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Buc McMaster

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Buc McMaster last won the day on January 8

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About Buc McMaster

  • Birthday July 30

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    Galveston Island

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  1. This fire stripe guard I landed a few weeks ago was not the right profile..............a false start or two is often in order. You can see some of the tan line under the high E and B strings. The back is covered with clear kitchen wrap to allow the transparency show without sticking it to the top...........just a look at what fire stripe might look like on this one. Sending the original guard as a template will make for an exact copy.
  2. While I really like this 185, the original pickguard does nothing for me at all and have been debating with myself about removing it and replacing with my favorite guard material, fire stripe. I have been reluctant to remove the guard............cleaning up the adhesive residue would require the use of some products that the finish has reacted to badly in the past (naphtha, polishing compound, Virtuoso cleaner. This morning, on a whim, lifted the edge of the guard with a fingernail and just kept going...............peeled right up intact, leaving behind some serious residue. Managed to clean it up quite well with naphtha, exposing the tan line I expected. I will send the original guard to a couple different makers (one after the other) to be copied in fire stripe........results later. Even with the tan line it looks pretty good without a guard............
  3. i am?! That's certainly news to me, Murph..........sure doesn't feel that way.
  4. Rosewood J200s (all J200s) ceased in 1942 or so, likely due to availability of rosewood at the time. Maple was the wood when production of the model resumed in '46........don't know the why of that. Currently there are a few rosewood J200s: Pre-War SJ200 Rosewood - Western Classic J200 and one or two others as well. One of the 200s I had was a WC........nice guitar but suffered from a marginal neck set..............
  5. I agree. The three J200s I have owned in the past were not loud instruments. It must be the maple. The J185 I now have is short-scaled maple and not loud at all.........quite warm with a lot of low mids. I do think I J200 is better balanced in comparison. I think my M2M Gibson acoustic would be a 12-fret Hummingbird..............
  6. Hmmm. This makes one wonder what the taper on the headstock was for in the first place. Mechanically this would make the string post length above the headstock longer at the far end which in turn could make the nut break angle smaller for these strings, assuming that these strings are not wound to the bottom of the post. This makes any mechanical advantage inconsistent. So the tapered headstock was simply a cosmetic thing? Seems so. Any other speculators on this particular attribute of vintage Gibsons? Personally I think it was an attractive thing and it would be nice to see it incorporated in modern builds.
  7. Very distinguished looking instrument, suitable for orchestra pit work in a tuxedo. Brass pins are original equipment? Odd choice. Pins swaps should make for some interesting tonal variety.
  8. Yep. Looks like a fine example of the Vintage model Hummingbird. Had a Standard several years ago........changed the heavy Rotomatics for a set of keystones, which is the proper machine head for all Hummingbirds..............
  9. Well it's no surprise to me that there's a bunch of old dogs here.............we have grown to appreciate the finer things in life like Gibson guitars. I am a bit surprised there is no representation of youth..........none from the Ford, Bush, Clinton, etc. eras. I'd guess these folks might be more impressed with a Taylor instrument because they appear to be a more 'modern' version of a guitar. (yes, yes......I'm sure some of you old farts own a Taylor or two as well.) A lot of things got interrupted when JFK was shot, not least of which was a national feeling of comfort and security........the country seemed quite 'vanilla' before that episode. But no.........Vietnam, the Chicago Democrat convention, Kent State, Watergate. Seemed like the wheels were coming off.........and it still seems that way...........but here we are, still rolling along.........
  10. Some consider it impolite to ask someone's age, and perhaps in some circles it could be. But an internet forum can leave participants a bit incognito as to where each is coming from and there is little doubt that the era one grew up in plays a large part in cementing one's worldview.......what's important and what is not, what is acceptable behavior and what is not, even what is true and what's not. So to take a roundabout general pulse of the folks on the forum, who was president of the United States when you were born? Such info will not specifically reveal your age but can serve to identify the cultural era that has contributed to your sense of the world..........yes? Just for fun and some perspective................. Harry S. Truman was POTUS when I first opened my eyes. (........and just for curiosities sake, anyone seen J45Nick recently?)
  11. Indeed. In my experience an ETL mic is a perfect choice.......one input for voice and guitar with absolutely true reproduction. Of course feedback can be an issue in some circumstances but can be overcome in a various ways. Solo performers (or acoustic duos and trios) rarely require massive volume or monitors to be heard in small to medium venues. If your voice and guitar tone are up to snuff, extensive outboard EQ is not necessary (perhaps a notch filter or parametric EQ).......an ETL mic reproduces exactly what it hears. A muting footswitch is handy to kill the mic while tuning and during breaks. Just an unbeatable mic for studio and live performance.
  12. This 'side-by-side' of the two pickguards in question is revealing. (my printer has died and I am unable to print out the templates made available.) Without a perfect match in profile there will likely be a tan line showing in places......the finish is 20+ years old and has surely been altered by exposure to UV. The profile of the replacement guard does not seem to match the original at the back: the flat edge at the top does not appear to be as long and the upper right corner and backside curve look different. If the photo is correct this may not be good as a replacement. As I have figured from the start of this thought experiment, it will likely be necessary to send the original guard to a maker to get the right thing but I am quite reluctant to remove the original guard for a variety of reasons without an exact matching profile. This may be a non-starter.
  13. Been out of the acoustic loop for a few years and had not heard of this finish. I did a quick search and found this on the AGF............should be helpful......... https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6580330 Good luck and welcome to the GAF!
  14. I think I wore out my string crank today......... Went through four different string sets today: D'Addario EJ16, Martin Retro, Rotosound Jumbo King and DR Sunbeams. All light gauge and, save the .053 low E in the D'Addario, all 12-54 sets. Stretched them, tuned to standard pitch, played each set for a couple hours and then on to the next. Some might consider this a rush to judgement but once they settle to tune and are banged on for awhile, a good set of strings should be delivering what I paid for..........at least that's my take on it.........shouldn't have to wait for the tone. I like my guitar setup to be "right on the edge" of rattling under hard attack..........low saddle with good ramping for break angle, as low as possible in the nut and no more than .003" of relief........essentially a flat fingerboard. Different string sets of the same gauge act quite differently on such a setup. The .053" low of the EJ16 set rattled as did the .054" round core Sunbeams, which I used to really like but they don't do it for me on the 185.......for an unknown reason the high E of this set was noticeably louder than all the other strings and had a kind of 'honky' tone to it......I dunno? The Retros are very good, play and feel good under the fingers but I guess my ear has changed and I prefer the harmonics of phosphor bronze on this particular guitar. Which brings me to the Jumbo Kings.........the winner of this shootout. Great feel, very balanced volume across all strings up and down the fingerboard, they stretch to hold tune quickly and zero fret rattle anywhere on the board. For my ear they are the tonal winner as well.........solid low end and nice round highs (which of course is greatly influenced by one's pick choice.......I prefer a round edge, no bevel, 1.4-1.5mm......much like a mandolin pick). As an side, I am considering changing the pickguard. The original is really good, still down flat as a pancake after all these years but I'd like to see a bit more of the golden center showing through. I've ordered this one for a 'look see'...........I might do it I might not..........comments?
  15. Reality.........what a concept! Lots of folks have trouble dealing with it these days.............kind of disheartening that it isn't a dream after all. Your ETL mic is a grand little device, ain't it? Have an Edwina myself. What are you powering it with? Rock on, you old fart!
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