Minor Break from Flipping

After a 3rd visit to all of the 4 pawn shops I regularly visit didn't yield anything of value or promise, I'm taking a short break from flipping. Reason being, I don't have the seed money to get started for probably a few weeks or so. Rest assured, I have plenty of money, but it goes to my family and bills; only excess starts flips, and I do not have excess right now.

Part of the reason is that I have started work on building a guitar for my wife, a Gibson-scale Telecaster type guitar that is more like a La Cabronita. The body is about 90% normal size, and thinner, for weight reduction, and will be purple paisley.

You can view my build thread here: http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/484827-build-thread-smaller-cabronita-esquire-my-wife.html

I've bought a few necessary tools, and materials, so money's tight. Stay tuned; I'll fill the time with a few gear reviews.

~C

Tips When Gear Theft Occurs, and Lessons to Make it Easier on You

Well, it's just a minor update, from a musical perspective, but I recently had a couple power tools stolen from my garage. It was a couple weeks ago when the theft occurred, but I didn't notice until about a week ago when I went looking for the tools. A neighbor saw it happening so was able to get a description of the burglar, but there's obviously just a minor chance my tools will be recovered.

PS -- this picture's hilarious. (Source)

Everyone I talked to about this had the same question for me -- "did you get the serial number for your tools?" While the answer for one was an easy "no," as I hadn't even opened the tool, let alone recorded the serial number after doing so, the other tool, and my favorite (it was an awesome drill...) did not have a serial recorded for it, even though I've owned it at least a few years. That makes for a quick lesson learned, doesn't it? Luckily the burglar only took the drill and a battery, so I still had the charger and a 2nd battery, plus the case all remaining.

At any rate, since I'm pretty wont to make lists of lessons learned, here's another one for you:

• Don't leave your garage open, even if you're home. This guy must have just run in and out the garage in a few seconds, as no one noticed, but when we talked to the neighbor, it happened while we were in the backyard. Yikes! Kinda scary when you think about it...what would happen if one of us had gone into the garage at the time, or he checked the door from the garage to our house? Speaking of which...
• Don't leave the door from your garage to your house unlocked. Maybe a "duh" piece of advice, but considering people could break into your car and use your garage door opener, or you may have your garage door opened, it makes an easy point of access.

Now, on to the ones that are relevant to you and I, as music gear owners:

• Don't shirk the task of recording ALL serial numbers to all pieces of gear that you own. Make a spreadsheet, save it to the cloud. Update it when you buy any new gear.
• Check out the pawn shops. I was assured by the local police department that they'll be checking pawn shop reports, and it was when I checked in myself with the pawn shops that I saw how tight the system was. Pawn shops report EVERY item they buy or pawn, to a database that police can access. If police are doing their job and checking every so often on that database, they'll find items that got sold that are reported stolen. Pawn shops have to wait at least 3 days after buying something before they can sell it, so there's a window there where police can check and keep an item from getting sold.
• Also, to the point of serial numbers, pawn shops are required to report serial numbers as well. The best way to prove a piece of gear is yours is through that serial. There's a plausible defense that the item is not yours if you don't know the serial. Even though one of my tools was brand new, there's no telling that someone may legitimately sell a brand new one of those tools at a pawn shop, and no guarantee that it's actually mine.
• Check the pawn shops often. I can't necessarily trust the police will have the same diligence I do, and that's nothing against them, but to ensure the item is being checked for regularly, I plan to stop by all the nearby pawn shops every couple days just to be sure.
• Check other avenues of selling gear. I doubt your everyday criminal will use Reverb, but check Craigslist and ebay at the very least. You can sort ebay auctions by location and would get an easy sense if someone's trying to sell your gear on there.

Luckily it was tools taken instead of any of my music gear. Luckily it was just theft, considering my family was at home. Take the necessary preventive steps to avoid giving criminals an easy way to steal.

~C

Unidyne SM57 Update: SUCCESS!

No more hole digging! Time to fill 'er back up!

Great news, after last night I had a chance to look at the "broken" SM57s that had just arrived and discovered, on the surface, that the issue simply had to do with soldering of the wires on the inside to the lugs on the capsule. It ended up being literally that simple for one of the microphones. The "rattling" reported in the listing was just the nuts and washers for the retention of the capsule rattling in the handle. They just needed to be put back on, and all was good as new. That one will be a quick sale!

(stock photo from the 'net, so you can see what the solder job looks like)

The second one was not as simple. I noticed the PCB with the lugs for the capsule was spinning freely, which meant two things: first, that the nut holding the PCB down was loose, and second, that the thin wires coming from the coil of the capsule had broken.

I ended up trying to re-solder the coil wires back to the lugs, but there was barely enough length, and the minute the PCB spun even a little, the wires broke. So I tightened the nut holding the PCB down TIGHT, and then grabbed my hook-up wire. Stripped the vinyl off the outside of it, pulled out a couple copper threads, soldered one to each of the two lugs, then VERY CAREFULLY soldered the thread to the coil wires.

