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Can age-worn instruments sound good?


MartyGrass

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Posted

Maybe they sound the best.  Here are two veteran players with uber tone and style.  The guitar is old, dinged up, modded, and comfortable.  The saxophone is oxidized about 90%.

My drummer once complained to me that his mother cleaned the marks off his snare, thinking he would like a pristine skin.  He didn't.  He said all of the years he worked to put those marks down are as if they never happened.  That same woman cleaned my drummer's dad's pipes.  The dad was furious stating it took years to build up that caking and break the pipe in.

Anyway, enjoy the sounds from these old men and their old instruments.  They have arrived.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkE9_eE3MMU&t=185s

 

Posted
3 hours ago, MartyGrass said:

Maybe they sound the best.  Here are two veteran players with uber tone and style.  The guitar is old, dinged up, modded, and comfortable.  The saxophone is oxidized about 90%.

My drummer once complained to me that his mother cleaned the marks off his snare, thinking he would like a pristine skin.  He didn't.  He said all of the years he worked to put those marks down are as if they never happened.  That same woman cleaned my drummer's dad's pipes.  The dad was furious stating it took years to build up that caking and break the pipe in.

Anyway, enjoy the sounds from these old men and their old instruments.  They have arrived.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkE9_eE3MMU&t=185s

 

Jazz drummers were notoriously anal about NOT cleaning their cymbals. In many cases, they would bury them underground for a year thinking that it would "age" them quicker and give them more of a vintage tone. I'm not subscribing to that theory, however I don't clean my cymbals and I actually enjoy all of the fingerprints and smudge all over them. Now my guitars are a different story! I cannot stand a single mark, fingerprint or smudge on any of my guitars! Ask Detroit Blues, he played my HOC 137 right after it was bulit, and when it arrived their was some sticky substance all over the neck.....

Posted

I know a lot of guitar players don't like to change their strings, as they like the rolled off tone of the older strings. I know Brian Setzer is that way.

Posted
7 hours ago, MartyGrass said:

Maybe they sound the best.  Here are two veteran players with uber tone and style.  The guitar is old, dinged up, modded, and comfortable.  The saxophone is oxidized about 90%.

My drummer once complained to me that his mother cleaned the marks off his snare, thinking he would like a pristine skin.  He didn't.  He said all of the years he worked to put those marks down are as if they never happened.  That same woman cleaned my drummer's dad's pipes.  The dad was furious stating it took years to build up that caking and break the pipe in.

Anyway, enjoy the sounds from these old men and their old instruments.  They have arrived.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkE9_eE3MMU&t=185s

 

Awesome video!

Posted

Can jazz be played on a Tele?

Posted
2 hours ago, rwinking said:

Can jazz be played on a Tele?

Absolutely! Although he uses an archtop these days, back in the '80s one of my favourites, Jim Mullen used a Tele and a Twin...

 

Posted
21 hours ago, ElNumero said:

Jazz drummers were notoriously anal about NOT cleaning their cymbals. In many cases, they would bury them underground for a year thinking that it would "age" them quicker and give them more of a vintage tone. I'm not subscribing to that theory, however I don't clean my cymbals and I actually enjoy all of the fingerprints and smudge all over them. Now my guitars are a different story! I cannot stand a single mark, fingerprint or smudge on any of my guitars! Ask Detroit Blues, he played my HOC 137 right after it was bulit, and when it arrived their was some sticky substance all over the neck.....

New Port Richey --- I'll be Damned ...

I just Retired to Spring Hill.

Posted
53 minutes ago, GuitarsGuitarsGuitars said:

Quite a right hand technique with that guy ....  

Teles can play anything.

Here's a more recent video where he explains how and why he plays that way, plus a few other words of wisdom...

 

Posted
19 hours ago, bobmeyrick said:

Absolutely! Although he uses an archtop these days, back in the '80s one of my favourites, Jim Mullen used a Tele and a Twin...

I was actually joking about this. One of my all time favorite jazz guys is Ed Bickert, who played with Paul Desmond and made an age worn Tele sound like God.

 

 

Posted
4 hours ago, rwinking said:

I was actually joking about this. One of my all time favorite jazz guys is Ed Bickert, who played with Paul Desmond and made an age worn Tele sound like God.

 

I thought you were, but any excuse for some Jim Mullen...

  • 1 month later...
Posted
On 9/2/2021 at 8:18 AM, MartyGrass said:

Maybe they sound the best.  Here are two veteran players with uber tone and style.  The guitar is old, dinged up, modded, and comfortable.  The saxophone is oxidized about 90%.

My drummer once complained to me that his mother cleaned the marks off his snare, thinking he would like a pristine skin.  He didn't.  He said all of the years he worked to put those marks down are as if they never happened.  That same woman cleaned my drummer's dad's pipes.  The dad was furious stating it took years to build up that caking and break the pipe in.

Anyway, enjoy the sounds from these old men and their old instruments.  They have arrived.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkE9_eE3MMU&t=185s

 

Was your dad a singer?  I can't sing worth a crap if I have caking in my throat!

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