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Nice - that combination of the Western US military star and a black Tele puts me in mind of Joe Strummer, Punk Rock Warlord. My HB MR Classic arrived recently, this is is being unboxed: Is it just me, or are some people on eBay going a bit mad with these? I've just seen one of the F-Offset-types HB on eBay with a start price not far off double what Thomann has them in stock for!

Last weekend, my daughter asked to have a go on my guitar. She heard me play a single note that reminded her of something and asked me what "that song is? You know, the one that goes (hums tune I don't recognise)". Eventually, after a few more clues and using my dad psychic abilities, I realised she meant "Misirlou" by Dick Dale and the Deltones. SO I worked out the notes for it and she spent most of the weekend trying to play it. Now, she has never really played guitar before and had a strumming action similar to a stuck windmill sail, but she was enjoying it. She also had a go at Master of Puppets and a bit of Nirvana. Then when I was out of the room I heard a couple of recognisable tunes and realised that she was looking at one of my books and was having a go at "Sex on Fire" and "Cigarettes and Alcohol". I was impressed that she was having a go and even managed to produce something recognisable, so I've decided to get her an electric guitar of her own. I've ordered a Mooer Hornet modelling amp (£105 from Thomann) and today went down to the local guitar shop to look at one of the new Squier Sonic series Telecasters (I considered a TE-62DB from Harley Benton, but wanted to get a guitar from a shop that would be set up already, without having to worry that I might have to return it or pay for a setup). I went in and asked to try the black model. The guy got a cable, got the guitar, plugged it in and left me to it. I played for a bit and then started to examine the guitar and that's when I noticed a lump out of the finish where my arm was resting. I had a notion that they only had one black one in stock. I pointed the chip out to the guys in the shop and they were gutted, not at me obviously. The guy I'd been dealing with even said that he wouldn't have minded if someone had done it and said to them. To damage the instrument and hang it up again before walking away is just a really sh***y thing to do. Anyway, they've ordered a new one for me and it should be here within the week.

I know! I looked to see if there was a way to report it to ebay, but no dice. Pretty sure they used to have something that said "price gouging" in their report categories. I would get it if it was a rare / oop colour, or they'd stopped doing them left handed or something, but the model colour and all is on the Thomann website for about £100 or more less than the start price there.... Hate the thought of someone getting caught out by that, especially some young kid saving up for a guitar, or somebody's granny or whomever.

Chancers!

Interesting thought - I don't doubt it. I wonder how much it's a product of things like engineers getting involved in designing guitars, and the fact that over time we've simply been able to better measure these things. Technically, at least.... I've always been wryly amused by people who'll pay big money for superior hifi equipment that yes, on paper is better, and yes, that can be objectively measured..... but when it gets to the point that the human ear can't distinguish it.... TBH, I also suspect a lot of this has to do with it being a very male-driven industry. There's a viw that all men are somewhere on the spectrum by default, and it's hard to refute that when you look at the difference between how men engage in hobbies and how women do it... Vibrato is something I'll ort of use if it's there, though mostly I'm very much a 'give the bar a wobble at the end of a number' kind of player. Fingerbending vibrato seems to come more naturally to me. I don't much miss a vibrato if it's not there. TBH, the real reason I'd love a Bigsby is just the look of the thing - it's pure art. I don't need to actually use it. Their most practical purpose imo is curing the neck dive on an SG.

This guy might be able to help with that...

A parts-assembly one would also be interesting.... As very much a Fender/Fender style man myself, I would love the idea of something in between - pre-done necks, bodies with pre-cut pup / neckpocket / bridge / et al routes, but a huge, square blank otherwise so they could be cut into a custom shape... that would be interesting. (Wonder why that's never been on the parts market before - unless I missed it?). The set-up course sounds great, too - that's something I can see me benefitting from in a big way.

Good one. Really nice when the children are interested. Niether of mine interested in guitar at all, but my son was keen on learning my upright bass and settled eventually on the accordion (of all things), so at least we can have a minor jam...

