Guitars

[Mr Badger]

I am left handed, so naturally the first time I picked up a guitar I held it left handed. My brother gave me his old guitar, which was right handed, so I forced myself to learn this way, after seeing the options available for lefties!

I don't blame you, mate, it's a real pain. However, as a southpaw, you never have the problem of other bands borrowing your guitar and screwing it up, or being asked to jam *shudders*!

Great collection Mr Badger. I've got a few Three Cats and a Fiddle recordings myself. Eddie Condon is another great tenor player but I haven't been able to find much of his work since he worked mostly as a side man.

Thanks, still hasn't made me any more talented, though! About a year back, I went thru a period where I was just totally fed up with guitar players, and got really into jump blues saxophonists - what led me back to liking guitarists again was digging stuff like Three Cats & The Fiddle and some western swing. Those players are faves of some of the greatest 1950s guitarists - James Burton, Paul Burlison and, yes I'm gonna include him, Luther Perkins. It's their mix of economy, swing and adventurousness that gets me. Funny how you can follow the thread of this era of guitarists all the way from Condon thru Burton to someone like the late, great Robert Quine, who added some free jazz to the mix, in order to create some really, really way out playing. I mean, what's Quine's solo on "Blank Generation" but a mix of jazz, western swing and hillbilly thru an amphetamine haze?

But I digress...

BTW, check Rod McKuen's "The Beat Generation" to see where Richard Hell appropriated the melody and lyrics for "Blank Generation" - 'un homage', I believe our Gallic brethren would call it...

 

[Dinerman]

More pics back from Matt Artinger. He's done the inlay- I can't wait to have this thing in my hands. We're in the process of discussing finish. Any thoughts?

 

[Mr Badger]

Ooh, that's looking great! Mebbe a black-to-red burst? Or you could just oil it...

 

[Warbaby]

Just my two cents worth, but noooo...no sunburst! (sunbursts always look cheesy to me - unless it's on a vintage Les Paul flametop) I'd go for an nice, warm honey-color with a traditional nitrocellulose lacquer finish.

 

[Mr Badger]

Not a really bright 'burst, summat like this:

 

[Silver Dollar]

That's a really nice sunburst, Mr. B. I used to have an Ibanez L5 law suit copy that had a beautiful wine colored finish where you could still see the grain in the wood. I sold it to get a genuine Gibson L5. I wish now I hadn't have sold it. Many of those copies which are now very collectable were better than the Gibson products according to many sources. I agree with them. BTW, for those of you collectors out there, the law suit L5's were made in Japan in the mid 70's with the Gibson shaped peghead but with the Ibanez logo. Beware of the bogus Chinese copies now available.

 

[Dinerman]

I think Matt's going to go with a finish along the lines of what martin was using in the '30s.

 

[Silver Dollar]

That will definitely work.

 

[Edward]

Edward, If you want an arch top, look at the various Loar guitars. I believe they're the best buy for the dollar right now, especially used.

I'll have to look into that.... I fancy a single cone resonator too - really pleased to see how many more 30s and 40s styled guitars there are on the market these days.

I've also got a small Gretsch acoustic, from their Americana series, which is nice for tooling around with...

I been halfway tempted by one of those myself... am I right in saying that the bridge is at 90 degrees to the strings the whole way across, so it wouldn't screw up the intonation to restring as a lefty? That Eastman Gretschalike looks really nice, btw... Quite fancy the bass version myself. And I love your Dano - that 90s RI U2 is, to the best of my knowledge, the only official Dano model that has ever been available left handed. Wish I'd bought one back in 99 when I first moved to London - they were widely available then, new, for GBP150... last time I looked, on eBay they often go for double that now. Used, that is (no longer available new). For some reason I chose instead an Epi LP back then.... wish I hadn't. Great guitar, but I'm just so over Les Pauls by now.

 

[Mr Badger]

I been halfway tempted by one of those myself... am I right in saying that the bridge is at 90 degrees to the strings the whole way across, so it wouldn't screw up the intonation to restring as a lefty? That Eastman Gretschalike looks really nice, btw... Quite fancy the bass version myself. And I love your Dano - that 90s RI U2 is, to the best of my knowledge, the only official Dano model that has ever been available left handed. Wish I'd bought one back in 99 when I first moved to London - they were widely available then, new, for GBP150... last time I looked, on eBay they often go for double that now. Used, that is (no longer available new). For some reason I chose instead an Epi LP back then.... wish I hadn't. Great guitar, but I'm just so over Les Pauls by now.

