well hello friends and welcome to ask
0:50
Zach
0:51
today we're going to have a fun topic
0:53
that came up because one of my patreon
0:56
followers asked about it and so
1:00
he had bought an instrument that a
1:03
dealer had said had been owned by a
1:06
guitar celebrity
1:08
and uh we did some digging and found out
1:12
that there was no connection
1:14
and he asked that I do a video about
1:18
this and I agreed because I've actually
1:21
run into this situation a lot because I
1:24
during my time writing for vintage
1:27
guitar magazine I would get a lot of
1:29
requests for verifying celebrity
1:33
connections with instruments and
1:34
unfortunately it was always after the
1:37
fact after they had bought it so uh I
1:40
call these ghost stories and it seems
1:43
like so many vintage guitars have a
1:45
ghost story about
1:47
some you know famous connection that's
1:50
most of the time I would say 98 of the
1:54
time completely
1:56
unverifiable so we're going to talk
1:57
about that and we're going to bring back
2:00
uh the book Nook segment and I'm going
2:04
to talk about a book that I love that
2:07
I've learned a lot about guitar setup
2:09
from and then I'm going to talk about a
2:12
book that's currently in bookstores that
2:15
I think you should avoid at all costs
2:17
and then another book on that same topic
2:21
that you should dig up if you're wanting
2:23
to learn more about this musical artist
2:27
all right so first off I need to thank
2:31
today's sponsor which is Glazer
2:33
instruments and their sister companies
2:36
Glazer bender and Music City Bridge I
2:40
have of course been a customer of glazer
2:43
instruments for 30 plus years they have
2:46
re-fretted or done plec work or done all
2:50
sorts of repairs and have worked on
2:52
almost every instrument that I have
2:55
Glazer Bender makes the wonderful
2:57
convertible Bender that can be changed
3:00
between a b or G bender and I have those
3:04
onto my guitars it's the finest Bender
3:06
system available currently and it's uh
3:10
it can be installed fairly quickly too
3:12
it doesn't have the lead times the old
3:14
vendors used to have and finally Music
3:17
City Bridge makes some of the finest
3:19
tools and uh you know and parts for your
3:24
guitars so they have everything from
3:26
like these this uh driver set that I use
3:29
when setting up my instruments to they
3:32
have a wrap around intonated bridge for
3:35
Les Paul Juniors they have locking studs
3:38
for those bridges they make a wonderful
3:42
three pickup blend control harness that
3:46
you can purchase from them and also they
3:47
have things for working on the Frets on
3:51
your guitar also things for repairing
3:54
the nut and so so there are links in the
3:56
description for all of those also I just
3:59
want to thank my patreon followers that
4:02
supporters that are are just invaluable
4:05
to me
4:07
let's Dive In
4:09
so again
4:10
this all got started because one of my
4:13
patreon followers he had been sold an
4:16
instrument
4:17
and he had been told that it had a
4:20
celebrity connection and
4:23
there was even a letter of authenticity
4:27
that was by an unscrupulous dealer where
4:31
it had no proof of any kind but it just
4:34
claimed a connection to this artist
4:37
and when we did some digging we found
4:41
out that there was no connection and
4:45
that this artist really doesn't sell
4:50
their guitars or give them away and so
4:54
that was kind of another Telltale sign
4:56
so I've run into this a lot through the
4:59
years and I started running into it and
5:03
when I started writing for vintage
5:05
guitar magazine over 15 years ago guys
5:08
would send me pictures of guitars
5:11
and it would be you know I mean one
5:15
example was a guy sent me a picture of a
5:18
60s telecaster and he said uh when I
5:20
bought this I was told that it was
5:24
formerly owned by Joe Walsh
5:26
well I was just naive and stupid enough
5:29
to go uh you know about trying to track
5:32
down Joel Walsh and get an answer and so
5:35
of course I did a lot of leg work
5:38
and we were finally able to get in touch
5:40
with Joe Walsh and then come to find out
5:44
there was no connection at all and so
5:47
then I'm left with
5:50
something that no one really wants
5:53
um to be broadcast you know in a
