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The Dallas Guitar Show Is On: April 30-May 2nd

stxrus

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Mar 21, 2015
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I haven’t been since I left Texas for the Caribbean in 1992. It was always a fun show
 

Ed Driscoll

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Apr 24, 2002
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4,691
Im flying in to go to the show. A friend of mine is going to help her brother’s store and I had a ton of hotel/airline points and want to find a nice ES-345.

Has anyone been in the past? How is it?
Let me know which booth is your brother's store, and I'll stop by to say hi. (DM if you prefer.) I saw that a bunch of people at the Telecaster Forum are going, so safe travels to all. See you there!
 

Amp360

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Feb 16, 2012
Messages
852
Well I went today and bought a 60s ES-355. Mono with a Bigsby and the patent number pickups.

the guy I bought it from gave me a great deal and is going to ship it to me.

he had three Les Pauls (58, 59, 60) and Heritage Auctions had a 59 as well.

Lots of great stuff everywhere.

im going to go again in the am. I only have my phone so I can post pics.
If someone wants to text me their number I can send them a bunch of pics to be posted or I can do it when I get back on Sunday.
 

Amp360

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Feb 16, 2012
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This is the 355 I bought. The neck on it is way bigger than my ES-330’thay is about the same time period and it has a headstock repair and the original pickups so I can take it out and not worry so much about it.

 

Amp360

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Feb 16, 2012
Messages
852
Thanks for posting picks! Is Tom Wittrock at the show? I did a quick walk around this afternoon, and didn’t see his booth. I’ll look again tomorrow!

Hey Ed,

indont know who he is. I’ll look around today when I go back. I think there are going to be a few more dealers today.
 

goldtop0

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Aug 19, 2003
Messages
8,931
I'm green with envy..............good to see this show happening again (y)
 

Amp360

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Feb 16, 2012
Messages
852
I had a pretty good time all and all. I can say I’m not a big fan of Dallas in general. I had only been there to play and this was the first time I was kind of vacationing there. Just seems to be a bunch of big strip malls, chain restaurants and tolls.

The show was nice and I ran into a few people I knew which was kind of cool. Like I had said before, a friend of mine was there working for her brother but it was nice to run into some other folks I knew.

The good:
Found the guitar I wanted
Prices were overall pretty good
Lots of neat stuff to see
Free parking
Went to a pretty good restaurant that my brother in San Anselmo suggested to me. I asked a lot of people for places to check out and a couple recommended a place that was a chain (Dickie’s) and a few suggested seafood places. I grew up in Massachusetts and wouldn’t order seafood in Texas.
Met two really friendly dealers. One guy invited me to a jam at his studio (I didn’t go but it was nice of him to offer) another was a friend of an ex gf’s father.

Also, the store I bought from (Jimmy Wallace Guitars) were very friendly and helpful. I had never heard of them but I dealt with two people there and both were very nice. One guy was the manager (Alan?) and another guy named Junior. Super easy to deal with, not pushy and friendly.

The bad:

There literally could have been two guitar players in the whole show/performance area. All anyone played was blues cliches aside from Ronnie North and the guy from Odin, who played metal. I don’t really care for modern blues or metal but I really expected more diverse types of performers/buyers. I don’t think I heard any jazz, pop or finger style playing which was kind of a letdown.

After one shuffle and one 12 bar you could put anyone up there and it would have sounded the same to me. It would have been cool to see some country, pop, jazz or even some of that new indie stuff the kids do. It may have also broadened the appeal of the event. I’m in my 40s but the demographic seemed to be people in their 60s.

There were very few people selling parts. I did manage to score a set of knobs and a poker chip for my late 60s LPC with mostly changed parts. I also found a tailpiece for it that’s going to look better than the new one I have on it.

Maybe it’s because I’m kind of quiet and/or from the east coast. I don’t ever play anything unless I’m really going to buy it. I think there are some cultural differences because a couple people just started treating me like a moron because I asked how much something was. IMHO just put a tag on something if you’re going to start with the inside jokes with the other dealers if someone asks a question. I don’t get it.

All in all I’m glad I went. I don’t know if I would ever go back but I found the guitar I wanted. Maybe next time I’ll go to Philadelphia or Arlington, as I remember those being big and are closer to me.
 
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Ed Driscoll

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Apr 24, 2002
Messages
4,691
All in all I’m glad I went. I don’t know if I would ever go back but I found the guitar I wanted. Maybe next time I’ll go to Philadelphia or Arlington, as I remember those being big and are closer to me.
The most obvious thing I missed were the big displays by the major players -- no Gibson trailer this year, no big Fender display, no Roland guy wailing away on the latest stompbox du jour, etc. Arlington is in October; I wonder if the big boys will be there then. I sort of viewed Dallas as a "proof of concept" event, and I suspect (and hope) Arlington will feel even more like guitar shows from the days of yore.
 
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Amp360

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Feb 16, 2012
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852
Yeah I can see that. All in all this one was good for me in that I found what I was looking for. Hopefully they are able to have the next one be better,
 

pinefd

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Jan 22, 2004
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3,060
Sorry I missed you guys at the show! I was hanging out at Terry Mueller's booth for most of the time, as I usually do. Perhaps I'll see you in Arlington in October.

And BTW, I was VERY encouraged by this show. There weren't as many dealers as in the past, for obvious reasons. And there were no international dealers or attendees, since borders are still pretty much closed to foreign travel. So that, alone, cut down on the size. Despite that, the show was well attended, and every dealer I spoke with said they did quite well at the show.


Frank
 

Amp360

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Feb 16, 2012
Messages
852
Sorry I missed you guys at the show! I was hanging out at Terry Mueller's booth for most of the time, as I usually do. Perhaps I'll see you in Arlington in October.

And BTW, I was VERY encouraged by this show. There weren't as many dealers as in the past, for obvious reasons. And there were no international dealers or attendees, since borders are still pretty much closed to foreign travel. So that, alone, cut down on the size. Despite that, the show was well attended, and every dealer I spoke with said they did quite well at the show.


Frank
Yeah I was there when it opened, as I had arrived at Love Field at about 10:30. By the time I got my rental car, etc... it was almost time for the show to open so I went and waited in line for about 10 minutes.

I saw a lot of things move over the two days I was there. I spent maybe 4 or 5 hours there on Friday and maybe 2-3 on Saturday. All in all the show was a good time. There could have been more dealers but the ones that were there had some interesting things and I def saw quite a few guitars I was interested in and did make a purchase so I can't complain!
 
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