tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47242922290576421762024-02-18T22:12:15.082-08:00Billy Hell - Leather, Guitars, Amps and ModsLeather work, guitar builds, amp builds and more!Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-50303294871774992372017-08-03T17:07:00.003-07:002017-08-03T20:34:55.620-07:00<span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"></span></span></span><b>"The Sherayko" Holster for Texas Jack From the Movie Tombstone</b><br />
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Occasionally I have a dream that I walk into a store full of vintage holsters, chaps, hats, pistols, knives and boots (that is actually a true fact). Once upon a time there was place like that in North Hollywood called "One Eyed Jack's." I did walk into that store and found out I knew the owner from a movie in Texas. He was the guy that people would always say, "You should meet Peter Sherayko, you would get along!"</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You might know Peter <span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">as "Texas Jack Vermillion" from the movie Tombstone. I knew him as the guy that could rack the slide on a 1911 Colt with one hand!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After spending the afternoon sipping TN whiskey in his shop we made it back to his place in the California hills. I had bragged that I could twirl a double barrel shotgun and I think he wanted to see that for himself.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Peter Sherayko from the movie </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tomstone and R Lee "Gunny" </span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He had a horse corral in his front yard and a banister full of vintage leather and pistols. He produced a double barrel and I commenced to spinning it like a pistol. He was then nice enough to invite me to a local watering hole where most folks rode in on horse. When I sat down to the table I realized that many of the fellas' there were heroes of mine from western and gun magazines. Hell, I was sitting next to Phil Spangenberger!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZvmEuPgszWKJCZBktrbCmnwB8-9boU8lqUg8g9xS4BOUIFAHsPU0YtINSFPhWQczcRVtpXDUS2sDfHjcBac6Og-1yCkTkZVSKVZhwb-FpWatrVy51MVLYH6GGIGHr6zdgosgKTiI7oyM/s1600/18951240_10213316887742165_6991246428822164121_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="540" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZvmEuPgszWKJCZBktrbCmnwB8-9boU8lqUg8g9xS4BOUIFAHsPU0YtINSFPhWQczcRVtpXDUS2sDfHjcBac6Og-1yCkTkZVSKVZhwb-FpWatrVy51MVLYH6GGIGHr6zdgosgKTiI7oyM/s320/18951240_10213316887742165_6991246428822164121_n.jpg" width="180" /></a>Thanks to the internet I found Peter on the Facebook and as a thank you I created a holster for him. From now on this holster will be called the "Sherayko." Thanks for fond memory Peter I hope you get some good use out of the holster!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: -0.24px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I wanted to share some words and photos from Peter Sherayko. </span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: -0.24px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"A big thanks to Jim Graham for making this holster, which he now calls the "Sherayko". Just got it today in the mail and while we're filming GUNNY TIME on the ranch R Lee was kind enough to have a photo with me. The SA I'm holding, 4 3/4 Nicole, fully engraved made in 1882. It has its new home, thanks Jim. "</span></span></span><br />
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<br />Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-15252621376105636602015-09-30T21:05:00.001-07:002018-07-06T08:08:36.834-07:00So you want to tool leather - Everything you need to get going. I had a friend ask about what I would suggest for his daughter that had interest in tooling leather. While I'm fairly new to the hobby I'm fully engulfed. I have most of the tools you are going to need. In fact I have two or three of everything. That's because I didn't know what I was doing and that resulted in multiple purchases. I want to use this article to go over my suggestions for someone getting into the hobby.<br />
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The big question is what do I need and how far should I go in my purchase? I knew what I wanted to do - I wanted to build holsters. That meant I needed to cut leather, tool leather, hand stitch, burnish, and dye the leather. You may not know exactly what you want to do so I'm going to give you some different options.<br />
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THE FIRST THING<br />
I have a lot of books and have watched a lot of videos but there is one book everyone must buy -<br />
<a href="https://www.tandyleather.com/en-usd/home/61891-00.aspx">The Leatherwork Manual</a>.<br />
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Before you make your first cut read this entire book. Keep it in the bathroom and read a little every day. Then maybe read it again. I had so many questions and the internet could only answer so many. This book addresses just about everything. There are rules to leather and this book goes over most of them.<br />
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TOOLS<br />
What do you need? Old or new stamps? I wanted to buy the best. I ended up buying slew of tools from eBay. I'm glad I did but there were some key components missing that put a hitch in my leather get along. Learn from me. If you are just getting started you need to basic stamps and a maul.<br />
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<a href="https://www.tandyleather.com/en-usd/home/8170-00.aspx">The Basic 7 Tool</a> set will get you going but you still need a mallet or maul. So even if you start here there are other things you need to buy. A hammer is a no no. I would go with either a leather mallet or nice maul. I use a maul.<br />
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<a href="https://www.tandyleather.com/en-usd/home/55502-00.aspx">The Deluxe Leather Craft Kit </a>is really the bar minimum starter set. You get a mallet, stamps, dye, swivel knife and some kits. I thought, "man, I don't want those kits." Well they aren't there because you want them. They are there to teach you basic leather skills. These are great ways to learn different skill sets.<br />
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Finally we have the <a href="https://www.tandyleather.com/en-usd/home/department/kits/55504-00.aspx">Ultimate Set.</a> If you know you are hell bent on doing leather and no one is going to stop you them brother go ahead and buy this. Why? Because I didn't and I know I have spent more than $500 to amass this same list of tools. First I bought my stamps, then a maul, then I realized I need a piece of marble....and on and on. Then you have spent a ton of case on everything in this kit. You get the granite, groover for stitching, stitch wheel, hole punch (I still don't have a rotary hole punch), a whole lot more. I see things in that picture I wish I had now. I wish I would have just dropped the money and read the book.<br />
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LEATHER<br />
First work on the kits in the starter kit you buy. After that buy your own leather. I drive to Tandy and buy leather. You won't know what you need or what is good until you start cutting and hammering. In only a few months I knew what I needed and I knew what was good leather and what was bad (for my needs). If there is a Tandy store nearby tell them what you want to make. They will help you out. If not give <a href="http://springfieldleather.com/store/search.asp">Springfield Leather </a>a call. They are great. In fact Springfield also has almost the same pieces as Tandy. Be sure to give them a look. <br />
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Cutting your own leather is cheaper and kit leather is not that great. Practice on the kits and buy leather for whatever it is you want to make.<br />
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PRACTICE<br />
You can practice on kits. I bought <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008X5QB8Y/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687502&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0056U74SA&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1RKXCS8GD2G9NXPN92HV">25 rounders</a> and learned how to carve there. My first one looked like a cave man hit the leather with a rock. In just a month or so my stuff looked like the real deal. My secret was to carve a rounder each night. There is template in the Leather Manual for exactly what I was tooling. What I didn't have was the info in that book on how to make my swivel knife cuts, how to bevel, how to use stamps, etc.<br />
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MY RECIPE<br />
Get your rounders (from Tandy, Springfield or Amazon), order a starter set, read the book, and get to hammering the leather. That is my recipe for you to succeed. Good luck and have fun!<br />
<br />Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-77978230105420185112015-07-23T20:15:00.001-07:002015-07-23T20:34:13.713-07:00"What are you making?" From wishing you could make a holster to holding it in your hand. <div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17.9200000762939px; margin: 0px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
You know when your in the Tandy store and the man says, "what is it you will be making?" it seems odd to just outright say, "holsters." I had never made a holster and at the time really had no idea how to make one, much less carve one. So to say, "I'm going to make holsters" felt the same as if I had said, "I'm going to carve a pocket watch out of aluminum." Could it happen? Maybe. WIll it happen? Hard to say!!</div>
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I'm happy to report that I can say with confidence now, "I make holsters." I grew up on ranch in Texas surrounded by land, Herford cattle and guns. My dad was ex Marine, so we had 1911's, M1 Garands and ultimately single action Colts. I love tooled leather. I used to google just to see what was out there. Actually figuring out how to make something was one thing, tooling a whole other and finally the thing that stopped me every time was stitching. </div>
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This year I decided to take the advice I give many folks and I googled it. That's how I found <a href="http://leatherworker.com/">Leatherworker.com</a>. It is my go-to site for just about every question I have had. I started buying tools (with help from members there) around June (2015). Now just a short time later I have some holsters to show for my time.</div>
