Getting a guitar

[VerbalPuke]

I did something financially irresponsible today. I bought a guitar. Took my Les Paul in for a set up, played with a new hollow body Gretsch. Wife shows me a similar one that is used, but great shape, says I should get it. And 500 dollars later...

[thatshortguy]

Electromatic, I'm guessing? Those are so much fun, but way too complex for my poor brain.

Realized I had not shared my latest acquisitions, so check 'em out:

Ibanez miKro bass - LOVE Iby's short scale stuff. My bass needs some fret work, but damned if it's not so much fun. Played the Tetris theme on it, fell in love. Really want to get an Orange Crush 20W bass amp for this because it can be so damn punchy, but a Fender Rumble 15's working well enough for whatever I want.

Ibanez GXR Gio Electric - Yeah, also in white -- may get this repainted to a swirl, though. Also really tempted to change out the pickups for P-90s (or any reasonable knockoff), but soldering is just not my strong suit. Stock tone is actually not bad. Neck position with mids thrown out give a very good shred tone (it's an Ibanez, after all), but middle position and some careful mids/highs EQing make for a good hollow-body-esque tone.

Hartke GT100 Amp - Hartke makes guitar amps!? THAT ARE GOOD!??! Much like my old VOX AC15VR, this one is a hybrid. One channel solid state, one channel a 12AX7 tube in the preamp. Running it through a 4x8 (!) cab. Nothing about this amp should scream 'good', but it is just so unique. Doesn't hurt that the tone on the tube side is warmer than summertime. Tempted to run my bass through it, since I always knew Hartke as a bass/keyboard amp manufacturer. Spring reverb, too! I love spring reverb so much. I may be Yim Yames Jr.

[MDK]

Electromatic, I'm guessing? Those are so much fun, but way too complex for my poor brain.

Realized I had not shared my latest acquisitions, so check 'em out:

Ibanez miKro bass - LOVE Iby's short scale stuff. My bass needs some fret work, but damned if it's not so much fun. Played the Tetris theme on it, fell in love. Really want to get an Orange Crush 20W bass amp for this because it can be so damn punchy, but a Fender Rumble 15's working well enough for whatever I want.

Ibanez GXR Gio Electric - Yeah, also in white -- may get this repainted to a swirl, though. Also really tempted to change out the pickups for P-90s (or any reasonable knockoff), but soldering is just not my strong suit. Stock tone is actually not bad. Neck position with mids thrown out give a very good shred tone (it's an Ibanez, after all), but middle position and some careful mids/highs EQing make for a good hollow-body-esque tone.

Hartke GT100 Amp - Hartke makes guitar amps!? THAT ARE GOOD!??! Much like my old VOX AC15VR, this one is a hybrid. One channel solid state, one channel a 12AX7 tube in the preamp. Running it through a 4x8 (!) cab. Nothing about this amp should scream 'good', but it is just so unique. Doesn't hurt that the tone on the tube side is warmer than summertime. Tempted to run my bass through it, since I always knew Hartke as a bass/keyboard amp manufacturer. Spring reverb, too! I love spring reverb so much. I may be Yim Yames Jr.

I think that is my favourite ever song to play on my bass. It's just so much fun.

[VerbalPuke]

Electromatic, I'm guessing? Those are so much fun, but way too complex for my poor brain.

Realized I had not shared my latest acquisitions, so check 'em out:

Ibanez miKro bass - LOVE Iby's short scale stuff. My bass needs some fret work, but damned if it's not so much fun. Played the Tetris theme on it, fell in love. Really want to get an Orange Crush 20W bass amp for this because it can be so damn punchy, but a Fender Rumble 15's working well enough for whatever I want.

Ibanez GXR Gio Electric - Yeah, also in white -- may get this repainted to a swirl, though. Also really tempted to change out the pickups for P-90s (or any reasonable knockoff), but soldering is just not my strong suit. Stock tone is actually not bad. Neck position with mids thrown out give a very good shred tone (it's an Ibanez, after all), but middle position and some careful mids/highs EQing make for a good hollow-body-esque tone.

