知識は力なり Knowledge Is Power !

きょうはビンテージギター好き向きの話題。

以前にも触れたが、ディーク・ディッカーソンというとっても器用なギタリストがいる。ロカビリー・カントリー・サーフィン・エレキインストまで幅広くプレイするとても貴重な存在でステージでもビンテージギターやアンプを使い、彼のステージは本当にまるでその当時にタイムスリップした気分に浸らせてくれる。

毎年１月に南カリフォルニアで、ギター・ギーク・フェスティバルというホテルのボールルームでの小さなコンサートを開いてきた。１月は同じ週末にギタートレーダーのショーやアンティーク玩具のショーが近隣であるので私もほぼ毎年顔を出してきた。ゲストのミュージシャンも昔のギター音楽の好きな人にはすごい顔ぶれで、これまでDuan Eddy、Nokie Edwards をはじめ、サーフインストので有名な　Safaris、Chantays Belairsなどのメンバーが参加している。

As already stated in my blog, Deke Dickerson is one of my favorite guitarists, He plays every kind of old music -- rockabilly, country music, surfing music and more. He always plays such nostalgic music with vintage guitars and equipments on his stage. It makes me slip back in time to 50's or 60's era. So he is the time machine for old music fans. Every January he's held Deke's Guitar Festival in Southern California, in which a lot of famous old style music players and bands get together at some kind like a  ball room of small hotel and play his historical songs, 

So far I have seen Duane Eddy, Nokie Edwards of the Ventures, Safaris, Chantays, Belaires and more--those who are remembered in guitar music history.

(↑写真右Duan Eddy　左Deke Dickerson) 

ライブと言ってもなにぶん、大きなパーティーのようなのでこんな感じで一緒話を聞いたりできるアットホームな催しもので、毎年とても楽しみにしていたが、ちょっと昨今人気が出てしまって大人数の観客を収容しきれなくなり、今年で終わりと言うことで。毎年の楽しみがなくなってとても残念！

We can see such big names right in front of our eyes due to being in such a small room -- just as if we were in someone's home party, Unfortunately It's a shame that this year was the last one and no festival won't be held any more because it got too popular year by year and the ball room is too small for a lot of audience to have the concert.

（↑写真中央・ディーク・ディッカーソン）( fron the left Jim- my pal, Deke, Me)

(By the way Jim has ever won the prize of Electric Guitar in the Festival twice in a row ! - Lucky guy !) 

そんな彼が「屋根裏のストラト　～ギター考古学のおもしろいお話～」　という本を書いた。

Well, get into the main issue, recently Deke wrote the book called "The Strat In The Attic - Thrilling Stories of Guitar Archaeology -

 

これがなかなか面白い本で、特定なビンテージギターにまつわるエピソードが各章ごとに書かれている。

This book is pretty good for vintage guitar maniacs.  In each chapter he describes unknown episode of one particular old guitar and very story is so interesting. 

Now I am going to introduce one story from the book titled " Knowledge is Power"

ひとつご紹介しよう。 

「知識は力なり」というこの章。

 

ある南カリフォルニア在住のギター商でもありリペアマンでもあるSoest氏が、家族と一緒に休暇旅行中にサンタバーバラにあるさびれたギター店で、へんてこな古くさい黒いギターを見つける。店主は、「モズライトのようだが、誰かがまねして作ろうとしたジャンク品だから90ドルでいいよ。」とのこと。ヘッドの形状はMなどのマットがなく、真っ平ら、ロゴもないが、ネックはセットネックでボディにバインディングがあり、テイルピースの下部にVibramuteと書いてあり後に世に出る初期のベンチャーズモデルと似ている部分がとても多かったので、コイツはもしかしたら・・・と思い、とりあえず90ドルを払い持ち帰る。

 

その後、Soest氏は直接モズライト社創業者のセミーモズレーにあって確認するとまちがいなくこれは彼がこの独特のボディ形状のモデルを考案した当初のモノで、Standel社というギターアンプの会社に納めたものとのこと。当時セミーモズレーは地元の若者を工員として採用して単純作業をさせていたが、ある若者が勝手にギターヘッドの材の先端をまとめて寸法を誤ってカットしてしまったらしい。セミーはそれらをゴミにするほど余裕がなかったのでしかたなくそのままギターを作り、ちょっと短くて平らなギターを作り納入したらしい。

