The Collection: Jason Isbell

[Music] foreign [Music] [Applause]   everybody Mark agnesi here for Gibson TV today  I'm just outside of Nashville Tennessee on my   way to sit down with my friend guitarist  Jason Isbell now Jason is truly one of us   the guitar nerds guitar nerd and with nine  Americana Music Awards and four Grammys to   his name he's got a guitar collection  that would make any guitar nerd jealous   what you're about to see may shock you  this is the collection with Jason Isbell   so I'm here with Jason Isbell how you doing buddy  I'm good having us thank you for coming long time   coming yeah to uh a lot to talk about today to  get started when did guitars first show up on   your radar as a kid I don't really uh remember a  time when they weren't around like my grandfather   played and my uncle played my dad's brother and  then on my mom's side my grandmother and my uncle   played and everybody in the family except my  parents played guitar my grandfather played in   church he was a Pentecostal preacher in Alabama  and so they had to allowed the PVS and the and   the drums and the loud church band and uh I  was really drawn to that when I was little   and when I was probably seven or eight my granddad  started teaching me to play different instruments   um you know just to keep me occupied and so we'd  have something to do all day uh he would teach   me originally mandolin uh and then when when I  got a little bit older eight or nine years old   my hands got a little bigger he gave me a guitar  and started teaching me how to play you know the   Bluegrass rhythms the gospel gcd and stuff and he  would play fiddle or banjo or manlin I would play   them you know for hours at a time what were  you listening to back then who are you trying   to steal licks from who were your Courier guys  so it's it's it's funny because he would reward   Me by playing blues music my grandfather he would  do like uh if I would sit there and and you know   go boom boom boom boom boom for two hours or so  then he would take the guitar and put it in his   lap and tune it to open D or open e and play with  his pocket knife and I was obsessed with that that   was my reward for for playing Rhythm to all those  gospel songs and so I got really addicted to blues   music and then when I was probably 11 years old or  so he took me to the record store and bought that   complete Robert Johnson recording and he got an  uncle cassette he brought it back to his house and   he made me cassettes without what he considered  the vulgar songs you know like traveling Riverside   anything about squeezing my lemon or anything like  that he took those songs off and gave me like the   max sale copy cassettes and I listened to them  until they wore out and he made me another one   and they wore out he made me another one and they  wore out you know Clapton uh in in the late 80s   was having sort of that journeyman Renaissance and  I went from the Clapton stuff back to a whole lot   of Blues music and um Bonnie Raitt was huge for  me because I I love slide guitar from my granddad   player then I would see body right on VH1 and  she would be playing with the wine bottle on her   middle finger and so at first I thought that they  all were green you know I asked my parents for a   slide for Christmas and they gave me a clear you  know Coricidin bottle style and I was like this   is not the right thing I said what I want is green  and I still play slide on my middle finger because   of that because I saw Bonnie do it you know and  turns out like Ron Wood and Joe Walsh and a lot   of great slide players play on their middle finger  but I did it because Bonnie and her hands were   probably about the same size when I was 11 or 12  and you know she was at the top of her powers on   those days of course that took me to Hendrix and  that just took me to everything you know Zeppelin   and and Jimmy Page and and then all the I remember  getting the Alligator Records collections you know   and listening to like uh Copeland and and uh  uh Hound Dog Taylor and and Coco Taylor and   you know all the just really kind of squonky  uh uh Chicago and and Hill Country stuff so   I just I just really was obsessed with the Blues  from from that point when did you get your first   guitar of your own and what was it what was your  first the first one that was really mine my uncle   gave me he bought in like 1988 probably 87. he  bought a Washburn uh with a Floyd Rose and he   gave me his Les Paul copy which was the Electra  MPC I still have it it's in there somewhere and   it's got the built-in effects cavities you know  so it looks like a Les Paul custom but it's got   the switches on the bottom and I think the ones  that I had were like overdrive and flanger and so   you got like two like a volume knob a tone knob  and then two knobs that control the intensity of   the effects that are built into the guitar heavy  it was so heavy when did you start getting stuff   to get serious you know I remember like I got a  little used gorilla amp for Christmas you know   and then I got like a like a electric acoustic uh  for Christmas the next year and then finally when   I was like 12 I think I talked to my my mom into  getting me a strat so I had a strap for a long   time yeah I mean it just after that that was all  that I wanted to do you know I stopped playing   sports in school and just played the guitar all  the time and so anytime I had any money I would   work you know when I was 16 I worked at Walmart  pushing buggies and spent all my money on you   know little Chandler tube drivers and you know  cry babies and all that kind of stuff all right it's a big case there's a big guitar in it  it's not the original case most of my cases   are not original because I tour with these  things so I put them in sturdy cases yeah   custom color custom color Firebird 3 the red  Firebird 364 SV red yeah and I had uh that bridge   that that Glazer does here in Nashville the Music  City Bridge and took this off I still got all that   um you know it had Firebirds in the past but this  one sounds really nice the neck pickup is nice and   fat and uh yeah I love it Where'd this one come  from this came from retrofit Brooklyn New York   um but one thing I think is really cool about this  is the truss rod cover notice how short yeah seems   like on most of the firebird threes it would  come down longer but this one is an anomaly for   some reason but I like the banjo tuners and you  know something about a Firebird that I love is if   you're using any kind of like Octavia or like even  down octave stuff uh with fuzz that bridge pickup   is sometimes the only thing that'll cut through  yeah when now when do you normally go to mini   homes is it when you when you know you need sounds  like that or is there something else you favor   the mini homes for it is you know it's real good  Strummer like it makes a good uh tele substitute   you know if I just want to switch out one night  and not play a Telecaster on something I normally   do like I've got a song called flying over water  that's on southeastern where the solo has an   octave down and it's got a fuzz on it and you know  it's kind of a shreddy solo which I like to throw   in my sad country records a goofy disturbatory  solo every once in a while but this one just   cuts through really really well and I like how  it's worn you know it's it's kept enough of the   color yeah it's still vibrant it's very pretty  red and I love the you know the racing stripe of   the neck through on these things I like the ones  where you can see that this looks extra cool to   me and everybody looks cool playing a part not  to man plus if you if you want to play Freebird   you can reach these notes for the solo try to play  that on Les Paul and it's it's a struggle but you   can reach up here on this thing just said that  this one's his favorite yeah Dave said it's his   favorite this one this might be the original  case that's G of some kind I bet it is yeah   Dave likes Shirak so here's the Rock Machine oh  Les Paul SG the Les Paul SG 1961. that one's seen   some sun it has yeah yeah somebody played it out  because their back's still pretty rich but the   top is like hamburger meat after about a minute  in the pain oh thoughts on the sideways wiggle   it makes a good balance it makes a good weight  to balance the headstock so I keep it on there   um is it blocked out it is blocked out yeah I  got it blocked out um it's a cool idea but I   just can't get it to stay in tune if I touch the  thing so I got it blocked but still you can do   some kind of like you can hit a cord and then just  Palm the bird yeah just push it down a little bit   um because this one's all stock  except for the fritz no brakes   um all the wiring everything still got  the pafs uh this is a rock and roll   Feast this guitar where did this one come from  uh Chicago Music Exchange right on how long how   long have you uh had it a few years um maybe three  three four years now I think yeah man I just love   it it's so lightweight and yeah it's now what does  the SG with pafs do for you over the burst okay   why would you reach for this one instead you know  for slide purposes it's a hard thing to beat yeah   it is I mean there's a reason you know Dwayne and  Derek yeah I guess those things and uh it's also   that that top end the bridge pickup just really  bites and then cuts through and with a marshall if   you don't have