SENSATIONAL SEASONAL SALUTATIONS AND SANGUINE SIMPLICITY this month. A simple salute from a simple somebody with a simple suggestion and a simple story to share. The simple salute is to welcome you once again to the weird and sometimes whacky world of CRAVE Vintage Guitars (or CVG – a new acronym for short! NB. Nothing to do with the 3‑letter Airport Code for Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport). The simple suggestion is an urgent restatement to respect and protect our shared home planet as well as to inject some much‑needed humanity into our fracturing civilisation. The simple story, which will unfold in due course, is a return to a realm of familiar fanciful fun and further fabricated frivolity (with just a simple soupçon of audaciously absurd alliteration, always).
Prelude
So, without further ado, we shall progress on to the simple story. There is not a lot about vintage guitars this month. Instead, the subject matter will return to focus on the simple founder, frontman and heralded hero of CRAVE Guitars. You have met him before and now he’s back for more. I am talking about the one and only The CRAVEman. He may be a simple soul but he has a keen sense of integrity, humility, morals, ethics, valour and an unfailing commitment to nurturing his nascent cherished community. What a guy! Perhaps this article should be called ‘The Awesome Adventures of The CRAVEman’. Seriously though, what’s not to like?
However, I do recognise that this sort of fictional fable may not be to everyone’s taste, so no grudges will be sustained should you wish to defer allocating your intellect to other matters this month and come back when there is something a little more, well, factual and grounded. Not much in the way of tortuous narrative this month; but lots of images for your diligent delectation.
“I cannot say who, precisely, came up with the idea of a Stone Age family” – Joseph Barbera (1911‑2006)
Previously on ‘The CRAVEman Cometh’
You may recall, back in July 2025, that ‘el jefe’ and nom de guerre of CRAVE Guitars was revealed to world in ‘The CRAVEman Cometh’ If you want to revisit his introduction and early exploits, follow the link below (opens in a new tab).
Due to popular demand (well, predominantly my own tbh), I have decided that The CRAVEman deserved a second outing to build on the mythology and to expand on the CRAVEworld (it doesn’t warrant a CRAVEverse yet because, well, he’s a stone age relic isn’t he?). It is here that he strives to eke out an existence within his small semi‑nomadic group while, at the same time, seeking to advance his musical aspirations. I hope you enjoy spending some light‑hearted time with the laudable leader and Rock Guitar God of his prehistoric people.
Full disclosure, the original images for this article were produced using AI and edited (I won’t claim ‘enhanced’) by me. There are a lot of inconsistencies and visual errors that have been left intentionally untouched. The reason for this is twofold. The first is to highlight that AI still has a very long way to go before its outputs can be regarded as genuinely credible. The second is that the faults actually add some fun ‘spot the mistakes’ and continuity flops (as well as, arguably, some peculiar, anomalous charm) to the ridiculous falsity of the whole product. What I will say is that, if creative AI tools weren’t available as a means to an end, there would be no adventures of the The CRAVEman.
Regular readers will know about my observations and opinions on the evolution and utility of AI, highlighting the potential benefits and significant risks of the fledgling technology. This is not the place to reiterate those views. Let’s face it, The CRAVEman is about as artificial as can be, so what’s the harm in representing him artificially through a bit of reflexive irony and satire? Given the evidence presented below, I recommend that you make up your own mind about the divisive worth of AI, past, present and future.
As ever, though, the words are 100% human with no AI intervention whatsoever. I still need to control something. As with the previous prehistoric expedition, a substantial suspension of disbelief is an absolute prerequisite for your investment to be repaid. I must stress that this tawdry tale and imaginary interlude is for entertainment purposes only. There are no serious real‑world insights whatsoever, just rampant ridiculous unreality. Do not try this at home, folks!
“The latest refinements of science are linked with the cruelties of the Stone Age” – Winston Churchill (1874‑1965)
Welcome to CRAVEland (Geography of The CRAVEman’s Domain)
Last time around, we followed The CRAVEman on his adventures in his tribe’s territory. This month, it is time to explore quite what that territory is and why it is so important to his community’s social culture and wellbeing. The clan is essentially a co‑operative with only informal leadership and followers providing any sort of class structure. You may recognise some of the characteristics from The CRAVEman’s previous adventures.
The CRAVEman’s world is located in a Stone Age cool temperate climate generally characterised by warm summers and mild winters with moderate rainfall throughout the year. Temperate regions are found between the tropics and the polar regions. Depending on how far north (or south) one goes, temperate climates are divided into warm temperate and cool temperate regions.
The CRAVEman, along with his compatriots live in a small commune unsurprisingly called CRAVE Town in a region known as CRAVEland. CRAVE Town comprises a group of humble caves situated at the foot of a small but significant mountain range. His hunting grounds include not only the mountains but also the forest, grassland, rivers and sea. All in all, CRAVE Town is a great place for a tribal community to settle, survive and thrive with many natural resources close at hand, such as shelter, security and access to abundant food and water.
There are few serious dangers to impact on the tribe’s wellbeing and prosperity. Wild animals and competing neighbouring tribes from the other side of the mountain range result in occasional risks to their livelihood but, on the whole, peace prevails.
To all intents and purposes, the extent of The CRAVEman’s realm is as far as his tribe can travel and return home safely, resulting in a natural boundary to his domain. Being a simple chap, he doesn’t spend too much time pondering on what might lie beyond the edge of his realm or even further afield.
“Stone Age. Bronze Age. Iron Age. We define entire epics of humanity by the technology they use” – Reed Hastings (1960‑)
The Latest ‘Adventures’ of The CRAVEman
Like last time, there is some sort of story behind the images. Like last time, I’m not going to spoon feed you with any sort of plot. Like last time, I’ll give a hint about his adventures through short captions for each image. You can take that as it comes or you can create your own storyboard and use your imagination to craft your own version of The CRAVEman’s cracking capers. It’s much more fun that way.
I grew up with comic books, manga, comic strips and cartoon stories – everything from Krazy Kat, Peanuts, Garfield, Calvin & Hobbes, Tin Tin, Asterix The Gaul, The early X‑Men, Thor, The Fantastic Four, Spider‑Man, Captain America, Hulk, Dr. Strange, Vampirella, Watchmen, Judge Dredd, V For Vendetta, Maus, Wonder Woman, Superman and my personal favourite, Batman (the darker the better), amongst many others. The diversity of content fired my imagination and inspired my alternative view of the world, albeit somewhat fantastical and a sanctuary from the cruel reality of everyday human existence. It is in that spirit of conjuring fanciful flights of fantasy that I’m alluding to when suggesting that it’s up to you to put your own slant on proceedings. Take it where you want and immerse yourself in his latest experiences.
Guitar Maintenance Time – The CRAVEman giving one of his CRAVE Guitars some essential TLC before it is put to some serious band use with rehearsals and gigs coming up.
Cave Wall Painting – The CRAVEman trying to document and preserved the images of prehistoric CRAVE Guitars for future generations. It is kinda his guitar collection database.
Stone Age Graffiti – The CRAVEman viewing some local graffiti done by some local yoofs on a rock face near CRAVE Town. While not showing outward approval, he kinda digs that his influence is having an effect on the next generation.
CRAVE Guitars Exhibition Time – One of The CRAVEman’s close friends acting as an exhibition curator, showing off some CRAVE Guitars in the hope of inspiring others to take up the cause.
Band Song Writing – The CRAVEman doesn’t rest on his laurels or past hits. He needs to get down and concentrate hard on some serious new song writing for his band and solo projects.
Shopping for New CRAVE Guitars – The CRAVEman suffers from G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) just like his modern counterparts. He travels far and wide to nearby markets to look for new guitars to add to his collection. A prehistoric guitar shop, if you will.
Stone Age Social Media – The CRAVEman needs to promote and market his band’s image, so he sets about some prehistoric ‘social media’ posts. He has to use a clay tablet so that he can spread the word and follow the band.
Pre-Gig Arrangements – The CRAVEman has a drink at the CRAVEpub before his band plays a big gig at the venue. The barman is also a friend and part‑time band manager, event organiser, as well as venue owner, so it’s an important meeting.
Pre-Gig Chat Up – The CRAVEman meeting a couple of CRAVEgirls at the CRAVEpub, getting to know some of his fans and potential future groupies. Times haven’t changed much over the millennia.
The BIG CRAVE Gig – The CRAVEman’s band – The CRAVEband (what else?) – plays a big rock gig at the CRAVEpub in front of many fans, not just his tribe but also from neighbouring friendly ones.
The Gig After Party – In order to capitalise on the big rock gig, the pub landlord also arranged a post-gig music club after party with lots of frivolity and fun for his customers and to celebrate a successful performance by The CRAVEband.
Solo Rehearsal – Not only does The CRAVEman play with The CRAVEband, he likes to rehearse some solo material and engage in a bit of rock music head banging, just for fun and to let his hair down.
Battle of the Stone Age Rock Bands – The CRAVEband isn’t the only rock band in CRAVEland. There are several up‑and‑coming competitors. The landlord of the CRAVEpub organised a ‘Battle of the Bands’ event to celebrate local music talent.
Guitar Lessons – The CRAVEman knows that the future of rock music relies on the next generations taking up his passion. So The CRAVEman also takes time to teach the local CRAVEkids how to play guitar and keep the vibrant scene going.
Family Rock Jam Time – The CRAVEman’s old man drops into the CRAVEcave for a jam session with his son, proving that The CRAVEman is a chip off the old rock.
Chillout Time – After all the community fun playing with The CRAVEband at the CRAVEpub, the after party and the battle of the Stone Age rock bands, The CRAVEman needs some reflection time with his loyal canine buddy, The CRAVEdog, while noodling on his guitar for relaxation.
Outdoor Guitar Practice – On fair days, The CRAVEman likes to sit outside his CRAVEcave and enjoy the clement weather while also taking the opportunity to engage in a bit of idle guitar practice to lift his spirits.
Admiring The CRAVEman’s Guitar Collection – Also on good days, he likes to get his impressive collection of CRAVE Guitars out, set them up outside his CRAVEcave and admire them for what they are, great prehistoric rock guitars. He’s also thinking about what his next CRAVE Guitar might be.
Prayers at the Altar of Rock Guitars – Before retiring for the night, The CRAVEman knows just how privileged he is in his community role and feels obliged to pray to the venerable Rock Gods for his own and his tribe’s good fortune and prosperity.
Time to Settle Down – Coming up to The CRAVEman’s bedtime, he relaxes with his CRAVEdog and does a bit of noodling before retiring at the end of the day to snooze and dream of Rock Godness.
“Ordinary language embodies the metaphysics of the Stone Age” – J.L. Austin (1911‑1960)
Final Thoughts on the Latest Adventures of The CRAVEman
Well, that’s it for now. The CRAVEman has exited stage right and is taking a well‑deserved rest after his latest escapades. Given the season, it is time for his annual hibernation until springtime. However, when I interviewed me, my alter‑ego confided in me (Ed: that’s a disturbing internal dialogue) that he would like to return. As Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947‑) as the T800 cyborg assassin stated in the film, ‘The Terminator’ (1984), “I’ll be back”. Keep your precious peepers peeled for the possibility of further exploits of your favourite Stone Age Rock God! What a non‑living legend!
There is no protracted pretentious pontification for a welcome change this month. No opinion, just a momentary pause in proceedings to reflect on the puerile panoply of prehistoric pictograms.
Finally, The CRAVEman wishes everyone a great start to the Happy Holidays season from Thanksgiving through Christmas to New Year. Have an exceptional time everyone. Here’s The CRAVEman’s Thanksgiving celebration portrait…
“Welcome out of the cave, my friend. It’s a bit colder out here, but the stars are just beautiful” – Plato (c.427‑347BCE)
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Album of the Month’
Sticking with the Stone Age Rock theme of this month’s article, I’m going back a bit to the heyday of British rock. Appropriately, this month’s accolade goes to…
Deep Purple – Deep Purple In Rock (1970): ‘In Rock’ (for short) was English rock band Deep Purple’s 4th studio album released in June 1970 on the Harvest record label, comprising only seven tracks covering just 44 minutes. The band’s line up at the time was the classic ‘mark II’ membership (Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice). Classic tracks on the album include, ‘Speed King’ and ‘Child In Time’. At the same time as the album, Deep Purple released their complementary classic breakout hit single, ‘Black Knight’ (1970), even though it didn’t appear on the original LP track list.
Deep Purple were on a roll in the early 1970s with subsequent albums such as, ‘Fireball’ (1971), ‘Machine Head’ (1972) and ‘Burn’ (1974). I don’t want to get into the heated debate about what genre this album represents. Some call it heavy metal (it isn’t), some call it classic rock (only in retrospect; at the time it was just rock), some call it hard rock (ditto) or perhaps it is just… rock (probably most apposite). Ultimately, it doesn’t matter, it was great pioneering rock produced during a prolific and innovative period in British and American music. It’s not my personal favourite Deep Purple album; that would be ‘Made In Japan’ (1972). However, ‘In Rock’ is a great album by a massively influential band at the time and it fits the bill for this particular article very nicely. It also showcases the band members’ prodigious musical talents, not least the guitar pyrotechnics of Ritchie Blackmore.
BELIEVE IN MUSIC!
“Maybe when all was said and done, the imagination was the most powerful of all weapons. It was the imagination of the human race that had allowed it to dream of a life beyond cold caves and of a possible future in the stars” – Dean Koontz (1945‑)
Tailpiece
So, my veritable virtual visitors, the time has come for The CRAVEman (and me, in my multiple personality disorder duties) to bid you a flippant fond farewell, at least for the time being. I have a funny feeling that the modern world has not seen the last of The CRAVEman. Watch this space.
Next month’s outpouring is very likely to be a predictable end‑of‑year‑review article, so not too demanding on the real stupidity (as opposed to artificial intelligence) front. Fare thee well from the newly titled CVG, fine friends.
Truth, peace, love, and guitar music be with you always. The CRAVEman, signing off for now. Until next time…
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “What you will know tomorrow is an accumulation of what you’ve known every day before”
HI Y’ALL GOOD FOLKS. HOW ARE YOU DOING OUT THERE? The CRAVEman bids you a warm welcome and hopes all is as well as it can be, wherever you are on our precious shared planet. It is kinda a rhetorical question intended to encourage one to consider, albeit very briefly, the importance of one’s own health and wellbeing. I am not expecting responses. Honest. Well, here we are, heading irretrievably towards winter in the northern hemisphere. Gracious greetings once again, it’s fab to have you along in the abstruse alliterative arena of CRAVE Vintage Guitar Gear. I thank you, sincerely, for your attendance – it is genuinely and humbly appreciated. I’m sure you probably have much better things to do than join me in my repetitively random rants and ramblings.
Just a short up‑front re‑statement in support of my on‑going cultural campaign to promote humanity’s desperate need to bring peace and harmony to our divided, embittered world. Amity is not only about stopping existing conflict but also about preventing future hostilities. True and lasting peace can only be achieved through unceasing efforts to stimulate genuine understanding, co‑operation and tolerance. Reconciliation and peaceful collaboration should be a collective imperative for everyone on our only world. War is ignorance. Peace is wisdom. Simple. Apologies but this is my only platform to disseminate that vital message.
“Authoritarian societies are inherently corrupt, and corrupt societies are inherently unstable” – William Gibson (1948‑)
Prelude
Last month’s article looked at ‘Vintage Guitar Gear Collections Within A Collection: Part I – CRAVE Guitars & CRAVE Basses’. This month, we have the sequel, based on CRAVE Effects, which delves into the weird, wonderful and occasionally wild dark side of vintage gear to explore what vintage effect pedals are, what they do and why they might be of interest. Vintage effects are a bit of a niche interest and can often be overlooked by the mainstream ‘collecterati’, so they are by default of interest to your humble host.
Upfront, I really love old analogue effect pedals. I’ve owned some of my favourite pedals since the late 1970s and they are still going strong. It is probably needless to say that modern digital effects provide pristine, crystal clear tones, low noise levels, consistent and reliable power supply, and feature seemingly limitless combinations of control. Call me old school but the excellent new models lack that grubby, grimy imperfectness that makes the oldies the goodies. Some manufacturers recognise this and, alongside their modern DSP (Digital Sound Processing) based ‘computers’, companies reissue and/or (try to) replicate the vintage classics. However, from my perspective, these modern effects can be considered ‘too good’ in comparison, lacking a bit of warmth, soul and charm. An analogy may be like comparing a clapped out old Citroën 2CV with a brand new Bentley Continental. I’d actually go for the cheaper and decidedly more eccentric Deux Chevaux.
As with last month, this article’s featured quotes bring a few carefully selected thoughts about human ‘perception’ to the proceedings. As usual, no AI was used in the writing of this article, just the tired and worn out brain cells of your mentally atrophied author. Apologies for intellectual standards falling short of real intelligence. I did, however, use AI image creation for The CRAVEman image towards the end of this article.
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see” – Henry David Thoreau (1817‑1862)
Previously… on Collections and Collections within a Collection
There is little point in reiterating the original idea on which this article is based. If you wish to view/review CRAVE Guitars articles on the compulsion of vintage gear collecting and guitar/bass collections within a collection, those blogs can be accessed by following the links below (each link opens a new browser tab).
Last month, guitars and basses were grouped by other criteria for an alternative perspective. Sadly, there aren’t enough CRAVE Amps to justify a similar treatment, so there won’t be a Part III. However, effect pedals just cry out for a different method for appreciating their vintage charm, hence this article.
“If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is — infinite” – William Blake (1757‑1827)
Effect Brands
Since the 1990s and particularly since the beginning of the 21st Century, there has been an explosion of interest in, as well as supply of and demand for, effect pedals. The massive proliferation in effect pedals (way too many to mention here) is effectively excluded from this article on vintage pedals, as CRAVE Guitars has an arbitrary cut‑off of 1989. All the effect pedals featured herein all come under the heading of CRAVE Effects.
For the purpose of this article, a good starting point is to define the effect brands featured on the CRAVE Guitars’ web site. The ‘big four’ and ‘the rest’ are:
Electro‑Harmonix (EHX)
MXR
BOSS
Ibanez
Other – Colorsound, Dallas Arbiter, DOD, Dunlop, Jen, Marshall, Pro Co, Sola Sound, VOX
On the CRAVE Guitars’ web site (as CRAVE Effects), effect pedals are organised according to the de facto ‘standard’ way of cataloguing vintage gear brand. Like other vintage guitar gear, effects are usually referred to by brand, model and date. This is how effects are grouped on the web site features and galleries. It is also how I tend to keep track of the pedals in which I’m interested. Therefore, I am assuming that this standard methodology of curatorship is a given and I won’t expand on this further.
As mentioned on the web site, not all these brands are American. CRAVE Effects is the only part of the ‘collection’ where I extend the boundaries to include brands from across the globe. The reason is that these pedals were integral to the cultural zeitgeist of, particularly, American and British music from the 1960s onward, possibly more so than instruments. While I am usually pedantic about such things, I am flexible in this regard. ‘They’ say there is always an exception to a rule. ‘They’ also say that rules are there to be broken. ‘They’ should really make ‘their’ mind(s) up.
There are some notable effect brands missing from the above list, for instance Binson, Digitech, Maestro, Maxon (who made effects for Ibanez), Morley, Musitronics, Roland (who make BOSS), ROSS, Shin‑Ei, Thomas Organ, etc. The simple reason is that this article is focusing on CRAVE Effects and the ‘collection’ doesn’t have any of these effect brands (yet). As with instruments, the scope has to be limited, if only for my sanity. The point will, nevertheless, hopefully be made anyway.
For clarity, there are no rack effects featured here, even though some were common during the period covered (for instance from Roland and MXR). Also, there are no digital multi‑effect units or software effects, as these tended to appear more recently than vintage pedals.
“Everything hinges on how you look at things” – Henry Miller (1891‑1980)
Effect Types
The standard methodology, as you may have gleaned from last month’s article, isn’t the only way to look at things. Even more than instruments, effects fall relatively easily into an alternative, convenient set of groupings. It is this that I’ll be using for the rest of this article. This might prove interesting because it isn’t easy to view this perspective on the web site.
There are plenty of resources on the hinterwebby thingummy that suggest a variety of different effect types. I analysed these and I don’t necessarily agree with any of them. In the end, I went with my own intuition and came up with the following broad categories, noting that some pedals fall across or between these groups (for instance, compression and EQ often feature a clean boost and hybrid effects such as octave/fuzz, wah/fuzz and wah/volume pedals are commonplace). There are also some effects that could be classified entirely within a different category, for instance compression, which doesn’t easily fall within any category.
Gain Effects (e.g. clean/treble boost, overdrive, distortion, fuzz)
Breaking the above groups down, there are around 30 different sub‑types, which provide a seemingly obvious way of looking at effects differently, something that I have not previously done with CRAVE Effects.
You may well argue that pedals grouped under #7 above aren’t effects at all and you’d be right. However, they are more or less, integral to many musician’s pedalboards, so for this article, they are included as an additional category. There are also some effects often used by guitarists/bassists that don’t fall into any of the above categories, for instance drum machines and loopers.
CRAVE Effects currently doesn’t have some effect sub‑types, for instance analogue synth, ring modulator, tremolo, limiter, noise gate, pitch shifter, etc. That means that there are some gaps at the time of writing. My aspiration is for the collection to become more comprehensive over time.
Phew! That’s even before we get started for real. Fewer words from here on in, mainly images – ‘they’ (again) say an image speaks a thousand words, so that’s what I’m banking on. Enjoy the colourful world of diminutive floor‑based stomp boxes with the following 7 headlines and 15 mini‑collections, each with an introductory section explaining what the grouping means for the sounds we hear.
“One person’s craziness is another person’s reality” – Tim Burton (1958‑)
Mini Collections 1 – Gain Effects (16)
Gain effects work by boosting the signal to varying degrees in certain ways. At its simplest, a clean boost will simply amplify a signal, making it stronger (louder). Used carefully, it can be used to overload the input stage of subsequent effects or (valve) amplifiers, causing then to start ‘clipping’ the signal – effectively flattening off a normal sine wave signal. In itself, an average clean boost doesn’t clip a signal. Overdrives take the principle a bit further by intentionally overloading circuits to force them into ‘clipping’, intended to produce a warm saturated valve‑like sound. Distortion effects inherently create a definite ‘clipping’ as an integral part of their circuits and present these already distorted sounds to whatever follows them. A good distortion effect will retain the core signature of the signal it receives. Fuzz pedals take the effect to logical extremes by forcing a sine wave signal into a brutal square wave signal, creating a wall of heavily distorted sound that can, if pushed, even obscure the original signal altogether.
Left‑right, top‑bottom: 1980 BOSS OD‑1 Over Drive, 1985 BOSS SD‑1 Super Over Drive, 1981 Ibanez TS‑808 Tube Screamer Overdrive Pro, 1981 Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer
DistortionEffect Pedals (7)
Left‑right, top‑bottom: 1975 MXR Distortion +, 1981 BOSS DS‑1 Distortion, 1985 BOSS HM‑2 Heavy Metal, 1983 Ibanez SD9 Sonic Distortion, 1984 Ibanez SM9 Super Metal, 1989 Marshall The Guv’nor, 1988 Pro Co RAT
FuzzEffect Pedals (5)
Left‑right, top‑bottom: 1977 Electro‑Harmonix Big Muff Pi, 1978 Electro‑Harmonix Little Big Muff Pi, 1975 Colorsound Supa Tone Bender, 1969 Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, 1976 Sola Sound Tone‑Bender Fuzz
“What you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing; it also depends on what sort of person you are” – C.S. Lewis (1898‑1963)
Mini Collections 2 – Modulation Effects (21)
Modulation relies, in theory, on a time‑based effect but they produce a distinctive sound. First of all, they retain the original signal. A phase effect will copy a signal and put it through an analogue delay circuit called a bucket brigade device (BBD). A BBD will store the original signal and delay it very slightly. Then it does the same again to the delayed signal and so on. This creates a delayed signal that is out of phase and mixed with the original signal – hence phasing. Controls usually feature rate and depth (strength). Flange takes the concept and extends it, producing a second audio signal and mixing it with the original, causing a swooshing or ‘airplane engine’ sweep across frequencies. Chorus works by layering multiple copies of the original signal and slightly detuning and delaying them, thereby creating what was intended to sound like multiple instruments. Chorus is often used to thicken and deepen the overall sound.
“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are” – Anaïs Nin (1903‑1977)
Mini Collections 3 – Time‑Based Effects (8)
Delay effects fall broadly into two general types. The subtler of the two is reverb. It works by delaying the original signal very slightly so that the resulting sound creates a feeling of space, as if sound waves were reflecting of surfaces and gradually decaying. Reverb recreates sound wave reflections reaching the listener at slightly different times, for example in a large open space, such as a church, cathedral, cave, hall or empty venue. Echo effects basically do what they say on the tin. It copies the original signal and replays it one or more times with a delay that is sufficient for the brain to process it as a separate sound wave from the original. Originally tape loops were used to record, play back and then erase the signal. Solid state analogue BBD circuits superseded tape but are limited in clarity and the time between repeats. However digital delays can create very long delays with crystal clean echoes. The ultimate extreme of delays is used as the basis for modern looping effects.
Reverb & Delay/EchoEffect Pedals (8)
Left‑right, top‑bottom: 1987 BOSS RV‑2 Digital Reverb, 1977 Electro‑Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man, 1978 MXR Analog Delay, 1986 BOSS DD‑2 Digital Delay, 1982 BOSS DM‑2 Delay, 1984 BOSS DM 3 Delay, 1982 Ibanez AD9 Analog Delay, 1980 DOD Analog Delay 680,
“Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them; and each mind perceives a different beauty” – David Hume (1711‑1776)
Mini Collections 4 – Filter Effects (10)
Filter effects effectively add or remove certain frequencies within a signal thereby changing the tone of the signal. They generally do not affect the volume or pitch of a signal, just the amount of bass, middle or treble. The simplest of these is the equivalent of a passive tone pot on a guitar or bass being used to shape the sound. Putting a tone pot in a treadle and operating it with the foot creates a filtered tone sweep (the crying wah‑wah effect) when the signal is changed continuously or, if kept in a fixed position, create a sound with an emphasis either on bass or treble characteristics of the original signal. An envelope filter, derived from analogue synthesiser technology attempts to recreate the wah‑wah type sound electronically without the need for the player to control the signal manually. EQ (short for equalisation) can be a straightforward ‘graphic equalizer’ with different controls for different parts of the signal, meaning that the sound spectrum can be shaped very accurately. EQ can also be parametric, where one control selects a certain frequency and a second control varies the tone around that frequency (often found in recording studio desks). Counter‑intuitively, low cut filters preserve high frequencies and vice versa (also slightly more sensibly called high and low pass filters).
Wah‑WahEffect Pedals (3)
Left‑right, top‑bottom: 1977 Colorsound Supa Wah‑Swell, 1980s Dunlop Original Cry Baby GCB‑95, 1980 Jen Cry Baby Super
Envelope FollowerEffect Pedals (5)
Left‑right, top‑bottom: 1976 Electro‑Harmonix Doctor Q Envelope Follower, 1980 Electro‑Harmonix Zipper Envelope Follower, 1978 MXR Envelope Filter, 1985 BOSS TW‑1 T Wah, 1981 Ibanez AF 201 Auto Filter
EQEffect Pedals (2)
Left‑right: 1981 MXR Six Band Graphic Equalizer, 1981 Ibanez GE‑601 Graphic Equalizer
“Though we see the same world, we see it through different eyes” – Virginia Woolf (1882‑1941)
Mini Collections 5 – Amplitude Effects (7)
Put simply, amplitude effects change the volume of a signal. They generally do not affect the tone or pitch of signals. Amplitude and frequency affects are often confused, for instance, tremolo (affects the volume) and vibrato (affects the pitch). They are fundamentally very different things. At its simplest, a swell pedal puts a volume control in a treadle that can be foot operated, giving the same result as a volume control on a guitar or bass. A swell effect is actually very hard to replicate electronically. Tremolo provides a ‘throbbing’ or ‘pulsing’ sound by increasing and reducing volume in a predetermined cycle and was the first on‑board effects in vintage valve amps. Compression generally falls into this bracket and works by boosting low level signals and cutting (or limiting) high level signals thereby ‘compressing’ the dynamics of a signal that can vary from slight to significant. Compression can be used to smooth, warm, thicken and sustain a signal, often very useful for guitar signals that are usually dynamic with sharp attack, rapid decay and short sustain. Noise gates work in the opposite way, by eliminating low level signals including extraneous noise.
Left‑right, top‑bottom: 1980 MXR Dyna Comp, 1980 BOSS CS‑1 Compression Sustainer, 1981 Ibanez CP‑835 Compressor II, 1982 Ibanez CP9 Compressor/Limiter
“There is no fixed physical reality, no single perception of the world, just numerous ways of interpreting world views” – Deepak Chopra (1946‑)
Mini Collections 6 – Pitch Effects (3)
Pitch effects do what they say, they affect the pitch of a signal without changing the tone, tempo or volume. Pitch effects can be used on their own, such as a simple octave generator which mixes the original signal with a tone that may be one or more octaves up or down. A harmonizer is more complex in being able to shift the pitch by degrees, e.g. thirds, or fifths up or down, creating a harmony that depends on the key of a piece of music. Some of the simpler pitch effects are often combined with other effects, particularly octave and fuzz being a popular option thanks to one James Marshall Hendrix. The MXR Blue Box below is an example of a combined fuzz/octave effect pedal.
OctaveEffect Pedals (3)
Left‑right, top‑bottom: 1976 Electro‑Harmonix Octave Multiplexer, 1975 MXR Blue Box, 1985 BOSS OC‑2 Octave
“Most of the mistakes in thinking are inadequacies of perception rather than mistakes of logic” – Edward de Bono (1933‑2021)
Mini Collections 7 – Speciality Pedals (2)
As mentioned above, speciality pedals may or may not affect the overall sound effect at all but can be vital for guitarists or bassists as an integral part of a pedalboard.
Channel SwitchPedals (2)
Left‑right: 1970s Electro‑Harmonix Switch Blade Channel Selector, 1986 BOSS PSM‑5 Power Supply & Master Switch
“It is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of view” – George Eliot (1819‑1880)
Yet Another Alternative Perspective
As always, there are different ways of looking at ‘collections within a collection’. To be exhaustive would be gruelling and extraordinarily dull, so I will use just one example, grouping by model series, rather than effect.
During the early days of Ibanez pedals, they released a series of effect pedals commonly known as the Ibanez ‘0’ series pedals – with the ‘0’ being the middle number of the model designation (puzzlingly except for the CP‑835 Compressor II). The most famous of the Ibanez ‘0’ Series pedals was the iconic TS‑808 Tube Screamer Overdrive Pro. The ‘0’ series pedals were distinguished by the unique square footswitch.
Ibanez ‘0’ Series Effect Pedals
In reality, the ‘0’ series did not last long and was really a transitional model. It was replaced by the completely restyled Ibanez ‘9’ series pedals, with the ‘9’ being the last number of the model designation. For instance, the TS‑808 became the TS9. The most obvious design change is that the ‘9’ series pedals replaced the square footswitch with a more traditional large (BOSS‑style) treadle‑operated footswitch.
Ibanez ‘9’ Series Effect Pedals
These two ‘mini collections’ clearly show the evolution of effect pedals during a short and very prolific period for stomp boxes. While there are many other permutations, this comparison makes the point quite clearly that other approaches can be taken. Say no more.
“Perception and reality are two different things” – Tom Cruise (1962‑)
The CRAVEman’s Pedalboard
Many people get confused about the general sequence in which effects should be placed in the signal chain. ‘The conventional wisdom’ (NB. Commonplace beliefs that are generally accepted to be true without critical questioning – a term often credited to Canadian/American economist John Kenneth Galbraith in ‘The Affluent Society’ (1958), even though it might originally date back to c.1838) suggests the following sequence:
This sequence is only a guide, not a diktat. Many guitarists change it up to create a different type of soundscape that suits them. No surprise, I prefer a different effect pedal order that I developed over several years playing in a band. Even so, it still doesn’t mean that it’s fixed in perpetuity. What I learned was, ‘do your own thing’ to suit you and create your own signature sound.
“Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else” – Fred Rogers (1928‑2003)
The CRAVEman’s favourite effect pedals, regardless of brand, represent a back‑to‑basics approach and may provoke a debate based on opinion. For me, in order of favourites, it was/is #1 echo, #2 fuzz, #3 flangers, #4 envelope followers. The CRAVEman’s least favourite effect pedals #1 phasers (too common), #2 chorus (ditto), #3 overdrive (others do it better), #4 pitch shifters (inconsistent tracking). May I be cast into the abyss of Tartarus in the underworld to suffer eternal torment, such is the extent of my judgemental wickedness! However, I stand by my heresy and shall not repent.
Unlike many contemporary musicians, my preferred pedal line‑up is very simplistic. I do play around with it but I keep coming back to a core that suit my playing style and musical leanings. They are all classics in their own right and are all very analogue. The creative possibilities with this set can be quite ‘out there’. It also has the advantage that pedals from the same manufacturer are also more likely to work together than a mix‑and‑match approach. Are there better examples of each effect from other brands? Undoubtedly, but not for me. Here’s my go‑to line up…
Electro‑Harmonix Big Muff Pi
Electro Harmonix Bad Stone
Electro‑Harmonix Electric Mistress
Electro‑Harmonix Zipper Envelope Follower
Electro‑Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man
I also use a combined wah/volume pedal but no specific model. You notice I have a soft spot for EHX effect pedals. There is no particular reason, it’s just that they sound and behave the way I like. Admittedly, they were also the first serious pedals I used, alongside Dallas Arbiter/Colorsound/Sola Sound pedals. Others come close, for instance the MXR 100 phaser, as well as the MXR and DOD analogue delays. There are plenty of newer exceptional effect units (e.g. Line6) but this article is about vintage pedals, so that’s where I’m focused. While undoubtedly excellent, most Japanese pedals (e.g. BOSS/Ibanez) just don’t do it for me, which is a bit weird.
“All our knowledge is the offspring of our perceptions” – Leonardo da Vinci (1452‑1519)
Final Thoughts on Effect Collections within a Collection
I hope you enjoyed the colourful selection of CRAVE Effects’ stomp boxes viewed from a slightly different perspective. In one sense, they all look alike, while on closer inspection, they are all very different aesthetically. Although ‘new’ acquisitions are currently in abeyance, I have become besotted with vintage effect pedals, for better or worse. Vintage effect pedals represent quite a convoluted playground, fostering much confusion, misunderstanding, debate and conjecture.
I have finally given up the fight and I now concede that I am a small‑scale, limited ‘collector’ of vintage guitar gear. I think that this and the previous articles tend to cement this unfortunate conclusion. Yup, I have become something I have tried hard to avoid becoming. Darn it! I refuse, as far as I am able, to go full ‘collecterati’ though.
Even though a single effect pedal doesn’t take up much space, collectively, they do. The CRAVEcap (the constraint of space and funds) currently in place means that any ‘new’ acquisitions to CRAVE Effects may be a while off yet. It may come as a surprise that some rare effects can cost more than vintage guitars, basses or amps, including several pedals featured herein and on the web site.
“Before you become too entranced with gorgeous gadgets and mesmerizing video displays, let me remind you that information is not knowledge, knowledge is not wisdom, and wisdom is not foresight. Each grows out of the other, and we need them all” – Arthur C. Clarke (1917‑2008)
One thing, though, does ‘bother’ me about the whole world of vintage effect pedals. One of the fundamental principles of vintage guitar tone is to keep the signal chain as short and as direct as possible. Vintage gear enthusiasts will often spend (many) thousands of pounds/dollars on expensive vintage guitars, basses and amps because of their undeniably unique and attractive tonal characteristics.
Then what do we go and do? Those same enthusiasts buy a cheap little box crammed full of transistors, resistors, capacitors, pots, ICs, switches, circuit boards and wiring, and then we put them directly in the signal path. A few older effects may be passive, while most others are battery driven (usually one or two 9V 6LR61/MN1604/PP3 blocks), which has proved to be an unreliable power source dependent on charge levels. The alternative is to use AC power transformed into DC, often with variable voltages and currents as well as polarities. In addition cable attenuation is also a problem – lots of pedals use lots of interconnects. Pedal circuit boards, components and cables usually comprise budget items originally ordered in bulk quantities for mere cents/pennies per unit. Older circuits were often also hand assembled using whatever was lying around and often constructed with variable soldering quality. All things considered, consistency and quality control certainly weren’t manufacturing strong points in the 1960s and 1970s.
Open up some older pedals and one can be amazed at the crude nature of the assembly. Open some of the newer pedals and there are massive amounts of components, often with multiple IC (Integrated Circuit) chips suddenly placed directly into the signal chain, seemingly intent on corrupting it. When analysed, many electronic circuits are inherently ‘noisy’, often with unintended audio effects, which we can hear. There can be profound issues with mixing and matching ‘true bypass’ effects with buffered effects, as well as issues combining analogue with digital effects. A complex pedalboard can also be very sensitive to the order in which effects are used. Many modern amps have an effect send/return loop between pre and power stages, rather than the traditional method of effects feeding directly into the pre‑amp’s input stage.
Bottom line, there has really been nothing fundamentally new in the last 65 years of effect pedal development since the early days of innovation. Many modern pedals are copies of classic pedals or just variations of tried and tested themes. The old ways of specialist analogue pedals have been superseded by an overwhelming multiplicity of layered digital complexity. However, the principal aims and core characteristics have remained largely unchanged.
“Perception is a mirror not a fact. And what I look on is my state of mind, reflected outward” – Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803‑1882)
Nowadays, inline effects and amps are not always needed and guitarists rely on DI (Direct Input) into studio/stage digital audio processors, weirdly set to mimic vintage analogue gear. Then we also add in wireless signal transmission. All of these factors can affect the tone of the rest of the signal chain, often very significantly. Problems are frequent and often hard to identify and eradicate.
Yet, we continue to adore and admire these miniature miracles of electronic bits and pieces for destroying the very things we so desire from the rest of our vintage equipment. Go figure! This dilemma completely blows my mind when I stop and try to rationalise it objectively. Am I alone in contemplating this peculiar incongruity or is it a widespread understanding? I have absolutely no idea; the whole gamut of convolutions is not straightforward to resolve.
When I rejuvenated my guitar playing in the 1990s, I tried a multi‑effect unit but found I was spending more time working out how to use the seemingly unlimited and not very intuitive controls, rather than to focus on what mattered, playing guitar. The multi‑effect was soon ditched and I reverted back to a mix‑and‑match approach of separate pedals. This soon changed again, by replacing new effect pedals with vintage ones and the rest, as ‘they’ say, is history.
Believe it or not, digital effects started appearing in the early 1980s, supplementing rather than superseding analogue ones. Some of these early vintage digital stomp boxes are included here (I’m not prejudiced!). Digital processing started appearing, mainly in delay/echo pedals and reverb effects (reverb can’t easily be replicated using analogue circuits).
Another question. Are some effect reputations worthwhile? In my opinion, sometimes but not always. Some highly regarded pedals are good but overrated, often hyped by artist association, rather than by their inherent characteristics. Others can really surprise because they ‘fit’ with a particular situation. Some will swear that a script logo MXR Phase 90 sounds better than a block logo one, even when the internals are identical and the change is purely cosmetic. Some models will sound different from pedal to pedal, even if the circuit design is the same. Some circuits behave differently from pedal to pedal, for instance anything with an environmentally sensitive germanium resistor. Some seemingly identical pedals used different components from one to the next due to component availability and/or price at the time. Some commentators will also swear that component ‘a’ sounds great while component ‘b’ sounds like total garbage, while to the average user, the differences are so slight as to make no audible difference, especially in a band setting. Does it really matter or does snobbery fit the bill (again)?
What I’m really trying to say is, go with your ears and instincts, rather than brand name, effect specification and hype. The best way to sound unique is not to go with the flow but to do your own thing. Be creative and experiment not only with the pedals you use but also in the order they are used. It is way more fun creating the unique way you want to sound, rather than trying to sound like someone else. Inspiration can be found in these marvellous and magical miniscule machines (Ed: alliteration still alive and well then).
The effects featured here aren’t the only effects owned by CRAVE Guitars/Effects. I have a number of newer (i.e. non‑vintage) pedals, as well as a number of studio rack effects. Hunting down vintage effects, though, has become my main focus. The non‑vintage effects are excluded from this article.
“People only see what they are prepared to see” – Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803‑1882)
Some vintage effect pedals are ubiquitous and can be picked up for very little money. Others however can cost astronomically silly amounts. This may be because they are highly regarded and much in demand, for instance, early Dallas/Colorsound/Sola Sound Tone Benders, Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Faces, and Ibanez Tube Screamers. Others are just very hard to come by, especially in good condition (remember these things are used on the floor and tend to get a lot of physical abuse). Some others are pricey because they were niche products only produced either for a short time or in very small numbers (or both), for instance the BOSS Slow Gear featured.
