Music Before the Money

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Dave Carroll is a Halifax, Nova Scotia-based singer-songwriter who has sprung to international fame because of his funny video about a not-so-funny episode where baggage handlers at O’Hare Airport in Chicago damaged his Taylor guitar. In fact Bob Taylor of Taylor Guitars has appointed a special representative from his company to Carroll to help with the PR.

One of the main things that Taylor advises to anyone taking a guitar on an airplane is that most airlines allow the instruments to be brought onboard. However, many of their employees have not been alerted to this fact. The Taylor website also has great tips for anyone who has a guitar damaged due to the negligence of a carrier.

Check out this link!

Taylor Guitars Responds to \”United Breaks Guitars\”

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“Now he’s traded off his Martin
But his troubles are not over
For his feet are almost frozen
And the sun is sinkin’ low.”

- 10 Degrees and Getting Colder:  Gordon Lightfoot

I don’t think I knew what a Martin guitar was when I first heard that song. It didn’t occur to me at the time that Gordon Lightfoot played anything but a Gibson 12-string. And when I learned what a Martin was I shuddered to think that this poor musician had to sell off his beautiful guitar to eat. But that’s been the story of musicians for centuries. (Mozart sold of his clothes and wigs.)

In July, 2000, The Martin Guitar Company brought out a Limited Edition Signature model, the D-18GL to commemorated the music of Gordon Lightfoot. The production, of course, was put at 61 to match Lightfoot’s age at the time. In good Yuppie fashion the 61 were snapped up before they were built because few musicians could afford the price tag.

But that’s the way it’s always been with musicians. We bought good equipment but we had to use it every night and that caused wear and tear.

I remember when every penny went into buying equipment and getting us from Club A to Club B 3oo -900 miles away. I had  great guitars but they were well- used. I retired my Ovation, Gibson and Yamaki 12 strings after I had them refinished. Purists derided me for this action saying that they were not worth much refinished.

However, I pointed out that purists were not working musicians. They collected “stuff” and their Gibson or Martin guitar had never been used to play 6 nights a week in smokey bars, getting banged around in the process. Many of these guys were “posers,” professional people who got up and played in coffee houses with their $5,000 instruments. They never had to get a spruce top braced because the years of playing had caused the bridge to separate from the top.

The fact that Gordon Lightfoot was honored in this way is great. My love for the man’s music  is immeasurable. In many ways his music was part of the soundtrack of my life for a few years. So, if one of these guitars passes my way I just may try to get it – if it’s smaller than my mortgage.

Here are the specs:

D-size body of quilted mahogany & Engelmann spruce, vintage toner on top, scalloped braces with forward-shifted X, abalone rosette, tortoise binding & pickguard, low profile neck, bone nut (1 11/16″) & saddle, black ebony fretboard with abalone dots, a reflecting silhouette of the Edmond Fitzgerald at the 12th fret & Lightfoot’s signature in pearl around the 19th fret, squared tapered peghead with old-style decal, Kluson style gears with nickel buttons, ebony bridgepins with abalone dots. Inside label numbered & signed by Lightfoot and C.F.Martin IV.

Because I like to collect “stuff” too!

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(from August 2007)

The guitar I traded my Rickenbacker Fireglow for was a 1968 Gibson SG, with 24 frets clear of the body. It was a great guitar with two humbucking pickups and the standard Gibson tremelo bar. The only problem was that the neck was twisted and there was a constant buzz on the low “E” string.

Another musician had a unique guitar with a clear Lucite body and a pickup that could be taken out by undoing a screw. The pickguard was basically “mac tac” but it sure looked neat. And the musician wanted the SG so the trade was made.

Guitar maker Dan Armstrong brought the idea of a clear lucite-body guitar to Ampeg, the amplifier and sound reinforcement people. The Lucite, he explained, eliminated the buzzing vibrations that plagued many wooden models (I could never hear any) but increased sustain. Besides its remarkable see-though look there was a removable pickup system that lets you change between the “Rock Treble” (single coil) and “Modern Drive” (double-coil) pickups. I only had the single coil pickup but I could remove it by unfastening a screw on the back. It just slid out!

