Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame

I have 2 or 3 dozen of every carvin you can imagine + about 200 other guitars ranging from Hamers Dah? to Greg Fessler made Strats, Suhr, Colling and Zemaitis etc. Carvins are great guitar 90+% of the time. pots and pickups can be upgraded after you get it to make it a superb instrument. This is my 2 Cents If you have that many guitars, you should add 1-2 Jon Kammerers to your collection. Great guitars. Tell 'em Nathan sent you.

This has made me think about getting a Carvin, now. There is no better way to get exactly what I would want: ebony fretboard, HSS, Floyd Rose, black hardware: easy. But to specify Swamp Ash body, no fretboard inlays, and a ruby over AAA quilted maple with blackburst edges? You could wait a lifetime before seeing that on eBay, and of course I'm not getting that from Westone or Hamer, both of them being defunct. I guess Jon Kammerer could do it for me, as well, but that would be Custom, and as such would be more expensive.

I kinda liked Carvin's pickups. I had a self-build (not built by me) Bolt that rocked, still regret selling. I also had a cherry burst bolt with an ebony fretboard that I still regret selling. But I picked up a few older Carvins from eBay at good prices, and they were all falling apart. Compared to "can buy with confidence" you get from built-like-a-tank used Hamers, I just gave up on them. The ones that were in new condition all seemed slightly overpriced when compared to other decent quality used guitars like Peavey Vandenbergs, Alvarezes, Westones, etc, that are all slightly less quality than Hamer, but much less expensive. So if I had $500 to spend, I'd rather sniff out a few used Yamahas or Westones, or wait around for a beat-up appearance but functionally flawless Hamer USA shredder than a used Carvin. If I had $1000+ to spend, I'd rather wait around for a pretty much mint Hamer USA or get a brand new Jon Kammerer guitar than a new Carvin. But I'd jump on a $300 mint Carvin if someone angry woman was selling her ex-'s guitars in a revenge sale.

I have made no secret of the fact that I like Styx, After the Fire, and to those I will add that I really like the Xanadu soundtrack.

Right. Catharsis vs mood alteration I'm convinced that Metallica got me through my late-teen angst w/o a suicide attempt because I got to scream along with Fade To Black instead of actually making everything fade to black. But when I want to pull myself out of a bad mood, I often go with upbeat jazz forms, whether fusion, dixieland, big band, or Latin. If not, then upbeat 80s-style rock. It is difficult for me to give specifics, because those are mostly mid-/late-90s Chinese pop stars... I used to separate my music by mood, but the "Down" folder very nearly caused a divorce, so I stopped doing that.

This. TOTALLY THIS. Great job Zen. A coupla Super V orders coming SD's way from the UK Wow Kevin, that is waaay cool. Just to let you know... it is a vintage output pickup... has a good bit less power than a JB or DD (sort of on the level of a Seth Lover or '59). I probably could have raised the height of the pickup to give it a little more power but I just kept it at a decent distance from the strings anyway. The Super V (despite it's many unique and excellent qualities), is low output sort of like his Screamin' Demon... not what a lot of people expect attached to a name like George Lynch, but it's just the reality. It's like crossing a Seth Lover with the easy pinch harmonics of a JB and the tightness of a Distortion. There does seem to be a notch in the lower frequencies which allows the midrange texture to be so detailed and sort of high resolution. Man, I can honestly say that I didn't even think of that... Gold would look soooo sweet and it could have matched my guitar which has gold hardware. F**k, I should have asked for gold!!! That's the main reason why so much of the video is in B&W. I didn't want the chrome to clash visually with the gold hardware. Hey Jim, If you don't have an X3 Live, I don't think the download will work... I'm not really sure of that but I am going to assume that the CustomTone patches aren't interchangeable, backwards or forwards compatible. Patch is a 1968 Plexi Jump Lead: Bass -27% Mids-100% Treble-66% Presence-87% Gain-100% Cabinet is 4x12 Greenbacks & Microphone is 57 (off axis) backed off of the cone with 35% room tone EQ is -12db @50Hz +3.8db @500Hz +5.2db @ 900Hz +5.2db @2kHz Delay is 400ms with a pretty heavy modulation (speed 68% depth 72%) and pretty decent feedback at 46%. The mic is set low at 24% where you don't actually hear an audible repeat but it blends in with the reverb. Reverb is a vintage plate with a big Pre Delay of 56% Decay at 43% Tone at 100% and mix pretty high at 74% Of course, that is only in the left channel submixed to mono. The Princeton Reverb + pedals is what's in the left channel... the blend of the two is what makes the "phantom center". I did a batch of recordings as sort of a preparation for the video review. These recordings have no modeling and is just my Princeton Reverb with SM57 in the left channel and the AKG 414EB in the right channel. It's most of the stuff I did for the video except for "The Hunter" I think. Gives a great insight into how much the modeler adds. I did process the finish result of the video through Ozone 5 and Slate FG-X Mastering plug-ins but the Princeton only tracks off of Soundcloud are unmastered and not as loud. I LOOOOOVE the sound I get from my pedalboard + Princeton and 2 microphones... highly addictive tone for sure... makes me not turn on my modeler much unless I am recording. http://soundcloud.com/zenmindbeginner/sets/seymour-duncan-custom-shop-1 Badgerplex? Wha . . . ?Must google immediately But first, absofrigginglutely decimating playing, ZMB. Damn! Thank you sir! The Badgerplex AC pedal is a faithful recreation of the Maestro EP-3 preamp circuit. It's a FET based preamp with a 180 degree phase shift that imparts a sort of 3D character to the signal. The preamp also leans out my sound a tick while providing some extra grit to my tone. Makes harmonics just JUMP off of the fretboard and gives single notes a "life" and vibrance to them. I like a nice upper midrange edge with an accentuated pick attack and midrange "bloom" with the plain strings. The Badgerplex preamps are just right up my alley. And since it's AC... it doesn't utilize a charge pump to boost the internal voltage up to 22 or 23 volts which is what the original Maestro EP-3 preamp section used. Of course, I am describing a subtle effect and not some overwhelming change to my tone... I am not planning on looking for another magic box though, the Badgerplex AC is the real deal. ClinchFX makes an almost identical product although utilizes a charge pump to boost the voltage from 9 volts to 22 volts like the other non AC versions of the Badgerplex PRE pedals. I'm not a stupid guy. But it is going to take me 10 years to understand everything you said here. And I don't think 10 years would be enough for me to learn to play like you did in the video. Impressive! Got any original guitar instrumentals on YouTube anywhere?

