Guitars & other musical instruments...

[high plains drifter]

Originally Posted by 2mtech

WOO HOO,,,where's the BUMP button for that???

So which is bigger anyway, your RC room or your music room?

lol. Pretty sure guitars are taking up more space in the house than RC-related stuff.

Speaking of which... Have I ever mentioned my fondness for guitar effect pedals?

[2mtech]

NEW THREAD ALERT...NEW THREAD ALERT!!! lol

I figured you for an American Pedaler :-)

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

[high plains drifter]

At first glance I read "predator". I was about to say "None of those charges were ever proven!"

Yea... I've got a few stomp boxes lol. I know a lot of guitarists like a more simple set-up but with some of the music that I play, it's nice to have a dynamic degree of modulation. I currently run my axes through a completely clean amp but with a few taps of my toes I'm able to create a wide range of tone from compressed brutal dirt to deep ethereal cleans and just about anything in between.

[skinnyj]

It's a shame to hear that about Kiesel. If I am going to drop that kind of money on a guitar, sight unseen, then the return policy had better be generous.

As for effects, I've pared my board down to keep it simple:

Guitar > Thomas Organ vintage Wah > Blackstar LT Dual distortion > Boss SD-1 overdrive > Boss DD-3 delay > Celestial Effects Scorpio Super Boost > Marshall JCM800

[high plains drifter]

Man that sounds like a cool rig. I'm not even familiar the Thomas Organ Co. or the Celestial but I'll bet they round out that board nicely. I've always had a wah on my board but recently decided to pull my Cry Baby 95Q and replace it with an MXR Bass envelope filter. It pairs well not only with bass but equally well with guitar. It's got a ton of tonal versatility and I enjoy not having to manually roll the wah in and out... especially when I feel like getting off of my feet lol.

What I'm currently using:

--> TC Electronic- Polytune
MXR- Bass Envelope Filter
Effectrode- Blackbird Vacuum Tube Pre-amp
MXR- Full Bore Metal
Behringer- EQ700 Graphic Equalizer
EHX- Soul Food
Boss- BD2 Blues Driver
EHX- Bad Stone Phase Shifter
MXR- Phase 95
Mod Tone- Harmonic Tremor
Boss- CE5 Chorus Ensemble
TC Electronic- Flashback II Delay & Looper
TC Electronic- Hall Of Fame II Reverb
Flux Effects- Liquid Ambiance Polyphonic Reverb
Behringer- EM600 Echo Machine
--> Yamaha THR10x

[Axial Rose]

I goof off with the guitar . . . I've had a significant variety over the years - one of my absolute favorites is my blonde Fender Classic Player Baja Tele (Link).

Here I am with an Am. Spec Strat . . . painfully trying to learn the blues scale . . . I just do this for fun - I have no interest in taking the instrument seriously - that requires way, way much more time than I'll ever have (ha) but to me, the instrument is incredibly fun - I play a wide variety of stuff - mellow Carlos Santana-inspired stuff to heavy Slayer-inspired stuff, 98% of what I play is "self created" - I have very little interest in doing covers but to each their own, eh?

learning blues scale, 30-aug-2018

[high plains drifter]

Damn, man... Play it! That's some solid blues riffing right there. I'd jam with you any time. Good stuff! I don't gig anymore but I do play a good deal of blues-inspired stuff as well as plenty of cover solo stuff... Santana, Deep Purple, Floyd, AIC, Scorpions, ZZ Top, King Crimson, Rush, Maiden, Zappa, etc, etc, etc... endless list. Absolutely agree, man... playing is a blast!

[skinnyj]

Celestial Effects is a local company out here:
Celestial Effects

Thomas Organ was making licensed copies of Vox wahs in the 70s.

[skinnyj]

Below is a very rough something I threw together in my DAW...

PRS into rack into DAW with IRs, hence the tinny sound (I didn't take too much time dialing them in...)

Me trying to be Neal Schon:

[high plains drifter]

Regardless of how unpolished that is, there's no denying that you've got some impressive chops! I really dig listening to a guitarist simply letting go and giving it all he's got. That's what I was hearing anyway. Good stuff.

[skinnyj]

Originally Posted by high plains drifter

Regardless of how unpolished that is, there's no denying that you've got some impressive chops! I really dig listening to a guitarist simply letting go and giving it all he's got. That's what I was hearing anyway. Good stuff.

Thanks!

