Jimbilly

- for those of you who can't imagine what would come next!, I won't leave you hangin'

I had this idea a few weeks ago. At the church I often play at I get to use an amp as my monitor (di to the house), I really like having a small amp pointed towards me. My metal non-folding amp stand takes up a lot of space in my car, and the little wedge I bought for $10 from sweetwater isn't stable at all, so I wanted something small/quick/easy/stable. My elderly dad (he just turned 93 yesterday) needed a project during this soggy/rainy season, my stepmom thanked me profusely for giving him something to work on out in the shop. It's designed around the Vox Pathfinder, I cut some cardboard pieces as a mock up to show him what I wanted, he's got plenty of scrap plywood and other stuff to sort through, I think the side pieces are 1/2" ply and the connector is 3/4" douglas fir. He only used his bandsaw for making the pieces. I'll need to notch the side pieces for the 'feet' on my little Roland Bass Cube, and then it should work great for that amp too. It's perfect for the Pathfinder or my Silvertone 1331 (tweed champ), but any bigger open back amps tip right over because the side pieces just fall into the open back of the amp. not perfect or universal, but it should be pretty useful until I lose one of the pieces, maybe a large rubber band to keep them together during travel. Also maybe a padded sticker of some kind to minimize scuffs on the amp tolex. My photos are too large for all 3 to fit on one post

I had begun to appreciate FM Seattle rock radio by that time, I bet I heard it. KZOK or KISW?, - KXRX didn't start until a couple of years later?

some Imports from Amazon: I got a headless Eart last spring (don't waste your birthday, suggest something you actually want), I really like it and play it often, awesome practice and/or backup guitar An IYV 5 string headless fan-fret multi scale bass, it required a bit of setup, also a really good bass, I have almost nothing bad to say about it (volume pot makes a little 'whoosh' when turned up when the electronics are active, - dead quiet when active is switched off via the pull pot. I have no desire to sell it and buy a similar design Ibanez or other

ok, I'll go first: quite a good year (but zero Hamers). Left to right is a Spirit (small now gone Nevada shop), neck thru with Lace splittable hums, really cool guitar. Custom shop John Douglas painted Peavey, Yamaha 1221, and an AZ series Ibanez. The Ibanez is not rare, valuable or collectible, but it is a keeper because it's such a good guitar

the not Hamer list, what new guitars did you get? Photos too please if possible

did you bring home a Hamer in '25? -non Hamers will be in another thread, keep this one 'pure'

this is from almost a year ago, I don't remember seeing it (that doesn't mean I didn't see it), doesn't look like it has been linked to here previously. I did not know he used a Kramer Pacer for Rebel Yell, someone here years ago said he used a Charvel or similar for that record, but per SS it was a Pacer (I understand that some of those parts were made by ESP, I have a Pacer but I'm not a real expert on those). https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/steve-stevens-on-his-hamer-signature-guitar-from-guitar-world-may-1968

the "1 in 1 out" rule is arbitrary, I object. "2 in 1 out" is a lot more fun. If my math is correct, I added 5 this year, 6 if you include basses, or maybe it was 7... (but sadly no Hamers)

I don't think mexi tele's are actually selling for anywhere near that, I've flipped 3 this year, $400-500 is what they sell for in my pretty well populated area (pretty much the same as mexi strat prices). My friend in AZ who buys/sells professionally has a nice burst usa tele fs right now for 800, I expect it will sell for that, but marketing times seem to be a bit longer right now

selling is slow right now from what I'm experiencing and hear, typically it would be busy this time of year

I had an '80s Vector 10-15 years ago, stupidly sold it for way too cheap. I recently got a cheap Indonesian Washburn Paul Stanley V, I intended to flip it. I've had it for sale, but was playing it last night: it's really lightweight, under 7 pounds. The V is very well balanced on the strap, and I can rest my right forearm on the body, totally relaxing my right shoulder. It's actually a really good playing guitar, somewhat limited in tones due to the single pup, but this one is no longer for sale. I didn't know, or had forgotten how comfortable the V is to play.

I really hate that word Arthritis, I wasn't going to get it (my dad is almost 93 and doesn't have any), but it seems that any chronic joint inflammation is categorized as arthritis and I've got some in my thumbs. Per the experts there are over 100 kinds of arthritis, not just the big two. I imagine I'm not the only one here dealing with this. I've been reading about different remedies, tried a few different things, most recently I've been doing some very small nicotine doses using chopped up nicotine patches stuck to my thumbs, I may be experiencing a very small bit of relief, I'm able to play guitar more/longer without getting discomfort it seems. I found this interesting https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8895249/

yes, and his main gig these days is teaching guitar! My biggest challenge seems to be remembering the structure (vs/chs/vs/ dbl chs bridge etc), notes help with the playing along, but I'm not sure if that will help with memorization. I'm getting more to the point of 'hearing'/anticipating what's coming, finally, - slow learners can still learn. I've achieved more in my life through determination than talent. I should have been counting how many times I've played along, it's got to be 50 or more by now, plus all times I've just listened

