dhanners623

Performing out. Pub or club gigs where I’m using the venue’s sound system.

Contemplating getting a pickup installed in one of my guitars. I want something passive but I don’t want to deal with a pre-amp. Does anybody here have experience with the K&K Pure Mini? And if so, thoughts? Pluses? Minuses? Thanks.

You seem obsessed with other people’s money….

It’s been awhile since I’ve read Title 18 of the U.S. Code in its entirety, but as best I recall, there’s no law prohibiting you from spending whatever you want on a guitar.

Frank Ford describes his process: http://frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/Technique/Tuners/NewButton/newbutton.html

Damn, brother. That is one fine tune! It’s got that magic combination Ray Wylie Hubbard talks about: Grit, groove, tone and taste. Your set-up sounds great, too.

When Martin replicated her O-45 for a ‘97 edition, they printed the slogan backwards (so it could be read with an inspection mirror) and stuck them to the inside the guitar. So Baez and Martin made money off the earlier repairman’s meaningless stunt. Sounds like a pretty capitalist move to me.

Maybe translate that into English for those of us here who speak and read English?

Friends don’t let friends buy Ovations.

Not bad at all! I’ve long toyed with learning a verse or two, just to quiet the jerks who think they are being funny by requesting it. (When I lived in Kuwait, the request they always shouted out was “Hotel California.” Seriously.) I’ve got a buddy who has one of those harmonizer gizmos. Used judiciously, as here, it can add to a solo act.

I guess the word “distinctive” could apply….

As long as the place is reputable and has a return policy, you’re only out shipping if they send you a guitar that still thinks it’s a tree. I used to be in the “Never-buy-a-guitar-especially-a-Gibson-without-first-playing-it” camp but the last three guitars I bought (my J-35 and an Epiphone IB’64 Texan from Sweetwater, and a Farida OT-22 from Elderly) were purchased online and all were winners. Last year, I bought an old 12-fret slot-head parlor guitar on Reverb that was advertised as being in great shape. The place had a no-returns policy. As I was living overseas at the time, I had them send the guitar to my main shop, St. Paul Guitar Repair, for some minor work I wanted done, and I’d pick it up when I was back in the U.S. They examined the guitar and told me it needed a ton of work and the cost would far exceed the value of the guitar. I contacted the seller and said I wanted to return the instrument (and listed the problems) and while he disputed the extent of work that needed to be done, he accepted the return and refunded my money.

There’s something to be said about having a guitar neck tailored to your hand….

What?!? That can’t be. Why, people on this very forum said the guitar was ugly AND overpriced. Even your gentle herald opined that the sound clips did nothing for him. The consensus was that Gibson didn’t know what it was doing. So obviously, the guitar could not have sold out. Quod est corporis malum. Unless…. I’m beginning to suspect there is an entire world of Gibson customers/players/collectors out there who (for reasons we can’t fathom) are not part of this forum; indeed, at times I’m tempted to join them. But they must be out there, and it appears they are spending their money on guitars despite our protests. Go figure.

I prefer the V-shaped necks, too. They just feel more comfortable. In the ‘70s, I had a shop in Fort Worth reshape the neck of a plywood-topped lawsuit Takamine (technically, a Cease & Desist Takamine…) into a V shape. It turned out ok, but one has to keep in mind how much wood they have to work with. It’s not going to be like the hefty V necks of old because it starts out thinner. That said, when I had Kevin Schwab of Minneapolis build me a dreadnaught a decade or so ago, he started with a pre-carved StewMac neck and he gave it a soft V shape. It isn’t like a hefty vintage V neck, but it is VERY comfortable to play. If you’re not worried about resale value and you have a builder/repair person you trust, I say do it. Having a guitar shaped to your preferences is pretty nice.

Yes, naming two musicians who have 26 Grammys between them obviously disproves my entire point. My bad.

There is the old saying that a folk musician is someone who schleps $5K worth of gear to a gig that pays $50….

Nice looking rigs, and good luck gigging around there. Should be fun! That said, you’ll be back….

Yeah. I see stories like his (as well as a few shared here over the years) and wonder why I’ve never been able to stumble onto a deal like that.

In a thread dealing with a straightforward topic — are Gibson’s MSRPs outpacing the rate of inflation, and what does it mean for working musicians? — you’ve posted six comments. None deal even remotely with the topic. That’s trolling.

Here’s Stapleton telling Howard Stern (of all people) about his LG-2:

Here’s a video where he discusses what appears to be that LG-2, starting around 5:30. Says it was given to him by Jackson Browne, from Browne’s personal collection:

Yeah, whatever.

Yeah, I read that part of his post, too. So where does it end? Say the producer in question wants the sound of a pre-war Martin. Is Jinder supposed to run out and buy one for the session? I’m sure he’d like to be able to do that, but it’s not a realistic expectation. I’d be interested to know — in the sessions Jinder didn’t get because he had the “wrong” guitar, who wound up replacing him, and what guitar did he/she use?

What guitar (or motorcycle, or anything else) someone “needs” is a matter of what the person can afford — and it always has been. I dare say talented folks like Jinder will always be able to afford a decent guitar, and will make great music with whatever he has.