BRIAN’S LIST: SHOWCASING THE BEST DEALS AND INTERESTING FINDS IN MUSICAL EQUIPMENT IN NEW YORK CITY.
In an apartment in Midtown there is a dude who loves banjo’s. He will sell you a banjo that was given his love and he will give your broken banjo that same love. This guy looks to be a great resource for any banjo player. He is currently selling MANY types of banjos on craigslist and is available for repair work.
He even says “Come on over and play them. I’m sure we can find one to suit you.” Very friendly fellow that will also buy your banjo if ya got any for sale. If you plan to visit please bring a friend!
Location: Midtown West, Manhattan
The High Lonesome Sound is a great film by John Cohen (New Lost City Ramblers) who discovered Roscoe Holcomb, a wonderful banjo player and a wealth of traditional music.
1959 Guild Archtop, A50 Model, – $900
Who says you can’t get a solid vintage guitar without spending an arm and a leg?? Here is a real beauty, perfect for that jazz, rockabilly and country player in you. Features a Dearmod RC-1100 re-issue pickup so you can play live with a band and shine. However this can easily be removed since it sits attached to the custom pick guard.
Comes with a hard case so you can walk out of this sale without worry!
Location: Queens
Here is the seller getting down live with it! You can really see how great the condition of it is!
1966 Gibson LGO – $575
I love these little guitars. Made by the same hands, same materials and same factory as Gibson’s other popular acoustics but for a real deal price! This one is all mahogany with a Brazilian rosewood fretboard. Really dark, pretty tone – these are small and easy to sing over for the folk and bluesman alike.
This one looks to be in great condition! You will see there is a wood bridge on this guitar as there should be (see video below). Comes with the rarely seen original chipboard case!
Location: Long Island
For a few years in the early 1960’s Gibson tried to save a buck on this “student model” guitar and used a hollow plastic bridge. It was a bad idea! The sound of the guitar resonates via the strings thru the bridge and into the body of the guitar. A plastic bridge translates vibration poorly and is providing the minimal amount of surface area for contact since it is hollow.
Chris AKA The Guitar Geek over at Briggs Music in Long Island has a great video explaining the process of replacing the plastic bridge with a proper wood one.
1960s Alden Harmony Tuxedo H45 Stratotone – $300
Neat vintage Harmony guitar here with single pick-up. And that pick-up is the beloved gold foil that I spoke about in my last installment. This puppy will sing! Seller says the neck is straight and it’s playing great!
Great price for a cool guitar – chipboard case included.
Location: Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Here is a demo I found of a dude playing one on youtube.
Vintage Roland JC77 – $350
This is a smaller more rare version of the beloved JC120 we all know from those Smiths records. Features 2×10″ speakers instead of 2×12″ like the JC120 and is roughly 77 watts instead of 120 as the names suggest. Remember this is solid state wattage not tube wattage. This little guy has the same chorus effect that it’s larger brother has and it is to die for. This model was introduced in 1984.
Great neutral platform for pedals along with synths, keyboards and the like. Not to many of these around! Word to the wise – the reverb is pretty weak and the “distortion” option is a joke but that’s what pedals are for.
Location: Long Island
Check out this demo so you can get an idea of the sound!
Tips: Find something on Brian’s List but the link has since expired? This doesn’t mean the item has been sold. It just means the seller did not repost the item in time. If it is an item you are really excited about; search craigslist for it using bold terms (model name etc). It could have been reposted under a different link or a new post altogether (updated pics, info etc.) If it is not sold it will pop up again in the next few days. Don’t sweat it.
In the case of something you are seriously considering, it’s good to make initial contact with the seller even if you can’t immediately purchase the item or make it out to where ever it is located right away. This could help you too build a relationship with the seller and he/she may hold it for you over someone else until you are ready. But as we all know- CASH IS KING.
Find Brian online @chillemi_nyc
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