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Update; My latest GAS - my next guitar - and sorry, it ain't a Gibson

Notes_Norton

By Notes_Norton
in The Gibson Lounge

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Notes_Norton

Notes_Norton

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My partner has a Parker Hornet, and I just love the neck.

 

I like the look of this guitar, I like the pickup configuration including the Fishman and the Duncans, I like the light weight of the guitar too. Oh and I want it in this nat/satin finish too.

 

No it ain't spammy. I have nothing to do with Parker Guitars and gain nothing by posting the picture here.

 

And if you mean the Band-in-a-Box stuff, notice the ;-) (tongue firmly planted in cheek).

 

I will have this guitar one way or another. It will probably replace my modded LTD.

 

Notes ♫

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Notes_Norton

Notes_Norton

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Aw, c'mon. Didn't you see the smile face ;-) after that line?

 

I really don't expect you all to buy my disks just so I can have the guitar I want.

 

OK, I'll change it.

 

Help me buy this guitar and I'll be your friend for life ;-)

 

Just havin' a little fun.

 

Don't take me so seriously.

 

Notes ♫

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Riverside

Riverside

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Aw, c'mon. Didn't you see the smile face ;-) after that line?

 

I really don't expect you all to buy my disks just so I can have the guitar I want.

 

OK, I'll change it.

 

Help me buy this guitar and I'll be your friend for life ;-)

 

Just havin' a little fun.

 

Don't take me so seriously.

 

Notes ♫

 

Must have not seen it for what it was, my apologies.

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Notes_Norton

Notes_Norton

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Must have not seen it for what it was, my apologies.

Thanks, no apology necessary. I should have used one of the little yellow ones provided, but I'm so used to typing the "smiley" instead of mouse clicking. My e-mail program converts them automatically.

 

Supposedly, other than the upper horn, the body is just like the Parker Fly, which has a great reputation, but I really don't like the looks of the Fly. That off-kilter upper horn just turns me off.

 

I've read some reviews on the DragonFly and they are mostly very good, so I'm sure I'll be happy with it.

 

I play sax, guitar, wind synth, flute, percussion controller and vocals on stage, so picking up and setting down instruments happen almost every song. 5 pounds of guitar sounds a lot better than the almost 8 I'm hefting now.

 

Plus I think it's a really good looking guitar, and if I don't like the pickups, I can swap them out (although Duncan has a good reputation and I'm pretty mediocre on the guitar - sax/wind synth is my first instrument).

 

But even though sax is my first instrument, I've got a lot more guitar GAS than sax GAS.

 

I'm gonna get that guitar one way or another ;-)

 

Notes ♫

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damian

damian

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Cool looking DragonFly.

 

About $1500 - start saving those pennies. B)

 

 

$1500.00 for a Parker like that? Retail? Hmmm. I need to do some research; would be a nice addition to my (any one's) collection. Looks like ash.....

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milod

milod

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Hey Bob (Notes)...

 

You claim you've got more GAS for guitars than for a sax? What's about that custom-built sax jobbie you got a year or so ago?????????? <chortle>

 

Sorry. Couldn't help myself.

 

But in a sense you've kinda confirmed my theory that after a while playing for money, the neck and playability of a guitar are the priority, not the "look" or in ways even the tone.

 

***** For anyone new to the forum, Notes plays music for a living as a "small business," but doesn't make a big deal about the "band in a box" segment of business 99.999 percent of the time. Even this was mostly tongue in cheek. I'd say if'n some younger guys wanna figure how to make a living long term at music, Bob's probably a better example than most...

 

There also are some other folks whose guitar-oriented businesses aren't pushed much, if at all, on the forum out of far more courtesy than most folks realize.

 

m

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damian

damian

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OOPS !!!! I thought everyone who visited this site recieved a BAND IN A BOX for free as a promotional thing, and then when our friends saw how cool it was that they would be compelled to purchase one thus THEN enabling Notes to buy a new Parker...[thumbup]:rolleyes:eusa_pray.gifeusa_pray.gifeusa_pray.gif

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Notes_Norton

Notes_Norton

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Well milod, you have a good point, but I needed the sax, I just want the guitar. I have only 2 tenor saxes now, the new one, and the older back-up sax. I sold the non-operative former back-up tenor to someone who will fix it up himself. It had become unplayable, and the repair job would have cost as much as the new sax. But to the guy who bought it, it was a good value, as he repairs them himself.

