leftybassman392

I don't like it. Note to @Skinnyman : see how easy that was?

Best of luck Skinz. Fortunately it's a problem I don't have, because unless they've changed their policy since I last looked, PRS don't make lefties. Seriously, get a grip man. Think of the children; and the third world; and, umm, the polar ice cap. Then give yourself a sound thrashing with a wet fish. Better make it two just to be sure... Might work, might not. Frankly, who cares: it'll make great viewing. p.s. Hope this helps.

Excellent advice from Douglas as always. Having the keys player effectively setting the tempo because of the way his Macbook works makes no sense whatsoever. If there's a drummer in the band (which there almost always is) everybody works to the tempo (s)he sets. It's just the way it is, and seeking to rewrite the rules is asking for trouble. If the drummer needs a click to maintain tempo then so be it, but it's the drummer that needs it. If the app on the Macbook won't let you do that, get an app that will. If the keys player has any clue about working in a band with a drummer, he should know this. ETA: I'm aware that this analysis might sound a little harsh, but there is a simple solution in this situation. Trying to reinvent the wheel is really not the way to go. As always though, just my opinion.

Yes indeed, but it's never really bothered me in 30-odd years of ownership, and being the lazy tart that I am I decided to let it slide some time ago. My '84 335 is a different matter though: everything works back to front, which at times has been slightly annoying, but being the lazy, etc....

...which is exactly what happens on my 1990 Am. Std. It basically becomes an on/off switch.

+1 for Elixir strings. I've used them on my acoustics for years. They are more expensive (or at least they were last time I looked), but they sound good and last longer. Strings deteriorate with use and over time. There's no exact number of days or weeks as it depends on several factors, but you'll know they're gone when you get a dull, thuddy sound rather than a bright, pingy one. (I'm good with technical jargon, me. )

I have a similar arrangement on my Rob Williams Custom 3pup Tele (see the Tele thread), but wired so that pulling the switch brings in the neck pup. There's a second pull-push that switches between HB and SC at the bridge.With both switches up and the selector in posn. 1, I get the classic Tele mid-position. The bridge pup isn't angled like it is on a Tele, but soundwise it's close.

Actually I'm more of a guitar player who can play bass to a decent standard. Just don't tell anybody over there, ok?

Update: I've just re-read the OP, and just to be clear; Is the £500 budget for everything or just the guitar? Also, how firm is the £500? Could make a considerable difference to the sort of gear folk recommend.

Hi there @Bobthedog. Good to see yet another BCer making the journey across the divide. Sound advice as always from @ezbass, but with one caveat. IMHO, 50W of amp power is overkill (notwithstanding the number of modelling amps with this sort of power rating that come in at this price band). Even a solid state 50W amp will go terrifyingly loud in a bedroom/practice situation. Has anyone considered spending the money on an entry-level valve amp such as this? Don't be fooled by the wattage rating; it will go plenty loud enough for practice, and will have a better core sound to boot. Note that this opinion comes from a marked preference for valve amps on the ground of better tone. Whether that will be important to anyone involved in the purchase is something I have no control over, but just so I've said it.

All good advice so far. As I've said elsewhere, I'm not a huge fan of Martins; none of the ones I've played made me want to spend the sort of money you're talking about. That's just me though; they're all excellent instruments that will be superbly well made. I've made a very similar point in another thread, but does it have to be a Martin? I mean, if you simply must have the name on the headstock then fine, but just so I've said it.. I also take the point made about Taylors. Not if I was spending the sort of money they cost anyway... IMHO you could spend less and get a guitar that's just as good (yet another plug for Faith guitars - sorry guys... ). Alternatively, you could spend the money you've allocated on something else (Fylde, Lowden, L'arrivee are all names that spring to mind). That said (and as has been pointed out), you really shouldn't consider spending this kind of money sight unseen. If you can wait a while for shops to open again, you will be able to find out for yourself. As always, just my opinion.

