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I started posting on Facebook. More, or less, it'll be my blog. There is a linky dinky on the right --->

Ch, ch, ch, ch, changes....

I got rid of the Les Paul Saturday. It's something I wanted to do for some time. I wanted a big bodied, archtop jazz guitar. I've been looking on internet and in stores. So, I went to Fazios, with the full intention of trading the LP for a Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin. I had played it before and was ready to just walk in and do business. But, I wanted to play it just one more time.

I was taken into the "high end" room, so I can plug in and hear it, without the noise of the store. I chose a boutique amp and the Godin sounded good and played nicely. Yep. This is what I wanted. The sales guy left me alone in the room to play a while, by the way. So, there I was, playing and having fun. Doing that, I was checking out all the nice guitars in that room, including some Hofner archtops, which I knew were way out of the price range.

Then, behind me, there was another Hofner archtop. Since it was within reach I pulled it down and plugged it in, "just to see." Sounded great and played better that the Godin. I looked at the price....

I traded the LP in and this came home with me....



Hofner archtop. The color is darker than this, more like the last photo.



Nice pearl inlay on the headstock.



5-ply binding on the front and back of the body. Binding on the neck, headstock AND fretboard.



Nice flame aka "tiger stripes" on the back and sides of the body. Body is maple and top is spruce. Body is certainly laminate at this price point. Top, may or not be.

This is a model that never went into production. Hofner has been making high end archtop guitars for a long time, in Germany (German company). Essentially, they are Europe's Gibson. They are most known for making Paul McCartney's "Beatle" bass. Due to economics, they started looking to Asia for some production. They came out with a thinline series, made in China. Dealers of Hofner guitars, wanted a big bodied jazz guitar in this series. After all, the German ones are very pricey. So, they designed this guitar, based upon the Gibson L-5 and D'Angelico archtops of the 1940's and made around 100 of them in Korea (private luthier, not at the Samick factory), with German woods and electronics. After these were made, Hofner realized that there was no way they could go into production. They were simply too costly to make, even if they were produced in China. Thus, the guitar is a prototype, that never made it to production.

I feel lucky. It's a GREAT guitar. Plays like a dream. One great bonus for me is that it sounds nice unplugged too. It certainly has acoustic guitar qualities as well as it's electric ones. Now, I can go back to alternate tunings, espicially my favorite of dadgad!!!! On the LP, alternate tunings didn't sound too good.

So, I finally have a guitar that's "me." I can play the music I compose in dadgad, play acoustically, and plug it in. The dream/nightmare of being in a band is over, which is a good thing. If I ever play with others, volume levels HAVE to be lower, since the hollow guitar will feedback, as all hollowbodies do. My ears welcome this.

They also welcome the beautiful tone and sounds that resonate from this beauty.

___________

Ok. I haven't posted in a week or so. Not much has gone on. But the stomache flu Amy and Jake had last week (and I should have stayed with them last Wednesday. But, in hindsight, was part of the final decision to switch guitars, due to Wednesday's events), went to Ben AND to me. I'm still recovering from it, feel weak, and still feel like I could hurl. Ben's home from school for the second day now. Jake stayed home twice last week.

I think this is all for now. See ya.

I'm done

After last nights complete time-waisting fiasco (none of it a "me" thing), which I'm not going to spew out the details of, I have made a decision.

I'm done. I have zero desire to play "out" anymore.

Most likely, I'm going to either find a gypsy jazz guitar, or a jazz archtop, sell my amp and Les Paul and concentrate on having fun with the guitar again. Play for my satisfaction only, not be a slave.

There is a French made gypsy jazz guitar I've been eying. Also, there is a The Loar archtop that is priced in my budget.

Oh bobber, you still haven't emailed me. My address is on the right.

George Benson Rules

Dynarette

Bobber, the thing I was talking about is called a Dynarette, not dynarest as I thought.

http://www.matthewmcallister.com/images/141t.jpg

Some more killer gypsy jazz

At first, I didn't know what to think of the purple guitar. Gay or cool. I'm having a love/hate with it.

Bobber, email me.

HOLY CRAP!!!!!

These guys get it on!!!!



Oh, Bobber, I don't have your email address. Send me and email sometime...

Good....and Bad

Last night, I played with Ralph, opening for his band, the Brown Dog Blues Band. Eventually, their drummer sat in with us, keeping time. I sort of noticed my hearing going south then and wish I thought harder about it.

Then, Brown Dog's guitarist didn't show up and I was asked to fill in and I did. Volume levels went up. Before long, I simply couldn't hear the keyboards or Ralph's harmonica AT ALL. Ralph's vocals were also barely there. Hearing instructions ast to what key a song (or even WHAT song) were mostly inaudible to me. By the end of the second set, I couldn't even hear myself. Afterwords, I got many compliments on my playing and my tone.

Would have been nice to hear what I sounded like.

Today, my right ear, about 1/2 an inch in (a guess of course) has a dull ache. My hearing in general, is rather wonky.

I'm scared.

I'm getting old.

Unless I figure something out and soon, this could be it.

finger

in case you're wondering what's up with this photo, read my second comment in the prior thread.

