History of seven-string solidbodies

[Explorer]

Pisschrist, you know how sometimes some clueless guy will shout out, "Hey, dude! You've got a 'Kick me!' sign on your back! That's great!"

It's not great when someone does that.

Don't be *that guy*.

 

[voxhumana]

Here is another 7 that Lenny had made.

Oh crap - now I have three guitars to track down

The only clue on the video clip is that it was made in Nashville, no mention of dates or the luthier.

 

[Stealth7]

Pisschrist, you know how sometimes some clueless guy will shout out, "Hey, dude! You've got a 'Kick me!' sign on your back! That's great!"

It's not great when someone does that.

Don't be *that guy*.

Well I think it would be nice to get his opinion on this situation and see what he has to say... But that's just my opinion.

 

[Varcolac]

Ah, the Douchebro Alex Gregory...

I knew that "Maestro" was a bullshit title, like "Nutritionist," but hadn't realised that he claims a PhD in classical composition from a university that's never had a music faculty. The revelations from this thread are astounding; I'd figured the quote-unquote Maestro wasn't the founder of the 7-string solid body, but I'd always thought it was a child of the 80s (along with mullets and spandex). That 1977 "Jen" Alembic is a good find.

While it's often amusing to find a wittily (or otherwise) edited Wiki article ("Emmure are a worthless band from Texas...") it's heartening to know there's people like voxhumana fighting the good fight against malicious editing. By the way, the name reminds me of "The Intro and the Outro" by the Bonzo Dog Doo-dah Band: "and a Sessions gorilla on vox humana..."

 

[Double A]

Oh crap - now I have three guitars to track down

The only clue on the video clip is that it was made in Nashville, no mention of dates or the luthier.

I know one of Lenny's grandsons but I haven't seen him around town for a long time. I have a friend that might be able to track down Lenny's brother Denny. Actually you might have a lot of success contacting the man himself and I am sure he would be glad to provide some insight on when the guitars were made.

[EDIT] Here is Denny's website: http://www.dennybreau.com/home.htm

 

[voxhumana]

I know one of Lenny's grandsons but I haven't seen him around town for a long time. I have a friend that might be able to track down Lenny's brother Denny. Actually you might have a lot of success contacting the man himself and I am sure he would be glad to provide some insight on when the guitars were made.

[EDIT] Here is Denny's website: Denny Breau: Home

Thanks for the lead.

I'm a little bit nervous about this one - I'm always a bit hesitant to contact "lesser known siblings" - I've had the misfortune to cross paths with Rhett Hutchence (younger brother of Michael) on a couple of occasions and it can get ugly if Michael's name comes up.

Is Denny likely to be cool being asked such questions?

 

[Double A]

He should be, he is well liked here and is sort of a local celebrity of sorts and is also a fantastic guitar player. I guess it wouldn't hurt to put some feeler questions out there and explain what you are doing.

 

[voxhumana]

I FOUND THE FREAKIN' ALEMBIC!!!!!!

Holy crap, if there is an award for web-stalking I deserve it.

More details to come.

 

[voxhumana]

He should be, he is well liked here and is sort of a local celebrity of sorts and is also a fantastic guitar player. I guess it wouldn't hurt to put some feeler questions out there and explain what you are doing.

Good advice - I shall follow it.

Thanks

 

[troyguitar]

I FOUND THE FREAKIN' ALEMBIC!!!!!!

Holy crap, if there is an award for web-stalking I deserve it.

More details to come.

It's incredible how much information is out there if you look hard enough.

 

[voxhumana]

It's incredible how much information is out there if you look hard enough.

Well I think the poor guy is in mild shock. He is, after all, a semi-retired gent in his early 60s.

Anyway after chasing about ten dead-end leads I finally stalked him to a Apple Users forum. The guitar is sitting in his spare bedroom in Sydney. I will get photos at first opportunity.

Interestingly, he says the serial number is #074, but Alembic seem to think that that SN# belongs to a regular 4 string bass. I have no explanation for this discrepancy as of yet.

