I've done my fair share, especially years ago, but the mods/hacks I've made (expermential, some great... others not so) were defintely a 'learning experince, only regret is a couple of axes I have which would be worth much more now if not hacked up.. but I use my guitars, not look at them.

: at a time when i was in dire straits, i sold a priceless Hauser to a student. (Actually it wasn't me, it was my husband that did it.) Would you beleive he (the student) came back with a pickup installed in it? I've seen people mess with original gibson f-soundholes and strats and les pauls from the fifties: adding & removing wah wah bars, etc just in general performing some type of defacement to them. this is a mojr blasphemy in my book, and one of the greatest types of guitar sins (however not the only type) that can be committed... we must also consider the childlike innocence of the student in perpetrating such crimes. yet ignorance of the laws is no excuse.

: could they not have consulted with someone first?

: or did they consult with some incompetent masquerading as an afficionado?

: needless to say it broke this old heart to see it.

: anyone have any mutilation/ defacement of classic guitars stories?

: to hear of someone else's sad experiences may make my own more tolerable

: thanks. ; )
:
: Lena Finley
: CEO
: US Guitar Conservatory

Hmm.I nearly made that mistake with my '78 Strat.I think the guy who did the job is also at fault! Instead of being greedy or cruel,he should've talked the young doofus out of it.
Ran across a guy in the local shop who wanted to install a D'marzio Super Dist. pickup in a '59 Gretch! The shop guy and I begged the schmuk not to do it. Eventually,the shop guy refused to mangle that classic instrument.As I left,the doofus said that a friend told him to add the D'marzio.I said,"tell your friend that I said...he's a FAGGOT!!"
Sorry 'bout the rant

: I have a guitar and amp to sell and have only a vague idea of what they're worth. Can somebody help?
:
: Guitar: 1977 Ibanez Johnny Smith (hollow-body electric)
: Amp: 1978 Fender Pro Reverb
:
: Both are in mint condition (literally) because both were used for a few years only while I took lessons and have never been used professionally - for the last 20 years they've been sitting in my closet.
:
: Any info you can give as to what I should be selling them for would be appreciated.
:
: Lowell
Lowell,
I emailed you before. I am interested in purchasing your ibanez johnny smith. Mine was stolen out of my car and the insurance co valued it at $1425.00 I hope this helps and I would purchase it as well. Thanks and please email me Dan

: I have an old Martin f-hole archtop. How do i mic it to produce a good clean sound? I have an in-hole condenser mic now...it comes out droney on the bottom and tinny on the top. What to do?

Hey Bird Dog... The mic might just be picking up what it hears-- boomy and muffled is what the inside of a guitar sounds like. You might try improving it with some EQ, but to really capture the sound of your guitar with a mic you need to do some careful listening (while somebody else plays your guitar) to find the best spot, and then put a mic there. I mean a mic on a boom. Contact and in-hole mics don't give you the sound of the strings very well. Shure puts out a brochure telling how to mic different instruments, maybe they'd send one if you called them. Which mic depends a lot on whether you're talking about live or recording. Those long, skinny condensers, the same ones that are used for drum overheads (Shure or AKG, or others) are good for recording but I'm not sure about live. Some players use two mics (maybe the one you have plus another out front to get the strings) but you have to be careful about placement to avoid phase cancellation.
Or you could buy my Stratocaster... just kidding. Anyhow, good luck!

dont waste your money save a bit more money and get a digitech gnx1 or gnx2

: What is a metronome? someone said something about one and i would like to know what it is

A metronome helps you keep time. It makes a loud tocking noise at a specific rate of speed. You can adjust what the speed is depening on how fast or slow you want to play.

Actually "..There and Back" was a word game and the right wording was "There and Beck"

cheers

Ah yes, you still cry out for attention and affirmation. It's great to watch, you second-rate troll.

: can anyone help me !!! , i need help!!! what pedal do i buy ?, why dont you get off your butts and make a decision for yourselves "!, you are all sheep, you should learn how to work things out for yourselves (you are probably spoilt rich kids anyway), get a life, all of you, and go play the guitar rather than talk about it. you are all second rate arseholes. love Bob

Wow, you know a'lot' of weird people... I'd find a new lot to hang with.

: hey you lot sorry if i insulted you, when i said "14" year olds i really meant younger people, but i meant the wannabe guitarists, ie that lot who only say they like rock music etc cos they know its fashionable, but theyre secret britney spears fans etc. also that lot who carry guitars around just for the hell of it and i've known people to carry EMPTY guitar cases around, just to pose. sad.

: I'm currently using a Fender Super Reverb RI and an older Pro Reverb. I use a Fulltone Fulldrive 2, Tubescreamer and a Fat Boost. I use the Fulldrive as my main OD then hit the Tubescreamer to kick it up a notch. The Fat Boost always stays on.

: When I turn my amps up real loud, say past 3-1/2 - 4 they sound like crap. On 3 they sound pretty damn good. It it because the amp is breaking up and affecting the tone??? Shouldn't sound even better louder??? Or is it just too MUCH gain for these type of amps??? Any thoughts or similar experience with this? Thanks!

It could be a couple of things.Strats tend to be very finiky about being overdriven anyway.The single coil pickups aren't really designed for high-output stuff. My Strat doesn't react well with the TS-9 or TS-10. With the DOD 250 or Boss OD-3...it sings!For overdrive stuff,I think Strats have to be matched up with the right amp(tweaked)and/or the right pedal.It's a real tricky issue.
If your amp is breaking up on 3,your master volume may be set too high.I would RELY MORE ON THE GAIN PEDALS instead.Oh yeah,also remember that Fender Twins and Super Twins don't break up well.They're really clean amps.But with the right pedals and some tweakng...she's
all the amp you'll need!
Hope this helps
P.S.you might want to check your speakers.What kind of speakers?? What kind of paper??

it is possible but its gonna cost you a chunk of change. probably (unless you're lucky) minimum $45 for a custom made nut and another $60 for a set of locking tuners. $105 later you're ready to go, it's just better to leave it alone.

dear elle, do not let this discourage you. there are 3/4 size as well as children's sized classicals that will be best suited to you for preliminary learning purposes. also i have had pupils as young as age five, able to make stretches that lumberjacks were unable to perpetrate. its not the size that matters, its what you do with it.

good luck.

Lena Finley
USGC