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Articles		 "Big Mo" is an old Kay flat-top, possibly dating from the '30s or '40s, according to its owner. The guitar is owned by Bob Hampton (Hamp on the 13th Fret). Bob found the guitar at a "guitar and antique" store. It was apparently in pretty bad shape, having just one string and badly bowed neck when he picked it up for $50. Jim Grainger helped restore it, and now 'Mo is on the "Resurrection Trail", which, through the generosity of Hamp, is a chance for lots of players to experience Big Mo. The members of the 13th Fret are simply passing the guitar around, keeping it for a few weeks, and then passing it on. There's a book that travels along and those who are blessed by a visit from Big Mo are writing about the guitar in the book, and also signing the guitar. You can read the whole story by going to the 13th Fret (www.13thfret.com) and searching for "Big Mo".

Big Mo came to my house for a visit in late Feb, 2004 after spending some time with David Enke at Pickup-the-World. David installed a new PUTW #40 pickup in it during his time with Big Mo. Sound clips are at the bottom of the page. Here's a few photos, click on them for larger versions:

Big Mo by the pond in my backyard

Some of the signatures on the guitar.

The signature on the right is Dave Skowron, the owner of the 13th Fret. Check out that fretboard binding!

The back has a few signatures as well

Big Mo hangin with some of my other guitars

The Nightingale, to the left is the largest guitar I have, but Big Mo dwarfs it.

Closeup

Closeup of top

The guitar has a very dry sound, and although the guitar is huge, it's as light as a feather. Might have something to do with that "dry" sound... It's not the prettiest guitar around, but it has a definite charm, and is lots of fun to play. Very responsive and quite loud.  I didn't even notice that the neck is a bit narrower than I usually play. The neck's pretty beefy, too, as you might expect. But the action is low, and the sound is very cool in its own way.

Some sound clips (mp3's):

Blues for Big Mo: Big Mo inspired this piece just after I got it. I suspect DADGAD isn't the tuning Big Mo's most used to, but when I put it in DADGAD, this is what came out. Not a true blues, I guess, but hopefully "bluesy".  I owe the inspiration to play blues in DADGAD as well as probably some of the licks in this tune to Al Petteway.

A Little Mo' Blues: Just some jammin' with Mo, a little fingerpicking 12 bar blues pattern with some overdubbed slide (also on Big Mo). The fingerpicking tracks were recorded with mics, the slide was using the PUTW pickup direct into the board.

Pickup tests: These are my standard riffs from the pickup test page, comparing the recorded sound and the sound of the PUTW #40 pickup in Big Mo

Fingerstyle example TLM103 PUTW #40
Tapping example TLM103 PUTW #40
Strumming example TLM103 PUTW #40