| Author | Message | ||
     Robert Noel Reddington Grand Master Username: bob_uk Post Number: 1619 Registered: 5-2015 |
I went to an un-boxing ceremony of a £5000 Gibson the owner of the shop looked at it and said hes sending it back and refunding the buyer. He valued the guitar as a parts only value of £200. Amazing looking guitar but misaligned neck which would mean breaking the glued on neck and re shim plus a total refinish at a cost of £1500 and end up with repaired new guitar. Which will never be worth the money. A good Fender guitar starts at £800 new. | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 794 Registered: 2-2013 |
Bob, I have given away three electric guitars with their amplifiers out of sheer indignation that I have failed to be able to play them. Eventually, I am going to buy another guitar and amplifier. Keith Richards in his book Life advises to learn acoustic guitar first before moving to electric but the sound of acoustic guitar never did a thing for me. I was thinking of a good Gibson or Fender but are they really worth the coin compared to other brands less well known? | ||
| Robert Noel Reddington Grand Master Username: bob_uk Post Number: 1620 Registered: 5-2015 |
I disagree with Keith because you don't like acoustic so buy what you want. Both Fender and Gibson are good guitars but of recent Gibson has come in for a flack over quality. Guitars like cars lose money from new so I would suggest a good quality used guitar with hard case. Check out Yamaha. Amp wise I suggest 30 to 50 watt modelling amp like a Fender Mustang again used are available. A modelling amp will have settings to allow you to sound like famous guitarists or you can store your own settings to get your own signature sound. Chinese stuff requires care because although cheap its a bit pot luck. I am afraid there are no shortcuts to playing any instrument however check out open tuning and study it. Also power chords. This will give you a start at making lots of loud noises. Keith uses open G tuning and sometimes only 5 strings. I use a 1985 Tanglewood Katana which is a Fender Stratocaster copy made in England and is as good as a Fender I have seen these at car boots for £50. Amp wise I use a Sound City 120 watt combo which is seriously loud and really rocks | ||
| Robert Noel Reddington Grand Master Username: bob_uk Post Number: 1621 Registered: 5-2015 |
Sorry Vlad I didn't answer your question. Gibson add about 1000 bucks for the name and Fender 500 bucks. Fender are more robust than Gibson, Many a Gibson has been dropped and broken the neck right off. Yamaha Pacifica I think is worth a look. | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 797 Registered: 2-2013 |
Yeh well there. That's why Keef did a lot of H and bloody Anita. Its because he loved acoustic. | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 1777 Registered: 4-2016 |
Fender run a very robust single piece straight neck that is screwed on to the body using 4 super strong very course thread screws through a very solid roughly 4mm mounting plate. Anything goes wrong or abuse that the inserted truss rod can not adjust, 4 screws, new (or good used) neck, your done. Gibson use a 2 piece neck where the head stock is glued on backwards to give it the classic kick back angle. Then the whole neck is just glued on to the body, which in fact is super strong and almost looks like one piece. But fart wrong on or near that head stock, and she will just snap clean off. Why do I know this? I loaned my son (on many occasions) my cherry sunburst Les Paul for a gig, and whilst in the fitted hard case, his mate knocked it over and inside the case it snapped the head stock clean off just from the shock. It was repaired using 3 steel dowels plus glue then re lacquered and polished. You wouldn’t know it was ever broken. It even sounds better. I asked Gibson why they didn’t put the headstock together like this in the first place, I never got a reply. My son is a long time bass player, and now has 2 Fender Jazz bass, one vintage from 1979 made in the USA, one a New Mexican made Jazz. Both look amazing, but with unique sounds. He also has a double bass he uses for rockabilly gigs, which also ended up with a broken neck, right at the body. I repaired this using 3 x 100mm hex head course thread wood bolts, in countersunk holes, with lots of glue. Luckily the break went cleanly back together like 2 pieces of a jigsaw puzzle (similar to fracture fit main bearings) Sounds great still which is good. | ||
| Robert Noel Reddington Grand Master Username: bob_uk Post Number: 1623 Registered: 5-2015 |
I have just checked a Yamaha Pacifica retails at under 200 dollars USA. Diminishing return apply a lot to guitars a 200 quid guitar will not be as good as a 300 quid guitar and a 500 quid guitar will only be little better and a 1000 quid guitar about the same. There is a lot of bull sh@t in the guitar world as towards quality and materials. If all the notes play and are in tune and stay in tune and the pickups are good then the guitar is ok. The rest is down to the amp a quality amp is important though 25% guitar 75% amp. Double bass are prone to damage. never like the Les paul due to sharp corners on the body I prefer the Strat shape from Fender which can be used for hitting drunken louts when they try to invade the stage, my cousin was doing security for The Edgar Broughton Band and a lout attacked the bass guitarist who knocked the lout out and finished the number in perfect tune Fender precision bass. | ||
| ross kowalski Grand Master Username: cdfpw Post Number: 668 Registered: 11-2015 |
Vlad, Make one when you are a pensioner. http://myplace.frontier.com/~nostberg/ | ||
| ross kowalski Grand Master Username: cdfpw Post Number: 669 Registered: 11-2015 |
Forgot about this pic. My wife at the guitar shop forge. http://myplace.frontier.com/~nostberg/other_stuff/blacksmithing/blacksmithing.htm | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 2774 Registered: 4-2003 |
Ross - thank you, thank you, thank you. Industrial archaeology is a fascinating and rewarding field of interest for me and to discover and recreate lost arts is a rewarding ultimate goal. The way metal "talks" to you on the anvil when being hit with a manual or powered hammer has to be experienced to be understood. It is an art and not a science and you have to be born with the ability to recognise and respond to this characteristic - fortunately I was born with this ability. The first female metallurgy graduate in Australia was completing her degree at UNSW when I started and a female trainee started a part-time Metallurgy Certificate at Comsteel Newcastle at the same time I started with the Company. Your wife is a member of a ground-breaking group and working in a field where almost every new job is challenging and rewarding. | ||
| ross kowalski Grand Master Username: cdfpw Post Number: 670 Registered: 11-2015 |
David, I agree, few things are more rewarding than working iron. A couple friends of ours run a non profit that is devoted to learning about old technology by recreating it. http://www.handshouse.org/. Great folks. | ||
| Robert Noel Reddington Grand Master Username: bob_uk Post Number: 1627 Registered: 5-2015 |
I can feel and hear metal. metal has a memory | ||
| Graham Watson Frequent User Username: graham508 Post Number: 78 Registered: 3-2016 |
Wow I can't believe they made an exact replica of the Turtle and launched it not too far away from where I live. When I was young the story of the turtle captivated me so much I built a homemade submarine myself. Fortunately my father got wind of the project and stopped the launch  | ||
| Robert Noel Reddington Grand Master Username: bob_uk Post Number: 1631 Registered: 5-2015 |
Any way back to guitars. Maybe Vlad would like a bass guitar I checked on Fender strats £520 inc tax UK Squier is Fender cheap line £250 Epiphone is Gibson cheap line and £300 for a Les Paul. Both Squier and Epiphone are good guitars Music theory. knowing just school boy level helps a lot. As you learn how to play one tends to pick up on the theory. |
