When one thinks about the term "the music community" a lot of factors come into play envisioning this term. Jus where is this community located? Who makes up this community? Are the members of the community like me? Would the members, or at least most of them, like me?

As a young man, a child actually as I was 14 at the time, I ran my motorcycle into the side of a car that had run a stop sign. I was doing over 70 when she ran the stop. The speedometer froze on impact (the speedo drive was in the front wheel) at 55. My head, encased in a good helmet, struck the windshield post of her station wagon. This was 1964 so her car was made of very heavy Michigan steel, not like these light "pop top" cars today.

Not sensing any pain (yet) everything slowed down. Way down. Slow motion in real life. Colors changed to sepias, like old photos from the late 1800's. My face was in the child's face who was occupying the front passenger seat. I felt sorry that she was obviously terrified and wanted to tell her it was alright and to not be scared. With their windshield now in their laps and a kids face in theirs I can see the reason for freaking.

Her mother stabbed the brakes and swerved over to her right dragging me, still somewhat on my motorcycle, and the right foot peg went through my boot into my ankle. I guess the noise of my little Yammerhammer bike being crushed freaked her and she whipped back towards center, still rolling.  Somehow I ended up on the hood without the bike and my face was then in hers. She was terrified and I thought of my mother and wanted this woman and her child to not be so scared or worried.

At this point she hit the brakes good and hard. I parted company with her Oldsmobile and hit the street on my back sliding head first toward the curb on the far side of the street. I'm not exaggerating here when I say I was calmly thinking to myself "So this is what it's like to die".

Obviously I didn't and after a few weeks in the hospital (and a whole bunch of pain and procedures) I went home loaded with plaster casts. The next morning a boy who lived around the corner from us, and who my younger brother tormented and beat up fairly regularly, came to our house after my dad and brother had left for the family shop. He offered to teach me to play guitar in exchange for me teaching him how to ride my brother's motorcycle.

The next morning, again immediately after Bub and my dad had left, the boy showed up with an old Kiwi bass guitar. No amp, no strap and just 3 of the 4 strings on it. The surviving strings were probably a good inch from the fretboard in the middle of a very bowed neck. But I loved music and was as excited as Dave was about learning to ride Bub's bike.

Less than a year later, I had a used Alamo tube bass amp and a new Fender Mustang bass. Dave had an old Harmony electric and a Fender Champ and we were making music - kind of. It all got good when a boy from Cleveland moved down to Texas with his family. Elmo heard the noise and came to help or something. A few months later Elmo convinced his parents to get him a drum set and so began a 7-year gig that could qualify as material for a book.

Doing business in any system that takes forever to resolve simple problems is like fighting with a huge python. It might not be too painful or fatal at first. But it will eventually squeeze the life out of you. That's all.

Here I am, again, stuck with listing fees and final value charges on an item that this smack talkin' fool dumped on me. On purpose or not, people that make an offer that's accepted and who then fail to do a single thing about it are the bane of the customer side of eBay. A seller lists an item at a very low price and states payment is due within a certain time. But when the "buyer" doesn't pay, what happens for the seller?

Answer: Zero. Nada. Zilcho. eBay, always eager to make even a single penny, saddles you with their "policies". You want to be paid in less than 7 days? Good luck. Now, adding in a listing that you expect payment within 24 hours of an accepted offer is considered a legal term under California law. I know this for a fact because I have spoken with officials in the California Attorney General's office. So are the terms or phrases "No returns" or "No refunds". By openly stating that by bidding or making an offer that the potential buyer is accepting your terms of sale is also a binding agreement.

Add to this that in virtually any state in an auction that a bidder or buyer is legally obligated to consummate the sale within the described pre-sale terms of sale. Their bid, or offer, is one half of a contract. And it's a contract the buyer has created. Yet when the seller follows through by accepting an offer and the item is removed and no longer for sale, eBay sees fit to do . . . nothing. After all maybe a bad thing happened to the buyer and sooner or later they will pay and, of course, eBay gets their cut. What if your seller fees are due before this happens and the final value fee that is unpaid to you is included. Now that's different. eBay gets their take as if the sale occurred from beginning to end as the seller intended. Of course eventually you'll get a credit. Ha ha!

Only if you have the tenacity of a pit bull. It's up to the seller to still do all the leg work and follow the steps outlined by eBay to recover fees. Ha ha. You're fooled again! The rigamarole you have to go through combined with the ridiculously long waiting periods that come with each successive step are designed so that you will eventually give up.