 

I have 4 guitars and want more. And sax is my primary instrument. So yes, I definitely have more guitar gas. Plus there is only one other sax I'd like to get (early serial number King Super20 Silversonic $$$$) and at least a dozen guitars. I think the fact that guitars have so many different shapes and finishes plus with different pickups they sound different, makes for more variety. On saxes we have mouthpiece collections.

 

And yes, I took the friendly teasing as it was intended (thanks for the grin)

 

And as far as the Band-in-a-Box stuff is concerned. I don't sell Band-in-a-Box, I do sell third-party style and song disks for BiaB and I never expected everybody to take me up on that - it was all for fun. It's like a child telling mommy, "If you buy me this puppy I'll feed it and take it for walks forever."

 

And I agree, the playability is one of the most important factors. If the instrument is awkward to play, you will not be able to express yourself to your potential.

 

Looks are also important when you play for a living, because many people listen with their eyes.

 

Tone is not that important, as long as it's in the ball-park for the genre of music you are playing. If you are playing hard rock and you sound like either Slash, Page, Hendrix, or yourself, the audience won't know the difference.

 

It's all about how you express yourself.

 

Headstock brand means nothing to 99% of the audience.

 

heymisterk, I saw Joni play a Fly and it sounded awesome. Supposedly, the dragonfly is fly with a different body shape and a bolt-on neck (according to the Parker promo).

 

ChanMan, Band-in-a-Box is an auto-accompaniment software program made by pgmusic.com - You enter the chords, choose a style, and it becomes your background band. A little like one of those one-finger organs they used to sell in the shopping malls, but the output is much more musical. I bought it in the 1980s to practice improvisation on my sax. I could enter any song and try things out in the privacy of my own home.

 

Then BiaB decided to let the end-users make their own styles. I wasn't blown away by the stock styles, they were good enough to practice with, but they sounded amateurish. So I wrote some of my own. I gave them to my friends and they said they liked them better than the "factory" styles. So I put an ad in Electronics Musician magazine, and people started buying them and asking for more. And that has now grown to sales in over 100 different countries, 20 style disks, 28 fake disks, and me also carrying disks from 4 other people. It's a moonlighting job for me. The profit per disk is very small, so I'm not going to get rich doing it, but there is enough so that I don't have to go on the road during the slow gigging season.

 

Personally, I think that BiaB is the best software for practicing. Any song in thousands of different styles (BTW, both PG Music and my own styles have gotten much better through the years). Whether you purchase my aftermarket disks or not, I highly recommend it for practicing your guitar or whatever else.

 

I hadn't planned for the BiaB stuff to get this involved, but since you asked, I felt I should at least explain what it is.

 

I'm going to get that Parker, one way or another. It would be easy to convince myself to just pull the trigger, but I just had to have my water well re-drilled and some other plumbing work done on my house. Water for drinking, bathing and other uses is more important than the guitar. Owning an older home means there will always be those unexpected expenses.

guitarest they tell me these guitars average 5 pounds. The maple neck adds a bit of weight to the original fly.

 

The specs look good, the reviews I've read are very good, Parker has a good reputation, my left shoulder could use some weight relief, my right arm is tired of picking up the <8 pound LP-Clone, I'm tired of polishing a gloss black guitar, I can't use my Casino or ES330 on my weekly outdoor gig (salt air inside a hollow guitar will not be good with the electronics - and I can't clean the inside), and I'm really trying very hard to convince myself that I should put this guitar on credit.

 

How am I doing?

 

Even Leilani agrees (but then she is a guitarist too).

 

So if you don't want to buy my aftermarket products, Christmas is just around the corner <GIANT GOOD-NATURED JOKING AROUND GRIN>

 

Notes ♫

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milod

milod

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Bob...

 

A fishman? As in "I can make this sound pretty much like an acoustic-electric?"

 

Looks good. Ain't my "style" in terms of shape, but...

 

My "solidbody when the weather stinks and I'm concerned about weather with a semi or full hollow" is my almost-antique early-mid 1970s Guild SG version. This looks pretty good as an update.

 

But then... Gee, who am I to think somebody's looking at a good deal.

 

I think it's almost a shame that they don't make a fishman bridge for Gibson and Epi SGs. <grin> At least they don't that I know about.

 

m

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Notes_Norton

Notes_Norton

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Bob...

 

A fishman? As in "I can make this sound pretty much like an acoustic-electric?"

 

Looks good. Ain't my "style" in terms of shape, but...

 

My "solidbody when the weather stinks and I'm concerned about weather with a semi or full hollow" is my almost-antique early-mid 1970s Guild SG version. This looks pretty good as an update.

