Skinnyman

Thank you - it looks even nicer in the flesh. Well, in the wood. You know what I mean. I don’t usually go for high gloss finishes but the top on this is really striking with everything else a nice satin. I’ve played it a lot today and the strings have lost their initial ickiness and are feeling much better now. It’s a very different sound to both the Taylor I had and the Faith Venus I had before that - not better, not worse, just different. More “woody” if that makes sense. I’ve also discovered today that I have the attention span of a two year old full of sugar and E-numbers. I’ve set myself a couple of songs to learn with classical arrangements and I keep distracting myself and end up playing random bits and bobs rather than sticking to the piece I’m trying to learn.

There’s a piezo with an LR Baggs preamp and tuner. I haven’t tried that yet. I’ve got a Fishman Aura DI box which I need to try it with too.

I’m very impressed. The overall finish is superb. Fret edges are beautifully chamfered smooth, action is low but with no buzzing or rattling anywhere. There’s obviously a difference in the quality of the components but there’s really not much difference in terms of construction between this and my £3k Taylor. At any price, this is a nicely made guitar. I like the dark finish and the satin feel of the neck. It comes with d’addario EXP strings and I’m not a fan of the feel of them - I might stick a set of Elixirs on. Apart from that, I’m well pleased with this.

I like a slightly less “bright” sound and I had a noodle on a mahogany Washburn a while ago (which would have been a contender but that particular guitar was quite clumsily finished and sort of put me off Washburns). It should (DPD permitting) turn up tomorrow so we’ll see if it’s staying or going.

After a lot of reading, YT videos and review trawling, I’ve just pulled the trigger on an Alvarez Artist. OM size, solid mahogany top and laminated mahogany back and sides. Nobody within easy reach has one I can try so I’m taking a bit of a punt but I figure if it’s not what I’m hoping it will be, I can return it and I’m just down the cost of return shipping. I did try a Cort, a couple of Yamahas and an Ibanez. Nice guitars all but there was something about each of them that put me off a bit. What impresses me most is the sheer number of very good guitars available these days for £200-£300.

I’d love to be able to play with a pick but my tremor won’t let me. My biggest issue is constructing a decent solo. I’ve read all the theory about targeting chord tones but it goes out of the window after the second bar

I had a Strat which I considered too heavy. I fixed this by buying (and subsequently selling) a Les Paul Traditional which is like a Standard Les Paul but without the chambers. Having played one set with this boat anchor round my neck, I found the Strat to be as light as a feather. On a more serious note, I concur with the comments above about balance and the importance of a good, wide strap. A light guitar and a decent strap are things of joy. If it also sounds decent and plays well, that’s a bonus How’s the HB, Frank? I’ve heard nothing but good reports about them….

I’m probably leaning towards Alvarez then Sigma. There’s no good reason for that other than I like the bevel feature on some of the Alvarez models. Cort are at the bottom of the list but if I find a nice one, I’d have no qualms about getting it. The slim dimensions of the SFX are quite appealing- though I’ll need to try one to be sure. Apart from the actual playing experience, which I suspect may be similar across all three makes, it’s going to come down to how well the instruments are finished and set up.

Having recently sold my very-nice-but-just-lived-in-the-case-because-it-was-too-nice-to-have-out-in-the-living-room Taylor, I’m in the market for a ‘budget to mid-range’ acoustic. One that’s cheap enough not to care about the odd ding here and there but good enough to be well constructed and sound reasonable. Around £300-£400. Modern CNC machining means that there’s decent quality at this price these days so I’ve a good range of choice but I think I’ve narrowed it down to three. The Cort SFX range has caught my eye, as has the Alvarez Artist series and Sigma have a couple of candidates. Sigma used to be tied to Martin and Cort make guitars for absolutely everyone but Alvarez is quite new to me. Anyone any experience of any of these? I’m going to try before I buy but that will involve a fair old trip as no single dealer near me has all three makes. If I can rule anything out before I set off, that will help

Good to know, thanks. I think Santa may bring me one. Their Klon Centaur clone (Horseman?) looks interesting too….

I was toying with the idea of updating my old Boss RC2. The RC3 would be the next logical upgrade but it’s discontinued and I was baulking a bit at the prospect of spending two hundred pounds on the RC5. Then I spotted this… https://www.nuxefx.com/loop-core-deluxe.html …which looks like an RC3 clone for about £100. Reviews seem generally positive - anyone on here used Nux pedals before?

Ah, right. Sorry, dunno

Up for sale is a Barefaced GXii Guitar cab. This is the original version of what is now known as the Reformer. Mine is the “American voiced” model which has an Eminence 12” speaker rather than the Celestion that was fitted to the “British Voiced” version and the current model. I bought this new direct from Barefaced in 2019 with the intention of gigging it. Then, for some reason I can’t quite recall, all our gigs were cancelled and this, plus a little Bugera Infinium T5, became my home practice rig. By the time the world started to turn again I’d gone FRFR and IEMs so the cab became redundant. It’s too good to just sit unused so up for sale it goes. The Reformer is £599 plus delivery and a long wait - I’ve priced this to (hopefully) shift. Condition is mint - even the Tolex covering! I’d prefer collection or to meet somewhere but I can post within the UK for an extra £20.

I had a good play with the G-DEC today and got it sounding…..okay. For the price, the Katana 50 looks like it would do the job. I just need to find somewhere that has one to try.

Now that’s a real quandary…. I don’t need anything for gigging so this is just for use at home - practice and some recording. I already have a little Fender G-DEC 15w which was the precursor to the Mustang range. On the surface, that seems to do everything I need. Loads of amp models, backing tracks, SD card playback, built in multi-fx and looper. Problem is, I don’t like the sound it makes. None of the amp models seem very convincing and it’s really hard to find a tone that I care for. So I’m looking for a small amp that has a really nice reverb and chorus built in. That can do clean and driven (I’m not after huge levels of distortion) and has a decent EQ range. I’d prefer the convenience of solid state but with a decent emulation of tube saturation and break-up. Headphones and an Aux in are also a must. On paper, the Mustang LT25 looks like it would do the job but the G-DEC has put me off. The Boss Katana 50 looks like it might tick the boxes - I’ll see if I can find one to try

Well that all worked out exactly as planned. Oh hang on. No it didn’t. I went to the shop yesterday, fully intending to buy an Ibanez AR520. I tried it and very nice it was too. Problem was, the “hollow” bit doesn’t really make a massive amount of difference other than making it lighter. So, I looked at the AS range which then got me looking at Eastman semi-hollows which then got me thinking that I might as well look at Epiphone ESes which then brought a nice Les Paul into my eyeline and I remembered that one of my favourite guitars was a Les Paul Studio that I traded about ten years ago and always regretted it and I’ve had other LPs since but none of them were as good as that Studio and why would that be? And I worked out that, compared to other LPs, I liked the pickups and the shorter-than-fender scale length and the chambered body and the lack of binding and what I hated about the Traditional that I’d had was the pig-iron weight of the thing and the fussiness of the binding and the robot tuner nonsense and the thick gloss finish….. so I forgot all about the semi-hollow thing and started looking at Studios but they don’t do the plain dark wood one any more but then I spotted this…. Satin finish, no binding, medium output pickups, light weight and - to my eyes, a very nice honeyburst colour. Basically my old Les Paul Studio but in a lighter colour. Sadly, by this time I’d moved along the row, away from the Epiphones and the headstocks had changed; There among the dozens of mega-bucks Les Pauls was this. The Tribute. And it is, to me, the perfect Les Paul. Build quality is really, really good, the weight is ideal, it’s aesthetically pleasing, it plays beautifully and it sounds awesome. And at just under a grand, not the silly money that Gibson usually ask for. Gas has now shifted to amps….

Thanks for the review. It seems like you’re basically getting a body that has been painted and fitted with a fretted neck, ready to load up with the electronics and hardware of your choosing.

Sorry for the delay….I don’t get round here as often as I should. The moment has probably passed for the OP but for the benefit of future readers who stumble across this thread in a search…. I have a T5 and I think it’s the perfect practice amp. It can get reasonably loud if you want but the attenuation switching allows you to keep the volume reasonable but still drive the amp and make it work a bit. I feed mine into a Barefaced GXii (I think they call it Redeemer or some such these days) and it sounds excellent. The valves are easy to swap if you want to go hotter or calm them down a touch. All in all, I think they’re great little amps for practice or even miked up for home recording.

That looks like a bed warmer

Have you got the NotaStrat yet? Thoughts? I’ve only heard good things about HB so interested to know if they’re maintaining the standard they’ve set themselves.

This is where I demonstrate my ignorance… What is UGT?

I had an Epi ES175 which sounded lovely but I just found it a bit unwieldy. I daresay I’ll end up getting and selling an AR, then getting and selling an AS and then getting and selling an AM. There’s no end to my madness

Having spent ages poring over the Ibanez web site, the two contenders are currently the AS73 or the AR520. I know the AR played well but I’ll check out the AS before I pull the trigger. This is all assuming that I sell the two guitars I have in the marketplace, of course. And Harley’s have a great reputation - I assume that Thomann do them at close to cost just to get people through the virtual doors and into the habit of buying from them. Still amazing value though.

AR series - cheap and cheerful up to mid-priced 335-a-likes. I had a go on an AR520 last week and was very impressed with it - especially for the price (about £600). This is the crazy thing - I keep buying hollow body guitars and then selling them after a year or so. As soon as I move them on, I decide I want another. I haven’t had a semi-hollow though so maybe that will scratch the itch properly… Synthchat? If Gearspace and Elektronauts is anything to go by, synthists are a contentious lot who love giving out a good trolling. I’m not sure I want to hang around with the likes o’ they.

Update: I’ve recovered from my little wobble last year. The GAS is back with a vengeance. Recent purchases are mainly synths and I’m having a clearout of guitars (nice PRS, lovely Taylor 814 anyone?) but even before they’ve gone I’m eyeing up an Ibanez semi-hollow. Don’t ever buy a synthesiser, children. They’re a gateway to a very, very dark place.