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[Puddles]

Does anyone know a place where I can order replacement strings, but only the B and high E? I break one of those at least once a month, but I almost never break the lower strings.

I'd love to get a package that was nothing but a bunch of high E strings and another that was nothing but B strings.

 

[CrudeDiatribe]

juststrings.com does.

Are you popping the strings under your fretting finger, or the nut/saddle?

 

[Puddles]

juststrings.com does.

Are you popping the strings under your fretting finger, or the nut/saddle?

Definitely around the nut/saddle.

 

[deim0s]

Check for some burrs.

 

[archnemesis]

I'm considering buying an electric guitar for playing metal. It needs to be suitable for downtuning to B. I was thinking of an Ibanez, but are there any other good alternatives? Having a 7-string guitar would be fun for playing Dream Theater, but I hear they feel very different compared to a regular 6-string guitar. And most songs can be played in an alternate way on a 6-string guitar anyway. What do you use? Give me some advice or point me in the right direction.

Here are a few examples of what I want to learn:
Carcass - Arbeit Macht Fleish (in B)
Deftones - Feiticiera (in drop C)
Kyuss - 50 Million Year Trip (in C)
Dream Theater - The Dance of Eternity (standard tuning + a lower 7th string tuned to B)

 

[Mulligan]

I'm in the market for a new acoustic, looking to spend around £300.

I think i've narrowed it down to two guitars based on playing a few and looking at reviews.
It's either the Seagull S6 or the Yamaha FG750S. Which would you guys recommend?

 

[CrudeDiatribe]

I'm in the market for a new acoustic, looking to spend around £300.

I think i've narrowed it down to two guitars based on playing a few and looking at reviews.
It's either the Seagull S6 or the Yamaha FG750S. Which would you guys recommend?

Have played a number of the Seagull S6s. It's decent and will work for a variety of things. Top dings very easily (hardly more than a glance will dent it).

I would look at some of the well made Chinese brands if you haven't (if they're in your price range): Eastman, Blueridge, Recording King, but you won't go wrong with either of those.

 

[Sobriquet]

I'm considering buying an electric guitar for playing metal. It needs to be suitable for downtuning to B. I was thinking of an Ibanez, but are there any other good alternatives? Having a 7-string guitar would be fun for playing Dream Theater, but I hear they feel very different compared to a regular 6-string guitar. And most songs can be played in an alternate way on a 6-string guitar anyway. What do you use? Give me some advice or point me in the right direction.

Some other brands to look at are Jackson, ESP (and LTD), Schecter, and Charvel. B-sandard tuning is typical on a 7-string, but if you're talking about tuning B to B on a six-string, then you'll want to look at baritone guitars.

 

[archnemesis]

I suppose a baritone guitar is what I'm looking for. I want to down-tune each string five steps to Tuning B (B,E,A,D,F#,b). Maybe something like this will do.

Ibanez RGD421-BKF

 

[bill0527]

Definitely around the nut/saddle.

Have you had your guitar checked out by a Luthier or a pro at a guitar shop?

The frequency that they are popping leads me to believe that there might be something wrong with the guitar.

Any guitar shop should also sell you just those particular strings.

B and high E are very delicate. I remember years ago when I started changing my own strings, I would always pop the high E when first tuning it up after a string change. It took me about 2-3 times of doing this before I finally got the message to start handling those strings very carefully when putting new ones on.

 

[CrudeDiatribe]

How rough were you? I don't feel I baby mine at all when changing strings and don't have a problem.

The frequency that they are popping leads me to believe that there might be something wrong with the guitar.

Check for some burrs.

As he said, burrs on the nut or saddle will cause this, as will poor nut slots when tightening the string. One can gently clean them up with a file, or use something as a lubricant, like graphite or Vaseline.

 

[DAVIDHUXLEY]

Have played a number of the Seagull S6s. It's decent and will work for a variety of things. Top dings very easily (hardly more than a glance will dent it).

