Tag Archives: luthier

Mirabella Guitars interview Holy Grail Guitar Show 2015

Interview w. Cristian Mirabella at Holy Grail Guitar Show 2015.

We had the pleasure of meeting up with luthier, Cristian Mirabella, of Mirabella Guitars from New York in Berlin during Holy Grail Guitar Show 2015. On this video Cristian tells us a little bit about the history around him as a builder and also tells us a bit about one of this unique creations that he brought to the show. Guitarplayer, Ratko Zjaca, was kind to lend his time to demo the guitar.

“Mirabella Guitars and Restorations specializes in the creation of fine stringed instruments, the recreation of exact reproduction vintage pick guards and parts, as well as custom one of a kind parts and inlay work.” 

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Ulrich Teuffel from Teuffel Guitars presenting Birdfish & Tesla on Frankfurt Messe 2013

At Frankfurt Messe 2013 we had the pleasure of meeting Teuffel Guitars aka Ulrich Teuffel.

On the first video Ulrich presents his new Antonio model and on the 2nd video, a deluxe version of the “Birdfish” and at last the “Tesla”.

See more handmade guitars on Vintage & Rare here

Visit Teuffel Guitars homepage here

 

Teuffel Guitars / Antonio model

Teuffel Guitars / Antonio model

 

Teuffel Guitars-7

Teuffel Guitars / Frankfurt 2013

Teuffel Guitars / Frankfurt 2013

 

Famous Vinyls Covers: Guestblog by Vinylstall.com

Vinyl records have been popular during most of the 20th century. These recordings are played using a record player called phonograph. Vinyl recordings are once a favorite in the entertainment media. Over the years, the music industry has innovated and produced modern technology from cassette tapes to CDs and digital music players. Old types of music recorded on vinyl are now being revived with the integration of musical instruments. Audiophiles are into vinyl record collection because they love this vintage music format. Even the new generation musicians and music lovers are becoming interested in this old time disc recording.

Vinyl record enthusiasts have never ceased using and collecting this form of music medium. In fact, some artists and small label companies release their music using vinyl. DJs also play and spin these records in the clubs and bars because of the good sound quality. Vinyl has survived the innovation of technology and has influenced the music industry over the years. During the middle to the late years of the 20th century, there are a lot of famous vinyl covers that have been produced and distributed in the market. How can we forget the famous cover of the Rolling Stones, Sticky Fingers? Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by the legendary Beatles has been considered the best cover of all times. For decades, label companies have also integrated famous instruments on their vinyl record covers.

During the vinyl record era, covers are very significant to express the theme of the artist’s songs. Some use their personal profiles and pictures or musical instruments like guitars, piano and saxophones.

Instruments featured in Vinyl Record Covers:

a. One of the most acclaimed albums during the 50’s is the Saxophone Colossus by Sonny Rollins. The award winning album was recorded and released in 1956 by Prestige Records and was considered the best albums issued by this recording company. The cover shows a man playing his saxophone in a blue background. It is a jazz album containing five tracks, three of which are Johnny Rollins’ compositions.

b. Another remarkable vinyl record cover is the album “Eric Clapton Slow hand” by Eric Clapton. This album includes lyrics of all songs and some art clips and photos. The front cover photo shows neck, turning keys and head of a guitar. A body of the guitar being strummed by a man is illustrated in the back cover. The album was produced in 1977 by Glyn Johns.

c. Jerry Lee Lewis also known as “The Killer” pioneered rock and roll music through a distinctive style in piano playing. His album “Who’s gonna play this old piano” released in 1972  contains eleven tracks including the hit songs “She’s Reachin For My Mind” and “Who’s gonna play this old piano”. The vinyl record cover shows an old grand piano with some lyric sheets on top of it.

Vinyl record covers were of great help to market and sell albums. The concept depends on the genre and the performer’s type of music. Most of the covers show profiles and pictures of the singer or bands. Covers for vinyl records also show musical instruments used by performers. Albums with famous musical instruments like guitars, pianos and saxophones are incorporated in the back or front cover of the musician’s album.

