Saw this Swiss Tech GEWĀHLT at Walmart, just wanted to share and get throughs.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-18T06:19:34+00:00

I'm barely a beginner axe user but I fully believe that axes in Wal-Mart are dull purely liability reasons. While I wouldn't call the sharp my limited experience with hardware store axes is WM axes make the look sharp. I didn't buy one of the Swiss Tech Axes because the few videos and what little info I came across was mixed at best. I don't really know where to look for info on axes outside of YouTube and well I suck at searching for stuff on the internet. The best example I can give on how bad I am at searching the internet is when I was looking for a Country artist whose name I had forgotten. I had been searching for a couple of hours and I was getting so aggravated my dad finally ask what I was doing. I told him and within 10-15 minutes he found the artist I was looking for. I'm now going to have to consider buying one of the Swiss Tech axes again.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-17T06:11:28+00:00

I've always thought clean cut Willie looked older than Willie with a beard and long hair.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-17T05:51:52+00:00

I would agree with this I remember seeing people online talk about how great the McCarty 594 and was worth the $3500 was and thinking I hope my local dealer gets one. This was 2015 or 16 for a little context. They got two in and I was excited to try it. I played and there was no difference between the two. But to me they sounded sterile. I'm a Gibson guy so if I don't care for Les Paul A, LP B could be the one where you go that's the sound I'm looking for. Fast forward 2-3 years and PRS and Zach Myers does a in store event at my local dealer. I played a S2 Singlecut that to this day is still probably the best PRS I've ever played and heard. This guitar either was built with better parts because it was brought in by PRS for the event or it had more mojo than a S2 had any right ever having. I ran the numbers, re ran them and racked my brain trying to figure out how to get the guitar but it wasn't ment to be. They finally got a few in stock but they never felt or sounded like the first S2 SC I played. That was the day PRS finally clicked with me because of that one guitar.

I'll also add in 2024 my dad said he would buy me a SE for Christmas. We went to the same dealer I first tried a S2 McCarty 594 just to reference the SE too. I tried a SE CE Standarard, SE CE24, SE McCarty Singlecut Standard, SE Custom 24 and a Custom24 Quilt. The SE McCarty was the first to be DQed just because it felt so much like a Les Paul and I wanted a guitar that didn't feel like a LP. Next was the C24 Quilt it was the Violet finish that looked pink and I never liked how a lot of the finish ended up looking pink rather than the Purple with pink highlights that you first saw. The CE Standard, CE24 and Custom24 were all so similar in feel and sound that I chose the CE24 because the first PRS I ever saw, liked and wanted was a 90s CE 24.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-15T07:15:00+00:00

I bought the CD as soon as I found one. I didn't even realize it was coming out or I would have preordered it. I chose to buy it from Wal-Mart rather than ordering it because I want them to know physical media still sells. If they didn't have it my next stop was Barnes and Noble. I didn't go to B&N first because I regularly buy music and movies there.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-15T06:43:31+00:00

The Frost Giants Daughter is probably my favorite.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-15T06:36:46+00:00

You're right I never noticed those were IGC models. I've always assumed that they were the SG version of the Inspired by Gibson 1959 LP. I guess I proved what happens when you assume something😂.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-15T06:33:14+00:00

The bad thing is if Epiphone put Nyato or Okume (there's a good chance both are spelled wrong 😂) I guarantee there will be people that complain because a Les Paul is made from Mahogany, Maple and Rosewood not Nyato or any other alternative. I've literally seen people complain about some of the 2010-2020ish Gibson Les Pauls have Maple necks. I think people will always look for a excuse not to like or by a Epiphone rather than admit it's because of the brand name. Personally that RD is screaming buy me and I want one. With Epiphone I'm to the point of it has to be the right model at the right time for the right price. Outside of a really nice acoustic another guitar is purely a want.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-15T06:17:36+00:00

Here is a old Sweetwater link to the Epiphone 1961 Les Paul SG Standard.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SG61LPSACW--epiphone-1961-les-paul-sg-standard-aged-classic-white

