Calzone
Gear Whore #1
I confirmed that I saw a Northern Harrier roosting in a tree on my walk to CVS. I stood 20 feet away so I had a good long view before he or she flew off.
On my way home I spotted the Harrier again roosted high in a tree.
From the coloring I think it was a male, which is smaller than the female. It had a white belly.
Cal
On my way home I spotted the Harrier again roosted high in a tree.
From the coloring I think it was a male, which is smaller than the female. It had a white belly.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Tiffany the Strat is gone. Oh-well…
Right now doing 3 pull-ups and 50 pushups in one set is enough to beat me up after my layoff.
Pretty much now will be just doing one max set of each every day. Maybe tomorrow I’ll add in a max set of squats with two 30 pound dumbells for ballast.
The tension and tightness in my torso is gone, so something positive.
My guitar room has about 10 electric guitars laying around. looks mucho cool. The 2-tone tele will be a looker.
Cal
Right now doing 3 pull-ups and 50 pushups in one set is enough to beat me up after my layoff.
Pretty much now will be just doing one max set of each every day. Maybe tomorrow I’ll add in a max set of squats with two 30 pound dumbells for ballast.
The tension and tightness in my torso is gone, so something positive.
My guitar room has about 10 electric guitars laying around. looks mucho cool. The 2-tone tele will be a looker.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
I like the afterglow and the tautness after doing a max set of pushups and pull-ups, but even though I only takes a few seconds or about a minute it still takes a lot of motivation to do it.
Pretty much with pull-ups you kinda need to do them almost every day because there seems to be a rather fast decay in strength otherwise.
Doing a max set of pushups is kinda intense. It kinda stresses the body.
Call me vain, but I like what I see in the mirror.
Like I said my body feels great all day after I do this, so why do I lack motivation? Should be EZ-PZ. I guess I’m in retirement mode and now I really don’t want to work hard at anything except maybe the guitar…
Oh-well…
Leo Fender was a mucho cheap bastard. In the 50’s he did very thin lacquer finishes just to save on paint. The finishes were so thin that they were translucent, and pretty much you saw the grain of the wood underneath the finish. So particularly in the 1950’s these finishes got worn though rather quickly.
The thing is today that look is getting overplayed, and people extended that mucho heavy wear into the 60’s when the finishes got a bit thicker. The pre-1965 finishes were still thin, but thicker than 1950’s finishes.
In 1965 CBS bought Fender, and they made a change to Polyester finishes that are more durable, but thicker. They kinda seal the wood so it cannot age or breath the same as the nitro finishes, and they don’t age as pretty.
So MJT is criticized for perhaps having too thin a lacquer finish, and that it wears very quickly. I also read a review that suggested the polishing was kinda incomplete. I kinda would agree with that, and on the 2-tone burst I had to spend some time polishing the body with 3200 grit optical polishing cloth.
So I expect the same with the black hardtail Strat that is incoming. Oh-well. The relic’ing on the Strat is kinda advanced, maybe more than I would like, but I got this guitar body at the opening bid price. Oh-well. I like the 3 pounds 11 ounce weight, and since it will be a hardtail without a mucho heavy steel inertia block it could be perhaps a 6 pound Strat. Pretty light…
So the MJT bodies kinda have a 50’s vibe because of the thin finish. Then I have the Snakehead that pre-dates the development of the Telecaster from 1949.
This body has a distressed white lacquer finish, and the body is made from old barn wood that I think might be Douglas Fir. One-piece body that is a perfect slab cut, but it displays a dramatic cupping so that although a flat Tele shape, it really is an arched top guitar. This in itself is mucho cool. This guitar kinda plays itself, and the tone “honks” and speaks with authority.
So in total I kinda have these three distressed guitars. Since Tiffany sold at the BIN price, before the Monday auction, I think I’m done with MJT.
I think I love more the Closet Classic finishes at Bloom Doom. There are some up and coming bodies that are Sonic Blue which would work for me to create a baritone.
So a lot of style is developing as my playing advances.
One thing I have under my belt is strong hands and fingers. While I might not be the fastest player, I can play mucho heavy strings for tone and dynamics. I limit my bends to a whole step, so pretty much I’m not a rock and roller. My thick strings likely would be unplayable for other guitarists.
So now I’m thinking of advancing to setting up all my electrics with 12-52 gauge with a wound “G.” Not the best for bending, because of even more added string tension, but no real handicap for me. A wound “G” has a better tone and also added warmth.
So pretty much this reverts back in time to the early days of Jazz and Blues of the 1930’s and 1940’s. Pretty much that old school retro sound. I’m kinda there, and that’s a pretty big accomplishment. I have the amps that support “plug-and-play” also like they did in the old days. No pedals or effects.
So I am mighty pleased and happy. I have my path, and I’m kinda far along. Kinda impressive…
Cal
Pretty much with pull-ups you kinda need to do them almost every day because there seems to be a rather fast decay in strength otherwise.
Doing a max set of pushups is kinda intense. It kinda stresses the body.
Call me vain, but I like what I see in the mirror.
Like I said my body feels great all day after I do this, so why do I lack motivation? Should be EZ-PZ. I guess I’m in retirement mode and now I really don’t want to work hard at anything except maybe the guitar…
Oh-well…
Leo Fender was a mucho cheap bastard. In the 50’s he did very thin lacquer finishes just to save on paint. The finishes were so thin that they were translucent, and pretty much you saw the grain of the wood underneath the finish. So particularly in the 1950’s these finishes got worn though rather quickly.
The thing is today that look is getting overplayed, and people extended that mucho heavy wear into the 60’s when the finishes got a bit thicker. The pre-1965 finishes were still thin, but thicker than 1950’s finishes.
