The guitar corner

[scottb]

Fins!! Now there's an idea!!

[scottb]

When I first took up guitar, I used to LOVE rock guitar instrumentals. What about you guys? (I was going to make a poll but didn't want to subject the whole board to this guitar-head topic.) Who do (did) you like?

Jeff Beck

Steve Morse

Frank Gambale

Steve Vai

Joe Satriani

Blues Saraceno

Gary Hoey

Other

Edited May 1, 2005 by scottb

[Sundog]

I still like Joe Satriani very much. I'll buy anything he puts out. At the core he's a melodic player, and that always comes through. I also think he's extremely adept at using effects to create textures and moods, which at least to these ears always add to the musical experience. He's an innovator.

I also really like Gary Hoey. I have been pretty much hooked ever since I saw the movie Endless Summer II. Some real fine playing on that soundtrack. At this point I make it a point to at least audition every release. Good player.

More often than not these days Jeff Beck disappoints. I'm still very interested in what he does though. The guy is a unique talent; totally quirky and unpredictable and that's cool if not somewhat frustrating.

Another player I really like that's not on your list is Brian Setzer. People get turned off by the whole Vegas showman/entertainer side of him. It works for me personally, but I do understand that "your mileage may vary". The guy is a serious student of his instrument and I respect that. He gets bashed by a lot of modern players because of his persona. However the same guys that bash him wouldn't dare get on stage with him. He would eat them alive grinning all the while!

[scottb]

Yeah, I'm with you. That's what got me thinking of this. I still pull out Satch pretty often, like yesterday. He's got chops galore but doesn't over do it, great tone, tasteful use of effects. The melody and the song are his main goal not just "Hey, look what I can do." Surfing was groundbreaking but it was THe Extremist that sold me.

I guess my second favorite is Blues Saraceno. I listened to Plaid yesterday as well. He's not really making records anymore. It seems he's doing a lot for TV.

Danny Gatton is another I didn't list that I like a lot. I guess he' a little different than the rest.

Jeff Beck is also hit and miss for me. His little industrial phase is a big disappointment. Satch did Engine of Creation which has a similar vibe but he's moved on.

Edited May 1, 2005 by scottb

[Sundog]

I still spin The Extremist & Crystal Planet fairly often. When I really feel like being humbled I put on the Live In San Francisco DVD. That's scarey good! I have never heard of Blues Sacareno. Probably should check him out.

P.S. Nice job on the guitar. Good luck waiting. B-)

[scottb]

Here's a link to Blue's website where you can hear some samples. As you can see he was only 15 or 16 when he made his first release. I like Plaid the best. I really like the energy of his playing. His playing is all over the place and keeps you guessing.

[scottb]

Just bought Project number 2

A rear routed strat style body with a Jackson style neck. Pretty rough condition I think. Could be a Jackson or Charvel (the neck came with Charvel tuners) or just a copy. Don't know if I'm going to finish out the guitar or just refinish the body and try to sell it. Depends on how bad the neck is. Apparently it looks as if it were set on fire? (Too many Hendrix wannabes out there!)

[scottb]

OK, After only 5 of the 60 days, I SANDED!!!

Let me explain. My first can of clear coat was defective. Very coarse spray resulting in a very exaggerated orange peel texture. I thought the clear coat, being a different viscosity than the paint, maybe was supposed to come out that way, until I saw how fine and even the second can came out. Because there was no wet sanding between coats, the final product was still pretty rough and this has been haunting my thoughts every minute (OK, maybe at least every day) that I don't have enough clear coat on to level out this much orange peel.

So after much internal debate, I decided to sand the finish a bit and smooth it out then apply another can of clear coat. Better to be safe now then sorry 60 days from now. (How much would that suck?) I figure I won't have to adust my schedule any as I'm only 5 days in. July 1 is still the go date!

[scottb]

Does anyone live close to me? I need an intervention in a big way!! I don't think you guys can stop me over the internet.

