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<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<The Acoustic Guitar Wire<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
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1. Welcome to the Acoustic Guitar Wire No. 15
2. News and Notes
3. New at Acoustic Guitar Central
4. What Is My Guitar Worth?
5. Win Autographed Copies of Peter Case's Beeline
6. Jazz Guitar and Guitar Building on the Web
7. Highlights from Upcoming Issues of Acoustic Guitar
8. Gibson Giveaway
9. Great New Books from String Letter Publishing
10. Win a Free CD!
11. Gig from Hell
12. Corrections
13. A.G. Wire Archives
14. Contact and Unsubscribe Info

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Welcome to the Acoustic Guitar Wire No. 15

Enjoy the latest acoustic music news, information about
happenings online, advance notice of special offers and
giveaways, and previews of new publications from String
Letter Publishing. You'll also get tips and advice about
guitars, gear, and playing, plus a few jokes and the chance
to win a guitar, gear, and other great prizes.

This newsletter is best viewed in 10-point Courier. Our
hyperlinks are formatted to be "hot" in most mail readers.
If your reader doesn't support click-through linking from
email, just cut and paste the URLs into your Web browser.

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News and Notes

The first annual Jim Hurst/NashCamp Fingerstyle Guitar
Weekend will be held October 11-13 in Cumberland Furnace,
Tennessee. In addition to Hurst, instructors include Eddie
Pennington, Mark Casstevens, and Richard Smith. To register,
go to http://nashcamp.tripod.com/.

Mike Dowling and Happy Traum will lead the first of
WebnashÕs monthly workshop series, November 1-3, in Canaan,
New York, teaching swing rhythm and intermediate
fingerstyle guitar, respectively. For information on this
workshop and WebnashÕs other music programs, go to
http://www.webnash.com.

The Seattle LuthierÕs Group (http://www.seattleluthiers.org)
will host the first Puget Sound Stringed Instruments
Exhibition, October 19-20, at Renton Technical College in
Renton, Washington. The event will focus on small-shop
luthiers from the Pacific Northwest.

Mark Small, longtime Acoustic Guitar contributor and editor
of Berklee Today, Berklee College of MusicÕs alumni
magazine, just released a collection of holiday tunes with
fellow classical guitarist Robert Torres. The Small-Torres
Guitar DuoÕs Winterlight II (available at
http://www.smalltorresduo.com) features 13 pieces arranged
or composed by Small and Torres. The serene and stately CDÕs
varied selections feature carols set as solos and duos and
with woodwind and string orchestra backing.

Guitar Talk is the online discussion forum at the Acoustic
Guitar Central website. For the past year or two, folks who
have been meeting in cyberspace to chat about guitars,
making music, and all sorts of stuff have been gathering to
play music together in real time. Join Guitar Talkers for
concurrent jams in Henry, Illinois, and Seattle, Washington,
on September 28 and also the Twin Cities (exact location
TBD) the weekend of October 26. Read more about the events
and post your own in the Gigs, Workshops, and Gatherings
forum of Guitar Talk.
http://www.acousticguitar.com/ubbcgi/Ultimate.cgi

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New at Acoustic Guitar Central

Excerpts from the November issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine
are now available online. Read our review of seven metal-
bodied resonator guitars, check out the latest CD reviews,
and get tips, advice, and insights from the pros in the Q &
A and What They Play sections. See the latest at
http://www.acousticguitar.com.

Unlock the mysteries of modal harmony and learn to create
guitar chords from scales with our new lesson, "Modal
Harmony," by Scott Nygaard. You can find this and more
lessons online at
http://www.acousticguitar.com/lessons/lessons.shtml

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What Is My Guitar Worth?
by Teja Gerken

Many Acoustic Guitar readers want to know the secrets behind
their old family heirloom guitars or new yard sale finds. In
this Q&A, gear editor Teja Gerken tells you how to research
the value and history of your old guitar, saving you a trip
to Antiques Roadshow!

