The Grammer Guitar

When I lived in Middletown, Ohio the best music store around was Moeller Music.

At one time the store was located in the center of town. Inside there was a glass display case that held two of the most unusual looking guitars that I had ever seen. Both bore the same name; The Grammer Guitar which was featured prominently on the head stock. One guitar had more checkered binding on it than the other. Both had a natural finished solid spruce top. The hang tag price was between $500 and $600 USD. Compared to today’s prices it would have been a bargain.

Recalling those guitars reminded me of an episode of The Porter Wagoner Show that I saw on television years earlier. Porter was talking about the Grammer guitars that he and Dolly Parton were both playing. He played a dreadnought version and Dolly had a small (baby) version and Porter probably got some compensation for this plug.

I have never seen another Grammer or played one since those days 30 years ago. As I recall, they are not only nice players, but extremely well made as well.

Billy Grammer was a serious and well known Country artist of the 1960’s. He played guitar and sang and was also was a good businessman. One of his life’s goals was to build the perfect flattop guitar.

Billy’s most recognized gig occurred in 1955 when he was hired to play guitar in the Jimmy Dean band for Jimmy’s CBS TV show. Billy was hired to replace Roy Clarke, who was sacked for being perpetually late to work.



Prior to this job, Grammer backed up such country artists as Hawkshaw Hawkins, T. Texas Tyler, Clyde Moody and Grandpa Jones.

Eventually The Jimmy Dean Show moved to New York and Grammer was left without a job.

A friend in the music business was starting a new label, Monument Records, and he hired Billy Grammer as their first artist. It was there he recorded a hit record. It was a remake of an old folk song called “I Gotta’ Travel On.” Grammer recorded the song in Nashville and it was released around the time of the resurgence of folk music aka The Great Folk Scare. I Gotta' Travel On has gone on to be one of the most recognized and popular tunes ever recorded.

The lead guitarist on the recording was Chet Atkins, Floyd Kramer, bass player Bob Moore, drummer Buddy Hardin, the Anita Kerr singers and the Jordanaires provided backing vocals.  The song went on to become not just a Country hit, but a Pop hit as well.

Grammer had a dream about building the perfect guitars. In 1964 he decided to get serious about his dream of creating the perfect guitar. This was the beginning of the guitar boom. Guitars were a hot item. Every kid in the world wanted to be the next Pop or Country idol.

Billy ponied up $18,000 to purchase controlling interest in a venture with Nashville music store owner Clyde Reid and Nashville luthier J.W. Gower. Together they formed the R, G, and G Guitar Company.

Grammar began his quest to create a great guitar by sawing his personal guitars, a Martin D-18 and a Gibson J-45 in half to inspect them. Indeed, they were inspected at length. With help from a friend named Fred Hedges, Billy put together dimensions for his perfect instrument.

It was trial and error for a while, but he and his team came up with a guitar design and bracing pattern that he felt encompassed the best features of both the Martin and Gibson. Guitar #1, the first prototype was finished in March of 1965.

Members of the Gower family, Fred Hedges, and Clyde Reid were enlisted and hired for the venture. Power tools, lathes, drum sanders and other wood working equipment was purchased on the company went on to replicate the prototype.

By 1965 Grammer guitars were showing up in music stores. They came in 3 sizes. The factory cost for each guitar was $127 and the retail price was $395. R, G and G never gave away their guitars, but some big name artists were able to purchase them at cost.

The factory was building one complete guitar every day.

The first serial number on the first production Grammer was 1001. There were approximately 1000 guitars produced by Grammer during the production years 1965 to 1968. The first 70 production guitars came with a mustache bridge and a head piece that was wider at the corners than the later guitars, which featured a crown bridge and
dark triangular shaped insert at the base of the body.


There was no binding on the neck for the Grammers built by RG and G. The binding and inlay were added by a California company called Vitali. One of the signature feature of a Grammer is two vertical lines of abalone going down the neck.

