django49

I might add.....Things like this do make you think about mortality. And all the more so as I did have a bit of a health scare myself 2 weeks ago. Released and sent home with no restrictions, but the 30 hours in the hospital with very little sleep did sorta "concentrate my mind". I really DO need to think about why I have so damn many guitars and other gear. WAY too much money tied up in all that stuff......Pretty sure I will be identifying many pieces and upping my efforts to move some along. I expect I will be posting some things here, as well as calling some folks that have asked for dibs.....I just don't want to get ahead of myself as a "teaser" until I have a definite list and can set asking prices.

I am sure a few of you have heard about my "jazz guitar buddy". A very talented guy, worked hard at it. Settled down after years on the road. Moved from SoCal to Portland. Readily admitted he had the luxury of a wife with a real job. So, he could stay at home, be house hubby to their daughter, give lessons, play local gigs. We were in SoCal at the same time but did not meet until we were both back in the Portland area.....I was probably jamming with a musical Captain in the BHPD about the same time the PD was harassing him for looking homeless as he drove through town nearly living in his car hitting gigs from San Diego to San Francisco and piling up tens of thousands of miles a year. Michael answered an ad for a vintage ES-335 I was selling. Expected he might be able to jam me on price if he was lucky. Admitted it was a failed hope when I answered the door. But we became friends. He taught me things about music, I taught him things re financial planning and funding his daughter's PHD path from Portland to Las Vegas to MIlwaukie. Shared out love of gear and did some swapping. Two very different people, but we became friends. Hard to not like someone as full of stories as Michael. Not too many weeks ago, I told him I was pondering getting outta the state that seems to be getting more and more radicalized. He immediately informed me I should move to Nashville AND he would fly out to the west coast for a road trip moving a truckload of musical gear to Tennessee. His not so secret hope----Maybe he had better chance of getting into the more exclusive part of the collection at Gruhn Guitars if we brought along a few of my more interesting guitars. 😉Whether or not that made any sense, it is not to be. He died of a heart attack 2 days ago in Wisconsin. Michael (Gargano) is not likely someone you have heard of. And likely not the music you would have on your playlist, though he went from hard rock and drugs to big bands and solo/small band jazz over his 60+ years of playing. But if anyone is interested, here is a bit of his music posted again today. I am sure I have other recordings somewhere. Joe Pass-like Christmas album. Fingerstyle versions of Beatle classics and jazz standards. Not gonna say I could ever play like him. But I DO play a bit better as a result of his influence. RIP Michael.

Looks nice. Better than my Duo-Tones? I am guessing not.....

What I would be inclined to do (NOT myself!) is find someone that could use a router to remove a deep layer of wood from the back of the guitar (mainly behind the bridge), leaving a "ledge" around the edges, then cutting a thin piece of wood to fit the cutout. It might be a bit trial and error to get to the amount of wood to remove and get the right balance and not affect the tone too severely. The back might end up something like this (OR you could try to get a matching wood). That would preserve the rounded edges of the guitar and avoid the need to then have to match the finish. (This example has the back extending to the edges, part of the original build, rather than inset after the fact).

My neighbors were listening to some pretty cool music until they asked me to turn it down.

Fans? 😉

I have long since settled on V-Picks, or sometimes Gravity. They are harder to drop or lose. Price may have something to do with being careful.🤔 That little 5th pocket on blue jeans seems to be a pretty secure place to keep one at hand.

Just imagine how good he mighta sounded with a Dumble! I JOKE! I JOKE!