Leaderboard

Put it all back together, polished it up and it plays just fine. What a bargain

Quick update to say I pulled the trigger on the Thinline Godin. It's new, coming from the States and even with delivery and taxes will be £300 cheaper than the best price I could find in the UK!

After a bit of work with fine wet and dry and a polish up with brasso, it transpires it's a Coxx Classix.

What a palava. OK so GC has been offline for a few days due to a mix-up in transfer of content from the old server (which was upgraded due to email notification issues on BC) to the new server. The old server subscription cancelled last week taking GC down with it. Then we had issues trying to get things set up on the new server. As you can see, we have managed to restore GC but the only back up on the old server was from January. Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry to any of you who had made the effort to post detailed or lengthy replies during that time, I've personally lost at least one lengthy post as well. If you need to flame, go ahead. We had to unravel a whole load of secondary issues to do with databases not working quite right, upgrades not installing quite correctly, DNS and nameservers not being what they should be. However, thankfully, we have made it through the other side and GC is faster and more stable than ever. I don't expect this perfect storm to happen again and thanks in advance for your patience and understanding.

On Saturday we had a work party where we provided the entertainment. About six weeks ago I rounded up a bunch of colleagues and proposed we do a song together. Below is the result: 52fb7b34b4790dbaf517c3d5cce802d3.mp4 It was my first time performing on guitar and I used the instrument mentioned here: All sorts of technical issues that I won't bore everyone with but the band had no right sounding as good as this recording suggests. I originally rehearsed with a 4U rack containing my beloved Triaxis and MPXG2 into a Marshall 20/20. But there were 60Hz hum and phasing issues so I swapped the rack for a Kemper and used a profile of the Triaxis instead with only marginal improvement (no more phasing). The Kemper went into two Hotone Loudster Class D power amps sat on a pair of Joyo 1x12 cabs loaded with Celestion Neo Creambacks. The speakers struggled to disperse, but this shouldn't have been too much of an issue if we had been given PA support. Unfortunately the video stops just before I move up front for the solo guitar breaks. I did the thing though - one foot on the monitor. No hair in the wind unfortunately.

Coming from the light side (basschat) and after having a friend of a friend show me how to get the most from my hx stomp, the other week I picked up an electric to try and learn… it’s from 1990 weighs less than 3kg and has switches on both knobs that makes it sound different- learning needs to happen !

Hi! It seems I joined a while ago but forgot. I started playing guyitar when I was in my teens back in the early/mid 70s the moved to bass. Now bandless on bass, I am about to pick up a guitar again for the first time in many years and have a few questions. I have had a Mexican Fender Telecaster for some years, stashed away in its case, and just recently bought one of these for a few quid at a bootsale which now sports a Tonerider PAF pickup and some new tuners. Hope to find answers to questions!

J. Bright, The Law Suit, late 1700s: There truly is nothing new under the sun...

I missed the electro bit Yamaha Music London do the FX310A for £235

Yes to both, not helped by intermittent focus in my eyesight and a reluctance to take my reading glasses everywhere in case it brings on mid life crisis.

Or are your fingers too big?

I blame the advent of GPS. ...

We're stoked to announce that we've launched some new multipacks... https://www.rotosound.com/blog/product-news/new-rotosound-multipacks/ These offer our most popular sets in 3- and 10-set boxes for cost-saving and convenience. Starting from £21.95 for the triple pack and £69.95 for the ten-set multipack, they're available now from UK dealers!

Hah! Lucky I'd just swallowed my tea when I got to "Rickenwaffe" - not heard that one before! Yeah, they are more on the ball than anyone I've ever seen about their marks. Ric copies of any serious closeness only exist in Japan that I've ever seen... the very occasional one on ebay disappears almost immediately. I'd love a Ric solod body - a 4003 bass even moreso, but I'm resigned to the fact I'll never be able to afford one (and even then I'd struggle to justify the spend, tbh). Part of me wishes they'd do a diffusion line, A Rickensquierphone. They'd surely sell well, given their absolute nixing of the market for any other options if it's a Ric you want. (The Harely Benton options are about the only ones I've seen, and they're so deviated from the original - even if nice instruments in their own right.... you'll not see a Beatles tribute act playing them the way I've seen them use a Squier to recreate Rocky, let's put it that way...). Another part of me rather respects Ric for deciding they're happy as they are rather than just chasing the lifestyle brand market, or otherwise squeezing their property for every last penny. It was a remarkably late registration attempt by Fender - real stable door / bolted horse stuff. Trademarking a shape wasn't an issue for them in 1951 -or 1954 - as it wasn't until 1960 that you could trademark a shape in US law. The first registered US trademark shape was the Coca Cola bottle, a shape they'd been using since 1916, so I doubt Fender would have had any trouble registering The Tele, Strat, and other shapes then. As memory serves they had the foresight to at least trademark the shape of their headstocks, though.... Similarly, they were behind the curve in the UK as well, where shape-based trademarks became an option under the Trade Marks Act 1994. Gibson seem to have been more effective here, though from my casual awareness of their legal efforts (not least the PRS case), most of their real protection falls in the zone of lawfare.... i.e. Gibson can afford to spend a lot more than most of those they go after, and fighting a lawsuit will most of the time be far more expensive than just tweaking your design a little to make it go away. Smoke and mirrors to some extent once you see the eminently sensible decision by the Appeal court in Gibson v PRS.

