If you’re referring to the strips running transversely through the wear hole, I suspect they are the braces for the top, and not things you want to break unless you want to see the guitar go splah or crumple in on itself while under string tension. He is a pretty enthusiastic player, though.
If I were close enough to get a hold of Willie’s guitar I’d be too messed up from the contact high to care… 
I don’t mess with Texas.
Video clip about a guitar auction. I haven’t been following this auction, but this couple-minute clip shows a few cool guitars. I am sure I would find something to covet.
Looks like that auction was yesterday. Here’s a link to the items. If you register for an account you can see what things sold for. SRV’s Strat went for $80K, only two bids. George Benson’s Ibanez went for the opening bid of $2K, only one bid. The highest priced one I found was Johnny Winter’s custom Lazer for $180K. A couple of items didn’t sell.
Well, both Willie and Glen don’t have pickguards on their guitars. I’ve never heard of Glen before, but it looks like it’d be a good idea for his next belly harp to get pickguards both on the treble side AND the bass side of the sound hole. But that’s got to be a style thing for him.
As for Willie, he just loves his Trigger. I’ve read he has a virgin Martin N-20 that he’s just not comfortable with. And that he has a technician go over Trigger every 6 months to keep it going (cleaning the 2nd sound hole, reinforcing it as he can, etc.).
Maybe Willie was inspired by Jerry Jeff’s That Old Beat Up Guitar. I’m pretty sure their paths crossed at the Armadillo.
Has anyone here built their own pedal board?
I’m looking to set up something like this to help get my stuff off the ground and keep the cables controlled. I’m looking for insight into what I should be worried about - I’ve done a little research so far, but no woodworker am I.
I’ve got one larger all-in-one (this guy), two smaller pedals, and one stomp box for my amp - I figured the minimum space I need is 25" x 20". If there’s any interest, I’ll update here too, once I’ve gotten moving / finished!
I can’t get your first link to work.
I am not the best guy for this topic - I typically only have a Distortion in my chain when I am on my own. Gigging, though, I did have as many as 4-5 boxes in my rig. Distortion, Clean Boost, Analog Delay, sometimes a Compressor, sometimes a Wah. Add to that the channel switcher for my amp, a tuner, etc.
I ended up getting a simple, maybe $20 board around the size you want. I think I got it on eBay or MFriend - covered with the Velcro “soft side” surface, and with a power source. I laid out my pedals, used the hooky-side Velcro tape they supplied on each pedal underside, got the appropriate cables and didn’t really think about it much after that.
I have never used a POD or other combo all-in-one digital pedal. I would never want to have to learn how to use one. If I had been gigging more regularly, and was trying to recreate the guitar sounds on the covers we played* then a POD-type unit would probably be a great thing. But as something to have in my tone if I didn’t need it? No thanks.
*we typically rocked up the songs. Our version of Tainted Love sounded like it was done by Social Distortion. 
Hey, that there’s a Savage Woodworks pedalboard! (I’m a prolific poster at the message board where that image is posted, and I’ve e-known Bob Savage for years.) He does beautiful work. He is also one king hell of a guitar player, a “he was there” guy from the very formative days of thrash metal.
I currently use a pedalboard I built, but it wouldn’t be much use to you; since my effects are just a multi-fx unit (TC Electronic Nova System) and a wah, I don’t really need much help in the cable management department. My board is just for ease of portability and to keep everything in its place, and therefore doesn’t have a planked or fenestrated upper deck like a Pedaltrain or one of Bob’s.
Just thought I’d mention that I bought a wah pedal totally on impulse: a Cry Baby Cantrell. Fun to play around with. I’d entertain suggestions for a more useful pedal.
I bought a DigiTech Drop Polyphonic Drop Tune Pitch-Shift Pedal a couple months ago. Digital pianos have included a dial to change keys for many, many years. I figured it was time guitars do too.
I got mine from Sweetwater. I asked my sales rep for recommendations. There’s other brands. Some with fancy features I didn’t need. Amazon sells them. Ebay might be cheaper. I’d check Ebay every few days for a better deal.
Works like you’d expect. Turn the dial and it drops the pitch a semi tone. Theres a button to shift a full octave. Might be useful as an effect playing lead. Basically its a reverse capo. 