One of the reasons I got into vintage pedals in the first place was during a period of austerity lasting many years. During that time, I couldn’t afford or accommodate guitars, basses and amps but effects were relatively cheap and didn’t take up much space. Thus, they became a serious part of the CRAVE Guitars/Basses/Effects/Amps family. The fascination with these little bits of gear heritage suffer from the same GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) that affects most guitarists. This means that ‘collecting’ vintage effect pedals can be seriously addictive – be warned!
Will traditional single‑effect pedals be replaced by modern digital modelling ones? Probably, but not just yet. Studio DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software has already gone a long way down that path in many home and pro studios and there is plenty of scope for further improvement. In fact, one might wonder where AI will take effect pedals and digital plug ins in the future. For many, the AI‑influenced future will look very bright. Me? I’m defo old skool. Personally, I think the archaic noisy, temperamental, analogue effects have a certain allure and charm that no end of digital meddling will ever be able to replace (a bit like our enduring love for real valve amps and vinyl records).
As of 2025, the effect industry is largely alive and well and still thriving (within the overall operating environment of a declining music industry), especially in the rarefied realms of boutique pedals. It seems that guitarists and bassists can’t get enough of these tone mangling monstrosities. Love ‘em. When it comes to the crunch, these are serious toys with which a creative musician can extract great fun and satisfaction in our own inventive sound pits. Enjoy.
“Our senses enable us to perceive only a minute portion of the outside world” – Nikola Tesla (1856‑1943)
A Seasonal Message From The CRAVEman
This section has nothing to do with vintage guitars. However, it does take a brief look at a different aspect of western society’s cultural heritage. Apologies.
At the end of October each year, we tend to celebrate Halloween on the 31st of the month. The traditional roots of Halloween go back some 2,000 years ago (or more) with Irish and Scottish Celtic harvest festivals signifying the beginning of the dark half of the year and the onset of winter.
Celebrations around this time of the year and the origins of Halloween as a mystical event derive from the festival of Samhain (NB. translated as ‘summer’s end’ from Old Irish), with its roots in pagan custom for honouring dead ancestors. It was believed that the veil between the living and the dead of the Otherworld was at its weakest, allowing spirits to manifest and roam in the world of the living. Believers would set bonfires to ward off evil spirits and wear masks to avoid being recognised by ghosts.
In Christianity, All Hallows’ Eve (from where we get the word, ‘Halloween’) on 31 October is the holy day before All Hallows’ Day (All Saints’ Day) and All Souls’ Day on 1 and 2 November respectively (NB. The noun ‘hallow’ means a saint or holy person and the verb means to honour as holy). The relative timing of such festivities led to a blending of pagan, Roman and Christian traditions over the centuries.
In Mexico, ‘el dia de los muertos’ (literally, the day of the dead) festival coincides with the end of October/beginning of November every year, when families gather to remember and pay respect to those that have died. This suggests that paranormal revelries at this time of year have become widespread across many countries.
Incidentally, the film, ‘Halloween’ (1978) is one of the author’s favourite cinematic masterpieces, directed by the legendary John Carpenter and starring Jamie Lee Curtis. A great horror film for a Halloween party/film night. Great soundtrack too.
It therefore seems appropriate to conclude this seasonal message with a fittingly festive “Happy Halloween” from your favourite Stone Age guitarist and founder of CRAVE Guitars, The CRAVEman. Rock On!
“There are misfortunes in life that no one will accept; people would rather believe in the supernatural and the impossible” – Alexander Dumas (1802‑1870)
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Album of the Month’
In keeping with the theme of this month’s article, I thought I’d delve into one of the landmark American bands that went to extreme lengths to introduce inventive soundscapes to their music. The band in question made extensive use of heavily modified guitars, alternative tunings and abused effect pedals to produce oodles of off‑the‑wall clamour. The band I’m talking about is Sonic Youth from New York who went out of their way to sound like no other band around at the time. They formed in 1980 and, sadly, after over 30 years, they disbanded in 2011. During those three decades, the main three audio terrorists of the band were Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo (both on guitar) and Kim Gordon (on bass). They had a string of highly regarded studio albums including ‘Evol’ (1986), ‘Sister’ (1987), ‘Daydream Nation’ (1988), ‘Goo’ (1990), ‘Dirty’ (1992) and ‘Washing Machine’ (1995). However, my choice is not one of these but it is a personal favourite…
Sonic Youth – Sonic Nurse (2004): Sonic Nurse was Sonic Youth’s 13th studio album released in June 2004 on Geffen Records, comprising 10 tracks over an hour’s running time. The cover was designed by renowned American conceptual artist Richard Prince (1949‑). Despite being a lot less well known that their peak period albums, Sonic Nurse is close to where the band would eventually end up. This album was the middle one of a later career resurgance including, ‘Murray Street’ (2002) and ‘Rather Ripped’ (2006). Track one (6:33) is clearly influenced, fittingly so, by acclaimed American‑Canadian author, William Gibson’s cyberpunk novel, ‘Pattern Recognition’ (2003).
Sonic Youth – Sonic Nurse (2004)
Basically, any of the albums mentioned here can provide a great insight into what the band could do and fans will all have their own favourite. It just so happens that Sonic Nurse is mine. Even their very early albums (not mentioned here) have a great deal going for them. Naturally, there are inconsistencies but, over their career, those lesser albums were also better than most others in the experimental alternative noise rock genre. Turn up the volume and listen to the aural mayhem on show at your peril.
Alas, Sonic Youth fell apart in October 2011 following the separation of Moore and Gordon, after 27 years of marriage. The band’s influence and legacy has been profound in modern rock music and they deserve to be admired and respected for ploughing their own unique furrow throughout their career, rather than capitulating to studio mundanity for the sake of commercial success. Despite the hopes of many loyal fans, the band has, to‑date, not reunited and its status is officially ‘in hiatus’.
BELIEVE IN MUSIC!
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses” – Abraham Lincoln (1809‑1865)
Tailpiece
As usual, I’m at a loss for what to do next month but I’m sure I’ll think of something. It is getting harder to come up with different material, so I hope you’ll bear with me. Once the quality starts dropping off, I’ll have to call it a day but I don’t think the time has come just yet. You may think otherwise, of course! I don’t want to outstay my welcome. That’s it. No more in the way of dreary diatribe for this month. The holidays are a‑comin’. Yay!
Truth, peace, love, and guitar music be with you always. The CRAVEman, signing off for now. Until next time…
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “Always have great first thoughts, then you’ll never need to have second thoughts”
AHOY THERE MULTITUDINOUS MERRY MATIES! Welcome back to the wild world of CRAVE (Cool & Rare American Vintage Electric) Guitars. I trust that all is well with your part of the world. After a slight summer sabbatical from writing about vintage guitars, you may be pleased to know that we are suitably refreshed, refuelled, and redeployed on what matters this month. The trusty telescope of titular topics is fairly and squarely focused not just on vintage guitars but on CRAVE Vintage Guitars.
At this point, I often spout polemic on the sorry state of ‘humanity’ and the global Anthropocene tragedy entirely of our own making irrevocably unfolding in front of us. Well, I think I’ve made my point often enough for regular visitors. So this month, I will just point you towards the CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’ at the end of this article which, in my view, sums up the whole sorry mess in one short sentence (for a change).
Hopefully, not too many words and lots of images this month. If you are interested, the underlying theme of this month’s quotes is about perception. As always, no AI was used in the writing of this article.
“It all depends on how we look at things, and not how they are in themselves” – Carl Jung (1875‑1961)
Collecting and Collections Revisited
Going back to May 2025, CRAVE Guitars published an article about, ‘The Compulsion to Collect Vintage Guitars’. That article kicked off thoughts not solely about collecting but also about what constitutes a collection and how we might think about things slightly differently. If you wish to go back to the previous article on CRAVE Guitars’ collecting and collections, follow the link below (opens in a new tab). May 2025 – The Compulsion to Collect Vintage Guitars
Like most other sources, whether retail, curatorial or showcase, CRAVE Guitars tends to group vintage guitars by brand (e.g. Fender, Gibson, etc.), then by model in (e.g. Stratocaster, Telecaster, Les Paul, SG, etc.) both in alphabetic order and by date (e.g. 1965, 1972, 1984, etc.). Fundamentally, brand, model and date tends to be the standard methodology for categorising vintage guitars, at least on a broad level. The same catalogue system also applies to basses, effects and amps. CRAVE Guitars is no different. Take a look at the feature or gallery pages on the web site and that is exactly how vintage gear is listed. It makes sense and is widely accepted. It is also how I search for vintage gear in which I might be interested. Take a look at other web sites or library resources and it’s the same. For instance, check out, ‘Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars’ (1999) or the annual, ‘The Official Vintage Guitar Magazine Price Guide’ and it is the primary method of presentation.
“All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream” – Edgar Allan Poe (1809‑1849)
Collections within a Collection
So far, so good. However, it isn’t the only way of looking at things. Back in June and July this year (2025), I posted a series of CRAVE Guitar (and CRAVE Basses) montages on social media, which I described at the time as ‘collections within a collection’. Some of these selections were very obvious, others less so. One approach was to look at variations in a particular model over the years. Another was to look at similar types of model (but different name). It became the entry point into alternative perspectives that formed the catalyst for this month’s article. As a quick reminder, here is the entire, small but perfectly formed, CRAVE Guitars’ ‘collection’ as of 2025.
The permutations shown in this article do include some repetition because models may appear in more than one grouping. Fair enough. Go with the flow and I hope it will make sense. I have stuck fairly and squarely to CRAVE Guitars – it would be more coherent to stray into non‑CRAVE Guitars but that approach attracts many other issues, such as copyright and a significant broadening of scope.
I could go on, pontificating about the whys and wherefores, but that almost seems redundant, as the best way of explaining it is with the images themselves. That’s also good for me in that I can spare some time for writing other things.
“There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception” – Aldous Huxley (1894‑1963)
Mini Collections
So, what constitutes a mini‑collection? More than one of something. Simple. There are probably innumerable permutations of mini collections within the overall total. CRAVE Guitars, at the time of writing, has a number of guitars, basses, effects and amps (don’t ask, I don’t keep track). Most of those are vintage (ditto), depending on how one might define ‘vintage’. However, that particular conundrum is not the subject of this article.
Social media is where this idea started and it will unfold here as a sequence of steps. It isn’t practical to wade back through hundreds/thousands of social media posts, so this makes all that previous effort more accessible and in one place. So, without further ado, time to get pictorial with twenty four ‘collections within a collection’. I hope you enjoy the show…
“No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit” – Ansel Adams (1902‑1984)
Fender Brand Mini Collections
Some of you might know my predilection for student guitars and also single pickup guitars. The relevant Fender model names don’t help with coherency, so I found a way of bringing them together. By the early 1980s, Fender had replaced its core ‘student’ guitars (first generation) with other budget models (second generation). Not a popular move with enthusiasts or collectors. These are sometimes labelled, the ‘forgotten Fenders’.
That initial notion led onto collating a brace of Fender’s wonderful high‑end offset guitars (currently oh‑so popular with indie and alternative guitarists) and then Fender’s often‑overlooked (criminally so, in my view), semi‑acoustic electrics. NB. Yes, I know that some Fender student guitars (see above) are also offsets but there is enough to differentiate them for this article.
Then, I strayed into Fender’s core ‘pro‑level’ guitar models – Stratocasters and Telecasters, which also demonstrate evolution of the instruments over time.
Not wishing to leave out CRAVE Basses, there is only one collection‑within‑a‑collection.
CRAVE Guitars’ Vintage Fender Bass Guitars (3) – Top‑bottom: 1989 Fender Jazz Bass American Standard Longhorn, 1978 Fender Musicmaster Bass, 1977 Fender Precision Fretless Bass
“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth” – Marcus Aurelius (121‑180)
Gibson Brand Mini Collections
Having pretty much covered most of the Fender variations, I turned my sights onto Gibson guitars, starting off, again, with their underrated student guitars that, once more demonstrate evolution of the instruments over time.
Gibson’s long history started off with acoustic and then semi‑acoustic guitars categorised by the company as Gibson’s ES (Electric Spanish) models. Over the years, the ES lines evolved.
Gibson’s entry into solid body electrics started with the Les Paul Model, so here are CRAVE Guitars’ Gibson Les Pauls. In addition, there were also several Gibson models that used the Les Paul outline but weren’t actual LPs.
CRAVE Guitars’ Vintage Gibson Les Paul Guitars (4) – Top‑bottom: 1975 Gibson Les Paul Standard, 1977 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe Gold Top, 1989 Gibson Les Paul Standard, 1989 Gibson Les Paul Custom
CRAVE Guitars’ Vintage Gibson Les Paul‑shaped but non‑Les Paul Guitars (3) – Top‑bottom: 1961 Gibson Melody Maker D, 1977 Gibson L6‑S Deluxe, 1981 Gibson Sonex‑180 Deluxe
In the early 1960s, Gibson replaced the Les Paul with the devilishly pointy‑horned SG (Solid Guitar).
From the late 1950s, Gibson went through a highly creative phase, including their innovative alternative ranges, including Flying Vs, Explorers and Firebirds…
CRAVE Guitars’ Vintage Gibson Flying V Guitars (2) – Top‑bottom: 1980 Gibson Flying V2, 1984 Gibson Flying V Designer Series
CRAVE Guitars’ Vintage Gibson Explorer Guitars (5) – Top‑bottom: 1979 Gibson Explorer E2, 1982 Gibson Explorer CMT, 1983 Gibson Explorer 83, 1984 Gibson Explorer Custom Shop, 1984 Gibson Explorer Designer Series ‘Union Jack’
Through the years, Gibson also strayed into other creatively designed models, some more radical and aesthetically pleasing than others.
CRAVE Guitars’ Vintage Gibson ‘Oddity’ Guitars (4) – Top‑bottom: 1983 Gibson Corvus II, 1982 Gibson Moderne Korina Heritage, 1981 Gibson RD Artist, 1983 Gibson USA Map
“Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing” – Camille Pissarro (1830‑1903)
Other Brand Mini Collections
Having covered the main two major competitors, there are some of the other well‑known vintage guitar brands. For instance, during the 1950s and 1960s, Danelectro made guitars under their own name as well as for Sears, Roebuck & Co, under the Silvertone brand name.
CRAVE Guitars’ Vintage Danelectro‑built Danelectro and Silvertone Guitars (3) – Top‑bottom: 1963 Danelectro Pro 1, 1959 Silvertone 1304, 1964 Silvertone 1449 ‘Amp In Case’
CRAVE Guitars’ Vintage Music Man Stingrays: Guitar and Bass (2) – Top‑bottom: 1976 Music Man Stingray I, 1978 Music Man Stingray Bass
CRAVE Guitars’ Vintage Paul Reed Smith (PRS) (2) – Top‑bottom: 1989 Paul Reed Smith Classic Electric (CE), 1988 Paul Reed Smith Standard
“What we see depends mainly on what we look for” – John Lubbock (1834‑1913)
Other – Best of the Rest Mini Collections
Finally, all CRAVE Guitars are Made‑in‑USA, it only makes sense that some manufacturers would want to promote their country of origin in guitar form. CRAVE Guitars is fortunate enough to have not just one but two vintage guitars made in the outline of the lower 48 United States (sorry Alaska and Hawaii).
CRAVE Guitars’ Vintage USA‑shaped Guitars (2) ‑ Top‑bottom: 1983 Gibson USA Map, 1962 National Glenwood 95
That leaves some other CRAVE Guitars not easily grouped, e.g. Epiphone, Guild, Kramer, Ovation, Peavey and Rickenbacker. Kudos to these great vintage guitars. However, for the sake of completeness, here are what was left over from the initial concept. A non‑collection‑within‑a‑collection if you will.
Wow! That is pretty much it for this article. I am certain that you may be able to think of other ways in which these great guitars can be viewed. I think you will agree that this perspective goes to demonstrate and showcase a wide range from the classic conventional and traditional to the freaky, weird and wonderful, celebrating the novel diversity of CRAVE Guitars.
“One moment the world is as it is. The next, it is something entirely different. Something it has never been before” – Anne Rice (1941‑2021)
Final Thoughts on Vintage Guitar Collections within A Collection
My main comment at this point is that CRAVE Guitars’ total collection probably isn’t large enough to make this a really interesting topic, for which I apologise. The capacity of The CRAVEcave is severely limited, so the collection has reached its maximum size for the time being (The CRAVEcap). This isn’t through lack of ambition on my part, simply the inevitable practical constraints of space and funds. Darn it.
Looking at things in this way, it confirms that I have a particular penchant for Fender Telecasters and Gibson Explorers, of which there are five each. These were followed by Fender Stratocasters, Gibson Les Pauls and Gibson Melody Makers of which there are four each. Unsurprisingly, that fits pretty well with my own feelings about favourite guitars. I would (obviously?) like a few more ‘obscure’ American guitars. Who wouldn’t? Every guitar addict needs that irresistible next fix. So many gaps to fill, so, so many! Sadly though, any expansion of brands and/or models is going to have to wait for a while.
As a reminder, there are full features on the web site for each of the CRAVE Guitars and CRAVE Basses featured here. Also on the web site are separate features on all the brands featured here. There are simply too many links to list in an article, so you’ll have to do a bit of work for yourself if you want to delve deeper into the brands and/or the models.
“There are no facts, only interpretations” – Friedrich Nietzsche (1844‑1900)
The groupings featured in this article are just a few permutations of how collections can be viewed. There are many more ways of doing it. For instance, they could be grouped by:
Decade – 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, etc.
Model type – Custom, Standard, Junior, Special, Deluxe, etc.
Tone wood – Mahogany, maple, alder, ash, composite, etc.
Fingerboard type – rosewood, ebony, maple, composite, etc.
Pickup type – single coil, humbucker, other, etc.
Colour – sunburst, blue, red, gold, white, black, natural, etc.
Provenance – guitars with known owners
As far as CRAVE Guitars wider reach and influence goes, there are also themed image series based around photographic style, including:
Instagram vignettes (x2 series)
Floorboard guitars (1x series)
US flag guitars (x2 series)
Close up guitars (x2 series)
I tend to use these alternative image series on social media as a counterpoint to the web site images. They don’t appear on the web site (just to mix things up a bit). All these different perspectives supplement and complement the standard ‘signature’ purple background guitars used for consistency of presentation on the CRAVE Guitars’ web site. The collections within collections featured in this article also don’t appear on web site pages.
In conclusion, there many different ways of looking at the same instruments, way too many to cover without going full nerd. Given the small scale and scope of CRAVE Guitars, to do all that would become highly repetitive and dull, so I know when it’s time to stop.
The same approach can be taken for CRAVE Effects and that will form the basis of Part II of this mini‑series next month. As far as CRAVE Amps go, there are simply too few to make something from it (at the moment).
“To change ourselves effectively, we first had to change our perceptions” – Stephen R. Covey (1932‑2012)
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Album of the Month’
Regular readers will know that over many years, I have become increasingly enamoured with reggae and, particularly dub and roots reggae. While these genres peaked in the mid‑1970s, they are still alive and well in the 21st Century. I covered the musical history of reggae in my August 2023 article, ‘Dub Reggae Revelation’ for those who might be interested in exploring reggae and its context on the global stage. This month’s accolade is from the mainstream of reggae and remains readily available…
Johnny Clarke – ‘Rockers Time Now’ (1976): ‘Rockers Time Now’ was the 8th studio album released in 1976 by the Jamaican singer and musician Johnny Clarke (1955‑). While a lot of Clarke’s material during the 1970s flirted dangerously close to the scourge of pop reggae, rather than deeper dread or conscious roots, ‘Rockers Time Now’ has an abundance of great reggae tracks that have stood the test of time. I am not going to apologise for appreciating this album and it gets regular repeat listening. Clarke often gets dismissed by reggae snobs, unjustifiably so in my opinion. I admit that there is some ‘easy listening’ filler amongst the great Rastafarian reggae tracks. I hope history re‑appraises Johnny Clarke at his best. Great music for summer chilling and worth tracking down.
It may not be the greatest reggae album of all time but it’s one that helped me get through the summer of 2025. Equally interesting is another Johnny Clarke studio album from the same year, ‘Authorized Version’ (1976). There are several reggae artists that I include in this particular domain, including the late, great Keith Hudson (1946‑1984) – a personal favourite. While Johnny Clarke will often be associated with other popular reggae artists such as Dennis Brown, Freddie McGregor and Gregory Isaacs (all three a lot better than their popular chart hits might suggest), he does stand out for his material.
I have found that reggae music in all its diverse forms is a great genre to have playing in the background while thinking and writing. This is probably the last reggae ‘album of the month’ for this year as we head into cooler, darker times, although I believe it can raise the spirits at any time.
BELIEVE IN MUSIC!
“Between the optimist and the pessimist, the difference is droll. The optimist sees the doughnut; the pessimist the hole!” – Oscar Wilde (1854‑1900) NB. Often incorrectly attributed to Florence McLandburgh.
Tailpiece
There you go, back to vintage guitars, at least for this month. I hope you enjoyed this particular cabinet of curious CRAVE Guitars, which you’ve seen before but not perhaps in this format. Next time, we’ll return to the overall theme of this article but with the focus on CRAVE Effects. I hope you’ll come back for the floor‑based sequel.
Without further ado, it is time to move onto other things, nothing more to see here. For now. Have a great October 2025 folks, as the autumn season sets in for this year (at least up here in the northern hemisphere).
Truth, peace, love, and guitar music be with you always. The CRAVEman, signing off for now. Until next time…
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “The only obliteration justified by war is the obliteration of war itself”
HEYYY, YO, WASSUP, HI Y’ALL, G’DAY, SALUTATIONS, howdy‑doody, henlo, aloha, Namaste, how’s it hangin’, salut, top o’ the morning, salaam, hey there, ahoy, ‘ello, ciao, greetings, etc. One hopes you’re all chipper this late August 2025 (NB. The first documented use of the noun ‘chipper’, meaning upbeat and cheerful, is from the ‘Boke of Keruynge’ (1508) – The Book of Carving – by publisher Wynkyn de Worde, a Tudor handbook for how to behave at court). Nowt to do with contemporary man‑eating wood chippers a la the film, ‘Fargo’ (1996) or even, ‘Tucker & Dale Vs Evil’ (2010)! I digress, as usual. Good to know some things never change. I bid you welcome, once more.
I was tempted to rant on (again) about the dire state of global politics and conflicts. However, I felt another polemic could disproportionately and negatively affect the overall tone of the article, so I will refrain. Regular readers will already know my views, so there is little to be gained from restating them here (again). Peace & Love, people.
This month’s article bears no direct relation to last month’s introduction of ‘The CRAVEman Cometh’ spinoff. However, there is a tenuous parallel in the pure imaginary creations of the contorted cavities of CRAVEs creative cerebellum. The subject matter this month is not entirely new but it is an expansion of previously hinted at material. It is also only tangentially relevant to vintage guitars, which means I am continuing on a fictional summer sabbatical at CRAVE Guitars for the second month running. Apologies to vintage guitar aficionados.
For this article, I return to the subject of the draft novel, ‘The Distortion Diaries’. Given that the potential book is the focus of this article, there deserves to be quite a bit of new material to explore. Expect a plentiful portion of pompous prose.
“For aren’t memories the true ghosts of our lives?” – Stephen King (1947)
Previously… on ‘The Distortion Diaries’
Several times now, I have intimated in the public domain that there was the potential for a fictional vanity side project. This was first implied at, way back in December 2023. At that time I wrote… “I felt an irresistible urge to write a fiction novel. Its status is currently work‑in‑progress. It will be called, ‘The Distortion Diaries’ (remember, you read it here first).” So, here we are, some 20 months on and the evolution of the tome is probably best be described as slow but steady.
However, while the novel has been referenced in subsequent articles, it has not yet been the main focus of a blog. So, I thought this month I would set the matter straight and take another brief diversion from the world of vintage guitars and put this long‑gestating idea centre stage. Why? Because I can.
In order to give the book’s narrative a bit more authenticity, I embarked on writing my own journal (well over 600 days into the real thing and counting). While there are some notable differences between a journal and a diary, ‘The Distortion Journals’ doesn’t have an alliterative ring to it (and you know how much I like to alliterate). The process of writing about events and random thoughts on a daily basis gives a valuable insight into the fictional diary of the novel’s main character. The rhythm, reflection and routine of writing the real thing helps with the introspective compositional style of the fabricated story. Very method! Pretentious? Most probably but not deliberately.
Back in 2023, I was very used to writing in various forms but, as I quickly found out, a fiction novel is a completely different proposition. Everything I had learned counted for very little. After an intense period of inexperienced book writing during the first half of 2024, the first draft had been completed, if not finished (there is a subtle difference). Then things were put on hold for a considerable period due to other things going on in ordinary life that took priority over writing. It was in October 2024 that I took the bold step to reveal the idea as part of the monthly article published that month. If you want to revisit that article as a preamble to this month’s update, click on the link below (opens in a new tab). In fact, I would recommend reading the relevant part of that blog in order for the rest of this article to make sense, as I don’t want to repeat material from 10 months ago here, unless absolutely necessary for coherency.
For once, all this month’s quotes from here on in are not attributed to real people. Rather they are some of the main character’s observations about life. They may or may not make the cut for the finished product. He likes to think he is wise but an innate creative conceit may mask fallible foolishness. You decide.
In order to make a little bit more time for writing the novel, rather than write about writing the novel, I will try to keep this relatively brief (for me).
“Humans are hopelessly self-destructive. No matter how hard we try, we are addicted to those things that will ultimately destroy us” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)
Brief Update on ‘The Distortion Diaries’
Back in October 2024, I suggested that the author’s real name will not be used if the novel ever gets published. Instead, it will be credited to a pseudonym. The nom de plume (NB. literal French for ‘pen name’) has been carefully selected to conceal my identity, gender, location and genre. I am reluctant to reveal my unique pseudonym at this time in case someone else appropriates it before publication. Paranoid? Me?
In last month’s article, I introduced the front man for CRAVE Guitars, The CRAVEman. The objective for CRAVE Guitars is that it is the instruments that deserve the attention, not the proprietor, hence the alter ego. The same applies for The Distortion Diaries – it is the fictional characters that should have all the attention, not the author. In case you were wondering, the book will not be credited to The CRAVEman, although I must admit that I was tempted for a very short moment. Given that his vocabulary extends only as far as “Grunt!”, it didn’t seem appropriate for authorship.
Even though I am writing about it here, my intention is to ensure that CRAVE Guitars and The Distortion Diaries are discrete entities and fully independent of each other, if only to preserve the integrity of both, hence my diffident anonymity. I do not care for either fame or fortune. I just want to be the best me that I can be (d’ya follow?) and that means making CRAVE Guitars and The Distortion Diaries as successful as they can be, even if that success is measured only by the unassertive existence of both, irrespective of me (the only common denominator between the two).
“What mysteries lie in the names we are given? How would our lives be different under another name, another identity?” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)
The book’s cover art has also been prepared in early draft and not finalised. Last time I wrote on the subject, the main narrative was just a standard Microsoft Word document (for functional convenience). The fonts have been chosen, the layout firmed up and the whole thing has now been reformatted in book form. These are all minor but essential administrative tasks.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has NOT been used in any way for the book’s text – it is 100% my work, for good or bad. For once, though, I concede that AI has been used to prepare the basis for some of the draft images for The Distortion Diaries. Furthermore, AI did not produce the final images, just as a basis for further graphic manipulation. Whether the AI artwork makes it to the final product, we’ll have to wait and see.
So what has or hasn’t changed since October 2024? Fundamentally, not a lot. Sigh. Progress has, however, been made. If it hadn’t, there would be little point in writing this article. Enough expositional preamble. To business…
“The abundance of social company does not prevent the aching loneliness of the individual without a Girlfriend” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)
The Main Premise of ‘The Distortion Diaries’
As a reminder, having said that I don’t want to repeat the October 2024 article, the synopsis is an exception to that particular rule. To reiterate, the summary was (and still is):
“The Distortion Diaries
Terry plays in a band. He doesn’t have a Girlfriend. He hasn’t had a Girlfriend for some time. Terry has a dreary job in IT. He lives alone with his feline overlord. One day, Terry decides to document his wretched existence in a journal. Rather than the journal reflecting and recording Terry’s lacklustre life, the journal begins to change it. A Lot. Is Terry’s life pre‑determined by fate or is his destiny in his own hands? Only his journal knows.
Based on a false story”
The synopsis remains relevant and unchanged (bar one word), even after a long period of reflection and having survived its first serious edit in April‑May this year (2025). That alone, is encouraging – that the original core idea remains largely unaffected. Thank goodness for small mercies.
I suggested in last year’s article that the book’s genre leaning is “a rom-sex-com-music-bio-mystery-drama-thriller-fantasy about contemporary man’s eternally favourite tripartite – sex, drugs and rock & roll”. Like the synopsis, that also remains unchanged. It is definitely not one for the politically correct woke crowd out there. I reserve the right to express free speech. Don’t agree with it, go read something else.
That’s really all you need to know at the moment. On the surface, the premise seems straightforward enough (a coming‑of‑middle‑age drama) and the structure (a chronological record) is a well‑worn story telling mechanism. So if the proposition and arrangement are (admittedly) clichéd, why bother? What makes this special or different? Why should it stand out from every other decidedly dreary ‘dear diary’ diatribe? Well, it’s the execution of the plot that I hope will entice, amuse, surprise and satisfy.
“I don’t want to be a character in a story, I want to be the storyteller” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)
The Main Characters of ‘The Distortion Diaries’
Essentially, the concept revolves around eight individuals living in a fair sized town in the English West Country with the nearest large city being Bristol. The time period covered in the novel is 200 days over the summer of 2012.
The main character, as mentioned above, is Terence Wilder, aged 32. Wilder by name, not by nature. He is an IT specialist working in a dead end job for an anonymous company. Music is Terry’s major motivation in the absence of anything profoundly diverting – like a Girlfriend. He knows that something has to change, so he decides to start recording his life and thoughts in the titular diary. It is only a small change of routine but one that has major repercussions for Terry and those around him.
Terry is a founding member and guitarist with his band called The Imaginary Transtemporal Affair (TITA for short). The band’s name deriving loosely from a line in ‘The Peripheral’ (2014), a novel by ‘cyberpunk’ author, William Gibson (1948‑). The band has been together for a while and the bonds between the members is strong. Terry’s band mates are Xavier (guitar), Hector (bass) and John (drums). The band eschews the easy route of a cover or tribute band and battles with integrity to make their own multi‑/cross‑genre musical style they call HMSPGSALFGGSR (for short!) – you’ll have to read the full narrative to know what it stands for. Their debut studio album, ‘TITA Om Fyah’ is in incubation, as of 2012 (see ‘album of the month’ below).
“I thought of going full mullet. However, I don’t think it would be a good strategy for attracting a Girlfriend” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)
The other three main characters provide the gender counterpoint to the band and, possibly, the catalyst for change. They are Olivia, Dakota and Alley. If you spotted that that only totals seven, you win a gold star. The eighth key character is Terry’s possibly supernatural ginger comrade and confidante, Kwat with whom Terry shares those things he can’t divulge to other humans. If you haven’t already guessed, Terry is Kwat’s human. Kwat exercises total dominion over Terry, just as it should be in the natural order of things.
After undertaking an in‑depth deep FBI‑style psychological analysis of the main characters, I can share with you a detailed profile of each of them. Apologies that the descriptions are so lengthy – these are inherently complex people:
Terry – unexceptional
Xavier – ambitious
Hector – debauched
John – mellow
Olivia – introverted
Dakota – intense
Alley – promiscuous
Kwat – numinous
OK, so I lied. Sue me. If you want to know more about them, then you’ll just have to wait. Soz. The dynamic interplay between these eight and the tertiary cast provide the core foundation of the yarn. You may get to like them. To say any more at this stage would be to provide too much of an insight into the concept and to render the actual narrative moot. Again, I want to tease you and dangle bait on a proverbial hook, not give everything away for nothing.
That’s really all I want you to know at the moment. The only other miniscule hint I will give away is that I will be manipulating the reader intentionally to subvert expectations (hopefully). All may or may not be what it seems. Beneath the surface, the tale could provide a profound existential observation, it all depends on how you want to approach it.
“I don’t want to be famous, I want to be good” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)
The Plot of ‘The Distortion Diaries’
Nah! Not a chance! For the actual details of the storyline, you’ll have to wait and see when it’s completed and, hopefully, published. In the meantime, I will have to keep you on tenterhooks (NB. Not the literal meaning – hooks used to fasten cloth on a drying frame, called a tenter – dates from c.1633. The metaphorical meaning applies – to be in a state of uncomfortable suspense, anticipation or impatience). Let’s hope it will be worth the long wait.
Funnily enough, the conclusion of the story came easily, early on in the process, so I didn’t have to try too hard to fabricate a ham‑fisted finale. Maybe I’m not clever enough to pull off a successful denouement but one has to try, hopefully not in vain.
“Life is not a loser competition” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)
Some brief excerpts from ‘The Distortion Diaries’
A special treat for you. The following three brief extracts were taken from relatively early in Terry’s journal entries. I don’t pretend that these are representative, they are just passages taken at sort of random. Due to liberal profanity and potential spoilers, there wasn’t that much that could be used in this article. I hope, though, that you get a sense of the style. Please bear in mind that these are from the first post‑edit draft and may well change (considerably) by the time the completed novel has been put to bed. After this article has been published, I intend to focus on the next substantial edit.
Excerpt from Day 1:
“Nothing happened today. Nothing is going to happen today. Nothing always does. This is my life. My real life. Not some made up life. Well, my life from today onwards. For however long that may be. The future has to start sometime and this journal will testify to my part in it. It is MY unique account, not anyone else’s. What went before is undocumented, available only from a fragile memory residing somewhere between then and the here and now.
This story is my mediocre, futile and fleeting folly of a presence on this small sapphire sphere floating in infinite black nothingness, with just our small saffron sun to warm and illuminate our existence. The 30 trillion or so cells that represent my entire body occupy an infinitesimally small place on this infinitesimally small space pebble.
…
“Hello Diary” (there, major cliché dispensed with). I bought you a few months ago, intending to fill your vacant leaves with exciting and interesting news about my run‑of‑the‑mill, mediocre life, mixed with the inevitable moments of whimsy, melancholy and pathos. Add oodles of hopefully hilarious humour. Ha‑ha. Don’t forget the counterpoint of joy, that of inevitable tragedy. I wouldn’t be into music if I wasn’t one of those sensitive animals with a severely damaged heart that pours their emotional baggage into the waiting cup of enchanted music.
It’s taken a while to get around to this because, well, that’s just me. I take time to get around to things. It’s not like I’m a professional procrastinator. Honest. I may dawdle a little on occasion but that can conceivably also be a virtue. Possibly.
‘They’ say the best things come to those that wait. That, of course, is bollocks. The best things come to those that go out and grab the great stuff first. The derisory dregs of detritus get left behind for the likes of me, one of the ones that wait. Adult real life, it has to be said, has turned out to be a big disappointment after the false promises of youthful expectation.”
Excerpt from Day 19:
“It was with irrational anticipation that I crawled out of bed feeling decidedly enervated in the outlandish world that is pre‑noon on a werkend. Why? The vain hope of seeing or even meeting the attractive young Lady I sort of ‘encountered’ at Everwax Records last week. As the veil of consciousness lifted, I became increasingly alert, as unheralded adrenalin flowed through my bloodstream. My pulse accelerated, my pupils dilated, my skin tingled and I felt jittery. The innate impulse for fight or flight didn’t seem appropriate. Contrary to my usual cynical demeanour, I was actually looking forward to going out. This is what the lack of a Girlfriend feels like.
Firstly, She might not even go to the record store at all. I have no idea whether She’s even local or not. Secondly, She might go to the shop when I’m not there. Thirdly, even if all the stars aligned and She is there at the same time as me, there is no guarantee that we will engage in any sort of meaningful interaction. Fourthly, and possibly finally, even if that unlikely linear sequence of events actually occurred, there’s no guarantee that such an interaction would prove positive. Having studied logic, probability, statistics and the science of BIG numbers as part of my degree, the odds were stacked heavily against me. However, irrational random anticipation overrules any sort of calculated common sense. Good job I don’t gamble.
And so it turned out. We, the band, dutifully deposited ourselves in Everwax Records at the usual time – the same time that She was there last week – and… She wasn’t there this week.”
Excerpt from Day 32:
“Yay! BIG gig day at The Lost Inn’s ‘dungeon’. I really don’t know why I’m making such a BIG thing out of it. We’ve done loads of gigs before, thirty or forty or so over the last couple of years. By the time we felt that TITA had potential, we already had a few public performances under our collective belts. We hadn’t documented our beginnings very well, which is a shame for my late life autobiography. Best laid plans of hindsight, eh.
I think the reason that this particular gig has gained some extra significance might be because writing about it in my journal helps me to focus and put everything in context. Articulating my thoughts provides me with some clarity previously masked amidst the dissonance of day‑to‑day disorder. Whatever it is that is happening, I am not complaining. Maybe this Diary thing has some motivational value after all.
…
As usual with gigs, once you get on stage, everything becomes an automatic blur. I can’t remember anything about our playing other than the odd bum note sticking out like a sore thumb (to us). It felt like we executed the whole set list in about five minutes. Actually, it was just over an hour but it felt like five minutes. There was no room for self‑indulgent virtuoso showmanship, it’s all about telepathic togetherness and sonic synergy. The feedback from the audience was pretty good and spurred us on. That’s what it’s all about, the reciprocal energy loop. We were stoked. TITA rules, at least in the moment.”
There you go, three snippets for the price of none. Just for clarity, the misspellings and capitalisation of the excerpts are entirely intentional and are a running theme throughout the full chronicle. You may well recognise the similarity of florid flair when comparing the book extracts with CRAVE Guitars’ articles.
That, I am afraid, is all you’re going to get for now. My motive is to provide a teaser with no obvious giveaways to spoil anything. I can only hope this modest modicum of extracts has marginally piqued your curiosity.
“The unpleasant astringent miasma permeated the empty concert hall at The Lost Inn; sweat, stale beer and a mix of other best-left unidentifiable fluids, saturated every pore” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)
The Good News about ‘The Distortion Diaries’
Being positive, the general premise has hardly changed at all. The synopsis hasn’t changed in the slightest. The protagonists have been fleshed out. Also, the first edit proved that the first draft was pretty much on point, a fact that genuinely surprised me.
Another positive is the strength of the character development and the interrelationships between the main characters. Being hopelessly deluded, there is also a decent ending, a problem faced by far too many novels (and films). All too often, everything is very neatly tied up rendering the resolution unbelievable. Also, far too many stories/plots have a weak ending because decent conclusions are not easy to concoct. No cheap tricks here. When it comes to real life, a person’s experience starts and ends long before and after the period over which the story has been told. The Distortion Diaries covers a defined short period of time in the much longer lives of these 8+ defective characters, so don’t expect perfection. You’ll have to work for satisfaction and fulfilment, but not too hard.
Again, being vain and conceited, I was very surprised that it actually seems to work as a whole and I actually enjoyed reading it while also working on it. I hope that’s a good sign.
“I want to get better at life and then maybe life will get better for me” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)
I also have far more material than the story warrants. This provides a great opportunity to ‘overdo’ it and then to execute a brutal edit to leave the strongest core possible. Only then, I hope, will the final cut be robust enough to stand up to scrutiny.
Another positive is that it doesn’t seem to be overly derivative. Yes, there are universal truths about the human condition that have been covered in infinite variety over centuries (and therefore unavoidable here), so it cannot possibly be classified as original or unique. However, I believe it is a fairly fresh approach that doesn’t stick to every storytelling rule that has been complied with before.
While there is little scope for a sequel (or prequel), there are opportunities for a couple of spin‑off stories with which my feeble grey matter has been toying. These ideas are not about Terry but other strange and very different fables. I won’t contemplate putting finger to keyboard on any of those until this one had been done to death. The curse of a fickle creative mind. A lot will depend on how ‘successful’ The Distortion Diaries is, when it has finally been concluded.
“The second best thing that can happen to a man is a good woman. The best that can happen to a man, however, is a bad woman. The worst thing that can happen to a man is no woman” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)
The Not So Good News about ‘The Distortion Diaries’
Principally, the project has taken far too long to bring to fruition, which has been a constant frustration over the months. The gestation period has become tiresome, as it isn’t my ‘day job’. This isn’t because of lack of enthusiasm or interest; it has been a purely practical failing on my part to prioritise it sufficiently in the face of other unavoidable responsibilities.
I have now accepted that it is a slow process and have become less anxious about progress. It will take its own time and it will probably be better for it. I cannot afford the mental stress of pressuring myself to do it quicker. Better late than never, as ‘they’ say.
