So Who Here Plays Guitar?

[Lockback]

I agree. The "tone wood" thing with electrics is voodoo, and thinking fretboard wood makes a difference that human ears can detect is even moreso.

That said, I think construction — like solid-body vs. semi-solid vs. archtop — makes a difference.

Totally agree with you. My semi-hollow body definitely has a different tone from my solid body electrics.
And, as for the fretboard wood, some claim they can tell a difference but there's no way I can.
Now, on an acoustic, is there a difference between a spruce top and a mahogany top? Or the back and sides? You bet. They're noticeable. But some of that other stuff to me is nonsense.

 

[Eleven]

I have been really considering picking up an acoustic. Would love some suggestions/opinions.

Based on my budget and a few youtube videos, a yamaha FG830 or FS830 looks like a good option for a beginner.
But I am wondering if the Epiphone Hummingbird studio is a better option. Its 200$ more which takes it above what I had thought to spend. I will if some of you experienced folks think its worth the extra.
Yamaha is 470$ CDN
Epiphone is 650$ CDN

Thanks
Jay

If at all possible try them in a Music Store. There's no substitute for having them in your hands.

 

[Eleven]

I have too many. My favorite is a Gretsch semi-hollow body electric with a Bigsby. I've been playing for seven years. My wife is a professional music teacher so...

My favorite style is probably blues but really enjoy almost everything. I'm really glad I've learned to read music too. That opens worlds. Playing guitar has taught me so many valuable lessons like patience, persistence, consistency, the value of slow incremental skill growth.

 

[Lockback]

If at all possible try them in a Music Store. There's no substitute for having them in your hands.

I concur. Unfortunately, not many decent music stores in my area.
I've established an excellent relationship with Sweetwater, the megastore in Fort Wayne, IN. I can order a guitar on a Friday afternoon and have it in my hands the next day and I've never gotten a bad guitar from them. They do a decent setup for a big operation. In a Perfect World, I'd love to play everything I buy prior to handing over my credit card but it's not always in the cards.
Here are a couple I've bought from them, using the pictures I used to pic 'em. I'll take some of my own and post them one of these days ...

D'Angelico DC XT Semi Hollow Body. Simply amazing guitar. My favorite electric ...

Yamaha FSTA
This features the Transacoustic feature which allows you to add both Reverb and Chorus with the push of a button. Without that feature, it's still a terrific acoustic but when you add push the button it adds a whole new level. Not just a parlor trick. It works and it's nice.

 

[Lockback]

I have too many. My favorite is a Gretsch semi-hollow body electric with a Bigsby. I've been playing for seven years. My wife is a professional music teacher so...

My favorite style is probably blues but really enjoy almost everything. I'm really glad I've learned to read music too. That opens worlds. Playing guitar has taught me so many valuable lessons like patience, persistence, consistency, the value of slow incremental skill growth.

I wish I'd learned to read music. They say it's never too late but ... well ... it's getting late.

 

[BradWorld]

Beautiful guitars everyone!

Regarding tonewoods, I wholeheartedly believe they make a difference. And price isn’t the deciding factor. There are lots of great inexpensive guitars now. Not so much before the late 80s. But now there are ridiculously good guitars for the price of a night out with your sweetly.

Tonewood Example… take two Gibson Les Pauls from different years and put the same pickups in both. They will sound different enough to tell them apart. Everything adds or subtracts from the sound, right down to the thickness of the lacquer. The way the wood has dried over the years. Same thing with Tele’s and Strats. Basses too. It’s not a huge difference in this case, but it is noticeable to a seasoned ear.

Regarding pickups, there is a similar principle at work. I have a personal affection for pickups that are wound at the Dean Guitars custom shop down in Tampa. Great pickups wound right there in the shop. I have them in several Deans, as well as ESPs and Fenders. The same exact pickup sounds completely different in and ESP Eclipse, versus a Gibson Les Paul, versus a Fender Strat. The body shapes are different, and the wood reacts differently, which makes the pickup sound different. If the tone were dictated directly by the pickup, a Duncan JB would sound the same in many guitars of different shapes. But it doesn’t. The one exception is the standard EMG pickups like the 81. That pickup is active and sounds very much the same in most guitars because it processes the sound inside the pickup with a preamp. Some people debate that as well.

But the reality of all this is that when playing a gig with a rock band through a PA and all the other sound altering stimuli, a lot of those somewhat subtle differences are lost and not noticeable.

I have spent many years playing dozens of guitars and basses. Modifying them. Tweaking them. And it’s really an obsession similar to collecting DE razors. They all shave. And all the guitars play. For the collector, the enthusiast, the tone freak… it matters because of the emotional aspects, and the personal biases and preferences. But they all play if they are somewhat decent and setup correctly. I’ve played many shows with inexpensive import guitars/basses and they were great!

Here are some of my favorite axes right now.

 

[Jayson74]

If at all possible try them in a Music Store. There's no substitute for having them in your hands.

If I knew how to play absolutely I would play first!

Be well
Jay

 

[Lockback]

Beautiful guitars everyone!

Regarding tonewoods, I wholeheartedly believe they make a difference. And price isn’t the deciding factor. There are lots of great inexpensive guitars now. Not so much before the late 80s. But now there are ridiculously good guitars for the price of a night out with your sweetly.

Tonewood Example… take two Gibson Les Pauls from different years and put the same pickups in both. They will sound different enough to tell them apart. Everything adds or subtracts from the sound, right down to the thickness of the lacquer. The way the wood has dried over the years. Same thing with Tele’s and Strats. Basses too. It’s not a huge difference in this case, but it is noticeable to a seasoned ear.

Regarding pickups, there is a similar principle at work. I have a personal affection for pickups that are wound at the Dean Guitars custom shop down in Tampa. Great pickups wound right there in the shop. I have them in several Deans, as well as ESPs and Fenders. The same exact pickup sounds completely different in and ESP Eclipse, versus a Gibson Les Paul, versus a Fender Strat. The body shapes are different, and the wood reacts differently, which makes the pickup sound different. If the tone were dictated directly by the pickup, a Duncan JB would sound the same in many guitars of different shapes. But it doesn’t. The one exception is the standard EMG pickups like the 81. That pickup is active and sounds very much the same in most guitars because it processes the sound inside the pickup with a preamp. Some people debate that as well.

But the reality of all this is that when playing a gig with a rock band through a PA and all the other sound altering stimuli, a lot of those somewhat subtle differences are lost and not noticeable.

I have spent many years playing dozens of guitars and basses. Modifying them. Tweaking them. And it’s really an obsession similar to collecting DE razors. They all shave. And all the guitars play. For the collector, the enthusiast, the tone freak… it matters because of the emotional aspects, and the personal biases and preferences. But they all play if they are somewhat decent and setup correctly. I’ve played many shows with inexpensive import guitars/basses and they were great!

Here are some of my favorite axes right now.

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Impressive!!!!
Beautiful Les Paul and, man, a Flying V and an Explorer. Sweeeet!

 

[Remy]

Beautiful guitars everyone!

Regarding tonewoods, I wholeheartedly believe they make a difference. And price isn’t the deciding factor. There are lots of great inexpensive guitars now. Not so much before the late 80s. But now there are ridiculously good guitars for the price of a night out with your sweetly.

Tonewood Example… take two Gibson Les Pauls from different years and put the same pickups in both. They will sound different enough to tell them apart. Everything adds or subtracts from the sound, right down to the thickness of the lacquer. The way the wood has dried over the years. Same thing with Tele’s and Strats. Basses too. It’s not a huge difference in this case, but it is noticeable to a seasoned ear.

Regarding pickups, there is a similar principle at work. I have a personal affection for pickups that are wound at the Dean Guitars custom shop down in Tampa. Great pickups wound right there in the shop. I have them in several Deans, as well as ESPs and Fenders. The same exact pickup sounds completely different in and ESP Eclipse, versus a Gibson Les Paul, versus a Fender Strat. The body shapes are different, and the wood reacts differently, which makes the pickup sound different. If the tone were dictated directly by the pickup, a Duncan JB would sound the same in many guitars of different shapes. But it doesn’t. The one exception is the standard EMG pickups like the 81. That pickup is active and sounds very much the same in most guitars because it processes the sound inside the pickup with a preamp. Some people debate that as well.

