BadgerDave

And the amazing thing is, I bought nothing! Except a few CDs at the Borders across the street. I'm now absolutely certain that the Drive By Truckers are the best band in the world. Souther Culture had me 90% of the way there, Southern Rock Opera pushed me to the edge, and "Buttholeville" from Gangstabilly closed the deal. BTW, Chris, the Keith Urban CD sucked. Your comparison to John Mayer was right on. Better player, similar songwriting, worse production. Very dissapointing. Thanks for making the trip, Matt. I'm connecting well with the Gretsch.

HUMBLE PIE - Rockin the Fillmore. Possibly the best live album of them all! Grand Funk Railroad ELP Shawn Cassidy - I'm not joking, the SC live album kicks. I agree an all of the others with a big +1 for BeBop Deluxe's Live in the Air Age. I wore out at least 3 copies of that one on vinyl.

I'm very sorry to hear of your loss, Frank. Moms are special people. I'm sure you have warm memories to see you through this difficult time.

I could swap out that pickup for you, Chris. And I'm just up the road . . . I am the BadgerEnabler!

Alas, As you are well aware, Bruce, I have never sucessfully executed a "rock star pose". The closest I've come is the "lame-ass lawyer with cool guitar" pose. Perhaps a Swirlygig is the missing element.

Hey Dave. Why didn't you have Greg put some crown inlays in? We actually discussed that. Ultimately, it was a more complicated, time-consuming and expensive procedure than I wanted to go through. Greg will absoluletly not do a job like that half way, so we're talking about pulling the frets which requires removing the binding, etc.

I had one for a few months. I loved the neck profile, loved the sound, the feel and the look, EXCEPT . . . I just couldn't get past the victory inlays. I know they are just cosmetic and don't make any real difference, but to me they're like chrome wheel spinners on a '65 Mustang. Too bling and distractingly "import" looking. I asked for a Triple Threat with crowns - Jol said no. Otherwise, I thought the TT was the best solidbody Hamer I've played.

My wife and I have incomes that are close to equal. We decided long ago to maintain completely separate bank accounts. Any major household purchase or expense is split 50/50 after we decide to spend the money. I pay the mortgage every month. She pays all of the grocery, utility and miscellanious expenses. Our checking, savings, retirement and and discretionary accounts are completely separate. We do some joint retirement planning, but we don't combine funds. IMO, this is a near utopian way to run a household. I have never asked her permission to buy a guitar, car, or anything else. I'll occasionaly ask for her input, but she doesn't get a veto. Same for her - she uses her money to buy what she wants and never even thinks about asking permission. As a result, we haven't had an argument about money in 15 years! As for guitars, she is mildly interested in what comes in and out. All of my guitars and basses are displayed in our home - 5 in the family room and the rest in a basement room that I finished as a "guitar room".

Me too on Bob Dylan's "Modern Times". Also: Best of Buck Owens Rhino's ""Rockin' Bones" Punkabilly sampler Tried to listen to Eric Johnson's last disc all the way through again. Didn't make it. I'm a huge EJ fan, but the material is lacking. I'd love to hear him do an "all covers" set.

If quantitative analysis were applied to barbeque, the clear champion would be: Link to the best friggin' BBQ on the planet and if you don't agree you're just stupid No one who has tried Sweatman's barbeque has failed to agree that it's the best. If anyone tries to tell you differently they're just trying to hide the fact that they were too stupid to find the place (which is quite difficult, actually). Once you try Sweatman's you will be willing to travel hundreds of miles for another taste. It is the crack of Q!

I'm with Jeff. It's time to remove the fetters of subversive marketing hype and rise up! What we need is a grassroots movement to demand the objective analysis of guitars! Who's with us? chirp . . . chirp . . . chirp . . . Hey, what the . . .