Strap knobs on the base of the neck were standard. Grammer used Sitka spruce for the sound board material.

The back and sides were Brazilian rosewood, flamed maple or striped mahogany. Fret board materials were rosewood or ebony.

Some guitars were finished with unusual patterns of red, blue, purple, yellow and green bursts. Many Grammers came with a natural finish. Grammers sported Grover tuners and later models came with Schaller tuners.

The first Grammer guitar offered for sale bore serial number 1001. There were approximately 1000 Grammer guitars built between 1965 and 1968. These are essentially handcrafted flat top guitars of the best quality ever made. The Grammer guitar was gaudy on the outside, but seriously well built with an excellent sound.

The Grammer guitar number 1001 is in the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee.

Most Grammers are approximately 15 and a half inches wide, 5 inches deep and have a 24 and a half inch scale. They all had oversized pegheads, large pickguards and bridges.

The finishes were quite unusual, especially for those conservative days. The guitars were finished in blue, yellow or green sunburst and of course natural spruce.

Throughout his partnership in the guitar company, Billy Grammer continued to tour and record. Running a business and being a Country artist eventually caught up with him.

It was in 1968 when R, G, and G guitars sold out to the Ampeg Company. Terms of the contract included a royalty payment on every guitar sold and a reversion clause should ever decide to stop building Grammer guitars.

You can easily distinguish an Ampeg built Grammer guitar from just looking at the logo on the headstock. Original Grammer Guitar have a large letter “G”, while Ampeg made Grammers have a lower case letter “g” on the peghead spelling The grammer guitar.

Grammer was happy about the deal since he could retain the name and he was to make a 5% royalty on every guitar sold.

In an effort to boost sales, Ampeg gave away Grammer guitars to well known artists. This is something Billy Grammer would never have done.

Though the Ampeg Company was in great financial shape, they did not provide the necessary resources to the Grammer factory in Nashville. It was obvious this was a very bad deal.

It was not long before Ampeg sold the Grammer business to a man named Ralph Fielding in 1971.

And it wasn’t very long before Mr. Fielding lost his assets due to defaulting on a construction loan.

Steel guitarist Roy Wiggins acquired the company but could not revive it.

In 1972 the remaining assets of the Grammer Guitar Company were auctioned off to pay business taxes.

Nashville resonator guitar builder Tut Taylor and his son bought everything but the name. This included the equipment, remaining materials and the lease on the building.

Tut Taylor’s son, Mark, continues to build exquisite guitars under the name Crafters of Tennessee.

Billy Grammer continued playing music. He died in August of 2011 at age 85.







 

The Sawmill Capo

One of the Unique Guitar Blogs’ readers has sent me information on a wonderful new venture that he is offering.

Joshua Gomes is a guitar player and a mechanical engineer from the Boston, Massachusetts area that has come up with a unique idea for a guitar capo design and I believe it is outstanding. He calls it the Sawmill Capo. The patent on this device is pending.

His design is loosely based on the Dunlop version of the guitar capo. But unlike the Dunlop, the Sawmill Capo is made of beautiful hardwood.  Not only is the Sawmill Capo functional, it is an awesome addition that highlights the aesthetic features of your guitar.

Wooden capos are nothing new. Classical guitarists have been using them almost since the creation of the guitar. Those versions were made of a strip of polished wood that usually was strapped onto the neck with a short piece of the same gut used for old fashion guitar strings.

Another less common version required holes to be reamed into the center of the fret board at different positions.  The wooden capo strip that fretted the guitar had a short dowel attached at a 90 degree angle that could be inserted in the fretboard ‘holes’ and fastened.

Steel string guitars require more pressure than their gut or nylon string cousins. Most modern capos manufactured over the past century were made of metal. But now the Sawmill Capo combines the beauty of a wooden capo and with modern design. It is essentially a work of art.

