I'm going to Jackson

1985 JACKSON Custom Soloist. I found this fairly rare smooth playing axe to be in amazing original condition. Owned, gigged & cared for by John Richardson, currently performing with MONARCH around the northern suburbs. He's been with this show for 15 years, so he delivers a real smooth performance. I caught their show this past Sunday filling in for IOB. John is also known for his past work with CROW & DICK TRACEY. You can catch John's next show:
September 16&17 - CHAMPLIN LEGION - Champlin, MN
September 24 ZIMMERMAN LEGION Zimmerman, MN
December 30&31 - CHAMPLIN LEGION - Champlin, MN

Music Man - S T I N G R A Y

Jim Brophy is shown here with his tri-color sunburst four banger. These low end tone monsters have some of the best natural sound out there, & the playability is nothing to laugh at. As usual Leo got it right when developing these classic timeless functional works of art. Jim had three of these beautiful Music Mans lined up at the big Pickle Park show last Saturday night. Bigger is always better in the glam world of rock & roll. Click HERE to see what's new with Jim's cool band JoyRide.

Chop - Chop

This pic is from last August at jackpot Junction in Morton, but I'm doing another show with this guy tonight at Stifftungfest in Norwood/ Young America. Bobby Jensen is seen here with his Cort GS-Axe-2 Gene Simmons limited edition Signature KISS bass. He says "it's the coolest bass you'll never hear". Very cool bass recreation. Bobby is one of the greatest Minnesota entertainers that I've met. Click here for a Link to the official site of his band Hairball.

Can you correctly identify this Mystery Axe?

Freak of the Week
Comment on this post, or send me a message if you think that you can correctly identify this fine axe.


Here's some cool links to vintage guitars for the enthusiast:
http://www.vintageguitar.com/
http://www.solidbodyguitar.com/
http://www.gruhn.com/
http://vintagecityguitars.com/
http://www.elderly.com/
http://www.vintageguitars.net/
Let me know if you find any of these sites particularly cool to browse.

Ibanez Rock Crusher - Coral Pink & Neon Green

Here's one example from the collection of fine stage performance axes owned by Stevie Ray from Rogers, MN. I think at last count he had seven of these hot rod IBZ's lined up like rifles on the battlefield. This one's a RG-550 RF & a unique customized beauty that holds it tune extremely well during the perilous & fast paced twin cities 80's rock concerts. God bless Floyd Rose. I've done hundreds of shows with this guy over the years, & he can really rock when he wants to. Thanks for the good times, buddy. Hope to rock you again soon. }:-D-

Dewey Decibel - F L I P O U T

 

Model: Barry Leventhal
Color: Gold Speckle
Body: Basswood
Neck: Maple
Pickups: Single-Coil (Alnico)
Pickguard: White Pearl 3-Ply
Knob/Pickup Color: Black
Hardware: Gold
Want to check out this this way out whack machine in person? Next time you're in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin just stop in at Saint Croix Casino & see Steve Lindstrom from their house band. One helluva nice guy who'll be happy to show you this fine axe up close & in person. It sounds just like an ordinary strat! What a great time we all had putting on a concert there last weekend. Great place to party!

Jackson Custom Shop King V Diuble Neck

Freak of the Week
Stand clear & make room. This one of a kind Jackson double-neck is from their USA custom shop. Note the blue-to-blackburst on a quilted maple top & the extra 12 string tuners on the tail of the top side. Here's a prime candidate to get a chip in the tail fins, so you & mates would really have to be careful on stage. A fine machine like this can be ordered in from eBay UK, but they're asking around $7500 (with free shipping). Be the first kid on your block to have one. What a pretty color. The Duncan zebra pick ups & shark fin mother of pearl inlays finish this machine off nicely.

Ashbory Rubber Band

This one is going on to my "to do" list right now. I'm officially on the hunt. It's about 2/3 the size of a Steinberger. The first one of these that I ever saw & demo'd was labeled as a GUILD. Most of them that I've see since are labeled as Ashbory or DeArmond. John Schwartz from Emerald City Music in Coon Rapids had ordered one in for stock to retail around '85, & couldn't wait to get me behind the wheel to show it off. I was blown away by the responsiveness of the pick-up against the tubular rubber strings. This atrocity was an amazing piece of break through design technology, & sounded better than most of the basses that I'd ever heard. I think they retailed around $429 at the time.

Doomedelic Bass

These unique instruments are handcrafted one at a time in Minneapolis, MN. Custom-made to order, they are available with your choice of neck width, pick ups & tuners. Bargain priced around $999.00. For more information contact: Steve Janke at TheMapHead@Hotmail.com .

