sparquelito

I am a die-hard Sweetwater fan. You cannot go wrong there. Guitar Center has been hit or miss, and I won't order anything of substance from them. I certainly won't ever order a guitar from them. My local GC is top notch, or at least it was. It's been closed so long with this Chinese flu thing going on, I'm not sure if they will ever open up again. That Dark Knight is a bad *** guitar, and you deserve a perfect one, (back to the original point). Sweetwater will do right by you. 🙂

WHO WAS YOUR FIRST Me: Styx, opening for KISS, in December of 1975 Unbelievably good. A pivotal, formative experience for me, and my garage band-mates. WHAT WAS THE WEIRDEST Me: Not weird exactly, but memorable in odd ways. Foghat, January 1977. The small pack of us, garage band kids all, were at the foot of the stage, and watching the roadies finishing up with the sound check. I recall clearly one of the crew picking up and tuning guitars, and then giving them a stage volume, full-distortion sound check. He picked up a shiny purple Telecaster (with no pick guard) that Lonesome Dave played later, and he struck a number of crisp, distorted power-chords. I recall thinking, "Holy CRAP, you can get those kinds of sounds out of a Fender Telecaster?" I foolishly thought, up until that point, that only humbuckers could make great, distorted rock and roll sounds. Lonesome Dave played Gibsons Juniors and DC's later on throughout the show, but I do recall that he played that Tele on at least one song. At one point during the set-up, one of my garage band's best buddies, Mike, was examining some of the gear in front of us on stage. There was a neat line of mic cables there, and some sort of connector box or jumper. Mike was touching it, and lifting it to examine the underside. (He was an electronics fanatic, and worked at Radio Shack.) A roadie walked over, squatted down, and asked Mike, "Are you looking to see just how bad you can **** that up??" We all shrank and turned red. The roadie set everything right, stood up, dusted off his hands, and walked away. NAME THE FIRST ONE YOU NAILED Me: Close tie, I'm Eighteen, by Alice Cooper or Hot Blooded by Foreigner. 😑

I had this classmate when I was back in flight school who was really sharp and on top of things. David was prior-service, and had been a crew chief in the Michigan National Guard. He knew things, and he came to the training with years of stick time. He had been our class academic leader throughout the earlier phases of flight training, but then had troubles when it came to getting to solo the training helicopter, keeping up in the Instrument phase, and then achieving the grades necessary to stay on top of the class. A small group of us were having a study session together at one point, in my barracks room. The former class leader was feeling a bit down. "Well, it looks like Jim will end up being Honor Graduate. I tried, but there's no way I'm ever going to pass him in the home stretch." I asked, "Does it really matter all that much, Dave? Isn't graduating enough, especially as hard as it's been? Me, I'll be glad to just graduate." He shrugged, "I guess. It's just that I had my heart set on being the Honor Graduate, and going back home to the facility in Michigan, and having my crew back there proud of me." Denny, one of the other prior-service fellows, spoke up, "Dave, let me show you something, " and pulled a set of Army Aviator wings out of his breast pocket. "See this?" He held the shiny silver badge up to the light, and displayed the front side and the back. "I keep these on me at all times, for good luck." "Sparky," he ordered, "You have your dad's old blood wings in your locker. Bring 'em out." I did as he asked, and displayed them, front and back to the small group. Denny then remarked, "You see, Dave? My wings, his wings, and your Army Aviator wings. They are the same. When they pin them on our chest on graduation day, they will all be the same." Dave looked perplexed, and said, "I don't get your point." Denny continued, "When you become an Army Aviator, they don't stamp, 'Honor Graduate' on the back of one guy's wings, and they don't stamp, '2nd Place' or '15th Place' on the back of anyone else's. After flight school, we're all gonna be Army Aviators, the wings will be our license to continue to learn, your team back home will be proud of you, and nobody's going to care about where you were in your class standings." Dave smiled and laughed, "Okay, I get it." The Certificate Of Authenticity; it's a really nice thing to have. And an original sales receipt. All the factory case candy, from 1991. That'd be lovely. But you almost never see it. People lose those things. They play the guitar, and they pack and move, and life goes on. Years later, they go to sell the guitar, and the CoA rarely comes up. I'm gonna shut up now. 😬

