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I bit of history for you. Read at your own risk.

(For the young guys and girls who do not know what an Iron Curtain is: No it is not a name of a band, although it could be a name for a metal band. It is an informational and cultural blockade orchestrated by the Communist government of the former Soviet Union)


...I love Fender. I always loved it and for longest time it was my wet dream. All of the teenage boys in my neighborhood dreamed about girl next door, I was dreaming about Black Stratocaster. Richie Blackmore had white one, I wanted black one. But unlike girl next door Stratocaster was unattainable to me.

First guitar I ever had was an '86 model 650 made by a Soviet Union firm “Ural” and it was designed with self defense in mind rather then tone or tune for that matter. It had three pickups just like on a Stratocaster, a really badly designed tremolo weigh a ton and a half and the only strings we could get those days in a store were made out of some really tough metal and copper winding.



Ural was very very very hard to play. It was made out of heaviest and hardest slobs of wood with a very thick neck and sharp frets. But if you hit somebody with it - it won't brake. The tremolo would cause the strings to slide over the bridge rather then rock back and forward like Floyd or Fender. No one ever figured out the need for all those six buttons or why they were there. By the way those same type of buttons were used on cassette players, radios, medical equipment and TV sets. (Why design another button switch!)

The guitar would not tune past the fifth fret and would go completely out of tune if you so much as breath on the tremolo.

I highly recommend this guitar to any masochist. However if you ever find yourself on stage with it - do not hit the floor with this guitar. You will brake the stage.

The pickups on that thing would feedback no matter what you do even if you are not using any overdrive.

In Soviet Union it was not so much a question of money as question of knowing some one who knows someone who knows someone who can get a real guitar for you for a large sum of money and everyone in the chain gets a piece of you. I had no money like that or connections. Thus all the time I was in USSR Ural was the only instrument I could get my hands on.

Since then I had all kinds of guitars, two Jacksons, Les Paul, Dean, Telecaster. But I still love (and own) 50th anniversary 1954 US Made Fender Stratocaster...


Not all guitars in USSR were shitty. There were underground masters who did some outstanding job. Problem was to find one. The private business was outlaw and considered worse then a murderer. While murder was a crime private business was a crime against society, so needless to say those folks hid a great deal.

In 2006 Fender released Russian Strat. Only 10 guitars hand made by a Russian master Yuriy Shishkov – he is now the Senior Master builder in Fender Custom Shop. He made custom guitars for Dimebag Darrell of Pantera, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin Nuno Bettencourt, Robin Zander of Cheap Trick and Paul Stanley of Kiss.

He started building guitars in USSR, and did it in secret.

Check this link out http://www.masterbuiltguitars.com/masterbuilt_017.htm (buttons back and forward are at the bottom of the page) It will show you how Rock and roll was under ground, literally.



http://www.masterbuiltguitars.com/masterbuilt_001.htm




http://www.masterbuiltguitars.com/masterbuilt_032.htm

AlexanderN, I love your life stories please keep them comming because I can absolutly understand.

From listening to your story I have to say I believe in you !!!!

Oh my good lord above... I must have that 'phoenix strat'.

Alexander that was an interesting account of life in the Soviet Union, I'd be interested to know under the Soviet Union were you guys able to listen to American and British music and if so through what media, Radio, TV, Movies or was it an underground activity? Were Democratic countries produced records available for purchase to the Russian people, and did any band from Democratic countries tour in the Soviet Union?

I know that now Bands from America England and other bands from other parts of the world do tour in Russia.

gtZip wrote:Oh my good lord above... I must have that 'phoenix strat'.

YEA MAN ME TOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, Awsome story Alex, Keepem coming this is great stuff. DO you still have that guitar ,if so do you still play it.PEACE

This all makes me wonder ever more so, why the Democrats of America want to emilate socalist society? Some people just cant learn from history.

Alexander,
I have a bit of U.S.S.R. memorabilia Myself. Its in the form of a genuine, cheesy Soviet balalaika that I bought back in the early 70's, for the princely sum of fifty hard earned American dollars.
If you want to take a look at it, you can click onto my profile to find an old photograph of a "not so old" Howlin'J, discussing "string theory", balalaika in hand, with my second born son (who doubles as my bass player these days.

I have always been aware of the Soviet folks interest in building excellent astronomical telescopes (astronomy was my first love), but never considered that they might be interested in producing custom electric guitars. Thanks for sharing you experiences and photos.

I also enjoyed the musical offerings on your profile. Hope you attract some good players to form a band.Sounds like it would be a good one!

later,
Howlin'

P.S.
I would also like to comment on the earth, air, fire, water graphic comprising your avatar. Is that an M.C. Escher thing? It's pretty cool.

old age?

Oh well, Life is still good! (and I'm still buildin', learnin' and ROCKIN'!)

Happy New Year to you all!

Your ooooooool' pal
Howlin'

Wow.
I did not anticipate that sort of a response.

fretwork Let me answer your questions

I'd be interested to know under the Soviet Union were you guys able to listen to American and British music and if so through what media, Radio, TV, Movies or was it an underground activity? Were Democratic countries produced records available for purchase to the Russian people, and did any band from Democratic countries tour in the Soviet Union?

We were under the thumb of comie government, but we were not ignorant of American, British, German or Australian music at all. Thanks to the bootlegging. Unlike in US 1920 the bootlegging was not for money. So if for instance I score a new album of Stray Cats (that is an alum that was recorded years before i was born, but no one in my neighborhood has) I would bring the cassette to school and by next morning everyone has a copy. Our collections had it all from Chuck Berry to Slayer. Those tapes made it's way in the pockets of sailors and other folk traveling abroad.

That is why we listen to all sorts of music and not stuck up on a single narrow genre. I laugh at people who are. They are missing out on good stuff.

No, bands could not tour in USSR. But by the end of 80' government letup a little. This did not mean that Rock and Roll became welcome. It just meant you would not get shot or sent to a prison camp for listening to it or distributing it. In 90's it was free for all do whatever you want.

As far as Radio and TV. We had three TV Channels: Moscow1 Moscow2 and St. Petersburg Local. They all were off by 11pm. There was nothing interesting on them. No MTV nothing from abroad. Only domestic and government approved stuff. Here you have commercial propaganda, and the paid advertisement of most popular political parties, and news channels that are sympathetic to one or the other. There it was all one party one thought, one everything. The variety was only in bootlegging market.

The movies were bootlegged in a slightly different way. Some one smuggles a move in, some one translates it - one voice for all that is spoken and written. Sometime it was funny. Some Italian movie and a hot Italian girl brakes up with her boyfriend screaming: "Costrato!, Pederasto! Impotento!" and the translation would be "Go away I do not love you anymore!"

It was barter. I give you to copy my Terminator and You give me to copy your double Zappa.

The bands were playing and recording on what they could get their hands on. (From the original post above you have an idea what it was) and they distributed their records through the free bootleg system. Members worked day jobs to stay alive and confirm to the USSR standards. Very few lucky ones worked in theater and had a band as a side gig. All of which created it's own underground sound. It was Taboo.

The lyrics are awesome, too bad you can't understand any of them. Artists could not say anything directly, so they had to do it allegorically and it created a poetic genre of its own. Because the words have more then one meaning it is very difficult to translate and carry the same flavor.

HowlinJ

Its in the form of a genuine, cheesy Soviet balalaika that I bought back in the early 70's, for the princely sum of fifty hard earned American dollars

Nice. I have never held one in my hands. Keep it. It is a memento.
Can you play yours like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pczmaa1rPag ?

I also enjoyed the musical offerings on your profile. Hope you attract some good players to form a band. Sounds like it would be a good one!

Thank you. You are very kind. It seems that I will hang the band idea and go solo instrumental. Bay Area California is no place for my stuff. Here it is either Alternative (10,000 maniacs) or screamo (cool but not my cup of tea) or Latino. (Playd that for 2 years 1994-1996 had enough)

Everyone I meet say: Nice stuff, but I want to sound like Slayer, or I want to sound like GooGoo or whatever. While I just want to sound at least half decent.