Where's Mike Lee? I beleive we need a bit of engineer to engineer dialogue here. (jdrnd, forgive me if I'm mistaken about your background/profession. I'm married to a ChemE and I see great similarities in your precise logic, technical writing and quest for quantifiable data - all great qualities, IMO)

Does a $20,000.00 Rolex perform it's essential function any better than a $10.00 quartz Timex? I guess that depends on what you beleive the essential function of the watch is. For some, it's simple - a watch tells time and for them, a Rolex is an incredible waste of money. For others, a watch is a piece of jewelry and the Rolex is worth it's price. Others admire craftsmanship, history, mechanical precision, or even the image projected by a certain brand. Guitars are much the same. They are purchased by a wide variety of individuals who have diverse preferences, not only in how their guitars look, but also in how they sound and feel. You apparently do not like P-90 pickups. I, and many others, prefer the sound of P-90s over even the best humbucking models. Why? because they sound better! Disagree? Great, you buy what you like and I'll buy what I like. Which is better? What are you going to measure? noise? sustain? If so, the humbuckers win, hands down. I still think the P-90s sound better. Is low string pressure better than high string pressure or is medium string pressure best? Stevie Ray Vaughn played long scale guitars with huge strings and high action. Satriani and Vai play light strings with very low action. Which is "right"? My point is that, beyond basic quality control measurements, I don't believe there are any objective measurements that can add significant value. Every guitar player with a few years of experience learns that a Les Paul has easier action and longer sustain than a Telecaster. We also begin to understand that every guitar has significant diffferences in tone and feel, even if we are comparing two Les Pauls that came off of the assembly line on the same day. So, to answer your question: No

Sounds like a que to pick up one of his guitars, throw it through the windshield of his car, kick him square in the balls and say, "Thanks for the education, a$$wipe, how do you like the way I've applied it?"

That is outstanding! Congratulations on pulling off a great original idea.

If you mean the green one, yes. I was able to pick the top at the last Hamer Fan Club factory tour and BCR Greg helped me spec the guitar. I was looking to re-create a guitar I almost ordered in 1980. A bound and crowned Sunburst in emerald green. The idea started gaining momentum and we decided to make a matching 8 string bass. If you mean the red '80, sorry for the long post. As far as I know it was a production guitar, though I'm not the original owner so I can't say for sure.

Correct, except for verb tense. "Lost his mind" is more accurate. This is why I can let the '80 go:

On eBay, free shipping upgrade for HFCers. eBay Link

Other: Becoming invisible to women under 30. Not that it matters to those of us who are happily married, but still, the apathy is a blow to the ego.

Damn, I saw him with Eric Clapton a copuple of years ago and he was fantastic. I still remember seeing Billy perform "Will It Go Round in Circles" on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert back in the 70's.

Mine is a '59. I sold it earlier this yearfor around $7K. The chipboard alligator case sold for $750!!!!!! Great guitars, but I believe the market is about topped out. Of course I could be kicking myself in a few years.

$350 may be on the high side for that one. Of course it does have the "more desireable" 3x3 headstock.

Some early morning statistical analysis: A = Level of musicianship at the MWJ rises. B = Badger absent. Correlation between A and B = +1.0! Sticking to my alternate year MWJ attendance pattern, I'll be back to push the musicianship curve southward in '07. Looks like y'all had a blast.

You want me to back up my gratuitous comments with facts? Damn lawyers! O.K., first there's the neck. The profile is, IMO, perfect. It starts out nice and meaty at the nut, then gradually gets fuller as you move up the neck. It has substance and a great vintagey feel. Then there's the weight. These are a good 1 -1.5 lbs lighter than your average Studio Custom. Next, the wood. Collectively, the TTs had some of the nicest tops and figured Brazilian rosewood necks I've seen on a group of Hamers. There have been more dramatic one-off tops, for sure, but the TTs are made with consistently elegant pieces of wood. Finally, the TTs resonated noticeably more than any SC I've played. This may be the payoff from the one-piece neck, increased neck angle and TonePros hardware. You know the sound and feel of striking a quality set of rosewood claves? The TT is a lot like that. I've been advised to refrain from further comment on Greg's post. I have no recollection of those events at this time.

I said "production" model, Greg. That was secret code for "except for the BCR Juniors". Geez, did ya leave your decoder ring at home today?