New guitar.. Epi LesPaul studio

I got tired of not having time to finish the Les Paul I'm building --- I want to play one!  So I picked this up off Craigslist.  I adjusted the truss rod, dropped the action and set the intonation--and she sounds great!

It is made in Korea, so I gather it is a little better quality than the Chinese product.

Martin D-41 joined the 'family'

Another craigslist score.  Yes, it was priced well. I have lusted for a Martin dred for some time, but either didn't find one when I had the money, or couldn't afford it when one appeared.    I have a nice Larrivee D03R which is a great bassy dred for bluegrass, but I guess you can never have too many guitars   ;o)    This one is extremely clean...I understand the original owner didn't play it much.  Don't you wonder about people who say their guitar is in 'mint condition' ?   Gee, I would rather a guitar was played and had developed some character...but that's just me.

This rig isn't overly decorated, but just enough Abalone to look beautiful, and enough Rosewood/ebony/bone to make a terrific Martin.  Serial #872566 means it was built in 2002. 

I have a friend who is totally twitterpated over scalloped bracing.. I guess Martin ressurected this technique after the pre-war scalloped dreds turned into guitar-gold with their thunderous bass response.    The D-41 has scalloped standard X bracing so we're all happy, I guess.

This lovely instrument sounds wonderful, is fun to play, and may just make my other 'kids' jealous by all the attention I will be paying her.  The previous owner had a local luthier drop the action a bit too low for me, and frankly below where the awesome bass shines.  A new bone saddle will fix that.

And by the way, honey--thanks for the early Christmas present!

D'Addario EXP17 Med Phos/Bronze
Martin SP 4200    Med Phos/Bronze

She has been given the name Delilah and joins Bobbie, Red, Rose, Opal and Julia.

"Bobbie" - Taylor 306 GB, BigBaby .   SN/20010807350-2  mfg 2001.  Purchased used.   This guitar has scalloped bracing and a big sound.
      Travlin' guitar...named Bobbie Magee (you gotta be old to get it)


"Red" - Larrivee D03-R SN/03-80725 mfg 8/15/2005.  Purchased new.
     As in Red-Green, the Canadian.   Red is my fester and jammin' box.

"Rose" - Gitane DG250M SN/0308240276 .  Gypsy Jazz  w/ K&K-Sound passive pickup.   mfg 2003 Purchased new.  My main box for church.
     For Gypsy Rose Lee


"Opal" - Ovation CS245 SN/7057590 12-string w/  onboard preamp.  mfg 1998-2001 Purchased used.
      I just like the assonant sound 'O'.

"Julia" - Martin 12DX1 SN/1283262  12-string  w/ K&K-Sound passive pickup.  mfg 2007. Purchased new.
      Big, loud and meaty like Julia Child.  Made in Mexico, so pronounced Hoolia.

And of course, "Delilah" - Martin D-41 SN/872566 mfg 2002.  Purchased used.
       ..Because Delilah was very beautiful and sensual.

Soon, I'll have another to add.   I'm building a Les Paul type electric with Myrtle top set and Mahogany body.  Progress in building will be on alaskawood .  

I'll need to come up with a good name...maybe Myrtle , not quite as sexy as Lucille.

Some other instruments:
Seagull  S series Grand  F9  for my wife
Michael Kelly F-style mandolin SN/230223
Epiphone A-style mandolin MM 30/AS  SN/DW06110083


Update:  I wanted to bring the action up on the D-41 so I could get more boom out of her, and went to local guitar repairman, Mike Fleck, to get a bone saddle blank.  He said he didn't have any in stock, but just makes his own from bone he buys down at Alaska Mill and Feed.

Well, darn, why didn't I think of that?   I ran down to the feed store and grabbed a nice clean cow bone and after a little bandsaw and sander work, I began filing the compensation and had a new saddle in a jiffy for a fraction of the price buying it online.

Of course, the bottom line is the sound--and she sounds great!

Ovation Celebrity Deluxe 12-string

picture from zzounds.com

This beauty came up on craigslist a while ago for $180.   It had a loose bridge, no case but otherwise in pretty good shape.   Looked like it had some trauma on the back, and had a small crack in the plastic where access hole cap attaches. 

