So… omigod.  I now have a brand new amplifier, and my Dream Guitar is on its way and will be in my hot little hands in just a week or two.  Whoo-hoo!!!!!!!!!!  It’s been a long couple of days for me.  I went through a little bit of flip-flopping while I was researching guitars, but not too bad… looking at the spec sheets I couldn’t make up my mind whether a stock model 335 would be alright, or whether I wanted the 345, which is basically the same thing with slightly different hardware, binding, inlay etc.  I was even thinking I might really need a custom jobbie, I just wasn’t sure.  I went to several more guitar stores to check around and see what’s out there.  I even went back to Different Strummer to see if they’d be interested in special-ordering what I wanted, but they really only work with the acoustics, not the electrics.  So I ended up just going back to Make’n Music (the proper spelling, not "Makin’" like I thought!).  Glad I did!!


This time I talked to the guy at great lengths, he probably spent an hour with me discussing all the million questions I had about the differences in the models and what I really needed and what I don’t.  It was the same guy who helped me before, his name’s Teddy.  My initial impression the other day was that he must be a metalhead, but now I don’t think so, he’s just a guitar geek.  A rock guy, you know.  He was super patient, very knowledgable and very thorough about telling me exactly what all the differences were. It helped a lot to talk about my other two guitars, and the problems I’ve had with them over the years, so he knew why I was choosing the 335 over something else.  I really did make a good choice from the beginning… I’m not quite as much of a dumbass as I thought I was.  ;-) I.e., the humbucker pickups versus the single-coil pickups on my Strat will totally help eliminate the problems with buzzing noise I’ve had.  And the fact that it’s a semi-hollowbody as opposed to a full hollowbody will cut out the problems I’ve had with feedback coming through the monitors like I’ve experienced with my Washburn acoustic-electric.  I know, this isn’t an acoustic so it’s comparing apples and oranges, but you know what I mean… I was a little concerned about feedback, but it’s not going to be a problem with this baby, especially not at the level of stage volume that I’m using.  The one detail that I’m probably going to change on the 335 is that I’ll probably have them remove the plastic pickguard.  I never play with a pick, so it would only get in the way of my fingers.

We talked about amps too, and amidst my complaints and praises for the Peavey Classic 30 I’ve been using for the past four or five years, we narrowed down my choices to one or two amps, and I ended up choosing a plain black Fender Deluxe.  It’ll serve me very well, it’s definitely a better amp than I had before, and since it’s such a common model it’ll be easy to get worked on in a hurry if there’s an on-the-road emergency with the tubes or whatever.  He was showing me some other amps, but I really felt like a Deluxe would work the best for me since I’ve played on them so often before… I’m fairly well used to how they work and how to take care of ‘em.  I’m so glad I finally have an amp with a freakin’ standby switch!!  The old one didn’t have one, which was probably one of the reasons I kept blowing out the tubes over and over.  What a relief to finally get something I can depend on for a good long time!!  Don’t get me wrong, the Peavey 30’s are great-sounding amps, and I put mine through a hell of a lot, but this one’s just a little bit better.  About $200 better, to be exact, heheh.

Guitar-wise, after going through all the options on the 335 versus the 345, I ended up just sticking with the stock model 335 like I’d originally intended.  The 345 has gold-plated hardware while the 335 is nickel, and I just didn’t really care for the look of the gold against the blue body. So I didn’t need that.  The pearl trapezoid inlay on the 345 is very nice-looking, but not such a show-stopper that I’d change my mind over something like that.  Besides, the 345 doesn’t come in the Beale Street Blue finish; I’d have to order it custom which might take six or eight months to complete.  No way I’m waiting that long!  The bridges are different too (ABR versus Tune-o-Matic), but the difference is not going to be of any use to me since I’m not going to be the one setting up the guitar and checking for proper intonation etc.  He was a little bit aghast that in 21 years of owning my Strat, I had never once brought it in for a tweak in the setup…!!!  I’m going to bring it in when I get my new guitar and have them work on it.  The bridge is pooching up too, so they’ll want to work on that, and check the truss-rod etc.  They can fix the shattered bridge on my Washburn as well, and tell me whether I really need a fret job or not — that thing just needs to get hosed down, it’s so dirty and disgusting.

So anyway… my guitar is ordered, and I’m very happy.  The money is here, so I just gave them a check for the entire amount plus the amplifier too.  He sent me home with the amplifier so I’ll have less to carry the next time.  I’m going to take a nap now and then play with it when John gets home.  I can’t wait to lay my hands on that new guitar!!  I feel a little fluttery now, but very relieved that all my questions were dealt with and the decisions have been made and paid for.  Ahhhh… glad I won’t have to go through that again, my brain hurts.  In a good way!!  :-D I’ve learned a hell of a lot more in the past week about guitars than I ever knew before. I just don’t like to bother my head with these things unless I have to.  In this case, I really did have to, so I did, but I’d much rather be worrying about songwriting, and being a better player and performer.  Now I’ll have a great rig that won’t let me down, so I won’t need to think about this stuff anymore.  ::whew::  I’m just not much of a gearhead when it comes to music, and I’d like to keep it that way. (smile)