Saturday, June 27, 2015 -- Today I got the new strings on the PBass clone, and got them on and was trying to tune up when I remembered I had loosened the neck screws to get the pickguard free when I took it off the first time. I loosened the strings and then tightened the neck, THEN went back to tuning.
My nearly 30-year-old memories of playing bass guitar are pretty hazy, and when I plugged in the bass into my amp, I felt a little like a pig on ice -- it was like completely unfamiliar territory. Then I realized why -- the scale. My Musicmaster was a 3/4 scale, while this PBass clone is full-size. Now I see why my buying that 3/4 scale nearly 40 years ago was a lucky accident.
My hands don't feel big enough for the PBass -- well, they might be big enough, but I'm not used to running my hands all over the neck. Even running a boogie bass line had my fingers searching for the right fret. I think what it amounts to is 25 years of guitar playing without the chance to play bass -- short scale or otherwise.
I'm considering just putting the bass back on eBay and using the proceeds to buy a 3/4 scale bass. This one has a new Fender bridge and all new pickups and electronics. It sounds good ... the only thing I might want to do is lower the bottom pickup, the top two strings seem louder than the top two.
In the meantime, I probably need to break out my spectrum strat body and start the refinishing project. I might even go buy a new strat pickguard and electronics, just to simplify things.
Rock on!
Friday, June 26, 2015
Pickguard arrives from China ... turns out size matters
Friday, June 26, 2015 -- My new pickguard for my PBass clone arrived today from China. And sure as heck, I should have guessed that the pickguard wasn't the same size as the original one.
Oh, it was close, but the part of the pickguard that goes around the neck was about 1/2-inch shorter than the original one. The rest of it was pretty good, though only a couple of the original holes lined up.
The guard wouldn't fit the neck width without whittling, so I decided to simply move the new electronics to the old guard. That was easy. Getting the pickups set was not.
The pickups on the PBass don't attach to the pickguard like they do a strat; They mount to the body of the guitar with long screws. The pickups originally had foam blocks under them; however, the new pickups were taller, so they sat too high ... the strings would rattle them. So I used 3 layers of foam tape to create about half the original foam's thickness. We'll see how that plays. If I have to I can raise the action if the strings hit the pickups (or tear it apart and remove a layer of tape.
With the new pickguard installed, I put one of the old bass strings on it just to test the electronics. Wow, it sounded great -- however when I ran the pots over their range, I got some scratchiness --- from brand new pots! I'm not going to mess with the volume or tone on the bass, so it isn't really a big deal.
The new pickguard had some shielding tape covering the electronics; the original one did not, and I wish I had put some on.
Tomorrow I'll tighten the neck back up and put the new strings on and see how she plays. I haven't played a bass guitar in 25 years or so, and I've never played a full size one like this Bridgestone PBass clone.
The body has taken some hits and the finish is messed up on the bottom edge. I'm thinking of painting the body red like my old Musicmaster -- a solid red, rather than the translucent red that's on it now. The wood grain isn't that spectacular to show it off or anything.
But in the meantime, I'll try the bass out and see what she sounds like.
REFINISHING SUPPLIES. I don't know if I mentioned it, but my refinishing supplies arrived for my strat clone. A can of wood grain filler, a can of primer and a can of surf green lacquer. I'm going to use an automotive clear coat on it once its painted. I need to get that guitar out of the case and disassemble it and start on it. We'll see how it goes.
Rock on!
Oh, it was close, but the part of the pickguard that goes around the neck was about 1/2-inch shorter than the original one. The rest of it was pretty good, though only a couple of the original holes lined up.
The pickups on the PBass don't attach to the pickguard like they do a strat; They mount to the body of the guitar with long screws. The pickups originally had foam blocks under them; however, the new pickups were taller, so they sat too high ... the strings would rattle them. So I used 3 layers of foam tape to create about half the original foam's thickness. We'll see how that plays. If I have to I can raise the action if the strings hit the pickups (or tear it apart and remove a layer of tape.
With the new pickguard installed, I put one of the old bass strings on it just to test the electronics. Wow, it sounded great -- however when I ran the pots over their range, I got some scratchiness --- from brand new pots! I'm not going to mess with the volume or tone on the bass, so it isn't really a big deal.
