desertbluesman

I buy cheapo guitars, and set them up myself. I have an Ibanez RG321 that cost me $272 shipped I had to file the frets and re solder the tone pot, that was over 10 years ago. I still play it every 3rd day and I wouldn't want a more expensive guitar since this is the most versatile guitar that I have ever owned. And I have owned at least 30 over the years, including 4 or so Les Paul Customs, a Firebird, several Strats, a 60's tele. a custom made guitar from Philip Petillo, several SG's and countless others. If the neck is straight and the pups are decent, I can do anything with that guitar that I need done. Expensive don't mean squat, it is the player and the set up that matters. I also have a 300 buck Strat Clone I fixed up, and a homemade parts caster that I made 30 years or more ago, all 3 out play anything else I have ever owned for sound quality and ease of playing..

I had a TX 81Z as well back in those days. I used a custom made Philip Petillo guitar with the GK1 pickup added to do the guitar to MIDI work. The Roland GM 70 would drive 4 synths each on it's own MIDI channel. I do not know what a 700 was as mentioned above. My set up could use any guitar as long as it had the GK1 pup installed next to the bridge between the rear pup and the bridge. The DX rack was awesome, you could use the 8 modules on one channel doing the same thing but de-tuned a bit to make the sound huge or use each module on its own MIDI channel doing separate things. I sold it as well as one of my D550's to Jazzy Jeff, Will Smiths DJ, and Will picked up the other D550. I sold most of the stuff through Tekcom in Philly which went out of business several years later. Will Smith and Jazzy Jeff did biz at Tekcom, I never met them. I just collected the money from Tekcom.

Welcome Dolemite,

@ Winston PSmith. As a Synth guy, you may be interested in what I did with Maybe I'm Amazed (McCartney) as I mentioned above as the most difficult tune I ever learned. I was using 4 synths and a Roland GM70 Guitar to MIDI unit, so I added strings, piano, organs, using 2 Roland D 550's, a Mks 1000 Piano module, a Roland MKS 70 synth, and a full Yamaha TX rack (8 Yamaha DX 7's in a rackmount (all in rack mount), it sounded awesome with the added guitar sound as well. Picture of the TX rack

I have had a Mac system as well. Thanks for the reply amigo.

sorry double post

Thanks bro. I do not mind the set up issues it will take me a day to do that. I am using old software, and am spending zero bucks. just trying to get some ideas on for new recording projects. I have just about got the new laptop up and running, perhaps tomorrow. Once that is done I will do some major uninstalling on this computer (the desktop destined for DAW work). I have been doing digital recording via computer since the late 90's, so I am well versed in how to use that old software to the fullest. I started out on analog gear, I once had an Otari 16 track 30 ips machine and an Otari Half Track 30 ips machine with a TAC Scorpion 24x16 Console. I ran them with a Macintosh plus computer and locked the whole schlemiel together with SMPTE time code. So I was in on the whole digital recording process from day 1, using MIDI only sequencers, editing programs for the Synths and samplers, and a host of MIDI capable outboard gear. My Windows DAW with a small amount of software out does that analog stuff by far for ease of recording, and ease of editing and mixing. A project that would take me days on the analog gear, I can get done in an afternoon with a computer based DAW.

Thanks amigo. Good info.

Can't make it to SF anytime soon.

The chord progression on guitar for Maybe I'm Amazed a Paul McCartney piano tune. I had to have Steven Weinglass my buddy from way back, teach me the chords from his piano, note for note a long time ago, because I did not know those chords in the way that they were played on piano. So he looked at each piano chord, gave me the notes, I made up the fingering from the notes, and learned it. I still play it to this day, every day in my warm ups.

Have fun with it amigo.

Thanks amigo. I used to do this stuff in a single day but nowadays I need naps between sessions.

