How To Pack Up A Pickup


    For some time now I've been thinking about getting a Danelectro style lipstick tube pickup, sized to fit the cutouts in a Strat pickguard, for installation in the Parts-O-FrankenCaster.  A couple weeks ago I found one on the popular e-auction site that would fit the bill: Strat-sized, similar in DC resistance to the Duo-Sonic pickups already in the guitar, looked like decent quality, reasonably priced, and a seller in the States (for quick delivery and ease of possible return).  The brand of the pickup is "Calig", it seems to be well built, and I have no idea what it sounds like, since it hasn't been installed yet.

Even though I don't know if it's a sonic fit for my guitar, I've gotta say I'm really impressed with the level of packaging that went into getting it ready for shipping.  First off, a very sturdy outer box, made in Southern California by PaperMart; upon opening that up, there was another, smaller box inside, wrapped in bubble wrap:


Inside that inner box was more bubble wrap, rolled up around the contents:


On the bottom of the inner box was a small bag with the hardware; what was rolled up was another bag containing the pickup:


After removing the pickup from its bag, we can see that the chrome "lipstick" tube is enclosed in its own condom:


Here's another view of the pickup:


We have three of the old original Danelectro and Silvertone instruments here at our house - a guitar and two basses - and it's no big secret that although they play well and sound great, they were made to a certain (low) price point, and a lot of the construction details are sketchy, to say the least.  This new pickup, while possibly just a mere clone of a classic cheesy low quality design, is far superior in its workmanship, compared to the originals.  As I've mentioned, I still have no idea so far about its tone.  But hey, heck of a packaging job!


Scenes in a Thrift Shop


    A couple of years ago I read a stupid article all about how iPhones were going to "revolutionize photography".  So far, I don't feel part of any rebel alliance or subversive movement, but there's no denying the convenience of having a halfway decent quality camera in your pocket, easily gotten to whenever you see an interesting shot.  On Saturday we went junk shopping at a big-box chain charity thrift store; within minutes I could see there wasn't anything I really wanted to buy, but I had fun anyway, wandering around taking pictures of stuff on the shelves.

So what makes an interesting photo in a thrift shop full of the cast off junk and trash leftovers from our mass market consumer society?  More or less random juxtapositions of unrelated things that may not be interesting by themselves - sure, that's always good.  And color: lots of variety in hue and shade.  But what really does it, I think, are the faces.

Jesus, Rabbits, Angel, Mushrooms
Painted Paper Mache People
Six Furry Faces
So, What's Cooking?

All pictures taken with my old iPhone 3GS, a beautifully crafted piece of industrial art, made increasingly obsolete on purpose, by the crappy company that created it.