I really have enough guitars and amps, though the craving for more will never go away. It's odd that, sometimes, you replace one addiction with another, and then later another. Alice Cooper has famously said that he traded one addiction for another; He had to give up alcohol in order to save his life, and he fell immediately into daily golfing. He had always been a scratch golfer, and even during some of his worst years drinking heavily, he could shoot a pretty good game. Then, when he came out of detox and rehab for the very last time, he doubled down on his golf game, and has never looked back. He plays every day, and plans his music tours and concerts with the logistics of hitting a local golf course, prior to the show, as his number one priority. When I was in my 20's and 30's, my addiction was the fairer sex. I did my job well, and always had at least one acoustic and one electric, but my appetite for affairs with naughty girls was just this side of obsession. Even as the realization that untangling from the entanglements was invariable more work than getting into those sexual relationships in the first place, it didn't slow me down one bit. Many years later, I happily settled down and became content and satisfied with the love of just one woman, and we've been married now for over 21 years. And so then the guitar obsession began. Dozens of guitars and amps have come and gone, and dozens more remain. And I really can't be trusted to walk into a music store (ostensibly for a pack of strings, or a cable) or a pawn shop (to check out guns or tools) and not walk out with another guitar. So what's next after all the gloom and doom? I don't know. Much like Alice, I struggle with the drink. Maybe I should quit again, this time for good. I'm no good at golf. Maybe this Silver Mist Limited Edition Firebird I that I've been lusting after will finally fall into my arms and give me a run for my money, no pun intended. 🤔

Kramer4lyfe, The short answer, in my opinion, is no, you don't need to drop fifteen hundred bones on a new amp to get the sounds and tone you desire. Just sitting back soaking in the description of your quandary and your quest, I can say that I can relate. I have bought and sold a lot of guitar amplifiers over the past ten years, and currently own 14 of the doggone things. (I know, I know, I should probably sell some of them. ) Some background information, and I'll gladly cop to being verbose here; * I'm a band leader, and I gig with my band, though we aren't full-time professional bar band musicians. We all have steady day jobs, and the band is a creative outlet for all of us, and we love to play for live audiences. * I view any given guitar amp as fitting into one of two categories 1. Sounds great clean, has an onboard spring reverb, and will accommodate my guitar pedals and effects (the complicated "amp serving as a PA" approach) or 2. Sounds great clean and distorted, has an onboard spring reverb, and I can play an entire show with it using no pedals at all (the simple "plug and play" approach) Whichever amps I lug to a gig will be viewed in that light. The set up and logistics are slightly different for every job, and sometimes I am setting up for my band and another band to play on my gear, in alternating sets. There's no one size fits all solution in live music, or if there is, I have never encountered it. * Of my guitar amps, I can name three that would fit the bill for your requirements, they are of the simple plug and play variety, and none of them cost all that much: - Well used 1998 Marshall Valvestate VS265 – 130 watt (each speaker drives 65 watts) 2x12 guitar amp with a tube preamp and a solid state power amp. Bought it used in 2018 from a pair of addicts living off of Douglas Road in Huntsville. I paid their asking price of $300, and it’s worth every bit of that. Three-button foot switch, which allows you to select the Clean channel or either of two Overdrive channels. The footswitch also triggers the Chorus, though the bottom-mounted spring reverb is controlled from the amp face. This thing is a BEAST, and it really kicks ***. - 1992 Tubeworks TD-752 Tube Driver - 100 watt, 1x12 combo amp, great, loud, clear, and with awesome crunch and sustain. Really funky old spring reverb, very splashy and surf-like. I bought it from on old high school friend when her husband was looking to divest a lot of old gear due to health issues. They shipped it from the Gulf Coast of Florida, and the old beastie traveled well. $250 used. - 2017 Vox AC-15VR- 15 watt 1x12 amp with a tube pre-amp and a digital 'valve reactor' circuit power amp to deliver the Vox magic. Not a spring reverb, but rather a digital replication. Always wanted a 15-watt Vox, and needed to fill a void in my life while my big, heavy Fender twin was out for repair. Awesome amplifier, and louder than you might expect. She offers me pure, crystal clear Celestion speaker magic. I paid $400 brand new at a local guitar shop, over in Decatur. They go used for $300 or so now. If you live near Houston, you have dozens of music stores and pawn shops nearby, and all I can recommend is that you go and try out EVERTHING you can get your hands on. The trick is bringing your favorite Kramer guitar and cable with you, and finding some store owners willing to let you relax and spend time cranking up a whole lot of their amplifiers, in that quest for the tones you desire. You're bringing money to their store, so they shouldn't complain. Good luck!! 🙂

