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Old 06-23-2008, 11:12 PM
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Jim Tozier Jim Tozier is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Atlanta, GA
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Thanks, Cliff!

The concert/workshop was a lot of fun... and it was a pleasure meeting you and your guests. Now you just need to steer a few of them to the AGF so they can join us!

Yes, it's true... I made a last-minute decision to bring only the RainSong with me, because I knew it would be able to handle the rigors of the road and tolerate being left in a hot car while I ate lunch or dinner, etc. But don't worry, it's in good hands... our own Greg Gwaltney has graciously agreed to babysit the Fay OM and give it some attention while I'm away. Have I mentioned how nice it is to have him nearby?

I think most of tonight's audience was impressed with the sound of the RainSong, and we passed it around afterwards so everyone could try it out for themselves.

I also got to try Cliff's Babicz guitar. I'd played one briefly in the past, but I had a chance to play a couple of tunes on it tonight and get a better impression.

The first thing one noticed about a Babicz, of course, is the unique way te strings are anchored on the guitar top. It's a distinctive look, and one that probably takes some (OK... a lot of) getting used to. Cliff's Babicz was done in a beautiful sunburst, though, which almost--almost--allowed me to ignore the strings splaying across the top.

The second thing I noticed was the weight... it's a heavy guitar, and not just because I was comparing it to the ultra-light RainSong. It's one of those guitars that can double as protection agaist home intruders. One swing with this, and a burglar would be flatter than Stanley.

Now for the really cool feature. It has a neck joint that can be adjusted with an allen wrench (which is conveniently stored on the back of the headstock with a pair of clips) in a matter of seconds. Cliff told me to play with it, so I first adjusted the action very low and did a fingerstyle tune, then grabbed the wrench and adjusted the action to the hider side and did some strumming. Amazingly, the guiter stayed in tune (or only need a minor tweak on a string or two) each time it was changed. I'm not sure how often I'd use this feature (I tend to think I'd "set it and forget it"), but if you like different action for different styles or string gauges, this is pretty neat and very easy. And, yes, it's fun to play with.

It also sounded better than I expected it to....

How 'bout a picture of the burst on that Babicz, Cliff?

Thanks again, Cliff, for an enjoyable evening and a pleasurable way to begin the tour!
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Last edited by Jim Tozier; 06-28-2008 at 10:26 PM. Reason: typo
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