Things of guitar kit-dom

Rambles of things about kit guitar-dom. They are an interesting adventure, especially when they are rapidly assembled by stressed out & overwhelmed kit provider prior to shipping.



First thing I noticed was some string buzz on the lower strings in the first couple o' frets. It's got an original floyd bridge clone which doesn't have individual saddles for each string; a saddle allows you to adjust the action of an individual string. So to set action is basically screw bridge all the way down & slowly raise each side so no more string buzz occurs on the 1st 12 frets of each string. It took a bit of tweaking but I seem to have gotten it. Too bad I have to take it all apart. ha. I might upgrade the bridge to something that has the saddles for each string as I use those GHS Boomers that have thicker Low E, A, D strings. With the bridge it has on there, the action would have to be raised higher & it would feel like the strings were in outer space.

The 2nd thing I noticed was that the high E string was very close to the edge of the neck & easily slipped off the neck while playing. It also felt weird to bend or tap on it. I peaked at the back of the neck & sure enuff the locking nut was positioned without much care or attention to detail & gave the Low E more room on the fret board as the nut hung over the neck's edge on the low E side.

The 3rd thing I thought I needed to do was finish the back of the neck & fretboard. I was not feeling too comfortable with learning that process, although it sounds much easier than doing up a body with 5150 or whatever stripes. ReRanch.com has good instruction for finishing a guitar's neck along with a Wood Satin Clear finish. After emailing John G., the paint guy who wrote the book, I realized that I didn't have to finish the fretboard or the back of the neck as the natural wood feel feels great.

I could start taking it all apart & priming the body as the primer isn't too much. But I'll have to wait a while to get the desired paint & chrome paint kit that I'll also be using for it. The chrome kit is like $115+shipping & the needed paint supplies is like $125 + $42 for the primer + $18 for the final rubbing compound. It sure would be nice to walk into a store to get these supplies but there's no store I can find that carries urethane based things. I'm guessing there's some environmental thing in our state that does not allow for these products to be obtained easily. So ya gotta pay shipping if ya want to play the painting game.

Anyway that's the life of this kit at the moment. Strange thing is that I haven't plugged it into me amp yet. Busy busy with boys & such.

Side note: I learned this week that after 10+ years of having this amp, that I've hardly used, the effect return input jack is a stereo, tip-ring-sleeve-jack so I can have major stereo mojo from my Quadraverb 2's output running into the amp. Way cool.

Until later comes, turn it up to kit-dom.

Service, schmirvice #2

Ok so back to service issues. I'm stuck on this. First experience was stopping at Chevy's at Westgate on Sun. to eat mom's day dinner with Terra & her mom & dad & boys as we had journeyed to IKEA to look about. We go in about 8pm & the wait is about an hour. Turns out only 2 servers were available as the manager sent most of the wait staff home early due to a lull. HELLO McFly! It's mother's day & the mother's are out with family & hopefully at play all day. Later dinners are probably the norm for mother's day. Sheez so we bailed & hit Red Robin & Monster Burgers. yum.

2nd) In regards to the previous entry about the one entity who expected me to chase them down for a not so cheap item...

• Got email last week saying the item was shipping that week.
• No new information by Fri. afternoon so emailed to find out status.
• Get back "The FedEx labels will be printed tonight & things will be shipped out next week"
• So Friday night was the end of the week, for the week the item was to be shipped, & still not shipped. Grumble factor increasing.
• So no new information on Mon. am so I left a voice message & in grumpy way stated "I don't care about when 'they' are shipping out. I want to know when MY item will be shipped & to please call me on my cell.
• Monday night came around & still no return call.
• Sent email getting more frustrated at the lack of customer service & stated that if I cannot talk somebody soon about this then I'll consider cancelling my order.
• Response was in a tone of the company who has stated the thing I ordered, & paid for, & therefore mine already, is mad at their customers for getting mad at them. You want customers yet you are going to get mad them for wanting what you're selling them.
• So I wrote back & explained in a nice way how it's very confusing on our end & reminded him of the simple concept of sitting at a table starving waiting for the waiter to show up but never does.
• I also threw out possibly getting a temp. someone to be the one-on-one human voice that is greatly lacking in this process.
• He wrote back stating that the company is struggling & blah-de-blah & that I wasn't the first one to get uppity about the lack of service, etc.
• I could relate to a small company going through struggles because I work for one. I just encouraged him to press on.
• He wrote back an apology for the lack of response & then offered a generous addition to the order. I was actually amazed.

