Quick summary of what's new...
Ok I lied there is a little guitar building talk in this one...Steve Smith's guitar is done and it sounded awesome at his show. I got three new clients for guitar building--two Tele thinlines and a P-bass. I'm up to #58 on builds, although one (#53 Thinline Jazzmaster) I technically haven't cut from the blank yet, so perhaps I should shift the numbers around...
Thinning the herd. I took this picture when I bought a new bed (oh that's also new BTW), and had to move things around. I decided to group all my guitars and basses together (minus the jazz bass which was at Twon's studio) and I got this cluster of "goodness". Or "excess" if you wanna be a dick about it.
At any rate I counted 23 in this photo. That's 3 bass guitars (P-bass, 5 string jazz, and an acoustic), 4 acoustics (the Silvertone and Weissenborn on the wall, and my classical and Taylor acoustic), 2 archtops (Gibson ES137 and Epiphone Casino), 3 carved tops (wine red Gibson Les Paul studio, honeyburst Gibson Les Paul Standard Plus, and a Ruby Red Paul Reed Smith Rosewood McCarty), there's the 77 Gibson RD, and...um lost count already. The rest were thinline Teles and Strat-types that I built, although one is an Ibanez 7 string, and another is a Strat made from actual Fender parts.
So considering I have a few in the works to add to this load (1 piece ash body, the Lacewood thinline, and the 70's "The Edge" Black Strat ), I thought I probably should lighten the load on ones I haven't played in a while, or that don't have sentimental value to me.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah...cleaning house" you say...well this is a big deal for me. I've finally switched that switch in my head that always wanted tons of guitars to the switch that wants a couple really good ones that I will always get excited about. Not to say I need to pick and choose from my collection only, nor have the need to ditch them on principal of cleaning house, but really more of finding my #1 and the 2-3 others that make me "me". I think it's gonna be hard to let go of the PRS and the ES137 since they are awesome recording guitars, and my #1 Sunburst Strat and my first Tele build for sentimental reasons, but others like my Les Paul studio, and one or both of the Korina strats could go. The tough thing is that I don't think it's a buyers market right now, so even if I wanted to, I might not be able to clean house unless I accepted taking a loss in value for them.
So that's new. Stop being a guitar hoarder James. You have too much gear for not-enough-shows or recording sessions.
Speaking of recording...I bought an iMac. I switched teams, per se. I'm impartial to it because I like my PC. I know how it works and how to find out how to make it do what I want it to do. But I do like the all-in-one design of the iMac. It's streamlined, much like my life and my gear and my house need to be. But I bought it specifically for recording. And I'll be getting on that soon...hopefully in the next 5 years at this pace...
The quest for tone is still going too. I have my Dr Z Maz 38 amp, which I feel is a keeper. I bought a 2x10" cabinet for it plus this fancy speaker splitter they recommended. I still have the TC electronics G-system and a plethora of pedals to tinker tone with (BB Preamp, Visual Sound Double Trouble). I also bought a Mesa Rectifier Recording preamp. It's cool. It reminds me of my "metal" years. But it's not for me. I need to flip that purchase and get something else. Still got the other two rigs too. Fender Blues Deville --I love the 4x10 and the clean 60watts, but I don't need it really. Mesa Heartbreaker -- I've been cycling Mesa amps out over the years and still haven't found "the one". I might have to take a loss on that one as they're not nearly as popular right now. Even my bass rig (Mesa Big Block 750) needs to be replaced. Smaller and lighter is the key.
And having all this gear with no band is a waste. The only way I justify it is that I'm back to taking guitar lessons again. Seems weird. I started playing guitar in 7th grade at the age of 13. Without divulging my age, let me just say I have some years on this hobby of mine. Years! I remember my first lessons at Guitar Trader with Jeff Bishop. He taught me a lot and got up up to theory, but I branched out on my own self learning when I started playing in bands and couldn't afford it anymore. In college I worked at a sheet music store where I met a lot of the guitar teachers. Rob Bachman and Robert Totty where great references on learning, but I ended up only taking lessons from the classical guitar teacher Gary Tuttle. I only lasted a bit due to finances but his lessons got me interest in classical playing again. I went at least ten years without interacting with another teacher, but my friend Mike Vella introduced me to his teacher Coire Walker and the three of us jammed at my studio a few years back. Losing the studio and Coire moving to New York thwarted any further studies or jam sessions with him.
So now here I am--years of playing and back to lessons. Why? I was wowed by my teacher. 'Nuff said. Billy Joe Clements is an awesome country guitarist and shreds like any metalhead guitarist, but with tone, style, melody AND flair. I caught a few shows at the Riviera Steakhouse with his band Billy Joe and The Roosters and was blown away but how clean his playing was and how quick he moved. I was never a country fan but Billy Joe reminded me of the talent in country guitarists and the chicken pickin' style and simple yet flashy lead work. Chet Atkins and even Brad Paisley now grace my ipod on frequent rotation. So now every Sunday is learning lead work and theory from Billy Joe.
http://www.reverbnation.com/theroostersmusic
So...in the future when I say "quick summary", don't believe me. It's also 2am now. Ugh. Goodnight