Players or want-to-be players are presented with an unbelievable array of choices of guitars and basses here on eBay. Acoustics, acoustic/electrics and electrics. 4, 5, 6 - even 12 string models - and that's just basses! In "regular" guitars the gamut runs from traditional 6-string set-ups and more. 7-stringers are now more common and many well known factories have included them in their regular product lines.

Then there is the choice of new or used. Again, going back to the analogy of thinking "car" when we buy (or rent or even lease) there's some cherries and some lemons. At 57 I have been driving since I was 12. We were in agricultural businesses and it was then legal as drivers were needed at various points in the planting, or fertilizing and the harvest times and us farm & ranch kids were needed to help out. So for 45 years I have been driving and I can say I have had maybe 2 brand new trucks and never a brand new car.

In musical instruments I feel the same holds true. We look carefully at our prospective cars for serious faults so we don't get stuck with a "money wagon" that constantly needs repairs or tweaking to just stay serviceable and not leave us stranded. And like used car dealers, there are dealers in used musical instruments who are more trustworthy than others. I was bemoaning the nearing of the end of a listing I had on eBay to a friend one time that had resulted in only a single bid just an hour before the listing was to end. If it closed that way a nice guitar was going to go for just $275.00. At the same time there were at least 2 other offerings of the same model and years that mine was and both still had days to go with numerous bidders.

My friend, being in California, logged on to eBay and then e-mailed me saying I would have gotten way more bids if I had been less forthcoming about details on this particular guitar that were flaws. He also said to look at the other 2 units I had sent the listing numbers for and to observe how one seller said simply to look at the pics and he'd answer any questions. The pics clearly showed his guitar was in bad shape while mine had just a few flaws that kept it from being a probably 9 out of 10. And the other sale had just 1 pic and a stock one at that. It showed a red guitar while clearly offering one in black. No details of high points or low points - no detailed pics.

VT suggested that maybe I should not be so honest in listing flaws that were probably common in this model after 25 years. He said up front "Don't lie, just maybe not tell every little thing, you know? You're being a little too honest." Sorry. I do know and I know he was only trying to help me in the future as I watched this ax go for the lone bid of $275.00 while the lowest one of the other 2 everything but cleared $375.00. The one that had used a stock pic swiped from an online music store (that will remain unnamed with a couple of z's at the front of their name) cleared $400.00!

I want buyers to be able to honestly say I told them of flaws or problems. I'd rather make less and be able to work in the open. Like Skynrd sang "I ain't hidin' from nobody, nobody's hidin' from me".

Don't assume anything - here on eBay or anywhere else. Read up, ask questions, watch others. Don't assume that because some big seller has a store and a lot of feedbacks that they are going to honestly describe a product. Many do use truth in descriptions and I applaud them and even buy from them. I also encourage others to emulate the honest sellers and disclose any and all flaws. You might lose some money but there's more of that and it's easier to get back than lost honor.

If you decide to buy here, whether it be new or used, I would advise bidding and buying on sales that the seller accepts PayPal. If something goes wrong or junk arrives at your house, you have some protection. Insist on insurance on your purchase when shipped so if it arrives resembling toothpicks more than a Telecaster you have some recourse that is sure instead of empty promises.

Look at feedback. Look at all you can view going back to see what other buyers bought and their opinion once they got it. Now a negative or 2 seems to be common to many fine sellers I have dealt with be it from an inexperienced buyer who ignored details or boo-boos clearly pictured. Or the mentally unstable buyers that we can thank the late President Reagan for since he basically gutted the hospitals that cared for those needing it. But if you see even a small pattern emerging that have common points like "He said mint but it's clearly not" or "He took forever to ship and it arrived trashed" or any other troubling entries, pass on the offering.

Good luck here on the 'Bay. I have had fun and gotten some absolute prizes here including a few booby prizes. Most of the junkers and clunkers came along while I was new here. Live and learn. If you don't know of any honest sellers on eBay, email me and tell me what you are looking for and I will send you some names. If I have something you are looking for I will still send you names of other sellers I know to be as honest as possible. I would hope you would want to buy mine. If not, I'll still sleep well, especially knowing I did my best to help somebody get ahead somehow.

Happy playing. Remember, don't go to a gig with a backup, change your strings often and have more than 1 set in your "possibles bag" and change your underwear before you go. You won't play better for that part but if you get hurt while you're out your mother won't be embarrassed.

One comment and several emails about the last post either asked about "Strats" or proclaimed degrees of devotion to this model. For the sake of those reading this who do not already recognize the nickname I'll say out loud it's full given name - Fender Stratocaster. It is the winner of the guitar popularity contest worldwide hands down. Never mind that it's shape or overall design has not ever changed in any meaningful way. It's the stuff dreams are made of.

