Chat Chat Chat Chat Chat

[TapperMike]

Yep circumstances change and not always for the better.  But hope springs eternal.

My point in buying the last car was to... get another job where the pay is better.   Sadly I got lazy.  Also I wanted to build up my resume a bit more.  If I stay at my job for at least a full year it will look better then simply cutting and running.  There is a ten year gap in my cooking experience.

 

That saturn I had was as stripped down as a car gets for simplicity with the exception of the ecm.  When I purchased the car (even now) I'd see them everywhere.  Same SL2 sedan same year.  There is an identical one to mine parked at the apartment building directly across from me... As well as behind my building.  I see about 10 of them a day on my walks to and from work and to and from the grocery store.

 

I haven't had a Honda yet.  I did have two Nissans.  well Datsuns to be precise.  One was a '72.5 (the .5 is important) pickup.

 

That thing was terrible on the road. A small orange pickup.  Even looking past the holes in the floorboard which forced rain and snow back up at me as drove.  I put a car engine in the bed to keep the weight down and that didn't even help.  There were times I'd be sitting in the middle lane of traffic trying to make a left turn and not getting a lick of traction due to black ice.

 

The killer was.... Once upon a time I went to a Christmas Party at my Great Aunts.  It was in the hills.  Lost control of the truck and used a tree for braking on the median.  The cops showed up, were real nice and had me wait at the station till my father arrived.  When I hit the tree It broke the idler arm.  So no problem I'll simply have that replaced and a few other things and be back on the road.  This was back in '79.    All the auto parts stores and repair shops even datsun dealerships laughed in my face.  Parts stores just said it's foreign  we don't deal in foreign parts.  The dealerships said they didn't carry parts for a truck that old nor could they get them.  Here's the kicker.  Back in 72 Datsun produced two different trucks under the same make / model.  The 72.5 had a different idler arm then either the 72 or the 73.   The truck sat for a year looking for the part.  Meanwhile someone else who had the same truck wanted mine for parts.  Which is how it finally went.

 

As for the '74 Datsun B210 it had lousy compression and a very rough transmission.  Lasted me... 6 months.  Back in 86.

 

With regards to small cars and highways.... I've found that.... my Subaru wagon (pre outback), the Saturn and my Cavalier were quite nimble.  the "mid-size' sedans such as Chevy Corsica etc on the other hand were sluggish due to putting an undersized engine into an oversized car.   Heavier cars have given me more issue than lighter cars.

 

 

 

 

[starise]

I never owned any of those older Datsuns. It sounds like you ran into a few really bad situations there. I did own one of the older Subarus. It was terrible on gas and I ended up changing the timing belt on it. Nothing really great in the performance department. A really nice vehicle though that I thought was laid out well.

 

I had a similar situation when I first came up north and wasn't accustomed to drive in the snow. My car kinda kissed a tree. It was an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme.Silver with a rich red interior...not quite a pimp car but close. This car could go 100mph and you didn't feel like it was even moving. You felt like you were sitting on a living room couch when you rode in it because it had those nice plush power seats. Power everything in it and rode like a cadillac, I bought it from my neighbors son who was a successful Atlanta businessman. Kissing the tree didn't really do much to it...just put a dent in the front bumper. I back out and drove away from it. I was only doing 35 when I hit it.

 

I've had some fun memories depending on how you look at it. I built a 66 Ford Mustang up from scratch with the small 289 engine in it. I still remember one night driving it at 120mph on retread tires...I should be dead, I didn't have the carpet in it yet and there were sparks  coming up from the floorboard through the shift hole...fun times. There was the time I ran out of gas in the middle of the country and needed to find a solution in an old ford van. The tank still had maybe a half litre in it but not enough to run. I removed the windshield washer tank crawled underneath the truck and drained the remaining gas from the tank. I took the engine cover off since it was an old ford van the engine sat right in front between the seats. I disconnected the fuel hose and ran it into the windsheild washer tank.....that got me home.

