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| The
main thrust of Dad's ministry over the years again, has been his
music. All the music he writes and performs is done so with a
guitar. When dad was 12, he had a next door neigbor named Mayjean Bowles. She was a couple of years younger than he was and very interested in him. Dad was interested in her guitar. He had to have one. He begged and begged his mom to buy him a guitar, but they were a poor family and there wasn't much left over for frivolus things like musical instruments. Still, he felt in his heart that he was supposed to play the 'Tennessee Flat Top Box". Finally after weeks and weeks of begging, our grandmother bought him a $20 guitar from a department store. It was horrible. Dad says that "you could do limbo under the strings," but he didn't care. The moment he touched a guitar he could call his own, history was made. He couldn't put it down. It became a part of him physically. If you ever seen him play in person, you know what that means. His first guitar was a red stained 'Kay' six string. He had that guitar for about 4 years and then gave it to his Uncle Donald as a Christmas present. I don't think it was ever played seriously again. He had a series of different guitars over the next few years, but it wasn't until he was about 17 that he got his first "real" guitar. It was a Yamaha FG-200. It was an inexpensive, not so best of quality guitar, but Dad didn't know that. He had not yet tasted of the Martin's and Custom made dreadnoughts that he would later come to own and play. This FG-200 and he went all over the country together. He and his mom paid about $200.00 for it in the early 1970's.  That REALLY IS Dad with the guitar in 1976 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. |
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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 33
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 at a 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. Cuurently they are made by another
man who bought the company I guess. Mossman
Guitars.
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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.  Tyler Playin one of Dad's Taks - Quite a while ago! 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.
 Dad playin' an EG-523SC This particular guitar has a very bright 'Jazzy' sound. Dad has been tuning it to an 'OPEN G' tuning - a very nice alternative tuning that sounds very nice with a slide. 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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The
"Lawsuit" Takamines
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 Takamine "lawsuit" guitars are exactly the same. The same woods. The same designs. Even the Logo was a copy, except they used 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. And an F450s. An exact copy of the Martin D-45. 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? Multiple 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." LOL   The f-360S/D-28 ........... f-450-S/D-45  Dad
in Concert with the Takamine F-360
The 12 String Days
In the early days of Dad's music ministry, he was greatly influenced by another artist by the name of Barry McGuire. Barry
encouraged him to sing for the Lord and to use his musical talent for
the Kingdom of God. At the time, Barry played a huge 12 string
which dad liked the sound of. He decided to start playing the 12
string too and became known as the little Jesus Music singer with the
big 12 string guitar. He recorded his first studio release album,
"Bought & Paid For' entirely with his Guild F-212-XL. A
guitar he wishes that he still had.
 Guild
F-212-XL |
