Have you ever wanted to get a Gibson Mandolin, but wanted a little wider neck? A little larger frets? Maybe a scooped fingerboard or a pickguard added. For our banjo playing friends maybe a Granda Flying Eagle but in a Tenor or a Plectrum or maybe a Walnut neck instead of Curly Maple. Now you can! Gibson Original Instruments have opened up their Custom Shop and now you can custom spec your favorite Bluegrass Instrument. Give us a call and let us help you build the instrument of your dreams. Ask for Jeff or Murrell at 800.635.2021
Hey guys, just wante to make sure everyone was aware of the last couple Fender Custom Shop pieces we still have left. Believe it or not we still have one of the original first 500 run of the David Gilmour Signature NOS Strat’s! This is quite a hot guitar and a rare bird as well. For all info on this instrument check out the ultra slick micro-site : http://www.fender.com/gilmour/home.php
We also have a one-off, completely custom designed from the ground up Strat! This was an idea we got off the ground last year, jumping on board with Fender Custom Shop’s TeamBuilt guitars. This is definitely a guitar all it’s own! It started off with ’56 Strat specs and then the tweaking began. From the 9.5 radius and 6150 fret wire to the DiMarzio Area 58 and Virtual Solo pickups, this is quite a different strat. Check out the pics on our website to get a glimpse of the teal green metallic finish and pearl white pickguard.
Any questions, or to get full specs on the custom, feel free to give me a call @ 1-800-601-1225
WoW! what can we say! Mark Wilson and the fine folks at Onboard Research have done it again with an awesome little tuner, the PT10 Mini. We have seen the prototypes and they are great. The good news is that they will be available in just a few days for immediate shipment here at First Quality Music. I got with Mark and asked him to share with us how they came to the new design, here are Mark’s comments:
Competition keeps progress flowing, and we have greatly benefited from the influx of lowcost tuners that adopted the clip-on approach to tuning. We at OnBoard have gotten feedback over the years from thousands of PT1 users who described the features and capabilities that they liked, as well as the little things that did not like. So we decided to design a tuner that was small and compact, very lightweight, with a very bright backlight, a clamp that won’t loosen up and fall or get knocked off an instrument, and nestle it snugly behind the instrument’s headstock where it can be seen by the musician but not be distracting to an audience.
Plus, while we were at IBMA, someone approached us with the idea of a light that would change when the string went in-tune, and suggested this approach would make tuning faster because the switch in backlight colors could be seen in peripheral vision, allowing the musician to stay in better contact with the audience during necessary tune-ups. We implemented a design that glows red when out of tune and snaps to green when the string goes into tune, and the effect is stunning. It really does make tuning easier and faster.
Lastly, although many people prefer the Intellitouch arrow display, we heard from other people who expressed appreciation for the traditional needle style of display. Therefore, for the Intellitouch PT10 Mini. we are tipping our hat to the needle displays of the world and offering what we believe is the best one available.
Of course, the PT10 Mini comes with OnBoard’s exclusive Lifetime “No Questions Asked” Warranty\ that will apply anytime, for any reason for anyone.
Tight accuracy, durable, lightweight, attractive, snug, with a lifetime warranty and priced right: the Intellitouch PT10 “Mini” from OnBoard Research
The PT10 Mini Tuner by Onboard Resarch has a Retail Price of $39.95 First Quality will offer them at $29.95.
We just consigned a beautiful vintage 50’s Kay upright bass. It comes complete with a stand, a ProTec bass bag, and a Fishman bridge pickup.Below you can check out some photos of the bass. Be sure to stop by if your in the neighborhood to check it out, or if you have any questtions drop me a line at 800.635.2021 ext 7156
The new Sam Bush 1934 Limited Edition Fern has arrived at First Quality Music.Just a limited run of 25 instruments will be hand signed, the mandolin was inspired by Newgrass master mandolin player Sam Bush and created under the watchful eye of Gibson’s master luthier David Harvey.Gibson created a marriage of the Gibson Fern and the now famous Sam Bush model mandolin.This mandolin features many of the same appointments as the instrument depicted in the 1934 catalog, including the figured maple body chassis with a red spruce top, the mother of pearl block fingerboard inlays and the Fern peghead inlay made from genuine abalone pearl. The instrument’s stunning nitro-cellulose lacquer finish — painted in a ’30s Iced Tea burst color — is also faithfully recreated, giving the instrument its alluring vintage patina.You can check out this beautiful instrument on our website, and if you in the Louisville area be sure to stop by our showroom where we’ll be happy to let you see (and pick) it first hand.
We just got in our first shipment of new Jam Master Gibson Mandolins, all we can say is WOW! Dave Harvey and Crew down at Gibson Original Instruments have sure done a fine job on these new offerings. Below is some information on these fine instruments. Check them out on line.
