Muso thread is back....! I play a little guitar - lazily rather than with any great talent - but I wouldn't be without a guitar, just like I wouldn't be without a motorbike :smile: Anyhow - a mate of mine just pointed me in the direction of the very legendary James Taylor, whose voice is so beautiful it makes me think nobody else should ever be allowed to sing his songs. And his guitar playing is equally magical. Thankfully he shares some of that magic on his own website: Free Guitar Lessons - JamesTaylor.com Check out lesson 4: Fire and Rain. Bloomin' gorgeous. For guitar-heads, I have a mexican-made Strat, and a gnarly old Japanese Telecaster copy. But mostly I play a nylon-stringed acoustic around the house... And I forget songs quicker than I learn them. Dammit. Enjoy! cheers, Dom
Just bought a Guild Starfire circa 1977, going to put a bigsby on it, jeees it howls with some gain, nice action on it but need some 10"s on it cos I cant do 11"s at my age.....Pics to follow in a couple of days....
4 saxomaphones, associated bits, mics. Bass guitar which I can't play Sold a trumpet, clarinet and flute over the past couple of years
Er, no. The last time I attempted to record myself playing I was fairly horrified with the results... That was a while ago. Maybe I'll try again, but it's hard not to be hyper-critical about your own playing! Especially when it's just a single instrument - you hear every little scratch and creak and fluffed note that you just don't notice when accompanied by bass and drums. Anybody else got any decent samples online? cheers, Dom
Having brought my first guitar a few weeks ago, and learnt a few chords I have booked my first lesson for this Friday
Ok,here is a poor quality comedy vid of me on my birthday and somewhat drunk playing against a couple of flat mates who were on guitar hero PS3.Its not really music but a bit of a thrash,not to be taken seriously.............. PRS heaven,guitar playing hell.. - YouTube
been trying to do some recording for upload over the last few days, but ive been suffering from an iffy overdrive pedal...its just been dropping out and sucking tone...prob some dodgy little chip inside... it was a fairly rare pedal (jerry donahue pre amp pedal) that i use(d) before the preamp..anyway, i had enough about 30 minutes ago and decided to do some intricate electrical work...with a hammer on the floor, next to the wheelie bin...all sorted...its set my dodgy arm off unfortunately so im in a bit of discomfort, but hey, it was worth it... gonna track down a ts808...i used to have one back in the day, sold it for a tenner...now an original one is £hundreds....oh well...thats why i dont sell off my guitar gear anymore...i dont rate the pedal on its own that much but it sounds great-pre gain stage as a subtle tone booster... anyway, lets go and have a look see on fleabay...
1981 VINTAGE IBANEZ TS-808 TUBE SCREAMER OVERDRIVE PRO w/ RARE TI RC4558P CHIP 606559309382 | eBay kin'ell...dream on...£850 for a bleedin pedal that i junked for a tenner?? dont think so....i bought my triaxis for less than that..
hmmmm..wish i hadnt smashed that JD10 to pieces last night....tut tut, me and my violent temper...my tone and gain still kept dropping tonight and after a bit of detective work i think its a faulty valve in the pre amp..dear oh dear...its not the first time ive smashed something to pieces and it wont be the last....im one of these people who is very mild mannered and good humoured but turn into a right c*nt after much provocation...usually born from intense frustration..did a Dan Smith strat once (before anyone knew what they were)..sent it flying into the cooker.....oops seriously for anyone considering Mesa Boogie amps, these things EAT valves...id say these are certainly no older than 1 year...they are my fave amp manufacturer by a mile (except maybe for cornford) but they cost a fekkin fortune to maintain....ie preamps about £10 a go, and theres 5 of them (12ax7 or ECC83's)...the power amp needs 4xEL34's (about £20 each) and another 4x6L6's (£20 each) and another 4x ECC83 preamp valves.. so a revalve for the pre is £100 every 6-12 months, the power amp £200 every 18-24 months...thats assuming you buy JJ etc...some valves cost more than double... Dont get wrong, they sound wonderful-the best in my book, but fekk me, they are fickle beasts...sort of like italian motorbikes..
