Arghhh…any of you ever have this happen? I broke the whammy bar off and the threaded portion stayed deep inside the bridge on my Fender Strat – after spending close to 2-hours trying various methods to get it out, I finally broke down and bought a new bridge, whammy bar combination for just over $100 CDN.
Truth is I lived with it for almost 2-months, but not having my whammy bar was driving me a little nuts.
So finally today I replaced the entire bridge, restrung and re-tuned the Strat and she is back to normal.
Seriously though – there has to be a way of getting the threaded portion out.
I tried a screw extractor tool for a local hardware store where you drill a pilot whole into the piece that is stuck, then place the heavy-threaded extractor into the pilot hole and theoretically it was supposed to remove the stuck piece.
No such luck, all it did was further mess up the whole to the point it was unrepairable.
Oh well, there seems to be a fair number of others that have done the same thing, so at least I’m not alone!
Filed under Fender guitar by on Jun 12th, 2010. Comment. 
I’ve always been a Tom Petty fan but have to admit I don’t own any of his CD’s and could take or leave his music on any given day…but I have seen him live and certainly would see him again.
But now there is something to get excited about, after crossing that fine line between guitar rock and blues, Petty has made something that really got me excited for the first time ever…
What else would you call an album where you tackle the blues head-on – but “Mojo!“
And…how could it not be great when you combine the soul and experience of Tom Petty with the influence of great blues guitar players and musicians like Albert King and Muddy Waters along with the intelligence to go with a live recording setting keeping overdubs to a minimum
That seems to hold great potential for a kick-ass blues album.
Ready to come out June 15th, preview tracks – the Zepplin, Jack White influenced version of “I Should Have Known It” and the up-tempo traditional blues “Jefferson Jericho Blues” both serve to illustrate the raw guitar power of Mike Campbell, the cool blues swagger of Petty and the tightness of a band that has played an eternity together on the road.
Take a listen to Jefferson Jericho Blues —
And now the rougher, tougher rocking blues number “I Should Have Known”
In that first number, it is clear that he and his band are having a blast — freed up to play some of the most natural music straight from the heart.
There is even a slower blues number called “Taking My Time” that shows Petty has thought through the full scope of blues styles for Mojo – his latest blues CD
Quite a departure for Petty and his Heartbreaker’s Band who set aside the cool California rock sound for a rougher, more spontaneous and raw blues record…my only comment is…where has this been for the last few decades?
What do you think of the new Tom Petty sound?
Filed under blues guitar, Blues Legends by on Jun 12th, 2010. Comment.
Dawg FM - All Blues Radio
It has been years since I have really listened to the radio, fed up with the softies, alternative crap that all sounds pretty much the same – even country music has become so watered down it’s tough to even recognize it as country anymore.
That all changed last week when Canada’s first all-blues radio station hit the airwaves, DawgFM 101.9 in Ottawa – with global simulcast around the world from their internet site – DawgFM
Already I’m hearing Stevie Ray, Stevie Wonder, Allman Brothers, Buddy Guy and BB King songs that I had either forgotten or never heard…yesterday I even found myself sitting in my car at the local coffee shop because I wanted to hear the next song coming up — I haven’t done that for a radio station for well over 10-years!
At the helm of the announcers is long-time veteran and the coolest guy on radio Jeff Winter…having come back to Ottawa just for this opportunity.
Here’s hoping that we all support these guys and that the station prospers – bringing blues to an entirely new generation.
They are running a cool guitar a day giveaway right now that makes listening even more fun.
Long live the Dawg…as long as they are on the air I’ll be listening.
What about you…do you have an all-blues radio station in your town? Let us know by leaving a comment.
Filed under blues guitar, Blues Legends by on Jun 16th, 2010. Comment.
Buddy Guy is about to turn 74 years young this July 30th, yet he is still as vibrant, creative and influential as he has ever been.
Looking at his latest tour schedule over at his Buddy Guy’s website, it shows a very active tour schedule with Europe through the month of July (taking a queue from BB King’s summer tours in Europe) coming back to North America for what will be some really cool shows with Tom Petty in the Northeast, BB King in California, and then the central states, linking up with Johnny Lang for some more North East shows – -taking him all the way through November!
Folks, kids of 20 would have trouble keeping up with this demanding schedule, so get out and see him when he comes into your town…Buddy ALWAYS puts on a terrific show.
I personally am hoping he adds a few more Ontario Canada dates, we love him up here…but I know I’ll get to see him sometime during the summer.
One of the killer shows of the year would be those summer dates with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers who have a sizzling hot blues CD out…I haven’t been able to stop listening to “Mojo” since it came out. We posted some videos of his Tom Petty’s “Mojo” material here.
Have you been to a Buddy Guy show? How about his club in Chicago? Post your comments if you have a great memory of seeing a Buddy Guy show.
Filed under blues guitar, Blues Legends by on Jun 29th, 2010. Comment.
