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Fine tuning the setup.........


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I'm still messing with the string choice and setup of the J185.........seems I have a need to tinker with things ad nauseam.  The guitar is pickguard-less still, waiting on the fire stripe guard from Holter......maybe next week.  This morning I changed the strings from RotoSound Jumbo King (12-16-24-32-44-54) to D'Addario EJ16 (12-16-24-32-42-53).  The ever- so smaller E and A strings take enough tension off the neck to allow the low E to rattle just a bit.  That's how 'close to the edge' my setup is...............the Jumbo King set does not rattle at all.  The D'Addario set does sound pretty good but I'm not inclined to tweak the t-rod to accommodate this set.............but it could happen.  Recently polished, the body squeaks against my jeans......a bit annoying.  And needless to say my singing days are behind me.  It's one of those 'use-it-or-lose-it' things in life........I've lost it.......but that's okay.........time takes a toll on everything.  Used to do this tune with the band.......the dancers really liked it......

The beginning of the recording is a short little chord progression I've been wrestling with for two or three weeks now........nothing special.......a little bit jazzy sounding........  Temporarily titled Where To  since that's what I'm wondering about........where's the next chord?

Like it or hate it, it's the best I can do any longer..............

 

Chain  (circa 2005.......can't really remember when this one rolled out.......)

You say it all the time, the same old line.......I've heard it all before

You'd think I'd know by now, I'd learn somehow and you wouldn't say it anymore

But I will tell you this, baby.....for as long as I exist.........it's gotta be you, pullin' my chain, callin' my name.

You know me way too well, but you don't tell, and I'm not gonna confess

Your little secret smile, goin' off the dial, always did say it best

You're the only one, baby, the one I can't outrun.........it's gotta be you, pullin' my chain, callin' my name

I think I've made it clear, I've been sincere and you know just where I stand

I got to go it alone with my heart of stone out here in no man's land

But as the years go by, baby.......stil I can't deny.......it's gotta be you, pullin' my chain, callin' my name

 

Edited by Buc McMaster
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You still sound good to me. Guitar sounds good too.

I like low action. I usually shoot for .012" thru .022" at the first, .040" thru .060" at the 12th, Neck relief .000"-.003" plus make sure there are no high frets.

A couple of the times that I've missed my mark and got too low, it worked very well. That doesn't happen all the time.

I've come to like the Custom Light gage strings. Music Villa setup the J45 I recently bought from them based on my preference and it feels and plays great. They put on D'Addario XS Phosphor Bronze Coated. I was so impressed with them, I bought some more and put a set on the '52 J45 and '68 J50 so I can compare them. TBD. I also have to measure everything to see why the new J45 feels so much better than the others.

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2 hours ago, Leonard McCoy said:

I had rolled an ultra-low setup before as well, but no more. Now I'm more in the usual 5/64 to 6/64 range, feeling fine.

That is what I shoot for. I don’t want to breath on my strings and they fret.

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O the EJ-16s - workhorse of bronze - sound good here. I still use them to here and there too.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          The voice is not beyond a healthy roll back, if you ask me. But yeps, you have to sing'n'swing it. .  

                                                                                                       Admit bein' kind of glad you returned to 6. The little fella signalized retirement.  

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Nice song Buc - you have been one of several members on this forum to inspire me to write songs and make videos.

You have a smooth voice and delivery- my own voice sounds like a cat trying to climb a blackboard to escape my voice, or so I've told myself. My delivery reminds me of the giant Kool aid pitcher crashing through a wall, yet I persist!

The 185 sounds nice, but I felt the hummingbird vintage you had was tops.

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11 hours ago, Johnson Blake said:

The 185 sounds nice, but I felt the hummingbird vintage you had was tops.

That was a nice one indeed.........like the 12-fret J-45 and the J-35......and the J-200 WC.......    I've turned loose several very nice examples......without regret, I must add.  I was happy to have played them for awhile.  If there's one thing I like in guitars it's change.  Got a pretty good J-185 now that'd I'd easily sell for a shot at a small body that appealed.  They're just things.........ships passing in the night and soon on their way.............

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On 4/13/2024 at 4:53 PM, Johnson Blake said:

- my own voice sounds like a cat trying to climb a blackboard to escape my voice, or so I've told myself. My delivery reminds me of the giant Kool aid pitcher crashing through a wall, yet I persist!

                                                    [lol] 

                                                                       

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  But you may get a break in the stand-up business. . 

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