A GUITAR CHAT thread

[oldE]

I just read the post above to my wife. Before I got the last line out, she interjected, " A divorce?".

No worries.
Les

[Jeff Alton]

^^^^^ lol

My wife has given up worrying about my guitar problem. Have 19. Thinning the herd mind you of the ones I don't really play. She lives a comfortable life, drives nice cars and travels often to the other side of the globe to her "happy place"... Gives me some freedom. Not even sure she knows about the last commission build that came into the house, or she is a better actress than I give here credit for..... lol

[Steve Carlton]

[Steve Carlton]

David Crosby—A Life Acoustic, His Story as Seen Through the Prism of His Guitars

https://acousticguitar.com/david-crosby-a-life-acoustic-his-story-as-seen-through-the-prism-of-his-guitars/?utm_source=Acoustic+Guitar&utm_campaign=41a993cc76-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_AGD_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c8a2f76447-41a993cc76-365539404&mc_cid=41a993cc76&mc_eid=136f295ff7

[lindbhr]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing….

[Steve Carlton]

An interesting discussion on tonewoods and grain.

[TimT]

Does anyone recognize these tuners? They are on an old Gibson that I butchered many years ago, and have decided to resurrect..



This was a Gibson ES-125-3/4 from the S/N I think it was made between 1958-1961, kind of like me. Originally it was one pick up single volume and tone..

I remember the original pick up was a soap bar...

I decided dual DiMarzio humbuckers wired up with coil taps was the way things should be... Silly me..

Picture is after I removed all my previous mods..... I've just pulled this out of mothballs and decided I'm going to build it up again.. Seymore-Duncan but probably Wolfetone pick ups to support a fellow Porsche enthusiast


I'll get a Mad Hatter wiring kit and go from there..

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by TimT

Does anyone recognize these tuners? They are on an old Gibson that I butchered many years ago, and have decided to resurrect..

Why not put the original style tuners on it again? It would cover up all the traces on the back of the headstock. Did it come with Klusons? I don't know if they're any good, but there's probably replicas as well as originals?

https://www.kluson.com/kluson-3-on-a-plate-deluxe-series-tuning-machines-details.html

[Dpmulvan]

Originally Posted by TimT

Does anyone recognize these tuners? They are on an old Gibson that I butchered many years ago, and have decided to resurrect..



This was a Gibson ES-125-3/4 from the S/N I think it was made between 1958-1961, kind of like me. Originally it was one pick up single volume and tone..

I remember the original pick up was a soap bar...

I decided dual DiMarzio humbuckers wired up with coil taps was the way things should be... Silly me..

Picture is after I removed all my previous mods..... I've just pulled this out of mothballs and decided I'm going to build it up again.. Seymore-Duncan but probably Wolfetone pick ups to support a fellow Porsche enthusiast


I'll get a Mad Hatter wiring kit and go from there..

Those tuners look like old Alvarez tuners. Got any pics of the soap bar?? I was in the guitar business years ago have thousands of parts et if you need anything, also still do neck resets, fret jobs et.

[TimT]

I don't have any of the original hardware from that guitar.. apparently lost in one of my moves years ago..

I don't think I can use the original style tuners... apparently I drilled out the holes to fit the new tuners...

I bought the tuners that are on the guitar from either Manny's Music on 48Th in NYC, or Sam Ash (Possibly Gracins) In Hempstead...

[Steve Carlton]

Even if you had the original tuners, they’d probably be wasted, anyway. Looks like the the original holes are still there, or you could drill them out. It would look a lot better, covering up all the stuff there, and be authentic.

[LWJ]

A question. I am considering taking up fingerstyle. I have been a bass player for years (past life) and think learning a new skill might be fun and good for my brain.

I had a 000 mahogany way back in the 1980's. Loved it. It broke. Long story. I am drawn to parlor and OM sizes. Any recommendations? Thoughts? Do I need a 1 3/4 inch nut? I have a sweet archtop that I LOVE. Should I just play that? TIA!

[ramonesfreak]

Originally Posted by LWJ

A question. I am considering taking up fingerstyle. I have been a bass player for years (past life) and think learning a new skill might be fun and good for my brain.

I had a 000 mahogany way back in the 1980's. Loved it. It broke. Long story. I am drawn to parlor and OM sizes. Any recommendations? Thoughts? Do I need a 1 3/4 inch nut? I have a sweet archtop that I LOVE. Should I just play that? TIA!

I play finger style about 70 percent of the time. What style of music are you interested in? There are some great courses on TrueFire

I have a Martin 000-28ec which I find great for finger style but for the last 30 odd years I’ve just used what I had, mostly a Santa Cruz 12 fret dred with a 1 7/8 nut. The extra space is great for finger style but i much prefer the 1 3/4 on my martins. I also have a gibson L-00 that is great for finger style

The thing with smaller body, shorter scale guitars besides comfort, is their sensitivity which is very important for finger style.. however there are larger guitars like my Santa Cruz or my Martin d-41 which are very responsive to finger style even though they are large guitars

Also, I don’t use finger picks. Whether you will is up to you. I would focus on artists that inspire you and study what they do.

Finger style could mean playing like Chet Atkins (and the entire list of artists who continue on with his style like Doyle Dykes and Tommy Emanuel) or Merle Travis or Mississippi john hurt or it could mean playing like John Mayer or Jeff beck or it could mean playing in a classical style, etc….all very different

But honestly It never really mattered to me which guitar I had….tele, Gretsch whatever. Your arch top is likely just fine if it plays well


For something under $2k, check out the Martin 000-15SM

[LWJ]

^^^Thanks. MJH is more where I am headed. Been a blues fan for years. My archtop is not particularly sensitive but it sure does project. My wife can hear it in any part of the house even if played quietly.

[ramonesfreak]

MJH is what got me into wanting to play with my fingers

There are some good MJH tab books but I have always been unable to follow tab books when it comes to fingerstyle going all the way back to a John Knowles book I bought in the mid 80s....my brain cant do it. I need to see it done to get the nuance

I highly recommend you check out Trufire. The lessons are well worth the money...average about $30 to $50 for the lesson - downloadable or stream on demand from the Truefire app. You could easily spend a year or more with one lesson

I have purchased several blues based finger picking lessons that are very very good

I admit that I do not carve out the time necessary to get my money's worth but I always find that there will be at least a lick or a phrase or a technique that stays with me and becomes part of my style that I will pick up from one of my Truefire practice sessions

[ramonesfreak]

This is a cool lesson. I highly recommend digesting it because whether using odd tunings or not, you can really amuse yourself for hours for the rest of your playing life

Back in the 90s i had a GF that bought me a nice deering 5 string banjo. but I just did not enjoy learning scrugg 3 finger rolls no matter how much i like hearing them. instead i naturally started playing very well in clawhammer style and soon transferred that over to guitar because guitar is my main instrument and the style can really have some power when you get it down

molly does it well. just skip to the end at little sadie to see what its about

[craigster59]

I've found that a wider nut helps with fingerstyle playing. My Epiphone Blues Master (Keb'mo plays one) is a 1 7/8" nut. Most of my guitars are 1 3/4". The only 1 11/16" I have are a Martin M-38 and a Furch that I'm going to sell.

I have 5 Furch/ Stonebridge guitars so one has to go.

[LWJ]

^^^You guys are great! Thanks! Just the kick in the rear that I needed.

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by TimT

I don't think I can use the original style tuners... apparently I drilled out the holes to fit the new tuners...

I wonder if the holes for your pegs are bigger than the bushings that should be installed with the tuners. Or maybe there are oversize bushings available if needed.




You could call StewMac to see what suggestions they might have.

https://www.stewmac.com/

[flatbutt]

Check out this guy's technique