The Fast-Paced, High-Paying World of...

 

... amplifier recovering.

"Oh, no, Jim - what is your amp recovering from?"

No, the amp in question isn't feeling ill, but it is looking scrufty.  Not my new amp - that is gorgeous.  This is the Fishman Loudbox Mini that I've had for over a decade.  It is an acoustic amp, designed to faithfully reproduce the sound of an acoustic guitar with an electric pickup.  And, it does a great job of that...

 It doesn't look bad in that photo above, because you can't see the detail in it: the Tolex covering on the outside of the amp is disintegrating.  To the point where I am embarrassed to take it anywhere because it will leave flaking debris everywhere along the way.  Like Pigpen from the Peanuts cartoons.

Joan volunteered to recover the amp.  She ordered Tolex (the heavy vinyl material that covers the outside of the amp) and was waiting for "a good time."  There is never a good time.  But, she determined that today is the "starting day."  I expect that this will be several days in the process - there is going to be a LOT of detail cutting and fitting.  I know she will do a fine job with this, but I did tell her "Don't make yourself crazy trying to make it perfect.  Anything will be better than it is."

The first part of the process is taking the powerhead apart from the amp, disconnecting wires, and putting that aside...

 That was not as straight-forward as I remembered...

 I took the powerhead out 5 or 6 years ago to send it in for repair (one channel completely quit working).  Fishman had a policy at that time: any repair is $50, the customer gets to pay the shipping both ways.  It wound up costing me about $130 for that "$50 repair."

I read (on the internet, so it must be true) that Fishman will replace the Tolex for $100 plus shipping both ways.  The problem with that: they are going to use that same flimsy Tolex.  I don't want to have to mess with this again.  It is a good amp for acoustic sounds.  I do use it and will play out with it... once it doesn't leave a mess behind.

There is a wood trim piece on the powerhead - I took that out and Joan used it as a pattern...

 

Yes, we are working on this on that pretty kitchen counter.  It is way too hot to do this outside or even in the garage.  So, there will be plenty of clean-up throughout the project.  Joan said to give her a week to get through it.

No rush on my part.  Also, no pressure.  I have another acoustic amp.  Plus, I am playing electric more these days.

This amp is Fishman's best selling small amp.  There are thousands of them out there.  And any amp like this that I've seen that is more than 4 or 5 years old has the same disintegrating covering.  Maybe they've improved the Tolex on later builds?  But, the Tolex we picked for this recovering seems to be a lot sturdier. 

Here's a look at one edge - this isn't the worst of it...

 I could live with it looking shabby - I can't live with the mess it leaves behind.

Another Milestone...

 

OK, Jim, what did the cats do now?

No, this isn't about our cats.  This blog just passed 4 million views this morning.  No, I don't know why.  I mentioned this to Joan and she said, "I don't get it - a guy and his cat.  No offense, but what's the appeal?"

"First of all: ouch.  And second of all, it isn't just about a guy and his cat(s) - it's also about a guy and his guitars.  A guy and his motorcycles and scooters.  A guy and his RV.  Yeah, and I don't get it, either."

I do a YouTube video about a new amp and it gets 1,000 views.  I do a YouTube video about Meta Glasses and it gets 12,000 views.  Different interests, so I get that.  "Unboxing videos" - I am amazed that those get more views than an actual in-depth review of something.  I think there is more interest in getting something than using something.

My YouTube videos are similar to this blog, where I write about (or talk about) what interests me.  Or, as Joan puts it: a very public diary.

But, let me tell you how cute the cats were this morning...

 

Another Day, Another Ride...

 

I got out a bit later than usual, around 8:00 am.  It was already 94º.  Heading out on the ebike.  I rode through the park - the sprinklers were in full force... I didn't mind the cool spray as I rode. 

 By the time I got home, I was a sweatball.  I took a few minutes to wind down - checked and filled tires in the car.  Then a bit of sit-down before getting into the shower.

I pushed a little harder today.  It showed.  And now we can take on the rest of the day.

 

String 'em Up...

 

You're acting in a bad western movie, Jim?

Wait - what?  That's what you came up with?  String > Strings > Guitar...

OK, that makes more sense.

I was playing my X20 yesterday and noticed that the coatings on the Elixir Nanoweb strings were showing some wear.  It still sounded decent.  I do appreciate the longevity of these Elixir strings.  They are more expensive than most, but they last a long time, while keeping a good sound.

There is a reason Taylor Guitars puts Elixir strings on their guitars: they sound good, and if I guitar hangs on the wall for a while in a guitar shop, it's still going to sound fresh.

I recently ordered some Elixir Attune strings - it's a new line from Elixir.  I think these will make you run faster and jump higher... no, wait, that's Keds Shoes.

Elixir Nanoweb: Features a balanced, bright tone with a smooth, slightly slick feel that reduces finger squeak.

Elixir Attune: Designed to feel and sound much closer to an uncoated string (offering more tactile grip) while providing high volume, immediate attack, and enhanced brightness.

In keeping with my goal of making things easier on my aging hands, I went with a lighter gauge of strings (10 - 46, Custom Lights).  While I notice the lighter feel to the strings, I don't notice much difference in tone and volume; I guess that is a good thing.

