Vintage Vault

Altec 288B drivers

Bobby Beck — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:53:31 GMT

HI.

I would like to use a pair of old Altec 288b drivers on Altec 805 horns in a live performance situation.

I notice that the drivers are 24 ohm impedance. what amp sould I use? I would like to use a modern amp, if i wire these in parallel mono I will be at 12 ohms. the amps I have are rated for 8 ohms. Also these are rated at 40 watts each, so all of my amps may be too large. I plan on using a digital crossover from 500HZ to 10,000HZ. and one side of an an EV p1200 amp I think the drivers had crossovers at one time , but I don't have them. just wanted to see if anyone was already doing this, and which amps were being used.

Thanks

Welcome to the Vintage Vault

Professor Thump — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 03:07:21 GMT

Hi collectors and droolers of cool! Welcome to our new area for the finer things in life that JAM!. Show us your vintage stuff that makes you rock.

65 Fender Jazz Bass History

Professor Thump — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:54:41 GMT

1965 Candy Apple Red Fender Jazz Bass

by Dave Rogers and Tim Mullally

This 1965 Candy Apple Red Fender Jazz Pass still looks good after all these years.

In the middle of 1951, Leo Fender decided that it was time to get upright bass players out of the shadows and closer to the audience. He began experimenting with designs based around his first design, the Telecaster. After tinkering with scale length and pickup placement, Fender decided that the 34” scale length was sufficient to produce the low-end that was required to rival the upright bass. It seemed that the new Precision Bass (named because of the addition of frets, which created a perfect note) was set to send the big “doghouse bass” back to the dogs.

Unfortunately, when the new Precision Bass was introduced, it was not very well received. Many players could not get used to the feel of the new instrument; Bill Black, who played with Elvis Presley, even threw his new P-Bass across the floor out of frustration during a recording session. It wasn’t until the early work of Monk Montgomery and Lionel Hampton that the P-Bass started to carve out a niche in the early 1950s.

While the P-Bass was updated many times over the next several years, Fender realized it was time to add a new model of electric bass to the world. The first prototype of the new, “sophisticated” bass for the “more advanced” jazz players was slightly different than what was introduced in early 1960. The Jazz Bass prototype actually had two Jazzmaster-style pickups – there was a 5-polepiece pickup in the neck position and one 4-polepiece pickup in the bridge position. This pickup configuration was later changed to the 8-polepiece pickup that we see today. The prototype also featured a Volume, Volume and Tone knob layout; this was eventually changed when production began.

Jazz Basses built from 1960 until late 1962 had what are now referred to as “concentric” pots and four individual string mutes under the bridge cover to help emulate the sound of an upright bass. The nut width of the Jazz Bass was 1 7/16”, as opposed to 1 3/4” on the P-Bass. The narrower nut width was a hit with many players, especially among guitar players who doubled on electric bass. Joe Osborn fell in love with his 1960 Jazz Bass when he first received it and put it to good use on his early Ricky Nelson work.

By early 1963, the concentric pots, the four foam mutes and the ground strip that ran from the bridge to the bridge pickup were gone. The three-knob layout was back and the Jazz Bass was very much in full swing. The “custom color” 1965 Candy Apple Red Jazz Bass shown here is a perfect example of what Fender was offering at the time.

For more information about Fender basses, please check The Fender Bass Book, available through Hal Leonard, and How the Fender Bass Changed the World by Jim Roberts.

Dave's Guitar Shop
Daves Roger’s Collection Is tended to by Laun Braithwaite & Tim Mullally
All photos credit Tim Mullally
Dave’s Collection is on dispay at:
Dave's Guitar Shop
1227 Third Street South
La Crosse, WI 54601
608-785-7704
davesguitar.com

Giant Flying V Guitar

Islander — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 06:14:20 GMT

I posted this in General Questions as well, but I guess it really belongs here:

In the shop: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTX3CaTWbkM

And you can take it on the road, well the sidewalk, anyway:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EemTatZ-ycE&feature=related