The new pickguard had some shielding tape covering the electronics; the original one did not, and I wish I had put some on.
Tomorrow I'll tighten the neck back up and put the new strings on and see how she plays. I haven't played a bass guitar in 25 years or so, and I've never played a full size one like this Bridgestone PBass clone.
The body has taken some hits and the finish is messed up on the bottom edge. I'm thinking of painting the body red like my old Musicmaster -- a solid red, rather than the translucent red that's on it now. The wood grain isn't that spectacular to show it off or anything.
But in the meantime, I'll try the bass out and see what she sounds like.
REFINISHING SUPPLIES. I don't know if I mentioned it, but my refinishing supplies arrived for my strat clone. A can of wood grain filler, a can of primer and a can of surf green lacquer. I'm going to use an automotive clear coat on it once its painted. I need to get that guitar out of the case and disassemble it and start on it. We'll see how it goes.
Rock on!
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
'Behringer Blackie' arrives ... once worked over, the thing might even play ...
Thursday, June 25, 2015, 1:30 a.m. -- Just finished working on my new guitar that arrived today, the Behringer strat copy (the pre-iAXE 393 model). It wasn't due for delivery until Monday, but I'm very happy to have delivery of it today as I had some time to mess with it.
The eBay seller said it was like-new and had hardly every been played. That much I believe 100 percent -- it was barely playable the way it arrived. The guitar obviously wasn't played, and no real attempt was made to set it up to make it playable.
TRUSS RODS. The guitar arrived in some semblance of tune, but before I worried about that I checked the neck relief. I have trouble really getting a good eye for relief, but this one obviously had more bow than you would like. I made a minor truss rod adjustment to reduce the relief to just about nothing.
TUNING? The tuning on this thing was a mess! Every string's tuning changed when I moved to the next string. The tremelo has some issues, I think the springs are weak. I screwed the claw down to increase the spring tension, but the rear of the bridge was still a little higher than I like. I think I'm going to block the trem and eliminate the tuning hassle.
ACTION. The way you can tell this guitar wasn't played beyond the "gee thanks!" moment was the string action -- it was way, way too high to be playable. Fortunately, this guitar came with a cable and the two allen wrenches necessary to adjust the action and the truss rod.
I had to lower the string saddles on the bridge a tremendous amount on every string. This brought the action down and really made a difference in playability. I think I've avoided string buzz, but time will tell. Once the action was lowered, I was able to get the intonation dialed in.
The pickups may need to be lowered because the string action put the strings so much closer to the pickups, but we'll see how it plays tomorrow. I'm beat, and I'm heading to bed!
TRUSS RODS. The guitar arrived in some semblance of tune, but before I worried about that I checked the neck relief. I have trouble really getting a good eye for relief, but this one obviously had more bow than you would like. I made a minor truss rod adjustment to reduce the relief to just about nothing.
TUNING? The tuning on this thing was a mess! Every string's tuning changed when I moved to the next string. The tremelo has some issues, I think the springs are weak. I screwed the claw down to increase the spring tension, but the rear of the bridge was still a little higher than I like. I think I'm going to block the trem and eliminate the tuning hassle.
ACTION. The way you can tell this guitar wasn't played beyond the "gee thanks!" moment was the string action -- it was way, way too high to be playable. Fortunately, this guitar came with a cable and the two allen wrenches necessary to adjust the action and the truss rod.
I had to lower the string saddles on the bridge a tremendous amount on every string. This brought the action down and really made a difference in playability. I think I've avoided string buzz, but time will tell. Once the action was lowered, I was able to get the intonation dialed in.
The pickups may need to be lowered because the string action put the strings so much closer to the pickups, but we'll see how it plays tomorrow. I'm beat, and I'm heading to bed!
-30-
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Sunday, June 21, 2015 -- Haven't played guitar this weekend, my daughter and her BF were here, so its been time to wine, dine and entertain (and grill out -- yum!). This morning I had steak and eggs
with leftover steak from supper last night.