In 1965 CBS bought Fender, and they made a change to Polyester finishes that are more durable, but thicker. They kinda seal the wood so it cannot age or breath the same as the nitro finishes, and they don’t age as pretty.
So MJT is criticized for perhaps having too thin a lacquer finish, and that it wears very quickly. I also read a review that suggested the polishing was kinda incomplete. I kinda would agree with that, and on the 2-tone burst I had to spend some time polishing the body with 3200 grit optical polishing cloth.
So I expect the same with the black hardtail Strat that is incoming. Oh-well. The relic’ing on the Strat is kinda advanced, maybe more than I would like, but I got this guitar body at the opening bid price. Oh-well. I like the 3 pounds 11 ounce weight, and since it will be a hardtail without a mucho heavy steel inertia block it could be perhaps a 6 pound Strat. Pretty light…
So the MJT bodies kinda have a 50’s vibe because of the thin finish. Then I have the Snakehead that pre-dates the development of the Telecaster from 1949.
This body has a distressed white lacquer finish, and the body is made from old barn wood that I think might be Douglas Fir. One-piece body that is a perfect slab cut, but it displays a dramatic cupping so that although a flat Tele shape, it really is an arched top guitar. This in itself is mucho cool. This guitar kinda plays itself, and the tone “honks” and speaks with authority.
So in total I kinda have these three distressed guitars. Since Tiffany sold at the BIN price, before the Monday auction, I think I’m done with MJT.
I think I love more the Closet Classic finishes at Bloom Doom. There are some up and coming bodies that are Sonic Blue which would work for me to create a baritone.
So a lot of style is developing as my playing advances.
One thing I have under my belt is strong hands and fingers. While I might not be the fastest player, I can play mucho heavy strings for tone and dynamics. I limit my bends to a whole step, so pretty much I’m not a rock and roller. My thick strings likely would be unplayable for other guitarists.
So now I’m thinking of advancing to setting up all my electrics with 12-52 gauge with a wound “G.” Not the best for bending, because of even more added string tension, but no real handicap for me. A wound “G” has a better tone and also added warmth.
So pretty much this reverts back in time to the early days of Jazz and Blues of the 1930’s and 1940’s. Pretty much that old school retro sound. I’m kinda there, and that’s a pretty big accomplishment. I have the amps that support “plug-and-play” also like they did in the old days. No pedals or effects.
So I am mighty pleased and happy. I have my path, and I’m kinda far along. Kinda impressive…
Cal
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Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Went to Shop Rite to load up on that Scott pleated/ribbed toilet paper and other groceries. One thing I rudely learned that lifting heavy bags leads to bladder leakage. Oh-well…
The strength exercise takes off the edge, and I do feel like an old man, kinda lazy.
I figured out what I like/love a Fralin Blues Special in the neck and a Fender Custom Shop 49 No Caster in the bridge. The Blues Special has Alnico 5 magnets (stronger) for a more defined sound with more girth and beef than the No-Caster in the bridge position that has Alnico 3 magnets (weaker). The bridge pickup has a sweeter softer attack and because of it’s vintage winding it has a low output.
For me having a stronger pickup with more output than the bridge is just the right balance. Also know I raise the neck pickup height close to the strings to maximize treble output and volume. Pretty much both to emphasize articulation. A vintage pickup in the neck position would be too wimpy for me.
In this manner I guess I could be called “brutal” because I play an electric guitar not with a light touch. I play an electric as if I’m playing an acoustic guitar.
Charlie Christian hit the strings hard, he mostly used down strokes as I do, and he played in Jazz orchestras that had horn sections. It is also said that his phrasing was also very horn like. Hmmm…
Things are evolving. I’m going to restring a guitar that has a plain “G” string to see how big a deal it will be to intonate (get it to play in tune as you move up the neck). Otherwise I may revert to using 11’s on some guitars for bending. A worthwhile experiment.I have 2 Tele’s set up already with wound “G’s.” This will be just adding a third to give me direction.
I also learned that the medium length Strat tremolo arm is too short because it does not provide enough leverage against the tension of the 12 gauge strings I use. Perhaps using 11-48 strings is an answer, especially if I want to “float” the Trem.
The above might lead to using 11-48’s also on the DeMarino because it features a Bigsby. This might involve making a new nut. I just replaced the nut. Oh-well. Let’s see how big a deal it is to just set up a regular Tele first with a wound “G” set of strings…
That third guitar likely will be “Worm,” the Snakehead Tele with only one pickup that has a body made of reclaimed barn wood.
So more growth and development of a style of my own. Things are getting quirky… Pretty much getting more quirky, and likely more annoying. Kinda funny building out some cool guitars that other players likely won’t be able to play because of the heavy strings. LOL.
Cal
The strength exercise takes off the edge, and I do feel like an old man, kinda lazy.
I figured out what I like/love a Fralin Blues Special in the neck and a Fender Custom Shop 49 No Caster in the bridge. The Blues Special has Alnico 5 magnets (stronger) for a more defined sound with more girth and beef than the No-Caster in the bridge position that has Alnico 3 magnets (weaker). The bridge pickup has a sweeter softer attack and because of it’s vintage winding it has a low output.
For me having a stronger pickup with more output than the bridge is just the right balance. Also know I raise the neck pickup height close to the strings to maximize treble output and volume. Pretty much both to emphasize articulation. A vintage pickup in the neck position would be too wimpy for me.
In this manner I guess I could be called “brutal” because I play an electric guitar not with a light touch. I play an electric as if I’m playing an acoustic guitar.
