Good Thing I'm Fond of Spam

Because I spent the grocery money on this little number:

It's a 1985 Gibson Flying V, which I picked up from J.B. Hart Music in Grand Junction, last week. I saw it there, week before last, but it was already sold. A guy had put a deposit on it.

I told Jan Hart that if he ever came across another Flying V or an Explorer, that he could sell this cheaply, to give me a call. The next day, just after we had returned to Denver, Jan called and told me that the guy who had bought the V came in to pick it up, and then decided that he would rather have a bass. So, Jan let him apply the money toward the bass, and called me.

Coincidentally, I had to return to Grand Junction on Monday, to inspect the CDOT lab, there, so I pulled some cash out of the bank and took it with me.

It didn't look like much, but the guitar played nicely and sounded like ... well, like a Flying V! These things growl, down low, and just have a real snarl, all over the fretboard.

 As I said, it was a bit of a Frankenstein, when I first saw it. The neck has been repaired. Then the whole guitar was rattle-canned red, over the original red paint!

 The Kahler tremelo (so 1980s) has been removed, and its cavity filled with a wood block.

 I ... I just don't know what this is all about...

 I removed the spray paint from the headstock and the neck. I left the original paint in place, where it still existed.

 Then, I resprayed the headstock in black, to match the original paint. I also replaced the weird, mismatched tuners, with some locking Sperzel tuners I had in my parts stash.

 The neck is factory paint, the body is still in Krylon, though I did sand it smooth to remove the runs, drips and orange peel.

I don't know why this one spot was down to bare wood. I may strip the entire back of the neck, eventually. I really do prefer the feel of the bare wood.

So, for about 30% of the normal cost of an Asian-made Epiphone V, I have a made in Nashville (June 5, 1985) Gibson. Yeah, it's been repaired, and the paint is weird, but I would rather have this on stage than a mint-conditon example. If something dings it; so what?

I played it for about an hour and a half, yesterday, after I got it put back together and restrung it. It's a beast! Expect to see it onstage, with Skull Full Of Blues, the next time we play.


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One Ride, One Flat

I was out of town, on the Western Slope, for work, last week. We left on Monday, went to Durango, and ended up in Grand Junction, at the end of the week, and back in Denver, Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, no room for a bike in the truck, so no riding was done.

Yesterday, I rode down to Kaladi Bros, Coffee, then rode around the neighborhood with Carol. We just toured the D.U. area, and rode the bike path along the drainage ditch, to get back to the house. All in all, 9 miles of knocking around on two wheels.

About a half hour after we got back to the casa, I looked over at the fat bike, and noticed that the sidewall of the rear tire was wrinkly. Sure enough, the tire was going flat.

I haven't had time to even look at it and see what caused it. Maybe, tonight, after Noella's b-day party...

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