Dad3353

Short answer..? Yes, that's a fine guitar to learn on (as are many others...). Caveat... If it's second-hand, just be sure that there's no hidden flaws. As a novice, you may not realise what needs checking, so either be reasonably wary, or have someone check the guitar, preferably before purchase. This recommendation applies to any 'pre-owned' instrument, not just this Epi. Things to look out for..? A decent guitar bloke will know, generally, but things like working truss rod (difficult to fix; sometimes impossible...) wood cracks or repairs (most Les Paul-style guitars have a weak spot behind the nut, and many have been glued back after an 'incident'...), electrical faults (noisy pots, fully-functioning pick-ups, solid jack socket; mostly easy fixes, but can become expensive...) and more. If buying from a shop, all of this will be covered by distance-selling regulations, but one doesn't have this protection from a private sale. There, I don't mean to frighten you; most sales are genuine and work out well, but you did ask for advice. Good luck with the learning; buying the guitar is just the start, and is the easy part..!

Mmm..! Tea..!

Thanks for the 'Pask Makes'; I'll scour through that later. Meanwhile, I, too, am, sitting back, preparing the popcorn.

@Mike... Gear4Music have this model in stock right now, and could, presumably, send it to you in Ireland. Here's a link ... Gear4Music ... CandyAppleRed Guitars in Ireland offer it on their website, here ... CandyAppleRed ... ... as do Music Minds ... Music Minds ... Any use to you..? I didn't understand the use of a capo to raise 'dropped D' to standard tuning, and I reckon it'd be a pig to tune a 12-string down, then back up, between songs. It'd have to be either in open tuning or standard, I'd suggest, to be practical 'live'. Either way, tuning down a tone and a capo at 2nd fret would work, but I agree that it's always better to play without any accessories if possible. I have to stop now, but keep posting as this goes forward, the more long-winded the better..! Meanwhile... Keep well, stay safe Douglas

For my part, just about the last thing I think of when buying a guitar is the shape of the headstock, along with its 'copy' or clone effect and potential resale value. I like those that I have (obviously...), but if a 'pointy' one caught my eye, played well, and that I could afford, I'd buy it, whatever. I don't really consider Epiphone to be 'copies', either, just different makes for different markets. I know that there are those that will pretend they've a real Gibson, and even tart 'em up to appear so, but in my time I've come across superb Epi's and Gibson 'dogs'. I'd much rather one of the former than the latter. I have a Samick, 335-inspired that plays as well as most Kalamazoo originals, and have never really compared headstock shapes; never really thought about it. That's just me, though; others may well think differently.

Not all amps are designed equal. Have you tried an email to Boss, or their Forums..? There is more likely someone aware of Katana issues there, I should think. It's a fairly specialised, recent, amp, so not much experience gathered in the Wider World, perhaps. Worth a try..?

See my reply elsewhere...

I've no experience with either of these units (I'm very much more 'old school', and a drummer, to boot..!), but, in general, the Fx send/return would be used for 'end-of-line' Fx, such as delay, where the signal will no longer require extra treatment. I'd say that the best position in the chain of your Diesel pedal is between the guitar and the amp. That's how it was designed to be used; the signal level and impedance are matched to the anticipated input of a guitar amp, and may not suit the level and impedance of the 'send/return' jacks. I'm not at all sure exactly what sonic difference it would make to bypass the pre-amp stages of the Katana; I'm not enough of a guitar purist to offer any comment on that. Hope this helps, even if only slightly. Douglas

Good afternoon, Andrew... There's nothing wrong with your guitar, I, and many here, would have jumped at the chance of learning on a guitar of that quality..! The best advice I can think of is to recommend finding a good guitar teacher in your vicinity (where are you..?). From a Good Teacher, you'll get the best start, for tuning, playing position, avoiding pitfalls, and, if he or she is really good, interesting pieces and exercises to get you up and running playing in no time at all. It doesn't have to be expensive, nor a long-term commitment, but a few lessons to get going, then, maybe, refresher sessions every few months or so, depending on budget, progress made, ambition and so on. Guitar is not the easiest of instruments to figure out for oneself, and the rewards from Good Tuition far outweigh their expense, in my view. In any case, if it sounds bad at first, it's certainly not the guitar's fault..! Hope this helps. Douglas