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If you have ever wanted to learn to tool leather do it! Research it, ask for help, but most importantly start cutting, tooling, dying, stitching and more. I'm excited to keep learning, making and having fun!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSPl-fLzqFg1aOZGo1RrAWEJ2dkVYY02_51fT-H0pLR5-nldpVnkJieiFqNjuWIZxA4-BljVdGEB6hjj0KXcWRCmamm_rDf69o5gns6H6QgqA4_f-1PPBlf-7sTyaujGntozj_tMUaK38/s1600/Poncho-and-Half-Breed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSPl-fLzqFg1aOZGo1RrAWEJ2dkVYY02_51fT-H0pLR5-nldpVnkJieiFqNjuWIZxA4-BljVdGEB6hjj0KXcWRCmamm_rDf69o5gns6H6QgqA4_f-1PPBlf-7sTyaujGntozj_tMUaK38/s640/Poncho-and-Half-Breed.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My last couple of attempts. I looked at holsters like these on ebay but I never thought I would make my own. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilpecg3LHy3Iyo84nkWAioiMK-3Nmc5V8PdSeeDM1jiQnOL7JwgNSU3w3dXfoiiJc7Bn_1YjMJKM_7Qkssy84hcMSH3drToaTLZEbQTK9ItT4lQZ4vi_tgESgoyFwRmUeg_kSZrTlt9pg/s1600/bagkote-on-leather.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilpecg3LHy3Iyo84nkWAioiMK-3Nmc5V8PdSeeDM1jiQnOL7JwgNSU3w3dXfoiiJc7Bn_1YjMJKM_7Qkssy84hcMSH3drToaTLZEbQTK9ItT4lQZ4vi_tgESgoyFwRmUeg_kSZrTlt9pg/s320/bagkote-on-leather.jpg" width="249" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I carved 20 of these to learn my tools. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixcNXpRLax6pj5_1_H1hejP024bqhZ12e3ryE-Tb5rOgr6_4xKBQvR68sfu1coAsstXGxGUkHAXnqDbufgc0rf4uxALGVuEpGJGychv0nZpJVwWMy4LKC1uUbXfIHMD3do6r9xGm1nYBc/s1600/holseter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixcNXpRLax6pj5_1_H1hejP024bqhZ12e3ryE-Tb5rOgr6_4xKBQvR68sfu1coAsstXGxGUkHAXnqDbufgc0rf4uxALGVuEpGJGychv0nZpJVwWMy4LKC1uUbXfIHMD3do6r9xGm1nYBc/s320/holseter.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first attempt. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2DsJUnVPJaCz62Kjn26jCsQK3KpQKsT3_txGQY_TwPMnav8sDxXsQBduJw95nbfajfDcNCMMQR__HPkM87jqA9a5COG28zNi50lFP2kKZEJXIoXUG9NsH47uPnJVLEm0SC0L6JNQdxlw/s1600/Colt-SA-Slide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2DsJUnVPJaCz62Kjn26jCsQK3KpQKsT3_txGQY_TwPMnav8sDxXsQBduJw95nbfajfDcNCMMQR__HPkM87jqA9a5COG28zNi50lFP2kKZEJXIoXUG9NsH47uPnJVLEm0SC0L6JNQdxlw/s640/Colt-SA-Slide.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My second holster (from Tandy). This one looked good!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7F8oX5Ts46HOi7V0wRbUN_NrSYHZ8-RaWhTf-Ne5l8MMUVDsUUQo9uzTkJ3J5OH8N8Z20-xmqqehARnDJb0D081lkx285hpK_9sVS9F6SJX0WfeqO08t7MExdfT5rWFU3ju3rni1pbk/s1600/halfbreed+Colt+SA.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7F8oX5Ts46HOi7V0wRbUN_NrSYHZ8-RaWhTf-Ne5l8MMUVDsUUQo9uzTkJ3J5OH8N8Z20-xmqqehARnDJb0D081lkx285hpK_9sVS9F6SJX0WfeqO08t7MExdfT5rWFU3ju3rni1pbk/s640/halfbreed+Colt+SA.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not exactly what I wanted but I did feel like I was starting to tool in a proper way. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHkv6kWrKt5DQ1qoK7CL_keEGHPAbM-n38Cnb7J8_RZeISt6AETWKPLqN4BZeLuSLRm3PcsumBtwzpx21UNOi5kxBH0GPe6qd61b12YOc9i7250M0uOpENt3OrA-LOc52GwoZU8Kw_5xQ/s1600/tooled+hoster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHkv6kWrKt5DQ1qoK7CL_keEGHPAbM-n38Cnb7J8_RZeISt6AETWKPLqN4BZeLuSLRm3PcsumBtwzpx21UNOi5kxBH0GPe6qd61b12YOc9i7250M0uOpENt3OrA-LOc52GwoZU8Kw_5xQ/s400/tooled+hoster.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is just after tooling. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZc7BZMrOlc0YfOvDUDJoVV44nYyID1k4sGkKrqqCge1s3SPfwR3oFUVRvsRU9-WU0dVe3kV6m_zUYF9fGcUJkqFgMuzH1N1cqAE8dQIdcJLh721MGww8piwu62tYB1qSQU-Lge4gCYwU/s1600/Poncho-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZc7BZMrOlc0YfOvDUDJoVV44nYyID1k4sGkKrqqCge1s3SPfwR3oFUVRvsRU9-WU0dVe3kV6m_zUYF9fGcUJkqFgMuzH1N1cqAE8dQIdcJLh721MGww8piwu62tYB1qSQU-Lge4gCYwU/s640/Poncho-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first Will Ghormley and a 1911 holster at that. Pretty dang swanky!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top view of the carving. </td></tr>
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Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-13115406168596626192015-07-14T14:08:00.003-07:002015-07-23T20:37:42.470-07:00Staining Leather - Dyes and Oils with Photos<br />
As newbie I needed to find out what did what to the color of my leather. My online research showed that some folks dyed, oiled and then did a sealer. So let's say you use Feibings brown oil dye (most leave to dry over night), then you hit your leather with Neatsfoot oil (can darken the color more), and then you seal the leather with something like Tan Kote (shiny) or Bag Kote (not as shiny).<br />
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I have my own taste on what color I want my leather to be so I ordered some things and decided the best thing to do would be to test them all out. I have been practicing tooling on leather rounders and these were perfect for my dye tests.<br />
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Here are some photos showing my findings. I thought this might be good for someone that needed the same info in the future.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdnmuO69REKsBLYnsglQrkPfGEXZUl5XoliKrnxUMZTZKEV3tqnjTO2aslSDdx5w2BBM6V-uPv8nNSrg4eJvaxppabwexjeeJ5Agu7AJjiYOjB0LdtjhQCnJ5IKXwkES0LAUnxICuURA/s1600/bagkote-on-leather.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdnmuO69REKsBLYnsglQrkPfGEXZUl5XoliKrnxUMZTZKEV3tqnjTO2aslSDdx5w2BBM6V-uPv8nNSrg4eJvaxppabwexjeeJ5Agu7AJjiYOjB0LdtjhQCnJ5IKXwkES0LAUnxICuURA/s320/bagkote-on-leather.jpg" width="249" /></a></div>
<b>Fiebings</b> <b>Bag Kote</b><br />
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This is my personal favorite. I like how it brings out the tooling and it's not too brown. This is a sealer as well so its a simple solution for me. This is a water base finish. You can buff this out to a shine but like it it nice and flat. This was designed to be used on mail bags, hence the name.<br />
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<b>Neatsfoot oil and Bee's Wax</b><br />
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This is an old saddler's method to treat leather. You do a 50/50 mix of Neatsfoot oil and bee's wax. I used a mason jar. I put in my wax and oil in the jar and dropped the jar into boiling water. It will melt together and then you pour it into a cup. I liked the idea of using the the old method and the look is pretty authentic as well.<b> </b><br />
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<b>Eco-Flo</b><br />
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I love what Eco-Flo highlighter does to leather. The only problem is that I can't keep it on if it gets wet. I used Bag Kote on this round and rubbed in the Eco-Flo highlighter. This is what I got.<br />
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<b> Neatsfoot Oil</b><br />
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This is just Neatsfoot rubbed into the leather. It will darken it up just a little. This is not a sealer but this is how it looks on leather.<br />
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<b>Olive Oil</b><br />
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Next to Bag Kote I like just plain olive oil. You want the extra virgin kind. Leather will tan like your skin. I oiled this rounder up and sat it outside for a few hours. It looks great. This is not a sealer either.<br />
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<b>Fiebings Oil Dye - Light Brown</b><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">At least I ordered light brown. It didn't say it on the label. This looks more like a dark brown to me. While it's too dark for most of what I have been doing I have used it on trim and it looks good. It's oil dye so it's not going to ever wash out. You can also cut this dye with denatured alcohol to lighten it up. I'm sure this color will come in handy for many things.</span></div>
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Finally, here is a bracelet I made. I used Fiebings black oil dye for the background. Light brown on the edges and straight Bag Kote on the tooled parts. I like this one a lot.</div>
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<br />Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-79057081415834299812015-07-13T13:45:00.001-07:002015-07-23T20:37:42.480-07:00Tandy Starter Kits - I Get It Now<br />
For years I never got into leather because I thought I needed a sewing machine to stitch it - not true. I had no idea what kind of tools I needed. I had no idea how to dye the leather. There were so many things I didn't know I just never got started. Then one day I starting doing Youtube searches and I found the Tandy leather video how-to videos. That opened the door.<br />
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The first place I went when I decided I was really going to get into leather craft was Tandy. The company is so old I was amazed it was still around. It's also on the web. I started looking at starter kits. The affordable ones seemed sparse and the high end ones seemed too expensive. They also had a lot of leather projects in those kits I didn't want.<br />
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Here is what I have found - I have spent just as much as I would have purchasing a kit by buying things here and there. I may have saved money by just buying a starter kit. And those projects? I don't need to learn to make a key ring, I needed to learn how to tool, how to stitch, how to edge and how to dye. That's the point of the various projects. They are they to give you experience. So in the end I do think they are a good way to go.<br />
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<b>The Bare Minimum</b><br />
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The B<a href="https://www.tandyleather.com/en-usd/home/8170-00.aspx">asic 7 Tool set</a> will get you going. There are things you have to have like a swivel knife. You have to have a camouflage stamp, a veiner, a beveler, a seeder, a background tool and a sylus. When I bought my 35 tools off ebay some of the basics were missing. With this small set you can floral carve. Of course you will need leather, a mallet, then dye...then more!<br />
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<b>Pretty Dang Good</b><br />
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The <a href="https://www.tandyleather.com/en-usd/home/55502-00.aspx">Deluxe Leather Craft Kit</a> has almost everything you need to finish a project and $79 is not a bad deal. I would have done well starting here. You get a base mallet, sponges for wetting the leather, basic stamps, a swivel knife and dye. It took me 3 trips to Tandy before I realized I needed dye.<br />
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<b>The Deluxe!</b><br />
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Now we are talking. Are you really serious about doing this? Are you really committed? The $599 price tag is high but you are really getting some workable tools here. I guarantee I have spent more than this and don't have many of the things shown. Sewing tools, burnishing, a strap cutter, lace punches, hole punches, dye, stamps, a better mallet and even a piece of granite, plus the projects. If you are serious then trust me, just spend that money here. You will do it any way and probably not have as much to show for it.<br />
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Until next time! <br />
<br />Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-5574001738976547642015-07-13T13:24:00.001-07:002015-07-23T20:37:42.474-07:00The First Thing Need - If you want to learn to tool leather.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnv27hxIR-zQqqwud01hCqek3yAgmvf7hjKD0bOoCJzCtSLYyr6lEkxWS5ya7H8oT8JzbggZ32khAS0X_NCMdYLBhi2c9zWx-0V-NQMeSEIJA_QCNbaPHvVkuHDhmW95yUV7h-OSAFMes/s1600/leather-tools.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnv27hxIR-zQqqwud01hCqek3yAgmvf7hjKD0bOoCJzCtSLYyr6lEkxWS5ya7H8oT8JzbggZ32khAS0X_NCMdYLBhi2c9zWx-0V-NQMeSEIJA_QCNbaPHvVkuHDhmW95yUV7h-OSAFMes/s400/leather-tools.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Maybe you are like me, you have always wanted to learn to tool leather. Maybe you have always wanted to make western holsters, belts, knife sheaths. Maybe you like anything with floral carving. I'm that person. I wasn't sure where to start. The starter kits at Tandy just seemed to expensive. I didn't want to make a key chain or carve a rounder. I wanted to make belts and holsters!<br />
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Then I read that the old tools were better. That the custom high dollar tools were better than the Chinese made Tandy tools of today. It was a lot to take in. My big question was did I want to have 10 high end stamps or have 30 cheaper ones. The consensus from folks I spoke with was that as a beginner it would be better to have more tools and I probably wouldn't notice the difference.<br />
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I went with a set of tools from ebay that were made in the 1960's. I got 37 pieces including a swivel knife for around $85. That's an awesome deal. The problem was some very basic tools were missing but I was so green I had no idea what I needed.<br />
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START HERE<br />
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So if you are just starting out and own nothing then I suggest you buy this one thing first:<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><a href="http://www.tandyleathe%20r.com/en-usd/search/searchresults/66056-00.aspx">Tech-Tips Book by Al Stohlman</a></span><br />
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Currently Al Stohlman is my leather hero. He also happens to carve in the style I like the best. Don't buy any tools yet. You can purchase this book in paperback or in a digital format. Read the whole thing. Then read it again. Then save it to refer to...over and over and over.<br />
