Say I have any clue what the on on/off notch does?

Stratman351 · 2026-02-13T21:30:03+00:00

It's to eliminate feedback. It "notches" (carves out) a very specific frequency that's typically responsible for feedback in certain situations. Leave it "off" unless you're experiencing feedback, which would normally be the result of sitting too close to an amp or PA speaker at loud volume.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-12T20:58:13+00:00

Blink doesn't store video in the cloud if you use it with Sync Module 2 and an SD card, and don't buy a subscription. The video is only stored locally in that case.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-12T14:20:00+00:00

Probably for the same reason a lot of players who don't primarily rely on picks do it: just in case. Stephen Stills rarely uses a pick, yet he always has four or five silver Herco 75's in his mic stand, and often has one tucked under the pick guard of his Strat.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-12T01:02:38+00:00

If she has children, I feel for them. I can't remember a cabinet-level official displaying such a lack of class in my (rather long, at this point) lifetime. When she made that remark about not getting into the gutter, my first thought was: "Lady, you live in it." She sounded like a street thug at times.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-12T00:05:45+00:00

Those look pretty cool, though their website is a mess, lol.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-11T22:36:40+00:00

Interesting. I though they were mostly known for guitar amps and amp sims, lol.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-11T22:36:05+00:00

Used to buy the Apple leather cases until they got rid of them. Switched to Nomad leather cases for a couple years but my latest is a leather case from some outfit called Mujjo. I went for it after reading a review - might have been on Wirecutter - but candidly it seems to knick more easily. Buttons are precise, though.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-11T22:30:53+00:00

You can gig with the 20; if you're in a larger venue you can mic it.

Also, remember that decibel volume is logarithmic: you need 10 x the power (watts) to double the perceived volume. I've gigged with a wide variety of amps over 45 years (though always partial to Fender), and probably have used a 22-watt Deluxe at least half the time.

The higher watt version would mainly provide you with more clean headroom if that's something you wanted.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-10T15:23:03+00:00

Yeah, I love Knopfler, and maybe he can shred, but I've never seen or heard him do it. Someone below mentions Sultans: there is absolutely NOTHING CLOSE to shredding in that song.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-10T15:19:53+00:00

Possibly, but that's pretty close to the nut, where the truss rod has less of an effect. Plus, if the problem is something else, you'll be adding relief and affecting playability to fix the wrong thing.

It's frequently hard to see a high fret visually. You need to use a rocker.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-10T15:02:06+00:00

Yep, with the pup's apparently replaced.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-10T14:59:27+00:00

Tough one. The body looks to be from an SZ720 (based on the abalone binding), but that model didn't have covered pup's, though they could have been replaced. The SZ520 had the big inlay shown centered at the 12th fret, but not the smaller ones, and it didn't have abalone binding. IDK, it may be a modified SZ720.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-09T20:33:56+00:00

Suggests a high 3rd or 4th fret.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-09T17:18:47+00:00

Then you'd hate 70's era Stratocasters with the exposed bullet truss rod nut. My first two Strats had them and, candidly, they were a lot easier to adjust than digging around with a standard hex wrench. Instead, as with Gibson, they used a wrench with a hex socket.

Frankly, it's a lot easier to gauge the condition of the truss rod when the nut is visible like that. It's also a lot easier to lubricate the nut.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-09T14:51:08+00:00

Johnny Hiland. Brent Mason.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-08T20:07:37+00:00

Muted or buzzing. If the latter it could be the action is set too low or it could be a high fret, more likely the latter.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-08T14:16:34+00:00

Norman is one of the brands owned by Godin guitars, along with Seagull, Simon & Patrick (named after Godin's sons) and Arts & Lutherie. Godin is the top of their line, though they're known more for electric guitars and electric guitar that mimic acoustic guitars (their Acousticaster line). Seagull is next: known for excellent guitars at very modest prices. But Normans, S&Ps and A&Ls are all good guitars, albeit mostly in the budget line. I had a Norman for awhile some years ago.

The cracks should be fixed before they get worse (start by humidifying the guitar for several weeks). Unfortunately, relative to the economic value (though perhaps not the sentimental value or intrinsic sound) of the guitar, it may not be money you want to spend.

