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you'll get a way better guitar than if you go out and buy one for a couple hundred quid.
Not familiar with the model he's talking about but what I will say is cheap new guitars now are so much better than what they were 30 years ago!
I recently happened across a very low end jackson dinky which was just as good as thr one I had back in the late 90s, despite costing significantly less.
Squires back in the day we're awful..now a Squire CV is not much worse than it's 2k fender equivalent
I like how it looks and how it plays but there's never been a time the FR trem didn't seem unnecessary or annoying. It never occurred to me it could be blocked off or locked down.
The nature of what I like to (try to) play is that it means I want to be able to switch between drop D and regular tunings. That's the reason I ended up with a second guitar years ago, but they're different scale lengths and at my skill level it throws me completely jumping between them. Of course that is only part of the issue as the other one has been appropriated by my teenage son (who is also eyeing up my gravel bike in an alarming determined manner).
I don't think I'd ever buy a £200 guitar again but I'm not sure how safe another expensive n+1 hobby is 😂
While you're getting it set up, you could get the tech to install an 'EVH D-Tuna' - and lo! Instant drop D with the pull of a knob (only works with a decked or blocked Floyd...)
I recently dug out my old les paul studio. So I've now got a les paul standard, epiphone standard, and the studio. Tbh they all feel and sound identical!
Saw a video the other day where andertons did a blindfold challenge on 6 'budget' teles. What they didn't tell the tester was they threw in his own favourite 5 grand telecaster custom shop without him knowing. based on feel and tone he rated it 4th out of the 7.
Thanks again.
I popped into the LGS by work, £55 for a setup plus whatever extra they find (mentioned the pots and switch).
Will drop it off next week. I think the EVH d tuna thing can wait nice idea as it is. It'll give me an excuse later to buy a hardtail and I'll just nick my LP copy back for drop D stuff. I've got lots still to learn in regular tuning anyway. 🙂
Nice! Not too expensive. And crackly pots and switches are usually fixable with switch cleaner... Enjoy the new-feeling guitar when you get it back!
I recently dug out my old les paul studio. So I've now got a les paul standard, epiphone standard, and the studio. Tbh they all feel and sound identical!
Saw a video the other day where andertons did a blindfold challenge on 6 'budget' teles. What they didn't tell the tester was they threw in his own favourite 5 grand telecaster custom shop without him knowing. based on feel and tone he rated it 4th out of the 7.
A saw a similar blind testing, but with violins.. The results were conclusive.. The favorite by far, was a modern one compared to a 'priceless' Stradavarius.
Don't get me wrong, the modern one was not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, it was made by a well respected violin maker (i forget the name, not my forte) but compared to the prices of a genuine strad, it was basically free.
Squires back in the day we're awful..now a Squire CV is not much worse than it's 2k fender equivalent
Elder son’s just bought a Squier CV Tele And the younger one a CV P bass.
The both tested them back to back with Fenders at twice the price and preferred the sound of the Squier.
Longevity is another question but on day one the Fender was out classed until you spent an awful lot more money.
That said CVs are £400. Not cheap cheap.
I went guitar shopping with junior on a few occasions. We have a good local guitar shop that's not afraid to let customers loose on the expensive stuff and an AC30 in the basement. We ended up with Classic Vibes and a Mexican Fender even though I'd have been happy to pay for an American.
The 2012 butterscotch CV Tele became his main stage guitar, he prefered the sound over the Mexican Fender. I'd love to know what pickups were in those 2012 guitars, they sound great and are the best single coils I've got to be used with a mass of gain, volume and no feedback.
As for longevity, the jack sockets have needed replacing and the nut on the Mexican Fender which cracked. The Mex has had several combinations of pickups in it non of which have convinced, I'l try again one day.
I've got a song to learn for Sunday, best stop typing and pick up a guitar - a Harley Benton Tele, feels just right.
I've got a song to learn for Sunday, best stop typing and pick up a guitar - a Harley Benton Tele, feels just right.
I've got the village open mic night tonight. And because the cafe is currently closed until the new people move in, it's now taking place... in my living room(!)
I shall be attempting to play/sing(!) SRV's 'Pride and Joy' and BB King's 'All over again'... eek!
Cabrel's 'Je l'Aime à Mourir'. ;/ There's a good YouTube tuto and easy arpégio, the guitar part's in the bag, I'll learn some words now even if I'm not singing.