In the wake of trying to get the house cleaned up, it was necessary for me to put away the two guitar
cases that sat outside my office doorway. One holds my Spectrum strat, the other I bought for dirt on eBay (and it was basically brand new). So I put the Ibanez Gio GAX30 in the case, then moved them both into our videogame room, which is where my original Tobacco Sunburst Oscar Schmidt OE-30 semi-hollow body guitar resides in its gig bag.
So that left my office with my artic white Squier strat, my Peavey Raptor EXP (in its new gig bag), as well as my Cherry Red OE-30 semi-hollowbody and my Davison Les Paul copy. My only concern about leaving the guitars in cases in other rooms is that I'll never bother to get them out and play them. Oh well, they are store safely, and that's important.
So what's my best playing guitars (in my amateur opinion)? The Davison Les Paul is the easiest to play; I don't claim to know squat about Gibson neck profiles and such (in fact, I've only held an actual Les Paul in my hands a couple of times); all I know is my blue Davison LP copy feels great and plays easily.
Close behind it is my Squier hard tail Strat. It really plays nicely and the previous owner must have taken care of it too -- great action, stays in tune as well (or better than) my other hard trail guitars.
Speaking of tuning, my OE-30s have never been the best when it comes to holding their tuning. They use some type of tuner that states they are Grover tuners, but I'm betting they're simply cheaper copies. I've toyed with the idea of locking tuners on one or more of my guitars.
No. 3 Best Player is my cherry red Oscar Schmidt OE-30. I like to imagine that I'm channeling Carl Wilson whenever I play it. Close behind the OE-30 is the Ibanez Gio. Despite its flaws, (and a nut that I need to replace), this guitar is a good player that keeps its tune.
NEW ARRIVAL ON ITS WAY! You've heard the saying, "Be careful what you wish for" haven't you? Well, while browsing the eBay guitar listings Friday night (the LOW end of the strata, not the custom shop Fenders, Gibsons and the like), I ran across a Behringer strat with a "make offer" tage. Well, why not shoot the owner a cheap offer?
Folks, meet the new owner of a Behringer strat! (gulp!)
This guy had a cheap BIN price, plus a make offer option, so I couldn't help but send him an offer well below the BIN price -- and he took it.
I was looking at Behringer guitars because I was thinking of buying an iAXE, their USB-capable guitar. In that process, I also saw their older, non-USB strats.
I'm not sure which Asian/Pacific factory makes their guitars, but they look like decent, entry-level quality. This guitar needs no repairs I could see, so I think I'm going to make out ok on this. I don't want another fat strat, and frankly, I didn't really want another strat. I would like a telecaster, or a Gibson or Epi SG clone.
Maybe I can practice setup on this one or something ... it appears to be out-of-the-box stock.
I'm still waiting on my PBass pickguard and parts to arrive on that slow boat from China everyone talks about.
Better get going ... rock on!
So what's my best playing guitars (in my amateur opinion)? The Davison Les Paul is the easiest to play; I don't claim to know squat about Gibson neck profiles and such (in fact, I've only held an actual Les Paul in my hands a couple of times); all I know is my blue Davison LP copy feels great and plays easily.
Close behind it is my Squier hard tail Strat. It really plays nicely and the previous owner must have taken care of it too -- great action, stays in tune as well (or better than) my other hard trail guitars.
Speaking of tuning, my OE-30s have never been the best when it comes to holding their tuning. They use some type of tuner that states they are Grover tuners, but I'm betting they're simply cheaper copies. I've toyed with the idea of locking tuners on one or more of my guitars.
No. 3 Best Player is my cherry red Oscar Schmidt OE-30. I like to imagine that I'm channeling Carl Wilson whenever I play it. Close behind the OE-30 is the Ibanez Gio. Despite its flaws, (and a nut that I need to replace), this guitar is a good player that keeps its tune.
Folks, meet the new owner of a Behringer strat! (gulp!)
This guy had a cheap BIN price, plus a make offer option, so I couldn't help but send him an offer well below the BIN price -- and he took it.
I was looking at Behringer guitars because I was thinking of buying an iAXE, their USB-capable guitar. In that process, I also saw their older, non-USB strats.
