You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I've tried cutaways. Problem is I use quite heavy wound strings and light steel strings with a steel G so intonation is so far out by the time I'm using the cutaway it sounds crap. I've learned to find alterantive ways of playing some songs and given up on things that use the high e beyond 16
Thanks folks - some ideas! Appreciated. .(And no one buy that Faith...🤔)
I think you need to let him choose his muse… it’s a very personal choice.
personally I have quite an open affair with mine….
Yamaha electro-aucoustics are certainly vfm.
As others have said, go to your local music shop or guitar fair and get some advice.
Do they still do Music Live Show at the NEC?
I plan to continue learning guitar this coming winter following a break for a few years I'm still a beginner having previously followed the Justin Guitar course reaching Beginner Grade 2 before work/life got in the way. I plan to continue with Justin Guitar, probably repeating some sections, but are there any apps, tools etc that I may have missed that fellow beginners have found particularly beneficial? Dare I ask whether AI has found its way the guitar learning world yet and if so, in what way?
Many thanks.
Yamaha electro-aucoustics are certainly vfm.
Bought one for myself a year or so ago (APX/cpx I forget) really solid tuning, easy to play and makes a nice noise and is absolutely all the guitar I want .
But I think he wants something more, er, characterful without being quirky, and would like me to do the work as in getting the lad a present not telling him to go round guitar shops like he did in his early teens. Now, 15 years later he's the proper.musician (albeit one clearly a lot less interested in/knowledgeable about actual instruments than most people on this thread) and his being in Edinb complicates things a bit. Anyway I just meant to say thanks for the ideas...
I think it sounds like only he can make the decision. If you're looking for a forever guitar, it's going to be such a personal choice. I'd head up there for the day with a wodge of cash and spend the whole day trying every guitar that appeals in all of the shops*. A good shop won't begrudge that. And then he'll get the guitar he deserves.
* My wife has done exactly the same to me, trying to find the perfect pair of boots... 🤣
If I were buying a proper musician an instrument and only had a budget of £500 I'd fail and spend more or hand over the cash. The most expensive acoustic I've got is an all solid Yamaha LL16 dreadnought, that's about the cheapest guitar I'd put in a proper musicians hands as a present. However if you look at my vid on the previous page you'll note that when I want a guitar that's easy to play I pick up the old Sigma Martin rather than the Yamaha.
I'd fail and spend more or hand over the cash
All of which options are very much on the table, bar that of me spending more 😁
Dare I ask whether AI has found its way the guitar learning world yet and if so, in what way?
I was noodling around with a basic Em, Bm, Am fingerstyle progression, adding in riffs, moving the shapes up and down the fretboard, etc, and was quite pleased with how it sounded, but with only the three chords started getting fairly bored and looking for a way to extend it. Lazily, I thought let's use some basic AI to find something REALLY good.
The reply I got was something like 'this is a basic I, V, VI progression..' Obviously computers don't have fingers to count their chords on, like wot I do, but this was a fail in the first sentence.
I don't hold any faith in the LLMs being able to build a learning plan because it's not a single route or single destination ..... I would say keep doing the Justin lessons and supplement them with stuff like using youtube playalong streams, get yourself a looper pedal, just put the radio on and try and play along, find simple solos to learn (Something by the beatles, Chasing Rainbows by ShedSeven, all the oasis solos...)
My girlfriend of the day taught me this 45 years ago:
Hammy Hamster would approve 🐹
Found this neat little nerd tool yesterday
It lets you compare the tone profiles of drive pedals. Absolutely nerd territory, but interesting!
A physical teacher is worth thier weight in gold - they can taylor stuff to your interest whilst also sneaking in a bit of theory, learning scales, and how to improvise using scales, etc.
I have tickets to see Joe Bonamassa in three weeks. I've seen him once before and really enjoyed the show, though I'm not a massive fan of his own tunes. I'm going with our music-loving, retired friends who are big fans. We ended up going for the massively expensive tickets (€150!) up the front once we saw how big the venue was (think Wembley Arena size). That's at least twice, maybe three times, what I've ever paid for a gig. I'll be on soup for the rest of the year. I'm sure it'll be good, though. And I guess he needs to pay for all his '59 Les Pauls, poor lad.
Why have I never heard of Justin Hawkins Rides Again? Thanks to Rick Beato I have now subscribed to the best You Tube channel for some time.
I saw Joe B at the Cornbury Festival in 2008! Barely knew who he was back then, he was middle of the bill on the main stage. Eric Bibb and Half Man Half Biscuit also played that year (on the smaller stage). For a vague cycling connection, Nigel of HMHB opened the set with the words "Andy Schlek, outside bet".
Also saw Joe B at Southampton Guildhall, when tickets were cheaper and his venues were much smaller. I mainly remember his punctuality, he came on stage on the dot of 8pm.
JHRA is a good channel, can get a bit repetitive sometimes but at least JH has opinions that he's not afraid to share. And he's introduced me to some great new music - Ren, Electric Callboy, Sleep Token, Ghost.
This time last year I bought a Squire Jaguar. It was looked cool, but I never really got on with it. It wouldn't stay in tune, frets were rough, it buzzed, the pickups didn't feel very balanced. I just didn't like it and couldn't set it up how I wanted.
Anyway, as we seem to operate a strict 1-in-1-out policy, I chopped it in and got something I probably should have had years ago.
