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[Patrick]

This computer's shitty RAM, bandwidth and I will cockpunch the next motherfucker who quotes a photo. Until then, I have hot rod news!

I would just like for you all to know that Seymour Duncan have a bloody wealth of information regarding wiring guitars with various pickup, tone + volume, and switching configurations. I now know exactly how I'm going to wire this Bo Diddley Strat of mine, and no thanks to those pricks at Fender. Tomorrow it's off to the hardware store again to find insulated wire in both black and yellow, and after work I'll set to work on soldering all of that shit (gonna be a bit time-consuming since there's 12 places I have to solder, ugh).

I found out the hard way that the bridge pickup of a Telecaster is significantly larger than that of a Strat, and that the lipstick neck pickup is a bit loose, but it can still be worked around without doing any chopping. I had been told the opposite and was much disappointed when I had to file off 1/16" of pickguard in each direction to get the pickup hole to be the right size. Fortunately I don't have to cut into wood at all, but I was at a standstill for a good while.

Another pain in the ass (which, fortunately, I was expecting) came with the mounting screw configuration. I had to make 3 holes that would correspond with the mounting screwholes on the bridge pickup. At first I tried to do it with a 1/16" drill bit but it was too small. I wound up at the hardware store this morning to find the right size (which happens to be 3/32", for anybody who may want to mount a Tele bridge pickup on their guitar), and it worked perfectly, so I wound up being late to work because I really wanted to mount that fucking pickup.

tl;dr hot-rodding guitars is the Funnest Thing

[doombilly]

How does the Parker play? Always been curious about them. Favourite band used to use them, but switched to ESPs after a reliability issue (?). Still, love the shape, and they're meant to be pretty lightweight.

There is a big difference in the P series and the Flys. Or even the Nitefly's like mine shown above. Mine has custom wound DiMarzios / Fishman piezo. But a lot of folks do swap the pups out. I can see the reliability issue because the crystal for my high E string piezo has fizzled out. This may be because I moronically unscrewed the bridge when I was trying to adjust something else.

The Flys have a patented set neck. They are extremely ergonomic. But the 'Nitefly M' I play is bolt on and has everything I need. I said I wouldn't buy another after the 1 piezo quit on me. But I think I would if I could get a deal on a second hand one.
It really has made me a much better guitar player. I think they went through some real pains when US Music took over the company but they seem pretty solid now. It has been an adjustment for me though. I am used to a guitar built like a dumptruck. I am a lefty that play righty. So I usually want ginormously high action and big arsed strings. Playing the 09-42's has been an adjustment. But I think I prefer these now. Also the Nitefly has bigger/higher frets than the Flys do. So that's good for me.

Some things I am totally a fan of on this guitar.
Fretboard. - Like Playing on a diamond.
Stainless Steel Frets. - Fuck nickel.
One Piece body. Cuz it looks purty.

Cons:
I play like a monkey, so I've chaffed the front of it where a pickguard should be.
Wish that high E piezo worked. But it is a $27 part...

[Lummer]

yesterday, I tuned my Viper up to Drop C.

It's actually quite cool to have an extra high G. More on this later.

[Thrillho]

Oh sweet Jesus. Yesterday I was restringing my mandolin and, well, there was an accident and long story short, I was left with a mandolin string stuck through my thumb and sticking out the other end by about six inches. It only pierced like, the top level of skin, so there was no blood. Dear God it was horrifying to look at though. In the end I just kinda cut it off at one end and pulled it out so I didn't have to wind it through all six inches. Jesus, it was hideous. But it pierced such a small amount of skin that I can't even find the mark.

[valley_parade]

Last night I ordered one of those Squier Teles with the dual humbuckers that everyone on here seems to have.

I cannot wait! *dances*

[Noff]

Oh sweet Jesus. Yesterday I was restringing my mandolin and, well, there was an accident and long story short, I was left with a mandolin string stuck through my thumb and sticking out the other end by about six inches. It only pierced like, the top level of skin, so there was no blood. Dear God it was horrifying to look at though. In the end I just kinda cut it off at one end and pulled it out so I didn't have to wind it through all six inches. Jesus, it was hideous. But it pierced such a small amount of skin that I can't even find the mark.

I once stuck the end of a guitar string through the web of my hand between my thumb and index.  Didn't hurt at all and came out easily, but creepy to look at.

