The Perpetual Guitar Thread

[beeblebrox]

Now, a follow-up to that question: what about budget Strats vs Les Pauls?

First off, I'm going as low budget as it goes because I simply don't have money to throw around, so it'll either be an Epiphone or Squier. I've been playing acoustic for some years now, seriously enough that I know I want to get an electric, but still very casually enough that I'm not going to spend big bucks on it.

Have you considered other brands that might fit your criteria? There are, for example, a LOT of used Ibanez guitars out there. And while a lot of people automatically associate Ibanez with "shred," they make some really good guitars at the lower price points. And, IMO, I'd rather pick up a used Ibanez for $200 than a Fender Squire or a trashed Epiphone at the same price.

 

[beeblebrox]

I would absolutely consider other brands, if they would be available and within my budget on the local second-hand market (either Craigslist or local shops). I don't have very much to spend, and I'm now able to up my budget to about $200 CAD ($155 USD). There's an Ibanez going for $200 "as is" for parts. That's the cheapest one, the others are asking for $300 CAD and higher, which is effectively double my original budget.

I'm definitely going to have to try out different pickup configurations to find out what I would like best. There's a Yamaha 112 with the HSS configuration that seems to receive the popular opinion of being very versatile for beginner-intermediate players. I'm definitely not good enough to know the difference in feel between a bolt-on neck vs glued on, so I'm not really concerned about those kinds of differences. Also, I'm going to try and avoid getting something with a tremolo, if I can, but obviously since I'm working with a budget, if the model I decide upon has one, not much I can do.

Gotcha. Just thought I'd ask, not knowing your particulars. And you're right, $155 USD isn't a lot to spend. A lot opens up if you can double that budget, but I know that's already your "upped" amount, right?

 

[beeblebrox]

While I love Ibanez, the Gios and miKros are suuuuuuuper inconsistent.

I'd agree with you there, but I also don't even consider those, TBH. I should have said that.

Not to say you shouldn't try an Ibanez! Get your hands on one and see if you like it. I will say that you absolutely should not get a guitar with a Floyd/Edge/whatever trem as your first guitar. They're a lot more of a pain to deal with than it's worth when you're just learning, unless you're absolutely set on sick 80's hair metal divebombs being your thing.

This is huge truth right here. Though there are actually PLENTY of non-double locking guitars in the Ibanez lineup. For a good quality Les Paul style, there's the ARZ line: https://www.guitarcenter.com/search?typ ... ibanez+arz

Not looking for a Les Paul style? You can pick up a fixed-bridge RG6003 brand-new pretty cheap, too: https://www.guitarcenter.com/Ibanez/RG6 ... -Guitar.gc

However, these are all out of asbath's budget, so...

Note: Not endorsing Guitar Center. Just using them as a convenient reference.

 

[beeblebrox]

So I think my next bass is going to be an Ibanez BTB1826E. I played a few BTBs at Guitar Center yesterday and really dig the tone. The 17mm string spacing seems just right as well. Not sure exactly when I'll be buying it, but if anybody wants to buy a Lakland 55-02 or a Conklin GT-7, I'm taking offers.

Those BTBs (in general) were new additions to the Ibanez lineup when I left there in late '99. Those individually-mounted saddles *really* contribute to the tone of the thing. Plus, they look cool as hell. IMO, waaaaaay better-looking than the Ibanez ATK line (which also, BTW, sound great).

I expect a review of your new bass when you have it, sir.

 

[beeblebrox]

My new bass is at my local Guitar Center. The end of the work day can't get here fast enough!

Jehos, the Cheeto bass, WTF? Updates! Pics! Do your duty, man.

 

[beeblebrox]

Uh oh - it's happening.

I accidentally bought one of these today.

Those are really nice. How's it sound?

 

[beeblebrox]

I'm left-handed, but am learning to play right-handed. I may come to regret this, but it makes things a lot easier to follow when I'm being taught in person or by YouTube.