Then there are the practical hurdles. An independent editor would no doubt improve the end product. However, I do not want anyone else to change anything. I do not want it to be perfectly polished. I actually want it to be rough around the edges. I don’t want it to be like every other highly processed piece of prose. I want my own mistakes to be present in it; the many apparent flaws are an integral part of its charm, just as a genuine journal would be. These are imperfect people and they should be seen distorted through Terry’s defective lens. I want it to come across as if Terry had actually lived to tell his tale his way. I do not know of a single genuine diary or journal that has been crawled over by editors and proof readers to eradicate inconsistencies and errors. It is a bit like museum grade vintage guitars, something can be ‘too good’ to enjoy.
Another hurdle is self‑publication. I have absolutely no idea how to go about it. I have limited funds, so I cannot pay for someone to do it on my behalf. I also do not want to go through the ordeal of pleading to agents for attention with the associated high risk of rejection – my fragile ego couldn’t cope being subject to the critical whims of others not invested in the project. Neither do I want the end product to be managed beyond my ability to influence the outcome. As a bit of a control freak (Ed: No kidding!), I don’t appreciate being beholden to anyone else. Such interference is simply unacceptable to me. I really do not give a damn about what agents, publishers and editors think. They can make their parasitical living off someone else. I only care what I think and what genuine readers might think, warts ‘n’ all.
So, even if I get over the hurdle of writing, editing, agents and publishing, then there are the formidable challenges of printing, marketing, distribution, sales and promotion. Everything about the whole process is set against this being any sort of success, regardless of any literary merit. Even if it is a worthy story, it could fail at any of these key points.
The Distortion Diaries is a personal folly and commercial success is not a prerequisite for a satisfactory outcome. If only one or two people read it and get some ephemeral pleasure from it, I shall be content. My aspirations in this regard are very modest and humble. A bit like my ambitions for CRAVE Guitars as an undertaking.
As previously mentioned, I did toy with the idea of serialising The Distortion Diaries on the CRAVE Guitars’ web site. However, it wouldn’t really work and it would blur the lines between the two discrete ‘projects’. The novel’s material is also not appropriate for a vintage guitar showcase. So, that is not gonna happen. Decided.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had my heart broken. It really doesn’t sound like it’s something I’d want to try out” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)
Final Thoughts about ‘The Distortion Diaries’
You may have gathered that I remain excited about this particularly narcissistic venture. The fact that the enthusiasm has endured since December 2023 without waning in the slightest suggests that there is something worth pursuing. I remain concerned about two things. The first I have mentioned many times, which is making sufficient time and space to complete the writing process. Put simply, the more time I spend on article writing, the less time there is for The Distortion Diaries. The second, as mentioned above, is the complications of getting the final product out there for people to judge. In these technological days, it really should be simpler.
One thing I am absolutely certain about is that this is not a literary masterpiece. It will not be ‘a great British novel’. Neither will it be a monotonous churning out of tedious, derivative drivel (Ed: Are you sure about that?). It was never intended to be an exemplar of literary excellence and that has not changed. However, it is a heartfelt and genuine attempt to be a bit different and to produce something that may be of moderate interest to others. While it breaks many rules, it isn’t revolutionary. It is what it is, an earnest first attempt.
I have mentioned before, and need to reiterate now, that this dedicated ‘labour of love’ (NB. an idiom that has been used to describe various forms of artistic expressions. Its first appearance in English was in the King James Bible, published in 1611, although it may have originated in pre‑medieval times), is NOT autobiographical. It is, though, impossible not to draw, and to isolate the final product, from one’s own life experiences.
Another thing about writing this month’s article was, once again, to test the waters, to challenge my own notions and to reinforce my beliefs about whether this is something I want to dedicate a serious amount of time to. The act of writing about it is, in itself, a reality check and I am pleased to say that it has passed scrutiny without serious mishap (so far). I am still reticent and uncertain about how to turn a good intention into a great reality.
One might wonder why I want to publish a fiction novel in the first place. That’s a difficult question to answer. None of the oft‑used reasons – and there may be dozens of them – resonate with me, such as a desire for storytelling, personal growth, confidence building, compulsion, social impact, sharing, competitiveness, proving something, self‑learning, self‑aggrandisement, income, attention seeking, legacy, etc. Quite simply, it is something that I would like to do. Simples.
Bottom line. Will it ever see the light of day? I hope so, ceteris paribus, but probably not. This article is intended to commit myself to completing the process to the best of my ability or I will look like a complete dumbass for boasting about it and then not delivering. Wish me luck.
If, perchance, it was ever made into a film, the location could conceivably be relocated to somewhere, say, in New England (comprising, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont).
“The confusing interplay of human emotions and motives – when you think about it – is magnificently messy and chaotic, not at all organised or logical, it is an unreality existing in an artificially real world. There is no universal harmony in life’s experience” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Album of the Month’
Given the subject matter this month, we have to delve into the creative aspects of Terry and his bandmates aspirations. During that fateful year of 2012, The Imaginary Transtemporal Affair (TITA) was working hard on live performance and recording ideas for the first of many albums that they intend to define their career. Entirely a fictional construct, this month’s distorted accolade goes to…
The Imaginary Transtemporal Affair – TITA Om Fyah (2012): The ill‑fated debut studio album from The Imaginary Transtemporal Affair has never been released on TITA Records, although the material exists and the artwork completed (see below). Comprising eight tracks over 72 minutes, the atmospheric aural adventures of unrealised potential evoke a mantra of melancholy and a more than a trace of transcendence. The epic ‘everything lasts for never’ (track 5, running time 6:41) is a firm band and fan favourite. File under HMSPGSALFGGSR music.
If only I had the talent, motivation, drive, skills and time to concoct this album for real, I would do it without hesitation. I wouldn’t change the band name, album title or track list one iota (NB. No, not the 9th letter of the Greek alphabet). It would be great – I have to believe that. For now, progressing the novel is the main focus. One day, maybe the music behind it will be realised. I have a futile fantasy that someone will pick up the book and make it into a film and this album would become the original soundtrack to the movie. Now, precisely where is that fateful Crossroads that blues guitarist Robert Johnson famously made a deal with the devil? In the meantime, while I still have a soul, I can dream.
BELIEVE IN MUSIC!
“The earworm rented out the vacant lot in my brain’s auditory processing, easier to put on repeat than shuffle” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)
Tailpiece
Once again, I have regressed into writing about writing, for which I apologise post hoc. While I am genuinely enthusiastic by this egocentric recklessness, I can readily understand why it might be too far off the well‑trod vintage guitar topic to be of interest for CRAVE Guitars’ readers. Further obsequious apologies. Even I need a break from vintage guitars once in a while.
As Terry remarks in, ‘The Distortion Diaries’, “I am only superficial on the surface after all”.
For now, I seem to have run out of ideas for next month’s article but I’m sure I’ll come up with something to distract me from reality for a few minutes. In the meantime, a final word or thirty from ‘The Distortion Diaries’ sagacious hero…
“Engaging with Women of the opposite Sex is a bit like engaging an enemy in strategic warfare. It seems I don’t have even a modest grasp of basic battlefield tactics” – Terry (The Distortion Diaries)
For once, CRAVE Guitars’ regular ‘Quote of the Month’ (see below) is extremely relevant to the ambitious subject matter of the main article. I do hope you’ve enjoyed this minor detour in the course of unreal life and that you will come back and ‘see’ me again sometime soon.
Truth, peace, love, and guitar music be with you always. The CRAVEman, signing off. Until next time…
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “The finish line may be in sight but is it within reach?”
GRACIOUS GREETINGS FROM YOUR HUMOROULSY HEARTY HOST. Yup. Welcome once again to a freshly minted monthly monologue for late July, high summer in the northern hemispherical portion of our little floating blue sphere. This month is something entirely new (and therefore, by inference, different), as well as a tad flippant. I thought you might like to know a little bit more about the character behind the CRAVE Guitars brand – the founder, owner, proprietor, curator, manager, roadie, mail man, web designer, social media guru, lackey and tea boy. Well, tough, I aim to remain firmly in the background, anonymous and intentionally inscrutable, letting the vintage guitar gear stand proud, front and centre, just it should.
“Everyone needs something to aim for. You can call it a challenge, or you can call it a goal. It is what makes us human. It was challenges that took us from being cavemen to reaching for the stars” – Richard Branson (1950‑)
In my May article, I briefly perplexed about a collective noun for vintage guitar collecting, collectors and vintage guitars. I then suggested that, perhaps, it is time for someone to create a name for vintage guitar collectors, suggesting, somewhat whimsically but definitely not seriously, CRAVE‑o‑holic or CRAVE‑o‑phile? CRAVE‑atalist or CRAVE‑ologist maybe? No? How about Cuitarchivist, Guitarcheologist, Guitarchitect? NB. Full disclosure: admittedly those last three were not my ideas – credit goes to the originators for getting there before me. While that topic isn’t the subject of this month’s article, it did provide some fondly flirtatious food for thought.
However, the thought of an extension of CRAVE Guitars tenacious tentacles into new nooks and crannies occurred to my feeble brainium and led, rather circuitously, to this month’s subject matter. (NB. ‘Nook and cranny’ is a medieval English idiom when castles were built with hidden passages and secret rooms. People would search for small spaces, hiding places or escape routes concealed within castle walls.)
I thought this month’s article would be mercifully brief so that I could concentrate on ‘The Distortion Diaries’. However, as usual, I got distracted by the subject matter and progress on the novel has been slower than article preparation. Sigh.
“Everything has changed, but the process of telling a story has not changed. It’s like cavemen sitting around the fire; somebody’s going to tell the story. Somebody is drawing on the wall. You’re communicating. You’re trying to learn and teach at the same time. You’re your own student and you’re your own teacher, but the process is of the communicating” – Stanley Kubrick (1928‑1999)
Introducing… The CRAVEman Cometh
Prepare your souls for flowery prose. Taking a tangential turn, this month I am introducing my avatar, my double, my alter ego, my twin, my clone, my doppelgänger, my alternate personality (or at least one of them). So, without further ado, it’s time to say “hi” to ‘el jefe’, the prehistorically‑minded guitar‑wielding (axe‑wielding?) titular representative and future front man for CRAVE Guitars; ‘The CRAVEman’. Geddit?
These vestigial thoughts conveniently coincided with a humorous and harmonious messaging exchange with a close friend and the idea of The CRAVEman came to the fore. It was not so much an epiphany, more a lucid realisation that I could justifiably BE someone else, just for CRAVE Guitars’ expanding brand image. Much more interesting than the prospect of boring reality, eh?
“This is a story of long, long ago, when the world was just beginning… A young world, a world early in the morning of time. A hard, unfriendly world. Creatures who sit and wait. Creatures who must kill to live. And man, superior to the creatures only in his cunning” – Narrator from the motion picture, ‘One Million Years B.C.’ (1966)
The CRAVEman moniker wasn’t intended to describe a collective noun, particularly as it is used in the singular, traditionally gender bipartite fashion (apologies to the politically correct woke). However, he was created figuratively to take on the role as your esteemed narrator of CRAVE Guitar blog articles. Thus, a fantastical formulation of an indulgent irrational idea coalesced into coherency.
“There are not many men yet. Just a few tribes scattered across the wilderness. Never venturing far, unaware that other tribes exist even. Too busy with their own lives to be curious. Too frightened of the unknown to wander. Their laws are simple: the strong take everything” – Narrator from the motion picture, ‘One Million Years B.C.’ (1966)
Now, for the avid musicologists out there, the word ‘Craveman’ (note the lack of the definite article and the traditional form of capitalisation) has been used previously (see ‘CRAVE Guitars’ Album of the Month’ below). However, this article’s particular incarnation is, I believe, sufficiently differentiated and unique enough to be adopted legitimately by CRAVE Guitars.
“Visual storytelling of one kind or another has been around since cavemen were drawing on the walls” – Frank Darabont (1959‑)
Evolution of The CRAVEman Cometh
While my true identity remains vehemently enigmatic, I am happy to hide behind a virtual caricature. While I may generally portray myself as a contemporary, relatively evolved metrosexual (male) human bean, the vaguely humorous play on words refers not only to CRAVE Guitars but also to Homo Sapien’s genetic Palaeolithic ancestors. Just for clarification, I don’t believe that I conform to the stereotypical Stone Age clichés of a prehistoric caveman (with or without a guitar). Grunt!
“Nnn?” – The character Loana played by Raquel Welch in the motion picture, ‘One Million Years B.C.’ (1966)
However, it can be amusing to conform to or to subvert stereotypes, if only to reinforce prejudicial preconceptions. Grunt! I have to state for the record, that The CRAVEman is a loving, peaceful individual, reticent to engage in aggression, thus representing an archetype for a semi‑civilised new age Stone Age hippy. He may even partake of a little bud from the flowering plant, Cannabis sativa for an occaional chill out. Legend. He doesn’t need a spear or a club, just one of his many trusty CRAVE Guitars and a healthy respect for his environment. Grunt! (Ed: OK, we get the idea, move on)
“I think that weddings have probably been crashed since the beginning of time. Cavemen crashed them. You go to meet girls. It makes sense” – Christopher Walken (1943‑)
The use of AI for The Craveman Cometh
As you may know, CRAVE Guitars has dabbled with the subject of artificial intelligence (AI) before. For background information, CRAVE Guitars’ focused on AI generally and in relation to vintage guitars last year (2024). A bit has changed over the course of 12+ months. If you wish to view or review the material, follow the links below (each link opens in a new tab):
While this article is principally about The CRAVEman, the use of AI to illustrate him is simply a convenient means to the storytelling end. The short video clip of The CRAVEman (see below) is also my first venture into AI video. Good to know that the technology is being used for altruistically enhancing human civilisation, eh?
The upside is that there are plenty of images this month. While I consider myself a reasonably creative character, my artistic skills remain woefully under‑developed, so I admit that I resorted to AI image generation for the majority of visual representations this month. Apologies to all genuine artists out there, I simply can’t afford your authenticity. While the images look very much of their type (still not convinced), they serve a specific purpose here, to conjure up and to evoke The CRAVEman avatar in the collective consciousness within the growing CRAVE Guitars virtual space (Ed: The CRAVEverse then?). Time to stop with the prosaic narrative and enter CRAVEworld. Ready or not, here he is (finally), The CRAVEman Cometh.
“Women love hairy men. Cavemen were the sexiest men in history” – Leslie Mann (1972‑)
The Adventures of the CRAVEman Cometh
On this occasion folks, I am going to let you, the reader(s), do the hard work for once. Also unusually, the majority of this article is pictorial and the ‘story’, as such, is essentially just a series of captions for you to use your imagination and fill in the intentional blanks.
To set the scene, I may need to suggest a bit of factual context about the world within which The CRAVEman might exist. This is necessary if only to provide a rich background stage on which he can perform his adventures for you.
“Captain CAAAAAVEMANNNN!” – Captain Caveman (animated character voiced by Mel Blanc, 1977‑1980)
Imagine the life and times of The CRAVEman in the Upper Palaeolithic Era (c.50,000‑9,600BCE), which was notable for its significant increase in the diversity and complexity of community organisation. It also saw the emergence of artistic endeavour, such as cave paintings and carvings, indicating a marked development in primitive culture beyond the immediate necessities of survival.
Early humans primarily lived as nomadic hunter‑gatherers. They relied on hunting wild animals and gathering edible plants, both of which required a good understanding of their surroundings. The roaming lifestyle of social groups was essential, as they followed animal migrations, seasonal plant growth and climate.
Nascent human societies were typically organised in small groups or bands, with a relatively simple division of labour. Men often hunted for food and defended their group, while women gathered plants and cared for children. Resources were shared communally, as part of a generally egalitarian but still hierarchical paternalistic social structure.
The development of basic tools included the use of materials like bone, antler and stone, which became crucial for survival. Tools were used for various tasks, including butchering animals, cutting plants and crafting other implements. The mastery of fire also began to play a significant part in daily life, providing warmth, protection and a means to cook food. The Palaeolithic (the Old Stone Age) was followed by the Mesolithic and Neolithic (Middle and New Stone Ages respectively) periods, characterised by the development of permanent settlements, the rise of agriculture and the domestication of animals.
“Man is a tool-using animal. Without tools he is nothing, with tools he is all” – Thomas Carlyle (1795‑1881)
Now for the small but essential matter of the suspension of disbelief. Please bear with me while I veer away from verisimilitude. The premise is a blatant, intentionally clumsy and cartoonish cultural and chronological clash (Ed: alliteration abounds!). The plucky, fantastical CRAVEman collects and plays (electric) guitars (now vintage of course)! He also plays in a rock (sic!) band. Sadly for him, he doesn’t seem to have a CRAVEwife, or CRAVEgirlfriend (yet), not even a CRAVEgroupie or three. Just don’t ask too many awkward questions about coherence or attempt to rationalise the incongruities, ignored here for artistic license – just go with the flow and use your imagination. Get the general idea though? G‑G‑g‑great! Let’s get stoned (sic!).
Think of the pictorial sequence as a chronologically linear ‘storyline’ progression, whether portraying a day, a week, a month, a year, etc. and you begin to get the CRAVEworld concept (Ed: time to record a prog album?). When following The Adventures of The CRAVEman Cometh, think along the lines of comic strip panels minus the unnecessary narrative ‘speech bubbles’ – well, our prehistoric ancestors’ vocabulary was a bit, erm, stunted, at best. I’m sure you can apply the occasional, “grunt!” if you wish to supplement the visuals with auditory accents. Alternatively, the following could be thought of as a rough storyboard outline for a motion picture film screenplay (if only).
The opportunities for The CRAVEman imaginings are boundless. I wish I had the time, effort and genuine creativity to make a proper ‘thing’ of this particular spinoff. Remember though that The CRAVEman Cometh and his story is now undeniably CRAVE Guitars’ IP.
“I work hard all day, too, and what do I get? A lot of yak from you. You at least get out everyday, see things, talk to people. I never get out of this cave” – Wilma Flintstone from ‘The Flintstones’ (1960‑1966)
A Day/Week/Month/Year in the Life of The CRAVEman
About time too! Let us prevaricate, procrastinate, beat about the bush, dilly dally, delay and obfuscate no longer. We are about to embark on the positively pulchritudinous prehistoric adventures of The CRAVEman. Settle in and enjoy.
New Dawn Sunrise – Having recently roused from his Stone Age slumbers, dreams of being a Rock God left long behind, The CRAVEman looks out upon CRAVEworld, his immense territorial domain as the sun rises on a shiny brand new day. It looks promising weather for undertaking his intended tasks for the day ahead. His role is to ensure his tribe’s survival in a testing world.
Neighbourly Greeting – Prior to heading out on his daily mission, he engages amiably with his thriving social group. Relationships are largely cordial, marred only by lusty competition for unattached CRAVEgirls. The CRAVEman agrees the imperatives and priorities for the day’s assignment.
Ready To Head Out – Having readied himself for his daily quest, The CRAVEman mentally prepares himself for whatever challenges he is likely to face in the wilderness. A moment of serious reflection taken as he formulates a basic plan to make the most of the opportunities available to him.
Outbound Commute – Having long since exhausted all available resources close to home, The CRAVEman has to travel further afield to find what he and his group needs. Fortunately, his domesticated heavy horse makes crossing distance and uneven terrain easier. His faithful hound accompanies him.
Rocky Mountain Way Snowy Explorer – On a lengthy expedition, The CRAVEman has to cross a challenging and unfamiliar landscape including hostile snow and ice high up in the mountains. The grunting weather is severe. Unsure what he might find, he sets out on foot to explore.
Fishing in Bear Country – After the mountain pass, The CRAVEman descends into a valley carved out by river erosion, He attempts to use his crude tools to catch any fish that may swim past, taking care to avoid other predators after the same quarry in this area of nutritional abundance. Grunting bears!
Mammoth Hunting on the Plain – Having not caught much in the way of fish from the river valley, The CRAVEman heads out onto the plains in the hope of hunting larger game. The massive mammoths he encounters are more than he can take on alone. Onward he goes, leaving the prospect of grunting mammoth steaks for another day.
Faraway Foraging in the Grassland – Having been unsuccessful hunting fish and animal prey on the plains, The CRAVEman resorts to the grasslands on the edge of ancient woodland to forage for edible plants and berries to take back to his kinfolk. He cannot go home empty handed.
Defending the Tribe – Every so often, The CRAVEman’s group encounters other tribes, each determined to defend their own territory. Rarely do these grunting confrontations end in conflict. There is plenty of posturing and shows of power intended to sustain a status quo. Occasionally, tribes come together for competitive but friendly rock band competitions.
Homebound Commute – After a long day’s travails exploring in the mountains, fishing in river valleys, hunting on the plains, foraging in grassland and defending his community from interlopers, a weary The CRAVEman heads homeward on his trusty heavy horse with his faithful dog in close pursuit.
Cooking Pot Blues – Having secured enough food for his contribution to his community’s sustenance, The CRAVEman prepares and cooks his own meal. He would have preferred a meatier and tastier menu but grunting plant food will have to do on this occasion. A tad disappointed, he plays a lugubrious lament while waiting for his supper to stew.
Rock Guitar Practice – Knowing that he has some serious performance time ahead of him, The CRAVEman cannot let up on practicing his hard rock music chops. It takes all his concentration to keep his musical talents up to scratch.
Big Cat Interruption – What the grunt! No peace for the wicked. The CRAVEman’s guitar practice is rudely interrupted by a familiar local big kitty. He may look fearsome but that is just playful exuberance. There is mutual benefit to the tribe and their ‘pet’ feline’s informal collaboration.
Rock Guitar Practice Resumed – Having settled the big kitty down for a cat nap, The CRAVEman can resume his studious guitar practice in readiness for a forthcoming rock gig. More hard work. The demands and burdens of a Stone Age Rock God never ceases.
Rock Band Rehearsal – Having been through his intensive practice regime, The CRAVEman sets about gathering his rock band members together for an impromptu rock & rock rehearsal. Unrealised aspirations of Rock Godness abound and rehearsals go well, if a bit chaotic. Lyrics are certainly not their strong point! Grunt!
Rock Festival Rain – For grunt’s sake! It had to happen, The CRAVEman’s band gets to play an outdoor gig and it grunting well rains on them mid performance, thinning what little crowd they had gathered to listen and appreciate his guitar playing skills. A typical rock festival experience over the ages. A veritable Stone Age Glastonbury experience. Grunting bad weather.
Cave Painting – In order to commemorate The CRAVEman’s contribution to his small community, the local rock ‘journalist’ does his best as a pictographic designer. He poses while the artist attempts to immortalise the would‑be rock legend in a cave painting. Like lyric writing, our merry group’s portrait skills leave something to be desired.
Over The Sea and Far Away Sunset – At long last, The CRAVEman’s long and arduous day draws closer to its inevitable conclusion. He’s up on a nearby cliff admiring CRAVEworld’s beautiful sunset over the infinite sea. The preternatural landscape inspires The CRAVEman to compose his next rock song.
Campfire Singalong – Although darkness has settled on the Stone Age camp, The CRAVEman’s musical skills are still much in need by his loyal troupe. He sits contentedly around the campfire grunting rock lullabies for a period of important social bonding between genders and generations.
Fireside Rock Jam – Once the rock kids have gone to their caves for night time slumbers, The CRAVEman continues his musical explorations. No more intense solo practice, band rehearsal or campfire lullabies, this is pure rock music noodling for his own pleasure. Jamming for fun helps him to unwind before retiring for the night.
Dreaming of Stone Age Rock Godness – Finally laying his weary head down to rest, The CRAVEman falls into a deep sleep with his favourite axe and his faithful canine companion both by his side. He dreams of becoming an eternal Rock God, immortalised forever for his contributions to Stone Age rock & rock music. Dream on.
Well there you have him – The CRAVEman’s first adventures in CRAVEworld in a proverbial nutshell. Short and sweet. If you don’t dig The CRAVEman’s adventures, that’s fine.
“Yabba Dabba Doo!” – Fred Flintstone from the first episode of ‘The Flintstones’, ‘The Flintstone Flyer’ (1960)
Final Thoughts on The CRAVEman Cometh
A quick rhetorical question, why didn’t this preposterous notion occur to me before now? The simple answer is that, in hindsight, I really don’t know. Nevertheless, I feel obliged at this particular juncture to restate that this month’s article is only a bit of puerile FUN and a break from the more serious ‘business‑as‑usual’ task of writing about vintage guitars. Heck, we all have to set loose our inner hirsute hero from time to time (NB. from time to time is an English idiom dating back to at least the 16th Century, meaning intermittently/occasionally). On this occasion, the author’s mental aberration has played out in the public domain. As usual, if you don’t like what you see here, there are plenty of other places that are after a temporal slice of your precious life.
My intention is not to require a following but to welcome those who wish to participate actively in something occasionally a little bit odd (?!). Life would be very dull without a degree of dalliance with the deviant (as long as it is harmless of course). Disclaimer, no animals (extinct or surviving) were harmed during the making of The Adventures of The CRAVEman Cometh.
“If there hadn’t been women we’d still be squatting in a cave eating raw meat, because we made civilization in order to impress our girlfriends” – Orson Welles (1915‑1985)
You may wonder what all this has to do with vintage guitars. Fair comment. Well, it is relevant by association. There would be no The CRAVEman without CRAVE Guitars and there would be no CRAVE Guitars without vintage guitars and its increasingly peculiar proprietor. Being quite frank (poor Frank comes in for a lot of stick, don’t you think?), I just cannot be bothered to justify this devious detour any further. It is what it is, like it or not. I kinda dig The CRAVEman dude, hence his appearance. Looking back, I still wonder why it took so long.
“Grunt!” – The CRAVEman (The Upper Palaeolithic, c.50,000‑9,600BCE)
Whether this little existential experiment bears further fruit, one can only speculate at this stage. He may return to obscurity or he may flourish in abundance. All is up for grabs at the moment. I kinda think he might stick around. He may even appear at a CRAVErock‑gig or CRAVErock‑festival near, where else, Stonehenge. He may even go CRAVEbusking at a stone circle near you.
“The first human being who hurled an insult instead of a stone was the founder of civilization” – Sigmund Freud (1856‑1939)
Is there any profound meaning or ancestral resemblance between The CRAVEman and me? Personally, I do not believe so, which makes him all the more endearing – he is not bound in any way by my ephemeral mortal manifestation. Put bluntly, I am (we are) perfectly comfortable and at ease with multiple identities – no mental disorder involved, honest. Seriously, for a moment though, look after your mental health and well‑being good people. This article has not featured any images of actual vintage guitars so, finally, here is a complimentary pic of The CRAVEman with his own CRAVE Guitars collection…
The Real CRAVE Cave
After reading all this, one might think that it is 100% fiction. However, there is an itsy‑bitsy, teeny‑weeny, tiny trace of truth behind an element of the story. The CRAVEman‑cave does actually exist. Kinda. The dark, damp, dilapidated cellar of the domestic house is the would‑be home for today’s actual CRAVE Guitars family.
Regular readers will know that this has been a long‑gestating project to ‘tank’ the cellar to create a dry, warm and secure home for vintage gear. Progress has been hindered by access, technical issues and, the big, big biggy, lack of funds. So there you go, there is a smidgeon of veracity to the story. The above is the real thing, No AI this time.
“Once you were apes, yet even now man is more of an ape than any of the apes” – Friedrich Nietzsche (1844‑1900)
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Album of the Month’
Given this month’s reveal of the author’s newly assumed nom de guerre, ‘The CRAVEman’, it seemed appropriate that this month’s ‘Album of the Month’ should reflect an LP with an analogous title. I should emphasise here that there is no connection between CRAVE Guitars and the name of the album or its artist; it is merely coincidental and totally unintentional. However, there is no reason why this convenient happenstance should be overlooked for this article.
Ted Nugent – Craveman’ (2002): Ted Nugent’s 12th studio album, ‘Craveman’ was released in September 2002 on Spitfire Records. The album comprises 14 tracks over 56 minutes. Even the 2nd track is titled, ‘Crave’, lasting a monumental 6 minutes 19 seconds. Perhaps he knew I was coming! The album represents Nugent’s return to the power trio format and a more hard rock sound than previous outings. It was released five years before CRAVE Guitars became a ‘thing’ and twenty three years before The CRAVEman, so I guess he got there first.
Ted Nugent’s ‘Craveman’ is not my favourite guitar album but it’s OK I guess. However, it fits the bill for this illustrative purpose. At least it is a heavier, guitar‑centric rock album after unconvincing periods of synth pop/rock ballad material.
The music is one thing. The character behind it is another. There is no way to avoid the association. Nugent’s music will always be overshadowed by his political notoriety. There is no denying that Nugent is a controversial larger‑than‑life, take‑it‑or‑leave‑it personality and also a pretty good guitarist to boot.
Full disclosure; I have to state that and I do not agree with Mr Nugent’s political alignments, his racial stances, his propensity for gun ownership and his predisposition for slaughtering innocent animals for ‘fun’. In 2021, he stepped down from the board of directors of the NRA (the American National Rifle Association gun rights advocacy and lobby group that campaigns in defence of the USA’s out‑dated second amendment). Owning a gun is one thing, using it as a lethal weapon to kill living creatures is another. This is not an expression of any sort of liberal woke agenda, it is just a heartfelt compassion and an expression of respect for all life on our planet.
BELIEVE IN MUSIC!
“The human failing I would most like to correct is aggression. It may have had survival advantage in caveman days, to get more food, territory or a partner with whom to reproduce, but now it threatens to destroy us all” – Stephen Hawking (1942‑2018)
Tailpiece
Well that was fun and insane in equal measure! Dumbass? Has CRAVE lost his final marble? Too much? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide. So we bid au revoir,adios,ciao and garrulous grunts from ‘The CRAVEman’ for now. Time for The CRAVEman Goeth, so to speak. I have a funny feeling that he may well return at some point in some guise or other. To mix metaphors, there is no turning back now as the genie is out of the bottle. You have been warned. A final thought… fundamentally, aren’t we all just cave men and cave women with fancy modern lifestyle trappings? Grunt!
Ultimately, as stated above, this month’s article is all just a bit of silly FUN and (at least for me) a welcome break from the norm. As a terribly telegraphed trifling tip‑off, the fictional fancies herein may just beckon a peripheral subject matter for next month’s article. So let’s wish our precious lives away and bring on August 2025 to wait and see what transpires. At the top of the article, I promised you flowery language. I think that promise was delivered in spades (NB. Another 20th Century English idiom probably referring to the spades in a pack of cards, the dominant suit used in contract bridge. It means for something to be done beyond the norm).
Let us hope we survive long enough to endure the preposterous perils of perverted, paranoid power crazed people. Civilisation and our precious planet have been irrevocably scarred under the pretext of ‘progress’ and unconscionable conflict. Sadly. When will the moral majority stand up collectively to the corrupted and say, “no more!” before it is too late? It cannot come too soon. Apologies, didactic discourse for the month over… for now.
Truth, peace, love, and guitar music be with you always. Until next time…
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “They say only time will tell. When that time comes, will there be anyone around to listen?”
GOOD TO ‘SEE’ YOU HERE AGAIN DEAR READERS and thank you for popping in. Well, obviously, I can’t actually ‘see’ you but you hopefully get the spirit of the idiom. So, half of the year two thousand and twenty five according to the calendar of Pope Gregory XIII (1502‑1585). One criticism about his modifications to the preceding Julian calendar from 46BCE (thanks Gaius Julius Caesar 100‑44BCE) is that the pope didn’t ‘fix’ the date of Easter. It would have been easy to pick a suitably theological date and stick to it. Staying on topic, the world welcomes the new Pope Leo XIV (1955‑) to the head of the Catholic Church. However, I don’t think that the date on which Easter falls each year is a core part of his doctrinal manifesto. He probably has just a few other things to deal with. A missed opportunity, maybe. It does make a refreshing change to pass comment on religion instead of politics. I am certain that Pope Leo will add his influential voice to the masses praying for peace across our sadly savagely scarred planet.
Vintage Guitar Snobbery
This month’s subject is a pervasive and distasteful trait amongst the vintage guitar community, the ornery subject of snobbery. Few will admit to being a vintage guitar snob; they put their opinions down to years of experience and therefore their rhetoric is valid and credible while, at the same time, putting others down for their ignorant inexperience either directly or indirectly. Now, whether intended to be ironic or not that, to me, is a prime example of snobbery. How to spot a vintage guitar snob…
It may be straightforward snobbery, i.e. “mine’s bigger than yours”, “mine’s worth more than yours”, or “is that all you’ve got?” Other clear examples are the sweeping generalisations such as, “anything made after 1965 is total crap”, claiming that the only guitars worth bothering with are pre‑CBS Fenders or pre‑Norlin Gibsons, thereby dismissing everyone who can’t compete in their elevated circles as hoi polloi (NB. Greek meaning ‘the many’) scum. Mention a 1980s Gibson Sonex‑180 to one of these self‑proclaimed elitists and you will not be taken seriously. Ever. These ultra‑competitive, and usually ultra‑rich, snobs won’t accept anything other than a museum‑grade 1958 Gibson Explorer as worthy of their precious attention. Snobs want to stop someone else having something as much as they want something no‑one else can have. Whatever.
Alternatively, there is the case for inverse snobbery, a simple and dogmatic repudiation of the classic guitars hailed by the ordinary ‘pro‑snobs’ (see above), stating that anything that pristine, that rare and costing that much must, by default, be overrated and unattainable – instruments way too exclusive for a mere mortal to pick up and play, so must be imprisoned in a climate controlled vault. These so‑called ‘anti‑snobs’ are likely to reject the big American brands and proclaim that there is nothing better than a U.S.S.R.‑made ‘Ordjonikidze Tonika EGS-65’ from the late 1960s. To them, the accepted mainstream is no‑go zone. These snobs like playing in their own little sandpits, looking over at the big boys with bitter, resentful distaste. Whatever.
I realise fully that the last two paragraphs may provide prima facie proof that I am also a vintage guitar snob, even though I don’t fit neatly into either description. I have to confess that, unintentionally, I fall foul of vintage guitar snobbery from time to time but please don’t tell anyone about our dirty little secret. That in a (large) nutshell, dear friends, is what I’ll be exploring this month. Right. To work.
“There is simply no limit to the tyrannical snobbery that otherwise decent people can descend into when it comes to music” – Stephen Fry (1957‑)
Let’s get a simple definition out of the way first. A snob is a person with an exaggerated respect for elevated social position or overstated wealth who seeks to associate with social superiors and who rejects or looks down on those regarded as socially inferior or less wealthy. A snob is someone who believes that their opinions and tastes in a particular area are superior to those of other people. Snobbery, put quite simply, is what snobs do.
“We must never confuse elegance with snobbery” – Yves Saint Laurent (1936‑2008)
With the complicated world of vintage guitars, there are the musicians, enthusiasts, the ‘collecterati’, dealers, investors, onlookers, tyre‑kickers, etc. Each of these sub‑categories have their fair share of pro‑ and anti‑snobs. If one assumes that the ‘snobbery scale’ (Ed: good one) is a continuum from an absolute snob at one end to a genuine guitarist with integrity at the other, we are all somewhere along the scale, which, if plotted on a chart, the numbers would probably follow a standard deviation bell curve (a.k.a. a normal distribution).
It is all too easy to start off with a rational objective view about vintage guitars and then slip and slide imperceptibly down the slippery slope of snide snobbery (Ed: love the alliteration… for once). For those of us self‑aware enough to recognise the risk, we occasionally need a short, sharp reality check to bring us to our senses and restore our sense of perspective.
Well, recently, I undertook such a quick self‑examination. Then, after I did that, I did a quick check to see where I might be on the vintage guitar ‘snobbery scale’ (heehee). I am sad to say that recently I may have succumbed to one aspect of vintage guitar snobbery. That realisation brought my failings into rapid focus. Darn it!
“England is the most class-ridden country under the sun. It is a land of snobbery and privilege, ruled largely by the old and silly” – George Orwell (1903‑1950)
Is it OK to be a snob and keep it a hidden away? Well, yes and no. Psychologically, humans are inclined to believe that we are far better and far more sensible than we actually are. Basically, we are all biased and prejudiced to some degree, however slight. With pride (the bad sort) and self‑righteous indignation, we might well argue that we aren’t skewed. But we are. All these examples are in themselves a characteristic of a snob. None of us would stoop that low… would we? C’mon, be honest.
So, in an act of rampant redemption, I am confessing to the sin of falling into a trap of self‑denial. How on Earth did that happen and why did I not pick up on it sooner? The answer is that we don’t want to admit our own shady shortcomings, however small, to ourselves, let alone to anyone else. As I’m not a Catholic, so I don’t know how many ‘hail Marys’ to which I will now be condemned.
“It’s the people who transcend their backgrounds who are interesting to me. I have got a bit of inverted snobbery” – Viv Albertine (1954‑)
Where is all this leading you might well ask? Be patient, I’m just setting the scene in front of which the arch playwright’s tragedy will ultimately unfold. Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides would be proud. So, what are the capital vices of which I speak? You have a choice of seven (NB. lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride – a.k.a. the Catholic Church’s seven cardinal sins). Well, recently, I faced a moral dilemma, a quandary and a predicament when considering a vintage guitar purchase. That conundrum exposed my own vintage guitar snobbery which, after considerable soul‑searching, resulted in having to make an economic decision. How well did I listen to the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other? Which persuasive ‘voice’ did I eventually succumb to, and which side of the fence did I eventually fall off? Time to find out…
“Ah, beware of snobbery; it is the unwelcome recognition of one’s own past failings” – Cary Grant (1904‑1986)
Vintage Guitar Refinishing
Before we get to the specifics, what do I mean by a refinish? It may seem obvious but it is worth a quick clarification. At its simplest, a refinish means to apply a new surface covering to an object. The application may mean over‑spraying an underlying finish, for instance to obscure or protect the original surface. Alternatively, it may mean removing the entire original surface coating and replacing it with a new one. A finish may be ‘natural’, for instance a transparent lacquer to show the underlying wood grain, or painted in any colour – translucent or opaque. The superficial material used to refinish most guitars may be nitrocellulose lacquer, polyester or, more rarely, wax/oil finishes (usually only on bare wood). A refinish may attempt to mimic an original finish or it may be used to alter its appearance completely. A refinish may be purely cosmetic or it may be used to cover up damage or evidence of a previous repair.
For vintage guitars, a refinish may be on the body only (common with bolt‑on neck guitars), neck only (ditto) or a complete body and neck refinish (more common on set‑neck guitars). While the intention may be to restore or improve an object’s condition, it generally results in a reduction of the object’s value (for instance antique furniture). For many collectors, a refinish is therefore of economic as well as historical significance.
This article is essentially a story of three vintage guitars, all of which have been part of the CRAVE Guitars family over the years. As you might have guessed by now, the theme connecting these three instruments is the thorny subject of ‘refinishing’. The examples below comprise two full refinishes and one body‑only refinish. In each example the decision‑making process about whether to refinish or not was different, thereby giving a different perspective for each one. Convenient, eh?
Example Number One: 1975 Gibson Les Paul Standard – Regular readers will probably be aware that CRAVE’s 1975 Gibson Les Paul Standard was originally tobacco sunburst. When I bought it second hand c.1978 it had extensive buckle rash and I wasn’t over keen on the tobacco sunburst, so I had it refinished in natural nitrocellulose. Years later, being dissatisfied with how the natural finish was aging, I had it refinished again to its current dark cherry sunburst. At the time, it wasn’t an issue because it was still relatively new and I had no intention of keeping the guitar. I now cherish that refinished 1975 Les Paul, even though its value is probably between 30% and 60% of what it would be worth if it still had its original finish. In fact, it has become CRAVE Guitars’ chosen signature instrument despite its history.
1975 Gibson Les Paul Standard (Refinish)
In retrospect, had I been aware of how things would turn out, I probably wouldn’t have had it refinished. Mind you, its original condition would have deteriorated further over time. I’ve also kinda come around to tobacco sunburst, although I won’t have it refinished for a third time. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I now know that once it had been done, it is permanent.
So it was that, with the creation of CRAVE Guitars as a serious concern, I vowed that I would avoid purchasing refinished instruments, regardless of whether there were justifiable and defensible reasons for doing so. I also vowed that I would not be guilty of refinishing any instruments while in my care. Until now, that 1975 Les Paul has been the only refinished guitar belonging to CRAVE Guitars.
For this example, the decision to refinish the Les Paul was mine to make. Regrettably, I took the decision to refinish and did it (twice!). Doh!
“Snobs are people who look down on other people, but that does not justify our looking down on them” – Frederick Buechner (1926‑2022
Example Number Two: 1984 Gibson Explorer – This tale starts off with what may seem a fairly straightforward question. What would I say now to someone now who wanted to refinish a vintage guitar? The immediate reaction would be to say, “don’t do it”. Simple? Nah. Shades of grey, as usual. As it turns out, this isn’t just a hypothetical situation. Such a circumstance actually occurred only a couple of years ago.
