Dad3353

Well, it looks like an easy and quick enough job for a decent tech; the fiddliest part is taking all the knobs off and freeing the board from the front panel. I know what I'd do, but I've been a technicien for many decades, which helps. Do you have any savvy buddies that know how to do electronic DIY..? Your call (and the 'Blackstar' amps are very nice; I've recent acquired a nearly-new ID:Core 10 (£99 + £10 shipping from Thomann or Amazon.co.uk...) which suits me well as a 'go-to' practice amp ...). A shame, for such a piddling little fault, though.

Any chance of seeing the solder side..? It wouldn't hurt to send an email to Thomann, asking if they could supply one as a spare part.

It's probably not simply glued; it will have solder tags that go through the board to be soldered the other side. For any decent tech, it's an easy fix, and all the easier if it's already out of the cab, so it may be worth popping into your local secret underground electronics lab and asking nicely if someone could operate on the poor thing. At worst, the 'switched' part of the socket could be shorted out, so that the speaker is always 'on', and another, in-line switch fitted to the speaker wires (one similar to those fitted to bedside lamps or similar...), so that it may be muted when using cans. Just a thought. Douglas

In many amps of the sort, plugging in the headphones cuts the speaker, so that one may listen without disturbing others. Normally, when the headphone jack is removed, the speaker circuit is re-established. I would suggest that this is possibly the issue you're facing, and that a simple replacement of the headphone jack socket would fix it. Does this help..?

Have a look here, maybe..? A common 'standard' wiring joins the middle two solder tabs, and uses the two outer tabs as 'hot' and 'ground', giving a twin-coil 'humbucker' effect. Hope this helps. Douglas

Thomann..?

Good Stuff again, Shawn; quite some wisdom in there. You''re right, we all learn and progress in different ways, which even for one person, changes over time. It's all good, and Patience is indeed a real boon, most especially when one hits a 'doldrums' period, thinking that progress has stopped (or even regressed..!). Not always easy to combat, but 'little and often' is one way of ensuring that, even when motivation is low, a few minutes can be found to do a little 'something', preferably something easy. What, exactly, matters little; the important thing is to do 'something'. You are steaming along at a steady pace, following your exercises and routines, which are all to the good, so keep it up. I don't know if you've any interest in other aspects, but I believe that there is much to be gained from looking at some of the notions behind the stuff you're playing. Just simple things such as 'What are chords..?' and 'Why do some chords seem to 'go together..?', and more, make a lot of guitar stuff 'make sense'. Any thoughts..? Douglas

I never left..!

@ShawnE : Congratulations on such speedy progress. You've gone from Dreadful to Bad in only a few weeks, and your progress is accelerating..! Looking forward to the next couple of weeks when you get to be simply Quite Bad, from whence it's only a short time to Not Bad,then Not Bad At All, and Hmm... Good..! Keep going, you're on the right track; your patience and diligence are definitely paying off handsomely. Good Stuf (and thanks for sharing your journey...). Douglas

These don't sound, to me, the most appropriate for a Strat, at least for obtaining the more typical Strat tones. A set of ordinary light 10-46 would be my starting point (I'm not particularly fussy about make, or even gauge, normally; this is just the String 101 suggestion...). Those flat-wounds would certainly produce 'better' jazz vamping tones, and would sit well on many of my arch-tops; a Strat would be good with them on, but not for 'typical' Strat tones, is all. Put a set of Ernie Ball Light on, to try..? These will require a quite different 'touch', compared to flat-wounds, so right-hand technique should be adapted as a consequence. Any help..? (Disclaimer : apart from being a drummer, my guitar playing is very limited, and much more suited to fake 'jazz' stuff. Liquid runs à la Steve Vai are far from my repertoire. On the other hand, Our Eldest plays well, but not on Strats specifically...)

Have you no buddies with a Strat that they get to sound well..? A joint session (no, not that kind of joint, dummy..!) might show up a trick or two. He/she plays something sounding good, passes the guitar to you to see what you can make of it. Any good..? With so many variables (light strings and a vibrato, for instance, ring warning bells...), I'd suggest that one-on-one might be instructive.

I drink tea, we've been drinking tea in the family since before I was born. There is a sort of ritual to making a pot of tea, with the goal, every time, to be able to drink what we call a 'magic cuppa'. How does one create this delight..? I don't know (I wish I did..!). Our tea is excellent, and litres of it are drunk daily, but only once in a while does a 'magic cuppa' appear. Is it the water..? The 'standing' time..? The temperature of the mug..? A combination of dozens of subtle factors..? It's wonderful when one comes along; all the more so for it being a surprise. Why do I relate this..? I rather think that, with music in general, and guitars in particular, there's similar 'magic' at work. Why is it suddenly 'there'..? Again, I wish I knew. I'm of the opinion that these maestros that play so well have, each in their own way, 'cracked' the code, and are able to (most of the time...) bring out this 'magic'. How to acquire this skill..? Maybe it's in one's DNA, maybe one has to sacrifice black goats on mountain tops at midnight, maybe ... If you enjoy trying, carry on with your researches and experiments, but it's not given to everyone to have all the abilities in all domains. Keep cracking on with what you succeed in, too; there's doubtless at least some 'magic' in your other guitars that needs to be brought forth. Your call.