I might be up and running in a week or three with a new DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). I bought a new laptop the other day and I am going to start using my Dell desktop as a DAW. I am still all set up in my shed for DAW work, all I need to do is configure Windows 10 for DAW work. I want to keep it off of the internet, so I can shut off Windows Defender, and keep Windows from downloading updates. I have to figure a way to do that. I also want to get rid of Cortana and Windows Edge somehow. Once I am off of the web with that computer I can disable those two. (Google is my friend) I read of a way to do that, so once I have the laptop up and running, I can delete most of the stuff off of the desktop, and have at it. The desktop is an Intel I-5 with plenty of RAM with a solid state hard drive and I have a few external drives one of which is also Solid State. So it should work well. Does anyone know of a way to force delete windows folders like Cortana and Edge? I have read of ways to disable them by changing the folder addresses, but bagging them up and trashing them would be even better.

I'll stick with my Strat Clone my Parts Caster, and my Ibanez RG321. Easy to play sitting down or standing. The feel of the guitar against me is important, and the Strats and Ibanez work well for that & sound great.

Very neat heads up amigo.

Neat looking

The fire never got near us that time, the next year however, only 5 of the 36 houses on the street made it through that fire, the rest burned to the ground. My in laws house was only minimally damaged, a little scorched and a melted window frame or 2. I hope all goes well for y'all in that area. Sonoma looks like it is quite a distance away from you, so I hope it states west of you for the duration.

You can be sure I won't be visiting during fire season at that time. I was up there for one fire about 3 or 4 years back. I stood on top of the mountain where my in laws live and watched the fire near Clear lake Ca. coming at us. Fortunately the wind shifted and it went another way. I was planning my escape routes for the first few days we were there. In fact as soon as I got there they shut down Hy 20 just after I passed it which is how I get from the I-5 into Clear Lake area. Of course I could have run to Calistoga and on down that a way, or up towards Ukiah and on up to 36 towards Red Bluff. Or down to Santa Rosa on the 101. I lived up in the Weaverville area, and Hayfork/Hyampom areas on/near 299, so I know my way around the north of Ca west of the I-5. But I would rather avoid the fires altogether.

Nice work Gary, Joe, and Dave Grohl I liked that one a bunch.

RIP Paul Barrere from Little Feat. I appreciated their stuff back in the day.

Next time I come north, I will be sure to stop by and we can jam a bit and I will do a set or two for the house and friends. (There might be a little seafood (clams) in my presentation, but y'all can forgive me that, because of my advanced age).

I think Vince fit in very well with the Eagles. I just watched a you tube video of them doing Take It To The Limit, and they smoked it. The Eagles were always a great band and I think Vince added to them something that they would be missing without the old group as it was. He brought it back to top shelf stuff. I hope he makes a bundle of bread from this new version of The Eagles. Vince deserves it, as do all the others in the band.

Sweet Dreams, that version came off of his first album just entitled Roy Buchanan, I had that one wore out and replaced several times, and the same for his Second Album as well. I listened to those albums every day several times over, for quite a few years.

I had that same feeling when I saw Roy Buchanan play for the first time. I went home and picked up my guitar, played a few licks and said to myself what the heck am I trying to do. After a few days, I perked back up and started stealing licks from Roy's albums. In fact Roy is the one and only guitarist that I ever tried to copy note for note. I did get the beginning of 5 String Blues down pat, and in fact I use that type of beginning on one of my originals (but in a much lower key) I also once knew the part starting at 2:27 and ending at 3:56 of The Messiah Will Come Again https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgOLDAWu6OY. I saw him do both live on his first national tour in a little venue in Wildwood New Jersey. There were only about 50 people in the room that night, and he was billed second on the bill, and I am almost positive the room was filled with guitar players and musicians. He stunned us all to silence that night. We all just sat there in total awe of his ability. I went there with 2 recent graduates of Berklee School of Music, and on the one hour ride home there was stunned silence in my pickup truck, when we stopped at the New Gretna toll plaza, one of the other musicians went "whew". and not another sound from anyone until the goodnights a half hour later..

And sometimes, it sounds good BECAUSE OF those "mistakes"! The one pictured above is one of my all time favorite guitars no matter who made them. It has one of the best set of varied tones of any of my instruments past and present. It is a joy to play, and I play it every 3rd day.