Dad3353

It's difficult to answer this, all the more so as it's your first guitar. I'd start off by suggesting that there's no real point in comparing the 'sound' of any guitar in this range; they are all good, and capable of producing quality 'tone', in many genres, once one knows how and what to play (plus pedals, amps, modelling etc...). So, listen to them, certainly, but that's not the important factor, really. What counts far more is how it feels and appeals to you. Is it comfortable (sitting and standing...)..? Do the controls seem easy to understand and use..? Does the neck feel good, when forming chords, or trying out solo runs or riffs..? Does it feel 'balanced' (you shouldn't have to hold the neck up with the fretting arm if it's got a decent strap on...). Look at the price, factoring in a hard case, or, at a minimum, a decent gig bag. If they have any other guitars in stock, take the time to give them all a decent try-out, too; it would be odd that they only have these two guitars on hand. Which one feels best, to you, whatever the shop folk say..? Ideally, give yourself a few days to reflect, and go back once you've decided; don't feel rushed to take one home that day (Yes, I know that that's a very difficult urge to resist..!). You can get just about any sound you want out of any guitars there, so it's a factor, but not the principle one. Hope this helps; let us know how it goes, maybe..?

Yes, 'triads' is a way of constructing chords, and is extremely useful. You already have a song repertoire far, far in excess of anything I've ever played in over half a century (disclaimer : I'm a drummer...), so 'Well done; you're doing something right..!' Can I recommend 'Guitar Pro 8'..? For the next couple of weeks it's at a reduced price of under £50, and is well worth it, in my opinion. As well as chord shape suggestions, it enables easy transposition and there are a wealth of songs in 'gp' format. Worth trying, maybe..?

It's an 'open secret' (one that so many people know, that they don't think it worth mentioning, so, to the non-initiated, it remains a secret..!) that, when playing guitar, one doesn't have to play all the strings, all the time, for all the chords. It's useful to practice, and so learn, only playing the strings that actually make up the chord (often only three or four...), and skip, or mute, the strings not needed. This applies to both open and barre chords, and even more so for 'movable' chords (where one may play them anywhere on the neck...). If a barre chord proves to be difficult, practice playing it further up the neck, where the first-finger barre may be easier, and gradually, every other day, move down towards the nut. The fingers will become more accustomed, and the barre easier. When barring a chord, try to get the sound right on only the top four strings, for instance, if the barre is difficult to manage right the way across. Then try again, but getting the bottom four strings to sound right (so not playing the top two...). You may also play without a barre at all if you play only the middle four strings (so not the top or bottom 'E' strings...), and compose the chord with the four fingers, without a barre at all. If these notions find resonance with you, I could compose a chord chart showing many ways of playing chords, with no barre, anywhere on the neck. Why does this matter..? Well, one reason is to be able to change chords easily by going across the neck, instead of up and down, making chord changes much smoother (and less tiring...). What songs or tunes do you presently play, and what songs or tunes would you like to play..? Any particular style, or guitarist, group or era..? It would help us to give more pertinent advice. Hope this helps. Douglas

I'd like to see a photo of these tuners. I'm assuming that they are not 'open', but enclosed in some kind of housing..? It's not possible for the shaft to turn the button. If that's happening with yours, then they are not 'worm-driven'. I don't see how the direct of rotation can be obtained without this mechanism. So I maintain that it is impossible to turn the button by string tension, however hard one tries. If, in turning the post, the button turns, there is something radically wrong with the mechanism, or it uses a completely different principle. A photo of these tuners would be helpful; what make of guitar is it..? I'm not sure, either, what your original Seller has or has not done. If one tuner has been changed, does it have this same bizarre effect..? Where do you live..? Is there not a decent guitar shop or guitar technician in the vicinity..? There is almost certainly a GuitarChat member not too far away that could have a look with more experienced eyes. Do nothing radical for now until the real issue has been established, at least, as there is, for the moment, a lot that seems odd. I understand that you may not be familiar with all the relevant terms; that's not a problem, and quite normal. The description so far, though, makes making helpful suggestions a little difficult. Patience; leave the claw hammer and chainsaw to one side until we get some more light on the problem. So.... Any chance of photos, of the guitar itself and these tricky tuners..?