5:57
magazine the fact that they bought an
5:59
instrument that does not have a
6:01
connection with an artist and that they
6:04
were told it was and
6:08
you know and I had that happen many
6:10
times until finally I stopped being
6:13
involved with that because ninety
6:16
percent of the time it's just untrue and
6:19
it's just I don't know whether it's
6:22
um
6:23
you know just some a romanticized you
6:27
know Vision or or what it is or
6:30
something hopeful that they think it
6:32
would be nice if it had that
6:34
that connection with a celebrity and I
6:36
get it because
6:38
we like to have a story
6:42
sell things I mean think about the old
6:46
story of the used car salesman and you
6:50
know he's selling a car to someone and
6:52
the big story is it was owned by a
6:55
little old lady and she just drove it to
6:58
church in the store you know twice a
7:00
week
7:02
and you know it's basically saying this
7:04
car was really taken care of low mileage
7:07
blah blah blah
7:09
and we like stories so if if you're
7:13
buying some you know a used guitar
7:15
what helps sell it better than you know
7:19
I mean because one you could put it out
7:20
is you know hey this is a used
7:22
Telecaster but if you say hey this is a
7:24
used telecaster and it's owned by Joe
7:26
Walsh well then all of a sudden it has a
7:29
story and it has a premium that the
7:31
dealer can put on the price
7:33
and a lot of unscrupulous dealers you
7:35
know through the years have done that
7:37
and I think
7:38
more recently it's become less common
7:41
you will still see that some on the
7:43
individual level but the purpose of this
7:46
video is really
7:48
to tell you that you need to really have
7:51
a jaundice eye when anyone has when
7:54
anyone claims a celebrity connection
7:57
and you really need to have concrete
8:01
proof
8:02
so
8:03
here here are some things you should
8:05
look for one
8:08
if the uh you know if the instrument is
8:11
being sold you know you should
8:13
probably try to find from a reputable
8:16
dealer and then that dealer should have
8:18
some type of real certificate of
8:21
authenticity and usually a picture of
8:24
that artist with the instrument now if
8:27
it's after they've passed away and it
8:29
was one that they used on stage well
8:31
great have a picture where it's
8:32
verifiable you know where like the grain
8:35
of of you know hopefully there's some
8:36
type of grain or finish or some way
8:38
where you can verify it's the same
8:40
instrument
8:41
uh in the in the old photo but there
8:44
should be something from the estate of
8:46
the deceased artist so uh you know there
8:50
have been you know older uh you know
8:52
session players and such that their
8:55
instruments have been sold off at grune
8:58
guitars or Carter vintage who are both
9:01
of course Very reputable dealers here in
9:03
Nashville and they come with you know
9:07
because many times they don't have a
9:09
photo with the uh
9:12
with the deceased guitarist but they
9:15
have a letter of authenticity that's
9:16
from the estate of the guitarist usually
9:19
their widow or a family member and so
9:23
that's enough
9:26
um yeah
9:28
so I I think in saying this
9:33
I know that we all like to have a a
9:37
storied connection and we like to have a
9:40
story with a guitar because it makes it
9:42
more fun because
9:44
you know these are not living things I
9:47
mean they once were you know they once
9:49
were you know trees but
9:52
you know we like to attach these stories
9:56
and we like to romanticize and uh
10:00
yeah and so many times there isn't you
10:04
know some amazing story about a vintage
10:06
guitar so this is my 57 Esquire
10:10
and you know I bought it a couple years
10:12
ago down in Tuscaloosa Alabama
10:14
and I bought it during the middle of the
10:18
pandemic and so it wasn't kind of your
10:21
normal kind of shopping for a vintage
10:23
guitar I mean I went I drove down there
10:26
specifically to look at this guitar and
10:29
um
10:30
so there wasn't it wasn't like I was
10:32
just down there to shop but still
10:34
because you know you're wearing masks
10:36
and all that junk uh
10:38
you know I wasn't really messing around
10:40
and once I decided to buy it you know I
10:44
paid for it and I left
10:46
and it wasn't until I got home
