Rediscovering gear you have

[tapper mike]

My Parker P44 has sat in the corner collecting dust for ages. When I first got it I loved it but then I started working 70 hour weeks for about 15 years. I never changed the strings and fell out of love with it.
Fast forward to about six weeks ago. I pull it out clean it up and it's not working. I should not be trusted with any repair work. Sent it off to a local store and they had to wait forever to get the proper replacement jack and push pull pots and full setup. It's back. It plays and sounds like heaven.

Originally I was going to sell it as part of my recent herd thinning. I'm tired of looking at cases filled with guitars I no longer play. I used to display them around the place and that was even worse as it filled me with player guilt.

End of story Even though it really doesn't "fit" with my current musical direction. Strat for strat tone, Tele for Tele tone it still has a place in my heart. I was going to buy another LP copy (Sire) with the money from the sale of the parker but I've decided against that. I'm keeping the Parker it's just too good to get rid of.

[Uncle E]

Parker's are amazing. I love the PM-20, too.

[lfm]

I really went through "thinning the herd" with synths first, then also guitars.
- I have Prophet REV2 left, sold 6 synths
- a tele, strat and lp, sold a hollow body, 335 and a Squier
- a digital piano and a Hammond organ as well, must haves

Having two acoustics, and not jumping on a third until I really made new takes with what I've got.

New stuff can inspire and open options, like last guitar was the strat. Some things with whammy bar that you can do I'd like to learn.
- it's about space too, right now I can have everything in one room that is regulated with humidifier
- it's crazy dry here this time of year, down to 27 %RH in bedroom and keep living/studio room at 50%RH.

Jennifer Batten shows a little whammy stuff


Electric guitars can be transformed a lot with pedals and stuff as well. This is not the case with acoustics.
- So will see how it turns out, if what I got "holds the fort"

[tapper mike]

r
- it's about space too, right now I can have everything in one room that is regulated with humidifier
- it's crazy dry here this time of year, down to 27 %RH in bedroom and keep living/studio room at 50%RH.

My acoustic is really starting to suffer. When It's in the case I forget about it and the sponge dries out. When it's out of the case I open my balcony door even though it's freezing and I'm still watering the sponge. As per someones advice I've been using feed and wax. I need a room humidifier plan and simple. I need everything yesterday with little money. Just bought a used car to replace my death trap and it needs an entire new exhaust.

[lfm]

r
- it's about space too, right now I can have everything in one room that is regulated with humidifier
- it's crazy dry here this time of year, down to 27 %RH in bedroom and keep living/studio room at 50%RH.

My acoustic is really starting to suffer. When It's in the case I forget about it and the sponge dries out. When it's out of the case I open my balcony door even though it's freezing and I'm still watering the sponge. As per someones advice I've been using feed and wax. I need a room humidifier plan and simple. I need everything yesterday with little money. Just bought a used car to replace my death trap and it needs an entire new exhaust.

I tried some weatherstations, as they often are called, that have satelites to place elsewhere. I put inside body of guitar or in case or whatever at the time my room was not kosher.

Had 3 acoustics, so this Bresser with 3 outdoor was great
https://www.bresser.de/wetterstationen- ... sensensor/
- easy to see that sponge need more water with a display in room
- I got at Amazon first time, $35 or so

But even electrics suffer from dry climate in winter. Neck relief and the lot.
- spring and fall was standard adjusting before got room humidifier
- but strongly recommend evaporating humidifiers
- but specs on the low side, I need 100 m2 spec for my 20 m2 room
- these ultrasonic ones, avoid....

[Bombadil]

I'm lucky with humidity. It is generally in the 40% +/- 5% range during the winter. I made a bunch of DIY humidifiers years ago, but I've never had to use them. In the summer, it is between 55-65, up to 70% with a good rainfall.

Last year, I rediscovered keyboards. A reed organ with chord keys on the left was technically my first instrument when I was 9.
I generally stopped playing as a teen, because my recording partner and BFF played the keys. He's gone now, so I started again. This time, with a setup I never would've dreamed of as a 29 year old, let alone 9.
It is a lot of fun, all the orchestral stuff, synth stuff, atmospheric soundtrack stuff.
I occasionally wish I had had this stuff when I was 19. Oh, man.

Other than that...
I have such a collection of guitars, some get neglected. My 12 strings (both acoustic and electric) are probably the most neglected. So, lately I've pulled my Lakewood 12 out and jammed on it. My callouses and hand strength are nearly back after the hiatus playing keys, but my thumb has this little pain when I barre. But it is a beautiful 12 string, neck angle still bang on after 14 years. It is almost criminal how little I've played it since 2012.

