Retired Posted December 7, 2019 Posted December 7, 2019 I haven't been on the Forum for several months but I would like to extend my thanks to Pippy, JDGM, Rab's, Notes Norten and Steve Ford and many others that have helped me in the past and from reading your posts. I never would have had the nerve to work on my Gibson GT S with what it cost, fear of screwing it up but it's 7 years old now since I got it used. This morning after all I learned from you guys and what I've read on the Internet I put new strings on it & noticed the neck had a bow in it. First time I adjusted the truss rod ever. Then I noticed the strings were high and lowered the bridge as low as I could go. I re- tuned it and checked the intonation and it was perfect for the first time. Plugged it in and it sounds great. I think I can set my own guitars up from now on as I never was mechanically guitar minded before. Anyway, thanks to all of you for helping me learn what I have over a few years being on here. Espeacialy Rab's. 5 Quote
sparquelito Posted December 7, 2019 Posted December 7, 2019 This is the essence of what guitar web forums are all about. Thank you for sharing that success story, good friend. :) 2 Quote
jdgm Posted December 7, 2019 Posted December 7, 2019 Sounds good...that's what it's all about! Best wishes my friend 1 Quote
Retired Posted December 7, 2019 Author Posted December 7, 2019 Thank you guys. I just got back from Dietz music, picking up some more strings. I have to add this also. My wife was with me and she has told me many times, "How many guitars do you need?" Ned was checking me out whom I know well there and he was telling me about the special on guitars they had. He wanted me to go check them out. I told him my wife was with me and she says I have too many now. I have a total of 8 with the 12 sting & 2 acoustics. We left and Debbie & I were talking in the car about what Ned told me. I told Deb that I would really like to downsize, trade off some of the cheaper ones for 2 or 3 really good electric guitars and one real good acoustic. She smiled and said: "That's not true you know, what you told Ned. I would never tell you you can't have more guitars and if you saw one in there you really wanted, you could get it!" I have the most Wonderful wife guys. She has bought me 4 out of the 8 guitars I have now. Quote
uncle fester Posted December 7, 2019 Posted December 7, 2019 1 hour ago, Retired said: Thank you guys. I just got back from Dietz music, picking up some more strings. I have to add this also. My wife was with me and she has told me many times, "How many guitars do you need?" Ned was checking me out whom I know well there and he was telling me about the special on guitars they had. He wanted me to go check them out. I told him my wife was with me and she says I have too many now. I have a total of 8 with the 12 sting & 2 acoustics. We left and Debbie & I were talking in the car about what Ned told me. I told Deb that I would really like to downsize, trade off some of the cheaper ones for 2 or 3 really good electric guitars and one real good acoustic. She smiled and said: "That's not true you know, what you told Ned. I would never tell you you can't have more guitars and if you saw one in there you really wanted, you could get it!" I have the most Wonderful wife guys. She has bought me 4 out of the 8 guitars I have now. Very nice, she's a keeper... but I also spot some opportunity in that statement... go look for one of those real nice guitars and see what type of a deal they can offer you 🙂 1 Quote
Retired Posted December 7, 2019 Author Posted December 7, 2019 Yes, I thought that too. I've had really cheap acoustics most of my life. Anywhere from one to $400.00 max. I always had a tone in the back of my mind I was after but the expensive guitars had that tone. I was listening to videos of Guild, Taylor, Gibson and Martin. The one I really liked was a Taylor 618 E or the Guild D-55 but those prices are way up there close to and over $3,000.00. That's pushing it I think but I would consider going just acoustic for that Taylor. Well, on second thought, I'll never give up the Gibson Gold Top Standard. HaHa. Quote
Rabs Posted December 8, 2019 Posted December 8, 2019 🙂 Well I owe this place a fair amount with regards to my making.. If it weren't for this forum I doubt I would ever have embarked on such a venture.. And its been awesome .. So thanks to everyone from me too.. Its just a shame its so quiet on here these days. I haven't been round much.. Just need a bit of a break from all this me thinks 2 Quote
Big Bill Posted December 9, 2019 Posted December 9, 2019 2 hours ago, Rabs said: 🙂 Well I owe this place a fair amount with regards to my making.. If it weren't for this forum I doubt I would ever have embarked on such a venture.. And its been awesome .. So thanks to everyone from me too.. Its just a shame its so quiet on here these days. I haven't been round much.. Just need a bit of a break from all this me thinks Ditto 1 Quote
