The Acoustic Guitar Forum

Go Back   The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > Carbon Fiber

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #61  
Old 12-05-2020, 12:05 PM
jdinco jdinco is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Colorado
Posts: 4,398
Default

That stinks Captain...hopefully a little (or a lot) of time will heal you. Do they have you doing any therapy? Best of luck to you.....
__________________
John
Reply With Quote
  #62  
Old 12-05-2020, 07:38 PM
Captain Jim Captain Jim is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Arizona (from island boy to desert dweller)
Posts: 6,970
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by jdinaz View Post
That stinks Captain...hopefully a little (or a lot) of time will heal you. Do they have you doing any therapy? Best of luck to you.....
Thanks, JD. I played for a while today - Rufus the big furry boy likes his music while he gets brushed. Singing was good for my breathing. It's part of our daily routine.

The only therapy suggested was "gentle walking, while you have the catheter." Yeah, TMI. I gave myself a "light duty" day today.
__________________
Some CF, some wood.
Reply With Quote
  #63  
Old 12-06-2020, 10:14 AM
Earl49 Earl49 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Idaho
Posts: 10,982
Default

Glad to hear that things are improving a bit. "Rufus therapy" is important, as is some music.
Reply With Quote
  #64  
Old 12-06-2020, 02:35 PM
esimms86 esimms86 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2020
Posts: 240
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain Jim View Post
Thanks, JD. I played for a while today - Rufus the big furry boy likes his music while he gets brushed. Singing was good for my breathing. It's part of our daily routine.

The only therapy suggested was "gentle walking, while you have the catheter." Yeah, TMI. I gave myself a "light duty" day today.
I'm expect that you already know this but there are neurologists that specialize in injuries to musicians. Don't know who the referral resources are in your area, Covid not withstanding.
Reply With Quote
  #65  
Old 12-06-2020, 03:55 PM
Captain Jim Captain Jim is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Arizona (from island boy to desert dweller)
Posts: 6,970
Default

I’m going with “let’s give it time”... I think it may be improving. Kinda off going to doctors right now.
__________________
Some CF, some wood.
Reply With Quote
  #66  
Old 12-06-2020, 07:00 PM
esimms86 esimms86 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2020
Posts: 240
Default

I totally understand. There’s still no downside to having the information in your back pocket.
Reply With Quote
  #67  
Old 12-06-2020, 07:05 PM
Guest 928
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Jim;

I have been following you with great interest. Last September I fractured my hip and didn't play for a long time. More recently I had what appeared to be a massive heart attack--which turned out to be inconclusive.

What's amazing is that in the middle of all that, music made things better. I continued to listen to my favorite Mexican radio station, to your videos, to Playing For Change, and so forth.

Socrates suspected that there were cosmic melodies that we could plug into. I think he was right. There is a cosmic nature to the blues, to the waltz, even to the polka. And once in a great while we get to plug into that with its incredible joy, courage, and soul.

I've appreciated your ongoing contributions to the joy of music and look forward to your future contributions.
Reply With Quote
  #68  
Old 12-06-2020, 09:10 PM
Captain Jim Captain Jim is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Arizona (from island boy to desert dweller)
Posts: 6,970
Default

Thanks, Evan. Being able to play the last two mornings helps things feel more normal. Plus, Rufus likes it.

This was taken before the surgery...

__________________
Some CF, some wood.
Reply With Quote
  #69  
Old 01-05-2021, 01:16 PM
Captain Jim Captain Jim is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Arizona (from island boy to desert dweller)
Posts: 6,970
Default

Yep... "sinned" again. A while back, I had a hankering for another solid body electric; last time I had one (a Strat) was in the 90s. Pretty much all acoustic playing since then. Getting together with my music partner last winter, I had the opportunity to play his solid body electrics.

To make a short story long, a few weeks ago, I came across an article about Fishman Fluence electric guitar pickups. Interesting - stacked circuit boards instead of wraps around a magnet; the end result: no hiss with high gain, and the ability to sound like humbuckers, single coil, and nice range of tone.

Down the rabbit hole of reviews and YouTube, and I found Epiphone was putting these in a line of guitars they call Prophecy; Les Paul, SG, Flying V, and another model they are calling Extura. Well, I had a Les Paul back in the day, don't care for the head-banging look of the Flying V or the Extura, but I have always liked the look of an SG.

Try to find one in the US. Only a couple guitar shops showed any of these in stock. Joan was doing the research by this point. She found one place that showed two in stock in the color I liked, on Reverb. Back to the reviews, and she wore me down. I ordered it. The guitar shop was less than forthright and they did not have it in stock. It took them 9 days to fess up. They refunded my money. One of the owners called me, apologized profusely, and offered me what he called "a killer deal" on the color they did have in stock (and the color Joan preferred). I said I'd think about it. He called back later, and I was in the shower... Joan placed the order with him.

The guitar showed up the next day, and it is quite nice looking... for a solid body electric. The Fishman Fluence pickups really are as good as the reviews said. But the neck on this thing had the worst fret ends on any guitar I've ever picked up. I called them, "meat hooks," someone else said, "cheese grater." The owner called again to see how I liked the guitar, and after the burn in his ears eased up, he offered to send me a tag for a pickup and a full refund.

Again, he was decent, but I was appalled that he said he looked it over before it went out, and he thought everything was perfect on that guitar. I told him I would get the frets worked on, and he said he couldn't take the guitar back if anything was done to it. I get that. I like everything else about this guitar except for the awful fret ends, and only on the bottom of the neck. I'm keeping the guitar and ordered some tools from StewMac to fix the frets... in 50+ years of playing guitar, I have never had to do that.

