i have been struggling with the guitar and accoutrements for more years than i care to relate, and i am still incapable of learning how to play with any style and grace. oh, i know a lot of chords, and a lot of music theory, and all kinds of interesting "stuff," but i am not much with the instrument.
and, i seem not to care very much. i still enjoy the instruments, fascinated by them, actually, and work on them: i seem to like nothing better than to buy an old beat up guitar, and rebuild it with good seymour duncan pickups, and good tuners, and have even gone so far as to strip one guitar body to prep it for painting. it's a hoot.
which brings me to my peavey rage 158 guitar amp. it's what peavy calls a "transtube" amp, with transistors emulating tubes. (you'll have to ask peavy, it's all a little mysterious to me.) i've always liked it. but, a friend has been giving me the raspberry for several years, saying that it hummed and buzzed. the stock peavey speaker was 3.2 ohms resistance, and 15 watts output, and 8" in diameter. but, my friend has good ears, so i determined to to replace the speaker.
i purchased a larger speaker from eminence, a model 820h, ... , 8 inches, 20 amps output at 4.0 ohms resistance. not hugely more powerful, but with a very much larger magnet, and hemp speaker cone. to make a long story short, the amp as upgraded sounds immensely better than the old amp. not so much that i am gonna force the retirement of eric clapton, but, now my friend offers the considered opinion that when and if i ever get good enough to appear at the local jam sessions, the amp is good to go (too).
but, no good deed goes unpunished.
sound is vibration, and enough vibration shakes things loose. and, the speaker was coming loose in its mounts, and manifesting itself in a high pitched sound, like a reverberation. (not pleasant to my ears, trust me.) the upshot of this was that i tightened the mounting screws, too much, in an effort to anchor the speaker. i partially stripped the mounting holes. bad, very bad.
so, today i took the speaker from the cabinet, drilled 4 fresh holes for hardware store screws, and refurbished the old stripped out holes but the use of toothpicks stuffed in the old holes, held fast by elmer's glue. (nothing but the cow for me, thank you very much.) well, the speaker is back in, held in place by 8 screws instead of 4, and it sounds wonderful, with good clarity and no distortion. the guitar sounds the way a good semi-hollowbody should when equipped with two humbuckers. (no whammy bar distortion, no wah wah peddles, string bending, or reverbs for me. i am a disciple, .... , well, that's a strong word for me, i am not even an acolyte, barely good enough to qualify as a putterer, .... , of joe pass and herbie ellis, and tal farlow. you can toss in barney kessel.
i like nice tone, and for the time being, i have very nice tone. it is a pleasure to listen to, and if i cannot play well or adeptly, at least i make nice sounds. not music especially, but, hey, a person does not get to choose his or her gifts. you make do with what you have, which for me is an appreciation of good music and the instruments that make it ... or, come moderately close, on occasion and for brief interludes. *sigh*
but, i am good with my hands, and with simple repair. and, for me, that is a source of joy.
life is good.
john jay @ 05.28.2020
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