Funny you mention Django, many explain his style by saying "He used his broken fingers as a capo" One of my all time favorite players.

But in Jazz, you rarely use open strings, so a capo has little use. And since most scalar patterns are the same all over the fretboard, it makes no sense to use one for solo work either. But in blues, it's a different story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBt6j99YJMI Her is an interview with Jimmie, he explains why he uses a capo.

He can play without it to. But as a player I don't think he plays a lot of other styles than blues or rock. But does that make him a lesser player?

300 guitars... wov? Do you collect them?
I have 12, and my wife keep telling me I have too many

Yes-it's an addiction. I have 23 L-5's, for instance. Early on, a mentor told me to not trust investment "experts", collect guitars.

It's pretty easy, actually. Concentrate of getting the best price possible (usually 40% off) on L-5's, 335's, 345's, 355's, Strat's, Tele's, P bass. Jazz Bass and a few others.

Of course, it's fun to take a flyer on collectibles once in a while. For instance, I have the double-neck Robbin that is identical to the one Jimmy and Stevie played on their "Pipeline" medley, and was on the Robbin catalog cover in the mid-80's. 25 were produced. It's easy to see the footage of the two playing it-just Google Robbin Double-neck and Stevie Ray Vaughan. One sold at an Eric Clapton auction for over $34,000.00. That's because it was an Eric Clapton charity auction, was the one donated by Jimmy and was the ACTUAL one from the catalog cover. Real value: about $2000.00 for mine-purchased for about $550.00 mid 80's...not a big money-maker-yet!.

Been collecting almost 50 years. Have a Gibson L-5 I bought new for around $600 in the 50's which is worth over $30,000.00 now, and some pieces worth in excess of $100,000.00. A lot has to do with the builder (can make 50% difference-individual craftsmen sometimes identify themselves on the sticker inside)) and the popularity of the line/model.

Average annual appreciation on the collection is 26.6%, and all have been depreciated to $0-except for purchases within the last three years. Of course, the little thing called Capital Gains Tax is always a factor. People who want an instrument, like a Philharmonic that called last week wanting a 70's L-5 for around $20,000.00 would issue a 1099 to me, which would trigger the Capital Gains tax.

Mostly, I'm HOOKED on the collection. Recently, I gave a very good friend here a nylon string. Took me a month to choose one of 10 I have in the warehouse, and then I thought I simply COULDN'T do without it, even though it hadn't been out of the case for 5 or more years! (Kind of sad, don''t you think?).


Sorry for the rant. Several members have seen about 1/3 of the collection, and they leave here just shaking their heads.


Don't know if that's good or bad!

Be well,

Russ

(Then, there's the cars, motorcycles, motor scooters, guns, watches, knives, jewelery, keyboards, amplifiers....on and on!).



[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 11-22-2010).]

Whew, thanks Russ. That gets me off the hook for using the transpose button. I guess I'm pretty much the polar opposite of Scott Yee, I'm comfortable in most any key except the #'s and b's, with the exception of B nat, of course. Scott probably revels in that one, too.

I prefer C, F, G, D, A, Bb, E in about that order. I can play in the others, but I don't want to and don't have to either.
DonM

Wov, Russ sounds like a truly amazing collection! I myself enjoy building guitars, so I get what you are saying. I wish I had the cash to collect some older gems like you have aquired over the years, because they sure don't make them like they used to..

I hope you enjoy each and everyone of them, and that you keep them alive by playing them.

DocZ

I use the transpose button sometimes myself.

It is usually if my voice is tired from singing a lot or I have a throat infection. Then I know I will not be able to hit the high notes, or use my falsetto. Then for convenience on some tunes I take the tune half a step or a whole step down. That is just so I don't have to think about playing the song in another key, leaves me room to get the crowd going and smile at the girls

DocZ

Interesting that jazz tunes tend more towards the flat keys (C,F,Bb,Eb,Ab) while country-pop-rock charts more commonly sharp keys (C-G-D-A-E); perhaps because horn/brass (sax, etc) are flat-key instruments , whereas country-pop is based more on the guitar, where sharp keys are typically easier to play.

You're right, Scot. There are horn keys and there are guitar keys. In early surf music days, all bands had a tenor player. The band often tuned down 1/2 step, making it easy to play in a real Eb and Ab.


Russ

Yep, that's quite true. We had a tenor player at one time andhe always opted for 'flat' keys. Now and again we'd coax him into doing something in F, but that was about it. I always struggled with Eb, Ab, etc., still do.

In the 50's, 60’s, and 70’s I played with “Rock and Roll bands no problem with the keys they played in. I play in the French Quarters 5 nights a week. I had to play many tunes I was not familiar with so, I had to use a fake book. I could transpose out of the "C" book 1 note higher and got good at this. I was always grateful for this gig as it is the one that I learned many “Jazz Standards”.

In the "Big Easy" in those days, you never knew who was going to call. I had a “Country Rock” band call for me to do a gig at the municipal Auditorium in front of about 6 to 8 thousand people. They did Elvis tunes. Yes in E, A, D. That is where most of the old country tunes are written and played. I’ve had more than a few guitar players tell me it was the easiest key for them to play in just as most of the b chords are easier for sax players. With the exception of Db and Gb.

Of course, along with the b keys F, G, C is easier for the tenor sax also.