I'm not sure which Asian/Pacific factory makes their guitars, but they look like decent, entry-level quality. This guitar needs no repairs I could see, so I think I'm going to make out ok on this. I don't want another fat strat, and frankly, I didn't really want another strat. I would like a telecaster, or a Gibson or Epi SG clone.
Maybe I can practice setup on this one or something ... it appears to be out-of-the-box stock.
I'm still waiting on my PBass pickguard and parts to arrive on that slow boat from China everyone talks about.
Better get going ... rock on!
Friday, June 19, 2015
Guitar refinishing decisions, decisions ...
Friday, June 19, 2015 -- I had some free time yesterday and decided to do some more troubleshooting on my Precision Bass clone sitting in the office awaiting new parts.
It appears that fixing the grounding better on the bridge made a difference, as the single string I put back on sounds excellent now. The volume pot doesn't work, and I can't tell the tone pot does more than create static when you run it through its range. Checking the wiring, its wired so it "should" work, though the input from the pickup on the guitar attaches to the wiper of the volume pot instead of one end. That shouldn't make a difference since both pots are wired the same. I think the pots are just corrodio beyond rescue.
But when the guitar gods were smiling on me yesterday, the audio path was fine, and the audio sounded ... well, like a bass guitar should sound. I'm beginning to wish this one was 3/4 scale bass like my Musicmaster was, it was just a little easier to play that way. The full-size will be fine, I'm sure.
In addition to the complete pickguard (with pickups and electronics), I also ordered new screws for the pickguard (the originals were rusty looking).
The pickguard apparently is not the original one that came with the guitar (though the body is routed out to accommodate the PBass pickups). It looks like someone had to whittle down the guard at the base of the neck ... I guess the fit was too tight. It's still very tight, it will be interesting to see how the replacement fits.
BACK TO THE SURF (GREEN). My poor Spectrum strat has languished in its case untouched for many weeks. I decided to go ahead and order materials for refinishing it -- oil-based wood filler, white spray primer and an aersol can of surf green lacquer. I did NOT buy their lacquer clear; I'm going to use a polyurethane or other clear for the guitar, something with some hard gloss, one that I can shoot once and be done, then polish the hell out of. I want the durability of a poly finish, not a nitro one.
RED IS THE COLOR, BUT WHICH ONE? After reading up on The Guitar ReRanch website, I've decided that my new bass needs to be painted Dakota Red rather than Fiesta Red. Fiesta Red is an orangey red; my Musicmaster was a deeper red that better matches Dakota Red.
I'm hoping that once I have my new pickguard in place and everything is good to go, I'll fix the dings on the PBass body, sand and fill it, prime it, and then buy a can of Dakota Red from ReRanch. In fact, I might do the bass before I do the strat, simple for some practice. I will clear it with a two-part poly clear too for durability and gloss.
But when the guitar gods were smiling on me yesterday, the audio path was fine, and the audio sounded ... well, like a bass guitar should sound. I'm beginning to wish this one was 3/4 scale bass like my Musicmaster was, it was just a little easier to play that way. The full-size will be fine, I'm sure.
In addition to the complete pickguard (with pickups and electronics), I also ordered new screws for the pickguard (the originals were rusty looking).
The pickguard apparently is not the original one that came with the guitar (though the body is routed out to accommodate the PBass pickups). It looks like someone had to whittle down the guard at the base of the neck ... I guess the fit was too tight. It's still very tight, it will be interesting to see how the replacement fits.
RED IS THE COLOR, BUT WHICH ONE? After reading up on The Guitar ReRanch website, I've decided that my new bass needs to be painted Dakota Red rather than Fiesta Red. Fiesta Red is an orangey red; my Musicmaster was a deeper red that better matches Dakota Red.
I'm hoping that once I have my new pickguard in place and everything is good to go, I'll fix the dings on the PBass body, sand and fill it, prime it, and then buy a can of Dakota Red from ReRanch. In fact, I might do the bass before I do the strat, simple for some practice. I will clear it with a two-part poly clear too for durability and gloss.
Monday, June 15, 2015
Another look at my new bass ...
