BigWheeledWagon

Thanks for all the kind words. I'm really excited with the final results. Not only does it look great, but it sounds amazing. I don't know if it's the leather pickguard allowing for less dampening than plastic or the tonal quality of the chrome parts or the quality of the tone wood, but when the guitar is played unplugged, it resonates and sustains like a semi-hollowbody. I was really surprised the first time I played it. When plugged in, the new electronics have made a real improvement in the tone (as have the aforementioned increased sustain and resonance). I installed a mid-range boos

It's finished (well, mostly -- still need to work on the intonation a little, and I will be replacing the neckplate when I finally get my custom engraved one). Here are a few pics: Oh, and the pickup covers, bridge, etc. are chrome even though they look a little black in the photographs. The knobs are chrome with mother of pearl tops.

In my own personal experience here in Nashville, it was just as hard to get Ryman tickets two years ago as it was this year. In fact, I did a little better this time around. Same with Jeff solo -- tickets did not last long at all. Maybe Wilco is just more popular here, or perhaps it's the size of the venues Wilco/Jeff has played here (and it does seem that generally shows at the Ryman for most any band tend to go pretty quickly).

This is good news indeed so long as it doesn't affect the Ryman show the following night.

Yeah, I think the "How can I join Wilco?" thread pretty much made this same point beautifully. In all fairness, though, I do recall seeing another how to find the loft thread this week (in fact, it's on page 3 and going strong now), so maybe it was in order. I say we defer to ction's judgement on this issue.

Since Jazzmasters are notorious for problems such as these, I wouldn't be surprised if someone out there is selling custom trem arms to remedy this issue. There's a pretty solid market of Jazzmaster custom stuff. I think one option for you would be to try bending your current arm out away from the body using clamps, if possible.

I love this album, but it is also the only album where I almost feel guilty listening to it. It feels like spying on someone's dreams or something. It's just so emotionally open and uses a language that seems to take more from the subconscious than the conscious. Beautiful, depressing, amazing . . .

As I'm approaching the end of my strat reconstruction project, I find myself with quite a few left-over parts (body, bridge, knobs, a switch, pickguard, neckplate, tremolo cover, etc.). So, I've decided to take the parts I have left over from my old strat when I finish rebuilding it and using them to construct a second guitar just for fun and practice. I've already managed to grab a functional neck -- it looks like a neck from a Fender Swinger/Arrow/Musiclander, but it appears to be from a Starcaster (not Fender's attempt at a semi-hollowbody, but the cheapo "Starcaster by Fender" that Fende

Just an observation: One of the "rescuers," the physicist, was named Daniel Faraday. Michael Faraday was a physicist/chemist who first discovered electromagnetic induction. The hatch, of course, was a giant electromagnet of sorts, and several characters have mentioned strange magnetic fields, etc. on the island. Michael Faraday also hypothesized that magnetism can effect light. Daniel Faraday mentioned that light on the island seemed different. Michael Faraday was also involved in the creation of one of the first transcontinental underwater cables (used at the time for telegraph transmis

"In a Future Age." The producers must love Wilco.

Oddly enough, it's that very interview that gave me the impression that O'Rourke's having much of a future role in Wilco was unlikely. Jim was all over A Ghost is Born but barely contributed since. Jeff's characterization of O'Rourke as his "friend" and "supporter" suggested to me that his role was no longer that of a collaborator, even though Jeff felt very close to him as such. Jeff mentioned viewing him as a mentor. It seems that Jeff has always had someone around that serves as sort of a mentor/collaborator until that particular phase runs its course, and I think O'Rourke's phase has d

You know, my initial impression when Nels joined up was that he would certainly be a temporary member, especially given his own statements on his website, which indicated that he considered himself a bit of hired gun. Also, it seemed that he was such a strong musical personality that he would need to have serious input in the direction of the band, but Glenn seemed to have taken over Jay's old role as Jeff's main musical partner. After seeing how the band has developed since then, though, I really get the feeling that Nels has become an integral part of the band and that Jeff is willing to l

There is a huge difference in the tones produced by a tube amp and a sold state amp. For most purposes, vacuum tubes are a dead technology, but for guitar amplification, nothing has improved upon the good old fashioned tube (in my humble opinion). Transistors are more efficient from an electrical standpoint, and they don't heat up the way tubes do, but they lack the "warmth" of tube technology. Solid state technology provides a very clean sound, if this is what you want. They don't really do much to the sound of your guitar other than amplify the signal, but this can sound "cold" to some (