any kind of treble booster on there  you don't really need it with that pickup you know   because you still get the kind of wolfy attack but  it's got the force behind it of that high end so   I I like that this is five this is what 61 yeah  first year one yeah great checking and you can   tell somebody loved it because I mean it's been  played yeah and we'll wear through on the hedges   but I love one that that has been played but  hasn't been abused you know no breaks or cracks   or anything I like how the back of the headstock  looks on this one it's got that kind of like the   checking that's between moisture yeah yeah and  this I mean somebody played a lot of rock and   roll lead guitar like Boogie Woogie Chuck Berry  style because right here yeah a position normally   you see it right here yeah that's not a cowboy  cord spot that's it and he was happily married as   well uh-huh yeah yeah I like a wedding ring Mark  yeah God the weight is insane it's good isn't it   it's like fly out of your hands yeah I love that  guitar so humbucker is playing slide yeah that's   the main squeezer and you got the access yeah  you know up here and you know anybody who grew   up in the South and uh played slide guitar you  know you just you kind of need a real good old   small guard paf SG and if you're gonna be old I  think everybody in the world needs one whether   they play guitar well this is the brightest  colored Carlton case I've encountered I know   it's uh and it looks tiny foam green tiny Carlton  face um I got this for my wife this is Amanda's   guitar she plays tenor guitar because she's a film  player she likes having four strings no more so   um she'd gone through a series of kind of crappy  tenor guitars over the years and I got her this   one for Mother's Day a few years ago and I'd been  looking at the you know old Gibson Tenors from the   50s and 60s and found some of the SGS which are  great but Nico case plays the SG tenor every time   I see one I think of Nico case wonderful saying  but you know I wanted Amanda to have something   a little bit different so I found this down in  Florida I believe it is the 1956 and if you spot   it as different let me know but oh yeah look at  that crazy guy TV special tenor TV special Tanner   um and what I love is like the the tailpiece is  identity you know it's they just use the same   one and they just did and they just plugged  the holes the other two slugs yes and cut I   guess they just cut this down on either side you  know because it doesn't have like the inserts on   the edges of the headstock so it looks like  it started out as a just a regular TV special   last fall yeah before stick about a loss  a lost instrument though yeah I'm like how   I mean I've seen so many tenor guitars from  like 40s 50s era and then it just seems like   nobody makes them anymore disappeared completely  and there was that old kind of jazz style tenor   playing you know um where people would do like the  sevenths and the Knights and Play Rhythm with them   they make really good like strummy guitars and  if you've got a bass player you know you really   just kind of need those bottom four strings to  make a good chord it's super fun I like to say   great wear it too great checking yeah somebody  played a lot of tenor guitar on this thing yeah   like somebody really was a professional tender  guitar player never seen one of these it's cool yeah how awesome is that yeah it's just  so homemade with the dog the Pearl docks   just like they would do the Pearl dots for  the Stop tail piece if they're gonna put   a Bigsby on it same thing and I wonder if  somebody played it with a you know plectrum   because of the way around here and looks like  this you know so somebody was probably going that's cool yeah that's a first you have  officially the first thank goodness with   the TV special tenor on yeah yeah let's  talk collecting what percentage of your   collection is acoustic versus Electric I have  more electric guitars than acoustic guitars   um I don't have a whole lot of old Acoustics I  have just a few uh and that's really because like   when I'm sitting around the house playing I play  electric guitar you know and when I was teaching   guitar when I was in college in Memphis I would I  would tell my students to get an electric guitar   and I know most teachers say you get an acoustic  because they're hard in a play and you'll be   streaming when you switch over to your electric  but I think the trick is to keep people playing   as long as possible yes so like when you have an  electric guitar first of all it's easy to play and   then when you run out of things you know how to  do you can just make noise but yeah I I think the   majority of my guitars are electric especially  the Vintage stuff because you know they've had   less work done to them I mean the old Acoustics  all of them have had quite a lot of Maintenance   yeah and and also that all that organic material  I I have a hard time committing to those purchases   thinking at some point I'm gonna have to have  a neck reset on this or at some point I'm gonna   have to have the bridge glued back down on our  the plate replaced or you know like I don't   I don't particularly gravitate towards guitars  that are all beat up because I feel like they're   already somebody else's I like stuff that's in  relatively good condition that I can put my own   mark on because that tour was pretty much all of  my finished guitars you know I I put new friends   on everything and I take it out and use it well  tell me a little more about touring with this   stuff nothing's nothing's off limits for you  to bring on the road you're no happy to take   anything out yeah I'll take anything out like I  mean if it's an old acoustic it doesn't have a   pickup I'm not going to cut a hole in it so yeah  I'm not going to modify it yeah but um but for   the electric guitars yeah I take them all I take  I take everything out and uh like for the burst if   I if I can carry that uh I'll take it with me I'm  not going to give it to somebody else and say here   you know risk your life for this this guitar but  uh but yeah if I can carry it with me sometimes I   hire my dad to come out and be guitar security  so he just carries the last ball behind me at what point did did you start collecting  guitars or were you even collecting were   you just trying to get tools for stuff yeah  I still don't feel like a collector really   yeah even now because I mean you don't call a  painter a paintbrush collector you know even   if they got some really nice paint brushes and I  I feel like I'm a painter and these are just the   brushes that I wouldn't say that I need like if  if I couldn't afford the great vintage guitars I   would get you know the closest thing I could  afford to that which nowadays thank God it's   really positive stuff yeah I mean yeah the old  vintage guitars are are more expensive than you   know their actual service than what you can get  out of them there's a collectibility factor that   you can't deny like uh you know a 1959 Les Paul  it sounds incredible and it plays incredible but   the difference in sound and playability from  that to a new Custom Shop Les Paul is is is   way smaller than the difference in price between  the two that's an obvious thing and and part of   the reason for that that is because of the boom  that the vintage guitar industry had I mean so   one good thing that came out of that was the fact  that the major guitar Builder started saying maybe   we should make something that's more like these  you know I started you know right when I started   having some success I mean as soon as my you know  car payment and my house payment was caught up   I started buying old guitars you know the first  really really good one was the 335 a 61.net 335   that I got from Dave Cobb that it had belonged to  Tom book of act before yeah all the good 335s in   town where Tom's at some point you know but that  one's still amazes me every time I play it I'm   still surprised by how good that guitar is um you  know and that was also one that like I feel like   a 335 you can do a whole lot of things with you  can play a lot any style of popular music you can   play with the 335 you can play country with it get  super heavy with it you know um and so that was a   good like first really great vintage guitar and  then after that I started getting more specific   now you said the difference between like a new  burst and an original this small a lot smaller   than the price it is yeah when you walk on stage  and you've got the real thing does it change   what you're doing as a player does it take you  different places I don't jump around as much   you find the Box yeah yeah and and my tech  you know every time he hands me the the real   one he says you're not going to drop this and  when I hand it back or you're not this and you   know it's on stage I've I've sort of already  flipped the switch where you know I'm thinking   I'm gonna be wide open like I know the structure  of these songs I know it's essentially where I'm   going to start where I'm going to finish if I'm  playing a solo I know what direction I want to go   in outside of that I try to improvise because  we don't do the same you know we don't do the   same solos every night I don't sing necessarily  exactly the same I try to keep it interesting   for us and for the audience too and that happens  no matter what I'm playing you