Lets look at our guitars thread
Discussion
Nik Gnashers said:
Thanks for the replies chaps !
It is a massive investment for me, but it certainly wont be a show queen, my current Lowden gets absolutely hammered.
I will certainly post some pics when it arrives. I almost feel guilty for spending so much on it, but I figure it will be my dream guitar for the rest of my life, and I just know if I don't pull the trigger now, I'll never do it and regret it forever.
I play for free at old folk homes, folk nights, open mics, etc so I'm sure it will be appreciated by others too, for it's amazing sound.
Don't consider myself to be an amazing guitar player, but I hope I can do it justice !
Dare I say YOLO. Sounds like you'll get your moneys worth and others will get many hours of great listening from it so to me if you can afford it then why the hell not. Made up for you, congrats.It is a massive investment for me, but it certainly wont be a show queen, my current Lowden gets absolutely hammered.
I will certainly post some pics when it arrives. I almost feel guilty for spending so much on it, but I figure it will be my dream guitar for the rest of my life, and I just know if I don't pull the trigger now, I'll never do it and regret it forever.
I play for free at old folk homes, folk nights, open mics, etc so I'm sure it will be appreciated by others too, for it's amazing sound.
Don't consider myself to be an amazing guitar player, but I hope I can do it justice !
Nik Gnashers said:
.
The top will be Sinker Redwood, from North America, but from wood which had 'fallen off' the boat, and lay at the bottom of a river for many years then reclaimed. The lack of oxygen at the river bed, sort of artificially fossilises the wood, giving it a unique (from other Redwoods, let alone from other woods entirely). character in both appearance and tone.
The back & sides will be African Blackwood, a heavy, stiff, and rare wood, which rings like a bell, uneaqualled sustain.
It’ll be interesting to see that!The top will be Sinker Redwood, from North America, but from wood which had 'fallen off' the boat, and lay at the bottom of a river for many years then reclaimed. The lack of oxygen at the river bed, sort of artificially fossilises the wood, giving it a unique (from other Redwoods, let alone from other woods entirely). character in both appearance and tone.
The back & sides will be African Blackwood, a heavy, stiff, and rare wood, which rings like a bell, uneaqualled sustain.
Rather less exotic, but I bought this last year and have barely touched it so its now replaced my acoustic in the front room to hopefully spur me to pick it up more often…
Not a guitar as such, but due to failing pre-amp/SIM pedal I recently bought a used Two Notes CAB M+ to use at home for practicing our set silently, plus for recording if I fancy.
I can either use it as a stand alone device into my headphones/Tascam recorder or I can loop a real amp through it (and into a load box for silent practice/recording). Really pleased with both options, especially using my Marshall SV20h that I gig with, so I can practice with near enough the same sound I get when gigging, so any pedal tweaks will sound the same at the gig. My little Fender Champ clone also sounds amazing cranked up into this silent practice rig too; been playing along with various jam tracks off Youtube all afternoon with just the Champ and no pedals needed.
The Palmer attenuator/load box circled in white in place of a speaker cab:
I can either use it as a stand alone device into my headphones/Tascam recorder or I can loop a real amp through it (and into a load box for silent practice/recording). Really pleased with both options, especially using my Marshall SV20h that I gig with, so I can practice with near enough the same sound I get when gigging, so any pedal tweaks will sound the same at the gig. My little Fender Champ clone also sounds amazing cranked up into this silent practice rig too; been playing along with various jam tracks off Youtube all afternoon with just the Champ and no pedals needed.
The Palmer attenuator/load box circled in white in place of a speaker cab:
Over the past couple months I've managed to accidentally start a collection of max cavalera guitars. Impulse buys to the extreme and I suppose I'll need to get round to learning to actually play once I get a car rebuild out the way!
Picked up the EX a few months back, near enough unused and don't think I'd ever seen this as a max signature before I spotted it for sale.
The viper: something I've loved the look of for 20 years or so, and had to buy it as soon as I spotted it.
Needed a bit of a clean up but looks marvellous now.
Picked up the EX a few months back, near enough unused and don't think I'd ever seen this as a max signature before I spotted it for sale.
The viper: something I've loved the look of for 20 years or so, and had to buy it as soon as I spotted it.
Needed a bit of a clean up but looks marvellous now.
Ian974 said:
Over the past couple months I've managed to accidentally start a collection of max cavalera guitars. Impulse buys to the extreme and I suppose I'll need to get round to learning to actually play once I get a car rebuild out the way!
Picked up the EX a few months back, near enough unused and don't think I'd ever seen this as a max signature before I spotted it for sale.
The viper: something I've loved the look of for 20 years or so, and had to buy it as soon as I spotted it.
