Guitar Players thread...

[Caruthers612]

        I would like to start a thread for serious guitar players, and/or admirers of great players. Here I hope to discuss the intimate details of gear with fellow gearheads, talk about the playing techniques and tones of favorite players, and generally help each other out by sharing knowledge and experience. Also, Michael has promised a free Brazilian hooker to each participant.
        Feel free to post pics of your gear and tell us what you've got, as it were. I plan to do so muy soon. BTW, at the moment I'm listening to the great Brett Garsed, Aussie stud boy that he is.

[The General]

I'd post in this thread more, as I do dearly love guitars and everything about them, but I'm just all worn out with guitar talk at the end of the day as I repair them for a living.

Let's just say Telecasters and Danelectros are my favorites.

[Rachael Nexusei]

I have a question.  I was given an acoustic 12 string guitar (I think they said it was concert size?).  It does not currently have strings on it, and I noticed there is a separation beginning where the neck attaches to the body on it's back, like the glue or whatever is giving out.  I am afraid to string it because I do not know if the pressure would cause the neck to separate completely.  Can it be repaired, and if so, could I do it myself?

[Caruthers612]

I have a question.  I was given an acoustic 12 string guitar (I think they said it was concert size?).  It does not currently have strings on it, and I noticed there is a separation beginning where the neck attaches to the body on it's back, like the glue or whatever is giving out.  I am afraid to string it because I do not know if the pressure would cause the neck to separate completely.  Can it be repaired, and if so, could I do it myself?

      I wouldn't recommend trying to do it yourself, but since The General here is a guitar tech or luthier, why not tack a pic with your phone and post it, maybe he can offer some advice.

[The General]

I have a question.  I was given an acoustic 12 string guitar (I think they said it was concert size?).  It does not currently have strings on it, and I noticed there is a separation beginning where the neck attaches to the body on it's back, like the glue or whatever is giving out.  I am afraid to string it because I do not know if the pressure would cause the neck to separate completely.  Can it be repaired, and if so, could I do it myself?

It will most likely need a neck reset.  Not really something I'd recommend doing yourself because the neck would need to come off entirely, all the old glue cleaned up, and then glued back on at the proper angle.  There are a lot of variables. Do you know what brand of guitar it is?

It might be ok as is if it's just a finish crack, and not an actual separation.  I'd have to see it to know for sure.

[Rachael Nexusei]

Okay, I took a couple of pics.  Don't know if you can see the separation clearly.  I could not find a visible maker. 







In the last photo, it is an upside down 'U' shape, above and down to where it joins the body where the separation is.  I cannot slip my fingernail between, but it does run all the way down both sides of the part, to where it joins the body.
I'm not sure if it is supposed to be like that or not?  Like a little 'give' to the neck?

And thank you for your responses, I do appreciate them! 

[The General]

 Well, it might be what we call a 'wall hanger.'  Ha ha.  Seriously, though, there is not much more that I can tell you without seeing it in person.  It might play ok with some strings on it.  However, it looks like between the separation problem and the overall (how do I say this gently) entry-level quality of the guitar, you may have a nice looking guitar shaped piece of non-functioning art. 


Neck resets generally are not performed on a guitar like this, they have sort of a lifespan and then it's time to call it a day.  Don't lose hope, though, it might still play, I just have no way of knowing all of the variables without seeing it in person.  It's kind of like a doctor trying to give a diagnosis from just a picture, there are so many variables that I don't know about. 


Sorry, I'm not much help to you.  Have someone that knows guitars look at it in person.  If you happen to live anywhere near Seattle, PM me and I'll tell you where you can bring it for me to look at.

[Rachael Nexusei]

Sorry, I'm not much help to you.  Have someone that knows guitars look at it in person.  If you happen to live anywhere near Seattle, PM me and I'll tell you where you can bring it for me to look at.

No, sir, it was good of you to reply and I thank you.  I live on the opposite side of the country, General, so would not be able to bring it to you.
At least I did not pay for it.  I'm going to try and string it and see what happens.  Maybe if I do not use too much tension, it will be
okay to fool around with.

[analog kid]

Just bought one of these



TV Yellow, P90s. It's a bolt-on neck, but it's only $130, and Epiphone makes the best cheapo guitars.

[Rachael Nexusei]

Okay, not truly about guitars although they do have parts and a lot of books/booklets on making/playing etc. I like their site very much.  I may buy the cigarbox uke kit.  A friend of mine has one and is trying to convince me to get one.  We 'jam' me guitar, she the uke :-)  We have lots of fun, if not very 'in tune' at times.
They seem the rage right now, ukes that is, not cigars or their boxes but maybe them too.  Anyway, someone might be interested in the kits and stuff.
http://www.harpkit.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=MK

[ziznak]

Not a big uke fan but I should be snagging an axe sometime soon... it might be another epiphone strat but who knows?  If I can find an affordable SG I may grab it.

[Caruthers612]

Not a big uke fan but I should be snagging an axe sometime soon... it might be another epiphone strat but who knows?  If I can find an affordable SG I may grab it.

        I wouldn't mind adding an SG to my collection, myself. I'd put on a grammar school uniform, dime my Marshall and prance about the living room playing Thunderstruck. 

[grifter]

how do i get rid of static?

i have my guitar grounded to the ass-end of my bridge, but it only stops buzzing when its grounded by being touched. wtf can i do to fix this bs? my wiring is shielded airtight! it's driving me nuts! I even tried skipping the pots and have the pickups connected straight to the female audiojack. no luck.

[grifter]

Just bought one of these



TV Yellow, P90s. It's a bolt-on neck, but it's only $130, and Epiphone makes the best cheapo guitars.

DAN?

[The General]

how do i get rid of static?

i have my guitar grounded to the ass-end of my bridge, but it only stops buzzing when its grounded by being touched. wtf can i do to fix this bs? my wiring is shielded airtight! it's driving me nuts! I even tried skipping the pots and have the pickups connected straight to the female audiojack. no luck.

some amount of hum is to be expected. It stops when you touch it, and you have to touch it to play, right?  This is considered to be acceptable by players and techs alike. 

Be careful shielding the cavity, if it isn't done properly, it just makes the problem worse.  Everything must be grounded, but properly.  ground loops make great antennae, and can worsen the problem. 

[analog kid]

DAN?

I don't know what you mean, so I guess that's no?

The Epiphone Special is cheap alright. Right down to the super cheap plastic nut. The difference in quality between these and a $300 Epiphone Wildkat is extreme. Which is probably why Epiphone doesn't mention this limited run on their website. It's a light guitar though, so at least I can play it while still being in pain from surgery, which is what I was looking for.

[grifter]

some amount of hum is to be expected. It stops when you touch it, and you have to touch it to play, right?  This is considered to be acceptable by players and techs alike. 

Be careful shielding the cavity, if it isn't done properly, it just makes the problem worse.  Everything must be grounded, but properly.  ground loops make great antennae, and can worsen the problem.

mucho appreciato, sir.

I don't know what you mean, so I guess that's no?

The Epiphone Special is cheap alright. Right down to the super cheap plastic nut. The difference in quality between these and a $300 Epiphone Wildkat is extreme. Which is probably why Epiphone doesn't mention this limited run on their website. It's a light guitar though, so at least I can play it while still being in pain from surgery, which is what I was looking for.

i thought you were the guitarist in my band, lol. he just bought such a guitar. loves it.

we love c2c in my band.

[analog kid]

mucho appreciato, sir.

i thought you were the guitarist in my band, lol. he just bought such a guitar. loves it.

we love c2c in my band.

Awesome. You should cover "Area 51." Though I don't know where one would find a copy of the song. These guitars get nothing but good reviews and the P90s sound great.

I had an extra bone nut so I replaced the stock one, and removed the switch ring

[eddie dean]

how do i get rid of static?

i have my guitar grounded to the ass-end of my bridge, but it only stops buzzing when its grounded by being touched. wtf can i do to fix this bs? my wiring is shielded airtight! it's driving me nuts! I even tried skipping the pots and have the pickups connected straight to the female audiojack. no luck.

you should also consider upgrading your guitar cable and/or interconnect cables (if you use stomp boxes) to a high quality one such as Mogami. I have found that shorter cable runs can help reduce the hum, buzz or unwanted RF signals too. If you can live with a 10' or 20' cable instead of 30' or 50', from the gtr to the amp.

Also think about buying a power conditioner to plug your amp and any effects boxes into. Furman and Monster have a lot of options to choose from and can go a long way to help reduce noise, as well as give your amp clean power and save its life if you ever get a power surge.
Some clubs have a shitty and noisy power source that can fry your amp and tubes.
But even with all the technology available, guitar players still have to deal with some level of noise, as the General correctly pointed out, even more so if you are playing high gain, heavy distortion songs.

[The General]

you should also consider upgrading your guitar cable and/or interconnect cables (if you use stomp boxes) to a high quality one such as Mogami. I have found that shorter cable runs can help reduce the hum, buzz or unwanted RF signals too. If you can live with a 10' or 20' cable instead of 30' or 50', from the gtr to the amp.

Also think about buying a power conditioner to plug your amp and any effects boxes into. Furman and Monster have a lot of options to choose from and can go a long way to help reduce noise, as well as give your amp clean power and save its life if you ever get a power surge.
Some clubs have a shitty and noisy power source that can fry your amp and tubes.
But even with all the technology available, guitar players still have to deal with some level of noise, as the General correctly pointed out, even more so if you are playing high gain, heavy distortion songs.

Good points.  Quality cables are definitely worth the money, not only for noise reduction, but they actually sound better.  The capacitance in cheap cables muffles your tone, it's amazing to compare side by side with a good quality cable like Monster or Mogami.

[eddie dean]

yes sir the overall tone is much better with good cables. I have never tried the monster gtr cables. What is your preference? Is there a difference in tone between monster and mogami.

I switched to the Mogami many, many years ago after an embarrassing gig one night using my shitty old 50' cable.   When I stopped playing I noticed I was broadcasting the local country/western AM  radio station through my amp. It might have been cool if we were a country band and not a heavy rock band.

[The General]

yes sir the overall tone is much better with good cables. I have never tried the monster gtr cables. What is your preference? Is there a difference in tone between monster and mogami.

I always like the Monster cables, I have two that I've had for 10 years and they are still working great, but I've heard rumors from dealers that their quality has dropped off in the last several years.  So, I think if someone were looking for new cables, I'd suggest doing some research into Monster and see if those rumors are true first.  Otherwise buy Mogami cables.  The Mogami cables are made in Japan, and are great quality.

Tangientally, there is a debate among audiophiles about whether good quality cables really do make a difference.  In the world of guitar cables, they do, because we're dealing with an analog signal.  But the expensive Monster cables that they sell to hook up your CD or DVD player to your digital stereo or TV?  Those are a rip off, a digital signal is a digital signal and doesn't suffer from audio degradation that analog signals are susceptible to, especially the passive signal from your guitar to your (hopefully tube) amplifier.

[The General]

Just bought one of these



TV Yellow, P90s. It's a bolt-on neck, but it's only $130, and Epiphone makes the best cheapo guitars.

Man, for $130 bucks, how can you go wrong?  They're cheap, I know, but you couldn't even buy all the hardware separately for that price.

[analog kid]

Man, for $130 bucks, how can you go wrong?  They're cheap, I know, but you couldn't even buy all the hardware separately for that price.

Yeah, I've thought about getting a guitar kit, but I'm not qualified, especially where the finish is involved. This was the first time I've successfully changed a nut and I'm too chicken to try it on any of my other guitars. Wish I had a luthier in my area.

And I agree that good cables do make a huge difference. I have one of these braided cables that's very quite with single coil pickups. I'm not much of an audiophile beyond that point though.

[Gumby, Dammit]

Jesus Pigfucking Shit...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzfAMK0VQLM

[ksm32]

I'm just all worn out with guitar talk.

..You have posted the majority of posts in this thread. That's a good thing

[zeebo]

I blew out my left arm with bad tendonitis and like an idiot kept playing.  Bad idea.  It's been six mos. now since I've dared pick up my guitar.  It's still not completely healed. 

I play a classical but I think I may need to switch to a very low-action, thin-neck, lightweight electric when I start playing again, to keep stress of my left elbow.  Anyone have suggestions for a new guitar?

[ksm32]

I blew out my left arm with bad tendonitis and like an idiot kept playing.  Bad idea.  It's been six mos. now since I've dared pick up my guitar.  It's still not completely healed. 

I play a classical but I think I may need to switch to a very low-action, thin-neck, lightweight electric when I start playing again, to keep stress of my left elbow.  Anyone have suggestions for a new guitar?

And I bet you're burning to play again as soon as possible.   I would submit that any guitar playing (no matter the guitar) will only aggravate the already enflamed area. Thus setting you back even further.

In my opinion, let yourself completely heal before picking it back up again. Have you talked to your quack about it?

Disclaimer: I was a licenced personal trainer for a few years Happy healing.

[zeebo]

And I bet you're burning to play again as soon as possible.   I would submit that any guitar playing (no matter the guitar) will only aggravate the already enflamed area. Thus setting you back even further.

In my opinion, let yourself completely heal before picking it back up again. Have you talked to your quack about it?

Disclaimer: I was a licenced personal trainer for a few years Happy healing.

You are correct on both counts - Yes I'm dying to play and Yes it is not a problem to be trifled with.  The first couple times it flared up I just "played through the pain" like an idiot thinking it would just go away.  It didn't - it just got worse.  It got so bad I couldn't pick up a gallon of milk with my left arm. 

Btw my issue is known as "golfer's elbow", and affects that little bony bump in the inside elbow (as opposed to "tennis elbow" which is the opposite side.)  Amazing how much pain can be caused by an area about the size of dime!

I'm determined once completely healed next I'll be smarter, so I'm gonna consult w/ a teacher to see if I'm holding the neck right, and also I found a youtube acupressure vid which is supposed to be good for warming up.

I also want to get a guitar that has an easier fretboard / string action to play.  That's why I was wondering if any of y'all might know of any electrics that would be good for that.

[Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost]

I just saw that we have a new world Air Fapping Guitar champion.  Gee, I wish I'd known I could achieve fame and a little fortune just by pretending to play instead of wasting over forty years of my life practicing my ass off and playing for reals. Oh, well.  At least I have my self-respect, which appears to be an unknown concept to anyone who believes they accomplished something breathtakingly awesome by winning a competition like that.