A day in the life in the late 50’s, turning out Fender instruments. Skilled workers doing a lot of freehand work.
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Get off my LAWN! "Grumpy Old Farts"
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- Oct 22, 2015
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All security guards should have guitars!
Leather filled lead shot billy clubs are something that some cops still carry. They are designed to knock people out with a whack to the noggin. Brass knuckles are a no-no.
Shop standards sure have changed. Back then there were no masks, protective eyewear, not much ventilation. Leo was good at refining the efficiency of the production process. For example, frets slots would be cut, he had a machine that would slide the frets in from the side. It was very fast and the frets stayed in place. The barbs on the tangs would lock them in. It makes a re-fret on a vintage instrument more difficult without chipping if they are pulled out. Sliding them out is labor intensive. Today the hammer them into the slots and glue them.
One thing that hasn’t changed is an abundance of women workers. Women are deemed better than men when it comes to manual dexterity and attention to fine details.
Shop standards sure have changed. Back then there were no masks, protective eyewear, not much ventilation. Leo was good at refining the efficiency of the production process. For example, frets slots would be cut, he had a machine that would slide the frets in from the side. It was very fast and the frets stayed in place. The barbs on the tangs would lock them in. It makes a re-fret on a vintage instrument more difficult without chipping if they are pulled out. Sliding them out is labor intensive. Today the hammer them into the slots and glue them.
One thing that hasn’t changed is an abundance of women workers. Women are deemed better than men when it comes to manual dexterity and attention to fine details.
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Note to metal players. Best not to put a metal pick in your mouth.
To quote the departed EVH:
“I used metal picks -- they’re brass and copper -- which I always held in my mouth, in the exact place where I got the tongue cancer,” he said at the time. “I was smoking and doing a lot of drugs and a lot of everything. This is just my own theory, but the doctors say it’s possible.”
To quote the departed EVH:
“I used metal picks -- they’re brass and copper -- which I always held in my mouth, in the exact place where I got the tongue cancer,” he said at the time. “I was smoking and doing a lot of drugs and a lot of everything. This is just my own theory, but the doctors say it’s possible.”
- Oct 22, 2015
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Distinctly not impossible.
I've spent the last few days in a fog- no energy, feeling like I'm burning up even though my temperature is normal, dry throat, etc. Thankfully, a COVID test came back negative. As the tester said to me during my intake interview, there are still lots of other bugs going around...
Mask and isolation fatigue is definitely a factor around here. There's also a complacency that comes from living in an area where at peak, we had less than 100 active cases at a time.
I'm curious to see if the current situation at the White House will raise general awareness. I've often have observed how people will ignore a trend until they see celebrities and powerful people affected by it.
- Oct 22, 2015
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Here on my mid-Wednesday, the laundry is done after three days of negotiating the western col from Camp VII to the laundry room and back. Looks like the team has a clear shot at the summit. 
D
More grumpin'...
Things I've come to REALLY dislike during this pandemic:
1) emus
2) $5 foot longs
3) Flo
Sadly, this will be a continuing saga.
Things I've come to REALLY dislike during this pandemic:
1) emus
2) $5 foot longs
3) Flo
Sadly, this will be a continuing saga.
Here on my mid-Wednesday, the laundry is done after three days of negotiating the western col from Camp VII to the laundry room and back. Looks like the team has a clear shot at the summit.
The expedition from ever-rest to a washing machine is best not avoided. Now you can look forward to the excursion to the camp stove.
Passinwind
I know nothing.
- Dec 3, 2003
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Ouch. I assume you love Dr. Wendy Walsh as much as the rest of us though, eh?
I read on the news that non-Costco members may no longer have "power lunches" at Costco. You know-- the pizza slices, hot dogs, etc. I can't imagine two burly bouncers dragging out an 'unauthorized' customer...
Although I'm generally the same age as most of you my prime time for playing hit around 76-95. I toured about half that time. I embraced the power-guitar big hair genre and the king of the hill was Eddie Van Halen. We lived in Seattle and traveled the Southwest, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Alberta and B.C. Twice almost went to Hawaii and Japan. We did the entire torn jeans big hair massive shredding guitar thing. Eddie was one of my heroes. He proved he could be a bad @ssed guitarist and still smile. Jamie's Crying? Got the dance floor packed every time. Slowly my peers are dying off. I posted on FB my sympathies and the announcement of his death and a lot of my younger 'friends' were more sympathetic of my feelings than Eddie, they had never experienced him. As everyone else has said, 2020 has been a horrible year. Ready for some good news and a new year.
Although I'm generally the same age as most of you my prime time for playing hit around 76-95. I toured about half that time. I embraced the power-guitar big hair genre and the king of the hill was Eddie Van Halen. We lived in Seattle and traveled the Southwest, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Alberta and B.C. Twice almost went to Hawaii and Japan. We did the entire torn jeans big hair massive shredding guitar thing. Eddie was one of my heroes. He proved he could be a bad @ssed guitarist and still smile. Jamie's Crying? Got the dance floor packed every time. Slowly my peers are dying off. I posted on FB my sympathies and the announcement of his death and a lot of my younger 'friends' were more sympathetic of my feelings than Eddie, they had never experienced him. As everyone else has said, 2020 has been a horrible year. Ready for some good news and a new year.
- Oct 22, 2015
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Maybe EVH and Terry Kath(my guitar hero)can jam together now.
- Oct 22, 2015
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- 256,888
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I was thinking more like 25 or 6, but CMW could be interesting. Hmm. The electric drill on the flute chorus...........
- Oct 22, 2015
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The carries to stock the camp took a few days with no high altitude porters.
D
Wow! Great vocals combined with great musicians - that’s what it’s all about!
Thanks for posting that.
- Oct 22, 2015
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Very cool!
now what did I learn from this? If I'm fossilized enough, I can have an inlaid fretboard!
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