Rain

Incidentally, I did order the white + maple neck Fender Player yesterday morning.

For a few hours I hesitated between that and a black one to replace my old US (at least until I get it fixed), mostly because I have such a long history with black strats and also because I'd been listening to Pink Floyd, and Gilmour is one of the reasons I got my first black strat back in the days.

Next time, maybe...

On 6/20/2022 at 9:36 PM, kennywtelejazz said:

Yes I get what you are saying . I have a few  guitars that have a light anemic looking fingerboard .

The neck you have been asking me about has been on my guitar for 36 years and counting . Also there is a big difference between the quality of woods available on guitars from 36 years ago and what many folks consider the quality of woods available  today 😉

While we are at it , I might as well tell you what happened to the neck I pulled of my MIJ Fender Esquire in 1986  ...

I kept it stored in a box for 20 + years  and then in the 2000's I placed it on my Samick  Valley Arts Telecaster ..

Ain't she pretty

 

all the best ,

Kenny

Maybe it's wishfull thinking. but I seem to notice that the fretboard on my Les Paul studio is noticeably darker than it was when I first got it.

Taken the day I got it in 2015 (poor quality pic, I know):

This pro shot gives a good idea of the color:

And that's a few weeks ago:

My anxiety level jumps up just seeing pictures of planes or seeing them in the sky, so hard pass on the tickets.

$250, 000? I would upgrade my Mac. 🤪

Or... Use some of the money to buy enough medication to numb me down and allow me to make the trip to Japan. And potentially never come back. I am a huge fan of traditionnal Japanese music, so that works.

9 hours ago, craigb said:

I'm sure that the main reason I never succeeded as a rock star is due to the fact that I was never able to grow "that" kind of hair.  Every time I tried it wouldn't grow long, just thick and unruly.  Unfortunately, rocking the "homeless bed hair" look neither improved my abilities or my attraction to groupies. 😁 

Thick and unruly, uh? That was 25 years ago. 

Not quite as thick nowadays, but the unruly part still is in effect, so I rarely let my hair loose.

2 hours ago, Rico Belled said:

It's actually the opposite: having long hair is a LOT more work than having it short, in addition to the almost unavoidable vanity that comes along with it. Less time devoted to learning about music = worse musician!

 

R

I beg to differ.  I wore my hair short at various times in my life. I used to shave the sides of my head for a while - talk about high maintenance! Right now my hair is long because I grew tired of cutting/trimming.  I actually shaved my head in 2020 and decided after that that I was done messing with scissors and trimmers. 

I don't like poneytails but that's the most efficient way to solve the hair question for me. 

Musically, I suck just as much either way.

I don't drive - and I am so perfectly happy living a recluse life. lol

There is a Guitar Center not too ridiculously far - there used to be, anyway. I don't think I've been there since 2016. 

Thanks for the feedback, folks. 

Still haven't completely made up my mind, although I do tend to be partial to maple because, well,  it's what I am used to. Ordering online makes the whole process a bit more complicated, as you can't really try (well, there's always returns, but it's a pain). I might take a chance, though.

I've always had good luck ordering from Sweetwater. I don't think I've ever returned a guitar. Got a Gibson SGJ, a tele,  a strat and a Schecter Hellraiser from them,  all keepers - I only adjusted the action a bit.

I've also ordered a few from AMS - including my beloved Les Paul Studio and my SG -  but had to return at least 3 guitars to them. 

Unless I really can't find the guitar I am looking for at Sweetwater, I stick with them. With the others, it's a gamble.

Bought one of these (MIM Player series) a few years ago, but ended up having to sell it because, budget… I really liked it though, so I am trying to budget a new one. Celebrating the big 5-0 in a few weeks and I have been  wanting to add a Strat to my collection - and getting one of these would be more cost-effective than getting my 96 US re-fretted and all fixed up. 

I’ve always played maple fretboards on Strats, but this time I was considering maybe trying rosewood - which, as it turns out is not an option at this time. Pau Ferro is the alternative. I hear purists cringe. Anyone’s worked with a Pau Ferro fretboard? Thoughts? Unless it’s been some kind of revelation, I’ll most likely stick with maple, but who knows…

My 2 other contenders were a Jimmie Vaughan signature and a Hendrix signature - although, as cool as the reveresed headstock looks, I find it less comfortbale for tuning. I am not much for signature guitars, but these two are quite nice.

Watched thses last night. I was a HUGE fan of SRV back in the days. 

And now, I feel like buying a Strat...

Watched one about Brian Jones last week, but it didn't really make as much of an impression as I'd have hoped. I'm not a die hard Stones fan in any way and I know little about them, but even so, I seem to have learned very little.

Rolling Stone: The Life and Death of Brian Jones it was called, IIRC.

1 hour ago, craigb said:

I'd watch some of the shows, but I'm too busy doing hallucinogens and listening to Jean-Michel Jarre and watching 4k trippy screen-savers.

(Or is that just me? 🤔)

Belive it or not, I am not too familiar with his work.

I am however a HUGE fan of his father's soundtrack for Jesus of Nazareth, which they had us watch in school every year for Easter. Some haunting pieces of music in there.

17 hours ago, pwalpwal said:

dead on arrival the punk documentary that almost never was 2017

 

Yes! In my watchlist on Prime. 

As are now many you guys have suggested and which I managed to find. For some reason, The Filth and the Fury seems to be unavailable on streaming services here. It is on YouTube though... 

17 hours ago, bitflipper said:

I think about this every time I see a classic band who've had to play the same songs over and over for 40-50 years. Especially the one-hit wonders. Even though the audience eats those oldies up, it's gotta be a chore. And they're really not allowed to take too many liberties with arrangements, lest the audience turn on them.

My own philosophy is that you're an entertainer, period. Your one job is to entertain. Whatever makes the audience happy should make you happy too. If you don't feel that way, stay in the garage and entertain yourself.

That said, the list of songs I won't play is too long to enumerate here. 

 

Reminds me of Boris Karloff who used to say that one should consider himself lucky to be typecasted and that it was an honour. Bela Lugosi and many others would have begged to differ, but I find it an interesting (and rather healthier) perspective.

Back in the 90's, I used to wonder how sick and tired Metallica must have been of playing Seek and Destroy at practically every show since their early days, and stretching it to 10 minutes, with the middle section where they get the audience to sing along. That was 30 some years ago...

I am wondering if you reach a point where it's actually fun to play again.

On 6/9/2022 at 10:57 AM, Tim Smith said:

Not very familiar with the benefits of tofu. There's a Vietnamese grocery store not far from here and I can get lots of things I have no idea what they are lol.

 

It's cheap and easy to prepare. I do not really count on it for health benefits per se.  Experts disagree - but some seem to say that you will grow boobs. I believe that to be pretty much debunked at this point, but, all things in moderation...

For me it's simple maths: I get more mileage out of the chicken breasts I buy every week - maybe couple of extra meals by the end of the week. I don't replace, I just add it to the recipe and save some chicken.  Just a 5th or a brick or so. I got so used to it in my sautés that I actually miss it when it's not there.

In this economy, that is not a bad thing. Won't buy you an extra guitar or a new computer in a month, but maybe a decent bottle of wine or tickets to a movie (I have no idea how much these would cost admittedly).

I do try not to eat too much meat as I used to but I've not found any convincing fake burgers or fake chicken or fake cheese. I can live with fake ground beef in a chili, though.

I really like Trader Joe's meatless sausage. I don't consider them a substitute as such. They don't really taste like anything else, but they are amazing. With a cury couscous and chick peas. And a bit of mayo. Yummy.

I like fried tofu as an appetizer when I order for my favorite Thai place. I also put a bit tofu in my salads, and I put some in my chiken sautés as well. 

But I can't imagine life without chiken. 

Other than that, lots of greens, beans, cottage, some tuna and occasionally, pastas.  

And pistachios. I eat TONS of those.

I used to smoke practically two packs a day. I can't even begin to think how non smokers put up and befriended people like me. At one point I sold a guitar to a friend and his girlfriend would not let him keep it in their room. Back then I thought she was being overly dramatic. Same when the people in the apartment upstairs complained about the smell. 

Now I know better. 

That being said, I guess our noses may not have been as sensitive back then, since it was everywhere - not just smoke but olfactive aggressions of every kind.

I see very little daylight and the room where I keep my guitars is very dark. But sometimes on my days off, I wake up earlier before sunset, grab a guitar and head downstairs, and play a bit while I enjoy my cup of tea.

Today, I picked my beloved 2014 Les Paul Studio - the fair maiden whom the angels call The Angry B!tch. 

It was a shock to see her in the daylight again. Then I ran upstairs and grabbed the Epiphone LP Junior, my old travel guitar, to compare them. That one has NOT been kept in a smoke free environment (for the first few years), and not really taken care of all that much. It's also 4 years older. Just a cheaper, different type of finish.

I was a huge fan of Randy Rhoads (still am) and back in the days, I always assumed that his main Les Paul was yellow-ish. I used to wonder why it was referred to as white. Now I know firsthand.

9 hours ago, Sheens said:

 

Cocaine has destroyed many careers, but this is one case where I think it might have helped.

Couldn't have made things worse, at any rate.

Was listening to The Tea Party this week and remembering how much I loved to play their songs live, and this gave me the idea...

Cover songs that were the most and the least fun to play live.

Songs I LOVED to play live:

1 - The River, The Tea Party. (Perfect. Nothing comes remotely close).

2 - Killing in the Name, Rage Against the Machine (Energy and crowd reaction).

3 - Epic, Faith No More (The rapping/singing part, that was so out there for me).

4 - Tourettes, Nirvana (Cathartic).

5 - Voodoo Chile (Slight Return), Jimi Hendrix (Quite obvious).

6 - Roadhouse Blues, The Doors (Vocals).

Songs I HATED to play live:

1: Highway Star, Deep Purple

2: Going Blind, KISS.

3: Closer to the Heart, Rush.

The fun ones not necessarily personal favorites (for exemple, I am not that big a fan of RATM though I can appreciate them) and ironically, those bands on the hate list are among my favorites. I just could not sing/play those songs properly. I chose 9 because it’s my favorite number - and also because my template only takes 9 pics max. 

There’s also a lot of songs that I really like, and which I was glad to see on our setlist, but which weren’t particularly exciting to play - The Wizard by Black Sabbath, Mandatory Suicide by Slayer, and Astronomy Domine by Pink Floyd come to mind. And I am sure I forget many that loved or hated. The only one I am 100% certain about is the top one.

What are yours?

9 hours ago, craigb said:

Was just reading this thread when this song came on my player (albeit the cover by Dream Theater from Change of Seasons, but...). 🙂

 

My introduction to DP. It wasn't until I reached 6th grade that I discovetred there was a world of music outside of Elvis and John Lennon, and my parents record collection.

I loved that album. Still do.

Next one was Made in Japan. That sealed the deal.

Never visited Germany, wish I had.  My philosophy teacher in college was pushing for me to go study there like he had but it never happened. Maybe someday...

https://mixdownmag.com.au/news/legendary-synth-pioneer-and-sequential-founder-dave-smith-has-passed-away/

Synths weren't all that popular amongst us metalheads when I was a teenager, but I've always had a fascination for sounds of all sorts, and eventually I outgrew the stereotypes. That being said, I knew nothing about synths themselves, but eventually, I started working with digital audio and I remember a Prophet patch in Native Instuments' Generator that I really dug, and the name stuck with me. Then they released their Pro-5 and I was over the moon. 

Besides Robert Moog, Smith and the Prophet are the first names I remember from when I started actually learning about synths and using synth sounds in my music. 

Sad day. But what a legacy!

How about... Herr Guitar?

Nein?

Man, I would love to own one of these Duesenbergs.

I have queued a lot of those recommendations on Prime, so thanks again folks.

This morning I was watching End of the Century (The Ramones). Apparently, Johnny and I like the same movies...

Now I need to find THAT version of the Dracula's Daughter poster. 

On 5/19/2022 at 1:25 PM, SteveStrummerUK said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am guessing you are as excited as I am about this one, right?

I'll still be watching, though.

11 hours ago, craigb said:

We haven't watched any serious music-related documentaries lately, only Spinal Tap (my roommate had never seen it!) and Rock of Ages, another complete joke.

I'll have to see if I can find some of the ones mentioned above. 🙂👍

You've heard of this, right? 
https://www.nme.com/news/film/this-is-spinal-tap-sequel-set-for-release-40-years-after-original-3224295