Anybody Believe in This?

[texred]

Re: Anybody Believe in This?

What's the diff between a lead guitarist and a terrorist? You can negotiate with a terrorist.

[texred]

Re: Anybody Believe in This?

They look like plain Phillips screws in most pics but if you see them from an angle they're actually little brass pulleys. They work fine and don't bind when you're playing; I've been using one off and on since '82 and haven't had any pitch problems during active use. They do make tuning the guitar feel a little funny, though - there's a slight time delay after you adjust the tuner before the string settles to its final pitch. It's odd but you get used to it. Found a good closeup pic of one:

You still have that Moderne?

[Jeff_H]

Re: Anybody Believe in This?

Sorry Red, been having a ****ty week with Dr's, quality of care, honesty and medication. I think I finally have it worked out but it's been a brutal week.

I don't have any witty one liners or jokes right now. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't give you a hard time. Remember this; you never have to question my genuine affection for you as long as I'm giving you a hard time or generally harassing you (in the best possible way). Only be concerned if I stop.

#texredBrujaMagnifico

[texred]

Re: Anybody Believe in This?

Sorry Red, been having a ****ty week with Dr's, quality of care, honesty and medication. I think I finally have it worked out but it's been a brutal week.

I don't have any witty one liners or jokes right now. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't give you a hard time. Remember this; you never have to question my genuine affection for you as long as I'm giving you a hard time or generally harassing you (in the best possible way). Only be concerned if I stop.

#texredBrujaMagnifico

ur
I know that, ya silly. Sorry that Mrs.Jeff is sick. Sure is a lot goin around. You always make my day. I have pretty serious problems and wake up every morning in afib wondering if I'm going to die today. Majority of heart attacks happen in the morning, then you're worrying about it, and gonna put yourself in the grave. Also, I'm going to Lubbock for back surgery, because I'd like to be able to stand and walk in whatever time I have left. To quote my little dead brother, "Life sucks and then you die". Me, I just say "worm food".
I know ya'll ain't doin too good either, and you will never know how much I appreciate your laughs and insultin (not really) you. Randall is afraid you'll get sick of it and stop being my friend, but I know better. What does he know? He's in St Paul for chrissakes!!! He's coming here (1200 mi) to help me out, and has already paid for me a round trip to St Paul. Which is even cooler now that I know the Mayo Clinic is 30 minutes from there. I thought it was only in AZ. He'll be here in a month. He really is another freak with at least 20 guitars. I asked him, and he doesn't even know, but it's more than that. You folks are CRAZY! (My Lowell George)
love

[texred]

Re: Anybody Believe in This?

Sorry, public. I thought I was writing in gmail, coz I get this stuff forwarded. Now that everyone knows our personal business. .. . sorry jh
Love to Ma (not you)

[texred]

Re: Anybody Believe in This?

I believe in a wonderful off topic doesn't matter forum. We are the masters.

[dystrust]

Re: Anybody Believe in This?

ur
I know that, ya silly. Sorry that Mrs.Jeff is sick. Sure is a lot goin around. You always make my day. I have pretty serious problems and wake up every morning in afib wondering if I'm going to die today. Majority of heart attacks happen in the morning, then you're worrying about it, and gonna put yourself in the grave. Also, I'm going to Lubbock for back surgery, because I'd like to be able to stand and walk in whatever time I have left. To quote my little dead brother, "Life sucks and then you die". Me, I just say "worm food".
I know ya'll ain't doin too good either, and you will never know how much I appreciate your laughs and insultin (not really) you. Randall is afraid you'll get sick of it and stop being my friend, but I know better. What does he know? He's in St Paul for chrissakes!!! He's coming here (1200 mi) to help me out, and has already paid for me a round trip to St Paul. Which is even cooler now that I know the Mayo Clinic is 30 minutes from there. I thought it was only in AZ. He'll be here in a month. He really is another freak with at least 20 guitars. I asked him, and he doesn't even know, but it's more than that. You folks are CRAZY! (My Lowell George)
love

The Mayo Clinic is more like an hour from St. Paul; maybe a bit more from the airport.

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Anybody Believe in This?

You still have that Moderne?

I still have mine, but I didn't have a good closeup of the headstock on an angle. That one is somebody else's.

