ezbass

1 hour ago, Strumbarmy said:

Anyone used the Yamaha Pacifica range?

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.

3 hours ago, Rabb said:

Thanks for the replies folks, much appreciated.
I'll persevere a bit longer in the hope that my fingers become a bit more supple.
After an hour or so today I think there may be a little improvement however, an A chord is pushing my patience. Is it even possible to get three fingers that close????

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.

Sore fingers are a rite of passage on all stringed instruments. Don't overdo it and you'll have nice calluses soon enough.

3 hours ago, Strumbarmy said:

I am starting to think that I should have bought an electric guitar as I am starting to annoy "her indoors" with my acoustic practise!  I could wear headphones with an electric (which is what I had many years ago/1970's) and be almost silent.  Are the headphone setups expensive?  I know that small practise amps with inbuilt speakers, used to be available for peanuts in the 60's/ 70's, but have no knowledge of the modern stuff.  Any advice appreciated. Mike

2 hours ago, Frank Blank said:

Just sayin' *ahem*

 

 

Sorted! Quality guitar with a headphone output all ready to go and at a bargain price too.

A mean, green, Tele machine. Nice!

Perhaps put a multimeter on the pickup leads to make sure it isn’t open circuit? You should be able to read a resistance not dissimilar to the bridge pickup. I’d also resolder all the joints in case there’s a dry joint there. The switch could be faulty too.

Those 2 notes are plucked together at the same time, not strummed. So thumb and finger of your choosing, or with a held pick and middle or ring finger (hybrid picking).

2 hours ago, Strumbarmy said:

Yes, the tuning is correct (used an app and checked with my old tuning fork!).  I am playing for too long (if your session times are what I should be doing), oops!  I am probably being too ambitious!  I have been following some instructional videos on Youtube.  My first tutor was "Bert Weedon - Play in a day!" I shall take my time as you suggest and go a little bit more slowly!

Over doing it in any new pastime is a rite of passage. You’re excited and want to give it your best and with stringed instruments, this means discomfort. I remember using all sorts of things to try and toughen my fingers up quicker, but nothing beats playing and little and often, as @Dad3353 says above, the way forward. It’ll come, but not in days, in fact you’ll probably not notice the improvement until you go to do something that was impossible seemingly the day before and is now achievable (it wasn’t the day before, it was weeks previous). I had Bert’s Play in a Day, I think everyone did back then. My nephew, who is a formidable player and left me in his wake once I showed him the blues scale, once played in a backing band for Bert.

It's the perception that distorted is loud, at least this what I have suffered from in the past. Add to that, playing in your personal practise space, is very different to playing with a band in bigger rooms. What's probably happening is the fuzz is compressing your signal somewhat and possibly adding some harmonics that are matching what's going on with the other instruments. If your fuzz has any kind of EQ, try adding treble. Although it might sound like a wasp in a jam jar soloed, in the mix it might be just the job. Another route is to have a dry/wet mix so that you maintain some of you 'clean' tone.

3 hours ago, Dolando said:

Scratchplate template pretty much made. Any guesses on material? 
 

Looks like MDF  

OK, serious head on, aluminium?

Welcome to world of guitar with all its wonders and frustrations. Feel free to ask any questions you may have, we might have the answer collectively. And dive into existing threads, the way I see you have already; good for you..

Like it.

2 hours ago, Fishfacefour said:

Quick update after I had an hour to pop in to a guitar shop. 

I tried a few things but the one that clicked for me was a Reverend club king 290. Although it's a 25.5 inch scale it didn't feel a stretch. It balances as well as my jag. 

It's semi hollow but feels more chambered than other semis. 

The tones were amazing though. Really responsive to touch, and the bass cut and tone knobs give lots of scope for changing sounds. 

 

Anyway, I'll have my eye out for one of these. If I can flog something off I might even trat myself to a new one. 

 

Yep, like that!

First up, guitarist's nipple, not something that I've ever suffered from, but it made me smile.

Second...

25 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

 

Not quite the right question, I think..? Does it affect the sound..? Yes, to a lesser or greater extent. Does it adversely affect the sound..? Not necessarily. Any acoustic instrument sounds as it sounds. f that's the sound you're after, then that's fine. If, on a full-bodied acoustic with a pleasing sound one could get out the band-saw and cut a chuck off for access to the high notes, the sound would, in all probability, be severely impaired. If, however, the guitar was designed and built that way, taking into account the cutaway, the result would very likely please a least some of the customers for that guitar. The reply, then, is really : if it sounds fine as it is, it sounds fine. There are many acoustic guitars with this feature, many of them sound great.
It's also true that many guitarists wanting/needing this feature play through amps, or record with the built-in electronics. This, too, alters radically the result, as the sound is no longer merely a function of the acoustic properties, but a sum of all the elements used. In that respect, a cutaway has little bearing on the phonics in absolute terms; again, if it sounds fine in the end, it's fine. Whether one plays up the neck or not, it's worth giving all guitars a listen, to appreciate their qualities.
Hope this helps. 

Er... nothing to add here.

Small valve amps can be incredibly loud. I had a Bassman reissue, ‘just’ 40 watts, basically unusable without causing walls to be blown over! I made it into a gain + master volume, as opposed to just volume set up, with a mod from Vyse https://vyseamps.com/index.html , worked a treat. The other option is to use an attenuator.

12 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

OK, doesn't seem to be a problem, mine was switched off (as I never use or read status updates).

If you look in your profile (click on your name at the top right), then select the middle button 'Edit profile' - is your status update turned on?

Doh! How many times did I look at edit profile? Quite a few I can tell you. Thanks for that and, yes, I am getting new specs next week!

Sorry, can't help, I haven't used multi FX units since my old Digi RP1.

28 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

You are right, there doesn't seem to be a status update input. I am guessing as there are status updates, other people must have them, and its not something i would normally notice (I dont get the status thing), I will have a look into it later. Sorry for the delay, I don't come here often!

 

I’m not a big user on BC but I was going to use it here as an RIP for the late Jeff Beck. Having already done a number of lengthy posts about his demise elsewhere, I didn’t feel like doing it again here.

It's getting properly exciting now.