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Musician's Thread

Discussion in 'Permanent Threads' started by iczorro, Apr 7, 2010.

  1. xrayvision

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    Could that be attributed more to having nicer pickups(which is upgradable) rather than wood quality?
     
  2. toytoy88

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    I'm not sure. I read somewhere that (I think) Fender does use inferior wood for non domestic guitars, but maybe it was Gibson. It was several years ago I read it, at least I think I read it. Maybe I dreamed it. I honestly don't know. I seem to recall something, I'm just not sure what. I know that doesn't help at all...

    I do know that the Mexican Strats that I've played, played and sounded fine to me, but as VI said...I wasn't playing side by side with an American model.
     
  3. Nettdata

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    Yes, wood does make a difference, especially with a hollow-body. It's more about the hardness and purity of the wood than "quality", but for sure, wood selection makes a hell of a difference to someone who is acutely aware of such things.

    If you're just looking for something to get back into playing with, I really wouldn't worry about it.

    Odds are your string choice and playing style will have way more of an impact to the sound than the guitar itself. Never mind your effects and amps.

    Hell, go read up on Eddie's frankenguitar to see how much it doesn't matter, or how him and Jeff Beck and Eric Johnson swapped guitars and whaddayaknow, they all sounded like themselves regardless of what guitar they played.

    Personally, I think it really comes down to what you want to use it for... are you a serious jazz guitarist who's looking for the pure natural tone from a Gretsch? Are you looking to plug it into a ton of effects pedals that will eventually ground-loop into a cheesy single-cone amp?

    What kind of playing are you looking to do with it?

    For me, the biggest concern I have is neck size and string action... I have Chet Atkins hands but none of his skill, so a nice, small neck means everything to me. As long as the neck can be tuned properly, and the guitar properly set up, then it's good.

    For that matter, when I buy a new guitar, I take it to a pro guitar tech and get them to do a complete overhaul on it... costs me a couple hundred bucks, but at least then it's playable. Shaved frets, proper neck setup, strings properly set up for my preferences (a custom mix of 10's and 11's). Money well spent, every time.
     
  4. $100T2

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    I just got one of these:

    http://www.espguitars.com/products/9628-ec-50-ssb?category_id=1963292-ec-series

    It's really nice, easy to play and is not expensive at all.
     
  5. xrayvision

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    Well, I went into a pawn shop today and came across a gorgeous tele. At a really good price. I couldn't pass it up.
    image.jpeg
    It looked practically unused. No scuffing on the finish at all. The strings are still shiny. Yes, it's. Mexican tele but it's sounds awesome. I guess the itch is scratched...for now.
     
  6. NatCH

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    What did you pay, if you don't mind me asking?
     
  7. xrayvision

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    Final price was $350. I think it was a good deal.
     
  8. NatCH

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    Yeah, that's a good deal, especially if it's really clean.
    I finally have time to reply to this thread - MIM Fenders are the same type of wood as MIA (mainly alder bodies and maple necks unless they're special models or limited editions) but the main reason for price differences is the origin of the wood, coming from overseas instead of the US.
    Another thing that factors in is the cost of labor, of course.
    I've also heard the rumor that the necks are all made in the US and then they ship a bunch of them down to the plant in Mexico. But I have no proof of that at all.

    It's the same basic thing with Epiphone and Gibson. Epiphone uses Chinese wood in a Chinese factory, with the electronics made in China. However, the quality control there is pretty damn good. We actually, at our store, end up sending more guitars back to Gibson USA for defects out of the box than the Epiphones.
    In terms of build, one major difference is the neck joint - on a Gibson, the neck is glued into the body and shaped to be a completely tight fit - so if they shave too much of the neck and it doesn't sit correctly, they scrap it. On Epiphones, that area is rounded so they can adjust the neck angle before the glue dries.
    And the Epi pickups are made in China, but they are made to the same spec as the Gibson pickups - just with Chinese materials.
     
  9. CharlesJohnson

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    Brent Hinds from Mastodon giving the best guitar lesson I have ever seen. It is also the absolute least helpful thing I have ever seen. Dude is HIGH as a motherfuck. I'm not sure if he wore green on purpose, or if it was planned, but they keep superimposing video on his clothes while he reminds everyone what band he is in. 8:10 for Tree Beard.

    "He's way too high to be this high."
     
  10. toytoy88

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    Any recommendations on a guitar with a Floyd Rose? I've had a few, but for the most part they've left me underwhelmed.

    In a perfect world, I'd pick up an 84 reissue Gibson Explorer with a FR, but for $2200? No thanks.

    I've had a Kramer, an ESP Kirk Hammett, and a Schecter Damien all with a FR. The Kramer was an early model before they started their low priced line....it was like $1300 in the 80's. It was OK, it's just that everything I played sounded too Eddie Van Halen. Since they've gone more to a low-mid brand I doubt I'd be happy with one now. The ESP I just flat hated...it just felt cheap. The Damien was probably the closest to what I wanted out of a guitar.

