A new blonde in my life

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VikingBlues
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A new blonde in my life

Post by VikingBlues »

I don't know what my wife must have thought when I said I wanted a blonde for my birthday. :yikes:

Here she is.
Blondie
Blondie
100_2357.JPG (612.84 KiB) Viewed 14969 times
Nothing "special" - just a Vintage brand V2 Reissued (or TC200 as it was once catchily called :lol: ).

I used to have a TC200 a few years ago and it got sold in the pursuit of better guitars. It's the only one of around 10 guitars i've got rid of over the years which I have regretted losing and that includes a Gibson SG Standard.

Anyway there's a small guitar shop in Edinburgh, fairly recently opened although owned by one of the existing shops, and I went in there for the first time. They had "Blondie" in there and I had a quick play - it was like being re-introduced to an old friend. I don't have a tele style, or even a single coil guitar in the collection anymore, so I though why not, traded in the Vintage V100BB (Les Paul humbucker style) which has nor been used since the Tokai appeared.

Would have been cheaper buying on the net, but the trade in helped and it was a good atmosphere in the shop and a very friendly, helpful guy running it - think I might just be going back there! I don't mind paying for good service - there's just so few times I've been able to find it though. The guitar's been nicely set up (makes a change) and plays well (there was a more expensive second hand Korean Squier Tele in the shop but it didn't suit me at all). The Wilkinson bridge has brass saddles which helps and also has intonation adjustement on the saddles and the tuning seems spot on. Really nice sustain, but it does weigh in around the 9lb mark (less than my 10lb Tokai though).

Been noodling around this morning, trying out amp tones etc. Here's a sample from playing along with Lawrence Fritts Holy Ghost Blues in Bb. I need to get to grips with the best settings for "Blondie" and I need to practice more to get used to her so the sample is just me playing around. Two recorded tracks using the "Tele", one just lower notes on the 4th to 6th strings. I enjoyed playing it though. So I'm a happy birthday boy. :big_smile:

download/file.php?id=61
Attachments


Vintage V2 Reissued Test
Tele1.mp3 - (4.35 MiB)

An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
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Strummer07
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GAS attack strikes .. and Happy Birthday !!

Post by Strummer07 »

Happy Birthday VB ...GAS attack strikes again Eh !! ....Well, you just never know when it gonna creep up on you !! :yikes:
How long was this attack in its 'appearance ' ..or was it sudden ??

You must have a very understanding wife !! .....Or you smuggled it in under cover of darkness !! .Once its in the house , I'm not sure my wife would really notice too much !! :big_smile:

Any way 'Blondie ' ..............She sure looks good .....sounds good too :thumbsup:
Tele style has a distinctive sound.what is it the ashtray or the pickups ??

Happy noodling !

Enjoy !!
"Death is just a heartbeat away"
lyric from "Out in The Fields"
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12bar
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Re: A new blonde in my life

Post by 12bar »

:wave: Happy birthday VB! And it seems to be a very happy birthday :wink: Nice axe.... you can't have enough guitars... :drool:

Now - what exactly did you tell your wife? :think: :lol:
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VikingBlues
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Re: GAS attack strikes .. and Happy Birthday !!

Post by VikingBlues »

Strummer07 wrote:Happy Birthday VB ...GAS attack strikes again Eh !! ....Well, you just never know when it gonna creep up on you !! :yikes:
How long was this attack in its 'appearance ' ..or was it sudden ??
Thanks Strummer. No, not a sudden attack I'm afraid - several weeks of wondering and surfing looking at gear - and the GAS has not gone away yet. I have some cash to spare still and will probably succumb to the lure of the Guitar Shop again before too long. :roll:
Strummer07 wrote:You must have a very understanding wife !! .....Or you smuggled it in under cover of darkness !! .Once its in the house , I'm not sure my wife would really notice too much !! :big_smile:
The first of those - I'm very lucky. Without her interest in the blues in the first place and without her encouragement I don't think I'd even be playing blues.
Strummer07 wrote:Any way 'Blondie ' ..............She sure looks good .....sounds good too :thumbsup:
Tele style has a distinctive sound.what is it the ashtray or the pickups ??

Happy noodling !

Enjoy !!
The picture could be better - in reality you can see a trace of woodgrain through the blonde colour. But for me the appeal of the "Tele" has been the playability and solidity rather than the looks - I can't get the same feeling about a Tele as when I look at say semi hollow electrics :drool: .

The Tele sound is so distinctive - maybe less so with the neck pickup but the bridge pickup seems a big factor with its metal plate (affects magnetic field?) and the steep angle of the pickup. Then there's the sharp turn of the strings to go through the body will contribute I suppose. The brass saddles are supposed to make a huge contribution to the sound too and the 3 sets of double saddles are supposed to be best for sound, but need machined for compensation on the intonation. If there's three brass saddles and each one is just a straight line then with a lot of guitars the pair of strings will never have proper intonation - check out the saddle positions on a tunomatic and see how different adjacent string lengths need to be. And yes - thanks Strummer - I will enjoy! I'll certainly enjoy playing the Tele more than thinking about being 55 anyway. :roll:
12bar wrote::wave: Happy birthday VB! And it seems to be a very happy birthday :wink: Nice axe.... you can't have enough guitars... :drool:
Very happy thank you 12bar. And you're right - I just need a P90 pup guitar. Oh and a resonator. Oh and a ..... STOP right there Viking!!! :naughty:
12bar wrote:Now - what exactly did you tell your wife? :think: :lol:
:big_smile:
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
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weelie
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Re: A new blonde in my life

Post by weelie »

Rolling down on the photo, I thought I'd be seeing "oh well, another boring strat"... but no, it's a tele! :D Congrats!

I've been mostly playing my rosewood board Squier tele since I got it a couple of months ago. It's just great. Have always been a big fan of Steve Cropper (you know the "With a little help form my friends" album... great direct rosewood fingerboard tele tone!) Playing my strat after the tele just makes me feel there is something wrong ("lossy") in the strat design. Haven't sold the strat yet, though.

Actually the first good grade guitar I remember playing was a blonde 50s style tele (japanese). A chunk of wood had broken off the body, but it still felt good and played well. This was in the mid-90s. My first guitar was a yamaha tele-copy (101 or something was the model number), but it had two humbuckers. Had many guitars since then, they come and go, but the telecaster has such a direct sound, that it is difficult to pass as a readily functionable tool.

Here's one quick three track loop on my tele just now: http://www.box.net/shared/dvnb0inv5k
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MojoJim
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Re: A new blonde in my life

Post by MojoJim »

Congratulations, VB - and Happy Birthday. That's a really nice sounding guitar - and great looking as well. And that was some very good noodling. Hope to hear more good music from Blondie.

Gosh, I don't have a Tele-style guitar. Or a 5 watt amp. I wonder.....

My wife thinks I should see if there is a 12 step program for recovering GASaholics. The craving never lets up.
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Golfxzq
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Re: A new blonde in my life

Post by Golfxzq »

:handshake: Happy Birthday VB.... another year bites the dust. They say, with age comes wisdom, so I am sure your "Blondie" was a wise decision. She sure is a sweet sounding guitar... that same distinctive "VB" sound as with the Tokai but in a much more "single coil" sort of way. And a beauty she is as well !!!
"Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right."
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VikingBlues
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Re: A new blonde in my life

Post by VikingBlues »

weelie wrote:Rolling down on the photo, I thought I'd be seeing "oh well, another boring strat"... but no, it's a tele! :D Congrats!

I've been mostly playing my rosewood board Squier tele since I got it a couple of months ago. It's just great. Have always been a big fan of Steve Cropper (you know the "With a little help form my friends" album... great direct rosewood fingerboard tele tone!) Playing my strat after the tele just makes me feel there is something wrong ("lossy") in the strat design. Haven't sold the strat yet, though.

Actually the first good grade guitar I remember playing was a blonde 50s style tele (japanese). A chunk of wood had broken off the body, but it still felt good and played well. This was in the mid-90s. My first guitar was a yamaha tele-copy (101 or something was the model number), but it had two humbuckers. Had many guitars since then, they come and go, but the telecaster has such a direct sound, that it is difficult to pass as a readily functionable tool.
I've had several goes at Strat style guitars but I can't get the hang of it, so I "get" what you mean. My fault I know that it doesn't work, and when I hear the likes of HBL get such great tones out of a Strat I find myself thinking "should I try again". Hmmm - possibly not, as I don't have HBLs fingers, brain, and ability. :alright:
weelie wrote:Here's one quick three track loop on my tele just now: http://www.box.net/shared/dvnb0inv5k
Nice tones there. Using a looper more is another thing I wonder about sometimes. I have a Akai Headrush (KT Tunstall's "Wee bastard") but it's only a short loop facility and I find getting the timing of switching it on and off to be a bit "hit and miss", if not "miss and miss".
MojoJimwasJimmRR wrote:Congratulations, VB - and Happy Birthday. That's a really nice sounding guitar - and great looking as well. And that was some very good noodling. Hope to hear more good music from Blondie.

Gosh, I don't have a Tele-style guitar. Or a 5 watt amp. I wonder.....

My wife thinks I should see if there is a 12 step program for recovering GASaholics. The craving never lets up.
Thanks MojoJim. :D Yeah - the craving never lets up and I'm sorry if I've nudged your craving into activity. The trouble for me with GAS is I don't enjoy the process of trying to decide what I should best get when the craving strikes - just find I start thinking round and round in circles and never making my mind up. Often I get something while still undecided just so I can stop worrying about it. :wall:
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
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HalfBlindLefty
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Re: A new blonde in my life

Post by HalfBlindLefty »

Happy Birthday VB.
She's real sweet... guess your wife isn't that jealous :away:

btw: My 2nd video/midi processing pc hans been upgraded to 3 gig's of memory.. still the editing multitrack video software keep chrashing... ditching all my work. so the vid will even more time.
Have to find me some chrashproof software.
A long time ago, in the old forum : Registered: Mon, 27 Nov 2006. Wonder were the other old members all went....
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weelie
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Re: A new blonde in my life

