Dad3353

I deliberately neglected mention of the BlackStar range, precisely to avoid 'muddying the waters'.

Good evening... As you have already found, 100w is way too much for domestic use, so keeping the Champion amp somewhere where it will be useful is a splendid initiative. As for the conundrum : with what to replace it..? I'd suggest a fairly simple amp that should do the trick. Of the four you mention, I'd suggest the Fender Champion 40 as being the best compromise between small practise amp and boxy-sounding 'toy' amp. As we know from bass, speaker size is not the only factor in cabs, so an 8" can sound glorious, but it's probably not the case in the Fender 20w. If you liked the native sound of the Fender 100, the 40w version would probably please most, and your Fx will add any extra sounds you want. Your daughter will, in time, find her own way with Fx; meanwhile she will have a solid, quality native sound when using the Fender 40, without the fuss and bother (and distraction...) of Fx. Not that the others are not good amps, and there are many more that could be considered, but the Fender Champion 40 has the advantage of being already a known starting point, very close to the Fender 100 that you liked. That's my tuppence-worth; welcome to the forum. Douglas

Good morning, @tele-strat owner, and ... ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

What, if anything, is wrong with the instrument..? The nut of a guitar, be it plastic, bone or brass, does not change over time, played or unplayed, so, unless there's a specific symptom, there's no need to even consider changing, nor adjusting, it. I have many guitars and basses, and some get played rarely (including a Samick '335'...) and have never had cause to suspect the nut, of any of them (disclaimer : Our Eldest is a luthier, builds his own guitars, so we do know something about set-up issues...). A good thorough clean, a decent set of new strings, and a few weeks of playing, in many styles, will soon show up any major issues; what, if any, issues show up will determine what, if anything, could be done to improve things. Until then, it's just vain speculation.

Two come to mind. Firstly give us an idea of your budget, and secondly, play either seated or standing up; reclined is not ideal for guitar players.

Soooooo, not been Good this past year then, eh..?

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

I never use any of these stuffs on any of my guitars or basses; I haven't seen, in well over half a century, what benefit they bring. I do wipe my instruments over with a few drops of Dr Duck wax when I change strings (roughly annually, or longer...), just to remove any finger marks and lay the dust. Folk in other, harsher, climates may have different reasons and results, but our (French...) temperate climes don't affect my instruments in any way. Just my tuppence-worth.

Our cottage, in France, Lower Normandy, stays at around 14-15°C all year round, thanks to thick stone walls and no central heating. None of my guitars, basses or drums suffer in any way from changes over the course of a year.

A present for myself : a piezo_pre-amp kit to install into my acoustic (holes to be cut into the sides, and the capteur to be fitted under the bridge...). I'll then be able to record without recourse to a mic.

I've just looked up small multi-Fx on Thomann, and see the Valeton Dapper Mini 4 Effect Strip, which would fit your bill, I think, at £70 +£10 shipping. Any use..?

Best to forego the Gitanes; too; happy Christmas, and have fun with Mickey Baker.

A quick search of LeBonCoin (like Gumtree, for France...) shows up 28 Epiphone Les Pauls at 300€ or less, in our region (Pays de la Loire...). Three or four look to be splendid. Just sayin.

Far too much over-thinking here, I'd say. Any decent (for whatever definition of 'decent'...) pair of headphones would be fine. It won't, and will never, sound like a guitar playing in the room (and that will change, depending on the room...), so define your 'decent' and play away. For reference, my 'phones, used for every thing from listening to ISIHAC on R4, mixing whatever genre I'm working on (along with other monitoring methods...), playing guitar, bass, keys etc are Superlux HD669, 32€ from Thomann. Your 'decent' may be different, but not by much, I'd suggest. Hope this helps. Douglas

Do you want/need a vibrato bar or not..? Both are 'speed-freak' guitars, for shredding fast and furious. If that's your style, both are suitable. Just for strumming..? Hmm... These are very flashy choices for that. Excellent instruments both, but both would be wasted on me. So... A whammy bar : useful to you or not..?

... and can change from day to day.

Not at all; quite the opposite. The Illuminati know that that is where the 'mojo' lies. Marks like that are very sought after, and fetch a high premium. It looks like you've struck really lucky, there.

I agree, it's a natural figure in the wood. treat it as a 'signature'; if ever it's stolen, a dated photo of you holding it, proudly showing off this distinguishing feature, will help with its return. Move along now, please, you're blocking the pavement. There's no QC issue here. Move along ...

If you've had it since new, I would imagine that you're getting to be quite familiar with how it feels and plays, and anything else would feel strange. On the other hand, if you've only recently acquired it, some instruments have 'mojo' (a technical term...); that indefinable 'je ne sais quoi' that gives it sublimity in spades. There is, as yet, no agreed scientific explanation for this, and it's beyond the realms of possible for manufacturers or artisans to build 'mojo' into their production except by chance. If your guitar sounds and feels great, just play it and thank your lucky stars. Be warned: 'mojo' is not transmissible. If you pass the instrument on to someone else, they may well find it to be a 'dog'; we all have differing perceptions of what constitutes great sound and feel. Hope this helps. Douglas

Dense..? Not at all, or maybe I am, too..! It's a new-fangled 'thing', explained here on the Sustainiac site ... Light is shed on those little black switches, too, which are part of this 'Sustain' effect thingie. It seems to want to give the effect of everlasting feedback, as if howling from a cranked Marshall stack, one metre away, but without the volume. New to me; every daze a school day, eh..?

That's not a normal Telecaster, though, is it..? It has an active circuit, and those little black switches have some effect, Shirley..? What make is it, and did you buy it new, with its current features, or has it been 'upgraded' by someone..? What do those switches do..? Learn to solder if you want, but not on that guitar before becoming proficient and capable, t'would be a massacre and a waste. It may well already have coil switching and/or phase switching. Pray tell...

Just to say that there is no 'correct'. Regarding phase, many guitars offer a switchable phase in/out, so that the player may choose the sound that best fits the music. It's all good.

Neither better nor worst; they're complementary. I'd suggest using both; no kittens die as a result (but one's ears may start to tingle a little...). Hope this helps.