polara

I got a little zero happy there!

Residence visa paperwork is filed and I'm learning to speak Swedish as well as a slow toddler. I don't wanna haul of container load of music stuff there next summer, so here we go. Let me know if prices are out of line. 1997 Framus Panthera Pro. $1500 shipped and Pay Pal'd to the lower 48. Made in Germany. Two-piece mahogany body, nicely figured maple neck and top, ebony fretboard, Seymour Duncan by Framus pickups (I suspect 59s), cool trapeze tailpiece. 25.5" scale, slim neck, medium-heavy, but not an anchor. Overall great shape but has the following issues: A tiny, less than 1mm straight hole at the edge of the headstock that goes completely through the headstock. I hadn't noticed it for a full year, and have never seen anything like it in my life. Laser? I guess five minutes with a little glue and a Q-tip of flat black paint on one side, and a few grains of wood filler on the other side and it would be invisible. One ding on the bass side of the lower bout. It was drop-filled so you can't feel it but you can see it. Some kind of scattered tiny indentations on the back, over a few square inches of the cutaway. Not very noticable. Weird buckle rash? The bridge is, I think, a replacement that is a tiny bit too narrow center-to-center on the holes. It's stiff to adjust isn't quite right. The good stuff: sounds great, impeccable build, straight neck, low action. Really fun to play. Ships in a Dean case that is a dead ringer for a TKL Hamer case. 2016 Kiesel Vader. $1500 shipped and Pay Pal'd to the lower 48. 25.5" scale, ebony board, maple/walnut neck (neck-thru construction), alder body. Hipshot/Kiesel vibrato bridge that is awesome. Kiesel calls the finish seafoam, but it's more of a satin pistachio/mint. The standard Kiesel neck carve, which is medium-ish: not shreddy thin, but more like a Hamer modern carve. The build quality is fantastic, it's light (I'm sure under 7 pounds), and the five-way switch gives a lot of tonal options. Plus flight crews don't give you s**t if you carry on a plane. There are some others online going for $1500 also, but you'd need to pay tax and shipping, and they don't have the vibrato. Overall great shape but has the following issues: Original owner must have done something weird to the top strap button, as it was repaired and then they masked off the repair and used a darker green paint. You don't really see it unless you look under the top horn, and it is dead solid, but there you go. It's a repair. I pulled the original Kiesel Lithium pickups (A5/ceramic, high-output) and replaced them with Kiesel Beryllium, which are A2 magnets and in the 8.5k range apparently. Vast improvement on cleans and mid-gain, not as good for chug-chug. I gave away the original pickups, I hated them so much. Comes in the Kiesel soft case with is awesome, and I think outdoes Mono. Speaking of Mono... Mono Vertigo Bass bag/case. $150 shipped and Pay Pal'd to the lower 48. Kauer Banshees ship in this. Bad choice on Dough Kauer's part, as it's a bad fit and pushes the tuning keys against the back of the case. I got a SKB Firebird case. So here's a "used once to ship" Mono Vertigo bass bag. They're $269.99 new plus tax and shipping. Case for a 1950 Gibson ES 125. $100 shipped and Pay Pal'd to the lower 48. I once had a 1950 ES 125, and when I sold it, the buyer only wanted my hard case, not the original. It alligator texture over chipboard or such, and not really fit for travel or gigging but hey if you're selling an old Gibson archtop this will probably help you raise the price. The interior compartment came loose and needs to be repaired but it's all there.

https://therockrevival.com/gear-tech/sam-ash-begins-closing-all-music-stores/

No, I didn't see the T-51! I'm glad the '93 found a good home. I strummed it briefly and it seemed like the neck was straight and it played well. Just neglected. Congrats!

Serial number started with a "3" so if I recall it wasn't called a Studio then. The top was in good shape, back had a couple of scrapes, neck was straight. Needed a good cleaning. $1399. If anyone is serious I can go over there and report in more detail.

I got it used, and heard from Line 6. Nice, but it would have to go to a service center here, and they charged $300 just to replace the glass on the Boss. I'm guessing I could get another Helix for what they'd charge if it involves any integrated circuit. First world problems, I remind myself.

Update: The Helix is dying. I won't go through the troubleshooting. It took days of changing one variable at a time: preset, cable, output, input, etc. But if I use the guitar (not aux) input when it's not had current flowing for ten minutes or more, I get a terrible, gated, digital distortion for the first three minutes, until if gradually clears. As it gets worse every day, I think I may have a dying capacitor or processor. Something doesn't let signal flow until it is physically warm. Damn. In the meantime I got the GT-1000 back from the shop, so I'm using it again. Observations after a couple weeks of the Helix: Being able to "pre-select" a different bank while still playing, then tap that next bank with the delay spilling over and the change seamless... is so great it pretty much buys forgiveness for any other shortcoming. I do like the amps better on the Boss. But they're both fine. The UI is still a bear, the software still slow. But it's so sturdy and compact compared to the Helix! Bottom line is I probably have a couple gigs in Argentina this summer (long story), and then am looking at New York and maybe the Midwest. I've decided to keep the GT-1000, and got a GT-1000 Core with a tiny external MIDI switch for travel use. I may just sell the Helix as a "take your chances" for cheap, as I fear it'll be a $600 repair based on rates I see at the service center.