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If I had this prior to buying tools I would have known what I needed and where to use it. Read up and check back!Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-27217831691487713692013-07-18T12:56:00.002-07:002013-07-18T12:56:25.291-07:00The Ultimate Amp - A Tone Quest<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_osx2SUR4dLQPmpMPDG1nVp5bxNPHt1BGCSbZn_48NT9QfqHnnCXJ7ckUb15AqusJrR6lBCeIyRbdFawXPj9UfrKhiekUh-fO4XZDO-L1F4r-7DYIul6y5RcX24gTEWlbsP2Fbgoy-Pc/s1600/caddyfire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_osx2SUR4dLQPmpMPDG1nVp5bxNPHt1BGCSbZn_48NT9QfqHnnCXJ7ckUb15AqusJrR6lBCeIyRbdFawXPj9UfrKhiekUh-fO4XZDO-L1F4r-7DYIul6y5RcX24gTEWlbsP2Fbgoy-Pc/s400/caddyfire.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">During the Malibu fires it was me and my Caddy. Here you see what I decided to save. <br />Note the Supro amp, two guitars and other less important stuff. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKub-G8mnrgBhqoET4ZeB7JKp06ss783THzlpQHo3KLtZZq6Dv1E2KblzD_woezqonveWe9XWjDERRZ0uFdwc5VLrvOsdSKBIDiQTHQKY7DmwAHxKC2H4UM5ZcBfCHRb-CPAsJuk4BiLs/s1600/IMG_1292.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKub-G8mnrgBhqoET4ZeB7JKp06ss783THzlpQHo3KLtZZq6Dv1E2KblzD_woezqonveWe9XWjDERRZ0uFdwc5VLrvOsdSKBIDiQTHQKY7DmwAHxKC2H4UM5ZcBfCHRb-CPAsJuk4BiLs/s200/IMG_1292.jpg" title="Supro Thunderbolt" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Supro Thunderbolt</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">My first real amp was a Supro Thunderbolt. I paid $250 for it and gigged with it in my early band days. I hauled that thing all over LA. There have been a lot of amps between then and now. The interesting part is that I have been hunting that Supro sound ever since. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl0QMrNEDQT9_CF-4HiA-RpGLhkqApMzaeUO8eSCAO7Hra22x2R3IJutf59WeobkaV0mapf7YBACjWQMAoCfRVv_KITvDNYJ9KVFHbYKLxaft0giVuyJ63ddu30qQWwr1QcKPmRO8cYNs/s1600/musicman.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl0QMrNEDQT9_CF-4HiA-RpGLhkqApMzaeUO8eSCAO7Hra22x2R3IJutf59WeobkaV0mapf7YBACjWQMAoCfRVv_KITvDNYJ9KVFHbYKLxaft0giVuyJ63ddu30qQWwr1QcKPmRO8cYNs/s320/musicman.jpeg" title="MusicMan 212HD" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Music Man 212HD - Heavy and Loud!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> I went from the Supro to a MusicMan 130 watt 212HD. Some people have bad things to say about this work horse but I notice lately the prices are going up and people are raving about them. It's a heavy bastard but I still really like it. I also have a Kustom Coupe 36 sitting here and I like it. Nice cleans, pretty cool grind. I have a friends Blues Jr and I think everyone should own this amp. I have a modded 5 watt Valve Junior. Super cheap and super easy to mod. I built an attenuator for it and it will wail at low levels. I have various amps I picked up along the way that are more decoration than anything else now. <br />SIDE NOTE - <i>That is an actual <a href="http://www.dwightyoakam.com/" target="_blank">Dwight Yoakam </a>boot sitting on the MusicMan!</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL9fbZebxMQI9eYcBgCzYXv7VnBlKqkg9fu2xvjIMnBj9VK9WkfiMnGHqW7RI9t9L1guvTdPcnbRT7roVn_Ep9zNNhKRBjP1qwiFw5Kqi5wtSmEVe32I_sq2bhR0AYkvukJlKlJN7Q6zs/s1600/valvjr" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL9fbZebxMQI9eYcBgCzYXv7VnBlKqkg9fu2xvjIMnBj9VK9WkfiMnGHqW7RI9t9L1guvTdPcnbRT7roVn_Ep9zNNhKRBjP1qwiFw5Kqi5wtSmEVe32I_sq2bhR0AYkvukJlKlJN7Q6zs/s320/valvjr" title="Valve Junior" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I know this is blasphemy but I like to see what is happening on the electronic side of things so I own a Mustang III modeling amp. This thing is 100 non tube amps and has a 12 inch Eminence speaker. The price is $299 and I love it. Sure it doesn't sound exactly like all the amps it models but it's pretty damn close and for computer recording I think it's fine. It's also fun. It's light and I have some tones I have programmed from my Mac on there that just kick ass. If this is where modeling is going then I'm on board. I'm still waiting to see these modeling amps move past the classics and show me tones that don't exist yet. That will be fun. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCC66-1XX4MLIlNVnT55hyXij8WkJfzIi4VPvls4Q-Li194cjZAw7_K4AQTOTBFSKPfahaahl5s93xGSEVP8RPY8NQjMCJRs9vGNbklDAhzqmmkQG8sdWppkGTQyvnGDRL7Qe-M62xbig/s1600/IMG_1408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCC66-1XX4MLIlNVnT55hyXij8WkJfzIi4VPvls4Q-Li194cjZAw7_K4AQTOTBFSKPfahaahl5s93xGSEVP8RPY8NQjMCJRs9vGNbklDAhzqmmkQG8sdWppkGTQyvnGDRL7Qe-M62xbig/s320/IMG_1408.jpg" title="Kustom Coupe 36" width="239" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">All that brings me to this - the Supro would start out clean until I was into song 3 and then it would just get fuzzy, wooly and grind like a dirt pedal. At the time this frustrated me but now it's exactly what I want. A few months ago I ran into a Supro just like the one I owned at <a href="http://cornermusic.corecommerce.com/splash-page.html" target="_blank">Corner Music.</a> It stopped me in my tracks. You could hear my boots skidding. I looked at it and looked at it. I wondered if it was the amp I let go years go. A funny feeling came over me. The kind of feeling that you get when you run into your ex girlfriend from college. I just couldn't walk away. I sold my Supro back the original owner for exactly what I paid him for it - $250. The price tag on the one in front of me? It was was $1,100. That ain't right. I walked away from the Supro but a seed was planted. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQQMVotXeQ0OcsOuTAIf0WtoXeuiynx5cSsDyHgL-ipuHOECOE-IF7tzUM9cnXt_WByVDoiRZdCsp9BX22Z0Qjc5acOFtcTxPUuHAwfCCYpYZ0gO8Yo0u9F32nz4YqLHHfPJ3ycN5rKk/s1600/amp.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQQMVotXeQ0OcsOuTAIf0WtoXeuiynx5cSsDyHgL-ipuHOECOE-IF7tzUM9cnXt_WByVDoiRZdCsp9BX22Z0Qjc5acOFtcTxPUuHAwfCCYpYZ0gO8Yo0u9F32nz4YqLHHfPJ3ycN5rKk/s320/amp.jpeg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So after lots of pondering I'm on the road of building an amp. I sold off some gear that I never use and now I have the money together. I have the tone in my head and I also know the tones I'm always trying to dial in. The MusicMan does the clean Fender thing in spade so clean is not what I want. I want that ZZ Top wooly sound. Let me quote a guy from Harmony Central, </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_930162194" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"</a></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #e4ddcd; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'Lucida Sans', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_930162194" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It has the thickest, creamiest, fattest, most amazingly soul-satisfying, melt-in-your-mouth-but-not-in-your-hands, deliciously raw and juicy, yet intensely rich and sweet, harmonically-loaded, overdrive drenched, orchestral vintage Tone that deserves a capital T, and you get it even at bedroom volume levels. </a></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">" THAT IS THE SOUND I WANT!</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #e4ddcd; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'Lucida Sans', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have cruised ebay, all the guitar/amp forums and I landed on one guy - Jim Nickelson of <a href="http://www.littledawgamps.com/" target="_blank">Li'l Dawg Amps</a>. He takes the <a href="http://www.littledawgamps.com/tweed_amps_home.php" target="_blank">old tweed amps and adds his magic </a>at a decent price. I'm still battling between a<a href="http://www.littledawgamps.com/amps_champs.php" target="_blank"> Champster</a> and a <a href="http://www.littledawgamps.com/amps_mutt.php" target="_blank">Mutt</a>. The Mutt is a cross between a 5e3 (Tweed Deluxe) and a Champ. T<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">hat sounds like what I want. I'm going to drop this into a hand made wood cab and to top it off I'm going to use a vintage flower sack ala Charlie Daniels from the 1970s as a speaker cloth. I will keep you updated and when I'm all finished we will see if I got the tone I was shooting for. Here is a link to some of Jim's sound clips. Listen to the </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_930162224" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" target="_blank">"</a></span></span></span></span><a href="http://lil%20dawg%205f1%20champster%20-%20clip%201/" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" target="_blank">Lil Dawg 5F1 Champster - Clip 1" to hear what I'm shooting for. </a><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #e4ddcd; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'Lucida Sans', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span></span></span>Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-47260043832028308962013-07-18T12:54:00.002-07:002013-07-18T12:54:49.839-07:00New Amp Day!! 57 Tweed Deluxe!!This just in...I GOT A NEW AMP! Usually my problem is guitars but due to a chain of events I have a new amp.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPEP2fidGaH9Nytx3_KQ9p-vWZ_6c3PyaRaqqSgJHs2cBpuBv3WBYzasy7eMwf8fJW_u0QXSTm4aT_92RYXGBseo-pes2WhOXHGi_x-J_6mlW85X8ZeMcYt0d-4i_MzpMfto3shtD6CyA/s1600/5e3amp.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPEP2fidGaH9Nytx3_KQ9p-vWZ_6c3PyaRaqqSgJHs2cBpuBv3WBYzasy7eMwf8fJW_u0QXSTm4aT_92RYXGBseo-pes2WhOXHGi_x-J_6mlW85X8ZeMcYt0d-4i_MzpMfto3shtD6CyA/s320/5e3amp.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>The NAD (New Amp Day) Timeline </b><br />
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1. I accidentally find a <a href="http://www.thesaltpress.com/?p=191" target="_blank">Supro Thunderbolt</a> at Corner Music. It looks so much like the amp I played during the 90s in the band Saint Christopher that I stare at it for so long the owner comes over to see if I'm OK. I get that feeling in my gut like I just ran into an old girlfriend from college. <br />
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2. I'm at the BlueBird and Danny Flowers shows up with a <a href="http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/fender-60th-anniversary-woody-pro-junior/481139000000000" target="_blank">60th Anniversary Woody Pro Junior</a>. Danny could play a barn door and make it sing but the all wood aspect gets me to thinking.<br />
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3. I'm watching <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heartworn_Highways" target="_blank">Heartworn Highways</a> (find it, buy it, live it) for the 100th time and notice Charlie Daniels amps. They are in natural wood cabs with burlap feed sacks for grill cloth. I search the web for info and come up with nothing. My lust only grows thicker. I take a screen shot.<br />
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4. I realize that on my <a href="http://www.fender.com/products/mustang/models.php?prodNo=230003" target="_blank">Mustang III</a> amp (get one now) I only play the tweed tones. This makes me realize I really need is a tweed amp.<br />
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5. I price <a href="http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/fender-57-twin-amp-combo-guitar-amplifier" target="_blank">Fender's 57 Tweed Deluxe</a> and see the price - I look for other options.<br />
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6. I realize they make <a href="http://www.boothillamps.com/5E3_Kits.html" target="_blank">kits</a> and I'm pretty good with a soldering gun. I spend the next few weeks pricing out wood cabs and speakers.<br />
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7. I comment to the owner of <a href="http://www.unionjackamps.com/" target="_blank">Union Jack Amps</a> that the amp he built for himself is exactly how a 57 Tweed Deluxe should look.<br />
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8. I sell my digital gear and build up a nice amp pile of money. At this exact moment the owner of Union Jack Amps emails me and says he wants to sell his 57 Tweed....for the exact amount of money I have. Fate!?! YES AND YES!!<br />
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9. 5 Days later I'm in Tweed bliss. <br />
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<b>The Long and Short</b><br />
All hand wired 57 Tweed - 5E3 - amp, 15 watts. <a href="http://www.mercurymagnetics.com/" target="_blank">Mercury Magnetics iron</a>, <a href="http://www.sozoamplification.com/purchaseBM.html" target="_blank">Sozo blue vintage caps</a>, <a href="http://www.tungsol.com/tungsol/" target="_blank">Tung Sol tubes</a>, hand made pine dovetail cab and a killer <a href="http://www.jensentone.com/speaker/12_electric_lightning" target="_blank">Jenson Jet Lightening</a> speaker that keeps the bottom tight. <br />
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<b>Crazy Interesting Stuff</b><br />