Monday, June 15, 2015, 10:15 a.m. -- Just wrapped up doing more troubleshooting with my new
Pbass, and I think the problem is in the volume pot. If I keep working the pot, I can get some audio through it.
I have thoughts of going to the local music store and see if they have a pot or two -- 250k -- but for $19 I can get the whole populated pickguard, prewired and ready to drop in, using my pickups. Or for the same money, I can get one from China with new pickups -- an idea that makes me wonder if that's not the best route to take.
I believe the pickups I have are ok ... when I tap them with a metallic object, they sound comes thru. I'm a little bit in a hurry to get this thing going, but hell, $19 makes it so easy to fix this thing and remove any doubts about the electronics. Includes matching knobs too (my bass is missing one knob).
There's a US ebay seller with the populated pickguard minus pickups, and I think that's the route I'm going to go. I'm not going to buy more strings today, I have the three from the guitar and I've been using to test the electronics, and that's plenty for now.
I listed my new bass on eBay last night, I'm hoping it will sell!
I have thoughts of going to the local music store and see if they have a pot or two -- 250k -- but for $19 I can get the whole populated pickguard, prewired and ready to drop in, using my pickups. Or for the same money, I can get one from China with new pickups -- an idea that makes me wonder if that's not the best route to take.
I believe the pickups I have are ok ... when I tap them with a metallic object, they sound comes thru. I'm a little bit in a hurry to get this thing going, but hell, $19 makes it so easy to fix this thing and remove any doubts about the electronics. Includes matching knobs too (my bass is missing one knob).
There's a US ebay seller with the populated pickguard minus pickups, and I think that's the route I'm going to go. I'm not going to buy more strings today, I have the three from the guitar and I've been using to test the electronics, and that's plenty for now.
I listed my new bass on eBay last night, I'm hoping it will sell!
Sunday, June 14, 2015
New bass arrives, work begins ... another bass is for sale ...
Monday, June 15, 2015 -- My new-to-me Bridgecraft PBass arrived Friday morning and I immediately began work on it. As you can see in the photos, the bridge was missing a saddle. I
ordered an entire new PBass bridge the same night I won the auction. I have to say, the replacement bridge was a perfect fit.
The body of the bass is finished in a transparent red finish. It looks nice, but it has some pretty good dings on the body and lower edge of the body has paint loss. I'm tempted to refinish the body in a solid red, like Fiesta Red and clear coat it. Then it would look very much like my old Musicmaster bass, though it has a full-scale neck.
Once I installed the new bridge, I decided it was time to check the electronics. The best I could get was a rather distorted, intermittent sound. I'm not sure the pots are bad or what's going on. One problem may be a lack of a ground on the bridge; when I changed the bridge, there was a ground wire that had been stripped of insulation that provided ground to the bridge.
When I had the guitar hooked to an amp, neither touching the strings or the bridge quieted the 60 Hertz hum from the amp -- which spells trouble.
The G string was broken, which was probably why that saddle fell off over time. Tomorrow I'm going to the local music store for a set of strings, and I would like to do some troubleshooting.
My plan is to remove the remove the bridge and make sure it has a good ground. When I had the amp plugged in, I could hear my taps with a metal screwdriver on the pickups, so they are working in some manner. PBass wiring is extremely simple and straight forward, I just need to pull the pickguard and double check the wiring.
BASS FOR SALE. I've listed a ESP bass on eBay to sell. It's brand new, and beautiful; but its more bass than I want to use. The thing really is gorgeous, but its a bass best suited for someone with
longer arms and larger hands. The thing weights 12 pounds, its pretty massive. My wife bought it for me, not knowing what I wanted. I never played it, but reboxed it up and its been setting in a closet. I want to use the proceeds to buy another guitar.
So what am I looking to buy?? I am going to buy a Chinese built Gretsch 5120 from AliExpress.com. I don't want to pay full price for a hollowbody guitar, so buying a Chinese one at an attractive (i.e. low) price sounds good!
There are some other options that are on eBay that I might pursue, like an Epiphone Emporer Swingster. Its a pretty decent clone of the Gretch 5120. The truth is I can buy the Chinese Gretsch clone guitar for less than the cost of the Swingster.