In most cases, reputable instrument dealers will be your
best source of information; they will generally give you a
rough idea of your instrument's value for free, or a written
appraisal for a nominal fee. Some shops, like Nashville's
Gruhn Guitars (http://www.gruhn.com), will appraise
instruments by mail, based on the serial number, clear
photos of the front and back, and information about any
repairs or modifications not visible in the photos.

There are a couple of books that list approximate market
values of used and vintage guitars. S.P. Fiestad's Blue Book
of Acoustic Guitars, Fifth Edition (Blue Book Publications,
http://www.bluebookinc.com) is probably the most complete
volume, especially for nonvintage instruments. An electric
guitar counterpart is also available. Alan Greenwood's The
Official Vintage Guitar Price Guide (Vintage Guitar Books,
http://www.vguitar.com) is generally regarded as a good
reference for the prices of older guitars. Please note that
all of these published prices are to be taken with a grain
of salt, and it would be advisable to consult a
professional, especially for more expensive instruments. If
you simply need to identify what exact model your guitar is,
here are some more books that might help (none of them list
prices):

Walter Carter, Epiphone: The Complete History, Hal Leonard
(1995).
Walter Carter, The History of the Ovation Guitar, Hal
Leonard (1995).
Jim Fisch and L.B. Fred, Epiphone: The House of Stathopoulo,
Amsco Publications (1996).
George Gruhn and Walter Carter, Acoustic Guitars and Other
Fretted Instruments, Miller-Freeman Books (1993).
George Gruhn and Walter Carter, Gruhn's Guide to Vintage
Guitars, GPI Books (1991).
Hans Moust, The Guild Guitar Book, Guitarchives Publications
(1995).
Jim Washburn and Richard Johnston, Martin Guitars, Rodale
Press (1997).
Eldon Whitford, David Vinopal, and Dan Erlewine, Gibson's
Fabulous Flat-Top Guitars, GPI Books (1994).
Michael Wright, Guitar Stories, Volume One, Vintage Guitar
Books (1995).

For more information about guitars, guitarists, techniques,
and gear, subscribe to Acoustic Guitar. Sign up online at
http://www.acousticguitar.com/service/service.html#subscribe
or call toll free (800) 827-6837.

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Win Autographed Copies of Peter Case's New Recording!

There's always a good discussion about guitars, players, and
acoustic music going in the Guitar Talk forums. Register to
participate and automatically get a chance to win a free set
of autographed copies--one album (yes, album) and one CD--
of Peter Case's new release, Beeline.

Get the details when you sign up today at
http://www.acousticguitar.com/ubbcgi/Ultimate.cgi

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Jazz Guitar and Guitar Building on the Web

The Classic Jazz Guitar website is a great resource for fans
of early jazz guitar. The site contains biographies of
players from the Õ30s, Õ40s, Õ50s, and Õ60s, as well as
articles on musicians and recordings, educational resources,
and sources for hard-to-find jazz CDs.
http://www.classicjazzguitar.com

The Musical Instrument Makers Forum (http://www.mimf.com)
offers online instrument-building courses. The siteÕs
current offering, Inlay Techniques for Musical Instruments,
is taught by Amy Hopkins of Stringed Instrument Repair in
New Freedom, Pennsylvania. The second session of this three-
part series runs from November 11 to December 30.

Get more when you subscribe to Acoustic Guitar every month.

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Highlights from Upcoming Issues of Acoustic Guitar Magazine:

Our December issue will be hitting the newsstands in
early November. Highlights include:

-- An exclusive interview with newgrass supergroup Nickel
Creek, an overview of archtop guitars, and a look at the
life and legacy of Texas bluesman Mance Lipscomb
-- Marc Atkinson's swinging "Morning Glory" and a
fingerstyle Christmas classic transcribed
-- Affordable 12-string guitars reviewed

In January, we'll talk to Jorma Kaukonen about his new album
Blue Country Heart; learn the tricks of the trade from
acoustic music producers Gurf Morlix, Jerry Douglas, and
Malcolm Burn; and read Acoustic Guitar's picks for the top
albums of 2002.

