"These are a few of my favorite things" #6 - Fujitsu Scansnap S1500M

This is another odd one, considering that we ordered this scanner about 18 months and just finally hooked it up last week. But one-touch scanning to PDFs (or into Evernote) is great. It's playing a key role in a project I've been wanting to do for a while, which was just unveiled here on my website :-)

This is going to be great as I transition to a paperless existence.

Update: One of the best uses of this is to share words/chords to songs. When friends come over to play music and have a new song to share, in about 30 seconds I can have it scanned and emailed to everyone.

Martin (and Taylor) guitars, the seasons for bluegrass, and burritos vs. burgers, according to Google Trends

Guitar discussion boards (like the UMGF and Acoustic Guitar Forum) often devolve into brand wars..."What's better...Martin or Taylor?" with fans of each weighing in. I'm not going to get into my preferences (other than saying I've had three from each at various points in the past, and still have at least one of each), and there really isn't an answer to that question anyways. The primary questions I'm musing about here are (a) whether one of these brands has garnered more interest on the internet and (b) has that changed over time?

A third question ties into my ramblings from last week on the prospects of vintage guitars as investments, where I questioned (c) whether there would be continued interest in this instruments over the long haul.

I recently ran across the Google Trends tool...Here are the trends for "martin guitars" and "tayor guitars" (top) and "martin guitar" and "taylor guitar" (bottom):

 

• In the top plot, Martin clearly outpaces Taylor until mid-2010 or so. Then things are pretty even. But more interestingly, both are decreasing over time. Does this indicate that people are becoming less interested in these awesome instruments over the last decade?
• In the bottom one, Martin is higher than Taylor until early 2007, then things are relatively even for a couple of years, and then Taylor takes over. These differences aren't really the product of increasing searches for "taylor guitar"-- that stays relatively flat (or at least doesn't trend one way or another, although it spikes and falls sporadically). Again, it's due to Martin slipping.
• I did versions of these plots with "gibson guitar(s)" included and Gibson outpaces both, but that's likely due do the fact they make both acoustic and electric guitars. But Gibson trends downward as well.
• In the top plot there are regular yearly spikes in December; a holiday gift effect?
• What's interesting about this is that in the last decade, Martin pumped out more instruments that ever (see here for more data). Even with Martins in the hands of more players than ever, there's less interest in them, at least using this metric. 

In looking at some Martin dreadnoughts, it looks like the D-28 is still king, and that the D-18, D-35, and D-15 are pretty much similarly searched. But the entry-level DX1 comes in second; this speaks to Martin's efforts to expand their market reach with affordable instruments.

Is the guitar become less popular? Maybe a bit, but the "electric guitar" is being hit a bit harder than "acoustic guitar" (this plot clearly shows the December spike).

Here's "acoustic guitar" and "banjo" (note that if you just enter "guitar," it dwarfs "banjo"). They both are relatively flat, just trending downward a bit, and the "martin" downward slope is steeper than the general "acoustic guitar" slope. Also, "banjo" doesn't show the December spike in the same way that "acoustic guitar" does. Kids must not be asking for banjos for Christmas.

This one for "bluegrass" is cool because is so perfectly cyclical. Interest is low in November and then increases through the following summer, peaking in the height of bluegrass festival season in July and August. Then things drop in the fall season.

Just to show that some things have gone up over time, here's "facebook" (the plots for "twitter" and "iphone" are similar).

And here we see "wendys" being passed by "jimmy johns" and "chipotle".

*Note, these analyses were inspired by research by my friends and colleagues Drs. Patrick and Charlotte Markey.

Changing strings: Martin's Tony Rice "Monel" bluegrass strings

I recently picked up three sets of the new Martin Tony Rice Monel strings from Elderly Instruments. My usual strings (at least on D-sized guitars) are Martin 80/20 bronze Marquis strings in medium gauge. The Monels are a nickel alloy, and at similarly gauged (the B, D, and A strings are a shade lighter than the Marquis 80/20s). Interestingly, the Monels have slightly higher string tension (184.9 pounds) than the Marquis (181.1 pounds), although they feel a bit looser/lighter than the the 80/20s. The more important question, of course, is how they sound. Well, they have been on my 1956 D-18 for a few days, and here are my initial impressions.