Hartke GT100 Amp - Hartke makes guitar amps!? THAT ARE GOOD!??! Much like my old VOX AC15VR, this one is a hybrid. One channel solid state, one channel a 12AX7 tube in the preamp. Running it through a 4x8 (!) cab. Nothing about this amp should scream 'good', but it is just so unique. Doesn't hurt that the tone on the tube side is warmer than summertime. Tempted to run my bass through it, since I always knew Hartke as a bass/keyboard amp manufacturer. Spring reverb, too! I love spring reverb so much. I may be Yim Yames Jr.

Yes, I probably should have been more specific. It's the 5422 model, the double cutaway. I had my eye on the orange colored single cut version, but found a walnut stain colored one used so I figured why not and went with that. The double cutaway has grown on me for the hollow body, as I thought I preferred single cut guitars depending on shape, such as a Les Paul, could never get a double cutaway Les Paul.

Oh, and I have a Fender Rumble 100 Bass Amp, probably way more than I need, but ya know, I was 19 when I bought it. Wish I had stuck with it. Also had an Ibanez Bass, it was a cheap jazz bass, but it was mine. Wish I hadn't sold it, I'd regret it more but it seems that a good bass just to record with can be had cheap if you go with a squire or ibanez.

[thatshortguy]

Absolutely. LTD cannot hold a candle to Squier or Iby on the cheap bass market (though bless 'em for having a cheap SG model in the Viper series).

Re, Puke: also love warming up with the Pink Panther theme.

[thatshortguy]

New Yamaha Pacifica? New Yamaha Pacifica!

Also I swapped out miKro basses to get one in their new Walnut Finish. Getting a wood motif going on here

[thatshortguy]

I swore I would never make a pedalboard. I swore I would never mess with effects, as I didn't feel confident enough as a guitar player to mess with them.

Zoom G3

Morley Pro Series II Wah

And the best damn distortion pedal I have ever heard: MXR '78 Custom Badass Distortion.

[VerbalPuke]

That's funny, because I fell in love with pedals immediately because I was a shit player and thought experimenting with sound would make the early stages easier. I'm thinking about a pedal board soon myself, I'd like to build one, ya know, build it myself rather than buy a pre-made deal.

With that Gretsch purchase, they gave me 120 bucks in Guitar Center credit as part of the deal. I found one of these used for 124.99, and it was in excellent shape.

[thatshortguy]

I have always wanted to mess around with the Earthquakers, but can never seem to find out in the wild.

Doesn't help that I live 90 minutes from a Guitar Center and the shop I work in isn't a dealer. Bastards.

[VerbalPuke]

Yeah, the Earthquakers aren't in the Guitar Centers I've been in unless you find a used one. Guitar Centers pedal selection is kind of weak given how fucking saturated the pedal market is. Unfortunately, it sounds like Guitar Center is running into problems which isn't shocking given how easy it is to find almost exactly what you want online with Ebay, Sweetwater, Musiciansfriend, etc...

So couple little tidbits, have any of you guys played with a Bass Vl? Six string bass by Squier/Fender, and man they are ridiculously fun. My wife's cousin moved to LA and visited us on the way. He brought his Bass Vl and it was ridiculously fun to mess with, and sounded really good through my Orange.

Since I've been home at my parents house, I've managed to play around with the many guitars my dad has (seriously...a Jeff Beck Strat, Eric Clapton Strat, his 99 American Standard Strat, a Les Paul Black Beauty, a Les Paul Studio, the Captain Kirk SG, and the Derek Trucks SG) and it's been fun. The Les Paul is still my favorite, it's just the baddest of the bad when it comes to guitar tone. The SG is fun, but not sure I feel like I absolutely need one, though the Derek Trucks SG is a really fine fucking guitar. The Strats are some of the best playing guitars I've ever played, though I like the tone of the 99 American and Eric Clapton better than the Jeff Beck strat (I think the Jeff Beck strat has Texas something or other pick ups). The one thing, I love the color of the Jeff Beck strat (surf green!).

I brought a few of my pedals and am pleased that they sound excellent through my dads Vox. I'm thinking a Vox is my next amp, because I want a good clean amp, and the Fenders are expensive as fuck, and maybe not that much better sounding than the Vox anyway.

