Reviews by DUISparky

DUISparky says "Sound as good as they look" about Vance & Hines Cruzers

DUISparky — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:00:04 GMT

Ok, some of you may recall way back about a year ago when I first came here to write my world famous review of the V-Star 650 Classic that I had mentioned a burning desire to install a set of Vance & Hines Cruzers on my ride. Then life got in the way, as it so often does. Bathroom remodels, soffit and facia replacements, whole house painting and rotten siding replacements, gutters & downspouts. Now that I have some free time on my hands (yeah, how long is that gonna last?????) I decided to pull the trigger on the Cruzers.

They arrived on the brown truck on a Wednesday morning and I tied 'em down on the back seat of the cruiser and headed for the house at lunch time. As I was pulling all the parts and pieces out of the box my buddy Ronnie the Painter, who was at the house painting (go figure!) says "You aren't gonna try and put them on the bike during your lunch hour are ya?"

As it turns out, I probably could've. I waited until after work just to be safe. Removal of the old exhaust system...

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DUISparky says "The Little Kettle That Could" about Weber Smokey Joe Silver

DUISparky — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:43:09 GMT

Turn back the clocks to the year 2000. The world hadn't come to an end, and most computers were still working just fine despite the whole y2k scare thing in the media. I found myself apartment living once more and had to give up the big 22" Weber Kettle due to space constraints.

My balcony was really dinky.

Enter the Smokey Joe Silver Portable Charcoal Grill. For 8 years this little guy was my go-to grill, whether sittin' on my puny balcony or out in the boonies with the tent n sleepin' bag. One Smokey Joe, one bag of charcoal, three pieces of newspaper and a "chimney" charcoal starter and you're ready for some serious grillin'.

This is one of those cases of "Big things in small packages". The Smokey Joe is merely a scaled down version of the bigger kettles so if you've used the big ones you'll have no problems with the little one. With a 14.5" cooking area, you'll have no problem cooking steaks for one or two people. The vents on top and bottom are aluminum and the lid handle is glass...

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DUISparky says "Real men use Weber Kettles!" about Weber 847001 (NG) Grill

DUISparky — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:27:45 GMT

When I relocated last year to a house with a deck and everything I was sitting out on the deck one afternoon with the little Weber Smokey Joe cookin' up a burger and slurgin' a brewski and the ol' Smokey was lookin' mighty puny there in the middle of all that deck space.

Weird, because it looked just fine on my dinky little apartment balcony just a month or so before this..... d;-)

I figured it was time to upgrade. Now, I'd had a Weber Kettle at the old house, but the ex took possession of that one as I didn't have the space for it at the apartment. It was probably 15 years old when I inherited it back in '93 and it's still goin' strong. We did the BBQ thing at the ex's last summer for Shorty's b-day and I got reacquainted with my old grill that day. My point is... did I have a point or was I just rambling again as I do quite frequently? Oh yeah! These Weber Kettles will last for ever if you treat 'em right.

With that in mind I went grill huntin'. There was never really any doubt about...

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DUISparky says "Because you can never have enough stuff!" about Yamaha Motorcycle Accessories

DUISparky — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 15:43:03 GMT

Here's the scenario: You buy a new motorcycle. Looks great! But it could use some saddlebags. And case guards, those would be good! Oh! Some passenger floorboards and a pillion bar would be kinda nice too! And so on ... Ok, I got all these little add-ons for the cruiser over the last 3 years and I'm not gonna do a whole review for each and every one. I'll just lump 'em all together here and if ya don't like it? Too bad! d;-)

The following are all Yamaha parts for the V-Star 650 Classic. I'll review non-Yamaha parts individually as needed.

Custom Tri-bar Passing Lamps
Low Windshield Assembly
Engine Guards
Passenger Floorboards & mounting kit
Classic Saddlebag - Plain / with support bars
Leather Backrest Bag - Plain
Passenger Backrest & Pad
Billet Handlebar Risers
Custom License Frame - Smooth
Luggage Rack

So over the past 3 years I've been slowly adding bits and pieces to my ride. I went with Yamaha's upgrades to try to keep everything consistent as possible looks and quality...

