Jan 21, 2008 3:14 a.m.
Late Night Giveaway.
For a completely inappropriate Gretschflame ball cap, what is the connection between the #1 pop hit of 1954 and Chet Atkins?
First two callers get matching hats, and shouldn't be seen together wearing them.
(p48)
Jan 21, 2008 5:06 a.m.
People:
Fine folks you meet briefly and with whom you share a moment or two, then pass on. But every meeting leaves its trace, and who knows what may come from a stray comment, a sudden spark, a brief connection, and what traces are left behind?
Fred & Proteus, Fred & his son and grandsons, and who would expect to see mild-mannered me with wildman David Lee?
Karen Hunter, Steve Hunter's wife. Well-spoken and friendly, with a British accent, inquisitive eyes, and a sparkling smile. You don't have to know her well to know she's as good a people as Steve.
Meet Tom Connell - otherwise known as GDPer tommy59. He stopped by to visit and it was easy to make a connection. He's an all-round professional musician, who teaches in the schools and privately, and gigs and records.
One very fine player too, as this short clip attests. Tom's playing that 6122-59 Country Gent through the Executive.
(p48)
Jan 21, 2008 5:37 a.m.
Fulminant Fundaments
or, for those who actually play these things,
Down to Bassics.
I expect there are many of us who have never even knowingly heard a Gretsch bass. But at Friday night's concert, I was struck by the Cadillac Angels' Falcon bass's thick, punchy tone, and I realized it was time to give these instruments some serious consideration.
For the first time anywhere, insofar as I'm aware, how would you like to see and hear four Gretsch basses played through the same rig in the same session by the same player?
You asked for it – you got it!
The player is Jay Piccirillo, who is Senior Marketing Manager for Fender/Squier Bass Products. He agreed to plow the Gretsch bottomland for our benefit. Crank it up and hear the differences.
The Falcon Bass. The ElectroTone Bass. The ThunderJet Bass. And the The Billy Bo Bass
Say hi to Jay.
(p48)
Jan 21, 2008 5:57 a.m.
ElectroMatic 5222 Amp Clips
Per request, how the little beastie sounds.
I didn't wring the best out of it; I'll plead morning fingers, too light strings, inhibitions about cranking, and time pressure.
Nonetheless, these basic samples clean and all the way up might be useful.
5222 with Electromatic 5120 & Gretschbuckers.
5222 with relic Duo Jet & Dynasonics.
(p48)
Jan 21, 2008 6:01 a.m.
While I'm running through quick sloppy git-er-done demos,
Someone asked about the 6122-12 12-string. I remembered I was curious about it too. No time to tune it perfectly, as the show was opening for the day in a few minutes. Gretsch Executive amp.
6122-12 Country Gentleman 12-string.
And a poor pic of the 6122-12, beside the 6122-62. (Hey, EVERY bit as good as the sound sample...)
(p48)
Jan 21, 2008 6:13 a.m.
Steve and Shane Play the Blues.
What a treat this was (and what a contrast to the above jingling).
You'll remember Steve Hunter played at the Gretsch stage every day of the show, usually twice. He started with the beautiful finger-style material, and his reflective instrumentals.
For the louder rowdier crowds on Saturday and Sunday, he and Shane Nicholas (Marketing Manager for Fender Amps) traded some very electric licks.
Steve plays the Electromatic Corvette through the Executive – with a secret weapon (about which more in a moment). Shane's playing a Strat through a pair of SuperChamp XDs.
Far beyond the licks (which are superlative), these cuts are a feast of tones and a masterclass in taste and phrasing.
Steve Warms Up and does some bends and harmonics we don't even know about.
Sweet, Hot and Blue.
Fonkery White Boys.
(p48)
Jan 21, 2008 6:28 a.m.
Secret Weapon/Magic Box
I caught Steve with this mysterious grey and blue box plugged between the 'Vette and the Executive.
He explained the basics to me, and, compressor junkie that I am, I was ready. Transparent sustain, invisibly modified attack and decay characteristics, a bright boost a la the JangleBox, blend between straight and effected signal, and "Harmonics," which brings in even-ordered harmonic distortion. (That's where Steve is getting the edge of crunch through the Exec at room volume.)
The whole unit is utterly transparent and natural and musical. I was impressed enough to go downstairs, find the manufacturer, and pick up the catalog.
I think it's an especially useful box for a Gretsch, as Steve amply demonstrates with his fat, still clear, still ringing tone...which just happens to sustain. We don't always want Gretschs to sustain – that's why we like their design – but SOMEtimes we could use a bit. And what better than artifact-free invisible tone shaping?
Find the website at www.pigtronix.com. From my experience, one boutique pedal that's well worth the money (about 250.00).
