thats the savings gone then...

With the advent of the awesome Iroko bodied Schecter body purchase, I started looking around for parts for a craic..
At the moment the guitars are all getting chopped and changed...with the white olympic coming any day and the ivory reliced fatboy gear stripped to put on the 3,15 body , the next to be moved would be the slider 59 SRV pups and the SRV signature fender neck. I'm going "all-in" with the Olympic and the Eric Johnson body will have to be put aside for just now.

Whilst browsing I mananged to pick up a Schecter era neck that requires a nut and frets, but will do the job.Whilst looking at the neck and the original Schecters,I realised that Brass was a main ingredient to the sound.To my delight and surprise I found an original Fender Brassman series vintage tremelo block.That,together with a brass nut in the Schecter should make an interesting sound.Add to that to gold shaller tuners complete that will drop straight into the neck..this will be an interesting project for sure!

Apparently Fender pickguards fit straight onto the body, but by all accounts its a 57style due to the amount of screws..Have to look around a bit more.

..'cos this aint...

I had too...sometimes you just see a colour and see the grain and have to buy..in this case it could have been any manufatured body, but its not, its a IROKO wood with a thin nitro skin and weighing in at 3,5 Lbs..The history of these guitars is interesting of course, with the old Van Nuys build USA guitars bringing in top money.
This was advertised as a MIJ Schecter body from around '84...however reading the history of the guitars I'm not so sure.Who cares, with the rarity of the wood and the weight, I can't wait to put my 22 fret rosewood AAA birdeye neck onto this beauty.This is my x-mas present for 2009.

is this "shite"? or not....

okidoki..
sometimes I go out on a limb..but 40 quid and I had to give this a shot...if it has a boat shape and works then 'm laughing..

lightest yet..."all change"

Ok, I admit how disappointed I was when I finished my JVSQ white 62RI.
I picked up Sami (Ej body/srv neck/sliders 59ers) and it just melted down the jap bodied item into plastic.Not sure why...could be the neck, or could be the basswood body...the trem setup could also come into play...regardless, I wasn't happy at all!

Then this came into view...the weight..3,15LBs...62RI, alder body...must have..
So, all change! This is going to get the SRV neck, fatboy plastic and Slider 59ers.
I have a custom shop trem block complete set up, so we shall see what goes where!
But its time for all change..

oh...some other things also on the way...keep ya posted

from the weekends open mic session....

Gilmour Strat in the mix...well #3 bolt

Rickenbacker 360 - Peter Buck

If your like me and not a very accomplished guitarist (yet, remember its a 20 year project..)you'll be fortunate if, like me, you like punk music.Basically, and as Steve Jones proved with the Pistols, its not very difficult as long as you can shuffle up some good chords together.Just like Dylan said and did, you only need a handfull of chords and you can do a hell of a lot.Add distortion and voila, punk/rock.
So, here is one of my top ten favorite open chord masters, Pete Buck of REM.These guys can obviously write a tune, but whats most impressive is just how simple he strings the chords together.Obvioulsy easy is "easy"..I aint no Buck, but he has opened up a huge repetoire.
Then of course, his guitar which was gonna be a Gretsch but ended up a $175 rickenbacker 360 jetglo.And the rest is history.



And just as I was closing shop, I had this pick of anotehr great band and of course Hendrix, sporting a Rickenbacker..

Stolen but not forgotten..

This watch was bought with the savings over an entire year from coaching.That was back in the seasons of 97/98.The womans world cup in 98, coaching Spartacus RUFC but travelling down from Uppsala to do it..yep, x2000, 6 hours for a training session..all in all it changed my life in more ways than one..
A watch sometimes means more than simply a urge and purchase..

A cold winter training and I locked up all the players valuables in the club safe and just as I headed out the door remembered that I hadnt put my watch or stuff in the safe..so I left it in my bag..and the club was, for the third time, visited and my watch stolen..insurance company refused to pay up as it was a club dressing room..

one day I hope to find out the truth..

Certina Mick Doohan (5 times world champion)DS

Here is the replacement perhaps..



Ball Engineering Diver II...good for 300 meters and has trinium gas rods (58) under the saffire crystal to make sure its like a beacon in the dark...
or...tempting to find an ORIS..

At Auction : $1.3 million..most complicated mechanism ever.

Ok..I admit it, I'm a watch freak..probably due to the "swiss born" stamp..
There are so many watches made in Switzerland and obviously the prices differ.
But this by Patek is the most complicated watch made ..ever.

Within a few weeks I'm looking to pick up a ball engineering diver II or an Oris..or neither if a certain headless guitar is genuine in scotland..updates to follow..

its been a funny old journey....