Guitarists prefer different wood to enhance the quality of their instruments sound. Even electric guitars debate the virtues of maple or rosewood fretboards. Sawmill Capos offers a variety of four wood choices to address your preference. Your capo can be made using Maple, Rosewood, Mahogany or Zebra Wood.

Like all other modern capos, the Sawmill Capo has one-handed capability to take on, off or reposition on your guitars neck.

For an additional cost, you can order your Sawmill Capo with mother-of-pearl inlay that will match the inlay on your guitars fretboard.

Laser etching is also a feature you can order on your Sawmill Capo. The first batch of 250 capos will be laser marked with the Sawmill logo and will come with a serial number.

Joshua will be offering the Sawmill Capo starting July 22^nd of 2013. You can order yours by going to this web address. 

Sawmill Music

Gay Guitars

Gay guitars!!!?    Yep, you heard me right.

Frank Gay's Personal Guitar

Gay guitars are a creation of luthier, guitarist, and composer and watch maker Frank (Francois) Gay and were very popular with famous country singers of the 1950’s and ‘60’s. The elaborate designs on the guitars went well with the artist’s Nudie suits.

Frank Gay guitar

Frank Gay was born to French Canadian parents in the town of Marcelin, which is a small city north of Saskatoon, on April 23, 1923.

I first became interested in Mr. Gay when a friend posted a picture of a Webb Pierce album cover on Face Book. Pierce was holding this guitar that was all decked out in fancy inlay and binding and heart shaped sound hole. I had to find out about that guitar, which started me on my quest. Unfortunately I cannot find any pictures of Frank Gay, but there are plenty photos of his guitars.

Pierce's guitar pickguard was clear, and the binding was very unusual unlike other guitars I have come across. I did a little research and discovered that not only the body was elaborate, but the neck and headstock were exquisite. The headstock was like something I have never seen. This acoustic guitar had a six-on-a-side elaborately carved headstock.

 It was then I set out to find more about the builder.

Frank Gay studied music at the New York School of Music. He was already a qualified watch maker, but his interest lay in music. Frank moved to Toronto to further his music studies under the tutelage of guitar instructor Norman Chapman, who later became his partner in a duo.

For a day job, Gay apprenticed at R.S. Williams and Co. which was the largest workshop and Canadian manufacture of pianos and other stringed instruments. Frank spent two years working at this company, before setting up his own studio and shop in Edmonton. This was in the year of 1953.

It was then that Mr. Gay set forth building the fancy steel string guitars that became so popular with country musicians. Johnny Cash, Don Gibson, Hank Snow, Carl Smith, Ferlin Husky, Webb Pierce, Faron Young, and Johnny Horton all owned at played Gay guitars.

Three Gay guitars, owned by the latter three musicians, were once on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville Tennessee.

Perhaps the most unusual Gay guitar was made for country star Ferlin Husky. It currently resides in the Mac Yasuda collection. Many who have seen it, mistake it for a Gibson J-200 that was painted with unusual inlay designs that were not just on the head and neck, but included floral inlays on the guitars body.

The sound hole on this instrument is almost triangular, similar to the one found on a Gretsch Rancher. The 3-on-a-side headstock is much different from any Gibson now or of its day.

Unfortunately some of Gay’s early models did not hold up well due to the glue and bindings he used. Subsequently some of the instruments fell apart. Country stars like Husky and Carl Smith had relationships with big name guitar manufacturers.

In the case of Ferlin Husky’s guitar, it was repaired by Gibson guitars and upon finishing, they slapped a Gibson logo over the Gay crest.

Carl Smith’s Gay guitar was repaired by Sho-bud. When the guitar was returned, the headstock featured a “Customized by Sho-bud” logo.

It was in the mid 1950’s Frank was approached by someone from Canadian radio station CKUA.


Frank was living in Edmonton, Alberta and building guitars in his garage. Word that a somewhat famous luthier lived in the same town as the radio station prompted an interview.

Upon meeting the fellow from CKUA, Frank Gay put on an impromptu concert and played various genres of music, using a different guitar for each. The show's producer was very impressed.

Frank was supposed to just do an interview for the show, however due to his talent he was asked to do a program on the station. This proved a blessing for the tiny radio station. Not only was Frank Gay a gifted luthier and guitarist, but he had a lot of friends in the music industry that he invited to be on his show. His show on CKUA lasted from 1958 to 1963.

Frank Gay went on to make appearances on CBC and do pop music recordings. He has played concerts and coffee houses. In 1959 Frank Gay founded the Classical Guitar Society, which is possibly the first in western Canada.

By the early 1960’s Frank had moved on to building classical guitars, using a Ramirez flamenco guitar (given to him by Carlos Montoya) and an Esteco classical guitar as models.

Gay went on to build guitars for Montoya and Alirio Diaz. Gay has also built folk guitars, a small five course (10 strings) renaissance guitar, lutes, mandolins, banjos and even a few solid body electric guitars. Gay was noted for his fine inlay work and unique designs.




To this day, the late Frank Gay is recognized as an innovative artisan and a major figure in the history of Canadian stringed-instrument making.

Anonymous wrote below asking to see the Frank Gay double neck guitar. I could not find it, but I found a triple neck guitar that he made.

Frank Zappa's Guitars and the Gibson Frank Zappa Roxy SG

For my Friend David Aldrich. Thanks for the music and thanks for The Gorey Stories.

Frank Zappa was the father of The Mothers of Invention. He was a musical genius, an outspoken protagonist of Tipper Gore, a composer of rock as well as symphonic music, a conductor, an arranger, a father, husband, bandleader, humorist, registered trademark and a damn fine guitar player.

To celebrate the life of Frank Zappa Gibson Musical Instrument Company has recently unveiled The Zappa® "Roxy" SG guitar which was inspired by the modified SG that Zappa used in live performances. Only 400 units will be available.

The new Zappa SG features two ’57 classic humbuckers that are routed through a pair of mini toggle switches which provide coil splitting and out of phase capabilities for each pickup. This is just like Frank’s original SG.

The instrument comes with a slim 1960’s style bound neck that is topped with a blonde headstock. 

At the opposite end the strings are anchored to a Maestro Vibrola. The guitar has a Gibson Tune-O-Matic bridge and on the headstock are a set of Grover tuners.

The body is made of solid mahogany, as is the neck. The 22 fret neck is topped with a rosewood fretboard with dot inlays and a natural finish on the head-stock.

Frank gave his original guitar the nickname of Roxy.  Frank’s son, Dweezil Zappa was very instrumental in assisting Gibson in the build of this guitar.

Zappa’s original SG Special was an early ’60s model with the slim neck that was popular at the time and a stock smaller pickguard. His pickups were P-90’s, which were original equipment. 

Like many other guitarists, Frank was after “a sound”, hence the addition of the toggle switches and electronics that gave him the signature ‘out-of-phase’ sound that is heard on many of his recordings.

In an interview his son Dweezil tells us that Frank rarely used anything stock. For him it was all about getting the right midrange and controlling feedback. Some of Frank’s guitars even had onboard preamps. However the Roxy was not one of them.

The younger Zappa states the Roxy guitar was once damaged by an airline. It was at this time Frank took it apart and started adding the electronics.

One of the tools that Zappa used frequently was the Pignose Amp, to get some of its classic overdriven sounds. Frank modified the Pignose by adding two XLR jacks on the backside.

I was fortunate enough to see Zappa and The Mothers of Invention play live concerts on two different occasions. Both were at the same venue, The Taft Theater in Cincinnati, Ohio. The concerts were about a year apart. 

At the time I was in high school and playing saxophone. I was enamored with the fact that Frank’s saxophone and trumpet player were using Maestro Electroniceffects that were designed for those instruments. But I was not distracted enough to notice Frank was playing an SG.