The fills in Stone in Love.

She's been back just over 2 weeks now.

Yep. I have storage space for 40, so I ended up having to sell 14. I still have 4-5 to go... Shall I post pictures of those I got rid of next?

I definitely need to get better at guitar maintenance...

Last but not least: The one that kicked all the guitar acquisition off was actually a Steinberger ZT3. I decided I wanted a trans-trem extremely urgently. I had been watching used ones go (losing auctions I was competing in at the $1000 price point) for $1100, $1200, and then saw this Brand New In Box one for $1000, free shipping, so I Bought It Now. Then over the next 3 weeks, I watched another seller attempt to sell a brand new one for decreasing BIN amounts, finally going no lower than $699. I actually considered buying it and then listing it for the $1000 BIN I got mine for, but then sanity reasserted itself. Pictures: http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7547_zpscab00ff5.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7548_zpsd810efd0.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7549_zps7c85de52.jpg.html'> And that's it. These are the guitars I got as a consolation prize for losing early/often in the Buy No Guitars Challenge 2013. Two more on the way, pictures when they get here: a Yamaha AES 820 for $215 shipped a Yamaha PAC 812v (different generation than the 812s mentioned earlier...this one has a flame-top strat body, Wilkinson-style trem, locking tuners, and Seymour Duncan pickups) for $350 shipped And that's it. I'm pretty much in guitar heaven these days.

So since I spent $300 on this guitar, and it was worth it, then wouldn't another Slammer Series strat with the roller nut be even more worth it at $150? So, yeah, I "won" the bid with $150. I really expected someone to snipe it away, but I couldn't resist less than $170 shipped. So here's what I ended up with: http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7520_zps66b3ed11.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7521_zpse45fb141.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7523_zpsb9d88877.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7522_zpsb3dbcf48.jpg.html'> The seller talked about cleaning and oiling it, so I figured he also stripped the paint off, but after getting it, I guess it was originally finished in natural. Dunno. The little white button is cool. The seller thought it might be a bypass button, but it seems to be a mid-range boost. In any case, it seems to make the guitar twangier. I love the strat tones from this one. The trem is blocked, so I haven't seen if the trem stays in tune. I love both of the import Daytonas enough to keep them both, I think. One maple board, one rosewood. The frets are divoted almost to canyons in the cowboy chord area, but no buzzes and pretty low action and playability. Absolutely a keeper.

A few months ago, Carfish7 helped me snag a Hamer Slammer Series strat copy. It was the 2nd version, without the roller nut. It sounded sort of strat-like, but just didn't grab me. With apologies to him for not bonding with it despite his generous help, I sold it. After already buying a half-dozen guitars, I saw this Slammer Series strat copy. With the roller nut. Like an idiot, drunk on New Guitar Excitement, I decided it was worth a $302 bid. I "won" the guitar as the only bidder at $300. http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7516_zps500d1a41.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7518_zpsf77f2b1d.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7519_zpse2a219fd.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7517_zps32923efc.jpg.html'> But you know what? It is pretty, plays well, sounds great, and the roller nut keeps it tune. It was actually worth the $330 shipped.