I'm also going to put my original Oscar Schmidt OE-30TS semi-hollow body guitar up for sale. I'm tempted to keep it, just because it was purchased new, but I'm thinking I would rather help fund my guitar fund. I should be able to get $200 on eBay for the OS.
Of course, I'm tempted to get an amplifier instead ... I would like something on the order of 100 watts and 2-12s.
First things first, of course ... buy the strings tomorrow, and then work to see what's up with the electronics.
OTHER GUITAR STUFF. Speaking of the Oscar Scmidt, I'm really enjoying my red one a great deal.
In addition to my new bass guitar, I also received additional parts -- two new nuts for my Ibanez Gio GAX30. I bought two in the event I messed one up. The nut on the guitar has had the crap filed out of the E and A slots, and the low E suffers from fret buzz. I'm going to put that project on hold until I get the bass working to my satisfaction.
Speaking of the bass, I also need to buy a new set of PBass knobs.
Rock on, dudes and dudettes!
The body of the bass is finished in a transparent red finish. It looks nice, but it has some pretty good dings on the body and lower edge of the body has paint loss. I'm tempted to refinish the body in a solid red, like Fiesta Red and clear coat it. Then it would look very much like my old Musicmaster bass, though it has a full-scale neck.
Once I installed the new bridge, I decided it was time to check the electronics. The best I could get was a rather distorted, intermittent sound. I'm not sure the pots are bad or what's going on. One problem may be a lack of a ground on the bridge; when I changed the bridge, there was a ground wire that had been stripped of insulation that provided ground to the bridge.
When I had the guitar hooked to an amp, neither touching the strings or the bridge quieted the 60 Hertz hum from the amp -- which spells trouble.
The G string was broken, which was probably why that saddle fell off over time. Tomorrow I'm going to the local music store for a set of strings, and I would like to do some troubleshooting.
My plan is to remove the remove the bridge and make sure it has a good ground. When I had the amp plugged in, I could hear my taps with a metal screwdriver on the pickups, so they are working in some manner. PBass wiring is extremely simple and straight forward, I just need to pull the pickguard and double check the wiring.
BASS FOR SALE. I've listed a ESP bass on eBay to sell. It's brand new, and beautiful; but its more bass than I want to use. The thing really is gorgeous, but its a bass best suited for someone with
So what am I looking to buy?? I am going to buy a Chinese built Gretsch 5120 from AliExpress.com. I don't want to pay full price for a hollowbody guitar, so buying a Chinese one at an attractive (i.e. low) price sounds good!
There are some other options that are on eBay that I might pursue, like an Epiphone Emporer Swingster. Its a pretty decent clone of the Gretch 5120. The truth is I can buy the Chinese Gretsch clone guitar for less than the cost of the Swingster.
I'm also going to put my original Oscar Schmidt OE-30TS semi-hollow body guitar up for sale. I'm tempted to keep it, just because it was purchased new, but I'm thinking I would rather help fund my guitar fund. I should be able to get $200 on eBay for the OS.
Of course, I'm tempted to get an amplifier instead ... I would like something on the order of 100 watts and 2-12s.
OTHER GUITAR STUFF. Speaking of the Oscar Scmidt, I'm really enjoying my red one a great deal.
In addition to my new bass guitar, I also received additional parts -- two new nuts for my Ibanez Gio GAX30. I bought two in the event I messed one up. The nut on the guitar has had the crap filed out of the E and A slots, and the low E suffers from fret buzz. I'm going to put that project on hold until I get the bass working to my satisfaction.
Speaking of the bass, I also need to buy a new set of PBass knobs.
Rock on, dudes and dudettes!
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Tuesday morning, 2:42 a.m. -- Don't have long to write, just some guitar thoughts ...
I successfully sniped a Bridgecraft bass guitar tonight on eBay. Bridgecraft? Who the hell is that? Well, Bridgecraft doesn't have a line of guitars; however they sell Glen Burton and other foreign-made guitars on their website.
The Bridgecraft is the same color red as my old Fender Musicmaster bass. The Bridgecraft however differs, in that it is full-size rather than 3/4 size like the Musicmaster. The Bridgecraft is a Precision Bass clone.
