# 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:** 291
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5806 "2022-05-15T03:38:45Z")
As much as I love Dolly, Prine should be in the hall of fame before her. As should Lucinda Williams, but that is another thread. Is there one about those who should be in? ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5807 "2022-05-15T03:42:35Z")
I dunno, Link Wray is the top of the list for me, though. If that place burned down, I’d have a barbecue. ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5808 "2022-05-15T03:50:46Z")
well it’s the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Great Music. Sometimes they are the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5809 "2022-05-15T03:53:17Z")
Well, I mean, he’s been gone for quite some time, and his heyday was even further back. If you didn’t have to look up the name (and plenty of folks have gotten in for just being influential, like he is), he counts as famous in my book. ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5810 "2022-05-15T04:03:30Z")
oh hell yeah. He “invented” the power chord. Look up the people who he influenced. Just looking on Wiki, he was nominated in 2013 and 2017, but not after that. I would not burn the hall to the ground, but a hall without Link Wray but with Dolly is stupid ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5811 "2022-05-15T04:23:37Z")
Heheh, I wouldn’t burn it down, either. But I think we’re on the same page. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5812 "2022-05-15T11:54:17Z")
I know this is, primarily, a guitar players thread so sorry for the intrusion. There is tele vs strat discussion in the “country vs rock” thread. I never knew that there was an inherent difference in the sound produced by different electric guitars. I assumed it was all in the electronics and any guitar could produce any sound with the correct technology. Acoustic guitars? Sure. But a solid body electric? Please explain to a complete non-musician. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5813 "2022-05-15T12:06:25Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > I assumed it was all in the electronics and any guitar could produce any sound with the correct technology. My buddy has a Telecaster fitted with a humbucker (pickup) that produces a lovely, warm jazz tone. So, yeah. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5814 "2022-05-15T13:47:50Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > I assumed it was all in the electronics and any guitar could produce any sound with the correct technology. Well, within limits, the pickups really are the primary source of an electric guitar’s sound. A vanilla strat and a vanilla tele have very different electronics, though. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5815 "2022-05-15T13:59:10Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > Well, within limits, the pickups really are the primary source of an electric guitar’s sound. Looks like you want to downplay the effect of tonewood. 😉 Yeah, I think it is mainly the pickups, what kind and where they are located that matter. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5816 "2022-05-15T15:04:46Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > I know this is, primarily, a guitar players thread so sorry for the intrusion. There is tele vs strat discussion in the “country vs rock” thread. I never knew that there was an inherent difference in the sound produced by different electric guitars. I assumed it was all in the electronics and any guitar could produce any sound with the correct technology. Acoustic guitars? Sure. But a solid body electric? Please explain to a complete non-musician. There definitely are inherent differences in some guitars that are audible whatever the outboard processing. 1. A Stratocaster (among others) has a tremolo (e.g. whammy bar). This is a block of metal that floats that the strings are attached to. This means there’s no solid connection from the strings to the body of the guitar, so there’s a little less ‘balls’ to strat tone, and the springs from the trem a) add a touch of reverb to the tone when they vibrate sympathetically with the strings and b) react to things like string bends and bend the whole set of strings, which can subtly change the tone _and_ makes it much easier to bend a string. 2. A strat also has a weird and complex set of pickups and switching system that lets you (for example) play two pickups out of phase to get the classic strat “quack” tone that other guitars simply can’t produce. 3. A Telecaster has several tone-things that add up: the strings have a solid connection to the body (vs the telecaster) which gives the tone a more solid feel; the bridge pickup is tilted so the high strings will be brighter vs the bass strings, and there’s a brass plate under the bridge pickup that also makes the pickup brighter and twangier. You could of course use outboard tech (pedals, amp) to mask these differences, but guitars do have tone differences that aren’t particularly hard to hear in practice. Heck, the tone difference between a rosewood and maple fingerboard is pretty darned dramatic IMO and easily heard. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5817 "2022-05-15T17:33:28Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Looks like you want to downplay the effect of tonewood. 😉 Tonewood may exist, but since most of my playing is through a fuzz pedal which can make guitar choice largely irrelevant aside from “how much feedback do you want when you stop playing?”, it’s not a factor in my choice of guitars. 🤡 ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2022, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5818 "2022-05-21T23:08:15Z")
I really don’t need another guitar but I want this one [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Iyil8oALQYQ/maxresdefault.jpg "The Martin DX Johnny Cash - One Of The Best Acoustic Guitars Of 2019!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iyil8oALQYQ) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2022, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5819 "2022-06-30T09:35:41Z")
We lost Thom Bresh May 23, 2022. He was Merle Tavis son. Thom often toured with Tommy Emmanuel. They both played similiar to Chet Atkins. It’s been a tough year for musicians. Ronnie Hawkins and Mickey Gilley also died in May 2022. Meat Loaf died in January. Lost Tony Rice December 25, 2020. A lot of irreplaceable talent. Tommy Emmanuel is 67. He’s one of the last links to Chet. Thankfully he has taught over on True Fire. Passing on his technique to future players. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2022, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5820 "2022-07-02T11:34:21Z")
I’ve been playing my LX1 Martin travel guitar a lot lately. It sounds and plays surprisingly well for a budget under $400. Came with a special sized gig bag too. The LX1 is 3/4 sized. I was worried about my big hands. The neck plays easily until you get past the 8th fret. That’s acceptable just playing casually. I wanted something light weight that I could handle a liitle roughly. This guitar spends a lot of time uncased and available to play. I did get a short crack in the spruce top. I stabilized it with super glue. It hadn’t moved since. The laminste woods used in budget guitars are pretty stable. Mine has had a couple falls onto the carpet. This isn’t a guitar you baby with love and hand down to your kids.😘 I have several high dollar guitars that live in cases with humidifiers. I looked at several reviews last year before buying. Almost bought the Martin backpacker. I decided it would be too hard to hold. That body is just too small. The length of a guitar is what makes it bulky to carry. The smaller triangle body really doesn’t save much space. I have read the LX1 fits in a overhead plane baggage compartment. I haven’t flown with mine yet. Site: [Martin LX1 Acoustic Guitar Review - Best Acoustic Guitar Guide](https://www.bestacousticguitarguide.com/martin-lx1-acoustic-guitar-review/) I also condidered the baby Taylor. Basically the same thing. I use a strap. Leaning over to support a small guitar on my leg tweaks my back. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/oah3Sp7ZVzQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Martin LX1 vs Baby Taylor - A Travel Guitar Comparison") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oah3Sp7ZVzQ) ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5821 "2022-08-05T22:17:52Z")
Well, several weeks without band practice had me with so much spare time that I wrote a song and made a video for it. It’s shoegaze/space/stoner rock. I really enjoyed making it, hope you guys enjoy it, too. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/VftighogQN8/maxresdefault.jpg "XL 01296479 and HMSS SAM") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VftighogQN8) Yeah, it’s mostly Moog, but I’m playing guitar and bass on it, too. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5822 "2022-08-16T03:12:30Z")
I just bought myself a new guitar. It’s a Yamaha FG820. Nothing special, not too expensive but looks, plays and sounds great. Not an acoustic/electric … straight up acoustic. It just sounded so much better than the acoustic/electrics I tested out. Here’s the thing … first of all, I left my only acoustic guitar back in storage in Maine but I rarely played it anyway. I was hooked up with two different bands over a fifteen year span or so and it was either practice or a gig every week, so that guitar just say in its case in the corner; I feel my acoustic skills have lapsed a little. My cousin inspired me; he has a really nice Taylor and finger-picks like a motherfucker. He encourage me to pick up Travis picking, which I’d like to do … I can finger pick an arpeggio or two pretty well, but Travis picking is Travis picking and it is to be mastered. The other thing is, in the bands I played with we played all originals; I know essentially no covers. With YouTube at my beck and call I need to expand my repertoire. What’s the go to acoustic songs that I should learn? Here’s my guitar, by the way: [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52288930161_272b04c7e1_b.jpg "New Guitar - Aug ") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/183290460@N02/52288930161/) ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5823 "2022-08-16T03:18:49Z")
Nice! Happy New Guitar Day!! ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5824 "2022-08-16T03:30:39Z")
I dig it. That’s night up my alley. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/5825 "2022-08-16T07:53:16Z")
Congrats on the new guitar . Acoustic relies on flatpicking and full out strumming. David Gilmour’s Acoustic version of Wish You Were Here will challenge you. Everybody Hurts by REM offers some good flatpicking. 3AM is a lot of fun to play. These three will shake the rust off anyone acoustic playing. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/X9OazXfF3g0/maxresdefault.jpg "How to play 'Wish You Were Here' by Pink Floyd") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9OazXfF3g0) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/trPC5E1dKug/maxresdefault.jpg "How to play 'Everybody Hurts' by REM") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trPC5E1dKug) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/mAB3kzfjqhs/maxresdefault.jpg "How to play '3AM' by Matchbox 20") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAB3kzfjqhs) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172.md?page=290) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172.md?page=292)