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Musician thread

tzrider said:
I haven't tried them, so I can only go on what I've read. A common comment about these is that they need to be set lower than the stock pickups, as they have higher output. You mentioned playing with the height; have you set them low?
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Yeah they have strong magnets, if you set them too high "strat-it-is". I've played with the height and they just sound flat. Oh well just curious, I should have got the Hot Noiseless ones like in the Jeff Beck Strat. They sound sweet.
 
Jgrrl said:
Yeah they have strong magnets, if you set them too high "strat-it-is". I've played with the height and they just sound flat. Oh well just curious, I should have got the Hot Noiseless ones like in the Jeff Beck Strat. They sound sweet.
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I like the seymour duncan SSL-1 pickups on strats, they give it that extra quack sound on positions 2 and 4
 
another cool vid...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFCjv4_jqAY

i dig when einstein says " yet for theoretical reasons I thought it would be impossible . . . but the more I pondered the subject the more I began to see that what doesn't work in theory can still work in reality"
 
RhythmRider said:
.... I was hoping I could get some feedback on the music. I have some videos posted on youtube if you guys don't mind checking them out...

The rest can be found at my youtube page www.youtube.com/users/aaroncohn
Thanks for watching
1958_headbanger.gif


[youtube]k4LRjGiQOR0[/youtube]

[youtube]cF0iLDIOpVI[/youtube]
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Chunky and grooving! :thumbup Sounds good!
 
Trolling 4 teh halp...

Sooo... I think I'm ready to make the jump to an electric guitar... A crash course in them would be helpfull i.e. pick ups (wtf are they and what do they doi.e. 'humm buckers' <sp?> and all the other diff looking ones), wood, 1 piece vs. 2 piece, new vs. used, brand, which ones hold a tune, amps, etc... I do understand that this will be quite bias since everyone here is on different levels in skill as well as style/music choice that they like to play. In the end I know I have to just get out there and mess around with them but I just want a good investment when it really comes down to it, you know something that will last. I plan on spending 1k max on a guitar PLUS amp. I heard "spider" amps were good...:dunno awaiting tzrider,209manny, and hools...:teeth
 
usndocjaysin said:
Sooo... I think I'm ready to make the jump to an electric guitar... A crash course in them would be helpfull i.e. pick ups (wtf are they and what do they doi.e. 'humm buckers' <sp?> and all the other diff looking ones), wood, 1 piece vs. 2 piece, new vs. used, brand, which ones hold a tune, amps, etc... I do understand that this will be quite bias since everyone here is on different levels in skill as well as style/music choice that they like to play. In the end I know I have to just get out there and mess around with them but I just want a good investment when it really comes down to it, you know something that will last. I plan on spending 1k max on a guitar PLUS amp. I heard "spider" amps were good...:dunno awaiting tzrider,209manny, and hools...:teeth
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:rofl do not get a spider amp, line 6 spider amps are total garbage.

Pickups basically come down to single coils or humbuckers, single coils are good for cleans, jazz, blues. Listen to some stevie ray vaughn, jimi hendrix to get an idea how single coils sound like. I prefer humbuckers because I play metal rhythm guitar and single coils sound to thin when playing through distortion.

Guitar really comes down to a personal level, go to your local store and check out a bunch of guitars and how they feel. The most important thing for me in a guitar is how it feels in my hands IE comfortable neck, body etc.


I'd recommend getting a guitar that has a fixed bridge meaning that there is no whammy bar

guitars that have the whammy bars (Floating bridges) look like this
floydrose.jpg


they are just a pain in the ass to make sure they are setup right, and restringing them takes longer, to me the extra trick of having a whammy bar just isn't worth the hassle.

Fixed bridges look like this
673071561_52b8447cc5.jpg


So to recap on guitars, check out different models to see what is comfortable and check out some reviews, you should try to get an idea of what body shape guitar you want and go from there. I think you get more bang for your buck if you buy used, also don't buy into the whole its gotta be american made or its crap BS. The guitars I have owned have been made in japan, china, korea and they play just as well as an American made guitar.

