Al Petteway’s new album

[RickW]

All slide. Album is called “slide”, played lap steel style. Absolutely brilliant. I don’t think he’d played slide before, so this is a new thing? I’d imagine Chesapeake might know.

[sidheguitarmichael]

Slide is not the first—or second—thing I think off when contemplating Al’s playing. I wouldn’t have seen that one coming, but good for him for stretching his legs!

[RickW]

Aug 31, 2020 22:41:46 GMT -5 sidheguitarmichael said:

Slide is not the first—or second—thing I think off when contemplating Al’s playing. I wouldn’t have seen that one coming, but good for him for stretching his legs!

And he's more than competent. Been sitting in the woodshed with his steel, he has.

[Chesapeake]

I've heard him play Celtic, blues, country and bluegrass, but never heard him work his wizadry with slide. Looking forward to hearing it.

[david]

www.kkbox.com/sg/en/song/yhr009JI6I5F6yMLF6yML0XL-index.html

Some nice stuff. A gifted, talented writer and player. I have to listen in small doses though.

[billhammond]

Al was kind enough to give me permission to record my version of his wonderful "River" composition without any payment involved. Great man.

[coachdoc]

He played Travis thumbpicking tunes with me at Swannanoa, sitting on the wall at the top of the driveway waiting for the beer tent to open, in DADGAD. He was ruminating about doing an album from that perspective. A true talent. (As is Amy)

[RickW]

Been listening to this album a lot. If you have not heard it yet, you should.

[millring]

If you's guys aren't following him on facebook, you might not be aware that he's selling some spectacular guitars.

In an effort to raise a bit of money, I have reluctantly decided to sell a couple of my favorite vintage Martin Guitars. It took me a lifetime to find these but they need to move on for someone else to enjoy now that I’ve had the pleasure. I have plenty of other guitars that I love that can’t be sold for one reason or another so these are my best bet.

First for your consideration:

1926 Martin 000-18 - This one is my most recent and most treasured finds. It’s probably the best sounding, most responsive Martin I’ve played. It weighs just under 3 lbs and the whole thing comes alive when the strings are strummed or plucked. It has a 1 7/8” nut width but the neck profile is nice and small so it doesn’t feel like the neck is wide. My favorite thing about these late ‘20s 000-18 Martins is that they were made with the longer 25.4” scale length and built to accept steel strings. On a guitar with a 12-fret neck, this longer scale pushes the bridge further toward the middle of the top in the “sweet spot” and it also allows for lower tunings like DADGAD or C tunings. For me, that’s the perfect guitar. It’s had a few side and back cracks repaired and the frets have been dressed by the amazing Randy Hughes. There are no cracks in the top or neck anywhere that I know of. The ebony fingerboard is beautiful, but you can see where they filled the slots from the original bar frets if you look at the fret ends. The bridge plate was replaced at some point and the Adirondack spruce top is in great shape. The ebony bridge had been replaced at some point with the wrong type and then put back to the original “flat-wing” style before I bought it so you can see a slight outline of the larger pyramid style bridge that was removed. It has the original tortoise shell binding that really sets off the mahogany body. The French polish was also redone on the back and sides, probably during the crack repair work. You can see where they got a little of the stain on the neck heel, but it’s not very noticeable unless you are looking for it. It had a slight hump in the fingerboard as it went over the body but Randy took care of that for me. Sometime in its nearly 100-year life, somebody put stickers of flowers and plants on the top. When these were removed they left a lighter area where the stickers had been. It’s not real noticeable unless the light is right, but I think it’s kind of cool. It still has its original tuning machines and they work fine, although a couple of screws don’t look original. I have considered updating them to new Waverlys but I kind of like the lower ratio of 12-1 for retuning quickly. It means you don’t have to turn them very much at all to change the pitch. I installed a K&K pickup with one of the Tapa-string ebony endpins with the 1/8” jack. So it can easily be returned to it’s original state. The original endpin is in the case. I don’t think you’d want to take the pickup out though because it truly is the best sounding guitar when plugged in of any I own. It comes with a hard shell Martin case that is not original but fits well. I’d like to get $8,000 for this amazing guitar but I will entertain any offers. One in very good original condition would sell for around $12,000. Please P.M. me for more info. Thanks - Al

