1968 Gibson Barney Kessel Standard (Sold)

有緣的爵士吉他

上星期試了一把爵士吉他, 怎麼彈都覺得合不來, 就決定不買. 但被爵士吉他的蟲叮過, 燒一直沒退. 才剛剛寫完一篇"無緣的爵士吉他"的日記, 昨天很巧的在美國吉他論壇看到認識的網友 Frank 在賣一把老爵士吉他琴, 是1968 Gibson Barney Kessel Standard (可是琴頭的小蓋板寫Custom.) 雖然狀況不是很好, 許多彈奏者歷史歲月的痕跡, 原裝的護板Pickguard已經不在, 但價格出奇的便宜. 而且是上次買過Gomez G-String Reverb Tank 的同一個Frank 在賣.

Frank 是芝加哥模仿披頭四 The Beatles很有名的樂團; American English 的主唱/吉他手, 小有名氣人卻非常的謙虛有禮貌. 而且交易很乾脆不囉唆. 東西價格都很實在, 買的安心. 我一直想要把爵士琴來練練. 但是知道除非用我現有的琴去換, 沙漠嫂絕對不會讓我再買琴.

想姑且一試, 就和Frank 聯絡. 他原先希望現金買賣, 看到我想換的吉他照片狀況價格後心動了, 決定和我換. 約好當天晚上在兩人的中點的一家Guitar Center 前見面. Frank 看中的琴是這把日本製的1963 Sidejack Mosrite Copy, 上面有諾奇 Nokie 的簽名. 我告訴我的要價比他的爵士吉他少$50美金. Frank 居然回復我說那我們就直接對換, 不要計較這$50元了. 讓我覺得這個人真慷慨爽快.


既然相識有過好的買賣經驗, 大家看一下對方的吉他, 我試一下手感, 比上次那把好彈, 就交換了. 我拿出另外一把我知道他也想要的 Hallmark吉他, 這把我買的非常的便宜, 也很便宜的賣. 他看到後馬上說要. 我在車上等著他去附近的ATM取完款馬上成交.



Frank 的American Eenglish每年有150個演唱會, 相當忙碌. 我問他有沒有去過台灣表演? 他說他們是 Epiphone Gibson 吉他的代言人, 日本關島都辦過演唱會, 很希望有機會去台灣表演. 我說台灣披頭迷很多, 應該會受歡迎. 如果你們去讓我知道, 我可以在台灣當你們觀光嚮導.

American English 的網頁在此:



http://www.americanenglishbeatles.com/

沙漠嫂替我們照相. 我賣掉兩把琴, 她特別高興.

回家試試, 覺得這把有點破舊的吉他反而好彈, 音色也比較接近爵士味.

Specs:17" wide, full depth body (some with laminated spruce tops), double pointed cutaways, 2 humbucking pickups, tuneomatic bridge, trapeze tailpiece with raised diamond and model name on wooden insert, laminated beveled edge pickguard, triple bound top and back, 25.5" scale, bound rosewood fingerboard with double parallelagram inlays, bound peghead, crown peghead inlay, nickel plated parts, cherry sunburst finish.

這把吉他型號的鑲貝標誌有兩種, 一種是像下面YouTube, 一種是像我的傳統式.





用這把爵士吉他隨便彈彈不是爵士風味的曲子 The String-A-Long's "My Blue Heaven":


這是我們老頭沖浪隊彈的最有爵士風味的曲子Shadows' "Ticket to Ride", 用這把吉他伴奏.
背景音樂是我們練習的錄音; Wally 彈主奏, Rich 貝士, 我和Joe 彈伴奏. Joey 打鼓.



我還在體會吉他和音箱的調法, 而且也不會彈真正的爵士風味曲. 改天有心得再拍真正能顯出此吉他的爵士風味的曲子.

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2008 Gibson Limited Edition 50th Anniversary 1958 (Sold) RI ES335

ES335的始祖

有了1954 黑美人 RI 的Bridge P90 PU, 帶著2x P90的R6就多餘了, 正好過去換過琴的朋友 Jeff 打電話問我對一把收藏性很高的Custom Shop50週年ES335紀念琴(只生產200把)是否有興趣? 可以用我的 Gold Top R6和他換?
不是想學爵士吉他嗎? 正中我下懷, 而且價格上我划算, 何樂不為?! 就決定來個Gibson吉他大換血. 把R6和Jeff 換ES335, 向Mike 買下R4, 和原來的R9, 留下此三把, 代表Gibson 重要年代的吉他和三種重要的Pickups都包括了.
規格和1959年Historic Reissue ES335相同. 老舊處理讓這把吉他看起來像是53年前的古董吉他, 但沒有假造的撞傷裂痕, 只是塗裝顏色和金屬零件作了退色老化的處理.

