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Retro-Grouch


Freeman Keller

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Okay Freeman, you've inspired me. Tomorrow I'm gonna scan a pic of me playing my '73 LP, in '73. The one my kids look at and go, "sheesh, Dad, what were you doing with long hair."

 

Look for it tomorrow. I'll also post a pic of my '72 Tele Custom in natural finish sitting in a chair on my psychdelic bedroom in my parents' house. Plum walls with midnight blue trim. They still talk about how many coats it took to cover it when I finally moved out.

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1970, eh? Well, being that I was celebrating my first birthday that summer I can't really reminisce (sp) with you guys on that part, but I gotta say that that Yammie has held up nicely, though I bet it's got some stories to tell that are hinted at by certain "non-original cosmetic features." ;)

 

Let me explain what I mean by digressing slightly. My Takamine is three years younger than your Yamaha and it's got some dings, glue blobs, etc. (not to mention some extra pieces of wood inside that are keeping the implosive forces at bay) that weren't original features. To me, each little mark seems to tell a story from some part of its life, whether I was there for it or not (I'm not the original owner). Call it mojo or just superstition on my part, but it kind of make the old geisha seem more worldly and mysterious to me.

 

This isn't just limited to my own guitar. I find myself looking at other older instruments and thinking:

 

Did this guitar with the sagging top and lifting binding ever take a cross-country trip in a soft-shell case on the back of a motorcycle during a particularly hot summer?

 

Was that guitar with a crack down the side and a notch on the end of the headstock knocked over by a jealous lover?

 

Has that guitar with the strum marks gauged into the top ever been played anyone with any sort of musical notoriety? Did they have more talent than regard for its well-being or did the music they were playing demand that much effort that they just lost control and succumbed to the moment?

 

These are just some ideas. None are necessarily true, but I like to dream.

 

So how about your Yamaha? Does it have any marks that tell a story?

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That first pic could've been me. Geez...

 

Looks like you played some pretty ambitious numbers gauging from the pick scratches on the top. Let me guess...Suite: Judy Blue Eyes?

 

I still have my '73. It's the 12 I don't play anymore.

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Originally posted by riffmeister

great pics, Freeman!!


looks like your technique, as well as you appearance, has improved over the years....
;)

 

Isn't it kind of funny that back then beards were considered immature non-verbal rebelliousness and anti-establishment and now they're considered benignly dapper, maybe even a mark of sophistication? The Yamaha could tell the real story if it could, though.

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Originally posted by Sweb

That first pic could've been me. Geez...


Looks like you played some pretty ambitious numbers gauging from the pick scratches on the top. Let me guess...Suite: Judy Blue Eyes?


I still have my '73. It's the 12 I don't play anymore.

 

Wow, I didn't even notice those scratches. Damn this adult ADD! :freak:

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