EdwardMarlowe

About ten years ago I'd have said Fender MiM and PRS SE were good there, though increasingly their new price is pushing higher and pulling up the used price with them. 

The new Fender Standard series have been much-mocked by people keen to write them off as rebadged Squiers, but that's grossly unfair. The Guitar Geek did a video comparing one directly to a Squier CV Series Strat, and they are different beasts - different factories, different innards. Now whether somebody wants to pay the extra for them might be another matter, but.... They've clearly been introduced for a specific target market, that being players who can't stretch to the price of a Player Series (street price, I'm very rarely seeing those new for under £600 nowadays), but looks down on a Squier. I have a feeling these could be a sleeper that will be a great buy when they start to filter onto the used market. While made in the Far East, the specs are basically a rerun of the pre-2018 MiM Standard Strat that was replaced by the Player Series - poplar body, 21 frets, 9.5 radius, 42mm nut, slightly hotter pickups, full size pots. If they did a left hander I'd be seriously considering one of the 'Candy Cola' models with the maple board... as it is, if one came up used stupid cheap, I'd buy and Hendrix. I wish they would do one of these with a six-screw trem and a big headstock... then I'd *definitely* be looking for a Hendrix project. 

Harley Bentons I love.... but would be wary of buying used. I've seen one too many "optimistically priced" on eBay, at well over the new price. Those that do sell seem to go for so near the new price that unless it was a model that was out of production (like the 25th Anniversary limited edition Jazz Bass I really wanted, but lost the chance to buy when our then dog needed her tail docked after she bit the end off it, bless her), I don't think it's worth going used. 

Squier are always worth looking at used, especially the Classic Vibe series - which, yeah, I'll stick my neck out and say are Fender's purest realisation of Leo's concept of an affordable, giggable guitar that can be cheaply maintained and repaired. Not the very *best* *guitars* Fender have ever made, but in terms of VFM as a working player's tool.... 

I've seen very good deals on the 2xxx series Gretsches used. They tend to be just a *little* more generic in sound, a little less the distinctive Gretsch difference than a 5xxx or especially the Professional 6xxx series, but they are great guitars in their own right, and they have that very cool vibe going on - immediately different from yet another F or G style. 

JHS's Vintage brand tend to go surprisingly cheap used, and for the money are an excellent buy. If you like the Gibson styles, their earlier models tend to be just a little closer the "real" shapes, especially the SGs. Their SG style ones are a real hidden gem. Their Fenderalikes tend to look much more like the real thing in the body, though if you can try before you buy as the necks aren't for everyone. They tend to favour a US-style 43mm nut over a more vintage 42mm nut. Some folks find that matters, others don't. MiM quality, selling used for Squier money. The 'Icon' series can be a nice option if you like the relic look buy don't want to pay out the big money. Up close they're not the same as the Fender relics, but thy have the general look from a few feet away, and if you like the relic vibe, they're a bit of fun, affordably. As long as you're not left handed you're gold - they're as piss poor as Squier for lefty provision. 

I remember back in the early 90s seeing ads in the back of UK guitar magazines for a pedal that supposedly mimicked the root bass note of the chord you were playing. Wish I could remember the name - it was somewhere like Award Session that sold it. Never tried one, though, so no idea if it lived up to the hype. 

On 28/12/2024 at 19:49, Chudallica said:

I got a Schaller Sure Claw, fitted it today.

A nice little upgrade from the original claw that makes equal spring tension adjustment very easy.

 

 

Interesting - does that fit a Fender cavity? Any change in the sound (wondering if a bit more mass adds anything sonically). Are they the standard springs the guitar had? 

This year just before Christmas I bought myself a Joyo American Sound. Been a few years since I got bought any guitar bits, but that's ok. The only bits I really need / want now are amps and guitars - sort of thing I wouldn't expect anyone else to buy me. 

Firewood - Les Paul, V, any old Gibson with humbuckers. Whatever has the biggest body, I supposed, and would burn longest would be ideal, but something with humbuckers and a burst with super-fancy top would be the best as it's a look I've grown to dislike so strongly that I'd have no guilt consigning it to the flames. 

