Guitars, guitars, guitars

[doombilly]

Baby Taylor is interesting to me. I like the fact the wife is playing an instrument that towers over her and I (more than a foot taller than her) play a tiny guitar. But I dislike Ukes.... Let me know how that works for you? Lately gas-sing over acoustic archtops.
http://elderly.com/vintage/items/45U-1677.htm
Hotness?

[KingOfIreland]

The yamaha guitalele is a fucking amazing piece of kit too. 70 euros of beautiful sounding classical guitar at uke scale.

[Kwaping]

I dislike acoustics in general, but that Baby Taylor is working out pretty well. Cheap, well-made, sounds passable, and most of all - easy to play. I imagine if you have large hands it might be problematic, but it's fine for me. The short scale is key to making it play like an electric - totally easy bends, for example. The portability doesn't hurt either.

Definitely try one out before buying, or at least get a good return policy. Being Taylor's low-end model, and not made in their normal U.S. factory, quality can vary greatly between individual guitars.  I played two at the store (Guitar Center) and the one I bought was drastically better than the other. I've never experienced such a noticeable difference between two guitars of the same make and model.

[Lummer]

So..

I've gotten rid of my entire rack. I need a new amp now. LET THE GASSING COMMENCE

[Taekwondoin]

What sort of amp you looking for? I've been liking the new Blackstar ID series for a good modelling amp, but I really want a Hughes and Ketner tubemeister stack, I've never played through such a full and creamy amp before.

[Lummer]

If it were a tool I was shopping for, I would shopping for the biggest, ugliest, most unsubtle and vulgar sledgehammer in existence.

[Kwaping]

Something Orange, maybe?

[Lummer]

Nah, the only one of those I'm genuinely interested in would be the Thunderverb 200 in all its KT88-y glory. There's no way I can afford that one. At the moment it looks mostly like I'm going to snag a JCM 900 SL-X. The SL-X has an entire extra gain stage built into the Preamp, so it essentially has the obligatory push-everything-into-full-ridiculous-insane-distortion-territory pedal you normally set in front of it built into the head itself. Nifty.

[Lummer]

Also, a cool 100 watts of 6L6 brutality isn't half bad either. It's a single channel amp, so it's basically a hot-rodded JCM800 on steroids. If I can't snatch a Carvin MTS3200 for cheap it'll be this one.

[Patrick]

God I fuckin love you man. You're a man on a mission. Shame I can't have you in my country band.

[Lummer]

I'm not sure that would be advisable, for your own sake.

Also, the absence of blastbeats would make me mortally confused and disoriented.

[TheCollyWolly]

Well I got to play one of the new Silverface Princeton reissues, and I need someone that will pay $900 for my eternal soul. Any takers?

[KingOfIreland]

So..

I've gotten rid of my entire rack. I need a new amp now. LET THE GASSING COMMENCE

SOVTEK BASS RIG

[Lummer]

So..

I've gotten rid of my entire rack. I need a new amp now. LET THE GASSING COMMENCE

SOVTEK BASS RIG

That would... Actually be a good idea. Unfortunately it's not something that's available near me.
Also, there's a Monster Effects Mastortion fuzz/drive for sale for super cheap near me. Oh dang...

[Patrick]

oh mannnn. I just realized something. the overwhelming majority of tubes manufactured today are made in Russia under the Sovtek brand. since it's Cold War II right now, what does that mean for folks like us?

[Lummer]

Well I dunno. I'd be okay with going back to solid states if I could manage to find a fucking Ampeg SS150 or VH140 anywhere in Europe. The Randall RG-series also looks quite promising, but I haven't tried those yet.

ALSO: Marshall Lead 100 Mosfet.

[Patrick]

Well I dunno. I'd be okay with going back to solid states

well, that makes one of us...

[IDMG]

ALSO: Marshall Lead 100 Mosfet.

Those are pretty awesome, not gonna lie. Less dynamic than an actual JCM800 but not bad sounding.

[Lummer]

There's a dude selling one on the other side of the country, but he won't send it.

Goddamnit.

[Lummer]

Also; I can't afford a Verellen Meatsmoke.

Double-goddamnit.

[doombilly]

So after (what seems like ages) of dragging 2 80lb PA speakers, 45lb power amp, mixer, drum machine, cabling, back up cabling, a 175lb bass cab, 100lb bass head, road cases, extra guitars, 200lbs of guitar plug-in-ables....mics, stands, more cables, back up power amp etc.... I'm down to 1 ginormous URB and my lightweight acoustic (Yamaha AEX500) guitar. No mics, just my naturally loud mouth and fairly quiet guitar. Going from the Parker Nitefly to the clodhopper yamaha was a bit of a challenge but has made me a better man. People can hear my voice blocks away, we actually got a radio gig because of that. Fuck Edison. (apologies Tesla, AC current is wonderful and efficient, I just don't need it for this). We are all gonna die, but Ima take some ears and hearts down with me.