Sometimes my heart/mouth get me "in trouble", but I've never regretted it. I made a promise to someone that if they didn't like their Alvarez AES Graphite neck guitar, I'd buy it from them. Well, he didn't like it. He mentioned in passing that he was also going to sell his Westone X300 Pantera CR (Cherry Red), so we made a deal for both of them, $530 shipped: http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7527_zps7e1047ad.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7528_zps3dd9202b.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7529_zpsd7a744ef.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7530_zpsf4b2ca4a.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7531_zps0f8ab5b4.jpg.html'> The neck is comfortable, it has great tone, and despite the crudity of the trem, it stays in tune even with moderate use. Here's the Alvarez: http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7524_zps0dbeb30e.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7525_zpsdab464e3.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7526_zpsd37d7e32.jpg.html'> The two-point trem keeps it in tune fairly well, despite no string locks and no locking tuners. The graphite neck is cool and collectible. Plays very nice. But who likes EMG Select pickups? I'm not impressed with them. The trem withstands light use, but I just have no desire to sink that much effort into making it a top-notch guitar (locking tuners, new pickups, etc), so I'll probably sell it.

I saw something cool on Guitar Center's website, soon after I got my Yamaha jones: a Yamaha SSC 500, $300. I talked them into $330 shipped: http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7532_zpsafcb3b99.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7533_zps9969a7c2.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7534_zpsca2e0b4e.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7535_zpsb2e7f77b.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7536_zps0fa79543.jpg.html'> Set neck. Made in Japan. 3 on/off toggles, one for each pickup. And for some reason, a push/push vol pot that various reviews have said is a coil tap. On a single coil? Really? The only thing I can think of is that if they are overwound single coils, then maybe you could tap the coil partway for a less hot sound. Or maybe it is an EQ boost of some sort. Or maybe it switches parallel to series wiring. I dunno. It sounds different, but I haven't done more than test it for functionality yet. Having too much fun with high-end Yamahas.

A week later, and what do you think happens? My standard "Westone" search on eBay returns a Westone X390 Caspian Blue with a BIN of $850, free shipping. What could I do? What would you do? I Bought It Then (Now, past tense). http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7537_zps613f02dc.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7538_zps27b881d4.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7539_zpsbee47503.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7540_zps0515fb4e.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7541_zps5ce70d26.jpg.html'> Notice how the back is concave. It isn't neck through, it is a long-tenon set neck. Active pickups. Coil tap with the push/pull knob. This became the Trevor Rabin signature model in Westone's last year, and when Westone became Alvarez. You can see him playing a Caspian Blue Westone in some of the Yes concert videos on YouTube. I wish it was this one, but I'm not that naive. So, yeah: I currently own 2.1% of all Westone X390 Panteras ever made.

Then there was the eBay accident: http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7542_zps3d18ac1b.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7544_zpse3dd4a36.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7543_zps922c5015.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7546_zpsf219b5ca.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7545_zps759024b6.jpg.html'> I saw "Westone Pantera X390" and the starting bid was just $500, and 0 bids to that point, with over half the auction over. Only 96 X390s were ever made. These are professional quality instruments, with great attention to detail and some nice features. They usually go for $1k. So I dropped a bid of $550, just because I wanted to see the reminder of where it ended up. And hey, if it had lasted that long w/o bids, maybe I'd get lucky. Okay, I should have been smarter than that. WHY did it not have bids. The headstock had been broken and repaired. But I got it, and it played and sounded great. The repair is solid. It really ends up being just a cosmetic issue. So it was a mistake, but I don't regret it. But Pearl White is a little boring. I really wanted the Caspian Blue color scheme.