This was also an exercise in trying to tame one of my nemeses: soloing in Major keys.

When I first started playing, like most, I was taught the Pentatonic minor scale early on, and that was all I knew for a couple of years. Plus, a lot of the guys I listened to in the 80s rarely played in Major keys, so I never developed an ear for it. I learned the "Major/Ionian scale" but it felt awkward physically and tonally, so I never used it. Years later, the light bulb went on. I realized I could play Major off the scale positions I felt comfortable with (Aeolian, Phrygian, Dorian) as long as my resolutions were in key. Also, when I started digging into Neal Schon's playing, I realized a ton of his stuff was in Major keys.

I'm not a great theory guy, but here is how I break it down:

The first half of that break is in A Major. I play mostly in 2nd position (B Dorian) and third (C# Phrygian). The nice thing about that Phrygian mode is that there is an A Major arpeggio in there that you can play with to really hammer the major tonality (0:23). Then it shifts to B minor, where I stay mostly in that B/C# area until I tremolo pick my way up the A Major scale, ending on A to resolve it.

[Axial Rose]

Originally Posted by skinnyj

I'm not a great theory guy, but here is how I break it down:

The first half of that break is in A Major. I play mostly in 2nd position (B Dorian) and third (C# Phrygian). The nice thing about that Phrygian mode is that there is an A Major arpeggio in there that you can play with to really hammer the major tonality (0:23). Then it shifts to B minor, where I stay mostly in that B/C# area until I tremolo pick my way up the A Major scale, ending on A to resolve it.

I have no idea what any of that means but it is easy to recognize you have awesome talent with the guitar - thank goodness we don't have to understand music theory in order to enjoy it - I have been told if I learned music theory - or at least tried to (ha) - that my playing would improve.

I say my playin caint get much worse (ha) and I'll take time to learn that stuff later but . . . I haven't gotten around to it - being old and lazy, that's me (ha)

[skinnyj]

Originally Posted by Axial Rose

I have no idea what any of that means but it is easy to recognize you have awesome talent with the guitar - thank goodness we don't have to understand music theory in order to enjoy it - I have been told if I learned music theory - or at least tried to (ha) - that my playing would improve.

I say my playin caint get much worse (ha) and I'll take time to learn that stuff later but . . . I haven't gotten around to it - being old and lazy, that's me (ha)

Theory helps a ton but isn't necessary in most cases. I doubt Albert King was versed in any kind of theory and he wails. A real shocker is Steve Howe. For the complexity of Yes' music, He had zero formal training or ability to read musical notation!

The most important musical tool is your ear. If you can sort what sounds good from what doesn't, you will be fine.

A couple of pearls of wisdom:

"(When soloing) There are no bad notes, only bad resolutions" - John Coltrane(?)

"Screw the rules!!! If it sounds good, it IS good!" Eddie Van Halen's community college music theory professor

[high plains drifter]

I'm somewhere in between skinnyj and Axial Rose ( Man that didn't sound right ). I learned the basics... modes, major/ minor/ pentatonic/ octatonic scales, major/ minor/ augmented/ diminished triads, chord progression, etc, etc... But I really never delved too far into theory. The more that I played and the more that I listened to my idols carefully... the more I was able to pick thing s apart and become more proficient. I spent a good deal of time simply practicing and by the time that I was in my first band, I was able to keep the crowd interested... which tbh, was all that I really wanted at that point.

In my twenties, I packed up the car and headed west... winding up on a strange little island in the Gulf of Mexico where my job and my interest in music allowed me the opportunity to rub elbows with some fairly cool cats including Willie Nelson, BB King, Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Pat Travers, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Roberta and Lisa Morales, and a host of other talented musicians. Those days are far behind me now but suffice it to say that they are some of the fondest memories that I have.

[high plains drifter]

Another guitar... 2017 Gibson SG project:

What I liked about this guitar in stock form:

> Soloist neck width: This guitar has a wider neck than most of my other 6'ers ( 1.745" at the nut). I do a lot of bends and there are times that narrower necks simply feel too limiting. I also like a slightly wider neck much more than I used to so this was an appealing feature.

> Fast-access heel: This neck feels great down low but it simply feels amazing at the heel! Great upper fret-access and very comfortable and ergonomic along with the wider soloist neck width.

> 490R/ 498T pickups: Custom Buckers and '57 Classics may sound better through certain amps but with my particular rig, these pups sound fantastic. I may upgrade to a Dirty Fingers in the bridge at some point but for now, the stock pups sound pretty sweet.

> Adjustable zero-fret titanium nut: Very neat to be able to fine-tune string height at both ends of the guitar. I also like that you can adjust it higher/ lower towards the top or bottom strings.

What wasn't so great:

> Neck dive: SG's are known to dive which on this particular guitar could be attributed to the G-Force tuners, the lightweight body, and of course the strap button placement. Also the neck itself is a bit heavy so something had to be done to reduce or eliminate the dive.

> Fret-board imperfections: I've owned and played a lot of guitars and I have to say that Gibson really dropped the ball on finishing this particular fret-board. Not too bad down towards the head-stock but it gradually became rougher towards the upper frets. This had to be fixed. Also some of the fret-ends towards the upper register were a bit sharp/ unfinished... no biggie but that too needed attention.

> G-Force tuning system: From the first time I ever fiddled with the first gen auto-tuners on another Gibby a few years ago, I was NOT a fan. They're gimmicky and unnatural to me and also there are times that I need to fine-tune to pitch...These tuners just don't allow that. I never weighed the G-Force system but it's extremely heavy. All in all, I appreciate the concept and I can understand how some players like it but for me, I just couldn't jive with it.

> Chrome pickup ring covers: They looked cool but on the bridge pup, the cover added too much height to the ring subsequently causing the palm of my picking hand to noticeably contact the corner. They had to go.

> Slanted bridge and neck pickups: Both pups were at a noticeable angle to the rear and while it's been debated whether or not this effects sound/ tone/ output, I couldn't help that it bothered me that they weren't level. I think that the springs that Gibson uses are either too long or too stiff, causing the pickups to tilt fwd or back on certain guitars. This was just another thing that had to be remedied.

> Finishing flaw around stop-piece anchors: I could see a bit of unfinished wood and the exposed anchors when looking closely around the TOM tailpiece. This bugged me and I felt that considering this was a USA model, it should've been addressed. Since Gibson didn't take care of it, it was up to me to fix this cosmetic issue as well.

> Cream-colored accents: I fought with this for a while as I dug the traditional cream-colored pickup rings and pick-guard against the tobacco burst finish, but I couldn't resist mocking up some black cardboard rings and guard and laying them in place. Bingo! The black just looked so much cooler along with the other modifications that I'd already made.

> Aluminum etched HP truss rod cover: I liked it at first but by the time I was halfway through this project, I decided that the traditional iconic black bell cover was the way to go.

So... Here's what I did:

> Removed tuners, strings, pickup rings/ covers/ springs, pickups, pick-guard, switch shroud, knobs, back-plate, tail-piece, studs, screws, truss-rod cover, pots, etc.

> Completely re-finished fret-board with 0000 steel-wool, cleaned and conditioned 2x with Guitar Honey and re-finished the several fret ends that needed it. Also polished all frets while I was at it. All silky smooth and quenched now.

> Used dark-wood lacquer to finish the raw area around the tail-piece anchors. It wasn't too noticeable with the tail-piece in place but my obsessive-compulsive itch is now satisfied.

> Replaced the OEM pickup springs with silicone RC Car fuel-tubing. The fuel-tubing fits over the screws perfectly and it won't ever crack nor deteriorate. Both pickups are perfectly level now.

> Replaced the G-Force tuners with Gotoh locking tuners and traditional-shaped keystone buttons in chrome. I love the vintage classic green-hued pearloid buttons but I felt they would be a little out of place with the other mods that I was doing here. Extremely happy with this upgrade. Replacing the G-Force system also greatly reduced the neck-dive.

> Replaced the cumbersome and goofy-looking plastic chrome-plated bell-shaped knobs with traditional black top-hat reflector knobs... much more comfortable to use and they retain that classic SG vibe. I tried several other knobs including a top-hat bell reflector knob in gold and a modern chrome barrel knob but ultimately settled on these classics.

> Added several ounces of stick-on lead weights to the inside of the back control-cavity cover. This was to further reduce neck-dive and along with some of the other modifications, the guitar now feels much better balanced.

> Replaced the pup rings, bat-wing & screws, truss-rod cover, and poker-chip. I had to have a new ( 2017 HP model) scratch-plate custom made by WD Music out of Florida. They did an awesome job and it really compliments the other changes that I'd already made to the guitar. Switching from chrome to black pick-guard screws was a no-brainer at this point. I sincerely love the stealthy look of the black accents alongside the tobacco burst finish now.