Needed a bit of a clean up but looks marvellous now.
You've two strings too many on the Max one Picked up the EX a few months back, near enough unused and don't think I'd ever seen this as a max signature before I spotted it for sale.
The viper: something I've loved the look of for 20 years or so, and had to buy it as soon as I spotted it.
Needed a bit of a clean up but looks marvellous now.
chemistry said:
Been away so only just opened this…
Very light, well balanced and easy to play. Especially comfortable seated. The Endurneck profile is definitely rather different.
Update after a few weeks, just in case anyone is thinking of taking the plunge.Very light, well balanced and easy to play. Especially comfortable seated. The Endurneck profile is definitely rather different.
Like
Body shape is super ergonomic. You can play it in any position - seated, standing, low slung, high slung, classical, etc. - and it’s always comfortable. All the cut outs and bevels are great, no sharp bits on the hardware. Angled cable socket is great.
Weight - it’s as light as a feather.
Frets and fretwork - some reviews say this can be a problem area but mine seems absolutely perfect and I really like the shape and size and feel of the frets. No fret sprout etc.
Tuning stability - it stays in tune for days with rock solid tuning stability. Makes my other guitars look useless. Seriously impressive.
Pickups/sound/sustain - sounds pretty good to me, the 5 way switch yields some pretty varied tones and the sustain seems surprisingly good.
Simple design - I like the fact there’s no zero fret or fanned frets. No trem, so easy to tune despite being headless.
Neutral
Endurneck - don’t love it, don’t hate it. It’s pretty chunky in the first few frets but very playable. After 5 minutes I forgot about the weird angles but I’m not sure there are any major benefits either.
42mm nut width - I normally prefer a 43mm but in practice it’s unnoticeable to me when playing.
Quality - mine seems fine. Neck and frets are great, as is the general fit and finish. All controls work smoothly. Pickup construction a bit sloppy. Nothing amazing, nothing terrible, just about what I’d expect.
Looks - not my prettiest guitar and the matt satin finish doesn’t help.
Hardware - seems fine. Not quite as easy to use as normal tuners etc. but not a problem at all.
Don’t like
Pickups seem somewhat crudely assembled - the wrapping tape isn’t tight/even at all and there’s some splodges glue evident. Doesn’t affect playability.
Input jack - it’s on the metal backplate and has already come loose once, even though it has a lock washer. Now tightened and blue loctite applied.
Storage - it was tricky to find a suitable stand.
Fret markers - offset and small, so can be a bit tricky to see (but do glow in the dark, although they don't last nearly as long or glow as brightly as genuine Luminlay ones).
Overall
Overall I really like it and play it all the time, mainly because it’s just so comfortable and playable. If something happened to it, I'd definitely get another one. Overall, I think this sums it up pretty well: https://youtube.com/shorts/CBfheefrLFE?si=KzlHFfJH...
Edited by chemistry on Monday 17th February 17:49
I picked up a Les Paul Modern at the weekend.
First impressions are very good, the neck is great and with the improved heel makes things a bit easier for my claw like hand.
It weighs more or less the same as my 2013 standard which is a little annoying but something I can live with.
Pickups are a bit hotter than the BK Mule and Riff Raff I have in the standard, the switching options give a fair degree of flexibility, through my usual patches it sounds really good.
However...
I bought it from a chap who has been playing for a few years, he has an HSS strat and a Shur (not sure of the model) he bought the Les Paul a few months ago and just didn't like it. It's not surprising, the nut hadn't been cut properly so a couple of the strings were very high, the action was high every where, the frets were dull (no wear at all) the neck was very dry there are a couple of frets with slightly sharp edges (I'm putting that down to the dry neck), intonation was out. Piss poor QA from Gibson and whoever sold it in the first place.
Nothing difficult to fix and once I'd given it a bit of a set up it played and felt great but I can understand why the previous owner didn't get on with it.
First impressions are very good, the neck is great and with the improved heel makes things a bit easier for my claw like hand.
It weighs more or less the same as my 2013 standard which is a little annoying but something I can live with.
Pickups are a bit hotter than the BK Mule and Riff Raff I have in the standard, the switching options give a fair degree of flexibility, through my usual patches it sounds really good.
However...
I bought it from a chap who has been playing for a few years, he has an HSS strat and a Shur (not sure of the model) he bought the Les Paul a few months ago and just didn't like it. It's not surprising, the nut hadn't been cut properly so a couple of the strings were very high, the action was high every where, the frets were dull (no wear at all) the neck was very dry there are a couple of frets with slightly sharp edges (I'm putting that down to the dry neck), intonation was out. Piss poor QA from Gibson and whoever sold it in the first place.