I got it dirt cheap; it is missing one of the saddles on the bridge. The finish actually is reddish ... it is a transparent finish, unlike the solid red poly finish on my Fender. I guess I could refinish it, eh?
The poor bass looks like it has been sitting neglected for a dozen years; its going to need a good cleaning and new strings right away. But all the hardware is there (other than the saddle).
I haven't played bass in one hell of a long time, and truthfully, once I get this guitar in good order, I may not give a crap to take it up again. However, i would like to get reacquainted with the bass so I might expand my knowledge bass ... er, "base" I mean.
I have been playing the hell out of my Ibanez Gio GAX 30 and broke the high E string a couple of days ago. The strings I put on it were some old Ernie Balls that actually had rust on them when I put them on (!). While restringing it, I realized the nut had been hacked on pretty good by someone who must have used a dremel tool for a nut file ... the A string groove is more like a chasm. I've got the action fairly low, and I'm getting some buzz on the low E string up by the nut because the string is a little too low. I have ordered a replacement nut, so we'll see how that goes.
I have had the second guitar find on eBay snatched out of my hands AFTER the auction ended. In the second case, it was one of those Berhinger strat copies with the USB jack ... the iAXE I think its called. Anyway, the damn thing was like $24 with $20 shipping, and I got it -- or so I thought.
Later that day, the seller canceled the transaction, saying the item wasn't available anymore. What he meant to say was that "the guitar isn't available at a give-away price." Bastard.
This week I've got to get my ESP bass, its a D6 6 string model with a fretboard as wide as an aircraft carrier. My fingers would need a road map to play that thing ... so I'm going to put it up for sale. I'll finance the purchase of another guitar ... perhaps a nice tele or something else. Time will tell.
Goodnight, and rock on !
I successfully sniped a Bridgecraft bass guitar tonight on eBay. Bridgecraft? Who the hell is that? Well, Bridgecraft doesn't have a line of guitars; however they sell Glen Burton and other foreign-made guitars on their website.
The Bridgecraft is the same color red as my old Fender Musicmaster bass. The Bridgecraft however differs, in that it is full-size rather than 3/4 size like the Musicmaster. The Bridgecraft is a Precision Bass clone.
I got it dirt cheap; it is missing one of the saddles on the bridge. The finish actually is reddish ... it is a transparent finish, unlike the solid red poly finish on my Fender. I guess I could refinish it, eh?
The poor bass looks like it has been sitting neglected for a dozen years; its going to need a good cleaning and new strings right away. But all the hardware is there (other than the saddle).
I haven't played bass in one hell of a long time, and truthfully, once I get this guitar in good order, I may not give a crap to take it up again. However, i would like to get reacquainted with the bass so I might expand my knowledge bass ... er, "base" I mean.
I have been playing the hell out of my Ibanez Gio GAX 30 and broke the high E string a couple of days ago. The strings I put on it were some old Ernie Balls that actually had rust on them when I put them on (!). While restringing it, I realized the nut had been hacked on pretty good by someone who must have used a dremel tool for a nut file ... the A string groove is more like a chasm. I've got the action fairly low, and I'm getting some buzz on the low E string up by the nut because the string is a little too low. I have ordered a replacement nut, so we'll see how that goes.
I have had the second guitar find on eBay snatched out of my hands AFTER the auction ended. In the second case, it was one of those Berhinger strat copies with the USB jack ... the iAXE I think its called. Anyway, the damn thing was like $24 with $20 shipping, and I got it -- or so I thought.
Later that day, the seller canceled the transaction, saying the item wasn't available anymore. What he meant to say was that "the guitar isn't available at a give-away price." Bastard.
This week I've got to get my ESP bass, its a D6 6 string model with a fretboard as wide as an aircraft carrier. My fingers would need a road map to play that thing ... so I'm going to put it up for sale. I'll finance the purchase of another guitar ... perhaps a nice tele or something else. Time will tell.
Goodnight, and rock on !
Friday, June 5, 2015
Old Blue plays great, but wow is it heavy!
Saturday, June 6, 2015 -- I've been taking advantage of Scott Grove's video library of lessons, he had the entire collection on sale for $20 -- as downloads. He also offers them on thumb drives and on portable hard drives, which makes it simple to use (and less time intensive than downloading them).