1984 Gibson Explorer (Original Finish)
I reluctantly sold a black 1984 Gibson Explorer to fund another. The buyer was a Metallica fan and he wanted a ‘cheap’ 1984 Explorer which he said he was going to refurbish and refinish to match James Hetfield’s cream one. The original black finish was in reasonable condition with a lot of nitro crazing. As it wasn’t pristine, I sold it at less than it was worth (I’m not a dealer). A refinish was not an imperative and everything else was 100% original (including the case). I mentioned to the buyer that a refinish would be irreversible and it would significantly reduce its value on the vintage market. Originality wasn’t his priority, so he went ahead and did it anyway. It wasn’t my place either to tell someone what (not) to do or to refuse to sell it on those grounds. Once it was his, he was free to do whatever he wanted with it. I’d done my bit by giving him the information and he could use it (or not) to make an informed decision. The refinish was done well and he was pleased with it. Personally I wouldn’t have done it but, as Mark Twain said, “You pays your money and you takes your choice!” (from, ‘Huckleberry Finn’, 1885).
Unlike example number one, the decision to refinish the Explorer was not mine to make. The person who bought it took the decision to refinish and did it.
Example Number Three: 1966 Fender Electric XII – Now… rolling the clocks forward, in February 2025, I was confronted by a vintage guitar opportunity, which put me in an awkward decision‑making situation. It is also the example that prompted this article.
1966 Fender Electric XII (Refinish)
I purchased a 1966 Fender Electric XII. With my hyper‑modest income and lack of disposable capital, the only way I could afford this uber‑cool and rare item was to purchase a refinished example at between a third and a half the price of a similar model with an original finish. The vast majority of Fender Electric XIIs were in sunburst finish and the one I bought was a very fetching faded Olympic White. At first, I thought it might be original and a bargain, as it wasn’t advertised as a refinish. Once I had ascertained that it had been refinished, I found myself in a bit of a Catch‑22 because, in principle, I would not buy a refinished instrument (see above). It is an old refinish and the quality of the work is (just about) adequate. Although it might benefit from it, I am not tempted to refinish it again. Generally speaking, I appreciate a guitar’s originality and believe that instruments are better for proudly showing the scars of their trade. A refinish, arguably obscures its visible journey through time but that just starts a new period of its existence.
“Snobbishness is the desire for what divides men and the inability to value what unites them” – Joseph Epstein (1937‑)
So… I accepted that, if I wanted to own a vintage Electric XII, this was the only way I could realistically do it and I would have to revoke my own long‑held prejudicial principle. The dilemma was resolved and the Electric XII is now part of the CRAVE Guitars family. Having taken the plunge, I felt that I needed to challenge previously held bigotries and attempt to justify the refinished Fender Electric XII’s addition to CRAVE Guitars. It is only the body of the Electric XII that has been refinished. The neck retains its original natural finish.
I realised that these internal machinations might possibly make for an interesting debate in the public domain, hence this article. Would I reaffirm my dogma (NB. called confirmation bias) or would I be pragmatic, contest my own predisposition and come to terms with, and accept, the outcome? Furthermore, would I be content with the Electric XII despite it being abundantly obvious that it is not all‑original?
“You must not judge hastily or vulgarly of snobs: to do so shows that you are yourself a snob” – William Makepeace Thackeray (1811‑1863)
Beneath the surface (sic!) there is no doubt that the Electric XII is a fascinating and innovative guitar for its time and is experiencing a renascence in the 21st Century. Its heritage is not in doubt, even though it was not a great success once the 12‑string craze ended in the late 1960s. Therefore, if one accepts that it is a legitimate guitar and the only difference between this and an all‑original Electric XII is the thin layer on the surface. Does it really matter? Should a paint job be the deciding factor? It also made for the crunch question of why a refinish devalues a guitar by c.50%.
I don’t usually talk about filthy lucre but it may help in this instance. To put it in absolute terms, my 1966 Fender Electric XII cost me £3,000GBP. Converting $ to £ is approximately 1:1 once exchange rates, fees, custom charges and taxes are taken into consideration. The ‘The Official Vintage Guitar Magazine Price Guide 2025’ (a bible for vintage guitar owners) values an original example at $8,500‑$12,000USD for an original common colour (i.e. not sunburst but also not a rare custom colour). Original sunburst examples are valued at $6,000‑$7,500USD. A guide, however, is only that, a guide, despite the level of research involved.
To compare market prices on Reverb, eBay and specialist vintage guitar retailers, equivalent Electric XIIs with original sunburst finish vary from £5,000‑£8,000GBP and rare custom colours up to c.£12,000GBP.
So, on the face of it, £3,000GBP is still a bargain, even with its refinish. I have long stated that monetary value is not a prime motivator for CRAVE Guitars and that remains true. However, such an ‘investment’ is still a considerable commitment for a single instrument, given my low fixed income, so purchase price is a relevant economic factor in this situation. Recognising that I would have to forgo other important things to get this one, the sacrifice was duly made.
“It’s a kind of spiritual snobbery that makes people think they can be happy without money” – Albert Camus (1913‑1960)
There are a couple of other factors affecting the price of this particular example. The tuners are replacements, the 4‑way Daka Ware pickup selector switch knob is not original and old ones are very hard to source (NB. Daka Ware is a type of compression moulded phenolic material and trade name for Davies Moulding in the 1960s). It also doesn’t have an original hard shell case, which is a shame, as they are unique (and therefore pricey) because of their odd size. However, £3,000GBP still seems worth it prima facie – I was getting a great guitar at a good price – what’s not to like?
My excitement about getting my grubby mitts on a cool and rare vintage Electric XII was tinged with apprehension about how I would connect with it, given my (warranted or not) judgemental predisposition about refinishes.
You can probably tell from this lengthy preamble that the issue is still galling me and, perhaps by openly articulating it, I can reconcile the polarising perspectives and achieve some peace of mind. This is clearly a first world problem. If that is all I have to worry about, then things can’t be too bad, eh? Time to apply some rational objectivity and criteria to test the issue.
Unlike either of the previous two examples, the decision to refinish the Electric XII was taken by someone else long before the guitar came into my possession.
“It is impossible, in our condition of Society, not to be sometimes a Snob” – William Makepeace Thackeray (1811‑1863)
Analysis
Given the trilogy of examples, it seemed to make sense to look at what difference a refinish really makes to a vintage guitar. For this section, I am using only the Fender Electric XII as the example. However, many of the observations against each of the five criteria may well apply equally to all three guitars covered here.
Functionality – Not affected. This Electric XII has been a working guitar, belonging to the owner of a London recording studio. It has had to earn its place, so it has been looked after. The Electric XII has always been more popular in the studio than on stage or TV. Given its primary role, it was vitally important that it was able to perform effectively whenever called upon. Less of a priority were its looks or originality. I have long said that vintage instruments should be played and this one clearly fulfils that particular criterion. Why it was refinished, I do not know but it certainly wouldn’t have affected its use as a pro‑grade guitar in a working environment. Its studio role may well explain the tuner replacement too, although it isn’t clear when it was done. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was common practice to ‘upgrade’ tuners for supposed tuning accuracy and stability. The same might also go for the original pickup selection lever.
Working professional instruments are often modified to ensure they are fit for purpose. Many ‘celebrity’ owned guitars that go to auction and reach six figures are often heavily modified to suit the owner’s demanding requirements. Those high profile mods don’t seem to affect provenance values, so why isn’t it the same for everyday workhorse vintage guitars? My predetermined principles may be crumbling under my fingertips. Does the refinish relegate a ‘collectable’ guitar to a ‘player‑grade’ by default? It seems so. In conclusion, the refinish does not negatively impact functionality.
Playability – Not affected. The guitar plays well for an almost 60‑year old 12-string electric. Such an instrument has compromises, although those compromises are more acceptable for a 12‑string Electric XII than, say, for a Rickenbacker of the same age. The maple neck is solid and the original frets are in very good shape (suggesting that it hasn’t been abused or over‑used). Nuts can be a problem accommodating 12 strings and, while this one has been well cut, strings can jump from slots if subjected to heavy‑handed use. That isn’t unique to this example, so we can discount that as an issue. The 4‑way selector switch can be a bit confusing but one just uses one’s ears (as one should). The shape of the selector switch helps with positioning.
Before Leo Fender sold his company to CBS in 1965, he had designed the Electric XII from the ground up, including its unique 12 saddle bridge and its equally unique split coil pickups reminiscent of a Fender Precision bass. So, in conclusion, the refinish does not negatively impact playability.
Tone – Not affected. The signal chain from the fingers, through the strings to the the tuners & bridge, neck & body, and ultimately to the pickups, selector switch, volume & tone controls and the output jack are completely original. Now there are many vintage guitar snobs who will tell you that the finish affects tone. They profess that a thin nitrocellulose finish is far superior to, say Fender’s 1970s’ polyester finish. In practical day‑to‑day terms for a professional working guitar, I believe that to be hogwash and there are plenty of other factors that affect tone more than the type or age of finish on the body, so I am proclaiming an element of ‘emperor’s new clothes’ in this instance. So, in conclusion, the refinish does not negatively impact tone.
Looks – Varies depending on taste. There are probably only two main reasons for refinishing a guitar. One is to cover up something egregious and the other is to improve its looks. Going back to the Les Paul in c.1978, it was to improve its looks. While I have no insight into why the body (only) of the Electric XII was refinished, I can only assume it was for a similar reason. There does not appear to be any damage or ill‑advised irreversible modifications being obscured. Everything else (bar tuners and switch knob) are original, so it appears to have been done for aesthetic reasons. Whether it is better or worse than the original finish (I don’t know what colour it was) is moot – it is what it is. It has been done. It can’t go back. The finish isn’t wonderful; it was clearly stripped, painted and lacquered but not to a thick shiny flat surface. It looks pretty old and well‑faded. The studio owner had the guitar for 30 years and it was done before he got it, so it makes sense that it is an old refinish. Because of this, I don’t want to double down on the ‘issue’ by refinishing it again. Its refinish is part of this guitar’s story and it should stay that way.
I don’t know what you think but I reckon it is best left alone. However, as it doesn’t affect other aspects of the guitar, so the refinish can best be described as cosmetic only. Whether the aesthetic negatively impacts looks is up to each individual to decide. In conclusion, the refinish does fundamentally affect the physical appearance of the guitar body (and thereby, the whole instrument).
Value – Disastrous. As mentioned earlier in the article, a refinished 1966 Fender Electric XII in a non‑sunburst colour has significantly devalued the instrument for the purist collector. However, as you may have gathered over the years, I am not your conventional ‘collector’. Where I struggle at this point is, if the refinish is purely cosmetic and doesn’t affect functionality, playability or tone, why is so much value lost.
Looking at a different category altogether, classic cars and motorcycles, while an original finish may be rare and important to some, many vehicle collectors place a high value well‑restored vehicles, so why not guitars? I can understand why a guitar refinish may be considered less preferable but it doesn’t make a guitar less than half as good, just because of a thin coat of paint. In many ways, it could be argued that it might improve a guitar (but I can’t say that because it is heretical and potentially seditious). Now, I cannot do anything about the entire vintage guitar collector market, so I have to accept that CRAVE’s 1966 Fender Electric XII has been corrupted irreversibly. I have to conclude that the refinish substantially affects value.
“Inverted snobbery is just as dangerous as snobbery itself, you know – that pride in having nothing” – Pete Doherty (1979‑)
A Famous Example: Jeff Beck’s ‘Oxblood’ Gibson Les Paul
Heck, if Jeff Beck can live with a refinished guitar, who am I to be snobbish about it? Beck’s famous Gibson Les Paul was originally a 1954 Les Paul Model Gold Top. According to legend, the original owner of the guitar had it modified by replacing the original P90 pickups with humbuckers, re‑profiling the neck and swapping the nickel metal parts with gold plated bits. It was also refinished in a ‘deep red’ (‘oxblood’) opaque colour to help hide repairs and modifications. The guy who commissioned the changes apparently didn’t like it, so it went up for sale. Beck was apparently unfazed by the changes and bought it in Memphis, TN in 1972. The guitar became a principal guitar for Beck, featuring on many recordings and touring with him. The modifications certainly did not appear to affect Beck’s ability to make great sounds from it. In addition, the guitar was featured on the album cover of Jeff Beck’s album, ‘Blow By Blow’ (1975) – see below.
As a testament to the fact that refinishing may actually add some mystique (and value) to an otherwise standard Les Paul Gold Top, Jeff Beck’s original ‘Oxblood’ sold at Christie’s auction on 22 January 2025 for a record‑setting $1.3m. OK, so it was refinished and modified but that didn’t stop it making its mark and positioning it as an iconic part of vintage guitar and rock music heritage.
Jeff Beck’s ‘Oxblood’ guitar has since been re‑issued as signature Epiphone, Gibson and Gibson Custom (2009 limited edition of 50) models. Coincidentally, Fender issued a press release on 25 June 2025, just a few days before this article was published announcing. “His heavily modified 1954 Les Paul, known to millions as the Oxblood due to its unique chocolate brown/oxblood finish… Now, Epiphone, in collaboration with the Jeff Beck Estate and Gibson Custom, is very proud to introduce the Jeff Beck Oxblood 1954 Les Paul, based on his iconic 1954 Les Paul”. How’s that for timing?
“Laughter would be bereaved if snobbery died” – Peter Ustinov (1921‑2004)
Another Famous Example: Neil Young’s ‘Old Black’ Gibson Les Paul
Neil Young’s famous ‘Old Black’ is another icon of rock music. It was originally a 1953 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top, which had been refinished (before Young got it) and has been extensively modified over the decades. Apart from the refinish, ‘Old Black’ was fitted with a Bigsby vibrato, a Gibson Firebird bridge mini‑humbucking pickup, ABR‑1 bridge, a bypass selector switch, Schaller tuners, aluminium parts and a maple ‘pin‑stripe’ to the back of the neck. Neil Young acquired the Les Paul in c.1968 from Jim Messina of Buffalo Springfield in exchange for a 1958 Gretsch 6120. ‘Old Black’ has long been Young’s go-to guitar up to the present day. Neil Young’s headlining set at Glastonbury 2025 featured ‘Old Black’ along with other guitars. This guitar is so well known it even has its own Wikipedia page.
In 2005, Gibson wanted to release a Neil Young ‘Old Black’ signature model. Neil Young refused permission for an official replica. However that didn’t stop Gibson. Although not officially acknowledged, Gibson released a limited number of tribute guitars commissioned by Japanese Gibson dealer Yamano, with certificates describing it as an ‘Aged Historic Reissue’ and a checklist showing ‘LP Neil Young’. The short run was stopped after Neil Young’s lawyers sent a ‘cease and desist’ letter to Gibson. There is plenty of evidence though that a small number of ‘Old Black’ replica models (strangely based on a 1956 Les Paul) reached the market, with an even smaller number of guitars expertly aged by Tom Murphy. These very rare unofficial replica ‘refinished’ instruments have now become highly collectable.
“The educated elite is not without their own actual snobbery. And I kind of an anti‑elitist in that regard” – Neil deGrasse Tyson (1958‑)
Final thoughts on Vintage Guitar Refinishing
As a naïve teenager getting my hands on my first non‑vintage Fender Strat and Gibson Les Paul, did I ever think that some five decades later that I would still have those two now‑vintage guitars and I would still be besotted with the instrument? Nope. Neither did I think that by refinishing the Les Paul, I would be arguing the pros and cons of the practice five decades later. Nowadays, I wouldn’t dream of doing any modifications that aren’t 100% reversible unless it was absolutely unavoidable (e.g. a refret).
The do‑or‑don’t‑do dichotomy has certainly caused a disproportionate level of reflection and analysis. Fundamentally, I have to say that this 1966 Fender Electric XII genuinely remains a wonderful vintage guitar. I like the look of it, although it is a shame that it has been refinished. I like the sound of it, I like the playability of it (for a 12‑string) and it is perfectly functional, so it isn’t all a ‘bad thing’.
A refinish may reduce the value of a vintage guitar by 50% (or more) of what it would be worth if it was all‑original. As mentioned, for two of the three examples, I could not have afforded an all‑original guitar, so a refinish was my only means to acquire them. Yes, a refinish undoubtedly affects resale value but, as I do not intend to dispose of the remaining two refinished CRAVE Guitars any time soon, their value now becomes irrelevant. I did not buy them as an investment looking for profit, so I can live with that aspect. The Electric XII deserves to be cared for as much as any other vintage guitar.
Regular readers will know that I also have an anathema for modern finishes, including faux finishes and distressing (a.k.a. relicing) an otherwise unblemished finish. While it may give a passing impression of being ‘old’, it is not authentic and doesn’t have a genuine patina of having been played for decades. In short, they lack real ‘mojo’. Now that is a clear admission of snobbery. Guilty as charged.
As I was in the process of writing this article, Gibson Custom Select (i.e. the Gibson Custom Shop), announced a series of “painted over” guitar finishes. Essentially, this a base gold top finish followed by solid colour (either Pelham Blue or Ebony) finish applied over the gold, then ‘aged’ (i.e. reliced) by (Tom) Murphy Lab. Gibson are charging a stonkingly high premium price for artificially aged, refinished ‘new’ guitars. Gibson actually stress (sic!) that the main feature of these instruments is “guitar refinishing” (an actual quote from the Gibson press release). Now that is ironic! It is also impeccable timing. Perhaps this fundamental turnaround will provide a precedent for increasing the value of refinished guitars! Hhmm. What do you think?
Just four days earlier than the Gibson press release, Fender actively promoted “The Benefits Of Modifying Your Guitar”, which could open up another whole can of worms about guitar snobbery. As mentioned, the Electric XII has non‑original after‑market tuners, which only adds to its devaluation now it is a vintage guitar. I acknowledge that there are plenty of people out there who delight in modifying guitars, regardless of the long‑term ramifications of doing so. My stance on that is like refinishing, i.e. don’t do it (unless totally reversible). Don’t worry folks, I’m not going to repeat this article focusing on the snobbery towards modifications rather than refinishing. Once again, though, I hope you get the underlying pattern here without me having to be explicit.
NB. Yes, I know that ‘relic’ is a noun and not a verb, as used in the previous paragraphs. Yes, it annoys me too. However, that is symptomatic of the English language being bastardised by marketing departments of the major guitar manufacturers. Please don’t blame me for others’ grammatical transgressions. You can, though, criticise me for reiterating the odious blaspheme.
As mentioned above, the Fender Electric XII may be the ‘newest’ refinished CRAVE Guitar but it isn’t the first and may well not be the last. The Explorer has gone and is now out of my purview. Where does this leave the refinished 1975 Gibson Les Paul Standard? It changes nothing at all; my feelings about the LP remain the same.
Will this period of reflection change my views about refinishes for future CRAVE Guitars acquisitions? Well, it’s made me think very hard about the issues with a more open mind. The conclusion reached is that judgements aren’t as black and white as I had previously considered, meaning that, from now on, I will have to assess each one carefully on a case‑by‑case basis, balancing priority, availability, originality and, of course, cost.
Ultimately, though, vintage guitar snobbery undermined one of my own criteria for selecting a CRAVE Guitar. By doing so, I have had to challenge my preconceptions and have arrived at a state of mind that says, “so what?” It doesn’t affect anyone else, so that’s not an issue. Can I accept it, live with it and enjoy it for what it is? Yep. Is the recently‑acquired Fender Electric XII less than half of a decent guitar because of its non‑original paint job? Nope. Where it really matters, I would say it is 85%‑90% of a great guitar. Perhaps vintage enthusiasts might do well to re‑evaluate such factors and dispense with some of that hyped up judgemental vintage guitar snobbery we so easily fall into. It goes to show that we can always keep learning and it is hubris to think otherwise.
I actually feel a little sad for the Electric XII. Through no fault of its own, it has been irrevocably relegated to a lowly status from which it can never recover, simply because of a thoughtlessly applied refinish years ago. It is now up to me to care for it as best I can while I’m still here. The same goes for the Les Paul.
By sharing this internal debate with the wider public, I will now lay myself open to scrutiny, prejudice, bias, dogma, derision and… yes… vintage guitar snobbery. Others may well look down upon me and scorn me for my misfortune and/or stupidity. That’s their prerogative, even if I may disagree with it.
While I can expose the degree to which snobbery affects vintage guitars, I do not think that it is up to me to place myself within the definition of a snob, as defined at the start of this article. The little bit of me that is a vintage guitar snob might wish that it was an all‑original example but that was never going to happen.
What I can say with some certainty is that vintage guitar snobbery is not a good thing and we should be cautious of falling into its divisive dogmatism. It is tempting and easy to become snobbish. No big surprise there. Personally, I have learned a valuable lesson and have been subject to a timely and appropriate reality check. Am I a hypocrite? It seems that I may well be. Hey, no‑one can be perfect all the time, right? I throw myself on the mercy of the court m’lud. Case closed. For now.
“Hypocrisy is the essence of snobbery, but all snobbery is about the problem of belonging” – Alexander Theroux (1939‑)
In Other News
Amidst uncertain and volatile operating environments, two bits of sad news from the UK music retail industry. The first is the closure of Play Music Today (PMT). All physical UK stores and the online store have been shut down with redundancies after all other options to find a rescue plan failed. All stock was sold to rival chain Gear4Music for just £2.4m. Also, Brighton’s iconic south coast retail store GAK (The Guitar Amp & Keyboard Centre) was also sold to Gear4Music, also for £2.4m. GAK was one of the UK’s largest independent guitar retailers (and frequented often by me). If a guitar shop cannot be viable in a creative music city like ‘Be Right On’ of all places, it is clearly a bad situation.
Can retailers like Gear4Music in the UK compete with the massive online sellers like Sweetwater in the US and Thomann in Europe? Are these recent high street closures one‑offs or further signs of the worrying trend in the decline of bricks and mortar guitar shops located within local communities? I don’t believe in coincidence. Note to all: use them or lose them.
Finally ‘in other news’, a hopefully positive move. The online marketplace Reverb has been sold by American e‑commerce company Etsy to two investment firms in April 2025. Reverb was owned by Etsy for six years between 2019 and 2025. Reverb, originally founded in 2013, is now once again a privately owned, independently operated business. One of the investors, Servco Pacific, is the majority shareholder of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC), while the other, Creator Partners, is a minority Fender shareholder.
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Album of the Month’
Given that one of the world’s most recognisable modified guitars is Jeff Beck’s ‘oxblood’ 1954 Gibson Les Paul (see above), it makes sense for this article to give pride of place to a specific ground breaking album by a ground breaking guitarist. Beck’s famous Les Paul is even featured on the album’s front and rear cover art. Cool.
Jeff Beck – ‘Blow By Blow’ (1975): Blow By Blow was the debut solo studio album by the late English guitarist Jeff Beck (1944‑1923), recorded at AIR Studios in London and released in March 1975 on Epic Records. The instrumental album comprises 9 tracks covering 45 minutes. The album was produced by the legendary George Martin. The album includes one of Beck’s most memorable tracks, ‘Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers’ (5 mins 41 secs). The platinum certified album (in the US) reached Number 4 on the American Billboard 200 – not bad for a milestone instrumental rock album by a British musician.
Jeff Beck – Blow By Blow (1975)
‘Blow By Blow’ may, however, not be my favourite Beck album, that probably goes to ‘Jeff Beck’s Guitar Shop’ (1989) but that has a Strat on the cover. Jeff Beck was a one‑of‑a‑kind guitarist and history will probably regard him as a guitarist’s guitarist. He was a genuinely authentic guitar hero for many aspiring guitarists. His exceptional talent is greatly missed and we may never see his like again. RIP Jeff.
“Just ’cause something’s popular, it can still be good. In fact, if more people are buying it, then you must be doing something right. People look down on stuff that sells. What do you call that? Downward snobbery, I guess” – Lemmy Kilmister (1945‑2015)
BELIEVE IN MUSIC!
Tailpiece
Well, that’s another article and the first half of 2025 put to bed. I hope you enjoyed it and it provided a few minutes of distraction from the insanity of real life. Sometimes something that seems so black & white ends up being anything but.
It is now time to move onto another subject and another demanding schedule to get it published by the end of July. For its subject matter, well, you’ll just have to wait and see, won’t ya?
Once I had completed this article, I did have a whimsical moment of reflection. I wondered what would happen if I deleted these c.7,000 words and started over again from scratch, effectively ‘refinishing’ this article. Thankfully, the thought didn’t last long and I am happy to say that this is the original finish. Heehee.
Truth, peace, love, and guitar music be with you always. Until next time…
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “If yesterday was tomorrow, what would you do differently?”
WELL, HERE WE ARE ONCE AGAIN VALUED VINTAGE GUITAR AFICIONADOS. If you are here, I am assuming that you have a passing interest in the subject matter. My hope is that I can help to stimulate that interest in a variety of ways. This month, I am investigating the topic of compulsion and collecting in relation to vintage guitars. This introspective investigation involves a soupçon of self‑examination and a chunk of challenge (Ed: enough with the alliteration, already!). Is this my means to justify my irrational need for the pursuit of the unattainable? Is it to feed my insatiable need to own ever more vintage gear? Is it to fuel my humongous but precipitously fragile superego and overcome my innermost feelings of inadequacy and insecurity? Yes, Yes and Yes. Sussed!
As for the recent Victory in Europe (VE) Day (8 May 2025), it struck me that, perhaps, rather than celebrate victory (for some), humanity should be commemorating Peace (for all). Such a change of emphasis does not diminish the evils of war or the sacrifice of so many to secure freedom but it would symbolise a more positive approach towards a more peaceful civilisation. The fact that we have learnt NOTHING over the last 80 years is desperately disappointing and despicably deplorable. A simple message that things HAVE to change to the imperialist kleptocratic oligarchs in Trumpland, Xiland, Kimland, Netanyahuland et al. Stop now!
I tried to think of a single country that forgoes military spending, for something wholly more altruistic and philanthropic, more beneficial to humankind as whole, rather than its own ends. I came up with a big fat zero. There is something wrong about there being no nation advocating for a more humane global society. I don’t mean this as some wishy‑washy liberalistic fancy. I am ‘super serial’ (NB. from the 145th episode of the animated TV series South Park, ‘ManBearPig’ S10:E6 (2006)). Human does not equate to humane. It should. Enough paltry partisan political polemic (Ed: second warning!), that’s not what we are here for.
The American author Dean Koontz sums up my feelings far better than I can about the heinous failings of the human race over the last century or so:
“This world, which has the potential to be Eden, is instead the hell before Hell. In our arrogance, we have made it so” – Dean Koontz (1945‑)
Another snippet of news is that, after over a year in stasis, work has once again begun on book formatting and editing of, ‘The Distortion Diaries’, the author’s first vanity project of pure fiction. More news on that to come in due course. Making time and space for the novel is a priority for me. Something that I have been less than disciplined about. For that reason, this article has just a little bit less research depth and rigour than it probably deserved (and I would have preferred). However, the assumptions made at various points might make it just a bit of a lighter read.
As always, the caveat applies that this is not a comprehensive academic investigation, just a piece of entertaining conjecture. Also, as always, no AI has (knowingly) been used in the research and writing of this article. You may or may not be pleased that scattered relevant quotes are back this month.
Enough idle distractions, time to get to the point…
To Collect or Not to Collect
This article may well have been subtitled, “The mania of owning things”. That’s what concerted collecting is, a mania. Mania is defined as, ‘an excessive enthusiasm or desire; an obsession’ or, ‘a mental illness marked by periods of great excitement or euphoria, delusions, and over‑activity’. A compulsion is ‘an irresistible urge to behave in a certain way, especially against one’s conscious wishes’.
What constitutes a ‘collection’? Obviously (perhaps), a collection is something that results from the art of collecting (duh!). A collection in this regard is ‘a group of objects or an amount of material assembled or accumulated in one location, especially for some purpose or as a result of some process’.
OK. Clear? So, that’s settled then. Time to put one’s feet up and indulge in a refreshing cup of tea.
Well, hang on just a mo’. That can’t be it. I started this month’s article specifically to investigate why vintage guitar collecting is a thing, why it may or may not be healthy and why it is so commonplace. Definitions are one thing, obsessional addiction is another. That indisputable impulse, the overwhelming force to own every possible guitar that one can get one’s hands on, irrespective of anything else in the universe is irresistible. These things seem to exert an overpowering gravitational pull on the afflicted. Enough of the hyperbole, you get the idea. Time to explore a bit further.
What the trite definitions miss, in my view, is the element of a compelling impulse to ACT, to DO something. Enthusiasm and excitement are one thing (well, actually two things) but they aren’t tangible. Creating a collection of vintage guitar gear is tangible. Very tangible.
“Whether we live alone or with other people, few acknowledge the presence of another roommate. This roommate is named ‘Things’ and the space that ‘Things’ occupies is typically a lot larger than the space people have for themselves” – Fumio Sasaki (1978‑)
It looks like that trilogy might just have become a quadrilogy (but not a tetralogy).
Rhetorical question. Does anyone need all these guitars? Of course not. We want all these guitars. That’s the point. It is fundamental to economics and marketing. The demarcation between need and want is blurred by those wishing to exploit the latter at the cost of the former. Thing is, I can’t be bothered to justify the point. Probably because I can’t defend the fixation. Hopefully you get the idea.
“Nobody can give you advice after you’ve been collecting for a while. If you don’t enjoy making your own decisions, you’re never going to be much of a collector anyway” – Charles Saatchi (1943‑)
The Compulsion to Collect Things:
Why do collectors exhibit irrational, passionate cravings (sic!)? What is the psychology behind collecting? The criteria for compulsive collecting are not definitively set out, although there are many common themes, depending on the source.
Corroboratively, some or all of the following ‘compulsive collecting ground rules’, a.k.a. ‘reasons for collecting’, may apply, regardless of the material being collected.
For sentimental attachment
To connect to childhood
To connect with history
For the thrill of the hunt
For the status of owning rare or valuable items
For the pride of ownership over spectatorship
For achievement of intellectual knowledge and learning
For personal pleasure, relaxation appreciation and enjoyment
For social motivation within a community of fellow collectors
For competitive challenge
For social recognition by other collectors and observers
To invest for future profit
For a sense of control
Unlucky thirteen. On reflection, I probably relate most closely with 1, 3, 7, 8 and 13 and I probably mostly reject 2, 5, 9, 11 and 12 (the latter very strongly). Anyone who knows me understands that I don’t play well with others and social/community affiliations are unimportant to me. The same goes for profiteering. The rest are neither here nor there. I suspect that everyone probably has a different combination of motivations for collecting. Therefore, this simple model can be quite revealing while also being limited.
In my January 2025 article, ‘10 Things I Love and Hate about Vintage Guitars’, I covered my personal motivation for the enjoyment of vintage guitars. These are independent of, though largely consistent with, the ‘compulsive collecting ground rules’ mentioned above. These, however, are specific to CRAVE Guitars gear. As a reminder, the headlines were:
The Heritage and the History
The Ownership
The Uniqueness
The Authenticity
The Variety
The Look
The Feel
The Tone
The Mythology and the Truth
The Privilege of Stewardship
“People assume that happiness stems from collecting things outside of yourself, whereas true happiness stems from removing things from inside of yourself” – Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso, 1935‑)
Collecting is a perfectly ordinary human activity. People have been collecting this or that for millennia in one form or another. There is nothing extraordinary or unhealthy about collecting as a diversion, occupation, pastime or passion. It is only when collecting morphs into something else, such as an obsessive addiction for hoarding that the activity can become psychologically problematic.
Personally, I see vintage guitar collection as a habitual hobby, not as a ‘be‑all and end‑all’ (NB. An idiom coined by William Shakespeare in ‘Macbeth’ (1606). It means that something is the final, most important or ultimate aspect of a situation or thing).
Collecting is not an OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and it does not have symptoms attributable to another psychological disorder. However, the more extreme form of hoarding may be considered a subtype of OCD depending on the severity. Hoarding Disorder (the inability to manage and dispense with things) is also a distinct mental health condition with its own symptoms. Be aware of the difference, folks.
As collecting may be considered normal human behaviour, this suggests that there is something positive about it to make it defensible. It also suggests that there is a threshold that marks the boundary between normal and deviant behaviour. It also suggests that the boundary may be different for each individual, making objective evaluation somewhat challenging.
“Collecting is not just about acquiring objects, it’s about preserving history and passion” – John Doe (1953‑)
Many collectors never seem satisfied with what they already have and continually strive for ‘more’. This results in collections that continue to grow until something external intervenes to curtail progress. The ‘thrill of the hunt’ mentioned above is a very real aspect of collecting. It seems that, as soon as one owns something that has been fiercely hunted, the satisfaction wanes rapidly. At the same time, the obsession to find the next thing re‑establishes itself and the feedback loop results in a new hunt. There is therefore a cycle whereby newly acquired items soon become relegated to a sub‑class of ordinary ‘ownership’ and the quest thus continues unabated.
Neurologically, searching for ‘the next big thing’ has been demonstrated through the use of MRI brain scans to help to explain the collection compulsion called the ‘oddball effect’ (NB. yes, it is really a thing). The ‘oddball effect’ is a measurable psychological phenomenon, whereby brain activity and hormonal responses are stimulated by the introduction of a novel item into a range of normal items. As the activity of collecting becomes refined, we actively search out things missing from the collection in order to stimulate the pleasure/reward centres of the brain. At the same time, the items already collected recede into normality. Thus the process of collecting becomes exacerbated. The ‘oddball effect’ has been suggested as a reason why we feel the continual need to feed our obsessions and to expand our collections. It bears some similarities to substance addiction – finding that next fix.
“The journey of a collector is never-ending; there is always something new to discover” – Brian Selznick (1966‑)
For guitarists, this desirous activity is commonly referred to as GAS, a.k.a. Gear Acquisition Syndrome. GAS was originally thought up by American guitarist Walter Becker of Steely Dan in 1996. He used the term to expose the sometimes ridiculous ends musicians will go to, to obtain gear.
GAS is the overpowering yearning to acquire musical equipment. This symptom is common among musicians who often believe that getting hold of more gear will somehow improve their musicianship. The result of GAS is that the acquisition of physical artefacts may eventually take priority over the creative music making process. In such a a volte‑face, ultimately, the means become the end.
“Resistance is futile” – Originally from the British TV series, ‘Doctor Who, Tomb of the Cybermen’ (1967), though widely attributed to the Borg from ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Best Of Both Worlds’ (1992).
It has been suggested that GAS derives from a feeling that one’s gear is inadequate leading to dissatisfaction and the development of an intense craving (sic!) for new/more gear, followed by impulsive buying beyond one’s identified need. Sellers try to exploit this cycle of unfulfilled satisfaction. Suggested remedies for GAS include an evaluation of what one already owns, establishing a budget cap and sticking to it, and to prioritise actual need as opposed to unjustifiable wants. Yeah, like that’s gonna work!
“It’s a trap!” – The character Admiral Ackbar, from the film, ‘Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi’ (1983)
Guitar Collecting and CRAVE Guitars
I, as you are probably well aware by now, ‘collect’ Cool & Rare American Vintage Electric Guitars, Basses, Effects and Amps. Yes, folks at a virtual GAS Anonymous™ meeting, “My name is CRAVE and I have a problem”. I’m beginning to accept that I have become one of those people for whom vintage guitar collecting is a reason for living (my ikigai – see my article of February 2025, ‘Ikigai and Vintage Guitars’). It seems that collecting vintage guitars has come to define me as a person, including my character, my personality and my lifestyle preferences.
Now, despite CRAVE Guitars being around as an entity since 2007 and online from 2014, it is not a large, special ‘collection’ by any stretch of the imagination. Neither is it a valuable, elite ‘collection’. It is a very modest assemblage of affordable old gear. Plenty of people have a great deal more gear than I do. The difference about CRAVE Guitars, I think, is that it is carefully curated for everyone to, hopefully, appreciate and enjoy. I wish I could also make audio files so others can experience the tone of these babies. Truth be told, I’m not a good enough musician and I genuinely don’t have the time/patience to go down that road. I would also like to provide videos and augmented reality but that is also beyond me at this stage.
“Objects are what matter. Only they carry the evidence that throughout the centuries something really happened among human beings” – Claude Levi‑Strauss (1908‑2009)
Guitar Collecting and Playing
Despite much searching and despite the fact that there are names for many obscure types of collectors, there doesn’t seem to be a name for someone who collects guitars, let alone vintage guitars. You know, like philatelists collect stamps. Heck, there isn’t even a collective noun for guitars themselves and neither is there one for guitarists. To be honest, I can’t think of a suitable noun that adequately describes the affliction. Perhaps it is time for someone to create a name for vintage guitar collectors. How about a CRAVE‑o‑holic, CRAVE‑o‑phile or CRAVEatalist? No, perhaps not. Alternative suggestions on a postcard, please.
One question that seems to come up repeatedly is whether someone is a guitar player or a guitar collector. Now, my response is along the lines of, ‘it doesn’t matter’, as the two are not mutually exclusive. As long as one is a guitar enthusiast, it matters not where one is along the continuum between the two, with most of us probably somewhere nearer the middle than one or other extreme (collectors who don’t play and players who don’t collect) – i.e. a normal distribution curve. The wonder of guitars is that players can collect and collectors can play. Many other forms of collectors don’t get that dual opportunity. For instance, going back to stamps, you can collect them but you can’t actually do much with them other than to look at, display or trade them.
Personally, I think that I play guitars first and collect guitars second. At least that is the chronological order through which I reached this point in later life. The fact that I can’t play very well is immaterial. I enjoy playing but have long realised that mastery of the instrument is beyond me, in the same way that mastery of vintage guitar collecting is also beyond me. Two trades, master of neither. Sigh.
As mentioned many times, I do not necessarily regard (or admit to) myself as a vintage guitar collector. However, a close friend confronted me on the subject and I reluctantly had to conclude that, in fact, I have fallen victim to having a collection of vintage guitars, which makes me a vintage guitar collector. Sussed again! Sigh.
“Collecting is like a treasure hunt, you never know what you might discover” – John Doe (1953‑)
Guitar Collecting and Ownership
Owning something is different from the things we own. Since time immemorial, humans have sought respect, identity and value in possessing things. Possessing something for oneself excludes the possibility that others can own the same thing. Ownership has long been associated with self‑esteem and materialism. Things, however, are not that simple. The relationship established between an individual and an object they possess can be very strong, even to the extent that sometimes the two become inseparable.
Material possessions encompass more than just owning an object. Objects can convey messages about status, power, wealth and superiority, and they are actively used to set one apart from one’s peers. Therefore, ownership becomes an integral part of personal lifestyle, community, society and, ultimately, civilisation. Ownership positions us in a pecking order within a social hierarchy. Yet the objects themselves don’t have any of the attributes we associate with owning them. In a world of infinite abundance, an object’s value is worthless, while in a world of scarcity, the same object’s value may be disproportionately high. Ownership value is therefore relative to its availability. This is another of the basics of economics.
Ownership helps us integrate into humanity, although paradoxically, ownership also separates us from others. An obsession with ownership leads to approval, envy, jealousy, resistance, control, competition conflict and outward demonstrations of self‑indulgence that subvert the humanity we so much yearn to belong to.
The psychological traits of ownership begin in childhood, continue through adolescence and becomes entrenched in adulthood, ready to be passed down succeeding generations. We are born with nothing. We take nothing with us when we die. Yet we spend a great deal of our lives in the pursuit of possessing material things.
Psychological ownership can be different from legal ownership, for instance, “that is MY parking space”. Many of us still want to own physical record or film collections despite plentiful streaming services. The cost and availability of access to streamed services, never mind the space savings, far outweigh the perceived benefits of ownership, yet many of us still want to own our own things rather than lease or borrow them from institutions.
The notion of ownership as an extension of the individual results in financial as well as emotional investment requiring decisions to be made on the basis of personal priorities. If those priorities include, for instance, the accumulation of vintage guitars, a collection becomes the ultimate manifestation of the ownership process (and it is a process, separate from the objects possessed). One person’s priorities may be of little or great interest to others, therefore possession becomes part of a like‑minded community’s self‑selection process.
There is no room here to delve into the ever more complex and fascinating issues of ownership. Suffice to say that human beings place considerable importance on possession and ownership.
Proof, if it was needed… would I relinquish the guitar collection I own? Not bloody likely! Even during the crisis years when I lost my home, my career and my self‑belief, I found a way to save and protect my vintage guitars with the help of a good friend. ‘Nuff said.
“It’s not as though you feel satisfied after collecting a certain amount of stuff. Instead, you keep thinking about what you’re missing” – Fumio Sasaki (1978‑)
Guitar Collecting and Value
Guitar collecting happens irrespective of the value of the instruments being collected. Once again, the two are not mutually exclusive. At least to me. For some, though, accruing monetary wealth it is the primary motivator and vintage guitars simply represent the currency exchange. I don’t have the means to play in the high end sand pit, so I dig in the muddy puddles of modestly priced/available vintage guitars. That’s OK by me. Affordable is good and far more grounded.
