McCartney's love of the the "Zero Fret"...

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yfoiler
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McCartney's love of the the "Zero Fret"...

Post by yfoiler »

Hello Beatles lovers!

We all know about Paul's love of zero frets on his bass guitars... His Hofner has one, his Rickenbacker 4001 has one, (my 4001C64S has one), but I never considered he'd carry this love of zero frets so far so as to put one on his Epiphone Texan acoustic guitar. Then while learning to play Jenny Wren, (yes, on my reissue McCartney Epiphone Texan :D ), I saw THIS >>>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36dtjxUMWdM

Whoa!!!!! Play this video, and 9 seconds into the video hit pause, and tell me what you see? It sure looks like a zero fret to me, with the nut forward of that and something else under the strings by the nut.

Can anyone shed some light or more information on this?? If it IS a zero fret, it sure makes all those McCartney reissue Texan guitars that claim to be identical and exact recreations---well---no so identical or exact, including mine?
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kennyhowes
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Re: McCartney's love of the the "Zero Fret"...

Post by kennyhowes »

Not a zero fret.
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cjj
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Re: McCartney's love of the the "Zero Fret"...

Post by cjj »

It looks like a capo stored above the nut to me...
I have NO idea what to do with those skinny stringed things... I'm just a bass player...
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yfoiler
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Re: McCartney's love of the the "Zero Fret"...

Post by yfoiler »

What kind of capo can you store UNDER the strings? You can clearly see the strings go OVER whatever is there. Hmm...
It is pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness; poverty and wealth have both failed.
And trying to achieve happiness, I have realized there is a fine line between genius and insanity---I have erased this line.
(Ghandi-and Levant)
shamustwin
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Re: McCartney's love of the the "Zero Fret"...

Post by shamustwin »

I think it's part of the strap - guitars without a strap holder screwed into the upper bout often have to have the strap tied around the volute.
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libratune
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Re: McCartney's love of the the "Zero Fret"...

Post by libratune »

shamustwin wrote:I think it's part of the strap - guitars without a strap holder screwed into the upper bout often have to have the strap tied around the volute.
Agreed. Especially acoustic guitars.

Plus the strings go off the back of the nut/zero fret at an angle and there doesn't appear to be any other point of string contact in the nut area.
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yfoiler
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Re: McCartney's love of the the "Zero Fret"...

Post by yfoiler »

Jerry, I think you may have nailed it. Check out this photo. It's clearly a leather strap tie in this photo, and it would of course go under the strings and in front of the nut.
If what I thought was a zero fret in the video is actually the nut , then it looks like there is something else (white?) there also??? Curious...
http://www.scottymoore.net/images/detro ... itting.jpg

Whew! Hopefully my Epi is back to an identical replica! Ha!
It is pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness; poverty and wealth have both failed.
And trying to achieve happiness, I have realized there is a fine line between genius and insanity---I have erased this line.
(Ghandi-and Levant)
shamustwin
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Re: McCartney's love of the the "Zero Fret"...

Post by shamustwin »

Man, the songs written/played on that guitar!
servant
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Re: McCartney's love of the the "Zero Fret"...

Post by servant »

yfoiler wrote:It's clearly a leather strap tie in this photo, and it would of course go under the strings and in front of the nut.
If what I thought was a zero fret in the video is actually the nut , then it looks like there is something else (white?) there also??? Curious...
I'm not seeing any leather strap, just a leather shoulder pad on a multi-colored cotton rope kind of a thing. In the close up at 0:09 of the video, starting at Paul's
index finger, going left, I see the nut, white(ish) strand of rope, red strand of rope, Epiphone "E." :-)

Image
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atomic_punk
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Re: McCartney's love of the the "Zero Fret"...

Post by atomic_punk »

And SO GLAD he decided to add that Detroit Red Wings sticker to it!
"They make great f***'n basses". - Lemmy, NAMM 2009
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revolver323
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Re: McCartney's love of the the "Zero Fret"...

Post by revolver323 »

Yes, a strap, although supposeldy putting your strap on the neck this way leads to tuning problems if you play standing up. I Imagine the Redwings sticker came when he was touring with (red)Wings. At least it doesn't say "Jane Forever." :D As in Asher.
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brammy
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Re: McCartney's love of the the "Zero Fret"...

Post by brammy »

Why in the WORLD does he have a Red Wings sticker on that guitar?
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Re: McCartney's love of the the "Zero Fret"...

Post by admin »

Why in the WORLD does he have a Red Wings sticker on that guitar?
Kent: Having been with a first class group in the 1960s it would seem that Paul would like to continue the practice. :lol:
Life, as with music, often requires one to let go of the melody and listen to the rhythm

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brammy
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Re: McCartney's love of the the "Zero Fret"...

Post by brammy »

Isn't hockey that game they play on ice with some sticks and a frozen cowchip? :D
ny-yankee-logo.jpg
Singer Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell sing during the seventh-inning stretch at the New York Yankees'<br />       baseball game against the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday in New York.<br />(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Singer Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell sing during the seventh-inning stretch at the New York Yankees'
baseball game against the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday in New York.
(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
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