Clip-On Mic: Trying Something New in Acoustic Amplification

 

photo by Steve Hwan (and ok, technically that is a Sure SM57 pictured, but you get the idea)

I've been happily using my Rode NT3 for years to mic my acoustic archtop guitars. Being the bandleader, I can demand such a specific solution. Recently I was noticing that even when using the low-profile mic stand I bought specifically for it, it was ruing almost every picture of me playing on that I happened to see on Facebook. Sort of a vain observation, but I never noticed how visually distracting it was. 

If it were just that, I'd live with it, because the sound quality is wonderful. But, on most of traveling gigs for the last couple months, and even some at home, I've found it to be difficult to get any stage volume out of it without it feeding back. It doesn't matter how good the guitar sounded if I can't hear even the slightest bit of it. Plus, even when I was getting some monitor, my acoustic guitar solos always seemed to get buried, even when I leaned in the mic.

Now, I should say the best sounding amplified acoustic archtop I've heard was when I saw the Sweet Hollywiians at Boulevard Music in Culver City, CA. Takashi Nakayama (who you've seen before on the blog) was using a DPA 4099 clip on mic, clipped onto the tailpiece pointed down at the top of the guitar. He told me he had it plugged into a mic pre before an AER amp, which provided a DI out to the house. Unfortunately, I've never had the $500+ to drop on the DPA. 

With that inspiration, I ended up trying something different at a recent gig. The sound guy mentioned he had a "clip on" mic for one of the horn players who was particularly delinquent about playing "on mic." I'm against clip on mic's for horn players, because usually my guys need to be able to "work the mic" a bit to help with balance and shading. Despite using amplification, we do try to keep the acoustic character as much as possible - though with certain rooms and certain sound guys, it's impossible. All that aside, I figured I might try the clip on mic for my guitar instead. 

Audio Technica Pro 35

The sound guy had an Audio-Technica PRO-35, which comes with it's own windscreen, gooseneck and clamp. It doesn't have a power pack inline, so you have to give it phantom power. We played three nights, with three of my different bands. The first night with my Grand Slam Sextet, I didn't use the mic, because I ended up playing my ES-150 electrically all night (which given that the band is clarinet-vibraphone-electric guitar as the leads, i was ok with, despite my hate for electric rhythm guitar). The next night was with the Campus Five, and I alternated between my Eastman 805 for rhythm and the ES-150 for leads and riffs. It was astounding how much acoustic volume I was able to get, and how clear and articulate the Eastman sounded. Because I wasn't slamming the guitar harder to get volume, I was able to play more relaxed and clean, and the tone dramatically improves when you're not throttling the guitar. It was some of the best playing I'd done on acoustic, and it was very satisfying to be heard for once. 

The only problem came when I would swap guitars. Because I had no way to turn of the PRO-35, I risked pointing the mic right at the monitors when I put it down to grab my electric. I figured out what direction to orient the stand and which way to turn the guitar as to not point it right into feedback, Even then, I didn't succeed at that 100%. 

The following night, with our 10-piece "pre-swing" band, the Rhythm Busters, I decided to only play my John LeVoi Petite Bouche selmer-style guitar. I've been trying to find ways to differentiate that band from my others, and changing guitars seemed like a good way to do that. At soundcheck, I was stoked because with the Pro 35 I could get enough stage and mains volume without feedback or bleed to "ride" over top of the band, like a clarinet player might do over a shout chorus, or more importantly like Django did in some recordings where he's the featured soloist backed by a big band (a version of "Moten Swing" comes to mind). Also, since Hilary was not this gig, I decided to substitute the melodies on guitar instead of skipping those songs. By then end of the night, I realized that playing Django-y lead guitar was giving the band a more signature sound, and I that can't think of anybody else doing a Django-led 30's Orchestra. Win-win. 

I should mention that for both guitars, I clipped the gooseneck onto the tailpiece, with the mic pointed down at the soundboard. 

When I got home from the weekend, I set at getting my own clip on mic. The PRO-35 is only around $150, but I noticed that it was decidedly on the lower end of Audio Technica's line. Checking out www.djangobooks.com, I noticed they only carried two higher-end AT's, the AT831B  and the Pro 70. The AT831B has been used by some leading Gypsy players, through usually with a clip hanging on the soundhole. Neither mic came with a gooseneck, though both come with a power pack, so that you aren't dependent on the board for phantom power - of course, both can accept phantom as well. 

I ended up picking up an AT831B on craigslist, and then the AT8418 Gooseneck (which looks identical to the one the comes on the Audio-Technica PRO-35) on amazon, for a total just about $20 more than a PRO-35. I was hoping that AT831B would have even better sound quality, but I was worried that something about the improved quality or response would make less useable (like more susceptible to feedback, etc). Trying it out at home, I was able to get significant volume out plugged directly into a JBL Eon powered PA speaker, and it didn't seem overly susceptible to feedback.

But there was still the problem of how to prevent the guitar from feeding back when moving it around, say when I change from acoustic to electric for a solo. Checking online there were two main solutions: the Pro Co Sign Off  and the Rolls MS111. Both offered "latching" switching, so that I could turn the mic off via footswitch. The Rolls was cheaper, and it could be changed to "momentary" switch, meaning that I would only mute as long you held down the pedal. I can't say I know when that would be useful for me, but whatever. The ProCo was ~$75 and the Rolls ~$50. I went with cheaper Rolls, hoping I wouldn't end up with something junky for my cheapness. The Rolls arrived and it was more than rugged enough. Oh and since I would have to plug the Mic's power pack into the switch via XLR, before running into from the switch to the board, I bought a 1.5" XLR cable from monoprice as to keep things tidy, and not have a ton of excess cabling around. 

I finally used the new mic set up last Wednesday - WOW! What a great improvement over how I had been doing things. I was able to get a ton of volume out of the monitors and never had any problems with feedback. I played some of the best Reuss-style block-chord solos I've played live in a while, specifically because I could hear myself clearly, and could play without mashing my pick into the strings. What a difference! Further, the Rolls switch worked like a charm. It was very easy to mute the mic before switching to my electric. 

My Eastman with an AT831b/AT8418 combo into the MS111 mute switchI have to say after the four gigs - 2 using the PRO-35, and 2 using the AT831B - I'm pretty sure combo of the AT831B, AT8418 Gooseneck, and Rolls MS111 is going to replace the NT-3 for most gigs. 

A final step I may eventually take would be to add an XLR A/B Switch after the Rolls. That way I could alternate between two mixer channels, a softer one for rhythm, and a louder one for leads. Even when we have the luxury of a sound guy who could turn up a guitar solo on the fly, it often takes them a couple seconds to recognize that there is a guitar solo going on, and sometimes when the solo is only 8 bars, they miss it entirely. However, because it would be plugged into two channels of the mixer, I would have to make sure phantom power was disabled, because it could damage the mic to receive both channels worth of phantom power.  

Photo by Jennifer Stockert

Also, the last gig we played with monitors, and boy, did I miss having my own monitor. I think I may have to step up and buy a smaller powered speaker, such as the Mackie SRM150 , or the larger Mackie SRM350v2 - because clearly, I need to bring more stuff to a gig....

Well, one step at a time. 

Updated Links Sidebar

After forgetting about it for too long, I've updated the links section of the sidebar. I've also added some organization to make it easier to navigate through the list. 

First and foremost, I wanted to mention that www.classicjazzguitar.com - a website that was very influencial on the birth of my swing guitar playing and our band - is now back up and running. It was not functional for a long time, and I only noticed it was back up when I was updating the list. It has a laundry list of important early jazz guitar players, and has a huge selection of solo excerpts from these players. Nowhere else on the web, or anywhere else for that matter, is there a collection of Allan Reuss solos, for example, or Irving Ashby, or Carmen Mastren Solos, etc. Plus many of these excerpts are a bit hard to find: Allan Reuss's solos on "Pickin' for Patsy", "I Never Knew" with Peck's Bad Boys, or "Bye Bye Blues" with the Arnold Ross Quartet feat. Benny Carter, are all mind-meltingly good. 

Other things you should check out:

TK Smith - not only does TK play amazing guitar, but he fabricates amazing Bigsby-inspired guitars and guitar parts, and he posts inspiring clips of vintage jazz, western and country guitar, some of which are of his own fantastic playign. The earlier in electric jazz guitar you go, the greater the nexus between western and jazz guitar, and players like the early Les Paul and George Barnes could easily have been considered to be playing either at any time. 

