In a little rowboat

terrific story, great job...

amps...doesnt bigwagonwheel have a fender pro jr? Maybe he can comment on that...i know its a great low wattage recording amp...course, i like the Blues Junior a lot for the money (as a practice/small gig amp)...

On a side note...fuck some plumbing. Ive had to replace 2 burst pipes this week...memphis was not built for 10 degree weather...

Yay, you are going to love it. Nice name too! How exciting.

Will I be the first dork to beg for a pic?? Nice score, youll love it!!

If I buy a guitar this weekend I'm blaming all of you.

:devil

Now there's something I know something about. I have a CIJ Tele Custom with Bigsby and it's my number 1. After a good setup it plays like butter. A couple of thoughts on it (and Japanese reissues and Bigsbys in general):

 

(1) The electronics are absolute crap. You can wring some bite from the bridge pup, but the neck has really no personality. I replaced them with Seymour Duncan Antiquities. I also had the pots, caps, wire, and switch replaced and now it has some pretty good tone.

(2) The Bigsby bridge is essentially a Jaguar bridge and as such it sucks. It seems that someone was thinking about the best way to have the high e string slip off when you're playing and then designed the Jaguar bridge to most efficiently accomplish this. I replaced it with a Mastery bridge (thanks VCers for the heads up!) and I couldn't be happier (well, I could, but not about the guitar).

 

Anyhoo, I love this guitar, but it's not perfect out of the box -- you'll need to drop some cash on it to get it up to fighting speed, but it's quite a fighter once you do.

 

I'm generally annoyed with American Standard Teles as I tend to think that they are just hard-tail strats and have lost a bit of that tele charm. I'd check out the Mexican Tele, Nocaster if you've got the change, the Road-Worn tele, and the Hot-Rod 52 Tele.

sounds like a great guitar, man...and you are totally correct on the electronics, but i love CIJ/MIJ fenders as they are usually great players...

A mastery is an awesome upgrade, but not cheap...folks use mustang bridges on teles with bigsbys and jazzmasters as well...rollers work well too...as well as the standard T bridges like in this thread: tele forum

Teles are exceptionally easy to install bigsbys on to, so once you get a deal on the tele, then consider adding one on...

Speed racer: make sure you get a fair amount of playing time on a Mustang before committing...a lot of folks i know never get use to the shorter scale, and there are some things like string bends that can be tougher on the short neck...but I sure like your taste regardless! Come to think about it, ive never seen a mustang with a maple fret board either...teles, however...!!

Also, I know you are in a holding pattern, but I always recommend getting a new fender (or gibson) just before the feb retail yearly reordering period. This is when many retailers offer the best deals to clear he prior year's inventory (and there is a rumor of another fender price increase for 2010)

that an old epi casino, or a gibson 330 with p90s??

When my cats moved in they automatically gravitated to my Epiphone Cortez - it's like they have a radar for expensive breakables.

 

I'm actually starting to budget for an electric and a small amp as well. What kind of a good, small amp for home-playing would one of you get for $200-$300ish? If I were less-prudent, I'd run out and get this now, but I'll wait until I have save up the cash for this and just get something else in stock then.

my admittedly basic math skills lead me to believe that if you were planning on saving up that much for the guitar, then putting an extra 2 or 3 hundred into it, that you would have a total budget of 17-18 hundred dollars. If this is true i would urge you to consider spending a little more on the amp side of things, as the quality really jumps at about 400 dollars or so (this refers to prices on new gear). In any event, look for something which is all tube and has at least a 12 inch speaker.

Perfect. This is what I wanted to know. Every product has its price threshold where the quality jumps, and now I know what to budget for, for an amp.

 

My budget on the guitar would be $1500, unless Willie's had something great for $2000, or $2,250, or $2,500. I budget like Matt does.

Ghost is right about the amp...almost more important that the guitar in a lot of respects...guess it depends on the kind of music you play...

As I mentioned earlier...Fender Deluxe Reverb...really hard to beat. Find a used one, retube it, even better. Around $400, the Blues Jr is a great home/small gig amp...Vox ac15, peavey classic 30 other good options...Im a tube guy all the way, and while one tends to pay a bit more for it, its usually worth it...also, if you dig reverb, tube reverb tends sound a lot better than digital...

What have you looked at?

It's funny, isn't it? I have no idea whether they are paid on commission or not, but it seems flat out dumb to discourage anyone from NOT buying something at a store, simply because you question their ability to use it the way you would.

 

That being said, I'll probably head to a Guitar Center some time in the next few weeks and try stuff out; unless there's some sort of monster sale or monster deal on something I'm fixing to buy, I'm probably going to get the guitar and amp in June.

My drummer works in a GC here in town...somehow he has not yet been reduced to douche status. And, boy do I get the inside scoop.

They do in fact work on commission, as well as earning a paltry hourly wage for cleaning the bathrooms (generally) and vaccuuming and such. They are assigned sale quotas which are generally unachievable but a sense of desperation and competition exists regardless. I am told that the manager at this particular store actually gives 'gold stars' for fast closes and detention (cleaning the ciggy bowl) for being slightly late.

Most of the folks who started there were put in whatever dept had an opening, regardless of experience, and the only real rewarding feature of the job for most appears to be the assumption of 'social status' achieved by the employees by working in a music store. i am always entertained when I shop/visit...most of the sales folks are cutthroat as hell. I really feel sorry for them.

I would never consider a trade in deal there, and be VERY careful when considering used gear. Make sure you read the fine print on any sales or promotions, as they are geared to get folks in the door, for the bait and switch (often times anyhow).

They are a big company, like any other...with cogs and minions like any other. But a great place to demo gear to purchase someplace where you might get a deal.

In comparison (sort of) , Best buy folks are not on commission, and generally have the skills and patience to help you make a decent purchase...plus their clearance deals are awesome when they appear...

I thought we had moved on to gear porn, sorry, lost track of the subject matter.

:lol

maybe we should just open up a gear porn thread, so we can keep all the perving in one place.

OMG i read that as GAY porn thread...im tired...

:lol

Oh why do i even...

fucking great moss, he has a 2K budget for a guitar and amp combo and you suggest a $2600 amp...helpful! is it any wonder the 'what rig should i get' thread is always a disaster...??

Thank you for the information so far. Keep it coming. This is quite helpful. I have checked in a couple of times today and checked on some of the recommendations. This is such a new learning experience for me.

 

Does anybody have any thoughts on the Rickenbacher 360? I know the looks are not for everybody, but I love it. Just wondering about the sound. With all due respect, I'd rather not be stuck in the sixties sounding like George Harrison (at least not all the time).

 

And thank you for bringing Creston to my attention. That is just my style as well. If I can be patient enough to wait, that will definitely make the short list.

 

Edit: The old telecaster pickup set-up with the 2 single coils with the bridge pickup offset at like a 45 degree angle... what is the purpose of that? Any thoughts? I like the looks of that, but I realize that it is ultimately that sound that I'm looking for. If I did have a custom done, I would consider that set up if it is advantageous.

Ive owned a couple rics, including 360s...they are not the one trick ponies most think they are, however they cant do everything. The single coils can sound thin--some people are looking for that. Also, Rics have pretty slim and narrow necks, not to everybody's taste... As far as just sounding like Hari, consider that Radiohead uses them a bunch...

I have 2 Deluxe Reverbs, one customized...they have my endorsement, but again, they cant do everything...most folks dislike the lack of a gain channel or master volume, not I...

The angle on the pickup is strictly a tonal thing...adds brightness and fullness to the strings in the relative positions, as well as the copper plate and treble bleed cap...I also suspect the tele pickup angle allowed fender to use a pickup they already had on the tele, instead of designing a new one, and the angle kept the pole pieces aligned to the strings

2K budget is nice...Ill wait to get into the fray where everyone suggests their personal favorite guitar...ive seen too many of those threads go horribly wrong...

please remember that when going electric, the amp is AT LEAST half the equation...you simply cannot skimp here, and many guitars act very differently depending on what amp they are paired with...oh, as posted...

FWIW, many acoustic players find the most natural transition is to an archtop/semihollowbody type guitar...for guitars, best advice is to play as many as you can til you bond with one...

Come back when you have specific questions, my guess is we can be of more help at that point.

I gotta be honest...im pretty sure its tape on that guitar...

so, i suggest...tape...

Looks like a Peavey T-60 hanging up there. My first real electric guitar and I still have it.

Yup...great guitar, nice and heavy, cool electronics...i just havent fallen in love with the thin neck, but it sure is a fun guitar...better built than most american builders of that era, and a super bargain...

