LR 9-25- Ramblings

[darwinohm]

No lunch report today so I will. Long time since lunch but I had leftover chili for lunch and pizza for dinner. I am all for clean air. Totally unhealthy but it is great, especially if you have a cold one.

Subject today is cool things. Even though there isn't a lot of action on the forum recently, things are still happening. Jos has an incoming, Kate posted some pics of an interesting bass, Elwood posted a picture of some bass locking tuners and I am in the middle of a Hamer restoration. There is always something interesting going on. It is just a matter of time and Ken will show up with something interesting. Louis will monitor the pickguards but has an unbelievable amount of information for one's who are looking. Boogie jumps in from time to time , Bassman gets a bit when he has time and Fumble Fingers is getting into it! The boys from down under jump in frequently. What cool things have you done today?

I gigged the Pink Lady last weekend and it is a spectacular rig and I am very happy with the outcome. I had some interesting looks from the ladies. I should have had the Pink Lady 50 years ago! It has inspired me to take up the restoration of the Hamer. It is an Artist model with p 90's. The neck had been broken off and was repaired by a person who is good at these things. I bought it very right and intended to restore it. It was a silver color with grey and silver fpearl in the topcoat. It will now be a pearl white with a very subtile silver and lavender pearl in the topcoat. I intend to give this one to my daughter Kari. This is a nitro project so it is very easy. What kind of projects are you doing?

Now for the guys who get into electronic as Jamie did yesterday. I have the Vibrasonic Reverb amp which is a very nice amp. I had mentioned before that I put an original JBL DF130 15 in it and it is spectacular. I noticed a bit of tube noise in the reverb circuit tonight so I worked on that. It is tube V4 causing the problem and I order a bunch of tubes from the Tube Depot. The best part is that they had 10% off for 3 days so that was nice. This tinkering is really relaxing. Later I had a couple of G&L's out here doing a sound check. They do sound good! The Vibrasonic has a clicking in the vibrato and I will fix that by rerouting some wires, a know problem with these. Rule number one is turn the power off when doing this and don't use a screwdriver but a non conductive probe or you may need a few cold ones to recover. So what have you electronic wizards been doing for excitement. Any one here build pedals? I have more electronic projects than I need. The Dish Tv has a bad amp (on order) and I have an antenna on the way for broadcast tv. They sure screwed that up when they went to the new frequencies. Lots of projects but life is good. It couldn't be better! Let us know what you are doing with electronics and if you are proctologist, give us a report on that. We are always looking for something new!

One more item on the ramblings. I sold the bowling ball last weekend (Green Swirl Legacy) Steve our lead player, played it and said "I have to have this one"! It had the G&L thin neck, light body weight and he was in love. I am not a Legacy fan so I had to talk to Ginny as she was the one who told me to buy it. Now here is the clinker. All this time I have been talking about "our" collection. She told me that if this is our collection that she should get half of the money if I sell it. I think that she may cure me as I will not make out on this one! Time for a cold one.-- Darwin

[KenC]

Great LR Darwin! You certainly summed the state of the board up nicely. I do have an overdue NGD to report. I bought an '83 SC-2 a couple of weeks ago, intending for it to be a project. I had let it pass me by back in May, but then it went back on the market and somebody asked a couple of questions about it in a thread. He decided against buying it, so I jumped in. My delay on the NGD post has been over whether or not it is still a project guitar. It has several cosmetic "updates" that need to be reversed, but I fell in love with this one right from the start and may not be in a big rush to make changes after all. I'll get around to posting pictures soon. I need to take them first.

The SKB case I had to order for it just arrived tonight. I was a bit miffed to see a "Made in China" sticker. Last year I had to call SKB about a specialty case, and was told that every one of their products were domestic. I can't help feeling a bit miffed that they are cutting their costs by importing, charging their original prices and then pocketing the difference. Oh well. FWIW, if anybody needs an aftermarket case for an '82-'83 SC model, the SKB-66 fits very nicely. It also fits '86 ASATs like a glove.

Aside from the SC-2, I don't have any new projects in the works. I did find a good deal on a drill press last weekend, so I can move forward on the two projects I've been procrastinating on for over a year. Those are an '82 L-1000 that needs to have the control plate screw holes redrilled and the body refinished. I'm counting on using the drill press with a sanding attachment to get purple spray paint out of the cutaways. The other project that will require a lot of drilling is a '94 MIM Duo Sonic. Somebody mangled that guitar by attempting a string-through bridge with a power drill, and for some reason taking a power drill to the holes for the neck attachment screws. I will need to bore all of those out, plug them and redrill the holes properly. It will also need to be refinished due to a bad attempt at making it a "relic".

Ken

[yowhatsshakin]

Hey Darwin,

Thanks for picking up the slack!

As you mentioned, I had a good start of my day. That F-100 discussed yesterday looked like a beauty. And while checking daBay, I thought I recognized it although the pic in the post was not used in the auction. Like Elwood, I thought it was a fair price too so here come pre-BBE era G&L #13.

