Not a guitar, but another musician story I love. In the documentary “Moog,” Rick Wakefield says he got his first Moog synthesizer when a rich fellow sold it to him as “broke.” It turns out the buyer didn’t realize Moogs were monophonic, and assumed it was broken when it wouldn’t play chords.
And, of course, I meant Rick Wakeman.
Classic.
Yeah, I was contemplating my OP and the few posters who have pushed back; I must have over-geeked and not conveyed how basic missing a battery is on an active-electronics guitar. It’s very :smack:, just like not knowing a Moog can only play one note at a time until after you buy one…
I am not a Jerry Garcia fan, and I have never owned a guitar with active electronics, unless acoustic-electric Takamines and Taylors qualify. As a guitar player with some technical knowledge, I have been aware of AE guitars for decades. I have also been aware that Garcia used AE guitars. A quick web search for Garcia’s Tiger guitar yields this as the first sentence in the first link: "The guitar is called Tiger because of the inlay on the battery/preamp compartment cover. " Bolding mine. I’m beginning to think that Irsay didn’t even read the auction catalog before he dropped a fortune on this guitar.
You have GOT to be kidding me.
I had no idea - that makes it even more :smack: than I originally thought, if that was possible.
What a maroon.
ETA: What say you, now astro? Please note, I am in no way looking to poke you in particular or get into a flame war. I am merely asking: does this help clarify how truly silly Mr. Irsay is coming across, even to non-guitar players?
The guitar weighs 13 1/2 pounds?!?!
Okay, maybe Mr. Irsay isn’t the only silly person in this equation…if Jerry got his tone out of this guitar, more power to him, but I simply can’t imagine playing a guitar that heavy.
For non-guitarists, please note that your average electric weighs, oh, 6.5 - 9.5 pounds, with 7.5 probably a reasonable average for most Fender type and non-Les Paul Gibsons (LP’s can weigh more for a variety of reasons). So that thing weighs twice what you would expect.
I wouldn’t last 30 minutes playing that beast…
I’m assuming JG used a strap designed by an orthopedic surgeon.
The thing about “X Aficianado” magazines is that they’re never about X. They’re about the “aficianado” who collects them/it. I doubt there are a lot of cases where Rich Guy bought X because it was an excellent example of its craft (even if it was). He bought it because of the coolness invested in it by someone famous who owned/used it. To me, that is part of what’s so annoying. The other thing is that it all seems to be cases of men trying to purchase credibility, expertise or personality rather than actually acquiring it.
There are plenty of rich guys who are expert collectors and know their stuff when it comes to something like 19th century folk art for example or whatever their particular interest is. I have respect for them and I like that they are probably the best repository for those items. It just bothers me when a guy throws money on a passing interest or just to posess something because it’s cool. And he doesn’t truly know what makes it cool, only that he’s been told that it is.
Thank God I don’t have Irsay’s money.
How do you mean? Near as I can tell, IRL, you are a long-time, dedicated guitar player, songwriter, bandmate, etc. Having too much money may be lead to its own share of problems for many of us (I suspect including me), but from a guitar standpoint, I would have no problem with a bit more money to play with ;). Now, having said that, when it comes to guitars, I don’t collect them, the way I did with books, where I wanted a large collection. Guitars are tools, and I only want a few - if there are too many, they aren’t getting used and I look at them in their cases and ultimately move them on to someone else. So I upgrade when I can, but try to only have a few guitars at a time…
I would either take in strays like some railed-out actress or set actual Hendrix guitars on fire on pay per view; can’t decide which… 
Got it - can’t handle money 
Dweezil Zappa supposedly got Hendrix’s Monterey Pop guitar and has played it onstage. I think these days the research suggests it wasn’t the MP guitar but another one of maybe three still around that Jimi torched.
Video from a British News show: Zappa Dweezil - Hendrix's Guitar - YouTube
So many errors - that is clearly not the MP guitar; wrong features. Comments posted to this vid assert what I have heard - that it is Hendrix-torched guitar, but from a different show.
