tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13719297107388737402024-02-19T01:03:43.419-08:00Local Music Gear - Feature StoryWe are committed to providing musicians local listings of independent retail shops, luthiers, instrument makers, instrument repair shops, local lessons, events and of course our opinion and review.Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-47821390451708435592015-08-11T12:10:00.000-07:002015-08-11T12:26:17.683-07:00Building a Custom Guitar From Start to Finish, Part 1: Getting started ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px; text-align: start;">Written By: </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px; text-align: start;"><span class="size8 PalatinoLinotype8">Jac Harrison</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>t least once a month I get an inbox on social media or an
email asking questions about getting a custom guitar built and all the bla bla
bla that goes with it... so for the next few months I will be documenting
a build from start-to-finish covering every aspect from how to choose
a luthier (guitar builder), choosing a design that works best
for you, how to not "over spend" and there will be video of the actual build from t</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">he luthier in part two of this series</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. On that note, this will be in a three part editorial series called "Building a Custom Guitar From Start to Finish", and will be in direct correlation with the Facebook group "<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1116278825068797/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Beardly Customs Build for LMG</a>". The luthier I will be working with is Rick Link of <a href="http://www.beardlycustoms.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Beardly Customs</a> and he has agreed to do this build as an interactive
workshop allowing you (the reader) to follow the step-by-step process of
ordering a custom built guitar, and watching it built in real time while he answers questions in regards via the Facebook group. By the end of
this editorial series you should have a complete understanding
on how to spend a few thousand dollars on a custom built guitar while feeling fuc*ing amazing about
it! Now let's get this party started...</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;"><u><b>Step one: Know what you like!</b></u></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So you are at a point in your career as a musician where the "off-the-shelf" guitars aren't doing it for you anymore, or you are a hobbyist with some deep pockets... either way, your first custom build can be confusing as trying to understand why there is a market for country hip-hop music. This may sound ridiculous, but most guitar players are set in their ways and have no idea what else is out there, because we (guitar players) know everything! Sh*t... I was sold on the fact that I was a two humbucker guy for years and there was nothing you could tell me to change my mind until I played a HSS Strat and my whole world changed overnight. It is worth finding out what your true formula is before you </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">throw down some serious cash on a one-off build. So put on your big boy </span><span style="background-color: #f6f7f8; line-height: 17.0666675567627px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">pants</span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">, g</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o to a music store and play everything. Don't just play what you are accustomed to -- but play it all. Get an understanding of how the different guitars work, what type of tones they are giving you, how they respond to your playing and pay special attention to what style of controls/setup you favor (knobs, hardware, switch placement and scale length). Getting a custom guitar built is just that, it's something you have dreamed up... the best of the best for you (that you can afford). You may be a Fender player but like the Gibson style controls or if you enjoy a Gibson </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">body </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">style but want it with a Fender scale and style tremolo. The best part about having a custom guitar built is being able to mix and match your favorite aspects from many different guitar manufactures into one instrument. In theory this should give you the best playing experience you have ever had making playing not only more enjoyable, but easier. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u>Side note:</u></span> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Knowing what you like to play is one of the most important aspects of getting a custom built guitar. Hell, not knowing what you like to play and having a guitar custom built would be like going to a tailor and asking for clothing without any other specification... that sh*t just doesn't make any sense,</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> and if you contact a </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">luthier and have no clue what you want, you're just going to piss him off! A good rule of thumb is not to piss of the person building your dream guitar.</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold;">Follow this build on <a href="http://www.gearguysradio.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gear Guys Radio</a> every Wednesday night @ 9PM EST for weekly updates and j</span><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: start;">oin the Facbook</span><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: start;"> </span></b></span><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: start;"><span style="color: red;"><b>group</b></span> > <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1116278825068797/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HERE</a></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><u>Step Two: Do your research!</u></b></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://vonyorkusa.com/product-category/picks/" rel="nofollow" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKmWd4BKMerflzMfWduK4CbWkulZkRWWkzyYhvTQVygLj9OtbWXP9-D0tA_Qn14fxRk8A2CZBLEJ5oJOF3YmY0G1hBpTbnxXwI02_z0-CgXIz0H8UrzyNF69gGuupycnIQzF3F5BNR0Bb/s1600/10481770_688170444603684_4089945622016174055_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now that you have </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">a understanding of</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> exactly what you want, open an adult beverage (or what I refer to as "rational thinking juice") while you search</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> the web for you dream guitar. Chances are there is a luthier out there that specializes in what you are looking for. For example, this build is a hybrid of a mid 1990's Gibson Nighthawk mixed with a 1960's Fender Start but will have a modern HSS setup. No matter how much cash you have, you can't even order that from either the Fender or Gibson custom shops. A good starting point is Googling the interwebs for what you are looking for, in this case I would search</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> "Gibson Fender hybrid guitar" to see what is out there. If you do not find what you are looking for, that's OK! Search for a local </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">luthier, find one, pick up the phone, call </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">and ask if they can make your guitar. If they do not specialize in what you are looking for, they may be able to refer you to someone who can. Another great way of finding a local </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">luthier is by attending your local and/or national guitar shows. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;"><b><u>Step Three: Putting your dream guitar on paper with your luthier (guitar builder)!</u></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Great... now that you have a luthier you will be working with, this is where their technical skills come in to play. If you understand technical terminology that will assist your luthier in understanding what you want built, I'm sure that they will be grateful for your knowledge, but if you are just a "know-it-all", this is the step that will bite you in the wallet if you are wrong. It is OK to not know the technical terms; that is the luthier's job and part of what you are paying them for. For example, if you say "I want a Gibson LP neck on a Fender Start body", that is telling your luthier that you want a </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">24 3/4 scale length set neck with a </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">12" radius dance floor on a guitar that traditionally come stock with a </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">25 1/2 scale length bolt-on neck with a </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">9.5" radius dance floor. </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This will not only change the pliability, but the overall feel and tone of the guitar. Spend some time explaining what you would like to achieve from this build and what you would change about your current guitar if you could. It can be as simple as wanting a light weight version of what you have now or something that is completely off the wall and unique. Rick Link (the </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">luthier </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">for this build) and I went back in forth for about a week in regards to this build from everything including tonewoods to hardware, and I speak fluent "guitar geek"... so my advice is to be patient and </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">thorough with your design explanation. You will be rewarded with an amazing guitar that is built to your specification and functions the way you imagined it would. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;">For this build I wanted to have some fun with my followers and friends on social media while making a
guitar that I would be able to use; so I put down my "must haves"...
a HSS setup on a 5-way blade with an on/on switch to run the bridge humbucker
in series-vs-parallel mode, a bolt on 60's "C" shape 25.5 scale neck
with a 12" radius, and the rest we (Rick and I) let the members of the Facebook
group "<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1116278825068797/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Beardly Customs Build for LMG</a>" decide from body type,
pickguard material and hardware. When the group decided that the </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Nighthawk</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"> body was the winner, I was kind of apprehensive about going with
it. To me a Gibson </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Nighthawk</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"> was always
"that hybrid mistake" Gibson did back in the 90's
to compete with the new guy at the time (PRS), but completely failed.
I have always thought of the </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Nighthawk</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"> as a Gibson in Fender clothing, like a pre op
"TransFENDER" in today's terminology. I sometimes wonder how
they came up with the idea... was it a prank guitar from the Gibson R&D team made from all
the crap that they didn't use from the year before? I can just see it
now... a bunch of stoned hippies playing Hacky Sack and trying to
"save-the-world...man" by recycling unused parts as a joke. It's
quite possible that the conversation went something like this...
"Ha man, we really fuc*ed up... what are we going to do with all these extra jazzbox mini hubuckers, that crazy sideways humbucker thing and why do we have Tele
necks?... I know, let’s build one guitar with one of each in it and we can use that
new Epiphone prototype body that no one liked." I really can’t see any other way that they would have come up with this design. With that said, I
do like the concept of having a Strat style guitar with a Gibson body and
bridge to "mix-it-up" a bit, so that is what this build will be. She will be a fusion of the best of both guitars and not a cluster-fuc* hodgpodg of
Gibson parts on a Fender scale with a 5-way switch.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To start, I'm not a set neck kind of guy. I like a bolt on
for the sustain, because science. That whole myth about a set neck giving you
more sustain is a bunch of crap. The glue acts as a buffer between the neck and
the body absorbing the vibrations dampening the
frequency response and darkening the tone.
The amount of sustain you lose is miniscule, but I just like to
make that argument to "ruffle-the-feathers" of the set neck diehards.
In fact the best sustain is achieved from a neck through body, but
that also yields a slightly more compressed tone, and I'm not a fan
-- so this build will have a bolt on neck. She will be a Strat at heart with a
few of the Nighthawk's features including a 12" radius and body
style, but have a non-tremolo modern Gibson styled one piece tune-o-matic
bridge giving her a unique look while reducing string tension
by eliminating the string-through-body design of the Nighthawk.
Besides the obvious changes such as the pickup
configuration and control locations, we will also be adding a top mount
wood pickguard with forearm contour giving her more of that Strat feel and
making her less ugly in my opinion.</span></div>
<b style="color: red; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;">Follow this build on <a href="http://www.gearguysradio.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gear Guys Radio</a> every Wednesday night @ 9PM EST for weekly updates and j</span><span style="color: red; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: start;">oin the Facbook</span><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: start;"> </span></b></span><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: start;"><span style="color: red;"><b>group</b></span> > <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1116278825068797/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HERE</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>This Build Specs</u>:</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="color: #999999;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Neck<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7XH4VkiXdzxbD9bglr3_k9zJfT6CZwxFftTOfDoGIFH56Q39VR7hn4qo3OYA-rFqAlYTESR17KGIja-7r1ZmK-pe2fpMKs0Dl83qCb6e9IoNzEZnj-GwR7YG6Gbd4MZrNxrUU3l-539qj/s1600/11831810_10206342088624878_6727503285796544568_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7XH4VkiXdzxbD9bglr3_k9zJfT6CZwxFftTOfDoGIFH56Q39VR7hn4qo3OYA-rFqAlYTESR17KGIja-7r1ZmK-pe2fpMKs0Dl83qCb6e9IoNzEZnj-GwR7YG6Gbd4MZrNxrUU3l-539qj/s200/11831810_10206342088624878_6727503285796544568_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">The 7th Fret Inlay</span> </td></tr>
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</span></u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: #999999;">Oreantation: </span></b><span style="color: #999999;">Right Handed</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Nut Width:</b></span><span style="color: #999999;">1-11/16"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: #999999;">Nut: </span></b><span style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://www.graphtech.com/products/brands/black-tusq-xl/product-detail/pt-6116-00-black-tusq-xl-slotted-1-11-16-?id=26019d77-a843-490a-ab10-1719b90b2352" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">GraphTech Black TUSQ XL (P<span style="line-height: 115%;">t-6116-00)</span></a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Neck Profile: </b></span><span style="color: #999999;">"60 Style" Oval .810 at 1st fret </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b># of Frets: </b></span><span style="color: #999999;">22</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Fret Wire: </b></span><span style="color: #999999;">6150</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Radius: </b></span><span style="color: #999999;">Straight 12"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Inlay: </b></span><span style="color: #999999;">7th fret (Maple inlay) </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Side Marker Dots: </b>Glow-in-the-dark standard spacing</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Tuners: </b></span><span style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://www.hipshotproducts.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">4x2 Hipshot locking</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Finish: </b></span><span style="color: #999999;">Satin oil </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Scale: </b></span><span style="color: #999999;">25-1/2"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Mounting Holes: </b></span><span style="color: #999999;">Standard 4 Bolt</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Wood: </b></span><span style="color: #999999;">3-Piece Maple/Purple Heart</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho4rBKlL-PK_SE_pT5H4Ct1GX3f9DMM-aTaHE5T39prBMl9xVzxdHSdw8C3jpSsTHPuc84hYZAy4kF-DsUFLdwYnOeMfD3169Xy1ZRl_7PwqDuYPALdEG6oXH2BV2-DvwUFJy9qrduFDCR/s1600/11217540_10206298311490477_8966146393592694227_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho4rBKlL-PK_SE_pT5H4Ct1GX3f9DMM-aTaHE5T39prBMl9xVzxdHSdw8C3jpSsTHPuc84hYZAy4kF-DsUFLdwYnOeMfD3169Xy1ZRl_7PwqDuYPALdEG6oXH2BV2-DvwUFJy9qrduFDCR/s200/11217540_10206298311490477_8966146393592694227_n.jpg" width="123" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">The sketch I sent Rick </span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><u><b>Body/Hardware</b></u> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Body Shape: </b></span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">Nighthawk</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: #999999;">Construction</span>: </b><span style="color: #999999;">Solid</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Neck Pocket: </b></span><span style="color: #999999;">Strat Shape</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Wood: </b></span><span style="color: #999999;">Mahogany top and back with maple/walnut/maple veneers</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: #999999;">Oreantation: </span></b><span style="color: #999999;">Right handed</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Control Rout: </b>T</span><span style="color: #999999;">op Rout with Pickguard</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Pickups:</b> </span><span style="color: #999999;">HSS</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>PickGuard: </b></span><span style="color: #999999;">Ebony (Strat Style to fit body)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Bridge: </b></span><span style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://store.hipshotproducts.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=331" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hipshot Babdy Grand</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Input Jack: </b></span><span style="color: #999999;">Side Mount</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Contour:</b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="color: #999999;">Forearm Contour</span>, <span style="color: #999999;">Tummy Cut</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Scale: </b></span><span style="color: #999999;">25-1/2"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Strap Buttons:</b> </span><span style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://www.hipshotproducts.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hipshot Locking</a></span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.gearguysradio.com/" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="78" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwTPC7rOUeZUsrsYIZVGp87Ji06bgIcbLSk9BW-Vo0_7ND4LjCNqDVw68IT-7Ei8HJM62PRT-CdmRIGvMA4-u902U3i_jL3Fx2N7RIUUv1xOiAMEhwTgUNEPqeylEWT4lMsZh6zcczH3UA/s640/GGR728x90+new.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: xx-small;">ADVERTISEMENT </span></td></tr>
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<b style="color: #999999; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><u>Step Four: Saving time is saving money!</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If there is any way you can save your luthier time or supply them with parts you either have or will order, it will save you on the total build cost. For the most part your luthier makes just the guitar and farms out the pickups and/or hardware. Ask if you can supply these parts and if you have the know-how to assist in any way with the electronics -- your luthier may be open to the idea. For this build I supplied a pre-wired pickguard (that I assembled) so all Rick has to do is transfer the electronics to the pickguard he is making for this build saving him a few hours of labor and the cost of parts. If you cannot wire a pickguard yourself you can order <span style="line-height: 115%;">your entire </span>wiring harnesses pre-wired by <a href="http://www.mojotone.com/pickups#wiringharness" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MojoTone.com</a> and have it shipped directly to your luthier. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">****DO NOT GO CHEAP ON YOUR ELECTRONICS, IT WILL KILL THE BUILD!**** </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPoBqclVwhGfd1ie0Px09NJEopKSQWyuDxLaZ0Hgvv1GatrRKRscFDBuglJ2HQ6s2WfRtip-v_DVlvp8Rnpb44xcNosnBC-RSU8J6l6w9wdSALIk0qyc-L6mYinKz-wuSim0CAZAJVlLl1/s1600/11822278_10206324461944222_3066985897712920260_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPoBqclVwhGfd1ie0Px09NJEopKSQWyuDxLaZ0Hgvv1GatrRKRscFDBuglJ2HQ6s2WfRtip-v_DVlvp8Rnpb44xcNosnBC-RSU8J6l6w9wdSALIk0qyc-L6mYinKz-wuSim0CAZAJVlLl1/s320/11822278_10206324461944222_3066985897712920260_n.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Pre-Wired "S" style pickguard template.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><u>Electronics</u></b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: #999999;">Neck Pickup</span>:</b> <span style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://lawingmusicalproducts.com/store/pickups/sv5w" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Zexcoil SV5W</a></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Middle Pickup: </b><a href="http://lawingmusicalproducts.com/store/pickups/sv5o" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Zexcoil SV50</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Bridge Pickup: </b><a href="http://www.mojotone.com/classic-f-spaced-humbucker#.VcoanPlViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MojoTone Classic Alnico II Humbucker </a></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Volume Potentiometer: </b><a href="http://www.mojotone.com/guitar-parts/guitar-and-bass-potentiometers-resistance/Mojotone-Vintage-Taper-CTS-500K-Short-Split-Shaft-Guitar-Potentiometer#.Vcoa9PlViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Vintage Taper CTS 500k short shaft</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Volume Mod:</b> <a href="http://www.mojotone.com/amp-parts/resistors-1-4-Watt/1-4W-150K-OHM-Resistor#.Vcobc_lViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">150k resistor</a> </span><span style="color: #999999;">/.001MF </span><span style="color: #999999;">capacitor</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="color: #999999;">Tone </b><b style="color: #999999;">Potentiometer</b><b style="color: #999999;">: </b><span style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://www.mojotone.com/guitar-parts/guitar-and-bass-potentiometers-resistance/Mojotone-Vintage-Taper-CTS-500K-Short-Split-Shaft-Guitar-Potentiometer#.Vcoa9PlViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Vintage Taper CTS 500k short shaft</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><b>Tone C</b></span><span style="color: #999999;"><b>apacitor</b></span><span style="color: #999999;"><b>: </b><a href="http://www.mojotone.com/guitar-parts/Guitar-Capacitors/Mojotone-Dijon-Coupling-Caps-0-022uF-630V-22nF#.VcobKPlViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">.022uf /600v Mojotone Dijon</a></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>On/on switch:</b> <a href="http://www.mojotone.com/amp-parts/amp-switches-mini-toggle/DPDT-Mini-Toggle-Switch-On-On#.VcobVvlViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bridge humbucker series-vs-parallel mode</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Switch:</b> <a href="http://www.mojotone.com/guitar-parts/guitar-and-bass-switches-5-way/CRL-5-way-Lever-Switch-for-Guitar#.VcobwPlViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CRL 5-Way leaver </a></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Input Jack: </b><a href="http://www.mojotone.com/amp-parts/amp-jacks-panel-mount/Switchcraft-L11-Mono-1-4-Input-Jack-w-Long-Thread-3-8#.VcocFPlViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Switchcraft L11 Mono 1/4"</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Wire: </b><a href="http://www.mojotone.com/amp-parts/amplifier-wire/22-Ga-Stranded-Cloth-Covered-Wire#.VcocOPlViko" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">22-Ga Stranded Cloth Covered</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span><b style="text-align: justify;"><u><span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;">Step Five: And the waiting begins!</span></u></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now that you have commissioned a build... it's time to forget about it until your </span></span><span style="color: #999999; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">luthier contacts you. The person building your fully custom dream guitar is just that, a person -- as in one person that builds only one to two guitars at a time. This is the most painful part of the build for us guitar players since we are impatient. You have put up 1/2 the cash and you will not see anything on average for about 4 to 6 months. Be </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">patient, get a a temporary hobby that you can master in about 6 months like knitting or playing the bass guitar. It is OK to contact your luthier to see how things are going... but just don't be a jerk about it -- your luthier wants to get the guitar done as much as you want it. </span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Read Part II, The Build (In October 2015)</span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Read Part </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">III</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> The R</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">eview (In December 2015) </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;"><br /></span><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold;">Follow this build on <a href="http://www.gearguysradio.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gear Guys Radio</a> every Wednesday night @ 9PM EST for weekly updates and j</span><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: start;">oin the Facbook</span><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: start;"> </span></b></span><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: start;"><span style="color: red;"><b>group</b></span> > <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1116278825068797/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HERE</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLQe1-iHTIEgQfagKxuRyaqqMFRRTE8xaFuLnFfMCUfDq3EnMipQWNQE9URtt7T2dcL1M7lK8_qnOndTkbd2nlIsKJhH8drQfJdlNS_MsfyGZPsKWfcy_1Dqgi-uH0v4elPvV6TQ-SqVrY/s1600/bc1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLQe1-iHTIEgQfagKxuRyaqqMFRRTE8xaFuLnFfMCUfDq3EnMipQWNQE9URtt7T2dcL1M7lK8_qnOndTkbd2nlIsKJhH8drQfJdlNS_MsfyGZPsKWfcy_1Dqgi-uH0v4elPvV6TQ-SqVrY/s200/bc1.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: start;"> Follow Local Music Gear on facebook </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: start;"><span class="null"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/officialjacharrison" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-HERE-</a></span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.beardlycustoms.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.beardlycustoms.com</a></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Posted 08/2015 </span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">© 2015 localmusicgear.com All rights reserved</span></div>
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Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-42803972888473145042015-01-21T18:58:00.000-08:002015-01-21T19:00:17.466-08:00Price -vs- Value When Buying A Budget Guitar ....<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">Local Music Gear Feature Story </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;">Written By: </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;"><span class="size8 PalatinoLinotype8">Jac Harrison</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7_OAFCMXwyvPGll3C9VIHPSMMUnGIdL-wmSKdJJjuCm3YchT91iQ3gsY16Lxj4rXRNy1kp93a-mjPVybMkoC4XXfspv2oeBM52LdXkrfs_r3m3lKlEg0G3KGsup8Ru7TJ3lpIOH7gmdjm/s1600/01-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7_OAFCMXwyvPGll3C9VIHPSMMUnGIdL-wmSKdJJjuCm3YchT91iQ3gsY16Lxj4rXRNy1kp93a-mjPVybMkoC4XXfspv2oeBM52LdXkrfs_r3m3lKlEg0G3KGsup8Ru7TJ3lpIOH7gmdjm/s1600/01-15.jpg" height="323" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">R</span>ecently, I have noticed an influx of new guitar players on
social media in the groups and pages I manage, and few of others that I’m a
spectator in. Everyone seems so eager to learn about buying their first guitar or are looking for advice on buying a guitar on a budget. To me,
it is exciting to see so many new faces playing what I consider the best
musical instrument, but at the same time I feel bad for the novice
today due to the over abundance of misleading information in regards to
price-vs-value because of the fuc*ing know-it-alls on the interwebs. Thirty plus
years ago when my father gave me my first guitar, he didn’t ask 40,000 people
(that he never met) what they thought would be the best guitar for a beginner.
We took a trip to Hi - Way Music on rt 18 in East Brunswick, NJ where I was
given the choice of the ugly one I played with humbuckers or the ugly one I
played with single-coils (I went with the buckers). Knowing that not everyone
has access to someone that can explain to them what to look for like my father
did for me, this month's editorial will be based on the some of
knowledge I have gained while buying, selling and trading guitars over the
last 20 years. So for all the social media know-it-all as*hats and the keyboard
wizards of knowledge, please stop reading this and go Google something so you
can continue your "awesomeness". This is meant for the guitarist that
wants to learn buying techniques that will allow he/she to make an educated
decision at the point of sale to obtain the highest quality guitar on a budget.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To start, get the name brands out of you head when buying on a budget. Gibson/Epiphone,
Fender/Squrie, Ibanez or 99.9% of the "budget guitars" you can buy at one of
the big box stores are all the same. Most of the over
seas or low end models from the "name brands" are all made in the same
factory and the only real difference is the logo. A basswood body or any leftover tone-wood runs from their main builds will sounds the
same regardless if it is a T-style, S-style, flat top LP -style or any of the
other body styles offered. The only reason the name brand companies offer a
budget guitar is in hopes of gaining your brand loyalty. So to get the biggest bang for your
buck or what I like to call "tone," look at the build materials and the
playability aspects of the guitar, and not the name on the headstock. This includes scale length, neck and body shape,
hardware, fingerboard radios and of course pickup style. When buying a
budget guitar you do not need to take into consideration the tone woods as much
as you would otherwise. Your main focus should be on the type of pickups
offered in that model, and if you like they way it plays. If you do not know what the different types of pickups sound like, go spend a few hours at your local music store and try them all -- or look up what your favorite artist uses and go with that, but playing them will work out better for you. For example, my all time favorite artist is SRV who played </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">traditional </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">single-coils, but I play fat P90's. You will refine your tone and preference over time, but it is important that you like your tone from the start or you will not enjoy playing as much.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.gearguysradio.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwKFltJgfUlC-lDUd0lIz8wGLqNBKMt_QAYSNnhDuLIs-WsXfv1WtAbrQa0Radi8zqjhzh1BITWFN7OiPQiNwsTc5K_gBd3RmPcnHikz9ZyXx18MG8rdsgEtyab2vFzjcmwj9voma9rb1B/s1600/GGR728x90+new.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now that you have an idea of what you are looking to buy -- you can start your search. I would try your local independent music stores first and stay as far away from the bog box chains as you can. If you need to buy online, <a href="http://www.rondomusic.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rondo Music</a> is the only place on the interwebs I would ever buy a budget guitar from. When I need a budget guitar to donate to a school or hospital, Rondo Music is my go to when my local shop does not have what I need. One of my many beefs with the "big box" super stores is that they DO NOT setup any of their guitars properly, especially the ones they refer to as the "cheep guitars." I have personally spent $800 for a 1976 Gibson Les Paul Custom with HSC in 2006 at a big box store because they were convinced that the neck was warped when all the guitar needed was a proper setup. After I had a local shop do a full setup for $45, I was able to resell the guitar three weeks later for $2,180 back to the same chain store at a different location. My point is this; even one of the most desirable guitar can be unplayable if not setup correctly and make any guitar impossible to learn on for the novice. When buying a budget guitar from an independent retail shop or from Rondo Music online, you get a full setup included in the price. This will insure that you will learn to play your new guitar correctly, and that every out-of-tune note is player error -- not from poor intonation.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=96&products_id=261" rel="nofollow" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJcgHm6efY-8TNFWmJQzuJ4R0gAv3YYvkFFM3Ua5b1OJ1Wub90cyRR4W7uhPMf35dtaWh3ZY1XxbhQ2ue1Yfus2B3dmAmMFy35Mnh7J7ipQzT-kkWXj6ybkRKKxNUaJSnW2DO4jygv0tP/s1600/fu.png" height="400" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So now you have had this wonderful budget guitar that makes you
happy in all the right places for a few weeks, you start to
want more of out it... (this will happen even when you spend a months salary on
a guitar). Thankfully there are many inexpensive fixes for all guitar styles. Besides
changing pickups (this will give you the most dramatic difference in tone), you can also change what I refer to as the "points" on the guitar. What I call a point is any
place that the string touches the guitar, and the crap hardware that comes on most guitars (including the expensive ones) will suck the tone
right out of the string. If you are unaware of how an electric guitar works, it is
not magic, but to sum it up -- it is the reaction between string vibration and the magnetic pull of the pickups. The more vibration = longer note sustain with the truest tone to
the instrument. By replacing the nut, saddles, bridge and block (on your tremolo
style guitars); you can obtain professional quality tone with </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">individual note clarity and rolling </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">sustain</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> -- even on a budget
guitar. Now I’m not saying that your $49 Hondo LP copy will sound like a 1959
Les Paul, but it will no longer sound like a cat farting on a tin can. Below are some of the places I shop for upgrades excluding pickups. When it comes to
pickups, they are as personal to a guitar player as the guitar is -- so if you have
questions and would like help finding that perfect pickup, you can <a href="mailto:info@jacharrison.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">email</a> me for advice.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For upgrades I shop at the following (in no particular order)</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">:</span></div>
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<li><a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">FU-Tone</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.graphtech.com/" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">GraphTech Guitar Labs</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.mojotone.com/" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">MoJoTone</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.zeroglide.com/" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">ZerO Glide</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">WD Music Products</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.stewmac.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQiAuf2lBRDW07y3z6f96awBEiQA0IngJrJQjP-4jOd6SR-anL9HKPkBT8zGAW1oNc4MTZRSCCgaAkPv8P8HAQ" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">StewMac</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.lmii.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LMII</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.killerguitarcomponents.com/" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Killer Guitar Components</a></li>
<li><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://www.amplifiedparts.com/products/guitar_parts" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amplified Parts</a></span></li>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It is amazing that you have read this far, give yourself a high five and a half from me. I truly hope that this editorial was helpful. Buying a guitar can change your life for the better by offering you a new creative outlet for recreational purposes, or it can lead to a rewarding carrier. Make sure that you have the same tools as you would when learning -- when you are buying.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/officialjacharrison" rel="nofollow" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVgNZ6MM9otQpLn2h0y33KdturVh3Q-_mnh7cED-Ge9mY-azGg3ZJF4I2S2jFtOEG46-7JKi9orwTAHrPaPhJly0XCZZAXYI3NtjohPL3eYFYSSNn-fgzi-jt2llu2yU9B__rbHm502i3e/s1600/facebook+icon.png" /></span></a><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Follow Local Music Gear on facebook </span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/officialjacharrison" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-HERE-</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Posted 01/2015 </span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small;">© 2015 localmusicgear.com All rights reserved</span></div>
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Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-43711858712409597602014-05-25T17:53:00.001-07:002014-05-27T12:22:56.889-07:00Classic Vintage vs Modern Vintage Guitar Pickup Technology ... <div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">Local Music Gear Feature Story </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;">Written By: </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;"><span class="size8 PalatinoLinotype8">Jac Harrison</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR080muk4Jrne1rZGWQcra2XUqx5a3PnTLa9iXtqZf75Mh9N50A0PL3G6MOC_BRiHMHYSIEXiSgQARL6kLe2fm_aVwUgzhoXcFYB0VuTFywpKE1L20y16vXOMMIVlluXGtAELh6AwBD4ZG/s1600/weweeee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR080muk4Jrne1rZGWQcra2XUqx5a3PnTLa9iXtqZf75Mh9N50A0PL3G6MOC_BRiHMHYSIEXiSgQARL6kLe2fm_aVwUgzhoXcFYB0VuTFywpKE1L20y16vXOMMIVlluXGtAELh6AwBD4ZG/s1600/weweeee.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">V</span>intage reproduction, vintage vibe, classic tone, and
