hamstercaster

For those in the Montreal area, the Habs are having their used equipment sale on Saturday, February 16 from 9:30 to 3:30 at the Bell Center.

After being stuck on a plateau for the last 2 and a half months, I'm finally under 240, weighing in at 237 as of this morning. 90 pounds lost in just over 18 months. Hopefully I'm on a roll now and the race to get to 100 won't take as long!

Jim Marshall passed away today at age 88

Habs memorabilia and game-used equipment sale is this coming Saturday as per Twitter and http://canadiens.nhl...ge.htm?id=78984 Edit: Just to get some of you goalies excited, Montreal Canadiens posted this on Twitter https://twitter.com/...3565568/photo/1 It says: You want to play like Price... or at least look like him (Montreal Canadiens Used Gear Sale)

Yep aside from the quilted maple top, there sure is a lot of mahogany on it. The neck is made of pieces of mahogany. I suspect that they dyed two of the pieces a different color before joining them together to give it that look but not entirely sure.

It's a set mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard. Solid mahogany body with quilted maple top. Maple top on headstock. Cream and abalone binding, graphite nut, grover tuners and a coil tap. I'm not sure if I can say it has thick tone but it is "dark". The DV8 PU it is equipped with are pretty decent. I'd like maybe just a tad more bite but pretty decent for stock PU.

Here's my new guitar. It's an Indie Sun Extreme. Was worth just over $900 and got it for $550, new. Very nice guitar, plays well and sounds pretty good too.

After a couple of months struggling with losing weight, I've been doing a lot better for the past two weeks and have now lost a total of 50 pounds since last November. Only another 65 pounds or so to go...

JR, if you haven't already done so, push for the sleep apnea testing. I was diagnozed with sleep apnea at the end of last summer and have been using a CPAP mask ever since. This alone may help lowering your blood pressure. Not saying it will go down to healthy levels with that alone but it does help and sleep apnea CAN be one of the many causes associated to high blood pressure. I'm sure you are aware by now that you need to limit your sodium intake as well as losing weight. If you can control your sleep apnea, it will be easier to lose weight too as you'll have more energy throughout the day and will potentially eat less too. My blood pressure was at 146 over 110 last November and I was a fat ass. The doctor wanted to prescribe high blood pressure medicine and I asked for an alternative, which was to lose weight. I lost 44 pounds since and my blood pressure, last I checked was down to 130 over 90 (I was weighing 327 by the way). A few changes to your lifestyle will go a long way and who knows, you may even be ready on time for Summer Jam. Try staying active too even if it means only light exercises like walking etc. This helps lowering blood pressure as well and will help you shed a few pounds over time.

It would be a different thing if 100 other people wanted to intervene and stop the dumbasses wreaking havoc but when you're on your own to try and stop some dipshits, best to just leave the area and let the cops do their work. As it's been said, if all the bystanders had gone home, it would have made things a lot more easier for the police and that in itself may have twarted the riots almost by itself. If there are only a couple of dozen people left downtown doing dumb stuff with no one but cameras and cops watching, they'd probably just flee the area too.

Yikes, hope that it's nothing serious regarding the medical emergency.

3 days in a row this week that my bus is stuck in traffic on days where it was very hot and humid with no AC and some people who "forgot" to use deodorant..

Got my Hardwire TL-2 Metal Distortion last week. Used it a couple of times already and I must say that I'm quite happy with the result. I can have some very good distortion levels even at low volumes which is what I was looking for when I purchased it. Very happy with the purchase. However, it needs a bit of a boost for soloing but I don't solo much cause I just plain suck so it's not a problem for me. Either way, most people will use a clean boost or other types of boost for soloing no matter what amp or distortion pedal they use anyway.

Weighed myself this morning as I do every Friday morning when I get up. Lost 3.5 pounds in the last week which brings me to 287 down from 327 when I started eating better back in early November 2010. 40 pounds down, 60 pounds to go if I want to meet my doctor's target or 87 pounds to go if I want to meet my target of weighing 200 pounds. Plus my blood pressure is under control down from 140 over 110 to 130 over 90 last I checked. Will take my blood pressure tomorrow to see where I'm at which I believe will be somewhere near 125 over 85 or so i think. The better eating habits and regular excercises are starting to pay off.

The HT-5 has two tubes. A 12AX7 in the pre-amp and a 12HB7 in the Power Amp. The gain is alos achieved in part by the solid-state rectification. http://www.blackstaramps.co.uk/pdf/reviews/guitarist%20HT-5%20review.pdf

The AVT50 is a hybrid. Certainly not the tone of a real tube amp but still better than my Vox which ironically is also a hybrid. I believe that the AVT has a tube in the Pre-amp while the Vox has it in the Power Amp or something or other. The problem I had with the Vox is that it's a modeling amp. Shouldn't have bought it in the first place but was just getting back into playing guitar and it seemed like a decent way to go for a start. I like the AVT quite a bit actually but it's lacking a bit of gain which I fixed by using an OD pedal. I've ordered a Hardwire Metal Distortion to see what it's gonna be like. I've read really good things about it and some bad things too so I'll just judge for myself. May upgrade later on this year to an all tube Blackstart HT-5 or something, then again, a lot will depend on the Hardwire's performance. I know that purists usually like the amps distortion better but from the samples I've heard so far, it actually suits my bedroom guitarist needs.

Just changed my Vox VT20+ for a Marshall AVT50 combo. It's a Hybrid amp with a tube in the Pre-amp. Sounds a lot better than my vox. Much better tone and you don't hear that "digital" sound layerd over your notes when playing which is big bonus.

Ibanez RG321 (left) - Cheap entry model but that actually plays pretty well Ibanez SZ520 (right) - Very nice intermediate level guitar. Plays very nicely, very decent sound from the Duncan designed PU. One of the best guitars I've ever had Vox Valvetronix VT20+ - Entry level modeling amp which sounds surprisingly decent I've started playing guitar again after a 2-3 year hiatus. It's been the story of my guitar playing life. Started playing guitar when I was 16 or 17 and would sell my gear every 2nd year or so and then buy new equipment every second year or so. My first guitar was a Samick Strat copy which I traded to my friend for Samick Les Paul copy. My second guitar was Fernandes Revolver 55, my all time favorite guitar. Then I got myself the ultimate Metallica Fan guitar, a Guibson Explorer. That was back in the late 80's early 90's. I then had a Fender Squier, a Ibanez from RG Series, a Epiphone Les Paul, Epiphone SG and a Godin Detour, oh and a Cort beat up Flying V. All my amps have been Peavey amps except for this Vox and a Roland Cube 60 I had the last time around. All in all I have quite a few years of playing if you add everything but I still suck mainly because I have always pretty much refused to learn theory, scales and such out of pure lazyness and because honnestly I couldn't really care less. I mostly play covers for which I get the tabs of the internet for my Guitar Pro software and learn songs from there. I can play some songs that are intermediate sometimes with a relative ease but will sometimes not be able to play some songs that are utterly easy for some reason. I'm hoping to start learning all my chords and scales this time around. How much of it will actually happen remains to be seen but the intent is there at least. I guess that it's a start lol.

Not so good for the line on the other side who may be a nice Minus 4

Nice, keep it up! It's not always easy! I have made significant changes to my diet, being very strict on weekdays but more permissive during weekends... but I'm sometimes being way too permissive on weekends and it has slowed down my weight loss to an extent. I'm 40 so I think that I'm at an age where weight loss is just a bit slower. I am working out fairly hard at leat 4 times a week so that has helped too. I doubt that I will lose 50 pounds in the next 3 months but am hoping to be down to the 260-250 range by the end of the summer. Although, if I start being less permissive on weekends, there's a good chance I could reach 250 by the end of July.

Very nice guitar Chadd! I'm looking into getting a Les Paul, at least the shape in the future. I like the Gibson Les Paul but not so much the Epiphone line although they are decent they often have problems with the electronics, at least from my own and friends experience. I almost bought a Ibanez ART 320 but decided on going with the SZ520 for now. I like the Fernandes Monterey and Ravelle lines as well. I had a Fernandes Revolver 55 back in the late 80's or early 90's and I loved that guitar and to this day still regret selling it to my brother's friend which systematically refuses to sell it back to me...

Nice! Got a "new" used Ibanez SZ520 last weekend. Not super fancy but a pretty decent guitar. On another note, I've broken the 300 pound barrier and am now at 299 and counting down from 327 in November. First time in over 3 years. On top of that, my blood pressure is now back to very acceptable levels at 130 over 90 compared to 140 over 110 this past November. I haven't felt this good in ages. Still have a long way to go though but at least it's a very big step in the right direction!

I hate those motherfuckers who just speed out of a driveway because they can't wait the extra 15 seconds for me to drive by. If I have to break or even slow down behind you that means you did not have time and should not have cut in front of me. I hope that you did not get injured in the process and that the jackass will at least have something coming to him in the form of a fine or something, at least. Some people are in so much of a hurry now that they disregard human lives and material possessions of others just so they can have the right of way no matter how fucking stupid or dangerous their action may be.

Just bought an esspresso machine as a xmas present for me and the wife. Got a Saeco Stratos at a great price as it's been replaced by the Royal which is the exact same machine with a different exterior. Now emjoying my first Latte.

Exactly on top of making albums sounding really bad and muddy when there's too much going on. On very good exemple of that is Metallica's Death Magnetic. I love the album but the Guitar Hero is so much better than the actual CD. There are many other "unlistenable" albums out there that have been butchered by producers playing to close or over the limits of recording/mastering. Some do it for radio play. The song being louder usually catches the listeners attention a bit more or can simply annoy him a lot. Just look at the publicity on radio stations. It's so loud that it drives me up the wall. Others claim that they want to make the album sound raw and in your face. Sorry dude but you just made a great album, at least for some, sound like a big steamy pile of donkey dung.