EdwardMarlowe

Yeah, with eBay, best to run a search for 'completed listings'. I've found in the last you can get better prices with a 'buy it now' than an auction, but you sometimes have to be prepared to let it sit available for a bit longer...

I have a Steinberger Spirit I bought nearly twenty years ago. Mine is the GU type - the ones shaped a bit more like a guitar. It's also one of only two left handers I've ever seen in the UK. It was privately imported waaayyy back when they were being sold by MuiscYo. It was completely counterintuitive in some ways - totally *not* my aesthetic style - but at the time I wanted a guitar I could transport easily in hand luggage, and this hit the spot. There are a lot of travel type guitars that achieve being compact by reducing the scale. The Steinberger has a 'proper' scale (from memory, I think it's more Gibson than Fender), with a full size neck. The size reduction is achieved by the headless design, and the body being significantly smaller. (More so with the paddle ones.) 24 frets was interesting to try (I'm very much a 21 frets or GTFO guy, though being left handed I often have to compromise and accept that ugly little 22nd fret overhang on a Fender type). The headless set up while ,frankly, to my eyes utterly fugly, can't be faulted in terms of ease of tweaking the truss, and it stays in tune, especially in a gig bag, like no other guitar I've ever owned (and I've had some great ones on that score). The hardware is good stuff - particularly impressed with the bridge. The push-in arm works very well, it's stable, returns to pitch beautifully. The little leaver arrangement that renders it a de facto fixed bridge otherwise is clever and also works wonderfully well. All done and said, I can't fault it at all. If Fender made one that just, well, looked a bit more like it came out of the 50s, I'd consider it. It's a cracking guitar that plays like a full-size one but has the overall physical size of a banjo. That all said, I'm going to be selling it over the next few months. I have too many guitars, want others, and need to sell some stuff to realise both space and the funds for buying them. If I had limitless space and funds, though, I'd probably keep it around. I still think it's ugly, but I really warmed to it as a piece of design, and it is nice to play. The Brompton bicycle of guitars...

YES! That's exactly the one! Thanks, that was driving me daft. Could see the logo, just not remember the spelling.... like not having me mental reading glasses on.... Funnily enough, I always thought the Tyler headstock shape wasn't bad, but that it would look much better without what was a very 80s looking logo to my eyes. Subjective aesthetic preferences are subjective, of course, but the guitar in the OP shows to my mind how much nicer a very similar shape looks with a different approach the labelling.

Headstock reminds me of another brand that used to do spins on the Fender style - James Taylor? Something like that? This looks nice. Have the vibe of a middle / late 60s piece. Interesting idea to have a compound radius board on something so otherwise retro looking.... Though I suspect that sort of thing wasn't so unusual in practice in the days when all necks were finished by hand? Looks like it'll be a blast to play. Enjoy!

Basswood is another one a lot of people get sniffy about, though Fender Japan used that in a lot of solid colour bodies over the years. Mosrite too, as I recall... both the original US guitars and the Japanese product that later adopted the "Mosrite of California" name. I have at least one guitar I know to be basswood, and it's grand.

Poplar does have the reputation, though Fender used it in Mexican made guitars for years on the bodies, so it can't be all that problematic! Bee interesting to compare it to laurel and rosewood. I've got both of those in fingerboards on different guitars, and I'm not convinced there's any particularly appreciable difference.

Thanks. Wow, looks like something much pricier - there's no obvious "budget" tell up against, well... something much pricier right beside it! Sounds like a HB type approach. Enjoy! How are you finding the poplar on the fretboard?

What is the gold top? Nice looking machine.

Tanglewood make a lovely acoustic. Their dedicated a/e models are also nicely appointed with the appropriate Fishman guts. The buzz about the Harley Benton brand seems to include their acoustics - I've yet to try one. Simon & Patrick make nice acoustics. Although there's still imo a bigger quality gap between the two ends of the acoustic market than there is with electrics now, I lean to the view that it's not as big as once it was. As with electrics, which you can get for two to three ton these days is ridiculously impressive compared to where the market was thirty odd years ago.

Nicely done. The paint job looks great - like a 'closet classic' relic.