I would look at some of the well made Chinese brands if you haven't (if they're in your price range): Eastman, Blueridge, Recording King, but you won't go wrong with either of those.

For the money you can't beat the Seagull S6. I have had one for about 10 years it has
aged quite well. It has such a nice rich tone.

 

[lobdale]

Upgraded to a (barely) used Ibanez GRG170DX for cheap from a friend last night, up from a generic Photogenic Strat ripoff that weighed a ton and had failing pickups. It's got an interesting floating trem that kind of makes the guitar difficult to switch between tunings with, but the sound is really crunchy and great and I love having the extra frets. Action is really nice too and it looks cool.

 

[genjiZERO]

Maybe it's a glitch but I just found a cool sitarish sounding setting if you have Boss DD-7.

E level: +75
F. back: +75
D time: +33
Mode: 50ms

 

[tuna on toast]

(not mine)

 

[CrudeDiatribe]

It'll just buff out.

 

[genjiZERO]

1. Parkwood PW360M - Apparently a factory brand for large retailers like Guitar Center, Musician's Friend etc. and owned by Cort. It's solid wood though - even the sides. Really really lovely guitar. Spectacular playability and tone. One of the best valued guitars I've seen for under $1000. My next acoustic will be a Grand Auditorium or Grand Concert, and I'll seriousl consider getting another Parkwood if I can track them down (they seem to be hard to find these days). This my main.... I play it probably 50% of the time.

2. Crafter CT-120N - Thinline Acoustic/electric. Very strange guitar. I don't see too many thinline acoustics around. Has the action of an electric, but sounds like an acoustic. I assume it's got a chamber... somewhere, but knocking on it you can't tell. It's great for practicing when you are watching TV and don't want the sounds. I use this mainly for my recording projects.

3. Heit - Semi-hollow. Weird Japanese guitar made in the 70s. It's not a particularly good guitar. A friend gave it to me. I need to replace it once I get some more money. Probably with an Epiphone Casino. I rarely play it

4. Fender - Telecaster Thinline - My main electric guitar. Really great. I wouldn't mind changing it out though... maybe for a Telecaster with single-coils or an SG.

5. Vox AC15 - this is the perfect amp for an amateur. Loud enough that I can play with others and can record, not so loud that it's unplayable in a small space. Eventually I'd like to get a second amp... which will probably be a Fender of some sort (I really like the tone of Fender amps. I have a Champion 200 which I use as a practice amp in my living room which sounds beautiful).

6. Boss - Roland Space Echo RE-20 - it's pretty interesting. I wish it was easier to get some of the reverb sound out of it. It's extremely vesetile and you can make wild sounds with it.

7. Boss - DD-7 - You can get some really really wonderful sounds out of this. With the Space Echo it is a little redundant, but it's nice to mix and match the sounds they make.

8. Electro-Harmonix - Small Stone Nano phaser - it's only OK. I'd like to replace it with something different - something with a little smoother sound. Any recommendations?

9. Proco Turbo Rat - Distortion pedal. It's pretty awesome. I highly recommend it if you want New Wavey distortion.

10. Boss - RC-20XL Loop Station - I don't know how to use this very well. I use it mainly to record rhythm sections which I practice lead over.

 

[Muddimar]

Nice collection ya got goin on there. I wish I had a better variety.

 

[genjiZERO]

Nice collection ya got goin on there. I wish I had a better variety.

Thanks a lot. I've actually got a few more guitars and amps, but there are my main ones. Like videogame consoles I keep all of my old ones. If you want to add some stuff just keep looking around. Everything except the Parkwood I bought off of Criagslist or Ebay at a steal. There do seem to be price bottoms (I don't think you can get the Space Echo, for example, for less than about $180), but you can find great deals if you look long enough (I only paid $70 for the DD7). I used to have a Russian Big Muff - but I stopped using it and left it in my parents garage a little too long and my dad gave it away! Damn I wish I still had that thing.

