diablo175

Funny story about Kiss air guitar- in middle school, I was in full-on Kiss fan boy mode. This, despite the fact that I didn't own a single Kiss LP. Couldn't afford one and my folks absolutely would not contribute a penny towards that satanic group. Nor would they drive me to a record store to purchase one if I did save up birthday $$$ None the less, my fanaticism was undeterred and I borrowed my neighbor's Kiss Alive. Played the shit out of that 2 record set. A year or so later, met a kid up the road who had 4 or 5 of their albums. I eventually persuaded him to sell me his well worn copies of Destroyer and Rock N Roll Over. By the time I hit 8th grade, I was fanatical. The middle school had this fledgling social experiment where they corralled all of the 8th graders in the gym and for 50 minutes, you could interact with your fellow classmates, shoot hoops, play records, dance etc. I guess idea was to promote social skills, I dunno. Anyway, me and my two fellow Kiss fanatics took that opportunity to climb to the top of the bleachers and air band to Kiss that we had managed to get on the record player which was connected to the gym's sound system. There we were, oblivious to the laughs of derision and scorn of rolled eyes, rocking out as if we were at Madison Square Garden. It was glorious! Sure, it damn near made me a social pariah but the classmates who took the time to get to know me just chalked it up to me being "Kiss crazy" I seem to recall I had a lot of classmates sign my 8th grade yearbook to that effect.

I can't help but agree- if you were not exposed to the spectacle and bombast of Kiss in the mid- late 70's, you likely wouldn't get them. Their zenith, IMO, was Destroyer and their swan song was 1977's Love Gun. From that point on, everything seemed to be an effort to preserve or rekindle their former glory. Well-packaged and commercial. I saw them in the late 80's sans makeup, with Eric Carr and Bruce Kulick. They were trying to ride the hair metal wave (which was on it's way out, ironically) and while they put on a good show, it just wasn't the same as 70's era Kiss. Kulick is a very solid guitarist and brought a modicum of 80's guitar dynamic to the band but Ace was the Spaceman (showmanship) and a talented contributor to the song writing. Besides, a smoking, 3 pickup Lester seems far easier to obtain than ungodly shred technique.

Exactly. It's Ace and it was '77 era shredding. 2+ years later, this cat named Eddie Van Halen would make both of those things insignificant. I loved Kiss back in the day. Still listen to them from time to time. I did. On my Harley.

I don't know if I agree with the widely held assertion that this was Ace's greatest solo or one of the GOAT.

+1 Ace was my ambassador into the lifelong preoccupation with rock guitar and staggering debt accrued on guitars. My first? A Hondo II Les Paul copy; to be like Ace.

"Help me button up my shirt!" I don't understand the (mostly) unbuttoned shirt/side man boob shot. But hey, maybe he's still got pull with the ladies. I dunno. I could see him taking up the torch of Jeff Beck with his blazing fetboard work but it looks like he's going for the John Mayer visual effect.

Was lucky enough to see EJ at a G3 with Satch and Vai in '97, and meet him at the G4 Experience in '06. Truly a humble and down to earth guy! He did a few mini performances during the event and I was wowed to be sure. Never really got into him other than Cliffs of Dover... until that G4 Exp. Still don't know a lot of his work.

Them youngins is all talented and good but would they have the stamina to endure the better part of a life time of disappointment, playing in their bedroom or basement, tirelessly hacking away at the same old shit?

I was thinking it'd be more feasible for me to sound like Jimi than to play like him. Tomato/tomahto?

Mob Rules was released on this day (Oct1) in 1981 !

Love Reb's playing but the constipated face he's sporting at 0:15 is comical. Don't know if it's coincidence or some algorithmic shit, but have been seeing a number of Reb Beach clips lately on YT, Insta and FB. It's not easy to distinguish yourself from all the other hot shit shredders in a field packed with so many talented mofo's but... His tapping is pretty tight and he does some pretty freakin' cool shit on that thar wang bar. Back in the day, I could never quite figure out how he got that warble-y sound to some of his runs. The answer was always right in front of me- just a slight snap or tap of the bar to get it to flutter while hammering on a note and voila! ETA- at 13:10 Reb talks about not being influenced by Jimi because he was before his time (Reb was born in '63) I was a little dumbfounded. I was born in '65 and totally was inspired and influenced by Jimi. The notion that you have to be born in a certain time frame in order to be influenced by a certain artist or player, is alien to me. I think it has more to do with when you gain access to certain genres of music and, to a smaller degree, your ability to ingest understand and assimilate it based on your acquired knowledge and experience. That's why Ace Frehley appealed to me at age 14. I didn't have the acquired framework to understand the mechanics and theory behind players like Fripp, Zappa, Howe, Beck and others. I just responded to the energy and coolness factors of Ace, Jimi, Angus, and Jimmy Page.