If anyone is interested there’s a massive guitar, amp and music memorabilia auction on 10th June in Corsham, Wiltshire spanning 5 days. Imagine owning 500 guitars!! https://www.easyliveauction.com/catalogue/5abe5b32c7710c2b409b15545ad1d718/0af8d24542e81eb9357e7ef448a6646f/the-guitar-sale-five-day-auction-including-the-gordon-gi/?currentPage=1

And it's done. Had to do a lot of routing to get the bridge located properly including plugging and redrilling one bridge post 1mm further way. The wiring was a challenge, I spent three days of eliminating possible causes to arrive at only one conclusion, the pickup selector switch was faulty. My midboost preamp didn't work and I wasn't going to spend a week trying to troubleshoot it, so I bought one only to discover that the guy who build it didn't include separate earth and -9v wires. So had to jury rig something up to provide the output socket with an earth connection, the boost is definitely warm but it lacks the glassiness I expected. So I have on order a genuine Demester Fat Boost (Tyler style) and at some point I will probably wire the switches so they are series, phase and parallel. Although they were fiddly to solder as well. However, after a fret levelling and proper set up, it plays very nicely and has more sustain than my other two strats. I have no idea why. It's quite a warm and loud sounding guitar as well acoustically. More aging is needed on the sides and back but I have other things to attend to in advance of being in the UK next month.

A common mistake is for folk to stick to the minor pentatonic when improvising, whether the key or chord is major or minor. Try and make sure you’re complimenting the chord by emphasising the 3rd note. A lot of players tend to play through the scales from one end to the other. Stand out from the crowd by making some interesting, intervalic jumps (Carl Verheyen is the king of this, check him out). Don’t be in a hurry to show your chops too early, build to a crescendo and release (the solo from Stairway is a great example of this).

Or, pretty much, exactly the same.

Wouldn't surprise me. The older I get, the more I realise 99% of the electric guitar market is about selling branding an intangibles far over the actual, physical product. It does seem to vary by location, though: players in the US on average still seem to be much more likely to be emotionally invested in the idea that a guitar made in the USA *must* be superior, or is somehow otherwise "the real thing". Which I suppose shouldn't be surprising given that's where the electric guitar boom started, and so there's a sense of "loss" that those aren't dominant in the market any longer - as opposed to being "only" another import product as they are for us in the UK.

I am a musician and teacher based on the west coast of Ireland. I teach online lessons across Ireland, the UK and the rest of Europe. I play electric, Acoustic and Spanish guitar in a variety of styles. My influences are diverse, from Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd to John Williams, SRV, Rory Gallagher and Tommy Emmanuel. Music was my 2nd love, but it's the one that never left me. (a good line for a blues).

Steady on, it's not like some of them need extra reasons to slap a premium on a five quid set of parts.

Gordon Smith, although better known for their Gibson types, also do a very nice Tele - https://www.gordonsmithguitars.com/shop/stock-guitars/blaggards/ TBH, though, I'm not sure that's how I would go. Clearly you're not looking for a more affordable alternative to Fender's US or CS ranges if you're thinking of spending that sort of custom money anyhow. Now, this is only a personal opinion, but.... for me it would depend a lot on what you want. A tele is such a utilitarian design that if what you want is the standard set-up Tele, it seems to me madness to spend custom-built money on it. If that's the only way - you want something really offbeat like the Jack White signature, or a Trussant Steelcaster, or you have an original 52 that you want to clone so you can leave the vintage piece at home and play a facsimilie out.... then, sure. But if what you want is "just" a Tele, it seems to be it's hard to justify spending vast sums on it.... I'd buy whatever MIM / Tokai / whatever you like and maybe rewired if you want, or track down a CIJ Fender that's good to go as is. (IMO, the top end Japanese Fenders are as good as anything form the US, typically wired the same with the same specs, and usually cheaper - nut much harder to find.) Unless you want something that's just not available otherwise, imo having a custom built Tele is a bit like having a Saville Row tailor copy a pair of 501s for you. They'll be an exquisite example, but....

Many thanks for the feedback both. Seems that what I want to achieve isn't quite in the remit of my amp. I might just go back to my comfort zone of 90s solid state.

I’ve learnt pretty all I know about Fender offset guitars from Mike Adam’s, AKA puisheen, on YouTube and Instagram.

Returned today, with a partial refret, new plate, and setup with flatwound 12s.

So, as you're doubtless aware, the people behind the original Klon Centaur: are suing Behringer, for the Behringer Centaur: It's going to be interesting seeing how this pans out. I think they'll win - or Behringer will back down - change the name and colour. Most legal cases settle before they get close to court. This one is interesting because the Klon hasn't been in production since 2008. They now routinely sell for four to five grand when they do come up for sale, hence the vast army of Klon clones that have been on the market for a long time. The Behringer pedal is just the very latest version of this, albeit - depending on opinion - blatantly or just more honestly a knock off of the original. I'm not entirely sold on the ethics of this lawsuit, given it's a product that has been unavailable for so long, and they appear to have no intention to bring it back into production. But it is what it is. The intriguing knock-on is what it has done to the second hand market for the Behringer pedals, which are now all over ebay for £500 and upwards. Full disclosure, the lawsuit announcement a couple of weeks ago finally prompted me to get around to ordering my own Behringer Centaur from Thomann. It was on back order, and has now shipped today, so it's going to be interesting to see what I get. Will it be the original knock-off style, or a new, altered version? TBH, if I was sure it was the original, at the prices they're now going for used, I'd have ordered half a dozen and sold most of them on... Could have funded a very nice new guitar that way! Eh, well. Welcome to the era of Lawsuit pedals!

I went and looked it up: sorry, I think I was mistaken! It looks like, for the longest time, Strats have had tone controls for the neck and middle pickups, but not the bridge. Apparently - and I think this is where my confusion stems from - more modern Strats have the neck & middle wired to the first tone, and the bridge wired to the second. Which is...interesting...I can't imagine wanting to use that bridge pickup without being able to roll off some the treble!

Good afternoon, @Hydra19, and ... ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

Hi Paul!

Yep - I think you're right about the Gretsch. Not worth trying to sell it, and it does have sentimental value - it was the guitar that got me started, albeit fleetingly. I stopped playing it in 1973, but started playing bass in 2005.

Yep, you won't go wrong with a Yamaha F-310. It's long been considered one of the best (and best value) acoustic guitars for beginners. I've had one for about 20 years and still play it.

For those swimming in, perhaps..?

Well played, Sir! Maybe there will be fewer acts late on now, though, if it's easier to fins the venues.

Thanks both, much appreciated. @Dad3353 - I discovered Ohmmage when look at hifi... I'm not the most technical of people and it still blows my mind a bit, but that's helpful to know! I do plan, though, to stick to just the one speaker to keep the noise down - if I ever have a house where I can go louder, I'll be looking at a "proper" amp. Mind you, it's impressive what you can get in a pedal form factor these days. Once they get past an inherently conservative generation of guitar players, I wouldn't be wholly surprised to see fewer and fewer bands using traditional maps on stage (save rich ones with roadies and a 'look' to maintain, of course...).

The guitarist in my band bought an Ibanez that he'd been looking out for after I passed the link to the auction on and I bought a six-string fretless bass (for just under the lower estimate). Postage isn't cheap (about £50 IIRC) and I went down to pick up the bass, and collected his guitar while I was at it. Buyer's premium was around 25%. With a seller's premium of about the same, the buyer pays around double what the seller receives, which puts Ebay's buyer fee in perspective. There were quite a few 12-strings, which makes a change. I am a bit tempted by the idea of a 12-string solid-body but managed to resist. The guitar: The bass:

Absolutely, it's about selling dreams...as in 'buy this and get closer to living the dream'...whatever that dream is.

All change again !! I've been trying out the Hotone Ampero products, surprisingly very good !!

