MK _ Guitar Stories Sky Arts

[JF]

I know what you mean when you refer to old guitars. It is the close to the spring feeling. The older the more genuine and closer to the original dream.

yes exactly, and I would add : it's about the "spirit"

I think that choosing to play on an old "unique" instrument is not the same "artistic spirit" (sorry for my poor english, but I hope you get what I mean) than playing on a recent "serial" instrument

during 80's and early 90s, most of musicians were playing on synths, modern guitars and amps, etc...
Mark and DS were in this stream : schecter, and later pensa with soldano, ovation for acoustic, Guy played on synths, etc...
Gilmour put EMG pickups on his red strat, using modern pedal boards, Clapton dropped Blackie for his sig model, and so on...

But then, in the mid 90, musicians were back too their roots with "vintage" instruments :
Grunge bands were using odl guitars and amps, Gilmour used the big muff again, and later the black strat, synths almost disapeared while the B3 came back, and of course Mark dropped the reissue Les Paul for real 58 and 59 ones, he used "real" acoustic guitars (Martin, gibson) rather than "plastic" ones (like the Ovation), and later the Danelectro, the Speisco, even the EKO for Sonny liston in studio
 he brought back the 61 strat, and on STP tour, Mike Henderson played some old guitars too, with a notable vintage  "dirty" sound, far away from the over produced OES/OTN distinctive sound.

Look at Guy's studio diaries, and you can see all of these gems : old harmonium, old hammond organ, glenn's double bass from 19th century...

I think it's not just about the guitar model, it's about the artistic sense of your record, of your sound. The 80s and early 90 have sounded quite "artificial" fro many listeners, and the back to vintage instruments was also to go back to music roots, to music soul.
At least, that's how I understand it.
I would find strange if Mark would have played those blues of his last album tunes on a pensa with a soldano. Of course, many listeners wouldn't have heard the difference, but as Mark wanted to sound "root", "chicago blues", he HAD TO play on a vintage model.

Of course, it's also a matter of production. I agree that the sound isn't all in the guitar, but it's an important key I think.

Now, do we know why Mark doesn't play with the first red strat any more?

Well it's a thing I don't really understand. he still play and bring on the road  : 58 and 59 LP, 54 strat, Danelectro...all these guitars cost a fortune (especially the LP), but for his distinctive clean sound (THE sound that made him famous) he prefers to play on the sig model, while he got a stradivarius....I just don't get it

I dont think so somehow!! I guess you haven't played one then?
One of mine incidentally is 'on loan' to a guitarist friend and he has played and recorded with a lot of fenders/guitars like myself and we both absolutley adore the MK Strat - Oooooh the sound, the playability, the look, the feel.... etc!!!

Each to their own I guess - but if you get a chance to have a go on an 'MK' strat - go for it! 

I'm sure it's a great guitar, it sounds nice, it's well manufactured,etc...
But I guess that if I had 2300

[vgonis]

Your posts are so vivid JF! Thank you!
Do you have an opinion about the other subject about pricing of guitars that I mention in the same post? It really troubles me and I don't want to "solve" it by applying the same general rule of supply and demand, because it simply doesn't work. I know that Fender sold his part for many years and then got back, but I just wonder about the combination of quality/price/number of produced guitars/original idea behind the first bunch of production. I understand that since they have become fetish they fetch high prices for being old but why the new ones that are overproduced are so expensive. (Don't say the lack of fine material, or expensive labour and so on.) I may have the whole picture wrong (I got the strato 50 year book) but something doesn't add up, IMHO.

[aborille]

JF, so with your "trained eye" - is the one Mark fetches out of the case ("here she is") REALLY the original one from 1961 or is it a signature one? I think she looks spectacular fresh and new, really not like 50 years old... and as there are some other "minor" mistakes in this documentary, maybe they screw us with this one, too?

LE

yeah, you're right, there are some well identified scratches on the pickguard. Sure the body has been refinished. You cant' see the headstock while Mark is playing, just at the end of the video section but.... she's definitley the real thing.


Well, the case is the same I've got with my signature. Pick ups really look like Texas Special (magnets at center are higher than magnets at sides). It looks like brand new. IMHO actually "she" is a Signature on the video.

