Vibrolux Vibe

My band returned to Ed Ackerson's Flowers Studio this past weekend to wrap up tracks for our forthcoming full length, and I once again had the chance to utilize pieces from Ed's top-notch collection of vintage gear. When setting up the guitar rigs, Ed pointed out a 1963 brown tolex Fender Vibrolux that had recently come back into use with the installation of a Jensen speaker. After playing through it for a few minutes it became the clear choice for my guitar parts on the songs. A real highlight was the sound of my '67 Gretsch Chet Atkins Nashville Model 6120 through the amp's Bright channel - just great.

One of the things that Ed mentioned about the amp was that he had acquired it via a trade, and that when it came into his possession it had a Fane speaker installed. This seemed weird to him, and apparently it didn't do the amp any favors either. At home later that night I was paging through Tom Wheeler's The Soul of Tone: Celebrating 60 Years of Fender Amps for some more info on the Vibrolux, and I came across an interesting side note about the model. Apparently, Mark Knopfler had told a Fender employee that his guitar sound on "Sultans of Swing" was a Strat into a '61 Vibrolux with a Fane speaker swapped in for a damaged Oxford. So maybe that solves it: A cult of Knopfler devotees putting Fane speakers in brown Vibroluxes. Check your amps folks, and if you own a '63 or later, start searching for a Jensen.

Have a Look

Dave Rogers, owner of Dave's Guitar Shop in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, owns many fine guitars and amplifiers. Not only is he kind enough to display these at his store, but he has also created an online gallery featuring wonderful photos of the pieces. Only guitars are included at this time, but I don't think that 300 or so highly collectible vintage guitars qualify as slim pickings. My personal favorites are the Gibson hollowbodies, so click here and dream along.

A Thought

I was reading an interview with  Bill Frisell over at All About Jazz today, and the following quote really stuck out:

"There's always this sound out there that's just a little beyond my reach and I'm trying to get there and that just sort of keeps me going".

To me, this statement addresses not just playing, but the equipment we're playing with. It's also exciting to hear this insight from someone who has played so well for so long, and to know that the quest truly is endless.

On Not Letting Go

The photo to the left is of a 1990s Fender Duo-Sonic reissue, and it is the guitar that I have never been able to let go of. I've bought, sold, and traded more gear than I can remember, but for some reason this guitar has stayed around, not being played, for almost ten years. While that fact probably has a good a amount to do with a low initial cost, and thus a lower resale value, I think the circumstances surrounding its acquisition best explain why I still have it.

I began playing guitar at age 11, which in my case was in 1996. At this time, both the alternative music and guitar worlds were still very much tuned in to Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, as was I. I kept a copy of a guitar magazine featuring a photo of all of Cobain's live guitars for years after I first got it, as I marveled at all of the lesser-known and odd shaped Fender guitars he had retrofitted for his use. For someone who had previously been (Squier) Strat-centric, the guitars had an x-factor that was tied to the fact that these were relatively inexpensive. Of course, inexpensive in the guitar world is not so for a pre-teen, and allowances and gift savings just wouldn't quite cut it for a vintage Mustang. So I plugged along on my Squier Strat, figuring that at least I was in the right brand family.

A few years later, my father and I were at a local music shop when I saw it. Hanging among a slew of other used guitars in the mild-quality range, it might as well have jumped off the wall at me. I took it down, and two things immediately struck me: the headstock said Fender, and it was only $150. After paying $175 for my Squier, I couldn't believe that I was holding a real Fender that was that inexpensive. Never mind that it was a Duo-Sonic, a smallish student guitar, and not a Mustang like I saw Cobain using. I played around with it, but my awe made me oblivious to anything but the thought of having it. I needed that guitar, and I had a solution. This was in February or so, but I didn't think it was unreasonable to ask for it as a birthday gift, even though my birthday wasn't until late May. Needless to say, my parents didn't go for it at first, in part because $150 remains more than the usual birthday gift amount in our family. Regardless of this, I was persistent, if not altogether annoying. This tactic paid off, and there the guitar is.

The real question is why I still have it, and I think the effort I put into getting it has far outweighed the desire to sell it. I've swapped out many guitars, but selling this would have seemed like such a disservice given that it wasn't just a gift, but one that I had really wanted. I'm sure that I'm not the only person who's experienced this, and I'm very glad that I've kept the Duo-Sonic over the years. This is especially the case now that I have found a way to breathe new life into the instrument: as a Nashville-tuned rhythm guitar. It's going to get a make-over in the process, and the conversion process will be the subject of a post in the near future.