Charlie Christian hit the strings hard, he mostly used down strokes as I do, and he played in Jazz orchestras that had horn sections. It is also said that his phrasing was also very horn like. Hmmm…
Things are evolving. I’m going to restring a guitar that has a plain “G” string to see how big a deal it will be to intonate (get it to play in tune as you move up the neck). Otherwise I may revert to using 11’s on some guitars for bending. A worthwhile experiment.I have 2 Tele’s set up already with wound “G’s.” This will be just adding a third to give me direction.
I also learned that the medium length Strat tremolo arm is too short because it does not provide enough leverage against the tension of the 12 gauge strings I use. Perhaps using 11-48 strings is an answer, especially if I want to “float” the Trem.
The above might lead to using 11-48’s also on the DeMarino because it features a Bigsby. This might involve making a new nut. I just replaced the nut. Oh-well. Let’s see how big a deal it is to just set up a regular Tele first with a wound “G” set of strings…
That third guitar likely will be “Worm,” the Snakehead Tele with only one pickup that has a body made of reclaimed barn wood.
So more growth and development of a style of my own. Things are getting quirky… Pretty much getting more quirky, and likely more annoying. Kinda funny building out some cool guitars that other players likely won’t be able to play because of the heavy strings. LOL.
Cal
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Calzone
Gear Whore #1
The guitar known as “Worm” honks a lot louder now with a wound “G.” Overall sound is much bigger.
A wound “G” physically has a bigger diameter, so the first thing I had to do was raise the “G” string height to prevent it from rattling against the frets, then in turn I had to raise the “D” string in conjunction to get both strings to intonate.
Understand that a standard Tele like bridge only has three string saddles for each pair of strings, so the G and D interact and kinda have to get adjusted together.
Then the next pair of wound strings, the “A” and ”E,” had to get raised to follow the arc that traces above the fingerboard to avoid being wonky.
So pretty much all 4 wound strings, the heavier ones, all got raised to be able to intonate Worm. Raising the action adds clarity, and the stings vibrate more openly and freely, so sound got louder, fuller and richer in an amazing manner.
The added height though requires more hand and finger strength, as well as good form and technic to avoid overuse of muscles and injury. A high level of fitness is required, and not so many can do what I’m doing.
The tone even unplugged is of a new dimension. Pretty much to die for or to trade your soul at the crossroads. I have the Devil’s weapon, and as my friend Billie says, “The Devil has the best tools.”
So I have not practiced too much today, but my playing seems to have advance mucho by this development. I have about 2 dozen sets of DR’s 12-52 with a wound “G.” Seems like most or many of my axes will get converted and upgrade to a wound “G” for enhanced tone. Definitely more warmth, and I also think clarity. The four wound strings really ring now.
Perhaps the DeMarino and the Candy Apple Red Strat will get 11’s because they have tremolo’s/vibrato’s for blues playing and mucho string bending. Kinda makes sense now. Maybe I’ll do that to the Strat tomorrow…
I imagine all my electrics that get this enhancement will be more open, louder, have more mids, better balance, and a bigger sound.
I guess an analogy if say a Sax player jumped up to a stiffer reed.
So know that by now I’m not a typical player. Plug and play, heavy strings, aggressive hard attack, and an approach of perhaps a piano player. Something big is happening, and I am really inspired because I’m starting to build my own concept.
Worm is a unbelievable guitar. Crazy great…
Cal
A wound “G” physically has a bigger diameter, so the first thing I had to do was raise the “G” string height to prevent it from rattling against the frets, then in turn I had to raise the “D” string in conjunction to get both strings to intonate.
Understand that a standard Tele like bridge only has three string saddles for each pair of strings, so the G and D interact and kinda have to get adjusted together.
Then the next pair of wound strings, the “A” and ”E,” had to get raised to follow the arc that traces above the fingerboard to avoid being wonky.
So pretty much all 4 wound strings, the heavier ones, all got raised to be able to intonate Worm. Raising the action adds clarity, and the stings vibrate more openly and freely, so sound got louder, fuller and richer in an amazing manner.
The added height though requires more hand and finger strength, as well as good form and technic to avoid overuse of muscles and injury. A high level of fitness is required, and not so many can do what I’m doing.
The tone even unplugged is of a new dimension. Pretty much to die for or to trade your soul at the crossroads. I have the Devil’s weapon, and as my friend Billie says, “The Devil has the best tools.”
So I have not practiced too much today, but my playing seems to have advance mucho by this development. I have about 2 dozen sets of DR’s 12-52 with a wound “G.” Seems like most or many of my axes will get converted and upgrade to a wound “G” for enhanced tone. Definitely more warmth, and I also think clarity. The four wound strings really ring now.
Perhaps the DeMarino and the Candy Apple Red Strat will get 11’s because they have tremolo’s/vibrato’s for blues playing and mucho string bending. Kinda makes sense now. Maybe I’ll do that to the Strat tomorrow…
I imagine all my electrics that get this enhancement will be more open, louder, have more mids, better balance, and a bigger sound.
I guess an analogy if say a Sax player jumped up to a stiffer reed.
So know that by now I’m not a typical player. Plug and play, heavy strings, aggressive hard attack, and an approach of perhaps a piano player. Something big is happening, and I am really inspired because I’m starting to build my own concept.
Worm is a unbelievable guitar. Crazy great…
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
“Tiffany,” the Strat reappeared. Someone added it to their cart, and maybe this is why it disappeared. The person who has it in their cart did not pay for it, so the listing and auction came back.
So tomorrow in around 21 hours the auction will end.
When someone puts in a bid the BIN price disappears, so maybe I could place a bid and steal it from the cart. I kinda know how much a Sonic Blue Strat at Bloom Doom would cost, so I also would do a higher bid and then my highest bid.