Weapon? A Telecaster. I hear the pointy metal argument, but there's a lot to be said for the sort of blunt force trauma that something as solid as a Tele can inflict.

Player? Wait, I already have the Telecaster, so....
 

On 06/06/2023 at 10:55, ezbass said:

He's gone all pointy 'rawk' guitar these days IIRC. His bullseye and bottle top LPs will always be the ones I think of when Zack is mentioned.

The one that always comes to mind for me was the first one I saw pictured with in an American guitar magazine, back when I think he was still playing with Ozzy. Back in the days before he started to cosplay a Sons of Anarchy type biker, was clean shaven, and looked about 12. It was a guitar that had been heavily sandpapered back to wood across most of the body, but had clearly been a Confederate battle flag over black. The story he told was that he'd had it done then saw the guy from Warrant with a Dixie flag guitar, and immediately set to it with sandpaper. I doubt he plays that one out any more, though, given it's not a look which has aged well since. 

On 22/01/2025 at 10:51, knirirr said:

 

A good point indeed; there is certainly a risk.
Since then I have used it at some jams and it had plenty of volume on the clean channel even with the attenuator on 1/2 power.

It's definitely a really cool idea, like a viable alternative to tubes that's still notionally tubes, given the nature of the guitar amp market. There was a time I thought we might have to see the end of tube production for things to move on (or them become unavailable in the West - given they're all made in China and Russia now, not unthinkable, though frankly if / when *that * war happens, I doubt we'll be worrying about something as minor as amps. Assuming we survive it). I suppose the big question with amp developments now is to what extent alternative to amps begin to replace them altogether. I expect we'll always see people who want to use an amp (rather than DI trickery) in the studio, but on stage where a pedal board replacement (subject to a venue having decent monitoring and the rest) has obvious practical benefits.... I'm imagining a lot of working musos would love to do a tour where the whole band's gear, including the drumkit, could fit in a Volvo estate. Maybe for the big acts what we'll see is them still having the walls of cabs for show, but pedals replacing the '15watt combo they're actually playing through' into the PA... I suppose what I'm rambling at is which of the competing techs we now see will be the mp3 player, and which will turn out to be the Minidisc (lovely idea, but got overtaken before it could really establish itself). 

Query for anyone who has ordered an amp from Thomann to the UK. Do they ship the HB amps with a UK plug, or do you need to pick up a new lead / converter? 

I can play a bit like that - all lefties can of course, because the obvious - but it's not something I've ever seriously tried to develop. 

On 07/09/2024 at 22:24, knirirr said:

 

From what I've read, Vox think that it is indeed a sort-of direct equivalent. I'm not sure if it's catching on, though.

Recently, I purchased an MVX150C1 (Nutubes in preamp and power amp) but I think they're discontinued; the one I got was the last in stock at PMT and at a discounted price. I've not had chance to try it at a jam, gig or rehearsal yet but the tone seems good to me and I'd guess that it would be loud enough (150W class D 1x12"). Whilst they were generally available they didn't appear to be very popular, as far as I can tell.

I've also got a VX50 GTV (Nutube in the preamp) and this has proven to be loud for its size and very portable.

What makes me wary is it's still only Vox  doing them. I'm a bit wary of being too dependent on anything proprietary, because if the company changes direction or folds, then you're stuck for spares... 

On the topic of bringing stuff back ,though, I wish Vox would bring back the T series solid state bass amps they did back about twenty plus years ago. I bought a well-used T25 for a song on eBay around 2004, and it's been all the home bass amp I've ever needed. They did them up to a 60 (Al Gare used a T60 live and in the studio with Palookaville and the original Imelda May Band, and it was superb). Cracking warm bass sound that defied the tube nerds with its warmth. No idea how it would cope with effects tbh - I don't use them with bass - but lovely stuff. I'd like to try one of the newer Vox bass amps with the plastic(?) shell. Demos all sound great and they look to be very practical for carting around, even if they've lost something in the cosmetic department. Again, something like that housed in a big, square tweed box would be my ideal for the looks... 

Yeah, with eBay, best to run a search for 'completed listings'. 