Here is some additional info on this amazing guitar: Fewer than 200 of these limited edition 50th Anniversary 1958 ES-335s will be produced by the Gibson Custom Shop. The ES-335 Electric Guitar brought hollowbody tradition and solidbody performance together in 1958, and it is still one of the all-time classic guitar designs. It's among the most versatile guitars you can own. Classic semi-hollowbody design and dual '57 Gibson humbuckers combine to produce everything from full-bodied growls to singing sustain. This Anniversary model has the rounded neck and dot markers that would change to a thinner profile and block inlays in 1962. The VOS (Vintage Original Spec) finish and hardware have been gently aged so that your guitar will carry the look of a thousand smoky bar gigs, countless sessions, and maybe even a few world tours. The Gibson ES-335 also features body/neck binding, nickel-plated hardware with vintage tulip tuners, Tune-O-Matic bridge with stopbar tailpiece, separate volume and tone controls, and a 3-way switch.

From U.K.'s GUITARIST Magazine review:
In truth, all who have seen this guitar have gasped at how realistic it looks on first glimpse. Gibson has used its aging know-how to imbue the 50th with the patina of five decades without resorting to physical violence to distress it. The cellulose finish fades from pure black into classic yellow on the arched top and back of the laminated maple body. Round the slim, cream-bound edges and along the mahogany neck the colour glows nut brown just like the old ones – lovely!

Chunky build

The 50th Anniversary's neck features the long tenon of the original, giving better neck-to-body rigidity and overall resonance. Inside we find traditional 'bumble-bee' capacitors, 500K CTS pots and a centre block with curved spruce struts to accommodate the body's arching. Overall the quality looks like Gibson at its best. Based on the profile of the early ES-335s the Anniversary's neck is a chunk-and-a-half to hold.

Pickup spoiler

While the Kluson-style tuners, traditional ABR-1 bridge and stud tailpiece are untarnished nickel plate, the pickups have been lightly aged. With well-finished medium frets and typically flattish fingerboard radius the Anniversary plays like butter. The neck's size is no encumbrance and the top-end access is great for EC's second Crossroads solo. The '57 Classic pickups are hotter than most vintage 335s we've played, but still full of warmth and dynamics courtesy of the guitar's construction. Sustain is on tap at every turn and backing off the volume cleans things up beautifully, while tempering either pickup's tone control gives beefier, more Les Paul-like tones. The company has done an awesome job of recreating the look, feel and overall vibe of one of our favourite guitars. Imagine it's 1958 and you're seeing an ES-335 for the first time ever. Wow! Well that's the response we've had here on seeing this one. True, it's beefier sounding than most originals, but we suspect most players would actually like that. Big neck? Yeah but that means big tone too! The one thing that does surprise us is the limited edition run of 200.

Specs:

- Country of Origin: USA
- Finish: Lightly-aged nitro-cellulose tobacco sunburst
- Body Style: Laminated maple with f-holes and solid maple centre block with cut-outs for pickup wires like the originals
- Bridge: Nickel-plated ABR-1 tune-o-matic bridge and stud tailpiece
- Neck Material: Fat, late '50s-style one-piece mahogany with mahogany headstock 'wing' extensions
- Scale Length (Inches) (Inches): 24.75
- Weight (lb) (lb): 9
- Year of Origin: 2008
- Pickup Switching: Three-way toggle selector, twin volume and tone controls
- Pickup Type: 2 x Gibson '57 Classic humbuckers

1) 和古董1961年吉他的比較:
http://www.musicradar.com/gear/all/guitars/electric/6-string-semi-acoustic/2008-58-es-335-184500/review

2)音色介紹:


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2007 Les Paul Standard 1956 Historic RI

1956 Reissue VOS (Vintage Old Spec)

A custom-shop re-creation of the 1956 Paul

1956 was a big year for the Les Paul Goldtop. It was the first year that the Les Paul wore the Tune-O-Matic bridge bridge (aka ABR-1). This bridge design represented a major advance in functionality. It anchored the strings more solidly improving sustain, had adjustable saddles for better intonation, and thumbwheels allowed it to be raised or lowered for preferred action. It was in many ways the first modern Les Paul.