know like you can   make a great record in somebody's basement now uh  for very little money but if you go into RCA when   you walk through the doors you think I better  do something important the reverence yeah I'm   in this place yeah you know and and it works I  think the same way if you take those old guitars   seriously he's saying well I'm the guy up here was  a 1959 Les Paul and if I suck it's going to be way   more embarrassing because I'm holding a 1959 last  fall so there is a sort of responsibility I think   that comes along with being lucky enough  to own those things this one you know my   might be if I had to have one guitar to take and  go try to make a career out of and it was electric   guitar I think it would be probably this one based  on the case I'm going to assume this thing is seen   some road yeah this one's been on the road for  quite a few years with me this was the first   uh really good Golden Era vintage  electric guitar that I've got   and uh that's just a wonderful oh yeah dot  neck that's a great guitar man and you can play   obviously you can play the blues on it but you can  get super heavy you know you can rock really well   with that it's a 61. we got that neck 335 yeah  it's perfect isn't it that's the neck it's just   right and it's another one that you can tell it's  been played but it hasn't been abused man yeah   condition is great a little crazy in the checking  but yeah you were tying this one this one's got   some pedigree yes this previous owner I got it  from Dave Cobb we were making a record uh and Dave   was like you have to come take this 335 and plug  it into a Marshall and he had the tone Bender 1.5   and so he's like we got to turn everything all the  way up and then you just put on the neck pickup   and you turn the volume down to about six and you  hear the clean toad you know yeah and so of course   I did that and it was murderously loud and kind of  the most beautiful thing I've ever heard and and I   said Dave how much would you want for that guitar  and Dave gave me a price which was extremely   reasonable yeah and uh I think probably because he  didn't think that I was gonna immediately go get   the money you know because at that time I wasn't  selling a whole awful lot of records and so I   really it was a big leap for me to get this guitar  but I went and got the cash and I took it and gave   it to Dave and my wife has a picture of me and  Dave right after he sold it to me and I'm like   ear to ear smiling days just going he's so upset  but he immediately went and bought a 1960 335   that's very similar and also a really good one but  this one's just got something special I mean it's   just when when I got it the bridge pickup had been  demagnetized a bit I don't know if somebody put it   in front of a car battery or it leans up against  a big speaker or something but my buddy Gary   Bohannon who was working at Carter at the time and  Gary said I got a box of those and he apparently   had a sealed box of magnets from pafs from like  1959 and he said I'll just test these out and   give you the best one so he just slid that magnet  in and popped the New Old Stock that's real the   best it's the best it's the only town in the world  where any boxes the first person you cooked has a   box of vintage 59 p.m magnets yeah so that's what  it's got in the bridge was this your first like   big this is your first like paf vintage Gibson  yes it was and I was terrified and I did what I   usually do to the Gibsons um as I'll replace the  ABR uh you know so it doesn't Buckle while I have   it and then I'll replace the stop tail in case I  want to top wrap I don't want to scratch it up so   I'll take those and seal them and put them away  and then these three Pro I take the originals and   seal them up because Originals were still there  when you got it they hadn't crumbled yet or yeah   I mean they were crumbly they were on a couple  of them were halfway off and yeah they all look   like dead man's toes you know yeah mummified yeah  so that's it everything that can be you know you   can undo that if you ever want to sell it but  I don't think I'll ever get rid of this guitar   because this one's come with you everywhere  right yeah it goes on the road every tour   I've used it all over the records and you know  it does everything you want an electric guitar   to do I mean you can get some real character out  of it the middle position is just beautiful it's   round and sparkly and and it can rock man so here  we go now we got a big bowl oh an acoustic guitar   this I've used all over my last couple of albums  I love this one so 47 48 46 46 post banner yeah   puddle script logo [ __ ] logo light as a feather  yes it is dried out got a couple of big old cracks   that have been cleated but you don't hear any Buzz  that's a man Nick that is that is a man neck yeah   oh but this thing has served me well because it  just it strums really good and it finger picks   really well yeah no I mean I know you love Martin  flat tops I love Martin flat tops too they're just   different animals than the Gibson flat tops when  would you reach for this as opposed to your dear   teens what I want uh something that sounds rounder  and not as like mid-range projection you know when   when I'm not looking to be the biggest thing in  the mix when I'm not looking to cut through and   you know I'm a songwriter and I think this  is probably the greatest model of songwriter   guitar anybody ever made probably more hits have  been written on j45s I think summer yeah anything   else more great songs have been written on these  old j45s so when I'm just wearing the songwriter   hat this is the guitar that I'll reach for this is  probably the one that I ride on the most often now   um any Handles open tunings really well and  it just plays easy it's had a neck reset and   Frets like they all have from those days but it's  great post bearing you got the truss rod in it   right got metal back yeah yeah and you put truss  rods on them you can mess with it a little bit   but it just has that like you know if you want  to sound like Nick Drake you can get that on   this guitar or you can use a flat pick and open  it up and this is basically a Sunburst version of   the Dylan the Dylan j50 just the script logo  you know Yep this is it only mid late 40s so   this is what you're used to hearing you know if  you're if you're thinking about this being a song that's the sound of it even to be a little bit  flat that's not supposed to I thought in the   process is legit sounds for real yeah yeah I love  this guitar where did this come from it came from   uh chiropractor Mike who is Michael bethancourt's  chiropractor my tech Michael in town and he's got   the most ridiculous collection of guitars he's  got just ridiculous stuff he had a booth at the   uh Franklin show the last time I went down there  and had a all gold uh gold top was apparently one   of the earliest Les Paul cases made because he  took it in new Bruins and George said that case   is worth as much as my guitar that's like the  second last ball case ever make wow he's just   got cool stuff people always bitching about the  doctors buying up guitars occasionally it's passed   on I don't know and where would we be without the  chiropractors to the world let's see this is my   son's fish yeah yeah right he likes Trey yeah he  likes Trey he likes it when Trey breaks out the   hose so this is my most recent uh acquisition  I just got this a few days ago look at this   guy oh herringbone yeah yeah 19 below 28 34. 0028  talk about clean yikes isn't that crazy this one   I've been calling the Frog because it's so small  but it is so loud this is a Dreadnought killer   oh how about that who's not expecting though  and that's with light gauge strings on there   wow that is a monster wait yeah nothing  to it light as a feather did you refret   this no it had been re-fretted and uh had a  neck reset and I think there's a little bit   of overspray happening but other than that  it ain't uh dampening the top at all no and   we got no cracks uh everything on the inside  is clean as a whistle it's got that forward   shifted just put your finger in and touch the X  brace right there yep so you still use this for   a big Strummer too this isn't just your finger  picker and and record that for rhythm guitar and   yeah I mean that really kind of can do anything  it's got that tight Focus low end it's a short   scale so it's kind of you can bend you can put  solos on it if you want to now obviously the j45   I know you play a lot of d18s when when's the  Rosewood come in for you we use the Rosewood   the guitar you're gonna pick I just recently  started uh enjoying you know like the Brazilian   uh back and size acoustic super straight yeah  uh I just recently started getting into that   because I always liked the mahogany it felt  like it just dried out and was so light and   and you know you can play a loud lead on a  mahogany guitar when I was growing up the   loudest acoustic was the best whoever had the  loudest one could override the banjos as I've   gotten older just adding to that palette um you  know I like how the Rosewood looks and I like   how it sounds I wasn't looking for a Triple O I  was just looking for a really good old Martin and   this one beat you know the d28s and the t18s and  everything in there that's a fun guitar man what   was the first time you got to play a burst do you  