I've got a Wem Copycat I've had since around 1985, and it's probably an early 1970's model. I had an extra pick-up fitted, so it's got 5 instead of four. They've shot up in value over the past few years.... Vintage WEM Guild Copicat Vintage Tape Echo Copycat Watkins | eBay
yeah the 70s gear is going up in value as its now in the vintage range...when the appalling indie bands get into stuff the kids soon follow suit. sadly the 70s by and large was a terrible decade for guitar quality, but even the horrible strats and les dennis' of the day are fetching strong prices (dont know why when one can buy a custom shop model for a little bit more wonga, and it'll be an infinately better bit of kit.)
I think I have decided that I will be building a Tele. I don't have one, I like them and they look like quite an easy guitar to build, in the scheme of things (though the neck isn't going to be any easier). And I've never spray-painted anything in my life, so doing a sunburst is going to be a bit of a challenge. Remind me not to let it anywhere near Funky when I've finished it.
My Rivera has the same issues and loves blowing tranformers too. Grrrrr I do prefer 6L6's to EL34's on the output stage,they seem to breath nicely when given the berries.
Glidd, i dont know if you fancy having a go a scratch building one, but there are some great companies (mostly in the US) who build superb necks and bodies (painted or unpainted) to your specs and they also stock faithful reproductions of vintage or shred type necks in every wood you can imagine. down the years ive built and repaired a few and can vouch for companies like mighty mite, warmoth and a bunch of others.. alternatively you could build a partsacaster, sourcing original fender bodies and necks and then put your own p/ups, bridges etc into to it.. painting is not the difficult, a sunburst is quite challenging but you can always practice on sheets of hardboard..the secret if the prep as you know, and a flat finish requires lots of patient sanding...i would be tempted to either buy an airbrush and mini compressor, or alternatively, companies like guitar reranch ReRanch Guitar Refinishing sell very high quality aerosols with regulated pressure nozzles that can produce factory quality finishes..wait until summer before painting to reduce humidity and make sure your space is uncompromisingly well lit, clean and free from dust...a dehumidifier is a prudent purchase..Ive got a delonghi dehumidifier and it is fantastic.. scratch building will require a lot of additional outlay, but you have the pleasure in knowing that youve got a 100% handbuilt axe (and you may even end up doing a few refins on the side for a few quid, francs or whatever it is you foreign palestines call currency... theres also a company in manchester that produce top notch aerosols and paints...ive got a few vintage lacquers in the shed, i'll have a look and find out the company name..they ship internationally (not sure if reranch ship to switzerland, because of the laws the yanks are obsessed with....pressurised containers, non PC CFC's and such like)...ive also got a contact who is a luthier who i can press for some advice if you need a man on the inside, he's got trade accounts with most of the right people... i think a vintage butterscotch blonde, or a 2 tone sunburst would look lovely (and be little bit easier than a 3 tone sunburst), either way im certain that you could get a great finish with some practice..just get that wood flat as a pancake first and get it sealed prior ro painting (to prevent grain sink)... I really hope you go for it, i think it will be a labour of love, and a tele will be a great addition to your arsenal! Remember, if you do take the plunge to start a thread of your progress from unboxing parts to the final demo vid of you playing the sound of muzak outside of your alpine shiteau..
yeah i prefer the 6l6's...a tigher, smoother tone in my opinion..i love EL34's but they can be a bit bright with a strat...the beauty of my power amp is that it can run both sets of tubes simultaneously so you get the best of both worlds (im not trying to be hollwood, im just sayin')... i think its because ive always preferred the sound of american amps over the brit ones by and large (the exception being Cornford, which literally rock you back on your heels)...they just seem more musical..marshall's are great but not very subtle imho and struggle to get a warm, clean tone..although im not well acquainted with their new stuff... i dare say, if i was a yank, then it would all be about classic British amps, and i'd think the boutique US stuff was crap..Boogie, Rivera, Soldano etc make some blistering stuff...if youve got the $$$'s...but they last forever.. Shame that tube amps can be finnicky bitches at times...my power amp went through a stage blowing fuses and smoking like a beagle in a laboratory and the last couple of years, my preamp has given me a few gremilins....im a Mesa Boogie queen myself, but fekk me, they absolutely chew through valves...even just left switched on and hardly played my Triaxis will destroy a set of valves in 4-6 months...
I like my Vox AC30, even if it is inevitably Made in China. Sob! But you can't say it isn't bright. Have to dial down the treble on the Stat. Les Paul has bassier tone in any case so not an issue. But cranking the pre-amp give you some nice crunch and it will otherwise sound very loud and clean. Headroom, innit?
