BS: Inappropriately Endorsed Instruments

Subject: BS: Inappropriatly Endorsed Instruments
From: GUEST,MC Fat
Date: 04 Oct 02 - 08:36 AM

At my sesh last night there was a melodeon player who had a Martin O'Connor endorsed box. This led me thinking we've had Martin guitars endorsed by Eric Clapton and other musical instruments endorsed by famous players. But what if someting was endorsed by a company or person who had nothing to do with it like 'the Harry Ramsden Special Edition Martin Guitar' or 'The Burger King Bodhran' any other stupid ideas in this vein

Subject: RE: BS: Inappropriatly Endorsed Instruments
From: Willie-O
Date: 04 Oct 02 - 08:53 AM

Martin does have a "Baby Face" model which seems kind of strange cause who ever saw that slick keyboard-synth-pop producer playing a Martin or any other acoustic guitar?

Burger King Bodhran however makes perfect sense and I believe I'll go get one with fries at lunch time.

Then back to my studies at the Nick Leeson Academy of Commodity Training. To relax this evening I'll turn on the TV and watch "The Jackson 5 Story", starring The Osmond Brothers.

W-O

Subject: RE: BS: Inappropriatly Endorsed Instruments
From: GUEST,MC Fat
Date: 04 Oct 02 - 08:58 AM

The George Foreman Hurdy Gurdy

Subject: RE: BS: Inappropriatly Endorsed Instruments
From: Wesley S
Date: 04 Oct 02 - 09:05 AM

The George Bush Jr Encyclopedia.

Subject: RE: BS: Inappropriatly Endorsed Instruments
From: Willie-O
Date: 04 Oct 02 - 09:42 AM

Then there's Eddie Van Halen. The first time I ever heard his name it was not in reference to his guitar playing. It was a luthiery instructor describing in garish detail what kind of bizarre paint jobs and other gross modifications Mr VH was inflicting on vintage Martin guitars.

Now that they have that Cowboy model, can the EVH Red White & Blue be far behind? (Shudder)

W-O

Subject: RE: BS: Inappropriatly Endorsed Instruments
From: zac
Date: 04 Oct 02 - 09:46 AM


I know most of you already know this, but endorsements are usually paid for by the company or manufacturer either with free instruments or cash to the artist-- something a small builder cannot compete with.If I were a beginner, I guess I would be influenced by who plays what-- but if I had been playing for a few years I would buy an instrument based on the merits on the individual instrument-- not what somebody else (who was paid) told me I should buy or it's brand name.

Subject: RE: BS: Inappropriatly Endorsed Instruments
From: catspaw49
Date: 04 Oct 02 - 10:19 AM

Martin has done some real borderline "Special Models" in the past few years. I mean I know Paul Simon played Martin occasionally, but his brother ran a shop and was always fixing him up with well set-up guitars that were mainly NOT Martin, specifically a lot of Yamahas. Martin has a Jim Croce model and again he had one but played mainly Gibson (a Slope 45) and a lot of Ovation on the road.

I think the opposite of this (someone endorsing a product they are well known for) and wishing they hadn't (it has to be for the money) is Roy Clark and his Roy Clark Guitar, an offshore piece of absolute shit that would be hard to giveaway in a music store, for about $100....including his book. My respect for ol' Roy fell through the basement drain.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Inappropriatly Endorsed Instruments
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 04 Oct 02 - 10:44 AM

"endorsements are usually paid for by the company or manufacturer either with free instruments or cash to the artist-- something a small builder cannot compete with"

I will gladly endorse any small-shop luthier's product for the piddling charge of one set of D'addario medium gauge PB guitar strings. A bargain endorsement if there ever was one! However, there is absolutely no guarantee that having my name associated with your product will in any way increase your sales. More likely, the opposite. But, ya never can tell. It's just possible that one of the six people in the world that think ole BWL is a decent picker (please ignore the 6000 who have yammered something about "Get off the stage!" through the years) might happen to wander into a music store and wanna buy the thing. Dunno. Probably a stupid idea. How about you send me a set of strings and I don't endorse your product?

Subject: RE: BS: Inappropriatly Endorsed Instruments
From: Partridge
Date: 04 Oct 02 - 11:04 AM

MFI flat pack guitars

Subject: RE: BS: Inappropriatly Endorsed Instruments
From: Willie-O
Date: 04 Oct 02 - 11:16 AM

zac, I beg to differ. One thing experienced players don't generally lose is an appreciation for how their major influences played. As you get more experienced, you are more able to appreciate the subtleties of the sound a particular artist gets from an instrument, and that has a lot to do with what particular qualities an instrument has. For example, if you are influenced by Norman Blake Martin dreadnoughts are an obvious interest; if you like Tony Rice or Clarence White (Rice acquired White's famous guitar after the latter's death), you are naturally curious what it's like to play a dreadnought with an extra-large soundhole.

It's hard to get Clapton's signature fat Strat sound on a OOO-28 though.

