The Blues Won't Let Me Go!

I am so enjoying playing my guitars these days.  We appreciate going to the Nursing homes we visit as volunteers to perform music, with my wife playing percussion and my friend, Les, playing guitar.   The folks at the hospital are so supportive and it builds us up to spend this time with them 3-times a month.

I continue to play both guitar and mandolin, but I have been fighting the changes that come with Parkinsonism.  This makes going back and forth between the two instruments harder with the effect on fine motor coordination.  I have been emphasizing two factors as a result:  1) making the guitar my first priority for practice and use as accompaniment as I sing, and 2) using a single pick type to go between guitar-- electric and acoustic, and the mandolin. Mandolin picks, of which I have numbers, are typically thicker and stiffer, but guitar picks are often used, also.  I have decided to use a guitar pick and go between all of my instruments. 

 

This cuts down on the number of neurological adjustments my brain needs to make in order get the job done as I move from instrument to instrument.  I feel as though this is helping me and my blues chops are returning. 

We had a great jam session this morning, as my friend Scott was over to plug in and dig down deep into the blues together at the house.

Of late, I have moved a few instruments out via online sales, and have added some nice used instruments to my arsenal.

Peavey Classic 30 All Tube Amp - Approx. 1996

Fender American Series Strat 2001

1999 Takamine EF441c (cedar top--  MIJ)

The Takamine is a high end Japan-made guitar.  The shape is a mini-jumbo, or an OM, if I am correct.  The shape is comfortable and has a nice focused mid-range coming from the clarity of the maple back and sides and the warmth of the cedar top.  The electronics work perfectly.  A few dings and belt scratches, but overall, in very nice condition.  This is my guitar of choice for our nursing home gigs.

I am enjoying the Fenders and this Peavey Classic is very nice tube amp with both a clean and dirty channel.

My favorite blues songs to sing and play of late are:  Kind Hearted Woman, The Sky is Crying and Sweet Home Chicago.  Thanks for visiting! -- Guitar Man

Mandolins and Tube Amps

What do mandolins and tube amps have in common?  Not much, though it isn't out of the question to plug a mandolin armed with a pure K and K pickup into a Fender Champ!

No, my reason for the title is that I have had a four year excursion into the mandolin, which detracted a bit from my time to play my electric guitars while paired with my tube amps.

What I gained from the mandolin is a whole new set of skills with an entirely differently tuned instrument, with chord shapes and scales that required a new spatial memory.  Very good for me as a guitarist, and also a guy with a Parkinsonian disorder!  Going forward, I will always be a mandolin player and have added a couple of mandolins to my arsenal of instruments. Here is one of them (Gibson A5G '96):

I am enjoying playing and singing for the nursing home community a few times each month, and I do throw in some blues along with our folk rock and country songs.

I have had a resurgence of my interest in the electric blues, though it never stopped.  I spent so many hours practicing the mandolin and I do enjoy the mandolin blues, such as played by Yank Rachell. Those efforts couldn't help but compete with each other.

Of late, I have been selling a number of instruments in order to get back into the electric guitar.  I still have my Deluxe Lonestar Stratocaster and I am in the process of acquiring a used American Series Strat to play through my new (used) Peavey Classic 30 (1996).

2006 Lonestar Strat

2001 American Series

The point: the instruments are merely tools, but the music springs from what is in the soul.  The blues are an expression of the passion and experiences that a life well lived produce.  I appreciate having a community of guitar players to share these thoughts with.  -- Guitar Man-- "It doesn't hurt when you play the blues."

Completed MIM Fender Standard Strat Conversion to SRV Model

I have been slow to make this post and for that I apologize.  I did complete the conversion.  Because my Standard Strat was a 1994 MIM version, it was important to realize the string spacing would make a difference in the choices available for the tremolo bridge (MIM is 2-1/16 inches, while MIA Vintage is 2-3/16 inches).  GuitarFetish.com was my choice for this and many of the parts I decided on.  Also, a Wilkinson bridge has oval holes which allow for an adjustment if the spacing is varied to any degree.  The GuitarFetish bridge and tremolo assembly dropped in perfectly, as did the gold Standard Fender Tuning Machines I installed.  Everything needed to be gold to get the SRV look I was after.  Great care had to be exercised in installing the gold neck plate.  This required removing the neck and reinstalling, of course, something I had never done.  As a matter of fact, this whole process was new to me.  Here are some views of the guitar after completion.

