Never2Late

I dropped-off my Scepter for minor-surgery and got the 'grand tour'.....including a peek at what was in the big guitar case on the floor. Got plans?

Was that your double-neck he's holding-on to?

Yea, I never touch that swill since they left Latrobe, PA....

Someone brought Ashton cigars and Rolling Rock?

You're taking something from the "sterile, digital realm" and turning it back into a "living thing" by sending it through the tubes? So you're not really opposed to the Axe FX at all. I'm opposed to people saying "the Axe FX sounds JUST LIKE a tube amp" without actually providing any real techincal proof that such a statement is accurate - again, show me the full signal waveform of both tube and Axe, side-by-side, on a quality spectrum analyzer, and we'll talk. Otherwise, I'm hearing marketing hype and that's it.

That day passed with the Axe II. I dunno - tube output and dynamics is another variable to the 'dark-art' equation that I'm not sure the sterile, digitial realm can bring to the table. To me, a tube amp is a 'living-thing' that offers different expressions dependent upon careful tube selection and bias adjustments - a single computer algorithm has captured all-that? I doubt it. It's good enough for many international acts including Metallica and U2. Those guys have either RACKS AND RACKS of signal processing (Edge) or massive diode-clipping distortion chunka-chunka (Metallica) who play in venues where 'quality' audio is sacrificed upon the alter of raw volume - the nuance of tubes is absolutely lost in those signal chains. I don't see anyone lining-up to dump their Dumble (if they have one) for a pile of microchips. Until I see full-spectrum signal replication on a high-sampled spectrum analyzer, side-by-side, and there is zero difference in signals between a tube amp and a digital amp-modeler, I remain sceptical that this technology is ready for prime-time and we should all just walk-away from tubes 'today'. When people said regular 35mm camera film was "dead" after digital photo technology came along, they didn't realize that you STILL had to run your digital images through hours-and-hours of Photoshop 'tweaking' to get some of the effects that using different camera film emulsions gave you - there is a trade-off in moving to 'new' tech. With digital tech, your creative freedom is bound by whatever the chip-maker and the software programmer are willing to write code for and give you - if 'they' don't write that nuance into their algorithms, you don't get access to it, and you could lose that analog dynamic/nuance forever. Now, maybe your ears/eyes don't see or hear the difference - your palate is not that refined. A McDonalds hamburger tastes the same as a Wendy's burger to you, I dunno. But to others, there is a big difference. I have on my desk next to me a custom-made, tube-powered headphone amplifier - for my ipod. This little blue MO-FO, when the JJ tubes get warm, is absolutely amazing.

That day passed with the Axe II. I dunno - tube output and dynamics is another variable to the 'dark-art' equation that I'm not sure the sterile, digitial realm can bring to the table. To me, a tube amp is a 'living-thing' that offers different expressions dependent upon careful tube selection and bias adjustments - a single computer algorithm has captured all-that? I doubt it.

My company, Raytheon, used to make tubes down in Florida - you can still find some NOS tubes of ours on ebay. The real-estate that had the plant we used to make those is so toxic, there's NO WAY the company would be able to sell it off....a different era. The reason China and Russia still make tubes has more to do with a) need/market and . lack of environmental 'hurdles' from a local EPA Many of the tubes I see available are for for obsolete applications (not necessarily Audio), so unless you're capable of tube-based discrete circuit design (not something that's available at your leading University Undergrad Engineering curriculum), many of these tubes have little present-day use.

Hold on there; I'm actually a fan. Inexplicably, I freeze whenever I find that movie while flipping channels..... I can only watch the Uncensored version.....you CANNOT miss Julie Michaels' best work!

18 Year old Scotch A healthy gift certificate to a good cigar shop A case of wine for the cellar golf shirts some cash/gift certs. Oh, and a self-present trip to BCR for a Hamer USA collared shop-shirt and a terrific VOX guitar headphone amp/pedal.

Score it, then flip it to someone on the HFC after the holidays die down for what you paid.

Agree - the top is just a veneer. Sand it down, re-apply a new/better veneer, and delete the idiot-light and switch. Easy. If someone could source some Mahog dowell, the strap button issue looks easy, too. This is a solid $350 guitar with all the 'right' parts. Considering that someone sniped the last Checkerboard Special away from me, the one on ebay that had a BROKEN HEADSTOCK for $355, this guitar just became a 'good deal' for someone who wants a solid project. No shame in the game.

Those were/are Hamer Futuras....one an import 'player', the other an Ultra-RARE, USA-made Korina model (only 6-8 known to exist?). Yep, that set is worth $4,500 in my view....I really like this model, and would love to own them if I had the cash.

Probably some dorky Hagstrom model.....that's cool, though. Somebody brought a proper Hamer back to late-night TV. Order was restored to the Universe. Rick sure goes through the guitar pics, doesn't he?

This is proof-positive that David Letterman is REALLY a fan of the band, but I don't understand 'why' - he didn't 'get' Grunge at all (Dave is a long-time Warren Zevon fan).....this stuff should not really be in Dave's wheelhouse. But, there it is...Conan OBrien I could understand, but not Dave.

I had two - bought for around this price, and sold at the price I bought them - they hold pretty stable, value-wise. You either love them, or you're 'meh'....

FYI, the Mahog Standard I call "dibs" on - I've contacted them.

For an instrument of this calibre, you buy a plane ticket and hand-carry it home with you. NO WAY do you drop-it-off at FEDEX and cross your fingers. I suspect the kicker is the "cash-plus-a-rare/vintage-guitar" - there are some folks who can, and will, write that check. I doubt they'll have the exact rare/vintage guitar on-hand to close the deal, IMHO, unless they go-out and find what the OP is looking-for and purchase it with the expressed purpose of closing the deal with the OP. Kinda like taking cash and a new Porsche for a vintage Ferrari - most folks would look at that deal and go "WHY, has he not been in the garage lately?" If the keys to a vintage Ferrari don't motivate you on a sunny sunday afternoon, what makes you think the keys to a new Porsche will? The logic isn't there....its "change" for change's sake.

I have one of these, and if you're on-the-fence about a semi-hollowbody guitar with P90s, let me say that these guitars ROAR with tone. If you have the means, I HIGHLY recommend it....

Internet radio and Youtube are the new discovery mediums. There are even video/music channels on Roku and other streaming-to-TV applications. There is DIY software available to create your own TV channel, and if you can create a podcast or playlist, you can post your own content and format to your hearts' content. Embrace it - "radio reception" of these connections is NATIONAL, not regional, and is getting so mobile its ridiculous. Online content can now 'sync' to car and home entertainment systems, so as folks 'find' new stuff, they can easily share it with others. The only hurdle is getting 'recognition' for where you're hosting your content....

Hopefully, home digital production reaches a level where artists can cut-out the 'middle-men' and offer their product straight to consumers, keeping a larger percentage of the royalties of that transaction. Plenty of guitar-heavy music in the underground/punk/metal scenes, they're just not in the CHARTS now, so they're off your radar. Don't wait for the mass-media outlets to offer you the music, after they've vetted/packaged/marginalized/sanitized it, you'll need to go and find it yourself like it was done in the old days.

Can you imagine a crowd that LARGE for a show like this in 2013, State-side? I can't.....

I don't recall anyone asking/offering.....If Hamer were for-sale, I'd want access to the shop materials, wood-tooling and personnel, not just a pile of legal paperwork for my $500K. If the Hamer shop is headed to Fender's headquarters, then they have plans to build something.