NYC Journal

[PaulW128]

Paul,

I hope you are not disappointed. Tim plays the old school stuff.

John Scofield kinda plays out.

BTW if you close your eyes you would think Tim was playing a vintage arch top. I will tell you that he plays jazz with just his fingers, but I have seen him do blues with a pick.

I kinda do pick and fingers, and I can get a piano sound. Seems like Tim loves Gil Evans the arranger and pianist because he tends to use closed chords and voicing that favor a guitar.

I happen to love Gil Evans, especially this recording called “Sketches Of Spain” featuring Miles Davis.

I’m considering going up a gauge in strings and tuning down a half or whole step to thicken my sound. Tim does this. Also this kinda gets more into the range of my voice. In fact today I think I will remove the neck from the 49 Snakehead called “Worm” to reinvent my carved top. I have a new set of brass saddles to chop the top a little, and to add some warmth.

Had 12’s on this carved top before, but it was with a shorter scale neck. Now with a 25 1/2 inch scale, 12’s, and funded down a half or whole step.

On a different note, did you know that Stevie Ray Vaughan used heavy strings and tuned his strat down? This is how he got so thick a sound that would kinda have some overdrive organically.

Anyways thicker strings have more harmonic content. They also sustain more and have more overtones.

If you ever played the thick strings of a bass guitar it would be rather obvious how thick strings and thick tone go together naturally.

Cal

OMG, Tim is incredible! Thanks for mentioning him. I listened to a few YouTube videos and i'm hooked. His style is very much what i'd love to aspire to. And those Tiles are sweet; I've always wanted to own one.

I'm aware the Stevie Ray used heavy gauge strings and tuned down his strat. I think Jimi tuned down also? I once read that some well known guitar player (maybe Eddie Van Halen?) picked up Stevie Ray's guitar and couldn't play it!! His action was so high and the string gauge was such that it was unplayable to even Eddie!

My friend/writer Andy who interviewed Stevie Ray for his book played Stevie's guitar when he was doing research. He confirmed what I always assumed; not only was Stevie Ray an amazing guitar player but he was the sweetest, kindest guy around!

Paul

 

[Calzone]

OMG, Tim is incredible! Thanks for mentioning him. I listened to a few YouTube videos and i'm hooked. His style is very much what i'd love to aspire to. And those Tiles are sweet; I've always wanted to own one.

I'm aware the Stevie Ray used heavy gauge strings and tuned down his strat. I think Jimi tuned down also? I once read that some well known guitar player (maybe Eddie Van Halen?) picked up Stevie Ray's guitar and couldn't play it!! His action was so high and the string gauge was such that it was unplayable to even Eddie!

My friend/writer Andy who interviewed Stevie Ray for his book played Stevie's guitar when he was doing research. He confirmed what I always assumed; not only was Stevie Ray an amazing guitar player but he was the sweetest, kindest guy around!

Paul

Paul,

Some of the best guitarists I ever met were humble. I hate to say that some of theses guitarists that are a legend in their own minds kinda suck.

Ego is a funny and crazy thing. Been around enough to see many overblown ego’s.

With modeling people flatter you all the time, this is just a manipulation, but some take this to heart. Things can get out of control from there.

Anyways, I find Tim to be pure.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

OMG, Tim is incredible! Thanks for mentioning him. I listened to a few YouTube videos and i'm hooked. His style is very much what i'd love to aspire to. And those Tiles are sweet; I've always wanted to own one.

I'm aware the Stevie Ray used heavy gauge strings and tuned down his strat. I think Jimi tuned down also? I once read that some well known guitar player (maybe Eddie Van Halen?) picked up Stevie Ray's guitar and couldn't play it!! His action was so high and the string gauge was such that it was unplayable to even Eddie!

My friend/writer Andy who interviewed Stevie Ray for his book played Stevie's guitar when he was doing research. He confirmed what I always assumed; not only was Stevie Ray an amazing guitar player but he was the sweetest, kindest guy around!

Paul

Paul,

It could of been Van Halen. The taping style that he introduced to the world required low action and light gauge strings.

I kinda remember now that I had to mod the neck heel and neck pocket to build out the Snakehead, so that guitar will stand pat. The neck that arrives today will go on the carved top. I decided to go with the lowest out pickups, but I will use a set of 12’s and tune down.

It turned out well that I was not anxious and let the dust settle. This way I made the best choice and the right decision.

