Joined: 19 Sep 2003 Posts: 646 Location: City of Trees, USA
Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2005 9:52 am Post subject: Guitar Stolen
Well this is no fun, and chances of someone on this BBS running across it are pretty slim, but just in case: Taken in an office burglary Sunday night January 9: My American Series Stratocaster (c. 2003), black, maple fretboard, tremolo, white pickguard, last three digits of serial no.: 418. If the thieves are dumb enough to keep the Fender ABS case and not tear the bumper stickers off of it, look for a sticker for Mt. Shasta, and a "BBVD" Big Bad Voodoo Daddy sticker (both gifts from one of my daughters). Thanks. _________________ - BlueRunner
Joined: 29 Jan 2004 Posts: 1504 Location: Methuen, MA
Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2005 10:18 am Post subject:
Sorry to hear, BlueRunner. If one of mine were taken away from me, whether it be my prized Baker or my $149 Ibanez electric, I'd be terribly bummed.
Reminds me of a post I read in another forum not long ago about Frank Gambale having a bunch (a dozen +?) guitars stolen from a break-in in his home while he was away touring. As you might imagine, most of them were priceless and irreplaceable...
Joined: 19 Sep 2003 Posts: 646 Location: City of Trees, USA
Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2005 1:31 pm Post subject:
JohnnyZ: Thanks for the sympathy. In the greater scheme of things, the guitar didn't have high emotional value, and is replaceable (at a price of course, but cheaper than the last crown my dentist did). For perspective, its loss was discovered the same day lots of people near us, including some we know, lost everything, including their lives, due to mudslides, but also the same day that we sucessfully navigated hairy flooded roads to get to LAX to pick up our youngest daughter, safe and sound after spending five months in Africa doing wildlife research (including some species that don't really care if they kill you and eat you.)
Please tell me more about your $149 Ibanez. What model, and what do you like about it? After this incident, I'm giving seriousl thought to a less expensive guitar that I can use as a "beater," e.g., the guitar I leave in the car, take travelling, take to lessons, leave at the office from time to time, leave out on a stand at home, etc. With something like that I can step up the security for my other guitars and still have a convenient axe. Of course, I'm liable to get emotionally attached to such a guitar, but oh well.
Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 886 Location: SF Bay Area
Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2005 7:52 pm Post subject:
Blue, Sorry to hear about your axe getting swipped. I'm also sorry for the loss of your friends and neighbors. Even if it does put things sort of in perspective, anytime someone has the gaul to take something that doesn't belong to them, I can sympathize with the personal loss. I had my house cleaned out 14 years ago and lost was a '56 Epiphone Rivera like the one Robben has now. Of no special value to the crooks but a wonderful axe.
On beaters, the Squire stuff is fine. I had a $129 Affinity Tele that I replaced the bridge pickup on and it played great. Actually a nicer neck than the AS I have now. Also have an Epiphone 56 LP. Both guitars are gig worthy and no appologies for the lable on the headstock. More than fine for lessons and messing around. _________________ There are no such things as wrong notes, there's only the look on your face.
My Stuff: www.stevekirbymusic.com
Joined: 26 Nov 2003 Posts: 916 Location: Fairhope, AL
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:08 am Post subject: beaters
I'm glad to hear you are all safe from the wild weather out there, but it's really rotten about the guitar. I have a Squire Tele that I picked up on Ebay that plays great, stays in tune, and even has decent tone. I use it a lot on gigs. I also have an Ibanez AS80(335-clone)that gets some gig-time as well. I wouldn't hesitate to replace either of them if something happened to them. I sure hope they catch whoever did the break-in.
Frank
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:20 am Post subject: robbers are doomed
Hey Blue runner in 2000 i bought a 335 Epiphone made in Korea for
250 Bucks, a little heavy , will need hardware replacement (knobs and wiring)as well as the PUP. But it's a good guitar, stay intune, average Gibson pickups.
..........................
Joined: 21 Jul 2003 Posts: 401 Location: College Station, TX
Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2005 8:19 am Post subject:
While in the broad scheme of things, like floods and earthquakes, the loss of a guitar is pretty insignificant, but it still hurts, especially to those of us with limited resources. Way back in 1978 I had a 64 Strat and a 68 Les Paul Custom stolen. I still carry the police report in my wallet, more as a reminder as to how stupid I was than in the hope of ever getting them back. I could probably fund my kids college education with those two guitars these days.
But the impact was significant on my choices of instruments and the realization that it is more important to be a good player with whatever you have than to amass lots of toys. I tried for several years to replace these 2 guitars but never found anything close to the magic I experienced with them. These days I play a 10 year old American Standard Tele that cost me all of 300 bucks, but has a great neck and with the addition of Lace PUs and some tweaking it can cover a wide range of tones. I have the opportunity now to spend some major coin on a second guitar but am having real difficulty in getting excited about spending 2500 bucks for a PRS or Anderson or what have you. Since I play in an Elvis band from time to time I am more excited about finding a good MIJ pink paisley tele cheap!
Joined: 19 Sep 2003 Posts: 646 Location: City of Trees, USA
Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2005 9:10 pm Post subject:
The theft is this: , but all of your good wishes and support is this: . Many thanks. And you're all right. In the grand scheme of things, it's still just stuff. The music's still here.
In the meantime, though, if you want to really get sick to your stomach, here's a list of the stuff stolen from blues harp great James Harman a while ago:
Joined: 29 Jan 2004 Posts: 1504 Location: Methuen, MA
Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2005 12:41 pm Post subject:
BlueRunner wrote:
In the meantime, though, if you want to really get sick to your stomach, here's a list of the stuff stolen from blues harp great James Harman a while ago:
BlueRunner, sorry, but after seeing Frank Gambale's post on what was stolen from him, I cannot bring myself to hit that link... Real bummer, I'm sure...
