ZR

Happy B-day! PM or Email me!

Yeah, but where to get a hat like that? It must be the hat! Z Love his playing but he does look kind of like a Spanish-style, old-school Tampa Bay Buccaneer (not that there's anything wrong with that)!! Check out his newer stuff like Metamophisis...or something like that. Very awesome playing.

Good point. He should have worn a baseball style cap all the time like Mathias Jabs does! Or, go bald like everyone else does now! For the record I love Jabs, and Riot was one of my favorites from that era...Swords and Tequila! We use to play about 2 or 3 covers of theirs. I also liked the basic, non over produced sound of their albums. Maybe a little Spinal Tappish but I really liked Krokus. The first few albums were just like AC/DC then they developed a more metal style. Great chord and solo work on Midnight Maniac. Loved old Motley Crue, Accept but Udo's voice may take some getting use to! Saxon. Something a little different would be Tygers of Pan Tang - John Sykes played with them awhile, more proggy would be Dream Theater. My favorite Scorpions albums = Animal Magnetism, Lovedrive, and Blackout - before that was more organic and after that was more poppish, but I liked it all. Getting MSG's first few albums (esp. the 1st two) is always a good thing. Although more of a hard rock band to me, Y&T's albums are great such as Earthshaker and Black Tiger (they get kinda poppy on parts of that one but still rock). And, some great guitar work on Loudness albums - some may not like the ESL/ Japanese voice. The guitarist, Akira, is very derivative of VH1 style but really comes into his own as the albums progress.

It seems legal to sell cd's ...what about music software? You have used record/cd stores so how is it (or IS it?) different from selling music software? If I have an old recording program I don't use anymore could I legally sell it? Could I buy someones old drum program? Please enlighten me. Thanks!!

They aren't popular because they are useless. How many songs do you know that use those frets? I am sure they can be used for original music, but they have a very limited use. I never saw that 29 fret slant edge Washburn someone posted this week before...pretty cool. Not necessary but cool nevertheless!

Man, that Grand Ol' Opry pic makes me depressed and I'm not even a huge fan. It's such an American thing and I know it means so much to others. Just sad. Looks like it'll be a big loss of music history and awesome gear...

Wow, much worse than I thought. Good luck to all in recovering/getting your lives back together.

Those ice skating gals are hot! Tanith! That checkerboard outfit the one skater has on could be the mandatory uniform for all future HFC jams! Or not!!

Classic song and vid - good call.

I stopped buying JP albums after Screaming... and Defenders...Were their albums after that great? Which ones?

The headstock looks almost like one of those kit necks where you have to shape your own headstock...but w/o shaping it!!

Nice guitar, nice pics. How wide is that neck? It looks wider to me than usual in the DL'd pics. Thanks!!

I'm still rounding up parts for this creation...so not yet! You know, the cleavage on that thing is nicely done..the way the weight of the boobs has shifted etc. I'm serious!

Thanks for thinking of me! As part of my birthday I'm going to get some new tires for the Monster and go for a ride this weekend. Earlier this morning a good friend calls me up and asks if I want to grab some breakfast. I'm thinking that's cool and told my family that he's taking me out to breakfast for my birthday. When I get to Krystal (big spender!) I see that he already ordered his meal and is ready to eat. Anyway, I ordered my food, then gave him some crap about it - being my b-day and all - and he said he forgot. No biggie, but... I'm going to call his wife and ask her what time do they want to take me out for drinks. I'll tell her the breakfast story and that he felt bad and wanted to make it up to me! We'll see if it works.

I've met; Steve Haynie Jettster Jack Butler and some other guy at a Cheap Trick show at the Roxy in ATL...sorry don't remember every one of them were cool I've had trades/extensive communications with many HFCers over the years but especially Tobereeno Phoenix Jaye I don't post as much as I use to but still lurk. I'm trying to get my life together (Ha! No joke!)!

I agree with Johnny here. Adam Lambert, whether he wins or not, WILL be known a year from now and you will probably be sick of hearing from him (in a good or bad way depending on how you feel about him). I agree that he can too often go for the big high voice thingy he does but his quieter vocals are really quite amazing as well. I think when he starts doing his own stuff he will be even better. Anything he does now will always be compared to whoever originally sang it which can bias the critic. There was a few times, however, when they said what song he was going to sing (such as "Ring of Fire") and I thought "oh no, he cant pull this off" but he did - in a very original way! He has the stage charisma and looks very comfortable up there; he could front a band today. I'm sure the AI ppl are just salivating over all the money this guy will bring in!!

Cool Boston link; Letter from Tom Scholz

Seriously too. The timing of your post is uncanny. We were coming back from the Davis Cup last night and listened to the whole 1st album. All of us - kids too - were singing every song! Brad Delp - RIP

Very cool Chris.

Not sure if this is what you have in mind but I like Black Tide...a bunch of young kids that seem to have that hunger for the old school feel. They won several awards from various ppl like Kerrang etc.

Thanks guys...it's a 2007 Gibson R0. That one is very nice looking. I know they are capable of making great guitars but it just bugs me that they do so inconsistently. Yet, everyone just buys into the name and buys mediocre quality for too much money unless you buy their good quality expensive stuff (even I have!) Yet, it reminds me of that Emperor and his clothing fable where he was actually naked but everyone just thought his clothes were awesome.

