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sparquelito

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    NGD

    in The Gibson Lounge

    Posted

    WOW. 

    I thought that the natural wood grain Thinline was the most fetching, but THAT  is downright gorgeous. 

    Congrats, and play joyously and in good health, good sir. 

    🙂

    Hello

    in Introduce Yourself

    Posted · Edited by sparquelito

    Merry Christmas, Troy. 
    And welcome to the Gibson forums. 

    Funny, my younger brother is a fan of Epiphone Les Pauls, and he's owned a few. 
    (And his favorite team is the Troy Trojans.  Good stuff.)

    I found a dusty, gunked-up Epiphone Les Paul Junior last weekend at a pawnshop in Decatur, as a matter of fact. 
    (Single humbucker in the bridge position, 1 Volume, 1 Tone knob)

    I cleaned it, polished it, restrung it, and shined it up like a new penny. 
    Called him up, and said, "Hey were are you at?"

    He replied, "I'm stuck at Best Buy."
    (His wife had dragged him Christmas shopping.)
    He, like me, hates shopping of all forms and types. 

    I told him, "I gotta go to Kroger just down the street from there. Meet in the Kroger parking lot. I have a NGD for you."

    "What's a NGD," he asked. 

    "You'll see. Just meet me there."

    We all rallied in the big parking lot, and I presented Stacey with his new Junior. 
    MAN he was happy. 

    That was a good day. 

    🙂


    LPJuniorP90h.jpg

    Need Some Suggestions On Buying A Gibson Les Paul !

    in Gibson USA

    Posted · Edited by sparquelito

    1.Can I get a decent Standard Model for my budget or would I need to settle for a Studio Model ?
    For that money, you can get a decent Standard, but it will be well-used. 
    You can land a mildly-used Studio in Excellent Plus condition for $800, but most likely on Craigslist.

    2. Can someone elaborate on the differences both positive and negative between Standard & Studio Models ?
    In essence, a Studio is a Standard, only without the attractive edge binding, and eye-catching bling. 
    I'm a big fan of the Studio, and I have owned a few over the years. 
    Great guitars. 

    3. Would it be possible to get a decent deal on a Les Paul in a Pawn shop ?
    Unlikely, but stranger things have happened. 
    You are most likely to find the prices jacked up in a pawn shop, just so you can talk them down to a price that makes you feel better about being a master negotiator. 
    (A price that still makes the shop plenty of money, and that which leaves you feeling only mildly ripped-off.)

    4. Do I need to be careful of fakes ? If so what is the best way to identify Genuine vs Fakes ?
    YES. 
    A Gibson Les Paul is very often faked, (as is the Fender Stratocaster) and there are a number of fakes lurking out there on eBay, Craigslist, and in pawn shops. 
    Do a careful search of this web forum's threads on 'counterfeit' and 'Chibson' guitars. 
    You will learn plenty. 

    5. Any other tips or pointers that anyone can give me I am all ears !
    Yes.
    Play everything that you can get your hands on. 
    Don't rush. 
    Take your time and play everything. 
    Eventually you will find the Gibson Les Paul that feels right in your hands, and that which sings to you. 

    🙂

    • Like 4

    2020 - (preliminary) musical resolutions

    in The Gibson Lounge

    Posted

    * I would like to do more recording in 2020. 
    Our girl singer likes the process, and I want to encourage her to work with me on some original material. 
    It takes discipline and patience to do it right, and I want to work on that. 

    * Step-up my improvisational lead skills. 
    I can (and will always) rote memorize lead bits for each song, and play them nicely. 
    But I need to broaden my horizons when it comes to scales, riffs, and hooks, and the comfortable ability to improvise with those foundations. 

    :)

    Nicknames.

    in The Gibson Lounge

    Posted

    It's funny, but I go by my nickname in every other facet of life, except for the band. 

    The given name is John Sparkman, but after years of service in the Army, that turned into the nickname Sparky. 
    (Sometimes, Spark, Sparkinator, or Sparquelito.)

    But in general, everyone calls me Sparky. 
    Though the wife calls me Spark, as a rule. 

    In the band, everyone calls me John for some reason. 

    Not sure why. 

    😐
     

    • Like 3

    The "Just got in from a gig" thread.....

    in The Gibson Lounge

    Posted

    On 11/28/2019 at 12:20 AM, saturn said:

    Only downer of the night.....5 minutes before our start time, my Desert Burst Les Paul Studio+ got knocked over and the dreaded headstock crack occurred.  I had to use the other guitar players Music Man guitar and I was the sole guitar player tonight while he played sax and percussion all night  Hopefully it can be fixed. No use getting mad. It was a freak accident.

