#1869839 - 01/09/08 08:03 PM
Floating an idea for an article in Guitar Player Mag.
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mdrs
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Losely based on the book "Between The Strings; The Secret Lives Of Guitars", by John Schroeter......
How about a article relating stories of people who, for whatever reason, have found themselves separated from beloved guitars, and then have been reunited with them at some later time???
Our own Hardtail has such a story. Another forumite had several guitars stolen, and was reunited with them about a year later.
I bet there are other stories out there similiar to these? Either guitars stolen, sold, or otherwise lost, and then found.
Any other good stories out there??
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#1873754 - 01/16/08 07:16 AM
Re: Floating an idea for an article in Guitar Player Mag.
[Re: mdrs]
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Eric Iverson
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I had a beloved Fender Strat stolen in 1973 - still awaiting its return.
Should it ever finds its way back into my grubby little paws, I WILL certainly tell the story!
I have heard of other guitarists getting stolen guitars back, or getting a chance to BUY them back.
From what I understand, pawnshops are much more careful these days about checking on items brought in to them - which is much easier to do with today's technology!
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#1879730 - 01/26/08 06:42 AM
Re: Floating an idea for an article in Guitar Player Mag.
[Re: mdrs]
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Hoot
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Forget it, they aren't interested in article suggestions. They've proven this on more than one occassion.
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#1892938 - 02/17/08 12:04 AM
Re: Floating an idea for an article in Guitar Player Mag.
[Re: Hoot]
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Kramer Ferrington III.
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Actucally, it would be interesting to have an article on "your guitar's been stolen: now what?", dealing with how the police track down your gear (yeah, right) and, more importantly, ways in which you can help that process.
As we discovered in a recent(ish) thread, even if you DO find your guitar in a pawn shop, there's no guarantee that you're legally entitled to have it back, and the law can change from place to place. And say you see a guitar that looks a lot like your stolen one on Craig's List or eBay... what do you do then? Do you contact the cops? Should you go see the "seller"? How much force constitutes doing an OJ?
There's quite a bit of meat there for an article.
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#1901146 - 02/29/08 03:12 PM
Re: Floating an idea for an article in Guitar Player Mag.
[Re: Kramer Ferrington III.]
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Matt Blackett
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I did a story like this back in 1999, about a guy who bought a Gretsch and took it to his tech who noticed that it had a replacement fretboard on top of the original. When he removed it, the original had an inlay that said "Charlie Daniels." Turns out it was one of Charlie's early favorites that had been stolen at a gig a long time ago. I forget all the details but I seem to remember Charlie being bummed because the guy who discovered it wanted some sort of ransom or something.
To Hoot's point, it's not that we're not interested. We are. It's just really hard to fit everything that's already scheduled into an issue. Working in additional stories or new ideas isn't always easy.
_________________________
Matt Blackett
Associate Editor
Guitar Player Magazine
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#1901301 - 02/29/08 10:41 PM
Re: Floating an idea for an article in Guitar Player Mag.
[Re: Matt Blackett]
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Jim Quinn
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We have a sticky thread in the Downstairs Lounge dedicated to Stolen Instruments. Member "Screaming Stone" provides a free service/webiste for reporting stolen gear, and I'm sure would provide relevant insight concerning stolen instruments and recovery if you decide to publish an article on this topic.
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#1901303 - 02/29/08 10:43 PM
Re: Floating an idea for an article in Guitar Player Mag.
[Re: Matt Blackett]
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mdrs
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Hey Matt,
I appreciate you comment. That's a cool story!! In my experience, we worry too much about short term gain. If that guy returned that guitar to Charlie Daniels, I bet Charlie would have rewarded him in a significant way UNSOLICITED. Lessons learned.....
The book I referenced is a really good book....the stories are likely hard to come by. But, if you can find them, stories of beloved instruments lost, and then the reunion stories can be amazing.
The first vintage guitar I bought has a interesting story associated with it. I played from age 8, but could never afford a really quality instrument. About 10 years ago, I arrived at a point where I could start to buy decent guitars.
