The New Guitar Topic

[Crass 0]

^just got this guitar (Schecter C-1 Plus) and a 120 Crate Amp from a friend for free.

 

Not bad for a first guitar, eh?

[No Escape? 1]

That looks pretty sexy, especially since you got it for free.

 

How does it sound?

[Crass 0]

It's got a great, heavy tone to it. Beautiful sound, no fret buzz, I love it. Only trouble I've had is that the A string falls out of tune every now and then, not a big deal though.

[lesfleanut 4]

My old guitarist used to have a Schecter C1 Elite, which is a step above that one... He traded his PRS custom 22 for it, he liked the schecter better. Well actually he got two guitars plus cash out of the deal:

 

C-1 Elite

 

C-1 E/A

 

 

Man did they sound great, and those pics really don't do them justice...

 

 

 

Also, I own one of these:

 

 

 

Schecter makes the best instruments (by far) in the 300-1000 dollar range, even though their most expensive ax is about 700.

[lesfleanut 4]

Oh yeah, double post for the sake of nothing. Remember that bass I was going to buy? Well that deal fell through, and instead I got a Deluxe Active Jazz V, which is treating me very nicely. I have to say, mine is one of the nicer fenders I've ever played, and I've played hundreds.

 

Mine looks exactly like this, same color and all:

 

 

 

 

I f*cking hate the tort pickguard, so I'm replacing it with a perloid when I get the motivation. I really like the way this bass plays and sounds other that that, this model has a really nice preamp that lets me sound awesome in so many different ways. It's not the best bass for slap, well I'm just not used to it yet I guess, but finger funk is amazing on a nice jazz bass.

[Lost-Fender 0]

^ Nice bass there, lesfleanut.

 

I've been thinking on buying a Schecter, specially the S-1. Looks totally sweet.

 

Anyway, does anyone know what's the musical scale Slash used on the solo of "Sweet Child O' Mine"?

[San Andreas Nut 0]

hello all, first of all PCJ, what guitars do you own and what sort of music do ya play?

 

 

I am serious about learning the guitar, love all kinds of music cept screamo/emo.

 

Love Radiohead. anyway I like all kinds of music like I said, but what guitar would be good to start out with? I was thinking an acoustic. my uncle plays guitar and hes going to buy me one. eventually I want to get a electric? guitar to play a bit of metal.

 

so what would you recommed for a first guitar? no experience.

 

also, I dont really want to pay for expensive lessons. .. is it possible to self teach? my uncle will teach me a little, but i was wondering.. any of you guys self taught? I mean can you just get tabs, teach yourself what string is what and just start learning?

 

input appreciated.

[Lost-Fender 0]

also, I dont really want to pay for expensive lessons. .. is it possible to self teach? my uncle will teach me a little, but i was wondering.. any of you guys self taught? I mean can you just get tabs, teach yourself what string is what and just start learning?

The same I thought when I began, but it's actually not that simple. Even using tabs, there are playing techniques you need to learn, such as glissando, vibrato, etc. It's always better to learn with a teacher, imao.

 

And when buying a guitar, you should buy a simple guitar. As you get better, you can sell your guitar and buy a better one, and so on. It's like, can you imagine buying a Stratocaster and not being able to play on it? There are pretty decent Ibanez guitars out there for starters. Epiphone also offers quality guitars for beginners. But I don't recommend Squier.

[PCJ. 0]

hello all, first of all PCJ, what guitars do you own and what sort of music do ya play?

Saving up for Uni means I don't have the money to spend on top end equipment, but what I've got does me for what I play.

 

Epiphone G400

Cost me £150, but when I tried to next to a £500 Gibson, it really wasn't bad.

 

Yamaha FG700S

Out of all the budget acoustics that I tried, this was easily my favourite, and one I'd really recommend if you're going to start playing.

 

And a Yamaha bass I bought of my mate for £40, so I could learn that and all.

 

I'm thinking of getting a Telecaster but that depends on how much I can scrape together over the summer.

 

I'll play indie/alt rock, along the lines of Radiohead, Post Rock, Classic Rock, Blues, or basically whatever I'm listening to. Then I tend to stick to finger picking on acoustic, because I find it more fun to play.

