sparquelito

I didn't grow up with Iron Maiden, so I have no history with them. I must say though, this is a brilliant song. Fantastic!! 😘

Oh man, that's really nice!! I love it, and love that you came back to visit and post. You are one of the old guard. Please keep coming back, good sir. 🙂

I have never had any interest in traveling in one, but my wife is enamored with the notion of renting one when next we wish to travel any appreciable distance. Her idea is to carry the dogs with us so that they won't have to be kenneled, and so that we won't miss them while we are away. Yeah. We're crazy dog people. 😗

Yeah, I'm planning on using an L-shaped guitar cable jack in that thing, to keep it low profile., as I'm a very energetic and percussive player. I looked around; Gibson made four Melody Maker reissues/tributes/whatever you call them, from 2011 to 2013. Traditional Les Paul shaped, SG, like the one I ordered, Explorer shaped., and, a Flying V model. This SG beastie really appeals to me for some reason. 😗

So I ordered a used (2011-ish) Gibson Melody Maker off of Reverb the other evening. My wife hasn't asked why I have sold off two electric guitars lately, and am poised to sell an electric bass guitar. But I'm sure she knows that I'm just making room for a new acquisition. I'm very excited. I have seen a variety of videos of Brian Ray playing a similar (white with black trim) SG Junior, and this one appeals to me in a similar fashion. Given that I'm fond of less knobs, (my Les Paul Custom Studio and my Firebird Zero only have two apiece) this one just might be perfect for me. 😬 A full review and photos to come, after she arrives. Fingers crossed that she comes undamaged. The seller is using UPS, which is not my favorite shipper. 😞

I have found that Sweetwater continues to display the sales/specs pages many of the models of guitars that they no long have in stock. Other than that, it's hit-or-miss all across the interwebs. You can always PM me with questions regarding a specific Epiphone model. I keep a paid subscription to Fjestad's Blue Book, and they list the basic specifications of each of the lines of guitars. Here's an example of the kind of detail that they offer. (It's not as good as a factory spec sheet, but it's good information.) 😬

This band is definitely growing on me. 🙂

Ich würde es einfach den österreichischen blau's nennen. 😑

Very nice!! 🙂

Now this is an interesting development!! 🙂

My mom's parents came over on the boat from England (her mum) and Austria-Hungary (her dad). My dad's people immigrated here from Ireland and Scotland. I'm a regular Heinz 57 mongrel, I reckon. 🤔

Could we see some photos of the front of the guitar, the back of the guitar, and of both sides of the headstock? I'm curious about the Limited Edition run of 34 units aspect of this situation. 😉

Mads1980, I am happy to hear that the local authorized dealer has been responsive, and that they are going to help you with this vexing problem. On a different note, I applaud you for wading in and presenting the problem to this Gibson web forum. You are miles away from Bozeman, and since Gibson corporate wasn't being especially responsive, this was a reasonable alternative for you to fish for information and to at least vent about the problem. I for one think that your command of the English typed language is quite good. I myself speak a little bit of the German language, as I married into a German family, and lived there on and off for quite a few years. But I cannot imagine that I would have the confidence to drop myself into a Duesenberg guitar web forum with such a problem, and with your quiet charm and aplomb. Good on you mate. I wish you the best of luck, and please let us know how things resolve, re; the pickguard. 🙂

I just (re) learned that when I am walking thru a darkened room barefoot, if there is a hard furniture corner, I am going to fram into it and destroy my little toe. Every damned time. 😬

Great post, dem00n. Glad to hear that you are making out well, and enjoying great success doing something that you love. Keep on coming back and posting. This place benefits from your company and your wonderful attitudes and perspectives. 🙂

It's not costume. Our OP Raz Ben David meant to type 'Custom'. I think he wishes to buy that guitar, but doesn't care for any of the finishes that are available. Can he order a custom one in a white finish? That's the real issue. I'm pretty sure the answer is no. 😑

I was at a party, and struck up a conversation with a fellow who came there with some old friends of mine. My whiskey drink had gone dry, and I started to go to the bar and get myself another. I asked my new friend if he wanted one as well. He said, "No, I have a medical condition. Any time I drink alcohol, I break out in handcuffs." 😞

My favorite, from the 1990's. You can get lost in it. My Amazon parrot, Jackson, used to squawk and sing along to the birds in this song. 🙂

He's got huge hands, that Joe Namath. I guess that helps in gripping the football for a tight spiral. 😑

