Black Sabbath (9/3/13)

I had been listening (and playing) to Black Sabbath ever since I learned how to play guitar.  So when the band announced a tour date in Los Angeles, I was all over Ticketmaster.  Ozzy, Tony and Geezer was joined by drummer Tommy Clufetos at the LA Sports Arena and they did one heavy set of old standards and songs off the new album '13'.  The kids tagged along for this concert even though it was a school night -- I was not going to deprive them of this opportunity.  The only thing that really sucked is the parking in the LA Coliseum complex.  A half hour to get it and a hour to get out.  For some reason, the parking lot personnel did nothing but collect my $20.  No marshalling, no traffic control.

When To Leave Things Alone

Some guitars just have that personality that you cannot help but notice.  This Olympic White MIM Fender Strat sat at the Guitar Center in Covina probably as the least noticed of all the used electrics.  It was missing two knobs, the fretboard was filthy and worn and the pickguard was dirty and scratched.  On the other side of that equation, people pay top dollar for relic'd strats so why was this only selling for $225?

When I plugged it in, I knew it had a strong sound.  Played "State of Love and Grace" and it roared.  Played "Prayer of The Refugee" and the fretboard is fast.  Did I need another strat? No.  Did I need "this" strat? Yes.  And it came in Olympic White.
When I finally got it after a week hold (California State Law), I was on the fence whether to clean it up and replace the missing volume and tone knobs with matching ones.  After a day of deliberation, I finally decided to leave it alone with the exception of adding a couple mismatching knobs.  Now, the guitar has such a distinct personality that it easily is my favorite MIM strat.  Sometimes, leaving things alone is the best action to take.

Never Judge on Looks Alone

This is my Tacoma DR-12 dreadnought I bought from Pedrini's Music in Alhambra in 1999.  It is actually my favorite acoustic guitar because it is loud, the neck is wide and the tone of the solid spruce top projects well.  I played it consistently up until 2006 -- when it met a terrible accident during a family trip to Sacramento where the lower bout got smashed and the binding started detaching.

It sat in a case, damaged until 2 weeks ago when I decided to take it to get repaired.  The luthier, Henry at Folk Music Center in Claremont put it back just enough to not make it worse.  Carpenter's glue is all the magic he needed to make it playable again.  I picked it up today and played it for the first time in years and I now remember why I prefer the DR-12's tone over any Taylor acoustic I have.  Like an old friend I haven't seen in years, literally, it felt familiar.  I recognize the tones I get from it.

The abalone inlay work around the soundhole was done very well and added to its overall visual appeal when I first picked up the instrument in '99.  Add the clear pickguard and it was not like any other guitar I have.  When I put it away in 2006, the finish coat was still perfect, seeing nothing but the dark confines of the case, stashed away in a closet.  When I opened it last year, I was just shocked at the finish coat starting to peel off like a scab on a healing wound.  WTF?  It started in the rosewood sides and at the Gumby-shaped headstock.

A little bit of research revealed this was a Tacoma problem for a few years built around the time I got mine.  Fender Musical Instruments bought Tacoma in 2004 and had since stopped making Tacoma brand guitars.  Warranty on the finish?  Foggetaboutit.  Yes, a "Made In USA" guitar can undergo really crappy manufacturing processes.  But what's interesting about this guitar, is if you can ignore its visual ugliness, it still sounds excellent.  So like they always say, don't let appearances fool you.  The soul of any instrument is not revealed until after it speaks.

Epiphone Valve Junior

The search for the ultimate tone is what most would use to justify a new amp.  For yours truly, there isn't a single "tone" I'm looking for but a way to get the best sound out of a guitar.  I know for a fact, my Tele doesn't sound good on my Marshall and at the same time, my Midtown doesn't sound too good on the Vox.  The absolute worse case scenario is an amp specifically chosen for each guitar in the collection.  Not only is this not feasible but only not practical both financially and space-wise.  This Epiphone Valve Junior is attractive on a couple of aspects.  First, the price I got if for used on Craigslist at $200 is reasonable enough that I know I can sell it for the same amount if I don't like it in the long run.  Second, I had read a lot of good reviews on the speaker cabinet that contains a single 12-inch Eminence Lady Luck rated at 70 Watt (16 Ohms).  And last, Epiphone stopped making this particular amp in 2012 -- meaning the demand may continue for a discontinued item.

From a power standpoint, the 5 Watt rating on a single EL84 power section isn't enough to cut through a full drum kit and bass playing at volume.  I tried the Valve Junior with my Talman, Jaguar and Mustang and finally settled on the tone I was after with a single coil Strat (and Tele) but the volume just wasn't there.  But hey, that's why guitarists mic amps into the PA system right?

The front face controls is no-nonsense -- a single volume knob, an input jack and an on/off switch.  No gain, no tone and certainly no standby power.  There are 3 speaker output options at 4, 8 and 16 Ohms so I'm somewhat curious to try the head with a 4 and/or 8 Ohms speakers.  The Valve Junior is popular with mod monkeys and I've read people buying the half stack model, reselling the head and keeping the cabinet.  Overall, it was worth the drive to Hesperia to pick it up from the seller.

EMG HZ Pickups

I bought the used Fender Jaguar bass for my son from CL and it looked relatively new.  The protective plastic on the pick guard had not been removed and for $275, it was what I was looking for.  However, within a week, he realized that his Shecter bass -- which had active EMG pickups sounded way better across the entire range.  We ended up going to Guitar Center auditioning various pickups and EMG is definitely the sound he was looking for.  Only problem is the Jaguar is not built for active pickups so the choices were limited at best.

He eventually settled for the EMG HZ passive pickups for PJ bass configuration which Amazon carried for about $100.  The actual swapout only took about 30 minutes and did not require removal of the pickguard -- just the potentiometer plate which is on a separate chrome bezel.  The fit is perfect and the sound has the presence that the kid is looking for.

Still not sure what to do with the stock pickups (below).  They are typical of the electronics that are on guitars manufactured in the Far East -- fully functional but lack the gain and dynamic range of the EMGs.  This little exercise did reminds me of what I've always known about electric guitars -- the quality of the sound is only as good as the pickups installed.  Overall, EMGs are more than a third of what I paid for the instrument.

Gibson Midtown Custom

Possibly the nicest guitar I have in the collection.  I like this Gibson Midtown Custom so much, I'm considering parting with my Gretsch 5420T.  Although they are different guitars, the playability on the Gretsch seems really low compared to this perfectly set up Midtown.  Currently out of production, I found this one used on Craigslist last week.  I had all my requirements -- black, Custom with the intricate headstock inlay and binding, used.  The previous owner had installed a Lollar single coil pickup for the neck and a PAF for the bridge.  The combination has a very wide range of tones although the warmth of bridge PAF is probably my favorite setting on this player's instrument.

I will post some more pictures later when I put it down long enough to take photograph it's features -- including some belt buckle rash in the back of the body.

CL Search Words

Some are colors, some are specific brands, some are models.  But all are Craigslist search words I've used in the past 6 months.

Stratocaster, Strat, Jaguar, Jag-Stang, Mustang, Jazzmaster, Surf, Daphne, SC300T, Talman, Jazz Chorus, Tube, Fiesta, Parker, Ultra, MIM, MIJ, Japan, Japanese, Delonge, Olympic, body, neck, v-neck, Jazz Bass, Vox, Anniversary, Reissue, Gretsch, Pedal, Pedalboard, Flextone, Tweed, Lake Placid Blue, Italia, Danelectro, Tempest, Wilshire, Pelham Blue, Tokia, AC15, AC30, Midtown, hollowbody, hollow-body, Mosrite, Seafoam Green, Stargazer, Telecaster, Tele