Latest news with #guitars
BBC News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
The Somerset man making guitars for Idles and Massive Attack
Rocker Josh Stopford spent a decade on the road with ska band Yes Sir Boss. But after retraining as a carpenter he has switched from playing with the stars to making guitars for Stopford, from Frome in Somerset, has performed with Joss Stone, supported reggae legends Toots and the Maytals, gigged with Reef and appeared at Glastonbury multiple setting up in 2018, he has built and worked on instruments for Bristol legends Massive Attack and Idles, as well as The Vaccines, Gaz Coombes, The Stranglers, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and The The. The 41-year-old told BBC Radio Somerset he made the change when he had his first child after 10 years of touring he realised as a carpenter he could make guitars he "sort of couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it before"."It takes about two-and-a-half months from start to finish, it depends what you want," the dad-of-two said."But if what you want is complicated and fiddly, it's worth the wait. "For me, doing the little details is the really great bit. It's all the finishing that makes it very exciting to me," said Mr Alex Lee, who has worked with Massive Attack, Goldfrapp, Placebo, Suede and the Royal Shakespeare Company, apparently feels the same way. He is planning on coming in to Mr Stopford's workshop at West Valley Guitars with some wood from his garage which he wants to use in an instrument."He was just really interested in the building part of it," said the carpenter. At the moment Mr Stopford only builds electric guitars, which cost between £2,500 and £3, said: "I would make acoustic but it's hard enough to make money with electrics."Acoustics, they take a lot longer and cost more to build, and launching into that feels sort of overwhelming." Besides, he finds electrics more appealing."I've found my thing and that's it," he said. "I've arrived."
CBS News
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Pittsburgh concert promoter Rich Engler selling his impressive rock and roll memorabilia collection
In a room somewhere in western Pennsylvania, concert promoter Rich Engler's treasures are on display. Engler's collection numbers 235-plus guitars and 800 pieces of memorabilia, all signed by a who's who of rock and roll, country and blues history. Like a rock and roll guitar hall of fame, the items are housed in an expansive series of rooms. Artists from all across the music spectrum are represented. The instruments are signed by the likes of Merle Haggard, Garth Brooks, Phil Collins, Coldplay, ZZ Top, Little Richard, B.B. King, Joe Cocker and Toby Keith — to name a few. Electric, acoustic, bass, twelve-string guitars and even Kenny G's soprano saxophone were all collected from the over 6,000 concerts and shows Rich Engler promoted. (Photo: KDKA) In addition to the instruments, Engler and his wife Cindy gathered an eclectic collection to include Willie Nelson, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, and Charlie Daniels' hats, as well as 12 platinum and gold records. There's also something special from the Red Hot Chilli peppers bass player, Flea. It's his on-stage costume, aka a pair of white underwear. Engler putting collection up for sale All of it can be yours, if the price is right. "The plan is that they're all going to be on sale in two separate sales. I'm going to sell all the guitars at one time and all the memorabilia at one time," Engler said. Why is Engler putting the collection up for sale? "It's time. It's time. I think this has become my collection, but what it really is, is it's an attraction," Engler said. Some of Engler's favorite items are from an eccentric kid from the Brixton section of London whom Engler introduced to Pittsburgh a long time ago: David Bowie. The Thin White Duke's guitar isn't the only item in Engler's heart. Wearing an outfit that drips with the vibe of rock and roll, the 79-year-old Engler said, "You have to say Bob Dylan. I mean, Bob Dylan doesn't hardly ever sign anything." Each item has a story Each item has a story behind it, as Engler put it. "There've been some shaky moments where you couldn't get the artist on or you couldn't wake them up." According to Engler, one time Aerosmith trashed some RVs they were using as dressing rooms while opening for ZZ Top's World Wide Texas Tour in the mid-1970s. Engler says the Bad Boys from Boston ripped up the Winnebagos because they wanted dark blue towels, and the ones inside the units were light blue. Engler chalked it up to Aerosmith being Aerosmith. And while he'll be somewhat sad to say goodbye to all of this, he says he can't complain. After all, most people will tell you that Rich Engler has been, and still is, the heart of rock and roll in Pittsburgh. With a smile on his face, he'll tell you, "I never really worked a day in my life. It was very enjoyable." For more information on the sale, click here.
BBC News
27-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Rare guitars donated to Witney charity shop fetch £12,000 at auction
A collection of rare guitars anonymously donated to a charity shop, including two favoured by Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan, have fetched more than £12,000 at six valuable guitars and an amp were donated to the Oxfam shop in Witney towards the end of last been assessed by shop volunteers, the guitars were quickly identified as being potentially very valuable and went up for auction last week, where they raised £12, those sold was a Gibson Custom Shop Banner 1942 J-45 acoustic guitar, which was a personal favourite of Elvis Presley. It sold for £2,200, whilst a Martin D-28 acoustic guitar - favoured by artists like Dylan and Neil Young - fetched £3,400. Explaining how he and his fellow Witney volunteers received the donation, Chris Meadows said: "Near the end of last year, a chap came in and asked if we took in guitars as donations.""I don't know anything about guitars, but I remember seeing the cases and thinking they looked valuable – not knowing quite how valuable they were."Mr Meadows said he and his fellow volunteers researched the collection and "pretty quickly realised how special" the guitars were."The very generous gentleman who donated them must have known they were very valuable, and knew what kind of money they might be able to help make for Oxfam," he added. The collection, which was sold at Ewbank's auction house in Woking, Surrey, also included a Gibson ES 335 electric guitar and a Gretsch White Falcon G6136-55VS electric Silke, Ewbank's Music Valuer, said each one of the guitars would be "high on any guitar players' dream list"."Instruments of this quality and condition don't come in every day so this was a very special and generous donation. It is fantastic that they have been able to raise so much money for Oxfam," he said. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Starter music instruments & tariffs: basic instruments could go up in price
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Another industry may bear the brunt of international tariffs between the US and China: starter music instruments. Joe Chiappone has owned Northfield Music in Pittsford for 42 years specializing in guitars and guitar accessories. He estimates that about 75% of his inventory comes from overseas, which doesn't account for the Asia-made parts in American guitars. He says that he seen more products go up about 5% to 10% this year, including starter guitars, many of which are made in China. Chiappone is keeping his prices lower, despite some manufacturers increasing the cost in their back stock. 'We've tried to put that off as long as we can, so when a new product comes in, we're paying more, and we're going to put new stickers on them,' he said. 'But we've got a bunch of items that are still at the old price.' Northfield Music is at 50 State Street, tucked in a shopping center next to Schoen Place. For Payton Violins in the City of Rochester, rentals are about 10% of their business, but is headed by sales and repairs. A number of those rental instruments are starter violins from China, which the owner of Payton Violins, Samuel Payton says are cheap and easy to play. The Peterson Institute of International Economics estimates that Chinese instruments account for 83% of us imports in this market. With the tariffs as constituted, the price of newly made and bought instruments could go up 145%. Payton says that many of the Chinese models in his rental fleet are a couple of hundred bucks. Even at their rental price point, it takes them three years to earn back the cost of the instrument. They have plenty in stock, but if they have to order more, Payton Violins may have to eat that increase. 'It's not a huge part of the business financially, but it's a really important part of the business in developing young players,' he said. 'And if we can't develop young players, we can;t get advanced players who invest in finer instruments… So it's crucial for the longevity of a business to have a connection with young players and to build those relationships.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst.
