Dad3353

I had a quick look at the method book you're using, and it looks good, if maybe a little repetitive in some respects. It's good that it covers a variety of styles, though; that's very useful, and there is much that can be 'crossed over' into other aspects of one's playing. That guitar looks to be splendid; it will surely give satisfaction, and inspire you to even greater heights. As for 'drop-two' chords, I can't give a better explanation that this one, from the Jazz Guitar Online site (an excellent site, by the way, even for those not 'into' jazz...)... Drop 2 Chords ... It's useful to understand that chords do not have to be played across all six strings of the guitar; in fact, it's quite rare that I do this. I'm much more inclined to 'pluck' several strings (pluck like a claw...), or simply attack the three of four top strings, or bottom strings, depending on the chord and effect wanted. I never use a plectrum (I've often tried, but have yet to keep one between my fingers for long...) I'll be trying again shortly, using a version which curls over the fore-finger, and may stay in place a little better. This is to attempt 'hybrid picking', whereby the plectrum sounds out the melody, and the other fingers 'claw' the other strings. I'm working on stuff from the 'Sandra Sherman' videos; here's the one on Hybrid Picking... So much to learn; so little time. You're doing great, keep it up. Hope this helps. Douglas

I can only recommend the strings that I've been using for a couple of decades, now, on all of my guitars (solid electric, archtop or acoustic...). Slightly more expensive than some other brands, but they last far, far longer, keeping their tone and intonation, even if playing very regularly. Disclaimer : I have 'acid' fingers, that tend to leave marks and corrosion on other strings; I switched from Fender Bullets to Elixir for this reason, and no longer have this issue. Others may well chip in with other recommendations and experience ; this is mine ...

Whoa there, Tiger..! The starting point would be to get the guitar in the best condition possible, before thinking about upgrades. A new set of strings, obviously, and a good clean whilst the old strings are off. Slight traces of rust is very normal on the exposed pole pieces of pick-ups like these, and do no harm. A brush-over with a washing-up sponge will remove this discoloration, if it bothers you, and a dab of clear nail varnish once they're polished up will keep them rust-free. As for the frets... Don't even think of removing them..! If they, too, are discoloured, buffing them up will restore their brilliance. Try rubbing them with a hard pencil rubber; that will do a lot to clean them up. On stubborn cases, a fine wire brush (no, not the one used to clear rust from a car's underbody; a fine one..!), or 0000-gauge wire wool will do the job. Mask the fingerboard whilst doing this, and mask, too, the magnetic pick-ups, to prevent them from attracting any metallic dust or residue. Give the whole guitar a clean with a slightly-damp cloth. I can recommend, from personal usage, Dr Duck's Ax Wax... ... Only a couple of drops on a lint-free cloth will remove grime, finger marks etc, from the body, neck and hardware. It works very well, and a small bottle lasts years, as it is used so sparingly. Once all of the above is done, and the sparklingly-clean guitar is freshly strung up and set up with new strings, play it for a few weeks, then re-appraise any upgrades that may become apparent. I doubt that there'll be much; Tender Loving Care does wonders. Hope this helps.

Jack of all trades, Master of none..? It sounds as if you're doing very well, with a quite eclectic set of strings to your bows. I think, however, that it might be fruitful to stand back a bit, chill a little, and concentrate on one main 'work in progress', whilst still maintaining 'contact' with your current acquired skills. I'd suggest that a spell on the acoustic would be a Good Thing, in general, and will serve you in good stead for all the rest. You have a very decent stable of equipment (no real 'quality' issues with what you've described...); an acoustic will complement this, and give you something to make progress on, if you can keep your mind on the goal that you set yourself. I'm not a church-goer, myself, but an acoustic would fit very well in that setting, as an option over your other instrumental arrangements. If, by 'rhythm playing', you mean strumming chords from charts, that, in itself, is a very healthy skill to have. It can be developed into a whole host of styles, around picking, chord-melody, drop-two chords, alternative rhythms... The list is endless. Whilst waiting for reception of an acoustic, leave the Epiphone 'upgrades' and try thinking of playing it in a new style, as if it were an acoustic. Never mind the 'tone', just the approach to chord choice, right-hand techniques to try, new sets of substitute chords etc. Take, for instance, any church song that you know well, and look for substitute chords (replace any Major chord by a Maj7th, so 'C' becomes 'CMaj7' etc...)..? If such a chord repeats for a few bars, try moving for 'C' 'C' 'C' 'C' to 'C' 'Cmaj7', 'Cmaj6', 'Cmaj7' instead..? Find these chords at different position on the neck, to get different 'colours'..? There is so much that can be done under the heading of 'rhythm guitar'..! Hope this helps, a little.