[TapperMike]

Trust me, it matters not the brand.  I've gone through cars like doan's has pills. I always catch them on the way out.  Maybe I'll get a year or two at best from one.  I've had my fair share of boats too Pontiac, Olds, Plymouth, Mercury, Lincoln. The bigger the car the shorter the lifespan. ( at least with me) 

[starise]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. I would take you around to look for wheels if I were closer to you. 

 

I had a friend who had one of those huge Plymouths. I don't remember the make but it was a boat of a car. It had the big V8 in it, anyways he had decided it was too far gone to repair. It was missing on one cylinder, so this was a V7 haha.... There were these dirt roads in the woods where we lived and we decided to take it out there and run it to death. It was a lot of fun. He was crazy. At 18 he was hitting Jack Daniels when he got up in the morning. We ran into small trees and pretty much busted everything on the car..it felt destructive . I was amazed that the car just kept on running no matter what we threw at it. Eventually it died. It's probably still there in the middle of the woods with trees growing out of it.

 

Anyways...probably too much talk about cars on a songs forum....

 

.You mentioned Variax. Just curious about your choice?

 

[TapperMike]

Honestly,  The Yamaha Variax Standard which is the base model.

 

I've owned a pacifica back in the 90's and the neck while not identical is very close to my 80's Strat Plus.  Thin C shape. The weight is solid but not overly heavy.  The only thing I don't like about it is the Alnico 5 pups. Punchy and dark.  I'd swap them out for original gold lace sensors any day of the week..

 

With regards to the Tyler versions of Variax.  Honestly I wasn't impressed. The 59 weighed a ton with a fat chunky neck. for a couch guitar I might of survived a while before my leg fell asleep but for standing forget it. The 69 is a crappy neck by design. The action is set higher than I like and all the reports from people who have tried to monkey with the neck most finally just replaced the damn thing.  As for the 89... Maybe if I were much taller. I'm not a fan of oversized "strat" type bodies.  I had a Kramer Stagemaster Deluxe and while I loved the tone I hated the size. 

 

[starise]

I didn't know Yamaha made a variax.  I have the JTV 69 and haven't touched it in awhile. All of the things you say are true. The neck is wider. Lots of folks just replace the neck. The instrument isn't unplayable. I can get used to the neck, however I can certainly see that if you play a fender neck you might notice a difference.. It has those modeled sounds in it which are the main draw The JTV59 was supposed to attract Gibson lovers and it is a decent representation of the Gibson, but as you say, it's not a lightweight guitar...then neither is a Gibson unless you play a semi-hollow.  The sounds are pretty convincing with the exception of the acoustic sounds. They aren't bad, but I play acoustic more and I can tell.

 

I think I've come full circle. I'm the type to be happy with a few key sounds, so I only use it if I'm looking for something I don't usually play, which hasn't been much lately and especially since I'm going in a more acoustic direction. They can be had now for about half of their original price if you shop around. The nice thing is if you're recording you don't need 20 guitars since you can get pretty much any sound out of that one guitar you desire.

 

Like most other manufacturers Lines 6 is always coming out with new products and it can be frustrating when you know your variax will probably be obsolete in a few years or less. I stopped buying their processors at the HD500. When they went to the HD500X I said enough is enough. I'm not going to continue buying just to have the most recent product especially since they release new products about every two years. If the one I have now is good, then no matter what comes after it..it should still be good. They say the new one is better...and on it goes.

[TapperMike]

Yeah,  the acquisition was about a year and a half ago.Though prior to that Yamaha had an agreement with Line 6 to use it's technology. The buyout was inevitable.  Yamaha was also working with Line 6 for the development of Helix.  And some of that comes through in the THR amps made by Yamaha.

 

Regarding technology updates, Isn't it always like that?  I've got a Roland 40 watt cube collecting dust that I haven't plugged into in years and years.  The eq and amp emulations really only come alive when it's cranked up loud enough to have the cops knocking at my door.  It's such a far cry from contemporary plug in technology or even hardware technology.