 

I've learned entirely by myself, and to be honest, it's probably made me a better player. It's slower going, but I've put far more effort into it because of it. There's plenty of material on the internet that'll do enough to help you. And if you do learn yourself, don't be lazy and skip over theory, it might be a little tedious, but it'll make you a better player.

[BeeswaX 2]

my favorite guitarists have to be

KURT COBAIN he just rocked, i know he wasnt that good but he made some awesome tunes that never ever leave your head

Noodles from the offspring

Dave Grohl

lead belly

i have to admit im more into vocals then guitar though guitar is f*cking awesome too

 

i have 2 standard fender strats, one black with white pickguard, and one whole black i mostly play on that one awesome sound reall grungy

 

also i have one selfmade guitar modeled after a fender mustang, i want to get a mustang but they are pretty rare around here

 

an semi acoustic stagg i bought for 89 euro but it sounds awesome never thought i would get a good sounding acoustic for that money

plus i have an old spanish guitar dont know the brand but it sounds cool, it has about the same sound as kurt cobains stella harmony, the guitar he recorded polly with, he bought it for only 12 dollars

[San Andreas Nut 0]

ok thanks fender & PCJ.

 

@PCJ: just what I wanted to hear man

 

yeah I love explosions in the sky, and one day wanna play similar stuff, NICE guitars u got there!!

 

yeah Ill prob. get a lot of info of the net, and wont be skimpy on the theory I actually know a little as I did music in year 8 & 9..

[Toni.Cipriani 0]

C-1 Elite

 

 

Hey, that's Carlos Santana's guitar.

 

I own myself a Squier fender strat, and an Eddie Van Halen style fender.

[PCJ. 0]

I thought Santana used a Custom PRS.

[Toni.Cipriani 0]

I thought Santana used a Custom PRS.

I guess he does... his has birds as the picks in the neck.

 

I unno, it resembles his guitar.

[Statutory Ray 1]

Looking for a relatively cheap electric guitar. Honestly I have no idea what to look for and I'm just in the learning process, but what I want to play doesn't go well with the sh*tty $10 novelty acoustic I have, so I'm sort of unmotivated at this point to learn how to play better.

 

Not looking to spend more than $150, really, and something cheaper would be appreciated. Is it possible to simply use a PC as an amp rather than buy one?

[Guglielminpietro 1]

Just need a couple of tips from you chaps. After 4 and a half years of guitar playing I finally broke a string for the first time (half way through a song at a pub's jam night). And I've never changed any strings before (I know you're supposed to but, meh, never got round to it). So basically I need your advice on what brand of strings to buy, and what thickness, and also any guides on how to change strings would be helpful. (My guitar is a Squier hollow-body telecaster by the way, if that matters as to advising on the strings.)

 

[nabo45 13]

My favorite guitarists:

 

Dave Mustaine - Megadeth

Kirk Hammet - Metallica

Pete Townsend - The Who

Mikael Kjejs - Spelndid

Slash - Guns 'N Roses

Bryan Adams

Brian May - Queen

 

 

My Guitar:

 

Ibanez SA260FM

 

[PCJ. 0]

D'addario or Ernie Ball are the main two brands. Elixers are supposed to be pretty good too, but they're quite expensive.

Personally, I tend to use Ernie Ball .10s. The tension is just about right. .9s are too slinky for me, and .11s are too tight. It's all personal preference

 

Ultimate-Guitar has a decent string changing tutorial.

 

It's not hard, just bear in mind the strings might go out of tune a little for a day or so, just as the strings stretch.

Edited May 26, 2007 by PCJ.

[Toni.Cipriani 0]

Just need a couple of tips from you chaps. After 4 and a half years of guitar playing I finally broke a string for the first time (half way through a song at a pub's jam night). And I've never changed any strings before (I know you're supposed to but, meh, never got round to it). So basically I need your advice on what brand of strings to buy, and what thickness, and also any guides on how to change strings would be helpful. (My guitar is a Squier hollow-body telecaster by the way, if that matters as to advising on the strings.)

 

It's not really hard at all to install strings.

 

I'd buy the best kind if you do gigs frequently. For me, I use cheap no branded ones so I couldn't really indicate naything for you. You're gonna go to the store and ask for Fender (same as squier of course) strings. The dude's gonna hand you the most expensive one of course... there isn't actually a specific thickness for electric guitar strings. They're simply... electric guitar strings.

 

I dont know any brands. But, I can teach you to swap strings. Here go.. Dont mind if I say wrong names and all... I really dont know specific names for these...

 

For starters, flip over your squier and there (should be) is a squared plate with six (or if yours is a bass guitar, four) small holes in it. You're gonna push the string inside the guitar (from the other side) and a nice little ball or something with color, should come out of one hole in the square plate. After that, you're gonna remove the broken part of the string from where you tune your squier. It should be tied accordingly. Untie it, and save it, and the broken chord.

 

Now you're gonna insert the new string inside the hole that came out the broken string (the squared plate on the other side) and tie it into where you tune the guitar. Tie it to the tuner's hole, but dont cut whatever the size of the string left. At least I wouldn't do it. Don't ask why.

 

make sure the string is in the according position, and tune it with the other strings. There you go.

 

Now, I'd buy a whole set of brand new strings, because this is the first one, but wont be the last. If you do this, still save all the old ones in the new strings' packets. You never know one of those might break again.

 

Well, you're going to get used to tuning the strings, because they're new and their tendency is to untune often.

 

 

 

[fox09 0]

 

Just need a couple of tips from you chaps. After 4 and a half years of guitar playing I finally broke a string for the first time (half way through a song at a pub's jam night). And I've never changed any strings before (I know you're supposed to but, meh, never got round to it). So basically I need your advice on what brand of strings to buy, and what thickness, and also any guides on how to change strings would be helpful. (My guitar is a Squier hollow-body telecaster by the way, if that matters as to advising on the strings.)

 

What kind of music are you playing? If you're playing metal (on a thin-line tele?) with crazy-fast licks, then you'll want thinner strings. 8's are as thin as you can go, I think. It just reduces the amount of pressure you have to put on the string to get a note out of it, therefore making it easier to play faster. On the other hand, if you want the chug-chug of powerchords, then you'll probably want something thicker.* 10's or 11's. But if you're into blues stuff, anything less than 9, you'll lose tone, which is a big part of blues, and anything more than 11, you'll cramp the hell out of your fingers. You're Tele most likely has 9's on it already, if you're comfortable enough with it, I wouldn't recommend changing them.

 

 

 

And as for changing strings, it's a simple process of un-wrapping the string from it's respective machine-head, then pulling it out from the bridge. (I'm sure you could get this far without help.) Then you take the new-string, and do the exact opposite of what you just did. I'm not too sure about guitar, but you might need a pair of pliers. They have a tendancy to fly off as you're tightening them. (At least, bass strings do, I've never actually re-strung a guitar before. ) Also remember that you can take your guitar to any guitar-shop, and have them change the strings for you, saves a lot of frustration.

 

 

 

 

*Some guitarists sometimes use 10's or 11's on the bottom 3 strings, and 8's for the top 3. So you can still get the heavy chug, but also the fast, high stuff. I wouldn't recommend it though, the bridge has to be set just right, as to not f*ck up the neck. The different tensions can warp the hell out of it.

[ThaddeusMcKlown 12]

 

*Some guitarists sometimes use 10's or 11's on the bottom 3 strings, and 8's for the top 3. So you can still get the heavy chug, but also the fast, high stuff. I wouldn't recommend it though, the bridge has to be set just right, as to not f*ck up the neck. The different tensions can warp the hell out of it.

This problem is usually corrected with a FR or ZR trem. A Trem can help to stabilize the neck/strings, especially on mine, (An Ibanez S520EX) because the bridge gives a little and I can move the tension easily. But I have a set-neck Gibson and I've never had a neck warping problem

 

I use Ernie Ball Skinny Top/Heavy Bottom strings. It's like this: the E-A-D strings are slightly thicker than 11's, while the G-B-E strings are 10's. The G-B-E strings make it easy to solo and do the bluesy stuff that I do, and the heavy bottom strings make slamming, crushing power chords a breeze. It also gets a real thick sound.

As for other gauges, I've never so much as heard of a guage lower than .9, but I have played .9s, and every time I played them, I broke the damn strings. Too Light for me, I guess.

 

As for changing them, as it's already been explained, I'll just throw a bit of a tip in there - once you get the stings on, gently pull them away from the fretboard, to stretch them. This will help alleviate that post-string-changing god-why-is-it-impossible-to-tune syndrome. Don't stretch them too hard, though.

 

If only one string broke, the others probably aren't far behind; you might as well change all of them.

