Combining a Rickenbacker-esque body shape and BC-Rich style electronics, these circa 1986 Vigiers are pretty interesting, unlike the staid ‘super-strats’ that the company offers today. (Is it even the same company? Let us know,,,,). They also remind me a bit of certain older models of Killer, the high-end Japanese brand that’s never been offered in the US. These 80s Vigiers were astronomically expensive, so it’s not surprising that I’ve never actually seen one. Anyone?
Remember when you absolutely NEEDED a mixer? And a dozen compressors and FX units, and a mile of cable, just to make a basic mix of a track? That sort of kit still serves a valuable purpose, and most better studios still keep it all in play, but plenty of folks these days get by fine with just a few pieces of ‘outboard’ gear and a good DAW. All those big ole mixers that we used in the 80s and 90s though? And I am not talking about Neves and Tridents, or anything with ‘cult’ value…. all those big, garden-variety consoles are still out there, waiting in the basements and attics and backrooms of this great country, too boring to use, too… well, too ‘this thing cost a fortune new!’ to scrap. Above: The AUDY Model 2000 circa 1981. Below: the Walker AV 40 series, The Tascam Model 15, The Tapco Series 72 and 74, the StudioMixer c. 1981, The StudioMaster 16-4-2, Soundcraft series 800, The NEI 164XM, The Canary 16:6 and 24/4 circa 1981, the BiAmp 83, The AudioArts 8000 and 4000, the Allen and Heath 16:4:2. If yr using any of these, if you can advocate for em… drop us a line and weigh in… plenty of this stuff on the Craigslists of America… let’s find out which are worth saving!
We recently featured the 1986 AMR (aka Peavey) Series 1 four track; also in the running for ‘KING OF THE CASSETTE 4 TRACKS’ was the Audio-Technica RMX64, introduced in 1985. Six input channels, phantom power, 4 sub outs, 2 effect sends, 2-band sweepable EQ (switchable from shelf to peak!)… man I would love to find one of these. Anyone?
Above: The Gibson Victory MV-X model guitar c. 1982
Gibson Guitars had a tough time in the 1980s; starting the decade, quality was indifferent at best, competition from Japan was intense, and Gibson’s strength as a ‘heritage’ brand was out-of-sync with the NEW NEW NEW vibe of hair metal, slick RnB, and new wave. The turnaround of this brand at the hands of Henry E. Juszkiewicz, David H. Berryman, and Gary A. Zebrowski was one of the most dramatic in the history of instrument-manufacture, and maybe even American industry in general. From a near-zero valuation in 1986, they grew the brand into a massive enterprise and improved quality significantly. I am perhaps a bit biased because Gibson was a generous and helpful benefactor of my brief career as a performer; and as I have noted before on these pages, I recently bought a shiny new (yup) J-45 and the I think the thing is just fantastic. But anyhow. Here are a few images from Gibson’s darkest decade.
Above: The Victory Bass (1982), The Les Paul Custom (avec ‘Ferrari’) (1986), The Les Paul (1981), and the introduction of the ‘BB KING’ ES-355 variant (1981).
It’s Fall 2013 and things are getting weird. It’s been a while since we’ve had a new mixtape around here, and it seems to have gone in a much darker, druggier direction this time. Maybe it’s all the weird Criterion shit I’ve been watching on Hulu Plus. Christ, I saw this thing last night and it kinda made sense to me. This might not be a good thing. As per usual, all of these cuts are from LPs I found digging through 100s of 1000s of dirty old records at the flea markets, estate sales, and thrift shops of southern CT… mastered in pro tools via my trusty Benz Micro cartridge. Where youtube links are available, I’ve provided them below. If you see me, ask me for a copy of the CD…
1. Endle St Cloud “Street Corner Preacher”
2. The Beacon Street Union “Mystic Mourning“
3. Street “If I Needed Someone”
4. Edwin Starr “My Sweet Lord”
5. David Porter “Didn’t Know Love Was So Good”
7. Mandrill “Afrikus Retrospectus”
8. Lonnie Liston Smith “In Search Of Truth”
9. Backstreet Crawler “It’s A Long Way Down To The Top”
10. Lee Clayton “I Ride Alone”
11. The Devil’s Anvil “Karkadon”
13. Smokey John Bull “The Mighty Quinn”
14. Potliquor “Beyond The River Jordan”
15. Don Nix “Until Tomorrow”
For detailed track information and more of the best album-artwork of all time, click the link below to READ ON…
I’ve been buying and selling guitar effects pedals for a long time; I currently have maybe 60, and have probably had 300-400 pass through my hands at one time or another. There are just so many of the fkkn things out there that I’m bound to find at least a couple every month for $5 – $10 at the yard sales and flea markets of Southern CT. I also have all the available books on the subject, but even still, there were just so many of these things made that I am bound to be surprised regularly. Here are three interesting units that I have never come across. Above: The VestaFire R-1X digital reverb c. 1988.