 

Personally I would love it if line 6 / Yamaha would introduce newer guitar models (something after 1970) into their virtual line up.  Or at-least introduce more pickups.  Yamaha has been doing some amazing co-branding on various models.    

[starise]

On 5/28/2016 at 1:48 PM, TapperMike said:

Personally I would love it if line 6 / Yamaha would introduce newer guitar models (something after 1970) into their virtual line up.  Or at-least introduce more pickups.  Yamaha has been doing some amazing co-branding on various models.

 

Yes that would be interesting. The schtick now amongst the people I hang with is the kemper since it's adaptable with any setup you can put into it. Now this isn't about the guitar but the amp setup.

 

I love those Roland cubes. Good for keys or a guitar. Great product.

[TapperMike]

So the update on the car situation.   I won't bore you with all the misadventures of shopping via craigslist.

 

The short of it is... In the end I bought a 2000 Pontiac Montana

 

It's in great shape.  the odometer reads 214k  However the transmission and engine have less then 60k on them.  The owner had documentation on everything that had been done to the vehicle since he purchased in in 2008

 

Originally I didn't want to pay that little for a vehicle.  It was only $900  I was willing to go 2.5 K even though it was steep but honestly I could not find a vehicle at that price range which was worth it.  Trust me I looked.  Also originally I didn't want another GM product just because I'd had so many of them through the years.  But quality and price lead me in a different direction.

[Rudi]

Mike,

Sounds like you did your homework well on the car. Good luck. I like the colour & the dark windows.

 

On the Line 6 front I noticed a variax 700 at the guitar auction site I check. I've never been to any of these auctions (yet). I would like to but I know I'd buy something.

If I do ever go, I'll take a couple of days off and stay in a hotel over that way.

 

This one is scheduled for the 16th June. I'd like to look over the Tokia models and of course the older archtops. There are usually some 1950's Hofners there but of course at that age they wouldnt have truss rods.

 

http://guitar-auctions.co.uk/catalogue-preview/

[starise]

 Nice gig van!

[TapperMike]

Yup, I'm liking it.  It's actually billed as a 6 passenger station wagon not a mini.  Doesn't have stow and go like Dodge/Chrysler minivans but the back to rows of seats are removable.

 

 

[TapperMike]

Well the honeymoon is over with the Pontiac.  Two days after buying the gig van I rolled down the electric window for the drivers side and now it refuses to go back up. As well I'm having an issue with the ignition.  I have to jiggle the key and hope that it finally clicks in to turn it.  I almost was late for work as I was hoping that simply getting a replacement key would be good enough. 

 

 

@Rudy, 

Regarding the variax 700.  That is a much much older model.  I'm not to sure it will work with workbench.  It uses an older processor and many of the features of the newer models.  With older models you couldn't use the "any tuning" feature for the 12 string models.  As well there was an issue called "Warble"  Most if not all of these old issues have been resolved with the new processor and other features of the HD variety of Variax guitars (JTV, Yamaha Standard)

 

Re Auction.  I've never been to a guitar auction before.  In the Detroit area have "The Guitar Show"

http://www.gordysmusic.com/Guitar_show_Information.html

Vintage dealers from around the US and Canada Meet up for a giant swap meet.  Along with those pedaling cheap guitars.  Back in the 90's there was this strat mania thing happening where a Japanese investor wanted to buy all the 50's and 60's Fender Stratocasters .  They would come in with suitcases of cash hoping to control the vintage strat market. http://guitars.com/newsletter/vintage-instrument-market 

 

I haven't been to the guitar show since the 90's When I did go If a major act was in the area they actually might show up and look at or sign guitars.  I had my Les Paul signed by .... B.B. King.   

[starise]

On the bright side those seem to be smaller problems . At least it isn't engine trouble  Hope you get it all fixed. Did the seller offer any kind of a warranty? A little plastic sheeting might hold you over until you get the window fixed. It sounds like the key core needs to be replaced which hopefully won't be too expensive.

 

I just had a mishap that could have been more serious. Not long ago I added finished step treads onto my existing steps that go up to my second floor. These were  oak step treads that I sanded, stained in a red oak stain and added a layer of synthetic varnish to. I didn't dare make them too slippery, so they were shiny but fairly good for walking on.

They were recently cleaned and dusted with pledge...maybe you know this, pledge is a furniture polish with a silicon base. Silicone makes wood and plastic surfaces shiney. Same ingredient in armorall if you're familiar with it. Silicon is also a lubricant.

Long story short.......I had put on a new pair of white cotton socks first thing in the morning and went for the stair to go down. I might as well put on roller skates. Landed hard on my right ass cheek at the bottom, all 220 lbs of me. The first thing to impact on the way down was  under my right shoulder blade. I think I hit there on the way down. I need to look in the mirror. I probably have a permanent lopsided ass and it hurts like you know what. This was three days ago and I still hurt from it. The scary thing is that I hit right behind where my heart is located with a lot of force, so I hope I haven't torn anything.

I go for the steps with caution now and never again will they be cleaned with a furniture polish.

 

 

[starise]

I'm glad you told Rudy about the older versions of the Variax. The more recent JTV models are way better, though still not spot on for some of the models. I think I would be happy with a Nice Gibson and a Nice Fender Strat. This would cover most any sound I could want in an electric guitar.

 

Not sure how many have found "the" sound that suits them. A Gibson with a setup for some smooth crunch and a Fender set up for some occasional blues are my two favorites. Too much distortion and you loose all the clarity. The JTV can get very very close with the right amps, emulations.

 

Never really gravitated toward the telecaster. I like to add an occasional jangly Rickenbacker to the mix. I guess I'm not hard to please in that regard.

[TapperMike]

No warranty,  It's a 2000.  I purchased via an owner not a dealer or mechanic.  

 

Yikes reads like a bad trip you had there. 

[Rudi]

On 07/06/2016 at 6:30 PM, starise said:

I'm glad you told Rudy about the older versions of the Variax. The more recent JTV models are way better, though still not spot on for some of the models. I think I would be happy with a Nice Gibson and a Nice Fender Strat. This would cover most any sound I could want in an electric guitar.

 

 

I wasn't thinking of buying it. I just thought it might be of interest. I know Mike is very erudite about such tech.

 

There are many other items there that would interest me more.

 

Here is another curiousity. At first I thought it was an original Pro-Rat-In/Electro (Ric) Spanish Guitar. Its actually a Selmer copy. Estimated sale value £100-£200

 

 

This is a genuine Electro Spanish as designed by George Beauchamp

 

Here is one actually being played. I was amazed at how fine it sounds. Playing begins at 2.19

 

[Mahesh]

Hi guys,

 

A famous jazz musician (Christian Galvez who has worked with Stanley Clarke and the likes) is coming to Bangalore in September and I'm one of the musicians in the city who gets to do a song with him. I'm not a jazz musician obviously but I'm doing a jazz standard. I was looking for suggestions. 

 

Something intense/epic that you can think of? I was thinking of a version of Cry Me a River or I Put a Spell on You or something like that. Or Feelin' Good. But that's all I can think of where I get to vocally belt it out and get into the song. Can you think of something?

 

[john]

So many good songs to choose from....  I'll have a think. Blue Moon, the Ballad Of Mack The Knife, Summertime, Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye... Hmmm

[TapperMike]

Two standards every jazz guitar must know.

 

Autumn Leaves - but be careful.  Most keyboard players prefer Cm While most Guitarists prefer Em

Blue Bossa - Prolly the most covered jazz instrumental Bossa Nova (yes more then The Girl From Ipanema )