It also featured a maple neck, rosewood fingerboard with full access to the 24th fret. And the machine heads were Grovers. The bottom line for a 19 year-old: it looked and felt great. And Keith Richards and Billy Wyman played them on their 1973 tour - so did John Kay of Steppenwolf.

I guess maybe it was because I couldn’t get another pickup for it that I finally sold it two years later for $400. (The bridge was the non-adjustable one so there was a tuning problem, as well.) I really can’t remember. But one just went on E-bay for $3200.

The guitar has been re-issued this year for around $1100-$1500 US. Unlike mine it comes with both pick-ups. And don’t wear a belt buckle when you play it!

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I saw Davey Johnstone with Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road tour in September 1973. He was hard to miss.  With long blonde hair he had an aura of invincibility as he walked his part of the stage, his guitar complementing everything Elton John sang or played until he was called on to pound out a solo of his own.

After playing most of his hits a young Elton John said, “We’re going to play some songs from our new album.” The first part of Funeral for a Friend was recorded, with Elton coming in on the piano after the orchestral parts ended. Johnstone played eerie notes over top of the piano and then took over the song with blistering lead lines, bringing the song into Love Lies Bleeding.

To follow a man like Elton John takes an incredible musician. Dee Murray on bass and the great Nigel Olsen on drums were basically the only sidemen in Elton’s band at the time.  Johnstone had to fill a lot of empty space with rich background, a talent that is lost as synthesizers fill almost every void now.

Although the Scottish-born Johnstone joined Elton John in 1972 he was a founding member of Magna Carta and had contributed to two albums before meeting EJ.  During his 1973  tour with the great piano man Johnstone recorded a solo album, Smiling Face, and another in 1977.  He still records and produces, having composed over 60 songs with his writing partner Steve Trudell. He evn joins up with Sir Elton and plays short tours.

(Photo by Gloria Ubardelli)

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“We regret that the company had to reduce our work force today to meet the economic challenges faced by our industry,” says Henry Juszkiewicz, CEO of Gibson Guitar Inc. in a statement. “We believe our streamlined team of talented people will continue to serve our valuable customers in an increasingly excellent fashion. We expect to continue to build the finest instruments in the world and lead the industry in quality and innovation.”

With that announcement the vaunted Gibson guitar company, based in Nashville Tennessee, will be laying off 50 workers because world-wide sales have dropped 20%.

So what does this mean? Well, the CEO says that the company will not be “distressed” and that ” . . . layoffs will allow the company to maintain a conservative balance sheet and be positioned for continued market share expansion.”

Employee Feedback Not Good

However, some employees beg to differ. One said:

“There were “more” than 50 of us and we were treated like crap… lied to and mistreated by Henry Juszkiewicz from the day we were employed there. Gibson may be the worst place to work in Nashville… and if the music community knew the lies and deception that are used to make their products, they’d stop buying Gisbon.”

One has even beckoned the great  Les Paul:

“You serve your customers adequately when you lay people off, because others have to pick up the slack. There are no stock holders here. Just greedy Henry and his partner. I would hate for a rich man like him to loose a few pennies. Tell you what- stop paying your lawyers to be laughed out of court with frivolous lawsuits. I don’t care how good your guitars are. Fender hasn’t had layoffs yet. I’ll buy a samsom guitar before I buy a gibson. Les Paul needs to get on a plane and crotch-punch this guy.”

The General Gist?

It is no small secret that Gibson has jacked the prices of their guitars almost out of sight and many believe this is because Henry Juszkiewicz believed that demand was going to be high based on the sales of their re-issues and the skyrocketing vintage market. In other words, YouTube and Guitar Hero have fed the kids’ appetite for “real guitars” and not knock-off even if the knock-offs are just as good. For example,  new Hummingbird (built in Boseman, Montana) will cost you $3500 while a knock-off is around $700.

A Final Shot From a Musician

“Surprising considering how much they’ve jacked up their prices in the past few years. Guess people aren’t quite as willing to shell out three or four grand for overpriced pieces of wood anymore.”

You be the judge.