Pop this into your Search engine ... 'guitar repairs hull uk' ... Inspired by any of the responses there..?

If you give us your location, maybe someone could recommend nearby source of expertise..?

Hmm... This is an odd one indeed. If a guitar tech can't find the problem with the instrument on his workbench, what hope have we..? That being said, there are many potential, albeit rare, reasons for no, or little, volume. The jack socket has been eliminated, but, as we go deeper into the signal chain, we could suspect an issue with the internal wiring, a badly-soldered joint to the potentiometers, a faulty component (tone capacitor..?), dust, dirt or worse in the volume pots, duff contacts on the selector switch and, lastly but least likely, both pick-ups having broken or shorted coil windings. These guitars are not rocket surgery, but are slightly more difficult to work on, as access to the cabling etc is poor. However, any decent guitar tech should be able to at least determine the cause, with a few fairly basic tests. I'd recommend going to another technician for a second opinion; to me, the best 'guess' would be the selector switch being stuck. Hope this helps.

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

I was OK with the squirrel story, but this ^^ I just don't believe. ...

The harmonic cannot be sharp or flat, unless the string itself is duff. Start off by changing at least this 'G' string, or the whole set if they're more than a few months old. Let the strings 'bed in' for a week or so of playing, then check again the intonation. It's not necessary, nor a Good Idea, to have too much excess string wound around the tuning post. Ideally, enough for three or four wraps does the job. It's best tto feed the string end through the hole in the post, leaving enough slack to get a few cms above the fingerboard. Then wind the string onto the post, with the first turn above the hole. Once this first wrap is on, hold the string down above the nut so that the following turns cross the first one and the windings are below the hole. This will lock the string in place, once tuning tension is achieved. The excess string is to be cut off, about 1 cm from the tuning post. Try this technique out a couple of times 'dry', to get used to judging the amount of slack required. Too much slack means too many winds on the post. Too little means not enough. The 'sweet spot' is three or four turns wound onto the post. Once all the strings are on, and the guitar tuned to pitch, I take each string in turn at its mid-point, and lift the guitar off the bench (gently but firmly...) by this one string; this 'beds in' the string at each end, and gives me tuning stability from the outset. After this suspension, tune back up to pitch and it's Good to Go. Now the harmonic test can be done again; the harmonic will be the exact octave of the open string.If the open string is tuned correctly, the harmonic will be (must be...) spot on. The note at the 12th fret should sound the same as the harmonic. Hope this helps.

Here's a simple check that you can do to see if the issue is intonation. Gently pluck an open string. Then play, in the same way, the same string at the octave, 12th, fret. They should sound the same note, but an octave apart. Now sound a harmonic at the 12th fret (gently play the string whilst barely touching the centre of the string above the 12th fret...). That harmonic and the fretted octave should sound exactly the same. If the fretted note is 'sharp' or 'flat', it means that the bridge is not in the right spot. If it's moveable, adjust it until the harmonic and the fretted octave are the same. If it's a fixed bridge and there's a difference, take it to a good luthier for rectification. Hope this helps.

There are no reliable, official, ways of dating a Celebrity Ovation; they kept no records of the serial numbers, which have no 'logical' sequence to them. These were the 'budget', Korean-made models, and had, in their time, a number of quality issues, especially the electronics. Don't worry about its value, just play it for its intrinsic sound qualities. It doesn't have the same prestige as the high-end Ovations, but they can be very good guitars, nevertheless. The Gibson date puts it in the 'Norlin' era. If the serial number checks out, the date can maybe be confirmed by its state of wear. In particular, any gold plating would most likely have taken on a certain patina, with little of its original shine. Many Les Pauls had headstock breakages (it's a well-known weakness of the design...), and have been repaired. Often, this is difficult to spot, if the luthier did a good job on it. Typically a well-repaired neck would be stronger than the original, but one should always treat these guitars with precaution, with no sudden shocks. Just sayin'. I've no knowledge of BC Rich guitars, sorry. Hope this helps.