So steal Tiffany from his lame buyer, and force Tiffany to go to auction, and pretty much see what happens. I have a chance, but also I might get out bid, and I’m cool with that. In an earlier post today I laid out why I was favoring a Bloom Doom Sonic Blue Strat over another MJT body.
Oh-well… a second chance. Fate is tempting me… Passion…
Hmmm…
POST SCRIPT: I’m going to sleep on it, and see how I feel tomorrow. Sweet dreams.
Cal
So tomorrow in around 21 hours the auction will end.
When someone puts in a bid the BIN price disappears, so maybe I could place a bid and steal it from the cart. I kinda know how much a Sonic Blue Strat at Bloom Doom would cost, so I also would do a higher bid and then my highest bid.
So steal Tiffany from his lame buyer, and force Tiffany to go to auction, and pretty much see what happens. I have a chance, but also I might get out bid, and I’m cool with that. In an earlier post today I laid out why I was favoring a Bloom Doom Sonic Blue Strat over another MJT body.
Oh-well… a second chance. Fate is tempting me… Passion…
Hmmm…
POST SCRIPT: I’m going to sleep on it, and see how I feel tomorrow. Sweet dreams.
Cal
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Calzone
Gear Whore #1
“Tiffany” the Strat is posted as an auction that ends about 9 hours from now. My approach is I don’t really need another Strat body, and the black hardtail Strat can have two loaded pickguards and can be easily converted from Jazz pickups to Blues pickups along with a string change.
Basically have just two Strats: one with trem; another a hardtail. The other cool thing is one is a closet classic, and the other a relic.
So my intent is a low ball try to secure the first bid close to the auction end, and then do two higher bids with my highest bid still at a modest price. Tiffany if secured would have to under cut by a pretty good margin a Bloom Doom body.
If I miss out, I’m cool with that. I still kinda have a full plate. Also the baritone neck can be utilized on the sonic blue Thinline, also freeing up a Tele neck for the 1-piece relic’ed 2-tone burst body. Things kinda flow and I love that. A no-brainer, unless fate delivers Tiffany to me.
Off to a doctor’s appointment for “Maggie.”
Lots of deliveries expected over the next few days.
Cal
Basically have just two Strats: one with trem; another a hardtail. The other cool thing is one is a closet classic, and the other a relic.
So my intent is a low ball try to secure the first bid close to the auction end, and then do two higher bids with my highest bid still at a modest price. Tiffany if secured would have to under cut by a pretty good margin a Bloom Doom body.
If I miss out, I’m cool with that. I still kinda have a full plate. Also the baritone neck can be utilized on the sonic blue Thinline, also freeing up a Tele neck for the 1-piece relic’ed 2-tone burst body. Things kinda flow and I love that. A no-brainer, unless fate delivers Tiffany to me.
Off to a doctor’s appointment for “Maggie.”
Lots of deliveries expected over the next few days.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
“Tiffany” the Strat disappeared again. Perhaps the person who put it in his cart secured the purchase. Oh-well.
All the tiny nicks would of echoed the bird’s eye in the baritone neck that now is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow.
I’m not at a loss. Pretty much was not meant to be.
An idea is to have that black hardtail Strat as a convertible with EZ-PZ exchange of pickguard assemblies along with a string change I kinda love. Having a hardtail and a Strat with a trem is enough.
The baritone neck on a sonic blue Thinline frees up a Tele neck to be recycled to the 2-tone burst. Nice and efficient. Pretty cool.
“Maggie” needs a series of 3 MRI’s and some blood work to rule out things. She suffers tenitus, and also hears her pulse.
Could be nothing, but we are getting everything checked out. More testing and uncertainty…
Cal
All the tiny nicks would of echoed the bird’s eye in the baritone neck that now is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow.
I’m not at a loss. Pretty much was not meant to be.
An idea is to have that black hardtail Strat as a convertible with EZ-PZ exchange of pickguard assemblies along with a string change I kinda love. Having a hardtail and a Strat with a trem is enough.
The baritone neck on a sonic blue Thinline frees up a Tele neck to be recycled to the 2-tone burst. Nice and efficient. Pretty cool.
“Maggie” needs a series of 3 MRI’s and some blood work to rule out things. She suffers tenitus, and also hears her pulse.
Could be nothing, but we are getting everything checked out. More testing and uncertainty…
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Stagflation worries in the headlines.
On the home front the Tone Specific pickups and the two 8-hole pickguards were delivered along with the shielding plate of aluminum. The holes line up exactly, both were made by Fender, although one in the U.S. and the other in Mexico.
Kinda perfect to make the black hardtail Strat a convertible from a Jazz to a Blues guitar. Mucho awesome…
I changed the pickup in the DeMarino and upgraded to a wound “G.” Raised the action at the bridge and the notes really ring.
Another great guitar for me.
Things are advancing. Big steps. I can feel the acceleration.
Bye-bye “Tiffany.” Oh-well…
Cal
On the home front the Tone Specific pickups and the two 8-hole pickguards were delivered along with the shielding plate of aluminum. The holes line up exactly, both were made by Fender, although one in the U.S. and the other in Mexico.
Kinda perfect to make the black hardtail Strat a convertible from a Jazz to a Blues guitar. Mucho awesome…
I changed the pickup in the DeMarino and upgraded to a wound “G.” Raised the action at the bridge and the notes really ring.
Another great guitar for me.
Things are advancing. Big steps. I can feel the acceleration.
Bye-bye “Tiffany.” Oh-well…
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
They say that 47% of adult Americans have high blood pressure. “Maggie” and I don’t have that chronic condition. Wow…
In some medical spam they mentioned that 30 year olds are now having strokes due to their sedimentary lifestyle. Wow again.
In the waiting room today at an ENT doctor’s office I saw all the adults online via their cell phones. I pretty much was the exception. Not good. I was cool just waiting doing nothing.