 

[Sobriquet]

Seeing that AC-15 reminds me that I want, nay, NEED this:

 

[genjiZERO]

Anyone have a recommendation on stomp box tuners? Boss TU3, Korg Pitchblack, Digitech HT-6, or TC Electronics Polytune - thoughts on these?

 

[Xun]

(not mine)

The fuck? What's the story on this?

 

[Sobriquet]

Anyone have a recommendation on stomp box tuners? Boss TU3, Korg Pitchblack, Digitech HT-6, or TC Electronics Polytune - thoughts on these?

I use the TU3, works great. The Polytune Mini looks nice if you're short on space. A lot of people recommend the Sonic Research Turbo Tuner.

I'm not so sure I need polyphonic tuning, but it might be nice to have. I got the Boss because they're reliable and built like a tank. I think any of the ones you're looking at will be fine.

 

[Rubbish King]

Anyone have a recommendation on stomp box tuners? Boss TU3, Korg Pitchblack, Digitech HT-6, or TC Electronics Polytune - thoughts on these?

I personally love the TC mini tuner, i still havent bought one but everywhere i look they are like highly recommended 100% i used one and i loved it.. TotalguitarMagazine also bum the shit out of it

 

[Prototype-03]

If anyone is interested in pedals, Catalinbread is having Easter Egg Hunt sale. I saw the Naga Viper for $115.00.

I just pulled on the Mystery Pedal for $100.00.

 

[genjiZERO]

I use the TU3, works great. The Polytune Mini looks nice if you're short on space. A lot of people recommend the Sonic Research Turbo Tuner.

I'm not so sure I need polyphonic tuning, but it might be nice to have. I got the Boss because they're reliable and built like a tank. I think any of the ones you're looking at will be fine.

Yeah I love Boss products. I usually look to them first just because they are made so well. My Electro-Harmonix pedal is clearly inferior structurally to my Boss ones. I'm not professional, and take care of my stuff, so I don't really think I need something capable of taking a beating. I was looking at the TU3 first, but I hear it's not as accurate as some of the other pedals. Not that I'd really be able to tell I'm sure though. Why I'm obsessing over the details of a bleeding stomp box tuner I have no idea!

I personally love the TC mini tuner, i still havent bought one but everywhere i look they are like highly recommended 100% i used one and i loved it.. TotalguitarMagazine also bum the shit out of it

Yeah, they seem pretty cool. I'm actually leaning towards one. The only problem is that they seem to be slightly more expensive than what I can get one of the others for... So I didn't know if it was worth the extra $20...

 

[Sobriquet]

Yeah I love Boss products. I usually look to them first just because they are made so well. My Electro-Harmonix pedal is clearly inferior structurally to my Boss ones. I'm not professional, and take care of my stuff, so I don't really think I need something capable of taking a beating. I was looking at the TU3 first, but I hear it's not as accurate as some of the other pedals. Not that I'd really be able to tell I'm sure though. Why I'm obsessing over the details of a bleeding stomp box tuner I have no idea!

The TU-3 has the same accuracy as the Pitchblack. The one it replaced, the TU-2, was less accurate than pretty much anything else on the market now. That's why it was updated. The Polytune has better accuracy in chromatic mode (but it's the same in polyphonic). FWIW, the Turbo Tuner has incredible accuracy, but it costs more than the rest.

Yeah, they seem pretty cool. I'm actually leaning towards one. The only problem is that they seem to be slightly more expensive than what I can get one of the others for... So I didn't know if it was worth the extra $20...

It's more than the Korg, less than the Boss.

The bottom line is, any of them will be fine.

 

[-x.Red.x-]

Hey GAF,

I have a cheap acoustic nylon string guitar and i would like to upgrade. I noticed a lot of players have a cutaway on their guitars

Can anyone recommend a good electric acoustic classical guitar with a cutaway?
my price range is up to $400.

 

[Septimius]

My self-made effects: (Fuzz, Overdrive, Muff)

Current guitars:

 

[Sobriquet]

^^ What pedals did you base yours on?

