Renne

OH!,,,,,,,,,,, Never mind........................ Renne.............

What the heck is a "celcius'? Do you need to have the gas pedal replaced? Renne..............

Maybe it's a subliminal marketing ploy to make one think of bikini clad honey's riding Clydedales on a white sandy beach in the Baha,,,,,,bouncing along in the surf at gallop as salty spray covers suntanned skin in droplets that reflect tiny diamonds of sparkling lights and the soft gentle wind carries the scent of coconut suntan lotion in wisps of ever changing direction............................................on my way to the package store! Renne......................

"OH Mr. Owner,,Mr. Service manager",,,,"May WE have a meeting in private please?"....."It's about this Bear SH## in the buckwheat I want to show you!" Renne..........

Great! You just keep peck'in away there! Your Yammi is JUST FINE for now! You'll eventually you'll want to upgrade, it somehow gives ya a boost to play a good new guitar,,,kinda a pride thing,,,the better the sound the more ya wanna do it! It's great fellowship too, get with someone to share, someone maybe as "green" (?) as you, you'll feed off'en one another! Have FUN! Lemmeno when you think you want to up-grade,,,I'll help ya! Renne.........

I missed my own point! I was so moved! The shop owner was less than diplomatic, his "know it all" approach lost him an upgrade customer, too bad for him!..I would have walked out too!...At any rate, here are some hints for you. Yes, Yamaha did make plywood tops, the thought was stability for the novice consumer however, plywood top sound quality suffers because the plywood absorbs it. These guitars were built as knock-a-rounds for the beach, camping and parties. It's true, older Yamaha's were better but target markets and raw material costs led to the compromise. Good guitars for their intended purpose, really! "Quality" in the guitar world is ambiguous, each company has it's own "innovations" to promote and where they shine in one area, they'll fail in another. The object is to shop for an instrument within your price range budget that will give you "sound", "playability" and "longevity" as well as investment return. Sticking with the tried and true will eliminate a lot of grief. Some key things to look for. #1. "SOUND",,, Solid wood top, no plywood. If your budget allows, go for a one piece Stika spruce (AA grade is best) with light bracing. The downside is "CARE, proper tuning and storage is a must to eliminate warping. A split top spruce can be acceptable ( lower cost) but the mids suffer a bit for the "purist" ( ? ). Some companies will tell you a mix of top woods (2) will provide better high's and low's because of the different densities. I find this configuration unacceptable because different wood densities allow for variations in moisture resulting in splitting and or separation under temp. variations. A "Bone" saddle and nut are keys to a good bright sound, there are some OK composite materials, shy away from "Plastic"... #2 "Playability" ,,,here's where it gets sticky, the neck! The neck contributes much to the overall sound as the string vibrations are transferred not only to the saddle but to the body via the neck/body joint. The more dense the neck material the more transfer/sustain. Most necks are mahogany and a "one piece" does this job best, Less expensive units have 2 and 3 piece necks which will allow for cracking and or splitting under adverse conditions, sustain is effected. It's important that the neck is attached to the body with a dovetail joint, many are attached with glue and screws, again possible separation! Look for quality tuners, good smooth machined gears make tuning a breeze. Neck radius/width is very important and can have a real effect on individual players. If your fingers are somewhat large, you might opt for wide as to not mute adjacent strings. You should not have to "get used to" a guitar, it should feel natural as soon as you pick it up, don't compromise. Purchase a "good" case to protect your investment, NO cardboard/gigbags. Always warm the car before you transport, do NOT leave it in the trunk, you'll cry! Maintain humidity in the case with a humidifier especially in winter or dry air climates. There you have some highlights, we won't go into pick-ups and all that. If you would like more info, please feel free to PM me. And yes, I still sell good guitars. Thanks for asking,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Renne

As former owner of H.I.S. Music,(over 10 years) Princeton Mn. I understand customer woe's. It never failed to amaze me when a customer came in with a less than acceptable/ playable guitar and ask if all guitars were this hard to play? I felt so bad when they had been taken advantage of, guitars with bowed soundboards and bad bad necks, actions that you could drive a car under and plead with me to "fix it". My best "fix" was to take a decent guitar off the wall, have them play it, take their useless piece of junk in on a trade, mark down the new one what they paid for the junker if I could and gain a loyal customer. I'd then scrap the junker for parts, use em for Mr. Fix it and burn the wood. I still deal in good price point guitars and at present rolling my distributor accounts over to my son. Suggestion, purchase the BEST guitar you can afford, if it doesn't work out, you'll always be able to sell it. Cheap junk guitars are a waste of $$$$ and you'll quit because they're too hard to play! With today's technology and production capabilities, there are some great sounding playable guitars out there without spending a ton of money! It doesn't have to be a Fender or a Gibson or any of the other big name units to provide you with endless hours of enjoyment. A high priced guitar will NOT make you a great player,,, might make ya look good, maybe, but there's always some smarty pants out there that'll blow your doors off on an old Silvertone! Renne...........still play'in after all these years.

A guy told me the other day of an aunt who lived on the Montana/Canadian border. There had been an ongoing dispute between the US and Canada about in which country the the property was actually located. Both countries claimed rights but after many years of negotiation it was decided that it was to be in the United States. "Thank God" said his aunt. "I won't have to endure another Canadian winter ". Renne............

