Dad3353

One great advantage of most active pick-ups (guitar, bass...) is the low impedance output. Less useful at home, but enables long leads on stage without much signal loss and noise generation.

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The Yardbirds, 'Roger The Engineer' Astrud Gilberto, 'The Astrud Gilberto Album' Jefferson Airplane, 'Surrealistic Pillow' Heady Days.

Have you considered acquisition of a baritone guitar for tunings as low as that..? Ideal, I'd say. New prices start at around £250 or so, second-hand probably available, too, I should think. I've a baritone electric; it plays very well. Just sayin'; hope this helps.

Bass..? Pretty much 'clean', with oodles of headroom. Guitar..? Sparingly (I'm not very good, so...). 'Stock' sound would be Boss compressor, into Boss Fender Deluxe for a spot of reverb, into Akai Headrush. I've recently bought a 'wah' pedal, but not dared to plug it in yet. Soon, maybe...

Don't build up your hopes too high for this aspect; the video is shot with no vision of their feet, so... Other than this somewhat disappointing standpoint, it's a Good Interview, well worth a listen. Nearly an hour, but can be played whilst surfing elsewhere on the Forum at the same time.

A bass rig, yes, but I use it principally for guitar..! I have used it for bass in the past, but with our Hiwatt and its associated HH cab, the Bassman amp is surpassed. Luckily enough, it shines as a guitar rig, so I'm happy..!

Not much of a guitar player (I'm a drummer...), but I'll confess to being more than partial to a nice, vintage, Hiwatt amp. I had a Custom 50 for quite a while; it got left behind when I moved to France, mid '70s. Our min bass amp is a Hiwatt DR205, a 200w PA head, with KT88 valves. These were useful at one time for demolishing WWII bunkers along the Normandy coastline..! Nowadays I get by with a Roland JC60, or directly into the PC through my pedalboard when I'm recording stuff. S'not often, these days, though. I've a Bassman 50w, too, but it's been in retirement for some tie now. I must fetch it out again soon...

Good morning, Thomas, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. This is not, however, a 'live chat' forum, so, in that sense, yes, it's not the right place. Still, stick around (or pop in when you want...); you may be pleasantly surprised.

I see no Segovia listed.

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

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

Not to say that you're completely wrong; the pick-ups are, indeed, an important element, but I still maintain that a guitarist can radically change the tone by playing differently, and that these changes produce much more effect than would changing a pick-up for another. Using Fralin, or Di Marzio, or Seymour Duncan, will all give a different sound, but rolling the tone off, or picking over the bridge or neck, will give a vastly wider palette of tones. There are subtleties between different models, I don't deny, but I'm of the Old School of 'it's all in the fingers', really.

The time to clean these would be whilst the strings are removed, of course. I wouldn't use a cotton bud, but rather a toothbrush (no, an old one, you fool, not the one you use every day..! Do try to keep up..! ). Mask away if you want, but a brisk brushing should remove most of the dust and surface dulling. A tiny spot of chrome cleaner, Brasso or similar might help, or even... Toothpaste..! Yes, it's a light abrasive, and won't damage anything. The headstock may smell of mint afterwards, but is that a bad thing..? A rub over with a lint-free cloth at the end and you're done..! Hope this helps.

There was a time (oh so long ago...) I, too, was 'new to all this'; some folks answered my questions, too. What goes around, comes around. S'all good.

Yes, it's the pick-ups (active or passive...), the choice of strings, the volume and tone control settings, the pick used, and, most important of all by far, the dexterity of the Player. Playing closer to the bridge or neck, harder or softer strokes, choosing to pick out harmonic 'nodes' on the strings, right- and left-hand damping, the use of one's ears (sadly, often neglected, in my view...)... These are what determine most of what goes into the amp, and a pedal-board has quite some impact, too. As a rule, though, the music comes from the Player, not the guitar.

See replies elsewhere...

'Know' would be a bit foolhardy; nay: pretentious. Opinions, that's what you'll get. No-one 'knows' stuff like that. Opinions..? Here's mine... The 'neck' of a guitar is the long arm stretching out from the body of the instrument, in order to have enough distance from the body to hang the strings. Sometimes just one piece, running from the headstock tip to the bottom of the body, but more commonly a separate piece, either glued to the body or bolted on. The 'fingerboard' (also called 'fretboard'...) is a long, thin piece of wood laid along the neck, into which the frets are fixed. Different essences of wood can be used, with ebony, maple and various rosewoods being typical, although there are many others. Impact on tone..? Hold on tight, because this is where the can of worms flies open. I'm of the persuasion that, for solid-body electric guitars, if there's a difference, it's so minor compared to so many other factors that it comes down to personal preferences, aesthetics, budget and credibility. There are woods that are pretty much excluded from luthery, such as light-weight balsa for model airplanes, but most woods have been used over the decades, giving fine instruments, with, for my money, no overall Winner nor tendance. I'd privilege the construction techniques and build quality over wood essence every time. Others will have different views and experience, I'm certain. 'HSS' indicates a 'H'umbucker pick-up in the bridge position, the middle and neck PU being 'S'ingle-coil, where 'SSS' indicates all PUs being Single coil. The sonic difference would be mostly apparent whe using the bridge PU alone, where, by its construction, the output would be stronger than the Single-coil. Is that 'better'..? It depends on what one wants from the guitar. The 'H' will not give the funky 'chuka-chuka' clarity of a bridge Single-coil, but the 'S' PU will lack the 'Oomph' of the 'H' PU. One takes one's choice. Finish..? Again, for solid-body guitars, just about negligible, I'd say. Wear and weathering would be affected, and choice of colours and/or decor, but that's about it. I doubt anyone could detect, audibly, a poly finish from a nitro finish from an oiled-wood natural finish. Hope this helps. Disclaimer: subject to completion, correction and/or contradiction from others.

