Lars68

My “music career” will most likely never go beyond my couch and my music room. So my high point is of the more modest variety, It is, as an adult, learning the skills needed to play decent guitar, write songs of my own, and most importantly, but oh such a hard fought battle, learning to sing these songs well enough to do them justice. I'm almost there, and it's a great feeling knowing that these skills will bring me joy for the rest of my life. Lars

Hey, I remember this one from a few years back. I liked it then, and I like it now. How come you're no longer using the Edwina mic? Easier with a USB mic, perhaps? Lars

I agree, your pickguard looks so much better than on the early Ledgends. I believe for those the guard was placed on the bare wood, but masked when sprayed, unlike the originals from the 40's which had the burst sprayed right on top of the guards. The early Legend guard are so contrasting pale looking in the see-through areas of the guards. With the new way, with the guard over the finish, you won't risk a pickguard crack either. Not all things was better way back when... Lars

Did you have to consume the insides of the box before finishing the projects, and might that be the reason the cutout is asymmetrical??? Lars

A tip to improve the look of the scratch that has worked super for me. Go to a toy store, find some kids' pens in as big an assortment of colors as possible. Make sure they are waterbased, not permanent marker pens, which should be stated clearly on the package. That's why you shoud go to a kids' store! Match the color of the pens you use as closely to the color of the burst as possible. You might have to use more than one color, since the scratch goes from the dark part of the burst into the brighter part. Apply the color richly, than wipe off with a damp rag. The waterbased color has a great tendency to find its way into the scratch to help hide it. I have used this technique on a few scratches on my guitars, and it has worked very, very well. When using waterbased colors you won't hurt the finish. An alchohol based permanent marker, on the other hand, will melt the finish. So make sure you have the right type of pens. Lars

To me, the terms holy grail and benchmark are sort of contradictory when it comes to Gibson acoustics. Benchmark signals a high level of accomplishment, but at the same time a ”standard” against which to compare. Holy grail, on the other hand, signals something great but very, very hard to obtain. When it comes to Martin, I think the two terms meet in the prewar Brazilian rosewood D-28s. This guitar is both Martin's ”standard”, as well as their holy grail. One might argue that the prewar D-28 is the benchmark, while the prewar D-45 is the holy grail, but I think D-28 holds up well enough. When it comes to Gibson, it becomes trickier. I would argue that the Banner J-45 would be the benchmark standard, but not necessarily the holy grail guitar. That could be a 30's AJ, or as in my case, a Rosewood Banner SJ. I'm sure for some it would be a 30's J-200... Just an opinion...a fun discussion for sure... Lars

Beautiful! I'm jealous of your great abilities. Lars

Name your two favorite guitarists, acoustic or electric, and tell us a little bit about why you picked them. Don't pick just one, and don't pick three or more. Two is the number. I will give it a go. Neil Yong: Very recognisable, personal, style, on both acoustic and electric. Love his bass thumb, with pull-offs and hammer-ons for acoustic. Driving and melodic. I find his gritty electric tone very cool, yet always putting melody first. Neil's playing is not about showing off; it's all about what helps the song. Johhny Marr: The most melodic player I'm familiar with. Like Neil, he has a sound all his own. Almost never plays guitar solos, in the traditional guitar hero sense, instead it is all about creating a mood for the song. He plays guitar that sounds like a complete orchestra. I'm pretty sure most of you know about Neil Young. Not so sure about Johhny Marr. His music is not par for the course here on the forum. If you don't know about him, here is a little taste: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2VozP2JzueI Lars

Is that the type same as D'darrios nickel bronze? If so, I like them a lot. I put them on my old J-45, and it makes for a very, very, dry and crisp tone. Perfect for recording. Lars

I have no experience with it, but a site I read frequently liked it a lot. https://www.headfonia.com/audioquest-cobalt-review/ Lars

Headphones used to be kind of a “speciality” item in the audio industry, but that has changed recently. Today both young and old spend a lot of time listening to music, podcasts, films, news etc on tablets and phones. So headphones and personal audio as an industry has grown rapidly and more and more money has been put into the development of great headphones. The quality of sound per dollar spent with good headphones is so much more compared to floor speakers. So for someone interested in sound quality you can get so much more in headphones for your money. I use them all the time, when enjoying music, watching films, when working, when out jogging etc. It's a great second supplementary hobby for a guitar nerd. Gibson guitars will always be number one, though. For you that ordered the Koss, I hope you like them, and please post your impression once you've tried them. Lars

I think you would be able to use them for that, but I can give it a try and see what happens. I'll report back. I can say for sure, though, that they would be just fine to do some basic mixing with. They are very natural sounding. Lars Edit: I gave recording guitar with metronome a try and it was fine for me. The headphones do leak sound, but the clicks were over-powered by the guitar in the recording. So again, for me in a practice situation this would do just fine. However, it depends on the volume level you set the metronome, the sensitivity and distance of your mic, and also the volume level of your playing. Note also, that I had no tracks playing back through the headphones. I just had the clicks. I would use them for practicing, but not for serious multi-track recordings, but I don't think that was what you had in mind, or?

I enjoy spending your money. Hope you like them! 😀 The Koss are not better than the Grados I know we both also have, but they are much closer than the price difference would indicate. Also, they are lighter and more convenient when out and about. Fact is, I think the Koss are so good that they make many other headphones seem like overkill and overpriced. Lars

Thanks! I'll try to remove the outer part of the pad. That ought to work. Lars

I really like the melody and the sentiment of the lyrics, especially this bit: ”Now I'm singing a song I could not sing,playing something I could not play.Cuz I did the things I ain't done,back many days before today.“ I can really relate to that. The production sounds great too. I dig the bouncy bass track, but I feel there are elements contradicting the rhythm in places. I can't really say what instrument it is, but would guess percussion that don't land where my ears expect them. Lars