Well, my eyes are not very well trained but I say the one MK played in the documentary is definitely the real deal from 1961. It's well maintained but the yellowish pickguard  shows the signs of wear. I'm sure there are other details giving it away.

stratocasteph beats me

[JF]

Your posts are so vivid JF! Thank you!
Do you have an opinion about the other subject about pricing of guitars that I mention in the same post? It really troubles me and I don't want to "solve" it by applying the same general rule of supply and demand, because it simply doesn't work. I know that Fender sold his part for many years and then got back, but I just wonder about the combination of quality/price/number of produced guitars/original idea behind the first bunch of production. I understand that since they have become fetish they fetch high prices for being old but why the new ones that are overproduced are so expensive. (Don't say the lack of fine material, or expensive labour and so on.) I may have the whole picture wrong (I got the strato 50 year book) but something doesn't add up, IMHO.

Thanks, my english is not good, but I try to explain what I think 


you are right about the original purpose of Leo Fender.

But the stratocaster has become the most iconic guitar in rock history, and it could explain (a little bit) why it so demanded, and sometimes so expensive, and you are right : most of old models have become fetish due to their role in rock music.

about the new ones, I'm not sure that they are so expensive, I'd rather say that the price has decreased a little bit over last years :

- in early 90is, I couldn't afford one, the "standard model" was around 5500-6000 FF, which is around 900

[vgonis]

Thanks JF! I really think that it is a bit overpriced anyway. I have come across this:
http://www.strat-talk.com/forum/stratocaster-discussion-forum/10653-original-stratocaster-prices.html

which actually agrees with your point of view. When I went to buy a strato, I found out that the USA made had close to 1700Euros and the mexican one 1400Euros. I couldn't even afford the mexican, it meant back then (2008) almost two months salaries. I ended up with a squier from India for 300Euros. (had to buy a basic pedal and an amp, as well. Couldn't afford to blow my stereo!) I can see and hear the flaws and try to adjust and avoid the sort of playing that makes them very audible and it is a drag. I don't mind that much, I don't have much time anyway. But I still think that the way it is mass produced, should have brought the prices down, both in relative and in real price terms.

[jbaent]

Eric Clapton mentioned in his biography, about his blackie, that it was a mix of several guitars. Fender Guitars were so cheap in that moment that he bought some (three or four) and he built (or he made built for him) his blackie with pieces of all that Fender he bought...

About the MK Guitar Signature, I have a friend that built his own guitars buying pieces, he bought his MK Signature buy was very unhappy with it when playing, so he decided to sell it, and built his own MK signature with expecifications that suited him better, actually he was very unhappy with the neck and the guitar he made sounds really great...

[JF]

Eric Clapton mentioned in his biography, about his blackie, that it was a mix of several guitars. Fender Guitars were so cheap in that moment that he bought some (three or four) and he built (or he made built for him) his blackie with pieces of all that Fender he bought...

About the MK Guitar Signature, I have a friend that built his own guitars buying pieces, he bought his MK Signature buy was very unhappy with it when playing, so he decided to sell it, and built his own MK signature with expecifications that suited him better, actually he was very unhappy with the neck and the guitar he made sounds really great...

yes right for Blackie. In late 60ies there wasn't yet the "vintagemania", so strats were cheap.
I guess it was three 50's stratos for making Blackie, while Brownie is a "one piece" guitar, from 59 if memory serves.
But the LP he used with the bluesbreakers and Cream (and which was stoled) was an "old" LP (frome 50s) not from the curent time, like e.g. Richards with his 68 custom.
In fact LP from late 50ies cost a fortune beacuse they really sounds great, due to their pickups and wood. Page played also lot on a 59 LP.

http://www.mk-guitar.com/?s=PAF&x=39&y=4
http://www.mk-guitar.com/2008/11/27/sunburst-and-unburst-les-pauls-from-the-late-50ies/
http://www.mk-guitar.com/2012/02/18/the-haussel-1959-pickups-for-the-mark-knopfler-les-paul-sound/

About the MK sig, I've never understood why he decided to put texas specila PU on it. It's so unKnopflerish. the texias special PU were made famous after SRV'style, not the same as Mark....

[sweetsurrender]

Planet of New Orleans. the best song with the pensa guitar sound.

Thanks, Now I feel better.  Absolutely agreed.  Love the song !

[dmg]

Planet of New Orleans. the best song with the pensa guitar sound.

Thanks, Now I feel better.  Absolutely agreed.  Love the song !

I'll second that (or third it ).  I remember coming out of the concert in '91 thinking that was the highlight of the entire night - a song that sounded much better at the concert than on any bootleg.  Quite an achievement when they played TOL too!

[El Macho]

I have troubles with the Guitar stories download.
On  la.knopfler-tk, every time I want to connect, even with a new account, my account is denied :  'This account has been disabled by an administrator.'
And with the other torrent, for the file Guitar.Stories.Mark.Knopfler.SkyArts1.mkv, the download is stopped at 66.6% and no more sources...
So, what can I do?