Lets look at our guitars thread

[Rod200SX]

Thinking about pulling the plunge on a new guitar. Not a high budget, I've been on and off playing my Dean razorback that I got for my 16th birthday (27 now, that's scary).

With a budget of ideally £300-£350 at a push I'd originally been looking at Jackson Rhodes style V's with a Floyd but the more I read, the more I was put off, cheaper materials, licensed Floyd's don't have a great rep. I have played a few ibanez in the past and never quite gelled.

Broadened my horizons and stepped away from the strictly metal styled guitars and started looking at Les Paul styles. I found and have done some reading up on the ESP LTD 256FM. Seems to be good value for money and meant to be nice to play/durable in regards to different tones.

Has anyone played one before? Or even any suggestions for alternatives. I do mainly play metal but I do enjoy playing a lot of Muse & mucking around with the wah and whammy! No gigging and very much a casual hobbyist so wanting to keep the budget creep to a minimum.

[languagetimothy]

paulguitar said:

cherryowen said:

that's all the guitar you need is it not?

It is really, yep. I'd love a D-41, but they cost twice as much and all of that money goes on decoration, abalone inlays and suchlike.

The D-28 is the sweet spot, totally plain and unfussy, but does everything right. Also, the fact the likes of Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Joni Mitchel, etc have them is a great recommendation!

This is my Martin GPc something or other.. so a bit cheaper but was still about 1300 quid.
I had a Taylor before this but couldn't get the sound I liked, particularly when picking with fingers or plectrum. This was a transformation and does exactly what I want. I generally go through a Marshall ASD50 or direct into a PA. great sounds and nice slim neck and action that doesn't cripple my hands.

[rsbmw]

Rod200SX said:

Thinking about pulling the plunge on a new guitar. Not a high budget, I've been on and off playing my Dean razorback that I got for my 16th birthday (27 now, that's scary).

With a budget of ideally £300-£350 at a push I'd originally been looking at Jackson Rhodes style V's with a Floyd but the more I read, the more I was put off, cheaper materials, licensed Floyd's don't have a great rep. I have played a few ibanez in the past and never quite gelled.

Broadened my horizons and stepped away from the strictly metal styled guitars and started looking at Les Paul styles. I found and have done some reading up on the ESP LTD 256FM. Seems to be good value for money and meant to be nice to play/durable in regards to different tones.

Has anyone played one before? Or even any suggestions for alternatives. I do mainly play metal but I do enjoy playing a lot of Muse & mucking around with the wah and whammy! No gigging and very much a casual hobbyist so wanting to keep the budget creep to a minimum.

Spend a couple of weeks looking at classifieds forum on TheFretboard, something will come up that you fancy. You'll get a better guitar buying used at that budget than trying to go new.

[paulguitar]

languagetimothy said:

This is my Martin GPc something or other.. so a bit cheaper but was still about 1300 quid.
I had a Taylor before this but couldn't get the sound I liked, particularly when picking with fingers or plectrum. This was a transformation and does exactly what I want. I generally go through a Marshall ASD50 or direct into a PA. great sounds and nice slim neck and action that doesn't cripple my hands.

Very nice guitar, and with the pickup installed at the factory, I think? I have a Fishman rare earth blender that is going to be transferred from my old Martin DM to my D-28 next week, along with having the setup done. I just plug directly into the PA. I like to keep it as simple as possible. No backing tracks, no drum machine, no loopers, no harmonizer.

[Nik Gnashers]

paulguitar said:

Nik Gnashers said:

So said:

paulguitar said:

This is my new guitar and I get it tomorrow, a Martin D-28.

A remarkably unexceptional looking musical instrument, but I bet it's technically great right?

I'm just glad to see another acoustic on the thread !!!
Lost in the sea of shredders.......

Yes, they are really plain but just a perfect acoustic. Everything is just completely right about it. I think most people would be amazed to find out they are the thick end of £3k but it seems fair when you play one for a while.

Mine needs setting up which I am getting done next week, hopefully it will then be 100% and be my forever guitar. I have had my last Martin 20 years, so hoping for at last as long for this one.

Lovely strummer matey !

I have a Lowden 032se I had made to my specifications, it's just unreal sounding, but 4 grand ffsk..... although it's one of the cheapest in the Lowden range !

[cherryowen]

paulguitar said:

I just plug directly into the PA. I like to keep it as simple as possible. No backing tracks, no drum machine, no loopers, no harmonizer.

I know you're a professional, but fair play, chap! No wriggle room with that setup.

I did my first ever solo guitar piece last New Year's Eve at our local haunt, and I absolutely st myself (and that was in front of just 80 people )

[suthol]

paulguitar said:

This is my new guitar and I get it tomorrow, a Martin D-28.

Lovely, one of my mates has a D28 & D35 both from the mid 70s.

Don't need to tell you how good they sound.

Definitely a guitarists viagra

[oddball1313]

Thought i'd dust off the Ibanez, great guitar but....the Warmoth is better.

Ibanez 550 & Warmoth Stratocaster by oddball13131313, on Flickr

Edited by oddball1313 on Sunday 10th November 18:45

[chemistry]

oddball1313 said:

Thought i'd dust off the Ibanez, great guitar but....the Warmoth is better.

Ibanez 550 & Warmoth Stratocaster by oddball13131313, on Flickr

Edited by oddball1313 on Sunday 10th November 18:45

Nice kit

[paulguitar]

cherryowen said:

I did my first ever solo guitar piece last New Year's Eve at our local haunt, (and that was in front of just 80 people )

Respect

[Chicken Chaser]

oddball1313 said:

Thought i'd dust off the Ibanez, great guitar but....the Warmoth is better.

Ibanez 550 & Warmoth Stratocaster by oddball13131313, on Flickr

Edited by oddball1313 on Sunday 10th November 18:45

What do you think of your THR?

[oddball1313]

Chicken Chaser said:

oddball1313 said:

Thought i'd dust off the Ibanez, great guitar but....the Warmoth is better.

Ibanez 550 & Warmoth Stratocaster by oddball13131313, on Flickr

Edited by oddball1313 on Sunday 10th November 18:45

What do you think of your THR?

I'm happy enough not to feel the need to replace it. The biggest issue I have is my music room is pretty small and has pretty awful acoustics, the dedicated 2 x 12 cab for it also sounds a bit fizzy to my ears. Connecting the two power engines in to the mix through the XLR means I can run a different impulse response to each (Celestians 4 x 12 greenback from Celestians own website) and it sounds pretty good now. I prefer the simplicity of a basic head and pedal setup as opposed to the line 6 helix option which just means you end up pissing around with 10000 parameters rather than playing so at the moment it works for me, it's not perfect but i'm not sure what is.

[bga]

oddball1313 said:

I prefer the simplicity of a basic head and pedal setup as opposed to the line 6 helix option which just means you end up pissing around with 10000 parameters rather than playing so at the moment it works for me, it's not perfect but i'm not sure what is.

I had similar opinions before I got a Helix, I got it anyway and in many ways spend less time tweaking than I did when I had a big board, amp etc. Obviously the right thing to do is to have both setups !

[Chicken Chaser]

I have a Helix LT. I've got a few key sounds which I use and it sounds incredible through a set of AT headphones but I really need something for the home which I can project it with. I've looked at all manner of monitors but not been able to decide. The room is pretty small with high ceiling. I've thought about a Boss Nextone but probably more suitable just to get monitors.

That being said, I've always fancied a big THR and I've just missed out on one on eBay. I always thought they should have had a couple of onboard preset buttons and expected to see something new from Yamaha by now.

[OldSkoolRS]

Had a rehearsal tonight for a gig we're playing on Saturday. I'm using my Marshall MIni Jubilee head 1x12 cab and I've managed to do the whole (very mixed) set with just a couple of pedals and the amp: Tube screamer for a bit of crunch on some songs and my Xotic EP clean boost in the FX loop to give a boost for solos. Switch the amp for clean or dirty and all sorted.

I tried to do it using my Mooer Pre Amp live into the PA and just got sucked into a black hole of settings and menus. I know I must take after my user name, but I really am old school and grabbing some knobs on an amp and dialing it in takes me seconds...I'd be lost with a Helix/Kemper/Mooer Pre Amp live.

In other news, I'm going to have a look at the new Gibson Les Paul Standard 50s Gold Top tomorrow. Hoping to do a deal trading in my 60s Tribute GT as I like the binding on the neck since I got my SG Standard and fancy a thicker neck as a contrast to the SG.

[smn159]

I've been using a Helix Floor for a while now and while there is a learning curve it's not as steep as you might think and you can get some truely amazing sounds from the thing. What i love about it is the flexibility that it offers though. I played a gig on Saturday with a band that uses in ears and i was able to take a monitor mix from the rest of the band and blend it with the guitar using a volume pedal to my own IEMs, which worked really well. I've also used it recently to trigger samples from Mainstage over MIDI, and also to mix the vocals and backing with the guitar for a solo gig.

It's great direct to the PA but I've also used it to power a 2x12 with a power amp and just as an effects unit into an amp.

Can't seem me ever going back to an amp and pedals.

[So]

OldSkoolRS said:

Had a rehearsal tonight for a gig we're playing on Saturday. I'm using my Marshall MIni Jubilee head 1x12 cab and I've managed to do the whole (very mixed) set with just a couple of pedals and the amp: Tube screamer for a bit of crunch on some songs and my Xotic EP clean boost in the FX loop to give a boost for solos. Switch the amp for clean or dirty and all sorted.

I tried to do it using my Mooer Pre Amp live into the PA and just got sucked into a black hole of settings and menus. I know I must take after my user name, but I really am old school and grabbing some knobs on an amp and dialing it in takes me seconds...I'd be lost with a Helix/Kemper/Mooer Pre Amp live.

In other news, I'm going to have a look at the new Gibson Les Paul Standard 50s Gold Top tomorrow. Hoping to do a deal trading in my 60s Tribute GT as I like the binding on the neck since I got my SG Standard and fancy a thicker neck as a contrast to the SG.

You musos have a whole language all to yourselves, don't you.

[OldSkoolRS]

So said:

You musos have a whole language all to yourselves, don't you.

I guess so...I'm sure the guitarists (hopefully) recognise what I'm waffling about.

[Hanslow]

oddball1313 said:

Thought i'd dust off the Ibanez, great guitar but....the Warmoth is better.

Ibanez 550 & Warmoth Stratocaster by oddball13131313, on Flickr

Edited by oddball1313 on Sunday 10th November 18:45

That unloved 550 is just begging you to sell it to me

[cherryowen]

OldSkoolRS said:

So said:

You musos have a whole language all to yourselves, don't you.

I guess so...I'm sure the guitarists (hopefully) recognise what I'm waffling about.

I may be a little more Old Skool!

The last two years have had me running an Ibanez SA360 straight into a Fender Princeton. The clean tones are fantastic, especially with the spring reverb.

I've honestly not missed having effects, but I have lately been dabbling with getting a Neunaber Seraphim pedal.