Fuzzface, tubescreamer, (which) muff? Is the fourth knob on your muff for mids? What did you add to the overdrive, as far the extra knob and switches?

 

[genjiZERO]

The TU-3 has the same accuracy as the Pitchblack. The one it replaced, the TU-2, was less accurate than pretty much anything else on the market now. That's why it was updated. The Polytune has better accuracy in chromatic mode (but it's the same in polyphonic). FWIW, the Turbo Tuner has incredible accuracy, but it costs more than the rest.

It's more than the Korg, less than the Boss.

The bottom line is, any of them will be fine.

I figured as much about the TU-3.

Yeah I know. They all seem great. Part of the fun is agonizing over which one to get! I think I might try to get the Polytune just because I like the idea of it, and if the accuracy is the same then it doesn't really matter. I was hoping to spend about $60 though.

Hey GAF,

I have a cheap acoustic nylon string guitar and i would like to upgrade. I noticed a lot of players have a cutaway on their guitars

Can anyone recommend a good electric acoustic classical guitar with a cutaway?
my price range is up to $400.

FYI cutaways come in Venetian and Florentine styles: http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/features/cutaways

If you look around enough you maybe able to get the guitar I have a Parkwood PW360M - which is a solid wood guitar, with a cutaway and Fishman electronics (has a great mic/pickup blend). Actually! Check out this ebay listing. You could probably haggle him down to 400 even. That's would be a pretty decent deal I think. Don't worry about the supposed crack - mine has a crack too (common with these guitars) - it's never been repaired but has never gotten worse or affected the sound or playability at all. I honestly never even notice it. So I'd recommend that one.

However, to be honest I think cutaways are pretty useless on an acoustic guitar. I almost never play that high on fretboard. They actually affect tone since there is less room in the resonating chamber. Acoustics without them sound better. Personally, if $400 was my limit I'd get a better guitar without a cutaway and electronics than a cheaper one with them. Overall I think both electric-acoustics and cutaways are overrated. So food for thought.

My self-made effects: (Fuzz, Overdrive, Muff)

Looks cool. I've been wanting to get into making my own pedals. I'd like to get one of the BYOC Marshall Shredmaster kits. How do they sound?

 

[Mango Positive]

My self-made effects: (Fuzz, Overdrive, Muff)

Current guitars:

Nice setup!

Mine a little sloppier... I have the 61 key controller up against the wall next to my guitar and I need a second screen to better utilize Sonar X1.

Have you played with the new HD500 firmware yet? It supposedly makes everything sound a LOT better. You can now deep edit your cabinets and there are a few new amps, including a Marshall Plexi. I'd try it out, but my center pin in my USB socket broke off and I didn't discover it until I tried to plug it in again, thus crushing the pins. Line 6 is taking care of me, but until I get it back, I have to lug my Mesa Boogie Mark IV cabinet and pedal board between practice and home.

 

[Septimius]

^^ What pedals did you base yours on?

Fuzzface, tubescreamer, (which) muff? Is the fourth knob on your muff for mids? What did you add to the overdrive, as far the extra knob and switches?

Fuzz face - BC108
TS808
Big Muff "Ram's head" (or was it triangle?)

The tube-screamer has a whole bunch of mods. one EQ switch, one LED/silicon/none clipping stage switch, and that one has an integrated booster on it, too. They're based on the kits from Build Your Own Clone with various modifications to them. They still need some labels on them, but the paint I got didn't really show, so I'm gonna have to do a bunch of layers for it to work. The Big Muff has a switch to use different filters. Really neat stuff.

 

[Septimius]

Nice setup!

Mine a little sloppier... I have the 61 key controller up against the wall next to my guitar and I need a second screen to better utilize Sonar X1.

