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The Acoustic Guitar Wire

From Acoustic Guitar Magazine
www.acousticguitar.com

December 2003 Issue 24

This issue is sponsored by www.juststrings.com
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1. Welcome to the Acoustic Guitar Wire
2. Elixir Special Offer from www.juststrings.com
3. Guild F-512 Giveaway
4. New at Acoustic Guitar Central
5. Win a Rosa Passos-Ron Carter CD
6. News and Notes
7. Bolt-On vs. Dovetail Neck Joints
8. On the Web: Jorma's Guitar School and Free Sheet Music
9. Highlights from Upcoming Issues of Acoustic Guitar
10. Try a FREE issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine
11. Great Books from String Letter Publishing
12. Win a Free CD!
13. Income check at the Pearly Gates
14. AG Wire Archives
15. Contact and Unsubscribe Info

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WELCOME TO THE ACOUSTIC GUITAR WIRE NO. 24

In the holiday spirit of giving, the editors of Acoustic
Guitar magazine bring you the latest acoustic music news,
special offers, giveaways, helpful tips, and information
about new releases from String Letter Publishing in this
edition of AG Wire.

This newsletter is best viewed in 10-point Courier. Our
hyperlinks are formatted to be "hot" in most email programs.
If your software doesn't support click-through linking from
email, just cut and paste the URLs into your Web browser.
Please note: some email programs have problems reading URLs
that wrap onto a second line. You may have to cut and paste
the wrapped portion of the URL into your Web browser in
order for the URL to work properly.

If you have received a forwarded copy of this newsletter and
would like to subscribe, fill out our online form:
http://www.acousticguitar.com/wire_archive/entry.html

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ELIXIR SPECIAL OFFER
A special offer from www.juststrings.com

While supplies last, get a terrific deal on ten sets of
Elixir Strings plus a Premium PT1 Intellitouch Tuner for a
bundled price of $135.00 plus $5.95 shipping and handling
(USA). You can mix and match six-string acoustic guitar,
resonator guitar, electric guitar, banjo, and mandolin sets.
Elixir strings and Intellitouch PT1 tuners were both winners
of the prestigious Acoustic Guitar magazine "Players Choice
Awards."

List price on the tuner alone is $69.95. You'll get
10 Elixir sets plus an Intellitouch PT1 Tuner for only
$135.00!
http://www.juststrings.com/specials.html

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ENTER TO WIN A GUILD F-512 GUITAR

A lucky grand prize winner will soon be strumming and
picking a Guild F-512 jumbo 12-string acoustic guitar with a
Fishman under-saddle pickup system, preamp, and deluxe
archtop case. A total retail value of $2,999.00.

Second prize is a Guild F-50R jumbo acoustic six-string with
the same Fishman pickup system and an archtop case,
altogether valued at $2,899.99.

To enter the contest and see the grand prize package, go to
http://www.acousticguitar.com/giveaway2/ag132guildgive/ag132
guildgive.html

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

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NEW AT ACOUSTIC GUITAR CENTRAL
http://www.acousticguitar.com

For all you last-minute shoppers, browse through Acoustic
Guitar's Holiday Wish List! The advertisers in Acoustic
Guitar magazine bring you dozens of products that make
perfect holiday gifts-for you or the guitar players on your
shopping list.
http://www.acousticguitar.com/Advertising/HolidaySS/holidays
hoppingweb.pdf

Don't forget to check out all the authentic Acoustic Guitar
apparel (including caps and shirts) and accessories (travel
tumblers, duffle bags, and more) at the Acoustic Guitar
Online Store.A free designer key chain/bottle opener is
yours with any $30 purchase.The goodies are just a click
away at
http://www.acousticguitaronlinestore.com

You have a few more day--or another whole year, depending on
how you look at it--to master a new song for the season.
Dylan Schorer can help you with "Shchedryk" (later known as
"Carol of the Bells") with his "Arranging a Holiday
Favorite" Private Lesson from the December issue of Acoustic
Guitar. Find it online at
http://www.acousticguitar.com/lessons/Holiday_Favorite/1.sht
ml
Find lots more great lessons at
http://www.acousticguitar.com/lessons/lessons.shtml

Guitar students and teachers, check this out: AG education
editor and Acoustic Guitar Method author David Hamburger is
conducting free guitar workshops for players and hosting
special roundtables for guitar teachers in music stores
around the country.
http://www.acousticguitar.com

The February issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine hits
newsstands January 6, but you can read these excerpts online
now:

-- Lyle Lovett talks to Melanie Haiken about his return to
basics on 'My Baby Don't Tolerate,' his first album of new
songs in seven years.

