Best Contact Cleaner: DeoxIT

Hola!

Before replacing that scratchy or sticky pot on your guitar, you really should give DeoxIT a try. I have been using their products for years to fix cranky guitars and amplifiers.

This stuff is not the canned air that you buy from Office Depot, but are cleaners and protectors that will flush crap out and help fix intermittent connections.

There are a slew of DeoxIT products, so to make it easy, here are the two you are going to need:

1. DexoIT DN5. Make sure you get DN5, not D5, because the DN5 evaporates more quickly and will not drip all over the place. This is a 20% cleaning action, and works well as a stand-alone application.

2. DeoxIT Gold GN5. This product only has a 0.5% cleaning action, as its purpose is to act as a protectant. You would use this product to protect new electronics or older parts after you have cleaned them up with DeoxIT DN5.

This stuff lives up to its claims. I used these to clean up the original pots on my 1963 Jazz bass, and they were quiet and smooth after I worked DeoxIT through them. This allowed me to have a bass that worked well, without having to screw up its collector value by replacing factory-original parts.

I have been using the same 14 gram (½ oz) spray cans for a few years, and they retail for about $11 per can, which makes the product about as expensive as unicorn blood. I know it is a cliché, but DeoxIT will pay for itself the first time you use it.

You can buy DeoxIT directly from the manufacturer’s web site at http://store.caig.com , or if you are in a big hurry, you can usually find it at Radio Shack or Fry’s Electronics stores.

Mahalo!

Slicker than Snot: Taylor V-Cable

Hi there!

It was an “ah-hah!” moment for me when I saw this product – the Taylor V-Cable. In the past I have owned acoustic guitars that had pickups but no electronics or volume controls, which meant relying on a sound guy or having to go over to the amplifier to change volume levels. Or having to carry a volume pedal everywhere I went.

The Taylor V-Cable takes care of this situation handily. The Rapco/Horizon company makes these in the US for Taylor, and they combine a quarter-inch cable with a master volume control and a mute. These can be used on pretty much any instrument that needs to be plugged in, and come in 250k and 500k versions, depending on what you will be using it on.

Choosing the 250k or 500k version might be a confusing decision for folks that are considering the V-Cable. Then again, these are the same specs you would have for the pots in your guitar, so it is not quite a voodoo science. In most cases I would go for the 250k version, unless I was going to be using it exclusively on a guitar equipped with humbucking pickups.

Looking at the cable construction, it is apparent that this is a quality accessory. It has a 20-gauge all copper center conductor, and top drawer connectors. The knob feels solid, works smoothly when turned, and has a satisfying click when the mute function is engaged.

I tested a 10-foot 20k cable on an older acoustic guitar, and found that it did not add any extra noise to the signal chain, and the volume control was easy to use while it was plugged into the end pin. The cable seemed a little stiff, but it was new. I think this product is a winner, and if you don’t want to upgrade the electronics on your guitar, it will add a lot of functionality.

The Taylor V-Cable comes in seven different lengths between 3 feet and 25 feet, and all lengths are available with 250k or 500k pots. The cables have a limited lifetime warranty for the original purchaser, if they register it through Rapco/Horizon.

Of course, the good things in life are not cheap. The Taylor V-Cables run from $61.99 to $73.99 ($49.19 to $59.19 street price), depending on how long of a cable you need. Of course, it is still cheaper than buying a volume pedal, and it makes for less gear to haul. Think about it.

Mahalo!

1998 Musicman Stingray 5 Bass

Greetings!

Today we are looking a peach of bass I picked up from a local guy who had advertised it on Talkbass – a 1998 Ernie Ball Musicman Stingray 5.

Ernie Ball started building fivers in 1988, and they have gone on to become the best selling 5-string basses ever made. It seems like every country bassist I have ever seen on stage has a Stingray 5. They have a relatively narrow (17.5mm) string spacing, so the neck is not too wide. Originally only available with a single humbucking pickup, Stingray 5s can now also be had with 2 humbuckers or a humbucker and a single coil. You can even throw in a piezo bridge and go fretless if you want to.

This one is a plain-Jane single humbucker bass, and it rocks. It looks to have been hardly played at all over the past 13 years, and the glossy black poly finish is in great shape.

It is all original, including the kick-ass hardware, which includes the high mass bridge (bolted to the body) and the Schaller tuners. This was made before the age of compensated nuts, so it did not get one. Do you really need a compensated nut on a bass?

The electronics are the stock ceramic pickup (alnico did arrive until 2008), with a 3-way selector switch. The positions are: series, single coil (closest to the bridge) and parallel. I am a big fan of the parallel mode.

The previous owner strung it with DR Black Beauties, which I ordinarily hate, but they really sing on this bass. I’m going to leave them on there for awhile and see how they hold up.

