ksdaddy

Is there an optimal distance between strings and pick-ups that optimizes tone quality and/or acoustic output for electric guitars ? No. Too subjective. Do different pic-ups, on differing guitars, demand different string to pick-up spacing to achieve optimum audio clarity? Yes. But also subjective. As an audio guy at heart, I have been trained to FIRST, collect sound in it's cleanest, purist form, as originally produced from it's source. Only then, can said pure "sound" be manipulated to create a desired variation, via electronic/digital manipulation, unique amplification characteristics, and/or other ambient differences specifically exploited to modify sound. Les Paul liked low impedance pickups for that same reason. Simply put, how close should I adjust my pick-ups to my strings? 100% impossible to answer. You will eventually try a different brand or gauge of string, use different amplifiers, a different PICK, your taste in music may shift, your mood will shift... all of these things will affect your previously determined 'perfect setup".

Oops, I misspoke. It's not a D-1, it's a DM. Again, not sure what the back and sides are. They look like mahogany but could be some weird tree they got a good deal on. I think the material might have even changed during it's lifespan.

One of my favorite acoustics ever is a ‘98 Martin D-1. No idea what it’s made of. I don’t think the body is HPL, it looks like it might be mahogany and I’m sure it’s laminated. Solid spruce top of unknown forest, “whatever wood we had” fretboard and bridge. Sounds wonderful and weighs nothing. I don’t care for the flat finish but that’s more “feel” than looks. I feel like I’m holding a guitar that has been sanded for a topcoat of lacquer. I’m not crunchy or a tree hugger but I have respect for companies that at least attempt to use sustainable materials. I have an old ‘98 Seagull with a cedar top, laminated cherry b&s, birch (?) neck. God only knows what the board is. Butt ugly and plain but it does the job. I would rather see (as an example) Gibson keeping the J200 exactly as it is and pull back production to match availability. If they want to introduce a more sustainable version of the J200, call it something else. It’s all in the presentation.

I had a similar situation. A guy wanted the amp I was selling and we talked about meeting at sort-of the midway point. He would drive 120 miles, me 170. For a $1500 amp, sure. He didn't text me until 3 pm. I said I wasn't willing to do a 6 hour round trip because I don't like driving after dark. At 5 pm he texted me and said he'd still be in the agreed location (having dinner with friends) and he would be there until 7 pm. I calmly replied that it was a three hour drive. A few days ago a young man who is an on-call contractor happened to be about 40 miles from me and offered me $1100 cash. Done deal. At the same time I delivered a junk reel to reel tape recorder to a guy in a wheel chair in the same town for the agreed upon price of $5. He likes to tinker apparently. The young man who bought the amp had an encyclopedic knowledge of amps. He knew he was getting a deal and we chuckled about it as I folded the bills into my pocket. I also chuckled to myself, knowing I had paid $200 for it a few months ago. Everybody wins.

Anytime I’ve seen a three screw truss rod cover on a Gibson acoustic, it was made between 1973 and 1975.

The Gibson staff seldom, if ever, participate in the forums. You could call Customer Service or connect through their website.

I listened to him quite a bit in the mid 80s. It was a breath of fresh air amongst the synthesizers.

I don’t know the specifics but I will echo this sentiment. I had a 1934 L-7 with a wide, soft vee neck and it was very comfortable. The top had been refinished black and the center seam was split wide. I never heard it properly.

I’ve had many dozens. I kept telling myself it would get better up the food chain. Worked my way up to an L-5. Doesn’t make me want to play. The acid test. Lots of illusions have fallen off the conveyor belt in the past few years.

Gibson removed it 3 or 4 years ago.

