A GUITAR CHAT thread

[Steve Carlton]

If you're in southern CA, there's a brand new guitar store called Organic Sounds Select Guitars in Santa Ana. I wish it was closer to where I live.

https://organicsoundsguitars.com/

The owner, Larry Sogolow, is a guitar lover who changed careers to open up a top-notch guitar store. I saw a thread about it on Acoustic Guitar Forum that referenced this interview on the Santa Cruz Coffee Break videos.



I emailed Larry a congrats on his beautiful new store and we've talked a few times. There couldn't be a more gracious guy to chat with! He carries brands that he feels best represent different price ranges- including Santa Cruz, Huss and Dalton, Larrivée, National Reso-Phonic, and Alvarez. His videos playing the guitars are excellent quality- most of the compositions are his own. All his videos are here. Check out the "Huss and Dalton TOM-M - Italian Spruce/Sinker Mahogany"- he does an excellent cover of Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush." The "National ResoPhonic Guitars: M1 Tricone Deep Body with Figured Maple and M14 Thunderbox" video will make you want a resonator...

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=organic+sounds+guitars

[Steve Carlton]

I enjoy watching Mark Knopfler talk about playing guitar. Somewhere I heard him describe it as 'making your fingers go where they don't want to go." Here's an example.




I don't think my memory is nearly as good as it used to be. Repetition is the sledgehammer to overcome that, and it's more of a battle than I expected. Right now I'm working on "Bitter Creek" by the Eagles and it really comes alive if you find a lesson that teaches it with the right chords in the original Double Drop D tuning (the 1st and 6th strings dropped a full step from E to D). I'm using this guy's lesson:

https://www.jerrysguitarbar.com/guitar-video-lessons/individual-songs/eagles-bitter-creek/


Soon I'm going to work on this version of "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode. This guy's lesson format is outstanding:

[Jeff Alton]

Great looking store offerings. Would love to swing by if ever in the area.

[Steve Carlton]

This guy is selling a herd of guitars, looks like to fund his honeymoon or some such. I've only heard of some of the brands. Looks like he's a moderator there and gets involved with the custom builds. Some of these are stunning.

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=654337

[Steve Carlton]

I guess if you're playing with banjos, you may need the new Martin Custom Shop Super D to be heard...

https://www.russomusic.com/blogs/articles/introducing-the-martin-custom-shop-super-d

[Jeff Alton]

He is clearing out some unique pieces.

Attended the Vancouver International Guitar Festival today. Lost of small boutique manufactures as well as some big names. Good show.

[HobieMarty]

I have my Grandfather's 1965 Silvertone electric guitar and amp, all original and complete with case and foot switch. Silvertone guitars were sold through Sears stores and various companies manufactured the guitars and amps under the Sivertone name throughout the years. The guitar and amp I have were manufactured by Danelectro.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[craigster59]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

This guy is selling a herd of guitars, looks like to fund his honeymoon or some such. I've only heard of some of the brands. Looks like he's a moderator there and gets involved with the custom builds. Some of these are stunning.

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=654337

I saw that yesterday on the AGF. That's some high dollar stuff. I've been getting ready to post some stuff in their classifieds, needing to thin the herd a bit. Was going to try Reverb but have heard that they can hit you with some high fees.

[Steve Carlton]

True about Reverb. I had no success with craigslist for many weeks on a mainstream Martin for $1,500, so I consigned it to a local dealer that carries Martin and it's a good fit with them because they don't have a brand new competitive unit. They said it could take 2 weeks or 2 months- we'll see, but they'll give me a good net price on it.

Trade-in can be the best, but obviously only if you're buying something. Selling something yourself sucks, I think. I see stuff on AGF that gets reduced and bumped to the top for months. Seems like boutique stuff is hit or miss.

