Friday 6/27/2008 ~ Golfing, Vince Gill, and The NAMM Show

This one is a tad long... but we'll be off next week for the 4th of July...

Part 1
So, last week I mentioned the First Annual Pittsburgh Guitars Golf Outing (on August 17th)... "FORE!" (I'm practicing now...). And I included a link to Golf Digest's 100 Top Musician Golfers. Naturally, golf-fanatic Alice Cooper was on the list (#11), but I was surprised to see that Vince Gill was #2! I've always loved his guitar playing, and I've heard that he's a really nice guy, so it was cool to see him near the top of the list. (The #1 musician on the list: Kenny G.!)

I wrote that email early in the morning, right before I left for the NAMM Show in Nashville, Tennessee, y'all. Nine hours later, as I was driving into Nashville, I saw a giant billboard that said, "Tonite at The Grand Ol' Opry- Vince Gill!" I thought, "Hey, wait a minute!" BUT, Vince is a member of the Opry. He probably appears there a couple of times a year, so I didn't think any more about it...

The NAMM Show opened bright and early the next morning, and I began my quest to find more cool stuff to carry here at Pittsburgh Guitars. The first thing that caught my eye was a reissue of the Kay Thin Twin "Jimmy Reed" guitar. I ran over to the booth to check it out. Here are some pictures of the newly revived Kay line. The owner of the company welcomed me and said, "There has been a lot of interest in these. Look! We got a nice mention in 20th Century Guitar Magazine..." and he handed me the July issue. Here's the cover. Yep, right on the cover, next to the Kay guitar... Vince Gill.

I smiled, ordered a few of the guitars (estimated delivery: August) (which probably means October...), and moved on to visit with our other vendors.

Vox had some great new stuff, including what might be the first piece of computer software ever sold at Pittsburgh Guitars (more about that next time)... Fender introduced some new Jaguar and Jazzmasters that are cool, and we ordered them all (including the Elvis Costello reissue Jazzmaster)... Hagstroms have done well for us, so we ordered a bunch more of those. (It turns out that the original Hagstom family is still a part owner of the company! That's nice... most 1960s brands these days are owned by folks who simply bought the name when no one else was using it)... Eventually we ended up at Martin...

As we were ordering new Martin guitars, we told our Martin sales rep about our upcoming golf outing. He said he'd like to play, and he had a gift for us: some Martin golf balls. He gave us the golf balls, and as we were thanking him, guess who walked into the booth? Yep, Vince Gill. At this point we figured that we may as well stop and talk to Vince. It turns out he really *IS* a nice guy. Here's a picture of Vince Gill signing a Martin golf ball with John. We were going to invite Vince to our golf outing, but we figured he'd win all of the prizes and there wouldn't be any left for YOU. He says "Hello" to y'all.

Part 2
Speaking of new products from the NAMM show, we just received the new Danelectro guitars, and I think it will be interesting to see how well they do in the market. In fact, I'd like to get your opinion with a quick survey. And to make it fast and easy, you only have to reply with answer "A," or "B."

(First a quick explanation of Danelectro's current marketing plan, which we like by the way... Two years ago they decided that rather than offer lots of different models, they would limit themselves to one new model every six months. They would make a batch of something, and then it would be gone. They made a six-month batch of the Longhorn, then discontinued it. They made a six-month batch of the Jimmy Page model, and then discontinued it. etc.)

Danelectro's newest guitar is the "63 Dano," a reissue of a two-pickup, double-cutaway guitar first issued in 1963. Here's a picture of me with an original 1963 that I keep beside my bed. In the 1960s this model came with a small amp built into its case. The new ones don't have the amp-in-the-case option, but they are very nice repros. There is regular six-string, a baritone, a short scale bass, and a long scale bass. Here's John holding a couple of them.

Now, here's what has been rattling in my brain: We sell a lot of "reissue" guitars. For example, the Fender 1962 Reissue Stratocaster is always a big seller. So is the 1952 Reissue Tele. Hofner Reissue Basses, most Reissue Gretsches, and all Reissue Rickenbackers also sell fast. Danelectro's last guitar, the Jimmy Page version, quickly sold out. So, you would think that this guitar will do well, too. HOWEVER, what all of the above guitars have in common is that they are models that most of us could not afford (or at least find!) when we were younger... The new "63 Dano" is a reissue of a guitar that WAS readily available, and easily affordable, when it was first issued in the 1960s.