Above: Sescom, 80’s maker of some pretty excellent DI boxes, also made a guitar compression pedal in 1981? Probably worth checking out. This thing was crazy expensive at the time, btw, $254 in ’13-bucks. Anyhow, as deep+ wide as the pool of vintage pedals is, can you even imagine how nuts its gonna be 25 years from now, what with the huge explosion in ’boutique’ and ‘DIY’ pedal-craft of the past decade. It’s really taken on folk-art proportions.
Above: The Castle Phaser III of 1981. Goddamn folks loved the shit outta Phase Shift way back when.
Above: best ad ever. “Yu Brother” (what???) of Taiwan introduces their line of microphones and guitar effect pedals in 1981. “From popular to professional type, we have got it all!” Yes you do, brother. This might as well be from another planet.
Above: the 1989 advert that caught my attention
I’ve said it many times, but pls let me re-iterate: as much as the content of this site may make me seem like some retro-fetish trainspotter, my investigation into all of this old kit is due to the fact that I make my living as a composer and sound engineer, and I am constantly looking for new sources of (inexpensive) inspiration. Because if you have to write and/or record three or four songs per day, the process can be either a chore or a joy, and what can make the difference is the novelty and new avenues that some ‘new’ (to you) gear can offer. Y’all know how much I love spring reverb, so when I spotted this ad for a guitar-mounted mechanical-reverb system in an ’89 ‘Guitar Player’ I searched for an old unit to buy on eBay. There were several, but they were not cheap. And then google told me that they had been re-issued by the original manufacturer! $99 plus shipping later, and a brand-new ASPRI arrived direct from dude in just a couple of days.
First of all, the packing is really spectacular, and in fact won some sort of Quebec design-award (I think it’s very fitting that this thing is from Montreal; if you’ve spent some time there I think you can see the whole kinda clever/artsy/slightly-fantastical vibe of that whole city reflected in the ASPRI).
The ASPRI mounts to any flat-top acoustic gtr in about 10 seconds. it does not contact the top of the gtr at all; just the saddle and the side; and the side is completely padded, so there really is no danger of damaging the instrument. BTW, if your saddle height is VERY high, the I’d imagine that the Aspri won’t work properly; that being said, I have yet to find a gtr that it has not worked on.
So basically what it does: it’s a box of springs that receive their exciting-energy from the motion of the strings; it does this by means of three little stainless-steel feet that effectively become the saddle of the gtr while the ASPRI is mounted. So yes there is some loss of ‘tone’ and volume, but what you get in return is a really transporting experience. Playing this thing, esp. bottleneck style, is really uncanny; it really does turn a living room into a concert hall.
There are a zillion YouTube videos of dudes demo’ing their ASPRIs, so no need to add to that fray; check ’em out if your curious. If you are a dedicated acoustic gtr player like I am, and you’re looking for a new direction, I feel like you are bound to get a couple new songs outta this thing.
To buy an aspri, visit: https://www.aspri.com
A few years back, I wrote a short piece regarding Canadian scholar and author Marshall McLuhan. One of MM’s most insightful observations is that the tools we make (MM was speaking collectively – ‘We’ as a civilization) can indeed help us perform the tasks that they were designed for; but over time they exert a very real and definite ‘pull’ in terms of dictating our behavior. This has a whole range of implications for artwork, culture, and society in general. We are not wholly masters of our tools; we may benefit from them, but we are limited by them as well, and once certain tools are widespread enough, they can exert their own prerogatives, leading our societies and psyches into places that we might not have chosen to go otherwise.
When I first moved to Bridgeport back in 2005, I met an artist who’s work is concerned with exploring this dynamic; this relationship between mankind, technology, and perception. It’s an intensely modern project that’s fueled by an idiosyncratic manipulation of antique technologies, and he offers an especially compelling account of the advantages that await the artist who makes his/her own tools. Click here, or below, to watch the video.
For more about Tom Mezzanotte, click here.
Nothing too heavy today, just some oddball 80’s amps that crossed my plane of perception. Above: “Vibration Technology” (catchy!) of Ontario announces their Nova, Deci Mate (nice), Phasor Twin, and Beta Amps in 1981. Best offering, tho, is the “6 Mice Mixer,” which sounds like a real fucking mess if you ask me.
Above: The “Tusc,” an obscure tube-amp from 1982. I feel like I may have seen one of these things, once. Jesus how much money did this guy lose on this operation?
Above: JMF’s “Spectra” line of solid-state amps c. 1981. I actually did own their 1×15 half-stack (or was it a big combo….??) with reverb and phase shift, and in all honesty, it was a really good-sounding solid-state amp. I traded it for (believe-it-or-not) a mint blackface Fender Bassman with a Standel 2×15 cab. Aaaaaaaaand then traded those on for the worst $300 LDC that AKG ever made. What comes around…
Above: the Seymour-Duncan 84-40: 4x EL84 combo amp c. 1989. Looks promising?
….well, that and your circa 1968 graphic design. The EMC B221 amp of 1981. Anyone?
There’s nothing inherently weird about VOX amps, they are rather a staple, but this 1981 advert serves as a good reminder that those things have been re-issued and re-launched countless times by countless entities, so if you are ever offered a VOX amp for sale, be very careful to determine exactly what you are buying. ‘Cos it probably ain’t “what John and George used.”