In the media, the instruments and collections that we tend to hear about are the large collections of genuinely rare (and therefore valuable) guitars. Number and value being the inversely proportional main factors. Some collections are worth a fortune with values that beggar belief. The major collectors are content to push up values with the consequence that the enthusiast becomes increasingly marginalised and/or excluded.
Then there are also the celebrity owned guitars that go for, frankly, ridiculous sums of money that we hear about from time to time. Often the two are complementary and we take notice of the largest collections worth the most amount of money. These collections tend to fall into two categories – public collections such as museums and private collections held by wealthy individuals.
I have often raised this aspect of vintage guitar collecting here. I recognise the need for public collections to document and preserve (not necessarily conserve) the historical importance of the guitar. I have anathema towards private collectors who hide the artefacts away and dare not touch them, let alone play them, in case it erodes their valuable return on investment. The latter, regular readers will know, I term the ‘collectorati’™, a pejorative term.
Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind” – Buddha (Siddhārtha Gautama – c.480‑400BCE)
Now, a Zen approach covered in my March 2025 article, ‘Eastern Concepts and Vintage Guitars’ mentioned ‘shikata ga nai’ (control what you can control) and Gaman (rising above adversity). These two philosophical tenets suggest that the way is to accept what exists (in this case, the ‘collectorati’) and focus on one’s own agenda with dignity and self‑respect. In addition, the quote from the Buddha above makes some sense and I submit to his greater wisdom. Therefore, to the Zen version of me, the ‘collectorati’ are abhorrent; however, it is not my place to abhor them. Instead, I will gain contentment from what I am able to collect and to do it with enthusiasm and humility. As a result of this rather profound and ‘spiritual’ insight, to me, value becomes irrelevant and inconsequential. I will gladly leave the detestable twin traits of greed and avarice to others. Enjoy wallowing in the filth of your dirty dollars, you can’t take then with you into the afterlife and you probably don’t genuinely enjoy them in this life.
While value is not a primary motivating factor for me, it does factor large at those points where value decisions need to be made about buying and selling part of a prized collection. So… if value is not important, would I give away my cherished vintage guitars? Not bloody likely, the sequel! Fundamentally, value has a part to play in the decision‑making process of managing and curating a collection.
“A collection is only as valuable as the knowledge and passion behind it” – John Doe (1953‑)
Guitar Collecting and Dealing
Dealers are kinda the odd one out here. They are a go‑between and a facilitator. They are a necessary evil as well, holding us all to ransom for an extra buck or two here and there. These are the bods largely responsible for feeding our collecting obsession. I kinda liken them to drug dealers hanging around school gates dangling ‘free’ baggies of tempting addictive substances just to get us hooked and then to keep us all hooked for their financial benefit. OK, perhaps that’s pushing the metaphor a bit far but you get the general idea.
“Collecting is an adventure that brings joy and excitement to everyday life” – Amelia Earhart (1897‑1937)
For many of us, guitar retailers were the starting off point for satiating GAS and encouraging us to spend beyond our means to acquire the latest shiny ‘must have’, at least until the next visit. For me, that first retailer was a long‑lost guitar shop in Worthing, West Sussex, England – infuriatingly, I cannot recall its name. While I unfairly maligned dealers in the previous paragraph, they perform an essential, if intimidating, role in the broader music industry. The world will be a worse place without them and, God forbid, that they should disappear from the high street, leaving the Internet as the only source for our particular ‘drug’.
Now, if one goes along with the widely held principle (assumption) that every guitar looks unique, every guitar plays uniquely and every guitar sounds unique, then online purchasing undermines the principle of choice and the products are confined to the status of a commodity. Extrapolating the point; if a commodity carries with it a lower emotional investment value, it becomes less satisfying in ownership and therefore more easily disposed of. A bit like buying an average car or an average house unseen and untried, if you will. This throwaway consumer society approach is the antithesis of passionate collecting,
“Collecting is a way of owning a piece of history and preserving it for future generations” – Albert Einstein (1879‑1955)
Plenty of the meccas for guitar gear such as 48th Street (Music Row) and West Village in Manhattan, NYC are a pale shadow of their previous glory, as is Denmark Street (the UK’s Tin Pan Alley) in London (following in the footsteps of Charring Cross Road and Shaftesbury Avenue). While there remain plenty of independent stores dispersed ever more thinly, the declining trend is undeniable and of great concern to neophytes and veteran collectors alike.
This tragic decline in supply is worrying, as it may possibly result in a concomitant decline in demand. If both supply and demand are suppressed, there is a resulting steep deterioration in significance.
We have eBay and Reverb to fall back on as major sources of second hand gear online. However, in the author’s experience, these are not compensating for the scarcity of brick & mortar dealers. For many of us, they have become a limited avenue for addiction.
“I love collecting guitars, even though I can’t play well” – Kiefer Sutherland (1966‑)
Examples of Vintage Guitar Collections
What follows is just a small example of the many types of vintage guitar and music history gathered into a single space. It is not intended as comprehensive, rather a modest starting point for guitar enthusiasts from which to explore the multitude of physical collections held both privately and publically.
Some Private Collections:
Jim Irsay was the owner and CEO of NFL American football team the Indianapolis Colts. He passed away on 21 May 2025, aged just 65. He had spent over 25 years creating one of the world’s leading collections of rock & roll, American history and pop culture artefacts, including some of the most iconic instruments in rock history. David Gilmour’s Black Fender Strat? A cool $3.9m. Jerry Garcia’s Tiger? $957,500. Bob Dylan’s Newport Folk Festival Fender Stratocaster? $965,000. George Harrison’s Gibson SG used on Revolver? $567,000. He also owned Kurt Cobain’s Fender Mustang and Eric Clapton’s ‘The Fool’ Gibson SG. The total value of Irsay’s collection is estimated to be well over $1bn.
Scott Chinery was an avid guitar collector who passed away in 2000. His extensive collection of over 1,000 guitars covering 150 years of guitar history remained with his family until 2021. The collection was acquired by the Archtop Foundation, a not‑for‑profit organisation based in Burlington, Vermont. The foundation’s mission is to share the collection with everyone. Chinery is perhaps best known for his portfolio of blue archtop guitars, including a web site dedicated to ‘The Blue Guitars’. The Blue Guitars
Ralph Jay Triumfo is a musician and guitar collector from the Philippines. He is regarded as owning the largest guitar collection in the world and, in fact, he holds the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of guitars, with a staggering 1,026 guitars in his possession, as of 2021.
Joe Bonamassa is a world famous blues/rock guitarist and self‑confessed vintage guitar nerd. He is also well known as one of the world’s foremost private collectors of electric guitars and amps. His collection totals well over 500 guitars, as well as around the same number of amps. What’s more, JB doesn’t hide these treasures away for himself. He takes his enviable classic guitars on the road and uses them on stage, so that everyone can appreciate the combination of his undoubted guitar playing skills and the iconic instruments that he owns. He also shares his passion online, particularly on social media.
Rick Nielsen is the guitarist of the American rock band Cheap Trick. He is believed to own upwards of 250 guitars, including many custom guitars built for him by Jol Dantzig at Hamer Guitars, such as the multi‑neck guitars that have become his trademark. Highlights include priceless 1950s Gibsons including Les Pauls, Explorers and Flying Vs.
David Gilmour was the guitarist with Pink Floyd and has a lengthy solo career. He has accumulated a massive collection of guitars over the years. Famously, in 2019, he auctioned 120 of his guitars, raising $21m for an environmental charity.
Slash – The Guns N’ Roses guitarist reportedly has a collection of over 400 guitars, including vintage Les Pauls and rare prototypes.
“Collecting is my passion” – Ursula Andress (1936‑)
Some Public Exhibitions:
What follows are just some of the public exhibitions that may be of interest to readers. The links worked at the time of publication but overtime they may become redundant. Just sayin’.
Songbirds Guitar and Pop Culture Museum, Chattanooga, Tennessee – the Songbirds museum opened in 2017 in downtown Chattanooga, TN and has more than 1,700 fretted instruments in its collection, touted as the world’s largest collection of rare and vintage guitars. The collection’s value is estimated to be in excess of $200m. Songbirds Guitar and Pop Culture Museum
The Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP), Seattle, Washington State – originally called The Experience Music Project (EMP) was established by the late Microsoft co‑founder, Paul Allen. MoPoP, as it is now known, also houses The Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. One of the features of the MoPoP is the giant guitar sculpture, ‘IF VI WAS IX’, as well as other guitar sculptures and music artefacts. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the museum features exhibits celebrating the music and history of Seattle including ‘local’ artists like Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana. The Museum of Pop Culture
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), Cleveland, Ohio – The RRHOF, located on the bank of Lake Erie attempts to document rock history through artists, producers, engineers and others, rather than instruments. The Rock Hall (for short) was founded in 1983 by the chair of Atlantic Records, Ahmet Ertegun and the Museum was dedicated in 1995. While the focus is not on guitars, there is a diverse range of artefacts covering the evolution of modern music. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
C.F. Martin & Company Museum, Nazareth, Pennsylvania – More than 100 guitars are on display, including the first Martin guitar, the earliest Dreadnoughts and Kurt Cobain’s prized D-18 dreadnought acoustic. Unsurprisingly, it is a venue for fans of Martin guitars, as well as those seeking insights of historical importance. If you aren’t into Martins, you may want to seek an alternative. C.F. Martin & Company Museum
Delta Blues Museum, Clarksdale, Mississippi – The Delta Blues Museum was originally established in 1979 and became a standalone museum in 1999, homed in the historic Clarksdale rail freight depot. The museum is dedicated to preserving interest in the story of the blues, following the blues masters and their historical journey from the deep south of the USA to become a worldwide phenomenon. Delta Blues Museum
National GUITAR Museum, Bradenton, Florida – The NGM was the first American museum dedicated to the history, evolution, and cultural impact of the guitar. The museum has touring exhibitions that focus on a unique aspect of the guitar’s historical role in popular culture. Each touring exhibition is curated by the museum and includes artefacts from its permanent collection. National GUITAR Museum
The Gallery of Iconic Guitars (GIG), Belmont, Nashville, Tennessee – The museum at Belmont University was founded following the death of collector Steven Kern Shaw in 2015 and is supported by vintage guitar expert, George Gruhn. GIG aims to celebrate some of the rarest and most iconic guitars as well as other stringed instruments. The collection comprises over 500 rare guitars and mandolins valued at over $10.5m. The Gallery of Iconic Guitars
Museum of Musical Instruments (MIM), Phoenix, Arizona – Hank Risan is a collector and founder of the museum’s collection that focuses on the instruments played every day by people worldwide. The museum, which opened in 2010, comprises over 7,500 instruments from across the globe. Museum of Musical Instruments
Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met), Manhattan, New York City – Coming to The Met in the spring of 2027 will be a rotating exhibition of historically important guitars focusing on American guitar making from 1920‑1970, donated to the museum by Dirk Ziff, an American billionaire publishing heir and financier, working with vintage guitar connoisseur Perry Margouleff. Nearly 600 guitars have been donated and around 150‑170 will be on display at any one time. Be prepared to have your mind blown in 2 years’ time. Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Smithsonian National Museum of American History – The Smithsonian is based in Washington, DC. It is home to the museum’s collection of over 500 guitars. Sadly, the dedicated hall of musical instruments exhibition closed in October 2012. However, the museum collection includes many stringed instruments of historical significance. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Hard Rock Café – Hard Rock is an international chain of hotels, theme bar/restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos, sports venues and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London, England. In addition to many artist‑owned instruments and rock ephemera displayed in numerous settings across the world, Hard Rock opened two dedicated Hard Rock Vaults in London and Orlando, Florida in 1979, featuring rare and valuable guitars and other rock memorabilia. Hard Rock Café
Seven Decades, London, England – A British innovation co‑created by vintage guitar collectors and musicians, Phillip Hylander and Michael John Ross. The premium collection of vintage guitars is played by the Seven Decades Band in live stage shows mainly in London but also travelling around the country. The shows give audiences the opportunity to see and hear vintage instruments being used for their intended purpose. The concerts take place at events such as guitar shows as well as at national venues such as the Victoria & Albert (V&A) Museum in London. ‘The Story of Three Guitars That Changed The World’ focused on the Fender Telecaster, Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul. The shows cover music from 1950s’ rock & roll to the present day, including genres such as rockabilly, country, heavy metal, punk and disco. Seven Decades
The Royal College of Music Museum, London, England – The RCM was originally founded in 1882 and the museum was re‑opened in 2021 as a world leading music conservatoire. The museum collection currently comprises over 14,000 musical artefacts covering instruments, art and music related objects, including the earliest known guitar. The Royal College of Music Museum
Guitars the Museum, Umeå, Sweden – Guitars the Museum was opened in 2014 and hosts the world’s largest collection of rare 1950s and 1960s guitars. The collection comprises more than 500 vintage guitars on public display, with estimates putting the collection’s value at over $10million. The museum remains a not very well kept secret among vintage guitar aficionados. Guitars the Museum
Tamworth National Guitar Museum, Tamworth, Australia – ‘The Big Golden Guitar’ is a 12m high fibreglass statue located at Tamworth Visitor Information Centre, which also houses the Australian National Guitar Museum. Tamworth National Guitar Museum
“Communism doesn’t work because people like to own stuff” – Frank Zappa (1940‑1993)
A Few Clichéd & Corny Puns about Guitar Collecting
Sadly, my research only turned up a few bad relevant jokes. I am afraid that most guitar players will already know these.
Why did the guitarist bring home yet another guitar? Because his guitar collection has been missing “just one more” for the last ten years.
How do you know a guitar collector is lying? He says, “I have enough guitars for now”
I asked my dad if he could leave his guitar collection to my children when he dies. He said, “That’s music to my heirs”
A woman on trial accused of beating her husband to death with his guitar collection.
The judge asked, “First offender?” The woman replies, “No, first a Gibson, then a Fender”
You know you’re a guitarist when you’ve got more guitars than clean socks
If you know how many guitars you have, you don’t have enough
If anyone says you have too many guitars… block that person immediately. You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life
My greatest fear is that when I die my wife will sell my guitars for what I told her I paid for them
“I’ve got too many guitars” said no guitarist ever!
I don’t suffer from Guitar Acquisition Syndrome, I enjoy every minute of it
The formula you have to determine how many guitars you need; the number of guitars you currently have, plus 1
Guitar collectors don’t have problems – they have limited storage space and an expanding wish list!
How do you make a guitar collector cry? Tell them their dream guitar was listed for sale… yesterday.
How do you know a guitarist is also a collector? Their collection is worth more than their car!
What does a guitar collector bring to a desert island? Six guitars and no survival skills whatsoever
Guitar collectors don’t retire… they just spend more time ‘investing’ in their collection!
Why do guitar collectors always seem broke? Because ‘affordable’ is a relative term
My wife said I have too many guitars. I said, “No, I have a diverse collection of tonal possibilities”. She said, “Well, I have a diverse collection of divorce lawyers”
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. I apologise profusely.
Final Thoughts on the Compulsion to Collect Vintage Guitars
Basically, there are no hard and fast rules to compulsion, collecting and vintage guitars. Most of it is subjective and far from definitive (a recurring issue with these articles). Everyone will have their own motivations for collecting, methods of collecting and justification for the ownership of their personal collection. What does come through is the sheer diversity of vintage guitar collections across the world, of which this article is just the tiny tip of a very large iceberg.
Why did I opt to collect vintage guitars and turn them into an online entity? Well, I didn’t plan it that way, I kinda fell into it and over time it germinated organically (metaphorically speaking) and it grew into what it is now. I’ve covered the appeal of vintage guitars in the last three articles, so I won’t re‑iterate that here. The reason CRAVE Guitars exists and is an online resource is mainly to share these artefacts with the wider world. I could do the objectionable ‘collecterati’ thing and keep them to myself but what’s the point in that? Heritage needs sharing.
It is immaterial how small or large a collection might be – there is an infinite variety along that continuum. Contrary to popular female beliefs, size really doesn’t matter where vintage guitar collections are concerned. What matters is that there are people (like me) conserving the heritage and acting as stewards for future generations. The financial value of a collection is irrelevant to all but the heinous investors and, once again, there is an infinite variety along this continuum.
“Collecting is a never-ending journey of discovery and learning” – Sir David Attenborough (1926‑)
So, is it better to own a single high value vintage guitar or a shed load of low value ones? There is no right or wrong answer to that specific question. Would I trade in my entire so‑so ‘collection’ for one great guitar? Nope. If anyone approached me to sell the enterprise as a going concern, would I consider a reasonable offer? Nope. I wouldn’t know how much CRAVE Guitars is worth as an entity. If I had to start over again, would I choose guitars differently? Possibly not. If I could go back in time to being that naïve teenager again, would I ever have predicted that I would be in this position in 2025? Nope. Would I have done things differently? Indubitably.
Each to their own. Discuss…
CRAVE Guitars is limited by three things – space, funds and availability. I can’t see any of those three things changing any time soon. The current ‘most wanted’ list exceeds 50 vintage guitars but that hasn’t been updated in a long time because there is no point in pursuing any more acquisitions at the moment. That list just covers guitars, never mind basses, effects and amps. Compared to the professional collections, CRAVE Guitars is miniscule. However, it is my pride and joy and I am content of what I have been able to achieve given circumstances.
Can the desire to accumulate guitar gear ever be satiated? Possibly, but I am afraid that I will probably never know or find out. Like the junky being cured of addiction – life just doesn’t work that way. We may be able to live with it but we cannot overcome it. My view is that once one has been smitten, the course of ownership is irreversible.
One thing seems irrefutable, the compulsion to collect vintage guitars is a very real thing and it ain’t gonna stop anytime soon, at least for me. Good and long may it continue. Otherwise, I would have very little to write about each month. Enjoy your own personal journey.
“A collector’s passion can turn ordinary objects into extraordinary treasures” – Pablo Picasso (1881‑1973)
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Album of the Month’
It seems appropriate for there to be a link between the article and the ‘album of the month’. Given the considerable relationship of one individual, his dedication to playing music and his not‑insignificant collection of vintage instruments, this month, we go for…
Joe Bonamassa – Dust Bowl (2011): ‘Dust Bowl’ is the 9th studio album by blues rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa. The album, comprising 12 tracks over 63 minutes, was released in March 2011 on Mascot Records. I don’t really have a favourite JB album, so ‘Dust Bowl’ is the one that tends to draw me in. Great cover art too, based on an image by American Depression‑era photographer Arthur Rothstein (1915‑1985), entitled, ‘Dust Storm, Cimarron County Oklahoma’ (1936). Very fitting for the music, which is exemplary, as is the norm for a guitar star.
Joe Bonamassa – Dust Bowl (2011)
There are many albums by the prolific guitarist and vintage gear collector. Any are well worth tracking down and giving a listen, if only to be gobsmacked by the dude’s awesome guitar playing. Critics may put his music down to straightforward blues/rock but in the 2020s, lord knows we need guitar heroes who know their chops and Bonamassa is one of those, probably the best since the late Stevie Ray Vaughan.
BELIEVE IN MUSIC!
“Collecting is a way of expressing your personality and interests” – Audrey Hepburn (1929‑1993)
Tailpiece
Another month, another article. It is becoming increasingly challenging to come up with a variety of topics and to keep things fresh interesting. I do hope that this one doesn’t disappoint. Who knows how long I can keep this streak going. Next month, another article, different subject. Let’s see what happens, eh?
I am still failing dismally in curtailing monthly blog articles in order to concentrate on ‘The Distortion Diaries’. Give me strength to prioritise and try harder. I hope to have some news on that front in due course.
In the meantime, I hope we all survive this perilous Earthly existence. We should be able to live, not just survive. We need to be able to live and have the opportunity to live better. Even more importantly, we should be able to thrive and flourish as individuals, communities and civilisation, not just survive. Time to live, then. Life is genuinely too short not to. Have FUN when you can.
Truth, peace, love, and guitar music be with you always. Until next time…
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “There is light at the end of the tunnel… unless it is at night or you have your eyes closed”
ALL PRESENT AND CORRECT, SIR, YES SIR! Here we are once again dear friends, acquaintances and anyone else who wishes to explore the Any‑Zany world of vintage gear. Spring is here folks and time to enjoy the freshness of rejuvenated nature accompanied by a suitable musical backdrop. It is a wonderful time of the year, in the northern hemisphere at least. I’ll get my monthly plea for a civilised society in our far too uncivilised world out of the way now. Even the notion of armed (or economic or social) conflict of any kind is futile and archaic in the 21st Century. Harmony, not discord, is the key to a flourishing future and it is achievable should we care enough and value it enough. What’s wrong with a bit of peace & love? Goodness knows we need it.
After the last three articles referencing Far Eastern influences, you may be relieved to know that that is not the focus of this month’s masterpiece (Ed: conceited or what?). I started out on this article thinking that it would be fairly straightforward. By the end, I was in the ‘what on Earth was I thinking?’ frame of mind. If I want to make space and time for writing ‘The Distortion Diaries’, this really is NOT the way to go about it. When will I learn? Well, it’s done now and time to move onto the next ‘big’ thang.
A CRAVE Guitars A‑Z of Vintage Guitar Gear
Looking back over the 90‑odd monthly articles so far, I was quite surprised I haven’t tried this particular exercise or something like it before now. This month is definitely one for the list‑o‑philes out there. For all you list‑o‑phobes, you might want to sit this one out.
The following narrative is an A‑Z that covers guitar gear including guitars, basses, amps, effects, accessories, etc. In order to give enough credence to many notable names, the A‑Z comprises subjects now associated with the vintage market and the main focus is on names with a clear historical component. There could have been many more but a line had to be drawn somewhere and it ended up a conveniently rounded 150.
For the author’s fragile sanity, the exercise is specifically about guitar‑related stuff. If I had gone for a looser definition or a wider scope for musical industry, instruments, equipment and accessories, it would have proved to be unmanageably massive.
Some of these names will be familiar household names while others are going to be somewhat esoteric. Some are companies, while others are products – it’s a bit mix and match but the rationale will hopefully become clear. It is not intended to be exhaustively comprehensive and I will undoubtedly have missed some important names that readers will pick up on and no doubt berate me for not including them. However, it is MY list and I’m sticking to it, although I apologise to anyone I may have omitted or misrepresented (easy to do with such a large number of précis).
There are plenty of notable industry names not included below, such as Ashdown, Blackstar, Eastman, Eastwood, Faith, Fractal, Kemper, Line 6, Luna, Manson Guitarworks, Matamp and Suhr among many, many, many more. The focus here is primarily on producers and products. Distributors and retailers are generally not listed, including names like Chandler Music, Gruhn Guitars, Macari, Rose Morris, Sam Ash, Guitar Center, PMT, Sweetwater, Thomann, Gear4Music, etc. Some key people are included as contributors to guitar gear, rather than in their own right, such as Robert Moog and Larry Fishman. Also pro studio gear tends not make the cut here. Not everything can make the list!
The volume of available information means that the descriptions here have to be very (and sometimes overly) brief, resulting in a lot of detail being left out skewing balance. However, the A‑Z may provide an interesting launching pad for further exploration and/or investigation should you so desire. Hey, I’m not going to do everything for you!
One thing I discovered (or rather became increasingly aware of, having understood it intuitively beforehand) during the research for this article is that the global music industry has been markedly incestuous and inbred over the last 150 years or so. The industry’s relationship status could probably best be described as, ‘it’s complicated’. There has been a great deal of to‑ing and fro‑ing, buyouts, mergers, sell‑offs, liquidations, shake outs, bankruptcies, relaunches, revivals and complex interdependencies between the various players. Trying to make sense of the numerous combinations and permutations in a consistent and coherent way made my head hurt. A lot.
Due to the nature of the subject matter and the work involved, there aren’t any words‑of‑wisdom quotes/idioms or many illustrative images this month. Horses for courses and all that. I apologise that this isn’t a very ‘pretty’ blog article.
Wherever possible, I have relied on my own resources built up over many years. While I have not plagiarised content from online sources, I have relied on generalised sources such as Wikipedia, specific sources such as company/brand web sites, as well as details from various books and other publications to inform the A‑Z. I would not have been able to achieve the significant amount of information herein without seeking corroborative cross‑references as part of the research. My thanks go out to those sources, which have been of significant assistance. It probably goes without saying that there is no end of ‘information’ on all of this should you wish to delve into the endless rabbit warren that is the hinternet thingummyjig.
There was, however, a great deal of unreliable, conflicting and/or inaccurate information making collation challenging. There is, therefore, despite best endeavours, a risk that the lack of definitive facts, especially relating to dates and individuals, may have made its way into the narrative. If that is the case, I apologise pre‑emptively. For that reason alone, I do not recommend using this as a source of irrefutable factual information. It is, as always, only for entertainment and broad information. The following is pretty heavy going and may stray into nerdy nirvana. Are you sitting comfortably?
Without further ado, it’s time to get analytically and amazingly alphabetic. Following convention, we start with…
A – A Stands for…
AER
AER (Audio Electric Research) was founded in 1992 by Udo Rösner, Michael Eisenmann and Susanne Janz in the the Ruhr area of Germany. As a relative newcomer, AER has specialised in developing and manufacturing amplifiers for acoustic instruments, an under‑represented field at the time. Their slogan is, ‘the acoustic people’.
Airline
Airline Guitars was a brand used by American mail order company Montgomery Ward on a range of electric and acoustic guitars between 1958 and 1968. Like their competitor, Sears, Montgomery Ward sourced instruments from the likes of Valco, Kay and Harmony. The Airline name was also used on a range of amplifiers manufactured by Valco and Danelectro during the same period. Eastwood Guitars purchased rights to the Airline brand in the early 2000s and is still used for retro designed guitars as of 2025.
Akai
Akai Electric Company Ltd. was founded by Masukichi and Saburo Akai in Tokyo in 1946. Akai was a Japanese electronics manufacturer for many years. In the 1980s, Akai Professional focused on studio production and recording equipment and stage audio gear. The original Akai business ceased production in 2000, although Akai Professional continued manufacturing a wide range of equipment, including synthesisers.
Alembic
Alembic was founded in 1969 by Owsley Stanley (1935‑2011) in Novato, California. Alembic was, and still is, an American manufacturer of high‑end basses and guitars, Alembic was an innovator in premium bass instruments including 5‑string and graphite necks. Alembic basses have been favoured by artists such as Jack Casady, Stanley Clarke and Mark King.
Alvarez
The American Alvarez guitar brand was created in 1965 by retailer Gene Kornblum and luthier Kazuo Yairi, based in St. Louis, Missouri. The firm focused on steel‑string acoustic guitars manufactured in Japan and imported into the US. Alvarez is a private company under the ownership of St. Louis Music as of 2025.
Ampeg
The American company that became Ampeg was founded in 1946 by Everett Hull and Stanley Michaels in Linden, New Jersey. Ampeg is an abbreviation of ‘AMlified PEG’, a transducer pickup for upright acoustic basses. Ampeg’s main focus over decades has been to specialise in bass amplifiers, although it has diversified into guitar amps as well. Like many other American manufacturers, it was sold in the mid‑1960s in order to survive. Ampeg is now a brand owned by Japanese giant, Yamaha.
Aria
Aria Guitars Co. was founded in 1956 by Shiro Arai (1930‑2019) in Nagoya, Japan. Initially, Aria was a musical instrument retailer. In 1964, Aria started manufacturing acoustic guitars and, from 1966, electric guitars and basses. Aria made its name during the 1970s and changed its name to Aria Pro II in 1975. Aria currently also owns Pignose amps (see below).
Audiovox
The original Audiovox Manufacturing Co. was founded by musician and inventor, Paul Tutmarc (1896‑1972). Tutmarc was famous for the introduction of the Audiovox Model 736 Bass Fiddle – the precursor to the fretted bass guitar – in 1936. Not to be confused with another consumer electronics company bearing the same name, founded in 1960, based in Orlando, Florida.
B – B Stands for…
B.C. Rich
B.C. Rich was founded by Bernardo Chavez Rico (1941‑1999) in 1974 in LA, California. The American company is famous for manufacturing acoustic and electric guitars, and basses. B.C. Rich guitars became known for radical guitar designs that became popular with heavy metal bands, particularly during the 1980s. Budget B.C. Rich guitars are made in Asia, while high‑end boutique instruments are made in small numbers in the US. After the founder’s death in 1999, the brand changed ownership several times before returning to private ownership in 2019.
Bigsby
Bigsby was the brainchild of innovator Paul Bigsby (1899‑1968) who started building bespoke guitars for professional artists like Merle Travis and Chet Atkins in Scottsdale, Arizona from 1946. Bigsby is best known for its worldwide industry standard vibrato tailpieces used by many other brands often under licensing agreements. Bigsby sold the company to Gibson president, Ted McCarty in 1966 and it was sold again to Fender in 2019.
Binson
The Binson Amplifier HiFi Company was founded by engineer, Bonfiglio Bini in Milan in the mid‑1940s. The company is best known for its legendary portable echo and reverberation effect, the Binson Echorec introduced in 1953/1954. Uniquely, the Echorec used a magnetic disc, rather than tape loop, to record and replay the original signal. The company ceased production in 1986. The Binson Echorec name has since been revived by guitar effect company T‑Rex.
Bogner
Bogner Amplification was founded in 1989 by Reinhold Bogner in LA, California. Bogner is an American manufacturer of guitar amps, speaker cabinets and effect pedals. The company started out making boutique amps based on modified Fender and Marshall amps before moving into mainstream production with three discrete amp lines.
BOSS
BOSS is a division of the Roland Corporation that was formed in 1972 in Osaka, Japan. BOSS focuses mainly on the manufacture of compact guitar and bass effect pedals, as well as modern multi‑effect units and amplifiers. The company started making its familiar compact BOSS effect pedals in 1977, first in Japan until c.1990 and then in Taiwan and latterly Malaysia. BOSS has become one of the biggest names in guitar and bass effects.
Burns
Burns Guitars London is a manufacturer of electric guitars and basses, founded in 1959 by Alice Farrell and Jim Burns (1925‑1998) in London, England. After a period of success during the 1960s, the Baldwin Piano Company acquired the business and the original Burns guitar line ceased production in 1970, although Jim Burns continued to make guitars independently. A range of Burns‑branded guitars re‑appeared in 1992 with guitars made in the Far East.
Buzz Feiten
Howard ‘Buzz’ Feiten II (1948‑) is a musician and luthier notable for patenting a unique tuning system for guitars in 1992. The Buzz Feiten Tuning System (BFTS) for fretted instruments is intended to correct inherent intonation issues by replacing a guitar’s standard fingerboard nut with a specialised compensated version. In 2012, Buzz Feiten Guitars was formed, renamed Buzz Feiten Guitar Research in 2018.
C – C Stands for…
Carlsboro
Carlsbro is a guitar amplifier company, founded in 1959 by Stuart and Sheila Mercer in Nottingham, England. It is one of the oldest British guitar amp makers. In 2002, production was shifted overseas and in 2010 the company was acquired by the Chinese Soundking Group.
Carvin (Kiesel)
The American Carvin Corporation was founded in 1946 by Lowell Kiesel (1915‑2009) based in San Diego, California. Carvin guitars and basses were popular with rock and metal guitarists during the 1970s and 1980s. After Kiesel’s death, the company was split into Kiesel Guitars and Carvin Corporation, the latter mainly covering audio equipment.
Charvel
Charvel is an American guitar company founded in 1974 by Wayne Charvel in Azusa, California. Charvel sold the company to Grover Jackson (of Jackson Guitars) in 1978. Charvel guitars were popular with rock and metal guitarists during the 1980s. After several changes, both Charvel and Jackson brands were acquired by Fender in 2002.
Collings
The American Collings Guitars company was founded in 1973 by Bill Collings (1948‑2017) in Austin, Texas. Collings manufacture a wide range of high quality acoustic, arch top and electric guitars, as well as other fretted instruments including production of quality mandolins and ukuleles.
Colorsound
Guitar effect brand Colorsound was formed in 1967 by brothers Larry and Joe Macari in London, England. Colorsound pedals were manufactured by another Macari‑owned company, Sola Sound. Colorsound is probably best known for the iconic Tone Bender fuzz pedal, made famous by rock guitarists in the 1960s and 1970s.
Columbus
Columbus was a brand name used by the American importer Elger Guitars on entry level copies of Gibson, Fender and Rickenbacker guitars. The flagrant copies were made in the Far East by the Japanese manufacturer, Hoshino Gakki Gen. Elger used the Ibanez name in the US and Columbus in the UK.
Coral
In 1967, the giant MCA company acquired guitar manufacturer Danelectro (see below) and introduced the short‑lived Coral brand with instruments produced in Danelectro’s Neptune City, New Jersey facility between 1967 and 1969. The brand is best remembered for its distinctive instruments like the Coral Bellzouki and the Coral Sitar.
CSL
The CSL brand name was used by Charles Summerfield Limited, based in Gateshead, England. During the 1970s, CSL distributed guitars in the UK that were manufactured by FujiGen Gakki in Matsumoto, Japan. At the time, FujiGen was known for supplying guitars for other brands including Ibanez, Fender, Yamaha and Greco. CSL guitars were mainly blatant ‘lawsuit era’ copies of Fender, Gibson and Rickenbacker models. CSL ceased trading in 1993.
D – D Stands for…
D’Angelico
D’Angelico was founded by master luthier John D’Angelico (1905‑1964) in 1932, in Manhattan, New York. D’Angelico built a strong reputation for hand built archtop guitars created in small numbers during the 1930s. Original instruments are now highly sought after. After D’Angelico’s death, the business (but not the name) was bought by former apprentice Jimmy D’Aquisto (see below). The D’Angelico brand was re‑launched in 1999 and continues as of 2025 with a range of American and Far Eastern models.
D’Aquisto
James L. D’Aquisto (1935‑1995) was an American luthier who served as an apprentice to John D’Angelico from 1952 until the latter’s death in 1964. D’Aquisto concentrated on building and repairing archtop guitars under his own name. As he predicted, he died at the same age as his mentor (59). Fender currently manufactures a range of guitars using the D’Aquisto name.
Dallas Arbiter
John E. Dallas & Sons was formed in 1875 in London, England making and selling musical instruments. Dallas imported musical instruments from Europe and the USA, including brands such as Kay, Harmony and Vega. Separately, Sound City was formed in London by Ivor Arbiter, another industry bigwig, which specialised in guitars and amplifiers. Around 1965, Dallas Music acquired the Arbiter‑Western company thereby creating Dallas Arbiter, which produced drums, guitars and basses under the Hayman brand. Dallas Arbiter is, though, best known for the iconic Fuzz Face effect pedal, manufactured from c.1966 to 1975 (and which has been reissued many times since). Dallas Arbiter went out of business in 1975.
Dan Armstrong
Dan Kent Armstrong (1934‑2004) was an American guitarist and luthier born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After opening his own business in 1965, Armstrong designed an innovative range of guitars for Ampeg in 1968 using bodies made from clear Plexiglas (a.k.a. Lucite), a synthetic polymer. The instruments also used interchangeable pickups designed by colleague Bill Lawrence. In the 1970s, Armstrong moved to England and designed a new range of traditional guitars, basses, effects and amps. In 1998, a Plexiglas Dan Armstrong guitar was reissued, made in Japan.
Danelectro
American company Danelectro was founded in 1947 by Nathan Daniel (1912‑1994) in Neptune City, New Jersey. ‘Dano’ made distinctive semi‑hollow guitar and bass bodies made from poplar or plywood frames faced with Masonite front and back and with vinyl tape binding. The instruments also used characteristic ‘lipstick’ single coil pickups and ‘coke bottle’ headstocks. MCA bought Danelectro in 1966 and ceased guitar production in 1969. The brand was revived in the 1990s focusing intermittently on guitars/basses, effect pedals and amps. Danelectro is currently owned by Evets Corporation.
DeArmond
Harold DeArmond (1906‑1999) was an American electrical designer who founded DeArmond Research in Toledo, Ohio to develop a magnetic guitar pickup in 1935, working with Bud Rowe, owner of Fox Electrical and Manufacturing. The first acoustic guitar pickups were manufactured in 1939. In 1940, production was consolidated as Rowe Industries. Although best known for guitar pickups, Rowe introduced a tremolo effect pedal in 1941, the first of its kind. By the time Harry DeArmond retired in 1976, his company had made over 170 different types of pickup, as well as many amplifiers and effect pedals. In c.1998, Fender acquired the rights to use the DeArmond name.
Dean
Dean Guitars was founded in 1976 by Dean Zelinsky in Chicago, Illinois. Dean originally made a variety of guitars for many famous artists. Zelinsky sold Dean in 1986, which continued in business but with little connection to the original company. Professional musician Elliott Rubinson of Armadillo Enterprises bought the business in 1997 and successfully rejuvenated the Dean Guitars brand with a range of products from Far Eastern budget models to US‑built custom shop instruments. The late guitarist Dimebag Darrell was a key endorsee.
DiMarzio
Larry DiMarzio started making guitar pickups in Staten Island, New York in the 1960s. DiMarzio became famous for manufacturing after‑market guitar pickups and stock pickups for a number of brands. DiMarzio also produces a range of accessories and merchandise. DiMarzio Inc. continues to make a wide range of products including around 200 types of guitar and bass pickups.
Dobro
Dobro Manufacturing Company was originally founded in 1928 by four Dopyera Brothers (Dobro is a conflation of DOpyera and BROthers). Dobro produced single cone acoustic resonator guitars to compete with National’s tricone resonator guitars. In 1932 Dobro merged with National to form the National‑Dobro Company. In the 1940s the business was sold to Valco (see below). In 1964, the Dopyera Brothers re‑introduced the Dobro name, which was eventually acquired by Gibson 1993 with guitars manufactured by Gibson subsidiary, Epiphone from 2012.
DOD (DigiTech)
DOD Electronics, deriving from the initials of founder David Oreste DiFrancesco, was formed in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1973. DOD, and its brand DigiTech, manufactures a wide range of popular guitar effect pedals. DOD/DigiTech was sold to Harman International around 1991 and then sold again to South Korean giant Cortek (owner of Cort Guitars) in 2018.
Dumble
Dumble Amplifiers was a one‑man‑band enterprise founded by reclusive Alexander Dumble (1944‑2022) to build no‑compromise hand‑made guitar amplifiers in very small numbers, often for wealthy celebrity artists. Dumble amplifiers have acquired legendary status amongst guitarists, particularly for his Dumble Overdrive Special. Commercially, the brand died along with its founder in 2022.
Dunlop
Dunlop Manufacturing was founded in 1965 by Scottish immigrant to the USA, entrepreneur Jim Dunlop (1936‑2019) in Benicia, California. Dunlop built the business from a humble start in his living room and garage to become one of the largest manufacturers of musical accessories and guitar effect pedals. Dunlop remains a private company as of 2025.
E – E Stands for…
EBow
The EBow is an innovative guitar accessory manufactured by Heet Sound Products in LA, California. The battery‑powered EBow (short for ‘electronic bow’) uses battery‑powered electromagnetism to vibrate a guitar string producing a sustained sound like a bowed violin or cello string. The sound contrasts with the rapid attack and decay of a plucked guitar string. Greg Heet invented the EBow in 1969, launched it commercially in 1976 and patented it in 1978. The EBow remains in production as of 2025.
Echoplex
Engineer Mike Battle designed the Echoplex tape delay effect unit in 1959, based on an earlier design by Ray Butts from the 1950s. The Echoplex was sold through Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI) and then Maestro, a distributor owned by Norlin (which also owned Gibson). The effect rapidly became an industry standard. In 1970, a solid‑state Echoplex superseded the valve‑driven unit, developed by Maestro. The Echoplex brand was purchased by Gibson in the 1990s and the Echoplex name was used on a line of digital looping delays. In 2019, Echoplex became a trademark of Dunlop Manufacturing.
EKO
EKO Guitars was founded in 1959 by Oliviero Pigini in Recanati, Italy. EKO manufactures classical guitars, 12‑string guitars, archtop guitars, electric guitars and acoustic bass guitars. During the 1960s, EKO became the largest guitar exporter in Europe and made guitars and effect pedals for other brands such as VOX. EKO remains a private company that continues to manufacture guitars as of 2025.
Electro-Harmonix
Electro-Harmonix (a.k.a. EHX) was founded in 1968 by musician Mike Matthews in New York City. EHX makes effect pedals and sells rebranded amplifier valves. During the 1970s, EHX manufactured a wide range of innovative affordable state-of-the art guitar effect pedals for guitarists and bass players. In the 1980s EHX stopped making effect pedals and focused on valves in the 1990s. At that time, EHX started producing a few effect pedals in Russia before returning to its roots from 2002 and continues to excel in the manufacture of guitar effect pedals.
Epiphone
What would become Epiphone in 1928 was founded by the family of Greek/Turkish immigrant luthier Anastasios Stathopoulo (1863‑1915) in 1873 in the Ottoman Empire. Initially a fiddle and lute maker, Epiphone became a major competitor to Gibson during the 1930s, especially in the manufacture of high quality archtop guitars. A struggling Epiphone was finally acquired by Gibson in 1957. Epiphone is best known for the Casino hollow body electric guitar because of an association with The Beatles. From the 1970s, Epiphone became a low cost offshore manufacturer of Epiphone‑branded copies of Gibson models.
