RBSinTo

To my mind, if you are a musician rather than a poser, or investor, how a musical instrument SOUNDS is its most important quality, followed closely by its playability. Thus, playing j-45's until you find one that fulfills your needs would be the best approach, rather than shopping by year of production. Good luck with your search. RBSinTo

If there is such a mystique about Stratocasters, why not just buy one of them, rather than Joe Schmo Guitars look-alike? RBSinTo

Rabs, Wouldn't it make more sense to ask these questions of Mr. Smith? I can't speak for anyone else, but I haven't got the faintest idea. Or care. RBSinTo

Played hockey last night, and, rain during the night and early morning, so I skipped my walk. Yesterday I finished gluing the neck to the body of my DIY guitar project. This morning removed the clamps and cauls, and after preping the body and bridge, glue and clamped them. Repaired a pair of Mrs. RBSinTo's reading glasses, mowed the lawn, and renewed my License Plate registration. And just we just returned from a delicious restaurant dinner. RBSinTo

Larsongs, Well put! Let me know when you can see the glow of the torches, and hear the screams of the Gibsonians in the distance, and I'll give you sanctuary from the enraged mob. RBSinTo

Chief, Personally, I'll pass, but it just ocurred to me. This guitar is blue with sparkles! Right in my grand-daughter's wheelhouse. Looks like I'm gonna havta take out a mortgage on the house and bid on it for her. The things we do for our grandchildren. RBSinTo

Are there no trusted friends, relatives or neighbours who can look after the treasured objects when one is away? RBSinTo

Bought and planted a fern in a shaded part of our garden, returned our Daughter and Son-in-law's dog ( who was rooming with us for the last two weeks while they had a bathroom reno done), and did a guest appearance in a very good hockey game (filling in for one of the regular goalies who was out with an injury). Tomorrow: cut the grass, clean the gutters, do some shopping and start the finish sanding on a DIY guitar-building project. Pretty much a mirror-image of the daily lives of the Uber Rich and Famous, I would imagine. RBSinTo

If anyone here can provide me the screw's specs and a photo I'll go to the specialty store which is closeby, and try to get the screws Scott needs. RBSinTo

fyp., If the instrument which is, after all, a machine for producing sounds, does that job really well, why would it matter if it was produced during the "Norlin era" or not? Shouldn't sound quality be the most important criterion to a musician? RBSinTo

Scott, I recently did some simple repairs to a vintage guitar for a friend. Among the materials I needed were some tiny screws for a couple of the machines. I couldn't get them from a couple of music stores or even a Home Depot. In the end I found replacements at a specialty store that caters to machinists and tool and die makers. I took the guitar to the store, and we tried a number of different sizes until we found some that fit. You might have to find a similar specialty store unless someone has a few spares they can give or sell you. RBSinTo

Remmuts, Do yourself a huge favour and have the button installed by a Luthier. My preference for strap attachments has long been via buttons at the neck heel, and have them on all five of my guitars. On those that I didn't purchase with the button already attached, (Martin D-28 and Guild GAD jf-30) I never even for a second considered getting creative and doing it myself, despite being skilled with tools. Other than using pliers to cut old strings I keep my tools away from my instruments, and leave the surgery to those who are trained to do it. Just my two cents of friendly advice. RBSinTo

My j45 suits me just fine as is, and sounds very nice. Spruce/mahogany, and it even came with the coveted custom broken and re-glued headstock option, so except that I would prefer if it was blond instead of sunburst, there would be no other custom changes I could possibly desire. RBSinTo

For those Gibonians who are interested, The Twelfth Fret here in Toronto has a 1942 L-7 archtop guitar for sale. https://www.12fret.com/instruments/gibson-l-7-archtop-guitar-sunburst-1942/ I have no affiliation with the store or the guitar's owner, and post this only as a courtesy to the members here. RBSinTo

I'm surprised no one has mentioned "Benny Hill". Very low brow, with lots of farting jokes, letcherous old men, scantily clad women with big ****, and very, very funny. I also used to watch a British comedy series called "Up Pompeii" about the goings on in a Roman household as seen through the eyes of a slave played by Frankie Howerd. Very similar to the antics in the American movie comedy " A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum" but with British humour. RBSinTo

Feh. But they get full marks for always looking for ways to separate the fans from their money. RBSinTo

This morning I repaired a pair of skates for a hockey bud. He complained that the leather was tearing, and because he loved the fit, was unhappy that he would have to buy and break in a new pair. Spent a couple of hours cutting, fitting and gluing patches to the damaged areas, and now they should last him a few more seasons at least. It was a mutually beneficial exercise. He gets to wear the skates he loves, and I got the pleasure and satisfaction of working out the solution and then bringing it to fruition. Later in the day Mrs. RBSinTo and I who are looking after our Daughter and Son-in-Law's dog while they have bathrom renovations done, took him for a long walk, and I found some escaped garden flowers on public land that I will go back tomorrow and dig up for our garden. Tonight? Playing hockey at 8:30. Life in the fast lane. RBSinTo

ghost_of_fl, Just a wild guess on my part, but I don't think the average fish spends even a pico-second of its life believing much of anything at all. RBSinTo

High IQ is no guarantee that one will be capable in other areas of life. I know a number of very bright individuals who are absolutely unable to get along in the real world without constant help. My wife has two close friends, one an ex-teacher, and her husband, a retired university professor, who act as if they had just arrived on this planet, and phone Mrs. RBSinTo practically every day for her advice and approval on the simplest of matters before they take any action. RBSinTo

Chief, My old boss used to refer to those NASA types as "Rocket Scienticians", a term that always made me laugh. RBSinTo

I prefer to play sitting, but always have straps on my guitars. I like the guitar to be high, and with the body on a tilt so I can easily see the fretboard, which helps me when I have to play unusual and exotic chords. When I play, I'm always watching my left hand. RBSinTo

"Mighty Joe Young" released in 1949, and made by the same group that did the original "King Kong". Amazing special effects considering when it was made. RBSinTo

Mr. Natural, Yes every time I watch that scene, I watch the Soviet Ambassador, whose attempts at not laughing cracks me up. That same actor had a small part in the the classic " A Christmas Carol" with Alistar Sim. And as an aside, there is an interesting uncorrected bit of business in that film as well. When Scrooge wakes up Christmas morning, and looks in the mirror, the camera was positioned behind him, and looking over his shoulder into the mirror as well. Some of the camera crew can be seen leaning into the shot a couple of times around the edges of the mirror. RBSinTo

Mr. Natural, Your post reminded me of another horror film ( albeit a comedy-drama) with a similar name that I did enjoy. "An American werewolf in London" starring David Naughton and Jenny Agutter. RBSinTo

Mr. Natural, And George Fenniman, who became Groucho Marx's announcer on "You bet your life", an early television game show, had an uncredited role in the film as well. RBSinTo