Twang Gang

Wonder if any of you saw this story a day or so ago about four guys that stowed away on the rudder of a cargo ship. They thought the ship was going to Europe, but 14 days later they ended up in Brazil. Hard to believe anyone could survive, supposedly they ran out of food and water after 10 days and survived drinking sea water (doesn't seem possible). Tied themselves to the rudder so they wouldn't fall in the ocean while sleeping. Here's the craziest part, after they were rescued in Brazil, two of them sought asylum there - but the other two returned to Nigeria!! Really brings into question the sanity of some people or the validity of what the news media reports. Four Nigerians rescued in Brazil spent 14 days on ship’s rudder (nbcnews.com)

He was best known for the PeeWee Herman character, but early on in his career I saw him do some other impressions (including a very convincing Elvis) that were really good.

It wouldn't be worth it for me. A Standard Les Paul does everything I want it to do - I can go to a music store and buy one today and while some may consider it expensive it would be 1/5th the price of a M2M. They cost a ton and take about a year to get - I don't have the patience.

When I moved here 10 years ago my new Power Company offered a package of free LED bulbs in a few different sizes and strengths. I got them and put a few in around the house. There is one in the living room that I turn on every night while watching TV - it goes on a little before dark and stays on until I go to bed (probably 5 hours average per evening). Ten years and I haven't changed that bulb yet - still going strong so my experience is that they last a long time.

Funny how we experienced different things during our working days. I was in sales at just about every job I can recall, and getting along with co-workers and socializing with them was essential for success. Of course getting along and socializing with customers was even more important. Entertaining them, taking them to sporting events or the theatre what have you. I made many friends at work and socialized with them many times even after I switched jobs and didn't work with them anymore. Some jobs I got because I was friends with the owner or boss before I took the job. So you don't have to dislike co-workers and if you can be friendly with them it can make the work more enjoyable.

Ok, I remember when you bought this and sorry it must have fallen out of favor, but we all move on and I know you use a 335 a lot. The model year is very confusing and I'm surprised that the buyer didn't question it. Your ad copy says it's a 2018 model made in early 2019, on the back of the headstock it says that it is a 2019 model, and the serial number would date it as built in 2013???? Anyway, glad to hear the Sweetwater exchange was pretty good.

Congrats, that is a beauty. I have an original with the full nitro finish from a couple years ago and have had to give it the naptha treatment several times on the back of the neck. Hope it sounds as good as it looks - enjoy.

I will never understand why anyone would spend thousands of dollars on an R9 reissue if they didn't like the way the pickup sound???

Stories vary a lot by company and how things came about. My father worked for Culligan Zeolite company when the war started. The army needed silica gel to pack metal parts being shipped overseas so they wouldn't rust and corrode. Someone from the army called the owner of Culligan and asked if they could make silica gel. Mr. Culligan said "sure we can". So the army said mix up a sample, get it down here to Washington, and if it passes our tests we will award you a large contract to make it. Mr. Culligan got off the phone, went into the lab and asked the chemist "what is silica gel?" They mixed up a batch by hand, drying it in pie plates on the railing of the back stairs in the sun - they won the contract and went into large scale production. They didn't do it because the government mandated it, or out of some great sense of patriotism but because with the war on business was bad and this was a way to stay in business. They did a good job with the silica gel and eventually were awarded a contract to make fuse bodies for bombs. Culligan was also awarded the Army/Navy E - it was not uncommon. Look at the list of companies that received them, thousands. Almost everyone was involved in the war effort or the production of food. Gibson didn't do anything outstanding that everyone else wasn't doing.

I went to these a few years ago and never worry about a faulty cable: Xvive U2 Digital Wireless Guitar System - Metallic Red | Sweetwater

Well it's one thing to get a 20% discount with a coupon the retailer gives you - there is no haggling there. I'm talking about walking into a store wanting to buy a $4000 guitar and offering $3200 for it - not going to happen.

Lars, you are dreaming if you think you can get a retailer to knock 20% of the MSRP. Those days are long gone.

I have two electric guitars and one of them has a Richlite board so I do speak from experience with it.

