Skinnyman

Fortunately there are very few videos of me out there on the internet and my face isn’t in any of them so you’d have to recognise my buttocks to realise that it’s me….

So this married woman becomes obsessed with you and buys (and ships) you a bass? I’ve had a couple of stalkers over the years but none of them have bought me a bass. I wonder what I’m doing wrong?

The lead guitarist in our band has gone full FRFR and is using a headrush unit direct into the PA system. It sounds great. I have a GR55 guitar synth and an actual synth plugged into a small mixer which then goes to the main PA. Occasionally, I need to play the actual guitar rather than through the synth unit and so I’ve been looking at options. This included the Sansamp units (the GT2 probably) and the Strymon Iridium but the one I’ve settled on is the Humboldt Simplifier Classic. It models three classic amps and three types of cab, has an FX loop and XLR outputs to the PA. A lot cheaper than the Iridium and substantially cheaper than a Helix or Headrush* I’ll report back when it arrives but the video reviews look very good. * Which I appreciate do a lot more

Blimey. Just….. blimey

Things have generally been fine but I did notice a slight tremor of the hands at the last rehearsal - because, for the first time ever, I was playing a synth in front of other people. It settled down after about four bars.

I have reported this to the relevant authorities.

The good thing is that they’re incredible value used. (scuttles off to BC marketplace)

Welcome W-H. I think guitar through a bass amp used to be relatively common (the Fender Bassman being a case in point). I do like those Ampeg Portaflex amps - I’m tempted to try one for myself

I found some of Beato’s stuff interesting but then he started getting all self-referential and the videos were more about his experiences as a YouTuber, copyright strikes and his dealings with other Tubers and less about the music. I’ve recently noticed a trend for “reactions” videos where someone is filmed reacting to their (supposed) first hearing of a classic track such as “Close To The Edge” or similar. I’m sure these have been going for ages but they’ve just started appearing in my suggestions. My initial reaction is “why?”. Why would I want to watch a person I don’t know listen to a piece of music that I do know and why would I care about their reaction? I’m sure these things bring joy and happiness to many so good luck to them.

I bought this last year as it had the number of inputs I wanted along with USB 3.0 connectivity. If I’m honest, I wish I’d bought a Focusrite Instead. Good things; 4 combi XLR inputs on the front panel USB 3.0 connection USB or external power Reasonable sound quality (see below) Not So Good Things Input levels are very low, especially on Mics meaning that you have to raise the gain levels to nearly max which brings up the noise floor. I’m now using mine with an external DI to boost signals to line levels before they hit the UR44C. The firmware upgrade process is hit and miss with the real possibility that you trash the thing if it fails Similarly, driver updates are also a bit of a lottery. Connection to my Mac is inconsistent. Mostly works but throws the occasional strop. The unit can work correctly but still not be recognised by the basically useless supplied software. No power switch. I use an external PSU and have to switch the unit off at the wall. Only a minor point but it’s an inconvenience and would be sorted by an On-Off button. All in all, this has been a real disappointment. I dare say some of the issues are more to do with the latest version of the Mac OS but I cannot forgive the poor quality of the Mic inputs. I’ve managed to get some reasonable recordings but every time I power up the computer I’m wondering if the Interface is working today or whether I’ll have to fix that before I can start to do any work.

I just opened guitarchat.co.uk on my mobile and the menu option has disappeared from the home page so one can’t open it to Sign In. Fortuunately, the Sign In button under the picture of the caravan is still present and works so I could sign in that way. (Also, the menu is present on the BC Home Screen but when I select Sign In, it hangs. Maybe related? Maybe just me. You could have just messaged me and told me to stay away….)

Only if I really stretch

I’ve ordered a set of elixirs and we’ll see how they go.

Which ones? There seem to be quite a few different ones…

Any recommendations for long-lasting (electric) strings? Its to use with my guitar synth so I’m not too worried about their tone, more interested in feel and longevity

This looks interesting. Not sure I’d pay £2k though. My GR55 has a decent nylon guitar patch so I’ll stick with that

A friend had the Variax briefly and got rid because the build quality was terrible. This may not be true of all of them but worth bearing in mind.

“Just” an SE but one of the best put together guitars I’ve seen. When I bought it they had a couple of S2s in which I also tried and they really weren’t all that special. Lovely looking things but not noticeably better than the SE.

What Ez said… The more I play it, the more I fall in love with that neck. I have another PRS (the Hollowbody) which has a regular rosewood fingerboard and a slightly different scale length and that’s also very nice but the roasted maple on the 24 is just fantastic. I don’t know if all Custom 24s are the same or if it’s a characteristic of the roasted maple, but whatever it is, it’s lovely. Just a shame about the puke-bowl colour but even that’s growing on me

That’s a kind offer but my GAS is satisfied for the moment (we’ll, I’m after a new synth but guitar-wise I’m sorted). The bilious green Custom 24 is a keeper and I no longer need a Mira

I had a Faith for years and I agree, they’re amazingly good guitars - even more so at that price point. That looks very nice - is it really as compact as the pictures suggest?

Guitars: A nice PRS Custom 24 (US) with Roland GK MIDI pickup A black Gibson ES335 A Taylor 614CE FX: Line 6 Helix Roland GR55 Synth T Rex Acoustic Soulmate Multi-FX/DI Cab: A decent FRFR for me please

Social distancing meant that I could only have got one or two at best so not really worth it.

Here we are, the morning after my first gig* as a guitarist and I’m wondering what I was worried about. Apart from the fact that it got really cold when the sun went in** which made fretting a challenge at times, everything went fine and the GR55 was incredible (hilarious watching people looking for the sax player when I did the solo in Dancing In The Moonlight). A little tense before we started but any nerves there were, as @ezbass predicted, vanished as soon as I played the first note. Thanks all for the wise words. *Private party outdoors, socially distanced and within the guidelines. **That happens.

Well, do you? I occasionally give a rosewood board a light oiling but I understand that there are other schools of thought on whether this is a sensible idea. So… do you?