Enjoy your brewsky and don't zap yourself. I will pour me a nice glass of red. Santé!

- Jos

[blargfromouterspace]

I've had enough of electronics projects for now. As well as the repairs to the bass amp this week, I had to repair the reverb on the Twin before I sold it and got a pretty good jolt as I was plugging it in for testing as I had bumped the power switch to the on position. Nothing like 240V to wake you up.

Other projects I have on at the moment are all beer related. I started brewing again a few weeks back and have gone crazy for it. I have 5 brews on at the moment Three are in bottles conditioning, and two are in the lagering or storage phase. There's a very tasty Belgian Wit, a traditional German style Weizen, a pilsner, a dark lager in the style of a Dusseldorf Altbier, and a Bamberg style smoked beer which is the most interesting of them all. My brother and I have been pretty busy collecting empty bottles to put it all in

Glad to hear the pink lady is getting you attention from the ladies!

[Fumble fingers]

we had Wendy's today

I'm just trying to get everything fixed up , ordered three new S 500 pu's , will probably have the originals re-potted eventually , my 1971 Kustom amp should be ready this saturday , A new cord with ground strap and a new cap should have it top notch , going to re-tube my Peavey Classic 30 next , still trying to get time to plug in the Fender Super Reverb , I will bring it in the house when the Peavey gets checked out .... starting to get some pedals for the Tube amps and I'm thinking about getting a Mind Bender and a WAH pedal , I have a Line 6 floor pod for the Kustom SS , I've been practicing with a local band , it's my first time playing with others and I really like it but I'm not quite ready to play out yet (need more practice , lol) ..... Other than that , just normal stuff going on , Oh , I'm trying to stay off ebay and CL for a little while too with limited success (there's a nice 1984 Invader and a nice 83 SC 2 on the local CL killing me )


that bowling ball was sweet !! ... it least it's close by and you can still see it

Eric

[astutzmann]

Darwin, great LR.

I haven't posted much but am still reading every day.

For lunch I had a craving for a good old grilled cheese with aged cheddar and tomato slices. I had some left over meatloaf so that went in as well. While I'm at it, a couple of hard boiled eggs.

Very old school, very bad, but oh soooo good.

Yesterday I was playing around with my asat special deluxe. I have never bonded with it. The fretboard was dry so I decided to change the strings and while I was waiting for the board to soak up the oil, I removed the nut. It wasn't seated all the way down, so I cleaned the channel and re-seated the nut (its a graphtec nut) and once the guitar was cleaned and new strings, wow..........I could get to love this guitar....ha, who knew....sometimes they just take a little tweaking.

We are in the process of selling our house, have bought a condo and are renovating that. SO, as a project, I am designing the network, home theatre, taking into account airplay, latest home automation etc. Last time I did this was 2008 and things have certainly changed since then. So, I'm doing my research and looking at all the technology to make the new place modern.

Wow, the 4k TVs are amazing but still too much cash, I saw a 60" 4k tv and it was over $5000........

Elwood posted that lefty asat special on ebay and I looked at it for an hour and lost out on the deal.....that would have been a great guitar, even if it was a project or not.

Its interesting to me that you sold the bowling ball, its the only "older" G&L you have, I believe.......

Alf

[supereiv]

Hey Darwin,
lunch was roasted chicken with courgettes, 30g of bread (yeah I know...) and a diet pineapple yoghurt.

What's cool at the moment ? I finally bought a pedalboard, it's a Gator with a power tank (http://www.gatorcases.com/p/16108-1449/gpt-pro-pwr) and I'm kicking myself for not doing it much sooner.
It's not that I have a lot of pedals, but now that everything is taped and wired, I play with my effects almost everyday, which put a big smile on my face (not so on my wife's when I hit the EHX Ring Thing ).
I'm happy as a kid on christmas eve !

Ok, it was not G&L related, but hey, it's the coolest thing happening since my S-500

[darwinohm]

Thanks for your responses.

Ken, you always have something on the burner. The Duo Sonic sounds like a real project. Keep us posted on that one!

Jos, that F-100 looks to be a keeper. I did not zap myself!

Jamie, good luck on the brewing. A few years back kI used to go to a brew it yourself place in St Paul were you would brew 15 gallons at a time. I had 3 - 5 gallon pepsi stainless steel canisters that I would fill and connected them to the tap system in my refrigerator. My favorite was a brew called Looney Lager, a medium dark beer with a fairly smooth finish. The bottles are a lot of work and it is hard to keep up with the brewing! I wish I were closer and I would help you sample!

Eric, you definitely have the bug and are assembling some cool gear. I hope the new pickups solve you problem. I would have them rewound at some point.

