Gearhead

[MikeA]

Hope you check in every now and again. I hope I can spend some time hugging my guitars this weekend myself and maybe get something composed and rendered from Reaper to post up here.

If you need to talk it out, I'll send you my phone in a PM. I'm generally always around.

[WalshFan88]

Thanks everyone.

It's been an awful year for me. I lost my dog who was my best friend and got me through it and was my companion, I've had numerous health issues, now with my eyes. I can't wait to be done with it and move on next year. I'm at my wits end and being stressed makes me sensitive to things, even that are trivial and I have a tendency to be on the sensitive side anyway. I think it's something with guitar players because all the ones I've met all have different personality quirks. LOL.

Talk to you all in a few days, I'd like to come back before the Survivor ends and vote for the final song. We'll see how it goes...

[Eve]

Good things will come for you in the new year WalshFan. You deserve it!

[tequila girl]

Hey Austin, I hope you have a few quiet days de-stressing, but don't stay away for too long

[MikeA]

Got me a high tech piece of new gear this morning. I had $10 gift card at Guitar Center that I got for filling out a survey and I'd seen a clip-on tuner they had for $10. So, Decided to go get me one.

Well, they didn't have any. Sold out of them the first day that they had them in the store (what a surprise!).

But like every marketing guy knows, get someone addicted to gear into Guitar Center and they are gonna spend!

I bought this one http://www.guitarcenter.com/Snark-Cl...51-i1563908.gc and it works good. I have a tin ear and was tired of having to plug into a tuner to take care of business. I've never had good luck with tuners that were driven by microphones...don't remember what those are called. This one picks up vibrations from the headstock on any guitar. I've used it on acoustics and on electrics and it works like a champ. Just press a button on it to wake it up and then start plucking strings and tuning to center on it. It has a color coded display that turns has a wedge that turns green (may be blue) when you are centered on 440 and has indications that you are sharp or flat. And, it has a sort of gooseneck that more or less hides the tuner back behind the headstock so it isn't blatantly obvious that you have a tuner mounted to your guitar. I'm pleased with it.

Also bought a few sets of Ernie Ball Hybrid strings and then bought my father-in-law a guitar stand. I cringe when I see him lean his guitars up against a rocking chair!

Y'all should be proud of me though....I didn't buy a new guitar. And I didn't buy a set of powered monitors. I didn't buy an amp. Still, I didn't get out from there at under $50 and hann't planned on spending ANYTHING!

[WalshFan88]

Well as I write this post I'm blown away. My guitar playing has just improved ten-fold....!!! In one day. By changing two things. How you ask?! Hmm?!

First I changed from 8 to 9 gauge strings back last year. I started playing guitar on 8 gauge strings. Last year I moved up to 9 gauge strings. Well now I've moved to 10 gauge strings and it's a VAST improvement. Tone is fuller, thicker, and OMG did it make a difference with keeping in tune. My guitars I had to fight with but now it's perfect. It's amazing the difference it made.

Now, that's the first part of the equation. Here's where it gets interesting. My guitar buddy from a local blues band has been harping on me to try some "Jazz picks". Now when I heard that I got turned off quickly. But I thought what the heck, so I went to my other guitar player in my band's guitar store and bought a couple "Dunlop Jazz III" picks. They are absolutely unbelieveable. The accuracy, the tone, the cleaner sound, everything. They are more accurate. It's a much cleaner pick attack. And I don't have to move my hand as much. I just move my wrist now. My friend Steve (who is the other guitar player) noted what a difference it made. It made me much more accurate, much less spotty and by that I mean where it wouldn't be a clean attack and it was a tighter sound. It made me sound VERY clean. It's great!

I'm totally happy. So I'm buying some more picks and a box of 12 packs of 10 gauge Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys to put on all of my guitars. I'll get 'em converted over Christmas break. I love the sound and playing differences. I'm much more of a cleaner lead player now. Watch out for a video tomorrow night demonstrating it so you don't think I'm full of it!

I also setup/polished my "Ruby" tonight when I put 10s on I raised the action/intonated it and adjusted the truss rod and pickup height. Lots better!

[WalshFan88]

Well as I write this post I'm blown away. My guitar playing has just improved ten-fold....!!! In one day. By changing two things. How you ask?! Hmm?!

First I changed from 8 to 9 gauge strings back last year. I started playing guitar on 8 gauge strings. Last year I moved up to 9 gauge strings. Well now I've moved to 10 gauge strings and it's a VAST improvement. Tone is fuller, thicker, and OMG did it make a difference with keeping in tune. My guitars I had to fight with but now it's perfect. It's amazing the difference it made.

Now, that's the first part of the equation. Here's where it gets interesting. My guitar buddy from a local blues band has been harping on me to try some "Jazz picks". Now when I heard that I got turned off quickly. But I thought what the heck, so I went to my other guitar player in my band's guitar store and bought a couple "Dunlop Jazz III" picks. They are absolutely unbelieveable. The accuracy, the tone, the cleaner sound, everything. They are more accurate. It's a much cleaner pick attack. And I don't have to move my hand as much. I just move my wrist now. My friend Steve (who is the other guitar player) noted what a difference it made. It made me much more accurate, much less spotty and by that I mean where it wouldn't be a clean attack and it was a tighter sound. It made me sound VERY clean. It's great!