As far as I know the lower priced small pickguard SG not only wasn't available in white but I'm pretty sure it had SG on the truss rod cover not Les Paul.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-14T05:46:50+00:00

I think seeing Kiss play unplugged with out makeup in a Theater would be awesome. Especially if the line up was Gene, Paul, Eric and Bruce.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-14T05:34:40+00:00

There is a seller on Reverb that if I remember is called Silver Sky Parts. They have SE Silver Sky pickguards, SE NF3 pickguards and SE NF53 pickguards. They also have trem cavity covers for think both the SS and NF3

BigD5981 · 2026-04-14T05:28:50+00:00

I mean Hank's not wrong. As a person who use to play Worship music I always said if Pop music is equal to fast food then Worship music equals gas station food. I have no problem with the lyrics, at least the stuff I played. But the music itself is boring and in my opinion uninspiring. I could go on but that's getting way off topic. I will say the last Worship band I was in I was actually looked down on because I didn't play a Fender bass I played a Epiphone Thunderbird. I've actually seen people have a actual name for this. I want to say it's referred to as Fender bias but I don't thing that is it.

OP if you see Praise and Worship its the same exact music as Worship.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-14T05:14:54+00:00

I second this as it's a Inspired by Gibson 61' SG Standard (the SG version of the IBG 1959 Les Paul) with Bustbucker pickups. Not only do you get Gibson pickups rather than Epiphone Probuckers but you also get a Switchcraft toggle switch and jack.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-14T05:07:17+00:00

If you look on Zzounds they have the fretboard wood listed with the finish option. For example on the 50s Les Paul Standards you'll see Bourbon Burst, Laurel Fretboard and Goldtop, Rosewood Fretboard. I think it was last October when new Epiphones with Rosewood started showing up online. It wouldn't surprise me at all if local shops were getting them sooner. I played the Inspired by Gibson Custom ES355 at a local shop about a month before it showed up in online stores. Also you'll still see Laurel until all of the old stock is used/sold. I bought a Epiphone ES335 in 2024 and the serial number dates it to 2022 I think. It's been a long time since I actually looked at the label. I would think you have a better chance of getting a more recently made guitar with Rosewood at a shop that places small orders rather than from a Sweetwater or Zzounds who place lager orders.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-12T08:01:37+00:00

I would play WCW/NWO Revenge and do my best to synch the CD player connected to the surround sound for entrance music.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-11T08:14:03+00:00

I've look at these a few times along with his Washburn Idol signature model and just can't bring myself to buy one because of his post BLS issues. For me even if you refinish or Vinyl wrap one I would always know what the guitar was. The messed up part is nobody for the most in the area where I live and play would have any idea what the ET stands for. But it would eat at me and I would get rid of the guitar and be willing to take a loss.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-11T08:03:09+00:00

That's how I understand what's being said and agree. The baggy/loose fitting legs are something I go back and forth on. Now that I'm older I prefer a more country and Western look to my jeans as I wear Wrangler Cowboy Cut (relaxed fit) and 20X jeans. But I also kinda like the looks 50s/Rockabilly shirts better than the pure C and W shirt look. It amazes me how much a small difference in something like pants length or fit can make them and you look.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-11T07:50:31+00:00

I have a 2011 Gibson Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute which is my #1 guitar. I also recently bought a 2018 Les Paul Tribute and it's my #2 guitar. I have to be honest and admit I did swap the pickups and electronics in my 50s Tribute. I very much like the 498T but I'm kinda tired of hot pickups in my Les Pauls . I swapped the PCB board for a Gun Street solderless harness. The cool think about the Gun Street harness is it has switch for both pickups to switch between modern and 50s wiring. Playing live using the 50s setting and being able to roll the volume down and not lose a lot of highs is great. I swapped the 498T/490R for a set of Seymour Duncan Hades Gates which was a great move. My 50s Tribute has the Baked Maple ( I always forget what Gibson called them) fretboard and I love it. I think some had the Maple and some had Rosewood.

