Category Archive: Uncategorized

Interview with guitarist François “Shanka” Maigret

July 20, 2012

| Author: Vintage & Rare

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

Video blog: Fender 1949/1951 Telecaster Broadcaster Nocaster Prototype Vintage Guitar

April 25, 2012

| Author: Vintage & Rare

Here we have Dan from Chelsea Guitars in his shop in New York. He is talking about a Fender 1949/1951 Telecaster Broadcaster Nocaster Vintage Guitar.

Sam Hutton was the guy who worked for Fender building amplifiers for 35 years. He had a guitar that he would test the amps out with. George Fullerton one day came and said to Sam that the guitar was really valuable and he shouldn’t leave it hanging on a nail with a string; he should put it in the will for his son. So time goes by, Sam passes away and his son has this guitar. This was in 1998.

It is hard to believe now that very few people knew about really early Esquires or Fenders. The first ones where made of pine. Also they don’t have a trussrod so they are really interesting. Dan thinks that there where maybe five guys in the USA that knew something about these guitars. This guitar is really unusual 0009, it is probably the six one made. This one is really unique, it doesn’t look like much. When Dan got it he was thinking about repainting it. The color is 1950’s Studabaker Red.

They figured out that Leo Fender used this one as a test-ban. First five guitars basically are Esquires, either red or black, pine body, no trussrod. Gibson was coming out with the gold top with two pickups. So Leo decided to do something. That is why Leo made this pickup which is very handmade looking. This is one of the first guitars that has two pickups.

For the rest of the story, watch the video below. Enjoy!

Chelsea Guitars, USA

If you love old, classic guitars you owe it to yourself to check this place out. The place is tiny; basically what you see in the display window is most of what they got. Go inside and it’s like dropping in to a friend’s apartment, albeit a tiny apt. But it’s cool; Dan and whoever else is there are just hanging out. If you need help, they’re glad to do it but if you just want to hang, they’ll give you space.

Would you like to add something more? Please leave a comment…

Peter Frampton and the doomed 1954 Gibson Les Paul

January 6, 2012

| Author: Vintage & Rare

From time to time the unthinkable happens. We all know somebody who knows somebody it has happened to. And we all retell the story to friends and familiars with quacking voices, shivering hands and fear painted in our eyes. I’m talking about a musician’s ultimate nightmare: The losing of your favorite instrument. This was exactly what happened to guitar legend Peter Frampton in November 1980 when a cargo plane carrying his precious 1954 Gibson Les Paul crashed during takeoff in Caracas, Venezuela tragically killing the pilot and co-pilot.

The master piece seen on the picture to the left was presumed lost for 31 years until it finally reemerged last month having spent just over three decades on a little Dutch Caribbean Island called Curaçao. So what happened?
In 2010 (before the reemerging) Frampton gave an interview to rumerz.com as his Gibson signature model of the very same guitar hit the market. Frampton traces the history of how he came in possession of his ’54 Les Paul and it’s clear that he was still dealing with the loss at this point:

[rumerz.com]

What is it about your black Gibson Les Paul that you love so much? How did it come about for you to release a signature model with Gibson?
[Frampton] “The original black Les Paul that I had was when I was playing with Humble Pie supporting the Grateful Dead in San Francisco back in ’70 or so. I had swapped a Gibson SG for a Gibson 335, a semi-acoustic. With the loud levels we used to play, when I turned it up for solos, the sound was just all over the place, whistling feedback, you know. There was someone at the concert that heard the problem, and he offered to let me borrow his Les Paul for the next show. I told him I’d never had luck with a Les Paul and that I preferred SG’s. He brought it ’round to the coffee shop the following day, and it was this 1954 Les Paul. I played it that night. He had re-routed it for three pickups instead of two and it was recently refinished by Gibson. It looked brand new. I don’t think my feet touched the ground the whole evening. It was just such an amazing guitar. I came off stage and told him thank you, and asked if he’d ever want to sell it, and thanks so much. He said he didn’t want to sell it to me, but he offered to give it to me. He gave it to me. Mark Mariana is his name. We keep in touch even today. Unfortunately in 1980, we had a disastrous plane crash with all our gear on it in Caracas, Venezuela. The pilot and co-pilot were lost, and their loss was very tough. Their lives meant so much more than that guitar. I’m not saying I don’t miss it, but it was a piece of wood compared to their lives.”

“Cut all the way forward. When I moved to Nashville about 13 years ago, I used to go hang out at Gibson. It was like my club, and I’d go hang out with the luthiers. I made a lot of friends at Gibson. Mike McGuire, the head of the custom shop, suggested one day that they should make a Peter Frampton model. We spent a year working together on trying to make it as much like the original as we could. I tried to give him as much information as I could from what it felt like, and they came so close. I love my guitar. It’s probably nothing like the other one, but I love what they did for me. We’re over 500 made now, and the PF Custom is out there and the collectors love it.”

Little did Frampton know that while this interview was being made heavy negotiation was going on between the local Curaçao musician who had the instrument, Mr. Balentina – a local customs agent who spends his spare time repairing guitars, a hardcore Frampton fan from the Netherlands as well as the head of Curaçao’s tourist board Ghatim Kabbara. Confused?
Well apparently the guitar was saved from the burning wreckage of the plane and sold to a local musician from Curaçao. For the last 30 years the still unidentified musician has been using it playing hotels and bars on the Island totally unaware of the instruments history. Two years ago he handed the piece in to free time guitar repairman Donald Balentina. N.Y. Times’ James C. McKinley JR. tells the story:

Asked to repair the guitar, Mr. Balentina noticed the unusual third set of pickups and burn marks on the neck, Mr. Kabbara said. The customs agent began to suspect the guitar might be the one Mr. Frampton had played on the “Frampton Comes Alive!” album. He consulted with another Frampton fan in the Netherlands, who confirmed it had all the earmarks of the missing Gibson. Mr. Balentina also sent photos of the inner works of the guitar to Mr. Frampton. Mr. Frampton said he was stunned when he saw the photos; it looked like guitar, he said, but he could not be sure.

For two years Mr. Balentina tried to persuade the local guitarist to sell the instrument, and finally, in November, facing a financial problem, he finally agreed. But Mr. Balentina did not have money and, afraid another buyer might scoop up the guitar, he approached Mr. Kabbara at the tourist board.

Mr. Kabbara, an amateur guitarist who admires Mr. Frampton, agreed to put up the board’s funds to purchase the guitar, on one condition. He and Mr. Balentina would take the guitar to Mr. Frampton as a gesture of goodwill. “I thought the right thing to do was to give him back his guitar,” he said. “This guitar was him. The whole 1970s was this guitar.”

Mr. Frampton, who is 61, said he hopes to play the guitar again when he appears at the Beacon Theater in New York in February. For now, he has left the instrument at the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville to have some minor repairs made. The neck is still straight, he said, but he must replace old pickups with new ones, made to the same specifications as the original coils. But he said he will leave the burn marks and scrapes alone. “I want it to have its battle scars,” he said.

Ca. a month ago Mr. Kabbara managed to seal the deal via public funds and travelled to Nashville to hand over the guitar to Frampton. The moment he picked it up he knew it was the same ’54 Gibson Les Paul he almost exclusively had used throughout the 70’ies most notably perhaps on his 1976 breakthrough “Frampton Comes Alive!”. In a phone interview with N.Y. Times Frampton states: “For 30 years, it didn’t exist – it went up in a puff of smoke as far as I was concerned.”. As seen on the picture a clearly very happy Frampton is now reunited with his long lost love. To his webpage Frampton states:

“I am still in a state of shock, first off, that the guitar even exists let alone, that it has been returned to me. I know I have my guitar back, but I will never forget the lives that were lost in this crash. I am so thankful for the efforts of those who made this possible…And, now that it is back I am going insure it for 2 million dollars and it’s never going out of my sight again! It was always my #1 guitar and it will be reinstated there as soon as possible — some minor repairs are needed. And, I just can’t wait to get Mark Mariana on the phone.”

V&R like to congratulate Frampton for getting his prized possession back after all these years and also send a big thanks to Frank Gross from Thunder Road Guitars for making us aware of this story.

Deimel Guitarworks Interview with Frank Deimel from Deimel Guitarsworks

November 16, 2011

| Author: Vintage & Rare

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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Good Tone Pickups Interview with Ralf Shoenberger from Good Tone Pickups

November 1, 2011

| Author: Vintage & Rare

Good Tone Pickups is a premium guitar pickup manufacturer based in Switzerland. We had the opportunity to interview the owner of Good Tone Pickups, Ralf Schoenberg, and ask him a few questions about his company.

Hi Ralf, 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?

I started Good Tone Pickups in April 2010 after having very good response from many guitarists around my music environment. Basically, I was never supposed to establish a pickup manufacturing at all because I started a few years before to create my own sound in my guitar collection just to have a great tone for myself. When they all asked me to do one of my pickups for them I first refused to do so, because I wanted to have my personal sound just for myself and assumed that my taste of sound never would meet today’s market demands. But one day one of the guys encouraged me to offer Pickups to everybody. I first thought if my discriminated ears hear the same way like all the others, it must be worth to figure out a business idea. I must confess that it is also big luck or a god-sent-gift to have that ability to do so.

