sparquelito

I have always said, "If you are going to swing at the ball, swing for the fences". Rock on, and all the best of luck to you in this endeavor. I own a lot of guitars, but only one Firebird. A Pelham Blue Firebird Zero, which gets no love all across the internet, but I find it to be a tasty, good-playing guitar. I played a gig with it last Friday on the river, and it sounded and felt just right. 🙂

That's the wife's 2000 BMW Z3. She loves that old beast!

....Happy new Ford Transit van day that is. It was a tough call, but to avoid paying thousands in anticipated repairs for the aging Subaru Baja, I finally went and traded her in. The local Ford dealer (over there in Decatur, Alabama) handled everything wonderfully and admirably, and I am finally driving the vehicle I have coveted for many years now. The Ford Transit Van. The all-purpose music gear hauling rig. An iconic beast, one that I admired while living in Germany in the 1980's and later on in the 1990's. A smooth-riding cargo van with an ultra-modern two-seat cockpit. The Capshaw Road band will now be playing gigs with dry, secure gear, instead of wet, precariously-loaded gear. My beloved Subaru, I will love you forever. And you served us well. I wish for you all the best that life has to offer. But I'm rocking the small white serial killer van now. Life is good. 🙂

In general, I do agree with the original poster. Especially with regard to the Chibson fakes that are cluttering the dark web marketplace. But I will say some nice things about the Chinese made (legit, legally produced under license by Fender) Modern Player series. Really, really nicely made. I had a Fender Modern Player Telecaster Plus for a few years, and it was one of the nicest guitars I ever owned. (I only sold it because I was lusting for a new Les Paul, and a good friend always coveted it....) 🙂

I love the classic zebra (uncovered) humbuckers, but that's just me. The less chrome there is, the less polishing I have to do. 😉

Play them all. And then play three more models that you never even considered before. One of them will sing to you, and that will be the one. 🙂

I have always gone for Dunlops on my motorcycles, and have only good things to say about them. :)

My secret weapon is preparation and practice. Well prior to a gig, I do a lot of individual practice on the guitar, and I run thru every song that we might even perform on my guitar, the day prior to each full band practice. I play them all, using my pedal rig and the amps I intend to lug to that next gig. I play standing up to the mic, thru the music room PA. I sing as I play, no matter whether I have the lead or the harmonies on this song or that. Everything is set up precisely the way I plan to set it up on stage. I practice my pedal settings and transitions from rhythm to lead solo sections, and back. I run thru every single song we intend to play, or might even play, from beginning to end. I evaluate the chord/lyrics sheets, to make sure that every quirk and variation is red-inked and understandable on the music stand there. Then, when I get the band together for a full-on band practice, I am not the weak link. I'm ready, and I'm able to help everyone else out without fiddling and adjusting and correcting my own mistakes. As a band, we practice our timing, our transition from one song to the next, and we really practice our vocal harmonies so that they are fluid, instinctive, and beautiful. We mainly practice that old bar-band thing of "wait, how are we going to end this song exactly??" Sometimes it's a slow-down to a sublime finish, and sometimes it's a hard-stop. But we all have to look each other in the eye, and vow to remember how each song will finish. In a lot of cases, with upbeat dance-oriented songs, we practice (and discuss) how we will stretch out any given song when the audience is really digging it, and when people are on the dance floor. (When a crowd is dancing, you naturally want to keep them on the dance floor, and enjoying the moment. This is how you get invited back to play more gigs there, again and again.) In that vein, we practice the hip-pocket, danceable songs that we can instantly transition to on the fly, and play and sing without fiddling with the chord/lyric sheets. Some songs you can play and sing in your sleep. You want to be able to roll right into those, one after the other. Oh, and after band practice, I clean up everything, and I wipe the guitars and basses down with Finger Ease and guitar polish. I fix any connections or bits of kit that might've malfunctioned during band practice. I throw out bad cables, and I repair what is repairable. May was well fix it now, and not wait until the day of the load-in and sound check. Okay, I'm gonna shut up now. 😞

It's very likely that the tech who did the final set-up on your Gibson took a photo of the guitar on the work bench. My 2018 SG Naked came with a photo, just as I described. A Gibson Les Paul with a Model Number that starts with LPC should either be a Les Paul Classic or a Les Paul Custom, one of those lines. Can you post a photo of the guitar? From there we may be able to make more sense of the Model Number. For example: LP - Les Paul C - Classic or Custom S- Satin finish G - Gold top Just thinking out loud. 🙂

Autograph - Turn Up The Radio (1984) The video is pretty much a commercial for the PaperMate Sharp Writer Pencil, but a great song! 🙂

:v

I've had so many guitars and so many amps that it's hard to pick a favorite. But I must confess that I have really enjoyed the tones and sweetness I have gotten out of my Gibson SG Naked, played thru the Vox AC15VR and the older Marshall Valvestate VS265. (I run my pedalboard stereo-out to both of them when on stage. ) :)

