[Buying from Bozeman Factory, and tours- possible?]

I've read here that Music Villa in Bozeman is as close to a Factory Outlet as you might get.  People who have gone for Forum Organized FactoryTours seemed to gather there and many made purchases of exclusive Gibson acoustics while there.  Don't know if those  Forum Member Tours are still organized - they weren't 'sponsored' by Gibson, or anyone afaik.  G'Luck.

[How does one add an avatar image to their profile?]

1 minute ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

It was so funny when he left home and on the first day he made it as far as the end of the fence.

He stole that  from me:  First time I ran away from home.  

[How does one add an avatar image to their profile?]

On 4/19/2024 at 4:50 PM, sparquelito said:

So, because I'm a giver and all, I made you your own custom avatar. 

I call it, "fortyearspickn". 

Sparky,   Holy crap!   . It looks like I left a 'y' out of my signoname.  Wonder if that will be easier to fix than setting up an avatar?   BTW, I don't pick my own ears. I have people that do that for me.  A professional.   "But I'm only a Proctologist."  I think I heard him say. 

[How does one add an avatar image to their profile?]

On 4/19/2024 at 8:39 PM, Sgt. Pepper said:

Steve Martin’s character in the Jerk was born a poor black child. It killed me when he found his special purpose.

Classic movie - great line was   "The new phone book is here!  The new phone book is here!''  He thought he'd reached fame and fortune because his name was in print.  I don't think they bother making phone books anymore.  Last one we received was only an inch thick and plastered with ads for lawyers. Even on the cover. 

[Musically, What are you working on?]

1 hour ago, DanvillRob said:

40....you're speaking my language!     I've heard songs all my life, that suddenly catch my attention.

I think it's because songs take us back to times and places and events from out past.....and as you acquire more wisdom, they mean so much more.

I put an arrangement together of "The City Of New Orleans" some years ago..... Steve Goodman songs are tougher than they appear!

Yeah. They are more sophisticated for want of a better word. Another artist gone too soon. 

[Something a teacher has said that you remember to this day.]

17 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

I went to Pioneer High School in San Jose California. It’s a public school, one day my 11th grade history teacher said - everything in the Bible happened and it was real - huh, does the Principal know your saying this. This is not Catholic School. 

Pioneer high school  ?    Sounds like it needed a name change as well as a teacher change.  Equal Opportunity Offender. 

[Musically, What are you working on?]

"The City of New Orleans".     I wouldn't call it 'work, because I enjoy it.  And I do it when I feel like it. No rush.   Funny how a song you've 'heard a million times' suddenly attracts your attention. I assume it's not because the song changed, but because my musical  taste/appreciation  has.    Last one I learned was from the musical "Hamilton".  I have no idea what inspired me to tackle that one!   "You'll Be Back".       

My problem (one of them) is that I've taken a vacay on keeping up on the playlist of songs I had nailed - for a couple of years.  And they're starting to get fuzzy.  I need to change my attitude and not let little things like cutting the grass get in the way.   Since I have a small, captive audience of a wife and 3 dogs - there is no real  'fan appreciation' factor. 

[How does one add an avatar image to their profile?]

I was born in a log cabin  I helped my father build.   As you can see from my avatar,  I've got nothing else to contribute here.  Had a nice avatar, but it disappeared during some system update. 

[The Dynamics of Pick Control]

After a panoramic dental radiologic scan of my head, my dentist told me I had unusually large sinuses.  Approximately 3 decades ago,  it just occurred to me he may actually have been suggesting what took up the rest of the space in my head was unusually small.  

[Healing with a new guitar]

I am glad you are coming out of the fog.  That is the only way I can describe the mental anguish - it is real but you can't touch it. Can't escape it - it surrounds you, covers you.    BUT it will lift and the sun will shine again.  Absolutely.  You have to realize that you can make it happen though.   And your wife would want you to.  Just like she'd want you to smile every time you pick up that JP.   

[Howdy Geetar Heads]

In my life, I have had too many instances of  inexplicable events - that all point to something "supernatural"  - for me to believe there is not something, somewhere for us when we die.  Out of respect for others' beliefs, I just deleted some thoughts I penned -  which travelled past Feelings, through Philosophy and stood on the threshold of 'religion'.  I can only offer the inescapable fact that everyone here has experienced the pain of loss of a loved one at some time in their lives, and we share that real, but invisible bond with both of you, Duane and John. 

[Howdy Geetar Heads]

I use to frown upon it when I did something or said something just like my Dad would - when he was alive.   Now, that he has moved on - even after 15 years, I smile when I do something or say something like he use to . 

[The Dynamics of Pick Control]

I use 3 different picks -  but one of them is the Dunlop Tortex  I think it's  .7 and yellow.    I put a type of 'medical bandage tape. on the bottom half for drop.  It's that clear tape you can rip sections off easily:  3M 'Transpore'.  Stays stuck and lasts forever.