antiquity are just a few of the names that guitar pickup manufacturers use to
describe the tone of their product(s) so we (the guitarist) associate them a particular
time era. Some manufacturers will even go as far as to classify a pickup's voice with a
year and/or a particular artist name that had a desirable tone from that time period. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;">These are all wonderful marketing techniques
that are designed to make us (the tone chasers) open our wallets and say “yes
please, I may need that". This is great if you want a particular tone but do
not fully understand how to achieve it, but for the rest of us it is an indication of future disappointment 90% of the time. When I see a manufacturer selling a vintage/</span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">classic </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;">style pickup, I take it as their way of saying that the product has a certain dynamic response that reacts to the players touch </span><span style="color: #999999; line-height: 115%;">opposed</span><span style="color: #999999;"> to a modern style pickup that has </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">compressed feel, and less about the overall tone. Anyone can Google the specs for a vintage pickup, buy the raw materials and make one -- but it takes talent to voice the pickup giving it that dynamic response we associate with vintage guitars (pre-1980). As a vintage/classic tone style pickup player, one of things I always focus on when selecting
a pickup is what I am trying to achieve tonally and less about what year do I want to
sound like. If I was replacing pickups in a 1964 Start or a 2014 </span><a href="http://www.chilicustomguitars.at/CHILI-CUSTOM.html" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Chili Custom Guitar</a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, I would want the same in both guitars -- a tone that is unique to me that is built on a platform that allows me to control my tone with dynamic response.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The way I look at things; there are only two contributing factors controlling the pickup's voice enabling it to deliver what we refer to as “vintage/classic” tone, quality of build and time. When
Leo and Les were winding pickups “back-in-the-day”, they only used the best
quality materials they could get and wound each pickup by hand vs today where we have machines
manned by children in Indonesia farting out “perfect” pickups that lack human imperfection. In my opinion, human imperfection is one
of the factors that gives your tone depth and mojo. I have had the chance to
play some of the most desirable vintage guitars in the world and some of the
worst. Just like today’s masterpieces, it all comes down to the original quality of the build and not how old it is. In 30 years from now a poorly made pickup will still sound like crap -- just old crap. </span></div>
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<a href="http://chilicustomguitars.com/CHILI-CUSTOM.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTvN_llSRpx827UVge03zyNWUDQAklHpjluumnUB3TdFw52z6T9X35G1dcDYD7zAQcD3jvS_vr1lTeoCezqnFmxDX54cTgDdUhg3po7F2U9vu4Q9JRoVYz1rp7bT3B98RIt4jAeKxSYjld/s1600/10269567_545612088892566_5221576506509873639_n.jpg" height="344" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Every pickup manufacturer today has their own twist on things giving
us guitar players more options than ever before. One thing you can count on 90% of the time when buying a vintage/classic tone style pickup is the quality of build. Most of the vintage/classic tone style pickups are either handmade or are made with human supervision by a person who knows what they are doing. There and four different categories when shopping vintage/classic pickups.</span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">New old stock: basically stuff no one wanted when it was new, but now they do. </span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Vintage reproduction to factory specification: This is an exact replica of your stock pickup. </span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Could and should have been: These are pickups that are made the same way as the reproduction pickups, but have been hot rodded in away they could and should have been offered from the factory as a custom shop upgrade. </span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Modern Vintage: Vintage voiced pickups but with modern amenities such as hum canceling technology for single coils and four conductor for humbuckers, giving the player more tonal versatility.</span></li>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All are very useful and have their applications based on the players needs. For me, new old stock and vintage reproduction and boring. As a self-proclaimed guitarded person, I'm always looking to get a little more out of my guitar. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvToDY-tmvHZmVQgnuyjdl5S-FSI_dbWBSNCFlvokyfSv5Vwni8xLDkbRpCoMtiwQXFJEJHfbuAQkfS_er3XkOR9HAHal6J_FXqyiBI8UO82o6nlLOgRzY9pn4x6P-0646gt08Blzn-LBL/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvToDY-tmvHZmVQgnuyjdl5S-FSI_dbWBSNCFlvokyfSv5Vwni8xLDkbRpCoMtiwQXFJEJHfbuAQkfS_er3XkOR9HAHal6J_FXqyiBI8UO82o6nlLOgRzY9pn4x6P-0646gt08Blzn-LBL/s1600/008.JPG" height="233" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(Left) </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: start;">"could and should have been" category (Right) </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: start;">"modern vintage" </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: start;">category</span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: start;"> </span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This editorial is on how I modded (2) 2013 <a href="http://www.chilicustomguitars.at/CHILI-CUSTOM.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chili Custom Guitars</a> giving them that vintage/classic tone. The first falls in the "could and should have been" category and the second in the "modern vintage" to insure maximum versatility. These are both my personal guitars that I use in studio and at gigs 4-7 times per month.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;">To start, we will look at what I refer to as the "could and should have been". The pickups I thought were the best example of the tone I was looking to capture for this category were the <a href="http://www.mojotone.com/guitar-parts/pickups-stratocaster/Mojotone-Knockout-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar-Pickup-Single#.U4SB-PldU1Q" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MojoTone knockout Strat neck</a> and <a href="http://www.mojotone.com/guitar-parts/Mojotone-Humbucker-Pickups/Mojotone-Classic-Humbucker-Electric-Guitar-Pickup#.U4SCnvldU1Q" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MojoTone Classic alnico 2 bridge humbucker</a> with braided wire. They both offer an almost true vintage reproduction tone, but with a few tweaks in the correct direction -- giving them more of a vintage custom shop tone. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8VrDkwX_O4gnjLWcU0zdBTGihfhe6V6paWacfOiUHu8EoS1YUZOlintk59x14fnASYxmsota5Mn8T0Di7e4Uhd8yVyfBTCxMYa6_bB53SzFdV2jR7Mr3tQvTQkfS8lzJNLQ1FcDmDMZgC/s1600/004+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8VrDkwX_O4gnjLWcU0zdBTGihfhe6V6paWacfOiUHu8EoS1YUZOlintk59x14fnASYxmsota5Mn8T0Di7e4Uhd8yVyfBTCxMYa6_bB53SzFdV2jR7Mr3tQvTQkfS8lzJNLQ1FcDmDMZgC/s1600/004+-+Copy.JPG" height="200" width="85" /></a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>In The Neck:</b> </span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The <a href="http://www.mojotone.com/guitar-parts/pickups-stratocaster/Mojotone-Knockout-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar-Pickup-Single#.U4SB-PldU1Q" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MojoTone knockout Strat neck</a> has that broken in American Strat tone, but with an almost p-90ish mid-range growl. When I rolled the volume knob to seven, she lost some of her bite making her less p-90ish and more American Strat, but when wide open she sang like a hot, smooth and round Strat neck with a mean bite that was just a beautiful rock to rock/blues tone with a little OD. The adjustable pole pieces really helped when dialing in the exact string-to-string attack since my <a href="http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/humbucker/vintage-output/shpg1_pearly_ga/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chili</a> has a 14" fingerboard radius <span style="line-height: 20.700000762939453px;">opposed</span> to a stock Fender 9.5". The best way to describe this pickup is if a 50 year old p-90 did "the nasty" with a 25 year old single coil -- this would be the product of their entertainment. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;">When it comes to pickups that should have come from the factory as a custom shop upgrade, this one is way up at the top of my "why didn't they offer this" list. The only drawback is single coil hum. This pickup has very little and if hum does not bother you, this pickup is a game changer. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;">Buy this pickup <a href="http://www.mojotone.com/guitar-parts/pickups-stratocaster/Mojotone-Knockout-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar-Pickup-Single#.U4SB-PldU1Q" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">-HERE-</span></a></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>In The Bridge:</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The <a href="http://www.mojotone.com/guitar-parts/Mojotone-Humbucker-Pickups/Mojotone-Classic-Humbucker-Electric-Guitar-Pickup#.U4SCnvldU1Q" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MojoTone Classic alnico 2 bridge humbucker</a> has a fat bottom end with bell like highs that cuts through the mix. This is by far the most </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">accurate reproduction I have found to date of what most people associate with what they expect to hear when playing a vintage Les Paul. It takes years for a standard PAF to have the tonal characteristics that this pickup does. She is smooth, round, harmonically rich and creamy. When it comes to getting a pickup with that "stink" on it -- this is it. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;">Buy this pickup <a href="http://www.mojotone.com/guitar-parts/Mojotone-Humbucker-Pickups/Mojotone-Classic-Humbucker-Electric-Guitar-Pickup#.U4SCnvldU1Q" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">-HERE-</span></a></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><b>Wired:</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This Guitar was wired 1950's/vintage style on a 3-way toggle with (2) CTS 500K pots -- 1 volume 1 tone control with a Mojotone .47 mustard tone cap.</span><br />
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<b style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Extras:</b><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.mojotone.com/amp-parts/resistors-1-4-Watt/1-4W-100K-OHM-Resistor#.U4SAhfldU1Q" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">100k</a>/<a href="http://www.mojotone.com/guitar-parts/Guitar-Capacitors/Ceramic-Disc-Capacitor#.U4SBN_ldU1Q" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">.01uf</a> treble bleed circuit on volume pot</span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.westfloridacomponents.com/SW052/Push+Button+Momentary+Switch+3A+3+Amp+SPST+2+PIN.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Momentary kill switch</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=96&products_id=261&zenid=hvtv5g0g1spb96e66kui7q6bn7" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FU-Tone PMS - Pickup mounting system</a> on the bridge pickup </span></div>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.graphtech.com/products/brands/string-saver/string-saver-originals-for-guitar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Graphtech Guitar Labs Tusq String Saver Saddles</a></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: justify;">With a true vintage setup there are always some limitations and headaches that the modern player does not need to deal with anymore. To start -- single coil hum is thing of the past and humbuckers can be tapped, split and ran in parallel vs series with a 4-conductor setup giving the guitarist the tonal versatility of multiple guitars, all in one. This is not new news, but what is -- is the the tonal spectrum you can get from these pickups. Up until a few years ago if you wanted a silent </span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">single coil or a 4-conductor humbucker, you were sacrificing tone for versatility. With some recent advancement that is no longer the case. Yes there are some tonal differences between a vintage reproduction and a modern </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">pickup</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: justify;">, but you can easily dial in your tone with your amp. Where most modern pickups fall short is with their dynamic response in relation to the players touch. Most players will never notice and if you play with any distortion or a compressor, it is a non issue. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The pickups I thought were the best example of the tone I was looking to capture for the "modern vintage" category were the <a href="http://www.zexcoil.com/Singles.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Zexcoil Vintage Single 5+</a> hum canceling neck and the <a href="http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/humbucker/vintage-output/shpg1_pearly_ga/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates</a> 4-conductor for the bridge. I needed this guitar to have the same sound as the other guitar in this editorial, but silent (no-hum) with the versatility to run the bridge in parallel and series on a push/pull pot. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcaIXiPznRCaw9I1JHBlWdEmUbJAx8heNNuGBlLl24Jx6smrmLsCCTXw5PRnqGiIwVvUwfqSz8la4rVrIUraPU_pEG9-YE09ogPAIXKpraqexh4_tieO6i66D5Wzr6KJos6IW-k9JHKa7b/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcaIXiPznRCaw9I1JHBlWdEmUbJAx8heNNuGBlLl24Jx6smrmLsCCTXw5PRnqGiIwVvUwfqSz8la4rVrIUraPU_pEG9-YE09ogPAIXKpraqexh4_tieO6i66D5Wzr6KJos6IW-k9JHKa7b/s1600/008.JPG" height="200" width="89" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>In The Neck:</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The </span><a href="http://www.zexcoil.com/Singles.html" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Zexcoil Vintage Single 5+</a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> is </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">hands down</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">the best zero hum Strat neck "single coil </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">sounding"</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">pickup </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have heard to date. With that said; this is not a single coil, but six coils that are voiced to give the player the tone we associate </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">with a vintage American Strat. The slanted pole piece keep the string within the magnetic field during bends preventing loss of volume mid note, making your bends sustain for as long as you can hold the note. Out of all of the modern style hum canceling pickups, </span><a href="http://www.zexcoil.com/" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Zexcoil</a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> is the only one that I found to date that has the </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">dynamic response that reacts to the players touch </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">that we normally loose with traditional </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">silent single/dummy coil pickups. </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Tonally this pickup offers that true </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">vintage/</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">classic sound, just without the hum.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Buy this pickup </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.zexcoil.com/Singles.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-HERE-</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=96&products_id=261&zenid=hvtv5g0g1spb96e66kui7q6bn7" rel="nofollow" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJcgHm6efY-8TNFWmJQzuJ4R0gAv3YYvkFFM3Ua5b1OJ1Wub90cyRR4W7uhPMf35dtaWh3ZY1XxbhQ2ue1Yfus2B3dmAmMFy35Mnh7J7ipQzT-kkWXj6ybkRKKxNUaJSnW2DO4jygv0tP/s1600/fu.png" height="320" width="160" /></a><b style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In The Bridge:</b><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The <a href="http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/humbucker/vintage-output/shpg1_pearly_ga/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates</a> 4-conductor is the standard when looking for a modern </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">alnico 2 humbucker that captures that unmistakable broken in PAF tone that </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Gibbons" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Billy Gibbons</a> made famous from his guitar Pearl Gates (hints the name of the pickup). Unlike traditional pickup construction, this was mapped by </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.seymourduncan.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Seymour Duncan</a></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> to sound, feel and play like the pickup it was modeled after, almost like a replacement pickup just for Billy's guitar. When it comes to </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">alnico 2 humbuckers, this is the most </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">aggressive I have played to date. She has a firm bottom with tight mids, a round top end, and with the 4-conductor versatility I was able to get a warm Strat bridge/middle in phase sound with a pull-of-a-pot. For the modern player, this pickup will take you from blues to metal without a problem.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;">Buy this pickup <a href="http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/humbucker/vintage-output/shpg1_pearly_ga/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">-HERE-</span></a></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><b>Wired:</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This Guitar was wired modern style on a 3-way toggle with (1) CTS 500K pot, </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(1) CTS 500K pot push/pull </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">-- a volume for each pickup without a tone control.</span><br />
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<b style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Extras:</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.mojotone.com/amp-parts/resistors-1-4-Watt/1-4W-100K-OHM-Resistor#.U4SAhfldU1Q" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">100k</a>/<a href="http://www.mojotone.com/guitar-parts/Guitar-Capacitors/Ceramic-Disc-Capacitor#.U4SBN_ldU1Q" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">.01uf</a> treble bleed circuit on each volume pot</span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.westfloridacomponents.com/SW052/Push+Button+Momentary+Switch+3A+3+Amp+SPST+2+PIN.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Momentary kill switch</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=96&products_id=261&zenid=hvtv5g0g1spb96e66kui7q6bn7" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FU-Tone PMS - Pickup mounting system</a> on the bridge pickup </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.graphtech.com/products/brands/string-saver/string-saver-originals-for-guitar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Graphtech Guitar Labs Tusq String Saver Saddles</a><span style="color: #999999;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;">After using both guitars for about a month in conditions ranging from in a controlled studio environment to a gig in the rain, I can honestly say that both setups are unique in their own way and deliver amazing tone. Pickups are a great way to give your old guitar new life and make your new guitar sound old -- so take that pawn shop find, bedroom beauty, closet case or wall-hanger and give her a new voice! </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Posted 05/2014 </span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small;">© 2014 localmusicgear.com All rights reserved</span></div>
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Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-46448546615973847652014-04-10T06:05:00.000-07:002014-04-11T10:23:18.665-07:00Chasing That Vintage Tone on a Working Musicians Budget...<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">Local Music Gear Feature Story </span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;">Written By: </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;"><span class="size8 PalatinoLinotype8"><a href="mailto:info@jacharrison.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jac Harrison</a></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_pD853Ns2OYoxrK8iEG5KCl3l76PVawOBPfPshXkkgpIlctt8ww_N5S6izj7IsldEUIPmF2ugGMRbAYrTFpIx3HXDbxh5E0V5MXRFvb1_FTILay3B65CdlYYjTAc1Fwglotmty9D9Zs9q/s1600/LMGFS0414+(1)+jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_pD853Ns2OYoxrK8iEG5KCl3l76PVawOBPfPshXkkgpIlctt8ww_N5S6izj7IsldEUIPmF2ugGMRbAYrTFpIx3HXDbxh5E0V5MXRFvb1_FTILay3B65CdlYYjTAc1Fwglotmty9D9Zs9q/s1600/LMGFS0414+(1)+jpg.jpg" height="331" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">S</span>ince the beginning of time, mankind has been trying to replicate "stuff" that we have observed to enhance our lives making it more enjoyable. "Stuff" like harnessing the power of fire to cook our food to insure that it is safe to eat, using river-rock and gravity to purify our drinking water to prevent bacterial infection, and in this case -- the most important of all, making your guitar have that </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">vintage</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">mojo to achieve the tone of the gods (I got choked up just saying that).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">About ten months ago I had this crazy idea that I could put together a guitar that had the same characteristics of a traditional 1954 Les Paul, but with a few modern amenities that I have become accustomed to. My goal was to make this guitar a usable instrument and not a watered down novelty like the "reissues" that flood the market place today. Originally; I commissioned a NY </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">based </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">luthier to build a guitar to my specifications, but he turned out to be difficult to work with, so I used a guitar that I already had in my personal collection that was 95% of what I was going for with the commissioned build. The only real difference between the donor guitar and the commissioned build was that the </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">commissioned</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> build was a five piece neck through body (a modern amenity that I would have enjoyed) and the donor is a set neck, like the original had in 1954. With that said, this is my step-by-step "manifesto" on how I turned my 2012 Jarrett Zaffiro in to a 1954 Les Paul tone clone ....</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMFb4OYUP4azxpjtFTxH0UttD894XeUnchbb7MmDPfjlnXvBuW5gan6yPSAqqKee64EdC6z8tT44Suyyl2jGgncWBfib3xXzetH5o69bCyvR-WnLDFNlqUoH03x4jAaDSVXw4DSys9VBUQ/s1600/1_Full_Straight_Front_2220-2fe81724725e29252abf9ec9404a2ca1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMFb4OYUP4azxpjtFTxH0UttD894XeUnchbb7MmDPfjlnXvBuW5gan6yPSAqqKee64EdC6z8tT44Suyyl2jGgncWBfib3xXzetH5o69bCyvR-WnLDFNlqUoH03x4jAaDSVXw4DSys9VBUQ/s1600/1_Full_Straight_Front_2220-2fe81724725e29252abf9ec9404a2ca1.jpg" height="320" width="201" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">1954 Les Paul Gibson VOS (Vintage Original Spec)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To start; lets take a look at what a 1954 Les Paul really is. According to the Gibson USA's website, it says.... "the <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">1954 Les Paul Model “Goldtop” with two soapbar-style P-90 pickups and wraparound tailpiece embodies raw blues rock and roll more than any other guitar on the planet. From Carl Perkins’ recordings of “Honey Don’t” and “Blue Suede Shoes” to Freddie King’s “Hideaway”, a Goldtop was there—rippin’ it up and making musical history in the process." And like always I left their website very unsatisfied and without any of the information I was looking for. After a quick Google search, I was able to get all the original specs that I needed, and they are: 24 3/4 scale, semi-hollow </span><span style="line-height: 21px;">mahogany body, an arched maple cap with a set 50's D shaped </span><span style="line-height: 21px;">mahogany neck. At her heart she had </span>(2) alinico 5 p-90's with braided wiring on a 3-way with 500k pots, a bone nut and wraparound bridge (no tail piece).</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.gearguysradio.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo7AKjaS2olCv1yiefI_PEH2TNbIFZHXAbQi9_uYvLlHRIh-aqbyJ_2aEdxICun78zP23ZxHLlNVPbhJJKEh8Db7S-GgFiTw-r7fhsbGVROMEbEXDIUEE7h0rVKe-nvqEERyp0aiEmhKiQ/s1600/GGR728x90.jpg" height="48" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2012 </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">Jarrett Zaffiro</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now that I had all the original specs, I wanted to think of a way that I could improve on the original design to make this guitar more user friendly to the modern player without sacrificing any of it's original tonal properties that I fell in love with. My biggest pet peeve with the Les Paul guitar has always been the selector switch location. I find it to be clumsy, so this guitar would need to have the </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">selector switch by the lower </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">controls opposed to the player's side shoulder. This would also reduce the amount of wire and tone wood removal from the body for the additional cavity and control panel. </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After doing some more research I realized </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">that I had the guitar I wanted to use for this build in my personal collection -- my 2012 Jarrett Zaffiro. The Jarrett Zaffiro is a LP ish Jazz style guitar with all of the same specs as the 1954 Les Paul, except it is a 25 1/2 scale (</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">which I prefer anyway) with the selector switch by the lower controls, but the one I have was cut for humbuckers, not p-90's. With this in mind, my 1st phone call was to my friends at <a href="http://www.mojotone.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MoJotone</a>. If you are not familiar with <a href="http://www.mojotone.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MoJotone</a>, they are the leading source for all vintage reproduction guitar and amplifier parts -- they are also very nice people and easy to deal with. After a few e-mails with Logan (my contact at <a href="http://www.mojotone.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MoJotone</a>) explaining to him what I was looking to do, he got me into a set of hand-wound alinico 5 humbucker sized p-90's that were as close to the real vintage pickups as possible, but just in a humbucker sized application. I could have also picked up all of the hardware from <a href="http://www.mojotone.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MoJotone</a>, but I didn't want the vintage style hardware. Lets be honest -- the stock hardware sucked then, but there was nothing else offered at the time. I truly believe that Les would have used only the best and most advanced </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">parts that were available to him at the time of the build, and for me that meant one thing... a full <a href="http://www.graphtech.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Graphtech Guitar Labs</a> upgrade, giving this guitar the best tonal properties possible.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small;">2012 </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small; text-align: justify;">Jarrett Zaffiro</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.graphtech.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Graphtech Guitar Labs</a> is one of those companies that really takes technology and finds new ways to use it. For example, up until a few years ago I would use animal bone for the nut and brass for the saddles and bridge, much like Les would have in 1954. Besides the brass sucking the tone out of my strings, the animals harvested for the nut always bothered me, so I was glad when I was turned on to <a href="http://www.graphtech.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Graphtech Guitar Labs</a> for their Tusq products. Tusq and Tusq XL is a synthetic that responds better than animal bone, giving the guitar more sustain and tone without killing an animal for it's bones. For the other end of the strings I used the <a href="http://www.graphtech.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Graphtech Guitar Labs</a> lightweight ResoMax alloy wraparound bridge with Tusq saddle savers. I have found that the resomax bridge brings out the guitars natural voice while increasing the tonal depth and sustain. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Besides my normal order when I called Gray (my contact at <a href="http://www.graphtech.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Graphtech Guitar Labs</a>), he told me about their brand new <a href="http://www.graphtech.com/products/brands/ratio" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ratio tuned machine heads</a>. These are really cool, each machine head has a different gear ratio for fine tuning giving you more control over your instrument. So over all this guitar wound up getting all new parts everywhere the stings touch the body, insuring the best tonal outcome.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2012 </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">Jarrett Zaffiro</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once I received all of the new parts it only took a few hours and a six pack to install everything. At the end of the day I had a guitar that was about as close tonally to a real 1954 Les Paul that you can get on this side of $4,500 USD. T</span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">here is no way in hell that</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I would ever under any circumstances use a vintage guitar at a local venue in fear of theft or damage, nor would I spend $4,500 </span>USD<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> for the Gibson </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: center;">copy (sorry </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">reissue). So this was my answer to achieving the tone that I consider to be one of the best you can get, and making it come out of a guitar that I would not be fearful of bringing out to a gig on a w</span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">orking musicians budget. </span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Besides saving cash, I got to put my own twist on things. </span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This guitar is wired with (2) cts500K pots for volume only with </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">150K/.001CFU treble bleed circuit on each and</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> a momentary kill switch with the 3-way toggle by the lower controls. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So now that you have read my </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"manifesto" I encourage you to go out and find your vintage dream tone guitar and make your own tone clone, but do it in a way that makes you happy with a few twists at a budget that you can afford. The more you love your guitar, the better you will play. </span><br />
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<i style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: start;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">Thank you for everything you gave us. </span></i><br />
<i style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: start;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">In memory of </span></i><i style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: start;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">Lester William Polsfuss / </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">Les Paul</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">(June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009)</span></i><br />
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<a href="http://www.mojotone.com/" rel="nofollow" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2bfDAHnp6VH_tvamyWVBel09tht2HuI4GFaWesIO5pk9Ggvlrw6k_JXAV_UA04hRiog73d2YuhnzzCRwoqpIIM4DiMb1j1ttqTOINFySMj8VLkkOHbqoi3zRbicCPpgM2q9lZIpGCue5/s1600/mojo.jpg" height="320" width="160" /></a><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Toltal investment </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jarrett Zaffiro -- <span style="background-color: #fefdfa; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"> already had it. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.mojotone.com/guitar-parts/pickups-p-90/Mojotone-Humbucker-Sized-P-90-Electric-Guitar-Pickup-Single#.U0WTgfldUQg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MoJotone Humbucker sized p-90 set </a> $144.20 </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.graphtech.com/products/brands/tusq-xl/tusq-xl-guitar-nuts" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">GraphTech Guitar Labs Tusq Nut</a> $14.95 </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.graphtech.com/products/brands/ratio" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">GraphTech Guitar Labs Ratio </span>tuned machine heads</a><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"> S109.95</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.graphtech.com/products/brands/resomax/product-detail/ps-8593-g0-resomax-nw2-wraparound-bridge---gold?id=7c938122-81eb-4cc3-8e2a-2150c40800d9" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">GraphTech Guitar Labs Resomax wraparound bridge with Tusq sting savers</a> $169.95</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Electronic Components </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(2) cts500K pot $10 </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(1) Switchcraft 3-way toggle $14 </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(1) Momentary kill switch $7 </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(1) Switchcraft 1/4 mono jack $13 </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(2) 150K/.001CFU Treble bleed circuit $4</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Total doing the work yourself : $487.05</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Instalalition fee by local luither </span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Bench fee + 5 hours on adverage $400</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Total using a tech/luthier : $887.05</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Posted 04/2014 </span><br />
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Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-55866504065495371602013-12-26T08:40:00.001-08:002014-04-10T06:26:43.173-07:00Local Music Gear's Best Products of 2013 ...<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">Local Music Gear Feature Story </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">Written By: </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span class="size8 PalatinoLinotype8"><a href="mailto:info@jacharrison.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jac Harrison </a></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>wenty Thirteen was an amazing year for new an exciting gear. I have
had the pleasure of trying hundreds of exciting products that make
playing guitar more enjoyable. While some products were good, others
were just amazing. Every month Local Music Gear selects one of these
amazing products to be showcased as the product of the month. For a
product to become the product of the month it must exceed our
expectations on three levels of standards.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The product must do
what it is designed to do 100% of the time without failure and be the
best example of its type of product we have seen to date.</span></span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
Product must be built well without any imperfections that would affect
it’s functionally from day one throughout the life of the product.</span></span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Product must be a good value for its price tag.</span></span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">These
are the twelve best products I have had the opportunity to review in 2013. While
all products that I reviewed for Local Music Gear were excellent,
these products truly stood out. The product listing below is in
chronological order based on the month the item won product of the month starting in January
2013 and ending in December 2013, and is not a ranking.</span></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">January 2013 Product of the Month - Swiss Picks Non-Slip Guitar Picks.</span></span></h2>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Swiss Picks is the manufacturer of non-slip guitar picks with an off center hole + raised edge with a patent pending design.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read my full review of Swiss Picks <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2012/12/swiss-picks-non-slip-guitar-picks-review.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-HERE-</a> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<ul>
<li><h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">February 2013 Product of the Month - SlipStop by Off Stage Products. </span></span></h2>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Off
Stage Products is the manufacturer of SlipStop -- A flexible self
adhesive non-abrasive strip that secures to your guitar preventing
slippage while playing. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read my full review of SlipStop <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/01/slipstop-by-off-stage-productsreview.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-HERE-</a> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<ul>
<li><h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">March 2013 Product of the Month - Gravity Guitar Picks Classic Standard.</span></span></h2>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Gravity
Picks is the manufacturer of guitar picks that are custom made to your
specific dimensions and finish. Gravity Guitar Picks are not a mass
produced product. Each pick is shaped, polished, and packaged by
professional craftsmen.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read my full review of Gravity Guitar Picks <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/01/gravity-guitar-picks-classic-standard.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-HERE-</a> </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
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</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<ul>
<li><h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">April 2013 Product of the Month - C.R. Alsip Guitars Vintage DCDT.</span></span></h2>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">C.R.
Alsip Guitars is a manufacturer of handcrafted, American made custom
boutique, electric guitars by master luthier Jake Willoughby, in
Arkansas City, Kansas.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This Vintage DCDT model has an alder
body with the C.R. Alsip "drop top" flamed maple cap that flows into a
25" scale/12" radius maple neck with a matching maple fretboard topped
with a 1-11/16" brass locking nut.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read my full review of the C.R. Alsip Guitars Vintage DCDT <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/02/cr-alsip-guitars-vintage-dcdt-review.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-HERE</a>-</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<ul>
<li><h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">May 2013 Product of the Month - The Zaffiro by Jarrett Guitars.</span></span></h2>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Jarrett Guitars is a Manufacturer of handcrafted custom boutique American built electric guitars.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
Zaffiro Player’s series has a solid maple cap with a Honduras mahogany
chambered body that flows into a 25.5" scale one piece Honduras mahogany
neck, dressed in a Macassar ebony fingerboard, warped in maple binding,
featuring 22 jumbo frets, that is topped with a Tusq nut.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read my full review of the Zaffiro by Jarrett Guitars <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-zaffiro-by-jarrett-guitars-new.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-HERE-</a> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<ul>
<li><h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">June 2013 Product of the Month - The EX-SS by D'Angelico.</span></span></h2>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">D'Angelico is a manufacturer of custom electric guitars.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
EX-SS model has a 15" single cutaway semi-hollow body with a laminated
flamed maple top and back that is tied together with 5-ply binding
dressed in a stairstep pickguard that flows into a 25" scale hard maple
two piece neck with a walnut core that features a rosewood fingerboard
and mother of pearl inlays that ends at a 1 11/16” nut.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read my full review of the EX-SS by D'Angelico <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-ex-ss-by-dangelico-review.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-HERE-</a> </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
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</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<ul>
<li><h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">July 2013 Product of the Month - The G12M-65 Creamback by Celestion.</span></span></h2>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Celestion is the world's largest manufacturers of loudspeakers.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
G12M-65 Creamback features a power rating of 65 watts (rms) with a
pressed steel chassis, round copper voice coil and a ceramic magnet with
a nominal impedance of 8Ω & 16Ω in a 12”/305mm package.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read my full review of the G12M-65 Creamback by Celestion <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/06/g12m-65-creamback-by-celestion-review.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-HERE-</a> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<ul>
<li><h2>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">August 2013 Product of the Month - The Tier 3 Chena Model by Knaggs Guitars.</span></span></span></span></h2>
</li>
</ul>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Knaggs
Guitars is a manufacturer of handcrafted, custom boutique electric
guitars by master luthier Joe Knaggs based out of Greensboro, MD.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
Tier 3 Chena model has a mahogany body with a "Tier 3" curly maple top
that flows into a 24.75" set mahogany "59" profile neck dressed in a
rosewood fingerboard featuring 24 frets separated by dot inlay markers
ending with a bone nut.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read my full review of the The Tier 3 Chena Model by Knaggs Guitars <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/06/tier-3-chena-model-by-knaggs-guitars.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-HERE-</a> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<ul>
<li><h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">September 2013 Product of the Month - The Speaker Cranker Overdrive Pedal by EarthQuaker Devices.</span></span></h2>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">EarthQuaker Devices is an American manufacturer of boutique, hand-crafted, guitar effects pedals.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
Speaker Cranker features one control knob (more) with true bypass. This
OD pedal is designed, in the words of the manufacturer "to give your
amp some grit and a slight boost without drastically changing the
character or tone of your set up".</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read my full review of the The Speaker Cranker Overdrive Pedal by EarthQuaker Devices <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/07/speaker-cranker-overdrive-pedal-by.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-HERE-</a></span> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
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</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<ul>
<li><h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">October 2013 Product of the Month - The Jac Harrison Signature ChiliCaster by Chili Custom Guitars.</span></span></h2>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Chili
Custom Guitars is a manufacturer of handcrafted, custom boutique
electric guitars by master luither Horst Weinelt, in Austria.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
Jac Harrison signature ChiliCaster model has an alder body with a big
leaf maple cap that is dressed in a natural binding that flows into fat
59” profile 25 1/2" scale bolt-on satin walnut neck that is dressed in a
24 fret 14" radius bloodwood fingerboard featuring chili pepper inlays
at the 12th and 24th fret wrapped in a cream binding and topped with a
bone nut.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read my full review of the The Jac Harrison Signature ChiliCaster by Chili Custom Guitars <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-jac-harrison-signature-chilicaster.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-HERE</a>- </span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<ul>
<li><h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">November 2013 Product of the Month - Fuchs Audio Technology Plush FX Pedals.</span></span></h2>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fuchs Audio Technology is an American manufacturer of boutique guitar amplifier and effects pedals.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This review is on the Plush FX Cream, The Plush Drive, Noxious and Pure Gain point-to-point hardwired effects pedals.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read my full review of the The Fuchs Audio Technology Plush FX Pedals <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/10/fuchs-audio-technology-plush-fx-pedals.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-HERE-</a> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<ul>
<li><h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">December 2013 Product of the Month - FU-Tone PMS (Pickup Mounting System) Upgrade.</span></span></h2>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">FU-Tone,
formerly known as Floyd Upgrades, is the Manufacturer of aftermarket
high-performance guitar parts designed to optimize a guitar's voice,
sustain, playability, and tone.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read my full review of the FU-Tone PMS (Pickup Mounting System) Upgrade <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/10/fu-tone-pms-pickup-mounting-system.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-HERE-</a></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Posted 12/2013</span></div>
<div style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">© 2013 localmusicgear.com All rights reserved</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span>Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-89476340729425344322013-12-03T06:29:00.001-08:002013-12-03T15:54:51.826-08:00Boutique Tone On a Budget, 2005 Epiphone Valve JR hot rod mods...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">Local Music Gear Feature Story </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">Written By: </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span class="size8 PalatinoLinotype8"><a href="mailto:sean@localmusicgear.com" target="_blank">Jac Harrison</a> </span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujb8b9Nn84WkmWSxGVkFoU-spx8YwT2kizXS3lC9wAw96rBjuiLY0HcYT8z4xSVq4sronS3f3DWoJxQcp91zM0wItRHX34OKDIkcZ8KQAOlZlzo_GjzZ_9xLc71FD1Yw1SP-lgek8Bi29/s1600/November+2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujb8b9Nn84WkmWSxGVkFoU-spx8YwT2kizXS3lC9wAw96rBjuiLY0HcYT8z4xSVq4sronS3f3DWoJxQcp91zM0wItRHX34OKDIkcZ8KQAOlZlzo_GjzZ_9xLc71FD1Yw1SP-lgek8Bi29/s400/November+2014.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">S</span>ome of us gearheads are more sensible when it comes to the
amount of cold hard cash we are willing to part with when buying new gear. Some of us are even willing to deal with an amp that has less than desirable tone qualitys to save a buck (yuck). I get it, cash is king and our hobbies take the backseat to the essentials such as the mortgage/rent, bills and food. This is something that the larger musical equipment manufacturers take advantage of. Think about it... do you really think that a 100-watt 2x12 that retails for $330 USD is a quality amplifier? The answer is eff no! Some companies slap their badge on a solid state "amp" that probably costs them $50 USD to make (if that), and then they put it into a chassis that looks like one of their higher dollar products so the consumer (that's you) feels like they got a "hell-of-a-deal". First off, who really needs 100-watts of power? That's simple, not you and not me. As a gigging musician I can honestly say that I have never owned a 100-watt amp and I have played outdoor shows that had 3,500 + people attending while using an 18-watt amp. There is this new technology called "microphone". The way this "microphone" works, is a person known as a "sound guy" puts it in front of your amp's speaker so the sound of your amp goes through a PA system... to make it louder. A 100-watt amp will make your stage volume deafening, and you will not be able to get that sweet tube saturation that we all love at the a tolerable stage volume, causing your band to breakup and/or go deaf. Hell; I'm using a 50-watt amp now that I only turn up to (3), and my bass player needs to wear earplugs. For the hobbyist playing small venues, an all tube 5-watt to 18-watt amp (</span></span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">depending on the venue size)</span></span></span> is all you really need. If the amp is voiced correctly -- you can achieve the tone of your dreams at any volume. </span></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For
the most part you really do get what you pay for when buying an all tube boutique or custom amplifier. Typically, you can easily spend over $1,200 USD for around 18-watts. There are a few excellent inexpensive amps out there that can
deliver a boutique quality tone on a modest budget with a few simple inexpensive
modifications and with proper voicing. What I suggest is that you contact your local amplifier service center and ask the tech what he/she would recommend -- that is what I did. My local amplifier service center is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/booyaamps" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Booya Amplifier Services</a> in Lake Hopatcong NJ. I have used them before and was comfortable taking the advice of Booya founder Jamie Simpson. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This rebuild is the step-by-step manual of how I modified my 2005 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiphone_Valve_Junior" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Epiphone Valve JR</a> on a $550 USD budget including the initial purchase... enjoy.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>
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<a href="http://www.eminence.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="78" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7a4zoJkL8zhPpdaqg9V98BlE4EXOZsbYQy30mFlyPXx-5YN4-gG7qiaBDgZA4ZnXNOXG5gpmjfflvtqpkqZzvWunv7HBN1vsldedpuH3LesvPgv4uj4OoUs91N8zvNMhA9xtx36aW2V3W/s640/728x90_eminence.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><u>Step one: Find Your Amp</u>. </b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It took me about a month to find a good candidate for this build. Now because of this amp's simplistic design, many people have already modified theirs and I wanted one that was completely stock for two reasons. One, people are stupid and two people are stupid and lazy. I really didn't want someone else fire hazard in my house, I mean I like hot tone -- just not that hot. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><u>Step two: Do Your Mod Research</u>.</b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Always do your research -- for example I found nine different kits and countless YouTube tutorials on how to modify this amp. Just like everything else you read on the good old interwebs, it is always 100% correct and accurate and you never need to put any additional thought into it -- but just to make sure before you order a kit, ask your amp tech what he/she thinks of it. I found that the <a href="http://www.thetubestore.com/Parts-Accessories/BitMo-Kits-for-Epiphone-Valve-Junior-Amps/BitMo-TRIO-Mod-Kit-for-Epiphone-Valve-Junior-Amp" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">BitMo Trio Mod</a> from <a href="http://www.thetubestore.com/?utm_source=LMG-blog&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=localmusicgear" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.thetubestore.com</a> offered the biggest bang for the buck -- so I ordered the kit with some new tubes. <i>A good rule of thumb is to always retube when modding</i>.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><u>Step three: Make Sure Your Amp is in Full Working Order Before You Do Any Modifications</u>.</b> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As I said in the October re-build feature -- "I
can rebuild a guitar with my eyes closed, but when it comes to
amplifiers I'm not the best". Before starting the modifications have your amp tech give your amp a once over. The last thing you want to do is invest in a damaged amp. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVtQSYyhrPL88qbw1KmrB5pu0w8s_SVMOCwnkGYioDu3NuWYUrqQEPIjulXx3h6dzddXu0hvK74RG91wNYRKzEclSgJuLXrFVHJJlrC13kJRGD_Rd8kOzq3PJBoWXjGsIT6DktJaR_TyA/s1600/Danger-Sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVtQSYyhrPL88qbw1KmrB5pu0w8s_SVMOCwnkGYioDu3NuWYUrqQEPIjulXx3h6dzddXu0hvK74RG91wNYRKzEclSgJuLXrFVHJJlrC13kJRGD_Rd8kOzq3PJBoWXjGsIT6DktJaR_TyA/s1600/Danger-Sign.jpg" /></a></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45,"tn":"*G"}" style="font-size: small;" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span class="text_exposed_show"><b>DO
NOT WORK ON YOUR AMP YOURSELF UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING. THE
CAPS CAN HOLD A CHARGE THAT CAN AND WILL KILL YOU IF YOU DO NOT
DISCHARGE THEM PROPERLY! SPEND THE MONEY TO USE A PRO<u>.</u></b></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45,"tn":"*G"}" style="font-size: small;" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span class="text_exposed_show"><b><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><b><u>Step four: Mod the Crap Out of This Little Amp</u>.</b></b></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/booyaamps" rel="nofollow" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="https://www.facebook.com/booyaamps" border="0" height="51" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFqGOLKk6gnH8_Rbv_HkpOrMVu-pjP_2QiRpWSjK6Ad1LZ-HZ2X1cTjDXp1IPX1L2U6Ea4AppMhfIgjUYVzT-swdpPyeq1nK6UoOLYH1WgdawObCJW2XaCopzdZVAZTmMZ2KzUouWxoSyE/s400/Booya+Ad.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQnsQ14_0IVmkZ5L0Pwdt6kYGr3vu2_1ZdcKfakuluTfpNnqpNGZ9VTtp4pYk2cMk45grGUUOyTorkOm9RrjAqK9pUsEBtmTMv1Ghyh1Gh3T8P3XHJ_Ny6uJT9Gx8rzU3iE4SDEbvKi5eS/s1600/1476583_10201999558744345_1700871448_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQnsQ14_0IVmkZ5L0Pwdt6kYGr3vu2_1ZdcKfakuluTfpNnqpNGZ9VTtp4pYk2cMk45grGUUOyTorkOm9RrjAqK9pUsEBtmTMv1Ghyh1Gh3T8P3XHJ_Ny6uJT9Gx8rzU3iE4SDEbvKi5eS/s400/1476583_10201999558744345_1700871448_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jamie Simpson CEO/Founder of Booya Amps (left) with Tom Spears Shop Dude (Right)</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999;">The Sunday after Thanksgiving I finally got that chance to make the grueling 49 minute drive up Rt 287 to the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/booyaamps" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Booya Amplifier </a>headquarters in Lake Hopatcong NJ. With a car full of guitars and moonshine at 10 am, I knew it was going to be an experience and possibly a fuzzy brain day. After a good morning drink and a quick consultation with Tom Spears and Jamie Simpson (the Booya Amps team), we decided to do three mods to this beast of an amp to open her up a little more. The first was </span></span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="null">the<span style="color: #999999;"> </span><a href="http://www.thetubestore.com/Parts-Accessories/BitMo-Kits-for-Epiphone-Valve-Junior-Amps/BitMo-TRIO-Mod-Kit-for-Epiphone-Valve-Junior-Amp" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">BitMo Trio Mod</a> that I received from the <a href="http://www.thetubestore.com/?utm_source=LMG-blog&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=localmusicgear" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">TheTubeStore.com</a>. This mod was designed to give the amp more gain/saturation at a lower volume with a push/pull tone pot and a 3-way on-on-on switch. Next I wanted to do the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LacgTUuGtW0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">"jumpy" mod</a>. This was a mod that I saw on YouTube and it just looked bad ass. Basically, this is a boost switch that opens up the top end making the amp sound brighter, fuller and with more of that 1970's "pawnshop find" crunchiness that we all love. Last, I knew that (5) watts just was not going to cut it for some of the large venues I play, so Jamie found (2) more watts with a 5 to 7 watt mod, making this tiny amp sound almost kinda somewhat largeish in a tiny portable adorable way.-- </span></span></span></span><span data-measureme="1"><span class="null"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Get a <b>FREE</b> guitar setup with a new customer referral -- Find out how @ </i></span></span></span></span></span><span data-measureme="1"><span class="null"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/booyaamps" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Booya Amplifier Services!!</a></span></span></span></i></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj76Yt4S1gOzzxocqG6vGrS99N5Y6gbBHoqjbXVaw-GXIYdCeK8_IOTlzgRXQs0x86oHm6fJCfJNdV-TQjH0iqSCnIwQM0bjpMamM4CNasfNmo4EDNXTs2kveMRSpvzbZ2seB9v6e9JwCi2/s1600/1479347_10201999575224757_787957014_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj76Yt4S1gOzzxocqG6vGrS99N5Y6gbBHoqjbXVaw-GXIYdCeK8_IOTlzgRXQs0x86oHm6fJCfJNdV-TQjH0iqSCnIwQM0bjpMamM4CNasfNmo4EDNXTs2kveMRSpvzbZ2seB9v6e9JwCi2/s200/1479347_10201999575224757_787957014_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Over
all this little Valve JR screams and sounds kind-of-like a mashup between a vintage
black/silverface and an Orange with a meaner high end bite and a boost in the mids. After
playing the amp for a few hours, I can honestly say that I
would 100% use this at a small venue, an open mic or as a bedroom
amp. This is also a very practical amp for the gigging musician that
takes the subway or mass transit. If the venue has a back-line, all you need is this
Valve JR and your Axe. This was a fun adventure, and is a great DIY project for
the novice amp builder/hot rodder.</span></span></span><b><span class="null"> </span></b></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.thetubestore.com/?utm_source=LMG-blog&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=localmusicgear" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span class="null" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2MOXpnKp6qitvwPUa2LmhI5LBpydqZBk3KtY_cM8ENfTXvPVUR0ny_WEskx9Sapzaj8ocUDayiqq4ZnCnKTwUkyZ8QucchZjEut5w98ABRt2Ie4qOVTFsGqGij-DBTjibiiqjNvJtiyst/s400/ts_logo.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="null">Total investment:</span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="null"><a href="http://www.thetubestore.com/Parts-Accessories/BitMo-Kits-for-Epiphone-Valve-Junior-Amps/BitMo-TRIO-Mod-Kit-for-Epiphone-Valve-Junior-Amp" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">BitMo Trio Mod</a> - $49.95 </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="null">(1) <a href="http://www.thetubestore.com/Tubes/EL84-6BQ5-Tube-Types/TAD-EL84-STR" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">TAD EL84-STR</a> vacuum tube $21.95</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="null"> </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="null"><span class="null">(1) <a href="http://www.thetubestore.com/Tubes/12AX7-ECC83-Tube-Types/TAD-7025-S-12AX7" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">TAD 7025-S/12ax7</a> vacuum tube</span> - $33.95</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="null">(3) Hours of labor at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/booyaamps" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Booya Amps </a>$210 </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="null">(2) Extra switches for additional mods $35 </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="null">(1) Used open back 1x12 extension cab without speaker $50</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="null">(1) <a href="http://www.eminence.com/pdf/Private_Jack.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Eminence Private Jack</a> 12" $95</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="null">(1) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiphone_Valve_Junior" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Epiphone Valve JR</a> 5-watt amp head $50 </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="null">Total: $545.85 + shipping & tax </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="null">Contact Booya Amplifier Services <a href="https://www.facebook.com/booyaamps" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-HERE-</a></span></span></span></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;"><u>Step Five: Walk away from your computer -- pick up a guitar, and play the crap out of it</u>. </span></span></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/buylocalgear" rel="nofollow" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVgNZ6MM9otQpLn2h0y33KdturVh3Q-_mnh7cED-Ge9mY-azGg3ZJF4I2S2jFtOEG46-7JKi9orwTAHrPaPhJly0XCZZAXYI3NtjohPL3eYFYSSNn-fgzi-jt2llu2yU9B__rbHm502i3e/s1600/facebook+icon.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;">Follow Local Music Gear on facebook for story updates and the sound files from this rebuild </span></span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/buylocalgear" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">-HERE-</span></a></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" /></a> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Posted 12/2013</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">© 2013 localmusicgear.com All rights reserved</span></div>
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Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-8502345052502899632013-10-07T08:29:00.001-07:002014-06-26T13:41:55.905-07:00Making Your Vintage Amp Better Than New...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">Local Music Gear Feature Story </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">Written By: </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span class="size8 PalatinoLinotype8"><a href="mailto:sean@localmusicgear.com" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank">Jac Harrison</a> </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLsUrZTBOnBYTi3SjlUxItCL6Z4GWVY0pLGa6QKu4NVm9KjiZeAWGP6pzKgFDuFZq7xXdiJaw3HBTpM0DIeL3W8_2lbuX5icFHvKMgQfdij1lebO5fvqBNsFmjUUJ_H1AYLoqu1MuDklnR/s1600/10-13+feature+story+www.localmusicgear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLsUrZTBOnBYTi3SjlUxItCL6Z4GWVY0pLGa6QKu4NVm9KjiZeAWGP6pzKgFDuFZq7xXdiJaw3HBTpM0DIeL3W8_2lbuX5icFHvKMgQfdij1lebO5fvqBNsFmjUUJ_H1AYLoqu1MuDklnR/s400/10-13+feature+story+www.localmusicgear.jpg" height="398" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span> have been told by more than one person that I am nuts, crazy even disturbed when it comes to my passion/OCD for tone. Some guys can go their entire life chasing a sound and never get it just right -- but I'm one of those lucky SOB's that knows the tone my soul desires, and more importantly -- how to achieve it. Growing up in a musical household I had a jump start on refining my </span></span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="null">palate</span> by using and abusing my fathers guitars and amps for many years, on a side note... sorry dad. After destroying a few guitars by "trying something new" -- I had found that a (2) humbucker setup is what I'm all about, but when it came to my amps I had been all over the map until a few years ago. When I was younger (and knew everything) I was a full stack, dark el84 with many digital effects player -- but after countless shows and studio hours I found that a simple and clean foundation is what I needed to achieve my golden tone. I wanted an amp that was touch sensitive with a clean but warm high end that I was able to control the breakup/tube saturation by using my guitars volume knob and/or a class A boost opposed to an OD pedal. I spent the better part of a year playing every amp I could plug into and came up with my "formula". Turns out that I am either what I call a simple 6L6/6V6 (an amp with very little controls) or an el84 player if the amp has a presents knob/bright switch and mid shift. With my new found knowledge I went out and picked up a Fender Supersonic 22 and I enjoyed her until she picked up a really bad smoking habit, so we went our separate ways a little over a year ago. Heart broken, I went out and found an amp that I loved form day one -- a Bogner Alchemist 2x12. This amp had a lot going for it except one thing, Line 6 customer service. The Bogner was suppose to be the amp in this rebuild story and it was going to focus on how to get your amp studio ready, but when I called Bogner to get a schematic they told me to contact Line 6 -- and after two weeks of bullshit from Line 6 I decided to go in another direction with this rebuild. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Needing some direction, I contacted the man with the beard that lives in the woods that builds amps aka Jamie Simpson from Booya Amplifer Services in Lake Hopatcong NJ -- whom I have dubbed the "tone oracle". I explained to him what I was looking to do and he gave me a few ideas to work with. Now that I had a list of amps I could buy that Jamie could mod to give me my desired tone, I spent the next few days on the phone with every retailer in NJ tracking down a suitable amp for this project. I played a few different vintage amps until I found the one that I though had the best tone, a 1972 Fender Bassman 50. After a quick once over and some negotiating -- I was the proud owner of a brand new (to me), dusty and sticky 1972 Fender Bassman 50 head. Now that I had my newish amp I needed to do two things. First I needed to get this old girl some new parts including an extension cab with speakers, and she needed an appointment with Jamie from Booya Amplifier Services ASAP. So this feature story will be a step-by-step instruction manual on how I rebuilt my 1972 Fender Bassman 50, making her better than new.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>Step one: Do Your Research.</b></u></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Just because the person selling you an amp (or anything at that matter) tells you something, it does not automatically make it that. For example; I was told that this amp was a 1974-76, but when I called Fender and gave them the serial number I was told that it was built in February of 1972. Once I had the information I needed, I found the wiring schematic for this particular amp and made an appointment with Booya Amplifier Services. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>Step two: Make Sure Your Amp is in Full Working Order Before You Do Any Modifications. </b></u></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I can rebuild a guitar with my eyes closed, but when it comes to amplifiers I'm not the best. So besides the modifications, I had Jamie form Booya Amplifier Services give her a once over, and she passed her exam with </span></span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="null">flying</span> colors.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaoUNo-BTLN7n7Gy8KVS8zPZaK25tAVGwQu6LrJeN8C45_WDfIpiGpaP_328q1x1MgIzxqCfA5UECSOHhKnmxWNxbqwZ9Gwf5AHRya4mfIaDHOoSQrEOdy-M3LfVM_-7ZivgFNS69oyWsm/s1600/970460_10201965632806682_537948518_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaoUNo-BTLN7n7Gy8KVS8zPZaK25tAVGwQu6LrJeN8C45_WDfIpiGpaP_328q1x1MgIzxqCfA5UECSOHhKnmxWNxbqwZ9Gwf5AHRya4mfIaDHOoSQrEOdy-M3LfVM_-7ZivgFNS69oyWsm/s320/970460_10201965632806682_537948518_n.jpg" height="320" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Jamie Simpson from Booya Amps removing my "death switch" </span></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>Step three: Mod the Crap Out of This Old Lady.</b></u></span></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This amp was great, but there were a few thing I need taken care of right away. First, the "Death Switch" needed to be removed. This was not something that I was aware of until Jamie from Booya told me about it -- but basically to sum it up, old technology = very bad for a vocalist. I would have become the amp ground while playing guitar making me dead, and I can't play guitar if I'm dead so that would suck. This is something that I did not know about and would have not removed if I did not have a pro look at it. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My next mod was a master volume. This amp is effing loud, and did not have one. I guess it started many fights between band mates and/or sound guys in the 70's since Fender added one to the faceplate in 74ish'. I did not wat to "ugly" this amp up by driling holes in her faceplate, so Jamie used the stock hole in the rear panel from where he removed the "death switch" making this old lady retain her distinctive look of an early sliver face. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It was a great feeling knowing that I wasn't going to get electrocuted from a faulty vintage ground circuit, and that I had my much need master volume knob, but Jamie also had a trick up his sleeve to open her up a little more by removing what he called the "low end farts" (I believe that is a technical term). He replaced <span class="null">the first preamp stages cathode bypass caps with 10uF, down from the original 25uF, pre phase inverter master volume. </span></span><span class="null" style="font-size: small;">Once he was all done with the mods we plugged her in, opened a few beers and made a video... it all gets fuzzy after that -- all I remember is the tone and it was wonderful. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="null">In the words of the man behind the beard </span></span></span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="null"><span class="null">"everyone's voice is unique -- their gear should be too." - <i>Jamie Simpson. </i></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVtQSYyhrPL88qbw1KmrB5pu0w8s_SVMOCwnkGYioDu3NuWYUrqQEPIjulXx3h6dzddXu0hvK74RG91wNYRKzEclSgJuLXrFVHJJlrC13kJRGD_Rd8kOzq3PJBoWXjGsIT6DktJaR_TyA/s1600/Danger-Sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVtQSYyhrPL88qbw1KmrB5pu0w8s_SVMOCwnkGYioDu3NuWYUrqQEPIjulXx3h6dzddXu0hvK74RG91wNYRKzEclSgJuLXrFVHJJlrC13kJRGD_Rd8kOzq3PJBoWXjGsIT6DktJaR_TyA/s1600/Danger-Sign.jpg" /></a></div>
<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45,"tn":"*G"}" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>DO
NOT WORK ON YOUR AMP YOURSELF UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING. THE
CAPS CAN HOLD A CHARGE THAT CAN AND WILL KILL YOU IF YOU DO NOT
DISCHARGE THEM PROPERLY! SPEND THE MONEY TO USE A PRO!</b></span></span></span></span></span></span><b><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;">Total mod investment:</span></span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;">Death switch removal - $75 (not dying... priceless) </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;">Master volume Knob - $75 </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;">All that other stuff - $ 175 </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;">Total: $325 </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;">Contact Booya Amplifier Services <a href="https://www.facebook.com/booyaamps" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">-HERE-</span></a></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.mojotone.com/" rel="nofollow" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCu7ZTdS0W5g75ORmFPkkthB_kOOUhKHxhkQZ6zLEv17DuzlUBen8k37lbvO21w7UVhHQXTgYYqhfLRvj7nQyDFYLiMlaLMgyXnGb70c9TMyvkV5h9YZqplKby-OfBEnLCLkhyphenhyphen4X3mvDfL/s1600/mojo.jpg" /></a></div>
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<u><b><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;">Step Four: Retubing.</span></span></span></b></u></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;">Tubes are to an amp as pickups are to a guitar, but unlike pickups they need to be replaced as they age. </span></span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some
guys will tell you that you do not need to change the tubes unless one
pops. These are the same guys that only change their strings when they
break. A tube's lifespan for maximum tone is about (500) hours or (2)
years. They may still work -- but they will sound flat and your amp will
not perform the way it was intended to. This is why you will hear some
guys say that their amp just does not sound right or sound like it used to. Personally, I change my tubes every 18-24 months on my </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">rehearsal and venue gear and before every </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">studio session on my studio gear. I may be nuts, but my amps always sound amazing.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There are a
few things I take into consideration when buying tubes for a vintage
amp. The first is -- what did the amp come with originally and what is
available now for this application. This amp was built at a time when
the manufacturing process was different making some tubes more noisy
than others resulting in the original manufacturer selecting a less powerful preamp tube than we would use today in the same amp. </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You also need to consider that this amp was built for a
bass guitar so the tubes needed to be quiet with little tube saturation allowing for as much
headroom as possible.</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Stock she came with (2) 6L6GC (3) 7025 & (1) 12AT7. I wanted her to breakup with tube saturation quicker than she was with
this tube configuration, so I replaced the 7025's with 12ax7's. The 12ax7's are rated the same as the 7025's, but they break up earlier-- meaning she now starts
to break up on 4 apposed to 7 on the volume knob -- giving me my desired tone at a responsible stage volume. </span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Besides the type of tubes your amp needs, there are a few different manufactures that offer slight variances of the same tube making them sound slightly different -- kind of like guitar strings. Some people swear by one brand and write off the next, but it is all on personal preference. To me, consistency is the key element and you should always get a matching set of power tubes. My preference has been JJ's for my gigging gear since they are cheap and I use new old stock for my studio rig. For this rebuild Mojotone sent me Tube Amp Doctor (TAD) tubes, and so far I really like them. They are a few bucks more than the JJ's but far less than the new old stock and sound almost as warm. If they hold up (and I'm sure they will) I will have a new favorite gigging tube brand. </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;">Total retubing investment:</span></span></span></span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><span class="null">Tube Amp Doctor (TAD) 6L6GC-SVT vacuum tube matching pair - $141.92 </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">TAD 12AT7 / ECC81 RT002 vacuum tube (1) $15.45 </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">TAD 12AX7A-C vacuum tube (3) -$51.00</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Total: $207.46 + tax and shipping </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;">Get Tubes from Mojotone <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.mojotone.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-HERE-</a></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="null"><b><u>Step Five: New Transformers.</u> </b></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/booyaamps" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2A1WnQ5RcD5YjIB2giAiHdq7yfjUo9Qo8Dz14JwFRktZ8Z1QCPVJ7c62Tq6B9nH29tdZtRZ-av4_MNAkV2rXFEN8cXhD7LwMem1OsjG7eyYFeKZXlOza-nT_h8D5b-IQwszpyMJWBA7R/s1600/booya+ad.png" /></b></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Changing your transformers is one of the quickest and </span></span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="null">easiest</span> ways to round out and improve your tone. Most people get confused about what changing out the <span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45,"tn":"*G"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span class="text_exposed_show">output transformer, power transformer, and/or a choke</span></span></span> really does to the amp. Basically it makes the amp </span><span style="font-size: small;">more efficient and less susceptible to power outlet inconsistencies while</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> improving the dynamic response and tonal balance of the amp. On less expensive amps the factory transformers are typically unbalanced crap giving you too much bottom end soaking up your lead tone or boosting the high end frequency making your rhythm tone thin and undesirable -- forcing you to used effect pedals to compensate for your unbalanced tone. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">With vintage amps such as this one -- you can get power surges, hum and/or other electrical problems causing your amp to be inconsistent from the years of use. Some guys will just deal with a faulty amp until the stock transformers completely goes do to one of qualities of a vintage amp, it's "mojo". This refers to the many years of use and what is know as a "broken in amp". Now I'm not going to dispute this at all, yes my stock transformers had some "mojo" to them and I heard a difference right away between my upgrades and the stock setup. What I thought I heard was a slight boost in her high end with less bottom and a mid scoop<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After
a few hours of dialing in my new tone I realized that the new
transformers did not remove any of the old frequencies my amp had, but
unlocked the ones she had lost many years ago. In addition to the initial tone -- just like speakers, transformers have a break in period and will slightly take on new color/tone over time, so you may need to make a few adjustments to your amp settings the first few times you use your newly modded amp. After twenty hours of use I can honestly say that her voice has warmed up and she sounds fuller -- she is also more consistent then she was before this upgrade insuring that I will not have to use my backup amp due to 60 cycle hum at a gig -- if she has hum the venue has problems, and any amp will pick it up. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So to sum up -- what transformers really do is makes all of the amps </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">components work and sound the way that they were intended too by delivering a constant amount of voltage/current with balance -- making your amp come alive. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For this rebuild Mercury Magnetics sent me an o</span></span></span><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45,"tn":"*G"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">utput transformer, power transformer, and choke with the ability of running at 4/8/16 ohms -- giving this old girl a new voice and some much needed versatility.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45,"tn":"*G"}" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVtQSYyhrPL88qbw1KmrB5pu0w8s_SVMOCwnkGYioDu3NuWYUrqQEPIjulXx3h6dzddXu0hvK74RG91wNYRKzEclSgJuLXrFVHJJlrC13kJRGD_Rd8kOzq3PJBoWXjGsIT6DktJaR_TyA/s1600/Danger-Sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVtQSYyhrPL88qbw1KmrB5pu0w8s_SVMOCwnkGYioDu3NuWYUrqQEPIjulXx3h6dzddXu0hvK74RG91wNYRKzEclSgJuLXrFVHJJlrC13kJRGD_Rd8kOzq3PJBoWXjGsIT6DktJaR_TyA/s1600/Danger-Sign.jpg" /></a></div>
<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45,"tn":"*G"}" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>DO NOT WORK ON YOUR AMP YOURSELF UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING. THE CAPS CAN HOLD A CHARGE THAT CAN AND WILL KILL YOU IF YOU DO NOT DISCHARGE THEM PROPERLY! SPEND THE MONEY TO USE A PRO!</b></span></span></span></span></span></span><b><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;">Total </span></span></span></span></b><b><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45,"tn":"*G"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Transformer</span></span></span></span></span></span> investment:</span></span></span></span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><span class="null"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45,"tn":"*G"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Output transformer - $185</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45,"tn":"*G"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Power </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">transformer - $ 160</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45,"tn":"*G"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Choke - $45 </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Total: $390 + tax and shipping </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Installation</span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> by Booya Amplifier Services - $375 </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Total with installation $765 </span></span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">+ tax and shipping </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;">Get </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45,"tn":"*G"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Transformers</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> from </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mercury Magnetics</span></span></span> <a href="http://www.mercurymagnetics.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">-HERE-</span></a></span></span></span> </span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://celestion.com/" rel="nofollow" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEistbA13vTd-XYUKeQRAwRfa3FP9nXarJ7psOi1h1VdmGAtOWuQHa-50extEXjKw11cGLb2EYxzACAOfsOohIb1zQKKW3Sx_jMbzgKw_7Ea2_84-Uvk_W1LBoOdcuy5tp5N9m4IHxtUvbu0/s1600/Local+Music+Gear.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><u>Step Six: Speakers and Extension Cab(s).</u> </b><br />Now that I had this amazing, better than new vintage amplifier -- I needed to pair her with a set of speakers that I thought would bring out her best characteristics for my tone. There is no right or wrong speaker selection when dealing with a reputable manufacturer -- it really is all preference. The manufacturers I like using are Jensen, Celestion and Eminence. For this rebuild I wanted to have the versatility of having two different cabs voice completely different, so I decided to go with a few different options from both Celestion and Eminence. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I wanted to one cab setup with that true vintage American silverface sound but with a fatter bottom end, and a second cab to capture an early 1960's British sound. The cabs I had for this build were the matching Fender silverface 2x12 and (4) Vox AC15 open backs. I wanted the original 2x12 to have that vintage American Fender sound with a fatter bottom end so she got (1) Eminence Cannabis Rex and (1) Eminence Swamp Thang. The following is what went into each AC15 open back cab. (1) Eminence Cannabis Rex (1) Eminence Private Jack (1) Celestion Vintage 30 and (1) of the brand new Celestion Creamback 75's. The tonal combination I was able achieve with these (4) speakers was just amazing and seemed endless. After a few hours with each cab my personal preference for a 1960's British sound was the Celestion Creamback 75 when paired with the Vintage 30 or the Vintage 30 as a 1x12 and the vintage American sound for a 1x12 was the Eminence Cannabis Rex. To my surprise the Eminence Private Jack had this in between tone that was great for a thick creamy distorted sound. It was like a Greenback and a Swamp Thang did the nasty and than 9 months later out came the Private Jack. But speaker selection is just your personal taste and you should experiment with different speaker combinations from different manufacturers until you find a sound is best for your tone. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;">Total Speaker </span></span></span></span></b><b><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;">investment:</span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><span class="null"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45,"tn":"*G"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Eminence Cannabis Rex</span></span></span> - $95</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Eminence Swamp Thang</span></span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> - $ 89</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45,"tn":"*G"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Eminence Private Jack</span></span></span> - $95 </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Celestion Vintage 30 - $145</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Celestion Creamback 75 - $170</span></span></span></span></span></span><b><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;">Get </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45,"tn":"*G"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Speakers</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> from </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Eminence <a href="http://www.eminence.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">-HERE-</span></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;">Get </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45,"tn":"*G"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Speakers</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> from Celestion <a href="http://celestion.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">-HERE-</span></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<u><b><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;">Step Seven: Walk away from your computer -- pick up a guitar, plug it into your better than new vintage amp and play the crap out of it. </span></span></span></b></u><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;">Follow Local Music Gear on facebook for story updates and the sound files from this rebuild </span></span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/buylocalgear" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">-HERE-</span></a></span></span></span><b><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="null" style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" /></a> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Posted 10/2013</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">© 2013 localmusicgear.com All rights reserved</span></div>
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<br />Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-58621122188803192782013-09-03T08:50:00.001-07:002013-09-24T10:46:57.174-07:00Small Amp, Big Tone, Small Budget -- <div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">Local Music Gear Feature Story </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">Written By: </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;"><span class="size8 PalatinoLinotype8"><a href="mailto:sean@localmusicgear.com" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank">Jac Harrison</a></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1eyDbb7ShNj3mrK1xInoG1wgC_piOkQ-9ABFkcMVeyGPtvFafIEqNZoXJGIKwe_3IClNfbLBrieU1r0RtYX2pnWmcAkMETGfiv5Im1dkbOwV84Lk2uzhqgFcTNCZZrqgye8mqsPZ4Sexn/s1600/Small+Amp+Big+Tone+Small+Budget+LMG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1eyDbb7ShNj3mrK1xInoG1wgC_piOkQ-9ABFkcMVeyGPtvFafIEqNZoXJGIKwe_3IClNfbLBrieU1r0RtYX2pnWmcAkMETGfiv5Im1dkbOwV84Lk2uzhqgFcTNCZZrqgye8mqsPZ4Sexn/s400/Small+Amp+Big+Tone+Small+Budget+LMG.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">R</span>ecently it has come to my attention that I am no “spring
chicken” anymore, and I'm starting to look at my gear differently. A few years ago I wouldn't have thought twice about the weight of my gear when buying an amp, but after lugging around my Bogner Alchemist 2x12 for the last 6 months, it has crossed my mind more than twice. One of the things I have always took pride in as a guitarist is my tone -- it is my signature. I have spent countless hours dialing in what I believe to be the best possible setup for each of my guitars to maximize and showcase their unique tonal personalities. For me to even think that I would consider buying an amp based on it's portability made me cringe -- but at the same time needing to visit the chiropractor after a rehearsal kind of changed my mind. Now I was not going to settle for some wimpy amp that was portable, I wanted a kick ass amp that was dripping with tone -- that just happened to be portable. I deiced that I was going to get an amp head vs a combo and then build an </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">extension cab </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">around it. One of the may qualities I enjoy about my Bogner is her versatility. I can get from a clean silver-face, to a crunchy tweed on channel one and vintage British to 80's hair metal on channel two -- so it was very important that found an amp that would give me similar tones.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The first thing I did was go to every local music store to see what they had in stock, even S</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">atan's asshole (</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Guitar Center). With that said I will never buy anything from a </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">S</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">atan's asshole (</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Guitar Center), </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">but I will go into one and demo gear before I order it from an independently owned store. I would never want a retailer to have to pay a restock fee if I do not like the gear or even worst, get stuck with it. After playing every amp head in every store I found nothing that was light weight and had the tone I was looking for. I was extremely disappointed after my first attempt -- so I asked each store to keep an eye out for anything lightweight with tone that came in on a trade -- and to call me first when it did.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeeMnsB5Jwd73NAvbTcqW5D3OLLEnFRqols2hdahJCo8KqluMHxfryiQCD4QXMfuAXUeOmeR8qeLsrBzsEKxylW8rYgz3luHMgv3cSnVBYwnVwGPD9fpes-RoItKfAK4-_kAQvTaxxkxLU/s1600/946288_10201003605166128_1062395750_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="97" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeeMnsB5Jwd73NAvbTcqW5D3OLLEnFRqols2hdahJCo8KqluMHxfryiQCD4QXMfuAXUeOmeR8qeLsrBzsEKxylW8rYgz3luHMgv3cSnVBYwnVwGPD9fpes-RoItKfAK4-_kAQvTaxxkxLU/s200/946288_10201003605166128_1062395750_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Carvin V3M</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After about two months of searching and playing every amp head that was under 40 lbs in every music store in central NJ, I was able to find a used Carvin V3M head. </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This amp is amazing! It weighs only 19 lbs and came with an amp bag that has a shoulder strap -- score! Not only is it lightweight, but it was dripping with tone. The V3M is a (3) channel all tube </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">head that is powered by </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(4)12ax7's & (4) el84's that can be ran at 7, 22 or 50 watts with it's built-in power altimeter. To say the least I was very happy that I found an amp that fit my needs. The best part was the price. Now I don't kiss and tell on used gear, but you can get this amp head new from Carvin for under $600. After playing the V3M through a 4x12, a 2x12 and giving her a quick once over -- I took her home. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;">See the full demo of this amp from Carvin </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwFvKrKqtcU" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">- HERE -</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When buying a used tube amp there are a few thing that I always do to make sure that the amp is in full working order before I bring it to a rehearsal or a show. The last place you want to find out that your new gear is not in full working order, is when you need it to work. To start I plugged the amp in and let her warm up for about 20 minutes -- I then did a temperature test by running my hand on the top of the amp. If the amp is hot to the touch (not warm), there could a problem that needs to be addressed -- also look at the tubes to see if they are all on.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On a side-note, keep in mind that you never know what the previous owner did in regards to mods -- I like to keep an eye on used amps as they are warming up for the 1st time. Look for smoke and fire -- both are bad and can result in the amp going boom and or setting fire to your home. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.amplifiedparts.com/" rel="nofollow" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit3TgvYPIN_avTFELxtDsK43Kq4dR9Wic7gr_HngPHhIh_goi5VjbkqBNbswqGEf_KqPSAMdFAMQwhXBmnN4yBsU26qsyfrBRCjdynablcg_ha3U9geNxH9mDhRxZajYhiMq4yCzzsxUh1/s1600/AP_300x250+%25282%2529.gif" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">
</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now that she was warmed up -- I played her hard and loud. I ran through ever setting using the amp face controls and foot switch for about an hour. I then let her cool down for a few hours and turned her back on to make sure she still was working. Once everything checked I let her cool down and I changed her tubes. Now some guys will tell you that you do not need to change the tubes unless one pops. These are the same guys that only change their strings when they break. A tube's lifespan for maximum tone is about (500) hours or (2) years. They may still work -- but they will sound flat and your amp will not perform the way it was intended to. This is why you will hear some guys say that their amp just does not sound right or sound like it use too. Personally, I change my tubes every 18-24 months on my </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">rehearsal and venue gear and before every </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">studio session on my studio gear. I may be nuts, but my amps always sound amazing.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIARw3aC5wpY7yR6EUIDWynk8Gy2xxYlnN2PCor-MTk2DKw-PCOaIz4ZxCcGXJWbwbyOL96TSF9xb8xbCWUaTPofyr6jHq6D2Zo3zeDOrjxsZJf0XkypG-Bjx6f_Ti6ZNr3SIZEWtSDqYZ/s1600/JJ%2527s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIARw3aC5wpY7yR6EUIDWynk8Gy2xxYlnN2PCor-MTk2DKw-PCOaIz4ZxCcGXJWbwbyOL96TSF9xb8xbCWUaTPofyr6jHq6D2Zo3zeDOrjxsZJf0XkypG-Bjx6f_Ti6ZNr3SIZEWtSDqYZ/s200/JJ%2527s.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>JJ's El84's </b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Their are a few great places to find quality tubes, and just like guitar strings you have many choices. I like the brand JJ's for my rehearsal and venue gear. They are durable, inexpensive and just like guitar strings you will go through a lot if you are a gigging musician. When it comes to my studio amps I like to use military grade new old stock. They run about $100 a tube, but make the world off difference on the album. Their are a few places to buy tubes online, I used <a href="http://www.amplifiedparts.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amplified Parts</a> for this rebuild. I have always found that they are incredibly knowledgeable about the products they sell and have a great selection at a great </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">price.</span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Vacuum</b></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b> Tube Install time</b> - 15 minutes/1 beer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Tools and supplies needed</b> - Phillips head screw driver (to take the amp cover off ) & 1 beer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Buy replacement tubes to get the most out of your amp </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.amplifiedparts.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-HERE- </a></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS1h3dwq64pIuihJVpWTv30OtO8ztiRQWCI4luTzsIDFeOfpU-7N5uJlVCK5gdQL3NhVWp3dw7WSA6K_OQaaB6wXq8Jr-iWbkVvENxa6y2XRYb1bPmg74Y42IppsNMxju_3xjdp1PEvxK6/s1600/9891_658964067462830_448290736_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS1h3dwq64pIuihJVpWTv30OtO8ztiRQWCI4luTzsIDFeOfpU-7N5uJlVCK5gdQL3NhVWp3dw7WSA6K_OQaaB6wXq8Jr-iWbkVvENxa6y2XRYb1bPmg74Y42IppsNMxju_3xjdp1PEvxK6/s200/9891_658964067462830_448290736_n.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Billy Gibbons Trainwreck </b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now that I had this amazing amp that sounded great -- I needed an extension cab for it. I did all of my testing using my Bogener's speakers, so I needed to come up with a killer speaker combo to get the most out of this V3M. The first thing I did was go to the Carvin site and see what they recommended. I figured that they had put countless hours into their R&D to insure that their amp sounded its best, so it was my starting point. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #999999;">When you buy this V3M new through Carvin, they recommend using their sealed 2x12 with (2) Celestion Vintage 30's. So; once again I called my local music stores and found a sealed 2x12 slant at a repair shop attached to a store in Edison NJ. The great thing about buying used </span><span style="color: #999999;">extension</span><span style="color: #999999;"> cabs is that they are dirt cheap since the previous owner has probably damaged or completely blown the speakers -- just know going into it that you will need to buy new speakers. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of my personal choice for replacement speakers are Celestion, and the fact that Carvin as the manufacturer of the amp recommend them was great. I have always found that </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Celestion speakers</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> truly capture the sound that they claim. I have been a greenback player for years, so I was excited when John from Celestion said that he was going to send me (2) of the brand new V-Type 70 watt before they were even available to the general public. I had the chance to play a set of the G12M-65 Creamback's using Billy Gibbons Trainwreck at the NY Amp Show this passed June, and I have not been right in the frontal lobe since -- so I was pumped!</span><br />
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<a href="http://celestion.com/" rel="nofollow" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEistbA13vTd-XYUKeQRAwRfa3FP9nXarJ7psOi1h1VdmGAtOWuQHa-50extEXjKw11cGLb2EYxzACAOfsOohIb1zQKKW3Sx_jMbzgKw_7Ea2_84-Uvk_W1LBoOdcuy5tp5N9m4IHxtUvbu0/s1600/Local+Music+Gear.jpg" /></a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The day the speakers arrived I was quick to install them in the 2x12 sealed slant, and after 10 minutes I was ready to plug her in and play. I i</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">mmediately</span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> noticed a difference in the tonal properties between the Green & Goldback setup I was using from my Bogner to the V-types. The V-types have more of a punchy crisp feel apposed to the loose warm feel I was use to. They felt more like a ten inch speaker with a large bottom end than a 12. Knowing that the speaker would "loosen up" with age -- I ran my i-pod through her for 48 hours playing everything from SRV to Pantera and then played guitar through her for 10 hours ( 7 at low volume and 3 cranked in a rehearsal studio). Her characteristics changed slightly, but she still has that bright punchy feel to her. Now there is nothing wrong with the way v-types sound at all -- in fact I prefer them to other speakers I have played that offer that "modern vintage" sound. To me if I had to sum up their feel and sound it would be a vintage "pawn store find" in England where the original amp manufacturer was dabbling in what we refer</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> to as a modern tone today. The Carvin sounded great with this speaker setup for a heavy rock, jazzfusion or metal -- but could also be used for pop, pop rock, and texas blues with their never ending headroom on the clean channel.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Celestion is one of the best, if not the best speaker manufacturers there is. If the V-types are not your cup of tea they have many different styles of speakers for every genre and style of play. If you are looking to capture that prefect sound, just pick up the phone and give them a call -- you will be happy you did.</span><br />
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<b style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Speaker Install time</b><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - 10 minutes/1 beer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Tools and supplies needed</b> - Phillips head screw driver & 1 beer.</span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Read about the V-Type</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://celestion.com/product/142/vtype/" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">-HERE-</a></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So over all I am now happy with my new setup. I have an amp that is portable and sounds amazing. The best part is instead of paying a $50 co-pay to my </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">chiropractor every other week, I can now spend my money on important stuff like beer.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My Advice: </b></div>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Have fun with your rig -- try new tubes and speakers until you find what makes you happy.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Posted 09/2013</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" /></a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">© 2013 localmusicgear.com All rights reserved</span></div>
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Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-1614519095149031472013-08-27T07:02:00.000-07:002013-09-24T15:00:42.073-07:00Giving New Life to Your Vintage Guitar Without Diminishing its Value.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;">Local Music Gear Feature Story </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;">Written By: </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;"><span class="size8 PalatinoLinotype8"><a href="mailto:sean@localmusicgear.com" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank">Jac Harrison</a></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUIB3tpqV6gU844Kzy1nrNWZIUAPPN74CuZrMURMqESsEwQd6WHiqW-AO1fDk3ILFwvWSw_qH-uxdSTP1nqPcVXqaqkvcSPXHNuGOHR-TSqFDBcDwsMV9DVIcfz4nhsfRh0mX9OKsyOrkl/s1600/Vintage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUIB3tpqV6gU844Kzy1nrNWZIUAPPN74CuZrMURMqESsEwQd6WHiqW-AO1fDk3ILFwvWSw_qH-uxdSTP1nqPcVXqaqkvcSPXHNuGOHR-TSqFDBcDwsMV9DVIcfz4nhsfRh0mX9OKsyOrkl/s400/Vintage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G</span>uitarist... we are a strange bunch. We search high and low to find a guitar that we fall-in-love with, and then after a few weeks we decide that the guitar that we couldn't live without a few weeks back, is not the best. Kinda sounds like every relationship I have ever been in, but unlike a woman you can modify the guitar to your liking legally. Now there are many ways to "hot rod" your guitar, from pickups and electronics to hardware and accessories -- but when "hot rodding" a vintage guitar there are a few things you want to keep in-mind. To start, I like to stay away from all permanent installation products that modify the original design. If the mod requires a drill, saw or glue just don't do it -- go buy a new guitar.Your vintage guitar is an old lady, so she is suppose to look like and sound like she has some age on her. Some mods are like giving your grandmother a face lift and a boob job -- so ask yourself, who wants a hot grandmother? I don't, my grandmother looks and sounds like a grandmother, like she is supposed to. Now with that in mind, you also want to make sure that your vintage guitar is in full working order before you start your mods.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When modifying a vintage guitar I like to stick to mods that could have been offered from the factory or parts that can be easily removed so the stock parks can be re-installed. For example; when re-potting you should use the same pot(s) that were offered from the factory at the time the guitar was originally made or a reproduction of that particular part -- even if it is not your first choice. This will insure that the guitar will maintain her original characteristics and vintage tone that you originally fell in love with, and insure her resale value. So if you are looking to get a completely different tone out of your vintage guitar, just sell her and buy a new guitar -- but if you are looking to give her new life and increase her tone and sustain the following is how I would go about it.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4d39rRCXXS_J4DGDV3dKG_8oq3xkK0_CV6mpRf6lxXkwxoUWvjLxcRSsUCWyay12vzUcs4n91pmX5Z-At-ZjDy6B0FgC_WrdVc6fn7_yWPhlE5K52m8cM4Zpb2pd2nbkeVi9UTVpyMv1m/s1600/Strat+Cleaning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="73" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4d39rRCXXS_J4DGDV3dKG_8oq3xkK0_CV6mpRf6lxXkwxoUWvjLxcRSsUCWyay12vzUcs4n91pmX5Z-At-ZjDy6B0FgC_WrdVc6fn7_yWPhlE5K52m8cM4Zpb2pd2nbkeVi9UTVpyMv1m/s200/Strat+Cleaning.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The guitar used in this rebuild is a 1983 Fender American Stratocaster 19<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 15.454545021057129px; white-space: pre-wrap;">62 </span><span style="line-height: 15.453125px; white-space: pre-wrap;">reissue. </span></span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">first thing I wanted to do is make sure that everything
was in 100% working order before I started breaking her down for a good
scrubbing. The only problem I found was that the input jack was cutting in-and-out, so that was the first thing I addressed. It turned out that it was just a
loose ground wire and was an easy FREE fix. So now that she was working I
completely dissembled her, gave her a good scrubbing and soaked her dance floor
with lemon oil. While her neck was soaking I started with my first mod-- a
treble bleed circuit on the volume pot.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2COUB_BJE6oPAlqu56fxEfV0HwFsBLdjag6kC0FERrqu3Eq8OvB8wfhp6T_cFHgaTcPjNQwBP2zewKJKZne5_WTAfJJSfQ76fkdsf5MzNVCteJI3wYRMokw66gsaq21Tf8QcuLuboIJE/s1600/TBC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2COUB_BJE6oPAlqu56fxEfV0HwFsBLdjag6kC0FERrqu3Eq8OvB8wfhp6T_cFHgaTcPjNQwBP2zewKJKZne5_WTAfJJSfQ76fkdsf5MzNVCteJI3wYRMokw66gsaq21Tf8QcuLuboIJE/s200/TBC.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A treble bleed circuit (also called treble bypass)
is a mod that I think is a must have on all guitars. This is a fix to the
mud you get as you turn your guitar's volume pot down. With this circuit you
get a smooth clean tone from 10 – 1 with a slight loss of some grit giving the
guitar more dynamics. I use a treble bleed circuit with a parallel
resistor (o.o1 CF cap /100 ohm K resistor).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Treble bleed circuit Install time</b> - 30
minutes/2 beers.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Tools and supplies needed</b> - volt meter, soldering iron,
solder & 2 beers.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Cost </b>- $5 USD + Shipping</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now that I have better control over her voice volume with the </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">treble bleed circuit</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> -- I needed to focus on her depth of tone, clarity of individual notes and sustain. There are two mods that prefer to do to achieve this. The first is a FU-Tone Big Block upgrade. </span><span class="yiv488351068Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FU-Tone</a></span><span class="yiv488351068Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;">,</span><span class="yiv488351068Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;"> formerly known as <a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Floyd Upgrades</a>, is the manufacturer of aftermarket high</span><span class="yiv488351068Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;">-</span><span class="yiv488351068Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;">performance guitar parts designed to optimize a guitar</span><span class="yiv488351068Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;">'</span><span class="yiv488351068Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;">s voice, sustain, playability and tone. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJnXdBtT6EeFSRC0SwGPh57ntMN802AD6B-JfWNdQxx0bZv-yfwIa1aqzix7eM8A2XHMWLyZ1zCfunRmoQCqB__pz_ccFHlmsrkdCl2UaJknpKhxuS11ncBCU8nrGLcM5Uxl5gII_AnyI/s1600/005+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJnXdBtT6EeFSRC0SwGPh57ntMN802AD6B-JfWNdQxx0bZv-yfwIa1aqzix7eM8A2XHMWLyZ1zCfunRmoQCqB__pz_ccFHlmsrkdCl2UaJknpKhxuS11ncBCU8nrGLcM5Uxl5gII_AnyI/s200/005+%25282%2529.JPG" width="200" /></span></a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="yiv488351068Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;">As o</span><span style="font-size: small;">ne of the easiest upgrade for the do-it-yourselfer -- an <a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FU<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>B<span style="font-size: small;">i</span>g Block</a> delivers immediate results that even the untrained ear can hear allowing the player to own a guitar with the character and tonality of the pros. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Personally, I believe this is one of the best upgrades you could possibly do to a string through block designed guitar. </span><span style="font-size: small;">This product makes such a difference in the guitar's characteristics I encourage anyone I see playing a string through block design guitar such as a Stratocaster to look into getting one.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">Not only does Adam Reiver (the founder of <a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FU-Tone</a>)<b> </b></span><span style="font-size: small;">produce one of the industry's "must have" products that artists such as <a href="http://www.van-halen.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Eddie Van Halen</a>, <a href="http://slashonline.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Slash</a>, <a href="http://www.philcollenpc1.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Phil Collen</a> and many many more use, but he is </span><span style="font-size: small;">a down to earth guy. When </span><span style="font-size: small;">high-end b</span><span style="font-size: small;">outique guitar manufacturers such as <a href="http://www.cralsipguitars.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">C.R. Alsip</a> use <a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FU Big Blocks</a> as part of their stock equipment due to their superior quality over other blocks -- you know this product really delivers.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read the Local Music Gear review of FU-Tone Big Block </span><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2012/10/fu-tone-strat-big-block-upgrade-review.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-here-</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">Read more about the FU-Tone products <a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-here-</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><b>FU Tone Big Block</b>- 15 minutes<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">/1 beer.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Tools and supplies needed</b> - Small philips head screw driver 1 beer.</span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Cost </b>- <span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">$49.95USD + Shipping</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ovFlQKZKFzaPJq70VjqDvaeDJYEVPQjvkwHZCHUM_HYvn2ydCF-vi9LQplMfb2Aht747-Xeqim1Uxve4j7zbK547cNAtcRJsLiDu9_bjqIYwiXLqS-nGsOcKOuK-pFReVWrnljdeHPML/s1600/bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ovFlQKZKFzaPJq70VjqDvaeDJYEVPQjvkwHZCHUM_HYvn2ydCF-vi9LQplMfb2Aht747-Xeqim1Uxve4j7zbK547cNAtcRJsLiDu9_bjqIYwiXLqS-nGsOcKOuK-pFReVWrnljdeHPML/s200/bridge.jpg" width="133" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The second mod I prefer is Tusq String Saver Saddles by Graph Tech Guitar Labs. One of the most important upgrades you can do to your guitar is change the points where the strings touch the body. On older guitars the saddles can be rusted and/or dis-formed and on less expensive guitars the manufacturers use a plastic or a poor quality brass that kills your sustain and tone. <a href="http://graphtech.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tusq</a> by <a href="http://graphtech.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Graph<span style="font-size: small;"> T</span>ech Guitar Labs</a> is a great fix to this problem.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Even with <a href="http://graphtech.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Graph Tech</a> being one of the largest manufacturers of aftermarket guitar nuts, saddles and accessories -- </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Joe (my contact at </span><a href="http://graphtech.com/" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Graph Tech Guitar Labs</a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">) was quick to respond to my request and in less than a week I had the saddles for this build.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">Read the Local Music Gear review of Tusq <a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2012/05/putting-tusq-by-graphtech-guitar-labs.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-here-</a></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Read more about Tusq at </span><a href="http://graphtech.com/" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">-here-</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><b>Tools and supplies needed</b> - small philips head screw driver & 1 beer.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cost - $79.95 </span><span style="text-align: justify;">USD + Shipping</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Bogner Alchemist 2 x 12</span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Carvin V3M with (2) 1 x 12 extension cabs </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Intex</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Dark Horse 10-46</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=96&products_id=261" rel="nofollow" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJINr6StfYDqIj82O3NH4_H0iSCvpZ8HMigYJ-VpGZuB2pQUYUbnfmX4HfqaDlp2hqUjGQ7KiJSDVRY3mWr-TIvUjhH8zM-YH88-m8OymkRb9pJWRd-HYKbnDwjcAgg5cmCcgLheaxqZu/s1600/fu.png" /></a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></div>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Setup & Impression</b>:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">This guitar stock was a quality vintage guitar, but after 30 years of wear and tear she was playing like a new MIM and not a Vintage American Strat. </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After three very inexpensive mods and a bath -- she is now playing better than new and sounds like a 30 year old American Strat with some extra soul. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The total was just under $135.00 USD and is well worth the investment for this DIY project. If you do not wish to do the work yourself, you can have a local luthier or tech from your local music store install and setup your guitar. For these three mods with setup and new strings you would be looking at an additional $180- $225 depending on the bench fee.</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My advice:</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;">If your old guitar is just collecting dust at the bottom of your closet, or you just picked up a vintage guitar that needs some extra love -- do these mods. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Total investment</b>:</span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.mojotone.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Treble Bleed Circuit </a> $5 USD + Shipping</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.graphtech.com/index.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Graph Tech</a> Tusq XL Nut and Saddle Savers in $79.95 USD + Shipping</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FU Tone</a> Big Block Upgrade</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">$49.95 USD + Shipping</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Total </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">$134.94</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><b>Total with using a luthier </b></span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">$214.94 - $359.94</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" /></a><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Posted 08/2013</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">© 2013 localmusicgear.com All rights reserved</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 15.453125px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 15.453125px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></span>Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-33815147173764380922013-07-08T05:41:00.002-07:002013-09-24T10:48:47.379-07:00The Guitar Snob, Understating what you are buying is a good thing... <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px;">Local Music Gear Feature Story </span><br style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px;">Written By: </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="size8 PalatinoLinotype8"><a href="mailto:sean@localmusicgear.com" style="color: #333333; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Jac Harrison</a></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLKxF2K6wLEkFXFPNd-hEUnuvelyqOUbfpAyOLfnnvbYPsXBuEZ7FYvN1Xjg85OV80J2FB42-sh0FzvOVPULPXSR3QwZ3AX8hbsfEW16I_MeTBGw8cA5JXIGLfz9mScglNRykH0RqBfarx/s1600/The+Guitar+Snob.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLKxF2K6wLEkFXFPNd-hEUnuvelyqOUbfpAyOLfnnvbYPsXBuEZ7FYvN1Xjg85OV80J2FB42-sh0FzvOVPULPXSR3QwZ3AX8hbsfEW16I_MeTBGw8cA5JXIGLfz9mScglNRykH0RqBfarx/s320/The+Guitar+Snob.jpg" width="306" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">R</span>ecently I was called a "guitar snob" on a social network and at first I took offence to it, but then I really thought about it and I have to agree. Here are my thought on it --</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In my twenties I knew everything -- but now at the ripe old
age of thirty-four I have realized that I know very little in the grand scheme of things, but what I do know I understand completely or find out about by research. As a self-proclaimed guitarist with
over 25 years of experience, I would like to think that I have </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">developed</span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> a refined palate and consider myself knowledgeable when it comes to understating guitars and related musical equipment. With
my "refined palate" I have also </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;">developed</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> a taste for quality gear much like a wine snob has to wine. Now that word "snob" -- it is a
label that most guitarist do not want to be associated with, who would?
The definition of the word is less than </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">flattering. </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">According to the Bing
Dictionary there are two ways to use this word to describe a person :<i>
(1) somebody who looks down on others: an admirer and cultivator of
people with high social status who disdains those considered inferior (2) somebody
who feels superior: somebody who disdains people considered to have
inferior knowledge or tastes. </i>But when the word "snob" is used
to descried a person in relation to a particular product or
hobby, I believe that it takes on a different meaning. For example; I enjoy a good bottle of wine with breakfast just like the next guy, but there is no way I would know what to look for when buying a bottle out of the novices price point. I would want an expert with an unbiased opinion to coach me through the different types of wine, explaining what makes them different from each other and most importantly what I should be paying for them based on their quality, like a "wine snob" would. So why not the same in the music world? </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As a "guitar snob", my opinion is that the average guitarist is a hobbyist and lacks the knowledge to make an educated decision when shopping for a what I refer to as a semi-permanent /permanent guitar or related musical equipment. Now I do not feel superior or look down on this group of people -- it is just fact. Most hobbyist are just unaware of the different elements that go into making a quality instrument and/or related musical equipment. For example -- when I was younger and knew everything, you couldn't tell me anything bad about the Gibson guitar company. To me they were "top shelf" -- because I didn't know any better. At the time I would go into the BIG BOX music stores and see them behind glass or out-of-reach with a huge price tag. I figured that if they were expensive they must be good... right? Boy was I ever wrong. I learned very quickly that perception of quality based on price and the company's history does not equal a current quality product. Especially when the manufacturer has changed their business and build practices to reflect a financial profit while loosing focus on the quality of build -- but that's a thorn in my side and a totally different story for a different time. There are a few thing that I believe that the guitarist at any level should fully understand before buying a guitar and/or related musical equipment... unless you fully trust your salesperson that is trying to make a buck off you.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To start, there are more brands of guitars and related musical equipment on the market then you can even imagine. From custom, to boutique, to mass-produced and they all have one thing in common -- you can buy a better quality product for less than what you would spend when buying the same product with a "name brand" stamped on it. I know many luthiers (guitar builders) that make a product that sells for under $2,000 USD that would sell for over $5,000 USD if it had a "name brand" stamped on the head-stock. Now this may go against everything you have heard about buying boutique -- but it is 100% accurate. With that said, you will never find boutique or custom gear at an Epiphone or Squier price point simply because of two reasons. <i>(1) a luither uses better build materials and has pride with attention to detail in his/her work (2) Epiphone and Squier are built by machine in a factory then </i><i>assembled and</i><i> setup by underpaid assembly line workers and not a luthier. </i>With the average American hobbyist spending the equivalent of one to two weeks earnings on their guitar and/or related musical equipment, I would think that we as the consumer would want the equivalent value to what we are spending in gear -- but we just open our wallets and say "here, take my money" without fully understating the quality vs value in our purchase. This results in grossly over paying for a lesser quality end product. So I would recommend to anyone before their next purchase to use your google box and search the interwebs for a local luthier or manufacturer of musical equipment. You may have the next Leo Fender in your hometown.</span></div>
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<a href="http://darkhorsestrings.com/" rel="nofollow" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizLMs8XBZ5qrFbcN5okllrkfx7MX7r4Lvt2NAmqHBvMnN4_8OScDPL51ZChFDNmql1l2rUoAieCn2eWKzY-xkiSUDqz6_0ZBf3P8_PZ5GeU7wXFaDVEFx_mH3JixcyxEHQ8zUMmCFosNnl/s1600/dh1.jpg" /></a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now that you know the secret that The BIG BOX stores didn't want you to know about the poo they sell, you need to fully understand the differences in the materials and how they affect your tone, voicing and the charter of the guitar and/or related musical equipment that you are looking to acquire. Now there is way too much to go into detail in this rant that you will truly benefit from, but I think a good jump off point is that composite woods or "wood-like" materials are not a desirable tonewood. Even the Martin Guitar company has jumped on the bandwagon and uses a compost material they call "<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Mahogany Pattern HPL Textured Finish" </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">apposed</span><span style="line-height: 18px;"> to wood on some of their guitars. That's right! You can now spend your hard earned cash (up to $1,000 USD) on a guitar that is made from crap just because it has the Martin name on it when the guy down the road from you can make you a </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">solid </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">wood guitar for around the same price, and I say that is BS. There are many ways you can find out what build </span></span>materials will give you your desired tone from tonewoods and pickups for guitar, to tubes and magnets for amps. All you have to do is do your research before you shop.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, to sum-it-up -- I am proud to be considered a "guitar snob". I know that I will never overpay for my musical gear and I have the knowledge to make an educated purchase based on my needs as a musician -- but most of all If you look at the core of the definition of the word "snob", I do look down on others. The others that make the crap gear and sell it as "top shelf" to the unsuspecting consumer. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" /></a> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Posted 07/2013</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">© 2013 localmusicgear.com All rights reserved</span></div>
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Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-25842022801618907662013-06-11T07:54:00.000-07:002013-09-24T10:49:30.807-07:00The Local Music Gear 2013 NY Amp Show Wrap Up ...<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #999999; text-align: left;">Local Music Gear Feature Story </span><br /><span style="color: #999999; text-align: left;">Written By: </span></span><a href="mailto:sean@localmusicgear.com" style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" target="_blank">Jac Harrison</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlTGxfWY6oDnEl_v9vjsqw_j-3M_Yp9lQQYzaJ3d4GU8u71uOwHNEnzQ9cemjKHUNo-BZ6OcjaO4OIJ7IpgbVTSSQYWPPZ1s8CYKh4CKuwnLB47wcltGKv-jJQ9BzTAza2AtOTabFLutCq/s1600/NYartPiscat+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlTGxfWY6oDnEl_v9vjsqw_j-3M_Yp9lQQYzaJ3d4GU8u71uOwHNEnzQ9cemjKHUNo-BZ6OcjaO4OIJ7IpgbVTSSQYWPPZ1s8CYKh4CKuwnLB47wcltGKv-jJQ9BzTAza2AtOTabFLutCq/s320/NYartPiscat+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">J</span>une 1st & 2nd 2013 - The annual NY Amp Show took place
in beautiful downtown Piscatawy NJ. Like always, Loni and his team put on a
hell of a show. Now before I really dig deep into this year’s show there are a
few points I want to touch on. To start -- this is my personal favorite show. I
know that is a bold statement, but as a guitarist there is no better place that
I have found to date where you can really play the gear -- and hear it. I attend
everything from industry trade shows such as NAMM, to open floor small regional
consumer tabletop shows and they all have one thing in common -- the noise
police. There is nothing that pisses me off more at a guitar/amp show than
having someone come by to tell me to turn it down. How the hell are you suppose
to demo your gear as a manufacturer and more importantly play the gear as a
consumer if someone is coming by with a meter to "protect your hearing". If I wanted to hear someone tell me to "turn-it-down", I would go
to my mothers house. Now I get the fact that the organizers of the
shows are legally obligated to protect the consumers hearing -- but come on --
get creative with your show layout and design. When I pay $20 to get into a show, I'm looking to buy gear and I want to hear it at stage volume or there will be
no sale. This is why I love the Amp Show -- there is no noise police! Each
manufacturer has their own hotel room that is staged as a mini
showroom. You can play as loud as you
want and for as long as you want -- you can even close the door for a private
meeting. If you are professional musician or retailer, you can talk