I havent updated this in a while...my live setup:

Kaoss pad is for samples and on the fly effects/synth, and is usually on a stand, as it is covering up a boss ps2 in the pic. The Aphex and DD-5 are for the guitar, the rest of the pedals are for vocals/Kaoss pad. Im running in to a personalized Fender Deluxe reverb with NOS tubes. Volume pedal actually controls the ecko rate on the space echo. Mic of choice is the Blue enCore 200.

My drummer uses a Kaoss pad as well. Im using a '63 Guild T-50, '88 Gibson Les Paul, and a '70 Martin D-18 with K&K pickup live for guitars, Fender Jazz bass, and Microkorg XL

My singer keyboardist uses my Akai Headrush for vocals, as well as an SPD-s sample pad/drum machine, and a Microkorg with a Fender Acoustisonic Jr

No point of listing all the toys in the studio now...so this is just the live rig im describing...

Fulltone OCD. Best one I have ever had.

wasnt i just saying that...kudos!

. Also, different compressors are good for different things and what works for country, doesn't work for rock, doesn't work for jazz. Speaking of which, a lot of Nashville players swear by the Boss CS-2, which you might be able to snag on Ebay.

 

 

100% correct...compression can be a tweak, or a full on effect. most of them ultimately sound different from the others...

only compressor i use live anymore is the EH soul preacher...very good at what it does, but wont do everything...

super twin=godzilla

yeah it's a pretty nice guitar. i like it unplugged a whole lot. it sounds nice through my little 10 watt amp, but through my 40 watt Fender it has ungodly feedback...any tips for damping the feedback? it sounds nice when it isn't just wailing like a dying banshee. i'm not used to playing a true hollow body guitar.

first thing id try is black tape over (actually UNDER looks better) the f-holes...get some distance from the amp and face away from the thing at all times...i bet that pickup sounds pretty sweet though, looks like an old version of a p90 rail...I had an epi Casino that i had to put foam inside to keep it down, but that killed it acoustically...

No, the thread is about why there is a no video rule, and people's questionable reasoning for trying to justify breaking that rule...and Ill again propose that cellphone vids of wilco are not the culturally relevant records people are trying to make them...the thread is trying to assign too much value to a practice used mostly to establish proof of experience, and not as a means of intense reflection or study...if they were 'notes' where are the books, documentaries, and essays that should have been written as a result...

As a regular concert goer, I cant imagine even taking my attention away from the stage for even a 4 second photo, let alone holding up a vid cellphone...the experience is the emotional connection to the music and the musicians, anything else is a shallow substitute for that...

A lot of Guild chatter at the moment. I'd love to get a chance to play around with an older bluesbird. I'm under the impression that for much less than a les paul, you get a great, yet similar guitar. Did they make them with p90s only? Any info about them would be appreciated!

 

Decent guild site, its run by a friend of a friend

 

http://goodeguitars.com/

no sure on that other than they are terrific guitars

ask here

I hear you. Thanks for taking time to explain.

 

I guess since Wilco has not come out to give a reason why, we can't know what they think, but what you've written makes perfect sense.

 

I've never posted on youtube, but it seems the ones who do post videos (upper limit of 10 minutes), don't do it for financial gain. And could it have bearing on the earnings of musicians when I wouldn't pay money to look at it?

 

It is different from filming in a movie theatre because you are actually copying someone else's work in the same medium, frame by frame, and potentially spoiling a narrative arc.

 

This sort of video scrapbooking ("on an imperfect medium" to quote Tweedy in the Youtube Preferred B posted), defines the times we live in now, and may well become cultural artifacts in the future.

 

I come from a culture where artistic expression has, for centuries, been about referencing those who came before rather than about originality. But having been educated in the West, I understand the Western concept of "copyright" because it rewards innovation. Even when ideas come from other ideas -- in collage, as pastische, through sampling, or what-have-you -- these sometimes resonate in a different way, and are equally creative.

 

I did hear about the drunk woman in Memphis, but all tapers are not so disrespectful. I enjoy (without guilt!) some of the videos that are out there. It is interesting how people editorialize what they tape, and choose to post: things they think are significant or impressive to their friends, the semiotics of identity, etc.

 

I am a late-blooming American (naturalized when I was 33), so think it is all very very interesting in an "Americana" sort of way.

 

I feel bad that I like something that Wilco doesn't allow.

 

So maybe really, I am looking for absolution rather than explanation.

Very interesting indeed...I guess I didnt consider that you might have a decidedly non-american background, and so I might have considered you original post more of a complaint than an interrogative...where did you naturalize from? I applaud your natural inquest and academic interest in the subject.

I understand the need to reference the past and one's roots, but there is a difference between scrapbooking and the current practice...there is something a bit too self serving with the majority of the filmers posting...and Ill admit my guilt for enjoying such videos, bootlegs, etc...and I am a musician as well and welcome the medium that makes my work accessible to the world...but not at the expense of my livelihood. I understand and respect the individual requests of my favorite artists, its a shame so many people do not.

As far as absolution goes...well, I can think of plenty of other things in the world to be upset about instead of videotapers at a wilco show...haha

Hmmm... I think a lot of people who make ethnographic films that attempt to document live performance in different cultures would argue this point.

 

 

 

Really? People would watch these youtube posts instead of going to live shows? Every time I watch one of these badly filmed concert snippets, it only stokes my Live-Wilco craving. This year has been absolutely fanatical for me, going to six Wilco shows around Europe. Spending way too much of our recession money.

 

I bet the same people who look these things up to watch them are the ones spend the most on concert tickets. The same way that people who illegally download spend the most on music. (See article in The Independent here.)

 

If you watch enough of these, you get a sense of the lexicon. They are what they are. These are the times we live in. Ipod Cyborgs inhabit the earth; this is how they perceive reality. (If a tree falls in the forest and it isn't on Twitter, did it really happen?) On some level, maybe we need to flow with the Tao.

 

Some arguments that convince me so far are: 1) The person filming is not living their life in the moment. And, 2) it is annoying having someone in front of you holding up their cellphones and obstructing your view.

 

I am glad JT rants about it, because that does help keep the filming to a minimum; but I also love when people capture some of his witticisms at shows that are too far flung for me to get to.

 

So conflicted! Maybe I will bring it up in therapy.

I was not trying to provide fodder for debate, more trying to express my understanding of tweedy's response...and personal preference...however...

I would argue that producers of 'ethnographic' films are spending money and pondering ramifications in regard to the impact of and reflection on the work...to compare the drunk bitch with the cameraphone in memphis to them is laughable. Also, if you are talking about cultural documentation similar to Nat Geo, most of those 'culturally relevant' arts are considered public domain in other cultures, and do not deal with the very complex and justly protected institutions of copyright and intellectual property. I think you are assigning more worth to you tube than it may be due...do think going to the movies and filming a motion picture is right??

In addition, if you think the people illegally downloading music are the ones ultimately paying the most legally, well, of course--they are the music fans in each case...there is little reliable data available however to indicate what percentage of folks dont do both. Threre is little difference in what is going on now, and what did with people taping LPs, burning Cds, etc. I do believe there has to be a balance on the free availability of bootleg video in particular...I can see your point about it piquing interest to see a show, but it more likely diminishes the desire to see one for real in the casual or unfamiliar fan. A person should have the right to his own image as well...

Bottom line for me is that no matter how much an artist gives or produces, itll never be enough for some people...we live in a culture of entitlement and expectation...we expect too much of people and celebritize everything to the point where the lines between public and privilege are constantly blurred...we too often forget what is special about uncommon events, and trade connection and interaction for documentation and bragging rights.

in a nut shell, i think jeff realizes the distraction and disruption of the connection with an audience that occurs when a sizable section of the crowd is simply holding up cell phones to record instead of actually listening. Being a performer requires an interaction with the audience, which is somewhat personal. Its also incredibly rude and insensitive to fellow audience members when folks do this, and the price of a ticket is representative of the right to witness the show and be part of the group dynamic...ticket price does not entitle one to document or 'own the rights' to the music performed.

Having been at the 10-4-09 memphis show, i certainly understand the reaction. And I can understand your point about documentation, but disagree that these 'mini' films are equally about the filmer and the filmed. It is my opinion that if someone feels the need to document their feelings and reaction to a wilco performance, they should create a new piece of work representing that feeling--that is art. Otherwise it is theft.

I also appreciate the argument that if there are a surplus of videos and bootlegs out there, it lessens the likelihood that some people will actually invest in the price of a ticket to attend.

Good to hear! Care to reveal your sources??

um sorry...sources??

Ooops I see you posted that before, my bad.

That's an absolutely beautiful guitar. Have you received it yet?

have it and LOVE it...first gig with it friday!