| Visit Our Catalog at SteelGuitarShopper.com |

Post new topic What are you doing with the down time ?
Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4  Next
Reply to topic
Author Topic:  What are you doing with the down time ?
Bob Hoffnar


From:
Austin, Tx
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 5:22 am    
Reply with quote

I currently have zero gigs and very little income. But I do have plenty of time !

Im repairing gear and going over stuff to see what I can sell. Also using this time to finish up personal recording projects , work on some new compositions and dig into some serious practicing. If I can dig up the money I want to get the Paul Franklin and Mike Borque courses. Maybe try to get my C6 straight jazz chops to an almost functional level .

In any case do what ever you can to slow the contagion.
_________________
Bob
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Bill Duncan


From:
Lenoir, North Carolina, USA
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 5:51 am    
Reply with quote

I am picking with friends, mostly at my place.

Repaired and added K&K pickups to three guitars (6 string) for friends.

Just finished building an acoustic flat-top guitar for a friend's son who plays clubs.

Building a couple of archtop guitars for myself. Also, building a couple of new amplifier cabinets. Nice stained and deep polished, clear coated, figured maple ones for my picking studio.

Just finished and installed a set of french doors in the master bath for my wife.

Also, staying out of my wife's way and minding our 10-year-old daughter who's out of school while my wife works.

In planning and material gathering stages of building two Strat and one Jazzmaster style guitars. The JM for me and the two Strats for a picking friend.
_________________
You can observe a lot just by looking
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Greg Cutshaw


From:
Corry, PA, USA
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 6:20 am    
Reply with quote

Ok, Bill is the hands down winner of the downtime contest! We are touring Texas after the SG Jamboree then heading back to PA where work is still open (day job, not retired yet). Got a new MSA pedal steel coming soon so that will occupy my nights.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website Yahoo Messenger
David Ball


From:
North Carolina High Country
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 6:30 am    
Reply with quote

Bill--I'm jealous. I've been slowly but surely moving my shop from Tennessee to North Carolina. I'm getting it close to the point where hopefully I can resume building some instruments myself. As for now though, I just have stuff crammed into a small shop space....Plenty of indoor activities to keep me busy.

I'm playing some steel too, but by myself at home.

Dave
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Bill Terry


From:
Bastrop, TX
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 6:40 am    
Reply with quote

I'm finishing up some tracks for an ever-patient client, stuff that's been on the backlog for a long time.

I also plan on doing some studio clean-up/clean-out, a long overdue chore.

Like Bob, I hope to spend some quality practice time, especially C neck, which I really lack confidence with on live gigs.

I bought a Kemper Profiler a couple of weeks ago, and have barely had time to do more than poke on it a bit. I hope to get much deeper with that.

EDITED: oh yeah... my wife wants me to finish a deck project that's been 'delayed' for about a year.. Smile
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Bill Duncan


From:
Lenoir, North Carolina, USA
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 6:51 am    
Reply with quote

David Ball wrote:
Bill--I'm jealous. I've been slowly but surely moving my shop from Tennessee to North Carolina. I'm getting it close to the point where hopefully I can resume building some instruments myself. As for now though, I just have stuff crammed into a small shop space....Plenty of indoor activities to keep me busy.

I'm playing some steel too, but by myself at home.

Dave


I also have five horses, chickens, and three dogs to take care of. My wife does feed the dogs, sometimes. The ten-year-old daughter was a late in life surprise. I was sixty when she arrived.
_________________
You can observe a lot just by looking
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Jim Cohen


From:
Philadelphia, PA
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 6:54 am    
Reply with quote

Here's my current list:

1. Wash my hands frequently with soap & water while singing Happy Birthday twice

2. Stay in touch with family and friends and support them as best I can, from a distance

3. Take a walk every day with my wife

4. Walk the dog

5. Re-enroll in Paul's course

6. Deepen my understanding of the 9th string on E9

7. Reconstruct my right-hand technique

8. Take some Skype lessons with someone(s)

9. Do my taxes

10. Clean up my messy study

11. Heed the advice of the CDC

12. Try to avoid panicking, do my part, and hope for the best for us all
_________________
www.JimCohen.com
www.RonstadtRevue.com
www.BeatsWalkin.com
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Dave Mudgett


From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 7:12 am    
Reply with quote

I've been recovering from surgery for the last 2 months, and was just starting to come out of my hole when this hit. We had a bunch of gigs scheduled, but they're canceled for the next month or two at least.

I normally work out pretty hard - running, weights, calisthenics with walking on the off-days - but that had to adjust that since medical stuff started in November. I worked back up to walking 2-3 miles a day, but about to get back into my regular workout program. I was walking at the mall, but that ain't gonna work anymore. Working out at home is much safer.

In the meanwhile, we have 6 songs to mix for a CD - they were just waiting for the steel parts, which I finally recorded last weekend. I have a couple of new steels - a Rains and an MSA Legend - that need to be set up. I couldn't even lift the steels out of the case since the surgery. Some new tunes to write. I definitely need to go over my equipment and pick out some stuff to move down the road to clear out the overloaded music rooms downstairs. I had some guitar shows planned to get rid of some stuff, but they're canceled too. A couple of salvage computers to set up. And of course, finally get down to practicing more again. C6 for me too right now, it's time to focus.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Ian Rae


From:
Redditch, England
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 7:16 am    
Reply with quote

I forecast a bumper crop of C6 players in a few months' time Smile
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Jim Cohen


From:
Philadelphia, PA
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 7:22 am    
Reply with quote

Ian Rae wrote:
I forecast a bumper crop of C6 players in a few months' time Smile

LOL!!
_________________
www.JimCohen.com
www.RonstadtRevue.com
www.BeatsWalkin.com
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Brooks Montgomery


From:
Idaho, USA
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 7:34 am    
Reply with quote


_________________
A banjo, like a pet monkey, seems like a good idea at first.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Ross Shafer


From:
Petaluma, California
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 7:51 am    
Reply with quote

Downtime? What's that? Social distancing and self Isolation, is pretty much where I've been at for the last 20 years. Finally there's a real benefit to being a hermit!

I'm spending my time right now getting this cutie together for its owner, who had planned to fly here to pick it up...not now though, gonna hafta ship the thing....ugh!

That'll have my panties twisted from the moment I hand it off to the folks in brown, until my customer calls to tell me "the eagle has landed....intact"


Breath carefully, stay well!


Last edited by Ross Shafer on 17 Mar 2020 7:28 am; edited 1 time in total
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Jim Cohen


From:
Philadelphia, PA
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 7:53 am    
Reply with quote

Looks beautiful and I love your new logo, Ross! Very moderne!
_________________
www.JimCohen.com
www.RonstadtRevue.com
www.BeatsWalkin.com
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Joe Naylor


From:
Avondale, Arizona, USA
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 7:55 am     :d
Reply with quote

I just finish practicing for the first time of several today. I have not played for a few years until lately so I would think that honing your skills would be a good idea.

I am hopeful to play more at church

Joe
_________________
Joe Naylor, Avondale, AZ (Phoenix) Announcer/Emcee owner www.steelseat.com *** OFFERING SEATS AND Effects cases with or without legs and other stuff ****** -Desert Rose Guitar S-10, Life Member of the Arizona Carport Pickers Assoc., Southwest Steel Guitar Assoc., Texas Steel Guitar Assoc., GA Steel Guitar Assoc., KS Steel Guitar Assoc. (Asleep at the Steel) tag line willed to me by a close late friend RIP
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Tony Prior


From:
Charlotte NC
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 7:59 am    
Reply with quote

for me this isn't' actually down time, everyone else is now doing what I've been doing for near 5 years now !

The only difference is I have not been told to stay home and do nothing !

Ok..so what do I do, Yard Work, Chores, MUSIC etc..I have formed a good discipline for both Guitar and Steel, studying the fretboard, varied positions, redundant positions etc...When I don't sit with one or the other for a day or so I feel guilty !

I DO NOT spend hours on the Internet.