I guess this is 3rd generation tech. The first pitch pedals came out about 10 years ago. They weren’t very good. Newer and better digital chips makes a difference.
I find it useful learning to sing songs. Its easier to learn a new song at a slightly lower pitch. Then eventually I can sing it in the key I’m actually playing in.
Ah, if I was going to go with a pedal board, I’d go with a Vox Wah Wah or a Cry Baby, a Fuzzface distortion box, a Big Muff compressor, a Small Stone phase shifter, a Univibe chorus, and an Octavia. I mean, if it was good enough for Jimi…
Bolding mine. I bought a Big Muff on impulse a couple of weeks ago. Man, that’s the noisiest, most distorted compressor I’ve ever used. 
From the world of “effects that won’t fit on your pedalboard”, Zvex brings you the Candela, a candle powered vibro-phaser. It’s hugely impractical, but really pretty, and sounds quite nice.
Well, it’s not like Jimi was known for his clean sound.
I don’t have much either - that RP1000 covers many bases - most of the effects pedals it emulates work fantastic, and even some of the amp simulations are close (not spot on, but I probably couldn’t tell you what the difference is).
Besides that, I have a channel switcher for the amp (ENGL Ironball), a Double Muff, and a programmable EQ pedal (4 different EQ setups on one pedal). I’m caught between two things though; I’m a tech guy that LOVES buying new stuff, but I love me some pure amp gain / tone.
Someday, I really want to post some clips - I’m working on my own version of Mayonaise (Smashing Pumpkins) for my wife’s birthday.
ENGL Ironball. \m/ :mad: \m/
I used an ENGL Fireball for a couple of years, which is the same basic preamp design only with a 60 watt, 2 x 6L6 power section. That thing was a crusher. Obviously voiced to do metal, but surprisingly versatile - I was playing in a band at the time where the guitar sound was firmly in the Weezer - Green Day - Foo Fighters realm of gain, and it covered all my bases well.
I’d love to hear your clips! I feel like a prima donna, being the only one who routinely spams the thread with his own recordings. 
Oh it definitely can do metal But I’ve found I absolutely LOVE the clean channel, set to about 2 o’clock, with a single coil. Gives me chills, it does.
A Vivi-Tone by Lloyd Loar.
As I have stated on the SDMB in the past, Loar is generally considered to be the man who positioned Gibson to be one of the most important American instrument companies of the modern era: Lloyd Loar - Wikipedia
His introduction of the archtop guitar is discussed in this thread: Guitarists: the earliest Gibson L-5. Swoon. - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board
He left Gibson, I believe in a power struggle (would have to check my old books) around 1924, right after the intro’s of the L-5 Guitar and F-5 Mandolin. He formed Vivi-Tone and continued innovating. This is one of the earliest known Electric Spanish guitars from 1933. Lots of funky design touches.
Retrofret is one of my favorite vintage instrument shops. Pricey, but amazing gear goes through that store and their service is great. If I find myself that direction, I may have to check out that guitar. Always fun to collect a new playing experience.
Darn it!
I can’t just walk into the guitar store to buy a cord, can I?
I have always been intimidated by fretless instruments, so last night while waiting to pay for my cord I started playing around with a Fender fretless bass, just to see what it was like, and I commented to the guy that the dots on the edge weren’t aligned with the fret lines, as they should be.
He said “Try that Carvin over your shoulder”
And I picked up a beautiful dark blue Carvin 4 string bass with a jet-black unlined fretless fingerboard and started playing. It was like butter under my fingers, and all of my fear and intimidation melted away. Every note fell in place, and it felt like a pianist must feel when he or she realizes they are playing amazing things without looking at the keyboard.
It was a used instrument, the price was right, and I realized that I would never see it again if I didn’t go back today.
It’s hanging on my wall now. I could walk that thing all day long! 
Hey - congrats! Sounds like fun.
Yeah, that does sound like fun.
It just occurred to me that on a bass, with its long scale, there should be a lot less margin for error - there’s just so much real estate between the half tones on a bass, relative to the size of your fingertip, that if you can properly intonate a fretless, you can probably also do that mind reading thing that Mr. Spock does with his fingertips.
Therefore, a fretless stringed instrument with a shorter scale should be an easier place to start, right?
I wonder if anybody makes a fretless ukulele?
