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GUITAR SUNDAY- NEWSFLASH

GUITAR SUNDAY- NEWSFLASH

by | Dec 8, 2012 | ,

TOMORROW IS GUITAR SUNDAY at the dual venues of AYR GUITAR and the Firehouse Bar Ayr.

Bailey Guitars is proud to announce that from this weekend Ayr Guitar will be stocking some brand new Bailey guitars and our new range of hand made Ukuleles.

We will be at the Firehouse from 1-5pm showing some of our new models and some previously unseen guitars – with a bit of live music and open stage for all ages.

Simon and the shop team at Ayr Guitar will be open from 12am to show their Bailey’s along with a fantastic range of other instruments and music accessories.

Mark will be at the Firehouse explaining how to build a guitar in 20 mins at around 2:30 and will be on hand to answer any questions about the guitars, our Build Your Own courses and  guitar building in general.

This is the first collaboration between Bailey Guitars and Ayr Guitar but not the last – we plan to have a full on launch event in the New Year and begin the countdown to our own year of 15th Anniversary celebrations.

All ages and players are most welcome – both places are child friendly and we plan to have a great start to the Festive Season

And if that isn’t enough – you can see one of our hardest working custom acoustic instruments – Duffy’s Bailey Bouzouki – in action at The Courtyard from 4pm till 8 – open mic, and more fantastic live music

Build Your Own 5 String Archtop Fretless Bass

Build Your Own 5 String Archtop Fretless Bass

by | Oct 7, 2012 | , ,

The Ultimate Build your Own Bass?

Stevie began making this instrument on our course just after his sixtieth birthday as it was a gift from his family.

How to design your own guitar by Mark Bailey

How to design your own guitar by Mark Bailey

Respect is due – I would never say the course is easy, but Stevie set the bar very high. This was probably the hardest anybody has ever had to work to finish their guitar taking about 30 days spread over 18 months.  I’m sure Stevie thought at times that he may have bitten off more than he could chew, but I kept geeing him on, and he kept on plugging away. I always say that making a guitar is just lots of little jobs which add up to something bigger but in this case the little jobs were not so little.

As it was so big none of my regular patterns or jigs worked, so every single part had to be painstakingly made by hand, including carving the top and back plates, and bending the sides. The tail-piece, bridge, and finger-rest also had to be designed and made from scratch. The Celtic inlay on the headstock is there to represent each of his three children (who helped pay for it!).  Well done Stevie! Not bad for a first go eh?

A magnetic neck pickup combines with a piezo built in to the bridge. They are both controlled by thumb-wheel pots discreetly mounted under the finger rest, and output via a stereo jack on the side of the body. The on-board electrics are powered by a 9v battery in a spring loaded easy change battery holder. If a mono cable is used only the magnetic pickup is selected, and this works even if the battery goes flat. With a stereo cable, the signal is sent to a Headway pre-amp, From there it can be split to two separate amps or blended into a mono signal.

The good folk at Headway also made the piezo bridge pickup, pre-wired to a thumb-wheel volume control for us, as a custom one off, and the magnetic pickup was also made specially for us by Kent Armstrong. Cheers Guys!

The sound when played acoustically was not only surprisingly loud, but incredibly rich and warm too – Stevie reports it is sounding amazing plugged in during rehearsals and I am looking forward to hearing him play it live very soon (I will attempt to get some video footage of the beast in anger- and the bass too).

I almost forgot to mention the spike! This bass can be played like a standard electric bass (horizontal), or with the spike out (upright). Both ways work, sitting or standing, adding up to a total of four positions…that is practically entertainment right there!

If this is possible on a course just imagine what I could build especially for you…or check out our range of guitars and see guitars available to buy right now in the Bailey Shop.

All Bailey instruments are individually handmade in the undulating hills of South Ayrshire using only renewable energy

Bailey Custom Archtop Guitar – Art Deco Style

Bailey Custom Archtop Guitar – Art Deco Style

by | Oct 3, 2012 | , , , , ,

…Made for Steve McKeand of the Highland Hotclub…

How to design your own guitar by Mark Bailey

How to design your own guitar by Mark Bailey

Steve commissioned this guitar a while ago and has been paying monthly for about as long as any of us can remember! It is roughly based on the Bailey Kithara Archtop Guitar but with quite a few custom options including ‘Art Deco’ style headstock, finger rest, and tailpiece, midnight blue burst finish with (glitter!), stainless steel frets, piezo and magnetic pickups with stereo output, and many more, not least of course the internal blue LED’s!

I originally named this guitar ‘The SpaceShip’ as Steve wanted it to look like his version of a 50’s UFO. I had a lot of fun making it and writing blogs about the construction. He visited a few times during the build to make tweaks to the drawings and check on progress, but this time it was to collect his completed instrument.