Have you played with the new HD500 firmware yet? It supposedly makes everything sound a LOT better. You can now deep edit your cabinets and there are a few new amps, including a Marshall Plexi. I'd try it out, but my center pin in my USB socket broke off and I didn't discover it until I tried to plug it in again, thus crushing the pins. Line 6 is taking care of me, but until I get it back, I have to lug my Mesa Boogie Mark IV cabinet and pedal board between practice and home.

Nice. Just started a new job, so I'm looking to get settled a bit in, and then I'm gonna get back to playing a lot with the HD500. Haven't really had a chance to utilize it yet, which is a shame.

EDIT: Derp-post

 

[Angry Grimace]

Don't have pictures, but my current stable is:

2012 Charvel Pro Mod San Dimas. The factory in Japan that made these has gone out of business. However, they did make enough of them to last the year (allegedly), so they will either be discontinued or relocated (hopefully not to Korea, the Japanese guitar factories are actually staffed by people who went to luthierie school, which can't be said about even American guitar companies.)

2006 Gibson SG Faded. I like this one and think it's unique because of the Ebony fretboard, although it currently looks dusty as hell and has a terrible Invader pickup installed at the bridge. I'm not even sure why I never changed out that Invader for something more PAF like (I don't like super high output humbuckers, even for heavy metal.)

I literally don't have an amp right now. However, I'm going to pick up a Jet City JCA22H in a month or two so that I don't have to keep playing my old POD 2.0 silently.

 

[-x.Red.x-]

FYI cutaways come in Venetian and Florentine styles: http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/features/cutaways

If you look around enough you maybe able to get the guitar I have a Parkwood PW360M - which is a solid wood guitar, with a cutaway and Fishman electronics (has a great mic/pickup blend). Actually! Check out this ebay listing. You could probably haggle him down to 400 even. That's would be a pretty decent deal I think. Don't worry about the supposed crack - mine has a crack too (common with these guitars) - it's never been repaired but has never gotten worse or affected the sound or playability at all. I honestly never even notice it. So I'd recommend that one.

However, to be honest I think cutaways are pretty useless on an acoustic guitar. I almost never play that high on fretboard. They actually affect tone since there is less room in the resonating chamber. Acoustics without them sound better. Personally, if $400 was my limit I'd get a better guitar without a cutaway and electronics than a cheaper one with them. Overall I think both electric-acoustics and cutaways are overrated. So food for thought.

awesome,
thanks i will look into this

 

[genjiZERO]

awesome,
thanks i will look into this

what did you end up deciding on the guitar?

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

A friend has had a Parker P38 sitting in his attic for years now and gave it to me. Despite some rust on the hardware everything looks good. But, I am getting zero sound out of it. It's really weird. I opened it up and the insides all look perfect, no loose wires or soddering joints.

Any guesses from guitar Gaf? Don't want to bring it to Guitar Center but I'm thinking that's what I'm going to have to do.

 

[genjiZERO]

A friend has had a Parker P38 sitting in his attic for years now and gave it to me. Despite some rust on the hardware everything looks good. But, I am getting zero sound out of it. It's really weird. I opened it up and the insides all look perfect, no loose wires or soddering joints.

Any guesses from guitar Gaf? Don't want to bring it to Guitar Center but I'm thinking that's what I'm going to have to do.

you probably need to replace the pickups. Aren't there any mom and pop guitar stores near you? They could probably help you out for cheaper.

 

[CrudeDiatribe]

I am getting zero sound out of it. It's really weird. I opened it up and the insides all look perfect, no loose wires or soddering joints.

you probably need to replace the pickups.

Probably not. Pickups don't 'die' any more than any other component.

It's probably a broken wire, a cold solder joint, or a short.

Get a multimeter and figure it out.

 

[Fusebox]

A friend has had a Parker P38 sitting in his attic for years now and gave it to me. Despite some rust on the hardware everything looks good. But, I am getting zero sound out of it. It's really weird. I opened it up and the insides all look perfect, no loose wires or soddering joints.

Any guesses from guitar Gaf? Don't want to bring it to Guitar Center but I'm thinking that's what I'm going to have to do.

No sound on any pickup? That'll be the input jack or the master volume (if it's a single volume knob style setup).

 

[genjiZERO]

Probably not. Pickups don't 'die' any more than any other component.

It's probably a broken wire, a cold solder joint, or a short.

Get a multimeter and figure it out.

I dunno. I picked up a guitar like this a while back. The wiring was fine, but I got no sound out of the front pickup. Replaced it and haven't had any problems since. I do agree that he should make sure all the wiring is in fact altogether though.

 

[tuna on toast]

The fuck? What's the story on this?

I don't know. I got the pictures from a photographer's Facebook page.

 

[Fusebox]

I don't know. I got the pictures from a photographer's Facebook page.

Looks like a Hurricane Katrina guitar to me.

 

[Angry Grimace]

A friend has had a Parker P38 sitting in his attic for years now and gave it to me. Despite some rust on the hardware everything looks good. But, I am getting zero sound out of it. It's really weird. I opened it up and the insides all look perfect, no loose wires or soddering joints.

Any guesses from guitar Gaf? Don't want to bring it to Guitar Center but I'm thinking that's what I'm going to have to do.

Probably just a bad jack. Maybe even just needs some contact cleaner. Pickups don't just stop working.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

Probably just a bad jack. Maybe even just needs some contact cleaner. Pickups don't just stop working.

No sound on any pickup? That'll be the input jack or the master volume (if it's a single volume knob style setup).

Yeah, no sound on any of the pickups (SSH setup) so this is what I figured as well. There was zero popping or anything, so I think it must be the output jack. I eyed all the wiring and all the soldering joints looked absolutely perfect to the naked eye at least.

I know zero about electronics and shit, so I have nothing to test it or anything. Think I'll bring it to guitar center now that I'm more confident of what the problem is since I have others guessing the same thing. I hate bringing things somewhere with no guesses as to the problem, just scares me that I'm going to get fucked. So yeah, think I'll bring it in and just have them replace the output jack.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Yeah, no sound on any of the pickups (SSH setup) so this is what I figured as well. There was zero popping or anything, so I think it must be the output jack. I eyed all the wiring and all the soldering joints looked absolutely perfect to the naked eye at least.

I know zero about electronics and shit, so I have nothing to test it or anything. Think I'll bring it to guitar center now that I'm more confident of what the problem is since I have others guessing the same thing. I hate bringing things somewhere with no guesses as to the problem, just scares me that I'm going to get fucked. So yeah, think I'll bring it in and just have them replace the output jack.

Usually a cold solder joint can be detected by wiggling the wires around until there's some intermittent output, but I wouldn't be surprised if you've got a bad pot or jack. I would be very surprised if the pickups themselves are dead.

New pickups are pretty cheap from Guitarfetish anyways. You can get expensive pups, but I usually don't bother on a beater.

 

[Fusebox]

I hate bringing things somewhere with no guesses as to the problem, just scares me that I'm going to get fucked.

Go in for a jack repair, come back with 4 new disc brakes and rust proofing.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

Usually a cold solder joint can be detected by wiggling the wires around until there's some intermittent output, but I wouldn't be surprised if you've got a bad pot or jack. I would be very surprised if the pickups themselves are dead.

New pickups are pretty cheap from Guitarfetish anyways. You can get expensive pups, but I usually don't bother on a beater.

Yeah, that'd be crazy if all three pickups (four if you count the piezo) were fucked. I tried wiggling the wires, still nothing, no random pops or anything. I did discover the black wire coming from the 9volt battery going to the output jack was not connected to anything. I assume it should be?

Here's is a wiring diagram I found online, again I don't know shit about elecronics so I don't know what it is trying to say. But, yeah, the black leading from the 9volt to the output jack was just chilling out inside the cavity leading to the jack. Thoughts?

 

[Fusebox]

Oh the pups are active? Looks like that black cable needs to be connected to the ground otherwise there's no power loop. Easy fix if you have a solder iron handy.