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For my second post here are some picks of Tim's various guitars:



This is a '72 Fender Telecaster and probably the guitar Tim seems to use most frequently. In the January, 2006, edition of Guitar Player, Tim admits to favouring Tele's, I guess that's why this one is so beaten up. ;^)



Tim's Kramer Blue Marlin. It is, perhaps, one of the most beautiful guitars in rock, at least imho. It really is beautiful. Kramer guitars are synonymous with hard rock and have been made famous by Eddie Van Halen. It is also the guitar that this room is named for.




Another guitar brand that Tim favours is the Tokai Talbo. These guitars have an aluminium body and sound louder and have more sustain than solid wood bodied guitars. He has several of these but my personal favourite is this blue metalic one.





This guitar is a knock off made by Tokai in the '80s before they got their asses sued off by Fender. I found a better picture of the guitar and enlarged the logo and it clearly says Tokai. Tokai is not the only guitar manufacturer to make copies of Fender guitars, copies can be found all over the place and you can buy a kit to make your own Fender Telecaster for about $155. I wouldn't want to place bets as to what these sound like.



Tim also uses various guitars by G & L, this is one of them but he also plays a G&L Legacy (I think) with the Blue Burst design. The Blue Burst design is blue in the middle fading to black at the edges. It is also a very lovely guitar but I don't seem to have a picture of it. Tim also used during the recording of Switch, a Les Paul goldtop. I have never seen any pictures of this guitar but there are probably some somewhere. This is what it looks like:



So that is briefly a list of Tim's guitars, a very small list since he has over 50.

Hello, everyone. It's a cold and windy Monday morning here in Mississauga. I saw INXS at the ACC last night, front row seats right. in. front. of. Tim!!!!! Really, really good seats for which I have to give profuse thanks to NewINXSfan from the Rockband forum. Cancon sat beside me and brought some great signs and danced with me all night, and generally put up with my craziness. She's a real good sport, that one. But enough of that, on to important matters like...Tim.

He literally was right in front of us. He had on his sunglasses for most of the night but every now and again would look over them at the crowd. He is really a very hot looking man, nice well-toned body (not overly muscular for his size unlike Ty Taylor who we saw later), really cute butt, great smile, and the man can play! I love a guitar well played and to that end it really doesn't matter what he looks like, I guess that explains my adoration of Mark Knopfler then doesn't it, but to have it all rolled up into one nice neat package. *faint* And speaking of packages, well Cancon and I had a great view, he was only 5 frickin' feet away from us! Got to see all the BINX's packages with the exception of Andrew and Jon.

The stage was clean and free of clutter which meant that other than the stage monitors Cancon and I had an unobstructed view of the Timster. His guitars are even more beautiful close up, especially the blue metallic G&L that he has been playing. I guess I will have to lust over it since the blue Talbo is m-i-a these days. The Marlin is a real beauty though, gorgeous, sexy lines with that great piece of art sprawled across it. And, of course, his well loved Tele with the chunks taken out of it and the finish that has almost completely disappeared but it has not lost any of its tone, it's still bright and clear.

Tim's real talent as a guitarist got to shine in the solo for Taste It. He blew my mind and really put to shame so many of the younger guitarist out there who really only seem to know three chords. His solo was intricate, moody and hot. I did not miss JD not doing the mic sex because Tim was hot enough for me. He did look my way a few times with those deep blue eyes of his and I blew him a kiss one time and he raised his guitar.

He, of course, did his routine where he doesn't play the riff for Devil Inside right away, waiting for the crowd to cheer for him. What a ham. I was shouting, "Play the fucking riff, Timmy" as loud as I could but I doubt he heard me, he was at that point center stage, but it felt good to shout and scream for him. I turned into a 12 yr. old at that point, I think. I'm not sure what my daughters would have thought of their mother then.

Tim is a fine-looking man who I would love to sit down and have a good chat with. And if you believe that then you don't know me too well. I could imagine myself in his arms, with those beautiful hands all over my body, whispering in my ear, kissing my neck....oops, got carried away there for a second but every now and then during the concert I could have sworn I felt his arms around me. Wishful thinking I know, and seeing as I have been blessed/cursed with a good imagination I know it was just a fantasy, but just for those brief moments I was in heaven.