Stairway to Heaven, but he really needs basketball player hands to do it right:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSu6FbNQTh4&feature=related

Remembering rock hall of fame member Les Paul

Professor Thump — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:48:31 GMT

By Malcolm X Abram
Beacon Journal music writer

POSTED: 05:48 p.m. EDT, Aug 13, 2009

In this Feb. 26, 2007 file photo, Guitar legend Les Paul performs at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York. Paul, 94, the guitarist and inventor who changed the course of music with the electric guitar and multitrack recording and had a string of hits, died. (AP Photo/ Colin Archer, file)

View more photos>>

''It's a real great thing to have so many great guitar players out there, and without them there would be no me. I did my thing and they picked up on it, and when they picked up on it they made it real, real big.''

— Les Paul, November 2008

Les Paul was one of the most important figures in rock 'n' roll, though he never actually played the stuff until recently.

Paul's life story was 94 years long and fascinating, but somehow it still seems he didn't quite have enough time to do all the things he wanted to do.

Last November, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame paid tribute to Paul with a star-studded concert including the man himself, and I was lucky enough to get a phone interview with him beforehand.

Our scheduled 15 minutes stretched to nearly an hour, and Paul was congenial, humble and relaxed, answering questions and recounting stories he'd surely shared hundreds of times in his 60-year career. What was striking was that he still possessed a childlike glee about each new day even as he looked back. He was pragmatic about his own inventions and innovations, but he seemed genuinely more proud of the musicians that followed in his huge wake than his own accomplishments.

He told stories populated with iconic names such as Al Capone, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and ''my good friend'' Jimmy Page. He talked about the four amplifier and two guitar designs he was currently working on, and how, while many of his peers resisted change in music, technology and life, his unending sense of wonder about what was next helped get him out of bed each morning.

Though he never needed to work another day in his life, Paul loved his longstanding Monday gigs at a Manhattan nightclub. Paul truly loved Monday nights in part because they gave him a chance to mingle with many of his famous guitar-playing friends and talk to fans.

''It's great to have all these friends come in,'' he told me.

''You find out there are so many people from every place on the planet that come there. We have people from all over the world, and after the show, I always sign autographs and talk to the people and get feedback as to what they like and what they don't like,'' he said, apparently unaware that most folks were just glad to be in the same room with him.

''It keeps me going. ... The most important thing for me is to look forward to playing on Monday night. It's very important.''

At the tribute concert, after guests such as Slash, Steve Lukather, Billy Gibbons and Richie Sambora paid their musical homages, Paul and his band took center stage. After effusively thanking all of the ''great guitar players and singers,'' Paul, seated on a small riser and holding a vintage Les Paul that is now priceless, picked out melodies and improvised on a few of his favorite tunes. Though not nearly as fast or dexterous as he was in his salad days, his right foot kept time perfectly and he had a big joyful smile on his face.

That feeling quickly infected the crowd, and Paul sent home everyone who was lucky enough to be in the room with him that night with the same smile and possibly just a bit of the zest for life that Paul possessed for 94 years.

http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/53169172.html

Local Guitar Collector Remembers Les Paul

Professor Thump — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:42:29 GMT

By Doug Magditch

Story Created: Aug 13, 2009 at 6:22 PM CDT

Story Updated: Aug 13, 2009 at 6:22 PM CDT

A music legend died Thursday.

Les Paul, known for inventing "multi-track recording" and a "special gibson guitar design", died at ninety-four.

Tom Wittrock of Springfield's Third Eye Musictells us a Les Paul guitar is the best there is.

He collects the guitars - and has one from '58, '59, and '60.

The 1960 guitar was his first vintage Les Paul. He bought it in Springfield for $2,000, now it's worth 100's of thousands.