10:49
and I think Dan strain asked me you know
10:52
this he said hey is there any story
10:55
associated with the guitar because
10:57
that's a common question you know when
10:58
you buy a vintage guitar and this one
11:01
had been spray painted blue and it was
11:03
rattle can blue and it was uh and the
11:06
guy you know was serious enough that he
11:08
removed all the blonde finish put a red
11:11
sealer coat and then put this blue
11:13
finish on top
11:14
so and it you know the neck was played
11:18
to death the Frets were gone and you
11:20
know I've added somewhere to this but
11:22
most of this wear was on the guitar you
11:25
know when I got it
11:27
so immediately you know I mean yeah Dan
11:30
strain said hey is there a story behind
11:33
the guitar I mean and it didn't it
11:34
didn't have to be a celebrity connection
11:36
it would be like uh oh you know yeah
11:39
this uh this hillbilly cat played you
11:41
know country music in the bars around
11:43
Tuscaloosa you know for years or you
11:46
know blues guitarist or
11:48
what have your reggae what have you I
11:51
mean still it you know
11:53
there was that desire for a story
11:57
and immediately I thought I'm such an
12:00
idiot I need to reach out to the dealer
12:02
and uh and find out you know find the
12:05
story out well I contacted the dealer
12:08
Guitar Gallery down in Tuscaloosa and
12:12
they said well
12:13
there's a there is a story but I need
12:16
permission to tell it and so I got
12:19
really excited and
12:21
well when uh they ended up telling me
12:25
that once they got permission from the
12:28
family that sold it
12:29
was that basically the guitar had been
12:33
lost in a poker game
12:36
so they hadn't and then the owner the
12:39
guy that won it in the poker game didn't
12:41
play guitar and it sat in a closet
12:44
so that was that was all the story they
12:45
knew everyone was dead
12:48
so you know it was it was a complete
12:50
dead end it's kind of a it is a fun
12:52
story in that you're able to say hey
12:54
this guitar was lost in a poker game and
12:57
that's kind of fun but uh but there's no
13:00
information about who owned it before or
13:03
you know where it was used or what kind
13:05
of music was played on it I mean it I'm
13:08
just I'm still curious you know because
13:10
of uh you know the wear up and down the
13:12
neck and the fact that the Frets were
13:13
completely worn out
13:16
um yeah it seemed like it would have had
13:18
a a good story but uh I don't uh
13:22
unfortunately I don't get the privilege
13:24
of having the story of this guitar and
13:27
so you know it's uh it's getting its own
13:30
story at this point I guess we have
13:32
blank pages for the first you know
13:35
chapters and then of course you know
13:36
this has been my main guitar for the
13:39
last couple years since I got it
13:41
so
13:44
be very careful when you're uh buying
13:47
guitars and don't allow anyone to
13:50
inflate the value of a guitar
13:53
based on an alleged celebrity connection
13:57
there needs to be verifiable information
14:00
there needs to be a letter of
14:03
authenticity from a reputable dealer and
14:06
they still need to have proof there
14:09
needs to be proof there needs to be a
14:10
photo of the artist with the guitar
14:12
something from the estate something from
14:14
the family and uh
14:17
yeah it just there's just too many
14:19
things being sold as Jimi Hendrix Wawa
14:23
pedal or you know where it's like well
14:26
how are you gonna you know did this come
14:28
from the family you know where is this
14:30
coming from oh well it's some guy that
14:31
you know happened to be at a show in the
14:34
60s okay well where's the where's the
14:36
verification or
14:38
you know proving something like uh
14:41
you know this was a
14:43
you know Stevie Ray Vaughan's you know
14:46
ts808 or something like that well it's
14:48
like
14:49
how are you going to prove it you know
14:51
do you have serial numbers off of a you
14:53
know receipt from Sam Ash or something
14:55
like that you need to prove these things
14:57
before you can attach some you know and
15:01
usually it's some type of incredible
15:03
value
15:05
um on something
15:07
I will say there was one case where
15:11
in uh in these requests that people have
15:14
made of me to help verify an instrument
15:17
and that was there was a an Orville
15:21
335 made in the 1980s that was
15:25
left-handed that was uh owned the the
15:29
owner claimed it was owned by Elliot
15:33
Easton of the cars and so I was able to
15:35
reach out to Elliot Easton and he said
15:38
as far as I can remember I think that
15:40
was my guitar for a while and I mean he
15:44
couldn't say it beyond a shadow of a
15:45
doubt but he could say at least I think
15:47
that was my guitar so you know you could
15:49
kind of add that to it
15:52
so be careful
15:55
um yeah and and if you're if you have an
15:58
instrument like that you know let's not
16:00
tell the story if uh if you can't prove
16:02
anything because it still is kind of
16:04
used as a uh a tool to negotiate with
16:08
and no one wants to sit on a throne of
16:11
Lies when talking about guitars
16:14
all right
16:16
let's talk uh let's go into the book
16:19
Nook segment
16:21
so
16:23
I love this book and this has been a
16:26
really important book for me learning
16:28
about guitar setup and guitar
16:30
maintenance it's called how to make your
16:32
electric guitar play great by Dan Earl
16:35
Owen and of course published by uh
16:38
BackBeat which I think is an imprint of
16:40
uh which I believe is an imprint of Hal
16:42
Leonard this is a fantastic book
16:45
um and very much worth picking up I I
16:50
learned so much about uh
16:53
you know about relief and intonation and
16:57
all sorts of things
17:00
it's a it's a fantastic book and I'll
17:03
put a uh a link down in the description
17:06
for this
17:09
now for a
17:13
a less than Stellar review I'm going to
17:15
talk about another book
17:17
so I was at the local Barnes and Noble
17:20
and I picked up this book and I was
17:24
aghast at the number of historical
17:27
inaccuracies that were in this book and
17:30
so I'm going to tell you about this book
17:32
just so you know to steer clear of this
17:34
because if you go into a Barnes Noble or
17:36
most you know major bookstores it will
17:39
be there in the music biography sections
17:42
and this is the hag by Mark Elliott this
17:46
is a terrible book there are probably
17:48
nuggets of Truth in here there are
17:51
probably interviews that are accurate
17:52
but there are so many inaccuracies as
17:56
far as just even basic things where he
18:00
talks about Johnny Cash being married to
18:02
June Carter in 1960 or talking about
18:06
Clive Davis being the head of Columbia
18:09
in the 1980s when he was fired in the
18:11
70s and was the head of Arista through
18:14
the late 70s and 80s and onward and was
18:16
helming like the careers of Whitney
18:18
Houston and others
18:20
um
18:20
giving Mark Kendrick the great Builder
18:23
credit for for building the guitar that
18:26
uh you know that that Merle played in in
18:29
the 1980s which was made by Jerry Jones
18:31
and it wasn't until into the 90s that it
18:35
just goes on and on and on it seems like
18:37
every other page and uh where they're
18:39
giving credit to uh to guitarist that uh
18:44
and just gross inaccuracies uh also the
18:49
book is very salacious
18:52
um and uh I don't I don't really think
18:55
that's necessary I mean this just didn't
18:57
seem like a a tell-all and uh yeah
19:01
really really disappointed in this book
19:04
and so if you're curious about Merle
19:07
Haggard I suggest you check out uh David
19:10
cantwell's the running kind and I'll uh
19:13
post a little picture of it right here
19:15
it is much better written and they did
19:19
fact checking on it unlike this and uh
19:24
it's a it's a good book and he it has a
19:27
revised Edition and I would I would pick
19:30
that up
19:31
considering I think the book was
19:33
originally written before Merle had
19:34
passed away and so the revised Edition
19:36
includes of course uh further info
19:40
all right well thank you guys I hope you
19:43
enjoyed today's episode about uh the
19:46
ghost stories of vintage guitars and
19:49
celebrity connections and I hope you
19:51
guys will be wary of those things also I
19:54
need to check uh I need to thank
19:57
Glazer instruments Glazer bender and
20:00
Music City Bridge thank you so much for
20:03
your support and help and thank you guys
20:06
and I'll see you next time
20:08
bye-bye