So now the DeMarino joins the wound “G” string club. Another outstanding guitar. While I was at it I changed the pickup back to a Harmonic Design S-90 high output pickup that has the tone of a Gibson P-90 (mucho output and mids), but fits in a Tele bridge pickup position.
I had this mounted before, and I really liked it, but I continued to experiment… Now, I think this guitar is done. It is a crazy guitar. This guitar has the Bigsby. I learned from an online video that Sperzel tuners are so modular that they are reversible, so I converted the two reversed tuners on the 4+2 headstock to lefty. Mucho better ergonomically.
The DeMarino is a hot sexy guitar that plays and sounds great. Only one pickup, but that’s all that is needed. Jeff Beck in the early days with the Yard Birds played a Fender Esquire with only one pickup.
Jimmy Page on Led Zepplin I and II also played an Esquire.
In Top Gun they say it is the pilot, not the plane…
Had the time to mount the two sets of pickups onto their pickguards, and I dressed out the leads using shrink tubing to bundle the wires. Came out really neat. One set of Jazz pickups I bought used, but the leads seem long enough. The Bues set has mucho long leads.
I have 4 guitars now set up with wound “G’s” with slightly raised action. The tone is to die for, really brutal. The Single and double Cabronita’s will be EZ-PZ to do. Pretty much just a string change and just reintonating just the “G” string.
I have a dozen sets of 12-52’s left I’ll have to order more.
Tomorrow the baritone neck will get delivered with some small parts. The hardtail Strat body could come at anytime, perhaps also tomorrow.
Kinda worked out: no Tiffany…
Cal
In some medical spam they mentioned that 30 year olds are now having strokes due to their sedimentary lifestyle. Wow again.
In the waiting room today at an ENT doctor’s office I saw all the adults online via their cell phones. I pretty much was the exception. Not good. I was cool just waiting doing nothing.
So now the DeMarino joins the wound “G” string club. Another outstanding guitar. While I was at it I changed the pickup back to a Harmonic Design S-90 high output pickup that has the tone of a Gibson P-90 (mucho output and mids), but fits in a Tele bridge pickup position.
I had this mounted before, and I really liked it, but I continued to experiment… Now, I think this guitar is done. It is a crazy guitar. This guitar has the Bigsby. I learned from an online video that Sperzel tuners are so modular that they are reversible, so I converted the two reversed tuners on the 4+2 headstock to lefty. Mucho better ergonomically.
The DeMarino is a hot sexy guitar that plays and sounds great. Only one pickup, but that’s all that is needed. Jeff Beck in the early days with the Yard Birds played a Fender Esquire with only one pickup.
Jimmy Page on Led Zepplin I and II also played an Esquire.
In Top Gun they say it is the pilot, not the plane…
Had the time to mount the two sets of pickups onto their pickguards, and I dressed out the leads using shrink tubing to bundle the wires. Came out really neat. One set of Jazz pickups I bought used, but the leads seem long enough. The Bues set has mucho long leads.
I have 4 guitars now set up with wound “G’s” with slightly raised action. The tone is to die for, really brutal. The Single and double Cabronita’s will be EZ-PZ to do. Pretty much just a string change and just reintonating just the “G” string.
I have a dozen sets of 12-52’s left I’ll have to order more.
Tomorrow the baritone neck will get delivered with some small parts. The hardtail Strat body could come at anytime, perhaps also tomorrow.
Kinda worked out: no Tiffany…
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Deliveries expected today have me excited.
My electric guitars closely resemble acoustic guitars with heavy strings and higher action. Hmmm… The dedication to a wound “G” is a very big deal and is a jump to a more acoustic guitar vibe.
So also big strings promote a more acoustic sound for me, and increased dynamics.
Early today when I woke up I kinda played finger style and pretty much a new door has opened. Kinda crazy. A bit slower than flat picking, less volume, but a very different tone that is fleshy and organic. Something very tactile that offers a different feeling, a bit softer, but the again a different expression.
If I could cover both bases well, pretty much I’d become a monster of a player. Now I kinda have an arsenal of proper guitars and amps to kinda pursue all of this.
Unknowingly I kinda got here. Perhaps I got dragged here, so here I am. Wow, how did this happen? Kinda like living in a dream…
I’m pretty much a flat pick with fingers guy, but now I’m on a threshold of sorts entering possibly another completely different, yet similar universe. Things can get big here, especially if I can learn to tuck a pick and switch seamlessly between the two styles on the fly which is huge dynamic range. Hmmm…
Things can really open up from here… Kinda explosive potential. I love it, What a space to be in. Mucho crazy. Things are accelerating.
So with a baritone neck even thicker strings are used, and getting tuners that can fit these mucho heavy strings is limited. Then Sperzel although dating back to 1978 still is a small shop in Ohio, and their production is limited and kinda comes in spurts, so availability is sporadic.
So last night is a new listing for black Sperzel individual tuners that have 0.78 holes that could accommodate 0.68 and 0.56 on a medium set of baritone strings. I bought the pair I need from a specialty shop in Pennsylvania that I discovered is a major Sperzel dealer.
Know that the 0.52 low “E” string is a tight fit already on my regular strings…
Then by luck I found a used listing for a set of lefty 6-inline black Sperzels in nice condition for about half the price of the going rate even for used sets. I’ll use 4 of these tuners to create a stagger so I won’t require a string tree, and I figure on the two tuners with the bigger bore I can add a post wrap on mucho thick strings to get the downward angle and pressure over the nut needed.
Mucho clever…
The baritone neck getting delivered today has a reverse headstock so the tuners mount as if a lefty guitar, the neck is right handed though, but the headstock is upside down a la Jimi Hendrix. Know that I learned that I can convert these tuners from left to right, so I could use them say for the distressed black hardtail strat.
