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.

Hi,everyone, I'm new to the site so thanks for having me,my wife made me join so I bore someone else,Sorry.

Interesting - I had not noticed that. Amusingly, the tech mentioned that though he is a Gibson man he has often coveted Jaguars when they've come in, and whilst dealing with this he finally succumbed to the GAS and ordered a Fender custom shop model. Apparently, according to what I have read, they were originally meant to be a luxury model to poach Gibson's customers.

Good evening, @danhkr, and ... ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

I wouldn't worry: I have the same problem with Jazz basses. LOTS of players - be it people I know, or well-known bass-heroes - have played great basslines on them. But I can't seem to make the sound work with my playing style. Give me a Precision or a Thunderbird and I'll be happy as Larry, but for reasons I can't fathom, I've never been satisfied with the tones I get out of a Jazz. It's just something I've had to accept! That said, have you ever tried a "super-strat"? I've seen H/S/S setups, and twin HB setups - the former might do something for that "shrill" bridge pickup, and you still get the look and feel of a Strat.

That’s a very fine guitar, good choice.

OK, well now I am tempted to try another...the Behringer does the job, but I wonder if a more faithful Big Muff clone might be closer to what I'm after!

Behringer can be fun. I like my Centaur! I know OP's request is sorted, but for anyone else looking for ideas, I'd also suggest Mosky, particularly the Big Fuzz: They have quite a few fuzz pedals, but this one would be my pick as it offers a couple of different runs at the obvious Big Muff sound (which went through several generations each having their own thing). Edited to add: it comes it at about forty quid as of November 2025, widely available on eBay, Amazon, and the rest.

At least it wasn’t a bass, where that sort of thing can be a real bash to the wallet. You can still use those strings of course (if you can stop that slippage), you’ll just have to put up with poor intonation on the G string. That said, I’d just bite the bullet and get some acoustic strings, your ears will thank you.

Off the top of my head, Keef, Dylan when he's in that mode, Joe Strummer, Johnny Ramone, Elvis.

Good evening, @Iain Douglas, and ... ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

Like countless others outside the UK, I've been drawn to and subsequently obsessing over the clean tones that were achieved by in demand US session guitarists in the eighties and early nineties. While Michael Thompson was perhaps best known for his clean tone, Dann Huff appeared on countless Top 10 recordings that featured his lush stereo swells including tracks by Peter Cetera, Amy Grant and others. Part of that sound was down to his rack of effects often involving a Mesa Studio preamp into a Songbird trichorus, then stereo with one side going through an Eventide Harmoniser and Roland SDE3000 or Lexicon delay, the other side going through a Lexicon reverb and then another delay. However another part of his sound involved a highly modified 64 strat c/- Jim Tyler which featured Seymour Duncan STK2 pickups in middle and neck plus a JB (SH4) humbucker in the bridge AND...a Tyler mid boost circult which also sparkled up the presence a bit as well. So I'm going to recreate his 64 strat, including making the midboost circuit. I've nearly assembled all the parts, however I had to trash the cheap neck that was going to be used after I discovered that it had warped into an S shape and whoever made it cut the fret slots at ninety degrees to one side of the fingerboard...DOH. Luckily it was only 30 quid but still...a replacement, fully painted, is on the way. Also, the pickup seller sent a TB5 custom instead of the TB4 (trem spaced version of the SH4) but the replacement has arrived. And finally, the series parallel pickup switches that arrived were on-off-on when I ordered on-on. So waiting for the replacements to arrive from a different seller.

That works .

A bit late I know but .. just add more bass to your guitar tone and dismiss the need for bass completely! Works for some modern bands today

Anyone know any guitar teachers in the Bethnal Green area of east London and how much I should expect to pay for an hours lesson?

Haha, will do

It won't do the poor thing any favours, and won't fix any issues. If you really want to play Spanish from time to time, I'd suggest buying, locally second-hand, a modest nylon-strung guitar that plays properly, and not inflict any more suffering on this one. A quick glance at my local 'LeBonCoin' (I'm in France...) brings up a whole slew of such guitars, from 50€ upwards, that would be far better value. Just my tuppence-worth.

Update * New Origin Rig

Pretty much every UK luthier can make a tele. They are the simplest popular guitar to construct. Most of the sound comes from the pickups so body woods can be anything from pine to ash. Just choose one closest to you, pre-purchase the neck and pickups and get him to make a body to suit.

Good evening, @XinDi-WaRRior, and ... ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. We, on this Forum, have all, without exception, started from the same 'zero' baseline, so we know where you're coming from. We all learn differently, with differing objectives and time constraints, but it is 'easy' for no-one. There is no secret that the best way to get started is with a one-to-one guitar tutor, even if it's only for a few lessons, as this paves the way to setting realistic, obtainable objectives with the right techniques. One essential, for any beginner, is to obtain a large supply of Patience, and keep it topped up at all times. One learns in stages, and there will be moments when progress seems slow, or even regression. This is normal; there will also be 'light-bulb' moments when things become blindingly clear, and one realises that progress has, indeed, been made. I'll end with my usual 'words of encouragement' ... It's the first forty years that are the most difficult, after which things sometimes tend to get slightly easier.

I used to like gold tops, nowadays I prefer a natural finish to paint of any sort.

Here’s a few builds I’m working on at the moment……….

I drink tea, we've been drinking tea in the family since before I was born. There is a sort of ritual to making a pot of tea, with the goal, every time, to be able to drink what we call a 'magic cuppa'. How does one create this delight..? I don't know (I wish I did..!). Our tea is excellent, and litres of it are drunk daily, but only once in a while does a 'magic cuppa' appear. Is it the water..? The 'standing' time..? The temperature of the mug..? A combination of dozens of subtle factors..? It's wonderful when one comes along; all the more so for it being a surprise. Why do I relate this..? I rather think that, with music in general, and guitars in particular, there's similar 'magic' at work. Why is it suddenly 'there'..? Again, I wish I knew. I'm of the opinion that these maestros that play so well have, each in their own way, 'cracked' the code, and are able to (most of the time...) bring out this 'magic'. How to acquire this skill..? Maybe it's in one's DNA, maybe one has to sacrifice black goats on mountain tops at midnight, maybe ... If you enjoy trying, carry on with your researches and experiments, but it's not given to everyone to have all the abilities in all domains. Keep cracking on with what you succeed in, too; there's doubtless at least some 'magic' in your other guitars that needs to be brought forth. Your call.

i used one continuous oak board (easy cuts) to make this: lots of sanding, some stain, etc. I used the scraps to create supports for the bottom side (given the stomping): i used a 1 3/8" hole saw to cut an opening for wires. i then took that plug and split it in half to make posts, to wrap the excess wire: on the underside, i used wire ties, tacked into the wood, to secure the power lines: in the far corner above, you can see i velcroed the transformer onto the underside. then, velcro on the top, and on the pedals, and a $6 leather handle: then, rubber feet on the bottom, and wire it all together. PS this is not representative of my pedal setup, this is just for testing! i'll post the actual rig soon. it's made it through 6 gigs. hopefully more to come (we have about a dozen lined up!). what i'd change- it doesnt stand on it's side, probably because of how heavy pedals are. to put a stand plate on one side would mess with the aesthetic. what i'm thinking of adding- maybe a shoulder strap so i can make one trip from the car to the studio. i can send plans if anyone wants.

Here’s some new builds I’ve been working on recently…..

I too that there’s a lot of fuss over tight neck pockets. Yes they’re good for stability and alignment, but once set up, as you’ve done, I think it doesn’t effect tone, YMMV. I had a 1963 P Bass that had gaps around the neck heel you could drive a bus around (excuse the hyperbole) and it sounded magnificent.