Without knowing how much you're prepared to spend it's a bit tricky to offer a solution (and in truth I'm not so sure that there's a single model that would fit your requirement anyway). Also, bear in mind that throwing money at the issue may not be the answer as there are guitars costing thousands of pounds that quite frankly I wouldn't have as a gift, and guitars that come in at mid-price levels and are IMHO as good as anything out there. Try to avoid judging instruments by the name on the headstock. This could well become a sequence of posters listing their personal favourites, but in truth you won't know until you sit down with some guitars and try them out. That said... Personally I'm not a big Martin fan. Likewise Gibson. Hard to say why, but from playing several examples of each I don't seem to be able to get on with them. Others swear by them though, so (as with everything you're likely to read on here) don't take what I say as gospel. I get your point about Taylors too: beautifully made guitars but not really my cuppa (I've owned or played a couple of those as well). A few names you might want to have a bit of a look at would be Fylde (very popular with folkies at one time, not sure of the current situation but beautifully made instruments), Takamine (who made their name with the mid-range EN series in the '90s but these days make some really rather expensive instruments: I had an EN10 for many years as my main acoustic instrument and used it for everything from fingerstyle Blues to Oasis covers), and my current favourite, Faith (thought of as mid-priced instruments but TBH I never cease to be amazed at the quality of workmanship on offer at the price). As a final thought... A bit leftfield, but if you have the funds you might want to consider getting one made for you by an acousic specialist luthier. It'll be costly for a good one, but you get to specify want you want it to be able to do. Also likely to be some time before you get it in your hands, so perhaps not the way to go if you're in a hurry to have one. Other posters will have different views of course...

Might be a touch above your price range, but have you considered Faith guitars? https://www.andertons.co.uk/acoustic-dept/acoustic-guitars/parlour-acoustic-guitars/faith-naked-series-mercury-acoustic-guitar I have a Lefty high gloss cutaway version of this guitar (which in fairness is quite a lot more expensive), but the quality on offer at the price is astonishing. Made in Indonesia (at least mine was whatever the official blurb about Shropshire may say), designed by Patrick Eggle and imported into the UK under his watchful gaze. Each instrument undergoes a rigorous quality check.

Nice choices. I love Mesa amps. Had a Studio.22 (which was my main gigging amp for a number of years) and a MkIV. I swapped out the Eminence original speaker on the IV for a Celestion jobbie. Can't remember the details but I do recall it having quite a dramatic effect on the sound. Not better or worse as such, but definitely different. Had a few Marshalls over the years too, including an original 1968 top. Sold it for a song IIRC; now worth a small fortune no doubt! I don't gig any more so my current amps are for personal use only: Fender Blues Junior IV. Actually a bit more power than I needed for home use, but the clean sound with my AmSt Strat (picture on the nearby 'Strat' forum if you want to have a look) is to die for. AER compact 60 with the relatively rare solid oak cabinet. I bought it after a visit to my local PMT, who let me test it alongside about half a dozen other candidates. Although the test showed up some interesting results, in the end it was no contest: nothing else came close. Better still, the oak cab is normally an extra cost item (£100+ IIRC), but they didn't have any standard tolex ones in the shop so I got it at the regular price. DV Little Mark. I used to do the odd cocktail jazz gig, and this little thing was the perfect choice: small, light and portable. Made by the same people that make MarkBass bass amps (and almost exactly the same size as their Micromark). Phil Jones Bass BG110 for bass duties. Mine is an earlier version than the stock photo example, with the PJB logo on the top panel and nothing on the front. Not really a gigging amp (unless you DI it of course...), but ideal for my needs. I've had a few PJBs over the years, so it's a known quantity for me, and given its size it really wasn't a hard choice to make.

Never had a perspex Strat, but I did have a clone of the Dan Armstrong perspex guitar (made by Shaftsbury). Would have been around 1970 if memory serves. Quite a nice guitar as I recall; heavy though! Like this:

Hi there and welcome. Converting a RH guitar to be played LH is normally possible, but to do it properly is quite a technical process that I definitely wouldn't advise a beginner to be attempting (and ironically, acoustic guitars can be more of a challenge than electrics - it's to do with the bridge). Also, the top surface of the guitar has reinforcement strips applied inside the instrument. Commonly the strips are placed symmetrically, but it isn't a given. Not a big deal in your situation, but just so you know as it can affect both the sound and stability of the instrument. Also, if the guitar has an internal preamp, playing it upside down will mean the control surface is facing the floor in your playing position. Regulars around here will already know my views on this, but my advice would be to buy a guitar that's built to be lefthanded in the first place. Yes they can be a tad more expeensive and with less choice, but by the time you've factored in the cost of having a technician make the adjustments, the initial cost differential becomes a bit moot. Yamaha make very good instruments at the price, and your choice is ideal for where you are right now. As time passes and your playing improves, you may feel you want to get a more expensive model, but the same basic rules will apply.