But the reality of all this is that when playing a gig with a rock band through a PA and all the other sound altering stimuli, a lot of those somewhat subtle differences are lost and not noticeable.

I have spent many years playing dozens of guitars and basses. Modifying them. Tweaking them. And it’s really an obsession similar to collecting DE razors. They all shave. And all the guitars play. For the collector, the enthusiast, the tone freak… it matters because of the emotional aspects, and the personal biases and preferences. But they all play if they are somewhat decent and setup correctly. I’ve played many shows with inexpensive import guitars/basses and they were great!

Here are some of my favorite axes right now.

View attachment 1704460

View attachment 1704461

View attachment 1704462


View attachment 1704465

View attachment 1704467

I feel slightly crazy. Of all that lovely gear, the part I reacted most to was the Tweaker 15. I miss mine. Such a great little amp for home use.

 

[Remy]

So, my Glarry s type arrived today. I'm floored. No joke, the bones on this for a beginner or casual non beginner are astounding. No question, it'll take a little love to get really set, but the neck was snug (lookin at you Fender, tighten those screws), the truss rod was set properly, or at least what I consider proper, nearly flat but enough relief for my old eyes to see under the gauge. Nut seems fine, the strings properly follow the neck curvature. The neck itself needed some love with steel wool or scotchbrite. I used scotchbrite and it's a nice smooth satin neck now. It had some spots where the finish was rough and such.

Frets were flush and smooth, but crisp edged. I'll round them a bit when my replacement strings arrive and I strip it down. Ditto for the fret polish and a little F1 on the fret board. Mine looks to be a two piece body and pretty. The actual body could easily be on a guitar in the thousand dollar range if you ignore the cheap hardware attached. Honestly, these days that neck could be too, other than the finish flaws that are already fixed. The pick guard and knobs look inexpensive but not toy like. I will probably figure out what size I need and order nicer knobs and a tip for the switch. That'll class it up.

Tuners are the usual functional but cheap stuff, same with the bridge. No surprise there. I do wish they'd actually properly screwed in the bridge. lol Half the screws are sticking up way too high, the other half appear to be snugged down completely.

I haven't checked intonation since I'm changing strings anyway, but she tuned up and they look appropriate. Action adjusted just fine (1.5mm hex).

All the wiring was correct and while I'm doubting there's any cavity shielding, it's not particularly noisy. A little static crackle but we're pretty dry here and it's still fresh with the plastic covering on the fretboard. Even if it stays, it's not any worse than I've dealt with on nice stuff.

If you told me it was a $850 strat I'd be a bit unhappy about the tuners, bridge and pickguard/knobs, but put it down to the company cutting corners to otherwise put out a really nice guitar under $1k. That just blows me away for a $90 delivered guitar.
The difference is that for this to be good, you have to be able to do a little bit of work yourself.

I don't have another guitar handy to compare pickups, but I also didn't notice anything about them. To me, as long as they aren't sounding defective and are reasonably balanced, I can just adjust down chain. I'll obviously be paying more attention to them later on but again, if you told me it was a MiM Fender I'd be nit picking not laughing at you.

 

[The Knize]

I have had good luck with Glarry.

 

[bigbrucefan]

I'm actually here because of The Gear Page
I have too much of evrything - guitars, amps, pedals.
I just received a completed build from my friend David Petillo. He takes care of all of my guitars. I'll see if I can find a picture of it (I'm on flip phone).

 

[Lockback]

So, my Glarry s type arrived today. I'm floored. No joke, the bones on this for a beginner or casual non beginner are astounding. No question, it'll take a little love to get really set, but the neck was snug (lookin at you Fender, tighten those screws), the truss rod was set properly, or at least what I consider proper, nearly flat but enough relief for my old eyes to see under the gauge. Nut seems fine, the strings properly follow the neck curvature. The neck itself needed some love with steel wool or scotchbrite. I used scotchbrite and it's a nice smooth satin neck now. It had some spots where the finish was rough and such.

Frets were flush and smooth, but crisp edged. I'll round them a bit when my replacement strings arrive and I strip it down. Ditto for the fret polish and a little F1 on the fret board. Mine looks to be a two piece body and pretty. The actual body could easily be on a guitar in the thousand dollar range if you ignore the cheap hardware attached. Honestly, these days that neck could be too, other than the finish flaws that are already fixed. The pick guard and knobs look inexpensive but not toy like. I will probably figure out what size I need and order nicer knobs and a tip for the switch. That'll class it up.

Tuners are the usual functional but cheap stuff, same with the bridge. No surprise there. I do wish they'd actually properly screwed in the bridge. lol Half the screws are sticking up way too high, the other half appear to be snugged down completely.

I haven't checked intonation since I'm changing strings anyway, but she tuned up and they look appropriate. Action adjusted just fine (1.5mm hex).

If you told me it was a $850 strat I'd be a bit unhappy about the tuners, bridge and pickguard/knobs, but put it down to the company cutting corners to otherwise put out a really nice guitar under $1k. That just blows me away for a $90 delivered guitar.
The difference is that for this to be good, you have to be able to do a little bit of work yourself.

I don't have another guitar handy to compare pickups, but I also didn't notice anything about them. To me, as long as they aren't sounding defective and are reasonably balanced, I can just adjust down chain. I'll obviously be paying more attention to them later on but again, if you told me it was a MiM Fender I'd be nit picking not laughing at you.

As many have said, we live in the Golden Age of affordable instruments. The Fenders and Gibsons have their Squier and Epiphone subsidiaries that exist off shore where labor is much cheaper and, to their credit, they have instituted some pretty effective quality control measures. Indonesia and China both produce really, really good guitars using decent components and manufacturing techniques like CNC machining that allow us to enjoy them at a fraction of the cost of guitars produced in Southern California or Nashville.
I haven't spend a ton on my 7 guitars. I'd guess the average cost is around $500 per guitar and yet with one minor exception they're all high quality instruments that are a joy to play.

 

[BradWorld]

I feel slightly crazy. Of all that lovely gear, the part I reacted most to was the Tweaker 15. I miss mine. Such a great little amp for home use.

Yeah, the Tweaker is an amazing amp for very little money. Super clean and dirty tones. And takes pedals as good as anything. As I continue to downsize for my imminent nomadic lifestyle, I will have a hard time figuring out if I can keep this one. When one is living in an RV, it will be tough to keep amps with separate heads and cabinets. My Deluxe Reverb Tone Master will most likely get the nod as my gigging amp. And the Spark amp will be my practice amp for sure. So what to do with the Tweaker will be a tough decision.

 

[Lockback]

Yeah, the Tweaker is an amazing amp for very little money. Super clean and dirty tones. And takes pedals as good as anything. As I continue to downsize for my imminent nomadic lifestyle, I will ;ohave a hard time figuring out if I can keep this one. When one is living in an RV, it will be tough to keep amps with separate heads and cabinets. My Deluxe Reverb Tone Master will most likely get the nod as my gigging amp. And the Spark amp will be my practice amp for sure. So what to do with the Tweaker will be a tough decision.

The Tone Master line really appeals to me. I'm a fan of digital amps (granted, I'm not a gigging musician): lighter, less maintenance, etc. I have a Marshall Code 25 and a Boss Katana 50.
I did buy a little Blackstar Fly 3 practice amp and the auxiliary speaker just for kicks and I've used it more than I thought I would. I'll take it up to my brother-in-law's place and it holds its own for a little 6-watt amp!