SteveFord Posted December 9, 2019 Posted December 9, 2019 I've learned a lot here, myself. I joined asking if there was such a thing as a Flying V that had some heft to it (short answer: no) and hung around ever since. For acoustics it's pretty much you get what you pay for but with electric some of the ones I've enjoyed playing the most are the less expensive models: Studio Les Paul, Faded SG, Satin 335, you get the idea. 1 Quote
Retired Posted December 9, 2019 Author Posted December 9, 2019 Yes, The electric I play most often is the Casino Coupe because I just love those P-90's in it. But it's an Epiphone I paid $390.00 for. Quote
Retired Posted December 9, 2019 Author Posted December 9, 2019 5 hours ago, Rabs said: 🙂 Well I owe this place a fair amount with regards to my making.. If it weren't for this forum I doubt I would ever have embarked on such a venture.. And its been awesome .. So thanks to everyone from me too.. Its just a shame its so quiet on here these days. I haven't been round much.. Just need a bit of a break from all this me thinks Yes, the Epiphone Lounge went pretty dead when Rob left. Actually we talk back & forth every day on E-mail. I like it better that way as we can talk about any subject without any warnings or getting kicked off. I found one of Rob's favorite subjects is Guns. He really loves my FN57 semi auto handgun and my collection. We joke back and forth a lot. Yeah, I have been very busy this year. We put a new furnace, air conditioner, water heater in the house, A drain sewage pipe from the basement to the street as the neighbors tree roots grew through our pipe and plugged it up. A new roof on the house and garage, and siding on the garage. Now the downstairs bathroom is striped down to be remodeled and the kitchen is next in January. New floors and walls, everything. I'm repainting every room inside the house now. Quote
Notes_Norton Posted December 9, 2019 Posted December 9, 2019 I'm glad your adjustments went well. I'm often a student here myself. Guitar is my 7th instrument, and there are many here who have much more experience and can play me under the table. Thanks to all the generous people who share what they've learned. And I agree with your assessment of P90 pickups. After I got my ES330 and played nothing but P90s exclusively for over a year, everything else sounds lifeless to me -- dull attack and tone. Notes 1 Quote
Retired Posted December 9, 2019 Author Posted December 9, 2019 7 hours ago, Notes_Norton said: I'm glad your adjustments went well. I'm often a student here myself. Guitar is my 7th instrument, and there are many here who have much more experience and can play me under the table. Thanks to all the generous people who share what they've learned. And I agree with your assessment of P90 pickups. After I got my ES330 and played nothing but P90s exclusively for over a year, everything else sounds lifeless to me -- dull attack and tone. Notes You are talented Note's. The only instument I can play is a guitar and I would never post a video of me playing with so many here that can play well. Of course, I just play at home for my entertainment. Since I retired at 60, and joined Guitar Tricks and they have songs rated from 1 guitar easiest to 5 guitar most difficult, I'm at 3 to 4 guitar. Doubt I will ever go further? Quote
uncle fester Posted December 10, 2019 Posted December 10, 2019 14 hours ago, Retired said: You are talented Note's. The only instument I can play is a guitar and I would never post a video of me playing with so many here that can play well. Of course, I just play at home for my entertainment. Since I retired at 60, and joined Guitar Tricks and they have songs rated from 1 guitar easiest to 5 guitar most difficult, I'm at 3 to 4 guitar. Doubt I will ever go further? I'm a late bloomer as well... 20 yrs of playing the same 5 riffs over and over at my kitchen table and only after having discovered youtube over the past 8 yrs or so have really progressed. Long path to get here, but I have got to the point where I play stuff and say 'hey that's really cool I'd like to play that for someone'. So to put that into practice, in the past year I started going to open mics. Love it, takes the playing part to a whole new level and adds some fun social activity to things. So sorry for the rambling intro, but just wondering Retired, do you have aspirations of playing out... can I nudge you along 🙂 Quote
