Gibson vs. Gibson
Johnny A. vs. 1958 Les Paul reissue, to be precise.
I never bonded with most Gibson instruments, despite numerous attempts over the years. The more “affordable” US-made Gibsons seemed to suffer for poor quality control. Poor being a very generous understatement—the things that pass Gibson’s QC would have meant a one-way trip to the bandsaw at PRS. A couple examples: the binding on an otherwise nice-looking ES-339 I played yesterday had visible file marks up and down the fretboard binding; a silverburst Les Paul classic had bubbles in the finish on the back of the heel; waaaay to many production Les Pauls have their bridges a good 1/4-5/16 up off the maple top, indicating problems with the neck angle. The list goes on. And on.
Despite this, I have always had a weakness for Les Pauls. They are, after all, a rock icon. I may not be able to play like Jimmy Page, but at least I can have the same guitar (if you believe the marketeers). So I look at places like Mark’s Guitar Loft, Guitar Sale, Route 66, and other vendors who specialize in historic Les Pauls. And I watch eBay. Despite the sluggish economy, the Les Pauls I’m interested in, the historic reissues, have maintained a solid resale value. It’s not unusual to see a nice used ‘59 reissue sell for nearly $4k. Ouch. But I’ve been mentally preparing myself for this stringed sticker-shock. In fact, the reason I sold my amber Yamaha Weddignton was to purchase a very cool “old wood” flametop 1958 Les Paul reissue I found at a local retailer.
But things are never that easy.
I also found NOS Gibson Johnny A. signature model for sale at another local dealer. I’ve seen this guitar before, too, and just can’t get it out of my mind. It’s a handsome guitar, to be sure, in “sunset glow” burst with gold hardware. But it’s not completely over-the-top flame maple. Like the ‘58 LP, you could say it’s “old wood” cool. But it has a neck that feels nearly as big as the ‘58 LP—bigger and rounder than the typical Johnny A. Yeah, this thing exudes cool, and it doesn’t exhibit any of the typical quality control problems I’ve seen in other instruments. Sure, it could use a good setup but that’s easy. But the most important thing is the sound, and the Johnny A excel. It’s 25.5” scale gives it that extra bit of clarity, definition and “percussiveness” reminiscent of P90s. Very, very cool. Search the Les Paul Forum, or The Gear Page, and there’s tons of info, and it’s all good news.
Now I’m wrestling with which one of these great instruments is more deserving of my hard-earned cash and if I’m willing to part with something else from my small collection to make room and free up some cash. Life’s full of tough choices, innit?
iPhone vs. Blackberry Storm: You never get a second chance to make a first impression
My completely unsolicited (and unpaid) thoughts on the Apple iPhone and the Blackberry Storm.
I remember walking into the Apple store in the Westchester Mall shortly after the iPhone was introduced. I wasn’t looking to buy a new cell phone—I wasn’t in the market at all—but I wanted to see what all the hype was about. Why were people getting this jazzed up over a cell phone, and a $600 cell phone at that? Surely it wasn’t that great, or so I told myself. But the simple truth was after playing with an iPhone for half an hour, I new that this device redefine what a cell phone was. It was revolutionary.
I didn’t buy an iPhone at the time primarily because I didn’t want to change carriers from Verizon to AT&T. Not that Verizon is great, but I haven’t had any problems and their cellular coverage is good. But I watched the market evolve, waiting for a device that would compete with the iPhone, but on Verizon’s network. Naturally, I was very eager to see if the Blackberry Storm was that kind of device. On paper, it looked like a contender—big, bright touchscreen, phone, cool apps and Blackberry’s email pedigree and development experience. I was eager to get my hands on one and see if it made a great first impression, and if it could truly compete with the iPhone.
Over the past week, I read what I could about the new device, and noted that the review were mixed at best. After getting my hands on a Storm today, I walked away thoroughly inimpressed. Professional pundits must be circumspect in what they write in order to avoid the wrath of editors, publishers, advertisers and readers. I don’t have any of those constituents, so I can be blunt: the iPhone kicks the Storms ass in no uncertain terms. After playing with a Storm for a solid half-hour at a local Verizon store (oh, were you waiting to try this out too?), I handed it to the next guy in line and wished him good luck. Then I went to an Apple store and played with the iPhone for over an hour, enjoying every minute.