[Kalamazoo And Gibson]

Great article - lots of stuff I didn't know.  Which there had at least been a top of the hat to Henry J.  He also 'saved' Gibson.   But, yes, he got caught up in the 'diversify' fad and went into home electronics instead of focusing on musical instruments.  

[Epiphone Inspired By Gibson Banner J-45]

False Equivalency , Slim 

[Epiphone Inspired By Gibson Banner J-45]

Yeah. Not having OSHA, Fidh and Wildlife, EEOC, etc breathing down your necks lets you focus on quality.  
“new hi tech equipment “?  The label says “Handcrafted”.     And who designed and bought that equipment?   “Chen Bo”. Or Gibson?  
 

12 hours ago, 'Scales said:

 must be frustrating for Chinese producers of anything intended for international consumption - there they are with state of the art facilities and the cash to do whatever, and they are expected to make whatever they produce based on it being cheap, cheap, and cheap - oh, and better make it of a lesser quality too because that's expected by the consumer.

"hey boss, with this new hi-tech equipment we can make the best (fill blank) in the world!"

"sorry, Chen Bo, this is for western markets - please just use the cheap materials and program the robots to include annoying defects. Yeah I know, I know....look, its what they expect"

 

[To Leave Something Behind]

GGumbino =  Wowsers!  Thanks for Rowe's take on Vincent Black Lightning.  "Powerful" as a chainsaw at a poetry reading !  

[Epiphone Inspired By Gibson Banner J-45]

I would think it would be perfect for that.  Avoiding situations where you might damage your 'high end' J45, but bringing one that feels and sounds almost identical, down to the headstock shape and model designation.  Comes with a hardshell case, where many IBGs don't.  I assume, with a thermally aged red spruce top - these are made in Japan where the quality is higher, as opposed to China.  If you have a need for and can afford a 'backup' guitar, that is much more than a 'beater' - this is what I'd go for.   

[Tone Is In The Guard]

I've got an amp with a volume dial that goes from 1 all the way up to 11.  It is  much louder than those that only go 1 -  10.   

[Hummingbird limits]

I've found that  if I play my j45 exclusively for several weeks, when I pick up my H'Bird tv - it does sound ...different.  My aural memory is comparing it to the j45, and screaming - THAT'S not what we're expecting in here (between my ears).  So, I have to play it for several days to re-program my brain into recognizing that 'not all guitars sound like the last one you heard'.   Imagine if you played a 12 stringer every day for a year and then sat down with a j45.  Non Compis Mentis. "not of sound mind".    Give your new H'Bird time to get broken in. And remember - it's an acquired taste.  Like Irish Whisky.  It was designed to be different - IE  to 'sound' different.   I think sometimes we return perfectly great guitars within the return policy window because our egos tell us  'You screwed up, it doesn't sound right." Buyers remorse.   Sometimes we just mover them on after letting them sit in their cases for a couple of years.   Instead, we should put our other guitars in their cases and give the newbie center stage and plenty of air time. 

[NCAA Elite 8]

23 hours ago, RBSinTo said:

Sheepdog1969,

Thanks, but no thanks.

The game bores me to tears, and I have absolutely no interest in it at any level: NCAA or NBA.

RBSinTo

I guess I appreciate sports where it seems there is a semblance of tactics and strategy.   Throwing the ball back and forth until one of you gets a clear shot at shooting at the basket is all I see happening.   Maybe because I've never had an interest in spending the time required to understand the fine points of the game.  My father loved to watch it on TV after he retired. 

[Cammo Warning?]

Nope.  It's because 'attic'  is too close to the protagonist "Atticus Finch"  in the Pulitzer prize winning novel  "To Kill a Mockingbird" , which has been banned in some school districts. 

[Pickguard swap: step one]

We use to have several threads, spanning a couple of years' time, arguing ....er, I mean weight the pros and cons, of whether and how much of the rosette should be covered by the p/g.   At the time, if I recall, the Mother Ship was cranking out new gits that had them mostly covered, and some with slightly off radiuses.   I think we can take credit for getting that problem fixed.  And the glue drop pandemic at the turn of the century.     FWIW -  I think the thin fire-strip guards are going to catch on too...  But they need to be around 80-20 - mostly stripe with only a little see-through.   Sort of like 'more cowbell'.   Engraved p/g s are nice to look at - but I'm always leery of wearing off the panzer paint. 

[Used guitar market bubble bursting?]

For $400,  I'd buy it just to make him wonder.  

[I need help identifying my old Gibson]

11 hours ago, rct said:

But everything was in black and white back then, so, you know, I miss them days.

rct

True Dat.    Our son (now in his 40s) asked us, back in the 80s, when he realized many of the movies and TV shows from our era were in Black & White,   if the entire world was black and white and it had only recently been 'colorized'.    Never occurred to him that it was only the recording devices that were at fault.   He really got confused later when a teacher told him that dogs can't see color.