[thatshortguy]

Yeah, the Earthquakers aren't in the Guitar Centers I've been in unless you find a used one. Guitar Centers pedal selection is kind of weak given how fucking saturated the pedal market is. Unfortunately, it sounds like Guitar Center is running into problems which isn't shocking given how easy it is to find almost exactly what you want online with Ebay, Sweetwater, Musiciansfriend, etc...

GC owns Musician's Friend, btw. Also stuff like music123 and a few other sites. Sweetwater & zZounds are indies, I believe.

GC is effectively the Wal-Mart of the music store. They'll keep finding loopholes to push their debt back. I'd be surprised to see them tank anytime soon, but when they eventually do, the new combo instrument market is going to have an even worse drop than in '08.

So couple little tidbits, have any of you guys played with a Bass Vl? Six string bass by Squier/Fender, and man they are ridiculously fun. My wife's cousin moved to LA and visited us on the way. He brought his Bass Vl and it was ridiculously fun to mess with, and sounded really good through my Orange.

Owned a Bass VI for a while. Fun to toy with, but getting strings for them are a pain (D'addario makes the closest replication, as even Fender has a hard time sending sets out.) Trickier to set up than what I anticipated; kept getting buzz on the 5th string because of the material they used for the saddles. Still, it's a damn fun concept. It's the nephew of guitars: fun to mess around with and then hand back to the person investing the money in it

Since I've been home at my parents house, I've managed to play around with the many guitars my dad has (seriously...a Jeff Beck Strat, Eric Clapton Strat, his 99 American Standard Strat, a Les Paul Black Beauty, a Les Paul Studio, the Captain Kirk SG, and the Derek Trucks SG) and it's been fun. The Les Paul is still my favorite, it's just the baddest of the bad when it comes to guitar tone. The SG is fun, but not sure I feel like I absolutely need one, though the Derek Trucks SG is a really fine fucking guitar. The Strats are some of the best playing guitars I've ever played, though I like the tone of the 99 American and Eric Clapton better than the Jeff Beck strat (I think the Jeff Beck strat has Texas something or other pick ups). The one thing, I love the color of the Jeff Beck strat (surf green!).

Depending on the model, it's likely Texas Specials (SRV's preferred PUs) or Tex/Mex pickups (Jimmie Vaughn's preference). I would like to own all of the above mentioned guitars, btw. I do prefer SGs to LPs and Strats to Teles, though, because my wee hands don't really care for huge guitar necks. The sounds are unmistakably different, though. I do want some P90s in a guitar at some point.

I brought a few of my pedals and am pleased that they sound excellent through my dads Vox. I'm thinking a Vox is my next amp, because I want a good clean amp, and the Fenders are expensive as fuck, and maybe not that much better sounding than the Vox anyway.

Vox > Fender if you want the British, bass-heavy sound. Fender > Vox if you want a more treble-friendly sound. I'm really struggling to find a good in-between amp that balances those out to my liking. I will say the price points are similar for the Vox AC15 and things like a used Fender Princeton Reverb or Prosonic.

[VerbalPuke]

Yeah, the GC = Wal-Mart thing is pretty apt, a lot of folks hate the service there. It can be hit and miss but usually has been good in my experience. Yesterday was a bit shit though which was odd, we usually had good experience in the Detroit store. I should say the one guy in the drum section was wonderful and I wanted to buy from him because he was such a good dude, but I have to wait because I have limited space (getting my boy a little drum for his fourth birthday because he has so many toys).

At any rate, Texas Specials sounds right. They sound good, but I liked the other pups better in the other strats. I feel like I should own a strat someday because man, talk about a guitar that just plays itself.

[VerbalPuke]

I'm gassing for a new guitar again, what a terrible hobby....endless want for things. There is the 60s Classic Jazzmaster in Surf Green that I'd love to have, but also I'm thinking a Squire Mustang or Jaguar (the same one I mentioned in the very first post of this thread) because those can be had cheap, and would be fun to bang around with and mod. I don't know what it is, but I'm really intrigued by the Mustang because it's a small guitar with a big sound, and the modern player Mustang that I fiddled with was really fun to play around with.

