Jack Mansk pictured here with his killer custom 2011 white Les Paul. You can catch Jack doing his 80's thing on this cool axe by going out & catching a Brat Pack Radio show. Here's their website for show dates.

Custom Jag

Twin cities long time entertainment icon Sherwin Linton shown here with a new custom version of the classic Fender Jaguar. They are a few strange variations of the classic Jag available now. This one features block inlay, bound neck & a smaller headstock. There are some switching variations also available on these Custom Jaguars. I've seen Sherwin perfom dozens of times with a 50 year old version of this axe, but sometimes in the entertainment industry you just have to go with shiny. Click here for the impressive Cotton Kings tour schedule. If you've got a few minutes CLICK HERE for his new release: "We Need a Lot More Guitars" & check out the extended killer dueling guitar solos at the end of the cut. 

Forte 4

These Spectors are among the most practical basses out there from the standpoint of sound & playability. The price range is reasonable considering the quality & longevity of the instrument, & they're just beautiful & sexy to look at. The Spector Forte 4s are known for their straight necks & ultra smooth body contours, & a crisp, clear output tone that can make a worthy player into a contender. The perfect combination of art & functionality come together in this beautiful new guitar owned by Chris Morehouse, currently performing with the popular twin city touring group Common Ground. This assembly of seasoned musical veterans has got the science of performing classic rock favorites down to an art.

Cool Breeze

Very sad here to be reporting the passing of Dave Brown, (Senders) one of my all time favorite twin city fronts. His energy & style were a powerhouse of inspiration to entertainers everywhere. This hep cat was like Dean Martin & Chuck Berry all wrapped up in one. I'll forever cherish the memories of our many gigs together years ago at the famous Whiskey Junction in S Minneapolis. His Cherry Gibson 335 with large fret marker inlays is a fine blues axe & served him well for many performances. Dave loved the electric hollow body Gibson guitars. His memorial service is being held today at Lakewood Cemetery Chapel in Minneapolis. Click HERE to view a memorial pictorial of Cool Breeze on YouTube. Dave will be missed by many, & remembered by the millions of smiles he left behind in his long  musical career.

Tribute City

Happy St Pat's Day From Minneapolis Guitars. Viking Rocker's classic rock tribute show was a great success Friday night at Pickle Park. The featured acts Poisened (Poisen), Crown Jewels (Queen), & Top Jimmy (Van Halen) were all very entertaining, & as you can see by the photo's the guitars were all fairly authentic too. One of these axes has been previously featured on this website, but is so cool I thought it worthy of a repost. All these guitarists are top players & consistently perform stylistically authentic to give you a taste of the original artists.

LTD - Satin

Ted Pillera from Lakeville, showing off his new D5 LTD five string bass in a natural satin finish. Active electronics & low action make for an ultra-responsive & easy playing guitar. This pic was snapped Friday night while Ted's new band Drama Queen was performing their Prior Lake debut showcase at the Arizona's Lounge on 169 & Canterbury rd.

Gretsch Silver Ann

This Gretsch hollow body guitar is from 1986, & it's a silver anniversary of the historic 1961 model. Darcel Jones of Coon Rapids is the current owner & player of this fine vintage axe. It's been in his family since new, & has been handed down from his grandfather. The condition is fine but this one's not for sale, so you can stop drooling now.

White Elephant

This beautiful hollow-body Teleblaster is proudly shown off by regional entertainer Chad Higgins. The beautiful ivory white finish is contrasted by a glitzty gold hardware package, including gold Floyd Rose trem system & matching locking nut. You can get a good look at this rare hollow body electric guitar when you catch a show featuring the popular Minneapolis group POP ROCKS. The guitar is a class act by itself, & so is their show. Here's a link featuring their upcoming show dates.

Yamaha G55 Classical

Front & rear of Yamaha classical guitar, owned by Craig Asche in Fridley MN. Craig contacted me this week looking for offers on this guitar & carrying case. Drop me a line if you're looking for an inexpensive nylon string guitar & I'll forward it to Craig.