However there is one very nice man here on this forum that will try to do a vocal line on the third track. I can't wait to here what he does. His voice sounds awesome on his demos.

EDDY (Charles)

Keepem coming this is great stuff. DO you still have that guitar ,if so do you still play it

I will if you guys like it.
No I do not have the fine piece of agricultural machinery. I could not take it with me nor did I wanted to. It is the world suckiest instrument to play on. But I got to tell you. It is so much easier to play a real guitar after that one. And As you can imagine, when I walked in to the Guitar Center here in San Fran I almost had a heard attack and needed a good glass of Vodka.


HowlinJ

I would also like to comment on the earth, air, fire, water graphic comprising your avatar. Is that an M.C. Escher thing?

The words on that graphic represent the four elements the ancient scientists believed to be the four elements from which everything is made. This is an ambigram and has long history. Look at it up-side-down and it will read the same. I have a ring with this sign on it. It somewhat represents my character. I am all four. (but then aren't we all?)



Did you guys see the rest of that site:
http://www.masterbuiltguitars.com/
That some serious love to one's craft.

Alexander that's one gray scenario you descibed, it's sad that regimes should condition human existance to that extent. This explains an experience I had during a vacation in Italy in the early 70s.

I along with a group of local amatures musicians were playing on a pier in Genoa Italy, there was a Soviet cargo ship docked at the pier with a bunch of sailors listening and cheering us on, after an hour the local amature musicians left with their girlfriends while I was invited by these Soviet sailors on to the ship to continue to play. They provided me with a 7 string guitar and asked me to play and sing Western music mainly Beatles and Stones stuff.

Couple of hours and many shots of Vodka later, I noticed that I had been recorded on cassette by one of the Russian sailors with Boom box complete with condenser mics.

One of the Russian guy with broken English asked me not to say anything about the cassette if an officer questioned me, they didn't want to play it back for fear of being caught, just as well coz I know it must have sounded like hell but to this guys by the way they behaved one would thing they had John Lennon or Jagger on tape.

I spent at least another hour translating English for them, they had English words written down from records, it was amazing to see the level of cultural curiousity these guys had.

The whole experience was enjoyable but the cassette/recording thing was surreal it freaked me out a bit

I'm glad that Russia and its people are now open to listen and watch artists/musicians from all over.

Good luck in your endeavors, boy you earn it.

Fretwork, I assure that little cassette was released through bootleg in Russia in at least 500,000 copies. You do not know it, but you were their hero and a rock star.

AlexanderN wrote:Fretwork, I assure that little cassette was released through bootleg in Russia in at least 500,000 copies. You do not know it, but you were their hero and a rock star.

Hey Fretwork that is cool, that is somthing to be proud of. Your playing filled the hearts of thousands with joy. In the mesure of life I would say thats better than a record deal, pays way less but still one hell of a acomplishment.PEACE

EDDY123 wrote:

AlexanderN wrote:Fretwork, I assure that little cassette was released through bootleg in Russia in at least 500,000 copies. You do not know it, but you were their hero and a rock star.

Hey Fretwork that is cool, that is somthing to be proud of. Your playing filled the hearts of thousands with joy. In the mesure of life I would say thats better than a record deal, pays way less but still one hell of a acomplishment.PEACE

Eddy you're giving me too much credit, I was just hangin out with a bunch of guys like me who loved music, at the time I had no idea of conditions in USSR but I agree with you about bringing joy to people through music I and I think most of the musicians on this board and elsewhere would gladly do it every time for free for people in need. It is a special event when our crativity and the artistic side are called upon to contribute, I got as much pleasure playing and singing for those Soviet guys as they did.

I've played benefits in VA hospitals and retairement home and to raise money for worthy causes few times ( maybe not as much as I should) and you are right, it is better then a record deal even though I never had one, when I left those gigs I felt a sense of accomplishment, I'm sure many of you musicians having done the same thing can relate to that.

Peace to you as well.