Covers

[|iR|Focalor]

Pfft, girls can't play guitar, their tits get in the way.

[|iR|Focalor]

Normally I would call a SRV cover copied pretty much verbatim to be utter blasphemy, especially when you butcher the lyrics with a bad spanish accent... but when you include titties in the video, it's somehow right and acceptable.

Cold Shot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgub_1fEJK4

[haunted]

Got that right, I'll check this out when I'm not at work haha.

You got that right though.... speaking of SRV, boy did he do covers well, and even improve them(preference....but I think so).

[|iR|Focalor]

I know he did quite a few covers in his career, but probably his most well known one would be Hendrix's Little Wing or Voodoo Child. I still prefer the Hendrix versions. Stevie Ray Vaughan was one of the best ever, but I still don't think he really compares to someone like Jimi Hendrix. SRV's style of playing was kind of mixture of the choppy chord parts of Hendrix, and an off and on mixture of parts of Texas, Chicago, and Mississippi delta blues. He was great, but he wasn't really as much of a pure innovator as Hendrix was. Hendrix pretty much created an entirely different way of approaching playing the guitar. Before him, everyone was either playing full on chords as rhythm guitar parts or they were accompanying another rhythm guitar by playing single note lead solos. Hendrix basically said, "Who the hell needs 2 or 3 guitars in a band, I'll make my guitar play both rhythm and lead at the same time." He'd take every damn chord known to man and play it while having one or two other fingers shifting around to play kind of a simultaneous lead part. He'd often time use his thumb to play the lower melodies all the while still keeping his main 4 fretting fingers moving. Pretty crazy that he was playing shit like that out of nowhere back in the 60's and everyone's had 40 years since his death to hear it and practice the shit out of it and STILL no one else can play quite the same.

[|iR|Focalor]

And speaking of people covering blues tunes. Always thought this was one of the best covers ever. Not really much of a Clapton fan after Cream though. He should've kept doing acid and left the booze and coke alone in the 70's, maybe his music would've been more interesting. Then again, I guess Ginger Baker on the drums is probably the main thing that makes this song really pop. Ginger Baker was THE SHIT, man.

Cream - Born Under a Bad Sign (Albert King cover)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1pzXJuvdAY

[haunted]

[|iR|Focalor]

She's purty. Is it a US made model? If so, how much did it run you?

I've been pretty anti-Fender for quite some time. Only Fender product I've ever bought was a tweed braided 10' instrument cable and only because I needed a cable RIGHT THEN for band practice and that's all they had at the first store I stopped at. I didn't used to like the size and shape of their necks, that was the biggest problem I had with their guitars. Their amps have always been a little too much on the classic side for my tastes too. But in the past several months I've grown sick and tired of the tuning problems I'm having with my Ibanez and have been using my old BC Rich Mockingbird whenever I kill some time playing. Finally starting to see the advantages of having a thicker neck like my BC Rich does. It can fatigue your fretting hand a little more because it's size, but it also feels like it's probably wider and there's more space between the strings which makes it easier to play cleaner because your fingers aren't accidentally bumping the adjacent strings. Sounds a lot fatter too. I play the BC Rich and then switch to the Ibanez and it sounds and feels like I'm playing on strings stretched across a thin piece of plywood siding. If I ever sit down and start recording some more, I'm more than likely gonna ditch the Ibanez and use the Mockingbird.

And if I ever get around to shopping for another guitar, I'm not so sure that I'm gonna go with an Ibanez. Might actually test drive a few Fenders, who knows. I couldn't go with something like yours though, I'm too used playing a dual humbucker setup with a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates at the bridge. I'm sure I'd love owning and playing a Gibson Les Paul standard, they have nice thick necks, mahogany body with maple tops, but I really can't justify spending more than a grand on a brand new guitar like a Gibson.

If I can ever manage to get all the ugly 80's hot pink finish off this Mockingbird and get it down to bare wood all over the body and back of the neck (probably just leave the back of the headstock painted pink, too hard to get that off without fucking up the face of the headstock), I'll just leave it naked, probably rip out the coil-tap pickups in my Ibanez and put them into the BC Rich. That way I can have the option of pulling a knob and getting some twangy single coil pickup tones if I ever want.