I'm loving this all. For years I've wanted something very much like that for plugging in headphones or hooking up to the PC at home. I've not bought anything as yet because I'm not really interested in most of the potential they have - years ago, I bought a Vox Valvetronix (still got it). The original, blue cloth one, size of an AC30, 2x12. Thing is I only ever used one amp model, and I don't bother with the built in effects. Something like this, though, I might be more inclined towards as at that price, as long as the sound I want is good, it doesn't matter so much more of it is "wasted"....

Not new, no. I still can't get over how Epiphone prices have skyrocketed.... Never understood why Gibson would never produce a 'Gibson Japan' or similar, rather than keep pushing on with runs of YouWHATnow? expensive Epiphones (there's brand perception for you!), but they must know the business better than I do. Used, well.. Tokai you occasionally see a used bargain on one of the Chinese or Korean models, though Tokai seem to be increasingly rare over here now. I have a Korean Epiphone Std, a really nice one, from 1998 I bought new for about £350. I wouldn't be confident of getting north of £250 for it (hell, if it would sell for £500+ it'd have been on eBay long ago!). Vintage still seem to come in under £300 here and there used - I've seem some as low as £150 or so, but the brand is definitely picking up recognition. New, all three are much pricier than HB, though I'd consider them its direct competition still in term of instruments as distinct from price band... (back to the benefit of Thomann's business model for these!).

Could be. If this one was intended to be a more 'vintage' spec, they might have installed narrow / tall frets like Fender did way back when. Medium-Jumbo and Jumbo frets seem to have started becoming much more of a norm on everything into the 90s?

Edit: I misread your post, but you're right - the big plus of Shubb is all the spares available! https://shubb.com/support/ https://shubb.com/product-category/replacement-parts/ hubb.com/product/delrin-cap-dc/

Well, if you think about it, headphones are, ultimately, just a pair of stereo speakers. I've played my LP through my Vox bass amp. It does sound a touch different than via a guitar amp, but it works. Similarly, I have a Vox 2x12 stereo cab that I keep toying with the idea of trying out with a hifi. It will work. It'll sound different than a hifi speaker set, because it is voice primarily with a guitar's frequencies in mind. Same with headphones. I would expect guitar-specific headphones to be designed to specifically work well for the frequencies a guitar runs at, whereas hifi headphones are designed to cover a wider range of sounds well. TBh, though, I doubt I could tell you which was which in isolation. I'd expect to hear a *difference* against each other, but what sounds *better* will depend on the individual human ear, and the subjective preferences to which it is attached. All done and said, if I was sinking serious money into headphones dedicated to use with a guitar amp, I'd at least look at guitar-specific phones. If I wanted phones I could also use for more general purposes, I'd probably be looking at the hifi stuff. Both will do the job for a guitar amp just fine, they'll jut be voiced slightly differently.

I think it matters more for some types of sound. There's a Rick Beato vid on Youtube where he shows how, contrary to the popular opinion that "heavy equals teh tonez", if you're a shredder playing with a lot of gain and distortion, lighter strings actually give you a clearer tone. Maybe that's why Brian May plays, if memory serves, eights (how he doesn't snap strings all the time mystifies me, especially given what he uses for picks...). I started out with 9s. The first thing I did with my first electric was restring it (it was right handed, I'm a southpaw and Hendrixed it - left-handed guitars were a whole lot rarer, especially used, in 1991). I kept snapping the high e, so after a bit I started buying a separate 10 and putting that on for the high E. Meant it was a lot close what I was using for a B from a 9 set, and felt a little different, though no derogatory effect on the sound. Eventually I just switched up to tens all over, and have been happy with that since. Over time my pick of choice also went up from a .46 to, nowadays, anything from 1mm to 2mm, which works fine with 10s - guess I've figures out the right 'grip' as to not snap 'em all the time now.

Indeed. I'd be looking at a quality steel (or brass?) trem block replacement if it's the cheaper zinc type in there. Otherwise, don't see any need to replace the whole thing, unless you luck into a deal where the whole unit with a quality block is cheaper than the block alone.

Yeah, I spotted that bridge too. I did wonder whether Aria had done a series where they used better hardware, but you are probably right it's a later replacement. Which suggests a previous owner enjoyed this guitar well enough to take the time, effort and expense of that modification. There may be others - I would expect they at least did a good set-up on it, but I wonder too if any of the other big plus points you've noticed were down to the same owner's investment? Be interesting to have a look under the guard to see if there are any signs of anything being changed there.