business in private. These are things that you just cannot do at a traditional tabletop or open floor plan guitar/amp shows. So to sum it up -- you can play loud and for a long time without being bothered by the noise police -- and you can talk in private with the manufacturer . That is why I love the NY Amp Show!</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/booyaamps" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4SLk6xwIoNPJzHLSYhoUy0rzJe3RVAe3dE62qcWZ2t0IJPLSFxoVtWRQx4h-3MJWPxP5iKEX9_bwsXgVZGTZhsjlxu9T21qiWau2eUwBaN4WZLOB7Bihgg5QVTKQnHpEEGxFwZ1aVjSZO/s1600/Booya+Ad.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So to this years show coverage -- 2013 was a great year for new and exciting products at the NY Amp Show. It took me a full two days to visit every room/booth -- but I got to play every amp, guitar and pedal that I came to the show to play. A very small percentage of the manufacturers didn't have anything new for this show and only one manufacture was a egotistical jackass (</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">if you hold your tongue and say "M</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">arshall" -- you will know who I'm referring to)</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">. </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But with that said -- e</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">very other manufacturer was pleasant and a joy to be around -- and most importantly they all make wonderful products. You are always sure to find something at this show from Apex - Zexcoil</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> -- no matter what your style of play is. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u><span style="font-size: x-small;">SHOW TRENDS</span></u></span><br />
<a href="http://darkhorsestrings.com/" rel="nofollow" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizLMs8XBZ5qrFbcN5okllrkfx7MX7r4Lvt2NAmqHBvMnN4_8OScDPL51ZChFDNmql1l2rUoAieCn2eWKzY-xkiSUDqz6_0ZBf3P8_PZ5GeU7wXFaDVEFx_mH3JixcyxEHQ8zUMmCFosNnl/s1600/dh1.jpg" /></a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the trends I noticed was the reduction of speaker cabinet size and weight. Only a few rooms/booths were displaying their </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">amp heads </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">with a 4 x 12 1/2 stack. For the most part a 2x10, 2x12 or a single 12/15 was king. I also found that the manufacturers were offering weight reduction cabinets made out of new build materials that offer the same tone qualities as traditional speaker cabinets -- just at a 1/2 the weight. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When it came to effects pedals -- old is still the "new" new. For the 3rd year in a row most effects manufacturers were offering a striped-down version of what was the standard a few years back. It was not uncommon to find a (1) dial pedal with just one function/application at this years show. This is a trend that I hope stays around, as I have found that the quality of effects pedals (especially the OD pedals) have come a long way in the tone category since the manufacturers have removed all of the "fru fru" and focused just on the application of the pedal for its original design and </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">function</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My favorite trend was what I have dubbed the "amp on-the-go". I found a few manufacturers breaking into the extremely portable category, each with their own take on it. For example -- VVT was offering an all-tube amp head that was specifically designed and voiced to run off of the board like an all tube DI. Phil Jones was offering a 500 watt eight inch combo guitar amp while Metal Pedals had an OD pedal with a 3-band EQ and "amp like" voicing that could be used with a DI box. But trends are just that and the staples of the industry will always be there -- and they were. This show always has the best manufacturers of boutique musical gear and always will in my mind. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><u>MY ADVISE</u></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><u><br /></u></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you live in the NY tri state area and play guitar or bass -- this is a must go to show and offers you the chance to play some of the best gear in the world in an intimate setting with the manufacturer or luthier. In my opinion -- it does not get any better than that. If you are a manufacturer or a luthier -- this is a show you may want to exhibit at next year. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;">*Loni also has the same show in LA -- check them out at <a href="http://www.ampshow.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #999999;">www.ampshow.com</span></a></span><span style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://www.ampshow.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> </a></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><u>PRODUCT REVIEWS</u></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Please enjoy the following reviews of some of the products I found at this years NY Amp show. There will more reviews from this show in the coming weeks. </span><br />
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<li><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-gaga-90-by-milbert-amplifers-swiss.html" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #999999;">The GAGA 90 by Milbert Amplifiers</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/06/vintage-vacuum-tube-amplifiers-vvt.html" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #999999;">Vintage Vacuum Tube Amplifiers (VVT Amplifiers) Lindy Fralin Model 1</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-blackjack-21-ii-by-fuchs-audio.html" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #999999;">The Blackjack-21® II by Fuchs Audio Technology</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/06/howlin-moon-model-152-by-malinoski.html" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #999999;">The Howlin' Moon model #152 by Malinoski Guitars</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/06/ala-carte-boutique-amplifiers-by-booya.html" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #999999;">Ala Carte Boutique Amplifiers by Booya Amplifier Services</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/06/g12m-65-creamback-by-celestion-review.html" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #999999;">G12M-65 Creamback by Celestion</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/06/metal-pedals-blue-crunch-od-pedal-review.html" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #999999;">Metal Pedals Blue Crunch OD Pedal</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-barracuda-by-satellite-amplifiers.html" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #999999;">The Barracuda by Satellite Amplifiers</span></a></li>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" /></a> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Posted 06/2013</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">© 2013 localmusicgear.com All rights reserved</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://www.fishman.com/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></div>
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Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-105541832554128532013-04-30T08:33:00.000-07:002013-09-24T10:49:51.045-07:00The Local Music Gear 2013 PAF Style Humbucker Comparison Review...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #999999; text-align: left;">Local Music Gear Feature Story </span><br /><span style="color: #999999; text-align: left;">Written By: </span></span></span><a href="mailto:sean@localmusicgear.com" style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" target="_blank">Jac Harrison</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn9mc0sOEpf_mmY-EE9or-yFyOencNCanyWRs37nDfurBLPEIMqAR_0CcNWaTABrvqUf-Fv3lkJYcYmwhtD7G5d_H9yaEH3LMyiOatUK9ozGiGTx5-Ozn4MJ_NaB0S7vTFWIDey-4aKRrY/s1600/paflmg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn9mc0sOEpf_mmY-EE9or-yFyOencNCanyWRs37nDfurBLPEIMqAR_0CcNWaTABrvqUf-Fv3lkJYcYmwhtD7G5d_H9yaEH3LMyiOatUK9ozGiGTx5-Ozn4MJ_NaB0S7vTFWIDey-4aKRrY/s320/paflmg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">C</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">onfusion and frustration are emotions that come to mind when trying to describe the tone/voice we want from our guitar to the person making and/or selling us the upgrades to achieve that "holy tone" we dream of. There are so many variables that go into this equation that you can really hurt you brain just by thinking about it -- and even worst your pockets. The most common way to dramatically change your guitars tone/voice is by installing a new set of pickups. There are a few steps in the process of deciding what style of pickup you want based on your desired tone. To start you need to understand what the different pickup types do to your tone since you are no longer bound to the style of pickup that your guitar is setup for. Most pickup manufacturers are producing an interchangeable product for all platforms in any configuration. So what that means is -- if you have a single coil style guitar you can use humbuckers and vica versa. This opens up a whole new world of different tones you can achieve from one guitar -- but at the same time can be confusing.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now that you have a style of pickup in mind -- you have many different choices from many different manufacturers. Each manufacturer puts their own twist on things -- so understanding the basics will help you find your tone. There are a few different components that go into making a quality pickup -- but as a consumer there are three that I always pay attention to. Active vs passive, hand vs machine wound and the type of magnets. The main tone altering part of the pickup is its heart -- the magnet. The lower the Alnico magnets number the darker and more mellow the tone -vs- a higher number that will give you a brighter tone with more attack ending with ceramic </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">magnets</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> as the hottest. So for example -- if you wanted a nice warm Jazz neck tone for your archtop you may go with an Alnico II humbucker and if you wanted a metal shredder sound you could use an active ceramic bridge. There is no right or wrong way of achieving your tone – it is all personal preference. </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/booyaamps" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4SLk6xwIoNPJzHLSYhoUy0rzJe3RVAe3dE62qcWZ2t0IJPLSFxoVtWRQx4h-3MJWPxP5iKEX9_bwsXgVZGTZhsjlxu9T21qiWau2eUwBaN4WZLOB7Bihgg5QVTKQnHpEEGxFwZ1aVjSZO/s1600/Booya+Ad.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To me; nothing sounds better then an old school dirty humbucker -- so for this comparison review I asked the pickup manufacturers to send me their version of my favorite pickups. A set of passive hot, but not ceramic PAF’s/Paten Applied For style (4) conductor humbuckers.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><u>THE CONTROL GUITAR </u></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This review was conducted using a Brian <a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2012/07/american-boutique-jeppson-guitars.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jeppson Spitfire</a> guitar and an <a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/04/asy-t4-switch-by-awesome-musical.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ASY-T4 Switch</a> by AweSome Musical Instruments attached to a tester board during </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">installation</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> to allow me to view all 72 different possible pickup configurations before permanent </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">installation</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">. Each set of pickups were installed using a 3-way toggle switch by switchcarft and (2) cts500k push/pull pots. (vol pot coil tap/split master with a treble bleed .001 cf cap & 220k resistor -- tone pot series/parallel master with a 0.47 cf cap on the right lug of pot to ground). I then played the Jeppson guitar for a week after each instillation (a minimum 10 hours of play) with the follow set up. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.graphtech.com/play-lmg310-01" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6bnwfH1n7PHiuAIlcFV-mozSjVvX_lSxAZn5yZrgQ7D4l648gwPzg1_cXq1RejWoo_m9-zlWwtaKAgGeaCCFOuFJp9a07KEXh-hzymFana3NqIk7dtspNO5ftefSFoBwV9GMAr8rWzKn/s1600/7697854167675520787.gif" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><u>SOUND</u></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Guitar: </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jepson Spitfire </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Amp: </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">B</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">ogner Alchemist 2x12 </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Cables: </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Intex </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Strings:</b> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dark Horse 10-46</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Pick:</b> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Gravity 1.35 </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><u>INSTALLATION</u></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I took my time as I always do and from start to finish it was 2.5 hours/5 beers per guitar. Please note that you should have a luthier from your local music store work on and/or setup your guitar for you unless you really know what you are doing. This would be a 2 - 3 hour charge + bench fee per guitar to have (2) humbuckers with push/pull pots installed with setup . The total investment will be well worth it.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><u>THE REVIEW</u></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><u><br /></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This review is listed from the lowest to highest cost and not in a ranking order. The pickups that made this review are of the highest quality for their price point from the pickups that where provided for review -- the others we just wont talk about. This review was conducted over the course of 3 months. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;">---------</span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">Best Budget Pickup</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">--------- </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Iron Gear Hot Slag</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><a href="http://gravitypicks.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigVJmrxysQNomOxWecScj90SQIq9HnRIW-MR_irLi63ZODiKYs_BCuixiauz933PKjeOlrV28xtZdUkPlPeMheKz5QO9LajJFWjdYYlBXm49y3NTBsCuaMe-qgrU6X6Enwoq6f2t-VeS1M/s1600/gravity+1+copy.jpg" /></a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Street Price $70.90 USD for the set + shipping </span></span></div>
<span style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Build wait: None </span></span><br />
<a href="http://irongear-direct.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">irongear-direct.com</span></a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;"><u>SPECIFICATION</u></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999;">DC Resistance -N</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; line-height: 17px;">eck: 16k Ohm / B</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; line-height: 17px;">ridge: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999;">15.3k</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; line-height: 17px;"> Ohm</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Pole Spacing -</span><span style="background-color: white;">Neck: 50mm / </span><span style="background-color: white;">Bridge: 52mm</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Magnet T</span><span style="background-color: white;">ype -</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">Neck: Alnico V / Bridge: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">Alnico V</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Conductors - </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">4 Conductor</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Covers - </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Chrome Cover</span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">Machine wound</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u>SOUND</u></span> </span></span><br />
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<b style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">Selector position 1:</b><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"> Just Neck</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">A warm rhythm with a hot sharp finish. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Selector position 2:</b> Neck & Bridge </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">A bridge heavy mix with some </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">warmth.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Selector position 3: </b>Just Bridge </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">A punch you in the face lead -- Very </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Z</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">akk Wylde wide open lead.</span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Coil Split noise level - Moderate </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Coil Split volume loss - A</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">verage</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">Series vs parallel </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">volume loss - </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">A</span></span><span style="line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">verage</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">Sounds like: 1979 PAF</span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> - Almost active </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span><u><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: justify;">PERMANENT INSTALLATION</span></span></u><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE5tUfzla3wrrEdRTjzP9K5eV3dC012OYKfo_xFlos23tePT4FeB_oKreUoPPeQG5Ah5_7pPE3ajAdY3ALzG85JD8jzq_PWStErntEk3LciV7xy50Gwz_hmEJaRF3r7xObklQeKh3cpQHa/s1600/246488_10200283069593189_275645103_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE5tUfzla3wrrEdRTjzP9K5eV3dC012OYKfo_xFlos23tePT4FeB_oKreUoPPeQG5Ah5_7pPE3ajAdY3ALzG85JD8jzq_PWStErntEk3LciV7xy50Gwz_hmEJaRF3r7xObklQeKh3cpQHa/s200/246488_10200283069593189_275645103_n.jpg" width="150" /></span></a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">These pickups are not only a great buy at $70.90 USD for the set -- but they are the same quality as some of the higher end m</span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">achine wound pickups that you can find at the big box retailers. They are </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">evenly</span></span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> balanced between power and warmth, and overall they are the best set of budget pickups I have ever played for a metal </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">application.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">They found their </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">permanent home in a Badd Guitars 30th Street. She is custom wired with a </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;">Switchcraft</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">3-way toggle, (2) push pull pots for </span>series/parallel on each pickup with a vol pot treble bleed (.001 cf cap & 220k resistor) and a .22 cf cap on the tone right lug of pot to ground.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;">I would recommend Iron Gear Hot Slag pickups to anyone working on a budget and/or looking for that metal rock sound.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;">---------</span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">Best Reissue Pickup</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">--------- </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #999999;">Kent Armstrong Vintage O's</span> </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Street Price $105.95 USD for the set + shipping </span></span></div>
<span style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Build wait: None </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 17px;"><a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/VINTAGE_O.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">wdmusic.com</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><u><br /></u></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><u>SPECIFICATION</u></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">DC Resistance -N</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">eck: 8.8k Ohm / B</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">ridge: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">8.8k</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;"> Ohm</span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Pole Spacing -</span><span style="background-color: white;">Neck: 50mm / </span><span style="background-color: white;">Bridge: 52mm</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Magnet T</span><span style="background-color: white;">ype -</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">Neck: Alnico V / Bridge: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">Alnico V</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Conductors - </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">4 Conductor</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Covers - None</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">Machine wound</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u>SOUND</u></span> </span><br />
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<b style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">Selector position 1:</b><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"> Just Neck</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mellow for an <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; text-align: start;">Alnico V, but full -- A true vintage sound </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Selector position 2:</b> Neck & Bridge </span></div>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">An even balance between the neck and bridge -- excellent for rock rhythm. </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Selector position 3: </b>Just Bridge </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Very reproduction 196o's PAF style bridge -- full and bright with clear harmonics.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Coil Split noise level - </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">A</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">verage</span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Coil Split volume loss - A</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">verage</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">Series vs parallel </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">volume loss - </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">A</span></span><span style="line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">verage</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Sounds like: Stock 2013 Gibson American standard </span></span><br />
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<u><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #999999; text-align: justify;">PERMANENT INSTALLATION</span></span></u></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2z245Aa1JnXrRfNAJYk4S0h_wPo4Ax8rmdRNja7i6BxbSChGOoNdOju7fxDY0opWhVHG8p6ixetabjuKv76OAbA2VhQjpY-rM3ktnAZbLMvskoYpyIMDE8UeuQ2O2FMTP-ltIJp7rN2oS/s1600/536989_10200405521494410_1529078571_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2z245Aa1JnXrRfNAJYk4S0h_wPo4Ax8rmdRNja7i6BxbSChGOoNdOju7fxDY0opWhVHG8p6ixetabjuKv76OAbA2VhQjpY-rM3ktnAZbLMvskoYpyIMDE8UeuQ2O2FMTP-ltIJp7rN2oS/s200/536989_10200405521494410_1529078571_n.jpg" width="150" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Kent Armstrong pickups have been my personal choice for budget builds for a few years now due to what I call their "true to it's inspired " sound. When you order a new "vintage" set of pickups from them it sounds like it has some age on it. Like it was in a guitar that was played hard and left out wet hundreds of times before it found a new home in your guitar. Regardless what your tone is -- bright, muddy or loud -- it is that "broken in" sound that we all dream about. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">They found their </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">permanent home in 2011 PRS SE </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Single Cutaway. </span> </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">She is custom wired with a Stew Mac free-way 6-way toggle switch with (2) CTS500k pots -- </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(1) vol with treble bleed (</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.001 cf cap & 220k resistor) and a .47 cf cap on the tone </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">right lug of pot to ground.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999;">I would recommend </span><span style="color: #999999; line-height: 18px;">Kent Armstrong pickups</span><span style="color: #999999;"> to anyone working on a budget and/or looking for that aged sound.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #999999;">---------<span style="font-size: x-small;">M</span></span></span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">ost Accurate Pickup</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">--------- </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Foothill PAF (H) - Special Order Out of Phase </b></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://darkhorsestrings.com/" rel="nofollow" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizLMs8XBZ5qrFbcN5okllrkfx7MX7r4Lvt2NAmqHBvMnN4_8OScDPL51ZChFDNmql1l2rUoAieCn2eWKzY-xkiSUDqz6_0ZBf3P8_PZ5GeU7wXFaDVEFx_mH3JixcyxEHQ8zUMmCFosNnl/s1600/dh1.jpg" /></a><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Street Price $150.00 USD for the set + shipping</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">Build wait: 30 days</span><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/benny.trevillian?ref=ts&fref=ts" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">facebook.com/benny.trevillian</a><br />
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<u style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">SPECIFICATION</span></u><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">DC Resistance -N</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">eck: 7.8k Ohm / B</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">ridge: </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">10k</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;"> Ohm</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pole Spacing -Neck: 50mm / Bridge: 49mm</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Magnet T</span>ype -</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">Neck: Alnico V / Bridge: </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">Alnico V</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Conductors - </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">4 Conductor</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Covers - None</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hand Wound </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u>SOUND</u></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="color: #999999; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><br /></b><b style="color: #999999; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">Selector position 1:</b><span style="color: #999999; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"> Just Neck</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Very clear and full -- can be used to lead with the volume on 10 and when rolled back a strong clear </span>rhythm.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Selector position 2:</b> Neck & Bridge</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Out of phase with a bottom end-- very 1959 Green/Moore LP.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Selector position 3: </b>Just Bridge</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Balls to the wall lead -- very Slash Appetite for Destruction. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Coil Split noise level - Almost none </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Coil Split volume loss - Very little</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">Series vs parallel </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">volume loss - </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">Very little</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">Sounds like: </span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Gibson Collector' s Choice™ #1</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><u><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: justify;">PERMANENT INSTALLATION</span></span></u></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEf_8DeES5-G3Uw-BVlXZjgrNC4gZK1Z4owwlWhmZ0mQd6fAS5dVb0BJlmm7vReeTty43x4D9KPsalsEwRDjWB7gPy3LTUspzfoJb6j8v93zJQxtHcTVOwIHiCzmT194J4Waojy_AqoU-O/s1600/foothillpups.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEf_8DeES5-G3Uw-BVlXZjgrNC4gZK1Z4owwlWhmZ0mQd6fAS5dVb0BJlmm7vReeTty43x4D9KPsalsEwRDjWB7gPy3LTUspzfoJb6j8v93zJQxtHcTVOwIHiCzmT194J4Waojy_AqoU-O/s200/foothillpups.jpg" width="130" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This was my first encounter with Foothill Pickups and I was impressed. Not only do these capture the true sound of a 1959 Les Paul -- but my set was wired as the Green/Moore 59 -- out of phase with each other. The tone you can get with these is what some have dubbed the "holy grail" of guitar tone -- and it is dead on accurate.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">They found their </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">permanent home in a 2013 Jarrett Z</span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">affiro</span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">. </span> </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">She is custom wired with a </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">Switchcraft</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">3-way toggle switch and (2) CTS500k pots (just volume) -- </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">each wired with a treble bleed (Neck vol: </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.001 cf cap & 150k resistor /</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Bridge vol: </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.001 cf cap & 220k resistor)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I would recommend </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Foothill pickups</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> to anyone looking for a true 1959 American PAF sound.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999;">---------M</span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">ost Unique Pickup</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">--------- </span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Brian Jeppson Supernatural /Custom Overdrive </span></b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Street Price $240.00 USD for the set + shipping </span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Build wait: 7 days </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><a href="http://www.jeppsonguitars.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">jeppsonguitars.com</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><u>SPECIFICATION</u></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">DC Resistance -N</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">eck: 7.8k Ohm / B</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">ridge: </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">11k</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;"> Ohm</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pole Spacing -Neck: 49.2mm / Bridge: 50mm</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Magnet T</span>ype -</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">Neck: Alnico IV / Bridge: </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">Alnico VIII</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Conductors - </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">4 Conductor</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Covers - N</span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.99652862548828px;">ickel</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hand Wound </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u>SOUND</u></span> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="color: #999999; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><br /></b><b style="color: #999999; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">Selector position 1:</b><span style="color: #999999; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"> Just Neck</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Chunky clear -- like a PAF/P-90 hybrid or a P-90 with some meat on the bone.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Selector position 2:</b> Neck & Bridge</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">A bridge heavy mix with a slight scoop in the mids - AC/DC ish. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Selector position 3: </b>Just Bridge</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Unbelievably </span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">loud -- but warm and smooth at the same time with an </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">increase</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> in the harmonics. Will overdrive your tubes on the clean c</span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.98611068725586px;">hannel.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Coil Split noise level - very little if any </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Coil Split volume loss - </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">very little if any </span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">Series vs parallel </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">volume loss - </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">very little</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">Sounds like: New PRS 408 meets early Gibson Les Paul </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span><u><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: justify;">PERMANENT INSTALLATION</span></span></u></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_o_h0OiqjbKiAhMHXSPvtlZtsAOZkpjdxSjDuLhTxyLkRchHJza050LSSeKsprRfLutoaOSY1gG5cyj-GSp8USOWKhJhvDfSW2QUJVae15oj3rExrz18C74I9nzCnTfY9xlodIJMCSYRr/s1600/Jeppson+pups.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_o_h0OiqjbKiAhMHXSPvtlZtsAOZkpjdxSjDuLhTxyLkRchHJza050LSSeKsprRfLutoaOSY1gG5cyj-GSp8USOWKhJhvDfSW2QUJVae15oj3rExrz18C74I9nzCnTfY9xlodIJMCSYRr/s200/Jeppson+pups.jpg" width="141" /></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">I have used Brian Jeppson pickups and guitars for about a year. Brian's attention to </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.98611068725586px;">the technical details in his work is just amazing. He is able to re-create, and come up with the most amazing combinations resulting in very unique tones that separate his work from others.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">They found their </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">permanent home in a 2012 RM</span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.98611068725586px;"> Olson Languedoc</span><span style="line-height: 18px;"> </span>kit that I put together. </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">She is custom wired with a </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">Switchcraft </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">3-way toggle switch and (2) WD Music on-on-on switches wired full humbucker </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">series</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">/hum canceling single coil/</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.98611068725586px;">full humbucker </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">parallel</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> with </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(1) cts500k vol pot with treble bleed (</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.001 cf cap & 220k resistor).</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I would recommend </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jeppson pickups</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> to anyone that is obsessed with creating their own tone -- as Brian will build you whatever you want. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #999999;">---------<span style="font-size: x-small;">Smoothest </span></span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">Tone</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: justify;">--------- </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Ardizzi Custom Classic Shielded </span> </b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Street Price $500.00 USD for the set + shipping </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="clear: right; float: right; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><a href="http://www.chilicustomguitars.at/CHILI-CUSTOM.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB6b_cNAfLNfZ-NvEMj__Q3oq6V6vTo18JHyPdwzVcs_Do5nnmnLvCXIdAuT8hmaHqzTzyjPJPj_3X35XbeyMsAVrqDwrfQliuPO9amfdD6tGskJvnjV7W5-ECE0wIrsnRs6xa15Wyz8Zw/s1600/chlil+ad.jpg" /></a></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Build wait: 30-40 days </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://ardizzimics.com.ar/&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dardizzi%2Bpickups%26rlz%3D1C1LENP_enUS514US514%26biw%3D1024%26bih%3D643" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">ardizzimics.com</span></a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><u><br /></u></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><u>SPECIFICATION</u></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">DC Resistance -N</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">eck: 8k Ohm / B</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">ridge: 8.5</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">k</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;"> Ohm</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pole Spacing -Neck: 50mm / Bridge: 49mm</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Magnet T</span>ype -</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">Neck: Alnico V / Bridge: </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">Alnico V</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Conductors - </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">4 Conductor</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Covers - W</span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">elded nickel silver, entirely hand made pieces, 1mm thick</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17px;">Hand Wound</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;"><u><br /></u></span><span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;"><u>SOUND</u></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="color: #999999; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><br /></b><b style="color: #999999; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">Selector position 1:</b><span style="color: #999999; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"> Just Neck</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Warm without the mud, very touch sensitive and </span><span style="line-height: 17.98611068725586px;">smooth</span><span style="line-height: 18px;">. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Selector position 2:</b> Neck & Bridge</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">An even balance between the neck and bridge with an increase in the harmonics.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Selector position 3: </b>Just Bridge </span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">A harmonically rich smooth and creamy bright lead without the harsh metallic sound.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Coil Split noise level - </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">very little if any </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Coil Split volume loss - </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">very little if any </span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #999999; text-align: justify;">Series vs parallel </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">volume loss - </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">very little</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">Sounds like: </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Paul Reed Smith Santana Signature</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span><u><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: justify;">PERMANENT INSTALLATION</span></span></u></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeqxZlVfIQrkN_nQXIXgEo2mitb-WJOVEpD8XkK84J68JtwrK6zE-MXmnyzPSgxGYk7YvrXhomUTum_OOzsZ4fjvb6cIa8fH7XF57BQaAyRCfLws4bIPrpsLjoqE54-N-zv8rx85Bv4ZZG/s1600/ardpups.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeqxZlVfIQrkN_nQXIXgEo2mitb-WJOVEpD8XkK84J68JtwrK6zE-MXmnyzPSgxGYk7YvrXhomUTum_OOzsZ4fjvb6cIa8fH7XF57BQaAyRCfLws4bIPrpsLjoqE54-N-zv8rx85Bv4ZZG/s200/ardpups.jpg" width="137" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is the second set of Ardizzi pickups I have installed in a guitar, and just like the first set they are amazing. They are unlike any other aftermarket pickups that I have found. They do have the characteristics of vintage American PAF's -- but dipped in honey. They are incredibly smooth without the metallic sound you get from a hot humbucker while retaining that mean growl with increased creamy harmonics and sustain.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">They found their </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">permanent home in a 2011 Jeppson Spitfire.</span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">She is custom wired with a </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">Switchcraft </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">3-way toggle, (2) push pull pots for </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">series/parallel on each pickup with a vol pot treble bleed (</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.001 cf cap & 220k resistor) and a .22 cf cap on the tone </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">right lug of pot to ground.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I would recommend </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ardizzi pickups</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> to the guitarist that has everything or to the player that wants that smooth creamy sound. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" /></a> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Posted 04/2013</span></div>
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Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-10051590749829741242013-03-22T09:43:00.000-07:002013-09-24T10:50:06.901-07:00The Five Best Guitar Picks Ever Made ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLwovRbSBbmAQ2HYM73HWU005KhbhVkv_7ZLTDNBjsHoxfbx_ajgwSP93x3NCzRIGTKn_TJiav4a1a1zc8DjwAKk83eYj7botsfP9eMoQVnCDnxzvKSkxoYpDuOr7jtkHprNXHNrxPSRzA/s1600/c_engrave_01+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLwovRbSBbmAQ2HYM73HWU005KhbhVkv_7ZLTDNBjsHoxfbx_ajgwSP93x3NCzRIGTKn_TJiav4a1a1zc8DjwAKk83eYj7botsfP9eMoQVnCDnxzvKSkxoYpDuOr7jtkHprNXHNrxPSRzA/s320/c_engrave_01+copy.jpg" width="274" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">M</span>ost of us self-proclaimed guitarist spend thousands of dollars and countless hours carefully
hand selecting our gear to find our perfect tone. To me, my tone is more than
just the sound that comes out of my amp -- but it is my signature and is the
feeling of my sound. One of the elements I had over looked for many years was
the guitar pick. About a year ago Graphtech had sent me their new guitar picks
made of a material they call Tusq. I had used Tusq nuts and saddles on many of
my guitars and knew what it did for my tone, but I wasn’t sold on the pick idea
as I was used to playing with a </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i style="cursor: pointer; font-style: normal; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap;">Dunlop</i><span style="cursor: pointer; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap;"> Tortex .</span><i style="cursor: pointer; font-style: normal; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap;">88mm</i> </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">pick and never put much thought
into it. To say the least, I was very wrong. The Tusq pick opened my eyes and ears to the idea
that I could change/color my tone by using different guitar picks made from different materials.