Steve Soest who owns a guitar store and also is a repair man, once stopped by a small rustic guitar shop in Santa Barbara on the way back his home when he was on vacation with his family. He found out a primitive black guitar on the wall and it looked just like a Mosrite ventures Model . It was crudely made but was definitely old. The shop owner said to him "Maybe someone tried to build up one in the image of Mosrite,  I can do $90 if you want "   

The guitar was bound and had the input jack on the side of the body just like the earliest Ventures Model from 1963.　The neck was glued in and not bolted on, which was also early Mosrite feature., above all the tail piece said "Vibramute" - The most peculiar point of The ventures Model ! 

Steve bought it for $90 and took it home with him. 

He eventually showed it to Semie Mosley, the founder of Mosrite Guitars and he confirmed it was the earliest prototype Ventures model which was made for Standel Company when he invented the iconic body shape at the tin shed in Bakersfield. At that time he and his bro Andy lived there and just barely scraping by in the guitar business. Semie also said he often enlist local teenagers to work on guitars , mostly doing the grunt work he didn't want to do. One day a young employee cut the tops off the headstocks of a dozen guitars before Semi caught him. During those lean early years Semie couldn't afford to scrap the guitars and he simply finished them and sold with the odd saw-off flat head stock shape!

（↑そのギターとセミーモズレーの写真）

 

そのギターが下の写真上の黒いやつ、下のサンバーストのモデルがその後に量産開始された初期のベンチャーズモデル。ボディシェイプやトップのジャーマンカーブ、バインディングなどもパーツもほぼ踏襲されたのもわかるが、なるほどヘッドの先端が寸法足らずで仕方なく真っ直ぐにカットされたのがよくわかる。（写真の縮尺が一緒でないのでわかりづらいが３～４弦のペグから先端までの距離を見るとよくわかる）

Take a look at the photo below.

The black one is the exact one Steve bought.. Sunburst one below is early production model sold as the Ventures Model in 1963. You can recognize those 2 are so similar in shape and some parts on body top. And Watch the headstock shape ! Later one's headstock was long and has been cut at a slant with M-shaped cut on top. The black one was saw off straightly  - just flat head. 

Two guitars photos were taken by different scale size though, you can see the length from upper pegs to the end of the headstock was unequal - I mean the black one was shorter than later one. 

The prototype has the vibramute made of Aluminum which we can rarely find out in very early prototype of 63 Model. Control knobs has a letter "G" on top which were supplied by Guild. In fact Semie had some order from Guild and later Guild has cancelled it after he had already put the Guild name on Vibramute plate top. So he filed away the Guild name with some machine and didn't scrap them again and he re-used. The black one has it, Later model below has the letter "Mosrite" on top of the plate - but nothing on top for upper black one. You may notice a vestige Semie tried to get off the letters if you have good eyes. 

バイブラミュート、ブリッジはアルミで後の進化したプロトタイプと同じである。コントロールノブもGマークの入ったギルド社のもの。そういえばバイブラミュートの黒い部分もギルド社からキャンセルになって仕方なく削って黒くしたままだ。

かくして世界で唯一の歴史的なギターをたった９０ドルで売ってしまったサンタバーバラのギター店主。Soest氏はたっぷり儲けて売りさばき、また誰かがこのギターを買い、そしてまた売り、値は上がり　はるか東方の島、ジパングに渡っていくのでありました。ー　実はこのギター、私も一度　現物を見ている。その後、高くなったこのギターは日本のあるビンテージギターショップに買われ　その時、実際に私も見せてもらった。　ー　

 

まさに「知識は力なり」ということ？　それにしても　サンタバーバラのギター店主は後で知ったのだろうか？知らなければまさに「知らぬが仏」ってとこだね。

Now the story ends. The local guitar shop owner who sold "the one and only in the world" at only 90 bucks. This rare one eventually found  a buyer in Japan - I know who bought it. andI actually have seen it in front of my eyes, the last buyer must have paid a lot for that. 

Steve and eagle-eyed dealers made a considerable profit !   There's no doubt - "Knowledge is Power! "

In the meantime I was wondering the local guitar shop owner lately knew it was the one-of-a-kind guitar... 

If he didn't...  Ignorance is bliss,  happy ignorance !