The '65 Jazzmaster is very nice. Don’t feel bad about painting it. It’s a guitar you play regularly and naturally you want it to look really good. The enjoyment you get from the guitar is more important than the “collector’s value”.
I bought a D18 Acoustic made in 74 or 75. Sunburst finish was basically flawless. So, then I had a dilemma. If I play it then it will pick up a scratch or two. The fret wires will get nicked from playing. After a few weeks in the case I said “screw it” and started playing it occasionally. I have a vintage Yamaha from my high school days that is my daily practice guitar. It’s the one I’ll drag out to the car and visit a friend to play. But, when I just want to play for fun at home the Martin is what I pick up. I’m not treating it like a collectors item or museum piece. It was built to play and that’s what I’m doing. (carefully of course) but I do play it. I take both guitars down to my local shop after each dry winter and he puts them in a special room to humidify. Restore the moisture that was lost from my central heat.
Oh I forgot to mention, I bought the D18 in 2010. Poor thing had spent much of its life locked into the case. That’s why the finish was so good. Only one repair. The seller said the pick guard had peeled up and he had a Martin certified tech do the finish repair and replace the pick guard. So, even sitting in the case damage happens. I think it’s better to keep new strings on it and play it semi-regularly. 20 years from now it will still be a collectors item in spite of a few scratches.
I guess that I should pass along this information about my Tex-Mex Strat. There was confusion about what strap locks it used. The literature package with the manual & warranty card included a opened package of Dunlop strap locks. The package only had the two snaps & E-ring that attaches to the strap. I assumed the posts had already been factory installed on my Strat. Where else would they have gone? :dubious:
I got the snaps on the strap and they weren’t holding worth a crap. A gentle tug and they came off the Strat. That’s not cool. I don’t want to see my Strat in pieces on the floor. A musician friend swears by the Schaller locks. So, I picked up a set locally (only $17). I was going to swap out the posts on the Strat. That’s when I realized the posts on the Strat were Schaller posts! Didn’t have to change anything except the snaps on my guitar strap.
Heck, Fender even sells Fender Schaller strap locks. They come with the right size wood screw for the Strats and Telecasters. I have no idea how that Dunlop set got in my Fender literature bag Or who took the Schaller snaps that go on the strap.
If you buy a Tex-Mex Strat or probably any of the other models then it should have a *complete *set of Schallers included. The posts are factory installed.
I’m locked in secure now. I love these Schaller locks.
Love the black Jazzmaster; very Johnny Marr. If you know it’s not going anywhere, condition is less relevant.
I value condition only because I have wanted flippable guitars - it can take me 6 months or more to figure out if a guitar is a keeper vs. a semester education. Once I know, I use them as tools. My 1948 D-18 gets played all the time and hard. That’s the point of having it.
WordMan do you worry about humidity in the winter? I know they sell these sponge things that go in the sound hole. I don’t mess with them. They got to come out anyhow to play the guitar. I can’t see babying a guitar that much. Guitars bounce around in tour buses all the time. Willie Nelson has worn a hole in his Martin. I agree, they are Tools. Not delicate flowers.
I’m lucky to have a really good local guitar tech (he’s Martin & Taylor certified). He puts guitars in his humidity room for a couple days (no charge). I always let him change out my strings too for getting some moisture back in my guitar’s wood.
I keep my guitars in their cases whenever I am not playing them. My son and I have a laminate-body Taylor GS-Mini that we leave out for no guilt grab-access, but the old Martin and others stay cased. Without question, that is the best thing you can do to keep a guitar in decent shape.
