I have a guitar project for this weekend. I need to do some research first.
There is some nasty fret buzz around the second fret on my ES-335. Here’s hoping it’s something I can fix myself. I certainly hope so considering I had a professional work on it just a few months ago.
Obligatory I’m-in-the-office-today-so-I’d-best-snap-some-photos-before-I-leave-the-house pics, which are by definition either cat pictures or guitar rig pictures. This time around it’s guitar rig pictures. Variety is the spice of life and shit.
Still very pleased with my cheap-o third party lens, but I really need to go outside and do a photo-takin’ walk around somewhere to really put it through its paces to know if I got a really good deal or just a regular good deal. Next week we are on vacation but are just staying home (a staycation, as it were) so I hope to have a few opportunities for photo walks. I’ll let you know.
I played some guitar this morning. I put rhythm and lead tracks onto one 50/90 song, and leads onto two more. I played very poorly and my finger tips have been torn to shreds. Serves me right for going almost a week without playing at all.
Here is a photo to prove that I don’t always have my guitar’s volume controls maxed…
(I was doing the Clapton thing where you use both pickups but roll the neck pickup’s volume off a little. It’s not as famous as his “woman tone” thing [dude, come up with better names for this stuff] but it’s something he did when he was still playing Gibsons. Oh, and the woman tone thing? Play the neck pickup and just turn the tone knob all the way down. He sometimes did it with both picksups as well, turning both tone controls all the way down)
Finally, in case you were wondering…
No guitar playing today. I’m in the office again and there wasn’t time before work and there likely won’t be time after work. I expect the same tomorrow as I’ll be in the office again. That will be three days this week. Ouch.
Thursday though. Expect good news on Thursday (but don’t bank on it).
Is the hashtag supposed to be #GibsonDay or is it #GibSunday? They both work. Should I just use both of them?
I haven’t played today, but I did get a couple of pics for whichever hashtag is the right one. I am so unhip.
Yesterday I mentioned that watching a YouTube video lead me to want to buy a Gibson Firebird.
That was yesterday. Today a YouTube video is leading me to want to buy another Gibson Les Paul.
Gear Acquisition Syndrome (G.A.S.) is a bitch, people. It’s a serious problem.
That Pedal Show on YouTube released a new episode yesterday and it is about 90 minutes exclusively on the Gibson Firebird.
I haven’t quite watched all of it yet, but I’m down to the last few minutes.
Seriously… for the good of society (as well as my bank account) please… whatever you do… don’t let me go near a music store for a few days at least. If I walk into a Guitar Center (or something similar) I am absolutely not going to be able to stop myself and I am 100% walking out of that store with a Firebird.
For the love of all that is good in this universe, don’t let me go into a music store.
A few years ago I found a website that lets you use the serial number from your Gibson guitar to get information about your Gibson guitar. At the time I had two Gibson guitars. I’ll look them up again, then I will look up my two newer Gibson guitars.
First, my Les Paul Custom:
Your guitar was made at the
Nashville Plant, TN, USA
on September 18th, 1978
Production Number: 27
Next, my ES-335 Pro:
Your guitar was made at the
Kalamazoo Plant, MI, USA
on December 5th, 1979
Production Number: 127
Okay then, those are my two older guitars which might technically be considered “vintage.” Now let us check on the two guitars from the 21st century.
Start with my SG Standard:
Well… this is weird. There are two hits.
Your guitar was made at the
Nashville Plant, TN, USA
on March 10th, 2012
Production Number: 286
Your guitar was made at the
Nashville Plant, TN, USA
in 2018
Production Number: 2258
Right. I bought this one new after Gibson declared bankruptcy in 2018. It actually has a stamp on the back of the headstock right under the serial number that says, “Made in USA 2018 Model.” I guess that means it’s a 2018.
Okay, now lastly my Les Paul Standard 50’s:
Your guitar was made at the
Nashville Plant, TN, USA
in 2023
Production Number: 210004
Huh… right… so the guitar that my wife bought me for my 50th birthday back in 2021 was made in 2023… huh… so looks like the app doesn’t know how to handle the serial numbers from 2021. I guess I should Google it to see if I can find anything…
Turns out they changed the serial number format in 2019 and now we have this info:
It was made on November 16, 2020 and is production number 42.
I can tell by the look on all of your faces that you are fascinated by this.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. When I die, this sucker is going into the casket with me.
I’m probably taking most of this stuff with me too.
I managed to sneak in some guitar playing today in between my doctors appointment and punching in to work. The recording project I am trying to work through right now had three songs that needed lead guitar tracks. I finished off all three of them. My playing was poor at best, but who cares. Bad playing is better than no playing, right?
Here’s where things get super nerdy. I had three songs that needed work… and I used a different guitar on each song. My only regret is that I didn’t have a forth song to work on so I didn’t get to use all four of my guitars. Oh well. In further nerd news, I took a picture of each guitar with my Nikon Z5 and… well… nerd… I took a selfie with my iPhone of me playing each guitar too. Thanks, camera app on my Apple Watch that has a timer built into it.
Inside the Red Head's Head 