Vinyl is one of the greatest medium in the music industry. There is a need for us to protect and promote vinyl records to preserve the music of the past generation. You can find rare vinyl records for sale online, with the free vinyl search on http://www.vinylstall.com/

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Interview with guitarist François “Shanka” Maigret

François “Shanka” Maigret is certainly one of the best current French guitarists.
Multi-instrumentalist, guitar teacher, guitarist with “France de Griessen”, with “No one is Innocent” and singer-guitarist with “The Dukes”… among others.

François kindly accepted to answer to our questions and to tell us about his career, his projects, and of course his guitars and gear !!

Could you please tell us a bit about how you got into playing music ? Do you remember any specific moments that sparked your interest in music and playing guitar?
I started playing electric guitar at the age of 14. The original spark has been Angus Young… When I first saw that guy rolling on the floor while playing killer solos, I said to myself: “That’s what I wanna do… Whatever it takes!”. So I started learning on my own, listening to CDs, watching videos, buying songbooks. I discovered other great guitar players like Paul Gilbert, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Zakk Wylde, Dimebag Darrell, Nuno Bettencourt and so on and began recording myself, which helped a lot to make progress! Then, the usual story: first bands, first recordings, left my hometown for Paris, first pro band, first tour… Since there was no artists or musicians in my family, I thought it’d never work, but it’s been 10 years now so I guess I didn’t suck that much!

Which musicians or bands have been the greatest inspiration and have had the greatest influence on your understanding of music and your playing?
As I said, Angus was the original spark. Then I’d say that Paul Gilbert was my greatest inspiration, as a guitar player and as a teacher. I always loved the way he explained things with both humor and kindness. And no need to say his playing is mind-blowing… Later on I started listening to jazz and country players like Jim Hall (the classiest an on earth), Mike Stern, Tony Rice… I studied harmony and ended up creating my own solo style, which is a mix of blues, metal and be-bop, using country techniques like chicken picking or pedal-steel-like licks. As I read my last phrase, I must say it sounds rather pretentious, all the more because most of the time I end up on stage rolling on the floor making random noise…

Have you already jammed with one of them?
I jammed with Paul Gilbert once (thanks to the French magazine Guitar Part)… I was completely stoked. Still today I don’t understand how I could play a single note, I felt totally paralyzed. I met a lot of famous musicians and I’m generally acting “normal” in that kind of situation, but this time I was completely shocked. I saw him performing a masterclass in my hometown when I was 16 and had the chance to shake his hand… I didn’t wash it for days!!! When I told him that story the day we jammed together, he laughed his ass off!

What advise you give to fans wishing to perfect their playing and broaden out their understanding of music, or what is the first advise you give to your guitar students?
I’d say : “don’t forget where you come from, little monkey”. Since we’re all monkeys (we evolved a bit, but still!), the best way for us to learn things is to first imitate them. “Listen and repeat” is the best way to learn music, it worked with all my students, especially the ones with rhythmic or melodic issues. Then, in parallel, you study theory and start building your own personality! But ear training is definitively very important.

How many days a year do you spend on road? Is it hard to be on a tour and still keep the mindset to create and produce music?
I’d say half of my time is spent on the road. I recently had the chance to have a chat with the great Reeves Gabrels (Bowie’s former guitarist) and he told me how he thought that our lives were very similar to pirate’s, it totally struck me : a bunch of guys going from town to town, taking whatever they can, moving to the next city… It’s a thrill, really. It’s hard to get back to reality when you get back home, but it’s really worth it! I have my own studio to compose, produce and record so it’s not that complicated to keep making music, even if the creative part of the day sadly remains the smaller one… One’s got to pay his rent, like anybody!

Can you please tell us about the guitars, amps and effects you are mainly using, and why you have chosen the guitars & gear you have?
I’m mainly using a ’67 Gibson SG Jr, a Fender Elvis Costello Jazzmaster, a Daddy Mojo CigarBox guitar (which is amazing by the way) and two Roadrunner custom guitars. One of those is equipped with a miniaturized harmonica mic hidden in the upper horn that allows me to be called “the guitar whisperer”… Concerning the amps, I’m using a ’70 Fender Bassman 50, a custom Orange OR50 and a custom Marshall JCM800. I also have a Fender supersonic 100 that is really great.

Do you use the same guitars and gear with “No One is Innocent” and with “The Dukes”?
Depends on the mood, but yes mostly!

Do the guitars & gear you play live differ from the guitars you’re using during recording sessions?
Yes, in the studio I tend to record on much smaller amps. I’m using a few teles and my old Fender mustang too that I almost never use on stage.

Are you into vintage guitars & old amps/effects? If yes which brands/models and why? Maybe you have a special story to tell around one or more of your guitars?
I always hated the kind of Parisian snobs who judge you by the amount of vintage guitars that you own… Then I found my old SG Jr and started becoming a Parisian snob myself! But I still don’t judge people according to their gear! My philosophy is: I don’t care if it’s old or new, it’s gotta work and sound good. I recently bought a very cheap acoustic guitar so I can play when I go to my parents’ place… Eventually I brought it back to my studio since it sounds far better than my Taylor! I tend to like original instruments, like my Team Laser guitar-sitar or my cigarbox. I don’t care if the guitar is comfortable or not, if it’s got the sound that I want, I just adapt my playing to the axe I’m using. I’m really proud of the two models we designed with Laurent Hassoun (Roadrunner guitars): they’re pretty original and sound killer. Laurent is the best rock’n’roll luthier in France, no doubt. His instruments are amazing and the guy is a true rocknrolla!

What are your future plans? With “No One”, “The Dukes”, or alone?
I’m going to record the Dukes’ second LP in Los Angeles this summer, I’m pretty excited about it. I’m also working on No One is Innocent’s and France de Griessen’s new LPs these days… Composing’s my own disease: I just can’t help it, I’ve gotta work on new songs everyday! I also started playing with Abel Croze, an artist who plays for the children, which is pretty amazing… The show is pretty rock’n’roll, you should see those kids yelling, dancing and raising hell with their teachers completely losing control, it’s really something!

Any famous last words?
Music saves lives, don’t kill it… I don’t care if you download stuff, but be responsible and support your favourite artists or they’ll die (and I’m not talking about Britney or Miley, if you see what I mean!!). And above all, dare to be curious, there are fantastic new bands fighting to exist everywhere, all you’ve got to do is to find them… And with the internet there are no excuses!

More information about Shanka’s bands:

http://www.nooneisinnocent.net/
http://www.francedegriessen.com/en/
http://www.myspace.com/wearethedukes

Deimel Guitarworks Interview with Frank Deimel from Deimel Guitarsworks

Frank Deimel opened his guitar/bass-workshop in 1998 in Berlin. Some of his clients are Sonic Youth, Tocotronic, Nikki Sudden etc. We had a little chat with him about his work as a luthier.

Frank_Deimel

Hi Frank, thank you for taking your time to speak to us. Could you tell us a little bit about how and when did you start your company? Where are you located?
I started my guitar-building company in Berlin during my study at the UdK Berlin, while I took the Industrial Design courses. I developed several designs of my guitars during that time, and besides that I got to known Berlin as a divided place. In 1998 I officially started the business, which is based in former west, called “red island”, it`s a place somewhere between Potsdamer Platz and Tempelhof.
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Boutique Bass Guitars Equals The New Vintage

By Mike Ippersiel

So what’s the big deal about boutique basses?

Perhaps this is something that you’ve thought to yourself as you’ve looked at high resolution images of handmade or highly customized basses that cost $3,000 and up.

Are they worth more than triple what you can spend to pick up a decent bass off the shelf at your local music store?Do all those exotic woods do anything besides look, well…exotic? Are they really just over-priced pieces of furniture fashioned into the shape of a bass guitar?

