Glad you got wood, BigShooter 
I don’t think there is a “best” string maker. It’s a personal preference.
I’ve been using Dean Markley’s for electric since forever. Possibly because they work well enough that I see no reason to try something else.
In other news, I see Fender is now making a carved top Tele. How weird is that? Better image here that shows the carveness.
BigShooter - I’m sorry, I meant to listen to your stuff last weekend. Then, I got busy, kids got sick, I got sick… I’ll listen over the weekend and give you something on Monday.
moveover - I’ve been using D’Addario strings for ages now, and they’ve always worked out well for me. The biggest question is - what kind of sound do you want? I’ve just switched my Tele over from flat wounds to round wounds - that ‘stuffy’ jazz sound is harder to achieve, but the harmonics are so much clearer and there’s so much more kick to the bridge pickup that it’s worth it by me. What are you after, though?
Actually, t’s that stuffy jazz guitar sound that I’m looking for! So i guess flat wound would be the way to go? And I’ll give D’Addario a try.
Thanks all.
Actually, I listened to a couple and really liked them. But I need to take some time to go back and listen a few more times; I find it hard to digest this stuff in one playing, and I’ve been just utterly buried the last week or so. I will give it more listens. I do share some small misgivings about the singer, but the rest of the music sounds top notch.
Oh, man, I am sorry, BigShooter. We’ve had a few huge fires at work; the past couple of months have not been fun. I’ve barely been able to play guitar at home and barely able to hang out on the SDMB to take a mental break at work…
However, I did listen to a few tracks and basically agree with CookingwithGas - I really like the musicianship and really like the production quality - the parts are layered and leveled really well so they work together as a piece. The guitars sound really good. Great job. As for the vocals - there’s a fine line between authentic character and affected style. For instance, some Kings of Leon/Caleb Followill tracks sound totally great to me; some sound like he is purposefully being obtuse and I want to smack him. I would need to live with the tracks for a while to see where I land on this one.
And if I am not getting back sooner, please know that I would MUCH rather be hanging out and talking guitars and music on the SDMB…
ETA: oh, and that Koa looks GORGEOUS! A simple body design like a Tele would really make the grain pop.
I just ordered a bass VI.
A Schecter Ultra VI in Silverburst, to be precise.
I’ve long admired Fender Bass VIs but couldn’t justify the price, and I’m really not too keen on the looks of the Schecter Hellcat VI, which looks like a poor man’s Fender Bass VI. The headstock in particular bugs me. Do not like.
But I recently discovered the Ultra VI and I do like it. So much so that I have caved in to GAS after a couple of days of thinking it over. Well, last time I played a Fender Bass VI I spent weeks agonising over the fact that I loved it but that it was wildly expensive. Decided to pass, but it was a hard decision. Every time I pick up a bass VI I don’t want to put it down again.
The Ultra VI is less than half what the Fender would have cost, it’s different enough that it’s not just a wannabe Fender (actually has more of a Gibson style: mahogany body and set neck) and I had some money burning a hole in my pocket. Done deal.
I’m in Australia, it won’t be here for a week or two. Ah, well. If it doesn’t end up grabbing me I’m sure I can sell it off here without much difficulty.
Congratulations **Shakester **- given the atmospheric stuff you do, will you play it like a bass that happens to have six strings, or is it more of a cool noise generator that has a broader range?
Also - the link you have seems to suggest that the bass has bolt-on neck; no biggie to me, but I noted that you said it had a set neck. Either way, congrats and best of luck with it…
Like a big nylon-string guitar, really. When I’ve tried sixes what I’ve found works well on them is classical/Spanish-type playing. I’m not a classical player, but I can do a sort-of psuedo-folk-guitar thing that sounds pretty good. Full chords can get a bit muddy on a six, but arpeggios sound good. I’m a big fan of early 60s surf-instrumental music, and there’s a lot of bass-6 stuff on that, Duane Eddy, that sort of thing. Spaghetti Western music.
I’m intending to use it with my guitar/violin band, which is probably adding more members in the near future. Hopefully we’ll be able to do more gigs and make some recordings this year - busyness with more mundane things takes a toll, as I’m sure you know.
It says Construction: Set Neck in the Specs list. Owner reviews I’ve read on the net (and the Schecter product video) confirm that it’s a set neck.
So, wait sec: is that a six string bass or a baritone electric? Or is that the same thing?
It’s a six string bass. The line between baritones/basses gets blurry, but in general anything with a scale length of 30 inches or more is a bass… however, some people have installed baritone strings on 30 inch scale instruments and made, for want of a better description, long scale baritones.
So perhaps the dividing line is what strings you use and what you tune it to: an octave below standard guitar is six-string bass, if you tune it higher than that it’s a baritone. “Baritone” string sets are lighter than “bass 6” sets, and on bari sets the two highest strings are plain, while on bass 6 sets they’re all wound.
I’ll be tuning mine to bass 6 tuning, but with the shorter scale (than a regular Fender-scale bass) the low E string can get pretty mushy. I’ve ordered some bass vi string sets, so I’ll see how that goes. The low E on the sets I’ve ordered are .095, which is heavier than in most bass six sets, and if it’s still mushy I’ll see if I can find any 30 inch scale .100 strings.
That sounds like it would sound very cool.
I’m looking for advice on a guitar for a new player - I’m making “learn to play the guitar” a goal of mine over the next year or two, and I’m not sure what i should get.
I’m shooting for something a little bit rock-n-roll. Generally I’d like to be able to go for anything from late Beatles to White Stripes, Radiohead, and alternative rock. I’m not a big metal head, so thats not a goal, nor am I into things in a more folk or country vein. Any ideas on what I should get? I figure that I’m comfortable going up to $400 or so. I’d also like to get a headphone amp set up rather than a full amp, as I live in a condo with fairly thin walls and I don’t want to be too loud. Some sort of effects setup will be needed, whether at start or later on. Suggestions on good options for all of those would be great.
I do have a friend who can go with me to Guitar Center or wherever (I’m in Chicago) in order to try out the instruments to help me pick out the specific guitar (as it would do very little good for me to try them out personally at this point). I’m also planning on taking lessons to start…
Thanks in advance for any advice!
A MIM* Telecaster is a good choice. Simplest/straightforward guitar on earth, good reputation, works for country, rock, punk, alt, whatever. Examples here, here. Stay away from any Fender named “Squier”.
*“Made In Mexico”, AKA “Fender Standard Telecaster”, although there have been several other MIM models by name.
This is an excellent idea. I don’t know your friend’s skills, but having someone along who knows the first thing about guitars and can give you some basic ideas is a step up when shopping.
This is also an excellent idea. Having a teacher who can give you the basics, and especially get you on an ongoing program to improve your skills every week is huge. I remember taking lessons as a new player and how fast that got me up to speed, and I can’t imagine how fast (or even if) I could have done the same on my own.
Disagree. The lower end Squiers, like the Affinity line, are crappy, but the higher end, like the Classic Vibe range, are good guitars.
I’ll agree that a MIM Tele is a good choice, though.
Apparently I hadn’t been paying attention - I wasn’t aware there was a high-end v low-end Squier. Thanks.
In my opinion, the higher end of the Squier line are at MIJ levels of quality nowadays. I own a Squier Jaguar Bass (one of the long scale ones) and I love it. I was expecting to have to do some work on it and maybe replace the electronics and so on, but I haven’t done a thing on it other than install a thumb-rest. Even the Duncan Designed pickups sound really nice.
Yeah, I have a Classic Vibe 60’s Strat (and before that a Tele), and when I bought them I compared side-by-side to Fender Mexico equivalents. The CV Squiers were better-finished and sounded at least as good, to me. The Strat in particular seems to have top-notch pickups.
Following up on the Strat/Squire discussion, I am thinking of getting a Strat, and do not have the $1000 or so for an American model… recommendations for MIM vs MIJ vs Squires?
I’m learning to flatpick rather than fingerpick on acoustic guitar, and was wondering how much precision I should seek while flatpicking chords. It’s more difficult to avoid hitting unwanted strings or for a small chord, such as two notes, to hit just those two notes with a flatpick.
Here’s of a few guitar lists:
(List of Gibson players - Wikipedia
List of Telecaster players - Wikipedia
List of Stratocaster players - Wikipedia
Gretsch 6120 - Wikipedia)
