Jeff R

Update from Baton Rouge, Louisiana ... "#5" has undergone a truss rod adjustment due to her national tour, and a subsequent saddle and pickup height adjustment. Pardon my Cajun French, but this fucker smokes. Glamour shots from the work bay. Bil is absolutely smiling from heaven right now.

#5 arrived just fine today at my office, so her "tour list" now includes time in the complex that houses the tallest state capitol building in America. Me and this one are gonna have some fun in some interesting locations o'er the next few days

The closest I've come to "living" thing in a piece of gear was a wah pedal with a wasp nest (the dirt dauber kind) inside the casing. No wasps, just those muddy cylinders. The craziest thing I've seen in an amp was in a college buddy's Marshall head. The amp didn't have the back grille on it, and Joe had a cat that would often get up in the head box atop the chassis, I'd assume because the chassis would be hot/warm after Joe would play it. One time I met up with Joe to jam around and the most disgusting stench ever began overtaking the room. Turns out the cat took a big shit on top of the chassis and the turds started simmering/melting under the chassis heat. Despite several cleaning attempts by Joe, the smell never went away completely - everytime Joe would fire up the amp, a faint whiff of cat shit would fill the room be it the apartment, a small club, wherever.

STM, you have a message in your inbox.

First suggestion: Run, don't walk, from the newspaper idea. I'd prefer to fall on a knife - higher survival rate. There, I said it. Spike the idea. Immediately. There is a proven and sustainable market for light bulbs. I'd go there first.

That's like me eating a burrito and handing you the wrapper as I'm licking the bean juice off it. The heart of journalism (not advertising revenue, but pure journalism) is making a difference in your community. You have done and continue to do that with the youth in your community, Marty. If you feel compelled to be a journalist, don't get a dying medium -- IMHO start a blog and share "your" programs and stories with fellow educators abroad who share your community's demographics, socioeconomics and community concerns and offer them stories regarding scenarios, challenges and outcomes (both positive and not-so positive). If you want a business/revenue, kick ass at ^^^^^^ and then branch into selling ads on your online newspaper.

Back in the mid to late '90s when that new Internet thing was starting to gather momentum, we streetbeaters would joke in the newsroom that until people could bring their computers to the toilet, our job security was just fine. Boy, were we unforeseeing dumbasses. Or were we?

I still think one of the wisest luckiest moves I ever made was jumping ship from the newsroom to PR/media relations 15 years ago. Man, the horror stories I've heard from the few (emphasis on "the few") of my old friends who are still gutting it out in the newsroom. And this is a paper belonging to a big American media chain. I hear similar stories from the print media, both domestic and abroad, I work with in my current job. I could not count how many of my journalist friends have asked me about possible opportunities at my camp over the years. I ran into my former AME a couple of years ago, first time I had seen him since 1999, and when I asked him about the paper he just shook his head looking down a little and told me "you wouldn't like it as much as you used to, Jeff." A year later I found out he was one of three vets in the newsroom that took early retirement packages they had been presented repeatedly (probably each earnings quarter) by the top tier. They all early-retired on the same day - probably 75+ years of combined experience pitched to the curb. Proceed VERY carefully, Marty.

Hee hee, got the call this afternoon ... I've been plotting this and it's gonna be FUN!!

I've had an SS I, two Calis, a Chap Sustainer, a Diablo and three Centauras, two of them Centaura 2HBs. Liked them all for different reasons but the Centauras just seemed to play themselves under my hands, just a great personal fit.

With the exception of one band I played with in the early 90s ... when I gigged, I brought two electrics. One would get played all night 99 percent of the time. The two I brought would periodically change based on my mood leading up to leaving for the show. All my guitars are pretty versatile and any would pretty much carry me through any show of any genre. Sure I'd love to take all my electrics (6) to a live show but I wouldn't want to have to load in/out them, tune and prep them, swapping a wireless transmitter between songs (or worse, buying five more transmitters), fast-cleaning them of sweat, makeup, spilled drinks etc. after the show ... or pay a roadie decently to do all that crap for me. That band in the 90s. I had two electrics, 6- and 12-string acoustics that rotated on a Gracie stand during the set, a full keyboard setup and no roadie. Tend to getting all that in and out of where it needs to be before, during and after the show and the shit gets old really quick.

Another I've had good luck with is Maas metal polish.

Dunno if it's the PR/marketing professional in me, but I personally think this may be force-fed publicity-stirring pre-event drama and Ace and Peter are ignorant in the purest sense at this point. It would not surprise me at all if at the "last minute," we see all parties performing onstage at the induction. I may be putting too much of a fan's hope into it, but I'm entitled to do so: The most incredible Kiss performance I've ever experienced was the MTV "Unplugged" acoustic show in the 1990s when Ace and Peter joined the then-current band for a few songs. Not only a great show/performance but a true feel-good moment for the band's fans. I could completely see a similar event is being set up behind the scenes.

Heh heh, mine sits in the dining room ...

Mesa Mark V head into Recto vertical wide-body 2x12. I can sound like what I want to at pretty much any volume. I also like the Roland Micro Cube amps. I've bought two over the years. They're currently with my 22- and 17-year old sons.

'Tis true...I once shipped a Hamer USA Archtop GT to myself years ago (I was on temporary duty in the military someplace away from my primary station, but I still had to have a guitar!), and the switch snapped, just from the shock from being shipped, and I DID pack it well. Nothing else was harmed, and not a dent in the case or the box, either. I hadn't unscrewed the plastic switch tip from the switch itself, but ever since then I do, every time I've had to ship with those type of switches on the guitar! I'll Echoplex that ... I had a switch tip shear off on a Standard I shipped to Switzerland to a fellow HFCer. No case or box damage for me either, I packed it to survive a war, and the guitar was perfect except for that sheared tip. PIA however, in that the European buyer had to go round up another switch tip.

"1987 Ibanez" sounds like Ibanez Edge. Don't know if this will help you, but those bridges were made by Gotoh for Ibanez. Maybe a Gotoh-manufactured nut is what you need?

If you have that many shims in that slot, you may need to build up the shelf with a little more wood or get a new nut that's as tall as the original one.

I wanted an electric guitar as a pre-teen, after hearing my first Kiss record. My first guitar officially was a very nice loaner acoustic from one of my Dad's friends. It sounded nothing like Ace Frehley's guitar, so it stayed cased under the bed. When I first heard Van Halen, that was it - now I HAVE to have an electric guitar. My Dad held firm saying learn how to play an acoustic, then we'll get an electric. After butting heads on the issue for a few years, until I was a sophomore in high school, he finally gave in and bought me my first electric, a nice, affordable solidbody made by Takamine. I finally had my electric and I couldn't put it down. Literally, Other than guitar, my only other real focus was striving to maintain my grades because I feared my guitar would be taken away if my grades fell. I participated in several sports prior to playing guitar. That shit went out the door (except for track, no sprained fingers running). I didn't go on my first real date until I was a senior - my logic leading up to that was why spend $$$ on a meal and a movie for two when I can get more records and tapes to play along with, or I'm that much closer to the elusive Boss Heavy Metal pedal my little Peavey combo desparately needs. Not to mention, I had a guitar and I was getting better at it - I have an avenue to screw girls without pissing away money dating them. I took lessons initially from a neighbor who happened to own a nice local music store, but they weren't paying off because I wasn't learning the songs I wanted to learn. But he taught me basic power chord stuff and basic scales. I used that knowledge to lwear out the vinyl and cassettes, first in my bedroom and later my college dormroom. Also while I was in high school, we had a clique of friends who all started playing rock instruments at the same time and we were jamming all weekend, every weekend. We sucked, badly, at first, but we got a little better, then a little better, you know how it goes. At the same time, I got my first fake ID when I was 16 or so, so I could get into a couple of local blues clubs that had weekly open jams. Believe me, if a novice guitarist wants a crash course in learning guitar, get him on stage with a bunch of old skool bluesmen. Something about fear of being hit by a pool stick or a beer mug that makes you hit those chords and intonate those bends perfectly every time. By the time I was in college, I was playing in bands (hitting virtually every popular music genre in the process at some time) and until about three or so years ago, I was always either in a band or in between bands. Another great tool for learning: If you're a rock and blues player, get a gig with a country band. Then play with a dance band. The cross-pollenation things does wonders for your playing.

The N/Ts they pushed in the catalogs back in the day were great players under my hands, but sounded tinny/thinny. No go for me.

10-46 on everything. Morpheus DropTune for alternate tunings. I picked it up NOS locally about a month ago and I LOVE this thing.

Sounds like Queensryche and TNT had a baby together. Fan of both bands, and Crimson Glory, but I gotta say "meh."

I read Vonnie the frigid forecast from earlier in the thread and then showed her the photos from last night. Vonnie: "Notice it's only the guys from Minnesota. And they are all blue." LOL She and I smiled at the familiar faces and wished we could have been there. Fun times in that basement always!

FYI, I saw a clean used Power Block at one of my local shops just last week, he just took it in on trade IIRC. Forget how much he was asking but it can't hurt to call. Call two-two-five-seven-nine-one-zero-zero-one-two and ask for Jody. Jody is(was) a longtime Hamer dealer and a superb player and he speaks our language, just with a hardcore Southern drawl. Tell him I sent you.

Very nice! I loved the reverse slants in the two Centaura 2HBs and the Washburn SS I've had over the years.