-- Reviews of new CDs by classical guitarists John Williams
and Stefan Lindenbauer, singer-songwriters Kerry Getz and
Caroline Herring, collections of Louvin Brothers songs and
clawhammer guitarists, and more.

The February issue also includes Teja Gerken's review of
eleven midpriced acoustic-electric guitars; Derk
Richardson's interview with jazz guitarist John McLaughlin
about his new acoustic CD; tips on using a capo and
recording with your acoustic guitar; music to Lovett's "In
My Own Mind" and Lou Harrison's "Serenado por Gitaro"; a
round-up of the best CDs of 2003, and much more.
http://www.acousticguitar.com

Acoustic Guitar magazine subscribers, now you can take care
of all your subscription needs online. Our website has been
upgraded to include easy access to your personal account.
You can pay your bill, renew, give a gift, and change your
address all online. And of course, new subscribers can sign
up online, too. Save yourself time and hassle by coming on
over to http://www.acousticguitar.com/Subs/index.html

Get more every month when you subscribe to Acoustic Guitar
magazine. Get a FREE preview issue today.
https://subscribe.pcspublink.com/subscribeFormGeneric.asp?tr
ack=JG073B&pub=GUIT&term=12
or call toll-free (800) 827-6837.

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TALK IT UP AND WIN THE NEW CD BY ROSA PASSOS AND RON CARTER!

You can always find lively, opinionated, and informative
discussion about guitars, players, and acoustic music at
Guitar Talk, home of the online discussion forums at
Acoustic Guitar Central. Chat about Gear, Players, Playing
Guitar, and more, and check up on and post your own events
in the Gigs, Workshops, and Gatherings forum.

And when you register to participate, you automatically get
a chance to win 'Entre Amigos,' the new Chesky Records CD by
legendary jazz bassist Ron Carter and Brazilian singer Rosa
Passos.

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

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NEWS AND NOTES

Thirty-four San Francisco students performed for and jammed
with Bonnie Raitt, Tom Waits, and others, at Spring Valley
Elementary School during the annual publicity kick-off for
Little Kids Rock, a program that provides free instruments
and music instruction to more than 2000 students in
California, New York and New Jersey.
http://www.littlekidsrock.org

Scotty Moore, B.B. King, Isaac Hayes, and Justin Timberlake
have been named Musical Ambassadors for Memphis during the
city’s year-long celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Rock
'n' Roll. Special events include a July 5th "Global Moment
in Time," during which radio stations around the world are
encouraged to play Elvis Presley’s "That’s All Right,"
recorded at Sun Studios on that day in 1954.
http://www.50yearsrocknroll.com

The Third Annual University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas
Southmost College Guitar Ensemble Festival (March 25-27,
Brownsville, Texas) is holding an Ensemble Competition for
students of all levels, as well as professionals, in duo,
trio, quartet, and large ensemble categories. For
registration information contact Dr. Michael Quantz at (956)
983-7527, mquantz@utb.edu.

The first prize package in the JoAnn Falletta International
Guitar Concerto Competition includes $5,000, a performance
with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and a possible
record deal with Fleur do Son Classics, Ltd. The deadline
for CD submissions is March 15. Call (716) 706-0242 or visit
http://www.guitarfestival.org

For more news and events, check out our online listings:
http://www.acousticguitar.com/issues/ag134/happs134.html

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BOLT-ON VS. DOVETAIL NECK JOINTS

AG reader Tony Claar was curious about the relative merits
of bolt-on necks and traditional dovetail joints on acoustic
guitars. Repair guru Frank Ford responded, in part:

When I first started in lutherie, more than 30 years ago, it
was commonly held that necks needed to be reset only on
really old instruments and/or poorly built ones. But
virtually all steel-string guitars, including lightly built
archtops, eventually undergo body shape changes that result
in a neck-angle problem, and today we accept that it's only
a matter of time before any flattop guitar will need to have
its neck removed and reset as close as possible to the
original angle with respect to the top and the bridge. In
fact, many will need that job repeated at regular intervals.
With that in mind, why not go with the flow and make a
guitar with a neck that can come off with minimal damage to
the finish or structure of the instrument? A glued dovetail
neck is removable as long as the glue can be softened
reasonably easily. It's the traditional method but that
doesn't make it superior to a bolted mortise.... Thanks to
Bob Taylor and other highly regarded makers such as Collings
and Huss and Dalton the stigma of a bolt-on neck is now a
thing of the past, so why not let the dovetail be a thing of
the past, too?