Attention businesses who want customers....Please make available a human being to answer phones & emails in a timely, friendly, & knowledgable way. Dont' make the customer chase you down. Don't tell the customer that you're busy & trying to get stuff out the door or busy doing what's a natural part of your buiness. That's part of your existence & you'd rather be busy wouldn't you? Don't get mad at the customers for being mad at the lack of replies & responses as you have our stuff & we want to know what's going on with it. If you're behind just say you're number 57 on the list so it'll go out Wednesday or Thursday; that's better than us not having any idea at all about status. Regardless if I'm spending 5 cents or $500,000 on your product, treat me the same as if I am gold to you. And please note that how you treat me during my first communication with you will determine if I will be a customer & look at & buy your products. As you know there are many sources for acquiring that which you have to offer. I have no problem looking for another provider or even paying a little bit more money. Now I return you to your process flows & such.

Ok until later comes turn it up to oh servant person come hither.

Troops & Iraq

Saturday when me pa was over for the boys game, we drove to Costco for Costco chow. And whilst travelling about I asked him from his wisdom & life experiences about the Iraq situation. The root of the issue is establishing diplomatic order & peace. Many argue, we didn't need an invitation to come in. Why do we need an invitation to leave? Establishing peace seems an insurmountable task. And the process is costing lives of citizens of the region & yes our soldiers. Would pulling troops out solve anything or do anything good for the people there? That to me seems like the adults walking out on a kindergarten class & let the kids do their own thing unsupervised all day long. What you get is mess, disorder, chaos, & most likely kids hurt or crying. I heard this in a moment yesterday on the radio when I was parking at a store & I didn't hear anything before these words
"...To serve & protect & to help the Iraqi people."

I do not know what all the little victories & successes are with troop present there. But I'm sure there are stories of courage, of feeling protected in a time of great fear, Of children seeing the troops there & knowing that there's someone here to help us because they're scared & unsure. When entering the service one is expected to have the courage to put onesself in harm's way for others. And serving the Iraqi people is the mission. I don't like to hear of attacks on our troops and some dying. The most common question is "What are they dying for?" They are simply dying so that others might have a better life than they have had in many years. So they aren't dying for nothing. They're dying for the freedom of oppressed people. There's no greater offering than to lay down one's life for one's friend or for one who you are helping. May the grieving friends & family of those who have died somehow come to realize that they died trying to help others in need.

Jammers & Jams that are hidden & lost to time...

We all, well most of those interested in things of guitar players, & jams & such, know the story of Michael Jackson & the solo part of the song Beat It. Edward Van Halen was asked to come do the solo for it & EVH agreed to just do it for free or what have you. Then the solo became one of top leads EVH has ever done & it was probably 1 take or so. Sheez. And it's a song lost to time as well as a 'classic' lead being lost to the wind. I remember way back then Mad magazine did a spoof about it somehow how having funny drawings of Jackson and/or his people calling Edward Van Halen and/or his people to see if EVH would just jam over to the studio to lay a solo down for the song Beat It and how EVH aftwards regretted doing it for free & fun as Beat It was such a huge hit. Guess you had to see the Mad Magazine issue or be there. Those who have ions of time could go try to dig it up somewhere I guess. Onward...

So that reminded of me of solos hidden in the popularity of movies in the industry & how the coolest riffs, music, & total outpouring of the musicians & their talents, etc. just hide. I still have yet to hear in full the song EVH & Alex Van Halen did for the movie Twister which got nominated for a Grammy. I'll have to do the EBay thing to get the sound track's CD I guess. So where I am rambling in all this? I dunno I forgot....uhm...oh yeah...lost or never heard or hidden solos. Sorry, I must have gotten lost for a moment or was it longer than that?

Music/soundtracks for movies are an odd entity aren't they? The music is a necessary part of the movie experience & is only a small miniscule part of the whole movie industry pie & that part of the pie is there for a moment then tossed & most likely unnoticed. I guess as a creator of anything, you learn how to pour yourself into your art in the present & then let it go unto history for those who partake in it from then on, especially those who go into retro mode. Just look at Star Wars & John Williams & all the orchestra members & all that was created for those movies but just it all just hides behind the story lines, action, & effects.

Very scary....Saw a sign in Watsonville for some small giggage of bands like Poison & Ratt. Talk about retro mid 80's. I wonder how many 80's-90's musicians decided to enter into rehab 'cause Eddie just finished his stay in it & came out of it looking much better? I remember a video clip from something about guitar in rock on VH1 thing & Dweezl Zappa said he molded his hair style & length to whatever it is Eddie did. I still remember the metal world being shocked & in disbelief that EVH cut his hair to break the big hair style & image of rock-dom. Hello...focus John...How did I get on this subject? I 'unno. Oh yeah retro things which is pertinent to the below.

So this is one of my favourite lead parts & it's just a few notes-the best leads usually are-with energy, power, & harmonic jammin....Can you name the song? Can you name the guitar player? If yes cool...If no, read on...
http://www.pplministries.org/jam.mp3
- All things of the above belong to somebody's copyright & trademarks.

