Dad3353

Certainly, but what great guitar work..!

For anyone starting out on guitar, I will always recommend this (very inexpensive...) method, which put me on an excellent track from an early age. Don't be fooled by the title; it's useful stuff in all genres of playing. Here's an Amazon link; other sources are surely available... Mickey Baker's Complete Course in Jazz Guitar. Book 1 ... I've worn out quite a few copies, and am still using it over half a century later, and still coming across new things in there. For such a low price, what's there to lose..? Give it a go...

I prefer to concentrate on chord tones, which make more sense to me when improvising. It's true that I don't often play over anything monochordal (funk riffs for twenty minutes spring to mind...), but rather pieces from the Real Book and the like. It depends, then, on what genre of music you're playing over, I think. If any one scale was to be worked on, I'd recommend the 12-tone chromatic scale, which can be slotted in almost anywhere..!

It's pretty basic, being a piezo pick-up under the bridge saddle, into a 2-band pre-amp (Volume, Bass, Treble...), powered by a standard 9v battery. Any decent luthier would be able to check it, and replace any parts that are no longer working properly. The only slightly fiddly part would be changing the piezo strip, but even that is straightforward for a luthier, and shouldn't be expensive. Not to be done by an inexperienced player, but quite within the realms for someone with decent electronic knowledge (our Eldest does this quite regularly...). Take it to a reputable luthier and he/she will fix it in no time at all. There's nothing magic about it, nor 'voodoo' collector that needs religiously preserving, and the guitar itself is well worth getting properly repaired. Hope this helps; good luck with it. It'a a very nice guitar. Douglas

Good evening, @CCL, and ... ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. Give us an idea of the style of music you're interested in and I'm sure tips, hints and recommendations will flow. My starter tip for pedals and settings is to set everything to the middle of its range and leave it there, until there's a need to change it. Less is more, and messing about with black art voodoo of the sort is less time spent practising, which is what really counts..! Hope this helps. Douglas

See my reply to the other question, then. Good luck with the project.

Is that a Marshall 50W valve amp, or a 50W solid-state amp..? The valve amp has the potential of blowing the cones off, if mis-used; the solid state should be OK if volume levels are reasonable. I'm assuming, of course, that these two speakers are in a suitable cab (sealed or open-back..?). Wattage is not a good unit of measure, though, for this type of question. The best unit is Listening (with one's ears...). If it starts to sound 'off', back off a bit. Don't expect too much, but back in the '60s, we played through just about any combination of mis-matched gear. Yes, we busted a few speaker cones, too.

Impedance is a rather nominal notion, and 'exact' figures are fairly meaningless, really. The actual impedance is only for a specific frequency and power input. There is no noticeable difference between 8 and 8.3; treat is as 8 and you'll be fine. Would it be suitable for guitar..? The answer, I'm afraid, is 'a lemon; suck it and see'. If it sounds OK, it's OK. Be aware, however, that typical PA stuff, 'back in the day', was not rated highly for power handling, as only vocals from a modest amp were expected. Don't connect a 100W Marshall amp turned up to 11, as it won't last long, I'd say. Vintage gear can be nice, if played in vintage manner. Watkins Westminster amps from that period are now collector pieces, but their 17 watts won't fill a stadium..! Go easy on your find and enjoy it for what it does, not what you think it should do.

Most chord shapes are movable, as long as you don't need to play all the strings. In fact, seldom does one have to play all the strings at once, I'd suggest. Other than that, I would agree that playing 'metal' is an off-shoot of playing the guitar, and needs at least some basic fundamentals in place, including some notions of music theory. No, it's no harder than any other genre (and a lot easier than many...), but the quickest way forward is to go slowly. If you've not the patience for that, be prepared for decades of frustration. There are no 'metal' players that have jumped straight in and 'rock', with no previous knowledge of how to play. Learn some basics, in whatever way you wish, then (and only then...) break through the 'metal' ceiling. Hope this helps.

I can see why it was cheap. It's a 'hybrid'; a classical guitar body with a folk guitar head-stock. I bought a similar guitar as my first, in the '60s. It was a pig of a guitar, Russian-made, with a neck bolt through the heel. Steel strings cut my beginner fingers to ribbons; it was like playing a cheese slicer. The big problem is that it is good for neither steel nor nylon strings, although steel would be better. The tuning mechanics are of a diameter suitable for steel, but not for nylon. Tuners for nylon are of a much wider diameter, as nylon strings need much longer around the barrel; the ones on this guitar won't be able to encompass such windings. Best advice..? String it with the lightest steel strings you can find, but look around for a better bargain as soon as finances allow, either an all-nylon if you want to learn classical guitar or flamenco, or an all-steel if you prefer folk songs, pop and/or rock. I learned jazz chords on my first guitar, but bought a Hofner President arch-top as soon as I could; my finger-tips thanked me for it. Hope this helps; subject to completion, correction and/or contradiction from others.

They do make TRS ('Tip, Ring, Sleeve...) versions (Stereo...) for just those cases. I can't see the advantage, myself, but they're not that expensive, either, so...

Understatement.

Isn't that what others call 'strumming'..?

If I may, could I add a corollary, to at least try a 'righty' instrument first. I'm 'righty'; my first guitars were. When a younger brother (a full-fat 'lefty' ...) picked mine up, he became, very quickly, very much better than I with it. No preconceptions (we knew no better back then, early '60s...); he just made it his own way of playing. We are all different; there is no rule. I'm a drummer, and started playing a 'righty' kit. After a coupe of years, I tried the experiment of turning it around to 'lefty' (hi-hat on my right etc...) and never looked back. All my kits are set up as 'lefty' since then; I made a career of playing that way round. There is no rule. I needn't go into notions of 'lefty' saxophones or pianos etc. Try it, try it all, and go with whatever fits you best, from all points of view. Just my tuppence-worth.

It's a Takeharu MR-302, made in Japan by the Suzuki people, in the Gitane Jazz style, similar to those of Maccaferri and Aria at the time (mid '70s...). Quite well reputed; I've seen them for sale at 300€, 800€ and 1200€, so a wide range of values. It should have a piezo pick-up under the bridge, with an o/p through the lower strap button/jack socket. Not a style that appeals to me, but some folk love 'em, so... Hope this helps.

You may be over-thinking this, I feel. It's not at all unusual for guitars (acoustic or electric...) to have different tunings, and they cope with these variations very well, regardless of their construction or string choice. It's even a 'standard' procedure, for some acoustic 12-strings, to tune down a tone and use a capo at the second fret, to reduce tension on the bridge, which sometimes have a tendency to 'belly', warping the table. That's an extreme example; tuning down a tone or so will have no effect on the guitar that an eventual tweak of the truss-rod can't cope with. Tune it as you think fit, and choose any strings that you're happy playing with, for feel, tone, longevity etc. Down-tuning is not an issue, whatever the guitar, in my opinion and experience. Hope this helps. Disclaimer : subject to completion, correction and/or contradiction from others.

You absolutely right, in general, but it would appear that there are one or two specific 'high-end' models that are quite prized (can't remember details; can't remember yesterday's breakfast, either, so...). No idea if this is one of those, but being active makes it a cut above the common-or-garden Marlin, I think.

Good afternoon, @IanNeedsHelp, and ... ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. S'not easy, nor very reliable, giving estimated value through a set of photos; doubly so when well away from 'local' markets. Here's a rough guide of what I would value these at; others may well have very different opinions... Paramount Les Paul copy (chambered, which is quite unusual...) : Looks to be in good condition, not a 'known' name, so not really collectable. I'm a particular fan of semi-acoustic guitars, so would pay a little more than the 100€ or so I think this is worth. A little more still if there's a fitted hard case (this will apply to them all, so...). Dark green Marlin guitar : Absolute opposite of 'my' style of instrument, and active, to judge from the LED's and battery cover. Missing its vibrato plate, and just a little 'scruffy-looking'. Assuming that it's all in good order, and the electronics work, an enthusiast could pay maybe 200€ or so, maybe more if it's a unique or rare model. I've seen one or two advertised at over 1000€, but no idea if they were really sold at that price. White Fender : I'm going to pass on this one; a Fender expert would have a far better estimation (assuming it to be genuine; there are many very good fakes out there...). I've never seen pickup covers like that, but the serial n° suggests a date of early '80s. It may be valuable, but would need proper inspection to know. The green acoustic is a budget guitar, and looks to be in good condition. I'd value that between 50-100€. The last one, the Grote archtop, is a Chinese-made 'jazz box', with a P90-style pickup. It looks clean; I'd pay around 100€ for a guitar like that. There, that's my tuppence-worth. Subject to correction, completion and/or contradiction from others. Hope this helps. Douglas

I rehearsed in a flat at Crystal Palace, back in the late '60s; it was impossible to not get radio from the amps (There's a whopping great transmitter there...) We tried tinfoil and stuff, but to no avail. We moved the rehearsals to Shepperton in the end.

Ah, no; that would be slightly different. (and it's Boss GT-1...). You can bypass the Peavey pre-amp altogether if you plug the guitar into the GT-1 i/p, and the GT-1 o/p into the Fx Return of the Peavey (and so nothing at all into the Peavey guitar i/p socket...) . I'm not sure why you'd be getting 'weird noises' from the usual set-up of guitar, GT-1, Peavey, but... If you say so... Try the method above; no harm can come of it, either to the guitar, the Boss or the Peavey. Hope this helps.

I'm not sure I've understood correctly. Is this the Boss GT1 guitar fx unit..? If so, you can plug the guitar into the amp, plug the Fx Send into the GT1 i/p, plug the GT1 o/p into Fx Return and you're good to go; no danger to the amp (What amp, by the way..?). Is that what you're wanting to do..?

Ask Thomann; someone there will measure one up and reply. I had dimensional questions concerning insides of guitar cases; they were only to pleased to get me the answers I needed. (Although vibratos are still the Work of the Devil ...).

No, I'm a moderator here, trying to see the sense of 'local' without any notion of location. Still, if it's a secret...

'Local'..? Local to where..? I'm in France, for instance; local to me..?