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DirtyEd ...

That's one of the craziest lists I've ever seen ... well done, indeed! I may have had about a dozen acoustics over the years, and most of them were cheapie-cheap rigs that were marginal at best. It truly is a pastime of passion.

There was this Yamaha 12-string I had back in university which really stands out. It was right when Pink Floyd's "Wish You were Here" album came out (1975), and I remember feeling like a king when I learned the title track. The big full 12-string sound was awesome just strumming the chords, but I also remember how much fun it was to flat pick with it. We parted ways when I was cash-strapped, and I sold it for $100 to someone in my dorm, a pre-med student with lots of money. I only saw it a few more times after that for the rest of the semester, and regretted selling for a l-o-n-g time afterwards. I haven't owned a 12-string since, but some day ....

There's a couple of books about guitar collecting that are very cool. I have Jonathan Kellerman's, but don't have Steve Howe's (yet):

http://www.amazon.com/Strings-Attached- … s+attached

http://www.amazon.com/The-Steve-Howe-Gu … 0879302909

Books like these tend to acquire drool marks in places!

Sometimes the neck angle helps a lot with barre's.

For example, note that most classical guitarists have their neck pointing up at about a 45-degree angle. Perhaps try changing the way your strap holds the guitar off your shoulder, and see what happens ... worked very well for me. Having the neck out at almost parallel to the floor creates a very unnatural angle for the wrist, and that could well be the source of the difficulties. Just another view to consider ... hope it's some help.

Interesting question ...

Is the current neck a bolt-on or glued-in construction? A bolt-on is more easily replaced, whereas a glued set-in neck is major surgery. Here's a link to a step-by-step process to replace a set-in neck:

http://www.guitarspecialist.com/neck.htm

There are over a 100 steps by the looks of things .... scares the bejeebers out of me! That said, a good adventure is always fun to undertake whatever the outcome.

Nice job, Roger!

It looks great, and I'm sure you must be deservedly proud. There are more than a few of us now thinking, "Why not try a project like that?"

Congrats on your resurrected guitar!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We had our Canadian version last month, but one can never be too thankful.

On that note, I'd like to say how especially thankful I am for my dear wife. She doesn't go on Chordie so this isn't a "brownie point" post ... she's honestly one of the most terrific people I know. After a homeless man in a small town near here died a couple months ago, she began a charity drive to collect warm coats, sleeping bags, and other warm clothes for homeless folk. This evening, accompanied by our son and his girlfriend, we're going to be driving around looking for people in need, and hoping to make their nights a little warmer with clothes and sandwiches. This was all her idea and effort, and I'm thankful that the good Lord gave me such a caring person to be my best friend and wife of over 34 years now.

'Nuff said.

That's horrible news! Hopefully your repair guy can re-glue and clamp without major surgery. Re-gluing wood is almost impossible if the original glue can't be completely removed. If the wood pores are sealed with old glue, the new goo has nothing to hang onto. Feel for ya, buddy!

Phill ... absolutely LOVE your "mark of a good driver" slogan ... too funny, yet too true!

I hear your pain about your MOT system. We have something similar in Canada called "MVI" (Motor Vehicle Inspection). It's an annual / biannual inspection (depending on province) that covers the things you mention, so that the vehicle is both safe to drive and not harmful to the environment. As a car gets older, normal wear & tear increases the cost of keeping the vehicle, and some brands age better than others. No one really likes these costs, but the alternative would have larger costs in the overall scheme of things.

Beamer ...

That's a first-rate demo video of this amp ... thanks for posting! Clean or dirty, this thing has more voice and resonance than my VOX does, for sure. And at around $700 CDN it appears to be excellent value. I would like a Fender '65 Twin, but they're in the $1100 range and could well spark marital discord (LOL). I was wondering about things like build quality, and thank you for addressing.

Great info, Beamer ... thanks again!

That's a great looking new guitar, Roger ... congrats to you! The cedar + mahogany combo typically has a warm tone that lends itself well to ballads and folk tunes.

Have a blast with it!

My wife and I have been driving VW diesels for the past 35 years, which has only been to 5 cars in total due to their longevity. The earlier generations lacked power, but they've all given far better fuel mileage than gasoline engines. We smile when car companies advertise their vehicles as being "fuel efficient" when rated above 40 MPG, because a VW diesel engine gets close to 60 MPG. In addition, three of ours went well over 400,000 kms (250,000 miles) with no major surgery, and two of them went over 500,000 kms (310,000 miles). We've always been at a loss to understand why this simple, reliable, and efficient technology has never really gained more popularity.

There's a local guy who repairs guitars for several stores, who showed me an acoustic he made last Spring. The body and sides are "African Blackwood", which is a dark (almost purple) exotic wood which is absolutely stunning to behold. He also incorporated a lot of abalone inlay work on the headstock, fretboard, sound-hole rosette, and binding. He said there was over $3000 worth of material in it, as well as hundreds of hours. He said if he ever decided to sell t, he would have to ask $8000 just to break even! He let me play it for a few minutes, and it sounds awesome ... true artistry from every point of view.

Jerome ... I think you're spot on about acoustics staying as natural woods. We'll likely see less and less ebony and more rosewood for fingerboards.

I might have a couple dozen songs at most that I can sing & play from memory, and most of them would be Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, or Jethro Tull. One of my favorites is "Life's Been Good to Me" by Joe Walsh. Outside of these, I also need paper ... especially to sing & play at the same time.