• Ernie Ball
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Dr. Metal

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Aug 31, 2002
Messages
62
Location
Apex, NC
No problem! Just calling it like I see it! Definitely! I was up checking your website, don't be surprised to see me walking into some smoky country bar in the future! And NOW I fully understand why you do it. Girls & guitars - nice pictures!! :)

lol! I thought you might get a chuckle out of that. So I embellished a bit, you really didn't pull out the Ouiji board. ;)

Thanks! I try. I didn't exactly grow up with money so I had to scrimp and save to get all my equipment and had to take care of it so it would last! It took 17 years for me to buy another guitar and now old main player just sits there and rarely gets touched. ANd I never thought I'd play anything else. EBMM won my heart though, so the Jackson will just continue to sit there. I'd like to get another JP6 - just with a stop tail piece and piezo. 4 1/2 now!

I played for a couple of hours last night and it is definitely greatly improved. I still have to get to Baltimore and get some 11s from GC. I might do that tonight.

Yeah, what you said.

Thanks again!

thanks for the kind words. it was a pleasure to meet you too !!!!!!
but u wern't suppose to let the voodoo secret out....;)

you sure care for yer geetars very well !!!!! not a mark on it.....& its what...4 years old ??

twas a funky combination of things that added up to the buzz.
1. a fair amount of upbow in the neck that was barely able to be overcome at standard pitch......but not Eb........ not enough available relief w/ the truss rod . pet necks are very thin..and can be
little sensitive to drop tunings.
2. a fair amount of fretware
3. nut slots are ever so slightly worn.
4. also..... for Eb.......using 11's will give u some more availible relief if u need til u send it to jon to judge upbow & determine refret or replacement.
 

Dr. Metal

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Joined
Aug 31, 2002
Messages
62
Location
Apex, NC
to clarify...........typically they are fine w/ Eb. the upbow & fretware was the main problom here.
Yes, I can confirm that. I played it for about 2 1/2 @ standard tuning and now about 2 years @ Eb and it has been fine until recently. I will continue to tune it @ Eb -- I just need to get it repaired and I'm going to try 11s.

In the FAQ it does talk about using a heavier guage for down tuning. I've read the FAQ a few times, but since I didn't have any problems, I forgot about that. It mentions that I'll likely have to widen the nuts slots, do you think I'll still have to do that with only one guage up on and old nut?
 
Last edited:

jchalas

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Nov 14, 2004
Messages
541
Location
mid-Atlantic, USA
Hey Rick,

It was great meeting you too. Thanks for driving all the way over here so Thom could play with your baby (a.k.a. guitar). Haha

You were intimidated? Is that why you were noodling on the acoustic with your back to us? ;)

As for the website pics - Thom tells me they were taken by another band member but I'm sure there are some interesting stories behind them.

Hope you get to check out one of the bands sometime soon. I recommend the girls vs. the country band. Just my preference.

Janice


Well, I went to Tommy's house last nght. Luckily our little snow storm blew out in time and the ride wasn't bad (other than getting through Baltimore rush hour).

First off, I want to again thank Tommy for taking his valuable time with me and my guitar last night! Dude, you rock! And people -- this guy can PLAY! Not to mention his touch with guitars. I learned so much from him last night and I really had a great time. So what if I didn't get home until 1:30am! Turns out he is 1:20 from me, but the ride went fast. He has an awesome collection of Balls and deserves every one of them. Did I mention that he can really jam?!?!?! I felt intimidated to play my guitar in front of him! I look forward to checking out his band sometime just to hear him open it up through an amp.

And I also can't forget to thank his wife! She rocks too! It is really cool to see a woman so into cool music and so supportive! Definitely one very cool couple! Thanks for everything last night!!

Anyhow, as I already mentioned he knows guitars and he surmised in his first post, it was plain old fretwear! To the point where the guitar has no relief adjustment left in it. So foo came the strings and Tommy worked his magic. Not sure what was up with the incense, the Oiuji board, the rattle, and voodoo guitar, but he worked his magic. ;)

He redressed the frets and they look and feel amazing. The guitar was too far gone to completely work out the buzz, but it is a dramatic improvement and will buy me time to finish recording, our upcoming festival, and possible early summer tour.