This is not a bad thing, everyone take time and be safe and stay healthy. Practice !
_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders , Eastman Mandolin ,
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years

CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website


Last edited by Tony Prior on 16 Mar 2020 3:41 pm; edited 2 times in total
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Ross Shafer


From:
Petaluma, California
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 8:00 am    
Reply with quote

Jim Cohen wrote:
Looks beautiful and I love your new logo, Ross! Very moderne!


Thank you Jim! This is a one off though. When my customer requested the wild 'n wacky fret board....I was worried the actual logo wouldn't look right. So the customer (a talented designer himself) asked if he could take a pass at it. I think it turned out bitchin' too!

OK, sorry to go off topic....back to our regularly scheduled program.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Stu Schulman


From:
Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 8:16 am    
Reply with quote

I'm washing my hands constantly,Playing with my cat,Learning how to talk with my chickens,and getting to know my new piano.
_________________
Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952.


Last edited by Stu Schulman on 16 Mar 2020 11:46 am; edited 1 time in total
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Joseph Carlson


From:
Grass Valley, California, USA
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 8:58 am    
Reply with quote

Pretty much just hanging out with the kids and working on this book:



I think the concepts would work pretty well on a pedal steel too.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Kevin Fix

 

From:
Michigan, USA
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 12:31 pm    
Reply with quote

I walk my dog a mile before breakfast.

Take care of my wife and I.

keeping in contact with family health conditions.

Have lots of time now to explore more C6. I have been converting songs I normally play on E9th to C6.

We had two big shows canceled. Our first ones for the season.

Meanwhile, back to the dog for two mile walk after supper. Waiting for warm weather. I am ready to shed the CarHart's!!!!

And most important, listen careful to the CDC, stay out of Wal Marts!!!!!
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
John Palumbo


From:
Lansdale, PA.
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 1:44 pm    
Reply with quote

Just Thank Goodness for this forum as being some where to go to. With all that is going on in the news today. It's so depressing.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Larry Allen


From:
Kapaa, Kauai,Hawaii
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 4:01 pm    
Reply with quote

We just got relieved of a nice fat gig at the Marriott , no tourists , no cruise ships, 3 month contract canceled Crying or Very sad so far only one case on Kauai... Whoa!
_________________
Excel steels & Peavey amps,Old Chevys & Motorcycles & Women on the Trashy Side
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
John De Maille


From:
On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 4:34 pm    
Reply with quote

No gigs. All been cancelled.
I'll practice and try out some different variations on my rig. I'll polish my steel up again and clean it, change the strings.
Do some yard work. Too early yet to do much though. I've still got another tree to cut up and split. There's a whole bunch of stuff, that, I can do. Just have to find the urge.
Also, call the relatives and check on them. Not that I can do anything but send love.
And, most of all, make sure my wife and I stay safe and healthy so we can get over all of this mess.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Jack Stanton


From:
Somewhere in the swamps of Jersey
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 4:46 pm    
Reply with quote

Most of what Jim Cohen said, but I refuse to take his dog for a walk, and his wife has far too much common sense to take a walk with me.
I plan to revisit the Paul Franklin Method from the very beginning with a vengeance.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Jack Stanton


From:
Somewhere in the swamps of Jersey
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 4:46 pm    
Reply with quote

Duplicate

Last edited by Jack Stanton on 16 Mar 2020 7:09 pm; edited 1 time in total
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
gary pierce


From:
Rossville TN
Post  Posted 16 Mar 2020 4:55 pm    
Reply with quote

My restaurant, and church jobs just got cancelled, so I guess its time to practice more in case they start back.
I think Ian's statement might be right.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Jump to:  
Please review our Forum Rules and Policies
Our Online Catalog
Strings, CDs, instruction, and steel guitar accessories
www.SteelGuitarShopper.com

The Steel Guitar Forum
148 S. Cloverdale Blvd.
Cloverdale, CA 95425 USA

Click Here to Send a Donation

Email SteelGuitarForum@gmail.com for technical support.


BIAB Styles
Ray Price Shuffles for Band-in-a-Box
by Jim Baron