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DUISparky says "Cruisin' in comfort and style" about Mustang Motorcycle Seats

DUISparky — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:51:20 GMT

You know how, as you get older, parts of your body start to ache and throb after riding a few hundred miles on a motorcycle? Especially your lower back? You know what I'm talkin' about! Here's a pretty good solution for that problem: Mustang Motorcycle Products, Inc. specializes in high quality seats and accessories for cruisers of all makes and models. With the sturdy steel reinforced construction of the seat frame, as opposed to the molded plastic of the stock seat frame, this seat should last through a nuclear holocaust.

Okay, here's what I got: the Two Piece Vintage Wide Touring Seat with Driver Backrest.

With a name as long as that it's gotta be good, right?

Right!

Installation was a breeze. Well, except for the part where I had to climb up on top of the seat, putting all my weight on the back in order to get the mounting bolt to finally catch a thread... okay it wasn't that bad. To get the old seat off, you can remove 1 nut and 1 bolt, as long as you don't have a luggage rack...

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DUISparky says "Not a bad jazz box, but definitely not an ES 335." about Ibanez Artcore AS73

DUISparky — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 22:37:05 GMT

Yeah, I really, really needed another guitar. d;-)

That's sarcasm, by the way.

I had been looking into full sized and slimline jazz boxes for awhile, and really liked the pearl white Gibson ES 335 that was hanging on the wall at the local guitar shop.

I didn't much like the $3,500 price tag on it though.

So I looked at the Epiphone Dots, but they didn't really do much for me looks wise or playablility wise. I've never been a real big Ibanez fan, having had some not so good experiences with their products in the past, but I did like the look and feel (and price tag) of the Artcore AS73. Hell, for $320 I could even afford a nice hardshell case to go with it!

Here's the technical jargon that nobody reads:

Set mahogany neck w/rosewood fretboard
Maple top, back and sides
Ibanez ceramic humbucking p/ups
Dot inlays
24 3/4" scale
3 way p/up selector switch
2 volume, 2 tone controls

I immediately hauled it up the hill to a private party gig (along with the Les Paul, just in case something went wrong). It got...

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DUISparky says "Pretty City Kitty, with a mean bite!" about Epiphone AlleyKat Limited Electric Guitar

DUISparky — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:03:04 GMT

A few years ago I was yappin' with some guitarist buds on one of the musicians forums that I frequent. One of the items of conversation was semi-hollow electric guitars. Somebody mentioned the Epiphone AlleyKat and WildKat guitars. As luck would have it, a popular musical intrument sales web site was having a blowout sale on these axes. After reading some rave reviews, and a few more critical ones, I pulled the trigger on the AlleyKat. It was under $300 (add in another $75 for the hardshell case), so I figured I wouldn't be out much if I didn't like it.

I didn't have to worry about that, as it turns out.

The finish is a gorgeous "vintage sunburst" (previously known as a tobacco burst, but smoking is sooooo un-PC these days. :rollseyes:).

The Lowdown:

Gibson '57 Humbucker (Bridge) and NY MiniBucker (Neck) P/Us
24 3/4" scale
Set maple neck w/ rosewood fretboard
Mahogany body w/ laminated maple cap
Chrome hardware
Block inlays
Tune-O-Matic bridge w/ stop tailpiece
4 control knobs - 1 volume for each...

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DUISparky says "Pedal Steel without the pedals!" about Fender American Nashville B-Bender Telecaster

DUISparky — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:31:16 GMT

The Fender Telecaster is one of those timeless classics that never seem to go out of style. Leo Fender was a genius. In 1950 he introduced to market the "Esquire" solid body electric guitar. It was simple. A plank of wood shaped somewhat like a dreadnaught acoustic with a lower cut away, a neck bolted on and a single coil pickup. It was renamed "Broadcaster" and equipped with a 2nd single coil pickup later that year. Leo decided to avoid a legal battle with Gretsch (who had a line of drums named "Broadkaster"), and changed the name once again - to "Telecaster" for the new-fangled gizmo that was catching on all over the world: the television. It's been 59 years since then. The Telecaster is still in production, making it the worlds oldest line of solid body electric guitars.

Fast forward 50 years to the spring of 2000...

