1968 GIBSON Dove - Honorary Las Vegas Submission

  Bill Binnings pictured here with his sunburst Gibson Dove. He's owned it since new (1968) & sent in the pic after visiting this site from his home out in Vegas. He does a regular gig with this fine guitar at the Sambalatte Coffee Shop in Summerlin Nevada. The playability and sound is the big deal, on this vintage acoustic. Bill gets compliments all the time from other guitarists. The tone is so full, resonant and mellow....the wood is wide-open after all these years and it is all-original with a perfect setup. 10 gauge 80/20 bronze coated D'Addario strings sing like a bird, huge tone, quick break-in, triple the life of a non-coated string (for real). Bill can't say enough about his one owner guit-fiddle. "You have to play and hear it to understand. It is a life changer"!!

  Thanks for writing, Bill.
 Rock with me Saturday night at the Wild Rice Festival in Deer River.

Wycoff's Chrome Tele Hollow

Feast your eyes on this custom one off submitted by twin cities troubadour Nate Wycoff. It's a very unique project guitar with a Jap neck that Nate had purchased from Jeff Johnson at Mars Musical Adventures in Hudson WI. See & hear axe this along with his other fine Fender benders by following the link at: http://www.natermusic.com/. You might also catch Nate performing in "Just", his Radiohead tribute act.
  Rock with me & my camp this week, July 3rd at the Bayfront Party in the Park II, in Duluth MN, along with other TC greats, Boogie Wonderland, & HairBall.

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.

Bo Diddley

 

I ran into Jay Gillespie on Sunday in Saint Anthony. He had this Gretsch beauty out for sale on the Parkway, so I stopped to chat for a few minutes. It's a G5810 Bo Diddley signature model from 2005, & it's clean as you could hope for in a used axe. He's got a nice little collection consisting of electrics, acoustics, banjos, & tenors, & they're all in great shape. He was only asking $225 for this specimen. Always a treat to find cool guitars for sale just by chance.

Tiptoe through the Tulips

I met a cool cat in NE Mpls on Saturday down by the University Ave Farmer's market. He's got a couple guitars, & was kind enough to display one while I snapped this pic with my phone. Steve's got a nice PRS  too, but he's seen here posing with his 1967 Teisco Del Ray Tulip which is surprising shape considering all the decades that it has been exposed to. Good luck with the move Steve, & thanks for the amps!

Join me Saturday, June 23 at 8:00 pm for the Golden Valley Fire Relief Association Community Event. It's a FREE outdoor concert located at Chester Bird American Legion, - 200 N Lilac Dr, Golden Valley, MN.

Mini Jumbo Prairie State

Just by chance I stopped into Johann Brentrup's garage sale (N. Mpls) the week before last to learn there was a master luthier lingering on the premises. The images here are from his site at: http://brentrup.com/. This beauty is called the Mini Jumbo front with the Prairie State 18" rear, & retails around $3695.

Standard features:22.875” scale
X-bracing or Ladder-X
Red spruce top
Mahogany or white oak back and sides
Solid headstock
Grover tuners
Ebony fingerboard with dots
Pyramid bridge
CF tone tubes
Ivoroid Binding
Lacquer finish

Click HERE to see how these finely crafted instruments are constructed.
I can't wait to get my hands on one of these.  }:-D-

Optek FretLight

The 1994 Optek FretLight FG-200 Guitar. Click on the photo to enlarge. Innovative LED equipped Strat style body that hi-lites chord notes or scale notes. I'd love to get my hands on one of these. Owner Robbie Harrison of Milford Connecticut contacted me last week to purchase a guitar pictured on this blog, & was kind enough to share these pictures after I shipped him his vintage axe. He's got a great collection, & even though he's not from Minneapolis I'll post his submissions since he's now found his twin cities connection. Thanks for everything Robbie. Happy hunting.

Spruce Goose

Frosty Atkinson from East Bethel, MN; seen here holding his Takamine EF 350 MC. Frosty stopped over last week for a quick jam session, so I seized the opportunity to snap a couple photos of this high end gem. With a little help from Adobe photoshop I was able to show both the front & back of this spruce beauty. Believe me when I say it sounds as good as it looks. Full on-board electronics make this a joy to own. You can catch Frosty doing a show this Saturday June 16th at Povlitzki's in Spring lake park. He'll be happy to tell all about his cool guitars. Make sure you call him "Frostbite", he just loves hearing that.   }:-D-

Medieval Twang

Here's the latest custom medieval creation in the works from ace educator & world class performer John Schumacher of Iowa. John & I have had some great times jamming together over the years. His wife does the intricate wood burning seen here on his new tele. Nice, huh? Contact him on FaceBook for details on this new Fender Telecaster project. .

Maton Luge

The unique design found on this Australian classical performance guitar was enough to turn my head when I first found it two weeks ago. The sleek head stock on this Maton is cool, but what really sold me was the neck joint. It's extremely unusual to see a classical guitar built this way. It must be structually strong enough; after all, it's already survived 43 years & traveled half way across the globe at least once now. I really like this guitar, but for some unknown reason I sold it too soon, & too cheap. Find more pictures HERE on Ebay for the transaction details.

Rock with me & Rock it Science this Saturday 6/2 at Benton Station in Sauk Rapids.  }:-D-

Plecostomus

The latest release from rogue builder Doomadelic Guitars in Coon Rapids. A lot of notoriety has come his way for his tasteful one-offs. Get the details on this unique hot rod from designer Steve Janke at: TheMapHead@Hotmail.com

Enger & Frank

This FRANKENSTEIN bass is a custom built beauty conceived, calculated and crafted by Derek Enger of Elk River. It began as a "no name" Fender that was purchased from Mainstreet Music in Elk River. It came with a twisted neck, low grade tarnished brass & chrome hardware, & natural grain finish. Purchased mainly for the body & EMG pick-ups. It had a good clear defined tone for recording, but definitely needed updating for optimum playability. Neck was replaced with a Mighty Mite, tuners updated to gold Schaller, & bridge swapped for a gold hipshot. This bass’s balls dropped, but not completely satisfied with the look, finish was coated in black with tortoise pickgaurd. The action is set high, for a beefy edge good for all slap, fingering & pick techniques. As a final piece to this bass, Derek would like to add a hipshot drop D tuner on the E string. Hmmm; I think I've got one laying around here somewhere... This is now a serious bass to be reckoned with. You can ask Derek all about this & his other axes this Saturday June 2nd at Benton Station, 303 North Benton Drive in Sauk Rapids He'll hanging out with the rest of the band.

FREAK of the WEEK !
Gary Kramer Kramertorium. Here's a hi-performance version of the classic V design with a JETSON'S twist. More info here: http://www.garykramerguitar.com/Kramertorium.html

Rock with me & the RISROX crew Saturday night at Main Street bar in Hopkins.

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 .

Parts-O-Caster

A friend of mine stopped over to jam a couple weeks ago, & without missing a beat I leaned over & snapped a couple shots of his back-up 6 string tele while it was resting on the stand. The Bender is a surprisingly sweet playing axe with bastardized tremelo, as indicated on the custom headstock decal. The neck feels meaty, with the big frets you wouldn't expect to find on a fender. This is one guitar you need to see & hear, the next time the Whatknots play in a burb near you. Dan Hanson, the regional sales rep for Fender will be happy to show you this & other guitars he uses on the show. Click HERE for their web page. They're practically the world's greatest cover band.

Rock with me tonight at Neisen's in Savage. It's gonna be a great NO COVER show.

Never Smile at a Crocodile

This isn't the first custom manufactured guitar strap I've gotten from Painted Creek Saddlery, but it's easily the coolest. Yes, it's real crocodile; no, it doesn't bite. This is the gear that can make a worthy musician into a rock star. Custom accessories that are tailored to your needs will put you in a class above the rest, & that's exactly what it takes to succeed in the entertainment business. If you don't stand out, you'll go un-noticed, thus un-remembered. Painted Creek creates many varieties of leather fantasy rocker stage gear to help transform you into the rock star that you truly are. Gauntlets, belts, hair accessories, jewelry, guitar straps, wireless pouches, chaps, & wrist bands are all standard fare, & business as usual for this hip twin cities custom leather designer. Hit the site at PaintedCreekSaddlery.com & take the first step to fulfilling your destiny & living your dream. In a big hurry? Contact them by phone at: 763 228-2986
Stand out - Make your personal style memorable. Be all that you can be.

Want to see this & other cool leather work from Painted Creek? Stop out to a show & see many of these various leather products used live on stage.

Root Beer - Ibanez RG570

The ever reliable Ibanez RG-570 is known to be one of the fastest & smoothest playing guitars around. With the world famous ultra slim Wizard neck at the forefront of desirable components on this axe, you can close your eyes & swear you were playing IBZ's flagship Jem. Anywho... I won't be using this guitar any longer in our current setting, so I launched it on Craigslist this week (http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ank/msg/3103251249.html). Shoot me an offer at Duganrox@aol.com if you find yourself in need of a locking Floyd Rose equipped tone monger that sustains til next Tuesday & dive bombs like it's WWII. It's in great shape, as it's never left my house even once over the years. The finish is metal flake, & it's called Root Beer Sparkle.

Rock with me this Saturday Night (4/21) at GB Leighton's Pickle Park in Fridley

Mellow Yellow

I stopped into the Anoka Flea Market today & spotted a plethora of used guitars, banjos, & mandolins that made for a pleasant perusal. Patty from Earthway Music runs a musical exchange in South Haven, & was kind enough to show me this screaming yellow zonker. It's a neck through Les Paul copy import that's priced to sell, & plays surprisingly well. Check out the odd pick-up array of Humbucker, single coil, & soap bar. Hmmm... if you recognize this guitar you can use the comment section below to correctly identify it & claim your bragging rights. Watch for Patty's unique selection of stringed instruments at various trade fairs around the area, or contact her at 320 236-7852 to shop her axes. Here's the email contact as well: earthway@lakedalelink.net