Show us your pics!

[Torment Leaves Scars]

It is interesting to read these post about American Vs Other. We do not hold the market on well made, In fact Ibenez, a very respected name is Japanese and I can remember in the 80s owning some quality Japanese made Fender guitars. I think Cagey nailed it with the fact of the CNC produced parts, I pick up some Mexican made Fender stuff now and am amazed they sell for so cheap.
I prefer American made because of not just quality issues but I want to support my country. I built Barn Door Tele with a Warmoth neck and body not to get around any pricing, but to get what I wanted which I could not find the body/pickup combo anywhere else. I also wanted top quality in the parts. Now I am looking at what may be considered a boutique Es 335 clone, Extremely well made with decent hardware for just over a grand, and with top of the line hardware for 1800 and a super uber neck job. I can afford the just over a grand, made here in Ca. I know that I would pay at least twice this from Gibson with questionable quality.
I think we are at a place in history when technology has given us a few things : places like Warmoth that we can get super nice parts and finishes if we want and assemble our own, Manufacturers that can build smaller numbers and do not have to charge like Boutique did 5 years ago, availability of knowledge and parts like never before. And if we use these we can get product we want. I can say that it has made the difference between American and offshore of the same line look closer each year, and that maybe if we can source the parts and get a quality axe for under a grand paying retail for parts, then we should consider 600 for off shore a bargin and reevaluate the over a grand for mass produced American value.
Just thoughts I came up with reading a few of the last post in this thread.

While I don't want to knock on anybody's product, Gibson quality has NOT impressed me recently.  I've seen some VERY questionable issues with detail from them; poor finish, sloppy glue jobs, etc.  Just as a first impression from looking at these guitars on the wall, I haven't even had any interest in sitting down with them; I just walk by them. 

I have stubby fingers, and it's difficult for me to find a neck that feels just right.  I played an Ibanez RG1550 Prestige, or something (I can't remember...), but it was PERFECT.  This thing felt like it would play itself!  Imagine my surprise when I found out that the neck I had ordered was actually the same style/radius as the one on that Ibanez I played!  :hello2:

I wanted an American custom guitar.  I wanted a guitar "built for speed."  When I set out to have a guitar built, I had one thing in mind; METAL.  I didn't care what it sounded like clean.  I didn't care if it was a one-trick pony.  All I wanted was the "ultimate Metal" guitar.

So, I got my "ultimate Metal" guitar, and imagine my surprise when I flipped on the clean channel, and the thing sounded AMAZING!  :cool01:  The only thing I was after was a tone similar to that of either George Lynch, Chris Holmes, or that of the Strat in Motorhead's "Ace of Spades."  Plain and simple, this guitar has it all, IMO.  It looks aggressive, it sounds heavy, and the clean tone is great.

I think I already mentioned this, but it plays like a Fender, feels like an Ibanez, and sounds like a B.C. Rich.  Ironically enough, it possesses each of those exact qualities of each manufacturer.  arty07:  NOBODY was offering that combo.

As for the "quality finishes" that Warmoth puts on their guitars, I've read the Forum Rules, so I'll just keep my mouth shut.  I'll just say the finish of the neck is gorgeous.  I'll simply just hold my tongue about the finish on the body.

 

[AutoBat]

^^Torment is new here, but I can tell he'll fit in well.

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

^^Torment is new here, but I can tell he'll fit in well.

I'll try my best!  :icon_biggrin:

 

[The Norwegian Guy]

The early days!

 

[pabloman]

Ralphie?!?!

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

The style of dress is still 1980s.

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

That's my buddy Dave on the left, and me on the right...as of yesterday.

 

[The Norwegian Guy]

Found another one! Me, my sister and dad
Christmas 1994! Best christmas ever!

 

[Wana_make_a_guitar]

Man, I had that exact slot car track.

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

Found another one! Me, my sister and dad
Christmas 1994! Best christmas ever!

Slot Cars are awesome.  I have a nice SCX set, but I'm yet to set it up.  I got it a few years ago for Xmas. 

