Leaderboard

Both of my acoustics are currently tuned in different types of open C to play a couple of Led Zep songs. Even though I prefer a light gauge set of strings, there is no appreciable difference (other than the sound) to the feel or playability of the guitars. Both are 24.75” scale. Open tunings for acoustic guitar has been very much a thing for players for ages and they just retune their standard guitars. If you are going to keep one a whole tone lower than standard all the time, you might want to try a slightly heavier gauge next time you change strings, but other than that (and maybe a truss rod tweak, nothing drastic), just crack on as you are.

I've been waiting on this for two months and today, it finally arrived. First impression, out of the box, is that it feels like a solid, quality little amp. The cloth grille looks and feels much better than the included black plastic one. There is a nice sturdy brass screw to hold the strap on. The volume knob is plastic, but it turns well enough. The presets button is also button, but gives a nice, positive click when pressed. The body is covered with a thick rubberised layer and feels good in the hand. Size wise, it is tiny. It's shorter than my phone, about the same width, but obviously deeper. So far so good. Now how does it sound. Straight off when I plugged it in, it didn't sound fantastic. It is pretty loud, but it is sort of tinny. There are four presets on the hardware and a lot more on the app, once connected to your phone. Its never going to compete with a 10, 15 or 20 Watt practice amp, but for a little amp that you can sling in your guitar bag or case it's great and that's the reason I bought it. Currently, I'm away for a few nights, every few weeks. If I take my guitar, I have to bring my amp. My amp is only a 20Watt practise amp and isn't large or heavy, but I usually have to bring my laptop and a monitor, an overnight bag and sometimes my camera, so having the Go will be one less thing for me to have to carry. I'm sure I'll be able to get a better sound from it once I start playing with the settings. If you are looking to buy a replacement for your practice amp, this isn't the one for you, but for something to take when you don't want to lug an amp about, it's ideal.

I've heard of folks favouring a slightly heavier string for this (more a thing with electric rather than acoustics), but yeah, I can't see it being an issue. I once tuned by ear and played a full step down for a week or so before I realised - nothing different than the norm. (As an aside, for years I felt that I was cheating by using a capo until the penny dropped that it's no different than using an alternate tuning. I particularly liked playing d chord shapes with the capo on 1 - basically playing in e flat, but with a much brighter tone than down tuning half a step and playing E shapes. AFAIK it's how Dylan recorded Blowin' In The Wind.)

I have done exactly this, as well as just purchased necks on eBay as they sometimes have tuners included. Got a great Squier Korean maple neck and an even greater Aria XL neck 9with sharkfin inlays) in this way. Don't have to worry about varnish then either.

Ah, didn't know it was gone entirely! I remember those preformal nights, about five songs that were "our" stuff, then us all thinking it was a great idea tot tit bout to stuff like 'Rhythm is a dancer' the rest of the night... fun times. In the days before mobiles, I missed Darren's eighteenth due to a glitch in meet-up times (if memory serves, the party wither skipped Dobbins' Inn, or was late to it). I remember the photos, though.... carnage is not the word!

You may be over-thinking this, I feel. It's not at all unusual for guitars (acoustic or electric...) to have different tunings, and they cope with these variations very well, regardless of their construction or string choice. It's even a 'standard' procedure, for some acoustic 12-strings, to tune down a tone and use a capo at the second fret, to reduce tension on the bridge, which sometimes have a tendency to 'belly', warping the table. That's an extreme example; tuning down a tone or so will have no effect on the guitar that an eventual tweak of the truss-rod can't cope with. Tune it as you think fit, and choose any strings that you're happy playing with, for feel, tone, longevity etc. Down-tuning is not an issue, whatever the guitar, in my opinion and experience. Hope this helps. Disclaimer : subject to completion, correction and/or contradiction from others.

Ace of Spades on the jukebox upstairs and condensation on the dance floor mirror, in the night club. Sadly no longer there. It burned down a few years ago. I have a couple of photos somewhere of a very drunk Darren Calwell in the 'Gate, on his 18th.