Good afternoon, Mike, and thanks for your comments. Please be aware that I'm officially an 'Old Duffer', with wildly out-dated tastes from the '60s and '70s, so Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Fairport Convention, Joni Mitchell figure high on my list of daily plays. There's more, of course (Schubert..? Bruckner..? Shakti..? It goes on and on and on...). What guitar do I play..? I'm a drummer, with a very fine Camco kit bought new back in the '70s, Paiste and Sabian cymbals..! I also play bass (several, but my prize bass is a Hofner Verithin...) and guitar, with a long list there, too, of instruments, including a couple of Hofner Verithins, A Daisy Rock Retro 12-string, Hofner Comittee; the one I play the most (acoustic...) is a Takamine G220NS, or, electric, a Xaviere XV610 (A Telecaster Thinline clone...). I did have, decades ago now, an acoustic 12-string (a Gibson Hummingbird clone, by Antoria...), but she was unfortunately destroyed in a domestic fire, and so was lost, darn it..! I'm intrigued as to why your attention has gone to this very specific guitar, though. Not because it's not a Good Guitar (because it is...) but rather... Why this one..? I'd say that, if you're 90% convinced, then you're convinced. If you order through a web-site (there are at least two mail-order sources in Ireland, and others elsewhere in the UK or Europe...), you have the option of returning the instrument if, after having it in your hands, it turns out to be a deception. Personally, I think that that's very unlikely, but you have that protection, exactly for this kind of situation. On another note, and concerning 12-string acoustic guitars particularly, it may be worth noting that it's a common ploy to down-tune the guitar by a whole tone, and play with a capo at the second fret, thus retrieving 'standard' tuning. The idea is to reduce the tension or 'pull', of the twelve strings, which, in olden times, could pull enough, over time, to buckle the sounding-board slightly, pulling the bridge up. It's less of an issue on correctly-luthiered modern instruments, but could be considered, and would surprise no-one to see it played that way.Just sayin'. Anyway, hope this helps, even if only a little; I'd like to know how this plays out, and what you finally acquire. Meanwhile... Keep well, stay safe Douglas

Tanglewood guitars are designed in the UK, and manufactured in China. Yours looks to be maple, but obviously can't be sure without more pictures. Hope this helps.

Good afternoon, Mike , and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. Sorry, no personal experience from having owned any Hagstrom guitars, but from my years in a music shop (in France...), I don't think I'll be much wrong in stating that all their guitars, at any price point, are excellent, and none have any issues regarding tone, intonation nor tuning stability. I'd go further, and say that I'd be very surprised indeed to hear of any make of guitar at the price point of that 12-string that had any issues of the sort. Having said that, acoustic guitars maybe more than others are a very personal choice, and great tone for one person can be dull, or bright, to another. Much depends on how one plays, too (it's all in the fingers, right..?), so it's really down to trying out all sorts of instruments to get some idea of what 'clicks'. If you're after a fine 12-string, that Hagstrom is as good as any other, and better than some, but only you can say if it fits the use you want to put it to. If you're really a 'newbie' player, you'll be rightly spoiling yourself by acquiring one, and any tuning issues will be down to you, not the instrument. Hope this helps.

These ... D'Addario EJ27N Student Classics Normal Classical Guitar Strings ... ... are pretty much the standard for that guitar.

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

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

+1 ^^ now you come to mention it. Well spotted.

Maybe I cheat, I dunno, but I use my thumb for the 'A' string (and the low 'E', of course...), The index for the 'D' string and barre the top three with my ring finger (although I don't have rings; it's just called that, s'all...). The 'real' way to play it is shown here ... Dominant 9th ... Hope this helps.

I've good enough results from my Vox jack-plug micro-amps. Several 'flavours' to choose from, these days... Vox Amplugs, Amazon ... Not hifi, certainly, but they do the job very well, I've found.

Where abouts are you..? It may be an idea to have someone have a look at the instrument. No decent guitar shops or luthiers nearby..? A good set-up by a good luthier is always a Good Investment, and most will explain what's up and give tips, too. Any use..? Edit : you mention having already tried lowering the bridge. Have you put it back to where it was before..?

Can you raise the bridge on the bass side a little..? Unscrew the bridge post, just a quarter turn, to see if it helps ...

Take the 'G' string off completely, and re-string it, being careful not to let it twist when threading through the tuner. Sometimes that's enough, if the string isn't damaged. Try it..? If it still buzzes, we'll have to know where it buzzes (Every note played..? Only the high/low notes..? Is it the string or the saddle or the nut that's buzzing..?). It's not always simple, and we can't see or hear what you're seeing and hearing. One step at a time, then...

Are the saddles not held in by a wire spring, in similar way to this..? Yours may be one single wire spring along all six saddles. No good, still..?