In 1988 I facilitated the sale of a 1956 Caribbean convertible, white over teal. The woman who bought it new waxed nostalgic about driving up and down the Pacific Coast Highway with her young doctor boyfriend. She knew the car "all too well" and was quick to correct some poor grease monkey who missed a zerk fitting under that car (she knew the location of each). The upholstery was reversible.... the seat panels could flip and you could switch between cloth and vinyl if I recall. The woman became a phys ed instructor and spent the later part of her career up here in northern Maine. I sold the car to a guy in Connecticut on her behalf, met the guy with the transport company (spray tan, wrap around sunglasses on top of his head, golf shirt, cargo shorts), jacked it up, aired it up, got it to roll so we could pull it onto his carrier... and by way of 'thank you', the CT guy mailed me a plastic punch bowl. I can't make this up. No good deed goes unpunished.

I stopped drinking coffee in early July. I haven't used my Albuterol since. And I've cut my beta blockers in half. I do drink tea, but not a lot. 2 cups a day maybe.

The blonde fretboard tells me 1960 or later. Large tortoise markers too.

All but the rectifier tube are labeled Ampeg in this amp. Which is puzzling, because we all would assume it had been retubed, possibly many times, but I'm having a hard time believing this particular guy went to the length to acquire Ampeg branded tubes (which are actually made by Sylvania in this case). But hey.... (shrugs)

Sometimes I think they ask questions like that so they have more of a basis to return an item. If I were to be dumb enough to say “this amp is all original”, they could easily point out one capacitor had been replaced (for example). After close to 9000 transactions on eBay, I am careful with my wording.

I have a 1966 Ampeg B-15 on Reverb. A guy asked questions and he got answers.

Spam removed and Nikgibson has been banned for spam.

I use one called B&G. It was free, it works. Probably better ones out there but meh.

I bought a 1955 ES-295 at a pawn shop for $100. Granted, the finish had been stripped off it, but it was mostly original (no LP trapeze, had a regular 175 type setup). Bought a 1950 Conn 28M alto sax at a yard sale for $25. Bought it for my daughter, who hated it because it was old and musty. When she got to college we sold it for $1700 to help with books. No comparison at all but today I bought a Yamaha Clavinova CLP-560 digital piano at a school auction for $20. The wires to the sustain pedal are ripped out, one key is broken, and I don't think one speaker is working but it will make me a good project.

I was 16 in 1976. The tv movie "Helter Skelter" brought the The Beatles to the fore, as did the release of their double album "Rock n Roll Music" and the release of "Got To Get You Into My Life" as a single 10 years after it had been recorded. We didn't have the internet to spread false rumors but I was convinced they would get back together. Not sure where I heard it, or if I invented it in my own mind. It was short lived.

I’ve noticed more than one “hook” like that over the years. Like the drum break in Tommy Roe’s Sweet Pea. The electronic hand clapping of 1981 (Private Eyes, Betty Davis Eyes), stuff like that. It’s always struck me as a cheap add-on, and many times not even consciously planned with malice aforethought, it just appeared, like some of the disco hi-hats in some Eagles songs. Yes, Elvis died when he left 706 Union Avenue. I will stand there one day, likely just about one year from today. Been planning and saving. Hooks…. Always fun to count how many times Freddy Cannon hollers “woooo!” (He still sounds the same in 2022 btw). I’ve gone through many eras in my life when I’ve bounced back and forth between the Stones and Beatles. Hot and cold for both. I will state that I survived the period of 1979-81 by the grace of High Tide and Green Grass and Abbey Road.

And I had no intention of coming across like that, and for that I do apologize. Sometimes as a mod I feel like I can't please anyone ANY of the time, so I tend to want to cut people off if I feel like I'm being second guessed at something I put a lot of thought into. I overreacted and after a day or two I reached out to Sarge, and here we are. I don't know the man, wouldn't recognize him if he walked up and bit my nose off, but I figured I'd reach out and see if we could work together. The ban hammer is too big. I don't like it.

Are the volume and tone pots original?

I saw him. 1976 I think. I thought it was a skit. I thought it was Frank Zappa. Found the album shortly thereafter at a small music store in Orono, ME that had a ridiculous amount of non-Billboard albums.

It was dealt with outside of the forum and no further explanation is needed or forthcoming.