Yet Another 25 year old Classic

Rudy Sarzo signature model B-70RS from 1984.  Just arrived at my door a few days ago. Makes a great addition to the arsenal along with my in-stock sister model B-50RS with the same graphic scheme. I've got a line on the 6 string edition of this as well. I am however having trouble motivating the seller into actually becoming a seller. Wish me well. The B-50 still makes it out to all my twin cities shows. Visit the MaxL Rose Tour page for more info on where see it.

Update: I just spotted another one of these ultra iconic basses on 11/15/11 in Blaine while perusing the vast collection of Charvel guy, Tom Schulz.

Walk, Don't Run

Freak of the Week
Classic Joe Maphis doubleneck. Hand made by Semie Moseley. Also see Semie Mosley. There's not a guitar collector in the world that doesn't look up in wonder at the sight of this historic 60's Moserite photo. Moserite was the first commercial producer of doubleneck guitars that were ready-made for the consumer marketplace.

Red Rider

This is the "Red Rider" It's a late 1980's American Fender wide neck work horse. The owner is George Paulos, & this gig tool is anything but stock. Dimarzio Wide Oval frets, custom electronics, & Duncan pickups which have been sauteed in a saucepan with salt water, & chili powder for that Texas bite. The wiring on this stratocaster has been modified to allow series pickup combinations using the mini-toggle between the volume & tone control. Series wiring give the single-coil pickups a big fat humbucking sound. Note the Callaham tremolo bridge assembly with titanium saddles. The guitar is strung with d'Addario .011 strings and tuned to Eb for heavy rock and blues. I've played numerous club dates with George in the 90's. He's a multi-talented musician, luthier, & technician, & is most noted for his work touring with Sha na na. You can see this axe in motion with the five piece rock & soul group Rythm Engine :

Friday August 5th at the Schooner Tavern, 2903 27th ave S Minneapolis, 

Saturday August 27th at the Valley Lounge , Hwy 13 & Yankee Doodle Road Eagan. 

1935 Gretsch Resonator

 

These old time dobro's were distributed by Gretsch, but in actuality were manufactured by Regal/ National who held the resonator patent. This is one of the oldest guitar that I've owned, & who doesn't love the "Mother of Toilet Seat" headstock. I'm honored to be lucky enough to have picked a gem that's been on this globe nearly 100 years. It took a heckuva lot of cleaning to get it back to usable form, but it was structually sound & I didn't have to perform any actual repairs. Ahh, the stories that this guitar could tell...

Small Package, Big Sound.

The newest addition to my family has arrived via UPS today. 4 string black Steinberger. I currently use a white Steinberger that is nearly identical, but this one has a feature that my white one doesn't: Drop D tuner factory mounted on the bridge. These are fairly hard to come by,  & I feel honored to have this fine working axe in the arsenal. 1984 was the year that I first purchased a new Steinberger bass from the music store where I was employed at the time, & I used that bass in the band "PANIC" along with Rod House, with whom I'd like to reconnect. My how time flies. I'll post photos of that particular bass on this forum in the near future. Keep checking back.

Want to see & hear the white Steinberger in action around the twin cities? Click HERE & follow the TOUR link at the top.

Casio PG-380 1986

Casio PG-380 Synth guitar circa 1986. Not only midi output, but full on-board synth module. Note the Floyd Rose trem & factory tri-pickup array featuring the bridge position humbucker. Owner: Frosty Atkinson. You can see & hear this new wave axe in action on Friday, July 8, at the
Met Lounge Street Dance show featuring Ladies of the 80s w/Rock It Science at 9:00 pm
The Met Lounge  26 East 6th Street, Morris, MN (MAP)  (320) 589-1440.
 Also Saturday July 9 at the Monticello Riverfest at 7:00 pm.
Monticello Riverfest 505 Walnut Street, Monticello, MN (MAP)  contact: Art Duran tudeau@yahoo.com

1959 Gibson EMS-1235

Freak of the Week
The title says it all. Six-string mandolin on the top. Full scale guitar with factory trem on the bottom. These showpieces were not played & abused to the extent that a typical Les Paul of the era was.

1963 Burns Trisonic

 

  Highly coveted Burns of London, (pre-Baldwin). The only guitar ever made where you can turn the dial all the way to the bottom & achieve the "Wild Dog" sound. Featuring it's own custom trem unit which boasted 34 moving parts. Owned by David Sanborn, & used in the band "Stonehaven", in which we performed together in the late 70's & early 80's. Haven't seen another one like it in this town since. What a great classic from across the pond.

Haanz Vakker Special

Rock with Haanz in JoyRide to wiew this reliced Strat Dream Shredder working it's magic. See his Minneapolis based power pop entertainment group featuring energetic performers performing around town.

www.Joyriderocks.com

Odd Duck

Freak of the Week
Wells Brothers - Magnesium Construction - 6 string

Boat Guitar

 

Freak of the Week
This is the coolest guitar you'll ever see in the water. 

Yes it's real, No it's not mine (yet).

Click HERE to watch the video on YouTube.