I''m not sure that I'm fully understanding the issue, here. If it's the string tension making the tuning peg 'run backwards', to unwind, that makes little sense, to me. As you will have noticed, and your moped experience will confirm to you, a 'worm-driven axle' can only turn if the worm (endless gear...) turns. The axle cannot turn the the worm-drive. So, a guitar string can pull all it wants, it cannot make the 'button' turn. I can't understand how that could happen. One thing comes to mind, however... How are the strings being wound onto the tuning post..? The ideal wrap-around should be at least two, preferably three or four, wraps, and all neatly aligned, as in this photo ... There is a technique to stringing a guitar, and folk have differing preferences. Personally, I feed the 'free' end through the hole in the post, keeping the string taut by holding it above the fingerboard (about 10 cms...). I turn the button, and feed the string onto the bottom of the post for the first turn. As I continue to turn the button, I allow the string to cross this lowest turn, and continue wrapping, neatly, until all the slack has been taken up, and the string is now ready to be taken to pitch. There will be, usually, three or four turns on the post by this time, and it is impossible for the string to pull back, still less turn the post or button. Does this make sense to you..? Are you stringing up in this fashion..? If not, how do you go about it..? Over to you...

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

What he said ^^

What he said ^^

What he said ^^

To better appreciate this event, I would refer you to a previous post here, where the 'back story' is quite fully related, so doesn't need repeating here. Skip it if you're in a hurry, but you'll be missing out. Soooooo... I've just, in the past few days, taken delivery of a new (to me, but not quite...) guitar that has been on my 'bucket list' for over half a century. A fellow member of our sister site (Basschat...) passed me a link to a site where this quite rare guitar was for sale, in Sweden. After looking up my finances (it was not cheap...), I contacted the Seller I 'bit the bullet', and, after some tractation over acquisition of a hard case for shipping, it finally arrived, safe and sound, snuggling up nicely in a brand new case. 'OK', I hear you ask, 'but what guitar is it..?' You'll have guessed if you'd read the post in the link above; it's a Hofner President Thinline E2 Florentine, from the late '60s, the same model that I foolishly 'let go' in my stoopid youth. Yippee..! Here's the photos I hastily took as it arrived... Pleased..? You betcha; pleased as Punch. I'm now struggling to get back to where I was, all those decades ago, trying to play a chord-melody version of 'Misty'. By a horrible coincidence, I had trimmed my nails, on both hands, and will have to wait a while before playing that way, as I have done since year 'dot', with only fingers, so I'm struggling at the same time with the use of a plectrum. It's all good, though, albeit extremely slow going. I have a Chromebook for displaying a Pdf of the version I'm using (from a Sandy Sherman YouTube video; just about the best and most accessible I've seen...), but as soon as I think I've assimilated a few bars, I turn the page to continue, but have forgotten it when I turn back again. I'm using my usual method of learning the 'outro' first, so that I'll be working into 'known' territory as I move forward, but, for now (it's been only a few days, but...) I'm finding it quite a job remembering only these dozen or so bars. It'll come (it has to..!), and I find the neck of this guitar to be exactly fitted to how I play (perhaps 'muscle memory' from all that time ago, when I learnt on that first President...). Anyway, enough rambling; back to the Chromebook for another session. I'll see about better pictures if/when the weather picks up, for outdoors lighting. Bye for now... Douglas

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

Does this help..? Note the 12/8 time signature, think Scottish jigs and reels when listening to it (Diddly, diddly, diddly, diddly...) Count, slowly, in groups of three (triplets...), such as 1-3,223,3-3,423, 1-3 223,3--,4-- where the dashes represent a note not played. Allow me to recommend Guitar Pro; it's very good.

Good evening, @Merkin2024, and ... ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

It's a non-issue. Off with the old, have a quick clean-up whilst the strings are off (toothbrush and lint-free cloth around the bridge, tuning pegs, frets...) and on with the new. Tune up to pitch and play on. The neck will be fine.

... and here's a link to the ad ... Taylor - Big Baby Taylor acoustic/electric guitar ...