To my young eyes this guitar looked like a distressed Gibson SG. It even bore a Gibson logo on the black headstock. However there were numerous switches on this guitar other than the usual pickup switching toggle and the four knobs. Although is looked like a Gibson SG,  the guitar was in fact a very well made copy of a Gibson.

Frank named this guitar The Baby Snakes SG, after a short film Frank made called Baby Snakes.

The Baby Snakes SG was the creation of “a guy in Phoenix Arizona” who somehow made his way backstage at a Zappa concert, with the intent of selling this guitar he had made. Zappa bought it on the spot for $500. No one is certain whether or not Zappa knew it was a forgery.

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The Baby Snakes guitar looks like an SG, however there are some significant differences, such as a 23 fret neck with some unusual inlay. There is also some ornamental woodwork on the guitar’s body. And no one looking at it could miss all those toggle switches. 

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In addition to the pickup switching toggle, the guitar included a boost switch, an out-of-phase control switch, two split coil switches and an EQ booster switch. One of the switches may have controlled a Dan Armstrong Green Ringer (ring modulator) that would have been installed in the body cavity.

Frank Zappa was friends with Jimi Hendrix. Both musicians played at the Miami Pop Festival where Jimi torched his Stratocaster as part of his act. One of Jimi’s roadies gave the remnants of the guitar to Frank. The neck and electronics were burnt beyond repair. 

Frank hung the guitar body on his wall for a long time and then decided to rebuild the instrument. He added some custom electronics which include a parametric EQ, a  Barcus Berry pickup attached to the neck and a preamp.

By some accounts, the story of the Strat states that Rex Bogue, who was a well known luthier, was the one who rewired the guitar.

Zappa used the Stratocaster on stage and in the studio. At some point he quit using the guitar and its whereabouts remained a mystery. 

Frank’s son Dweezil found it in a stairwell in Frank’s home recording studio. The guitar was in pieces. Dweezil asked his father if he would like it restored. Dweezil took it to his friend Jay Black, who was with the Fender Custom Shop at the time. Black put on a tortoise shell pickguard and Lindy Fralin pickups using traditional Fender wiring. He also add a new neck with a reverse Fender Strat headstock.

Dweezil presented it to his father as a birthday present.  Later, Frank gifted it to Dweezil.

Although Frank Zappa was a fan of the diminutive Pignose, his choice on stage amp was a 100 watt Marshall JMP head through various speakers. For recording Zappa employed a Fender Deluxe.

There were other guitars associated with Frank Zappa. He owned an ES-5 Switchmaster that was featured on some early recordings.

Zappa also owned a Les Paul Custom guitar that had a Dan Armstrong Green Ringer installed in the body cavity. An extra knob was added to this guitar which was actually a nine position rotary switch. This allowed for split coil and out-of-phase sounds, as well as series and parallel options.

Zappa owned a Martin D-18S 12 fret guitar that he used on a few of his recordings. The “S” stands for slot-head. The 12 fret body is larger than a dreadnought, so the sound is bigger and warmer. Frank acquired this guitar from the Turtles lead singer, Mark Volman. Zappa fans should know that Volman and Howard Kaylan of the Turtles, became Flo and Eddie and started in Zappa’s band.

During Frank’s final tour he utilized a Performance solid body guitar, which was made by Performance Guitars of Hollywood, California.  This guitar was fitted out with lots of bells and whistles in the form of tiny trim-pots that were adjustable with a tiny screw driver. 

These potentiometers were able to tweak the tone that Frank needed. Two of the pots were for bass and top end frequencies. The guitar included a variable resonant frequency adjustment or a “Q” knob that allowed Frank to control feedback characteristics based on the size of the room he was playing.

Frank's music is not something you would hear on most radio stations. It is orchestrated, tempos and time signatures change.

The vocals...well they are different. To some degree it is part serious and part  parody. Frank surrounded himself with fine players, that could read music. The names of his songs/works are humorous and so are the lyrics. Below is a mix of Frank's genres.