Notes_Norton Posted December 10, 2019 Posted December 10, 2019 Music is also my profession so I get to do it full-time. Not everybody has the time to devote 8 hours or more per day to music. (When you are self-employed you get to pick which16 hours of the day that you want to work.) Sax is my main instrument. When in school I was first sax in the all-state band every year. This usually goes to an alto player, but I got it as a tenor player which is unusual. So I have some talent. I would put my sax or wind synth playing up on a video, but not my guitar playing. Oh I can improvise a guitar lead for rock, blues, or country, but I'll never be a Jeff Beck or Stevie Vai. I'll bet there are plenty of guitarists on this forum who could play me under the table and they should be putting their videos online. 😉 And that's OK. I know that there will always be better and worse than me on any instrument I play. The main thing about music is to make it fun. That's why they call it PLAYing music. When I play I get into the place where there is no space or time, the music seems to flow through me instead of from me, and in the end, it's the most fun I can have with my clothes on. And I'm lucky to be able to make a living doing music and nothing but music. Notes 1 Quote
Retired Posted December 14, 2019 Author Posted December 14, 2019 On 12/10/2019 at 7:47 AM, billroy fineman said: I'm a late bloomer as well... 20 yrs of playing the same 5 riffs over and over at my kitchen table and only after having discovered youtube over the past 8 yrs or so have really progressed. Long path to get here, but I have got to the point where I play stuff and say 'hey that's really cool I'd like to play that for someone'. So to put that into practice, in the past year I started going to open mics. Love it, takes the playing part to a whole new level and adds some fun social activity to things. So sorry for the rambling intro, but just wondering Retired, do you have aspirations of playing out... can I nudge you along 🙂 Thanks for the offer Billroy but I just play alone at home. When I graduated high school in 71 my 2 cousins that taught me to play at different times from age 13, asked me to do a mini concert for the neighborhood so the 3 of us were on top of our garage patio playing that night. My mother was getting tons of ph calls from the neighbors blocks away asking us to play songs over again or requests. That was the last time I played for people and both cousins have been dead a long time. Fred played in a band but later quit to go to Vietnam. Quote
Retired Posted December 14, 2019 Author Posted December 14, 2019 On 12/10/2019 at 7:56 AM, Notes_Norton said: Music is also my profession so I get to do it full-time. Not everybody has the time to devote 8 hours or more per day to music. (When you are self-employed you get to pick which16 hours of the day that you want to work.) Sax is my main instrument. When in school I was first sax in the all-state band every year. This usually goes to an alto player, but I got it as a tenor player which is unusual. So I have some talent. I would put my sax or wind synth playing up on a video, but not my guitar playing. Oh I can improvise a guitar lead for rock, blues, or country, but I'll never be a Jeff Beck or Stevie Vai. I'll bet there are plenty of guitarists on this forum who could play me under the table and they should be putting their videos online. 😉 And that's OK. I know that there will always be better and worse than me on any instrument I play. The main thing about music is to make it fun. That's why they call it PLAYing music. When I play I get into the place where there is no space or time, the music seems to flow through me instead of from me, and in the end, it's the most fun I can have with my clothes on. And I'm lucky to be able to make a living doing music and nothing but music. Notes Thats right. I always admired those who made a living off music. The wife and I have been to many great name concerts over all the years. But the Railroad and working many double shifts kept me from that venture. Now Arthritis limits my playing time. I was joking around when I left the Railroad and said we would have to form a band. My sister was a music teacher and played piano, my wife also plays the keyboards, our son played a saxophone and his wife's dad played the drums pretty good. He plays in a church band. I said we would have to get together and call ourselves the "Old Farts." Quote