But, as you said, the music is still there. That's the most important thing...
Joined: 29 Jan 2004 Posts: 1504 Location: Methuen, MA
Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2005 10:56 am Post subject:
Aeolian wrote:
On beaters, the Squire stuff is fine. I had a $129 Affinity Tele that I replaced the bridge pickup on and it played great. ... More than fine for lessons and messing around.
Being a firm believer that one can never have enough guitars , and since I've always had an eye for a Tele, I decided to buy an inexpensive one to mess around with. Musician's Friend, and other web stores, carry a special edition butterscotch blonde Affinity Tele for ~$169, plus MF throws in a free MF gig bag. Just got it, and it is quite a beauty! I like the feel of the neck, and the action is low so it plays easily. However, the one thing that disappoints me is the roughness of the edges of the frets. They're actually very sharp! If I would've picked this guitar up in a local shop and felt this, I probably would've put it back and moved on. But, since I now own this guitar and really like the way it looks, I'm definitely keeping it. So, what can I do to smooth out the edges?
Joined: 16 Jun 2004 Posts: 56 Location: Mesa , Arizona (Its a Dry Heat!)
Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2005 5:45 pm Post subject:
JohnnyZ wrote:
Aeolian wrote:
On beaters, the Squire stuff is fine. I had a $129 Affinity Tele that I replaced the bridge pickup on and it played great. ... More than fine for lessons and messing around.
......So, what can I do to smooth out the edges?
Thanks,
~JZ~
Here is what I do and it works very well for me.
I have two arkansas stones (the type you use for sharpening knives).
One is about 4" x 2" (a little rougher cut). The other is about 4" x 1" and very smooth.
Set the arkansas stone against the fret edges at about a 45 degree angle (or to whatever the fret end are clipped).. Run the arkansas stone down the entire edge of the neck. Go slow and be careful and you can dress the fret ends very nicely. I finish up with the fine stone to polish up the ends.
I have done this on all my Japanese telecasters (Paisley and Floral) and they play and feel like dream.
If it is worrysome, take the guitar to a good tech and have them dress the fret ends.
Gary _________________ -------------------------------------------------------
Playing Bass, one thump at a time.
www.glaswerks.com www.tsjband.com
-------------------------------------------------------
Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 886 Location: SF Bay Area
Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2005 6:42 pm Post subject:
Go to Stewart MacDonald www.stewmac.com and they have all kinds of files for fretwork. They make one with no cutting surfaces on the sides that's great for doing the ends of the frets. Looking though the catalog, pretty soon you'll get the bug to do one of those cheap guitars yourself. After all, why put a $250 fret job into a $150 guitar. But for $15 in frets and a few hours on the kitchen table you can have that thing playing like the high dollar spread. _________________ There are no such things as wrong notes, there's only the look on your face.
My Stuff: www.stevekirbymusic.com
Joined: 19 Sep 2003 Posts: 646 Location: City of Trees, USA
Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2005 7:07 pm Post subject:
Wow. Say "3-Corner Fret Dressing File" fast, six times.
Interesting discussion. By coincidence the Squire Affinity tele is a guitar I looked at the other day in a local shop, and the fret-ends were a little bit on the sharp-and-nasty side. So I checked out some reviews and discussions on the web, and lots of folks felt the same way. For $169, there are just some things you don't get.
On the other hand, I've read lots of postings and reviews from folks who bought a $150 guitar and claim that it's great ... after they've had the frets redone, installed different pickups, did all sorts of stuff with the wiring, etc. In other words, it's great after they've turned it into a $500 guitar.
The insurance company may come through with a little money, and then I'll get serious about the inexpensive but practical guitar I can take anywhere and not worry too much about. _________________ - BlueRunner
Joined: 29 Jan 2004 Posts: 1504 Location: Methuen, MA
Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2005 6:03 am Post subject:
Awesome replies! Very much apprciated...
Funny, I clicked on one of the forum picture ads for Wildwood Guitars because it showed a Tele similar to what I just bought. Of course, this was a vintage '52 Fender Tele reissue worth, or should I say, with an asking price much more than what I just paid for my Affinity Squire. While looking at the details shown in the various views of that guitar, I thought I was looking at mine, seriously. Everthing appeared exactly the same. I'm sure there's some major differences, but they weren't obvious to me. They probably sound much different too. But heck, I now feel like I scored a vintage '52 for cheap dough!
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Well this is no fun, and chances of someone on this BBS running across it are pretty slim, but just in case: Taken in an office burglary Sunday night January 9: My American Series Stratocaster (c. 2003), black, maple fretboard, tremolo, white pickguard, last three digits of serial no.: 418. If the thieves are dumb enough to keep the Fender ABS case and not tear the bumper stickers off of it, look for a sticker for Mt. Shasta, and a "BBVD" Big Bad Voodoo Daddy sticker (both gifts from one of my daughters). Thanks.
, but all of your good wishes and support is this: 
. Many thanks. And you're all right. In the grand scheme of things, it's still just stuff. The music's still here.
, and since I've always had an eye for a Tele, I decided to buy an inexpensive one to mess around with. Musician's Friend, and other web stores, carry a special edition butterscotch blonde Affinity Tele for ~$169, plus MF throws in a free MF gig bag. Just got it, and it is quite a beauty! I like the feel of the neck, and the action is low so it plays easily. However, the one thing that disappoints me is the roughness of the edges of the frets. They're actually very sharp! If I would've picked this guitar up in a local shop and felt this, I probably would've put it back and moved on. But, since I now own this guitar and really like the way it looks, I'm definitely keeping it. So, what can I do to smooth out the edges?
