tomteriffic

Nice work! And informative too.

Multiple happyhappys guys. And here's to many more!

This evening I was on the honker with a friend that I don't see much in person. I hadn't seen him since a gig back in October. He's a dyed-in-the-wool Gibson guy but their recent quality and prices have been putting him off. Anyway, he hadn't forgotten my Vanguard that I was playing that night back in October and allowed as how it might be the perfect guitar for him, just by the way it sounded and a quick feel-up after the show. I could tell he was fishing around trying to buy mine, but it's not going anywhere. I told him that, while there aren't just a ton of them around, they do surface from time to time. He was amazed when I told him roughly what the going rate is and that got his interest even more. So, this is just a feeler. He's in the middle of paying for a built-to-order Kendrick, so it may be a while before he's ready to pull the trigger. So if you're on the fence about your Vanguard and need a little more quality time yet, give a shout and I'll hook you up.

Pre-ordered quite a while ago. Please include me in the autograph/numbered/sharkfin pick thing too?

Good find! Congrats! Was the guitar originally made for humbuckers? The majority of those from that era were P-90's

Happy Birthday ye great poof!

Newport 90. Tobacco Sunburst, bound front and back, Pigtail bridge, Monaco control layout. Bound headstock and blank ebony fingerboard. Junior. Korina Standard with white PG.

Once I got started, they came pretty fast and furious. At one point within the first year I had five Specials from various eras and two goldtops. But this was my first Hamer, a '94 Special FM, bought new. I still have it and it still sees regular use. After being around to see some of the very first ones, I spent the next 19 years waiting for me, the guitar and the money to all be together at the same place and time.

I bought 5 new ones, including a custom order and a "might as well have been a custom order". Hyped them to anybody who asked. Did my part.

Look at the link further down the thread. And if the seller won't ship, I can help since Somerville isn't too far from me. I may take you up on that. PM sent.

Greg was thinking Baker, GMP and Robin...;P Earlier this evening he was feeling a bit like the Angel of Death. Every time he gets behind a brand big time, it dies. I'd just like to give a shout to all of the dealers who have worked so hard to promote the brand and who have taken a personal interest in getting these fine instruments into our hands over the years. It's a slug in the gut for me, so I can hardly imagine what it's like for them.

Well...... Shit. On the bright side, since they aren't making them any more, I guess that ups the standard HFC offer to $375? Shit.

Yowzers! Coolness on a stick!

My back up is on the pedalboard as well. It's a Tech 21 Character Series Blonde. it takes a minute or two to re-patch some stuff and twiddle some knobs, but turn on the speaker emulator and there you are. I even skip the amp entirely for some small shows/stages.

Yup, and Roy is great people and, I believe, is still a member here.

I played that one for a minute a few years ago. It was very painful to give it back too.

O M F G Said the guy whose first Hamer was a Special FM. Amazing top!

I've got it's first cousin, plaque psoriasis all over my picking hand. It's a beyotch. Sometimes I can't fingerpick due to the pain, sometimes I can't hold onto a pick due to the callus or whatever the extra thick skin is. Too slippery. And it never really goes away. I use a topical steroid cream that helps, but you have to be real careful not to overdo it, our you'll aggravate the cracking and such. I'm told that a *little* extra Vitamin D can help. Haven't seemn much difference myself, though. One thing that ain't going to make it go away, but sure helps it be more tolerable is Gold Dond Ultimate Healing hand cream. For me, this is the absolute shiznit.. Anything else just seems to put a glaze over things and actually makes it worse with regard to holding onto a pick, healing the cracks etc. But wait! There's more!! Since both of these conditions are of an auto-immune nature, there's a good chance that it will throw in, absolutely free, a case of rheumatoid arthritis! Strikes anywhere, any time without warning. Just wait until you hop in the car to go to gramma's house, just fine, and two hours later are unable to walk! It's just coolness on a stick! I feel your pain, literally. Seriously, try the Gold Bond for the cracking and flare-ups.

I almost forgot. If you're playing under a ceiling fan, there may be nothing at all wrong. The air pressure compression/rarefaction caused by the air movement can cause the pitch to vary as it reaches your ears. The bass wouldn't actually warble, your ears would just hear it that way. I once bought a nice Martin as "damaged" because the store owner had been checking it out while under a ceiling fan. Had the same warble problem. There was nothing at all wrong with the guitar.

I'd start by putting some sort of clamp with some mass to it on the headstock. Here's why: A bass, particularly the neck, it like a huge wood chime. It has it's own set of resonances which can act to reinforce or cancel out certain frequencies/notes. Since the frequencies involved are so low, any intermodulation between the string/bass resonances can easily be heard as dead notes, "wildcat" notes, warbles, etc. On a guitar they aren't as noticeable since the frequencies are much higher and are often perceived as just part of the tone of the instrument. What you're describing sounds like the neck and strings have a resonance that are very close to each other. That would account for the warble since the two would be periodically reinforcing and cancelling each other. By putting a clamp or something massive on the headstock, it changes the resonance of the neck or dampens it and should reduce the resonance to where it doesn't interfere with those notes any more. Groove Tubes used to make a fitted brass plate for the back of bass headstocks for just this purpose. It's cheap and worth a try, anyway.

See???? Glad it all went smoothly. Enjoy!

To me, the P-bass pickup is the heart of the tone, but sometimes I like to roll a little J-Bass bridge in there just for a bit more attack or to fill up a bit more space in a sparse arrangement. When recording, it's almost always straight P-Bass though. My Pilot fretless has a trans black finish over a maple body and an ebony board and the P/J configuration. With ground rounds it gets a marvelous fretless "bwaaah" growl and it's possible to slide harmonics on it, even. Again, the sound is mostly the P pickup. And since it's fretless, nobody tries to borrow it.

I'm asking for a friend who is looking around for one. He's looking for an amp modeler, the FX would probably be secondary. What's the most credible one out there? Let's break it into two categoires: Best with price not being an issue and, Moderate/mid-range price and therefore, best bang for the buck. I haven't had one in in years so I have no perspective on one. Fire away. Thanks!

Congrats, Brian! I'm very happy to see you come out on the good end of what I'm sure was a tough time.

This would be right at home in some corners of the deep south. A roots/americana/whateverthehell musician I like a lot is also a primitivist painter. His name is Paul Thorn, the second best thing to ever come out of Tupelo, Mississippi. If his lead guitarist wasn't a lefty, I'd give it to him. As it is, Paul would probably dig the hell out of it. Here's Paul's latest album cover (self-painted). P.S. to add, the guitar ain't my cuppa hemlock, but, eye of the beholder and all that.