Steve spent about five hours sitting in the workshop playing away, in the end I just left him to it. He said that it had far exceeded his expectations which were very high…Steve is a great player so that means a lot to me. I had to agree the guitar sounded really beautiful – Job DONE! The original mission was to boldly go where no Jazz guitar had gone before and I think we did that too. Thanks to Billy for giving it the starry night effect.

Contact us with ideas for your own custom Bailey guitar or check out these instruments in our online shop.

PARKFEST 2012 – the finished RNLI guitar

by | Aug 16, 2012 | , ,

We can’t wait to see your smiling faces !

Finally Parkfest is apon us. in less than 48 hours the “Young Guns” of Stranraer will showcase  their music, and on SAT, the Bailey Curve will find its new home

Still not sure if you want a ticket ? Watch this timelapse film of the whole build with NEMESIS and MONUMENTAL SUITS track for a taste of what is to come. Thanks to both bands for letting us use their songs which were strangely appropriate.

Also playing live on Friday are CAUTION BY THE DOOR. AZARIAH and  IGNITE THE SKY – will also be there with a display of some of our most beautiful instruments.

The guitar is being used to raise money for the RNLI (the lifeboat charity), which relies totally on volunteers, fundraising and donations from the public to provide this vital life saving service around the shores of the UK

Still time to get your tickets for the guitar or the events – and the winner will be drawn on Sat night

Alive Radio is supporting the event and MC’ing the Fri gig, and Bailey Guitars will also be there with a display of some of our most beautiful instruments.

Tickets for the PRIZE draw are available during the event, or in advance from any committee member – email them here: lifeboatparkfest@tiscali.co.uk

Tickets for Young Guns will be £5 on the door; SAT 18th TICKETS  – ADVANCE 12:50 on day £15 , CHILD( 16 -)£5.00

CHILDREN UNDER 12 FREE WHEN ACCOMPANIED BY A PAYING ADULT
Available from Brushstrokes, George Street, Simpsons Bakers Hanover St ,Stranraer & Victoria St Newton Stewart and Smugglers Cove, Portpatrick.

 

ParkFest 2012 -the RNLI prize guitar – P3

ParkFest 2012 -the RNLI prize guitar – P3

by | Aug 9, 2012 | , ,

If you are new to the Bailey Blog you won’t know that we have donated to ParkFest  2012 one of our Bailey Curve Electric guitars to help raise money for the RNLI in Stranraer. Regular visitors to the Bailey News will be waiting for blog no3’s tantalising glimpse of the next stage of the build…part 1 | part 2

Orders for tickets have been coming in thick and fast – and it is hoped that by the time of the draw more money will be raised than the price of the guitar. EVERY PENNY of the money raised goes to the RNLI. Only one person will be able to take that home, but everyone who buys a ticket is contributing to the training of new crew and equipment – and that without doubt will save lives in the future.
There are only a few pics here – if you want to see more you’ll have to revisit the blog – every stage of the whole build has been timelapse filmed and the full video will be released NEXT WEEK!!

Parkfest is organised by a group of music loving locals, whose enthusiasm and determination has created a little gem of an event in the most south westerly region of Scotland. Alive Radio is supporting the event and MC’ing the Fri “Young Guns Night“, and Bailey Guitars will also be there with a display of some of our most beautiful intruments.

Tickets for the PRIZE draw are available during the event, or in advance from any committee member – email them here: lifeboatparkfest@tiscali.co.uk

Tickets for Young Guns will be £5 on the door; SAT 18th TICKETS  – ADVANCE 12:50 on day £15 , CHILD( 16 -)£5.00

CHILDREN UNDER 12 FREE WHEN ACCOMPANIED BY A PAYING ADULT
Available from Brushstrokes, George Street, Simpsons Bakers Hanover St ,Stranraer& Victoria St, Newton Stewart and Smugglers Cove, Portpatrick.

ParkFest 2012 -the RNLI prize guitar – P2

ParkFest 2012 -the RNLI prize guitar – P2

by | Jul 28, 2012 | , ,

Win this Bailey Guitar and help save lives!

Read Part 1

This years ParkFest in Stranraer on the 17/18th of Aug will be the biggest yet and Bailey guitars are sponsoring “Young Guns Night” by donating one of our Bailey Curve Electric guitars. The guitar is being used to raise money for the RNLI (the lifeboat charity), by being raffled in the lead up to and during the festival and will be drawn at the main event on the Sat night. The RNLI relies totally on volunteers, fundraising and donations from the public to provide this vital life saving service around the shores of the UK.

This week a delegation of lifeboat crew, organisers and 6 of the young musicians made  the trip north for the big handover – they brought a real buzz to the workshop. After explaining some of the ways we make our guitars (and showing them lots of beautiful wood) the new blue Curve was given to the organisers for display in Stranraer in the lead up to the Fest.

Photos were taken for the Stranraer and Wigtownshire paper, and the visit is featured in the latest issue.

The Event Organisers have told us the tickets are selling so fast that they have had to get some more printed! They even sold a very sizable chunk to a mystery buyer in New Zealand!

Don’t forget – the whole build has been timelapsed and the full video will be released in the week of the Fest.

Alive Radio is supporting the event and MCing the Fri gig, and Bailey Guitars will also be there with a display of some of our most beautiful intruments.

Tickets for the PRIZE draw are available during the event, or in advance from any committee member – email them here: lifeboatparkfest@tiscali.co.uk

Tickets for Young Guns will be £5 on the door; SAT 18th TICKETS  – ADVANCE 12:50 on day £15 , CHILD( 16 -)£5.00

CHILDREN UNDER 12 FREE WHEN ACCOMPANIED BY A PAYING ADULT
Available from Brushstrokes, George Street, Simpsons Bakers Hanover St ,Stranraer& Victoria St, Newton Stewart and Smugglers Cove, Portpatrick.

ParkFest 2012 -the RNLI prize guitar

ParkFest 2012 -the RNLI prize guitar

by | Jul 17, 2012 | , ,

Win a Bailey Guitar and help save lives!

This years ParkFest in Stranraer on the 17/18th of Aug will be the biggest yet – for the first time the organisers have added a new event – “Young Guns Night“, to showcase 5 local young bands which we are sponsoring by donating one of our Bailey Curve Electric guitars. The guitar is being used to raise money for the RNLI (the lifeboat charity), by being raffled in the lead up to and during the festival and will be drawn at the main event on the Sat night. The RNLI relies totally on volunteers, fundraising and donations from the public to provide this vital life saving service around the shores of the UK

Mandy Green, the Event Organiser, had already told us that this year Parkfest had attracted interest from bands across the world, with musicians clamouring to come to such a lovely part of southern Scotland. Excitement about the prize guitar is also growing…keep an eye on this Blog – we plan to show highlights of the guitar being made each week in the lead up to the Event.  Also, the whole build has been timelapsed and the full video will be released in the week of the Fest.

Alive Radio is supporting the event and MCing the Fri gig, and Bailey Guitars will also be there with a display of some of our most beautiful intruments.

Tickets for the PRIZE draw are available during the event, or in advance from any committee member – email them here: lifeboatparkfest@tiscali.co.uk

Tickets for Young Guns will be £5 on the door; SAT 18th TICKETS  – ADVANCE 12:50 on day £15 , CHILD( 16 -)£5.00

CHILDREN UNDER 12 FREE WHEN ACCOMPANIED BY A PAYING ADULT
Available from Brushstrokes, George Street, Simpsons Bakers Hanover St ,Stranraer& Victoria St, Newton Stewart and Smugglers Cove, Portpatrick.

Hang Out with Preston Reed TONIGHT

Hang Out with Preston Reed TONIGHT

by | Jul 14, 2012 | , , , ,

…at your own house live with www.hangcast.com

Preston and Daria Hang Out

Preston and Daria Hang Out

After his amazing performance at the recent TED lecture, Preston is taking the internet by storm with more cutting edge live performances – last month with his first on-line gig from his front room, and now with the fantastic Daria Musk. Daria has been breaking new ground, pushing the boundaries in music, tech and social media. A weekend of lugging her guitar amps through the rain and an invitation to Google+ sparked the idea to perform a live concert via Google+’s video chat feature, “Hangouts”.
An instant world-wide hit and inspiration to coders and engineers, Daria became the voice that launched a thousand lines of code and the model for major tech innovations and Google engineering evolutions including the new “Hangouts On Air” broadcasts by Google.
Although in its infancy, the appeal of on line, personal gigs streamed live into your room of choice, is massive – Daria already has 1,732,335 “circlers” and along with Preston will be playing a live gig TONIGHT in the US , whilst Preston will be here in Girvan, South Ayrshire.

Viewers can submit questions, and so the gigs take on a more intimate quality – like a cross between a small live venue, a TV interview and radio phone in (with comfier seats)

Here’s the first Hang Out Live to Air concert made in June.

And of course Preston will be playing his Bailey Signature guitar(s)

If you prefer to see your music live and in person you can see Preston at one of his many tour dates.
And for those in and around Ayrshire…you don’t have to wait for the pleasure –
Saturday, July 21 – 8pm at the Harbour Arts Centre Irvine, Scotland
the atmospheric surroundings of the North Parish Church, Girvan Scotland Thursday, July 26 – 8pm
Tickets Available from The Sweetie Shop or online £10 / £8 concession in advance, £12 on the door. Under 18’s £5
there will be a display of some our guitars, and you will hear at least two of them being played.

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