daddymack

pickups and wood come to mind.... I do really enjoy playing my two Epis...a 2001 AlleyKat [Korean], and a 2008 Performer ME a/e [Indonesian]. Both were ordered on line from MF... rolled the dice on both and was not disappointed.

if you don't plan on playing it enough to build up calluses...why do you have a steel string guitar? For that matter, any guitar?

a picture of the instrument in question would likely prove helpful

Never heard of 'Sire'. Why is Larry Carlton's name on EVERY SINGLE MODEL...even though he is most associated with the ES-335? 1001g...look at Firefly guitars...bargain basement prices ... surprisingly good reviews.

it may well have been out on display at the SA store for many months under fluorescent light... 'Defective dyes'? Like I mentioned before, the Chinese have a bad habit of making unauthorized substitutions of chemical components to try to cut costs...this does look like a prime example.

was the guitar left out of its case most of the time? That is light-induced pigment change, for sure... very clear since the parts that were covered retain their original hue. I've seen worse...

I would suggest the OP ask this of the manufacturer...

exposure to light can affect pigments. I would venture to guess that this is not uncommon, because in my past experieince I learned Chinese factories are notorious for altering things like chemical compounds, pigments, finishes, etc., to try to 'save money', but they don't bother testing first. I changed factories in China frequently because of this type of stuff...they don't care what your contract says [yeah, good luck winning in a Chinese court]. If they can cut their costs, it is a win for them...too bad for your customers....and your long term business.

'my moderator powers' tell me the OP is in California...that answers part b.... exactly what are we trying to run AC power to? Most units manufactured in the past twenty years or so use something that looks like this: and I will bet you have one somewhere....if not, you can get at any hardware store or online

aside from someone having doodled on the pickguard, that is most likely, as badpenguin linked, some variant on the 'Stratotone'...could be a Harmony H44, Silvertone 1420, or an Alden...[maybe even an Airline....?] De Armond 'candy bar' pickup....classic 'gold foil' sound.

I would think one HiMax [that's 1kW, right?] would be plenty for vocals. Why would you want a sub? You are just vocals and guitar...no drums, no bass, no need for enhanced bottom...IMHO. a small 4 channel mixer would be all you should add. I've gigged with much less. I do like the EV Evolve stuff, better than, say, the Bose L1. I still have my Fishman SA220 [aka the Fishstick] which was my 'perfect solution' for solo gigs in small rooms over a decade ago and still is [vocals/guitar]; I have a scalable PA system [16ch, hotspot monitors, 8", 10" and 15" powered speakers for bigger stuff] but for solo/duo, less is more...and quick load in/out makes life simpler for us old farts...😎

in a perfect world...Micky D's would either not exist, or would serve food with some nourishment value...

Ah, this explains your absence..which was noted, but I thought, like so many others, the lure of other social media had taken you... nothing has changed...smilies still there...

isn't that just wonderful...this will make the MacWorld people even more smug....

ho hum a few bars and we can fake it...😉

the wiring may not the same on the replacement switch, or it requires a different cable connector, like one with stereo jacks.

Like I said...there is a buyer for everything. Whether they'll get 2 grand for it?

I'm not a fan of either one, but I'd likely go for the Proco. My issue is both offer their most viable selling point with non-footswitchable options; I know, the Boss has a remote port, but then I'm buying another pedal? To make the one I already have switch? Major conceptual fail for me. Both designs should have had a second foot switch, problematic on the Boss line stuff.

I did not say "please show me some of the 'occasionally stupid'"! and yet, someone will buy that...and pay over a grand for it. And their heirs will find it when they are gone and think, 'let's put it on Reverb.com....' One of the truths of a free market is there is a buyer for everything, you just have to find them.

ah, I'm a Troglodyte, too... the Gibson mod shop does a lot of interesting [and occasionally stupid] things to their 'leftovers'.

for the price of one Maz 18 or a Matchless, he could get the BJ and the AC-15!

funny...many years ago I bought a Thomas two tier with the foot bass pedals and a built in Leslie. The idea was to tear it apart, and reuse the foot pedals and Leslie separately as 'stand alone's. Nine years later, I wound up selling it intact [for 3x more than I paid, but I had done some much needed repair, including re-capping the Leslie's amp]. But after examining it all during the 'fixing', I deemed the split as more trouble than it was worth. There are plenty of Leslie sims and knockoffs out there nowadays....the best thing was I learned how to fix Leslies...and did that for our keyboard player many times [Fender Vibratone, 122, 147] as well as co-designing a custom road case [initially for Counting Crows keyboardist Charlie Gillingham] that incorporated mic holders and wiring so the Leslie never had to leave the case 'tray'. With the exception of the Applause fretless bass, all my guitars have hard cases. Apparently no one at Ovation/Kaman thought there was a need since it was such a limited appeal instrument. I have designed a case, but as I acquired it as I was preparing to move, the design is still waiting for me to set up my workshop. The curved back presented so many issues I opted to 'suspend' it with 3 slings. For now it is in a soft case that came with another guitar I bought, but the headstock sticks out the top. Since the fretless does not go on gigs, it isn't a big deal...except for our tendency here to have occasional earthquakes above 6 on the Richter scale....

side by side in two closets, in two different rooms [one for electrics, one for acoustics]...who bothers to count? She knows there are a lot, and she knows I'm still acquiring, but exactly how many....? and then there are all the amps, pedals...and PA gear...😎

none blacker...😉 and the black ukeleles, the black lapsteel, the brown lapsteel and the black electric violin aren't in that photo...and there are a couple guitars more now...I gave the mahogany SG away to MommaMack's cousin, and added a D'Angelico Premier DC [335] and a Danelectro 12 string [both black], an Applause [Ovation] acoustic-electric fretless short scale bass and a Martin a/e 12 string [not black... yet...]. What can I say? It became a 'thing' with me way back, and kind of snowballed...or coalballed...😁 The advantage is MommaMack just sees a 'black guitar'...and really doesn't know how many there are...

so do I, but there is no such thing as too many black guitars...😉