Does every guitarist want one or have one? No, but most either do or they will at some point in their music related parts of their lives. Older by a bit is Fender's other marquee brand name 6-string - the Telecaster - which was/is quite popular and has been in Fender's product line continuously since its introduction in the early 1950's. The Telecaster (originally named Broadcaster in its debut) is a fine guitar and retains a very good resale value compared to a majority of other manufacturers' offerings. But once the Stratocaster, now even referred to by Fender occasionally by its street nick "Strat", hit the ground running at birth the Telecaster (also called a shorter nick "Tele") has only seen the Strat's dust.

While the Tele has remained popular, especially with country music players, the Strat has gathered a following of even non-musician types. Played by the likes of players such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and his brother Jimmie, John Mayer, Eric Johnson and a host of other players it's small wonder people simply want one.

An untold number of manufacturers around the world have produced their own copies, most identical to Fender's own right down to screw locations for the pickguard and the shape of the headstock. Almost unbelievably, a few of these copycat models now have quite a bit of value for various reasons. The copy issue was siphoning off sales of Fender's Strat so much that Fender, accompanied by Gibson and other companies losing sales to copies of their own lines, filed lawsuits to prevent use of names or certain styling points by others.

So let me simply say, if a Strat is what you want, go with the real deal. Fender's Made in Mexico (MIM) line has models of their best sellers including Strat's, Tele's and their Precision and Jazz basses. The resale is not as high as the American-made versions. But what the heck, their new retail prices are also less. Not a bad choice to get into the magical world of playing music.

My last post on the subject of guitars and buying them was focused on new buyers and/or new players. And today's continues in that vein. After all, while many novices know (or think they know) what they want in a guitar, most players that practice regularly will have a far better idea of what they want and more veteran players will know even more.

I will caution new players to be prudent in buying their first guitar. Right here I will say that the best start for most novices is to go to a local music gear store, be it a large one that's part of a chain or the local (and quickly disappearing) mom and pop operations. No matter which you choose, be on the watch for someone who knows the gear they are selling. And I would advise buying a name brand guitar at either location. That way if things don't go like you thought they would, or you lose interest because of newer interests (examples: girls, boys, cars, joining a circus), you have a good chance of recouping at least some of your money if not most of it. I say that added with this piece of advice - keep it clean, take care not to drop it or bump into things that might damage it somehow and keep it in a case or gig bag. Dust in the controls makes for ugly noise and scares buyers.

OK we have determined that for starters we should be shopping at a music store (at least to try out models) and we should try to stick to known name brands for a variety of reasons including materials quality and resale value. Yesterday I advised paying extra for a good tone wood model such as alder or ash and we will keep this in mind also. If this sounds like buying a car and especially a first car, that's because it is. A sticking point there is nearly everbody's mom or dad or big bro or sis probably drives, even if they don't have their own car, and have done so since they got to legal age to do so. They can then begin making what's called an "informed decision" as to models to buy and models to not even look at twice. But with guitars, unless you have friends that are fairly experienced, you may not have that piece of support to help here.

Without actually endorsing any companies or their products here, I'll say you can hardly go wrong buying a Fender or a Gibson (kind of a non-sequitir there considering cost) or an economy name like Squier or Epiphone of which both are branches of the respectively aforementioned companies. I mention these 2 as well for another reason and that is between the 2 of them they enjoy the absolute majority of the market in the US. There are other "makers" out there using a crafts term, and a lot of them produce some absolutely super-primo guitars. As for out-of-US buyers, I won't even pretend to know your markets or model availability.

Again, and without endorsing any single maker or any makers, and also honestly proclaiming that I receive no fees, products or promises from any music gear companies (although that could change if one were to make an offer which is unlikely after 40 something years of starving) I will toss out names. In no order of any sort, names like Paul Reed Smith (PRS), Michael Kelly, Michael Tobias (now MTD after selling out before), Godin (fantastic guitars flying almost under the radar), Washburn, ESP, BC Rich, Peavey (absolutely great amps & guitars for toughness and quality and Made in USA!), Dean, Jackson, Charvel, Gretsch - and that's a super short list.

