AnneS

Powerful imagery here, Russ: a dad getting cough syrup for a sick daughter late at night and trying to get through the greeting card aisle as all the conflicted women search for a last-minute card that can never express their reality. You wrangled a complicated thing into a deceptively simple song- very fine craftsmanship there! Thanks for posting!

My hitting was good enough, but mostly, it was the arm. Only the first two stanzas are straight-up autobiographical; I have no sons or granddaughter. But…two of my brothers raised 5 daughters between them, and they have told me their dads still talk about my arm… 😋 David, check the link for a couple of lyrical tweaks I made. Whatcha think? (Tomorrow I’ll try to re-record with those changes to see if they work…)

I appreciate this, David. I am actually having more trouble with “equipment” and “jerseys” (the latter better than “uniforms, which I ditched early on) for similar reasons. I am still looking for better options that convey “more than” just the glove/ ball/cap of the old days vs all the crap required in current days. Wish I could find a set of “one thing stands for all the things” words for that line, but no luck so far. Though “insurance” is a sing-able word that falls nicely on the beat, your point is well-taken, and I’ll definitely have another look here, too, and see if I can’t smooth these lines a bit to boost—but not sacrifice—the theme. Thank you— and let me know if your word- smithing turns up any suggestions! This is very helpful. 👍🏻

I love mine, which is maple. Is the one you’re thinking/not thinking about also maple, I forget? Anyway, I’m recovering from a couple of frozen shoulders (a 3-4 year recovery process), so I know something about your concern. I let a J45 go and brought in an L00 to get my hog fix. Somehow, the jumbo body is always something I can maneuver around, but I found the J45 much harder to deal with while sitting. Keep us posted!

Whatever happened to the J100 you were toying with?

I like the TC Electric Polytune, but I also like the Snarks and haven’t had issues with any of them. If I recall, you could buy pocketfuls of Snarks for the price of the Polytune. Then you’d have some redundancy, as well as lumpy pockets (if you’re into that look…) 😁

Something sparked this morning after listening to Roger’s great cover of The Cape and then reading a Verlon Thompson FB post with a youtube link to a song he co-wrote a long time about daring to dream. (Not lost on me, of course, is the whole Guy/Verlon connection…) It may get some tweaking, but I like the gist of what’s here, so…I’m trusting my cape and putting the first draft out there. (Iphone, new strings on the J100, and a wee bit of vocal troubles and all.) Dream Cycle https://song.space/3w2b6x

Fabulous take, sir! I really enjoyed this. I love it when a truly great song finds its way to a worthy raconteur such as yourself. Thanks for sharing, Roger…

Nice, David—enjoyed the vibe.

Knuckle-headed deer notwithstanding…😉

They’ll each get a soon-to-be-released “Sal Signature Model J22.5”

So I’ve had the pleasure of playing a ‘46 LG-2 this week (per another post), and I have played as many 40s/50s Gibsons as I could at the various guitar shows and such. Some better than others; a few that were particularly sweet. This one? It has the “it” factor for me—something special to my ear. I could try to describe it, but suffice to say—nothing has felt so good in my hands. Like it plays me, instead of vice-versa…

Nice!! A tough one, alright, but you pulled it out.

Thanks for the listens, all—I think I’ll keep it! 😉

The bravery of all those who fight against tyranny cannot be questioned, of course. Ever. The song, I think, speaks only to a creeping disillusionment that grows when patriotic fervor is engendered for its own sake and stifles deeper inquiry into and understanding of the real sacrifices of war. There are noble purposes for war and there are really ugly purposes for war. I grew up in a place and time where we were given to assume (erroneously, I think) all the wars were noble. Knowing now what I didn’t know then…

Dave, thanks for pulling the pics in! You can’t help but think a reset will be required at some point, but for now, it’s playing true up the neck and I tried hard but failed to make it buzz. He’s not looking to move it along, but when it passes to his daughter, my friend and I will have a little chat… Good point about the option of putting the old bridge back on after the reset—didn’t think of that. A fun slice of Sunday, for sure—thanks, all!

Snapped some pics but could only upload to Dropbox, and I don’t know if (or how) I can make them appear here. Try this link… https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ftdyo1r9qcorrwa/AADEHV9OelW3KNJMVaGBLbz0a?dl=0 I do not see a FON (though my eyes tried hard), so thanks for the info, ZW, that it was common not to have one.

Pics to come later today, but fun story: My TX friend and her 93-yo dad—who made his living as a church music director and who plays piano and guitar only by ear—are visiting this week. I’d been told awhile ago that he had an old Gibson in storage, so I urged them to bring it along for a look-see (after trying and failing to at least get pictures), and they did. He said he bought it used in 1957 for $25, although, when playing with his various bands, he just used a big ol’ Yamaha and only ever played the Gibson for himself. Size, x-brace, center strip=LG-2, and the script logo w/o banner makes me think 1946, maybe ‘47? In the 70s (he thinks), he had a guy “work” on it, but original pieces are still with the guitar-crumbled tuner buttons, fret wire, saddle and bridge plate, and some other bits I haven’t looked at yet. The saddle and bridge plate look in fine shape, though, so I don’t know why they were replaced. Were these screwed on, originally? Clearly, the holes are there, so maybe those pearl dots on early LG2 bridges actually covered screw heads? It has some god-awful-looking tuners on it now, but somehow, even with 10yo strings, he said it was pretty much in tune when they got it out of climate-controlled storage last week. He thought the crazing was cracks in the wood and apparently has always worried about that. Also, he wanted me to know how careful HE’S always been with it and that all the many dings and scratches were on it when he got it. He told me he was confounded by the all the weird scratches on the back. And after I explained and demonstrated buckle/shirt-button rash, his eyes lit up, picturing the life the guitar lived in the decade before it came to his loving hands. It musta been played hard, which delights him to think of. Anyway, we’ll take it down to my local shop for new strings this week and a once-over. And I’ll try to post some pics today, including of the FON if I can find it on, I assume, the neck block. (He said it used to have a label but doesn’t remember what happened to it.) Oh, almost forgot—it sounds purely beautiful, even with 10yo strings… I’ll keep you posted, and please chime in if any of my conclusions, above, are off.

After more than a year of radio silence, I finally had a song come to me today. It’s not earthshaking or anything, but it feels true enough, and I’m just glad it showed up. It really has been a long a$$ drought. You know what to do (or not!)—it’s just a first capture, but I thought I’d share it right out of the gate. (It’s the j100 with thousand-year-old strings.) https://song.space/3cshqq

Do it!

Ahhh…there’s Mr. Smooth!! Thanks, Buc—enjoyed that.

David posted another strumming clip to FB this morning (search Acoustic Corner Black Mountain). On his website, I see it’s listed for 9k—😳 Still haven’t checked it out, but still hope to. Speaking of… the Bee Three show’s in town next weekend. Not in the market myself, but it can be fun to wander around, if the electric wannabes don’t drive me out. (Dunno why everything has to be tried out at 11, in cavernous expo room at that.) Anyone here going?

I’ll be 65 this year, but I’ll go another few years, if my job of 20 yrs will have me (which seems likely). Most of me is ready now, but I gotta keep up income and benefits for a while longer. Fortunately, I’m home-based, I love my job, and I get lots of PTO, so… It’s fun, reading all these tales…

Very nice!! And what is the deal with your upside-down guitar? How do you chord that thing (and why have I never noticed this)!? 🙃

Really fine rendition, Rob—enjoyed this!