jwhitcomb3

Cool! I wonder if the body routing is going to clear out the block where the tailpiece/bigsby was. -Jonathan

43. Hair's still good. Health's okay (give or take a gallbladder). I wouldn't know about the libido slowing down...who's got time for sex between work and family? How about just getting motivated to do the daily work grind, knowing I've got another 25 years until retirement? -Jonathan

Sad news. What a talent! -Jonathan

You keep calling yourself a realist, but keep posting how upset you are when people don't behave the way you expect them to. -Jonathan

Not really a troll madame. Just someone with a sense of humor and opions. I forgot, that's not allowed in America anymore. Just ask Howard Stern. See folks here's the "discredit" portion of the game. Very predictable. Two down, one to go. We have covered : * name calling * discrediting Just missing is: * censoring Perhaps if you actually posted something that was funny we could evaluate your sense of humor. So far all I've seen is you whining about how everyone tramples upon your rights, followed by attempts to offend others. But you'll find that this is a pretty gay-friendly forum, and calling the straight folks "madame" isn't going to do much other than some sad head shaking at your infantile efforts to get a rise out of them. If you want to talk guitars and gear, great, post it here. If you want to express your political views or pictures of what turns you on/off or tickles your funny bone, pony up the 5 bucks and do it in the Outer Circle. But whatever you do, try to make it more interesting than it's been up 'til now. You don't need anyone here to attempt to discredit you. You're doing a fine job of that yourself. -Jonathan

Boys, and girls, what we got here is a troll. Move along. -Jonathan

I shall light a candle for his passing. Just as I light a match for my passing. -Jonathan

Tubes or transistors are just one component of what makes an amp sound the way it does. I've had great sounding tube amps and great sounding solid state amps. I've been satisfied with the sound of each. It all depends on your tastes. Some people have a particular sound they are going for and will not be satisfied with an amp unless it nails that sound. For me, I look for an amp that can give me a wide range of sounds that I can easily access. I've ended up going with a solid state amp with a computer in it (Fender Cyber-Deluxe). I had to write my own custom editor to be able to tweak the compressor settings to my liking (you can't do it from the front panel), but that enabled me to simulate the tube sag well enough for it to feel right to me. I've spent hours tweaking the presets for my various guitars and have hundreds stored on my computer. But that was months ago: now I've got a solid set of presets in the amp that I can call up instantly and go. I'm not much impressed by mythology. I don't believe a guitar is better just because it says "Gibson", "Fender" or "Martin" on it, and I don't believe an amp is better just because it has tubes in it. I don't care if it is new or vintage. I don't care which famous performers play the brand...I'm not going to sound like them even if I have the identical gear. The guitar or amp just has to feel right to me, and I don't give a damn what name is stamped on it or what is under the hood. -Jonathan

Me too! -Jonathan

The only effect I consistantly use is compression, and a very light compression at that. My only stomp box is a Tech 21 CompTortion box, and I only use that if I'm playing through someone else's amp. My Fender Cyber-Deluxe has lots of effects built in, but in general I just program compression into the preset, and on occasion a very slight amount of reverb or delay. I keep a wah preset handy in case I get inspired, but don't use it much. On a couple of presets I have a chorus dialed in very low to add some stereo dimension without the swirl. I'm tempted to get a rotary speaker simulator of some kind, but it's pretty low on my list. -Jonathan

I have Rio Grandes, Haussel and Duncan Phat Cats. I like 'em all, but they are all different. The stock hot Duncan P90s on my Archtop GT were fun, but not very versatile...I just wanted to play Leslie West licks all day. I replaced 'em with Gibson reissue minibuckers. I think the Rios cover the most ground, but they are also the noisiest of my P90 equipped guitars. -Jonathan

Big Mufu Happy Meal sent! The Outer Circle is a great place. You never know what's going to show up there, but you know whatever it is, it was posted by a cool person. -Jonathan

