How Low Can You Go...

 

You're doing the Limbo, Jimbo?

No, I am not, and don't call me Jimbo.  The Emerald X10 was in need of some new strings.  I had moved to 11s on my other acoustic guitars; guitar players will know what I am talking about - a short explanation for civilians: the gauge of the high E-string.  If that didn't answer anything for you, it is lighter than I have been using.  It's part of my move to making all my guitars easier for these old hands to play.

I decided to put 10s on the X10.  I had to hunt through my string inventory to come up with a set that was that light - fortunately, I had half of a 12-string set from when I put Nashville tuning on my X7.

I took the strings off one-by-one...

 I cleaned the fretboard and polished the frets while I had access to them.

The saddles on the X10 are adjustable.  I lowered them one-by-one...

 It is a balancing act: too low and the strings will buzz on the frets above them.  When I had it set as low as I could get it with no buzz, I called it good and snugged up the new strings.  Tuned them up to pitch.  Yep, that feels easier on the fingers and no buzz.  The neck has a truss rod, but it didn't need to be tweaked.  Good to go.

And just for fun, I played the X10 for a while through the new amp.  The X10 is an acoustic that has a humbucking pickup as well as individual piezos... the premise from Emerald on this guitar: an acoustic that can also be played like an electric.  It sounds decent through the Deluxe Reverb amp.

With that guitar done, I should be able to take some time off from guitar "tweaking."  Today was supposed to be a get together with the guys at Mark's house kinda music day, but I am still sneezing, snotting, and coughing, so I chose to stay away.  I was disappointed, because this will be the last chance to get together with Ron; he and his wife are heading to the Pacific Northwest until September (where it will definitely be cooler than here in Phoenix).  It's always a treat to get together with my music buddies, but better to not spread this fun cold crap around.

 

Flirty Girl

 

Is Joan flirting with you?

(Sigh) No.  But, little Stella has her way of flirting...

 Today is a big day for her: one year old.  She has been with us almost 7 months, and was estimated to be around 5 months old when we brought her home.  Her life has certainly changed, coming from being on her own in a parking lot to having a family, including a feline big brother.

We are guessing that this is as big as she is going to get.  Half the size of Murphy, twice the attitude.  And sweet as can be... most of the time.

 

 

Morning View...

 

With monsoon season in swing, the views from our courtyard have been less than striking - low visibility and blowing dirt in the distance.  This morning, it is overcast (a sign of the higher than typical humidity), but the visibility is good.

A bit of sunlight coming down on the Estrella Mountains to the west of us...

 A pretty view to start the day.

 

You Say It's Your Birthday...

 

It's my birthday too, yeah!  If you said, "The Beatles, 1968," you get 10 bonus points.

Yes, it's that day when I am reminded what my Mother said about my birth: "You were trying to be born breach - you came out telling the world to kiss your ass, and that's the way it has been ever since."  Mom always had a way with words.

I have a summer cold.  It's like a regular cold, but worse.  Kinda like a man-cold.  For those of us with asthma, it is, in medical terms: a big ol' bucket of suck.  That plan was for the family to take me out for a nice meal and adore me.  It may have to be an at-home adoring.

Joan started my day out with a big ol' smile: a personalized birthday card with this on the front...

 The inside of the card telling me I am the best Cat Dad.  Which is true.  I was there when they voted.  And then an 8x10 composite photo with these images...

 Joan found a company that takes your photos and uses AI to create these fun images.  She was right: it made me smile, through the coughing and wheezing.

 --------

Steph and Dan took Joan and I out for lunch - I loaded up on cold meds right before we left; back to our place for more opening of cards and adoring.  A very nice way to spend this celebration of... getting older.  As I told Joan this morning: "Not everyone gets the opportunity to live this long - I'll appreciate each new day."

To which she replied, "That's a lovely thought - are the cold meds getting to you?"

Everybody's a comic.  ;-)

 

 

It Isn't The Heat...

 

If you said, "It's the humidity," you get one bonus point.  If you live in the desert, you probably said, "Oh, bullshit - it IS the heat."  You get 5 bonus points for that correct answer.

More monsoon season talk: the high temperature today is supposed to be below 100º - that is unusual for July in the desert.  The weather weasels are calling for 98º for a high.  I would say that would be a refreshing change, but... it is the humidity.  This morning when I got up, it was 79º.  That would normally call for a celebration, but... the humidity was 78%. 

The pavement was wet when I looked out, but it quickly dried.  A good chance of rain for most of the day.  And, when I say, "A good chance of rain," that means a possibility of flash flooding here in the desert.  The TV is scrolling "Flash Flood Warnings" for 3 counties here, including the one we live in.  We are not in a "low lying" area... but, we live at the foot of a mountain.  And heavy rains can bring a a deluge of mud and debris down the mountain.

It happened last year when Joan and I were out of town; crud came down the mountain, plugged up a drainage wash, and made for some street flooding in our neighborhood.  It didn't affect us, but the streets a few blocks from us had a mess to deal with.  That was called "a once in a decade" storm.  Pretty sure that doesn't mean we're good for the next nine years.  ;-)

For those keeping track: "Officially, monsoon starts June 15 and runs through Sept. 30.  In the 2026 Monsoon Outlook from the National Weather Service, there is a 33% to 50% chance of above-normal precipitation in nearly all areas of Arizona.  The greatest chances for above-normal precipitation are across northeastern Arizona."  

Seems like Mother Nature is pissed: bad air from forest fire smoke in New York City, Detroit, and Cleveland, higher than normal temps across much of the country, flooding in central Texas.

 

It starts with some friendly grooming...

 

Murphy and Stella...

 "You kids play nice..."

No kitties were injured in the making of this video.

 

Permutation...

 

Is that one of your "math things," Jim?  Yeah, pretty much.

After Joan and I got back from lunch out today, I "went to work"... not at anything like a real job... I have been trying different guitars and pedals with the new amp.  You do have to spend some time with each of these permutations (specific combinations) of guitar > pedal > amp.

It takes a while.

Conclusions: this is really a great amp.  It makes me want to play better.  And more.  It sounds great with my electric guitars.  With or without pedals.  Well, most pedals.  For those readers who don't play guitar: some guitar/amp combinations really need some effects pedals to get a good tone.  I have generally been more of a minimalist with pedals, only adding them for a specific purpose.

Addressing that "most pedals" comment in the paragraph above: putting my acoustic guitars through the Fishman Aura pedal is not the best use with this amp... it gets a "woofy" tone to it.  But, the Aura sounds great when run to an acoustic amp (I still have two), or direct to the PA.  That said, I can get a pretty decent acoustic tone out of the Emerald Virtuo with this Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb.  Meaning: when playing with the group, I don't really need an acoustic guitar.  Did I just say that?  (No, dumas, you wrote it.)

 Yeah, that is a lot of "spaghetti" - cables all over the place; I was trying different combinations, so more cables than what I would have in actual use.  In that lower image, that is my "reduced" acoustic pedalboard.  The top image is what I have been using as needed for the electric guitars.  With this new amp, I can get a good range of tones without pedals.