Axe vs. Monitors

  • Thread starter Thread starter fritsthegirl
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fritsthegirl said:
I know this to be true because it's been tried on me many times when buying bikes. I have been forced to get on so many women's specific bikes. Never bought one because they just didn't respond/feel how I wanted or expected. I knew immediately when I got on the right one, and hey ho it's a 'boy! (bike).

I like a guitar I can get my arms and fingers around comfortably, that sits nice in my lap and sounds sweet to my ears. And I certainly don't go for showy stuff that does nothing for sound. With all the advice I've been given here (which will most certainly help me weed out the no goes) I reckon I will just take my time over this one and drive some poor sales guy to distraction in the process...and then see if I can get it cheaper on ebay. :D
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Right. You can get it cheaper on ebay, but you can't *play* it on ebay. Give up the idea that you can buy a cheap guitar you haven't played. Not one *like* it- *that* one. If you buy a cheap guitar remotely, the odds are ten to one that it will suck. The only way to buy a good cheap guitar that you haven't played is to spend a pile of money, or get very, very, lucky. Go to a *big* guitar store, and start playing guitars.

As far as specific models to look at, there is definitely the single coil/humbucker (double coil) thing to take into account. For clean tones, many people like single coils. Humbuckers are often used when "crunch" is desired, but that is not a rule, and there are tons of exceptions. It used to be that Gibson used humbuckers and Fender used single coils, but that hasn't been true now for a very long time. Gibson came out with the P-90, and followed it with other single coil pickups, and Fender started making hybrids with both types, and some with just humbuckers. Recent models often use coil splitters, so you can switch back and forth by flipping a switch. If you like humbuckers, I'd be looking at SG or Les Paul studio type guitars by Epiphone. If you like the single coil sound, consider Yamaha Pacifica. The Yamaha has a kind of skinny neck favored my many people with small hands.

But - when you're looking for that Holy Grail cheap axe, it could be anything- Dean, Peavey, Schecter, Washburn, LTD, ESP. I like Samick. I think the Koreans build the cheap guitars with the highest percentage of actual good ones, and some of their pickups actually aren't that bad.
 
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Richard Monroe said:
Right. You can get it cheaper on ebay, but you can't play it on ebay. Give up the idea that you can buy a cheap guitar you haven't played. Not one *like* it- *that* one. If you buy a cheap guitar remotely, the odds are ten to one that it will suck. The only way to buy a good cheap guitar that you haven't played is to spend a pile of money, or get very, very, lucky.
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Aye, it was kind of joke. But noted - do NOT buy ANYTHING without seeing and hearing it first. No ebay. :)
 
Richard Monroe said:
If you buy a cheap guitar remotely, the odds are ten to one that it will suck.
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Well...I don't know about *cheap* guitars....but honestly, I've bought a bunch of guitars on eBay, and most were keepers and are still hanging on my studio wall.
I don't recall any that just plain sucked....though maybe 1-2 that didn't blow up my skirt, but overall most have been good purchases without issues, and I've gone through a LOT of guitars!

Yeah, it's nice to sit in a music store and have them bring out 4-5 of the same model and you get to try each on and see which is the sweetest of the bunch (I've done that too afew times).....but then you are talking new, and top price (not cheap).

With a used guitar, it is what it is. I guess for a "first" guitar, you might want to be very selective, but I've learned to just treat each new guitar as an individual personality, and accept it as-is.
If you are going to by a particular model used guitar or even a new one online...you could always go to a store that has the same model(s) and at least see if it's what you like...then buy the less expensive one online/used.

AFA the Hagstrom guitars in the UK....???....they should be around, they sell them worldwide, check your local online music stores to see who carries them.
 
I've got a couple of guitar fetish gits and both of them are excellent.

I dunno ..... I guess it depends on what you mean by 'suck'.

For example, personally I don't include how well a git's set-up as part of whether it's any good or not.
I always assume I have to set-up any git anyways ... even if it were a 2000 dollar jobbie.

So for me being set-up well or poorly is a non-factor in whether a git's any good or not.

And with todays computer controlled machines making the things there's no reason a cheapo can't be manufactured with close tolerances.
Now you can run into material variences in some of those countries. I had a Squire tele that was the heaviest thing i've ever picked up and the wood (if that's what it was) was dead as hell.

But in general I'd be FAR more inclined to buy a cheapie sight unseen rather than an expensive git.
YMMV.
 
Lt. Bob said:
For example, personally I don't include how well a git's set-up as part of whether it's any good or not.
I always assume I have to set-up any git anyways ... even if it were a 2000 dollar jobbie.

So for me being set-up well or poorly is a non-factor in whether a git's any good or not.
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^^^^^
Exactly!

If I bought an expensive guitar, I would still want to go over it and do my own set-up on it, but I don't get upset with the less expensive guitars that needed a moire involved overhaul.
I've had a few that were pretty gnarly when I got them...but once set up, the frets re-dressed, and the guitar fine-tuned how I like it...even the worst of the bunch ended up being a sweet guitar afterward.
 
I got an Epi Dot Studio on ebay for $130, barely had to tweak the setup. Got a Chinese Strat clone for $25 on ebay and had to do major setup work on it, including polishing the frets and removing 2 trem springs (could not budge the whammy bar at first!), but the neck was straight.
Hoping the used Taylor I just bought on ebay is ready to play! (but it wasn't 'cheap' compared to the others!)
 
mjbphotos said:
I got an Epi Dot Studio on ebay for $130, barely had to tweak the setup. Got a Chinese Strat clone for $25 on ebay and had to do major setup work on it, including polishing the frets and removing 2 trem springs (could not budge the whammy bar at first!), but the neck was straight.
Hoping the used Taylor I just bought on ebay is ready to play! (but it wasn't 'cheap' compared to the others!)
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All I do is gently brush my guitar with a painting brush so it's free of dust, I've got no knowledge on maintanance or upgrades. Bearing that in mind I'd better be safe and see/play the thing before I buy. I certainly don't doubt there are some bargains to be had on ebay (god knows I've given people a few) but since I needed a few goes on my last guitar before I knew it was the right one, I had better head to a shop for a touch and feel. :D
 
fritsthegirl said:
All I do is gently brush my guitar with a painting brush so it's free of dust, I've got no knowledge on maintanance or upgrades. Bearing that in mind I'd better be safe and see/play the thing before I buy. I certainly don't doubt there are some bargains to be had on ebay (god knows I've given people a few) but since I needed a few goes on my last guitar before I knew it was the right one, I had better head to a shop for a touch and feel. :D
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Aside from all the fine points they are talking about, the most critical maintenance your acoustic needs is *hydration*. Unless you live in a jungle (in London?-not), do this- Get a cheap plastic soap box and punch or drill a bunch of holes in it. Get a sponge, soak it and wring it out just enough so it doesn't drip. Put the sponge in the soap box and put it in your guitar case with the guitar. Replace the water at least once a week. If you don't, you'll eventually notice that the frets are sharp at the edges of the neck, and in time, the top of the guitar will start to bow visibly, screwing up the action and the intonation. Eventually, this will kill the guitar. Don't leave the guitar out of its case whenever you have to use heat in your flat. This will dry the guitar out even faster. That's one of the bitches of home recording. Guitars like humidity, but mics want to be dry.
 
Richard Monroe said:
Aside from all the fine points they are talking about, the most critical maintenance your acoustic needs is *hydration*. Unless you live in a jungle (in London?-not), do this- Get a cheap plastic soap box and punch or drill a bunch of holes in it. Get a sponge, soak it and wring it out just enough so it doesn't drip. Put the sponge in the soap box and put it in your guitar case with the guitar. Replace the water at least once a week. If you don't, you'll eventually notice that the frets are sharp at the edges of the neck, and in time, the top of the guitar will start to bow visibly, screwing up the action and the intonation. Eventually, this will kill the guitar. Don't leave the guitar out of its case whenever you have to use heat in your flat. This will dry the guitar out even faster. That's one of the bitches of home recording. Guitars like humidity, but mics want to be dry.
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Cripes, my poor Tanglewood - thanks for this bit of info, I've been quite a bad parent.
 
