madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828 
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Post by madmax on May 23, 2014 18:21:51 GMT -4
Twice a year, I take a trip to the pawn/thrift/music/etc stores (once in the north half of the metro area and once in the south). I also sporadically visit some of these and some other places throughout the year. When I take vaca days off from work, I often times get food from restaurants, and once in a while do so after work(besides the ones that I normally do). On another db I'm a member of, I've had 2 threads in the OT area about these topics. In my food thread, the site owner told me to stop posting the food reviews. He didn't say anything in the store thread, but on that one I do talk about musical equipment I encounter(the site is a guitar-oriented hard rock/metal site); but I thought I should bring that here too.
Please note that there will be a lot of specific terminology/slang used. You can look a bunch of it up on Google, or ask someone you know who plays guitar(although I do mention non-guitar instr too). Maybe in the future when I get some more time, I may add a bit of a glossary.
I also had a thread there where I reviewed beers. I haven't drank any in a while, but I may get one tomorrow, so I can review that if you want.
I also try a lot of different snack foods. Stuff like chips/crackers/etc, not sugary stuff. If you want, I can post those things. Or ask me if I tried something, and I'll be happy to give you my opinion.
And thanks to Die Lobsterguy for letting me post this stuff here.
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on May 23, 2014 18:41:58 GMT -4
So, let's get started.
At the other site, I mentioned that I got that deal at Church's with the 2 pieces of chicken and a honey butter biscuit for $2.99. I wanted that super spicy chicken they were advertising. Well, when I ate it, it wasn't that spicy. This could be 1 of 2 things. 1. They misheard me and got me the regular spicy. 2. I didn't eat it right away, and it got cold. Sometimes actual temperature affects how spicy a food item is: higher temperature = more spicy. I didn't care about the biscuit, but it was good, but there wasn't much of a honey taste, which I think is a good thing.
Last Friday I went to 2 thrift stores that are a bit out of the way so I wouldn't try to visit them yesterday on my big trip. The first place had a Silvertone strat. The second place had 2 amp footswitches. One was by Mesa and was for whatever amp model has "Black" in the name. I think they wanted $25 for it. There was so much junk in the case they were in, I could only see a letter(A or B) and an LED.
Well, my time on the library 'puter is running out, so I have to go. I'll post on my big trip from yesterday another time. |
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Jun 6, 2014 18:35:49 GMT -4
Finally, a chance to post again. I'll be copy/paste the start of this, then typing the rest here and now.
One note first: When I play on electric guitars, I don't have them plugged in because a lot of times it will sound good through an amp if it sounds good unplugged. And if it doesn't, you can always change the electronic components.
First, I went to the antique/junk store, but they were closed again, and I didn't feel like getting out of my a to see the hours of op sign.
I then stopped at the nearby Salvation Army. There was nothing in the main area. In the as-is area, the upright piano I've seen(and probably mentioned) before was still there. There was junk in front of it, so I don't know if it was working. There was also a Baldwin console piano. It sounded ok. The only things I could see was wrong was that one of the keys was sagging, and the panel underneath to cover the strings was missing. Behind that was a Baldwin Viva organ with some kind of filth on the kb. Lastly, there was a Gulbransen Equinox 120.
Next was the gun store. They had a shotgun with a "clip" magazine, and 2(one desert cammo, one black) with what looked like barrel-styles magazines. I think there was also a MAC-10-style gun there, but don't know if it was a real 9mm or a poser .22. I didn't ask the guy at the counter because he was busy on his laptop.
Then I went to the military surplus store, but didn't see much beacuse there was a huge box in the main aisle blocking my way.
At the first pawn shop, there was a lot of stuff to mention. I don't remember what they had amp-wise. For fx, there was an Ibanez DE-7 delay/echo, a Danelectro Peperoni phaser, and one of the smaller Digitech RP- series in the old silver/purple color scheme.
There were a bunch of guitars there. Some ones I didn't play are one HH and one HSS Ibanez GiO superstrat, a matte black HH Schecter, and a turquoise Epiphone Evolution. The first one I played was a BC Rich NJ Neckthrough Series superstrat.
Fuck, have to go.
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Jun 11, 2014 18:40:04 GMT -4
I think I'll try to add some more right now. At least the fat guy that's sitting next to me has stopped imitating an oil pump with his breathing.
I'm pretty sure the BC Rich was an Assassin. It's pu config was HH. It was missing the high E string. I'm pretty sure was the best sounding guitar there. The next guitar was a HH Laguna superstrat. I don't know(or most likely forgotten) about these guitars. This sounded pretty good too. There were 3 Epi SG's there. 2 were normal, a white one for $199, and a red one for $225. These also sounded decent. I think they both had the chunky neck. For some reason, it is comfortable in my fucked up hand. The 3rd SG was a Special. My notes say 99 next to it, which is prob the price(if not, then the year). It had 1 EMG HB. This one didn't sound as good as the other 2.
The next place to mention is the pawn shop in Riverside. They had a fuckton of (Squire) Strats and copies. Only a few guitars were not behind the counter. They also had some model of BC Rich Bich behind the counter. I think they still had the Caisaha I mentioned on my previous trip. Amp-wise, they had a Randall RH 200, which was sitting on some 4x12; perhaps a PV 5150. There was a Dean Markley KX 20(prob should be K 20X. There was also a tiny speaker cab thing by a company called Anchor. Upon Googling, it appears to be some kind of PA speaker.
At the DAV thrift store, there was a Conn organ.
At the next pawn shop that is also an actual jewelry store, the lady with the poofy hair that looks at me like I'm gonna rob it wasn't there. There wasn't much there to mention. There was a BC Rich Bich thatt might have been one of the Bodyart series unless there was a second one that was that series. I actually took notes this time, albeit when I would get in my car. The other thing of interest was a Roland TR505 that the wanted $45 for. There was no power supply with it, unless they had it in the back, so I couldn't test it out. After checking YT, I liked what it could do. Maybe I'll pick it up if I'm in the area, but the no ps is a problem.
It's getting late, so I'll take off.
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Jun 12, 2014 16:33:03 GMT -4
I forgot to mention that before that pawn shop, I stopped in the small strip mall that has a gun store and guitar store next door to each other. The gun store was gone. The guitar store had the lights off.
Man, I gotta get home and give birth to a toilet baby.
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Jun 13, 2014 18:43:39 GMT -4
Ahh, no rotten egg contractions today.
The the guitar store(that had the lights off, like I mentioned above) there was a sign on the door saying closed on Thurs, that of course being the day I went there. I can't remember what was hanging on the wall of $$$$ except for the Hamer I mentioned before. There was what looked to be a Casiaha sitting on one of the counters. On a stand in front of the window, there was a Roland synth. I couldn't get a look at the whole thing since there was some sort of poster on the window. It looked to be an Alpha Juno 1. I think I saw the price tag, but forgot what it said. I've been meaning to call to ask about it and the other kb.
Next is the tornado pawn shop. For those unfamiliar, I call it that because it got destroyed by a tornado some years ago. They had a bunch of guitar behind the counter. I remember some form of Jackson superstrat, a PRS CE model, and a white Ibanez that looked like a Vai without the handle cutout. Synth-wise, I think a lot of the stuff I mentioned before was still there. This time there was a Yamaha DGX640C, a Roland XP-30 for $499, and a Kawai K1r rack unit for $59. There don't seem to be any YT demos for the Kawai. In amps, there was a Carvin SX200 for $200. There was also this retro-looking $129 Epiphone thing that took me a minute to realize was an extension cab. The label on the back said 70 watts and 16 ohms.
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Jun 18, 2014 18:15:07 GMT -4
Then I played the intro to Wish You Were Here on a 12-string acoustic. I then meesed with an Alvarez electric that was $119. I don't know what the pu config is, but the body resembled a PV Vandenberg.
Next, I went to that cosignment store nearby. There was a wood flute there and a regular one. I don't remember if the Ibby wah was still there. There was a PV T15 for $80. Someone had taken a woodburner to it, since there were words on the side, and a skull graphic on the top.
At the Claycomo gun shop, there were 1 or 2 civilian versions of the H&K MP5. $$$$!
Then I stopped at a thrift store that apparently closed a few minutes early. The hr of op sign said 4pm, and my car's clock I think just hit 4, and it's a few minutes fast.
There was nothing of interest at the antiques store.
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Jun 20, 2014 18:42:14 GMT -4
Then I went into the thrift store in that shopping center. There was a Wurlitzer organ in there. I tried to find something matching my notes, but no luck. I'm tempted to go in there again just to see what model it is. I'm kind of leaning towards one of the Omni series. Speaking of Wurli organs, I finally identified the one that was at the SA as-is section for a while. It was a model 555. Here is pic: www.vintagesynth.com/misc/wurlorbit3.jpg Got to go! |
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Jun 26, 2014 16:37:55 GMT -4
Well, I went back to the thrift store to id the organ there. It is a Wurlitzer Funmaker with Syntha-Solo. I don't know what the SS thing is, because when I looked on Google for a minute, I was just getting Craigslist and other classified stuff.
I'll hopefully get to start the food stuff tomorrow.
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Jun 27, 2014 18:37:02 GMT -4
Motherfuck!!!! What just happened? I was almost done typing and the page just went blank, and my fucking post disappeared! I'll try again.
The last place I visited that day was 2 doors down from the thrift store. I think there was a BC Rich and some strattage. In the counter case with missing glass, the was a Zakk Wylde od, an MXR envelope filter, and an EH LPB-1 pedal. I was right about that one kb there; it is a Solton MS60. I bet it will still be there next year. There was an interesting amp there. The brand is Unicord, which I think is related to Univox. The model I assume is 400, since that was painted in bright orange on the faceplate. I don't rem,ember the price though.
The next day, I went around to the thrift stores in my town. The only piece of musical equipment I found was a Kimball Valencia console piano. Seeing that made me wish I knew how to play the intro to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis.
There was something really odd when I went to where one thrift store was. It was in an office building affiliated with some religious organization. The front doors were unlocked, and I went right in. There was apparently nobody there. I wandered around in there for a few minutes. This was around 1pm on a Friday no less. I think the room for the thrift store was now a computer lab.
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Jun 27, 2014 18:47:09 GMT -4
Actually on Thursday, after my "shopping" trip, I stopped at Long John Silvers to see when they closed that night, and to ask about a deal advertised on tv. It was 8 pieces of chicken and 2 family sides for $12. The guy at the counter said they didn't have that anymore, but had 8 pieces of chicken and 1 family side for $10. I then asked if onion rings was one of the sides I could get, and he said yes. Later that night, I went there and ordered that deal. I then said I wanted onion rings. The girl said that is not one of the family sides. Since I didn't feel like going somewhere else, I got the fries. I can't remember if I got an order of fried clams. The chicken was good. I think I waited awhile before I ate, so I think the fries got cold. While they tasted ok, I think they were giving me heartburn while I was eating. I've had that happed before when eating cold fries.
The next day, I finally got stuff from the Thai place. I'll leave that for next time.
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Jul 3, 2014 18:41:37 GMT -4
At the Thai place, I got the fried squid which was good. It came with a spicy dipping sauce. I also got the fried tofu. It was good, even though it wasn't crispy as I'd expected. I forget what the dipping sauce was like, but I liked dipping the tofu in the squid's sauce better. Finally, I got the spicy eggplant, and I chose beef as the meat. This was awesome.
Saturday, I got stuff from 2 bitter rivals. At Burger King, I got 2 orders of onion rings, which were the same as last time. I also did the 2 for $5, and got the Big King again and the Chicken Big King. There was nothing erally good or bad to say about either. I also went to McDonalds and got the 40pc Chicken McNuggets. They said I could have gotten like 8 free sauce thingies, but I only got 2. I think they were the habanero and buffalo ranch. I think I liked both. Maybe I should have gotten 1 more to try.
Sunday(before Mem Day), I went to Dominos. I got 2 things off the 2 or more for $5.99 menu. First was a pizza. I had peperoni; if there was a 2nd topping, it was prob sausage. This was better than last time in that the sauce wasn't as acidic this time. I also got the bacon and tomato Specialty Chicken. This was really good, but you don't get very much for how much you are paying, even with the 2 or more deal. I would instead recommend getting the 20pc McNuggets at McD's, some shredded mozzarella at the grocery store, and whatever other toppings you want and bring them home and put the Nuggs on a baking sheet, put the cheese on top, and put the other stuff on, then put in the oven until the cheese melts.
Last Friday, I got some stuff at a few places. In reverse order:
1. The basic bean burrito and a buffalo chicken ranch loaded griller from Taco Bell, bothof wich I've had before.
2. That Asiago Ranch chicken sandwich from Wendy's that was advertised on TV. I got it with the spicy breaded chicken. It wasn't anything special. I can't remember if I had this before.
3. The King's Hawaiian BLT at Arby's. This wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be.
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Jul 3, 2014 18:46:17 GMT -4
Also, I got some beer to try. I got one of those large cans of the Lime Bud Light. Since it was a big can, I took my time drinking it. It didn't have a beer taste, but I didn't really taste any lime either. It had an odd taste when I took a sip about 29 min after opening, but not any sips afterwards.
I think I will be doing some stuff in a little over a month from now. I might be taking my other big "shopping" trip. I know I will be getting more food to try. I am seriously considering taking the durian challenge.
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Aug 6, 2014 18:21:56 GMT -4
I am almost at the end of a small trip today. I am going to the "north of the river" pawn shops. I also stopped in the one Salvation Army that had some heavy-duty air organ that was made of wood instead of plastic. I wanted to go to the one thrift store I missed last time, but it'll probably be closed already after I leave the library.
I left the house way fucking later later than I intended to. That helped me chicken out of going to a tattoo place.