Now - would I be interested in buying it, and/or re-torching it? Honestly, no - even though torching a guitar does kinda sound fun. But if I can’t play the guitar without reservations - and who can play a $1 million guitar without being a little paranoid about hurting it? Well, except for Mr. Douchebag scratching up the soundholes…
ETA: oh, and another thing for non-guitar players - let’s be clear about this: you absolutely should play the crap out of guitars. I have an old Martin that is pricey, but I strum the snot out of it when the song calls for it. And you know what damage I do when I play it hard? *None *- period. You can and should whomp on a guitar, but even a smidgen of proper technique can keep you from damaging the guitar via stoopid strumming. It’s not “unbridled enthusiasm,” it’s simply sloppy playing that any rookie could correct with a little effort.
+1. I sometimes wonder why guitars have pick guards. The ones on my axes show virtually no wear, and I play guitar with more than a little enthusiasm. Obviously someone needs them, but I have to wonder how badly someone can pick to really chew up a pick guard. Or maybe not that many people need them, but design inertia dictates for many that guitars must have pickguards, so they do.
I know this story from the other side. I’m the “man servant” from the article. Is Jim electronically savvy? No! A touch screen remote throughs him for a loop. So knowing anything about an active electronics guitar having a battery is something he would know nothing about. He’s mainly an acoustic strummer. Did he know about Martin Guitars before entering the store I worked at? Sure, but he had never really “shopped” for guitars before. We looked at Collings, Huss & Dalton, Santa Cruz, Bourgeois etc… small bodies, big bodies, wood types… all the different things that make up a guitar. Jim has a great love for Americana and classic rock like CSN&Y… which a lot of was performed on Martin Guitars… “so I think you might find those more to your liking” That’s it. He was not ignorant to the brand, but was ignorant to the facts. As far as the celebrity guitars go… he wanted them, and was willing to out bid the next guy. A guitar doesn’t reach 957K without someone else “upping the any”. To me Tiger is a million dollar turd of a guitar. The fit and finish is awful, the electronics compartment is a rats nest, the intonation is WAY out and cant be fixed because the neck was set wrong to begin with… but in Jerry’s hands he was able to get something out of it that was pleasing to the ears of many… including Jim (not me, hate the Dead… dreadful). So he bought it; it has been made available for public viewing in several museums. The Harrison SG is amazing! It’s a Beatle’s guitar for crying out loud! We are working out the details with Gibson right now to make a Collectors Choice Signature model of this guitar. Jim was offered part of the revenue, but asked that it be donated to a charity George would approve of. Jim is a very private person, the public persona he has is different, like most people in the public eye. I’m waiting to find him in a bathrobe with Kleenex boxes on his feet at the office, like Howard Hughes. You would be amazed at the amount of money, food, products, and manpower he sends out under the radar. What little bit makes it to the news, means someone slipped up and made a mistake. He maybe many things, but not a Douche Bag. Goofball maybe…
Thanks for defending Mr. Irsay, Mr. Brown. And welcome to the Dope. You may be interested in the Great Ongoing Guitar Thread, also in this forum, where people ask stupid questions and discuss the various theories about how and why guitars work.
With that many guitars of exceptional value, do you have a special room to keep them in? Is it humidity controlled? Do you detune them or keep them in tune when they’re out of rotation?
If you want to surprise Mr. Irsay with a fun cheap toy, may I suggest a Snark Headstock Tuner? (the red one, by preference) If he’s not familiar with them, he’ll be delighted and highly entertained for an hour or five.
How cool. Thank you for taking the time to respond - how did you come to find us? And thanks for your overall approach - I took some shots. It is great to hear he does charitable work and doesn’t seek to glorify himself for going it; nice to hear that side of things.
In terms of guitars, okay, let’s go with goofball. Fair about the Martin - connecting a few dots between music he likes and the guitars used is a smart part of the sales process, especially for a newer player.
Fascinating to hear about Tiger - I would love to say it’s not surprising, since I am not a big fan myself - but it is kind of disappointing, if you follow, in terms of expecting a famous player to have a better sense for their tools. But whatever works.
Have you played the Harrison SG? Any stories or geekery about it would be wonderful.
I guess it is good to be King.
But no one tells you the truth about your hat.
Uh, remember that beret-like thing you were wearing that time I came to see your band? Oh, never mind. Forget I said anything.