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BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape?
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BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? |
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Subject: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: beardedbruce Date: 30 Apr 13 - 09:08 AM Willie Nelson has taken his share of beatings through the decades: In his 80 years, he's been through three divorces, an allegedly unscrupulous accounting team, numerous brushes with the law, and a number of non-musical ventures yielding varying amounts of success. Through it all, there's been a constant companion that's shared the ups and downs, and visibly weathered a beating of its own--Nelson's beloved, battered guitar, which he calls "Trigger" (after Roy Rogers's famous horse) and has credited with giving him his signature sound. http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/our-country/willie-nelson-celebrates-80th-birthday-old-friend-side-223901051.html |
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Subject: RE: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 30 Apr 13 - 12:43 PM It's a metaphor for his life, I think, and the lives of the felons he likes to sing to. They've ruined so many things, why not a guitar? |
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Subject: RE: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: GUEST,gillymor Date: 30 Apr 13 - 01:10 PM Yep, Trigger's been rode hard. My Lowden developed Willie syndrome about 20 years ago as I clawed right through the lightweight pick guard and into the cedar top. I applied a heavier Martin style guard which solved the problem but after reading this article I'm wondering if I'm missing out on a world of Djangoesque tone. Leenja, Huh? |
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Subject: RE: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: Little Hawk Date: 30 Apr 13 - 01:31 PM I don't think of Willie Nelson as someone who ruins things. (?) I think of him as someone who plays great music and writes excellent songs. His 3 marriages probably all lasted about as long as they needed to for both partners to learn whatever they were able to learn from them. After that, you move on to the next learning experience. As for the guitar, it's inevitable that it would get very worn over such a long period of time if played with a flat pick, but it still songs great, so it definitely hasn't been ruined. |
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Subject: RE: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 30 Apr 13 - 03:55 PM Oh, Little Hawk, Little Hawk. Haven't you read about all the computers, the amps, the electronics, and who-knows-what all goes into the sound produced by those big acts? The sound that ostensibly comes from that guitar may be artfully processed or it may not be coming from it at all. Willie Nelson's got capital and prestige behind him, so people talk like his mistreated instrument is something wonderful. Hell, it's just a publicity stunt. If you saw a bum on a street corner, playing a guitar that looked like that, you'd either feel contempt or pity for him - contempt if you thought he'd done the damage himself or pity if you thought somebody else had grudgingly handed him that wreck of a guitar. Suddenly I feel the urge to take my own guitar off its stand and let it talk to me... |
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Subject: RE: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: JohnInKansas Date: 30 Apr 13 - 04:26 PM Actually "Trigger" reached the point where maintenance was required and it (he?) was sent back to the factory for a restoration a while back. At the time, there were some reports of difficulties encountered in "restoring" the instrument while retaining it's "distinctive characteristics." The restoration was quite obviously successful. For those who haven't seen much of him recently it may be noted that another thread here reports that today (30 April) is his 80th birthday, and it appears he hasn't lost his sense of humor. "Happy Birthday Willie." John |
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Subject: RE: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: Wesley S Date: 30 Apr 13 - 07:08 PM Let's see if this photo comes through: Brad Thompsons Takamini I know that he was still using this guitar for gigs when it was in this condition. |
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Subject: RE: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: Bee-dubya-ell Date: 30 Apr 13 - 07:37 PM Hey, there are luthiers who charge lots of money for those ported guitars with extra holes in unusual places. Why pay the money? Just drink lots of beer and play for hours at atime with an extra heavy flatpick and, voila! Ports at no extra charge! |
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Subject: RE: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: Little Hawk Date: 30 Apr 13 - 11:11 PM leeneia, I don't know why you're on the hostile tack toward Willie Nelson. It mystifies me. Yes, he's been very successful, which is not surprising...he's very talented. I am a guitar player, and I admire the very expressive way he plays the guitar. I'm sure he has continued playing that particular one simply because he likes it a lot. That's what ALL genuine guitar players do, trust me. They play the one they like the best at any given time. It would have required regular maintenance, like any guitar, which means a setup at least every few years. The superficial cosmetic damage it has sustained in decades of playing (and autographs) would not have affected its tone or playability...only its outer appearance. I am well known around here for how new looking I keep my own guitars...I try to avoid getting a single mark on them, and I don't use a flatpick, so they get no pick marks on them either. I don't believe in autographing instruments...it seems kind of like vandalism to me. However, I'm not going to judge Willie Nelson for doing so. It's his guitar, not mine, so it's his business what he does with it. I DO see bums on street corners frequently, and I don't fell contempt or pity for them. I feel sad that they're in such a bad spot, I have no idea how they got there or why, and I am not about to judge them for it. I treat them the same as I do the "respectable" people, because I could just as well be standing right where they are standing, given a few little twists of fate, and I know it. Anyway, consider this: You can dislike Willie Nelson all you want, but it won't affect Willie Nelson one iota. Your dislike is something that affects you, not him. |
