Alexander Construction Co. Palm Springs, CA

TK Smith

We never get tired of driving around Palm Springs looking at mid-century architecture. Last week I was feeling un-inspired so once again, TK suggested we go take some photos of both the Twin Palms and Las Palmas neighborhoods. I don’t know if it’s the timeless beauty of the clean, simple architecture against the beautiful desert backdrop, or the thrill of standing in a strangers front yard taking photos of their house like a stalker, but  as always, it was a mood changer.

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Summer T-Shirt Sale!

TK Smith

In order to make new designs for Fall, we’re running a sale on TK Smith’s Electronic Guitar Service T’s. Normally $25. they’re now $19.50 with Free shipping in the U.S. Both mens and woman’s shirts come in blue or white. Limited quantities and choice of color in some sizes. While supplies last.

Humorous Installation

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When we recently received an order for a C.C.esque pickup from Paul Trigg in Australia, like always we were thrilled. Once it arrived, he had questions about the installation which caused a bit of concern. After TK responded, Pauls final message had us laughing out loud first thing this morning and made our day so we thought we would share. We love a guy with a great sense of humor who doesn’t take it all too seriously. Most of all, we’re happy that he’s happy!

hi guys,pickup arived today,thanks.but im having trouble fiting it.dose it/is it ment to come apart if i remove the 2 tiny allen key screws?. and if not how do i cut in to a tele pic guard?.paul

Glad the pickup made it. No, the pickup is NOT meant to come apart. If you haven’t  done a pickup installation I highly recommend bringing it to a qualified guitar luthier that has experience in guitar customizing. The body will have to be routed and the pickguard will have to be cut with a router or scroll saw. Below is the link to the pickup schematic thats on our website store. Again, I would NOT recommend you do this yourself if you don’t have experience. You could easily damage your guitar, the pickup or both.

Good luck!

ok so it turns out im not a qualified guitar luthier but i gave it a crack.you guys are gona roll your eyes but heres what happened:routed out the pick guard(not quite enough)then tryed to force(bad)pickup into place.broke a bit of the white binding of both long sides of said lovly pickup.super glued(also a bad decision)binding back on,then got out the metholated spirits(slaps forhead in disbelife)to try to clean up spill out of super glue and end up gouging 2 big rutts out of the finish.like i said,dick head.but the pickup is installed and i love the sound!.the guitar is heavly relicked so im not overly conserned with cosmetics but thinking about aging the pick up to blend it in a bit,any advice for matting(taking off the gloss and polish)?.sorry about the essay.i love the pickup,just a shame what i did to it.paul

Monthly Motivation-Knock Out The Lights

TK Smith

I recently heard a Jack Hart and his Hired Hands tune named ‘Knock out the Lights (and Call the Law)’. I don’t recall ever hearing it before. The recording features a great solo by Jimmy Brant that reminded me of a musical break through I had years ago after learning his solo on Tennessee Ernie’s Rock City Boogie. It was the first time I realized you could solo over chords that the rest of the band wasn’t actually playing, especially if the rhythm section is just bass and drums. For instance, the solos in both songs are over the basic three-chord 12 bar blues form.  On both solos at the ninth measure, Jimmy plays almost the same lick that’s basically a IIm7 arpeggio. Then over an altered V7 chord in the tenth measure.  It’s a useful trick if you’re a wannabe jazzer like myself.

Knock Out the Lights (and Call the Law)

Rock City Boogie

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