The number of guitar manufacturers might be close to endless. For this reason alone, if I were to name a single preference, I would recommend a Fender to a new buyer with adding in all our previous points. The Fender company has a line of guitars bearing the Fender name that are made in Mexico. The link below will take you on a photo tour, in detail, of the Mexican plant. Any questions as to the quality of machinery used or testing stuff before it ships will be answered quickly by visiting that site. I have to say I was quite impressed and not surprised at all. I have owned several Made in Mexico (MIM) models and liked all of them. These guitars are affordable and are actually downright cheap considering the product quality, and they sell used all the time.

http://reviews.photoweborama.com/allthingsguitar1/fendertour//index.html

But you are, well, you! Go to your local guitar seller and try out any axes you can get your grubby mitts on. Try all of them in the store if you have the time. Ask yourself (but not out loud or you might be off to a mental hospital) things like -

"How does this neck feel?" (Is it too wide/thick, too skinny, do the frets let you chord the way you like)

"Does this thing weigh too much?" (and use a strap and stand awhile to compare your favorites)

"Is this thing so ugly I'd be embarrassed to show my dog?" or "Is it so fine looking I'm not thinking clearly?"

"Do these pickups sound better/worse than my other favorites?"

"I wonder if I stay here and whang out really bad sounds if they would give me this to just to get me to disappear?"

Play your favorites through several different amps at minimum. Then play it through what you probably will be stuck with in the end. Spend the dough on what makes it all go - the ax.

One last point on starting out and amps - buy the absolute best guitar you can and settle for the smallest, low-powered, speaker-the-size-of-a-gnat's-ass amp made by a reputable manufacturer. You are far more likely to change your mind on amp choices than on guitar choices before a year is past. As you learn and practice and (hopefully) get better, YOUR style will begin to emerge. What you might think you want starting out in amps may turn out to be the last one you'd want a year later.

Good luck & practice regularly!

Playing guitar is a very dangerous habit. It can be especially dangerous to your money flow. The danger increases exponentially as your desire to own a "better" guitar begins to outstrip your available money. This is the first of a series of issues I feel may assist some buyers and/or players in making the decision to purchase an electric guitar or bass guitar or the systems used to play them through.
 
Always willing to assist you in this endeavor are stores offering credit plans or huge trade-ins on your older model. This is not "kind of" like the auto trade, it is an exact replica. And, like their distant cousins the cars, the guitar you buy on credit is often outgrown or moving into obsolescence before the loan is completed and retired. This first article is on electric guitars and basses and,more specifically, factors to help you decide which route to follow in your quest of ultimate satisfaction.

Granted, starting out if you have never played with a lower priced guitar is advisable for a lot of reasons. If you decide you don't want to pursue the deal any longer you're not out a lot of scratch. The lower priced option should come with a few caveats such as playability and durability. An El Cheapo copy of a famous ax will not encourage one to practice and explore if the neck cannot be straight or if the body is junk (my term here for plywood or the famed "laminate" which is just more expensive plywood) and/or the electronics are junk (which is a common combination with plywood). Also a prime consideration with cheaper models is the ability to pay cash and avoid the easy credit rip offs around.

Now I want to state that my opinions are just that - mine. And some of the things I say or point out are based not just on guitars (and basses) but on something entirely different yet eerily similar in consumer patterns. More specifically, as a rider and builder of Harley-Davidson motorcycles since 1970 I have watched the evolution of an industry so that today it barely resembles the markets and consumers back then.

When I first started riding a "Hog" it was not a decision based on intelligence so much as it was on emotion. Harley's were famous for breaking down and for requiring many hours of preventive maintenance so you wouldn't breakdown. Older riders back then admired younger riders who went with a Harley instead of a Honda 750 or Kawasaki Mach III. They also had a boot full of sayings, one of which was "Ride a mile and work a while". Email me if that one needs explanation to you.

We wore (and still do) black leather jackets and black t-shirts. Black t-shirts didn't show the oil from working on it, the jacket to keep your skin where it belongs. When a "pack" of us would stop to eat or have a beer or iced tea, if our chosen stop wasn't a biker bar it was not unusual to see customers quickly finish their meal or their beer and move on to "safer" spots. Nobody wanted a Harley anymore except for, well, bikers. The image was "helped" by a plethora of "B" (or way lower) grade movies such as "Hell's Angels '69" or "Savage Riders". Drive-in theaters were everywhere then and we'd make a night of it, a huge pack of us riding our bikes packing our girls and beer (hidden in rolled up leathers) and sitting on our bikes or the ground whooping it up and laughing at the on-screen corn of the night. Like the bars and cafes it was not unusual to observe station wagons full of parents and kids driving out before the movie even started. It didn't happen a lot on biker movie nights but it sure did the night we all rode in to watch "Mary Poppins". And no, I am not kidding and we liked the movie!

Now, everybody not only wants one but has one or is working towards it on Harleys. The market was mismatched with more wanting them than Harley could produce. An entire new aftermarket industry exploded with companies, some in existence for years, others hatched by capitalist "pigs". Some of the products that came about, ranging from bolt-on parts to complete motorcycles, ran the gamut of quality from better-than-the-original down to pure junk. While this market has begun leveling out in the past few years, it is a clear example of what happens when increasing demand causes a rise in prices, a decrease in availability and companies come and go.

