Author Archives: dobroallen

So they say it’s 33 years ago this week that La Bamba opened.

So they say it’s 33 years ago this week that La Bamba opened. Here’s what I remember.A bunch of us young actors in Dallas had formed a sort of family, mainly centered around a guy named Adam Roarke, but there were other connections. My brother, Bill, was the first to land enough acting work toContinue reading “So they say it’s 33 years ago this week that La Bamba opened.”

TREMOLO:THE SECRET SAUCE OF TONE

Thinking deeply about tremolo is a “good news/bad news” proposition. It’s sure to make you sound better, but at the risk of giving you a new guitar-related obsession. Which you need like a hole in the head.  You probably have been told, and rightly, that vibrato is a regular pitch oscillation, whereas tremolo is aContinue reading “TREMOLO:THE SECRET SAUCE OF TONE”

The Helmholtz Frequency of a Wooden Box -or- Never Trust Anything That Used to be a Tree

Acoustic guitar designers far smarter than I have argued (sometimes in my presence) about “Tuned Tops”, the controversial idea being that guitar soundboards may be carefully sanded in order to emphasize a desired inherent note, or “Peak Resonant Frequency”. I only refer to that debate on my way to talking about what really matters inContinue reading “The Helmholtz Frequency of a Wooden Box -or- Never Trust Anything That Used to be a Tree”

MY FAVORITE GUITAR Dave Belzer’s ’59 Burst

Dave Belzer is half of the legendary “Burst Brothers”. Along with Drew Berlin, they have played, appraised, brokered, owned, and played more BIG vintage guitars than anyone on the west coast, or possibly anywhere. They are my friends, and, MAN, do they love AUTHENTIC guitars. I cannot imagine having to pick just one favorite fromContinue reading “MY FAVORITE GUITAR Dave Belzer’s ’59 Burst”

MY FAVORITE GUITAR Mat Koehler’s 1944 Epi FT-79

Writer, musician, collector, wheeler-dealer, and connoisseur of objets d’art (Especially old motor oil signs), Mat Koehler is a man of exceptional taste in guitars.  He has a special affection for pre-Gibson Epiphones. BETCHA DIDN’T KNOWGibson and Epiphone were rivals, BITTER rivals, prior  to 1957, the year Gibson absorbed the smaller, New York-based, company. It’s said thatContinue reading “MY FAVORITE GUITAR Mat Koehler’s 1944 Epi FT-79”

BRIAN KAHANEK "MY FAVORITE GUITAR"

In this clip from the “My Favorite Guitar” series, Los Angeles Solo Artist / Studio Ace, “Brian Kahanek”, shows off “Grandpa”, a ’59 RI Les Paul.“Grandpa” may be heard on “Starlight”, from the CD “One True Thing”, HERE: I’d be mad at him for how well he plays, but you can’t be mad at The World’sContinue reading “BRIAN KAHANEK "MY FAVORITE GUITAR"”

So I sent this to a bunch of my no-good guitar playin’ buddies: Among those who responded are The Burst Brothers (Dave Belzer and Drew Berlin), Bob Mothersbaugh (AKA Devo’s Bob 1) Steve Lukather, Mat Koehler, Chuck Kavooras, Arnie Newman, Brian Kahanek, and Holland K Smith.I’ll be shooting their segments soon. Meantime, you have toContinue reading