So the circuit is super simple but the way the controls work is very complicated. The tone knob is like a TBX - it either expands or cuts the treble and boosts the bass. Each volume affects the other. You can actually dial in distortion or clean up the tone by adjusting the other volume knob. I'm running an A/B switch to channel 1 and 2. Channel one I can keep pretty clean. Channel 2 I can get a little dirty. Hit A and B and you get volume increase and some big fat greasy blues. PERFECT!<br />
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It also reacts really reacts different with each of my guitars. My Strat with Texas Specials is amazingly clean and complex - very seductive and beautiful. My 335 copy roars like a damn dragster through this thing! ZZ Top all the damn way. My Tele is very punchy and my <a href="http://billyhell.com/wordpress/?p=161" target="_blank">3 P90 Les Paul</a> can just about do all of the things listed above.<br />
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<br />I'm not even going to pretend I have a good working knowledge of this amp yet but I am in awe. How often does something sound as good as you think it will? And how often does it go beyond that?<br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #f9f9f9; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 14px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></span>Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-38591911771547559092013-07-18T12:52:00.003-07:002013-07-18T12:52:25.817-07:00Amps, Watts and Decibels<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>5 Watts is Half the Loudness of 50?!</b><br />
You know the old amp wattage battle that occasionally will break out on the intrawebs. The concept is that a 100 watt amp should be twice as loud as a 50 watt amp. Another twist to this is that people will say a 5 watt amp is half as loud as a 50 watt amp. How can that be you ask?<br />
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<b>Not Buying the 5 Watt Theory</b><br />
When I was trying to decide on my amp this became a real life question for me. I wanted a Champ, but most Champ amps are 5 watts. An amp builder I was talking to kept telling me 5 watts was more than enough. On occasion I will do a gig so I wanted something I could love at home and play at a show. To me 5 watts just didn't seem like enough. My amp guy kept telling me I would not notice the difference between 5 watts and 12 watts. "It's all about headroom", he said.<br />
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<b>Ear Drums Be Damned! Testing the Theory </b><br />
I decided it was time to do my own tests in my own labratory, aka my guitar room/office. I own a few amps. I have a highly tweaked 5 watt Valve Junior tube amp, now called the "Hell Junior" with an 8 inch speaker. I also have a 130 watt MusicMan 2x12 HD tube amp (love that amp). It can do amazing cleans and I finally figured out how to get it to break up as well. I have a 32 watt Kustom Coupe tube amp with a 12 inch speaker.<br />
I like this one but I might sell it to fund something else. I have a 100 watt solid state Mustang III with a 12 inch Celestian speaker. Finally I have a Fender Blues Jr. with a 12 inch speaker and 15 watts.<br />
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<b>The Testing Begins!!</b><br />
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The first question is how do I test the decibels of these things? I download a free app called Decibel by <a href="http://skypaw.com/apps/" target="_blank">Skypaw</a> for my iPhone. It was free and simple. I was a little concerned it might not be accurate but I decided even it it wasn't at least it would be accurately inaccurate between each amp and that data would be useful. Based off the numbers it seemed to be right on. I also had a set of ear plugs. <br />
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<b>Amp Findings</b><br />
I warmed up all the amps and then rolled all volumes and masters to 10. Some of them fedback at max volume but I wanted to see what they would really do. If I strummed a chord I would get a solid reading and then it might fluctuate up a db or so for just a second. I went with the decibel rating that seemed the most stable. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6vEcPfpL1Kp_ZXleZSXP-LySgZqOhjheUok3r_tqvpZU-ENPF7mPUIODRGWLBLSDLRRQK3hU62GO5WK8TcyosDh_ji5GjL6L0kZNZMFehm95pfjuZXLWOoMdSnuxQV2a_Yd12FV5zNMI/s1600/2012-09-05+15.31.28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6vEcPfpL1Kp_ZXleZSXP-LySgZqOhjheUok3r_tqvpZU-ENPF7mPUIODRGWLBLSDLRRQK3hU62GO5WK8TcyosDh_ji5GjL6L0kZNZMFehm95pfjuZXLWOoMdSnuxQV2a_Yd12FV5zNMI/s320/2012-09-05+15.31.28.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>The 5 watt Valve Junior </b>amp was pretty damn loud. It came in around <b>95 decibels</b>. The 8 inch speaker pushed no air. It also broke up earlier than a 12 inch would. I know that because after testing it with the 8 I plugged it into a 2x12. Neither seemed to push any air though. That comes into play later.<br />
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<b>The 15 watt Blues Junior</b> was slightly louder at around <b>98 decibels</b>. I couldn't really feel much air being pushed by this one either.<br />
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<b>The 32 watt Kustom Coupe </b>came in at a respectable 98 decibels!<b> </b>It pushed some air.<br />
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<b>The 130 watt MusicMan</b> did what it does best - GET LOUD. Prior to being married I lived in a house on Woodlawn Dr. in Nashville. I used to turn that amp as loud as it would go and shut all the doors and windows and sit on the porch and play it. I crap you negative when I say it literally shook the windows in their panes. That bad boy was pushing around <b>102 decibels</b>. Now you wouldn't think there would be a big difference between 95 and 102 but holy hell was that a lot louder! The 2x12s were also really pushing the air and the bass. You could feel it in your body. This has a lot to do with "feeling" loud as well. <br />
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The surprise of the group was the solid state <b>Fender Mustang III 100 watt </b>modeling amp. I really do like this amp for all the things it can do. It has every effect in the world build in, not to mention all the classic amps. While it may not be the purest amp on the planet it gets close to sounding like some of the best. When I cranked this thing up it was LOUD and it sounded GREAT! To top it all off it really pushed a lot of air! It was right there with the 120 2x12...almost. I was severely impressed! <b>It came in at around 99 db.</b> <br />
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Based on all this I went with a the hand wired 5E3 Fender Deluxe Tweed clone at 15 watts with a 12 inch Jensen Lightening speaker. It pushes 100 decibels and seems plenty loud. The breakup on a 5E3 comes early with the right tubes and I'm fine with that.<br />
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<b>The Outcome</b><br />
So the ultimate outcome for me is that a 5 watt amp is a lot louder than I thought. I also learned that a few decibels really make a big difference in loudness. Who would have thought it would have taken that much wattage to increase the decibel level. Could I gig with a 5 watt amp? Sure, if the sound guy ran a mic to it. Is 5 watts too loud for home use - very possibly yes! The fact that 130 watts is loud was no surprise but the feel of 130 watts really<br />
surprised me. It pumps right through your body.<br />
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SIDE STORY - I was at a show in SC and I guess I cranked my MusicMan up during a song. The lead singer leaned back and yelled in my ear, "Your really burning it up!" and I yelled back, "THANKS!" and then he yelled back, "NO! YOUR TOO LOUD!!" Whoops. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG976mFz5FxQOUViP7D6JYB53J4Ru3lWKf4bbNUBeF0_MDvYvCTmg2IA-3uOaglgPUpfS8ixsanNgE1KgoPYFA3351Mnlf8R8tLHaxSVHyxyrPA1BQ3rFmJRbxjK0VJOAUzqry5lEnBLw/s1600/2012-09-05+15.32.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG976mFz5FxQOUViP7D6JYB53J4Ru3lWKf4bbNUBeF0_MDvYvCTmg2IA-3uOaglgPUpfS8ixsanNgE1KgoPYFA3351Mnlf8R8tLHaxSVHyxyrPA1BQ3rFmJRbxjK0VJOAUzqry5lEnBLw/s320/2012-09-05+15.32.02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Attenuation of the Situation</b><br />
While the 5E3 is exactly the tone I was looking for to get it I had to crank it and if I kept going at that level I would go deaf. I jumped on ebay found a killer attenuator. An attenuator connects between your speaker and your amp. It's not a master volume. This one is super nice with a bypass and a bright switch. I tried it during my decibel test and the attenuator would crank up to full volume levels. It also allows you to get full tube grind at living room levels. If you like saturated amps you should own one!<br />
<br />Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-29679579396711396002013-07-18T12:51:00.002-07:002013-07-18T12:51:12.195-07:00The Coca Cola Guitar Pedal Board!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_WNVW3WbfGeygTF-hWnIFDqCJpVRK1C_qxPmKllVruh1GC86Rk2wfG7ELPOyVMLjXLiRtTlndY4efqZJYLEpbKuJkwbSbA4M4f1RKDwMzU-2Dmhd2y5ica3cegpI1ZuX-rr1vi034Mwk/s1600/2012-09-08+10.51.31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_WNVW3WbfGeygTF-hWnIFDqCJpVRK1C_qxPmKllVruh1GC86Rk2wfG7ELPOyVMLjXLiRtTlndY4efqZJYLEpbKuJkwbSbA4M4f1RKDwMzU-2Dmhd2y5ica3cegpI1ZuX-rr1vi034Mwk/s320/2012-09-08+10.51.31.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheR-BCHKhIFwqXYxuhWHMfJA3YcB-imDp5fq6EH_NmqCG9JVaD6a_dI9qJ2yXbX-AZZOVHNUfpyNX_Ik051ZYD7MV-QsjHsQmFkzqYkKk3qGwIENO3YCK4zwyqPfW6hY1FXHM0NQzQvxA/s1600/2012-09-08+10.48.55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheR-BCHKhIFwqXYxuhWHMfJA3YcB-imDp5fq6EH_NmqCG9JVaD6a_dI9qJ2yXbX-AZZOVHNUfpyNX_Ik051ZYD7MV-QsjHsQmFkzqYkKk3qGwIENO3YCK4zwyqPfW6hY1FXHM0NQzQvxA/s320/2012-09-08+10.48.55.jpg" width="320" /></a>I'm still working on my<a href="http://jimtscaddy.blogspot.com/2012/08/new-amp-day-57-tweed-deluxe.html" target="_blank"> "Woody 57 Tweed Deluxe Mini Stack"</a> amp. All pine, all hand wired, all the good stuff. I decided I wanted some pedals to go with it but I want to be careful about his whole pedal thing. I have fallen down the guitar pedal rabbit hole and I actually made it back out. I have had the boutique high dollar pedals and I have had $20 Danelectro pedals. What I don't want to do is get lost in my pedals when really the tone I want is going to come from the amp. With this in mind I ordered two <a href="http://www.danelectro.com/fx_fish.html" target="_blank">Danelectro Fish N Chips</a> equalizers (1 for each channel), <a href="http://visualsound.net/axle-grease-delay/" target="_blank">one Visual Sound Garagetone Axel Grease delay</a>, one <a href="http://visualsound.net/drivetrain-overdrive/" target="_blank">Visual Sound Garagetone DriveTrain OD</a>, and A/B box that goes to the Equalizers and then out to the amp and finally an ancient volume pedal. This story is not about the pedals, it's about the board.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP5iDkJVtMEtk7B8naZSw_eZ6CKxTAqpWYg73KzpViuNgxrrWt5WYxhSippzyEZVGfNYn5wefF2dCXsQZRJxQ_ExjGIqNb-WUahd-GHMHqmnSnJ9CfTcBsPfEqE3l90xbmVqtPZQzvWzo/s1600/2012-09-03+12.52.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP5iDkJVtMEtk7B8naZSw_eZ6CKxTAqpWYg73KzpViuNgxrrWt5WYxhSippzyEZVGfNYn5wefF2dCXsQZRJxQ_ExjGIqNb-WUahd-GHMHqmnSnJ9CfTcBsPfEqE3l90xbmVqtPZQzvWzo/s320/2012-09-03+12.52.52.jpg" width="320" /></a>I have been watching a Facebook page from a pretty cool pedal board maker called Salvage Custom Shop. They make killer boards that are new and also use old type writer cases and suitcases. You can <a href="http://www.facebook.com/salvagecustom" target="_blank">see their stuff here</a>. Don't go look yet though. I thought I was going to get one of those but I didn't really want to lay out the cash. So then I was on Ebay and found a killer board that was all<a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Custom-Guitar-Pedalboard-The-Rockstar-Red-/300774954384?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item4607959590" target="_blank"> fauxed out in my favorite colors</a>. The problem is that one doesn't pack up in a case. Right after I looked at that I walked out of my guitar room/office and my eyes landed on two wood Coca Cola crates given to me long ago as a birthday present by the vivacious Cheryl. BAM!! I knew right then I was going to make a Coca Cola pedal board! I put some pedals in one and while not huge it seemed about right for what I needed. Then I slept on the idea. By morning I had the whole build worked out in my head.<br />