It also works out that I am amping guitars to develop my voice.

Cal

 

[PaulW128]

Paul,

Some of the best guitarists I ever met were humble. I hate to say that some of theses guitarists that are a legend in their own minds kinda suck.

Ego is a funny and crazy thing. Been around enough to see many overblown ego’s.

With modeling people flatter you all the time, this is just a manipulation, but some take this to heart. Things can get out of control from there.

Anyways, I find Tim to be pure.

Cal

Cal

Tim sure appears to be the real deal. I can remember another story from years ago (maybe Eddie again, really not sure) he was traveling down south and had a guitar in the back seat. He stops at a gas station and the attendant pumping gas mentions to him about the guitar. He asks if he could try it out. Eddie (?) say sure go ahead.

This guy, who was pumping gas for a living, probably unknown as a guitar player except for maybe a few friends/family totally blew Eddie away. If i'm recalling correctly, Eddie said this guy was a much better player than he was!

 

[Calzone]

Cal

Tim sure appears to be the real deal. I can remember another story from years ago (maybe Eddie again, really not sure) he was traveling down south and had a guitar in the back seat. He stops at a gas station and the attendant pumping gas mentions to him about the guitar. He asks if he could try it out. Eddie (?) say sure go ahead.

This guy, who was pumping gas for a living, probably unknown as a guitar player except for maybe a few friends/family totally blew Eddie away. If i'm recalling correctly, Eddie said this guy was a much better player than he was!

Paul,

My friend Tim I would say is an Idiot Savant.

At Main Drag Music in Brooklyn they call him “The King of the Hundred Dollar Guitar.” This is because he can’t really afford a really nice guitar.

Time has the feel for every style, and pretty much can make any guitar sound great.

I never-ever met anyone with such talent. Lately his main style of playing is Django’s music. How crazy is that?

Ever hear of Roy Buchanan? Roy’s day job was being a barber.

Ever hear of Mick Ronson? Think early David Bowie like the Ziggy Stardust years. Saw a documentary on MicK Ronson. Sadly he died of Pancreatic Cancer, but the saddest part was that his manager left him with no money and he could not pay his medical bills.

Check out the award winning documentary called, “Twenty Feet From Stardom.” Basically about the backup singers who set the hook in the song who got no credit or reward.

If I remember correctly this Doc got an Emmy Award for best Documentary.

 

[PaulW128]

Paul,

My friend Tim I would say is an Idiot Savant.

At Main Drag Music in Brooklyn they call him “The King of the Hundred Dollar Guitar.” This is because he can’t really afford a really nice guitar.

Time has the feel for every style, and pretty much can make any guitar sound great.

I never-ever met anyone with such talent. Lately his main style of playing is Django’s music. How crazy is that?

Ever hear of Roy Buchanan? Roy’s day job was being a barber.

Ever hear of Mick Ronson? Think early David Bowie like the Ziggy Stardust years. Saw a documentary on MicK Ronson. Sadly he died of Pancreatic Cancer, but the saddest part was that his manager left him with no money and he could not pay his medical bills.

Cal

That's crazy allright!! And yes, I know of Roy Buchanan (master of the Telecaster or was that Danny Gatton?) I did NOT know he was a barber. I've heard of Mick but not really familiar with his music

 

[Calzone]

Cal

That's crazy allright!! And yes, I know of Roy Buchanan (master of the Telecaster or was that Danny Gatton?) I did NOT know he was a barber. I've heard of Mick but not really familiar with his music

Paul,

Both Roy was a great player.

I saw Danny Gaston play in a closed club setting in NYC. I think Roy was a more tasteful player.

I met Hubert Sumlin by chance. He was the guitarist for Howling Wolf. I forgot that I worked at another National Lab, this one in Boston called the Frances Bitter National Lab. Pretty much a magnetics lab that had a huge dynamo that was also affiliated with MIT.

So after work I went to a bar and they had a white boy blues band, but Hubert was sitting in. The white guys were really rockers and did not really do the blues and this made it hard for Hubert.

I was just minding my own business and at the break I went to the bathroom and on the way out Huber engaged with me.

”How do I sound?” He asked. I mentioned how the band really did little to honor the blues, and how they did not really use or have dynamics and just played loud with heavy handed distortion.

Things got personal really fast. He explained that when Howlin Wolf died he did not take it so well and he hit the bottle hard and lost himself for a while.

It was a blue moment.