The neck pickup being upside-down is odd. I think that guitar has been rode hard 'n' put up wet. Probably good to look it over in person. Carefully.

Yeah, that's worrying.

I don't think you can go wrong with P90s on a sparkly body with F holes and some air under the wood. Rawk!

I have looked at it, and been tempted. Seems great in theory. Anyone here used it? Like this?

The Fly Rigs are really cool and sound good. I could get by with one but again for now I want to switch drive, modulation, and/or delay at once I just like the convenience of big buttons clearly labeled, with those buttons switching multiple parameters at once. I gotta investigate the whole MIDI thing to have the changes triggered by the backing tracks, though. I feel like an audience wants to see performers performing, and the less they have to deal with devices, the better. If I really were sensible we'd just be an acoustic duo, but I'm not really sensible.

It's for the live ease of use. I can get all the sounds I need from an HX Stomp, probably. But on a dark or sunlit stage when I'm singing and playing and trying to look like I'm having fun, I want big buttons, with lights and names, to switch from "Clean with tremolo" to "Octave fuzz" to "Light crunch with delay" instantly. A smaller board would mean scrolling to find those presets. I'd never manage to get the radical changes in sound right without lots of buttons. Also I program in the exact delay and tremolo timing for each song so things sync perfectly, so I build banks each with four snapshots, like "Clean verse", "Bridge w/120bpm tremolo:, "Chorus with OD", and "Fuzz solo w/120bmp delay." The banks are named for the songs, and I build a setlist for each gig so I don't have to think much. I ultimately want to run our tracks with MIDI signals to have the Helix just switch without me even looking at it. We've played a couple times with a band called Olive Dares the Darkness, and their guitarist, Mike, has all his effects changes programmed that way, so all he does and play and sing.

Yeah, I know. Cooking glass, bell-bottom jeans flapping in the wind, real men use big iron transformers. I'm not trying to convert anyone, but if anyone's thinking about getting a modeling-effects-computer-thang for whatever reasons they have, I recently got a Helix and perhaps my experience will help you. Or confuse you. Or do nothing for you. Gonna try to break it down to simple bullet points because I'm a corporate kinda guy. My situation Missus Polara and I make albums that no one buys, and play gigs that a few music snobs and nerds attend. We went through a lot of drummers and bassists and in Atlanta people can live a two-hour drive apart - good luck scheduling rehearsals - so we leaned into the electronic thing and use canned beats and bass. No need to for high stage volume, so I use a floor modeler into the P.A. I've dabbled in them over the years, too. Saturday Missus dropped her iPad squarely on top of my Boss GT-1000, shattering the screen. It still works, but but just has shards of glass over the LCD. For reasons outlined below I was thinking of switching to a Helix, so here is the story. My sounds Cleans are vital for me, in the vaguely Vox-Matchless territory So are light overdives So is a basic power-pop crunch, like a Timmy into a Vox Finally, I occasionally need a fuzz a la Muff No metal sounds or high-gain Early 2000s: the Yamaha DG Stomp Pros: Built very well, and simple to use The sounds seemed great at the time. Perhaps today I'd laugh Gigged it relentlessly as my bass preamp Still kinda want one as a backup Cons: Very limited number of amps and effects Tiny screen Mid-2000s: tried a few Line 6 and Boss products in stores Disappointing 2015-2018: Fractal AX8 Pros: Amp sounds were great Effects were very good Sturdy unit Good user community Lots of flexibility in switching Cons: Volume and controls of amps models varied a lot. You could blow your ears out switching models. Same with the effects On-screen editing was very difficult, small screen Software was functional, but not friendly Fractal seldom updated things and ended up discontinuing the product Summary: I think Fractal has some great models, especially on the high-gain side, and great effects, too. The newer products look like that have an improved interface. They seem to be built for people who want to do some deep tweaking and don't mind spending hours do int it. 2019-2024 Boss GT-1000 Pros: Nice physical package Switching between patches is instant Switching between banks, you can have your previous sound spill over until you release the button for your next sound in the next bank. This is wonderful. You can make any footswitch do anything you like Their X-series amps and effects, which are not designed to emulate any particular amp, are wonderful. Best modeled sounds I've tried. Lots of deep editing possible Software is pretty good, and the Bluetooth version is handy Cons: Software is very slow to save or update anything. As in 11 seconds to save a preset. On-screen editing is barely better than the old Fractal GT-1000 doesn't have as active an online user community as Fractal or Line 6 Boss doesn't update things often, and I wonder if they'll abandon the GT-1000 owners when the GTX-1,000,000 or something comes out Summary: If you "get" the Boss mindset of making a signal chain, it's pretty easy to understand, and very powerful. The sounds are great. But it's not really intuitive, and you really need to focus to make changes on the fly in a gig situation. As of a week ago: Line 6 Helix Pros: Cool colors light up and the scribble strips are great Main screen is easy to read Software is straightforward, for the most part Quite a lot of flexibility in routing and in assigning switches Active user community, reputation for support, frequent updates Most amp sounds and effects are very good Cons: It's really big and heavy Not as much flexibility for assigns as the Boss: for instance, I used to have a setting for the expression pedal to do a 50% mix of whammy and 50% mix of wah. Can't seem to do that now. Expression pedal seldom reaches full 0% setting, and I have heard this is common Like the Fractal, the amps and effects can have wildly varying volumes A lot of the amps and effects seem to be there just to boost the number of models Reverbs and delays don't seem great, but I'm still learning Summary: Easy to program, easy to make setlists, easy to use in performance, easy to tweak on the fly. I'm finding it harder to get really great amp sounds than with the GT-1000, but I think by playing with mic placement and sag I'll get there, or close enough. Very practical solution. I'm looking for a way to get the Boss fixed, and have contacted Roland and talked to an authorized service center. I'm on the fence about GT-1000 vs Helix, but leaning toward Helix. The user community and service reputation are great and it's faster to edit, even if - for now - I prefer the smaller size and the sounds of the Boss unit.