Second vintage Martin Guitar For Sale - 1931 Martin 0-28 - This one is one of the most prized guitars in my collection. It was the last year that Martin made the 0-28 and only 11 or 12 were made. It was made right when they were switching from the pyramid style bridge to the more modern “belly” bridge so this has the belly bridge and a standard pickguard that were both original to the guitar. You can see where the original slot for the saddle was filled in to allow for the newer compensated saddle. The tuning machines have been upgraded to Waverly’s and they work great. Randy Hughes did the setup for it and it plays beautifully. My friend Dick Boak, who recently retired as the Martin Guitars archivist, was able to find the original sales receipt and a repair record from the 60s. I have copies of those that I will include with the guitar. Although it was made in 1931, it didn’t leave the warehouse until 1934 when it was sold to a local dealer near the factory. Apparently, the depression hit hard and the higher priced guitars just weren’t selling. That’s why so few of the 28 and 45 models were made and sold during that time. Of course that makes them pretty rare. As for condition, this guitar has no cracks in the Adirondack spruce top, or in the beautiful Brazilian rosewood sides or back and the only damage I’ve been able to see is a gouge in the neck up near the nut where somebody’s thumbnail must have been creating a groove over time and a crack in the heel from an earlier neck reset which is not all that uncommon on these old guitars. It presents no structural issues, however. I’ve had Randy Hughes go over it and there is no other damage to it anywhere else. The bridge plate was replaced, I think, and the guitar finish was oversprayed, most likely by Martin since it is so perfectly done. The frets were also upgraded at some point. It’s not clear whether or not the fretboard is the original one. It’s not in totally original condition but it’s in amazing playing condition. This will be the hardest for me to let go of because it is really the perfect little guitar and it’s loud. It projects better than any other guitar I own. It doesn’t have a pickup because the guitar works so well on a microphone that it never needed one. Just perfect for a fingerstyle player like myself. I have over $7,000 invested in it, but I really think it’s worth more than that and I’d like to get at least $8,000 if I can. I have the original case that would have come with it, which is worth something in itself. But, that case still has a mildew smell which I have not been able to totally eliminate. I don’t keep the guitar in it because it makes the guitar smell too. Instead, I would suggest you get a newer 0 size case if you plan on carrying it around. I may have something I can include with it. I’ll have to look. I’ve been using my 00 case and putting extra padding in it whenever I carry it anywhere, but mostly it’s hung on my wall in the studio. You can see an old video of me playing the guitar here; youtu.be/EfOMHvkgB0c

One more.
1934 Gibson L-50 - This cool old guitar has a maple L00 style body with an arched spruce top and floating bridge setup. It was a transitional guitar and was only made during one half of 1934. After that, the switched to a larger body size and replace the the round hole with F-holes. It’s one of my favorites for its vibe and that sound we’ve all heard on numerous 78s from the period. It has a distinct cutting archtop quality which is perfect for imitating the old blues records. I have the original pickguard but it’s warped so I removed it. I’d like to get $2,000 for this little gem, but I will listen to offers. This one is all original as far as I know, although the tuning machines appear to be newer Waverly tuners. I’m not sure about that. These photos are courtesy of Dream Guitars.

Now for some more affordable options:

Epiphone Masterbilt Century Collection De Luxe Classic F-Hole Archtop - This was one of the original limited editions that came with the fancy repro leather case. It’s a reproduction of a classic Epiphone archtop from the 1930s with the addition of a modern acoustic pickup. It has a solid spruce top and curly maple back and sides finished in a natural satin finish. It’s all original and hardly played, although the previous owner smoked so it still has a slight lingering odor even though it sat in his closet. It makes it seem like an older guitar. These guitars originally listed for $1,200 but now they have newer version that is much cheaper. I’d like to get $600 for this one and the buyer would pay shipping. Or it can be picked up in Weaverville, NC.