What is the story behind the company name?

Well, I think that Good Tone speaks for itself, because every guitarist wants to have good tone and many are searching their whole lives to get that tone and that satisfaction. Maybe Good Tone is helping them to get closer to what they are looking for.

What motivated you to begin building guitar pickups? And what type of pickups do you build? Humbucker? Single coil? P90? etc?

I always had an affinity for Pickups since I swapped the lousy Select against a Jackson J-80 Humbucker in my Washburn HM-5 when I was 14 years old. Since then I have tried hundreds of different Pickups from DiMarzio to Seymours ect. On all the Strat or Tele singles I always hated their hard attack and shrill appearance clean and especially overdriven. Even most of the Humbuckers sounded dead without proper overtones what makes them impossible to use on clean settings. I first started to develop the Classic Blues Strat set which now has become Good Tone‘s
bestseller and then started with PAF Humbuckers because I always liked the classic rock tone and character of the old Les Pauls. Today Good Tone offers a wide range of all classic Pickups also Tele, P-90, Classic Humbuckers, Distortion Humbuckers or even customized stuff which often is desired by guitar builders.

Do you make pickups with a certain period of time in mind regarding guitar tone, as for example a PAF-style pickup? 54 strat style etc?

I never focused on a specific period of time because it is more crucial that a pickup sounds great itself and I suppose that it is also impossible to categorize a specific sound to a specific time because Fender‘s and Gibson‘s were mostly handmade and so differed extremely in their parameters and sound. Even Gibson in the 1950`s didn‘t specify the material they were using for their Pickups. They just took what was currently available. For example you can find 3 different Alnico types they were using in those days but the worst was that they were winding each of the bobbins on two different winding machines to irregular number of windings between the boobins which explains why old PAF can differ between 7.4kilo Ohm up to 9 Kilo Ohms what really affects sound. We also do not know if the wire was differing in diameter and content of copper. I rather guess that in those days the content of copper was very low (max.70 percent) which has a huge impact on tone. Using Plain Enamel coated wire is not an evidence to get that old PAF vibe. A leading example is a well known US pickup manufacturer who is using plain enamel and one of the original winding machines from Kalamzoo to wind his PAF replica. His replica does not even come close to the sound and dynamic of an old PAF.

Can you describe to us the process, from idea to conception, of building a great pickup?

Let me explain this as follow, mostly customers come with a certain idea how they expect their instrument to sound, asking them first what construction (wood, hardware) is crucial to know. Then playing style and tone forming is also a significant fact to know before you start. With knowing the parameters you can start to distinguish the ingrediences being used to get the desired resonance frequency. Type of wood and hardware has a significant influence to tone and is one of the most underestimated things when people buy replacement pickups. All those Mexican and Roadworn Fender Strats are a leading example for this phenomenon, they all come with thin sustain blocks which kill string energy and therefore overtones and sustain become extremely diminished. If installing Good Tones, they never will response with full potential until you replace the sustain block. Another extreme I realized instrument with a fantastic dry tone but a bad response when played on the amp. I had once a customer who was completely frustrated about his Strat and wanted to give her the last try before throwing her in the bin. This amazed me, even though the instrument had a good resonance from the neck and body and a fantastic hardware from Callaham. I installed him a mixed set of Good Tones and when I played the first tone it was a complete different instrument. The customer was stunned completely and told me that this is the best he ever heard in his entire life. And so it always goes on!

Do you collaborate with a specific type of guitar players, genre-wise, in the evaluation process when building pickups?

Oh yes ! Lukas Schwengeler, one of our no. 1 swiss session guitarists, got a Good Tone signature set on his Pagelli guitar. Claudio (Pagelli)contacted me and told me that there is a customer who is interessed in Good Tone PAF‘s which have sent out for test. But Lukas wanted a PAF set which is well balanced in volume but also boasts up with original twangy, crispy Telly sounds without volume loss. After discussing with him it was clear what way to go. Don‘t ask me how I got the idea to develop this pickups, I don‘t know! Another many inputs I get from guitar builders like Egon Rauscher (Soultool Guitars), Marco Bernasconi (Bernasconi Guitars) and Gerd Nikolaiski who create fantastic instruments and have become close friends of mine too. At the moment Tommy Vetterli (Coroner, Ex-Kreator) is checking out the Good Tone Doombucker which is perfect for drop tunings and extreme hard music stuff played today. (It‘s just too hard for me as I am an ordinary old school 80`s Heavy Metal poser)

Are you and your team also musicians?