Generally, my D-18 seems to have lost its mojo with these strings. There's not the same snap, crackle, and pop with them; the sizzle and power in the guitar seems to have disappeared. The Monels sound more jangly to me, and the richness and quality in the tone has melted away. The bass is muted in favor of trebles, and this is a guitar that doesn't need to lean further in that direction. Overall the volume seems lessened and there's a thinner tone. The guitar doesn't sound "bad," but the Monels don't let this special guitar shine.

The reviews and chatter on various discussion boards seem to be about 4-to-1 in favor of Martin's new Monel strings. I still have two sets and I'll try them on some other guitars, but so far I'm in the minority that doesn't love them. The question is whether I leave them on the D-18 and play them until they need to be changed (maybe they'll get better!), or if should pull them off and put my old stand-bys back on.

Of course, your experiences may differ with your guitar, ear, and preferences. And I reserve the right to change my mind as these strings break in and/or the weather (i.e., humidity) changes...

Update: I'm still not too keen on the Monels with the D-18, but I tried a set on a Collings CJ (mahogany with an adirondack top) and they okay, at least to me, on this guitar. Some of what I said before still holds (more jangle, less bass), but that works better on the CJ than the Martin. This isn't to say that they are better than the Marquis on the CJ. Just different, but in an acceptable way. I don't have the urge to immediately go back to Marquis like with my D-18. We'll see how these strings settle in on the CJ...

Update 2: My D-18 is strung back up with medium Marquis, and it has its mojo back...

5 bearding curiosities on the interwebs

1. Prof or hobo? Take the quiz...(not specifically a beard site, but they play a key role in this challenge)

2. Cat beards (and more here)

3. The trustworthiness of beards

4. The Magic Beard

5. Beard tokens (read more about beard taxes here)

Santa Cruz Guitar Company virtual tour

Check out the full series here.

Bluegrass jam in Elkton, Maryland

We're #2!

I usually don't talk much about work here, but I couldn't think of a better place to note this. A few months ago I commented on the recognition that one gets from academic publishing; I just learned from a colleague that one of my articles (Le & Agnew, 2003) is the second most cited paper from the journal Personal Relationships between 2002-2013, and that among the PR papers published between 2010-11, another one of our papers (Le, Dove, Agnew, Korn, & Mutso, 2010) is the second most referenced in 2012. Wanna get cited? Do meta-analysis! 

More Martin 00-DB (Jeff Tweedy signature model)

I previously wrote about this guitar, but just ran across this nice video of a 00-DB in action from the good folks at Gryphon Stringed Instruments.

And another video from Chicago Music Exchange.

And here's a video of a guy covering Van Morrison on one. A nice recording, but the guitar is plugged in so maybe not the best sense of the true tonal characteristics of it.

Photo of the week - August 20, 2013

At the Old Fiddlers' Picnic, Hibernia Park, Chester County, PA. Fuji X-Pro1 with 14mm lens @ f/7.1, 1/300 seconds.

Vintage guitars as investments: A bump in the road or the beginning of the end?

Disclaimer #1: I have no background in finance or experience with investing.

Disclaimer #2: Other than my "players grade" D-18, I'm not invested in vintage guitars at all, although I'd love to be in a financial position to get into this game.

I'm just thinking out loud here, and admittedly am not considering all of the relevant points involved. But I've been thinking recently about the idea of vintage guitars as an investment. I'm not sure if this is rationalization and wishful thinking (as if I ever could), or just a confluence of two interests of mine (guitars, obviously, along with retiring from working). If you follow guitar discussion boards and classified, eBay, and vintage guitar dealers, through the nineties, and up until about five years ago, vintage guitar prices were steadily climbing. I love the idea of the "42 Guitar Index" which tracks the value of 42 classic vintage instruments on the collectors' market.

But with the financial downturn, prices of vintage guitars have taken a tumble. Is this a blip? Will prices start climbing again when the economy picks back up? Rather than thinking about this from a financial perspective, I wonder whether it makes sense returning these instruments to their intended purpose...How do they represent buyers' interest in the music that these guitars make?

