ksdaddy

Seeing Ted and a pile of Byrdlands reminds me of seeing a used instrument list from Elderly Instruments from 1984 or so. It had listed a black Byrdland formerly owned by Ted for $900. That was about the going rate for a Byrdland at that time.

I believe the 330 was "normal" 24.75 scale BUT the neck joined the body at a lower fret than the 335 family so it might have presented an illusion of being a shorter scale. Having said that, they did make some "long neck" 330s in the later 60s, which may have joined the same way as a 335.

In 1985 when I opened my guitar shop, I was able to buy parts directly from Gibson. I still have the binder catalog with price list. A few month later I was told I could no longer order directly from them, as I was not a Gibson dealer. That was a Henry move. Up to that point, the fact I was a legit music store was good enough.

My favorite amp is a 1973 Ampeg GT-10. Solid state, 10 watt, 8” Jensen. I set all the knobs at halfway and manipulate the volume and tone on the Tele. Every tone is there. Except maybe surf. The reverb isn’t great. On occasion I have plugged a Les Paul into it, turned the volume, bass and treble all the way up and let it scream. I remember doing that 20 years ago and thinking, this is the tone people have paid thousands of dollars to get, and this is a $100 crap amp. Not saying I wouldn’t appreciate and enjoy a Cadillac amp, but when an ugly girlfriend is keeping me happy and sleepy, why jump the fence?

I don’t go along with “harder is better”. Yeah, yeah, I know what I said. Sycamore is softer than most maple but the early Bozeman J200s (in Sycamore aka European Maple) are considered by many to be totally superior to the ones made of Eastern Maple (which is harder). I was speaking with a couple engineers at work about 20 years ago, talking about making saddles from various materials, and they started talking about Young’s Modulus of Elasticity and soon my eyes glazed over. I made a few saddles with various materials and found that while harder materials (I.e. brass or steel) might be more efficient in their transfer of vibrations, it doesn’t mean it’s going to be better. The other end of the spectrum is true too, too soft and things get lost. Think of some Gibsons that had adjustable rosewood saddles. Not saying they were BAD, but once people switched to bone, not many went back. I’d be interested to hear what Gibson has to say about the side crack. I am not taking sides but I just can’t see any company repairing a crack in the side of a 20 year old guitar and calling it a warranty repair. It would be setting a dangerous precedent. If they do fix it for you, great! Happy for ya!

The engineers in my agency have a saying: There are two types of concrete. Concrete that has cracked, and concrete that hasn’t cracked yet.

I built a mandolin with a cedar top and black ash sides n back.

What about on the pots themselves? Bear in mind, the date codes weren’t used until 1947 so you don’t have a 1945 speaker. You have a 1955 speaker. But who’s to say it’s original?

I had one back in the 80s. 1/4” sounds right to me.

I wonder how much of that is the fact it’s Brazilian. I’ve had older Gibsons where the boards stay nice n glossy year after year. I had a ‘96 Herb Ellis that had the most horrible coarse dry feeling board (Indian).

I’ve owned a couple parlor guitars from around 1920 that had oak sides and back. I don’t remember much about them but they did exist.

Some suggest guitar owners overdo it with the oil in general. If I get a guitar and the board seems dry, I will wipe a little on, but I may never oil it again as long as I own it. I don't even think "lemon oil" is anything more than mineral oil with lemon scent. A couple years ago I found a bottle of Snow River Wood Oil. I have no idea what's in it but it's meant for cutting boards. It has no scent and doesn't seem to leave any residue. Maybe it's just mineral oil too, I don't know. But the "lemon oil" leaves some kind of grit and slime I can't quite explain, and this stuff does not. I've got a 1971 LP Deluxe that, seems like every spring, the neck would go wonky, not wanting to stay in tune, I'm not going to pretend to understand the science, but the guitar was miserable for a month or so. That began when I got it in 1997. About 3 years later I wiped a couple very thin coats of boiled linseed oil on the fretboard. Not enough to build up any gloss. It hasn't misbehaved since.

Sometimes I would get a robocall asking me if I was interested in a business loan. If so, press one. Then I would be greeted by Rashneesh, who would ask my name (fake), the name of my business (fake) and if my business income was at least X per month (yes). He would then ask the nature of my business, and I would reply “it’s a specialty division of a dry cleaning chain, picking farts out of old men’s shorts”.

I had one person call my house claiming one of my daughters owed on a payday loan. I hung up, they called back, more insistent. After the 4th call the curse words were flying from both directions. On the fifth call I turned into Apu from the Simpsons, which made our conversation much more exciting. It was like two street vendors arguing in Kolkatta. I ended the conversation with a suggestion he have relations with himself. I believe I had suggested that many times before to no avail. It's amazing how that two word phrase is universal. That must be one of the first phrases they teach at telescammer school. Side note, I have no idea if my daughter had a payday loan. Doesn't matter. Don't strongarm me or mine.

Yep if you answer, you have signaled to them that your number is a working number. And even though they have not scammed you, they now can sell your number as legit.

Typically this is a scam for them to use YOUR cell phone number to set up a Google phone number. In the honest world, Google numbers are used to mask your real number. For example, my daughter has an online business making and selling custom vinyl stickers. Rather than giving out her real phone number, she uses a Google number. You dial that number and it forwards the call to your real phone. Telemarketers are forever getting their numbers blocked so they need a steady supply of Google numbers to use. You GET the Google number by entering a legit phone number, and then Google will send that number a code to verify it’s legitimate. That’s the code they’re trying to get from you. Once they’re done with you (by getting your code), you’ll never hear from them again. I don’t know what legal dangers could be down the road by having your number tied to a telemarketer. I had this happen to me because I didn’t know any better. It was fairly simple to go through Google Voice and with a few clicks reclaim my number, unencumbered, and with no more connection to the scammer.

I remember when Tony Soprano switched from a Suburban to an Escalade. I thought, “what kind of big shot do you think YOU are?” But I decided to keep my mouth shut.

Didn’t he smash his Gibson on stage a couple years ago? Trashed a guitar and didn’t even get another 15 minutes.

They were in the news lately and my comment on another site: Green Day…. Green Day…. Oh yeah, I remember now! My daughters listened to them about 20 years ago, along with Nelly and Eminem. I thought they’d be busy working the Carnival Cruise ships by now.

I don’t know if Nashville is union. Kalamazoo was. I’ve heard that’s part of the reason why they left.

Agreed. Thats one thing that has angered me all my life. If the speed limit is 40, then it should be 40 for everyone.

Fortunately there are nine billion Gibson boxes out there. I just sold my ‘47 L-5 and will replace it. Not sure with what. Maybe a newer L-5 or a Johnny Smith.

Wow, someone was asleep. Personally, if I liked the guitar, I’d keep it.

You’re not missing anything. When I was at the Gibson Garage in October I asked one of the sales reps if there were any plans to bring back the 175 (as one example). His short answer was no. I believe we touched on the possibility of an L-5 (as yet another example) being built on a custom order basis, but no plans for big hollowbodies in regular production.

They told me that video would only be shown in Germany. I was young, stupid and needed the money.