 

[Remy]

Right now I am trying to decide if I get a Spark Go or a small “real” amp. I use BiasFX already but my worry is volume and tone from the little guy. I would be fine most of the time, but I don’t want to buy twice for a little amp. A Mini is enough that I start thinking Katana 50. Option three is a little Marshall MG. Probably the 15. Leave it clean and use my small pedal board. Price wise I would rather the Go or MG10. From a skill and need perspective they’re more than enough. But amp acquisition disorder is just as real as razors and guitars.

 

[SharpieB]

Have any of you folks tried these little Joyo amps? $100-150 on Amazon and they are amazing little practice heads. Surprisingly loud and well made.

I replaced the tube on mine with an inexpensive Groove Tube (or maybe Mesa) and it sounds killer with any cabinet.

Mine is an AC30 clone, but they have a bunch of different models (Marshall, Mesa, Fender, etc.) and they sound good and are a lot of fun. Amazingly tiny.

Amazon.ca

 

[BradWorld]

The Tone Master line really appeals to me. I'm a fan of digital amps (granted, I'm not a gigging musician): lighter, less maintenance, etc

The Deluxe Reverb Tone Master I have doesn’t sound digital at all, and takes pedals very well. I have the Blonde version with the Celestion. I was at an open mic with it one night shortly after I first got it. Giving it a workout. Seeing how it can handle a full band, loud drummer, etc. This old jazz guy comes on the stage as I was getting off. Asks if he can use my Fender. I said sure. The guys tweaks the dials in 10 seconds and gets a beautiful clean tone, and proceeds to tear it up with the band for his three songs. He gets off stage and says, “that’s beautiful amp. What year is it? 62? 63? Nothing sounds as good as them old tube amps!” You should have seen his face when I told him it was a new digital version. If I had any doubt about how good that amps sounded, it was gone right there. It is my main amp now. And since then I have sold the majority of my tube amps.

Right now I am trying to decide if I get a Spark Go or a small “real” amp.

I have a Spark 40 and a Spark Mini. Amazing practice amps. Great recording amps. Not made for gigging or even jamming. Also excellent as just a Bluetooth speaker. Excellent recording interface too! The Spark 40 sounds better. The Mini has an internal battery and is just more convenient. I looked at the Spark Go at the last NAMM. Was not impressed by the tone. The Spark Mini sounds infinitely better for not much more money. But if you need a tiny pocket amp, it may be good for you.

Have any of you folks tried these little Joyo amps?

Several of my friends have one. Sound good. But they seem to have reliability issues.

Boss Katana 50.

I bought the first version of the Katana 50 when it just came out. Amazing amp. Unlimited sound potential. And with every Boss effect pedal hidden deep inside, the tone possibilities are endless. However there is no phone app to control it. So to change the presets you need to hook up a computer. Or hack together some kind of do it yourself solution to edit patches. So it’s inconvenient to dig into the programming. But it has killer tone, and sounds great. The Katana 50 was my main jamming amp for a couple of years. But as I am downsizing, the Deluxe Reverb Tone Master has much better tone, and moves much more air, so it is much more gig worthy. And the Spark amps are smaller, and have excellent control from the mobile apps, with huge features, and pristine sound. And the Spark makes an amazing recording interface. So the Spark amps are better practice amps by a wide margin. The Katana just barely lost out and had to go. I can only keep so many. But the Katana 50 is one-third the price of the Fender, and is much better than the Sparks for jamming or gigging. So if I didn’t have those other amps, or could only have one amp, the Katana would be a keeper.

I have videos on my YouTube channel where you can hear the tone of all these amps. I don’t like clogging up a thread with unsolicited YouTube links. It’s bad enough that I type such long winded replies. If anyone is interested let me know and I’ll pop a few links in here.

 

[Lockback]

The Deluxe Reverb Tone Master I have doesn’t sound digital at all, and takes pedals very well. I have the Blonde version with the Celestion. I was at an open mic with it one night shortly after I first got it. Giving it a workout. Seeing how it can handle a full band, loud drummer, etc. This old jazz guy comes on the stage as I was getting off. Asks if he can use my Fender. I said sure. The guys tweaks the dials in 10 seconds and gets a beautiful clean tone, and proceeds to tear it up with the band for his three songs. He gets off stage and says, “that’s beautiful amp. What year is it? 62? 63? Nothing sounds as good as them old tube amps!” You should have seen his face when I told him it was a new digital version. If I had any doubt about how good that amps sounded, it was gone right there. It is my main amp now. And since then I have sold the majority of my tube amps.





