Need more guitar discussion

[flipstah]

Originally posted by TKRIS


Pull that fucker apart and lets have a look at it's insides to see how it works.

Huh. WTF is this? Seriously. If it's a tremolo, it's fuckin' hard to use:





It CAN pop up and down but it requires WAY more fore than a Bigsby and the handle easily comes off.



This is my first solid-body so I think a lesson is at hand: are all solidbodies laminate layered or just selected ones and the expensive kind of solidbody guitars are true singular chunk of heavy wood?

[TKRIS]

That thing is gloriously weird, and I want it.
Usually only really cheap guitars are laminate. The Squier Bullets I've seen have been plywood. I used to have an Epiphone LP Special II that was laminated.
That's likely why it's so heavy: glue.

A lot of people snub anything that isn't 1 solid chuck, but I don't think it matters that much. There are a lot of plywood guitars that sound great.

Most guitar will be multiple pieces, but they'll be jointed together, not laminated.

I traded the Jackson I just got finished for an Artcore, so that should be here in a week or so. The Jackson kicked ass, but I never played it. The Artcore is more my style.

[flipstah]

Originally posted by TKRIS
That thing is gloriously weird, and I want it.

=P Since it's custom routed in there, it's gonna stay there haha. Sorry!

Originally posted by TKRIS

Usually only really cheap guitars are laminate. The Squier Bullets I've seen have been plywood. I used to have an Epiphone LP Special II that was laminated.
That's likely why it's so heavy: glue.

A lot of people snub anything that isn't 1 solid chuck, but I don't think it matters that much. There are a lot of plywood guitars that sound great.

Most guitar will be multiple pieces, but they'll be jointed together, not laminated.

For me, I love this guitar laminate or not. It sounds great, it looks great and feels great! Now all I need is a good set of strings. Any recommendations?

Originally posted by TKRIS

I traded the Jackson I just got finished for an Artcore, so that should be here in a week or so. The Jackson kicked ass, but I never played it. The Artcore is more my style.

The Ibanez Artcore = best bang for your buck. For the price, it sounds phenomenal! Which one did you get?

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by TKRIS
Quick search on kijiji turned this up:
http://lethbridge.kijiji.ca/c-buy-an...AdIdZ175457200

That's a good price. Maybe the guy will take Paypal and ship it.

Yeah I emailed the guy after you posted that, but he sold it. I bid on one last night on ebay. I would've won it but retracted a few minutes before it ended. I probably shouldn't waste my money on anything like that until I get better.

[TKRIS]

Originally posted by flipstah


=P Since it's custom routed in there, it's gonna stay there haha. Sorry!

For me, I love this guitar laminate or not. It sounds great, it looks great and feels great! Now all I need is a good set of strings. Any recommendations?

That's the only thing that should matter.
I buy whatever strings are cheap. I've tried a few, and if there's a difference in regular, nickel wound strings, I'm not good enough to be able to tell.
I usually get Ernie Ball. Either 10-52 or 11s on my LP.

Originally posted by flipstah
The Ibanez Artcore = best bang for your buck. For the price, it sounds phenomenal! Which one did you get?

I've been after a hollow body for awhile. Just missed out on a 5120 a few weeks ago (I'm still kicking myself over that one). Hopefully I like this one enough to keep my Gretsch lust at bay.

Originally posted by D'z Nutz
Yeah I emailed the guy after you posted that, but he sold it. I bid on one last night on ebay. I would've won it but retracted a few minutes before it ended. I probably shouldn't waste my money on anything like that until I get better.

Well, you certainly don't need anything like that. But I suck plenty, and I don't let that get in my way.
The MP3 trainer is cool, but "Transcribe" does the same thing.

[flipstah]

Originally posted by TKRIS




I've been after a hollow body for awhile. Just missed out on a 5120 a few weeks ago (I'm still kicking myself over that one). Hopefully I like this one enough to keep my Gretsch lust at bay.

That's a sexy guitar TKRIS! The Electromatics are sweet though and the Filtertrons sound awesome with it! Very Rockabilly and old school Rock&Roll.

Are the Electromatic that you were gunning for, and the Artcore used?

[TKRIS]

Yes, both used.
I've heard they are putting better pickups in the new 5120's, but I'm not ready to drop $800-$900 on a new one right now.
This hollow body rounds out my collection fairly well for the time being.

[Inzane]

How many here use the "Guitar Pro" software? Is it worth buying?

[TKRIS]

I used to use it. It's pretty neat. There's a freeware program that will allow you to load and use guitar pro files, so I wouldn't buy it. I'll try to find the name of the program for you.

[misterrick]

Originally posted by Inzane
How many here use the "Guitar Pro" software? Is it worth buying?

Originally posted by TKRIS
I used to use it. It's pretty neat. There's a freeware program that will allow you to load and use guitar pro files, so I wouldn't buy it. I'll try to find the name of the program for you.

