Ancient Mariner

They had a couple in PMT Oxford store a while back, and I did try one (think it was a bolt-neck 200 model) because I always wanted an Iceman when I was younger and I'm a fan of older Japanese designs. It was OK, but not spectacular, entirely giggable but less inspiring than I'd hoped.

I've been using the Nux Time Force digital delay as part of my live guitar board for a while now. Very versatile, crisp & clean (or dirty in some settings) and really useful when I want different tones from my Carbon Copy. It will also work as a looper, if that's your thing. About £40 from Donnerdeal.

[quote name='Jono Bolton' timestamp='1392937782' post='2374595'] How often do forumites change their strings? I've had mine on since Christmas Day and they sound a bit dead. [/quote] There's a lot of 'depends' in there, but I buy DR tite fit and they seem to last 6-12 months (often longer if not used much & cleaned after playing). For comparison I used to go through a set of rotosound or Fender rock'n'rolls about every 2-4 weeks (when they became impossible to tune) and D'Addarios about every 4-8 weeks. I play less than I did, but those older strings would go dead even if left barely played.

I think you did well there. A few years back I picked up a 'melody' bowlback from ebay for £25. Construction is about as cheap as you can imagine (and probably cheaper) but it's actually giggable after significant setting up, replacement nut & new strings - to a friends horror it sounds terribly similar to his 70s Ovation.

The Martins are part of their laminated series - to my ears very dead sounding in the dreadnought series. Acoustic guitars come in lots of sizes, but the smaller ones often have names like Concert or Grand Auditorium or 00 & 000.

When I started playing light strings were a bit of a craze - I even found a set of Rotosound 6's. Now that really WAS floppy! Back in the day I used 8s most of the time, and with those on I could solo all day and all night. About 25 years ago I realised that for clean work 8's didn't sound so good after the first few hours, so moved across to 9s, then 10s which is where I've remained. I have experimented with heavier gauges, but bigger strings sound dull and muddy to me - probably down to a combination of equipment and playing preferences. For overdrive tones I think I actually prefer something slightly lighter, and 9.5 hits the spot best. FWIW I also use 10s on acoustic, and again, although I've gone heavier, the restriction on agility and dull tone overcomes the slight gain in volume. To my ears, a part of the Stevie Ray sound is the result of him fighting his heavyweight string gauges. He is one of the very few guitar-greats I can think of who used heavy strings beneficially (Link Wray is another, but his technique didn't involve much bending).

[quote name='Noisyjon' timestamp='1391418414' post='2356782'] Thanks for the link AM. I had a look at this site and what I found interesting is where he mentions about using plastic covers. Now, I know some guitars had/have P-90s with chrome covers but when I thought about it the sound I'm shooting for is that plastic covered vintage P90 sound. So with that in mind this pickup ticks all the boxes for me and at a reasonable price from a UK supplier: [url="http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/p90-pickup-humb-retrofit-black-plastic-1163-p.asp"]http://www.wdmusic.c...stic-1163-p.asp[/url] [/quote] You're welcome. The one thing I'd say is that for the price of that generic Korean made pickup, you could have a hand-wound model from a boutique builder.

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1388747476' post='2325464'] Always found the Cornford amps highly overrated. [/quote] Sad to say, I agree with this. Blackstar make some nice small amps as others have said. The Epi VJ had a hum problem in early versions though fixed by V3, and can sound rather splatty in overdrive. VHT make (made?) a nice 6W single ended amp that sounded really good. Bugera (yeah, I know) sell a small 5W combo that sounds really nice (I've played one at a music show - personal experience & not just recordings) in cream and brown tolex. If you're handy with a soldering iron then [url="http://www.ampmaker.com/store/WF-55-4w-tweed-style-amp.html"]Ampmaker do a nice 4W kit complete for £155[/url]. Barrie is a good guy and his stuff works well. If you want something that's not too loud, great for recording and versatile, small and lightweight then have a look at the Yamaha THR10. That also has USB output for recording direct and has a great rep.

A little late, but can I recommend [url="http://bg-pups.com/pure90/pure90/"]BG pickups Pure 90s[/url]. Bryan has a great reputation on Harmony Central among builders, modders and players.