[tapper mike]

Oddly enough the recent fog has seemed to reverse the process for me. I just opened the balcony door and let the fresh air in.

[tapper mike]

Last year, I rediscovered keyboards. A reed organ with chord keys on the left was technically my first instrument when I was 9.

I've always been a "functional" keyboard player since I started playing them in the 80's I could get around okay and even could perform with them on stage but not with the emotive appeal that the songs deserved. Just enough to support the band. I tried to get back into it more seriously about 8 years ago but I was always banging my head against the wall and then I'd pick up a guitar or other midi device and ask myself why bother. The button (ztar) guitars were always easier for me to work out on. The ztars didn't last well the Z6 was way way to bulky and heavy for me. The usb out broke on the miniZ as well as the input for the 8 volt power supply so it was dead in the water

I gifted the Korg Krome to a guy who may never have the financial means to get one for himself. He loves it. Watches instructional videos copies what they are doing. It's brought him a new magical musicians experience.

A few years ago I bought a linnstrument and God I love that thing with it's mpe and highly responsive grid layout. I don't play it that much as I've gone full guitar mode recently and I'm having memory issues. It's getting harder and harder to remember songs I played most of my life without sheet music in front of me. Take the sheet away and it or major sections disappear from my brain.
The power was out today and I started trying to remember my recent setlist... I remembered the titles to about 6 of them and even those ones I'd struggle to remember sections of songs.

[YnJ]

I finally had my old Marshall 8100 Valvestate 100 watt amphead repaired. I left it when I moved out from my childhood home, and when I picked it up years later it didn't work anymore. The cellar it was in was flooded, not completely, I assumed the amp not working was related to that though. Turned out it was just a couple of diodes in need of replacement, and it's working now. What a dissapointment it was to try it again. I shouldn't have been too surprised, I didn't use it much and it was quickly replaced, for a reason I would assume. I didn't recall it being this bad though

[tapper mike]

After playing the parker for a few days several hours each day now...
It sounds great and it plays great but when I'm working out covers it doesn't jell like my other instruments. Maybe I need to fiddle with my rig more or maybe it's just not a good match for me.

[mountainmaster]

It's been a while since I rediscovered my 1992 Ibanez 540R. It was my first serious guitar after a rather crappy beginner instrument not worth mentioning.

I was very much into metal back then and that meant a Floyd Rose was a must. For nearly 20 years this was my main electric guitar.
Meanwhile my musical style had changed. Unfortunately whenever I showed up with the 540R people would still expect a shredder, which I was not. So I moved on to other guitars.

One of the new guitars I bought in 2013 was an American Special Strat. I got it mainly because I needed that famous Strat quack of the in between positions for a funky tune. Which brings me to the rediscovery of the Ibanez.

Sometime during the covid lockdowns I decided to take the 540R out of its case and restring it. Imagine my surprise when I found out that its versatile HSS pickup configuration was perfectly capable of producing the quack sound. And compared to modern metal guitars the pickups, which are Ibanez branded but made by DiMarzio, have a rather moderate output. Quite similar to my Strat actually.

[Uncle E]

After playing the parker for a few days several hours each day now...
It sounds great and it plays great but when I'm working out covers it doesn't jell like my other instruments. Maybe I need to fiddle with my rig more or maybe it's just not a good match for me.

Try installing a PRS partial split. It’s an easy mod, you don’t need to hire a tech to do it. My guess is you’re more of a single coil guy and the Parker’s splits don’t sound like proper single coils. The PRS partial split will get you closer to your Tele.

Also, try lowering the pickups, especially the bass side of the neck pickup.

[Uncle E]

It's been a while since I rediscovered my 1992 Ibanez 540R.

Killer guitar! I’ll probably never sell my 1991 RG550.

[seangm]

del

[tapper mike]

After playing the parker for a few days several hours each day now...
It sounds great and it plays great but when I'm working out covers it doesn't jell like my other instruments. Maybe I need to fiddle with my rig more or maybe it's just not a good match for me.

Try installing a PRS partial split. It’s an easy mod, you don’t need to hire a tech to do it. My guess is you’re more of a single coil guy and the Parker’s splits don’t sound like proper single coils. The PRS partial split will get you closer to your Tele.

Also, try lowering the pickups, especially the bass side of the neck pickup.

The Parker P44 does have coil taps and they do sound great they just don't sound like my Telecaster. The P44 is kind of on the bright side all around and lowering the tone really doesn't boost mid's or lows.