Tuesday, Mar. 20th 2012 3:30 PM
Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead are two of the best known names in rock, with cult followers and a string of classic hits to their name. And, as a part of the ‘Visions of Garcia’ auction, two of Jerry Garcia’s custom guitars are to be sold, along with oil paintings and airbrush originals created by Garcia, handwritten set lists, sets of drums and even his 1983 Harley Davidson motorbike.
Unbelievably, it has been nearly 17 years since we lost the late great Jerry Garcia, the man who didn’t favour one single guitar model or manufacturer, instead using around 25 individual guitars during his 30 year career. Garcia is known to have used a variety of popular acoustic and electric guitars including a host of Gibson Les Pauls in a number of different colours, a 1969 Gibson SG and a Sunburst Fender Stratocaster.
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Tuesday, Mar. 20th 2012 3:27 PM
These days many items for sale will earn the title of being “vintage”, including guitars and other instruments. But what is a vintage guitar? What separates an old guitar from a vintage guitar, what makes a classic and what is simply old tat? We’ve tried to clarify these questions in this article.
Firstly, as a rule of thumb, for something to be called vintage it generally has to be sought after. During the eighties, vintage guitars became the popular choice for many best selling artists, with claims that they sounded better. There is truth to the claim, as vintage guitars were often handmade using methods that just aren’t cost-effective in today’s manufacturing age. This means that very often a guitar made in the 50’s or 60’s may be made better and have a superior sound quality to a version of the same model made by today’s standards.
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Friday, Mar. 16th 2012 10:43 AM
One of the very best known names in both vintage and custom guitars is about to sell shares to the public. Fender has filed for a $200 million IPO in a bid to raise revenue to pay off debts and to generate working capital for the 66 year old, world famous guitar manufacturer. However, no date has been set for the flotation and it is unknown just how many Fender shares will be made available to the public.
This won’t be the first time that ownership of part or all of the time-served guitar company has changed hands. Leo Fender, founder of the company, sold Fender to CBS Inc in 1965. The guitar manufacturer was sold again in the mid-eighties, this time being picked up by an investor group. Currently Fender’s biggest shareholders are the private equity firm Weston Presidio, which owns 43% and Fender’s Japanese distributor Yamano Music, which owns 14%.
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Tuesday, Mar. 6th 2012 4:37 PM
‘Calling all budding artists.’ How would you like to design and paint custom guitars for Gibson? Well, this year, Gibson is throwing down the gauntlet, asking budding artists to put forward samples of their work in a bid to win a place on the Artist in Residency program that is to be run by Gibson Custom. This is your chance to have your artwork pictured on custom guitars built by Gibson.
The winning artist will receive residency and housing in the Nashville area, along with studio space and a realistic materials budget. The only requirement is that at least two commercially viable works are created by the winning artist during the residency, but this doesn’t mean that just two works can be created. The winner may undertake more designs if they decide.
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Monday, Mar. 5th 2012 9:45 AM
Whether you’re a guitar player or not, you will almost certainly heard of the Fender Stratocaster, which is considered by many to be a timeless classic instrument. But the ‘Strat’ isn’t just another guitar, oh no. The Fender Stratocaster is a piece of music history, with some of the most famous guitarists that have ever picked up a six string declaring the Stratocaster as the best guitar ever made.
Designed by Leo Fender, Freddie Tavares and George Fullerton way back in 1954, the simple, yet iconic double-cutaway construction of the original Stratocaster has stood the test of time. The Stratocaster has been made continuously by Fender for the past 58 years and continues to be the guitar of choice for both new and old players alike.
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Thursday, Mar. 1st 2012 2:34 PM
Last August we told about a proposed custom guitar auction that was to be held in Christchurch, New Zealand in a bid to raise money for communities that were devastated during the 2011 earthquakes. Well, we are pleased to tell you that the guitar auction was a success and the seven handmade custom instruments fetched a staggering sum, with a total of NZ$111,000 raised in the charity guitar auction.
Last February Christchurch was hit by one of the worst earthquakes in its recorded history. A quake of 6.3 magnitude ripped through the New Zealand capital, leaving 181 people dead and thousands without homes. The ‘Earthquake Guitars’, as they have been dubbed, were handmade by Christchurch residents Bruce Pickering and his son Jason Pickering, using woods reclaimed from buildings that were destroyed during the quakes, with the intention of creating some lasting good from a terrible occurrence. And good they have done, raising a huge sum of money, which will be used by the Christchurch arts community.
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Monday, Feb. 27th 2012 9:33 AM
Buying stock, vintage or custom guitars online can sometimes seem a little risky, with many buyers scared of scams and such like. However, buying guitars from auction sites such as eBay is becoming more and more popular, which is why we have compiled a list of top tips for buying guitars through eBay auctions.
Why would you buy a guitar from an eBay auction or Buy it Now listing? Well, there are a great number of advantages to buying guitars from eBay.
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Monday, Feb. 13th 2012 1:23 PM
Vox Amplification has just announced the arrival of two new additions to its acoustic amp range – the AGA30 and the AGA4-AT. These two new acoustic amps from Vox should excite acoustic players, as they are designed to preserve the acoustic tone of guitars and other acoustic instruments as well. Both of these new guitar amps can also be used to connect an MP3 player to, allowing you to play along to your favourite tunes without the need for additional hardware.
The Vox AGA30 is a two channel amp that offers both a standard channel and also a tube pre-amp channel, with both channels featuring bass and treble EQ controls. The Vox AGA30 also features an anti-feedback control that minimises feedback, making the amp a great option as a stage monitor. With 30 watts of power, a full range speaker and a direct/tuner output for connection to bigger PA systems, the new Vox AGA30 acoustic amp is a great new addition to the Vox acoustic amp range.
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