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The Story
The guitar has become one of
the most enjoyed instruments for many people. Well with guitarists especially
like Brian Setzer, many of us have been inspired for life. To pick up a guitar and play this
unbelievable sound. It’s catchy, and impressive. But there has been no
magazine or site dedicated to the base of American guitar music. And that’s
rockabilly, jazz, blues, and swing. And that’s what we are here to do. Were
starting off small, but with your help we can become big. NEXT MISSIONS: -A Domain -A Magazine |
Guitar Tech ROCKABILLY SIX STRINGS FOR UNDER A GRAND!!!!!!!! BY CARL LAGERBERG Welcome
to another installment on my rants and raves about rockabilly gear. This month
I was asked to write a little ditty on guitars. Different models and tones
and likes and dislikes and prices and play-a-billity, etc. You get the hint.
Anyway, to write such an article on all the cool stuff ou there, vintage
,new, re-issues and the like would probably drive me crazy,man, crazy!!!!!
So……what I’m gonna do is do a review on retro-styled rockabilly geetars under
$1000.00…….I don’t know about all you guys out there, but I’m one of them
joes that kinda dig the new stuff as well as all the vintage stuff that is
scattered around my place. It’s a cool thing my wife digs what I do. Anyway,
without further adou’…let’s get crackin’. De ARMOND
Man, I got
some OLD DeArmond pickups on an old 6120 around here somewhere…I remember
when I heard that these guitars were being made, I was excited to see if they
could get the same sound out of them pick-ups like they used to. Close…I
guess you just gotta use alnico magnets and that would cost a pretty penny. DeARMOND T-400
A thin-line semi-hollow maple laminate body. 2 DeArmond dual
coil humbuckers. Comes with a Bigsby style trem. Cool crimson red color. You
can get a real cool twang outta this thing. Pretty good guitar for that
youngster out there lookin’ for his first rockin’ guitar…Great for any
psychobilly cats out there that don’t need that vintage sound. And hell, for
$349. you can’t beat it. Also check out the DeArmond STARFIRE SPECIAL…real
cool also….better sounding
pick-ups(USA made), Bigsby style tail piece and it comes in black. Oh…and
it’s $20. cheaper?????? Through here, ONLY $329* Click link below!
FENDER
OK….I’m gonna get a lotta
!@#$% for this but I’m only gonna talk about the 50’s Tele re-issue here.
This thing came out a while back. Great vintage vibe to it, Ash body. Vintage style tele pick-ups, 3
saddle strung thru body bridge. Also the blond finish looks cool. Tele’s
deserve that spot in rockabilly six string history. I know everyone(almost)
wants that big old Gretsch, but just listen to Paul Burlison on the old Rock
and Roll Trio stuff. That stuff is textbook rockin study material. James
Burton on the old Ricky Nelson and Vegas Elvis stuff. Great all around
guitar, not just for rockabilly but blues, jazz and western swing. Just listen to the old Robert Gordon
records from the 80’s and you can here ol’ Danny Gatton just rippin’ it up!!!Another
great taken from us too soon. Anyway for around $600. new and probably half
that used, this get’s this Gretsch guys seal of COOL!! GRETSCH
What’s this? A Gretsch for under a grand? You bet. These are the
little brothers of the legendary Duo-Jet Series. Depending on what you want
and how much you wanna spend, I think
these are great. The ELECTROMATIC SERIES comes in all sorts of flavors. At
$250. you get the real basic thing. 2 real basic pick-ups and a REAL basic
two tone sunburst. But here’s what got my toe’s a tapin’….the #G2600 line…you
get a real cool choice of sparkle finishes, from blue to silver. Two
Filter-Tron style pickups. A bolt on neck and a stop tail piece. And around
400 to 600 bucks you can’t go wrong. Through
here, ONLY $249* Click link below!
EPIPHONE
All right, first the good….back a few years ago Epi started
making their versions of some real cool classic Gibsons. The ES-295(Scotty
Moore) and the ES-5 or Switchmaster as it was called later. A real bargain.
