The guitar corner

[Shawn]

Well, I got the answer:

"The first and fifth digits (7 and 9) are the year. The second, third and fourth digits (3, 1 and 4) are the day of the year. The last three numbers are the production number. So your guitar was built on the 314th day of 1979 (november 10th, I believe) and the production number is 76."

As for the tremolo I'm trying to find out whether that was available at the time or not. The tremolo is branded Gibson and has the phrase "U.S. Pat Applied For" on it. The previous owner once told me it was a Floyd Rose before it was patented, but I'm not sure if that's correct or not.

[slide_advantage_redoux]

Well, I finally concluded that my Ibanez 2630 was way too much guitar for the style I play, and since I needed new gear, I sold it.

I found a very nice 2004 Takamine Model EAN15C in a local pawn shop. Solid top, back and - I think - sides. Got it out the door for $600. It listed new for near $1800, and I couldn't be happier. I never owned a solid top before. I was wanting a 00 or another narrow waist model instead of another dreadnought, but I couldn't pass this one by.

The pic is from the factory site; the pic of mine is too large a file to post.

Played through my Acoustisonic and a Boss AD3 pre, this guitar really comes to life.

Edited February 8, 2009 by slide_advantage_redoux

[jazzbo]

Congrats!

Since I bought a 2006 Les Paul Vintage Mahogany Studio (with updated switches and pots and a paper in oil cap) I have let my two other electric guitars sit idle. Wow. What a great guitar.

[7/4]

[jazzbo]

[Cliff Englewood]

Nice Magic Sam clip, stay with it until the end, he's giving a lesson to every guitar player on how to boogie, and I think he might, just might, be playing Earl Hooker's Les Paul Copy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoXI1zZbGIc...feature=related

P.S. I think the drummer has his wallet on the snare.

Edited February 16, 2009 by Cliff Englewood

[GregN]

Nice Magic Sam clip, stay with it until the end, he's giving a lesson to every guitar player on how to boogie, and I think he might, just might, be playing Earl Hooker's Les Paul Copy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoXI1zZbGIc...feature=related

P.S. I think the drummer has his wallet on the snare.

Oh man...this clip is among my favorites for sure! I'm a HUGE Magic Sam fan. Thanks for posting this.

[Cliff Englewood]

But does this shop close at 10, or does it stay open all the way up to 11?

[Cliff Englewood]

Nice Magic Sam clip, stay with it until the end, he's giving a lesson to every guitar player on how to boogie, and I think he might, just might, be playing Earl Hooker's Les Paul Copy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoXI1zZbGIc...feature=related

P.S. I think the drummer has his wallet on the snare.

Oh man...this clip is among my favorites for sure! I'm a HUGE Magic Sam fan. Thanks for posting this.

Yea, I'd love to know what kinda amp he was going through here, his tone is just amazing.

[jazzbo]

Anyone have any experience with fretless guitars?

[7/4]

Anyone have any experience with fretless guitars?

Yep. I have one. What do you want to know?

[AllenLowe]

I want to know: what the hell happened to the frets?

[7/4]

It never had any.

[jazzbo]

Oh, just whether you like playing it. I find I like playing my fretless bass much more than my fretted one. OF course chords. . .that's different.

Edited February 17, 2009 by jazzbo

[7/4]

Oh, just whether you like playing it. I find I like playing my fretless bass much more than my fretted one. OF course chords. . .that's different.

Of course I enjoy it, one doesn't replace the other. Having said that, I'm concentrating on fretted guitar for now. Three was a couple of years when I played fretless gtr a lot.

I'd forget about chords and stick to 2 note intervals with an occasional 3rd note to make it a chord. It's enough to keep one or two notes in tune!

[jazzbo]

I hear ya! Thanks!

[7/4]

A few other things:

The fretboard is made of epoxy and has absolutely no wear.

I use flatwounds because my fingers get hung up on roundwounds when I shift and slide around.

There are some issues with sustain, especially on the high strings. I went from a set of .010s to .011s last time and that helped. But then the strings had more tension so they lost the flexibility that made sliding so easy. I think next time I get it out, I start tuning the strings lower so I have the tone of the heavier set with less tension of the lower tuning.

Intonation concerns slow me way down.

Now that I've been working a bit more on the chops, I should get it out and see how I like it.

[7/4]

And, also, I went through a few different compressors (for sustain). I wouldn't bother with one for fretless bass.

Speaking of bass, I have a fretless bass, but I've been missing the fretted Jazz bass I sold two years ago.

dB

Edited February 17, 2009 by 7/4

[AllenLowe]

how does one get a re-fret on a fretless guitar?

perspiring minds want to know -

[7/4]

You refinish or replace the fretboard.

dB

[jazzbo]

I love my fretless bass; it's a Wishbass made by Steve Wishnevsky and it's so expressive. . . just one pickup (an EMG jazz) and a volume control on it and it sounds so "woody."

I like it so much that I thought about fretless guitars. Though I have too many guitars already. So thanks for the input!

[7/4]

That's part of my problem, too many guitars, not enough time to devote to all the different styles and techniques. My steel guitar is being neglected for the same reason.

.

[jazzbo]

My two Epiphones are the most neglected of my guitars, the Hummingbird and the Jack Casidy. On top of that I've taken up and concentrated on drumming again and the situation is going to worsen.

But. . . you know. . .there are worse problems to have.

[7/4]

My thing now is the basics, scales and arpeggios. At age 48, I decided I really should know my way around the neck better.

So...any scale - all the notes on one string.

2 notes to a string,

3 notes to a string and

4 notes to a string (shift on the half steps).

edit#2: and of course, a scale in different positions up the neck.

I'm back into Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin after diddling with the Charlie Parker Omnibook for a few months.

Every day I try to read at least a page or two. I'm not working on memorization, just getting around the neck. I need to practice with a metronome, that would improve things drastically.

edit: there's also a bunch of standards I work on, mostly just learning the heads and playing arps through the progression.

Edited February 17, 2009 by 7/4

[Joe G]

My thing now is the basics, scales and arpeggios. At age 48, I decided I really should know my way around the neck better.

So...any scale - all the notes on one string.

2 notes to a string,

3 notes to a string and

4 notes to a string (shift on the half steps).

I'm back into Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin after diddling with the Charlie Parker Omnibook for a few months.

Every day I try to read at least a page or two. I'm not working on memorization, just getting around the neck. I need to practice with a metronome, that would improve things drastically.

edit: there's also a bunch of standards I work on, mostly just learning the heads and playing arps through the progression.

At age (almost) 38 I've come to the same conclusion. I've been working a lot with scales in all keys, and diatonic chords and arps moving through sequences (usually 4ths and 5ths, also 3rds), plus cycles of major, minor, and dominant 7th-type chords. My reading needs work, and so does my knowledge of standards. And bop heads.

The Bach is never far away, though I haven't read anything new lately. Been working on some Mick Goodrick compositions out of his new book for (mostly) solo guitar.

What did you think of the quartet I sent you, David?