Hi there Jon, and welcome. Just a few words on the subject of handedness if I may (hoping it doesn't sound too preachy as it's not meant to)... First up, it's not an either/or. Most people can do things to a certain level with their 'wrong' hand at need. Total one-handedness is actually rare. You probably know this already, but all the same... That said, most people have a preference one way over the other. It can vary very widely as Douglas has indicated above, with people routinely doing different tasks with different hands being fairly common. Again though, proper ambidexterity (the ability to do all things equally well with either hand) is pretty rare. As has been said above, try both ways and let that be your guide. If there doesn't seem to be much difference then you might as well go Righty. If it feels very different then you'll know fairly quickly even as a beginner. (You could still go Righty in this latter situation of course, but you need to be prepared for the likelihood that it'll be hard work - as in 'harder than if you'd gone Lefty'.) One more thing: there are couple of myths about handedness on a guitar that you need to be aware of: 1. "It's all a bit strange at first so you might as well play Righty." In my years as a guitar tutor with the RGT I once had a protracted and heated argument with - of all people - a senior and well-respected member of the Registry over this through the pages of our professional journal. Yes it is all a bit strange at first, but that doesn't necessarily make it an equal challenge. 2. "Left handed players have a stronger left hand, and since the fretting hand does most of the work you should really be playing Righty anyway." I've heard this one on a number of musicians' forums (including, sad to say, Guitatchat's sister site, Basschat). In the first place, it isn't the case that the fretting hand does all the hard work. All the fretting fingers need to do is be in the right place at the right time: the subtleties and nuances of note production are carried out by the strong hand. In the second place, even if it were true, then by that logic all right-handed players should be playing Lefty! Hope this helps. ETA: In case this seems a little OTT given what you've said up top, around 90% of the population is predominantly right-handed, so the fact that you've mentioned left-handedness at all indicates that it's an unusual thing to be considering. Hence the speil.

The P90s do give it a different sound. I don't play it much these days, but every time I do I find it a very pleasant alternative to the somewhat generic humbucker sound it used to have - actually quite unlike any of my other guitars and worth doing for that reason alone. Or at least it would if the bridge pickup didn't keep cutting out when you least expect it. Unfortunately the electrics is one of those areas where costs seem to have been trimmed (I was with the nephew when he bought it in Denmark Street for a whisker under £400 if memory serves). Once the dust settles I'll take it to a tech to get it properly sorted. The wiring is all correct, but something's clearly not quite right. In the interest of full disclosure, I should add that the '84 Custom was one of the best sounding guitars I ever owned; absolutely classic Les Paul tones. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to cover the other issues, so with some reluctance it had to go. On the upside I sold it on to a Canadian guy for a small uptick over what I paid for it. ETA: I love Teles. Always have. I used to have a black mij '72RI with a maple neck. Fantastic little guitar, so much so that it was my main teaching instrument for years despite the somewhat iffy tuning courtesy of the triple bridge saddle arrangement. Sold it and later regretted it. I don't think the owner is a member of GC, but if he is and is reading this I'll happily buy it back from him...

Fair points (and as I said I'm out of touch with recent movements so not really in a position to dispute your comments even if I wanted to). Truth to tell I'd never pay this sort of money for a guitar sight unseen. Not possible right now of course, so I guess the OP has to either hit & hope or else be prepared to return his purchase if he doesn't like it. That said, I wouldn't buy a new LP anyway so probably talking a bit out of turn (and the OP is accordingly quite entitled to ignore my comments ). Great sound, shame about the weight. And the upper fret access. And the back-to-front control knobs. (The one I do own is inherited from my nephew as payment for something or other so I feel at liberty to hack it around a little. Sounds pretty good with the P90s IMHO, plays pretty well too as long as I don't try to do anything fancy. Not sure I'd want to gig with it though as the electrics are actually a bit flakey. Must get round to sorting that out sometime...)

