ezbass

My go to position on the first steps of guitar acquisition is always, you can't go wrong with Yamaha at any price point. They always seem to be of good quality and not just for the price point. Either electric or acoustic, it's normally just a matter of seeing what is available for your budget and deciding on aesthetics. As Soledad says above, this really is the golden age of 'budget' guitars. Gone are the days of the the unplayable, finger shredders, it seems that the manufacturers realise that there is no future in making bad instruments, because you won't buy their brand again. The best way forward, as ever, is decide your budget and get out, if possible, and try some. Even at the early stages of playing, you'll have an inkling as to what feels and sounds right, although this will keep on developing as you progress.

Tried a Jensen speaker in my Super Champ, with the same outcome.

We need to hear it too!

Quality work, Sir. Well done

Thoughts on your set up? Seems fine, not too loud and a versatile guitar, should bang on for home use. Strings are a personal thing, it’s all a matter of what feels right for you. However. FWIW, I’ve long been a fan of D’Addario XL 10-46.

DiMarzio Area T Hot. Very much a P90 in a Tele, bridge pickup housing. Humbucking too.

Just crying out for an inappropriate double entendre.

Locking tuners are only part of the system, the saddles, nut slots and trem spring consistency are potential areas of instability. I had Sperzels on Gretsch, they were fine, the Bigsby at the other end was where the problems lay, however. But I love Bigsbys, so I came up with ways to ensure a reasonably reliant return to pitch: lubricated nut slots; roller saddles and a little up pull on the bar when things slipped. On classic trem designs, I tended to use 4 springs and have it flat loaded for downwards movement only, but not always.

Yes, move it behind you and raise it on a crate, or something similar, before getting an angled stand.

What kind of amp is it and how powerful is it? Raising the amp will help and you can get stands that also put it at an angle, which helps even more. Can the guitar be heard out in the audience area is the important thing. If it can’t, than miking it up and putting it through the PA is the way to go as you can then choose to also have it in the monitors, or in a set of in-ears.

My Tele is (or should I say was, I've made numerous changes) a Classic Vibe. Even before messing about with it, it was a great Tele and not just for the money, just great. The neck was the winner for me and still remains unchanged. A 2nd hand MiM is a solid choice, given the resale values as pointed out above, sell the Ebow on and spend that on things you need.

I have various, including a Prime Tone and am always happy to try something new. However, I always seem to come back to Dunlop Jazz 3s.

Very Bruce Springsteen; nice.

I don’t know the model number I’m afraid. If you could post a photo, I’m sure some of the folk here will be able to add something.

I’m assuming that you mean your right hand (for a right handed player). The simple answer, as Dad says above, is practise, pace (start slow) and patience. When I took lessons as a young boy, when dinosaurs walked the Earth, I was taught arpeggios and pattern picking and I still have those under my fingers 50 years later. However, anything that doesn’t fall under those ingrained patterns has to be practised over and over to get right (yes, you, Jimmy ‘bloody’ Page! I’m looking at you and your weird, ever changing patterns in Bron Y Aur). My point is, the actual mechanics don’t really become much easier, you just know that these things take time, better than you did when first starting out.

Mic your cab up and use the PA for support. DG will definitely be doing this. Small amps have thankfully become the way to go, rather than massive 100w beasts with numerous 4x12s (always ridiculous down at The Dog & Duck) but the trade off is less power onstage. PA support is the easiest solution and will only cost you the price of an appropriate mic and lead, rather than more/bigger cabinets, which might not cure the problem, as you can only do so much with the power being supplied to them and then there’s the logistical problem that goes with more, big boxes. Oh yeah, .

An interesting point, it certainly wouldn’t hurt.

Sounds like a quite crunchy distortion/overdrive with lots of treble and reverb. Not sure I hear a 12 stringer in there though but, then again, my hearing isn't all that bright.

Nice, something a little different from the norm.

Yep, a 112, it punched way above its price point. It was B stock, so was even more of a bargain. Really good chassis for upgrades if you like to tinker.

That takes me back! Yes, you can get them in there, but it takes time to get it smooth.

With that budget, I’d go used.

There are various nut widths available, the widest tend to be classical guitars, but you should be able to find something that suits; measure the width of your Hohner and go from there. It’s hard to wrong with anything from the Yamaha stable, IMO, they don’t make a bad guitar at any price point.