[Detachable Felix]

Bahaha I know that feeling. Going down from all of my equipment to just busking with a guitar and my voice was a hell of a challenge (and belting out tunes sans microphones for four and a half hours really takes a toll on your voice.
The guitar, not so much of an issue for volume, as it's this old Maton from the 70's with possibly the biggest booming sound I've ever heard from a dreadnought acoustic. The thing is a piece of art.

[Patrick]

For the amount of love I have for playing in a band, I love performing solo, without my bandmates. In a group, you potentially have someone else to blame when fuckups occur, and vice-versa. Self-accompanied solo singing? Nobody to blame but yourself. If you're honest with your self-critiques (being careful not to be too harsh), it can be the most humbling and educational experience ever. Bonus points if you record some of your performances and listen back for nitpicking purposes.

[Thrillho]

It also, of course, means that if you fuck up you can just go round the chord progression again and pretend no mistake was made. In a band you have to rehearse like FUCK.

[doombilly]

It also, of course, means that if you fuck up you can just go round the chord progression again and pretend no mistake was made. In a band you have to rehearse like FUCK.

QFT
additionally if your drummer is a sequenced machine it just keeps going into verse 3 when you are figuring out wtf you did wrong on that chorus 2. It will leave you behind in a cloud of virtual dust...bastard!

[IDMG]

I've done open-mic drone things just as a solo electric player. is cool.

My voice should never be heard by humans.

[Lummer]

Okay, little update:

I got me a Carvin MTS3200 50th Anniversary Edition. I'm a fan. These things apparently have a reputation (among those in the know) for being extremely underrated, overlooked amps for metal. Now, I've heard somewhere that these were more or less ubiquitous in the Californian PxV/HxC scene in the 90s, due to them being a great deal cheaper than most other tube heads.

Anyway, I chose this over the JCM 900 SL-X, and I am pleased I did. The gain channel on this thing is just ridiculous. The amount of low end it can crank out is borderline absurd. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with it. It'll do what I need it to do, and it is simple to operate.

There are some caveats, though:
- It does not have a master volume knob. This means that I couldn't quite run my Sansamp into the FX Return in any practical fashion, since I couldn't regulate volume. I found a workaround for this, though. I immediately snagged one of these: http://effektpedaler.dk/product.asp?product=5013
The clever thing about this, is that it can also TURN DOWN, to the point of turning off completely. So now I have a master volume knob, without having to go in and mod anything. Also, I got a sweet new boost pedal! Yay! When using the amp for my Grind band, I'll probably just run it into the preamp to give the whole thing a little slap and drive it a bit harder.

- The power section actually has EL34's. The exact type of tubes I was trying to avoid. But I'm okay with it; it sounds brutal so I'm happy. I'll just toss 6L6's in it, come next retubing. It has a bias switch on the back of it, so there's literally zero modding or adjusting needed. Lovely.

[Kwaping]

Congrats on a nice purchase!

[Taekwondoin]

Okay, little update:

I got me a Carvin MTS3200 50th Anniversary Edition. I'm a fan. These things apparently have a reputation (among those in the know) for being extremely underrated, overlooked amps for metal. Now, I've heard somewhere that these were more or less ubiquitous in the Californian PxV/HxC scene in the 90s, due to them being a great deal cheaper than most other tube heads.

Anyway, I chose this over the JCM 900 SL-X, and I am pleased I did. The gain channel on this thing is just ridiculous. The amount of low end it can crank out is borderline absurd. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with it. It'll do what I need it to do, and it is simple to operate.

There are some caveats, though:
- It does not have a master volume knob. This means that I couldn't quite run my Sansamp into the FX Return in any practical fashion, since I couldn't regulate volume. I found a workaround for this, though. I immediately snagged one of these: http://effektpedaler.dk/product.asp?product=5013
The clever thing about this, is that it can also TURN DOWN, to the point of turning off completely. So now I have a master volume knob, without having to go in and mod anything. Also, I got a sweet new boost pedal! Yay! When using the amp for my Grind band, I'll probably just run it into the preamp to give the whole thing a little slap and drive it a bit harder.

- The power section actually has EL34's. The exact type of tubes I was trying to avoid. But I'm okay with it; it sounds brutal so I'm happy. I'll just toss 6L6's in it, come next retubing. It has a bias switch on the back of it, so there's literally zero modding or adjusting needed. Lovely.

