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Hi! I was asked to make a version of this nostalgic song "Nuotiotunnelma" (Engl. Campfire atmosphere) from 1977 movie called Jäniksen vuosi. At the end I added some challenging finger picking part there to give different feel and climax. The basic theme is fun to play and works nicely on background music gigs. Video: Tabs: cheers, Mikko

think ive just found a technique that works. lol i know im talking to myself here. i start plucking 3 strings nice and slow then get faster and faster until im at my max. then stop and start again. and in 2 minutes ive just got faster. ive been playing this for weeks trying to get faster and the start slow and build up speed has worked a treat, thanks for putting that idea in my head dad3353!

Hi there, I just wanted to see what you all thought about the electric guitars I build here in the UK. Been doing it for a while now but wanted to see if I could get more opinions and interest in what I do. We are called Hooker Customs. https://hookercustoms.co.uk/ Our Instagram has more of the latest and past builds.

John Mayall's guitar roster legacy is as impressive as Ozzy's, David Coverdale's or the Stones . RIP John Mayall

Zombie thread time . The Gretsch GAS welled up again to almost unbearable proportions, but I reined myself in, realising that I’m only playing to please myself at the moment and the Casino Coupé is a more than capable guitar. Since the OP, I have fitted new pickups, changed the knobs and made a couple of other aesthetic changes. However, just like the factory fitted Bigsbys on other guitars, with the same break angle over the bridge, tuning stability is questionable. In order to keep the GAS at bay and address this tuning shortcoming, I bought a drop in replacement, roller bridge. Why, oh why did I not do this at the get go? I can attack the Bigsby without fear of a discordant result on return to the resting position. The cost of this miraculous upgrade, less than £22, including delivery. Happy days!

Xotic AC Booster Not made any more. Send it into a Fender amp and it'll give you thick articulate boost overdrive with a little something extra in the character which I haven't identified yet. Just luscious. Way better than a tube screamer and sounds magical with the ODR and Amptweaker below. Amptweaker Tight Rock The original one, it does fabulous distortion. Use whatever boost pedal you want to emphasise a different character. It does plexi as well. Super quiet and robust build. Nobels ODR This took me by surprise but it's an audio oxymoron. Really pleasant sounding overdrive while remaining articulate in the mids and presence frequencies. Great as a boost pedal too. Does everything well. Crowther Hot Cake Utterly unique drive pedal that does fat and grungy sounding distortion which teeters on the edge of fuzz but never quite goes there. It can be used as a boost as well. The presence control really does mids and it can be tweaked to a very entertaining level of intensity. It's the best drive pedal for a Vox AC30. PRS is a fan (which is probably a good thing) Joyo JF14 American Sound A copy of an old Tech 21 pedal. Use the voice control to move between tweed and twin midrange. The only criticism I have is the components are not as durable as they could be. Slightly higher noise floor. Otherwise, warm, articular midrange distortion from a Fender amp, use it with the ODR1 or the AC Booster for different takes on that mid to late seventies Rivera modded Fender thing. Mosky Silver Horse A little more versatile than the Goldern Horse if you are in the market for a Klon clone. Also, if you don't want or can't find an AC Booster, this does something similar but to a lesser degree for the cost of peanuts second hand. Slightly higher noise floor too but I use it as a boost pedal into the amptweaker for modded tones. That's it, I don't need any more drive pedals. Oh wait, there is the MXR Rockman...

Hmm - very interesting…..will investigate that, thanks.

If you get stuck, it would be possible to plug the holes in the neck and the body, then use a standard plate, re-drilling holes appropriately. Just a thought; hope this helps.

Yeah thank you Douglas. I'll give it a few gentle taps myself, and if I dont see any improvement I'll take it to a repairer to get it done properly. I think there is one locally for about £30 an hour.

I could be up for this. I'm not tech savvy though, and only have mobile wifi. Yep, we've came a long way. Anyone else remember buying tab books?