The completed project!

All gold hardware, a black 3-ply pickguard and original '94 white pickups and knobs.  I haven't decided whether to add the SRV letters and small "custom" sticker parallel to the gold tremolo bridge.

This are Fender Standard Tuning Machines that come in gold-- the SRV had gold hardware.

This is a view of the guitar before I removed the white pickguard and nickel/chrome hardware.

 

The tremolo cover was white and the neck plate chrome, now black and gold, respectively.

--Guitar Man

Modding an MIM Fender Stratocaster into an SRV Look Alike

I have a new project.  Like all of my guitar related pursuits, I sold some gear that I had and didn't need and used the money to buy a 1994 Fender Standard Stratocaster.  These were built in Mexico in the early 90's and are to this day.  Mine is a nice, but slightly banged up one in appearance.  Plays wonderfully, though!  The pickups have great output-- I agree with the fellow who sold it to me-- SRV-like tone.  I decided to buy this guitar with some signs of wear because I want to have a guitar to hot rod into a Stevie Ray Vaughan looking version.  The Sunburst was necessary to achieve that.  I am going for this, or a close proximity:




Mine at the start of this project looks like:

There are a few chips in the paint, which adds to its authentic, slightly worn appearance.  Otherwise, a nice looking guitar!  The plan is to: a) change the pick guard and back cover to matching 3 ply black/white/black (black surface) leaving the white pickups, knobs and switch tip, b) change all of the nickle/chrome hardware to new versions that fit that are finished in Gold, including: tuners, tremolo bridge, jack plate, string tree, pickguard screws, neck plate and strap buttons (assuming everything fits, we will be very close to completion at this point), c) add the SRV stickers to the pickguard and "Custom" sticker found on the original WIFE #1 guitar.

Making these changes does not mean I will have a custom Signature Model SRV Stratocaster, but it will be a nice guitar, with a great neck and wonderfully warm, full sounding pickups, with an SRV vibe.  SRV's guitar was a 1963 body, with a '62 neck and '59 pickups.  The hardware was gold and the tuners were vintage style.  It started out as a sunburst American Strat that looked somewhat like what I have here. I could go further and relic the finish by causing some damage to make it look very worn as the original does above, but for now I will stick with these changes.  As I said, this guitar sounds great and the neck is very comfortable and fast to play.  I will post more picks as progress is made.  In the meantime, more views of this '94 Standard before I start the project below:

This is a photo of the tuners I am replacing with a similar set of Fender tuners that are gold.

Best of all, I am going to learn so much through this process.  I am looking forward to figuring it all out and making it fit.  Thanks for stopping by to read and see my progress.  -- Guitar Man

Blues I am Listening to These Days

I have really been enjoying the guitar and vocals of Joe Bonamassa's album, Blues Deluxe, of late.  This is an album in which versions of Bonamassa's traditional blues are recorded with the intent of paying homage to some of the greatest blues singers/guitarists of all time, and he did it right.  His vocals are outstanding; his guitar work is amazing! Through this album I got to know the music of Bonamassa and it made me want to hear more.  The title song, Blues Deluxe, is incredible and is a cover of the song by the same name that was actually composed by Rod Stewart (yes, that Rod Stewart).

I will write more about this album when I can get back to my blog, but in the meantime, give it a listen.  What I find incredible is that the album version (cover is pictured) is a product of music recorded by a man who was about 26 at the time!  I have posted a video of a live version played four years later, after the album release. Note the soulfulness of Joe's voice, complementing his unbelievable guitar chops! When you hear it, I think you will be truly amazed.  -- Guitar Man

Chrome Blue American Series Stratocaster

It turns out the color wasn't exactly what I had thought.  I have a Chrome Blue Fender Strat and the year is a 2003.  The guitar arrived and was MINT (though 10 years old), along with the case being just as gorgeously preserved.

