Oh hell. I just typed, and lost, a long reply. I’ll try again in the morning when motivation returns.
Short answer:
Huss and Dalton = D-18 + extra goodness.
Gibson L-37 = Cool looking - uncomfortable v neck * thin midrangey tone.
Aw man - I want the long reply!
That H&D sounds wonderful. I have been playing a few D-18s lately - I am a mahogany guy.
As for the Gibson - well, I love me a V neck - I would love to get a mid 30’s L-00 to go with my '46 LG-2 someday - but I hear you about the tone. I recently played a 1926 L-4 which was so well made and had a wonderful handful of a neck, but it had that thin tone where you could tell the design was not quite there yet from a “modern guitar tone” standpoint…
…and **Ogre **- no worries. Since this is more FYI and not a deal going down, I have no problem saying that I will probably list the Burny for ~$800. Great guitar - solid maple top with a flamed maple veneer, solid mahogany body, great medium-sized neck (this is the guitar that really drew my attention to neck profiles and the fact that, as a feature, it really matters to me - I have come to love huge necks, but this one is nice, medium and perfect). Original pickups and standard wear - all in all a great guitar, especially when compared to your average similarly-priced Gibson at Guitar Center (I am a Gibson guy, but have always said you need to play a bunch to find a good one). I am just not playing humbucker Les Pauls right now and can put the guitar funds to other uses…
While we’re speaking of guitars for sale, one of my favorite musicians is selling one of his early guitars. It’s a Martin J-40M, even used on one of the group’s early recordings. I’m still just picking my way through my first instructional book, so I’m not in a position to truly appreciate it. Just thought I’d pass the word along in case anyone wanted to check it out.
Sorry for the delay, I was travelling on business.
Here goes… (my first ever tab…be gentle)
If you are just starting out and playing two strings at a time is hard for you, just skip the lower note. It’ll still sound pretty good.
Likewise, if the B7 at the end is tough too (HINT: it is tough) - just play the B on string 5.
Have fun! I did!
Hmmm…It occurs to me that I don’t know the policy for posting copyrighted stuff. I’m guessing that this rhythm is so old that it would be out of copyright anyway, but if I am breaking the rules, I hope someone will let me know and I’ll post it on my blog and link it here instead.
I’m actually more familiar with Ovation mandolins, to be honest. Which I could swear do have a bowl-like body.
And yeah, that’s a long question. But now that I’ve managed to swear this starcaster under control (Filed down the frets, and now I’m tearing the bridge apart a bit and it’s slowly working better) I am curious about the other possiblities out there. I’ve got till my tax return comes in.
I’m pretty sure nobody has a copyright on twelve bar blues in A. Its the most generic blues pattern in the universe. Don’t even worry about it. The big no-no that I’ve seen here is posting complete lyrics for a song, not tabs.
I just recorded Albatross in Garage Band.
As always, when I play it to myself it feels really good but then when I come to try to record it, it feels really rushed.
Anyway, here it is, my first try: albatross.mp3
I’ll try it again next weekend.
Okay - I will think about this and write something up tomorrow. I think I will start a separate thread that this one is linked to, so that particular topic doesn’t hijack this general guitar thread…
And **kevlaw **- I will give it a listen tomorrow…
Dude, that’s what this thread is for. Everything and anything guitar. It can’t be a hijack!
Today, I unearthed my books from the last time I tried to learn guitar. Turns out the good fake book I had? Hal Leonard.
Then I wandered into the music store to get a chromatic tuner. I saw a Rock Band music book. I looked through it and went, “Huh, it’s only snatches of the songs, but I can play these. This is good!” It’s Hal Leonard in association with Harmonix.
Then I found The Complete Guide to Guitar and Amp Maintenance.
… yeah. Hal Leonard, and it tells me and shows me exactly what I have to do with my bridge.
Does this guy publish any bad books?
I have this one in my shopping cart at Amazon, despite getting only 2.5 stars. It sounds like it covers some material that I’d like to learn once I get a little more advanced. I’ll keep an eye out for it at the guitar stores, maybe look through it before I buy it, or find something better.
Well, I’m back in the states and the proud owner of a new Epiphone Les Paul Special II, with a Valve Junior amp on the way from Musician’s Friend. Yet to get any lessons set up–hopefully in the next week here.
Everyone’s mentioned the importance of proper setup on a new guitar. My uncle, who visited last night and fooled around with it, said the same thing. What’s a reasonable price for this kind of work, and what should I expect the tech to do? My father, who’s recently decided to get back into playing, has been dealing with this rather fanatic local luthier who just quoted us $200, which he then brought down to $150. More than the guitar itself cost, and, well… while I don’t doubt he does good work, it sounds a bit crazy to me.
I’m looking forward to getting started on this road–it’s been fun reading this thread. 
I’m not sure how much, if any, Hal Leonard stuff I have. The other hugely important publisher is Mel Bay.
Does anyone else suffer from an addiction to guitar-related DVDs and books?
Well, it depends - I don’t buy theory “how to” books because I have found my own way over the years. Not sure why, and I respect and see the value of lessons, etc, but it is what has worked for me. Same with watching youtube How To videos or those clips from Arlen Roth I get from Gibson.com and occasionally share with you guys - I watch 'em once or twice, take from them what I can, and then move on. Weird.
BUT - I love history and encyclopedia type books on guitar! The History of…well, anything - specific brands of guitar, amps, guitar effects - you name it. I have a very big library of those…I love learning about the evolution of the guitar in general and specific brands.
And E? I am inclined to stick with a separate thread - simply because it will be easier to refer to with a link if I have to bring it up later - which happens often enough to be a consideration. Also, this is your thread and a good, smart, ongoing, general topic guitar thread - I don’t need to come it and hork up a big breakdown of guitar groups and take it over. I have enjoyed the variety of topics and the multiple-topics-at-once nature of this so far…
It’s all good…now I gotta get back to the Honey-Do list before the Super Bowl…
Your call man. Makes sense to me.
For a basic setup, $200 is ridiculous - I don’t care how good the guy is. I usually charge around $30 - $40. That includes a string change, treating the fretboard (if it’s rosewood), neck adjustment, action set to your preference, intonation, pickup height adjustment, and a good all-around polishing.
I would charge extra if a fret level or a new nut is needed. But most new guitars (unless they’re utter crap) shouldn’t need anything but the basics…
I pay about $35 around here for a setup. And like you said, more if I need/want the frets dressed.
What I usually do is get one good setup when I buy a new guitar and then maintain it myself after that.
“The other hugely important publisher is Mel Bay.”
When I was learning to play bass, more years ago than I like to admit, my teacher used the Mel Bay electric bass book. It contained examples such as “this is the pick” 
I poked around on that site a little bit, looking for a their equivalent of the very beginner book that I’m using. Couldn’t find one. Everyting seemed to be divided into styles and methods. I’m just starting; I don’t even know what style I want, yet.
Congrats! That’s the guitar I got last year when I started playing. I still struggle with the low E buzzing a bit, though I suspect at least half of that is my fingering technique. 
I concur with several other posters…a good basic set-up shouldn’t be putting you back that much. I had the tech at my school set up my Special II for me, once I learned that such was actually needed, and I think he charged $40.
I started the thread on Guitar Food Groups - please pile on as you see fit.
**kevlaw **- where is Albatross? I tried clicking on the link and ended up at While My Guitar Gently Weeps…
Huh. That’s weird. Here’s alink that goes directly to the mp3 file.
http://www.raggedclown.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/albatross.mp3