Dad3353

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

Gretsch had (have..?) a press-studded pad on the back, to avoid 'buckle rash'. The Gibson 333 has a panel on the back for pot access. It's black plastic; maybe Bakelite would give a better tone..?

But that would only encourage folks to fiddle about inside 'em, instead of playing 'em, no..?

This depends, up to a point, on your goals. In general, it's no bad thing to become 'flexible', and the body and brain quickly understand what's going on, and make the necessary adjustments. This is helpful further on down the line, when playing other guitars. If, on the other hand, the idea is to become virtuoso in as short a time as possible, then concentrating on one instrument will work slightly better. It becomes a case of 'painting oneself into a corner', but if the goal is to be in that corner, then why not..? Learning guitar (and other instruments...) is a medium/long-term affair. Be patient; things will happen far more quickly if you go slowly. Play one, or the other, or both; the essential thing is to play. I've several guitars and basses (disclaimer: I'm a drummer...), and go from one to the other with no qualms. OK, I'm rubbish on all of 'em, but that's down to me being rubbish, that's all.

If it's 'as new', that's about the right second-hand price (new, they're twice that...). If you've tried it and it feels comfortable to you, it's a good starter guitar. Especially attractive if it's a trusted seller (someone you know, or a reputable shop...). As a guitar, they're fine. Hope this helps.

There's many a slip 'twixt cup and lip..! ...

Just my kind of guitar, with piezos as a bonus.

Nice, clean-looking guitar. If it's '60s, it's late '60s, as the Ovations were only just coming out then. Let us know how it plays, once it's been set up to your satisfaction..? Looks like a Good Find.

The only answer I can give is a shed-load of questions, so... Where are you located..? Do you want/need an electro-acoustic, or pure acoustic..? What are the key 'issues' with your present instrument that you feel need improvement..? Will you be travelling with it (friends, studio,, or open-mic sessions..?), or just for home use..? Come on, you must have some idea of the money you could throw at this..! A price bracket, maybe..? Any particular 'funny' stuff, such as only sunburst, or no inlays, or whatever..? I'll assume no 'lefty' guitars would suit..? Must it be new..? There's more, but that'll get the ball rolling. Over to you...

The obvious advice which immediately comes to mind is to contact a local, competent guitar tutor, of course. This will, after discussing the path you wish to tread, should result in a series of exercises and recommendations to take you to that chosen destination. It need not be expensive, nor too long-term, but is, in my view, the most effective way of advancing, provided there's good contact between the two of you. No idea of your whereabouts, so unable to recommend much more (although tuition through Skype or similar is also an option, if you're on some island rock in the Channel...). Worth considering..?

This ^^ is a Good Call, I'd say. If this is not to be a 'surprise' gift, have him go along and choose for himself. If it is, on the other hand, to be a surprise, see about making a 'virtual' guitar from card or similar for the 'surprise' presentation, and arrange with GuitarGuitar to issue a Guitar Card, allowing the purchase of one ('1'...) guitar from their outlet. He doesn't need to see how much it's costing, if that's to be keep hidden. It would be far better, for all concerned, to have him able to directly benefit from the guidance of a good retailer, by going along and trying them out with their help; the 'nitty gtitty' of the financials you'll be able to negotiate after he's made his choice. As long as they know not to present him a heap of models at over a 'grand', naturally..! Good luck to all concerned; it sounds as if a splendid occasion is being fittingly feted.

Where are you located..? Does he already play..? What style of music is he likely to want to play..? You'll probably want to think of a case, or at least a soft bag for the instrument. £500 is a very respectable budget for an acoustic; there's a very wide choice. When is the anticipated handover due..? Next week..? Next month..? Over to you, Martin ...

Amazon have a wide range, the dimensions are usually mentioned, but not always easy to find. Here's one that may well fit; the size is shown in one of the (German...) comments... Guitar Soundhole Cover ... Hope this helps.

PM sent...

Good Stuff, Midge, and those tunes are splendid for getting started. Can I PM you a Pdf copy of an excellent, albeit very, very old, guitar method..? It may help (it helped thousands of others, some of whom became world-famous..!).

Good afternoon, Midge... No, it's too early to be renouncing; the road is long, certainly, but paved with so many wonderful moments and joys, separated by short spells of amusing and interesting sessions. We'll re-consider your abandon in another forty years or so, but in the meantime, have a look at this set of videos ... Guitar Chords 101 ... Quite thorough, and clear, the sessions go through the real stuff for getting satisfaction, but at the same time laying foundations for later progress. Try the first couple, then come back here and tell us how you got on. There are plenty enough folks here to guide your first steps, so don't be afraid to ask even the dumbest of questions. We've all been there... It will help if we could know, firstly, what type of guitar you have. Nylon-strung 'classical'..? Steel-strung folk..? Electric..? Other..? Equally, what style of music would you like to play, once up to speed..? Flamenco..? Folk..? Heavy metal..? Jazz..? Other..? The answers to all of the above will help us help you, so help yourself, and stick with it; it's worth it. Over to you...

Depends in the strings, really. Usually, the 'B' is a bit out of alignment, but they could all be staggered to some degree. If it plays right, it is right. Another set of strings may be a bit different.

Without wishing to be flippant, it's a Fender Jagstang, so... It's not unusual for production-line guitars to be slightly different, one from another. In all likelihood, when this one was assembled, the bridge was placed slightly to the left (looking down the neck from the heel...) by about 1mm or so. I doubt that it has any discernable effect on either playability or tone, but there is a cure. The question then would be: is it worth bothering about..? To fix it, the bridge has to come off, the current screw holes plugged and the bridge re-placed, correctly aligned. It's not sorcery, but would be best confided to a decent luthier rather than a kitchen table. What would that cost..? Dunno, but closer to £100 than to £10, I would guess. Personally, I'd just live with it; t'wouldn't bother me at all (it it plays well, naturally...). Hope this helps; subject to completion, correction and/or contradiction from others.

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

S'not really a powersoak such as those used for valve amps (hence the inverted commas...); it's just that it can be 'tamed' to not belt out 100w or whatever all the time, yet still sound... Well, whatever it sounds like. Useful, maybe, for finding a 'sound' at home, and replicating it in rehearsal without too much faff. In my day (yes, all those years ago...), our 'system' was to have the amp at full blast, but to lay the cab face down on carpet, and record that. With the Hiwatt amps we were using, it wasn't safe for one's bone structure to stay in the same room, otherwise.

+1 ^^. As for wattage, the Peavey has a built-in 'power soak', to be able to have the same sound from 1w as from 100w. (I'd still go for the Fender, myself..! )

Just a correction: the Peavey Vypyr is also a modelling amp. Just sayin'.

Lucky the question wasn't 'Which would you buy..?', as only the Fender would stand a chance with me, but, then again, I'm old. For the genre you want to get stuck into, I'd say that the Marshall needs trying out. Just be aware that, for programming it (for channel switches, tone changes'n'all...) the extra pedal is extra. Might be worth bargaining for in a shop, though. You'd save half the money buying second-hand, of course.

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