Are you looking for more basic guitar instruction and
advice? Got a friend or family member whoÕs just starting
out? Then pick up a copy of the second annual edition of
Play Guitar! magazine, from the makers of Acoustic Guitar.
The issue includes advice on getting started, finding people
to play with, choosing gear, and practicing, as well as easy
lessons and songs to play. Pick it up in early September at
your local bookstore or newsstand.

Don't miss out on any of these great features! Subscribe to
Acoustic Guitar today. Sign up online at
http://www.acousticguitar.com/service/service.html#subscribe
or call toll free (800) 827-6837.

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Enter to Win a Great Giveaway Package from Gibson!

The grand prize winner will receive a Gibson Acoustics L-200
Emmylou Harris model guitar and 12 sets of Gibson
Masterbuilt Premium strings. The second prize winner will
take home a Gibson Songbird guitar and 12 sets of Gibson
Masterbuilt Premium strings.

To enter the contest and see the grand prize package, go to
http://www.acousticguitar.com/giveaway2/gibson/index.html

To meet some of our previous giveaway winners, go to
http://acousticguitar.com/giveaway2/winners/index.html

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Now Available from String Letter Publishing

THE COMPLETE ACOUSTIC GUITAR METHOD SERIES
by David Hamburger

Learn how to play guitar using the techniques and songs of
American roots music with the revolutionary new Acoustic
Guitar Method series, including the Grammy Award-winning
song "Man of Constant Sorrow."

Beginning with a few basic chords and strums, you'll start
right in learning real music drawn from blues, folk,
country, and bluegrass traditions. Working in both tablature
and standard notation, you'll learn how to find notes on the
fingerboard. You'll expand your collection of chords by
learning songs in various keys, and picking out the melodies
in the tunes you're working on.

When you're done with this method series, you'll know dozens
of the tunes that form the backbone of American roots music,
using a variety of flatpicking and fingerpicking techniques.

Acoustic Guitar Complete Method, #00695667, $24.95

Learn more at http://www.stringletter.com

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Win a Free CD!

We're giving away a free CD of acoustic guitar music to the
contributor of the best music joke or gig story each month.
To enter, simply send your favorite music joke or anecdote
about a gig from hell to mailto:jokes@stringletter.com. Be
sure to include a mailing address in case you win. We'll
award a new prize with each edition. Our prizewinner this
month is Constance Ottway, who sent us this gig from hell.

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Gig from Hell

A few years ago, I was asked to play a formal wedding with a
piano player I know. The piano player and I had played
several weddings together, and always had such an easy time.
So this time, we decided to skip rehearsing, and just play
the wedding. When it came time for the bride to walk in
with her father, the piano player and I both got our music
up for "Trumpet Voluntary" by Handel. We played the first
measure and both of us stopped. We not only had different
versions of the piece, but they were in different keys! I
hurriedly put my music on the piano and we both played from
that! No one except the immediate wedding party mentioned it
afterwards, but to this day, we remember it vividly and
laugh. Later this month, we are doing another wedding
together, with that same piece. We've already made sure
we're doing it in the same key.

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Corrections

In AG Wire No. 14, we said the Live Music On the Web article
("Online Folk Radio") would appear in the October issue of
Acoustic Guitar magazine. It will actually appear in our
November issue.

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Back issues of the A.G. Wire are available online at:
http://www.acousticguitar.com/wire_archive/index.shtml

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Send news, comments, and requests:
mailto:agwire@stringletter.com
Copyright (c) 2002 String Letter Publishing. All Rights
Reserved. You are welcome to forward this email to your
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Letter Publishing is prohibited. Acoustic Guitar Wire and
the respective logos are trademarks of String Letter
Publishing.

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