Honestly, I don't really see a reason that it matters. Now I'm a righty so I can't speak from experience, but when starting out, the hardest piece of the puzzle is fingering chords, not strumming. So it seems like an advantage to have your dominant hand on the neck. Ultimately, both hands end up pretty busy, so it seems reasonable that one can play the guitar in either handedness they wish.

Learning to play right-handed will allow you a wider selection of guitars throughout your playing time, as most manufacturers offer a really slimmed-down range of left-handers in their lines.

 

[beeblebrox]

[*]"Lawsuit" era Electra 2256 clone of a Les Paul. Mahogany body and rosewood top. Note the Gibson open-book headstock, which changed when Gibson brought a suit against Ibanez over this trademark.

Funny bit of trivia about that lawsuit... by the time it was filed and Ibanez/Hoshino was served with papers at NAMM, they had already changed the headstock to no longer look like the "open book" style, and so the lawsuit... wasn't actually. Ibanez had shown up at NAMM with the new style headstocks.

 

[beeblebrox]

Thank you for the addition to the family, beeblebrox!

You are more than welcome and I'm glad to have had her go to a good home.

 

[beeblebrox]

Yay! First guitar ever and hoping to learn to play. Orangewood Rey Mahogany.

That is a handsome guitar. Enjoy and welcome aboard.

 

[beeblebrox]

It's not uncommon for people to suggest putting slices of business cards or whatever inside the neck pocket to adjust neck angle, which is just "WHY???" when you're talking about a several hundred (or thousand) dollar instrument.

It's actually a very common industry practice to put shims in the neck pocket to get the neck angle correct. It was done all the time at Ibanez when I was there, and still is. As tight a tolerance as you may be able to get with modern manufacturing, sometimes it still needs a little something. A shim is the best way to do it. Heck, I've seen shims under locking nuts, and under individual Floyd-style bridge saddles.

It happens, and it's normal.

 

[beeblebrox]

Just wanted to chime in with anecdotal "evidence" here, but... I own a '91 (Dec 2, 1991, so probably really a '92) Les Paul Studio Lite and I have never had tuning issues like you all are going on about. It's held tuning better than my then-bass player's bass, and my '88 Jackson USA Custom slipped more out of tune than the LP.

Well, except that one time my drummer lost his grip and his drumstick went up, and came down on my headstock, detuning all three low strings because the stick hit every tuner on that side of the headstock.

Whereas a Les Paul is all, “ you’re not white, you don’t have the stink of successful lawyer money on you, and while it’s clear your fingers can boomer bend till the strings snap, you’re just not who I’m looking for. So fuck off.” And I’m okay with that too because I love me my super strat anyway.

Hey, I feel seen. Except my Paul is beat up from endless gigs, is blue, and I don't make lawyer money.

And I have a super strat, too.

"Boomer bend" is hysterical.

 

[beeblebrox]

So here's a question, how do you decide when you should upgrade your guitar or get a second one, and what sort it should be?

That depends on so many things. First, are you getting all the tones you want to get out of the guitar you have? Meaning: A Les Paul does not sound like a Strat. But if you need Strat-like sounds, no matter what other gear you put in your signal chain, you're only going to get *so close* until you just give in and get a different guitar.

Now, if you ARE getting the tones you like/need from your current axe, but are unsatisfied with some aspect of the guitar, then upgrading the guitar might be the best path. A change of pickups will make a HUGE difference in most cases, but still will keep you within the "tone family" you're going to get from your basic axe. Upgrading your current guitar is one of the most fiscally responsible ways to see what the little differences will do to your guitar and sound. Plus, if you don't like it, it's easy to undo and you're not potentially stuck with an expensive guitar you now need to try and sell.

If you're getting the tones you need AND you're happy with everything about the guitar, then just get another guitar and experiment. New gear does wonders for making you say things like, "why didn't I try THAT before?"

IMO, YMMV, IANYL (I Am Not Your Luthier).

