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TommyK

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Everything posted by TommyK

  1. Yeah, I got your message, Scott. I know you've had a rough year. I just wanted to let you know we cared about you. Don't know if prayer is your thing, but it does help. Also, don't shut out your girls to your troubles. They're going through the same thing too. It helps to commiserate.

  2. If you can get the bridge blank cheap enough, that should work.
  3. That is curious. That is not the way they were usually assembled. Possibly a factory fix? Possibly someone else's fix? Good luck anyway.
  4. Yup, classic break. however, on the right side of the bottom picture it appears that part of the neck block has split and broken loose. Clean out the old glue, pull the block back into position, then re-glue the joint. Make sure the block doesn't shift while the glue dries. Then after the glue dries, put in your reinforcement block. Simply re-gluing is not good enough. There simply is not enough glue joint to hold the neck with strings at pitch. Looks like you have a good start. Frets.com's Knox gelatin hide glue works best. While hide glue is available, I've never been able to find it in less than 25# bags. Don't use the 'Hide Glue' that is sold as a liquid in a bottle. It does not have the strength. Whatever they put in it to keep it liquid at room temperature weakens it. I tried it and it didn't work.
  5. My FT145SB came with a paper 'shim' between the neck and neck block. I removed it during the repair process and somewhere along the line I forgot to re-install it and lost it. No ill effects though. Good luck with the fix. I just mixed me up another batch of that Knox gelatin hide glue to fix up a ukulele with a separated neck. Works like a charm.
  6. The adjustable saddle holder has two screw in it, one on each end. There would be washers between the screw and saddle holder. The saddle slips into the holder. Then, the whole affair slips into the slot in the bridge. By turning the screw in, clockwise, you raise the saddle. By turning the screw out you lower the saddle. Couldn't be simpler. Without strings, the saddle will just fall out if you tip the guitar over. Since you are replacing the bridge, some folks opt to do away with the adjustable feature. It's up to you. btw, if yours is a 12 string, it is probably a FT160. The ink on those blue labels is water soluble and easily smudged.
  7. It's all good Josh. I knew you were adding humor to the conversation.

  8. First, establish a regular sleep schedule. Do not deviate from this on the weekends. Avoid caffeinated drinks like the plague, coffee, tea, most sodas, and those gawd awful 'energy' drinks, chocolate in any form. Once you've allowed your body to purge the caffeine from your system, approx one week, re-introduce it slowly. No caffeine/chocolate after 5:00 pm. Most brown sodas have caffeine, except most root beers, including diet. Read the label. If it is caffeine free, then you're good. Most clear sodas are de-caff as well. Mountain Dew is one of the highest sources of caffeine, second only to Jolt... is that still on the market? Do not eat any closer than 3 hours before bed time. Avoid fried foods after lunch. Sometimes a small glass of warm milk just before retiring can actually help induce sleep, but nothing else. Do not play video games within one hour of retiring. NO COMPUTERS OR TELEVISIONS in the bedroom. Reading after I am in bed helps make me sleepy. If you are yawning, your body is in need of sleep, so go to bed. I've found that if I begin to yawn, but ignore my body and stay up. After about an hour I quit yawning. At this point, I find it harder to go to sleep.
  9. It is a FT-160 Epiphone, 12 string manufactured during the "Norlin Years". It has the tan "Norlin, Lincolnwood" label. She is the sister to my FT145SB - Texan, 6 string. "Texan" was a name borrowed from a more famous FT79 "Texan" of Beatles fame. These are two totally different guitars. I do not know if the FT79 was ever made as a 12. The blue label on mine places its' manufacture between '72 and '77. This puts it built some time during of after 1977. In 1979 / 1980 time frame, the FT models were replaced by the PR models. This places your FT somewhere between '77 and '80. No reliable listing of serial numbers/date of manufacture list during the Norlin years has ever come to light, so this is as close as it gets. Value? junk value, to $250 depending on condition, location. How is the action? Is the neck block secure. Read this thread to get a > > > Brief History of Gibson/Epiphone < < < These guitars, while not very valuable, have tone that some, like myself, love. It is similar to the FT165. Just, probably, with a bit less bling. Here is a link that might interest you. > > > 1974 Epiphone Catalog < < < It predates your Epiphone, but the specs are essentially the same.
  10. It is supposed to be a signature building of Seattle, Washington. Seattle Space Needle I had a manager once who called it "Fall Forward Faster." Sometimes you got to take the bull by the horns, thrown the spaghetti against the wall, then see what sticks. General Patton used it to great effect during the Second World War. Keep pushing, keep attacking, don't give your enemy time to dig in. Fire Bird? Explorere? populuxe.... Yeah, I'd say so.
  11. It is a style that is usually called either googie or populuxe. You are correct, it was in response to the interest, back in the 50's and 60's, in the space race and anything like it. Think Seattle Space Needle, Old Holiday Inn signs, LAX airport, The Jetsons and the like. I doubt Presley had the artful talent to create such a faddish design.
  12. I think it more correctly belongs to Jet Screamer: And yes I agree it is one of the ugliest things to bear a Gibson logo. Ranks right up there with the Pontiac Aztec.
  13. It was not uncommon for 70's - 90's for the makers of Epiphones to borrow model names from historic Epiphones and apply them to the newer made models. Sometimes these models were similar to their earlier name sakes, sometimes not. I have no knowledge of 1930's models, but "Apollo" could be accurate. This site: http://home.provide.net/~cfh/epiphone.html has some historical information which may help you. While this guy does appear knowledgeable, he does state that Epiphone was owned at one time by Conn, which is not accurate. I couldn't find many model names from the 30's, but there is a serial number sequence matrix which may help you date this guitar.
  14. Done cleaned it up.

  15. I have to agree with Buc. Styrofoam doesn't have any affinity for water. So, to answer your question, the styrofoam shouldn't dry out your guitar any faster than any other material.
  16. I know, I know. I was fighting the urge to call him Dewayne Wayne and the spelling button stuck. Hah!

  17. Until I saw this D-12 do a turn about, I always thought the 'Epi' was a bargain basement Epiphone. Not the case. This appears to be an upscale model with a beautiful 'Zippered' back that brings back memories of Jadzia Dax. Sweet! As far as value... whatever someone is willing to pay for it. Assuming that this is akin to an upscale Epiphone FT or even a PR model,... possibly $200 - $300. Depending on condition of it and the case.
  18. Hey Dude. This is the exactly correct place to post this. In 1979, Norlin, the then owner of Gibson, Epiphone and other brands, moved Epiphone production from Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA to Japan. We see some "Epi" branded models showing up here from time to time. I don't know a lot about them, other than they are another Epiphone derivative. Thanks for showing a clear picture of the label. This type of label, larger and squarer than the earlier blue label, A label of this type was used on later Japanese, Matsumoku made 'Epiphones'. Epiphone Marketing operations moved to Lincolnwood, Illinois, USA in about 1975. So we may deduce from this that this 'Epi' label places this Taiwanese guitar in the mid to late 1970's Where are you and this Epi? The label you show appears to have a hump in the middle of it. This usually means the label is affixed over an vertical brace which holds the splice of a two piece back. If you could zoom out we could see if this guitar has a two piece back. Or, can we see a picture of the back. If this has a two piece back, this would indicate it is a more expensive model. Most cheaper guitars have a one piece back without the vertical brace. Could you get us a couple more detail pictures? Read the "A Brief Epiphone History" thread I just created. There is a notation at the 1983 time frame that some Epiphones are being made in Taiwan and Indonesia. He is not real specific as to whether this is the beginning of production in the South Pacific. This could put the beginning of the 'Epi' line as late as 1983. In 1985 or 1986, the Gibson Guitar Corp. we know today was formed. This MIGHT indicate the end of this brand. For all intents and purposes, it appears to be a re-branded Epiphone FT145. While it is possible yours is a 1979 / 1981 year of manufacture, I'm guessing it is newer than that. That is just a hunch, based on the tuners and label. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say no older than 1975 to mid-1980s. Could you get us a picture of the guitar's back?
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