Larry Briggs. “However, his interaction with family was special to watch; there was a special bond with them. John also had a love for music from a bygone era, so we had a lot in common. We were both fans of the great fingerpickers, including Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, and Hank Thompson.”

Osiamo’s Dr. J effects line consists of seven pedals; the Green Crystal Overdrive, Shadow Echo, Aerolite Comp, Arsenal Distortion, Planes Walker Fuzz, Soloman Bass Overdrive, and the Sparrow Driver/DI. All have true-bypass switching, a metal housing, and a small footprint. For additional information, visit www.osiamo.com.

Reverend Guitars is offering its contoured bolt-neck guitar, the Kingbolt, in two new colors. The standard version, with Reverend Special-H Zebra pickups,  is now available in Satin Army Green with a maple fretboard, while the RA version, with Railhammer pickups, is now offered in Lakeshore Gold with a Rosewood fretboard.  All Kingbolts have a Wilkinson tremolo, and

both remain available in their original colors. For more, and to see more, visit www.reverendguitars.com.

Hard Rock International recently celebrated the grand reopening of its renovated Hard Rock Baltimore by partnering with PRS Guitars to donate 16 SE Angelus acoustics to the music department of Frederick Douglass High School. The donation honored PRS Guitars and Hard Rock Cafe’s long-standing traditions of supporting local music. “These guitars are truly a blessing, and I guarantee they will be well-loved and well-played” said Reverend David Burton, band director a Douglass High. The Hard Rock Baltimore, located along Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, has the world’s largest PRS McCarty guitar lit up atop the building’s facade.

Lehle’s Julian Parametric Booster has parametric controls of mids and treble with +/-15dB gain. The Gain, Freq, Boost, and Treble controls allow settings to reproduce familiar sounds, and it has a switch that reduces impedance from 1 meg-ohm to 10 K-ohm. The overdrive of the connected amp can be fine-tuned with the Gain pot ranging from super-clean (thanks to its JFET input stage) to distorted. Incoming current is rectified and doubled. The Julian has two modes when not in use – TB (True Bypass) or TS (True Sound with active buffer). Read more at http://lehle.com.

The Fifth Annual Woodstock Invitational Luthiers Showcase will take place October 25-27 at the Bearsville Theater Performing Arts Complex in Woodstock, New York. The show and sale includes 57 exhibiting luthiers, dealers, parts and tool suppliers, string and accessories manufacturers, as well as lutherie services.

This year’s event also includes the pre-show Tonewood Festival, where wood and tool dealers will offer exotic woods and materials, neck blanks, fingerboards, top sets, backs and sides. There will also be live music and appearances, an exhibit of rare and historic vintage and contemporary guitars and stringed instruments loaned by collectors and institutions, a mini-museum of the luthiers art, parties, symposia, charity raffles, and more. Read about it at www.woodstockinvitational.com.