So lots of problem solving, but lots of timely new listings make it an easy flow.
So the 1/4 inch turquoise dots on the fingerboard kinda might stand out on the black strat body, but I’ll see if the black tuners smooth things out. Who knows? Could be striking, could be garish, might not work… Oh-well…
Don’t forget the baritone neck has this amber coloring because it is roasted maple, and that it is riddled with bird’s eye figure. I guess I’ll see how loud looking this neck is when delivered. Should be visually a bit crazy. “Crazy is good,” I say, as I try to avoid being “extra-medium.”
What is becoming clear to me is a certain personality change that is kinda drastic. I’m a new Calvin of sorts that is perhaps more unstable, a bit more crazy, a bit more adventurous, that is definitely even more impulsive and in the moment. All this practice, which is kinda structured and rigid, has kinda liberated me, and I guess the real me is emerging.
Pure creativity, and following impulse and intuition. Perhaps real living.
The Candy Apple Red Strat has a trem, and the 12-52’s I use require mucho force to balance the string tension of these heavy strings. There is a struggle here that compromises the trem. Very stiff and requires lots of force, I could but a longer trem arm for more leverage, but then more movement is required to sweep the range of the trem. Only $20.00 though…
So the CAR Strat might have to get degraded to a set of 11-48 gauge strings to exploit the trem. Oh-well. I might do that in my guitar shop part of my day. Playing a Strat certainly is mucho different for a Tele player, and having a trem in itself opens up possibilities.
I find the DeMarino with the Bigsby though to be the better vibrato system for me, it handles the mucho heavy strings better than the Strat trem.
BTW Fender calls their vibrato system a Tremolo, but it really is a vibrato.
Cal
My electric guitars closely resemble acoustic guitars with heavy strings and higher action. Hmmm… The dedication to a wound “G” is a very big deal and is a jump to a more acoustic guitar vibe.
So also big strings promote a more acoustic sound for me, and increased dynamics.
Early today when I woke up I kinda played finger style and pretty much a new door has opened. Kinda crazy. A bit slower than flat picking, less volume, but a very different tone that is fleshy and organic. Something very tactile that offers a different feeling, a bit softer, but the again a different expression.
If I could cover both bases well, pretty much I’d become a monster of a player. Now I kinda have an arsenal of proper guitars and amps to kinda pursue all of this.
Unknowingly I kinda got here. Perhaps I got dragged here, so here I am. Wow, how did this happen? Kinda like living in a dream…
I’m pretty much a flat pick with fingers guy, but now I’m on a threshold of sorts entering possibly another completely different, yet similar universe. Things can get big here, especially if I can learn to tuck a pick and switch seamlessly between the two styles on the fly which is huge dynamic range. Hmmm…
Things can really open up from here… Kinda explosive potential. I love it, What a space to be in. Mucho crazy. Things are accelerating.
So with a baritone neck even thicker strings are used, and getting tuners that can fit these mucho heavy strings is limited. Then Sperzel although dating back to 1978 still is a small shop in Ohio, and their production is limited and kinda comes in spurts, so availability is sporadic.
So last night is a new listing for black Sperzel individual tuners that have 0.78 holes that could accommodate 0.68 and 0.56 on a medium set of baritone strings. I bought the pair I need from a specialty shop in Pennsylvania that I discovered is a major Sperzel dealer.
Know that the 0.52 low “E” string is a tight fit already on my regular strings…
Then by luck I found a used listing for a set of lefty 6-inline black Sperzels in nice condition for about half the price of the going rate even for used sets. I’ll use 4 of these tuners to create a stagger so I won’t require a string tree, and I figure on the two tuners with the bigger bore I can add a post wrap on mucho thick strings to get the downward angle and pressure over the nut needed.
Mucho clever…
The baritone neck getting delivered today has a reverse headstock so the tuners mount as if a lefty guitar, the neck is right handed though, but the headstock is upside down a la Jimi Hendrix. Know that I learned that I can convert these tuners from left to right, so I could use them say for the distressed black hardtail strat.
So lots of problem solving, but lots of timely new listings make it an easy flow.
So the 1/4 inch turquoise dots on the fingerboard kinda might stand out on the black strat body, but I’ll see if the black tuners smooth things out. Who knows? Could be striking, could be garish, might not work… Oh-well…
Don’t forget the baritone neck has this amber coloring because it is roasted maple, and that it is riddled with bird’s eye figure. I guess I’ll see how loud looking this neck is when delivered. Should be visually a bit crazy. “Crazy is good,” I say, as I try to avoid being “extra-medium.”
What is becoming clear to me is a certain personality change that is kinda drastic. I’m a new Calvin of sorts that is perhaps more unstable, a bit more crazy, a bit more adventurous, that is definitely even more impulsive and in the moment. All this practice, which is kinda structured and rigid, has kinda liberated me, and I guess the real me is emerging.
Pure creativity, and following impulse and intuition. Perhaps real living.
The Candy Apple Red Strat has a trem, and the 12-52’s I use require mucho force to balance the string tension of these heavy strings. There is a struggle here that compromises the trem. Very stiff and requires lots of force, I could but a longer trem arm for more leverage, but then more movement is required to sweep the range of the trem. Only $20.00 though…
So the CAR Strat might have to get degraded to a set of 11-48 gauge strings to exploit the trem. Oh-well. I might do that in my guitar shop part of my day. Playing a Strat certainly is mucho different for a Tele player, and having a trem in itself opens up possibilities.
I find the DeMarino with the Bigsby though to be the better vibrato system for me, it handles the mucho heavy strings better than the Strat trem.