remember the first person you got to play I think   maybe the first time I went to Seattle I went to  Emerald City and they had one and and I remember   playing that and you know being just amazed by  it I mean it's been 12-15 years ago probably   um I specifically remember which ones were really  good to my ears even before I had a whole lot   to compare it to you know or and you just know I  mean like when I played the red eye I hadn't even   plugged it in yet like I went in you know Carter's  called me to come in and and uh make some videos   of some Ed's collection after he had passed and  Sharon and brought us his guitars in it was on   a stand which I think this may be the last time  it's been on a stand I don't think I've ever put   it on yeah because they can't fall off the floor  you know I said is this the is this really this   guitar and they're like yeah that's it you know  that's why you're here and I picked it up before   I ever plugged it in I just knew like as soon as  I hit it you know when I was a kid me and my dad   would go shopping for like fishing tackle and he  would take the rod and he would put that he said   go stand over there and put the end of the rod on  your on your throat you know right on your Adam's   apple and he would hold the handle of the rod  and I would talk and if he could feel it in his   hand he's like this is a pretty good fishing rod  and it's it's that way with I think a good guitar   every point that you touch on that instrument you  feel the vibration moving you know and I would   know that the red eye is a good guitar if I was  completely Stone deaf just because you can feel   it vibrating yeah let's talk a little more about  that guitar because obviously that's going to be   one of the Stars today Days episode did you know  Ed King did you ever have a chance to meet him I   met him and I was around him a little bit but had  a couple of functions in Nashville we ran into   each other and I met him but I did not know him  very well but you were definitely aware of that   oh yeah and I studied those the you know his his  scanner before he got that guitar the parts that   he played on Skynyrd records I had studied you  know Ad nauseam when I was a kid I mean that's   the Sweet Home Alabama solo is still one of the  strangest uh most well-constructed solos that I   can think of because it just does not go where you  would expect it to go I mean you know the way he   creates the tension and releases it in that solo  is it was a really brilliant guitar player and   yeah I was aware of that guitar for a long time  uh you know but never I I was surprised when I   actually saw it in person because I just you know  he didn't take it out of the house much and I just   never expected to actually see the thing so it  was that kind of thing where I was like I got   to figure out a way to get this guitar and I knew  it was a stupid idea but I mean I have as an adult   had zero dollars before so I thought what's the  worst that can happen you know I can handle being   broke if that if this doesn't work out so I called  my uh business manager who's like no there's no   way that's ridiculous impossible sorry and the  okay thanks I just thought I'd ask and then I was   like what okay I called my manager my life mom  said no yeah yeah so I was like Tracy what can   I do to get this amount of money I was like can  you book me some like private shows over this you   know I was like no I cut off these or you know no  no war criminals or anything but if there's some   decent people that want me to play their birthday  party and it just so happened that like Bitcoin   was really taken off so I wound up in a bunch  of weird Bitcoin birthday parties and uh paid   for that guitar without having to dip into anybody  else's life without having to cut anybody else's   pay out before you walked into Carter that day  was buying a burst on your radar I never thought   that I would do it never they're so damn expensive  and you know I didn't have like the right kind of   security the right kind of humidification and  everything was just in cases in a bedroom and   uh you know of course after that you're like well  I'll figure the rest of this out later I'll figure   out how to take care of this and how to keep it  safe and you know how to carry it on the road   with me I'll get all that sorted I just at that  point I was just like I have to figure out a way   to have this guitar but yeah after I played the  red I was like that's the best guitar I've ever   played you know and uh and it still is hard to  tell in those big heavy counting cases what it is   this is probably it right this is it yeah this  is the one here help me out let's open it up every time I open it I feel like I'm in some old  like uh like Sherlock Holmes mystery and there's   just going to be like a rose in the case and I  have to go through all these Clues to find my   guitar not yeah oh man and there it is and that's  what everybody says when I open the case there it   is every time dude that top look at that top is  like the curliest thing oh 908.91 the red eye   the red eye it's called the red eye let's talk  about it all right there any everyone at home   that doesn't know why this one spot on the guitar  would have stayed red when everything else faded   so the tag was hanging it was that square hello  tag yeah Square tag that would go around the uh   pick up selector switch and you know originally  they were ran all around here but to die   that Gibson used in 5859 would fade was UV light  that was quick if that sat in a store window   that's what I think probably happened it just sat  in the window for a little while and you know they   didn't sell too quickly in 58.59 so sat in the  window for a little while and everything fainted   except the spot under where the tag was hanging  and I'm looking I can just see under the guard   it looks like major Tan Lines underneath yeah  it's still still red under the guard this one   the harnesses wiring harness is like February um  as far as the order of the serial number I think   it's very close to Billy Gibbons Pearly Gates  that top well I mean that was the maple that   they had that month because yeah it's very same  same kind of disease in the trees yeah and uh   also it's really close to the um spinal tap burst  that was just like nine numbers off or something   I think and then I believe Michael Schenker had  the one right after it which had a factory Bixby   and I think that was his I was not expecting  it to be this clean isn't that wild and I mean   it's had a few different owners over there I did  not I'm shocked at how clean the guitar is still   yeah I mean look at the corners of the headsock  that's crispy and sharp you know and of course I   switched these out um and I've got those sealed  up and then I switched out these two just so   this wouldn't buckle and so this wouldn't get  scratched with the top wrap and I switched the   tuners out with the Repros and that's it Frets  I had the Frets put on that scared me a little   bit you know I had a threats on it yeah and uh  they were original from about here up he had had   a partial though it was already parsed it was  already parts so I didn't and you know once I   got it I was like man I shouldn't have waited so  long because now it plays yeah great I mean to   have one of these like refreaded glazers and put  on a plaque machine and then get home with it and   it plays great all the way up and down the neck  it's a beautiful thing here you go now I always   still see people commenting about top reps why  do you top rap and what what does it accomplish   for you as opposed to just going straight through  and over the bridge I think it gives me a little   bit more bendability yeah a little bit slinkier  um and I know a lot of people say that it gives   you a better tone I mean if you go all the way  down with your tailpiece until you're just about   flush and you top wrap then naturally it seems  like it's going to carry the vibrations a little   more I just can't get over how clean it is yeah  it's pretty crispy really still has crisp edges   to be one that has been played you know and that  has traveled quite a bit it's it's in good shape   I mean just really kind of saved my ass during the  pandemic it's something to smile about yeah and   like you know I could just sit in the floor and  and if my daughter was asleep I had a camper put   some headphones in and if she wasn't I'd just plug  right into an amp and sit in the floor like I'm 15   and instead of dreaming about having one of these  I got to actually have one are you still learning   stuff about this guitar are you still finding  oh yeah sounds still a few years later yeah and   that's the thing about the way these were designed  you know the the pickups and the wiring I mean the   way I play a Les Paul and probably the way you  play Les Paul is not the way they were intended   to be played and that to me is an indicator of  something that can be used in a whole lot of   different ways and a lot of my favorite musical  instruments are that way you know like a B3 or   a Wurlitzer I mean those things do not sound like  what they were trying to copy you know two pickups   in that middle position that's really that's the  magic thing for me because then you you've got so   much versatility and if you've got good old pots  and your wiring harnesses is works like it should   then you can get you