Greetings, whoever-reads-this! I'm a Man With a Mission today here in the music lab. My mission, should I choose to accept it, is to put these strings--Stage Right--with this guitar. Stage Left. The guitar is a Jim Hughes Special. It's currently missing an E string, and the other strings could probably stand to be replaced themselves. The strings I've got are Ernie Ball 10s.
10s are pretty much standard procedure for all my guitars. My wine-colored Gretsch has 11s and my cherry-red Epiphone ES has 9s, but everything else has 10s on it. String gauges are a trade-off. Heavier strings give you a fuller sound but are tougher to play. Lighter strings give you mobility but a thinner tone. I usually go for the Great Middle Way with my 10s..
So I'm down for the mission. Got my guitar and my strings and my wire-cutters. We're off to the races. Changing strings is a pain in the ass, and I'd just as soon get that experience in the rear-view mirror as soon as possible.
I've had this guitar for a number of years now. I was attracted to its unique shape. As I remember, the high E went out soon after I got it, and I never got around to replacing it. As a result, exploring this instrument for its sound and feel is something I've still yet to do.
I know he's built other instruments, but this is my second Jim Hughes guitar The first one was a bass, back in 1980. It had a built-in EQ, which made for a warm sound but also a few squawks here and there. It was even dubbed the Squawk Bass by someone I used to play a lot of gigs with.
My Squawk Bass Anecdote: I played a lot of shows back then, and was doing Hello Dolly. There was a lot of down time in the pit, and we were watching the show. A very quiet dramatic scene. All of a sudden my bass made a big awful sound, and I lunged to turn off my amp. It was just a second, but the embarrassment reverberated for quite some time.
The next day, before the show, I approached the actor who was doing the scene, apologizing all over myself for my bass and its noise. . Öh hell, he said. “I just thought Dolly had gas!” The actress was just a few feet away, and was not amused. Aghast might be a better word…
Well once I get this thing re-strung, I might just take a shot at some more playing today, and maybe even something worth sharing.
Another guitar of mine that's been just gathering dust is an Ibanez Classical Electric, which is missing several strings. The Music Shoppe, out in Parkway Pointe, has a new person doing guitar repairs, and should be able to get it re-strung and overhauled a bit. For the immediate future though, I'm still concerned with this Jim Hughes guitar. Hope her sound is as good as her shape.
So that's all I've got for now. Thanks as ever for stopping in and reading. Much love. More later.
