Very cool! He had a comedy on Showtime that was absolutely hilarious. I highly recommend that one.

And by aversion to Gretsch guitars, do you mean him using electric hollow-body archtops? I googled for some photos and he was playing a nice Epiphone Archtop, a white Gibson ES-335, and I couldn't find Herschel playing an electric archtop, but as he is a Jazz guy, I don't doubt it.

Do you mean the following guitar. It is a Gibson ES-345. It doesn't try to be a Gretsch at all. And this is the other guitar that Hershel had? http://www.flickr.com/photos/ms-mac/472310069/ Gretsch Tennessean, they made it for Chet Atkins. Anyways, the music doesn't need anymore "twang and clang".

And for the interest of all SG-101ers I present the following, Hershel and Roly with Antigua Coronados!!! The SG101 Holy Grail.

Last edited: Aug 13, 2011 11:48:38

Yeah, of course it says Gibson on the headstock. And trapezoidal inlays on a ES-335 styled body makes it an ES-345. I almost wonder if he has a white guitar like the red on Hershel is playing, because the ES-345 looks quite unlike anything Gretsch has made.

Chris' guitar is simply just this but in white:

And let's not forget the Kay Jazz II:

image

And the Silvertone 1446

Last edited: Aug 13, 2011 19:15:51

davidphantomatic wrote:

I think they're talking about this one.

The regular production model came out in red and was short lived, but Robert Smith of the Cure loves them.

I have a couple of titles by him. Ordered Forever Blue from Amazon after the show. He played a song or two with blue in the lyrics and it might have that dude from the Avengers playing guitar still. So I figured that would be a good one. I like some of this stuff a lot but some of the albums drag without more authentic tone to kick it up. Like Speak of the Devil. Kind of drags on. The Baja Sessions on the other hand I enjoy the guitar tone a lot.

Checked out San Francisco Days and Forever Blue. Liked them both. He can sing well in a fashion no one else does anymore. They have great tones and moments guitar wise. Solitary Man was a pleasant surprise. He does have a Hagstrom in some of the pictures there as well. Some Gretsch clang and twang would bring the party on a little sooner. The b3 player sounds cheesy at times on the San Francisco Days album. He has aged gracefully as a performer though. What a show he put on. They hacked out a set of Sun records tunes very well that night. Imagine if Deke Dickerson produced and played on a album for him. They could do some damage together.

Hey, I was at this very show, too! My wife's and mine third time seeing Isaak (all three times at Meadowbrook), and this was as good or even better than the others! Just a phenomenal show. For me Isaak has been very consistent with all his albums, I love every single one of them. The sound always changes a bit album to album, and replacing Wilsey with Hershel definitely brought about more change, but it's all still great. Really love Isaak's last album, Mr. Lucky, brilliant stuff. Looking forward to the new album of oldies covers, though I do wish Isaak would release albums with original material more often, it seems like it's 5-6 years in between releases anymore.

goofyfootinmouth wrote:

Hershel had a red hollow body with some weird cut at the bottom cutout to keep from looking like a Gretsch too much.

That was a hollow-body Guild, Starfire I think.

Obsess about Gretsches much, goofyfootinmouth?? The only Gretsch connection with Isaak's band that I'm aware of goes way back to the first album or two, when Isaak used a Gretsch. But for the past 20+ years he's consistently been using Gibsons. Both Jimmy and Hershel primarily rely on Strats, though Hershel uses a much wider variety of guitars, notably Teles, quite often. But I never saw either of them with a Gretsch - and I'm pretty sure the music would not have been any better if any of them started using a Gretsch. Glad you really enjoyed the show, but getting worked up cause they're not using a particular guitar brand?? A bit, ummm, odd.....

BTW, here's how the albums break down:
"Silvertone", "S/T", "Heart Shaped World" - Jimmy Wilsey on lead
"San Francisco Days" - transitional, w/ Wilsey on about half the album
"Forever Blue" - Wilsey gone, a bunch of guest guitarists brought in (including Danny Gatton)
"The Baja Sessions", "Speak of the Devil", "Always Got Tonight", "Mr. Lucky" - Hershel Yatovitz on lead

"Forever Blue" is, as Jake said, one of his best albums, and rather remarkable in general.

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"but many have died trying" He was funny. If that voice could be paired with a more primitive player and production his audience and cash flow might be reduced but some really killer records could be made. There are a couple of records I love but wish the guitarist would hock there gear and rock a Gretsch to make it sound full tilt. Obsessed? Sure. With records and guitars. Seriously who here wouldn't want Deke Dickerson to play on and produce a Isaak album? With a Mosrite and a few Gretsch guitars on hand? This is just like the crap you would hear on sports radio. I just don't do sports.

Goofyfootinmouth wrote:

Seriously who here wouldn't want Deke Dickerson to play
on and produce a Isaak album? With a Mosrite and a few
Gretsch guitars on hand? This is just like the crap you
would hear on sports radio. I just don't do sports.

I wouldn't want to hear that. Not at all. Chris is at his best when he is making his own music and being original. The problem with the last decade or so(and I still do enjoy the albums) is that he makes music that he thinks his established and casual fans think they want to hear. Too many covers for me, and kind of going farther down the Elvis/Crooner hybrid role even though his band isn't geared for that, in my opinion. Those guys have a lot in them that I don't think they quite get 100% out of.

Also, if Herschel or Chris played Gretsches they would still sound like they do with the Gibsons/Fenders. The tone would be a little fuller most likely if they amp settings were the same, but a Gretsch doesn't instantly get the stereotypical Gretsch sound. You can make them sound how you want with EQ and just how you play.