That picture came with no story, so we're in the same boat there. But I take it that you're suggesting they killed it with the guitar? If so, I'll bet it was an early 80's Kramer Barreta, because everybody was glued to MTV 24/7, watchin' hair-bands and getting makeup tips from morticians and stuff. (Not me, of course.)
Then Eddie Van Halen endorsed Kramer and overnight, they sold a zillion of the cursed things. Up 'til then, he had played a homemade contraption made up of Boogie Bodies (remember them?) and Chandler necks, painted with Schwinn bicycle paint and electrical tape. He was only using one pickup, but he had pickup covers on the front two cavities so nobody could cop his tone. So the Kramer endorsement was a big deal at the time.
That's where my loathing of original Floyd Rose(s?) wiggle-sticks comes from. [shudder] my point is that those guys would have done that to some poor animal. I can't think of anybody else who would, though.
Kramers were cheap spankin' planks. They started out with aluminum necks, didja know that? Either Kramer or Travis Bean (our Jerry reference, with reverence) supplied aluminum necks for the other.
I like to think of this as a pre-derailed thread anyway, which brings up a completely different topic for no apparent reason.
I consider this
1947 Stromberg Master 400 to be a true masterpiece, worthy of inclusion into this fine assemblage of all things Alembic.
Take your time. Don't forget to breathe. I'm going to go look again myself. I've been doing that for about a week now. Ask Greg.
I love the obvious Alembic thing on the back of the neck. So elegant it almost hurts, y'know what I mean? It's so perfect it makes your fingers itchy. And that strap button? That is absolutely unique. I've never seen that anywhere else.
It's unfortunate that Elmer Stromberg's own hand built instruments suffered from a batch of bogus varnish that degraded quickly. The most obvious place is the headstock, so it's rare to see one that hasn't been refinished. Odd that he used a completely different finish elsewhere, though. Like the rest of the neck, for instance. That's the only flaw I spotted, and then only because I read about it somewhere.
It's pretty apparent what kind of women Elmer liked walking behind, if you follow my drift.
Gibson, Epiphone, Stromberg and especially D'Angelico duked it out over the little-known or understood postwar Big Butt Guitar War. Gibson came out with the outrageously widebody Super 400 with 19-inch lower bouts. Epiphone topped 'em - and themselves - with the 20-inch
Emperor Zephyr Regent. I consider that the most badass guitar ever. Check out the three DeArmonds and 6-button Bakelite Masterbilt Switching System.
John D'Angelico made the New Yorker (the one on the left was George Benson's. Note the same issue with the faceplate as Stromberg.)
Here's a superb 1947 D'Angelico New Yorker (with comparatively modest 18-inch caboose) at the National Music Museum. Click the pics to get the centerfold shots. You'll just have to imagine the staples, though.
Hey gorgeous! Nice to see yer back! Woo hoo!
Here's what a Stromberg G-7 sounds like. I think it sounds almost exactly like Gene Krupa's snare, with brushes. (And If that sprightly tune don't slap a goofy grin on your grumpy mug, well ... you're probably Scottish. Ha ha.)