I've never quite got on with Les Pauls (despite owning a vintage Lefty LP Custom back in the day and currently owning a late '90s Epi set-neck with the original HBs swapped out for a pair of Dan Armstrong P90s), so feel free to take what follows with a pinch of salt... Like other posters I've heard some horror stories about what's been going on at Gibson in recent years, so would be inclined to treat any Gibson original with deep suspicion until I'd actually played it. By modern standards the Epi is not that much above being a budget instrument, but IME the quality of inexpensive guitars generally has gone through the roof in the last 10-15 years. I don't know the recent story at Epiphone, but the £500 or so for the listed model should buy you a very useable and decent-sounding guitar. Again though, I'd be reluctant to shell out for one sight unseen. That's just me though, and it may be that you have no opportunity to try them out before buying (in which case I'd have a close look at the returns policy of the retailer before committing funds). If nothing else will do then go for it, but at around half the price I'd be surprised if the Epi wasn't a very good instrument in its own right.

Lots of great kit out there at sensible prices. I guess it boils down to how important the sound is to you (and of course what your budget is). Being a recidivistic old fart, I would politely suggest that nothing beats a good valve amp for sound; no amount of electronic toys quite manages to recreate that valve magic IMHO. The downside is that they tend to be more expensive than solid state units. After a long and fascinating thread on the subject, followed by a series of instore try-outs (not really an option right now of course) I shelled out a little over £550 on a Fender Blues Junior IV. One other point; don't be tempted by power ratings: the 15w rating on the BJ IV is actually a bit more than I needed for home use (and more than enough for the recording projects I have in the pipeline). 10w will be plenty, and there are some very good valve amps out there with 5w - and lower - ratings too. If that nth degree of sound quality (not to mention hearing the sound coming out of an actual amp cabinet) is not such a big deal then plenty of good options have already been mentioned above. As always, just my opinion.

Hi there Lee. In a past life I was a guitar tutor (and there's a few others around here who have done the same), so if there's anything you need to know then starting a thread in the Theory and Technique section should get a suitable response. Good luck, and don't forget to enjoy it!

In that case I would recommend the following: 1. Improvisation generally works best if you have a half decent understanding of and familiarity with scales. For Blues and early Rock, the minor pentatonic would be a good place to start. Some would doubtless recommend the Blues scale but in truth you don't really need it as you can simply add blue notes into your pentatonic scale as your skill develops. In learning scales, don't forget that the reason you're learning them is so that you can play music. I haven't taught for some years so I'm a bit out of touch, but you can get Blues backing tracks as freebies off the internet - I've just had a quick look on Youtube and there's loads of 'em. Metronomes are ok for building speed and accuracy into your scales, but not recommended for playing actual music IME. As time passes and your technique develops you can start looking at other scale types; Major scale and some of it's modes would be a good place to go next. You may develop an interest in Jazz improvisation, but fair warning, that's another ballgame entirely. 2. Depending on your preferred playing style it might be a good idea to start looking at some fretting-hand techniques: slides, hammers, pulls and string bending are all important tools for Blues and Rock improvisation. Again, there's plenty of guidance around the net. 3. Whilst it is possible to pick up standard licks, trying to learn them in isolation is definitely doing it the hard way. You'll have a better chance of learning them effectively if you've spent some time developing the techniques needed to play them 4. If you can afford it, try to get some lessons from a good teacher. Yes it's an expensive way to do it, but you'll get the benefit of a structured approach and expert guidance. Getting things right the first time is a lot less painful than having to sort bad habits ten years down the line. Your money your choice of course, but just so I've said it. 5. Don't expect to be reeling off classy Blues licks in a couple of weeks; improvisational skill takes time, practice, perseverence and patience. Learn how to manage your expectations. You will get bad days, so be prepared for them and don't let them put you off. Worst case scenario, you can always put the guitar down and come back to it tomorrow.

Slash plays it with 3 fingers, and so do most other people. It is possible to use your pinky for the high G (1st string 15th fret) though. Long story to shreds, do whatever feels most comfortable to you. If you can make it sound like it's supposed to, then it's job done.

Quick question: are you talking about playing well-known licks by other players or improvising?