 

[beeblebrox]

I came across the Ibanez JIVA10 which looks pretty stunning, and (not that this is unique to it or anything of course) it's got an H-S-H setup for the pickups and a five-way selector, as opposed to H-H and a three-way selector on my Epiphone SG Standard so I presume you'd get more choices in tone out of it, I just don't know what those would be. Time to hit up some YouTube I guess!

Not to make things worse, but there are Ibanez (and other brands as well) that have HH, but use a 5-way switch so you get coil tapping (for Strat-like tones), series/parallel wiring, and more. But maybe let's start slow.

 

[beeblebrox]

Interesting! Do you have any specific examples I can look at further?

Anuj covered it pretty much. For your dollar, it's hard to beat the versatility and quality you get with Ibanez (I will admit to being biased here, having worked for them in the late '90s).

That said... my two main axes are a 92 Les Paul Studio Lite Custom (say that 5 times fast), and a 2021 Ibanez RG421 in green sparkle. So while I really like Ibanez, I don't pretend they're the be-all, end-all. Just really nice options.

 

[beeblebrox]

that looks delicious.

now get thee a pedalboard!

I have one, homemade pine board, it hides my 1spot CS7 underneath, which is out of picture

I have one I made out of walnut and red oak. It's like a piece of furniture and I could club someone with it, LOL. But it fits my needs perfectly AND I enjoyed making it.

 

[beeblebrox]

It's not THAT heavy. But then, I'm not using a lot of pedals these days (the Boss Katana does a good enough job for me for most effects I need). So the walnut/red oak pedalboard isn't super huge, but gets the job done:

Spoiler

Angled so you can see some of the wood removed to lighten things slightly:

And yes, I know I can optimize it better. It's a work in progress.

 

[beeblebrox]

Looks very nice. Use a nice stainer/sealer depending on what colors your like

It's finished with a beeswax rub for a natural wood look. It looks like it's time to re-apply.

 

[beeblebrox]

I'd probably fall down or break the non-pedal when trying for the second row ones!

Same. I could never do a 2nd row, I'm just not coordinated enough.

 

[beeblebrox]

Zaphod Beeblebrox might enjoy such a guitar.

I might, indeed.

LOL.

 

[beeblebrox]

More seriously: proper Telecasters aren't for people

T,FTFY.

 

[beeblebrox]

Nice! Is that a legit Floyd Rose, or an Ibanez clone?

That guitar is equipped with one of the Ibanez EDGE variants.

 

[beeblebrox]

(And you'll note that there's conveniently space for a third guitar should such a thing happen down the track. )

It will happen.

 

[beeblebrox]

New addition to the family as an early Christmas present. Couldn't pass it up, the asking price was just too good.

Loving it.

 

[beeblebrox]

Thanmks, it plays great. Takes a little getting used to; the larger body size means it sits differently from my other guitars, and the fretboard is actually canted away from my more -- meaning I can't see what I'm playing like I can with my Les Paul and Ibanez RG guitars. And while I knew the neck was more baseball bat-ty, I wasn't prepared for just how much fuller it is compared to the others. It fills my hand!

 

[beeblebrox]

FYI, and I may be biased a little bit, but Ibanez makes a heck of a guitar in the "lower end/new player" budget range. And I don't mean one, single instrument, there's quite the assortment. And they're not all hair metal guitars anymore, either.

 

[beeblebrox]

LOL... it's this thread's fault for suggesting looking at a guitar I hadn't before.

Wait until you start browsing for guitars you know you don't need, but start justifying anyway.

 

[beeblebrox]

I like Black, Darker or Metallic Blue, or Dark Purple.

Double Add On: When I say Purple I mean something like this.. which was just outside of my budget but bookmarked.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LEC256STPSB--esp-ltd-eclipse-ec-256fm-see-thru-purple-burst

I like that color, but black hardware would go miles further on it IMO.

I see several ESP LTDs that I like, but I just can't. Personal preferences, of course, but I don't like the inlays (both the style and the inlay at the first fret) and I prefer a flatter radius.

