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United States, North Carolina, Carrboro, English, Paul, Male, 56-60, All Music, All Food.

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Thursday, August 24, 2006

How odd it is that throat-singing should have caught on, not only in remote Himalayan Tuva, but also among the Inuit population of northern Canada: Listen to Tanya Tagaq.     8:50:25 PM    comment []

The Axe   This is not a new guitar being built; it is a dear old guitar being rebuilt. It is laminated walnut and curly (Nyuk! Nyuk! Nyuk!) maple and was originally built by J. Thomas Davis, in the late 1970s. At that time, I wanted a guitar I could plug mod boards into easily since I was “into,” as people were in the 70s, building my own effects and wanted them onboard. It had eight knobs on the area where the pick guard would normally go. I started playing again about two years ago and thought it would be nice to bring “The Axe” back into the mainstream with standard wiring. Tom graciously agreed to do the work which eventually required the lower “wing” to be removed and replaced. The oil finish had yellowed over the years and Tom decided to simply refinish it instead of attempting to match new new section to the old. In this picture, it is totally prepped for the new finish. The bronze-colored area where the pickups will go back in is copper paint, conductive. It allowed the guitar’s innards to be grounded to prevent noise. That was more important when there were active electronics in there, less important with the refurbished instrument which will be electronically passive.   This is a heavy instrument because the woods are heavy. The extra mass allows for better sustain. It also has a resonance centered on the G just below middle C – strong enough that you can feel the instrument vibrate when you play that note. This was not intentional, but it gives extra sweetness to that note and its natural overtones, sweet as apple pie with a scoop of ice cream. Keep up the good work, Tom; I’m cheering you on from down here in Tar Heel country. Tom’s shop is at 3135 N. High Street in Columbus, OH – right next to Nancy’s Home Cooking, a local mecca for comfort food.     5:51:32 AM    comment []