Hey Crunchy!

[SAguitar]

Didn't I run into one of your guitars on Ebay last night?

It's a beaut! :cool:

[Crunchyriff]

Yes you did...which one? Probably the Hamer, right?

This one was real tough for me to sell. (makes me wonder if things have me, instead of me having things..) Anyway, as per the auction, my wife bought me this almost 3 years ago- she knew I always wanted one, & had my eye on this one, and so we did the deal. I had a Gibby explorer many years ago, but always wanted the HamerUSA version.

Anyway, since getting it, I've used it for about a half hr of studio work, and two or three gigs. That's it. It's a FANTASTIC and BEAUTIFUL guitar. But it's not my main one. One thing- in small clubs this is NOT the guitar to use. It's too big, and would easily get damaged onstage in some venues I've been in over the last 3 years.. And, being 5'9", I'm not the biggest guy in the world.

It's just not "me". Long hair and all, I'm a LesPaul guy, and though there are close similarities, my Gibson Historic '58 LesPaul is IT for me. I'm used to the control layout, toggle position, neck profile, fretboard radius, etc of my Gibsons (of course I've played Gibsons on and off for 30 years, and have had 7 or 8 Les Pauls over that period). When I decided to sell it, Mrs. tried to talk me out of doing so. I told my missus, "Think of it this way: look you bought the LP for me ." And, the Hamer is a "redundant" item.

I simply am convicted of having way too much stuff, and am moving in obedieance to Him. And that is NOT always easy to do. So, it's gotta go, with some other equally cool items. Remodeling aside, keeping this is not an issue, I can afford to keep it but obeying what God has put on my heart to do IS an issue. (harder to explain that in an online auction)

Right now I am busy healing and regrouping (too much time spent on too many commitments and not enough rest), and am NOT in a band at the moment; and just because I was once in the secular and CHR music biz does not justify clinging to all this stuff. If and when IF I need one, and can justify the expense, perhaps some day I'll have a new one built for me. To my exact specs.

[SAguitar]

Actually, it was a Gibson Howard Roberts that I ran into. I've been watching them for a year or two now, and haven't jumped on one yet, but am still attracted to them.

But I'm in inventory reduction mode, too, at the moment. When I realized I not only had more guitars than I play regularly, but I had more than I could easily list in my mind, even I admitted that was too many. I sold a 1980 Gibson "The Paul" last week, and have a few more that will be moving to new homes soon. Less is better. I'm not really under conviction at this point, or maybe I'm just in denial, but how many does a guy really need.

I only have one Les Paul, and I've had it for nearly 30 years now. It's definitely one of my main squeezes, but I also play my Tele, or one of my Strats quite frequently. Whatever tone the tune desires, that's what I try to go for. :cool:

[Crunchyriff]

OK- yes that particular HR is a superb guitar. (esp w/the Mike Lull refret) I have been blessed by God to have some of the finest instruments known to man. I just don't need all that I have right now. Spoiled is more like it.

Some day I hope to get an ES-335 (what I wanted more than anything when I bought this), but this one was so unique and different that I snapped it up- no regrets. I've always wanted an HRF as I'm a Lifeson fan (and thought this was a VERY cool guitar- it IS.)

Both guitars sold last night.

[SAguitar]

Cool. That HR was a beauty. I like the sunbursts in that model the best. Alex Lifeson is a very unique and awesome player. Although I've never been a total Rush fan (probably due to Geddy's voice and the messages most of their songs deliver), I've always been very impressed by Alex's guitar technique and tone.

Someday I'd still like to get a sweet 335 too, but I do have a Gibson Lucille that I love a lot, and an Epiphone Sheraton that I've upgraded to at least Gibby's standards, so I've got choices in that area.

Stan

[Crunchyriff]

The Lucille is a great guiar- heck I wouldn't mind having one of those. More or less an ES-355- a GREAT AXE. I may snag one of those. Until recently those were priced VERY affordably...At that level, my personal preference for aesthetics is the parallelogram inlays of the 345 w/the rosewood fingerboard; but it's all good, bro. All good!

I really want either an old 335 (cherry) or an old 345 in S/B. Both will probably be forever out of my price range anymore, unless God has something cookin up for me. (hey it CAN happen!!) So my next obvious choice would be a Historic reissue 335...and those are just insane $$ And I hate contributing to the Henry J monolith/collective... I prefer to buy used. We'll see.

FWIW, I was a BIG Rush fan from the 1st album thru Grace Under Pressure.
They kinda lost me after that. I could play pretty much everything both on guitar and bass from the 1st album thru Moving Pictures. (what fun!!) Many of the songs are just great thru and thru, others are a bit leftist for my tastes. Of course, ya gotta expect that w/ most Canadians- they don't know any better. It's all they know.

Spritual issues notwithstanding...

[SAguitar]

Yah, Lucy is one sweet axe. I've always been a huge B.B. King fan, and when I was looking for a 335, I started looking at the Lucilles too. At that time they were selling for hundreds less than a 335 and I couldn't figure out why. So, I finally ended up gettin' a nice, black soul machine.

When she first arrived here, I wasn't totally happy with the setup, but after a few months of gentle corrections, and some judicious filing of the nut (that's a skill I've been learning the last few years), she settled in just fine. Other than some setup improvements, the only other thing I did to her was removing the gold pickup covers. After only a few weeks, the gold was already wearing off, so I desoldered them off there before it totally wore off.

I have had several other players, and several techs advise me to just remove the whole Varitone switch setup, because it is a "tone-sucker" but I have found it very useful. Our soundtechs like mixing in thinner, brighter sounding guitars (ala Strat/Tele), and usually say that Pauls and other double humbucker guitars are just too fat, and get lost in the mix. Whatever... whine, whine, whine...

I really appreciate the lack of F-holes on the face. No feedback problems, and that is a good thing because we play pretty loud for a church, and our amps are on the floor in front of us, monitor-style. I've really come to love and appreciate this fine axe. :cool:

[Crunchyriff]

Both guitars are now gone.

"And THAT's the way it is..." :mrgreen:

[SAguitar]

...and now you know, The Rest of the Story.

Good night! \:D/