I've got the greatest guitar of them all!

[paulskirocks]

You're taking lessons?

 

[reitze]

You're taking lessons?

Yea, just heard a friend talk about his instructor, he sounded just like HilpI'maRock!

i'd love to teach my students about tone shaping and how the instrument works. i tell them weekly to bring in their amps and effects and rarely do i get any takers.
most guitar teachers teach songs because that's what keeps students interested. but they're supposed to use the songs as a vehicle to teach you about music. you as the student need to tell the teacher what you're looking for and why you're paying him. otherwise he's just going to go through his schtick and you'll end up with a self fulfilling prophecy.

Funny how things happen all together. A friend mentioned his guitar instructor's approach and that he's enjoying his guitar again after having rocked the 70s and picking it up again only recently. He recommended the instructor and today I had my first lesson. He's really good and yea his approach is like you say!

Rather than shove a bunch of his stuff at me he's taking an interest in what's on my youtube channel to get a glimpse of what I do with it. I did get the impression he found me interesting beyond the guitars a little too since the idea of just making something up in front of the camera was worth seeing for himself. Well here's that result (Lesson 1: "I get to playyyy"). I should have taken the camera cause the cell phone video-recorder isn't that solid. Anyway... here's the guitar he's borrowing too:


Edit: (non-bump new pics)
Got my bike flat fixed and changed the front tire. Check the power guitar on the handlebars. Woulda been a lot harder to bring the wire, guitar and amp in parts...

 

[John Watt]

reitze! Congratulations on topping off your fifth page of this, your inventive thread.
Sitting here tonight, looking through and reading most of it, is still very entertaining.
It took seeing your YouTube exhibition to fully appreciate the total effort you make.

As you know, my innovations have been purely acoustic, no other watts involved.
But I've been thinking about what you're doing, and I see an opportunity.
You're going at your guitars, even the solid-bodies, like they're acoustically designed,
and that would be projecting sound outward and forward to your supposed listeners.
Onstage, in a loud band, your amplification would be lost, making it redundant for most.
But what if you had a speaker on the side facing up, so it could be used as a monitor.
That way you'd be hearing your guitar as you're playing it, not juiced like through a P.A.

I've never sat onstage, and still like standing to play. Having a speaker aimed up at me...
that's almost like letting me watch the screen while I type, I type, usually about myself...
Considering how well little cameras work with sound and visuals,
you might want to use some of that technology, amazing as it is,
where a few small dots are a credible speaker or mike.

Guitars in my life, with music as a beautiful, spiritual expression, are playing them, building mine,
and wanting to grow as a musician.
Your challenging video presence and over-the-counter approach to manufacture inspired me.
Maybe not a lot because I'm creative already,
but if I'm ever running around in the yard jamming with a dog, again, I hope it's at your place.
I probably carry an adapter that would let me wire myself into your guitar,
for a semi-solid-self-speakered stereo duel, er, I mean duet, yeah, let's duet together.
That sounds historic, especially for these forums.

However, I can't end without stating my objections to your saying best guitar in the world.
You have combined guitars with amplifiers, a hybrid.
My semi-solid-body exhibits singular acoustics and creates a new tone zone when amplified,
while still maintaining '58 Les Paul Humbucker and '64 Stratocaster playability.

I'll never type or say that it's the best guitar, thinking of something Jimi Hendrix said on Dick Cavett.
Mr. Cavett was saying his band was excited Jimi was there, saying he was the best.
When Mr. Cavett told him that, Jimi said no, pointing to an elderly woman in the audience,
saying if Chet Atkins was her favorite guitarist, he couldn't be the best.
We can compare ourselves to Jimi, an inventor himself, along with singing, playing and writing songs.
He hung on. He hung on for a long time. Imagine being Jimi and waiting to make "Are You Experienced".

I don't have to be psychic to imagine online, if in 1967.
Good evening... guitarists and forum readers... my name is Jimi Hendrix and I play upside-down left-handed. I've been using my U.S. Air Force radar training to use tape recorders to simulate phasing and flanging. And I hired an electrical inventor to build an octave-divider-fuzz, something you've never heard before.
In fact, and this isn't to make you feel low or put you down even further, but my music might allow you to get higher. I'm working on something with a lot of overdubs, lots of tracks, more than the four channels The Beatles use. You might find yourself wanting to try studio headphones.
I hope you have a chance to lay back and groove with one of my songs... eventually.

firstreply: Jimi my man, ha, as if... you can't even spel yer name or play the right way. Yer in the wrong forum too.

secondreply: right on firstreply, you're callin' him out, and he's way out there. Only Beatles there in his hair.

firstreply: yuk-yuks for you... gotta go before he gets all crybaby on us... again... eventually.

