OldMattB

Lowbrow, I hate you! Too much guitar coolness for one person. oldMattB

A very rare, though not particularly valuable, Gretsch Corvette Deluxe, ca. 1978. I bought this in the early 80s with a twisted neck and no electrics. It was not until last year I was able to get a photo to see what it should look like. Pickups should be open-coil, and volume knobs should be aluminum "G" knobs. Other than that, this is pretty much what it originally looked like. Pickguard cut with bandsaw and dremel. Pickups are GFS. Neck twist was corrected by loosening truss rod, hand twisting the neck the opposite way, and tightening the rod again. Small toggles are split coils, and were standard equipment, apparently. It originally had a battery-powered treble booster. If you have a wiring diagram, I would love to see it. I have been looking for a long time... oldMattB

Peavey Patriot I bought mainly to get a gig from the pawn shop owner. It looked like it had been in the back of a pick-up truck for a year. Whammy bar from my parts bin, threaded to fit, pickguard made from two pieces and cut with a band saw and dremel. Body was buffed with steel wool and given a coat of satin poly. It took three hours to get the bridge apart, cleaned and reassembled. I had planned to replace the pickups, but was talked into leaving them, and they sound great. About $120 total, and a day of work. The dog on the headstock (pawn shop dog) is from a bookmark stolen from my wife, covered with super glue and bonded to a piece of pickguard material. oldMattB

I can't speak to the accuracy of the statement, but it comes from a known source. It was said by Kevin Lyman, a consultant and the organizer of the Vans Warped Tour. You can find out about him on Wikipedia and imdb.com. In a general sense, it makes sense to me. If your band is just there to make some noise for strangers, it really doesn't matter. If people are coming to see you in particular, profits might be maximized with less frequent performances. I am sure that the Stones tour infrequently not because they are lazy, but because it maximizes profits. A small band has more spare time and less infrastructure to pay, so gross income and net profits are more closely tied. A huge band might gross more in two tours over one (more gross income), but the costs of touring might double (less net income, or even a loss). Many small bands would be glad to have an extra $100, even if they paid $100 in fuel to make it happen. oldMattb

"The American" magazine has an excellent article in the March/April issue about the music industry. It talks about how the top grossing tours are by old-line artists, how spending on recorded music is being replaced with live music, and how many artists are taking 360 deals over the traditional recording contract. Well worth reading. A couple quotes: "According to Billboard statistics, only one of the top ten box-office draws in the last decade is an act that hit it big after the 1970s." "... emerging acts have developed a habit of touring the same nightclubs too often, depressing the demand for tickets to their shows." oldMattB