Lfalex v1.1

I had an Ovation Celebrity (The cheaper, Korean-built one) electro-acoustic. It had phosphor bronze strings on. My acidic sweat turned them black in a very short time. It could never keep up with acoustic guitars, and was basically inaudible unless you leant right over so you could hear what was coming out of the sound-hole. I never used the internal pre-amp until I sold it. It sounded pretty good through that. I'd never have another, but it did help me realise the potential of full-range piezoelectric pickup systems.

Very true. I punish strings and use Elixirs. They last ages even with the way I play. Eventually, they start to mechanically die; the cores lose their resilience and the coating will also start to fray off above the frets and where your right hand plucks/strums/slaps. Don't let that piece above put you off. It takes about 18 months to 2 years for that to happen! (Not that mine are on anything as exotic as Wals or Smiths. Vigier, Warwicks and Ibanez still sound great with them on)

I bought it new, but was thoroughly heartsick of the upset and disappointment that instrument caused. It was the most expensive instrument I've ever bought. And ultimately the worst. Besides, I couldn't prove that the lacquer cracking wasn't my doing, even though it wasn't.

Without going into masses of detail, I've had my Vigier Passion 5 (S3) for 24 years without any issues at all. I sold my Status Streamline on at a monumental loss after less than a year with a host of issues; cracking lacquer, de-laminating fretboard, poor electrics and difficulties with using non-dbe strings. Perhaps i should've gone for an S2, but now I'd just avoid Status altogether.

Yeah, but silver screws look garish and blingy on a (subtle) clear scratchplate. If it were white, then I guess silver would be the order of the day. If it were black, maybe either way. YMMV, naturally 😉

I know they've already been mentioned, but a +1 for Ibanez, particularly the SRs. Readily available second-hand at sensible prices. A slim neck profile, generally well designed, made and finished. Failing that, you can do a lot worse than a Yamaha.

That's better. I think I'd have black screws, though. That'd be very subtle then.

Is it insane to suggest a spare neck to "play" and keep the old one in case you want to return it to original spec? Obviously it may be more costly than a refret.

Keller Machine as in "Mind of Evil" - Doctor Who? What's the Interocitor from? "When Worlds Collide"? Edit; I was thinking of the right film, but have it the wrong name. It's "This Island Earth" [/] sci-fi fest..

That looks odd (as in unusual) for a Gibson/ Epiphone. You could still get it and replace the electrics with V/V/T/T for not-too-much cash. A luthier could likely add the forearm contour or more radiused edges. If it were me, I'd factor in a re-fin, too. Black? White? Matte Grey? or even a dark Gibson-esque stain like Cherry, Dark Green, Grey...

Yikes.

It's a cunning plan; You fiddle with the controls while playing, inadvertently fry your drivers in the process of finding out what the controls do. Then you have to buy a new cab. Which Barefaced will gladly sell you....

Definitely this. Its when the power amp stage starts to clip that even relatively low powered amps can damage speaker systems whose power ratings suggest that the amp can do them no harm. Melted voice coils and the like.

When I saw QOTSA, Josh Homme was playing his Ovation (Breadwinner?) Into some kind of low / high pass filter, with the bottom end going to an Ampeg 8x10 laying horizontally beneath two straight 4x12s. Couldn't see the amps, but Im assuming he had one driving the guitar pair, and one driving the 8x10. Further still, I once allowed a guitarist use my Trace SMX combo and cabinet (so the full 300w). That was monumental. I set the eq flat and just let him have at it. Bass amps have plenty of power through the frequency range that guitars produce. The EQ set points generally aren't right. It's probably best to find a cheap (s/h?) guitar preamp pedal or even multi fx and run that into the fx return of the bass amp, thereby bypassing its own internal preamp. Hopefully the master volume is after the FX loop and will still work... some do, done don't.

Conversely, some non-pros definitely use pro gear. Guess they found it in a tip. Further research shows Tomsk wielding Ric, and I'm pretty sure I've seen them using a Ken Smith sixer, too.

I used a (solid state) Gallien-Krueger head with an Ampeg 8x10. It was not a good experience. It sounded like a hairdryer on full power. Caused by - Lightweight hollow temporary stage that boomed, small venue. Too loud, too close, and the fact that the GK eq couldn't tame any of the issues.

I've always played in originals bands, so I've never needed to reproduce someone else's effects or tone. Many of the guitarists have used quite a few effects, so I decided not to. I tend to use on-amp EQ and compression to compensate for venue issues and complications, giving the desk a pre EQ DI. The real bonus is that I don't have to carry a pedal board or pedals and set them up. It's one thing less to deal with! If I could find a chorus pedal that I could run with a fair amount of depth without it "wobbling", I would likely (over)use it. If it had a low pass filter, that'd be great, too. That's just the way I play. Everyone else can do as they please or what the composition dictates with no hard feelings. When I'm noodling on the stick, I tend to run tons of delay/s and reverb on the melody strings because it sounds nice coupled to the way the strings attack/ decay/ sustain & release. I guess it's just a matter of preference, really.

The bassline to "Barbarism begins at Home" is lovely, however.

Clear? Already suggested, I see. Consider it a +1 on transparent, then...

Supermarkets and Access portals hold very little interest for me. So still significantly more than Morrissey.

Any bass that has been used to earn money?

Which is "Ask"...?

Uh... Did he not release a song called "National Front Disco"?

Buying a third Gibbon.. (Back on topic) Assuming it plays well and sounds good, I'd not send it back. The cosmetic issues give it some character. You'd recognise it if you saw it again.

I should've signed up for the gear abstinence thread. I've bought nothing. But fortunately managed to avoid selling anything, too...