Fender Player Tele, in the correct colour. Essentially unremarkable, but lovely.
Came with a Seymour Duncan mini-humbucker, which kind of defeats the point, but I'm enjoying it. It plays beautifully, and I actually want to play it, rather than thinking it looks cool. Neck feels fast and got some nice light strings for stupid twangy bendys.
You're right, that is the correct colour...
I've still never had a proper '52-style Tele, (I've got Cabronitas, and had a double-bound '60s-style Japanese one, oh and another Cabronita, oh and a tweed fabric-covered one with a Tom Anderson neck... but never a proper one).
Although the trouble I have is that I've played a 'real' one and have been kind of spoilt...
This time last year I bought a Squire Jaguar. It was looked cool, but I never really got on with it. It wouldn't stay in tune, frets were rough, it buzzed, the pickups didn't feel very balanced. I just didn't like it and couldn't set it up how I wanted.
Anyway, as we seem to operate a strict 1-in-1-out policy, I chopped it in and got something I probably should have had years ago.
Fender Player Tele, in the correct colour. Essentially unremarkable, but lovely.
Came with a Seymour Duncan mini-humbucker, which kind of defeats the point, but I'm enjoying it. It plays beautifully, and I actually want to play it, rather than thinking it looks cool. Neck feels fast and got some nice light strings for stupid twangy bendys.
I really like that, I'd love a tele of some sort but I'm more about the acoustic theses days.
After going to see Gwenifer Raymond on Wednesday I dug my old acoustic guitar out of the cupboard. I haven't played it for about 15 years, mostly playing my (Mexican) Telecaster in that time. I've also had years when I haven't played any guitar!
My acoustic is a Tanglewood Indiana TFCA-E. It's a dreadnought size, steel strung. Obviously it needs new strings, and probably new bridge pins.
I bought the guitar in 1996 or 97 for, if I remember correctly, £180. It has a pickup and EQ in it. The label inside declares "Hand Crafted Guitar".
My real question is whether a modern £500 to £1000 acoustic dreadnought is likely to be better, or worse, than this one? I've been reading (with horror!) that some guitars now use laminate, and are not "hand crafted". I assume this mostly means the pieces are laser cut, rather than cut on a jig.
TLDR: Are old cheap (ish) guitars better than modern mid range guitars?
I'll have these for sale soon
Faith mercury scoop (parlour) usual playing west £400
Squire thinline Tele with Duncan HBs few knocks from playing and time £150
Tokai breezy sound blonde Tele £100
Just incase anyone wants dibs before I advertise/ebay properly
Hi Nerd.
My opinion is that a guitar is like a Harry Potter wand. You don't choose the guitar, the guitar chooses you.
About 28 years ago I bought a 2nd hand Norman dreadnought for £200. I had it set up nicely by a local luthier for £60. I still play it and when I go to a Jam night down the local pub it occasionally gets compliments (for its sound, not my playing) and the best guitarist I know has had a go on it and nodded in approval at its playability.
I play with a mate (my riding buddy) who has a few nice guitars. And we tend to swap them around. His Taylor 914ce is quite nice (probably a £3000 guitar) His little Taylor Koa (£3000) is a pretty little thing with a "different" sound but his Martin D45 (£10,000 plus) leaves me cold. It doesn't do anything in my hands, but it sounds nice when he bangs out the chords on it. I always go back to my trusty Norman.
At home I alternate between that, my Yamaha NXT hybrid nylon, my Harley Benton PRS P90 rip-off and my self made Tele (which is (technically) the best and most expensive of the lot) and they all have a place. But if I had to rescue one from a fire, or I had the pick of my mate's) it would be the £200 Norman.
Some guitars have it, and the sticker on the headstock should be ignored. I've watched a YouTube video where a Fender Custom Shop master builder is taken round a guitar shop and has to choose his favourite out of a wall of Squiers. He picks out one he loves - and says he likes it because it feels like the Squier he plays and gigs with himself at home.
Could be interested in the Faith...
@BigJohn. Thanks for the pep talk! I think I'll get some new pins and strings, give it a good clean and oil and just play it.
I'm still curious as to whether acoustic guitar quality has gone down in the intervening years.
For example, is the high pressure laminate (HPL) that Martin use on their "budget" guitars any worse than a piece of wood?
I have an ‘Aspen’ acoustic that I’ve had since I was 19. It has a thin plywood top and (still) sounds great, prompting a Martin-owning friend to say it sounded better than his.
I reckon new strings make as much difference… 😊
I've watched a YouTube video where a Fender Custom Shop master builder is taken round a guitar shop and has to choose his favourite out of a wall of Squiers. He picks out one he loves - and says he likes it because it feels like the Squier he plays and gigs with himself at home.
I suspect his Squier may have been fettled
It may not have needed fettling. I've filed the nut on every electric I own, except a Squire Classic vibe Tele from 2012.
I've watched a YouTube video where a Fender Custom Shop master builder is taken round a guitar shop and has to choose his favourite out of a wall of Squiers. He picks out one he loves - and says he likes it because it feels like the Squier he plays and gigs with himself at home.
My friend Alex works at Fender's R&D lab at the Custom Shop. His home guitar is remarkably normal...
What delivery service do you guys use for posting guitars? Got a bass to sell, but reckon I’ll have an easier sale if I stick it on Reverb or eBay than the small area I live. Who’s reliable at not smashing them?
The ones I haven’t bought from a local shop have came DHL.