The circle is now complete and its time to sit down and have a wee think...good timing with the earache and fever then.. Keeping busy is all well and good, specially when dealing with a multi facet of people..but then you start getting closer to that wall and you realise its time to flick the switch and lay back, except of course you can't as people are relying on you as you've already agreed to do this and that and that again.. With as many years as I can remember in rugby circles I'm now facing a nice wee attempt to slander my name in an agenda filled gas bottle that already exploded.Already living in a world of Escher doesn't help, the neck muscles are getting get sore looking for the final plunge of the dagger..Its weird, but after so many years in a land where one mustn't really say what one wants too, its getting to the point of fuck off muan...smee again.. With 4 training sessions a week due to a sacking, one which I had no direct involvement in despite a general all round view that rugby should be enjoyable, I suddendly sat and realised that everything basically has been completed in that subdivision in the goldfish bowl. Swedish Championship medals in 7's mens, ladies, 10s mens, 15's mens and ladies, Scandinavian sevens old boys gold, regional championship winners, stockholm 10's ladies winners and in the past few years the Pacific Masters has garanteed that I've played with the top boyz in the old boyz to win every comp I attended.Coach of the year and National side Coach for both ladies and senior mens.8 straight wins with the Team Sweden seniors and a lift from 56 to 39 in the IRB world rankings.And finally, left out to pasture at the 75th jubileum in wexio with a diploma from the SRF. Once you write it down you suddenly realise it can't be all that bad.Of course, in that time family died and memories withered away to be replaced by game plans and anxieties...which in turn manifested manic depression and finally a trip to the head doctor who had to settle with some ju-ju beads...The scars are there and nobody ever knew as it had nothing to do with line breaking or pass n drop. Obviously it was all worth it at the time and the record will show the positives.Founder of Göteborg Rugby Club, Chairman of Frölunda Rugby club when it was a tumbleweed that nobody wanted..yep, it seems to be if you can't do the time don't do the crime..I feel like the guy whose saying hes not guilty on deathrow.. ...and so the energy continues..let the record state 10 guitars build in the space of 19 months and soon I'm getting the recording software..where to next..a song I reckon, thats one of the prios at the moment..REM mixed with the sex pistols meets Bob Dylan..Music has always been the escape..music and movement...light and dark,I live my life in a world of silhouetted objects that have a persistence over time..strings and variables coming together to a bottleneck we call lifes database.. the leica sits and collects dust now..when I was single it was an outlet of existence away from the classic solless of sundays..long walks filled with over exaggerated angles and curves captured on silver film..the film is still in the camera, be interested to see what memories are captured in there..probably ones of expectation or disolussion.. ..same as this blog..started I believe the day before my birthday a few moons ago..a desperate escape that back then started a journey with somebody whose still out there..it was like a fishhook in time and space and included a bottle of wine to try and squeeze more out of the grey stuff..that has all been left a long time ago it seems..but looking back at page one and moving towards now, the present, and you find the strength in the blog.. The GONZO sign hopefully explains the ramblings..always liked the comment I recieved from people that they always felt there was more under the first layer of the scripting, the space between the lines of writing were teasing the reader..it was never intentional, it was just more than one mind working on the moment, just like now.The truth? Nobody can handle the truth, not even ourselves, as we sometimes dont always have the 100% required for that..feels like helium bubbles of truths and half truths bounce around the grey matter and burst sometimes, letting one frop down into the funnel like a Keno ball.. Its late.Theres work to be done. Don't as why or what..Don't think twice, its alright!

The King of Course...not Freddie or BB....

hence the nickname..for those who missed it...

From Wiki:
Gonzo journalism is a style of journalism which is written subjectively, often including the reporter as part of the story via a first person narrative. The style tends to blend factual and fictional elements to emphasize an underlying message and engage the reader. The word Gonzo was first used in 1970 to describe an article by Hunter S. Thompson, who later popularized the style. The term has since been applied to other subjective artistic endeavors.

Gonzo journalism tends to favor style over accuracy and often uses personal experiences and emotions to provide context for the topic or event being covered. It disregards the 'polished' edited product favored by newspaper media and strives for the gritty factor. Use of quotations, sarcasm, humor, exaggeration, and even profanity is common. The use of Gonzo journalism suggests that journalism can be truthful without striving for objectivity and is loosely equivalent to an editorial.

I never thought this would actually have to be added but due to some interesting developments elsewhere I thought it best to "finish the education", a line used well by Scripter Woody Allen in Hannah and her sisters....

Eva Cassidy and Andy Summers...

Nothing in common really... If you haven't listened to Eva Cassidy, do so.She has an amazing voice and its a tragic shame she died at such a young age.I believe most of the material that she recorded was actually done once she knew she didnt have too long to live...tragic. Personal favorite is Autumn leaves..very apt for the time of year. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xdp5a_eva-cassidy-autumn-leaves Not really why the mood has drifted..but it has..time of reflection when the clowds begin to gather for battle and the stormy weather starts rolling in..and there is a lot to reflect upon in what has been an interesting year to say the least. Funny that listening to this music hits some nostalgic notes and only today I actually gave some thought to my dad, who of course passed away a few years ago.I miss him in times of nostalgia.Maybe time to switch over to some brighter music.. Anyway, got home tonight and had a play on the whity fender strat..she needs her truss rod adjusted for sure.String height needs adjusted and the D string is fret buzzing..so that will e done tomorrow, too late now..She sounds great mind thru the ibanez ad80 echo with the marshall set on clean.. So then I got a thinking to telecasters and brass bridges..why o why? well, mainly down to Keith Richards as thats how he had them set up with only 5 strings on most and in a different tuning..so had a look around and guess whats coming next..doesnt look like I can get this until december, but it will be ordered anyway.Its an Andy Summers replica bridge incidently..

61 DD Melody maker custom special

Lightest of the lot and the reason I off loaded the Townsend SG..this guitar sounds the dogz thru the marshall with its custom pickguard plate stuffed with mini buckers..

and the collection...assorted..