Ernie Ball
Ernie Ball Inc. was founded in 1962 by American musician and entrepreneur Roland Sherwood Ball (1930‑2004) in San Luis Obispo, California. Ernie Ball is an instrument and accessory company, particularly known for its guitar strings. In 1972, Ernie Ball also started producing guitars. Guitars and basses are also manufactured by Music Man, which Ernie Ball bought in 1984 and now called Ernie Ball Music Man (EBMM). Ernie Ball’s son, Sterling Ball (1955‑) is the current CEO of the company, keeping it a private family business.
ESP/LTD
ESP Company Ltd was founded in 1975 by Hisatake Shibuya (1937‑2024) in Tokyo, Japan. ESP’s main business is manufacturing electric guitars and basses, as well as an OEM supplier of parts for other companies. ESP is also parent to subsidiary brand LTD amongst others. ESP and LTD guitars have been favoured by heavy metal guitarists in particular. ESP also has had an American headquarters based in LA, California since 1993. ESP’s primary competitor is rival Japanese brand, Ibanez.
Eventide
The American Eventide Inc. was founded in 1971 by recording engineer Stephen Katz, inventor Richard Factor, and businessman Orville Greene in New York City. Eventide is best known for its extensive range of premium quality studio and guitar effect pedals using digital effect processors and Digital Signal Processor (DSP) software. Eventide is now based in Little Ferry, New Jersey.
F – F Stands for…
Fender
Fender, one of the world’s most famous and important names in guitars, basses and amplifiers was founded in 1946 by Clarence Leonidas ‘Leo’ Fender (1909‑1991) in Fullerton, California. Leo Fender sold his business to CBS in 1965. Following a management buyout in 1985, Fender Musical Instrument Company (FMIC) once again became a private company. Fender is home to iconic instruments like the Telecaster, Stratocaster, Precision, Jazz Bass, Jaguar, Jazzmaster and amplifiers like the Twin, Deluxe, Bassman and Princeton. Fender also produces accessories and merchandise.
Fernandes
Fernandes Guitars was formed in 1972 from its predecessor, Saito Musical Instruments, founded in 1969 in Niizo, Japan. Fernandes is a Japanese company that produces electric and bass guitars, amplifiers and accessories. Fernandes has become one of the biggest guitar producers in Japan. Fernandes, though, is possibly best known for its Sustainer pickups that use electromagnetism to vibrate the guitar’s strings in a similar way to the eBow (see above). Fernandes also owns the Burny brand, known for making copies of Gibson guitars.
Floyd Rose
The Floyd Rose locking vibrato system (erroneously called a tremolo) was designed by Floyd D. Rose in 1976 and patented in 1979. The vibrato was intended to return the strings to accurate tuning despite extreme ‘dive bombing’ of a guitar bridge to change the pitch of strings. The system relies on firmly clamping the strings at both the nut and bridge. Floyd Rose vibratos became phenomenally popular, particularly with rock and heavy metal guitarists and the approach has been widely imitated and officially licensed.
Framus
Framus was founded in 1946 by Fred Wilfer in Luby, Czechoslovakia to make stringed instruments and to resettle German Bohemians expelled from Bohemia after WWII. Framus is a conflation of FRAnconian MUSical instruments. Framus became the largest guitar producer in Europe during the 1950s. Despite success, Framus went bankrupt in 1975. The brand was re‑introduced in 1995 by founder Fred Wilfer’s son as part of the German bass guitar manufacturer Warwick (see below).
G – G Stands for…
G&L
G&L Musical Instruments was founded in 1980 by George Fullerton (1923‑2009)(G), Leo Fender (L) and Dale Hyatt in Fullerton, California. G&L was the venture Leo Fender pursued after he left Music Man in 1979 and before Music Man was sold to Ernie Ball in 1984. G&L focused on continuing to innovate and evolve Leo Fender’s guitar and bass designs in a way that Fender (the company) couldn’t. After Leo Fender died in 1991, BBE Sound, Inc. took over the business.
Gibson
Gibson, one of the oldest, most famous and most important names in guitars was founded in 1894 by Orville Gibson (1856‑1918), in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Orville started off making labour‑intensive carved top guitars and mandolins. Lloyd Loar (1886‑1943) designed key jazz archtops like the L5 for Gibson in the 1920s. The ES‑150 was the first production ‘electric’ guitar in 1936. Collaborating with professional musician Les Paul (1915‑2009), Gibson introduced the Les Paul Model guitar in 1952. Company president Ted McCarty (1909‑2001), followed the Les Paul with the Explorer, Flying V, ES‑335, SG and many others. Gibson was sold by parent company CMI to Norlin in 1974 and was subsequently subject to a management buy‑out in 1986. Despite financial difficulties, Gibson remains a private company as of 2025.
Godin
Godin Guitars was founded by Robert Godin in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1972. Godin currently manufactures electric and acoustic guitars and basses under its own name, built in Canada, as well as other subsidiary brands like Seagull. Godin is Canada’s largest guitar business.
Gordon Smith
Gordon Smith Guitars was founded in 1974, named after its founders, Gordon Whitham and John Smith in Greater Manchester, England. Gordon Smith is a manufacturer of hand‑crafted electric guitars. The company is also Britain’s longest‑running electric guitar manufacturer. In April 2015 Gordon Smith Guitars was acquired by British firm, Auden Guitars, based in Northamptonshire, England.
Goya
Goya guitars (named after the Spanish artist) were manufactured by Levin, a company founded in 1900 by Herman Carlson Levin in Gothenburg, Sweden. In 1952, Goya introduced nylon‑strung acoustic guitars followed by steel‑string acoustic guitars in the 1960s. In 1976, the Goya brand was sold to CF Martin (see below). Production of Goya guitars suffered and Martin stopped selling Goya‑branded guitars during the 1990s.
Greco
Greco is a brand name used by the wholesaler Kanda Shokai Corporation, formed in 1948 in Japan. The company started selling Greco guitars in the mid‑1960s. In the 1970s, although not specifically targeted by Gibson, Greco became embroiled in the ‘lawsuit-era’ copy scandal. In 1982, Kanda Shokai was part of a joint venture with Fender Japan, making acoustic and electric guitars for the Japanese market. Various guitar models have used the Greco name on and off since the 1990s.
Gretsch
Gretsch was originally founded by German immigrant Friedrich Gretsch (c.1856‑1895) in 1883, located in Brooklyn, New York, USA. Gretsch focused primarily on guitars as a core business in the 1930s and the company hit their peak era from the mid‑1950s to mid‑1960s during the rock & roll boom. Gretsch was sold to Baldwin Pianos in 1967 and the family business has worked in partnership with Fender since 2002. Gretsch is probably best known for the iconic 6120 Chet Atkins hollow body guitar.
Guild
The Guild Guitar Company was founded in 1952 by professional guitarist and music retailer Avram ‘Al’ Dronge (1911‑1972) in Manhattan, New York. Guild intended to compete primarily with rivals Epiphone and Gretsch. Following expansion, Guild was sold to the Avnet Corporation in 1966, which moved production to Westerly, Rhode Island. Guild was sold again to Fender Musical Instrument Corporation (FMIC) in 1995. In 2014, Guild was acquired by Cordoba Music Group and moved yet again to Oxnard, California.
Guyatone
Guyatone was founded in 1933 by Mitsuo Matsuki in Yamanashi, Japan. Matsuki Manufacturing produced guitars under the Guya brand until 1940. In 1951 the Guyatone name was established for electric guitars and, in 1955, the first Guyatone solid-body electric guitar was introduced. In Japan, Guyatone guitars were sold using the Ibanez name. In the UK, Matsuki used the Antoria name and in the US, they used the Kent name. The Guyatone name is now owned by DeMont Guitars LLC.
H – H Stands for…
Hagström
Hagström was founded in 1925 by Albin Hagström in Älvdalen, Dalecarlia, Sweden. Hagström’s main business was accordions before they started making electric guitars in 1958 and subsequently amps. Hagström pioneered with the innovative H8 8‑string bass and also began to experiment with guitar synths. Hagström ceased production in 1983 in the face of stiff competition. The brand was revived in 2004 and now produces guitars in both Europe and the Far East.
Hamer
Hamer Guitars was founded in 1973 by Paul Hamer and Jol Dantzig in Wilmette, Illinois. Hamer became well‑known for building guitars and basses based on Gibson’s designs. In 1988, Hamer was acquired by Kaman Music Corporation (KMC), which owned Ovation guitars. In 2008, Fender bought KMC including the Ovation and Hamer brands. Fender closed down Hamer production in 2012. In 2015, Fender sold KMC again. In 2017, KMC revived the Hamer name with products imported into the US.
Harmony
The Harmony Company was founded in 1892 by Wilhelm Schultz. Sears, Roebuck & Co. purchased Harmony in 1916 for the latter’s ukulele business. By the 1950s, Harmony produced a wide range of instruments, peaking in the mid‑1960s. In 1975, the production of Harmony guitars ceased and the brand name was sold. In 2018, BandLab Technologies of Singapore revived the Harmony brand, producing guitars and amps made by Heritage (see below).
Heritage
Heritage Guitar Inc. was founded in 1985 by three former Gibson employees in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Heritage set up business in the old Gibson factory after Gibson had moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1974. As of 2025, Heritage is a small‑scale manufacturer of guitars heavily based on Gibson’s traditional designs.
HH Electronics
HH Electronics was founded in 1968 by Mike Harrison, Malcolm Green and Graham Lowes in Harston near Cambridge, England. It was a manufacturer of distinctive solid state guitar, bass and PA amps, as well as speaker cabinets. In the 1990s, HH was acquired by Laney Amplification (see below).
Hiwatt
Hylight Electronics, better known as Hiwatt, was founded in 1966 by Dave Reeves in Surrey, England. Hiwatt are best known for their guitar and bass amps. As part of the 1960s and 1970s boom in high powered amps, Hiwatt (including Sound City, see below) along with its main competitors Marshall, Orange and VOX helped to cement the ‘British sound’ of rock music, contrasting with the ‘American sound’ of Fender (and its derivatives) amps.
Höfner
Karl Höfner GmbH & Co. KG was founded in 1887 by German luthier Karl Höfner (1864‑1955) in Schönbach, Austria-Hungary (now Luby in the Czech Republic). One part of the company manufactured classical string instruments while another produced guitars and basses. After WWII, Höfner moved to West Germany, where the company thrived. Höfner became closely associated with The Beatles who were seen to use Höfner guitars and basses. In 1994, Höfner was sold to British music publisher, Boosey & Hawkes. After financial difficulties, the Höfner brand was sold to a former Höfner employee in 2004.
Hohner
Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG was founded in 1857 by clock maker Matthias Hohner (1833‑1902) in Trossingen, Baden‑Württemberg, Germany. While Hohner is best known for its harmonicas, the company manufactured a wide range of musical instruments, including guitars from the 1950s until c.2015. Hohner has since returned to its roots and currently produces harmonicas, melodicas, accordions and recorder flutes.
Hondo
The Hondo guitar company was founded in 1969 by Jerry Freed and Tommy Moore. Hondo was a joint venture with the Samick Company of South Korea to manufacture entry‑level acoustic and electric guitars and basses, importing them into the USA using the Hondo name. Many of Hondo’s guitars were based on, or copies of, classic American guitar designs. The Hondo name had largely disappeared by 1989 but was revived by what is now Musicorp in 1995.
Hughes & Kettner
Hughes & Kettner was founded in 1984 by brothers Hans and Lothar Stamer in in Neunkirchen, Saarland, Germany. The company focuses on manufacturing premium level amps and innovative effect pedals. H&K as built a strong reputation with a particular focus on high‑gain amplifier technology for heavy metal and hard rock.
I – I Stands for…
Ibanez
Ibanez is a guitar brand created in 1957 in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. Ibanez is owned by Hoshino Gakki a musical instrument manufacturer founded in 1908. Ibanez began production of guitars in 1957 and were known for copies of American guitars during the 1960s. Ibanez in particular was the target for litigation by Gibson because of trademark infringements during the 1970s. Ibanez (and other) brand guitars of the period became known as ‘lawsuit‑era’ instruments. Also in the 1970s, Hoshino Gakki licensed Maxon effect pedals for sale under the Ibanez brand.
J – J Stands for…
Jackson
Jackson Guitars was founded in 1980 by American luthier Grover Jackson in Glendora, California to manufacture electric guitars and basses. Grover Jackson had worked closely with Wayne Charvel until the latter sold the Charvel name to Jackson in 1978. During the 1980s, Jackson manufactured high-quality, US‑made, custom instruments, primarily for heavy metal guitarists including Randy Rhoads. Fender acquired both Jackson Guitars and Charvel in 2002. Low budget Jackson guitars are manufactured in the Far East. Grover Jackson is now co‑owner of independent GJ2 Guitars, based in Orange County, California.
Jen
JEN Elettronica was founded in c.1969 in Pescara, Italy. Jen’s focus was to become Europe’s biggest music OEM manufacturer including guitar effect pedals. Jen was notable for manufacturing products for VOX and Gretsch among others, as well as a line of guitar effect pedals under the JEN name. Jen is best known for making the iconic wah‑wah pedal, the ‘Cry Baby’ in the 1960s. Jen failed to trademark the Cry Baby name, so any manufacturer could use it at the time.
John Hornby Skewes (JHS)
John Hornby Skewes (JHS for short) was founded in 1965 by John & Madge Hornby Skewes in Garforth near Leeds, England. Over the years, JHS has become an international company offering thousands of products including a number of JHS proprietary brands including Fret‑King, Vintage, Encore and JHS‑branded guitar effect pedals.
K – K Stands for…
Kahler
Kahler Systems International was formed in the late 1970s by Gary Kahler. The company started out making parts for other companies such as Fender and DiMarzio. The cam‑operated Kahler vibrato (not tremolo!) was introduced in 1981, just in time for the rock and metal boom of the 1980s with its associated ‘shredding’ and ‘dive‑bombing’ guitar playing styles. Kahler’s main competitor was Floyd Rose (see above). Like Floyd Rose, the focus was on maintaining tuning stability. Unusually, Kahler also produces a bass vibrato version. When demand for vibrato systems declined in the 1990s, Kahler switched to making golf clubs but returned to manufacturing guitar hardware including the classic Kahler vibrato in 2005.
Kalamazoo
Gibson was based in Kalamazoo, Michigan until 1974. Kalamazoo was also a brand name used by Gibson for archtop and flattop acoustic guitars, lap steels, banjos, and mandolins. Kalamazoo was a low cost option that many musicians needed during the Great Depression (1929‑1939). The original short‑lived Kalamazoo brand was used between 1933 and 1942. During the 1960s, Gibson temporarily resurrected the Kalamazoo name for low-cost, beginner guitars until Gibson positioned Epiphone into that market to compete with Far Eastern competition.
Kawai
Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co Ltd was founded in 1927 by Koichi Kawai (1886‑1955) in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan. The company is best known for its pianos, electronic keyboards and synthesisers. Kawai worked for Nippon Gakki (Yamaha) before setting up his own business. Koichi’s son, Shigeru took over control of Kawai until his death in 2006. Shigeru’s son, Hirotaka Kawai now runs the family business. Kawaii also bought the Teisco brand, which manufactured a range of distinctive guitars and basses.
Kay
Kay Musical Instrument Company was founded in 1931 by Henry ‘Kay’ Kuhrmeyer in Chicago, Illinois, although previous incarnations date back to 1890. Kay produced budget and pro‑level guitars, mandolins, banjos and ukuleles from 1936. Kay migrated to electric guitars and basses from c.1955. Kay was sold in 1965 and again in 1967, this time to Valco (see below) who went bust in 1968, and then sold again in 1969. The Kay name has been used intermittently over the years, often attached to instruments imported from China.
Korg
Korg Inc. (previously Keio Electronic Laboratories) was founded in 1962 by Tsutomu Kato (1926‑2011) and Tadashi Osanai in Tokyo, Japan. Korg was and is best known for their keyboards and synthesisers from the late 1960s to the 1980s. In 1987, Yamaha took temporary control of Korg until 1992. In 1992, Korg acquired British amp maker VOX (see below).
Kramer
Kramer Guitars was founded in 1976 by Gary Kramer in Neptune, New Jersey. Gary Kramer and Travis Bean had formed the Travis Bean guitar company in 1974 shortly before Kramer formed his own company. Initially, Kramer continued to use aluminium necks on guitars and basses, improving on Travis Bean’s designs. Kramer reverted to traditional wood necks from 1981. Kramer guitars and basses became associated with the rock and metal boom of the 1980s. Kramer filed for bankruptcy in 1989. Eventually, Gibson acquired the rights to Kramer in 1997 and guitars are now manufactured by Epiphone using the Kramer name. In 2005, Gary Kramer founded the independent Gary Kramer Guitars (GKG).
Kustom
Kustom Amplification was founded in 1964 by Charles ‘Bud’ Ross in Chanute, Kansas. Kustom is a manufacturer of guitar and bass amplifiers, PA systems and accessories. Uniquely, speaker cabinets were wrapped in a sparkling car upholstery material called Naugahyde, giving them a particularly standout image. Baldwin Pianos bought Kustom in 1972 and is now owned by Hanser Music Group who keep the style and spirit of the original Kustom designs going. Founder Charles Ross went on to form effect pedal company Ross Musical (see below) in c.1972.
L – L Stands for…
Laney
Laney Amplification was founded in 1967 by musician Lyndon Laney in Birmingham, England. The British Laney brand manufactured guitar and bass amplifiers, speaker cabinets and PA systems. Laney developed from its humble beginnings in Laney’s father’s garage into a major player in the global amp market. Laney remains in business as a private company, as of 2025.
Larrivée
Jean Larrivée Guitars Inc. was founded in 1967 by Jean Larrivée in Toronto, Canada. The company moved to Vancouver in 1982 then to California in 2001. Since 1977, Larrivée has manufactured a range of premium acoustic guitars, often featuring ornate inlays. Larrivée Guitars is still in production as a family business as of 2025.
Leslie
The Leslie speaker was the invention of electronic engineer Donald Leslie. Development began in the 1930s as a means for a Hammond organ to emulate the sound of a pipe organ. Production began in 1941. The speaker comprises a variable speed rotating baffle in front of the loudspeaker(s) which modulates the sound exploiting the Doppler Effect. Leslie speakers have been used by guitarists keen to obtain the signature Leslie sound. In contemporary times, many attempts have been made to imitate the sound effect, first through analogue circuits and then by Digital Signal Processing (DSP). In 1965, Leslie sold his business to CBS who, in turn sold it to Hammond in 1980. In 1992, the Japanese Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation bought both the Hammond and Leslie brands.
Lowden
George Lowden (1952‑) is an Irish luthier based in Bangor, County Down. He founded the eponymous company, George Lowden Guitars in 1974. Lowden’s main output comprises premium nylon and steel‑string acoustic guitars although he has also dabbled in making electric solid body guitars. In an unusual move, Lowden licenses other luthiers to build guitars using the Lowden name, especially in Japan. In 2002, Lowden introduced a more affordable range of guitars, called Avalon.
M – M Stands for…
Maccaferri
Henri Selmer Paris was a company founded in 1885 in Mantes‑la‑Ville near Paris. In 1932, Selmer worked with Italian luthier Mario Maccaferri (1900‑1995) to design what are known as ‘gypsy jazz’ acoustic guitars, famously used by virtuoso Belgian/French jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Maccaferri guitars have a large body with thin ladder‑braced top and squared off bouts. Early sound holes were D‑shaped while later ones were oval, with a rounded cutaway on the upper treble bout. Selmer made less than 1,000 of these guitars until production ceased in 1952.
Maestro
Gibson’s parent company, Chicago Musical Exchange (CMI) had used the Maestro name on products like the legendary Echoplex tape loop echo effect (see above). From 1962, CMI was one of the first companies to move into effect pedals using the Maestro name. They launched a number of effect pedals starting with the FZ‑1 Fuzz Tone. In 1974, Norlin acquired Gibson from CMI and the company put synthesiser pioneer, Robert Moog in charge of Maestro effects. By 1979, Norlin was struggling and ceased production of all Maestro products. In 2022, Gibson revived the Maestro name and re‑launched a new range of effect pedals.
Magnatone
The origins of Magnatone date back to the late 1930s and a company called Dickerson Musical Instrument Company in California. The business was bought by Art Duhamell in c.1946, when the name was changed to Magna Electronics Company, using the brand name Magnatone. Magna manufactured a range of electric guitars and vibrato (actually tremolo!) amplifiers produced between 1937 and the mid‑1970s. In 2013, Ted Kornblum reintroduced the Magnatone brand on a range of reissued amps.
Marshall
Marshall Amplification was founded in 1962 by drummer and retailer Jim Marshall (1923‑2012) in London, England. The British company built its formidable reputation manufacturing Marshall guitar and bass amps, and speaker cabinets, starting with the classic JTM45 amp head in 1963. The Marhsall ‘stack’ became a familiar icon of rock music from the 1970s onward. Other guitarists preferred combo amps like the Bluesbreaker. In 1965, Marshall launched a sister brand, Park which made amps until 1982. Facing stiff competition from American companies like Mesa and Soldano, Marshall explored the use of solid state, rather than valve‑based amp circuits, including hybrid versions. In 2007, some former employees of Marshall left and founded Blackstar Amplification. In 2023, Marshall was sold to Swedish company Zound Industries, majority owned by the Chinese HongShan Capital Group. Marshall was nicknamed, ‘The Father of Loud’.
Martin
C.F. Martin & Company was founded in 1833 by German immigrant Christian Frederick Martin in New York City before relocating to Nazareth, Pennsylvania in 1838. C.F. Martin was an apprentice for Johann Georg Stauffer, a famous luthier from Vienna, Austria. Following consumer demand, Martin refocused its manufacturing toward steel‑strung acoustic guitars around 1921 using many key innovations to improve the company’s already strong reputation. In 1931, Martin launched its dreadnought acoustic guitar with X‑bracing, which became a best seller and industry standard, particularly the D‑18 and D‑28 models. Pre‑WWII Martin guitars are highly sought after today. Martin has also dipped its toes into solid body electric guitars and basses, as well as strings. Martin continued to innovate including the use of composite materials from the 1990s onward. The company has been family‑owned and run throughout its entire history with the great‑great‑great‑grandson of the founder, C.F. ‘Chris’ Martin IV as current president as of 2025.
Maxon
The Japanese company, Nisshin Onpa was formed in 1965 in Tokyo Japan. Maxon was a brand name used by the company for its range of guitar effect pedals from 1969. Maxon became an OEM provider for Ibanez, producing stomp boxes using the Ibanez name, including the iconic TS‑808 Tube Screamer Pro. Nisshin Onpa also marketed pedals under its own Maxon name. Maxon stopped working with Ibanez in 2002 and Maxon continues to manufacture and market its own effect pedals.
Mesa/Boogie
Mesa Engineering was founded in 1969 by Randall Smith (1946‑) in Petaluma, California. Randall started out by hot‑rodding Fender amps in his home workshop. The Mesa/Boogie nickname derived from a comment made by Carlos Santana when demoing a Mesa‑modified Fender Princeton. The Boogie amps went through a number of generations (Marks) and in the 1990s the Boogie was supplemented by high‑gain Rectifier models. Gibson acquired Mesa Engineering from Smith in 2021.
Morley
Morley Pedals was founded in 1969 by American brothers Raymond and Marvin Lubow in LA, California superseding their previous enterprise, Tel‑Ray Electronics. The distinctively rugged Morley guitar effect pedals, particularly their wah‑wah and volume pedals using electro-optical circuitry, grew in popularity during the 1970s. Chicago‑based firm, Sound Enhancements, Inc. acquired Morley in 1989.
Mosrite
Mosrite guitars was founded in 1956 as Mosrite of California by Semie and Andy Moseley in LA, California. Semie Moseley (1935‑1992) had been an apprentice at Rickenbacker and Bigsby where he learnt his craft. Mosrite guitars were known for their radical designs and innovative features, as well as the brand’s association with surf pop/rock band The Ventures. The original Mosrite company went bankrupt in 1968. Several attempts were made to resurrect the brand over intervening decades, although without much success. Semie’s daughter, Dana Moseley is keeping the name alive.
Mu‑Tron
Musitronics Corporation (a.k.a. Mu‑Tron) was founded in 1972 by former Guild employees, Mike Beigel and Aaron Newman in Rosemont, New Jersey. Musitronics was known for manufacturing a number of high-quality guitar effect pedals including their most famous effect unit, the Mu‑Tron III envelope filter in 1972, which produced an electronic wah‑wah type sound beloved by funk guitarists. Musitronics ran into financial trouble in the late 1970s and production wasn’t resumed until 2014 when Mike Beigel founded Mu‑FX.
MXR
MXR Innovations was founded in 1972 by Keith Barr and Terry Sherwood in Rochester, New York. MXR is famous for its range of guitar effect pedals, starting with the iconic Phase 90, followed by the Distortion +, Dyna Comp and Blue Box. MXR was acquired by Dunlop Manufacturing in 1987 and continues to manufacture effect pedals using the MXR name as of 2025.
Music Man
Music Man (a.k.a. MM) was the company formed in 1974 by Leo Fender and partners 10 years after Leo sold the firm that bore his name to CBS in 1965. MM made its name with the Stingray Bass introduced in 1976. Leo Fender left Music Man in 1979 and went on to found G&L in 1980 (see above). Music Man was sold to Ernie Ball Inc. in 1984.
N – N Stands for…
National
The National String Instrument Corporation was an American guitar company founded in 1927 by entertainer George Beauchamp and luthier John Dopyera in LA, California. The company started by manufacturing banjos and then acoustic resonator guitars, an innovative instrument intended to be loud enough to be heard in a big band environment. In 1932, National merged with Dobro (see above) to form the National Dobro Company. It later came under the control of Valco (see below) until the latter went bankrupt in 1968. The spirit of National resonator guitars was rejuvenated by independent company, National Reso‑Phonic Guitars founded in 1989 in San Luis Obispo, California.
O – O Stands for…
Orange
Orange Amps was founded in 1968 by musician, electronics designer and retailer Clifford Cooper in London, England. The bright orange covering on their amp heads and speaker cabinets was a distinctive aesthetic, making them instantly recognisable. It helped that the sounds were also what many guitarists and bass players were listening out for at the time. Orange partnered with Radiocraft owned by Mat Mathias, which led to the Orange Matamp amps. After a 4‑year period in which Gibson reissued amps using the Orange name, Cooper regained the brand in 1997 and production was resumed in 1998. Orange is still flourishing as of 2025.
Orville
Orville by Gibson guitars and basses were part of the Gibson Guitar Corporation, destined for the Japanese market from 1988. Japanese distributor Yamano Gakki and Gibson decided not to use the Epiphone brand name and chose Orville – after Gibson founder Orville Gibson – despite the fact that Gibson was selling both Gibson and Epiphone in Japan. Production of Orville by Gibson guitars ceased in 1998 with Gibson’s focus on promoting Epiphone Japan models.
Ovation
Ovation was founded in 1965 by aeronautical engineer Charles Kaman (1919‑2011), in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. Kaman Music Corporation (KMC) used the founder’s technical background to manufacture guitars employing composite materials, predominantly bowl‑back acoustic guitars using a synthetic material called Lyracord. Fender briefly owned Ovation from 2008 to 2014 and the business is now owned by German company GEWA Music as of 2025.
P – P Stands for…
Parker
Parker Guitars was founded in 1993 by American luthier Ken Parker with input from pickup pioneer Larry Fishman in Chicago, Illinois. Parker guitars, particularly the Fly model, used innovative composite construction including a wood core covered with a carbon fibre/resin exoskeleton to reduce weight and increase rigidity. Pickups were traditional magnetic coil split humbuckers supplemented by piezo pickups to provide acoustic‑like tones. Fingerboards comprised composite materials with stainless steel frets. The US Music Corporation acquired Parker in 2003, moving production overseas before selling the brand again to Jam Industries. Parker Guitars has been defunct since 2016, despite several efforts to revive the brand.
Patrick James Eggle
Patrick Eggle Guitars was founded in the 1990s by British luthier Patrick James Eggle in Coventry, England. He left his own company in 1994 and, after several side projects in the US and UK, he formed Patrick James Eggle Guitars producing high‑end acoustic guitars. Eggle also helped to design Faith Guitars. In 2016, Eggle switched production from acoustic to electric guitars and in 2017. Eggle has also designed guitars for the revived Shergold Guitars brand (see below).
Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
PRS, a relatively new kid on the block, was founded in 1985 by American luthier Paul Reed Smith (1956‑) in Annapolis, Maryland. PRS guitars were cleverly positioned strategically between Fender and Gibson often using flamboyant designs and highly figured tone woods, often selling for premium prices. In 2003, PRS created the highly successful SE (Student Edition) range manufactured in the Far East. PRS remains a private company as of 2025.
Peavey
American innovator, Hartley Peavey (1941‑) founded Peavey Electronics in 1965, based in Meridian, Mississippi. Peavey has grown to become one of the largest music audio equipment manufacturers in the world. Peavey is mainly known for its amps and speaker cabinets, Peavey has also manufactured acoustic and electric guitars as well as basses. As of 2025, Peavey remains a privately owned company.
Pignose
Pignose was founded in 1969 by Richard Edlund and Wayne Kimbell in Chicago, Illinois. The company focuses on the manufacture of battery‑powered guitar amps, mains‑powered practice amps and innovative travel guitars incorporating an integrated amp and speaker. The iconic Pignose 7‑100 was considered to be the first portable electric guitar amp. Since 2023, Pignose has been under the ownership of Japanese company Aria (see above).
Pro Co
Pro Co Sound is based in Kalamazoo, Michigan and is best known for a single product, the Pro Co Rat distortion effect pedal (and multiple variations thereof). The Rat – allegedly named after the rodent‑infested basement in which the pedal was designed – was the brainchild of Pro Co engineer Scott Burnham in 1974, entering full production in 1979. The Rat has become one of best‑selling distortion stomp boxes of all time.
Q – Q Stands for…
I got nothin’
R – R Stands for…
Ramírez
Ramírez Guitars was founded in 1882 by José Ramírez in Madrid, Spain. The company has been manufacturing hand‑built professional, concert‑grade classical and flamenco acoustic guitars. Ramírez has been in business for over 140 years and has remained a private family business for five generations (to‑date).
Randall
Randall Amplifier Company was founded in 1970 by Don Randall in Irvine, California. Before setting up his own business focusing on guitar amps, Randall was vice president and general manager of Fender and then the Fender Sales divisions of CBS. After Randall sold his business in 1987, it was acquired by US Music Corporation, a subsidiary of Canadian corporate group Exertis.
Regal
What would become the Regal Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company from 1901 was founded in 1896 by Emil Wulschner in Indianapolis, Indiana. Regal started out making ukuleles and tenor guitars. Regal later made resonator guitar components for National and Dobro as well as making instruments under their own brand. Regal ceased production of guitars in 1941 and closed business in 1954, Fender owned the brand for a while before it was sold again to Saga Musical Instruments in 1987, who reintroduced a range of resonator instruments using the Regal name.
Rickenbacker
Swiss immigrant Adolph Rickenbacher (1886‑1976) founded Rickenbacker Manufacturing Company in 1925 to make metal bodies for National Guitars before setting up the Ro‑Pat‑In Corporation in 1931 along with performer and inventor George Beauchamp in LA, California. In 1932, Rickenbacker became the first company to make a production solid bodied electric guitar and by 1934, the company was using the Rickenbacker name. Rickenbacker really hit its stride in the 1950s after Rickenbacker sold his company to businessman F.C. Hall. Rickenbacker International Corporation (RIC) is famous for its 300 series guitars and 4000 series basses. Rickenbacker remains a private company, with its headquarters in Santa Ana, California.
Roger Mayer
Electrical engineer Roger Mayer is a name closely associated with Jimi Hendrix among others in the 1960s. In particular, Mayer’s fame resulted from the Octavia guitar effect pedal that integrated an octave (up) generator with a fuzz distortion effect. The classic Octavia remains in production still using the Mayer name. Mayer was also involved with modifying Maestro Fuzz Tone pedals and influencing the Sola Sound/Coloursound Tone Bender fuzz pedals.
Roland
The Roland Corporation was founded in 1972 by Ikutaro Kakehashi (1930‑2017) in Osaka, Japan. Roland is a multinational company manufacturing electronic organs, synthesisers, drum machines, amps and effect pedals with many iconic models, too many to mention here. Roland was also a key player in the development, introduction and promotion of the MIDI communication protocol for electronic music equipment. Roland also owns famous subsidiaries, including BOSS, Drum Workshop, Edirol and Rhodes.
Ross
Kustom Amps was founded in 1964 by Charles ‘Bud’ Ross in Chanute Kansas. After Kustom achieved considerable success, Ross sold his company to Baldwin Pianos in 1972. At that point, Ross launched Ross Musical and released the first Ross guitar effect pedals in c.1974. While Ross manufactured a wide range of effects, three Ross pedals are noteworthy, the tan‑hued Distortion, the orange Phaser and the now legendary grey Compressor. Ross pedals were revived in c.2020 by JHS Pedals (see above under John Hornby Skewes) with reissues of the classic Ross stomp boxes from the 1970s.
S – S Stands for…
Sadowsky
Sadowsky Guitars Limited was founded in 1979 by American luthier Roger Sadowsky in Long Island, New York. Roger Sadowsky has a strong reputation for building high‑end boutique guitars and basses. From 2019, Sadowsky has remained a private company while instruments are produced by German bass manufacturer Warwick (see below).
Santa Cruz
The Santa Cruz Guitar Company was founded in 1976 by American luthier Richard Hoover in Santa Cruz, California. Santa Cruz manufactures a limited number of high‑end steel‑string acoustic and acoustic bass guitars along with baritone guitars and ukuleles. Santa Cruz remains a private company as of 2025.
Schaller
Schaller GmBH was founded in in 1945 by Helmut Schaller (1923‑1999) near Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany. Schaller manufactures a wide range of guitar parts and accessories. Initially, Schaller focused on the development of amps and speakers before moving into manufacturing metal guitar aftermarket and OEM components used by a wide variety of companies. Schaller tuners and bridges have achieved recognition for build quality. After the deaths of founding family members by 2006, Schaller was restructured as a limited liability company (GmbH).
Schecter
Schecter Guitar Research was founded in 1976 by David Schecter in Van Nuys, California. Initially, Schecter manufactured a wide range of replacement guitar parts and accessories. In 1979, Schecter started producing its own custom made guitars based on Fender designs. By 1983, Schecter was bought out by investors and, after legal action from Fender, the company was bought again by Japanese businessman Shibuya Hisatake, owner of ESP Guitars (see above), to make high‑end custom guitars. In addition to American manufacturing, Schecter imported South Korean‑built guitars from the late 1990s. In 2012, Schecter resumed American custom shop production.
Selmer
Henri Selmer Paris was founded in 1885 by Henri Selmer in Mantes la Ville near Paris, France. Selmer started off by manufacturing professional woodwind and brass instruments. In 1928, a UK branch of Selmer was formed under the leadership of brothers, Ben and Lew Davis. In the 1930s, Selmer partnered with luthier Mario Maccaferri to produce gypsy jazz guitars (see above). They also moved into PA systems during the 1930s. In the 1950s, Selmer also went into manufacturing organs as well as importing guitars from Europe. Selmer began producing a range of guitar and bass amps prompted by the rise of rock & roll. In the 1970s, Gibson owner CMI acquired Selmer UK. From 1976, CMI’s successor Norlin started running down Selmer UK until it was shut down in the early 1980s. In 2018, the family‑owned Henri Selmer Paris was sold to European equity group, Argos Wityu.
Seymour Duncan
Seymour Duncan was founded in 1976 by Seymour Duncan (1951‑) and his wife Cathy Carter in Santa Barbara, California. Seymour Duncan is best known for manufacturing a wide range of aftermarket guitar and bass pickups, as well as effect pedals. Most pickups are American‑made although the low‑cost OEM ‘Duncan‑designed’ pickups are manufactured in South Korea. Seymour Duncan’s main competitor is DiMarzio (see above).
Shergold
Shergold Guitars was founded in 1967 by former Burns London employees Jack Golder and Norman Houlder in London, England. After producing products for other companies, Shergold started making and selling guitars under the Shergold name in 1975. Shergold ceased manufacturing guitars in 1982 and there were several subsequent failed attempts to revive the brand. Barnes & Mullins acquired Shergold in 2015 and, in 2016, British luthier Patrick James Eggle (see above) became a shareholder and helped to design a range of new Shergold models.
Shin-ei
Little known outside of Japan, Shin‑ei was a major manufacturer of guitar effect pedals from the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. In 1968, Shin‑ei created the legendary Uni‑Vibe modulation effect made famous by Jimi Hendrix. The Uni‑Vibe’s unique tones have been much imitated since. Shin‑ei manufactured products for different companies as well as under its own name. The rejuvenated company is Honey Shin-ei LLC, based in Austin, Texas.
Silvertone
Silvertone was a brand name used by the American Sears, Roebuck & Company mail order and department store for its line of consumer electronics and musical instruments from 1916. Silvertone instruments and amplifiers were manufactured by a wide variety of companies including Danelectro, Harmony, Kay, National, Supro, Teisco and Valco. Sears stopped using the Silvertone brand in 1972. In 2001, South Korean company, Samick Music acquired the rights to Silvertone and reissued a number of instruments under the revived Silvertone brand. Samick sold Silvertone to current owners, RBI Music in 2021.
Sola Sound
Sola Sound was a British guitar effect pedal brand best known for making the iconic Tone Bender fuzz pedals. The Tone Bender first appeared in 1965, designed and built in London by electronic technician Gary Hurst. The Tone Bender derived from Maestro’s Fuzz Tone and inspired Dallas Arbiter’s Fuzz face. From 1970, Sola Sound produced Colorsound‑branded pedals. Sola Sound also made pedals for other companies, such as VOX, Marshall, Carlsboro, Rotosound, CSL and many others. Both Sola Sound and Colorsound were owned by brothers Larry and Joe Macari of London, England, known for their eponymous London retail store.
Soldano
Soldano Custom Amplification was founded in 1986 by American Michael Soldano in LA, Calirfornia. Soldano designed and manufactured high‑gain guitar amps after modifying Fender and Mesa/Boogie amps. Michael Soldano, latterly based in Seattle, Washington, sold his company to Boutique Amps Distribution in 2019.
Sound City
British amp manufacturer Hiwatt (see above) was formed in 1966. Hiwatt’s founder Dave Reeves contacted Ivor Arbiter to produce guitar amplifiers re‑badged using Arbiter’s Sound City music store name. Sound City amps became associated particularly with The Who and Jimi Hendrix.
Steinberger
Steinberger was founded in 1979 by Ned Steinberger (1948‑) in Brooklyn, New York. The company manufactured a range of electric guitars and basses designed by the founder. Steinberger was eventually sold to Gibson in 1987, which stopped selling Steinberger guitars in the mid‑1990s. The most distinctive Steinberger instruments have downsized synthetic construction bodies and necks devoid of a traditional headstock, giving the instruments a minimalistic look. Steinberger (under Gibson) licensed the design to other companies including Hohner and Cort, accounting for new models.
Stick
Stick Enterprises is the company behind the innovative Chapman Stick, an unorthodox electric musical instrument devised by jazz musician Emmett Chapman (1936‑2021), which started production in 1974. The Chapman Stick commonly comprises 8, 10 or 12 strings on an enlarged fretboard and is usually played by a ‘two handed tapping’ technique, rather than by plucking the strings. While based on a guitar, it is classified as a composite chordophone.
Stromberg
Stromberg Guitars was founded in 1906 by Swedish immigrant Charles Stromberg in Boston, Massachusetts. Stromberg started out by making banjos and mandolins until 1927 when they produced their first archtop jazz guitar. Stromberg only made around 640 guitars during the big band era, during which their guitars’ large size gave them sufficient volume to compete with loud horn sections. Production stopped in in 1955 with the death of the founder.
Supro
Supro guitars date back to 1935, made as a low‑cost brand by the National Dobro Corporation (see above). From the 1950s, Supro produced electric guitars, basses, amps and effects. National Dobro was acquired by Valco, which went out of business in 1968, at which time the Supro name was discontinued. The Supro name was revived in 2013 making guitars, amps and effects. In 2020, Supro was bought by Bond Audio.
T – T Stands for…
Takamine
Takamine Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co., Ltd. was founded in 1959 by Ozhone in Sakashita, Gifu, Japan. In 1962, the company was named after Mount Takamine in Japan. Takamine focuses on manufacturing steel‑string acoustic guitars and it has become one of the leading companies of its kind. In 1978, Takamine was one of the first firms to make acoustic/electric guitars using innovative transducers, particularly suited to live performance, as they reduced feedback. For a short period, Takamine also produced solid body electric guitars and basses. Takamine remains a private company as of 2025.
