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Dana_V

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Everything posted by Dana_V

  1. Great picture! I spy some sort of Electro-Harmonix box on the floor - Big Muff Pi, possibly? There looks to be another pedal too, but it's hard to see what it is. Also, any idea what song you might have been playing when this shot was taken?
  2. I have a Peavey Fury I got back in the nineties for the very same reason: I just needed something inexpensive to record with. But it turned out to be a great bass. It's basically a copy of a Fender Precision, but the neck is skinnier, more like a Fender Jazz - which works well for me, since I'm a guitar player who likes skinny necks.
  3. Out the door for $575 sounds about right. I know I paid $479.80 (including tax) for my SG Standard in November 1975, but LPs were always more expensive than SGs - and prices would have increased slightly between 1975 and 1979. In 1977 I had a friend who worked in a small music store who could get us stuff at dealer cost*. I remember I had an opportunity to buy a tobacco sunburst LP Standard for - I think - $350 (!), but at the time I needed a new amp more than I needed another guitar (plus it wasn't red). So I got the amp instead: a Peavey Mace head with two 412 cabs (hey, it was the 70s and we all thought we needed huge amps like that). *It was great while it lasted, but it ended when he left the music store for a much more lucrative career in motor vehicle theft/insurance fraud.
  4. The next time I have the strings off I'm gonna look, but I'm thinking there's a good chance they're T-Tops. My '75 and '79 SGs have tarbacks, but I don't think Gibson ever used tarbacks on LP Standards.
  5. It’s the “Dark Red Luggage” strap. I’m a big Couch fan too; I’ve got quite a few of them now. I just wish they would make an 80s Hamer-style checkerboard strap!
  6. I’ve wanted a 70s-era wine-red Les Paul Standard since, well, the 70s, but for whatever reason, I never got around to it. A few years ago I started watching for one on Reverb, but I was kind of shocked by the condition vs. price of what I saw. A while back a ’79 in really good shape showed up: “This instrument has sat unused in the back of my closet for thirty years and is completely original, no modifications whatsoever. Slight pitting on tailpiece, two back latches missing from original case and the case has minor scuffing.” The listing price, however, was beyond ridiculous. Months passed and I kind of forgot about it. Then, in December, I got a Reverb notification that “The Les Paul Standard you're watching on Reverb dropped its price by 65%.” So I looked at it again. “Update: I took the guitar to Guitar Center to sell it. They said there is a ground problem and wanted to start working on it before they would buy it. I declined, the instrument is still virgin never modified or worked on. I’ve changed the description to ‘good’ to account for this.” I knew that whatever electronic-related problem it had I could fix; so I wasn’t worried about that. Although it wasn’t mint, it was in really good shape for its age. All original parts, no mods, no breaks, no exposed wood, minimal fret wear and only slight wear on the finish. And 1979 was a significant year for me: I met my (now late) wife, graduated from high school and turned eighteen. My band was playing regularly and getting paid enough to avoid the dreaded “day jobs.” It was a pretty good year. So, after much deliberation, I pulled the trigger. While I was waiting for it to arrive, I went through a mental checklist of what the ground problem could be. And if it turned out to be something internal to one of the pickups that I couldn’t fix myself, there’s a certain pickup wizard right here on the HFC that I knew I could turn to (Josh did a fantastic job reviving one of the pickups from my 1973 Univox Hi-Flier). I picked it up from the FedEx office on December 22nd, and when I took it out of the case I was not disappointed. It was exactly as the seller had described and it looked great. I plugged it in and yes, there was all sorts of buzzing and static and the pots were scratchy. I removed the control cavity cover and the little metal shielding box (remember those?!), expecting to see something loose, but I didn’t. I gave all four pots a short blast of DeoxIT. It fixed it. Since I took these pictures I’ve done a thorough clean and polish, cleaned and oiled the fretboard and of changed the (very old!) strings. I’ve also done the only modification I’ll be doing: replacing the original strap buttons with Dunlop Dual-Design Straploks (because all my guitars get Dunlop strap locks). And of course I ordered an appropriate Couch strap for it. So, forty-plus years later, I finally have my wine-red Les Paul. It plays and sounds great and I can’t wait to take it out on a gig soon. According to the serial number, “Your guitar was made at the Nashville Plant, TN, USA on October 8th, 1979, production number 162. The lighting here makes it look a little darker than it looks in person. The top: Back view (those white spots/lines are reflections, not dings in the finish): Better lighting shows the top a little better (as well as the dust!):
  7. It was definitely good to see an actual rock band on SNL. However, I was a little disappointed that this guy didn't show up this year:
  8. Sorted by quantity, then alphabetical by brand. This includes two basses, but since we're talking about guitars I didn't include my banjo (Gibson), mandolin (Johnson), ukuleles (Gremlin, Lanikai) or my daughter's guitars and ukuleles. And since I never get rid of anything, I still have all of these – including the "unbranded acoustic guitar from JC Penny" my grandmother gave me for Christmas in 1971. I got my first electric in 1973 (a Univox Hi-Flier) and it just kinda grew from there. After my wife died in 2014 I went a little crazy with the guitar buying for a couple of years, but it's since slowed down considerably. In fact, I haven't bought a guitar since March 2022! Twenty-six brands, fifty-eight instruments: 1 – Hamer (21) 2 – Gibson (5) 3 – Fender (3) 4 – Danelectro (2) 5 – E.L. Vandiver (2) 6 – Gordon–Smith (2) 7 – Shishkov (2) 8 – Texas Box Guitars (2) 9 – Univox (2) 10 – Carvin (1) 11 – Celebrity by Ovation (1) 12 – Chandler (1) 13 – Del Rey (1) 14 – Eastwood (1) 15 – Galveston (1) 16 – HardLuck Kings (1) 17 – Hinkler (1) 18 – Jackson (1) 19 – Kimberly (1) 20 – Lone Star (1) 21 – Martin (1) 22 – Peavey (1) 23 – Rogue (1) 24 – Sully (1) 25 – Supro (1) 26 – Unbranded acoustic guitar from JC Penny (1) (The only reason I know this is because I put together a list for insurance purposes a while back – which I highly recommend everyone do.)
  9. As much of a guitar nerd as I am, I had never been to a guitar show before this one. There was just always something else going on: I had a gig, one or both of the kids had something happening, etc. I didn’t buy (or sell) anything, of course, but it was great seeing all the guitars – from the ridiculously expensive to the incredibly weird and everything in between. But the really cool part was getting to meet some of the HFCers in person: Chuck (even though we live in the same ZIP code, we’d never met), Brian, Peter and former HFCer Greg. Thank you all for making a first-timer like me feel welcome! Yes, that's a Heritage I'm holding. 😆 The matching outfits and hand positions were NOT planned! "Can I keep it?" Oh, and I got to see Sully again - the last time I saw him was when I picked up my blue Sparkle 92 from his shop in 2020.
  10. That's a great idea, but I should probably drive myself - when I'm done with the show for the day I'm gonna drive up to Denton to visit my daughter at UNT.
  11. It's only about three hours away from me, but I've never been. However, it's looking like I might actually be able to go this year - although just Saturday, not Sunday. I don't have anything to sell, and - considering how much I just forked over to the University of North Texas - I probably won't be/shouldn't be buying anything*, but it would be cool to look at stuff and possibly meet some of y'all in person if you're gonna be there. https://www.amigoguitarshows.com/guitarlington/ Arlington Convention Center 1200 Ballpark Way Arlington, TX 76011 Saturday, October 21, 2023 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM Sunday, October 22, 2023 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM *Unless, well, you know, I come across something I just can't pass up, like a white SG Junior that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, or a blue wraptail Studio...
  12. But Hocus Pocus isn't quite an instrumental, is it? Yodeo da dodeo da dodeo da dodeo da dodeo da dodeo da doh bop bah Yodeo da dodeo da dodeo da dodeo da dodeo da dodeo da doh bop bah Ahhhhhh-aaahhhh-aaaaaa-aaaaAAA Ohhhhhh-ooohhh-oooooo-oooOOO And the chipmunk-gibberish part - and, of course, the whistling. 😆
  13. .022 uF 100V is how I'm reading it too. The 224 could be a batch code or date code - week 22 of a year that ends in a 4 or something like that. Not ceramic, but I agree metal or plastic film - possibly polypropylene
  14. The description on Reverb is written in such a way that leads me to suspect that English may not be the seller's primary language - so that may be part of the problem. But if English is the seller's primary language...yikes.
  15. I was going through the videos on the band's YouTube channel and realized this was TWO years ago. Thought I'd share. Guitar: 1993 Special FM Pickups: Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates FX: 1999 Fulltone Full-Drive2, Chandler Stereo Digital Echo Amps: Mesa/Boogie Mark V ("mostly clean" channel), 1953 Magnatone Melodier 110 The line out from the Mesa goes into a delay pedal set for short delay/one repeat, then to the Maggie. In the PA they're panned at about 10:00 and 2:00 (of course you can't hear the stereo split here since the camera was off to one side).
  16. 8 0383 I bought it used from Lake Charles Music, Lake Charles, Louisiana, in 1982. My first Hamer. If I remember correctly, I paid $350 (no kidding!) for it. I still have it, of course.
  17. Take care of yourself and do what you've gotta do - we can wait. Wishing you a full and speedy recovery! Dana 0063 0092 0139
  18. Yeah, but just think of it. A fully-assembled bicycle, same-day delivered by DRONES. I mean, come on, how awesome would that be?
  19. ...raises hand...<eyes drift toward upper right hand corner of picture>
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