But I think my next guitar...is a PRS. Those are beautiful guitars, and supposedly are the best value around in that you can spend 700 bucks and have an Amrerican made guitar with quality parts that sounds great and plays great. I played one for a moment back at the Detroit Guitar Center, and it was really nice. Good tone, played really well, definitely want to get my hands on one of them again and see if it plays as well as I remember.

Something that actually is attainable that I want soon is an MXR ten band equalizer to be able to shape my tone a bit better, probably looking at fathers day for that bad boy.

[thatshortguy]

Looooooooove MXR's stuff. I have a '78 Custom Badass that is the only distortion I will ever want or need. It just absolutely slays on either guitar (w/o the depth) or on bass (w/the depth enabled).

I love Jazzmasters, but I just wish they would come with a maple fretboard. Feels like you could get an actual jazzy tone from it that way.

Played a Jaguar w/P-90s in it recently and wasn't quite sure what to make of it. The Jaaaaaaaaaaags have always been a weird one for me in that I think I just prefer Jazzmasters.

[VerbalPuke]

I think I just love the look and sounds of the non-Strat or Tele Fenders. I love the Strats also, but the Jags, Jazzmasters, and Mustangs are just unique guitars that have their own personality, that are not quite as iconic as the Strat/Tele but still lovely.

The beauty is that Squire has all three of them reasonably priced, with maybe an option to upgrade the bridge on the Jag or Jazzmaster. I don't know, I covet too many things, love the squire vintage modified guitars, but a Pawnshop Mustang sounds fucking rad as well and those can be had for around 700. Shame I'm poor.

[VerbalPuke]

Sooo....anybody get anything new or fun? Still jamming?

I've seen some rapid improvement in the last few weeks I think. Still not that good, but I'm hitting two years and I'm starting to feel relatively competent. I can't really play any songs other than White Minority, We Are the League, and We're Only Gonna Die (so punk power chord stuff). But still, I feel good about my playing lately. I bought a Wah a few months ago, it's alright, it's a basic Vox Wah but it sucks my tone. It was only fifty bucks and actually pairs nicely with that synth pedal I have for when I want to get weird so it's not a bust.

[db07]

Just got my guitar back from the shop, an Aria Strat, where I had a Fender Mid-Boost Kit added to it.
Loving it, as its acting like a mini amp in the guitar

 

http://www.andertons.co.uk/guitar-parts/pid21913/cid708/fender-25db-stratocaster-mid-boost-kit-for-eric-clapton-strat.asp

[thatshortguy]

Douglas Hawker w/P-90s in bridge & neck.  LOVE DEM P-90S!

Hartke GT60 60w tube amp w/4x8" Piggyback cab.  Works awesomely for both how I prefer bass and electric.

Zoom G3 multi-effects pedal.  Love the built-in effects and the flexibility of each effect.  USB power/recording is a nice addition, too.

Two Ibanez miKro basses (one white with flatwound, one wood natural finish with white DR strings).  Want to nab a Fender Jaguar short scale or a maple neck/fretboard at some point, but I can't find anyone that makes one to fit Ibanez's bodies.

Lastly, my ol' banger acoustic.  Ibanez PF58.  Still need to do a setup on it and find what strings work best, but the fretwork on that was top notch.

[MDK]

Years ago I bought a bass because it was see thru purple five string. No regrets.

It plays like shit and I think there is something wrong with the pickups. But who cares? I look badass playing this thing. My advice to anyone thinking of buying a guitar is that forget how it sounds, its how it looks on you that is important.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I gig with a Laney head and 4x10 cab combo. It's lush.

 

Not mine, but here is one:

 

 

I use a Little Big Muff (guitar model but with the amp being bassy as, it works well) and a pretty generic chorus pedal. In the last month or two I got a Zoom b2.1u effects pedal from my mum's charity shop for a tenner (worth £90 or so). I've not really incorporated it yet (current songs don't need any other sounds at the moment) but it's got a tuner so I take it along to gigs anyway.