randythoades

This is a bit of a tongue in cheek question asking for sensitive suggestions. I have 'inherited' an Aria Pro ii FA65 hollow body guitar (similar to the Epiphone Joe Pass) from a good friend. The gentleman in question is moving to a smaller house and giving away some of his collection and he knows that I have a real love and affinity for Aria guitars and basses. Similar to Whilst I am very touched and flattered, it isn't the sort of guitar that I would normally use, even though it is perfect for and sounds great for 50s rock and roll/rockabilly which I play a lot - but on a tele. It feels like a quality guitar all round, the build quality is excellent, good tuners, solid bridge. BUT: This guitar is just too big, too bulky, too heavy for me to play standing up and I just don't think I will play it! I don't generally like Gibson setups of 2 pickups and 2 sets of controls, I find the controls annoying and my hand never seems to fall naturally between the pickups, it is either over one or the other and keeps getting in the way. In this case the bridge pickup is spiky and wiry, ideal for the slightly dirty raw rockabilly that I play, but the neck pickup is too muddy and dull for me - probably perfect for jazz comping which isn't really my bag. The controls are a little bit crackly, so need cleaning, and there are a couple of little hardware rattles from the switch and pickup surrounds when playing acoustically which is probably very common to a hollow guitar - you don't notice when at decent amp volume but I am not likely to do this, I would just prefer to play my esquire or LP junior. So I am trying to think of options of what to do: SELL IT... I could just ignore it's providence and sell it and get something else. It is a perfectly good guitar for someone that wants this style. But I feel very guilty for considering this ... REWIRE IT... I could spend the considerable effort to remove and clean the controls and re-install or replace the pickups and all the wiring loom but this is time consuming and quite costly. In fact I don't know how I would go about completely re-wiring this myself. I could just remove the bridge pickup, switch and wiring loom and go for a Pat Metheny kind of vibe by replacing neck pickup and one set of controls, which would be an easier option wiring wise.. CHANGE IT UP...Remove the pickups and wiring loom and put on a floating pickup and controls on the pickguard which would be relatively easy and be easily reversible. I could then use it when seated in place of my electro acoustic when playing at the clean blues/country improvised jams that I often seem to attend. Like this models sister in the range, the Aria FA71. But possibly would want to cover up the resultant holes in the top with wood effect sticky vinyl or a thin wood veneer. LEAVE IT... Or I just leave it as is and make the best of it, probably completely unloved and unplayed in it's case. This is the most like option as it requires no additional expense or thought, but also carries similar guilt to the selling it option. So it is more like a small poll. What would you do?

That's a lot more chords than I ever use. And I only play major and minor pentatonics. Kept me going for almost 40 years of playing. That is plenty to get you up and running in a pub band playing blues, rock and pop. As other comments indicate, knowing the chords and putting them together in a meaningful way in a band context is a different concept. As @Dad3353 says, a local guitar tutor will help with preventing some bad habits and getting you on in terms of progress. But playing in a band environment was the best experience for my own progress, playing things outside your normal comfort zone

A quick google just points to their website if you want pictures: http://www.gilmourguitars.com/musicchina2016/musicchina2016.html But nothing for sale in their online shop unless you want to buy directly from Korea. They look like nice guitars, some models slightly different from the norm. As you say, not a lot of other info around so probably no big distriubtors in Europe or US

Wow, that's pretty impressive!

Maybe you are correct... If the looper outputs to the amp, the OD pedal distorts the output from the looper and guitar overdubs if placed AFTER? But yes, if the OD pedal was BEFORE, then you could record a clean loop and then overplay with OD second guitar sound. I stand corrected

It is definitely a pretty guitar. I am a Tele guy and don't really like the look of a Gibson style, but this is very good looking, a little more svelt and curvy. I would prefer dot markers than block, but that is just my inner Fender...

This is the way that i understand it too. If the OD is before the looper, then everything will have the drive if it were on, whereas if it was afterwards then the loop itself could be clean that would then be overdriven if desired. All you can do is experiment to find which way works best for you. The result must be the same in reality, if the OD is on the loop will be dirty, if it is off the loop will be clean.

I am not a large pedal user so i think there will probably be a more permanent solution, but I have a pedal adapter with multiple output leads (I have this one, but I am sure others are available https://www.gak.co.uk/en/truetone-1-spot-combo-pack/29511?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw34qzBhBmEiwAOUQcF0Uu9e4JIEf28SYSmVsDCLvr9P0Znf37-TUYGbIreTAj05EC_S60JBoCtKgQAvD_BwE) This works well with the 3 pedals that I use (separate tuner, clean booster, preamp/amp sim or multi FX). I am sure that some pedal need a bigger draw than others and might not be happy in a chain, but works ok for me. looks like you can get the daisy chain part separately just to connect to your existing power supply (https://www.amazon.co.uk/SONICAKE-5-Way-Right-Guitar-Pedals/dp/B07L8VBR7P/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=FLIO9FJKDHBG&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.AjQQDw37hjYbzVeaTzkJSn_sxPcZj5bzA2EK4jziSHoeZtsnRxPplrnNBWqlB6PEBU634diiSCNyrfCYlFazjJL7IG5im_ZeD-_licYOYYs3A9yvtc4fJERrzMdp071FNbKg4Zbw8nPt1h_ZOzD4cZcEOT0aO6vHev7xMyR_gC4W_t4xtlvyTSbvNMSWkT5-68OvAKsUl6YzID-vdHiC6wxcWPGsmUleib0wTzfrSBFGNYIOoHmUL-Kn8CrI-foIJjqTRti76o2Fk6KqL6He_OZrgnhYtsleOsE3oFayqPs.MiWyCOGALzz5lSD3fQtKthHG6my9Jn1SnmBj8NFTc10&dib_tag=se&keywords=guitar+power+multi+daisy+chain&qid=1717763181&sprefix=guitar+power+multi+daisy+chain%2Caps%2C66&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1)

Except having yet another guitar that doesn't get played after the first couple of weeks...!! And then buying a RevStar anyway... Have fallen into this GAS trap more times than I like to remember... I posted another thread about not been able to gel with any stratocaster and subsequently sold my last strat for a loss... but yet I find myself looking at them again... When will we learn?

This all looks very nice, certainly for shredding and more technical material, but I think it would suffer from the same issue as some of the presets on their Bass 9. It will try to duplicate / harmonise with all the strings all the time, so you can't just have a lower frequency part of a chord. I think it would sound really muddy if you tried to fill out behind some chords. The Bass 9 has one mode called split bass which (similar to the Boss OC3 'range' feature which would be another option) allows only the lower notes to be duplicated and leaves the higher ones alone. So, for instance, you could play a boogie bassline on the E and A strings whilst interspersing this with stabs and notes on the B and high E strings and the higher notes wouldn't sound an octave down. Also, if you played lower register barre chords in particular then the root note and 5th would play as a bass note but the higher strings sound just as guitar and gives more of an impression of 2 instruments. But it does need adjustment in playing style and I wasn't prepared to fully work at it. I lost interest and just play low string basslines and then jump to higher inversions in between, a bit like incorporating both lead and rhythm together, but each bit on it's own rather than overdub. What about the EHX Freeze pedal? Would that work to create just a drone note to play over? I have seen a couple of videos but never played with one. Seems like it would hold and sustain the first chord of the sequence until you turn it off.

In all honesty I just couldn't gel with it. I worked through about two thirds of 'Mandolin for Dummies' but struggled to play almost any chords at all and just started concentrating on melody and double stops. But ultimately it just didn't float my boat as much as I though so moved it on and went back to my ukulele and flat top acoustic.

Definitely not a perfect solution, but I have used the Electro Harmonix Bass 9 pedal. It nicely replicates bass tones on a guitar, but tries to do it on every string so sounds really odd when playing chords or melody. But one of the modes does bass tones on the bottom 2 strings but not the higher ones. This works much better to replicate bass. I tended to do a drone note underneath and the higher strings with just the guitar notes. I put the signal into a bass amp and the guitar into my guitar amp. It certainly isn't perfect but works quite nicely to just fill out the sound.

Really like this. It has actually got a nice melody and lovely phrasing rather than just mindless shredding. Nicely done, I shall have to go and check out some other pieces like this.

I was not aiming for a convincing Shadows tone, but I used a cheap magnetic soundhole pickup on my acoustic that is strung with flatwound 12 gauge electric strings. I ran that through my effects unit (Behringer V-amp Pro) set for Brit Class A (which I think is meant to be Vox ac30) preset, a shortish delay and reverb. I got a nice 50s-60s type tone for my general mix of rock and roll (that included some Duane Eddy, Ventures and Shadows as well as Elvis and Buddy Holly). I don't like the sound of the amplified acoustic guitar but wanted the look as a solo performer. If I play now I just use electric guitar instead as I use lighter strings these days. The benefit of the cheap magnetic pickup was that the 'better' ones are trying hard to give that authentic sound which I didn't want. The one off eBay isn't very good in that way, but it does make it sound more electric.

Very nice indeed. I do love a classy guitar instrumental.

I intend to use like my regular guitar, but certainly would want to use higher inversions and melody fills to avoid the same frequency range as the accordion. But I don't intend to play high register solos or anything like that. Very true about the strings, acoustic volume probably the deciding factor overall... but if you need a preamp on a mag pickup, does that not mean that the signal from the strings isn't loud enough? I don't have to use a separate preamp for my existing soundhole pickup. I think this is going to be one of those rabbit holes that you wish you had never started down, a bit like when choosing strings for the upright bass... Was looking in detail again over the weekend at some of the tracks and I think it may be possible to also re-arrange the songs better so that both the guitar and the accordion are playing less and therefore creating a little more space for both instruments to do their bit. Thanks for all the input, gives me a great starting point to adjust both playing and sound to enable this to work better.. much appreciated

Thanks. Spent the weekend looking at resonators. I didn't realise there was so much choice. Some have pickups, some piezo and some magnetic. I think a pickup would be handy just in case for those louder setups, and yes, a battery amp would be great for that. Bigger venues I would probably just mic and go into PA as I don't intend to be moving around much, it is a low key affair. It looks like most of the resonator strings are bronze like acoustic guitar, but they don't work great on magnetic pickups. Can I use heavy guage electric strings instead? Also read some info saying that you can't really lower the action on a resoantor, so not sure if slide setups would be too high an action for me to play 'regular' guitar parts. I will make a point of going across to Andertons or Guitar Guitar and actually playing some in the next couple of weeks rather than buy blind...

Another resonator question then, if you have experience. What is the real world difference between a biscuit bridge and a spider cone? Again, just looking on youtube, a biscuit one sounds a little brighter, more metallic and less sustain, whereas a spider cone sounds closer to a guitar with a slightly warmer tone and more sustain. Is that about it? Difficult to tell using my computer speakers. I think that a slightly more metallic one might make me slightly different to the smooth swell of the accordion.

I also have an American sound already as backup, so I could definitely experiment with that as required.

Brilliant, much appreciated indeed. I do feel that a more boxy tone would be of benefit. I am not averse to playing through PA when needed, but like the idea of a small house party or coffee shop type gig, maybe a wedding to just be there as background music mainly without the need of full PA. But true acoustic would be good and convenient for practice and possibly busking.

Thanks @Dad3353. That is a good idea about muting the accordion. Currently I arrange songs based on my pre-conceived ideas and skills and I feel that I ought to play a little more of that stabbing rhythm/comping to keep everyone in time, but some songs definitely benefit from the guitar melody too. So I think there is an element of modifying the approach somewhat. Not to blow a trumpet about it, but I am both the most accomplished musician and vocalist, so I feel it my place to arrange the songs appropriately. It is hard though to arrange with the best overall sound in mind rather than just the parts that I would like to play!! Thanks for your opionion about resos, I did think from various youtube vids that it seemed a little more brash and mid orientated, but haven't had the chance to ever play one. A slightly more aggressive tone might indeed just make it different enough.

That looks lovely. I like the sloped shoulders.

I have a problem with pure acoustic vs plugged in tones. Due to my arthritis progressing at a steady rate I have decided to start a new band before I run out of time... We ideally want to be an acoustic band sitting in the back of the pub or restaurant, playing at a garden party or event, or busking, open mic night or jam sessions. The band make up is one vocalist, myself on guitar and another on accordion, both of us doing accapella type backing to add extra melody, basslines etc as required. We are attempting to play a variety of well known material in a broadly americana style veering from bluegrass, delta blues and folk, to dixieland jazz and almost rockabilly. But my guitar doesn't gel well with the accordion, it isn't loud enough and seems to be missing a huge amount of middle frequency. Obviously, I can't change the overall sound of the accordion, but by it's nature it has quite a polarised nature, lots of bass and lots of treble. I tried playing initially with my dreadnought but it broadly has the same sound space as the accordion. My other acoustic is an OM size with a soundhole pickup and it is better but lacks the volume required when the accordion plays longer notes and although it is more balanced and less bass heavy it still has a similar thing. I like it when playing solo, but don't like the combination with the other instrument. Also doesn't help that due to the arthritis, I can't hold a pick properly so tend to play similar to Mark Knopfler and use my thumb and first finger together as a sort of plectrum motion and the other 3 fingers to pluck upwards, but I don't play actual finger style. It helps when I play barre chords rather than open chords, as well as comping, stabs, arpeggios and melodies in the higher registers, but some songs are just awkward to play. I can plug into my acoustic amp and take some of the bass and treble out, thus emphasising the mid frequency (as well as increasing volume as much as needed) which improves things sufficiently but I want to try and not have an amp if possible, I don't want the extra gear to take, nor the need for electricity if I can help it. I like the idea of being authentic/vintage and the simplicity of being able to just pitch up and play, or even walking around. As I see it I only have 2 options... A: Get a decent battery powered acoustic amp to remain cable free, or possibly a battery powered PA speaker for both lead vocal and guitar reinforcement. B: Get a different guitar... would something like a resonator or archtop be a more mid focussed sound or louder in volume? I certainly wouldn't mind the visual benefits of looking different from all the other acoustic bands The accordion player is a relative beginner so doesn't have some of the subtlety yet on the instrument to vary his volume to a huge degree so it falls to me to fit around him if I can. Are there any other options I might have missed or would just a change in approach be the better option overall?

I tried Reaper but found it a little confusing. I have friends that love it though and it is free to try and then very cheap to buy. I can't say much about the quality of the recording as not been able to compare directly, but mine is clear and as I was expecting. It can only be as good as what goes in so if you have cheap mics or poor technique, the quality won't be as good than with quality mics and clear playing on either one. I chose the Presonus specifcally for the midi ports so that I can connect my keyboard and old drum machine pad to help with the programming side.

I have had very good results using a Presonus audio interface (Studio 24c) which comes with a fully functioning DAW. I haven't found the need to buy another even though I have tried several out with the trial versions. None offered me anything else that I felt was missing from the Presonus Studio 5 software. I am sure there is huge amounts more functionality for either the Pro version of the Presonus software or of any of the alternatives, but if you are just recording bass guitar and vocals then you won't need it to begin with. I wouldn't worry about trying to mic up your amp though. A bedroom isn't an ideal acoustic environment so you probably won't get great results. Just use either software amp sims or the USB out on the Katana. I spent money on getting Toontrack EZ Drummer for quality programmable drums to really lift my tracks, and just use better quality headphones rather than fully fledged studio monitors. I can test the quality of my audio on 'standard' equipment with my Creative computer speakers which gives me a better idea what it will sound like on my phone or in the car. So my recommendation is £105 for the interface and DAW combined, then £100-150 on your headphones rather than monitor speakers.