The first pawn shop was the one with the 3 SG's. The white one was gone. The BC Rich was an Assassin. The Schecter said "Damien" on the truss rod cover. The Epiphone was still there. There were 2 Squires there. They were both Chinese, or 1 was Indonesian. I gave each a couple strums while holding them upright. One sounded better than the other.
There was some tiny Marshall amp for $45.
There was a KORG M1 leaning against the counter that they wanted $500 for.
Finally, there was this tiny $24.99 Yamaha kb that was brown. I'm mentioning this because it had a brown plastic case. The case had an opening that corresponded to a pair of jacks on the kb. I'm assuming one jack was for headphones. The other jack was labeled "FW" or "Footswitch". I'll do some research later and see what's the fucking deal with this thing.
At the next pawn shop, all but a few guitars are behind the counter. The guy was nice enough to show me then backs of the 4 Squires. They were all Indo. One was $130 and another $125. The also had a Mexistrat for $250. There was also a Silvertone Paul Stanley V-ish thing.
They had an Ibanez Soundtank CM5 Classic Metal, like I used to own.
There was also a small Yamaha kb(maybe a PSS-130) that came with the original box.
I also went into the guitar store that was closed last time, but I'll mention that next time.
Then I went into the pawn shop that is also a jewelry store. The only guitar worth "mentioning" was a BCR Warlock-shaped thing that had a shit paintjob.
They still had the TR-505. I picked it up, and it felt a bit dirty. That, and the back trim with the labels means I won't be buying it.
They also had a white Crate Vintage Club amp for $189, and a Yamaha YPP-200 that was a bit scratched up. The price tage didn't seem to have a price, unless it was the 4-digit number that didn't have a "$" next to it.
That's enough for now. I'm going to send the rest of the notes I have so far to myself in an email.
I'm making my big trip tomorrow.
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Aug 11, 2014 19:16:43 GMT -4
Alright, I'm back. Now for that guitar store. Displayed in the window was a doubleneck bass/guitar by some company I've never heard of. Here's a listing for it on Amazon: www.amazon.com/Bad-Axx-SDN-01-Double-Electric/dp/B00EPY0L2E/ref=pd_sxp_grid_pt_0_1/179-2988402-7058758 I don't know how much the store was asking, since I wasn't interested. If it had a 12-string guitar instead of the bass, I would have checked it out. I went into the big room. I looked closely at the wall of fancy guitars, and saw that they were actually, fancy-looking guitars. First was a Hamer double-cut. I didn't look closely ad the headstock, but I'm guessing it was an XT series since there was of those on the regular stuff wall. Next were 2 Oscar Schmidt 335 styles. Then there was an Epiphone with some funky retro logo. I forget what the body was. Finally was an Epiphone 335. The 2 amps I remembered were an older PV head because the tolex had been replaced with some that was orange, and a H&K because either the tolex was changed on that or the logo was some odd color. On the kb stand was a Yamaha YPT-220. I asked the girl that works there if that was the one on the counter the day they were closed, and she said she thought it was. I also asked her if the synth on the stand by the window was a Roland Alpha Juno 1 being sold for $249, and she said it was. On the wall was some guitar that looked to have originally had a strat body but was cut a bit, and had birds and/or flowers painted on it. I looked it came from some folky prog band from the 70's. Also on the wall was a Charvette that was on commission for $200. Also a Washburn V for $199. There was also some Jackson V for $599 It had some odd shape in the "crotch" area. I asked the girl what model it was, and she didn't know. She went to the office and asked a guy working there(not the young guy that's been there other times that I assume is her bro or SO). The guy didn't didn't know either. He seemed like he was a surfer in the 70's or something. I told him I'd look it up on the Internet. Doing so right now, I cant' seem to find a match, unless I'm remembering it wrong. On the counter was some Casiaha with a case, and a few multifx units including an ART Phat Boy. Next was the tornadoed Cash America. Behind the wall were a Shecter LP and Strat with abalone, some other Shecter strat, some HSH Ibanez with a fancy finish, and some Jackson superstrat that I think was HH. On the regular wall was a BC Rich Warlock or Bich, an Ibanez RG and a Randy Jackson strat. The little flea market/consignment shop was gone and replaced with a dent repair place. When I left the library, the severe thunderstorm started up, and was pissing down rain. I stopped outside the next pawn shop and only looked in because I didn't want to get any roof rain on me. When I got to the last pawn shop, the rain had let up quite a bit, so I only got a few drops of roof rain on me. I was distracted due to the rain, so I don't recall much about the musical stuff; mostly there was a PV Backstage Chorus 208 like I have for $99. In the gun section, there was a Cobray M-11(MAC-11 copy) with some ghost skull graphics shit on it, and an extra barrel/body piece with the same shit. I think they wanted $4xx for it. Next post will start my big trip on Thursday. |
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