Shawn Posted July 15, 2009 Report Posted July 15, 2009 Cool lookin' guitar. Nothing wrong with affordable instruments, they can be easily upgraded with better pickups if you decide to go that route. Back in the 80s/early 90s I had a cheap Charvel/Jackson guitar that I bought for about $150. It was a GREAT guitar and better than many others more than twice it's price. I eventually invested in a switchable Seymour/Duncan pickup. Loved that guitar. Quote
BFrank Posted July 17, 2009 Report Posted July 17, 2009 Heck with you guys, I went to SXSW the entire week and had a blast! I've gone the past 2 years and had a great time, too. What I meant to say was that if it was in MY town, I would probably stay away, too. There's something about being out of your daily element that adds to the fun. We have the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass mega-fest every year in GG Park (for FREE) and I've only been a couple of times. Quote
jazzbo Posted July 18, 2009 Report Posted July 18, 2009 (edited) Well, after considering myself a Gibson sort of man for a long time, I really have fallen in love with two Stratocasters that have beautiful necks and sounds and they're my two main guitars. One I've had sort of clandestinely for a few months (haven't talked about it) and the other for a few weeks. The first, the one that totally surprised me was a Billy Corgan strat a friend of mine (I bought my bass violin from him) wanted to sell for a friend of his. Because I have more money than sense now I tried it out. . . and really fell for it. It's a hardtail, which is my preferred bridge. The neck is perfect, maple fretboard, 9.5 inch radius, 43 mm nut. The damned thing looks really great. . . Olympic white nitro finish, black pickguard, big 'seventies style body and headstock. Has custom Dimarzio single-space humbuckers, a very modern sound that just comes alive in blazes with effects, and if you play with it you can get almost all the blues and jazz tones you need. Sustains like crazy and has a nice midrangey sound. Quite a guitar! So I investigated the specs of that neck and found that it's pretty standard on a lot of modern Strats, especially Deluxe and Highway One. . . . Started playing some in stores and found there's a special edition mahogany Strat SHH (made for Guitar Center I think) that has that neck and the nice tone of mahogany from a one-piece body. The current ones have TexMex pickups in the neck and middle and I'm not that crazy about those. Did some research and found that there was a Fiftieth Anniversary limited edition Deluxe Strat that had the mahogany body and the newly introduced fantastic SCN pickups, LSR neck, locking tuners, etc. Found a great example on ebay and it's a fantastic guitar, beautiful crimson transparent finish, beautiful neck with rosewood fretboard and abalone markers, fantastic warm sound from the body and the pickups and S-1 switching as well so ten pickup positions, just a really versatile and easy to play guitar that has a sweet darker sound. Honestly between the two of these I am very very happy and well covered. I may keep these two, my '72 Thinline Tele, maybe my Breadwinner, and sell the rest of my guitars and a couple amps. . . . I really like Jazzmasters that I've played around with lately in a few stores, and if I can realize enough out of the other gear I may buy one. . . the Elvis Costello model is really really nice, love the look, feel and sound. WARM! It's really frustrating. . . my AC is out again and through the weekend, and I am sweating so much I'm afraid to touch my Strats. And I want to touch my Strats! Maybe I'll put myself into heat prostration and play my drums instead, I've really been neglecting those. Edited July 18, 2009 by jazzbo Quote
jazzbo Posted July 18, 2009 Report Posted July 18, 2009 (edited) sold my old guitar for a good price 'cuz i needed the money and bought two cheap guitars in case i feel like playing. one is a crappy acoustic (paid $40). the other is this: SX Vintage Series Ash (mine has a black pick guard). it's obviously a tele copy. ash body maple neck. it's lighter than the real tele i had many years ago and for me that's a bonus. i only paid $85 for it so i figure even if it's pretty lame it wasn't a waste of money 'cuz i'd be able to re-sell it for that without much effort. but so far from the little playing i've done on it, it seems kinda nice. and certainly well worth the price. wondering if anyone here has owned/played one and can give me some impressions or advice. Looks like a nice one indeed. No experience with that model, but it's sure pretty! It's weak spot may be the pickups, and with so little in the guitar if you wanted to you could add some really humdingers in time. Edited July 18, 2009 by jazzbo Quote
BFrank Posted July 18, 2009 Report Posted July 18, 2009 Jazzmasters seem to be making a comeback lately. Quote