Although they were made in the Orient( hey, I love eggrolls and most of the
Gretsch line is made in the Land of the Rising Sun). The thing is, I could
NEVER afford a vintage ES-5 or ES-295 the way the market was then, let alone
now! When the Epiphone rep brought them in to the shop for me I could’nt
believe that they actually sounded GREAT! The pickups ain’t up to par with
the classic P90’s, put when I plugged the ES-295 into an old tweed Fender and
hooked up the slapback echo…I did a 45 minute Sun Records medely. The ZEPHYER BLUES DELUXE Huge hollow body.
Based on the Gibson ES-5. You get 3 P90 style pickups. Art Decco style tailpiece.
Strap that badboy on and pull out the Carl Perkins riffs. Great
Guitar……….HOWEVER, the same cannot be said for the next piece. When I first
saw this thing, I didn’t know if I should be impressed or de-pressed. It
pretty much told me that the rockabilly style I’ve spent most of my life
living( the music,the clothes,the cars, the whole damn lifestyle) has became
almost as mainstream as Starbucks and the Gap. I’ll try to keep a straight
face as I bring you…………… The
EPIPHONE FLAMEKAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Someone
must have gotten the idea from Setzer’s
Kustom Country Club he had back in the early 80’s. Basically looks
like somthin’ that if Brandon and
Dylan from “BEVERLY HILLS 90210” started a rockabilly band this would be the
guitar of choice. It’s black with hotrod flames. Dice inlay on the neck.Dice
on the knobs.Dice on the toggle switch. Dice,Dice Dice!!!! Anyway…the
playability of the “FLAMEKAT” was like this old Harmony Rocket I had when I
was a kid….actually, that Harmony Rocket is in my mom’s garage. And the
“VibroTone” tailpiece. Jeez…people. It sure ain’t no Bigsby. The pickups
sounded thin and brittle, instead of thick and twangy(hey,I gotta name for my
homemade BBQ sauce). I don’t know. For $800-$900, I think I’d save a few more bucks and get a re-issue Gretsch. Well,
I’ve barely scratched the surface. There are a lot of killer deals out there
to be found. Take your time and play more than one guitar when you’re
shopping. And remember to get something that sounds good, plays good, and looks
good. A cool lookin’ six string is about as important as a cool lookin’
pompadour. If some of you wanna spend a little more…
I picked up one of the Gretsch 6120 60’s re-issue. It’s actually just like a
’59. I use it all the time. Some of the places I’ve played, there’s no way I
would bring a golden oldie to. Beer spillin, some places with no stage and
people jitterbuggin’ all over me. !@#$%^ people that can’t wait for you to
turn you back so they can TRY to swipe it. It’s agreat sounding guitar. Retro
cool. That great Gretsch sound. I picked it up about 5 years ago for cost
plus tax.(one of the advantages to working at a major guitar retail chain)
Also, treat yourself to checkin’ out the new Eddie Cochran signature model.
C’mon everybody ‘cause that guitar is Somthin’ Else. Another cool *&^%$#’n guitar is the
GUILD X160. I had the pleasure of
getting to try this puppy out a couple years ago when I was hangin’ with my
buddy Dave Gonzales of the Paladins. We were shootin’ the breeze about cars
and guitars when he says” You wanna see somthin cool?” Knowing Dave, I
could’nt resist. He pulls this brand new Guild out and it looks just like his
old one. As a matter of fact, Guild used Dave’s guitar to get the specs
right. It comes with 2 USA made DeArmonds. Real Bigsby trem and it comes in
“ROCKABILLY ORANGE”. A helluva great guitar. You don’t see too many
rockabilly cats with a Guild. I had a Starfire III when I was 16 and wound up
swapping it for a Gretsch Tennesean. Dave’s twangin rockabilly and texas
blues style of playing did the guitar justice. Check one out. The list price
is around $1600. Get
this baby through us for ONLY $1819. Click link below!
Well that does it for me for now. Like I
said there’s a whole lot more out there. I just touched the basics. If you
have any good guitar stories,questions,corrections, or just wanna shoot the
!@#$% ,..just e-mail me. I love to talk about guitars, music and the the
whole rockabilly lifestyle. Until
next time, keep on Twangin’
Carl guitartech@rockabillystrings.8m.com read
previous articles GO! |
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