[Steve Carlton]

I have a 25 year old Santa Cruz dreadnought and the old Waverly tuners on it are not smooth. I was researching what tuners to put on it based on quality, performance, footprint, looks, and originality. The Waverlys are owned and controlled by StewMac (Stewart-MacDonald Mfg), and their pricing is high at $195 for what I need vs $70-90 elsewhere for competitive quality. To be honest, I don't see how little machines like this are as cheap as they are. I could picture them being a lot more expensive for what they are.

In talking to StewMac, they apparently are making the same tuners they made 25 years ago, so the fit would be good and I wouldn't be exposing a shadow that might have developed under the existing tuners. GOTOH got high marks for quality, but some were recommending the OEM tuners, which I was inclined to do for an extra $100. Most said the Waverlys were of excellent quality, and a local builder of high-end guitars said he uses them for a reason. He also mentioned they have a lifetime warranty and will usually replace them if asked. I didn't think the warranty would apply to me since I didn't buy the guitar or tuners new, but very politely asked StewMac if they could help me. To my astonishment, they said to give them a description of my issue (which was unevenness in turning the knobs) and they would process a free replacement. So, I received the free tuners, bushings, and screws yesterday. They will look much better on the guitar, too.

[ramonesfreak]

^^ just like classic cars, keep the old original ones in the case

On my Santa Cruz I had a waverly that failed. Called Santa Cruz and they sent a few new ones

My next Santa Cruz a few years later, same model, I noticed they now ship with Santa Cruz branded open tuners. No idea who makes them though. No issues with them yet after 18 years

[TimT]

I recently bought a PRS SE "Pauls Guitar" I know its the PRS low end offering...

However its one of the best playing guitars I've ever had....

Part of my collection... I have some odd balls squirreled away

Gibson ES 125 3/4... PRS SE "Pauls".... 1978 Ibanez "Randy Scruggs"

[ramonesfreak]

Nice. I have a 1990 prs custom 24 bought back in 1990. Haven’t played it much in 20 years but can’t seem to let it go. Scarlet sunburst with moons instead of birds

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by ramonesfreak

My next Santa Cruz a few years later, same model, I noticed they now ship with Santa Cruz branded open tuners. No idea who makes them though. No issues with them yet after 18 years

I came across that. I think they were Grovers. Not easy to find the answer when you're looking. I think the humidity over the years influences how the tuners hold up.

[Jeff Alton]

TimT, nice colleciton. I have seen you post them before, but I must say, you choose well.

Cheers

[Superman]

I lube tuners, and I also put lightweight (Hipshot Ultralights) on all my gigging basses. Basses are heavy. The lighter Fender basses are under 9 pounds, but some are heavier and even a half-pound makes a difference during a four-hour gig. Further, bass necks are long (34-inch scale), and the weight of the heavy stock tuners causes "neck dive" where the neck basically tries to move toward the ground unless you are holding it. Lightweight tuners help address all these problems. I don't have a gigging Fender bass that weights more than 8 lbs 3 oz! I have a Jazz bass (heavier than Precisions) that weighs only 8 lbs, 1 oz! Probably none of this will resonate with folks who do not struggle with the struggles of bass-playing.

But yeah....crappy tuners will work better after a drop or two of 3-in-1 oil.

[TimT]

I just took that Gibson out of like 20 year slumber.. I can't find the bridge?..

Off to check Stew Mac

[Superman]

I'm just trying to find the bridge! Has anyone seen the bridge? Where's the confounded bridge?

[TimT]

My Ibanez weighs a robust 9.8#... its actually tiring to play for to long...

The PRS is 6.8#....probably one of the reasons I pick that up more often

Have any of you seen this? I stumbled upon it the other day

Moises its an Ai program that deconstructs songs from youtube, etc. into tracks..

Live tracks it has trouble with... bleed between mics etc... but some studio tracks get seperated well...

Toggle on and off track and play your leads, rhythm's, bass..etc..

Its like $40/yr so

[stevej37]

Calling Les Paul.....