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Definitely consider Heritage. Their only business is insuring musical instruments. They've handled my personal collection for 20 years or more, as well as our store insurance from 2012-2022. I did a...

This discussion is indeed time-worn, but there are always some interesting new views - particularly the comparisons to language in this thread.

If you want to learn by ear to speak Italian, for...

Love the term "dreadful rubbish." Orwell's foresight seems to become more and more accurate as time goes on.

Re legislation, fortunately (I think), the dangers of AI extend beyond music and other...

Thanks Doc, for bringing this thread back on topic. The first thing that should have been pointed out is that Gibson has a trademark on the Les Paul body and what they call the "ES" body (the...

For more background on the NY mandolin scene, you might check "Howard Frye and Me" by Norman Levine, published in 1999 by Plucked String (Norm's company).

Norm and Howard came up in the '40s...

The first two notes are marked with a slur, which means to play as smoothly as possible. On a wind instrument or a bowed instrument, this means that the second note is not articulated, which is easy...

Here's a more detailed story, with the jury questionnaire...
https://blabbermouth.net/news/gibson-wins-jury-verdict-against-dean-over-guitar-shapes

I used to preface my opinions with "It's my...

Trademark law is not cut and dried. One would think that if you are granted trademark status on something - such as the body shape of a guitar - then no one else can use that "mark" on their product....

As this thread has demonstrated, there are too many different contexts for "vintage" to be strictly defined. Vintage can be defined by age - 20 years old, 30 years old, whatever. Or it can be defined...

Just testing out a new strategy for publicity. Looks like it worked.

I have only one personal experience with a claim on a homeowner's policy, and it was a nightmare. My stepson had a break-in at his home, and all his instruments and gear were stolen. After providing...

If you put a 1922 A-4 in the cafe classifieds and call it a "Loar A-4" there would be a rush to the keyboards to see who can be the first to post a scathing accusation of misrepresentation. We can...

Ted McHugh was a lifetime Gibson employee, a contemporary of both Orville Gibson and Lloyd Loar. And he was on a roll in 1921. In addition to patenting the adjustable truss rod, he patented (with...

I can neither confirm nor deny having any knowledge of a conspiracy to suppress Schmergel instruments.

The blast knocked a hole in the brick wall of the AT&T building and tore up some storefronts directly across the street. I don't think the damage extended more than a block. Carter Vintage Guitars is...

As usual, the more information that comes to light about Gibson, the more questions are raised. I can tie up a couple of loose ends.

Jeff Allen was indeed GM of Gibson USA, and he is the same Jeff...

L.D. Heater was a long-established family business in Oregon and was a Gibson distributor in the '50s and '60s. By 1969, M.H. Berlin (head of Chicago Musical Instrument Co., Gibson's parent) decided...

You hit the nail on the nail on the head. Burns has put together a series of country music stories, which - together with other stories that he left out - make up the story of country music. I...

Stymied again by the expiration of the link. To view the tradermarks, go to uspto.gov, then mouse over Trademarks. In the drop-down menu, click on TESS, which is their search engine. Just put in the...

The sales tax issue has just gotten more complicated after a Supreme Court decision that, in essence, supports a state's right to collect sales tax on goods shipped into the state. The requirements...

We know from Ferris's report to Gibson's board of manager in 1924 (just before he was fired) that he was able to increase sales and profits. It's a reasonable assumption - but an assumption...

Lewis Williams, the g.m. who was a founding partner and the man who brought Loar in, was a music teacher and an evangelical salesman. Guy Hart, who became g.m.after Williams (and after an interim...

It's never safe to assume anything when it comes to Gibson, so we need to keep in mind the actual evidence. We have serial numbers, we have the dated Loar labels, we have FONS and we have the actual...

the website guitarHQ.com was created by Clay Harrell in 1995. Clay is probably best known in guitar circles for his detailed research into custom paint colors. He's also an authority on vintage...

The number chart was NOT created by any website. I believe the information originated with Julius Bellson. It may have been published by Roger Siminoff in Pickin' magazine in the 1980s. It was...