Guitar Orgy!!!

Michael Bauer

Mitch--

If you go to Patrus' site, the first, third and fourth videos under "Paulus Schafer" are my '64 Favino (not in the picture at Jacques'), '51 Selmer #862), and Busato's ("The Beast" and one Grand Modele), respectively. Also under Olli Soikkieli, there is a video with Antoine Boyer and Olli on Selmers 103 and 862 respectively. I don't have a recording of the other Busato GM.

If it's any comfort to you, nine of the fifteen guitars in the picture are in the possession of a Frenchman. And as you can see, mine get out to be played a lot. On YouTube, there is video of Joscho Stephan on my old Joseph di Mauro, with Denis Chang on an old '30's Busato, and Aurelien Bouly on a couple of the tunes on Selmer 862. There's also video of Rom Vullemin on "the Beast" Busato at Django in June in 2009, appropriate, since he's the one who gave the guitar its nickname.

I hope that helps. I'd post the links here, but I'm kind of a technotard.

Michael

wim

Michael Bauer wrote:

Wim, if you are ever Stateside, you stop on over and you can have at all of mine to your hearts content.

It was a cool day, likely never to be repeated, having all those guitars in one place.

Guess what ... I'll be in Chicago 15-17, just before Django in June! Can we make it happen!? Oh man my fingers are tingling at the thought ..

Michael Bauer

Wim, is there any chance you can get in a day or two earlier? We have a gig the 14th, and it looks like I'll be leaving as soon as I wake up on the 15th to head east to visit Jacques Mazzoleni again, then off to Northampton on Monday. If you can do it, you are welcome to be our guest for any earlier days. And we could have you sit in on a tune or two at the gig.

If you can't, no worries! I'll have 9 or 10 guitars in tow when I get to Django in June. You'll be able to play them all there to your heart's content.

wim

Oh man, what a bummer - I would have been able to had I posted this a few days earlier, but I've already booked my flight from LA -> Chicago to get in on the 15th. I'll land in LA on the 13th, with no idea what to do for a couple of days other than mooch around in jetlag hell

Michael Bauer

Wim, change the flight and head right on to Chicago. There are lots of flights from LA to Chi-town, and you can rebook, but sadly, for a fee.

I'm working on the set list for the gig on the 14th. If you can make it, we'll pick a couple of your favorites and have you up to play.

wim

Hummmm so tempting! I'll check out my ticket conditions but I think I'm on a real cheapy airline (Spirit?). Hopefully they won't turn my Barault into woodchips ...

Michael Bauer

Well, if not, enjoy LA, and if you can make it here, you are welcome. I'll have as many guitars as I can cram in the Mini in Northampton (usually 9 or 10), so you'll get a second chance.

wim

Michael it was really cool to play the guitars and I hope you can do it all again at DIJ next year !
I don't know how is your french but you maybe interested in this thread it's a debate about valuable french guitars ending up in the states http://guitarejazzmanouche.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=26837&start=20
I can see both sides of the argument anyway I think it's great that the instruments get all taken out for a spin regularly, I don't know any other collector as generous as this
cheers

Michael Bauer

Thanks for the link, Wim. I wonder if they'd feel better if they knew that nine of the fifteen guitars in the picture were owned by a Frenchman! I do understand their concern, although most of mine get sold back to Europe, I believe. I think the other thing that is misunderstood is that I rarely buy "top-shelf" guitars. Most of the ones I get need a lot of work to get back into fighting shape. There are a few exceptions, but as a rule, I enjoy the challenge of saving some wonderful instruments who have fallen on hard times. Anyway, they'll get them back one day, and if they were all that serious, they could but Selmer 862 right now. I think some of this is akin to the fuss made about the Selmer on e-bay a few weeks ago that was pulled at the last minute (literally!). Much chest-thumping by people who weren't going to buy the guitar anyway. The people I know who were actually bidding were quite understanding about it. I think it's a bit similar with vintage French guitars. Some nice people over there get quite upset when people over here buy these old guitars, but when they come up for sale, the same people are nowhere to be found. Anyway, I don't really feel I "own these guitars"; I am merely a temporary steward.