Next up is a 1984 Westone Spectrum LX: http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7559_zps275025f3.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7560_zps64d7b48e.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7561_zpsd936bb11.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7562_zpsc20dc2d0.jpg.html'> I had a 1985 Westone Dynasty, but I didn't bond with it, and mostly because there were some electronics problems that I didn't know how to fix. I suck at soldering, but I'm going to try to learn now (on an upcoming featured guitar). So on the Westone board, I asked if someone wanted to trade any mid-80s H-S-H for my Dynasty (which is sorta like a flying V). The reason for the H-S-H stipulation is because of Westones switching method: 3-way chooses Bridge, B+N, or Neck. The first pot turns the middle coil on/off. The 2nd pot splits the HBs. The 3rd pot reverses phase. Is that cool or what? So I didn't want to lose that, but I wanted to try a different one. This one has the ultra-hot MMK 45s. They make the guitar sound about 10 times as pointy as it is. Then there is the Yamaha RGX 420S-D6. It had been hanging around the pawn shop for 8 months that I knew of. This is the same pawn shop that I got the Line 6 AxSys in perfect condition + long footboard for $70. The Yamaha had a $399 price tag on it. So I dug through his amp pile and found a Line 6 Spider III 2x10 120Watt with a price tag of $270, and since it was at the bottom of the pile and the Yamaha had some wiring problems, offered him $300 for both and he took it. http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7550_zps96b763fa.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7551_zps3c2e0412.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7552_zpsf577bf2a.jpg.html'> Amazingly low action. 27" (I think) scale baritone guitar. Great dark metal tone. But the 5-way switch makes no difference, and the bypass switch has become a cut-off switch. So repairing/rewiring it has become my first electronic repair project. I'm open to suggestions.

But wait! There's More! Oh yeah. I lost big. More coming up.

Yamaha RGX 612: http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7556_zps85dcdfb8.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7554_zpscd3959e4.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7555_zps080b468d.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7557_zpsace13dcf.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7558_zps7f998d2c.jpg.html'> This is both an "eBay SUX!" and "eBay RAWKS!" story. He didn't have good pictures. Described it as a guitar he used to play but put away 10 years ago and hasn't touched since. Described as good condition. I figured I was getting a steal by getting it with a case for a bid of $150 ($180 shipped). Then it arrived. Look at my first picture. That was better than his best picture, but the missing parts still aren't obvious. Look at the 4th picture: obvious missing parts. He could have done the same, but didn't. Then again, the guitar sounds great, plays great, and actually stays in tune without the string clamps. I grilled him a little, and he sounded genuinely distraught and apologetic. I was disappointed, but in the final analysis, I still got a great deal, so I dropped the issue, thanked him for his sincerity, and gave him good feedback. Total Access Neck Joint still/also works exactly as claimed. I've got bunches more! But no time right now, will post later tonight.

A New Guitar Extravaganza in Multiple Posts! When I signed up for the challenge, I didn't count on the effect of having my wife go back to visit the old country, leaving me on my own for nearly 8 weeks. I don't hide it from her, but she gets irritated with every guitar box that arrives, especially when someone uses styrofoam peanuts that get on the floor, because I never manage to get them all cleaned up. When she's out of the country, however, I can wheel and deal and bring them all in, send others out, and generally make a mess of the house for a few weeks, and she doesn't see it, so it doesn't irritate her. This one started because I was watching eBay while with her, and I picked up 3 guitars that I just couldn't pass up in the last week of my portion of the visit. Then I came home and, well, "in for a penny, in for a pound", and I had stumbled on the high-end Yamahas for cheap. One thing led to another, and it culminated in the red Yamaha Pacifica 812S I posted yesterday. Here are some of the others: Other High-End Yamahas: Yamaha Pacifica 1221: http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7508_zps4c80d9f8.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7509_zpscc1548fa.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7510_zps91e0eef3.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7511_zps27ff3724.jpg.html'> Amazingly low action and skinny neck. Great sound despite the aftermarket EMGs. No real story about this one. I jumped on it and got it with the high bid of $380, shipped. The total-access neck joint works as claimed. Yamaha RGX 1212: http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7512_zps9bd38e8c.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7513_zps4d129a7c.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7514_zps316efe5a.jpg.html'> http://s716.photobucket.com/user/brainfertilizer/media/all%20guitars/DSC_7515_zpsb3343a8b.jpg.html'> This was the one that started my Yamaha obsession. I jumped on it because when you can get a neck-through, ebony fretboard guitar at the professional end of Yamaha's guitar lines for under $500, you do it. The mini-switches are all aftermarket. One is a bypass, one is a coil split, and the other one does nothing that I can tell. The seller had no idea, either. Great tone, great player, stays in tune without touching the fine tuners for literally months. It arrived in tune, I just pulled it out of the box and played. I have adjusted the fine tuners once since I got it in mid-February. The graphics are what made me look closer in the first place. It is just a decal applied to the front, and you can take it off w/o hurting the guitar...but I kind of like it.

Just wait till next year!

Not sure if anyone on the board is familiar with Brian May, the lead guitarist for a band called Queen...he wasn't too shabby for power-pop solos, either.

Good instrumental by After The Fire: http://youtu.be/0QREd5C2dXM

Good solo work on Rick Springfield's Working Class Dog. I think that was mostly Robben Ford, but also Neil Giraldo (of Pat Benatar fame). Not sure what the mix was.