Taylor
Taylor Guitars was founded in 1974 by Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug in El Cajon, California. Taylor manufactures premium acoustic, classical and semi‑hollow electric guitars in the USA and Mexico. Taylor has become famous for its innovative manufacturing technologies, use of exotic tone woods and sustainable production processes. In 2021, Taylor Guitars became owned by its employees and in 2022, Luthier and guitarist Andy Powers became Taylor’s Chief Executive, President, and Chief Guitar Designer.
TC Electronic
TC Electronic was founded in 1976 by brothers Kim and John Rishøj in Denmark. The company specialises in a wide range of innovative music audio products and is most famous for its guitar effect products. TC Electronic is only one of several companies under the ownership of TC Group holding company. In 2015, TC Electronic was purchased by Music Group (now Music Tribe).
Teisco
Teisco was founded in 1946 by guitarist Atswo Kaneko and electrical engineer Doryo Matsuda in Tokyo, Japan. The company produced a range of esoterically designed guitars, basses and baritone guitars as well as other musical equipment including amps, synthesisers and drums. In the US, guitars were re‑badged Teisco Del Rey. In 1967, the Teisco name was acquired by Japanese company Kawai Gakki Seisakusho which ceased using the Teisco name outside Japan in 1969. In 2018, the Teisco name, along with Harmony Guitars (see above), was relaunched by BandLab Technologies of Singapore.
Thomas Organ
The Thomas Organ Company was founded in 1875 by Edward Thomas in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada. The company’s early focus was on pipe and pump organs. In the 1950s, the company invented the Thomas electronic organ. Thomas became US importer of VOX products, exemplified by the Thomas Organ Cry Baby (the Cry Baby name wasn’t trademarked). Thomas also acquired rights to make Moog synthesisers. In 1979, Thomas Organ ceased business, although the name was revived 1996 to manufacture electronic organs once again.
Tobias
Tobias Bass Guitars was founded in 1977 by Michael Tobias in Orlando, Florida. The majority of Tobias basses were cost‑effective neck‑through models. Tobias was acquired by Gibson in 1990 and production was moved to Nashville, Tennessee. In 1992, Michael Tobias left Gibson to found Michael Tobias Design making boutique bass guitars. Tobias bass guitars are manufactured by Gibson’s Epiphone division and the brand has been rejuvenated in 2025.
Tokai
Tōkai Gakki was founded in 1947 by Tadayouki Adachi in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan. Initially, Tokai focused on harmonicas and pianos as well as other instruments. In 1968, Tokai started manufacturing electric guitars alongside acoustics and, later, basses and amps. In 1972, Tokai worked with C.F. Martin to build Martin’s Sigma electric guitars. In the early 1980s, Tokai got caught up in the ‘lawsuit era’, a period during which American brands threatened Japanese businesses over design copyright infringements. Tokai was a family business until it was sold in 2021 to Grace Company Ltd.
Tom Anderson
Tom Anderson Guitarworks was founded in 1984 by American luthier Tom Anderson in Newbury Park, California. Anderson started out working for Schecter before branching out on his own making limited numbers of highly‑regarded premium boutique and custom guitars. By 1990, Anderson moved from manufacturing parts to building whole guitars. Tom Anderson remains in business as of 2025.
Trace Elliot
Trace Elliot was founded in 1979 by retailer Fred Friedlein in Romford, Essex, England. The company specialised in bass amps and speaker cabinets, and from 1989, acoustic guitar amps. In 1992, KMC (who owned Ovation) acquired Trace Elliott to focus on the US market. In 1998, the company was sold again to Gibson. Then, in 2005, Peavey acquired Trace Elliott.
Travis Bean
Travis Bean Guitars was founded in 1974 by American luthier Travis Bean (1947‑2011) and business partner Gary Kramer in California to manufacture high‑end guitars using necks made from machined aluminium. Kramer left the company in 1975 to found Kramer Guitars (see above). Bean once again toyed with guitar manufacture in the late 1990s but the potential from his innovative construction techniques was largely unrealised.
Traynor
Traynor Amplifiers was a brand founded in 1963 by electronics designer Peter Traynor in Toronto, Canada under parent company Yorkville Sound. Traynor focused on manufacturing bass and guitar amps. In 1976, Peter Traynor left due to poor health and the brand diminished over a period of years until it was revived by Yorkville in 2000, still manufacturing bass, guitar, acoustic and keyboard amps.
U – U Stands for…
Univox
Univox was a musical instrument brand founded in 1960 by Thomas Walter Jennings in Westbury New York. The company marketed Univox guitar amplifiers, guitars, keyboards and drum machines. Univox’s main claims to fame were the legendary Uni‑Vibe and Uni‑Fuzz pedals. They also distributed Matsumoku guitars, Shin‑Ei effect pedals and Korg synthesisers. In 1985, the parent company Unicord was sold to Japanese company Korg, after which the Univox brand was phased out.
V – V Stands for…
Valco
Valco was formed in 1940 by a stakeholder restructuring of the National Dobro Company. Valco manufactured a range of guitars, basses and amplifiers using a variety of brand names including National, Airline and Supro, as well as making guitars for other companies such as Sears and Montgomery Ward. However, they didn’t retail any products using the Valco name. Valco merged with Kay in 1967 before going bankrupt in 1968.
Vega
The American Vega Company was formed in 1881 by Julius and Carl Nelson in Boston, Massachusetts. At the start of the 20th Century, the firm concentrated on banjos, mandolins and brass instruments. Vega started building guitars in the 1930s and was later acquired by C.F. Martin in 1970, primarily for its banjo expertise. In 1989 the Vega name was sold to the Deering Banjo Company who continue to make banjos using the Vega brand.
Vigier
Vigier Guitars was founded in 1980 by luthier Patrice Vigier in Grigny, Essonne, France. Vigier manufactures premium grade electric guitars, basses and strings. Vigier guitars has introduced many innovations and became particularly noteworthy for its Surfreter fretless variation on the Excalibur 6‑string guitar model.
VOX
VOX was founded in 1957 by Thomas Walter Jennings in Dartford, Kent, England. The company is mostly associated with guitar amplifiers such as the iconic AC30. From 1962, VOX also manufactured a range of electric guitars and effect pedals, often using Italian production facilities. VOX was sold to Rose Morris in 1978 and then again to the giant Japanese corporation Korg in 1992. Korg still own the VOX name as of 2025.
W – W Stands for…
Wal
Wal is a British brand of bass guitars founded in 1974 by electronic innovator Ian Waller and luthier Pete Stevens in London, England. Starting out making custom‑made bass guitars for professional players, the first production Pro Series basses started appearing in 1978 and the Custom Series in 1983. After Ian Waller died in 1988, Pete Stevens kept the business going at a low level. The company was revived under the leadership of luthier and former Wal employee Paul Herman in 2008.
Wandre
Wandre Guitars was founded in c.1957 by Antonio Vandrè Pioli in in Cavriago, Italy. Wandre manufactured a very small number of electric guitars and basses using some esoteric radical design elements until production ceased in 1968. To‑date, the Wandre brand has not been revived. Examples of Wandre instruments are highly sought after on the vintage guitar market.
Warwick
Warwick was founded in 1982 by Hans‑Peter Wilfer in Erlangen, Bavaria, Germany. Hans‑Peter was the son of Fred Wilfer, who had founded Framus (see above) back in 1946. Warwick is famous for manufacturing premium bass guitars, as well as more affordable bass models, amps and bass strings.
Washburn
Washburn Guitars was originally founded in 1883 by American businessman George W. Lyon and Patrick J. Healy in Chicago, Illinois. Washburn initially focused on guitars, mandolins, banjos, ukuleles and zithers. Washburn’s early years were particularly volatile and hard to document accurately. After bankruptcy, Regal (see above) tried to rejuvenate the brand without success. After many further changes, Washburn International was formed in 1987. Washburn bought the US Music Corporation in 2002 and was then sold on to Jam Industries in 2009. Washburn‑branded instruments are currently sourced from Indonesia and China.
Watkins (WEM)
Watkins Electric Music (WEM) was founded in 1949 by Charlie and Reg Watkins in London, England. WEM was one of the first British makers of guitar and PA amplifiers from 1954. In 1958, WEM introduced one of the first portable tape loop echo effects, the iconic Copicat. WEM amps and speaker cabinets were adopted by a wide range of British rock bands in the 1960s and early 1970s. Watkins sill manufactures small numbers of Copicat tape echo units.
Westone
The official Westone brand was formed in 1975 when Japanese company Matsumoku purchased the rights to the Westone name. Westone began by producing affordable acoustic and electric guitars, and basses. St. Louis Music registered the Westone brand in the US to import Japanese Westone guitars. The Westone name was superseded by Alvarez (see above) in 1991. Since then, a number of firms have used (or tried to use) the Westone name.
X
I got nothin’
Y – Y Stands for…
Yamaha
The massive Japanese Yamaha Corporation is the world’s largest manufacturer of music and audio equipment. Yamaha was founded as the Nippon Gakki Co. in 1887 by Torakusu Yamaha (1851‑1916) in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan. The company began as a reed organ manufacturer. In 1987, Nippon Gakki was renamed Yamaha Corporation in honour of its founder, still based in Hamamatsu. Yamaha also owns some other famous brands such as Ampeg and Line 6.
Z – Z Stands for…
Zemaitis
Zemaitis was founded in 1955 by luthier Tony Zemaitis (1935‑2002) in London, England. He hand built guitars, renowned for their engraved metal tops (created by Danny O’Brien) and later pearl inlaid tops. Zemaitis gained an enviable reputation among many famous artists. After his death, the tradition was continued by Zemaitis Guitars of Tokyo, Japan, led by the founder’s son, Tony Zemaitis Jr. and still using the metal engraving skills of O’Brien. Original Zemaitis guitars are now highly sought after.
Links to CRAVE Guitars’ Brand Features
The CRAVE Guitars’ web site currently has feature pages on 14 guitar brands. These provide a bit more detail than the above, should you wish to explore further (each link opens in a new browser tab):
Final Thoughts on ‘An Alternative A‑Z of Vintage Guitar Gear’
Well, that was a bit of a slog (at least for me). For once, there is not a great deal to add, so this will be very brief. That’s it. There you go. No point in wasting words on waffle. So, let’s move on with aplomb.
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Album(s) of the Month’
It seems appropriate this month to applaud the accomplishments of not one but two bands and their classic studio albums, both with an alphabetic emphasis from A(BC) to Z(Z Top). See what I did there? These two albums should prove beyond doubt that there was some great music – and MTV‑friendly pop music videos to boot – to be had in the 1980s. Without further ado, let’s dig in for some upbeat joyful musical exuberance…
ABC – The Lexicon of Love (1982): ‘The Lexicon of Love’ was the chart‑topping debut studio album by English new wave/new romantic/pop band ABC. It was released in June 1982 on Neutron Records. The astounding popularity and commercial success of the album led it to be ranked as ‘one of the greatest albums of the 1980s’. It sounds both of its time and also timeless, if you get my drift. ABC were not able to capitalise on their success and the slick 10 tracks (38 minutes) of ‘The Lexicon of Love’ remains the pinnacle of their career (to‑date).
ZZ Top – Eliminator (1983): ‘Eliminator’ was the 8th studio album by American blues/rock band ZZ Top. It was released in March 1983 on Warner Brothers Records. Despite only reaching #3 in the UK album chart and #9 in the US Billboard 200, it proved phenomenally popular and commercially successful. Whether you remember the iconic pop music videos, the customised 1933 Ford Coupe hot rod or the spinning sheepskin‑covered guitars, the striking images and fresh sounds of the 11 tracks (45 mins) on ‘Eliminator’ couldn’t be ignored. It may not be their best but it is certainly their biggest. There is no doubt that ‘Eliminator’ launched the power trio into superstardom.
There you have it – from ABC-ZZ Top. Love or loathe these albums epitomising the excesses of the 1980s, they have both become landmarks in music history and represent the cultural zeitgeist at the time. Perhaps it is now time for a re‑appraisal of their merit within the broader historical context. Are they ‘essential listening’? I think so but, when it comes down to it, it’s up to everyone to make up their own minds. All I can do is put it out there for consideration.
BELIEVE IN MUSIC!
Tailpiece
Well, that was a lot, and I mean A LOT, of work and, for what I ask? Was it worth it? Well, for the author’s own sanity and personal development, yes. For everyone out there, that’s for you to judge. I hope it has been both informative and entertaining. Given the huge amount of work involved in compiling this A‑Z article, I intend to use a lot of it in modified form as a permanent part of the ‘Resources’ section of the CRAVE Guitars web site.
Next month, the author will face a conundrum, a dilemma, a challenge, a quandary, a predicament, a pickle and, most of all, an enigma, a paradox and a bit of a mystery (at least for now). Typically trailing trendy tantalising tantra. Intrigued? Be sure to check in, same time, same place, next month. Bye for now, y’all.
Truth, peace, love, and guitar music be with you always. Until next time…
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “A picture can tell a thousand lies”
HOWDY AND A HEARTY HELLO HOPEFULLY HAPPY HOMIES. Welcome to a musical spring. A whole quarter of a year down already and three more quarters left to round off 2025 – the first quarter of the 21st Century. Thank you for coming (back) to join me for the maniacally, methodical muddled, mental mumblings of an alliterative self‑confessed vintage gear junkie. I have to say that craving (sic!) for vintage guitars is a lot safer and a lot healthier than the insane expansionist power lust of deviant narcissists seeking to dominate every aspect of our very existence and remorselessly exploit whatever assets they can seize to feed their own rapacious appetites. Stop. It. Already!
Back to the point, thankfully. Things have taken a bit of an unexpected detour in recent months. It all started with ’10 Things I Love and Hate About Vintage Guitars’ (essentially now Part 1 of 3 – Universal Balance/Yin & Yang), followed by the complementary, ‘Ikigai and Vintage Guitars’ (basically now Part 2 of 3 – Reason for Living). However, that still left some material uncovered and some loose ends untied. So this month, I’ll be closing the circle and squaring the loop (yay! Maddening mixed metaphors are back too!).
So… the ramification is that, this month, we have what is effectively now Part 3 of 3 – other ‘Eastern Concepts and Vintage Guitars’. If you wish to view or review either or both of the previous articles, they can be reprised or discovered here (links open in a new tab):
As always, no AI was used in the research and writing of this article, so you can blame the author’s paltry organic grey matter for errors, omissions, wayward opines and dubious writing skills. Apologies for being a mere puny human.
Some interesting Japanese cultural concepts
In addition to ikigai, there are a number of other Japanese concepts that may help us to make sense of our life experiences. They may also help to illuminate a tiny aspect of the universal balance in everything from the infinite vastness of the cosmos to the most elusive sub‑atomic particles. As with the last two articles, each of the seven topics covered below will be introduced and then the relevance to vintage gear will be explored. For clarity, as always, the scope of vintage gear in this context includes guitars, basses, effects and amps.
Japanese Torii Gate (Courtesy Kanenori)
In a slight change from the norm, instead of usual quotes, the numerous sayings littered through this month’s article comprise a selection of Japanese proverbs and idioms. These have been used to help illustrate the cultural foundations behind the subject matter.
“Good fences make good neighbours” – Japanese proverb (boundaries are important for healthy relationships)
I hasten to add that this is not an exhaustive encyclopaedia of eastern philosophical constructs, just a casual dipping of toes in the deep dark waters of some interesting (at least to me) alternative perspectives on life, the universe and everything.
“One who chases after two hares won’t even catch one!” – Japanese proverb (if you go after too many things, then you may end up with none)
Shikata ga nai (仕方がない)
In short, shikata ga nai means ‘control what you can control’. It is often translated as ‘it cannot be helped’, ‘there is no alternative’ or ‘nothing can be done about it’. The inference is that one should not waste one’s life on things over which one has no control; rather one should focus on those things that one can actually affect. In some ways, it may be regarded as similar to the modern Western onion‑like model of ‘levels or spheres of influence’. In addition, shikata ga nai emphasises acceptance and resilience in the face of external adversity. It is about rejecting resignation and weakness in favour of creating strength and tenacity. Shikata ga nai acknowledges that some things are outside of one’s ability to change and places the emphasis on motivation and finding a way to move forward despite challenges and setbacks.
Over the years, CRAVE Guitars has faced many seemingly insurmountable challenges, the most devastating being the total loss of home, career and assets (2010‑2012), which took many gruelling years to recover any sense of self‑determination. It was during this long salvage period (2012‑2019) that most CRAVE Guitars were safely stored by a close friend and any sort of growth was largely in abeyance. During this time, even though CRAVE Guitars was effectively in stasis, the opportunity was taken to launch the web site, introduce social media and create monthly blog articles. In many ways, re‑establishing stability is still a work‑in‑progress, even 13‑15 years later. There have been other hurdles but none compare to that cataclysmic event. Therefore, Shikata ga nai has been of particular relevance to CRAVE Guitars.
“Work in the fields on a fine day, read books on a rainy day” – Japanese proverb (adapt to circumstances and enjoy life)
Gaman (我慢)
Gaman is a Zen Buddhist term that simply means to do one’s best in distressing circumstances and to maintain self‑control and discipline. Gaman roughly translates to ‘enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity’. It emphasises strength, perseverance, resilience, and self‑discipline during periods of hardship and adversity. Gaman is, therefore, similar in many ways to Shikata ga nai. Both emphasise a reactionary approach to imposed external events. Whereas Shikata ga nai is about ability to exert influence, Gaman is about rising above the immediate dangers and managing one’s approach to overcoming threats with confidence, determination and positivity.
For CRAVE Guitars, Gaman has definitely been about riding the waves of difficulty and using near‑delusional optimism to brave the stresses and pressures of everyday modern life, as well as in the context of ‘that’ incident mentioned above. CRAVE Guitars has taken many years of patient endeavour from inception to fruition, which was almost destroyed in a few fateful days. Hopefully important lessons about truth, fortitude and wisdom have been learned. When faced with significant threat, stoicism is key, as is the necessity to safeguard one’s mental health. Nuff said on that front.
“Fall down seven times, stand up eight” – Japanese proverb (keep trying until you succeed)
Wabi‑sabi (侘び寂び)
This ancient Japanese aesthetic concept literally translated means ‘subdued, austere beauty and rustic patina’. It embraces the beauty of imperfection, transience, incompletion and nature. It’s about finding beauty inherent in the flawed, the partial and the fleeting. Wabi‑sabi encourages us to step back, open one’s mind and appreciate the simple, unadorned, and natural elements of life. Wabi‑sabi comprises seven aspects, simplicity, asymmetry, subtlety, naturalness, grace, freedom from habits and tranquillity. Wabi‑sabi is something that I have mentioned many times including the two previous articles. A brief definition even features on the home page of the CRAVE Guitars’ web site.
One of the aspects of CRAVE Guitars that I have long laboured is the uniqueness and individuality of each and every vintage instrument, whether it is the near‑mint (but never perfect) guitars or the ones that many might regard as being ‘player grade’, from expensive to the budget, from the classic to the esoteric, from respected to maligned – all are welcome here. Readers will also probably be aware that I am not an advocate of modern relic treatments that aim, let’s be honest, to fake the natural wear and tear of decades of real music‑making use. Minor damage can have its own beauty. It is safe to say that wabi‑sabi is integral to the beliefs, values and norms of CRAVE Guitars.
“Flowers even bloom on grass that has been stomped on” – Japanese proverb (you can recover from your difficulties)
Kaizen (改善)
The Japanese idea of kaizen refers to the process of unceasing and unrelenting endeavours to improve in every way. Its roots lie in post‑World War II Japanese economic reform and is closely associated with the culture of the Toyota Motor Corporation. Kaizen literally means ‘improvement’. In modern businesses, kaizen embodies the approach of ‘continuous improvement’ in leadership, management, operational and organisational processes. It’s about making numerous small, incremental changes or ongoing sustainable adjustments in all aspects of life, from personal development through manufacturing to commercial procedures. Kaizen is the means while the end is achieving long‑term strategic goals and enduring success.
As mentioned in last month’s article, three essential components of ikigai are ‘starting small’, ‘harmony and sustainability’ and ‘the joy of little things’. All of these are consistent with Kaizen and the gradual evolution of CRAVE Guitars over the last 18 years. With finite funds and space, advances to CRAVE Guitars can only be achieved through continuous improvement and positive change, at least over the things that one can control (see above). Another aim is to attempt to avoid occasional, radical change, which can be damaging, disruptive and distracting. Easier said than done. Being realistic, there really could not have been an alternative approach.
“Better to ask and be embarrassed than not ask and never know” – Japanese proverb (it is OK to question, even if it is a seems humiliating)
Shu‑Ha‑Ri (守破離)
This is a concept derived from martial arts, particularly aikido and describes a three‑stage process from learning to mastery. Shu‑Ha‑Ri has extended beyond its martial arts origins and has been adapted to various disciplines, including business, education, hobbies and personal development. The three stages can be crudely paraphrased as; Shu (‘protect’ – follow the rules), Ha (‘detach’ – break the rules) and Ri (‘separate’ – transcend the rules). Shu‑Ha‑Ri emphasises the importance of following tradition and learning from others, before developing one’s own style or approach.
Founding CRAVE Guitars was definitely the start of a long process of exploring, learning and understanding the discipline associated with vintage guitars. It involved researching, corroborating and rationalising what ‘vintage guitars’ means and how the subject could be approached objectively. Evolving CRAVE Guitars meant breaking away from traditional conventions, making the entity unique, challenging prevailing views and preconceived ideas, and avoiding assumptions from a position of informed opinion. Questioning the status quo is not about conforming to existing wisdom or spouting forth with ignorant arrogance but about improving collective knowledge through better information and greater understanding. The future of CRAVE Guitars may or may not encompass mastery, which I believe is an unending process rather than an achievable absolute outcome. Personally, I believe that ‘transcendence’ can only ever be an ongoing aspiration. That doesn’t mean that one should not strive continuously to attain mastery. CRAVE Guitars has followed, and continues to follow, the path laid out by shu‑ha‑ri.
“Even a monkey can fall from a tree” – Japanese proverb (an expert can still make mistakes)
Mono no aware (物の哀れ)
This can be translated to mean, ‘the pathos of things’ and also as ‘an empathy toward things’. It is a Japanese idiom for the awareness of impermanence and transience. It also includes the idea of wistfulness, sorrow and the gentle sadness of passing, as all things must. Mono no aware describes the bittersweet feeling of appreciation for the fleeting nature of life. It is an empathy for all things and a reminder that change is an unalterable reality of existence, including joy, sadness, beauty, death and decay. It is about cherishing the here and now and living in the present moment, acknowledging its importance and feeling gratitude for the time and things one has.
An essential element of ikigai is ‘being in the here and now’ and mono no aware is very much about the Buddhist philosophy of appreciating what one has in the present moment. In last month’s article, I talked about the role of stewardship and guardianship of vintage guitars, all of which preceded me and which will hopefully long outlive me. The past cannot be affected. The best that one can do is to act in the present moment, learning from the past and creating the best environment for the future. For CRAVE Guitars, there has been plenty of mournful remorse; regret and wasted thoughts about what might have been had external events beyond my control not intervened so profoundly. Mono no aware is therefore a crucial value for CRAVE Guitars.
“Two bodies, same heart” – Japanese proverb (two people in perfect harmony)
Mottainai (勿体無い)
Mottainai is about a sense of regret over what one discards. Alternatively, it is about the spirit of valuing and respecting resources as well as avoiding unnecessary waste or extravagance. While this concept is often associated with modern‑day environmentalism and sustainability, it can also be applied to intangible resources like time, energy and money. The Western approach of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle and repair’ stresses that we should all use limited resources fully and effectively, to express gratitude, to promote respect, and to avoid wastage. Put simply in the Western vernacular, mottainai is used as the rather bland expression, ‘what a waste’, which is a typical first world dumbing down of an important idea. The implication of mottainai is that Western cultural ideals based on capitalism and growth are ultimately doomed, as they are both destructive and finite.
Ikigai also emphasises ‘harmony and sustainability’. I have proposed the importance of conserving, rather than preserving vintage guitars for the future, keeping them functional and ensuring their longevity. CRAVE Guitars is certainly not about ephemera, obsolescence and disposability. Mottainai is the antithesis of the insistent desire for shiny new gear, only for it to be summarily disposed of when something newer or better comes along. The relevance of mottainai to CRAVE Guitars is about maximising what is already in existence and wasting nothing (or at least as little as possible). My hope is that the time and effort that I have poured into CRAVE Guitars over the last 18 years has not been in vain and, in some miniscule way, has made the world a better place. I have natural concerns about mortality and legacy – what happens to CRAVE Guitars once this mortal coil has been cast off – although, realistically, that is not my call to make.
“Dumplings over flowers” – Japanese proverb (substance over style)
Final Thoughts on Eastern Philosophy and Vintage Guitars
Hopefully, the topics explored in the two previous articles and herein make some sense and that the seven complementary concepts above help to reinforce the nature of CRAVE Guitars’ reflections on the subject of vintage guitars. Whether this is expressing the ’10 Things I Love and Hate about Vintage Guitars’ or exploring’ Ikigai and Vintage Guitars’, there is a synergy about these ideas that is both fascinatingly philosophical in its own right as well as founded in pragmatic real‑life common sense.
Humans are currently in existential crisis. We currently live in a way that is unsustainable and not in harmony with our (only) world. As things are, and unless we change, we are firmly set on a course of unavoidable self‑destruction and hominid extinction. If, as some believe, life on Earth is unique in the universe, we are seemingly determined to exploit it ruthlessly until there is nothing left. That is hubris in the extreme. Tragic fact.
“Know the pain of others by pinching yourself” – Japanese proverb (always have compassion for others)
Over the years, in my research, I believe that the not‑for‑profit entity that is CRAVE Guitars is unlike anything else and its position does not fit any convenient categorisation. Part of the reason for this has, I hope, been covered in these three articles. CRAVE Guitars is not an egomaniacal accumulation of vintage gear that would be worthy of museum curatorship or an elite private collection. Neither is it a commercial enterprise striving for maximum return on investment and profit. Furthermore, CRAVE Guitars is not about hiding away these artefacts from the world. They may not be precious but they are precious to me. Neither am I a fame and fortune‑seeking individual, far from it. One unbreakable CRAVE Guitars principle is, if I cannot afford it, I cannot own it. No exceptions. While this may limit expectations and opportunity, it is a necessary code born from experience and past events.
“To lose is to win” – Japanese proverb (sometimes it is better deliberately to step away from conflict)
I hope that, through these three articles, I have been able to demonstrate that CRAVE Guitars represents a rational perspective towards vintage guitar ownership that can be appreciated and shared. I have taken a somewhat esoteric approach to get to this point and I hope that it has in some way been entertaining, interesting and informative. While the context is not unique, the viewpoints expressed over these three months are my own. Have I succeeded in applying Eastern teachings to CRAVE Guitars in a practical way? I believe and hope so. The Far Eastern concepts have been based on many centuries of accumulated learning, knowledge and wisdom, so they have substantial proven credibility and shouldn’t be immediately dismissed as irrelevant to today’s modern Western world. This isn’t the be‑all and end‑all of things; I do believe strongly that we all have a great deal still to learn and we should open our minds to possibilities and potential as yet unused. Arguably, we should be careful not to exploit those prospects for personal gain, the detriment of others or adverse impact on our environment. Greed, avarice and materialism are not on CRAVE Guitars’ agenda. We should (and need to) be wiser than that.
“If a fish is kind to the water, the water will be kind to the fish” – Japanese proverb (quid pro quo)
Thankfully, what I have discovered through my research is congruent, rather than divergent. If it was the latter, I would now be in a heck of a confused mess. There is a remarkable level of consistency. I do not think that I have fallen into the trap of positive confirmation and manipulation (only seeking evidence that support a predetermined hypothesis and disregarding what does not), rather it has been a journey of personal discovery and enlightenment. While that statement may seem overly conceited, pompous and pretentious, there is something to what has been learned over the last three months that has been practically life‑affirming.
“A pearl to a pig” – Japanese proverb (don’t waste things on those who won’t appreciate them)
Early on, I wondered if any of this would help to determine the future of CRAVE Guitars and the direction in which it should be taken. Well… sadly, there hasn’t been any sort of inspirational epiphany that will transform CRAVE Guitars into something very different from where it has been going anyway. That, in itself, is reassuring. Perhaps my research has strengthened and reinforced my approach or perhaps it might have gone that way intuitively without basing it on Oriental, rather than Occidental, philosophical leanings. In truth, though, the answer to that particular quandary is impossible to determine post‑facto.
“A skilled swordsman has superior manners” – Japanese proverb (noble behaviour is just as important as combat skills to a warrior)
The outcome is that nothing much is likely to change and CRAVE Guitars will continue to develop and evolve in an organic way and that is OK by me. There is no need for a strategic plan or business objectives for the next few years, which is something that would be needed for a commercial operation. To be honest here, I also don’t think that that really matters. I could be wrong but, if I am relatively content with things as they are, there seems little point in changing CRAVE Guitars to be something else with which I would not be content.
“The talented hawk hides its claws” – Japanese proverb (be modest about your abilities)
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Album of the Month’
I’m definitely going off the well‑trodden path of previous albums of the month. After three articles delving into Eastern philosophy, it makes sense to conclude the triptych with a Japanese musical work of art as the focus this month. In a very rare move, I’m contradicting my previously declared lack of appreciation for classical music. However, it isn’t typical orchestral stuff, it is a modern interpretation of classical themes. Previously, electronic synthesizers had been used mainly in experimental and avant‑garde music. It wasn’t until Walter/Wendy Carlos released, ‘Switched‑On Bach’ (1968) that electronica was brought tentatively into the (margins of the) mainstream of popular music. While that seminal work was undeniably a key benchmark, it isn’t my choice this month. Instead, that honour goes to…
Tomita – Snowflakes are Dancing (1974) – ‘Snowflakes Are Dancing’ is the second studio album by late Japanese electronic musician Isao Tomita (1932‑2016). The original album was released by RCA Records in April 1974. The ten tracks are Tomita’s arrangements of Claude Debussy’s (1862‑1918) music with the track ‘Clair de Lune’ probably being the most familiar to those not inculcated in the classics. The pieces on ‘Snowflakes are Dancing’ were performed by Tomita on a Moog synthesizer and a Mellotron, and his approach proved ground breaking in the use of extensive studio effects, sequencer programming, complex pseudo‑polyphonic sounds and quadraphonic recording techniques. While all of this may seem archaic and pedestrian today, it was an astounding achievement back in the early 1970s. The album was not only critically acclaimed, it was also reasonably successful commercially and laid the ground for Tomita’s later career moves. More recent reissues have added bonus tracks but that is superficial icing on an already very nicely prepared cake. It’s a beautiful listen for non‑classical musos.
‘Snowflakes’ could have been a sterile facsimile of music but somehow Tomita managed to extract emotion and mood from oscillators and filters. I have previously stated that classical music really ain’t my thang. That still stands and I don’t listen to ‘Snowflakes are Dancing’ in that way, I wallow in the ambient, spacy soundscapes (called ‘tone painting’) and it is that easy‑on‑the‑ear (and brain) nature that marks the difference, at least for me, from Walter/Wendy Carlos’s earlier works.
Tomita – Snowflakes Are Dancing (1974)
BELIEVE IN MUSIC!
“What one likes, one will do well at” – Japanese proverb (do things that you enjoy and you will become more proficient at them)
Tailpiece
Thank you all for looking in once again and suffering my ceaselessly cerebral cul‑de‑sac of ceremonial contemplation. I think that, at least for now, this article concludes the triple outing of viewing the world of vintage guitars through the binoculars of Far Eastern philosophical concepts. While it could have been hard‑going, I hope it has been entertaining and informative. I have certainly learned a great deal along the way, so it has been worthwhile adventure for that reason alone.
This month, I believe that I’ve tied up loose ends and brought things to a logical conclusion and also done it relatively succinctly (for me). While there is undoubtedly plenty more to explore, that would represent diminishing returns for monthly articles, so it is time to put this particular theme to bed, at least for now. I still desperately need to make time and space for writing ‘The Distortion Diaries’, something I have singularly and woefully been unsuccessful in achieving recently. Sigh.
“Three years sitting on a rock” – Japanese proverb (the value of patience)
Next month, I will have to contrive another source of inspiration. What I can say, though, is that it will not be a nominal Part 4 of this particular journey. Unexpect the expected.
Truth, peace, love, and guitar music be with you always. Until next time…
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “If money is the root of all evil, then just stop and think for a moment about who is the root of all money”
IT IS WITH GREAT RESPECT AND HONOUR that I welcome you with open arms to CRAVE Guitars’ February article. One trusts that the little blue marble on which 8bn+ citizens fly at an astonishing rate through the universal void (NB. approximately 627km/s (1,402,559mph) relative to the Cosmic Microwave Background) is still a habitable ecosystem, despite mankind’s worst (and unfathomable) efforts to obliterate it and everything worthwhile on it. The current world state is, frankly, a disgrace to anyone’s sensible definition of civilisation. Talk about regression. OK. Let’s not.
Do you feel as though you are travelling at over 1.4 million miles per hour? No? Me neither. But you are. The reality of it seems unreal. We cannot comprehend the truth; it is beyond our ability to rationalise. Sometimes we need to think beyond what our five meagre senses tell us about our environment and wonder at our place in the vastness of the universe.
“In the sky, there is no distinction between east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true” – Buddha (Siddhārtha Gautama – c.480‑400BCE)
Once again, I am returning to the comfortable and comprehendible micro‑biosphere of vintage guitars. Once again, I am taking an oblique perspective and thinking about these adorable instruments within a wider life process. Once again, I shall be looking to the Orient for inspiration. Once again, it will, hopefully, make sense by the time we reach the end. Once again, here we go…
When writing this article, I found myself returning to some of the ideas covered in last month’s article, ’10 Things I Love and Hate about Vintage Guitars’. By providence, it turns out that this article makes a relevant companion piece to January 2025’s blog. Rather than reiterate some of the previous article here, you can access it here (opens in a new browser tab):
Last month, I used quotes came from Shakespeare’s ‘Taming of the Shrew’ and from the modern coming‑of‑age rom‑com film based on the Bard’s play, ’10 Things I Hate About You’ (hence the title’s tie‑in to the article). This month, I will focus on supporting quotes from the wise dude that is Buddha. Despite the different countries and religions of origin, the thoughts and ideas are harmonious.
“I don’t like to do what people expect. Why should I live up to other people’s expectations instead of my own?” – Kat from the film, ‘10 Things I Hate About You’
What is ikigai?
On the face of it, Ikigai (生き甲斐) is simply a word. However, behind those six letters/four characters lie a universe of possibility and potential. Ikigai is an ancient eastern philosophical construct that literally means, ‘iki’ (to live) and ‘gai’ (reason), usually used to mean, ‘purpose for being’. In Asian countries, particularly Japan, ikigai is so ingrained in the culture that it is inseparable from their daily way of life. It is therefore integral to the habitual behaviour and feelings of its citizens, rather than a discrete, overt rulebook for how to act.
It is believed that ikigai originated from Okinawa in Japan as a guiding philosophy for a long, happy, and meaningful life. Interestingly, Okinawa is the island prefecture of Japan known for its high number of centenarians per capita population. It has been suggested that Ikigai, enhances mental health, wellbeing and mindfulness. Taking the other side of the same coin, studies have shown that people who do not feel ikigai are more likely to be affected by cardiovascular disease. Interestingly, the vague notion of ‘happiness’ is downplayed in ikigai for more meaningful emotional states.
Ikigai is scalable and can be used to refer to an individual, a community, an organisation, a country/nation/state or society as a whole. In modern times, Ikigai was popularised by the Japanese psychiatrist and academic Mieko Kamiya in her book, ‘On the Meaning of Life’ (1966).
“The most genuine aspect about ikigai is that it involves your feelings. Ikigai is something you feel. It is related to one’s sense of self‑worth and personal values. And is more future‑oriented than happiness” – Mieko Kamiya (1914‑1979)
The Japanese government goes as far as to describe ikigai as, “A broad concept, ikigai refers to that which brings value and joy to life: from people, such as one’s children or friends, to activities including work and hobbies”.
Ikigai is not unique and the principles are not exclusive to Asian origin, similar ideas have manifested in other countries and cultures such as the French ‘raison d’être’ and ‘joie de vivre’, the Greek ‘Eudaimonia’ and the Austrian ‘logotherapy’. The western Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) of mindfulness is based on elements of ikigai. It seems that, whatever words are used to define it, many cultures actively seek the path to a satisfying and meaningful life, so why should we not join them in the venture?
Am I wedded to, or invested in, ikigai? Nope. Do I use it as my guide to life? Nope. Do I deliberately think about applying its principles on a daily basis? Nope. If that is the case, why is it important enough to write about and how does it work on a conscious and subconscious level? Well, I thought that, if I applied the principles of ikigai to something practical in the real world, it might produce some interesting results.
“The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one does” – Buddha
The principles of ikigai
There are many variations to the concept of ikigai. Many writers refer to ‘the four pillars’, ‘eight intersections’, ‘nine steps’ or ‘ten rules’. This means that the core concept has been interpreted in many different ways for different audiences. Looking into the variety of ‘frameworks’, it seems that authors can adapt the concept in any way they please to make their point. Some takes on ikigai are logical while some are frankly hard to connect to ancient oriental philosophical thinking. Some frameworks purport to be ikigai but aren’t – beware! Some people refer to the ‘rules’ of ikigai but ikigai is definitely not rules‑based – avoid! So… how to make sense of the subject matter?
In the end, perhaps because it resonated with my own personal norms and values, I am going to use the ideas put forward by distinguished Japanese neuroscientist, broadcaster and author Ken Mogi (1962‑) in his book, ‘The Little Book of Ikigai’ (2017). The tagline to the book is, ‘The Japanese way to finding your purpose in life’. I read this book with a curious, critical and almost‑sceptical mind. I chose this tome because it is relatively slim (and therefore accessible) and because I was, perhaps vainly, hoping that it would give me some tangible direction to my own sense of purpose. While the latter sadly wasn’t realised (perhaps I was expecting too much in the way of an epiphany), it was still a thought provoking read, providing many real‑world examples to bring the concept to life. Ken Mogi suggests the following as the ‘5 pillars of ikigai’:
Starting small
Releasing yourself
Harmony and sustainability
The joy of little things
Being in the here and now
Mogi suggests that these are neither mutually exclusive nor exhaustive and therefore best used as a guide, not a doctrine. The approach is entirely discretionary and relies heavily on common sense. Ikigai is neither religious nor spiritual dogma so it is secular in origin and application. However, ikigai isn’t a ‘pick & mix’ where fulfilment can be achieved by embracing some parts while rejecting others. If it is to be life changing and life confirming, it’s kind of an all‑or‑nothing holistic approach.
Perhaps it is because Mogi is a neuroscientist and I have a lay person’s interest in how the brain functions, his ideas accorded with my own. My curiosity lies in how humans make sense of our environment through perception, thought, memory, reasoning, learning, decision‑making and behaviour. Basically, there is nothing clever or pretentious going on here, ikigai’s quintessential simplicity seemed to me to be a reasonable and practical place to start.
The aim of Mogi’s book is to provide an outline to help readers to realize and discover their own ikigai. While Mogi’s methodology didn’t deliver (for me) on the implied and unmeasurable promise of “less stress, better health and greater happiness” (NB. from The Times newspaper review), it provided a basis for further exploration. Ikigai seemed a tantalising way of applying ideas to reality. In this case, testing what CRAVE Guitars is, the longevity of its journey, why it is compulsive and, perhaps, how it might develop in the future. So, in a nutshell, that’s where I am coming from.
“The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows” – Buddha
Why ikigai?
Regular readers may well have noticed that CRAVE Guitars’ articles often refer to things that have an Eastern origin and I regularly use quotes from the Buddha. To clarify; my ethnicity is white/British and I am not religious, so there is no cultural or ideological/theological motive to exploring this theme. I have absolutely no agenda here. I am not trying to influence anyone (including myself) or to promote anything. However, it has turned out to be more than just a detached intellectual investigation in that I can understand that there is more to ikigai than trite personal development ‘spin’. It is, by the way, much more profound than the headlines above might suggest.
“He is able who thinks he is able” – Buddha
While I admit to past hippie‑ish tendencies when I was younger, there is no history of Far Eastern philosophy driving my life. However, there are many things that I come across in my research that have roots in Eastern culture and actually mean something to my personal perspective on life. It may appear that Eastern thinking sits at odds with the harsh realities of the Occidental post‑industrial capitalist ethics pervading my country of origin (the UK). Ikigai clearly isn’t for everybody – each to their own.
