Jim85IROC

there's always a "but". Is it cheating if you're using a drum track? Midi bass with a plugin? What if you're using the AI to generate those parts but you still lay down your own guitar track? Or maybe you use the AI to help you find a melody you like, that you use in your own recording? Your post focused on AI replacing producers, engineers and musicians. My point is that the home-recording capabilities that we all have already replaced 2/3 of those groups, and when you start using drum tracks and midi bass tracks, you're well on your way to replacing the 3rd. The new AI tools are just the next evolution in the long history of new tools that make it easier for DIY. Maybe it crossed a line this time now that you can just ask Suno to "make me a blues song about my girlfriend leaving me" but no matter where you draw the line between the "way it used to be" and the way it is about to be, the line ultimately ends up being drawn at an arbitrary point between the two.

just like when home recording techniques made it possible for anybody with an interface and a DAW to make their own high quality recordings instead of paying for studio time. It brought the capability to more people. No doubt many felt it was cheating at the time, now it's universally accepted. I don't doubt some of these AI tools will follow the same trajectory.

I dunno. I don't think you need to be as old as Ozzy to be a fan. I grew up listening to that music, and it's sad )but inevitable) that it's come to an end. Based on the multiple videos I saw of people at the show crying, I don't feel it's fair to say they were just there for a good time and bragging rights. And while I agree that Sharon will exploit anyone, including Ozzy just to make a buck, I think that one final goodbye is appropriate and greatly appreciated by fans.

I've used some AI tools to help with songwriting. I came up with my own lyrics (with some help from ChatGPT), and put that into Suno with specific details about how I wanted the chord progression to go. Ultimately it helped me find the "sound" I wanted and more specifically, helped me find a pleasing vocal melody, which is something that I'm terrible at. And as a bonus, some of the guitar licks that it came up with were really good.

I do like the more slender early headstock. Nice catch on the unwound strings being backwards here too. For fun I checked some of the pics in my copy of "The Ultimate" and they seem to all be strung conventionally. Not only does it help with string angle, but I think it also looks better when they're strong "wrong". On my import Standard, the high E string is floating out there in space and not over the headstock. I think it looks stupid, but I also don't want to deal with backwards tuning on one guitar.

what's interesting to me is that the nut appears to be cut with straight nut slots. That also looks like an off the shelf pre-cut nut with very deep nut slots. I'm no USA Standard expert, but what I've generally seen in the ones that I've paid attention to in the past was a nut that was specifically cut with angled slots to deal with the angle of the string pull. Here's a 4 digit Standard on Reverb right now that has the nut cut with angled slots: Here's an 05 that appears to be cut the same way. This pic is a bit washed out so it's hard to tell, but that's how it looks:

Looks killer. How did you rebuild the headstock?

Got some pics outside. This seems to have a beautiful top buried under that blue.

Not mine. It just popped up in my feed and it looks like a great deal for a Studio. Thought someone here might want to grab it. https://ebay.us/m/AxTEAn

Customer: So hear me out. I want to pay a bunch of extra money for a beautiful flame maple top, then I want you to bury it under a dark blue Jolly Rancher. Hamer: A jolly Rancher? Customer: yeah, like a foot thick one. The darkest blue you have. Make the top completely disappear under it. Hamer: say no more.

It's a blue top with black back. If you boost your brightness you can tell in the pics.

Well, I went a whole week without a Special. 😂 Last week I sold my 93 P90 Special, and on Monday I travelled about 3 hours away for work. This 94 FM just happened to be along the way, so yesterday on my way home I ended up grabbing it. It was way too cheap not to. When I got there I thought he did a bait & switch. Where did the flametop go? I can't believe how dark the paint is. In the right light the guitar pops. I'll have to get some pics outside soon. The guitar was pretty grimy and had a lot of scratches on the top, so I took it almost completely apart, wetsanded the scratches, then buffed & polished the whole guitar. I cleaned & polished every part as I reassembled, and now you can actually see the flame top if you're paying attention. I'm not sure that it's going to be a permanent addition to my collection, but I intend to enjoy it for a while before I move it along.

