tombo

Loved seeing George & Carmie, my brother Ray, Badger D, Shred, Bill, meeting Sir Dan in person for the first time, and a huge bear hug to Z (Carfish7) - you are the Adrian Smith to my Dave Murray. Ted...I see all the time, but it was great talking with you to and from the venue that is the 4321 Club. And of course... Bruce. You rule and your club is my favorite club to play at. Thank you for your hospitality and I'm sorry we didn't get to chat more. See you at Target??? Can't wait 'til the next one!

I hope to be there!

I'm not connecting with the cynicism here. Dave Grohl rocks...period. I didn't like the last FF album as much as previous ones, but the songs I liked, I really liked. His speech rang true, and like Brooks alluded to: Anybody that wears a Slayer T-shirt at the Grammys gets automatic cred in my book (and I hate Slayer...now, an Iron Maiden t-shirt would have made it even better). Here's the real story though. Bruce Springsteen, Joe Walsh, Dave Grohl, Rusty Anderson, and Brian Ray on stage JAMMING WITH PAUL MCCARTNEY?!?!?!?!?! Did you see the look on Springsteen and Walsh's faces? These guys have more than their share of "cred" and they looked like kids at a Beatles concert. Dave Grohl was having a blast and I can bet that this had to be up there with one of his greatest life moments ever. C'mon...jamming on stage in front of a gajillion people WITH PAUL MCCARTNEY?!?!?!?!? BTW: Rusty Anderson kicks ass and Brian Ray does too (look him up, he was hired to play both guitar and bass for Paul). Lastly, kudos to Abe Laboriel Jr. Cool tribute to Ringo, and one of the best drummers around. http://youtu.be/JhR4zDOa8Zc

Jeez...forget about it already. Ted, do what you want to do with it. I suggest this topic be closed....ymmv.

Not trying to be a smart guy, but I like the Seth's. My vote is for returning them. YMMV.

HUGE FF fan here, but.... Disappointed in this CD. I bought it at Best Buy for $9.99. I've listened and listened to it in the car and nothing catches my ear besides "Rope." YMMV.

This is a perfect description of EMGs. Even if you do play metal, there are better passive pickups that come to mind (I like Duncan Custom Customs, Distortions paired with a good ole 59 in the neck......ymmv). I love Steve Lukather and have most of his solo albums and his tone always sucks. Toto IV, with him, his old Les Pauls and Marshalls (Rosanna outro solo) is great. He always claims in interviews that his EB Luke guitars are "the best on the planet." I've been tempted, but after playing Ted's Luke, my suspicions were confirmed: I personally don't like EMGs. Again, ymmv.

Savage Macht 6 - used.

1778T owner here also! I got one of the last new, USA ones for $490 from Dave's in La Crosse back in August 2008. For guitars with electronics, you can't beat 'em IMO. YMMV. As for guitars you can actually buy now? First, check for used guitars. I got a very nice, like new, Larrivee Parlor 09 for $895. The 03 series is nice also. Taylor D and GS series are nice and I'm sure you can get those used. So, I can't really tell you WHAT to buy, but I can say to look for used deals.

Yup. I should stop by Savage in the afternoon, then off to the 4-3-2-1.

Bruce, I just got off the phone with Savage Audio and they will have a couple of amps ready for me by Friday afternoon. Hopefully (but no guarantees) a Macht 12 and Schatten 19 (I think that's a head/spkr. config.).

Happy B-day!

All of Jake Shimabukuro's CDs.

I'm with Jaye on this one. I haven't seen them live, but I rented all their CDs here in Japan (one year after a CD is released, it's rentable here) and ripped 'em to my Mac. As others have said, they have a sort of formula and they're very good at what they do. Although I'm mostly in Jaye's camp on this one, I also have a little of McChris's voice speaking to me. YMMV. One more thing I just realized...I like Nickelback AND John Mayer . (note to self: avoid HFC gatherings or I will get beat up).

MCChris, This is an easy one: Michael Landau. Landau plays it, and a legion of followers start the word of mouth thing on the net. He plays a guitar - they buy it. A pedal - they buy it. There's a homepage called "Huge Racks Inc." that is full of Landau and Scott Henderson worshippers. I love both those guys, but the bottom line is: they play everything. Whatever sounds good - they play. You could see an endorsement by Scott Henderson one month, and six months later he's using a new pedal or a new cable. Most people don't need to worry about their gear, just play. Hmm....maybe I should take my own advice Back on topic... The Monaco Elite Mahogany IS A TONE MACHINE!!! I want one in orange also!

For $200, the 30 watt seems to be a lot of amp for the money. You couldn't go wrong having one of these as a practice amp or plugged into a board when the need would arise.

Very nice!!! Tom Anderson makes my favorite bolt-on electric. I love my Classic!

In no particular order... Electric: Jeff Beck, Hiram Bullock, Mike Stern, Andy Summers, Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Luke, Billy Gibbons Acoustic: Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Michael Hedges, Monte Montgomery, Tommy Emmanuel, Andrew York Life: Chris Matthes!!!

First, Jonathan, sorry to spell your name wrong. sonic1974, Morgan IS A SMALL BUILDER, but there are just soooo many, especially in Vancouver. Take your time, and find what's right FOR YOU!

In that price range, AND LIVING IN CANADA, you have soooo many options. There are lots of custom builders that you can get in the $,1800 - $2,000 range. My favorite is Morgan. Do lots of research and play as many as you can. Talk to Jonothan on the board if you can. Don't limit yourself to dreads as there are other styles that have huge sounds, but are much more versatile. If you're set on a dread, by all means go for it. Edited to add, David at Morgan was an apprentice for Jean Larrivee. Great value. Even greater if you can find them used. http://www.morganguitars.com

Shawn Colvin .....man I wish I could play like that!

Mine doesn't look like a lunchbox... How'd ya do that??? Was it costly? Easy? Hard?

Japanese sen is (as described by a Japanese store owner friend) kind of like ash. As has been mentioned above, it's native to Japan. Gotta love the lawsuit era Grecos. Here's my '79 Super Sound strat copy. It's got Seymour Duncan Antiquity II 60's Surfers in it (Custom Bridge, RW/RP middle, and neck model). These pickups transformed this guitar from a "nice for a Japanese copy" to "excellent, regardless of brand or country of origin strat." It really is THAT good! I had a set of Van Zandts in there (Rock, Vintage +, Vintage +) (←　got a deal on them, and was able to return them with no loss) and they were fine pickups. However, the 60's Surfers are just sooooo sweet. Don't let the "surf" moniker fool ya. They can do blues, rock, and country just fine, but I've found that they nail Robert Cray and Mark Knopfler sounds. Here's some pictures (not very good ones though): You can see in this picture below where the pickgaurd had to be drilled to accommodate the modern 5-way switch. Position 1 is where the old screw used to be.

Another +1 to Chris's post. I love Hamers, but I prefer bolt-ons. Tom Anderson's are at the top of my list. YMMV

Happy B-day!