know all on a different  tones forever cold dead hands this one this is   oh yeah yeah yeah no it never yeah never getting  rid of this yeah my wife says I would be sitting   out in a tent in the middle of a field with just  this guitar and one last can of beans at the end   of the world same dimensions same size but as  per our conversation earlier and there we go   see in double yep now that's the the first clone  that they've made since I've had the guitar   and this is a 2019 and it's lighter you can  tell immediately yeah it's not as heavy which   I like I don't mind that event tops maybe a little  wider it's a little wider a little more feathery   um but they got kind of the bear claw spot right  in the center yeah and they got that next spot   they did it yelled that they got the little bang  um and man it sounds fantastic uh you even got   the little tan line under the card and then back  here by the you know these little yeah dimples and   dots most impressive to me is the neck profile  which you know gives them laser scans now so   it's it's accurate I mean we scan everything now  yeah anytime we get an original example top carb   neck profile and we just have a lot of all that  stuff and yeah it's not close it's it's exactly   the same yeah it's it's shocking the kind of stuff  that they're doing when does this one come out   this is when you can't hand carry the real thing  exactly and you just want to stick it in the in   the vault right send it down the road yeah or you  know if I'm flying somewhere and I don't want to   get in a seat next to me because that one has  to get a CD to fly but you know there's really   I mean this guitar even if I didn't have the  original uh would be an Incredibles Paul it   sounds fantastic and through you know a big amp  the the little high end that you need to hear on   the old pafs is there that kind of sparkling what  do you think about the new custom buckers it's   great you know I think uh they sound as accurate  as any humbuckers that I've heard to the original   unpotting I think not not dipping them makes a it  might not be for everyone because they will feed   back oh you squeal and they do everything they're  real yes you put a lot of gain on them if you're   playing Super heavy music you're going to want  potted humbuckers I would imagine yeah um but I   like that extra little bit of top and if you got a  pretty long cable you'll be all right don't stand   too close to the Marshall very excited to see this  in person this is a recent yeah recent acquisition   acquisition I got it last year we were going over  to Europe we had scheduled a couple European tours   that got canceled because the pandemic and we were  headed over there and I was just looking around   at guitars and in Germany uh at Guitar point I  found one of the I guess originally there were six   right maybe six I think there's five left that I  can that I can actually track down in place um but   they're black beauties but they're done in red and  The Story Goes that they were made for hagstrom   in Sweden there it is Isn't that cool yeah so  hagstrom had uh they ordered a half a dozen   Factory red Les Paul Customs to sell in their  Swedish shop so it matched their hagstrum red   and this is one of those and I think it  had remained in Europe from 1960 until   I brought it home a couple months ago I don't  think it had ever been back in the States wow   Frets he had new Frets I made him do that before  they even brought my friends yeah it was not those   uh those fretless wonderful because I always play  them even something that's as rare and strange as   that I I'm gonna use it man that is so cool isn't  that now tell me I mean was a three pickup custom   on your list obviously a red one probably wasn't  on your own no it was but like that out of phase   thing is that something you were going after  not really I just you know I saw it online   and I thought man that's about the coolest thing  I've ever seen thanks to modern technology I was   able to find a couple of videos uh you know people  demonstrating this particularly to the guitar and   what really got me other than just the Rarity of  it was that neck pickup like we were talking about   earlier the neck on this thing it sounds so bright  and so clear and there's no mud to it yeah out   of facing is cool I mean if you want a satellite  Leo from The Meters you know or it does that yeah   if you're playing like no vibrato it's just this  funky you can possibly get it's good for that or   maybe like teeny Hodges or something you know yeah  I mean that's really all you need look at the look   at it man it's not terribly heavy either I mean  it's probably 10 pounds but it's not it doesn't   hurt and it's got some there's one crack you know  right here where the ears and fits real well yeah   and then it's got some scratches back here but  for the most part it's in really good shape   and as they say fine enough go find  another one man all that Gold Hardware   and with the black plastic the red just looks  really badass yeah round case a brown case four   latch another Gibson guitar this one is assuming  something gold isn't it I think it is yeah   look at this guy oh with the Bixby with the Bigsby  so this is 53 uh that Larry Craig put the Bixby   on look at the dish on that thing yeah I know  that's got a top card it's got a good top car   and look where Larry had to put this bridge to  get that angle right it is dead set against the   top of that guitar so he did this one used to  belong to Jason at uh fretboard Journal yeah   and he did a piece on Larry and talked Larry into  putting the bridge on there putting the Bixby on   but there's some things that have been replaced I  think the pickup covers have been replaced on this   one of course the tuners but all the electronics  are are what they originally were and it's just   green green is what you want to see you can feel  this so you can actually feel the texture of the   check that is so deep the most ASMR yeah like  just that the sound of your fingernails on it   makes me so happy that's great when do you  go P90s um I play this guitar a lot actually   a whole lot this one gets a lot of use in the  studio when I want something that sounds like   it is impossible to completely control um this  neck P90 I love because it is so stratty I mean   most people don't realize that this is what the  another brick and wall solo is one of these yeah   um so you can put some compression and a little  tiny bit of EQ on this and make it sound like any   guitar on Earth you can go from you know making  it sound like a jazz box to making it sound like   a Les Paul neck to making it sound like a strat  and this right here is just uh you know it's it's   it's Oozy of British pickups it's just murder yeah  right in the middle of your forehead yes you know   which was the Bixby works great I believe that  because this bridge is so low to the body that   you're getting more vibration transferred from  the strings into the top of this guitar and one   thing about the neck on these that flat I'm sure  you've probably held a lot of these but it's it   plays like a damn Ibanez or something it's so  fast you know these aren't the original Frets   but they're smaller correct yeah and man you can  really fly you can play really fast on this guitar   um but this one also goes on every tour probably  my favorite tones on the new record uh that's   going to be out in the summer I got with this  guitar through I would split the Tweed twin and   the blues breaker and then rhyme like a fuzz and  then and then turn I would turn the volume way   down and get on that neck pickup and it's just the  brightest sparkliest you know and then you barely   move the volume up and it goes Havoc it's it's  noise and just general destruction which I I love   plus man nothing looks cooler than that and a  greened out gold top I know I think that's my   wife's favorite is the the gold tops that have  oxidized because it just I mean what looks more   rock and roll than that you can see where somebody  sweated into that thing yeah and it's like the   the top of those old Roman buildings you know  that have turned green over the years it's like   the history carve yeah see the poker chips it  won't lay flat yeah lay flat because there's so   much dish on the top man that's killer yeah I  really love this guitar how obsessed with this   stuff are you are you like the rest of us that  are up on your phone all night oh yeah stuff   and you're that obsessed oh yeah yeah yeah yeah  I think so because my area of interest is wide   I don't have one particular type of guitar that I  love or or uh you know brand or model or whatever   um I don't know as much about the details  of each specific uh instrument and I don't   know a lot about Electronics I couldn't build a  guitar or you know wire one up or work on an amp   or anything like that but uh for the things that  I like yeah I still it had it's gotten worse you   know because when I was a kid I would spend all  this time playing and and tweaking you know now   that I'm older and I do this for a living  and I can afford the tools that I dreamed   about when I was a kid I'm more obsessed with  it now than I was when I was 15 or 16 years old   um yeah it's it's uh it's it's pretty bad well how  does it work then do you have like a hit list that   what what you're going after or do things just  kind of present themselves to you I have like a   loose we have a loose next five list you know how  like when you're a kid and you you're looking for   a specific toy you're going through your toy box  and before you ever find it you find something   else and you're like oh forget out about this  I think I'm gonna play with this for a while   it's like that I'll go looking for something and  then I'll usually find something before I get to   it anytime I've been in the studio and thought  you know what would sound really good on this   is a you know gold type of P90s or or a Firebird  Bridge pickup or something you know and then I'll   think that's what I need so that'll go on the  list and gradually I'll accumulate everything   where when I have an idea I just reach for  a case as a songwriter are there songs in   certain guitars have you ever picked up a guitar  and the song came out because of the guitar you   were playing if a guitar suits you personally as a  as a guitar player it I think will uh inspire you   you know because the trick about songs is the  longer you the the more time you spend being aware   uh the the more songs you're gonna write whether  it's aware of chord changes or or melodic things   or or you know lyrical you know if you're sitting  here noticing everything that's the job really of   a songwriter first you learn how to you know the  rules of how to rhyme and how to make language   work to solve the puzzle of what you're trying  to express but then after that your job is just   to stay open and stay aware and there are certain  guitars that you just want to sit there and play   longer than others and I think those are the  ones that really inspire you to to write and   you could say that they have songs in them I  think they have love and I think they're the   kind of guitarists that you know either you love  them or someone else has for a long time if it's   a vintage instrument and you can tell you know  and you can't always tell by the ones that are   the most beat up which you know sometimes a super  clean you know like I recently played a pre-war   D20 8 that was just clean as a whistle extremely  valuable guitar and I sat down and played a chord   and it sounded dead as a hammer you know no good  no good and it was like well somebody liked this   which I admired this guitar but no one has loved  this guitar you can tell sometimes it's just with   a new one too you know you can tell that there's  love there and if you love it then you'd rather   be playing the guitar than anything else and if  you're a songwriter that's the best place to be   because when you're sitting around just messing  around like I did it last night you know I just   sat around and noodled until I found something  that you know and then I hit record on my phone   and later I'll go back and put lyrics to it you  know if you're sitting down to write do you tend   to reach for electric or an acoustic or is it  whatever is around I do both you know I don't   write much on like the extremely expensive guitars  because it takes about five minutes to put them   on and take them back off and they have to go back  in the case and the case has to be closed you know   um but it's probably about half and half because  if I'm trying to write big rock riff you know I   want I want Les Paul or a Telly or something so  I can really dig in and I'll come out here and   turn an amp up really really loud and plug it in  when there's nobody else in the barn and then I'll   write that way the problem with riding on electric  guitar is you start having fun and forget that   you're supposed to be right in the summer yeah and  like I'll be playing you know Jimmy Page riffs for   three hours and damn it I gotta get back to this  145 song that I'm working on yeah this is probably   not the original case this looks like a like  what 70s case yeah yeah and I don't think I have   any 70s strengths so this is fine though I see  what's in there oh yeah custom color alert the car   1965 candy apple red Fender Telecaster   um this is a really good guitar um it has been  played it's got some Rust there and you can see   where it's worn through I love how many kogas  yeah you got silver and gold yeah silver and   gold powder and the white primer yeah I love  how many coats it took them I mean it seems   like they were always messing with that candy  apple only apple red almost every single year   looks it's something different yeah yeah but this  guitar sounds so good there's some accidents with   this guitar so notice that bridge pickup how flat  pulpies is holes are well apparently what happened   I didn't realize this until uh that pickup started  to come Unwound and we took it in to Tim Shaw and   Tim said somebody who had been used to playing  Black guards just hammered those poles down yeah   because I guess the G and the D were too loud for  him or something or they just like the look of   it and wanted it to you know so it pushed the  plate at the bottom of the pickup down it was   not supposed to be there so the base plate came  loose and eventually over the years it unwell   the pickup something about the potting on this was  not complete so this pickup was potted like dipped   quickly but then they didn't complete the process  somehow so it's extremely microphonic so if you do   this with this plugged in I mean I could just talk  like it's a microphone I love that sound because I   don't hit the fit guard with the pick a whole lot  and there's something about that kind of filter   Tron type of sound to it that I really really  like this you know 65 there was some meat right   here that shelf yeah yeah and I like that I like  the thickness of that and it plays great I've used   that on a bunch of Records that's pretty much the  only guitar only Telecaster that I played on the   high women record all that country guitar was on  on this guy well it's great the green guard on the   custom color is great but the red doll transition  everything else yep Pearl dots Pearl dots and the   transition logo and the green guard and I have a  I have a strat too that's the same it's got the   green guard too much harder to find the 65 strap  with the green guard because they'd switch those   over to White probably due to selling a whole  bunch of strats but custom colors something that   you go after in particular is it just the sound of  the guitar if you got if you spend a million buy   one you want something a little more special than  yeah blonde or something and it's not just because   it's a custom color but it's because when I was  growing up in the 80s and 90s you know you could   get whatever guitar whatever color you wanted  I like red guitars you know and I like vintage   guitars I don't necessarily like vintage red  guitars yeah I just like I want a red Telecaster   but I want it to sound like this well you're gonna  have to get a custom code good one yeah it's a   nice little Tweed case yeah that's a good looking  still nice and wackered see what we got in here   oh yeah oh yeah that's a good one 1558 but with  uh late 57 specs so like got the two-tone Sunburst   body yeah and then the V and the neck check  out the neck it's kind of a soft v so for all   intents and purposes it is in 1957 strap but sold  and shipped in 58. Alder body we got three piece   and this one I went ahead and had the five-way  because this this position on this guitar is   Magic yeah the two and four seem to be my favorite  Strat positions especially on a maple board yeah a   maple board strap now if I got a slab board I'll  stay here all night long because yeah just see   it's been on a maple Strat I like those in between  spots so tell me the difference you said you got a   maple neck you got a slap board and you got a land  board yep what what's the maple neck come out for   um this is stuff that's like more delicate  you know clean tone yeah things like I have   some songs that have like similar to knoffler you  know things on the record that I would use like a   a 64 Vibra verb and like a Roland Jazz chorus you  know just to get a very clean very bright you know   compressed sort of Stratus out so if I'm playing  something clean and I want it to sound like salt   was a swing I'll play I'll play this you know  the slab board comes out for your traditional   rocks sounds yeah and the veneer does a real  good Hendrix the veneer throw Marshall I think   and I you know some people have argued with me on  this point and I mean this in a very particular   way this is not going to apply to everybody but  for certain Strat players the Mabel fingerboard   is less forgiving than a slab and I don't mean  if you're missing notes I mean if you're attack   you're timing and the amount of pressure you're  putting on the fretboard is not exactly perfect   you'll hear on a maple board yeah Strat or or  Telecaster you'll hear everything you're doing you   know another veneer I think uh that you're getting  a very similar tone a lot of those because it's   so thin that the tang in the Frets actually going  into the baby boy you're not even really touching   the board you're just you're playing a maple  neck strap for the most part but yeah this one   I just it's it's light very lightweight and the  neck is very much a 50s yeah that's a 50s strap   clean again though too man I mean yeah that Strat  you could do that in the weekend of rehearsal   hospital or so I mean yeah that's a clean guitar  I like them that you know don't look like