Gearhead

[glenneaglesfan]

Mike, your little grandson is cute. Good to see you are bringing him up properly!

Vegas sounds a bit scary!

[MikeA]

Mike, your little grandson is cute. Good to see you are bringing him up properly!

Vegas sounds a bit scary!

Oh no GEF! I didn't mean to give that impression. Like any other city, you just have to be aware of where you are and not go where you should not be. We've been going at least 3 times a year and usually 4 or 5 times a year since the Eagles concert out there in 2003 I think it was. We have NEVER had any problems....well, nothing worst than being propositioned or been hit up for smokes or a few bucks to help someone supposedly stranded get enough money to get a car repaired. That last was a pure unadulteraged CON and we blew it off as such.

But we have NEVER felt that we were in danger. And it is a fantastic place for ADULTS to go have fun and believe it or not, after the first couple of trips, it is VERY inexpensive! You sign up at all of the casinos for their free Player's Club Cards and then use them any time you play a machine or at a table game in that casino. Seldom a day goes by now that we do not get either free or at least discounted offers from several casinos in Laughlin, Las Vegas or around the northern part of Kansas.

The worst we have paid in the last 5 years or so has been something like $69 a night for weekends on holidays. Usually it is $29 a night when it isn't FREE. We spend $10 or $15 dollars for coupon books where we get either free or 2 for one meals. Nearly all of the casinos we go to offer us cash to use at the tables or on the machines. So, really, about the only major expense we incur is for the Rental Car. We know our way around the outlying casinos (and the Strip for that matter though we seldom go to the tourist casinos on the Strip). But for 5 days and 4 nights, our rental expense is usually around $115. That's a LOT cheaper than it would cost to take a taxi.

[MikeA]

I think I need to get a life! Working out of my basement has a lot of advantages, but there are disadvantages too! Every time I come through to my office, I can't help but see the guitars and amps in the main room. Then, instead of getting back to coding efforts, I'm thinking about those axes or ones that I'd like to have.

Here lately, it's been a thought of mine to do some alteration work on the EPI. It has some pretty tame humbucker pups on it. While I'd like to switch them out for some better Gibson or Gibson clones, there is something I think I want to try.

I'm considering coil-tapping the bridge pup. It would be easier to do on a solid body guitar where the cavity can be completely exposed just by removing the pickguard, but it wouldn't be that easy on semi-hollow body guitar like the Sheraton. Maybe I could put a on-off switch mounted to the underside of the pickguard. Or, I could switch out the tone knob on the bridge pickup to make it a push-pull pot with one position turning the humbucker into a single coil! But that would require some pretty intricate fishing of electronics through the eff holes.

Still, I'd like to try this mod. It would open up a whole new range of sounds that the EPI could produce!

[MikeA]

Okay folks, the site rated "X" that I'm listing here...."X" for eXtreme. I've only included a few of my favorites and there will be more to come:

CLICK HERE

[MikeA]

Moderators:

I am not sure of the policy of The Border concerning links to other forums so if this is out of order here, accept my appologies and feel free to censor the link.

I ain't sellin' nuthin'

I've started a topic on my little forum where I have been putting together some documentation that beginning guitar players might find helpful. No, let me change that statement....if you don't already KNOW this information I'll guarantee you that it will be very helpful!

http://www.mvabercrombie.net/Forum

Look under "Musicians" / "Music Theory and Scales"

I started putting it together for myself. It happened when I wanted to know more about guitar scales than just finding them somewhere on the internet an memorizing them. I wanted to transcribe from a Minor Pentatonic into a Major Pentatonic and couldn't find anything about the "whys and wherefores"....just a "here is what you want" or shift down 3 frets or something like that.

So I decided it was high time I learned a little bit about the building blocks of MUSIC; The SCALES.

What I've done is started from scratch and from the twelve tones, explained in layman's terminology how to derive a Major Scale from any key. And then how to derive the Minor Scale from that key and then the Pentatonic Major and Minor Scales in that key! And, believe it or not, it actually makes sense!

I'm not bragging, but I've looked at books and internet articles for years but until I sat down and tried to piece it all together, it just didn't make any sense to me. Now it does.

I've included some "visuals" to go alone with it....some of the Scales presented in "pattern form" and will be adding more. I have a diagram of all the notes and their locations on the neck. And I've started a little bit of a thread on some Blues Guitar.

All of this I'll be adding to as I have time to assemilate it.

If you are interested in this, you are invited to look at it, copy it, keep it, give it to folks....I don't care. If anyone finds it of use, you are welcome to it. Of course the disclaimer is that to most people, it is safe, but one can overdose on it and if such is the case, the author accepts no responsibility for it!

The topics concerning the "information" described are locked and pinned, but the forum is open in that category for questions and answers. Well, questions anyway....I am not a musician. I'm just a hack trying to teach himself and one who would welcome others to come along and learn with him or teach him!

[wsccg]

Hi Mike,

It sounds very interesting! I think I'm a bit thick though because I couldn't find it on the site. I did see the forums and went through them all, but didn't see the Musician topic or section. Sorry to be a bother, but can you direct me? I'd love to see your research as that is the kind of stuff that has always seemed very "foreign language" to me and would love to get some clarification! Thank you!

[wsccg]

Never mind, I think I found it. Thank you though!!!

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Mike - We don't have a problem with you linking to other sites. There are no rules on The Border regarding posting links as long as the site doesn't contain offensive content as described in our terms of service.

[Mrs Henley]

Mike, maybe for the next time: it would be a lot easier for us if you put the link of the topic here and just not the link of the entire forum..it's a little bit confusing.

[MikeA]

Mike, maybe for the next time: it would be a lot easier for us if you put the link of the topic here and just not the link of the entire forum..it's a little bit confusing.

I could do that, but the way I have the security access on the forum set up, when "guests" come in to the forum, all they can see is the "General" category.

I require that people request access to the rest of the forums ("Golf", "Music" and my forum on "Gambling").

I'm not after building up a lot of members. I pretty much want to "know" who it is that I'm allowing in. Of course, anyone who is a contributor here on "The Border" will be given access as soon as I check in to it and see them.

Ticky can activate you too on the forums. She's one of my Moderators.