BTW Fender calls their vibrato system a Tremolo, but it really is a vibrato.
Cal
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Calzone
Gear Whore #1
The black hardtail Strat is getting delivered today as well as the baritone neck.
We have the grandson, so other than unpacking, no guitar shop today, although I did set the pickup height and adjusted the pole pieces on the S-90 pickup on the DeMarino.
The pickup sits about 3/16th of and inch below the strings, and then I adjusted the pole piece’s individual height to balance the response. This is likely the most Gibson P-90’ish tone I ever set up using this pickup. For me I dumped a lot of the output by setting the pickup low.
There is the classic warmth and midrange of a P-90. This is great since the DeMarino inherently is a very bright guitar. BTW I’m digging the Bigsby. Works well with mucho heavy strings.
I expect the grandson will be excited when I unpack the neck and body when they get delivered. Right now he is sleeping.
If I have the chance I’ll replace the 12-52 gauge strings on the CAR Strat with 11-48 gauge to see how it plays. The trem is mucho stiff and is not really an asset. A set of 11’s might work…
Cal
We have the grandson, so other than unpacking, no guitar shop today, although I did set the pickup height and adjusted the pole pieces on the S-90 pickup on the DeMarino.
The pickup sits about 3/16th of and inch below the strings, and then I adjusted the pole piece’s individual height to balance the response. This is likely the most Gibson P-90’ish tone I ever set up using this pickup. For me I dumped a lot of the output by setting the pickup low.
There is the classic warmth and midrange of a P-90. This is great since the DeMarino inherently is a very bright guitar. BTW I’m digging the Bigsby. Works well with mucho heavy strings.
I expect the grandson will be excited when I unpack the neck and body when they get delivered. Right now he is sleeping.
If I have the chance I’ll replace the 12-52 gauge strings on the CAR Strat with 11-48 gauge to see how it plays. The trem is mucho stiff and is not really an asset. A set of 11’s might work…
Cal
Retro-Grouch
Veteran
Be afraid! Be very afraid!
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
I’m becoming a Musician in attitude. Pretty evident in my mucho relaxed attitude and also how I living in the moment.
The world is a big mess, but I’m happy and living in peace.
Cal
The world is a big mess, but I’m happy and living in peace.
Cal
robert blu
quiet photographer
So do I !
I always smile when go to buy food, groceries and similar with a piece of paper in my hands and a pencil written list of what to buy and see most of other people watching their phone and tablets with a list!
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
The grandson had us occupied. My parcels came at 3:00 PM, but I didn’t get to them until much later. His new favorite guitar today was the Sonic Blue Thinline Tele for a moment, but then he saw the two-tone burst Tele with the baritone neck mounted to it.
The baritone neck has this glow to the position markers as if it was day glow. They draw the eye like a highlight in a photograph. Does not look bad on the two-tone burst, but I think would be killer on the Sonic Blue Thinline. The roasted maple rosewood neck presently on the Thineline would be killer on the two-tone burst.
The black hardtail Strat is beat up and raunchy looking. Kinda cool, and I like the sub 4 pound weight of 3 pounds 11 ounces.
I placed the pickup loaded gold anodized pickguard over the body and it looked mighty hot.
I’m cool with making the Thinline a baritone.
My thinking is the CAR Strat with trem set up with 11’s could be my finger style electric. I’ll restring and set up that guitar tonight.
In the backyard I did some jumping on an exercise trampoline, that was a mistake, instant bladder leakage.
Cal
The baritone neck has this glow to the position markers as if it was day glow. They draw the eye like a highlight in a photograph. Does not look bad on the two-tone burst, but I think would be killer on the Sonic Blue Thinline. The roasted maple rosewood neck presently on the Thineline would be killer on the two-tone burst.
The black hardtail Strat is beat up and raunchy looking. Kinda cool, and I like the sub 4 pound weight of 3 pounds 11 ounces.
I placed the pickup loaded gold anodized pickguard over the body and it looked mighty hot.
I’m cool with making the Thinline a baritone.
My thinking is the CAR Strat with trem set up with 11’s could be my finger style electric. I’ll restring and set up that guitar tonight.
In the backyard I did some jumping on an exercise trampoline, that was a mistake, instant bladder leakage.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
11’s on the Strat feels like no strings. The trem feels better though. A very different guitar.
If I tune the baritone to D-D tuning and I capo the second fret pretty much it would replicate a 25 1/2 inch scale and E-E tuning. Hmmm.
The added scale length would add some tension, so possibly 11’s would be interesting tuned D-D. I could just use the lefty set of Sperzels when they arrive. I would only change out the 5th and 6th string tuners is I decide to go full blown baritone with heavy gauge strings, but that would be a dropped tuning to B-B.
Tomorrow I need to polish out the black hardtail Strat. Just like I predicted they just did a rough buffing. I do not want it to be glossy, but more of a dull matte like I did on the 2-tone burst.
Tax and shipping added up.
Have to place a Callahan order tomorrow, and order a tele neck pickup for the 2-tone burst.
Cal
If I tune the baritone to D-D tuning and I capo the second fret pretty much it would replicate a 25 1/2 inch scale and E-E tuning. Hmmm.
The added scale length would add some tension, so possibly 11’s would be interesting tuned D-D. I could just use the lefty set of Sperzels when they arrive. I would only change out the 5th and 6th string tuners is I decide to go full blown baritone with heavy gauge strings, but that would be a dropped tuning to B-B.
Tomorrow I need to polish out the black hardtail Strat. Just like I predicted they just did a rough buffing. I do not want it to be glossy, but more of a dull matte like I did on the 2-tone burst.
Tax and shipping added up.
