STUDENT NEWSLETTER 11 June
2006
Greetings! I hope this letter finds you all happy, and healthy.
Summer time! School is out. Good opportunity for more guitar time!
A question I have been getting a lot of lately is; how do you travel with a guitar? Not with ease. If I have to have MY guitar somewhere the best way is to ship it UPS or FED EX. Insured! About $50 each way in the USA. It is easier to make arrangement to have a loaner guitar there for you to play if possible. Maybe a friend of a friend. One thing you do not want to do is to check your guitar like a piece of luggage. Back in the old days I use to fly every week and let the luggage handlers take my guitar in a card board case and it always arrived safely. Can you imagine doing that today? I would not let my guitar out of my sight today. There are some nice options for a travel guitar that is almost full size neck on a small body that will fit in the overhead compartment on a plane you can take as carry on luggage. These are under $300. Like a Baby Taylor or the Martin equivalent I like even better. Both come with a heavily padded gig bag. Traveling with your favorite guitar is never easy. It is too hot to leave them in a car this time of year. Hotels are not responsible for things you leave in the room. That includes your guitar. I know enough people that there is a guitar for me to play when I arrive. Might not be exactly what I prefer, but it is better than having to bring one when I travel.
After a week of tweak, adjust, intonate, and play have decided the two newest guitars are the coolest. 1988 USA Fender Vintage '62 reissue in Olympic White nitro, and a 1986 in Fiesta Red nitro covered in finish checking. SUPER BEAUTIFUL!!! Great condition. Investment quality. Getting harder and harder to find as more folks get educated on this matter.
A question I get is; 'who works on your guitars?' Most adjustments I can do myself. But when I need a real guitar tech I use Gary Smith at The Guitar Shop in Richardson on Belt Line Road almost at Plano Rd. Next to Bruce Miller Nursery. About 1.5 miles east from I75. Call Gary at (214) 734-7772. Gary is about the only one I trust here in Dallas to work on my guitars. There are some real hacks out there! BEWARE!
The search for the perfect tone never ends. But after years of consideration, trial and error this is my rig more or less. It is not easy to find the original vintage stuff anymore, so this is the new equivalent.
Every bit of my new gear comes from MusiciansFriend.com for the past six years. Best prices, selection, and return policy there is. AND they bring it to your door! If you click thru to MUSICIANS FRIEND .com from this web site to buy something, I get an advertising credit and it does not cost you a penny extra! Musicians Friend is where I get all my new gear. Click on the bar below to go there.
Always Stay Tuned. A lot is going on around here!
Rock On,
Joe "TheGuitarman" Pacciano, C.G.P.
86 43