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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 11:32 am
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dafreeze wrote:
LP, you don't play Fender guitars? Buddy I've been a Les Paul guy since I was a kid and you couldn't pry my studio away from me. (Owned a Heritage Standard 80Elite years ago that to this day is the prettiest Les Paul I've ever seen).

But Man I've got to tell you I've been awakened. Bought my first Fender guitar a couple months ago, the '07 American Deluxe Strat pic'd on the previous page and although not quite the bad@$$ the Les Paul is it can come pretty close. Just dreamy bluesy tones out of the neck pup and the neck feels like it was carved in Heaven. The whole guitar does, in fact. Not only is it the nicest feeling and playing guitar I own but that I've ever picked up. It's my opinion that every guitarists OWES it to himself to own one.

And a little update on the Pro Jr. I looked at a lot of speakers to upgrade it with and for a couple reasons decided to go with a Jensen P10R. It should arrive Wed or Thurs.


I owned a really cool all-black Strat for a few years. It had the whammy and Vintage single-coils and it sounded very good, but ergonomically it didn't suit me. I gigged with it exactly once, and recorded with it once, and it worked musically, but not physically. I have recently decided it must have been the 25-1/2" scale. Whatever it was, Strats don't feel comfortable to me, and I'm sorry for it.

But my Gibsons make up the lack, especially through Fender amps...and I play Fender Precision basses exclusively, as I may have noted. They fit me perfectly, which is maybe a little ironic, given my experience with Strats.

Let us know how the speaker works out. I put a Weber Beam Blocker on my BJ NOS, and it improved it.


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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 12:00 pm
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You know I meant to ask you about that beam blocker. Just to clarify, you still have the stock Jensen C12N in your NOS, correct? I've not felt the piercing feeling that would warrant one in either my NOS or DRRI.

I'd been leaning pretty hard towards one of the Webers Vintage series to replace the PJ's Fend/Emin with, but never got a response from the Weber line and became concerned that their 10A125 and especially 10A150 would be too bright. I did wonder if their beam blocker would handle that. One of my questions for them. Plus at the time I wasn't sure if the 5-1/4" deep Weber would fit. Stuck a tape inside my PJ's cab and it'd be close. I have since read of a couple guys who went with them.

By the way I envy you your 335 as it's always been my ultimate dream guitar, and in particular the 355 in Heritage Cherry. But I may have scratched that itch for good and am thouroughly in love with it's Gretsch cousin, the '05 6122-62 with the Filter'Trons I picked up 6 weeks ago. (And since Fender took them over in '03 they went back to the alinco in them pups instead of the ceramic mags Baldwin was putting in them.)

Perhaps not to far down the road I might like to look upgrading the speakers for the BJ NOS and the DRRI.

I'm extremely interested in the Celestion Blue alnico, (or it's new higher power gold brother) for the BJ, and Webers...I forget which one but it's in their high power series, the one that is supposed to be a clone of the old JBL's, for the DRRI.


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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 12:33 pm
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The Weber Beam Blocker made a huge difference in my lightly modified Pignose G40V (sub 12AU7 for the middle 12AX7, Sovtek 6L6s, Eminence Ragin' Cajun 10" speaker). It was a great sounding little amp before, but the Beam Blocker smoothed out the top end to the extent that I decided to keep it. I got it for a harp amp, but I've mostly been plugging my Gibsons into it lately, simply because it's easier to compare tones with my LP and 335 than with an omni harp mic in my living room (very difficult to avoid feedback).

The WBB had less effect on the BJ (and yes, it has the Jensen), but it was still an improvement...and for the price, it's well worth it. It's a little trouble to install on the BJ: I had to remove the head and the speaker and lining up all the screws and nylon rack washers and metal washers while I was bolting it in took a little time, but it was maybe an hour's Saturday morning work. I'd put one on any amp with even a slightly harsh top end, it really does work. My Jazzmaster Ultralight doesn't need one, but I might be tempted to install a pair on my '63 Sears Silvertone Twin Twelve -- I'll have to pull the back off the cab and see if the speakers are going to be a problem to get to.

