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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.