I got the little Gretsch off a friend down Denmark St, and he sorted out the leftie conversion for nowt so I think it was pretty simple. It's got a compensated bridge piece and I think it was just a case of their tech levering it out of the wooden bridge and re-setting it the other way around, same for the nut - but that's just a guess! Go talk to Crispin at Regent Sound on Denmark St, and tell him Joss sent ya...

Eastwoods are hit and miss - as I believe I've said before, that Gretsch-a-like has had a lot of work done on it to make it playable. And the neck only settled down after 12 months or so - it went out of tune just by breathing on it when I first got it! Peerless guitars do some nice lefty jazzers, email them for info, and there's also a thick-bodied lefty Ibanez Artcore to consider - in retrospect, I'd go for either of these above an Eastwood. Again, Regent Sound stocks Eastwoods so you could try one out there, if you wanted...

Yeah, I remember seeing the lefty Dano for £99 when we were up visiting friends in Norwich years back - kicked myself for not getting that one! In the end, and it took years for one to come along, I got the 'snot green machine' off E*ay for about £150. Have been playing it thru my AC15 this afternoon - sounds killer with flatwounds and serious reverb! Very close to a baritone, in terms of low end whampum!

 

[Edward]

Yeah, I remember seeing the lefty Dano for £99 when we were up visiting friends in Norwich years back - kicked myself for not getting that one! In the end, and it took years for one to come along, I got the 'snot green machine' off E*ay for about £150. Have been playing it thru my AC15 this afternoon - sounds killer with flatwounds and serious reverb! Very close to a baritone, in terms of low end whampum!

I've had my eye on a Peerless for quite some time - they do seem to be the best out there in terms of vfm... just got to find the 'm'...

I do envy you that Dano... they did do a really nice baritone version of that (also the Mosritesque Hodad) but, of course, no lefties...

 

[/|\]

This is my 1993 Fender Telecaster.

I have a 2006 Squier that is its clone, with a string-through bridge, SCN pickups, and an upgraded console with a four-way switch. (It was cheap, so I thought I'd do a bit of surgery. The cavities are shielded, as well.)

I bought a bunch of new 2008 Fender Telecaster parts, the same electronics mentioned above, and built a burgundy Tele with a maple neck and white three-ply pick guard.

My other electric guitar is an Epiphone Les Paul Cherry Sunburst.

My accoustic is a Takamine Classical I bought in 1984.

The irony is that with all of those guitars, I can only play rhythm! I need a tutor.

 

[Atomic]

I just got a new guitar. Well, its sitting at my mom's house and I have to go pick it up. Anywho, my grandfather had this sitting around, said he traded a fiddle for it back in the early 90's and its been sitting in a closet ever since. Its a Univox Pro. I can't tell the year, best guess I have come up with is mid/late sixties to early 70's. I have been scouring the internet looking for info on this, but its fairly well forgotten with the time now. Its a copy of the Gibson Super 400 series, although the Gibson crew says that these were actually really rockin guitars and can hold their own, even better than some of the 400s that they copied. I have no idea how it plays yet, the bridge is missing so I have to get another one to try it out. Guitar looks to be in great shape, couple little dings here and there but nothing major.

If this things sounds decent and plays well I might put a bigsby style vibrato tail piece on it too. I was looking to get a Gretsch but hey, this was free! The Gretsch will come with time.

I'm looking to get a nice little tube amp next. I have had huge Marshall stacks and solid state amps from the beginning, I want a little 10 to 15 watt tube amp for the house. I'm getting old....

 

[Silver Dollar]

Hey Atomic, I think the set of strings you have on it are way too light. Just kidding. It's really funny but some of those older repros do sound better than the guitars they imitate. A bridge is a pretty easy part to get and not that difficult to get it to fit well on the top. If you're not familiar with the setup of an archtop, I may be able to help you out. If you do get a Bigsby, get a bridge with a metal saddle. The strings will slide better in the slots.

 

[Michael Carter]

I bought this from Rick Turner last December. Plays great and the tone is like nothing else on the planet.