I later read an interview of Hubert Sumlin. Eric Clapton and him happen to meet in England, and Eric invited him to his mansion. A Rolls Royce drove them there. They went to a room where there were hundreds of guitars, and Eric gave him a Strat that Hubert says he still has.

So two legends, but one was wealthy and the other…

Anyways I felt honor having casually met a legend and getting to know a man who really knew and understood the blues. He lived the blues…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I just finished reshaping a Warmoth neck. I got it at a bargain price, and it just so happen to have the 9.5 radius on the fingerboard I wanted. Also it is a vintage construction. My surprise was the slab cut is well quartered, and the maple has many closely spaced growth rings that run parallel to the fingerboard. This is a one piece maple neck.

Mucho lucky to get a select one, and then at a $177.00 price.

So it featured a “Fatback” neck profile which is mucho huge, but then I used my guitar shop skills to reshape the profile into a custom one that has a slight taper that suits me fine.

I just wiped it down with Naptha and it will be ready for coats of lacquer tomorrow after I install a file down a nut.

I also had to modify and open up the tuner holes for the 3+3 Klusion vintage style tuners.

This will be the neck for the carved top Tele.

This guitar will be a great one. The neck is slimmed down till about the 5th fret, and by the 7th fret it tapers into a more chunky thick neck. Kinda perfect for me.

I love it. It does not get better than this.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

This Carved top Tele has a hum bucket route for the neck pickup. I bought this “Brandon Wound” Charlie Christian pickup instead of the Lollar version. First off this Brandon Wound is just a guy that is starting out, and what I like about his version is that the magnetic blade is offset and not centered.

When mounted the blade is kinda where a standard Tele neck pickup would be. I ordered mine with a tortoise cover that looks kinda evil.

When I got the pickup I was disappointed because it was under wound. I now call the pickup a Brandon Underwound.

So now it is kinda good because underwound means I can use 250K pots for controls and use a standard Tele bridge pickup to pair with it.

I tried using it with 500K pots and it was not good, so now I think it will work great set up as a if a Fender pickup.

Low output pickups within thick strings should be interesting.

Cal

 

[PaulW128]

Paul,

Both Roy was a great player.

I saw Danny Gaston play in a closed club setting in NYC. I think Roy was a more tasteful player.

I met Hubert Sumlin by chance. He was the guitarist for Howling Wolf. I forgot that I worked at another National Lab, this one in Boston called the Frances Bitter National Lab. Pretty much a magnetics lab that had a huge dynamo that was also affiliated with MIT.

So after work I went to a bar and they had a white boy blues band, but Hubert was sitting in. The white guys were really rockers and did not really do the blues and this made it hard for Hubert.

I was just minding my own business and at the break I went to the bathroom and on the way out Huber engaged with me.

”How do I sound?” He asked. I mentioned how the band really did little to honor the blues, and how they did not really use or have dynamics and just played loud with heavy handed distortion.

Things got personal really fast. He explained that when Howlin Wolf died he did not take it so well and he hit the bottle hard and lost himself for a while.

It was a blue moment.

I later read an interview of Hubert Sumlin. Eric Clapton and him happen to meet in England, and Eric invited him to his mansion. A Rolls Royce drove them there. They went to a room where there were hundreds of guitars, and Eric gave him a Strat that Hubert says he still has.

So two legends, but one was wealthy and the other…

Anyways I felt honor having casually met a legend and getting to know a man who really knew and understood the blues. He lived the blues…

Cal

Cal

Wow, what an amazing story. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Hubert obviously felt a connection to you right away. Why else would he have bared his soul to a stranger?? And a "white" boy at that!!

There are so many back stories such as yours that are fascinating but sadly nobody gets to hear them 99% of the time. I've always admired Eric for shining a light on the real blues heroes.You want to learn blues? Go back to the beginning, learn from the men and women who inspired Clapton, Stevie Ray, Keith and hundreds of others.

 

[Calzone]

Cal

Wow, what an amazing story. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Hubert obviously felt a connection to you right away. Why else would he have bared his soul to a stranger?? And a "white" boy at that!!

There are so many back stories such as yours that are fascinating but sadly nobody gets to hear them 99% of the time. I've always admired Eric for shining a light on the real blues heroes.You want to learn blues? Go back to the beginning, learn from the men and women who inspired Clapton, Stevie Ray, Keith and hundreds of others.