Like all VOS (Vintage Original Spec) series instruments., the 1956 Les Paul Goldtop VOS is handcraftedfor comfort and playability in the Gibson Custom Shop. The construction, neck profile, hardware, and electronics are period accurate, and a special nitro-cellulose finish treatment gives it the patina of a gently-aged vintage guitar. Includes Gibson Custom Shop case, a certificate of authenticity, and custom care kit.

• Carved maple top
• Solid, non-weight relieved mahogany back
• Single-ply cream binding
• Thin toggleswitch washer and jackplate
• Antique gold finish
• Nickel hardware
• ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece
• 1-piece mahogany neck with long tenon
• 22-fret rosewood finger board
• Acrylic trapezoid inlays (accurate shape and color)
• Single-ply cream binding
• Early '50s rounded neck profile
• 24-3/4" scale
• 1-11/16 nut width
• Holly headstock veneer
• Vintage tulip tuners
• P-90 single coil pickups
• CTS pots and bumble bee capacitors
• 2 volume, 2 tone, 3-way selector















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2004 Angus Young Signature SG (Sold)

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The Gibson Angus Young Signature SG is a faithful reproduction of Young's trademark axe! It's exact, even down to the worn engraving on the Lyre Vibrola tailpiece. Mahogany body and neck, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with pearl trapezoid inlays, single-bound neck, nickel hardware, a '57 Classic humbucker (neck), an Angus Signature humbucker (bridge), and devil graphic on headstock. Definitely a guitar that's made to rock "all night long."

Features:

• Mahogany body and neck
• 22-fret rosewood fingerboard
• Pearl trapezoid inlay
• 24.75" scale
• Single-bound neck
• ABR bridge
• Engraved Lyre Vibrola tremolo
• Nickel hardware
• '57 Classic humbucker (neck)
• Angus Signature humbucker (bridge)
• 2 tone and 2 volume controls
• 3-way selector switch













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2003 ES 335 Cherry Figured (Sold)

相聚很短的女友

這是用Fender Custom Shop 吉他換來的普通Dot ES335, 琴頸是較薄的. 帶點輕微的火紋. 沒有特別喜歡. 不久又拿去換掉了.













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1979 Les Paul Custom in cherryburst

賭城尋寶: 喜獲 Gibson31年如新老琴

4月初在拉斯維加斯有個藝術玻璃展, 我們每年必定來參加, 和一些老客戶打打招呼, 順便看看有沒有新產品激發一些靈感, 就早早的訂了美國南方航空公司 (Southwest Airline) 的便宜機票(信不信, 單程1800英哩只要1百多元, 折合台幣3千多元而已), 反正可以住自己的沙漠小屋, 花不了什麼錢, 就和沙漠嫂準備動身了.

出門前上去Vegas的 Craigslist 的二手吉他分類廣告看看有沒有什麼寶可順便看看, 居然看到一把1979年Les Paul Custom, 是Cherryburst 的塗裝, 配件是比較少的銀色(Chromed finish), 要價很合理就和賣主聯絡了. 他說已經有幾個人看過, 一個人要買, 但要等週五發薪才有錢, 我正好週三晚上到, 就告訴他我週四一早就過來.

看琴的地方是政府的移民申請中心, 賣主Art 在裡面上班, 早上去到那裡, 先和警衛打聲招呼, 居然手機都不准帶進去, Art是30多歲的年青人, 留著長髮, 下班後還搞樂隊, 他帶著我進去裡面房間, 給我看這把琴.

看 到吉他盒是70年代末期的少見塑膠盒, 情況非常好, 連三個塑膠扣都完好無缺, 打開琴盒, 看到裡面的吉他, 相當驚訝, 像是把全新的吉他, 除了底部的白色琴身貼膠有一點點變黃外, 整把琴幾乎完美無缺, 讓我擔心是翻新的, 左看右看都看不出破綻, 像是100%的原裝琴, 在Vegas 這麼乾的地方, 塗裝居然一點裂痕都沒有, 看看序號, 也是正確的, 連" Made in USA"的標誌也合乎歷史的記載.

問 Art可以不可以試琴, 他用一個古董的Champ讓我試, 音色很好, 彈奏非常容易, 一點Buzz音都沒有. 顯然有調過, Art 說他也是二手買的, 放了很多年, 但不敢拿出來表演, 只小心翼翼的放在家裡保存著, 他表演都是用古董的日本Greco仿LP琴.

琴的狀況如此好, 當然馬上掏出現金買了, Art還打個收據給我, 就和沙漠嫂很高興的帶著新的收藏琴回家了, 還好搶先另外一個買主一步.

吉他的照片如下.