As for amps that is another huge spectrum, everybody has different tastes so there is no such thing as a best amp. I believe in getting a good amp from the get go instead of getting a crap amp (like a spider amp). There are solid state amps and tube amps, solid state amps use transistors and tube amps use vacuum tubes. Tube amps sound a lot better than solid state amps, but they require more maintenance (replacing tubes every 2 years or so depending on how much you play) and are more expensive.

Popular solid state amps today are usually modeling amps, they model other guitar amps. You can switch amp models by a push of a button, and these amps come with built in effects. This sounds good to a new player but at least for me the sound you get from these amps really suck and they don't come close to sounding like the amps they are modeling. My first amp was a modeling amp, and it was cool while I was learning but just a few months after I started learning some songs the amp sounded like crap.

If you let us know your amp budget I can recommend some good amps that are versatile.
 
I'd play an epi les paul and then a strat. Which ever you like better try to pick up used (mexican strats r good for the money) and then get it setup by someone who knows what they are doing. Tell them you are a beginner and what gauge string you want and what tuning you use.

I'd look for a nice used Fender Ultimate Chorus as an amp. Decent price for a used one (around $250 or so) that will last a while (SS). Nice lush sounding cleans. Distortion is doable too.

Go all used and it'll be much less than 1K.
 
I'd recommend a tube combo amp.

You can get a peavey valveking combo for $250-$300 used. They have a pretty good distortion channel and get decent cleans. If I were to get one I'd probably upgrade the speaker in the amp but for someone starting out, they won't be able to tell the difference by much.
 
209manny said:
:rofl do not get a spider amp, line 6 spider amps are total garbage.
Click to expand...

This is a really subjective area. I don't agree that Line6 products are garbage, but they have their limitations. In terms of product quality, they seem fine; should last a long time and be maintenance free. If you like how they sound, they represent a good value for something to learn on that makes a bunch of different sounds cheap. I think the best value in the line is the Spider III 75, as it gives you a bit more power, but more importantly, more models.

You can plug headphones into them and get a reasonably convincing sound, which makes them great for late night practice. I keep weird hours and sometimes practice very late. In my office, I keep a POD 2.0 plugged into the line in on my PC. The PC is connected to a pair of Sennheiser wireless headphones, so I turn the speakers off, put the cans on and play. Sounds fine for practicing.

That said, listen to whatever you're going to buy. Bring a friend who can play or get a sales guy to demo the amp for you. Whatever it is, if it doesn't make sounds you like, don't buy it.

A lot of us here are tube snobs, me included. Tubes have their downside. They will be more expensive, they do require some maintenance, they get hot (lovely, when practicing in a small space on a hot day) and they will be heavier than a solid state counterpart. A good one sounds bitchin'. A not so good one might make you wonder why you went down that road.

It's a good bet that whatever you get won't be the last amp you buy, unless you ultimately decide not to pursue guitar beyond a certain point. Try to decide if you're going to need a variety of sounds out of your first amp and what kinds of sounds you'll want. The answer to that, when put into the context of your budget, will drive what sort of amp you choose.
 
tzrider said:
This is a really subjective area. I don't agree that Line6 products are garbage, but they have their limitations. In terms of product quality, they seem fine; should last a long time and be maintenance free. If you like how they sound, they represent a good value for something to learn on that makes a bunch of different sounds cheap. I think the best value in the line is the Spider III 75, as it gives you a bit more power, but more importantly, more models.

You can plug headphones into them and get a reasonably convincing sound, which makes them great for late night practice. I keep weird hours and sometimes practice very late. In my office, I keep a POD 2.0 plugged into the line in on my PC. The PC is connected to a pair of Sennheiser wireless headphones, so I turn the speakers off, put the cans on and play. Sounds fine for practicing.

That said, listen to whatever you're going to buy. Bring a friend who can play or get a sales guy to demo the amp for you. Whatever it is, if it doesn't make sounds you like, don't buy it.

A lot of us here are tube snobs, me included. Tubes have their downside. They will be more expensive, they do require some maintenance, they get hot (lovely, when practicing in a small space on a hot day) and they will be heavier than a solid state counterpart. A good one sounds bitchin'. A not so good one might make you wonder why you went down that road.

It's a good bet that whatever you get won't be the last amp you buy, unless you ultimately decide not to pursue guitar beyond a certain point. Try to decide if you're going to need a variety of sounds out of your first amp and what kinds of sounds you'll want. The answer to that, when put into the context of your budget, will drive what sort of amp you choose.
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a line 6 spider amp is not very good considering the price. For around the same price you can get this instead, yeah its a budget tube amp, but a line 6 spider is a budget solid state amp as well.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/B-52-AT-112-60-Watt-1x12--Tube-Combo-Amp-103733606-i1170731.gc
I owned a line 6 spider amp before and I thought it was cool because I didn't know how to play anything. Once I learned how to play something I started realizing that the distortion was really buzzy and it sounded too digital for my tastes. I went through a ton of amps after that
 
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Jason, pick up a clean used guitar off CL. Some sellers are even including a small combo amp in the deal. That way, if you find out that the electric guitar is not for you, you're not out a lot of money. ;)
 
Beauregard said:
Get a used Mesa Boogie Studio 22 or Subway Rocket.
Seriously.
Never need another amp... until it's time for a head/cab.
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/msg/1173955524.html
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mesa-Boogie-Sub...ms=66:2|65:1|39:1|240:1318|301:0|293:1|294:50
http://cgi.ebay.com/MINT-MESA-BOOGI...ms=66:2|65:1|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50
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and when it is time for a head/cab go with this.

[youtube]BsGFN3NLLSI[/youtube]

that used to be my setup, it was a jcm 900 4100 with a marshall 4x12 with vintage 30s and a 10 band eq hooked up to the effects loop. Wall shaker:thumbup
 
You guys are TONS of help! thnx alot guys!:thumbup So I got some new/good knowledge on the whole amp thing i.e. tubes vs solid state. Seems like I should go used too. Can someone tell me about pick ups plz? I guess they just "pick up" the music differently??? I mean... I know they're magnets I just dont know what the deal is between the big square ones vs. the humm bucker vs. what ever else is out there. I'm sure they all produce a "different" sound right? But with that being said does it really matter what kind of pick ups one has? I mean... it's going to go to a amp and perhaps some sort of distortion right? Well... I guess it would matter if youre just going to play it clean w/o distrotion...:dunno
 
Guitar pickups are nothing more than non-contact magnetic-based devices. In a nutshell there are two types: single coils and humbuckers. Single coils give a clearer, more bell-like tone but are more prone to that nasty 60Mhz hum. Humbuckers are bascially two single coils wired in series, out of phase. This eliminates the hum but also some upper range frequencies, thus the tone is thicker and "darker." Most country musicians use single-coils, while the majority of rock music opts for humbuckers. Of course, this isn't written in stone...some rock players like single-coils and some country players use humbuckers. :nerd

Single-coils:
wvs2(1)%5Bekm%5D316x300%5Bekm%5D.jpg


Humbucker:
HumbuckerE_1118189287.jpg
 
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Let's not forget about the active and non-active pickups..I heard the single coil active EMG's are sick.
 
go with single coils if you want a good clean tone and don't play too much stuff requiring a lot of distortion IE hard rock, metal.

I think a good combo is a guitar that has a humbucker in the bridge and a single coil in the middle and in the neck position. I like having humbucker in the bridge for heavy metal, but I love the sound of a single coil in the neck with some light distortion, you can get a really cool eric clapton cream tone.

I wouldn't worry about swapping pickups on a guitar yet, first just figure out if you want single coils or humbucker.

You can also get the best of both worlds and get a guitar that has coil splitting, with the pull of a knob it splits the humbucker coils so that you get a single coil tone.
Although some people will say that coil splitting isn't true single coil tone, it is still easily identifiable as single coil tone.
 
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