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Upgrade Your Good Little Amp to GREAT (Pro Junior, Super Champ XD/X2, Blues Junior, etc.)
Upgrade Your Good Little Amp to GREAT (Pro Junior, Super Champ XD/X2, Blues Junior, etc.)
You may have noticed that over the last decade or so Fender has released
some cool little tube amp designs, like the ever popular straight-up tube amps the
Blues Junior and the Pro Junior as well as the tube hybrid Super Champ XD and
X2. All of these amps have a club
friendly 15-20 watts through either a pair of EL84’s (The Blues and Pro Jr.) or
6V6’s (the Super Champs). This is the
exquisite power section of the famous AC-15 or Deluxe Reverb … a VERY good
platform on which to build a club-sized tube amp, and on their own these little
amps sound quite good, but to heck...
Drip Edge Fender Amp Years of Production
Drip Edge Fender Amp Years of Production
So, it just happened to me again yesterday, someone said their drip-edge
Bassman was a 1968 because “that’s the only year they made drip-edge
amps”. [Buzzer sound] Wrong!
And by the way, just in case you
don’t know, the term “drip-edge” refers to the aluminum trim surrounding the
grill cloth on the earliest silver-face Fender amps (see highlighted drip-edge
in the photo above). So, let’s talk
drip-edge years of production. Are y’all
ready to settle this question once and forever?
Good, then let’s go!
Okay, to be fair, dude WAS...
Good Grief: Another Great Guitar at Goodwill!
Good Grief: Another Great Guitar at Goodwill!
So … After my initial blog about the 1957 Strat at Goodwill, I’ve had
numerous inquiries as to if that was real or just a hoax; I assure you it was
real. Man, the truth is, Up until that
time the Goodwill auction site was totally off my radar as good hunting ground
for vintage instruments. But ever since,
I’ve been keeping my eyes on that site.
Here is a super clean 1959 Gibson Melody maker that just sold for a very
reasonable price, check it out!
http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewitem.asp?itemid=33278912
It was listed as “Gibson Burnt Coffee Electric Guitar-...
Best Way to Clean & Protect Your Fretboard/Fingerboard (Coconut oil is the key)
Best Way to Clean & Protect Your Fretboard/Fingerboard (Coconut oil is the key)
I’m reading an advertisement from a fret protectant product by Zymol called
“Bridge”; the advert says EXACTLY what I want to say, and so I’ll repeat it
here word for word:
“Bacteria is formed by the sweat, salt
and acids from your hands entering your fret board. When this bacteria no longer has you as it’s
life support it consumes the next best organic material … your fret board
wood! The result is discoloration, loose
frets, a slime-yeast build up and poor sound quality”
Boy … sounds like something to avoid, doesn’t it? Let’s talk about that.
First, I’ll...
Paul McCartney, the Ultimate Guitar Gig
Paul McCartney, the Ultimate Guitar Gig
I’ve been “retired” from the road for over 20 years now. When our first daughter was born I decided that
being home to be a husband and father was more important than being a road
warrior. That daughter is now out of
college and more-or-less on her own, but my wife and I have a new little girl
who just started kindergarten, so again, I have a pretty good reason for still
keeping my little lily white hiney home.
But yesterday I was listening to Paul McCartney on Pandora while driving
and it hit me; if Paul were to call me out of retirement, I’d say yes without...
Mint 1957 Fender Strat for Sale … at Goodwill!
Mint 1957 Fender Strat for Sale … at Goodwill!
Howdy friendly guitar friends! So,
any of you who know me know that I’ve always got my guitar “deal radar” up;
man, I LOVE finding gems at pawn shops and yard sales. But, Goodwill?
I mean, sure, we’ve all picked up some cool stage clothes at Goodwill …
maybe even a pseudo-vintage microphone.
So, how about a near mint 1957 Fender Strat? Impossible you say? Well right now, as I pen this blog, one is up
for sale on Goodwill’s auction site, I kid you NOT!
http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewitem.asp?itemid=32448108
With four days to go in the...
Yamaha G50 / G100 – Maybe the Best Sleeper Amp Yet
Yamaha G50 / G100 – Maybe the Best Sleeper Amp Yet
Okay gang, as you all know, I’m ALWAYS on the lookout
for guitars and amps that I consider “sleepers” … you know, they are awesome,
but somehow the awesomeness has been undetected and so they can be bought “for a song”. Today’s entry is the Yamaha G50 and G100 amps
of the late 1970’s - 1980’s. I had one
come through my shop, and it turned out the only problem it had was a tired
speaker. With a new WGS ET65 in her, she
was a superb clean amp. I’m going to
keep this short (I promise), but let’s talk just a little bit about why these
are cool and VERY...
The Gibson ES-125 – Sleeper Guitar Alert!
The Gibson ES-125 – Sleeper Guitar Alert!
Several months back I “accidentally” acquired a 1958 Gibson ES-125TD, I
had no plan to purchase it … it came and found me; I have grown to flat-out
LOVE that ol girl, and I just gotta gush!
First a (very) quick bit of history. The hollow-body P-90 equipped ES-125 was
considered by Gibson to be a “beginner” electric guitar, think of it sort of as
their version of a Fender Musicmaster/Mustang/Duosonic, etc. The guitar was first introduced in 1941but
none were made from late 1942-1945 due to WWII.
From there, the guitar stayed in continuous production until 1970/71...
Digital, the Future of Electric Guitars?
Digital, the Future of Electric Guitars?
So, I just finished covering the Summer NAMM show here in Nashville for
Vintage Guitar Magazine. I’ve been
attending the NAMM shows for decades now, they are where manufacturers of
musical stuff show off their latest creations in hopes of drumming up
sales. For us guitar players, this year’s
show was interesting in as much as there was a notable divide between the folks
offering up decidedly vintage style guitars, like the historic models from
Fender’s Custom Shop, and those offering all-out digital guitar-like
thingies. Let’s talk about that!
Digital...
How To Adjust (Set) Pickup Height on a P-90 for ULTIMATE TONE!
How To Adjust (Set) Pickup Height on a P-90 for ULTIMATE TONE!
Wow! So, this has turned into part
four in this series:
How
To Set Pickup Height on a Stratocaster for ULTIMATE STRAT TONE! How
To Set Pickup Height on a Telecaster for ULTIMATE TELE TONE! How
To Set Pickup Height on a Humbucker for ULTIMATE TONE!
But man, it was brought to my attention that I totally forgot about the
lowly old P-90s! Well, let’s rectify
that situation!
Once again, I need to make it clear that these are my personal
recommendations. You may be going for
something totally different, and as such may want to totally...