Author Topic: The Totally Miscellaneous non-Alembic Guitar and Bass Thread (Read 4443 times)

elwoodblue · « **Reply #15 on:** August 22, 2015, 08:02:52 PM »

Ed,
My Alvarez doesn't have a graphite neck (if ya find two, would ya sell ME one ?).
This is from the early 90's,Lacewood , w/o any electronics (no extra holes for plastic preamp inserts ).
DY98's and DY99's comes to mind when you mention graphite.Is that right? Cool guitars!

A few years back I was without any guitars around so I went a little music store, pretty quickly identified an Alvarez that seemed the best sounding acoustic of what was on the wall. I came back later to get it, my mom was with me...with no clues from me she found the same guitar to be 'the one'.
And a bonus,it wasn't even close to top of the line (225$ in 2006) . Probably not as durable as the 70's-80s versions,
but maybe I'll get the bridge to rotate that magical 30 degrees a bit sooner.
The top has already started to bow (no willow bracing these days?)

I'll work on pictures of mine tonight. Ed you can send yours to *equortion at outlook .com* and I'll resize them.

elwoodblue · « **Reply #16 on:** August 22, 2015, 08:06:40 PM »

p.s. 30 degrees seems like a lot .

JuancarlinBass · « **Reply #17 on:** August 22, 2015, 08:16:00 PM »

My fretless bass is an Alvarez, I certainly think it is Korean, or otherwise Pan-Asian, from wherever the factory must have been at the time, silk-screened Alvarez St. Louis, Missouri logo and all. I bought it through eBay and had it sent to my country, which took about a month. Seems like mine was originally intended to be fretless, and somehow found its way to be a fretless one. If it was made by the previous owner, he didn't said anything about it, and if it was some kind of factory work, it was pretty well done anyway. (Eventually I ended up swapping its pickups for a couple EMG 40J's, and it sounds pretty nice actually).

In the meantime, I had a gig - my Alvarez had not arrived yet, I played that with another bass - where I shared the stage with another group, and the bass player was playing an Alvarez (a six-er, with the same silk-screened logo as mine, BTW). I tried to make small talk with him, and commented I was having a Fretless Alvarez coming my way in a few days, and asked him about his experience with his Alvarez bass. My surprise came with his response: Well, I' ve been doing fine so far with it. I had Mr. Alvarez personally make this one for me...

Needless to say, no more words were exchanged after that.

ed_zeppelin · « **Reply #18 on:** August 22, 2015, 10:12:17 PM »

The reason I asked about the Alvarez GY-1 with a Modulus graphite neck is that Jerry had three of them made. Last I heard, years ago, was that he had given one away to somebody.

One of his main ones went for $102,000 at auction:

http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/15537/lot/22/

I have no idea where the other two are.

elwoodblue · « **Reply #19 on:** August 22, 2015, 10:24:17 PM »

We just missed this one...darn!

sold DY99

elwoodblue · « **Reply #20 on:** August 22, 2015, 10:31:27 PM »

...and one of those lute back Yairis-
ebay link

edwardofhuncote · « **Reply #21 on:** August 23, 2015, 08:17:03 AM »

I saw one of those Alvarez 9-strings once when I worked in a music store. (seems like a few of us here have done that!) I've never seen another since. I remember thinking it was a neat idea.

Only remember working on one Alvarez... don't remember the model, but it was built to resemble a Martin Style 35, with a 3-piece back, and bound fingerboard. Anyway, it had survived a house fire, and stunk (yeah, it's a real word according to Dr. Seuss) something awful, but it had a lot of sentimental value to it's owner. Incredibly, it got so hot in it's case, that the bridge came off, relieving the tension, thereby preventing the guitar from folding up. Ball-ends pulled right through the bridgeplate and the top, still had the pins welded to them. I guess the only thing that saved it was that plywood bridgeplate being so worn out. Not a single loose brace, no cracks anywhere... just a little fret sprout and that god-awful smell. I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't seen it.

So, we replaced the bridge, shimmed the bridgeplate, filed off the fret-ends, and sent it on the way... it still stunk, but it was playable. AFAIK, he's still got it.

cozmik_cowboy · « **Reply #22 on:** August 23, 2015, 10:03:20 AM »

My first guitar was an Alvarez 5014 (think 000-18 with -28 trim & a Gibson-style thumb screw bridge.
36 years later, it still gets >90% of my playing time. Is it as nice as a Martin/Guild/Santa Cruz/etc? No - but it'd nice enough to keep playing, and those divits under the first 5 frets are mine!
Does need a refret & new nut, though.

Peter

ed_zeppelin · « **Reply #23 on:** August 24, 2015, 02:02:16 PM »

I buy and sell old music and humor magazines (Frets, National Lampoon, Keyboard, Guitar Player etc.) and sometimes I'll get some that REEK of musty basements, overly perfumed closets or homes that must be like living in a four-bedroom ashtray.

I've found that most of the time, sealing them in a bag with the a cup or two of the cheapest powdered milk I can find (I buy it in bulk) works pretty well, except for really musty odors. In that case I use instant coffee (be sure to elevate the magazine on a cooling rack so it doesn't touch the coffee).

Last but not least is the nuclear option: put the magazine(s) or charred instruments - as the case may be - in a big garbage bag. Punch a bunch of holes in the lid of a large jar (I use mason jars), fill it halfway with peroxide, mix in a tablespoon of baking soda and put it in the bag, and squeeze out as much air as you can. Do this where you want it to sit for awhile, because it's a real pain to move it afterward.

The baking soda makes the peroxide release its extra molecule of oxygen, which attracts the volatile compounds in the stench.

I read about it in an interview with a rabies researcher who was required to test roadkill to detect rabies. The skunks were so bad his wife threatened divorce, and the stench clung to him (and his car) like crazy. So he asked a chemistry teacher at the local high school, who told him about baking soda and peroxide. And it WORKS.

It's the best way to de-skunkify a critter, trust me. We tried it when our pooch got sprayed. He taught me a valuable lesson. Here it is: when your dog gets sprayed by a skunk, DONT OPEN THE DOOR AND LET HIM IN THE HOUSE.

Also, add a squirt of dish soap (not detergent, we use Dr. Bronner's all one dog soap) to break the surface tension on their coat and let the oxygen penetrate. It really is miraculous.

O yeah, another lesson: TOMATO PRODUCTS DONT WORK. (Peroxide's way cheaper, anyway.)

adriaan · « **Reply #24 on:** August 24, 2015, 02:30:57 PM »

Ground coffee on a plate will absorb smells, especially in a fridge.

edwardofhuncote · « **Reply #25 on:** August 25, 2015, 03:57:31 AM »

I've used the coffee before, and baking soda too, but that peroxide idea sounds interesting. I've used fabric softener sheets on smelly cases before, with mixed degrees of success.

edwardofhuncote · « **Reply #26 on:** August 25, 2015, 04:10:51 AM »

Dang You, Picture Gremlin!

Just for that, here's a picture of my little monster with an older sister, a "Golden Era" OM-18GE, one of the very few of these made to 1930 specs, right down to the rosewood binding and banjo pegs.

sonicus · « **Reply #27 on:** August 25, 2015, 07:21:38 AM »

The worst case scenario of items as discussed such as old music/paper items /old instrument cases /items that have fabric , etc , is MOLD and MOLD SPORES . This can actually make you very ill! There are many scientifically documented cases with a large variety of illnesses and allergies that can be caused and triggered from mold and mold spores . People with respiratory , Asthma and sinus conditions are the most susceptible. Just random bad smells are the least of your worries . The mold microbes can do real harm !

The first thing that I do with every smelly old instrument case is physical cleaning and disinfecting . Chemical disinfectants and ultra violet light and vacuuming the interior is affective. Old magazines all paper and some fabric items can affectively be processed to eliminate mold spores and smells with an electronic ionizer. You will have to have a tank or chamber to seal the offensive items in with the ionizer. There are many arguments regarding various techniques regarding this procedure .

http://www.ehow.com/how_5855484_kill-mold-ionizer.html

http://allergyclean.com/article-youhavemold.htm

Wolf

ed_zeppelin · « **Reply #28 on:** August 25, 2015, 10:39:24 PM »

I can't find the original article (seemed like it was from way back in the early 90s), but here's a reference to it from 1995:

http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extnews/pestqtrly/oct95/sknkrmdy.txt

The original article was hilarious, about this poor schmoo who had to go around picking up road kill.

edwardofhuncote · « **Reply #29 on:** August 27, 2015, 06:38:14 AM »

Forest asked me to resize and post these pictures of his vintage Alvarez... He explains - It's been in its case for about fifteen years, and apparently some strings decided to play "Let It Go."