I'm totally happy. So I'm buying some more picks and a box of 12 packs of 10 gauge Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys to put on all of my guitars. I'll get 'em converted over Christmas break. I love the sound and playing differences. I'm much more of a cleaner lead player now. Watch out for a video tomorrow night demonstrating it so you don't think I'm full of it!

I also setup/polished my "Ruby" tonight when I put 10s on I raised the action/intonated it and adjusted the truss rod and pickup height. Lots better!

[WalshFan88]

"I'm much more of a cleaner lead player now."

Well, I'm glad to hear that. Now the other guys in the band won't have to stand so far away from you.....

Heh heh you think you are SO funny! LOL!

[MikeA]

I use medium thickness "Cactus Picks". Love 'em. The have really rough (Like SAND) up where you hold them and they NEVER slip. I don't like Gorilla-Snot and have to use something like it when using a smooth pick. I bought a hundred of them a couple of years ago....have not quit using the FIRST ONES I pulled out of the bag <LOL> Actually, I got 50 mediums, 25 lights and 25 heavies, but it is the mediums that I play nearly all the time.

The Ernie Ball's I got are Slinky Hybrids. 9 11 16 26 36 and 46. I like the heavy ones on bottom and the light ones on top. You get all that tone on the bass for power chords without sacrificing the bend-ability of the ones you normally solo with.

I did have to raise the action on the bottom to allow for the heavier strings but the ones I removed were 9's so didn't have to do anything on the top.

Oh, and I finally figured out why my LP has never felt right. The fret wires feel like they are sticking out on either side of the fretboard! It's the lack of neck binding that gives it that rough feel. I need to get a bottle of lemon oil and see if the wood will soak it up a bit and expand to cover those ends. If that doesn't work (I'll give it time) then I'm taking LP in and have them file the ends off. It'll cost around $40 or $50. I'm pretty happy with the setup other than that.

Funny....the Tele doesn't have bindings on the neck and it has a great feel to it. The Sheraton is completely bound....EVERYWHERE including the "eff holes". I've never played a guitar that had a neck that feel as good as that one. Not just me either. My son is trying to be patient and wait until they bury me before he steals that Epiphone, but he may not have the will power. And if he really wants it, I'll give it to him. It's no longer my #1. That honor seems to be falling on the Telecaster....humble Mexican Made Tele. Love it.

Oh, And while I was there, I saw the new Epiphone Dots. Faded fiinish. And uncovered LACE pups! I didn't play it but I was surely impressed with it. I am pretty sure that I'm going to end up taking in the Sheraton II and having a new set of pups put in it and have them work over the pots...get them tightened up and put some freakin Loc-Tite on them! I just don't have the tools to get in underneath that body with anything that I use to hold the bolt so I can tighten it.

[WalshFan88]

I use medium thickness "Cactus Picks". Love 'em. The have really rough (Like SAND) up where you hold them and they NEVER slip. I don't like Gorilla-Snot and have to use something like it when using a smooth pick. I bought a hundred of them a couple of years ago....have not quit using the FIRST ONES I pulled out of the bag <LOL> Actually, I got 50 mediums, 25 lights and 25 heavies, but it is the mediums that I play nearly all the time.

The Ernie Ball's I got are Slinky Hybrids. 9 11 16 26 36 and 46. I like the heavy ones on bottom and the light ones on top. You get all that tone on the bass for power chords without sacrificing the bend-ability of the ones you normally solo with.

I did have to raise the action on the bottom to allow for the heavier strings but the ones I removed were 9's so didn't have to do anything on the top.

Oh, and I finally figured out why my LP has never felt right. The fret wires feel like they are sticking out on either side of the fretboard! It's the lack of neck binding that gives it that rough feel. I need to get a bottle of lemon oil and see if the wood will soak it up a bit and expand to cover those ends. If that doesn't work (I'll give it time) then I'm taking LP in and have them file the ends off. It'll cost around $40 or $50. I'm pretty happy with the setup other than that.

Funny....the Tele doesn't have bindings on the neck and it has a great feel to it. The Sheraton is completely bound....EVERYWHERE including the "eff holes". I've never played a guitar that had a neck that feel as good as that one. Not just me either. My son is trying to be patient and wait until they bury me before he steals that Epiphone, but he may not have the will power. And if he really wants it, I'll give it to him. It's no longer my #1. That honor seems to be falling on the Telecaster....humble Mexican Made Tele. Love it.

Oh, And while I was there, I saw the new Epiphone Dots. Faded fiinish. And uncovered LACE pups! I didn't play it but I was surely impressed with it. I am pretty sure that I'm going to end up taking in the Sheraton II and having a new set of pups put in it and have them work over the pots...get them tightened up and put some freakin Loc-Tite on them! I just don't have the tools to get in underneath that body with anything that I use to hold the bolt so I can tighten it.

The thing about the Jazz III's is they have a fine point tip and are not rounded like most picks. Round is okay for rhythm, but not for lead. The benefit is they are more accurate, less noise, and easier to pull of pinch harmonics.

Yup I have the same thing on my LP Studio Smartwood - lack of binding means rougher fret edges.