A guitar is nothing but some wood, a little metal and maybe some dress-up options. I make that simple statement fully aware that there are guitars with Lucite bodies and ones with a frame that exists only to suspend the electronics. Usually though newer buyers do not even consider those types. So what do you look for in a guitar if you're just starting out? Always a good choice, in musical gear as well as motor vehicles, is seeking the opinion of someone local who has experience and whose judgment you trust. Check with local bands or with solo players who have been playing awhile and whose music playing ability is known to be at least "good". Keep in mind that all of us have our opinions and, like a certain body part, all of us have one.

The body first here. It does no good to have the most fabulous neck in the world or the pickups people will die for if they aren't based in a good body. My first choice, in fact my only choice having played for almost 43 years, is wood. Sssshhh! I hear all the sighs and groans as I impart my wisdom and those worthy are enlightened. OK so you know that already. Or at least strongly suspected it. We choose wood for it's resonance and beauty and, well, that's what they have always been made of with a few exceptions.

So now it's what kind of wood? We want one that is some combination of lightweight, resonant, beautiful and affordable. At least that's what I want. Common choices offered run the gamut from maple to walnut to mahogany and rosewood and . . . ! Ask around, read user reviews and ask experts on wood. By that I mean woodworkers. It can be a hobbyist like your grampaw or a true educated expert selling fine woods locally or online. Keeping our desired factors in mind it is easy to finally narrow your choices down, especially when price becomes a factor.

Best are models made of alder, ash, swamp ash (and there is a huge difference in the 2), mahogany and maple. There are no doubt more but I am basing choices partly on the resale market and which woods are sought by buyers of used guitars. After all, and whether you intend to sell it or not, you may be forced to sell it. Or simply want to sell it and never even hear music again, much less play it!

I would narrow the choices from above to alder or ash. I say that based on lower end models and their resale value. OK, so how can you tell if it is either one of those (or any other wood)? Manufacturer's declarations can help if the maker is one such as Fender or Gibson or a bunch more producers. Go with a model made by a foreign owned and operated company and you may end up with the result of truth in advertising laws, or rather the lack thereof, and find that choice already has the reputation of being junk. Here is another place where a local expert can assist you.

If you decide you can, or want, to spend more, woods like swamp ash make a good option as does mahogany. Mahogany just sounds heavy but is surprisingly not. And it's resonance (the characteristic of tone reproduction by allowing sound waves to move through the wood and be reproduced by the pickups in combination with the sound from the strings) is already well known.

When buying, try to keep your emotions in check by balancing your wants with the available choices and which choice is an all-around "best" for you. Good luck and good playing!

Today I am feeling very blessed. Of course part of that is Christmas and the true reason we celebrate the day. I feel very lucky that since I was a young child that I realized to an extent just how lucky I was born in the US. Being born right on the US - Mexico border, I did not have to look far at all to see how different countries could bring totally disparate ways of living.

But also today I have one of my increasingly rare times of no phone calls or pressing business matters, no waking up in a motel on the road at noon having played all night before. By choice our band did not accept any play dates for a 1 week period around Christmas this year so we could be home with our families. Using some of this time I also checked on sales and purchases to make sure buyers have received their items I shipped and to see if sellers have left feedback for me.

Enter munder7782 - surely a VIP seller by anybody's standard. This seller obviously is well aware of his extreme level of importance in even gracing eBay with his presence. I have never seen him but I am guessing he has a true aura and those who do see him must feel quite blessed. He sells ordinary items at ordinary prices. I may be off base on this one but I am guessing since he still lists items that he must need the money. For you see, this seller will inform you that feedback is oh-such-a-hassle. The chore is quite dreadful so he enters it only quarterly. My experience is that he means IF he feels you worthy of receiving feedback from him he might - no promises. Of course he never informs you ahead of time that his policy is such. He also doesn't respond to requests by buyers who check back to see if any was left for them. Quite a mystery is why he would take the time to respond only to explain his "reasons" instead of just entering it. I am therefore quite sure he should be referred to by us, those most unworthy, as His Highness.

So to further your experiences on eBay, and to be able to say that you too have paid whatever paltry sum you were lucky enough to submit to His Highness, Mr. Under a visit and buy a Tremsetter. Not just any Tremsetter or even a Hipshot Tremsetter, but one that, if not actually touched by Him as that probably is a hassle as well, one that at least was in very close proximity to Him. Kind of like touching mud from Lourdes only much more special.