The guitar is an American Series, the American Standard of the years 2000-2008.  The name has gone back to the Standard designation after that time period, but preserved many of the nice features that came with the American Series.  I love the tone and sustain of this guitar! It rings on after a chord like an acoustic guitar-- no kidding!  The sound and tuning are sweet. I love the maple fretboard.  So many more aspects to describe, but I will let the pictures suffice for now!

Notice this color changes in different light sources, somewhat like an old hot rod used to do in the sixties!

"My Blue Strat": An American Standard for Blues Playing

I have been thinning the heard and ridding myself of some items by selling them on Ebay-- saving for a new "used" guitar.  I found "my blue Strat" and this time it is actually blue.  The idea is that I play the BLUES on a Strat making it "blue", however, the idea of a blue Strat also goes with my desire to get an American Made Fender Stratocaster and a blue one also because I love all things blue.  Since I no longer can drive due to Parkinson's Disease, I can't purchase a car that color, but I can acquire a blue guitar.  That is as close to a car as it is going to get for me, I am afraid.

It is a pre-owned American Standard Stratocaster in Lake Placid Blue, approximately 2007 or 2008.  I will determine the year of production when I see the serial number.  It has the maple fretboard, which is what I was seeking.

Well, here is a picture from the listing of my new Axe.  I am going to love it, I know.  Now, the waiting begins. -- Guitar Man

Epiphone Les Paul Custom Comparable to Gibson

I have a "new" ax I bought used, but mint.  It is a 2005 Epiphone Les Paul Custom.  It was crafted in the Samick Factory in South Korea.  I have been playing it and enjoying it.  I took a few days getting it set up just the way I like it.  I raised, lowered and lowered the bridge again.  I set the intonation each time.  I gently adjusted the tuning machines, which are gold Grovers.  The more I worked with it, the more it became mine.  I have a tradition when I get an new instrument of putting my other electric guitars away for a few weeks and playing the one guitar, exclusively.  After many hours playing it, restringing it and polishing everything, I have comments to make about the quality of Epiphone Les Pauls.  

Reading on message boards and guitar discussion forums, I have seen talk of the comparison between the Epiphone and Gibson LP's.  I wouldn't kid myself-- this is not a Gibson LP Custom, but considering I paid $429 used with a plush original hardshell case, case candy and the case key, this was a great buy!  The body is in the tradition of the Gibson Custom, made of solid, carved mahogany.  The Epiphone website describes it this way, "Epiphone's LP Custom follows that tradition by using a solid, carved Mahogany body giving it a slightly mellower tone. Like the originals, attached to the body is a solid Mahogany neck with a hand-fitted, glued-in joint for optimum neck-to-body contact and acting almost like one continuous piece of wood."  

The difference between these two guitars would be found in the pickup quality and that is no small issue.  However, I find my Epiphone humbuckers, both neck and bridge, to sound rich and full in tone.  The bridge is as clear and bright as the neck is warm and bluesy.  The Grovers are just that-- actual gold Grover tuners and they keep this guitar in tune while playing an hour long set onstage.I am very happy with my Epiphone Les Paul Custom and it is truly a "black beauty." -- Guitar Man

Hear this guitar by clicking on my recording, Take a Stand above this post.

Epiphone Riviera Custom P93: Vintage Vibe Guitar Pickups and Compton Bridge

I recently had Vintage Vibe Guitar pickups made for my Epiphone Riviera Custom P93 Limited Edition guitar.  We also installed a Compton Compensated solid brass bridge made for my guitar.  These guitars are built in the China Epiphone Custom Shop and are a limited run edition.  They come with 3 Alnico V P90's, although the sound is muted to a degree in the stock versions.  It has a wonderful warm, tube sound, but it is hard to get them bright enough to play a solo over the band.  Not with these pick ups!  These Vintage Vibe Guitar pickups made for my guitar based on the pro guitar tech's specs he gave them, are comprised of dog-eared P90's with Alnico V, 50's style under-wound magnets.   Included were Alnico II, III and IV magnets, if the player wants to try different combinations. 

The mid-pup is reversed to provide noise reduction for the neck, or visa versa.  The bridge is a blade style P90 and provides a hotter signal for leads.  I played this guitar live on the platform at church, with a full band and was able to clearly hear the clarity and resonance of the notes as I played a lead solo.  I didn't have to crank the guitar or amplifier up, but rather just the clarity of the pickups and sustain of the Compton brass bridge brought the tone and punch I needed out of my guitar. 

I was very pleased.  I also have a new push-pull volume for the mid-PUP, which allows me more tonal flexibility and various combinations of the three pick ups.  A new Switchcraft three position switch was also installed.  All in all, a great improvement.  Cost for parts was $275 for the three P90's and $65 for the Compton bridge.  Not bad for such a great improvement!  Thanks, also, to the professional that did the great work.  -- Guitar Man

Fender Champion 600 Mod Progress

My buddy with all the guitar amplifier talent has finished the modifications for my Fender Champion 600.  It is modified to be the 50's 5F1 Champ-like now in sound.  It will really rock now, like the amp used to play Layla by Eric Clapton.  I haven't picked it up yet, as I don't drive due to MSA, but I should have it by Saturday.  I can't wait to plug in and play my blues!

 Cool electronic component changes that open up the sound to give it that Champ-like quality.  Also, tube changes and went from a 6 inch to an 8 inch Jensen Mod speaker. 

 My buddy changed the grill cloth to this '63 Baseman grill.  Much more open and allows the speaker to breath better than the suede cloth the manufacturers included.  Fully modded and ready to rock! (You can look at the pictures I posted in my past postings to get an idea of how it looked before the changes.)

-- Guitar Man

Pre and Post Fender Champion 600 Modifications

I have made a video of my Fender Champ in the stock condition before having some modifications done by a great friend who is an expert.  I will make a post-changes video, as well.

Guitar Man's Fender Champion 600 Before Mods

Fender Champ 600 Arrived

My new amp rolled up today and it sounds really warm and vintage.  It was at a used price on Ebay, but is like new.  The new limited Fender Champion 600 "lil' blondie's" are going for $179, so $102 plus $20 for shipping was a great price. I played it dry and with my pedal board.  Really takes the pedals well.  My favorite form though is just straight in from the guitar.  The Strat sounds better through it than the Riviera.  Now, I will begin to plan mods with my friend who is helping me to make the changes.  -- Guitar Man

"

Fender Champion 600 at Long Last!

This week I landed a Fender Champion 600.  It is being shipped soon.  I bought a used one on Ebay a couple of years ago and reported on this blog that I was looking forward to playing my blues through this small, portable all tube practice amp.  Then, the seller shipped it as cheaply as possible, which meant that it rolled around inside a train for three weeks.  If it wasn't sad, it would be comical to report that the mail carrier couldn't make eye contact with me as he handed me a round box.  Inside was a very damaged amp!

Well, I worked that out and was refunded.  I moved on and two years went by.  I got to thinking that I still had a desire to own and play such a portable, practical tube amp that would allow me to sit outside and play my blues without disturbing neighbors or my sleeping granddaughter when she is visiting over here.

Since my first attempt, the Fender Champion 600 has become discontinued and now is a collectible amplifier.  I was fortunate to be the winning bidder for one at $102.00, whereas they last retailed for $175.  The one I purchased was listed as "new," which I took to mean that it was pre-owned, but never scratched and hardly played.  It should be a great amp to play stock or to modify as I posted previously one of the possible scenarios of alterations that are available.

One of the reasons I wanted this amp is that it will allow me to learn more about how to swap speakers, since I have now become accustomed to changing out tubes.  I will be looking at the Weber Alnico 6 inch speaker as a possible upgrade, plus maybe the tone circuit that a friend of mine, who is a professional, has experience upgrading.  There is also the Mercury Magnetics transformer as a possibility.  So many say the grill cloth changes the tone as much as any other mod.  It comes with a suede cloth that apparently holds back the speaker's ability to push sound.

So much to learn!  -- Guitar Man

P.S.  Here is a glimpse inside--

Post Script:  Right after I posted the above entry, I learned that there was a reissue of this amplifier in a new form, with slight color changes.  I heard it through the grapevine that this is a Fender Champion 600 limited edition, with only 200 units to start with, and an estimated time of arrival if you buy it now in October of 2013.  Here is a photo of the new mono-colored tolex.

Very nice look!  This older ones (above) that look like the '57 version are going to be disappearing from the landscape and going up in price, so I would grab one while you can.  -- Guitar Man

Fender Deluxe Lone Star Strat: Pick Up Upgrades Come Stock

It has been some time since I posted on my blues blog, and today I want to change the subject a bit to talk about the "pick up" composition of my Fender Stratocaster.  Specifically, the guitar you see in the My Blue Strat header on the top of this blog, is a Fender Deluxe Lone Star Stratocaster.  It has some upgrades over a Standard Strat, namely the finish on the neck and headstock, the tortoiseshell pickguard and the pickups.  The neck and mid PU's are Texas Specials and the Bridge PU is a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates humbucker.  A 1990's Stevie Ray Vaughan Signature Stratocaster reportedly has the same Texas Special single coil pickups that my blues machine comes with installed.  The Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates are used by ZZ Top lead guitarist Billy Gibbons.  He has a "Pearly Gates" Gibson Les Paul, but he only likes to use it in the studio.  In concert, he relies on Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates humbuckers, that which is found on my Strat, to replicate his guitar's legendary tone. Seymour Duncan's website describes this bridge humbucker as “sweet, but slightly rude, with great sustain and a bright top end that make harmonics jump out of the guitar.”

On various messageboards and chat groups for Fender Strats and Telecasters,  some refer to the Texas Specials as boxy or lacking tonal clarity.  Others say that the TS PU's will reproduce the good tone of the guitar unplugged.  I love the tone of my Strat when I am jamming on it unplugged, so that would explain why it sounds really natural and clear when I am playing it plugged in and turned on through my Peavey Classic 30 or my Crate Vintage Club 20 tube amps.

A guitar buddy with a lot of knowledge, reflecting on my style and use of my guitar recommended that I replace my round wound 10's with some flat wound 11's.  I did so and this really brought out the sustain and clarity of my ax.  I was so pleased as I played it in my weekly gig Sunday!  It had a bigger, bolder sound with the flat wound 11's, and for now, I will never go back to the lighter gauge, round wound strings.   It gives my Strat a versatility that I need when I want to strum it like an acoustic, or if I want it to stand up to the bends and blues runs I do when I am playing my traditional blues guitar riffs.  It holds the tune very well and has a much fuller low end, as well, than previously with a more typical electric guitar string.

I am enjoying this Fender guitar and it is currently in the number one position in my rotation, just ahead of my Epiphone Riviera Custom P93, which I love as well, for playing my blues. -- Guitar Man

The Blues in Church!

I want to give a shout out to my friend Tavo, who is our band leader at church.  Last week he put together an arrangement for "Lonesome Valley" that focused on blues guitar.  The lyrics, which were a gospel version, emphasized Jesus walking through that lonesome valley alone and facing it for all the rest of we humans.  Well, it was awesome to hear Tavo sing and play that song, while Dane, his teen son, played Upright bass, and my adult son, Mark, played drums and sang harmony.  The beauty of this is that Tavo knows how I dig the blues and love the opportunity to turn up my gain knob on my Epiphone Riviera and get the tubes warmed up on my Crate Vintage Club 20 amplifier.

It was everything I could have hoped for in the way Tavo arranged the chords and allowed me to fill the background with blues runs and riffs, culminating in his giving me a nod to begin a lead solo over a whole verse.  I was really in my element, bending those strings on that Semi-hollow electric with the P90's and letting my emotions for the message in the song be expressed through my guitar, pedals and amp.

It's the kind of guy Tavo is, a person who thinks of others and gives them credit for things before himself.  He is a far better player than I, but he gives me the spotlight in moments like this and it truly touches my heart.  Makes all the hours of practice worth the effort and all the love I give to my music!  The worship was sweet and the song list really drew in the people to reflect on the grace of God, and this blues number to close out as the service concluded was a joy.  My thanks and a "fist bump" to my pal and fellow traveler, Tavo.  You're the man!  -- Guitar Man