As to the 335, I bought it Oct 1, and I've played it almost every day since, including at the one gig I've done in that time. It's a killer. It's amazing that Ted McCarty came up with two winners in 6 years, the LP and the 335 series. I'm now covered in the electric guitar sector, unless I should find a cherry 355 with a Bigsby.,,,

I had a '63 Gretsch 6122 from '82, and it was my main electric until I got the LP Deluxe. It was gorgeous, but with limited upper fret access, and the sound wimped out above the 9th fret or so. I sold it for about 7X what I paid and the proceeds more than paid for the 335, so I have no regrets. Sure do miss the Bigsby, though.

Let us know about your experiences with the different speakers. I've been contemplating changing out the Eminence in the Pig for something a little softer and more compliant.


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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 12:53 pm
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I certainly will. Should be before the end of the week in regards to the little one.

Mr. McCarty is one of my heros, along the lines of Kelly Johnson if you're into planes.

BTW, congratulations on your 335. Even with the 6122-62, I'm still truely envious. And like you say, the only negative I have about the Gretsch is that massive block of wood at the body/neck joint. But that was a given, and fret access down there isn't why I bought it. Would loved to have seen yours. Sounds like an awsome return you got on it.


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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 1:50 pm
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Thank you. I've not been successful in posting pics here, but here are links to a Flickr silideshow:

I still have the Regal, the Dobro, the two acoustics, the '51 Precision reissue, the fretless P, the fiesta red P and the Gibsons.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/19652150@N ... 9197/show/


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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 8:48 am
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Nuts LP, was loooking forward to seing your slide show but neither yesterday or this morning was I able to view. The linked page begins to load, very slowly then stalls out after a few minutes a little less than halfway across the loading bar then this pops up. "The page cannot be displayed".

I opened a photo bucket account and usually post thumbnails which are expandable when double clicked and even have a little size increaser button in the bottom right corner of the pic that displays when your mouse goes over it. Pretty nice.


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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 9:12 am
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Sorry...it loaded OK for me, Maybe I had to download software to view it. Maybe that's why everyone seems to use Photobucket.


Anyhow here's a truncated version, which consists of the pics I have loaded on Photobucket.

http://s345.photobucket.com/albums/p362/lpdeluxe1/


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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 10:12 am
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That's what I'm talkin' about. Suweeet!

Sure you can imagine which 3 I'm real partial to.

Curious about the Seymore Dunkins you've got in that beautiful Les Paul.


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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 11:13 am
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Thanks for the kind words. Remember, that's 34 years of trading and buying and selling!

I'll tell the whole tale about the LP. In 1984, I had had the Country Gent for abut a year and a half, and the bass player in the circle I was playing with asked me to come by and check out his new guitar. I went there and said (rudely enough) "I don't like Les Pauls." Which was at least true. "No, you have to try it." So I picked it up and it SANG. "If you ever sell it, let me know" I said.

Fast forward to 1997, when I was in the hospital in Houston TX, which, as it happens, is where the owner of the Deluxe had settled. He was the only guy I knew that I could call without incurring long-distance charges (now, of course, I'd call everyone on my cell phone). If you've spent much time in a hospital bed, you may have noticed that time hangs heavy,

Out of the blue one evening he asked me if I was still interested in Lester. "Sure. How much?" "Well, they go for $1500...I'll let you know." I immediately started scheming how I was going to scrounge up the money. Then he called back and said that he wanted an acoustic, and he'd sell me the Gibson for what an acoustic cost him.

Damned if he didn't go out and buy a $750 Ovation!

Over the years, the bridge pickup had died, so I went looking for a replacement. Seymour Duncan's web site listed three minis, including the SM-1, which was advertised as being identical to the original Gibson part. I checked out the sound samples on their web page and ordered a pair. Sure enough, it brought Lester back to life, just as he had been.

Over the following months I took both Chester and Lester to gigs, but before long Chester would languish at home. I sold him for $3.1K, and he needed a neck reset (I paid $425 in 1982).

All I have done since is change the strings. It sounds best through my Jazzmaster Ultralight or a friend's '67 Super Reverb, but it never sounds bad.


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Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 1:11 pm
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Great story, except for the hospital part. Hope you're 100% after 11 years.

13 years after you touched that Les Paul you bought it. 13's always been my number. My Birthday.

Good thing about the Gretsch, at $3100, both you and the purchaser were obviously happy.

