KVR Audio

tapper mike · Post by **tapper mike** » Sat Jul 04, 2026 11:27 am

I started off playing my 17 inch Jazz box(D'angelico EXL-1) and that didn't last long. As pretty as it is I've never jived with the neck profile nor the tone. I've had considerably better 17 and 16 inch boxes in the past.

Finally getting around to playing the Parker P44. I like pairing my guitars with songs. If a song calls for a stat I play my strat. If a song calls for a tele I play my tele etc. I really didn't have material that served the parker over other guitars. Though with the disrepair that my semi (RWG 450) and my dislike in the Epi Joe Pass as well as the D'angelico. I'm finding pairing the parker with low gain or solid state virtual amps handles jazz tones rather nicely. Nonetheless I think I need to put schedule limits on my playing. My fingers are always dumb when I first rise. Yet that's the time when I can focus on practice most.

I've played it for an hour now and my long hiatus with chord melody jazz standards (show tunes) is showing.

tapper mike · Post by **tapper mike** » Mon Jul 06, 2026 9:53 pm

It has not been a good guitar day for me.

The contact for the output jack is shot (again) after spent a sizable amount of money and waited months for it to be repaired the last time. The RWG 450(prs semi) is shot the frets are too warn down to play as is the Godin L.R Baggs(acoustcaster) All of these are 20+ years old. None are worth the money in repairs. The Stratocaster was back bowed. At least with that I could adjust the trust rod to fix it. None of which I have the money to replace if I could.

Which basically leaves me with... The Telecaster, The Stratocaster and The Tammany (acoustic) for the foreseeable future.

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Mon Jul 06, 2026 11:53 pm

Did you spray contact cleaner on it?

tapper mike · Post by **tapper mike** » Tue Jul 07, 2026 11:13 am

Uncle E wrote: Mon Jul 06, 2026 11:53 pm Did you spray contact cleaner on it?

No.
None of my other guitars that I've had over the years have needed contact spray. Granted some amps have needed the dust blown out.

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Tue Jul 07, 2026 3:53 pm

Spray contact cleaner inside the jack, then plug a cable in and twist it around. I use this stuff, it's completely different from normal WD40:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AF0OFVU

tapper mike · Post by **tapper mike** » Wed Jul 08, 2026 4:16 pm

In other news. The weather is playing a number on all my guitars except my acoustic oddly. I've had to do a neck adjustment and may have to raise the action on my strat. I think that the humidity is actually pushing up the frets. I haven't done a check. At least all the telecaster needed was a neck adjustment.

mountainmaster · Post by **mountainmaster** » Sat Jul 11, 2026 12:54 pm

I played my Strat today. Just a quick try out of a new tremolo arm that came in the mail this morning.

It is a short Gilmour style trem, which I bought to improve on a specific tremolo technique: Those fast slide ins where you shortly push down the arm and hit the string at the same time.

This technique requires the arm to be quite close to the strings. That is one of the things I had hoped the shorter arm would do but unfortunately it does not, since it comes in at a higher angle than the old arm.

I guess I'll have to try and reshape the arm in order to get that same 90 degree angle (see image). I doubt if that is even possible though. Anyone here experienced in bending hard steel?

lfm · Post by **lfm** » Sat Jul 11, 2026 3:56 pm

mountainmaster wrote: Sat Jul 11, 2026 12:54 pm Anyone here experienced in bending hard steel?

Original bar this far work fine anyway.
As I have bent now it touches lower tone control going downward.
- for reference I move volume one step down, have neck tone under pickguard, if it looks funny.

But also depends on how much floating tremolo is how bar points
- I have set as 3 half notes on G-string pulling up to body.

I aim at having pinky at tremolobar and work it as I play.
- just started so no very far yet

tapper mike · Post by **tapper mike** » Sun Jul 12, 2026 4:44 am

My current MIM strat is fairly low but the tension is a bit stiff for my liking. Worse still is the parker but I leave them where they are. Years ago I had a strat with five springs and when I removed two it was magical. Both my Current strat and the parker have three springs.

lfm · Post by **lfm** » Sun Jul 12, 2026 7:32 am

tapper mike wrote: Sun Jul 12, 2026 4:44 am My current MIM strat is fairly low but the tension is a bit stiff for my liking.

It's very direct. I looked around to get replacement tremolo maybe with a gear, so a little quarter note could be lighter. To get those "slide up" thing you often do with slide. A little like talking kind of melody.
- like two wheels string go round or similar like you have on bikes a bit
- more travel but lighter

Maybe use pinky+ring finger to get enough power each string being in position with pick as well.

mystran · Post by **mystran** » Sun Jul 12, 2026 9:37 am

tapper mike wrote: Sun Jul 12, 2026 4:44 am My current MIM strat is fairly low but the tension is a bit stiff for my liking. Worse still is the parker but I leave them where they are. Years ago I had a strat with five springs and when I removed two it was magical. Both my Current strat and the parker have three springs.

Well, spring stiffness could vary quite a bit too and bridge might matter as well, so the number of springs isn't the whole story.

I have 2 pretty stiff springs on a vintage trem in one of my guitars and 3 Ibanez factory springs in the other and the former takes(*) WAY more effort to bend than the latter.

(*) Well, mostly I keep this one blocked, but it would take way more effort even if I let it float.

What guitar did you play today and how long?