I just bought a set of PRS McCarty pickups on Ebay. I need help!

They are going to be sweet in either one my Corts though

[chris]

Satriani's "Always With You, Always With Me" from _Surfing with the Alien_ will forever by one of my favorite solo guitar pieces. I love that piece.

[scottb]

Cryin' from The Extremist is another great slow one.

[7/4]

When I first took up guitar, I used to LOVE rock guitar instrumentals. What about you guys? (I was going to make a poll but didn't want to subject the whole board to this guitar-head topic.) Who do (did) you like?

Jeff Beck

Steve Morse

Frank Gambale

Steve Vai

Joe Satriani

Blues Saraceno

Gary Hoey

Other

Jeff Beck and Steve Vai work for me. Also Robert Fripp and Frank Zappa.

[jmjk]

Thought I'd post a photo of my family, since all of you are so proud of your own (and rightly so)! Some of mine are bit on the cheap side, but they all do as they're told and all sound great in their proper context.

Left to right, then center bottom:

*Squier Strat with Fender Japan's disasterous take on a floating tremolo bridge and locking nut, which started to fall apart in 1989, one year after I bought it. Sounds great, but I need to put another bridge on it.

*Ibanez electric nylon - I bought this in 1988 after seeing Pat Metheny holding one.

*Epiphone Emporer Regent - Korean made, bought used, and is a very cherished fixture in my living room. I pick it up at least once per day.

*Custom handmade electric 12-string (not handmade by me, though). A gift from a drummer friend who had a hard time playing it, so he put it up for adoption.

*Fender Pink Paisley Tele - Japanese reissue bought a few months back. My wife almost made me return it when I brought it home. She just doesn't understand...

*Charvel Strat - I had wanted a Charvel since 1984, and I found this one used in 2000 for next to nothing (which is probably what it's worth). Custom puke green pickguard is my doing---ya know, just for that late 80s feel.

*Hohner G2 Steinberger copy - Back in the day, this was the next best thing to shelling out $1800 for a real Steinberger. Steinberger licensed bridge and EMG Select pickups (which are nothing like the real EMGs). For a knock off, this guitar really screams! This was recently repaired and put back into my arsenal by Paul at Peekamoose Guitars, NYC. He really did a fantastic job.

Scott, I'm following your projects very closely. My Squier Strat and Charvel are going to look entirely different in a few months. Keep the updates coming!

This photo is kind of small. Can anyone assist in telling me how to properly upload photos?

Edited May 7, 2005 by jmjk

[Joe G]

Nice to hear from you!

[scottb]

Some of mine are bit on the cheap side

All but one of mine are "cheap." Like I said before, I Love cheap guitars!!!

A note about my gold Cort. After sanding some of the roughness out of the clear coat, I could see a BIG problem. The Bondo or the primer over the patches where the old tailpiece has contracted, I guess, because the patches were very visible underneath the paint and clear coat. (pictures are too graphic to post!)

I don't know if I will be able to fix it without sanding the whole thing back to primer and essentially starting over. Had it been on the back I would have left it but it's right on the front of the guitar. Again, I'm glad I found that now and not when doing the final sanding in 2 months.

On the bright side by sanding on the clear coat now I got to experiment and get a preview of the finish. It should really be a great looking finish eventually.

I want this one to be perfect so sanding down to primer isn't that big of a deal. It costs me $15 in paint and some time (this is a hobby anyway, right?)

Edited May 7, 2005 by scottb

[scottb]

Update on my guitar project:

As I mentioned I sanded down to the original finish to try to fix the problem and decided it would be too hard to try to blend the repair so I sanded off all my work and started over. This time I had a lot more problems with small flaw which were caused by sanding. (Note to self and others planning on refinishing a guitar, DO NOT use drill with paint stripping attachment !!)

