Ancient Mariner

GFS are generally pretty good - I've had a few sets of both humbuckers and single coils. Gaf - I'll have a look to see if I still have a set of GFS Nickel '59s sat around.

The volume thing is mostly about tone, but also about compression that makes the guitar come alive instead of being just a dull lump of wood and wire like an acoustic. A well cranked valve amp - and by that I mean one where the output stage is saturating and breaking up a little AND the speakers are being driven enough to break up a bit is a joy to play through like nothing else. There's compression that will make notes sustain, but it is also touch-responsive, so that hitting strings harder will give more volume. Notes feel like they spring out of the guitar instead of spiking and falling to the floor each time you hit a string, and the whole thing gives you an awesome sense of power and glory - like you could walk through walls or leap tall buildings. Metal players with their fizzy pre-amp stages and stiff, clean power amps have no idea. It's really hard to find an amp that will give you that tone and feel at lower levels, and being a church guitarist, believe me, I've tried. Small amps below 10 watts generally don't have the grunt to push out bass frequencies, making the whole thing a bit shrill, but bigger amps get much too loud. Finding inefficient speakers can help until you need a little more headroom and cut. I've spent a lot of time on this and *for me* the best clean tones come from a single ended amp running a 6V6, 6CA7 or 6L6 for around 6 to 12 watts through a 10" speaker, and the best drive tones a push-pull amp with either EL84s or 6V6s through either a 20W Celestion G12M or Eminence Redfang (alnico). Single ended tends to get a bit flabby run dirty and PP a bit thin run clean - all other things being equal, which they never are. Something to remember is that quite a few guitarists play be feel, rather than technique alone - much more so than bass players as discussions on this forum tend to confirm. To keep the guitarist happy you need to find a way for him to feel himself playing (hearing may not be enough) without the whole experience being ridiculously loud. Tonight I'm playing out with some friends. We have an extra singer, meaning there's no space in the mixer to mic up my amp. I was asked if I'd mind bringing something loud enough to run un-aided.

My apologies for thinking this was a spoof thread after the guitarists ego thread. Volume with guitar amps, and cab size, is an interesting topic. Many are starting to use modellers these days, but because they don't really have the same tonal properties as a valve based amp, they do require 100+ watts and at least a 2X12 to hold their own against a typical 15W valve amp and a decent speaker. Then the problem is that you may get drowned in the indistinct fizz and mush that the amp puts out. As for setting up patches using headphones in the bedroom, that is simply a waste of time unless the only place you'll play guitar is in your bedroom through headphones. Tones have to be set up in a band and room context because everything is interactive and you need to know what will cut through and what will disappear.

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1326486650' post='1498015'] Does anyone have any suggestions for a Super Champ clone? [/quote] I'm not quite sure which model you mean by superchamp (unless it's the modelling thingy) but considering where you live you might have a root through here: http://www.ceriatone.com/index.htm

Hi Ben - I had a shaftesbury that was very much like that (fitted a trapeze type stop tail because the top was collapsing under string pressure). Also my first guitar was an Eko. One more I forgot - this is really rather special, but I can't say where I got it from: [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v717/AncientMariner/LesPopeJohnPaul_II.jpg[/IMG]

That was a GREAT find. Hope you have lots of fun with it.

There's just 1 guitar missing, and I simply haven't taken any pictures - that's my Godin xtSA. I use it with a GR33 synth unit, and it's like an invisible guitar, because it's used more for synth sounds than guitar tones.

Final set part II. Gibson Worn V. Always wanted a proper flying V, and when I finally got it I realised that Gibson really did do shoddy work. It was resonant with some annoying frequencies that made chords and notes sound out of tune with the band, and I never did bond with it, so moved it on. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v717/AncientMariner/WornVfront.jpg[/IMG] Washburn A20V with Gibson 496/500T pickups. This satisfied my desire for an explorer, and for £125 very secondhand has been a simply stunning guitar to own and play. Bought to pair with the above, it just never worked for me and was sold to fund a couple of amp purchases. Completing the metal set, a Dean baby V. Bought for £50 on ebay, after a set up it played brilliantly, and when it had a vintage Gibson pickup in the neck it was so sweet it would make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck! Unfortunately I had to move it on to make space. MIM Strat. Bought as a Fender and in need of re-building, turned out to be a Squier with the tiny 'by Squier' logo rubbed off and a solid black Fender logo left on the headstock. It's a great player, with a nice fast neck, snappy tones and a usable trem thanks to the Wilkinson unit I fitted. Still a favourite. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v717/AncientMariner/A1looking.jpg[/IMG] OK Last one - my Suzuki acoustic. Bought from new in '82, it's been refretted, is covered in speckles of my blood inside the soundhole (from open air work in the cold) and has left me convinced I hate acoustic guitars. But we've been together a long time.

OK, final set. First up, a cheapie and a rarity. Remember Big Country and Stuart Adamson? The natural Tele was his, loaned to me by the guy who also owns the Giffin on page 1. Based on a Schecter body, it's the most immense and wonderful sounding tele you could possibly imagine - the kind of tele that makes you able to understand how someone could own just 1 guitar and use it for everything. Simply astonishing. The other was a cheap AXL Tele I picked up that played so well I took it home, but eventually sold on to make space. Woody Customs tele - the most embarassingly awful piece of guitar-shaped junk I've ever been unfortunate enough to own. Even the £25 melody acoustic I picked up a while back was substantially better made. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v717/AncientMariner/woodyfront.jpg[/IMG] JJ goldtop special. Bought at Musiclive a few years back from the hand of Tony Muschamp (he delivered it a few days after the show). The only guitar I've never had to do setup work on - perfect intonation and action from the start. Heritage H150CM classic Les Paul. Hand made in the Kalamazoo factory, it's as bright as a Tele and has been a source of discontent ever since I bought it (sight unseen from the US). It should be an absolute gem, and with vintage Gibson pickups and some drive it does sound good. But the neck is skinny, tone very bright and only half the guitar that Tokai I posted earlier is. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v717/AncientMariner/Voxybaby01.jpg[/IMG]

Sorry - I thought you said a 'small tube combo'. You do know that a cranked AC30 will kill the first 2 rows of an audience and inflict serious wounds on the 3 rows behind them? My first real amp was an AC30 (still have it) and I remember coming off stage with my hearing shot away, yet having not got the volume knob past the half way mark. Mind you, when really cranked they can sound fabulous - like warm thunder with the right speakers fitted.

[quote name='umph' timestamp='1326301361' post='1495182'] Did you do any measurements with gear? [/quote] None - I don't have any valve testing kit or even a 'scope and the amp was cathode-biased. TBH it wasn't meant to be an in depth investigation, so much as a look-see as to whether there was an audible difference*. FWIW one of the UK guitar mags ran a comparison of cryo treated and standard valves from Watford Valves shortly after and found something similar, but no-one believe magazines because they're only there to help shift product. I'd be very surprised if there would have been much to measure. The instruments we use don't seem sufficiently subtle to detect sonic differences in components of the same nominal value despite such differences existing in 'simple' things like caps (Brownnote on 18watt.com built 2 identical amps, 1 using cheap Mallory caps and 1 using Zoso super-expensive caps. When tested blind we all preferred clips from the amp with cheap caps, and the difference was very obvious). Just like we hear with our 'eyes' we also hear with our expectations and prejudices. I don't really expect everyone to become automatically convinced, but I'm also offering my experience as an independent experimenter with no interest at stake other than knowledge for it's own sake. If people don't want to know about it then that's fine. *I would be interested to know if anyone here could actually tell the difference between EL34, 6L6 and 6CA7 power valves in a guitar amp. After all, we've had a thread started today where the OP realised they couldn't tell the difference between different brands of bass string.

[quote name='umph' timestamp='1326195986' post='1493512'] cryo treatment is snake oil. [/quote] Not entirely. Some years back when I was much more active building amps we had a debate about this on 18watt.com. I had a few pairs of valves sitting around and decided to experiment using liquid nitrogen that was available at work. The first valves I tried were some Sovtek 6L6s which were a bit dull sounding. Both valves from the pair sounded similar, so I marked one up and treated it, first freezing to -80'c, the immersing in LN2 for a couple of days in a small volume dewar vessel, which was allowed to run dry and gradually warm up (slow warming is part of the annealing process). To test whether the difference was real or not I had my wife swap various valves around in a single ended amp I'd made while I was out of the room, and to make it a little more fun, we included an EL34 and a 6CA7 too, along with the pair of 6L6s. In each case I was able to identify which valve was which, and differentiate the cryo treated 6L6 from the other as well as the EL34 and 6CA7. What difference did it make? In each case, and with every valve I treated afterward, it made the valve a bit brighter and a bit more open, and the effect remained after several hours of use. Some valves were affected more than others, with the biggest difference in the 6L6s and EL34s I tried, very little difference in some Ei EL84s, National 12AT7s and Sovtek 12AX7s. IMO the value is in brightening a dull valve, if that is a problem for you, but it will not make a modern valve sound like a NOS Mullard contrary to some claims. Larger power valves seemed to benefit more than small valves. One other thing was interesting: none of the nay-sayers were willing to accept that a difference was possible, and none of the guys in the UK were willing to take part in a blind controlled study where they tried valves before (to check a pair sounded the same) sent them to me for treatment & I sent them back for re-testing. edit for spelling.

You want a pair of swiveling and a pair of fixed castors. Try www.axminster.co.uk for castors - well priced and quick delivery (but be careful not to get tool GAS).

IIRC there was an unrelated thread about the authenticity of a Fender bass up for sale that had 2 string trees on the headstock. The reason suggested was to deal with buzz on the A string. It might therefore be solved by fitting a string tree for the A.

I've built a number of samall amps over the years, and if you're willing to get the soldering iron out then it's not necessarily a bad way to do it. Have a look at www.ampmaker.com. From the sound of things you'd do well with an 18watt clone - loud with an efficient speaker, good tonal qualities especially pushed into mild overdrive. I also like small single-ended amps for clean work, as they seem to be fatter, rounder and more responsive. A couple of the guys have mentioned their amps up for sale - I'm trying to move my 'Tube 30' on. Bought a few years back on the 'bay it uses 2 X 6L6 for about 30 watts with 1 channel and a 'boost' button. This one's been tweaked a bit so it takes pedals better and sounds a bit fuller and less scratchy. I'd had it on loan to a friend for a couple of years, but he's gone back to Africa and now it's cluttering up my house (I have 8 or 9 other amps here already). It's not a thing of beauty, but it is quite functional - it owes me £110 (plus shipping). PM me if you want to know more.

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1326111706' post='1492343'] Burn him, for he is a witch! [/quote] Is that because he can tell which note is which? (ducks and runs). Thanks gents.

Borrowed father's recorder at 4 or 5, piano lessons at 8 (didn't stick - why would a kid be interested in learning scales? Give me a *reason* first) then brass at 11. Played tuba in school and boys brigade bands until 18 or 19. At 16 picked up a nasty Eko acoustic guitar, and would work out tunes by playing them on the tuba first, then transfer to guitar. Went through a series of home assembled electrics (there was a local shop selling left over guitar parts from Watkins, Eko and the like, all grotty plywood bodies and badly designed trems & bridges) before buying a columbus Les Paul, soon traded for the Dynelectron you can see on page 2 of 'guitar porn'. A better acoustic arrived, and then an Avon EB0 bass which was PX'd for another guitar. Roll forward 30 years with various bands, shows etc. 3 years ago we found ourselves in a new church where my electric guitar playing wasn't entirely welcome, so 2 years back bought a tweaked Johnny Brooke Jazz bass from Gaf and started playing bass a bit. Presently up to 3 basses, including the Jazz (now with Geddy Lee pickups) and playing guitar again, though mostly synth through a GR33.

Thanks Mart.

Just before Christmas I bought a fretless 5 string yamaha from Brian (Blademan) here, as a Christmas present to me. Did a little fettling, popped a set of flatwounds on (well, top 4 strings anyway - need to find a flatwound and practiced a bit. Played it in church yesterday. I had one of those 'why didn't anyone tell me about this' moments. Bass notes were big and fat and smooth, with nice transitions between notes when sliding around. Playing with a pick brought an increase in volume and attack without it getting all horribly clangy, and the sustain was probably better than the previous version of that Ryder P I have (probably helped by a softer attack to the notes). It certainly requires more concentration to make sure the fingers are in the right place compared to a fretted bass, and the 5th string required some mental gymnastics occasionally, but it worked really well. Haven't quite got the hang of mwwaaahhh mwwaaahhh yet, but working on it. Now I have 3 different basses, each of which sound and feel very different - choices to play out are going to become difficult! But I'd certainly encourage anyone considering a lined fretless to give it a try. I was very pleasantly surprised.

OK, a few more: Dynelectron Italian copy of a Danelectro guitarlin. Owned since I was 18, I chose it over an early 70s butterscotch Tele because it was cool, different and mentioned in a magazine. D'oh. But it worked well for me - played the poor thing to death over the following 11 years until I bought my strat in '89. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v717/AncientMariner/Dynelectron-1.jpg[/IMG] And this is the strat I replaced it with - still my number 1, it's a MIJ standard strat (s/n dates to '86) with custom wiring and a US standard pickup in the bridge. Despite the maple neck it has a fat, rounded almost jazz tone and amazing resonance. Could do with a refret sometime soonish. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v717/AncientMariner/MIJstrat.jpg[/IMG]

Interesting range of comments. I think Gaf covered my feelings best really. As a guitar player I thought the guitarist had an interesting slant on the solo - I bet Hendrix never played it note-for-note gig after gig either.

Marcus Miller playing Purple Haze: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agRb-QJc7xY&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agRb-QJc7xY&feature=related[/url] Just seems basically wrong. I'd never question the man's abilities, just the appropriateness of 'covering' this song.