I've found in the last you can get better prices with a 'buy it now' than an auction, but you sometimes have to be prepared to let it sit available for a bit longer... 

I have a Steinberger Spirit I bought nearly twenty years ago. Mine is the GU type - the ones shaped a bit more like a guitar. It's also one of only two left handers I've ever seen in the UK. It was privately imported waaayyy back when they were being sold by MuiscYo. It was completely counterintuitive in some ways - totally *not* my aesthetic style - but at the time I wanted a guitar I could transport easily in hand luggage, and this hit the spot. There are a lot of travel type guitars that achieve being compact by reducing the scale. The Steinberger has a 'proper' scale (from memory, I think it's more Gibson than Fender), with a full size neck. The size reduction is achieved by the headless design, and the body being significantly smaller. (More so with the paddle ones.) 24 frets was interesting to try (I'm very much a 21 frets or GTFO guy, though being left handed I often have to compromise and accept that ugly little 22nd fret overhang on a Fender type). The headless set up while ,frankly, to my eyes utterly fugly, can't be faulted in terms of ease of tweaking the truss, and it stays in tune, especially in a gig bag, like no other guitar I've ever owned (and I've had some great ones on that score). The hardware is good stuff - particularly impressed with the bridge. The push-in arm works very well, it's stable, returns to pitch beautifully. The little leaver arrangement that renders it a de facto fixed bridge otherwise is clever and also works wonderfully well. All done and said, I can't fault it at all. If Fender made one that just, well, looked a bit more like it came out of the 50s, I'd consider it. It's a cracking guitar that plays like a full-size one but has the overall physical size of a banjo.
That all said, I'm going to be selling it over the next few months. I have too many guitars, want others, and need to sell some stuff to realise both space and the funds for buying them. If I had limitless space and funds, though, I'd probably keep it around. I still think it's ugly, but I really warmed to it as a piece of design, and it is nice to play. The Brompton bicycle of guitars... 

32 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Tyler, if I’m thinking of the same one as you. 

 

 @Car1

YES! That's exactly the one! Thanks, that was driving me daft. Could see the logo, just not remember the spelling.... like not having me mental reading glasses on....  

Funnily enough, I always thought the Tyler headstock shape wasn't bad, but that it would look much better without what was a very 80s looking logo to my eyes. Subjective aesthetic preferences are subjective, of course, but the guitar in the OP shows to my mind how much nicer a very similar shape looks with a different approach the labelling. 

Headstock reminds me of another brand that used to do spins on the Fender style - James Taylor? Something like that? This looks nice. Have the vibe of a middle / late 60s piece. Interesting idea to have a compound radius board on something so otherwise retro looking.... Though I suspect that sort of thing wasn't so unusual in practice in the days when all necks were finished by hand? Looks like it'll be a blast to play. Enjoy! 

On 12/03/2024 at 14:12, ezbass said:

As do/did Music Man.

Basswood is another one a lot of people get sniffy about, though Fender Japan used that in a lot of solid colour bodies over the years. Mosrite too, as I recall... both the original US guitars and the Japanese product that later adopted the "Mosrite of California" name. I have at least one guitar I know to be basswood, and it's grand. 

9 hours ago, Musical Mystery Tour said:

Well, when I first read on the specs that it had a poplar fretboard, I was a bit 'oh, erm....', because poplar isn't a particularly hard wood as far as I'm aware, but in fact it's fine. Dunno whether they've treated it in some way to make it tougher or something, but it seems okay

Poplar does have the reputation, though Fender used it in Mexican made guitars for years on the bodies, so it can't be all that problematic! Bee interesting to compare it to laurel and rosewood. I've got both of those in fingerboards on different guitars, and I'm not convinced there's any particularly appreciable difference. 

On 09/03/2024 at 12:16, Musical Mystery Tour said:

 

That is a Fazley Midas FLP318GT. Fazley is Bax Music's own in-house brand of guitars; they are pretty decent guitars for the money, and that one sounds great. Mahogany body and neck, poplar fretboard. I was considering swapping the P90s on it when I ordered it, but when I plugged it in, the  P90s surprised me with how good they sounded, so they are staying. I will be putting some Grover tuners on it though and I might stick some upgraded wiring, pots and switches in, but for the moment it's doing okay as it came..