Yes and no.

You see, any particular bass guitar is going to be worth more or less money from one person to another. Some instrument collectors will pay outrageous sums of money for rare instruments because they happened to be owned or even were only played a few times by someone famous like Paul McCartney or Jaco Pastorius.
Others may pay to have a bass guitar built by hand that many may feel is either ugly, or even unplayable. It’s true that one man’s trash is another
man’s treasure!

For me, it was the price tag that really put boutique basses on a pedestal for me.

Here I was, a modest rock bassist playing covers and original music who was happy to go home after a gig with $100 bucks in his pocket – what right did I have to daydream about a high-end custom bass guitar? The ‘realistic’ side of me said that I could own a bass like that ‘one day’ when I ‘made it’.

While there is a market for boutique bass guitars that look like furniture and that span 5, 6, 7, 8 strings and beyond, a significant chunk of the high end bass guitar market is devoted to what I’ll call ‘modern vintage’ instruments.

Luthiers like Sadowsky, Mike Lull and Alleva-Coppolo (just to name a few) offer modern takes on the classic Fender Jazz bass guitar – that cost several times more than it would cost to just pickup up an actual Fender bass yourself.

So why pay more for a ‘copy’ than buying the original bass from the actual manufacturer?
The reality is that the art of creating a bass guitar has changed dramatically in the last few decades.

Basses are now mass produced and outsourced to overseas operations all in the effort to keep them as affordable as possible. While this is great for the typical musician, the professionals and perfectionists among us have often lamented that many of the instruments just don’t feel or sound as good as the basses made back in the 60s and 70s.

Part of the reason for this could be using inferior woods, rushing the manufacturing process and not allowing even the quality woods to age sufficiently.

Perhaps in an effort to trim back costs to compete in the global market place, wages were reduced to the point where it’s not as economically viable for master craftsman and women to be employed at some of the bigger name companies?

Whatever the reason, the best advice I’ve heard and often repeated when it comes time to buy a new instrument – especially one that’s mass produced by one of the more popular brands out there – is to play as many as you can and let your hands and your ears tell you which one to buy.

In a perfect world, you should be able to just walk into a store and pick the model you like the best and get it in your preferred colour and walk out. You wouldn’t worry about another bass sounding better because they’d all sound the same right?  However, even among the most reputable manufacturers the consistency may fluctuate from bass to bass.

With Fenders I’ve heard of some people exclaiming that Made in Mexico basses were as good or better than Made in America basses – but you’ll only find that gem of a great sounding bass at a more affordable price if you’re willing to hunt for it. So again the advice, play every bass you can get your hands on, play every bass in the store and buy the one that sounds and feels the best to you.

Do you see where I’m going with this?Advantages of using a luthier?
Time is a huge factor behind why many people are more than happy to pony up the big bucks for a modern take on a vintage classic. They can chat with the luthier about what they’re looking for and get it made to order – the finish, the string spacing, the woods, the hardware – whatever.

Compared to hitting every music store in every neighbouring city within an hour’s drive; or camping out on Ebay or classified ads sites waiting for a certain vintage bass to come up for sale, the amount of time saved can be tremendous…and we all know that time is money right?

Plus, who’s to say that when you finally do find that vintage Fender that you’ve been pining over for years that you won’t pick it up and find the dreaded ‘dead spot’ after plunking a few notes?

Going the custom route alleviates a lot of those difficulties; many of the luthiers have exceptional warranties to go with the instrument. After all, it’s their name on the headstock and they want to make sure every customer is going to speak highly of their products and customer service.

Then again…
Boutique basses aren’t really about a particular style of music, or the status of the player – you don’t have to be a celebrity to own these high end basses (and I’d argue that the vast majority of owners are nowhere near famous)– the instrument just needs to offer that something that you can’t easily find elsewhere to make it worth the cost.

For some, it’s a replica of a vintage bass guitar that they always loved but could never find. For others, a boutique bass is where they get to tailor things like the weight, the neck shape and depth or the number of strings that the mass produced versions just can’t do in an economical fashion. Still others want the best of traditional styling and a 20 fret fingerboard along with modern features like a low b string and active electronics.

