gibson barney kessel?
al
laminate or spruce? How do they sound/play? They seem somewhat more
reasonably priced that tal farlow models from the same era but also
seem quite similar (25 1/2 scale), 2 humbuckers, etc. Can a barney
kessel model get a nice jazz tone using an appopriate amp? Is there a
difference between the regular and custom models besides the inlays?
Discuss...
FDM
It was laminated maple.
I installed a tune-o-matic with nylon saddles.
It sounded basically like an ES-175, but the neck was thinner, narrower, and
had longer scalelength.
I think the real early ones (viewed from the back) have the body extending
quite a ways into the neck area.
Later versions had more neck (like an ES-335 style joint) and a shorter body
extension under the upper frets.
Mine was the latter.
It didn't sound too jazzy when I played it, but the guy I sold it to could
make it sing!
I hate when that happens.
Wolfe Axe
trim, & those cool bow tie inlays. I have one that I bought new in '65. I feel
it has a fine Jazz tone, and plays OK, but not real good. They have been
problematic for neck attachment/ straightness.
Some say they are basically a version of a 175, but I somewhat disagree.
Saw Barney play his in 1980, along with Herb Ellis, who was carrying" 'ol
Barn-- who was basically stinkin' up the joint. I told the unpleasant Mr. K.
that I had one, how he liked his. "Piece of crap" he snapped & went to the
bar to get more sloshed. Noticed he had a piece of tape covering the Gib. name.
Ah, the good old days.....
I think they can be a fine bargain at the right price & with a straight neck.
Ask Clay Moore. He recorded a great CD with one.
Think I'll play one of my amazing Barney Kessel '50's LP's.....man could he
play!
Jay Wolfe,
Jay Wolfe, direct sales-Heritage (world's largest dealer), Godin, Holland,
Wechter, vintage & pre-owned guitars. Specializing in fine Archtops.
http://wolfeguitars.com
Mark Kleinhaut
Yeah, Clay recorded his "Meeting Standards" disc with a BK, which he borrowed
from his producer right before the session because something went wrong at
the last minute with his epiphone (pictured with Clay on the cover of the
CD).
My first CD as a leader, "Amphora" was recorded with a BK "regular" which
I've since sold. That guitar served me very well for the better part of
15 years, but it was totally bumped out of favor by the Bourgeois archtop
I got a couple of years ago. My wife always kinda liked the ugly duckling
appeal of the BK. Others said it had a weird devilish pitchfork kind of
vibe happening.
Mark Kleinhaut markkl...@hotmail.com
Follow URL's for info and soundclips about:
my debut album "Amphora"
www.invisiblemusicrecords.com/Resources/Amphora.html
my newest album "Secrets of Three"
www.invisiblemusicrecords.com/Resources/SO3.html
Wound3rd
and their work with Atlantic label jazz guys was certainly part of my musical
evolution.
But it was Gene Cornish's BK that was so appealing.
It was fat! It was black!
It was just so groovy!
Bob
Willie K. Yee, MD
> My wife always kinda liked the ugly duckling
> appeal of the BK. Others said it had a weird devilish pitchfork kind of
> vibe happening.
Ahhhh... Barney Kessel, The Father of Goth Guitar.
--
Willie K. Yee, M.D. http://www.bestweb.net/~wyee
Developer of Problem Knowledge Couplers for Psychiatry
http://www.pkc.com
Webmaster and Guitarist for the Big Blue Big Band
http://www.bigbluebigband.com
Remove "DONTSPAM" from return address to reply.
FDM
"Willie K. Yee, MD" <wyeeN...@bestweb.net> wrote in message
> Ahhhh... Barney Kessel, The Father of Goth Guitar.
Well,
He certainly played the devil out of that ES-350!
;-)
-Dave
Michael Ellenberger
devilish quality to him ;-) The pointy thing about this guitar
is going to crack me up every time I see one now.
--
Mike Ellenberger
Listen to some soundclips at
http://home.att.net/~grumpmeister/MikesJazzPage.html
Tom Walls
grumpm...@worldnet.att.net says...
> I don't know, in the interviews I've seen, Barney had a certain
> devilish quality to him ;-) The pointy thing about this guitar
> is going to crack me up every time I see one now.
>
>
--
Tom Walls
the guy at the Temple of Zeus
http://www.arts.cornell.edu/zeus/
Dunlop212
CC pickup and chicken knobs, although the Duchossoir Gibson book says he
was an ES 350 player. Either of these would have been a nicer model than
what Gibson came up with. BK had been a Kay endorser when Gibson
approached him in 1960. The Duchossoir book quotes him as telling Gibson
that it had to be a guitar he could play; "I don't play that Kay; It's a
terrible guitar." The BK custom had a laminated top; so did the BK
regular until 1963, when it went to all maple.
Thomas Cotter
"Dunlop212" <ed_h...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:3B46F862...@bellsouth.net...
> Most of the videos I've seen of BK had him playing an old ES 250 with a
> CC pickup and chicken knobs,
I always thought he played a Tobacco Sunburst L7-C with a Charlie Christian
Pick-up
Dunlop212
spends a few minutes describing his guitar to an interviewer. He doesn't
say what model it is, but says it was made in 1946, with a 1939 pickup.
It's a single rounded cutaway. The neck has dot inlays and a crown
headstock, a combination that I don't think Gibson used until the
ES-335s came out in the late 50s (certainly not on L7s). So it's a
custom job of some sort, I think. He says the knobs came off an old
radio.
The Gibson logo is not visible in the earlier videos, and later the
crown dissappears as well. Much later, he plays a sunburst Ibanez(?)
with a single humbucker, gold hardware, and sharp cutaway.
Thomas Cotter
The body and tailpiece look like L7-C
The Bridge looks like it came off a L-5
The neck, like you stated is a dot inlay ,with Grover Imperial tuners.???
The Charlie Christian Pick-up is from a 1939 ES-150
I think Barney must have had this guitar custom built to order.
I believe 1948 was the first year of production for the L7-C
.......Tom
"Dunlop212" <ed_h...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:3B47D94F...@bellsouth.net...
Slyce7475
1997) has an article about his guitar(s) (page 120) written by Andy
MacKenzie.The article states that Kessel's guitar was a Gibson ES350 that he
feels sure he bought in 1946 (although Gibson did not ship this model until
1947). It is a 17 inch body with a laminated maple top. The P90 pickup was
replaced with a 1939 bar (Charlie Christian) pickup and many other
modifications were done over the years: ebony bridge, ebony fingerboard,
several changes of tuning pegs, refinishes, logo painted off, on and off again
( due to his endorsement of Kay guitars then Gibson
guitars. Kessel truly made this his guitar.
K
K
"Thomas Cotter" <tchl...@together.net> wrote in message
news:RTs17.3305$Wp1.1...@nntp1.onemain.com...
Thomas Cotter
"Slyce7475" <slyc...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20010708002810...@ng-fg1.aol.com...
Slyce,
Thank you for clearing up this little mystery.
That guitar is one of the finest sounding guitars I have ever heard .
...Tom
Wolfe Axe
he played a well worn Gibson BK Custom.
Jay Wolfe
Peter Anagnostos
> replaced with a 1939 bar (Charlie Christian) pickup
So is the pickup we were on Midnight Blue the bar pickup? It sounds just
like a P90. Terrific. Anyone know what guitar/pup he uses on Midnight
Blue?
Peter A.
Jim Hahn
play anymore due to the effects of a stroke a number of years ago; remember
talking to him quite a bit about the guitar before he had his stroke. It
definitely is an old 350 that had so many modifications to it that he could not
remember all of them. The most interesting is the painting over of the Gibson
logo. Apparently Barney had some kind of dispute with Gibson over his signature
model. He really hated (and hates) the Gibson Barney Kessel. Jim
kpb
"Jim Hahn" <jimb...@home.com> wrote in message
news:3B50461B...@home.com...
That's interesting. I remember reading an article in "Guitar Player"
magazine some years ago. I can't remember the particulars of the article
itself but it involved Herb Ellis, Barney Kessel, and Tal Farlow.
One of the photos within the article showed the three of them side-by-side,
holding their guitars. Tal and Herb presented the faces of their guitars for
the shot but Barney presented the back of his guitar. He made it very clear
within that article that he did not want the readers knowing what guitar he
was using because he was pissed with the manufacturer.
KPB
Brad Little
played an old GIbson mandolin on which he had scraped out the logo from the
headstock because of a feud, I think with the service department. He did
patch it up with them before he died and the Gibson logo was back.
Brad
PJBMHB
bit.
=-) PJ
Wound3rd
>bit.
>=-) PJ
The Tal Farlow beats the BK in the "cheesey" dept.
I mean, flipped-over fretboard inlay from a flattop model and that "mirrored"
inlay on the headstock.
Yeah, Gibson went to a lot of trouble "designing" this one.
Bob