Let's see your guitar and bass gear!

A dude in brown shorts just handed me a bit of jewelry for the Vox

In reply to Jumper K. Balls:

Sweet!

I sold this:

...and replaced it with this:

I picked up the Markbass on Memorial Day last year, on sale at Guitar Center. It was a very high-quality amp, and amazingly light-weight, but it was just too transparent for me. In contrast, the Carvin has both an 8-band graphic EQ and a 5-band EQ with the middle-3 bands being semi-parametric...plus 1500w > 800w - and with the volume these guys play at I NEED it(and ear plugs.

Even better, because I got the Markbass on sale for almost $250 less than they're selling for online now, I nearly broke even selling it. The Carvin was way cheaper too, and I've heard many great first-hand reviews of their amps. It's less than 2lbs heavier than the Markbass, so there's not really a discernible weight increase once it's in the rack either.

Jumper K. Balls wrote: A dude in brown shorts just handed me a bit of jewelry for the Vox

that's a relatively rare style of Bigsby.

If you want to make yourself REALLY happy (and have access to a machine shop), before you install it, remove the pins, drill out where they were and chamfer the edges. Makes for WAY easier restringing.

I've gotta chime in here. I had no guitar gear when this thread started, but I've picked it up in the past few months. So I'm one of the cool kids now, right? I've got a lot of music background, but other than a semester of playing cello, nothing with strings. Turns out years of saxophone helps with how your fingers run around, but chording? Nope.

Pretty minimal gear so far. My guitar is a Squier Affinity body and neck. I yanked out all the cheap electronics and replaced them. Upgraded pots and switch, SSL-5 bridge PU, '69 middle PU and Fat '50s neck PU. I also added a switch to hook the bridge and neck PUs together. All on a black pickguard. Yeah, it's been done before! I was going to swap out the tuners, but they seem to have settled in after I screwed around with them.

My wife did not understand why I had the soldering iron and air grinder out for my new guitar.

Not mine, but it's enough to give you an idea.

Also not mine.

So, basically, I took a cheap but decent piece of kit and changed out all the parts that matter for more performance. Hmm, sounds familiar somehow.

My amp right now is a little Roland practice amp with some good Sony headphones. Once I can play better, I'll start looking at options.

I've also got a keyboard controller, an analog Moog synth emulator, plectrum banjo (can't play that one yet), Selmer SA80-II soprano sax, Yamaha tenor sax, an alto sax, a flute, a didgeridoo, some drums, harmonica, slide whistle, some organ pipes and a little pocket Casio keyboard that plays the rhythm for Da Da Da. But that's not guitar stuff.

Tim Baxter wrote:

Jumper K. Balls wrote: A dude in brown shorts just handed me a bit of jewelry for the Vox

that's a relatively rare style of Bigsby. If you want to make yourself REALLY happy (and have access to a machine shop), before you install it, remove the pins, drill out where they were and chamfer the edges. Makes for WAY easier restringing.

I honestly don't mind the pins on bigsbys. I have a B6 on my full size hollowbody and have had 4 or 5 over the years on other guitars.

I decided on the B11 because the B3 just looked too bulky for that guitar and it was only $8 more.

Keith, check out the Yamaha THR-10 It is -by far the best bedroom/practice/recording/on-the-go amp I've ever seen.

Nice work on the Strat.

Thanks Tim. I'll check that out. You have to appreciate anything that has a "crunch" setting. Just like buying hi-fi amps, it's odd to realize these things are more computers than anything else.

Keith if you're feeling adventurous, building a small tube amp is quite fun. It can be an economical way to get a really good sounding amp for not a lot of money.

Here's a little kit for all the functional parts to make a Fender Champ 5F1 head: http://triodeelectronics.com/5f1kit.html

You could use your current amp to act as the speaker cabinet.

Just picked up an Ampeg 410he (Traynor in the picture isn't mine) and an Ampeg SVT-7 Pro to run both that 410 and my Ampeg 810 fridge. 1000 watts means I'm winning my band.