Stuff

Haven't posted much lately. A change is brewing, I can feel it. Actually, multiple changes.

Music. Fenton James is dead. Not interested in that persona anymore. Not interested in playing with others either. Just going to be me. Likely, the Les Paul will be sold off and I'll get a jazz box. My hopes kept getting built up over the past year about maybe joining a band. I went out, got guitars, my hopes were dashed, then built up, got a different guitar, hopes dashed again and again and again. Things that were said to me, didn't happen. Whatever. Don't really care. It has all just been another in a long string of disapointments and ill followed dreams.

The music that makes me happy playing is mellow jazz infused blues and instrumentals that I compose in alternate tunings.

The blog likely will go too. Blogs are gay. People pretend like they know what they are talking about. I don't know crap and what I do know, I want to keep to myself anyway.

Blues Newberg

Danny Gatton, RIP

1956 Gibson ES-225T

Tweak

No, not Tweak from South Park. I'm working on my overall guitar sound and exploring the amp's possibilities. This should make Ralph happy at least. "Can you turn the tone down some." Of course that isn't what he means. You WANT tone. It's the distortion that I know he really means. I've rolled things back and am trying a slightly different style. A bit more jazzy and less flash.

I want to be this guy.....



Speaking of that, I have G.A.S. again. There are a few vintage type guitars I'm eyeing. I want that 50's blues and rock and roll sound. A Gibson, with a P-90. The guitar in the video is an ES-125t, and I'm eyeing some of them, espicially Gibson's Epiphone version of one, from 1961. I also like a ES-225t I've seen at another store in town. Of course, this means trading the Les Paul in on it. I REALLY like the LP. IF and that is a HUGE IF I do something, the other guitar will simply have to be killer and I get a great deal on my trade.

Sunday Jam

Got together with Jimmyleg and Cornbread from the Brown Dog Blues Band yesterday. A friend of Cornbread's sat in on traps. Had a good hour, hour and a half jam yesterday. I did alright, but I wasn't too happy with the end result of my tone upon listening to it later. I think that we did alright and hit a few good moments. Maybe if we praticed together, we could really get something going.

The boys and me playing around

So, the guys were playing in their mess and I realized that maybe I could use the digital camera, shoot a video and put it on youtube. Well, I figured it out!!!!



Now, I can utalize my newfound skill for videos of my guitar playing!!!!!

Speaking of which, I am resurecting my old blog, to use as my music site. This will not change in the content at all. The other will focus on ME and playing guitar, any gigs, etc.

To view my other site, it's at http://www.fentonjamesblues.blogspot.com

Down in the Chicago Jukes

Recently, I tuned the Les Paul into Open G. Open G is the tuning called "the devil's tuning," which the Delta slide guitarists played on. When Muddy Waters went to Chicago and cranked up the volume on his Fender Telecaster Custom (in open g), everything changed.

Sounds really good thru my Fender Princeton Chorus amp. Nice and distorted. Hound Dog Taylor meets George Thorogood.

I've even been attempting to sing a little. This will take time to develop my voice and confidence. Should I use my normal voice and sound like a Missouri Redneck, or sing a bit deeper and more authentic?

TONE!!!

God, I would love to have tone like Gary Moore. If you don't know Gary, you actually do. He was one of the guitarists in the legendary Irish band, Thin Lizzy. After they split, he went solo, played metal, then dove into the blues big time. By the way, the guitar he's playing used to belong to Peter Green of the original Fleetwood Mac and Peter used it during his stint as Eric Clapton's replacement in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Thus, a VERY famous Les Paul!!!!

The Shadow People.

Ralph and I jammed last night at the Lone Wolf. Before, we had an interresting discussion.

He already has the Brown Dog Blues Band, which I've sat in with. In fact, he wants me to be a stand by guy, when others can't make their gig. But, I told him that I want to form a differnt band, with him on second guitar, harp and vocals. He and I have played as a duo before and did again last night. Add in a bass and drums and play nothing but the blues. We could easily get bar gigs. Ralph is into the idea. We'll have to see how it develops.

As for last night, I recorded it and it sounds really good, even if it's just the two of us. Sure, we were sloppy, as we haven't played together, just us, in a long time.

Promising.

Dickey Betts

Sure, I worship at the throne of Duane Allman, but gosh darn it, Dickey Betts is awesome too. Here are two videos of him getting DOWN, during the Toler brothers era Allman Brothers Band.



and

Gigs

Tomorrow evening, I'll be accompanying Ralph "Fast Food" Pfremmer at the Lone Wolf Coffee Company. We'll be starting around 5:30 and playing until close, around 8. Ralph will be on guitar and harp and I'll be dishing out pfat tones from my Les Paul.

Tonight, I'm not certain, but I might be going to a blues open mic at the Roadhouse 61 Cafe in the Olde Orchard part of Webster Groves. If I'm there, it'll be starting around 7:30.

ARRGH

Not much happening good right now. I'm going to avoid speaking of it, in effort to keep the blog on a positive note.

If you look at the photo in my header, it's my Les Paul. I took off the pickguard, since it gets in my way. I also removed the rhythm/treble selector ring. Looks cool, reminisant of Duane Allmans 1956/7 Goldtop.