That
REALLY IS dad with the guitar!
Yamaha FG-200
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Dad was never a big
fan of the
electric guitar. "I
could never find a place to plug it in around the campfire..." he
says. However, he did own a couple of generic ones in his teen
years so that he could play in a band with his friends. He and
bands never really went far. He was always more of a solo act,
both secularly and after he gave his life and all that he was to Christ.
At a
later date, we will talk about some
of the guitars dad has had and performed with over the years, but for
now, lets just list the ones he owns and uses currently.
Mossmans
Dad has always
liked Martins and favors them above most brand name
guitars. He is in the market for a couple of them at the moment,
like a D-18, a D-28, a D-41 and a D-45. Any of those would suit
his fancy. He likes the deep lows and the crisp highs of a good
Martin Dread. Before he ever owned a Martin however, he
discovered something better! The Mossman! He had the choice
of a D-45 or a Mossman Golden Era. He claims that the
mossman beat the Martin hands down! He would however,
welcome a Martin challenge if the Martin company would like to have him
try a D-45 for a while! A corporate sponsorhip or something? |
| This
Mossman is his "baby" as far as guitars go and will be a family
heirloom. This guitar has been a part of our family for 31
years. She has been with Dad through literally thick and
thin, through the valleys and in the mountains of life. Johnny
Cash once played this very guitar when he and dad were sitting back
stage before a show ata state fair. John wanted to buy it from
dad and he wouldn't give it up. That should tell you something
about the sound and playability of this magnificient instrument.
She is the sweetest sounding guitar you could ever imagine. Many
people covet the Mossmans that were handmade by Stuart Mossman in
Winfield, Kansas in the 70's. |
  
Dad Doing Concerts Playing
the Mossman.
Takamines
Over
the years, Dad has come to enjoy the Takamine Guitar. They are an
awesome instrument for the price. He found his first one at a
pawn
shop. He paid $500 (lay away payments!) for it and sold it for
$2000.00. Actually, when we
bought our last bus, the seller took two grand off the price in trade
for the guitar. Dad always says that he would love to get it back
one
of these days. Here is a picture of Tyler playing that guitar at
one
of dad's concerts.
 This was a while ago...LOL
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Currently,
we travel with two 'Taks'. A recent model much like the
older one he used to have - maple sides and back with a Spruce
top. 
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This particular
guitar has
a very bright 'Jazzy' sound. Dad usually tunes it a
step lower than
440 C and plays it on songs he wants to sing lower on. She was a
real
gift from the Lord. Retailing for almost $800.00 in some markets,
dad
found this one brand new at a pawn shop in Temple, Georgia for
$245.00! God provided the funding on the
same day he found the guitar! Isn't God good?
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This is an
EG523SC Takamine.
There
is an urban legend that back
in the 1970's and early 80's Takamine was sued by Martin for making
exact copies of their guitars. The same woods. The same
designs. Even the Logo was a copy only using the Takamine
name. From ten feet away, you cannot tell the difference. They
play and sound exactly, and in some cases, better than the authentic
Martin models. To own one of these "copies" is essentially the
same as
owning the actual Martin guitar itself. We don't know how much of
this
urban legend is true. What we have found out is that Martin was
going
to hire Takamine to build their lower end models and for some reason
didn't follow through with that plan. They instead hired Sigma
and now
if you want a lower end Martin, they are called a Sigma Martin.
Dad
says that he has never found a Sigma that was worth buying at any price.
Dad has the Takamine
F360. An exact copy of a Martin D-28.
He says
that he has played the Martins along side of this F-360 and there is no
difference in the sound. The price however? Ten times less
than the
Martins! We like that. Dad would still like to own a
Martin or two
though - older ones.
Got one?
"You can never
have enough guitars."
 The
Takamine F-360/Martin D-28
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The "Fireside" Ibanez
A lot of the
ministry we do, and much of the music Dad plays is around the fires in
homeless camps, or around the firepit of a kitchen at a 'Rainbow
Gathering' in some National Forest somewhere. He
needed a guitar that had a nice sound, but one that he didn't have to
worry about too much. He looked around a bit and finally found
his Ibanez acoustic/Electric. It has a really nice sound,
especially plugged in. Dad recorded the 'My Lord and I' CD with
this particular guitar and people ask him all the time what kind of
guitar he used when recording. People find it hard to believe
when he tells them that he used an inexpensive Ibanez. It really
is hard to believe though. She sounds amazing plugged in, and
really good by acoustically.
Dad
playing an outdoor concert for
hurricane victims in Mississippi. He is using the Ibanez.
Well, those are all the
guitars that Dad has at the moment. He
does his best with what he has. He loves his guitars and they are
his weakness as far as material things are concerned.
Check back here once in a while, you might be surprised to find out
what new family member/guitar he might have! In the mean time he
wants you to know that Jesus loves you more than you can imagine!
Come see us on the road sometime!
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Past Guitars
Guild
 The Guild F212-XL Sunburst.
Dad recorded his 'Bought & Paid For' record with one of these.
He had
became known as the little guy with the huge 12 string guitar! LOL
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