The main reason for keeping the guitar: Joan loves it. I have had it 6 days now, and she requests that guitar over my other guitars for a daily session. It plays and sounds great... for a solid body electric. Certainly not the sweet sound of my lovely carbon fiber Emeralds.

So, yeah, I "sinned" again. I could say I was led astray by the pretty Blonde, but that's been my life for 48 years. When she isn't around (like her weekly grocery excursion), I play my Emeralds. I will work them back into the rotation when she gets beyond this honeymoon period.



On the medical front, 5 weeks since my prostate went missing. I think I'm getting along pretty well. No heavy lifting still (Joan is tough), but I am back on the scoot again; my nether regions aren't up for the bicycle or the boat, yet. The numbness in my fingertips is gone, so daily playing is good mental therapy. My bladder misses his friend, Mr Prostate. I can relate to the Huggies commercial where the kid wears his "big boy pull-ups." I'm trying to stay away from doctors, but more "tests" in a month... assuming I don't have to study for those.

Looking ahead; hoping for better times for us all in this new year, and no plans for more "sinning."

Jim
__________________
Some CF, some wood.
Reply With Quote
  #70  
Old 01-05-2021, 05:40 PM
esimms86 esimms86 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2020
Posts: 240
Default

If my wife was as fluent in G.A.S. as yours seems to be, I would take a lot more showers.
Reply With Quote
  #71  
Old 01-05-2021, 08:40 PM
jdinco jdinco is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Colorado
Posts: 4,398
Default

Good for you Jim, variety is a good thing, or spicy or something like that. I had the same urge a month ago and picked up a used Les Paul special at the local music store, I have to admit, it's pretty face was as much a draw as the great feel when playing it. We don't see many of the upper end guitars come thru this small town. It get's about 10% of my play time. I also use one of those yamaha THR's like I see sitting there by you, I thought it was a joke until I tried one. It even sounds good with acoustic and bass guitars. Shocking !

Here's wishing you better health and fast healing. Take Care
__________________
John
Reply With Quote
  #72  
Old 01-05-2021, 09:08 PM
Captain Jim Captain Jim is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Arizona (from island boy to desert dweller)
Posts: 6,970
Default

Thanks, John. That Yamaha amp is the THR30ii - I am surprised by how much I enjoy that "desktop amp." I have tried it with my X10 on the acoustic setting, and it is really good. I seem to spend most of my time on "crunchy" with this SG.

The fret kit from StewMac came in today, and I spent the evening working on the frets on this new SG. I didn't want to over-do and take off too much fret or scar up the fretboard, since this is my first time doing this. I'd say it's about 90% better and I'll take care of that last 10% on the next string change.

https://captnjim.blogspot.com/2021/01/guitar-tech.html



I would add "guitar tech" to my resume' if I had any use for a resume'.
__________________
Some CF, some wood.
Reply With Quote
  #73  
Old 01-22-2021, 03:12 PM
Captain Jim Captain Jim is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Arizona (from island boy to desert dweller)
Posts: 6,970
Default

Here's a video I just finished up...



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzYX...ature=youtu.be

I have been doing a series of "Stayin' at Home" videos with the Shure MV88+ into an iPhone 11 Pro since the virus has changed how we do things. This time, instead of just a guitar and vocal into that mic, I did instrument and vocal tracks on the Spire Studio, and Joan shot most of the video for me, with the iPhone. A fun diversion to keep me off the streets. While we wait for our turn for a shot in the arm (not happening anytime soon around here).

Yes, that's the new Epi SG in the preview image, acoustic guitar track with the Emerald X10.
__________________
Some CF, some wood.
Reply With Quote
  #74  
Old 02-06-2021, 05:52 PM
Captain Jim Captain Jim is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Arizona (from island boy to desert dweller)
Posts: 6,970
Default

Messing with guitars this morning: I got a bit more aggressive with the fret work on the SG, and I would now call it about 98%. If it had come in like this, pretty sure I wouldn't have noticed. It plays great.

I put a set of Polywebs on the Emerald X10 after working on the SG. Custom Lights, .011 - .052. I've been using Nanoweb PB (.012 - .052). Maybe it's just me, but I didn't hear a lot of difference in tone nor "squeak." On the plus side, the X10 has that same lovely balanced tone with these new strings. The X10 continues to impress.
__________________
Some CF, some wood.
Reply With Quote
  #75  
Old 02-17-2021, 12:12 PM
Captain Jim Captain Jim is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Arizona (from island boy to desert dweller)
Posts: 6,970
Default

I played my X7 today, for the first time in several weeks. Not because I have been ignoring it - my wife suggested we put it in the motorhome, since the guitar room walls at home are full. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

I missed it. We made an "emergency" run to our storage unit (40 miles inland) when Joan told me she left a case of bottled water and a few bottles of soda in there... the motorhome has been close enough to the doctor's office that we can catch a break there. Well, until this nasty cold weather made it to the Tropical Tip. I have never seen temperatures this cold and for this long here. I was concerned the soda would bust open due to freezing.

I had emptied the tanks and water lines last week in anticipation of the coming weather. It is very rare it gets below freezing here, and we are usually out and about this time of year, so it hasn't been a concern in the last decade or so.

Since we were there, I grabbed my X7. No, it didn't need to be "rescued" from the cold, but I missed that comfortable little guitar.

I did some couch time with the X7 this morning, while Joan went to the grocery store. Our area has been seriously impacted by this cold weather - power has been out several times over the last few days (our home is all electric) and water has been out for two days now. Joan bought some "comfort food" for us to eat for the next week, I had my "comfort guitar" to enjoy.

Guess I will just find more room. Previous generation X7, still the most comfortable acoustic guitar I have ever played.
__________________
Some CF, some wood.
Reply With Quote
Reply

  The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > Carbon Fiber

Thread Tools





All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:44 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum
vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=