Month: July 2005 (Page 3 of 4)

Serial# 393

This weird thing is a Stick Enterprises 10-string Chapman Stick® in white oak – a fantastic instrument that I use mostly just for bass lines.

I knew about the Stick from Tony Levin playing on Peter Gabriel’s albums, but I didn’t see one “in the flesh” until Johnny Fleury did a demonstration at a music shop in Auckland, NZ. I ordered one through the shop, and at the time they said that Stick Enterprises had told them that they could only deliver if two instruments were ordered. The store was a bit nervous about ordering two when they only had a confirmed order for one, but they went ahead and ordered two and requested that one be shipped at first.

I don’t think they ever took delivery of a second instrument!

I ordered this guitar from the Carvin web site, without talking to any of the sales people on the phone or anything. It was quite a weird experience.

Notable features:

• Alder neck and body, tung oil finish
• Active electronics and Fishman Piezo-Acoustic bridge
• C22N and C22B (later swapped out for a M22SD)
• Coil tap switches for both pickups.

I have since sold this guitar to my bass-playing friend Tony, and replaced it with a similar instrument (see Carvin DC127).

Sometimes I feel a little silly about letting this one go, because its playability was extremely high – it just felt really comfortable. The DC127 I ordered to replace it – although I liked the slight changes in specifications that I made – just doesn’t feel the same.

Tony is really enjoying it so I’m glad about that.

Serial# 423649

When I sold my TL60 to Tony The Bass Player, I ordered up a replacement instrument with similar specs:

• DC127
• Fixed Bridge
• Tung-oiled Alder neck and body
• Rounded body style
• No inlays
• CT-style headstock
• C22B, H22N pickups
• Fishman Piezo-Acoustic bridge
• DC200-style active electronics
• Black chrome hardware

Basically I wanted the same specs as my old TL60 but with the following changes:

• rounded body sides (not available on TL60)
• No tremelo (the piezo pickup was sensitive to creaks and popping sounds)
• No neck inlay dots (I like the clean look)

I’ve never felt the same way about this guitar as I did about the TL60. This surprised me – it was supposed to be a better instrument for me. However it remains a quality instrument.

Update: I’ve gifted this guitar to my godson who no doubt will play it more than I did.

Serial# 423649

The black beauty here is the Ovation Elite Model 1868 steel string acoustic, the version with the ebony fretboard. I bought this guitar second-hand for $600 in Berkeley, CA, a few days after my wife and I got married on the California coast.

Serial# 85493

Another fine product of the Carvin factory in San Diego.

Vital Statistics:

• Bolt+ with Floyd Rose Trem
• Floyd locking nut
• plain maple cap on Alder body
• Maple neck (tung oil finish)
• No inlays
• Headstock color to match body
• H22N,T pickups
• Center position AP11
• Cream bezels
• On/Off switch for bridge pickup
• Black chrome hardware
• Black plastic knobs (K8, K9)

Body finish: Originally I wanted the off-book “blue denim” stain all over the body. But there is a reason that this finish is “off-book”. It doesn’t always look great. In this case, the end grain really didn’t look so good. Sean at Carvin sent me some photos of the unfinished body with just the blue stain, and we mutually agreed that blue-burst edges would be a good idea. The results were beyond my imagining, and much closer to my original inspiration than I thought I would achieve.

Serial# 99293299

My classical guitar of choice is the http://www.godinguitars.com/godinmultnylonsap.htm. This guitar has wonderful tone, sounds remarkably great unplugged, even though it is only slightly thicker than, say, a Les Paul. The pickup system is phenomenally good, and the built-in 13-pin hex pickup is ready for a Roland guitar synth.

I’ve since gifted this instrument to my nephew, who no doubt will play it more than I recently was.