sparquelito

It's raining like a ***** here, so I backed the serial-killer van out of the garage a bit, and spent a few hours cleaning up an old bicycle I bought from a neighbor lady the other day. I paid her $40 for it, which is probably $20 more than it's worth, but I had a variety of parts leftover from some 'fix up some bikes for kid's Christmas' charity thing I had been involved with a few years ago. Cleaned her up, oiled her down, and rubbed some wax into everything. Applied chain lube, adjusted the chain and derailleurs, put new handgrips on the handlebars, hung a small carry-bag from the down-tube, and put a new saddle on as well. Can wait to give her a spin. But again, it's raining like a ***** here. So there's that. 😐

Three of us from the band and one guest singer at a large hangar Christmas party, last December. I'm playing my Luna Bamboo Grand Auditorium and Stacey his working his trusted Hohner five string bass. 🙂

They all very likely contributed to the scene, culture, and nature of our very being as musicians, after all. If you recognize some or all of them, you are a better man than I. 🤨

I dropped her off at Tom Shepherd's guitar shop in downtown Huntsville today. He's going to a proper job of getting the fret ends ultra-smooth, silky, and snag-free. If I did the job myself I would botch it, and be really sorry. 🙂

Looks like a very nice Firebird, SteveFord. I lusted after a silver mist Firebird I last year, and waited too late to pull the trigger. You made the right move at the right time, I reckon. 🙂

Mihcmac, You got me inspired, sir. I picked up an Ibanez RGA32 today (10 years old, and as dusty and neglected as any guitar I have ever seen) from a pawnshop near here, for a hundred bucks. I hope to have as much fun (and success) as you have in restoring and upgrading her. She's got some Ibanez versions of EMG active pickups in it (LoZ3's they are called). The neck is really nice, just needs a lot of fret polishing and some love. I picked up some black switch tips to replace the missing pickup selector switch tip. Fun times!! 😝

I rescued a Korean-made Ibanez SA120 from a local pawn shop last year, cleaned it up, waxed it down, restrung it, and absolutely loved it. Got into a bind with space, and needed a bit of cash, so I ended up selling it to Guitar Center, for a nice profit (which is rare). Kind of wishing I had kept it. 😞

I wrote this bit a few years ago, and posted here on the Gibson Forums five years ago. A bit of fiction about having met Jim Morrison in Paris in 1970. Considering I would have been eleven years old at the time, it's a pretty funny piece.

I'm just glad that it plays nicely, stays in tune, and sounds great. Because it's one rough-looking rascal, for sure. I guess I never need to worry about being precious with it. I once bought a really nice Fender Aerodyne Jazz Bass. Shiny ebony with a beautiful edge binding. It was so pretty that I worried about getting smudges and fingerprints on it. Next thing I knew, I sold it to a guy who really coveted it, and who promised to beat it all to hell. I think it's kind of liberating, not worrying about framming it into things, and putting a scuff on it. 😐

I learned while playing gigs over the past few years that it's awesome to fall into the right (standard, correct) groove with your regular band-mates, and that practice does make a difference. The more jobs you play together, the better and better your chemistry, vocal harmonies, and timing get. But it's when you play with guest guitarists and replacement musicians that you really learn a lot, and step up your game. It's when you are out of your element that you switch off the auto-pilot, listen to what the new guy is playing, and find the accompaniment that works best with that player. It may not be the right groove or riffs for your usual set-up, but you learn to adapt to somebody new, and it makes for better musicianship. Can you just chug along with the exact right rhythm, and make it sound like the original LP? Sure, but if the guest musician is doing exactly that, there's not much point in doubling that thing. Time for tasty fills, soft arpeggios, shimmering voicings, and complimentary soundscapes. Making it up on the fly can be rewarding, satisfying, and a whole lot of fun. And the audience picks up on that, and they really dig it. 🙂

So, I sold the Rok Axe. I got what I wanted for it. I took the Craiglist ad down. If future readers want to see it, I have attached a screen shot below. 🙂

The original factory soft case/gig bag came with it. I must say, I like it a lot better than the type that was issued in 2018 and 2019. 🙂

And here she is with her brother, also a 2017 S Series Gibson. Two happy siblings in my house now!! 🙂

Well, I went and looked at the 2017 Les Paul Custom Studio, and it was pretty beat up. A previous owner left it bone-stock, but it had some wear, tear, and scuffs. The guy or gal was an aggressive player, surely. I talked them down a bit, just because of the relic'ed appearance, satisfied after checking it out thoroughly. The sound, tones, neck, playability, and feel are all fantastic. Fretboard is flat and beautiful, though the rosewood was in need of some oiling. I paid $625 for her, and got a new set of Primo Slinky's and a small jug of F-ONE Oil for free. This model retailed at an MSRP of $899 back in 2017, so I'm pretty happy with the deal. She cleaned up real nice, and I let two heavy applications of the oil soak into the fingerboard before I wiped her down and buffed her down with wax. Mounted the Primo Slinky's, (I top-wrapped, just because that's how she was set up earlier with the old strings, and she played and sounded fantastic), stretched them in, tuned her up, and she is a rock and roll beast. Love it. And at 7 lbs, 3 ounces, she's the lightest Les Paul I've ever owned. 🙂

I'm rarely depressed, but you can call any time, old friend. (256) 585-8602 cell 🙂

I picked it up used last year, at the request of a coworker of mine. Her young son wanted to learn guitar, and he wanted a 'black guitar' for playing 'loud stuff'. He has since taken a lesson or two, and the instructor said rather quickly, "This kid is left-handed. Get him a lefty guitar, and we'll start over." It took me a while, but I found a real nice (wicked, black) SGR lefty electric, went over there the other day, and traded back for this Rok Axe. It cleaned up really nicely, and I'm actually impressed with how nice the single pickup sounds, and how smooth the fret ends are. It's a really good neck, and a fabulous beginner's guitar. For a right-handed kid. 🤨

I'm driving across town later today to check out/play a 2017 Gibson Les Paul 'Custom Studio'. It has many features that I like, a LOT. The natural rough finish, whiskey nitro stain, the double-slug pickups, the pickup selector switch down low, and best of all, 1 Volume, 1 Tone control. I love the idea of two knobs instead of four, and repositioning the switch allows me to pluck, pick and strum up the neck without negotiating the pickup selector switch. And I have never been fond of the trapezoid inlays and Les Paul pick guard, so that's a plus. Anybody have any experience with this model?

I may need to change my Craigslist sales approach. 😐 https://huntsville.craigslist.org/msg/d/madison-rok-axe-3-4-sized-electric/7207603258.html

You're supposed to change the strings? 🤨

I love the video and the music equally. GREAT stuff! So good!! 🙂

My usual signal chain, in order, on the pedal board, with the frequency of use at any given live gig: Line 6 wireless, typically. I'm not adverse to guitar cords though. Tuner (Often) Compressor (20% of the time) Talk Box (Two or three songs, max) Distortion ( 50% of the time) Phase Shifter (10% of the time) Mel 9 ( One or two songs, max) Reverb is in the amp. (Amps) 🙂

And then there's Bill Bartlett. 🙂

Some of my friend from the woods. They love bird seed and saltine cracker, apparently. 🙂

I have a small Kobalt chainsaw, powered by a LiO battery. This thing is a hoss. It really cuts, and I don't just mean limbs and branches. I have brought down many full-sized pine trees with it. 🙂