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The Guitar Pron Thread


Celery Man

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Finally checking in.

Damn, what a pita getting in here. I tried all of my three email addresses and the damn site wouldn't ever send me the confirmation email, no spam/junk folder, nothing. Used one of those temp email thingys and 2 seconds later I'm in. Anyone else have this hassle?

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Finally checking in.
Damn, what a pita getting in here. I tried all of my three email addresses and the damn site wouldn't ever send me the confirmation email, no spam/junk folder, nothing. Used one of those temp email thingys and 2 seconds later I'm in. Anyone else have this hassle?


I used gmail and it showed up in the spam bucket.
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Today I heard a Les Paul R8 for the first time.  Sounded insanely good.  Just the right amount of growl/volume/attack and a really nice top end.  
Dammit.  
Paul I've posted in here so many times about my Les Paul R8 and how insane it sounds. I always say it sounds like the right had of Thor. Then the way it responds to the Tone & Vol controls. I lock it away often so that my other guitars will get played.

I wish I could explain it in words.
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Heh, sometimes I think I do! That's another sordid history, wife gets on me for that sometimes.

The Strat was a gift from my wife about 6 years ago.  

The D-35 was my brother's... he got "musical" while in the Army and went out and bought it.  It sat around and he never played it.  I used to sneak it out as a kid (I actually had a nice Yamaha, smaller bodied).  At first he and mom would get on my case for playing it, then he just said fuck it and I could play it.  Then he sold it to me for $100 in about 1975.  Best fucking deal I ever got.

However it does need some work... it's been played a lot and needs a re-varnishing by the soundhole (pick wear) and the action lowered a bit.  But it still sounds sweet after 40 years.

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@Chad, hahahaha. I still have the plastic film on the Firebird. I’ve long since abandoned the idea of reselling it. Well, everything’s for sale. Except my mom. We lost her in ‘79. 

PhD, I should’ve negged you for holding out. Welcome to the thread, brother!

CTC2, tommyleejonesnocountry.jpg

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10 minutes ago, phdhorn said:

Heh, sometimes I think I do! That's another sordid history, wife gets on me for that sometimes.

The Strat was a gift from my wife about 6 years ago.  

The D-35 was my brother's... he got "musical" while in the Army and went out and bought it.  It sat around and he never played it.  I used to sneak it out as a kid (I actually had a nice Yamaha, smaller bodied).  At first he and mom would get on my case for playing it, then he just said fuck it and I could play it.  Then he sold it to me for $100 in about 1975.  Best fucking deal I ever got.

However it does need some work... it's been played a lot and needs a re-varnishing by the soundhole (pick wear) and the action lowered a bit.  But it still sounds sweet after 40 years.

Six years?  Lol.  Great looking guitar, no matter.    

That is a great deal (and story) on the Martin.  Friendly guitpron tip:  Don't do anything to the finish.  You'll kill the value and the vibe.  Pick wear = Guitar love.

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The truth is, I'm a keyboardist first (lotsa training, college music major undergrad, etc.).  I generally have played rhythm guitar in bands etc.  Plus the folk guitar of course is a natch for church, get-togethers, etc.  I consider myself a very capable 2nd or backup guitarist to the lead god becase all my training has given me a good sense of timing and rhythm.  I just never enjoyed playing lead that much, I'm much more of a harmony guy, heh.

The guitar is as you see somewhat unscathed.  The idea was I was going to get my studio going and when I did, I would use this Strat for some work then call in someone who could wail leads for me if need be.  But with kids, etc. that just got put on hold. 

However I've been back to getting my studio going finally, being an empty nester (well one kid at UT, so 75% empty nester) and the Strat will be used a lot more.  Hopefully.  I'd welcome anyone who could play it, especially with those hot ass pickups.  It's not a premier Strat but hey, it sounds plenny good for me.

Thx for advice on the Martin.  It does need the action lowered, though.  Some day I'll get to it.  That thing has been with me on a lot of road (moved out of the house, took it to Michigan to school, across country, then down here.

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Hey look!  I managed a rep!  So weird how one minute you're told you can't rep, then 20 mins later you can rep.  Bizarre.  

I hope you get your studio up and going.  Sounds awesome.  And I may hit you up for keyboard advice, as I'm heading in that direction now.  Chad Jr. is taking piano lessons and seems to be picking up on it pretty well.  We practice every afternoon together on my Hammond M-3 that I bought from the local Mason's Lodge (it's a danged ole Steve Earle song dontcha know).  But I'm looking for a weighted key entry level keyboard.  Looking at a Yamaha P-115 right now.  But that's for another thread...

Lowering/raising action is easily changed so that makes no real difference to value.  But as I'm sure you well know, guitarists are a crazy lot who will pay extra for a guitar to look pretend beat up.  But you can pretty much always tell.  Except for when you can't.  Long story short, people pay extra for the patina that age/wear brings.  So you'd be doing yourself a disservice to change the finish.

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On 3/28/2018 at 10:23 AM, Chad Fuck said:

What were they asking for it?  I remember when Gibson was setting these up to be a Tele-killer for the country crowd.  Didn't quite work out that way.

$250 out the door. It looked virtually unplayed. But I passed. It had a wide D shaped neck, and it just didn't grab me by the boo boo.

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35 minutes ago, Chad Fuck said:

Hey look!  I managed a rep!  So weird how one minute you're told you can't rep, then 20 mins later you can rep.  Bizarre.  

I hope you get your studio up and going.  Sounds awesome.  And I may hit you up for keyboard advice, as I'm heading in that direction now.  Chad Jr. is taking piano lessons and seems to be picking up on it pretty well.  We practice every afternoon together on my Hammond M-3 that I bought from the local Mason's Lodge (it's a danged ole Steve Earle song dontcha know).  But I'm looking for a weighted key entry level keyboard.  Looking at a Yamaha P-115 right now.  But that's for another thread...

Lowering/raising action is easily changed so that makes no real difference to value.  But as I'm sure you well know, guitarists are a crazy lot who will pay extra for a guitar to look pretend beat up.  But you can pretty much always tell.  Except for when you can't.  Long story short, people pay extra for the patina that age/wear brings.  So you'd be doing yourself a disservice to change the finish.

Heh, I have an old M-3 at my mom's house.  Needs work but it will play with some service.  I know Hammond drawbars back, forward and sideways.  I first saw a guy playing a double manual keyboard on - wait for it - Lawrence Welk(!) and i was about 3.  But I said that was the coolest looking thing that a human can do.  It seemed so complicated.  SO I BEGGED my parents for an organ (they actually bought an old Estey chord organ with the pushbuttons like an accordion on the left side, one manual.  But I learned on that thing.  So they figured I'd just stop, which I didn't.  Finally relented and got me an old 1959 M-3 (note it had a Leslie 147 but we didn't get it, FML).  Anyway became somewhat of a "prodigy" in that I kept playing on it and good keyboardists were hard to find, so Ianded quite a few gigs before I was 18 (and allowed in clubs, at that time, used fake ID's and stuff).  I also learned pedaling on the organ, although the M-3 as you know has 13 pedals on the left, not a full pedalboard.  Still, I got good at coordinating.. playing the full console organ is a bit like the drums... you have to coordinate all 4 limbs, and it's not easy.

Anyway took up piano as a pre-teen which wasn't much of a jump but definitely some as you really needed to work the left hand coordination.  Anyway, I'm a pretty good utility guy. keys plus rhythm, made me pretty sought after for bands/gigs/sessions in my younger years.

I learned to play the guitar when I was about 12 and kept it up.. but as I said, I don't think it's a natural instrument for me.  Leads don't come easy to my brain (positions, etc.).  But I never really enjoyed lead, as I said.  I enjoy hearing some good lead, but it doesn't "hit my nerve" as playing keys.

Anyway, since no keyboard thread, yeah we can wait.  In the meantime, you will NOT go wrong with Yamaha entry stuff.  Ever.  Yamaha is one of those companies that to me really does nothing wrong for the most part.  My favorite big-money grand BTW is a Yamaha, not a Bosendorfer or Steinway.  The Yamaha's action is a bit lighter and I love that.  And their entry level keyboards strive to duplicate the Yamaha sound.  I have NO problems with that P-115.  My own portable keyboard is an old 1995 or so Clavinova PF and it still sounds marvelous.  You won't go wrong with the P-115.  Yamaha makes to me the BEST weighted e-keyboards in existence, as a whole.

The Martin obviously has a yellowed finish with age.  So I guess do nothing for the pick wear?  It's scraped the wood off pretty good by now.  I guess I'll see if a guitar restorer has some advice (thin coat to protect it, or just let it go).

Thx for the advice, have some rep back.

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Thanks for the keyboard lowdown.  I officially have only the slightest inkling of how the drawbars work.  All I know is Jimmy Smith was playing at the Mercury one night and said "pull em all" so that's what I do.  I'd be well served to find some more refined explanation of how they work.

So yeah, do nothing for the pick wear.  Or any of the other dings.  Let it go, as the lady from Frozen might say.  I have a 1962 Gibson Country Western that came out from under a bed in the late 80s that I bought.  I put some pick wear on it.  Wouldn't change it one little bit.  

 

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PhD, I’d be more concerned with fret wear on a guitar that age. The finish issues are all patina to me and many others. There are several guys on here that have recs for Martin luthiers and have had older pieces restored. I say “pieces” because a couple of them are museum quality. Maybe consult with them about the direction you want to pursue.

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Thx.  Yeah mine is certainly not a collector's item... some big change happened in about 1969 or so (can't remember, probably some of you know) and the Martin became less valuable (maybe it was no more than just more production, but I forget).  Mine is a 1972 I think, still made in Nazareth. 

There is a slight crack on the side that it's had for almost all of its time.  Other than that the framing, etc. looks good.

I did have some work done on it by Erlwine about 20 years ago, but honestly can't remember.  But yeah, I'd definitely want a good certified Martin dealer to do any fixes.  And yeah, I'd never sell it.  I grew up with it, and not many people can say their "first learning" guitar was a Martin Dreadnaught!   

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Saturday pron delivery. In honor of Angus Young's birthday today, let's check out some SGs.

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Duane Allman's 1961 Gibson "Les Paul"

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Keith Richards' 1963 Gibson SG Custom

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Clapton's 1964 Gibson SG: "The Fool"

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Carlos Santana's 1968 Gibson SG Special (with P-90s) - If you look closely you can see the holes where the trem had been attached.

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Have a good weekend. Let there be rock.

Angus-Young.jpg

 

 

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I pulled out the Vagicaster the other day, tried to fix up some problems in the finish that now don't seem fixable without ruining the whole thing. It's just a Korean made Squier, probably plywood, and the cheapass thin potmetal bridge block had just broke one day while just sitting there (I actually heard it pop one day). So the spring won't connect at the end spot, near the little e string. So a while back so I moved the spring to the next hole over. It tunes up just fine.

And the weird thing is, after I started playing it the other day I realized I really like the feel of the guitar way better than I had ever realized before. It plays nice. The frets are snappy and clean, it stays in tune (with the replacement split shaft tuners I had installed long ago). I should start actually playing it and get some wear on it. I could sort of relic the flaws out at some point in the future, but I'm not going to worry about it for a while. It was just an experiment anyway. But it's a useful guitar with it's own personality, a misfit like me, only far more useful.

I may get a new block someday, maybe a thicker one, or I could just swap out another Squier bridge, but I'll just keep it as is until it seems necessary.


 

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