I removed the bridge with some careful application of heat from an iron, good masking of the finish and a palette knife.  I had trouble finding a replacement bridge, so I carefully flattened it out with sandpaper, reglued it and strung her back up.

I just love this guitar.   Holds pitch perfectly, easy to play, electronics work well.

GMF 2009 set for July 11

The 2009 Gospel Music Festival is set for Saturday, July 11.


The venue will again be Immanuel Baptist Church - 68th and Old Seward.


View Larger Map

Bring your blanket/chair, sunscreen and be ready to have a ball! We have chef Ken McKenzie and his crew from GracePentecostal Church running the grill again this year.


Here is the current schedule of performers.

12:00 to 12:25 Steve & Anita Wright

12:25 to 12:50 Robbie Beebe

12:50 to 1:15 Tucson Don Ensemble

1:15 to 1:40 Margie Lawrence

1:40 to 2:05 Marv, Glen & Friends

2:05 to 2:30 Ginger Boatwright

2:30 to 2:55 Country Gospel - Davis Normand

2:55 to 3:20 Campbell Creek Rising

3:20 to 3:45 The Oudeans

3:45 to 4:10 ...open

4:10 to 4:35 Diamond Willow

4:35 to 5:00 Tony Elder

5:00 to 5:25 Melissa Beck (Solo)

5:25 to 5:50 Buck Kuhn

5:50 to 6:15 Theresa Fowler

6:15 to 6:40 The Lost Riders

6:40 to 7:05 Fred Holmberg

7:05 to 7:30 unassigned

Joe Heersink, RIP

We lost a friend last week. Anchorage musician, teacher and luthier Joe Heersink died in Seattle of a heart attack, after spending the last few years battling cancer. I guess that would be like him -- to do something a little different.

We will miss your ready smile, Joe. You touched a lot of people with your kindness.


Russ

Frozen Jam for Jesus -- FEB 7, 1pm to 6pm

We will be hosting a mid-winter event for all those Christian pickers and singers who survived the Folk Festival in January.

Cornerstone Church is providing their facility for our 2009 Frozen Jam for Jesus on Saturday, Feb 7 from 1 PM to 6 PM. We have sound, lights and kitchen facilities.

Rather than a rigid list of sets, this will be more freewheeling, so newbies and shy Norwegian-bachelor-farmer types can sit in and have fun too. We welcome church worship teams, individuals or kids who want to try out their new song.

Here is the list of scheduled folks. One each hour for 20 minutes--leaving 40 minutes for slammin and jammin.

1:00 - 1:20 Steve and Deb Oudean
jamneat
2:00 - 2:20 Teresa Fowler and Mike Allison
jamneat
3:00 - 3:20 Melissa Beck
jamneat
4:00 - 4:20 Don Hesson, Charlie Rogge
jamneat
5:00 - 5:20 Glen Preston and friends
jamneat


Others filling in and making noise, Campbell Creek Rising, Steve and Anita Wright and others.

This will be a potluck feed as well, I KNOW musicians can cook!

Email me at russgrimm at gmail dot com for more info or to sign on.

Thanks


Location:

View Large
r Map

GMF 2008 A Big Success

Thanks to a divine appointment, the festival steered around some serious bumps and arrived safely at the finish line.

The tent setup was delayed and the installers had the wrong poles, the stage pickup was delayed 90 minutes because the rental shop couldn't find all the parts. We had to run out to the main warehouse to load up what we could get.

The weather man said no rain but with lots of heavy clouds for the last 48 hours, I wasn't sure we could trust predictions..

And after everything was finally setup just in time....we had no sound man. Finally, we got a call that he had been stuck behind a major accident on the highway and would be at least an hour late.

We cobbled together some small amps and a microphone to get the first act underway, and Don Hesson volunteered his mobile sound system in case Trace couldn't make it.

We got started OK, and by the time Don got all set up to start, Trace finally arrived....poor Don had to go disconnect everything and haul it back home, go pick up his flute player, Charlie, and be back in an hour.

Can you spell stress?

The musicians were wonderful, the audience was understanding, and the sun was shining so we just kept going while all the speakers, mikes and cables were strung.

After this whole fiasco, we were only about 20 minutes late.

The rest of the day was very nice weather, good food, great music and lots of fellowship.


Campbell Creek Rising





David Junge
Laura Carmichael
Jody Grimm
Russ Grimm
Kelley Leseman