Buc McMaster

To maximize the difference between my two instruments, I traded my Custom Shop '57 Stratocaster for this little screamer..............a Custom Shop Historic Les Paul R4, a great tonal contrast with my Custom Shop '55 Telecaster. There were two in the store and after manhandling both for an hour or so I chose this one. I really like a wraparound tailpiece on a Gibson guitar.......simple, effective. Intonation is good but I may change it to a MojoAxe compensated version. At first blush the P90s were very, very mid-heavy but after some time wrangling with the amp and guitar settings it sounds quite good. Considering changing the pickups though to something of lower output.........lower output allows for more tone tweaking than a hot wind.

No harm. Use blue, not red.

Don't know if anyone is looking these days, but on the chance that there is, here's a very good looking 1965 J-45 with a nice faded cherry sunburst. Don't know enough about the market to say if this is a good price or not............reckon that's up to the buyer. This the ceramic saddle? (I know there's someone here that would know.) (Disclaimer: I know the folks at this music store but beyond that there is no affiliation nor endoresment of the product in question.) 1965 J-45ADJ

A track from a demo I did in 2004 (I think). This was a Taylor 810.

My apologies for the apparent confusion.........not! 😆 Indeed, I sold this last acoustic I had a few months ago. These days I'm rockin' these guitars and this little Princeton Reverb and seeking to join a band. Done a few open mics and found them to be much the same chaos I remembered them to be.............but fun! Also have a Marshall Origin 20C and a classic Marshall 1974X LTD that is marvelous.

Hey y'all. I no longer own an acoustic guitar but I ran across this video from a few years back and was impressed with the tone of my old blue Hummingbird. Can't honestly say I miss it as the tune works just fine on a Telecaster, but it's good to have memories, huh....... This is an original song that was inspired by a line my brother once uttered and I call it hillbilly gospel........ iPad recording of dubious quality.

Yes, this is all wrong. If it had a frog on the lily pads I'd buy it! 🙄

You are the inquisitor, sir. Given both being the same material, I cannot imagine the finish of the surface would make any discernible difference in acoustic tone, all other factors being equal.

Such a good song. Winwood was then and is still a giant among peers. From my acoustic adventures.........in drop D tuning.....

Here's a Houston local guitar hero explaining and demonstrating the Jet Slide, a quite unique take on such devices. The Mighty Orq & the Jet Slide And Jet Slides website if you're interested...... Jet Slide (you can thank me later) (....and furthermore........I just can't pass up the opportunity to turn you folks on to Orq, an outstanding guitarist and vocalist on the Houston scene. This is a video of a live performance in Germany with his most excellent compadres in mayhem.......Falling Down)

It used to be.

K&K's are perhaps the best of the transducer-style pickups, quite natural and acoustic. They can be 'woofy' in poor sound systems and, if your left hand technique is heavy and percussive they can be 'thumpy' (yes.....I know you're a lefty). I found a fix for these issues: a good compressor, properly dialed in so as not to audibly alter overall tone but control transients. Highly recommended for K&K's used live with varying sound systems............just do it.......you can thank me later.

I prefer a Blue Chip TPR50 nearly always but will, from time to time, dig out a Red Bear. I find casein very articulate and bright, very sensitive to angle of attack......the BC has a smoother attack and rounds off a little treble., which has much to do with the rounded tip of this one..........pointy picks are too screechy for me. And yes, changing your pick is the most effective way to alter your tone over a broad range.........so many tones! so little time!

I was on the fence about the pick guard and considered replacing it with a single-layer black, but it has grown on me. Wrap around tails are not for everyone, for certain......like a Bigsby. The original was a Schaller wrap around with adjustable saddles like an ABR-1 bridge. This one is a Mojoaxe compensated in nickel, intonates quite well and held on a pair of locking studs which keep it from tilting under tension. Works very well.

Duh. Neither one of them was, but life is short...........buy the guitar.

It's actually a Collings 290DC-S........Austin's take on the double cut LP Jr. The other one here is a Collings Statesman LC. Two different, distinct voices.......

No sir.........no such ordinance. Electric guitar has always been my first love..........just going back home.

It's a full hollow body.........Collings Statesman LC. Removed the factory Bigsby and installed the trapeze tailpiece with a brass bar bridge; changed the pickups from Filtertrons to single coil TV Jones; changed the sealed gear machine heads to a set of keystones (it was head heavy). Works like a champ and holds tune for days.

Yes, I have committed heresy and sold the last of my acoustic guitars..........Big Blue is off to different fingers. i have contracted the rock-n-roll bug once again. Been playing an open mic lately and met a drummer and bass player just last week with the intent of putting a band together for some scattered island gigs.........lots of places to play down here! Over the last months I've put together a couple of electric rigs and am quite excited about making a run at reliving some days of my youth! Ha! A pair of Collings: a Statesman LC hollow body and a 290DC S in the style of the LP Jr. Both terrific instruments! A Mesa California Tweed (up to 40W) and a Fender Blues Jr LTD (15W) provide amplification. So maybe I'll pop in from time to time if I have something relevant to share......otherwise I'm off rockin' somewhere!

Yes sir. These kids are the real deal. Masters of their instruments, wonderful voices. This is music in the best sense of the word. Thanks, Murph.

Everything is going up.....gas, food, guitars......you name it and it costs much more today than it did 90 days ago. Not really surprising as the world is in turmoil.........who knows where or how far the madness will go. I for one am happy to be an old man, content and comfortable with whatever time is left me...............

Reckon I ought to sing while I still can. The old choppers are failing me and it's getting difficult to sing...........time to investigate dentures, I reckon. Started wrestling with this one yesterday and, as you can see, it's not quite ready for primetime.........but I'm tired and this is all you get for now. The Hummingbird is setup for working live, strung with DR Pure Blues .011 nickel which work very well with the Sunrise pickup. The plain third intonates pretty well if I tune it just a hair flat.........tuned to pitch it's noticeably sharp..........holds up okay with the capo at the fifth. This one should be ready to go for next weeks' open mic...............

I used if for awhile years back when the band was doing a lot of outdoor gigs in the summer heat on the gulf coast. It is often heard that nitro finishes get sticky and tough to move on and that was indeed my issue back in the day. Maybe my body chemistry has changed with age but I no longer have any trouble with a dry nitro finished neck.......no stickiness at all regardless of environment Go figure.....