Comments for Mark Knopfler Guitar / More Knowledge about the guitar

Comment on The King of Clean – Mark Knopfler’s Tone King Imperial amp – Hand-built vintage technology and sound by Richard M.

Richard M. — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:36:37 +0000

Totally agree with hoe great an amp the TK imperial is.
Changing out the speaker to the weber 12F150 w/light dope is a must as well!
Love it!
Richard

Comment on Chris Rea Bombollini – live from Loreley 1985 by Jeff - Anthony

Jeff - Anthony — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:59:28 +0000

This one on the video I mean.

Comment on Chris Rea Bombollini – live from Loreley 1985 by Jeff - Anthony

Jeff - Anthony — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:53:39 +0000

Chris Rea’s fiesta red strat is a ‘62 model.

Comment on Chris Rea Bombollini – live from Loreley 1985 by Ingo

Ingo — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:25:58 +0000

Just wanted to add: This is not his famous ‘Pinky’ Strat but an almost identical looking sister. This guitar is tuned to standard tuning while Pinky is tuned to E. He played both on this concert (in fact this is the only one I have seen him playing this guitar). Note that both have that Formentera decal!

Comment on How to identify an original pre-CBS Fender Stratocaster body by Ingo

Ingo — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:32:11 +0000

Right, the holes are also on the front, I should have stated this more clearly in the article. I did not know however that they were only on the back on non tremolo Strats, so thanks you for the info.

And you are right, they disappeared in the 70ies so it is not really a feature exclusively for pre-CBS Strats. The idea was that a ‘74 Strat and e.g. a ‘64 Strat have different features anyway (kind of wood, contour body shaping, nitro laquer, …) so the dowel holes (together with the right wood and shaping) are a good indicator for an old Fender body.

Comment on How to identify an original pre-CBS Fender Stratocaster body by Jon

Jon — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:56:54 +0000

There are dowel holes on the front AND back if the guitar has a factory fitted tremelo.
If it was a hardtail/non trem it has the holes on the BACK only. These holes were the clamping holes for the templates used with the overhead pin router. These holes were certainly still there until at least 1974. There will be dowel holes on all fender models because they were all routed on the same type of machine and therefore needed a template screwed onto the body for this process.

Comment on Guitar portrait: 1976 Gibson MK-81 acoustic guitar (Mark series) by Ingo

Ingo — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:51:39 +0000

Thanks for your interesting comments
You are right, the pearl dots on the bridge of mine are not original. When I got it it was in a bad state: the bridge seemed had loosened and was then screwed to the top ! I had it repaired and the luthier covered the holes with the dots.

I also love mine very much, it sounds so special and nice. Never understood why it the series flopped.

Comment on Guitar portrait: 1976 Gibson MK-81 acoustic guitar (Mark series) by Jose

Jose — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:58:04 +0000

here’s more info. on my MK-81:
I first saw and heard a MK-81 guitar in mid 1978 in Los Angeles, Calif., when I was enrolled at GIT (Guitar Institute of Technology). Someone from Norlin/Gibson showed up at GIT with the guitar and was demonstrating it to Howard Roberts, Ronnie Eschete, Don Mock, and the other famous instructors there while we all listened and each instructor played the MK-81. (not sure but I think the guy from Norlin/Gibson was called Bruce Bolin). The guitar had a fantastic volume and richness of harmonics that none of us had ever heard from an acoustic guitar, even sitting in the back with 40 other students in front of me. Next day I went around the Hollywood guitar stores looking for a MK but incredibly, nobody had heard of the MK Series. I kept checking but all I heard from the guitar stores was about “The New RD Series”. (another Norlin fiasco). I graduated in 1979 from GIT and moved to Nashville Tennessee; I kept going around guitar stores in Nashville and it was the same story, but in one of those stores, one lady told me: “if anybody knows anything about those MK guitars, it would be “Mr. Jim” at so-and-so music store (names changed because “Jim” asked me to not reveal his name); So off I went looking for “Jim”. Turned out he was the Norlin Sales Rep for the South East. Jim kindly told me to call back in a month and he would have some MK’s for me to try out. When we met again, he had a MK-35, and MK-53, and a MK-72, all with the ‘flat’ finishes and the guitars were practically falling apart at the seams, and they sounded horribly “flat”. I told Jim that’s not what I saw at GIT and he smiled and told me “you probably saw one of Schneider’s demonstrators, (the MK-81 model), I have one of those but I’m not selling it, too many memories”. Well, I kept calling and harassing “Jim” to show me the guitar. A year later, I called him again and he invited me to his house to see the guitar. That was it! it was a gem of a guitar, hand-built by a Master Luthier, with a finish like glass. After a few more months, “Jim” agreed to sell me the guitar if I paid his price, and I did. Took me a few more months to pay him but I bought it and I still have it.

Comment on Guitar portrait: 1976 Gibson MK-81 acoustic guitar (Mark series) by Jose

Jose — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:19:51 +0000

MK Series! These guitars are for life! I have one of the original MK-81 demonstrators, built by master luthier Ricardo (Richard) Schneider, who was involved in Norlin’s (Gibson) MK Series designs during the 1975-1977 period with Dr. Michael Kasha, (Univ. of Florida). I got mine from the Norlin’s Sales Rep for Tennessee at the time, who got it as a “back door” instrument straight from Schneider when the whole project went kaput and Norlin ordered all demonstrators picked up and destroyed!! The guitar is Sunburst, similar to the one shown at the bottom left of the catalog page, except everything was done by Schneider himself, the detailing and the woods are just incredible. Mine has been kept in its case since 1980, it has the original unused pickguard still in its factory envelope with instructions, and it came with a total of 4 bridge saddle-inserts, 2 in ebony/bone, 2 in Melamine, all in different heights. The sound is penetrating, cutting, silky, smooth, loud, too many qualities to put in words, and the beauty of the instrument is like no other Gibson or Martin or any other guitar I have ever seen since I started playing in 1963.
One observation about your MK-81: the pearl dots on each end of the bridge are not original, mine does not have them, and neither do the catalog pictures. Those are reinforcements, apparently your bridge was being pulled off. congratulations, these guitars are simply, unique.

Comment on Rasgueado and other flamenco techniques in Sultans of Swing by Scott

Scott — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 13:55:43 +0000

Ingo,
Fantastic playing; your attention to detail is amazing. Could you tell me about the guitar you are playing in this video?
Thanks,
Scott