[Catacombs]

One time i restrung my strat and it ended in a B string sticking through the tip of my ring finger.   

[imapiratearg]

Guitar strings!  Them sharp motherfuckers!  I stabbed my thumb with an A string once, I think.  I've also cut my hand open on the sharp bits sticking out at the tuning pegs numerous times when putting my guitar down or picking it up.

[Lummer]

Is it just me that's lucky, or you guys that have some kind of voodoo curse on you?!

I've never in my five years of guitaring hurt myself on a string

[Catacombs]

I've also cut my hand open on the sharp bits sticking out at the tuning pegs numerous times when putting my guitar down or picking it up.

I don't think i've ever actually cut my hand open, but i know i've pricked my palm/finger tips numerous times on those little bastards.

[Thrillho]

Well Lummer, for one thing I've been guitaring for 12 years, so give it time, eh?

I also was string it once and a string snapped and like, whipped me across the chest. It was really painful - unlike the thumb thing, which was just weird to look at - and I still don't know exactly how the physics of it worked.

[GenericName]

Even though I have never contributed to this thread before, I am now going to chime in by saying that when I got an Ibanez secondhand, the previous owner was shit in several ways and so he left a short amount of a previous D string sticking out when restringing it and so before I restrung it myself, I was cutting my upper arm every time it passed over the bridge of the guitar.

[RipTatermen]

Y'know what's surprising? Breaking a string on an upright bass. I hardly ever break guitar strings, but when I played upright in high school I broke two or three. The wind holds, so it doesn't go flying, it just goes slack, but it makes a loud noise that the bass amplifies, and, y'know...that's surprising. OK, this story didn't really go anywhere. In my defense, I been drinkin'.

[Lummer]

I been drinkin' too. Apparently broken strings cause many amusing mishaps..

[Catacombs]

In regards to the string snapping thing: wait til they snap you across the face.  I had a cut on my chin for like three weeks one times from a stupid g-string

[valley_parade]

I think you're going to the wrong strip clubs, buddy.


(folks!)

[Thrillho]

I think you're going to the wrong strip clubs, buddy.


(folks!)

I saw this coming.

...That's why I got chucked out of the strip club.

[imapiratearg]

Guys, I played a Mexican '72 Thinline Tele the other day, and I wasn't all that impressed with it.  I was very disappointed.  Are the humbuckers on it supposed to go from sounding like a single coil to a really muddy humbucker?  'Cause that's what the tone knob did.  It sounded alright, I mean, but when I compared it to other guitars equipped with humbuckers, the sound wasn't as full or warm, except when I had the tone knob somewhere in the middle.  Would there be a difference between pickups depending on where it was made, or am I just missing the point of "Wide Range" humbuckers?

[jeph]

Guys, I played a Mexican '72 Thinline Tele

Well there's your problem

[jeph]

yesterday, I tuned my Viper up to Drop C.

yesssssssssssss

[E. Spaceman]

Also, Wide Ranges are not really made anymore. The ones on the thinlines are normal humbuckers in a Wide Range case

[valley_parade]

If you want the real-dealio, see if you can order some from Subway's stockpile.

(I may do this)

[StaedlerMars]

Sorry to interrupt a discussion, but since this is the Guitar Topic I thought it would be best to post it here.

I'm thinking of buying a POD line 6. I'm doing this mainly for the carry around and play everywhere factor. Is this a big mistake? Is this a big step in the right direction?

If I do buy it, is it worth the extra 60 bucks to get the actual 2.0 instead of the pocket version?

[Nodaisho]

I think you're going to the wrong strip clubs, buddy.


(folks!)

I saw this coming.

...That's why I got chucked out of the strip club.

Can't remember if I asked this before, but does anyone know the point at which G-string jokes stop being funny? How many years? Decades?

[Thrillho]

Sorry to interrupt a discussion, but since this is the Guitar Topic I thought it would be best to post it here.

I'm thinking of buying a POD line 6. I'm doing this mainly for the carry around and play everywhere factor. Is this a big mistake? Is this a big step in the right direction?

If I do buy it, is it worth the extra 60 bucks to get the actual 2.0 instead of the pocket version?

That depends. Do you want an amp with a personality? Or do you want an amp with multiple personalities that are all other people?

[StaedlerMars]

Doesn't having multiple personalities imply that they are all other people? How great are these multiple personailities?

Well, really I just want something that I can plug into my guitar, then plug my headphones into it and play with possibly some effects and good quality. My guitar playing is mediocre at best (just thought that should be taken into consideration).

[Ballard]

What he means is, if you choose to use stompboxes through one or a few amps of your choice, you will develop your own unique sound.

If you use a POD, you will have access to hundreds of amp and effect models and, thus, thousands of different tones, but they will all sound inherently generic.

[celticgeek]

My guitar playing is mediocre at best (just thought that should be taken into consideration).

I can dig it.  I took lessons for several years and got to where I was, if I do say so myself, really pretty mediocre. 

But I keep on trucking with my trusty acoustics.

[Tehz]

Yes, I am sad to say that after nearly four years of guitar-ing, two of which with lessons, I am painfully mediocre at doing what I do.

I still love playing, though, lack-of-skillfulness aside. I guess that's what matters....right?

[celticgeek]

Absolutely!!  I really, really enjoy playing, even though I really can't. 

I think that only two things prevent me from being a really good guitarist.  First, a complete and total lack of talent (although some people have indicated that if I choose my type of music carefully, this is not a problem).  The second is a complete and total lack of ability.  Despite these two things, I keep working at it, and still hope to improve. 

[imapiratearg]

Has anyone ever shielded their pickups by dipping them or "potting" them in wax?  I'm thinking about doing this to my Strat's pickups to get rid of some of the excess noise and hum.

[StaedlerMars]

What he means is, if you choose to use stompboxes through one or a few amps of your choice, you will develop your own unique sound.

If you use a POD, you will have access to hundreds of amp and effect models and, thus, thousands of different tones, but they will all sound inherently generic.

Got ya. So for practicing it will do I'm guessing this means?

[Lummer]

Sorry to interrupt a discussion, but since this is the Guitar Topic I thought it would be best to post it here.

I'm thinking of buying a POD line 6. I'm doing this mainly for the carry around and play everywhere factor. Is this a big mistake? Is this a big step in the right direction?

If I do buy it, is it worth the extra 60 bucks to get the actual 2.0 instead of the pocket version?

Screw the Pocket version, and the 2.0.

Get at the very least an XT or X3. Of course, it will never sound completely like the amps it models, and doesn't have that "personality" that a real amp has. Nevertheless, the customisability and quality of the sounds more than make up for this.

[Ballard]

Lummer said it better.

There are fantastic variants of the POD if you're looking to use it live, particularly the POD X3 Live, which I believe doombilly owns.

But it will always be different, if not necessarily worse, than using one real amp and/or real effects pedals.

[Nodaisho]

Celtic, you can also use the excuse that you are playing an acoustic. I have heard it said that playing an acoustic is like having sex with your clothes on, you know how to do it, but it is a lot more difficult.

[Ballard]

Fortunately, the learning curve for having sex with your clothes on is set lower than for playing acoustic guitar with fingers used to electric.

If sex was as rough as barre chords on my Martin after a few months of playing solely electric guitar, I'd be (I swear there is no pun intended) fucked.

[Nodaisho]

I am horrible with acoustic, I was trying to play A Celebration For the Death of Man on my dad's acoustic, I couldn't strum fast enough, the strings slowed me down too much. Probably in part because I was using a pick, and when I wasn't, well, I haven't strummed without a pick enough to be good at not catching my fingers on anything.

[Thrillho]

What he means is, if you choose to use stompboxes through one or a few amps of your choice, you will develop your own unique sound.

If you use a POD, you will have access to hundreds of amp and effect models and, thus, thousands of different tones, but they will all sound inherently generic.

Got ya. So for practicing it will do I'm guessing this means?

Yes. But when the time comes that you think 'I wanna write songs, I wanna make my own unique sound, I wanna be a rock star!' you'll be as fucked as a French nun.

[Ballard]

That's not necessarily true. Especially when you ponder how generic rock music is these days.

It's songwriting talent that distinguishes you from the crowd, not an arsenal of tones. I realized that when I started buying pedals. I could just as easily play everything I was writing without them and it would only sound moderately less exciting. They're flare, not content.

A good amp is a necessity for any serious musician, and models won't save you there. They are fun sometimes, however.