Whatever your reason, boutique basses are worth a closer look whether you find modern instruments lacking or covet extremely rare vintage bass guitars that are in short supply.

In the end you might find the biggest pain is not how much the custom basses cost, but the agony of waiting for your boutique bass to be built!

You can learn more about boutique bass guitars and more by visiting http://bassguitarrocks.com/how-do-i-buy-a-custom-boutique-bass-guitar
– thanks for reading!

Interview with Nick Matsikas from Matsikas in Athens, Greece

Dionysios Matsikas is a small luthier and guitardealer in Athens, Greece, specializing in traditional hellenic instruments. Here at Vintage & Rare.com we caught up with Nick Matsikas to ask him a few questions about the shop.

Hey Nick. Thanks for taking the time to talk to us. How and when was your company started?
The company was established in 1979 from Dionysios Matsikas. He started making instruments as a hobby and from his great love for music and instrument construction, he started building Hellenic instruments at a small workshop in Athens.

What initially got him into building guitars and why specifically hellenic instruments?
Initially Dionysios Matsikas was infatuated with the idea of making these instruments and when he saw other luthiers building them, the whole idea began. He choose hellenic traditional instruments because of the impact they had on customers with their sound and because of the difficulty of making them.

How do you think your work is different from other guitar builders?
The work is very different because though these instruments may look like a guitar but they are totally different. From construction up to playing them.

Do you have one piece that is your favorite or that makes you the most proud in terms of craftsmanship, sound, look, and so forth?
We do have some custom instruments that are above the rest production and their body is made and look like a fishbone. Made from 4 different woods it is very hard to tell how all these small pieces actually builded and glued together.

Do you consider musical styles or genres when building your guitars?
We do concider hellenic style of music when building them but mainly the instrument is Ethnic and solo instrument so you can play what ever you feel like with it. Each instrument makes it’s own sound. Even of you build to instruments from the same woods the result will be still different, in sound.

What accomplished musician would you most like to see play your guitars, and why?
I would like to see all types of tringed musicians play with it because of it’s playability.

Any last thoughts?
Just try playing it and you will love it. Just as every new musician does.

That recommendation is hereby passed on. Thank you again Nick for speaking to us.

Check out Matsikas here.

Interview with Baker Rorick from the Woodstock Invitational Luthiers Showcase

In Oct 2010 we had the pleasure of attending the Luthiers Invitational Showcase located in beautiful Woodstock, NY.

Here we met with alot of the greatest luthiers from US and had a splendid time. Here is an interview with show founder, Baker Rorick on the upcoming 2011 show.

Hi Baker, thank you for taking your time to speak to Vintage&Rare on the forthcoming Woodstock Invitational show in Oct 2011.

Could you give us a brief history of Woodstock Invitational Luthiers Showcase, and how the show originated?
As a steel-string journalist, I was working on an article about Ken Parker Archtops in 2008. At the time, Ken’s shop was only an hour away from Woodstock, and he asked me to help him arrange a showing of his radical new guitars to the Woodstock musicians and builders community. Some other instrument makers asked to be included, and then we invited a few more, and assembled a small group, 8 or 9 luthiers. Cooperative effort, everybody pitched in a $100 each and we rented The Colony Café for a Saturday afternoon in October for a private party, show & tell, meet the makers, play some guitars, hear some music, fresh apple cider and pumpkin pie. The party was by invitation only, thus the Woodstock Invitational Luthiers Showcase. We expected 40 or 50 people to come, over 100 showed up. Our local paper The Woodstock Times published a 2-page color article about it afterwards, and people started asking me if would be an annual thing, maybe with concerts and clinics and workshops and open to the public? With thirty years of experience in the guitar business, some connections and good will, and no real idea of what I was getting myself into, I decided to give it a try.