"WHY" ? Maybe you are! "WHY" do you think we may be? "WHY" are you new? "WHY" sailing or flying, is that something like "riding"? 'WHY"? Renne............

27 views to go and we'll hit 9k! Don't know "WHY" I care!.................Maybe we'll try for 10k! BUT,,,,,,,,,"WHY"????? Renne

No whining allowed,,,11 degrees! Dude,,,that's shirtsleeve weather here,,,chip some ice, throw it in a tumbler..add hooch/mix and live the life! Renne..........

YA think they think it's so cold here our brains aren't functioning at "crook" speed? Renne........[/size]

Nothing really exciting here in central Mn. except instead of our "normal" Jan. thaw when it usually gets up around 50 degrees for a couple days it rained this year, missed getting the bike out for the day, the only good thing about this time of year! Yep, nothing exciting, normal cold, normal snow, normal cabin fever, normal b#*ch'in, normal tv re-runs, normal weather reports, "cold crappy dark", normal dumb a$$es falling thru the ice, normal drunken snowmobile idgits try'in to set land speed records in my ditch, normal rescues of more dumb a$$es lost cross country skiing/snowshoeing after dark, normal vertical hot air balloon racing because hot air rises quicker @ 30 below ( ? )....Yep, normal here in central Mn. as I crank up the heat, turn on a sun lamp, pop some vitamin "D"/"C"/"E",Fish oil/Ribose/anit-depressants, hop on the tread mill cause it's "TOO DANG COLD" to go for a walk and I'm getting "FAT",,, grab a beer and watch another fantasy tropical movie/ Rudy Maxa in Spain........Normal here in central Mn.................. Renne..............

"He who hesitates is lost" Renne,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Did'ja know, there are more motorcycles registered in Minnesota than California? The back roads offer relaxed cruising with beautiful scenery and sparse cage traffic. The northern half of the state is blanketed with huge evergreen forests and many lakes that have resort cafe's. You'll almost always meet folks on the road no matter what route you choose and of course,,,Minnesota "nice" prevails w/ a "wave"....It's not what'cha ride here, it's that you ride. There's no hassles here unless you start it. Our ride time is limited so,,you see a LOT of bikes all summer. I live on a 2 lane state hwy and the amount of bikes passing my home daily is mind boggling................ Renne......

Maybe,,,,,,"W"hat "H"appened "Y"ammer? Bet ya have a long list! Renne,,,,,,,,,,

Because "WE" haven't figured out "WHY" there isn't any place else to go! Please re-direct if "YOU" can! Renne........

Now what did you lose? Renne..

That's what I'm talk'in about! I say the auto co's are still being bought by the oil co's to NOT produce better MPH cars! Renne........

In addition!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What's with all the hoopla hoping for 30mpg in a new auto? I remember auto ads in Popular Mech's, Field & Stream and a host of other "manly" rags in the late 40's and early 50's all advertising 30-32 mpg! Imagine, a Nash Ambassador 4 door auto/stick 18 ft long getting 32mph! With all the technology we have today, air bags, auto sensor wipers, anti skid, cruise control, fuel injection, electronic ignition, On Star computer whatever, lite weight 2 door short wheel base w/ radial tires etc etc...don't'cha think 30mpg is a sin? Renne......... :think::think:

Had a Victory Cruiser, was a fun bike, torque plus,,light weight and handled well BUT,,,,road like a lumber wagon, very hard suspension w/ the mono shock....terrible! This thing looks too "swoopy",,,can't imagine my wife on it after finally getting her to enjoy the RSV! Nope,,,to me,,,,yougly! Renne,,,

My friend wrote me this morning and said he just bought a new Buick and that he must be getting old. I have a Buick Park Avenue! I told him the following,,,,,Life "begins" with a Buick! Your now authorized to drive in the left lane at 50mph with your right turn signal on, attempt to parallel park by nosing in. Once in, you may now do a 5 minute "bumper bump" to assure equal distance front and rear. You may also drive two lane state Hwy's at 45mph oblivious to the 26 cars in your rearview mirror. You may now shop at Pamida ,, park any way you like, even sideways! You may leave your lights on, (auto shut off) while in innocent awe your horn blasts repeatedly, you fumble with your key fob then drive off with your trunk open! You may practice double parking at the drug store and café while ignoring even semi air horn blasts!.... All this in preparation for a Caddy! Oh yes,,,,,,Caddy's come with optional handicap stickers that can be displayed in non-handicap parking zones!,,,, Imagine the FREEDOM! As an added plus, the owners manual comes in LARGE PRINT! Renne,,,

I've found they're gonna do what they're gonna do. My father rode, mom too (Motor Maid). I was taught on a dirt track at 7yrs old on a HD 165...I'm now 66. Taught my son on a dirt track, he's now 31..I guess it's in the DNA. None of us have ever crashed. We believe everyone is out to kill us and ride accordingly. We don't do stupid, drink or exceed the speed limit (well not too much!). I didn't encourage/discourage him, I just laid out the rules early, if he was gonna ride, he was gonna learn. With that, RESPECT!. I told him as soon as thought he was in control, the bike would let him know he wasn't. So far, so good. Renne,,,,,,,,,,

Yep,,,in my rear view mirror!!!!!!!!!!!! Renne..........

NAW! Go ahead and wear it and stay envious! It's green isn't it???? Renne.....