I know from experience that we like to buy things that "we always wanted." For example, as a kid I looked at the Sears Catalog every day, and I always liked the brown sunburst Silvertone (made by Danelectro) Model 1442 Bass. So, when I had a chance to buy one years (and years!) later, I did. And I love it, and I will never sell it. (Here's me with the bass.) BUT what about an instrument like the new Danelectro, that falls into the "I had one of those when I was a kid" category?

Here are the questions... If you'd like to give your opinion on this topic, please reply with "A" or "B":

"A" - I understand your concern. This model will not sell as well as other reissues. People are more inclined to buy a reissue of something they have "always wanted" rather than something that they either already owned, or could easily have owned.

"B" - Even if you had one as a kid, this model has always been fun to play... And most people have long since sold, traded, or given away their original one. This new reissue gives folks a chance to re-live their youth. And that's good!! It will sell as well as any other reissue!

Thanks!!

For this week's email special: When it comes re-living our youth, coiled cables used to be everywhere. But very few companies make them today. This week's special is on the fabulous Vox 25-foot coiled guitar cable...

See you soon,
Carl

PS: Part 3
A lot of old Danelectros have come through the store over the years, and generally we don't keep track of where they end up. But I do know who has one of ours. It all goes back to Pittsburgh Guitars' first day, May 22, 1979. One of my first customers was someone who would become a lifelong friend, Paul Buriak. He was funny and wacky and always full of joy. And he loved guitars. Paul would visit almost every day and it was always an experience. In addition to sharing an interest in instruments, we also had similar tastes in music. So, when The Kinks came to Pittsburgh on their 1980 tour, we both went. After the show Paul asked around, found out where the band was staying, and he suggested we hang out in the hotel bar. And we did. Sure enough, a few minutes later we met one of my heroes, Ray Davies. Thanks to Paul's charismatic personality, we all became fast friends. When the bar closed Ray took us up to his room where he opened a bottle of champagne and we talked more about music and guitars. Ray said he often wrote songs on the road, and Paul told him that he needed a Danelectro Silvertone with the amp-in-the-case, so he could plug-in in his hotel room. Ray said he loved the idea. Paul said there was one for sale at Pittsburgh Guitars. Ray offered to buy it, but I ended up giving it to him... it was the least I could do for all of the happiness that Ray's music brought to me. I took it to him the next morning before the band left town. Here's a picture of me, Ray and Paul. The next time I talked to Ray he said that he actually used the guitar to write some songs for The Kinks' next album.

Several months ago, as I was having lunch with Paul, we talked about the Pittsburgh Guitars web site. I told him that I really liked our site, and we get lots of compliments on it, but I wished we had a place to put up more pictures and videos. He suggested an additional site that would be more fluid. We could change pictures and videos every week. It could also display weekly band posters, and be a place to house the entire history of the Pittsburgh Guitars Email Special. And he said he'd love to contribute with a blog, featuring links to interesting music sites. Over that lunch, we formulated Carl's Guitar Corner, which has been lots of fun.

The unfortunate thing about life is that it does not go on forever. Sadly, last month Paul passed away. He was a true friend of mine and true fan of Pittsburgh Guitars. We miss him every day. We still have a link to his blog on the home page of CarlsGuitarCorner.com. He was proud of the blog, and added to it every day. We have left it exactly as he left it. He was a good guy.

PPS: Thanks to all of the folks who entered last week's contest!! The answers are:

1) "What was significant about the American Top 40 chart on April 4, 1964?"
- The top five songs on the chart that week were by The Beatles.
1. Can't Buy Me Love
2. Twist & Shout
3. She Loves You
4. I Want To Hold Your hand
5. Please Please Me

2) "What is the next line in this song: Hoss & Joe & Adam know, every rock and pine...?"
- "No one, works, fights or eats, Like those boys of mine."
(It's from "Bonanza," sung by the star of the show, Lorne Greene.)

We randomly chose a winner from all of the replies: Congratulations to Michael B.
He wins a prize package (also randomly chosen) of this fun Martin stuff.

PPPS: My favorite reply to last week's email came from Kenny W. I mentioned an album I have called "The Best Of Marcel Marceau," which is entirely silent... (up to the applause at the end.) Kenny wondered if it was available on CD, where it would be even MORE silent!

PPPPS: If you'd like to sign up for the First Annual Pittsburgh Guitars Golf Outing, contact me or John. It'll be lots of fun and since it's a scramble you don't have to be any good (I'm not!). There will be food, drinking and prizes! Sunday August 17th.

PPPPPS: Customer of the week: Todd Jones