Tux Guitar is the one your looking for. you can also write tabs that are usable in guitar pro, as well as it can read power tabs and such.

super handy program. plays along with you and you can even slow it down

TuxGuitar














ALSO,

thought i would shamelessly promote myself to get a few non-biased opinions. so anyway, heres my stuff that ive been working on lately. all recording was done using beatcraft for drums, a zoom h4 for guitar tones and cubase for mixing.

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by Graham_A_M
Just came back from Kickaxe guitars on 9th in Inglewood. Very very impressed with that place. Big store prices with small store service.

Nice to see we have two decent stores in Calgary now, L & M as well as Kickaxe. (Axe is pretty good generally too though)

I was in the neighborhood this afternoon so I decided to swing by Kickaxe to have a look. As soon as I walked in, I was welcomed by the nice lady working there and she gave me a tour of the store and went over all the brands and guitars they carried.

Now she's got me thinking about picking up one of the Hagstrom Swede White Satins.

[95teetee]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz




Now she's got me thinking about picking up one of the Hagstrom Swede White Satins.

I had a Hagstrom many years ago (an H-II N). Very nice guitar.

[Graham_A_M]

KickAxe is a wicked shop eh?

Since they carry Dean I'm probably going to grab this (lefty)


VERY few lefty guitars that are decent. There is a HUGE selection of cheapo lefty's. Nice to see a decent one for a change. Not bad for $1200, something to dork around on when not playing bass I guess


Quite the place to go for Strings. You should ask them about their chemical coated strings. Definitely sounds interesting.

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by 95teetee
I had a Hagstrom many years ago (an H-II N). Very nice guitar.

Yeah I've been thinking of the Hagstrom all day. From what I've been reading, they new ones aren't even close to the old ones, but they're still pretty good especially for the cost. I think I'm gonna pull the trigger on one.

Originally posted by Graham_A_M
KickAxe is a wicked shop eh?

Since they carry Dean I'm probably going to grab this (lefty)

http://www.deanguitars.com/dean_wint...rbexp_main.jpg

VERY few lefty guitars that are decent. There is a HUGE selection of cheapo lefty's. Nice to see a decent one for a change. Not bad for $1200, something to dork around on when not playing bass I guess


Quite the place to go for Strings. You should ask them about their chemical coated strings. Definitely sounds interesting.

Yeah, it was a really cool store! I liked how they focused on the less available brands. That lady left a really good impression with me because she was so nice. Their showroom didn't have a huge stock, at least not like some of the other stores here, but I did noticed they had a lot of left handed guitars considering that fact. The lady said her daughter's a lefty, so they're pretty sensitive to those who play left and like to keep a good stock of them. They even had a left handed acoustic that was cheaper than the right handed model.

Check it out, guys!
http://www.kickaxeguitars.com/

[95teetee]

Originally posted by Graham_A_M
KickAxe is a wicked shop eh?

Since they carry Dean I'm probably going to grab this (lefty)

nice- I'm a lefty too but never had a guitar that wasn't just upside-down

[flipstah]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz

Yeah, it was a really cool store! I liked how they focused on the less available brands. That lady left a really good impression with me because she was so nice. Their showroom didn't have a huge stock, at least not like some of the other stores here, but I did noticed they had a lot of left handed guitars considering that fact. The lady said her daughter's a lefty, so they're pretty sensitive to those who play left and like to keep a good stock of them. They even had a left handed acoustic that was cheaper than the right handed model.

Check it out, guys!
http://www.kickaxeguitars.com/

Sweet! I wonder if they can order Godin-brand guitars since they are affiliated with their other brands. Do they have financing?

[TKRIS]

A shop here started carrying Hags before they got out of instrument sales. Those were some gorgeous guitars. Worth the price of admission, IMO.


Anyone have any good idea about learning bass?
I picked up a Fernandes Tremor 5 string and an Ibanez SW100 a few weeks ago to play around with, but I haven't spent much time on it. Figured out "Blister in the Sun" about 7 seconds after plugging it in, then fucked around with some G'N'R stuff, but now I'm a little lost on what I want to play, or what kind of practice regimen I should have.

My Artcore got here the other day. Nice guitar. Lot's of fun to play. I'm thinking of gutting the electronics and replacing everything. Mostly because I'm a sado-masochist and rewiring a hollow body with push pulls and all sorts of tricks seems like the type of painful experience I'd enjoy. I don't want to drop TV Jones kind of $$$. I'm thinking GFS Liverpools and Jimmy Page wiring, but I might do a humbucker sized P90 in the neck instead.

[flipstah]

Originally posted by TKRIS
Anyone have any good idea about learning bass?
I picked up a Fernandes Tremor 5 string and an Ibanez SW100 a few weeks ago to play around with, but I haven't spent much time on it. Figured out "Blister in the Sun" about 7 seconds after plugging it in, then fucked around with some G'N'R stuff, but now I'm a little lost on what I want to play, or what kind of practice regimen I should have.

I don't know about you but if it was me, I'd learn the Seinfeld theme song haha. Or some Beatles songs, if you're a fan.