Yes, Epiphone, Tokai and Vintage also all make a great LP type, but HB's vfm is such a no-brainer, that'd be where I'd start too.

TBh, I think for me personally the feel - and even the look of a guitar - makes as much of a difference, maybe, more, than the sound. When I life an LP style guitar, my approach, my own associations, both conscious and unconscious, with that style as distinct from a Strat, a Tele, my HB JA or MR Classic are so specific that I approach the instrument in a different way, and that every much informs what and how I play. There are guitars out there I could never play my best on because I hate how they look so much. (Though that can be overcome: years ago I bought a Steinberger Spirit as a travel guitar, before the restrictions changed and anything bigger than a violin case had to be checked in hold baggage - and although it was a purely utilitarian choice, an appreciation for how it actually worked so well gave me a new appreciation for its aesthetics.) Yes. Look and feel are, if anything, underrated as reasons to buy / not buy particular guitars.

I think sometimes guitars also change a little over time. It's much more obvious with acoustics, but pickups and things age over time too... I think too there is just a lot to be said for how a guitar wears in ,feels in the hand over time. The hand will sense those tiny, minor differences that the eye can't see. It's like when you have a favourite pair of shoes, and you buy an identical pair from the same brand a few years later, they'll not be quite the same or feel just quite the same until broken in. A lot if it is also psychological, imo. I once had the opportunity to play Hendrix's Black Angel, the custom lefty Flying Vee. When I played Purple Haze on it, it felt like that song was just in there. Part of that will doubtless be that Jimi played that number on there so many times, there will be those wear patterns, for want of a better way of putting it, but also - handling a hero's guitar? A mystical object like that? Bound to be something all in the mind with it. I don't even like other flying Vs....

Yeah, looks just like natural wood figuring to me. Nothing to worry about.

I expect initially it was down to building down to a price point. With the growing reputation of the brand and the buzz around the spec of the 25th range, though, they'd surely be mad not to at least consider a 'plus' version.

It'll be interesting to see where it goes. Vintage feel like a clear direct competitor for the higher end HBS, at least, bearing in mind that's probably what they'd retail at if being sold via the normal wholesale / retail distribution model. I'd be very happy to see more HBs of a type I fancy in and around the £250 mark (in the real world, that would be £400-450ish in the usual retail chain) if it meant just enough of an upgrade spec. I'm hoping they eventually do more of the Grestch-style Big Tone in CC colours, and left handed... I remember when I was first learning, guys who'd been playing since the seventies waxing lyrical about the quality of 'beginner; instruments. Squier especially - and that was the early nineties, when pretty much all Squiers were plywood bodied, not something I could see them being able to sell now... The really interesting thing is how many more affordable brands that would once have been "or beginners" are now repositioning themselves as "serious" instruments. Vintage are a little more expensive than once they were, yes - though still cheaper than the top end Squiers and middle-range Epiphones as appropriate. Notably, thought, their marketing has them as "guitars for the working musician". It feels to me like the days when guys in bands felt they had to have a Fender or a Gibson to be seen as serious are behind us, and the more expensive, US-built stuff especially is increasingly viewed as luxury rather than 'professional musician's necessity'. Part of it of course is how manufacturing has come on - with advances in CNC, and designs like the Tele having been around so long, the actual cost of putting together a good working tele type now, for example, isn't what it was. Certainly be interesting to see what happens with HB like this. Given how much cheaper their business model lets them be, can you imagine what HB could do with, say, an ST type they could sell for £400? I just hope if they go that way they do their higher end versions of the same wide range, and don't make it all about SCs, or Fusions, or any one type.

They've rolled out the SS frets across a few of the SCs, I see; nice stuff. I hope they do that with some of the other, bolt-neck styles, STs, TEs, JAs especially! TBh, I wouldn't think about any upgrades for a while - just live with it for a bit and see what you think. If you find you want some specific other pickups then I might throw in a new wiring loom at the same time, but in truth I'd just live with it for a bit and see i you feel it needs any actual changes - a lot of folks who have them don't seem to want to switch anything out.