Out with Cigarettes, in with Pipes!!

I've smoked cigarettes since I was 12 and have finally quit. All along the way, starting in the experimentation stages of youth have been the pipes. There are three that I have had since I was 15 or 16.

The trio were purchased in the late 70's so that I could be "cool" in the musician crowd. I wasn't
the guitar God that I wanted to be but I did have vocal skills that made me "wanted" by bands. That was long ago. All Dr. Grabows, left is a Duke, center is a Starfire (a very cool smoke) and the right is a Regal.

After 30 years I've found that total selfish enjoyment is the key to a happy life.

I have recently returned to the pipes and am glad that I have. I've also found a Usenet newsgroup with plenty of helpful info. For instance I always thought that the inexpensive tobaccos were crap and you had to pay at least $5 per ounce to get anything good.

"Ignorance" is such an underrated word, and misunderstood. Two of the staple brands in the pipe smoking world are Prince Albert and Carter Hall. In the late 70's we would have never thought to purchase these in our high and mighty circles. They are perfect and have been available for so long because of this I imagine.

Anyway, I got a new pipe today. It is the first one I have purchased since those days long ago.

It seems to be a decent pipe. I smoked some Carter Hall lightly packed for the first "go-round". It did fine. The Bit seems to be cheap and that is not saying much for someone who has never smoked anything other than a Dr. Grabow. I was pleased with the pipe though; it seems that the larger bowl produces a cooler smoke just like the Grabow "Starfire". It is marked "Italy" on one side and "H.I.S" on the other. I got it at a "Smoker Friendly" shop for $11.99 along with a $10.00 pack of Macanudos. I was also able to pick up 24 nice practice golf balls for 9.99 and some tees next door to the "SF" shop. Altogether a great day.

I've been advised to go for several brands of pipes by my new friends in the Usenet group. I had never heard of "Estate" pipes, or purchasing used pipes but it does make sense. There are some nice pipes that are not done yet, like used cars or something.

All in all I am pleased with my cigarette replacements!

Parting with another guitar

I hate to sell this bass but I have other equipment needs that must be fulfilled. It's an Epiphone EB3 and it is one of the good ones. It's like buying a Fender Squire; sometimes you get a good one that is every bit as good as a real Fender and sometimes they suck. The tone from the neck pickup has balls that go on forever! I've played it through an 80's Peavey "BASIC 40", a Fender Twin with 2-15 cab and 2 Ampegs, an SVT w/2-15 & V9 w/2-15. The sound is amazing!

I am getting better at doing setups; the intonation in "on" and the action is low. The string buzz is minimal to the ear but it does not come through the speakers.

The truss rod adjustment has left a slight bow (on purpose), combined with the bridge adjustments I think it is optimal; easy to play.

There are no dings on the bass anywhere...I'm going to miss this one.

I have 2 Jazz bases (fretted & frettless) and have wondered what it would be like to put one of the big Gibson/Epi humbuckers in the extreme north neck position; there is room for this mod and I'm very tempted. I love the sound of this pickup but first I think I'll try to get it with EQ before modding the basses. I've put a series/parallel "push-pull" pot in each of the jazz basses so I can get the Pbass sound but wouldn't it be just F*ing amazing to add the big Gibson humbucker option to the mix...