Jam Master Series Standard F-style Mandolin
The new Jam Master Series Standard F-style mandolin descends straight out of Gibson tradition, delivering a fresh new take on one of Gibson’s most popular mandolin lines. Each F-style mandolin is crafted with all the artistry of a world-class mandolin maker, along with a no-nonsense, hard-traveled, but much-loved look that lets these superb instruments sit in at any occasion. Stripped-down appointments offer a simple yet elegant look, while making way for the performance-enhancing elements that players of the Jam Masters Series will certainly appreciate. F-holes remain unbound, there’s no neck or headstock binding, no position markers on the fretboard (side dots only), and no inlay on the peghead, just the timeless Gibson logo decal. All of the notable luthiery features you do find, however, are in the tone and playability departments.
Bigger Frets, New Satin Finish Equals Improved Performance
Each new F-style Jam Master Standard Mandolin features a top carved from solid spruce, trimmed with simple single-ply binding to contrast its classic Gibson Sheraton Brown color with satin lacquer finish. The back and sides are constructed from figured maple, and the figured maple necks are hand-shaped to Gibson’s popular “rounded V” profile, with a 1 3/16″ width at the nut providing enhanced comfort and finger room across the radiused ebony fingerboard. Thirteen of the mandolin’s 20 frets clear the body, and are a little bigger than the traditional frets typically fitted on vintage mandolins – a modification that improves fingering for many players and playing styles, and one that many contemporary players are sure to appreciate. Advanced constructional features include Gibson’s time-tested tone bar bracing, a radiused dovetail neck joint, and a genuine bone nut all help to enhance the instrument’s resonance and projection. An adjustable ebony bridge and nickel Grover tuners round out the package.
Test Drive a Jam Master Mandolin at Your Nearest Gibson Dealer
The first 100 Jam Masters Series F-style mandolins will be signed by Gibson Original Acoustic Instruments’ Master Luthier David Harvey. Every instrument in the series will come in a snug pouch-plentiful padded travel bag, making it ready for the road and easy to haul from site to site. Contact a Gibson Dealer near you, or visit one of the internet dealers, and let the jamming begin.
They’re finally here! Our first shipment of Ernie Ball Music Man Guitars came in yesterday and they are even cooler than I expected! They’re not all pictured for the web yet, but we’ve got them spit-shined and hanging in the showroom for all to see. Here’s a list of what we’ve got: 25th Anniversary RedBurst, StingRay Bass in Olive Gold, Bongo 4HS Bass in True Gold, Ball Family Reserve Petrucci in Flame Emerald, Steve Morse SM-Y2D in Sunset Purple, Silhouette SSS in Black, and a John Petrucci in Pearl Redburst. Call for details and pricing on any or all of them.
First Quality Music is excited that our first shipment of Music Man guitars is on the way and due here in the next few days. We’ve got 7 different models coming so there should be something here to please every player!
The Steve Morse Y2D Hard Tail in Purple Sunset is already listed on our website here as well as the 25th Anniversary Guitar w/Tremolo in RedBurst which you can see here.
We’re also getting a Ball Family Reserve Petrucci in Flame Emerald. The pictures that I’ve seen of this guitar are so amazing I can’t wait to see the real thing. The rest of the list includes a Stingray in Olive Gold with a black pearloid pickguard, a Silhouette Special in black, a Bongo Humbucker in True Gold and a John Petrucci in Pearl Redburst.
When I was walking through the shop this morning, I saw something new laid out on the workbench. It was an open back banjo with ‘Sullivan’ in the peghead. This got me curious so I set out to find Allen (our Shop Manager) to find out about it.
Turns out it’s a prototype for a new model that Allen and Eric are working on. It will be an open back banjo with a 1/4″ brass ring (very affordable!) that is upgradeable at a later date to include a tone ring, flange and resonator (very adaptable!). What a cool concept!
There are a few minor tweaks that need to be made, but it should be in full production in a week or so. Each one will come standard with a Sullivan Old Growth Bridge. And, are you ready for the best part? The price is going to be less than $750!
The 2009 Gibson Acoustic guitars are starting to arrive. In the last couple of days we’ve gotten the SJ-200 Studio and the Songwriter Deluxe Standard. Nice guitars to say the least, but JC is absolutely crazy about the new 2009 Songwriter Deluxe Standard. He loves the new inlays and the flamed maple body binding. And the sound – WOW! It was amazing straight out of the box!
I just read on the Gibson website that they’ve added a ‘new compound radius fingerboard for electric guitar-like playing.’ That’s the best of both worlds – the easy play of an electric with the incredible sound from the Fishman Aura system and the classic beauty of a Gibson acoustic guitar.
And did I mention the way this guitar sounds? Gibson went ‘old-school’ and used hide glue to install the red spruce tone bars and it completely paid off! You won’t believe how great it sounds.
Both of these guitars will be on the First Quality website soon. Call JC if you have any questions about the new Gibson Acoustics. (800) 635-2021 extn 7124
