Guitars, playing, restoring, building

[roygrip]

Howdy. Been playin' awhile, as a hobby, I also build or restore old electrics, mostly, especially Fender Telecasters. Got a thing for old Tele's, How's bout you?

[roygrip]

A body built from rosewood for a Telecaster

[roygrip]

Jan 21, 2012 11:09:09 GMT -5 deminmaine said:

Nice picture Roy! Nothing like real wood, and rosewood is beautiful. Do you do teh finishing as well?

I too am a guitar enthusiast, although I don't build and restore them.
I have a Fender Strat, although I haven't played that much for a while.
I play accoustic in a band, and so have been concentrating on that. Sort of a fusion Rock/ folk with tinges of "old" country sound.
After a catastrophic (since repaired) failure of the bridge on my Ovation a year + ago, I bought a Martin DC160GTE. Not even a high end Martin, but I'd always wanted a Martin, and finally splurged.

Oh sweet Mama. What a beautiful guitar. For the band I run it through a Boss ME 70 effects board into an accoustic amp (and our PA) I can get everything from a pure accoustic sound to a wah wah or a piercing lead out of it as needed. But man, that accoustic sound is sweet.

Oh, and in the winter it stays in its case with a humidifier when not being played. No more bridge failures I hope! The reason that the bridge popping off the Ovation was so bad was that this was one of the models without a large round sound hole- no way to access behind the bridge to reclamp it to the face. It had to go to Ovation to be repaired, and it took months.

Happy playing, and Rock On!

Very nice! LOL, I think I own that same OVATION! luckily here in CA, we don't worry so much about it. The Martin is sweet! For fooling around, I have a little martin Backpacker. Great sound from a $250 guitar. Yes I redo all the wood, sand, stain, etc. I do all the rewiring and setup. Out of necessatity (no money) I learned early on Now I buy bits and pieces off ebay and restore them, sell em. make a buck or two. I play mostly old blues/rock, influences being old english, Beck, Page, Clapton, Santana, newer being Derek Trucks! LOVE HIS SLIDE!

My main guitars are a '59 Telecaster, '71 ES335 Gibson, and several newer telecasters I've "built" Yes I have a Les Paul stuck in there.
Mostly I play thru a Fender "Woody Pro Jr" tube amp, it's just a little 15watt tube amp, with ALOT of power, my effects are a wah, slowly I've been getting away from my oldschool pedals and into a Digitech PR 350 (not sold yet!) My setup is simple. I do have a 40watt Mustang 2 (Fender amp) for gigging and an old Marshall half stack for the Gibson's

[roygrip]

[Deleted]

I've heard a lot of guitarist say they prefer the sound of older guitars, not because of the build, but because of the way the magnets in the pickups unwind which means over time a warmer, richer sound.

Awesome hobby Roy.

[roygrip]

That's true, JA. Also the older woods have seasoned more over time allowing the guitar to resonate better.

[mmhmm]

I have an old Martin parlor guitar from the 1870s. Gotta admit, it's got a beautiful tone.

[roygrip]

Feb 24, 2012 12:29:24 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

I have an old Martin parlor guitar from the 1870s. Gotta admit, it's got a beautiful tone.

WOW! mmhmm! That's beautiful! That Martin is worth a pretty penny. I have a D-28 from the 60's. Martins, old Fender Hummingbirds, have the best resonnance! Absolutely!

[dancinmama]

DH has played the guitar for decades. When I met him he had an Ovation acoustic. Then a few years later he bought a Fender Strat with a little champ amp (he's gotten a bigger amp since then). Last year I bought him a Gibson Les Paul Blonde Beauty. He found one that was gently used for $1400 - a steal!! Next on his list is a Gibson ES335, but someday he'd also like to get a Telecaster. We have his guitars mounted on the walls in the office/studio and there is room for several more.

[dancinmama]

roygrip: My DH wants to know what you think of the Taylor guitars. He says Taylor acoustics seem to be growing in popularity.

[roygrip]

Feb 26, 2012 9:51:20 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

DH has played the guitar for decades. When I met him he had an Ovation acoustic. Then a few years later he bought a Fender Strat with a little champ amp (he's gotten a bigger amp since then). Last year I bought him a Gibson Les Paul Blonde Beauty. He found one that was gently used for $1400 - a steal!! Next on his list is a Gibson ES335, but someday he'd also like to get a Telecaster. We have his guitars mounted on the walls in the office/studio and there is room for several more.

He sounds like me! I have two Les Paul's as well, and one of my "babies" is my '71 Es-335. Most of the time I play thru a similar amp, like his Fender Champ, mine is a "Woody Pro Jr." Nothing like a small tube amp. I do play thru a huge Marshall as well, but the little Pro Jr is where it's at. I like the simplicity of the Tele's and the lightness of them nowadays. Les Paul's are great, but heavy!

[roygrip]

Feb 26, 2012 9:59:17 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

roygrip: My DH wants to know what you think of the Taylor guitars. He says Taylor acoustics seem to be growing in popularity.

YES! Taylor acoustics have grown in popularity, I've played several. They're up there in sound, but my prefernce is still my Martin (guess I'm old school) But a Taylor, a Martin, or a Fender are great acoustics. Not to be sneezed at is a Takamine. I have a 12 string, for a $600 guitar, it's got great tone!

[dancinmama]

Feb 27, 2012 9:46:33 GMT -5 roygrip said:

Feb 26, 2012 9:51:20 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

DH has played the guitar for decades. When I met him he had an Ovation acoustic. Then a few years later he bought a Fender Strat with a little champ amp (he's gotten a bigger amp since then). Last year I bought him a Gibson Les Paul Blonde Beauty. He found one that was gently used for $1400 - a steal!! Next on his list is a Gibson ES335, but someday he'd also like to get a Telecaster. We have his guitars mounted on the walls in the office/studio and there is room for several more.

He sounds like me! I have two Les Paul's as well, and one of my "babies" is my '71 Es-335. Most of the time I play thru a similar amp, like his Fender Champ, mine is a "Woody Pro Jr." Nothing like a small tube amp. I do play thru a huge Marshall as well, but the little Pro Jr is where it's at. I like the simplicity of the Tele's and the lightness of them nowadays. Les Paul's are great, but heavy!

You guys crack me up. When he says he wants another guitar I kid him saying, "Geez, it's not like you can play more than one at a time". He plans on retiring this year so he's going to have a lot more time to "look". He says "the hunt" is almost just as fun as the acquisition.

[roygrip]

Hi Lone, no, I'm a grip in the studios, hence my nic. It started as I was younger out of necessity. I wanted nice guitars, but could not afford them, so I bought them in pieces or as projects needing work. As I repaired I sold them and so on got better and better guitars. Now I can afford to keep the ones I like, or buy a special on.

[roygrip]

Hence it's a side gig

[roygrip]

Feb 27, 2012 10:04:42 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

Feb 27, 2012 9:46:33 GMT -5 roygrip said:

He sounds like me! I have two Les Paul's as well, and one of my "babies" is my '71 Es-335. Most of the time I play thru a similar amp, like his Fender Champ, mine is a "Woody Pro Jr." Nothing like a small tube amp. I do play thru a huge Marshall as well, but the little Pro Jr is where it's at. I like the simplicity of the Tele's and the lightness of them nowadays. Les Paul's are great, but heavy!

You guys crack me up. When he says he wants another guitar I kid him saying, "Geez, it's not like you can play more than one at a time". He plans on retiring this year so he's going to have a lot more time to "look". He says "the hunt" is almost just as fun as the acquisition.

LOL, I so relate! My wife would kill me if I didn't make a healthy profit on my projects ;D. But I do turn enough of them, to at least pay for my obsession. Yes currently I have 15 guitars. 5 more and I'll have 1 for each finger and toe

[roygrip]

Feb 27, 2012 10:30:55 GMT -5 @lonewolf said:

Feb 27, 2012 10:25:20 GMT -5 roygrip said:

Hi Lone, no, I'm a grip in the studios, hence my nic. It started as I was younger out of necessity. I wanted nice guitars, but could not afford them, so I bought them in pieces or as projects needing work. As I repaired I sold them and so on got better and better guitars. Now I can afford to keep the ones I like, or buy a special on.

I think this would make an awesome business for you.
What does a grip do?

Well I guess it is a business, as I do fix them up and sell them for a profit, lol.

A grip does a number of things. We work for the Director of Photography, together with the lighting dept, we "shape the lighting" (if you've ever seen pics of a film set, those "flags" in front of lights) We're responsible for camera movement, (those little dollies on track you see, or cranes with cameras mounted, or cameras mounted on cars) We're responsible for some set building as well.

[mmhmm]

Since you refurbish elderly guitars, roygrip, perhaps I'll will mine to you. It deserves the love of someone who'll appreciate it. I plunk on it now and then, but I've never been particularly talented at it.

[roygrip]

Feb 27, 2012 16:54:34 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

Since you refurbish elderly guitars, roygrip, perhaps I'll will mine to you. It deserves the love of someone who'll appreciate it. I plunk on it now and then, but I've never been particularly talented at it.

mmhmm ;D Beautiful thought. In terms of talent. What I was taught early on, what I teach the few students I've taught, what any "good" guitar player will tell you. Practice and repitition are the key to playing the guitar. You practice those notes, everyday, even 10 minutes! But everyday. My heros, Stevie Ray Vaughn, locked himself in his bedroom at 14, and didn't come out till he was 16. Listening to the radio and copying what he heard. He couldn't read music, but he practised. That's all it is, practice.

I have a guitar everywhere. One at work, to fool around on, one in the truck for wherever I happen to be, and one in pretty much every room. I pick them up when I have an idle few minutes, I practice.

[roygrip]

Here you go, for anyone struggling with guitar........ I give you:

[dancinmama]

Feb 27, 2012 10:28:30 GMT -5 roygrip said:

Feb 27, 2012 10:04:42 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

You guys crack me up. When he says he wants another guitar I kid him saying, "Geez, it's not like you can play more than one at a time". He plans on retiring this year so he's going to have a lot more time to "look". He says "the hunt" is almost just as fun as the acquisition.

LOL, I so relate! My wife would kill me if I didn't make a healthy profit on my projects ;D. But I do turn enough of them, to at least pay for my obsession. Yes currently I have 15 guitars. 5 more and I'll have 1 for each finger and toe

I hate to be a stick-in-the-mud, but he only has room for (5) more on the walls. When the walls are filled, he's done.

[roygrip]

But, But, But, you can take other things off the walls! Build another story! Get a bigger house! All viable options!

[roygrip]

Precision guitar kits. One of the nicer kits out there. Assmbling for a friend, who "got lost" (lol)

Gets a $2000 guitar for $300 and 20 hrs of work.

[Deleted]

I play the guitar for fun. I am not good. I got some books with some CD's and learned to play. And, if i start to sing along, i can quickly clear out the whole house!

[roygrip]

LOL SHOOBY. Now get an electric with a HUGE amp and you can clear the block!

[Deleted]

Music is a great hobby. I love listening to my daughter practice the piano.

[roygrip]

Shooby, it most certainly is. I taught my daughter to play the guitar, just as I learned very young to do. It's a common denominator in our family get togethers and has brought us hrs of family enjoyment

[Deleted]

I was fortunate enough to find an awesome teacher for my daughter. He is highly trained, a professional pianist and has degrees from the Cincinnati school of music and so forth. He is a bit scary and intimidating because it is obvious he is brilliant. I am a bit afraid of him too! But the progress my daughter has made playing under him is just fantastic. He really emphasizes theory, scales and is teaching her to read music in way i never would have been able to. He is teaching her to read music almost like reading a book. That instead of looking at actual notes, she look at the musical phrases, groupings kind of like reading a book and reading phrases and paragraphs instead of seeing individual letters. I wish he had been my teacher!

[roygrip]

Mar 22, 2012 8:17:12 GMT -5 @shooby said:

I was fortunate enough to find an awesome teacher for my daughter. He is highly trained, a professional pianist and has degrees from the Cincinnati school of music and so forth. He is a bit scary and intimidating because it is obvious he is brilliant. I am a bit afraid of him too! But the progress my daughter has made playing under him is just fantastic. He really emphasizes theory, scales and is teaching her to read music in way i never would have been able to. He is teaching her to read music almost like reading a book. That instead of looking at actual notes, she look at the musical phrases, groupings kind of like reading a book and reading phrases and paragraphs instead of seeing individual letters. I wish he had been my teacher!

Good! She is getting the correct classical training, heavy on theory and disipline. The theory is why she is understanding phrasing. Anyone can teach repitition of notes, but to understand the why of music, one must learn theory, why you use one series of notes or chords instead of another. A guitar's keyboard can be transposed onto a piano, I was lucky in that my first 5yrs of guitar were with a similar instructor. She will have this with her forever. Good for you!

[honeysweetEFCOwithsugar]

A local guitar store is closing up shop.

I recently picked up a new Marshall DSL15H for $380