Changing the strings is only part of the job - it also is a good opportunity to give the body and fretboard a thorough cleaning...

 Even though I wipe my guitars down after each playing session, grub builds up along the frets.  It takes time to clean that up.  Emerald uses stainless steel frets - these are showing no sign of wear.  Nice years old, and the X20 looks as good as new.

With the lighter strings, I took a very small bit of relief out of the neck...

 And then played the heck out of it for an hour or so.  Even with fresh strings, these Emeralds hold tune better than any of my wood guitars.  This one is good to go for a long while.

 

Two... Seems Like More...

 

I have said that about the cats in our family.  Add three more to the mix and it seems like a LOT more!

I am taking care of the grandkitties while Steph and Dan are delivering Dicha in California and picking up a couple more puppies for their Phoenix Guide Dog group.

Last night, we had an "open door policy," and let the grandkitties come to visit at our house.  Everyone is good together, but Stella did hiss at Alfie when he got too close.  Alfie is a special needs boy, so he wasn't being aggressive (he is very passive).  He shrugged his shoulders and moved on.  We just like all the kitties to have some human interaction when Steph and Dan are gone.

Stella and Tango sharing some space...

 

This morning, I got our two fed, then went over to t"he neighbors" to take care of food and meds for their cats.  I always send Steph photos at each feeding so she can see that everyone is doing fine; eating and getting attention...

 Proof of life.  And feeding.  ;-)

Good-Byes Are Tough...

 

This post is another about "the neighbors"... or as you may know them: Steph and Dan.  Today, after work, they are headed to California.  Tomorrow is the day that Dicha goes back to the Guide Dog For The Blind campus for more intensive training on her journey to potentially be a Guide Dog.

She has been with them for over a year, so as you'd expect, they are very attached.  They do this good work raising a Guide Dog puppy, knowing that is isn't "a pet."  They put a lot of their time, effort, and money into the training and raising.  They attend weekly meetings and participate in Guide Dog group events. 

Dicha was just 8 weeks old when they first picked her up...

 A size comparison...

 And, currently...

 This, from Steph, written for the Guide Dog Newsletter...

 "In Spanish, la dicha means happiness, joy, or good fortune. It describes a deep sense of bliss or the lucky privilege of having something good happen. This name was a perfect choice for our girl! She finds joy in the little things and brings her big personality everywhere she goes. What a privilege it has been to watch her learn and mature. She is ready for this next step, and we are so excited to follow her journey!"

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Steph just sent me this photo...

 Yeah, that is Murphy nose to nose with Dicha... and he is bigger.

 

 

Kinda Eerie...

 

Like the canal?  No, that's "Erie," and nothing like that.  I got out on the scoot this morning.  It has been a while... it felt great.  Life got in the way: the cold, the root canal, and (of course) the miserable heat.  Today, the high is supposed to be in the 90s.  Well, 99º, and that is mostly psychological.  It was 87º when I got into the hot tub last night at 9:30.  That's a major drop in temperature, as most evenings it has still been in triple digits.

I was expecting a cooler morning.  Even better than I expected: it was 76º when I got up about 6:15.  That is a bonus.

The Burgman 200 is the most accessible right now.  One of these days, we'll rearrange in the garage and get the bikes back into diagonal parking so they are all accessible.

The Burgman fired right up - I geared up and headed out.  Traffic was light on my way east on the surface road.  I was surprised when I got to South Mountain Park and Preserve that there weren't a lot of cars in the parking lot.  Even more surprising: no vehicle traffic.  Not all the way up the mountain.  Nor coming back down - not a single car or pickup.  I passed about a dozen people on bicycles either direction.  One small motorcycle heading out of the Preserve as I was heading in.  I have written about light traffic before, but this was nada.

Considering that this is the coolest morning in the past couple months, I expected more people out enjoying this brief break in the heat.

I was careful on my ride up the mountain.  OK, to be fair, I am always careful.  But, I was expecting sand and gravel washed onto the road with the monsoon storms we've had (we actually got some precipitation at our house last night).  My expectations were correct.  Nothing terrible, but some sand across the road right at a couple tight curves.

A good ride.  And it felt like I had the road pretty much to myself.

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Here it comes...

A nasty cell with wind and rain coming at us.  We have been fortunate that the monsoon storms have mostly gone around us.  We are not going to get missed today.

Around 5:00, the first of the gust front ahead of the storm blew in - we were strapping down patio furniture covers, patio umbrellas, and the last thing was taking down our US flag... it was really flapping in the breeze while I was rolling it up.  

Then, the pounding rain...

 It came down solid for about 45 minutes.  The rain gutters we had installed did what they were designed to do, but we still have water pooling in the yard.  It will filter down, but the ground is hard here, so it takes time.  This is part of the reason why flash flooding is a concern all around Arizona.

On the bright side, we really need the moisture, and everything not under a cover received a thorough rinse courtesy of Mother Nature.  There is no doubt that there will be flooding in some parts of the Valley.  The weather has been very active the last couple weeks; reports each morning on the local news of damage around the Phoenix area.  The higher elevation parts of the state (north around Flagstaff and east along the Mogollon Rim - all over 7,000') have seen flooding.  A reason we haven't gone to those places for any get-aways in the van.