New Guitar Day: Replacement Les Paul

Back in 1998 I bought a Limited Edition Epiphone Les Paul in Quilt Blue.  It was only offered through Mars Music.  I think it was the second guitar I ever bought.  Unfortunately, I don't have that guitar anymore.  I always wanted to replace that guitar, but never really had a chance until now. 

It seems that Guitar Center and Musician's Friend commissioned a limited run of Blue Quilt Les Pauls.  I knew I had to have one, but a lot of things would have to happen at once.  The good news, is that, a bunch of things did happen for me to be able to acquire one.

The first thing was that particular model went on sale.  They knocked $80 right off the top.  I ended up trading a guitar and an amp to Guitar Center, along with a bit of cash to even it up.  The salesman, Al, who I've known since our Mars Music days together, was able to knock 10% off to even up the trade. 

Since they didn't have any of that model in the store, they ordered it straight from Epiphone HQ in Nashville, TN.  They had it shipped to Guitar Center pretty quickly, and I was able to pick it up just minutes after it was delivered.  Here's what it looks like:

I have to say, this guitar is much better than the one I bought in 1998.  Here's some of the improvements they made.

1.  They put Grover tuners on this guitar.  My old one had terrible overseas Kluson copies.  They couldn't hold tune worth a dang.

2.  The neck profile is very close to a 1960 Gibson Les Paul.  It's a bit flatter, and not bulky at all.  This may be one of the best neck profiles I've ever played.

3.  The hardware has been greatly improved.

4.  This new model has Epiphone's Probuckers.  My old guitar had generic Epiphone pickups.  They were actually pretty good for the time period, but nothing close to the Probuckers.  On my old guitar I replaced the pickups.  I don't think I will be replacing the Probuckers on this new one.

5.  The frets in the old one were made of some of the softest metal I've ever seen on a guitar.  It also needed a fret-dress in the worst way.  This new one doesn't have a dead spot on it.  I was able to set it up nice and low so it plays great. 

6.  This new one has coil splitting.  I don't use splitting that much, but it's there if I want to.

The only change I've made to this guitar, is that, I have added strap-locks.  I already had an awesome strap to match up with the blue color.  I feel I am going to have this guitar until I die.  It's like it was built just for me. 

Spritz: New Cologne Day

In my entire life I have never bought cologne.  That's not to say that I haven't been given any, but I've never actually purchased any before.  I was given my first cologne by an aunt.  It was simply called, "Player" and had a very nice lime smell.  The second bottle I ever received was Hugo Boss cologne given to me by my mother.  In the twenty some years I've had that bottle I've used only about one-third of it. 

So I felt it was time to find a cologne for me.  What I've been looking for was something close to the Player cologne that I received many years ago.  The problem I've had with the lime colognes these days is that they are really musky.  The Player cologne had a much more clean lime scent, and I can't seem to find anything like it.

So I stopped by a store, and asked about the cleanest scents on the market.  One of the colognes the saleswoman showed me was called Thallium.  Of all the scents I tried this one stood out to me as the best. 

I read some reviews of it, and the reviews were mixed.  The biggest complaint was that it wasn't musky.  I found that to be a ridiculous statement, in that, it's not supposed to be musky.  It's supposed to be clean.  Some felt that since it was clean it was too much of a woman's perfume. 

The biggest factor in searching for a cologne, is that, it shouldn't smell musky.  Personally, I find musky colognes to smell like B.O.  I wanted the cleanest smelling scent I could find, and I found Thallium to be the perfect cologne for me. 

The good news, is that, since it's a well known cologne it can be found at many different locations.  I'll never be able to not find it.  But lets be honest, I'm sure this bottle will last me for quite a few years. 

Angelfish: Gold Evolution

I have written quite a bit about the angelfish in my fish tank.  I have to admit they are some of the best fish I have ever raised.  I'm still learning a lot about them.  They have great personalities and are really friendly.  They've started taking food from my hand.  That's pretty awesome.

Due to the high cost of angelfish, every one I have brought home has been young and tiny.  (So I can buy them cheaper.)  Most of them were no bigger than a quarter, counting only the main body, not the large fins.  So I've had the chance to watch them grow from very tiny to pretty good size.  And boy, do they grow.  They have grown faster than any fish I've ever had.

But now, something new has happened.  My two oldest angelfish have started to have some orange/gold develop on their bodies.  I was kind of shocked at first.  One day they were black and white, and the next day they have this beautiful orange/gold color.  Let's go to the pictures!

This one is my oldest. 

You can see the orange/gold on the nose and dorsal fin.  It's like highlights for fish. 

Here's a picture really close up.

This one is my second oldest.

Again, you can see the orange/gold developing on the nose, lips, and dorsal fin.  It's an amazing look.

This next picture is of my most recently bought angelfish.  Boy, has this one grown up fast.  Again, this is one that was no bigger than a quarter when it came home.

When I bought this one it was transparent.  I'm not kidding.  You could see right through it.  Now, it's starting to develop some black on it's long fins.  I hope it will continue to have some color patterns develop on it. 

If it does, you know I'll post about it here.  I love talking about my fish.  It's my thing.