I'm kind of a late bloomer. All the junk of mine you see listed on the previous page (except for the 2 Taylors, w/I've had for 10 years), some of which is pictured in the post above the list, I've aquired beginning this Jan.
Kinda went a bit nuts. Worked a bunch of OT this year and became severely afflicted with some type of syndrome which uncontrolably forced me to aquire guitars, amps, pedals, books, and some other stuff.

In the last 2 months I bought the Strat, both Gretschs, the BJ, PJ and half the junk on the floor.

And I love it all.

The only thing that's really killing me now, GAS wise, is to trade up the Ric 360 for a 360-12.

Been watching both the 6's and the 12's on ebay for awhile to get an idea, and am about to list it.


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Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 1:42 pm
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lpdeluxe wrote:
I have recently decided it must have been the 25-1/2" scale.


I hear you there. My hands are just a little too small for the Strat scale. If I ever have the money to get one made by the Fender Custom Shop, I'll get a Jaguar neck with a 24" scale. I think that would be ideal for me.


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Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 1:44 pm
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To tell the truth, the last year and a half has been like that. While I kept the winners, I went through 9 basses and 2 resonators besides the ones you saw. That's why I think I'm finally at the end of the madness: no more GAS, no more regrets (now that I got my Precision back), I've got ev4rything I need.

Some people seem to be able to walk into a music store and find a long-time honey: I have to try instruments out for a long stretch before I can make up my mind. It was the joke in the band I was in that I showed up with a different bass every rehearsal.

I had a 11/67 Ric 366/12. It's the one with the comb where you can pull the octave strings down and play it like a six. It was really pretty, nicely made, low action but I never took to it. Twelve strings are six too many for me. But a good friend has a Guild 212 that works very well for him, and we recorded the Ric with him playing it with good results.

Hope you find a good one...Ric doesn't make shabby instruments, but -- like Gretsch -- they go their own way, and it wasn't my way.


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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 2:48 pm
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lpdeluxe wrote:
...Hope you find a good one...Ric doesn't make shabby instruments, but -- like Gretsch -- they go their own way, and it wasn't my way.


Thank's LP, so do I. Am confident I will. Like you said, they're very fine, as are the Gretschs of today.

Certainly they go their own way. Everything I have is different. It's a wonderful difference though. And the way I see it, the 360-12 will round out the mix very nicely.

The Les Paul is my first love, and this Studio is my first plug in guitar in 25 years. I like the '59 neck on it much better than the '60 slimline I had on my Heritage Standard '80 Elite. It's also the bad@$$. Kept the vintage looking keys wien I swapped out the greens for TonePros/Kluson vintage lockers, and this wine red color looks a lot better in real life than the photoes.

The Strat is the nicest feeling and playing guitar of all of them, and to me really shines uniquely through the neck pup clean with lots of volume. I think it's color combination makes it a really classy looking guitar as well.

My Gretsch is similar to the LP, but unique, nostalgic and classic, and has an awesome tone of it's own. To me, it's the 'Coolest' of my modest stable.

And like I said, for what I love (both kinds of music. Rock AND Roll), from the Beatles through Zeppelin, the 360-12 will just about fill my niches.


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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 3:06 pm
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Ha ha. Well, I've played Rock AND Roll, Country AND Western (you ain't lived till you've played George Jones at a backwoods dance hall called the Chicken House!), but the older I get the more ornery and idiosyncratic. It's more fun to work up original material or challenging music sometimes, although, to be sure, it's fun to get out the harp and do Folsom Prison Blues.

Oddly enough, my next gig is playing harmonica in the local college production of Big River, a musical based on the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with music & lyrics by Roger Miller. Five hundred smacks, and all I have to do is show up at rehearsal with my harp case. Playing bass was never like this.

On the other hand, I'm expected to play the score. We'll see about that.

As I remarked to a friend, the older I get, the more peculiar my resume looks.

_________________
"Digo: 'paciencia, y barajar.'" Don Quijote de la Mancha, Part II, Chapter 23


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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 10:46 am
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I bought a new Blues Junior about a year ago and have been very impressed with what it can do. I live in a small house and it has more volume than I can ever use. I recently bought an Ibanez Tube Screamer to get some real cool distortion out of it as well. It was only $120 and really added to the flexibility of the amp.
My vote is for the Blues Junior.


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