The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    Image grab:




  4. #3

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    That's about 2-3 X what a similar era Tal normaly sells for but if you're a collector you don't have to get a 2nd mortgage.
    I've never been one to want to own a famous jazz plyrs guitar even though I found out 25 yrs after the fact that I actually do.
    But cool little piece of history for TF fans, and Retrofret is a good dealer.

  5. #4

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    That's expensive, but if you want a Tal Farlow's Tal Farlow.... Looks like a great one!

  6. #5

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    so tal owned this for a few months and may have noodled a bit on it before he gave it away for free? take my money.

  7. #6

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    That first paragraph is really messed up. (Pardon the pedantic academic in me.) But that's a beauty of a guitar.

  8. #7
    I’m stuck in India since the lockdown
    So instead to waste my time I start to make guitar tailpiece copies ... soon will be available





    Soon other

    All metal is brass

  9. #8

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    There are players' guitars and there are collectors' guitars. This is clearly an object to collect that happens to bear close resemblance to a similar object a person might actually play.
    As a collector's guitar, it's not a bad price. It'd make a great Christmas present if you have a friend who is a real Tal fanatic. Put this with the Mosaic box set and you can check off his/her name on your holiday gift list.
    One of the nice things about a collector's object guitar is you don't need to be able to play. And it doesn't take years of practice to become an enthusiast. Buy this guitar and you may even become president of your local chapter.
    Best not to touch it though, in case there might be some actual Tal Farlow DNA on it. Glass case. Piece of history anybody can acquire!

  10. #9

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    Tal died 6 weeks after writing that letter. Obviously getting his last affairs in order.
    A great guitarist and human being. I will always love him.

  11. #10

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    Thinking about what I could sell to snag this)))

    Tal was Feeling pretty ill during that last year (esophageal cancer) and wasn’t playing out that much. So I doubt this guitar got much time. (Tal always swapped out the TOM metal bridge for a rosewood one, further making me wonder how much it was played.). Over on Reverb are two prototypes, both the usual TF models. Ones 35,000 the other 30,000 at Rudy ‘s. Take a look the 1996 with the rosewood bridge which as I recall was his last gigging TF.

    I recall he was staying a lot in NY that year with his wife and near the hospital. The lister posits the question of whether he would have been shipped this by Gibson or he picked it out. It was shipped, in fact all of the so-called prototypes were shipped to him in Sea Bright, NJ. They were all true hand made pieces so I bet this is one special TF! (I was fortunate to play the other prototypes in a lesson but not this one.) I’ve seen one of the other prototypes on Reverb for 35,000$, it’s gone. What I call the “other” prototypes were attempts to make a TF more like an L5. It was funny cause all he wanted was his worn out original replaced. Say what you will about Henry J but he did respect Tal greatly and made sure they did their best for him.
    Note our typical Jersey Shore nickel pickup cover ick. Worse thing living on a barrier island, nickel and brass are in constant deterioration.
    i remember our last chat, by phone a month or two before he passed. He sounded so different thanks to the C. It really was very very sad. A great player but an even better friend. Rest well.

  12. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by jazzkritter
    Thinking about what I could sell to snag this)))

    Tal was Feeling pretty ill during that last year (esophageal cancer) and wasn’t playing out that much. So I doubt this guitar got much time. (Tal always swapped out the TOM metal bridge for a rosewood one, further making me wonder how much it was played.). Over on Reverb are two prototypes, both the usual TF models. Ones 35,000 the other 30,000 at Rudy ‘s. Take a look the 1996 with the rosewood bridge which as I recall was his last gigging TF.

    I recall he was staying a lot in NY that year with his wife and near the hospital. The lister posits the question of whether he would have been shipped this by Gibson or he picked it out. It was shipped, in fact all of the so-called prototypes were shipped to him in Sea Bright, NJ. They were all true hand made pieces so I bet this is one special TF! (I was fortunate to play the other prototypes in a lesson but not this one.) I’ve seen one of the other prototypes on Reverb for 35,000$, it’s gone. What I call the “other” prototypes were attempts to make a TF more like an L5. It was funny cause all he wanted was his worn out original replaced. Say what you will about Henry J but he did respect Tal greatly and made sure they did their best for him.
    Note our typical Jersey Shore nickel pickup cover ick. Worse thing living on a barrier island, nickel and brass are in constant deterioration.
    i remember our last chat, by phone a month or two before he passed. He sounded so different thanks to the C. It really was very very sad. A great player but an even better friend. Rest well.
    Thank you for posting.