There's an Andertons video demoing a range of Wampler pedals, including the Black '65 (not my cup of arabica) if you're still looking. Also worth a quick try are some of those Joyo modeling pedals that replicate the Tech 21 series. I have several including the American sound, and it's a good Fender-in-a-box pedal, though certainly not a boutique job. Actually this thread has made me wonder if I should be using it a bit more instead of all those little Eno pedals that look so nice in the case, sound great for drive, but aren't being used for what I'm playing right now.

I had to hunt a little before I found the pic. The one fly in the ointment is that it doesn't say Gibson on the headstock, but it's a 'Japanese Market Only' '59 replica with burstbuckers in it.

9-42 electric strings will be feather-light really, unless they are under age. IIRC I started on 12 gauge acoustic strings.

I've owned one guitar with gold hardware, but mostly it looks *to me* like furniture instead of a tool for music creation.

The green is good, but yes, white would be better on the blue. No guitar needs gold hardware.

Allparts had a range of tuners at decent prices, including plastic tulip types, last time I looked.

I have a (slightly older) MIJ strat that I've owned from new. Still my No.1, although it needs a refret now (and it has a maple board ). There are several steps you might take. The alternative wiring scheme where the neck & bridge are blended together through the 2nd tone pot is enormously effective, and will give a nice fat bucker type tone. This is also good because you can still have all the standard tones too - lose nothing except a second tone pot. This is my standard way of rewiring strats, and all mine are like this. The wiring system I use: See also here: http://www.strat-talk.com/forum/pickup-forum/9197-neck-bridge-pickups-together.html Some other things you might try: GFS Brighton Rocks: http://www.guitarfetish.com/Brighton-Rock-Vintage-Spec-Alnico-Pickups-Classic-Queen-sound_p_1514.html These are altogether fatter and a bit less peaky that a strat pickup, judging by the clips I've heard. Single coil sized, they can help get closer to a classic rock tone. GFS Lil killers: http://www.guitarfetish.com/Lil-Killer-Black-Humbucker-Rail-Pickup-for-Strats-Three-Versions-Available_p_461.html Good value, they won't sound like a Les Paul, but they will give that gritty rock tone in a more focussed and less tonally diffuse output. The more drive he uses, the less different will be the sound to a Les Paul. You suggested a P90. BG Pickups make a strat-sized P90: http://bg-pups.com/strats/s90/ Bryan is also a harmony-central regular, great winder and his pickups have developed quite a following. He also has been careful not to keep raising prices, so although they look relatively cheap compared to Duncans etc, he's well about their league in terms of tone. Another completely different solution: EQ pedal. Behringer, Danelectro, various other makers all do EQ pedals that can substantially change a guitars tone (and apparent output level, giving a useful boost for solos). If he wants a fat tone with a bit more output and push then he could do a lot worse than use an EQ pedal with the very top end rolled off a bit and a boost in the mid-range, plus a bit more volume. Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top has a system of EQs set up so that whatever guitar he uses live, it all sounds like Pearly Gates (his original Les Paul). One last thing - I had Neovins when they were first launched. They didn't stay long. HTH

If you're after something nice but smaller and classier than a Strat, I'm thinking about moving on my JJ goldtop special. The standard version had 2 P90s but this comes with 2 Dimarzio mini hums that split for single coil sounds with a push/pull on the tone control. 24 3/4" scale, nice chunky neck. Made in England too. It's a lovely instrument, but I just don't use it, tending to play...... mostly strats.

I have a couple of Eno micro pedals, bought direct from China. The ES-9 is a great tubescreamer clone (hugely better than the bad monkey) and the Rat clone works really well live, even though it sounds ratty in your livingroom. About $60 for the 2 = <£40 from donnerdeal.

There were 2 relatively recently on ebay: sold at £273 for a private listing and £349 for a shop (didn't sell at that price). I'd guess about £250ish privately then.

I like my Tokai very much - one of the best Les Pauls I've played anywhere at any price.

LOVELY photo.

Hope it's good for you. Sometimes people reduce the shine on poly guitars using a scotchbrite type pad, rubbed over to give a satin sheen. It does require careful use however.

I've played a few vintages, and what I saw made me think they were a bit over-rated. However some people love them, so you should certainly try to see of you're one of them.

That looks nice Paul, and great that they used a compensated bridge like that.

I had a BM for a while, but it's not nice (and tonesucks terribly, though loss of high frequencies may not be a problem with bass). Just got an Eno ES-9 (arrived yesterday direct from China) which is a TS9 clone, and really like what I've heard so far. Not sure how good it would be with bass, but it's good for guitar.