Due to many things (finishing a major project, weather, riding mates being indisposed) I've had time on my hands.
I saw a Paul Davids vid about Bossa Nova with Dominic Miller and decided to learn Girl from Ipanema. Rick Beato's vid is perfect to my ears (except 2nd last chord in 1st section, G string should be 1 fret down).
I'm really pleased, and can get through it at 75,% speed. Only downside is all the finger style is making the tips of my right thumb and fingers split and the jazz chords have sprained my left thumb making it painful to play and means I can only brake with the right, which nearly caused a tumble today
Ooops - my mistake - it's the B string that's flattened, changing it from an Am6 to a D7/9b. But you knew that...
mate came over today with his quitar and practice amp so we could have a bit of a practice with me on my bass, and also for me to try and learn a bit more guitar. he tried explaining some chord shapes to me but theyre still a bit of a rabbithole to me, so many variations and im still confused by them all. i also struggle with accidentally muting strings i shouldnt because of my finger positions, especially C chord.
he advised for now just try and learn the proper open chords, A and E shape bar(re) chords, and practice power chords for a bit of fun, main thing being practice muting the E string when the power chord is on the A.
one thing i noticed was the difference between his practice amp and my bass amp, which i was happy just learning guitar through, save space and all that. cant remember what it was now (something something cube?) but it made me think that as it was so small i could probably get away with a dedicated guitar amp too for a proper guitar sound.
so....... any recommendations for a small guitar amp? not too expensive as my main focus is and always will be bass.
thanks
If you want tiny, but sounding real I have a Vox Amplug (like a chunky jack plug) which I wire with 3.5 jack cable into my Minirig speaker. The whole thing can fit in your pocket but sounds really good - according to people who look around to see where the sound is coming from.
Other brands make similar things.
Roland micro cube?
Something like a positive spark mini is tiny, loud enough for bedroom play, and comes with all the effects you'll ever need.
My smallest amp is a blackstar fly 3, tiny but surprisingly good for practice. In-between that and my larger amps I have a voxac4..only 4 watts and looks like a child's suitcase, but it's still far too loud for the house when fully cranked. Which it deserves to be given how nice it sounds.
Try some. Those Cubes are pretty good. I like the Fender Mustang range, they do Fender amp sounds really well as you might expect and the other models are acceptable. I use the 65 twin model (think Jeff Buckley halleluja) for picky stuff, the Bassman model for rock n roll and the British Watts model (Hi-Watt) for lots of things just varying the gain.
so....... any recommendations for a small guitar amp
Depends how much you want to spend, yamaha thr series are really highly rated, positive grid spark if you want loads of built in effects that can be controlled through a phone app. I think both of those have electric, acoustic and bass modes, so can be used as a mobile practice amp for both electric and bass. Otherwise I think a lot of guitar amp brands produce a "desktop amp" nowadays so select your favourite brand if you have one and look at what they offer.
I mostly played bass.
Now I mostly play guitar.
I really like my vox modeling amps. I've got an older one a vt50 and a more recent av50. They sound very similar. I thought the newer one would sound miles better, the reverb is a bit different . The text of it is much the same.
£100 second hand, not massive , can sound like most amps and a selection of effects to fiddle with. They have a built in attenuator so are fine for bedroom practice, or with a bassist and drummer with it turned up most of the way
I got a positive grid amp, the spark mini, for Xmas.
Positives - it's tiny, like 6x6x6". Plenty loud enough for bedroom playing, battery powered which lasts ages. Links to phone via Bluetooth so you can play along to a song through one sound source which is grand. Can also use it as a Bluetooth speaker.
For the amp settings it is endlessly customisable. This is good and bad. I don't really know what I'm doing and the settings are a bit overwhelming - you can choose from about 25 amps, hundreds of pedals and effects jobbies, which is great but I don't know what most of them do so it's all trial and error. You can partly rely on others for this though by searching eg "link wray rumble " in the app and someone, possibly lots of people, has likely made settings to suit the song and saved them - annoyingly though you can take those settings and tweak them, unless I'm being thick.
All this Customisation means that whenever I turn it on I spend quite a while fiddling with the amp instead of playing. I also feel like it's not super easy to get good clean sound. I'm mostly an acoustic guy so still don't have lots of hours using it.
