EdwardMarlowe

It's a lot better than it used to be when I started. Fender have gotten a *lot* better than they used to be. Not so many years ago, you had to go all the way up the Fender line to the MIA 57 P Bass before there was a left handed option with a maple fingerboard; at a time, there was also no standard P Bass option available left handed south of the US Std one (rosewood board only). Most makers now have at least one token lefty model, though generally smaller brands are better this way than the big boys. You get a lot of limitations on cosmetics. Maple boards are rare at the cheaper end; of a half dozen colour options, you'll often find only one left handed, usually - sigh - yet another sunburst. Quirky models - i.e. anything not aping a Strat, Tele, LP or *maybe* an SG, you can often forget about. Fender have gotten much better for left handers, though I well remember when the first run of Mexican Jagstangs arrived, and the model was not available left handed. Yeah, the Jagstang, as designed by Kurt Cobain... Mn. That said, Squier recently dropped the 50s CV Strat from being available left handed, though they still do the 60s one. Can't be entirely that weird preference for rosewood (or similarly dark) board at the affordable end of the market, though, as they still have the CV 50s Tele lefty. Whenever I get around to the Gretsch 5420, it's going to mean more expense. Gretsch don't do a l/h 5420T because Bigsby don't do a licensed trem in left handed configuration - for a southpaw, there's only the US version. They did a lovely LE run of 5420T L/H a couple of years ago in Pelham blue purely because there was a foul-up in some sort of ordering process and they ended up with a bunch of lefty trems, but they don't do it as of standard because it hits the profit margin at that priceband too hard. I hold out hope they'll do some decent colours lefthanded soon. I mean, the orange is a classic, but it's as overdone now as burst. I might consider the black and get it pinstriped, though... Ironically, I think the left handed market, while still not fantastic, has improved enormously in the last decade in part due to the guitar market shrinking overall, so lefties suddenly matter a bit more in terms of sales. Other than that, it's not so much a big deal. I occasionally wish I could have my pedals re-configured so I could plug the lead in the left so it's not running across my body so much, but that's not the end of the world. The one bonus of the limitations of left handed availability is that it does push you to consider what's available rather than just buying from the Big Brands (e.g. Tokai will often offer a left hander that the "real thing" simply don't make), plus it typically also means you don't get caught up in fads!

I've not tried the 2xxx series yet (not stumbled across any lefties), but at least online they look to be punching well above their price band.

That's a gorgeous guitar. Like a Gretsch knock-off of a Dano, if you follow me.

Oh, yes - they've always been good, but I mean they're now beginning to get the recognition for it. I'm hoping over time they up their left provision; I really would love one of the pale blue, maple boarded Strat type relics, and their relicy Juniors are to die for. They did do the Blackie-type one lefty for a bit. I'd adore to seem them do one that nodded to Steve Jones' LP Custom, or a relic'ed Tele type that had a hint of Joe Strummer's number one. Was largely Joe that turned me on to the Tele.

For this hobby you will mostly need an imagination and to be a bit of a guitar nerd... Take any, one classic guitar type and tell us how you would redesign it, what you would change if you were to have the chance. I'll start with this one: A Les Paul. I'll start with the Studio model, because unbound neck. Stretch that neck up to a Fender scale length. Make it a through neck that sits parallel to the body (rather than the angled, glued-in neck). string-thru bridge as on the Cabronita Tele. P90 bridge, Gretsch Filtertron in the neck. Pots wired V,V, MV & MT. No pick-up switch on the upper bout; two mini-toggles for independent p'up on/off down by the pots (where the selector would be on an SG). No body binding. Blue metal-flake pain body all over. Mahogany body, flat top, maple neck, pao ferro board. Don't know if that really makes it an LP any more, but that's the ide here (think: a brand like Fano and how it reinterprets elements of classic design). What would you do?

What really says to me that Vintage are a brand that has come of age is that they've been able to attract some pretty serious players as endorsees. You don't want your brand associated with crap, as a rule...