Notes_Norton Posted December 14, 2019 Posted December 14, 2019 Try the arthritis/bursitis diet. Try it strictly for 2 months and see if it makes a difference. So far, everybody I know that tried it has had great results. I had inherited bursitis in my hip and arthritis in the little finger of my left hand from a basketball accident years ago. The bursitis was so bad I couldn't walk 2 blocks without resting and I was avoiding using that finger on the fret board and avoidking the notes that needed that finger on the sax. Now I can walk 4 miles, and I have zero pain in the hip of the finger. The diet is restrictive, but it's better to not eat certain foods than to live in pain. If you try the diet, don't cheat, as it will not work if you do (you might want to wait until after the holidays) From my old doc: Quote For both arthritis and bursitis, treatment is similar: Try the dietary approach first, and if that doesn't work, take stronger action. Foods that may contribute to chronic inflammation are foods with a high glycemic index (foods that convert to sugar quickly), such as fruit juices, sugars, simple starches, or rice cakes, foods heavy in polyunsaturated or saturated fats, and foods high in arachidonic acid. Some specific foods to avoid are: * Fatty cuts of red meat (high in saturated fats) lean is good * Organ meats: liver, kidney, and so forth (very high in arachidonic acid) * Egg yolks (very high in arachidonic acid) * Poultry - chicken, duck, turkey (very high in arachidonic acid) * Pasta (high glycemic index) * Juices (high glycemic index) * Rice, especially rice cakes (high glycemic index) * White bread (substitute whole grain breads such as rye) * Nightshade Plants bother many people (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, peppers, paprika) Glycemic index charts can be found on the Internet. Better choices are foods with a low glycemic index and foods that are heavy in monounsaturated fats. Some specific good foods are: * Salmon and other fish * Oatmeal * Low glycemic fresh fruits and vegetables * Olives and olive oil * Peanuts and other nuts * Whey proteins * Lean beef is good, 100% grass fed is better The diet not only reduces the inflammation but stops or slows the degradation of the joints. Notes 1 Quote
uncle fester Posted December 14, 2019 Posted December 14, 2019 14 hours ago, Retired said: When I graduated high school in 71 my 2 cousins that taught me to play at different times from age 13, asked me to do a mini concert for the neighborhood so the 3 of us were on top of our garage patio playing that night. My mother was getting tons of ph calls from the neighbors blocks away asking us to play songs over again or requests. That's a glory day story, getting requests - heights I've yet to achieve! 1 Quote
Retired Posted December 14, 2019 Author Posted December 14, 2019 6 hours ago, Notes_Norton said: Try the arthritis/bursitis diet. Try it strictly for 2 months and see if it makes a difference. So far, everybody I know that tried it has had great results. I had inherited bursitis in my hip and arthritis in the little finger of my left hand from a basketball accident years ago. The bursitis was so bad I couldn't walk 2 blocks without resting and I was avoiding using that finger on the fret board and avoidking the notes that needed that finger on the sax. Now I can walk 4 miles, and I have zero pain in the hip of the finger. The diet is restrictive, but it's better to not eat certain foods than to live in pain. If you try the diet, don't cheat, as it will not work if you do (you might want to wait until after the holidays) From my old doc: The diet not only reduces the inflammation but stops or slows the degradation of the joints. Notes Thanks very much Notes. I know you told me about the cheese's and dairy way back also. It's hard to find those things here but Deb agreed with them. It seems they deliberatly ruin the food here in America for some reason but Deb can eat La Casa pizza with no Lactose problems but no other pizza places here. La Casa uses Romano Cheese on their pizza and I've never seen it sold here. But the cheese doesn't bother her. Anyway, Most everything you can eat I do now except fish. I can't stand the taste of Salmon and would be heck giving up pasta and poultry. But I might try it out the new year. Yeah, the arthritis stops me from playing fast to which are most of the surf songs I love playing. Cannot stretch out that pinky finger to the fourth fret either as it has a big bump on the joint behind the nail than curls down. Both index fingers are curled in and touch the middle fingers. Quote
Retired Posted December 14, 2019 Author Posted December 14, 2019 6 hours ago, billroy fineman said: That's a glory day story, getting requests - heights I've yet to achieve! I have to confess, it did make me feel good. I've been playing House of the Rising Sun since I was 13 and played it thousands of times, That was one song they asked us to play 3 times that night. Can"t remember our song list that long ago. Quote
