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Get some wood. Kicking off with a Martin from circa 1840 with original hard case, but a dodgy newer bridge... which will soon replaced with an original looking one when I get some cash!

A topic for photos of folks' Builds. I'll start it off with a photo of the guitar built by Our Eldest, and finished (but are they ever really finished..?) the other day. It plays well, too... Over to you, then; show us your Builds...

You mention 'fast position and chord changes'. My single piece of advice would be to solve this issue by doing things slowly. Slow is the new fast. Slow is the fastest way to do fast. Whatever it is you're wanting to do, do it slowly, preferably with a metronome, or whatever you use for tempo, but set it to slow. Do whatever it is you are wanting to do, slowly, for a while (two, three weeks..? Every day, for ten-fifteen minutes..? Slowly..!). Once it can be done, slowly, well, up the tempo a little. No, just a little (60 bpm becomes 65 bpm, for example...) do this, regularly, for another 'while', and once you've become proficient at it, up the tempo a tad more (65 becomes 70..?). Repeat; if, after a 'while' it's still not smooth, clean, easy, go back down a tad with the tempo and repeat. It is useful, and recommended, to start from the original 'slow' tempo now and again, for a day or so, working back up to one's current tempo, as a refresher. Always with the metronome, or whatever you use for tempo. This is the way to obtain whatever speed one wants, and is the guaranteed fastest way. Is there a downside..? Yes, it requires a large bucketful of Patience. Those without this essential accessory will not achieve their goal, so be sure to have that bucket, and keep it well topped up. It is of no advantage to do this for hours on end, nor too many times a day, but if time permits, a couple or three sessions of 10-15 minutes (no more...) may be permitted. The key is in the regularity (every day...), in the keeping the tempo slow (hence the metronome or equivalent...) and the Patience. It cannot, and never does, fail. Douglas

Any excuse to post an image of my 66 Tele

Here we are, the morning after my first gig* as a guitarist and I’m wondering what I was worried about. Apart from the fact that it got really cold when the sun went in** which made fretting a challenge at times, everything went fine and the GR55 was incredible (hilarious watching people looking for the sax player when I did the solo in Dancing In The Moonlight). A little tense before we started but any nerves there were, as @ezbass predicted, vanished as soon as I played the first note. Thanks all for the wise words. *Private party outdoors, socially distanced and within the guidelines. **That happens.

OK - here's one of my recent lightweight builds. Built for my sister-in-law at 25" scale length and 5lbs 3oz total weight. Amboyna top, oak back (from her late mother's mantlepiece), maple/purpleheart/mahogany neck :

I don't think I've posted here before - I'm a member of basschat.co.uk, but after playing bass for decades, lately I've been singing and playing mandolin and octave mandolin. I don't actually play guitar, though I have a couple of guitar-shaped objects in my collection - an acoustic guitar bodied octave mandolin, and earlier this year a local guitar builder converted a copy of a Gibson SG to mandolin for me. I'm currently working towards a Rock School grade 2 acoustic guitar exam... with a mandolin!

Six months ago I bought my Hohner acoustic guitar when I decided it was about time I started to play again, I then purchased an Epiphone Gibson Les Paul Studio 2. This week my wife brought home an acoustic classical guitar that was going to be sent to the tip. I soon realised that it's previous owner had restrung it incorrectly with the strings fitted in the wrong order, there is also a little damage to it but I figured for the price of a set of strings it was worth messing about with. Three days on and aside from the new strings taking a while to stretch its not a bad little thing to mess about with, and I have been trying a few of the easy classical pieces that I used to play. All very basic stuff ( probably aimed at primary school leve) but I am enjoying it!

