Historical Dividing Lines For Guitars

For collectors, guitar brands have historical dividing lines like “that’s when they moved the factory” or that’s when a certain person came or left.

One dividing line that seems to cross brands is pre or post WWII.

Both Martin and Gibson were introducing new models pre WWII.

They experimented. They used the best materials. They did not overproduce any line.

The Gibson J-35 is one of the “easier” treasures to find. It was introduced in 1936 and was made for about 5 years. At only $35 retail, the goal was to put quite a few in the hands of guitar players.

That does not mean they were poorly made. Adirondack Spruce for the top and Honduras Mahogany for the back and sides were great choices. The neck was round instead of the older “v” shape, so the modern feel is there. The bracing patterns used in the early J35s make the sound something unique and make the guitar worth the search.

Post WWII, they became the J45 with different bracing.

We got to see one in person.

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1963 Fender Precision Bass Patrick Lamb

Sting played his vintage Fender Precision bass on so many songs. Roger Waters used a Fender Precision bass to lay down that bass line in Pink Floyd’s hit song “Money.”

Patrick Lamb showed us his 1963 Fender Precision bass at The KC Guitar show. He tells us what he paid. It is a long way from the current value.

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Buck Owens Harmony Guitar

That guitar was on TV for decades in the weekly episodes of Hee-Haw. That show was a country version of Laugh-In mixed with a musical variety show. It is hard to imagine any American of a certain age never saw that guitar.

I confess, I thought the Red,White and Blue flat-top was a gimmick. It seemed as gaudy as an Evel Knievel outfit. I was wrong about most of that.

The paint was a message to the anti-American flag-burning of the political Left.

Not much was ever said about that. It was just on screen every week. Buck Owens licensed the guitar to Sears. Maybe that’s how he got the nick-name “Buck.” (actually his nick-name came early in life from a donkey named Buck)

What I really missed was the guitar we saw on TV was built by the legendary Semie Moseley, founder of Mosrite Guitars.

We saw a clownish character in a comedy show, but Buck Owens had 21 #1 hits on The Billboard Country Charts. That patriotic guitar was at the center of what was called “The Bakersfield sound.” That signature sound was a combination of Rock-N-Roll and honky-tonk. At the time, it ran counter to Nashville’s use of orchestra strings to beef up a recording.

In an interview, Dwight Yoakam defined the term "Bakersfield sound":

"Bakersfield" really is not exclusively limited to the town itself but encompasses the larger California country sound of the '40s, '50s and on into the '60s, and even the '70s, with the music of Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons, the Burrito Brothers and the Eagles – they are all an extension of the "Bakersfield sound" and a byproduct of it. I've got a poster of Buck Owens performing at the Fillmore West in 1968 in Haight-Ashbury! What went on there led to there being a musical incarnation called country rock. I don't know if there would have been a John Fogerty and Creedence Clearwater Revival had there not been the California country music that's come to be known as the "Bakersfield sound"

The Mosrite Guitar Company was located in Bakersfield until Semie Moseley died.

We got to hold one that Buck Owens owned.

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