GodBlessTexas

What's the condition of the black EMG 81 and the 85s?

Everything is in excellent condition.

Wow, five pages of replies and note one person mentions Steve Vai?! I'm not his biggest fan, but that guy has pretty much mastered the electric guitar and has technique for days compared to most of his peers.

And for sheer ability, I'd say Guthrie Govan. He can sound like any famous guitarist to ever walk the earth, and do it well, as well as having his own unique compositions and style.

If my prices are way off, I will consider any and all cash offers, as long as they're not insulting. All prices shipped in the US. Shipping to Canada/International will be more. Add 3% for Paypal or send money as gift option.

Pickups

All pickups are black unless otherwise noted.

1 x Bare Knuckles Nailbomb cream with box - $105

1 x Tone Zone 7 string - $50

1 x Seymour Duncan JB Jr, Duckbucker, and Lil 59 single coil-sized humbucker Everything Axe set - $125

1 x Seymour Duncan Custom Shop JB in pink - $50

1 x Seymour Duncan Invader - $45

1 x Seymour Duncan Jazz - $45

1 x DiMarzio Evolution bridge F spaced in black - $40

1 x DiMarzio Evolution bridge F spaced, dark purple - $40

1 x DiMarzio Super Distorotion - $45

1 x DiMarzio DSonic in zebra - $50

Active EMG's come with pickup and quick connect cable (unless noted as not Quick Connect). If you need a control set, I have a limited number of pre-wired pots for these featuring 1 volume and one tone, and will include them on a first come, first served basis if you ask.

1 x EMG 60 quick connect - $50

1 x EMG 81 quick connect - $50 each

2 x EMG 85 quick connect - $50 each

2 x EMG 58 (EMG's first pickup, and based on P90's) not quick connect - $75 for the set.

1 x EMG 81 quick connect in white - $55

1 x EMG SA quick connect in white, new with all control hardware sealed - $50

1 x EMG S set, pre-wired, installed on white 3-ply MIM Strat pickguard - $150

Pedals

Boss GE-7. Missing 3-4 of the plastic caps from slider tips, but otherwise perfect - $45

Boss Metal Zone. You want this. You need this. It'll teach you about the Br00tz&theBeaz!!! Comes with box and papers - $40

BBE Boosta Grande. Old style graphics, white with blue. Includes box and I think papers. - $45

BBE Green Screamer. Old style graphics. White with green. Includes box with papers and low, low use (less than 2 hours) - $45

ISP Decimator ProRackG - Channel 2 isn't working properly. ISP said it'd be a small charge to fix, but I've sold all my rack gear and just want it gone. $175 obo.

SKB cases - DFW local-only, as I'm not shipping these. One 10 space roto rack and three ATA racks, one 6 space, one 4 space, and one 2 space. 2 space has Guitar Center 32nd or 33rd Anniversary logo on front cover.

Congratulations!

Yeah! Something about it just makes me happy.

Awesome! I thought the name Jaden sounded familiar, and I immediately recognized you from the Chappers video! Man, I should visit more often. I love the look of your builds and I appreciate the videos.

Looking dang good Mike! I see your workshop is moving up in the world.

So where in the hell have you been? I assume all is well with you and family? YOU need to stop in for a beer.

Mike

P.S. Your PM box is frigging Full.

I'll get that fixed ASAP.

2010 tried to kill me, but I'm still here. I'll give you a call and fill you in on the details.

GBT

Looking dang good Mike! I see your workshop is moving up in the world.

Sorry to hear about your back Doug. Good luck and hope you feel better soon. I can't wait to see the finished product.

A fellow Stryper fan here. Man, I love what you've down with the body design, carve, and especially the distressed/glow-in-the-dark neck. Brilliant work.

Erik's is beautiful in appearance and obviously well made, but I voted for Daniels acoustic. It just does something for me that I can't put into words, and I've never voted for an acoustic for GOTM before.

Dimebuckers SUCK. They are one of the only pickups ive fitted for guys, who then turn around and replace them within a few weeks because they dont like them. The only pickup worse, is the Invader.

+1 on both the Dimebucker and the Invader.

Remember kids, you have to take your amp into account when deciding on pickup choices. Hot pickups into a high gain amp is usually a first class ticket to Bad Tone Land with a possible layover in Mudville.

One of the woodwoorking mags did a spokeshave shootout earlier this year. I'll dig up the issue when I get home and post what they said. The issue is in my backpack, but I left it at home today.

OK, The Taunton/Fine Woodworking tool guide reviewed several regular and low angle Spokeshaves. Kunz rated the best value @ $20 ($19.99 at Woodcraft) with a minor tuneup.

I am mainly looking for some tips now on getting the end grain to match evenly

i read in Workbench magazine last spring about staining the end-grain on oak trim. they said that if you sand the end-grain a full grit higher/finer than you sand the other faces, it will end up as smooth as the other faces and will take the stain more evenly.

of course, on a guitar the edges aren't discrete faces but rather a curve. you might give it a shot anyway.