And...it's finished!!!! The 'last few jobs' always turn out to be a 'myriad of final jobs. Anyway, all sorted. I'm passing it across to Alex tomorrow - I will try and get him to do a bit of recording at one of their band practices but, in the meantime, you'll have to trust me when I say it sounds great . Although it is just a small wiring change and no hardware change, I've opted NOT to go for the P-rails standard wiring system which gives: Full series humbucker; parallel humbucker; P90; Rails. I've used that system in a number of my own gigging guitars and I found that: - the fact that both pickups are always in the same configuration for the four options is actually, ironically, quite limiting. I was always hankering for, such as, 'neck pickup full series humbuck for the depth, mixed with bridge pickup in split coil mode to add a bit of extra treble and dispel any muddiness' and similar - I also never, in practice, used the rails by themselves...not enough ooomph - and I never, in practice, used the humbuckers in parallel...not enough depth I talked that through with Alex and, for kickoff, we decided to have a standard split coil option for both pickups where the operating coil in each case was the P90. So he can go full series humbucker with 3 way options, P90 with 3 way options and one (either) pickup P90 and the other series humbucker. It's a 30 minute job to change the wiring to the 'P-rail standard' options if he wants to try that in the future. Anyway, here are some of the arty-farty finished pics: Thanks again for watching this develop and your kind remarks along the way

Hello all, Long time BassChatter, first time GuitarChatter. I am currently in the process of a proof of concept guitar…an electric resonator. Here’s the initial design and parts and woods I’m going to be using; Specs will be; 1 piece walnut body Roasted Maple neck hipshot tuners biscuit bridge Monty’s Firebird neck pickup Cream double binding I hope some of you will be interested in seeing this come together.

i used one continuous oak board (easy cuts) to make this: lots of sanding, some stain, etc. I used the scraps to create supports for the bottom side (given the stomping): i used a 1 3/8" hole saw to cut an opening for wires. i then took that plug and split it in half to make posts, to wrap the excess wire: on the underside, i used wire ties, tacked into the wood, to secure the power lines: in the far corner above, you can see i velcroed the transformer onto the underside. then, velcro on the top, and on the pedals, and a $6 leather handle: then, rubber feet on the bottom, and wire it all together. PS this is not representative of my pedal setup, this is just for testing! i'll post the actual rig soon. it's made it through 6 gigs. hopefully more to come (we have about a dozen lined up!). what i'd change- it doesnt stand on it's side, probably because of how heavy pedals are. to put a stand plate on one side would mess with the aesthetic. what i'm thinking of adding- maybe a shoulder strap so i can make one trip from the car to the studio. i can send plans if anyone wants.

And she’s done! Strung with D’Addario 12-56. Just need to let the settle in and then add the dots to cover the bolts. It sounds lovely acoustic and plugged in.

Is that what's meant by 'air guitar'..?

Your wish etc...

More on the Green Death soon... I've been a bit distracted by another project

It just wouldn't be right not to ask this...

I like Larry Carlton

Hi there! I just joined a new band called Sons of steel. This is one of our singles: Let me know your opinion about it. Thanks!!

It seems to have been a bit quiet on GC of late. I know it’s still early days, but I though I’d start a thread that could be added to once a week (at least). Therefore, I am instigating Tele Tuesday. Post any photos that you like of T types that have caught your eye, or one’s that own (they don’t need to be from the big F, just be Tele like in their appearance). I’m going to kick it off with this Mesinger Maverick that I saw today (this makes my wallet itchy).

Just about finished my telecaster build from parts. Waiting on a jack plate one i bought was wrong size. I will no doubt fiddle with intonation feels sounds ok atm, neck relief is set at the heel so will play around and then make adjustments when i change strings. Bridge sitting high but action is low. Pickups are Custom shop Texas Special Switch gear and bots, pick guard from Axesrus Body and neck i bought from ebay Fender tuners, fender neck plate. Wd Bridge (pretty sure its WD) I chucked some Slinkys on it. Messing around with a bit of rhythm "sympathy for the devil" and i like it, twang and then some. Will see how it bends and stuff later.

And here it is!!! Set up is lovely, and it was practically in tune (I will have to get used to the locking tuners). Frets feel like a tiny polish on top needed, but playing in will deal with that. Neck is gorgeous, and I love the firemist colour. Either a very, very almost imperceptibly tiny ding on the headstock, or a miniscule imperfection on the headstock finish, but that's the sort of thing it'd get in a few days' use with me, so.... Overall, a stunning piece. The gig bag is surprising good, much higher quality than I expected, and the 25th logo inside it is a nice touch. Highly recommended. I still hope they do 5his soec in the CC colours going forward, as a DLX model.

