bats brew

bumpin this one before i take it down...

i found THIS, in the consignment section at GC: 1977 Ibanez Artist 2618 I walked into GC to look at Les Paul Double cuts. They didn't have any. What they DID have, was a 1977 Ibanez Artist 2618, priced out at $899 (which is about $400 cheaper than anything I’ve found on EBay).... I talked them down to $599. Really good condition, one small chip out of the finish on the back, and the pickup selector knob is broken off, but the selector still works fine. Looks like the original frets. No checking in the finish, it's beautifully worn, gold finish is coming off the hardware at a very normal rate, for a 34 year old guitar. Serial # E775404 Mahogany Body with Maple top Maple neck Ebony fretboard with dot abalone markers Machine Head Smooth tuners Pickups Super 80 Controls 2 vol, 2 tone, 3 way pickup selector Harmonomatic bridge Hardware Gold Finish Antique Brown 24 frets all in pristine condition. NO wear at all on frets or fingerboard. Almost just like the one I bought in 1979, which was a 2619, meaning, it had block inlays and a phase switch on the bridge humbucker. I wished I had never sold it. This sort of makes up for it. This is the SECOND time I went into a store shopping for a Gibson Les Paul, and left with an Ibanez Artist. LOL Built in Japan in 1977. Research on Ibanez can be difficult as they supported all sorts of numbering systems and numerous factories in different countries. This was the second year of production for this model. Based on the “E” designation in the serial number, it would have been built in May of 1977. The Ibanez Artist was only built with these specs for four years, from 1976 through 1979. Sometime in 1979 they cheapened all of the appointments and changed the model to the AR200, which made the earlier models hard to find and very much in demand by serious Ibanez players. The guitar features a mahogany body with a carved solid maple top, hard maple set neck, bound ebony fretboard, abalone dot fretboard inlays, original Flying Fingers ceramic pickups, and gold plated Hardware and pickups. The finish is a rich antique brown sunburst. It came with a hard shell case, but I cannot say for sure if it is the original case because it does not say Ibanez on it. Having said that, in 1977, Ibanez may not have been putting their name on the outside of their cases like they do now. Bottom line is it’s a nice plush lined arch top, very well padded case that fits the guitar like it was made for it. The lining inside is lime green, if that sheds any light on the originality of it, and amazingly, it DOES NOT stink! LOL Whoever had this before me, possibly the original owner, took incredibly good care of it, and did not play it very much. Info i found, that i could not vett: This guitar was made at the Terada Plant, Japan, 1977, Production Number: 5404. I was actually shopping for a Gibson Les Paul, back in '79, when I bought my original 2619. I had just finished about 6 months of demoing every les Paul I could get my hands on, waiting to find the right one. This guitar has a nice warm tone and sustains for miles. It’s actually the closest thing I’ve found to a Les Paul without being made by Gibson. This Ibanez is the only guitar I’ve ever heard that can compare to the Les Paul, which amazes even me. The Flying Fingers pickups are killer. A pic from the original 1977 catalog:

i never go into GC asking questions. i ALWAYS go in already knowing what i want, how much it costs, and whether it's in stock or not.

thanks symmetry!

another newly posted tune off of "The Wild Animals"... "Middle of Nowhere" https://soundcloud.com/bats-brew/middle-of-nowhere

hello paul! thanks for the kind words, and yea, you're right, those breaks let your brain relax for just a second! heh.

hello harryC! yea, there is some cool dynamics happening, by design, it just seemed that the arrangement was so 'go for it', that it needed breakups...

hey douglas! thanks for listening to this one, yea, the bass part was fun, but kinda hard to give that galloping vibe and keep in the pocket..i took a few passes to get it the way i wanted.

i've never had ANY issues buying from waves directly. i typically only buy something when it hits that magic $29 mark, has worked out well for me. plus, i use my own credit card, which has a bunch of protections on it, whereas paypal seems to be very problematic for a lot of people.

https://soundcloud.com/bats-brew/michaels-house #02- "Michael's House" this is the 2nd song on the album. One of the songs, "michael's house", was a rowdy romp that i wrote back in 1998, for my friend who had recently moved into an older house, in a neighborhood that had been a very nice family neighborhood back in the day, but had fallen into disrepair over 30 years time, and was known as a 'crack' neighborhood when he moved into it... he truly thought he would turn the neighborhood around, one neighbor at a time, and pull all his friends that were wanting to buy houses, into purchasing a house near him. when i wrote the song originally, it was really just a demo, but a celebration of his audacity and belief in the 'good' of people. he died in that house, about 8 years ago. i'm not sure how, but he had been hospitalized previously, a health issue, i think it was an accident. now i've written a new version of it, to basically celebrate his life, or as a kind of 'thank you' to the ether. recording specific info: bought a new fuzz around the time i started working on this song, made by Barber Electronics, it's called the "Exacta". great fuzz, i use it quite a bit in this song. Lyrics: Michaels House Michaels house, used to be Kind of place, yeah, you want to be Now it’s got a new friend, Going to be the place again. Michael is a trusted friend Favors given, to the end Road trip taken and he took my queen, All the way to New Orleans! Michaels house, was party town But a friend in need, could hang around Michael left without a sound In the afterlife, he’ll be around. Michaels house, used to be Kind of place, want to be Now it’s got a new friend, Going to be the place again.

good luck wookiee, with your speedy recovery

alright paul!! thanks for checking out the title track to the new album..... this album took a year to write and record, working very slowly, obviously........ but still, i think is a good album overall, i think a lot of folks would dig getting it. appreciate the comments!

last bump before i take this one down

ALRIGHT GEEARE! thanks for the vote of confidence!

bumpin this for anyone who missed it

wow. you slay me , gary, that's so cool, i appreciate your support!! let me know once you get it... if you care for high def files, i'll hook you up. man, i'm humbled, thanks again.

oh yea, forgot the most important aspect of my reply.... heheh the person(s) that wrote that song, knew EXACTLY who their target market is. kids like simple sing-song rhymes, ear worms for slothful thinking..... it's like the genius of coming up with the formula for selling mcdonald's hamburgers.

for what it's worth, that frozen song, is like a ball peen hammer on my forehead. absolutely hate it. ?

no lyric lives in a vacuum. lyrics are always tied to the performance and how they are delivered. case in point: Louie Louie, oh no, you take me where ya gotta go, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, baby Louie Louie, oh baby, take me where ya gotta go A fine little girl, she waits for me Me catch the ship across the sea Me sailed the ship all alone Me never think I'll make it home Louie Louie, oh no no no, me gotta go, oh no Louie Louie, oh baby, me gotta go Three nights and days I sailed the sea Me think of girl constantly On the ship, I dream she there I smell the rose in her hair Louie Louie, oh no, me gotta go, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, baby Louie Louie, oh baby, me gotta go Okay, let's give it to 'em right now Me see Me see Jamaica,… ....was a HUGE HIT... people still want to dance to it constantly. but, i feel your pain. as a modern songwriter, i'm constantly trying to balance artistic license, personality, performance, and proper form. and rarely achieve it. but i'm tryin'

bumpin' for MLKjr day! seems appropriate, somehow....

thanks freddy this is a working demo

thanks tom, for your support and simple straightfoward feedback. you know, i've posted EVERY song on this album here, as i was working on the mixes, and used a lot of the feedback i received as i did final mixes. no one has heard the final mixes of the tunes on the album until now. i appreciate the feedback i get here from the folks that listen and critique, and now, the final product! i hope more folks will give it a chance.

well, the links are to souncloud to hear the songs, added value that there are links to actual purchase pages if you are so inclined to reward my efforts with a long lasting gift to yourself!!heheh

hey freddy! dig the tune! lyric is funny, and yea, totally channels that freaky funny movie. everything sounds good but the vox, it's too bassy, needs some low end rolloff and a bit of high end clarity. sounds like a good capture tho... think the mix will fall together with some focus on the vox mix.

heheh, wall of guitar sounds. i like that. its HARD HARD to get a dense mix like this, and still be able to hear each individual part. for example, there are 3 stereo rhythm guitar tracks, but brought in as mono stereo, so there are each 2 individual left and right mono tracks. so i have 6 mono rhythm guitar tracks, plus a stereo solo track , doubled up at the end, so that's 10 guitar tracks total, at times, and it SHOULD be a wall!! ;heheheh thanks for listening wookiee