I had a matching Gibson one time. I never really understood what that was all about. Sold it to some cat who smoked. 😑

David Bowie is the one that I listen to a lot who has passed on. And George Harrison too, I guess. Most of my other musical 'go-to' listens are still alive. 😑

It was a fairly productive, virus-free practice this afternoon. All mic stands were rubbed down with alcohol, and I had a little bit of alcohol myself. My neighbor David came over and filled in on bass, allowing Stacey to move over to drums. Good times. 🙂

I have been cleaning and organizing the garage this morning. Though drummer Joe can't make it, we three remaining band members are going to have a nice band practice this afternoon, with six feet+ distance between alcohol-sanitized mic stands. Guitar, bass, three voices. The drum kit is set up, just in case any of us want to switch to drums. (We're all pretty good drummers, truth be told.) It's a gorgeous day, and I'm itching to make a joyous noise. I'll post photos later, once I get it all set up. :)

If there is any positive to this, it's directly in line with the spirit and letter of Brad's original posting. So many companies, corporations, governments, and schools send people hither and yon on airliners, attending meetings, interviews, and conferences. The reality is that 70% of all that air travel is completely unnecessary. Commercial airliners are smelly, over-crowded, cramped tubes of sheet metal, barely holding on to every disparate part, (and all the rude, socially-jacked up, over-medicated passengers), before eventual failure and a fiery death for every occupant aboard. Who needs that? We really can get more done via teleconferencing, video-teleconferencing, and simple phone calls. Okay, I get it. There are practical reasons for the airlines. You have grand kids in Springfield, and you reside in Berlin. You are going to have to fly if you want to see them. You will roll the dice, and you will probably come and go safely, in order to see them. But all this other business travel? Most of it is obsolete. Let's scale it back just a bit. The market will adapt and adjust. 😶

I plan on piling every bit of it up in an enormous heap and soaking it all in gasoline. When they come to get me and take me to the assisted living joint, I'm putting a lit match to it. Kind of like Gandhi, only without the nobility and the being shot by a zealot. 😌

TO WRAP OR NOT TO WRAP (a limerick) To wrap or not to wrap? This thread has stirred up quite a flap Some say that it's the big mac-daddy mo-shizzle Others believe it's a fad that will some day fizzle I'm just gonna play my guitar and shut my yap fin 😬

Warren, This web forum is frequented by a lot of fellows who can tell a fake from the Real McCoy. It's common practice for visitors from around the world to come here and ask for advice. If you are able to post photos of the guitar (provided by the seller, or nicked from a Craigslist advert), you will get a lot of quality opinions in very short order. Welcome aboard, by the way. I have a 1996 Studio that was a beast. Loved that guitar! 🙂

Jay, I am with you on this one. There is no better motivation to play and practice than having to get ready for an upcoming gig. Without a tangible goal in sight, you are left to your own devices, and then household distractions grow exponentially. 😗

I tele-worked today, and in between work tasks on the computer, I accomplished: * Some tending of the garden. Pruning back invading vines. Watering the tomato and pepper plants. * I ran the Boxer puppy to and from the Veterinarian. She got stung by a bee, and had welts raise up on her. Eighty bucks for a Benadryl shot. I'm in the wrong business. * I did some dusting, clean-up, and bracket-tightening on a set of Alesis digital drums that I keep in the garage. (It's our performance kit. The other one stays in the music room, for recording and for practices.) It was fun kicking out some jams and thwapping the snare out there in the garage after all was said and done. The passing exercise walkers had to wonder what the hell I was doing in there. * Oh, yeah, I also Tele-worked. I mean, I jammed out in the music room on my green Danny Matthews Telecaster for a while. Love that guitar. Okay, I'm gonna shut up now. 😞

Wait, Skywalker. Are you a large gentleman? Because the body on that Fender Lead III (and Lead II) is comparatively small. You don't want to look like a 1970's Leslie West, hunkered over a small Christmas cowboy guitar. 😐

Well then. Here we are. 🙂 https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LeadP3OW--fender-player-lead-iii-olympic-white

One of my favorite jokes, ever. ---- As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper's cemetery in the Nova Scotia back country. As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and, being a typical man, I didn't stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch. I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late. I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn't know what else to do, so I started to play. The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I've never played before for this homeless man. And as I played 'Amazing Grace', the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together. When I finished, I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head was hung low, my heart was full. As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, 'I never seen anything like that before, and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years.' 😒

She also plays drums, the recorder, trumpet, trombone, and harmonica. She's a force of nature, that one. :)

Skywalker, The maxim for young kids starting out on guitar is that the guitar should be a cheap one. A cheap one with decent low action (as not to frustrate young hands), and one that hopefully sounds good and stays in tune. You sound like a grown up adult who knows what they want, so I wouldn't paint myself into a corner with regard to price, if I were you. Go for the guitar that is attractive to you in all ways, and one that you would look forward to playing and making music with. Don't let the prospective price become an impediment to your acquiring your first guitar, I guess that's what I am advising.. Go for quality, and go for a name brand that might offer you a slighter better resale price later on, should you decide that it's not for you. Of the two guitars you listed above, I would definitely advise the Fender Special Edition Custom Telecaster FMT HH over the Epiphone. It's a more versatile guitar, and I believe it'll hold its value just a bit better. (And did I mention that I have been gazing at one and drooling over it for many months?) I love the dark cherry coloured one, but the amber one is also lovely. Okay, I'm gonna shut up now. 😐

Here's one I made up last year. It's bad. 😐 This Presbyterian Lutheran Jewish Amish Episcopalian Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints guy walks into a bar. Bartender says, "Why the long faith?" 🙄

Yes, thanks for that, uncle fester. I had forgotten about Pandora. That's a good idea, sir. And Fleetwood Mac's Rumors, there's a classic for you. We went and watched The Black Jacket Symphony perform the entire Rumors album a few years ago. So good!! :)

I was a die-hard runner for many years, until my hips and knees wouldn't allow me that particular pleasure anymore. Took up lap swimming thereafter, and I have been in the pool, every other morning, for over eight years now. Naturally, all the local pools are closed because of this virus nonsense, and so I had to figure out a new plan to get my cardio. Treadmills and elliptical machines are unsatisfactory, so I settled on a nice rowing machine. Now I get on the rowing machine every other day, and do 30 hard minutes of that, followed by a few minutes of curls, and then six minutes on the chi machine. What does this have to do with old albums you may ask? Well, I'll tell you. I would go insane in the workout room without some sort of entertainment, and I don't watch television, so rigged an old stereo system in there, and I play old CD's while I get my cardio. Every album is generally guaranteed to go for 40 minutes or so, so it works out really well. My favorite re-visits during such workouts include: Alice Cooper - Goes To Hell, Mascara & Monsters Jeff Lynne - Armchair Theater Adrian Belew - Mr Music Head David Bowie - Heathen Edgar Winter - Mission Earth Daryl Hall - Laughing Down Crying Metallica - Load, Reload and many others. I can't wait to get back into the swimming pool, quite honestly. 🙄

Welcome, Roy. Good to have you aboard, mate. Nice guitars. 🙂

I don't fear death, though I greatly dread the notion of leaving behind things and details and problems for others to have to deal with. This is why I have a Last Will & Testament in the fire safe. It's also why I am engaged in the slow, steady, methodical process of getting rid of all the flotsam and jetsam around here. Every single day I either throw something out, give something away, or donate to charity those items that I have collected that I no longer need or use. Shelf by shelf, closet by closet, and box by box, I am getting rid of all the stuff that somebody else might have to get rid of after I am gone. Except for guitars. Those I am keeping until the bitter end. 😏