Rudi

Oh, I wont normally use much if any gain either. I dont see how you can judge anything with distortion going on. Will it sound ok with distortion? If it passes the clean test, yes. Anything would.

That Times Square Shop vid: It's the worst jam I've ever seen! The worst thing to do is allow yourself to compete with the salesperson. Or maybe there is. I've seen people so intimidated that they basically throw a lot of questions at the salesman that add up to 'Is this any good?' (why yes, its great!). 'Do you think someone like me should buy it?' (certainly! If you really cant afford a HellDemon Stratocruiser that is...). Seriously. I know what you mean, but the shops I've been to are not nearly so bad. You will usually get a booth to play in. If its an expensive model & a staff person has to be present, thats fine. He can do his little showoff piece and then when he hands it to me I will often just hand it straight back because of something little thing that doesnt sound or feel right. This only takes a few seconds. Maybe 3 to 6 seconds tops. I reject most of the guitars I try that quickly. If I do eventually handle something that takes my interest he can sit and watch me carefully play & analyse each note on each string chromatically from top to bottom. Then bend strings (both directions if possible) on maybe 60% of all notes from top to bottom. Then I will re-check intonation where it sounds off. Something always sounds off. At this stage I'm figuring out if its something that can be corrected or not. If not, can I live with it? Then volume off. Checking tuners, hardware, pickups, nut saddle adjustements, neck straightness/relief. Listen to it acousticaly with an ear to the body. Listening for odd vibrations of loose nuts, wiring etc. Sometimes, I may ask for some some adjustment to saddle or truss rod before continuing. I've not been refused yet. If so, I will then have to repeat the whole procedure again. If the guitar makes it this far (50% chance?): Then I will pay closer attention to sound & tone. Ensure all strings maintain proportional volume at all tone & amp EQ settings. Tone quality any good? This assessment has been going on all along but now its dedicated attention to find usable & pleasant tones. This is the part where a decision is pretty much made. Only after this sort of inspection, will I play any music at all. I will play aggressively (especially on acoustics). I will play softly. Then just play for enjoyment. If I'm not enjoying the experience its usually because something is still lacking. If I do enjoy it, I will quickly forget about the guitar. That is when I know I want it. I shouldnt be analysing the guitar when I'm playing properly, I just need to enjoy it enough to want to keep playing. For the sucessful candidate, the inspection takes about 25 to 35 minutes.

Thats facinating history Mike. Also that the best Gibsons are made now. Are they still made in USA? Because I'm sure you are aware that there have been assertions that they are not. Or perhaps just finished in USA? As for the Epis. I would like to find a 339 to try. They sound good on YouTube anyway.

The 11's still have the wound 3rd which is nice. I'm still somewhat confused as to how this rich sound is achieved. The Godin Kingpin I tried in Exeter was so bland. It looks the part and played beautifully. The Epiphone Broadway didnt have it either (at least the one I played), and that did have a Gibson like build. Mike just seems to be able to pick out something spec-wise and find what he's looking for.

I'm not so sure myself now

Ive never heard of anyone hunting for licks before. ... and theres a whole web-site for this!

I suppose you could record what you have. You could annotate the lyrics. If you have confidence in your lyrics, they should be able to say what you want. That is an ideal though. Many people have no clue what mine are about.

Ah so thats facebook!

I put this up as a blog entry too. (so I can retrieve it if needed in future) Instrument cases. Pitfalls, Advice and Prayer. Cautionary tale #1 On picking up a guitar from the luthier, he pointed out that the tip of my guitar’s headstock was resting on the base of the case. In other words it was not being supported by the neck as it should be. He warned me that he had seen a lot of broken necks due to poorly fitting hard cases and that a heavy shunt or two could do that. He actually told me that a gig-bag was safer. He was referring to the old Fender case that I’ve been using for more than 40 years. I used to keep a Strat in there, but for the last 17 years or so it’s been home to a Jackson guitar. It has been fine, even though it’s had the odd tumble to & from gigs. This usually happens when making an emergency stop with a vehicle loaded with band gear. But I heeded his warning and did something about it. There is a neck support ridge in the case but it's only good for the zero relief type of Fender headstock. The Jackson headstock has a backward tilt angle of about 10 degrees & that’s why it was touching bottom. When I got home, I measured the gap in the case where the neck ridge was. I then got hold of some spare pipe lagging and cut it in half lengthwise and wedged it over the ridge & between the sides. I used a bread knife. Pipe lagging has plenty of give, so it’s easy to make an interference fit. It fit the case well and needed no further adjustment. Lastly I placed the Jackson back in the case and the mod supported the neck nicely. I checked to see if the body was still supported properly (not just resting on the strap pin part). The job took about 5 minutes in all. It didn’t look very pretty but it was now functioning as it should. Lesson : Understand how the case should support & protect the instrument. If it doesn’t, change it. Cautionary tale #2 Later, when buying another guitar, the salesman told me that it ‘comes with its own case’. Thinking that the case was made for the guitar I opted to take the case. When I got home I realised that the case was actually a generic 3rd party one. It also didn’t fit properly. The neck ridge did keep the headstock off the bottom but it didn’t hold the neck in place. When the case was picked up by the carry handle, the neck slid down out of the slot and the whole guitar rotated inside the case. Obviously it only stopped when the headstock impacted on the side. The case was also too long and the guitar slid freely backwards and forwards as well. Lesson: Always check the case yourself and do so thoroughly. Cautionary tale #3 I needed a new guitar case. I called the shop that supplied the guitar. The assistant tried another guitar like mine in some cases and got back me. His e-mail gave me the make & model of the case. He said it was a ‘snug’ fit. A couple of weeks later I was ready to go & fetch the case. I called to check with them first. Another assistant re-checked the case and he reported that despite the snug fit, it was too deep for my guitar. He had looked at the case more thoroughly and saved me a wasted trip. With this situation several things could have gone wrong. Had they sent it mail order, I would have got a bad fit case. I could have visited the shop without the guitar and brought home the bad fit case. Lesson learned: Check every aspect of the fit, including the depth. Always take your guitar along. In Conclusion: If you are buying a third party case, you need to be very sure it’s going to be fit for purpose. The guitar should have no free movement along length, width & depth. The body should lay flat and the neck should be supported. When checking a case in a shop, place the guitar into the case yourself and do the following: Check the neck is supported and that the head stock is isolated. Feel underneath the headstock. There should be a gap. The neck should be held firmly in place with the case closed. With the guitar inside, pick up the case by the carry handle and make sure it doesn’t slide out of position. There should be no forward or sideways movement (length & width). Depth (thickness) fit. If the case is too small you will not be easily able to close the lid. Do not force it, especially with an acoustic guitar inside. To ensure it’s not too big, close the lid and do up all the clasps. Pick up the case and place it upright on the floor (lower bout on ground and head pointing upward) and tilt it forwards carefully. Does the headstock fall forward into the lid? If you have a case that doesn’t fit your guitar properly. You may be able to modify it. I was lucky with the pipe lagging solution. It usually isn’t that simple. Foam and/or polystyrene can be cut to shape & used to fill gaps in the case. This is usually a temporary solution, as those ‘bits’ will get lost in time. Polystyrene (EPS) can be cut with hot wire cutters without risk of producing noxious gases. It can also be cut (with care) using a serrated knife making a sawing action. Foam (spongy type) can be awkward to cut. Do not risk using hot wire cutters on this stuff. The best thing to use is an electric carving knife (yes, the sort you carve the roast turkey with). Check out Youtube vids of Pelican gun cases. The interior foam is cut to shape using this method. You could also strip out your flight case and use large sheets of foam as per the Pelican case example. Before you do, make sure your case is sturdy enough. The interior may be braced with some of the parts you strip out. Try to flex the lid and the base by holding them by diagonal corners and carefully bending them. If they flex too easily it might not be up to the job at all. If you use the foam ‘bit n pieces’ modification. Consider taping the parts together and covering them in a suitable fabric. Sewing is a skillset most of us don’t have. You could staple the fabric, but you must do this with the covering inside out. Do not allow staples to come into contact with your nice shiny guitar. If you don’t care what it looks like, just use lots of gaffa tape. Finally. There are some very cheap hard cases out there. If you are gigging the guitar, they may not be good enough. Hiscox cases are expensive, but are a very good build standard. Check these out even if you don’t buy one. It will give you some idea of what to aim for. I’m not even going to get into the business of sending the instrument as freight. Don’t do it. If you really must, get properly insured first. And if you got religion, pray. Rudi

Unusual for a blog entry. I am posting it here in addition to the forum so I can retrieve it if needed in future. Instrument cases. Cautionary tale #1 On picking up a guitar from the luthier, he pointed out that the tip of my guitar’s headstock was resting on the base of the case. In other words it was not being supported by the neck as it should be. He warned me that he had seen a lot of broken necks due to poorly fitting hard cases and that a heavy shunt or two could do that. He actually told me that a gig-bag was safer. He was referring to the old Fender case that I’ve been using for more than 40 years. I used to keep a Strat in there, but for the last 17 years or so it’s been home to a Jackson guitar. It has been fine, even though it’s had the odd tumble to & from gigs. This usually happens when making an emergency stop with a vehicle loaded with band gear. But I heeded his warning and did something about it. There is a neck support ridge in the case but it was only good for the zero relief type of Fender headstock. The Jackson headstock has a backward tilt angle of about 10 degrees & that’s why it was touching bottom. When I got home, I measured the gap in the case where the neck ridge was. I then got hold of some spare pipe lagging and cut it in half lengthwise and wedged it over the ridge & between the sides. I used a bread knife. Pipe lagging has plenty of give, so it’s easy to make an interference fit. It fit the case well and needed no further adjustment. Lastly I placed the Jackson back in the case and the mod supported the neck nicely. I checked to see if the body was still supported properly (not just resting on the strap pin part). The job took about 5 minutes in all. It didn’t look very pretty but it was now functioning as it should. Lesson : Understand how the case should support & protect the instrument. If it doesn’t, change it. Cautionary tale #2 Later, when buying another guitar, the salesman told me that it ‘comes with its own case’. He also said that he could make a reduction if I didn’t want the case. Thinking that the case was made for the guitar I opted to take the case. When I got home I realised that the case was actually a generic 3rd party one. It also didn’t fit properly. The neck ridge did keep the headstock off the bottom but it didn’t hold the neck in place. When the case was picked up by the carry handle, the neck slid down out of the slot and the whole guitar rotated inside the case. Obviously it only stopped when the headstock impacted on the side. The case was also too long and the guitar slid freely backwards and forwards as well. Lesson: Always check the case yourself and do so thoroughly. Cautionary tale #3 I needed a new guitar case. I called the shop that supplied the guitar. The assistant tried another guitar like mine in some cases and got back me. His e-mail gave me the make & model of the case. He said it was a ‘snug’ fit. A couple of weeks later I was ready to go & fetch the case. I called to check with them first. Another assistant re-checked the case and he reported that despite the snug fit, it was too deep for my guitar. He had looked at the case more thoroughly and saved me a wasted trip. With this situation several things could have gone wrong. Had they sent it mail order, & I would had a bad fit case. I could have visited the shop without the guitar and brought home the bad fit case. Lesson learned: Check every aspect of the fit, including the depth. Always take your guitar along. In Conclusion: If you are buying a third party case, you need to be very sure it’s going to be fit for purpose. The guitar should have no free movement along length, width & depth. The body should lay flat and the neck should be supported. When checking a case in a shop, place the guitar into the case yourself and do the following: Check the neck is supported and that the head stock is isolated. Feel underneath the headstock. There should be a gap. The neck should be held firmly in place with the case closed. With the guitar inside, pick up the case by the carry handle and make sure it doesn’t slide out of position. There should be no forward or sideways movement (length & width). Depth (thickness) fit. If the case is too small you will not be easily able to close the lid. Do not force it, especially with an acoustic guitar inside. To ensure it’s not too big, close the lid and do up all the clasps. Pick up the case and place it upright on the floor (lower bout on ground and head pointing upward) and tilt it forwards carefully. Does the headstock fall forward into the lid? If you have a case that doesn’t fit your guitar properly. You may be able to modify it. I was lucky with the pipe lagging solution. It usually isn’t that simple. Foam and/or polystyrene can be cut to shape & used to fill gaps in the case. This is usually a temporary solution, as those ‘bits’ will get lost in time. Polystyrene (EPS) can be cut with hot wire cutters without risk of producing noxious gases. It can also be cut (with care) using a serrated knife making a sawing action. Foam (spongy type) can be awkward to cut. Do not risk using hot wire cutters on this stuff. The best thing to use is an electric carving knife (yes, the sort you carve the roast turkey with). Check out Youtube vids of Pelican gun cases. The interior foam is cut to shape using this method. You could also strip out your flight case and use large sheets of foam as per the Pelican case example. Before you do, make sure your case is sturdy enough. The interior may be braced with some of the parts you strip out. Try to flex the lid and the base by holding them by diagonal corners and carefully bending them. If they flex too easily it might not be up to the job at all. If you use the foam ‘bit n pieces’ modification. Consider taping the parts together and covering them in a suitable fabric. Sewing is a skillset most of us don’t have. You could staple the fabric, but you must do this with the covering inside out. Do not allow staples to come into contact with your nice shiny guitar. If you don’t care what it looks like, just use lots of gaffa tape. Finally. There are some very cheap hard cases out there. If you are gigging the guitar, they may not be good enough. Hiscox cases are expensive, but are a very good build standard. Check these out even if you don’t buy one. It will give you some idea of what you to aim for. I’m not even going to get into the business of sending the instrument as freight. Don’t do it. If you really must, get properly insured first. And if you got religion, pray.

Looks like I wasted my time all the same. You are mixing up keys with scales now.

It never even occured to me to use hammer ons & pull off on bass. I dont even use them much on guitar anymore. I'll give it a whirl.

Oh ok. I get it. Adding a capo can brighten up the sound, but there should be no appreciable difference between using a G shape on fret 1 (Ab) or fret 2 (A). Singing: We all find keys that suit our voice best. But if you can sing in Bb and Ab ok, but not able to sing in A, that would be weird. Unless of course you are changing the octave you sing in at this point. If not then I am at a loss to understand why. I can only speculate that it’s something psychological? Consider this. These are not all flat keys. For example in your OP you mention being able to sing better in Cb. The thing is, that there is no Cb. The correct name is B (natural). The reason is that there isn’t a whole tone between B and C. It’s only a half tone interval. The same thing applies to E and F, meaning that there is no Fb either. As for the other flats you mention, it’s just a matter of preference how you name them. Ab sits between G and A, and can also be expressed as either Ab or G#. So Ab is G#. In music notation it is a matter of context. But when speaking of these notes as keys (as we are) it makes no difference. Similarly, Db sits between D and E, so can be expressed as E#. So you can equally claim that you sing better in sharp keys. I realise that none of this has not helped with your question but I'm at a loss to understand why this is, unless of course you are changing octave at these crossover points! Rudi

Dull. Dont like it.

I doubt there is any why. I dont know what you mean by G/C capo 1 & 2? As for the rest, its just probably your preference.

I think I got the last couple, but they were tenuous anyway... On Sir Francis Drake - Youngbloods https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIF.mP5U5xcAimj7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTByZWc0dGJtBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMQ--?p=on+sir+francis+drake+youngbloods&vid=08b50f551a99a82f162e4058f9ca323e&l=6%3A45&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts3.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVN.608032825461965094%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DlcIfz_8WPwY&tit=The+Youngbloods+-+03+-+On+Sir+Francis+Drake+%28by+EarpJohn%29&c=0&sigr=11bkkp2i8&sigt=11pic0emu&sigi=11rmdqoqj&age=1394354324&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av&hsimp=yhs-004&hspart=mozilla&tt=b

Willie the Pimp - Frank Zappa (+ Captain Beefheart & Sugarcane Harris)

Hi Amy, No I write both. I actually have a surfeit of both too. I just need to knuckle down and create & record some songs. Too much work... Not enough time... Sam old! Rudi

Hi Amy, There is of course a collaberation area here. http://forums.songstuff.com/forum/119-songwriting-and-recording-collaboration/ and a 'collaberation group' on the same page. I have not used it myself so I dont know any more than Ive told you here. I do think though that there is an imbalance between lyricists and composers. In other words there are more lyricists. Also remember that under everyones ID icon (whats it called?) at top left corner of each message there is a 'collaberation' line at the bottom of the list. This will identify who is up for it & who isnt. Just click on it to check see. If you find a writer & like their stuff (see links etc) and they are up for collab why not check with them or point them to some of your lyrics? Good luck Rudi

But you'ld have to be crazy going out wearing a hat like that !?

Check out the size of my hat here.. http://forums.songstuff.com/gallery/image/1505-nye2008crop/

Along with the Hagstrom Deuce, I got the Hofner back from the luthier yesterday. The new lighter strings (11s) were on and the action lowered a little. It feels quite transformed. He moved the bridge forwards slightly from my marks (about 3/16"). I couldnt tell any difference to intonation. But the string tension is now much improved. I dont have to break out in a sweat anymore to play it. The sound is very nearly as it was but it doesnt ring out quite so readily. In fairness, I expected that with the string change from 12 to 11. It still has its rich jazz tone and is now very much easier to play. Simon asked if I had tried any other Hofners at the Guitar Village and was this a typical build standard. I think he is quite taken with it. He did photograph the guitars for his facebook page, though I was unable to find them when I checked. Oh yes, and I finally picked out a hard case at Nevada. So I have now retired that flipping cardboard box.

I collected both the Deuce and the Hofner J17 from Simon the luthier yesterday. The J17 is transformed and the Deuce is much improved. I think SImon checked out the string height spec from Hagstrom. He quoted some to me and I recall something similar from Hagstrom. He certainly cut the nut and re-adjusted the truss rod. He said someone had tried to use it to lower the action. I hadnt touched it. Odd. Intonation was adjusted I think. Action was lowered a little. Frets look more than polished. I think he radiused them too. I had asked about the pickup tone-vol issue & provided the circuit diagram. Apparently this is one way of configuring them. He said the pickup were potted and didnt seem to be budget ones. I'll have to evaluate that when I get the chance to crank it up. That may be at a jam session of sorts. A drummer has expressed interest in jamming with some of us old guys in Blown Out so we may do just that and see what comes of it. I may have a little more to add about the Deuce in a future blog entry.

Yep thats what I experience. I had a pretty good lyric that needed one line finishing. I even showed it on here and got several helpful suggestions. So that one line occupied a couple of days of thinking and work. Aftre completing the line. I didnt come back to the lyric for a year, but when I did that one line stood out as being contrived and awful.