At January 2009 Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim I floated the idea around and met with potential sponsors. Michael Gurian introduced me to Tom Ribbecke, a founder of the original Healdsburg Guitar Festival, who said, “count me in!” Dick Boak of Martin Guitars encouraged me to join ASIA, the Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans, publishers of Guitarmaker Magazine. In June 2009 I attended ASIA Symposium, four days of builders workshops and colloquia in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Ken Parker introduced me to Julius Borges, founder of the Newport Guitar Festival, and Linda Manzer and many other great builders I knew only by reputation, who were all supportive. I introduced myself to John Monteleone and asked if he would consider showing at a small event in Woodstock, maybe 20 exhibitors? He said “yes”! My thought was to try for something different, small, select, a party and celebration of the luthiers art and the music inspired by the instruments.

A few weeks later I attended a concert by Laurence Juber in Woodstock, and was telling a friend (a fine jazz guitarist with a fine collection of fine guitars by notable makers) about my plans and who was getting involved, and the woman he was sitting with said, “You’re doing what, with who? This is my life! How can I help?” And so I met Sharon Klein, a singer/songwriter, classical and fingerstyle guitarist who also plays lute and oud, with her own collection of handmade acoustic instruments by notable makers, and she became my Production Partner and Music Coordinator. Sharon has toured extensively in the Middle East, and she attracted the interest of Faruk Turunz, the master oud maker, and Suleyman Aslan, a maker of baglamas and flamenco guitars, who came from Istanbul, Turkey to show their instruments in America for the first time. With their participation we were able to get Ara Dinkjian and Haig Manoukian and other great American Middle Eastern musicians to play concerts, promoting musical diversity and setting the Woodstock Invitational apart from the other handmade acoustic shows that usually only feature fingerstyle guitarists and a little jazz. Sharon Klein’s wide-ranging network also brought in classical and flamenco builders and performers – including her old friend Vicki Genfan, and she also insisted that we present instructional clinics and workshops, and she made it all work. The Bearsville Theater seemed the perfect small venue, with room for a couple dozen exhibitors in the theater, and performance space in the adjoining Lounge, and we set the date again for the third weekend in October, 2009, resplendent in the full autumn color of the Catskill Mountains. Jeff Doctorow brought close to a dozen significant instruments from his large collection for a Special Exhibit, including vintage harp guitars and the multiple-neck 42-string Pikasso that Linda Manzer had built for the late Scott Chinery.

People came! They bought guitars! Faruk Turunz sold every oud he had brought. The music was fantastic, luthier mini-concerts and special appearances, high-points being Vicki Genfan, Ara Dinkjian Trio with Tamer Pirnarbasi on Turkish kanun, hard be-bop jazz guitar by Eddie Diehl and Ilya Lushtak, and Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams closing the Showcase Sunday evening with Happy Traum and John Sebastian sitting in, magic, and only in Woodstock. All the luthiers said “How are you going to make it bigger? Please don’t move it; we love the venue.”

So for 2010 we added a second venue next door in Todd Rundgren’s old Utopia Soundstage for vendors, sponsors and some overflow luthiers, and another Special Exhibit. Tonewood dealers and tool and parts suppliers did particularly well. We presented a “String Sampler” concert featuring Vicki Genfan, Ara Dinkjian Trio with Tamer Pinarbasi, Bill Keith & Mark Patton, and Vic Juris. We were able to get Frank Vignola and Vinny Raniolo to play for an hour Sunday afternoon, and they brought Julian Lage along with them and tore the roof off the place! Woodstock resident Steve Earle showed up and bought a radical new nylon-string flamenco guitar from Michihiro Matsuda. And once again, Larry & Teresa closed the show, this time with Happy Traum and Doug Wamble sitting in.