Alf, the meatloaf caught my eye. It is one of my favorites along with mashed potatoes and good gravy. It sounds like the new digs is quite a project. You are right. Some of the new tv's are huge and expensive. I am still bummed about the fringe area reception with the new FCC frequency change. It has forced many of the rural people to go to sat tv, an expensive option to say the least. Alf, if the bowling ball had been an Asat, it would have still been here. It was a super playing Legacy but I already have too many and yes, it was my oldest G&L. Steve will put it to good use. Nice you checked in.

Supereiv, kudos on the healthy lunch! The pedalboard will make them much easier to use. I use very few of them but if I were a hot guitar player, I would probably use more. It gets complicated when using a lot of stuff gigging. Last weekend Steve, our lead player, couldn't get anything out of his 2nd amp which he uses with the synth. He didn't use it the first set and was checking cables, hook up and everything he could think of. It turns out that he had the master volume on the amp turned off. I have to keep things simple. Good luck on the pedalboard, keep it growing and thanks for checking in from Paris!

Have a great day everyone!, mine already is and I've barely started. -- Darwin

[Dave_P]

Hey Darwin, Thanks for jumping in, great report!

I've been absent from the board lately and have my plate overflowing with projects! I purchased a foreclosure about a month ago and have been working on that mostly. We gutted the kitchen, which started out smoothly but getting the floor up has been a nightmare. There was tile (not a problem) then 1/4" ply which is stapled down with more 1 1/2" staples than I can count, under that is linoleum I am still pulling up the 1/4" ply, had to buy a 42" wrecking bar to get enough leverage and even then some sheets I can stand on the bar (I weigh 250) with a block of wood under the pry bar and still not have it come up. Other than that refinished the master bath and my daughter's room, fixed a plumbing leak (above the kitchen), and re shingled the roof. Still have to re-side the house, trouble shoot a wonky circuit, finish the kitchen, and a bunch of other little things.

Music project wise, replaced the Jensen RI C10Q's in my Vibrolux with a pair of Webers (still waiting on one). Grabed a vintage Jensen c15n from a consignment store for $20 that will go in my 5e3 combo I built a while back. And have been trying to learn slide, thinking about setting up my ASAT (large mfd) accordingly. Also, I have a friend who came across an Ampeg SVT 4pro that someone had dropped off at an electronics recycling place, only working in bridge mode atm, gonna tinker and see if I can get it going, if so we'll sell and split the cash

Alf, I work with automated systems for work, mainly Crestron. Not sure what you're looking at but check out Extron, their system seems to be more reliable and a bit cheaper than Crestron.

Have a great one!
-Dave

[louis cyfer]

dave, all my clients who had crestor have switched over to ipad based.

[Fumble fingers]

supereiv ... cool pedal board set up !!, I can see I'm going to have get one of the boards myself ..lol

[louis cyfer]

supereiv ... cool pedal board set up !!, I can see I'm going to have get one of the boards myself ..lol

don't get that one though. about one of the worse ones. a soft case for a pedal board is a bad idea, it will keep turning all the knobs. get a pedal train with the flight case. this is my favorite http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifie ... pedalboard and it has two separate levels, so the second row is easily accessible.

[darwinohm]

Dave, you have your hands full with the fix up of the new home. It takes a lot of work but when it is finished you will look back with a lot of satisfaction. Alf is into the same kind of stuff. I am too old for that kind of stuff although I have a building I will shingle next spring. When this is done you can get back into the speakers mods. I am currently looking for a 15 cabinet to put the Big Ben in. I am in no hurry and it would be a good winter project. Thats for letting us know what's happenin' -- Darwin

[supereiv]

Louis, sure the pedal train + voodoo lab power are better, but come on, not everyone can afford something like this !

[louis cyfer]

Louis, sure the pedal train + voodoo lab power are better, but come on, not everyone can afford something like this !

i don't use the voodoo lab, just a 20 dollar powerall. you can get a pedal train for a 100. the coffin case one is less than 80.

[Salmon]

This looks like a big report covering half a week so it had to be read.

Cheese & crackers with a mineola for lunch today.

I stay well away from electronic projects. The project I am currently working on is not hands on. I am planning for a custom order guitar. But I heard that presently G&L is not offering off-menu items and my guitar was to have a couple of those things. I may scrap the idea or pick up something prebuilt that I have had an eye on. Pretty much a meat & potatoes standard by comparison though.

Have a great weekend everyone.

[supereiv]

Louis, sure the pedal train + voodoo lab power are better, but come on, not everyone can afford something like this !

i don't use the voodoo lab, just a 20 dollar powerall. you can get a pedal train for a 100. the coffin case one is less than 80.

Sure, Louis, you're right Louis....

[louis cyfer]

Louis, sure the pedal train + voodoo lab power are better, but come on, not everyone can afford something like this !

i don't use the voodoo lab, just a 20 dollar powerall. you can get a pedal train for a 100. the coffin case one is less than 80.

Sure, Louis, you're right Louis....

i was just pointing out that i was not offering an expensive solution.