There have been many different models of Tele since 1950. This review will cover only the American Nashville B-Bender model. Previously known as the "Hot-Rodded" model,...

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DUISparky says "Nothing else sounds like a Marshall" about Marshall Valvestate VS65R Combo Amplifier

DUISparky — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 23:59:05 GMT

Every musician (who has to schlep his own sound equipment around every week) eventually comes to the realization that the giant 4 speaker cabinet is just too freakin' much! If you're a musician who lives on the 3rd floor and there's no elevator, you will probably come to this conclusion sooner rather than later.

This is what put me in the market for a smaller option for sound reproduction.

That and my back hurts.

Still.

It was late summer 2000 when I spied this little Marshall VS65R Combo over at my then-favorite music shop. Oh and look! It's on sale! After cranking a few Pink Floyd, Molly Hatchet, Deep Purple and Blue Oyster Cult tunes through it with one of their off-the-wall SGs, I decided that this little amp would definitely do the trick. I carried it out to the truck.

With one hand!

And it fit behind the seat!

Life is good. Where's the beer?

Here's some technical crap:

12AX7 Pre-amp tube active on both clean and overdrive channels
65 watts RMS
Spring reverb unit
Effects loop
Line out
Headphone...

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DUISparky says "It took a lickin' but it's still tickin'!" about Gibson SG

DUISparky — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 21:58:25 GMT

I believe I picked this little gem up back in '88 or '89. She's a 1984 Gibson SG Standard Re-Issue II. Yeah, long name. Basically it was designed to look like the '62 SG Standard with a few minor differences. She's a deep cherry red that has darkened over time, and with all of the dents, dings and scrapes she's earned over the years, she's got a lot of class. This was my main axe for about 12 years, and I still like to dust her off now and again and rattle the walls.

Specs are pretty standard for the SG line:

Gibson 490R and 490T pickups
Tune-O-Matic Bridge
Stop Tail piece
Mother of pearl block inlays
4 control knobs: 2 volume, 2 tone
3 way pickup selector switch
Solid mahogany body
22 fret rosewood fingerboard
Set-neck

One big difference between this model and most other SGs made is the positioning of the input jack in the side edge of the body instead of the top. I think this makes for a cleaner look, and keeps the bulky 1/4" plug from getting in your way while wailin' away at some monster power...

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DUISparky says "A good amber ale, locally brewed." about New Belgium Fat Tire

DUISparky — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:38:23 GMT

After a hard day of tiling, grouting, ripping out rotten drywall, demolishing a deck, or tearing out water damaged soffets and facia, you owe it to yourself: A beer!

I don't mean one of the cheap, watered down domestic assembly-line beers either.

New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, CO has a very nice selection of beers. One of my favorites is their Fat Tire Amber Ale. Now, I'm not gonna go all beer-snob on you and tell you about its bouquet or what different flavors burst through in your mouth. I'm just a beer drinker. I'm not a connoiseur, expert, cork sniffin kinda guy.

I like beer.

When I sit down to a freshly grilled burger or a rack of ribs, I need a brewski to wash it all down with. While I could wash down a rib-eye just as easily with a Coors or a Bud, I prefer to wash 'em down with a Fat Tire. There's just something about the flavor of Fat Tire that complements a good bar-b-q'd bit of beef.

Now, I'm no tree hugger, but I kinda sorta like the fact that New Belgium is trying to be environmentally...

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DUISparky says "Does art imitate life or is it the other way round?" about Duma Key

DUISparky — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:24:21 GMT

I needed some kind of diversion from the whole remodel thing, ya know? So I picked up Duma Key and gave it a try. I was pleasantly surprised that Mr. King had gotten back on track (IMHO) with this story, after the disappointment of "Lisey's Story". While Duma Key is slow moving at times, the ending is worth the wait.

I won't give that part away.

First of all, there's Edgar Freemantle: Rich owner of a construction company who is nearly crushed to death on a job site by a crane. During recovery, he battles with his own broken memory, and has to learn to live without an arm. He turns to drawing, and eventually, painting as a form of catharsis. On the advice of his doctor, he does this in a new location, a change of venue from cold, dreary Minneapolis: Duma Key, a tiny island off the gulf coast of Florida. Later on, he finds that his art has strange powers and that his missing arm seems to not be all that missing at times.