Paul,

I figure Hubert not only lived the Blues but experienced the blues at a very high level, and what I admired the most is that he was cool with being “the unsung hero.”

When and if you see the award winning documentary “Twenty Feet From Stardom” you will realize that there are many “unsung hero’s” out there.

Also being close to a public figure who is a bit of a celeb (“Maggie”), I wonder why anyone would want all that attention as a distraction. Pretty much it is a burden and a heavy one at that. I also wonder about the ego involved… So many people want to be famous… What is missing? What an illusion to think that this is a path to fulfillment and placing meaning in your life.

I praise John Goodman who at the time of the Roseanne sandal, in an interview, refused to comment saying that what he thought did not matter, and out of respect he said, “ Roseanne has enough problems.”

Then it got personal about the elimination of the possibility of ever winning an Emmy because the show got canned. John Goodman said, “I’ve been nominated 7-8 times, and if it hasn’t happened at this point it will never happen.”

After this John Goodman became my unsung hero because I think he has the correct attitude.

Fame and fortune to me are liabilities. There are other ways to have a rich life in my book. One is to have a life that has true meaning.

Cal

 

[PaulW128]

Paul,

I figure Hubert not only lived the Blues but experienced the blues at a very high level, and what I admired the most is that he was cool with being “the unsung hero.”

When and if you see the award winning documentary “Twenty Feet From Stardom” you will realize that there are many “unsung hero’s” out there.

Also being close to a public figure who is a bit of a celeb (“Maggie”), I wonder why anyone would want all that attention as a distraction. Pretty much it is a burden and a heavy one at that. I also wonder about the ego involved… So many people want to be famous… What is missing? What an illusion to think that this is a path to fulfillment and placing meaning in your life.

I praise John Goodman who at the time of the Roseanne sandal, in an interview, refused to comment saying that what he thought did not matter, and out of respect he said, “ Roseanne has enough problems.”

Then it got personal about the elimination of the possibility of ever winning an Emmy because the show got canned. John Goodman said, “I’ve been nominated 7-8 times, and if it hasn’t happened at this point it will never happen.”

After this John Goodman became my unsung hero because I think he has the correct attitude.

Fame and fortune to me are liabilities. There are other ways to have a rich life in my book. One is to have a life that has true meaning.

Cal

Cal,

All so true! As I get older (just turned 69) it's easier for me to appreciate people like John Goodman than it was when I was younger. I guess it's getting a better sense of perspective now that i'm "on the back 9".

People like John Goodman or Hubert are truly the people to look up to!

 

[Calzone]

Cal,

All so true! As I get older (just turned 69) it's easier for me to appreciate people like John Goodman than it was when I was younger. I guess it's getting a better sense of perspective now that i'm "on the back 9".

People like John Goodman or Hubert are truly the people to look up to!

Paul,

Ego is a funny thing. A lot of people get ahead of themselves. Truth is there are many talented people, and many who pretty much stay underground, but they keep at it because it makes them alive.

I also knew and know many people I would consider the walking dead.

I’m at a point where I don’t have to compete, lead, or prove anything. I kinda know who I am, and I also know what I’m capable of.

I doubt I will ever become a great-great player like Tim or my other friend Tim, but I know I have enough talent and discipline to become a pretty good player, and a goal to be a solo performer is within the realm.

”Maggie” told me today that my look is getting distinguished, and the hard look of anger I once had has disappeared and dissipated. I believe this to be true. Some other people who have known me described me as a scary guy twenty years ago. I knew people were kinda scared of me.

So let’s see if this smoothness can come out in my music…

BTW in a short while I’ll be 65. I never thought I would live this long…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

A change of plan. I decided to mount the mahogany short scale neck back on the carved top body to have an ES-335 style guitar. I had 12’s on that guitar before and played it at pitch. This guitar played very well set up like that.

I figure while I’m waiting for the pickup I need that still needs to get built and shipped allows for mucho time for me to lacquer and build out the neck. I think thick strings on the longer scale could be rewarding on the Cabronita since it will have only a bridge pickup.

Cal

 

[PaulW128]

BTW in a short while I’ll be 65. I never thought I would live this long…

"How terribly strange to be 70" (Paul Simon, Old Friends)

I'll never understand how so many great songwriters, who wrote some of the most iconic songs could possibly have the life experiences necessary in their mid 20's to write some unbelievable songs!