As for humidifiers, I never did growing up in CA. In NY, if the humidity gets much below 35% or so, I have some humidifiers - maybe Planet Waves? - little goretex tubes you fill with water and which come with a plastic T that enables them to hang in the strings in the soundhole. I don’t use Damp-it sponges or other devices that might lead to dripped water in the guitar. And I am only kind of mindful about it - if we are going through a big cold snap, I will try to be more diligent…
Keeping the guitars properly humidified and in their case when you aren’t using them is critical, especially with higher end acoustic guitars. I am having to replace the top on my Garrison G40 because I didn’t. If you have a dedicated room that you can maintain at 45-55% all year long, I am jealous. Forced air and northern climates are murder on guitars. ace, you are bang on about locks and guitars being tools! My friend had about 1000 worth of repairs on his D41 because his strap slipped off the end pin reaching for a beer and hit the cement. His guitar dude threw in a pair of strap locks and told him the put the #%###@ things on! Nothing is more depressing than seeing a minty old acoustic that no one ever plays. I feel the same about cars. Why the hell would you own an original AC Cobra and never drive the thing? I know, resale, blah blah blah. Please. Master craftsmen built these things to be used and loved, not to be baubles to your magnificence…
Zero. It was actually good for a laugh or two. My best friend, who painted it, got a laugh too, when I told him (which was 10 years after the paint job, or he’d have been irked since he put a lot of effort into it.) And LOL about the “died under mysterious circumstances.”
Yup. I believe in playing them, not worshiping them, which is why I don’t buy any collectors’ items (at least, not on purpose!)
My 1982 Martin HD28 usually hangs on the wall along with my other guitars, unless I played it out and haven’t played it since. Fortunately the house has a central humidifier.
I used a pocket humidifier for a few years, way back when, but the habit didn’t last. I noticed that guitars I played all the time, well the sponge was always dry. And the ones I left in the case, well, the sponge was always dry! Meh. My son gets them all when I’m gone. With a bit of luck, that’ll be 30 years. If some don’t last until then, too bad.
I am a big believer in finding the best luthiers in the area, for certain guitars and certain work.
If I had to replace it, I’d probably get a Strat. As much as I like it, those wide, shallow pickups buzz like a banshee. I bet you didn’t know that banshees buzz. It never bothers me live, but recording, I have to find the “golden angle” and hold still.
I once turned off all the circuits in my house but the one my gear is on, and turned off everything I could on that circuit, thinking the problem was something else. Not so much. Though, I do think that house or neighborhood was worse than most. I’m an a different house now, with much newer wiring. I should see if I can tell a difference.
I’ve been trying out my USB adapter for my Strat. Amazing little box not much bigger than a smart phone. Powered off the computer’s USB. I’ve been impressed with the clarity and tone of the recording. I guess you could compare it to an inexpensive practice amp, like a Vox DA5’s sound. Except I’m using the computers multimedia speakers and that sound is pretty limited. If I transferred the file to my MP3 player and plugged it into my car’s audio it would sound really good.
For $50 I’m very satisfied. There’s quite a few brands out there. Vox has one. I went with Peavey’s adapter because I didn’t have to install a cd full of sofware. I downloaded the drivers from their site, plugged in the adapter and started up Audacity.
There are issues to work out before I record myself actually playing anything. I need headphones to monitor what I’m playing. For some odd reason, Audacity mutes my sound whenever the adapter is plugged in. Even when I’ve stopped recording. I have to unplug the adapter to play any multimedia on my PC. <shrug> I’ll figure it out. I’ve only had this gadget working for an hour.
The big advantage is not worrying about any household noise. Plugging straight into USB gives a very clean recording. Mic an amplifier would by the more pro way to go. But, there’s to much background noise at my house for that to ever be an option.
My first truly special guitar was my Les Paul Custom Black Beauty - a '73 reissue based on the originals with a P-90 and Alnico “staple” pickup at the neck. My, she was yar (points if you get that movie quote).
Buzzed like a motherf*cker. I got used to hooking my pinky on the volume and swiping it done at the end of songs. The other thing I did was get a Noise Gate - a Boss NS-2, I believe. It helped.
A Strat was my main electric for over a decade. They are amazing and versatile, but not for me. Turns out I am a Tele guy. Very few guys are both - Jeff Beck mastered Teles with the Yardbirds and is now a Strat guy…
Don’t feel bad about painting it. It’s a guitar you play regularly and naturally you want it to look really good. The enjoyment you get from the guitar is more important than the “collector’s value”.