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Acoustic Guitar has advised that they have now launched the next generation in online networking for guitarists called the Acoustic Guitar Community. Here is a chance to join, free of charge.

Once you’ve created your profile at AcousticGuitarCommunity.com, you can discuss your favorite topic, guitars and guitar music and take part in other activities. You can share video, audio, and photos with thousands of other members, as well as watch, listen to, and rate the contributions of others.

You can join dozens of special interest groups, ranging from Flatpickers and Songwriters to Coffee House Players, Guitar Newbies, or start your own groups.

You can join dozens of special interest groups, ranging from Flatpickers and Songwriters to Coffee House Players, Guitar Newbies. You can start your own groups, too. Are you hosting an event? Post it on our Community calendar. Do you have great guitar-playing insights to share? Start your own Community blog. Looking for a quick answer? Try the live chat. Here’s the best news: These additional features are all easy to use, and they’re free! So sign up today and start connecting with other guitarists . - Dan Gabel, Acoustic Guitar.

You’re invited to a special event hosted by Acoustic Guitar Magazine.

Sign up or sign in to AcousticGuitarCommunity.com to chat with Brian Ball from Ernie Ball Strings.

Brian Ball will be talking about the latest developments in guitar-string manufacturing, painting a portrait of the market as he sees it, and, most importantly, answering your questions. Plus, you could win big—the person who asks the best question of each day will win a year’s supply of Ernie Ball Strings.

Brian Ball has worked for the family-owned business Ernie Ball since the age of 13. Working at various posts, including string packaging, shipping, volume pedal assembly, artist relations, and now heading the firm’s marketing and creative programs, Brian has been in charge of a wide variety of new products and promotions Ernie Ball has executed.

Among those products he has shepherded to success during his tenure are the company’s new Coated Acoustic Strings featuring a patented winding of reinforced titanium, Coated Electric Slinky Strings, Wonder Wipes, and a motorized stringwinder—the PowerPeg. He also headed the recent packaging improvements Ernie Ball has implemented, including the hermetically sealed packs that ensure strings stay as fresh as the day they were made.

Brian Ball will be talking about the latest developments in guitar-string manufacturing, painting a portrait of the market as he sees it, and, most importantly, answering your questions. Plus, you could win big—the person who asks the best question of each day will win a year’s supply of Ernie Ball Strings.

All you need to do is be sure you’ve signed up and created your Acoustic Guitar Community profile; then show up in the Chat area any time from 10:30 am to 11:30 am (PST) on May 26, 27, 28, and 29.

Appearing in this month’s Acoustic Guitar Magazine is a fascinating article from Richard Johnston and Dick Boak who have taken on the task of re-writing Mike Longworth’s classic book on C.F. Martin and Co. which was first published in 1875.

The name Mike Longworth has been synonymous with the Martin Guitar label for as long as most of us can remember. I have a letter in my file from Mike from the early 80′s when I bought my first Martin D28. Mike Longworth worked for Martin from from 1968 until 1995. He also gave us the production totals of virtually every Martin guitar model that was made from as early as 1898.  This is when the company started assigning serial numbers to their instruments, right up to the year Longworth’s book was published.

Being asked to rewrite such a classic was daunting, because I knew that Martin fanatics revered Longworth and had been grumbling ever since Martin let his beloved book go out of print after he retired in 1995. But in rereading the book, after many years of simply using it as a reference, I realized that key parts of Martin’s story remained untold – Richard Johnson.

Read the full article Acoustic Guitar Magazine.

Auction scheduled for the 14th May 2009.

Blueberry Guitars will be placing 25 of their hand-made and hand-carved guitars on eBay auctions. Each guitar will be online for viewing for 10 days, will have a starting price of 1$ and will be sold to the highest bidder.

Examples of the current Blueberry guitar models that will be on auction include brand new Dreadnoughts, Grand Concerts, Parlors, Classicals, Grooves, Groove Hybrids, Jumbos & Split Tops. Examples of the solid woods they use are: Balinese Rosewood, Balinese Koa, Tasmanian Black Wood, Mahogany, Canadian Cedar and Alaskan Spruce.

Each guitar offered for auction is covered by the Blueberry lifetime warranty and each guitar will be delivered in a Blueberry hard shell case with a humidifier. A seven day “no questions asked” full refund policy is in place.

Shipping charge  for USA and Canada is  $75.00 USD – all other international destinations will be charged $150.00 USD for transport – duties and taxes are not included outside of USA and Canada.

We’ve just learned that the Martin guitar once owned by Roy Rogers, the singing cowboy, has been sold this month to an anonymous buyer for $460,000.

The  guitar, built in 1930, is considered on of the world’s rarest acoustic guitars and was auctioned at Christies Auctions for The Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum in Branson, Missouri.

In 1930 Martin produced just 15 of this model, the OM-45 and Rogers’ owned the first of those produced. The price tag at the time was $30.00, which Leonard Franklin paid to a Californian pawn shop dealer in 1933. Franklin later changed his name to Roy Rogers and went on to star stared in many films and television shows and produced many recordings. He retired the guitar sometime in the 1940′s. Rogers died in 1998. He was twice inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

If you’re traveling to British Columbia in August and your into guitars, make a date with the Guitars by Hand exhibition.

The Island’s Luthiers’ Guild will be presenting its second Guitars by Hand show, an exhibition of stringed instruments made by instrument makers from Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and regional coastal communities.

The event, which is free to the public, will be held at the Victoria Conference Centre in Victoria, British Columbia, on August 9, 2009. Visit their website. http://www.islandsluthiersguild.com/.

Danny Fonfeder from Blueberry Guitars advises that from 9th April, 2009, Blueberry Guitars will be placing 25 of their finest hand-made and hand-carved guitars on eBay auctions. Each guitar will be online for viewing for 10 days, will have a starting price of 1$ and will be sold to the highest bidder.

Examples on offer from the current Blueberry guitar models include brand new Dreadnoughts, Grand Concerts, Parlor, Classical, Grooves & Groove Hybrid. Examples of the solid woods in use are: Rosewood, Balinese Koa, Tasmanian Black Wood, Mahogany, Canadian Cedar and Alaskan Spruce. Read more…

This months Acoustic Guitar Magazine features a  review of an Aussie made guitar, the Cole Clark, Fat Lady FL2AC Dreadnought.

Many of us are very familiar with the great work our Australian luthiers produce, some from unique Australian hardwoods, and it’s great to see another team gain some international recognition.

In closing the review sums up:

The Cole Clark FL2AC is a great package for a versatile guitarist. The guitar’s acoustic range is impressive and it brims with unique tones that range from dry and precise to chimey and harmonically rich. Amplified, the FL2AC was a forgiving, plug-and-play performer—capable of delivering warm, clear, and balanced sounds for strumming or subtle fingerstyle without constant preamp tinkering. The guitar’s unusual synthesis of construction techniques and tonewoods suggests that Cole Clark has put a lot of time into creating a signature voice. - Acoustic Guitar Magazine.

Read the review at Acoustic Guitar Magazine