VintageandRare CEO Nicolai with master luthier John Monteleone at the 2010 show

What would you consider to be the shows focus and direction?
The Show’s focus is HANDMADE, ACOUSTIC guitars and stringed instruments, by only the best contemporary builders. No factory guitars, no solidbody electric guitars. The other main focus is the builders and players community, the music made that inspires the builders and the musicians who get to play their instruments. It’s about the hang and the vibe. We also try to provide musical and instrumental diversity; not just steel-string fingerstyle folk blues Celtic and DADGAD, but Jazz, Middle Eastern, African, Latin, and anything wonderful we can find that no-one’s ever heard before.

What do you envision for the future growth of the W.I.L.S?
I’m growing it slowly, learning by doing, taking advantage of opportunities presented more than planning ahead. It’s incredibly fluid. I’m gratified by the success so far; the venues and location and time of year and proximity are all factors, especially the intimacy of the thing. I don’t want to move it to a convention center or something to make it larger and destroy the vibe.

How many builders do you anticipate exhibiting at this years show? Please tell us a bit about the range of guitars that will be on showcase at the show?
We’ve got about 35 luthiers and 15 vendors and sponsors exhibiting this year; luthiers only in the Bearsville Theater, more luthiers and vendors and sponsors in the Utopia Soundstage, including The C.F. Martin Custom Shop this year, very exciting.

Archtops, Classical and Flamenco and steel-string flattops, hybrids, cross-over guitars, 12-string baritones, high-tuned unison 12-string mando/guitars, ukuleles, mandolins, claw-hammer banjos, African koras, mbiras, ndungus, and cookie-tin diddley bows. I’m hoping that Michi Matsuda will bring his radical, experimental Cubist-deconstruction ukulele. Oh, yeah, and harp guitars, Michel Pellerin from Quebec, and Linda Manzer, whose 42-string Pikasso made for Scott Chinery will be there.

Any special attractions you have planned for this years show?
This year we’re hosting Kinobe & The African Sensation. Kinobe is a young Ugandan kora player and maker, and an international touring artist. David MacCubbin, a fine steel-string flattop guitar maker from Maryland, has been co-building some contemporary koras with Kinobe while Kinobe and two of his brothers are in the USA . We hooked up. Kinobe will be playing as part of our String Sampler kick-off concert, with Frank Vignola & Vinny Raniolo Guitar Duet and The American Guitar masters – Larry Pattis & Peter Janson. Plus, he and his brothers will be showing and playing some of their instruments (the brothers make and play n’dungus, mbiras and other traditional African stringed things) at the Showcase itself.

And there is always a “Special Exhibit of Significant Historic, Vintage and Contemporary Guitars and Stringed Instruments”, loaned by collector and authority Jeff Doctorow and other collectors and institutions: North American guitars from the early 1800s to the present, including harp-guitars, Sympitars, cello-guitars, oddities and innovations, plus antique and vintage lutes, ouds and stringed-exotica.

What has the public attendance been for past shows? What do you anticipate for attendance at this years show?
Miraculously, we had close to 1500 paid attendees last year. I expect the same or maybe more again in 2011.

Three Tom Ribbecky guitars on display

Thank you Baker for taking the time to talk to us. Hope all goes well with this years show.

Boutique Bass Guitars Equals The New Vintage

By Mike Ippersiel

So what’s the big deal about boutique basses? Perhaps this is something that you’ve thought to yourself as you’ve looked at high resolution images of handmade or highly customized basses that cost $3,000 and up.

Are they worth more than triple what you can spend to pick up a decent bass off the shelf at your local music store? Do all those exotic woods do anything besides look, well…exotic? Are they really just over-priced pieces of furniture fashioned into the shape of a bass guitar?
Yes and no.

You see, any particular bass guitar is going to be worth more or less money from one person to another. Some instrument collectors will pay outrageous sums of money for rare instruments because they happened to be owned or even were only played a few times by someone famous like Paul McCartney or Jaco Pastorius.

Others may pay to have a bass guitar built by hand that many may feel is either ugly, or even unplayable. It’s true that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure! For me, it was the price tag that really put boutique basses on a pedestal for me.