 

Considering they are 143 quid new (I paid a 126 quid for that one because it had a minor blemish on it), you can't really go wrong with them. I paid a ton for a second-hand plywood Columbus Les Paul copy with a bolt-on neck nearly forty years ago, so it just goes to show how far we've come these days in terms of bang for your buck.

 

:

 

 

Thanks. Wow, looks like something much pricier - there's no obvious "budget" tell up against, well... something much pricier right beside it! Sounds like a HB type approach. Enjoy! How are you finding the poplar on the fretboard? 

On 16/02/2024 at 17:42, Musical Mystery Tour said:

On a strat-type vibrato it would effectively lower the action a touch and make the strings ever-so-slightly flatter in pitch because it would lengthen them a bit and lower them, meaning you might have to raise the action a touch and possibly adjust the intonation slightly' on a Bigsby, it'd make no real difference since the lever action is after the bridge (although as you say, it's a floating type, so not a Bigsby).

 

I do that on my LP with a Bigsby - i.e. lock it back by spinning the vibrato arm all the way round to jam it in position on the bck of the mount because I have that vibrato on the guitar for the effect extra mass of it has on the tone, rather than for actually using it. And because you have to have at least one LP with a Bigsby on it (I'm pretty sure that's the law):

 

 

 

What is the gold top? Nice looking machine. 

Tanglewood make a lovely acoustic. Their dedicated a/e models are also nicely appointed with the appropriate Fishman guts. The buzz about the Harley Benton brand seems to include their acoustics - I've yet to try one. Simon & Patrick make nice acoustics. 

Although there's still imo a bigger quality gap between the two ends of the acoustic market than there is with electrics now, I lean to the view that it's not as big as once it was. As with electrics, which you can get for two to three ton these days is ridiculously impressive compared to where the market was thirty odd years ago. 

14 hours ago, Musical Mystery Tour said:

Was originally an HB TE52, but I added a neck PAF:

 

https://i.imgur.com/nOhln0N.jpg

Nicely done. The paint job looks great - like a 'closet classic' relic. 

On 29/12/2023 at 23:45, sundayguitar said:

I'm really amazed by this HB collection. It's kinda off topic, but they also have multi fx now:

Harley Benton DNAfx GiT https://thmn.to/thoprod/478040?offid=1&affid=1771

 

And they don't seem to worse than an ampero or something similar. Crazy times

I'm loving this all. For years I've wanted something very much like that for plugging in headphones or hooking up to the PC at home. I've not bought anything as yet because I'm not really interested in most of the potential they have - years ago, I bought a Vox Valvetronix (still got it). The original, blue cloth one, size of an AC30, 2x12. Thing is I only ever used one amp model, and I don't bother with the built in effects. Something like this, though, I might be more inclined towards as at that price, as long as the sound I want is good, it doesn't matter so much more of it is "wasted".... 

On 23/12/2023 at 22:13, Crusoe said:

Would you get one of those for under £300? You might even struggle to get one second-hand, especially Epiphone.

Not new, no. I still can't get over how Epiphone prices have skyrocketed.... Never understood why Gibson would never produce a 'Gibson Japan' or similar, rather than keep pushing on with runs of YouWHATnow? expensive Epiphones (there's brand perception for you!), but they must know the business better than I do. 


Used, well..  Tokai you occasionally see a used bargain on one of the Chinese or Korean models, though Tokai seem to be increasingly rare over here now. I have a Korean Epiphone Std, a really nice one, from 1998 I bought new for about £350. I wouldn't be confident of getting north of £250 for it (hell, if it would sell for £500+ it'd have been on eBay long ago!). Vintage still seem to come in under £300 here and there used - I've seem some as low as £150 or so, but the brand is definitely picking up recognition. 

New, all three are much pricier than HB, though I'd consider them its direct competition still in term of instruments as distinct from price band... (back to the benefit of Thomann's business model for these!). 