@Richards Guitars... I am one of several Moderators of this fine Forum; this task has been very simple for several years past, as the folk here are a great bunch. We enjoy the occasional bout of banter (whilst remaining civil, naturally...) between friends that are used to each other's little ways and foibles; nothing wicked or hurtful. If there is any doubt as to any posts here, there is, top right of every post, three little dots (...), from where it's easy to create a Report. Every Report is brought automatically to the attention of the Mods and Admin, and what rare issues that do crop up are handled with serious and diplomacy. Feel free to avail yourself of this function at anytime (this goes for all that read this, naturally...). This site is an extension of Basschat.co.uk, which has been active for many decades now. Here, things tend to be a little slower-paced, but there is a healthy cross-over from one Forum to the other (many here are members of both...). This leisurely pace suits us fine, so don't be surprised if some replies to posts come only after a few days. I'm usually here sporadically several times each day, but then again : I'm retired, so... Glad to have you aboard; meanwhile... Have a wonderful day. Douglas

My loyalty sale HB DC Jnr. At £128, it cost less than I've seen tgem go for used.... I did wonder if QA might be a little more flexible at this reduced price, but the sole flaw I can find is that one of the screws on the back of the bridge is cery slightly angled. As with the MR Classic, the bridge feels a little cheap but perfectly functional; I'm not anticipating replacing it in the foreseeable. In the medium term, I want to add a totey guard for a Johnny Thunders vibe. I'm halfway tempted to switch the knobs for dice knobs as well. Overall, It's ridiculously impressive for the money. Great set uo out of the bix just needed tuning. Not a sniff of fretsprout or a sharp fret anywhere. This is what impresses me most at this sale price. Back when I started playing in 1991ish, the most basic, plywood Strat type cost more than this new (even without taking inflation into account), and wasn't always as good as this. I'd put it on a par with the Epiphone model. To really go a step up, I'd need to be looking at sonething like Maybach or a Gibson; the problem with those is that it always felt inherently 'wrong' to me to take what is by design a simple, budget instrument and inflate it to "luxury" level. The one thing that I'd like to see Thomann do better is to get the TV yellow colour right. I *might* have paid full rather than sale price over this one for that (throw in stainless steel fretsand it would be a given), but all other things being equal, if it was just the colour I wouldn't replace this one with another for that, which auggests it's not really that big a deal.... Thomann dodo a small range of "tribute" guitars, basically unofficial quasi sig models.... if the MR Classic is a great base for a Johnny Ramone tribute, this and the Fat version should surely provide a great option for a nod to both Johnny Thunders and Mick Jones circa 1976/77 especially. One thing I'm really impressed with, as on the MR, is the neatness of the finish around the headstock, where the black facing meets the colour on the rear.

I believe it's a First Act Delia. Reminds me a bit of a Hofner Verithin (sp?).

The quick answer is yes I am happy and have become even happier as my skills have developed. I guess in retrospect I should have asked more how would a more expensive guitar reflect in feel and my playing. I was lucky enough to come across a rather nice Epiphone Les Paul Studio electric guitar for what I have been advised is a reasonable price, there is not a mark on it. The same guitar tech that checked the acoustic changed the pick up switch for me and he is suitably impressed with my purchase. And bonus a work colleague gave me this little amp.

