jwhitcomb3

In 1986 I was at a college radio convention in New York City, and the Hoodoo Gurus were playing at the showcase. At dinner with my girlfriend before the show, we overheard a voice in a distinctly Australian accent say, "We come all the way to the fookin' United States and all we get are the fookin' 'oodoo Gurus!"

Paid the most for my 30th Anniversary LTD. Both my Lowden O32 and Huss & Dalton 00-SP have eclipsed it in value. Add up the value of the four guitars I spend the most time playing and it doesn't approach the value of any one of those three.

Hmm. A crap guitar that can't be tuned, or buzzes, or has dead spots, or is a tone suck in general won't be helped by a good pickup. I'd order them 1. guitar, 2. amp, 3. pickup. 0. player 1. guitar 2. amp 3. pickup 4. pedal Problem is, my player is very expensive (trust me, lots of $ invested in the player in my case, and still requires regular and expensive up keep). But my player doesn't sound very good. Thus, the sound coming from my good guitar, moderate amp, and descent pedals, sounds crappy. Yep. However, since my playing ability (or lack thereof) is a constant*, I've removed it from my equation. *Well, maybe not a constant...the amount of alcohol I've consumed is a factor...I'll go have a coupla beers and get back to you.

Interesting. I too have been underwhelmed by PRSs. Do better pickups improve them?

Hmm. A crap guitar that can't be tuned, or buzzes, or has dead spots, or is a tone suck in general won't be helped by a good pickup. I'd order them 1. guitar, 2. amp, 3. pickup.

Good point for sure. The other thing for electric, of course you need a decent guitar to start with, but lately I've been kind of thinking that the amp is the really crucial link. (Not that the guitar isn't important of course, but a good amp will make a lot of guitars sound nice, whereas a great guitar through a so-so amp, not as much) Ha! Funny, I have the opposite opinion. I can get a decent guitar to sound good through most (but not all) amps, but even a great amp can't make a lousy guitar sound good. I'm not a tone hound who looks for any particular sound, so I can usually find at least one sound that any amp does well. But a bad guitar will sound bad through anything. I should also note that I don't use high gain settings, so I suppose that if you use the amp to layer on thick distortion, it doesn't matter much what the input signal is.

Yessir. I'm waiting for them to build mine. Can't wait!

Wait, since when was discussion of religion allowed on this board?

Wow...got to reply #26 before a mention of Joni Mitchell appeared.

Why are all these dudes on this thread having periods?

I liked Pat Metheny's albums through Offramp, but have only occasionally checked in with his recordings since. I like the live album he recorded with Joni Mitchell ("Shadows and Light"). I saw him perform last year, and it was very enjoyable. The Orchestrion is amazing to see live.

I mostly don't go in for guitar heroics. Count me in on the not "getting" Hendrix. But Blow By Blow and Wired are all time favorites. Fonky, mon.

Seafoam. It just isn't fair.

And...I'm out. My 1 year old skinny necked guitar was causing me physical pain to play, so it goes on the block. Just ordered a totally different guitar to take its place. Not saying what it is, but the neck is fat. Boy, is it fat, too. Might not be best for carvin it up, but should be comfortable (and hopefully pain free) to play. On the board a bird's eye'll see me foaming at the mouth when it arrives.

Happy Birthday!

If the guitar is pictured with a hot babe, she is there to keep you from looking at the guitar.

I may be in trouble. Spent some time with my newest guitar last night and found the neck to be so skinny that my wrist and arm hurt so bad I had trouble falling asleep, and still bothering me today. I like the guitar, but not enough to endure pain. I may be looking to dump that one for something with a beefier neck. Can I get a medical exemption?

1. Korina Eclipse 2. Seafoam Green T-62 3. Earthen Talladega

I didn't buy an electric guitar in 2012, and the only acoustic guitar I bought in 2012 was ordered in early 2011, so either I've developed some discipline or am really overdue. Tell you one thing, if Luna comes out with an Americana series 12 string at NAMM, I'm a goner. A seafoam green Roland Ready strat or a for sale sighting of the mythical korina Eclipse would also unchain the wallet in a hurry.

I'm in.

Some gallows humor there!

I don't blame Fender. When Fender bought Kaman, Hamer was just part of the package, and not a profitable part. Many companies would have dumped Hamer immediately, but Fender gave it a shot, and figured out how to leverage Hamer's assets into its business model (skilled luthiers building Guild USA guitars), while still letting the brand linger as a true custom shop. Now Fender is fighting for its own survival, and is doing what it has to do. I hope the restructuring at least allows the team of Hamer luthiers to remain somewhat intact. They clearly had a good thing going. It would be a shame to lose that collective skill, knowledge and passion.

Very sad news. I feel like I've lost a friend.

For at least a year all of my humbucker equipped electric guitars have remained in their cases, and I'm only playing single coils - strat, tele, or P90s. As you say very well, more snap, attack and clarity. Unfortunately, also more noise.

One of my favorites is "Contusion" from Stevie Wonder's "Songs in the Key of Life"