    I know that there have been other tremolo systems out there that were based on the FR, has anyone had any experience with those?
     
  11. Nettdata

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    I have a Charvel Model 3 from the late 80's that has the Jackson Floyd Rose on it, and I quite like it.

    It was the first brand new guitar I bought, and it has seen some hard times.

    Sent it out to get refurbished about 5 years ago and the guitar sales kid didn't even recognize it, and the tech laughed and said, "it was made long before you were born and played music that only existed because of the hair product industry". Got it refretted, replaced the switch and the pickups, and had to have the whammy bar replaced, and it plays amazingly well.

    Still love that thing.
     
  12. toytoy88

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    Oh shit! I completely forgot about those Charvel-Jacksons. I played a few in the 80's and they were great.
     
  13. Rush-O-Matic

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    There was a Les Paul Axcess model that Alex Life son did. It had the FR, plus a piezo pickup under the saddle, with a second 1/4" Jack. You could get an acoustic tone or blended one. But, I think they're about $3500. Plus, some people feel putting a tremolo on a LP is blasphemy. However, Epiphone did a model, less the piezo, but with FR, that's not Al's signature. My buddy has one, and it's pretty sweet. He sold his Strat and other LP, because he never played them after he got it.
     
  14. toytoy88

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    A FR on an LP would be a wet dream for me. I just don't see how it could be reliably feasible with an LP being semi hollow though. I will keep an eye out for an Epi LP with a FR though...damn that sounds awesome. If I could find one I'd probably never buy another guitar too.

    I'm starting to lean towards buying another Damien and having the pick ups from my C1 swapped out into it. It would be the ultimate noise maker. With whammy possibilities.
     
  15. Rush-O-Matic

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  16. NatCH

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    Gibson made a "Les Paul Studio Shred" guitar a few years back, but it's discontinued now.
    http://www.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Les-Paul/Gibson-USA/Shred-Les-Paul-Studio.aspx
    We had one at our store, and I actually sold it to a TiB member.

    The difference between it and the Lifeson Axcess, aside from all the crazy cosmetic/Custom Shop upgrades, is that the Axcess has the neck heel smooth out and rounded, so it feels very similar to the old Fender Showmaster that's been talked about here - there isn't the square neck heel at the higher frets.
    We do have a Lifeson Axcess at my store, it's been closed out in price since it's a floor model. But again, still multiple thousands.
    I'll take a look and see what we got and let you know. We've been getting some of the newer Charvels in too.

    Here you go, this is the current iteration of the "Shred Les Paul."
    http://www.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/2016/USA/Les-Paul-CM-Black.aspx
    Floyd Rose Top Loader - not sure if that's your thing. But it's a little more affordable.

    Are you wanting a Floyd Rose style specifically, or just a good tremolo? Is Bigsby style out?
     
  17. toytoy88

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    FR dive bomb style. It's the only type tremolo type I've actually used, my guitars that came with other styles I just ditched the arm because I had no need to use them for vibrato.Not to mention not having a locking nut they would go out of tune almost immediately if you got even slightly aggressive with it.
     
  18. NatCH

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    Yeah, that Gibson LP CM is their best model for that. I've never really seen a top-loader Floyd rose before, though. I'd assume it can do dive bombs pretty well if it's made by Floyd.

    I'll see what sort of stuff we've got around the store and let you know.
     
  19. NatCH

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    When I went to college, I was pretty green - a big fish in a small pond. I was playing gigs, known as a well-rounded knowledgeable musician, but then my first bass professor talked about playing in the style of James Jamerson, and I had no idea who he was.
    Luckily, I learned quickly. I even took a class called "Motown/Atlantic Basslines," which was one of the biggest influences on my playing style from that point on.

    Somebody posted this on my Facebook feed the other day, and it still blows me away the lines that Jamerson came up with.

    Here's the original track:


    And here's the isolated bass, with a visual representation of each note:


    And he played all his basslines with only his index finger:


    Fuckin' tight. I need to find a bunch of guys in town who want to start a Motown-style GB band. We'd clean up.
     
  20. toytoy88

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    I wish youtube had existed when I was learning.

    George Lynch was a major influence on my playing, even though it took me years to realize it. He didn't rely on power chords, he used open chords and moved them all over the neck...to this day I prefer using an open chord over a barre simply because it sounds fuller and gives me more control over what notes ring through. The people I've played with have always marveled at the fat sound I get and it's simply because they've never played with someone who uses open chords with full distortion.

    Anyways, I was remembering Dokken's song The Hunter and went searching for a tutorial and found this video. It's not a tutorial or technically correct, but it's something I can work with: