Pix of the Sweetwater Gear Fest 2011

[Six String]

When covering a show like this, it is almost impossible to "get enough pix".... But the Sweetwater Gear Fest 2011 was a fantastic time!!! 8)

As Sweetwater has been a major advertiser here, it was my pleasure to attend and a big thanks to Mike Ross (recently promoted to a VP position with SW) who came up to me out of the 1000's of people that where there........ to say hi. (Mike gave me a tour of SW sometime ago) Anyway, on with the tour......

Getting there bright and early... well at least early... there wasn't a long line of people. Pre-registration helped. walking in the front door is always like a kid in a candy store.

Walking thru the will put you out to the "back forty".....

Tent after tent after tent........ and the demo/ performance area.....

(The keyboard is a new Roland with built in recording/looping/processing........ everything but the kitchen sink.)

But inside some of the tents were some good gassing.........

Anyone bored yet? I haven't been to many guit shows so with the exception of the "Flea Market Tent" prices I assume would be about normal....... And I'm not a real LP fan, but that last one had a cool finish to it.....

Of course I have to post a double neck.....

It was used and had a few battle scares....... but was really sweet! While I was walking from one tent to the other, I looked across the lot and look what I saw....

I said ohhhhhhhhhh! Inside was the following.........

.... and their special treat.......

They have the set up to try the display mods with headphones. The Gibson reps are there along with the SW staff to help in anyway the can.

So this is chapter one with the next chapter soon along with the stories and pix.........

 

[Six String]

Chapter 2….. After going thru the Gibson Trailer, I went over to the Gibson display and met ironically in the Acoustic area Aljon. He is a Gibson rep and we obviously started talking Gibson and especially the SG’s. but we also talked about other things Gibson is coming up with. He invited me to the demo he would be doing later and I was interested…
The demo intro’ed some new stuff (at least to me) that I thought was pretty impressive. To start with, he demo’ed a new Les Paul 2010 that was amazing. I remember Weasel had tried out a Robot a while ago and reported on it here at ETSG. The LP 2010 has this new and improved technology built into it. It also includes alternate tunings and tone shifting of the pups that was really impressive.

Aljon also said the LP is ported so it overcomes some of the traditional weight issues typical of the LP. It is an impressive guitar! 8)

The next he demo’ed was the LP Traditional with Bigsby. It too had a great sound.

I was actually beginning to think about LP’s for the first time in a long time… but then he went to the next “new” guitar. My mouth immediately began to water! GAS of the major level!!!

It is the 50th Anniversary Model of the 12 String SG! OMG! He picked it up I heard heaven.

The 50th Anniversary Model will be a limited edition model of which there will only be about 400 made. I have not seen it out in any catalogs yet but when it comes it will be quick. I talked more with Aljon (and I thank him for his time) and he asked if I had been to their tour bus yet. I hadn't so obviously that would be the next stop…..

If you have to get around… it’s a great way to do it.

… and I had to get a pic with Aljon………….

The acoustic is an autographed guitar by Paul McCartney who I was told had been in the bus along with many other greats. It was a very inspiring moment… if you’re into things like that. I was really taking in all the sights and sounds when to my surprise Aljon came back into the lounge area with none other then……..

All I can say is that when my time comes and (if) I make it to heaven… you can keep the harp because I want to play one of these! It is a very awesome guitar. I must have played it an hour or so and enjoyed every minute of it.
Well, as it was getting late and the feet were trying to tell me something, if figured it was about time to go. But before I was able to make it out, I had one more thing I had to do. And thus leads to Chapter 3……….

 

[Six String]

Chapter 3 will be tomorrow... hope you enjoy! 8)

 

[oldrockfan]

great writeup so far sixer! Lots of cool guitars but the 12 string sg is one that I've been wanting to see since the minute I read about it. Was great to see someone finally actually check it out. From the pics, it looks fantastic and already has me scratching my head trying to figure out what I could sell to make enough cash to buy myself one. Trouble is my collection is not nearly as big as it used to be so any guitar i sell now would be something I really like.

Very cool to see the gibson tour bus too. Looks like they gave you the vip treatment there O0

 

[Six String]

Chapter 3 may be just a footnote but it does show that when you go to these types of events, keep your eyes open. You never know who you might run into. At this year's Fest, Sweetwater had Allan Parson for several seminars among others. But as I was leaving, I noticed one of the displays and being a guitar I had to stop.

I have never owned one, but have played many over the years and have always been impressed with Gretsch. And it’s not to mention the artists that have played Gretsch at one point or another. Feeling compelled to comment on their quality, I stopped in their display and looked around…

As I looked around, I noticed an older gentleman with a Gretsch tag on his neck stating “Fred” and went over to tell him that although I have been a Gibson SG player for years, I wanted to comment on the quality Gretsch has put out for years. I related a story of when I was 15-16 I remember seeing an ad in a magazine for the “World’s Most Expensive Guitar”. It inspired me to play and maybe one day own one like it. He smiled and said he remembered the article and said that Life or Look Magazine gave them the spread.

We chatted for awhile and he was really a great guy to talk to. I’m sure that there are those of you that have already figured out that “Fred” was Fred Gretsch, the 3rd generation owner of Gretsch Guitars.

He had one of the guys take a pic with their digital and printed out a copy for me. He also signed a note on the back of it. Very cool.
Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed my tour. I’m sure that there are many things I could or should have taken shots of, but the important thing is that unless you are a reporter, go to Gear Fests to enjoy the sights and sounds and be sure to keep an eye out on the bargains! Unfortunately there were no new axes or sound equipment this trip but one can always hope for next year………………………….. 8)

 

[Voxman]

Cool! O0 I know how much hard work it is to post show pics especially w/ text ;D

 

[Six String]

First ORF, "Fantastic" is very much an understatement. Yes I love SG's and yes I love 12 strings and yes I love the sound, but this one has much more then all that. It is an awesome experience to play one.

I don't know if it was the "VIP tour", but the folks were really laid back and cool about it... my style. ;D A great time! 8)

Thanks Vox!

 

[oldrockfan]

you did a great job with all the pics sixer! I always enjoy checking out the pics and like you, I am an SG fan of course but also have an appreciation for a good guitar regardless of who makes it. Great show and looked like some cool people there too. Thats part of the fun of those shows is you never know who you will run into. Thanks again for sharing!

 

[Voxman]

[quote author=Six String link=topic=21703.msg260369#msg260369 date=1309093566]
First ORF, "Fantastic" is very much an understatement. Yes I love SG's and yes I love 12 strings and yes I love the sound, but this one has much more then all that. It is an awesome experience to play one.

I don't know if it was the "VIP tour", but the folks were really laid back and cool about it... my style. ;D A great time! 8)

Thanks Vox!
[/quote]
Thanks Sixer! :)

 

[vkgphil]

awesome coverage... needed the smiles thanks

hey ... looks like you need a haircut ;D

 

[oldrockfan]

re long hair... I'd say enjoy life and let the hair grow out O0. I know I would have long hair if it were not for my current job and some of my customers wrongly judging folks based on how they look and not what they do.

I'd gladly go back to my hippie hair days and wear nothing but blue jeans and t-shirts if I had my choice.

 

[Six String]

;D I appreciate those that appreciate what's under the hair more then those that get stopped by the hair........ :coolsmiley:

I'm glad you enjoyed vkgphil! That's what it's all about.

 

[oldrockfan]

this reminds me of that super cool crosby stills nash young song... almost cut my hair today. Check it out if you haven't listened to it in a while. Way cool song from a cool group and very thought provoking lyrics from back when lyrics did so much more than just rhyme.

 

[Six String]

Hey... I need to post a slight correction/ modification to my original entry...

The white 12 string is a little more then what I first thought. I got an email from Aljon and he gave me more insight into the guitar and the pic with it....

I will post the reply he sent....

"Great stuff Terry! It was great to meet you and hang for a bit. Here’s a note about that 1275 double neck – That, of course, was the Don Felder EDS-1275. That particular one, if I’m not mistaken, is the “aged white” version. Although it looks used it was actually aged by the folks at Gibson Custom to look exactly like Don Felder’s original guitar from 1977, including his electronics mods and finish cracks. Pretty cool huh?



Great pictures! I’ll be sure to send them on to management. They love stuff like this! - Aljon"

That why I love this place... Learn loads!

 

[oldrockfan]

Sixer, you should tell him to send you a 12 string SG to do a formal review for them that you could put up here and let gibson borrow the content or share the link, etc. Might be a great way to give us forum members who are considering getting one a better idea of what to expect. Course if you were too busy to mess with reviewing it, I know another forum moderator who would be most happy to demo one of those 12 string SGs ;D

 

[Six String]

Sorry to bring back an old thread... but this may give you a little idea of what it's about and keep in mind I has improved since then!