jazzbo Posted July 18, 2009 Report Posted July 18, 2009 (edited) Yes, FOUR signature models, two "Sonic Youth" ones introduced just last week (so that makes an Elvis Costello, J. Macis, Lee Renaldo and Thurston Moore "Signature Editions."). And the '62 reissue is still coming out. Fender Japan also is putting out '66 reissues (neck has binding and big position markers a la Gibson). There's also a "Classic Player" model made in Mexico. The Japanese ones seem to have Strat pickup works, not real Jazzmaster pickups. For me, lover of neck pickups, the '62 reissue has the warmest, woodiest, darkest sound of Fender neck pickups I've ever heard. The Costello and Macis I believe share these pickups. Seymour Duncan apparently put out pickups that are most true to the fifties original sound. Very interesting guitars! Edited July 18, 2009 by jazzbo Quote
BFrank Posted July 18, 2009 Report Posted July 18, 2009 FWIW, I saw "J." wandering around the SXSW guitar show in March. But I digress ... Quote
jazzbo Posted July 19, 2009 Report Posted July 19, 2009 (edited) Until very recently, I would not have recozgnized him! Anyone else addicted to Black Diamond strings? I love the black coated nickel wound. Wow. Still haven't found anywhere to buy them in town, I have to order them online. Edited July 19, 2009 by jazzbo Quote
BFrank Posted July 19, 2009 Report Posted July 19, 2009 Until very recently, I would not have recozgnized him! Anyone else addicted to Black Diamond strings? I love the black coated nickel wound. Wow. Still haven't found anywhere to buy them in town, I have to order them online. Sounds cool. I'll have to look into those. Quote
7/4 Posted July 19, 2009 Author Report Posted July 19, 2009 I don't think I've tried Black Diamond strings more than once, many years ago. The original Black Diamond string factory was in the town I grew up in - North Brunswick, NJ. By the 80's, they were gone and the building was sub-divided into many rental spaces. The parents of a guy I knew had some rooms there and we snuck in after hours and had a loud guitar jam. Plenty of drinking.... Quote
jazzbo Posted July 19, 2009 Report Posted July 19, 2009 Huh. Well, they're great strings. Feel wonderful under the fingers and full of life. Quote
7/4 Posted July 24, 2009 Author Report Posted July 24, 2009 Yeah, I'm getting old...I start telling stores that don't really have anything to do with the original question. If I see any in the store, I'll try a set. Quote
Shawn Posted July 30, 2009 Report Posted July 30, 2009 The lovely Liz Buckingham (lead guitarist/organist for Electric Wizard) and her Gibson SG. Quote
Shawn Posted July 30, 2009 Report Posted July 30, 2009 wow...she's an organist. Get your mind out of the gutter Beardsley. Quote
7/4 Posted July 30, 2009 Author Report Posted July 30, 2009 wow...she's an organist. Get your mind out of the gutter Beardsley. I don't know what you're talking about...not everyone plays two (2!) instruments. She does look lovely! Quote
jazzbo Posted July 30, 2009 Report Posted July 30, 2009 (edited) She looks young. I'm old. And spoken for, thank God! Man I have sore fingers, I"ve been playing a lot. Edited July 30, 2009 by jazzbo Quote
7/4 Posted July 30, 2009 Author Report Posted July 30, 2009 I have sore fingers because I'm single. Quote
7/4 Posted July 30, 2009 Author Report Posted July 30, 2009 Seriously, I'm planning on playing a bit more now that I'm working from home. ... Quote
fasstrack Posted July 30, 2009 Report Posted July 30, 2009 She looks young. I'm old. Man I have sore fingers, I"ve been playing a lot. We're all old. That's why we're putzing around the Web instead of getting some. There was a joke going around about Tom Harrell: Someone asked him how is love life was and his reply: 'Oh, man....Even my left hand hates me.' Don't come after me. it's a joke. Tom is married, and to a great person. Quote
BFrank Posted August 5, 2009 Report Posted August 5, 2009 I was thinking of picking up an instructional DVD and this one seemed to get a lot of positive feedback on Amazon. Has anyone watched it or anything else that they would recommend? Quote
Durium Posted August 5, 2009 Report Posted August 5, 2009 JIMMY ROSENBERG Jimmy Rosenberg - De Vader, de Zoon en het Talent ( = The Father, The Son and the Talent) by Jeroen Berkvens - a very personal and emotional documentary about the rise and fall of a great jazz guitar player in the Django Reinhardt tradition: Jimmy Rosenberg. Jimmy Rosenberg - The Father, The Son and the Talent Keep swinging Durium Quote
Joe G Posted August 6, 2009 Report Posted August 6, 2009 I was thinking of picking up an instructional DVD and this one seemed to get a lot of positive feedback on Amazon. Has anyone watched it or anything else that they would recommend? Lots of stuff out there. It very much depends on what you'd like to learn. I haven't seen this one, but I'd guess there's something worthwhile on it. Quote
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