[Steidl Guitars]

Yay seafoam.

[jackman]

Yay seafoam.

Err, that's Surf Green, I believe.  Either way, SWEET axe!  I love that guitar and have major guitar envy.  Joe, that's the kind of guitar you keep for the rest of your life.  I wish you all the best.  I have played a couple Fender US reissue guitars and was amazed at the workmanship and tone.  I don't know if your guitar has the 7.25" "vintage" neck radius but that would take me a while to get used to.  I had a reissue Strat *(in my gallery) with a 7.25" neck and I had diffucilties fretting out on bends up the neck.  Chords were very easy but I had to sell the guitar out of frustration.  Mine was a MIJ 69 reissue and was not nearly as nice as your guitar.  I really love the looks of your new axe.  Heck, Jimi, Clapton and SRV all played vintage radius necks and they seem to do OK!

Congratulations!

J

[drphoto]

Funny, I was calling it 'seafoam' green myself! I hope I don't regret the vintage neck, but it feels good so far. Yes, it is 7.25". Gotta admit, I wanted this for the looks more than anything.

It's almost too pretty to play. I'm afraid I'm going to dent or scratch it.

Thanks Jman.  We gotta get together and play sometime!

[jackman]

Funny, I was calling it 'seafoam' green myself! I hope I don't regret the vintage neck, but it feels good so far. Yes, it is 7.25". Gotta admit, I wanted this for the looks more than anything.

It's almost too pretty to play. I'm afraid I'm going to dent or scratch it.

Thanks Jman.  We gotta get together and play sometime!

I shouldn't have said anything about the vintage neck!  If you like it, that's all that counts.  Like I said, before Fender started making larger radius necks, everyone (from the 50's and 60's) played vintage radius, 7.25.  That is a really nice guitar, I love the color, whatever you call it.  I belive Fender took the color names from Cadillac who offered colors like Daphne blue, etc.

I need to take some pictures of my new guitars.  I recently picked up a couple guitars that I like a lot.  Most of them were very inexpensive but they play really well.  I have a couple Squier '51's that I really like.  The fretwork and the finish on the necks of each of them is as good as any guitar I have owned, including some expensive ones. 

My favorite guitar at the moment is my Les Paul DC with P90's.  The finish is faded yellow and I enjoy the sound of P90's immensely.  Here is a link (although I got a much better price at my local GC):



Have a great and safe new year.  I'll look forward to catching up soon!


J

[drphoto]

Well, one disadvantage I found right away about the vintage neck, is you have to pull the pickguard to make truss rod adjustments! 

[jackman]

Well, one disadvantage I found right away about the vintage neck, is you have to pull the pickguard to make truss rod adjustments! 

That's no big deal, my Dano requires you to pull the neck to adjust truss rod.  Fortunately, the neck on this one is perfect and has never required adjustment.  Also the frets on this guitar, the Dano DC59 older reissue from ten years ago, are absolutely perfect.  I play this guitar more than any of my guitars combined.  Not because it sounds better because it doesn't.  It sounds better than my other electrics unplugged.   Plugged in it has that twangy Dano sound.  Some like it, some hate it.  Not the most versitile but it has that chimey twangy sound I love.  This is the Korean version made by Samick I believe, not the CHINA versions they are making today.  Someday, I'm going to get a Jerry Jones Dano-type guitar.  He makes better Dano's than the originals.  I think he is up around your neck of the woods. 

I'm going to take pictures of my guitars and post them sometime.  Please post some pix of your new axe.  I'm thinking of painting one of my 51's that same color.

Cheers,

J

[Steidl Guitars]

Funny, I was calling it 'seafoam' green myself!

Despite jackman's insightful "Err", that's traditionally been called seafoam green despite Fender's revision on the name.  But no matter, it's a great color. 

And I know it won't help, but aside from real collector's items, my favorite guitars are not case queens, but those that show evidence of being played, knocks, scratches, dings and all.  Starting the process of installing that character is never easy, but in my view, that's exactly what you're doing.  Plus, when I have those on the bench, I worry a lot less!

Best wishes with the new axe, whatever color it is. 

[jackman]

Funny, I was calling it 'seafoam' green myself!

Despite jackman's insightful "Err", that's traditionally been called seafoam green despite Fender's revision on the name.  But no matter, it's a great color. 

And I know it won't help, but aside from real collector's items, my favorite guitars are not case queens, but those that show evidence of being played, knocks, scratches, dings and all.  Starting the process of installing that character is never easy, but in my view, that's exactly what you're doing.  Plus, when I have those on the bench, I worry a lot less!

Best wishes with the new axe, whatever color it is. 

Hey, I was just kidding!  I call it sea foam also.  I also agree with you regariding dings and scratches and fell they give guitars character.  I also keep my all of my guitars on hangers in a humidity controlled room.  Guitars in cases don't get played around here!  I only keep my Heritage 535 and
Martin in cases.

Cheers,

J

[Steidl Guitars]

Hey, I was just kidding! 

I'm happy to know that.

And my favorite part of your guitar pics?

Your dog's leg!

[jackman]

Hey, I was just kidding! 

I'm happy to know that.

And my favorite part of your guitar pics?

Your dog's leg!

I just noticed that!  It's my little Jack Russel mix and he's usually under my feet. 

[drphoto]

Well if wear and tear are a good thing, my Carvin DC127 is doing nicely. It attracts dents like cleavage attracts a man's eye. 

I'm hoping in 20 years the Strat shows nothing more than the finish worn off the neck.

Hey Jman, I almost bid on that Squire 51 that was on ebay a few weeks ago. I never knew about them 'till you brought it up.

However, as I'm 'gonna turn my life upside down, and go back to college, I decided no guitar stuff except for essentials like strings, picks, and beer.

 It went cheap, and who knows. w/ the following they have and since they don't make 'em anymore...it might have been a good investment.

I haven't played the Strat much, as it was setup poorly and need some work, but it it sounds great so far. Very articulate. It's gonna force me to play better or drive me crazy. The Carvin is pretty muddy sounding (w/ SDuncan pickups) and allows me to get away w/ sloppy fretwork.

A quick check of reviews on Harmony Central show a pretty strong response to the 57 reissue. Everyone seems to think they nailed it w/ these pickups. Good for everything up to metal. Of course, I've got the Carvin for that.....

[drphoto]

Thought I'd write an update, as I've gotten to play the Strat some. This is a fantastic sounding guitar. They really nailed it w/ these vintage pickups. Lot of bite in the low end. This baby can growl when you crank the gain, not just do the Fender chime thing, which of course it does really well. I'm really suprised by how well it sustains. The makers of neck thru body guitars lead you to think bolt necks don't sustain, but that's not the case. My friend, the pro, who's been playing for over 40 years thinks this is one of the best sounding guitars he's heard.

The fit and finish are flawless. There's nary a speck of dust, ripple, or crack anywhere in the paint or clear coat. I orginally wanted one in surf green w/ a matching painted headstock, but the old school maple neck/headstock seems  more classic. The frets are filed perfectly w/ no rough spots.

Though I'm a fan of locking tuners like Sperzel, these vintage style tuners work great and hold tune well. I haven't tried any 'whammy bar' stuff, as it wasn't shipped w/ the tremelo arm  so I don't know about that aspect of it staying in tune. (Guitar Center is going to get me the arm and the missing bridge cover)

So far I like the soft V shape neck, and the fretboard curvature doesn't bother me much. At some point I might get a modern style neck and try that too. Though it be more versitle if I installed the 5 position switch, I probably won't mess w/ that.

At first, I was wondering if I should trade this for a Deluxe w/ locking tuners, SC pickups and the S1 switching, but after playing this one, you "couldn't pry if from my cold dead fingers" .....to quote Chuck Heston.

The gang in Corona sure knows how to build a quality instrument. This is a work of art that you can pick up and play.