 

[reitze]

reitze! Congratulations on topping off your fifth page of this, your inventive thread.
Sitting here tonight, looking through and reading most of it, is still very entertaining.
It took seeing your YouTube exhibition to fully appreciate the total effort you make.

As you know, my innovations have been purely acoustic, no other watts involved.
But I've been thinking about what you're doing, and I see an opportunity.
You're going at your guitars, even the solid-bodies, like they're acoustically designed,
and that would be projecting sound outward and forward to your supposed listeners.
Onstage, in a loud band, your amplification would be lost, making it redundant for most.
But what if you had a speaker on the side facing up, so it could be used as a monitor.
That way you'd be hearing your guitar as you're playing it, not juiced like through a P.A.

I've never sat onstage, and still like standing to play. Having a speaker aimed up at me...
that's almost like letting me watch the screen while I type, I type, usually about myself...
Considering how well little cameras work with sound and visuals,
you might want to use some of that technology, amazing as it is,
where a few small dots are a credible speaker or mike.

Guitars in my life, with music as a beautiful, spiritual expression, are playing them, building mine,
and wanting to grow as a musician.
Your challenging video presence and over-the-counter approach to manufacture inspired me.
Maybe not a lot because I'm creative already,
but if I'm ever running around in the yard jamming with a dog, again, I hope it's at your place.
I probably carry an adapter that would let me wire myself into your guitar,
for a semi-solid-self-speakered stereo duel, er, I mean duet, yeah, let's duet together.
That sounds historic, especially for these forums.

However, I can't end without stating my objections to your saying best guitar in the world.
You have combined guitars with amplifiers, a hybrid.
My semi-solid-body exhibits singular acoustics and creates a new tone zone when amplified,
while still maintaining '58 Les Paul Humbucker and '64 Stratocaster playability.

I'll never type or say that it's the best guitar, thinking of something Jimi Hendrix said on Dick Cavett.
Mr. Cavett was saying his band was excited Jimi was there, saying he was the best.
When Mr. Cavett told him that, Jimi said no, pointing to an elderly woman in the audience,
saying if Chet Atkins was her favorite guitarist, he couldn't be the best.
We can compare ourselves to Jimi, an inventor himself, along with singing, playing and writing songs.
He hung on. He hung on for a long time. Imagine being Jimi and waiting to make "Are You Experienced".

I don't have to be psychic to imagine online, if in 1967.
Good evening... guitarists and forum readers... my name is Jimi Hendrix and I play upside-down left-handed. I've been using my U.S. Air Force radar training to use tape recorders to simulate phasing and flanging. And I hired an electrical inventor to build an octave-divider-fuzz, something you've never heard before.
In fact, and this isn't to make you feel low or put you down even further, but my music might allow you to get higher. I'm working on something with a lot of overdubs, lots of tracks, more than the four channels The Beatles use. You might find yourself wanting to try studio headphones.
I hope you have a chance to lay back and groove with one of my songs... eventually.

firstreply: Jimi my man, ha, as if... you can't even spel yer name or play the right way. Yer in the wrong forum too.

secondreply: right on firstreply, you're callin' him out, and he's way out there. Only Beatles there in his hair.

firstreply: yuk-yuks for you... gotta go before he gets all crybaby on us... again... eventually.

Hi John,
Nice to hear from you and yea I agree with your perspectives. Only thing to clarify was best guitar statement from me originated WITH context on my ebay listings last Christmas. Instead of them getting sold for Christmas they got blog-flamed via the sound-bite missing the context (why I wanted amp-in-guitar for self, hybrid, today's available stuff,...). Though once blog'd why not? and hmmm hybrid... and hmmm why do acoustics mostly still exist? (ans=travel, rugged, light, cheep, simple).
So for me the amp-in-guitar technology is finally ready for prime-time, that's what I've proven with the Proof Of Concept builds (POC). I could imagine strapping something like a Dean V-acoustic or ML acoustic on those bars, but here I get the amp too - and wouldn't imagine strapping on more than just a guitar. So they are best for me. But I do stuf like strapping them on the handle bars :

By the way thanks for your past HCAF and TGP performances! When they bitched at me it was a little easier to figure out thier issues thanks to thier refs to you and then that I could find that you are also inventive. Nice to learn about you and others who don't settle for commercial products (let alone demand only such).