Yes, I have played guitars in 25 years and grew up with all those Hard ‘n` Heavy stuff and developed later to further styles like Blues, Jazz and World music. I also like African music because it is so optimistic and groovy.

What is your own favorite pickup and why?

Definitely, the Good Tone Classic Soapbar and Hot Soapbar in combination, no one offers that rich tone with sparkling highs and is so versatile to use. What accomplished guitar brand and musicians would you most like to see use your pickups, and why? Actually, any musician or guitar brand (except all that Chinese craps which are resource wasting), I think all could profit from my pickups regarding tone and performance.

Given that this is for a blog, what role has technology (the Internet, your website etc.) played in the success of your business?

A huge role as I maintain my website on my own and also get all the contacts and information I need from the Internet. And it would be extremely time intense if you had to investigate without the Internet.

Any new exciting things on the bench from the Good Tone tech team?

Yep, Egon and I are working for a fantastic new release for the next Frankfurt Musikmesse 2012 and also Good Tone is going to release many new models like the P-90 in Humbucker size and singles with quarter inch rods which can be operated in a tapped mode or something especially for the Telecaster.

Any famous last words?

Never judge a book by its cover!

Guest-blog by Gavin Wilson of guitarz.blogspot.com

September 26, 2011

| Author: Vintage & Rare

Guitarz.blogspot.com was the first guitar-blog on the web. Thus, we here at Vintage & Rare.com figured that it would be a good idea to have founder and writer Gavin Wilson write a couple of guest-posts on our blog. Below is the first one:

Yamaha SG-3 from 1966

As the author of the internet’s longest running guitar blog (at guitarz.blogspot.com – started in August 2002 – seriously there were NO other guitar blogs then) I am of course a keen guitar enthusiast, even if I do tend to find myself writing about guitars more than actually playing them. Over the years I have bought and sold many guitars; I have owned well over 50 guitars over the years, and currently have a modest collection of approximately 20 instruments. Of these I have three that I would call vintage guitars. Obviously this would depend on your definition of “vintage”; such instruments need to be of a certain age, but also there should be an element of desirability.
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For our vintage drums fans!

August 22, 2011

| Author: Vintage & Rare

At Vintage & Rare, we are working hard to accumulate a great collection of rare, vintage and custom-built drums.
So, if you haven’t yet, it’s about time you view our fine collection of vintage drums and world-class vintage drum dealers and builders at: https://www.vintageandrare.com/category/Drums-Percussion-216.

We would also like to present some of our friends in the online world of vintage drums and percussion:

Mike James Jazz – a great website by lifelong drummer Mike James. His website offers a free, downloadable PDF copy of his book ”Drumming For Life™”, various material on music theory, arranging and composing, vintage drum articles and gallery, and a page with 22 previously-unheard live concert recordings of Buddy Rich, all annotated. There is also a podcast, featuring interviews with Cathy Rich (Buddy Rich’s daughter), Bev Getz (Stan Getz’s daughter) and Donny Osborne Jr.  (Buddy Rich protege and Mel Torme’s drummer for 25 years). See his website: http://www.mikejamesjazz.com/.

Cooper’s Vintage Drums – a website that specializes in fine vintage drums from ‘the golden age’ of drum-making (1923-1970). With their free ‘Guide to Vintage Drums’ they also offer a detailed look at the various components of vintage drums throughout the years, featuring many photographs and colorful vintage drum catalog images.

See the website: http://coopersvintagedrums.com/.
VintageandRare.com – sell instruments online

Things are going great for Music Fund’s amazing project

May 27, 2011

| Author: Vintage & Rare

This week Vintage & Rare received an e-mail with great news from Music Fund

Music Funds amazing project to support young musicians and music schools in developing countries and conflict areas is doing well, and they have some great success stories definitely worth sharing. We liked the stories so much that we asked Olivier Mari if we could share the success stories here on our blog. This was fine by Olivier Mari, so now you also have the opportunity to read more about Music Fund and their latest achievements.

Success at the Musikmesse in Frankfurt

”We were at the last Musikmesse in Frankfurt and it was a big success! At the fair we got in contact with many great trademarks and we are now receiving many gifts from them (instruments, strings, boxes etc.). The direction of the Musikmesse has further decided that next year’s Musikmesse (2012) will have a special focus on Music Fund, inviting all participants to donate instruments, tools and parts to Music Fund”.

