PrairieDog

I thought “more than mint” was when the raw wood hasn’t even been scraped by the planer 😄

All strength to you dude!! Hold on to that attitude. it makes a world of difference. Speedy recovery.

Just pointing out, it is unlikely he would have been doing too many repairs on what would have been new guitars back then. My guess is they were parts for older instruments that needed work. Also, there was a big fad back then of retrofitting truss rods in early solid necks, especially if they had gone out of shape. So yeah, I can see them being solid hog. Go and have fun! It sure can be eye-opening to hear about the adult life of our parents that the children don’t often get to see.

Cool! Re pics: use a site like imgur to upload the pics then paste the “direct link” (if you are using imgur) in a post here. The images should pop up. Love to see the pics of the Garage and the guitar!

By jove, I think you’ve got it! Hope the brainac who thought of squeezing twice as many headstocks out of the board got a raise that day.

And that’s a real thing. I had to miss it, but I heard after the Patty Larkin concert last month she set her Olson down during a break, and it caught the light so that it was painfully blinding a large chunk of the audience caught in beam. A stage hand thoughtfully turned it after someone went up and asked.

😄 Is there another philosopher in the house?

They look great from here!

Isn’t that kinda the point of a ML? There isn’t any way to authentically age them artificially without damaging the finish. But that does seem a bit extreme. I agree with rct, worth a try to get a return, but be prepared to embrace the “enhancements.” Sorry dude.

PrairieDog lets out a long appreciative whistle… great set!

Nod, like I said, so far we’ve only done it twice, but I’m sure glad we did 😄 My version on loans is never lend money I can’t afford to give away. Then just give it if someone needs it. No strings. If they are hard up enough to need a loan, they don’t need more debt digging them even deeper. Sometimes I get paid back anyway, that’s nice, but not necessary. Debt to me is the worst thing in the world for both sides. And more often than not, just a few bucks to me is a lifeline or safety net to a precarious friend or rellie. I remember the generosities I was shown when I was in bad straits that made all the difference in getting me back on my feet. Just trying to pay that forward when I can.

Chuckle, well, if you lived here and they were snakes, they would have bit you. We have 5 in the immediate twin cities area. Granted, they are often little hole in the wall places in off beat areas, often doing shoe and other leather repair too, so that could be why they aren’t on your radar.

I think when it morphs over from the general discussion of one’s own aesthetics/personal appeal into blanket put downs, and assumptions of what *other* people should or should not buy, or “will” do with something or their money, then it’s longer the simple noble exchange of ideas. There is a big tonal difference between, “I personally wouldn’t buy/play that” and “ Who the hell would want that?” “Who would/should spend that?” And “what a waste” type of comments that are fairly frequent around here. I learned quick that deviating from expressing the accepted norms will get you stomped on pretty quickly. I have a thick skin, and my opinions aren’t gonna change based on what strangers say on a forum and I’m not gonna change anyone else’s. There is some great stuff here and a lot of good natured folks and humor, but you gotta wade through a lotta malarkey to get at it sometimes.

Awesome!! That is an incredible instrument. And from just a pure design angle, the balance and overall effect is simply perfect. I briefly dreamed about it, but it was gone already 🙄 😄 Congratulations to your son and also glad it will see the spotlight.

Good words

Eep? Can I claim I live in a cave in the middle of nowhere? I never recognize “real” people out in the world. I might think, “hey, they look kinda familiar” 😏 I once spent a whole chunk of an evening chatting with the violin player for ELO, the band I just saw, without realizing it. Figured he must have been a roadie since he was talking to me😆 I’m a famous person’s dream if they want to pass for “normal.”

There you go! That’s a good looking group of folks! But just fyi, I never need to name anything, but I have all my “posts” set to hidden. Are you maybe posting public? I keep mine hidden so that only folks I share the link with can see the pic.

I get it! We are coming in from the other side now. After collecting art for many years, we say “Heck, we’ve spent more than this on a painting.” 😆 And a guitar we can play with! 😀

I’m sure Dave could give you a ball park, but any new one would be in your price range. Google is your friend here. Gibson, and everyone else, posts prices on their sites. check Reverb’s “sold” section to see what things went for. However, there are lots of smaller body guitars out there. I’ll hammer it too: the only answer is go to a store and play. Nobody here can tell you what you should buy. It’s like buying jeans. You gotta try em on. Don’t get hung up on a brand at this point. Like we’ve said, there’s more to it than just who built it. The combinations of woods, necks, and constructions make the sound and feel of each one. Acoustics are unique to each instrument more than electrics, even within the same model. I have four different brands, new and used, and to be honest, although they are my favorite sounding guitars, my Gibsons, with a choice of necks and nuts, are the toughest *for me* to play. Even my DIF which plays like butter when I get it in my fingers, initially takes a bit of work and warming up and adjusting when I start in. If my hands are just sore or tired, I’ll grab one of the Taylors. I second everything that Big Tim said about them. A lot of electric players I know have them. Their necks really do work for most. It’s part of their “thing.” With your budget you’d have your pick. Thinking through what you are asking for: a playable, inexpensive, small body, well-voiced guitar, one of their GS Mini’s might be worth a look. You can pick one up new for as little as 500 bucks, a sixth of a new L-00, so no worries about taking it to the campfire. Add 100.00 and you get electronics. Used, they are even cheaper. We got our 2012 Sitka/Sapele with a pickup for 350. Plus it had the benefit of being well opened up. It holds its own playing with our 1910 Gibson L1. Don’t forget, most retail shops give a return period. It can take a bit of time to decide with an acoustic. Much as GC gets snooted on their 45 days, no questions asked, is a real perk.

My rule is never buy more than I can afford, but I don’t get bound up fretting a bit extra if it means otherwise losing out on a bigger dream. It’s how I justified my DIF (and maybe a few others 🙄). You’d think the shop would comp the shipping, taxes they got no control over, of course. Yeah, there are a lot of guitars out there, but only so many will really speak to you…. Not that I’m trying to tempt you into doing anything financially dangerous. Chuckle about the 15 mins. When I was a young teen, Andy came for the opening of his show here at the Walker. There was a fancy private party for him. I was friends with the family that was throwing it and snagged a last minute invite. Except, I had already made another commitment for that evening. My mom, who only used these opportunities to mess with me, threw a fit and gave me a roiling (and rather hypocritical) lecture about the importance of meeting responsibilities when I broached ditching the prior thing to attend the party of the decade. Not big enough yet, I toed the line and missed the soiree. Ah well… Not sure if you remember the Woody Allen movie, Zelig? Yeah, I’ve bounced around on the fringes of some interesting events but never been the center, thank god.

Impressive. I should learn your restraint.

And….????? Don’t leave us hanging! Did you get it?

Fwiw, there are some factors beyond the make of the guitar that contributes to easy playability and reducing fatigue/cramping. you could try them out right now with your current guitars just to see if they are in the realm to make a difference. I apologize if you’ve already tried these and they didn’t help. The first, and easiest is adjusting your technique: cramping comes from over-exertion combined with awkward hand mechanics. One thing is try not to hold the guitar neck in a death grip. Because it starts out being hard to fret the strings, folks sometimes fall into a habit of thinking they have to mash down on the fret board to reduce buzz, etc. And they get tense concentrating, and then tighten up even more. Try reframing and relaxing your grip. Start out holding the neck loosely, but securely, and fool around fretting single strings and easy open chords like E-minor or A , finding the point where you are pressing on the strings as close to the fret as you can get, just hard enough to hold them down neatly, aiming for no buzz and a clear sound. Then let your hand only work that hard. If you feel you are tensing up, stop and breathe, and stretch and relax your hand for a minute. Also, check your fingers are staying curled over the fret board with just your finger tips coming down with your knuckle perpendicular to contact the strings. Like a piano player holds their hands arched. Trying to play chords or runs with flattened knuckles so you are using your finger pads is a sure recipe for hand cramp and muddy, muted notes. As you practice, try simple chord changes while strumming, concentrating on staying loose and easy and watching your pressure. Don’t worry at this stage about tempo, rhythm or botched notes, just think about how your hand feels. Go slow and work up. There are better you tube videos out there that demonstrate what I’m talking about if I’m not doing a good job explaining. The key is relax into it. The other things are string gauge and height. Lighter strings and lower action will be easier to fret and won’t cause as much work. Don’t worry about the sound for right now, you want to build up hand stamina, you can always switch back to heavier strings later working the muscles up into those. I find the coated XS ones easier to move around on. Once you figure out if any of this helps, it could expand your options in your search for a new guitar. Taylors have really comfortable necks for most folks, and if you have large hands the bigger gibson necks might feel good. Good luck with your quest.

Trying my image again, since I see the last one didn’t post right either. Open your image library to find what you want to link (don’t just use the “grab link” when it first uploads.) Open your image. Your screen should look like this. Hit the copy button next to direct link. Then paste that one in your post here.

Oh god no. Long ago, I was offered a chance, let’s just say, “Minneapolis in the late 70s.” But I was a dumb kid and didn’t understand the ride I could have stepped on. I had my head turned in other directions and ended up in a series of stupid situations. From what I heard from friends who did jump on (and teased me mercilessly for making the wrong choice) it was wild. But in all honesty, given where I was, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have survived very long, so I can honestly say it worked out for the best. Anyway, except for hobby singing, I pretty much gave up playing music in the 80s. Just getting back into it now. Wish my swiss cheese brain and arthritic fingers would catch up with my ambition, chuckle. Btw, no problem with the pics showing up. Most folks prefer it that way. It’s better not having to click on a link and go off the site. My speeds up here at the end of the internet suck. Nice image!