A GUITAR CHAT thread

[craigster59]

I have an Epiphone Bluesmaster I've been on the fence about selling. New around $400-600 with 1 7/8" nut. They only made them for a few years and after Keb'mo used one to record an album they discontinued them due to competing with the Gibson Blues King which ran $2k.

I also have 1932 Regal Diamond Head that is a great couch guitar and the Wife won't let me even THINK of selling it.

[scottmandue]

I may have a problem...

And there is more in the closet 🙄

[Steve Carlton]

What's the problem? There's plenty of room for more.

[craigster59]

This guy is great to subscribe to. He gives good lessons. This one would be a finger stretcher, I've always loved this riff....

[unclebilly]

[Steve Carlton]

An article about Trigger.



https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/trigger/

[gsxrken]

Nice guys finish first. My son spent an hour last summer chatting with a widow about guitars… she knew he played and her husband loved to play as well. She just dropped this off for my son with a nice letter conveying that her husband would want the guitar to be enjoyed.

[Rick Lee]

^^^ So awesome.

I did a trade yesterday. I had a like new Marshall Silver Jubilee reissue I just could not bond with. Found a CL ad for a 100w Plexi reissue, seller said was bone stock. He brought it over and we put them both through their paces. The Plexi just roared, loved it. We did the deal. Once he left, I pulled the back cover off and pulled the chassis out. Power and output transformers and filter caps had all been replaced. But it sounds so good, I don't care and will just enjoy it.

[Jeff Alton]

Originally Posted by gsxrken

Nice guys finish first. My son spent an hour last summer chatting with a widow about guitars… she knew he played and her husband loved to play as well. She just dropped this off for my son with a nice letter conveying that her husband would want the guitar to be enjoyed.

That is a beauty, and a great story! Raised that son correctly!

Cheers

[ramonesfreak]

Here’s a plug for sweetwater. I have a Martin D-41 I bought from them and have had 1 year. The other day I was playing it and heard a crack and now notice the neck joint is loose at the heel. The joint has failed.

Instead of calling Martin, I emailed my Sweetwater sales agent with a short video showing the issue and just got an email that that they are replacing the guitar with a new one, or, I could have my $5,600 refunded….no questions asked.

This is the most amazing customer service I have ever experienced with a company. The usual procedure is Martin would refer you to a local Authorized tech. No thanks. And no way I want a neck reset on a 1 year old instrument. If you insist on sending you guitar back to Martin, you can look forward to getting it back in 6 to 9 months and again, a neck reset on a new guitar that shouldn’t need a rest for 30 more years, if ever. No thanks.

I’m all for supporting local business but this is the reason why I no longer do for costly purchases. In fact I bought a Martin locally and didn’t check the serial number until I got home at which point I learned that I was sold a 20 year old NOS instrument….fortunately I’m the original registered owner and will have the lifetime warranty but wow that is shady…and this was after the owner offered to knock off $150 on a different guitar but same model $4,500 instrument that had a warped top. This was a guitar that should be in the owners fire pit, not sold to a customer.

Thank you Sweetwater.

Now Musician’s Friend/Guitar Center….never ever again. I bought a Yamaha sa-2200 hollow body. They do not come with a case but was assured the guitar would be well protected in bubble wrap and I shouldn’t worry. When UPS delivered it, the box was open and guitar had ZERO protection. None. This was a transaction through Musician’s Friend but fulfilled by Guitar Center. Pathetic. It is no wonder this sad company is going down the toilet where it deserves to be.

[Steve Carlton]

That is amazing customer service. I've heard Sweetwater is great. Are you going to take the refund or another D-41? I've been jonesing for a Pre-War Herringbone.

[ramonesfreak]

I told them that I will take the replacement guitar. I have never heard an acoustic that sounds this good and played so easily. My only real issue with it is that I do not like how close the high E string is to the edge. But I have 3 electrics with the same issue and have been working on my technique to deal with it. Hopefully the replacement will sound as good and play as well. If it doesn’t, I’ll return it for a refund. They really do make the purchase worry free and when it’s this much money, it makes a huge difference to me.

[ramonesfreak]

I like those Pre-War guitars. I’m on the fence about how I feel regarded relic’d guitars especially at that price. I guess I would have to play one to know if it was the right decision. If I was to buy another acoustic that wasn’t a Martin, I would probably buy a Gallagher Doc Watson signature

[unclebilly]

Explain relic’ing.

I think it’s sorta that first ding thing so you don’t have to worry about bruising it and can just play it.

I wouldn’t pay more for a relic’d guitar but some do look sweet.

[ramonesfreak]

It’s a new guitar that has been made to look old

https://www.pre-warguitars.com/distress-levels

Like a Gibson Murphy Aged Les Paul people pay a ton for

https://www.gibson.com/en-US/Collection/the-gibson-murphy-lab

Some do it well, some don’t. But for me, when paying $6k on a guitar, I prefer it to not have buckle rash out of the box. The again, it certainly takes the fear out of playing it and can look really great especially the way Pre-War does it

I do see that Pre-War’s level 1 is essential mint, no distress. That’s probably what I would get and do the scratching and dinging myself which is inevitable


Here’s an interview with Tom Murphy

[ramonesfreak]

One thing about relic’d/aged guitars I do not like is dings on the back of the neck. I don’t like feeling that while fretting.

[Jeff Alton]

A relic'd guitar is like "worn look" jeans. Both are new, they just look like a$$. lol

Well, a few of the relic'd ones do look cool, but no way will I pay a premium for a guitar that mimics a worn out tour guitar.

Cheers

[unclebilly]

Have any of you built your own electric guitars? Did you use a kit or just assemble parts?

I’m considering doing this, albeit not sure where I would come up with the time.

Kits can be pretty cheap or quite expensive depending on what woods you choose. If I did do this, I would go with descent pickups.

How did yours turn out?

[rockfan4]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

Have any of you built your own electric guitars? Did you use a kit or just assemble parts?

I’m considering doing this, albeit not sure where I would come up with the time.

Kits can be pretty cheap or quite expensive depending on what woods you choose. If I did do this, I would go with descent pickups.

How did yours turn out?

I've done this three times, one has turned out great, one so-so, and one not so great.

I bought a Gibson Les Paul husk off StratosphereParts, back when they were reasonable. I caught a sale just right and got a bound body for $800 or so. Added the hardware I wanted and a pair of WolfeTone pickups. That one turned out great.

I bought another Gibson Les Paul husk that someone had spray painted black. Stripped the body back to bare wood. Tried staining and painting it at least 3 times, finally "Just sent it", built it as a gold top but not a sparkly gold top, put the paint on too heavy and all the metal flake sunk into it. It just sits in the case now, I don't want to look at it.

Many, Many years ago I bought a Jackson crackle finish body off eBay, put a Japanese Charvel neck on it, added a Floyd Rose, and wired it up so I could split the humbucker. I don't really play that one any more either, but it looks neat.

There's pics of all of these somewhere in either this thread or the other guitar thread.

I still want to build a partscaster, but I have other things to work on first.

[TimT]

Guitar Center….never ever again. I bought a Yamaha sa-2200 hollow body. They do not come with a case

Guitar center has the case scam down.... i.e. I bought a (used) PRS Pauls Guitar from them last year, I asked about the case and was told it didn't come with one....

Every PRS guitar comes with a case or gig bag from the factory..

Guitar Center must have a warehouse full of cases...And would someone bring a guitar to them to sell, and keep the case?

Such a scam.....

I did end up buying a cheap gig bag just in case