www.1001TopWords.com |
Solid-Bodied Gretsch Corvette Guitar
The Solid-bodied Corvette (not to be confused with the Corvette hollow-body arch-top electric, produced from 1955-1959) was Gretsch's answer to the Les Paul Jr. by Gibson. Introduced in 1961, the Corvette Solid-body was a small, light-weight, comfortable electric guitar that was just right for the budding musician. This killer guitar, with a solid mahogany body, solid mahogany set neck, and a rosewood fret board with pearl dots, originally came with a single HI-Lo 'Tron pickup. The earliest examples had a trapeze tailpiece. By 1963, the Corvette was sporting a Burns' flat-arm vibrato tailpiece. (Yes! That Burns! Good old Jim Burns from England), and came with a choice of either one or two of those Hi-Lo 'Tron pickups. By mid-1963 to 1964, Gretsch changed the standard 3/3 headstock (3 tuners on each side) to a scooby-rific 4/2 headstock design (4 tuning keys on one side, two on the other). Most Corvettes were finished in "cherry" red mahogany and had black pick guards. Some came with red and white striped pick guards and a more opaque red finish to the body. This version is known as the "Twist" model. Early Corvettes were also available in platinum gray finish with black pick guards, but this color was officially discontinued in 1963. Also in 1963, Gretsch started beveling the edges of the guitar's body and sharpened the cutaway points. Variations of the Gretsch Corvette were the Silver Duke (1964-66) which was sparkle silver, the Gold Duke (1964-66) - you got it - in sparkle gold, and lest we forget, the Princess (1963-64 - made for the ladies) which was available in many color combinations such as white with purple sparkles, blue with white sparkles, pink with white sparkles, and white with gold sparkles - phew! The Princess also differed from the others in that it had a Palm vibrato tailpiece rather than the Burns', gold-plated hardware in lieu of the standard nickel/chrome hardware, and a shiny belly-pad on the back. By 1968, you could no longer get single pickups on the Corvettes, the Burn's vibrato was replaced with a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece, and the HI-Lo 'Tron pickups were replaced with Super 'Tron pickups. Production of the Gretsch Corvette wound down in the early 70's. (The Corvette did make a brief reappearance from 1976 to 1978 with different specs - humbuckers, etc. It was not the same.) The Gretsch Corvette (1961-early 70's) can still give you some bang for your buck in today's vintage market. You get the vintage sound and vibe, with great playability for less than you'd pay for a Paul, Jr. Allen has 25 years of experience working with guitars and is the Vintage Guitar Pro in residence at http://www.VintageGuitarPro.com - a website for the vintage guitar enthusiast specializing in online vintage guitar appraisal. Find out more about Allen and Vintage Guitars at http://www.VintageGuitarPro.com
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Lori Nuic Sparkles A soulful vibe along with an amazing voice is what Lori Nuic is gifted with, she got the crowd grooving as she performed at Launch Pad at the Cameron House for the first time. Silent Discos! The press have reported this week that silent disco's are now the in thing, saying: Yo, is Rap Just Another Four Letter Word? Flaunting any excessive or anti-social behavior is considered brazen. When it is no longer considered brazen it is proof that it has become embedded as part of our culture. Not to say this is a good thing, after all headhunting was considered a cultural norm in some societies. The question to ask here may be, was rap ever truly a part of our culture? Will it eventually run out of steam and go the way of things like doing the twist, afro haircuts or break dancing? I for one would argue that it is not truly a part of the American cultural scene, but is a forced, twisted and contrived money machine that appeals to only the basest passions of the youth in our country. Sheet Music ? Violin and Other String Instruments The violin is a bowed stringed instrument and is the highest pitched member of the violin family. It sits along side its cousins ? the other members of the violin family - the viola, cello, and double bass. The bow of the violin is a narrow, slightly incurved stick of Pernambuco about 75 cm long, with a band of horsehair stretched from end to end of the bowstick. The violin has four strings tuned a fifth apart, to the notes g, d', a', e'': On early violins the strings were of pure gut. Today they may be of gut, gut wound with aluminum or silver, steel, or perlon. Music & Citizenship: Can Playing a Musical Instrument Help Your Child Become a Better Citizen? Disregard the popular image of rappers with their ghetto blasters, terrorizing neighborhoods with eardrum-splitting cacophony. Consider instead our delightful school bands and orchestras? and ponder on whether those students might be becoming our best future citizens. Music for Cross Cultural Accelerated Learning The Search for the Right Music Vintage Guitar Collectors Can Still Find Deals If you're a recent vintage guitar collector, the stories you've heard are true. You once could step into pawn shops or flea markets and find vintage Gibson Les Pauls and Fender Stratocasters for $50 to $100. True. These guitars now sell for thousands of dollars on Ebay and Gbase. Six Reasons to Play New Age Piano Here are six very good reasons to learn how to play piano in the New Age style: Piano on the Right-Side of the Brain Some of you may remember a book titled "Drawing on the Right-Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards. Right Hand Guitar Playing Tip This lesson can open for you a secret of high-speed guitar playing. If take the given technique for 2-3 weeks you'll feel progress in high-speed playing of complex passages. Is Your Child Struggling in School? Get Him (Or Her) Music Lessons This is counterintuitive, I know. Our natural response to seeing our child struggle is to find a way to help, not to add to the burden. If a child is struggling, why should we risk setting them up for failure in music lessons? Breathing Space in Music While most students want to know when to play certain notes and chords, it's equally important to know when not to play. For example, I had a student who knew how to improvise and play in the New Age style. What he didn't know how to do was to allow for breathing space. I tried to teach him that you don't have to play note upon note but allow for some pauses. Music for Corporate Entertainment For many years I have supplied music for and played in bands that provide music for corporate entertainment. Clients have included Audi, The Evening Standard, Sainsburys, P.C. World, Safeways, Large corporate clients at Henley and Ascot, I.T.V. and H.M. Treasury. Because of this experience I felt it would be relevant in putting down some pointers in helping clients choose the right kind of music for their particular corporate entertainment. 1959 Stratocaster Vintage Guitars Mid 1959 Stratocaster vintage guitars have a slabrosewood fingerboard with white "clay" positiondots. The fingerboard radius of this Fender guitaris 7.25". The bottom fingerboard is flat. VintageFender Stratocasters made July 1959 and afterbasically will have rosewood fingerboards. Theneck now has a very thin "D" backshape, by theend of 1959 it gets even thinner. Recording Vocals at Home Anyone who has recorded vocals to tape knows there is a difference between a heart-felt performance, and something that does not quite cut it! There are certain steps that I take to ensure that my own performances are the best I can muster. Music: Uniting Nations, Dividing Generations Cultures around the world since the beginning of time have appreciated, enjoyed, and incorporated some form of music in their everyday lives. However, just as one man's trash is another man's treasure, one man's music can often be another man's noise, and vice versa. Still, certain universal aspects of music can serve as a means of communication between two people who have little else in common. Karaoke Singing This article is designed to help anyone to enjoy karaoke and improve their singing performance whether it be as a "virgin" karaoke singer or as someone starting out on a singing career. It contains tips designed to help old hands and newbies alike achieve a better karaoke singing style. The best piece of advice is to bear in mind that one of the whole idea behind karaoke is that it doesn't matter how good(or bad) your singing is - you are singing for your own enjoyment. The people in the karaoke bar are there usually because they enjoy karaoke too, so it is not expected that you perform like the next American/Pop Idol. In fact some of the most boring karaoke nights I have been to have been spent watching a succession of pretty decent singers. If I wanted that I would go and see a show. Rabbitt Productions - Up & Coming Atlanta Producer When you think of music in Atlanta you generally think of Crunk Music but there is more to Atlanta's musical soundscape than that. Lots of young musicians in the A-Town venture off into different musical directions. One such musician/DJ/Producer is DeJuan Boyd, head of Rabbitt Productions. Piano Chords and New Age Music There are basically two ways you can compose a piece of music. The first and most traditional way is to write out the melody and then harmonize it. Some call this working from the top (as opposed to the chords on the bottom.) The second approach is where you create some kind of rhythmic harmonic pattern and improvise (or compose) the melody on top. Now, which one is best for New Age music? Playing The Violin Is For Everyone Who Loves Music Every day musical instruments enrich the lives of people around the world and continue to promote culture and art throughout every society and community, no matter what size or structure. Even those people of the world who live outside the realm of technology enjoy and use musical instruments to tell stories or entertain. Someone who has never played musical instruments but is interested in trying one has quite a selection to choose from |
© Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |