The Guitar Corner: A Place Where Fellow Guitarists Can Talk Shop

Started by Mirror Image, April 17, 2019, 07:07:07 AM

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greg

Very nice. What are those switches on the side for?

I don't remember if I showed you the guitar I got recently...

https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/hellraiser-c-8-fr-detail


I still need to take it to a guitar tech since it came with some problems right out of the box and is unplayable.  ::)

But... despite that I can still tell that this is going to be my new favorite guitar. Very few guitars come with 8 strings and a floyd rose pre-installed. And the scale length doesn't feel too long, so it's fairly comfortable to play. Unlike my 9 string... thinking of trading it in eventually because the scale length makes it uncomfortable to play and the 9th string itself sounds really dull for some reason.
Wagie wagie get back in the cagie

drogulus


     Long ago I had a guitar that was a merciless Les Paul killer. It was Japanese, it had "flying finger" pickups, it was double cutaway, it was an Ibanez Artist 2617, like this one:

     

     I bought it new in 1979, I think. I didn't know then that this was better than what Gibson was making because I never had a Les Paul to compare it to.
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Mirror Image

Quote from: greg on April 19, 2019, 07:58:50 AM
Very nice. What are those switches on the side for?

I don't remember if I showed you the guitar I got recently...

https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/hellraiser-c-8-fr-detail


I still need to take it to a guitar tech since it came with some problems right out of the box and is unplayable.  ::)

But... despite that I can still tell that this is going to be my new favorite guitar. Very few guitars come with 8 strings and a floyd rose pre-installed. And the scale length doesn't feel too long, so it's fairly comfortable to play. Unlike my 9 string... thinking of trading it in eventually because the scale length makes it uncomfortable to play and the 9th string itself sounds really dull for some reason.

On this Fender Squier Jaguar, the switches on the side allow you to have a different tone depending on the position you put them in. Very nice Schecter guitar, btw. I don't think I've ever actually played on one of their guitars before, but, then again, I don't like going to guitar stores very much because of the loudness factor. I can't even hear myself think in one! :) Once you get it properly setup, you'll have to post yourself playing it.

greg

Quote from: Mirror Image on April 19, 2019, 08:22:39 PM
On this Fender Squier Jaguar, the switches on the side allow you to have a different tone depending on the position you put them in. Very nice Schecter guitar, btw. I don't think I've ever actually played on one of their guitars before, but, then again, I don't like going to guitar stores very much because of the loudness factor. I can't even hear myself think in one! :) Once you get it properly setup, you'll have to post yourself playing it.
That's a lot of options then! That's like six extra switches compared to the average guitar.

I sure will post videos and such, eventually...
(now I'm vaguely remember i think i posted about this guitar already a month or two ago on another thread, oh well lol)

Speaking of guitar shop, there's a youtube channel called Said Too Much Productions where he does some really interesting experiments with guitar construction, such as making a soprano guitar that can actually hit the highest C note on a piano. It involved making a shorter scale length, insanely low gauge strings ordered from some special online shop, and 3d printing a fretboard extension that went up over 30 frets (meaning that he couldn't include a neck pickup, only a bridge pickup).
Wagie wagie get back in the cagie

Mirror Image

Quote from: greg on April 19, 2019, 10:39:37 PM
That's a lot of options then! That's like six extra switches compared to the average guitar.

I sure will post videos and such, eventually...
(now I'm vaguely remember i think i posted about this guitar already a month or two ago on another thread, oh well lol)

Speaking of guitar shop, there's a youtube channel called Said Too Much Productions where he does some really interesting experiments with guitar construction, such as making a soprano guitar that can actually hit the highest C note on a piano. It involved making a shorter scale length, insanely low gauge strings ordered from some special online shop, and 3d printing a fretboard extension that went up over 30 frets (meaning that he couldn't include a neck pickup, only a bridge pickup).

That's pretty cool about the soprano guitar. I'd love to get a baritone guitar at some point or a guitar with 7-strings (just for the added option of more tonal colors). I'm not a metal guitarist, so the appeal of a 7-string guitar may be strange (or not?), but I do think it could add a new dimension to one's own sound.

greg

Quote from: Mirror Image on April 20, 2019, 06:47:12 AM
That's pretty cool about the soprano guitar. I'd love to get a baritone guitar at some point or a guitar with 7-strings (just for the added option of more tonal colors). I'm not a metal guitarist, so the appeal of a 7-string guitar may be strange (or not?), but I do think it could add a new dimension to one's own sound.
Not strange at all. Whenever I've talked about extended range guitars with someone else, either they or I have mentioned how it is also good for such things as playing more unusual chord shapes that might be found in jazz, for example. I've heard extended range guitars being used enough in clean context by now, even if originally they were created for distorted riffing.
Wagie wagie get back in the cagie

Mirror Image

Quote from: greg on April 20, 2019, 07:43:58 AM
Not strange at all. Whenever I've talked about extended range guitars with someone else, either they or I have mentioned how it is also good for such things as playing more unusual chord shapes that might be found in jazz, for example. I've heard extended range guitars being used enough in clean context by now, even if originally they were created for distorted riffing.

Finding unique chord voicings seems to be something I'm constantly interested in and, yeah, the 7-string guitar would be a great way to extent the possibilities of finding these voicings. I used to think I was a rock guitarist, then I thought I was a jazz guitarist, but now I'm just a guitarist. I really prefer to think of myself, if I may be so obliged to do so, as a sculptor of sound. I feel affiliated with no certain genre and with this kind of mindset I'm free to think more creatively about the guitar and music in general.

Elgarian Redux

I was drawn in by the title of the thread, but so far this all looks fearsomely electric, so I'm not sure if I'm a fit contributor. All my guitars are acoustic. All of them are hugely better at being guitars than I am at playing them. Here's the list:

Martin HD28V
Taylor 914ce
Taylor 810e
Taylor 210e DLX
Taylor 214ce QM DLX (gives the definitive disproof of the idea that laminated woods all sound alike)
Sigma SG200 (I wanted a Gibson SJ200, but not to the tune of £3000, and with this remarkably fine Sigma copy, I can pretend.)

I have a little acoustic amplifier but I hardly ever use it.

Mirror Image

Quote from: Elgarian Redux on April 20, 2019, 04:44:40 PM
I was drawn in by the title of the thread, but so far this all looks fearsomely electric, so I'm not sure if I'm a fit contributor. All my guitars are acoustic. All of them are hugely better at being guitars than I am at playing them. Here's the list:

Martin HD28V
Taylor 914ce
Taylor 810e
Taylor 210e DLX
Taylor 214ce QM DLX (gives the definitive disproof of the idea that laminated woods all sound alike)
Sigma SG200 (I wanted a Gibson SJ200, but not to the tune of £3000, and with this remarkably fine Sigma copy, I can pretend.)

I have a little acoustic amplifier but I hardly ever use it.

Nonsense. You are welcomed here with open arms, Elgarian. You own some fine acoustic guitars. The Taylors that I've played on have been exquisite. I came very close to buying one of their 12-string models many years ago. Do any of the acoustic guitars you own have an electric pickup in them or are they are all purely acoustic?

Mirror Image

Well, I caved, I ended up buying a Strymon Mobius effects box. Hopefully, it'll be here later on in the week.

The choruses and flangers are why I bought this unit:

https://www.youtube.com/v/jvH4ovLIUk0

https://www.youtube.com/v/78QcxnXGJGA

Elgarian Redux

Quote from: Mirror Image on April 20, 2019, 07:19:00 PM
Nonsense. You are welcomed here with open arms, Elgarian. You own some fine acoustic guitars. The Taylors that I've played on have been exquisite. I came very close to buying one of their 12-string models many years ago. Do any of the acoustic guitars you own have an electric pickup in them or are they are all purely acoustic?

They all have a pickup except the Martin.  I once bought a cheap Fender Mustang amp so I could play with the effects, but it never caught on. More recently I bought a little Roland AC 33 acoustic amp which has had a bit more use. But after 50 years of playing purely acoustically, I'm not likely to change now!

I've tinkered with recording, using a little 8 track Tascam 'portable studio', which is easy to use, even for me; but mostly I just pick up a guitar and play, without bothering with anything electronic.

I've owned a couple of 12-string guitars, and much as I love the sound of them, I find they are a pain to live with. I still have a Taylor 150e, but though I have tried and tried, it just isn't for me, and it sits in its case, silently whispering 'Mistake! Mistake!'

Mirror Image

Quote from: Elgarian Redux on April 21, 2019, 12:54:33 AM
They all have a pickup except the Martin.  I once bought a cheap Fender Mustang amp so I could play with the effects, but it never caught on. More recently I bought a little Roland AC 33 acoustic amp which has had a bit more use. But after 50 years of playing purely acoustically, I'm not likely to change now!

I've tinkered with recording, using a little 8 track Tascam 'portable studio', which is easy to use, even for me; but mostly I just pick up a guitar and play, without bothering with anything electronic.

I've owned a couple of 12-string guitars, and much as I love the sound of them, I find they are a pain to live with. I still have a Taylor 150e, but though I have tried and tried, it just isn't for me, and it sits in its case, silently whispering 'Mistake! Mistake!'

That's great. Yeah, the important thing to remember about effects is they should never control you. I only use them because they enhance my playing, but also because I just like them and always have. Interestingly enough, I learned to play on an acoustic guitar (an old Gibson or Washburn acoustic model which slips my mind at the moment), but I have always been attracted to the electric guitar for it's potential for building sonic masses of sound. I love the acoustic guitar (esp. nylon string classical guitar) as they provide a great rhythmic backdrop to a piece of music, but they've never been a part of the sound I hear in my mind that I've been trying for 22 years to get out. All the more power to you for sticking to your guns and playing nothing but acoustics.

Like you, I've fooled around with recording, but I don't have a keen interest in recording that much as a lot of what I play is based on pure improvisation and not on some kind of structure. I might think about getting something in the future as there have been several occasions where I wished I had recorded myself and another musician or musicians. I remember playing with a cellist and thinking "Boy, if only I had recorded this!" I forget how I met this cellist, but we did a church gig together if I'm not mistaken, but I do remember what we played at the time was loosely structured and had a lot of improvisation. After the church service was over, some guy walked up to me and the cellist and said what we played was 'extremely beautiful'. That kind of compliment has stayed with me to this day and I've been pursuing beauty in music ever since.

Elgarian Redux

Quote from: San Antone on April 21, 2019, 04:21:19 AM

A George Lowden guitar has been my main instrument since 1986 and I love it, it has done nothing but gotten better sounding through the years.

I've played some Lowdens and they all sounded absolutely wonderful - rich harmonics, and apparently infinite sustain. The only thing that stopped me from trying to get one myself was - apart from the price - they just didn't feel quite right for me. Truth is, I'm just a wannabee pop singer, and the Lowdons weren't a good personal fit to that.

QuoteI don't like acoustic guitar pickups, since they distort the sound so much
Oh yes, I quite agree. It's not that I'm a purist; it's just that having striven to get the finest-sounding acoustic guitars I could find and afford, it seems bonkers to electronically make them sound worse. My Taylors have all been carefully chosen for their specific acoustic qualities - but they all pretty much sound the same through an amp.

Elgarian Redux

Quote from: Mirror Image on April 21, 2019, 06:42:13 AMAll the more power to you for sticking to your guns and playing nothing but acoustics.

As I said above, it's not a purist thing for me. I do have a cheap electric guitar in fact, but neither it, nor any other electric I've tried, has ever come alive in my hands. I don't feel any kind of relationship with them. I'd love to be able to, but it doesn't happen.

QuoteLike you, I've fooled around with recording, but I don't have a keen interest in recording that much

My interest in the recording process itself is virtually zero. I never yet managed to make a recording that didn't make me wince to some degree. But I like to be able to make some sort of record of the songs I write, or to be able to compare different arrangements of them. I do the recordings in the kitchen, and they sound like it.

greg

Quote from: Mirror Image on April 20, 2019, 07:54:31 AM
Finding unique chord voicings seems to be something I'm constantly interested in and, yeah, the 7-string guitar would be a great way to extent the possibilities of finding these voicings. I used to think I was a rock guitarist, then I thought I was a jazz guitarist, but now I'm just a guitarist. I really prefer to think of myself, if I may be so obliged to do so, as a sculptor of sound. I feel affiliated with no certain genre and with this kind of mindset I'm free to think more creatively about the guitar and music in general.
Basically same here.
Also, the reason for the amount of pedals for me is that I don't just want one or two go-to sounds, but at least 10-20.
I think the goal of second guitar-based album will be that people listen to it and feel so utterly disturbed that they start hallucinating and eventually go crazy and kill themselves. Music like that generally requires many different effects.

(or not, you could just turn on some pop music for the same effect  >:D :P )
Wagie wagie get back in the cagie

Mirror Image

Quote from: greg on April 21, 2019, 04:15:26 PM
Basically same here.
Also, the reason for the amount of pedals for me is that I don't just want one or two go-to sounds, but at least 10-20.
I think the goal of second guitar-based album will be that people listen to it and feel so utterly disturbed that they start hallucinating and eventually go crazy and kill themselves. Music like that generally requires many different effects.

(or not, you could just turn on some pop music for the same effect  >:D :P )

Well, there is good pop music you know. :) I'm thinking here of Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, and Björk. These artists push the musical envelope and create worlds of sound that are unique and individualistic. Getting back to the tones and sounds we get from pedals (or rack mount units), I think if a musician isn't allured by their own sound, then they're not going to feel inspired to continue to play. I think once I receive this Strymon Mobius effects unit, I will have the last ingredient to my sound and this is something that I can add in or subtract, because, as you mentioned, it's nice having those options there in the event that you would like to add a different element to your sound or the music you're playing.

Elgarian Redux

Quote from: greg on April 21, 2019, 04:15:26 PM
you could just turn on some pop music for the same effect  >:D :P )
and Mirror Image:
QuoteWell, there is good pop music you know.

I'd like to speak up in defence of pop music. When I was a young lad, I could not decide whether I wanted to be a physicist or a pop singer. I earnestly desired to be both, but they seemed to be in two compartments. One was trivial; the other serious. (And there was also the problem that although I was good at science, I couldn't sing, but let's set that aside for now.)

What nonsense it all was, to suppose that pop music was not really worthy of attention.
It took me a long time to realise it, as a conscious thought, but thank goodness I did eventually. All my adult life, running alongside everything else I've done, there has been an acoustic guitar, and I have used it to play pop music. It's been a source of joy, and sometimes a lifeline. I owe Bobby Vee and Elvis Presley just as much of a debt as I do Elgar or Sibelius. Just not the same sort of debt.

The songs I write myself are pop songs. They usually have some sort of serious intent - because I want to mean what I sing, when I sing - but still, they are pop songs. Pop music isn't by definition bad music. It does its own thing. Take it away from me, and I lose half my lifeblood.


Mirror Image

Quote from: Elgarian Redux on April 22, 2019, 12:21:22 AM
I'd like to speak up in defence of pop music. When I was a young lad, I could not decide whether I wanted to be a physicist or a pop singer. I earnestly desired to be both, but they seemed to be in two compartments. One was trivial; the other serious. (And there was also the problem that although I was good at science, I couldn't sing, but let's set that aside for now.)

What nonsense it all was, to suppose that pop music was not really worthy of attention.
It took me a long time to realise it, as a conscious thought, but thank goodness I did eventually. All my adult life, running alongside everything else I've done, there has been an acoustic guitar, and I have used it to play pop music. It's been a source of joy, and sometimes a lifeline. I owe Bobby Vee and Elvis Presley just as much of a debt as I do Elgar or Sibelius. Just not the same sort of debt.

The songs I write myself are pop songs. They usually have some sort of serious intent - because I want to mean what I sing, when I sing - but still, they are pop songs. Pop music isn't by definition bad music. It does its own thing. Take it away from me, and I lose half my lifeblood.

No argument from me. I love pop music as there are so many great musicians that have given their all to producing some remarkable music. Like San Antone, I'm beginning to be able to drop the whole attitude of this genre is better than this genre, etc. and just listen. Music is a language of its' own and there's so many different vernaculars, but the end result is it's all music, but as to whether you like it or not is, of course, boils down to personal preference.

Elgarian Redux

Quote from: San Antone on April 22, 2019, 03:29:18 AM
I hope this thread does not digress into that debate over genres.

You're right, and that wasn't my intention. I suppose I was explaining that my love of my guitars is intimately connected with my love of pop music. I wouldn't know how to separate them. And what I decide to play at any one moment is pretty unpredictable, although - to some extent it's determined by which guitar I happen to pick up. The Taylor 210 DLX is the most amazing rock and roll machine, and so sooner or later I give in to what it really wants, and let it rip.

I wonder which comes first? Do I pick up the guitar that suits my mood of the moment? Or Does the guitar I pick up dictate the mood of the moment? I don't know which. It's something of a recent luxury. Most of my life I've owned only one guitar at a time. For years it was an Eko Ranger 6, built like a tank and sounding much like one. Then it was a Martin DM, for about 15 years (oh my, that was a great guitar. I thought I would never need another.)

The idea of having more than one guitar is relatively recent, starting from about 5 years ago. There was an easing of finances with fewer responsibilities; and also a realisation that if I was ever going to experience the possession of really fine instruments, I ought to do it now before my fingers succumb to arthritis or whatever. It is, I must admit, a glorious luxury to have them.

drogulus


     I was just playing my Green Thing guitar with my newest amp. They sound beautiful together.

     

     Green Thing
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