Electric Guitars, the first signs of obsession.

After making a coupe simple 3 string Cigar Box Guitars I came to the conclusion that buying a used guitar was much less work.. Duh..It was fun, but after the 3rd I was over it! After all now 3 or 4 strings just wasn't enough range.

                                  My 2nd bought electric guitar. Epiphone cherry Red 335 Dot

                                        The first is behind, a cheap fender copy, cost me $40.

I really wanted a Wildkat without a Bigsby but got this one with case for much less than expected.

Ibanez Artcore again with a Bigsby, again a great deal, so I brought it home.

This is the first New Guitar I Have. 

LTD EC 256 

Love this rig,but, the knobs are backwards! 

The layout and functioning takes a minute to get used to.

Behind it is the first guitar I took in on trade for another.

I took the Black Epiphone Les Paul on a trade for the Red Dot.

This thing must be made of concrete! It it feels like 12 lbs..

Soon after I bought all the parts from a Standard Pro that got its headstock snapped off.

The sound is much better in the beat up black one now and the white parts look great on black!

This one sounds and feels just like the LTD, and the position of the knobs is better.

Japanese Electric Guitars of the 60s-70s

I have become somewhat infatuated in these gems of my childhood. I was not interested in them as a kid that much. I knew, just like a mini bike, my parents would NEVER allow me one.....

My first buy was from a craigslist add, very nice condition needed little.

It has that loud high pitch sound this pickup is known for!

It is labeled Schafer, looks like a Teisco.

I play slide on open tunings, usually G or E.

One negative of these guitars is that many have fat wide necks that have almost no arch.

The only real problem with intonation on many lower end models is the in the bridge.

This is Not That Hard to fix!

 You can often get a used, fixed compensated, original style that actually work well and might fit the 'pins' in your original mount. If not just get the mount too.

The better option is to get an adjustable one used and hope it fits the pins or just get it to.

The most modern way would to get a setup like most modern electric guitars and drill new mound holes and press in the threaded bushings, sounds amazing and eliminates both the intonation and tailpiece problem areas. This will change the look alot and leave the original holes exposed.

My second was also from craigslist.

It is a Teisco 'Tulip'.

I was not told it had a original hard case (OHC) until I was ready to go and he said let me grab the case! WoooHooo! My 1st OHC....                                                              

                  

Zen On Tradition
Late 60s?

                                              This one came from a guy very near me with a add on the list.
I really dig that pick guard! Looks like some kinda ameba...This one was so clean under that pick guard I called it my 'Virgin'.

The Neck pickup was not working, I hoped it was a switch. Nope.

I hoped it was a simple connection. Nope.

The winding had a deteriorated spot on one end, now I am weighting my options.........

Sakia Rocco 

Late 60s

4 pickups, red swirl pick guard, German cut (edge routing) with intact wammy bar and the neck looks unused, sharp frets, sharp binding, nice laminate neck, tuners changed to grovers

Electric Guitars, Cigar Box Guitars started it all.

               My newest obsession seems to be Japanese Electric guitars of the 1960s-1970s.

It started with a Cigar Box Guitar.

A C.B.G. is basically a stick through a box.

It was fretless, has 3 strings that you use a slide and tune it in 'open' G,E or ?

With it came a small amp that uses a piezo mic stuck under the lid to send a signal, like a acoustic guitar pickup.

It took me a couple of weeks to make more sound than noise.....

After that I could not put it down, and built a box for it and its little amp.

I was fortunate that my job allowed me hours of time waiting in the car for my people over the next couple months. This gave me practice time with youtube beginners lessons.

This progressed into building a few that advanced into electric only that bordered on 'Boutique'.

It became Much more than a stick through a box!

A self powered,pre amplified, amplified, multi distortion pedal on board with the ability to power another guitar at the same time kinda CBG. It also has an external speaker that can plug in and has a stereo headphone jack.

Butcher makes a great prop for guitars!

I built 2 more CBGs then moved on to 6 strings.

I have 1 left half completed on my workbench.

Some day I will finish this one......I hope...

BMW K100 project

Craigslist got me again! I kept seeing this bike drop in price as I did my search for a very inexpensive project bike. Now that it's running great and all legal I will work on the small stuff.

I changed the intake system by eliminating the air box, no small job as the air flow meter is inside that air box!

I like the look of the bike without that big air filter box!

I didn't do it for performance just looks.

I didn't like the tail lights so I used LED strips.

Gran Canaria

For the last few weeks I have been on the island of Gran Canaria in the Atlantic ocean. This wonderful place is a Spanish Island that is a popular tourist destination, especially for the English and Germans. I came here for work but doing what I do I end up with time to explore on my own.

The beaches here have lots of sand, on the southern end of the island or mostly rocks with small narrow strips of sand everywhere else, 
The mountains are sharp and barren until you get to the higher elevations then you see trees, bushes and grass. 
The people are nice and speak many languages because tourism is the main source of income.
Driving here is easier than in California! Roundabouts everywhere and the local drivers are polite, but watch out for the tourists in rental cars!


I spent a week in Morocco, mostly Marrakech with a trip to to Essaouira on the coast.
I really liked Morocco with the great food and history all around! The architecture is amazing and the ceilings in the old historic buildings where fantastic. I posted many pictures and videos on G+ of my adventures on this trip.

I will use this sight as a place where all my blogs and G+ communities can be found. Of course this is an ongoing process that I will work on as time allows. Thanks for your interest!