 

[coldm51]

New topic for history class tomorrow

 

[voxhumana]

Out of courtesy I'll refrain from identifying the gent, but here is his most recent reply to me:

----------------------

manning,
will email or phone u soon.
it's not in that good a condition to take pix of.
haven't played it in years.

------------------

That ought to amuse everyone. This guy is sitting on a potentially historic instrument, and he had absolutely no idea

 

[BigBaldIan]

I wonder how long it will take before Mr. Gregory's site is altered with more fabrications. So now we have a solid body 7 as early as 1977 (how appropriate).

 

[voxhumana]

I wonder how long it will take before Mr. Gregory's site is altered with more fabrications. So now we have a solid body 7 as early as 1977 (how appropriate).

Mr Gregory (or his evil-twin Lost Josephine Minor) just launched himself all over Wikipedia again. I've since cleaned it up, but it was mildly entertaining. (You can see it by going to Alex Gregory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and clicking the "view History" button.)

He seemed particularly upset by the references to the 1983 NAMM debut of the Kirk Sands 7-string. I don't know how to write "nuh-uh" with the enunciation of a distressed three-year-old, but that is how it transpired.

Anyway, I am now informed that these earlier guitars were "in no way similar" to Gregory's advanced designs. And they were indeed different - his had a standard tremelo and paint.

After that he launched an attack upon the team of editors who have been cleaning this stuff up. I actually got off fairly lightly, a fellow editor named Kudpung got quite a spraying.

All fun and games

 

[Varcolac]

Mr Gregory (or his evil-twin Lost Josephine Minor) just launched himself all over Wikipedia again. I've since cleaned it up, but it was mildly entertaining. (You can see it by going to Alex Gregory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and clicking the "view History" button.)

He seemed particularly upset by the references to the 1983 NAMM debut of the Kirk Sands 7-string. I don't know how to write "nuh-uh" with the enunciation of a distressed three-year-old, but that is how it transpired.

Anyway, I am now informed that these earlier guitars were "in no way similar" to Gregory's advanced designs. And they were indeed different - his had a standard tremelo and paint.

After that he launched an attack upon the team of editors who have been cleaning this stuff up. I actually got off fairly lightly, a fellow editor named Kudpung got quite a spraying.

All fun and games

How come it still says he received a "formal education in classical composition" from an institution bereft of a music department?

 

[voxhumana]

How come it still says he received a "formal education in classical composition" from an institution bereft of a music department?

Actually, the full quote reads "According to his website he received his education (etc)." This is as non-commital as I could make it.

This "dancing around" is a quirk of Wikipedia policy which forbids "original research". As I contacted the university myself (and got an email reply from their admissions department) this counts as "original research" and I am unable to use this information to completely remove the statement.

If I can find a independent source that lays out the history of the university in a "verifiable" format then I can remove the statement altogether. I am still looking for such a reference.

Yeah, I know, weird. It's necessary however, because if people were allowed to put stuff in/remove stuff based on claims of "I got an email about it" then Wikipedia would descend into chaos.

 

[BigBaldIan]

Actually, the full quote reads "According to his website he received his education (etc)." This is as non-commital as I could make it.

This "dancing around" is a quirk of Wikipedia policy which forbids "original research". As I contacted the university myself (and got an email reply from their admissions department) this counts as "original research" and I am unable to use this information to completely remove the statement.

If I can find a independent source that lays out the history of the university in a "verifiable" format then I can remove the statement altogether. I am still looking for such a reference.

Yeah, I know, weird. It's necessary however, because if people were allowed to put stuff in/remove stuff based on claims of "I got an email about it" then Wikipedia would descend into chaos.

Nothing about a music department or faculty mentioned here:

History

Ok, let's look at Arts and Humanities then:

http://www.unimi.it/ENG/university/31947.htm

Nope nothing there.

 

[voxhumana]

Nothing about a music department or faculty mentioned here:

History

Ok, let's look at Arts and Humanities then:

Arts and Humanities

Nope nothing there.

Holy crap! How did I miss that?

Huge thanks - the article has been revised accordingly.

 

[BigBaldIan]

Holy crap! How did I miss that?

You were concentrating on tracking the Alembic down....<hint hint, get out jail free card>