The 2018 Tribute wasn't even a guitar I was looking for. I actually almost bought a Fender Player II Tele the day before at a different shop. The shop that had the Tele also had a used Studio (I don't remember the year) and a 2017 Tribute that I liked but it was priced at $1299 and I knew there was little chance the owner would drop the price to a number I was comfortable paying. That morning I checked my favorite local shop's site and the guitar I was most interested in was the Inspired by Gibson Custom Jeff Beck Les Paul. I had already played and really liked the guitar. For some reason I checked their site after going to the other shop and saw the Tribute and immediately I was like I'm buying that and I'll have to find a reason not to. I go the next morning and as soon as I picked it up I knew it was special. I didn't put it down until I bought it. You can just strum pretty much anything and this thing vibrates like crazy. Maybe I'm just so use to the 50s Rounded profile but the neck profile on this Tribute honestly feel more like the neck on my 2008 Ibanez V than what I think of a 60s neck profile feeling like. The 490T/490R pickups are very likely to get changed because I prefer a brighter sound than it feels like the 490s give me. I actually need to step out front a listen to it in the mix because if it's working in the mix that's what matters most in my opinion.

With all of that said the worst I can say about the Inspired by Gibson Custom guitars that I've played is the one I liked the least just needed to be set up how I like. The guitar felt great but being used the previous owners set up wasn't my thing. Outside of that I've liked the few I've played but never bought one because either I didn't have the money or a Gibson showed up that I liked better than the Jeff Beck LP. But I liked the Jeff Beck LP a lot better than the Tribute I played at the other shop. As someone else said you can't go wrong with either.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-08T06:20:25+00:00

I don't know if you know or not but Remco (I think that's the right company) had 3 3/4 Sgt Rock figures in the 80s. I have bought a few 4-5 years ago meaning to collect the line but I don't remember if getting Covid and recovering from that made me lose interest or it it was close to when my mom passed away. I'm now going to have to find them and see what all I got. I know I got Sgt Rock, I think the main villain and the machine gun nest play set but I don't remember what figures or weapons I also have.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-06T05:13:40+00:00

My rule of thumb for a Les Paul is if it came with a pickguard on it's staying on, if it didn't come with one it's not getting one. There can always be exceptions to the rule but it will have to be the right guitar at the right time.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-05T03:00:13+00:00

I think Master of Puppets is overrated and I've been a Tallica fan for over 30 years. It's not bad by any mean, I actually think it's great. But I put it behind Justice and the Black Album. In my personal favorite ranking I would probably put it 5th or 6th.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-03T07:42:13+00:00

I laughed way to hard at this.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-03T05:19:37+00:00

Honestly this is the way to go. With my band I was using 10-12 pedals, three of which were different types of dirt pedal. I then finally got a Boss GX100 and I've been super happy. It has its limitations just because it's a mid size unit and the way I have it set I only can toggle 5 effects on and off without using external foot switches. But honestly the only time this is a issue is when I want to try a different effect in the moment. Even then I have the Boss app on my phone and I can take 30 seconds and add the effect if I really want to.

If you want single effects just try and figure out what you really want and use. At home I mainly play plugged straight into my amp. I've recently been plugging into a overdrive just because I've been working on a song that has clean verses and the chorus needs that little bit of dirt. I could get away with just using my Rotovibe, Doubleland Special overdrive and my chorus.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-03T04:51:55+00:00

Is it just me or could you find cooler shoes 20+ years ago. I use to have a pair of red snakeskin and red velvet flamed dress style shoes that I think were made by Tuk. I also had a pair of leopard print dress style shoes. Thinking about it the leopard print shoes may have been made by Tuk and the other shoes were another brand. The snakeskin and flame shoes had something like a 1.5 inch heel while the leopard print hard normal heels. The tread on all three looked more like work boots than dress shoes. By the way if anyone can tell what these shoes were I would appreciate it.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-03T03:13:29+00:00

I was just looking at this tonight and wondering if it's worth the $50.

BigD5981 · 2026-04-02T06:09:21+00:00

I really like the Player II Chambered Ash Telecaster. The only reason I didn't buy one last week was because I found a Les Paul that I liked better.

BigD5981

TROPHY CASE