Cherry On Top

To celebrate my 40th birthday, a present was in order. Not a pair of socks mind you. We are talking about a milestone in one's life. And never being one for self-sacrifice, any excuse to indulge is welcomed! So I set about to bid on a gorgeous looking 1967 Gibson ES-335 TDC on Ebay. 1967 is my birth year, after all.

I love ES semi-hollows and have always identified with them. From Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson's white ES-355 to the red ES-345 that Michael J. Fox slung in Back To The Future, this family of Gibsons started my obsession with hollowbody guitars that persists to this day. I have owned four: A 1995 cherry red ES-335; a 1970 iced tea burst ES-335; a 1980 cherry sunburst ES-347; and a 2001 blonde ES-335. Yes, I'm a guitar slut. But they were all sold for one picky reason or another, or in pursuit of yet something else that struck my fancy.

Enter the year 2007, and a 40th anniversary of life. The year 1967 is not an overwhelmingly "classic" year for vintage guitars. There were not a lot of Stratocasters and Telecasters made, or at least they are not readily seen on the market. And they are always too expensive anyway. Gibson did not seem to make many Les Pauls either. So what was left? Well, it was the summer of love... 12 strings were the rage. Fender had been sold to CBS in late 1965, and they marketed oddballs like the Coronado and its "Wildwood" variant. Gibson's classic period would end one year later in 1968. But in 1967 it was still alive and kicking, albeit with ES-335 12 strings being the most common Gibson from that year seen on Ebay and Gbase.com.

And so imagine my surprise and glee to see a cherry red 1967 ES-335 TDC with an opening bid of... er, never mind. But suffice to say that it was at least $1,000 less expensive than any other from the period, usually more like $2K. And there was only one picture - not super clear or brilliant, but it looked pretty nice. All original save a stoptail conversion "in the early 1970's". This was a common mod, as many players preferred the stoptail to the floating trapeze tailpiece that Gibson put on the 335 in 1965. Frankly, so did I. So this was a bonus, as I would feel depraved modifying a clean original vintage 335. Someone else already did, at least 30 years ago, with a clear conscience I am sure.

Relevance

Having just turned 40 and feeling like I'm about to begin the inevitable journey towards societal irrelevance that awaits all aging adults, here I am starting a blog. Fuck irrelevance! You are as current and 'hip' as you decide to be. One learns with maturity that the definition of cool is not really that ephemeral. Your attitude towards the ever-changing world you live in, established largely in your formative years, is what either makes you cool or lame. It's not based on what styles you adopt, what music you listen to, or what technology you use.

Relevance is a state of mind, and isn't to be decided by others.

Welcome to Lounge L'Orange!