OldGuitarPlayer

The singer/mandolin/guitarist in my acoustic band uses one of these occasionally. http://www.fishman.com/product/loudbox-mini As for a replacement for her Fender electro/acoustic I'd suggest looking at Takamine or even Yamaha. It depends on how she wants to spend.

The late Jeff Healey. He was a great player but the two other guys in his band sucked... If only he had Omar Hakim & Marcus Miller as his band full time. This is the best version of this song you will ever hear. [video=youtube;8H0gvJPwf90]

No one on HCEG is a real bluesman. Unless John Mayer or Steven Seagal post here. Indeed.

Can I ask a serious question? Why is it that some (most) of you here act as if you can only play blues if you've felt "pain" and had to pay your "dues"? "oh my god he's never picked cotton, or had to sell chicken eggs by the side of the road, or never spun out of control on coke, therefore he hasn't paid his dues!" That's one of the laughable things I've ever heard. You middle aged white folks crack me up. I have done all those things and worse. Therefore I qualify as a real bluesman. Thanks!

John Mayer went through hell and back. It informs everything he plays. Most bluesmen don't have the deep well of angst to draw on that Mayer has. You simply don't know what you're talking about. Yes he just couldn't be satisfied with his rider Jennifer Aniston, slapping his pistol in her face and taking his key to the highway he was bilt out and bound to go to the crossroads. Apparently he is still able to barrelhouse all night long down by the riverside.

any guitar with the name Fender on it

"Is Eddie Van Halen the greatest rock guitarist that ever lived?" The answer to this is no. That title belongs to this man. Without him there would be no rock and roll guitarists...including Eddie Van Halen.

I see those guitars at thrift shops like Goodwill for like $40. The seller is nuts if he thinks he can get $250 for that. I think new they were $85-$100 tops.

The Garrison Guitar company was bought out by Gibson 2-3 years ago. The Gibson guitars that are made in Canada are built at the old Garrison factory in Newfoundland and Chris Garrison is head of that operation. Also, from what I understand some Garrison owners (not all) claim to have had problems with these guitars due to the fiberglass bracing. Has soon as Gibson bought the company they would not handle any Garrison repairs under warranty I tried a couple when they first came out and my verdict was...meh. Personally, I'd stay away.

I hardly know anything about tools. I got some locking Grovers for my acoustic and I require a nut driver to take the old ones on and put the new ones in. But I don't know how to size nut drivers. A 10mm nut driver would have a 10mm diameter correct? My (guitar tuner ) nuts are hexaganol and each side is 5mm with a diameter of 10mm. Correct. A small adjustable wrench will also do the job to loosen the nut enough to turn it easy with your fingers. Same thing when you put the new ones on. Hand tighten the nut first and then gently snug it down with the wrench. You do NOT need to torque it on.

My pick for used would be a Martin D28 a Gibson Hummingbird or Gibson J45.

Very good. I have seen his stuff too and he is excellent. Great tips for new aspiring bluesmen!

All laminate Yamaha F310 here for now...I had to sell my Taylor due to financial reasons... When I am financially stable again I plan on buying another Yamaha all laminate electric/acoustic FX370 (in Tobacco sunburst). I tried one out and I really liked it and feel it would be perfect for live shows or open mics. I'll keep the F310 for busking or taking to the park or whatever.

IIRC earlier discussions on this topic with Gary Palmer, it's actually the opposite: pinned-bridges are easier (and cheaper) to manufacture. hmmmm..I guess it's pretty well a simple process.

Years back I traded a portable keyboard to a guy at work for one of those inexpensive Ovation Celebrity guitars as a beater and it had the pinless bridge. I actually like the look and of course convenience of pinless bridges. I wonder why more companies don't adopt this design. I mean during the manufacturing process wouldn't it save time and materials?

Sorry but bubinga is an African wood similar to mahogany. My 12-string has bubinga back and sides and it looks like slightly dark mahogany. I wouldn't mistake it for rosewood in the dark. My old Yamaha G-50A had a bubinga fretboard and I kinda thought it looked strange but sort of nice. It has a different grain to it. I too had read that it was supposed to be an "African Rosewood... I know...it's not a great pic...

Neck angle, neck angle, neck angle. It is almost impossible to reset the neck on old Yamies and many need it. This is very true although I recently owned a 1978 model FG -331 that still had a good neck angle and played nicely once I had a new bone saddle made for it. Sometimes you get lucky. An easy way to see if the neck angle is bad is by checking the saddle. If the saddle looks like it's been sanded as far down as it will go and the strings are still way too high off the fretboard pass on the guitar....don't buy it. This is generally a sign that the guitar needs a neck reset which like Freeman says is almost impossible to do easily and inexpensively. Good luck!

Yamaha FG400A specifications: Year(s) Sold: 1989-95 Original MSRP(US$): $259.00 Top: Spruce Back / Sides: Nato (looks like mahogany) Neck: Nato Fingerboard: Bubinga (looks like rosewood) Tuners: Chrome Talk 'em down to $50.... But seriously if it's playable and the strings are not too high off the fretboard or the body is not all cracked and busted, I'd say $65 is good for a "beater" you can take to the cottage or camping etc... It's an all laminate guitar (not solid wood) so it's not as sensitive to sudden climate & humidity changes. Have you tried it out yet? That's the important factor.

I have googled and searched and can't find anything about this. Any guitar strap you buy has a small diameter hole in it. On an acoustic electric with an endpin jack, the strap has to be forced onto the strap button and it barely is on there. I am a bit worried about this. I was thinking of unscrewing the button off the post, putting the strap on the threaded post and screwing the button back on. But as I put on or off the guitar, the button will unscrew itself. Is there a product that accomodates for both a strap button, a strap lock, and an endpin jack? Or do I have to invent something... I have this same thing with the endpin jack on my guitar. I thin the idea is that the electric guitar cord jack is supposed to help but what if you want to use the strap unplugged?... I now see this product by Jim Dunlop that Crab_Cake mentioned....looks good...I'll have to get a few. Thanks

With that said I look forward to all of the experience and wit to be found here on this forum. Now it is time to go play! Nice to have you on board HarleyGator. Thanks for the enjoyable post and your introduction. Enjoy your guitars!!! All the best! OGP

This is the first time all 3 of my favorite acoustics have been photographed together. Left: 1989 Sigma/Martin DM2, Middle: 2007 Martin 000-15, Right: 2007 Taylor 114

That's a really cool guitar. How long have you had it?