they   already belong to somebody else even though they  did I don't want them to be somebody else's soul   mate yeah I'd like to try to kind of make my own  soul Vegas or the new stuff is this close to the   old stuff in terms of playability the price is  massively different on stage it's it's really not   changing too much about how you're attacking  the song For Those people out there who are   you know how could you pay that much  money for a guitar how do you justify   the spend if you know the new stuff is pretty  pretty damn close yeah it's it's silly I know   it's silly um but I love it I love the old  stuff you know it inspires me uh to play more   you know I think well man I've got a you know a  64 Firebird in there and I need to go play that   that'll be fun you know and so I play more guitar  because I have the old thing they don't need   vintage guitars nobody really truly needs vintage  guitars but you know I heard Vince Gill say one   time like I don't like boats you know I don't need  a bunch of houses I like guitars and you know I've   made a good living playing the guitar so I'm gonna  buy the guitars the guitar player in me cannot   afford the vintage guitars because there are a  lot of guitar players on this street you know   that that can probably eat me for lunch but um the  songwriter and record label owner uh in me buys   these guitars and gives them to the guitar player  in me as gifts uh because they're just fun and you   know you kind of have to look at it like art if  you're the kind of person who who would buy like   a Liechtenstein and hang it up on your wall in  your house and look at it and be happy that that   you have it there to see and not a recreation of  it and you know you're gonna look at it every day   until you die and then you're going to pass it on  to your children and it's going to be worth more   when they get it it makes more sense but no as far  as a guitar player like I can make a living with   you know one acoustic and one electric guitar and  neither one of them would have to cost more than   two or three thousand dollars really have you ever  bought something purely for the collection or does   everything have to have a purpose and a function  in order for you to do it you know I've got like a   some guitars that belong to people who you know  were friends of mine who might have passed away   or something that I got from them so I could have  one of their guitars you know if it was something   with a personal connection like that then the  actual usability of the instrument doesn't really   come into play but if I'm just going to a to a  shop uh or to somebody's house or something to   buy a guitar it's got to be something that I can  that I can keep in tune and play and make a sound   that helps me to make a song happen because it's  not like baseball cards because you know I I'm not   just putting them away it's it's something that  I've actually taken out and using yeah which is   great because that most of my guitars are always  set up well you know I put Frets on everything   as soon as I get it I've got fret gauges that I  like specifically so after I'm gone people will   be able to verify you know well this does have  his particular front gauge on it if they care   about that sort of thing as soon as I get one I  send it to Nick at Glazer shop and he puts Frets   on it and you know and then it's really mine once  I get it and it's it's more playable you know or   if it's got some kind of janky ass Bridge you know  I'll get them to put a bridge on anytime somebody   asks me like you know what's the most important  thing about buying a guitar or if they're not a   a guitar collector or somebody who's played for a  long time get it set up spend the extra 50 bucks   and get it professionally set up because I mean  how many people you know didn't have that option   in the 50s and 60s and thought you know this Les  Paul Junior's a terrible guitar because it's you   know you get up here and you know it Frets out you  can't even hear the Nutley it's not set up right   the Frets aren't level you know the intonation's  off and and a lot of those I think that's where   the real magic happens for me for a guitar that  somebody else might not have realized that it was   a good guitar so that put it under the bed for  30 or 40 years all right yeah look at that guy still got the Halo for this 53 53 53 oh with this  receipt uh-huh original sales receipt from Kansas   234. 234 four cents yeah what's his name Bob  Russell Bob Connor Bob Connor in Russell Kansas   bought it in 54 it's a 53 but he bought it in 54.  229.45 plus 459 in tax yeah oh yeah born at the   wrong time I know man most of this is me really  yeah when I got this one it had the the head and I   mean the neck and the body had never been separate  yeah and uh so it's still these screws still stuck   way up and the neck the Frets were tiny you know  for playing for the wound third and just playing   Cowboy jazz and I mean it is it is cleans a  whistle flip this back tell me about this guy   here flat pole piece the flat pole um a lot of  people did different things to try to make these   two strings sound a little bit louder especially  the G I think Roy Buchanan would put like a nickel   underneath that screw to try to get it a little  bit hotter but um you know Laurel George would   take the flat poles out of Black Guard tellys  and put them on his strats to play slide guitar   on because they just have a real warm treble and  there's a sting to it there's a lot of like it's a   lot but it never hurts to me it's like a Velvet  Ice pickle those plat poles but yeah this one   stood out the old wiring uh and you can find that  position but it's out of phase so it is so it's a   talk about a quacker yeah these two together  are out of phase I mean do you ever use this   position with the cap does that have something  I've used it for one thing I'll put on like a uh   silicone fuzz and uh play it with no vibrato and  you can make it sound like a Nord lead it's it's   a really which is obviously what Leo had exactly  he's like how are we gonna make this sound like   a like a single wave synth but I love the neck on  this it's a it's a little bit fatter than most 53s   that's great though it's not comfortable and  simply big that's like uh that's yeah it's comfy   yeah that's my favorite so Frets fret's pretty  much the only thing on this and that's that's all   that's all Jason that's all me man when I got it  it was just squeaky clean and uh it's unforgiving   uh but man if you want to play you know country  guitar or if you want to sound like Keith Richards   uh it's just there's really no substitute for  the mixer Telecaster mix of Phillips head and   Flathead yeah there's a transitioning love  that I think this is my favorite Fender guitar   here we go there we go there it is it is yes the  1960 slab board slab board finished Stratocaster   this one I've used on a bunch of stuff this is  the overseas guitar tone which I'm very proud of   because even my seven-year-old daughter one day  in the car we heard comfortably numb and I said   what does this sound remind you of and she said  she it reminds me of overseas and I was like yes   curse of that's parenting that is kind of very  high level right now that she even knows that   right yeah yeah that's great now is it that an  original two-tone or did it just lose the red   I think it lost the red I'm not sure there's no  way for me to be positive somebody could probably   tell me but there's no red anywhere so because  I've seen two-tone yeah there's exploding around   with the with the 59 back it looks like a little  bit might have faded look yeah but this is a 60   everything's original except the fritz and the  switch and this tuner a little shinier than the   rest yeah it doesn't have the single low line  so no line I don't know what happened there I   love this guitar this one plays so well and so  easily and it does everything you want a strat   to do these in terms of strats this is your rocker  yeah this is the slab board is the rock yeah if I   want to sound like you know Hendrix or Stevie Ray  Vaughan or that's yeah that's great love the clay   dots it bends really well and you know it's not  related I think so I did not do it when I got it   it was like that and I said somebody put a snark  on that sticker right there saying for yours take   the damn snark off when you untuned and let us  be a lesson let this be a lesson to you yeah put   it down there on the end right down there on the  ball yeah great way too yeah killer yeah that's a   that's a special Strat that one how many did you  go through before you found this thing I played   a bunch of them and it it I had you know this is  the first like old strap that I bought um you know   that had reissues and stuff and had some in the  90s with like lace sensors and all kinds of stuff   when I was a kid when I was a teenager but it came  down to two 60 strats both the same year both very   very similar uh both were all stuck this one had  original Frets on it when I got it and it just   seemed to vibrate a little bit more you  know it's like when you put your finger here   oh look at that you just sail it alive you  know which with a bolt on the guitar I mean   I'm Amazed by the fact that you know Fender was  able to keep those vibrations transferring was   basically a modular instrument you know but yeah  this is just a stratiest