Here's the idea: The demand for vintage guitars is being driven by baby boomers who love classic rock and folk music  of the 60s an 70s (i.e., the music that was built on Fenders, Gibsons, Martins, etc.). Boomers are a large demographic and are now to a point where they have discretionary funds to revisit their youthful obsessions. Their desire and ability to acquire vintage instruments is what fueled the skyrocketing prices. The recession hit their retirement funds and their discretionary income, and thus the subsequent dip in values. So, once things bounce back and there's more money for luxury goods like vintage guitars, will prices rebound? Here's the argument for why they won't (which I admit is not my own...I ran across it on an online guitar forum):

It's a morbid thought, but boomers won't be around forever. As they age and "fade away", the demand for vintage guitars should lessen. At the very least, the market for these guitars can't keep growing, but could conceivably shrink, depending on the musical preferences of subsequent generations (my fellow Gen-Xers). For those of us who grew up musically in the 1980's, give or take a few years, will we covet vintage guitars? I know my personal answer to that question, but what about the rest of my generation? If our musical interests are split between folk/rock/alternative and genres that are less guitar oriented (rap, electronic, pop), and we're a smaller cohort to begin with, will the demand for Les Pauls, Strats, Teles, and Martin Ds lessen?

I love vintage guitars, but if I had a lot of money tied up in them, I wouldn't be that confident that they'll bounce back. That's bad news for their wallets, but good news for people like me that want to play these beautiful instruments.

Update: See here for my post on tracking guitar trends.

Photo of the week - August 13, 2013

The view from the beach at Seal Rock, Oregon. Fuji X-Pro1 with 14mm lens @ f/22 and 30 seconds, processed with Snapseed and Silver Efex for Aperture on a Mac.

Entering month four...

Today marks month 4 or vegetarianism (see a few minor slip-ups here). I'm surprised that I don't miss burgers. I thought that would be the most difficult part of this adventure, but put enough barbeque sauce, onions, and a slice of cheese on it and a veggie patty is just as tasty as a beef burger. The hardest part has been the bacon and other such "side meats" that are slipped into stuff that I otherwise like to eat (e.g., Cobb salads). But overall, it hasn't been the major lifestyle disruption that I thought it would be. My next goal is 6 months; check back in on October 12th.

Photo of the week - August 6, 2013

Nye Beach in Newport, Oregon. Fuji X-Pro1 with 55-200mm lens @ 55mm, f/6.4, and 1/450 seconds, processed with Snapseed on an iPad. Click on the image above to see it fullsize.

Grinnell Guitars, by Gibson

"GGG"...and not in the way that Dan Savage means.

This post pays tribute to a wonderful combination of two things I love: vintage guitars and Grinnell (College...although in reality, this doesn't have anything to do with the college). Grinnell Brothers was a music retailer in Michigan in the '30s, and much like the Kalamazoo, Recording King, Cromwell, Martelle, etc. brands, these guitars were made by Gibson. Although the general body shapes are similar to Gibson models, there are typically some structural differences like ladder (rather than X) bracing and a lack of truss rods.

Here's a 1940 Grinnell Spanish Special (images from TR Crandall Guitars in NYC; please buy this guitar from them so that it doesn't keep tempting me):

This one is a 1945 694-F from Southworth Guitars:

Update: Martin made some guitars for Grinnell Bros. too...

Procrastination, a (slightly) redesigned website, and a cow

I'm procrastinating from working on my classes for the fall semester and decided to spiffy up my website a bit with a slightly cleaner look and a home page that has an embedded photo album. I had every intention of working on the website for the seminar I'm teaching, but somehow got sucked into updating this site instead.

The first impression that someone gets upon landing on my page is now a cow.

Portland Blues Festival, 2013

Photo of the week - July 30, 2013

At Silver Falls State Park, Oregon. Fuji X-Pro1 with 14mm lens @ f/8 and 1/56 seconds, processed with Snapseed on a Mac. See more from this album here.

Martin on sustainable timbers

"If I ruled the world" #1 - Lancaster Ave.

I admit that I'd enjoy being a dictator. When I get promoted to the position, my first order of business will be to change the traffic patterns on Lancaster Ave., between Rosemont and Wynnewood PA, from two lanes of traffic each way to one lane in each direction. This would decrease car traffic and make drivers slow down, and with the recovered space, wide sidewalks and bike lanes could be created. Imagine Ardmore and Bryn Mawr with outdoor cafes, walkable downtowns, and appealing public spaces.

Photo of the week - July 23, 2013

The view of the Willamette River from Tom McCall Waterfront Park during the Blues Festival, Portland, Oregon. Fuji X-Pro1 with 14mm lens @ f/11 and 1/420 seconds, using the sweep panorama feature, processed with Snapseed on a Mac. Click on the image above to see it fullsize.