Thus it was that, amongst many other topics, I came across ikigai and it struck a chord (sic!), sufficient to be worth investigating. It therefore seemed logical to extend that stimulus to include how it relates to my obsessive passion for vintage guitars.
“I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done” – Buddha
Ikigai and Vintage Guitars
So how does all this work regarding vintage guitars? Well, I hope to explain, first by clarifying what each of the five ‘pillars’ used by Ken Mogi mean and then how that equates to my passion for CRAVE Vintage Guitars.
Starting small – This can mean the little rituals and habitual routines that, together, make it worth getting up in the morning. It is about discovering life’s little pleasures that have meaning, even if no‑one else shares them. Once one recognises the small things that give you pleasure, one can cultivate, nurture and grow these things until they become something unique and tangible, which have value and reward. Over time, such appreciation can contribute to good health, a contented, fulfilling life and greater longevity. Some interpretations of ikigai extrapolate the ideas to include work and making money from one’s endeavours. However, commerce is not the focus here.
Starting small makes sense. How often is one able to start something fully formed, sizeable and successful? Big dreams and big outcomes (generally) have to start small if their potential is to be fully realised. Starting small doesn’t mean doing something shoddily. It is important, regardless of scale and scope, to act to the best of one’s ability. Doing small things and executing each small step with uncompromising perfection and proficiency is part of ikigai’s mantra.
When it came to guitars, it all started in the late 1970s with my first ‘real’ electric guitar (a Fender Mustang) and, following a trade up and savings, to a Fender Stratocaster and a Gibson Les Paul Standard. At the time of acquiring them, they were far from vintage, both being second hand and less than two years old at the time. Small beginnings were a very big thing for me then. Then life and its burden of responsibility intervened for over two decades.
When it came to founding CRAVE Guitars, it began in a flash, spotting a 1989 Gibson Les Paul Custom in a shop window in Brighton, East Sussex, UK in 2007. It looked ‘right’ and I was hooked instantly, even though it wasn’t vintage at the time. From that moment on, the die was irrevocably cast. I gradually migrated away from a random accumulation of acoustic and electric guitars of various ages and budgets from all over the world to what became the more focused entity that is CRAVE Guitars of here and now.
The magic of vintage guitars is now a vital part of my daily life and has been for years. Several guitars are always on show and can be picked up and played at a moment’s notice or just looked at and cherished. There is some ‘it’ factor about vintage guitars that is beguiling and mesmerising (see last month’s article). Each one is unique and each has its own idiosyncrasies. While CRAVE’s overall ‘stockpile’ continues to grow, there are many moments of discovery, insight and pleasure that equate very well with ‘starting small’.
“An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea” – Buddha
Releasing yourself – In ikigai, releasing yourself is the idea of self‑negation, the person not being the centre of an activity, not being burdened by social status or a definition of ‘self’. Some interpret it as subordinating oneself for the interests of others. It also means that consciousness is linked to the discovery of sensory pleasure in things. To release oneself, one needs to let go of one’s ego – it is not the sense of self that is important, it is all the facets of what one does that makes something pleasurable. Releasing yourself is basically the antithesis of seeking fame or pursuing insipid celebrity ‘status’ for its own sake.
Not realising or understanding the idea of releasing yourself when writing last month’s article, I tried to articulate what I now comprehend as sensory pleasure. I talked then about the look, feel and tone of vintage guitars as well as an appreciation of their past and future. It really isn’t about me, it is about the almost transcendental experience of owning and playing music on a vintage instrument. I do not go on about how big my collection is, how special it is or how much it is worth (I genuinely have absolutely no idea of monetary worth). Neither is it about my playing ability (NB. rubbish) or the type of music I create – none of these things matter to the guitar.
The idea of releasing yourself, again not realising it, has been and is integral to CRAVE Guitars. Readers may have noticed that I attempt to remain enigmatically anonymous and in the background. The focus has always been on facilitating and sharing the wonder of CRAVE Guitars. The personality of the founder is immaterial. Indeed, I am uncomfortable putting ‘me’ in any limelight. Again, it is not about who I am, my ego or self‑esteem, it isn’t about my social standing or how I might be perceived by others; it is 100% about the vintage gear. I try hard not to reveal my identity and I purposefully do not share images of myself, CRAVE Guitars is all about (and only about) the artefacts, and it has been that way since it was established in 2007. Hopefully, this dissociation enhances the quality of the CRAVE Guitars experience.
CRAVE Guitars is not an elite collection and it isn’t a commercial enterprise. It is a non‑profit information sharing project. It is not modelled against any other entity, so it may be unique. It is what it is and I hope that others share my interest. Personal circumstances dictate that I have to live a modest, humble life and vintage guitars are my mission in life, unburdened by institutional, professional or commercial constraints.
Another example is when talking about the spin‑off project to (try and) write fiction – ‘The Distortion Diaries’. I have already stated that, if it is ever published, it won’t be under my own identity, it will be under a pseudonym. The aim is to focus readers on the material content, not the author. It is most definitely not about the author’s ego. How many times do people read a book because it is written by an author they like (or avoid one by an author they don’t), rather than read it because of its inherent literary merit? Removing the author’s identity, ego, vanity and position from the decision to read something may (?) enhance the journey in a different way.
I do not (need to) seek external validation for my work on CRAVE Guitars. Striving for approval (or not) is not a primary factor, although it is quite gratifying when positive feedback is received. If people wish to interact with CRAVE Guitars, that’s fine but it is not the same as interacting with me as a private individual; they are separate things – the disembodiment of the ego from the entity. I would much rather visitors focus their interest on the cool & rare American vintage electric guitars, rather than the vain, narcissistic vintage owner of them.
It seems that ikigai’s ‘releasing yourself’ has already been habitual for some considerable time. This was not deliberate but, now, ikigai finally makes sense to me.
“There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth, not going all the way, and not starting” – Buddha
Harmony and sustainability – This is about creating a sense of community around something that has a lasting, unforgettable impression. In our evermore connected world, it is easier to put something out there for others with a similar mind set to engage with. It also becomes easier for the community to contribute towards a shared outcome. Our modern world also means that we can achieve this far easier without causing adverse impacts associated with, for instance, environmental damage caused by travel.
Established norms, values, rituals and customs over time all form part of a continuum sustained in harmony. In last month’s article, I referred to universal balance and an equilibrium that allows for a dynamic system of opposites to co‑exist. The Chinese way of yin and yang is all about harmony and sustainability.
In the last article, I talked about stewardship and temporary guardianship of vintage guitars and I also talked about the importance of conserving, rather than preserving, vintage instruments. All these are part of harmony and sustainability. The web site, social media and these blog articles all contribute towards CRAVE Guitars being a contributory part of a much broader community of like‑minded people anywhere in the world. Temporal sustainability also helps to maintain continuity between the past, the present and the future.
“Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else” – Buddha
CRAVE Guitars is not about the modern (bad) habit of convenient material obsolescence and disposability, or Gen‑Z’s inconsiderate demand for random, sterile immediacy and attention. CRAVE Guitars is about bringing instruments from the past, taking care of them in the current moment so that they will be relevant in the long‑term future. CRAVE’s esoteric trove of vintage gear attempts to find a synergistic coherence in the whole that is greater than the sum of the individual instruments.
The aim is that CRAVE Guitars isn’t a point in time, it is just a part of a much bigger, much longer story within the broader context of a vintage guitar community that includes the despicable ‘collectorati’, retailers, dealers, auctioneers, museum collections, individuals, artists and wider society. All of these things form just a small portion of CRAVE Guitars ikigai.
“In our interactions with others, gentleness, kindness, respect are the source of harmony” – Buddha
The joy of little things – Like starting small, this isn’t about appreciating the idea of something but it is about enjoying something for what it actually is. The joy of little things applies to all human senses, which may or may not be relevant depending on what one is experiencing. For instance the aroma and taste of expertly prepared food or drink is a sensory pleasure (hopefully). The visual appearance of nature, abstract art, architecture or (good) industrial design can evoke an emotional response. The touch of a blade of grass, a tree bark or a grain of sand can evoke a tactile experience beyond the object itself. The ambient sound of the waves or wind can compare with the greatest music if one is prepared to appreciate ones surroundings as suggested by ikigai. Nurturing an individual’s hobbies is about combining the joy of little things that is unique to that person.
Last month I talked about wabi sabi, the Japanese concept that something can be perfect because of its imperfections, using examples such as the patina, light reflections, scuffs, bumps and nicks, lacquer fading, finish crazing, and genuine wear and tear. It can also apply to details such as inlays, binding, tuners, knobs, frets, screws, contrasting materials, as much as to the whole. The uncompromising approach of luthiers to make something exceptional exemplifies ikigai. This doesn’t mean that quality is just about the most expensive and faultless artistic creations. It is about genuine quality – an object’s fitness for purpose. Some of the most basic and straightforward objects can carry just as much fascination. Budget guitars from the 1950s and 1960s can compare with the most expensive classics on a level playing field in terms of the joy of little things.
CRAVE Guitars is not obsessed with the most valuable or the rarest of all guitars, it is about real instruments. It is not about how much they are worth, it is about how they make one feel. Just as much joy can be found in every instrument by accepting it for what it is and not comparing it with some, often fictitious or unobtainable (and therefore ultimately joyless) ideal. Once acquired, a CRAVE Guitar rarely gets moved on. It is the pleasure of longevity that adds to and deepens the attachment to each instrument. The same, I hope obviously, applies for basses, effects and amplifiers.
Some manufacturers have developed a whole livelihood around the attention to every detail in an attempt for continuous improvement, examining every minute element to create synergy. Paul Reed Smith is one example of obsessional striving for excellence in every element while not forgetting the guitar’s fundamental purpose as a musical instrument. His fixation on superiority in every aspect of manufacturing is transferable to the pleasure of ownership and playability experienced by customers. The same ikigai has been instrumental (sic!) in the phenomenal rise of many boutique luthiers making a bespoke guitar as perfect as it can be for each individual customer.
“Do not overrate that you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind” – Buddha
Being in the here and now – This pillar of ikigai is also a fundamental part of Eastern spiritualism, as much as it is to society and culture. The past is gone, the future is as yet unwritten. All anyone can ever do is to act in the present moment. Animals, for instance, do not appear to abide by the human concept of time or space – they exist only in the here and now.
“What you are is what you have been. What you will be is what you do now” – Buddha
This doesn’t mean that the status quo is perpetual or unchanging. Rather, it is about change being constant and perpetual. The decisions that one makes in the present moment do not affect the past and can only have consequences in the future. Compared to the universe, we exist in one miniscule place and one miniscule moment in time. However, it is incumbent on each individual to do the best that they can while in the here and now.
“Everything changes, nothing remains without change” – Buddha
As mentioned in last month’s article, many guitars existed before I came along and will (hopefully) exist long after I’ve gone. Even then, each instrument only occupies a part of my time on Earth. One can appreciate the history, the mythology and the unknown stories of their past and one can only speculate about their post‑CRAVE future.
“What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow; our life is the creation of our mind” – Buddha
My role and responsibility is to document the here‑ness and now‑ness of each one. One cannot play all the instruments at the same time, so each experience is by definition different and ever‑changing.
“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly” – Buddha
Final thoughts on ikigai
So… the idea is to accept yourself for who you are and to find your own ikigai – your own reason for living, your purpose in life and your motivation to get up in the morning. I cannot guarantee that exposure to these ideas will change your life, make you happier (or wealthier), or make your life more fulfilling and satisfying. Ultimately, it is just a different way of looking at the same things. There are no revelations and there is nothing revolutionary here, however I have found that, once exposed to the ideas, incorporating some aspects of ikigai into daily activities may make life just a bit more bearable.
“Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have” – Buddha
Popular motivational (and often cringe‑worthy) sayings along the lines of, “small choices become actions, actions become habits and habits become a way of life”, pervade modern first‑world popular cod‑philosophy. However, ikigai does represent a mindful interpretation that has endured over many centuries to become part of and beyond Japanese culture. I don’t think one can simply dismiss ikigai (or other ideas like it) as irrelevant or ‘foreign’. It doesn’t mean that it works for you, so I’m just putting it out there for consideration. It doesn’t just apply to vintage guitars, I simply used that as a mechanism to illustrate how an abstract concept can be applied to just one practical example. Ultimately, this article is not instructional, its purpose is simply written for entertainment and information.
“If you do what is good, keep repeating it and take pleasure in making it a habit. A good habit will cause nothing but joy” – Buddha
I was quite surprised, when writing this article, how consistent it is with last month’s article about universal balance and vintage guitars. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I was espousing many of the ideas I’ve covered this month. I suppose that at least it was complementary, rather than contradictory. Phew!
When starting this article, I intended to include some other philosophical concepts that could be relevant to vintage guitars. However, this article has taken up considerably more time and research than I originally envisaged. The other ideas will have to wait for another article for another month.
“What we think, we become” – Buddha
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Album of the Month’
There didn’t seem anything obviously relevant to this month’s article, so I homed in on the ‘perfect because of its imperfections’ idea and came up with this month’s accolade. And so… drum roll please… I present to you…
Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring For My Halo (2011): Kurt Vile (1980‑) is a strange animal to pin down. He is an American singer/songwriter, multi‑instrumentalist and record producer from Pennsylvania and former member of the indie rock band, The War On Drugs. His music is generally regarded as belonging to the ever‑so‑vague category of indie with a distinct leaning towards slacker rock and lo‑fi rock. SRFMH is Kurt’s fourth studio album released in March 2011 on Matador Records. Kurt sums up his feelings about the album much better than I can, “It’s just me and those thoughts you have late at night when nobody is around. It is more a feeling than a statement – a general wandering feeling” and, “a kind of trance‑like, Appalachian folk‑style”. His comments understate his otherworldly chiming heavily effected acoustic guitar playing and his laid back, contemplative vocal style that is best listened to as an immersive experience rather than a critical audition. Just 10 tracks covering 47 minutes, with the exquisite, ‘Baby’s Arms’ as the sub‑4 minute opening track and closing with the deeply haunting and unsettling, minute‑long ‘Ghost Town’. Overall, it’s a laid back indulgent pleasure.
Smoke Ring For My Halo is perhaps the least stressed out indie rock album I’ve heard and one to go back to, to take the edge off the world’s anxieties and to chill out. The lasting impression it leaves the author can be encapsulated in the framework of ikigai’, so, it kinda fits after all.
“When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky” – Buddha
BELIEVE IN MUSIC!
Tailpiece
Well now… there’s quite a lot to get one’s head around in this month’s topic. I hope it has, in some way, proved enlightening or thought provoking. There are also a great deal more questions that have been provoked by this article, to which I will have to return to in due course, if nothing else other than to tie up some loose ends.
Strangely, I seem to have avoided my usual (irritating) traits of abundant alliteration, mixed metaphors, horrendous hyperbole and nonsensical non‑sequiturs this month. I’m sure my abundant grammatical and literary sins will be back after a sensible sabbatical.
Next month, I’m hoping to return to the topic of vintage guitars viewed from another angle. I would be delighted if you wish to return and join me and the fruits of my mangled imagination. See y’all soon.
Truth, peace, love, and guitar music be with you always. Until next time…
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “Why does every silver lining have to have a cloud?”
HERALDING A HEARTY “HELLO” to y’all for the first time in 2025. Welcome one and all this fresh, shiny New Year, albeit nearly a month old now. Personally, I dislike January. It is cold, dark, wet and definitely inclement. In addition, due to the preceding festive season, January is a month of self‑imposed financial austerity. Almost unbelievably, this year (2025) represents a quarter of the way into the first century of the second millennium already. Where does time go and, more importantly for each of us, uniquely, is where did our time go? One thing is for sure, once it’s gone, it’s gone and it can never be recycled for any purpose other than memory and, perhaps, reminiscence. As one gets older and nearer to the long rest of inevitable mortality, time becomes disproportionately more precious and ephemeral.
Now, ‘they’ say that those who can’t do, teach, those who can’t teach, teach teachers and those who can’t teach teachers write about the things they can’t do or teach. So here I am writing about stuff that I don’t really feel qualified to discuss. Again. Some readers will know way more about vintage guitars than I ever will. Wait… hold on a sec… that’s never stopped me. Oh, what the heck, let’s do this.
This month, I’d like to get back to the subject close to my heart, vintage guitars. It’s been a while because I’ve been writing about other things. This month, while I’m still trying (and not getting far) to work on ‘The Distortion Diaries’, I was thinking about what I like about vintage guitars and what I don’t like about them. One might think that my experience might be entirely positive. However, the reality is a great deal more pragmatic.
The free‑ranging thought processes led me to this month’s article, ‘Ten Things…’ In previous articles, I have attempted to understand the appeal of vintage guitars compared to modern instruments and other old stuff. However, this was inherently a predisposed approach, using positive reinforcement to justify a lifelong preoccupation. Time then, I thought, to take a more contemplative, critical and non‑prejudicial approach by questioning what I love about vintage guitars and the polar opposite of what I hate about vintage guitars.
For info, the majority of the quotes this month are from William Shakespeare’s ‘Taming of the Shrew’ (c.1590‑1594) and a romantic comedy film loosely based on the play, ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ (1999). This is intentional and fitting.
“You can’t just buy me a guitar every time you mess up, you know” – Kat from the film, ‘10 Things I Hate About You’
Understanding universal balance
Before we start, please bear with me while I take a bit of an existential ‘helicopter view’, then we’ll get to the point. Like most things in the universe (at least our universe if you believe in multiverses), there exists a natural balance that, overall, maintains a steady state of equilibrium over time while also allowing for chaotic fluctuations.
Once again, I’m looking to the east for cultural inspiration. In ancient Chinese philosophy, the concept regarding opposite but complementary, interconnected and self‑perpetuating cycle is known as yin and yang. The opposing forces of yin and yang interact to form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the parts and the parts are integral to the whole. The concept is represented by the Taijitu (the familiar diagram of the ‘supreme ultimate’, c.3rd Century BCE) with black representing yin (the female/passive/negative) and white representing yang (the male/active/positive). The contrasting dots in the Taijitu represent the one co‑existing within the other. Yin and yang are co‑dependent – they cannot exist in isolation, only in perpetual, infinite duality (called a unity of opposites). With yin & yang, the duality exists between the opposing cosmological forces of order and chaos. In human socio‑political terms, the duality is signified by the tension between order and disorder, good and evil, etc. The concept of universal balance applies equally to the past, the present, and the future of existence. Put simply, opposites exist for a reason. Right, that’s the mind‑bending bit over. Deep breath time.
Taijitu
“You’re 18, you don’t know what you want. And you won’t know what you want ’til you’re 45, and even if you get it, you’ll be too old to use it” – Walter from the film, ‘10 Things I Hate About You’
Applying universal balance
So… balance is important. The fundamental and elemental ‘rules of engagement’ represented by yin and yang are applicable to every aspect of “life, the universe and everything” (NB. A reference from ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ (1979) by author Douglas Adams).
Thus, when it comes to vintage guitars (and, by extension, equally to vintage basses, effects, amps, etc.), there is a universal balance that provides for the existence of these bits of wood, plastic and metal, and how we feel about them. Accepting the principle of equal and opposing absolutes; light and dark, good and bad, black and white, truth and lies, men and women (at least in my day), concepts of heaven and hell, N and S magnetic poles, etc., let’s start with the positives before we move onto the negatives.
Please remember that this is my, albeit biased, personal opinion under the guise of establishing objective fact. Readers will undoubtedly think differently, so please regard these ‘10 things…’ as the author’s own perspective – nothing more, nothing less. Above everything else, though, this perfunctory examination is for entertainment purposes only. Reader discretion is advised.
I will, however, attempt to curtail my typical tendency to alliteration, my personal propensity for hyperbole, my fun‑filled metaphor mixing and other intentional grammatical sins.
“Better once than never, for never too late” – William Shakespeare from ‘The Taming of the Shrew’
10 Things…
For once, I am not going to go into great depths and will limit each point for brevity. I trust that the implied message behind a few words (for me) is sufficient to convey what I struggle to express. Right, without further ado, let’s get into the action.
10 Things… I Love About Vintage Guitars:
The Heritage and the History – Vintage guitars are the epitome of heritage and they chart the sights and sounds of music over many decades. Many guitars are associated with artists and musical genres that embody and reflect social culture of their time. They play a fundamental and integral part of music history. These aren’t just ‘antiques’ to be stuck on a dusty shelf, they can (and should) actually still be used to make music. My playing skills are inadequate but that doesn’t matter. Holding and playing vintage instruments imbues an intangible, almost mystical appreciation of a zeitgeist stored within the materials. They are vintage because of the long life they have lived, not just the number of years since manufacture. It is, however, all too easy to slip into a deceptively romanticised view of the past.
The Ownership – Fundamentally, people like to own stuff and, for me, that means vintage guitars. Once we start accumulating stuff, there are deep‑seated psychological reasons why we develop a compulsion to collect more stuff. There is no space here to cover that, so you’ll have to take my word for it (for now – I feel another article topic coming). Watching guitars on stages, TV and, yes, even viewing them in museums is one thing but the thrill of having them literally to hand and being able to pick up a vintage guitar and to play it is massive part of the ownership experience. Simply owning and playing some of these old instruments is a pleasurable exercise. Once acquired, I don’t feel inclined to move any of them on; they become part of my life. Protracted ownership is one of the key reasons I’m not a dealer.
The Uniqueness – Back in the day, guitars were largely manufactured by hand and it is unlikely to find two that were identical even back at the factory. On top of that, add in all the things that have happened to them over many years and they bear the marks of time, giving them their mojo and making each and every one of them even more unique and genuinely so. No fake aging here. There is something uniquely satisfying about knowing that the guitar in your hand is unlike any other on the planet, not because it’s been messed with but because it has lived a life of music making over the decades.
The Authenticity – Vintage guitars are the real thing. Not reissues, not New Old Stock (NOS), not relics. They show in every way that they’ve had a life of playing and making music. They don’t just look the part, they are the genuine archetypes on which many modern guitars are styled. I must admit that I prefer vintage guitars that are all‑original if possible, even though this isn’t always practical. I am divided on the topic of refinishes. Generally speaking, original is best – once a refinish has been undertaken, the original can never be reinstated. I do not advocate modifying a vintage instrument unless it can easily be put back to original.
The Variety – Particularly but not exclusively in the 1950s, there was an explosion of design creativity as far as American (and other) electric guitars are concerned. This brought us the Telecaster, Stratocaster, Precision bass, Les Paul, ES‑335, Explorer, Flying V, etc. etc. This means that, although the number of vintage guitars for a specific period is finite, there remains a great deal of diversity, even though there were no such things as ‘mod shops’ or custom shops at the time. In particular, I tend to like the unusual guitars that many others detest. My choice. Their loss.
The Look – I can sit and look at vintage guitars for ages. Wabi sabi is the Japanese concept that something can be perfect because of its imperfections. Whether it’s the patina, the light reflections, the bumps and nicks, the lacquer fading, finish crazing, the genuine wear and tear mean that there is always something that draws the eye over and over again. In my view, the best guitars are well‑used instruments and far more interesting that pristine museum‑grade examples. Where others might see ugliness, I see loveliness in droves.
The Feel – Looks are one thing, feel is another. Most vintage guitars are well played in, although some are worn out. The materials age naturally over time, giving them a tactile feel that is far from the generic newness of mass produced modern guitars. Modern machine manufacturing is very different from the somewhat haphazard and idiosyncratic construction methods of the past. Many modern manufacturers try (and fail) to mimic the physical effects of extended age and use in new instruments. One can almost feel the honest history of each instrument every time it is picked up and played.
The Tone – After the previous two points, one cannot ignore the tone. Many modern guitar designers spend inordinate amounts of time trying to replicate the tones of original instruments. Tone woods are unique and age uniquely. Pickups for instance were often made out of what was available at the time and, while it is possible to emulate the materials, the passage of time seems to exert a permanent change in the physical structure which not only makes each one unique (see above) but makes them impossible to replicate in every way. Modern technology and techniques can only get so far. There are also plenty of under‑the‑radar vintage guitars that can provide a wide range of tones beyond the ‘classic’ sounds of the icons.
The Mythology and the Truth – The absence of genuine documentation leads to much interpretation and opinion. Even the most fastidious research can only uncover some of the truth. The rest is, and will probably likely always will be, unknown. The scant facts result in a truth vacuum within which stories have been created and promulgated, with varying degrees of truth. The fact that only some things can be verified, means a wide variety of opinions persevere. In the absence of documentation, who really knows what these instruments have been through in their lifetime? Using one’s imagination imbues them with intangible mystery that may or may not be deserved. Generally speaking, the more pristine the example, the less storied its history.
The Privilege of Stewardship – Ownership is one thing (see above). However, many vintage guitars not only predate their owners but also will probably outlast them, possibly many times over. This means that ‘owners’ are essentially only temporary and are transitional guardians of important historical artefacts. It is good to be part of their story, perhaps being documented for only the first time in their long life. While I’m here, I am trying hard to do my bit for prolonging posterity, even if I won’t be there to enjoy it once my time is up.
“No profit grows where is no pleasure ta’en. In brief, sir, study what you most affect.” – William Shakespeare from ‘The Taming of the Shrew’
10 Things… I Hate About Vintage Guitars:
The Economics of Collectors vs. Enthusiasts – Regular readers will know that I abhor the whole ‘vintage guitar collector’ world and its elitism, asset accumulation, profiteering based on return on investment and flaunted status symbols of wealth. Most ‘golden era’ vintage guitars (c.1950‑1965) from the major American brands are now so far out of the reach of enthusiasts that many will never get to appreciate the charms of these icons. A case could be made that collectors help to preserve heritage but only if they can make a profit along the way. I can’t abide, let alone change, the arrogant avarice and scornful snobbery associated with vintage guitar ‘collecting’ but at least I can attempt to share my ardent enthusiasm. I recognise that dealers have to make a profit but some take the price of ‘exclusivity’ to extremes. This particular gripe is not about vintage guitars per se but directed at the leeches that avidly feed off them. It is even worse when those pariahs can’t even play them while at the same time denying others the joy.
Provenance and Celebrity Ownership – What distinguishes a standard guitar from the same model owned by a famous musician. Normally nothing really, other than the artist association. A guitar that would otherwise cost just a few thousand pounds/dollars can be escalated to stratospheric, often seven figure sums. Owning a celebrity guitar wouldn’t make me sound like them (why would I want to?) and it doesn’t make me play any better (sadly). I am interested in the instruments, not the artists. While it is good to have some genuine insight to a guitar’s history, I will leave the quest for insanely costly instruments with documented provenance to others. If I mention that auction house, Christie’s of London sold part of the late, great Jeff Beck’s guitar collection on 22 January 2025, raising over £8.7m ($10.7m) in the process, you’ll possibly kinda see where I’m coming from.
The Maintenance (Inc. Parts & Accessories) – Keeping vintage guitars is not straightforward; they require ongoing care and attention. If vintage guitars are used (as they should be), wear and tear ensues. Taking care of vintage guitars often exceeds the skills of amateur meddling and benefit from (expensive) professional skills. Finding a luthier who really knows what they are doing and can be trusted is not an easy task. Sourcing genuine vintage parts is becoming harder and more costly meaning that it is a challenge to keep them vintage correct AND usable. Worn out and badly treated vintage guitars are a sad sight and some, in all honesty, are just not worth conserving. Refinishes devalue an otherwise great instrument. Refrets are, however, sometimes necessary. Neck breaks unfortunately determine eternal ‘player’ status. The prices of vintage guitar cases on their own can also be quite daunting, not to mention case candy, sales tags, manuals and sales documents, normally discarded many decades ago.
The Environment – Vintage guitars are more sensitive to environmental conditions than new ones – temperature, humidity, UV light, etc. Different materials respond differently over time. The ideal environment for vintage guitars often differs from what people experience in day‑to‑day living areas. Most vintage guitars, in my view, should not be locked away in secure environmental storage, meaning that there has to be compromise for us ordinary enthusiast owners. Managing the environment in a normal home without climate control is therefore not ideal but, at least in my case, good enough (just). Thankfully, most electric guitars are less susceptible to changes in environment than acoustics, although archtops and semi‑acoustics can prove problematic. Prevailing wisdom is that guitars should be kept in their cases at a temperature of 21‑24˚ (70‑75˚) and a relative humidity (RH) of 40‑50%. The most important factor here, though, is ‘stability’, avoiding extremes and rapid fluctuations.
The Playing Experience – Part of the mythology is that vintage guitar playing is some transcendent spiritual experience that cannot be matched by mere mortals with ordinary instruments. The reality is, however, much more mundane. However, no matter what period vintage guitars were originally manufactured, some are great, many are OK and some are dogs. The consistency and accuracy of manufacturing back in the day means that many are not always the easiest or most pleasant to play. Sometimes, however, the challenge may also inspire different approaches to playing. Bottom line, the truth is that a guitar of a certain edge doesn’t guarantee blissful nirvana, not by a long way. Be prepared for fret buzzing, high action, scratchy pots, stiff or loose tuners, inaccurate intonation, ineffective truss rods (if any), etc.
The (Lack of) Documentation – Even today, accurate information isn’t always easy to come by but with vintage guitars, it is often almost impossible to get to the bottom of things. From serial numbers, to manufacturing/shipping numbers, to seemingly contradictory features and specifications, identifying and dating vintage instruments can be a nightmare, despite best efforts and extensive research. Even George Gruhn’s illustrious ‘bible’ has plenty of errors and omissions. The best approach is to undertake diligent research and, if possible, find corroborating information from someone who may know more. Sometimes, one just has to use one’s experience and take a punt on an undocumented instrument.
The Noise of the Opinionated Ignorant – The usual example of this is the vociferous and damning condemnation of CBS‑era Fenders and Norlin‑era Gibsons, et al. Such broad‑spectrum denigration simply isn’t justified. These disparaging views are sustained by many people who don’t really know and understand what they are talking about – they just spout out the derivative, clichéd rhetoric of the lazy and uninformed. While there may be no smoke without fire, it is plain wrong to assume that sweeping generalisations apply to every instrument. Don’t believe everything you read; make up your own mind, based on real experience. Extrapolating the point further, the noise of self‑appointed, erratically opinionated commentators over time can create a broad perception that is not necessarily true but, if restated sufficiently strongly, people will believe it anyway (the so‑called illusory truth effect). Such automatic assumptions need to be challenged and re‑evaluated. I strongly advocate an open mind and critical questioning of blind dogma. The symptom may be exacerbated by selective positive reinforcement, i.e. someone agreeing with similar views while dismissing opposing views. File under guitar snobbery, hogwash and boloney.
Fakes and Copies – Where there is money involved, often lots of it, there are unscrupulous companies and individuals wanting to exploit innocent victims for financial gain. There have long been fakes of classic guitars pervading the vintage market and some of them are hard to identify and root out, let alone the possibility of bringing the perpetrators to justice. A lesser ‘crime’ is companies imitating classic guitars and selling them in large numbers. I can understand some people wanting the look without the cost but it is not a thing to be proud of and it often isn’t good for the industry. The most infamous cases were in the 1970s with the lawsuit‑era guitars where flagrant copies by Ibanez (and others) were almost identical to the originals. Then there was the Gibson vs. PRS battle in the early 2000s over the single cutaway Les Paul outline. Now, cheap Chinese knock offs are flooding western markets with an adverse impact on genuine models and are, politically, impossible to litigate against. There really is no need to counterfeit the classics – do something original and improve the breed with integrity.
The Preserve or Conserve Dilemma – Should museum grade vintage guitars be locked up in vaults or in glass cabinets so they can be ‘preserved in aspic’ or should vintage guitars be used for what they were intended to be used for, making music? A case can be made for protecting a very few historically significant items but not all by any means. In my view, playing vintage instruments is good for them, even if it means that they experience greater wear and tear in the process. An old guitar that hasn’t been used for some time sounds dull and lifeless. Playing a stored vintage guitar can bring it back to life. My generally pragmatic stance here is to conserve but not to preserve. One should never feel afraid to touch, pick up or play a vintage guitar.
The Responsibility of Stewardship – While temporary stewardship of vintage guitars is a privilege (see above), it also carries a great deal of responsibility so that they can be passed on for the benefit of future generations of players and enthusiasts (and, begrudgingly, collectors) in a condition that befits their previous ownership. It is up to current ‘owners’ that the legacy can continue untainted into the future. Those that don’t take the responsibility seriously probably shouldn’t own a vintage guitar. For instance, my advice is not to mess with an original vintage instrument unless unavoidable. Far too many guitars have been modified in the past – often when they were near new – and can’t easily be restored to original. Things like tuners, nuts, frets, pickups, bridges, scratchplates, electrics, knobs and strap buttons should be kept original if at all possible. Some mods may be ‘tolerable’, for instance where changes can be 100% reversible without any damage, as long as the original parts are kept with the instrument. Routing out a guitar body to accommodate inappropriate pickups, for instance, may be considered a travesty.
“If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself” – a ‘law of propaganda’ attributed to the Nazi Joseph Goebbels (1897‑1945), used as evidence to substantiate ‘the illusory truth effect’.
I have tried, objectively, to explain why I am addicted to allure of vintage guitars. So… If it isn’t about money and it isn’t about vanity and it isn’t about my playing ability, just what is it about? That’s the subjective, intangible bit that I still find hard to articulate.
Regarding the subject matter, I suspect that my passion for these objects doesn’t come across particularly well. That is my prosaic inadequacy for which I apologise.
In conclusion… if my idle observations carry any substance, there is some semblance of universal balance after all and the equilibrium is sustained. The same principles apply to just about anything you might care to think about.
“Don’t let anyone, ever, make you feel like you don’t deserve what you want” – Patrick from the film, ‘10 Things I Hate About You’
10 Images which you may love or hate
Below are 10 CRAVE Guitars images for you to feast your eyes upon and, perhaps, crave (sic!). NB. None of which are to be found on the web site (until now).
Final thoughts about 10 Things…
When I started accumulating (rather than collecting) guitars in the mid‑late 1970s there wasn’t really a broadly accepted awareness of electric guitars let alone basses, effects and amps being ‘vintage’ (a word that is hard to define in this context). The original CRAVE Guitars are the 1975 Gibson Les Paul Standard, the 1977 Fender Stratocaster, the 1977 Fender Precision fretless bass and the 1978 Music Man Stingray Bass – I still have all four of them. They may be considered vintage now but back in the day, they were just guitars. Only the Music Man Stingray was acquired new, the others were simply second hand. How things have changed in the intervening 40‑50 years. Now I feel old… sorry, vintage!
If you haven’t gathered already, I love genuine, original vintage guitars. I know that they aren’t essential to civilisation’s survival but they do represent a peaceful diversion from the meanness of the modern world. Exploring the ‘Ten Things I Love/Hate’ leads inexorably onto insatiable cravings (sic!) and obsessional pursuits. For many, this is more widely known as G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). For many vintage guitar enthusiasts there is an additional layer of addiction and passion that has real world consequences (e.g. funds, space, etc.).
“You don’t always have to be who they want you to be, you know” – Kat from the film, ‘10 Things I Hate About You’
Not everything about vintage guitar ownership is hunky dory. There is a zen-like steady balance to ownership, which is kinda the point I’m getting at, in rather a circuitous route. There are times of excruciating sufferance and moments of ecstatic exuberance. The latter more or less cancel out the former and, thus, the status quo is maintained. There is a karmic tension that many won’t understand, some will seek to fulfil, and fewer likely to tolerate. Vintage guitar ownership requires a particular type of person and a certain degree of patience that is not for everyone. Thankfully so, as there are simply not enough of these things to go around.
Economics is a social science that studies how we allocate scarce resources for production, distribution, and consumption. In this instance, the consumption component is fundamentally about the laws of supply and demand. The inversely proportional interdependence between quantity and price is something about which many vintage guitar buffs are all too well aware. As quantity reduces, prices increase. It rarely (other than in recessionary times) goes the other way in the finite world of vintage guitar market (and why an over‑abundance of new guitars keep retail prices low).
“You’re looking at this from entirely the wrong perspective. We’re making a statement” – Kat from the film, ‘10 Things I Hate About You’
Some things about vintage guitars are intangible and subjective, so much so that it is difficult to articulate effectively. Can some of the attributes associated with vintage guitars, including many of the statements above be measured or explained definitively? The ageing of electronic parts for instance. Scientifically, it is not easy to say why one vintage pickup hits the sweet spot while another fails to sound right. Does the type and quality of the tone wood make a real difference to the feel and tone of vintage instruments? How much is real and how much is simply suspicious snake oil? One thing is for sure, vintage guitars have something that new guitars don’t. Identifying with any sort of certainty what that ‘something’ is will engage people in debate, probably forever, and that just adds further mystique and mythology surrounding vintage instruments.
“I burn, I pine, I perish” – William Shakespeare from ‘The Taming of the Shrew’
Some may accuse CRAVE Guitars of actually being a symptomatic example of the abominable ‘collectorati’, a secretive society of which I am so consistently critical. That is probably a ‘fair cop’ to some extent and it is an insinuation that I must bear and justify as a necessary compromise. However, as a not‑for‑profit entity, CRAVE Guitars is certainly not in it for money and I do my best to share the heritage with anyone who wants to look in, so not secretive. They are played, although each one doesn’t get as much playing time as I would like. In addition, I do not try to preserve them, they are too important to waste away in a sterile stasis.
“… But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all” – Kat from the film, ‘10 Things I Hate About You’
One thing you might ask at this juncture is (how) do I rank guitars in the ‘collection’? Well, the easy answer is that I don’t. There are undoubtedly ones that I prefer playing to others, some that I prefer to look at to others, and some that sound better than others. However, in overall terms each one has its place and is valued in different, if not directly comparable, ways. However, I cannot rule out the fact that the thorny subject of favouritism may come back under the spotlight at some point.
Where all the CRAVE Guitars’ guitars, basses, effects, amps and accessories will eventually end up, who on Earth knows? In the meantime, I’ll just continue as a curatorial custodian of valued vintage paraphernalia to the best of my (limited) ability.
One wonders what future generations will make of things if/when they look back to the 2020s and, maybe, come across this article. Even in another 40‑50 years, I am certain that perspectives will be very different again. I will also wager that many of the much maligned guitars that I personally like will be much in demand attracting inflated premium prices. Unfortunately and sadly, I won’t be around to proclaim ever so smugly, “I told you so”. Shame.
“If she and I be pleased, what’s that to you?” – William Shakespeare from ‘The Taming of the Shrew’
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Album of the Month’
Given the subject matter of this month’s article, there is only one album that I think fits the bill (in a slightly tangential fashion).
Leonard Cohen – Songs Of Love And Hate (1971). This impressive recording was Leonard Cohen’s 3rd studio album, released in March 1971 on the Columbia record label. The album was recorded during a difficult period in Cohen’s life, suffering from depression, making it a very personal and emotionally intense album for the late, great Canadian singer/songwriter. As a whole, it is an extraordinary recording, famous for evocative tales including, ‘Avalanche’, ‘Last Year’s Man’, ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ and ‘Joan Of Arc’. Despite Cohen believing ‘Songs Of Love And Hate’ was a failed experiment, it endures as one of his finest achievements. Many commentators assert this album as proof of Cohen’s pessimistic ‘downer’ reputation but that misses the point, as it can be a powerfully cathartic listening experience. Only 8 tracks on the original release, coming in at under 45 minutes, it was not only a commercially successful album but also it represents a priceless memoir in the annals of musical history. A fine legacy from a fine artist. Thank you Mr. Cohen (1934‑2016, 82).
Leonard Cohen – Songs Of Love And Hate (1971)
The relevance, once again, is that love and hate are interdependent polar opposites that exemplify the importance of, and need for, universal balance – the yin and yang referred to at the top of this article. If we do not understand hate, we cannot appreciate the value of love. If we do not wholeheartedly embrace love, hate will overcome and overwhelm us. Profound existentialism that provides for the equilibrium of life and humanity in the cosmos.
“Who needs affection when I have blind hatred?” – Patrick from the film, ‘10 Things I Hate About You’
BELIEVE IN MUSIC!
Tailpiece
So, 2025 is now well underway. Thank you for taking precious time out of your life to spend it here with me. I am pleased that CRAVE Guitars is back to talking about vintage guitars within a wider context. The change of scene for a few months was healthy and the subject matter fascinating but vintage guitars still rule. I hope you were able to get some interest and/or pleasure from it. The length of articles is beginning to creep up again, requiring more time to be spent on researching and writing articles than focusing on ‘The Distortion Diaries’. Note to self: Stop it! Now!
I know it’s not my place but in a world of escalating aggression and conflict, the only sensible bit of guidance I can give is for y’all to just chill the heck out (apologies for the split infinitive). Be kind to yourself and others.
Next month, ceteris paribus, we’ll be taking another oblique view about the world of vintage guitars. In the meantime, may you maintain your universal balance and find harmony and contentment therein.
Truth, peace, love, and guitar music be with you always. Until next time…
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “We don’t make love. Love makes us”