Over the last year I have been on a mission to find the perfect guitar pick and to my surprise there wasn't just one -- there where a few depending on what I was looking to achieve. This is a comparison of the five best guitar picks I
found and what they did for my tone and playability. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">**I used a </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i style="cursor: pointer; font-style: normal; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap;">Dunlop</i><span style="cursor: pointer; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap;"> Tortex .</span><i style="cursor: pointer; font-style: normal; text-align: left; white-space: nowrap;">88mm as the control for comparison. </i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">____________________________<span style="font-size: small;">________</span>_____________________________</span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">_________________________</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAi9R0aYBAFpDZEgDecB8vTXz0zqnMrpc0anjrkS6slUlD3e1AKGDn17PpLjAK0LkJAYhpNp3ADOTJ2UH_5nWvfbOcMqp1R-_AFuBeOk2E7iH4VrIEwVmvAOe5I158sjm7yFLDeBQxR6ug/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAi9R0aYBAFpDZEgDecB8vTXz0zqnMrpc0anjrkS6slUlD3e1AKGDn17PpLjAK0LkJAYhpNp3ADOTJ2UH_5nWvfbOcMqp1R-_AFuBeOk2E7iH4VrIEwVmvAOe5I158sjm7yFLDeBQxR6ug/s200/images.jpg" width="193" /></a><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Tusq By Graphtech</u></b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">Tusq by Graphtech Guitar Labs is a synthetic alternative to animal bone used on stringed instruments at the points where the strings touch the instrument and now guitar picks.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b>Tone: </b></span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">Will brighten up your tone, increase sustain and give you more of a natural sound. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2012/05/tusq-by-graphtech-guitar-labs-guitar.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Read the full review</a> <a href="http://www.graphtech.com/products.html?CategoryID=22" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy this pick</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">___________________________________________________<span style="font-size: small;">________</span>_______________________________</span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj86LLp6jSW3Zb8MdocE3IcVKNfJDdp6SnUGcC67yZs2xxoF8_15uRbk1S0LBfXQL90-KcU-ikvypRlOYh9-SmxOAlfaalCVLuxNKmjKZQDV1n-HGZkbZPmBy-B410e1h430ckczElztEn0/s1600/swiss-picks1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj86LLp6jSW3Zb8MdocE3IcVKNfJDdp6SnUGcC67yZs2xxoF8_15uRbk1S0LBfXQL90-KcU-ikvypRlOYh9-SmxOAlfaalCVLuxNKmjKZQDV1n-HGZkbZPmBy-B410e1h430ckczElztEn0/s200/swiss-picks1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><b><u>Swiss Picks</u></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">Swiss Picks is the manufacturer of non-slip</span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">guitar picks with an off center hole + raised </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">edge with a patent pending design.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><b>Tone: </b></span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">The same tone as the control pick but with much better grip. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2012/12/swiss-picks-non-slip-guitar-picks-review.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Read the full review</a> <a href="http://www.swisspicks.com/" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;" target="_blank">Buy this pick</a><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">___________________________________________________<span style="font-size: small;">________</span>_______________________________</span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8NzpnYTKKNLsqS16pCm4i-AF7IsPQF2cmPLdfXBujQFqkztDsQJiA3HiHyAxKZw3geuXIsouIDuLIGhidg7fSGAoc5ArVjyeRP0kLQo2AMEi_Ir0-YbA7xWnkwWDXz6bfVjek7V0zE3bc/s1600/blueclassic1-260x260.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8NzpnYTKKNLsqS16pCm4i-AF7IsPQF2cmPLdfXBujQFqkztDsQJiA3HiHyAxKZw3geuXIsouIDuLIGhidg7fSGAoc5ArVjyeRP0kLQo2AMEi_Ir0-YbA7xWnkwWDXz6bfVjek7V0zE3bc/s200/blueclassic1-260x260.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><b><u>Gravity Guitar Picks</u></b></span></span></span></span></div>
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</span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">Gravity Picks is the manufacturer of </span><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1358350632072_1991" style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">guitar picks that are custom made to your </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">specific dimensions and finish. </span><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1358350632072_1993" style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">Gravity Guitar Picks are not a mass produced product. Each pick is shaped, polished, and packaged by professional craftsmen. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b>Tone:</b> </span></span></span><span class="yiv183198230Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1358350632072_2041" style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">You hear less pick and more string with a slight boost in the lower</span><span class="yiv183198230Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">-</span><span class="yiv183198230Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">mid range frequency with</span><span class="yiv183198230Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1358350632072_2042" style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"> an increase in harmonic response and sustain.</span></div>
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<a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/01/gravity-guitar-picks-classic-standard.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Read the full review</a> <a href="http://gravitypicks.com/" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;" target="_blank">Buy this pick</a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">___________________________________________________<span style="font-size: small;">________</span>____________________________</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiozbEQXjvyZCej_naCPr4YpYdDQ1SWXrC9kUCdxOsQlI5uEVC71zOmDLmWqEFshomweZwPvNaUQxwOfnbJiqK-nAdXlkHcOHfq7Ok05jFQZTb2lPp5_cvr4vBZoW66QY2YJBL1ZNxhETk9/s1600/photo+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiozbEQXjvyZCej_naCPr4YpYdDQ1SWXrC9kUCdxOsQlI5uEVC71zOmDLmWqEFshomweZwPvNaUQxwOfnbJiqK-nAdXlkHcOHfq7Ok05jFQZTb2lPp5_cvr4vBZoW66QY2YJBL1ZNxhETk9/s1600/photo+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiozbEQXjvyZCej_naCPr4YpYdDQ1SWXrC9kUCdxOsQlI5uEVC71zOmDLmWqEFshomweZwPvNaUQxwOfnbJiqK-nAdXlkHcOHfq7Ok05jFQZTb2lPp5_cvr4vBZoW66QY2YJBL1ZNxhETk9/s200/photo+%25281%2529.JPG" width="200" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">
Carlino Guitars </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Expression Exotic Tonewood</span></span></u></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Carlino Guitars is the manufacturer of tonewood guitar picks that are custom made form exotic woods with some styles specifically designed for right and left handed players.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;">Tone:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;"> </span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">Depending on the tonewood used, you can brighten or darken your tone. </span></div>
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<a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/02/carlino-expression-exotic-tonewood.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Read the full review</a> <a href="http://carlinoguitars.com/" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;" target="_blank">Buy this pick</a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">___________________________________________________<span style="font-size: small;">________</span>_______________________________</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgboYfxDZm0n9KVTczNyQ5XvmbMaPcIs4XreeToG_UvHempoTdj11HJDeFOzKq936mpJqHtj_A8KpTL3QS7W01cspZRZ435xQMjL4Q5jUKuD20P9EGHcDgR84r3oRw9CiXI6-hzk4ox0x4y/s1600/20130116213052(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgboYfxDZm0n9KVTczNyQ5XvmbMaPcIs4XreeToG_UvHempoTdj11HJDeFOzKq936mpJqHtj_A8KpTL3QS7W01cspZRZ435xQMjL4Q5jUKuD20P9EGHcDgR84r3oRw9CiXI6-hzk4ox0x4y/s200/20130116213052(1).jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Pickstrap Guitar Picks</u></b></span><br />
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Pickstrap Picks is the manufacturer of guitar picks that have a
braided elastic band that is looped with a non-slip rubber
strip through the pick to create a flexible fit
that allows a guitarist to attach the pick
to their finger while playing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;">Tone:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;"> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">The same tone as the control pick but with much better grip via finger strap.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2013/01/pickstrap-guitar-picks-review.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Read the full review</a> </span></span><a href="http://thepickstrap.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buy this pick</a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Posted 03/2013</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">© 2013 localmusicgear.com All rights reserved</span></div>
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Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-11351175600600880092013-01-20T08:12:00.001-08:002013-09-24T10:51:04.347-07:00POS Re-Build, Tackling a Fender Squier Strat Bullet for a good cause ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSIH7p8U58WKfIuaX-GUek4NZRM5fwZr-WXDnFXtXkd_DZa56oiLgVfV17b267UntbnjmsBlmlL1Wm-m_4Sa0USa2txswjbrIJlQKOlqXVNJUlCU-Q1yGwiU1zqSrV-t_Nxdidl4w-DLT_/s1600/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSIH7p8U58WKfIuaX-GUek4NZRM5fwZr-WXDnFXtXkd_DZa56oiLgVfV17b267UntbnjmsBlmlL1Wm-m_4Sa0USa2txswjbrIJlQKOlqXVNJUlCU-Q1yGwiU1zqSrV-t_Nxdidl4w-DLT_/s400/015.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">O</span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">nce a quarter Local Music Gear has a POS (Piece of Shit)
rebuild. This is when we take the most God-awful, poor excuse of an instrument
and give it new life. We do this to show our readers that cannot, or will
not, spend big bucks on an instrument how to make one that rocks within their
budget. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">For this POS rebuild we did not have to go out and purchase
a guitar. We had the pleasure of rebuilding one for a woman that is a little
down on her luck due to ongoing health problems. Good for us her guitar was a
Fender Squire Bullet Strat and that happens to be one of the biggest pieces of
shit guitars I've ever seen --making it a perfect candidate for this
series. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">So to me this was a no-brainer. We get a donor guitar for the
editorial series -- and she gets it back with some serious modifications making
it a playable instrument.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #999999; text-align: justify;">Installation:</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I took my time as I always do and from start to finish it was 2.5 hours/5 beers. Please note that you should have a luthier from your local music store work on and setup your guitar for you unless you really know what you are doing. This would be a 2 - 3 hour charge + bench fee to have a loaded pickguard, new block, new nut and saddles installed with setup . The total investment will be well worth it.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Pickup & Electronics By Mojotone</span></b></h2>
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<a href="http://www.mojotone.com/s.nl?search=Mojotone+Fatback+Strat+Set#.UKqXO4fAd8E" rel="nofollow" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX5RmAjZoOF4JSt-NJzzIgT1LYDRlYMTAGZ7YytMJsERSB5aLrTE716gvW6-RCG-bD7Tw9PJkSez7C6m3SwVZDcn1n4bHpcqbpAcr6ic2iyPu5O7BGpsD66sR85JF0svNprsRQPJzlQmnr/s1600/2850109267433020519.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">The pickups and electronics for this re-build where by far the easiest install I have ever done. The good folks over at <a href="http://www.mojotone.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mojotone</a> did all the work for me. What they sent was a fully loaded, prewired p</span><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">ickgard</span><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"> with pickups, pots, etc., all I had to do was solder the ground and input jack then attach it to the body. This took a total of 30 minutes/2 beers. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">Logan (my contact at <a href="http://www.mojotone.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mojotone</a>) not only had a set of custom shop hand-wound one-off pickups sent in for this re-build, but he and the <a href="http://www.mojotone.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mojotone</a> staff all signed a get well card for the woman this guitar was going back to. Besides <a href="http://www.mojotone.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mojotone</a> making some of the most accurate re-production vintage parts for guitars and amplifiers, they are also a group of kind classy people. With that said the pickups are ridiculous. A very warm <a href="http://www.srvofficial.com/us/home" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stevie Ray Vaughn</a> "Pride and Joy" meets <a href="http://www.ericclapton.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Eric Clapton</a>'s "Crossroads" -- A dry spank with a round top end and never-ending harmonics. It amazes me every time I hear their pickups and how dead on accurate to a particular time era they are able to re-create</span><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">Read the Local Music Gear review of Mojotone Fat<span style="font-size: small;">b</span>ack S<span style="font-size: small;">rat Pickups</span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2012/11/mojotone-fatback-strat-pickups-review.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-here-</a></span></span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read more about Mojotone products <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.mojotone.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-here-</a></span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Pickup & Electronics Install time</b> - 30 minutes/2 beers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tools and supplies needed</b> - Small Phillips head screw driver, 11 millimeter wrench, volt meter, soldering iron, solder & 2 beers.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsG8mWWJw76BL2rvroatd4nCkm0RdOB31FfnN3WA7TaHhgqqqjvydCsCTZfpW_wDR-Enyv69OU1dv7xA_IYfeN0-fYa9_PEJZpPho9wtp6vFAiBHBWwMSQygjs8jKsnL7b1SlePbMq_gdj/s1600/Strat-Blocks-USA-800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsG8mWWJw76BL2rvroatd4nCkm0RdOB31FfnN3WA7TaHhgqqqjvydCsCTZfpW_wDR-Enyv69OU1dv7xA_IYfeN0-fYa9_PEJZpPho9wtp6vFAiBHBWwMSQygjs8jKsnL7b1SlePbMq_gdj/s200/Strat-Blocks-USA-800.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #999999;">FU-Tone Big Block Upgrade</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">FU Tone Big Block Upgrade</span></b></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span class="yiv488351068Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;">FU-Tone</span></a><span class="yiv488351068Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;">,</span><span class="yiv488351068Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;"> formerly known as <a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Floyd Upgrades</a>, is the manufacturer of aftermarket high</span><span class="yiv488351068Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;">-</span><span class="yiv488351068Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;">performance guitar parts designed to optimize a guitar</span><span class="yiv488351068Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;">'</span><span class="yiv488351068Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;">s voice, sustain, playability, and tone. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="yiv488351068Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="yiv488351068Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;">As o</span><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">ne of the easiest upgrade for the do-it-yourselfer -- an <a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FU<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span>B<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: small;">i</span></span>g Block</a> delivers immediate results that even the untrained ear can hear allowing the player to own a guitar with the character and tonality of the pros. </span><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">Personally, I believe this is one of the best upgrades you could possibly do to a string through block designed guitar. </span><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">This product makes such a difference in the guitar's characteristics I encourage anyone I see playing a string through block design guitar such as a Stratocaster to look into getting one.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV4vZ5qqIhHjRMq_uEkJS9UCQOG9NvW6YbpELod9pVSOSW3_RgIydaF06nq2l_Y8KExuAjuZE31U-Dw8bavvOpfPP-uqvBeBOVDMCygrfCMG0CVm5W1CpXC3AgGsABqFxIk1TBGen70hG-/s1600/fu.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-size: small;">Not only does Adam Reiver (the founder of <a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FU-Tone</a>)<b> </b></span><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">produce one of the industry's "must have" products that artists such as <a href="http://www.van-halen.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Eddie Van Halen</a>, <a href="http://slashonline.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Slash</a>, <a href="http://www.philcollenpc1.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Phil Collen</a> and many many more use, but he is </span><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">a down to earth guy and was happy to help with this build. When </span><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">high-end b</span><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">outique guitar manufacturers such as <a href="http://www.cralsipguitars.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">C.R. Alsip</a> use <a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FU Big Blocks</a> as part of their stock equipment due to their superior quality over other blocks -- you know this product really delivers.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">Read the Local Music Gear review of FU-Tone Big Block </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2012/10/fu-tone-strat-big-block-upgrade-review.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-here-</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read more about the FU-Tone products <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-here-</a></span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>FU Tone Big Block</b>- 15 minutes<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">/1 beer.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tools and supplies needed</b> - Small philips head screw driver 1 beer.</span></span></div>
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<tr style="color: #999999;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Tusq by Graphtech Guitar Labs</span></td></tr>
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<h2>
<b><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Tusq Nut an<span style="font-size: x-large;">d</span> Saddles</span></b></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of the most important upgrades you can do is change the points where the strings touch the body. On less expensive guitars the manufactures use a plastic that kills your sustain and tone. The best fix is a product called <a href="http://graphtech.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tusq</a> by <span style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://graphtech.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Graph<span style="font-size: small;"> T</span>ech Guitar Labs</a></span>. I prefer this to animal bone and use it on every guitar I own.</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Even with <a href="http://graphtech.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Graph Tech</a>
being one of the largest manufacturers of aftermarket guitar nuts and saddles,
Gray (my contact at <a href="http://graphtech.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Graph Tech Guitar Labs</a>) was quick to respond to my request and
within two days I had the nut and saddles for this build. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read the Local Music Gear review of Tusq <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2012/05/putting-tusq-by-graphtech-guitar-labs.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-here-</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read more about Tusq at <a href="http://graphtech.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">graphtech.com</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Nut Install time</b> - 1 hour 45 minutes</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tools and supplies needed</b> - Razor blade, sand paper, glue, <a href="http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Nuts,_saddles/Special_tools_for:_Nuts_and_saddles.html?gclid=COSy5PCbg7ECFQff4AodSxZVhA" target="_blank">gauged nut slotting files</a>, small philips head screw driver & 2 beers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>Sound</b></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Amp used:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bogner Alchemist 2 x 12</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Cables used:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Intex</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Strings: </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">DR Pure Blues </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Setup & Impression</b>:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">The guitar stock was less than desirable. The fretboard had a cheap, waxy film on it making my fingers hesitate and hop instead of glide. The pickups were poorly made and to my surprise all three were labeled "bridge" but installed in all three positions. I'm guessing that it was either the installer's first day on the job or more than likely it was due to laziness on the assembly line. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://graphtech.com/" rel="nofollow" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6zUUBTr34kMhwfweI6O2yGQJysHa-4OWtG4doYQAGTJ9cmhRg7T_8GJRR0zeT3-cr81CZWSW9AfZWIv_7aBOBWRQBL5VrDmSTMGNlX7d3U5m3VwoBRv_HtWkrkg2dp1_fPah283sibYiy/s1600/7697854167675520787.gif" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">After I completely disassembled the guitar and gave her a good cleaning, I noticed that the truss rod had been overcompensated and was broken. I would normally just replace the neck but, but since I was using this guitar for editorial reasons I decided to fix it. I gave her a brand-new <a href="http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Truss_rods/Adjustable_truss_rods/4mm_Allen_Nut_Hot_Rod_Truss_Rod.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stuart McDonald dual-action trust rod</a> that I installed by steaming off the old fingerboard with a wet towel and iron then reattaching using <a href="http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Glues,_adhesives/Wood_glue/Franklin_Liquid_Hide_Glue.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=1390" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">hide glue</a> and <a href="http://www.stewmac.com/Shopping?actn=search&keyword=clamps" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">clamps</a>. I do not recommend anyone doing this unless you truly understand how to build guitars. There will be a full editorial piece on how to replace a broken truss rod in an upcoming issue. On that note, if you do not understand what a truss rod does or how to make an appropriate adjustment don't do it -- you will break your guitar!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">While the neck was off and drying, </span><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">I added a layer of </span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Supplies:_Shielding/Conductive_Shielding_Paint.html" target="_blank">conductive shielding paint</a><span style="color: #999999;"> to the pickup cavity and rear panel to insure that the pickups would not squeal or hum </span><span style="color: #999999;">and I gave her a satin/gloss finish using a silver pin stripe to accent the difference.</span><span style="color: #999999;"> </span><span style="color: #999999;">Once I was ready to reassemble the guitar I </span><span style="color: #999999;">used a </span><a href="http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Sanding_Tools_and_Supplies/Micro-Mesh_Finishing_Abrasives_Kit.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=147690" target="_blank">micro-mesh finishing abrasives kit</a><span style="color: #999999;"> on the fingerboard to get that waxy film off. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After the complete rebuild the total price tag including the purchase of the guitar was just $501.95. Even if I was to use a local luthier instead of doing the upgrades myself -- I would have still spent less for this guitar then I would buying a new American Stratocaster -- and the American Stratocaster would not even come close to the playability of this $129.00 guitar.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Overall this guitar is now enjoyable to play. My fingers flew up and down her fingerboard without any hesitation and the intonation is dead on. The guitar has amazing sustain and a true vintage American Strat sound that <a href="http://www.srvofficial.com/us/home" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stevie Ray Vaughan</a> or <a href="http://www.ericclapton.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Eric Clapton</a> would be happy with.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Because this rebuild was for an individual and not simply going to a high school after as we normally do, we had an overwhelming amount of people respond to help out. I would like to thank everyone who participated with the parts for this rebuild including <a href="http://www.mojotone.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mojotone</a> for the loaded Pickguard, <a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FU-Tone</a> for the Big Block, <a href="http://graphtech.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Graphtech</a> for the Tusq XL nut and saddles, <a href="http://www.intexcables.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Intex Cables</a> for the instrument cable, and the <a href="http://www.lourosemusic.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lou Rose Music Center</a> in Edison NJ for chromatic headstock tuner. You are all wonderful companies made up of wonderful people that make me proud to be part of this industry. Thank you.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>My advice:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you are looking for a project or just do not want to spend big bucks on a guitar that you can really use, this is a great alternative. I would have no problem using this guitar at a gig.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Total investment</b>:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">Fender Squier Bullet Strat</span><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999;"> $129.00 USD + Shipping</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://www.mojotone.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mojotone</a> Loaded Pickguard $254.40 USD + Shipping</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://www.graphtech.com/index.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Graph Tech</a> Tusq XL Nut and Saddle Savers in Black $68.60 USD + Shipping</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FU Tone</a> Big Block Upgrade</span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">$49.95USD + Shipping</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Total </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">$501 .95</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Total with using a luthier </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">$811.95</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Contact</b>:</span></span><br />
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Mojotone: </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.mojotone.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">mojotone.com</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">FU<span style="font-size: small;">-</span>Tone Big Block </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">fu-tone.com</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">Graph Tech Tusq Nut & Saddles:</span><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.graphtech.com/index.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">graphtech.com</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Intex Cables:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.intexcables.com/index.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">intexcables.com</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lou Rose Music Center</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.lourosemusic.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">lourosemusic.com</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" /></a> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Posted 03/2013</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">© 2013 localmusicgear.com All rights reserved</span></div>
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Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-3492542992470674052013-01-04T07:35:00.005-08:002013-09-24T10:50:52.641-07:00Local Music Gear's Best Products of 2012 ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGvks4YgN2uwAavdekJb8WI4Fmh2zwgAWHZyIrZ8X1FW-4psH6gM36v8lMP9Z2ToRwSScSAYWbbYt4NN9nsEWaKMWnBgguF89FHvogpX4-7hdNK1p7dO9OItkShSI3FPgwHqJkFsSPsbkJ/s1600/Best+Products+of+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGvks4YgN2uwAavdekJb8WI4Fmh2zwgAWHZyIrZ8X1FW-4psH6gM36v8lMP9Z2ToRwSScSAYWbbYt4NN9nsEWaKMWnBgguF89FHvogpX4-7hdNK1p7dO9OItkShSI3FPgwHqJkFsSPsbkJ/s640/Best+Products+of+2012.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1357572419117_2048" style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1357572419117_2059" style="font-size: x-large;">O</span><span class="yiv2002413153Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1357572419117_2063" style="font-size: small;">ver the last year we have had the pleasure </span><span class="yiv2002413153Apple-style-span">of</span><span class="yiv2002413153Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1357572419117_2058" style="font-size: small;"> trying hundreds of exciting products that make playing guitar more enjoyabl</span><span class="yiv2002413153Apple-style-span">e</span><span class="yiv2002413153Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. While some products were good</span><span class="yiv2002413153Apple-style-span">,</span><span class="yiv2002413153Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> others where</span><span class="yiv2002413153Apple-style-span"> just</span><span class="yiv2002413153Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1357572419117_2047" style="font-size: small;"> amazing. Every month Local Music Gear selects one of these amazing product to be showcased as the product of the month. For a product to become the product of the month it must exceed our ex</span><span class="yiv2002413153Apple-style-span">pectations</span><span class="yiv2002413153Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1357572419117_2057" style="font-size: small;"> on three levels of standards.</span></span><br />
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<li id="yui_3_7_2_1_1357572419117_2054" style="text-align: justify;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1357572419117_2056" style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The product must do what it is designed to do 100% of the time without failure and be the best example of its type of product we have seen to date.</span></li>
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<li id="yui_3_7_2_1_1357572419117_2052" style="text-align: justify;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1357572419117_2051" style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Product must be built well without any imperfections that would affect it’s functionally from day one throughout the life of the product.</span></li>
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<li id="yui_3_7_2_1_1357572419117_2065" style="text-align: justify;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1357572419117_2064" style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Product must be a good value for its price tag. </span></li>
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<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1357572419117_2071" style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">These are the eight best guitar accessory products we had the opportunity to review in 2012. While all products that were reviewed in <span style="font-size: small;">L</span>ocal <span style="font-size: small;">M</span>usic <span style="font-size: small;">G</span>ear were excellent, these products truly stood out.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><u>Tusq by Graphtech Guitar Labs</u></b></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tusq by Graphtech Guitar Labs is a synthetic alternative to
animal bone used on stringed instruments at the points where the strings touch
the instrument.</span></div>
<a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2012/05/putting-tusq-by-graphtech-guitar-labs.html" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Read the Local Music Gear Review</a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><u>FU - Tone Strat Big Block Upgrade</u></b></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">FU-Tone, formerly known as Floyd Upgrades, is the Manufacturer of aftermarket high-performance guitar parts designed to optimize a guitar's voice, sustain, playability, and tone. This review is for the FU-Tone Fender Stratocaster Big Block upgrade. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2012/10/fu-tone-strat-big-block-upgrade-review.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Read the Local Music Gear Review</a></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fu-tone.com/catalog/" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV4vZ5qqIhHjRMq_uEkJS9UCQOG9NvW6YbpELod9pVSOSW3_RgIydaF06nq2l_Y8KExuAjuZE31U-Dw8bavvOpfPP-uqvBeBOVDMCygrfCMG0CVm5W1CpXC3AgGsABqFxIk1TBGen70hG-/s1600/fu.png" /></a></td></tr>
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<h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><u>Mojotone® Fatback Strat Pickups</u></b></span></h2>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mojotone® is a manufacturer of vintage amplifier & guitar parts offering a complete line of guitar and amplifier products -- specializing in vintage (pre-1980) reproduction cabinets and exact replacement components. </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">Built with the goal of straddling the divide between a Fender and Gibson, these pickups give your single notes a full bloom yet still retain some of the Fender sparkle and chime. </span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2012/11/mojotone-fatback-strat-pickups-review.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Read the Local Music Gear Review</a> </span></div>
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</h2>
<h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><u>Silverbox Effects Smooth Blaster Classic Overdrive</u></b></span></h2>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Silverbox Effects Pedals are hand crafted in Buenos
Aires Argentina. This boutique pedal has touch sensitive overdrive that
responds to your playing, internal trimmer,true bypass switching with
grounded input and is housed in a compact 16 gauge steel enclosure with
detachable rubber feet.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2012/04/silverbox-effects-smooth-blaster.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Read the Local Music Gear Review</a></span></div>
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<h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><u>Zexcoil®, Hum Cancelling Single Coil Sized Humbucker Pickups</u></b></span></h2>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dr. A. Scott Lawing is the inventor of Zexcoil® pickup
technology and the technical driving force behind LMP. Scott has been a guitar
player for over 30 years. He is also an engineer with a PhD from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and numerous technical papers, patents
and presentations to his credit. Recently, Scott has started applying his
technical and creative energies to the business of musical instrument.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2012/06/zexcoil-hum-canceling-single-coil-sized.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Read the Local Music Gear Review</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.chilicustomguitars.at/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYxt3AYt_ck1QhIgKFx8nfupPoOG5fbDPQJ0FhR1JRlDkEDl38S2YjtitFAusyseyWigHegHNsviRm-wFt04XcZEThrIflqvwnLuTuGO4m1lbkYcxTNAsS7WGCk5T7pOczzlz5rHfCCyWl/s1600/chlil+ad.jpg" /></a></div>
<h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><u>The P3 Mod, The Battery-less Mod for Active Guitar Pickups
& Pedals</u></b></span></h2>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The DC Voltage Company is the Manufacturer of an electronic
modification that allows active/battery powered musical equipment to utilize
the power from an amplifier via 1/4 inch instrument cable to power active
guitar and bass pickups and/or effects pedals without wall or battery
power. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2012/07/p3-mod-battery-less-mod-for-active.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Read the Local Music Gear Review</a></span></div>
</div>
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<h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><u>SpiderCapo, Alternative Tunings Capo</u></b></span></h2>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">SpiderCapo by Creative Tunings, Inc is
an Alternative Tuning Capo that allows an artist to alter the tuning
of a stringed instrument giving the artist 945 possible tunings without
touching a tuning peg.</span></div>
</div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2012/05/spidercapo-alternative-tunings-capo.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Read the Local Music Gear Review</a></span></div>
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<h2>
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><u>Intex Cables Instrument Cables</u></b></span></h2>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">INTEXcables are completely hand made from the finest
components here in the USA. All connector parts are made of solid metal, from
the brass M642/1-1 Military Spec connector & custom engineered shell to the
plated spring steel stress relief spring. All cables are made with Belden 8412,
an industry standard microphone cable for over 30 years. No compression or
crimping is used to attach cable to connector, INTEXcables are welded insuring
the strongest and most durable connection possible.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://localmusicgeargearreview.blogspot.com/2012/06/intex-cables-instrument-cables-put-to.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Read the Local Music Gear Review</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwYPKTNehpAY-GgLrjs-7ZOFXDTiUWffgOoyFRgIB67ej0q7AvqLoh306BXO040qCKdaD1ikJu5f2TjEaXNQugyBVvAjPyTrGk1WU2tgbzPYRRvmwjZbDqtVF8At5Nt6-NwkXIkWvE83U/s1600/Jac+Harrison.jpg" /></a> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Posted 01/2013</span></div>
<div style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">© 2013 localmusicgear.com All rights reserved</span></div>
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Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-76717356726233383972012-12-17T06:51:00.004-08:002013-09-16T11:01:20.299-07:00Feature Story: Knowing The Difference Between Buying A Custom vs Boutique Guitar ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Local Music Gear Feature Story </span><br /><span style="text-align: left;">Written By:<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1298756680"> </a></span></span><a href="mailto:sean@localmusicgear.com" target="_blank">Jac Harrison</a></span><a href="mailto:localmusicgear@yahoo.com" target="_blank"></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqVjvU5R3sT-nabdX1XCb7t9dHf8D6RBCp2WoM3iSckS0XIQDbgMh3yeyDIP-_5Hhq7GPgwm-zSTWsB4BNQnVxEUiZ0l8j6CNpTCoKCrTL_Ui4wLXKswax908L9EPkK7noTcHwyfwN3HCm/s1600/hp1bvsc.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqVjvU5R3sT-nabdX1XCb7t9dHf8D6RBCp2WoM3iSckS0XIQDbgMh3yeyDIP-_5Hhq7GPgwm-zSTWsB4BNQnVxEUiZ0l8j6CNpTCoKCrTL_Ui4wLXKswax908L9EPkK7noTcHwyfwN3HCm/s320/hp1bvsc.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">M</span>any people overuse the words custom and boutique when
describing their guitar, and for the most part they have no idea what it means.
Just because it says custom or boutique on the head
stock doesn't mean that it is. For example, some guitar manufacturers will
call an entire line boutique, or a standard model a "custom/custom shop"
to attract a buyer without the hefty price tag that comes
with a true custom or boutique guitar. This doesn't mean that they
aren't great guitars -- just that they are not what they claim to be. It
is the same concept that the word artisan is to the food industry. If you
believe that there is a dude with a handlebar mustache singing songs from
the old country in the back of your grocery store while making a special batch
of bread just for you...can I sell you a bridge?</span></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">To fully understand the value in a custom or
boutique guitar you must first understand the differences between
them. A boutique guitar is made by a company that offers a highly
specialized service and product by a master luthier and
is normally an al la carte ordering process. It's
like buying a Maybach -- you meet with the builder and get
everything you want within your price range. A custom guitar is
a standard model that you have either bought from or sent to a custom
shop or have modified yourself. For example -- if you had a Mercedes
Benz and wanted to add a few features to it making it personalized to
fit your style -- you would get what you could from the dealer and then drop it
off at a custom shop for the rest. This is the same concept, but with
guitars. Because of the amount of personal attention that
goes into a boutique build vs a custom there is a significant price
difference between the two. Boutique is at the top of the food chain and is
king, where custom is next in line to the throne -- but needs some work
first.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">To better explain I have chosen two guitars by two
very different guitar manufacturers. Both are well
made instruments and are excellent examples of the boutique and
custom guitar categories. We will be looking at a boutique (4) string bass
by master luthier Brian Jeppson out of East Brunswick NJ and a
customized Gamma (4) string production model Beta bass from Holmdel NJ. Both
are on the Jazz (J) bass platform with (2) passive (J) style pickups and
(J) style controls.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKXNyZQX_agpuytwCBtwnKQ0YKbqqsJPysarXSgfnLgBs_0zxqQXqI-i6QnmWOHhe8hWUlxKOc3Pb-LEPG3pnZU-yWE_PyH3Mtp74YOkw18Uv1tnwmbBJuh2XpDPJkGo9q2ed5hAJh-EI/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKXNyZQX_agpuytwCBtwnKQ0YKbqqsJPysarXSgfnLgBs_0zxqQXqI-i6QnmWOHhe8hWUlxKOc3Pb-LEPG3pnZU-yWE_PyH3Mtp74YOkw18Uv1tnwmbBJuh2XpDPJkGo9q2ed5hAJh-EI/s200/006.JPG" width="77" /></a></span></span></div>
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<u><b><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Boutique</span></span></span></b></u></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When shopping for a boutique guitar
you really need to know where to go. Unlike buying a production model
where you can just walk into any store or shop online -- it is all about finding
a trusted luthier. There are a few ways you can find a luthier in your
local area that makes quality instruments. First you can use the Local
Music Gear directory and browse through, knowing that the the
luthiers listed with us are of the highest caliber. Second--go to a guitar
show. There are hundreds of guitar shows all over the country where luthiers
have a booth to show off their latest and greatest. Last is by word
of mouth -- ask the guys at your local music store if they know anyone that
makes quality guitars. Never ever go to a form -- 11 out of 10 times you get
someone who has a little knowledge about guitars giving
a technical review of a company.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For our example of a boutique guitar I went to
Bryan Jeppson -- a local lutiher in NJ. The ordering process is
very different then buying an off-the-rack model. Now the guitar we where
given for this was story was a duplicate of one that was made for a client, but
if I was ordering for myself I would have received the full royal treatment.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKRSpI5dJHN9yfJ1QqVtDYkDRz4A8zz6kd5P7emx40buX8o_VQbTavXY926CeGNytvXrZPlqCd4nSYybOlwLT_SwMbQrpwRJZVkfJUuQ20KBHS7osyGHDorgrzeHCIjzAKBXG7dqFCEQxG/s1600/007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKRSpI5dJHN9yfJ1QqVtDYkDRz4A8zz6kd5P7emx40buX8o_VQbTavXY926CeGNytvXrZPlqCd4nSYybOlwLT_SwMbQrpwRJZVkfJUuQ20KBHS7osyGHDorgrzeHCIjzAKBXG7dqFCEQxG/s200/007.JPG" width="73" /></a></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When buying form Jeppson Guitars you make
an appointment to meet with Bryan Jeppson for a fitting -- like buying a
suit. You either talk via phone or you can stop by his workshop -- in his
log cabin. The first step is deciding what you want from type
of tone-woods to the electronics, hardware, inlay material/design, and
body style and shape. Bryan makes 95% of the guitar by hand including the
pickups and uses only the best hardware available including machine
heads, bridges, saddles, and pots. Once<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>you<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>have commissioned Bryan to
make your new love<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>you then leave and come back when she
is completed. The entire build process can take up to two months
depending on the availability of the materials you
have selected--but you are getting your dream guitar. Bryan is a true
gentleman and one hell of a luthier -- so you are guaranteed to get a
beautiful handcrafted guitar without any problems or runarounds.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrTjU1jOWc64mVkxMoGmiFP4WUxRYZD07cJO7OqZLkTMwfdm7xYwNPoXieq3q8eQF8lplvlujMfZB6qpvezGqsymz_s198Kod8rfUbmChiVSi9f5kcpJv3Q6Q3lhPknlKreSAN8pczHP0s/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrTjU1jOWc64mVkxMoGmiFP4WUxRYZD07cJO7OqZLkTMwfdm7xYwNPoXieq3q8eQF8lplvlujMfZB6qpvezGqsymz_s198Kod8rfUbmChiVSi9f5kcpJv3Q6Q3lhPknlKreSAN8pczHP0s/s200/010.JPG" width="200" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This (4) sting Jeppson <span style="font-size: small;">b</span>ass has a high gloss cherry air
dried back with a high gloss walnut top leading into satin tapered walnut neck
with a Bois de Rosa/Palisander fingerboard featuring sea snail box inlays
and evo alloy frets (more durable than traditional nickel silver, but
without the harsh tone of stainless steel) topped with a bone nut and gold
hardware. At her heart she has a matching set of hand wound passive Jeppson (J)
bass style pickups pushed through an Audere Audio Engineering bass guitar
preamp that was specifically designed for Jeppson Guitars by Audere Audio
Engineering.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Her street price is $2,100 USD with case + shipping (if
you do not pick her up). Buy this guitar on special for $1,800 USD
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="mailto:localmusicgear@yahoo.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-click here-</a></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHq6G3wFiLd83dj3CjorzdJBp8ul8Q4ld-bpw1negMOmoz_O68iviC8oDCjA4nelmJjQ51qVg8DboCO5rqgww4iQAce0mL2rUGzLbT0sPAg7KScY1GQxY4O23kZJ4RW4FuocVSvEuqS9ww/s1600/025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHq6G3wFiLd83dj3CjorzdJBp8ul8Q4ld-bpw1negMOmoz_O68iviC8oDCjA4nelmJjQ51qVg8DboCO5rqgww4iQAce0mL2rUGzLbT0sPAg7KScY1GQxY4O23kZJ4RW4FuocVSvEuqS9ww/s200/025.JPG" width="83" /></a></span></span></div>
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<u><b><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Custom</span></span></span></b></u></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Shopping for a custom guitar is
very different than shopping for a boutique guitar. The first step in
the process is the same as shopping for any other guitar you
have every bought before -- you go play it in a local store or shop online -- the
custom part comes after the purchase. This is also a great way to
put new life into an old friend.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now that you have your guitar and you are ready to
make her special/custom there are a few places to shop for parts to
customize your guitar. My favorite is <a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/" target="_blank">WD Music Products</a> for hardware
and electronics, but depending on the build I sometimes like to
use <a href="http://www.seymourduncan.com/?utm_source=LocalMusicGear.com&utm_medium=3mo&utm_term=3mo&utm_campaign=Sponsorship%2Fbanner" target="_blank">Seymour Duncan</a> pickups -- as I have in this case.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For this example of a custom guitar I went with
production model Beta bass from Gamma Bass Guitars based out of </span></span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Holmdel</span></span></span>
NJ. Since this was a production model all I had to do was e-mail them and I had
the bass in my hands a few days later. The reason why I decided to
use a Gamma was that the quality of the guitar for the price was much better than
other off-the-shelf guitars within the same price range. Since I went into
this with the mindset that I was going to customize her, all I really cared
about was how the guitar felt and the quality of the tone-woods. Other (J)
style bass guitars I played within my price range where made from the wood that
the manufacturer wouldn't put in their higher priced production models -- and
that is not what I wanted.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSkNZBT7hoBXGrC2tZwpGOkm9gbdv5HX2xEj3xVza3fkwbC3Uh6aS-paa6IRuSalSmFLaOmceNyi2mYv32zaW1kVRv5ET-IQqGER0196VS-C1yAEmQwCnBlcdWmj7qPWnrJdfEU-brP7dl/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSkNZBT7hoBXGrC2tZwpGOkm9gbdv5HX2xEj3xVza3fkwbC3Uh6aS-paa6IRuSalSmFLaOmceNyi2mYv32zaW1kVRv5ET-IQqGER0196VS-C1yAEmQwCnBlcdWmj7qPWnrJdfEU-brP7dl/s200/004.JPG" width="70" /></a></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After getting the guitar home and going through her to
make sure she was built the way I was told -- I took her apart. The first thing
I did was sand the shine off of her neck and head-stock to give he a
satin finish. I put (1) coat of true oil on to protect the raw wood
f<span style="font-size: small;">rom</span> the elements and lightly polished with steel wool after 48
hours of drying. Next I upgraded her heart with a matching set of Seymour
Duncan passive Antiquity (J) bass pickups and pushed them through an Audere
Audio Engineering JZ3 bass guitar preamp. Last I dressed her up with a new
maple pickguard to offset her silver alder body <span style="font-size: small;">from</span> her maple neck to give her a
sexy even balance between man-made and nature.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I took my time as I always do and from start to finish
(excluding drying time) the whole process took me 4 hours /6 beers. If you
do not know how to rewire or setup a guitar you should have a luthier from
your local music store do the modifications. There will be an hourly
charge + bench fee. The total investment will be well worth it.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivBR7wcjGSY250HiKzDJSeqzKPhdX7IPqslASQLjuMzfIM5nvGCNQlw-lD6W8U_TqguPUTfsGj0mtUztPHG1t3zK4NGaOsSA7lVyFn2fRcZaaxlK87qCGc5IPDRDaLAhZmG4KbmqhOxofU/s1600/020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivBR7wcjGSY250HiKzDJSeqzKPhdX7IPqslASQLjuMzfIM5nvGCNQlw-lD6W8U_TqguPUTfsGj0mtUztPHG1t3zK4NGaOsSA7lVyFn2fRcZaaxlK87qCGc5IPDRDaLAhZmG4KbmqhOxofU/s320/020.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<u><b><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What we did with total cost
</span></span></span></b></u></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Gamma Beta Bass - $750 </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.seymourduncan.com/?utm_source=LocalMusicGear.com&utm_medium=3mo&utm_term=3mo&utm_campaign=Sponsorship%2Fbanner" target="_blank">Seymour Duncan</a> Pickups - $119</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.audereaudio.com/index.htm" target="_blank">Audere Audio Engineering</a> JZ3 Preamp - $149 </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.graphtech.com/" target="_blank">Tusq Nut</a> - $14 </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Maple Pickguard - $39 </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Truoil - $5</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cotton Rags - $13 </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Steel wool -$6 </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sandpaper-$7</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Total doing it myself:</b> $1,102</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you use a luthier<span style="font-size: small;">:</span></span></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Luthier fee $375</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Total if I used a local luthier:</b> $1,477</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Her street price with these mods is $1,600 USD + shipping. Buy this guitar on special for $1,200 USD <span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span> </span></span></span><a href="mailto:localmusicgear@yahoo.com" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">-click here-</span></span></span></span></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVnRrqOvyIrraukGMpEgtbKxVC0wPj4_oK8gB8H6F1U6TbzYRCXKtpWZKKy-i6KUEnSlEDa4XrbuE3TsIen3lj_5PlNE91z4MhKYPf_r4nNkPDLTHiRvnzhugHKH4CMr9w9VCCXOCVwiY/s1600/480730_567693099923261_1320067144_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVnRrqOvyIrraukGMpEgtbKxVC0wPj4_oK8gB8H6F1U6TbzYRCXKtpWZKKy-i6KUEnSlEDa4XrbuE3TsIen3lj_5PlNE91z4MhKYPf_r4nNkPDLTHiRvnzhugHKH4CMr9w9VCCXOCVwiY/s320/480730_567693099923261_1320067144_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When buying a boutique or customizing a guitar
you do so knowing that it becomes an extension of you. You never have
to adjust it or break it in--it was made by you or for you, with no one else in
mind. There are no marketing meetings by a large company to see
if a cretin demographic will enjoy a particular color
or if anyone will be offended by it for its
nontraditional design. It is a guitar you will keep and love forever.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Both the Jeppson and the Gamma bass guitars in
this article are wonderful and play better than any off-the-shelf bass
I have ever played. If you would like to play or buy either guitar please
contact us. </span></span></span><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="mailto:localmusicgear@yahoo.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">-click here-</a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
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<u><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Contact</span></b></span></span></span></u><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Jeppson Guitars</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">EastBrunswick, NJ</span></span></span><br />
<a href="mailto:bryan@jeppsonguitars.com" target="_blank"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">bryan@jeppsonguitars.com </span></span></span></a><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.jeppsonguitars.com/" target="_blank">jeppsonguitars.com</a> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Gamma Custom Bass Guitars</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Holmdel, NJ </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="mailto:gammabassguitars@rocketmail.com" target="_blank">gammabassguitars@rocketmail.com </a></span></span></span><br />
<a href="http://facebook.com/GammaBassGuitars" target="_blank"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">facebook.com/GammaBassGuitar<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: small;">s</span></span></span></span></span></a><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Audere Audio</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">4909 S Coast Hwy, Suite 295</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">South Beach, Oregon 97366</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">(P) 541 867-6878<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"><a href="http://www.audereaudio.com/index.htm" target="_blank">audereaudio.com</a></span> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Seymour Duncan Company </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">5427 Hollister Avenue</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Santa Barbara, CA 93111-2345, USA</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">P (805) 964-9610</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">F (805) 964-9749</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.seymourduncan.com/?utm_source=LocalMusicGear.com&utm_medium=3mo&utm_term=3mo&utm_campaign=Sponsorship%2Fbanner" target="_blank">seymourduncan.com</a></span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></b><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> <span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Posted <span style="font-size: small;">12</span>/201<span style="font-size: small;">2</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Channel Sponsor</b> </span></span></span></span><br />
<a href="http://www.fishman.com/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSPHhI0fQUhkwdsp8q-HauQSxTDxONXuxW_nGxEI1eWZa-IHtCL4QOLND582faXLtJdLL3P_hwqKiOg2zvtVU-mwdDal-uZ5HpxXrSMudmSgpHkvPhBroARuHoUO33sjm54Zp6XTnXQb4/s1600/fishman+logo+88+x+31.jpg" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> </span></span></span></div>
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Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-30337056268563077432012-11-15T05:09:00.002-08:002013-07-31T05:25:00.136-07:00My Fretless Strat, Just Because I could ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #999999; text-align: left;">Local Music Gear Feature Story </span><br /><span style="color: #999999; text-align: left;">Written By:<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1298756680"> </a></span></span></span><a href="mailto:sean@localmusicgear.com" style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Jac Harrison</span></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBFHjEw-xlgmnqvNGn8jjOPoDAZHwJAyme1aZ0xMerAM86pvDE16JtreUt2KCFa9hjnfpLMKbDUtG_sLQIhU2XzFBBOtCngIf-yRCBHEaJWkrduU6vvUY9gm4Ot18nVfOFGVwwaEupOLVv/s1600/295762_551371988222039_1093545343_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBFHjEw-xlgmnqvNGn8jjOPoDAZHwJAyme1aZ0xMerAM86pvDE16JtreUt2KCFa9hjnfpLMKbDUtG_sLQIhU2XzFBBOtCngIf-yRCBHEaJWkrduU6vvUY9gm4Ot18nVfOFGVwwaEupOLVv/s320/295762_551371988222039_1093545343_n.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">E</span>arlier this month I had the chance to see Guns n Roses, in
my opinion one of the greatest bands of all time, perform in sin city. The
show was amazing and full of great music. As a guitar nut I was more interested
in the guitars that the guys where using than the half naked dancers on stage.
One of the guitars that blew my mind was a double neck <a href="http://vigierusa.com/" target="_blank">Vigier</a> guitar that Ron
“Bumblefoot” Thal was using. This guitar was sick; it had a standard fretted
neck on the bottom and a fretless on top. Knowing that I would be in Philly for
the Bee 3 vintage guitar show in just a few days and that <a href="http://vigierusa.com/" target="_blank">Vigier</a> Guitar would
have a booth there I decided I needed to try one of their
fretless guitars.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At the Bee 3 show DJ Scully, from <a href="http://vigierusa.com/" target="_blank">Vigier</a> Guitars, let
me play the fretless for about an hour and I knew I needed to have it. But with
a price tag of $3,300 I also knew that it was not going to happen right now.
Since fretless is a unique beast I wanted to learn how to play it as well as a
fretted guitar before I put down that kind of cash. I did a little research
online and called Fred, (the head luthier at <a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/" target="_blank">WD Music Products</a>) to get his
advice on how I could make my own. To my surprise it was very simple. I needed
to remove the frets, backfill the gaps and sand with a <a href="http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_supplies/Leveling/Fretboard_Radius-sanding_Blocks.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=7068&tgtiid=5640" target="_blank">radius block</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The guitar I used was a Strat for one reason; if I messed up
-- I could just get another neck. I strongly recommend that anyone
trying this should use a guitar with a bolt on neck just in case. With the
neck removed from the guitar, I heated the frets with a soldering iron and used
my <a href="http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_supplies/Pullers,_nippers,_sizing/Fret_Puller.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=231" target="_blank">Stew Mac fret puller</a>. The frets came out without any trouble. Next I used a
<a href="http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Nuts,_saddles/Special_tools_for:_Nuts_and_saddles/Gauged_Nut_Slotting_Files.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=250" target="_blank">.010 gauged nut file</a> to even out the fret gaps to insure an even surface for
the wood filler I would use to smooth out the neck. After all of the fret gaps
where evened out and clear of wood shavings and dust, I filled the fret gaps
with indoor/outdoor wood filler. I used a walnut color so I could see the fret
markers. When filling the fret gaps it is best to do one at a time. After all
of the frets where filled and dried for 2 hours I then used a <a href="http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_supplies/Leveling/Fretboard_Radius-sanding_Blocks.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=7068&tgtiid=5640" target="_blank">radius block</a> with
300 grit to sand her down, and then 1200 to smooth her out. Once her
fingerboard was smooth I soaked her in lemon oil for 30 minutes and gave her
two coats of <a href="http://www.musicnomadcare.com/nomadproducts.html" target="_blank">carnauba wax</a> to insure that she was protected from the elements.
The entire job took four and a half hours and I was ready to give her a setup.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOWkw7Jp0HHzuJojfeWhzebdBvZKmrtc53NvBs-NgQZUNGXkSSfkfLM8zf2DO6MCfcLoykyIdQPPl4rDPFfYbRNnAf6WKEaRHta9PbrbbIl384gr1jzUhsRMSv6hPJvp41jlH6A0yvNbxr/s1600/390026_549331208426117_1430169230_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOWkw7Jp0HHzuJojfeWhzebdBvZKmrtc53NvBs-NgQZUNGXkSSfkfLM8zf2DO6MCfcLoykyIdQPPl4rDPFfYbRNnAf6WKEaRHta9PbrbbIl384gr1jzUhsRMSv6hPJvp41jlH6A0yvNbxr/s320/390026_549331208426117_1430169230_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Ron "Boumblefoot" Thal from G-n-R on his Vigier double neck</span>.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After the longest setup I have ever done, she was playing
like a champ. Please note that you should use flatwound stings on a fretless
guitar so you do not rip up your fingerboard. I am now ready to learn how
to play fretless guitar and as soon as I can play her -- I am buying that
<a href="http://vigierusa.com/" target="_blank">Vigier</a>!!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3ZL3NKlW-sRKMMjtGzNqZ2k0beupNKFXeMXpzBt-tHyfpiEgCGXS5jzbU67PnTc83CpmYDqnuWJhLHu5lG5essfNhUElVrEJBy1ErJaX9efmC6WVALTvEqPAIvR4rp-QBFf-kWqBGyjm/s1600/230088_551114668247771_28303326_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3ZL3NKlW-sRKMMjtGzNqZ2k0beupNKFXeMXpzBt-tHyfpiEgCGXS5jzbU67PnTc83CpmYDqnuWJhLHu5lG5essfNhUElVrEJBy1ErJaX9efmC6WVALTvEqPAIvR4rp-QBFf-kWqBGyjm/s200/230088_551114668247771_28303326_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;">Vigier Fretless Guitar </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is the Video from <a href="http://vigierusa.com/index.php/guitars/excalibur/excalibur-surfreter-supra-special/" target="_blank">vigierusa.com</a></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZjEGtUXGWa0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Posted 11/2012 </span></div>
Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-38222112199816311902012-10-14T15:14:00.000-07:002012-12-20T07:09:37.380-08:00Pieter Holland from Rock N Roll Ranch talks gear with Sean McCormick from Local Music Gear Magazine live on air ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQtNNzRK_t6lIQcLsYPwoEeC2LhkV-V00SjBTx9e9UcvDh5DYeUIKLOE0DJkasECcBIzmWPsBuA5cWO0G1ianfLseJE7DXqIz7ADU2gDvDY5oVNat3cN9kyr5HPg7eR48p_2cvUVPMqAd/s1600/RANCH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQtNNzRK_t6lIQcLsYPwoEeC2LhkV-V00SjBTx9e9UcvDh5DYeUIKLOE0DJkasECcBIzmWPsBuA5cWO0G1ianfLseJE7DXqIz7ADU2gDvDY5oVNat3cN9kyr5HPg7eR48p_2cvUVPMqAd/s320/RANCH.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-74884420661724397242012-08-20T12:21:00.000-07:002013-07-31T05:25:21.036-07:00Three Great Ways You Can Get That “Dream Guitar” Without The Hefty Price Tag, A fun project for the do it yourselfer… <div style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;">
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; text-align: left;"></span></span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; text-align: left;">Local Music Gear Feature Story </span><br /><span style="color: #999999; text-align: left;">Written By:</span></span></span></b><a href="mailto:sean@localmusicgear.com" style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-size: small; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" target="_blank">Jac Harrison</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2J-2gjnYC9MVAqPCs97kY1VdiXrDfDMjq-oEIfh3lLIt-30SmeJRfY2m5E8g4pE6x9kfDWzDTyx1jFDZF04g4Rgc2U1wEBdtBjySSOqmqd0F7MoD_UbII3_s1KHsuB6k3Cfqrqw9lRGhx/s1600/13738928-teen-boy-with-guitar-daydreaming+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2J-2gjnYC9MVAqPCs97kY1VdiXrDfDMjq-oEIfh3lLIt-30SmeJRfY2m5E8g4pE6x9kfDWzDTyx1jFDZF04g4Rgc2U1wEBdtBjySSOqmqd0F7MoD_UbII3_s1KHsuB6k3Cfqrqw9lRGhx/s1600/13738928-teen-boy-with-guitar-daydreaming+copy.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">M</span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">any of us self-proclaimed guitarists are always on the
search for that perfect guitar. We know what we are looking for -- but we just
can never seem to find it. When we find a guitar that has the look we want it
doesn't have the right sound and vice versa. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">There are many <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luthier" target="_blank">luthiers</a>, custom, and boutique shops that can
make a guitar to your specifications -- and that's great if you have the cash.
For a well built guitar you can expect to throw down around $1,500 or more. For
those of us that just can not or will not pay that much for a guitar there are
a few alternatives that can get you that perfect axe you have dreamed of. </span></div>
<a name='more'></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER</b></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The first way is to build your own. Now I'm not talking
about cutting down a tree in your neighbor's yard, but there are a handful of
companies that provide all of the parts you need from nut to saddle. These
include <a href="http://www.stewmac.com/" target="_blank">Stewart MacDonald</a>, <a href="http://www.allparts.com/" target="_blank">All Parts</a>, <a href="http://www.mojotone.com/" target="_blank">MoJo Tone</a>, and <a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/" target="_blank">WD Music Products</a>. These
companies have on-staff <span id="goog_506414226"></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luthier" target="_blank">luthiers<span id="goog_506414227"></span></a> that can help you when ordering and provide
you with technical support while you are building your dream guitar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">For my dream guitar build I used <a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/" target="_blank">WD Music Products</a>. I
ordered everything from them but the guitar body. It was a wonderful
experience. I spoke with their in-house <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luthier">luthier</a>, Fred, and told him what I
wanted. The entire conversation was less than ten minutes, and all of my parts
where shipped the next day. Now I could have ordered the body from them but I
wanted something a little different than what they offered. My dream guitar was
a combination of a flat top thin body walnut LP style with a bolt on hardened
maple Strat neck. There are a few places where you can order custom guitar
bodies, such as <a href="http://www.warmoth.com/" target="_blank">Warmoth</a>, but I wanted to use a local luthier. Brian Jeppson,
master luthier of <a href="http://jeppsonguitars.com/" target="_blank">Jeppson Guitars</a> was able to cut the guitar body to the exact
shape and configuration I wanted. All I needed to do was bring the neck and
bridge to him and within two weeks I had the walnut body I wanted.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-small;">WD Music Products Build with a Brian Jeppson Body</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Now that I had all of the parts to assemble I just needed to
prep and finish the body. There are many different ways you can put a finish on
a guitar from paint, stains, and oils. I went with a product called <a href="http://www.lmii.com/carttwo/truoil.htm" target="_blank">True Oil</a>.
This is the oil that people use on gun stocks and can be picked up at any
sporting goods store that has a hunting department. The first step in the
process was a grain filler that Bryan Jeppson had done for me -- so all I
needed to do was to sand with 300 grit and oil. (You should use gloves and
apply an oil finish to a guitar in a well ventilated area; also note that the
rags you use to apply the oil are combustible, so discard them as the
instructions on the bottle state so you do not set fire to your home or shop). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">After three coats of <a href="http://www.lmii.com/carttwo/truoil.htm" target="_blank">True Oil</a> the guitar had the finish I
was looking for, a nice dull sheen that really made the grain in the wood pop
out. The entire oiling process took 24 hours. (You need to wait three hours in
between each coating of oil and gently steel wool before the last coat.) Once
the oil had completely hardened I used guitar polish and a cotton cloth to buff
out the finish. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The rest was easy-- copper tape for shielding, screwing in
the parts, setting the neck, wiring her up, cutting the nut and stringing her
up -- basic setup</span><span style="font-size: small;"> stuff. If you can
change a set of pickups and set the intonation on a guitar you can build your
own. Now with that said, if you do not have the working knowledge of the basic
mechanics of an electric guitar you can take a class, watch a video or read a
book to learn how to make your own guitar.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBpovvXhj6YWv0l6pX4wMEd4R-oiMda-prCW7gV5M3cOosjcscziSGJy-XsQQVkcSwM2OiuYZ9gqV3ILsj1oEaQt5RER6KAy16XYt7KsmymPDRSS1Y9eXH58UNTPw4jCbu95yrIpJv1H5D/s1600/walnut+guitar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="90" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBpovvXhj6YWv0l6pX4wMEd4R-oiMda-prCW7gV5M3cOosjcscziSGJy-XsQQVkcSwM2OiuYZ9gqV3ILsj1oEaQt5RER6KAy16XYt7KsmymPDRSS1Y9eXH58UNTPw4jCbu95yrIpJv1H5D/s320/walnut+guitar.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">My Guitar is a walnut slab body with a hardened maple neck
dressed with a rosewood fingerboard featuring 22 jumbo frets with pearl dot
inlays. </span><span style="font-size: small;"> Her heart is made of (2) <a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/VINTAGE_O.html" target="_blank">KentArmstrong vintage O</a> 4 conductor humbucker pickups that I have split three ways
each with <a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/WDE11B.html" target="_blank">on, on, on switches</a> giving her eleven different pickups positions
with <a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/DC500.html" target="_blank">500k pots</a>, an <a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/022_SPRAGUE.html" target="_blank">EP-4380-000 - .022 MFD Orange Drop Capacitor</a>, <a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/WDE7SWS.html" target="_blank">Switch-craft switch</a> and <a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/WDE12.html" target="_blank">1/4 inch jack</a>. She is topped with <a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/medium_tuner_18_1_6_in_line_chrome.html" target="_blank">Grover 18/1 ratio mechanic heads</a>
and a <a href="http://www.graphtech.com/products.html?CategoryID=1" target="_blank">Tusq</a> nut.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">If I was to buy this guitar off the shelf -- if I could find
one or have a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luthier" target="_blank">luthier</a> build me one just like this, it would have cost me over
$2,500. To build this guitar the way I did it will cost you $650, and $150 is
for the body.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="76" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmUqVADYdayAIUlHQ4Scf-8mHS4jykvdoKTSJ9y8VTQFOKUKqEf5en7RndpgQHQE8pjV_okDEeMedgs6406jjFmg7xVh9Qpezu7ErYVE5TZQxaz-x91rUZ0Zef4FtPV4B_gQODLsugH95/s640/1764451852685649371.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
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<u><b>BUYING A DREAM KIT</b></u></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGs-1m1r4S_toV-QkNYwjXJfIztZ_tApDVsazdsySp6Wx-kFkoR7dJoj8f4e_VyAN7x3XqbF6oVwgJqJMb6M4VWbdMf9ST3Uh0G8l_I7LHeD0ST0WIYv-30FX1EbmMxtpxQZ18nINvvpUw/s1600/2012-08-18+15.26.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGs-1m1r4S_toV-QkNYwjXJfIztZ_tApDVsazdsySp6Wx-kFkoR7dJoj8f4e_VyAN7x3XqbF6oVwgJqJMb6M4VWbdMf9ST3Uh0G8l_I7LHeD0ST0WIYv-30FX1EbmMxtpxQZ18nINvvpUw/s320/2012-08-18+15.26.17.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-small;">R M Olson Languedoc</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The other way you can build your own guitar is by building a
prefabricated kit. If your dream guitar is one that a high end manufacturer
makes that is way out of your price rage -- you could just order one that is
made by someone else. My dream factory made guitar is a Languedoc. The model I
like has a price tag of a ripe $10,000, but the <a href="http://rmolsonguitars.com/" target="_blank">R M Olson</a> version I ordered
would set you back about $310 with shipping for an unfinished unassembled kit.
Now you can order one that is put together for you, but that would just be
cheating.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Robert (the R in <a href="http://rmolsonguitars.com/" target="_blank">R M Olson</a>) makes quality guitars that
emulate some of the best guitars on the market -- and he is a nice guy. There
is normally a 70-day wait for one of his unassembled kits, so that should tell
you right there that you are dealing with a quality product. One cool aspect
about buying a kit is that they give you the option of different hardware and
pickups so you can get the perfect setup and tone.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">When buying a guitar kit it's kind of like buying a luxury
car; you have your base model and then a ton of personalized options. The
options can bring your price up by a few bucks -- but it will be nowhere near
the price tag of the guitar it is designed after. Some people compare a guitar
kit to a kit car. In my opinion the only thing they have in common is that they
are less expensive versions of what they emulate. But a guitar kit, unlike a
kit car, is not a fiberglass body on a cheap chassis, but tone woods with
quality electronics giving you the look and tone you would expect from a much
more expensive guitar. The model I received has a solid maple top with solid
mahogany back and sides wrapped in a rosewood veneer, a solid maple neck
dressed in a rosewood fingerboard featuring 24 frets with pearl bar inlays. At
her heart she has (2) EMG style humbuckers with CF 250k pots, a three-way
Switchcraft style switch and 1/4 inch jack. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSx_LQ-ZlzjofDpBwfmsPuCsU82CA9bx9P09KQrZjvawcQzoy5hLYLBJWvSpuaMDV9v2sVkXg1CbJZC4f5YXzaG9IX49DPqcC50Ba4-FT_SQdBzZ4hpg5dat35Tjc1jRU_EGrxLxs5dzxW/s1600/ro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSx_LQ-ZlzjofDpBwfmsPuCsU82CA9bx9P09KQrZjvawcQzoy5hLYLBJWvSpuaMDV9v2sVkXg1CbJZC4f5YXzaG9IX49DPqcC50Ba4-FT_SQdBzZ4hpg5dat35Tjc1jRU_EGrxLxs5dzxW/s320/ro.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Since the kit I ordered was unfinished raw wood, I needed to
give her a nice look. After sanding out her imperfections starting with 300
grit sand paper and ending with steel wool -- I gave her three coats of a water
based wood stain. The colors I used were gun stock amber with a 50/50 water to
stain ratio on her top and neck, and a burnt cherry 60/40 water to stain ratio
on her back and sides. I left her neck and headstock back with a satin finish and
added two coats of <a href="http://www.lmii.com/carttwo/truoil.htm" target="_blank">True Oil</a> to her body. Once the body was dry it was time to
assemble. The only modifications I made to the kit was some copper tape shielding,
<a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/DC500.html" target="_blank">500k pots</a>, an <a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/022_SPRAGUE.html" target="_blank">EP-4380-000 - .022 MFD Orange Drop Capacitor</a>, and an <a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/intonatable_comb0_bridge_tailpiece_chrome_includes_metric_studs_and_inserts.html" target="_blank">all-in-one intonatable wrap aroundbridge</a>. Then, after a quick set-up, she was ready to rock
and roll.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: small;"><b>INEXPENSIVE CHANGES--BUT IMPORTANT ONES</b></span></u></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0rWNjSOTQOnjv7Zk9NWR0PBUuysC9maFkr1p-h9eRiW4eFYHzMavUfznF6Pq6zzIP7OIfk_usXcQZEbQSL93yiX1JNsOWOED0vh-VC2vbGhuIM-DTu2N9AFQ7Vixlc8SKTcsInbBOr6a3/s1600/527866_508129465879625_1017073074_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0rWNjSOTQOnjv7Zk9NWR0PBUuysC9maFkr1p-h9eRiW4eFYHzMavUfznF6Pq6zzIP7OIfk_usXcQZEbQSL93yiX1JNsOWOED0vh-VC2vbGhuIM-DTu2N9AFQ7Vixlc8SKTcsInbBOr6a3/s320/527866_508129465879625_1017073074_n.jpg" width="210" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-small;">SX Liquid RN 3P90 from Rondo Music</span> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Another great option for the beginning builder--or if you
just do not want to spend a lot of cash--is to buy an inexpensive guitar and
make a few small, but important changes. For this I went with <a href="http://www.rondomusic.com/liquidf3p90hstop3ts.html" target="_blank">SX Liquid RN 3P90</a>
from <a href="http://www.rondomusic.com/" target="_blank">Rondo Music</a>. This guitar will set you back $149.95 ready to play.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Now you are getting an inexpensive guitar, but that does not
mean you are getting a piece of junk. The guitar I received was well built, it
had a solid alder body, maple neck, and (3) P-90 style pickups. Overall the
build quality was about the same as Epiphone or Peavey - they are made to last
but with cheap parts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I put a total of $37 into this guitar and gave her a setup.
The first thing was I sanded her neck. I hate the high gloss necks that most
inexpensive guitars have. It must just be cheaper for the factory to spray them
than it is to treat them with polish or oil. All it needed was a few swipes
with 300 grit sand paper. After I removed all of her shininess, I used some
guitar polish with a cotton cloth to buff out her finish and my hand was able
to glide up and down her without any hesitation. Next was her electronics. When
I plugged her in the pickups sounded better than I was expecting, but I was
getting a 60 cycle hum from a bad ground. I simply replaced the stock
pick-guard shielding with copper tape and re-soldered her with a set of <a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/DC500.html" target="_blank">500k pots</a> and an <a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/022_SPRAGUE.html" target="_blank">EP-4380-000 - .022 MFD Orange Drop Capacitor</a> to replace her stock
components. The only other thing I changed was her nut to one made by <a href="http://www.graphtech.com/products.html?CategoryID=1" target="_blank">Tusq</a>, and
her strings to <a href="http://www.kerlymusic.com/" target="_blank">Kerly strings</a>.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDZdF2eyU7Kx4vGKgLte_ILxnGfkXnFUHv1xEl5-cy5bNdIseTKdJ6QZYExL9Jxdh8Yk8_oipM_hM1lZNghinmM05ES_n5UictzwEB1I37rsez-dnpq3cYj5fWW7dBecqghlGQlRweyA2/s1600/rondo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDZdF2eyU7Kx4vGKgLte_ILxnGfkXnFUHv1xEl5-cy5bNdIseTKdJ6QZYExL9Jxdh8Yk8_oipM_hM1lZNghinmM05ES_n5UictzwEB1I37rsez-dnpq3cYj5fWW7dBecqghlGQlRweyA2/s320/rondo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">So if you are up for a challenge, as you can see there are a
few options for you ranging in price from about $180 to $650.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Just because you went to your local music
store and fell in love with a guitar you could never afford, don't feel bad.
Learn how to customize -- learn how to build.</span><span style="font-size: small;">
Just because a guitar has a brand name on it doesn't make it a better
instrument than another. It's the materials and craftsmanship inside</span><span style="font-size: small;"> that make it a quality instrument, and give
it a high quality sound.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>Contact</b></u></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Guitar one - Walnut LP</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> WD Music Products</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/" target="_blank">wdmusic.com</a></span><br />
<div style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">(P) 877-WDMUSIC</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Jeppson Guitars<b> </b></span></div>
<div style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.jeppsonguitars.com/" target="_blank">jeppsonguitars.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Guitar two - <span style="color: #999999;">R M Olson Languedoc Kit</span></b></span></div>
<div style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;">R M Olson Guitars </span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.rmolsonguitars.com/" target="_blank">rmolsonguitars.com</a></span></div>
<div style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #999999;">Guitar three - </span>SX Liquid RN 3P90</b></span></div>
<div style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Rondo Music<b> </b></span></div>
<div style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.rondomusic.com/" target="_blank">rondomusic.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>For Luither Tools</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Stewart MacDonald</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.stewmac.com/?gclid=CN2FttHA7LECFQjc4Aod6VoAeA" target="_blank">stewmac.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">(P) 800-848-2273</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Posted 08/2012 </span></div>
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Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-7010991581375428742012-08-16T05:51:00.000-07:002012-08-16T07:03:00.921-07:00Local Music Gear Magazine Solo Search Event Show Recap, & the winners are ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #999999; text-align: left;"><b>Local Music Gear Event Coverage </b></span><br /><span style="color: #999999; text-align: left;"><b>Written By:</b></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #999999; text-align: left;"><a href="mailto:dan@localmusicgear.com" target="_blank"><span class="size8 PalatinoLinotype8" style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype',serif;"> Dan O'Donnell</span></a></span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih4XLEZF9sbjiHxXEmtFB1_MMYmh1aOMu1q-8WxdS5LWeiU3q2ftl83tN7BD7NmcJGFzB_SZoiiTATvNBwS0Gn9-Kj5YGcYcpYwwOaKLXXjEhg-EZ6dVs5HCLLc6EwfDKSZCN_Pud4KMfg/s1600/380411_507840889241816_1744436369_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih4XLEZF9sbjiHxXEmtFB1_MMYmh1aOMu1q-8WxdS5LWeiU3q2ftl83tN7BD7NmcJGFzB_SZoiiTATvNBwS0Gn9-Kj5YGcYcpYwwOaKLXXjEhg-EZ6dVs5HCLLc6EwfDKSZCN_Pud4KMfg/s320/380411_507840889241816_1744436369_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">O</span>n August 11, more than two
dozen aspiring guitarists showed up at the first ever <a href="http://www.localmusicgear.com/" target="_blank">Local Music Gear Magazine</a> acoustic guitarist SoLo Search, hoping to win more than $2,000 in prizes from the event sponsors that included <a href="http://www.fishman.com/" target="_blank">Fishman</a>,
<a href="http://www.seymourduncan.com/" target="_blank">Seymour Duncan Pickups</a>, <a href="http://www.cleartonestrings.com/" target="_blank">Cleartone Strings</a>, <a href="http://www.lutehole.com/lutehole.php" target="_blank">LuteHole Soundhole Covers</a>, and <a href="http://www.graphtech.com/" target="_blank">Graphtech</a>, among others including </span><span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://supremesoundstudio.com/" target="_blank">Supreme Sound Studios</a>, of Woodland, NJ, who awarded recording sessions to the winner, and runner-up. </span></div>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">Solo Search 2012, held at <a href="http://www.xxroads.com/" target="_blank">Crossroads</a> in
Garwood, NJ, the show produced a lot of buzz not only because of the prize, but
also because of the caliber of musicians who appeared. </span></span><span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span"> </span><br />
<br />
<span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">Members of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Garden.State.Line" target="_blank">Garden State Line</a>
and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/becomingtheghost" target="_blank">Becoming the Ghost</a>, two bands active in the NJ/NYC music scene, and a
number of session players came out hoping to win the Grand Prize—a <a href="http://www.fishman.com/product/loudbox-artist" target="_blank">Fishman Loudbox Artist</a> amp, sessions to record at <a href="http://supremesoundstudio.com/" target="_blank">Supreme Sound Studios</a>, a 12-month supply of <a href="http://www.cleartonestrings.com/products.asp" target="_blank">Cleartone phosphor-bronze</a> .012 strings, a handcarved <a href="http://www.lutehole.com/lutehole.php" target="_blank">LuteHole</a>
sound hole cover (as used by stars including Taylor Swift and Kenny Rogers), a
set of <a href="http://www.graphtech.com/search.html" target="_blank">Tusq bridge</a> pins and a <a href="http://www.spidercapo.com/" target="_blank">Spider Capo.</a></span><br />
<br />
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<a href="http://www.macphersonguitarworks.com/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0XFrBJna7ugknFOsM87DEgX0JvNUzlLWdd2oHp3mE5kBWsdWxV4cOsn3bHA9Zu-4Z5FOAZTMn_mPlFWjy6U8kZ_44WTIoRVxdyq7-bdPB9oSPfjfhj-4toXm7wGRg-HUFuux49fnHUIC1/s1600/Black+Pearl+ad+1.jpg" /></a></div>
<span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">The runner-up (and it was a
close contest; one judge said only a quarter of a point separated the top three
performers) received a six-month
supply of <a href="http://www.cleartonestrings.com/products.asp" target="_blank">Cleartone Phosphor-Bronze</a> strings and recording time at <a href="http://supremesoundstudio.com/" target="_blank">Supreme Sound Studios</a>.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">The performer who received
the best audience response was rewarded with </span><span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">a <a href="http://www.seymourduncan.com/acoustic/woody.php" target="_blank">Seymour Duncan Woody soundhole pickup</a> and </span><span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">a six-month’s supply of </span><span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span"><a href="http://www.cleartonestrings.com/products.asp" target="_blank">Cleartone Phosphor-Bronze</a></span><span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">
strings.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">While the judging was close,
the music was widely varied, ranging from slide blues played on a classical
guitar to experimental electronic jazz and from laid back originals to hard
driving rock and roll covers.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">When the smoke cleared and the
judges tallied up their votes, they announced a unanimous decision—that Junior Bradford, from Piscataway, NJ, a session and touring blues musician who has played
internationally, was the winner. Bradford was happy with his
winnings, he said a few days after the show. </span></span><span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">“I put a set of those
<a href="http://www.cleartonestrings.com/products.asp" target="_blank">Cleartones</a> on and it was just amazing,” Bradford said. “I used to use Martins
because I didn’t like the coatings on there, but so far these <a href="http://www.cleartonestrings.com/products.asp" target="_blank">Cleartones</a> sound
really nice.” He also had high praise for the <a href="http://www.fishman.com/" target="_blank">Fishman</a> amp, saying that it’s
good for stage or studio.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">“It’s got a lot of power for
such a small amp. A couple of my friends have (Fender) Acoustasonics but I like
the versatility of the <a href="http://www.fishman.com/" target="_blank">Fishman</a>,” Bradford said. “If you’re doing rock-a-billy
you’ve got the slapback (reverb) for it, plus you can put two guitars into it.
The crazy thing is, the sixty watt would probably be just fine—I wouldn’t think
twice about playing a little bit of electric through this, even at a club.”</span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-JYIh6Fe3C9vgcQAwPfTL4OGj93xRFa0K9BJasWKFrVG3UZIVnXFvcAEyGcu6WYv6qro6avV6IgDaXCJxn0CtL2ojoFdom0cpqM1FL_5-nadG3uAcObDkCEmh8oYdR0NXzWm9s1K-Q03W/s1600/229109_507834909242414_1768128996_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-JYIh6Fe3C9vgcQAwPfTL4OGj93xRFa0K9BJasWKFrVG3UZIVnXFvcAEyGcu6WYv6qro6avV6IgDaXCJxn0CtL2ojoFdom0cpqM1FL_5-nadG3uAcObDkCEmh8oYdR0NXzWm9s1K-Q03W/s200/229109_507834909242414_1768128996_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">Junior Bradford</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">Bradford, with his shock of
white hair under a panama hat and his white beard sticking out defiantly over
his guitar, captured the honors not only because of his songs, but because his
musicianship and talent at explaining a situation.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">“His songs just told a
story,” one judge said. “He’s a very good guitar player and he plays with
feeling.”</span><br />
<br />
<span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">Brian Csencsits,
owner of <a href="http://supremesoundstudio.com/" target="_blank">Supreme Sound Studios</a> and also a judge, said it wasn’t an easy choice to make. "It was really hard to judge this competition. There was so much great talent at the SoLo
Search,” Csencsits
said. “I look forward to working with Junior in the studio.”</span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH5jETuzxm6kTHfx_svQa0qOQwUbMWu7FdXZWZIjFQSAdWE88AWNavp0gAk4ArDTn7cVdMYiT9MZHZ1IW3GhlO-Var9rS29FiXfZQm056is9mM9kiOzNeDPfTAX1UbMmiHw2OfKcyCbJ1d/s1600/runners.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH5jETuzxm6kTHfx_svQa0qOQwUbMWu7FdXZWZIjFQSAdWE88AWNavp0gAk4ArDTn7cVdMYiT9MZHZ1IW3GhlO-Var9rS29FiXfZQm056is9mM9kiOzNeDPfTAX1UbMmiHw2OfKcyCbJ1d/s320/runners.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Left) </span><span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">John Busse - (Right) </span><span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Jim Williams</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">Honorable mention went to John Busse, of Basking Ridge, NJ. Busse
works with the group <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheDoRights" target="_blank">The Do Rights</a>, and is a familiar sight on the stages of
central New Jersey clubs.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">“After seeing him perform and seeing something interesting in
(Busse’s) song and performance, I look forward to working with him as well,”
Csencsits said.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">Best Audience response went
to Jim Williams, of Rochelle Park, NJ, who despite problems with his guitar was
able to finish off his set with a guitar provided by <a href="http://www.localmusicgear.com/" target="_blank">Local Music Gear Magazine</a> and
<a href="http://www.macphersonguitarworks.com/" target="_blank">MacPherson Guitar Works</a>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">“I’m glad I could be part of the event,”
Brian Csencs<span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">its</span><span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span"> owner of </span><span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">Supreme Sound
Studios</span><span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">, who holds clinics on guitar repair, recording studio basics and tube
amp technology at his studio in New Jersey and throughout the northeast coast, said,</span><span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span"> </span><span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">“and
meet a bunch of cool musicians</span><span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">."</span></span><span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span"> </span><br />
<br />
<span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">Posted 8/2012</span><br />
<br />
<span class="yiv1408110065Apple-style-span">Photography by : </span><span id="yui_3_2_0_24_1345116569814566">Daniel Dzurilla E-mail for reprints <a href="mailto:mmandizz0929@gmail.com">mmandizz0929@gmail.com</a></span></div>
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Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-53769873873155432022012-07-29T10:42:00.001-07:002013-07-31T05:25:09.268-07:00Feature Story: Paving The Way To Your Dream of Becoming A Rock Star, Step Three - Upgrading Your Guitar ...<div style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;">
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; text-align: left;">Local Music Gear Feature Story </span><br /><span style="color: #999999; text-align: left;">Written By:<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1298756680"> </a></span></span></span></b><a href="mailto:sean@localmusicgear.com" style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-size: small; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" target="_blank">Jac Harrison</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5CdkjwQVeBA0YFI63zM9D-ypPgmyLEng-9B61TSeyrlJyHDn7xZfgbkiqHZ1ogI_1GO2qqRb0yO8QB9Gn4ZNycubOvzuNITjUd2xeljZ-h9fblGTfnMgWY6Kl2CfCyPUL1OwFxojt3JCc/s1600/electric-guitar-wiring-4645.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5CdkjwQVeBA0YFI63zM9D-ypPgmyLEng-9B61TSeyrlJyHDn7xZfgbkiqHZ1ogI_1GO2qqRb0yO8QB9Gn4ZNycubOvzuNITjUd2xeljZ-h9fblGTfnMgWY6Kl2CfCyPUL1OwFxojt3JCc/s320/electric-guitar-wiring-4645.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">C</span>ongrats - you have done it! You bought a guitar and learned
how to play. Now that you are playing for longer periods of time and have a
slew of material learned you may realize that your dream guitar isn't so dreamy
anymore. You have entered into what I like to call the "going broke"
phase of this hobby. As you've refined your playing, you have developed the
ability to hear the slight differences in the sound of your guitar that a
non-guitar player can't hear and will think you're nuts for noticing. Now before
you get all upset and look for a new guitar, just know that there are a few
simple things you can do to make the same old guitar dreamy again.</span></div>
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<a name='more'></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">To
start, change your strings! One of the easiest ways to
alter the tone of your guitar is by switching your style of strings.
When
shopping for traditional acoustic guitar strings you can choose between
80/20, phosphor/bronze, copper/bronze, steel, coated, and uncoated.
Besides the
metal composition and the coating processes of the strings, the gauge is
important as well. Most electrics come from the factory setup with 10's
(high E
string is .010) and acoustics come with 11's (high E sting is .011). The
higher
the gauge number the more bottom end and "roundness' the tone will have,
but it will be more difficult to play. You should also note that the
guitar's
nut may need to be gauged to fit a new gauge of string to insure that
your
intonation is correct. If you are unsure how to do this, ask the luthier
at
your local music store to setup your guitar for the gauge you want. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">There is a wide variety of string manufactures that put
their own twist on things so finding the right strings can keep you busy for a
while. I use <a href="http://www.kerlymusic.com/index.php" target="_blank">Kerley Brand</a> 50's pure nickle 11's on my electrics, <a href="http://www.cleartonestrings.com/challenge.asp" target="_blank">Cleartone</a>
phosphor bronze coated 12's on my acoustic for live play, and <a href="http://www.redstrings.com/" target="_blank">Red Brand</a> copper
bronze 13's on my acoustic in the studio just to name a few. Don't be afraid to
ask your salesperson at your local music store for help when picking out strings, this way you will get the sound you want. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.kerlymusic.com/index.php" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEzKWdaUCg2mVqz0CBcXTqunrCtA-nszA-2ek-OmylBQ3Mdw8ZCqhlO4JaPT3LY026BNFySJ2wCUa08SsDruH2Mzv2fveJeh7uMbcmzZrFoBcki2xunHcy1kxFtE3nps5hshuBFtg1dYIM/s1600/k1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Now that you have your strings the second most important
parts of your guitar are the points where the strings touch the body. These are
known as the nut and saddle. The nut is the material that sits up at the top on
the fingerboard where the strings rest before going to the tuners. There are a
ton of different materials you can use as a nut that will give you a variety of
different tones from plastic, wood, animal bone or horn, glass, graphite,
stone, brass etc. Many luthiers favor bone; my favorite is a product called
<a href="http://www.graphtech.com/products.html?CategoryID=1" target="_blank">Tusq</a>. This is a synthetic animal bone that allows you to have the same
proprieties as bone but without the inconsistencies, and you also do not need
to kill anything to get it -- and I think that's a good thing. Gray Bramwell
from <a href="http://www.graphtech.com/products.html?CategoryID=1" target="_blank">GrapTech</a>, the manufacturer of <a href="http://www.graphtech.com/products.html?CategoryID=1" target="_blank">Tusq</a>, simply says, "using a <a href="http://www.graphtech.com/products.html?CategoryID=1" target="_blank">Tusq</a> nut
will improve the overall tone, sustain and function of the instrument,"
and I have to agree as I use this product on every guitar I own. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">According to Dave Lewis of <a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/" target="_blank">WD Music Products</a>, some reasons
that you would consider changing the guitar's nut aside from it being damaged
is if you use a tremolo bridge and are having issues returning to proper tuning
due to “string hang-up” (high friction), if you desire a brighter or darker
tone, and/or if the original nut is not cut properly for the gauge strings you
use. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The saddle is the material that sits under the strings by
the bridge on the guitar's body. This is normally made from the same material
as the nut on most acoustic guitars but materials used can include titanium and
nickel or brass. On most electrics from the factory the bridge is typically
nickel or brass. In my opinion the saddle is the single biggest tone robbing
culprit there is. Most people forget that when playing your finger becomes the
nut unless you are playing an open string, leaving the saddle as
the only points on the guitar where the strings touch. Most guitar manufactures
use a soft brass saddle that absorbs your tone like a sponge. I have always
found that harder saddle materials give a louder sound with longer sustain and
a fuller frequency response from the string, giving you the best tone
regardless of your saddle setup from tremolo to fixed to Floyd Rose. Adam
Reiver, CEO and founder of <a href="http://www.floydupgrades.com/" target="_blank">Floyd Upgrades</a> and the manufacturer of the "<a href="http://www.floydupgrades.com/" target="_blank">FU BIG BLOCK</a>" adds, "my concept is based on using tone friendly
materials such as bell brass, copper and supreme titanium replacing the weak
link in your tremolo. Doubling the mass of the block adds sustain for days."
With a client list that ranges from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slash_%28musician%29" target="_blank">Slash</a> to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Van_Halen" target="_blank">Eddie Van Halen</a> -- I think he is
on to something. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.localmusicgear.com/SoLo-Search-2012.html" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6n71hoyPXLheJCzQDYEoTMK2G6wsDwRVj4lJc66pp4v_IZqikO8JmPAnYzv-6T0AS-DtneGxz52sUe5ayjWLggWCpDageMjL859F5_8PvkPlXxCtLO_bWvGyvJJzYhorhoPzpIy6uPR8A/s1600/house+1+copy.jpg" /></a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">Now that you have done what you can by using the best
materials to insure your tone, sustain and guitar's voicing from her string
vibration, it's time to take a look at her 'vocal chords' -- her pickups. Pickups are one of the trickiest upgrades you
can do. Not only will a pickups change the sound of your guitar, but the look
as well. To start lets break pickups into two categories; acoustic and
electric</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Acoustic pickups are a little easier to understand then
electric. There are a few excellent manufacturers of acoustic pickups; my
favorite is <a href="http://www.fishman.com/" target="_blank">Fishman</a>. You will find <a href="http://www.fishman.com/" target="_blank">Fishman</a> under-saddle pickups installed by
the factory on most acoustic guitars from Fender to Martin, so when you are
doing an upgrade or a first time install on an acoustic they are a name you can
trust. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">There are three different types of acoustic guitar pickups.
There is the under the saddle element, body sensor/microphone, and soundhole pickup
that are normally magnetic. They all sound very different and have many
different configurations. I personally use all three. I have a <a href="http://www.fishman.com/products/view/ellipse-matrix-blend" target="_blank">Fishman Ellipse Matrix blend</a> and a <a href="http://www.fishman.com/products/view/rare-earth-humbucking" target="_blank">Fishman Rare Earth soundhole pickup</a> installed in my
acoustics. I blend them to get my sound, and the blend changes depending on
where I am playing. Under the saddle elements and sensor/microphone pickups can
feedback depending on the room you are playing in -- so the more challenging
the acoustics are in the room the more sound bleed you may have. Since the
soundhole pickups I use are magnetic, they do not feedback from bad acoustics
at a venue. Another great feature about
a soundhole pickup is that you do not need to do a permanent install on your
guitar. This is great for non-electric acoustic guitars and vintage beauties
that you would not want to alter. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">When it comes to electric guitar pickups there are a ton of
options. They can be split into two main categories of single coil and
humbucker, but there are many different takes on each. For example a P 90 is
the Gibson guitar company's take on a single coil but sounds nothing like a
typical single coil pickup, and you can get a four conductor humbucker and run
a coil tap to get it to sound like a single coil when you want to. In my
opinion <a href="http://www.seymourduncan.com/" target="_blank">the Seymour Duncan company</a> & <a href="http://www.kentarmstrong.com/" target="_blank">Kent Armstrong</a> offer the highest
quality standard size humbucker with a four conductor coil tap feature.
<a href="http://www.zexcoil.com/" target="_blank">Zexcoil</a>, a newcomer to the pickup scene, offers a single coil sized
silent-split, zero-hum humbucker. Up untill recently you needed a guitar that
was setup to receive the style of pickup you wanted, as they were physically
different in size. This is not the case now; you can get whatever sound you
want out of any guitar. As Dr. Scott Lawing, CEO and founder of <a href="http://www.zexcoil.com/" target="_blank">Zexcoil</a> pickups
puts it, "There are more pickups available now than at anytime in the
past, so while you're almost guaranteed to find something you like if you
choose wisely, it can be confusing," and I have to agree with the good
doctor. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">A great way to find the style of pickup you want is to pick
a guitarist that has the sound you want and find out what their setup is. Dave
Lewis of <a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/" target="_blank">WD Music Products</a> says, "(pickup choice) is really a preference
of the player and in most cases is not genre specific. Usually it has more to
do with musical influences or tones someone is trying to emulate." Once
you have determined if you are looking for a single coil or humbucker, you have
over 100 different manufactures that make pickups to choose from -- just like when
shopping for strings, it's all about the tone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">By following these words of advice, you can make your guitar
even better than it was when you started out. And now that you have pieced
together your components and you are happy with your dream guitar again, you're
ready to rock. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.allstarma.net/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNIH_V7IjK-XILI1fSbCS_QL-p0F52VWLzC42rQvgi_Z1PWTRtqKxY6obxC9AdwFwWFQaqIW3c6h9ZYZtbecRgQqujl0HxmpXX1e8LG5SpsvF3YV6xqlqG7DfebB8D8uXTIRUPPNAqiX_B/s1600/allstar+468+x+60.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1343323056333543" style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: small;">Recommendations from professionals:</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">"Dry-fit all parts to make sure they will fit as
intended without making extra work. Measure twice, cut once. Always read
instructions as well as look for tips on the web to assist you. If you have
questions, contact the manufacturer before making any modifications which may
void a warranty, void a return or permanently alter your instrument. If you are
not confident you can perform the modification, take it to someone who has
experience making the type of modifications you are looking for." - Dave Lewis
of WD Music Products - <a href="http://www.wdmusic.com/" target="_blank">www.wdmusic.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">"Don't be afraid to get in and do it. Get a decent
soldering iron (at least 40 w, it's easier to get solder to stick to the pots
with a higher power iron) or even better, a station. You can find all of the
information you need online, so research what you're trying to do first, then
roll up your sleeves and do it. You'll learn a lot, and in the long run get a
lot of satisfaction and save a ton of money." - Dr. Scott Lawing CEO and
founder of Zexcoil Pickups - <a href="http://www.zexcoil.com/">www.zexcoil.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">"Take your time – learn the in's and out's of your
guitar. Making your guitar easy to play and sounding good off the bat will make
it more enjoyable for you to play, thus giving you the confidence to strive
forward. Learn a song that you love! Do it one note at a time if you have to. Have
fun!!!! People forget that. Playing is like therapy for me! You can do it! I
have several instructional videos on the FU site and YouTube channel that will
walk you through the process. Stop overpaying for installs and basic setups.
Give it a try – you really can do this!" - Adam Reiver CEO and founder of
Floyd Upgrades - <a href="http://www.floydupgrades.com/" target="_blank">www.floydupgrades.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">"The biggest thing is to read up on how to remove a nut
and a saddle. Sometimes there could be some lacquer stuck to the nut, etc, and
it's easy to take a little chip of lacquer out. It's also easy to avoid this
and other little mistakes. There is a lot of info on our website on how to do
this safely and easily. There is a ton of great information on the web by a lot
of enthusiastic builders and hobbyists.
When installing (a bridge or nut), its better to not take enough off the
height than too much, so take your time, you will probably only be doing this
once or twice ever on your guitar... and if you do make a mistake and screw up
a nut or a saddle, its not the end of the world, 15 bucks and you're back in
business." -Dave Dunwoodie President of GraphTech Labs -<a href="http://www.graphtech.com/" target="_blank"> www.graphtech.com</a></span></div>
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Read Part one of this four part editorial series </div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://localmusicgearfeaturestory.blogspot.com/2012/07/feature-story-paving-way-to-your-dream.html" target="_blank">"Paving The Way To Your Dream of Becoming A Rock Star", Step One Buy A Guitar …</a></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Read Part two of this four part editorial series </span></div>
<a href="http://localmusicgearfeaturestory.blogspot.com/2012/07/feature-story-paving-way-to-your-dream_17.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">"Paving The Way To Your Dream of Becoming A Rock Star", </span>Step Two - Learn How To Play Guitar ...</span></a>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Posted 07/2012</span></span></span><br />
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Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-86641243720612618112012-07-17T04:32:00.000-07:002012-07-29T07:21:19.631-07:00Feature Story: Paving The Way To Your Dream of Becoming A Rock Star, Step Two - Learn How To Play Guitar ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; text-align: left;">Local Music Gear Feature Story </span><br /><span style="color: #999999; text-align: left;">Written By:<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1298756680"> </a></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1298756680">
</a></span></span></b><span style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-small; text-align: left;"><span class="size8 PalatinoLinotype8" style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype',serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="mailto:sean@localmusicgear.com" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Sean McCormick </span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></b></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-tP-NKHQ5hP-lQWbJk7VyGLzYiAB8CdmSQ3dsvsN0M4tuiHf8rpt6AAKkNOotot5TdM8K70HPYIsDUDY6V6I8qKpv1eWtthzyZozflI_waleiRqA6REhZbDbFZ71R1uw-2UFe8c6Jx0j/s1600/male_student_receiving_guitar_lesson_from_teacher_mon024111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-tP-NKHQ5hP-lQWbJk7VyGLzYiAB8CdmSQ3dsvsN0M4tuiHf8rpt6AAKkNOotot5TdM8K70HPYIsDUDY6V6I8qKpv1eWtthzyZozflI_waleiRqA6REhZbDbFZ71R1uw-2UFe8c6Jx0j/s320/male_student_receiving_guitar_lesson_from_teacher_mon024111.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">S</span>o you went out and picked yourself up a new guitar. Congrats! You have played it for a few weeks now and you are sick of the same old songs and riffs you constantly play over and over and over again. One of the many reasons that the average weekend warrior/hobbyist gives up playing guitar is a lack of interest. I don’t care who you are, if you are playing the same damn songs every time you pick up that guitar you are going to start to hate them within a very short period of time. One of the easiest ways of staying motivated with anything is constantly challenging yourself to become better. Most hobbyists do not have to gauge their ability to feel successful; for instance if you collect stamps you may feel you are at the top of your game from the get go, but as a musician there is a fairly steep learning curve and your level of expertise or talent is fairly obvious. Overall, your level of satisfaction may be the reason you stick with it or give it up.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">There are many tools you can use to push yourself in the correct direction. Videos, tutorials, books, gadgets, and lessons from a local music teacher all will help you discover to what level you will want to take your musical commitment. Most of us guitarists are real hard asses, free thinkers and just flat out do not want to be taught by another human being. I know myself that I would feel awkward taking guitar lessons in a class/educational environment, but this method is probably the best way to become successful in the shortest period of time. On top of that, when most of us think of taking music lessons we compare it to what a child would do for an after school activity. While that may be fair to say, at the same time you want to excel and possibly join a band so this may be the best way for you to start the learning process. If you have the time and are willing to spend a few bucks a week, I say take classes to either brush up on your skills or learn some new ones. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">For those of you that have a little more experience with a guitar and are at more of an advanced level, there are some amazing videos you can use to learn new tricks. Personally, I am a fan of Stevie Ray Vaughn. I think he is hands down the best guitarist I have ever heard. As a kid my father would be in the basement playing the entire Double Trouble album with his band and I could hear the cry of the strat faintly through the air ducts as I feel asleep. I knew every note by memory and I could go over it in my head but couldn’t translate that to the guitar. After getting frustrated, I was able to find a “learn to play Stevie Ray Vaughan guitar technique” VHS (VHS is like a DVD just not as cool). Not only did I learn the songs the way Mr. Stevie Ray played them, it gave me some insight on how he thought when writing, what scales he favored, even his picking pattern -- theses were all things I used to refine my style of playing. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">When it comes to reading, well they now have an app for that. Hopefully since you are reading this you will be open to using one of those rectangle things that have paper with words on them, better known as “books” to better your skill level. One of my all-time favorite musical education books is "1001 Chords." As a self proclaimed singer/song writer, I get bored, playing the same chords, the same way every time. This one book shows you how to play every chord, every possible way including alternate tuning and capo style playing. I tune most of my guitars a full step down and a few acoustic and classical to DADGAD tuning. By having this powerful tool--“the book”--I am able to experiment with different chord progressions and know what the chord is. For those of us that have or are currently playing in a band, there is always that moment when the question comes up, “hey man what chord was that last one?” and you have to look at the neck, do some math and figure out just what that chord might be. When using the amazing tool “the book,” it acts as a reference guide so for example you can say it’s an em7b sus 3rd and show your band mates different ways to play that chord on their instrument. I find I write a more layered songs where the chords just melt together when I use this tool, “the book”.</span></div>
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Equally important is deciding how you will learn to read your music. Tablature is a simple dot diagram showing what fingers hold down what strings to make a chord. Sheet music notation is typically a five-line staff with EGBDF as the lines and FACE as the spaces (from the bottom, on the treble clef). While it takes longer to learn than reading tabs, it allows you to vary your timing, add effects (like glissandos or arpeggios) and in general gives you more flexibility in charting a tune. Both are used a great deal, but most guitarists starting out learn the chords from tablature, then move on from there. <br />
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One of the obstacles a guitar player has to overcome is stamina. As a novice your fingers will feel tenderized and tired after just a few minutes of play. A seasoned guitar player will have built up finger calluses and strong finger muscles allowing them to play for extended periods of time without needing to rest. While you are in the beginning stages of your new hobby, or if you are picking up your long lost friend you've kept in the closet for a few years -- there are a few different things you can do to increase your ability to play for a longer period of time. <br />
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To start with use light gauge strings. This will kill your tone but your fingers will love you for it. I would recommend starting with 9’s (the high E-string is .009" thick) and after 2 months of play go to 10’s. I personally use <a href="http://www.kerlymusic.com/" target="_blank">Kerly</a> brand strings 11’s on my electrics and <a href="http://www.cleartonestrings.com/" target="_blank">Cleartone</a> brand strings 12’s for live performances and <a href="http://www.redstrings.com/" target="_blank">Red</a> brand strings 13's in the studio on my acoustics. You will find the gauge and brand that suits your playing style once you have developed and/or refined it. There are a ton of finger training tools on the market, my favorite are the finger grip exerciser by <a href="http://www.gripmaster.com.au/" target="_blank">Grip Master</a> that helps strengthen your grip and riff bands by <a href="http://rifftek.com/" target="_blank">Rifftech </a>that help you increase finger strength and speed. Both products are inexpensive and deliver quick results.<br />
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Just think, in a few months you could be on your way to playing better for longer periods of time. If you are focused you may even have the skill to join a band and/or write some original music. Guitar playing takes on a whole new meaning when you’re at the stage where you can sit down with an idea and make it come alive. So buy a book, take a class, practice, then practice some more--and Good Luck on your new adventure! <br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Posted 07/2012</span><br />
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<br />
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Read Part one of this four part editorial series </div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://localmusicgearfeaturestory.blogspot.com/2012/07/feature-story-paving-way-to-your-dream.html" target="_blank">"Paving The Way To Your Dream of Becoming A Rock Star", Step One Buy A Guitar …</a></span><br />
<br />
Read Part three of this four part editorial series<br />
<a href="http://localmusicgearfeaturestory.blogspot.com/2012/07/feature-story-paving-way-to-your-dream_29.html" target="_blank">Paving The Way To Your Dream of Becoming A Rock Star, Step Two - Upgrading Your Guitar ...</a><br />
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</div>Local Music Gearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16247365387835746272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1371929710738873740.post-82968425546362980892012-07-12T05:05:00.001-07:002013-09-24T10:46:22.124-07:00Feature Story: Paving The Way To Your Dream of Becoming A Rock Star, Step One - Buy A Guitar …<div style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #999999; text-align: left;">Local Music Gear Feature Story </span><br /><span style="color: #999999; text-align: left;">Written By: </span></span></span></b><a href="mailto:sean@localmusicgear.com" style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-size: small; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" target="_blank">Jac Harrison</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPlG2SSRs0NgIN1sDKURR3PpErzn2fPG7FHIlaDnCc8km6_40RfUjXby7kW2c1_ybh90swfdySGWIQrDtz-mqFwyriH3L8HBOopOG9DAlOv26s8xuqyIQENgB33Xf2stTJicVzfOe0hzol/s1600/buyig.bmp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPlG2SSRs0NgIN1sDKURR3PpErzn2fPG7FHIlaDnCc8km6_40RfUjXby7kW2c1_ybh90swfdySGWIQrDtz-mqFwyriH3L8HBOopOG9DAlOv26s8xuqyIQENgB33Xf2stTJicVzfOe0hzol/s320/buyig.bmp" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">S</span>o
you’re all set and ready to buy that new guitar: it’s a great feeling
knowing that you have the cash in your pocket and an idea of what you
want as you head out to your local music store. For most of us going to
the music store it is an awesome adventure--like going to a bar that
lets you sample every beer for free. One of the aspects of a
guitar-buying trip that we as musicians always forget is that the person
selling you the guitar is exactly that--a sales person. A very cool
salesperson, but one who is still looking to profit from your visit.
Normally the average person will do some research on an item before we
buy, but not so much when looking for that new axe. I know for me, going
to a music store is like being an innocent kid at the bunny ranch; I
want to play with them all and I could care less about their
imperfections. Let’s just say it’s any eye-popping, heart-racing
experience that I have sometimes regretted the next day.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">When
buying a guitar we should always have an idea of what we want, for
example acoustic vs electric, humbucker vs single coil, Floyd Rose vs
standard tremolo,etc. Much like shopping for a car, you need to know
what to ask for when you get to the dealer. If you are unsure of the
components you need to get your new sound, pick an artist that has the
sound you are looking to capture and get their gear list from their
website.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.allstarmusicacademy.net/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNIH_V7IjK-XILI1fSbCS_QL-p0F52VWLzC42rQvgi_Z1PWTRtqKxY6obxC9AdwFwWFQaqIW3c6h9ZYZtbecRgQqujl0HxmpXX1e8LG5SpsvF3YV6xqlqG7DfebB8D8uXTIRUPPNAqiX_B/s1600/allstar+468+x+60.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">After
determining what your needs are, go online and look at guitars that
have these components. So if you wanted a setup like Slash, you would
want to look at an LP style guitar with 2 humbuckers and a Floyd Rose
bridge; if you want a sound like Stevie Ray Vaughn's you would want a
Strat style guitar with three singlecoils and a standard tremolo. The
last thing you want to do is walk into a store and not know how to tell
your sales person what you want. You will more than likely leave with
what the salesperson recommended and that’s not always the best option
for you. If you shop at those big box super stores, you may end up
leaving with an item that your sales person gets a higher rate of
commission on as opposed to what you were really looking for.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">Finally,
you have located the guitar you wanted. You picked it up and played it
and without warning, “kazam!” it came to you. You have located the
guitar that is going to bring you to superstardom rockstarness. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">Just
like kicking the tires and checking the trunk for bodies when looking
at a car, there is a check list you need to do when looking at a guitar,
new or used, before making an offer. The very first thing you want to
do is check the intonation; this will let you know if the guitar needs a
setup. I do this by using a headstock clip on tuner. You start on the
low E string, pluck it open and let it ring out for 5 seconds. You then
press down on the 12th fret and make sure that the note is still an E on
the tuner and then again at the 24th if the guitar has 24 frets. If the
intonation is correct do the same for the rest of the strings. If the
intonation is off by more than a ½ step put the guitar down and look at
another, if it is off slightly you can negotiate a free set up with
purchase -- a setup should correct a minor intonation problem.</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">The
next step is looking down the neck to make sure that it is not warped
and that the truss rod is not over- or under-tightened. You do this by
standing up and holding the guitar’s body toward your face and pointing
the neck toward the ground while looking straight down the neck from
bottom to top. You are looking to see if the neck is wavy or out of
line. If it is put it down and look at another guitar. The neck should
have a slight bow to it; this is adjusted by turning the truss rod.
Never, ever adjust the truss rod unless you know what you are doing
since it could damage your guitar if you under or over tighten it.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">Next,
check out the hardware and electronics. Pick the guitar up and give her
little shake. If you hear something rattling around and you cannot
locate the source of it, put the guitar down and look at another one. If
she has no loose parts plug her into an amp and slowly turn each knob
without playing--listen for crackling and hum--then strum a chord and do
the same to make sure the knobs are functioning. The volume knob should
reduce the signal/volume to the amp without changing the signal/tone,
and the tone knob should change the signal/tone without changing the
signal/volume. Next make sure the pickup selector switch is working
without crackling or loss of volume between pickups. If there are any
electrical problems with the guitar you can negotiate it to be fixed
with purchase, just keep the original parts. By keeping the parts not
only do you know that the work was done, but if you ever resell the
guitar the next buyer may want them.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.fishman.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglDSyz-GUN35nqzE8BqUNvdmGnbxdD6BpGAhzsWzxHdQJUrvYfS3KNyKp3pHVP_wfcD05-UshyphenhyphenQIRcMw4umTNUazuN35QerQ_aqV1ECyLv-NQkHw8GflmsdJKVvOl9iu7G64DN3_Qgrq57/s1600/468x60+Infinity+Ad.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">So
let’s say everything with your dream guitar checks out and you are
ready to buy. I always do a side by side to make sure this is what I
want. Ask your salesperson what the next step up would be; for example,
if you are looking at a Mexican Fender Strat, ask to play the American
built version as well. This does a few things. It lets you play the
guitar your dream axe was meant to sound like and puts pressure on your
sales person. Buy asking to play the one step higher model will make
your sales person think that you’re not all that happy with the guitar
you are looking at and will help when negotiating price.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz8QcjAmEBn2ocNjhZb-phyphenhyphenUX6n730fvdphXHI5ms762tOk_brnp_LMLyOihLq8Vux6c4KhA-Oduz9_m24PrKxqF7YF8zut5XtlyzxWsIbjIMXHg1XEC_JfRGG9LP7MJpLUmRHOmyU3P3i/s1600/day+dreaming+rock+star.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz8QcjAmEBn2ocNjhZb-phyphenhyphenUX6n730fvdphXHI5ms762tOk_brnp_LMLyOihLq8Vux6c4KhA-Oduz9_m24PrKxqF7YF8zut5XtlyzxWsIbjIMXHg1XEC_JfRGG9LP7MJpLUmRHOmyU3P3i/s320/day+dreaming+rock+star.jpg" width="174" /></a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">Now
you have checked out this guitar from headstock to saddle and you have
become one with it. It makes you warm and fuzzy, almost giddy, but in a
rock star kind of way. Before you make an offer, take out your phone and
go to eBay and see what that guitar is selling for. If the price is
right, I would offer the sales person 65% of what they were asking and
take the cash out of my pocket, count it and hand it to my sales person.
I would not expect them to sell it to me for that price, but you never
know--it has happened before. My thought process is that I want a case
and strings for free with my purchase and I’m showing my sales person
that I am a buyer with cash in hand right now. After going back and
forth a few times and negotiating price with freebies -- buy that axe,
take her home and clean her up. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">The
first thing I always do is put a new set of strings on her and go
through her with a fine toothed comb to make sure the guitar is in full
working order. Now that she is all yours and the sweat from the last guy
has been cleaned off her, you are ready to name her, diddle her strings till
the wee hours, and pave your path to awesomeness. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Posted 07/2012</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Read Part two of this four part editorial series </span></div>
<a href="http://localmusicgearfeaturestory.blogspot.com/2012/07/feature-story-paving-way-to-your-dream_17.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">"Paving The Way To Your Dream of Becoming A Rock Star", </span>Step Two - Learn How To Play Guitar ...</span></a><br />
<br />
Read Part three of this four part editorial series<br />
<a href="http://localmusicgearfeaturestory.blogspot.com/2012/07/feature-story-paving-way-to-your-dream_29.html" target="_blank">Paving The Way To Your Dream of Becoming A Rock Star, Step Two - Upgrading Your Guitar ...</a><br />
<br />
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