That sounds like a great idea, we could do a GC build workshop! My plan for semi retirement (still a few years away) is to do one of those longer 3 months courses, where you learn literally everything and end up building several instruments to get up closer to the skill level needed to build a custom guitar like this. My personal choice would be a lightweight, thinline esquire / LP jr / cabronita type arrangement with a single Gretsch pickup or p90. But there is a place down in Sussex (www.guitartechcourses.com - Guitar Tech Courses) that offers a shorter weekend course to build F styled guitar using various parts. I did their Pro Setup course (a present from my wife), which has to be the best money ever spent on guitar pursuits, so I suspect the building course would be a similar level of quality. I am comfortable now mixing and matching but never attempted frets or carving anything!

Intonation is, I would suggest, a bit over-blown, really. How many acoustic guitars have adjustable saddles..? Many arch-tops have movable bridges that are slanted as best as is needed for this compensation. Nothing wrong with individual string adjustment, of course, but I doubt the real effectiveness when playing 'normally', for most ears. If it's just for show, why not, but a pencil as a bridge held in place with an elastic band works, too. As for vibratos, of any sort... An invention of Beelzebub. I'll have no truck with 'em.

Good to see another southpaw in the house! (One of us! One of us!) I have my old Epi LP Std hanging on the wall, this makes me think what I should do with it. It's still at the point of not being worth enough to encourage me to part with it. I'm in two minds about keeping stock, or switching the pups for some nice HB-sized P90s, and adding one of those Bigsbyesque kinda sorta trems that don't need any permanent mods.... If I do go there, I'll most likely also have it rewired for Master Tone, Master volume, and individual pickup volumes. Much more sensible than the standard arrangement, imo.... (Looking at that Antoria also makes me wonder why Gibson never played the home advantage and gave their Epiphones the "proper" headstock.... ) A black guard would look nice on the Aria, though I'd check carefully first.... might be worth looking at the feasibility of having a custom one cut, as those Stratalikes often vary just enough from a Fender/Squier part for most of the readily available options to be an awful amount of work to not quite fit.

Bought it? For thirty quid, you stole it. A friend had one of these years ago - surprisingly nice for what was considered a very budget model. I loved the basic design - stripped back to MT & MV, and the switch in a sensible place!

I hear you. One day I'd love to go on one of those guitar-building courses where you put it together over a couple of long weekends, building from scratch with expert tuition and guidance.... We should one day have a GuitarChat get together at one of these.... This is a fantastic project, really impressive to see it coming together. I always wanted a guitar that is somewhere between a Firebird, an RD Artist and a Squier Supersonic. Fender 68 Strat style maple net with the CBG headstock, blue sparkle body. I did always say I wanted a bolt on, but seeing this I could imagine myself wanting to go for a through neck, that's something I've never had....

"My guitar's so bright, I gotta wear shades..." Well, it scans... Those do look fun. I'm very tempted by the Recording King Dirty 30s over at Thomann. There's something about a cheapo acoustic as long as it plays well.... won't appeal to the people who buy Lowdens and what have you, but somehow those cheapies feel a lot closer to what Robert Johnson and the likes were playing back in the day. Reminiscent of that philosophy Jack White espoused in his White Stripes days, about buying cheap guitars because they tended to be quirkier and have "character". Be interested to hear how you get on with it if you do pick one up. Of course you will also be obligated to play some of your teenage Slayer faves on it for the craic...

The little amp has arrived. I opened it just to check that it works and had a very quick play through it. It's very light, but the knobs, buttons and switches all feel fine. It sounds great. I played through the a few of the presets they all sound superb. There's a built in tuner, which will be useful for my daughter. It's all boxed up again until her birthday.

Yes, his is very true - and the reason why I don't think we'll see the end of the traditional amp in the immediate future - though I suspect for Big Names an awful lot more of them will gravitate to playing in front of a wall of empty cabs that are just there for show... Smaller bands (and bands made up of the usual guitarluddites, of course!) will still need an amp... though if the pedals are good enough, maybe that amp might be a much lighter and simpler ss or similar than the tube monster it might once have been (luddism allowing).