It's a Bently. Bently was introduced by SLM (St. Louis Music...). The guitar line was made as a cheaper guitar line than Alvarez. Bently guitars were made from 1983 to 1998 and were replaced by the Austin guitar line. Bently guitars started off as acoustics, then later on started making electrics, then changed the name of the electrics to Series10 and left the acoustics as Bently. Bently was first 'Made in Japan' and later they were imported from Indonesia, it seems. Hope this helps.

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

Heard of 'em..? No. Heard One..? No. It is, however, a very reasonable 'starter' guitar. I've no idea of your age, nor location; the 'standard' advice is to seek out a reputable guitar tutor in your vicinity and take a few lessons, to get off to a good start. He (or she...) will be able to get you up to speed on tuning, guitar maintenance, suitable exercises and much more. Hope this helps.

Nice recycling there, and a useful (I'd even say mandatory...) addition to any tool set. I think I'd have put a lower cross-piece, front and back, just above the level of the chisel's sharp tip, as I'd be wary of them tipping out (pivoting...), especially if carrying the stand. It's happened to me before with a similar stand I made for screwdrivers; chisels would be more dodgy still, clumsy as I am. Just sayin'.

Maybe you forgot to order, along with your guitar, the necessary accessory that helps a lot (and I mean 'a lot'..!). Have a look on line and try to find a supplier of Patience. Don't bother with the trial pack; go for the Budget Bucket straight away; you'll be needing it for the next few decades, whatever your activities, and even more so as time wears on. Patience, that's the Key. Oh, and whilst I'm here, allow me to pass on this little word of encouragement; it applies to so many things, but is perfectly adapted to your current issues... 'It's the first forty years that are the worst, after which things sometimes tend to get (slightly...) better.' There, that should set you up for the week..! Good luck with it all; we've all been there..!

That's two questions... Basically, the index is laid across flat to the fingerboard. If I've interpreted the second question correctly, the index is laid completely over; it should find its position pretty naturally if your thumb is centred on the back of the neck. You'll need all the phalanges to be holding down the strings, lightly but firmly. Don't bother about other fingers until this comes naturally, and produces clean tones, every time you do it, at whatever fret (Disclaimer: it might not be so easy up around the 10th fret; no need to insist there, as it's seldom useful, especially on acoustic guitars...). Any help..?

The ease or otherwise in learning this depends to some extent on the guitar used. Can we assume that you're playing these on the guitar in your avatar, ie: an acoustic folk guitar..? Here's my 'tip'... Start off by laying the index finger across the whole fretboard, at the fifth fret. Gently strum the strings, slowly, to be sure that all are sounding cleanly. Adjust the index until this is so. No need for enormous pressure, just a gentle grip with the thumb firmly in the middle of the back of the neck. Repeat this by releasing the neck, move up a couple of frets and do it again. Take your time, and release-barre progressively, with just the index, at all the fret positions; randomly chosen is fine. The important bit is to lay the index on, then sound the strings, and keep doing this until every note is clear, every time. It won't take long, trust me. Once that's done (but not until...), go back to the fifth fret, lay the index on (check that it all rings out clearly...), then fret the fifth string 'E' (7th fret...) with the ring finger. Again, check that all notes ring cleanly, repeat at other positions, slowly, until all notes sound correctly. Now, back to the fifth fret, barre with the index finger, then ring finger to 'E'; now fret the fourth string 'A' (7th fret...) with the pinky. Check for clear sound; change fret, rinse and repeat. You're now playing a barred minor chord (Am, at the 5th fret...). Nearly there, now..! Back to the fifth fret, barre with index, add ring and pinky to play this Am, then add the middle finger to the third string 'C#', 6th fret and check for clear sound on all strings. That's a barred A Major; well done. Release all, and move around the neck, slowly, doing the same exercise. If it starts to not ring out so well, go back a step or, even better, start again from scratch, with just the index, and do it all again, slowly. Don't do this for long periods, just a few minutes, no more, then rest your hand, either by playing something else or doing the washing-up or similar. It won't take more than a couple of sessions to get the hang of it anyway, but it's no good forcing the issue and tiring the hands; that will only slow down the process. Have a go, anyway, and report back here with progress. Worth a try..?