[haunted]

My camera was being pretty weird... i'll take a better pic in daytime. yeah it's made in the U.S.A.... i bought it used from someone who bought it in 93 he says, it's in very good condition. i think they may have called it a "texas blues strat", maybe, it has SRV pick-ups but it's not his signature guitar.

[|iR|Focalor]

Unless they changed it, I think the SRV signature models all had 3 plain old regular Texas Special single coils. I doubt that's exactly what SRV used himself though, I think I remember reading somewhere that he had someone custom wind his pickups with a little more wire for a slightly hotter output. The bridge pickup probably isn't a Texas Special. I know in the 90's they didn't make any Texas Special humbuckers, not sure if they came out with any since 2000, but I doubt it. I don't think Fenders have the model name printed anywhere on the headstock unless its a signature model, then it would have that artists autograph printed on the round ball part of the headstock. Only way I could think of finding out the year of production would be if MAYBE Fender stamps the inside of the neck joint with the year and month it was made like some other guitar companies do. You'd have to take the strings off and unbolt the neck to see it. If you do, just be careful when you're screwing it back on not to strip those top 2 holes towards the headstock out with the screws or you could have some serious tuning problems when that neck won't sit completely flat against the body anymore.

But with it having humbuckers on it, that narrows down what model it could be greatly because Fender rarely put humbuckers on stratocasters back then. From what you describe about it having SRV pickups (Texas Special), then it's more than likely the Fender Lonestar Stratocaster. It came with bridge and middle position Texas Special single coils and a custom wound Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates humbucker. I'm not sure what it means by "custom wound", probably it has more turns of wire or a thicker guage of wire than the regular Pearly Gates models you'd buy as a single pickup in a music store.

If it is indeed the Lonestar Stratocaster, he didn't pick it up in 1993 either, because Fender didn't start making the Lonestar model until 1996, and as far as I can tell they didn't make anything similar to that before it. Most of what you would've found in Hum/Single/Single would've come with those Fender Lace Sensor active pickups with noise cancelling. Those were typically the higher end models for people who wanted the single coil twang without the buzzing. Other than that, they had a few signature models that had a hum at the bridge position, but they were all always loaded with custom DiMarzio PAF Pro humbuckers, something kinda similar to the Gibson humbuckers but with a lot more output, so usually those models were from people playing heavier rock like Yngwie Malmsteen or Ritchie Sambora.

I could work in a music store. I know more shit about guitars and guitar manufacturers than 95% of the douchebags they have working at Guitar Center. That's why it's such a pain in the ass to me to shop at places like that, most of those guys working there have never been quite as infatuated with guitars as I was as a kid. I ask them a question about something and they look at me like a confused little puppy with it's head cocked sideways. I end up telling THEM more about the guitar I'm testing out than they can tell me. That's most of the reason I won't shop at Guitar Center anymore. They have the best prices usually, but you don't necessarily have to go there to get that price. Most of the time you can go to one of your local mom-n-pop music shops and have them call Guitar Center to get a price on an item and they'll agree to meet their price (maybe even beat it by a few bucks) because they NEED the business. Usually the smaller stores are more eager to help you and answer your questions, especially if you show them that you're serious about spending some money and not just dropping by to joyride their merchandise like a lot of kids tend to do.

[haunted]

Could be, but I've never been sure, although I've thought it was before :> I got this guitar 4-5 years ago and actually did research it a lot at the time. Yes a '96-97(my sunburst on white ivory stuff[whatever the hell you want to call that] was one of the first 2-3 colors marketed for them) lonestar is the closest thing to it that I know of(as you said, they have produced models with "texas style pick-ups"[that are used in the sig. SRV model] all the while STILL having the semour duncan HB like I have.). There was one defining thing that lead me to believe otherwise... I want to say it is the exact city/town it was made in that ruled it out, but it made me drop the whole search entirely basically and do something else. I'll have to check later though.

Also.. I think texas pick-ups were made in the 90s for strats............again, I don't have time to research it right now.

I bought it from an older fellow... said it was a "texas blues style strat" and that he paid $1,200 for it, '93 was what he said but who the hell knows with that tbh, it could easily be a '96. But, the year isn't what made me question the lonestar though, as I said. Considering island prices... a music store up the beach would have sold a lonestar strat for prob, $999 I bet at that time.. or well, perhaps a little more I guess, unfortunately. I think a typical price would have been 899 about when it came out. So maybe he got the price wrong too, I paid $500 for it after playing it and listening... good sound and I love maple necks for blues(bends). I feel like I can particularly abuse artificial/pinch harm with this neck, but probably due to me being really used to it.

I'll do some more search on it eventually, or just call fender up with my serial # if I can do that.

Also, for years my planned next guitar will be an ibanez RG......looking for average priced.........5....ex? probably or something($500-600 range I mean by avg.)

pretty much this whole post was based off my shitty memory...... please have mercy picking it a part mr. music store!!!!!

but seriously, I appreciate any help / knowledge you give me about it.

[|iR|Focalor]

You can probably find some kinda email address through the Fender website and email them your serial number and ask them to look up any info on it (year of production, model, specs). I'd do it sooner than later though, don't put it off and do it a few years from now. Sometimes they lose their records or delete them or just can't find them, so the sooner you do it, the better chances you'll have of getting the most complete info on it possible. Several years ago I emailed BC Rich looking for the specs and production date of my guitar. At that time they had some of their records still and could at least tell me that it was made in 1984 but could tell me little else. Then a year or two ago when I began attempting to sand the finish off of it, I emailed them again with the serial number and asked them for specs hoping that maybe someone else more knowledgeable would've answered me. Turns out that they LOST all their old records and the guy who answered me had me take several pics of the guitar so he could compare them to old catalogs they had. He really couldn't tell me anything other than since the serial number started with the numbers 84---- that it was made in 1984... big deal, I already knew that. So to this day I still have no idea if the pickups, tuners/hardware, etc are all stock and original or if they are something that the previous owner installed.

Only other Fender from the 90's I can remember having Texas Special pickups and a Texas sounding name would be the Tex-Mex strat. Those were made in Mexico though, not the US, so that's not what it is. Dunno how well you know the guy who sold it to you, but if it IS "supposed" to be a Lonestar strat, then it's possible that he could've ripped you off. Fenders are pretty easy to counterfeit because there's several companies that sell plain bodies and necks that are shaped the same size. People sometimes print a Fender logo on them and try to pass them off as the genuine article. According to the old 1996 Fender catalog I got off my bookshelf, the only sunburst color that the Lonestar came in would be the "3 color sunburst", which would be black around the outside that would morph into a strip of red and then morph into a honey orangeish color in the middle. They only came in 6 colors:
1. 3 color sunburst
2. white
3. black
4. candy apple red
5. shoreline gold
6. teal green metallic

This is what the 3 color sunburst finish should look like:


BUT... I've looked around online and seen a few other pictures of Lonestar strats with that cherry sunburst color and white pickguard too, so I guess they did at some point have that color available. Maybe it's a later year than 96, I don't have any newer Fender catalogs than 1996 to be able to tell you for sure.


If you're gonna look at buying an Ibanez RG, one I'd recommend testing out would be the RG321mh. It's not US built, but it is very affordable and worth the price, should retail for around $300.
http://www.ibanez.com/ElectricGuitars/model-RG321MH
Mahogany body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard, fixed bridge. Comes in a red to black sunburst color with hard clearcoat finish, black with hard clearcoat finish, and a mahogany oil stain with no clearcoat. Personally, I'd prefer the mahogany oil finish with no clearcoat. I dunno if there's a huge difference in sound between the clearcoat finish and the non-clearcoat finish, but I kinda think there would be. If I was gonna get another Ibanez, this is the one I'd pick. Cheap, well-built, no complicated bullshit, just a guitar that does what a guitar should.

[haunted]

it's a texas style fat strat, 01-02 first issue.... I googled and it seems right. date was just way off that I initially received... I bought it in... 07.

[|iR|Focalor]

If you're looking to play heavier stuff, might wanna get some different pickups for it. Pearly Gates are typically not all that high output. It's kinda geared more towards classic rock sounds, not really fuzzy modern super-high gain sounds. It's a little more expensive than regular pickups and a little more complicated to wire it up, but some active pickups would make that thing sound like a million dollars. Probably something like a nice hot EMG-81 at the bridge and a pair of Fender Lace Sensors for the single coil spots. They're virtually zero noise. I like to use a Pearly Gates at the neck position because it gives you a smooth warm lead sound like one of Slash's Les Paul leads without so much of the harsh treble that pierces through the overall tone like something hotter wired would. It might run you even more money than just replacing the pickups in the pickguard you have, but you also have the option of getting a dual humbucker pickguard. You could go with an EMG-81 at the bridge and an EMG-85 at the neck, or just an EMG-81 at the bridge and move the Pearly Gates up to the neck position, but if you're gonna go with one active pickup like the EMG, might as well go all the way and get a set. They come in black, white, and cream colors, as well as chrome and gold. Probably wanna go with white though, black would look a little weird with a white pickguard.