Young Palestinians are getting training in repair-techniques of music instrument

“In the Middle East, Music Fund was recently adopted by the United Nations (UNRWA) and thanks to this we have finally been able  to start a training program in Gaza. Since January, several luthiers have been teaching young Palestinians related to the music school of our private partner there (the Qattan Foundation – www.qattanfoundation.org) repair-techniques of music instruments. Besides this new project, Music Fund last year succeeded –  after a 3 year training program – to have one Palestinian from Nablus to finish his studies and have him become the first certified piano-tuner in the West Bank. These are all very concrete interventions, which make a difference”.

Young Africans are getting educated as piano-tuners and repair-technicians

“In Africa, Music Fund continues its partnership with the big music school of Kinshasa (DR Congo). In June, the first Congolese piano-tuner will finish his studies with us, and next near a repair-technician for wind instruments. In Maputo (Mozambique) a piano-tuner finished his studies with us 2 years ago and is today doing well. Another Mozambican is now finishing his studies to become the first certified repair-technician of wind instruments in this country.”

Donations to the partner schools continue to grow
“All our partner-schools continue to receive donations of music instruments, and in 5 schools we have opened permanent repair workshops for music instruments.  (A new permanent repair workshop has been opened this month at the Gaza Music School)”

The collection campaigns are a great success
“Big collecting campaigns are now being organised all over Europe, with great success. The last ones in Madrid collected 2009, 410 instruments and in Lisbon, 2010, 510 instruments.  This Sunday, a collecting campaign is organised for Music Fund in Milan (Scala, May 2011 –www.milanomusica.it/musicfund).  Of course, we can also expect a lot from next year’s collecting campaign organised by The Musikmesse.”

Interview with Dale Rabiner, principal and founder of DHR Music Experience

April 13, 2011

| Author: Vintage & Rare

Hi V&R Friends
Thanks for tuning in on our blog here on VintageandRare and our interview with Dale Rabiner, the founder of DHR Music Experience. DHR Music is an unique company based in Cincinnati, USA, that specializes in retail and promotion of finest instruments from select American boutique custom shops, along with music related sculptures and photographs.

Dale Rabiner, principal and founder of DHR Music Experience. Photo by dhrmusic.com

1. Hello Dale, and thanks for talking to us!  Can you tell us about how you entered the business?
Like many guitar players of the ‘60s, I used to buy and sell guitars via local classified ads, music stores and pawn shops.While in college, I worked part-time for a local guitar dealer,player, and legend by the name of Glenn Hughes- what a character ! Glenn taught me the business from the inside out- he was generous to a fault and a true gentleman. Incidentally, when Glenn passed away, his heirs discovered a hidden cache of unopened boxes containing NOS Fender and Gibson guitars!

2. Can you tell us about what kind of guitars & brands you focus on having in your inventory?
We focus exclusively on what we consider to be the some of the finest makers including Collings Guitars, Benedetto Guitars, Grosh Guitars,and a few select other makers. In Amplifiers we carry Carr Amps, Genz Benz, Hendriksen Amps, 

Kendick amps, and several others. Keyboard brands we carry include Hammond/Suzuki organs, Kurzweil pianos and Moog synths.

3. Do you sell/ship a lot abroad?
Increasingly, international sales have become a large segment of our business. This is primarily due to the fact that while we are not the largest Left Hand dealer, we are considered to be the finest Left Hand dealer worldwide.In addition, many of our non-US clients tell us that we are easier to deal with than their local stores.

4. What makes the Benedetto-guitars so special to you?
Since Benedetto Guitars first began their Savannah Georgia shop, we have sold more Benedetto guitars than all other dealers combined.! No other jazz guitar maker has been able to offer their price/quality.More recently, we are finding a number of other makers that are strong competitors.

Benedetto Americana is just one of the few specialized brands, DHR Music is offering. Photo by dhrmusic.com

5. Your use of ‘music endorsers’ is a bit unusual. What were your thoughts concerning this way of advertising?
Our endorsers have been terrific spokespersons for DHR, especially our young lefthand players who serve as role models for other lefthand youngsters who are trying to cope with being forced to switch to righthand playing. In addition, we also have some terrific right hand players who are real comers in our opinion.

6. What are you looking for, when ‘recruiting’ music endorsers?
Energetic,talented, diverse players who share our passion for music ! We would love to find a talented female guitarist as well as a few select keyboardists.

7. How does this way of promoting your business help you as a dealer?
The use of endorsers is nothing new- it has  proven its marketing effectiveness for decades ! We simply have put a bit of a twist on the concept-most endorsers represent a specific brand, while DHR endorsers represent the brands we carry as a retailer.

Boutique Bass Guitars Equals The New Vintage

March 28, 2011

| Author: Vintage & Rare

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!