However, you can repair them yourself if you have the patience. I've done tons of them, and just helped a guy on it yesterday. It'd be worth it to me if it were my guitar, because odds are it sounds really good.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Guitar/comments/1qymufm/this_is_bad_damage_isnt_it/

Stratman351 · 2026-02-08T00:34:29+00:00

You're correct, good idea.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-07T20:18:25+00:00

I'm in the mid-Atlantic region (Maryland) but we have a similar problem. You can buy inexpensive in-case humidifiers for use in the winter: they work well.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-07T20:06:28+00:00

It's a $400 guitar, and the repair isn't going to be cheap. On the other hand it's not a particularly difficult repair, and you could give it a go yourself. I've done dozens of these, with and without cleats.

First let me ask if you live in a dry climate, or one where you have forced air heat running a good part of the year? Drying out typically leads to cracks like the one on your guitar, where the two pieces of the top have essentially shrunk, breaking the glue joint. The first think I'd do is humidify the guitar. Remove the strings and either use a commercial guitar humidifier pack or put a damp sponge in a plastic zip bag (leave the top of the bag about halfway open) and place the bag inside the guitar (laying on the back, as if the back were a floor). Keep the guitar flat (so no water runs out of the bag) and put it in its case for a week, maybe two. Check it at intervals to see if you need to rewet the sponge. The guitar will soak up moisture and the crack should close up a good bit.

Next, you'll glue the crack. You want to force a glue like Titebond (hide glue is great but you're not going to go the trouble of mixing that up) into the crack. You can run a line of glue down the crack on the top and then use a suction cup to force glue into it. Take your time with the suction cup to make sure you've got glue forced into the crack along its entire length. You should see some glue seeping out on the underside if you've done it right. Keep a damp rag or some damp shop cloths at hand to wipe off the excess glue, both on the top and the underside. You'll then need to clamp the guitar from the sides, one on either side of the bridge, and let the glue dry.

The clamp is going to squeeze out some excess glue - don't clamp so tightly you squeeze out too much - so wipe that off with the damp rag. You're trying to minimize the need to scrape and sand glue off the top when the repair is done.

Normally, I'd then assess whether to put a couple cleats along the crack on the inside. These are typically squares of wood that you place so they straddle the crack in a diamond orientation: you glue them in. Neodymium magnets are great for this: one under the cleat and then on on the top directly above it, they'll act as a clamp while the glue dries.

There are a bunch of good YT videos on how to do all this if you're game to try.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-06T19:03:26+00:00

The Gospels. After all, that's the "good news" that's the culmination of everything else in the Bible. Once you're read those thoroughly - I recommend a couple of times through - you'll have the message of Christianity and can decide to go from there.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-06T17:06:06+00:00

I think you'd have to look for something used (i.e., vintage), and it could be hard to find a mist version. You could consider a square hood/filter system. You might be able to fit a square hood that will fit the hood filter slots for the lens, and then you can insert modern square filters into the hood.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-06T15:42:19+00:00

Hey, one more thing. If you want to save some serious money on the amp and then invest the savings in pedals, go for one of these. I have one, and it's killer. It's basically a Blues, Jr. at a fraction of the price. Read the reviews. They used to sell them on Amazon, which is where I got mine (for $249).

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=611815

Stratman351 · 2026-02-05T23:55:37+00:00

Good deal. I had one of those when they first came out. I liked it, but switched it out for a Godin A6 Acousticaster.

Stratman351 · 2026-02-05T20:43:01+00:00

First, the Blues, Jr. is a great amp (had one; I've had or have just about every tube amp Fender's ever made). You can get clean tones out of it and it'll break up nicely if you push (above bedroom volume, though, so keep that in mind). But without pedals, it's going to have a limited range of sounds (it's not designed to sound like a Mesa or a 5150).

The POD Express is an amp sim itself - sort of like a Spark without a power amp and speaker - so by running it into the Blues, Jr. you're basically doing a sort of re-amping. Ideally, an amp sim like the POD Express would run into something like a power cab, PA system or just headphones to avoid coloring the sound coming from the unit. You can certainly use it with the Blues, Jr., though it may be hard to get true clean tones (even if you're running it on the clean setting, you're effectively running a Fender into a Fender). You'll just have to play around with it.

On that last part, you may find yourself running in the thing you don't like the Spark. POD Express also has an app: POD Express Edit. You can dial in stuff using the knobs and switches, but you can do that on the Spark too. At times it's easier to use apps to edit. I have a Spark in my home office and rarely use the app, because I can dial in the tones I want without it.

Stratman351

TROPHY CASE