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September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Random thought--
Do y'all prefer to play older guitars? (By older, I mean border-line beater)
I have two brand-new-outta-the-box Celebrities... (Yes, I know they are Celebrities!)
But I seem to reach for the guitar with the cracks, the ones that I had to work-on to make right.
Is this like the little-lost-puppy-syndrome?
Or, I like this one cuz I worked on it?
Or it sounds better cuz it has aged?
Or do I just have something that the pharmaceutical companies are working on a pill for? :rolleyes: |
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May 2004
Posts: 2850
Location: Midland, MI | I recently sold a guitar because it was too nice for me to have out, what with the kids bouncing around, so it rarely got played. My favorite electric is a '93 Hamer Special (the Saturday Night Special!) that was gigged within an inch of its life (by a previous owner, not me). Knowing that I'm not going to damage it gives me the freedom to play it with abandon. And leave it out where the anklebiters can smudge it up. :o |
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April 2007
Posts: 318
Location: Slightly northwest of Trader Jim | IMO I think the older guitars (aged if you will) just seem to sound better, and don't play as "stiff" as a new one. There is a familiarity about them, kind of like a pair of broken in shoes,the new ones just don't feel quite right.
:cool: |
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March 2005
Posts: 12755
Location: Boise, Idaho | It's tough to beat the sound of my 77 Folklore. It is far from a beater, but the old wood just sings prettier. |
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August 2006
Posts: 2804
Location: ranson,wva | i can only aford old broken guitars or fixer upers..lol jason |
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September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | "i can only aford old broken guitars or fixer upers..lol jason"
Gee Jason... That's how I got all the guitars I own :rolleyes: |
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January 2006
Posts: 387
Location: Whitecourt, Ab | i can only aford old broken guitars or fixer upers..lol jason You should be proud that you have the ability to perform your magic on those fixer uppers, Jason.
Your old 1111 absolutely rings around the campfire at the lake. You'd be amazed by how many people have commented on how good that old cracked piece of shyza sounds.
I like the way it sounds, but I love the way it plays and looks. I wish I could take credit for the character of this old guitar, but at least I can groove in its mojo |
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November 2002
Posts: 3611
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | As long as the setup is good, age is better. Connolly, my MotherShip-rebuilt 1127-4, may be a notable exception, but already past the 4th birthday.
Ol' Josh is 39, Ol' Faithful (1111) is at least 27 (neck is even older), Marilyn (1537) is 24, Chet (1624) is 26, & Pandora (1617) is 28. The critters I have re-topped have had a noticably brighter, less-sustaining resonance. |
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January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | I have mixed feelings about preferring old (over 20 years old) gear to new. With four exceptions, my old stuff is, quite frankly, wall art. With a good tune-up and some luthier work, I'm sure they would be acceptable for most players, but I'm not willing to put money into guitars I don't intend to play a lot. The exceptions are the '81 Legend Ltd which I purchased new and played as my primary guitar for 20 years, the '79 ES-335 CRS, the '82 LP prototype, and the recently acquired '68 Hurricane. The Hurricane and prototype are in such good condition that they appear not to have been played much by anybody. I primarily buy old gear for show, and new gear for go. |
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March 2002
Posts: 15664
Location: SoCal | Interesting topic. My main 4 guitars right now are all relatively new. They are
OFC slothead - new
Adamas I 12 string - 1993
GC Reissue - new
1773 LX nylon string - 1 1/2 years old
What's interesting about them is that 3 of the 4 are either old design (12 string) or are reissues of old guitars. Best of all worlds?
Then you get to my GC 12 string w/ a new body and a 38 year old neck.... how do you classify that?