fritsthegirl said:
Cripes, my poor Tanglewood - thanks for this bit of info, I've been quite a bad parent.
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The good news is- until the guitar really reaches the terminal stage, humidifying it will bring it back.
 
mjbphotos said:
Acoustics won't bow from drying out, they will bow from being over-humidified. When they dry out, the surfaces can crack from shrinkage. Look at the videos Taylor has linked on this page: Owner Resources | Taylor Guitars
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Yes, you can overhumidify a guitar. Also note that if you ship a Taylor guitar to Taylor without a humidifier in the case, it can void the warranty. I was given that info by a Taylor rep.
 
mjbphotos said:
Acoustics won't bow from drying out, they will bow from being over-humidified. When they dry out, the surfaces can crack from shrinkage. Look at the videos Taylor has linked on this page: Owner Resources | Taylor Guitars
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Interesting video - I always thought the back of my guitar was flat as flat, that's some subtle geometry all right. I checked this with my ruler immediately of course, and indeed, it is curved (the right way). :D Good to learn about that, ta.
 
Richard Monroe said:
Yes, you can overhumidify a guitar. Also note that if you ship a Taylor guitar to Taylor without a humidifier in the case, it can void the warranty. I was given that info by a Taylor rep.
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I do live in a very old drafty house, no central heating, in fact I'm sitting here with a wooly hat on. Can you identify the symptoms of a badly kept guitar before the fret and body losing form? Like maybe it loses it's tuning quickly or something? I guess radically changing the temperature/humidity is never good for a natural material. I remember when I got it home I was tuning it up heaps every time I played it and almost thought it was a bit of a bad buy. But the guy from the shop said to keep it in its bag for a bit and that it would settle down while it adjusted to the change in environment. It did, I always tune it before I play but it actually hardly needs it these days.
 
fritsthegirl said:
I do live in a very old drafty house, no central heating
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I once lived in a house with no heating. Never again........unless I'm close to the equator.
fritsthegirl said:
I always tune it before I play but it actually hardly needs it these days.
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Before I record, I always tune the guitars, bass, double bass or mandolin. I've recorded enough schlop that had out of tune instruments to never want to repeat the frustration inherent in the experience !
 
grimtraveller said:
I once lived in a house with no heating. Never again........unless I'm close to the equator.Before I record, I always tune the guitars, bass, double bass or mandolin. I've recorded enough schlop that had out of tune instruments to never want to repeat the frustration inherent in the experience !
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Living in a house without C-heating does harden you up, esp. in this lovely temperate 'Spring' we're having. I really hate it as well though. I could afford the guitar I wanted because my rent is cheap, but my hands are so cold I can't play it. Roll on summer.

I can't remember where I read it or heard it, it might have been on this forum - about the tuning thing. I do it religiously - I figure it's going to be bad enough without the mare of an out of tune guitar. :)
 
It's sudden changes that can really damage a guitar. A friend was playing at the club where the wall-mounted a/c blew straight down at his part of the stage, cycling on and off constantly. He could not keep his Strat in tune all night!
 
Fritsthegirl, I would no doubt get your axe before monitors. I assume the reason you want an electric guitar is you hear sounds in your head that you wish to express. No such thing will be possible with monitors. For gods sake bring your guitar home :)
 
fritsthegirl said:
BTW was your quote..."I didn't get to be where I am today by being somewhere else!" inspired by Reggie Perrin?
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I think so, but I could never get into Reginald Perrin. I loved Leonard Rossiter's work in the first few series of "Rising damp" so I was rather disappointed with "The rise and fall of.....".
However, about 32 years ago, there was an advert on telly with this bird, Buzby, BUZBY_e57fdd.webptrying to get people into something or other, it might have been British telecom or the post office or something. I forget exactly what. But Buzby and these other birds used to congregate on these phone wires and this pompous one used to say "I didn't get where I am today by being somewhere else !" which I always thought was a great joke that seemed to go right over the nations' head. But not mine. I thought it was {and still is} very logical. The bird was played by the guy that played Perrin's boss, I think, so it was, I suppose, indirectly inspired by him.

By the way, this has nothing to do with guitars or monitors !
 
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