Dad3353

... or this ..?

Without hesitation, this one ... Mickey Baker's Complete Course in Jazz Guitar ... Stupidly low price, and a wealth of information that one would be hard to garner elsewhere. I've worn out several copies over the last fifty-odd years, and still consult it. Indispensable.

Good evening, NM, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

Ah, here we go ... This, in the foreground, is the airbrush kit I bought for little money. The black support is, in fact, the compressor. It did a reasonable job for a couple of years, including the 'plane in the background ... This is my spray booth; a card sheet folded on the workbench. I'm applying a matt black undercoat, as the final finish will be silver, and black is good for that... Here's the same 'plane with its silver finish, airbrushed in the same way... In the background, on the floor, can be seen my current compressor, with a tank ... ... and here's what I was using it for. Note that it's the same airbrush pen; I only have the one... Here's the result; a cardboard 'plane for The Littl'Un... I use the same airbrush for stuff like this (1/6 scale New Zealand bush pilot...) ... Hope this helps.

I'm not sure that I agree. My (very...) modest airbrush would do a guitar or bass body, no problem. It wouldn't suit painting a car, but folk use systems of the sort for motorbike fuel tanks, or crash helmets, and much more. I think you'd get better quality of finish and coverage from a half-decent airbrush than from a cheap paint sprayer. Unless you're going for mass-production, of course, in which case a spray booth could be set up. I use my airbrush in my modelling 'den', with no need for extra ventilation; just a large cardboard back-screen. I'll see if I can find a photo... My Dad made toys for Christmas, but hated having to paint them. One year, it was flat-pack dolls houses; I went to help him with the spraying. He had a compressor and gun set up in the back bedroom. Kitted out like astronauts, with a full mask, 'charlotte', long gloves... One squirt of the gun and one could see nothing; all was a dark green mist filling the small room. He'd rigged 'ventilation' of sorts, with a pipe going up the gutter down-pipe, so the paint-charged air was shot upwards. Several houses down-wind were doubtless surprised to find green spots on their washing, with no idea of where it came from..! Happy Daze...

For my model 'planes, I've had good results with a modest airbrush compressor system, or a 'pistol-grip' sprayer, available from several Far Eastern sources for under $50. Better yet would be one with a 'tank' compressor, for around $100. I've upgraded my system since (and even then, the very good compressor I bought was not ruinous...), and still use the original airbrush 'pen'. Worth a look..? Airbrushes ...

Try that first with a bit of gash wood; Our Eldest had to do it almost a drop at a time, as it goes off very quickly once it's on the wood. You may be luckier, of course, but if it goes wrong, there's no going back, so I'd recommend a 'dry run'.

Yes

Our Eldest did the same, using CA as a finish for his first electric Build ... ... over a wood stain. It took a couple of weeks, working outside, with disposable gloves, as the stuff is pretty toxic. The finish is superb, and unlikely to wear. Some practise on gash wood is required, to get the right rhythm for applying the CA, rubbing it around, moving on, repeat... and it took about a dozen coats to build up the effect. (There are no plastic parts used; the binding, pick-up surrounds, even the toggle switch cap, are hand-made wooden parts. The inlays are mother of pearl, the nut a beef bone. ...)

Yes, of course; mostly drum parts, though (I'm a drummer...).

Exactly, it has to match the profile of the fingerboard, in order to clamp each string to the fret. It's only a slight difference, but it's best to get the right one for the job.

I'd recommend a 'trigger'-style capo, for its consistent efficiency, ease of use and solidity. Here's four, from Amazon; cheap enough to try out, with a slightly more expensive option... Amazon Trigger Capos ... Our Eldest uses these (or ones like 'em...), fitting one for the intro of 'Under The Bridge' before whipping it off for the rest of the song. Our Second Guitar uses one, too, to match the singer's choice of key. They all have rubber 'jaws', and do no harm at all to the guitar neck. Hope this helps. Edit : Note the difference in shape between a 'flat' one (for nylon, classical, flamenco guitars with flat fingerboard...) and 'curved' (for electric, archtop, radiused fingerboards...) and buy accordingly. The rubber jaw will accommodate any slight difference in curveture, normally.

Cat among the pigeons, eh..? Go, Lefty; Go Go Go..!

Good evening, Steve, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

Well deserved; a splendid job. Well done, that man.

Several solutions to this. The most effective, I'd say, is to have the drummer trigger the Fx, using a MIDI pad. That way, the Fx are triggered at the right spot in the song, whether the drummer is faster or slower. If, on the other hand, the Fx themselves have a specific BPM, the only real recourse is to have the drummer playing to the 'click'. I wouldn't like to think of the train crash if all the band are in sync with the keys and Fx, but not the drummer. It makes no sense. I'm assuming that these are simply 'one-shot' Fx, such as a bit of sampled sound, and not a constant tempo-linked delay or the like..? If the latter is the case, all the band has to have that tempo available to them, and that really means that the drummer plays that BPM, with a click track, end of story. You all play to the drummer, including the keys. The Fx have to be set to the drummer's tempo. If his tempo varies during the song, change the drummer. (Disclaimer : I'm a drummer...)

Are you the drummer..? Normally, if he/she requires it, the drummer would be the only one with a 'click'; everyone else plays off the drummer, so... Explain a bit more about your band set-up and your need for a 'click', please..?

It's usually a simple enough job to swap the audio taper volume pots for reverse audio; these are readily available. Just sayin' Reverse Logarithmic Pots ...

It depends a little on what style you'll be playing with it. The phosphor-bronze mentioned above (either 12's or 13's...) would be fine, and well suited to strumming chords, or Django-style 'pump' comping. That's not my style, so my Hofners are strung with the same 10's sets as all my guitars. My fingers make strings go rusty very quickly, so I use Elixir strings, which last a very long time, offseting their higher cost. These lighter strings are more suitable for chord-melody or solo lines, at the price of lower acoustic volume. Hope this helps.

EZBass has 'nailed' it; not a jot to add or subtract. Lessons would be useful, if the fellow learns that way (many don't, though...). I'd have loved to have had such gear when I started; he's a very lucky chap.

Good evening, Alex, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

Good evening, Imran, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

In the case you've described, I'd recommend starting afresh with strings that you buy yourself. A starting point would be, in my view, any set with a '10' for top 'E'. I used Fender Bullets for several years, until I found them starting to go rusty in the packet, from new. I've since gone for Elixir, which cost slightly more, but last, for me, much, much longer (I don't play that much, so I don't change that often...). If you've a set on that lasted a year, I assume you're not one of these bods that changes every week-end. A set of Elixirs will do the job, whatever strings you're taking off. Other than that, just go with whatever your budget allows, and learn from it. It's not all that critical; new strings sound better than year-old strings in any case. Just my tuppence-worth.

Fiat make cars, and paint them. One colour they use is called Giallo Ginestra, Once translated, this Fiat colour becomes Fiat Broom Yellow. Why broom..? Ginestra is a common enough plant in Europe; it's UK name is 'broom', and it's a strikingly bold yellow. This is a photo of ginestra, or broom... There; that's the origin of Fiat Broom Yellow.

Good evening, P9uma, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. Dark art, indeed. Here's a tip for you ... You don't have to bar all the strings, especially when beginning. Use a fingering for the top four strings for an 'F' chord when playing those tunes. To practise barred chords, go up to the eighth fret and get 'em right there (it's a 'C' chord, by the way...), then, once you're happy with that, move down a fret, progressively, till you get back to 'F'. I learned on an unplayable 'cheese-wire' Russian 'Spanish' guitar, using the Mickey Baker book. From that experience, I learned to play mostly three- or four-string chords, instead of full barres. Just a tip, then; don't feel that you have to play all six strings all the time. T'ain't so.