repoman

I've currently got three budget electric guitars.  I've never cared about getting anything fancy as a player as I believe you should be able to shred any guitar.  They're all playable these days.

But I don't want three electrics.  So I'm looking to consolidate down to one really decent guitar.  Somewhere in the £500-700 range.  Something I can depend on for a decade or two.

My three guitars now are:

1 - Harley Benton Fusion Tele (which looks gorgeous and has a tremolo).  I love it.  It never goes out of tune ever but it's a bit clunky to play.  I've never been able to get the neck perfect.

2- Ibanez AS53.  Gorgeous but doesn't stay in tune very well.  No trem.

3 - Ibanez RGsomething or other.  Nice and shreddy but heavy and no trem.

I'm looking for something that looks good (so no Strats), has a trem (pref. non locking nuts) and good for everything from shred to jazz.

Any ideas?

I'm drawn to the EVH guitars but they do have locking nuts on the trem ones.

After posting this, I tried out a few Gretsches and didn't get on with them.  

Geordie Walker from Killing Joke was the first guitarist that I ever noticed.  I was lucky.  Being exposed to that sort of creativity and power early on, it definitely affected how I play.

I've currently got a Harley Benton and two Ibanez guitars but I'm thinking about selling them and putting it all on a Gretsch.  I mean, I'll try out a few Gretsch guitars first to see how I get on with them but have any of you got one and got any thoughts about them?

Also, do Bigsby tremoloes mess with tuning stability much?

Tim someone.  He's got an Ibanez signature guitar.  Polyphia or something.  I don't know.  I heard them once and felt nothing for their music.

I like the idea of the cutaway for higher frets.  I don't like the normal classical shape all that much.

Which one do you think looks nicer?  Buy that one.

Guitars are things of joy.  Buy what you want.  Just don't ascribe a magical boost to motivation to it anymore than thinking that subbing for a gym will make you get in shape.  It's all good though.

I'm sort of tempted to get a nylon guitar but not a classical shape.

Ibanez seem to be the most popular option with their FRH range.  They've got a signature model from that guy in that band.  All neck tattoos and faff.  I don't want that.

Harley Benton do the Nashville hybrid - https://harleybenton.com/product/cl-nashville-nylon-nt/

Ferndale do a budget one - https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/ferndale-ec-2-electro-classical-guitar-natural

Are any of these any good?  Has anyone tried one?

On 29/07/2024 at 20:42, Jose Garcia said:

HI all

I'm having trouble knowing which chords should be major, minor, or diminished when I'm improvising on the guitar.

 

While I can take a piece of paper and write down the whole scale and figure out the chord qualities / use a guitar music theory poster / or products like BrizBuddy

Is there a rule of thumb to do this in real-time?

Yes there is.

Play this little line.

C (8th fret, low E)

F (8th fret, A)

G (10th fret, A)

A (5th fret, low E)

D (5th fret, A)

E (7th fret, A)

B (7th fret, low E)

Get used to it.

Right, now the first three notes are MAJOR.  In the key of C the C, F and G chords are Major.

The next three are MINOR.  In the key of C the A, D and E are Minor.

The last note, B.  That's DIMINISHED.

On 30/06/2024 at 20:29, randythoades said:

I can't see his right hand properly for palm muting, but it seems to me like he is effectively stopping the G string from sounding after the note with the flesh of his first finger. He has his fingers positioned unusually for this sort of player. Certainly when I was learning and everyone wanted to be like Steve Vai et al, you were taught to play literally with the very tips of the fingers and the thumb down the centre line of the neck as it gives a lot more freedom to move and stretch across intervals. He seems to play in a bluesy style with thumb slightly over. Also, often on the lick he is adding vibrato on the G string note whilst then going back to the B string, thus masking any extraneous noise.  I am sure it isn't deliberate, it is just the way he learned to play.

Muting reliably like that is pretty tough.  He's fairly clean with it.

The notes in that first chord there are E, G#, D#, F#. 

