The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

Q&A, discussion, and information for the labels covered by The Guitar Gallery (Specifically and exclusively guitars made by Matsumoku up to 1987)
It is currently Fri 29 Mar 2024 12:04 AM

All times are UTC - 5 hours




Post new topic Reply to topic
 [ 47 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5  Next
Author Message
 Post subject: Re: LC 440 and chums...
PostPosted: Sun 26 Oct 2014 07:00 PM 
Offline
Virtuoso
User avatar

Joined: Mon 19 Mar 2007 08:50 AM
Posts: 1588
Glad to be warned what to expect if either of you make it to NA and say "raod trip".


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: LC 440 and chums...
PostPosted: Mon 27 Oct 2014 08:46 AM 
Offline
Virtuoso
User avatar

Joined: Wed 29 Apr 2009 12:32 PM
Posts: 3938
Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Canada
Yeah, youse two is having wa-a-a-y too much fun in the sun. :evilrazz:

Me, just starting to brace for the inevitable onslaught of winter. :cry:

_________________
Guitars: https://legend.barryeames.com
Music/Pix/Videos: https://getback.barryeames.com


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: LC 440 and chums...
PostPosted: Mon 27 Oct 2014 03:04 PM 
Offline
Virtuoso
User avatar

Joined: Tue 13 May 2008 11:30 PM
Posts: 1003
Location: Roma, Queensland, Australia
I will swap you Barry.
Still not summer here and yesterdays temp was 41. Give me the cold any day :)

_________________
You can never have too many guitars


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: LC 440 and chums...
PostPosted: Mon 27 Oct 2014 03:24 PM 
Offline
Virtuoso
User avatar

Joined: Wed 29 Apr 2009 12:32 PM
Posts: 3938
Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Canada
41 C. is no fun. (about 106 in Frankenstein degrees)

About 2 years ago (3?) we had something called a "heat dome" in the middle of summer which saw the temp hit that range for a few days. It was brutal! Couldn't breathe outdoors.

Then, last winter, we had the opposite extreme, a "polar vortex" which pretty much moved in for the year and froze everything solid for months. It too was brutal and triggered a huge ice storm and subzero temps enough to damage just about everything, vegetable, mineral, and animal.

Don't care much for either one, but with my old creaky joints, I think I'd still take the heat over the cold. I'd rather be cooling down naked with a cold beer than wearing fuzzy underwear and shivering in front of the fireplace.

Enjoy, ya lucky bastids!

_________________
Guitars: https://legend.barryeames.com
Music/Pix/Videos: https://getback.barryeames.com


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: LC 440 and chums...
PostPosted: Mon 27 Oct 2014 06:24 PM 
Offline
Virtuoso
User avatar

Joined: Sat 25 Mar 2006 09:25 PM
Posts: 3190
Location: Grand Absurdity, TX
Pics or it didn't happen.
WAIT, I'll take your word for it. :doh:

_________________
Quality service since 3:00 last Tuesday


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: LC 440 and chums...
PostPosted: Tue 28 Oct 2014 03:35 AM 
Offline
Virtuoso
User avatar

Joined: Wed 05 Jul 2006 03:40 PM
Posts: 2608
Location: Mount Hunter, NSW, Australia.
Photos of what?? Don and I out west, or - *shudder* - Barry in fuzzy underwear?! :lol:

I've yet to take pix of the guitar as I've been quite busy since I got back, but rest assured; it will happen!!


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: LC 440 and chums...
PostPosted: Tue 28 Oct 2014 08:31 AM 
Offline
Virtuoso
User avatar

Joined: Wed 29 Apr 2009 12:32 PM
Posts: 3938
Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Canada
Image

_________________
Guitars: https://legend.barryeames.com
Music/Pix/Videos: https://getback.barryeames.com


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: LC 440 and chums...
PostPosted: Sun 02 Nov 2014 09:19 PM 
Offline
Virtuoso
User avatar

Joined: Wed 05 Jul 2006 03:40 PM
Posts: 2608
Location: Mount Hunter, NSW, Australia.
Rightio, my cynical, disbelieving friends... the LC-440, courtesy of the big man in Roma; but before I show you the guitar, I shall blather on about my impressions of this rather lovely thing.... 8-)

Typical LP feel on the shoulder, i.e. bloody heavy - 4.4kg, to be precise (that's a whisker over 9lbs for you Luddites in North America!) - and, if you're used to strat type guitars, i.e. those with a top horn, it feels a little odd but you get used to it quite easily. The action on this when I got it was lower than a snakes' nuts so there was a little buzziness happening - soon fixed - but dear, oh, dear; what a muscular sounding instrument - for lack of a better word! It is a very polite sound; it doesn't grab you by the ears for a little sonic assault like the raider II or Corsair Avenger, but oh, my; it really sounds like a Les Paul should - not outrageously loud but giving the impression that it will deliver quite a bit more than you bargained for should you be tempted to wind the amp up a little.

So I did.

:love: :loon:

Just lovely; I have had a downer on LPs that dates to my late teens when I had one that supposed to be the second coming but was not even roughly good to my ears at the time! I feel I must have grown up a bit since then as the sound this makes is quite different to anything I've got here and that has got to be down to the mahogany body with the carved cap. I don't know what the cap is made from but it sho' is purty!!
To my shame, I played the "Sweet child.." riff many, many times and laid into some Free and LZ with gusto... my VA900, and other H/B guitars will do this sound to a degree but not quite, you know?!

The middle pickup adds a dimension not available otherwise and is accessed by the switch beneath the control knobs...

So... here we go...

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

... usual watery backdrop. The sky was a little overcast so not as bright as I'd've liked...

Image

Image

...note the little pointers. I shall do something with them; not sure what yet. Paint 'em gold??

Image

Plating's worn off the pickup covers.

Image

Image

Image

Note the red wires I'm indicating; they are not connected to anything so I'm guessing they are for coil splitting?

Image

The engine room.

Image

reduced to its components. You quivering with fear yet, Don?! :P

Image

carved top quite evident

Image

... a piece of white paper behind the cavity shows what's going on.

Image

It can be seen in the control cavity as well.

Image

Image

How's this for serendipity; as I was taking this one, I realised that our very own Squidhead was playing on the iPod!!

So there we go, chaps and chappesses; this thing is gonna get cleaned within an inch of its silly life and then I shall decide what to do about the machine heads - they're pants, they really are! - and the frets which are very very low and quite flat. Probably not quite enough meat left for another dressing but that's a wee way down the track yet... more later as I progress...

John


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: LC 440 and chums...
PostPosted: Sun 02 Nov 2014 10:03 PM 
Offline
Virtuoso
User avatar

Joined: Tue 27 Oct 2009 02:53 AM
Posts: 480
Location: Strailya
Hi John, she looks really nice, not a guitar you see every day for sure.
I remember when Don picked it up, not that he showed me any pics of it though.
The tuners look to be MG55's, I reckon these things are near bullet proof.
They are fairly easy to disassemble, get em apart, clean em out, lube em up & they should be good to go.
Looking at that nut it could be a big part of the problem, the strings look really buried in it.
Often tight slots (get your minds out of the gutter) can mimic a bad tuner.
She's quite unique with the Transition headstock & the PE style body, very nice.
What else is Don Hiding away up there?
Cheers Mate.

_________________
My Guitars- http://matsumokuguitars.com/


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: LC 440 and chums...
PostPosted: Sun 02 Nov 2014 11:12 PM 
Offline
Virtuoso
User avatar

Joined: Wed 05 Jul 2006 03:40 PM
Posts: 2608
Location: Mount Hunter, NSW, Australia.
Yeah... it's a nice one for sure! Oh, the lad has all kinds of wee treasures dotted about the place - the PE 1500 he has will blow your socks off, though I prefer the looks of the unbound PE-600(?) - ; you should go see him!! :D tell him you want to go out to the Dig Tree; he'd love to take you, I'm sure!! :rofl:

OK, now.. slowly so that the disabled amongst us - me! :roll: - can understand...

... how do you disassemble the tuners? Drive the capstan down onto the dust cover with a dead blow hammer?? I cannot see any other way of doing it; at least there's nothing to these eyes... They have endless slop in the capstans and wriggle like two squirrels fighting in a sack...

Yep; the nut is well due for a replacement... that is, indeed, on the list of things to be doing.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 47 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5  Next

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group