No problem, I head to the auto parts store to get another can of Harvest Gold Duplicolor. None. Second store - none. Third, fourth - none. At the last store in the area I got lucky with an overzealous sales person who got on the horn and called several regional stores, his purchasing manager, and eventually, the Duplicolor rep who was able to find a can. Apparently the color has been discontinued. They sent me a couple cans and when it rings up at the register...

$1.00 !!!

The salesman said it was in the computer as a clearence item so it was only $1 per can. I felt bad as the dollar probably didn't cover the shipping for them to send it but he insisted I pay only a dollar.

Even better news, the color is more gold than the last can. Closer to the color I had in mind in the first place.

So to bring you up to the present, I have sanded off all previous work, patched flaws, primed, and now applied the color. After a couple more days I can start with the clear coat again.

On another note. I installed those PRS McCarty pickups in my semihollow Cort tonight and it sounds smooth as butter. It has a great clean sound and that smooth distortion a la The Allman Brothers.

[Ron S]

(Note to self and others planning on refinishing a guitar, DO NOT use drill with paint stripping attachment !!)

You'd probably get much better results with a random orbital sander. Porter-Cable makes the most popular and best-rated. If this is something you're going to be doing repeatedly, it's probably worth the investment. You might also want to check out the Dremel detail sander kits for getting those little hard-to-reach places and edges. Just a thought.

[scottb]

I actually bought a little sander the other day. It works well for a while but the paint really gums up the paper. I have been eyeing a Dremel as well and if I keep on doing htis I'll probably get one. The sander that I got has "finger" attachment to get the corners.

[Ron S]

I actually bought a little sander the other day.  It works well for a while but the paint really gums up the paper.  I have been eyeing a Dremel as well and if I keep on doing htis I'll probably get one.  The sander that I got has "finger" attachment to get the corners.

Sounds like you got the Black & Decker Mouse, which is a very flexible and useful sander. But the nice thing about a random-orbital sander like the Porter-Cable for the larger flat areas is that the sanding disc moves in a random orbital pattern while it spins (hence the name), significantly reducing or eliminating the chance of getting sanding marks like the ones it sounds like you got with the drill attachment. It may be overkill for your needs but, if you're going to be doing a lot of flat sanding, it makes it easier, faster, and relatively foolproof.

Edited May 15, 2005 by Ron S

[scottb]

foolproof.

Does this mean I won't be able to use it?

The flat parts weren't really too much trouble but the carved top gave me lots of grief!

[Ron S]

The flat parts weren't really too much trouble but the carved top gave me lots of grief!

Well, there's always this high-tech sanding device (sandpaper not included):

[scottb]

Those look like working hands! I don't have any of those around here.

This is supposed to be a hobby. Sanding by hand is too labor intensive - feels like work, not fun and having toys... I mean tools is part of the fun!

I did in the end, do much of the sanding by hand. The Charvel body is flat and the sander is working well on removing that finish. My sander is the Craftman version of that mouse sander by Black and Decker. Got in on sale for $19.

[Ron S]

Got in on sale for $19.

B-)

[scottb]

Gold Cort update:

Putting on can three of clear coat over the next day or so. Once it gets dry enough to handle I'll post some pics. The color is nice! Darker than the first time.

I have been loving my McCarty pickups in my semi holow Cort! It's got me digging aroung on ebay for a set of PRS pickups to drop into this gold baby. Something a little hotter maybe like Dragons or PRS 7s or Tremontis.

I've now got several sets of decent humbuckers that I'm not using if anyone needs some I'll hook you up cheap. I've got a set of Epiphone humbuckers (chrome, 2 lead wires,) a set of Powersound humbuckers (black, 2 lead wires, Mighty Mite makes them I think,) a set of Mighty Mite LPs (chrome, 3 lead wires for coil tap) and Stewart MacDonald Golden Age humbuckers (black with three lead wires for coil tap)

[scottb]

Here's a picture after sanding down to the patch trying to figure out what went wrong. (After this, things got too ugly to photograph.)