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[valley_parade]

that purple thing is hideous

Yeah, that too. the Solo-6 (or I guess Solo-8 in this case) shape is horrible.

[NotAFanOfFenders]

at least it looks better than the standard les paul shape. Love the guy, hate the guitars.

[valley_parade]

If by "better" you mean "someone stuck a Les Paul in a microwave"

[NotAFanOfFenders]

Meh, it's marginally comfortable, which can't be said for most lp-styled guitars. Comfort and playability is a lot more important to me than looks, anyway. I just don't get how Gibson decided to keep the les paul in production after improving the design into the SG. Why isn't my screen-name NotAFanOfGibsons(AlsoRatherAmbivalentTowardsFenderssssss) yet?

[Patrick]

Because while I have decided to love SGs again, I still gotta say, that neck is bullshit in construction. Playable as hell, and god do I love how they sound, but it is really easy to fuck them up real bad. The overall weight of the thing makes for some nice feedback and hella fat tone, but overall that goddamn thing is just too frail.

[valley_parade]

Meh, it's marginally comfortable, which can't be said for most lp-styled guitars. Comfort and playability is a lot more important to me than looks, anyway. I just don't get how Gibson decided to keep the les paul in production after improving the design into the SG. Why isn't my screen-name NotAFanOfGibsons(AlsoRatherAmbivalentTowardsFenderssssss) yet?

Because in the late 60s there was a demand from players to start making them again.

And then..bloozlawyers.

[NotAFanOfFenders]

Oh god, the bloozlawyers. I don't get those guys. A lot of famous blues (and otherwise) were perfectly happy to play and record with shitty gear. Fender pretty much started as an el cheapo "working musician's" brand, with simple and primitive manufacturing techniques. I've played indonesian Ibaneses (Ibanii?) that play better than '60's fenders, but they got the job done, damn it! Now they're being all collectible and shit? What's up with that? Does 'mojo' really do a shit? I've definitely played some pretty sweet vintage guitars, yeah, but what is it with this obsession over old shit these days? Collectors/lawyers of the blooz should stick to stamps, alternatively vinyl.

HALP!

Also, Stratatatatat inbound in less than a week.

[valley_parade]

No, I'm okay with them keeping vinyl prices low. It's the punk collectors that screw it all up for me.

[NotAFanOfFenders]

There are people actively seeking out, purchasing and maybe even ziplocking punk-classics? Putting them in a temperature-controllled environment?

The irony is fabulous

[valley_parade]

Dude the Ergs/Teenage Bottlerocket split from a few years ago goes for $50 on eBay.

[Melodic]

the worst thing i've ever done to my wallet
is "like" kauer guitars' facebook page

[Patrick]

NotAFanOfFenders, I have something that might make you feel better about Les Pauls.

Behold.

(also, admit it, Bluesbreakers With Eric Clapton is a great album and that LP is the best-sounding thing you ever heard in your life)

[doombilly]

the worst thing i've ever done to my wallet
is "like" kauer guitars' facebook page

haha 1900 was too high?! I know man, just bustin' on ya.
--*--
re Acoustic v GK combos: dude who was looking as bass amps. Play them both. All of the GK gear Maria has used has been good. Only Acoustic gear I've ever had was their only gtr made in the 70's. Neither matters because it depends on your needs and how that sound is. In other news, kudos on not getting a bass rig the size and weight of a refrigerator. (Yah, I know those typically are lots more). Pro-tip if you have the money at some point, and don't want something you need to weight train to move, check out the Mark Bass stuff. Incredible technology AND super portable.

[NotAFanOfFenders]

NotAFanOfFenders, I have something that might make you feel better about Les Pauls.

Behold.

I prefer this.

[valley_parade]

That utter numpty. Forgot to ship the neck bolts with the guitar. And the plastic button on the D tuner snapped in three when I was stringing it up. I was planning on replacing the tuners anyway, though.

By no means is this going to be a restoration. This is going to be a modded out beast. Basically the only things I'm keeping are the neck, body, guard (maybe), and the tailpiece. Right now, just strung up..it sounds good. Very resonant for a little guitar (24.5" scale), though the low E is a little buzzy open, which I think is due to the bridge. Which will be replaced. I'm thinking Mustang bridge. It may be a Trump, but I'll Fender the fuck out of her.


(on a good note, I had a set of neck bolts that fit perfectly.. probably from that Teisco body I already had)

[A Wet Helmet]

I've been denying myself all the expensive guitars I've been craving lately.   In an effort to cool the gear-lust, I decided to buy a cheap ass xaviere just to have something new to dick around with.   So I ordered an LP junior clone and I even got a blemished one so it would be a little cheaper.  I got to tell you, I'm pretty impressed with the guitar.  Don't get me wrong, this isn't a $3k custom shop guitar by any stretch of the imagination, but you could easily walk into guitar center and drop five or six hundred and not have something that's appreciably better.  

I opened the box and the first thing I did (naturally) was look for the blemishes.   To be honest, it took me a little while to find.  Turns out, the top side of the fingerboard where it meets the neck has a couple of ripples in it.  Yeah, I'm not thrilled about that because I can see it when I'm looking down, but it doesn't affect playability at all.   There is also a tiny, tiny, tiny ding in the back, but no big deal, right?  Hell, it even sounds pretty decent without plugging it in.  From what I can see through the sunburst, this looks like a pretty decent chunk of mahogany-- though I think I'll probably change the strings.  Neck feels nice.  Action is playable.  Okay, cheap plastic nut, but most guitars seem to have that these days.   I've heard that the tuners are shit on these things, but I tuned easily and intonation is good, so we'll see how they do after a few days.

I  plugged it into my little Fender G-Dec practice amp.   Sounds okay.   But hey, it's a goofy little practice amp and every setting is modeling something, so nothing sounds fantastic on it.  Then I plug it into the AC30.  Wow!  This sounds pretty good.  Better, even, than several other guitars I have.  Nice.  Not that I have a whole lot of guitars with P-90s lying around, but this certainly has got a really good sound to it .  Then I plugged it into my VK100 and holy shit it sounds fantastic.   Interestingly, I have a tele that I have GFS pickups in too, and it also sounds really, really good on that amp.  

Anyway, I've been goofing off on it for about an hour, and for $153--which included shipping-- I'm pretty damn impressed.  I think I've found my new sit-in-front-of-the-tv-and-practice guitar for awhile.    Would buy again.

[valley_parade]

Goddammit. I've been wanting one of those, but hoping they sucked seeing that I JUST got a new guitar.

[A Wet Helmet]

Well I have noticed another problem with it that could potentially be significant to some folks.

I plugged back into my G-Dec, and there was a very distinct --though faint-- chirping sound that was happening about every 3/4 of a second.  Couldn't figure it out for the life of me.  Happened on every channel, though was definitely most prominent on high gain preset channels.  Plug it back into the Peavey; nothing.  Plug it back into the Vox; Nothing.  Into the Fender... chirp, chirp, chirp.   Try a different guitar in the Fender; nothing.  Hmmm.. that's weird, not the amp.   Try a bunch of different settings  on the amp, the damn thing still chirps.   So I got to thinking about how the guts of the guitar work and roll the tone knob all the way down to zero.   No more chirp.   

I'll be damned, seems like that little solid state amp is sensitive enough to play the sound of the tone cap discharging.  It's definitely more prominent the higher I turn up the tone knob, so I rip open the control panel.  Little blue no-name cap in there.  Doesn't even tell me what it's rated for on there.  So I'll replace that, and probably the tone pot too just to be safe, sometime between tonight and whenever I get around to it.  I'm not really concerned about it because I literally have a couple of pots and some brand new caps within arms reach of me, (plus it's only happening on one amp) but for someone who doesn't who has the right amp... turning that thing all the way down sounds like you're playing through a wet sponge.   That could really suck.

[valley_parade]

So it's a solid guitar...unless you have a G-DEC.

Drat.

[A Wet Helmet]

I think it's more like a decent guitar with a lousy tone cap.   I could be wrong about that though.  I'll let you know when I swap it if it works.

[Rot10Kid]

Stumbled across this. kinda makes you wonder why.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxcXu1nZohQ&feature=related

[Chad K.]

How's the neck on those Xavieres?  I've been very interested in picking one up.

[doombilly]

Stumbled across this. kinda makes you wonder why we ever left the tidal pools, primordial ooze never did anything that retarded.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxcXu1nZohQ&feature=related

fyp

[Bearer]

I think it's more like a decent guitar with a lousy tone cap.   I could be wrong about that though.  I'll let you know when I swap it if it works.

In terms of audible differences between different types of capacitors, there really is none.  orange drop, sprague, PIO, "bumble-bee", whatever, they all do exactly the same stuff.  The only reason to pick one over the other would be its error rate actually.  More important to a guitar's "tone" (really, timbre) is the cap's value and the tone potentiometers value.  Do some more research into these two components.  spending $80 and up on a "vintage" or "replica" capacitor will do the same thing as something from the spare parts drawer at radio shack.