If you couldn't guess the song yet then, can you name it from this full lead part? I'm sure the ending of the lead gives it away. But perhaps not. It is one of my fav leads...
http://www.pplministries.org/jamfullsolo.mp3
- All things of the above belong to somebody's copyright & trademarks.

Answer cannot be disclosed until later from now.

I wish I had the teacher, I had in mid 90's that showed me I could write songs & record & such, when I was in my teens taking lessons from the nearest Guitar Showcase schmoe in town. I've always been a purist in that I want to get every note & nuance as the original. He just wasn't able to be that for the hard rockin' tunes & leads I wanted to emulate. I wanted to play the above referenced lead, but he just wasn't able to do/be that. Welp now I know better & I realized whilst listening to the above referenced song that started this rambling & wandering blog that I need to venture unto finding someone who does know or can learn the parts & then help me to a) play them as such & b) to get the guitars & equipment I already have to sound like it should or at least as I think I would like them to. I joked with a friend this AM, make me a great sounding amp that has a volume knob & a power button. Knobs & I do not get along well at all! It's almost worse than sibling rivalry between knobs & I.

Until later comes, turn it up to power to the music people

Service, schmirvice...pleah...

Long ago when I was at SJSU-dang that was a long time ago-I worked in the electronics/computer dept. of the Spartan Bookstore. One day out of the blue the dept. manager decided that the male employees in that dept. needed to wear ties & the thinking was that selling Mac's to students & teachers was like selling cars to someone. They wasn't cheap & customers were making a huge investment. So the sales persons should look appropriate for such a sales environment. Why do I mention this? Because good service is just not very dominant these days. Restaurant service & food quality is not so great more often than not. Terra went in to a store to get a very specific shampoo product to make sure cat Emmitt doesn't get any fleas as the temps warm up. The person helping her just basically gruffed at her & said something like "It would be over there" and just pointed. I've emailed two different guitar body/neck makers to inquire about some specifics of what they offer as well as seeking some suggestions. Not one reply. And so now I take you to the journey of this week...

So I get a newsletter email about a particular item & the provider mentions ordering by May 1, by midnight. Yeah, it is a marketting ploy to get people to buy now rather than later. They are mostly a net of inter seller & therefore want & probably expect most people to pay via PayPal. I Try to call on May 1 & no answer. No replies to emails I sent. That is very confusing...You want customers to hurry & buy your something so you can get it out of your warehouse, but you're not available by phone or email for customers on the day you advertised as the "Come & get it day." So I create an email stating what I want, the billing & shipping addresses & such, with a request to call so as to give the payment information. The reply I get the next day, yesterday was, "Call us after 9:30 am EST." Hmmm, so I have to try & chase you down in order to buy the item I'm interested in that you want people to buy sooner than later. So I try to call & email on May 2. Nobody avaiable by phone or email again. Boy they really must want to sell stuff to people. They didn't even return a voice message I left yesterday. So I constructed, basically a resend with some ranting included, of what I sent the previous day. Reply I got this morning was "We're in the warehouse packing things all this week. Call back & blah blah blah or use PayPal, etc. HELLO, Not everyone wants to use the all powerful PayPal system or has a PayPal account to use for every purchase in their lives. Yes I do have a PPal account but for this one matter I didn't want to use it for private reasons. I can understand possible treatment for a cheap item. But for something that's not as cheap you'd think the seller would do whatever they could to make things easier for the buyer. The net of inter has made things very strange. Computers & e-commerce systems have become the sales people. Or should I say Big Brother is becomming more prominent, only about 23+ years later than the book.

I've made it a point, & not just for tax write off guitar painting biz reasons, that when I go into a Starbucks or whatever, that when they ask for my name to write on the cup or what have you, I say something like "But now you have to tell me your name." They usually tell me & laff & probably find it odd that someone would do that. I then s'plain something about how people are becomming more & more disconnected. Then I show my biz card really quick & happily write the person's name on the receipt so I can write off the food stuffs & miles. This reminds me of the story circulated many a time about a nursing teacher querying her students in class to see if they even knew the name of the lady, the students saw day after day, who cleans the floors & such in the hallway just outside of the classroom door. Not one of them knew the lady's name. The teacher's point was that ya gotta connect well with people & get to know them if you're going to be their nurse in their health needs.

I guess it becomes if you want to do something or know something specific, about what is offered, it's probably easier, faster, & better to just pick up the phone & call as emails & electronic blah-de-blahs can so easily fall into the ether of their realms & go unanswered. But I wonder how many customers go elsewhere because some bizness didn't reply to the customer's email or electronic communication in a timely manner. My motto, if you don't want to or cannot reply to someone's electronic inquiry, don't provide an email address or way for customers to communicate with you that way.

Until later comes, turn it up to people & the internet are strange.