When it's a PRS it's called "sterile", but when it's a Hamer it's "refined" 😂

My monaco is an import, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but with my eyes closed, I doubt I could tell the difference in feel between this and an LP with a slim taper neck. It's got the shelf along the high-e side of the fretboard like an LP Special, but I never notice it playing. Mine is from the newer rebooted Hamer line, and honestly it's fantastic. The pickups are crap but the upper notes have that bell-like resonance like you get from a Strat with a floating trem. It's a good enough guitar that I may drop my set of Thornbuckers into it. Check out that fretboard!

As much of a Hamer fan as I am, I always keep going back to Les Pauls. I'm not sure if it's the shitty upper fret access, the boomy, mushy lows, the shitty build quality or the awful weight that keeps me coming back for more, but I keep going back to them like a crazy ex girlfriend. I thought it was the 50s necks, but a few months ago I picked up a 2016 Special Plus with a slim taper neck and I just can't put the thing down.

If you liked it otherwise, that's an extremely easy fix for anyone that's handy, or for a tech. A little superglue under the lifted fret and the splintered wood, press the fret down until the glue dries, then scrape/sand out any squeezeout. If the fret doesn't go all the way back, a spot level & recrown to the fret. Chances are this is a 15 minute job for a luthier. Edit: oops, I missed the entire 2nd page. Sorry to hear you couldn't get it how you wanted. I guess at least the next guy gets it with good frets.

sold. I'm going to miss this one. 🫤

I'll be listing this on Reverb in the next day or two, so if anyone is interested, I'd suggest letting me know. I don't expect it to last too long once I list it.

if you're interested in slumming with an imported one, I've got this that I've been thinking about letting go:

funny you mention that. I'm not a thin neck guy either. The neck never felt super thin to me, and I always assumed I had one after they changed the profile in 93 until I measured it to include it in the ad and was shocked to see that mine is the thin one. Yes, it's thin, but the c-shape is actually comfortable. I always thought this was based on a 60s slim taper profile until I measured it. That said, you mileage may vary.

Just realized I accidentally pasted the wrong neck dimensions into the description. Fixed the description, but for those who don't want to scroll back up, 1st fret is 20.6mm (.81") 12th is 20.9mm (.82").

$1k + shipping HFC price. I'll be asking more if it goes to Reverb. Shipping to west coast will be around $100, east coast likely around $50-60 Well... it's finally time to move my Special along. It's in very nice player's grade, but definitely not a case queen. I bought it from a guy that gigged it. When I bought it, it had Lollar p90s, non-original pots, no-name bridge & tailpiece, and what I believe are non-original Schaller tuners. It clearly had Klusons at some point in its past. The extra holes from the Klusons were filled, but the coloring on the fills is a mile off. Neck profile is the thinner profile like the 92s had. 1st fret is 20.6mm (.81") and 12th is 20.9mm (.82").1st 20.6 (.81) 12th 20.9 (.82) I replaced the no name bridge & tailpiece with Gotoh. It's a standard Gotoh bridge and an aluminum tailpiece. I also pulled the Lollars and put them into my p90 Studio, and subsequently put the duncans from that into this Special to restore what it would have had originally. Wiring is all very tidy. Frets show no signs of wear. Minor dings and indentations here and there, but nothing serious. I've captured the worst of it in my pics. Some minor worming on the back, but it doesn't show in the pics. Hard case is solid, but cosmetically it's not perfect. Tolex has some holes and the latches show surface rust. Let me know if you have any questions

All these shootouts where they sound different are from people who insist on putting the knobs in the same spot. There's a 20% tolerance on most pots, and way more on the super cheap ones used in low budget products, and that's just with respect to max values. The taper profiles vary wildly, so the resistance value at noon on one pot can be wildly different than another. Once you adjust the pots, you will ultimately end up with exactly the same sound from all of these circuits. A couple years ago when everyone on HFC was buying the Klones, I jumped on too. I bought a Klone, and also a Joyo Tauren. With everything at noon they sounded different, but as soon as you dial the pots a bit, they got identical. I kept the Joyo because it was smaller and I liked the cool light. That Tauren into my Supersonic 22 is the setup I use 99% of the time for my humbucker guitars. I absolutely love the tone.

I have a 594 SE doublecut and it's pretty impressive. Lightweight, fantastic upper fret access, great ergonomics and I love how the pickups sound. I especially like the fat neck and the 10" fretboard radius. It's a fantastic combo. So... why do I always pick up my Les Pauls instead? I need to spend more time with the PRS.

My Studio Custom has an ebony board and it spoils me every time I play it.