"it seems like much better than the stock market. What a lot of people don't realize is, of course, if you never sell it, you never reap that financial gain, but there are dividends these instruments pay and that's the music you get from them and the enjoyment you have from owning them," says Wittrock.

http://www.kspr.com/news/local/53176842.html

Vintage Guitar Vault

Professor Thump — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:53:21 GMT

Some of you may know that I am a bit of a guitar nut.　 I prefer to refer to myself as a guitar collector but you be the judge.　 All I know is that any stock I have owned in the last year has dropped from 30 -200% in value.　 My "good" collectable guitars on the other hand have dropped by 30% at the most and I believe some have gained value!　 Picking the right ones is the key.　 You can spend a lot of money on cool guitars that won't ever appreciate.

Knowledge is king…

In my early days of garage bands I bought one or two new guitars that may not be much more today than when I bought them. One of my first and second "good" acoustics were Fender guitars. They have great necks and a reasonable tone. The craftsmanship is near perfect but they are made in Japan and the market hasn’t focused much on Japanese guitars. So my 12 string Fender is almost mint condition yet it worth about what I paid for it in the early 80’s or less. On the other hand I traded in a Fender P bass for this beauty which I paid $400 dollars. That guitar today may be worth $2000 even though the condition was 7 at the time. Go figure, but there is a key to investing in guitars. Pick the picks… limited editions, rare colors and models used by the stars in the 50-70’s. That is part of my rule. But to simplify it buy the following:

Early Martin Acoustic Dreadnaughts 40-70’s

Gibson Les Paul 52 – 60’s

Fender Telecasters 51-60’s

Sheryl was just a bonus in this picture.

Fender Strat 54 – 60’s

Gibson ES-335 58 – 60’s

There are others such as early Gibson Explorers, LP Jr’s and Fender models, but this is the general rule.

Another unique model that I have been banking on is Paul Reed Smith 85-89 prior to the neck heel increase. The PRS is pictured on the left. These are shooting stars in my mind but less vintage than the others. The other guitar pictured is a Les Paul from Gibson. This particular one is a late issue Premium Plus. As I have mentioned pre 1970's LP's are almost unaffordable for most musicians.

Other Collectors

There are some serious collectors out there with money. I have a friend named Eric who invest for a group. He stores his best stock in a vault that is controlled for humidity and temperature. I am a little jealous but he shares his stories of his greatest finds regularly, which helps me get through my limited ability to purchase. Eric is a salesman so he has the ability to travel regularly, buy, sell and network. He goes to at least 30 stores per month, usually twice that many. He has been on a buying spree for the last several months because prices have dropped and "good" finds are surfacing as collectors free up cash. He bought probably 50 guitars a month or so ago. One of his favorites of late was a 53 Telecaster that he bought at a good price. He said this guitar is the holy grail for sound. I haven’t heard it but I would bet it is. The thing that makes it work for Eric is that he buys only the best condition guitars and the rarest of birds.

I bought a 67 Gretsch Country Gentleman from him last fall. This baby is mint… Imperial tuners and a 9 / 10 condition. I will probably sell this guitar when the time is right but it is a time vault for beauty. No other guitar sounds like the Gretsch for some of the Beatles songs.

New Guitar Magazines

There are signs of the time that guitar collecting is becoming more serious. There are several new magazines that focus only on the finer guitars with investments in mind. Three Magazines that come to mind are: Premier Guitar, Vintage Guitar, and Guitar Aficionado.

An article in the Aficionado shows 5 blue chip guitars. This tripped my interest. The five guitars are:

58 Gibson Explorer Value: $500-700K (2009 & 2007 estimates)

31 Martin D-45 Value: $120-150K

59 Les Paul Standard Value: $400-550K

51 Fender No-Caster Value: $0.95-130K

54 Fender Stratocaster Value $100-130K

I don’t now why the Martin list higher than the Les Paul since it isn’t worth as much. I suspect it is because EVERYONE can use a Martin and only some people play an electric LP. So the risk is lower that it will go up. At one time I only played acoustics so I can understand this.

An interesting model was the Gibson Moderne which never made it to production.

I will talk further on the ins and outs of guitar collecting in the days to come…

Vox Anniversary

Professor Thump — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:02:33 GMT

Getting caught up on cool photos... Here is the VOX 50 anniversary display at NAMM