»RIP Joaquin Manuel Ceballos August 16, 1940 ~ April 24, 2010
April 24, 2010 | General News | View or leave comments
RIP Joaquin Manuel Ceballos. An amazing man who was loved by all and will be missed dearly. God Bless.
August 16, 1940 ~ April 24, 2010
»Guitar Icon, Innovator Les Paul Has Died. RIP Les!
August 13, 2009 | General News | View or leave comments
RIP Les! Thank you for all you gave us! A true Gentleman and Genius! Was definitely an inspiration to me. Always wanting to tinker and fiddle on the guitar and that’s not playing but just working on the electronics with some wild new ideas! A TRUE hero and not just for a stamp of his name on a guitar that I happen to love or his guitar playing, but his ideas that there was MORE to guitars than just wood & picking them. He was just as passionate about redesigning pickups, wiring and switches as with playing them too. Oh yeah, he was AMAZING at playing. did i mention he was behind guitar effects, mutli tracking ans so much more. Oh, he was a great player. RIP Les Paul!
Will Boggs
NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Writer
POSTED: 12:09 pm EDT August 13, 2009
UPDATED: 3:01 am EDT August 14, 2009
NEW YORK — Musicians worldwide are paying tribute to Les Paul, the music icon whose solid-body electric guitar paved the way for rock ‘n’ roll, who died this week at age 94. Paul, a guitar virtuoso, performed with some of early pop’s biggest names and produced a slew of hits, many with wife Mary Ford. But it was his inventive streak that made him universally revered by guitar gods as their original ancestor and earned his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the most important forces in popular music. “He actually taught himself to play guitar in order to demonstrate his electronic theories,” said Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. “All of us owe an unimaginable debt to his work and his talent.” Paul, who died Thursday in White Plains, N.Y., of complications from pneumonia, was a tireless tinkerer, whose quest for a particular sound led him to create the first solid-body electric guitar. His invention became the standard instrument for legends like Pete Townshend and Jimmy Page. “The name Les Paul is iconic and is known by aspiring and virtuoso guitar players worldwide,” said Kiss front man Paul Stanley. “That guitar is the cornerstone of a lot of great music that has been made in the last 50 years.”
Paul also developed technology that would become hallmarks of rock and pop recordings, from multitrack recording that allowed for multiple layers of “overdubs” to guitar reverb and other sound effects. “He was a futurist, and unlike some futurists who write about it and predict things, he was a guy who actually did things,” said Henry Juskiewicz, chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar, which mass produced Paul’s original invention. Private services are being planned for New York and Waukesha, Wis., Paul’s home town, according to an obituary posted by the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City, where until recently Paul had played every week. Public memorial tributes also are being planned. A musician since childhood, Paul experimented with guitar amplification for years before coming up in 1941 with what he called “The Log,” a 4-by-4 piece of wood strung with steel strings. He later put the wooden wings onto the body to give it a traditional guitar shape.
The use of electric guitar gained popularity in the mid-to-late 1940s. Leo Fender’s Broadcaster was the first mass-produced solid body electric on the market in the late 1940s. Gibson solicited Paul to create a prototype for a guitar and began making the Les Paul guitar in 1952. The Who’s Townshend, Steve Howe of Yes, jazz great Al DiMeola and Led Zeppelin’s Page all made the Gibson Les Paul their trademark six-string.
Born Lester William Polfuss on June 9, 1915, he began his career as a musician, billing himself as Red Hot Red or Rhubarb Red. He toured with the popular Chicago band Rube Tronson and His Texas Cowboys and led the house band on WJJD radio in Chicago. In the mid-1930s he joined Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians and soon moved to New York to form the Les Paul Trio, with Jim Atkins and bassist Ernie Newton. His first records were released in 1944 on Decca Records. Later, with Ford, his wife from 1949 to 1962, he earned 36 gold records for hits including “Vaya Con Dios” and “How High the Moon,” which both hit No. 1. He had met Ford, then known as Colleen Summers, in the 1940s while working as a studio musician in Los Angeles. For seven years in the 1950s, Paul and Ford broadcast a TV show from their home in Mahwah, N.J. (Ford died in 1977, 15 years after they divorced). Paul had made his first attempt at audio amplification at age 13. Unhappy with the amount of volume produced by his acoustic guitar, he tried placing a telephone receiver under the strings. Although this worked to some extent, only two strings were amplified and the volume level was still too low. By placing a phonograph needle in the guitar, all six strings were amplified, which proved to be much louder. Paul was playing a working prototype of the electric guitar in 1929. His work on recording techniques began in the years after World War II, when Bing Crosby gave him a tape recorder.