     

     

      


    Oh man, I hate that that happened, good sir. 

    We played a really large Christmas party in our aviation hangar yesterday. 
    Great food, fun, kid's activities, and of course, live music (me and my band-mates).
    600 people in attendance, so the crowd was just right. 

    I always bring more guitars than I need, as a rule, mainly for those unforeseen accidents like you had, Jay. 
    But this time, I kept it down to three;
    My Luna bamboo acoustic/electric, the Zombie Tech Telecaster that Danny Matthews built for me just a year ago, and my Austin Les Paul copy.

    Luckily, nothing fell over, nothing broke, and all three guitars made it into the sets. 

    I'll post some pictures and maybe some video next week. 
    (The organization hosting the party had two staff photographers/videographers capturing all the festivities, and there's bound to be some good images and video. I'll be able to access all that by Monday.)

    :)

    • Thanks 1

    Guitar Center Rose Gold SG

    in Gibson USA

    12 days and a wake up.

    in The Gibson Lounge

    Posted

    Congrats, Navy Vet. 

    I would go for the Firebird, but that's just me. 

    Re; Johnson City. 
    I spent quite a bit of time up there just a few years ago, working on a helicopter project that had us flying aircraft in and out of the Bell Helicopters facility there in Piney Flats. 
    I always saw fellows out fly-fishing in the broad streams just east-northeast of there. 

    The mountains nearby, and the lakes, were just gorgeous. 

    :)

    • Like 2

    Gear That Is No More...

    in The Gibson Lounge

    Posted

    I did eventually own an Ovation (Celebrity, Kaman, MIJ) solid body electric bass.

    Bought it in a music store in Bad Kreuznach, Germany in 1990. 
    Played it and loved it for many years. 

    It was eventually stolen from my house in Hawaii in early 2001. 
    Some burglar bastard made off with it, along with a cheap Epiphone strat-copy, and a bunch of other valuables (wrist watches, hand guns, a broadsword, etc). 

    Stupid thief took the inexpensive guitars, and left my black Gibson Les Paul standing right there in the corner on its stand. 

    Anyway, my Ovation Celebrity bass looked a lot like this one, only it was a deep, dark blue. Almost purple, it was. 
    😕


    000000114138709-00-290x290.jpg

    Gear That Is No More...

    in The Gibson Lounge

    Posted

    Ovation solid-body electric guitars. 

    I really fancied owning either the Deacon or the Breadwinner. 
    (I can't say that I ever learned the difference between the two models.)

    There are a lot of photos out there of Ace Frehley playing a white one, back in the pre-KISS and early KISS days.

    😒

    ovation_Deacon.jpg

    Thanks

    in The Gibson Lounge

    Posted

    43 minutes ago, rct said:

    Nice dinner with pop and my younger brother who has come out this side of some serious AML/FLT3/ITD, bone marrow transplant in April, and now back at work trying to make life again.  It's been tough, dicey, and good all at once.  I was glad to give him my stuff and Mrs and I are ecstatic that he is moving along nicely now.  A great Thanksgiving dinner tonight.  

    rct

    You are a good brother, rct. 
    😑

    • Like 1

    Interesting item

    in The Gibson Lounge

    Posted · Edited by sparquelito

    Pure conjecture, but using deductive reasoning, I'm going to say that that an item that was on display (or for sale) at the largest musical trade show in Germany at the time, der Musikmesse. 

    Picture a NAMM festival, only with better beer and a lot more wine and bratwursts available.

    "Musikmesse is the world's leading trade fair for musical instruments and live music as well as music production and music marketing and one of the most important meeting places of the music industry. At Musikmesse you can meet manufacturers, dealers, professional, semiprofessional and amateur musicians in Frankfurt in order to check the latest product news. In addition to the complete product offering numerous workshops, concerts, demonstrations and discussions are held."

    I lived in Germany in 1984, and though I only lived 45 kilometers away from that year's Musikmesse in Frankfurt, I sadly did not attend. 

    The fold-out, elongated arm/paddle on that tuning key was designed to
    a. allow for rapid string winding when mounting new strings
    and, 
    b. make fine tuning adjustments possible during the gig
    and, (to my knowledge) just never caught on with the musicians and consumers of the day. 

    Collectible, yes. 
    Valuable, probably not. 

    😐

    http://www.musicassociatesofamerica.com/madamina/1984/frankfurt.html

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