Nice looking guitar. What is it...an Edwards?

Haha!! You don't know how true that is!! Chris, thanks for the pix fix!! Yeah, I've had my eye on Heriatge b4 as well. Thanks for putting up with my long-winded post. It was a lot of ground to cover but I've been putting off that rant for awhile and things just kind of build up!!

I mainly like to analyze things and pick the best-made product regardless of brand name. That usually means NOT buying what the majority of the public thinks is the best. For instance, Gibson and Fender. Yes, they've made great guitars in the past and are capable of making some great ones today. But, due to their corporate philosophies they have dumbed-down most of their products to hit various price points. I don't have a problem with that either in that I'm a free-market capitalist and whatever sells sells; people will vote with their dollars. However, I do have a pet peeve with people just blindly buying a brand because of the brand; Gibson, Harley...whatever. Now, if you truly like what you're getting and not just being deceived by the smoke and mirrors of marketing then that's fine. I just feel that many consumers are blind and don't engage their brains enough! Now, having said all that I do take a sort of elitist pride in owning brands like Hamer guitars, or my Zinky amp in that I feel like they represent a more intelligent, well thought out decision; I'm not just another average consumer. In fact, I may sometimes shy away from a brand name even if it is a better product so as to not lose my independent street cred...crazy, I know! This was exactly the case with Gibson. I felt that unless you spent an arm and a leg you probably wouldn't get a very good value for your dollar as you're mainly paying for the name. I tried so many other short-scale guitars (Hamer included) to try and fix my Les Paul jones but nothing really did it for me; close, but not quite there. I was always looking for that Les Paul tone but never quite getting it. Well, I finally traded for a '97 LP Classic Plus in Transparent Amber ... It’s a nice guitar with features I like; one piece back, thinner 60’s neck, hotter pickups I didn’t think I would like but actually do, a nice top but doesn’t look like some “lawyer’s guitar”, lacquer finish, vintage nickel hardware, the aged inlays but not the snot green ones (even though the pic shows it more that way than they look like in person) I also bought a Epiphone Elitist Les Paul in Ebony which was made at Fugi Gen Gakki in Japan and the quality is incredible! It is actually speced out and built better than my Gibson. It’s non–weight relieved, long neck tenon, has a bone nut instead of plastic, mother of pearl inlays instead of plastic, USA pickups (which were changed to Gibson Burstbuckers), vintage nickel hardware, correct thin binding detail in the lower cutaway etc. thin poly finish (though you can see the grain of the wood like with an older laquer finish). I also bought a Dean Soltero SL which was also made in Japan at Fugi Gen Gakki and the quality is incredible! I like it a lot because it gives me the LP vibe in a very unique package. I’ll be swapping out the stock USA Dimarzio’s (fairly hot) for a pair of Seth Lovers. Anyway, between the 2 Les Pauls the MIJ one is built so much nicer and plays better too. Sound is very similar but I’ll have to swap out pickups to really compare the two. The Gibson is no slouch in the playing and sound department but the Elitist does it all with less fret buzz. They both have their own mojo and are both great guitars. However, if you were to compare the two from a build quality stand point the Elitist wins hands down. The Gibson has more orange peel look in the finish, you can feel the binding edges (they’re not flush and seamless where they meet the wood), fretboard inlays are not as precisely set (more gaps), Gibson headstock inlay is not as precisely set (not flush with surrounding area). And, as mentioned, the features / details on the Elitist make it more historically accurate; non weight relieved, long neck tenon, thin binding, and more of a neck angle than the Gibson which I believe to be more historically accurate but I’d have to measure to verify. The Elitist is a better guitar by features and build quality AND it’s MUCH cheaper. If anything the 2 guitars should trade places; we should be looking at the Gibson and seeing all this great craftsmanship and then upon seeing the build flaws in the Elitist say, ”well it’s not built as well, but it’s pretty good for the money. But, it’s all switched around in reality; the crappier guitar is the one that everyone wants because it says Gibson on the headstock! I find lately that I’ve been gravitating towards picking up the Gibson more. Have I succumbed to the Gibson mystique? Am I turning into one of those “consumer sheep”? Does being made in the USA hold such a power over me that I feel connected to the legacy of past performances with this great American brand? Also, what’s everyone’s take on historic accuracy anyway? My logical side says what does it all matter? Who’s to say that the old way was actually the best way? Does it matter that Gibson (since the early 80’s) bores 9 big holes in the possibly less resonant heavier wood before putting the top cap on? Even more extreme on their chambered models… I know a lot of fine instruments are being made with chambered bodies. But, if this chambering alters the sound as they claim, then how can Gibson say that the weight relief holes have no real impact on the tone? I know that ultimately the guitar is just a tool and the end result of music is what I strive to achieve but sometimes playing the instrument that’s just right for you can be beneficial in achieving that. I’m still figuring that out with the 3 short scale guitars I have. I’ll be swapping out some pickups and doing some more comparisons in the hopes of selling 1 or 2 of them. I’d like to keep all three but I know that they all deliver such a similar sound that the economy dictates that I don’t need that much redundancy. What’s your take on any of the above points/opinions? Signed, Obsessively yours (shut up and play yer guitar!) Crap, not sure what I did wrong on the last 2 pics...they didn't show up in the post yet you can get to the pics by cut and pasting the URL. Anyone know what I did wrong?