PLayed so many guits today, my fingers are killin me

[JeffB]

Today I decided to check out few shops...I'm kinda on the lookout for something...but just had a day to spend fueling the GAS fire.

First of all, I gotta say used Gibson prices are outta control. ESPECIALLY for Norlin era guits. I went to one shop that had a bunch of Norlins (including a killer looking 79 deluxe with triple minis, and 73 deluxe with factory standard buckers)..they all had a "ask for price" tag on them. When I saw they were selling late 90s Paula standards for just shy of 2 Gs, I didn't even bother with asking.

High Points of my day

That same shop had some KILLER USA Jacksons. I ALMOST got GAS for this sunburst SL1 they had. They alos had a bunch of Old Charvels...M1s, 2s, 3s, etc. Very cool 80s stuff.

I damn near pulled out the CC on a 80s Kramer HOT PINK striker. Gorgeous and in great shape. Only reason I didn't? recessed Floyd...YUK.

MIJ Squiers from the Early 80s. Those friggin Japanese know how to build a tight axe.

A super toneful, highly resonant early 90s CSB Paula Standard. MOJO! Best of all the paulas I played. It just needed too much work. Needed a re-fret and a new nut,new eectronics.. and some doofus put black grovers on it I know I could got them down sev hundred, but just didn't want to put the money into it.

One of those Baker guitars from Ed Roman (looks kinda like a PRS) Korean made I'd wager, previous owner put a JB/Jazz in it. Build quality was EXTREMELY good. It was feather light, and was a phenomenally good playing and sounding axe...very much reminded me of a PRS. Just needed some new pots and a better bridge pup I'd seriously consider buying a new one!

Dean USA Hardtail. OMG...what an OUTSTANDING instrument. It was barely used, and I still may go back for this thing cos the price is just a steal for an instrument of that caliber. Tigers eye finish. Not a single flaw anywhere I could find and absolutely gorgeous wood. EXTREMELY toneful,resonant, easy to play and responsive to the touch. Because of the ebony board it was kinda bright for my tastes but a pup swap would take care of that. Basically PRS type quality with a Gibson scale. Didn't have the low end chunk of a Paula..more like a Hamer Studio or a McCarty but sounded darker like a "gibson" and not "nasally" like a PRS. If there was any issue with it, I felt it the sustain was slightly lacking. What an axe.

a butt ugly new Gibson Les Paul Classic in tobacco burst. This is another candidate for may hafta go put on layaway. This one with some good PAF types or a SuperD/PAF combo I think would be an awesome workhorse. Had great sustain, and also was very responsive/dynamic to the touch...when you'd bend a note it was "crying/singing"..even with the 500T/496. Extremely well built too, in fact all of the new Paulas at this shop I played (5 of them, standards,classics) were all very well put together.

contd...

 

[jdm61]

Re: PLayed so many guits today, my fingers are killin me

Best deal to be had on Gibbys is the R7, IMHO. There is a 2000 on Ebay right now for $1900 Buy it now price. I would do just that but my gas has turned into wallet reflux. :boggled:

 

[JeffB]

Re: PLayed so many guits today, my fingers are killin me

Now prolly the best thing on the list wasn't a guitar...but an amp

I believe the name was Mercaldo...and he is a local CT guy who is just starting out. It's a basic head (though the shop has combos on order). 100 watts. el34s. Has two channels but with shared EQ . They had it running into a Marshall Mode Four cab (???).

Fender clean channel was fabulous. Very blackface. Pristine. Extremely impressive.

Marshall channel was VERY vintage Marshall. Gain levels up to about JMP2203 levels and sounded more like a 73+ MetalFace but with some PLexi "sweetness" too. It was a very cool "hybrid" of 60s and 70s NMV tones. It also had a boost function I was unaware of at first til I got some schooling on the amp from the sales guy (footswitch was on top of the head and I didn't notice it). HOWY CWAP Batman...modded marshall all to hell. But uncharacteristic of many modded marshalls it still was very dynamic and not so compressed. It didn't lose any "tone" with the gain up. VERY impressive.

I found the amp overall to be a bit bright, but I really think that was the MF cab and speakers. I think with some H30s or Greenbacks this thing would absolutely SLAY. I played a Rivera R series next to it, and well...frankly the Rivera couldn't hold a candle to it. And pricing is really good considering...$1400 for the 100w head. $1300 for the 50W.

Ok Low points....

An absolutely stellar looking mid 90s LP standard in awesome shape with double cream DiMarzios (PAF Pros), that was absolutely the most dead piece of wood I think I've heard/felt. No sustain, no tone. No resonance. It was a great price too What a disappointment.

The aforementioned used Gibson pricing in general.

2006 MIM strats...not impressed. Fret size is an improvement. QC was not very good..sloppy credit card gap neck pockets, poorly cut nuts. All the Korean guitars I handled today were much higher quality builds, and the MIJ Squiers made the MIM's look like toys.

Listening to other people in the store turning the bass and gain full up on the Rectoverb/Rectifier, or Line6 Mesa models. Flubby, buzzy, nasty, mess.:doh:

Audiences. I absolutely cannot stand when someone practically has to stand over my shoulder when I'm playing. Hey, if you think I'm good/like what I'm playing, I'm very thankful, but please stay out of my personal space, K?

Music sales people who don't know anything. I heard some good BS today.

thas it I think.

 

[JeffB]

Re: PLayed so many guits today, my fingers are killin me

Best deal to be had on Gibbys is the R7, IMHO. There is a 2000 on Ebay right now for $1900 Buy it now price. I would do just that but my gas has turned into wallet reflux. :boggled:

Agreed! The only Rs I saw today were 2 Murphy aged R9s...I didn't even look at 'em twice. I knew better...

 

[JeffB]

Re: PLayed so many guits today, my fingers are killin me

The Dean I played yesterday was this color...but had a medium wide tiger flame to it...I dreamed about that guit all night :laugh2:

 

[WhoFan]

Re: PLayed so many guits today, my fingers are killin me

70's LP Deluxe prices are extremely out of hand.... when i bought my 76 in 1990 it was $700 Canadian.... now the same shop sells them for $1800-$2400 depending in shape... and i've seen mint Like New ones sell for over $4000!!!!

Would of like to of seen a 3 mini pickup LP Deluxe... must of been a mod..

 

[JeffB]

Re: PLayed so many guits today, my fingers are killin me

70's LP Deluxe prices are extremely out of hand.... when i bought my 76 in 1990 it was $700 Canadian.... now the same shop sells them for $1800-$2400 depending in shape... and i've seen mint Like New ones sell for over $4000!!!!

Would of like to of seen a 3 mini pickup LP Deluxe... must of been a mod..

Not that I could tell...looked factory or done by someone EXTREMELY competent...maybe a custom order...cool thing is, if ya wanted you could slap 3 P90s in it too! I should have asked.

The factory deluxe with full size buckers was way cool as well. Mahogany neck too!

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: PLayed so many guits today, my fingers are killin me

If you don't mind me asking, where did you play that Mercaldo? Sounds very interesting

 

[JeffB]

Re: PLayed so many guits today, my fingers are killin me

If you don't mind me asking, where did you play that Mercaldo? Sounds very interesting

East Coast Music Mall..they just re-opened in a bigger place in Danbury.

Run it rhough a diff cab if ya go to check it out...they got one of those HW Marshall JTM45 full stacks in the same (hi-end) room. If I was seriously interested in the amp, I would have asked to run it through one of those 4x12s.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: PLayed so many guits today, my fingers are killin me

East Coast Music Mall..they just re-opened in a bigger place in Danbury.

Nice! I remember the old place Those guys were really nice and they had a ton of good stuff there. I remember playing some sweet Bakers and Two Rock's Custom Reverb and Onyx. I definitely have to check out this new place :fing2:

 

[JeffB]

Re: PLayed so many guits today, my fingers are killin me

Nice! I remember the old place Those guys were really nice and they had a ton of good stuff there. I remember playing some sweet Bakers and Two Rock's Custom Reverb and Onyx. I definitely have to check out this new place :fing2:

Hmm..this is the first Baker I've seen there (they got it on a trade)..and never seen any of the other boutique stuff...but I've only been going there for a little over a year. They were in D'bury years ago I guess, then moved to New Milford for a couple years, and now just moved back to D'bury (over by the multiplex...5 min from where I live...BAD for me and my GAS :laugh2: )

 

[shred-dog]

Re: PLayed so many guits today, my fingers are killin me

hey jeff they used to be out by candlewood lake , where are they now? i have not been to east coast music mall since they moved. they always have cool stuff i had barry fix an axe back in the day and it came out killer .

 

[BluesGuyJ]

Re: PLayed so many guits today, my fingers are killin me

I'd kill for a Dean Hardtail..... stunning guitars and I'm sure they play like a dream... but I'm a floyd/tremolo system freak... dont like the tunning stability of hardtails.

 

[ErikH]

Re: PLayed so many guits today, my fingers are killin me

Nice, bro. Sounds like you had a fun afternoon. That Dean Tiger Eye finish is gorgeous. I've played a few EVO's that had that paint job. Good thing you didn't get that Striker. The bodies are plywood on those things. I used to have a black one that I got cheap, like under $100 cheap. That Mercaldo sounds interesting.

Now, what did you buy? :laugh2:

 

[WhoFan]

Re: PLayed so many guits today, my fingers are killin me

Not that I could tell...looked factory or done by someone EXTREMELY competent...maybe a custom order...cool thing is, if ya wanted you could slap 3 P90s in it too! I should have asked.

The factory deluxe with full size buckers was way cool as well. Mahogany neck too!

Man if these guitars were stock i bet they are rare! Maybe by chance the Humbucker Deluxe was a Standard with a Deluxe truss rod plate? Or i wonder if it said Deluxe on the back of the headstock... The 3 mini humbucker Deluxe must of been priced high i bet... By the way what finnishes were on these Deluxes?

A local vintage store owner has 3 1974-75 Les Paul Deluxes in Blue and Red Sparkle...... priced high!!!!

 

[BluesGuyJ]

Re: PLayed so many guits today, my fingers are killin me

A local vintage dealer near me has about three or four Deluxe LPs from the mid 50s. All going from 4k to 7k, dont tell me the 70s were anywhere near this price?

The owner of the store has a 1959 LP for $20k... Has had some slight modifications done to it. Pretty sick.

www.marksguitarloft.com

 

[iekobrid]

Re: PLayed so many guits today, my fingers are killin me

Audiences. I absolutely cannot stand when someone practically has to stand over my shoulder when I'm playing. Hey, if you think I'm good/like what I'm playing, I'm very thankful, but please stay out of my personal space, K?

I hate anything that involves someone standing close behind me, but the sole time it's happened in a music store was actually pretty cool...



[INT. Musical instrument store. Day.]


Little Boy (old enough to form complete sentences, but not old enough
to walk straight... 3 or 4 years old, perhaps?): That sounds good.

iekobrid: <startled, looks up from the guitar and combo amp he's trying out> Huh?! Sorry?

LB: That, what you're playing. It sounds good.

ib: Oh, what, the guitar? Wanna try it?

LB: <shakes his head>

ib: <chuckles> Okay, maybe later.


LB ambles back to his (one assumes) father, who is also checking out
combo amps. A few minutes go by.


LB: <suddenly reappearing> No.

ib: Gah! Sorry?

LB: Not the guitar. The music... what you were playing... it sounded good. <very seriously, as if expressing condolences for the loss of a loved one> I just wanted to say that.

ib: Oh. Uh. Thanks?

LB: <nods; ambles off again>

 

[JeffB]

Re: PLayed so many guits today, my fingers are killin me

hey jeff they used to be out by candlewood lake , where are they now? i have not been to east coast music mall since they moved. they always have cool stuff i had barry fix an axe back in the day and it came out killer .

Yup they were in New Milford..not too far from candlewood...they moved right off exit 8..near the big Loews theatres. WAYYYYY too close to my house :laugh2: Nice big place, though a bit...warehouse-y. Barry is a real good guy, I talked to hiim for a bit that day, he was showing me how they rigged up the big industrial size humidifier for the whole store. Guits should stay in prime playing condition there :bigthumb:

 

[wildstar]

Re: PLayed so many guits today, my fingers are killin me

The Dean I played yesterday was this color...but had a medium wide tiger flame to it...I dreamed about that guit all night :laugh2:

I stumbled across a Braziliawood Dean Hardtail a couple of months ago, and was pretty much ready to whip out my Swiss Army knife and give 'em a kidney if they'd let me take it home. It was the best feeling neck I'd ever played and most gorgeous finish I'd ever seen.

I'm still having very... vivid... dreams about that guitar.

One of these days I'm going to give in and go back to buy one.

Funny thing is, I only tried it out for laughs - I was thinking "hey, I'll play this POS Dean for fun." Boy was I wrong!

Sounds like you had a fun day!

 

[JeffB]

Re: PLayed so many guits today, my fingers are killin me

Nice, bro. Sounds like you had a fun afternoon. That Dean Tiger Eye finish is gorgeous. I've played a few EVO's that had that paint job. Good thing you didn't get that Striker. The bodies are plywood on those things. I used to have a black one that I got cheap, like under $100 cheap. That Mercaldo sounds interesting.

Now, what did you buy? :laugh2:

Didn't buy anything for once

Plywood or not, that Pink Striker was Secksie! :bigthumb: Just that freaking recessed Floyd killed it for me. That one shop had sooooo much way cool stuff I had not seen in ages...USA jacksons, the Norlins, buncha Kramers and Charvels.