 

[raydm6]

BTW in a short while I’ll be 65. I never thought I would live this long…

"How terribly strange to be 70" (Paul Simon, Old Friends)

I'll never understand how so many great songwriters, who wrote some of the most iconic songs could possibly have the life experiences necessary in their mid 20's to write some unbelievable songs!

I felt my musical creativity peaked in my late-teens to mid-20's. Then, the realization of making a living got in the way. 🙂

Interesting observation from a study (I would have though the average age would have been a lot lower - like, in their 20's also.):

Philip Hans Franses from the Erasmus School of Economics studies the careers of the world's most creative and brilliant individuals. Specifically, he studied 90 Nobel literature laureates, 100 of the most popular classical composers, and 221 artists who painted the most-valued works in the world. After analyzing each their life's accomplishments, then pooling together the data, Franses has found the average age for peak creativity across each of these groups: 42 years old.

https://www.inc.com/betsy-mikel/this...ence-says.html

 

[Calzone]

I felt my musical creativity peaked in my late-teens to mid-20's. Then, the realization of making a living got in the way. 🙂

Interesting observation from a study (I would have though the average age would have been a lot lower - like, in their 20's also.):

Ray,

I wonder if freedom that existed in youth could be a factor in creativity?

I remember when I hitch hiked to Florida. I was in 11th grade so maybe I was perhaps 17 because it was during mid-winter break. I had $14.00 in my pocket, my friend Rich had $25.00 and we were on the road for ten days. Never felt more free in my life.

Being young and care free I think contributes to not only relaxing, but also there is a certain turmoil and unsettleness as well as discovery associated with youth.

In my life since I never really grew up, and perhaps had such a disrupted life, that somehow I remain young, at least in heart. My creativity never got displaced, and in fact my ability to problem solve became an asset that helped me in my careers.

I’m still searching and discovering. Perhaps the exception and not the norm.

Anyways I still see a lot of people that are kinda “the walking dead” that are technically alive but not really living or thinking.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

The carved top Tele is a nice guitar. The Brandon “Underwound” pretty much sounds like a vintage Tele low output neck pickup, and even has the bass side mucho elevated like a vintage pickup to get a decent bass response.

It has a nice Tele sound, but this is not what I was expecting. Also I have to do some testing, but it seems like I get a lot of 60 cycle hum from this guitar.

I love the feel of 12’s at pitch on the shorter scale (24 3/4”). The guitar plays well, but I have another pickup to try in the neck position, a Fralin Big Single that is like a Firebird pickup but in a full sized Humbucker housing.

Thing is I already have other Teles with vintage style neck pickups.

Today I discovered a Tele neck pickup I would like to try made by Don Mare called “The Big BoxTele Neck Pickup” that pretty much gets an arch top sound in a Tele.

Tim Lerch demoed one and while not a Charlie Christian a nice sounding pickup that pairs well with a stock Tele bridge pickup.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Last night I continued tweaking the carved top semi-hollow Tele and now it is a great guitar that stands apart.

I raised the action on the higher 4 strings ever so slightly, and then I did some further intonations of the saddles. Finally I raised the pickup heights a tiny amount, and what a difference.

Pretty much found and discovered the “sweet spot” where everything is maximized. The 60 cycle hum can be tamed by moving off to the side, so evidently I’m picking up the noise from a noisy area.

I’ll be playing with a treble bleed cap that makes the guitar sound like a half cocked wah. Pretty much I engineered a 5 way switch so I can have 5 presets that are all distinct and have different sounds.

This guitar with a semi-hollow swamp ash body with the shorter Gibson 24 3/4 inch scale pretty much has a very strong ES-335 vibe, but it churps and churns with single coil vibe. For me Humbuckers are too dark sounding and are a bit compressed. This guitar is very lively.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Pretty much when I try to post here I feel like I’m breaking the Internet.

I just dialed in a push pull pot with capacitor switching that allows me two settings for a cocked way effect. Mick Ronson, the guitar player on the early David Bowie recordings used this effect to a great extent. It thickens the sound by chopping off and filtering of some of the highs. My effect are two positions that are about half way.

My 5-way switch has the standard Tele positions in the three middle positions, a cocked way in position one with two selectable cut-offs, and in position 5 the neck pickup with a tone control bypass.

For now I’ll keep this my secrete.

Anyways having 5 presets and just riding the volume control is all I need, the rest is all in my fingers. “Plug and play,” I say.

Happy-happy.

Cal