They say the body (top, sides, back) are Wild Canadian Cherry wood. Too funny. In the late 1970's. Wild Cherry meant something else. Play that funky music, etc. 🙂

I was out and about today. I set forth at noon to sell my Austin Tele to a lovely local gentleman, but on the way, I visited with a terrific man who had a Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin arch-top in Natural Finish. I wasn't playing the Austin as much as I would like, despite how great she is, and I have been lusting for a Kingpin for many years. Anyway. All's well that ends well, and I made two new friends today. One acquisition, and one sale. The total number of guitars at home remains the same. God isn't keeping score, but my wife just might be. 😞

Thanks, buddy. Yeah, I was giving the guitar its first tuning there in that photo. :)

It just struck me; This Firebird Zero looks great strapped onto a player, but goofy as hell just sitting upright, hanging from the wall, or sitting on a stand. I don't think I have ever known a guitar that could turn me off one minute, and excite me the next. Too funny. :)

She looks very much at home in the Gibson Corner of my music room. 🙂

Holy moly. It's been a week now. So I'll share with you. My Stacey brother brought me this Gibson Firebird Zero, in Pelham Blue. It was last Saturday, my 60th birthday. We had a band practice going on, so I strapped it on, thanked him most genuinely, and then we rocked out. I really, really enjoyed playing this unusually-shaped, oddly-appointed guitar. I didn't have time to think about it. I just played it. I ran it thru its paces, both clean and very distorted. I played it for two sets in a row. The guitar was a joy to play, and it sounded killer. And she stayed in tune. It was my birthday present from my brother, and I was very grateful. A few days later, I took the time to read all the online reviews of the guitar my brother had gifted me. MAN. You would have thought that Stacey brought me a smoking turd on a cheap paper plate or something. The Gibson Firebird Zero is supposed to be a piece of crap, I guess. I must politely disagree. This guitar feels right, it sounds right, it rocks, and it stays in tune. It's a keeper. 🙂

May God bless you, Tman. You and all your neighbors who lost so much, but who appreciate more than ever what they have on this day. :)

Obedoff, What do they want for this guitar? $$ :(

I have contemplated joining this thread for many weeks, but am a loss for answering the first part of the question. Sure, the 'one that got away' has to be the 1971 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe gold-top that I owned for little more than a year, and then sold in January of 1978, right before I went off to Army Basic Training. I needed the money, and foolishly believed that I would be leaving behind not only the garage band I was in, but also guitar playing in general, the minute I became an Army helicopter pilot. My brother (and bandmate at the time) warned me not to sell the Les Paul, but I caved into the demands of my then girlfriend (and future ex-wife), and I sold the thing. Along with a really sweet Fender Twin Reverb tube amp. Years later, and after taking stock of the situation, I must confess a few things; * I regret selling the Les Paul, though the fellow I sold it to still owns and plays it to this day. He really loves it and takes good care of it. So that's a good thing. * I regret selling the Twin Reverb amp, though the fellow I sold it to learned a lot, later blowing it up while in a drug-fueled haze. He is now 25+ years clean and sober. Sot that's another good thing. * I regret marrying the (then) girlfriend. It was a miserable marriage. But I got a wonderful daughter out of it, and she, in turn, produced her own wonderful daughter, and she is a wise young woman who has always made smart relationship choices. Yet another good thing!! * 41 years after selling the Les Paul, I am still in a band with my brother, and we make really fabulous music together. And my current wife supports me and the band, 100 percent. The best thing of all. I have bought and sold many, many guitars over the years since that gold-top. And I currently own in the neighborhood of 20 guitars. I love them all, and (to the point of the 'first part of the question') I really can't pick a favorite. I play them all, and struggle with the choice of which ones to bring to each band gig. Ask me to pick a favorite? You may as well blindfold me, drag me into the music room, spin me 'round and 'round, and ask me to point blindly at one. Okay, there. That one must be my favorite. 🤔 https://www.dropshots.com/sparkmaj/date/2019-04-15/18:28:13

Welcome aboard, Linda. Many of us here are self-taught, and a few of us came up thru proper music lessons and/or Band Classes in school. My guitar playing has been likened to the sound of a cat with its tail caught in a noisy machine. Some people just don't know from jazz. :(

Welcome, nezihc. Looking forward to your visits, and to the great guitar discussions, mate. :)

I have always liked Ringo. He's very down to earth, he's all about the peace and love, and he is the fooking click-track. A very good soul. Oh, and he loves to hang out and tour with great cats like Steve Lukather, Gregg Rolie, Colin Hay, Warren Ham, Gregg Bissonette and Hamish Stuart. (and Rick. Derringer, Edgar Winter, Mark Farner, Richard Page, Joe Walsh, etc etc.) 🙂

Such a sweet puppy!! Thanks for sharing. :)