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I’m lacking a bit in live music options where I am these days…
One of the few things I miss about living in a UK university town, lots of live music. Even when there is live music here the audience is less than enthusisiatic except for well-known acts when the crowd is big enough for a collective enthusiasm to develop. I've felt quite sorry for most small bands I've watched locally, absolutely **** all audience interest/participation.
On a personal level I've learned that you need an audience favourable to your cause which means the band members having family/friends in the audience, even then it's not guaranteed. I rehearsed with a band a couple of times but feared the public would be less than enthusiastic about their original material so dropped out. The local venue with the best regular audience got shut down for noise and public order reasons, the ones that remain rely on a house band to provide atmosphere while people sit and eat/drink rather than providing a platform for other bands.
Still I'm rehearing again with a band, once again they're not into covers so I've been given the job of writing the lyrics and singing. What could possibly go wrong?
I occasionally sit in with my exes band and that is all covers as that is all the local pub scene wants in general.
We do have a couple of bands in the area that have their own thing going on and they have struggled enough to make it through the pain and are now reaping the 'rewards'. The main ones being able to write their own stuff and sell merch.
We have a pub in Tod that only wants 80s/90s rock covers - as it appeals to a distinctly uniform crowd, all in their 50s/60s. If you try to sneak in an original tune, the volume gets lowered. You don't get a second warning...
Personally, I've wanted nothing more than to be in a band that plays dull-old, by the record, rock covers... Unfortunately, the band I was in, disbanded after 18 months (of rehearsing through covid times) without ever playing out...
Spinal Tap is on iPlayer at the moment. Worth a look if you haven't seen it in ages.
My ex who was a singer for much of her life couldn't watch bits of it as it triggered flashbacks.
The US base gig was the worst memory for her as the band used to pop over and tour the USAF NATO bases in Europe, do a few weeks residency at clubs in Hamburg and then go and repeat the base tour before returning home.
She did so many gigs at officers club dances despite being a blues rock act.
NGD!
Sorry for the crappy photo / toysplosion. I would ideally like a better camera on my phone and more light and fewer toys, but we all have to work with what the Universe has granted us, right?
And it has granted me a new-to-me Epiphone Les Paul Standard, a 2022 "Inspired By Gibson" one.
I actually got it on Monday, but haven't played it in anger yet as I need to get it set up for stoopid downtuning for taking to band practice.
But even playing it just through headphones has me really excited to play it loud. It has a lot more clarity and definition than my old Squier Strat. It seems affordable guitars have come on a lot since 1994 😀
It seems affordable guitars have come on a lot since 1994
I went into Guitar Guitar with £2.5k in my pocket and the aim of buying a Gibson 60s Standard Les Paul. Hated the feel of every one i tried. Horrible sticky necks.
Ended up with the Slash Epiphone Gold Top for £799 which played a hundred times nicer than the expensive Gibson.
Great looking Les Paul mate.
I've found the build quality of things like the Epiphones and PRS SE guitars to be so good that I couldn't imagine buying the US made models.
My JTV59 Variax was built in South Korea and is stunning build and feelwise. Basically SE quality with extra bits inside, the higher price was only due to the electronics. Its what I've been playing this morning as its my only humbucker guitar other than the bari.
Aye, Gibson seem to have been through some rough patches of late. Anecdata I know, but a mate of mine bought a new Gibson SG in recent times and it had a whole stack of issues out the box in terms of fret finishing. He had to get it sorted by a luthier before it was right 😐 It's the sort of thing you could *possibly* forgive on a budget guitar, but when you're spending > 1k it's a bit hard to swallow.
So far this Epi seems well put together: the chunks of wood are nicely matched, and everything in terms of the general construction seems good so far as I can see. The only things that really let it down are the nut is a little messy and binding on the G string, the scratchplate had a bit of stray plastic swarf still hanging on to it, and some of the fret ends feel a little scratchy (not sprouting, just want a tad more rounding IMO). Minor stuff really. It's maybe not quite as visually blingy as a nice Gibson LP but that's fine by me.
I've yet to play it loud as I say so it's hard to know how the pickups will work out, but so far I am very happy with it!
I’ve found the build quality of things like the PRS SE guitars to be so good that I couldn’t imagine buying the US made models.