Me giving it some full on A major stuff many years ago on my much loved and sadly missed Washburn HB35 that I got sent from America. UK only had, if I remember right red, natural , and black available. White wasnt an option here, but that's what I wanted. It got stuck at customs because I didnt know about import tax back then☹

I used to play bass too in my earlier years. I got a gig at the local theatre playing guitar for a show, but there were more jobs available for a bass player there, and was told if I get a bass I can have the more work. So I did. I dont have one anymore, but they are great fun. Maybe I'll get one thinking about it.

Hej 42Hz. I am new here as well.

A lot of us are also Basschatters

Thanks so much. Nice making connections with guitarists out there.

Ain't that the truth! I don't think the pound has topped USD1.31 in nearly a decade now. Long gone are the glory days of US2.20 to the pound. Back in 2008, I was buying things online from the US I could have bought in a shop here, but getting them for half the London price, even after including shipping and import. Not a chance of that now.

Good morning, @Hooker Customs, and ... ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

Ahh fixed. Didn't see I could upload photos on here

Fantastic looking. I also have Gretsch GAS on a regular basis, I love the look of the hollow bodied and the Bigsby, even though I don't use vibratos usually. But I also just play for my own amusement so try to content myself with the numerous guitars I already have. In fact, I have enough parts to probably make another 2 or 3 complete instruments, so that should keep me busy. My wife says I tinker with them more than I actually play them these days.

Only 'frowned upon' when out of context; both are correct in the right place. There's a lot of useful explanation, easy enough to assimilate, here... Reddit : Is Eb the same as D#..? ... Hope this helps.

And they way things are going, it'll probably be a while longer.

... or down, for a 'quick sale'.

If this is right, https://www.mooreguitars.com/dating-fender-american-models , they had a Z on the start of US serial numbers from 2000-2009. I suppose they started with just numbers, then an A, then... and so on. No idea what they do post 2009, it's been a very long time since I could think of even looking at the US guitars financially.

Besides everything else of course, he will always remain for me the father of Mike Taylor, who flew away like a free bird in the solo of Sympathy For The Devil in the live in Get Yer Ya Ya's Out !

Yeah, I think you might be right. MX for Mexico, JD for Japan, Z for... Zimbabwe? That powerhouse of African musical instrument manufacture

Because I was big fan of Robben Ford, I stopped using reverb and just went for a short delay (snapback, or thereabouts) because I read somewhere that he didn't use reverb as it could muddy things up too much. Also being a Brian Setzer fan, this all sounded to be what I wanted. I bought a Line6 DL4 and thoroughly happy with that. I've long since parted company with everything I had back then, as I was concentrating on playing bass. Fast forward to now and I'll still choose short delay over reverb (although both together can be OK, if used sparingly) and, to sate my echo needs, I bought a Behringer analog delay, works fine, albeit in a plastic case. All that said, if I were gigging regularly, I'd probably look at a Boss RE-2 as that would do everything I want, what with emulating the classic Space Echo (more Setzer influence).

I’d forgotten how rewarding it can be to fit the right strings (for me at least) to an acoustic guitar. New strings on an electric are fine, but fitting a new set on an acoustic just makes it sing or, at least, can do. I bought my Inspired By Gibson, Hummingbird a fair while back. The strings it came with (12s) were fine, but a bit heavy for me. When I bought it, I picked up a set of D’Addario 10s and fitted them straight away. Nice guitar that it is, it didn’t have that Goldilocks thing of being just right with those strings. I refitted the original 12s and it was better, but still heavy for me and I’ve stuck with them for a fair while. Whilst buying something completely unrelated on Amazon, the other day, I remembered that the strings on my other, steel strung acoustic are really nice and that I bought them from Mr Bezos’ online empire. I checked my order history, to check what they were again, and I bought another set of them for the Hummingbird, DR Rare 11s. Just finished fitting them (complete with the inevitable puncture wound in a fingertip ) and what a difference! Yes, it sings because of the newness of the strings, but there’s something else, full bottom end (ooh, er, Mrs!), singing highs, supportive mids, properly loud and the tension is just right, I have achieved that Goldilocks balance of tone and playability. Therefore, if you have an acoustic that’s not delivering what you want, just try changing the strings for something you know works on other guitars, or take a punt on a previously untried brand/type of string, it might just be the thing you’ve been looking for and is cheaper than buying a new guitar (not that buying new guitars is bad, but needs must and all that).

This just in.... the head plus 1x12" is gonig to win. It'll probably be the Summer before I'm ready to order (this is set as a reward for myself when I get our spare room cleared out and turned into a proper home office, which will also then be where I'll have my guitars kept; also need to sell a few bits to fun this and other new stuff), but I fell in with an ebay deal on one of those Mooer Baby Bomb 30w pedal preamps, which would combine nicely with the Joyo American Sound as a preamp - the idea being if I want a louder sound or ever play out of the house again, I can take the pedals and a speaker box rather than cart a heftier amp about. (Also allows for the 15watt head at home with the same speaker if ever I move to a house where that's an option).

It comes as standard with 9-42 strings (possibly Fender). I’d stick with that gauge (either Fender, Ernie Ball or D’Addario) until you find out if you like how that gauge feels, or if you’d like some heavier or lighter. As you’re just starting it’s about getting some mileage under you fingers.

Welcome Jean Bon. Your surname isn't Jovi, by any chance?

If you run into Adam Corolla, tell him he can stay with me while guvnah newsome is planning Cali 2.0

The wonderful Guy Pratt.

Tried one of the Yamahas, I thought it was amazing.

There's something odd looking about the serial number. the Z2 looks to be in a different typeface to the rest of it.

Hi! Here is beautiful gypsy jazz style waltz that is orginally a Finnish song called Karjalan kaunis Kerttu (Engl. Beautiful Kerttu from Karelia). It's made by Matti Jurva and Tatu Pekkarinen somewhere around end of 30's and beginning of 40's. I fell in love with the song that has so beautiful melody, harmony and story. It's about love and longing for Kerttu who stayed in Viipuri. The singer hopes to see her again, marry her and have a wedding in Pyöreä Torppa. The song is made in a time when Finland was in war with Russia and lost Viipuri and most of Karelia Region. Video Cheers, Mikko

It's a ways off yet and I need to clear out some stuff first, but I'm looking at the Tube 5. Torn between the Champalike combo version, and the head... I *do* have a spare Vox 2x12 I was toying with the idea of using with the head, then I thought I'll probably sell that became the cream 1x10" that they brought out looks so much nicer with it (I doubt at home volume levels the extra size and doubling of the speaker would be a huge benefit). Also toyed with the notion of trying to find out whether I could also, as an option, run the head though some sort of speaker emulation box instead of the speaker and use headphones occasionally. (I think the 15 has a headphone socket, but it's getting into a lot more capability I'll never use, and the simplicity of the 5 really appeals more.) Course, the attraction of the separate head and speaker also means I could 'trade up/ speakers at a later stage, OR if I ever did decide I had a use for the 15, use it with the 1x10 as well.... Trying to avoid buying a whole pile of amp stuff, of course, and not overdoing it as the whole object it to clear out a stack of unused stuff (Vox AD120VT & the VC12 footboard, matching 2x12, and an early 70s Silverface Bassman 100, as well as a few guitars. I'm halfway hoping I can shift all the stuff that has to go for enough to buy myself a Player II Strat, or maybe a 5xxx series Gretsch used as well). Thanks, that would work for me. I've got a whole bunch of EU adaptors lying around as I do a few runs in and out of Paris for work every year, but I seem still to keep having to rebuy the damn things every September, no idea what I keep doing with them...

legally they have to supply mains powered items with a uk plug of some type, I've had some items delivered with an adapter ready fitted (mostly fixed lead items) and others they have included a separate uk power lead (this comes up on the invoice as a separate item with a price of 0.00. I'm not sure what they do with items that use a separate power adapter as i've only ordered 240v stuff so far. what are you thinking of ordering? Matt

I'm afraid not, this is one that's definitely staying, It's the only semi acoustic i own and my son has now taken up guitar and has his eye on it as well. I have a bad habit of not selling guitars, I think over the nearly 30 years i've been playing i've only sold maybe 3 or 4 guitars, and many have been to friends on the understanding that if they ever want to sell i have first refusal. I have a bit of a hoarding problem when it comes to guitars. Matt

I can play a bit like that - all lefties can of course, because the obvious - but it's not something I've ever seriously tried to develop.

