# The Great Ongoing Guitar Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [January 31, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172 "2010-01-31T23:20:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 117
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2322 "2012-02-14T22:52:39Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Sorry, wasn’t trying to, um, pick on you. Oh, ouch. 😃 No worries. I do break Tortex picks; I do wear down picks pretty fast (and I am thankful that I primarily play on the weekends - it gives my index fingernail time to recover). I dunno what to say - from the very start of playing, I always strummed downstrokes where I scrape my finger/pick combo down on the strings for percussive effects - sometimes up the neck at the fingerboard for a certain sound; sometimes down below the soundhole - but it has worked for me. And right now that I am back playing mostly acoustic, I am noticing how much I rely on that as part of my playing dynamics…which is what led me to thinking about picks again for the first time in decades… ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2323 "2012-02-14T23:01:52Z")
Like _[this](http://youtu.be/7dxVex-iCyY)_? One my band used to play in the 60’s. 😉 Q ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2324 "2012-02-14T23:32:59Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > [ > \*\*GargoyleWB \*\*- I haven’t tried a Luna. They look pretty - is that laser etching they use for all the fancy stuff on some of the models? Yes, apparently laser etching per their site. Looks quite nice in the flesh. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2325 "2012-02-15T13:18:22Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > … from the very start of playing, I always strummed downstrokes where I scrape my finger/pick combo down on the strings for percussive effects Me too. For me, I think it started because I did mostly finger-picking and learned to strum using my index finger and thumb together, just as though I were holding a pick, without the pick. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2326 "2012-02-15T13:34:17Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > Like _[this](http://youtu.be/7dxVex-iCyY)_? > > One my band used to play in the 60’s. 😉 > > Q I have never heard that - cool, wacky instrumental with fun bends and grooves. I suppose what I do is something like that, although that track is more like a funk groove on an electric, as best done by James Brown’s guitarist, Jimmy “Chank” Nolen - per his nickname, that cool “chank” funk groove… ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2327 "2012-02-15T13:59:33Z")
Love the drums on that one too, **WordMan**. Cool dude, just playin’ time, no fills… 🙂 Just the way I like to play! Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2328 "2012-02-19T16:06:37Z")
Got the BlueChip picks a few days ago and have been playing them alongside other picks across my various acoustics - i.e., small and large bodies. Bottom line: I notice a difference. Not in an “Omigod! Picks MATTER!!” sorta way, but in a nice little way - like getting a pair of skis that carve \*that much better \*of an edge as you turn. The pick just seems a bit more…neutrally \*inert \*in my grip. It’s less about what it _does_, than what it _doesn’t do_; going back and forth with the other picks, I noticed how the others vibrate a bit more, shift a bit more. This pick just seems to do that less - in a noticeable way. And I can tell the material is harder vs. normal picks - the percussive rhythms when I dry strum are noticeably crisper. Weird. In terms of tone, it basically sounds like a good, thick pick - thin picks have a thinner, brighter tone; thicker picks have a warmer, rounder tone. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2012, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2329 "2012-02-19T23:00:48Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I fear something even douchebaggier: [Bluechip Picks, at $35 a pop](http://www.bluechippick.net/). > > I am drinking some sort of bluegrass Koolaid, I suppose…I could geek out as to why, but regardless, I am checking them out. I feel better about my $2300 8 watt practice amp. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2012, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2330 "2012-02-19T23:06:24Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > I feel better about my $2300 8 watt practice amp. 😃 😉 ;). There must be a ratio of douchebag units vs utility… ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2331 "2012-02-22T08:46:16Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > [Ashbory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashbory) bass. It arrived today. I love it. I don’t recommend it to anyone who isn’t familiar with fretless stringed instruments, though. It’s easier to play than a doghouse bass in terms of being small and weighing practically nothing, but getting the intonation right is harder on the tiny neck. It’s achievable, but it takes skill. It sounds amazing. It really does sound like a double bass. Not _exact_, but close enough to fool a casual listener. I’m using the original strings, but I’ve also bought some [Pahoehoe Strings](http://www.bassuke.com/Pahoehoe.html), as some people prefer them. Speaking of which, I now have massive GAS for a [Kala U-Bass](http://www.bassuke.com/U-Bass.html) - looks like a bass ukelele, sounds like a double bass. Similar concept to the Ashbory, but apparently a bit easier to play (and annoyingly better-looking). A bit more expensive, though. If I hadn’t just bought two basses, I’d probably spring for a U-Bass. The bass forums are full of them at the moment, and You Tube has plenty of impressive demo videos. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2332 "2012-02-22T15:39:38Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > It arrived today. I love it. I don’t recommend it to anyone who isn’t familiar with fretless stringed instruments, though. > > It’s easier to play than a doghouse bass in terms of being small and weighing practically nothing, but getting the intonation right is harder on the tiny neck. It’s achievable, but it takes skill. > > It sounds amazing. It really does sound like a double bass. Not _exact_, but close enough to fool a casual listener. I’m using the original strings, but I’ve also bought some [Pahoehoe Strings](http://www.bassuke.com/Pahoehoe.html), as some people prefer them. > > Speaking of which, I now have massive GAS for a [Kala U-Bass](http://www.bassuke.com/U-Bass.html) - looks like a bass ukelele, sounds like a double bass. Similar concept to the Ashbory, but apparently a bit easier to play (and annoyingly better-looking). A bit more expensive, though. > > If I hadn’t just bought two basses, I’d probably spring for a U-Bass. The bass forums are full of them at the moment, and You Tube has plenty of impressive demo videos. That looks like a fun and interesting instrument - never heard of them before. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2333 "2012-02-22T15:43:53Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/W-Hc5abSVHA/hqdefault.jpg "VENTURES - APACHE") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-Hc5abSVHA) Questions: 1. Who’s the red guitar? Comments on YouTube say it’s Frampton? 2. Look at where Don’s tremelo bar is. Seems like wasted motion to me, but maybe when they were playing Mosrites he had it that way too? 3. And that’s Mel on the drums, right? Not his son? Mel and the Ventures were one of the reasons I got into the rock biz in the first place. Oh yeah. One more: 😉 [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VRg-PDxsLQ) Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2334 "2012-02-25T01:33:35Z")
Why don’t you guys treat your GAS by [building your own guitar](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vVQPE5c1XLA#!)? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2335 "2012-02-25T20:40:24Z")
Working on it. It will be the nerdiest guitar ever. ---
**Author:** ![toonerama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@toonerama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toonerama)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2336 "2012-02-29T03:58:52Z")
I love Fenders, but my first purchase was a strat with the same shiny, slippy blond fretboard pictured above (is it called lacquered maple?). I couldn’t deal with it. Later I got a Yamaha SG 2000, my first ebony fretboard, and that’s all I’ve wanted since. I was lucky enough to borrow an Ibanez JEM for a while, attracted by the same ebony and 24 frets (and possibly to see what Vai’s about). Amazing guitar, but I certainly couldn’t do it justice. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2337 "2012-02-29T21:35:17Z")
I’m starting to get messages about this year’s Montréal Guitar Show. I just saw the newest from [Cardinal Instruments](http://www.cardinalinstruments.com/gallery.html) and I thought I’d throw a link in here. I love the look of these ‘second use’ woods… ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2338 "2012-02-29T21:44:08Z")
I’m gonna tempt you now, Mr. toonerama. [http://store.guitarfetish.com/XV-890-Setneck-Flamed-Maple-Dual-Humbuckers-Amberburst\_p\_4255.html](http://store.guitarfetish.com/XV-890-Setneck-Flamed-Maple-Dual-Humbuckers-Amberburst_p_4255.html) You want it, don’t you? So cheap, so round, so firm, so fully packed. Have I described the ‘ultimate nerd guitar’ I’m working with a guy on yet, by the way? It’s the Flying V design. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2339 "2012-02-29T21:45:02Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > [http://youtu.be/W-Hc5abSVHA](http://youtu.be/W-Hc5abSVHA) > > Questions: > > 1. Who’s the red guitar? Comments on YouTube say it’s Frampton? > > 2. Look at where Don’s tremelo bar is. Seems like wasted motion to me, but maybe when they were playing Mosrites he had it that way too? > > 3. And that’s Mel on the drums, right? Not his son? Mel and the Ventures were one of the reasons I got into the rock biz in the first place. > > Oh yeah. One more: 😉 > > [http://youtu.be/9VRg-PDxsLQ](http://youtu.be/9VRg-PDxsLQ) > > Thanks > > Q That first link is the Ventures playing Apache, which was an instrumental hit first done by their UK counterparts, the Shadows (the backing band for Cliff Richard and stars in their own right). Hank Marvin was the guitar player for the Shadows - he looked like Buddy Holly with thick plastic glasses. He mostly played Burns guitars from the UK, but was known for getting a Fiesta Red custom color Stratocaster early in the 60’s, setting off huge demand for the guitar. That is a young Peter Frampton, and given that he grew up idolizing Hank Marvin, it is no surprise that he would have a Fiesta Red Strat or be geeked-out happy at the thought of playing with the Ventures. Apache went on to be covered by other bands, and one version was a drum-driven version (used in the soundtrack of The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant, IIRC) which went on to become one of the most sample recordings in history, used on so many rap/hip hop records it wasn’t funny…wiki link: [Apache (instrumental)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_(song)) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2340 "2012-02-29T21:46:44Z")
> [@toonerama](#): > > I love Fenders, but my first purchase was a strat with the same shiny, slippy blond fretboard pictured above (is it called lacquered maple?). I couldn’t deal with it. Later I got a Yamaha SG 2000, my first ebony fretboard, and that’s all I’ve wanted since. I was lucky enough to borrow an Ibanez JEM for a while, attracted by the same ebony and 24 frets (and possibly to see what Vai’s about). Amazing guitar, but I certainly couldn’t do it justice. I have a 1973 Limited Edition Les Paul Black Beauty '54 reissue (say that 3 times fast) with an ebony fingerboard that would make you drool. So easy to play and it adds a bit of snap to the tone of this one-piece, solid mahogany guitar… ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/2341 "2012-03-01T18:54:58Z")
> **[Guitar pondering: how acoustics and electrics have a similar “tone spectrum”](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=643820)** > > Probably need to link this to the GOGT (Great Ongoing Guitar Thread) but it might warrant its own dialogue. I have been stressed and swamped at work lately - no headroom at all for mental Doper breaks of significant size. But I have been working... First guitar geek-out thread in a long time. Have patience. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172.md?page=116) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172.md?page=118)