I've had a chance to play a bit more with Bill Tucker and Friends, the band with which I'm going on tour in April. I'm really enjoying playing with them, and I think once we get comfortable with each other it will be a very good band. The Xylenes have been hit with a spate of illnesses so we had to reschedule our intended spring show---a month ago, we were hoping to play next week, but then we missed a couple weeks of rehearsal, and rather than do a shorter or less polished show (a relative thing with the Xylenes, but still), we decided to push the date off for a bit. We are now planning on playing a special Mothers' Day show, probably actually the day after Mothers' Day. We're going to try to get our mothers involved---Kelly's mom is going to get up and sing a duet with her, and Kris' mom is going to play the chime tree with us. We're going to learn favorite songs of my mom's and Amber's mom's to play for them, since they will be there; I'm going to see if my mom will play tambourine, too. Mort's mom and Dori's mom are far out of state and won't be able to join us live in person, but hopefully we can do something for them too. We'll offer flowers to anyone else's mom who comes to the show. As Amber says, our moms are absolutely our biggest fans---it will be fun and nice to make them a part of the show.
You know how sometimes you know something in the front of your mind, but it may not have actually sunk all the way in? Over the last couple months I've probably bought too many guitars, and I'm feeling a little over-extended. I'm having to sell a couple others, which is okay because I don't play them much and I'd rather have the new ones, but the sense of urgency is unpleasant. But in each case, it was a rare and special opportunity to get something that I might not come across again, and each individual transaction could be justified on that basis . . . but, what I've now learned in a more visceral way is that there is always some once-in-a-lifetime deal out there, and one can go broke simply taking advantages of great deals that will never come again, either unheard-of prices or rarely-for-sale items. So, I am now publicly swearing off buying more guitars. If you hear that I've bought another guitar in the next six months at least, feel free to remind me that I promised not to do so, and deride me for my lack of willpower. But I don't intend to buy any more, no matter how unique the opportunity that comes along.
At least, I have acquired some really neat instruments lately . . . I posted about the Rickenbacker 330 I got in January, and mentioned the Rickenbacker 660/12 I got a few weeks ago. Well, I also acquired another neat Rickenbacker, a 340 with vintage-style pickups and a tremolo, in the limited-edition Color of the Year for 2002, Burgundyglo! It was one of those "once in a lifetime" deals---this may well be a unique guitar. Now I have a little family of Rickenbackers.
But, since I'm actively playing bass in a band again, I've been focusing on basses too. I got an SX Precision-style bass a while back, just to have as a backup. Also, I had a Jazz Bass that I got from my sister, on the understanding that if she ever needed a bass, I would give it back, or provide her with another bass at least as good, so since I decided I didn't care for the Jazz Bass, I sold it, and needed to get another bass to give Maria if she decides some day that she wants to take up bass again. After many years, she's started studying guitar again, so maybe that is not as hypothetical as it once appeared. Anyway, I had to do some work on it and I used it as the basis of some photo essays about fret leveling and nut making, which I posted on a guitar forum.
But then other amazing bass deals started coming out of the woodwork. Gibson came out with a new bass last year as part of its "Guitar of the Week" program: the Les Paul Money Bass, a limited-edition double-cutaway Les Paul bass which was pretty cool. In recent weeks, dealers have been blowing out the remaining unsold ones at way way less than the regular price, and way under what (I think) they're worth, so I snapped one up. Here it is next to my Gibson Ripper, one of my favorite basses that I've had for a number of years.But then I came across a very rare bird for sale: an Acoustic Black Widow. I've mentioned before I think my interest in Acoustic amplifiers. Well, they also sold a guitar and bass for a while in the 70s. Some of the later models were actually made for them by Mosrite, but seem to have escaped (for the moment) the skyrocketing prices that proper Mosrites have shown in recent years (i.e., since I sold the one I had for cheap, goddamnit). Besides being one of the ultimate Acoustic collectibles, it's also a pretty cool bass in its own right. It has not arrived yet.
If you're thinking, "Damn, Chuck, that's a lot of guitars to buy," what can I say: when you're right you're right, and you're right. If I had to do it over again, I probably would have passed on a couple, although I can't say I'm sorry to have any of them! It's just made things a little tight, and I've sold a number of my old instruments and have a couple more on the block. (If you're interested in a Yamaha SBG 2000, or a Gibson Reverse Flying V, drop me a line!)
And then another friend has offered me a good deal on a Rickenbacker 4001 bass . . . but I may be able to do a partial trade on that one and he's okay with me paying him later . . .
But THAT'S IT! Gear Acquisition Syndrome: it's ugly. But, at least every time I have that realization, "You know, I've bought too many guitars," it causes me to reevaluate what I'm looking for. And I'm getting better gear, and gear that may actually go up in value, or at least hold its value.
Rock on!