> Performed final set-up which included replacing strings, setting action by fine-tuning bridge/ tail-piece/ nut height, intonating, cleaning and lubricating all pots, re-torquing all hardware/ tuners/ output jack, leveling pickups, checking neck relief and fret levels, etc, etc... calibrating everything.

Wrap-up: Maybe an abomination to the cork-sniffers but I truly dig the vintage aesthetics along with the modern touches on this guitar. It plays like a dream and sounds fantastic. Also, a generous "Thank You" to anyone that actually read through all of this!

Before:








During:










Finished:

[skinnyj]

There are a lot of things wrong with modern Gibsons that can't justify the ridiculous prices they ask.

[high plains drifter]

Well to be fair, vintage Gibson's sell for an even more ridiculously unjustifiable price. But yea, I absolutely agree and if I was going to drop $3k+ on any production piece, it would probably be a PRS Core, Schecter USA, ESP USA, EBMM, etc.

Luckily, my Gibson SG is one of my favorite players and it didn't cost me an arm and a leg. I didn't mind performing the repair work myself since I was going to modify it anyway... but I definitely shouldn't have had to. All in all I agree that the mid to upper tier modern Gibson's are definitely not worth the money but this one wasn't all that expensive.

As for the SG shape, there were only three company's that I would've given my money to... ESP/ Edwards, Epiphone, and Gibson. I would've been more than happy going with one of the other two and saving some coin but the problem was that I wanted what no other manufacturer's offered... a wide neck. The fact that it's exactly what I always wanted and now since making the modifications, is a truly one of a kind piece... makes it money well spent in my book.

[skinnyj]

Originally Posted by high plains drifter

Well to be fair, vintage Gibson's sell for an even more ridiculously unjustifiable price. But yea, I absolutely agree and if I was going to drop $3k+ on any production piece, it would probably be a PRS Core, Schecter USA, ESP USA, EBMM, etc.

Luckily, my Gibson SG is one of my favorite players and it didn't cost me an arm and a leg. I didn't mind performing the repair work myself since I was going to modify it anyway... but I definitely shouldn't have had to. All in all I agree that the mid to upper tier modern Gibson's are definitely not worth the money but this one wasn't all that expensive.

As for the SG shape, there were only three company's that I would've given my money to... ESP/ Edwards, Epiphone, and Gibson. I would've been more than happy going with one of the other two and saving some coin but the problem was that I wanted what no other manufacturer's offered... a wide neck. The fact that it's exactly what I always wanted and now since making the modifications, is a truly one of a kind piece... makes it money well spent in my book.

With what Gibson is right now, I regret trading my 1999 LP Classic 1960 reissue. That was an awesome guitar with a fantastic neck.

(Butterscotch colored guitar on left)

[high plains drifter]

Hard to tell but it looks like that LP has a really nice top. I think I'd regret letting that one go too.

So, getting away from the modern-day Gibson hate... here's my Schecter Hellraiser Solo II with passive USA Brimstone pickups. This solid mahogany body make for a fairly hefty LP-style/ arch-top and it's one of my favorites. The tone of the pickups sound nothing like an actual LP but for modern-metal they slay. I'm not generally a fan of abalone but I like the way it looks on this particular axe. For a MISK guitar, the fretwork, neck stability, and overall build quality are impressive although I did go ahead and polish the frets and condition the board during this project.

I hated the black-chrome hardware finish so I decided to replace everything with black... bridge, input jack, tail-piece, tuners, strap buttons, and knobs. I also replaced the plastic nut with a Tusq-nut in black.

> Jack-plate- All-Parts gloss black
> Strap buttons ( non locking)- All-Parts gloss black
> Locking stop tail-piece/ studs- TonePros T 1ZS gloss black
> Tunematic bridge/ studs- TonePros T3BT- gloss black
> Tuners- Gotoh Delta 3x3 lockers gloss black
> Nut- Tusq black
> Knobs- All-Parts gloss black barrels w/ abalone inlay

First two pics show what the black-chrome looks like for anyone unfamiliar with this finish. It tarnishes easily and just looks awful imo...





The new gloss black hardware ready to go...



The end result... Hard to see much difference between the black-chrome & the gloss black in pics but in person it looks so much better now. One of my favorite guitars especially since putting some work into it and making it one of a kind...

[Duuuuuuuude]

That inlay looks fantastic.