Ménage à Trois

This weeks submission by a local player who really has a keen eye for grade A flamed maple tops.
When these three beauties make an appearance no man can resist the temptation of their allure.
These RG7-CT / RG7-CST Ibanez guitars are no less than amazing. These were supposedly a first run of the J-custom 7 string to gauge interest. This is why (so I am told) they do not say "J-custom" on the headstock but rather are just tagged with the "Prestige" badge.  Supposedly 24 (or so) produced. Rosewood fb CT has Dimarzio Crunch Lab/ Liquifire pickups. Maple fb CT has Bare Knuckle Rebel Yell/ Cold sweat pickups. Ebony fb, lo-pro double edge bridge with piezo, stock custom 7 Ibanez pickups. Mahogany body with a flamed maple top in vintage violin finish. 1 of 18 world wide.
Discriminating collector & Ibanez aficionado Tim Matteson courteously submitted this & many other great pics of his extensive collection last week; & for this kindness we extend him our gratitude as we'll continue to feature more of his cool guitars here on the site in the future.

Rockabilly Heaven

Here's an early 1960's single pick-up arch top electric from KAY. I've got a soft spot for these old catalog guitars that were once plentiful in rural America which are now becoming increasingly hard to find id decent condition. This is one of a few fine specimens that I picked up this weekend from my fourth cousin (twice removed); the well known HAM radio aficionado Bob Bartkus in Moundsview. He's preserved this axe quite nicely over the years, & I'm certainly proud to call it mine at this time. There is just no substitute for vintage Mojo.

UPDATE, 10/13/2012:  This little wonder has already been SOLD now. Congratulations to Johnny from NE Minneapolis. We'll all still get to see this guitar in his weekly shows here in Mpls.

Drea

Honduran mahogany body and neck with a flame maple body cap. The head cap is quilted Honduran Mahogany. The body, neck and headstock have abalone purfling and cream binding. This is a set neck construction. The scale length is 24.625". The fingerboard is Indian Rosewood with gold mother of pearl block inlays and gold Jumbo frets. The pickups are Seymour Duncan Slash Alnico 2 humbuckers. The electronics are wired so that you can coil cut and reverse the phase. The switching is controlled with push pull pots. Tuning machines are gold Kluson waffle back with vintage pearl buttons. A toner was added to the maple top to give it that amber color. Not only is this a custom made guitar, but custom parts were made for the pearl inlays and truss rod cover, the pickups have custom wiring. Case is custom made by Ameritage.
    Contact treede@earthlink.net for more information or contact via Facebook.

What's the Story?

A cool recent submission today from TC vet performer Paul Story. He's just acquired a gorgeous 1965 Guild CE-100D. It's very similar to a Gibson ES-175, with a slightly more shallow body and brighter pick ups. In some ways it's very Gretsch-like. The Guild Bigsby is fun, and as long as it's not abused, the guitar stays in tune. It's an amazing guitar on many levels, & a joy to show off. Thanks for sharing Paul. Find out more about Paul's musical journey by visiting PaulStory.net.

Rock with me Friday July 13th at Main Street Bar in Hopkins for Raspberry Festival.
Viva la Rock It Science

Crime Doesn't Pay

No it's not a mirror image, it's Dillon Jones, front man for the up and coming young twin Cities POP rock band LOVE OUT LOUD, showing off his uber-rare lefty 2005 copper Gibson Xplorer. These are truly sweet guitars as anyone who's ever owned one knows. Dillon was lucky enough to recover this sharp axe after a recent theft followed by a lengthy recovery process. Follow the LOVE OUT LOUD tour on FACEBOOK, or listen to their tunes on YOUTUBE. Best of luck on the summer tour gentlemen, the music can't lead you astray. See you Wednesday July 11th for your main stage performance at the Sonshine Fest in Wilmar, Minnesota.

Have a Ball

Ernie Ball Music Man, Circa 1982. I was honored to meet proud owner, player & regular guy David Weeks-Wynne at my place on the north side. I've see his cool band Trailer Trash a few times in the past, but had never been introduced to Dave. He's a great guy with a smooth style & cool sound, thanks to this early Bartolini powered thunder boomer. We all appreciate you sharing this picture Dave.

To Suhr, with Love.