Drawing on his earlier experimentation with his homemade recording machine, Paul added an additional playback head to the recorder. The result was a delayed effect that became known as tape echo. Tape echo gave the recording a more “live” feel and enabled the user to simulate different playing environments. Paul’s next idea was to stack together eight mono tape machines and send their outputs to one piece of tape, stacking the recording heads on top of one another. The resulting machine served as the forerunner to today’s multitrack recorders. Many of his songs with Ford used overdubbing techniques that Paul had helped develop. Paul’s use of multitrack recording was unique. Before he did it, most recordings were made on a single tape. By recording each element separately, from the vocals to instrumentation on different tracks, they could be mixed and layered, adding to the richness in sound. In 1954, Paul commissioned the first eight-track tape recorder, later known as “Sel-Sync,” in which a recording head could simultaneously record a new track and play back previous ones. In the late 1960s, Paul retired from music to concentrate on his inventions.
His interest in country music was rekindled in the mid-’70s, and he teamed with Chet Atkins for two albums. The duo won a Grammy for best country instrumental performance of 1976 for their “Chester and Lester” album. In 2005, he released the Grammy-winning “Les Paul & Friends: American Made, World Played,” his first album of new material since those 1970s recordings and his first official rock CD. Among those playing with him: Peter Frampton, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Richie Sambora. “They’re not only my friends, but they’re great players,” Paul told The Associated Press. “I never stop being amazed by all the different ways of playing the guitar and making it deliver a message.” Paul was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005. ___ Associated Press writer Luke Sheridan contributed to this report.
»ROTFLMAO!
January 4, 2009 | General News | View or leave comments
More details to come but enjoy the pictures….:) LMAO Boles took the bet!
»Happy Holidays Everyone!
December 18, 2008 | General News | View or leave comments
Happy Holidays everyone! We hope all of you have a safe and wonderful time this year. Here’s to all of you having the best 2009 and may it be a year that brings all of you nothing but joy and happiness.
The WB Family.
»Happy Thanksgiving all!!
November 25, 2008 | General News | View or leave comments
Well it’s turkey day this Thursday. All us here wish you all a great day with family & friends. Be safe everyone! Thank you all for your friendships and support!
WB Custom Pickups
»Rewind Questions.
November 20, 2008 | General News | View or leave comments
| Guitar Pickup Rewind Questions answered. |
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We have had a quite a few messages lately about guitar pickup rewinds. Here’s some of the questions and some answers..
1.Do you do rewinds & what does it cost?
Yes, we do rewinds and the cost start at 55 per single coil and $65 per humbucker. If we replace the magnet on the humbucker that is $10 more for our in house charged mags. you are responsible for all shipping costs.
2.
Can you wind them like any of your own line of pickups?
Yes, we can wind you a Habanero, Hammer, etc. with your parts.
3.
What’s the turn around time on rewinds?
With our demand it’s in the 2-6 week range for rewinds. Rush orders will charged accordingly.
4.
Can you repair an old pickup and what does it cost?
Pickup has to sent in for a review and estimate. But yes, we repair old and collectible pickups. We have a stash of old original wire from 50’s enamel to 60’s formvar.
Vintage wire will be quoted by the job.
5.
Do you wax (potting) for pickups?
Yes, you send us your pickups and we will wax pot them for you for $15 shipped back to you.
I you are interested in having a rewind done or repair. Please email us at wbpickups@aol.com
Thank you,
WB Guitar Pickups |
»1959 Korina V ( yes, it’s for sale! )
November 14, 2008 | General News | View or leave comments
One of the 17 original Korina Vees from 1959! Very sweet guitar with the original wiring and pickups and parts. So if your one of the lucky AIG guys who just got a big check from Uncle Sam and your tired of wasting time partying at some resort or you may want to get something that you know you will be able to turn if you so happen to need Attorney fees or on the lam cash. Get it! It’s bad ass! You know you want!
In all seriousness, this guitar is a wonderful piece of Gibson history! Give Greg at BCR Music an email if you want to know more of this bad boy!
For Inquires:greg@bcrmusic.com
»HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHELSEA!
November 13, 2008 | General News | View or leave comments
2 years today! Mom, Dad & your sister Hailey are so proud of you. We thank God everyday that you overcame your challenges when you came into this world. You mean the world to us. Happy Birthday Chelsea!
Chelsea when she was born.
Our wonderful Chelsea this past Halloween!
»Tuesday October 28, 2008
October 28, 2008 | General News | View or leave comments
Will not be available today until 1:30 PST due to a Doctors appointment.
Thank you.
»Discount For Premier Guitar Magazine Fans
October 22, 2008 | General News | View or leave comments
$30 off when you email us here at www.wbpickups@aol.com and mention what page we are on in the current November Issue of Premier Guitar Magazine. You have to email us at that email address and we will invoice you with the discount price. These are for humbuckers only.
WB Pickups
To read the current Premier Guitar magazine. Please click here..
http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Default.aspx?
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