Yep! Therein lie the important chord tones, which will add flavour to your soloing.

It’s odd, I’ve always hated the look of Telecasters. I went into the local shop looking for a Stratocaster, preferably white with a maple fretboard. They had three that matched and all were between £100 and £150, which was fine because I am no guitarist… £360 later, I came out with one of these: And I love it! Not enough to leave it alone, though. I’ve already changed the bridge saddles to Gotoh, brass, compensated barrels. Which I think look a bit nicer.

Thank you! From what I had read 1:18 seemed to be what I thought I would need, but I don’t know what the ratio of the current tuners are, and my muggy head didn’t think of simply doing what you suggest… So now I have a place to start with the tuners. As for gilding the lily, I’m doing it because I like doing it. It won’t cost me much. I think the pickup set is less than £30. I can’t remember what the switch costs. I have everything else already. It’d be nice to have a humbucker as the bridge pickup, being able to split it should, I hope, mean I get to keep the Telecaster twang. I like the idea of the versatility. Being able to go from playing Reba McEntire to Metallica (or, more lately, Rocky Horror Picture Show tunes) without having to change guitar, would be handy!

It's fascinating how commonly cloned the Klon is, down to its legendary status. Any number of them out there, really. I got an email in yesterday telling me my pedal from Thomann is now on the way - we'll see if it's the original version or something new. I kinda wish I had ordered a few now! According to online reports, this is the new version (which may be what I'll receive): https://guitarbomb.com/behringer-rebrands-klon-clone-centara-overdrive/ Same housing, slight change of name and logo. It strikes me with some amusement that if this doesn't settle the lawsuit, this could become an even rarer version (maybe we should bot order more of them.... if I had an original couple of Klons now, I'd be selling them to buy a Gretsch!). Legalities aside, it still feels to me that Klon are taking the piss suing over an albeit very close lookalike of a pedal they've declined to put on the market for seventeen odd years....

Hey folks, Here’s a short original I composed for classical guitar, called “Wait.” Wrote it during an anxious time — waiting to hear if I was losing my day job. The tension shaped the piece, but there’s a thread of hope in there too. Hope you enjoy. Video Tabs Cheers, Mikko

Pick up manufacturers charging more for special tone wax

Thanks fo the advice. I'll check out somewhere to take it in Manchester when I'm back from hols and get it checked out and set up. Hopefully it's something simple. Thanks again

Thanks for this @Dad3353. Much appreciated and a detailed answer as usual. From a tone point of view I really like the Classic 20, I like the tonal variations it has and do understand that different amps have different tonal characteristics. I don't play actually clean, I find a mild overdrive sort of tone for rockabilly, blues and modern country. I have only played at home, not with a band as yet and would expect to mic amp up when I do, I don't need 'loud' really. So I am happy to have an amp that sounds right at whatever volume level that is and let the PA take the strain. You only really notice when playing along to a cd, not really when just playing with no backing. I don't want to get involved with pedals if I can help it, I have played without them for 30 years and don't want the hassle of cables and power leads. But as it stands, I just can't work out how it can be useful if I can't increase the volume output using the guitar volume enough to change from rhythm to lead on the fly. Even if I did do pedals, surely the pedals likely to give me the effect I need (volume boost and a small amount of gain/overdrive pedal) will likely just do the same as the guitar volume and just hit the amp with a stronger signal which would also give me more gain but no volume increase? Is this likely to be for most tube amps or is it just the EL84? Would a different amp suit this more style more? If not then I will just cut my losses and go back to my normal SS amp. It would be a shame as the tone is lovely overall and adds that extra sparkle that the SS sometimes lacks

I can play a bit like that - all lefties can of course, because the obvious - but it's not something I've ever seriously tried to develop.

Looks beautiful! (The Hofner, not the delivery guy)...

From what I've read, Vox think that it is indeed a sort-of direct equivalent. I'm not sure if it's catching on, though. Recently, I purchased an MVX150C1 (Nutubes in preamp and power amp) but I think they're discontinued; the one I got was the last in stock at PMT and at a discounted price. I've not had chance to try it at a jam, gig or rehearsal yet but the tone seems good to me and I'd guess that it would be loud enough (150W class D 1x12"). Whilst they were generally available they didn't appear to be very popular, as far as I can tell. I've also got a VX50 GTV (Nutube in the preamp) and this has proven to be loud for its size and very portable.

Red-check gingham..?