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Subject: RE: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: Amos Date: 30 Apr 13 - 11:35 PM I turned in my battle-weary D-35 recently because the saddle under the bridge was showing a bit of lift--nothing much. He breaks out his interior light and his back-shining mirror, and his eagle eyes of over two thousand Martin repairs, and he diagnoses two lifted fan braces, one split X-brace, a split neck and a couple of hairline cracks, a fret job now or soon, and gives me a nice discount for my heartfelt suffering. Fortunately I have a beautiful Apollo six availabel to do gigs with and it is working out just fine. But I will be glad, in May, to have my beloved Martin back completely returned to operational condition. Whoof. I got her there just in the nick of time! |
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Subject: RE: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: Mrrzy Date: 01 May 13 - 11:19 PM Not bs? |
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Subject: RE: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: JohnInKansas Date: 02 May 13 - 08:07 PM I guess it Must not be Trigger in #23 in this slideshow? John |
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Subject: RE: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: JohnInKansas Date: 02 May 13 - 08:15 PM Actualy I did find a way to make a direct link to the individual picture. Wille before it all Actualy, I think Lin has some picures before there was a before, but she won't let me link to her computer for you. I guess you'll have to stop by the house to look at them. (Bring some Jack and whatever else you've got, in case you have to bribe one of us. I'll take the Jack if you can risk whether I can have any influence.) John |
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Subject: RE: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: beardedbruce Date: 03 May 13 - 07:47 AM John, From article in OP- "The acoustic Martin first came into Nelson's possession in 1969, after the iconic star busted up an electric guitar gifted to him by the Baldwin company. He sent the broken instrument to Nashville guitarist Shot Jackson for repairs, but Jackson regretfully called him up and said it was too far gone to fix. Nelson asked over the phone if Jackson had something else around he could purchase." |
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Subject: RE: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: GUEST,MikeL2 Date: 03 May 13 - 11:46 AM Hi I have taken one of my guitars through almost 60 years and it still looks as new. But me.....I look almost as battered as Trigger...lol I have had the opportunity to see Willie live on three occasions. I enjoyed all of them immensely. But there were times that I just could not take my eyes off Trigger. Great musician and performer but I am not sure which looks the most "weather-beaten.....Willie or Trigger. My wife calls him "little wizened Willie.....at least I think she is talking about him...lol Cheers MikeL2 |
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Subject: RE: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: JohnInKansas Date: 03 May 13 - 02:57 PM bb - Actually the picture I linked was after Willie was approaching "outlaw" status. In earlier ones he was mostly "suit and tie." (I sort of like that he got over that.) It likely had more to do with the level of fame Willie had achieved, but a few years ago "Trigger" was sent back to Martin for "cleanup and repar" There were reports, both from Martin and by others about Martin's restoration, which apparently wasn't easy; but they did do a very complete cleanup that some reports said included producing a whole new top complete with the legendary hole. Some reports on concerts have mentioned his use of several different guitars in a given performance, and I think I recall up to 5 being mentioned recently. That probably just indicates he uses different tunings for some songs but he does use both acoustic and electric pretty much interchangeably. We've been to live performances where "Trigger" didn't appear, but at others "the ol' hoss" still sounded just fine. The instrument has to provide a certain quality, and Trigger still does; but it's still the musician that makes the music. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: PHJim Date: 03 May 13 - 09:47 PM I have seen Willie play, both live and in videos, and he doesn't seem to pick hard nor in such a way that would inflict the damage that Trigger has suffered. I am surprised at the damage done to my own guitar in the past 51 years, since I don't think that my pick scratches the top. My luthier has told me that it is my finger nails that are doing the scratching and not my pick. I think this must be true in Willie's case too. While I play for a couple of hours each and every day, the damage done to my guitar is nothing like Willie's. |
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Subject: RE: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: GUEST,gillymor Date: 04 May 13 - 08:36 AM Most flatpickers I've seen let the some or all of the fingers not holding the pick graze along the top as a depth gauge or dig in to anchor the picking hand. When you're using a guitar with no pick guard well... |
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Subject: RE: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: dick greenhaus Date: 04 May 13 - 11:43 AM I yield to no one in my respect for Mr. Nelson's music, but I suspect that the hole in the guitar that provides its tone is the one that lets the pickup wire out to the amp. |
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Subject: RE: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: GUEST Date: 05 May 13 - 03:31 AM I respect Nelson as a musician and performer, but as a long time guitar player myself, his treatment of "Trigger" is horrible. Fix yer goddam guitar, you owe Trigger that much! |
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Subject: RE: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: Will Fly Date: 05 May 13 - 07:01 AM A local guitar store not too far from me is selling artificially "beaten-up" electric guitar - S.R. Vaughn-style, etc. Wonder if they'll start making Trigger lookalikes... |
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Subject: RE: BS: You think YOUR guitar is in rough shape? From: GUEST,Peter Laban Date: 05 May 13 - 07:26 AM I am not sure why some people get their barb's up at seeing a guitar worn down by use. It happens, things wear. There are other examples of instruments used hard by hard working musicians, Glen Hansard is probably one of the better know examples of this in Ireland. Some years ago he apparently played a concert in Japan where Mr Takamine himself was present. Mr. T. was horrified and on the spot offered a replacement. Which Hansard couldn't accept. Same story as with 'Trigger' : no replacement could have the character of the old and worn one. Takamine has now put the worn guitar on their website: Glen Hansard's guitar, the hardest working guitar in the business |