That gives you a root (E), a major 3rd (G#) and a major 7th (F#), making it some sort of Emaj7 chord.  That F# is interesting as that's your 2nd (or in this case a 9th).

I don't know exactly what you'd call it.  Emaj7+9 maybe.

That second chord looks like an E maj too but more straightforward.  12 x 14 13 12 x.  It's essentially your open E chord played at the 12th fret but muting out the 5th on the A string and the highest E in the chord.  You still get your root, major 3rd and 5th.

On 26/06/2024 at 11:15, randythoades said:

I have been trying this on my spare guitar at work. I can't pick fast enough on acoustic for the riff itself, but works for me palm muting it and starting with an upstroke. Even better it I pull off the 15th fret B string and letting the G string finger rest on the 14th fret for a tiny bit longer. The barre hardly makes a noise and is covered by picking back onto the B string again. But I suppose it depends on gain levels needed.

yeah an upstroke seems like the best option (although super unintuitive for me to start a lick on one) and palm muting would work.

Here's the lick - 

A barred G would sound a G note on the 12th fret.  I'm trying to avoid that. 

It's actually more of a Jimmy Page lick than a thrash one apparently.

Cheers though.

Say I'm doing a lick that repeats and it's these notes.

15th fret B string

12th fret B string

14th fret G string

12th fret B string

I've got a little flaw in my playing where I sound the open G when removing my finger off the 14th fret.  I'm not pulling off but I still get the open G sound.

I watched Gary Holt (Exodus/Slayer) playing the lick and he doesn't get much unwanted noise but I couldn't see him muting it in any way, it just didn't sound.

How would you keep it clean?  Also if alternate picking, would you start with an upstroke?

I love Ibanez but there's a problem with that S521.  That jack socket is in THE WORST PLACE.

It's a balancing act for me between comfort, looks and functionality.  I'm sure Strats are comfortable but I hate the look (reminds me of Bryan Adams).  First time I played a Les Paul I couldn't believe how much I DIDN'T like it.  It felt horribly chunky.

I've got three electrics at the moment (arguably too many).  My Ibanez RG421 is unbelievably playable.  I bought it in a shop and it was immediately great.   I kind of messed it up by replacing the bridge (NEVER get Cosmo Chrome, it tarnishes quick so I replaced it with black) but then I got dead frets.  So I had it adjusted by a pro guy near me and it's now basically playing itself.

My HB Tele has a bit more resistance but my favourite.  Teles don't give you anything for free.  But this one has a trem, so it's basically perfect.  The Tele shape is good looking and very comfy.

I've also got a 335 copy.  I've always loved that shape.  Very comfortable body but a bit large.  I'm mostly a sofa player now. 

Cheers, both

You might get RSI just watching this.

I've got two HBs.  

The first is a gorgeous Telecaster clone which oddly has two humbuckers and a trem.  Thing is, I HATED it when I got it.  Scratchy frets, neck not right.  Awful.  It was the guitar that finally made me learn to adjust a truss rod.  I polished the frets, straightened out the neck a bit and oddly it's become my favourite guitar.  I like it a lot more than the actual real Telecaster I used to own.

I also got a CST-24 Hollow Body.  Which is basically their PRS rip off guitar.  It's horrid.  It looks nice but it's on eBay as we speak.

I've got some sketchy Chinese-made-probably wireless transmitters from Amazon called Getaria.  Battery life, sound and latency are okay but I'd be up for upgrading.  Anyone got any recs?

Hi, everyone.  I'm Richie.  Been playing forever.  Was a shredder type in the 90s but more recently I've decided to man-up and learn jazz which is, by far, the hardest thing ever.

Favourite guitarists are;

Geordie Walker (Killing Joke)

Rocky George (Suicidal Tendencies)

Rick Hunolt (Exodus)

Robert Smith (The Cure)

I like cheap guitars that look pretty.  If I won the lottery I'd by some sort of Gretsch though.