Congratulations! I signed up for that promotion as well and had some fun daydreams of what I'd order if I'd won it. Since you play some jazz you might consider the Improv. It is a very small jazz box and Hamer's top of the line and there is something like a two year wait for one to be built, but it is an heirloom quality instrument, and reviewers have raved about its sound and flexibility. Go visit the Willcutt site for a nice overview of Hamer's guitars to give yourself some ideas. Have fun! -Jonathan

Birthday by the Sugarcubes. -Jonathan

Congrats on your new Hamer! Sounds sweet. I generally keep the tone control on my Newport on 6. The control is voiced so well that I can dial in all kinds of sounds, but I use 6 as a starting point. Roll it back to 2 for jazzier stuff, crank it up to 10 for a bit more spank. -Jonathan

Just one, courtesy of Brewmaster: 2000 Korina Artist with Rio P90s. Killer guitar! -Jonathan

To hazard a guess, I'd speculate that Costco bought out the inventory of a chain that went out of business or cut a deal with Gibson to pick up warehouse stock that wasn't moving. But I'd be surprised if they agreed to take on returns or b-stock as part of the package. -Jonathan

I doubt Costco would be selling B-stock or returns. My experience with them is they are picky about quality control. -Jonathan

1996 Archtop GT P-90 with crowns. Stock when I bought it except for Graphtek bridge saddles. It has since lost the P90s in favor of Gibson reissue mini-humbuckers. Great guitar, but something of a boat anchor. If I could only peel back the top and route a chamber in it... -Jonathan

Hey JohnnyB, I have a Lowden O-32 (jumbo, rosewood/spruce), just like the one in your picture. Huge sound. But the fingerboard is very wide and plays nothing like an electric. The F series has a slightly smaller body and a narrower fingerboard (though still wide by electric standards). Avalon guitars was started by former Lowden workers who bought him out (3 or 4 years ago, I think). I think George Lowden has since started making guitars again under his own name. Lowden seems to move his operation around a lot. They were even made in Japan for a while. Mine is Irish built, about 8 years old and is the fullest, most balanced sounding guitar I've ever played. It strums well, but really rewards fingerstyle playing. He uses a special bracing technique that I've never see before: it uses much less wood and lets the top just ring out. He also anchors the strings at the end of the bridge, rather than drilling through the top. Put it all together and you get a guitar that lets you hear each string distinctly, even when strummed. Killer guitars! -Jonathan

If you can find a late 70's Guran in half decent shape, the neck feels and plays as much like an electric guitar as any I've found. As far as electronics go, anything other than a mic sounds like rubber bands to my ears. If you want to play something that feels like an electric, play your electric. There are plenty of gizmos out there to piezofy your electric's sound so you'll sound as shitty as an acoustic with piezo pickups. Anybody playing a guitar with built-in electronics is playing an electric guitar, no matter what it looks like. -Jonathan

Gack! Surgically enhanced human. A song I wrote about this Nice guitar though! -Jonathan

Give me a two channel amp with good basic tone, add a compressor and I'm good to go. Nice to haves include reverb, delay and wah. Rotary speaker is my favorite modulation effect. -Jonathan

I'd never buy or even try out an acoustic guitar at one of the big mega-stores. The best place to try mid to high end acoustic guitars is at a shop that specializes in them. In the Boston area we have the Music Emporium (Lexington). In Carlsbad CA there is Buffalo Brothers. In Pittsburgh it looks like Acoustic Music Works has a good selection. Once you start getting into the higher end stuff, Collings, Lowden and Goodall leave Taylor and Martin in the dust. Like Hamer, the smaller shops can just pay more attention to detail and quality. That's not to say that there aren't great Taylors and Martins around. I have four acoustics: An Alvarez Yairi dreadnaught that I bought new in 1982, a Gurian I bought used in 1990, a Lowden 032 Jumbo I bought new in 1997 and a solid Koa/Cedar Takamine mini-jumbo I bought new in 2002. Only the Alvarez Yairi is a dreadnaught. For me, "mini jumbo" acoustic guitars work best for everyday playing, but each of them have sounds they excel at. Good luck! -Jonathan

Yep. Aren't you? -Jonathan