Post by weelie »

VikingBlues wrote: Nice tones there. Using a looper more is another thing I wonder about sometimes. I have a Akai Headrush (KT Tunstall's "Wee bastard") but it's only a short loop facility and I find getting the timing of switching it on and off to be a bit "hit and miss", if not "miss and miss".
I thought might be a hassle too, but I am able to work my Boss RC2 fine. Actually I set the drum loop playing first, setting the tempo by foot first. Then when I want to record, the pedal has a one bar count in, so I press to record and count to 4 and then start playing. And it actually rounds to complete bars, so if I press stop a bit early, it'll still play until the end of the bar before stopping. With my limited time for playing, the loop pedal is my main thing. I can play "like in a group" something that sounds like something in 15 minutes... previously I was just noodling while watching TV, now I hear how my playing sounds, and I play rhythm and lead now.

Anyway, the loop pedal really is worth it for me. Like thing I posted above took about 10 takes in total (it has 1. the rhythm, 2. turnaround and 3. solo takes on it... oh the solo was done in two parts... so there are actually 4 "tracks" on it), the loop playing all the time, I get into the music a lot better than trying to record something on the PC, I can play a bit, hear more, and then try to record that. On the PC it takes me a lot of time recording and editing to get anything done.
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weelie
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Re: A new blonde in my life

Post by weelie »

double post
Last edited by weelie on Mon May 03, 2010 9:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Blindboy
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Re: A new blonde in my life

Post by Blindboy »

Happy Birthday VB. And congrats on the new geetar. Looks and sounds very nice! I am not a 'Tele guy, but I used to have a G&L Asat Classic that was really a player. I just didn't like the "'Tele Tone". I wound up selling it the first time I "quit playing". :sad: (If I had thought of it, I might have put some P-90's in it and kept it.)
I am not familiar with the "Vintage" brand. Is it a European thing? I have never seen one around here.
"Throw yo' big leg over me Mama, I might not feel this good again!"
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VikingBlues
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Re: A new blonde in my life

Post by VikingBlues »

Golfxzq wrote::handshake: Happy Birthday VB.... another year bites the dust. They say, with age comes wisdom, so I am sure your "Blondie" was a wise decision. She sure is a sweet sounding guitar... that same distinctive "VB" sound as with the Tokai but in a much more "single coil" sort of way. And a beauty she is as well !!!
Thanks Golfxzq - i seem to have reached a point where there's a sort of "me" sound that's common to my playing whatever the guitar, which I guess is progress, although I sometimes wish I could pick up a different guitar just to hear me playing extremely different to usual. Can't win! :icon_whoknows:
HalfBlindLefty wrote:Happy Birthday VB.
She's real sweet... guess your wife isn't that jealous :away:

btw: My 2nd video/midi processing pc hans been upgraded to 3 gig's of memory.. still the editing multitrack video software keep chrashing... ditching all my work. so the vid will even more time.
Have to find me some chrashproof software.
Really enjoyed the playing today - felt right at home from the first time I played on of these guitars, and I like the sounds too - the action maybe needs very minor tweaking still. As for my wife I suppose I've not managed 25 years, or anywhere near that, with any of my guitars so my first love can feel safe from the competition. :D

Shame about the video problems HBL - I think I've found video editing on a PC to be the most frustrating of any task and I gave up completely. :wall: :angry:
Blindboy wrote:Happy Birthday VB. And congrats on the new geetar. Looks and sounds very nice! I am not a 'Tele guy, but I used to have a G&L Asat Classic that was really a player. I just didn't like the "'Tele Tone". I wound up selling it the first time I "quit playing". :sad: (If I had thought of it, I might have put some P-90's in it and kept it.)
I am not familiar with the "Vintage" brand. Is it a European thing? I have never seen one around here.
Thanks BB. :D I do really "dig" the sounds of this guitar but I will admit I like the sound of P90s a lot too and have a feeling that if I keep playing for long enough there will be a P90 GAS attack at some point. :roll:

Vintage is a European thing - built in China and distributed in the UK by John Hornby Skewes along with Fret-King, Italia, Danelectro and Encore. Bit confusing to try to find out much about them as searching for "Vintage" guitars brings up a huge number of results with any search engine. I do know Vintage teamed up with Trevor Wilkinson a few years ago (Fret-King is his own business), and he has a great skill in producing the maximum from a limited budget. Their "Vintage" brand was then transfomed from budget starter gear to something a lot better. Along with guitars Trevor Wilkinson also has his own brand bridges, pickups, tuners which I see increasingly on other makes of guitars. I used Wilkinson parts on a number of the guitars I built and the quality was always well above what I would expect for the price. :thumbsup:
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
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Blindboy
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Re: A new blonde in my life

Post by Blindboy »

I am familiar with Wilkinson hardware. I have used some of thier bridges on project guitars years ago. It was high quality for reasonable prices even back then. That is a good endorsement for the guitars. Looking forward to hearing more. :thumbsup:
"Throw yo' big leg over me Mama, I might not feel this good again!"
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