Link Wray would have been 84 years old today...

guitarz.blogspot.com:


...so I think it's only appropriate that we RUMBLE!

I'm going to play this on my Yamaha SG-3 at guitar club later today by way of tribute.

G L Wilson

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Millennium #13 Prototype - aluminium body with on-board T-wah

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Bertram is currently travelling and does not have internet access, but he wanted me to show you guys this intriguing Millenium lightweight aluminium-bodied guitar which features built-in Boss T-wah effects circuitry. Effects are engaged with a patent pending wrist-actuated switch, supposedly providing for quicker and smoother control than a foot-actuated pedal.

The body is arcraft-grade indestructible aluminium and is married to a hand-made mahogany neck with African ebony fingerboard and equipped with LSR lightweight locking tuners. The guitar weighs 7 lbs.

All in all, it's a very fitting guitar to show you on this, our 8th birthday!

G L Wilson (on behalf of Bertram)

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Happy Birthday to the Flying V

Wow! It's fifty years since Gibson Guitars launched this radical design upon the world, and it's still one of the freshest and most instantly recognisable designs in the guitar universe.

I've read that it was originally designed as a triangular guitar - like a large Russian balalaika - but the shape was thought to be too unwieldy, so a section was cut out of the base of the triangle thus forming the fins of the now legendary Flying V shape.

Granted, it's not a guitar that's really suited to playing whilst seated (although this is possible if you position the lower wing between your legs and hold the guitar in a classical guitar-playing pose), but it's certainly a great-sounding guitar that's bound to get you noticed.

For many years it was a guitar that I loathed (I thought Accept had the right idea with their Restless & Wild album cover), mainly because it was such a popular choice of axe for many a dodgy metal band. It took the likes of Marc Bolan, Jimi Hendrix, and Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals to convince me that it was quite a cool guitar after all.

See also: Gibson Guitar Celebrates 50 Years of the Flying V from Modern Guitars Magazine.

(Pictured left: my own faded cherry Gibson Flying V).

Thank you to everyone who left Happy Birthday messages for me on my Mice Pace page today. It's appreciated.

Ronnie Wood, Rolling Stones Guitarist, Receives Versoul Custom 12 String Acoustic Guitar at 60th Birthday Bash

Gibson Guitar Salutes Les Paul on his 91st Birthday

Clapton's guitar 'genius' legacy: Blues guitarist and singer Eric Clapton is celebrating his 60th birthday today, alongside a forthcoming reunion with his old band Cream.

Happy Birthday to guitar-slingers Chris Issak, who is 48 today, and to Mick Jones, formerly of The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite, who is 49.

Rock and pop legends prepare a star-spangled 50th birthday for the ultimate electric guitar: 50th Anniversary of the Fender Strat, blah blah blah. (By the way, the article gets it wrong. The Strat mentioned as being owned be Dave Gilmour is NOT the first Strat ever made. It does have the serial number 0001, but nevertheless the dates on the neck and body show that it was made after production started and therefore is not the first Strat produced. It's impossible to say which was the very first).

The father of the electric guitar, Les Paul, turns 89: Living legend jazz performer, Les Paul, pioneer of the electric guitar celebrated his 89th birthday on Monday June 7th at the Iridium Jazz Club.

Happy Birthday to Creedence Clearwater Revival's main man, John Fogerty, who is 59 years old today.

Happy Birthday to Wreckless Eric, who is 50 years old today. If you can, catch him playing solo dates in the UK (he's currently finishing off a tour with The Rutles).

Guitar Legend Les Paul to Celebrate Birthday at The Iridium Jazz Club on June 7

Happy 43rd Birthday to Billy Duffy, guitarist of The Cult.

Many Happy Returns also to Steve Winwood (56) and to Billy Squier (54).

Happy Birthday to Captain Sensible of The Damned who is celebrating his 50th today. The Captain, who is a very much under-rated guitarist and musician, will be celebrating all weekend with The Damned and their fans in Knaresborough in North Yorkshire. Which is where I'm just off to now; I have a five hour train journey to get there! Looking forward to the celebrations, and much drunkeness and chaos no doubt!

Happy Birthday to The Cure's Robert Smith who is 45 years old today.

Happy 60th birthday to Dave Edmunds, one of the rockingest guitarists to have come out of Wales!

I can't find an official website foir him, but here is a fansite:
Dave Edmunds Rockpile Love Sculpture

Happy Birthday to U2's bassist Adam Clayton, who is 44 years old today.

By the way, that mad looking bass is by Auerswald Instruments.

Happy Birthday to Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmour, who has reached the grand old age of 60 today.

See also:

• www.pinkfloyd.com
  
• www.pinkfloyd.co.uk
  
• Dave Gilmour's Guitar Equipment

UPDATE: Just how old is the man? Leafing through Saturday's copy of The Guardian, I noticed that in the birthdays column they listed him as being 57. Just checking now on the internet I find various different birthdates for him: March 6, 1947 says this site, 6th March 1946 says the Fender Europe site, and then there's this site rockdetector.com who seem to think he was born in 1967, which would make him 37 years old! I think not.

It looks more likely that he is either 57 or 58. At least he's not 60 yet!!!

Happy birthday this Saturday to James Dean Bradfield of the Manic Street Preachers, who is 35 years old today.