Update * New Origin Rig

Ah yes, I see. You could use a multi DI such as the Behringer Ultra DI800 as that would give 8 DI inputs and 8 balanced XLR outputs into the H8. A much cheaper option than changing your interface.

I’d go with the Tonemaster. In various head to heads with its valve equivalent, tested by valve lovers, it has fared very well. Does it sound exactly the same? No, but then neither do 2 Deluxe Reverbs from different eras. The TMs sound really, really good (the guitarist in the band band where I play bass has one), they’re light, reliable (valve amps can be cranky when carted around and shoved in and out of cars/vans/etc) and have the attenuator built in, something extra you’d have to buy with a valve amp. I’ve owned great sounding and very average sounding valve amps, I’ve also owned solid state ones that other players thought were valve (take a bow Tech21). I currently own a hybrid Fender, which is becoming cranky, because of one of the valves. If I were buying now, I’d look at the TMs, a Roland Blues Cube (if I could find one), or a Jazz Chorus. YMMV.

From what I've read, Vox think that it is indeed a sort-of direct equivalent. I'm not sure if it's catching on, though. Recently, I purchased an MVX150C1 (Nutubes in preamp and power amp) but I think they're discontinued; the one I got was the last in stock at PMT and at a discounted price. I've not had chance to try it at a jam, gig or rehearsal yet but the tone seems good to me and I'd guess that it would be loud enough (150W class D 1x12"). Whilst they were generally available they didn't appear to be very popular, as far as I can tell. I've also got a VX50 GTV (Nutube in the preamp) and this has proven to be loud for its size and very portable.

Yes, very sad. A good innings though. Saw the Bluesbreakers play once in Guildford. Cracking gig.

This does not necessarily answer the question but: headphones, including good expensive headphones colour the sound. That's good, that's on purpose, and that's part of their selling point. I have the Sony wh1000xm3 and I love them. Lovely warm sound, the bass guitar in songs can be heard very clearly, though maybe a bit at the expenses of the drum sometimes, and it can get boomy. Now, when I play instruments - mainly the bass - I do not want any of that. I want headphones to give me a flat response, with minimal to no alteration of frequencies. Sames as a sound engineer would do. The sound is already coloured by amps and pedals that are designed to enhance my instrument specifically. If I go through headphones that alter the sound, I end up making choices in terms of amps/pedals settings in response to that, which I guess would not give me the sound I have in mind in other contexts. So in that sense I do nof find the expensive sony to be good. And I find some cheaper ArsTechnica I have to be better. So, flat response, clarity and detail even at high volumes would be my idea of headphones for a musician. I can imagine somebody triying to make headphones to make the guitar sound "better" but what's the advantage of that? Headphones are meant for practice and learning about tone. And how do you define "better" anyway?

I’ve tried a Zoom rehearsal and it was awful. The latency wasn’t too bad when talking but long enough to make music awful. Is Sonobus any better?

Tanglewood guitars are designed in the UK, and manufactured in China. Yours looks to be maple, but obviously can't be sure without more pictures. Hope this helps.

A bit late to the party here but I have a Mooer Ocean Machine and it's a very nice bit of kit. Mooer seem to be lifting their game and price points but that means their cheaper pedals are built to the same standard as their expensive ones. So yeah, have a look at Mooer...and Joyo too.

I've used a Zoom G1Xon for the last few years. Cheap as chips and does quite a lot.