Yeah, I was looking at PRS SE too. They look really nice in pictures, and the wide fretboard on the Mira and Starla models appeals a lot to me having been playing mostly acoustic for the last few years.
I actually like the looks of the SE range better than the more pricey PRS: a lot more understated.
Epiphone have been making some lovely guitars of late. Definitely top of my list if I ever want to scratch that LP itch.
I've also recently acquired an Epiphone Les Paul. It sounds and plays brilliantly. I'm amazed at how many tones you can get out of one pickup.
The other thing I really like is that I've got fat fingers so the nuts have been a bit too narrow for my liking on every other electric guitar that I've played, but this is just a tad wider so I've had not issues with not being able to fret chords properly.
I've had the opposite experience with Gibson / Epiphone.
Had an Epi ES-335 (latest inspired by Gibson model) which had a ringing noise inside the body at certain frequencies, which I just couldn't get rid of. Probably a loose cable or something, but not easy to diagnose on an ES.
Had an Epi LP 60's (latest inspired by Gibson model) which suffered from fret buzzing because the 15th / 16th / 17th frets weren't entirely level.
My Gibson LP Special has been bang on. Took minimal setting up from new, and plays beautifully.
Being left handed, its not easy to go into a shop and try stuff before buying (otherwise I would have probably picked up the issues with the Epis before purchase).
Oooh! That Epi is understated and lovely.
Thanks! The picture doesn't do it justice. It's a deeper more metallic colour in real life.
Reminds me of my Arctic Gold Mk1 Scirocco.
That JJN Les Paul is lovely. I've had an eye on those since they came out.
As for the PRS/PRS SE debate, I'll agree that the SE range is incredible. I've had five US PRSs, and two or three SEs - they're every bit at playable and great sounding as the US ones... I've got a Hollowbody SE to collect when I'm back in the UK next month. Looking forward to that.
Aye, that is super nice!
Single pickup guitars almost always look ace 😍
I’ve got some stuff for sale, Tele pickups, bridges, saddles and the like, plus a bunch of effects, a guitar and a bass.
Should I make a classified and link it or just put the item and price here so anyone who is interested can pm me?
And what section should I put the classified in? tech? Misc?
I pulled the trigger on the Helix LT.
First impression was it sounded absolutely terrible straight into the front of my Marshall Origin. Sounds better into my PreSonus studio monitors, but nowhere near enough volume. Sounds great through headphones.
Spent the weekend learning about the 4CM routing options and got it sounding much better through the Marshall. Still a few more options I want to play with like missing out the preamp completely on the Marshall and going straight into the FX loop return to utilise just the power amp stage of the amp and use pre-amps in the Helix.
I suspect in the long run I'll end up with a FRFR cab.
Annoyingly my old but perfectly good desktop PC will not run HX Edit or the Line 6 updater. They install just fine but whenever I try to run them, I get errors saying I don't have permission to run, or the files can't be found. My newer, but very slow laptop is out of action because I can't find the power cable and the battery is dead. So i may have to fork out for a new computer of some sort to do the updates and use HX edit. Bugger.
We took a stroll around Soho on Saturday enjoying the lunar new year goings on (tip: a Chinese restaurant full of Chinese people eating isn't necessarily a recommendation for westerners...) and I spent a bit of time on my own in and out of the shops on Denmark Street.
Has it changed? A few years ago it used to be where performers went for guitars to play. Now it seems to be a haunt for dentists and estate agents to buy wall decorations.
I was looking (and still am) for recommendations on an acoustic guitar (steel strings) for somebody who plays (and sometimes sings down the pub) mostly fingerstyle, but as I keep my fingernails short I play with the pads of my fingers. I currently have a Norman dreadnought, strung with 11s which I enjoy playing. But I hear that smaller body guitars tend to be better for fingerstyle.
Oddly enough, the only 2 guitars that really piqued my interest in Denmark Street (apart from the swoon-worthy Gibson Les Paul Standard Double Cut) were a 1937 Gibson 12 fret acoustic (a bit out of my price range) and a cheap Epiphone parlour guitar.
@BigJohn I love my PRS SE A50 and so does everyone who's had a play....
@BoardinBob Do you have any cab IRs active on the Helix? That can screw the sound up. I had similar with my GT1000.
@boardinbob The editing on the Helix itself is pretty simple, if you can live with a bit of knob twiddling.
I mostly use my Helix (Stomp) either into my computer/studio monitors or a powered PA speaker. I got a secondhand Alto 12in 800W PA powered speaker for something like £150-£200 and it sounds pretty good. I'm interested to see what a 'proper' FRFR is meant to offer above something like that.
+1 for the Alto. I’m pretty sure they are the same as the Headrush FRFR.
When I took my son to guitar guitar to buy him a flying V type
He tried out a few from £1k right up to £6k+ Gibson explorer...which he did like but didn't want it...which is good coz I ain't got the dollars for that
In the end the guitar he loved over them all was the Epiphone flying V..£500...even now its one of his favs..
Pretty sure John Lennons guitar of choice was a Epiphone
Do you have any cab IRs active on the Helix? That can screw the sound up
I was just running through the factory presets to start with so there may have been some IRs in there.
Since I found the 4CM template I've been using that to build from scratch and routing everything correctly. Haven't added any IRs myself ( and hands up, I've no idea what they are yet!)
My last multi-effects pedal was a Boss GT6 from the early 2000s and things have moved on a bit since then. The Helix is simple enough to setup basic virtual pedal boards. Anderton's did a great video with the UK Line6 guy which was a really good intro, and I've watched a load of different ones over the weekend.
There's a great page on instagram that does "sounds like" pedal boards so spent some time trying to recreate them in Helix, knowing what the intended sound was like and was getting what I needed.
IRs basically model cab/speaker combinations so you can play your Helix into an FRFR speaker or monitor and ot have it sounding dead.
If you have a Marshall 4x10 cab modelled in the Helix and that is going into the Origin it will sound a bit off.
Has it changed? A few years ago it used to be where performers went for guitars to play. Now it seems to be a haunt for dentists and estate agents to buy wall decorations.
Hedge fund managers maybe?
Some of the older shops are great, but Sixty Sixty Sounds is an interesting take on a modern retail environment.
https://www.youtube.com/@SixtySixtySounds
whenever I try to run them, I get errors saying I don’t have permission to run
the first time I tried I failed, you have to use latest intaller and follow the instructions precisely. It is very much easier than the early days though
I’m interested to see what a ‘proper’ FRFR is meant to offer above something like that.
The best sound I've had from my helix is via FRFR is line 6 sound source L2 with the 2x12 setting in stereo.You'd think they were made for it
But infinitely better through the front of a small tube amp with just the FX
I tried also using the FX return but its not great
You’d think they were made for it
Funny that.. 🙂
Happy World Ukelele Day!
@bigjohn I bought an atkin troubadour a few years ago in denmark street when i was out looking for a takamine new yorker. It sounded and felt way better than anything else in the price/size range. It’s great for finger style, has beautiful tone and is remarkably loud for a small guitar. Thoroughly recommended and made in kent by mr atkin.
Being left handed, its not easy to go into a shop and try stuff before buying
Why's that then?
Nah, seriously, I'm left handed, and have known over the years other left handers, some who string their guitars backwards but I've just never understood why they do this. You're using your left and right hands pretty much equally and I can't see how it matters which does what.
You don't get left handed wind instruments, left handed pianos or what have you. I'm not typing this on a left handed keyboard...
Though I guess this only applies to people picking up guitars for the first time. I get that once you've learned with one handedness it's going to be pretty hard to unlearn. Actually I shared a student flat with a friend whose guitars were all strung left handed and had a bit of a go at trying to learn that way round. Gave it up as a bad job.
So I guess I'm saying you shouldn't have learned left handed... Probably not very helpful 🙂
I've been forced off the bike due to a combination of chronic illness and a non bike related foot injury. Spending that time making some music. I have a rolling deal with a record company - Dubophonic - who so far have been happy to release my stuff. I'm pretty confident that they'll like what I'm working on at the moment. It's got lots of guitar work in it as dub/reggae goes, but it's not exactly 'guitar music' per se so I guess it won't be everyones cup of tea. Looking forward to sharing it soon and getting some feedback.
In the meantime, here's a link to a track that I've released previously through Dubophonic that has some acoustic guitar work on that I'm quite pleased with.
Listen here. Download if you like it, name your price !!
Nice. I love a bit of dub.
I know you're all desperate to see how my learning how to play guitar is going so here's what I've been working on this week...
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hotcRZO0XCA
Nice. I love a bit of dub.
Thanks for listening 🙂
NGD. Had been eying up something Strat like for a while and after trying many I seemed to get on with the Charvel neck the best. Settled on the Japanese made Guthrie Govan San Dimas model as the versatility of the pickups combined with the superb tuning stability from the OG Floyd/locking tuners/well cut nut and the more classic lines of the San Dimas over the Dinky ticked all the boxes. So far so good and can't seem to put it down.
VERY Super Strat!
Is that a coil tap switch?
I like the idea of a Floyd Rose without the pain of a locking nut and micro tuners.
Ash body?
It's a basswood body with just a (very) thin ash veneer for prettiness.
The switch is a single coil simulation which brings in an RC circuit on one of the coils which effectively removes it from the audible spectrum but maintains it's hum cancelling properties. I must say this is the quietist guitar I've ever played from a hum/noise perspective, Even my other guitar with a humbucker is a noisy bugger when sat in front of my computer but this thing is whisper quiet.
The Floyd works extremely well and tuning stability is better than my non-tremolo guitars. I honestly never touched the tuners for the first week. The roasted maple neck with graphite reinforcement makes it incredible stable.
Smitten 😂
I might admit defeat and sell my only guitar. I'd rather play bass and I don't have time for both. It also doesn't help that the ceiling above my practice area collapsed and I need a bit of cash back!
This is the actual guitar... https://richtonemusic.co.uk/epiphone-sg-korean-2010-cherry-red-w-hard-case-2nd-hand/
I might stick in FB Marketplace for what I paid last year (£250) unless anyone in Sheffield needs a nice SG.
Smitten 😂
Yep, you know when its 'The one". That's how I feel about my Tele.
I don't have "the one" because I find some things hard to play on what might be 'the one' so have several 'the ones'. A neck that works well for thumb over the neck punky stuff is a bit cramped for country soloing.
I'm still trying to produce melodies and lyrics for the cover-alergic band's tunes. I've sent them one of my own to consider - do you think they'll fire me?
Seems to work on youtube but not embedded?
Hello six stringers! I've been thinking about getting some demo guitar amps for work and was wondering what everyone would suggest along those lines. I've got as far as thinking that we probably need a Marshall, Fender, Vox and Mesa. And that they need to be all-tube and probably lower power but we'll probably get an attenuator/load box for when we want power valve distortion at more sensible levels. Any suggestions? Hoping to not spend a million pounds but I know getting four valve amps won't be cheap unless we find some in a skip! 😉
I’ve been thinking about getting some demo guitar amps for work
Where do you work? I want to work somewhere that has demo guitar amps 🙂
Can't help on which ones, I've never even tried a valve amp before but I'm sure there are people on here that know loads about them!
Fender valve studio amps I’d guess you’d be talking about a Deluxe or Princeton Reverb. Think the Deluxe is 20-odd and Princeton 12 watts respectively. Aren’t they the classic ’silver face’ models?
BITD Princeton’s were definitely a studio staple (to run a tele through).
I have a 68 Custom Princeton Reverb and may be a >< bit biased…🙃
"Where do you work? I want to work somewhere that has demo guitar amps 🙂"
I have demo guitarists too! 😉 I run Barefaced Audio, we're a (v small) UK manufacturer of guitar and bass cabs (and a pedal and some more electronic stuff soon).
When I get rid of all the gear I don't use I'll be doing my best to increase your turnover to the value of 1 cab.
Just had a bit of fun rocking out on ninjam (online jamming vst plugin). Just casually started out with a high gain setting and paying cherub rock by the smashing pumpkins. A really great drummer arrived, then a bass player. There are some great musicians on there..... I'd recommend it.
Sounds fun. I must try it.
I'm enjoying getting out and meeting guitar buddies 3 times a week for a few hours followed by a group trip to the all you can eat asian buffet once a week.
Makes a difference to be playing and learning with real folk.
"When I get rid of all the gear I don’t use I’ll be doing my best to increase your turnover to the value of 1 cab."