  13. #12

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    I'm not sure what the asking price is since it doesn't have a link to the ad. But no matter, I play them and although it's extremely Cool to have a great players instrument.
    I would never pay more than 2 3xs the normal price for one. And as a collector of guitars Jazz instruments besides Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Athere would little value added unfortunately in the long run!

  14. #13

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    Jads57:
    RetroFret Vintage Guitars
    $11,500

  15. #14

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    That still a bit much being it's not a vintage version!

  16. #15

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    $11,500 struck me as a reasonable price for a collectible, special guitar. I mean, if it’s worth something to you that this was one of Tal’s own guitars, then $11,500 seems fair enough. Might be underpriced. That’s not very much money for some people.

  17. #16

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    Back in the early '70s, I taught at a music store. We had a customer who came in about once a month and bought high end archtops, mostly Gibsons, with the occasional outlier, like the original Howard Roberts Custom Epi. Didn't play, had no intention of ever learning to play. He was so serious a collector that he had an addition on his house that was climate controlled in which to store them. Threads like these always make me wonder what became of them.

  18. #17

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    It would be interesting to talk to someone about why they collect expensive high-end guitars if they don't actually play the instrument. I can't imagine doing that; it would be like collecting classic cars but not knowing how to drive.

    Are there non-players who collect high-end clarinets or trumpets? Or is there just some thing about the guitar that incites this?

  19. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cunamara
    It would be interesting to talk to someone about why they collect expensive high-end guitars if they don't actually play the instrument. I can't imagine doing that; it would be like collecting classic cars but not knowing how to drive.

    Are there non-players who collect high-end clarinets or trumpets? Or is there just some thing about the guitar that incites this?
    Lots of reasons for this might exist:

    Collecting for investment
    Collecting as art
    Collecting as music memorabilia
    Collecting as an inducement to learning to play.

  20. #19

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    I see the point about non-players buying guitars, but consider that art collectors might not be able to paint like Rembrandt. Most people and certainly most visual artists don't have the scratch to buy a Rembrandt, and many musicians can't afford even a contemporary, mass-produced axe that suits their skills and aspirations. So they are not the demographic that's going to preserve a piece like this one.

    If you accept the premise that artists and wealthy folks are, for the most part, non-overlapping sets, it stands to reason that someone who can afford to preserve an instrument without playing it serves a valuable purpose - perhaps even more valuable than someone who would devalue a unique or rare instrument by accumulating their own pick scratches, belt-buckle rash, and sweat or skin oil on a delicate, polished finish over the years.

    Perhaps collectors appreciate the guitar as an art object, as a piece of history, or just as an investment. It's better than having it wind up in the hands of someone who chops it up to sell the parts on eBay or who doesn't care for it properly. Someone who cares for, appreciates, and preserves a vintage guitar provides a valuable service to the musical, historical, and cultural ecosystems, whether or not they play, and whether or not the guitar was celebrity owned.

    My finances don't allow me to buy guitars as an investment, but if it did, I might prefer that over coins, jewelry, or paintings because I love guitars. To each his own

    Just a thought...

    SJ

  21. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cunamara
    It would be interesting to talk to someone about why they collect expensive high-end guitars if they don't actually play the instrument. I can't imagine doing that; it would be like collecting classic cars but not knowing how to drive.

    Are there non-players who collect high-end clarinets or trumpets? Or is there just some thing about the guitar that incites this?
    Many Guarneri and Stradivarius violins are owned by collectors but loaned to players. Fun fact: there is a Strad called the Gibson and another called the Firebird.

  22. #21

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    I prefer this one: Gibson Tal Farlow Custom Archtop Sunburst, 1998 | www.12fret.com
    I dig the orange burst and it's about 1/3 the cost. (it's listed in Can $$).