[Thrillho]

Of course it's that too, but I still think that finding a sound that's your own rather than just a copy, literally, of someone else's is still important if you're going to be a guitar soloist. If you're not going to be a soloist it's less of an issue.

[Ballard]

Man, find me 10 guitarists in contemporary rock music who have an easily distinguishable lead guitar tone. One that is rarely heard elsewhere.

Then compare that number to the amount of talented rock guitarists and you're still wrong.

Even if I said "rock music from it's beginnings through today" you would probably list off a bunch of dudes from Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time and I would show you the astoundingly large number of talented songwriters who have utilized the tired-ass, no longer innovative tones invented by their predecessors to write fantastic music.

Certainly attempting to mold your own sound is the more interesting, more creative route but let's face it, guitar tone is like sex. No matter how hard you try to think outside the box, it's all been done before*, so your objective is to be creative in your delivery rather than your methods.

* within the realm of conventional rock music

[doombilly]

Sorry to interrupt a discussion, but since this is the Guitar Topic I thought it would be best to post it here.

I'm thinking of buying a POD line 6. I'm doing this mainly for the carry around and play everywhere factor. Is this a big mistake? Is this a big step in the right direction?

If I do buy it, is it worth the extra 60 bucks to get the actual 2.0 instead of the pocket version?

Screw the Pocket version, and the 2.0.

Get at the very least an XT or X3. Of course, it will never sound completely like the amps it models, and doesn't have that "personality" that a real amp has. Nevertheless, the customisability and quality of the sounds more than make up for this.

Rocking an X3Live myself. Right now i am very unhappy with it.
The latest firmware "upgrade" seems to have robbed me of most of the volume I had when the pedal was new 6 months ago. $500 (really like $600 w/ the GC warranty) and I am in the precarious position of having an ass-load of gigs in front of me and starting over with a new one (remaking all the patches for 2 dozen songs) or muddling on and not being heard on some of them.
I would check out the L6 Forums before making any purchases.
http://line6.com/support/forumindex.jspa

[jeph]

I bought one POD that was bricked out of the box.

Then I exchanged it for a newer one and it's served me flawlessly for months.

I would put good money behind the statement that nobody short of a complete audiophile asshole could reliably tell the difference between a POD amp model and the real thing on record.

[Ballard]

I think most people's shit with amp modeling, myself included, is out of principle rather than legitimate discontent. It's more exciting to play through a vintage tube amp than a red, plastic kidney bean that sounds like a vintage tube amp, therefore, to many, something like a POD is inferior to the real thing.

They're certainly worth the money I think.

[doombilly]

I think most people's shit with amp modeling, myself included, is out of principle rather than legitimate discontent. It's more exciting to play through a vintage tube amp than a red, plastic kidney bean that sounds like a vintage tube amp, therefore, to many, something like a POD is inferior to the real thing.

They're certainly worth the money I think.

Ach but mine looks more like a piece of the death star and I play it into a wee temple of orange-ness.

I really hope I can get this sussed out. I would need a room full of stuff to do what the POD provides.

[doombilly]

Hmm, might have it sussed now. It worked for me fine tonight. Bejooobius!    This thing is complicated. 

[Patrick]

Man, find me 10 guitarists in contemporary rock music who have an easily distinguishable lead guitar tone. One that is rarely heard elsewhere.

Ian D'Sa (Billy Talent), Alex Lifeson (Rush) Joe Walsh (the Eagles count, they still play pretty actively), John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Brett Mason (Nashville session player), Albert Lee (Nashville session player), John McCrea (Cake, he's got that weird-ass sounding acoustic), Xan McCrady (also of Cake), that guy with the Strat from the Strokes...

Well, fuckbat, I only got 9.

[Lummer]

Leon Macey of Mithras, with all the chorus and delay and atmospheric gobbledygook. I love that guy.

[Patrick]

Gene, we've met your challenge. I want my 50 bucks now.

[Thrillho]

Sonic Youth, BTW.

Okay, here's a question for you guitarist people.

If you were a famous guitarist, what'd you be known for? David Gilmour for example, is known for lots of slow, big bends, making his guitar 'sing.' What'd be your hallmarks? Mine would be lots of chord bends, open strings and chords with semitone intervals in them. I also play quite percussively because I usually just strum all six strings and mute the ones I'm not playing.

How's about you guys?