Blacklights

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This thread:

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=9412&start=15&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

started the discussion about blacklights - apparently they can be used to identify whether a guitar is finished in poly or nitro, which would be useful bearing in mind how often this gets discussed on the forum.

I found a UK site, and the smallest blacklight they have is this:

http://www.uvgear.co.uk/product/product110.htm

Could anyone please tell me if this will be suitable?

Mike
 
Mike,

That light is way too high. This is the one I use http://www.blacklight.com/items/chnvf4. What, is that about a third of the price of the one you are looking at? You guys in the UK should go in on several, and share shipping.

I don't have time right now, but I will get back to you about the particulars of reading the results.

Richard
 
Too high? You mean too powerful?

I saw that site, but I don't want to buy from abroad if I can get the same product here in the UK, without any of the import hassles.

Mike
 
Mike, check this out:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6050

Importing isn't a worry as they're way under the ?22(?) VAT-and-import-tax limit.
 
Alan,

Thanks but no thanks. After my recent experience with the wrongly described Springy, I'm not buying anything from abroad unless there really is no alternative. And I'm sure there's no reason to buy a blacklight from abroad - they must be just as readily available in the UK, so I want to find a supplier here.

Mike
 
Forgot to mention, I bought all the Fabulous Thunderbirds albums on CD earlier this year from a company in North America (I couldn't find them in the UK) . There was a fault with one of the CDs, but they never even replied to my e.mails. And because they're abroad, there's nothing I can do about it.

So I'll give my money to UK sellers in future....

Mike
 
Hi Mike, sorry to hear about your troubles, in saying that i buy everything from overseas because its either way overpriced or i just can't get it here and i have never had a problem, and i've bought lots of stuff and guitars, your just unlucky i guess. I wouldn't totally discount buying off shore but i would ask a lot of questions before buying. ....cheers Mick
 
stratman323 said:
Alan,

Thanks but no thanks. After my recent experience with the wrongly described Springy, I'm not buying anything from abroad unless there really is no alternative. And I'm sure there's no reason to buy a blacklight from abroad - they must be just as readily available in the UK, so I want to find a supplier here.

Mike

No worries. If it's any reassurance to anybody else, i've used them extensively and they've always been fast (5-7 days from Hong Kong), cheap and with good customer service.
 
stratman323 said:
Forgot to mention, I bought all the Fabulous Thunderbirds albums on CD earlier this year from a company in North America (I couldn't find them in the UK) . There was a fault with one of the CDs, but they never even replied to my e.mails. And because they're abroad, there's nothing I can do about it.

So I'll give my money to UK sellers in future....

Mike

I've got em all. Which one do you want? You pay the postage, I got you covered.

FYI, two of my good friends Johnny (guitar) and Jason Moeller(drums) are in the current T Bird lineup. Check em out on the T Birds website.
 
It's OK thanks Marcus - it's one of the live bonus tracks at the end of What's The Word? that doesn't play properly, but I already have the track on Different Tacos, so it's not really a problem, just annoying that they ignored my e.mails once they had my money. But thanks for the offer, I appreciate it. (I have all the early stuff on vinyl anyway)

I've never heard of Johhny as a T-Birds guitarist. I missed the band's last London show (at the Mean Fiddler in Harlesden - how the hell do you get home from there late at night?!), but it was broadcast on radio, and i understood that the guitarists were Kirk "Eli" Fletcher & Nick Curran? So Johhny is the drummer's brother?

Having heard the show, I wish I had gone. Last time I saw them was when the T-Birds were mainly ex-James Harman alumni - Kid Ramos on guitar, and the former Harman bass player (whose name I forget). Much as I like Ramos, it didn't work - it wasn't the T-Birds. They turned into a rock band, they just didn't have the sleaze and the dirt that the T-Birds need. Luckily they've got it back, so I'll make sure I catch them next time.

Of course some people can go and see stuff like this all the time - we get it a few times a year. :( And even then, only when it's warm over here. :lol:

Thanks for the info.

Mike
 
stratman323 said:
It's OK thanks Marcus - it's one of the live bonus tracks at the end of What's The Word? that doesn't play properly, but I already have the track on Different Tacos, so it's not really a problem, just annoying that they ignored my e.mails once they had my money. But thanks for the offer, I appreciate it. (I have all the early stuff on vinyl anyway)

I've never heard of Johhny as a T-Birds guitarist. I missed the band's last London show (at the Mean Fiddler in Harlesden - how the hell do you get home from there late at night?!), but it was broadcast on radio, and i understood that the guitarists were Kirk "Eli" Fletcher & Nick Curran? So Johhny is the drummer's brother?

Having heard the show, I wish I had gone. Last time I saw them was when the T-Birds were mainly ex-James Harman alumni - Kid Ramos on guitar, and the former Harman bass player (whose name I forget). Much as I like Ramos, it didn't work - it wasn't the T-Birds. They turned into a rock band, they just didn't have the sleaze and the dirt that the T-Birds need. Luckily they've got it back, so I'll make sure I catch them next time.

Of course some people can go and see stuff like this all the time - we get it a few times a year. :( And even then, only when it's warm over here. :lol:

Thanks for the info.

Mike

I've got some bootleg live T Birds CD's with Jimmie Vaughan if you're interested.

Nick Curran (another pal from when he lived here - right after his stint with Kay Lenz and the Jaguars) got fired from the T Birds. He's kind of gone punk and not a real fit with the T Birds. He had his side project band Deguello going on as well - don't think that went too well with Kim Wilson either. I also know that Kim Wilson's wife didn't like Nick at all. So Nick left and took their bass player Ronnie James with him - also playing in Deguello now.

So yeah, the T Birds have a pretty new line up. Johnny is Jay's older brother - they used to gig up here years ago as the Holy Moellers and were great. Had young Paul Size (from the Red Devils) on guitar as well. Ah those were the days......we were all young, into guitars and the blues and some made it - I idolized the early T Birds (still do) and now a couple of my music pals are in the band. How cool is that?
 
Very cool indeed. I'm glad to hear that the T.Birds seem to be back to form, I kind of lost interest a bit when Jimmie left. I think the early T.Birds had a huge influence on anyone who heard them back in the early 80s, even here across the pond. They used to visit us once or twice a year, & those hours spent in front of Jimmie changed my whole view of guitar playing.

Yes, of course I want to hear anything with the early line up! I'll send you my details by PM - just tell me what I owe you. :p Have you seen the recently released DVD Live From London? Recorded at The Camden Palace on 29th April 1985. I was there.....

:p

Mike
 
Back to blacklights. The nearest I could find was a counterfeit money detector, which uses a small UV tube (cost me ?10). However, guitars that I know are poly look the same to me (under this light) as guitars that I know are nitro.

What should I be looking out for? :-?

Mike
 
stratman323 said:
Back to blacklights. The nearest I could find was a counterfeit money detector, which uses a small UV tube (cost me ?10). However, guitars that I know are poly look the same to me (under this light) as guitars that I know are nitro.

What should I be looking out for? :-?

Mike

..........look for guitars with great resonance, superb tonal response, and excellent playability; then the finish will be a distant concern :) ...............
 
MIJvintage said:
..........look for guitars with great resonance, superb tonal response, and excellent playability; then the finish will be a distant concern :) ...............

OK, fair comment! That is what I look for anyway, but most poly finished guitars have a sort of "boxed in" sound to them, whereas a nitro finish gives a more open sound. The one exception to this "rule" is my Springy ST60, where the poly lacquer is thin enough to allow the sound to come through OK.

Anyway, what I need is help in interpreting whatever information the UV light gives me.

:eek:

Mike
 
Just been given a tip! If you chip off a small pice of laquer and put a match to it, nitro will flare up, and poly will just melt.

Apparently :D
 
Thanks John, but do you really think I'm going to knock chips of paint off my nitro finished guitars? :evil: That's why I bought the blacklight.... :eek:
 
I was thinking more of a little bit with a scalpel from inside a pickup cavity! You could always put all your strats on a bonfire & see which one burns quickest. :wink:

After the experiment you can get yourself a decent Les-Paul :D
 

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