The most immediate difference in the devices is the user interface. Where the iPhone shines is with it’s polished, intuitive presentation. Like the iPod, the iPhone has a minimal learning curve; all the features and functions, including setup, are easy to access and use. The Storm, on the other hand seemed clunky and often counter-intuitive. Much has been made of the Storm’s “revolutionary” SureTouch screen that requires a firm physical press on the screen to type or click icons. Compared to the iPhones screen, SureTouch was slower and less accurate. Then there’s they keyboard layout - in landscape mode, the storm has a full QWERTY keyboard (but loses much of the display real estate), but in portrait mode it has an odd layout with two letters on each key. WTF? This is just hard to use. Huge differences separate the two devices in terms of legibility: all the iPhones icons are easily legible, and text is crisp and clear. Not so on the Storm where text looked worse than old ASCII monitors. I’ll also mention that the Storm’s navigation was often confusing and lead to dead ends, with the Blackberry key being the only way out. Commands were also slow to execute, and on one occasion the device “hung” while I was trying to use the browser. No good. By comparison, the iPhone’s navigation was very easy to understand and use, even on more complex setup tasks. I’ll confess to being a Mac OS fan, and this struck me as much the same as the difference between OS X and, say, Windows 98.
Other reasons I preferred the iPhone? Built-in Wi-Fi!!! Why would I want to burn cellular minutes syncing my calendar or reading email, when I can do these functions on Wi-Fi at home and work? Then there’s iTunes. No other similar software has met with such widespread adoption, and for good reason—it works. Oh, and I did I mention that the iPhone works with both my Vista Ultimate laptop and OS X iMac?
The choice is clear. Now I just need Apple to discount the iPhone next Friday as part of their traditional “black friday” sales and I’ll be buying one for my wife and one for myself, even if it means changing carriers, there are enough benefits to justify switching.
Yamaha Weddington Watch, Nov. 2008
Weddington prices appear to have taken a noticeable hit since last month
Three Yamaha Weddingtons were on the eBay auction block this month and judging by the winning bids, prices on Weddingtons has taken a turn for the worse since last month.
Even more painfull to see, this black Classic went for $721. That’s just sad, especially since a similar one sold for $827 last month. If I hadn’t just bought a PRS Cu22 Soapie, this one might have been on it’s way to me. Yeah, I know, I keep saying that.
Here’s a rare bird… a 12-string Gibson ES-345
A friend asked if I would come over and give her an idea of the value of some of her late husband’s musical instruments. She said he was in a band back in the ‘60s, then just stopped playing and put his instruments away in a closet. How many times have you hear the same kinds of stories… a widow selling the guitars her husband had kept under the bed for decades, and they turn out to be Nocasters or ‘59 ‘Bursts. No Nocasters or ‘59 ‘Bursts here, but a damn cool find, and a great story all the same.
I knew ahead of time that he had a Jaguar as I had seen pictures of him and his band. It turned out to be 1964 (pre-CBS), and in really good condition but refinished to a clear natural color sometime in the ‘60. Still, it was in great condition and even close to being in tune after about 40 years!
I also knew he had encouraged her to play and given her an acoustic back in the day. It was a 1968 Martin D-18. She never learned to play, so it sat in the case for nearly 40 years. Wow. Just… wow. It needs a minor setup, but this is one good-sounding acoustic! Now I “get” what the Martin thing is all about, even if I don’t find it in their new instruments.
The other guitar was a Gibson, but she didn’t remember what kind. A Les Paul, perhaps??? No, something stranger by far—a 1965 12-string Gibson ES-345. Yes, you read that right—a 12-string ES-345 TD. Not a 6 string. Not a ES-335. A 12-string ES-345. Gibson also played around with stereo output on some of the ES-345, called the “TD,” and I think this is one of them. The sticker inside the case was difficult to read and I didn’t try to plug it in, so I can’t be sure. I’ve been looking all over Google for such a guitar and can’t find a thing about them. My friend said her husband had the guitar custom made for him which helps explain why I can’t find any info about these guitars.
In addition to the guitars, he had a blackface Fender Twin Reverb in damn-near mint condition, and a matching Fender 6G15 stand-alone reverb unit (also in damn-near mint condition). Then there was a Gibson Maestro Fuzz Tone FZ-1A and Uniwah UW-2, both still in their original boxes. The Uniwah still had the original batteries!!!
I’m working on tracking down information her. Prices, too, as she’s expressed an interest in selling everything but she’s in no particular hurry. Most of it is easy, but the 12-string ES-345 is turning out to be somewhat unique. I’ll take some pictures next time I see her, and post them here.
Yamaha Weddington Watch, Oct. 2008
Yamaha Weddingtons bought and sold in recent months
I realize I haven’t put much effort into tracking Yamaha Weddington sales on eBay recently. I’m not sure why this is, but I suspect I’m content with the red Custom I picked up this past summer. I’m really happy with this guitar and less inclined to look for others. (Not that I would be distraught if another Weddington—perhaps a Classic os Special—darkened my door.)
Still, I do watch the auctions and thought I would mention some that changed hands recently.