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First I started with the two wooden crates. I wanted to make sure every piece of the board looked as old as everything else. That is when I realized I could take apart the wooden sections that held the cokes and use them for the board. They were already close to the perfect sizes. The other holder was for two six packs and it had some nice wood in it as well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlLRpBgCwfZ6xEhWNskM67YkO9ihSlj01pEC7QwfM9J1a8F_3nSOXOSFEXEheImUMjaUtupjBvIlNV7W4ajkLJ3ZcBj1pAC9RGHSwoUF_yItzvODMXF7lgw7BE10cUjNNQVEsVa0x0slg/s1600/2012-09-08+10.49.12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlLRpBgCwfZ6xEhWNskM67YkO9ihSlj01pEC7QwfM9J1a8F_3nSOXOSFEXEheImUMjaUtupjBvIlNV7W4ajkLJ3ZcBj1pAC9RGHSwoUF_yItzvODMXF7lgw7BE10cUjNNQVEsVa0x0slg/s320/2012-09-08+10.49.12.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
As I was trying to figure out how to get them apart I really got a good look at how these were built. While the long sides were always red I realized the short sides were originally yellow, the old color. Also under the red paint is the name of a town and the word "TEXAS", how cool is that?! It also looks like these were hand made and hand cut. I have no way of knowing for sure but they look hand made to me. It made me wonder about the people that worked on them. Another interesting thing is that when I was cutting some of the pieces the wood smelled just like Coca Cola. All I can figure is over the years more than a few cokes were spilled on these crates.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAx1uiIktxPf9foPIhXaDQiFPEzy5MMurC80_KuG2yibH3sgA0xHOtDoRD2N0YOrdtvPWdYL79zlLVsi0az0TUAtCY41ocVkTHF0ljwiUHEdeDEPDjYvmrFNO3CZBiUjEx4_TCavA33s/s1600/2012-09-04+23.33.46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAx1uiIktxPf9foPIhXaDQiFPEzy5MMurC80_KuG2yibH3sgA0xHOtDoRD2N0YOrdtvPWdYL79zlLVsi0az0TUAtCY41ocVkTHF0ljwiUHEdeDEPDjYvmrFNO3CZBiUjEx4_TCavA33s/s320/2012-09-04+23.33.46.jpg" width="239" /></a>I used the main piece of wood for the pedal board floor. I hinged it on the back so I could open it up and put my daisy chain power supply under there. It also has enough room for extra cables, slides and pedals. I used a piece of the wood as a lip for the board to lay down on to stay secure while playing.<br />
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To create the case I went to our hardware store and bought 4 snaps and put them on all four corners. I didn't know if that would actually worked but damn it did! They also had a metal handle that looked perfect to me. I got all that together one evening and brought it upstairs to show the wife. She actually really liked it. She even called it "art." High praise!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxSWnDP_fgSVKm3_Ag0D-2o6qgDsbTncd2F8sGIpDP0kMQvtuXmWaHzIRsRMSYSH_WHkK_HtiIEady6pUcxTz_vKdvF9QFkkMy4oqWj3YgLeOb9tngOTmf7KCj-Hb2x1pPfHnfnLDXLQg/s1600/2012-09-04+19.53.06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxSWnDP_fgSVKm3_Ag0D-2o6qgDsbTncd2F8sGIpDP0kMQvtuXmWaHzIRsRMSYSH_WHkK_HtiIEady6pUcxTz_vKdvF9QFkkMy4oqWj3YgLeOb9tngOTmf7KCj-Hb2x1pPfHnfnLDXLQg/s320/2012-09-04+19.53.06.jpg" width="239" /></a>I decided the new hardware didn't fit. It looked too new. Everyone went to bed and I googled "aging metal hardware." <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Produce-a-Rich-Rust-Patina-on-Iron-and-Steel-Safe/" target="_blank">The first link</a> listed things I had in the house so I set out to age all the hardware. By morning every piece of metal looked as old as everything else. I was petty blown away.<br />
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I stole some rubber feet off an old type writer we have and took two of the side boards to elevate the front of the board. After I was done it looked great and worked just as well! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQG_ZKdY3Ea2OMPsKhzbT8rkr-VmcAjr2QUe9r3bOOl-dsdmQpvRuxbvZQHm6oWAJ5CW8wlVIwMcXN3GXIJdGuZdpgUL2qBL8CXKUSDknR4Z3Apazp3raJSI2Y0QiYy9XpPh2NDvi3eU/s1600/2012-09-08+10.51.49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQG_ZKdY3Ea2OMPsKhzbT8rkr-VmcAjr2QUe9r3bOOl-dsdmQpvRuxbvZQHm6oWAJ5CW8wlVIwMcXN3GXIJdGuZdpgUL2qBL8CXKUSDknR4Z3Apazp3raJSI2Y0QiYy9XpPh2NDvi3eU/s320/2012-09-08+10.51.49.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
A few days later my pedals arrived and I went about figuring out how I wanted everything laid out. It all fit perfectly! I found some foam for the top and bottom. The top foam holds all the pedals in place firmly. I will anchor the pedals down with bicycle chain links when I feel good about what I'm running but it totally works as is now.<br />
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I can unplug the power and cables, put the top on and lock everything down and actually haul this thing around. I think it looks pretty damn cool. It's exactly how I saw it in my mind...and that's a pretty rare thing. So there you have the "Coca Cola Pedal Board" from Jim T!Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-51132097147149211682013-07-18T12:47:00.003-07:002013-07-18T12:48:59.616-07:00A Pine Speaker Cab, Tung Oil and a Burlap Sack!When I started planning my all pine 57 Tweed Deluxe clone I had in the back of my mind that it would be Johnny cool if it sat on a matching cab to form the ultimate tweed stack. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy_XhWjaqvSD_w95MUvaS-E6k4thWgFnF_5f4JwMpbHOubJ52rNJGi39iDWQ8osf3oxktu_Bf6P7J4Uid9luNXEE1OdOZTE27Isg6IEvS70C9C-pfmpiCbeNgG_boJKyLTgk1Z3xliYU4/s1600/2012-09-17+17.34.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy_XhWjaqvSD_w95MUvaS-E6k4thWgFnF_5f4JwMpbHOubJ52rNJGi39iDWQ8osf3oxktu_Bf6P7J4Uid9luNXEE1OdOZTE27Isg6IEvS70C9C-pfmpiCbeNgG_boJKyLTgk1Z3xliYU4/s320/2012-09-17+17.34.15.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<b>The Tung Oil Learning Curve</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiexKZHsy8LiZkT440L9KcXhXZePL0kMsIVMDleKWPLAV8Iv5lFj15l6IWWeM34HDBl5_aT8VmYCONc7rnh6r5TcRHf9yUtCaZegnjwT7zpBIFveFxYxc6e3WqP5lqxRWF7w3DJe-EhKBg/s1600/cabbare.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiexKZHsy8LiZkT440L9KcXhXZePL0kMsIVMDleKWPLAV8Iv5lFj15l6IWWeM34HDBl5_aT8VmYCONc7rnh6r5TcRHf9yUtCaZegnjwT7zpBIFveFxYxc6e3WqP5lqxRWF7w3DJe-EhKBg/s320/cabbare.jpeg" width="320" /></a>I found a cab maker on ebay that had a pine 1x12 box that mimicked the combo amp cab I already had. These two cabs are so similar that I almost thought the same guy had built them both, but I'm sure this is a pretty common design. The combo was done when I bought it. If it was up to me I would have a less glossy version but the combo does look pretty sexy.<br />
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The speaker cab was raw with no finish. The combo was finished with tung oil. I looked on my shelf and I already had two bottles. After my first application I read the label and the Formby's Tung Oil has no tung oil in it! It is a thinned wiping varnish. I hoofed it to the hardware store and bought the Minwax Tung Oil. Guess what, Minwax doesn't have tung oil in it either!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjELw-1zrLEDYckE5fd0pVgLDYGrGB-OgcPaa3Vn2iHK3ylYsnk-4HYc4aCuHFyxRYJ81sTkdWbYY7pmFPd28FX-3ZlR3j-PEcdN13LweiFqWg5DDeT7SDfd5CVHuYCaSqME0IlIFXZGzY/s1600/2012-09-17+09.20.37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjELw-1zrLEDYckE5fd0pVgLDYGrGB-OgcPaa3Vn2iHK3ylYsnk-4HYc4aCuHFyxRYJ81sTkdWbYY7pmFPd28FX-3ZlR3j-PEcdN13LweiFqWg5DDeT7SDfd5CVHuYCaSqME0IlIFXZGzY/s200/2012-09-17+09.20.37.jpg" width="200" /></a>After some Googling I found out most people use the Minwax. I let my first layer of Formby's dry for 24 hours and then I applied my Minwax. I followed the instructions and wiped the excess off after 15 minutes. The problem was after 2 or three applications I found it hard to believe it would ever look as shiny as my combo cab. I thought, "man that guy must have used some sort of clear coat and not confessed to it!"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBiDSK8zxMH_gOOv1CvOP0I8l-w95EUH-08qoFBP-n987Db4HSJgTEPg9AVlISqT27V-ZJuXKQJa8FVrW2a6d9DTobWlUZ0XTtm2SNq-crPOzWu3HaTPxjJbYmZ6PxnOEPhdSmwGc2sY/s1600/2012-09-17+09.20.27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBiDSK8zxMH_gOOv1CvOP0I8l-w95EUH-08qoFBP-n987Db4HSJgTEPg9AVlISqT27V-ZJuXKQJa8FVrW2a6d9DTobWlUZ0XTtm2SNq-crPOzWu3HaTPxjJbYmZ6PxnOEPhdSmwGc2sY/s320/2012-09-17+09.20.27.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I went back to the builder of my extension cab and asked how he got his cab so shiny in the "after" photo. He simply replied, "with 400 grit sand paper." I found it hard to believe but this gave me a chance to drive the Caddy and crank up my new favorite song - <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/la-futura/id549864664?enlh=7.8411.841.84.8&ls=1" target="_blank">ZZ Top's "Heartache in Blue"</a>. I almost bought some clear coat for backup but I came home with 8 sheets of 400 grit. I sanded the cab and then wiped it down. I hit it again with a nice wipe down of Minwax Tung Oil. 12 hours later it looked better. I sanded it again and noticed that the sanding was actually shinning it up in some areas. I laid down more Minwax but this time I didn't wipe it down after 10 minutes. I let it sit in the sun. Right before I went to bed I sanded it down and hit it again and left it "wet" over night with no wipe down after 10 minutes. When I woke up I ran down to the basement and it was pretty shiny! I was afraid it might not dry and be gummy but it was pretty good. I waited until noon and sanded and wiped it down with Minwax one more time. By 5 PM it looked almost exactly like my cab. I would have never believed it!<br />
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<b>Burlap Potato Sacks are Cool</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQQMVotXeQ0OcsOuTAIf0WtoXeuiynx5cSsDyHgL-ipuHOECOE-IF7tzUM9cnXt_WByVDoiRZdCsp9BX22Z0Qjc5acOFtcTxPUuHAwfCCYpYZ0gO8Yo0u9F32nz4YqLHHfPJ3ycN5rKk/s1600/amp.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQQMVotXeQ0OcsOuTAIf0WtoXeuiynx5cSsDyHgL-ipuHOECOE-IF7tzUM9cnXt_WByVDoiRZdCsp9BX22Z0Qjc5acOFtcTxPUuHAwfCCYpYZ0gO8Yo0u9F32nz4YqLHHfPJ3ycN5rKk/s200/amp.jpeg" width="150" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnmC86jv_moDB-ybzHkSqKeAyFQgwENMc1hRSyeAYdEO-PikFWUXC5TYWea78B1ZW-7HbnFvpes0lO7SlQ8rBkFoCT6eASyQ9x1a5CSajw009wjss3BeAAiNaHvwE_dJi8VNGD-d1AWK0/s1600/potatoindian.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnmC86jv_moDB-ybzHkSqKeAyFQgwENMc1hRSyeAYdEO-PikFWUXC5TYWea78B1ZW-7HbnFvpes0lO7SlQ8rBkFoCT6eASyQ9x1a5CSajw009wjss3BeAAiNaHvwE_dJi8VNGD-d1AWK0/s320/potatoindian.jpeg" width="320" /></a>After watching <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heartworn_Highways" target="_blank">Heartworn Highway</a> and spotting <a href="http://www.charliedaniels.com/" target="_blank">Charlie Daniels</a> wood amp cabs and burlap feed sack speaker covers I had to have my own. That led to me sitting on my porch in the evening on Ebay looking for two feed sacks. It's not as easy as you would think. I would find cool burlap sacks and they would want $80 bucks for them. There is no way I could bring myself to pay that much for some burlap. The other problem was finding sacks that looked cool but also had a graphic that would fit the cab. After weeks of looking I wanted the sack that Charlie used. I had given up and then out of the blue there it was and for only around $8!! The sad reality was that there was no way it was going to fit my cabs. It was just too big.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIHSxRlaI902GWPDdshXGhH3JdYDhYqOpQbIHlAVi-enh65Q2JYNNiu3TIVLvkyVNO5kP0sxo4DJrOGM71gsXUK2XgoL0tP2n3DknaAcyNNUV8LkvmPH89qyk0knrjmFSYWwtSDcHkhfw/s1600/2012-09-20+17.57.16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIHSxRlaI902GWPDdshXGhH3JdYDhYqOpQbIHlAVi-enh65Q2JYNNiu3TIVLvkyVNO5kP0sxo4DJrOGM71gsXUK2XgoL0tP2n3DknaAcyNNUV8LkvmPH89qyk0knrjmFSYWwtSDcHkhfw/s320/2012-09-20+17.57.16.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
It was a sad burlap sack hunting day. I ended up scoring an Indian head that looked super bad and was just the right size. Usually I would feel a little funny about an Indian head as art work but since my people walked the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_Tears" target="_blank">Trail of Tears</a> I figure I can pull it off. I also scored a sack with a train on it. When they showed up I was blown away. I just didn't expect potato sacks to look so damn cool! My wife and I both felt bad that I had to cut them up. I think I'm going to get a few more to frame for the basement.<br />
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There you have it - my retro, all natural, potato sack boxes of wood. The cabs look even better than I thought they would...and how often does that happen?
Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-4222479907420657932013-07-18T12:45:00.001-07:002013-07-18T12:45:02.393-07:00The BarnCaster de Billy Hell<b> The 150 Plus Year Old Barncaster - Telecaster</b> - By Jim T. <br />
I started really getting into barn wood telecasters a year ago. I love the idea of real barn wood being used for a Tele. I would spend my night doing Google image searches of barncasters and I decided I had to have one. I contacted a great body wood crafter. His company is called Wildwood. He cuts great bodies. He had a few pieces of barnwood left over from another project.<br />
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<b>The description of the wood:</b><br />
<a href="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/barnwoodbare_zps3f5a5952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/barnwoodbare_zps3f5a5952.jpg" width="343" /></a>That is actually wood from a barn. It is wormy chestnut from one of the chestnut barns in the Cuyahoga Valley in Ohio. Chestnut barns are rare. The wood was stored for about 15 years in a climate controlled room to make picture frames and the builder decided that he was not going to use it. It is 150 plus years old and could be much older. The marks on the horn are saw blade marks from way back when. Lots of nice worm holes and more!
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<b>I put the guitar together from all my favorite parts: </b><br />
<a href="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/barncaster-Jim-T-Graham_zpsffb78feb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="694" src="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/barncaster-Jim-T-Graham_zpsffb78feb.jpg" width="365" /></a><b>Neck PU</b> - Lollar Imperial Standard wind heavy relic. Thee hand wound humbucker!<br />
<b>Bridge PU</b> - Rio Grande Muy Grande (purchased on TDPRI)<br />
<b>Bigsby</b> - B17 (GRRRRREAT)<br />
<b>Bridge </b>- The stock was good but the Compton has more sustain. He custom made it to fit the B17 bridge.<br />
<b>Knobs</b> - I made these out of 12 gauge shotgun shells and a .45 acp for the switch.<br />
<b>Control Plate </b>- That is a black GFS tele control plate. I just scrubbed it with a green Scotch pad. They may not make this anymore. I had this one laying around.<br />
<b>Wiring</b> - Toneshaper for the Tele. The cool part here is that I can switch from a 500k to 250k pot depending on where I'm at with my switch. <br />
<b>Neck </b>- That is a CEG Hardtail Mighty Mite. I tried many things to get the color right. Plays great. No complaints. I drilled it with a hand drill and everything is straight.<br />
<b>Body</b> - This was custom made and he cut the neck slot with the 4mm angle in it. I bolted on the neck and it was ready to rock!<br />
<b>Nut</b> - Earvana - I love em.<br />
<b>Tuners </b>- GFS Gotoh locking knockoffs. These are great tuners and drop right in. I have put these on several guitars with no issues and they kick ass. I ordered the black ones and scrubbed them with a green scouring pad while watching Smokey and the Bandit. Nicely aged!<br />
<b>String Hold Down</b> - I was popping the strings off the bridge and wanted something to hold them down. I contacted Trussart and he was nice enough to reply to me but he doesn't sell his separately (I knew he wouldn't). I looked over and saw some .357 shells and an hour later I had a killer home brew string retainer!
<a href="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/357stringkeeperbarncaster_zps307e1ef1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/357stringkeeperbarncaster_zps307e1ef1.jpg" width="400" /></a>
<a href="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/shotgunshellswitches_zps7ed4f59a.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/shotgunshellswitches_zps7ed4f59a.jpg" width="400" /></a>
<a href="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/CEGBirdseyeMapleNeck_zps84aef3dd.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/CEGBirdseyeMapleNeck_zps84aef3dd.jpg" width="400" /> </a><br />
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This guitar plays and sounds as good as my high dollar Fender Tele, in fact I like it much more. If you have never built your own guitar I highly suggest it. It's fun, rewarding and you get the exact guitar you want.<br />
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Here is video of Sam Eakins from Taylor Guitars taking a spin on the Barncaster de Hell:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UHyBwhJuIHM?list=UUc7ggsxJjoTKNK-olI8Gb7A" width="560"></iframe>
Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-18873279733879820512013-07-18T12:43:00.000-07:002013-07-18T12:43:45.336-07:00The One Watt Amp<b>The One Watt Amp </b><br />
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So I have lots of 12/15/36/100/130 watt amps. <br />
I like to sit on the back porch and play the blues. <br />
All my Mustang modelers have died on me and I was on the hunt for something tubey. <br />
I stumbled on the HT-1RH 1W. It had the features I needed:<br />
* Low wattage<br />
* MP3 input for backing tracks<br />
* Reverb<br />
* Tubes (push pull)<br />
* Great price<br />
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I was also looking at old Fender Champs, Valco amps, Vintage 47 amps, Silvertone etc. <br />
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<b>I finally landed on a 1 watt tube amp:</b><br />
<a href="http://www.blackstaramps.com/images/ht1/ht1rh-overview-image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.blackstaramps.com/images/ht1/ht1rh-overview-image.jpg" /></a><br />
The patented ISF (Infinite Shape Feature) circuit gives you infinite
adjustment over the characteristics of the tone control network and
takes you from the USA to the UK and anywhere in between. Add a fully
specified speaker emulated output, MP3/ Line Input and you have
everything you need for recording or practicing.<br />
<br />
<b>So the question was how to do take the <a href="http://www.blackstaramps.com/products/ht-1rh/" target="_blank">HT-1RH 1W </a>and also have a cool look?</b><br />
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I put together an extension cab for my 57 Tweed Deluxe - oiled pine wood, potatoe sack grill cloth, Jensen Electric Lightening speaker. <br />
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<a href="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/HT-1RHguts_zpsd0de4ef9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/HT-1RHguts_zpsd0de4ef9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I started out with a pine 12 inch extension cab with a Jensen Electric Lightening. <br />
<a href="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/cabfront_zps16eee1c2.jpg?t=1370485850" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/cabfront_zps16eee1c2.jpg?t=1370485850" width="320" /></a>When the HT-1RH showed up I played it for a while and then I pulled the amp out of the head. <br />
It's held on with the 4 screws that are holding the rubber feet on. <br />
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I pulled the back wood off the cab and started playing with ways to get the amp in there. <br />
I could have installed it flat on the bottom of the amp but I thought it would be safer and more accessible on the top.<br />
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I put a piece of paper over the bottom of the cab and made a template for the holes.<br />
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I made my marks and drilled the four holes in the top of my cab (two were under the handles, so they are hidden. The amp was screwed on tight using the screws from the cab. <br />
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<a href="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/cabbackpanel_zpsae5dbb3b.jpg?t=1370485848" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/cabbackpanel_zpsae5dbb3b.jpg?t=1370485848" width="320" /></a></div>
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It was super simple. <br />
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I used the cab wood back plate to go around the amp face and I left the bottom open. <br />
I figured the amp would be pointed away from me most of the time anyway. <br />
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<a href="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/inside1wattcab_zpsa902b48f.jpg?t=1370485854" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/inside1wattcab_zpsa902b48f.jpg?t=1370485854" width="320" /></a></div>
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I put on a cable keeper to keep from yanking out the power chord.<br />
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The cool part is that I can still use the cab for my 15 watt 5e3 if I want as well. <br />
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The one watt concept really works. I try to sit on my back porch and
play every day. My 57 Tweed was jut too loud. I can get the Blackstar
Ht-RH cranked up and get some really rich blues tones. I'm getting
killer harmonics as well.<br />
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I'm really liking the tone and I really dig I can get some Fender type tweed tones and rounded off Marshall tones. <br />
<b>My final thoughts - a 1 watt, pine combo with a 12 inch speaker? - SICK!!!</b><br />
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Take a listen. My neighbor, and killer guitar player, Karl plays as I jibber jabber: <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Tj02HZ4Zwts" width="560"></iframe>Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-53202009514639771922013-07-14T19:37:00.002-07:002013-07-16T14:49:16.999-07:00TexCasters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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BarnCaster </div>
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TexCaster II</div>
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Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-17695232334344011002012-03-25T12:36:00.000-07:002013-07-18T12:26:25.307-07:00The "Billy Hell" Les Paul - a custom GibsonWell it was a pretty long journey to this guitar. It all started because of a single P90 pickup. That sparked a guitar build project that took on a life of it's own. Here is a journal of how this guitar was conceived and created:<br />
<br />
01-27-2012 06:24 PM<br />
<b>1 LP Body, 3 P90s and a Bigsby </b><br />
<div id="pid_268140">
So here is what I'm thinking:<br />
Black Les Paul style body<br />
3 P90s - GFS Mean 90<br />
6 way switch or 3 volume knobs and 1 tone or push pulls<br />
B70 or B7 Bigsby<br />
All chrome hardware (not gold)<br />
Chrome knobs<br />
Chrome trim rings<br />
Chrome locking tuners<br />
GFS roller bridge<br />
I'm basically going to pull everything off and rewire/rebuild the whole thing.</div>
<br />
<div>
01-29-2012 11:23 AM<br />
Here are some Photoshopped mockups I have made:</div>
<br />
<img alt="" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7146/6782904899_3ac8ecefa7_z.jpg" width="261" /><br />
The "Black Chromey" with humbuckers<br />
<img alt="" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6783023429_6699957cd6.jpg" width="271" /><br />
The Gold Top Humbuggy option:<br />
<img alt="" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7008/6783075275_dce415258e_z.jpg" width="264" /><br />
Flat Black<br />
<img alt="" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6783153369_56be7838f4_z.jpg" width="264" /><br />
Flat Black w/Pinstripes<br />
<img alt="" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7170/6783301471_5a320dee5b_z.jpg" width="264" /><br />
<br />
02-10-2012 12:33 AM<br />
I have decided the Gibson '60's Tribute had everything I want - flat laquer black paint, chambered body, routed for two P90s, perfect candidate for a Bigsby and Vibramate and it's a real Les Paul! I purchased one site unseen from a shop off the web and I'm hoping for the best!<br />
<br />
03-04-2012 03:00 PM<br />
So The Bigsby is done. <br />
I ebonzied the neck to get it closer to the black body. <br />
I ground down a mexican peso until it was thin enough to work as a poker chip. <br />
Next week I'm supposed to get my dogear routes. I may go soapbar is the dog ears are going to be a pain to adjust but I love the look of dogears. <br />
Some photos (the peso pic is before i dyed the neck)....<br />
<br />
Pained the Bigsby red:<br />
<img alt="" height="298" src="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/bigsbyred.jpg?t=1330891144" width="400" /><br />
<br />
My mock up with dogears:<br />
<img alt="" height="148" src="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/leshellDog.jpg" width="400" /><br />
<br />
After I ebonized the fret board to get the neck to be as black as the body:<br />
<img alt="" height="640" src="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/neck.jpg?t=1330891108" width="475" /><br />
<br />
My Peso poker chip. This was a coin my Dad brought back from one of his many Mexico trips:<br />
<img alt="" height="640" src="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/peso.jpg?t=1330891420" width="476" /><br />