Thanks to Steve for bringing it to my attention.
(p49)
Jan 21, 2008 6:52 a.m.
Enough with the commercials, what's on TV?
TV has been gradually adding both to his pickup selection and his variety of mounting methods, moving toward the concept of "any pickup in any mount, anywhere." That's an incremental process, and the selection of types and mounts becomes more comprehensive all the time.
In terms of new pickups, I noticed a kind of dark brushed metal finish, almost Trussart-textured looking, which I hadn't seen before; I like it.
But the big news is TV Jones-branded Spectra Sonics – and a new line of lower-priced US-built players' guitars.
We know TV built guitars under his name before Gretsch picked up the Spectra Sonic. The five-year marketing agreement for that guitar has now run its course, or soon will, so TV is reintroducing the model wearing his own fabulous logo.
Cosmetic changes are slight; I don't believe there are any significant spec changes in the new guitar. It comes in two variants: the black Spectra Sonic Standard (like the Gretsch 6143) and the trans-red Spectra Sonic Supreme (shown in the pics).
The bigger news is that TV has designed a new series of less expensive guitars to be produced in Washington rather than overseas. This is the Model 10, so named because it's Tom's tenth guitar design.
The Model 10s are made of different, lighter wood (an exotic, but something like a light mahogany). No binding, few frills, Powertrons – and a nice matte finish over a couple different color schemes, though colors haven't been finalized yet.
Note that the Model 10 is also a different body shape, with more of a curve to the upper bout – and features a 14.25" body, an inch smaller than the Spectra Sonic's 15.25" girth.
Pics follow.
TV graciously let me play both guitars through an amp and record samples (in this case, the Gretsch Variety...they're everywhere!). I was glad to take advantage of the tremolo in the Variety, which is unlike anything I've heard before in amp or pedal.
Actually, the less expensive Model 10 had more low end; the Spectra Supreme seemed more articulate. Very much the difference between a medium warm-hot SG or Special and something like a 6122-59 Gent.
Different players, or at least different purposes.
You won't hear the tonal difference on the amp, because I added bass to the red one to my taste. Both guitars felt fine – but the Spectra was more luxurious, more precisely dialed-in, every inch a completely sorted-out luxury axe.
TV advises that he hasn't finished fret and action work on the Model 10, however, and it should dial in just as sweet. That would just be gravy, because the 10 felt fine – just more a rock & roll guitar, a little funkier than Big Red.
Mrs. TV gave me a whole pocketfull of TV-logoed picks to hand out to you guys too. I don't think we'll have a contest for them.
My last tone samples of NAMM 08:
TV Jones Spectra Sonic Standard
TV Jones Spectra Sonic Supreme.
(p49)
Jan 21, 2008 7:26 a.m.
And that wraps up formal coverage of WinterNAMM 2008.
There will be some post-mortems in the associated personal reflections thread, and the pics of many other booths on the convention floor.
And I assume this thread will continue to have a life of its own as y'all absorb all the info, samples, music, etc.
Last trivia winners!
Q: What do The Who, Joe Walsh, Wishbone Ash, and The James Gang have in common?
A: They were all produced by Bill Szymczyk.
Two winners of Gretschflame ball caps for right answers: DrNyl and Zuma.
Q: What do the #1 hit of 1954 and Chet Atkins have to do with each other?
A: "Mr. Sandman" was the hit, and Chet's cover of the song is one of his essential classics.
A Gretschflame hat to both ScottieDawg and bigalthethird for their correct answers.
Many thanks to Joe Carducci and Mike Lewis at FMIC for allowing and facilitating this extraordinary undertaking, a leading-edge experiment in managing a highly interactive, positive and fraternal relationship between a brand and its fans. There are many ways it could have gone wrong – but the integrity, good intentions, transparency, and camaraderie of everyone involved prevented any of that.
Let me say that no one from FMIC ever once suggested what I should or shouldn't cover, what I should say, what the slant ought to be. Joe told me the theme of the show, consistent with the 125th anniversary of Gretsch, was "making history" – and he mentioned the amps were being rolled out again.
In terms of direction, that was it. "I trust you," they said, and "you have the run of the booth, whatever you want." This is an incredible thing, guys – that the biggest MI company in the world would accommodate a fanatic and very small group of customers to that extent.
But the secret to that is this: the guys at FMIC may have JOBS at the biggest MI-whatever – and consider themselves lucky for that – but they are all players FIRST. They love the music, they revel in the great history of Fender and its brands. They are fans first – and that's why they work there.
They also work harder than you might expect.