I have a Spark 40 and a Spark Mini. Amazing practice amps. Great recording amps. Not made for gigging or even jamming. Also excellent as just a Bluetooth speaker. Excellent recording interface too! The Spark 40 sounds better. The Mini has an internal battery and is just more convenient. I looked at the Spark Go at the last NAMM. Was not impressed by the tone. The Spark Mini sounds infinitely better for not much more money. But if you need a tiny pocket amp, it may be good for you.



Several of my friends have one. Sound good. But they seem to have reliability issues.



I bought the first version of the Katana 50 when it just came out. Amazing amp. Unlimited sound potential. And with every Boss effect pedal hidden deep inside, the tone possibilities are endless. However there is no phone app to control it. So to change the presets you need to hook up a computer. Or hack together some kind of do it yourself solution to edit patches. So it’s inconvenient to dig into the programming. But it has killer tone, and sounds great. The Katana 50 was my main jamming amp for a couple of years. But as I am downsizing, the Deluxe Reverb Tone Master has much better tone, and moves much more air, so it is much more gig worthy. And the Spark amps are smaller, and have excellent control from the mobile apps, with huge features, and pristine sound. And the Spark makes an amazing recording interface. So the Spark amps are better practice amps by a wide margin. The Katana just barely lost out and had to go. I can only keep so many. But the Katana 50 is one-third the price of the Fender, and is much better than the Sparks for jamming or gigging. So if I didn’t have those other amps, or could only have one amp, the Katana would be a keeper.

I have videos on my YouTube channel where you can hear the tone of all these amps. I don’t like clogging up a thread with unsolicited YouTube links. It’s bad enough that I type such long winded replies. If anyone is interested let me know and I’ll pop a few links in here.

I would love to hear the tone of your amps. Please do post some links! If you'd rather not, send me a PM with the links instead.
I really do like the Katana 50. For the money it's unbeatable. I haven't fiddled with the settings much, not to the point of hooking it up to my computer, although I've considered it and I do have the time. I just tend to be a "Set It And Forget It" guy and I like the stock settings. I usually run on the clean setting and fatten it up with my TC Electronic MojoMojo overdrive pedal.
As for the Tone Master, that's high praise indeed! I've watched numerous YouTube videos on them but to read your account of that jazz player thinking it was a vintage Fender tube amp really trumps all of them.
Great stuff. And thanks for sharing it.

 

[Remy]

I had a Katana head (really just "borrowed" it from guitar center) for a bit and loved it. I don't mind using the computer to build presets, but once I do I tend to leave them, so I don't NEED the phone app. In a lot of ways I'd rather skip it other than maybe tweaking a bit more or less volume. Like the Tone Master, I like having a solid sound I can dial in traditionally and call it a day.

Even in Bias FX (or the Sparks if I go that route) my presets are basically just to turn a few effects on or off. Or, when I had multiple guitars, switch settings for each guitar. These days my preset is basically my version (not the PG one) of my Origin 50 head with the closest I could make to the actual pedal board I used with it. Today I'll be playing around with using what's left of my board into it. I tested last night and things work, I just need to get wiring neater and fine tune the patch. Computer speakers didn't sound as good as a 2x12, but it wasn't bad.

The flexibility of the app and software makes Spark tempting. I tend toward Marshall tones, which the Katana can sorta do but is better off with a Marshall In a Box pedal helping. With the Sparks that's not an issue at all, which actually makes them cheaper.

I guess the real answer is simple. I talk to my Sweetwater guy and get a Mini on the way. If it's not doing it for me I send it back. Because I would REALLY prefer the easy portability. Not for anything cool, just to play in my office/living room area when I'm at my desk and also in the bedroom or even out on the balcony when it's not 9000 degrees.