sparquelito

I'm just now reading some reviews. Thanks for sharing, Navy Vet!! :)

Good choice, Navy Vet. I have always wanted the 339, but it was never in the cards for me. But my curiously-ugly, weird, beautiful Firebird? Yeah baby!! 🙂

I'm still holding out for you getting that Firebird. I only have the cheapest US made Firebird ever, the Zero. But I love it dearly.

Good morning, Abel. Great to have you aboard, and we're looking to hearing that wonderful Sheraton II! :)

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. :)

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. 😕

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. 😒

You are a good brother, rct. 😑

....and here's what they look like when folded back into the tuning keys.

Here's one from those days, with the rapid winding arm unfolded.

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

I'm thankful for this gift of music, and the privilege and ability to deliver it to audiences. And for the day job, which keeps the bills paid. 😕

Looks to be (by the features on display there) a 1956 or early 1957 model of the ES-5 Switchmaster. Later in 1957 the P90's were no longer offered on that model, and were replaced by humbucking pickups. I'm not sure if the Bigsby is stock, or added on. Probably added on. Worth, by Fjestad's Blue Book, around $8,000 , but I have seen them on Reverb with an asking price of $22,000. I hope you find that gem of a guitar, but to be fair, it's been gone for decades. :(

I've been working on some songs for an upcoming Christmas gig. Had a few beers. Fixing to grill some steaks for supper. The usual. :)

Cool commercial. Not a very believable scenario. But hey, anything is possible. :)

When I was a teenager in the late 1970's, I worked as a 3rd manager at a fast food burger joint. Hardee's it was called. Their burgers were sizable, and their Deluxe Huskee would fill a modern day pie plate. Down the street, a Burger King Whopper was a crew-served meal. It could literally feed three hungry men, fresh off a day working in the fields. Flash-forward to 2019. All the burger joints feature their version of the $17 Half Pound Mega Burger, but I swear none of them would fill the ashtray on my 1972 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser wagon. They are tiny. It's disheartening. I'm gonna shut up now. 😞

Ha ha ha, thanks, Boris. 🙂 Yeah, Big Bill, booze and the keyboard do not go together. At least I didn't wake up the next morning and find out that I had impulse-ordered a PRS Silver Sky! 😜😞

I'm back. And yes, I'll take all due criticism for that dramatic departure. I guess it was Facepage that I really needed a break from, and so (in an alcohol-influenced state), I threw the babies out with the bathwater. I really don't get sensory overload here on the Gibson boards, and I truly do enjoying posting and contributing. So, please accept my apologies. I'd like to carry on here, and I'll just choose to avoid the political chaos and nonsense that is Facebook instead. 🙂

My good friends on Facebook, tdpri.com buddies, gibson forum associates, axecentral.com pals, and myguitarbuddy.com chums: I’m taking a break for awhile, until at least the new year. I’m suffering from sensory overload, I guess. Time to concentrate on family, dogs, writing, song writing, and music-making. I’ll see you all in January. Please know that I love most of you. And one of you just might be my son. That is all. 😐

Ha ha ha! Okay, in that case, I'm not just dense, but my vision should be checked. Thanks, friend Cabarone! :)

Maybe I'm dense, but what or where is our Reputation posted? :(

Wow! Such a beautiful guitar! Congratulations. :)

I do apologize. That guitar in your original post is indeed gorgeous. I love the color and the woodgrain very much. I really love that it has chrome hardware and not gold. (I'm not a fan of the gold.) I live down south of you by an hour and a half. Harvest, Alabama. You would laugh at my Les Paul. It's butt-ugly. (When compared to the one you brought your son, that is.) See photo below. 🙂 https://www.dropshots.com/sparkmaj/date/2019-04-15/18:28:25

For a young player who wants to explore all options in tone, who probably wants to dabble in guitar effects, and who doesn't want to lug a really heavy amplifier from there to there, I would recommend the Peavey Vypyr VIP2. It's a 40 watt modeling amp with a single 12 inch speaker. It emulates a variety of classic tube amps, and has dozens of onboard effects and combinations. The great thing is that it's designed to accommodate electric guitars, acoustic electric guitars, and bass guitars. And it sounds brilliant at all three endeavors. $249 at Sweetwater and/or Amazon. A really great and versatile amp, and works well at both stage volumes and bedroom sound levels as well. I have gigged with mine. Two thumbs up, really! 🙂 https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/VypyrVIP2--peavey-vypyr-vip-2-40-watt-1x12-inch-modeling-guitar-bass-acoustic-combo-amp

I live in northern Alabama, and will be listening to the game on the radio. (I don't watch television anymore.) It should be a barn-burner, and Eli Gold calls a great game! 🙂