strat that I have where'd   this come from this came from Carter also so  you can see in a pattern here I know I like   those Carters Man Hunter and Christy they have  good stuff in there and they're good folks and   and they're also good at convincing me I need  another guitar what's still out there what are   you looking for right now give me give me your top  three on your list that that you'd really like to   track down you know at some point I want a good  pre-war Dreadnought I don't have a Rickenbacker   you know I could stand a good weird like rose  Morris Rickenbacker or something off yeah to   see you as like a Karina Flying V kind of guy I  know right I know I know yeah and I mean the way   they sound is just it's undeniable um and I love  the the Karina you know 5859 guitars because it's   kind of like it's a testament to how good a work  they were doing at Gibson then because it's like   you know everybody's making fun in Gibson's it's  a trade show for looking like old man guitars and   you know and Ted's like I'll show you you know I'm  gonna make something that will be too futuristic   for anybody to ever and then it just changed what  rock and roll looked like and sounded like forever   but the trick is they sound so good and they and  how did that happen you know when you're making   a spike guitar yeah you're making a wedge-shaped  guitar out of anger and frustration you managed   to put it together exactly right for it to sound  as good as any electric guitar has ever sounded   that that to me is is the miracle of the Flying  V somebody asks you to come sit in for one sock   you're just gonna bring one guitar what guitar  would you bring probably 335 335 yeah recently   we did a show up here at just a little restaurant  bar and in the neighborhood and uh I had you know   I just wanted to play one I brought a bunch  of guitars for other people to play like I   brought the old gold top and a little Strat and  stuff from my friends to play but for me I just   played 335 all night with the blues breaker and  the rangemaster and use my volume knobs and you   can you know you can do any style anything  and it plays so easy that 61 neck you know   it's kind of flat yeah it's it's wide enough but  it's also narrow this way you know thin and wide   and you can do anything with it I know what this  is there's only one thing that can be in the skin this is oh it's so heavy probably about  the same year as that Martin I'm not sure   looks like mid-30s to me so is this just a single  car single cone with the palm tree so this is what   style three yeah I think coming out of the game  on these I uh this was I got this from Joe Blazer   and I don't know it is what it is round neck knots  neck yeah I don't think it ever was a square neck   Hawaiian guitar when does this come out you know I  use that in the studio a bunch one of my favorite   things obviously I play slide on it um but not  like traditional Delta style slide I'll play slide   on it in standard tuning and do something real  melodic but what I really like to do is double   a flat top acoustic with this on a recording you  know very often it's just Rhythm Parts yeah yeah   just the rhythm parts or if I'm finger picking  I'll double that just to make it sound a little   bit broader and different now do that sometimes  with like a Nashville tuned guitar also you know   to get that higher up and that sounds almost like  a 12 string but then when you've got them send a   little bit Yeah and this one just adds a really  nice color to things and it's it's so clean this   is one that like and I have an appreciation for  this when you when you're not a guitar player   and you're not a guitar collector this one will  blow your mind more than anything this jumps off   though you've seen this and you're like that's the  coolest guitar I've ever seen and it kind of is I   can't really argue with them you know now I mean  are you real big into these this will do it or do   you are you lusting after a tricone or do you no  this will do it for me this is enough yeah this is   to do that thing this is fine for me I just need  something that has that one sound that you can't   really get any other way I don't have a case for  this guy oh white Falcon this is a white Falcon   Baldwin era so you got the zero fret yeah and uh  steri Q curly q Bigsby which I love big XP this   is a weird guitar but I'll tell you what's really  cool about it on my 40th birthday my wife threw me   a uh 40th birthday party here in the barn and John  Prine came and brought me this no you know what he   brought me he brought me that dobro this one was  John's and Amanda got it from him to give me for   Father's Day the year before when I was my second  Father's Day um so this was John prine's guitar   and he told me he would get up in the morning uh  coffee made him too jittery so he would get up   and plug this guitar into an amplifier and turn it  way up and just hit one big G chord and Jimmy's a   wiggle stick and that would wake him up just like  a cup of coffee in the morning yeah so every time   I see this I think about John I think about John  a lot but I'm very proud to have this and I mean   it is cool look at that crazy glitter binding  love the sparkle pie yeah tell me about filter   tribes what what do you dig about the filter Tron  pickup uh you know I really like the way that it   it's the Fidelity of it it makes it sound like  you're plugged into an amp and also have a mic   on the attack guitar so you can get that attack  you know and then I noticed I've got another   one too that I'll show you in a minute but um I  noticed when I was recording RCA uh in the B room   the older the old room that it's there's a lot of  hum in there and I couldn't get it out even with   like power conditioners even using amp modelers I  could not get that hum out but as soon as I played   a grinch it was quiet and I thought man this  is one Chad Atkins loved graduate pickup was so   much because he spent all his room yeah but it's  just a beautiful guitar this is not the original   case this is the original 1959 Alpine series gig  bag now this is oh they're really good just jet   Firebird 59 belonged to Dave Kopp Dave gave it to  me what he did was we're in Macon Southeastern he   told me I played this guitar through this little  he's got a dumbled deluxe space then I played all   the slide guitar on southeastern so covered me  up and all that slide was on this guitar through   that little amp and Dave said If This Record  sells x amount of copies I don't remember how   many said he said I'll give you that Gretch and  neither one of us thought that that would happen   and then it did so they they good they made  good he gave me this guitar but I think this   was one when gretz was doing the custom shop uh I  think they borrowed this guitar from Dave to spec   it out for some of their those paf filter trons I  believe they are yep hadn't applied for him early   stuff yeah I've seen you with this a lot this  guitar has gotten a lot I love this guitar it   sounds really really good it's quiet when you're  not playing it and it just has a great attack   um you know that bridge pickup is nice and  bright and you can get a lot of expression out   of it especially when you're playing slide and you  know it's temperamental um a lot of these gretches   I think my my take Michael asked somebody who  had worked there in the late 50s why so many of   these guitars are just exemplary and then some of  them are complete dots well some days we had good   drugs and some days we didn't you know so this is  one of the good drugs guitars yeah you ever use   the stone circuit it stays in the middle it stays  out of the way yeah not sure what those bad drugs   when they've that's a bad drug tone circuit yeah  but I love the bridge with the rollers yeah that's   so cool looking and this Bixby the action on that  is just perfect it sits in a perfect spot for me   yeah you can really make some plus it just looks  so cool yeah I think I like red guitars I never   made that as a conscious decision but I've seen  quite a red guitars and I like how the next one on   this one too that's great Dave Cobb comes through  again Dave man Dave definitely hooked me up in a   lot of ways and I love the checking on this I  said rock and roll guitar killer guitar thank   you Dave Chase I want to thank you for having us  out to the barn man this has been a lot of fun I'm   really glad we got to do it I'm glad we did too  thanks for coming mark it was uh you know I don't   get the opportunity to talk about my guitars as  much as I'd like because most people just walk off   the pathways to the power station so I'll stick  her out for it now I appreciate you having us out   man we'll look for you on the road all right so  yep the summer I'll be coming all right hey till   next time I'm Mark agnesi for Gibson TV see you on  the next episode of The Collection peace [Music]

Channel: Gibson TV

Views: 370,873

Keywords: Gibson, Gibson 2023, Gibson TV, gibson guitars, Jason Isbell, Jason Isbell 400 Unit, Jason Isbell Rig Rundown, Normans Rare Guitars, Rig Rundown, Guitar of the Day, Trogly, Music is Win, Rick Beato, Marty Music, Jason Isbell Live, Jason Isbell 2023, Barbie Movie, Jason Isbell Documentary, Anderton’s, Casino Guitars, John Mayer 2023, Jason isbell interview

Id: jI6bYgx4sVE

Length: 76min 26sec (4586 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 10 2023