Cap and pot values for hotrails. Hmmmmm…… “From here, we have must walk.” My guide removed the key from the jeep, after locking the steering wheel. He raised the bonnet, lifted the distributor cap off, and secured it in his nap sack. Ngo spoke. “You canned be too sure.” He grinned. I secured my backpack, and checked my water. “You reckon three hours walk, and then we make it to the crash site?” Ngo nodded. “But we no mess aroun’. Want to make it back to bản Nhung and the river, before it get dark.” We started walking westward, and I reassured my guide. “I just want to get some photos and collect whatever artifacts I can find, and then we’ll be done.” Ngo led the way across an overgrown soccer field on the edge of the town, and along the embankment of a plowed manioc field. It was easy going, and I was grateful for the low overcast and agreeable temperatures. Fifty three years earlier, my grandfather piloted his RF-8 photo reconnaissance jet to his untimely end here in Vietnam, and I was on my way to see his final resting place. I had followed rumors, sightings, and speculation for many years, and this seemed like the end of the journey. I wanted to present my evidence to the Central Identification Lab on Oahu, and let them take it from there. Ngo spoke over his shoulder. “We go up into the hills soon, and muss take the hồ trails. They cut and maintain by the nông dân. Run opium between here and Laos. We not go into Laos.” “Hồtrails. What’s that?” “Hồ trails. Means very old. Been use since six hunred years. Since Nhà Hồ Dynasty, you say.” “Ah.” I nodded absently. It was mind-blowing to me to walk in the footsteps of farmers, smugglers, and merchants many centuries long gone. The going began to get steep, and I labored a bit. My guided kept a steady pace, and I found him to be an intuitive and skilled pace-setter. After about an hour, Ngo stopped in his tracks. He held up his right hand. I stopped, and endeavored to breathe shallowly. The trees and foliage here seemed alive with insect noises and the sounds of furtive animals, though I had not spotted so much as a monkey or a bird. Slowly, they appeared. One to the front of us, and one each to our left and right. Slight men, dressed in dark clothing and sturdy leather sandals. Ngo uttered, “Những tên cướp. Maybe just thương gia though. Keep quiet now.” My guide spoke loudly suddenly. I had studied the Vietnamese language for over two years, but I understood not a word he spoke. Ngo spoke uncharacteristically forceful and strong. The apparent leader of the group shouted back. He rose his chest, and seemed to grow in stature as he spoke. Ngo said, in English, “They don’t want us on their Hồ trails. They say we go back now.” I exclaimed, “NO! We’ve gone to far to turn back now. See if they’ll let us pay a tariff or fine. We must get to the crash site, and today.” Ngo spoke again, and there followed a rapid-fire exchange of perplexing communication. Finally, my guide grinned and turned. “This man say he wants your hat. And the cook pot hang from your pack.” “My Gibson guitars ballcap? Tell him it is very precious to me. It is valued at twenty US Dollars.” The communication resumed, and the overall volume of the formerly-boisterous exchange had gone down a bit. “He say you give him the cap and the pot, and we can walk his Hồ trails. That is price, that is his value for our passage this day.” I grumbled a bit, and made a show of removing the ballcap, forming it just so, and tying a bandanna around my head as a replacement. I unhooked the cook pot from the carabiner, and hesitated just a moment. “Ngo, how likely is it that we will encounter more bands of Những tên cướp today?” “Hard to say. Still couple miles to go.” “Well, we are going to run out of trading materials if this happens again and again. Here, I have an idea!” I dug into my pack, and brought out some of my contingency stash. I held up three packs of Marlboro cigarettes. Filter tips. “Tell them we want them to escort us to the crash site, and then all the way back to your jeep. They can have the cap, the pot, and these smokes, but we want safe passage, unmolested all the way there and back! And there will three more packs of Marlboros for them when we get back safe.” Ngo began speaking in earnest, and the response seemed to be harmonious and peaceable. He turned, “They say yes, they do it. Now we must start walking. I don’t want come home in the dark!” I handed over the goods, and our journey resumed. The three men turned out to be jovial company, and they laughed and joked with my guide the entire way. We made it to the crash site in a little over an hour and a half, as it turned out. I got my photos, founds a few bits of evidence worth providing to the authorities at CILHI over in Hawaii, and, in the end, had a satisfying and rewarding adventure. So, now in retrospect, I feel qualified to answer Rabs’ original question. The cap and pot values for Hồtrails is exactly one Gibson ballcap, one cook pot, and six packs of Marlboros (in the red and white box). Thank you for your patience and understanding. I do like to answer completely and accurate, if I am going to answer at all. 😔

Oh, okay. I had to google that. Haven't watched television in quite a few years. Old Joe is looking, uh.... old. 😗

Congratulations! A wonderful day, and some great guitars and amps there, good sir. I don't get the Joe Namath reference, sadly. 😐

I have been thinking of mounting some sound-dampening panels in my music room. Granted, the floor is carpeted, and there are a LOT of guitars and pieces of art on the walls as it is. But I could do a better job of reducing the slap-back and quirky echoes. It has always been a great practice place, but a less-than-ideal recording studio. 😐

I apologize to anyone I offended with my opinions on gold hardware. We all have our own passions and preferences, and I was wrong to express mine in such a cavalier and thoughtless fashion. I will endeavor to choose my words more carefully in the future, and to avoid posting comments that are overtly negative. 😑

Grumpy old guys hate blingy guitars with gold trim? Who knew? 😑