<...>

m

Yep. I've heard the Fly with the fishman, and it does a decent acoustic-electric sound. Not like a real flat-top, but close enough for the music I do on stage.

 

I played my Casino exclusively until the weekly outdoor gig in a marina two years ago. It's about 1/4 mile from the Atlantic Ocean, on the Indian River Lagoon, and at high tide, the brackish water is actually under the deck we are playing on.

 

I figured I didn't want the salt air in my hollow body guitar, so I modded the ESP/LTD. Now it does a fine job. The neck is great, 14" radius, the intonation is good, the balance is good, but it is a bit on the heavy side. Not as heavy as a real LP, but close to 8 pounds. A 5 pound guitar sounds great to me.

 

I like the Strat-ish shape. It's not perfect but definitely an 8 out of 10 in my book. The longer upper horn makes for good balance (my Casino and ES-330 are both a bit neck heavy). If the Duncans on my Casino are typical of Seymour's quality, I'm expecting good sounds from the guitar - the reviews seem to indicate that as well. Plus I really like natural wood finishes on a guitar. Light is best, dark or cherry stained would be my second choice.

 

After trying to keep a high gloss black guitar clean and stage presentable, a light, satin finish should be a blessing.

 

The sax I just bought should last a lifetime (the more I play that one, the more I like it), and if this guitar does what I expect it to do, it should be my gigging guitar for many years to come.

 

I think I'm going to pull the trigger on Friday.

 

Notes ♫

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milod

milod

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Bob...

 

Looks like a good choice for you. If you two look kinda like your avatar, I'd say it might be a perfect "look" for what you're doing, too.

 

The one thing that surprises me isn't you getting a nice guitar with a more or less Gibson style neck/fingerboard, and that has a Fishman......... It's that somebody hasn't used it as an excuse to complain about electronic guitars as they have on some other threads.

 

You're doing kinda the sorta thing I think about when I'm talking about a music service business <grin> having versatile tools to help make the business work. This guitar looks as if it'll do the job.

 

Not half as cute as your band partner/room mate, but what the heck... <chortle>

 

Seriously, it's likely they don't have something that looks a bit more guitarry... or...

 

m

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Notes_Norton

Notes_Norton

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Bob...

 

Looks like a good choice for you. If you two look kinda like your avatar, I'd say it might be a perfect "look" for what you're doing, too.

 

I look pretty much the same, but in the last couple of years my beard is turning gray - more of a "salt-and-pepper" look. Also our costumes run from the casual in the avatar, to suit and tie, to tuxedos depending on the gig.

 

The one thing that surprises me isn't you getting a nice guitar with a more or less Gibson style neck/fingerboard, and that has a Fishman......... It's that somebody hasn't used it as an excuse to complain about electronic guitars as they have on some other threads.

 

The scale is Fender scale, but the 14" radius definitely puts it in Gibson territory. I prefer the flatter fretboard. Since we do a variety of songs (again depending on the gig) there are times when an acoustic sound is appropriate. My pedal gives an acoustic simulation but it isn't the greatest. Also, I can blend the Fishman with the Duncan pups and get something with even more color than either.

 

You're doing kinda the sorta thing I think about when I'm talking about a music service business <grin> having versatile tools to help make the business work. This guitar looks as if it'll do the job.

 

That's what I'm thinking. I already schepp a lot of gear to the gig (sax, guitar, flute, synths, PA, etc.) so to me the more I can get out of any one tool, the fewer additional tools I'll have to carry.

 

Not half as cute as your band partner/room mate, but what the heck... <chortle>

 

I have to admit, I got extremely lucky with that one. She is a great singer, has great looks, is a very cooperative band-mate, and both my lover and best friend. Life is good!!!

 

Seriously, it's likely they don't have something that looks a bit more guitarry

 

I don't mind the "strat-ish" look. It's better than the original Fly (I hated that upper horn). Leilani's Parker PM10 (Hornet) has a LP-ish shape so it looks more traditional. It has a great neck, coil tapping pickups, but no Fishman and with a mahogany body, it's heavier (although it's still under 7 pounds).

 

I'm waiting to see if my local Ma and Pa store can get one, if not, I might go Internet Order.

 

I'm pretty much convinced to pull the trigger.

 

If (or should I say when) I'll post pictures and a review.

 

Funny, my primary instrument is saxophone. I have 1 good tenor, one backup tenor and one alto. I also own 3 electric guitars and one acoustic, and I'm planning on getting another guitar.

 

I guess I need to get used to endless guitar GAS ;-)

 

Notes ♫

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