See here, an old Reverb listing from ten years ago ... Reverb sale (long ended...) Kay KeyKord ... A novelty instrument of its day. Hope this helps.

I'm not sure that I understand the question. I'm a drummer; I don't count 'notes', I count the tempo. If I need to play something fast, when I'm learning it, I play it slowly. Once I've mastered it slowly, I'll increase the tempo, little by little (over a couple of weeks, for instance...) until I can play it at, or slightly faster, than the target tempo. By that time, there's no 'counting' involved, as it's ingrained. The secret to playing anything fast is to play it slowly. Does this help..?

I agree with EZ, above ^^; it sounds like a guitar being played rapidly with a pick. Just about the opposite of how I play (badly, slowly, with fingers...), so the sound I get, myself, is very different. I don't think I can help much, if at all, but I don't think you really have a problem, either. Play with whatever sounds you're getting, rather than analysing what's going on. In other words, if you have lemons, make lemonade.

Don't trust me on this as I have cloth ears. I hear no 'whistling', nor harmonics, on that last (third...) recording. You say it's without gain; it sounds distorted to me, not at all like a guitar simply plugged into an amp. Are you using pedals at all with all of this..? Can you record just the guitar, with no Fx at all (downstrokes is fine, or just play a tune...)..?

A quick search for 'luthier tone wood supplier uk' brings up several suppliers. We're in France, so the suppliers in Portugal or Spain are our main source, but that won't interest you in the UK, I suppose. Still, half a dozen came up, to get you started. What use do you have..? Guitar/bass..? Classical, folk, electric, other..? Just askin'; hope this helps.

I'm not sure that there are any guitars that are excluded from playing 'metal', but if I take that to mean roughly Strat-shape, with a pointy headstock, I'd start by looking at the Thomann B-stock offers. 'B-stock' means that someone ordered one, then sent it back, normally, but they are perfectly sound, and carry the same guarantee as others. It's a way of getting a bit off the price. Here's a link to some I'd suggest fall into your criteria (between £200-£300...)... Thomann 'Bargain' ST-type guitars, with no vibrato, UK prices ... Feel free to play around with the filters on the left, to see what else is on offer. There's nothing wrong with Tele-style, Les Paul-style, SG-style etc guitars either for metal (maybe avoid archtop though, as a beginner...). All of these guitars hold their tuning, and can be used in any style, including metal, of course. There are many other suppliers than Thomann, but this is an easy way to see and compare what's on the market, from the comfort of one's own home. Nothing beats trying out various instruments at a music shop, once one has an initial idea of what to try out. My personal choice would be a Squire Affinity Tele Deluxe (I prefer humbuckers...), like this one ... Thomann Squire Affinity Deluxe ... ... or this one ... Thomann Harley Benton Fusion T-HH ... Spoilt for choice, now, eh..?

Good afternoon, Andico... Unless it's going to be a feature of your playing, I don't think I'd advise any guitar in this price range with a vibrato ('whammy bar'...). The good guitars get away with it, once up in the 'pro' league, and with a tame technician to match, but, in my opinion, they're an unnecessary source of trouble, especially when learning, in almost any style. If you really need it, go ahead, but I'd advise looking at other models without this accessory that have the features you want. No guitar in this range will have an inherent 'staying in tune' problem, whatever the make; Ibanez have an excellent reputation, but so have many others. Your call, naturally, but holding its tune should never be an issue, especially for one's first guitar. Disclaimer : I've never had a use for a vibrato of any kind, as 'dive-bombing' is not an effect I affection in my playing. If I had to have that effect, I'd do as our son, Our Eldest, does, and use a detune pedal (think the dying notes of 'Karma Police'...). Hope this helps.

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

'Misty'. Still learning it, over half a century later, and still striving to overcome its difficulties, exacerbated by increasing memory issues.

Mickey Baker, with his 'Complete Course in Jazz Guitar'. First bought back in the mid '60s, I've worn it out and bought it again several times, and still use it today. It costs less than peanuts from a well-known purveyor of books and other sundries, and will serve for a lifetime. What did it teach me..? That there are many ways to skin a cat, and persistence pays dividends when going through the exercises. Eternal thanks to The Master.