Ovation Preacher

We just received several very cool used and vintage guitars that we’re getting up on the Mass Street site, but here’s a sneak peak at a few that aren’t up yet. Pictured here are an Ovation Preacher and a ‘naturally relic’d’ G & L Tele style that may have really been Continue reading

Steve Kaufman!

The concert, guitar workshop and mandolin workshop with Steve Kaufman, formerly scheduled for Mountain Music Shoppe, will know be held at Mass Street Music in April. We’re really excited Steve will be here – he’s not only an incredible performer, but also an enthusiastic and very talented teacher. Please check out all of our events with Steve Kaufman, scheduled for this April. The workshops and the concert have limited seating, so don’t wait too long to get your tickets.

The great Italian guitarist, Beppe Gambetta, whose mastery of guitar defies being pigeonholed into any singular genre, visited the store Saturday, Jan. 10, before his tremendous show at Lawrence’s Unity Church. Gambetta is no stranger to Kansas, having many times played the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas, as well as Merlefest in North Carolina, and the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas, as well as others. Pictured here with Mass Street Music owner Jim Baggett

Beppe Gambetta with Jim Baggett last Saturday

in the acoustic room, he later enjoyed playing some vintage guitars in the upstairs ‘virtual room’. Gambetta will soon head back to Europe for a string of dates, returning to the states for more shows in late March.

Beppe checks out the vintage vibe in the virtual room at Mass St.

Check this out – article from the Lawrence Journal World

According to the latest U.S. census report, Lawrence is 2nd only to Nashville for metropolitan areas with the highest percentage of pro musicians. Does anyone agree? Disagree? I’m looking for some discourse on this!

-Matthew K.

Fender Road Worn 50s Tele in Two-Tone Sunburst

After a few years of others “cashing in” on the popularity of Fender designs being “relic’d” and offered at a much cheaper price than the Fender Custom Shop equivalents, Fender is now offering the Road Worn Series, a new 2009 series of relic’d guitars and basses made in Mexico that sell for $949 (basses start at $1200). Christened the “Road Worn” series, they sport a distressed look, Tex-Mex pickups, and a thin Nitrocellulose Lacquer finish, and they give the more expensive (by at least $500) Nash guitars a serious run for their money in terms of quality, playability, sound, and vibe.

However, as the saying goes, There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. The only drawback to this slashing of price, is the slashing of options. Where for around $1500 one can purchase a number of Nash models with a plethora of available customizable options and aging levels, the Fender Road Worn series offers a straight up 50s Strat in two colors (Black and 2 Color Sunburst), a 60s Strat in two colors (3 Color Sunburst and Olympic White), and a 50s Tele in two colors (2 Color Sunburst and Blonde) with a relatively congruent ageing pattern throughout the different models.

In short, there is a warranted price disparity in regards to options and the Fender Road Worn series provides a relatively affordable, full sounding, nicely relic’d instrument for the guitar player with an eye on the past.