Then there's Jerome Wireman: A former lawyer who lost his wife and...

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DUISparky says "This thing really sucks!" about Hoover Windtunnel Plus Cyclonic - U5780-900 Vacuum

DUISparky — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 01:12:10 GMT

Alright, it's 2009 and I have to start writing reviews again. If I don't, I don't get paid.

Ok, so I don't get paid if I do either...

Anyway, I figured "Why not write about something I've been using a lot lately?" Makes perfect sense, right? So, what have I been using lately? Mortar trowels, drywall knives, screwdrivers, hammers, rubber mallets, paint brushes and rollers. Who wants to read about that crap huh? Then it struck me!

After I picked myself up off the floor, I knew what I had to write about: The one thing that has made this whole bathroom remodel go smoothly. My trusty Hoover Windtunnel vacuum! You see, what happened is this: I had a Shop Vac. It was pretty old and had already remodeled a few bathrooms, cleaned up after sewer backups and broken water pipes, etc. and back around the middle of August it decided that enough was enough.

It's just been hanging around waiting for me to dumpsterize it.

Now I had a choice here: Go out and spend a bunch more money on a new Shop Vac, which...

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DUISparky says "Sounds as good as it looks!" about Carvin DC160

DUISparky — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:15:12 GMT

Way, way back in the early 80's, when I was rakin' in the big bucks workin' in the oilfields, I got the itch to buy a new guitar. The one I had was adequate, but not great. Of course, living out in the sticks, there weren't many music stores nearby to go and peruse the wares and the internet hadn't been invented by Al Gore yet, so all my research had to be done through magazine ads or during trips to Grand Junction or Vernal, UT. One of the mags had an ad for Carvin, and what I saw looked pretty promising, so I sent off for one of their catalogs.

I got the first Carvin catalog in the mail and opened 'er up, thumbing past all the PA equipment to the guitar section. Wow! There were some pretty nice, reasonably priced axes on them thar pages! The CM130's looked pretty sharp, as did the DC150's, but what really caught my eye was the 2 page spread of the DC160. This was one beautiful axe! Solid maple (birdseye or curly) body with a set neck, gold plated hardware, 24 jumbo nickel frets, stereo...

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DUISparky says "Hours of simulated fun!" about Maxis Sim City 4

DUISparky — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:24:03 GMT

I bought this for my daughter. I think I play it more than she does now!

I've always been more of a shoot'em up, go fast, conquer the world kinda guy, but SimCity 4 Deluxe has kinda gotten hold of me and I just can't quite figure out why. Maybe it's the challenge of building a city with 1,000,000+ citizens that actually continues to grow and prosper while keeping the denizens happy, healthy, wealthy, and well educated.

Then again it could be a control freak kinda thing. d;-)

The Deluxe edition includes the core game, plus the Rush Hour expansion pack all in one package. With SC4 Deluxe you start out with a region that has nothing in it and you create a series of teeming metropolises (metropolii?) that you can interconnect with each other through highways, railways, subways, etc. You set up your residential, commercial, and industrial zones within each city, along with health and education systems, utilities, parks & recreation, landmarks, etc. and let them grow. More options become available...

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DUISparky says "Pain, pain, go away! d;-)" about Aleve Pain Reliever/Fever Reducer

DUISparky — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:47:08 GMT

Ok, I don't get headaches. I just don't.

Until a couple years ago that is.

Now when I get one, it's a doozy. They can last anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks. Luckily the week ones are few and far between or I wouldn't be able to function at all huh?

So, what do I turn to when one of these humdingers hits? You guessed it: Aleve. 2 of these puppies knocks the pounding dibilitating pain right outta my head. I've probably lost a few brain cells in the process too! d;-) It's worth it if I don't have to spend days on end wondering if my skull is going to explode.

It's also good for the pain in my back from the old drill rig injury from the early 80's that crops up from time to time. Other pain relievers don't seem to touch that one, but Aleve always gets the job done.

The only problem I have with it? It usually passes the expiration date before I use up a bottle, by a few years.