It was fun meeting you, too, Wim, and letting you have at the guitars. As for Django in June next year, it remains to be seen. My wife just got home this morning from her fourth hospitalization this year, and I have had two surgeries since Django in June, so there isn't much change tinkling in the pocket. I'm sure you've heard, health care in this country is a tad expensive, even with good insurance. Heading east to Northampton is an exhausting and expensive proposition, especially when the several bottles of single malt are factored in, and now that I am retired, it's getting harder to pull it off. I'm even starting to thin the guitar herd a bit (Gentlemen of France, here's your chance to bring a couple home!). It was a near thing this past June, and I was in a much better place then than I am now. I am no longer a young man, and the drive the past couple of years has nearly killed me. No room for a co-pilot, or most of the guitars would have to stay home. But we'll see…

You know this whole "collecting" business started out by accident. I got a couple of nice guitars as recompense for having had to sell off my old sports cars (Austin-Healey and TVR), and it seemed to generate a lot of buzz and fun at Django in June when people started coming to my room to try them out, ultimately spilling into the hall and into the wee hours. It just sort of grew from that, and poor Andrew had to yank me down to the first floor so people could sleep! (Actually, he did it for another, personal, reason that was really quite kind of him.) Quite a bit of the motivation has been, all along, to help provide something extra at Django in June that was unique to his event to help Andrew out (plus, I get the fun of playing them the rest of the year!). I think Django in June has grown to the point where my bit is just a small side-show, and not really important to the event anymore, if it ever really was. So if it ends up that I can't come, I think Andrew's most-excellent show will go on without missing a beat.

Bob Holo

Michael B,

You're not a guitar collector. You are a guy with good taste in guitars who was in a position to get some great sounding ones. You keep them in good condition. You play them. You let great players perform on them. If there are better ways & reasons to own vintage instruments, I don't know of them. As the festival scene grows, there may come a point where you are not comfortable granting access to the degree that you do now. But until then, long may the Hotclub of 101 live.

A few years ago you told me you'd heard I thought you were collector and that "I didn't think much of that..." which floored me and I've felt odd about it ever since. I want you to know it isn't the case. A few years ago, I had a collector from somewhere on the East Coast hounding me for a while - demanding to tour the shop and wire me money and get one of each model in sequential serial numbers or some obsessive thing. I just called Michael H and said: "Will you be my distributor" and then I yanked my contact form down and went back out to the shop. Problem solved. But he wasn't you - and to my knowledge he's never popped his head up anywhere near the Gypsy Jazz scene since.

I read a bit of the French board. It doesn't sound bad. One guy said: "They should keep their L5s and L7s and we should keep our Selmers & Busatos." but it sounds like it might have been said in jest - and some other guys followed up with positive comments, so I don't really think it was bad. I'm pretty sure if any guitar enthusiast from any country knew you, they'd be happy that you do what you do. And if not, well, you can't please all of the people all of the time. Hell, I have heard there are some guys who don't like me because they don't like an American studying/making vintage French guitars, but a few of these people exist in every country and they amount to nothing but words and the odd sociology behind the internet. If you haven't seen it yet, look up Adrian Holovaty's 2013 XOXO conference speech on Soundslice. He talks about odd internet behavior and it is hilarious.

Anyway, GJ enthusiasts are united by common interests more than divided by geographical boundaries. And yes, it blows my mind that 862 is still there. That is a phenomenal instrument. Balance. Power. Snap. Yet somehow, it's graceful and mellow. Only one other Selmer has entranced me that way. I hope it doesn't disappear into a vault - regardless of which country the vault it in. But owning one is a big financial commitment so it will go where the resources are, and hopefully it will find a good home there.



My 2 cents.