W-O

Subject: RE: BS: Inappropriatly Endorsed Instruments
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 04 Oct 02 - 12:42 PM

I always thought the strangest Martin Limited edition was the George Nakashima Dreadnought. Not that there was anything strange about the guitar, but they honored him with an eponymous limited edition simply because he had always had his walnut logs resawn at the Martin sawmill.

George Nakashima as I am sure everybody knows, was a world renowned furniture maker.

Murray

Subject: RE: BS: Inappropriatly Endorsed Instruments
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 04 Oct 02 - 01:05 PM

Strangest endorsement I ever saw was a life-sized cardboard cut-out of Dolly Parton playing an accordion. Can't remember the manufacturer (so much for effective advertising!), but she didn't even appear to be in pain.

Sandy

Subject: RE: BS: Inappropriately Endorsed Instruments
From: Wesley S
Date: 04 Oct 02 - 03:44 PM

The one that really got to me was the Woody Guthrie model Martin. I can't speak for Woody or his family but I can't imagine that he would have paid over $3,000 for a guitar even if he had it. Someone was off the mark here.

Along the same lines I read somewhere { and this is only a rumor - I have no facts to back this up } that someone in Ernest Hemmingways family was going to approve a Hemmingway model shotgun. Hemmingway commited suicide with a shotgun.

Subject: RE: BS: Inappropriately Endorsed Instruments
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 04 Oct 02 - 04:36 PM

I just had a peek at Martin's current crop if limited editions and noticed a Laurence Juber model. Very interesting, since Tacoma has had a Laurence Juber model for years. Doubly interesting since Laurence plays Collings guitars in his live shows. Now, I would have thought that an endorsement means that the artist actually uses the product. After all, I've never seen Ed Gerhard play anything but a Breedlove. Mr. Juber, as great a guitarist as he is, apparently has a different concept of what endorsement means. Of course, he has a lot more money than Ed does, too.

Subject: RE: BS: Inappropriately Endorsed Instruments
From: Willie-O
Date: 04 Oct 02 - 05:08 PM

Anyone been following the Jimi Hendrix "Burned Up Guitar For Sale Expensive" saga?

Dweezil Zappa gets ready to swing

That article is quite inaccurate by the way. The guitar didn't end up selling, the reserve bid was not met. If it had been, it still wouldn't have been the most expensive guitar of all time. (Would have been a bad precedent). So I guess it's going back under Dweezil's bed. He started out asking a million US for it. Ha.

Anyway, thread creep, Fender has already had Jimi Hendrix models, but none of them with the charred effect. A grievous omission.

W-O

Subject: RE: BS: Inappropriately Endorsed Instruments
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 04 Oct 02 - 05:23 PM

More thread drift:
So who has the remnants of the Strat Jimi burned and smashed at Monterey in '67? Didn't he throw that one out into the audience? That should be worth twice as much as the one Dweezil has which is only from Miami in '68.

(When I saw him in November of '68 he didn't burn nuthin' on stage, but he had obviously been burnin' a thing or two earlier.)

Bruce

Subject: RE: BS: Inappropriately Endorsed Instruments
From: C-flat
Date: 05 Oct 02 - 05:53 AM

I recently saw Sir Bob Geldorf advertising guitar strings (I forget which) with the slogan/quote "The best free guitar strings I've used"
Sir Bob is probably not an obvious choice to endorse guitar strings and, judging from the photo, was either taking the mickey or really can't play one. Not only did he not appear to know how to hold one but the damn thing was upside down!

Subject: RE: BS: Inappropriately Endorsed Instruments
From: Willie-O
Date: 05 Oct 02 - 07:59 AM

Where did ya hear that B-W-L? Dweezil's guitar IS supposedly the one that was burned at Monterey.

That's why they tried to get the big bucks for it.

A guitar Jimi set on fire at a show nobody knows about (sorry)--well there must be dozens of those. Monterey Strat=media icon.

But it's going back under Dweezil's bed, I guess.

I may just like being able to use the name "Dweezil" in familiar conversation. When I heard it on the radio the announcer thought Dweezil was a she. She (the announcer) is clearly underexposed to rock culture; everyone knows that Moon Unit Zappa is the original Valley Girl. (Omigawd!)

Subject: RE: BS: Inappropriately Endorsed Instruments
From: kendall
Date: 05 Oct 02 - 08:31 AM

The George Bush encyclopaedia! Wesley, that made me laugh right out loud! Thanks.

Subject: RE: BS: Inappropriately Endorsed Instruments
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 05 Oct 02 - 08:45 AM

Willie-O,

According to the article, the one that Dweezil has is:

The auction house said it was not clear whether the guitar was damaged during a festival in Miami in 1968 or during a gig at London in 1967.

So it's not the Monterey one, which probably would have brought the kind of money they were looking for.      

Subject: RE: BS: Inappropriately Endorsed Instruments
From: Schantieman
Date: 05 Oct 02 - 10:21 AM

Er... what's a luthier?

S