Dad3353

Rather more towards the budget end, here's my 'Tele' guitars; Xaviere XV-610... ... and (a bit more 'Strat-like', maybe...) Xaviere XV-650 ... I bought the yellow one, one a whim, from the US, at a very low price, and was delighted with it. Our singer also liked it, and asked me to get him one just like it. I searched, and found the black sparkle one, also very inexpensive (even with the shipping to France...). This has a slightly higher spec, but he preferred the yellow one, and I've kept the black sparkle one. It's my 'go-to' six-string electric (I have others...), and is always in tune (Elixir strings...) whenever I pick it up. A delight to play. An almost unknown brand, here in Europe at least, but it's as good as I need guitar to be (I'm a drummer, so ...).

If this is for home use, I'd separate the functions and use an AI for just that. For foot pedal control, I'd suggest using MIDI, with a Behringer FCB1010 board. It's capable of switching virtual pedals on and off. It needs a Roland adapter to take the MIDI into a PC USB port, unless the AI has MIDI sockets too (my Tascam AI has 'em; some do, some don't...). The quality is well up to home studio work, but there's a learning curve implied in setting up all the parameters (has to be done on any rig, really...). Start off with just an AL, and get some experience with what the DAW, amp modelling and Fx can do. Add a controller afterwards, once you know what it is that you can't do without one.

I'd suggest starting off with the more affordable stuff, then building on that as and when specific needs arise. Going 'all out' hi-tech from the start might paint you into a corner, technically speaking. One can do an awful lot with the simpler stuff.

Good afternoon, Papa Don, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

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

Back then, battery operation was not a simple affair, and the pre-amps less efficient than nowadays. Now that the technology has evolved, and the cost with it, there's little reason to not take advantage of their positive side. Of course, if those are not needed, passives are fine, too.

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.

[Mods' Hat On] Any issues with posts should be Reported for The Mods to deal with. [/Mod's Hat On]

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.