Awesome! This is making me wonder if I should finally do an organised marketing campaign and this should be the message! 😉
🙂
I must post a list of the bits one here. Bass, guitars, Kemper Stage, effects it just goes on and on.
While you're here, would something like this be overkill for a domestic spare bedroom?
No
I think he needs a dolphin tattoo on his right ankle, otherwise 'tis good.
I picked up this old Hohner tele a few years back, and been learning on it, but recently noticed there was a lot of crackling when adjusting tone/volume etc. I dropped it off yesterday at a local guru, who cleaned up the pots with a quick spray of something or other, but then checked out the pickups and action etc.
The pickups are apparently 100% fine, so we've agreed to him fitting a better 4-way to give it a bit more options.
My question is (as this has triggered some ideas for me) - what are the best, good value for money upgrades for an old guitar?
In no particular order: strings, locking tuners, graphite nut, lessons.
New strings getting fitted when he's done with the pots, and action sorted as well, as one of the saddles was quite a bit out.
I'll look into the locking tuners and nut. I was getting lessons for a while, but just couldn't afford it long-term (£40 per week soon mounts up, esp when MrsB is completely indifferent to anything musical)
never had a problem using non locking tuners once I learned to fit the string correctly
graphite nuts are ok but do nothing a little bit of pencil dust does just as well
best thing for any guitar is a proper setup and a bit of fret dressing as required
hard to tell by the pics but the pickups look very close to the strings, this can kill sustain and
cause the notes to have an odd sound as their vibration is affected by the magnets.
3 way is classic on a tele, if you are unhappy with the tone there are changes to the components on the tone control to change things, the parts cost a few pence and loads of info on line.
Slotted vintage tuners or locking are both fine in my opinion. If the 4 way is to give the option of parallel/series switching for the middle position then definitely go for it.
I've modded my Tele a lot electronically but the mod I really want to make is to reverse the control plate to put the volume at the front, the tone in the middle and the switch at the back to make violining easier.
If the 4 way is to give the option of parallel/series switching for the middle position then definitely go for it.
That's the plan! We demo'd another couple of other guitars, both tele-copies that he makes, one with the 4-way, one with a standard 3-way but a slightly punchier pickup setup and then back to mine. Having the 4-way seemed to make more of a difference, to my ears anyway. The current pickups are apparently really good quality ones, so whilst it was tempting to get something new in there, he didn't push that. A proper setup, new pots incl 4-way for now. Looking forward to getting it back sometime soon.
Sounds good. I went 5 way in the end have a second bridge only position that actually bleeds in a small amount of neck to reduce the degree of 'ice pickiness" but the series /parallel option is the win for me.
Bored waiting at the computer for some work to arrive so I downloaded the ToneX free desktop app.
Blimey it is good. If you have a way of pugging your guitar into a mac or pc then try it. (I have a bottom of the line Focusrite Scarlett). It is also available as a free iOS and Android app.
Its a capture/profile device like the Kemper or Quad Cortex with a wide range of gainy and clean FREE amps, 20 in total, with lots of control plus a noise gate, compressor and reverb plus added controls for mic placement.
VERY impressed with the sounds. i haven't A/Bd it with the Kemper yet but for a free package it is amazing. Just trying to get it to speak to Garageband now so I can add effects.
I'll try to record a couple of bits this afternoon when I get time.
to reduce the degree of ‘ice pickiness”
I assume you've already got the big orange condenser "Sprague Orange Polypropylene Capacitor 400V ", if not try one. Stack type "noiseless" pickups are a little less ice pick too. I use a coil tap so I can go full ice pick on rock and rollers.
Hi Ed
I assume you’ve already got the big orange condenser “Sprague Orange Polypropylene Capacitor 400V “, if not try one. Stack type “noiseless” pickups are a little less ice pick too. I use a coil tap so I can go full ice pick on rock and rollers.
I have the Monty's guitars loom with a "soviet 0.022uf Paper in oil capacitor" and Twisted Tele pickups. Can be a tad bright at times, this mod just fattens the sound slightly if I want. It also has 50s wiring so you don't get the treble roll off on the volume pot, so maybe that's where it really helps.
It just sounds good and is another option.
Definitely my favourite guitar. I never pick up the Strat anymore, I just swap between the Tele and the JTV for humbucker sounds.
So the Strat is going along with the Precision Bass. Not sure about the Baritone yet. It does bring something different to the table.
Hi GrooveGuru - just a thought, what about Kit amps? If you need valve powered heads then you could get a kit one and get someone good with a soldering iron in your firm to wire it
https://modulusamplification.com/gts-20-plexi-20-watt-valve-amp-kit-3393-p.asp
one of those for a marshall amp and something 'blackpanel' for a clean tone would probably do you - and you could save money by putting together a simple cab for them and buying valves on ebay etc
@eddiebaby Have you seen the new Tonex pedal? Really tempted as have been a fan since trying the demo before Christmas and now have Tonex Max and the Axe I/O interface. Would be great to replace the models in my HX Stomp using the FX
...and purchased Tonex pedal. Was downloading some captures from ToneNet last night and there are just so many great amps on there decided to get this for my live setup. Going to need a couple of FRFR cabs now.
@guitarhero
Morning mate. As you can see a few posts above I really like the sounds on the demo version.
I haven't seen the new pedal and won't until they hit Andertons but I do have a few views on it based on the video reviews and my experience with Capture/Profilers.
I'm a bit saddened by the lack of an FX loop but it is exactly the same as buying a valve amp with out an FX loop, and it's not like that ever held back guitar music until about 25 years ago when they started becoming popular.
So this is going to shine in the loop of a multi FX like you intend to use it in your stomp and also with pedals before and maybe behind. Again Jimmy Page and Jimi H and Jeff Beck spent a lot of their early careers putting all their effects in front of the amp and their sound is still highly sought after.
Would I buy one though?
Not really. I have a Kemper Stage and love most of it to bits. The profiled sounds can be great and there are a lot of very high quality profiles out there. After playing a bit. I think the Kemper without any of the fancier built in effects doesn't sound better than the ToneX, what it does is feel better in subtle ways. The sounds do seem more dynamic and this translates to feel as playing style and dynamics bring out more of the 'amp' feel.
But after owning one for over a year I wouldn't buy a Kemper now because it doesn't really fit my needs.
Profilers don't fit a lot of peoples needs but look at the roster of bands using Kemper on world tours for major artists. Same goes for AxeFX and maybe Quad Cortex (but that is still too new to have a lot of users yet).
If you have amps you want to profile and can capture with any drive pedals you want then profiling is great, buy buying profiles can be a pain.
I have a lot of great profiles. The best is a free one from Kemper profiling a Morgan AC20. It sounds better than any amp I have ever tried, the profile is perfect and responds well to real pedals and the Kemper's great drive and fuzz emulations.
What it can't do is turn up the "amp" gain to distort it. You can't really on most profiles or captures. You can wind the gain down a bit to clean up a dirty amp but the sound you have can't usually be turned up dirtwise more that 2 or 3 notches, after that it sounds weird.
My Kemper is going and it will go easily enough as a lot of people seem to want what it does well. I'm keeping my BOSS GT1000 Core.
Stomp sized it is responsive has great sounding amps built in and if it can't accurately nail a Mesa Boogie MkIV neither can a Helix nail the awesome Boss original amps built in. The Natural and Boutique models combined with the MDP processed X-Crunch, Supreme and X-High Gain are outstanding. Responsive and very versatile with 'feel' for days. And of course so many amazing Boss effects built in with 32 bit processing at 96K.
I'm sure I'd feel equally excited about a Line6 unit if I had one and was looking at a Helix LT for ages but the price suddenly hiked up during lockdown.
Either way I'd go down that route for amp tomes instead of a profiler now.
And in your case I'd suggest a look at the BOSS IR-200 amp and IR Cab Sim to add to the amps in your Stomp.
https://www.andertons.co.uk/boss/boss-ir-200-amp-ir-cabinet-pedal
Its all down to your ears and what you like though. And if you get one and don't like it you can return it at Andertons no problem or sell it on as these will shift in lorry loads.
Main thing is not to let the shills like Rhett Shull force their latest is best philosophy. I'm sure Mary Spender and Pete Thorne will be along too...
Addition: A way to get around the limited tweakability of amp profiles is to have lots of them for a given amp at different gain and tone settings. You find one close to what you want and then play around to your heart's content.
My Michael Britt profile pack for the Grammatico Steel String Singer has 80 profiles to wade though...
@eddiebaby Never tried a Kemper so can’t comment but I have tried Tonex obviously and have purchased the pedal based on being the best amp in a box sounds I’ve heard to date, and that includes expensive forays into load boxes and IRs on the amps I have.
On the subject of the You Tube reviews/adverts, it’s got a bit out of hand and I think the Tonex pedal could be the most hyped release yet. As you say if it ends up falling short of expectations then it will only help resale but my metric with these is do the sound inspire me to play and with the Tonex it’s been a resounding yes.
I think running it in the FX loop of the Stomp is a good solution. Would work well in the loop of a Plethora X5 too.
As you say if it ends up falling short of expectations then it will only help resale but my metric with these is do the sound inspire me to play and with the Tonex it’s been a resounding yes.
Thumbs up to that!
Didn't realise you had pulled the trigger on it. Lets us know what you think of it when it arrives.
My question is (as this has triggered some ideas for me) – what are the best, good value for money upgrades for an old guitar?
A full setup inc new nut (if required) and fret dress is one of the better things you could do.
The series mod on my Tele is really cool - I use it a lot. Mine also has a push-push switch for in / out of phase - I could take or leave that. Sometimes the out of phase stuff sounds cool but mainly for background / ambient parts.
The spray your tech will have used is contact cleaner (sometimes just IPA). It might work for a while but if the pots are old they may well need replacing. New pots are pretty cheap and will get rid of the crackle for good.
New pickups can completely change the sound so would be a worthwhile upgrade if the rest of the guitar is good. But if the current pickups are fine, it might be a bit more expensive than you're looking for.
I might change that bridge to a vintage tele bridge, but mainly because I like how they look. I think some people believe the extra brass in there changes the bridge tone but I don't know about that.
Depends how much you want to spend, the above stuff could easily run into £400+ which is obviously daft if the guitar is only worth a few hundred. I don't really know much about Hohner.
I have two sets of Tele pickups for sale, new V Mod 2s from my American Pro II (£35) and a set of handwound Bootstrap Palo Duras (£50) also a new (boxed) Gotoh ashtray bridge with Gotoh Intune brass compensated saddles (£40 for the set).
Photos available for any interested Tele lover. Also have a set of Fender compensated saddles £20
I also have the wiring loom from my Am Pro II. A 3 way switch with tome and volume pots, the tone has a push pull switch for series parallel switching in the middle. Also has the output jack. I have the wiring diagram too but the loom is pretty much wired and just needs the pickup soldering in place and a ground wire added. £15
@eddiebaby and @guitarhero Interesting discussion, I bought a Stomp XL a few months back and was initially disappointed with what it would do. I write / record a lot and don't use my amp much anymore, after descending a similar rabbit hole of attenuators, Captors etc. It took me a while to twig that the Stomp is not an amp, doesn't behave like one, and is only a starting point. Once I had come to terms with that and started to chase the sounds I wanted, rather than how I got them, I am now enjoying it far more. I use Reaper with an SSL channel strip plugin to tweak it, with a hefty high cut to tame the fizziness. I now get a consistent set of tones when I play, and it is now clear what the weak link in the chain is, me 😁
I am dabbling with snapshots now and that seems to be the way to go for variety. An expression pedal has improved things further as I can now control the gain / delay / etc whilst I am playing without making loads of very similar presets.
The next thing is to try it through the FX loop of my amp, which I am sure leads to a whole new even bigger rabbit hole 🐰
Sounds good. I was going to buy a Stomp but the price had jumped by about £150 between the batches so I went for the GT1000.
I hate most of the 250 presets but love the ones I create myself. I usually create lower gain clean or edge of breakup and stick stomp boxes in front for the more driven sounds and the GT does have some nice Boss pedals in there. More than enough effects in the Boss. Shame I only tend to use reverb and delays.
Hi folks (again)
I contacted Tom and asked nicely and now we’ve got a musical instruments section in the classifieds so I’ll photograph my stuff and stick it on there. There will be special STW prices obviously.