I had these big plans to make a replica of a huge track like the Nurburgring, or somewhere like that, but we've yet to finish our basement, and I don't want to put the track on the dirty floor.  Not to mention, we don't have a table large enough for it.  It's one of the Digital sets, so you can actually switch lanes with the cars, do time trials, and the brake/headlights on the cars work.  VERY COOL stuff!

 

[Nando Vallart]

Hummmmm your sister? hummmmmmm show us a actual pic of her

 

[The Norwegian Guy]

Hummmmm your sister? hummmmmmm show us a actual pic of her

Dream on, nando  :redflag:

 

[B3Guy]

do what my friend did with his model train set . . . he built it on a ginormous table, then hooked each of the four corners up to the cieling with steel cable attached to a winch. Now when he isn't using it, he just folds up the table legs and cranks it right up to the cieling out of the way.

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

do what my friend did with his model train set . . . he built it on a ginormous table, then hooked each of the four corners up to the cieling with steel cable attached to a winch. Now when he isn't using it, he just folds up the table legs and cranks it right up to the cieling out of the way.

Sounds like a good idea!  Maybe I'll try it!

 

[Cagey]

We did a similar thing with our ginormous (5' x 10') HO race set, but no winch. Had to lift the thing to the ceiling by hand, and hook some short pieces of chain to some hooks. Of course, it weighed about a million pounds and my brother and I were too weak/short to do it, so it almost never got stored away.

 

[Miskatonic]

The early days!

My dad is half Norwegian and half Swedish and he used to drag me along to cross country ski as a kid all the time. Seeing as I have zero balance, it was not the most memorable of occasions.

 

[mayfly]

We did a similar thing with our ginormous (5' x 10') HO race set, but no winch. Had to lift the thing to the ceiling by hand, and hook some short pieces of chain to some hooks. Of course, it weighed about a million pounds and my brother and I were too weak/short to do it, so it almost never got stored away.

I had my slot car set rigged to fold up against the wall with winches.  I even made my own slot cars!  I had a nice little collection of 50's style hot-rods.

All that is probably landfill now sadly.  I hope my parents sold the slot car set, but I kinda doubt it.

 

[Cagey]

Slot cars were big when we were young. There were even a couple places in the area that had huge setups that actually had access holes in strategic places with seats where other kids could go sit to recover cars when they crashed because there was no reaching them from the top even if you had access to all sides. You'd rent time on these things by the hour, and have competition events. Pretty cool.

 

[bbl4ck]

Slot cars were big when we were young. There were even a couple places in the area that had huge setups that actually had access holes in strategic places with seats where other kids could go sit to recover cars when they crashed because there was no reaching them from the top even if you had access to all sides. You'd rent time on these things by the hour, and have competition events. Pretty cool.

I remember those very well...
Man, I would spend all day at the slot car track every Saturday.  It was truly a blast  :headbang1:

 

[OzziePete]

Slot cars were big when we were young. There were even a couple places in the area that had huge setups that actually had access holes in strategic places with seats where other kids could go sit to recover cars when they crashed because there was no reaching them from the top even if you had access to all sides. You'd rent time on these things by the hour, and have competition events. Pretty cool.

I remember those very well...
Man, I would spend all day at the slot car track every Saturday.  It was truly a blast  :headbang1:

+1 !!!!!!! My hometown of Yagoona in Sydney's west had one of the biggest tracks in Sydney and every Saturday morning we'd go there and see the grumpy English guy who ran the place with an iron fist. Place would be buzzing with kids from say 10 - 20+....In the evenings, so we later found out, the big boys came out to play and that was serious stuff. Just before my old friends and I all split up and went our own ways in life, we were going to the occassional Saturday evening race nights and boy, I never saw slot cars go so fast....all that died out by the 1980s.
Yagoona itself is now a ghost town, a heap of cheap $2 shops and brothels, no banks supermarket or even a post office last time I drove through there. Pretty depressing and this all started happening at the time our nation's Primer Minister was actually our local Federal member. Yagoona Slot Car Track was something your parents would only let you go to if you were old enough and it was like a rite of passage to book time from Old Jim & get the callup from him over the PA that you are next up on track...... *sigh* :sad: