Where the HELL did my string winder go??

fronobulax · Feb 28, 2019

Somewhere on LTG there is a debate about language and my recollection is that the people who expressed opinions preferred the term "luthier" for someone who builds and repairs guitars. "tech" was the preferred term for someone who only made adjustments and did minor repairs. There is some overlap for major repairs. It seems demeaning to call someone who just did a neck reset a "tech" but they may have yet to build a guitar from scratch

Elsewhere on LTG there were discussions of improvised guitar workspaces. One suggestion that is a step up from "your lap" was a table with accessories. Add a towel or some kind of soft cloth to protect the table and the finish. Add a pillow or some kind of beanbag to cradle the neck. In New Hartford the cradle was actually a bench rest typically sold to target shooters.

This post was written under the influence of Folgers coffee although I applaud the beverage choices recently made by others. I note that there are many cases where if someone likes premium bourbon they might also like some of the single malt scotches.

GAD · Feb 28, 2019

Folgers? You talk anout fine bourbons and scotches in the same breath as Folgers?

fronobulax · Feb 28, 2019

GAD said:
Folgers? You talk anout fine bourbons and scotches in the same breath as Folgers?

Coffee is too essential to be a snob about it. I drink what is available.

Rayk · Feb 28, 2019

I'm a coffee snob

adorshki · Feb 28, 2019

Rayk said:
I'm a coffee snob

Starbucks doesn't count, but at least when the line is longer than 10 people they open up a new store across the street.

dreadnut · Feb 28, 2019

I'm a coffee snob and a beer snob. Home ground coffee, and Beer City USA (Grand Rapids, Michigan) IPA style beers.

F312 · Feb 28, 2019

GAD said:
I may have been a bit over-the-top in my post. Sometimes my opinions leak out.:witless:

I'll have to remember that line.

Ralph

Westerly Wood · Feb 28, 2019

speaking of coffee, i recently switched to espressos or americanos. i even got a 40 dollar espresso machine recently off amazon. works great. and i hear that espressos might not have as much caffein per one cup of coffee, not sure, sounds unbelievable. the taste is way better than just a cup of coffee. that being said, i can no longer just drink a cup of coffee so there are drawbacks to my recent best practice adoption.

walrus · Feb 28, 2019

fronobulax said:
Somewhere on LTG there is a debate about language and my recollection is that the people who expressed opinions preferred the term "luthier" for someone who builds and repairs guitars. "tech" was the preferred term for someone who only made adjustments and did minor repairs. There is some overlap for major repairs. It seems demeaning to call someone who just did a neck reset a "tech" but they may have yet to build a guitar from scratch

The guy I go to is definitely a "tech". To his credit, he is a good one.

walrus

Nuuska · Feb 28, 2019

When I was in MN - ther was NO decent coffee anywhere - it was more like dishwater after real coffee.

But that was looooooong ago - hope things have gotten better for ya.

Rayk · Feb 28, 2019

dreadnut said:
I'm a coffee snob and a beer snob. Home ground coffee, and Beer City USA (Grand Rapids, Michigan) IPA style beers.

We need to hang out ! Lol Less the IPA I'm a lager guy . If you have Grolsch I definitely in lol

Rayk · Feb 28, 2019

adorshki said:
Starbucks doesn't count, but at least when the line is longer than 10 people they open up a new store across the street.

Lmfao

I get my coffee from www.coffeeAm. com
Grind it at home and brew with a

Bodum 12 cup vacuum pot . Yummmmy ! Especially when you get the good stuff !

CoffeeAm also roasts there coffee every day as the orders come in so you know your coffee is fresh .

Bali blue moon is my fav like my guitars I always come back to the middle of road but sometimes I go for the hi end stuff . Lol
Bali has a fantastic aroma and taste with chocolate notes .

GAD · Feb 28, 2019

Anything less than this and you're doing it wrong:

Don't get me started on Espresso. I even have the matching grinder that I hacked to make finer grinds.

davismanLV · Mar 1, 2019

GAD said:
I have over 40 guitars so I do a lot of string changes. I do them all with the guitar on my lap while I binge-watch TV shows on my computer, barely paying attention to what I'm doing. I'd say it's just a practice thing.

I've grown to really dislike the term luthier because I've seen a lot of people say things like, "I brought my guitar to my luthier to get the nut fixed."

No - you brought your guitar to a tech. A luthier makes guitars and it drives me crazy when people demean the term because they want to look smart.

Please understand I'm not saying that you did that. I've just had a couple of cocktails and feel the need to pontificate.* ** *** **** ***** ******

* I am not, nor have I ever been, a pope.

** I may have a problem - with words!

*** That makes me semantic.

**** Writing that makes me pedantic.

***** Wheeeeee Footnotes!!!!!

****** Where the hell is my string winder?

Gary, if you ever show in Vegas and have an extra minute and don't let me know, consider yourself WRITTEN UP, OKAY?? I loaned my brother my Washburn because he metioned he thought of playing again. He's 7 years older than me so 72. He's had it for over six months. I asked him if he'd played at all (because I knew he hadn't) and he said "No, but I got Heather's guitar (one of the twins and they've relocated here from Mission Viejo, CA) so you can have yours back!" Okay so Don and I go out to their new custom built house on a lot that's hardly bigger than our newish Townhouse and it's over a MIL, and they're so proud. They took us to dinner at the "M" resort way out by Sloan, practically CA, and we had some wine and I said, "So show me the new (old) guitar!" Realize this guy is sweet but kinda brain dead and he took lessons at the original Ernie Ball guitar studio in Encino, CA. So he comes out with another Washburn dread..... rosewood with a really pretty spruce top! I mean, REALLY pretty. So he tells me he tuned it to the low string but he doesn't know how true that was. So I showed him again the app on his phone I downloaded six months ago when i left my guitar with him. He forgot. So i retuned it and i said, "How old are these strings? I think you need new ones!" He said, "Well they were good when Heather had it when she was 16!" Heather is 39 now. I said, next time out (I'll have to renew my effing passport) I'll bring my stuff we can see about new strings.

He said, "Do you think it needs it? And do you know a place where we could take it?"

I just look at Don and said, "Don't worry bro, I'll take care of it.... don't worry."

Needless to say his wife gambles so much our entire meal at "Anthony's" was comped to I just tipped the hell out of the waiter.

And next time I wanna waste a half a tank of gas, i'll go change his strings...... AFTER the Power Peg gets here. Which is when the old one will show up.

Isn't life weird???

Jeeze.....

Rayk · Mar 1, 2019

GAD said:
Anything less than this and you're doing it wrong:

Don't get me started on Espresso. I even have the matching grinder that I hacked to make finer grinds.

You win ! Lol

fronobulax · Mar 1, 2019

Starbucks does not sell coffee. Most of their menu is flavored hot milk or milk substitute

Consider a veer to pizza. I like pizzas made in a wood fired brick oven by someone else. I like some frozen pizzas. I like pizzas I make at home from scratch. I like pizza made by a national chain and delivered to my door. They are all "pizza". But they are very different in price and quality and I can tell the difference and sometimes only one type will satisfy the itch.

Similarly with beer. I can keep up with the snobs, am proud of the fact that I consumed the contents of the empty bottle of Pliny the Elder that sits on a shelf. I buy local, converse with the brewers and prefer bottles and cans that display the Independent Craft Beer logo. Yet there are times when if I have a choice between water and something brewed for the mass market that has the word "Lite" in its name then I will not choose the water.

So it is with coffee. I appreciate "the good stuff" but won't always spend the time, effort or money to get it.

I mean, we all agree that Guild makes the best guitars, right? But sometimes you gotta play a Taylor anyway

adorshki · Mar 1, 2019

fronobulax said:
Starbucks does not sell coffee. Most of their menu is flavored hot milk or milk substitute

Right. Why I said they don't count.
:glee:
(Although to be precise, they do sell beans, right? At least they still did the last time I was in one about 5 years ago.
[Hey it was in a shared space with the Barnes & Noble I was actually shopping at!])

fronobulax said:
So it is with coffee. I appreciate "the good stuff" but won't always spend the time, effort or money to get it.

Right. Y'gotcher everyday at work coffee but on weekends I treat myself to the good stuff.
With beer there's yer regular weekend stuff (only time I consume alcohol anymore) and once in awhile I buy something "special" for an occasion.

fronobulax said:
I mean, we all agree that Guild makes the best guitars, right? But sometimes you gotta play a Taylor anyway

I actually picked one up in Guitar showcase a couple of weeks back to reassure myself I wasn't missing anything in their grand auditorium offerings.
After 22 years of nothing but Guilds it felt like it needed a set-up.
And due to the usual excessive background noise there was no way to properly judge its sound.
(Two guys trying out the new Fender Acoustasonic, fully amped.)
Pity, actually. I was willing to give it a fair chance.

Westerly Wood said:
and i hear that espressos might not have as much caffeine per one cup of coffee, not sure, sounds unbelievable.

Caffeine is actually broken down by roasting heat.
Lighter roast are proven to have more caffeine than darker roasts, and espresso's typically a dark roast.
Not sure if the steam knocks it down even more.

gjmalcyon · Mar 1, 2019

adorshki said:
Caffeine is actually broken down by roasting heat.
Lighter roast are proven to have more caffeine than darker roasts, and espresso's typically a dark roast.
Not sure if the steam knocks it down even more.

Not until roasting temps hit 600 degrees (F) - which is higher that most coffee roasters will take their beans.

GAD · Mar 1, 2019

davismanLV said:
Gary, if you ever show in Vegas and have an extra minute and don't let me know, consider yourself WRITTEN UP, OKAY?? I loaned my brother my Washburn because he metioned he thought of playing again. He's 7 years older than me so 72. He's had it for over six months. I asked him if he'd played at all (because I knew he hadn't) and he said "No, but I got Heather's guitar (one of the twins and they've relocated here from Mission Viejo, CA) so you can have yours back!" Okay so Don and I go out to their new custom built house on a lot that's hardly bigger than our newish Townhouse and it's over a MIL, and they're so proud. They took us to dinner at the "M" resort way out by Sloan, practically CA, and we had some wine and I said, "So show me the new (old) guitar!" Realize this guy is sweet but kinda brain dead and he took lessons at the original Ernie Ball guitar studio in Encino, CA. So he comes out with another Washburn dread..... rosewood with a really pretty spruce top! I mean, REALLY pretty. So he tells me he tuned it to the low string but he doesn't know how true that was. So I showed him again the app on his phone I downloaded six months ago when i left my guitar with him. He forgot. So i retuned it and i said, "How old are these strings? I think you need new ones!" He said, "Well they were good when Heather had it when she was 16!" Heather is 39 now. I said, next time out (I'll have to renew my effing passport) I'll bring my stuff we can see about new strings.

He said, "Do you think it needs it? And do you know a place where we could take it?"

I just look at Don and said, "Don't worry bro, I'll take care of it.... don't worry."

Needless to say his wife gambles so much our entire meal at "Anthony's" was comped to I just tipped the hell out of the waiter.

And next time I wanna waste a half a tank of gas, i'll go change his strings...... AFTER the Power Peg gets here. Which is when the old one will show up.

Isn't life weird???

Jeeze.....

My wife actually said something about wanting to see someone who's playing in Vegas. My first thought was, Ooh - I can go see Tom!

I've been standing at the counter of a Gutiar Center when someone walked up with a $4000 Taylor and told them it was time for a string change. I was in a boutique shop in NH and commented about a beautiful $8000 Custom Shop Historic Les Paul behind the counter. "Oh yeah, he brought it in for a string change." I'd like to say this is a rarity, but in my experience it's not, so here are my official GAD-Kudos (worth exactly what you paid for them) for changing your own damn strings.

BTW my daughter was just telling me about offering to change her friends strings because the friend didn't know how.

walrus · Mar 1, 2019

I've seen the same thing, but not at those prices! GC changes a lot of strings for people...

walrus

Where the HELL did my string winder go??

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