 

[beeblebrox]

Oh yeah, if you're playing around the house, you could do so so so much worse than the THR! The Katana are pretty brilliant too.

I have one of those (the Katana) and it's honestly the best thing to have for dicking around on. Sounds good live, too, but you need to have 2 of every patch -- one for "in the house," and one tweaked for "with a band."

 

[beeblebrox]

But what the heck is with the block inlay on the first fret?

This is my personal pet peeve about guitars and basses. An inlay on the first fret is just wrong.

 

[beeblebrox]

This is my personal pet peeve about guitars and basses. An inlay on the first fret is just wrong.

I actually posted my full reasoning for this stance in the The Absurd Hill You will Die On Is thread in The Lounge. I stand by it.

 

[beeblebrox]

It's NGD... well, it was over the weekend. Finally back at home and sharing:

Spoiler

Nothing crazy-fancy, but a PRS in this color has been kind of on my bucket list for a while now. So, woo!

 

[beeblebrox]

That's a beauty. Enjoy!

Way ahead of you. Jammed on it with my friends and semi-band on Saturday night at a Halloween party. I think I clocked ~3 hours that night alone already.

 

[beeblebrox]

So, question for the hive mind here: I'd like to mod my PRS in a non-permanent manner (I have zero desire to deface this guitar by drilling a new hole) by installing a momentary cut-off switch. My thought is to use a push/push volume pot, and wire it so if I push it, it kills the signal. The problem there is it's not a momentary cut-off (ie, push it kills the sound, release it comes back -- I would have to "double push" to make it "stutter").

Can anyone point me in the direction of a momentary-push volume pot that I could use to achieve this? If not, I mean, I'll go the "double push" route. But I'd rather not if I can get away with it.

 

[beeblebrox]

Well, nevermind, I think I just found the answer to my own question: https://shadowelectronics.com/products/sh-124

 

[beeblebrox]

That would certainly look cool on stage, though.

 

[beeblebrox]

All right people. I have joined the Paul Reed Smith family. Really really happy with the feel and playability of this guitar. It's a keeper.

She's pretty!

Curious as to the customizations. Does that setup/color combo signify anything, or just something you like?

 

[beeblebrox]

See, I would like to purchase a new amp. I know the one. Not a lot of gain but headroom for miles. I know if I buy the amp I'm going to need to add some pedals to get it sounding like I want. Then I'm building a pedal board. Next thing you know I'm living in a storage shed with all the gear...

That's why I bought a Boss Katana.

 

[beeblebrox]

Can an expression pedal be used with that? I don't know anything about pedals and stuff. But I think with the effects processors you can set the pedal to control different effects, is that right? Like when playing "The Rumble" could you turn the vibrato way up at the end?

I still have not pulled the trigger on any gear, just playing through a little 15w Crate.

Yes, though there are different versions of the Katana and the "lower end" ones skimp on connections; their basic 50w has connections for EITHER a footswitch OR an expression pedal. There are workarounds, of course, or you just spend a little more to get the "nicer" models which support both simultaneously.

 

[beeblebrox]

Seems like the 50w MkII EX would be the sweet spot for me, $300ish and two foot controllers. I like the memory functions... the more I read the more I like.

It's a great amp, honestly (I'm using the MkI 50w 1x12, so no expression pedal or external FX loop for me), and there are TONS of patches out there for it if you don't want to build your own. And if you're going to build your own, there are a couple of options (the BOSS Tone Studio is... okay, but there's a 3rd party one that shows your FX as stompboxes on your PC screen and you can drag/drop them around, and then there's an Android app you can connect right to the amp and make changes that way).

And it's a decently-loud 50 watts, too. The thing I like most though is there's a "watt setting," where you can change the output level of your amp (ie, .5 watt, 25 watt, 50 watt) so in a "practice" situation in your room, you could set it to .5 watt and still crank the thing, instead of having to dial the volume back and not "push" the amp.

Very nice.