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66 Ric 330


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This message has been edited. Last edited by: been-here-n-gone,

Very Nice.......

I been lusting after a couple of acoustics -

Kind of fell in love with the Martin J-40 and I have been eyeballing some great condition guitars - one 6 string and one 12 string that are about 10-20 years old.

Why do a 'matching set' of j-40s have to come up for sale all at once? That is a lot of clams.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rickenback..._trksid=p3286.c0.m14

and of course - the guitar that made so many Heartbreakers songs including American Girl and Mary Jane...the predecessor to the telecaster:

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-19..._trksid=p3286.c0.m14

and Neil's guitar:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Gibson-Les..._trksid=p3286.c0.m14

and yet another...then I'll quit lusting for now
http://cgi.ebay.com/Gibson-Cus..._trksid=p3286.c0.m14

The Broadcaster is awesome, but I couldn't own a $40,000 guitar. What the hell would you do with it? I'd be afraid to play it, and afraid somebody would steal it.

Neil's "Old Black" is actually a goldtop that was painted black by somebody, before Neil got it I believe. That Ric is sweet and so is the ES-335, but I'll take a Telecaster over any of them, or better yet - an Esquire. Greatest electric guitar ever.

ahh yeah...I remember that about Neil's guitar now that you mention it.

And yeah, $40K for a guitar is more than I'll ever spend for one...but I'd take it if I had that kind of green

My "lusting" for guitars for now has been sated by the new Thinline telecaster I recently got.
However, my new wish list includes a Vox tube head and cabinet hoping that will help get closer to the "Petty" sound. Think it would help? I'm currently going thru a Marshall 100 Watt Valvetronic and it sounds good but I think it could sound better.

Iffy - check out the Vox AC-15 for some classic Heartbreaker tone. They obviously use more powerful amps on stage, but unless you're playing Shea Stadium, you'd probably get all the volume you need out of an AC-15. It's all tube, and under $500. The AC-15TBX is my favorite amp of all time.

I tried out the AC15, very nice. I would like to try the AC30. The idea of being able to blend the two channels interests me. I'd like to see how much thicker the sound would be.

I was doing some reading and many reviewers like having the celestion alcino "blue" speakers. It adds about $500 to the price of both the AC15 and AC30. Think it's worth it?

The Celestion Alnico Blue speaker is $300 at Musician's Friend, Music 123, Guitar Center, etc..., but you can find them for less. Or wait for the 15% or 20% coupons they send out periodically. There are a couple of buy-it-nows on eBay for $250 right now.

But yes, I highly recommend those speakers. That's what I have in my AC-15TBX. Mine is British made from the 90's. The AC-15 and AC-30 made today are coming out of China. I've heard good and bad about those.

Man, now here's a topic I could not pass by!

My list (some of which I've played, some of which I haven't) aside from Mike's entire guitar collection would be:

'49 broadcaster
'69 reissue of a '56 Goldtop
Merle Travis Bigsby guitar
Gibson ES-335
Gibson ES-175
Silvertone H1446 Chris Isaac (split pole piece mini humbuckers!!)
Fender electric XII
Rickenbacker 625 with trapeze tailpiece
Gretsch 6120 DC
'61 SG with Maestro Vibrola
a Ferrington hollowbody
a Hamburguitar solidbody
Kustom k-200 hollowbody
'70s ibanez iceman
...and i'm sure there's plenty others that I can't think of just now!

Hey, re the Celestion speakers...have a search on ebay for silver bulldogs (as I understand it these are the pre-blue bulldogs) as my experience with them was great...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: trembling_blender,

Nice list! Got a million dollars or so? LOL

Actually, there are no 1949 Broadcasters. Production started in late 1950 and very soon after, Fender was notified by lawyers from Gretsch to stop using the Broadcaster name because it infringed on their patent. Gretsch had a line of drums called the "Broadkaster".

The last guitars with the Broadcaster name went out in early 1951 and there really aren't very many in existence. Mike Campbell was just plain lucky to find one used in the mid 70's. Musicians were already hip to the "vintage" guitar market by that time.

In early 1951, Fender cut the name Broadcaster off the logos and used them up for a few months until they were gone. Leo didn't like wasting money. Those guitars said only "Fender" on the headstock, hence the nickname "Nocaster". The first guitars with "Telecaster" on the headstock started showing up in mid-1951.

Can you tell I've been reading a bunch of Fender books lately? LOL

No way! I did not know that...i was almost positive they came out in '49...heck, maybe i was thinking of the prototype. Isn't the history of fender mega interesting though? I can just imagine Leo Fender getting ridiculed at the first trade show he took the broadcaster to...people calling it a "paddle"...if only they could know what was in store! Man, if i could only get a a few of the guitars on that list i'd die a happy man...

Speaking of guitars (and this is a long shot) do you know what guitar Mike has in the A Woman In Love video? I'm pretty good with guitars but that is one guitar i've never ever managed to figure out what it is. And whilst we're on the subject...have you ever noticed that Jeff Lynne in the "Handle With Care" video is playing Mike's Rickenbacker 625? It's quite distinctive as it has the trapeze tailpeice when all other 620's have either the whammy or the R tailpiece. I think Mike's Kasuga Mandolin crops up in a wilburys video too... Cool or what?

PS...and I hope it's not too many subjects for the one post lol...but Mike's broadcaster...have you ever wondered if it's entirely genuine? I remember seeing an article somewhere that touched on this...basically, he picked it up in '75 or so and the rest as they say is history. But, he's never taken the neck off to confirm it's authenticity. Now, i'm guessing it's a bits-er caster, all be it made up of vintage 50's parts, put together pre-75. The position of the string tree on the neck is odd, and when you compare other vintage fenders, for a guitar that has been worked to the bone and been gigged worldwide, the body is in just too good a condition. I'm guessing it's a later body ('59 maybe) with almost deffinitely a refin. I'm not slating it in any way, I just sure as heck bet it's got a colourful history.

Anyone else have any ideas about the broadcaster?

^I'll bite.

The guitar from A Woman In Love video is a custom made guitar that was made for Tom. Mike just used it (although they swap quite a bit from what I can tell). The name escapes me at the moment, but I have it somewhere in my email files.

As far as the Broadcaster, your guess is as good as mine. However, I do know that Mike toured that guitar extensively through the mid-80's until they went to Japan and the guitar got soaked with salt water. So there is a possibility of a little refinish on it, but not much. The string tree argument does place a bit of skepticism as to when this guitar was made, but unless Mike, or Chinner, takes off the neck to see, no one will know. But it sounds so good!

The Rick in the Wilbury's video is Mike's - someone did confirm it at one point. Can't remember who.

Lastly, on your "lust" list, you can get the Bigsby guitar that Mike plays on Soundstage for about $3200. I almost bit at it once through the company, but the funds weren't 100% there. Then I went and bought his Duesenberg model.

Hey there Campbellfan,

I knew that woman in love guitar was an odd ball...its not a toru guitar by chance? Its funny Mike's 625 popping up in that video...the whole lot of them must have been hanging out and having a fair good time...80s california...neon colours, skateboards, sunshine...aaaaah!

Re the broadcaster...yeah, i heard that about it getting soaked with salt water, but with the amount of wear on the neck (hence a sh*t lot of playing) you'd expect the body to be in a slightly worse condition. Alas, i guess we'll never know! PS, I heard Chinner was out with Lenny K right now and has been since last summer...any idea who's teching for Mike at the moment? Thought his son might step into the game but alas it's neither here nor there I guess.

Man, i know exactly the bigsby guitars you're talking about...i almost bought one around 2006 but like yourself, the funds weren't quite 100%. I emailed the chap through the website and they had two in stock, one of which was sold and one of which was going to a trade fair in NY, where they were expecting it would be sold. But i second guessed myself and I held off. I don't know...it's a lot of cash for a guitar that basically, may just be "OK". Its made in Korea (?) and the chap I spoke to did confirm it was your bog standard poly finish...all in all, it added up to me just paying for the look which I wasn't prepared to do at that price. When money isn't an object, maybe one day!

Hey, your doozie...whats its like to play? I've been looking at the Carl Carlton model (figured it'd be dang close to playing a ricky capri or hot rodded gretsch...bigger body and all that) but Duesenbergs don't often appear in shops over here...any info you could offer on your experience with them would be great.

Hey...okay, heres a bit of trivia for you (man, how good it is to find another Campbell fan!)...what is the red Les Paul Mike is playing in the Soundstage DVD? It appears to have Standard written on the truss rod cover but it's a solid red colour and has dot inlays on the neck, which leads me to believe it is something other than a Standard. Any ideas?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: trembling_blender,

Yeah - Mike's Broadcaster is kind of a question mark, isn't it? That placement of the string retainer and logo decal on the headstock didn't start happening until 1957, and of course those wouldn't be saying "Broadcaster" on the headstock. By 1959, Fender started going with rosewood fretboards, so the neck on Mike's would appear to fit into the 1957-58 era.

I haven't actually seen photos of Mike's guitar that were high enough in resolution to show a lot of the details that would help date the thing. You can actually get pretty close without taking it apart. If it really says "Broadcaster - and I assume it does - then it seems that it can't be entirely original. Also, in the video from Germany in the late 70's, it looks pretty pristine. It could be a refinished body as well.

I have Nacho's "The Blackguard" book as well as several other books and there are no photographs or documentation of any kind to support those positions for the string retainer and decal prior to 1957. Since the last Broadcasters went out in February of 1951, something is definitely amiss. So who knows? Could still be an early Broadcaster that got a refin on the body and neck. Could also be a later neck with a repro decal.

Hey Trem-

I can't find the name of it, but I will get it to you. I know it's not a Toru guitar though. I had the chance to buy one a year or so ago, but I turned it down since I would be buying it just for display purposes.

Interesting info on the Bigsby guitar. I'm assuming the gentleman you were talking to was the same guy I was as well. Basically it's a "looker" for a guitar. However, I do have reason to suspect that a chunk of that guitar is hollow - by it's sound, etc.

The Doozey is great. I haven't played the Carlton. I've only played Mike's model and the 12 string - which of course is on my wish list. The Mike model I love. I don't gig it very often because it's outstanding. In fact, mine was the 4th shipped into the country according to Duesenberg. The sound out of the pick-ups are phenomenal as is the bigsby system. I HIGHLY recommend getting one if you can afford it.

As far as the Soundstage LP, a friend of mine just bought the exact same LP and yes, it is a Standard. The model is a mid-80's model actually. Paint is original (red) and only a limited run of the dot inlays were produced. He got it for a steal though so he scooped it up.

Hope that helps!

TomFest2002 there's a great write-up on Mike's Broadcaster from a guitar player magazine 3 years ago. Great closeup of the Broadcaster if you haven't seen it.