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There's a little trick to do, now and again, to evaluate progress that's been made. Play something (anything, even badly...) on the guitar. Now reverse the guitar, and try playing that same thing left-handed. That's how you started out; the difference between them is the progress you've made. Do this every couple of months, or when you think you've stalled. My 'best' guitar (I've several...) is a Hofner Comittee, so named because it was designed by a committee of top guitarists at the time, one of whom was Bert Weedon. He played on a Comittee for a quite a quite a while. Here's mine... Allow me to add some wise words of encouragement, to help you on your journey... 'It's the first forty years that are the hardest, after which things sometimes tend to get slightly easier.'

I'm sure there's probably some way of doing it; probably involving soaking the teatowel in epoxy resin or something like that.

Welcome!

Thanks Douglas, I will work with all that and see where I get, very helpful Peter

I think I may have fixed this issue. While other strings are on order, I decided to try a bit more honing. With a mixture of diamond tips bullet and ball shaped, finishing with cutting paste on the end of a cotton bud. I didn't want re profile the block so just the minimum. I played it continuously for a couple of hours giving the trem a bit of a beating, my conclusion is that the sharp edge inside could have been the problem. After saying this it may break tomorrow but it appeared a definite improvement. I couldn't do the double spacer idea because it protruded too far out of the back of the trem block and would foul the body.

Typically, during the sound check before a concert, the guitar level in the mix will be set my the sound engineer at the desk. Whilst it's the guitarists turn, he will ask for the 'normal' guitar level, and then the 'Fx' level, and may ask for an adjustment of the balance between the two. It there's no engineer, or if there's no guitar through the PA, it's up to the guitarist (and the band as a whole...) to sort out the relevant levels before the concert. There is no absolute rule, but, in general, fuzz, distortion, overdrive etc need not be so loud as one might imagine. Basically one would aim at having the perceived 'loudness' pretty much equal between clean and fuzz. Once the levels are set for the band, for the venue and for the song, it shouldn't need tweaking at all. If there's a lot of boosting going on for some songs, a second pedal, after the fuzz, to be able to 'up' the level a little might be a Good Idea. If there's even more going on, a programmable Fx becomes useful, and learning how to 'tap-dance' for switching between patches does the job. As you see, there's no 'silver bullet'; start with the simple way (get the levels about equal...) and work up from there by experience, listening to recordings of your rehearsal, for instance. Hope this helps... Douglas

Good evening, @Strumbarmy, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

It's the perception that distorted is loud, at least this what I have suffered from in the past. Add to that, playing in your personal practise space, is very different to playing with a band in bigger rooms. What's probably happening is the fuzz is compressing your signal somewhat and possibly adding some harmonics that are matching what's going on with the other instruments. If your fuzz has any kind of EQ, try adding treble. Although it might sound like a wasp in a jam jar soloed, in the mix it might be just the job. Another route is to have a dry/wet mix so that you maintain some of you 'clean' tone.

@Dad3353The guitar shop is about 2hrs drive away - I just didn't fancy driving there and back in a day in my car so thought I'd use the van - I have to make an effort to use the van in the winter months so - it's an excuse really - I have an electric bike but like most if them - it's big and heavy - possible I could squeeze it in the van when it is clean - no so keen once it's covered in crap - I haven't got a carrier and probably won't get one unless my wife gets a bike too - they just invite problems with gits trying to steal stuff. We have thought about getting a little folding Brompton but they aren't cheap either. I'll go - I just want better weather for walking, a close campsite and maybe plan another couple of nights at somewhere else to make a bit of a trip of it - the aim of the van was never to drive for hours or for miles and use a load of fuel up - it was to explore places. I haven't been to Stratford for years. I prefer to take my time and to look and try different guitars - it's a very personal thing - I'd say most if the guitarists I know (not many in real life) just order guitars without ever having tried them - there's no way I'd ever do that - that might account for why most of them buy and then end up selling guitars - I run all of mine into the ground - nothing lasts forever. It's got a bit harder now because so many small guitar shops have closed down and many really don't hold that much stock - I'd have to head into big cities like Manchester and Birmingham and I really hate doing that - one of my daughters lives in Sheffield and I know there are a couple of places there with a decent amount of stock. I will report back once I've been.

I've given my Seagull S6 a stay of execution - I don't want to string her along - next time - my axe is getting axed. It was a £200 guitar 20 years ago - how much does a refretting cost and would it be worth it?

Quick update after I had an hour to pop in to a guitar shop. I tried a few things but the one that clicked for me was a Reverend club king 290. Although it's a 25.5 inch scale it didn't feel a stretch. It balances as well as my jag. It's semi hollow but feels more chambered than other semis. The tones were amazing though. Really responsive to touch, and the bass cut and tone knobs give lots of scope for changing sounds. Anyway, I'll have my eye out for one of these. If I can flog something off I might even trat myself to a new one.

@FrankAtari @EdwardMarlowe I didn't think I was going to get any replies - GC didn't seem that active last time I looked. I just took the strings off my 20yo Seagull S6 - a soft cedar top - and OMG - I haven't changed the strings for ages and seen how worn the frets and fretboard are - I'm thinking about not bothering with new strings - actually it plays fine. I actually wanted 2 guitars so I could keep one for messing about in alternative tunings - I might use the Seagull for this now. It's a lovely guitar - more suited I always think to fingerstyle which is something I do a bit more of but it's not something that comes as naturally as I'd like - I do choose guitars on how they feel in my hands - I'm not totally wedded to the idea that the sound is everything - I have friends that have bought expensive guitars and just fell out of love with them quite quickly - sometimes for sound and sometimes for playability - so the feel in your hands does matter a lot IMHO. I previously had a Yamaha that I really loved - solid rosewood back and sides with sitka spruce top - what I liked what the dynamic range - it handled me thrashing a chord out much better than the Seagull. TBH - it took me quite a while to warm to the Seagull - it has a lovely neck - slightly wider than the Yamaha but I'd prefer to head back to the sound of that Yamaha. Moneywise - well - I have the money to buy whatever grabs me - it could be £1k - or as much as £4k - I don't normally spend this much on anything - I just have some cash put aside for this - it's been there for several years - Covid etc got in the way, partly... the thing is I don't hanker after new things and I don't like paying over the odds for name brands - I'm a pretty cynical guy - I never wax lyrical about anything. So Richards Guitars - I'm prepared to take a look at but I'm not of the mindset that thinks I'm going to find the holy grail - it's just another way to sell guitars - I have time to arrange a visit now - I was interested in the experiences of other people that have been there and ideally, bought something. I'm very open to a second hand guitar - it's like second hand books - the best ones are the ones that look like they've definitely been read IMHO. 21/1/23 - 2pm PS - What I don't spend on my next guitar is available to be spent on another acoustic, another electric or another bass or... something for my music.