Nice guitars fellas.

 

[Michael Carter]

I just got a new guitar. Well, its sitting at my mom's house and I have to go pick it up. Anywho, my grandfather had this sitting around, said he traded a fiddle for it back in the early 90's and its been sitting in a closet ever since. Its a Univox Pro. I can't tell the year, best guess I have come up with is mid/late sixties to early 70's. I have been scouring the internet looking for info on this, but its fairly well forgotten with the time now. Its a copy of the Gibson Super 400 series, although the Gibson crew says that these were actually really rockin guitars and can hold their own, even better than some of the 400s that they copied. I have no idea how it plays yet, the bridge is missing so I have to get another one to try it out. Guitar looks to be in great shape, couple little dings here and there but nothing major.

If this things sounds decent and plays well I might put a bigsby style vibrato tail piece on it too. I was looking to get a Gretsch but hey, this was free! The Gretsch will come with time.

I'm looking to get a nice little tube amp next. I have had huge Marshall stacks and solid state amps from the beginning, I want a little 10 to 15 watt tube amp for the house. I'm getting old....

It looks a lot like the ES-175 I used to have.

 

[Atomic]

Hey Atomic, I think the set of strings you have on it are way too light. Just kidding. It's really funny but some of those older repros do sound better than the guitars they imitate. A bridge is a pretty easy part to get and not that difficult to get it to fit well on the top. If you're not familiar with the setup of an archtop, I may be able to help you out. If you do get a Bigsby, get a bridge with a metal saddle. The strings will slide better in the slots.

Yeah, I have to do some research, apparently Univox was made in the USA for a while then went to Japan under the Matsumoko company. I'm not sure who made the guitar, US or Japan. I have to get my hands on the guitar and see if I can find a sticker inside somewhere.

I was thinking of using this bridge : http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges...s/Tune-o-matic_Bridge_For_Archtop_Guitar.html

I'm new to archtops and wondering how I keep the bridge on there. Does it just float and hold from string tension or is there a light adhesive that I have to apply. I know I'm going to have to sand the bottom of the bridge to get it to match the guitar, but I'm lost after that...

It looks a lot like the ES-175 I used to have.

Yeah, pretty similar, huh!

 

[Michael Carter]

As on the ES-175, the bridge is floating. String tension keeps it in place.

 

[DesertDan]

Cool, I'll join in.
I have been a gigging bassplayer for over 30 years.

This is my '76 Precision and She is the one against whom all other basses are judged. This was my first true lefthanded bass, I traded a Gibson RD Artist for her. The time and miles we've had together, the stories we can tell.

'83 Yamaha BB400. Bought it brand new and the only thing that has ever been changed are the strings. I keep it strung with TI flats and it is a total Motown funk machine.

Mid '80 MIJ Fender Jazz. This was the first Jazz I bought (or even played actually) I love this bass. Only the pickguard and bridge are non-stock.

Warwick "Rockbass" Corvette. I keep this one strung piccolo

Schecter Elite 5. My first and only (for now) 5 string.

Squier P-Bass Special I converted to fretless.

This bass I built myself from mostly Warmoth parts, the body is an old Squier. Love British Racing Green!

I have 2 other Jazz basses and A short scale bass I built in high school woodshop class that is modeled after the Alembic Model 1. No pics of those as of yet.

 

[Mr Badger]

I'm new to archtops and wondering how I keep the bridge on there. Does it just float and hold from string tension or is there a light adhesive that I have to apply. I know I'm going to have to sand the bottom of the bridge to get it to match the guitar, but I'm lost after that...

That Univox is really nice! That bridge looks good if you're keeping the original tailpiece, but I'd go for a roller bridge should you decide on getting a Bigsby. In either case, it's worth taking the guitar to a good tech to get it set up. After that time without tension on the neck, there may be some issues with movement, the frets may need dressing, the electrics sorting out, etc. I'd get the bridge pinned, rather than stick it down. That way you don't have to worry about it shifting, which will mean it'll stay properly intonated for longer between visits to the guitar tech. I'd say spend the $$$s to get it set up properly, then you'll fall in love with it from the first note! You know you wanna!

Hey DesertDan, nice to see another southpaw! Respect!