A couple of other things I forgot to mention in catching up:
- I modded one of my guitars last week. I had a Korean Harmony Strat copy that my sister bought out of the Sears catalog in the early ’90s for me for my first electric guitar. I’ve kept it lo these many years, and it’s been a faithful practice guitar for me. Considering that it’s not particularly valuable to me apart from sentimental “first guitar” feeling stuff, and also that some of the electronics were starting to fail, I always wanted to do something with it and I finally had the opportunity. Using some birthday presents (read: money), I went ahead and bought some new pickups (a set of Fender Samarium Cobalt noiseless single coils) and controls, along with a set of Schaller locking tuning heads. Spent a Saturday installing all that stuff (and reminding myself of how much I loathe soldering) — gave the guitar a thorough cleaning, did a little woodworking so that the pickup wiring would fit right, had to drill larger holes in the neck to fit the locking tuning heads — and came out with a much more assertive guitar that stays in tune better and really cooks on some classic Hendrix and SRV tunes through either my Hot Rod Deluxe or my brand new Crate Palomino V16 (great little 15-watt Class A amp — get one if you need something not so loud for home or small venues). Really satisfied with how that came out.
- I got a new grand piano for my house late last year — a brand new 6’1″ Knabe (made by Samick). It has an issue or two (it’ll need to be replaced under warranty for a cracked soundboard — ouch!), but aside from that and a little uneven regulation upon delivery, the thing sounds and plays awesome. It’s a lot brighter than I’m used to, but after a few years of playing the Steinway M I bought for my parents’ house, I was ready for a change. The action’s full Renner, and it’s a lot lighter than I’m used to, but it’s lightning fast and begs you to play it. It’s a really easy-to-play and friendly piano. It’s not as expressive when quiet like my Steinway, but it’s much more in its element when you’re playing at full volume; that’s not all that surprising considering the size difference, though (an M’s 5’6″). Rachmaninoff, Billy Joel and Burt Bacharach sound great on it, though it also shows well for Chopin, Lizst, Saint-Saëns and Richard Smallwood. Nice all-rounder, this one.
- Been working on a couple of utility issues. Trying to get my furnace replaced (vendor problems — I’d rather not talk about it :-P), had a leak with a faucet that I got taken care of, and my next big project of the year’s getting some of my windows replaced.
It’s gonna be exciting for the foreseeable future, I think.