Mark Dronge Interviews

fronobulax

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Not sure who (DR, Guild, Facebook?) is doing what but some interviews with Mark Dronge about his days at Guild are popping up on Facebook, posted by Guild.

This one talks about giving John Lennon a Starfire XII.

 

walrus

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Those interviews are cool!

But I'm surprised he has yet to "correct" his Lennon story - it wasn't John who played the electric 12-string, but George. In fact, it was pretty well known that George's use of the 12 string Rickenbacker set off the whole "Byrds" thing. And the opening chord to "Hard Day's Night"!

Except for the Framus 12-string acoustic Lennon used on a few songs from "Help!", he was not much of a 12-string player. There is evidence that he played an electric 12-string in the studio a few times, but that's it.

Had he given the SFVII to George, we may have seen it used in public, perhaps a lot, and in fact may have increased Guild sales.

walrus
 

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Those interviews are cool!

But I'm surprised he has yet to "correct" his Lennon story - it wasn't John who played the electric 12-string, but George. In fact, it was pretty well known that George's use of the 12 string Rickenbacker set off the whole "Byrds" thing. And the opening chord to "Hard Day's Night"!

Except for the Framus 12-string acoustic Lennon used on a few songs from "Help!", he was not much of a 12-string player. There is evidence that he played an electric 12-string in the studio a few times, but that's it.

Had he given the SFVII to George, we may have seen it used in public, perhaps a lot, and in fact may have increased Guild sales.

walrus

Do you think Mark's description of giving the guitar to Lennon is intentional?
 

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I thought it was because John was Mark's favorite Beatle? Also, the obsession with "who played what, when" wasn't as focused as it is now.
 

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Man, what a tease!

I wish those interviews were longer.
 

adorshki

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I thought it was because John was Mark's favorite Beatle? Also, the obsession with "who played what, when" wasn't as focused as it is now.

Yep, and Lennon was the most articulate/outspoken and was seen as the "leader", by most of the media, at least.
Don't recall hearing Lennon was Mark's favorite Beatle but wouldn't surprise me.
Oh, here we go, courtesy of gjmalcyon, it appears to have been a "group decision":
http://www.thecanteen.com/mark.html
From this thread:
http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/sh...ew-SF-XII-Is-Here/page2&highlight=john+lennon
 

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But didn't Rickenbacker make 1 or 2 325-12 strings for John at his request? That may be what Mark is referring to.
 

walrus

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In the interview above he says he gave it to John because he "was his hero" and "John played 12-string electric". Perhaps he thought so then, although I'm not sure how, but after all these years? Yes, the "interest" in who played what is not what it is today, but most everyone at the time knew it was George's 12-string Rickenbacker that spawned the whole 12-string "folk-rock" thing, and certainly that it was his opening 12-string chord in "A Hard Day's Night".

At the time, maybe Dronge was too busy working at Guild to follow the music scene, and perhaps rightly so, he didn't care who played what. But to repeat it now seems strange to me, that's all.

My apologies for being a Beatles perfectionist...

walrus
 

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fronobulax

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In the interview above he says he gave it to John because he "was his hero" and "John played 12-string electric". Perhaps he thought so then, although I'm not sure how, but after all these years?

It may be that he was trying to describe the situation as he understood it at the time? I have read a number of interviews where someone was trying to describe why something in the past happened the way it did. Part of their commitment to the historical record was not interjecting what they learned since. That is why a good historian uses multiple sources and why people who are only casual students of events don't get everything right.
 
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