4 minutes ago, Paolo85 said:

Oh yes! How did I not spot the Wilkinson logo! @EdwardMarlowe I think you are right somebody loved this guitar. Before they sold to somebody who just dumped it in a filthy corner (it was in a terrible state when I bought it).

Nut slots could have easily been cut to a good height by the owner who installed the new bridge.

I suppose there may be a small chsnce that dmall frets and good fretwork overall have to do with a fret dressing.

Unlikely though st this price point. I once had a cheap Squier P bass made in China from early 2000s and it had small frets. Maybe it was the fashion back then?

I'll have a look under the pickguard at the first string change (not very soon I hope/guess as I have put some Thomastick flatwounds on!

 

Could be. If this one was intended to be a more 'vintage' spec, they might have installed narrow / tall frets like Fender did way back when. Medium-Jumbo and Jumbo frets seem to have started becoming much more of a norm on everything into the 90s? 

On 24/08/2021 at 15:10, Stub Mandrel said:

My Shubb is nearly 40 years old.

 

The nylon tip of the adjuster unscrewed and got lost a couple of years ago.

 

I was able to buy a spare for not very much.

 

Any questions?

 

 

(the 'beak with handle' type are second best.

Edit: I misread your post, but you're right - the big plus of Shubb is all the spares available! 

https://shubb.com/support/

https://shubb.com/product-category/replacement-parts/

hubb.com/product/delrin-cap-dc/

On 11/02/2022 at 20:31, DozeyGit said:

There are headphones designed for gamers, and studio professionals. Is it a reasonable assumption to say there are headphones made for electric guitarists? Or, are all those gamer headphones and studio professional headphones fabricated sales points? Why wouldn't a £280 pair of Sony WH100XM4 headphones be up to the job? What would be unique about the sound of an electric guitar that it warrants some special headphones? Surely, once a level of technological quality has been reached, say £280 worth, then those headphones can be used for accurate sound reproduction, right? Afterall, sound is sound, right? What don't I know about this topic of conversation, and need to learn, so I can answer these questions? Keep it civil, please. [Now he's gonna get it!]

Well, if you think about it, headphones are, ultimately, just a pair of stereo speakers. I've played my LP through my Vox bass amp. It does sound a touch different than via a guitar amp, but it works. Similarly, I have a Vox 2x12 stereo cab that I keep toying with the idea of trying out with a hifi. It will work. It'll sound different than a hifi speaker set, because it is voice primarily with a guitar's frequencies in mind. Same with headphones. I would expect guitar-specific headphones to be designed to specifically work well for the frequencies a guitar runs at, whereas hifi headphones are designed to cover a wider range of sounds well. TBh, though, I doubt I could tell you which was which in isolation. I'd expect to hear a *difference* against each other, but what sounds *better* will depend on the individual human ear, and the subjective preferences to which it is attached. All done and said, if I was sinking serious money into headphones dedicated to use with a guitar amp, I'd at least look at guitar-specific phones. If I wanted phones I could also use for more general purposes, I'd probably be looking at the hifi stuff. Both will do the job for a guitar amp just fine, they'll jut be voiced slightly differently. 

I think it matters more for some types of sound. There's a Rick Beato vid on Youtube where he shows how, contrary to the popular opinion that "heavy equals teh tonez", if you're a shredder playing with a lot of gain and distortion, lighter strings actually give you a clearer tone. Maybe that's why Brian May plays, if memory serves, eights (how he doesn't snap strings all the time mystifies me, especially given what he uses for picks...). 

I started out with 9s. The first thing I did with my first electric was restring it (it was right handed, I'm a southpaw and Hendrixed it - left-handed guitars were a whole lot rarer, especially used, in 1991). I kept snapping the high e, so after a bit I started buying a separate 10 and putting that on for the high E. Meant it was a lot close what I was using for a B from a 9 set, and felt a little different, though no derogatory effect on the sound. Eventually I just switched up to tens all over, and have been happy with that since. Over time my pick of choice also went up from a .46 to, nowadays, anything from 1mm to 2mm, which works fine with 10s - guess I've figures out the right 'grip' as to not snap 'em all the time now.