Andertons have some videos about the positive grid stuff which shows it off.
I have a katana and those positive spark earphone things and I concur that there are just too many options. Depend what you are after obviously, but most of the sounds I want can be coaxed out of a 'normal ' amp with a tube screamer
I'm going to be having a big slim-down of stuff shortly. I'm off to Gardiner Houlgate (the auction people) to drop off a few things that I just don't use. Things like my lovely Mesa Boogie Lonestar Special amp, my 'spare' Strandberg, a 1951 Harmony lap slide - and probably my Quad Cortex. All amazing things that I've realised I don't need - or worse, don't even 'need'. I can probably do all of my guitar-related playing, live and at home, with my Tonemaster Deluxe Reverb and a couple of the guitars I own. Shifting guitars is complicated as there are a few that are top sentimental value, plus a couple of Fenders I can't sell as they probably weren't meant to leave the building... But hopefully enough that there'll be a bit of space, and I'll have a bit of pocket money for the summer. (I did bid on a sixties Gretsch last week, so I've still not learned my lesson... and I do still 'need' an ES330...) 🙂
Nobody needs an ES330 when then there are ES335s. 😉 The 330 will be twisted, the deck height and action will mean it needs a neck reset, it'll feedback - there you are, do feel better about not owning one now. 🙂
Thanks. I'd 'settle' for a 335, but it would have to have P90s... I currently have a fully-hollow PRS SE Hollowbody and have realised that I never play nearly anywhere loud enough for it to feedback, so I'm still a 330 shopper...
Recently purchased a Gretsch Tennessean (Just like George’s Shea Stadium guitar). It’s possibly the most fun guitar to play I’ve ever owned. It has low output hi lo tron single coils that have the twang. I put a Mastery bridge on it and even with heavy Bigsby use will not go out of tune.
I've got a Duncan P90 that is humbucker format, works well with a tube amp but not so well with modeling amps so I don't use it much. I like the looks of the ES 335/0 but that is trumped by the simplicity and playability of bolt-on-neck flat-plank guitars.
I’m very aware that I tried not one, but two Epiphone Sheratons back in the day but found them too cumbersome. So I may find my dream ES330 and discover the same…
I do really like my PRS SE Hollowbody, though again, I had a US one (that I never should have sold) but never played it as it was too ‘nice’.
So, not sure if it's been asked yet but here goes...
I've got a big birthday coming up and am going to treat myself with contributions from the family. Gibson and Fender are under consideration. My question is, what are the major differences between Fender / Squier and Gibson / Epiphone apart from price, obviously.
I'm a relatively low level who has muddled through on cheap guitars so all advice welcome.
Edit: sorry I originally misread your question you were looking at "original" vs."copy" differences not Squire vs Gibson. I'll leave my original ramblings in case they're still relevant.
I think it came up here or on the bass thread but the guitar you want unless you need something for a particular job is the one that encourages you to pick up and play it.
Just as an example there's a scale length difference between the Gibson and Fender (Gibson is shorter). That affects tone and how it plays, although it's quite clearly not the only factor in sound and playability.
I have an Aria Les Paul copy and an Ibanez with short and long scales respectively and they feel and sound quite different to play.
I'm a beginner / noodler returning after being a rubbish teenage player but even I know I much prefer the tone of my Ibanez to my LP copy. I'd rather hear the Ibanez but I find the shorter neck of the LP copy easier with my slow fingers. I'm persevering with the Ibanez for the tone (also because I like the colour/shape more 🤣).
Good blog here on scale length that persuaded me to rough it out.
https://blog.andertons.co.uk/learn/understanding-guitar-scale-length
So, not sure if it's been asked yet but here goes...
I've got a big birthday coming up and am going to treat myself with contributions from the family. Gibson and Fender are under consideration. My question is, what are the major differences between Fender / Squier and Gibson / Epiphone apart from price, obviously.
I'm a relatively low level who has muddled through on cheap guitars so all advice welcome.
Short answer is no unless you are planning on spending a lot f money.....
longer answer, if you are looking at the more expensive squier ( classic vibes ) and epiphone ( inspired by gibson) range there isnt really a huge difference in quality or playability. A fair amount of the difference is brand name based ( is owning a gibson important to you?) and the other bit is whether you are bothered by owning a US made guitar vs one made in china / korea / mexico. the newer epiphone inspired by gibson range is especially well regarded vs cheaper gibsons.
if you are looking at fender, worth considering (direct) ordering a japanese fender - they are often pretty comparable in cost to a md range fender but they have different colors available and the japanese made instruments are excellent quality.
last curve ball - foals guitars are getting very good reviews as squier / cheap fender range alternatives
My question is, what are the major differences between Fender / Squier and Gibson / Epiphone apart from price, obviously.
The difference between a fender and a squire, or a gibson and an epiphone very much depends on the guitar! There is a big difference between the bottom of the range squire and a us made fender, very little between the classic vibe squires and the bottom of the range fender standard (the squire is a better guitar imo). And you get good and bad versions of the same model
The big difference is usually finish (nicer fret finishing, neck feel etc) and pickups (which are pretty subjective and easy to replace).
That said. I have 2 'proper' les pauls and use to have a 500 quid epiphone. If I'm honest the difference in a blind test was negligible.
My advice..if you want a really nice guitar as a treat that retains some value, and you value the 'brand', get a us fender or ar a proper les paul. If you want a 'tool' that is still a great guitar, get something at the lower end of the range and spend the extra on a proper set up.
agreed!!
I will add, for fender, the vintera range is a good one to look at. IME a "nicer" guitar than a squier classic vibe ( but only a bit) and has the fender label which is a "nicer" present for a big birthday. They are also not stupid money to buy
i own a classic vibe squier, a vintera fender and a japanese fender. There is a difference and the japanese one id the nicest to feel / play, the squier is at the other end ( but is still a really playable guitar that i've frequently gigged with )
I've also got an epiphone (inspired by gibson) les paul special which is also a really lovely guitar. With gibson , their base models are really quite a lot of money compared to the epiphones, fender have a bigger range with smaller jumps in price.
Almost all new guitars benefit from a good set up out of the box
a vintera fender
Having previously owned a mexican made player strat, and as a current US strat owner, i agree these are the sweet spot. I have a road worn vintera strat and it's a thing of beauty.
That said, you really want to play them. Not only does quality vary within the same model, but not all strats or les Paul's have the same neck shape. My vintera has a much slimmer neck than my us strat. And a 50s vs 60s les paul feels completely different
Now, if like me you are pretty shit, you may not really care. But some folks definitely have a preference
If budget isn't really an issue, you want a strat, and it'll be a 'keeper', definitely check out the American vintage models. Basically all the things you want in a strat, with nitro finish so it'll age beautifully.
I treated myself to a 'Whatever I fancy' guitar for my 50th and, eight years later, it still makes me smile. If you're not massively confident about what you're after, I'd go on a guitar safari, play as many as you can and buy the one you love the look and feel of. Go to London for the weekend (or even better, for a Tuesday as the shops wil be quieter) and take your time looking at stuff. Explain to the shop guys that you're after a life-goal, milestone guitar and you'll know it when you see it. I've found that if they know you're shopping and not just tyre kicking, they'll usually let you plug in what you fancy.
I knew that my birthday guitar would never be sold on, so it didn't matter about resale value and it allowed me to pick something that I knew I'd like, and to hell with everyone else. (Which is why I have a purple sparkle Fender Custom Shop Cabronita with a solid rosewood neck...) - saying that, I also have a shell pink Mexican Fender Vintera 70s Tele Custom that cost me £800 and that I play equally as much. Just go and try stuff and pick the one that you gel with - nothing else matters for a milestone guitar.
Random thought..
Whilst still expensive, guitars are so much better value than bikes. Even at the very very top end (ie a master built custom shop strat) you get alot of change from 10k. And it'll last forever. More realistically, 5k gets you pretty much anything you would want in a guitar shop
Try going into the spesh concept store and buy the very best bike they have in store. Then see how much it's worth in 5 years..
Very true. Cheap guitars perform better than cheap mtbs too, plus you can inexpensively hot rod cheap guitars to end up with an awesome instrument if you don’t worry about made in the USA / brand snobbery.
on a related note, was chatting with a work colleague the other day, bemoaning the fact that in 1990 I didn’t buy the old fender mustang for a couple hundred quid my local music shop had on the wall and that in the early 00’ s I didn’t buy a vintage jazzmaster as £3k seemed a lot of money for my budget. Same guitars are 15k now ( doh!) but in the course of conversation we looked up the cost of a 59 Les Paul……….. just $450,000………
Indeed.. genuine vintage stuff is ridiculously expensive. Or at least the good stuff is.
I sold an early 1970s epiphone ea250 for about 200 quid a few years back. Looked amazing..completely unplayable! Shoukd have kept it's a wall hanger mind you...
That said. I have 2 'proper' les pauls and use to have a 500 quid epiphone. If I'm honest the difference in a blind test was negligible.
Yeah, I've recently played a £700 RRP Inspired By Gibson LP and a second hand Gibson LP, priced at around £2.2k (iirc). Both felt exactly the same to play and the Epi was finished to a higher standard. There were some very obvious cosmetic problems with the Gibson, and some issues with the hardware which may have been why it had been sold on.
Here's my take.
I'm not a brand snob. I feel daft wearing clothes with "quality" logos (even though I have 4 lovely Ralph Lauren Polo shirts, but none of them have the little man on the horse on the front). The watch I'm wearing is a £30 Timex but I do happily wear a lovely solid gold Rolex and that's OK because it's 74 years old so isn't recognisably a Rolex. It still works too.
I've got four guitars, a Norman acoustic, a Yamaha nylon string, a £200 Harley Benton Chinese PRS copy (a real beaut to both look at and play) and a Tele-type that I built myself from scratch. All of them give me a great deal of pleasure to play and to own. If my Norman became unplayable (because it's 30 years old and some of the frets are getting worn and it's not worth the cost of a re-fret) I'd probably replace it with a Faith or Yamaha or Alvarez because I'd feel a chump turning up at the pub jam night with a decent Taylor or Martin and demonstrating my inability do do it justice.
But, if I wanted a new guitar for a special birthday or somesuch my shortlist would consist of just three. A Fender Telecaster (75th Anniversary American Ultra II) a Fender Stratocaster (probably an Ultra, with all the fancy coil switching) or a really nice Gibson Les Paul. And I'd choose the one that felt "just right" when I sat down with it in the shop.
Why? No reason. You can get a great guitar for £300. You can get a great watch for £30. If you're going to spend more it's got nothing to do with function, it's knowing that you've got something that feels special, will be worth showing off (to people who understand for the right reasons), and in 20 years will still make you glad you've got it.
You can get a great guitar for £300. You can get a great watch for £30. If you're going to spend more it's got nothing to do with function, it's knowing that you've got something that feels special, will be worth showing off (to people who understand for the right reasons), and in 20 years will still make you glad you've got it.
100% this..
Yes indeed. Just like you need a bike that makes you want to ride it, having a guitar that you enjoy playing - and enjoy just looking at - is the most important thing. Especially if it's a landmark purchase. Just get something that makes you delighted to look at and to play. A good shop will help you find that special guitar, regardless of price.
Just go and try stuff and pick the one that you gel with - nothing else matters for a milestone guitar.
Or any guitar.
I wanted a Les Paul for under £1000. I went to a shop (Richtone in Sheffield) and tried loads of ephiphones. I wasn't keen on any.
The salesman persuaded me to try a Les Paul studio. I didn't like it, it had some poor finishing. I'd have been annoyed by the QC at about £1000.
The salesman tried to persuade me to try the £2000-£3000 Gibson's. They were absolutely not in budget. Some of them had visible QC issues.
I stuck with my prs instead.
Id suggest playing the guitar you are after in person.
I'll never do justice to any instrument, doesn't stop me from having a couple of lovely ones and a bunch of cheap lovely ones. I'm sure if I had the talent all of them could be used on any stage 😃
Hope you get something awesome 👍
Thursday was new guitar day after a visit to Guitarguitar in Camden on Wednesday. Didn't really intend to buy anything, only vague interest in the Strandberg N2 (love my Boden Standard bought off Eddiebaby) and maybe a decent acoustic - I've got a 2001 USA Ovation Elite, the "Bon Jovi" one with the leaf pattern, but not a normal one.
Tried the Strandberg and didn't find it much of an upgrade on what I've got, then went into the acoustic room and tried a few Taylors, then a couple of Martins. My friend is more of a guitar collectors/forum reader than an actual player and he suggested trying the Martin SC-13E, which is a non-traditional shape. It felt so much better than all the others I'd tried, very light strings and much more comfortable. So I ended up with the Special Burst one that I tried.