[A Wet Helmet]

Wow, you read a whole lot into my post that wasn't there.  What I said is there is a cap in there that has no rating on it.  I suspect the chirp I hear may be it discharging.  I'm going to swap it and the pot to see.  You didn't see anything in there about "OMG I need to find an original .022uF Black Beauty!"   

To the question of the neck... It's pretty nice.  It's straight, and except for the previously mentioned blemishes on the side of the fingerboard, the finish is good.  Frets 19-21 have a little bit of glue coming out of the fret seam, but a couple seconds with an exacto knife is going to fix that no problem.  I would also say that I deliberately bought a blemished product.  That could be part of what QA kicked the dang thing back for.  The joint looks good, I've got good access to the upper frets, and there are no dead spots. 

The frets could be dressed a little better on the high E side, but they're by no means "bad".  I've bought a couple of licensed Fender necks for some parts casters I've built that were way worse.  I even think that my Ibanez semi-hollow is worse straight from the store.  All in all... it's alright.   No major complaints.  In terms of other guitars to compare it to, it's pretty close to my '81 Firebrand Deluxe.   It's a little bit fuller, which I personally like, but I wouldn't go as far as to call it a baseball bat.  It's got a fairly standard "Gibson-y" classic feel.   It's easy to play... I don't know what else there is to say about it.   I'll probably adjust the action up just a hair when I change strings, but otherwise, I'm pretty happy with it.

I would say again though, this is no lost secret guitar of unparalleled awesome.  It seems to be a good guitar for the money you pay for it.  AKA, a good value.  It's a cheap guitar, but I've spent more on other cheap guitars that don't seem to be as good.  We'll see how it holds up.

[NotAFanOfFenders]

Stumbled across this. kinda makes you wonder why we ever left the tidal pools, primordial ooze never did anything that retarded.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxcXu1nZohQ&feature=related

fyp

I don't know man, I would definitely want one for recording, although it may be a bit unwieldy in low-light live situations. Too bad my options would be to either pay 4000+ for one, which I can't afford , or attempting to make one myself. Although I would have more use for a 12-string (6-string bass + 6 string guitar or just tuned in fourths + a couple of major thirds with the highest string being a G. This would save me a lot of time finding a new bass and a new 7-string.

What is the problem a lot of "you people" have with added range?

[valley_parade]

There's a bassist for a reason!

actually..I'm just used to six strings on a guitar. I understand the appeal and idea of 7, but man, 8? and I thought Rondo made a 9 string this year?

[NotAFanOfFenders]

Well, yeah once you get down to the low F#/E, you might think you're crossing over to bassist territory, but seeing as an amplified guitar using a bridge pickup is almost all overtones and little to no fundamental, they balance out nicely. Then again, some bassists go "fuck this shit" and tune down an octave to compensate.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with sixers, or that more stringers=bigger dick though, it's all about preference. To be honest i couldn't really imagine all the indie-rock/pop/folk being hyped on these boards being played with this, which is essentially a piano anyway:



And yeah, Rondo do make nine-strings now. This guy though, made an 11-string himself, tuned like so:
A4(.0059 custom guitar string)
E4(.010 guitar string)
B3(.013 guitar string)
G3(.017 guitar string)
D3(.032 guitar string)
A2(.042 guitar string)
E2(.052 guitar string)
B1(.068 guitar string)
F#1(.090 guitar string)
C#1(.120 bass string)
G#0(.140 custom bass string)

I R jelly.

[Rot10Kid]

Sure, it'd be cool to have, if only for the reason of "Yeah, I own an eighteen string guitar/bass". It just seems so...cumbersome. It'd be easier to run a freaking harp through an amp.

[doombilly]

[What is the problem a lot of "you people" have with added range?

Well because the way he's playing the bass is so the-bass-is-just-a-guitar-in-a-lower-octave-hoo-hah. He's got to play it like a piano. As a guy that plays both a very unconventional shaped guitar and with a drum machine, I know it is going to come off as hypocrisy. And maybe it is. But I feel like I just looked at some dude with his fleshlight. And James Jamerson didn't play one o' them. heh

[David_Dovey]

Matt Pike from High on Fire uses a 9-string geetar, but it's more like 3/4 of a 12-string than an extended range like 7 or 8-strings, if you get my meaning.

Here it is

[Cernunnos]

It's far more entertaining to hear it from the man himself

[NotAFanOfFenders]

[What is the problem a lot of "you people" have with added range?

o. As a guy that plays both a very unconventional shaped guitar and with a drum machine, I know it is going to come off as hypocrisy. And maybe it is. But I feel like I just looked at some dude with his fleshlight.

No, man. Parkers aren't oddly shaped, they're awesomely shaped.

...And when did playing something "like a piano" necessarily become a bad thing?

[Melodic]

those 18 string things look hideous, heavy, and ridiculous to play. dunno why anyone would ever want one, or want to play one, except for the sheer ludicrous factor.

[edwinalink]

those 18 string things look hideous, heavy, and ridiculous to play. dunno why anyone would ever want one, or want to play one, except for the sheer ludicrous factor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SldDtVpTcA

I don't know whether this video Proves or disproves anything. but hey.

guitar.

[Lummer]

Well, as for me being a total Grind-freak, I love the idea of a band consisting of just guitar and drums. ERG's really come into their own in that setting.

[Patrick]

Like, okay, so maybe I can't play three different voicings of the same chord all at once with my MEAGER LITTLE SIX-STRING. But like. Do I fucking care? Okay cool, 8-string guitars, big whoop. 12-strings? That's cool, they are all octaves except the last two courses. That's fine. 18 strings? Just get a mother fucking piano already

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SldDtVpTcA

I don't know whether this video Proves or disproves anything. but hey.

guitar.

I have a primal urge to punch every last tooth out of all of the members of this band.

[NotAFanOfFenders]

But Patrick, I suck at piano!

[Lummer]

M.A.N. is a pretty shitty band too.

[edwinalink]

I kinda dig their Rip Off of Mudvayne sound. a little.

but I never ever play them.. so that says something.

Just...

if you're gonna have that many strings... play more of them.

[Lummer]

Well, Rob Guzman is a good guitarist, but someone really needs to tell Tony Jelenovich, their frontman, that 2001 has come and gone and even back then Nu-metal was a dead horse, creatively speaking.

[edwinalink]

Ever try Googling a band called "MAN"?

Google can't find the damn band, like... EVER.

Might as well have named the band PORN.

...so yeah Rob is the only reason I even know that band exists. I was lurking on Sevenstring and saw that driftwood guitar.

[valley_parade]

Like, okay, so maybe I can't play three different voicings of the same chord all at once with my MEAGER LITTLE SIX-STRING. But like. Do I fucking care? Okay cool, 8-string guitars, big whoop. 12-strings? That's cool, they are all octaves except the last two courses. That's fine. 18 strings? Just get a mother fucking piano already

Don't forget about twelve string basses. Those things are strange. Apparently Jason Newsted used one with Metallica for a few songs.

[ESKIMO ROBOCOP]

this thing is pretty interesting...8 string microtonal guitar. the guy is hard to understand, but hes an effin virtuoso on that thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYK_PF9WTRE

[Patrick]

It isn't even so much his accent that makes him tough to understand. Just all that freakin' reverb everywhere. Still, that is actually a pretty awesome idea!

[David_Dovey]

Just get a mother fucking piano already

Now I don't know much about guitars or pianos, but it is my understanding that aside from the difference in numbers of strings between the two instruments, a piano doesn't sound much like a guitar?

[doombilly]

Well a piano is a series of push button levers with hammers that "play" the piano. Not that there's is anything wrong with that. Or John Cage "prepared piano." I suspect all of these multi-multi-multi stringed devices are what someone wanted to do their thing. And I am ok with that. They just all look like wangcasters to me. And I used to play a lot of piano, still have one down here in the basement. 80 yr old upright. Some of my best friends are one-armed-one-eye-flying-purple-people-eaters...

[Kwaping]

Okay, so...

There's this guy on Craigslist selling a "super rare" Reverend amp and 2x12 cab. I noticed in his ad that it has brand new tubes. Then, at the bottom of the ad, he mentions he also has some 60's GE tubes for sale, same type as the amp takes. So I'm a little miffed by this, because I was kinda considering purchasing the amp/cab but I think he parted out the original tubes of a rare amp just to make a few extra bucks. Am I justified here, or overreacting based on an assumption? If true, would you consider it a total dick maneuver or is that in the realm of normalcy?

Here's the ad so you can judge for yourself.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/msg/2208410189.html

[valley_parade]

Well.

Guys. I have short-scale fever. The Teisco just feels right. Strings a little looser, a little more comfortable. I need a fix. A Jag, a Mustang, something. 

[ESKIMO ROBOCOP]

New Tele Day!

Well, sorta. Rondo SX Tele-like.

Got it yesterday, totally impressed with the quality of this thing. Everything about it (except the tuners...meh) is better than the squire i played for twice the price.

So today i made it a swimming pool route, threw in a new middle pickup from that weird 60s kingston, gave it a full setup and some big ass new strings, and i love it! I have wanted a tele for years, and now i have one. I have some serious plans for this baby, but here it is for now...