Might have to get a 3-way switch for two humbuckers like the EMGs. I dunno if a 5-way would work well, it probably would work, but you might have the 2 and 4 position not used. I have no idea if EMG's can be wired up to run tapped or parallel series to have more options for those 2 and 4 position points, I'd imagine it's possible some way though.

EMG makes several really good pickups, theres a few options on them and different ways to pair them up. Basically all you really need to know before deciding on the pair is that some are alnico magnet and some are ceramic magnet. Alnico almost always have more output and sensitivity than ceramic.

[haunted]

I would rather play heavy things, but I've kinda tried to discipline myself otherwise. Of course, I can only play for around 30 minutes by myself without playing some metal though... Most recent song I taught myself was srv - scuttle buttin'. Not too many people, guitar players included, like heavy stuff around here, I'd actually get hated on for playing mostly heavy stuff. Around here it's mostly acoustic dudes that jam together / aren't real good + a few decent blues guitarists / bluegrass or w/e. For the past 2+ years a part of my daily guitar routine has been to experiment with scales.. mainly blues guitar and major.. w/ the pick-ups, i'll use the 2nd or 5th position for that(throaty/twangy sounding blues v. very clean blues). Once I started getting proficient with whipping a random blues tune/lead out of my ass, I started to appreciate the current pick-ups... so I'd rather play heavy, yeah, but I'm gonna get a different guitar all together eventually. I like the necks on ibanez rgs. I've always wanted a nice semi-hollow too.

[|iR|Focalor]

Epiphone is probably the easiest semi-hollow to find, most everyone carries them because most of them are low priced. I've never been crazy about them because I'd just feel kinda embarrassed to own one I guess. To me it's always said, "Hey, this thing looks like a Gibson, it's made by a Gibson company, but I'm too fuckin' poor to get a real Gibson so I settled on this damn thing." Dunno how well they're made. Hamer makes some pretty good hollows. They look good, sound good, but they're usually priced somewhere between a Gibson and a Epiphone. I'd probably go with a Hamer over a Gibson honestly. Gibsons are just over-priced in my opinion, you're mainly paying extra for the name on the guitar, just not worth it to me. Hamer is very similar in quality and design to Gibsons, very comparable. I don't think they make any Les Paul body styles, they typically have a double-cutaway body a little similar to a PRS, a few them being semi-hollow designs. They also make Gibson looking Explorer body style and a V, but they don't have any classic hollow Gibson styles like the double-cutaway ES-335, 339, or single-cutaway ES-135. Always wanted a classic Gibson ES-335 from the 60's or early 70's. I'd have to have more money than I know what to do with to rationalize making a purchase like that though, one in good condition from that era don't come cheap at all.

Another reason I'm hesitant as hell to spend a lot on a guitar is because I look at the condition my current guitars are in. I play the shit out of them and they end up getting beat up somehow. My Ibanez was pretty spotless other than chrome flaking off the Lo-Pro bridge until I moved in with a girlfriend several years ago. Had a few very minor barely visible scratches in the clear coat on the back of it from playing it while wearing a jacket with a zipper. The zipper teeth kinda made a few shallow scratches in that would virtually disappear if it was polished well. But then one day she decided to move a table beside where I had my guitar sitting on it's stand. The table had a big one-piece tile top on it that dropped into in a tray-like part of the top. Well she picks it up by the sides of the top and turns the legs out as she tries to carry it across the room. The tile falls out and hits the face of the body ripping a huge 3/4 inch diamater gash into the clear coat and wood. I was so fucking pissed that I almost ripped my own god damn ears off. Took every last ounce of self control I had not to beat the living shit out of her.

Something to think about when purchasing a guitar. Sure, it's nice to have a fine expensive instrument, but accidents DO happen. Can you keep from shooting someone or yourself if and when it happens? For that reason, I'd be really really afraid to own some classic Gibson. I'd want to play it all the time, and I just dunno that I could keep myself from murdering someone if something happened to it.