Oh yea if you'd like to swap a pair of guitars or something I would find that a lot of fun. If you had a right-handed body I could more carefully mount stuff into (plan more rather than hack...) it might work. And your concept of the speaker pointing to the guitarist is appropriate. If I gig'd much I'd prolly be doing that already, especially as seen in the later videos with mr microphone on the Natural.

Cheers!
Edit: BTW, here's a few more of the bike and the dog, but it can go much faste... 30mph with any slope or peddling no problem, 25mph even slightly up-sloped. Steep hills NP. It's 1000W, 48V (4 wheel chair batteries (SLA)).

Here's why I built the bike... it's my dog's exercise not mine.
[/QUOTE]

 

[reitze]

Full Bump, Why they're better Than Yours John!

...
However, I can't end without stating my objections to your saying best guitar in the world.
You have combined guitars with amplifiers, a hybrid.
My semi-solid-body exhibits singular acoustics and creates a new tone zone when amplified,
while still maintaining '58 Les Paul Humbucker and '64 Stratocaster playability....

Yea the hybrid which marries the 2 markets via technology.
Your semi-solid-body enable nice tone charactaristics otherwise unavailable yea I like what You've created a lot... so all I can say is here's 1 more thing going further in tone...

Someone once (25 yrs back) speculated for me the reason electric guitars are solid... that the vibration converts to sustain rather than audible sound. Later, mathmatically they have a much higher resonant vibration frequency (fundamental). With my acoustics I managed to get enough amplification into them not to get locked up (the RF HG does cause of spkr locn) but never managed to enjoy high gain with amplified live-string sustain. Now I do. That can be seen in any of the electric guitars with amps (Natural, Sharky, and hmmm need to name #6--- hmmm maybe somthing like randy (Randy Marsh played a vox in the South Park episode where they got called fags for breaking 1000000 points on guitar hero).

So summary... Power Guitars have Infinite Sustain. On an acoustic it's like going for a garage band practice with your acoustic even if you have EXL110s on it... the power will vibrate the hollowness. In a reasonable stage volume that is nice and does add to the tone and I do appreaciate the benefits of your inventions on those merrits. So all this says is that the vibrating speaker in the guitar provides a different form of tone-change being the live strings (infinite sustain sensation of live strings). I do find that fun, like hit a cord and then just sit there pokin on the wammy bar for some cool beat. Another appreciation of your guitar is I wouln't have really considered trying it on an electric if it werent for the routed bodies you did (Thanks!).

 

[Help!I'maRock!]

Someone once (25 yrs back) speculated for me the reason electric guitars are solid... that the vibration converts to sustain rather than audible sound.

the solidbody electric was developed to combat feedback. early on, acoustic guitars became electric by putting a pickup in the soundhole. this works ok up to a point. but with the development of the big band, once guitarists turned up loud enough to be heard, they would get massive feedback. archtop style acoustics with F-holes had already been made for quite some time, and it was found that attaching the pickup to the neck was a better solution for a while, but still not ideal. so the body depth was cut. eventually, both Les Paul, Paul Bigsby, and Leo Fender all came up with ideas for a solidbody guitar that would solve the feedback/volume issue. Gibson would take it a step further by introducing the humbucking pickup. the added sustain is a byproduct of the solidbody design.

 

[reitze]

the solidbody electric was developed to combat feedback. early on, acoustic guitars became electric by putting a pickup in the soundhole. this works ok up to a point. but with the development of the big band, once guitarists turned up loud enough to be heard, they would get massive feedback. archtop style acoustics with F-holes had already been made for quite some time, and it was found that attaching the pickup to the neck was a better solution for a while, but still not ideal. so the body depth was cut. eventually, both Les Paul, Paul Bigsby, and Leo Fender all came up with ideas for a solidbody guitar that would solve the feedback/volume issue. Gibson would take it a step further by introducing the humbucking pickup. the added sustain is a byproduct of the solidbody design.