Originally posted by TKRIS
My Artcore got here the other day. Nice guitar. Lot's of fun to play. I'm thinking of gutting the electronics and replacing everything. Mostly because I'm a sado-masochist and rewiring a hollow body with push pulls and all sorts of tricks seems like the type of painful experience I'd enjoy. I don't want to drop TV Jones kind of $$$. I'm thinking GFS Liverpools and Jimmy Page wiring, but I might do a humbucker sized P90 in the neck instead.

TV Jones pickups are ridiculously awesome! I heard the test files on his website and I'm digging his SuperTron pickup. Very nice.

Seems like a lot of excess work for something that's not broken though.

Originally posted by TKRIS

That's the only thing that should matter.
I buy whatever strings are cheap. I've tried a few, and if there's a difference in regular, nickel wound strings, I'm not good enough to be able to tell.
I usually get Ernie Ball. Either 10-52 or 11s on my LP

Thanks for the recommendation BTW. I got myself the Beefy Slinky 11-54 and they feel awesome! I feel more comfortable playing it and I get more 'oomph.'

I am now officially a heavy gauge guy.

However, how do I adjust this thing so that it doesn't have monster action? The action is so high, it looks like I can fly a plane through the gap.

[Graham_A_M]

Lower the set screws on the bridge. There should be an abundance of clips on youtube showing you how to properly adjust the height. I agree, I like a very low action as well.

Originally posted by TKRIS

Anyone have any good idea about learning bass?
I picked up a Fernandes Tremor 5 string and an Ibanez SW100 a few weeks ago to play around with, but I haven't spent much time on it. Figured out "Blister in the Sun" about 7 seconds after plugging it in, then fucked around with some G'N'R stuff, but now I'm a little lost on what I want to play, or what kind of practice regimen I should have.

Study Victor Wooten, probably the best bassist in the world, and has a remarkable understanding of anything related to bass, music and everything inter-related to it. Search Youtube for some of his lessons & solo vids.

Thats all I've done, just watched his videos & learned his countless techniques and I've come an incredibly long way.

Bass is extremely difficult unless you use a pick. You have a *LONG* road ahead of you if you plan on using your fingers. Thats what I choose, since I didn't feel like a real bassist if I were to play with a pick.
If there ever is a Beyond jam I'd love to show you the ins & outs I've learned. A lot of it came from experimenting with different "picking" techniques and practice.

Just learning songs and playing them perfectly helps a lot.
I've learned a lot of the Vic Wooten song: "classical thump" and thats really helped me a multitude of ways.

Let me know if I can help with anything else.

Oh yeah, and that Sienfeld shit is stupidly easy to learn... honestly. I'm amazed people think the bassist for that show is even remotely good.

[TKRIS]

^Thanks.
Looked some of that stuff up. Great instruction. Lot's of cool techniques to play around with. Should help my sense of timing and finger picking as well.
I mostly bought the bass just for some variety and so add some depth to the garbage I record on occasion.
I'm not going to devote the time required to become a non-hack on the bass until I get to non-hack stage on guitar...

Originally posted by flipstah
TV Jones pickups are ridiculously awesome! I heard the test files on his website and I'm digging his SuperTron pickup. Very nice.

Seems like a lot of excess work for something that's not broken though.

Pffft. That's what my wife says.
I am a man. I am unable to leave well enough alone.
When I get something new, I must tear it apart and see how it works in an effort to absorb it's power, much like eating the heart of your enemy.

Originally posted by flipstah
Thanks for the recommendation BTW. I got myself the Beefy Slinky 11-54 and they feel awesome! I feel more comfortable playing it and I get more 'oomph.'

I am now officially a heavy gauge guy.

However, how do I adjust this thing so that it doesn't have monster action? The action is so high, it looks like I can fly a plane through the gap.

You'll have to adjust the neck as well.
You'll probably have to go back and forth a few times, so make sure the batteries in your tuner are good.

I usually adjust the neck until there is a very small gap above the 6th fret while fretting on 1 and 14 (how much depends on personal preference). Then tune. Then lower the action as far as it'll go before buzzing. Then tune. Then check the gap at 6 again. Repeat as many times as required.
Once you've got the trussrod and bridge height working well together, start adjusting intonation. You'll likely have to adjust your bridge height as you adjust intonation to get rid of the buzzes. Once it's intonating (?) and not buzzing, check the gap at 6 again to make sure it's not too far off.
I'd suggest not adjusting intonation until a day or two after tweaking the truss rod to give the neck time to settle into place. Otherwise, you'll get it all set up, and 2 days later it'll be a little off again.
Also, check for buzzing all over the fretboard, not just open. If you like a straight neck like I do, you'll often find that strings won't buzz when strum open, but will buzz around the 12th or 13th fret.

EDIT: You likely won't get 11-54's as low as 10-46's. I'm a very, very heavy bender, so i don't like action too low. I prefer that when I bend, the string above my finger hits high enough on my fingertip that it's held off the board instead of sliding under my finger and making noise.