I'm waiting - again - for a quote from Jackson to come back to my dealer to see if I'm going to place a custom order. But, I guess if they won't supply the quote, I won't need to place a custom order, and will either settle for a stock model (which I may do anyway, depending on the quote) or look to another company.

Alan

So anyways...

One of the biggest reasons I haven't played in ages is the pain-in-the-ass factor of having to drag out my amp and bug everyone else in the house, and I need to get my chops back up (not to mention finger strength) so I've been steering clear of my acoustics.

Bearing that in mind, I've been considering dropping a few bucks on this so that I can noodle on the couch with the family and not bug the crap out of them while I do it:



http://www.ikmultimedia.com/irig/features/

Well, I ordered a set of these!

http://www.fender.com/products/search.p ... 0992114000

Ted, I also recommend those Korg Pandora things - I used to have one and they're fun.

I'm thinking about buying this American Strat with a Warmouth body. It costs $350, and the store owner, who is a close friend of my guitar teacher, says it's a much better guitar than a new Mexican Strat that costs $500. Does anyone have any thoughts on buying used guitar with a Warmouth body?

If it's the American electronics, I'd say go for it. Warmouth bodies generally seem to have a pretty good rep. Usually (although not always), some of the import components are not as good as those used on the American versions. And the finish work on the important parts like the neck is usually better on the American version. That said, imports today vs. the imports I grew up with? No contest - kids today don't know how good they have it! Although I do get a kick out of some of the guys who buy the imports and say "I saved a ton of money, and this import Brand X is just as good as their American models. All I had to do was replace the bridge, the pickups, the tuners, the nut and the pots..."

And from personal experience, I've never quite been able to get my MIM Strat quite *there* - and when I need to replace a pot and switch, the replacements weren't quite the same as the originals despite being orignal Fender stuff.

The only drawback I see to that guitar is that it's 21 frets (like my MIM Strat) - every time I pick it up, I seem to want to go for that high D that just isn't there...

Alan

Thanks Alan. The guy says that all of the electronics and the neck are American, so it seems like it's a good deal. The price is certainly right. And I've been looking for a nice surf green strat.

Now if I can get Mrs. Smiff to pose with it for my new avatar.

Funny - not long after posting that, I was reading another guitar board and found a slightly modified Clapton Blackie Strat for $1250. If I was in the market for a Strat (or a serious Strat, I should say)...

Alan

I went ahead and bought the Strat. It's a beautiful instrument. I had a Musicmaster when I was a kid, so the Strat felt familiar when I was playing it. I'm looking forward to bringing it to my lesson on Monday and seeing what it can do.

By the way, it's Sea Foam Green, not Surf Green. A subtle difference, but really nice looking.

Cool! Nothing like new gear.

This is one I'd have liked to have picked up if I'd had the money way back when. I've seen a couple come up for sale, but not at a price I was willing to pay.



PRS Whackmaster. Essentially, just a Custom 24 (which I have, in a very cool violin amber sunburst finish), but with appropriate Nugity.

Sorry for the crappy cell phone camera image.

Alan

Sometimes, you just need a good, cool, cheesy strap.



Alan

Too funny. Chris would buy that in a second.

I actually have a yellow submarine strap on my acoustic. Grace, my four year old, calls it my Beatles guitar.

I wanted the Beatles Abbey Road strap, but the tag says the strap can negatively affect a nitro finish, and I have one of those. I figure I'm just saving myself from an "oh shit" moment in about five years.

There's a whole line of Kiss straps, just like the Beatles - a first album pic, Rock and Roll Over graphics, Sonic Boom graphics, the rhinestone logo, a Double Platinum theme and Destroyer. And a whole line of picks that are about $8 - too much for my blood. I'll stick w/my $6 pack of Jason from Friday the 13th picks.



Killer tone.

Alan

In honor of this weekend's theme....

my band partner got one of these. he's having a problem with noise. haven't heard it myself but it kind
of sounds like the hum i would get with my old Rockman. for the price its a great buy. he also downloaded
a variety of other music apps that were killer. i joked and told him its just a matter of time before apps get
album credits. let us know how it works for you.

I tried a PRS GuitarBud with my Touch, but I had no luck getting sound. I need to find some sort of interface that will work.

In the meantime, when I want a cheesy little amp for noodling, I use this:





http://smokeyamps.com/

About $30. They mention on the site that they'll do a self-designed box - you send them a buck, they send you the box and instructions, and when you send it back, you get the $1 credited towards the amp. They also mention a custom artist series, but I didn't see anything about that.

You know, for a $30, 9-volt-powered amp, they're pretty frigging cool. Tend to be higher gain unless you keep the guitar volume way down. I haven't yet used one to drive a bigger speaker, although I need to.

Alan

Today was one of those days when I ended up with a guitar when I had no intentions of buying one. Popped into my favorite guitar shop. Just a quick drive-by before my son's soccer game. I've been wanting a shreddy guitar, and I've been wanting a Jackson Rhoads. Problem is, they don't make what I want in a stock US model, and my dealer isn't a Custom Shop dealer. So it's been a matter of do I settle for something else, order somewhere else, or do something different. Today, they had a guitar I've been wanting to try, and I liked it enough (and my manipulative wife said things like "Sounds good to me" and "You have money to spend..."), so Jackson lost a sale and I got this...







Ernie Ball Music Man John Petrucci model.

So now I can be like him!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evTTHS9hwvU[/youtube]

Alan

Can I strum yer strat next time we're hanging out in yer office? Thirty years later, and I can still remember five or six chords.

Nice guitar Alan. I played one of those when I was helping my son's friend pick out a guitar and it felt great. I'm pretty sure it sounded good too but it was Guitar Center so my ears were bleeding after being in the store 15 minutes.

This guy can relate...

Yes, that's pretty much what it was like. I don't really like stores that won't let you touch any guitar without permission and intent to buy, but I definitely understand where they're coming from.

Very nice Alan. You gonna model it next time I'm in Pittsburgh?