I spent some time tonight playing guitar and trying out some of the new licks I've learned, and I decided to bring out a guitar I've not played much -- my Davison Les Paul.
I'm really pleased with Old Blue every time I play it. I still have some work to do on the intonation, but its pretty close as it is now. It was way the hell out and the action was way high out of the box. But the finish is just beautiful, and it plays like a dream.
I bought Old Blue from Musician's Discount Warehouse back in December, and I've been absolutely tickled with it. I took a chance on it because it was listed as a "2nd" with possible scratches or defects. I've not found anything wrong with it yet, and I saved about $50.
I've considered buying a second LP copy, but after playing Old Blue, I've remembered why I don't play Blue more than I do -- the weight it place son my shoulder. I may have to try one of my wider, padded straps; right now I have a Fender strap -- its a narrow 1/2 -inch leather with a pad for your shoulder. It isn't nearly as comfortable as the other straps I use.
I can confirm that after about 30 minutes, my shoulder was feeling the weight with the strap I was using. Here's the stap I've been using on several of my guitars ... I bought another one recently, and
will probably put it on Old Blue.
The interesting thing about Old Blue was that it was uniformly out of tune ... all the strings were sharp. Not sure exactly why, but they were.
I've considered investing in locking tuners for my Strat ... I've never had a guitar with them, and I would like to give them a try.
I've put my Peavy Raptor EXP in a gig bag; I've mostly been playing my Cherry OE-30 semi-hollow body, my Arctic White strat or my Ibanez GAX 30. I love the OE30, it just feels good and sounds good -- though I can't say it sounds or plays better than the strat. The OE-30 is a really nice guitar that does well with country, rock, rockabilly or what have you. With that said, I was playing country with Old Blue, and it sounded pretty damn nice.
BEST DEAL ON A GUITAR STRAP. It isn't the most stylish guitar strap, but its one of the more comfortable ones. For less than $14 (plus shipping), this strap has a great pad that you can adjust to place it where is best for your back. I just bought another one, and will probably buy another soon. I hate having to move straps from guitar to guitar.
Time for bed and a hot shower first. G'nite.
I'm really pleased with Old Blue every time I play it. I still have some work to do on the intonation, but its pretty close as it is now. It was way the hell out and the action was way high out of the box. But the finish is just beautiful, and it plays like a dream.
I bought Old Blue from Musician's Discount Warehouse back in December, and I've been absolutely tickled with it. I took a chance on it because it was listed as a "2nd" with possible scratches or defects. I've not found anything wrong with it yet, and I saved about $50.
I've considered buying a second LP copy, but after playing Old Blue, I've remembered why I don't play Blue more than I do -- the weight it place son my shoulder. I may have to try one of my wider, padded straps; right now I have a Fender strap -- its a narrow 1/2 -inch leather with a pad for your shoulder. It isn't nearly as comfortable as the other straps I use.
I can confirm that after about 30 minutes, my shoulder was feeling the weight with the strap I was using. Here's the stap I've been using on several of my guitars ... I bought another one recently, and
The interesting thing about Old Blue was that it was uniformly out of tune ... all the strings were sharp. Not sure exactly why, but they were.
I've considered investing in locking tuners for my Strat ... I've never had a guitar with them, and I would like to give them a try.
I've put my Peavy Raptor EXP in a gig bag; I've mostly been playing my Cherry OE-30 semi-hollow body, my Arctic White strat or my Ibanez GAX 30. I love the OE30, it just feels good and sounds good -- though I can't say it sounds or plays better than the strat. The OE-30 is a really nice guitar that does well with country, rock, rockabilly or what have you. With that said, I was playing country with Old Blue, and it sounded pretty damn nice.
BEST DEAL ON A GUITAR STRAP. It isn't the most stylish guitar strap, but its one of the more comfortable ones. For less than $14 (plus shipping), this strap has a great pad that you can adjust to place it where is best for your back. I just bought another one, and will probably buy another soon. I hate having to move straps from guitar to guitar.
Time for bed and a hot shower first. G'nite.
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