Guitars, guitars, guitars!

winkyincanada posted:

tjbnz posted:

My first guitar build - based fairly approximately on a Taylor. Spruce top, rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck with ebony fretboard and bridge. The stool is walnut and sycamore and it took a lot longer to make!

Very nice indeed.

Thank you Winky!

tjbnz posted:

My first guitar build - based fairly approximately on a Taylor. Spruce top, rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck with ebony fretboard and bridge. The stool is walnut and sycamore and it took a lot longer to make!

 

Cool stool man!  Guitar looks beautifully made. 

Some very nice gear. Will try and post a pic of my pedal board. 

How many people playing live? 

stuart posted: How many people playing live?

Currently in a studio, working with a new singer. Plan to start playing live in a couple of months. And we hope to start recording  our second album in the spring too.

tjbnz posted:

My first guitar build - based fairly approximately on a Taylor. Spruce top, rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck with ebony fretboard and bridge. The stool is walnut and sycamore and it took a lot longer to make!

 

Both the guitar and stool/stand are awesome - I wish I had those kinds of skills.

I read somewhere a LONG time ago that they did a study on professions and longevity, and luthier came in second of all. (Don't even recall what was first.) But it makes sense - luthiers are almost invariably working on something they love, it is artistic (right brain) and analytic (left brain), it is visual and sonic, you get to use your hands and brain, and unless you are working for a corporate outfit, the boutique makers sort of work at their own pace.

Man, my job sucks - lol!

Oh, and I play live in my living room on the infrequent moments that life permits - I really need to get off this hamster wheel i am on, because it is literally going to kill me.

stuart posted:

tjbnz posted:

My first guitar build - based fairly approximately on a Taylor. Spruce top, rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck with ebony fretboard and bridge. The stool is walnut and sycamore and it took a lot longer to make!

Cool stool man!  Guitar looks beautifully made.

Some very nice gear. Will try and post a pic of my pedal board. 

How many people playing live? 

Thanks Stuart! I'm not playing live. Sadly, I neglected the guitar for nearly thirty years after playing in bands throughout my teens and early twenties. Now I seem to be better at working with wood than at playing the resulting instrument. I have a classical guitar that just needs final neck shaping and I've started building a replica Gibson ES-335, so I really should concentrate on playing a bit more.

DrMark posted:

tjbnz posted:

My first guitar build - based fairly approximately on a Taylor. Spruce top, rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck with ebony fretboard and bridge. The stool is walnut and sycamore and it took a lot longer to make!

Both the guitar and stool/stand are awesome - I wish I had those kinds of skills.

I read somewhere a LONG time ago that they did a study on professions and longevity, and luthier came in second of all. (Don't even recall what was first.) But it makes sense - luthiers are almost invariably working on something they love, it is artistic (right brain) and analytic (left brain), it is visual and sonic, you get to use your hands and brain, and unless you are working for a corporate outfit, the boutique makers sort of work at their own pace.

Man, my job sucks - lol!

Oh, and I play live in my living room on the infrequent moments that life permits - I really need to get off this hamster wheel i am on, because it is literally going to kill me.

Thanks DrMark!

That's encouraging stuff about luthiers (not that I can really count myself as one - I'm working on my third guitar at the moment).

As to getting off the hamster wheel, I've been very fortunate and can now indulge myself in working with wood without the pressure to earn a serious income from it. I hope you're able to get off the wheel before too long.

Tim

tjbnz posted:

My first guitar build - based fairly approximately on a Taylor. Spruce top, rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck with ebony fretboard and bridge. The stool is walnut and sycamore and it took a lot longer to make!

 

Tim

Stunning looking guiatr and its stand / plaing chair.

Have you ever considered building an acoustic bass guitar? If you are up for a challenge of building one do drop me an email - it's in my profile.

Best,

Adam

tjbnz posted:

stuart posted:

tjbnz posted:

My first guitar build - based fairly approximately on a Taylor. Spruce top, rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck with ebony fretboard and bridge. The stool is walnut and sycamore and it took a lot longer to make!

Cool stool man!  Guitar looks beautifully made.

Some very nice gear. Will try and post a pic of my pedal board. 

How many people playing live? 

Thanks Stuart! I'm not playing live. Sadly, I neglected the guitar for nearly thirty years after playing in bands throughout my teens and early twenties. Now I seem to be better at working with wood than at playing the resulting instrument. I have a classical guitar that just needs final neck shaping and I've started building a replica Gibson ES-335, so I really should concentrate on playing a bit more.

 

DrMark posted:

tjbnz posted:

My first guitar build - based fairly approximately on a Taylor. Spruce top, rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck with ebony fretboard and bridge. The stool is walnut and sycamore and it took a lot longer to make!

Both the guitar and stool/stand are awesome - I wish I had those kinds of skills.

I read somewhere a LONG time ago that they did a study on professions and longevity, and luthier came in second of all. (Don't even recall what was first.) But it makes sense - luthiers are almost invariably working on something they love, it is artistic (right brain) and analytic (left brain), it is visual and sonic, you get to use your hands and brain, and unless you are working for a corporate outfit, the boutique makers sort of work at their own pace.

Man, my job sucks - lol!

Oh, and I play live in my living room on the infrequent moments that life permits - I really need to get off this hamster wheel i am on, because it is literally going to kill me.

Thanks DrMark!

That's encouraging stuff about luthiers (not that I can really count myself as one - I'm working on my third guitar at the moment).

As to getting off the hamster wheel, I've been very fortunate and can now indulge myself in working with wood without the pressure to earn a serious income from it. I hope you're able to get off the wheel before too long.

Tim

Just keep playing,  it's good for the soul. I took 12 years out of barely playing for reasons I won't go into but got back in a band 3 years ago and after a lot of hard work I'm absolutely loving playing live again. But as long as your playing and enjoying It that's all that matters 

Funnily enough I also love salsa dancing. Seems strange, playing blues rock guitar but it is great fun and keeps the body and mind in good shape. Some interesting music too. A great social scene with people who love music. Haven't met anyone yet with a good hifi system though. 

Adam Zielinski posted:

tjbnz posted:

My first guitar build - based fairly approximately on a Taylor. Spruce top, rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck with ebony fretboard and bridge. The stool is walnut and sycamore and it took a lot longer to make!

Tim

Stunning looking guiatr and its stand / plaing chair.

Have you ever considered building an acoustic bass guitar? If you are up for a challenge of building one do drop me an email - it's in my profile.

Best,

Adam

Thanks Adam! An acoustic bass guitar is on my radar - I like the idea of moving gently beyond guitars. I don't know much about them and in my (listening) experience they lack volume. Do you know of any particularly successful models?

Tim

stuart posted:

tjbnz posted:

stuart posted:

tjbnz posted:

My first guitar build - based fairly approximately on a Taylor. Spruce top, rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck with ebony fretboard and bridge. The stool is walnut and sycamore and it took a lot longer to make!

Cool stool man!  Guitar looks beautifully made.

Some very nice gear. Will try and post a pic of my pedal board. 

How many people playing live? 

Thanks Stuart! I'm not playing live. Sadly, I neglected the guitar for nearly thirty years after playing in bands throughout my teens and early twenties. Now I seem to be better at working with wood than at playing the resulting instrument. I have a classical guitar that just needs final neck shaping and I've started building a replica Gibson ES-335, so I really should concentrate on playing a bit more.

Just keep playing,  it's good for the soul. I took 12 years out of barely playing for reasons I won't go into but got back in a band 3 years ago and after a lot of hard work I'm absolutely loving playing live again. But as long as your playing and enjoying It that's all that matters 

Funnily enough I also love salsa dancing. Seems strange, playing blues rock guitar but it is great fun and keeps the body and mind in good shape. Some interesting music too. A great social scene with people who love music. Haven't met anyone yet with a good hifi system though. 

You're right - I need to get back into it.

It's interesting that people who are really into music, including most of the musicians I know, don't seem at all concerned with how it's reproduced.

tjbnz posted:

Adam Zielinski posted:

tjbnz posted:

My first guitar build - based fairly approximately on a Taylor. Spruce top, rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck with ebony fretboard and bridge. The stool is walnut and sycamore and it took a lot longer to make!

Tim

Stunning looking guiatr and its stand / plaing chair.

Have you ever considered building an acoustic bass guitar? If you are up for a challenge of building one do drop me an email - it's in my profile.

Best,

Adam

Thanks Adam! An acoustic bass guitar is on my radar - I like the idea of moving gently beyond guitars. I don't know much about them and in my (listening) experience they lack volume. Do you know of any particularly successful models?

Tim

In a way acoustic basses are generally quiet and need some work to sound good. Probably the best sounding one I've heard was built by Abracham Wechter for Jonas Hellborg.

"It's interesting that people who are really into music, including most of the musicians I know, don't seem at all concerned with how it's reproduced."

That mirrors in large measure my experience & observations...with some notable exceptions of course. (Not me...I do not qualify as a 'musician' - more of a 'wannabe'.)

Just finished first set in a proper bikers pub. Proper spit and sawdust place - great fun!!  

Was going to post images of my 8 guitars/ 1 bass/ 2 amps here, but Photobucket ain't cooperating.  Before someone says 'read the faq (naim forums), well I've been doing it EXACTLY as written down.  When I click on the box next to share 'direct' on my library page, no link is copied (it doesn't flash yellow or say 'copied')!  I'll have to try and sort it out or uses another hosting site.  Any suggestions?

Just use 'copy' function then 'direct' - it will highlight the URL. Pase it via the little icon with 'mountains'.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2mku...ss/DSC_0154.JPG?dl=0

stuart posted:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2mku...ss/DSC_0154.JPG?dl=0

Close, close .... I can see a pedalboard via the link Some butique pedals there!

Yeah I can't seem to post photos via phone. 

Got a couple of Jam pedals including a nice analogue delay - the delay lama!! 

Favourite is J. Rocket audio blue note, it's a great medium gain od and stacks great with the archer which is their take on the legendary Klon. 

Just about to pack car for a road trip to Hull. A post Christmas Christmas party. Not sure what they will make of us - they have been warned - we are loud!!! Should blow away any January blues  

I'll give dropbox (I already use it for other things) a whirl, here goes ....

hpIifoN_Kmy9_B1CcBqTBu9lxklYZQCvCxqsarmLhKY,Y70TNsKv89JhLa39OT1xC9n4c3dWgXJO9Kfo0HkkOqI

hmm ... that doesn't seem to work.  I can see the image address (as given by Safari/Dropbox), but no picture.

Just gone back to photobucket.  Ignored the instructions in the faq, and just right-clicked 'copy' in the 'direct' box, then pasted here.  My browser is Safari.

I took these shots today in my 'man cave'.

First up : Fender Classic Player 60s Strat (Mexican) & PRS Paul's Guitar

Admira Teresa & Ibanez LGB30

Fender sandblasted Telecaster & Hamer Studio USA (possibly my 2 favourite guitars).  If you look closely next to the 'Carry On' DVDs, you can just see a Blackstar Fly amp, which I use as a headphone amp when on holiday in the UK.

Ibanez cheapo 3/4 size GIO.  Bought to keep grandkids away from my more expensive items!  Sounds quite good, but dirties up far too quickly to play clean sounds.  Oh, and Marshall DSL40C combo amp.

Blackstar HT1 & Orange Crush 50w Bass Amp

Martin D28, G&L L2000 Bass

There is one other guitar - a Squier Telecaster, but that's in being 'Frankensteined' to my specs.  Mods will cost more than the guitar did!  SWMBO did say 'why didn't you just buy another guitar', but shut up when I reminded her that she had insisted that I not buy 'any more' guitars. (sigh).  I'm having it fitted with Bigsby Vibrato, Seymour Duncan noiseless neck pickup and Little 59 bridge pickup, and a 4 way switch with coil tap.  Wonder what it's going to sound like ...

She should be used to me and realise that I do tend to collect things.  I would like go get a Les Paul, Chet Atkins Countryman and Fender Jaguar as well, but I think she'd throw me out if I did!

Photobucket seems to have worked now (after a power off/on), but is VERY slow.

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Love the guitars - PRS is a particularly cool looking one

Man,  I missed all of Dungassin's stuff until today - I likewise like your PRS - I sold a Custom 24 last year. The top wasn't as nice as yours - that looks to be a "10 top". I also like your Ibanez archtop, and would like to hear more about the classical.

I got rid of my Godin Multiac GC today, and almost simultaneously a package I had ordered arrived:

It's the cheaper Hofner made in Indonesia so it's nothing special - I don't really play bass but I like the short scale, and the light weight, so if I find some time I would like to get at least minimally proficient with it...and in the exchange I freed up some cash (which I can put towards the $989 they are charging me to extricate a damned squirrel or few out of my attic....grrrr...)

Plus, I heard some left-handed dude made these particular models pretty well known.

Extricating is the easy part. Set a tube trap baited with peanut butter and 20 minutes later dead squirrel. Repeat. The hard part is eliminating all the squirrels' points of access.

Well, I like my PRS too.  

The Ibanez George Benson is the cheapest of that range, but plays very well.  Flat wound strings, and has a beautiful 'jazzy' tone (what else would you expect.

The Admira classical is a bit of an odd-ball in my collection.  I bought it because I wanted to try something with a wider fretboard, as I have what my dad used to call "navvy's hands" (thick fingers with familial clubbing).  The wide fretboard makes some things easier to play, but others harder.  Still debating whether to get out the Tippex (TM) and put some little dots on the side of the neck as, like most classicals, there are no helpful markings to help you navigate to the correct fret.  All I work with there is that the 12th fret is where the fingerboard joins the body.  Action much higher than my other guitars.

I use 11 gauge strings on all my guitars except the classical (nylon strings) and PRS, which I've kept with 10s as adjusting for heavier gauge seems to be a bit awkward.  Also not sure what gauge strings on the classical guitar - it's still got the ones it came with.

Still waiting for my 'frankensteined' Squier Telecaster.  The delay is because my guitar shop were having difficulty getting a Bigsby for it.  I chased them, and they checked with other suppliers.  It seems that to get a Bigsby for a Fender, you have to actually get it from Fender (part of some licensing deal or something).

Squirrels are a PITA.  Our youngest and her hubby had some in their loft when they were still living in London.  Took ages to fix, because, as you say, you have to eliminate their points of access.  Bl**dy tree rats ...

It's funny, but on acoustic steel string and electric, I use the dots. On my classicals, they are a hindrance to me. In fact the 2 student models I have I take a black sharpie and color in the dots (had one at the 7th fret) so I don't see them...something I could not live with on my steel strings. Something else that makes me weird I guess.

Just an FYI - with nylon strings, while of course there is a gauge, it is more then tension of the strong that is the determining factor (and how they are sold), from medium to medium-hard/hard/extra hard. (Or similar terminology that varies slightly by manufacturer.) I have only recently started to go less than hard tension because it is easier to play, which I found out when I bought my Prudencio Saez and it came with mediums.