My older stuff includes my 83 1537, my 87 Collectors and my 38 year old GCDB. They don't get played that much but I won't part with them. And they do look great on the wall. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10582
Location: NJ | I genreally like old things. I think that is why I am in the business that I am in.
good example. You may have read my references to building stongehenges around my property.
a friend is doing a cleanout of a property the 90 plus guy that lived there accumlated large piles of scrap iron cinder blocks brick and cobble stones. My friend has been selling the cobble stones and I bought 100 or so of them.
these stones came over from europe in sailing ships in the 1600's 1700s and 1800's they were then used for paving streets in philadelphia. Now they are on my property for decorative garden beds etc.
every time I put one in it makes me think of the history, where it came from, if anyone of the founding fathers of the US ever crossed over it etc.
old stuff makes me feel good |
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November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | My hand examination of a freshly broken surface of one of Al's stones indicated that it is a coarse-grained mafic to ultamafic igneous rock, with distinct phenocrysts or xenoliths of olivine and pyroxene crystals (mostly). The olivine nodules are being altered to a yellowish-green mass of probably serpentine at the surface. The largest nodule is about 1 cm in length, while the pyroxene crystals were up to 4mm in length. The sample is of high specific gravity (>3.5).
A microscopic thin-section examination (three thin-sections were prepared) of the above rock shows mostly euhedral, well-zoned or unzoned pyroxene crystals and olivine nodules (forsterite composition) which are either fresh or in various alteration stages to serpentine. Pyroxene and olivine are the dominant minerals, making up about 75-80% of the rock with pyroxene > olivine. A few crystals of plagioclase felspar (labrodorlte-bytownite composition) are evident, but make up less than 2% of the rock. These three minerals show breakage or fracturing indicating that the cooling magma was subjected to an explosive event. The most distinctive aspect of the rock is the high proportion of iron-oxides (magnetite?), making up about 8-10% in volume. The groundmass was indeterminate, but may have substanital amounts of pryoxene. The three major silicate minerals form an interlocking texture under the microscope.
The above composition and texture, with the very small amount of felspar, appears to suggest a rock of peridotitic composition (ultramafic). On the other hand, the fractured nature of the crystals - suggesting an explosive episode during cooling - probably indicates an original mela-alkaline magma which filled up and crystallized in a volcanic vent or crater at depth, which is akin to a volcanic plug. The above composition indicates why the rock made ideal ballast material (high iron content in the minerals).
It is not possible to say whether the original rock was fashioned at a quarry for the specific purpose of using as ballast or whether the masses represent some extreme example of natural weathering. It is possible that the rock was found to make for easy packing, stacking and storage in a ship.
The rock could have come from anywhere, but definitely not from Sri Lanka. There are similar rocks of Carboniferous-Permian age in Glasgow, Scotland. Similar rocks are known from Italy, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Aden and, perhaps, from the Pyrenees region. They are not known from the Low Countries of Europe (Holland, Belgium or Brittany coast). A detailed chemical analysis of the rock could probably indicate its provenance by matching it to an existing petrochemical database of similar rocks. |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Of course, . . the ULTIMATE test would just be hitting you over the head with it . . . |
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March 2002
Posts: 15664
Location: SoCal | Smashing one rock against another? |
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December 2001
Posts: 10582
Location: NJ | so am I remise in referring to them as "belgium blocks?" that seems to be another common name aside from cobblestone.
yup jeff was here one afternoon when I was having fun with stones.
I did not realize his level of involvement at that time.
btw what the hell did he say??????????? |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | The term is Belgian Block. |
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March 2005
Posts: 12755
Location: Boise, Idaho | Jeff probably analyzes scat, too. Some things smell when they get old. |
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November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Originally posted by Mark in Boise:
Some things smell when they get old. You've been to the Tour then? |
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 665
Location: Tychy, Poland | back to the guitars.
i'd say that i prefer old acoustic guitars but new electric.
My Legend sounds better head to head than brand new upper class Furch (very good guitars from Czech Republic) and my father's Martin 0018 from early 60's is killing every small guitar around.
But my Strat is no match for my friend's Music Man Axis Super Sport. I know that those are two totally different guitars, but Axis is faster, has more "crisp" sound and overally fits my style better. |
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May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | You prefer beaters? |
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 665
Location: Tychy, Poland | hard to say. sometimes i take guitar in my hands and i know that i need this one.
Fender is a fine guitar, but i have love/hate relationship with this one, and i still don't see why someone would be willing to pay over 5k $ for this guitar.
My girlfriend says that i have a knock for ugly guitars... maybe fender is just too "classical" / pretty? |
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Why Old Guitars?