Artist Spotlight: Shovels and Rope and Old Gibson Guitars

Shovels and Rope

My dad quoted a "statistic" the other day about how 1/3 of kids these days primarily get their news from Facebook.  "That's crazy" I said, not feeling convicted at all.  Then I thought to myself that isn't that bad, after all, Facebook is what brought on the musical- albeit one-sided love affair between myself Shovels and Rope.  Exhibit A:

If you have just spent the past thirty minutes watching other S&R youtube videos then you are not alone.  Shovels and Rope are a husband and wife duo out of Charleston, SC.  "Rowdy" is how I described their sound to my brother as he reluctantly listened to me ramble about how much I enjoyed their music.  Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent also have a inclination towards old Gibson acoustic guitars.  This pair of multi-generational Kalamazoo- born six strings frequent both the videos and live performances of Shovels and Rope.

Cary Ann's Gibson LG-0

Cary Ann is playing a Gibson LG-0 made most likely between '58 and '62, judging from the straight bridge missing its pearl dots.  This was Gibson's most affordable model from about '58 to '67 (in this general configuration).  The LG-0 was ladder braced and made from solid Mahogany.  The model didn't receive a Spruce top until around '68.  These guitars have that great old guitar feel and don't commonly need repair other than a bridge reglue.  The tone is usually less desirable than one would expect from an old Gibson but with an average retail price of about $550 for one in good condition, they are a pretty good deal.  They are also good stage guitars since the bodies are a bit less resonant and therefore a bit less prone to feedback.  Cary Ann's LG-0 sports a refinished (or maybe unfinished?) headstock.  She doesn't seem to mind all that much.

Michael's Gibson ES-150

Michael Trent is often seen playing his Gibson ES-150 made between about 1940 and 1942.  I've been trying to come across this version of the 150 because of that single "P-90-esque" pickup in the bridge position.  Gibson started used this pickup on the 150 around about 1940 but discontinued it sometime in '42.  A similar pickup appears in '55 on the Silvertone Espanada.  I've seen this pickup called the Gibson "P13" pickup, which was supposedly a precursor to the P-90.

The ES-150 features an arched, solid Spruce top with tone bar bracing.  Some say that the tone bars are a bit heavier than normal Gibson archtops of the time to limit feedback.  I doubt that it is enough to tame this feedback beast.  That pickup is hot and full of tube saturating power.  I have never had the honor of playing one of these but maybe one is in my future.

"Oh, Be Joyful"

Look for for the first Shovels and Rope full length album, "Oh, Be Joyful" and give it a listen.  You may enjoy the first single of that album titled "Birmingham" which happens to be the name of my home town. I'm quite taken with this oldie, "Hell's Bells."

Here is a link to their Tumblr:  http://shovelsandrope.tumblr.com/

TVG

1944 Gibson J-45 "Only a Gibson is good enough"

The banner on Gibson's wartime flat-tops appeared around June of 1942 and disappeared sometime in 1946.  It is still a but unclear why but we may know more about the banner after this book comes out: Kalamazoo Gals.  Maybe it had something to do with national pride during the war years since the Martin guitar company was still family owned and the original CF Martin was in fact, a German immigrant.  This is solely speculation though, It may have had nothing to do with Martin.

This guitar was probably made in 1944 but again, that is just a guess.  It bears no visible factory order number and may have never received one which is common for the late war years.  It was constructed of a two piece Spruce top and a solid, one piece flat-sawn Mahogany back.  The one piece back is of note because it is evidence that wood stock piles were low so "lower quality" wood was used.  The Mahogany should have been quarter sawn for appearance and strength however this process wastes more wood than the flat sawing method.  Also of note, the Kalamazoo Gals that built this guitar were told to put "back strips" on the interior of the guitar to help the two joined quarter sawn pieces of Mahogany.  Yet this guitar has a one piece back.

I mention this because the people that built this guitar were probably not men who had worked in the factory for many years.  More than likely they were "Rosie the Riveters" that filled the empty positions of men who had gone to support the war effort.  In John Thomas' book, "Kalamazoo Gals," an argument is made that these guitars were somewhat superior to other Gibsons because of the nature of the women who made them.  These women had been working with their hands all of their lives.  They may not have been making guitars but they were very skilled nonetheless.  Since the book is not out yet I cannot say that this is the exact point or argument made.  I am very excited about the book as you can imagine!

One thing that I have noticed as a pattern of the banner Gibsons is that they have a distinctive percussive "thump" that vibrates throughout the entire instrument when a string is struck.  My experience is limited since I have played only as many banners as you can count on two hands but it is certainly a pattern.  A friend once described the thump of this exact instrument to be akin to a "lapping", as if from the tongue.  I thought that was a great way to describe it since thump would indicate a bit bass heavy, which these guitars are not.  I am worthless when it comes to describing tone with words so just bear with me.

I have three banner J-45s: one spruce and mahogany, one all mahogany and one in the mail that is spruce and flame maple.  The maple banner is still in the mail and should arrive in a couple of days.  I'll be doing two more posts on the other two banners later this month.  Do you have a banner Gibson?  Send some pictures to my email at tvguit at gmail.  I don't want to post the actual email for fear of bots.

TVG