Musicians

[KJShover]

I'm curious,
I noticed that there are a few of us that have guitars, drums etc...
I shuffled between 4 metal bands and 2 country bands, as a bass player in my younger years, before I quit playing on stage.

Who all here is a musician?
At one point I had 7 bass guitars, accustic 6 and 12 string, a strat and and a kramer. Some were stolen and others were sold. I just sold my bass for $ to finish up the build on a double-neck bass.
So now, playable, in my inventory is a Fender flat top, A custom Vmax edition from my shop and a nice little cigarbox 3-string blues machine that also came from my shop. As soon as I decide on hardware and fingerboards, I'll have the double-neck bass done. In the shop both necks and the body have been laminated waiting to get shaped and the necks routed for the truss rods. I figure I'll have it done around July. Here are a few pics including the bass I sold a couple of months back.

The electric/acoustic cigar-box w/oak neck. I need to get off my lazy ass and put the strings on it.

My Fender flat top

A Les Paul replica I threw together and had some friends sign while I lived in Wrangell.

My old reliable bass, Had it since new in '91. I hope the new owner is having as much fun playing it as I did. I put the Vmax emblem on it when I de-badged my bike. It was pretty funny, I had people telling me they've never heard of a Vmax bass before.

A couple of the amps I've had to power the Bass, The peavey was a nice sounder for smaller clubs a pro 210 on the bottom fed by a bass pro 450w head. The Marshall was a big thumper, 4-10" up top and a big 18"ev on the bottom fed by a 750w head.

Last but not least, the latest out of the shop. A les Paul type body, with a KJShover neck. A Vmax edition guitar with red anodized hardware and ultra black paint with 6 coats of clear. Still needs some color sanding a buffing to truly have a mirror finish, but you can see the reflection of the textured ceiling, near the lights, in it .

 

[Fire-medic]

Pretty-cool, I like your work. Unfortunately, the only way I can carry a tune is when I pick-up a record or cd. I don't play anything either, except a turntable. I do have an extensive record collection of 1600+pieces of vinyl, old rock & roll, rhythm & blues, and jazz. It takes-up a lot of room.

Your work looks good, KJ, Are you a luthier (do you do repairs/custom work for others?) The cigar-box guitar is something out of a jug band isn't it?

I do have a bunch of woodworking tools, and use them occasionally for repairs, but don't really consider myself a craftsman, maybe a woodworker.

Let us know when you post-up to youtube so we can hear you.

One of my friends was an employee for Gibson when they were still building them in MI, he took full advantage of the employee discount.

 

[CustomMax]

I knew there was something about you I liked KJ! Lol, Drummer here, been playing since I was 5 yrs old also have 2 brothers who play drums as well and now 3 of my 4 sons also play drums. God bless my poor late mother! She must have been a saint to put up with it. I play progressive rock ( Rush, Yes, Genesis, Brand X) just to name a few. My early influences were John Bonham (Zeppelin) and some Buddy Rich even. I have a Yamaha 17 piece double bass kit with all Paiste and Zildijan cymbals 17 drums and 12 cymbals. I've played in over 35 different bands and actually had an audition for GodSmack lined up a few years back but they found someone 2 days before I got the audition! F#%* me ! Just my luck! But Drums are definetley my true passion. I still play but with life being as busy as it is I don't have time to be In another band right now. My kit is a beautiful deep red burgundy. I also have my late Brother John's 1958 Slingerland 5 piece set that I got after a piece of **** drunk driver ended his life. He was probably the best drummer I ever knew. I used to let him ride my V65 and various other Harley's anytime he wanted. So, yea, it's in my blood and plan to play till the end.

 

[max_caper]

6-string acoustic guitar and 5-string banjo. I play mostly bluegrass and Celtic but am partial to folk and old rock. The instruments are nothing outstanding; a 1990's Sigma knock-off of a D35 Martin and a 1990's Washburn B16 banjo. Hoping to move up to a Martin and Stelling in the future.

Blaine

 

[dman1961]

Dude... that is just bad ass... unk:

 

[Fire-medic]

Your remark about the Marshall amp & the Electro-Voice it drove reminded me of my father in the 1950's. I was about 5 y.o., and was riding my tricycle around in the basement while he built Knight Kit and Lafayette amps and tuners and pre-amps. He built them for friends, they would buy the kits, and he would build them. He built a folded-horn enclosure, I think it was about the only time I saw him use the table saw he had. The folded-horn enclosure was I think a copy of a Klipsch, and had separates in it, the bass and horn were Electro-Voice. I remember watching him cutting the wood, sanding, gluing, and stapling the acoustic material on, we made a special trip into the city to buy that from a supply house. That speaker system served as the high-fidelity sound system for many years as a mono, until he built a pair of Dyna-kit mono amps (Dyna III), and a new Dyna pre-amp(PAS-3X) in the 1960's which he paired w/a Bozak folded-horn enclosure also using Electro-Voice but a co-axial.

We later in the late 1960's moved to MI within about 50 miles of Electro-Voice HQ in Buchanan. I don't know if they still do, but they used to have a 'factory blemish' sale occasionally, where you could get their products at a steep discount. They were still making Gibsons in Kalamazoo then, and Checker cars, too!

Anyone who can build instruments like you and then play them has great skills which I admire!

 

[RaWarrior]

I've played saxophone since I was like 10....started out with a cheap used alto, played that for a few years, then inherited my grandfather's Martin tenor, which I play to this day. From it's serial # it was made sometime in the late 30's. Info on it is pretty scarce as Martin went out of business in the 70's. I remember him telling me that when he bought it, he had a payment plan of $2/week on it, and that it cost nearly $100 at the time. Has right on the bell...made in Elkhart Indiana.

I had it re-padded and the neck re-corked a couple years ago, but otherwise it's in excellent original shape and has great action for being over 80 years old. Run a Brillhart 5* mouthpiece and a Bari synthetic reed. Has a very mellow, jazz club type sound.

I recently picked up a Squire bass guitar starter pack, since I wanted to learn to play strings and figured bass was the easiest. So far just been messing around with tabs and such, haven't had a whole lot of time to practice.

 

[KJShover]

Your work looks good, KJ, Are you a luthier (do you do repairs/custom work for others?) The cigar-box guitar is something out of a jug band isn't it?

No I'm not a luthier, No real training. Necks aren't that difficult to make and the bodies Are just cut with a jigsaw and routed for the electrics. I've worked on friend's guitars for them but that was just providing a new neck or repairing/changing out the electrics.

Because I had a knack for mimicing some things I've heard, I started piano lessons when I was 5. That sucked the fun out of things. When I was 9, I got my first guitar. I took a few lessons but it was a pain in the ass to play cause I'm missing a portion of my ring finger on my left hand and the teacher kept on making me try and finger the fretboard normally. That was the last time I took a lesson. from there on out, I would use stickers, read books and mimic what I heard on the stereo. Much more productive and fun. When I was 14 I got my first bass, and that was the instrument I stuck with. I still didn't give up on the guitar, I was never the lead type, so I worked on different finger positions so I can chord. I get a few comments on it like, "thats a funny looking G" or "your C looks weird".

I have some recorded practice sessions laying around, I'll dig them up and post a couple of mp3's. I'll get a hold of out old singer and see if he still has a video of when we were playing at the Howling dog saloon for "foodstock", a Multi band event where the admission is canned food that gets sent to the food bank up here.

 

[maleko89]

Very cool, Kelly! I played trombone for 25 years and then 2+ years ago took up guitar. Tough instrument.

 

[CaptainKyle]

I play wrenche's they make really neat dinging sounds when im pissed & they bounce off the wall.:biglaugh:

 

[DakRatFink]

I have a generic strat copy with an Ibenez style head stock that says "state of the art" on it. I still don't know how to play. I also have a Hohner button style accordion. The Wife has a St. Petersburg Tuba, and an unidentified trombone ( I'd have to ask her the make of the trombone)
We also have an electric piano upstairs in her study room (Casio)

 

[naughtyG]

I started as a drummer at 14, and have been lucky enough to make (scrape) a living out of music most of my life. It only gets harder, to the point I'm looking at other business now! :bang head:

But, I'll always write/record/mix/produce, and here are some current toys. My latest addition, the Beale piano, came from an auction here for $300. Sounds great too! The Persian tar is something I've been playing in a big arena live touring production for a few years, so I got my own to try to learn to play it properly.
Then there's my current studio, just a small ProTools rig based around a MacPro, and another recent toy - the impOSCar controller, luverly bit of hardware to control a software emulation of a classic synth of the 80s. :clapping:

 

[Fitz666]

I am the bass player with Scottish Metal band Shackled.

Here is a link to one of our videos (with my Vmax in it)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9HUYYxFy_0

 

[DakRatFink]

Fitz,
I like you guys' sound. So little metal today is traditional real metal. Too much of that Nu-metal crap sounds cookie cutter to me. You guys are the real deal.
Also, dig the gratuitous shots of the Max in the video.

 

[Fire-medic]

"You better start a-runnin' 'cause I'm comin' to collect!"

Yeah, sounds like the real-deal. No 140 lb mouthy grungers with 'peek-a-boo' haircuts there!
:real mad::git::flamethrower::th_2fc2c5a5:Long live the "Flying V!"

Heard at the bar:
"So, where are you two ladies from in Scotland?"

"We're not from Scotland, it's Wales!"

"So, where are you two whales from?"

 

[Fitz666]

"You better start a-runnin' 'cause I'm comin' to collect!"

Yeah, sounds like the real-deal. No 140 lb mouthy grungers with 'peek-a-boo' haircuts there!
:real mad::git::flamethrower::th_2fc2c5a5:Long live the "Flying V!"

Heard at the bar:
"So, where are you two ladies from in Scotland?"

"We're not from Scotland, it's Wales!"

"So, where are you two whales from?"

Thanks folks, and I do know a few whales......

 

[KJShover]

Fitz,
I like you guys' sound. So little metal today is traditional real metal. Too much of that Nu-metal crap sounds cookie cutter to me. You guys are the real deal.
Also, dig the gratuitous shots of the Max in the video.

+1 unk:

 

[Maxine]

I play guitar too. Mostly classic rock and Blues. its always just been a hobby for me either playing with some friends, or sitting in at an open mike for a bit.

Just like I like to ride and have great bikes, I like great musical gear as well. In this case however the gear usually far surpasses my abilities. Marshall, Fender, Peavey and Epiphone tube combo's/heads/Stacks are by far my favorites.

Guitars range from a couple of MIA Fender Strats(SSS & HSS) and a couple of Yamaha's old SE200 Strat wannabee, and an AES620 Les Paul style. I do play acoustic from time to time as well...Fender, Martin and Yamaha again

 

[Dr.n2o]

I am the bass player with Scottish Metal band Shackled.

Here is a link to one of our videos (with my Vmax in it)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9HUYYxFy_0

The singer sounds a little Tom Araya esque (Slayer) unk:

 

[Fitz666]

Oh no, dont say that, he is big headed enough.........