mcarp555

I think tied into this is that once you've seen all the touring acts from whatever your generation, what's left? I grew up in the 70's in Orlando, Florida. They used to put on "Rock Superbowls" in the largest stadium in the area (around 80,000+) with package deals from multiple acts. So one year you might see UFO with AC/DC, Boston and Blue Oyster Cult all in one bill. Another year it would be the Outlaws with Heart, Cheap Trick, Joan Jett and the B-52s. I've seen McCartney, the Who, the Stones, Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, etc. The last show was the only gig I've been to in the UK - the Concert for George at the Royal Albert. So Paul, Ringo, Clapton, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, etc. The only person I haven't seen that's still gigging is Dylan, and I don't have any burning desire to schlep somewhere to do so.

Two good tracks, well-played and arranged. Great vocals in the Bonnie Tyler mold. "Empire" has a very "Journey"-like sound. Good work all around, hard to find anything wrong with any of it. If I wanted to be very nit-picky, I would suggest that "Shallow Water" is slightly overcompressed. The dynamic range is severely restricted, esp. when compared to "Empire". Otherwise, keep doing what you're doing!

I listened to "Help Help" and "The Quiet Things..." from Soundcloud - I don't think the material is bad, but I'd certainly think about doing a remix. The guitar is not punching through like it should, and the vocals are too far back in the mix (this may be too much 'verb and incorrect EQ settings). The drums come through best, with bass there as well (although I think it could also use better EQ). Certainly one of the dilemmas with bands in the studio is, do you add more to make the recording better, or keep it basic to present a more accurate picture of the band live? If the latter, then certainly bringing up the guitar & fixing the vocals is crucial. If you want to make the best possible recording, then I'd strongly suggest adding a rhythm guitar track to the proceedings. The overall feeling I'm getting from the tracks is almost ethereal, which is probably not the sound a working live band needs to project. But don't get me wrong - the vocals are good, the playing seems fine, but there's no excitement, no "Wow!". It makes the tracks a bit lifeless. I think all of this can be fixed, however, with a little more woodshedding in the studio.

Nice tight track, good arrangement, enjoyable material. You can't underestimate the value of excellent vocals as well. If I was to nit-pick, I'd suggest a wider pan on the guitars, and a little less level on the background vocals. But again, that's being incredibly detailed. As it is certainly does not detract from the high quality of the overall sound.

Very nice. Reminded me a lot of [i]Departure from the Northern Wasteland[/i], an album I used to have by Michael Hoenig. Good production values, although I think I would have dropped the level on the percussion just a tad, as it seemed to dominate the overall aural spectrum. Not a serious flaw, just a personal preference.

I find Hofners so close I can't use my fingers at all, just a pick. That may be true of most 30" scale basses, tho.

It's a Hofner 182 Solid bass: http://www.vintagehofner.co.uk/gallery/bass2/bas53.html Apparently the single pickup version is fairly rare, dating to the beginning of the production run in 1962.

No, I seem born to blah blah blah. Been doing it my entire life.

On one hand, it's acquiring mojo, and any botched touchup might look worse. On the other, any decent luthier should be able to repair damage like that. Maybe just refin the whole thing.

Some great looking guitars in this post. Here's my family shots: Front row (l. to r.): Fender '77 Strat, '78 Strat, 2006 Fender Tele, 2009 Gibson Les Paul Trad, 2010 Gibson SG, 2005 Epiphone Casino Back row: Right-handed Kwai strung left-handed, 2000 Fender Strat (Mexican) 1997 Fender Jag-Stang Left to right: unknown small scale cheapie, 1977 Epiphone Texan, Mid-Nineties Epiphone, Kentucky mandolin

I've heard that, but supposedly the time frame for doing so would have been last month (February). The Gibson rep I spoke to said: [quote][color=#1F497D][size=2]At this point no 2014 production with left handed appointments has been confirmed by Gibson USA yet. We might put some models into production with lefty appointments, but that would be earliest in a few months from now.[/size][/color][/quote] When I asked about the fact that dealers like Andertons were advertising 2014 LH models, his response was: [quote][color=#1F497D][size=2]The information we gave you has been confirmed by the factory.[/size][/color][/quote] So unless they do a run later a few months from now, we're SOL. But it seems odd that by March they don't know what they'll be doing before the end of the year. Seems like a pretty poor way to manage resources for a company.

