Trivia That May Only Interest Me

The Gibson SG. A fairly iconic guitar in it's own right, though lesser known to the general public than its big brother, the Gibson Les Paul.

But did you know that the SG is actually a Les Paul? Well, not anymore, but originally, the SG was released as the new model of Les Paul in 1961, after guitarists asked for a double cutaway design for easier access to to higher frets, and because Les Paul sales were down and they wanted to compete better with the Fender Stratocaster. Les Paul, the guitarist, didn't particularly care for the new design however, and asked that his name be removed. So, Gibson obliged, and called the newer model the SG (though in a side bit of trivia, because Les Paul nameplates were so abundant in the storerooms, SG's continued to have Les Paul on them for a couple more years). SG stands for Solid Guitar, for those curious about that, as well.

Angus Young of AC/DC, noted SG user.

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath (and his own merits, of course), another notable SG player.

In more guitar related trivia, the Gibson Explorer was released back in the 50s. It flopped horribly (and was also briefly known as the Futura before being changed to the Explorer). In the 70s other companies started paying homage to the Explorer, and the style saw a renaissance, especially with hard rock and heavy metal groups eating the design up, and Gibson started making them again. Those original Explorers are true collectors items, though, going for hundreds of thousand dollars. Well, less than a hundred were made (actually estimated at less than 50), that'll happen, right?

RIP Spidey...

Well, for any of my old friends with nostalgia, Spidey is gone. No longer shall you see this:

Now, you shall see this:

I almost can't believe it's the same guitar. I'll tell you one thing...the new pickup in the neck, and the way I got it wired (5 way selector switch instead of 3 way...for those who don't know guitars, that changes the pickup options...before you could use the neck pickup, the bridge pick up, or the pickups in parallel...now I can also use the neck and bridge pickups as if they were single coil...it varies the tone...just trust me on that one), it's hard to believe it's the same guitar.

Dan Erlewine is the Freakin MAN!

Dan Erlewine is a luthier. He built "Lucy" for Albert King. He also wrote the book on guitar repair. That's not hyperbole, he wrote the book. The Guitar Players Repair Guide, now in its 3rd edition. So, me emailing him about a problem was almost like, in comparable terms, a starting guitar player emailing Eric Clapton about how to play guitar.

So imagine my surprise when he emailed me back. Within about 45 minutes.

Anyway, I was having problems setting the intonation on this bands guitars. They play in what's called Drop D tuning, which is where you tune the lowest string, the E, to D. I could set the intonation correctly on all the other strings, but that one. And I couldn't figure out why. And that drove me nuts. I asked on a few guitarists forums, but nobody seemed to give me a straight answer (one jackass actually responded with "set the intonation." No kidding. I wonder if he even read what I was asking). So, finding that Mr. Erlewine's email was on his site...I said "screw it" and went straight to the top, as it were. I mean, what would it hurt? And like I said, about 45 minutes later, he responded.

I feel much better about it now. He was candid and helpful. He made me realize that at the time, there wasn't much I could have done, and that what could be done might very well be outside my scope of expertise, which is true. I felt so bad because I felt I had failed my friend that called in the favor, and the band he was working with. He assuaged that, and I'm still feeling confident I can be a competent guitar tech.

He's the man, and thank you once again, Mr. Erlewine for your help.

My New Endevour:

I've decided to try my hand at a little side business.

What business is that, you ask? Killing. Killing is my business, and business is good. Just kidding, I had a random moment where I felt like quoting a Megadeth album title.

No, this is my new project:
http://www.myspace.com/bart_rs_setups


Basically, minor guitar work. For those that don't play, guitars need to be periodically "set up" and if you have the know how and equipment, you can do it yourself. Most guitarists don't bother and go to a guy, or usually, a music store, and have it done. I've decided to try to become "the guy" for people in the area. I've already had a few clients, and they seemed pretty pleased. I'm hoping something comes of this, because I enjoy doing this stuff, and you really meet some interesting people doing this sort of thing. Like this cat: www.allen-jones.com Helluva nice guy, and he's one of those "done it, seen it all" kind of guys that you could talk to for hours.

So, wish me luck with this foray in to uncharted territory, and for my local friends...talk me up, man!

Also, are you enjoying the Twitter updates? I think I may move it down one slot because it looks like it sits high and weird to me.