I spent some time this morning with the guitar strung up and on a strap for me to 'fit' the neck profile to suit Alex's style of playing. Basically, he played, I then scraped material off the neck haunches and then he tried it again. This was repeated over an hour until it 'felt right' for him. We can do further tweaks once it's finished and he can play it with amp/etc but it's probably close enough for me to start the final sanding, which I started this afternoon. As folks who have watched other builds will know, I often use some Tru-oil slurry and wiped to act as a grain filler and also as a reveal coat... to spot dints and lumps or sanding marks that are difficult to see on dry sanded wood. The good thing is that it also lets bot Alex and me see how the final colours and grain are going to turn out to be. I think it's going to be quite nice:

Well family stuff and domestic 'projects' largely clear and so I'm back to the build I'm not quite at the final furlong stage, but certainly getting closer to it. Next jobs were to finish the rough carving on the back and getting ready to sort the control chamber hatch. For the carve at the back, because it's curved, I am mainly using the larger of the two round-bottomed Ibex thumb planes and also the gooseneck card scraper: Don't let anyone tell you the Ibex planes are toys - they really are precision planes: Those curly shavings are rock maple and ebony! I used a bottom bearing rebate router bit to follow the chamber and mark the outer edge of the rebate - but the curve of the back makes it difficult to get an even depth of cut and so the rebate was cut to final depth using carpenters mallet and some sharp chisels. Done, ready to create the paper template and cut the hatch:

Couldn't resist doing a full mockup. In elapsed time (some pesky family commitments getting in the way ) this is probably around 4 weeks away from finish but, from the front view, it's getting pretty close. In the third pic, @Matt P, I also gave the top half a wipe with a damp cloth to show what the final colour will be. Seeing this, I'm certain tru-oil slurry and buff satin finish is the way to go :

So why are the body wings so deep? Well - because the body cross section is going to have some curves. Mind you, that will mean a LOT of carving - and I will creep up on the final shape and let the guitar show where it wants to go... Here comes in play one of my favourite hand-tools - the Veritas Pull-shave. I think it's designed for scooping out wooden chair seats, but it's ideal for this kind of job: But I also use the block plane, razor planes and cabinet scrapers. Off and on over a few days, it's starting to take shape. Carve here is probably 50% done for the body. In between carving sessions, I also added frets to the (still unglued) fretboard:

I cut the top ebony around the pencilled line of the fretboard end which allowed me to lay the fretboard on the angled neck and position the top. I drilled a couple of positioning holes in the middle of the pickup positions which, with the addition a couple of kebab sticks will stop the top from floating around as it's being clamped when the glue is applied: That meant I could check that the neck angle is going to be correct for the height of a standard tune-o-matic roller bridge: And so what about the end of the fretboard that is hanging in mid air? Well, of course the offcut from the neck blank when I cut the neck angle in the first place is going to be the correct angle. So I will be able to cut a short ramp from this (ignore the odd shaped headstock in the background - that's not connected with this project ) I will also be adding a demarcation stripe of maple between the alder and ebony: And so, with the kebab sticks positioning everything until the clamps were all on and then removed before the glue set, the clamps can now go on! :

This is going to be a through-neck and so the first thing to do is, generally, to sort the neck. 'Sort' means choose the timbers, assemble the laminates, incorporate the neck angle into the blank, calculate the headstock angle, calculate the body depth and the neck depth... ...but you can't calculate the neck depth until you know exactly what the fretboard thickness is. So, actually, that's where I started - by radiusing the ebony fretboard blank using the excellent G&W router jig: Then fifteen minutes sanding with a sanding block removes the router marks: So now I can do all the neck calcs and cut the maple/ebony/maple blank: The neck angle is around 3 degrees, starting from where the top body 'horn' meets the neck, and I generally opt for a 10 degree headstock angle.

15 years after getting my Martin parlour, which is in the first post of this thread, and 3 years after saying in that post I’d get it restored, I finally did and just got it back The out of place full size bridge was replaced with the proper smaller pyramid style - it’s a bit scarred now because of that, but it is over 180 years old so I can live with that! To make it look less scarred would have compromised the original finish, rosette and vibe. It’s also got new tuners, cracks were fixed, and the back was French polished. Feel blessed to be a custodian of this one. Would love to know it’s stories.

So I got a chance to get this stung up and wow what a difference. It’s been really interesting hearing it before and after I drilled the holes in the well. Before it sounded a little muted or muffled and like it was being choked, or struggling, but now sounds a lot more open. I wouldn’t say it gave it more bass response, but certainly made it sound more controlled. It was also very heavy in the lower mids but the holes have created a little more clarity in the top end, so overall a lot more balanced.