Thanks for the history! What I'm learning is that keeping the solid-beam of the main bridge-head wood intact makes it pretty solid but the flip side is the ML-Acoustic and all the acoustic derived versions are much lighter (<7lbs). So similarly depending on the desired power there is a weight cost. My first electric guitar weighted about 12 lbs - and had a very nice sustain sound (with other issues) --- and was why the Gibson SGs were worth the weight. But not for the bike-handlebars so there's still a wide range of choices depending on the guitarist. All I prove is the concepts are possible - show n tell.

And interesting references to Jimi Hendrix in that he was 1 of the first to amp-up enough power to get the truly live strings and perform well with them. Sure lots of guitist had feedback but till the strat with the twin with jimi with monte... ok ... these have similar capabilities to jimi being amped up cause the speaker is right in the guitar and he has already demonstrated what that's good for.

 

[Help!I'maRock!]

Thanks for the history! What I'm learning is that keeping the solid-beam of the main bridge-head wood intact makes it pretty solid but the flip side is the ML-Acoustic and all the acoustic derived versions are much lighter (<7lbs). So similarly depending on the desired power there is a weight cost. My first electric guitar weighted about 12 lbs - and had a very nice sustain sound (with other issues) --- and was why the Gibson SGs were worth the weight. But not for the bike-handlebars so there's still a wide range of choices depending on the guitarist. All I prove is the concepts are possible - show n tell.

And interesting references to Jimi Hendrix in that he was first to amp-up enough power to get the truly live strings and perform well with them. Sure lots of guitist had feedback but till the strat with the twin with jimi with monte... ok ... these have similar capabilities to jimi being amped up cause the speaker is right in the guitar and he has already demonstrated what that's good for.

incorrect again. the first guitarist to use that kinda power was Pete Townshend.

 

[Help!I'maRock!]

So summary... Power Guitars have Infinite Sustain. On an acoustic it's like going for a garage band practice with your acoustic even if you have EXL110s on it... the power will vibrate the hollowness. In a reasonable stage volume that is nice and does add to the tone and I do appreaciate the benefits of your inventions on those merrits. So all this says is that the vibrating speaker in the guitar provides a different form of tone-change being the live strings (infinite sustain). I do find that fun, like hit a cord and then just sit there pokin on the wammy bar for some cool beat. Another appreciation of your guitar is I wouln't have really considered trying it on an electric if it werent for the routed bodies you did (Thanks!).

incorrect again. the sustain ends when the batteries run out.

 

[reitze]

Great Head

These head designs are anther aspect of experimental development results worked into my Power Guitars. I would enjoy someone implementing the same concept with rollar wheels or some other means to reduce the friction on the peg. Still it's pretty nice for being able to bend notes and especially keeping in tune with any wammy use.

 

[John Watt]

reitze! I'm glad your thread is still here. It looks like there's only two pages of "the lounge" and my photo file was empty. Did you see the Mark Wein header when it was "spray-painted" medium brown with the lettering JACKX, but done artistic style.That's all right, I just sent Mr. Wein a query asking about how to delete them, not knowing what the capacity was, not wanting to waste what photos I could save with random scans and experimentals.
I'm saving pictures of my bicycle, maybe an even better invention than my semi-solid-body,
for later.
I know you'll see an idea you'll like. Especially if you have a spine and knees you want to keep.
Good luck with your new lessons.
I'm off to plug in the crybaby and see if I can get something out if it. I tried it once and was disappointed. A new Jimi Hendrix graphics one too. I went through eight in the seventies and eighties, but these new ones, no matter how "classic" or "retro" or "authentic" they are, if they're not made the same, if they don't sound or work the same, they shouldn't have the same name.
Instead of coming at it from the copyrighting the name side, they should be registering what is being manufactured and seeing what it is, and if it fits a pre-existing category it's not an invention, but if it is it is. The works of the builders would be respected, not ignored for companies who want to perpetrate the same business with a cheaper product.
You and I are being lumped in together by quite a few Weiners, that's spelled "Whiners" in South Dakota, and "Whinas" in the Bronx.
So who do you think we should accuse of being an inventor?
No-one was interested in my Nicola Tesla thread or I'd have a candidate.
I hope that strikes inventive fear into the heart of any other forum member who reads this.
Yeah! It's better to have inventive fear than no inventive at all.

How can I forget adding a photo? If I have to start my library here this would be my pick.
yeah... a pic of my semi-solid-body electric guitar in your best guitar in the world thread.
Wowza! That had to be the first rush I've ever gotten from being so so appropriate.
And please, let me welcome you to this new dimension of Mark Wein Guitar Lessons forums.
Speaking of renewed dimensions, I think I just had an accumulate tesla coalesence myself.
Take a look! Yeah, take a look. I'm editing this in to say the pictures come up in the reverse order of filing.

Now let me apologize first, if I'm introducing you to "culture" you may not want.
But if I'm to honor the new Mark Wein server, I have to be all of me, including my modern soundtrack self, with a little video "bad mutha" attitude.
So here's a bit of eye-catching, heh heh, advice, one inventor to another.
A Hannibal Lecture: If you can't make it with her, make it out of her.

 

[reitze]

Refinishing Sharky (#5), Line 6 ? Vox

reitze! I'm glad your thread is still here. It looks like there's only two pages of "the lounge" and my photo file was empty. Did you see the Mark Wein header when it was "spray-painted" medium brown with the lettering JACKX, but done artistic style.That's all right, I just sent Mr. Wein a query asking about how to delete them, not knowing what the capacity was, not wanting to waste what photos I could save with random scans and experimentals.
I'm saving pictures of my bicycle, maybe an even better invention than my semi-solid-body,
for later.
I know you'll see an idea you'll like. Especially if you have a spine and knees you want to keep.
Good luck with your new lessons.
I'm off to plug in the crybaby and see if I can get something out if it. I tried it once and was disappointed. A new Jimi Hendrix graphics one too. I went through eight in the seventies and eighties, but these new ones, no matter how "classic" or "retro" or "authentic" they are, if they're not made the same, if they don't sound or work the same, they shouldn't have the same name.
Instead of coming at it from the copyrighting the name side, they should be registering what is being manufactured and seeing what it is, and if it fits a pre-existing category it's not an invention, but if it is it is. The works of the builders would be respected, not ignored for companies who want to perpetrate the same business with a cheaper product.
You and I are being lumped in together by quite a few Weiners, that's spelled "Whiners" in South Dakota, and "Whinas" in the Bronx.
So who do you think we should accuse of being an inventor?
No-one was interested in my Nicola Tesla thread or I'd have a candidate.
I hope that strikes inventive fear into the heart of any other forum member who reads this.
Yeah! It's better to have inventive fear than no inventive at all.

How can I forget adding a photo? If I have to start my library here this would be my pick.
yeah... a pic of my semi-solid-body electric guitar in your best guitar in the world thread.
Wowza! That had to be the first rush I've ever gotten from being so so appropriate.
And please, let me welcome you to this new dimension of Mark Wein Guitar Lessons forums.
Speaking of renewed dimensions, I think I just had an accumulate tesla coalesence myself.
Take a look! Yeah, take a look. I'm editing this in to say the pictures come up in the reverse order of filing.

Now let me apologize first, if I'm introducing you to "culture" you may not want.
But if I'm to honor the new Mark Wein server, I have to be all of me, including my modern soundtrack self, with a little video "bad mutha" attitude.
So here's a bit of eye-catching, heh heh, advice, one inventor to another.
A Hannibal Lecture: If you can't make it with her, make it out of her.

...

Nice John! :nv: Would love to buy one with a Line 6 in it (mounted similar to # 5/6).

Funny it seems the world changed. Was it the GOM? IDK its nice when they stop laughing and start pointing while saying I want one of those. I get that a lot on the bicycle while running the dog down by the park. It's a lot more intense this year than when I built that bike last year. Back then there were a few people interested but not very many. And I've not changed it - just charge-n-ride!

It weighs 10.7 LBS.

Still red to finish the back and do the head beor its finishd but alredy a nice player. My new guitar instructor borrowed the natural. He really liked it.

Well finished with working on #5 refinished. I've been tending to play it the most lately because I'm finding the tone I want easier to get out of the Line 6 than from the Vox. The Vox is a little easier to operate esp for effects (prolly bc I have the panel lables to go by) but the Line 6 has a way better tone. The Vox doesn't have an eq like the Line 6 and when I kill the trebble and base on the Line 6 it sounds like what comes from the Vox. This means that unless theres something better I'll prolly be looking for some Line 6s to retrofit the ML while repositioning the speaker and perhapse 1 more to give a way (will prolly give #6 away or make a deal).