Poor old Richlite. Everyone knocks it, but for absolutely no good reason. Oh it plays well, and is stable, and looks good, and will never warp or twist, but people say they hate it, and won't ever buy a guitar that uses it. If there has ever been a case of blind prejudice against something, Richlite has to be the classic example. Maybe we should go back to gravel and dirt roads - that asphalt and concrete is awfully smooth and durable, terrible, just horrible.

No, no one can tell you. Gibson has changed their serial number system so many times over the years, they don't even know what they mean anymore.

Hopefully this link will work. Got this in an email from StewMac this morning I found it cool to watch if you're into woodworking. Complete build from start to finish by luthier in Colorado. About 2 hours long in total. Making an Acoustic Guitar - StewMac

I have two Hummingbirds, neither of which is supposed to be a recreation of a 60s model, they are just modern Bozeman versions. One is maple body, the other is hog. Neither sounds like either of these videos. I would agree with Anne that these sound a little harsh, both of mine are more mellow. In the second video the player bends down right at the beginning and appears to turn on a knob on something, so who knows what sort of recording trickery is going on? Nice playing on both vids, but I'd have to hear the guitars in person to know what they really sound like.

Glad you found a new level of sound with the Adi top. The best sounding new guitar I ever played had an Adi top and I wanted one ever since, but they were always a little out of my price range. I never thought of them as harsh sounding though. I don't think Gibson's Adi is different than any other makers, baked or not. Each piece of top wood is different and you found one that sounds great to you. So put down the rake and shovel and start playing!!

Doesn't look too good to me either. Body shape is a little off (not enough waistline), and I've never seen a Gibson with that neck joint. No sticker, no serial number probably not real. But if it plays and sounds good, and is a good price might not be a bad guitar, just don't think it's a real Gibson.

Weird that Mary's nephew would go to a pawn shop with it. As the auction showed, he blew a quick $20K by not selling it himself. Oh well, locked away now in the Gibson vault.

I've said it before - I can't understand why a guitar played by a famous musician commands extra money. I liked VanHalen's work as much as the next person, but you could spend a million on these guitars and you're not going to sound like Eddie did.

Never saw one like that, but it pretty clearly has a USB type of port in the lower left side of your photo, so I would guess you plug it in to that to connect to the rest of the electronics.

I gigged a Twin Reverb for close to 20 years before replacing the tubes. More recently I bought a Rivera amp and gigged it for about 6 or 7 years before replacing the tubes, so I think the 3 year estimated is a little short. Overall I don't think the tube situation matters much anymore. The advances in signal processing for guitar is making amps of all kinds, digital or tube, obsolete. Anyone who is hauling a big heavy tube amp around to play bars and such is behind the curve and wasting a lot of effort.

Those Gibson model number codes can be a little tricky to figure out, since you found one with almost the same model number I think you know what it is. The ad from Rainbow guitars doesn't mention anything about it being a 59 reissue so that may be wishful thinking. Some buckle rash or stand damage on the back should knock a couple hundred off the price, but if it play wells and sounds good I wouldn't let it stop me from buying the guitar. I also don't see any evidence of it being a custom shop guitar. Again the ad from Rainbow says it was a limited edition, but doesn't mention custom shop. The seller you are dealing with may be mistaken or is trying to embellish it a little by saying it's a '59 reissue Custom Shop when it is neither of those things. Back when Memphis was operating and making all the ES guitars a Custom Shop model was built in Memphis and then sent to the Nashville Custom Shop to be finished off with some fancy split parallelogram or block fret markers, and a split diamond headstock marker (see photo below). The one you are looking at just has dot markers and a plain headstock so I don't think it was a Custom Shop model. So knock a little off for it not being a '59 reissue, not Custom Shop, and the damage to the back and you might have a good deal on a nice 335.

I don't know anything about LP Axcess wiring, but I have had this same experience in a club one time. The grounding of the building was not proper, and we were getting a two way radio signal from a trucking company nearby coming through the PA with lots of static and noise. Our equipment worked fine at other venues, it was just the electrical environment in that building. So it may not be your guitar at all. Take your guitar 20 miles away and plug it in and see if it works properly, then you will know it is not the guitar.