luckily, these are originals and I have the CD which is in the right key (and tuned standard 440) and are the same arrangements as I'm expected to learn. I'd just be playing rhythm, giving the singer/lead guitar support for his solos (he's quite good imo), and doubling the other rhythm parts for now, so a relatively simple task. I made notes about the structure on two songs last night, they're not overly complicated (intro/riff, vs, riff, chs, bridge, chs etc). These 3 tunes are to prove that I'm capable of learning some songs, if I 'move on to the next round' I'll have quite a few more tunes to learn, which will be easier on these chilly/rainy and short winter days (when my work is typically a bit less busy too). Challenging for me, but not impossible, and for sure good practice, and interesting/fun so far. I've mentioned before that I did quite a bit of amateur bicycle racing over the past 15 years, a bad crash with some injury took me out of that, but I think the training (somewhat obessively several hours per week) mindset from that can carry over to music pretty well, and I've needed something to replace that focus. I have an ancient Sabine sampler tool that will slow to half or 1/4 speed for learning solos or tricky bits, I've used that for other stuff, it really degrades the audio quality, but it does the job, probably won't need it for this. if you're curious, here's one of the tunes, fun to play along with

I laughed aloud! it's probably in the neighborhood of 50 repetitions to get them solidly committed to memory, plus or minus based how quick the learner is to memorize. I imagine I'm on the slow side, but with practice it would probably get quicker. However it turns out, it will be a good learning experience. My Cali std iridescent with emg's will be perfect for this.

I stumbled into the opportunity of auditioning as rhythm guitar for my friend's band (rock originals, just a little bit heavy-ish) seems like it would be super fun! I'm starting out learning 3 tunes off a CD, is there a better way than just playing along over and over? Chart them out?

I just watched a video on youtube about Fesley tele style available through Amazon, really great review. They have grover brand import tuners and wilkinson brand bridge/pups $200 ish).

I've never tried it on an amp, I don't know if there would be a difference given that amp pots run at some small voltage I assume?

from ten to choose from, I imagine you have to give them your email or something https://www.uaudio.com/products/pick-one-free-plug-in

a Custom Proto ii is pretty rare, I hope it exceeds your expectations! My regular dots Proto ii is a great guitar

aka the "SS zero", not sure if this has been talked about here before. It looks to be in better shape than mine (mine with dots), crowns make this one a bit rare/special I think. I've come to accept the Kahler on mine. https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Hamer/Used-Hamer-Prototype-II-Black-Solid-Body-Electric-Guitar.gc?algoliaQueryID=aabe0c37927c3954380a96cf42f9511d&algoliaIndexName=guitarcenter

if only there was an easier place to source it from.... this is what I've been using, a lifetime supply for about $10 https://www.amazon.com/Al-Cass-Fast-Valve-Oil/dp/B0002OOVHM/ref=sxin_17_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.b8835974-eacc-4ffa-8f77-b14ee5f0007c%3Aamzn1.sym.b8835974-eacc-4ffa-8f77-b14ee5f0007c&cv_ct_cx=trumpet+valve+oil&keywords=trumpet+valve+oil&pd_rd_i=B0002OOVHM&pd_rd_r=a4cd05b0-3f1d-4db9-90fe-08cfa9e5bcfd&pd_rd_w=9OHR2&pd_rd_wg=oWAb8&pf_rd_p=b8835974-eacc-4ffa-8f77-b14ee5f0007c&pf_rd_r=X1NYV0MN26JH7F3S08CK&qid=1764008697&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sr=1-1-e169343e-09af-4d41-85b1-8335fe8f32d0-spons&aref=YVap5q5OEj&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&psc=1

I think I've mentioned this before, it's worth repeating. A couple of weeks ago I bought 2 used 15-20 year old Ibanez, both had really scratchy volume pots. I sprayed both out with Caig DeOxit, both were still scratchy, I cleaned with plastic safe electronics cleaner and then Caig again, still not perfect. I dripped some trumpet valve oil into the pots, and they've been perfect for 2 weeks, I've had similar experience previously with the small EMG pots, - this seems to be more of a thing with the cheaper import pots than CTS. I'll give credit to Pesocaster who told me about this. Before you give up and get out the soldering iron...

what I don't get is: the asking prices for import "Hamer" Standards, there's one listed fs near me for $1500, made in Korea, I can't imagine it's any better than a Firefly Destroyer/Explorer style for $219 currently on Amazon ("dude, it's just a decent MIK guitar that says 'hamer' on the headstock). I played this Ibanez ART300 Caiman at church this morning (pretty big nice sound system), it sounded great. Guitars like this turn my preconceptions about price/quality upside down. I paid under $150 used and had to do setup and basic repairs, market value is around $300, so it's kind of in that same category, and a really good guitar, - although the two AA battery preamp is a bit odd.