Little Ibanez still a goodun'

Monday, April 20, 2015 -- Over the weekend I switched my guitar of choice from the Peavey Raptor strat copy and started playing the Ibanez Gio GAX30. I like my Peavey (other than the constant need to retune periodically), but the Ibanez just impresses me each time I play it ... its a well-balanced guitar, easy to play and I think I have the pickups dialed in pretty well. The high E string needs to be raised just a bit, its a little dead when you're trying to sound that string close to the nut .. it may be the

need to check the neck relief.

8:55 a.m. -- But overall, the little Ibanez is winning me over from my Peavey strat. The Peavey is a "fat strat" -- two single coil pups and the bridge is a humbucker. I'm really wanting a strat with the traditional SSS arrangement, and I keep looking at inexpensive Squire strats on eBay.

I'm jonesing for a telecaster, too. Big time, preferably a surf green one, lol! Red, black or butterscotch works too. But I already have a project guitar I really haven't started -- my  Spectrum strat.

The Spectrum project appears to have been a traditional sunburst originally, but the finish has been removed from the front and back of the body. The original finish still exists on the edges, however, which is kind of weird. I really don't want to remove the rest of the finish simply because I don't want to have to worry about sanding off the finish and screwing up its (currently) smooth bout edges.

So the plan is get some sanding sealer and work on the body extensively to get it as smooth and level as possible. After that, I'll paint it, possibly surf green. I've tentatively offered it to my daughter as a blank canvas, but she is so busy she doesn't seem interested.

I need to order the supplies to prep the body, so that's the first step.

-30-

First one, then the other ...

Saturday, April 11, 2015 -- I've been rotating which guitars I've been playing, and this week I've taken back up with my Oscar Schmidt OE-30. It really is a beautiful guitar, save for damage on the lower main bout. There's a couple of cracks in the top at the lower "f" hole, though I'm not convinced these are wood cracks or just finish cracks.

The guitar plays great; I got the guitar dirt cheap on the chance it would play OK ... so far it has.

One interesting note ... for the majority of my guitar playing over the last few years, I'm seated. Well, last night I'm playing "California Girls" with the Beach Boy's 50th anniversary live album, and decide to play standing up a while.

Actually, playing was quite a bit easier because the neck was in a more comfortable position in relation to my  left hand. I'm thinking a tall stool might be a better way to sit and play, rather than my office chair.

Anyway, I've decided that I really, really like the Elixir polyweb strings I put on my  Peavey strat. I have 9s on all of my guitars right now, so when I need to order another couple of sets, I'll buy polywebs I think.

HARD TAIL STRAT?  Every time I pick up my Peavey, I have to retune it. Sometimes it needs returning while I'm playing. This is just part of the tremolo issue I know, though my Peavey doesn't have the tremolo arm, it still has the strat-style tremolo mechanics.

I've decided I'm going to block the tremolo on mine using half-dollars and dimes. It will be an easily reversible mod that should help improve its tuning stability. The mod I saw on Youtube places the half-dollars (taped together in a stack) on the bottom of the tremolo mechanism, and two dimes taped together on the other side.

The bridge on mine stays relatively flat, but I know it shifts some when played. Of all my guitars, it is the one that needs retuning most (of course, all the rest are hard tails).

Rock on!

Enjoying my guitars, planning for my next one ...

Saturday, April 4, 2015 -- Been playing quite a bit in my spare time ... I purchased some lessons

from Scott Grove of Groovy Music Lessons ... I bought like 4 lessons and received an additional 10 or so free. The only problem I have with Scott's lessons is that you have to be pretty damn good to start with ... or have pretty big hands to cover the fretboard as well as he can. I'm not there, lol.

I'm still browsing Youtube and finding some good tidbits there, including some really nice pseudo-surf riffs that really sound unique by picking the notes and playing the chords right at the bridge -- nothing really new, but a nice technique for creating a different sound regardless of the guitar and pickups.

I recently switched from my Ibanez Gio GAX30 as my go-to guitar and picked up the Peavey Raptor strat clone. I recently put some Elixir polywebs on it, and it plays very very sweetly. I've got too many guitars leaning around my office ... the Peavey, the Ibanez, the Oscar Schmidt OE-30 semi-hollowbody, with my Davison Les Paul copy back behind the table. I don't have a hard case for the OS or the LP and I don't have funds to buy them. Actually, I'm more inclined to sell the OE-30 and don't think I'll invest in a case for it.

MY NEXT NEW AXE.  OK, I've decide what I'm going to buy next, and I'm prepared to sell some

of my other hobby stuff to fund it -- my next guitar is the Musicvox Spaceranger.

Yep, I've fallen in love with the funky, chunky look of the entire Musicvox lineup. The Spaceranger is the most radical of the line, followed by the Space Cadet and the more conservative looking MI-5. The company is based in the U.S., but from what I understand the guitars are produced in Indonesia. The reviews I've read have been nothing but glowing -- and the videos really highlight the range of tones, the quality of the fit and finish.

I'm going to liquidate some of my other hobby collection, and probably my OE-30, in order to fund the purchase of a new guitar or two. Musicvox has a couple of guitars listed on eBay, and there are a couple of used Musicvoxes listed in auctions.

Actually, I'm looking at the custom edition Musicvox guitars ... one with three pickups. It's on the order of $1,200 new, but that's still reasonable compared to a new Fender Strat.

There are still some guitars I have the hots for ... I want a real Telecaster, preferably in surf green; I

would like an Epiphone ES335 or similar guitar; heck, let's add a Rickenbacker 12 string, a Fender Musicmaster bass like the one I once owned. Or how about a Fender Jaguar? Yep ... I also would love to have a Gretsch Chet Atkins, though I really need to skill to play it effectively too.

GUITAR I ONCE OWNED.  Browsing eBay recently I was pleased to come across this little jewel .... it was believed to be a Teisco guitar though it didn't have a label, and neither did the one I owned. The machine-tooled metal pickguard looks much like that found on several models -- in fact, its identical to the pickguard on at least one Teisco model.

The one I owned was given to me by Kevin Fuller, a roommate I had when I lived in Jasper, Ind.  Kevin and I were electronic technicians for a company that manufactured electronic organs (the musical kind). Kevin had a beautiful Gibson SG -- cherry finish, late 60s or early 70s vintage, it was the real deal.

Anyway, Kevin owned this beaten and bruised Teisco guitar. It was pretty junky, to be honest. If I remember, it had some neck issues. I didn't know spit about setting up a guitar at the time, hell, I

played bass mostly, as well as my pre-CBS Fender Jazzmaster. The JM arrived setup beautifully, I never had to touch it.

The Junkmaster (as I called it) featured a single pickup. The action was soooo high you couldn't play down the neck beyond the fifth fret. The neck wasn't securely mounted, and the single pickup was so microphonic you could speak into it it like a microphone.

It was interesting to see the example on eBay, which was actually in better shape than the one I inherited from. What was also surprising was the price it was listed for ... had I know there would be a collector's market for these cheap Japanese guitars, I wouldn't have GIVEN the damn thing away!

I've seen a variety of Teisco models for sale on eBay, and they're certainly unique. I wouldn't mind finding one, but I'm sure not interested in paying what they're asking for. But that's just me.

-30-