Dad3353

Good evening, BLO... With a guitar like that to learn on, you may consider yourself to be a very lucky person. Tanglewood have a fine reputation, and that model of guitar, in general (335 copy...) is extremely versatile. Be aware, if you're not already, that the instrument in the photo is the left-handed model. This may or may not suit you, depending on whether or not you are, yourself, left-handed. You may like to consider, as a beginner, seeing if guitar lessons are available in your area. It's the best way of making rapid progress, and avoiding troublesome bad techniques which are difficult to erase afterwards. For practise, it's better to do a few minutes each day than a couple of hours each week. Good luck with it all.

No, they're normal. They're not caused by the strings, they're cut in by the luthier, or maker, to allow the string to come out from the bridge at not too sharp an angle. No cause for concern; all is well with that bridge. Hope this helps.

Good evening, Simon, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. I found your tip on pick-guard removal very useful, although I can't get the screws out of the narrow-neck jar I put them in (we don't have smarmy things such as ceramic ramequins...); at what point may I remove the gloves, please..?

So... Play in 'E' like everyone else. No, seriously... Try connecting the amp to a different speaker (disconnect the current speaker, temporarily wire up another cab...), just to see if it's the speaker freaking out or the amp. If it's the speaker: change it for another. If it's the amp: a bit more difficult to trace, but a good tech should be able to. Try tapping the chassis to see if there's a loose contact, same on the soldered joints, to see if there's a dry one (don't do this yourself, unless qualified to work on potentially lethal equipment...). I'll assume that the valves have been swapped out, one by one, because that's an obvious source of problems of the sort..? Once fixed, t'would be good to get news here; it could help others. Good luck with it; it's a fine amp.

Not the best, perhaps, but darned useful just the same..! I use one, for many tasks, especially when soldering (but not only...). If it's jack plugs you're soldering, the plug can be plugged into something (anything, really, as long as it's not turned on..!). A pedal, amp input, whatever... That'll hold the plug steady. Spring-type clothes pegs can help, too; one can even hold something in a peg, and hold the peg in the Rolson tool..! A small block of wood, with suitable holes drilled into it, can also make a support for stuff. I can't think of any 'magic bullet' device that does it all; a bit of 'System D', make-do and mend, and, of course, a big bucket full of Patience are about as best as it gets, along with the 'Helping Henry' Rolson tool.

Good evening, Chris... It sounds as if you're not all that in love with your guitar, which is a shame. It should be understood that Danelectro were, and still are, rather towards the 'budget' end of the market, with the advantages that that brings, and the inconveniences. It has a distinctive tone, but will never be a Gibson nor Rickenbacker. Personally, I wouldn't consider upgrades as such; repairs are a different matter. Leave the nut alone; it's doing its job and it won't improve anything to change it. Same for the bridge; once it's intonated, it shouldn't need touching often at all, and it won't be an easy job to find anything that'll fit. I'm puzzled by the mention of a 'boost' switch. If that's the seven-position pick-up selector, what's wrong with it..? What has the tone pot got to do with it..? If you can explain that a bit more, maybe a solution could be offered. Over to you...

Sorry, Dave, but your query is a bit vague. I presume that the guitar played correctly with its original pick-ups; is this so..? If so, and without knowing if there's anything special about the Vanson pick-ups, I'd have thought that a wire-for wire swap would give the same result, but with the 'Vanson' sound. What difference is there between the original wiring and what you now have..? I certainly don't associate a 'microphonic squeal' with earthing issues; that would more likely induce hum. Does this 'squeal' occur at all volume levels, or simply when turned up loud..? When you say the 'noise goes' when you touch the jack, do you mean the barrel of the jack..? By 'noise' do you mean this 'squeal'..? Any chance of a short video demonstrating this issue..? Apologies for the lack of assistance, but it does sound odd to me, described in your terms. Looking forward to your reply, hopefully shedding some light on the problem.

Ah. Duane Eddy. A very distinctive tone, only really found by using an electric guitar (and amplifier, naturally...). Most easily emulated with a semi-acoustic guitar (often referred to as 'jazz' , or 'arch-top' guitars...). There are many that would fit the bill, but they can become rather expensive when moving up-market. For a first guitar, it might be preferable to look for a good second-hand one, as long as its condition can be certified to be sound. An amplifier would give that characteristic 'twang', notably from a built-in reverb unit, and, even better, a tremolo. Not many entry-level amps have these features, so, again, shopping around for a good-condition 'vintage' amp might do the trick.No great power is needed; a five-watt valve amp will do a fine job. Another option could be the use of a pedal, such as the Boss 'Fender Deluxe' pedal, which has these features (and more...). Hope this helps.

Good afternoon, Colin, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. I'm a drummer, so I shan't go recommending stuff; you have a very wide choice before you. What do you want to play, as that could have a bearing..? What budget..? Where are you located..? As a novice, would you consider finding a tutor (always a Good Move...), or go the 'self-taught' route..? Others will be along shortly with more replies to your request; it might help if you filled in a bit of background.

A good source for much in the way of guitars is StewMac, who carry a very wide selection of spares and parts. Their site ... StewMac ... ...lists 3-on-plate tuners of varying dimensions, clearly indicated; the ones linked above seem close. Prices vary, dictated by quality and production volume. You could try Yamaha themselves, directly; they may be able to help, although I suspect that, at the time of manufacture of your guitar, they were using pretty generic tuners anyway; nothing special. It's also possible to remove the tuners and replace with individual ones, either by cutting away the missing one and replacing only that, or changing the whole lot for separate tuners. Obviously this could affect any 'historic' resale value the instrument could have, but it's an option. Hope this helps.

I'm a drummer, but have several guitars, and several basses. I only have one drum kit though (one kit to rule them all...). In saying that, I do have a second kit, but I lent it out to a buddy, got it back and have not touched it since. It's pretty ropey. So, several basses, but only one 'go to' bass: my Hofner Verithin. I was gifted a fretless six-string, but that's been 'confiscated' by Our Youngest, who uses it exclusively, now. We also have a very nice Cort Fiver, originally for said Youngest, but he prefers the Sixer, so I use it when I want a different tone from the Verithin. There's another four-string; I don't recall the make/model, and can't be bothered to fetch it to see, but it's quite a modest little thing. Guitars..? No, I'd better not get started on those...

Good evening... Difficult to do this at a distance, but I'll try. I think you'd be best off working backwards from the jack. Un-solder the wire going to the jack and touch it to the amp input jack. Do you get a sound from any of the pick-ups..? Go through each switch position, any sound at all, or nothing..? If there's at least some sound, check carefully how the guitar output jack should be wired, and connect again the wire you took off. If there's still nothing, un-solder the wire from the volume pot, coming from the switch. Same test. If sound, check the pot and its connections. If nothing, disconnect one, then the other, tone pots. Sound..? Check the tone pot connections. No sound..? Check the switch connections. In general, I'd not be at all happy with solder joints like that. I don't want to discourage, and you're doubtless doing your best, but it's so easy to overheat and melt the inner wire, causing a short-circuit, very difficult to see. I can't do much to help with that except recommend using a decent iron (a Weller station is a Good Purchase...), to carefully strip the wires cleanly, and 'tin' them straight away. Don't 'pigtail' too tightly the outer braid; leave a bit of play where it separates from the inner core, and make sure that the outer is not heated for too long when tinning. It may pay to use a good flux paste for the braids and pot shielding; just make sure that it's flux for electronics, and not acid-based, such as used by plumbers. Hope this helps a little. Any more issues will need the use of a multi-meter (always a Good Purchase, too..!).

The hum doesn't come from the instrument, really, it's coming from the environment, but is picked up by the guitar pick-ups, then amplified. The Gibson (and maybe the other, successful...) guitars have 'humbucking' pick-ups; that term tells us something. Their pick-ups have been so designed and made to pick up hum twice (with double coils...), then cleverly have one of these signals cancel out the other. The hum you cured was picked up, not by the pick-up, but from the cabling and switch stuff which, once shielded, picked up the hum no more. The Tele, on the other hand, has single -coil pick-ups, designed and made precisely to pick up electrical signals from the magnetic field around the strings, but also any other stray hum, without distinction, nor this clever method of cancelling. That's why shielding, so efficient on the other guitars, won't help the Tele, unless you shield the pick-ups, in which case they won't pick up the strings..! Two solutions, really. The first is to swap out the Tele pick-ups for single-coil-shaped humbuckers. You'll lose the hum, but will no longer have that delicious 'Tele' twang, and they're not cheap. The other is to track down the source of the hum (electrical fittings such as halogen or neon lighting, or light dimmer switches, some transformers... The list is long...). This can sometimes be aided by stalking around with the guitar, offering it up to all points in the room, trying to find where the hum is loudest. Not always easy, nor successful. We have a six-string bass with 'J'-type pick-ups (and so single-coil...) which picks up hum when too close to the bass amp (a valve Hiwatt, so huge transformers...). Turning the amp off cures the hum, but leaves the bass with much lower volume..! D'oh..! Hope this helps.

Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead...) Jorma Kaukonen (Jefferson Airplane...) Richard Thomson (Fairport Convention...) ... and many more, but those three set me off, back then.

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

With an instrument like this, it would be wise to take it to a reputable, competent luthier, to have it inspected, repaired/restored if necessary, and set up for how you'll be playing it. Think of it, not as a cost, but as an investment, as the guitar will be good for another half a century or so. It's quite normal for any quality instrument to benefit from a check-up now and again. A good workman will know exactly what to look for, and how to remedy any flaws. Just my tuppence-worth; hope this helps.

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...