Here I was, a modest rock bassist playing covers and original music who was happy to go home after a gig with $100 bucks in his pocket – what right did I have to daydream about a high-end custom bass guitar? The ‘realistic’ side of me said that I could own a bass like that ‘one day’ when I ‘made it’.

While there is a market for boutique bass guitars that look like furniture and that span 5, 6, 7, 8 strings and beyond, a significant chunk of the high end bass guitar market is devoted to what I’ll call ‘modern vintage’ instruments.

Luthiers like Sadowsky, Mike Lull and Alleva-Coppolo (just to name a few) offer modern takes on the classic Fender Jazz bass guitar – that cost several times more than it would cost to just pickup up an actual Fender bass yourself.

So why pay more for a ‘copy’ than buying the original bass from the actual manufacturer?

The reality is that the art of creating a bass guitar has changed dramatically in the last few decades.
Basses are now mass produced and outsourced to overseas operations all in the effort to keep them as affordable as possible. While this is great for the typical musician, the professionals and perfectionists among us have often lamented that many of the instruments just don’t feel or sound as good as the basses made back in the 60s and 70s.

Part of the reason for this could be using inferior woods, rushing the manufacturing process and not allowing even the quality woods to age sufficiently.

Perhaps in an effort to trim back costs to compete in the global market place, wages were reduced to the point where it’s not as economically viable for master craftsman and women to be employed at some of the bigger name companies?

Whatever the reason, the best advice I’ve heard and often repeated when it comes time to buy a new instrument – especially one that’s mass produced by one of the more popular brands out there – is to play as many as you can and let your hands and your ears tell you which one to buy.

In a perfect world, you should be able to just walk into a store and pick the model you like the best and get it in your preferred colour and walk out.

You wouldn’t worry about another bass sounding better because they’d all sound the same right?

However, even among the most reputable manufacturers the consistency may fluctuate from bass to bass.
With Fenders I’ve heard of some people exclaiming that Made in Mexico basses were as good or better than Made in America basses – but you’ll only find that gem of a great sounding bass at a more affordable price if you’re willing to hunt for it. So again the advice, play every bass you can get your hands on, play every bass in the store and buy the one that sounds and feels the best to you.

Do you see where I’m going with this? Advantages of using a luthier?

Time is a huge factor behind why many people are more than happy to pony up the big bucks for a modern take on a vintage classic. They can chat with the luthier about what they’re looking for and get it made to order – the finish, the string spacing, the woods, the hardware – whatever.

Compared to hitting every music store in every neighbouring city within an hour’s drive; or camping out on Ebay or classified ads sites waiting for a certain vintage bass to come up for sale, the amount of time saved can be tremendous…and we all know that time is money right?
Plus, who’s to say that when you finally do find that vintage Fender that you’ve been pining over for years that you won’t pick it up and find the dreaded ‘dead spot’ after plunking a few notes?

Going the custom route alleviates a lot of those difficulties; many of the luthiers have exceptional warranties to go with the instrument. After all, it’s their name on the headstock and they want to make sure every customer is going to speak highly of their products and customer service.
Then again…

Boutique basses aren’t really about a particular style of music, or the status of the player – you don’t have to be a celebrity to own these high end basses (and I’d argue that the vast majority of owners are nowhere near famous)– the instrument just needs to offer that something that you can’t easily find elsewhere to make it worth the cost.

For some, it’s a replica of a vintage bass guitar that they always loved but could never find. For others, a boutique bass is where they get to tailor things like the weight, the neck shape and depth or the number of strings that the mass produced versions just can’t do in an economical fashion. Still others want the best of traditional styling and a 20 fret fingerboard along with modern features like a low b string and active electronics.
Whatever your reason, boutique basses are worth a closer look whether you find modern instruments lacking or covet extremely rare vintage bass guitars that are in short supply.

In the end you might find the biggest pain is not how much the custom basses cost, but the agony of waiting for your boutique bass to be built!

You can learn more about boutique bass guitars and more by visiting http://bassguitarrocks.com/how-do-i-buy-a-custom-boutique-bass-guitar
– thanks for reading!