You know there's a good party going on when T.C. veteran entertainers Jonah & the Whales hit the stage at a local suburban pub here in town. Last Friday was no exception when lead player Scot Prudhomme layed down the solos at Robbinsdale's newly remodeled night club: "The Lodge". Scot says "the guitar does all the work", though I'm not convinced that's the whole story. He was playing a Suhr Pro Series S6 that plays like a dream and has the second best feeling neck he's ever played (next to his ’89 Strat). Most Suhrs have to be custom ordered but he found his config at a dealer in Florida and bought it sight unseen based on the reviews. He needed something with a Floyd Rose to cover the Whales gig, and wasn’t finding anything that tripped his trigger from Jackson, Ibanez or Ernie Ball. It is the only guitar he's purchased without playing it first, & it's been one of his best gear purchases.

Suhr is a high end custom builder doing mostly unique orders. They cut their own bodies, necks, pickguards and wind their own pickups. Unlike the Suhr Custom series, The Pro series has a set config which allows them to keep the price lower by producing in quantities but uses all of the same parts that the Custom line offers. This one is a Suhr Pro Series S6 in Honey Burst- Basswood body with 5A grade Flame Maple top. The pickups are the hot and juicy but clear SSH+ in the bridge and the classic and sweet sounding SSV in the neck with a Gotoh locking Tremolo. The neck is a very friendly even taper slim C shape. The thickness runs .800" at the first fret to .880" at the 13th fret. It is their most popular shape and John Suhr's personal favorite.

You should get out to a Whales gig & have Scot show you this impressive rock grinder.

Join me & the whole Rock it Science gang at the Basement in Prior Lake this Friday 5/11/2012 - That is if they get their liquor license reinstated by tomorrow...

The Versatile Librada CUSTOM

The Librada is a exquisitely beautiful acoustic/electric model that is meticulously designed & built for the gigging musician who wants one guitar that will give great acoustic guitar sounds, as well as great electric guitar sounds.
Very special thanks to Tim Reede of Tim Reede's Custom Guitars for this week's submission. The acoustic guitar circuit is completely separate from the electric guitar circuit, & there are two separate output jacks. The acoustic sound can be sent to an acoustic guitar amp or into a direct box to a PA system. The electromagnet pickup can be run to an electric guitar amp. You may use one or the other or both at the same time for a stereo effect. This is a great guitar to use with sampling pedals. You can sample an acoustic rhythm and play an electric lead over it. How cool is that?
Contact Tim for a consultation to find out just how he can help you.

Dual Guitar & Synth

When you're ready to get really creative, you may wish to try a guitar synthesizer like this PG-380. Matt Olson's vintage Casio is one of the earliest full functioning guitars that actually has a full on-board synth module. This one's for sale, & you can contact him direct at: brahmancomputer@gmail.com. I beleive he's looking in the $600 neighborhood. The core of this guitar itself was subcontracted from Ibanez to be the basis of this product line, & you'll find that it's a great guitar in it's own right. More pictures available at: https://picasaweb.google.com/108077002384960764916/CasioPG380?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOvLiaGGiK3NvwE&feat=directlink .

OK Corral in the UK

Wow. Let's all give kudos to Marvin Cairnes of UK for undertaking the immense task of reconstructing the famous 1970's Colt guitar from nothing more than a few parts rolling around in the remnants of his father's shop. This was no easy task, as many new parts had to be custom cast & made at a local foundry in order to properly complete this gem this year & pay homage to the original designer (his father), Jim Cairnes. Really a fine job, Marvin. Thanks for taking the time to share the picture of Colt #3. I'll post a picture of Joe Walsh's #1 when I am lucky enough to receive it. You can see a little bit of #2 in this rarely seen YouTube footage by clicking HERE. Enjoy.

Smokin' Hot Guitar

STOLEN GUITAR ALERT
Carl Bailey lost his two tone 80's Charvel this past weekend during a break in at his home while he was away at a gig. It's has a unique burgundy & blueburst finish, with a bound neck, shark tooth inlay, & Floyd Rose tremolo, as pictured. In the mean time you can probably catch him playing his Flying V, as seen in this video on YouTube with his band Lady Luck. Spread the word about this stolen guitar & give a shout back if you have any info that will assist in the recovery.