Funny Thing Happened While Giving Guitar Lesson Today...

  • Thread starter Thread starter stevieb
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stevieb

Just another guy, really.
I reached up to my guitar wall and pulled down the strat copy with the Epiphone OBL pups on it. Now, I've been playing that guitar, equipped like that, for years, even have the same strings on it for several months. Always sounded decent, if not thrilling. But today, it sounded like the runs- thin and crappy. I was almost embarrased to be playing it, but this student is such a noob he would have no idea what to listen for.

Now I don't know what to do with it. It's a lefty, and a cheap ply body, so I can't easily sell it, and won't get much for it, anyway. Can't really go back to the pups that were on it- they are cheap Yamaha ones that sound even worse. I can't afford to get Lace sensors or something, and certainly can't afford to go experimenting with the hundreds of pups and thousands of different illiterations that are available. As I play lefty, I know I won't find many guitars I can audition for the pups in them- and I find that spending 30 minutes with a guitar in Guitarget is really just a waste of time- nothing I can learn in that environment.

But what is really mystifying me is how the bad tone seemed to just come from out of nowhere. Yesterday, it sounded fine. Today, crap.

If I DO find some cash under the mattress, any pup suggestions? I play mostly blues and rock, have a 'Paul with 59 Burstbucker pros (so have the Gibson sound knocked) also have A Westone with HSS setup and tap and splitter- I would want to stay with single coils on this guitar, for sure.

But mostly, just mystified...
 
Try a new set of strings before making any mods. Several months is too long for the same strings to stay on any electric, too long on any guitar but most noticable on electrics. About a month (maybe 6 weeks) is the average life of a set of strings. If you teach you should be setting a good example and always have fairly new strings on anything you play.
One of the first things I teach any student is how to change their own strings and tune their guitar for themselves. They may not know much about music yet but they do know if I am out of tune or have bad strings. The way you treat your instrument(s) and how well you take care of them will make a lasting impression on an aspiring student, and make you look and sound better in the process.
 
+1001! as much as i'm tempted to start recommending pickups, fresh strings are the cheapest upgrade. always rewarding. i find that for me regular d'addario nickelplated strings last longer than other brands.

also, make sure that you didn't accidentally turn down the volume/tone knobs on the guitar and then forgot about them - sometimes that'll do it. or possibly even a bad cable (or jack connection)?

but strings are strings.


Dani Pace said:
Try a new set of strings before making any mods. Several months is too long for the same strings to stay on any electric, too long on any guitar but most noticable on electrics. About a month (maybe 6 weeks) is the average life of a set of strings. If you teach you should be setting a good example and always have fairly new strings on anything you play.
One of the first things I teach any student is how to change their own strings and tune their guitar for themselves. They may not know much about music yet but they do know if I am out of tune or have bad strings. The way you treat your instrument(s) and how well you take care of them will make a lasting impression on an aspiring student, and make you look and sound better in the process.
Click to expand...
 
You know, I forgot that! But still, the change was, literally, overnight. That's what seems so wierd...
 
maybe it's the amp?

or a soldering point within the guitar? just because you're saying it sounds "thin". I don't think old strings sound thin overnight. I don't even think strings start to sound thin any time.

or maybe it's your ears :D. if you've been listening to a lot of low-end-heavy stuff just right before :p, nah, just joking.
 
I'll bet you a kick in the ass that you have a dirty pickup selector switch.
 
six said:
maybe it's the amp?

or a soldering point within the guitar? just because you're saying it sounds "thin". I don't think old strings sound thin overnight. I don't even think strings start to sound thin any time.

or maybe it's your ears :D. if you've been listening to a lot of low-end-heavy stuff just right before :p, nah, just joking.
Click to expand...

agree 100%...

wassup six dude...
 
I second the dirty pickup switch diagnosis. If it's not that, it could be a newly scratch pot or weak solder connection at the jack or ground. If it's not that, my next guess would be something has gone faulty with the pickups - broken magnet, broken conductor, something like that.

Unless the unspoken part of this story is "it literally happened overnight... after I watched for the first time "The Song Remains The Same" on a 79" widescreen TV with 1000 watts of home theater sound" and now my guitar sounds lame. If that's the case, don't worry, that (or something similar) happens to all of us. The problem here is that you have achieved an improper balance of the three key ingredients to rocking out. You are filled to the brim with rock n roll, but you are running low on sex and drugs. Increase your sex and drugs dosages and your guitar sound will immediately return to awesome. :D
 
It could well be a technical glitch...

But when this happens to me (which it occasionally does) it has always turned out to be the fingers and the ears having a bad day, not the guitar. One possible cure for bad finger mojo is to give them a day's workout on mandolin or banjo (or in extreme cases bagpipes or viola) - that usually brings them to their senses. Scares the hell out them, and they behave for weeks afterwards...

Cheers,

Chris
 
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