Nothing difficult to fix and once I'd given it a bit of a set up it played and felt great but I can understand why the previous owner didn't get on with it.
Anyone bidding?
https://auctions.gardinerhoulgate.co.uk/catalogue/...
The 57 Les Paul Special is stunning but prices for these are starting to climb rapidly. There's a gorgeous candy apple red Tele from 68 and a rather lovely beaten up and modded 62 Strat that might go lower than a usual vintage one.
https://auctions.gardinerhoulgate.co.uk/catalogue/...
The 57 Les Paul Special is stunning but prices for these are starting to climb rapidly. There's a gorgeous candy apple red Tele from 68 and a rather lovely beaten up and modded 62 Strat that might go lower than a usual vintage one.
SmithCorona said:
The Tele is fantastic, but everything is already on or near the money.
I've noticed the visibility of GH auctions appears to have increased massively in the past year or two - some youtubers are referencing them etc. It feels like the days of grabbing a bargain are gone.
I’ve noticed that too over the last twelve months. Last year I was thinking of getting a vintage LP Special when they were comfortably under £10k. I reckon the one under the hammer on Tuesday will be £15k or higher, plus the rather crippling buyer fee. I've noticed the visibility of GH auctions appears to have increased massively in the past year or two - some youtubers are referencing them etc. It feels like the days of grabbing a bargain are gone.
The Tele is my favourite but I suspect that’ll be nudged up on Tuesday.
There's an Indy guitar shop near me. He buys random stuff from GH and then marks them up for a couple of hundred quid profit. It's become a farce recently, as he is selling bang average used guitars and pedals for more expensive than you can buy them new.
I assume he's banking on rich fools coming in for some wall candy. It seems to be working.
I assume he's banking on rich fools coming in for some wall candy. It seems to be working.
The whole vintage thing is getting a bit crazy now. I’ve been looking for a Tele from my birth year (1967) for a while and they seem to be climbing in price on a monthly basis now. The guitar will be used and not seen as an investment but I’m guessing a lot of the vintage stuff will be tucked away and never used to make music. Bit of a shame really.
Bought my Ibanez Sabre 540s from Allbang & Strummit in 1988 (There’s a name from the past if anyone can remember them!)
It’s had a couple of single coil pickup upgrades over the years but a Dimarzio Dual sound has lived in the bridge position since around 1993. Problem it wasn’t F spaced and although a great pickup never had a great attack, especially on the low E so decided to give it an upgrade and also something a bit different. Just wired in a set of LACE Alumitones, definitely got the response it was missing….very not vintage sounding though but it’s not a vintage guitar (except it’s 37 years old so it kind of is)
IMG_9891 by oddball13131313, on Flickr
IMG_9892 by oddball13131313, on Flickr
It’s had a couple of single coil pickup upgrades over the years but a Dimarzio Dual sound has lived in the bridge position since around 1993. Problem it wasn’t F spaced and although a great pickup never had a great attack, especially on the low E so decided to give it an upgrade and also something a bit different. Just wired in a set of LACE Alumitones, definitely got the response it was missing….very not vintage sounding though but it’s not a vintage guitar (except it’s 37 years old so it kind of is)
IMG_9891 by oddball13131313, on FlickrIMG_9892 by oddball13131313, on Flickroddball1313 said:
Bought my Ibanez Sabre 540s from Allbang & Strummit in 1988 (There’s a name from the past if anyone can remember them!)
It’s had a couple of single coil pickup upgrades over the years but a Dimarzio Dual sound has lived in the bridge position since around 1993. Problem it wasn’t F spaced and although a great pickup never had a great attack, especially on the low E so decided to give it an upgrade and also something a bit different. Just wired in a set of LACE Alumitones, definitely got the response it was missing….very not vintage sounding though but it’s not a vintage guitar (except it’s 37 years old so it kind of is)
IMG_9891 by oddball13131313, on Flickr
IMG_9892 by oddball13131313, on Flickr
I sold my prestige just because the neck was too thin for me but the build quality was outstanding .It’s had a couple of single coil pickup upgrades over the years but a Dimarzio Dual sound has lived in the bridge position since around 1993. Problem it wasn’t F spaced and although a great pickup never had a great attack, especially on the low E so decided to give it an upgrade and also something a bit different. Just wired in a set of LACE Alumitones, definitely got the response it was missing….very not vintage sounding though but it’s not a vintage guitar (except it’s 37 years old so it kind of is)
IMG_9891 by oddball13131313, on FlickrIMG_9892 by oddball13131313, on FlickrGassing Station | Music | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff