Backstage Music

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Our buddy (and local guitar legend) Bill Cook dropped by today to share his new joy with the Backstage boys. Bill recently picked up a 1938 Supertone archtop guitar. The Supertone 261 was made by Harmony for Sears and Roebuck, and was made only in 1938.

Made from all solid birch, with painted fret markers and painted binding, the Model 261 has a great jazz tone with that smoothly sharp "punch" that comes only from old wood. The guitar has a few nicks and bruises here and there, but they have no effect on the sound this guitar makes in the hands a a good player.
Our thanks to Bill for sharing this cool old ride with us.

Guitar knobs take a lot of wear and abuse. They're grabbed, pulled, pushed, rotated, and twisted, and eventually, they need to be replaced. At Backstage, we've got around two dozen different styles of sets of knobs in stock. Knobs that are dead-on matches for Les Pauls, Stratocasters, Telecasters, and lots of other guitars are in stock on our parts wall, and many of the sets start as low as $5 American.
We've got even more sets that include matching pickup covers (such as the Strat sets), as well as pickguards, tremolo springs, jack plates, all sorts of hardware, tuners, individual keys, bushings, switch tips, and lots of hard to find items.
Swing on by, spend a few dollars, and you, too, can know the joy of hearing someone say "Wow, you've got a nice set of knobs.".

Serious ukulele players need serious ukulele strings, and Backstage Music now carries Aquila ukulele strings to feed their need. Aquila strings cost a little bit more than the usual ukulele strings, but their quality makes a world of difference.
Sets such as Soprano Regular ($6.95), Concerto ($6.95), Tenor, all Nylgut ($6.95), and Baritone ($7.65) make playing your ukulele a real pleasure. Tone and sounds you've never heard before are now literally at your fingertips.
We've got plenty of these four styles in stock, so break out your Polynesian joy box and come on by for a restring, or just a visit. We're here all day, 10-6, Monday through Saturday.

When you think about dynamite coming in small packages, a Fender Vibro-Champ amp is a great example. 5 mighty watts of output, vibrato, and (in this one) a Mojo Tone speaker make for a tight little amp. The silver-face panel, grill, and knobs are all in good shape for an amp that's been in service for nearly 40 years. This little darling will be on the floor, available for sale, on Monday morning. If you want a honking little amp that just won't quit, this it it. First $350 gets to call it "Mine!".

Backstage Music is pleased to offer Samuel Eastman, Andreas Eastman, and Ivan Dunov violins as part of our store inventory. Eastman violins are 100% hand made, from the rough cutting of the wood blanks, to the final hand rubbed finish. The tops are made from the finest spruce, the backs, sides, ribs, scrolls are made from aged maple. Each violin, regardless of its price, have a neck block, end block, and four corner blocks. No laminates are ever used anywhere in an Eastman. Even the f-holes in the top are hand cut using a jeweler's saw. The purfling (the decorative lines around the body) are made from ebony and maple. All fingerboards are solid ebony. Some violins have tailpieces, chin-rests, and pegs of ebony, And some of the more expensive violins have these parts made from boxwood. Most of the violins we stock are handmade in Romania, Europe, from tonewoods harvested in the Carpathian Mountains.

This particular 4/4 violin is an Ivan Dunov VL401. It has ebony parts, and a highly flamed maple back. The bridge is hand carved by a violin luthier, and it is finished with a spirit varnish, hand applied and rubbed in the tradition of Old World craftsmen.
The quality and excellence of the work that goes into producing one of these violins is made evident by just picking one up and holding it.
Each of these violins comes with a new case, and a new bow. We are stocking mostly 4/4 (full size) instruments right now, but we will gladly order fractional instruments, as well as viola, cellos, and basses upon request.
These high quality violins are not priced as much as you might think. We've shopped the internet pretty hard, and can tell you that our prices are equivalent to, or lower than, the best price offerings we've been able to find. Come see us, you can try out your new violin, and leave knowing you got the best price available anywhere.

I like it when someone just hands me money. I like it even better when I've got to buy something, and out of the blue the seller says "Since you're buying this, how about I give you some of your money back?".
That's what Audio Technica is doing right now. They're giving you money back on the wireless items you were going to buy anyway.
Here's how you get in on this deal: Come by Backstage Music any time between now and December 31, 2010, and buy a piece of Audion Technica wireless gear. Send in the rebate form, and AT will send you a rebate (that's money back) as a "thank you" for buying their product.
Get a 4000 series mic from Backstage, and you'll get $40 back. Buy a 3000 series wireless microphone system, and they'll send you $30. A 2000 series microphone rig gets you $20 in your pocket. It's easy, quick, and it's free money back on the gear you're going to buy anyway. It just doesn't get any better than that.

When it come to violins, the heart of the instrument is the wood and craftsmanship used in building it. The soul comes from the strings. The same violin, played with different strings, can sound completely different. Super Sensitive (Red Label) strings are great for country and bluegrass, because they have a sound that will cut through the wall of guitar/mandolin/bass music with which it competes.
Classical players, on the other hand, prefer a smoother, warmer string that compliments the orchestral setting. Dominant, Vision, and Evah Pirazzi are some of the preferred brands for those players.
Sometimes guitar players are a bit overwhelmed by the wide selection of guitar strings on the market, and they struggle trying to find the right set of strings from the 100+ varieties we have in stock. For violin players, you'd think it would be easier (only four strings, right?), but nooooo....... It's harder. There are dozens and dozens of brands, some with loop E, some with ball E. Most labels offer their strings in weich (light), mittle (medium), and stark (heavy) varieties. To compound that, some players prefer one of the strings to be a different brand or gauge. It would be fair to say that violin strings can get complicated.
Backstage has selected some of the most frequently requested string brands, and put them in stock. Vision Titanium Solos, Visions Dominants, Evah Pirazzis, in various sizes, some with ball E strings, some with loop E strings. If your violin or fiddle is telling you "Hey, I need some new strings", you can remedy that right now. Drop on by, and let us show you our stock. You might be surprised what you can get in Starkville these days!
Not only do we have these in stock, we have them at a price that competes with the largest and most aggressive of the internet-based violin string discount houses. Figure up what a set of Dominants cost, add the shipping, and then compare that to our price plus sales tax. If there's any difference at all, it won't be much.
Come on by and see us.

Saturday, this black, three-pickup beauty was hung up in Backstage. The SC-3 has full binding, nice fret work, gold hardware, a set neck, a hard rock maple neck with rosewood fretboard, tummy cut, contour top, a great weight, and it just feels good. One of the tone controls is also a push/pull switch that cuts the middle pickup on and off.
This guitar reminds me so much of the Black Beauty Les Paul that Peter Frampton played, the one that was destroyed in that terrible South American plane crash in 1980. He was playing it when the cover shot of Framptom Comes Alive was taken. Black, slick, three pickups, white binding........... It's just got that same vibe.
The great thing about this Peavey SC-3 is that it's only $400, and it's new. We've only got one of these right now, so if you're interested in seeing what a great guitar Peavey is making these days, get on down here before it's gone.
(Sorry, this has been sold, but we do still have it's twin here. The twin is white instead of black, and the same in every other regard.)