I had my eye on the 2014 SG special because I'd like a 30" solidbody, and as you no doubt know, finding a Fender Musicman or Mustang is... difficult. Plus, I really liked the Fireburst finish. If they do someone decide after all to produce 'em (and I've told them as much), I might still pull the trigger. But if not, I'll find something else to spend my money on. You should let them know that their dithering has cost them yet another sale. Send Gibson pics of your ACG and rub it in. Otherwise they'll never learn.

Try humming!

One drop may not seem like much, until you realize the Grand Canyon was carved by nothing more than water.

Cheers fellas. Burt, why are you a 'traitor'?

I've only sold two basses. Note all instruments in this list are left-handed unless noted: Sold: 1. Late '70's Hondo P-bass copy. Crap instrument. 2. 1999 or so Mexican Fender J-bass. Bought a better Jazz, so it was surplus to requirements. Currently Own: 1. 1976 Kingston (Hofner copy) - right handed short-scale bass restrung for left. 2. 1977 Fender Precision - the love of my life. 3. 2009 Hofner 500/1 V62. 4. 2007 Indie custom acoustic bass (32" scale). 5. 1985 Hofner 187 "Shorty" travel bass (one of only a handful made - 28" scale). 6. 1967 Fender Jazz (w/lollipop tuners, bound neck w/inlays, non-original pups - see my avatar). 7. 2013 Gaskell Thunderbass (Thunderbird copy).

Here's a '77 P-bass, with friend. Bought it used in '81:

And the way to combat this attitude is not to roll over and flip instruments. Make your voice heard by complaining (loudly) to the companies. It's a vicious circle - few or no LH models get made, so sales are poor or nonexistant. If we all start flipping guitars, then dealers say "nobody asks for left-handed guitars", few continue to be made. I've gone round and round with Hofner, Fender & Gibson about this more than once. It's nothing short of criminal that in this day and age, this form of discrimination against roughly 10% of a target market can be tolerated with hardly anyone batting an eye. And I don't buy the economic BS - I believe it's more than possible to make LH guitars and basses alongside righty models with little or not difference to the bottom line. Two obstacles stand in the way - 1) the few in the industry who wish left-handed people just didn't exist, and think we're all lazy for not bothering to learn the 'right' way. And 2), the people who simply accept the argument that it's difficult/expensive to make LH models, and then parrot the company line. The justification for this idea is slightly different than the one in the previous paragraph - Company F makes one LH model (usually black, usually one fingerboard style). Model goes to dealers. Left-handers refuse to buy the same tired black model they see in every shop, so it gathers dust. Dealer reports to Company F that model doesn't sell. Company F uses this as justification that "left-handed models don't sell". A self-fulling prophecy. The best thing we can do as LH players is to contact these companies and make our voices heard. Don't flip guitars. Support those brands that support us. I bought a Gaskell [url="http://www.gaskellguitars.com/models/71.html"]Thunderbass[/url], and sent a photo of it to Gibson along with a letter to let them know what i did with the money they didn't want from me. If we as a group were to raise our voices (cause face it, Gibson, Fender, [i]et al[/i] are not mindreaders), can we make changes? Maybe, maybe not. Epiphone is bringing back the Casino after it was the single most requested LH guitar not in production. I'd rather fail making the attempt rather than roll over and take whatever crumbs they feel like giving me.

I'm interested in the SG special bass, if they make a 2014 model. However, I don't believe in flipping righty guitars. I know some left-handers do that (and I know you do, since I've read this entire thread), but I think that's detrimental to encouraging guitar companies to produce more LH models.

I just sent an email to customer service. I mentioned that LeftyFretz has an article about the entire 2014 range being available, and links to some of the Andertons ads. Their response (from "Boris") was that LF was not a site they had any control over, therefore it's just rumour. But the Andertons ads did confuse him, since they are an authorized dealer. He promised to look into it and get back with me. A week or so later, he responded by saying that he had been in touch with the factory, and they have no plans. If any do appear, it won't be until much later in the year. He didn't specifically address the Andertons ads, so who knows. LeftyFretz said they had heard from another service rep ("Bob") that it was a definite go. But of course, there's not one word about it on Gibson's site. So either one hand doesn't know what the other is doing, or they're jerking our chain on purpose.

Hello fellas, this is my second post. I've been in touch with Gibson, and despite Andertons ads and the other rumours, they're telling me that the factory is saying no LH 2014 models. As usual with Gibson, they don't really have a clue about what's going on in their own company, so will it really happen? Anyone's guess. I was hopeful for a while, but now I'm not.

Hello to all, finally signed up for this forum. Some of you may know me from other forums, I may know a few of you as well. At any rate, I'm from the US and now live in the East Mids. I'm a left-handed bassist, and blah blah blah.