Of course, my track record with 5-string basses has been horrible. Most do not stick around for more than a month or two, but I am going to give this one the old college try, and it is a great playing bass. We’ll see if this one makes it until my 4th quarter inventory update…

Mahalo!

Please Help Out My Buddy (The Author): WAHOO RHAPSODY

Como estas?

I know that this has nothing to do with usual music topics, but the best book of the summer is WAHOO RHAPSODY. Well, it is the best book any of my friends have published this summer, but it's still really good. Think Carl Hiaasen funny and Elmore Leonard snappy with a kick-ass mystery woven through.

An American deckhand is smuggling pot from Cabo San Lucas to San Diego inside the bellies of dead fish. He steals from the drug lord and bad things happen. There's a corrupt federal prosecutor from Arizona, a beautiful and fearless P.I., and an expatriated hero with millions in cash hidden away. It's a fast-paced, salty tale that's perfect for the beach or the pool.

Go to shaunmorey.com to read the first chapter for free, and then go buy WAHOO RHAPSODY on Amazon. It is also available for the Kindle for 8 bucks. Trust me.

Mahalo!

Lollar Pickups

Hello!

I have rarely installed aftermarket pickups in any of my guitars, unless the originals were broken or missing, but I could make an exception for a set of Lollar pickups.

Jason Lollar is a first-class luthier, but he is better known for the custom pickups he builds, and he wrote thebook on winding pickups. That is not an exaggeration – he really did write the book (Basic Pickup Winding and Complete Guide to Making Your Own Pickup Winder).

He provides pickups in the usual configurations: Jazz Bass, P Bass, Telecaster, Stratocaster, Gibson Humbucker and P-90, but he also builds steel guitar pickups and pickups for some offbeat applications.

Lollar pickups are well regarded by musicians and luthiers, and manufacturers source them for some or all of their models. These builders include Collings, Nash, National Resophonic, and Sadowsky, among many others.

Looking at the pickups, they are very neatly wound, wrapped and soldered. Lollar stands behind the pickups too, offering a 2-year warranty to the original purchaser.

My experience with their pickups has been positive. I‘ve had Lollar pickups in two instruments over the years: a Sadowsky NYC Original P, and a Fender Telecaster (Vintage T Series). In both cases I found them to be brighter and biting (but not brittle), and stronger in the bottom end than the equivalent Fender factory pickups. They enhanced the sound that was already there, and did not make them sound like a completely different instruments.

For more details on Jason Lollar’s products or to place an order, check out lollarguitars.com

Mahalo!

Stimulus Package: Local Gig Tonight in Lakewood, California

Aloha!

It is short notice, but if you are around the Southbay tonight you should try to catch Stimulus Package at the Regal Inn in Lakewood.

Stimulus Package is a Southern California based 4-piece band, and I have written about them before on this blog, plus had the joy of them performing at my house party last year. They have been “providing your Rock and Roll bailout since early 2009.”

They play covers from every kind of rock band from the 1960s onward, including The Stones, Bowie, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam, STP, Badfinger, Judas Priest, Tom Petty, Black Crows, The Plimsouls, The Cars and Neil Young.

They are great musicians and put on a fun show, so make it out is you can. There is no cover and the drinks are cheap…

The Regal Inn is located at: 6763 Carson Street in Lakewood, just west of Los Coyotes Diagonal (behind the donut shop). Stimulus Package will be playing from 9:00PM until late.

I hope to see you there!

Mahalo!

Pro Sound and Lighting Auction in the Los Angeles Area

Aloha!

I wanted to let my Southern California readers in on a killer auction of pro sound and stage equipment that is going on this week.

R.L. Spear Co. is closing out a business, and looking through the 435 lots they have up for bidding, it looks like there are a lot of gems in there. There are guitars and wind instruments, speakers, monitors, lighting controllers, microphones, road cases, amplifiers, huge stage junction blocks and snakes and much much more.

I have prior experience with R.L. Spear Co., having bid their auction of Sony Studios props and equipment, and they are a reputable firm. They liquidate businesses from all industries and I have seen their auctions for everything from software companies to dental offices. If you can think of it they have probably auctioned it.

Of course, the auction company is not an expert on this equipment, so this is definitely a good time to show some caution. If at all possible you should inspect the items in person before bidding.

To inspect the items the hours are 9AM to 4PM on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and the location is 2200 Fleetwood Drive in Riverside, CA. Bidding is now open, and the auctions start to end at 2PM on Friday, July 8.

This is an online-only auction, and items must be picked up in person from Riverside, California on Saturday July 9 or Monday July 11. A 13% buyer premium applies to all purchases.

You can find instructions, register to bid and check out the wares at http://server2.maxanet.com/cgi-bin/mnlist.cgi?spear6/category/ALL

Mahalo!