Sat 11/2/02

Hey! Sorry this is late...

I'm sending it on Saturday morning instead of Friday afternoon `cause I spent 12 hours yesterday at The Rex Theatre setting up and doing the "Night Of The Singing Dead" Show. And, you know, the show was a great success on two levels. First, because it was sold out and the audience had a wonderful time... And, second, and perhaps more important, it was just a tremendous amount of fun to play music with my friends. That's one of the reasons I've kept this store going for the last 23 years. Music, guitar music, of course, is just so much fun... and even if you don't become famous, it's such a great thing to share and enjoy with your friends.

OK.... I only slept three and a half hours last night, so I don't really have an idea for the email special... so I'm just gonna randomly pick something... like.... hmmmmm.... how `bout these Fender bass strings... you probably have a bass laying out with some rusty strings on it...

Next week we'll have a better special... I have a lot of stuff around here that we have to clear out to make room for Christmas stuff... I'll get that organized this week... after I get a little sleep...

See You soon,
Carl

PS: This week's Customer web site:
Greg Matecko

Sat 11/9/02

We're starting to get in some extra inventory for Christmas... you know, more $149 Strats and $99 amps and stuff like that, plus some more of the expensive items. (Nothing says "I Love You" like a new `60s Reissue Telecaster under the tree) And since we don't have a huge store, there are some things around here that are getting in the way. Come in and buy these so we have some space... in case we wanna decorate... and maybe put up a tree...

Some of these are new, some are used... and I found a big box of Canadian-made dreadnought gig bags...

There is only one of most items... except the gig bags.

See You soon,
Carl

PS: This week's Customer web site:
Sodajerk

Sat 11/16/02

We just got the coolest thing.

A couple of years ago someone suggested that we carry some banjos... Used ones always sell quickly, so I asked around and found that the best new banjos are made by the Deering Banjo company. So, we started carrying them here in the store... eventually adding Fender banjos, as well. Now we have eight different banjo models in stock... which isn't much compared to the hundreds of guitars... but, hey, they're banjos! Eight different banjos may be the biggest selection in the tri-state area!! (I don't really have any idea, actually... but it seems like a lot...)

Anyway, at the last NAMM show I was at the Deering booth and saw their six-string banjo and I thought it was wacky, so I ordered one. And this week it showed up. And it's fun! It's tuned like a regular guitar, so anyone can play it.

I immediately started playing "When The Saints Come Marching In" and "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey" and other strummin' banjo tunes. I know, you're saying, "Those songs are before my time!"... hey, they're before MY time too, but it's still fun to play something you've never played before. Besides, the banjo is such a happy sound, you have to smile when you're strummin'.... and that's always a good thing. The reason I've been in this business so long is that guitars, and music, just plain make me happy. I don't know if I'll ever personally own a banjo, but when I played guitar chords on this thing I sounded like a banjo player... and I had to laugh!

Our biggest selling banjo strings are made by GHS, so this week we're putting ALL of our GHS acoustic strings on the email special. That way you can do some pickin' and grinnin'...

See You soon,
Carl

PS: This week's Customer web site:
The Povertyneck Hillbillies

PPS: You may have noticed that when we hire someone here at Pittsburgh Guitars they tend to work here almost forever. Well, sadly, for us at least, after the first of the year Young Bob is going off to college. So we need to hire a new employee for the first time in as long as we can remember. Here's what we're looking for: someone who is young (`cause we're all old and don't wanna lift the heavy amps), can play guitar, knows the difference between a strat pickup and a humbucker, is comfortable dealing with strangers (`cause some of our customers are pretty strange), and is incredibly honest (both with us and with the customers!). If you know such a person, have them give me a call. I'd like to hire someone before Christmas.

Sat 11/23/02

Ahhh....Thanksgiving with the family. I love turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes... and then after the fabulous meal, sitting in the living room, by the fireplace, with your glass of wine, asking your brothers and sisters what's new with them... And then someone wanders over to the piano, and starts noodling around... and you say, "What was that song we played 10 years ago at that firehall in Dravosburg?"... and they start to play it... and suddenly you wish you had your guitar so you could strum along... but your old guitar isn't there anymore because when you moved out your Mother put it in the attic, and after five cold winters and hot summers the old Stella had action so high you could slide your arm under the strings, so it went out with the trash... And of course, you didn't bring your real guitar with you because when you came over for dinner you already had your hands full with the pumpkin pie and the whipped cream... If only you had a small, "travel" guitar, you could have thrown it in the backseat when you left the house, and after dinner you'd run out to your car and grab it just in time for the first sing-along chorus... And, since it's small, and in a gig bag, when it's time to leave you could throw it over your shoulder, and still have your hands free for Tupperware containers full of turkey left-overs... Yea...Thanksgiving with the family...it's so nice.

See You soon,
Carl

Sat 11/30/02

So, it was 20 years ago... I was rehearsing with my band in the basement of the old store in Bloomfield. Around 10 PM the phone rang, and it was a guy selling a left-handed 1959 Les Paul Sunburst. Now, as I'm sure you know, they only made 3 lefty Sunbursts in the late 50s... so I knew it was rare. He was asking $5000. At that time, Sunbursts were selling for around $7500, and I figured this one should bring a little more, so I said, "OK." On the plus side: only 3! On the minus side: lefty! Also on the minus side: $5K!!

I, of course, didn't have $5000, so I borrowed from all of my friends until I got the money. I talked to the lefty guy from The Cars, Elliot Easton, and that lefty guy from The Little River Band (they were big at the time...), but neither of them were interested. So I traded it to Rick Neilson from Cheap Trick for eight guitars. I sold those and paid back my friends. It was a fun experience, and I eventually made a little money.

I just saw that guitar again on Wednesday night, and it's still lookin' good. It was on the Paul McCartney "Back In The U.S." TV Special. Ten years ago Paul bought it from Rick Nielson, and he's been recording and touring with it ever since.

Every so often I regret trading it away... after all, there are only three; I've seen the other two, and they're not as nice. And then there's the fact that it would sell for around $50,000 today... But still, if I had kept it Paul wouldn't be using it now. And it's pretty cool to know that he's playing a guitar that we once strummed here at Pittsburgh Guitars!

This week's special also involves Gibson and The Beatles. It's the Gibson John Lennon Model electric guitar strings. Sure, John probably never played Gibson strings...but, hey, these have one of his sketches on the package...and they're approved by Yoko!

See You soon,
Carl

PS: This week's Customer web site:
Mystic Knights Band