ezbass

Sorry to hear it didn’t work out, but it seems a way forward is already in hand.

Classic design, with a signature overdrive sound. That said, a clean Marshall is a wondrous thing. Enjoy.

I would imagine it is so that the chord isn’t muddied by the bass notes and changing the ‘flavour’ of the chord. For the open chords, a lot of folk just saw away on all 6 strings and it sounds fine, as you have pointed out it should. That said, there’s a lot to be said for training some restraint in the early days, as this will pay dividends further down the line, when it will be require. Have fun in your journey.

I’d forgotten how rewarding it can be to fit the right strings (for me at least) to an acoustic guitar. New strings on an electric are fine, but fitting a new set on an acoustic just makes it sing or, at least, can do. I bought my Inspired By Gibson, Hummingbird a fair while back. The strings it came with (12s) were fine, but a bit heavy for me. When I bought it, I picked up a set of D’Addario 10s and fitted them straight away. Nice guitar that it is, it didn’t have that Goldilocks thing of being just right with those strings. I refitted the original 12s and it was better, but still heavy for me and I’ve stuck with them for a fair while. Whilst buying something completely unrelated on Amazon, the other day, I remembered that the strings on my other, steel strung acoustic are really nice and that I bought them from Mr Bezos’ online empire. I checked my order history, to check what they were again, and I bought another set of them for the Hummingbird, DR Rare 11s. Just finished fitting them (complete with the inevitable puncture wound in a fingertip ) and what a difference! Yes, it sings because of the newness of the strings, but there’s something else, full bottom end (ooh, er, Mrs!), singing highs, supportive mids, properly loud and the tension is just right, I have achieved that Goldilocks balance of tone and playability. Therefore, if you have an acoustic that’s not delivering what you want, just try changing the strings for something you know works on other guitars, or take a punt on a previously untried brand/type of string, it might just be the thing you’ve been looking for and is cheaper than buying a new guitar (not that buying new guitars is bad, but needs must and all that).

No, that’s how the industry works GAS is a cruel mistress.

A tech will sort that easily, I would have thought, although I’d be tempted to try and track it down myself. E&B share particular harmonic vibrations, so that doesn’t come as a surprise.

Something is vibrating in the trem system I reckon.

Goldtops just do it for me, any make. Two of the best sounding guitars I’ve played was a PRS McCarty P90 Goldtop and an early PRS McCarty that I was lucky enough to own (turns out that PRS double cut ergonomics don’t work for me really ). On that basis, a PRS Dave Grissom, Goldtop (effectively a tricked out McCarty) ticks a lot of boxes for me.

I don't, it's often wrong . That said, interval training helps, but multiple octave jumps are always going to be a challenge. That said, memorise some intervals in tunes that mean something to you and that you can recognise (for instance the minor third of the Jaws theme or the octave jump in Over The Rainbow). Also knowing whether the key being used is major or minor flavoured can get you there quicker.

Either pickup, swap the hot and earths around.

As Dad says, it has to be playable and comfortable for your hands and body, whichever feels best should be the one you buy. However, that said, don’t overlook the visual appeal. The more you play, the better you’ll become, so having something you want to pick up and play, because of the way it looks, as well as the ergonomics, is also important.

If you're happy not playing barre chords, then that's fine. However, it will impede your progress. It's not all E/Em and A/Am shapes (dominant & minor 7ths too), a barred C shape is a great voicing to have available, for instance. It takes time and effort to build up the strength to play barre chords, but once you have it down, you'll never look back. Just to reiterate, you don't need to voice all 6 strings when playing chords, you often must (see should) mute some of the notes so as not give the wrong flavour to your playing.

If you can stretch the budget, just a bit, I'd always recommend Yamaha.

You may waver slightly from the actual beat during fast sections, either single note or strumming (it’s only natural when playing fast) but providing you start and finish on the beat, it’s fine and adds a human element to the passage. If you’ve ever heard famous drummers quantised, you’ll notice it feels unnatural, even though it’s bang on time. In short, feel it. At least this is what I do.

I’m only hearing what I would consider normal pick response (there’s always some extra harmonic content). Try not playing so quickly and see if you can still hear what you’re hearing with space between the notes. Something else to consider is pick-up height, if the pickups are too high, you might be hearing what are referred to as ‘wolf tones’.

Could be that. Could be that too. It won't hurt.

SRV by Eric Johnson. Took a me ages to get the main parts down and I don’t have the chops to nail the main solo. Still revisit it occasionally, which then becomes also a feat of memory, as alluded to by @Dad3353.

It’s been a progression really, so I’ll list them as they came into my consciousness. Les Paul - I was raised with Les in the house, the sound of guitar, front and centre was different from everything else. Hank Marvin - The Shadows were on my turntable a lot with records that I’d inherited, guitar front and centre again. Crosby Stills Nash & Young - The live album, 4 Way Street, made want to learn to play. Eric Clapton - Hearing Layla for the first time was a ‘wow’ moment, I wanted to play like that. I became the biggest fanboy, but can’t stand him now Paul Kossoff & Santana - I didn’t have fast chops and these guys showed that note choice and feel were just as important and I could actually play their lines (at least I thought I could). Eric Johnson - The master of electric tone IMO, I can’t play or sound like him, but still my favourite player. Carl Verheyen - Introduced me to playing bigger intervals for solo breaks, pulled me out of the typical, pentatonic rut. Brian Setzer - I was asked to join a rockabilly band, so started to listen to Brian, completely changed my style. These days, I’m more into rhythm playing and guys like Cory Wong and John Mayer for their rhythm chops are more my thing. As I play mainly acoustic now, I’m also developing a better appreciation for Jimmy Page’s acoustic playing (I think he plays electric like he’s falling downstairs, too messy).