September 17th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Saturday Night Bonus Jam “Point Of Contact”

Chapters
00:00 - Playing the chopper


Notes
Hello friends…a while back my dear dear friend sweet Greggy Voros gifted me a wonderful old 54 Esquire chopper that i have been slowly but surely trying to turn into the monster that i absolutely know it can be.

From the start this guitar had a hell of a lot going for it (super lightweight and the neck is to die for) but it had a long way to go. It started with refretting, then trying to find the right pickups…i ended up finding some great pickups, an original bridge pickup from a 1960 tele custom was a nice addition.

The original bridge saddles were driving me insane, so i just had my dear old friend Phil Crabtree install a set of Callaham compensated steel saddles. I picked it up from him today, Philly works alongside Tom Murphy at the Gibson custom shop. He is one of the sweetest kindest souls that has ever walked this earth. Thats him pictured at the end of this video.

Lord did these saddles help a lot…a MAJOR step in the right direction. The intonation is sooo good now, the string spacing is perfect, and the thing is just ringing beautifully acoustically, great sustain.

I swear the older i get i am focusing more and more on what i have always called the “point of contact” in guitars.

The purity and trueness of the way fretted and open notes pop out of a guitar, whether its electric or acoustic. The way the notes ring and sustain without an amp.

It’s the first thing i look at when i am checking out any guitar I haven’t seen before. It’s amazing how many guitars there are out there, even “high end” instruments, that just have terrible “point of contact”.

Strangled sounding dead notes all over the guitar, which could be caused by many things….a shitty bridge, bad fretwork, a fingerboard that is separating slightly from the neck, a pinched nut slot, and the worst offender, just plain dead wood.

August 26th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Bonus “How To Put A String On A Guitar”

Chapters
00:00 - How to string a guitar


Notes
Well kids, i said i was done with all this horseshit, but then THIS comment came in on the “boys in the back room” video.

“Show us how it’s done then. Lots of talk no walk”

Ok f**kface here ya go…

August 26th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Volume 161, Tom Bukovac, “Rainbow Blues”

Chapters
00:00 - Song playthrough
03:25 - Hello, class! / Uncle Larry
04:00 - VCB (Viewer Comment Bin) / Thanks
05:15 - James Honeyman Scott & episode
06:02 - "Good tone is heavy and hard to carry."  -Tom Bukovac (Amps)
06:24 - Stringing guitar
07:29 - What was your first pedal? DOD Flanger
08:01 - Chrissy Hines and James Honeyman Scott appreciation
08:25 - Any advice? Don't end up in jail or killing yourself, you're good
09:30 - Steve Hackett - The Battle of Epping Forest (echo)
12:05 - Pet peeves / Gruhn's Guitars / Original guitars (Beato & Rhett)


Notes
This one goes out to one of the baddest motherfuckers that ever roamed this earth….Joey D

RIP brother

and...the echo guitar that kicks in at :51 on this....come on man
https://youtu.be/S3V2Ctw3XNU

and....if i ever heard a pedal that can create the effect that happens at 3:16 of my pitiful video today when both guitars play the same thing. that would be cool

August 25th, 2022

Homeskoolin’ Bonus “The Boys In The Back Room”

Chapters
00:00 - Locking strings...just don't


Notes
Hey kids…the whole “right way to put strings on a guitar” thing has been a hot topic of debate on the Homeskoolin’ channel.

I thought i would run it by the boys in the back room of the repair department of the most venerable, respected vintage guitar shop in North America…Gruhn Guitars in Nashville tn….here's what they said…thought you guys might find it interesting. starring....

1) Greg Voros
2) Tony Nagy
3) Lin Crowson