Disclaimer: This is not the easiest thing in the world, as the coil wires are enamel coated and won't take solder until the enamel is removed. You can either get some high-grit (like 240 or above, to avoid sanding through the wire) sandpaper and carefully sand the enamel off, or if you have good temperature control of your soldering iron, you can put it at a temperature that won't damage the wire but will melt back the enamel. I chose the latter, and got the solder to hold. Wired it back up, and...voila! Worked!

Knowing that the capsule fully worked, I went about putting the Unidyne cap on the Shure capsule and soldered the capsule to the Unidyne base (containing the much-touted Unidyne transformer). It works like a charm!

Given the work I've put into the Unidyne, I'm definitely going to keep it, and probably going to paint the body white, just to look cool. In all, this took very little investment, and when I sell the fully-working Shure SM57 that took hardly any work, you can admit that I have quite the deal:

- Bought the Unidyne III for $50, found out it was irreparable
- Bought the 2 Shure SM57s for $50, got them both working
- Moved one Shure capsule into the Unidyne body and cap
- Can sell the other working SM57 for around $70, with a negative net of $30

But wait! There's more!

I have a fully working body from a Shure SM57 and a completely un-working Unidyne SM57 capsule. I might put both up for sale and see if there's anyone interested. Probably sell both for $20-30 which would mean fully recuperating my investment, and still having a Unidyne SM57.

It's been a long ordeal, but I think I see light at the end of the tunnel! Here are the lessons I learned from this complicated flip (although it's not over yet!):

1. Don't get ahead of yourself on thinking you'll make money, especially if you have no idea the extent to which the repairs will be.
2. Don't give up on a botched repair; look for opportunities that will let you get out of whatever mess you're in.
3. When possible, consider alternatives that may cost more, but will result in you keeping or being able to sell a piece of high-quality gear.

~C

Advice from a Left-Handed Guy Playing a Right-Handed Guitar: My Gift to The Upper Bout

So, my bud Brian at The Upper Bout and I were talking last week about guitars (is there really anything else to talk about at a guitar shop???) and we got to talking about how I'm left-handed but I play right-handed guitars. At some point in time, Brian mentioned my blog and (maybe somewhat jokingly) that I should write a post about why I made that decision and think that left-handers should at least consider doing the same thing.

So, without further ado...

Why Left-Handed People Should Consider Playing Right-Handed Guitars

So here we go.

If you are left-handed, you're probably used to having difficulty with some right-handed objects: golf clubs, scissors, 3-ring binders, can openers, and plenty of other things. At some point in time, it becomes a sense of pride that we are lefties. We like to tell people we're left-handed, talk about how we are so much more awesome than right-handed people, tell our share of jokes and lefty-isms ("Left handers use the right side of their brain; righties only use what's left!"), talk about how we're more creative, more agile, or discuss all the things we do that are left-handed or right-handed (for the record, there are only 2 things I do that are right-handed: golfing and batting....well, and playing guitar, which I'll talk about soon, but the rest is lefty).

Around the time I was 10 years old, a relative of mine had just given up learning to play guitar, and so they had one for sale, and only $50. One day, while I was visiting, they brought out the guitar and I tried to learn how to play. Fun! I was hooked. My parents paid the money and I became a guitarist.

Hold your breath.

It was a right-handed guitar.

FOR SHAME!

How could any self-respecting lefty be caught playing a right-handed guitar? Don't I have the same level of pride other lefties to?

Of course I do.

But here's what I believe: Right-handed guitars are EASIER for lefties, and lefties can be better at guitar than right-handed people can.

Here are the main points I wish to share:

1. Guitar was made for 2-handed use. Think about it: it's not as if your strumming/picking hand is the only had doing any work. You need to have good use of both of your hands. Left-handed guitar players need to learn how to use their right hands, and vice-versa.
2. Your non-handed guitar hand (or something like that) often does more work than your picking hand. Right-handed guitar players, especially those playing solos, need to have a lot more finger and hand agility in their left hands to play the right scales, transitions, hammer-ons and slides, while the picking hand, while needing some agility, doesn't require much finger agility, at least not at the level of the left hand. Plus, when you're learning, the hardest part is learning how to fret notes, not pick strings. Why would you want to use your non-dominant hand for the more difficult task when starting out?
3. All things considered, it's easier to get and try out right-handed guitars. Don't even get me started with vintage instruments, but if you walk into a guitar shop, you'll maybe find 1-2 lefty guitars, if you're lucky! Keep in mind, this isn't the reason I'm suggesting lefties play right-handed, but as a lefty who plays right-handed guitars, I appreciate the fact I can sit down in pawn shops, guitar shops, or with people selling guitars on Craigslist and play the instruments they have. I get to try out a lot, develop some preferences, and I'm not stuck playing what's available, or buying guitars online. I've occasionally bought guitars online, but I prefer to play them first!
4. You can talk about how you're a lefty who plays right-handed guitars. Still an incredible source of pride. Better yet, write a blog post that nobody reads and feel really great about yourself!