Notes_Norton Posted December 15, 2019 Posted December 15, 2019 15 hours ago, Retired said: <...snip...> Anyway, Most everything you can eat I do now except fish. I can't stand the taste of Salmon and would be heck giving up pasta and poultry. But I might try it out the new year. Yeah, the arthritis stops me from playing fast to which are most of the surf songs I love playing. Cannot stretch out that pinky finger to the fourth fret either as it has a big bump on the joint behind the nail than curls down. Both index fingers are curled in and touch the middle fingers. I'm not a salmon fan, I eat cod and haddock because they are light, white, flaky and low in mercury content. I used to eat grouper and halibut until I read about the higher mercury levels in those species. I found 100% grass-fed, organic beef at Aldi to be reasonably priced. I actually like the taste of grass-fed better than the beef finished by eating corn (a fruit, not a grain), plus it's better for the environment. When they tell you how bad beef is for the planet, the mean corn-fed. 100% grass fed live on land that is very difficult to cultivate. Grasslands need fertilizer, herbicides, and floods of water to grow vegetables. However cows can live on that land with nothing other than what mother nature provides. For me it was difficult to give up macaroni and potatoes at first. But being able to walk, drive, and play music without pain is worth all the foods I had to give up. A few years ago I had a neighbor who walked her dog but needed a cane for herself. I gave her the diet, and a month later she was no longer using the cane. A few months later she started using the cane again. I asked her if the diet had stopped working and she replied that she just couldn't give up her fruit and pasta. Everybody has their own priorities so I don't mean to sound judgemental. For me, I figure this body I have is the only vehicle available to take me through life. I need to take care of it. I want to be pain free and minimize the wear and tear on it because I can't trade it in, and IF it can be repaired, the repair parts usually don't work as well as the originals. When they need replacing 10 years down the road, I'll be older and won't heal as quickly. I also know that the medical profession can help with drugs but those drugs usually come with some undesirable side effects. I like life, and don't want to give it up too soon. It's the perfect way to spend the time of day. Insights and incites by Notes 1 Quote
Retired Posted December 17, 2019 Author Posted December 17, 2019 On 12/15/2019 at 7:33 AM, Notes_Norton said: I'm not a salmon fan, I eat cod and haddock because they are light, white, flaky and low in mercury content. I used to eat grouper and halibut until I read about the higher mercury levels in those species. I found 100% grass-fed, organic beef at Aldi to be reasonably priced. I actually like the taste of grass-fed better than the beef finished by eating corn (a fruit, not a grain), plus it's better for the environment. When they tell you how bad beef is for the planet, the mean corn-fed. 100% grass fed live on land that is very difficult to cultivate. Grasslands need fertilizer, herbicides, and floods of water to grow vegetables. However cows can live on that land with nothing other than what mother nature provides. For me it was difficult to give up macaroni and potatoes at first. But being able to walk, drive, and play music without pain is worth all the foods I had to give up. A few years ago I had a neighbor who walked her dog but needed a cane for herself. I gave her the diet, and a month later she was no longer using the cane. A few months later she started using the cane again. I asked her if the diet had stopped working and she replied that she just couldn't give up her fruit and pasta. Everybody has their own priorities so I don't mean to sound judgemental. For me, I figure this body I have is the only vehicle available to take me through life. I need to take care of it. I want to be pain free and minimize the wear and tear on it because I can't trade it in, and IF it can be repaired, the repair parts usually don't work as well as the originals. When they need replacing 10 years down the road, I'll be older and won't heal as quickly. I also know that the medical profession can help with drugs but those drugs usually come with some undesirable side effects. I like life, and don't want to give it up too soon. It's the perfect way to spend the time of day. Insights and incites by Notes Thanks again for all the insights & incites Notes. I agree, Grass fed is best, I can tell the difference. Bison is even better yet and more lean. Quote
Notes_Norton Posted December 18, 2019 Posted December 18, 2019 On 12/16/2019 at 9:58 PM, Retired said: Thanks again for all the insights & incites Notes. I agree, Grass fed is best, I can tell the difference. Bison is even better yet and more lean. Bison is good too. It's a little harder to find here. There is a "health food store" I frequent that gets it in every once in a while. We buy some and freeze what we don't eat right away. Notes 1 Quote
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