You can also try smoothing out the end grain with a compass plane if you have one, or a cabinet scraper.

Seen it happen, and seen it fixed. I guess it depends on if you are a LUTHIER, or a TECH (or, maybe a HACK). NEXT!

Perry, since you're in Australia, I can assume that you've never seen how the US civil court system works. Here's how it works:

I would like to illustrate my point with a story. Let's say Mike gets in a 1964 Gibson SG with a book value of $9500 USD that needs a setup or minor repair. In the process of doing the work, something bad and unforeseen happens: the guitar comes loose from the jig or vice, and falls on the headstock, snapping it off. While I'm sure Mike could repair the headstock, the value of the instrument has been tremendously diminished by the headstock repair, even if the functionality is returned to normal. As such, even if he repairs it, he's going to be liable to the owner for any of the diminished value, plus legal fess if he's sued, plus court costs, plus possible damages if they can prove that it was done negligently. With business insurance, his policy provider sends a lawyer and they handle either settling the case (and having a judgement against you or your business is not good for future loans and most jobs) or defending you in court. If he loses, they pay the judgement up to coverage limit of your policy, which hopefully can cover it.

As far as the insurance thing goes: I am covered underneath the company plan (I was assured that by them).

Cool. If you've got it in writing, then awesome. I've known people who learned the hard way about business insurance coverage, and it was not pleasant.

I'll venture that's GBT's nice way of saying a hard truth....MAKE SURE YOU HAVE IT IN WRITING. You won't hurt any feelings by asking for a copy of the policy. A heck of a lot of "assurances" are made every day that (intentional or not) don't correspond to the actual written policy, and only the written one will hold up in court.

Bingo! It used to be you could conduct business with a handshake and your word, but in the US today, I take all assurances in writing or I don't take them at all. Furthermore, with insurance, all their insurance company has to do is say "You're not covered by their policy," and you're hosed. And don't think that hasn't happened. There is a reason why you are being hired as an independent contractor: it severely limits the legal liability of the company that hired you and hires you out to others if something bad should happen by you or on your watch. I'm not saying these things to be a pain in the butt or rain on anyones parade, I just don't want you to end up in a situation where you could have easily and cheaply stayed out of it with a little prevention. On that note, I've said my peace.

Prayers sent for you and your family Daniel.

The quality of your workmanship is only a small factor in the success of your business. WITHOUT quality work, you can still make a living, and there is at least one or two guys who i know that survive quite comfortably, because they have the OTHER factors of their business sorted. They know (for the most part) their limitations, and pass of any work they know they cant do. On the other hand, i know of a couple FANTASTIC repairers/luthiers who have been in the business for more than 20 years, both struggling to keep their heads above the water financially. They have fantastic hand skills, but no business skills. I also know of a few who have started within the last five years (in the very same city), and now employ staff because of their workload, and have constant spare funds to improve and expand their operations.

There's a book devoted to this called "The E-Myth," which explains why most small businesses fail in their first years. It boils down to essentially what you've just said. Being good at what you do is only a small part of running a business.

As far as the insurance thing goes: I am covered underneath the company plan (I was assured that by them).

Cool. If you've got it in writing, then awesome. I've known people who learned the hard way about business insurance coverage, and it was not pleasant.

One of the woodwoorking mags did a spokeshave shootout earlier this year. I'll dig up the issue when I get home and post what they said. The issue is in my backpack, but I left it at home today.

Hey everyone! I just wanted to post a little update following my first day on the job -

THIS IS THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD!!! Unfortunately, it's going to be a rough road for the first few months before I establish a steady client-base. I did a few store-stock set-ups yesterday, including a $5000 vintage Gibson hollow-body (which was wild to even have on my bench for a little while). The pay is reflected on how much I can get done in a week, so I need to build up my speed, since my know-how is there already.

To answer the question of "where" posted earlier in this thread: I am an independent contracted luthier for Raritan Bay guitar Repair in Freehold, NJ who places me at a Guitar Center as a separately functioning repair shop for both customer and store jobs. I am not an employee of either company, rather I am a contracted worker. I eventually will do work from home as well for some friend pieces that I have as well as continue to build guitars once I get a larger place to work (other than my apartment!).

Cool. BTW, if you're an independent contractor, you desperately need business insurance to cover any damage that might happen to guitars in your care. The GC or Raritan Bay insurance won't cover you. Having a $5000 guitar on your bench is cool, but having something bad happen to that $5000 guitar on your bench could really hurt you financially.

Anyway, good luck!

/IT Consultant

One of my all time Favorites, however the singer can be tough to take sometimes. A little too dramatic for me

I think they're OK, but as you point out, I can't stand the singer. I do love Petrucci's work, especially his solo stuff.

Just solder a length of wire to each lead.

With EMG's I usually only do it to one lead, as that's all that's necessary.

I don't do much of anything to personalize them to my liking other than changing the pickups.

That's awesome. George Lynch has kind of a mixed reputation when it comes to how he treats people, but it sounds like he was having a good day that day. I hope you got pictures or video!