Ancient Mariner

Thanks for that. PappaD music on ebay are doing Joyos for £25 post free.

Even at half price I could have spent £200 there quite happily. I really like most of the stuff on my pedal board, but many of the effects there are good and the tiny size makes it easy to fit them all on. One of the curious things is that, despite doing so many varieties of fuzz and drive/distortion, only the green mile and crunchbox would have been usable judging by the demos on youtube.

Anyone seen and fancied those tiny mooer effects, but through they were pricy for such a tiny box? Well courtesy of Harmony Central I have a discount code for the Marcmart online shop. http://www.marcmart.com/musical-instruments/guitar/effects-pedals.html Put mooer132 into the coupon code section and get 50% off. So I have a Chorus and reverb pedal on the way - it seemed too good a deal not to share, even if many here won't be interested.

I remember those Kay LPs loaded with effects. First time round was when I was 16 or 17 and it was a case of "wow, so many effects" but a year or later I'd learn just how bad most Kays were, and no longer had any deire for them. Hope that's not a bad one, and with all the electronics still intact & working so you can enjoy the nostalgia. Nice Les Paul '12string'. Solid mahogany?

[quote name='richardjmorgan' timestamp='1350323779' post='1837334'] Being more of a guitarist than a bassist, if I had the cash, I'd totally get something built by Feline (felineguitars.com) - played a few and they're lovely. Not all that cheap, mind… [/quote] I have a good friend who still lives in Croydon. He had a custom guitar built a couple of years back, and when I asked him why he didn't use Feline he told me it's because he wanted the guitar actually delivered, and without getting grief over it. His past bad experience may be unique, but maybe not.

I use my PB for bass and guitar - works fine, tracking is fully acceptable and more accurate than some tuners I've used built into modellers.

I'd expect a custom guitar to start around the £700-£800 mark and climb (very) rapidly as you start adding desirable features. £1500 might be a better expected starting price, especially if the customer wanted a set neck, some carving on the body and anything other than simple dot inlay on the fingerboard. I'd like to recommend Bailey guitars: http://news.baileyguitars.co.uk/index.php/custom/ I tried one of their instruments at Music Live a few years back, and would have taken it home over any of the PRS guitars that seemed to dominate that particular show, and to which it bore a passing resemblance. No idea on pricing, but he was very friendly there, and one can ask. A question one should ask is 'why custom?' because, as pointed out, £1000 can buy an excellent standard guitar, especially from a smaller name. In his situation I'd take a long look at Gordon Smith http://www.gordonsmithguitars.com/ and JJ Guitars http://www.jjguitars.com I have a JJ Goldtop Special, and it is the only instrument I've ever owned that was set up perfectly from the start.

[quote name='Schnozzalee' timestamp='1349398388' post='1825940'] I learnt on one of these ^^^ & a Shergold - wouldn't mind one for myself! [/quote] I had a Shergold, but that would be a guitar for nostalgia only! There's a bit more setting up to do yet, but it's potentially a good instrument.

The re-built Washburn Hawk that I bought sans hardware from Noelk27 here. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v717/AncientMariner/washburngimptweak3.png[/IMG]

John Petrucci sig? Looks fascinating, and I like the flipflop colours.

[quote name='mike257' timestamp='1348606096' post='1815997'] Haha, you're going to get your head blown off! I've been playing guitar in a gigging band for the first time in ages this year and had to throw a guitar rig together. I'm using a 70's Carlsbro 50 Top head and an Orange 2x12. I've only had the cab a month or two but already wish I'd bought the smaller one, it's absurd how loud it is. I can barely tickle the bottom end of the range on my volume knob before it's too much for the function gigs we're playing. [/quote] That's a function of that amp - they just create a HUGE perceived volume, whatever the theoretical output is. I had a 50 Top for a short while and just had no use for it at all (came as part of a deal) because until it hit ear-bleeding levels it sounded stiff and dry, even through a 1X12 Celestion Gold. I'm pretty sure they are really just PA amps with a single channel.

I really liked the H&K tones that I've heard - a great choice instead of some crappy/expensive modeller. At musiclive a few years back they were one of the best sounding amps stands in the whole show with Thomas Blug demoing - enormously better sounding than Cornford who had Guthrie Goven.

I would have thought Boss GT10 (not GR55 - that's a synth unit & needs a GR pickup to work properly) Vox tonelab, Line 6 HD500, used Eleven rack were the most reasonable options. I heard the eleven Rack when they first came out, and they were like a low-cost AxeFX unit, so that would be my preference.

Sorry, but that belongs in the guitar bling section - not porn.

Thanks Mike.

[quote name='q_of_doom' timestamp='1345398886' post='1777093'] You mean this fella? Both are quite an interesting look and I agree with having the solid wood, like a neck through.[attachment=116075:holy-x_main2.jpg] [/quote] That's the one - I'd like both that and the lawn dart.

Beware the neck dive. Gibson did an explorer like that, although rather better, I think. *Personally* I'd want a centre block of solid wood all the way from top to bottom.

[quote name='mike257' timestamp='1344998534' post='1772191'] And a 3rd - guitarist I've worked with has a pre-production prototype GS Galaxy and it's a jaw-droppingly great guitar. [/quote] I'd just like to understand where 'jaw-droppingly great' sits. Does it have the kind of playability and tone that PRS and the Gibson custom shop can only envy, or is it more (as I suspect) a decent working guitar that plays well and sounds good for that type of instrument? I've a feeling I've played a GS once or twice, and they seemed OK, but somewhere between a Shergold I once owned (uh-ho) and a JJ (nice) I still have. For the price I'd say they are good, but I'd like to hear how you're making that assessment. Not tying to be contentious or argumentative, just to understand.

For a moment there I though you were going to talk about Heritage Guitars produced in the old Kalamazoo factory, but hand.

Interesting comment about twang and strats - I've *personally* always found teles with singles to be twangier than strats, but - and this is an anecdotal but - a lot depends on saddle material. Strats with pressed steel saddles tend to be sharper-edged than strats with cast steel or pot metal saddles. But hey ho. Glad that was useful/interesting. There's a shedload of great Yamahas on Ebay right now - I really like the look of the RGX A2s, and they seem well priced and a bit different (they're chambered for one thing). Some nice Pacificas too. If those sounds on that video are pickups and delay only then you'd be looking for chime more than anything. I'd look for something with mini-humbuckers or possibly with P90 types that you could swap out for a Gretsch filtertron type pickup. Do check out Danelectros, because they can have a lot of chime, and likewise that Godin Radiator. How adventurous are you willing to be with purchasing? Buy from the US? Have a listen to the Jazzmaster type clean tones here about half way though the video - I was quite surprised at how much sustain it seems to have. [url="http://www.guitarfetish.com/Xaviere-Electric-Guitars_c_116.html"]http://www.guitarfet...tars_c_116.html[/url] [url="http://www.guitarfetish.com/XV-JT-Series-Offset-Electric-Guitars_c_208.html"]http://www.guitarfet...tars_c_208.html[/url] Also have a look at some of the original designs from Rondo music, like the Harm1 (named after they collaborated with a guy on Harmony central who designed this shape). Kind of Rick-ish but without being a copy - $350. [url="http://www.rondomusic.com/harm1toastbk.html"]http://www.rondomusi...rm1toastbk.html[/url] *edit* Both GFS and Rondo have a good reputation with the guys of Harmony Central, and I've bought parts from GFS over several years and they've been good - even sent stuff back on one occasion and they were OK about it. Rondo used to be cheap, but as their quality & rep went up so did their prices - SX is their budget line. GFS tend to keep their prices a bit lower, but are still pretty good though probably not quite as well made as Rondo's higher spec Agiles.

There seem to be a lot of effects on the clean guitar tone of that track. Bearing in mind your original comments, have a look at Danelectros - they come in single coil and humbucking varieties (2 of their singles side by side). They are especially good at doing clean, sparkly ambient sounds, and are light & easy to play. What else? Godin Radiator - controls like a Jazz bass, 2 single coil jangly pickups, again great for clean work. I had one, really liked it, but sold it to pay for something else. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Godin-Radiator-Guitar-/130746881211 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Godin-Radiator-Guitar-for-sale-/190713517242 Godin SD - narrow fingerboard on the one I had although they vary, kind of strat meets Les Paul, sought after by some. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GODIN-SD-LEAF-TOP-NATURAL-FLAME-GUITAR-FREE-P-P-/200805880152 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Godin-SD-24-Red-6-String-Guitar-/190712031317 Peavy make some great value guitars - how about a Tele with an acoustic bridge pickup too (sounds like an acoustic too): http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Peavey-Generation-EXP-Custom-Telecaster-with-acoustic-pick-up-/230836312731 A piece of real vintage Peavy - T30 - 3 singles but with a rail in the middle and in the correct vintage case too. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Peavey-T-30-Guitar-/271035136780 Washburn KC series were great guitars, though a little shredder-ish. The KC70 is almost certain active, and would have been an upper-mid range instrument http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WASHBURN-Chicago-Series-KC-40V-/180946333583 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Washburn-KC-70v-Chicago-Series-Electric-Guitar-/150876605510 This HB35 looks beautiful, but may be a bit too 'classic' for your liking: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Washburn-HB35-Guitar-c-w-upgrades-and-Gig-bag-/320962437419 Washburn Falcon - I've recently bought a Hawk from Noel27 on here, and in the process of re-installing hardware. Just a plain lovely guitar. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rare-Vintage-Washburn-Falcon-Electric-Guitar-Original-Hard-Case-/190713740913 Washburn X50 - Duncan pickups, decent build quality, unusual top. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Washburn-X-50-Pro-Zebra-wood-Finish-/180949820382

Quality control at this price point will likely be highly variable, so it's as likely you'll see a terrible one as a great one. Most will probably be tolerable enough to get by on the headstock name without anyone asking sharp questions.