[Bigs 17]

I'm definitely gonna have to crack my way up to Guitar Center tommorow for the big sale they're having.

 

Not sure what I'm going to get, need some strings pretty badly, I'll see what else floats my way.

[vacuumo 11]

 

Just need a couple of tips from you chaps. After 4 and a half years of guitar playing I finally broke a string for the first time (half way through a song at a pub's jam night). And I've never changed any strings before (I know you're supposed to but, meh, never got round to it). So basically I need your advice on what brand of strings to buy, and what thickness, and also any guides on how to change strings would be helpful. (My guitar is a Squier hollow-body telecaster by the way, if that matters as to advising on the strings.)

 

Four years? Mine don't last a month without being corroded all over. A string hasn't snapped on me in a long time, though.

 

Fox laid things out pretty well. Paying a shop to restring your guitar is pretty ridiculous, though, and a waste unless they'll teach you how in addition which they more likely than not won't do. Here's a good guide on how to string properly. Not only does it look nice and neat but it improves tuning stability. Regardless, buy Ernie Ball strings.

 

In other news, I bought another guitar because I put my Strat copy out of commission when I tried to re-do the wiring, my Danelectro is unavailable and I am sure as hell not lugging my Les Paul around whereever I need it. It should arrive sometime early this week, maybe Tuesday or Wednesday. I'll post pictures when it arrives.

Edited May 28, 2007 by vacuumo

[lesfleanut 4]

...I bought another guitar because I put my Strat copy out of commission when I tried to re-do the wiring...

Send it to me? I'll even pay for shipping.

 

 

[vacuumo 11]

Send it to me? I'll even pay for shipping.

Well, I'm gonna fix it eventually. I just need to get off my ass and stop staring at it. I know exactly what's wrong, too. I attached the five-way switch to the pickguard backwards and soldered everything to the wrong points. So.

[No Escape? 1]

Edit: Lack of sleep is getting to me. I mistook the five string for the four string...oh noes.

 

Rented a bass. An Ibanez SRX590; my cousin uses one and says it does her fine, so I thought what the heck. Haven't decided what genre I'd like to play yet anyway, so I can get a feel for the basics before making a purchase.

 

 

Don't let that chop shop transparency job fool you; it's much prettier in person. Except, more of an orange sunburst color. I...I have a thing for sunburst.

Edited May 29, 2007 by No Escape?

[fox09 0]

That's a nice bass. I always figured Ibanez basses are good for starting off on. Good quality, but still relatively inexpensive.

 

Although, you shouldn't limit yourself to one genre. Just play what you like, your tastes'll change, and so will what you play. Hell, I used to be really into the 80's hard rock/hair-metal stuff, but I got tired of play root-note quarter notes. Lately I've been really into to jazz. I love the whole style of play. I've really been trying to learn to walk, I can almost do it, but it generally sounds like sh*t, I mess up chord, or something like that.

 

 

BTW, why's there 4 knobbies on that bass? Is it tone and volume for each pickup? There doesn't seem to be a selector though...

[No Escape? 1]

Yeah, that was a little confusing to me too, but the guy selling me the thing said they were volume, balancer and then treble and bass boosters/cutters. it'll all make sense when I play I guess.

[Guglielminpietro 1]

Just need a couple of tips from you chaps. After 4 and a half years of guitar playing I finally broke a string for the first time (half way through a song at a pub's jam night). And I've never changed any strings before (I know you're supposed to but, meh, never got round to it). So basically I need your advice on what brand of strings to buy, and what thickness, and also any guides on how to change strings would be helpful. (My guitar is a Squier hollow-body telecaster by the way, if that matters as to advising on the strings.)

 

Four years? Mine don't last a month without being corroded all over. A string hasn't snapped on me in a long time, though.

 

 

Should have clarified, I haven't been playing that same guitar the whole four years, hehe. I've had the telecaster around 6 months.

 

[vacuumo 11]

BTW, why's there 4 knobbies on that bass? Is it tone and volume for each pickup? There doesn't seem to be a selector though...

Jazz basses generally don't have pickup selectors either. Just the two pickups wired in parallel, individual volume knobs to blend them and one for overall tone. I think I'd prefer the volume and tone for each pickup setup that one has going, though.

 

Guitar didn't come today. I'm hoping it will tomorrow.