$1260 - $1470.00 (for B & W) plus tax at Sweetwater. The slime green Charvel San Dimas I posted about was the victor in a tug of war between purchasing it or one of these new Jacksons. In the end, they're essentially the same guitar. But the Charvel had the advantage of being US made, featuring a Schaller Floyd (vs. 1000) more preferable pickups (PATB vs J-50B) a hard case, and the more appealing head stock and finish color. YMMV.

Yup. That used to be mine. I bought it refinished as is. I may have dropped a different bridge p'up in there and likely a new Schaller Floyd. Can't recall. Somewhere between then and now, it's gotten a few additional mods. It is (was?) a solid player but it wasn't enough to remain in the harem. It's worth whatever you're willing to pay for it. As a refin and modded piece, it's not worth nearly as much as it would be in an original, stock state. I paid around $1400 I think and sold it for close to the same amount.

I have that shirt! ETA- gawdayumm. That's some hella ferocious shredding there, @LucSulla

What's in a word? "Best" or "Favorite(s)?" I tend to go for the hidden gems, the deep cuts with Sabs. Snowblind (LOVE that descending minor section at 1:40) Cornucopia (again the break at 1:43 just kills!) Sabbra Cadabra Hole in the Sky Symptom of the Universe You Won't Change Me She's Gone- should get a nomination for most unlikely tune from Sabs, next to Changes. Special Mention to Looking For Today- for the break and outro sections with a great descending riff! Shockwave- for one of the more memorable solos by Iommi IMO.

Now, now, now. If someone wants to try and get 4K for a Korean Cali, let 'em. I wouldn't pay $400 for it but it's their prerogative to ask what they want. Getting it is another story. That said, I do have a soft spot for those Korean Cali's as I got my start down the Cali rabbit hole on a nicely modded MIKali. Some kind, previous owner swapped out the p'ups for some nicer SD's and an Original Floyd. Not a bad guitar for the money I paid, especially with nice upgrades!

I’m a little surprised there hasn’t been an announcement on this board about the Hamer jam October 11. Or maybe I just missed it? I’m planning on heading out for that weekend! Any other fellow hard rockers planning on being there? If so, let’s throw together a 3 song set list! Let’s melt some faces!

Adam and his snake oil products have never really sat right with me. For starters, he isn't really offering anything novel or ground breaking other than his allen wrench tipped arm. His products are all slightly rehashed version of existing tech- his trem is essentially the Gotoh 1996T, almost down to the screws. No crime in that- lot of companies offering competitive, alternative or similar products. He was charging almost $250 + for his baseline trem without a locking nut. Gotohs are $120- $150. Again, not a crime but... But what really annoyed me were reports of some shady AF marketing efforts- supposed recording artist endorsements which weren't really on the up and up. Read about it years ago in the JCF Online forum. There were also reports of products being substandard in quality. I certainly wasn't thrilled with my FU Tone trem. Sold it before it got much use. I think he's got that issue worked out but I just don't fully trust him and I'm not particularly sold on his wares. YMMV.

Squares of gaffers tape sound good. I won't buy anything from fu- tone. Ever.

I'm also looking into some home remedies- the felt pad for a snooker/pool cue, glued to the right spot on the block, plasti-dip the tip of the screw, even a heavy rubber band around the block might work if the clearance is there.

Many thanks! Just placed an order for one last night.

Mods on the Charvel SD are almost complete. New trem posts, a trem block, the D-tuna, and a new OFR push-in arm assembly. Waiting for a kill switch volume pot to come in. I have run into 2 problems: the screw on the trem stop makes for noisy stops. Not thrilled w/ the metallic "clank" I hear when the block makes contact w/ the trem stop screw as the bar is returned to level, quickly. That screw needs something like a rubber tip to mitigate or eliminate that sound. The bigger issue is my D-Tuna does not move fully to E. I'm in the midst of trouble shooting the problem but everything I've read online or watched on YT has not yielded a solution.

My recollection of the other slime green San Dimas I had years ago was that the neck p'up (a '59, if I recall correctly) sounded absolutely killer! I've not found any on my 24 (or more) fret axes that sounded as good. I haven't been as impressed with this one either, but I only had a quick, cursory test ride this AM.

Might just need to create an ongoing thread for all the various mashups out there:

No exaggeration- that's precisely why it was considered in the first place.