[hr]<br />
Also - I was wanting some silver/chrome for the poker chip and could not see paying someone $15 for a chrome washer. After I had the peso idea I was on ebay and it hit me that after my Dad died I found a bag of coins in his closet. I dug it out and found a nice peso in there. So now there is part of my Dad in the guitar. Nice. <br />
<br />
03-05-2012 10:49 AM<br />
Pickups<br />
I'm pretty firm on going with the <a href="http://vintagevibeguitars.com/windows/soapP90Win.html">VintageVibe P90s set of three</a>. I like the whole magnet concept:<br />
<br />
<br />
03-07-2012 02:18 PM<br />
Routing the LP<br />
Where it's at! So I dropped her off at Glasers today. 3 soapbars coming up. About to order the Vintagevibeguitars p90s.<br />
<br />
I just got back from Glasers Instruments - the best luthiers in Nashville! They said it would be 2 weeks but it was only one day. The only thing left is for my VintageVibe Guitars P90s to show up. I'm going to bolt on the Bigsby and start the wiring this weekend. <br />
<br />
03-09-2012 12:55 PM<br />
Nick from Glasers did the routing:<br />
<img alt="" height="640" src="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/glasers.jpg" width="540" /><br />
<br />
The LP with the P90 covers slid in. I had to route the existing holes corner radius for the non Gibson P90s to fit:<br />
<img alt="" height="640" src="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/3p90.jpg" width="468" /><br />
<br />
There is no sign for Glasers but the mailbox gave them away:<br />
<img alt="" height="380" src="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/mailbox.jpg" width="400" /><br />
Wiring (Les Paul, 3 P90s, 6 way rotary switch from Stewmac, push pull pots:<br />
So <a href="http://deaf-eddie.net/">Deaf Eddie</a> came through again! I know I like P90s but I have never had 3 to play with before. Deaf Eddie hooked me up again! <a href="http://deaf-eddie.net/">Go check out his site. </a>Here is the schematic:<br />
<img alt="" height="400" src="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/3-pup-lp-project-B-2pp.jpg" width="399" /><br />
<br />
<br />
and here is what it does ala Deaf Eddie:<br />
PULL the bridge volume, and it puts the bridge pup out of phase. This will affect throws 2, 3, & 4, you can make them spikey and/or sweet, but also nasally and thin, DEPENDING on how you balance the volume of the bridge pup with the other volumes. Lots of tonal variations here from working the volume knobs.<br />
<br />
PULL the tone control, and it puts the bridge pup in series with the neck pup. This is a "brute force" tone (usually). This will affect throws 1 and 2, and the series combo should be BIG and FAT, and probably a tad louder - some players think they hear a little high-end rolloff, but it's just the bass coming on gangbusters. A side effect of series combos is that the bridge pup will "disappear" from throws 3 and 4, as it is shunted by the presence of the neck pup.<br />
<br />
PULL BOTH, and the bridge is in series/out of phase with the neck pup. On almost all the axes I have - single coil or humbucker - throw 1 will be a stinging solo voice, and I like it a lot. Sounds best with some overdrive/crunch. Throw 2 will be a tad mellower, and the other four throws will again be missing the bridge pup.<br />
<br />
The red chicken head will point down at the neck pickup. With this wiring here is how that works ala Deaf Eddie:<br />
"the sweep is all on the "neck" side of the arc, with "up" as the neck and go clockwise "down" as the bridge"<br />
<br />
03-10-2012 10:48 AM<br />
I put the Bigsby on and the knobs just to see how she looked. I think the Bigsby bar looks better than the Chet bar but I have found a Bigsby with Chet bar is a lot more controllable for me. It comes close to Strat trem with the Chet bar. The Chat bar also stays in the perfect place for me. I don't have to go hunting for it when I need it. <br />
<img alt="" height="640" src="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/lp-2.jpg" width="409" /><br />
<br />
03-15-2012 10:02 AM<br />
1. She looks killer!<br />
2. For the first time ever I got the wiring right on my first try! (I had one ground that popped off but after a resolder all was good!)<br />
3. Where the Gibson P90s were like, "that sounds pretty good!", the VintageVibeGuitars.com P90s were like, "WOW!"<br />
4. I got to play it for a while with some throw away strings and now it's off to my friend and luthier JFK at <a href="http://www.virginiasmusiccenter.com/">Virginias Music Center</a>. He is going to make sure the frets are good and round them off, do a setup and make her right. <br />
5. I'm going with .10s <br />
<br />
I should have her back tonight!<br />
<br />
Changes - The volumes are dependent so I think I will rewire it to be independent this weekend. <br />
<br />
To do:<br />
If I can bring myself to do it it still needs to be pinstriped but man it's looking good the way it is!<br />
<br />
(She isn't fully put back together in this photo but she is fully functional!)<br />
<img alt="" height="640" src="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/lp-3.jpg?t=1332441871" width="456" /><br />
<br />
03-25-2012 12:41 AM<br />
She is finished just in time for guitar night. The only thing left are the pinstripes and I'm going to have to warm into that idea. I like so much right now I don't think I can stripe it just yet!<br />
<img alt="" height="640" src="http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r521/drbillyhell/BillyHellStrap.jpg" width="476" /><br />
<br />
It was passed around quite a bit at my guitar pull last night and even the guys that didn't want to like it ended up playing it for a long time. The chambered body of the '60's Tribute seems to really add to the tonal characteristic of the guitar. You can almost get an acoustic sound out of it but it will also get severely gnarly as well. I was afraid after all the thought, time and money I put in the guitar I might end up not liking it but man do I love it. The action is also great - super fast. The B70 with Chat bar is also very smooth and responsive. And totally by accident the balance is perfect. I don't know the actual weight but after adding the extra p90 and Bigsby it is still lighter than my Epiphone Pro FX but now feels substantial like an LP should. My luthier commented that the combo of the chambered body and the Bigsby somehow really opened up the sound. Audio clips soon but today I have to do my first mow of the season!Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-29104956710902220432012-02-28T11:57:00.000-08:002013-07-18T12:27:35.553-07:00One last song...<h6>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">So my wife's Dad was running around back in the 60s with a guitar and head full of songs. In the late 90's he would visit us in Nashville and hang with our song writer/guitar picking friends. Nashville can be a hard place to hold your ground in that world sometimes but he always fit right in. He did this great version of St. James Infirmary Blues. After he passed away last year I really wanted to learn it. This weekend I was working on it and then remembered I had a recording of him singing and playing it. I ran his version through the PA and started playing behind the song on my Les Paul. After a few notes I got the chills. Then I realized I had to record it. It was like playing guitar with him again.<br />This is for Ang and her Dad...</span></span></h6>
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://c.gigcount.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEzMzA*NTkxNjI4NDImcHQ9MTMzMDQ1OTE2ODQ2NSZwPTI3MDgxJmQ9cHJvX3BsYXllcl9maXJzdF9nZW4mZz*xJm89/NGVmZTI3NDVmYTUyNGYyOTk1YzE4MmZkM2YwYmVmNDcmb2Y9MA==.gif" style="height: 0px; visibility: hidden; width: 0px;" width="0" /><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" height="326" width="434"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="allowNetworking" value="all" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="opaque" /><param name="quality" value="best" /><param name="src" value="http://cache.reverbnation.com/widgets/swf/40/pro_widget.swf?id=artist_511100&posted_by=&skin_id=PWAS1005&background_color=EEEEEE&border_color=000000&auto_play=false&shuffle=false&song_ids=12255286" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="434" height="326" src="http://cache.reverbnation.com/widgets/swf/40/pro_widget.swf?id=artist_511100&posted_by=&skin_id=PWAS1005&background_color=EEEEEE&border_color=000000&auto_play=false&shuffle=false&song_ids=12255286" quality="best" wmode="opaque" allowfullscreen="true" allownetworking="all" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed></object><br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="0" src="http://www.reverbnation.com/widgets/trk/40/artist_511100//t.gif" style="height: 0px; visibility: hidden; width: 0px;" width="0" /><img alt="ComScore" border="0" height="1" src="http://b.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=10349858&cv=2.0&cj=1" style="display: none;" width="1" />Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-59302106471830197632012-02-26T15:45:00.000-08:002013-07-18T12:36:51.583-07:00A Bigsby of a Different Color<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3gwCX48_0vIvIrkf1NOTBe5WUnNepu5qIrvSK1gHb54MvgcalZMG1IhLIZe4b71lEZ8C4Y0LR2jYZXCMMddnvMligghja4X2_GSNqZhk_M0cdTJPnB7BoLVTo8UrjyRfzUfVVlO9szD8/s1600/bigsbycover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3gwCX48_0vIvIrkf1NOTBe5WUnNepu5qIrvSK1gHb54MvgcalZMG1IhLIZe4b71lEZ8C4Y0LR2jYZXCMMddnvMligghja4X2_GSNqZhk_M0cdTJPnB7BoLVTo8UrjyRfzUfVVlO9szD8/s320/bigsbycover.jpg" width="320" /></a> So I'm in the middle of my Les Paul '60s Tribute build. I have gutted the guitar and I'm working on what I want to do to her. Since the LP is flat black I have to work some red in there. Today I took on the project of painting the black part of a Bigsby B7 red. Good news, it looks just as badass as it it sounds!!!<br />
<br />
Here is what I did:<br />
First I tried to do it with One Shot enamel and my squirrel hair pinstriping brush. That did not work. I found a can of red spray craft paint that worked with metal and applied light coats.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE_ds7OJXjX0NoOE-s6dbqi-L-PEJnIZnWFdwpop5hPfx8htJnsNQ3FXynVnQe5PvJWpwhlNowSVEtFH6sqY-796RCmDNEXbCUcHiqKF2qO9dW1lU3FSRSxaKWCNLrc5iv-QFfnZMZaJ4/s1600/bigsby-tape-e1330300141652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE_ds7OJXjX0NoOE-s6dbqi-L-PEJnIZnWFdwpop5hPfx8htJnsNQ3FXynVnQe5PvJWpwhlNowSVEtFH6sqY-796RCmDNEXbCUcHiqKF2qO9dW1lU3FSRSxaKWCNLrc5iv-QFfnZMZaJ4/s320/bigsby-tape-e1330300141652.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<br />
Then I hit it with my head gun and sprayed it again. I put on four coats. My Bigsby cut out left a lot of black around he letters so I shot some of the spray paint into a plastic cup and then got my pinstriping brush out and painted around the Bigsby logo until it was pretty perfect. I'm excited that it came out so nice.<br />
Pinsriping the guitar is in the works. I have a guy I use that has been striping since the late 50's and is probably around 80 now. If I get it all together and I love it then it will get the red and white pinstripes.<br />