I'm also starting to appreciate the differences among the guitars under these amps a lot more. The Natural is by far the best playing of the group (with maple neck and wammy). Then Sharky, then #6. The ovation I haven't built into one as of yet has those fine-tuning things on the bridge and I'm getting attached to those - but still not the stationary amp. .

 

[Help!I'maRock!]

just in case any of my posts were lost to the changeover, i reiterate:

 

[paulskirocks]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:dh::HB::chow2::ksmash:big-axe

 

[reitze]

Hi, and lol... yea I know they're ugly but they're still getting my time more than the wired guitar&amp in the house. L6 still has the edge - though I do wonder if it has anything to do with speaker placement (doubt that). I'm also wondering again about Roland w/o the RF issue (if I fix that)... so many projects. My bike needs work again too . It was run over by a car in my driveway :gu:

 

[John Watt]

reitze! When the car ran over your bike, was it like a big speed BUMP?

 

[reitze]

it just made it shimmi.
Do ya think they care more about the paint?

 

[reitze]

{deleted 2nd post - smart phone...sorry}

 

[John Watt]

reitze! I was in a customer's buy and sell store today and saw a "Dimebag Darrell" bass guitar,
like some kind of Gibson X-shape, metallic silver with black bands for wide purfling, and it was big.
I was looking at a small portable bass amp beside it, wondering what you would do with it.
yeah! That's what you need next, a bass so someone else can accompany you on your musical walkabouts,
and bikeabouts.
Your drummer could have one drum hung like a snare, with battery driven pads around the top with other drum sounds, and a heel bass activator when walking in time. Or one in each heel for double pedal bass. Or, when drum biking, have a contact with a reflector on the spokes to give you a signal, and a beat. This would be an intuitive application, speeding up or slowing down depending on your pedalling mood.
I heard the television producers of
"Alabama Lower Southern County Second Tier Professional Lawnmower Racing",
are interested in you for a suggested opening theme, "Sunday Morning Cutting Down".
I was in there with "I Cut the Line", but they said it was too purple-grass, not blue-grass enougn.

 

[John Watt]

reitze! There I was, getting ready to surface sand my guitar top, touch up the clear-coat, and start putting it together. I just finished filing the frets and cleaning up the ebony. But then I started smoothing out the ridges I carved behind the tremolo unit, and really gave my metallic brass, which everyone thinks is gold, another look. And then I decided I never really did carve around the edges, rounding out the top, not just to be more like a Fender Stratocaster, but to make it easier for my arm to rest along the body edge.

I like the way the back of the body can be held tight, the non-rounded edge getting bite on my body or clothes. That helps stabilize the guitar so i can begin to concentrate on those new notes I have so high up the neck. I'm not changing that. In case you're wondering what all this is about, I originally carved it to look like a violin, a little puffier looking, with a top ridge and side extrusion. Please, notice the use of the word extrusion. Over twenty years ago, talking illuminated signs with customers, talking about extrusion was trippy.

Too bad you haven't been around. I'm in a bike mood after going to Thornton's and ordering a new seat. Yeah, I know, I don't want to break any more hearts in these forums, but here I am riding a bike I paid to get welded, with a seat system I made from thin Lexan, making something similar to my chiropractors' exercise machine, but capping it off with a $12 banana seat still being manufactured from the sixties. That was over eight years ago, and the same seat is still available, $13.98. Typing about deals like that, Shure SM 58 and 57's are like that. Mikes like that could cost over $200 in the eighties, but they kept on making them and saving production costs and passing it on to the customers, and I paid $125 when I got my new one this time.

And I'm not joking about having some nice bike building tips. But we can get into that when you want to.
Right now, more sanding, more wiping of clear-coat, and.. and... I really think it's going to have a better look, definitely showing more wood.

Oh! I'm so happy to be really putting some effort into finishing the top. I tossed it together to jam with a bassist and drummer every Sunday one summer, in my Port Colborne sign shop. That's when I was carving and plugging it in to try it the most. Now I'm finally working on the top to my heart's content.