[texred]

Re: Anybody Believe in This?

The Mayo Clinic is more like an hour from St. Paul; maybe a bit more from the airport.

That's ok. In TX, it's like a 5 min. diff!!

[texred]

Re: Anybody Believe in This?

I still have mine, but I didn't have a good closeup of the headstock on an angle. That one is somebody else's.

Is it an '82, or what? Got a pic without worrying about headstock angle? How many of those were actually made? A friend told me there's like 3 living. I just can't believe. . . educate us-almost any guitar story is a good story!

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Anybody Believe in This?

Is it an '82, or what? Got a pic without worrying about headstock angle? How many of those were actually made? A friend told me there's like 3 living. I just can't believe. . . educate us-almost any guitar story is a good story!

The Moderne reportedly debuted alongside its other futuristic cousins the Flying Vee and Explorer (originally Futura) at the NAMM show in 1958; Gibson called them the Modernist series. I'm not sure any photos of that expo have survived and some dispute that the Moderne was even there. It isn't entirely clear whether that was this guitar's original name either.

None of the (possibly three or four) original 1950s Moderne prototypes have survived; at least none has ever been authenticated. There are one or two that are reputed to be original bodies cobbed together with different model Gibson necks from the same era; Billy Gibbons has one of those which he claims to be original 50s vintage.

There's a story circulating of a Gibson worker who claims to have borrowed one around 1960 from the factory morgue and then returned it. I also found an article by a guy who says he played one in a little mom & pop music store in Florida during the '60s. Let me try and find a link...

http://www.computerweb.com/gibsonmoderne/

Ibanez made a Moderne copy during the 70s, when for a couple of years their entire line consisted of copies based on American designs. It had an SG style headstock and an oddly stylized pickguard. The first time I ever saw the Moderne body shape was in the Ibanez flyer from around 1974(?). I remember wanting one so badly but I don't think they sold very well and haven't ever seen an Ibby Moderne in person. Still, they're out there.



When Gibson reissued it in the 80s the original plan in was to make at least 180 of them. For some reason that's always been unclear to me they stopped at 143. I have #77, which I bought at Sam Ash in the Fall of '82. AFAIK the entire production run was in '82 but some were still being sold as late as '83. They were built in two batches with each having an A or B prefix before the three digit serial #. These (Heritage Series) Modernes are all korina with long tenon neck joints and Shaw PAF pickups. The Shaws were amazing vintage type humbuckers which sounded fantastic but they were low-output & unpotted, and I had so much trouble with squealing at stage volume that I couldn't gig the guitar until I changed the pickups. (I had the same problem with the Shaw pickups in my Guitar Trader pre-Historic burst reissue.) I've changed out some of the hardware on mine too. In the early years collectibility was of no concern to me, I was a working guitarist and wasn't interested in instruments that I couldn't use.

Gibson made several other runs of the Moderne in later years; these later ones were mahogany without the long tenon neck. I've seen them in natural brown, black, and white. They had contemporary type pickups and there was even a metal version with high output pickups, crazystripe paint jobs and the Floyd Rose trem. Many of these later Gibsons also had different headstock shapes like the arrowhead or reverse-v; all of the Heritage models have the asymmetrical "Gumby" headstock with the little pulleys.

Here's a mahogany one with the reverse-v headstock like a Futura:


and one of the heavy metal ones with a Floyd:


I've seen pictures of what appear to be Heritage Modernes with C, D and F S/N prefixes, so it's likely that Gibson made some more of the real korina ones later one. Not sure about that; until recently I didn't know anything about them and I'm fairly sure the original '82s all had A or B numbers. Being a rare collectible guitar, there have been both fakes and boutique handbuilt reproductions.

Epiphone made Modernes too for a number of years, even using the Gumby headstock design. I think these, like other Epi korinas, likely had multipiece bodies with veneer covering the tops and backs, and short tenon necks made from mahogany rather than being all korina. Some of the Epi korina series aren't half bad except for the pickups; I've owned a couple and still have a korina Epi Explorer.

I love korina guitars myself; here are crummy cellphone pics of my various ones:





and sale pics for two I haven't taken chair pics of - an all korina PRS McCarty:

and this McNaught which has a maple top, but the back & neck are black korina