One of the things I learned is that IF my band used standard tuning instead of Eb, I'd be OK too. Tuning down that half step without going to 11's doesn't afford the neck the tension that it is designed to work with. I'm going to try 11's on for size to see how that works for me. I think it may work out just fine, plus that will ikely get rid of the last bit (very little) of buzz left and defintely help me last through to the summer.

Oh yeah, Tommy really polished it up last night and it looks amazing. I took some pictures tonight and will try to post some as soon as I can!

Jon, I will likely be sending it to you as soon as I can this summer so you can have at it (as Tommy suggested). You come highly recommended!
 

Dr. Metal

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Joined
Aug 31, 2002
Messages
62
Location
Apex, NC
Janice,

Thanks, I definitely enjoyed meeting you two and getting the chance to hang out a bit. lol! No, thank you!

Yes, I was. I've always been a "band" player and not much of the "one man show." But I love that and would love to be better at that. Plus, I wish I was better versed in other styles. I LOVE playing on stage, but have always disliked playing in music stores. Hahahaha... kinda. Quite the perceptive one, aren't you?

I'm sure. It looks like a recurring theme. Definitely good PR.

OK, I'll keep that in mind. As you may have guessed, I'm not much of a country fan either, but do enjoy some of the guitar work at times. Where ever I get to see him tear it up more is what I really want to see. I'm love live music and can get into almost anything in that setting. I've love to see Tommy play in a Dregs tribute band!

Take care,
Rick

Hey Rick,

It was great meeting you too. Thanks for driving all the way over here so Thom could play with your baby (a.k.a. guitar). Haha

You were intimidated? Is that why you were noodling on the acoustic with your back to us? ;)

As for the website pics - Thom tells me they were taken by another band member but I'm sure there are some interesting stories behind them.

Hope you get to check out one of the bands sometime soon. I recommend the girls vs. the country band. Just my preference.

Janice
 

jchalas

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Joined
Nov 14, 2004
Messages
541
Location
mid-Atlantic, USA
Rick,
The Aftershock Band plays Dregs tunes and are getting together for the Lambertville Shadfest on Sunday April 29th. According to the members and the Shadfest schedule, they will be playing 1 set at 2:30. Follow this link for more info:
http://www.lambertville.org/main.php?page=shadfest#entsched

The guys are great, they are a lot of fun to listen to and Thom has played with them on many occasions. If you go, ask for Chuck (keyboard), Jorge (bass) or Nick (guitar).
Janice

Janice,

<snip>OK, I'll keep that in mind. As you may have guessed, I'm not much of a country fan either, but do enjoy some of the guitar work at times. Where ever I get to see him tear it up more is what I really want to see. I'm love live music and can get into almost anything in that setting. I've love to see Tommy play in a Dregs tribute band!

Take care,
Rick
 

Dr. Metal

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2002
Messages
62
Location
Apex, NC
Rick,
The Aftershock Band plays Dregs tunes and are getting together for the Lambertville Shadfest on Sunday April 29th. According to the members and the Shadfest schedule, they will be playing 1 set at 2:30. Follow this link for more info:
Lambertville, New Jersey Chamber of Commerce

The guys are great, they are a lot of fun to listen to and Thom has played with them on many occasions. If you go, ask for Chuck (keyboard), Jorge (bass) or Nick (guitar).
Janice
Hey Janice,

Great to hear from you! Thanks for the info. Man, that sucks... this Sunday is the LAST time the band is getting together before we play the festival in San Francisco the following Saturday and its at my house - NO WAY I can miss that. I do appreciate you keeping me in mind. I WILL come out and see Thom in some incarnation of band sometime - hopefully soon! After the festival, things should start to calm down for me.

I spent last weekend (including Friday which I took off from work) in the recording studio. That's getting pretty far along now too! I might be borrowing or buying an 814CE to finish recording the acoustic work (and re-record the parts I laid with lesser acoustics). I can't wait to let you hear some of the new stuff because I'm pretty proud of the solos I've been writing for this disk.

I put 11s on about 4-6 weeks ago and have loved them. Still didn't pull the neck in quite enough but helped. I really like the feel and tone though. 11s are a keeper!

Take care and keep in touch!

Rick
 
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