It's been a while since I've posted anything but I haven't forgotten Tim. I just never am sure what I should be posting here. I could post about my enduring love for the man even though I've never met him and probably never will. There is something about him that I find attractive, not the least that he is a fellow Leo and I always seem to be attracted to sun signs. Perhaps it's because lions like to hang around in packs. ;^) There is something about the twinkle in his eye that makes me think that he would be fun to be around. And I like that. I like people who look like fun and who look like they know how to have a good time.

It seems everyday there are new members on the Tim Farriss love train. I don't know if I like all the competition even though they say that a little competition is good for you. Just to let all you other Tim love train riders know, he is mine, and I will win.

Tim's new G & L guitar intrigues me. I love the colour and the general look of it. I am trying to find out a bit more information on the pickups he is using and how they affect the general tone of the guitar. I will be posting more about this later after I do a bit more digging. Meanwhile, if any of you have any info, please feel free to let me know.

Part II

Les Paul and the Log

Les Paul is a legend in the world of guitars and a hero to many modern guitarists. Les Paul was a jazz musician who was never satisfied with the hollow-body electric guitars of the time, they had a tendency to feedback and lacked sustain. He was convinced that the way to solve these problems was with a solid body. Enter the “Log”. Paul took a piece of a 4X4 fencing post attached a bridge, a pick-up and some strings and voila! one of the first solid body guitars was built. In order to make it look like a guitar he sawed a guitar in half and attached it to either side.

The Log:


In the early fifties, Gibson Guitar Corporation designed a guitar around Paul's suggestions and so the “Gibson Les Paul” was born. This guitar was designed to have the cleanest and warmest sound for jazz and country musicians but it wasn't until the Les Paul was embraced by the rock and blues communities that the guitar came into its own. It was through such musicians as Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, and Pete Townsend that the Les Paul guitar became synonymous with rock and roll. If you watched Rock Star: INXS then you will have noticed that the lead guitarist, Raphael Moreira, played Les Paul guitars most notably a Gold Top and a Black Beauty.

Les Paul wasn't only one of the first to experiment with solid body guitars, Leo Fender was also making solid bodies at around the same time, he was also the first to use multi-tracking in recording. Paul had been experimenting with this technique on wax disks, he would record a track and then record himself playing another part with the first track. Capitol Records, in 1947, released a recording entitled “Lover (When You're Near Me)” that had Paul playing eight different parts on electric guitar. Paul was definitely a man ahead of his time because he was recording parts at different speeds and with delay giving him his signature sound of echoes and trilling guitar riffs. In the 1950's, he made use of overdubbing and commissioned Ampex to build the first eight track tape recorder.

Les Paul is still active in the music world and in 2006 won two Grammys for his album “Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played”. He still performs at the Iridium Jazz Club on Broadway in NYC. He has released 10 albums over the course of his career, and has had hit singles with “How High the Moon”, “Bye Bye Blues”, and “I'm sitting On Top Of The World”.

By now you are probably saying to yourself, “For goodness sakes, PhanTim, who cares?” and that's a fair point. Tim did use Les Pauls in some of the earlier recordings and if you watch the “Just Keep Walking” video you will see him playing a Les Paul. He also used Guy Chambers' Les Paul Gold Top on Switch. See how it all ties in now? Tim doesn't use Les Paul's live as they have a tendency to lose tuning if you abuse them. Another bit of trivia: The Gold Top got it's name because bronze powder was mixed with the finish, some of the originals were all gold but later just the top was finished with the bronze powder. As the guitars got older and the bronze powder oxidized the guitars took on a greenish tint.

Tim and a Les Paul:


Next Leo Fender and Tim's favourite guitar, the '72 Telecaster

Part IV – The Anatomy of a Guitar or Sex and the Whammy Bar









Guitars are amazing things. They take the vibrations of a string, run it through a magnet, around some copper wire, through some other wires, into the output jack, through some more wires, across the air and into an amplifier that somehow, magically, transforms the radio waves into music. Mindboggling. I don't understand it, and am completely gobsmacked when I read about this stuff. The sheer electronics of all of this has my head reeling. And yet the more I learn and study guitars, the more in awe I am of them. The more of the mystery I uncover and understand, the more respect and adoration I have for guitar manufacturers and guitar players. The truth is, and I know this is a cliché, but anyone can play guitar but not everyone can play guitar well and fewer become guitar gods.

