Ern
11-14-2007, 11:50 AM
Hi! from 42 degrees south.
Tasmania to be precise.
Let's have no illusions.
I am an appallingly inept guitarist.
I sold my push bike and spent the money on a guitar when I was 14.
At the age of 52 I have now reconciled myself to the reality that I will never be a rock star and more importantly attempts made to play in the presence of other human beings are the most probable reason for my almost complete rejection by the female of the species. (But why the deaf ones as well? I wonder).
So it must be true love on my part, I am still infatuated with the instruments even if they have failed to bring me fame, fortune, unbridled sexual excess and unbridled sexual excess (or did I already say that already?)
In fact I should point out that any sex, excessive or otherwise, I may or may not have engaged in has been in spite of rather than because of my prowess as a guitarist.
But on the bright side, I have almost got a slow twelve bar in E under my belt now.
The "Gear Statement" follows:
Bolero Humming Bird copy (That's what replaced my push bike) with collapsed bracing behind the bridge, no strings and extra holes where I added a pickup and some pots. I promise I will make her playable again one day after all this was my first love.
Maton Sapphire Deluxe (Circa 1970) I spent my first (ever) months wages on this proud beauty and have never regretted it. IMHO the finest neck ever attached to a guitar.
Monterey something or other cheapy slim bodied acoustic with a piezo pickup. Sounds nice amplified but a bit dead as an acoustic.
Gibson Les Paul Studio. Battered but source of much pleasure. I'd always wanted a Les Paul and this one just followed me home one day. Then the wife beat me up for some strange reason.
Larrivee L10. Plain Jane of the Larrivee stable but with a beautiful voice. I went shopping with a budget of half what I paid for her but her voice was so complex and full compared to any thing I had ever heard until then there was no question that I would have her.
Oakridge (Korean) Dobro. I've added a Fishman pickup and fiddled with seating the cone and spider. It has a nice clean tone. I have a friend with a vintage no name Dobro with a lovely loose (not quite rattling) sound. He likes mine and I like his.
Cort (Strat shaped) I use as a test bed for my occasional experiments with winding my own pups. It has lots of extra holes and pieces hanging out of it.
Martin Backpacker. This thing must have been made as a joke but I can say I've got a Martin, even if it is a log of wood with a hole in one end and strings.
Mahalo Ukulele Guitar. A bright red miniature guitar. It makes me happy to play, a nice bright tinny tone. I keep this one next to the bed so I can just reach out and play whenever the mood takes me.
Greg Bennet (Samik) acoustic base with a piezo pup.
Roland GR-505 Synth controller. This turned up in a local second hand store and got me started pursuing 24 pin synth gear including Roland GM-70 Midi Controller, Korg Z3 synth, Roland U220 sound module and a Roland GR-50 (I know that's 13 pin but I control it with the GR-505 via a Roland BC-13 converter). I've got a lot of 24 pin gear on my shopping list still to go so if you've got any hanging around looking for a home...
Marshall MG250dfx stereo amp. It fell off the back of a truck (No it really did) I bought it cheap because the cabinet was shattered. I made a better than new box for it and its never looked back.
Pignose amp.
Various Ukulele's, an old English banjo, a banjo mandolin (shiver), a violin and a kazoo. The Kazoo is the only one I would claim any real mastery of.
Tasmania to be precise.
Let's have no illusions.
I am an appallingly inept guitarist.
I sold my push bike and spent the money on a guitar when I was 14.
At the age of 52 I have now reconciled myself to the reality that I will never be a rock star and more importantly attempts made to play in the presence of other human beings are the most probable reason for my almost complete rejection by the female of the species. (But why the deaf ones as well? I wonder).
So it must be true love on my part, I am still infatuated with the instruments even if they have failed to bring me fame, fortune, unbridled sexual excess and unbridled sexual excess (or did I already say that already?)
In fact I should point out that any sex, excessive or otherwise, I may or may not have engaged in has been in spite of rather than because of my prowess as a guitarist.
But on the bright side, I have almost got a slow twelve bar in E under my belt now.
The "Gear Statement" follows:
Bolero Humming Bird copy (That's what replaced my push bike) with collapsed bracing behind the bridge, no strings and extra holes where I added a pickup and some pots. I promise I will make her playable again one day after all this was my first love.
Maton Sapphire Deluxe (Circa 1970) I spent my first (ever) months wages on this proud beauty and have never regretted it. IMHO the finest neck ever attached to a guitar.
Monterey something or other cheapy slim bodied acoustic with a piezo pickup. Sounds nice amplified but a bit dead as an acoustic.
Gibson Les Paul Studio. Battered but source of much pleasure. I'd always wanted a Les Paul and this one just followed me home one day. Then the wife beat me up for some strange reason.
Larrivee L10. Plain Jane of the Larrivee stable but with a beautiful voice. I went shopping with a budget of half what I paid for her but her voice was so complex and full compared to any thing I had ever heard until then there was no question that I would have her.
Oakridge (Korean) Dobro. I've added a Fishman pickup and fiddled with seating the cone and spider. It has a nice clean tone. I have a friend with a vintage no name Dobro with a lovely loose (not quite rattling) sound. He likes mine and I like his.
Cort (Strat shaped) I use as a test bed for my occasional experiments with winding my own pups. It has lots of extra holes and pieces hanging out of it.
Martin Backpacker. This thing must have been made as a joke but I can say I've got a Martin, even if it is a log of wood with a hole in one end and strings.
Mahalo Ukulele Guitar. A bright red miniature guitar. It makes me happy to play, a nice bright tinny tone. I keep this one next to the bed so I can just reach out and play whenever the mood takes me.
Greg Bennet (Samik) acoustic base with a piezo pup.
Roland GR-505 Synth controller. This turned up in a local second hand store and got me started pursuing 24 pin synth gear including Roland GM-70 Midi Controller, Korg Z3 synth, Roland U220 sound module and a Roland GR-50 (I know that's 13 pin but I control it with the GR-505 via a Roland BC-13 converter). I've got a lot of 24 pin gear on my shopping list still to go so if you've got any hanging around looking for a home...
Marshall MG250dfx stereo amp. It fell off the back of a truck (No it really did) I bought it cheap because the cabinet was shattered. I made a better than new box for it and its never looked back.
Pignose amp.
Various Ukulele's, an old English banjo, a banjo mandolin (shiver), a violin and a kazoo. The Kazoo is the only one I would claim any real mastery of.