I just got a shipping notification from Warmoth for the guitar body. It should be here in about a week. The only problem now is that my stepmother got the pickguard for me for Christmas, and it is still on backorder, though it is supposed to ship on Friday. If it doesn't ship, she's going to order from a site that actually has the pickguard in stock and can ship immediately. The engraved neckplate still hasn't arrived yet after the previous debacle where they shipped it to the wrong address but I can make do with the original (oh, and another company I ordered a custom trem bar -- chrome t

That's because the man has finally gotten to you.

Yeah, the news-folks around here deserve a lot of credit with really doing a good job letting people know the exact track of the storm. It was astonishing to see how specific they were forecasting the areas -- had they not specified that the storm was heading right for West Meade, I don't know that we would have taken shelter, but when you see a radar map with the street names around you and a big black radar splotch heading your way, it's pretty hard to ignore it.

So, with all the various guitar restoration projects going on around here, there has been a great deal of talk about replacing tuners. People have expressed preferences for various styles, etc., but so far I've opted to stick with the stock tuners that came with the guitar/neck. Here's my question: do they really make that much of difference or are they really just a matter of aesthetics? I'd love to hear some thoughts about the various advantages of different tuners.

We were at out neighbor's house watching Tennessee beat Florida at hoops and had to head down into their crawlspace for a while. I've never seen the color black on the radar before, so when it showed a black streak heading straight at our neighborhood and the sirens went off, it was pretty freaky. When we got home later in the evening, a section of our fence had blown over. We had another tornado warning around 1 a.m., and it rained so hard that water got into out crawlspace and shut off our water heater. The roof, which we are having replaced in 2 weeks, was unharmed, so we will still be

In my last post, I went over all the logical reasons to go through with the trade, and it sounds like you have certainly considered all of these reasons and more before starting the thread. Still, you are hesitant to pull the trigger. Your brain is telling you to get the Jazzmaster, but your heart can't seem to let go of the Jumbo. I've got to change my recommendation on this one -- stick with the Jumbo. It sounds like you have a guitar you absolutely love. It doesn't matter if it's a Mexican-made Strat; if you love the guitar and it feels right, nothing else can replace it. Sure, there

From what information I can find, a '77 Jazzmaster (year of my birth as well) is worth b/w $2,200 and $2, 300 -- of course, there are a lot of variables, and custom finishes would raise the value even more . A new basic Advanced Jumbo goes for $2,000, and you paid less than that. As noted before, a new Jumbo would be pretty easy to come by. Vintage Jazzmasters -- well, not so much. You noted that the Jazzmaster is your favorite electric guitar out there, and you can get it in a straight-up trade for a less valuable guitar that can easily be replaced. As great a guitar as the Jumbo is, I'm

Thanks for the advice. I will look up the custom cover on ebay, and I was really considering the antiquity pickups, so you just may have swayed me on that decision. It will probably be a while before I get around to this project (at least until I finish the current one), but I will be able to take my time and look for deals that pop up. For now, the Dot is an okay guitar -- Epiphone did indeed skimp on the setup, but I did a pretty thorough set up after I got it. The frets are actually in good shape, but I will probably need to get a new nut. I'll check out the site you recommended for el

Not as difficult as you might think. For your first time, I would recommend practicing soldering some before jumping in there, but you don't really need any past experience in electronics. As you can see from all the posting from a.miller and me, building/customizing your guitar is a lot of fun and strangely addictive. It's a great feeling to have a guitar that is unlike any other and is perfectly suited to your taste.

I know that putting tremolo on a hollowbody is a good way to crack your guitar. Is there any danger of a bigsby cracking the top of the semi-hollow Dot, or will the placement over the solid center of the guitar take care of that risk?

A bigsby would be pretty cool. Nice call. I just may try that.

I lived in Memphis for four years, and in all fairness, it doesn't take much to get you shot there. Seriously, though, I will not be dealing with these folks again once my order is completed. I would have tried to just cancel the order, but I am truly terrified to think about how much they could screw up trying to refund the money into my paypal account.