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Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-63691530678902749882011-12-12T13:03:00.000-08:002013-07-18T09:50:35.350-07:00Captain Beefheart's Ten Commandments For Guitarists<strong>Captain Beefheart's Ten Commandments For Guitarists:</strong><br/><ol><br/> <li>LISTEN TO THE BIRDS That's where all the music comes from. Birds know everything about how it should sound and where that sound should come from. And watch hummingbirds. They fly really fast, but a lot of times they aren't going anywhere.</li><br/> <li>YOUR GUITAR IS NOT REALLY A GUITAR Your guitar is a divining rod. Use it to find spirits in the other world and bring them over. A guitar is also a fishing rod. If you're good, you'll land a big one.</li><br/> <li>PRACTICE IN FRONT OF A BUSH Wait until the moon is out, then go outside, eat a multi-grained bread and play your guitar to a bush. If the bush doesn't shake, eat another piece of bread.</li><br/> <li>WALK WITH THE DEVIL Old delta blues players referred to amplifiers as the "devil box." And they were right. You have to be an equal opportunity employer in terms of who you're bringing over from the other side. Electricity attracts demons and devils. Other instruments attract other spirits. An acoustic guitar attracts Casper. A mandolin attracts Wendy. But an electric guitar attracts Beelzebub.</li><br/> <li>IF YOU'RE GUILTY OF THINKING, YOU'RE OUT If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something that is fur bearing.</li><br/> <li>NEVER POINT YOUR GUITAR AT ANYONE Your instrument has more power than lightning. Just hit a big chord, then run outside to hear it. But make sure you are not standing in an open field.</li><br/> <li>ALWAYS CARRY YOUR CHURCH KEY You must carry your key and use it when called upon. That's your part of the bargain. Like One String Sam. He was a Detroit street musician in the fifties who played a homemade instrument. His song "I Need A Hundred Dollars" is warm pie. Another church key holder is Hubert Sumlin, Howlin' Wolf's guitar player. He just stands there like the Statue of Liberty making you want to look up her dress to see how he's doing it.</li><br/> <li>DON'T WIPE THE SWEAT OFF YOUR INSTRUMENT You need that stink on there. Then you have to get that stink onto your music.</li><br/> <li>KEEP YOUR GUITAR IN A DARK PLACE When you're not playing your guitar, cover it and keep it in a dark place. If you don't play your guitar for more than a day, be sure to put a saucer of water in with it.</li><br/> <li>YOU GOTTA HAVE A HOOD FOR YOUR ENGINE Wear a hat when you play and keep that hat on. A hat is a pressure cooker. If you have a roof on your house the hot air can't escape. Even a lima bean has to have a wet paper towel around it to make it grow.</li><br/></ol><br/>By Don Van Filet/Capt. BeefheartBilly Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-63780026107466931772011-01-26T13:51:00.000-08:002013-07-18T09:50:35.330-07:00Two New Songs - "Apache" and "Sloe Gin Blues"I have a thing for surfy, spaghetti type guitar playing. Maybe it was my western fixation as a kid in Texas. My Gretsch was built to sound nice and twangy for that very reason. So in the spirit of that I did my version of Link Wray's Apache. Who is Link Wray? Why he's just the guy that invented the fuzz/distortion sound and the barre chord. I think of Link as a big old cinder block in the foundation of rock. I also have a nice dirty Texas blues song call "Sloe Gin Blues". Please play them, download them and enjoy them. If you like them please <a href="http://www.reverbnation.com/billyhell#">sign up as a fan</a> so you can see what else blows out of my head and on to the strings!<br/><br/>LINK TO BILLY HELL MUSIC:<br/><a href="http://www.reverbnation.com/billyhell"> http://www.reverbnation.com/billyhell</a><br/><br/>LINK TO "APACHE":<br/><a href="http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_6601717"> http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_6601717</a><br/><br/>LINK TO "SLOE GIN BLUES":<br/><a href="http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_6451515"> http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_6451515</a><br/><br/><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-92" title="DOUBLE BILLY HELL - JIM T. GRAHAM" src="http://billyhell.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/DOUBLE-HELL.jpg" alt="" width="610" height="320" />Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-46194114104051950352011-01-26T13:24:00.000-08:002013-07-21T14:07:22.699-07:00Jimmy Page Wiring for my Les Paul<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If the question is, "Billy will you try to do as many things as possible to one guitar as you can?" then the answer would have to be Hell yes. I can't really stop myself and I enjoy it so why should I? When looking for wiring schemes for my Les Paul Plustop Pro/FX I found out that the Jimmy Page wiring scheme is the most complicated and that was all it took. While rewiring a guitar can seem intimidating it really isn't. It's just a bunch of wires and all you have to do is make them look like the wires in the picture. Sure you need to know how to solder but that isn't very hard either. Making your wiring look pretty...now that is hard, and while I have done it a few times usually it looks more like multicolored spaghetti and I'm fine with that as long as my guitar works when I'm done. After my initial attempt I decided the tone knob wasn't working for my Pearly Gates Neck pickup. I took a look and realized I had left out the Russian oil and paper tone capacitor. I popped that on and BAM! All was well. The only issue I'm having now is I don't seem to have control of both volumes when I have both pickups running at once. I'm going to dive back in and see which wires might crossed. Other than that I'm really digging the Jimmy Page wiring. there are tons of tonal options (22) and while tonal options can lead to you doing nothing but fiddling with your knobs I still think more options are better than less.<br />
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A big thanks to <a href="http://www.deaf-eddie.net/pushpull/jp_setup.html">Deaf Eddie</a> and his schematic I used:<br />
<a href="http://www.deaf-eddie.net/drawings/jp-lp.jpg"> http://www.deaf-eddie.net/drawings/jp-lp.jpg</a>Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-87385713965522240922011-01-26T12:53:00.000-08:002013-07-18T09:50:35.317-07:00I miss one show and they call the cops!Every year I make a show in Columbus, Ohio. This year I didn't go. No big deal right? Not according to this video!<br/><br/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9y022qtLNwBilly Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-37989845756770916672011-01-17T13:00:00.000-08:002013-07-22T21:15:26.479-07:00Modding My Les Paul Plustop Pro/Fx<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I admit it, I like weird guitars. The Epiphone Les Paul Pro/Fx fits that description. The satin neck, coil split humbuckers, Floyd Rose, and allen wrenches mounted on the neck put it in that category for me.<br />
So far I have:<br />
Changed out the pickups - Neck Pearly Gates SD and bridge GFS VEH. I know the GFS should not be that great in comparison to the Pearly Gates but it is sounding pretty good. The Pearly Gates is everything I hoped it would be.<br />
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Paper and oil capacitors - This is my first try with Russian caps. I installed these the same time I put in the pickups so I can't really gauge how big of a change they made but for $14 I'll probably do this to all my guitars to grab that retro "Bumble Bee" tone. I will say this, usually I have my tone at 10 but with the new caps I am finding great tones all over the knob.<br />
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Brass Block - The block on that Floyd rose is thin and looks like pot metal to me. I have the brass block shipping my way and will get that in latter this week.<br />
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To do - I am going to go back in to check on the wiring. The humbuckers aren't sounding great split. I want to check and see if they have them wired in parallel. If not I'll wire them that way to see if it helps any.<br />
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Overall - Originally the guitar was pretty muddy and not what I would call a "go to" guitar. The new pickups really woke the guitar up and I am grabbing it a lot more now. I also put on .095 strings. I run them on all my guitars and they sound great on the Pro/Fx as well.<br />
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I could live with the guitar on the neck Pearly Gates at all times. It really does nail the Billy Gibbons tone but it also can sound "pretty" and has tons of sustain. The cheapie VEH GFS pu sounds pretty good and when used in conjunction with the PG brightens the sound quite a bit. Using the VEH by itself is a little brighter sound that I could use for our Lynynd Skynyd covers. I expected to rip it out immediately but wanted to give a shot since it was laying around and I'm pretty surprise how well it holds up against the PG.<br />
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In general it is built well, looks great, and plays great as well. I lowered the bridge height to get a lower action and did not run into any string buzz. That was a big plus that I didn't need to mess with the frets. The action is fine with me. I don't like the Floyd trem arm but I guess I'll have to learn how to like it. This thing is pretty amazing to be an Epiphone.Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-44225602930074864352010-09-27T15:22:00.000-07:002013-07-18T09:50:35.299-07:00Billy Hell and Mike Wolfe from American Pickers!So there I was, sitting in my high powered golf cart at my show in Leipers Fork, TN. Tony D. and I were on the top of a hill sipping a Budweiser when Tony D. proclaimed, "BILLY! That's the American Picker van!!!". He hadn't finished his sentence before I was hooking it across that field at 28 MPH with my over sized mud tires throwing up dust. Sure as Hell it was Mike Wolfe from my favorite show, American Pickers! He was picking up a nice 1963 VW bus with no windows. It looked like a blue submarine. Mike and I know each other from back before the American Pickers show began. About six years ago we spent a leisurely afternoon sipping a...you guessed it, Budweiser. He left sporting a Billy Hell t-shirt and I told my buddy Bryce Custer, "he's good people!' Mike was nice enough to come over to my annual air show and say hey to everyone. All 80 plus pilots were pretty excited he was there. We got him on some FPV goggles (first person video) and flew a plane around the event so he could see it as the bird flies. He was gracious enough to accommodate the guys for photos. I brought out my pinstriped JimmyC Gretsch and Mike told me about a 1932 National he had just picked up. You can check out my photos and interview at the bottom of this post. I want to also give a big thanks to Mike for taking the time and hanging out with us He made everyone's day.<br/><br/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAzM4c5NGzc<br/><br/><a href="http://billyhell.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/DSC_5395.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-62" title="Mike Wolfe - American Picker - Billy Hell - Gretsch Picker" src="http://billyhell.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/DSC_5395-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" /></a><br/><br/><a href="http://billyhell.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/DSC_5389.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-64" title="Antique Archeology - American Picker Van" src="http://billyhell.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/DSC_5389-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" /></a><br/><br/><a href="http://billyhell.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/DSC_5406.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-72" title="Mike Wolfe Wearing FPV Goggles" src="http://billyhell.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/DSC_5406-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" /></a>Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-28269065426664927272010-09-02T11:24:00.000-07:002013-07-18T09:50:35.292-07:00New Taylor Mini GS Guitar - InterviewSo I was at my favorite guitar store, <a href="http://worldmusicnashville.com/">World Music in Nashville</a>, and I met Barney Hill. Barney is the district sales manager for Taylor Guitars. He had some high dollar guitars with him but I was curious about what he had strapped to his back. A big smile broke out on his face and he said, "This is the brand new GS Mini Taylor!" It is the size of a travel guitar but built around Taylor GS specs. My number one acoustic is a Taylor GSRC so I had to learn more. He immediately let m know this was his personal guitar but they should already be on the street. I did play the guitar and it doesn't sound anything like a "travel" guitar. It was nice and warm with good highs. I also approve of the neck. I think we all need one!<br/><br/>Watch my interview with Taylor district sales manager Barney Hill to learn more!<br/><br/><img src="file:///C:/Users/BILLYH%7E1/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-2.png" alt="" />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCeQfV5c85UBilly Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4724292229057642176.post-33879437144569352702010-09-01T10:31:00.000-07:002013-07-21T14:14:12.945-07:00New Fender GDEC 3 Vs. 1969 Twin Reverb!<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/nX6gVCqDt7g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I'm open minded. I love tube amps and all the "toney" goodness they provide. There is nothing like a cooking tube to get that perfect sound. I have also been open minded to modeling amps. Even the old modeling amps that were terrible I still found interesting. To me it's all sound. So when Larry at <a href="http://worldmusicnashville.com/">World Music Nashville</a> said, "Billy, I have just the thing for you!" I followed. He led me down the road to the new Fender GDEC 3 modeling amp. Now some of you will immediately have a bad taste in your mouth as soon as I cross over to the electronic side of sound BUT WAIT! <b>This just might be the best modeling amp out right now.</b> I wanted to put it to the test and I did. My friend Brian B. is a tube amp man from way back. We decided to take his 1969 Twin Reverb and put it next to my Fender GDEC 3 30 watt amp and see how close this thing really was. I have never seen this done before, especially with this amp. After a long evening of A/Bing them we came to a conclusion. You can reach your own by watching the video....<br />
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<br />Billy Hellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14877962487852957851noreply@blogger.com0