Leo Kottke is probably #1 for me esp before his hand injury when he'd play fingerstyle with fingerpicks on a 12-string. Had a really muscular but clear tone. Tommy Emmanuel very close behind though LK edges him because I prefer his material. TE is most definitely best experienced live as he has great stage banter as well as fantastic skills. Two other brilliant fingerstyle players are Scottish celtic folk specialist Tony McManus and the late Pete Huttlinger who used to play with John Denver Electric wise I lean heavily towards inventive and distinctive post punk players like John McGeogh (Magazine and Siouxsie & the Banshees), Terry Bickers (House of Love), Keith Levene (PiL), Andy Gill (Gang of Four) and Geordie Walker (Killing Joke). Hard to separate out these five.

Not made loads of progress as waiting on some bits to bolt the neck to the body. But here is where the pickup and controls will be going.

Based in what most inspired me to pickup the guitar aged 11 or so: 1. Steve Cropper (and the blues brothers) 2. Marty Mcfly 3. Ralph Macchio and Steve Vai Now I'm very suspicious of the white saviour narrative in all of the above... Based on developing a voice of my own: 1. Hendrix 2. Marc Ribot 3. Zoot horn Rollo (captain beefheart) Now very much based around Nile Rodgers Tony maiden (Rufus & Chaka khan) And James browns various guitarists

Hi All, Patrick from Up North. Been with Basschat for years. Been getting more into guitar, still finding my way with those 2 extra stings. A few of my toys. In the process of rehashing my board having just got the G3 Atom and Chase Bliss Preamp, any help or suggestions welcomed.

My rig at cost of £280 and man, it rocks!!

Thanks for your views, I've ordered a thinline electro-acoustic from Gear4music, my budget is not what it used to be and for what I want it for, it's perfect. There's a lot to be said for budget guitars.

So long as I can remember what it is and where it lives on the thingy. The sticky out thing with the lines on it. Y’know. The flats. No, not flats. Like that though. Begins with an F. Neck. That’s it. The neck. Which doesn’t begin with an F. Fretboard. That’s the one.

No worries, it is a bit bilious. From what I can work out, they only did a roasted maple neck in the SE range in this colour so it’s not like I had any other options - but fortunately, I don’t give a stuff about the colour, it’s just a dream to play.

Annnnd rest.

Santa was very kind this year and brought me this little beauty.... I’ve not yet had chance to try all the pickup permutations but first impressions suggest that this is a very versatile guitar - and the main thing is that it can still do the “PRS” sound. I am a lucky boy* *As I am sure Santa will quite rightly remind me whenever someone has need of a new pair of shoes.

I've spent an eternity playing with finishes, getting there slowly, I hope to assemble it next week.

I agree with Dad3353, control and quality of playing is more important than speed. So yeah, slow it down, work on your notes, get control of the piece and then play slightly faster until you make mistakes. Once you make a mistake, stick at that speed for a while until you get control again.

The fastest way to build up speed is to slow down. Get a metronome (or similar 'app' type of thing...), and play the licks, scales, runs etc at a comfortable speed. Every week, turn the metronome up 5 bpm, rinse and repeat. Do not try to play fast. Play at a regular speed, and increase it slowly. That's the fastest, and most sure-fire, way to build up speed. Disclaimer : a medium-sized bucket of Patience is required; it helps a lot. Renew whenever it runs out (as I suspect it might ...).

I see no Segovia listed.

Hi guys I'm new here, I've recently been making a series on YouTube about guitars and would love some feedback and advice if possible

I played at a Viking Festival in the middle of last year. I knew mine was going to be the first set on the weekend's music programme; what I didn't realise was that it was also the beginning to pretty much the entire event. So I played a set to a group of people dressed up in Norse togs, carrying drinking hons and replica battleaxes, who didn't yet have enough alcohol inside them to get properly rowdy. The most sedate bunch of Vikings I've ever seen, but a very friendly bunch.