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DUISparky says "Nothing else touches a Toyota" about Toyota Tacoma - 2006

DUISparky — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 00:37:39 GMT

Really, you know you want one! This is my 3rd Toyota truck and the first vehicle other than a motorcycle that I ever bought brand new. I doubt I would ever buy anything other than a Toyota now. I'm spoiled! The dependability of these things just can't be beat.

Here's the deal: After I killed my Brat (ok it wasn't dead yet, and kept telling me "I'm getting better!" even though I knew how it had spent the last 10 years of its life d;-) I bought a '95 Toyota pickup. It was a good little truck and we were fine for a few years, but being the manly kind of Tim Taylor sorta guy I am I felt I needed something bigger with MORE POWER MUAHH AHH AHHH! So I got the Tundra. Also a good pick'em up. Then one day I was waitin for the mechanics to finish up the free oil change and went wanderin around the lot. This Pretty blue Tacoma caught my eye. She kept watchin me from across the lot so I figgered "Hey! Why not go over and chat the little lady up?"

Turns out they were hurtin for used Tundras and were...

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DUISparky says "7 Days in the Sahara without food or water." about Lady's Men

DUISparky — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:56:07 GMT

Ever since I first heard about the Lady Be Good I was fascinated by the tale and the mystery surrounding her. I think my first taste of the Lady's story came in the early 70's when I saw a made for TV movie called Sole Survivor, which was loosely based on the story of the Lady. I was a WWII buff at the time anyway, so my natural curiousity pulled me further and further down the mysterious path of the Lady's Men.

Lady's Men by Mario Martinez is a book filled with the facts of the Lady's first and only combat mission, conjecture about what went wrong, and an account of what the men were probably thinking and feeling during their torturous week walking through the Sahara desert with little to no provisions.

A Little Background might be in order for those of you who don't know about the ill fated Lady Be Good. She was a B-24D Liberator built by Consolidated Aircraft in 1942, and flown to Soluch Airbase, Libya, in early '43. Her crew were all newcomers and would fly their first combat mission...

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DUISparky says "What it lacks in tone it makes up for in buzz." about Marshall Mg-10cd Guitar Combo Amplifier

DUISparky — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:03:16 GMT

Back in my apartment living days I felt a need for a small amp so that I wouldn't blow out the neighbors' windows with the bigger Marshall, so I tested out this little Marshall MG-10CD. It's not a bad looking little practice amp. There really isn't much to it: 2 channels, one clean, one overdrive; 1 volume control for the clean side, 1 volume and 1 gain control for the OD side and a push button to switch between channels; 1 Tone "Contour" control; 1 input jack, 1 CD in/Emulated Line out jack, 1 Headphone jack. This is a solid state amp that feeds 10 watts RMS into a little 6.5" speaker.

My first impression was ok, overall. It wasn't anything to write home about. The clean channel provided an "ok" sound, but it really lacked any kind of warmth or tonal response. The lack of reverb of any kind is also a big drawback. Sure, you can buy stomp boxes to emulate reverb, but I hate stomp boxes. The OD channel has mucho distortion, but very little "life". The warmth and tonal response I was looking...

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DUISparky says "Amazing, simply amazing!" about Gibson Firebird V Reverse

DUISparky — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:21:12 GMT

Did I really need another guitar? That was the question going through my head when I saw her in the music shop back in '02. After all, I already had 3 Gibsons, 5 Fenders, a couple of Carvins, and a home-built Warmoth "Frankenstrat" doubleneck.

"Just get the replacement trem arm and get out!" I told myself.

I wouldn't listen.

She was a beauty, and once I got her in my arms I knew I was in trouble. I had always loved the look of the Firebird V Reverse. This guitar just comes right out and says "Look at me! Hear me! Play me! You'll never go back to that boring old SG!"

d;-)

I barely escaped with my checkbook unscathed.

I was back in the store a month or so later and she was still there, just as beautiful as ever. Her price tag had dropped a little. I sat down and played for a few minutes before grabbing the set of strings I was there for and running out the door.

Then came the day of the big sale. This time, as soon as I walked in the door, I knew I was doomed. In a daze, I carried her out to...

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