Lets look at our guitars thread

[Evangelion]

OldSkoolRS said:

...as someone else said nitro sounds better.

That was me but I wasn't serious. Pickups are magnetic but paint isn't.

[Dr Z]

Mave said:

Very nice! What pickups have you put in it?

Thanks, it has the Tonerider city limits set in it. Supposed to be texas special-like, and it was more or less there in the previous guitar. In the current one though, something has happened to the midrange and top end, that it's sounding more hank marvin-esque. There's not a bad sound in any position, which is strange as I never used the middle or bridge pickup on their own much previously. This little exercise has certainly got me questioning some of my beliefs.

[Mave]

Dr Z said:

Thanks, it has the Tonerider city limits set in it. Supposed to be texas special-like, and it was more or less there in the previous guitar. In the current one though, something has happened to the midrange and top end, that it's sounding more hank marvin-esque. There's not a bad sound in any position, which is strange as I never used the middle or bridge pickup on their own much previously. This little exercise has certainly got me questioning some of my beliefs.

Nice! I've been considering experimenting with toneriders in my next project, heard lots of good things about them

[OldSkoolRS]

Evangelion said:

OldSkoolRS said:

...as someone else said nitro sounds better.

That was me but I wasn't serious. Pickups are magnetic but paint isn't.

Neither was I, hence the wink.

[JLC25]

OldSkoolRS said:

Neither was I, hence the wink.

But Nitro makes things look old; old = better doesn't it?!

[Evangelion]

Well we could discuss that one all day!

If I buy a guitar that's new or nearly new, I like to keep it looking pristine. On the other hand I have a 1979 Strat which has a bit of wear on it, and I think that looks quite good.

The ones I don't like are the artificially relicked ones that look like someone's been playing football with them instead of music

[smn159]

Evangelion said:

Well we could discuss that one all day!

If I buy a guitar that's new or nearly new, I like to keep it looking pristine. On the other hand I have a 1979 Strat which has a bit of wear on it, and I think that looks quite good.

The ones I don't like are the artificially relicked ones that look like someone's been playing football with them instead of music

+1.

Each to their own and all that, but I don't get the 'relic'ed' thing either. Reminds me of the VW scene where people artificially age their cars and lacquer over the rust - odd.

[JLC25]

smn159 said:

+1.

Each to their own and all that, but I don't get the 'relic'ed' thing either. Reminds me of the VW scene where people artificially age their cars and lacquer over the rust - odd.

I just see it as a paint job - wouldn't actively seek to buy one but if a nice playing guitar had an artificial finish - it wouldn't stop me buying it.

Genuine relicing is hard to beat - not just looks wise - but that played in feel!

[Dr Z]

Mave said:

Nice! I've been considering experimenting with toneriders in my next project, heard lots of good things about them

I think they're definitely worth a shot. Recently got their alnico 2 humbucker & tele bridge pickup too for a tele, and was very impressed with the humbucker, and how well it worked with the bridge p'up. No mud, very clear sounding.

[vladcjelli]

After owning a purely decorative guitar (never really got round to playing it) for a good number of years, I've started to take a bit of an interest in playing along to some songs. It's a nice looking, to me anyway, Westfield copy of a black Les Paul, and all the guitar a beginner hack could want.

Except, it doesn't really work. When I try to play it through the little Fender frontman amp I've got, the results are terrible. It either makes no sound, or far too much volume, there's no middle ground. Wasn't sure if it was the amp, but having bought an inexpensive zoom effects pedal, it also shares the problem playing through headphones.

This leads me to believe that the guitars electronics aren't up to snuff.

Where's best to start? Replace pots? Wiring? Pickups?

It's only a cheap guitar, and I'm not a guitar player yet, so really can't justify or afford to throw tons of cash at it, but I would like it to be playable without upsetting the neighbours, for a reasonable outlay.

Any tips?

Edited by vladcjelli on Wednesday 25th October 05:42

[singlecoil]

vladcjelli said:

Where's best to start? Replace pots? Wiring? Pickups?

Well, as the guitar is able to produce sufficient output to drive the amp then it stands to reason you need to be able to reduce that output to suitable levels when required. Take the pots out and measure them carefully, then order replacements of the same size (especially with regard to the length of the mounting shafts) and the diameter of the shaft where the knobs fit.

[Eddie Strohacker]

If it were me in your position, I'd drop it round to the local guitar shop, let the resident techy dude run the rule over it. Most guitar problems are repairable for not much money & if it is something like dry pots, it's meat & drink to the repair guy.

[singlecoil]

Eddie Strohacker said:

If it were me in your position, I'd drop it round to the local guitar shop, let the resident techy dude run the rule over it. Most guitar problems are repairable for not much money & if it is something like dry pots, it's meat & drink to the repair guy.

Well said.

[Ekona]

I've been carrying out a little project in the last couple of weeks on a really crappy no-name Strat copy, and since it felt okay to play but sounded like garbage I went with replacing everything electronic. New Tex-Mex pups, CTS pots (changed one tone to a neck/bridge blender) and Oak Grigsby switch. I've not quite finished it yet as I cocked up the blender pot so ordered another one, but on quick testing it's absolutely night and day and now sounds like something seriously decent. I'll do a before/after video too if anyone is interested.

I'd definitely recommend this route if you've got a few quid to play with and more importantly the time. I've never even used a soldering iron before, so this was a good experience to learn something new too.

[Evangelion]

Wow! How do you get a pot so wrong that you need a new one? Pray tell.

[andy-xr]

Easy to overcook them with a soldering iron, I had a Les Paul copy that had burn marks on the bridge vol and tone pot. They worked at about half output (I didnt bother measuring, just replaced)

[Ekona]

It's a very fair question: I was actually trying to turn the pot into a blender one by scrubbing off a little of the graphite to break the signal as shown on many a YT vid, however whatever I did completely borked the pot and now it only kinda functions at random intervals as you spin it round. It does something, but it's not consistent enough to be remotely usable.

Just one of those things, you learn nothing if you don't experiment every now and then

[Dr Z]

Ekona said:

I've been carrying out a little project in the last couple of weeks on a really crappy no-name Strat copy, and since it felt okay to play but sounded like garbage I went with replacing everything electronic. New Tex-Mex pups, CTS pots (changed one tone to a neck/bridge blender) and Oak Grigsby switch. I've not quite finished it yet as I cocked up the blender pot so ordered another one, but on quick testing it's absolutely night and day and now sounds like something seriously decent. I'll do a before/after video too if anyone is interested.

Yeah, post it up!

Some sounds from my strat I posted pics of above:

https://clyp.it/mqqihwcr

I think I've exhausted my chord library there.

[vournikas]

Dr Z said:

Some sounds from my strat I posted pics of above:

https://clyp.it/mqqihwcr

I think I've exhausted my chord library there.

Nice tone!

I'm like you; I love fiddling around with "out there" chords and seeing what fits.

[Dr Z]

vournikas said:

Nice tone!

I'm like you; I love fiddling around with "out there" chords and seeing what fits.

Thanks! I'm often on 2nd guitar duties in the band so it's something I'm working on.

In other news, a strat through a dimed 5E3 is just glorious!

What are some of the favourite guitar tones/sounds of the players here?