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“Smoke on the Water” Revealed
Two Necks... Two Letters
Doublenecks Are Sweet!
What an exciting surprise awaited me as I
opened my mailbox to find Premier Guitar
featuring doublenecks this issue! I have my
own doubleneck story: it was 1991 and I was
a senior in high school. That summer I had a
graduation party where I received a thousand
dollars from friends and family for furthering
my education, but I was dead-set on
acquiring the crown jewel of my adolescent
dreams: an Alpine White Gibson EDS-1275,
exactly like the one my idol, Jimmy Page,
played. I borrowed the rest of the money
from my folks and the guitar was mine. I
owned it for several years, but a combination
of lean living and the fact that I was NOT
Jimmy Page coerced me into parting with
this treasure. I wish I still had it. Thanks for
featuring it in your excellent magazine.
Tim Woosley
Thanks, Tim. We couldn’t have said it any
better—doublenecks are indeed sweet!
Doubleneck of the Future?
I thought I’d send you a photo of our Ztar/
Guitar doubleneck... Steinberger-style electric
with a 24-fret MIDI guitar controller attached!
Harvey Starr
Starr Labs
LETTERS
Thanks for sharing, Harvey. That’s an
instrument that perfectly captures the spirit
of multi-neck guitars: pushing the boundaries.
Counterfeit Concerns
I read and enjoyed the article on
counterfeit guitars in your December
issue. But after reading it, I felt that the
author Bob Cianci didn’t fully speak to
the issues that we are all facing with this
problem. Imagine that instead of guitars,
our citizens were importing counterfeit
$100 bills. Clearly this would be illegal,
but it would also represent a serious social
danger. When confidence goes down and
a currency is diluted enough, markets
collapse. We have all experienced the
consequences of collapsed markets over
the last year, and it hasn’t been pleasant.
This is exactly what will eventually happen
in the guitar industry if counterfeiting isn’t
curtailed. I ask your readers who think of
purchasing counterfeit guitars as a way
of getting back at “the man” to go to
You Tube and watch the videos of Gibson
employees building guitars… working stiffs
like you and me who have kids in school
and mortgages to pay. Whatever you think
of Gibson’s management, be clear that it’s
these everyday workers who will be fired
first and who will suffer the most.
Robert Coleman
Petaluma, California
Thanks for the thoughtful response to our
article, Robert. We agree that musicians
must take the issue seriously, and hope
that we can help educate players to make
responsible choices.
Redeeming Repros
I’m glad you redeemed yourselves in
the counterfeit guitars article. You had
started with a photo of a Burny made for
the Japanese market, but then launched
into Chinese copies that use Gibson and
others’ names. The two are fundamentally
different. The ending article on Greco
was a nice touch. Chinese copies should
be frowned on by all of us who hold
intellectual property dear. Gibson and
others logos belong to them. Greco and
Burny were made for the Japanese market
only, not for USA import. Those of us lucky
enough to get our hands on one truly hold
a treasure from the past. My 1979 Greco
EG800 LP-style guitar is amazing. They
even got the nibs on the fingerboard right,
something I may add my Gibson 1986 LP
custom and my Gibson 1981 LP standard
didn’t have. I enjoy the mag every month,
keep up the good work.
Jon Way
We got lots of letters pointing out the
difference between Japanese copies and
Chinese counterfeits due to our use of a
photo of Duff McKagan with his Burny in
the design of the article. We went into the
article very aware of the differences between
the two camps. We felt that the presence
of the legitimate side of foreign “copies”
was important, so as to make the distinction
between those and the full-on counterfeits,
as well as to highlight a possible source of
some peoples’ openness to counterfeits if
they’re unfamiliar with the differences. Jon,
we’re glad you caught the tie-in with the
stellar Greco featured as our Guitar of the
Month, and congrats on being lucky enough
to own a good one.
Thorn Fans Unite
I want to thank you for the piece you
published on Ron Thorn Guitars. I have
been a fan of Ron for more than eight
years. He is an artist, luthier, engineer and
a great person. Ron never tries to push
himself in the field; he is a very humble
person by nature. His followers have
needed to get his name around.
Wayne Medoff
We’ve definitely noticed the enthusiasm
that surrounds Ron’s work, and were more
than happy to cover a stand-up guy with
stand-out guitars!
Keep those comments coming!
Please send your suggestions, gripes, comments and good words directly to
info@premierguitar.com.
You can also send snail mail to Premier Guitar, Three Research Center, Marion, IA 52302.
Please remember to include your full name. Selected letters may be edited for clarity.