I've sold almost all of my odds and ends in preparation for our move to Sweden in 2025, so now, alas, I need to re-home some guitars. Here is a Reverb link. Each is listed at $1350 including shipping. For HFCers I'll do $1200 PayPal's or Venmo'd including shipping to the lower 48. Both are in excellent shape and play great, low action and just super guitars. Hurts to sell the, but it'll hurt more if I need a damn shipping container to take my music toys across the Atlantic. https://reverb.com/item/78676981-fender-american-professional-jaguar-with-rosewood-fretboard-2017-2019-olympic-white https://reverb.com/item/78553790-g-l-fullerton-deluxe-doheny-hh-2021-with-suhr-thornbuckers More to come...

Wow. That's crazy cheap. I have one and it's a really good guitar, lively and nice neck. Buy this!

Someone needs to buy that. Dang.

I'm in. 1982, sham-pain frost something-something finish 'n' gold hardware.

Only double albums? I don't know, not being into teh vinylz, which are doubles.

That LP copy is stunning! I got an Oopegg. It's a Japanese boo-teek guitar that has sort of the body of an Ibanez Talman, the headstock of a Gretsch Corvette, a big ol' Gibson-scale neck, and P90, Tele, and Humbucker pickups. Here's a link to the dealer. It's this exact guitar. https://eddiesguitars.com/product/electric/electric-guitar-categories/solid-body-electric-guitars/oopegg-supreme-collection-trailbreaker-mark-i-maui-blue/ A Paul Reed Smith Custom 22. It had a few dings and some corrosion, and was clearly played a lot so I threw a lowball offer on Reverb and he shocked me by accepting it. It buffed up and cleaned up real nice. Ten top, vibrato. It is a stunningly great instrument. Missus Polara says to never sell it, and wants me to play it exclusively with our band.

I've got an '82 Prototype, too... the prob'ly unique one with gold hardware and sort of a champagne frost finish. Mine is pretty unreal, and I suspect whoever owns this one will be very satisfied. Just feels good, and sound is surprisingly versatile.

I'm way too old to have illusions of impacting anything anywhere, but it's gotta be weird for the young players moving up. In my "heyday" of the late 80s to 2000, the goal of most bands was to do your own thing, and do it so well it turned into something big. And it worked: even I was technically with a signed act. But with collapse of the label system and the Boomers refusing to be proper old people and stay on the shuffleboard courts and 5pm buffets... well. If ya want to get booked, pick an act past their prime, learn to play the material they did when they were hot, and you'll gig every weekend. Want to do your own music? Prepare to play house parties and damp basements in challenging neighborhoods. Reality. But I'm sure it's a blast to be in one, and I'd be down for doing a Killing Joke tribute band now that Kevin (Geordie) has left this temporal plane.

About ten years ago (I'm 60) it became too much trouble to get four guys together to do a traditional rock band, so Missus Polara and I become a duo. No amp, no drums. Quick and easy load-in, and we have the option to be as weird or aggressive or quiet as we like. As a duo, we can, if we want, gradually ease into being a retirement-home act: acoustic guitar and vocals doing boring atmospheric melancholy stuff. A lot of the older players here, some of whom I knew when we were all young punks trying to change the world, are into really esoteric stuff now: modular synths, theremins, sound samples, etc. You can still have the fun of being creative, but now you're performing in art spaces for people who sit quietly and dig the sounds.

I owned it before. It's really nice. I put a Phat Cat in the neck and Seth Lover in the bridge, and that combination was great for me. I can't figure why the original owner spec'd with a Custom Custom in the neck... really woolly sounding. Anyway, it's a cool guitar, and someone will dig it.

I always bring an ancient Tech 21 SansAmp GT2 to gigs just in case. I love the digital, but I love having a backup that I can at least get a decent sound from to finish a set. But amps? Not any more, not unless I get called on to play in a more traditional band with lots of stage volume.