Read the rest and get more tips, advice, and answers to
questions about guitars, gear, and history by visiting the
Q&A section at
http://www.acousticguitar.com

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ON THE WEB

Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna guitarist Jorma Kaukonen has
launched Break Down Way, an interactive online guitar
school. The pay-as-you go website's features include user-
controlled video angles and email contact with the
instructors.
http://www.breakdownway.com

There may be no free lunch but there's free sheet music in
the form of downloadable PDF files of classical works by
Puccini, Castellacci, Vïsotsky, and others, plus carols for
the holiday season at
http://www.tuscanyguitar.com/tuscany/lagnappe.htm

Get more every month when you subscribe to Acoustic Guitar.
Get a FREE preview issue today!
https://subscribe.pcspublink.com/subscribeFormGeneric.asp?tr
ack=JG073B&pub=GUIT&term=12
or call toll-free (800) 827-6837.

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM UPCOMING ISSUES OF ACOUSTIC GUITAR MAGAZINE

Our March issue, which hits newsstands February 3, will
include:

-- Interviews with guitar-playing pop star John Mayer and
British Celtic and blues master Martin Simpson.

-- A survey of modern innovations in archtop guitar design.

-- Profiles of avant acoustic guitarist Elliott Sharp,
singer-songwriter Noe Venable, and indie-minded country
singer Shelby Lynne.

-- Tips on getting ready to perform onstage.

-- Lessons in Irish song accompaniment and playing and
Composing in D-Minor Tuning.

In the April issue, we interview Rickie Lee Jones, survey
new digital modeling technology, profile Fado singer Mariza
and singer-songwriter Rosie Thomas, and feature our annual
summer study guide.

Don't miss out on any of these great features! Subscribe to
Acoustic Guitar today. Sign up online and get a FREE preview
issue
https://subscribe.pcspublink.com/subscribeFormGeneric.asp?tr
ack=JG073B&pub=GUIT&term=12
or call toll-free (800) 827-6837.

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SUBSCRIBE TO ACOUSTIC GUITAR

Would you like to preview a complimentary issue of Acoustic
Guitar? To send for your FREE TRIAL ISSUE, just click the
link below. If you like it and decide to continue, pay just
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Get a FREE preview issue today!
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ack=JG073B&pub=GUIT&term=12

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NOW AVAILABLE FROM STRING LETTER PUBLISHING

The String Letter Publishing online store now offers books
and videos by and about musicians featured in AG. New titles
include 'The Best of Johnny Cash' songbook (for easy
guitar), Alex DeGrassi's video 'Adventures in Fingerstyle
Guitar,' and just in time for the season, Happy Traum's
video 'A Fingerstyle Christmas.' Peruse them and more at
http://www.stringletter.com/index.asp

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WIN A FREE CD!

Humor us--and win! 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.

After culling through all the bass and drum jokes (including
multiple versions of "drums stop, bass solo," this month's
winner is Tim Page of Auckland, New Zealand, who offered
this take on the inevitable outcome of musical careers:

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INCOME CHECK AT THE PEARLY GATES

Four men arrive at the Pearly Gates, and Peter asks the
first, "What was your annual income?"
"$120,000," was the reply.
"In you come", says Peter.
"What was your annual income?" Peter asks the second man.
"$90,000," he replies.
"In you come", says Peter.
Peter asks the same question of the third man.
"$75,000."
"In you come."
Finally, Peter asks the fourth man the same question.
"$10,000," he says.
"Oh," says Peter, "what instrument did you play?"

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AG WIRE ARCHIVES

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

To subscribe to the AG Wire, go to
http://www.acousticguitar.com/wire_archive/index.shtml

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Copyright (c) 2003 String Letter Publishing. All Rights
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Publishing.

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