Fixed.

It's not really that fast-moving for now (this could change, of course...), so there's only really two pages to consult to see all the ads for the whole year past. Everything posted in the last month or so is in the first few lines. If business picks up, it could be reconsidered, though. Thanks for the suggestion.

Well, it's not a 'Framus' 'F' (it's reversed, which they never did...); it's more like a hand-scribed copy of the 'Fender' reversed 'F'. A one-piece neck, with no truss rod, so very old, and inexpensive when new. I can find nothing for the two distinctive 'clue' features, i.e: the tuner bushings nor the tailpiece. This last seems to be a five-string tailpiece..? For a banjo..? Maybe the photo is fooling me. No other clues as to manufacture, and it's only worth restoring from a nostalgia perspective (that's to say: not much money to be spent on it...). It's a project, and good for learning how to restore, but the result would be, I'd suggest, rather modest, musically. On the other hand, it's always a shame to put an instrument on the fire. A bare minimum then, to get it playable, but there's no monetary value in there, I suspect, and nothing that needs preserving as 'original'. Hope this helps; let us know what is decided..? Meanwhile... Have a splendid day. Douglas

An excellent video, well filmed, and well paced. Instructive, with some very useful tips of what (and what not..!) to do; very pertinent. Good Stuff; well done.

Up or down..?

@ShawnE : Betterer and betterer..! It might seem like slow progress to you, but objectively you're doing very well indeed. No need to burden you with more wisdoms and advice; you're right in deciding to allow the current dose to sink in over the next week or so. One thing, though, that you might like to try (if you're not doing it already...) : just spend a few minutes a day, outside of the allotted 'practice' time, to pick up the guitar and 'noodle' a little. Play around just picking out any little ditty that comes to mind, or finger the 'D' chord shape and move it up the neck, playing just the top three strings. The 'Am' chord works, too, moved up and playing the top four strings. It's not a strict 'learning' thing; just a fun way of hearing new sounds, exploring the instrument and relaxing some of the strict rigour of the exercises. Messing about is fun, too..! Just a thought; meanwhile... Have a wonderful day. Douglas

Have a look here, maybe..? Guitar Ear Training ... I always recommend singing the note that you're playing when playing scales or melodies etc, and singing the arpeggio notes of chords. It doesn't have to be operatic singing standard, but should be the right pitch. It's not always easy at first, but soon becomes second nature. Try it..?

And there goes your tap-tuning..! ... No, seriously... Splendid work, Sir; respect.

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

Definitely getting there; well done..! I see the thumb in its right place, and the strumming is quite a bit more relaxed, especially towards the end of the session. So much more to learn; all the 'great' masters say this, even after reaching virtuoso status, so you're in good company from that point of view. No specific advice, even less critique, this week; you'll be assimilating your achievements for the next few days, and it must be becoming apparent that it is, indeed, all coming together..! Oh, yes; one word of advice (if you're not already doing it...) : Go back over the totality of your lessons, from Day One, and do 'em all again, just as you did those first days. This will, firstly, encourage you to recognise your progress, and also 'fix' much of the notions gleaned back then. I think you'll be pleased with the result. Good Stuff. Douglas

The thumb on the back of the neck will help a lot with everything, I'm sure.

@ShawnE : OK, good. You're making very good progress, and you'll find, as we all do, that progress can be appreciated in steps, or plateaux. You'll think that nothing's happening, until suddenly it happens, and you realise that you've progressed. This is where the Patience part kicks in; one has to continue to do the mundane, daily routines, assiduously, in the certain knowledge that it all pays off, and handsomely, and faster than one thinks..! One little test to do every now and again (three months or so..?) is to turn the guitar round, and try to play the exercises left-handed (or right-handed, for lefties...). That's the level of control you had at the very beginning. Now turn it back to your normal playing fashion and appreciate the difference..! One more little thing (well, not so little, really...), concerning the right hand, or rather, the right arm. Swinging the arm up and down, strumming with a piston movement, is a technique that's useful for some styles of playing, but it's not really conducive to good right-hand technique. Can you try relaxing the right arm completely, and using a wrist movement instead..? A relaxed hand and wrist, too; just enough effort to have the pick brush the strings. Adjusting the force of this brushing is what gives life to the strumming, with only very slight effort, so it's not tiring. Light, measured strokes, with a relaxed arm, will bring much benefit. The swinging piston can come later, if context calls for it; a more delicate approach allows the music to come through for most playing, though. Worth trying..? In any case, keep it up; you're doing very well, and the videos are very useful, for us to see what you're doing, and certainly for others treading the same path. Good Stuff.