What 's the difference? The Hot Rod I seem to recall was a bit more stripped down, less trad - was it also cheaper? I do like the dice. I still have an inkling to do that on my next Strat. It's one of the specs I'd put on my sig Strat... I'm considering treating myself to a 5420 for my 50th in 2024. Probably the black one and have a Bigsby fitted and get it pin-striped... I'd have loved one of those LE Pelham blue 5420T lefties they did a very limited run of a couple of years ago, but I didn't have the scratch at the time. Ah, the Psychobilly Cadillac... I remember a story kicking around about a guy who tired this with a Mini at the old British Leyland factory in the late 70s. Supposedly He had a fully assembled, brand-new Mini in the garage ready to go when he was caught taking the bumpers out.... Back in Nazi Germany, Hitler had people pumping money into the Motorization of Germany scheme. He'd dreamed this up in prison in 1924: have German workers pump money into a government account as a specific saving auto-deducted from wages. When they saved enough, they'd get an order number and be put in line for a cute VW Beetle. Volkswagen: The People's Car. 340,000 Germans signed up for this in 1938. In 1939, the factory was converted to munitions; nobody got their car. A story circulated in Germany about the guy who thought he'd steal one bit by bit. When he'd got all the parts out and assembled it at home, he discovered he'd stolen a tank instead of a car.

Yes, the wattage did sound ambitious to me. I suppose when you look at what the hifi and home cinema world has achieved in recent years in terms of depth of musicality/tone and speaker size, you would think that they should have a better grasp of these things, but I agree that as a guitar player it's instinctively difficult to equate a tiny speaker with big sound and good tone. I know home cinema / hifi stereo still seems like some kind of voodoo to me at time when I hear the quality of sound from some tiny (if not exactly cheap) speakers! Agree with you on knobs. That's long been the big plus to the Vox designs to me - minimal used of LED/LCD, more use of knobs. It's interesting to compare to the all in one. My go-to idea were I to play out again would be one of those Mooer pre-amp pedals and their power-amp pedal, and a separate speaker cam that could do the monitoring if a venue lacked one. That said, I could be lured by such an all-in one if it got to be cheap enough and the form-factor worked. It's interesting to see this sort of thing becoming more mainstream now, given I remember the howling about the original modellers being "fake" from outraged guitarists who reacted as if you'd told them guitars were being banned and replaced with keytar synths... I think practicality will win out for a lot of working musos adopting various 'non-amp' alternatives. Maybe it will even become a norm once there's a new generation of guitar heroes for kids to grow up with where the stack of speakers or big tweedy box aren't an integral part of the romanticised image. In between, we already have a lot of big names using these things on the quiet, but with a huge wall of cabs doing nothing other than looking good on stage. Be interesting to see who is the first to play regular stadium gigs openly using a pedal solution or a tiny amp. I remember years ago seeing the backstage set-up of a guitar player from one of those big name old 70s bands - he was using a tiny 15 watt Marshall through the PA, but from an audience point of view he appeared to be using at least half a dozen 4x12s. If you could go back to 1969 and tell Hendrix one day that would be happening, you know what he'd have said? "SPEAK UP, CAT! I CAN'T HEAR YOU, MAN!" (According to Eddie Kramer's biog, Hendrix was told shortly before he died he'd be stone deaf in two years' time if he carried on standing in front of two or three stacks turned as loud as that....).

Agreed, I think we have a long way to go - price aside - before the inherently conservative guitar market catches up with newer tech. I can see this sort of thing gradually replacing existing digital modellers, though, as the price comes down, but it's a few years away from that I'm sure. Still, an interesting idea in that it combines the 'amp replacements' with a monitor, in effect. The ideas are out there - whether the market can be convinced is definitely another matter!

Saw this on kickstarter, looks like an interesting idea for anyone regularly playing venues that don't supply a monitor. Be interesting to see how this develops. https://www.amonito.com/?fbclid=IwAR0AirFVSzpBCo3M4g6xK9fkKzv2FfFzUvFaH0WQul2x5SrIg74rxyUeuY4

Oh, indeed. I normally significantly prefer Gibson's earlier designs, but the SG just has something that bit more aggressive to its vibe, and in Junior form.... oh, my. Somehow I always seem to find that "Les Paul" sound in my head comes to me much more readily from an SG type (though I don't own an SG, at least not yet. That HB could be the scratch for that itch...).

Ha, listen.... I'd have a Gretsch 6120 if I had the money, and if they would only let you have as good a guitar as your playing, they have cut both my arms off years ago.

Doesn't surprise me you got both your money and a replacement. I've been playing with Aliexpress a bit over the last eighteen months. Mostly only to buy low value novelty pens and such. (My wife loves stationery, and in a normal year I'll be sure when in Beijing to pick her up a few bits and pieces of novelty pens and such. The best I ever found were one year pens that had a "comedy vintage moustache" printed on them, along with the legend "My moustache is cool and vintage"; another year was "Loves Crazy Shit" printed on a pen the top of which was a little man with a curled up turd (like a 3d version of the poo emoji) for a head. With the pandemic and not being able to go out there, Aliexpress was great for stocking novelties). I did try to buy a more expensive item recently, a cap. Alas the seller (I should have read their feedback, it's mostly awful) sent me the wrong size, unwearably small. The dispute resolution system gave me my money back *and* ruled that I didn't need to send it back either, which saved a lot of hassle. I gather that's not entirely unheard of. Most of these sellers rely on high volume sales, and will often in my experience offer all sorts of discounts, full and partial refunds to preserve it. (I suspect a lot is connected to saving face...). Course, if they weren't so keen on a 'caveat emptor' approach to begin with... I live in hope an organisation will eventually set up with the production ethics of a Shijie type operation and sell necks. I can't promise I'd be a regular enough customer to make your venture worthwhile, but if you do set up over the next year or two and start offering an awesome, 68 Strat spec maple board neck for sub £200, let me know!!

Over the years I've tried pretty much every style there is; they all worked. The best, quality-wise, have been a Shubb and a Kaiser. The Kaiser is ultimately better for quick-and-easy use, given it's a spring-loaded clamp - makes it a one-hand affair, and can clip on the headstock when not in use of you want it handy. If you're looking at using one live especially, that's what I'd go for.

Never had a neck mark, only affect on mind has been the sun yellowing the varnish on a neck and the scratch plate. Which, for me, has significantly improved the aesthetic. My 94 US Std Strat and my 2001 Squier P-Bass Special were both from an era when the maple Fender used in conjunction with the clear satin varnish had a very anaemic look to it, so that was a plus (a major reason back then I went rosewood on the Strat, though I much prefer maple now). YMMV.

Looks nice. Never played one of the Artcores, but all reviews I've seen have been positive. Well done you on the rewiring, too - can be tricky on a semi! I like the stripped-down, MT/MV setup on this too - different vibe than the full dual vol / tones common on this style.

Lastly, a couple of shots of my own Tele. Of all the guitars I own, this is the one that found me rather than me going looking for it. Although in many ways I still think of myself as a Strat man, this is the guitar I'd life on the way out of a burning building. (Then I recall Rory Gallagher's number one was not the famous Strat but a Tele as well. Maybe it's an Irish thing...) This is a 71RI Crafted in Japan Fender Telecaster that I bought new in 2006 (photos from around then; it has since developed a bit of a gouge in the cutaway that I may or may not have touched-up eventually, can't fully decide). Got that big, but clear, punk rock sound like Steve Jones' 'Bollocks' 72 LP Custom that I tried to find in a Gibson LP style for years (but they all sounded like mud in my hands). I can see two more Teles in my future... when time / money allow, I'm keen on a pair of Squier CV 50s Teles, one to be rewired as a Broadcaster, one as an Esquier. For the latter, I *might* instead pick up a good Squier Affinity Tele, and switch out the bridge and pup...

No direct experience myself, but I had a friend had one years ago. After a couple of what were then considered beginner guitars (a bolt on Epi LP 100, swapped for a Vintage (as in JHS, not age) SG which was an outstanding guitar, laughably good for what they go for, he went looking for a Tele. (Clapton fan, worked backward from Cream...). He tried a few in the shop, from MIM through the Squiers and ended up with an Affinity in blonde. Lovely guitar, genuinely good, all questions of money aside. My experience of that end of Squier is that the Teles tend to be the sleepers. Less to go wring than on a Strat, plus the budget isn't being stretched to as much body shaping, a third pickup, a trem, and so on, so the money 'goes further'. You do get the occasional sharp fret and such; I think the trick is to try as many as possible and you'll find a good one that way. (Not that I've ever played one that was horribly bad, but as with anything at that end of the market QC isn't quite as strict as it would be spending five times the amount.) Being as Joe Strummer's birthday was over the weekend (in a just world, he'd have been sixty-nine this year, and Van Morrison would have rfotted away to nothing by now).... Joe's number one: The rust is apparently from it being inadvertently left in his barn for a few months after Joes died so suddenly. Less well know, Joe's #3 Tele in the Clash days: And Joe's #2, a white Esquier: Fender have recently done a Custom Shop version of this one: A snip at fourteen GRAND. Which seems a bit odd... I've seen it get razored for that online, but given the money is going either to Joe's family or Strummerville, why not do an LE run if there are those who can afford it... All done and said, it wouldn't be hard to do a partsocaster version, which is probably more in Joe's spirit anyhow. Fun thing I noticed was they've ditched the Cuba sticker, guess that didn't sit easy with the American capitalists making this one. I think even Joe would have had a wry chuckle at that.

Was your Francis Rossi a Fender model? I remember back in the days when Tanglewood were known as a budget guitar company and did more electrics as well, they did a Quomaster model which was an officially recognised nod to Rossi's green Tele. I've seen 'em selling used since with both a Tele style headstock and something vaguely Strat shaped that end. (Also seen used one in a burst, bound body that apparently came from the same series). Supposed to be well worth picking up if you find one, though I've seen them sell for anywhere from £100 to £275; I think they were just sub £200 originally. TW of course now have moved almost entirely in the direction of acoustics, and have everything from budget to fairly high end (production) guitars there.

Good point! I wish I'd come up with the Gogglebox idea, whoever is behind it has made a fortune from it! I quite liked it early on, but as will all reality TV it inevitably overstayed its welcome. These things all only last for a series or two at most with people being genuine, then inevitably they devolve into attention seekers looking for fame, as selected by behind the scenes staff who are only too happy to sell another series of the format irrespective of whether they've abandoned 'real people' in favour of a freakshow.

Quite likely. I've been a member of a clothes-related forum for nearly fifteen years now, and that does happen - in among a regular churn of members every few years. Like watching a village change over time - the people who only visit, those who move away after a few years, and on it goes...

Now that is interesting! Indeed, until I read that report back when, I'd known he had been offered the Stones gig, but not how close it actually came to being a reality. I'd love a peek into a parallel world where it had gone ahead...

Hell, there wasn't that kind of choice in the mid 90s! I remember Vintage starting out as very much a 'budget' brand, but as their reputation has grown they're now producing, in my opinion, some really good, solid working instruments that are far beyond simply 'beginner guitars'. Their vintage and icon series stuff is certainly as good as the high end Squiers - and for my money in some cases snapping at the heels of some of the MIM line. If I was looking for a LP type now, I'd go straight to Vintage by preference over Epiphone, tbh - doubly so for an SG type.

I would love to have seen Rory Gallagher talking to Keef about music. Both incredibly knowledgeable, and with such a genuine love of the whole thing. You know Gallagher was offered the lead spot in the Stones in January 75 after Mick Taylor walked out? It got quite far, but didn't quite happen in the end.. https://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/my-extraordinary-brother-rory--26659912.html#:~:text=It's a little-known fact,%3A "It was January 1975. Rory Gallagher has huge respect from music people in Belfast because he was one of a very small number of artists prepared to play there during the Troubles - he came every single year and did a show in the Ulster Hall at a time when even *some* artists actually from Belfast were leery of playing there.

Hecklers are easy - you just need a few good stock answers, and the right tone of authority to use 'em with. Simple stuff: "Didn't your mother warn you about going drinking on an empty head?" "Aw, bless. I was like that after *my* first pint." "Do I come to your place of work and tell you how to serve the fries?" I used to MC a Rocky Horror floorshow cast night. One of the best reactions I ever got was to putting down a heckler with, in my best The Sweeney voice, "Shut it, you Schlag!" (aimed at a male heckler, #nosexist). I think it was the unexpectedness of the accent (I sound like Liam Neeson or Jimmy Nesbitt normally). Another good one (accent specific re the heckler this time) "Hang on a minute, you're Australian, aren't you? Get back to work, those glasses won't wash themselves!" or "You're an Australian? Shit! Somebody guard the sheep!" None of it particularly clever, but delivered with conviction: effective. As a general rule, what the heckler gets out of it is the thrill of attention and being able to rattle the performer. If you can throw it back on them and make the audience laugh at them, they generally shut up pretty quickly in my experience.