PAUL
VERNON CHESTER
Manouche Maestro
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Manouche Maestro |
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Dave Goldberg's Electric Guitars
Just spent more time looking through your wonderful website and read about
Dave Goldberg. I think the archtop guitar he is holding in the photo is a
Grimshaw G6. In the Grapelli film he is also playing a much modified
Aristone.
Later he used an ES175 which I imagine he brought back from the USA and later
still a Guild Artist Award. He featured in Guild's press adverts in the 1960's
promoting the Artist Award.
Dave Goldberg guitar is indeed an early (1930/40's) Grimshaw G6.
Grimshaw made the G6 for many years and it changed a lot over that
period. Also the Grimshaw name was not put onto the headstocks until
later.
Grimshaw Catalogues
Grimshaw - During the fifties they made many archtop, acoustic and electric
models including the G3, G5,G6, and “Plectric” single cut away jazz style
electric, all were archtop styles some with pickups built into the fret board (Grimshaw
patented this type of pickup in USA and GB) Grimshaw called these invisible
pickups, tone/volume controls added to the scratch plate. The most popular model
of the 1950s was the SS (short scale) deluxe and custom models, the later having humbucker pickups, the styling on this model was a cross between a
Gibson 335
and a Gretsch White Falcon, with an individual Grimshaw style of un-equal
cutaways. These were good substitutes for the American guitars which were not
imported into the UK (due to austerity measures post war). Some had a Grimshaw
patented tremolo system. The SS models were very pretty guitars and played
well, Grimshaw should have had more success with this model than they did.
Aristone - Vintage
guitars made by master luthier J.G.Abbott senior in London
1930's.
1930's Abbot 'The Aristone' Model L-W, are very rare and highly prized Guitar. Grover mechanic's, tailpiece and scratchplate. Solid hand carved top, Solid Honduran Mahogany flat back and sides, straight neck with good action, Brazilian rosewood fingerboard. Meets (and often beats) the high standards of big name jazzers like 1930s Epiphone Emperor and a 1930s Gibson L5 guitars. A very comfortable neck and neck-width, not as fat as the 30s Gibsons, excellent low action, huge Acoustic tone, One can honestly say this plays and sounds better than most of them. They sound as good as a D'angellico too !! Not to be confused with the guitars of J.G.Abbott Junior who also made very good guitars, but not quite as good as these. Abbott Victor Burlington by J.G.Abbott junior made in 1940 which is very good but not a patch on the Aristone. A very rare guitar with huge tone and volume eats Gibson L-5's and Super 400's for breakfast!
Aristone Archtop circa 1960 with Venetian cutaway 1947 Straten Soloist Guitar Attributed to Dave Goldberg.
The Guitar is a "Straten Soloist" registration number 213 by the Straten Musical Instruments Ltd, London, England. Purchased it from a guitarist (Peter Cowling) in 1953. Prior to this it was thought to have been owned by Dave Goldberg. The diagonal pickup is an over large 6 pole 6 coil design encased in a copper box, mounted to the end of the finger board and covered with a black plate. The pickup became very noisy and about ten years ago so my father had it rewound by an enthusiast who meticulously counted turns to bring it back to its original specification. The Tailpiece has an added a welded clip which has distorted the natural line line of the Trapeze. Single Volume Control.
Guild Guitars
1969 retro original floating gold
Dave is playing a Guild with a floating DeArmond Pickup with bar mounted on the end of the finger board and to the stair-step scratchplate with Volume Control - a venetian cutaway - perhaps a Johnny Smith Award Model, Savoy A150, A500 or Stratford A350 Guild Archtop Guitar. Harp Tailpiece c1965 Introduced as the Johnny Smith Award in 1956, Guild's top of the line guitar was rechristened the Artist Award in 1961. Individually handmade by the most experienced builders at the shop, the Artist Award continued to sport appointments seen only on ultra-deluxe instruments of the 30's and 40's, including a full seven plies of binding on both the body and the peghead. The deep ebony fingerboard is trimmed with three plies of inner binding on the face, just like the old Epiphone Emperor, whose ornate split-block fingerboard inlay was continued in the Artist Award as well. Even the f-holes are triple bound.
The
Gibson ES-175D electric guitar is a legendary design. The Gibson ES-175 debuted
in 1949. With a comfortable body size and stylish pointed cutaway, it quickly
became the most popular guitar of the jazz world. The Gibson ES-175 has a plain
laminated maple top, Curly laminated maple back and rims. A one-piece mahogany
neck with bound rosewood fingerboard. Two '57 Classic humbuckers translate the
body's natural resonance into haunting jazz tones or searing distorted leads.
The 175 neck profile is very comfortable while the bound top and back, plus
vintage tulip tuners, chrome hardware and pearl split parallelogram inlays make
this guitar a comfort to play and watch. The Gibson ES-175 provides the tone and
the look that inspires musicians in blues, rock and jazz.
Came with Gibson black levant hardshell case.
Gibson ES175.Cutaway Dave Goldberg is playing looks to be quite an early one
with a single pickup. Later the ES175D had two pickups and was used at sometime
by just about every jazz guitarist. Bob Bowden: "I saw Dave Goldberg at Ronnie's. He played a solo set between Sonny Rollins sets. Usual Ronnie's ambience, chat, glasses, cash registers. No one paid much attention. Within 10 minutes the place was as silent as the grave, everyone was rapt. Drops of sweat from Dave's forehead dripped onto a by now unvarnished spot on his guitar. He was fabulous." Simon Spillett records that Dave Goldberg died on August 21st, 1969 aged 47. Dave Goldberg with ES-175C.. |
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ARISTONE
Gibson Guitars