Sounds like a pretty awesome purchase man!

To be honest though, I think most people underestimate amps in general, a cheap, not particularly well made guitar can still sound great out of a very good amp. To be honest though, I don't really play metal so a lot of what you want from an amp is completely different to what I look for, I'm quite happy with my Fender 112, it's loud, it has a great clean sound, and it can really dial up the brightness when I want to get my twang on. It also sounds great with a fuzz pedal when I start playing some shoegaze.

[Usurpatore Hominum LXVI]

Congrats on a nice purchase!

Speaking of nice purchases, a friend of mine just sold me a ton of pedals for around $100, including my long-sought after love - an MXR six-band EQ. Seriously, my tone is twice as ballsy now thanks to that little box.

[Taekwondoin]

So I got my Squier Bass VI on monday, and after a couple of days of heavy usage, I can say that it is fuck awesome. It definitely needs some new strings (which I've already ordered, should be here today or tomorrow) and at some point the 9.5 radius Staytrem bridge would be a good investment for £65 to improve the intonation. In terms of tone and playability though, it's very hard to put down! I'll take some pics later in the week with the whole stable.

[Jimor]

Got to see this guy play this harp guitar at a show tonight. Should have video of my own to post a bit later.

[Kwaping]

Taekwondoin - I'm jealous!!
Jimor - my old guitar teacher plays a harp guitar. Random fact.

In other news...
I've been playing a lot of bass lately (Rocksmith is fun!), now when I go back to guitar the strings feel like steel spiderwebs. My guitar playing has actually regressed quite a bit since playing bass. But on the flip side, I don't care, because bass is fun!

Would a bass VI bridge the gap nicely between my newfound bass enjoyment and my established guitar skillz?

[Taekwondoin]

Would a bass VI bridge the gap nicely between my newfound bass enjoyment and my established guitar skillz?

Depends on what strings you use and what tuning you have it at. It's traditionally tuned E-E, but a bass E, there's no reason why you can't tune it up to B like a baritone though, that's what I plan on doing at least. Also, you can still play full chords even when tuned E-E, I'd say find one to try out first.

[Patrick]

Kwaping, bass is a whole lot of fun! If you want to stay good at guitar though, you're gonna have to practice it more. I'm very lucky to have a band where I play bass, but I switch between guitar and drums at my open mics. It's struck a nice balance, and every time I learn something on one instrument I seem to learn something else about the others.

[Taekwondoin]

As promised, here they all are.

From left to right, Fender Modern Player Mustang (with Mint Guard and witch-hats), Tanglewood Memphis, Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar HH, Squier Vintage Modified Bass VI

[spoiler][/spoiler]

[Lummer]

So I spent some quality time with my amp yesterday again. Hot diggity.

[Patrick]

Taekwondoin: yep we can be friends

[IDMG]

loading off a lot of stuff recently

[Thrillho]

Taekwondoin: I hate your fucking guts.

[Taekwondoin]

I love you too.

[pwhodges]

Aww - twue wuv on the fowum!

[Patrick]

as badly as I want one, one thing I will never understand is why the Bass VI needs a god damn vibrato. makes no fucking sense to me

[Taekwondoin]

It's certainly an oddity, but it's a lot of fun on the higher strings and you can get some nice sounds from it. The one thing that annoys me about it is that on the Squier it isn't a locking trem, and using it too much just destroys the tuning. I guess it could be an easy fix with a full fender vibrato put in place, and that's something I'm looking to do in the future.

[Patrick]

nice, those trem units aren't terribly expensive either. like US$70

[Patrick]

in other news, I finally have a proper action photo that I posted to the pic thread in CHATTER, and forgot to post in the slightly more relevant thread til now.



god that thing makes me look like an actually big person

[Taekwondoin]

Ha that's pretty fucking awesome, pink guitars FTW!

Also, if anyone ever thinks that bass is unimportant...

I love that tone, and it's a Starcaster.

[Patrick]

If anyone thinks bass is unimportant, they've never tried to perform without a bassist. And apparently that video isn't available in the US, weird.

[Taekwondoin]

If anyone thinks bass is unimportant, they've never tried to perform without a bassist. And apparently that video isn't available in the US, weird.

If you can find it, it is Royal Blood and the song is Little Monsters, it's just a bass and drums with a kick ass bass tone.

And yeah, performing without a bass line is fucking hard.

[Detachable Felix]

Performing without a bass line is hard unless you have a pianist who knows what they're doing.
Or, at least in my case, knows how to drown out everything in glorious, fist-smashing, reverberating, bassy piano goodness. (Were there enough intensifiers in that sentence? I certainly don't think so)