Elektra Amps - an amazing collaboration between a German, two Dutch guys and an Austrialian, the guys at Elektra are attempted to resurect the sound of the classic Gibson EH-185 amplifer. Being stuck here in America, I haven't yet gotten to play one, but I can't wait!

Studio Slips - custom made equipment covers. I have had two covers made, one for the cabinet of my EH-185, and one for the head of the EH-185 (I carry the head separately to keep from damaging the cabinet). They are really well made, and very durable, and and furthermore, completely customizable. I highly recommend them as a way to keep from abusing your amps and other gear. 

Bonus videos: "Coquette", "I'm Confessin'" and "Rose Room"

Here's a couple bonus videos I recorded. I'm not going to a whole discussion of each tune, but I didn't want to leave these unposted. Cheers. 

Coquette

I don't really play "Coquette" very often. In fact, if you look carefully, there's a second when the first bridge comes, you can see me waiting to hear where it goes. I just had my playalong playlist on shuffle, and this is what came up. The changes are very, very simple: just I-V7, and back for the A sections, and a "Honeysuckle" bridge (I7-IV-II7-V7). 

I'm Confessin' 

One of my favorite ballads, "I'm Confessin'" is something I often noodle on when I pick up a guitar. 

Rose Room

"Rose Room" has particular significance for the electric guitar, since it's the song that made Benny Goodman take notice of Charlie Christian. 

Video: Diga Diga Doo

This time, we visit "Diga Diga Doo." 

Again the set up is my ES-150 through the EH-160, and playing over backing tracks the I've published here and that can be found at www.soundcloud.com/campusfive. 

"Diga Diga Doo" is oe of the first songs I learned when I started learning Swing guitar playing, and it's been a staple of the Campus Five's repitoire since the band's first gig. The A sections are basically a Dminor vamp. Simple chords can be "easy" on one level - there's nothing to "mess up" - but on another level, it's al the more difficult because static chords provide no new stimulus, and it's on you to make something happen, melodically. Here is a PDF: "Diga Diga Doo" (PDF)

click to enlarge

The first four bars of the A section are sometimes played as simply Dminor, but other times there is a line cliche: Dm, Dm/C#, Dm/C, Dm/B - two beats each, repeated twice. Don't feel the need to outline the line cliche - it's just a texture underneath whatever you play. 

As for the bridge, it's another common sequence that can be found in "Swing, Brother, Swing", among others. The sequence C7-F, D7-Gm-A7 feels sort of like a "Honeysuckle" bridge (I7-IV-II7-V7), but dropped a step. I wrote a D7b9 on the leadsheet as a warning to somebody who's not reading ahead that the D7 resolves to a Gminor, rather than a Gmajor. 

Modern Gear for the Vintage Player

I've been gushing about my recent vintage acquisition, so it's time I talk about something everybody can get there hands on: modern gear for the vintage player. When I started playing Swing Guitar there were few options outside of actual vintage, and what options there were still lacked for vintage sound or vintage looks. Now there are several really outstanding options, and if I were starting all over again, and vintage wasn't an option, here's what I'd get.

Acoustic Archtop: The Loar LH-600 ($999 retail) / LH-700 ($1499 retail)

Photo by David O'Brien

I've been an Eastman player for a long time, but I think Loar is really where the action is for the vintage-minded player. Aesthetically, Eastman has pretty much ignored the Jazz-era/Swing-era market, and while I think their guitars are excellent sounding, the Chuck Wayne-70's vibe is a turn-off, plus I think the the steeper cost is just enough of an impediment for players starting out.  

I've come across Loar LH-600's in the wild for sometime now - Katie Cavera played hers subbing for me while I was playing drums on a gig, and our pal Dave Stuckey uses one, and I've played it several times - but the first time that I really got to play one for an extended period was at Lindy Focus, where Michael Gamble lent me his. Since I was traveling with my ES-150, I needed an acoustic archtop, and the LH-600 did a fantastic job. 

Photo by David O'Brien

Like many guitars, the LH-600 really came into it's own with the right strings and a proper set up. I slapped a .013 set of Martin SP 80/20's on it, and adjusted the bridge slightly. The change was immediate and impressive - Michael could hardly believe it was the same guitar. Then again, I've had a proper set up be a game-changer before, and all it does is allow the guitar live up to it's full potential. I played it all week long, and was really impressed with its response. The Loars are parallel braced (unlike the Eastmans which are X-braced), and I think the punchier response works well for rhythm guitar playing. X-braced guitars can sound fuller or rounder, but much of that is lost in a band setting, and the extra fullness can lead to muddiness instead. Especially once properly set up with .013's and the top breaks in, the LH-600 is tough to beat. Man, if these had been available when I started out… 

For the money, and for a player with any mind for vintage aesthetics, you really can't be the Loar LH-600. I've heard the LH-700's are even better, but I haven't played one myself yet. 

Electric Archtop: The Loar LH-309 ($599 retail)

One of the guitar players from Hedgehog Swing in Long Beach, CA, Gage Hulsey, asked me about what I'd recommend for an electric archtop for somebody exploring Charlie Christian-type playing coming from the Gypsy Jazz world. At first I wasn't sure what to recommend, but after a little research, the Loar LH-309 is the pretty clear choice. The specs and construction are as close to a 40's Gibson electric such as a post-war ES-150 or ES-125 as anything being made now. 

I would definitely avoid humbuckers, because I think their tone is really the wrong choice for pre-bebop jazz guitar. Humbuckers just sound too full and clean - plus the higher output and bass response tend to exacerbate the problems when having to play rhythm guitar on an electric. 

The only compromise on the LH-309 is the laminate back and sides, which I don't think you'll miss on a fully-electric guitar. Plus, even guitars like post-war ES-150's and ES-125's sometimes had laminate backs and sides. Combined with a suitable vintage-y amplifier, you've got the easiest way to get a 40's electric guitar tone.

Electric Guitar Amp: Peavey Classic 30 ($649 street) / Vintage 47 Amps Ric-Style Supreme ($698 actual)

 

If you want a cheap, no-nonsense, completely fungible vintage-esque guitar amplifier, you can't really go wrong with a Peavey Classic 30. I played one for many years, and I still bring it out every once in a while when I need more power than an actual vintage amp can provide. However a higher powered amp can be overkill for some settings, leaving the tone too loud, clean and twangy.

One trick to keep it from sounding too clean and twangy is to use the distortion channel with the gain just barely noticeable. You can keep the gain just on the verge of breakup at a variety of volume levels that way. You can probably find a used one on craigslist or ebay for cheap, and it's easily serviceable basically forever. Furthermore, even if it fell off a cliff, you could just as easily buy another that would basically be exactly the same. Similar Fenders, such as the Blues Deluxe are more expensive without really sounding any better. I wouldn't recommend the smaller Fender Blues Junior, because I find them underpowered. If you can spend more, get the suggestion below, or go with a reputable Tweed Deluxe from somebody like Victoria Amps. 

The more authentic choice is the absurdly reasonably-priced Ric-Style Supreme from Vintage 47 amps. Based on a  circuit from a vintage Valco amp from the 40's, Vintage 47 amps use Octal preamp tubes, which makes them the closest thing to a 30's Gibson. The permanent magnet speakers are the only modern concession, though they've been trying to find a way to source field-coil speakers for quite a while. You're not going to find a 40's circuit and 40's cosmetics for under $700 anywhere else. The only caveat is that they are pretty low wattage (which is authentic), and there may be some settings where you may have to mic it. Still, it's the real deal. 

Django-Style Guitar: Gitane GJ-10 ($409 street) / Altamira M30 ($1250 street)

This is another case where if they'd had a reasonably priced options when I was starting, I'd definitely have jumped at them. Saga Cigano line really changed the market providing reasonably priced selmer-style guitars when there really hadn't been any before then. Their budget Gitane line brings a decent guitar into almost anybody's reach. Again, I think this is a case where a proper set up and suitable strings are necessary to make the guitar live up to its potential. Of course, a $400 guitar doesn't sound as good as a Dupont or Favino. However, authentic gypsy guitars have an ugly, nasal quality that allows them to cut through a band, and some modern luthiers tend to try make the guitars sound fuller and prettier, almost attempting to make them more like a dreadnaught. The Gitanes are actually more authentic sounding than some fancy luthier-made guitars.

The set-up is the Altamira line. You can read the full scoop at www.djangobooks.com, which coincidentally is a great place to buy them, these are the same guitars that Dell'Arte brings in from Asia and sells as the Latcho Drom line. From all the sources I've talked to, these are the best buy in gyspy-jazz guitars. 

Video: "Tea for Two"

Here's another video of me jamming over some backing tracks, this time "Tea for Two." I don't quite understand the pink cast to the lighting, but like I mentioned, I'm still getting things worked out. 

Again the set up is my ES-150 through the EH-160, and playing over backing tracks the I've published here and that can be found at www.soundcloud.com/campusfive. 

"Tea for Two" is a tune I first learned to play with the Bonebrake Syncopators. Again, it was another tune that confounded me for a while, until I figured out how to approach it. There was something about the ii-V's that I could only approach from one direction, the most obvious one: arpeggios overtly spelling out the changes. It just never felt good to play over. 

One of the best ways to learn how to approach a tune is to learn how one of your favorite players approaches it, so I learned Charlie Christian's two choruses (from the 1939 Jerry Jerome Jam-Session). After learning Charlie's solo, it totally opened my eyes about the changes. Here's a PDF of the leadsheet: Tea for Two (PDF)

click to enlarge

"Tea for Two" is a basically ABAC, though the last two bars of the second A are slightly different to set up the C. The A and B sections are both a series of ii-V-I's, first in Ab, then in C. What I took from Charlie was that it made much better sense to simplify the ii-V's into just V chords. Even then, he would sometime just play I-chord based blues lick over the V chord.  

Simplifying the ii-V's was especially helpful when the B section comes up. For some reason, transitioning from Ab6 to Dm7 made no sense. But starting on a G7 V-chord lick made sense. Lastly, the key change back to Ab - I always had trouble trying voice lead from the C to the Eb7. Charlie just played one lick over one, and then one lick over the other. Boom. 

The second A section is the same, except for the last two bars: a iim7b5-V7 to Bbm. I find that outlining the three chords is again tilting at windmills. I dimished lick over both the ii and V is easier to deal with. 

Finally the C section is a Bbm vamp (ii) with a Dbm (iv) resolving back the Ab (I) chord - just like in Limehouse Blues, and several other tunes. The last four bars is another I-iii˚-ii-V sequence, like in "Swing that Music" and many other tunes. 

Video: "Swing that Music"

As suggested by my friend Kim Clever, I'm going to start doing semi-regular videos, mostly just jamming over some backing tracks, although I'll hopefully be able do some more concerted things as well. I'm still working on getting a permanent  video solution set up - my wife had to shoot these by hand. 

Apologies if you've already seen this via Facebook, but this was taken right around Christmas and it's just me playing my new ES-150 through my EH-160. It was hard to get any kind of useful volume level out of the 160 using my other guitars, but there's something about the response of the pickup that matches the amp perfectly. At least for playing around the house, the volume level is more than enough. I've found it particularly sweet sounding, and especially "Charlie" sounding, when the amp is cranked, but the volume knob is rolled mostly down. 

"Swing That Music" is a tune I never get to play. It's a signature tune for our trumpet player Jim Ziegler, and something he usually reserves to do with his own band, the Swingsations. The times I'd encountered it, I was just stuck with a lead sheet from a hand-written Dixieland Fakebook, and because the way it was written, I always messed up the changes. Specifically, the ABAC structure of the tune is straight forward enough, but the lead sheet was written in a way that made it hard to pickup the C section at the right spot on the page. Suffice it to say, it's not the lead sheet's fault I didn't just learn the tune instead. When I finally got around to learning, I found the changes give a lot of nice stuff to work with. 

The backing track can be found on my soundcloud - www.soundcloud.com/campusfive - along with many other songs. Heres a PDF of the lead sheet: Swing That Music (PDF)

(click to enlarge)

The A section is just two bars each: I - IV7 - I - VI7 (Bb / Eb7 / Bb / G7). Like "Undecided" and "Sing You Sinners" as well as many other tunes, the I-IV7 movement is chance to either play a lick that has a D natural in it against the I chord, and then play something that changes the note to a Db over the IV7 chord. Alternatively it can be nice to play a lick without a D in it over both chords and see how that static lick feels different over each chord. The I - VI7 move is another standard one. I find the melody emphasizing D, A and G over the G7 chord to be particularly telling about how to approach that change. For many years, I seized on the voice leading of Bb notes over the Bb chord to a B natural over the G7 chord, and emphasized that change. However, I don't find that as many well-written song melodies contain that movement, and I think that should be telling. While mechanically running through changes and highlighting the notes that have changed from chord-to-chord technically "works", that doesn't necessarily mean those notes are "pleasing" or make a good sounding melody. 

The B strain is just a II7 - V7 (C7-F7), followed by a I - iii˚ - II7 - V7 turnaround (Bb-Db˚-C7-F7). I've seen the last II chord there be both min7 and dominant7, and realistically you kind of make it work either way, melodically. 

Following the second A strain, is a C strain. Part of what makes the tune interesting, and part of what always messed me up, is that the G7 resolves to a C MAJOR type chord the first time, but to a C MINOR type chord the second time. Also, the changes here move quickly, and if you're thinking mechanically, it can be more difficult than it looks. 

The C changes go ii - iv˚ - I - VI7 (Cm-Eb˚-Bb-G7). While it's written here as an Eb dimished, I think that functionally it's interchangeable with an Eb minor. The ii-iv-I change is a common one found is several tunes, such as Limehouse Blues, China Boy, Avalon. Charlie Christian often made a post of emphasizing iv-I resolutions, even placing them where the band did not play them. You can either highlight the voice leading, in this case G-Gb-F, or avoid those notes and let chords resolve underneath. Either way, watch out for the G7 chord, because even I'd threaded the changes up to that point, I'd usually forget about it, and be emphasizing a Bb note over the G7 by mistake. After the ii-iv-I, it's just a VI7-II7-V7-I back cycle. Anyway, the video is just a single take blowing over the changes. Hope something here is useful. Cheers. 

The unexpected realities of the new guitar

So, playing-wise, it's all sunshine and unicorns - the new ES-150 is really inspiring, and has made me play guitar so much more than would otherwise. It's great, and moreover, it's special. 

That said, there are some practical concerns I hadn't really thought about, and I hope you may find them useful. 

How many frets?

So it turns out I've been used to 20-22 frets my whole life. Since starting to play swing guitar, I'd been systematically been weening myself off of playing past the 15th fret, because, to my ears, it sounds exceedingly anachronistic. However, there were a couple keys, or a couple licks where I snuck past. However, I discovered while playing "China Boy" that where'd been expecting to be able to hit a high "C" at the 20th fret, that a vintage ES-150 only has 19 frets, so I couldn't resolve the it. There's a video and it's pretty funny to watch me leading up to where the note should have been and then finding it wasn't there. Oops. 

Tuners have come along way 

So, truth be told, the build quality of an ES-150 is more like an L50, and not that of an L5. It wasn't exactly the top of the line, and so the Grover Sta-Tites it came with weren't quite as good as the closed back tuners that came on L5's and other nice Gibsons. Moreover, tuners have come a long way since then, and gear ratios have gotten so much better. I've read that the original tuners are 12:1, which wouldn't surprise me - it can be a little annoying trying to get a string in tune when you can't quite get the tuner to sit in between too sharp and too flat. Since they were pretty common, there are direct drop in replacements with modern ratios. While I could've gone with Grovers with a pretty awesome 18:1 ratio, I took the advice of several good sources and went with Waverlys. While only being 16:1, I've seen too many sources to count that describe them as just the best tuners made. A historic instrument I plan on having for life seems like a good place to invest in the good stuff. I could've saved $100, but I think'll be worth it. They're on on the Fedex truck at moment, so we'll see how things turn out. 

Do you realize how ill fitting most cases are?

Getting the original tweed/airplane stripe case was of course too good to be true, but the ES-150 came with a servicable standard hardshell case, usually known as "Canadian" cases. I was really surprised by how much wiggle room there was, and thus how much the guitar can bounce around inside the case. It wasn't until I flew the guitar to North Carolina using the Case Extreme and the hardshell case that I noticed how mediocre the fit of the hardshell was. While I've had 10 years of succesful travel with the Case Extreme, I was usually flying a guitar in a gig bag, or a hardshell that was designed for that guitar. I started looking at cases, and because of the "off-the-rack" nature of almost all cases, there's usually a significant amount of room. I guess that's fine for something fungible, but for something historic, that just won't do. 

Flight cases are really, really expensive

So I started looking at proper, custom built flight cases. Holy crap are they expensive! Calton cases are basically the old-school, industry standard. However they are $1000 now, and they're really heavy. New cases from Karura and Hoffee are still $1000-$1200, but because they're using Carbon Fiber, they are a great deal lighter. All three are built to order based off extensive measurements of your guitar, so they will fit like a glove, but it may only be a one-trick pony. On the cheaper end, Hiscox's nicest case is a proper flight case, but has off-the-rack fitting. A newer entry, BAM from France, $700, uses a suspension padding system to customize the fit of the off-the-rack cases, but I noticed they try to sell you a $300 case cover, which makes it a flight case. So, is the $700 core case not sufficient? Again, given the historic nature of the guitar, I'm probably going to go with a Hoffee. Go their site - watch the videos - those things are unbelievable. 

The new Reunion Blues Continental Gig Bags are pretty awesome

So they advertise these things by shooting a video where they drop it off a 4 story building. While I'm not confident that would actually work on a guitar like mine. However, the combination of a really well padded-gig bag with a semi-rigid exoskeleton is a real breakthough in gig bags. Each and every facet of the gig bag is well thought out, with the hideable backpack straps being particularly amazing. 

Good things come to those who wait….

Photo by Jennifer Stockert

So, I've been planning the successor to my Faux-Gibson, Franken-ES150 for a while now. While I've always been a bit amazed at how much it got the "Charlie Chirstian"-vibe, especially for such a humble guitar (modern, asian factory made, all laminate construction, thin bodied), I could tell there was something missing in the tone. I thought the biggest element it lacked was the fullness which I associated with the resonance of a full-depth body. Given the going rate for a real ES-150 with a Charlie Christian pickup, I thought the only thing I could do would be to make a better fake. 

I've had a spare UK-made, notched-blade pickup sitting in a basket beside the couch for over 7 years, just waiting to be put into a guitar. First, I decided it would have to be an old guitar. There was something about the mojo of old wood that something like a modern guitar would just not have. Secondly, because the geometry of the Charlie Christian pick is so specific, I knew there were only a few models that history has proven as viable transplant candidates: L48's and L50's. I've seen many a tale of woe regarding a guitar whose top is caving in because somebody nicked one of the braces one carving the hole for the pickup. 

Constructionally, the closest thing to a 1937-40 Gibson ES-150 is a similar era L50. Aside from the pickup and pickguard, which I assumed I'd have to supply, there are three differences between the two models, 1) ES150's had bound fingerboards, 2) ES150's had a very specific and rare combination tailpiece and jack/combo (although the tailpiece was itself the same), and 3) ES150's had a flat, and not arched, back. I've definitely come across some L50's with flat backs, so there were some made, but they are mostly arched back guitars. I knew the first two were something I'd have to live with, but I was really set on finding a flat backed L50. Since I was going to dig a hole in the top anyway, condition was not that important - a full or partial refinish would be small in comparison to irreparably scarring the top. I had doubts about post-war L50's, partially because I wasn't sure which bracing pattern they had and whether it would be compatible, and partially because the post-war ornamentation on them just looked too much like a 50's Gibson to me (the trapezoid inlays combined with the later headstock shape and logo just screams "Les Paul" to me). I've heard great things about L48's being great candidates, but again, there was something about the later cosmetics that gave me pause. If I was going to do this, I wanted to do it as well as possible. 

Through most of 2013 I watched and let go, any number of suitable L48's and 50's. I even bid on a couple, only to see them sell for tiny amounts more that I'd been willing to spend. By November, I'd really gotten pissed about being burned so many times, and for letting several really excellent candidates slip through my fingers. At one point, I passed on a really excellent playing and sounding L48, only to have one of the guys in the store, who'd been listening to me play it, whip out $1000 in cash and buy it right there and then. 

Even then, once I bought a suitable transplant, there would be the measure of the surgery. Who would do it, how much would it cost, and how quickly would it happen? My friend Joe at www.archtop.com said he could do it, and he even put one together for a friend of mine. It occurs to me now that I hadn't though through a bunch of the details, like what kind of pots I would need (what values were they historically?), what about the fingerboard extension (should the fingerboard be elevated or flush?), should I go for an endpin jack or a side jack? If I'd had Joe do it, I'm guessing he probably could've spotted the issues, and given the appropriate advice. However, the fact remains, I'd be spending a bunch of money, waiting a while, and risking the whole thing - it could turn out mediocre, or bad. There would be no guarantees. It stresses me out just thinking of it. 

Then the unthinkable happened - I found a real one, at a price I could actually afford. I work on-site at my day job, so I never go into the office, but I got called in for a meeting. Since I was in the neighborhood, I happened upon a music store I hadn't been in for years. My recollection was that they carried mostly 60's-80's vintage stuff, with a touch of weird stuff thrown in for novelty, although the owner definitely had a penchant for vintage drums, which I thought would be the real interest in the store. As I was parking I saw somebody leave the store, and drive away. When I got to the door, I see a note that they'll be right back in 10 minutes or, but they left a number if it was an emergency. I waited about 5 minutes, and took a look through the window. I could see a random arch tops, but nothing that jumped at me. Since I had nothing to loose, I texted the number, and just said that I could hang out for about 20 minutes, but just wanted to know if it was going to be longer than that. The guy responded that he'd be right there and he was less than a mile away. I felt bad making the guy run back, because it's not like I was seriously going to buy anything….

As soon as I walked in and looked at the wall where the random arch tops were, I saw it - an ES-150. As soon as I saw, I realized that I'd never actually played one myself. A friend had lent me a 90's Gibson Custom Shop Reissue for a couple weeks, but I'd never actually gotten to mess around with real one. Well, this one played pretty bad - but like most vintage guitars found in the wild, it seemed like it was due to a bad setup and stupidly light gauge strings. Plugging it in, though, and the unique magic of the Charlie Christian pickup was apparent. I must've played the guitar for 20 minutes, really trying to take in the unique quality of the tone.

The price on the tag was well below market rate, or at least the advertised prices of the couple that were currently for sale online. The owner piped up at one point quoting me a price $200 below the sticker - it seemed that since it was nearing Christmas he probably was extra interested in moving some merchandise. After that, he told me that if I paid in cash he would take 20% because he wouldn't have to pay a credit card processing fee. After a little haggling it came down to a figure that I could actually reach. I offered to put some money down so that I could hold it for a couple of days - after all, I'd just had something sold out from under me - and the owner said it'd been sitting there for months, and it wasn't going anywhere. He said he would hold it for me for a couple days anyway.

After checking with the wife, I checked with several other guitar players who've owned one, or have a ton of experience buying vintage guitars, to make sure I wasn't getting taken. After going over some of the important things to look out for, I knew I had to go back the next day. I started off going through all of the key features, which checked out. I even sent some pics to one of the guitar players, who wrote back immediately to buy it. I knew I was going to have to try adjusting the action to get a better idea, and it definitely made some improvement. 

I left to go the bank, and when I came back, I brought in my EH-185 for the final test. Putting the two together it was immediately clear the special magic that comes from combining the two. I took a picture of the pair, and handed the man my money. Each an every time I've played the guitar since, it's been confirmed that I made the right call. 

After a couple days, I was able to take it over to Westwood Music, where Dave Rutchinsky set it up beautifully. For consistency's sake, I went with D'Addario pure nickel 13's rather than the Martin Tony Rice Monel Strings. Since the gauging on the Martins is a little odd, I wanted to go with the more conventional D'Addario's. I'll be trying the Monel Martins soon enough. 

 I ended up recording a couple videos with the new guitar, using my EH-160, which really came alive with the ES-150. I posted them to facebook, but for some reason they were having some trouble uploading to youtube. One of them worked fine, so I'll post it now and hopefully I'll get the rest uploaded soon. Several friends suggested doing a weekly video blog, so I may do that as soon as I get the webcam/audio situation settled. (Also, I quickly figured out that shooting video in portrait mode is not something to do agian)