Have to place a Callahan order tomorrow, and order a tele neck pickup for the 2-tone burst.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
I’ll check the tuning stability on the Strat. The trem remains floating, but I had to remove 2 springs due to the lack of tension. Was able to dial in needed additional tension by tightening the “claw” that is the spring anchor.
Most starts with trem use 3 springs. 5-springs generally are to lock down or immobilize the trem to effectively make it like a hardtail, but actually I use 5-springs with floating 12-52 guage strings: mucho heavy and perhaps an exaggeration because not many do this.
So the strat last night had wonky tuning, unstable, and was all over the place. Understand that strings have to stretch and stabilize. I’ll see how it plays today. Could be good as a blues guitar, and a floating bridge with 11’s certainly supports mucho bending. Also the lower string tension can promote a more finger style approach…
Might be I have specific guitars set up for finger-style verses my pick and fingers technic. Maybe the combination and crossover does not happen. Still having two styles is like having two girlfriends and is fun.
I think I will polish the black hardtail Strat today: one goal.
I also think I want to see how the baritone neck looks on the Sonic Blue Thinline. I think it could be a bit over the top with the turquoise dot inlays. Tuning D-D I think will work with a set of 12’s, on the Bigsby bridge that I might do a 40/60 top load.
Understand I ordered stainless steel frets, and the additional hardness increases the brightness a tad, so that the the E and B strings top loaded should soften and mellow the attack somewhat. The stainless steel frets also livens up the left hand articulation, so pretty much more piano like dynamics.
The longer scale will certainly promote a more piano like sound. Also the Thinline adds a sense of ”air” and openness because of the hollow body that adds an acoustic tone and vibe.
Pretty much I could be building our a “Lap-Piano” of a different sorts.
Cal
Most starts with trem use 3 springs. 5-springs generally are to lock down or immobilize the trem to effectively make it like a hardtail, but actually I use 5-springs with floating 12-52 guage strings: mucho heavy and perhaps an exaggeration because not many do this.
So the strat last night had wonky tuning, unstable, and was all over the place. Understand that strings have to stretch and stabilize. I’ll see how it plays today. Could be good as a blues guitar, and a floating bridge with 11’s certainly supports mucho bending. Also the lower string tension can promote a more finger style approach…
Might be I have specific guitars set up for finger-style verses my pick and fingers technic. Maybe the combination and crossover does not happen. Still having two styles is like having two girlfriends and is fun.
I think I will polish the black hardtail Strat today: one goal.
I also think I want to see how the baritone neck looks on the Sonic Blue Thinline. I think it could be a bit over the top with the turquoise dot inlays. Tuning D-D I think will work with a set of 12’s, on the Bigsby bridge that I might do a 40/60 top load.
Understand I ordered stainless steel frets, and the additional hardness increases the brightness a tad, so that the the E and B strings top loaded should soften and mellow the attack somewhat. The stainless steel frets also livens up the left hand articulation, so pretty much more piano like dynamics.
The longer scale will certainly promote a more piano like sound. Also the Thinline adds a sense of ”air” and openness because of the hollow body that adds an acoustic tone and vibe.
Pretty much I could be building our a “Lap-Piano” of a different sorts.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
They say the wealthy are spending and are keeping the economy humming along. There are also reports that even the wealthy are economizing in that they have resorted to shopping at Walmart, something they never did before…
So here I am buying and purchasing. Pretty much I’m looking at the “Smart-Money” and buying while prices are still low. Anyways that is what I think rich people are actually doing right now, basically hoarding…
So I will take things further in that not only am I becoming a musician, but also impulse and spontaneous thought is happening in a Jazz manner.
I took note that I have a set of silver Sperzel tuners on “Korina” which is somewhat partially disassembled. The thought came to mind tomorrow the Sperzels to set up the baritone neck on the Thinline: no waiting; but then the thought became that the silver is a better match with the Sonic Blue and all the other hardware.
Mucho clever, and pretty much just a cascade of ideas and flow of pure creativity. Perhaps a “Jazz Moment.” See how my mind and brain are evolving…
No delay or waiting either…
So I got up to 4 pull-ups today. Might I get to 55 push ups in a set today?
The Strat is kinda cool with 11’s. I can see how when I get a chance how I will use some Bert’s Bee’s lip balm to lube the pivot point of the trem/bridge to eliminate friction. The trem is usable with 11’s… Mucho good, and so far I like it. The finger style specialization also seems to be working out.
Off to strip off those tuners, convert then to lefty, and then do the instal on the baritone neck.
So everything is becoming an improv…
Cal
So here I am buying and purchasing. Pretty much I’m looking at the “Smart-Money” and buying while prices are still low. Anyways that is what I think rich people are actually doing right now, basically hoarding…
So I will take things further in that not only am I becoming a musician, but also impulse and spontaneous thought is happening in a Jazz manner.
I took note that I have a set of silver Sperzel tuners on “Korina” which is somewhat partially disassembled. The thought came to mind tomorrow the Sperzels to set up the baritone neck on the Thinline: no waiting; but then the thought became that the silver is a better match with the Sonic Blue and all the other hardware.
Mucho clever, and pretty much just a cascade of ideas and flow of pure creativity. Perhaps a “Jazz Moment.” See how my mind and brain are evolving…
No delay or waiting either…
So I got up to 4 pull-ups today. Might I get to 55 push ups in a set today?
The Strat is kinda cool with 11’s. I can see how when I get a chance how I will use some Bert’s Bee’s lip balm to lube the pivot point of the trem/bridge to eliminate friction. The trem is usable with 11’s… Mucho good, and so far I like it. The finger style specialization also seems to be working out.
Off to strip off those tuners, convert then to lefty, and then do the instal on the baritone neck.
So everything is becoming an improv…
Cal