Take the Les Paul (topmost picture), it is a beautiful piece of artistry. The worn lines, the nickel-plated pick-up covers, the Bigsby tremolo arm and the mother-of-pearl fret guides...all are things of beauty. I could mount that on my wall and just admire it all day. And although the Les Paul can make anyone sound good, it can elevate us all when placed in the hands of a person with the gift. Put in the hands of a master guitarist like....oh, say.... Neil Young and you have something indescribable. Think of Neil playing this guitar on “Like a Hurricane” or “Down By The River”.

Then there is the beauty of the oil can guitar (the middle picture). These guitars started life in South Africa and are not meant to imitate western guitars. They took the place of the traditional South African guitar called a Ramkie. These were long-necked lute-like instrument that had three, and then later, four strings with tuning pegs. These instruments were played by tribes that lived around the cape area of SA. The Ramkie was made with a gourd body, a long neck and gut strings. The oil can guitars have an aluminium (most common) or wood neck, pick-ups and tone and volume knobs. They are reportedly easy to play and come in acoustic or electric styles.

And then, of course, there is the bottom picture of one of the most recognizable guitars and Tim's favourite, the Fender Telecaster. This one is a bit different from Tim's as any one can see. The first difference is the fret board, Tim's is Rosewood where as this one is Maple, and the pick guard on Tim's is black. Also, what is not so noticeable is that the body on this one is made of Poplar whereas Tim's is either Alder or Ash. He has also changed the pick-ups to one's made by Seymour Duncan.

These three guitars, all look different but all are basically the same. They all have the same components: body, neck, strings, bridge, pick-ups, tuning and volume knobs, a pick-up selection switch, and an output jack (the thing they plug the amp or radio transmitter into). The photo below has all the parts nicely labelled, (thanks to someone else's hard work not mine, www.sweetwater.com):



The one thing you will notice is that the topmost picture, Neil Young's famous Les Paul, Old Black, has one extra piece of equipment that the labelled Stratocaster does not: the Bigsby Tremolo. The tremolo arm or whammy bar, or to be accurate the vibrato arm, changes the pitch by varying the tension on the strings. I will talk more in depth about these later.

Here is a brief overview of the anatomy of an electric guitar:

We will start at the top with the headstock. This is more than just an advertisement for the guitar maker, it is also where the tuners, or tuning pegs, are located. It is also a quick way to identify what type of guitar is being played.

The tuning pegs are where the strings are attached to the top of the guitar. These are just what the name suggests, the method that the guitarist uses to tune the guitar by changing the tension and length of the strings.

The neck holds the fretboard and is commonly made of a medium-hard wood such as maple. The fretboard is most commonly made of rosewood or maple. The wood used on the fretboard can be one aspect of the overall sound of a guitar, rosewood being more mellow and maple giving a brighter sound. Also the curvature, length, thickness, and even how the neck is joined to the body can all contribute to the overall tone.

The big piece of wood at the opposite end from the headstock is called the body, just in case you didn't know. ;^) The body holds all the electronics and is the base for the other end of the strings. The wood the body is made from is another part of the overall tone of the guitar but more on that later. The body can be made of a single slab of wood or several pieces glued and pressed together to make a single slab of wood. It can also be one kind of wood for the main body with another veneer on top.

The strings. These are the most important part for without them the guitar is rendered useless. A lot can be said about the strings but I will be addressing this at a later time as well. The thickness, or gauge, of the string is also a factor in the sound of the guitar. Heavier strings such as those on the bass guitar produce a heavier or thicker sound. They may be “plain”, that is made of one material, or they may have a core of one material with an overwinding of another material. These are called “wound” strings. Strings also have a loop or a ball at one end to attach them to the body of the guitar. A guitar such as the Telecaster has the strings attached to the back of the guitar and thread through the body, where most others are attached at the bridge.

The bridge is not only where the strings are attached but it also transfers the vibrations of the strings to the body of the guitar. The bridge also raises the strings above the body to allow them to vibrate freely. The bridge also has a piece of wood or plastic, called a saddle, where the strings sit.

The pick-ups are an integral part of the electric guitar, without a pick-up you would not be able to hear the guitar at all. The pick-up is that piece you see placed right under the strings on the body of the guitar. Simply put, the pick-up acts as a microphone. Pick-ups are either single coil, such as you see on a Telecaster or Stratocaster, or double coil, also called a humbucker. A pick-up is made of a magnet or magnets and fine copper wire. The copper wire is wound around the magnet or magnets and transfers the energy from the vibrations of the strings to the electronics of the guitar. The magnets or pole pieces are centred under the strings so that the vibrations are then transferred to the wire. Typically you will find one or two pick-ups on most guitars but there can be as many as the guitarist chooses in as many different combinations as his/her imagination can concoct. There are bridge and neck pick-ups although both can be used interchangably. The neck and bridge pick-up's offer the guitarist more control over what sound they want to use. I will be writing a novel about them later so be forewarned. I find pick-ups infinitely interesting and have spent many a pleasant afternoon and evening reading about them.

When watching Tim play you may wonder to yourself what those knobs are he keeps fiddling with on his guitar. These are the volume and tone knobs. There is also the pick-up control switch which allows the guitarist to choose which pick-up or combination of pick-ups to use depending on the tone she/he wishes to make.

The pick guard or scratch plate is the larger piece of plastic that covers the top of the guitar. In acoustic guitars it is used to protect the top from scratches from the pick, just exactly what the name implies. In electric guitars it hides the electronics and make for easy access to repair them.

On the neck of the guitar you will notice dots. These can be large or decorative, made of of mother-of-pearl or some other material. These dots are called fret markers and are found on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 15th, and 17th frets. They help the guitarist identify key frets.

These are the main elements that make up an electric guitar. But there are other things such as the truss rod, the nut, the frets, the neck joint and the output jack, and I will be touching more on these as we go along. I know this chapter was called “The Anatomy of a Guitar or Sex and the Whammy Bar” and you are probably wondering about the sex part. Go back and look at the picture of Neil Young's Old Black. He has said that his hand has been molded into the shape of that particular bar and he could never use any other kind. Look at the way the finish has been worn bare and how his arm has worn the top smooth. See how the pick guard has been has been scratched by the motion of the Bigsby tremolo arm. Think about how Neil's hands have lovingly run up and down the neck of that guitar, how many songs have been written and played on it. That, to me, is very sexy. Now think of Tim doing the same with his Telecaster....Did it just get hot in here?

Next: Swamp Ash? Koa? Korina? Hard Maple? How to be an arborist and play guitar.

Ok, as you probably have realized by now, or maybe not, but this thread has always been locked. I don't know why really. So I've decided to unlock it and let the chips (preferably sour cream and onion*) fall where they may. If you want to reply please remember these simple rules:

1. I am always right because this is my thread
2. Tim is hot, always has been, always will be. In fact Tim has always been the hottest of all the BINX. (don't forget rule #1)
3. I'm not a guitar expert, just a guitar fan. I don't play so anything I say here is stuff I've read or been told by guitarists I know. There are many, many things I don't understand about guitars, like the electronics. I am absolutely and utterly fascinated by guitar pick-ups and I know how they work but I don't understand the electronics of how they work. If you know what I mean.


I think that's it.

*I love bad humour and bad puns. You have been warned.

Hey, hey, hey! You three! My thread, my rules. Tim is the hottest of all the BINX. Just look at how incredibly talented he is. How compassionate (releasing the little fishies he catches), and he loves shopping. How many of the other BINX can you say that about? Ok, so the shopping thing creeps me out a bit but how many straight men do you know who love to shop...oh, dear. Cancon is right....Tim's a metrosexual. But I refuse to go get manicures together. Maybe I'd do mutual Brazilian waxes...

Do you think Jon, or JD, or Garry, or Andrew, or Kirk would submit themselves to a Brazilian wax? Hah! thought not.