Mike and Joe are roughly contemporaries with us 40-50 somethings. Their lives and musical experiences have been little different than ours: as kids they were inspired to play and wanted instruments they couldn't afford, and they progressed as we have through cheap first guitars, garage and basement bands, gigs, occasional recording, all of it. Most of them still DO gig, and at the same local level many of us do.
In other words, there is no "they" here. We are all us.
I haven't talked much about Fender's approach to the show either, since the emphasis has been on Gretsch. Fender's theme was "Making History" – not just that Fender as a company has made history, but that when we make music, we make our own histories, regardless how widely known.
Their emphasis is on getting young people to play instruments because they're FUN, and on enabling players as they age and their tastes change to keep ON having FUN, at whatever level they play. It's about the personal and even social value of participating in making music – not just passively absorbing it second-hand.
An acute awareness of just HOW music is fun (and many other bigger words) showed in the talent Fender had on their stages and at the concert. It was American roots music in its purest form. No synthesizers, no sequencers, no slice-n-dice. You could hear the difference walking through the aisles between Fender's musical tone and the mechanical, rigid, over-complex, technologically and often technically difficult music-making so many companies promote.
At too many exhibits, you had multi-everything sampling guitar processors tied to sequencers and loopers, drum samples, and a shredder wheedling. That music did not look or sound fun. It looked intimidating and sounded daunting, and while I occasionally heard power and pompous majesty in it, I heard no joy.
At Fender, a series of hard-working musicians demonstrated not so much the gear as the pure joy of playing musical instruments directly, not by proxy. So often it came back to fundamental forms of the music we love: western swing, rock & roll, rockabilly, surf, blues, r & b, funk, and combinations of those forms.
People coming through the hall responded to the presence of live music passionately played and professionally presented. If you wanted to see what the joy of music was about, and what Fender consciously promotes at every level of their business from 99.00 Squiers for kids to 30,000.00 relics for big rich kids, you only had to hear the roar of approval when Dick Dale kicked his reverb unit, or the thrill that went through the room when he lit into "Miserlou."
Or the grin on Joe's face when he climbed up on a chair to sway his way through the Shack Shakers' set – or the look on that spiky-haired kid and his mother's faces when the primal raw power of the Shaker's live music hit them for the first time.
And that, guys, is what it's about, and why we do it.
Thanks are due to Fred Gretsch as well, for his perseverence in reclaiming and preserving the heritage of his family business. Congratulations to you and Dinah, Fred, and thank you.
Finally, all of us here owe a major debt of gratitude to the long-suffering Bax. Mike Lewis again told the story that when he was assigned the Gretsch marketing job after the FMIC-Gretsch deal was done, he googled up Gretsch. The GDP was the FIRST hit that came up.
He visited the site and knew, he said, that these were his people, that these were the people he had to LEARN from. This site has had a profound effect on the products we love, and Mike and Joe are members along with the rest of us. I heard managers from other divisions of Fender thank Mike and Joe for teaching THEM what Gretsch was about. It's a chain of connections, and the result is that Fender has handled Gretsch deftly and respectfully.
Bax should be duly proud of his role in the history of Gretsch. We all like to make a difference, and Bax, through his diligence and commitment, most surely has. Hats off to you, Bax, and thanks for the GDP.
One last anecdote illustrates who the people at FMIC really are.
At the very end of the show, when guitars were being packed away and hordes of contract workers were breaking down displays and rolling stacked carts out – after many weeks and months of frenetic preparation, a million details, the pressure of the setup for the show, four days of nonstop interaction and activity – when we all ought to have been beat to a pulp –
Joe and I stood talking near the curtain to the Web Den, and Mike came over and took the 125th Annie off the rack. He strummed it string by string, played a few licks and said "Listen to that...you can hear it, can't you?"
I thought he meant the hall was now quiet enough to hear an unamplified guitar. But what he meant was that you could hear the new ML bracing. You could hear the difference in sound. He picked up a Setzer to illustrate it.
At the end of the day, corporation and exhaustion aside, it was still the guitar that motivated him.
And he wasn't the only one. Many other FMIC staffers, even after four days of din, picked up guitars as they packed them away, to noodle a bit, to appreciate a particular instrument, or just to feel that familiar profile of wood and steel in their hands.
You know what I'm saying?
(p49)
Jan 21, 2008 7:29 a.m.
Oh, and one more thing...
The Gretsch Girl wishes you good pickin' on the guitars of your dreams.
(p49)
Meet AmiBeth here.
For those looking for a nice picture of a 6122-1959 please go to page 4 of this thread and scroll 3/4 of the way down the page. GDP's tommy59 is playing one. The deep burgundy color and subtle striping visible on the front rim is what the entire guitar looks like in good lighting.
Sorry for not posting photos of my own guitar. Techno-idiot on board
