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I gave it lots of thought,my thinking was they summed up the potential stigma faced by users of string bending machinery . Would the Rose by any other name be so neat? "I dumped the strings with my boing bar."- not better. "Nice dive bomb with the slinky." - trade mark issue's. I'm afraid the slang of the wang is here to stay and we are but poor players in parts large and small on the stage of guitar gymnastics..... hmmm, that might not sound pc either. If I've offended delicate sensibilities I apologize and admit I still play rock on occasions.
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10-04-2016 10:02 PM
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No offense here, I sort of found it funny...Leo Fender called it a tremelo bar. Vibrato would have been better perhaps, but out of respect, I will use Leo's term. Both of my Strats have blocked bridges. The bars stay in the case. I have had a few guitars with a Bigsby. Not my cup of tea. I guess, I like my guitars to be a bit more on the feminine side.
Originally Posted by Cavalier
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I think JM makes fine instruments with beautiful cosmetics on them, but I don't think he makes better instruments than Jimmy D. or John D. Originally Posted by FourOnSix
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You're just not thinking about it the right way. The Bigsby is simply an accessory to the guitar, that you control, designed to vibrate the instrument in a variety of different ways that you can't with just your fingers. This causes the guitar to emit pleasing sounds. Originally Posted by Joe DeNisco
Last edited by Hammertone; 10-05-2016 at 12:59 AM.
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There are a few other useful terms: Originally Posted by Cavalier
- whammy bar
- wiggle stick
- guitar detuner
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I think you have hit on it. And I was feebly trying to be funny. For some the guitar is female, something to romance, you elicit sounds out of it. . For others it is a extension of themselves, a voice to romance with. Both approaches can yield great results. Some guitars demand to be approached in a certain way Guitars aren't necessarily gender neutral but the same guitar might demand different approaches between male and female players. And sometimes romance isn't the topic at all but expressions of other themes. Ideally they are mirrors to reflect what we would show from within. Love, anger, thought, joy, sorrow, etc.... And now I'll be quiet so I can hear my multi string intentional de-tensioning device. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
Which wouldn't interest me either if I had D'Angelicos in the house.
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Fair enough. Originally Posted by sgcim
Thanks.
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There has been a lot of pronouncements about who is the modern king of the archtop that is in the rarified league of John D'Angelico and Jimmy D'Aquisto. Originally Posted by FourOnSix
Some say Bob Benedetto, some say John Monteleone, some say Roger Borys.
All three are superb luthiers. IMO, none have reached the level of the two DA's. I believe that history will regard those two as the greatest guitar builders ever.
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Oddly enough, I think Ken Parker would fit the bill as the next person carrying the torch. I've never had the good fortune to play a D'Angelico guitar, but I have played a Parker and it was a real treat.
I feel as if Ken took the evolution of the archtop to the next step and in a lot of ways embodies what D'Angelico and D'aquisto were trying to do. It's sort of the difference between somebody strictly concerned with playing what their heroes played vs. innovating like their heroes did. If bird were alive today he wouldn't be playing bebop. If Jimmy were alive today I wonder if he would be building his guitars exactly the same. To top it off Jimmy was a mentor of sorts to Ken.
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Nine years ago, I got to do two concerts in the Seattle area with Larry Coryell. Larry was playing a Parker guitar and I got to check it out. It was "different ", I will give it that. No doubt, Ken Parker is an innovator. Jimmy D. was a mentor and friend to many builders, including Borys and Monteleone. Jimmy D. personally trained luthier Steve Stern. There are many superb luthiers today, we indeed live in a golden age of luthiery. Only time will tell if any will rise to the level of John and Jimmy. As far as innovation goes, I follow the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy. I'll stick with the DA's. I simply have never heard better sounding guitars. Originally Posted by Dioxic
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I'd put Elmer [not Fudd] up there w/the the two DA's
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Stromberg's later work is top notch for sure. I have played some early examples that were less than stellar.
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After Scott Chinery's death, part of his collection went up for sale in a store in San Rafael, CA. I had the chance to play a D'Aquisto Centura and a Monteleone Radio Flyer side by side, and I actually preferred the Monteleone. This, of course, is anecdotal, and I think I recall some setup and/or corroded string issue with the D'Aquisto. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
I'm very curious about the very early D'Aquistos, those that still had metal tailpieces and D'Angelico-like styling. Never played one of those. When they do come up for sale, they tend to be less expensive than the mid and late period ones (albeit, still huge bucks).
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Lucky you! By the time I got to E-Guitars, the Monteleone and the D'Aquisto's were gone. I did get to play 4 D'Angelico's and two Selmer's. I made an offer on a New Yorker. Michael, the owner said that what I wanted to pay is what he would want to pay, but he wanted three thousand dollars more. I passed and two weeks later, he got his price. Originally Posted by FourOnSix
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A final post script to the story of this guitar.
I talked to Neil, one of the owners of Island Guitars in Hawaii. Neil told me that the guitar was bought many years ago by a Hawaiian guitarist who toured the USA playing Hawaiian music. The guitarist bought the guitar during a tour on the mainland (Neil did not know what era to be exact, nor in what State the guitar was found. He also did not remember the name of the daughter or the guitarist). When the guitarist died (8 years ago), his daughter flew in from Colorado to settle the estate. The guitar was found in a plastic bag in the shower stall of a pool house. The daughter brought it to Island Guitars. They consigned it for $1500. The owner of Island Guitars thought that it would take thousands to restore and would never be worth more than $5,000.
I feel sorry for the daughter. She got some terrible advice from a music store owner. We should all do what Patrick Amato did, put slips of paper in each guitar case advising our heirs of the fair market value of our guitars (I have done this).
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I would caution against such practice as the lignan lurking in casebound paper slips tends to promote premature yellowing of the terminal knots in the case needlework, thereby reducing the collectible value of the instrument housed therein by 40-60%. Of course, one can always just play the mofo. ; )
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Originally Posted by aboutIt
Hmmm...If you are considering a career in stand up comedy, it might be prudent to keep your day job......
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Holy Schmoley, Mark. You know Neil at Island Guitars? I was stationed at Hickam AFB for 5 years from 87 to 92. Any time off I got, I spent it at Island Guitars. Heck, any spare income I had went to them for some incredible pieces. That's where I bought my Heritage guitars and a ES-175CC. I sold most of what I bought there but I still have a 76 Guild AA that I bought there. Neil really knows his stuff both about the guitars and about the music. Small world. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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Aww, Stringswinger, I'm just having a little fun. It's the PA boy in me, former cross-state neighbor. If anyone can and will play that mofo, it's you. The guitar will be dust one day, but the music never stops. I know you know the diff. And it is an incredibly fine piece that you've earned. Respect and good humor. FWIW, my day job is highly comedic, albeit in a painful way. Hope to catch one of your performances in person sometime soon, seeing as how we're still neighbors at the northern bound. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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HFC, I'll bet that 76 AA is superb and also bet that for the most part Neil Knows his stuff. Originally Posted by hot ford coupe
But he screwed the pooch on this guitar. In 2008, the Vintage Guitar Price guide valued this guitar at 18K-23K. If you go with the lowest value and knock that in half for the refinish, it still would have a value of 9K (Which IMO is a minimum value). For him to tell the daughter of the longtime owner that restored it would be worth no more than 5K and then to sell it for 1500 on consignment (she probably only got 1100-1200 net) was negligent. Stuart Deutsch, the New York collector who bought it made a $4500 profit on this guitar (he did not fully restore it, had he done so, it would have been worth more). While he is entitled to a fair profit for taking on the project and having most of the restoration work done, the daughter of the long time owner should have gotten more.
People who rely on the advice of a pro are entitled to competent advice.
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No worries. Though I suspect that both you and I will be dust long before this guitar meets the same fate... Originally Posted by aboutIt
Stop by the bandstand and say Hi!
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Truth. BTW, the signature quote on your posts is pure poetry. I will say hello with a smile and a toe still tappin'.
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Sorry Guys, I had to dig this up..
I very rarely miss guitars after I sell them. Mainly because I've been lucky enough to replace them with guitars that I wanted more. Losing my D'Angelico has been a different and very weird experience for me. After shipping the guitar to Stringswinger, I went more than a week before I would even go into the guitar room. To me, the D'A was art work that sounded better than any other guitar I ever owned. I would sit up there for hours and admire that Guitar hanging in a glass case. Quite frankly, I didn't feel worthy of it. I thought of all the great players who never got a chance to actually see one in person. People who would have killed to own one. I thought of all the people who were entertained by that guitar during its lifetime. I thought of all the occurances that went on in the world over its life time. I thought about John making that guitar while still in the early stages of his career. Those old D'A's made him the legend he is today. How he tried to build the best guitar that anyone had ever owned. These are the ghosts I always speak of. NO other guitar that I will ever own will compare to it. In less than a Year, I enjoyed ownership of that guitar equivalent to decades for most other people.
When Stringswinger, decided he was going to buy it, I was sad to see it go, but happy to see it go to him. Because I thought he should have it and he deserves it, just a little more than I did. Outside of Rudy Pensa, Stringswinger, is the ambassador for D'Angelico Guitars. He is worthy.
I love my Gibson Johnny Smith, I really do. But it will never, ever replace of my baby. My old D'Angelico Excel.
Thanks for reading this.
Joe D.
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The 35 DA comes out of the case every week for some chord melody jazz. It is a superb guitar and I feel honored that JD has let me become its current caretaker.
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Joe:
As usual, I have the solution to your problem.
Just replace the old D'A with the Stromberg G1 I have for sale.
It will be just like having a D'A, only..y'know, better… :^)
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