Final Disclaimer: I will never declare to you that there is a right and a wrong way to play guitar. After all, Jimi Hendrix broke basically every "rule" about how to hold and play a guitar and did fantastically. My only statement is that I implore all left-handed players to at least try out, for a week or two, playing a right-handed guitar before deciding to play a fairly rarely-made instrument type. You may enjoy how easy it is for a smart, creative lefty like you! :)

~C

Maybe Digging the Hole Deeper? More on Unidyne SM57

My sentiments exactly. Update on the Unidyne SM57.

After the horrible failure of a fix earlier (and I know the reason is because I over-confidently said "profit, here I come!), I set the microphone aside, but it called to me.

"FIX ME"

I knew I was going to wait until an opportunity presented itself, but just then, an opportunity presented itself.

2 SM57 microphones, for $50. Both were sold untested, as-is, from a seller who got it from a storage garage auction. Am I really just digging myself into a hole? Maybe not. Hear me out.

According to this forum post and Shure's website on services, even microphones out of warranty are covered. For $55, they will attempt to repair nonworking microphones, or replace them outright. So, if the bad happens and neither microphone works, I've got the option to get both fixed for $110, and so for $160, I have 2 new microphones, priced at $200 new. Not really anything to profit off of, but I can recoup my money fairly easily.

If either (or both!) microphones work, I'm in luck! I can pull the capsule half of the microphone and solder it into the bottom half of the Unidyne, even going so far as to replace the windscreen and collar with the original Unidyne ones. Now, I fully realize that the microphone is not then a Unidyne, but the capsule has not undergone any significant changes, so it will be literally the same microphone. Maybe worth selling at $150 or so, for a minor profit, or keeping. If both work, I can sell the other working one for $70ish and recoup almost all of my costs, making my Unidyne virtually free. Virtually...meaning I'm willing to net having paid $30 for one of the best microphones around. I might even paint it, just to be coy.

I honestly think the worst case scenario at this point is if they are both fake. That's not terrible, as I'll just send the microphones back for being horribly incorrectly described.

At any rate, it's a lesson to myself not to speak too soon, and a chance to hopefully vindicate myself after speaking too soon. I'll keep you updated!

~C

Maxon OD808 Flip. Quick. Easy. Painless.

After the difficulty in the Unidyne SM57 flip (which, admittedly, I'm still on top of, since I made over $100 profit on the first Unidyne and only spent $50 on the second one...), it's nice to report an easy and positive flip for quick profit. This won't be a long post, but a great message.

Bought: $45
Sold: $100
Profit: $55

The extra benefit is that it was sold fairly locally -- someone in Illinois saw I was selling it on Facebook and asked if I'd be willing to ship it cheaply. I was, and so made an easy and tidy profit.

So here's the lesson -- if you start to feel comfortable with repairs, and can recognize the telltale signs of easy fixes, you can easily make some money. I don't want to say it's on others' misfortunes, as people find themselves with non-responsive pedals, but I often offer to repair pedals, and the cost of labor that most companies would charge is more than the profit I'm making. Folks don't know how to fix pedals and want to make some money by selling it at a relatively deep discount.

I'm happy to oblige!

~C

Unidyne SM57 Update...or How I Spoke Too Soon

I must confess, I've made a mistake. I've jumped to conclusions, and it came back and bit me.

The recent SM57 acquisition is a much tougher nut to crack.

I did all of the soldering I had mentioned before, using shrink tubing to ensure a good connection and no shorting. After doing all of that work, nothing. No signal.

I eventually got to the point where I had to remove the R57 capsule from its housing and discovered the real culprit: a coil wire had broken.

Anyone who has worked on SM57s know it's a death sentence for these microphones if the coil wire breaks, especially right near the diaphragm. The only way to restore the microphone would be to remove the diaphragm, unwind the coil a couple turns, re-secure the coil wire, and find some way to precisely return the diaphragm. Near-impossible, and if you pull it off, you have a slightly underwound coil. Probably not enough to make any difference, but this is the sort of work that needs to be disclosed to any would-be buyers and would undoubtedly sell for less. There's just no longer any profit in it.

So what I've done for now is tabled the SM57. My plan is to eventually buy a replacement R57 capsule and wire it into the body, whose transformer should likely influence the sound and make the closest thing to vintage as possible, and keep it. Better yet, buy a used SM57, just in case there is a transformer issue too. Unfortunatly, I have no way to know for sure since the capsule is beyond repair.

Ugh, this is the first time I've had something that's been deemed "un-fixable" -- heck, even Shure's service work with that type of issue consists of sending you a replacement microphone. I could actually do that, but it'd cost $55 and I'd lose the Unidyne and gain a MIM Shure SM57. Just not what I'm up for.

Besides, I already have a sweet instrument microphone. I'll probably put this microphone aside and wait until the right opportunity presents itself. I was hoping for a tech article, but alas. Such is the way things work.

~C