HamerHokie

The way you can tell that's a Newport instead of a Monaco is there's no headstock binding.

No, but I see a set of stairs in front of a Korina Newport.

I've been using the Mesa Lone Star for a couple of months now. It's a nice amp. Two channels, both very independent. Problem is, it really lets the sound of the guitar dominate. Which might be great for studio, but for live applications it becomes a bit of a bother, because you have to tweak settings when you switch guitars. So I could go either way on it, but I'm going to hold out until I see if there's anything better for live applications.

That looks very sharp, but it's crying for black pickup rings.

Yeah but the Phat Cat models are limited to chrome PU rings, so I'm not sure how that would look. Trans red looks best when offset by black hardware IMHO.

I would get an opaque color with polka dots. Seriously, finish options are kind of lacking with the spruce topped models, because the spurce grain isn't as attractive as maple or even mahogany. My favorite Newport finish is opaque black, which you can't get any more. I saw a blue one but it looked very purple. I rather like the stock orange finish. Jazzburst has never appealed to me. I wonder how 'vintage natural' would look on spruce.

I guess the question should have been: Anyone's number 1 a Hamer?

A boost pedal will not give you a volume boost on an input driving a preamp which is already overdriven. It will work on a clean channel, or clean amp with relatively high headroom. If your amp doesn't offer a volume boost option, you need to place something in the effects loop that CUTS volume. Perhaps a graphic EQ with level set below unity gain. Then set amp volume for whatever you want for lead. You kick the eq in for rhythm, kick it out for lead.

I have been varying the height of my guitar to see if it has an impact on wrist fatigue. I have always liked the playability of a higher-slung guitar but not the looks. I have been compromising with Answer 4 but I'm starting to favor Answer 3, because it optimizes my wrist angle and lessens fatigue.

Works for me now.

Hey, I whined about 'no thread view' for days but Ted completely ignored me. I think he just doesn't like us.

Sounds like AA is good at customer mollification, if not customer service. No way I would give them positive feedback for a delayed delivery.

The HFH was DiMarzio's first attempt at capturing a single coil sound in a humbucker. In talking to a DiMarzio rep, they are kind of downplaying it in favor of the Bluesbucker, which they say 'sounds like a P-90.' I tried one, and it doesn't. If you compare the two on the DiMarzio website, the HFH has a more pronouced treble spike, whereas the BB has more midrange. The BB doesn't have enough mids to rival a P-90 but it is a passable single coil substitute.

This type of situation is what neutral/negative feedback is meant for.