So, I'm at a Guitar Center, purchasing a PRS limited edition Single Cut with a Brazilian Rosewood neck......Sitting in the vintage room, playing thru a Plexi. I noticed that, in the glass "exclusive vintage" showcase right over my shoulder is a 1956 hardtail Strat. I was born in '56, and as a lead kind of player, always fantisized about owning a real '56 Strat....the same year I was born. So, I asked to play that Strat. I never really conceptualized that I could even buy it. Well, it was magic.....I've never player a guitar like that one. Several vintage expert friends have played it and said that they've never played a better Strat......
So, I went home, and couldn't sleep for two days!! I ended up buying that guitar. It came with a "white tolex" Fender hardshell case. WEll, that case is not the right case for a '56 Strat. The original case would have been a Fender Tweed hardshell case, NOT a Fender white tolex hardshell case. I still HAD TO BUY THE GUITAR...........it was that good.
So, 6 months goes buy, and I start to think about how that guitar DESERVES it's original hardshell case. I contacted my buddy at Guitar Center, and he does some research.
This '56 HT Strat was purchased at the same time as an old Tele. Well, he figured out that when that Tele was sold by Guitar Center, that the guy that sold it swapped out the original Tweed hardshell case from my '56 Strat with the white tolex hardshell case that originally came with that Tele.
So, by crook and hook, I convinced him to give me contact info with the guy who bought that Tele that ended up with the Tweed case that actually was original to my '56 Strat. This took me over a year and a half. I basically had to beg. And, beg A LOT. And, yea, there was crying associated...........
So I got the info that the guy that bought the Tele, and possessed the case original to my Strat worked in a famous musical venue. I had no name. So, I did a web search, and found a contact person in that famous venue.....and, I mean FAMOUS. The contact person fortunately KNEW the guy that bought that Tele. She contacted that person, who immediately e mailed me!!!
We went back and forth.....I established that the case was born with my Strat, and he understood that it was correct. Yet, naturally, he didn't want to part with the nice case he had....
So, I offered him the white tolex case that belonged with his Tele.....NOT ENOUGHT....so, long story short, I offered him some substantial cash.
Understand that, 1950's Fender tweed hardshell cases will go for abut $3000 these days.......
He agreed to the case swap, plus cash!!! I met him at an interchange off of I-80 in rural Pennsylvania. Don't tell him, but I brought my pistol.....I had no idea who I was actually gonna meet. He was a total GENTLEMAN, and we did the swap plus me giving him cash.
It was all worth it. My once in a lifetime Strat, born in June of 1956, the same month as Clapton's "Brownie", and two months before I was born, is now forever reunited with it's original Fender hardshell Tweed Case.
Edited by mdrs (02/29/08 10:47 PM)
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#1902377 - 03/03/08 06:02 AM
Re: Floating an idea for an article in Guitar Player Mag.
[Re: mdrs]
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Eric Iverson
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Then there's the Bo Diddley solution. He had a square guitar made so no one could possibly mistake it for someone else's!
A violist friend told me he once walked out with someone else's viola! (Of course he brought it back.) I told him to get a square viola made!
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#1905092 - 03/07/08 09:26 AM
Re: Floating an idea for an article in Guitar Player Mag.
[Re: Eric Iverson]
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iTwang
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I've suggested an article on the True Temperament tuning system to Mr. Jude Gold about a year ago - not even a reply.....
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#1913795 - 03/21/08 01:43 PM
Re: Floating an idea for an article in Guitar Player Mag.
[Re: iTwang]
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d
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While this forum's an easy way to approach editors with an idea, we shouldn't be offended if they don't take all our suggestions & run with them. Imagine how many ideas they must hear, let alone those things they'd individually prefer to write about.
One other option would be to develop & submit stories ourselves, rather than just type in an idea or pet subject.
For those serious on a topic, a more traditional method is to contact periodicals for their guidelines on style & submissions. Publications like Writers Guide or Writers Market can offer specifics on how to best approach various periodicals, as well as offer lists of publications in related areas.
BTW, I think GPS-type gizmos offer a solution to theft/loss problems.
Edited by d (03/21/08 01:45 PM)
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