BILL AND SUE-ON HILLMAN: A 50-YEAR MUSICAL ODYSSEY
www.hillmanweb.com/book
Presents
THE BILL HILLMAN GUITAR PAGES
~ Guitars I have known... and own ~

Bill Hillman Guitar No. 27
Gretsch Americana Way Out West!
Model No.   ~ Serial No. 10-070
http://www.hillmanweb.com/guitars/g27.html

Gretsch Way Out West!

See the box in PDF

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Gretsch Americana Way Out West! Acoustic Guitar
Specs

          o Limited-edition Showdown guitar is part of the Gretsch Americana Series
          o Musical instrument is reminiscent of the ol' cowboy guitars of yesteryear
          o Acoustic steel-string guitar features distinctive looks and original western inspired artwork
          o Short-scale length and 3/4-size design makes the Sundown Serenade a great beginner's instrument
          o Portable acoustic has a unique look
          o Limited edition guitar won't be around for long
          o Sundown Serenade has durable real-wood construction
          o Precise factory setup
          o Folksy tone just begs for strumming at the nearest campfire 

Dimensions: 42.5 in. L x 16.25 in. W x 5.25 in. D
Materials: Wood


Web Comments
  • Great value and kitschy to boot! Love the concept, graphics and price. 
  • The best deal ever!
  • Great little fun guitar. Addicted to playing this one! So cute! Great sound and easy to play. I'm in love. I got a keeper!
  • Absolutely delighted with the quality of this instrument. It is very playable, has a nice little voice, and represents an absurd value for the price. 
  • The perfect beater. It's a small scale, but it sounds amazing, and is the perfect conversation piece.
  • What a fun guitar! First of all it's collectible...second, it looks great...and finally it sounds terrific! I haven't been able to put it down since it came to my door. Way more than just something to hang on a wall...this is no toy. 
  • Fun little guitar. It's got pretty good tone and it's more or less something you would break out on a camping trip or a BBQ when you wanna leave the Gibson inside.
  • The guitar looks so much better than on the picture. This is a unique item not only good for beginners. The sound is very nice. A great instrument and definitely a show off with its great graphics. 
  • Here is a little conversation starter that's more than a looker. This is truly a great campfire or back porch guitar. The set-up and action is very easy on the fingers. The fit and finish is excellent. The saddle is compensated. It even has an adjustable truss rod. The sound is very nice. It comes with a one year factory warranty. I love the graphics. It is ery well built and should last a long time with proper care. I highly recommend getting at least one before these are gone. 
  • These are great travel guitars with a terrific sound and a lightning fast fingerboard. They feature real wood construction and a 24 scale, steel reinforced neck that is precisely set from the factory. The open machine heads lock the guitar in tune and are light enough to maintain an ideal weight balance.
  • The fit and finish is fine and the guitar appears sturdy. The action is the best I've found on any small travel guitar, hands down.
  • The artwork is deeply set into the finish and certainly puts this guitar series in a unique, sometimes odd ball, sometimes corny 1950s time warp.
GUITAR TRIVIA
Ref: Guitar Repository Online

- Gibson submitted a design patent for the Flying V on June 27th, 1957.

- Despite the Great Depression, Gibson adjusted and produced the "Kalamazoo", an inexpensive flat-top guitar. Even as people were fighting to afford food, Gibson still lived on.

- In 1978, Fender began putting 5-way selector switches on their guitars for the first time. Fender guitars were previously shipped with a 3-way switch. Due to many customers taking, the liberty to rewire their guitars themselves in order to make the guitars much more versatile, Fender finally decided to just make the 5-way switch stock.

- In 1980, Leo Fender and George Fullerton started G&L Music Sales. Today, it is often said that G&L produces guitars of superior quality to Fender, which Leo founded decades before.

- Leo Fender was an interesting man to work for. No matter how good one did, it rarely met his standards. However, despite him driving his employees as hard as he did, they loved him. It has been said that some employees even worshipped him.

-Fender once pushed an ad campaign called "You won't part with yours either". In one ad for the campaign, a skydiver was featured while in free fall and holding a Fender guitar.

-The world's first store to sell guitars only opened in 1957 in Tarzana, near Los Angeles. The store was opened by the man with the idea, Ernie Ball.

- Danelectro was known quite well for their pickups which resemble lipstick cases. However, the pickups didn't actually resemble anything -- they literally were lipstick cases! They were bought from a cosmetic company and converted into pickups.

- In the 1950's and 1960's, Sears (yes -- the tool store) had their own brand of guitars! Sears guitars were actually Danelectro guitars with the Sears name on them. The Sears guitars were actually quite reliable, and inexpensive as well.

- An ad campaign to promote the Rich Bich (by B.C. Rich) featured a model in a controversial pose and was featured in Playboy. The poster itself sold over 30,000 copies, and generated enormous publicity for this otherwise little known company.

- Bernardo Chavez Rico, the founder of B.C. Rich, started his business (then called Bernardo's Valencian Guitar Shop) making classical and flamenco guitars.
 

- Clear-body guitars have been around for quite some time. The first was invented by Ampeg in 1969. Ampeg wanted to create a guitar with great sustain, and plastic was the best choice.

- Les Paul loved to experiment with guitars. His first "electric" guitar creation was made by jamming his mother's phonograph needle in to the top of a guitar. Believe it or not, it actually worked!

- No, Les Paul's first guitar wasn't a Les Paul. His first guitar was a Troubador flat-top acoustic from Sears.

- Les Paul, up until the early 1930's, played jazz under the alias "Rhubarb Red".

- Carvin got its name in 1946 when its founder, Lowell Kiesel, combined his two oldest sons' names, Carson and Gavin.



 
WORKOUT ON YOUTUBE
Way Out West

Walking My Baby Back Home

Why Do You Accuse Me
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 Little Wing
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BILL and SUE-ON HILLMAN:
A 50-YEAR MUSICAL ODYSSEY
READ THE BOOK
CONTENTS
1. Gig Notes: 1-10
2. Album Notes
3. Guitar Tales
4. Prairie Saga
5. Roots
6. Photos
7. Media
8. 100 Songs

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