A Good Question, and one that I am maybe the worst person to reply to, as I don't use pedals, or very, very sparingly. A lot depends on one's repertoire (I like to play finger-style jazz chord-melody parts, so a bit of reverb or delay and I'm all set...). For those having an amp with 'crunch' available, it would be useful, for some, to be able to switch sounds 'on the fly', so a simple amp Fx would not suit. A bunch of drive/thrust/bigliness/fat pedals can be switched in and out by tap-dancing, and some folk play this way. For my part, the subtleties of different 'shades of grey' escape my duff ears, and I have only once, in many decades, accidentally obtained a such an effect (twin germanium Big Muff; goodness know what settings...) for a rare 'rock'-type recording I made. Some folk collect stamps, and will drool over a rare, virgin, 10p with duff printing, or a collection of Easter Island Special Issues. Others like to collect Fx, and will swap around, looking, for, obtaining, then abandoning The Sound as the Next Best Thing becomes the fashion. It was easier 'back in the day'; one cut slits in one's speaker cones and that was it. Not much going back from that, except for the wealthier musicians able to get new cabs from their record deal advance. In short, all that counts is being able to get the sound one wants with what one has, or finding something that will get 'that sound'. I'm easily pleased; it's healthier for my bank balance, too.

Related (brief version...) elsewhere here, my replacement Hofner President is now safely ensconced a few yards from me right now, and destined to stay, this time..! Here's its arrival, after half a century...

Before going down that road, have a look at these ... Amazon : Bolt-On Neck Guitar Screws and Sleeves ... Carefully centre the drill for the inserts (start with a small (1mm..?), accurate drill bit and enlarge progressively, being careful to get the right exact depth, then screw in the inserts, with a spot of wood glue on each. Use a new, standard neck plate as a template for positioning. It might be worth filling in the neck holes just the same. Once assmbled, the neck will be stronger than ever before. Worth a shot..?

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.

Tab books..? I could supply a small music school with all the tab, notation and method books I've accumulated over the decades..! Everything from how to harmonise, basic (and less basic...) music theory, several 'Real' books of jazz standards, with just as many (or maybe more; I've lost count...) of songs by various bands and/or artists. All of this for guitar, but also bass, and drums (I'm a drummer...). I'm still using, on an almost daily basis, the very first guitar method I bought when buying my very first guitar (this latter now, thankfully, long gone...); 'Mickey Baker's Complete Couse in Jazz Guitar'. The rest is history ...

There's no answer to your questions or doubts for your own particular instrument. What would a guitar tech do..? He/she would check it with a fret rocker, and, if it warranted it, would set it back to the correct height, most likely with a brass or nylon mallet (or, if there's very little, with a fret dress and re-crowning...). All the other frets would get a check, whilst it's on the bench, with maybe a tweak of the intonation before handing it back, all fixed and ready to go. There would be no discussion as to how guitar makers set up their tooling for cutting fret slots (many are done by hand, anyway...). Soooooo... Either leave it as it is, bite the bullet and do the job yourself, or take it to a competent tech for set-up. There's not much point in over-thinking things. Just my tuppence-worth; hope this helps. Douglas

Almost, but not quite. If you're really sure that it's only one high fret (you really need a 'fret rocker' to ascertain this...), here's a good description of the way to go about it. If using a 'normal' hammer, put a decent bit of plastic between the blow and the fret, to reduce the risk of flattening the crown of the fret. If possible, try it out as a technique on a less important fretboard, if you have one. Good luck with it.

As above ^^; set your 'click' (metronome or drum beat, whatever...) to the speed at which you can currently play it faultlessly, whatever that speed is (no cheating; it must be comfortably faultless...). Then up the tempo, very gradually, and play at that tempo until it, too, becomes flawless (maybe a week or so..? If it's not coming, slow back down again.) Once it's comfortable, up the tempo a tiny notch, rinse and repeat. The key to success is the light-bulb moment when one finally twigs that the only way to play fast is to play slowly. The more time it takes to get up to speed, the faster one gets to the end goal. It never fails, but one must be armed with a Big Bucket of Patience. Once this is acquired (and constantly replenished...), it's all that's needed. Take all the time needed; it's not a race. Hope this helps.

Good evening, @42Hz, and ... ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

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

You've not given your location, so I don't know just how easy it is to find a competent guitar tutor near you. That's the most efficient (and cost-effective, really...) way to get oneself on the right track. OK, it's not always possible or easy. There are some very good on-line tutors, in many styles; I can recommend Sandra Sherman's YouTube channel... https://www.youtube.com/@GuitarversumSandraSherman ... where one will find plenty of videos, in plenty of styles, that are well worth a look, and the course material she proposes is high quality. Worth a look..? Let us know what this inspires and see where we go from there..? Hope this helps. Tempted by Hybrid picking..? ... or a chord-melody rendering of 'Smile' (Yes, you have heard it before, and it's very easy on the ear...)...

No photos, I'm afraid, just a buffering 'Wheel of Doom'. Perhaps they are not set up for public view..?

Good afternoon, @PeteUK, and ... ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.