Also, if anyone is interested or likes "power punk" my band put out an EP and you can listen to it for free here:

https://subtastics.bandcamp.com/album/any-questions

Keith, non-guitar/bass stuff is welcome here too. Even though most of my posts are about stringed things, I'm first and foremost a drummer.

That guitar you modded sounds cool. Cheap guitars can be funny sometimes. Either you get a real good one with a nice neck, or you get a giant POS. Sometimes, it depends on what the builder at the factory picked up out of the piles of necks and bodies they have lying around. And other times, these cheap instruments are a set of pickups or tuners away from outplaying and sounding better than their more expensive cousins.

Thanks for reminding me that I still need to finish my Epi Les Paul Special II project.

I figured that the body and neck are pretty low-tech. People have been working wood for a long time, and there's nothing being done there in the USA or Mexico that can't be done in Indonesia. There's money saved on the electronics - there was a notable difference between the original and replacement pots, for example - and of course you're paying a bit of a premium for the Fender name on the domestic stuff. You're also paying the factory workers more in Mexico and the US. But the Squiers have a pretty good rep for the body and neck, so I figured it was a good risk. I've been learning a lot about setting up the instrument which is always interesting.

As it is, I've got a replica of the NOS Fender Custom Shop "Black Strat" with the exact same electronics for about $250. The tuners are a bit different, but a set of tuners is about $35. I might also play with some more shielding a bit, because my practice room has an RF problem. Want a "real" one? That'll be $5k, thank you very much.

Building an amp would be interesting and not too challenging. Hadn't thought about stuffing it in my current cabinet - it's pretty small, but that would be a fun hack. Either that or I'll build one into the old 1915 radio cabinet we have

In reply to Keith Tanner:

Nice work. The electric I play most is a Squier telecaster that I've given new pickups, bridge, etc. It's a great low cost path to a pretty nice guitar.

Anyone in the market for an amp head? Selling my Marshall AVT50. Never been gigged or outside for more than the time it took to walk from my car to the house when I moved. Always in a non smoking house. New JJ pre amp tube and vent fan (bearing on stock fan are a common problem). Grm dork price of $200 or trade.

More pics: http://imgur.com/a/OmcR3

Finally on and playing.

So, I was out and about today and I popped into the antique shop I bought my Thunderbird bass from a couple years back. I was poking around the shop, and I see this thing:

It's a Godin SD, and my Google-Fu tells me that it's a pretty decent little guitar. I guess it has the scale of a Les Paul, but on a weird Strat/Tele body with a HSS setup. It's kinda funky looking, but I like it. It was a little grungy, and it had a nice divot in the back of the body, but it looked very serviceable. They wanted $100 for it, but I didn't buy it... yet.

Anytime I hear anything about Godin stuff, it's always good things. Anyone ever play one? I may go get it during the week if it's a good deal.

Built in the US from Canadian parts? That's not a typical thing.

I spent some time today messing with the black Strat (dunno what else to call it). Anyhow, I basically did a full setup of the instrument. Neck relief, action, intonation, pickup depth, etc. It definitely needed some attention. No surprise, it really made it a sweeter instrument to play. Little oddities I was fighting against went away. Plus it's good bonding. So, a worthwhile piece of work.

In reply to SilverFleet:

I've never played one, but like you I've heard they're pretty good guitars.

Wife and I want to learn the guitar together. Any recommendations on what to start off on?

Extra win for having a Marceline axe!

Gimp wrote: My new girl (the upright) meeting the rest of the family.

yupididit wrote: Wife and I want to learn the guitar together. Any recommendations on what to start off on?

Interested in acoustic or electric? What is your budget?

When my wife showed interest in learning guitar, i bought her a fender malibu. Its relatively small size for an acoustic make it easy for new players to hold on to it and there is a built in tuner. Its made in China and it plays great. I think i paid $250 for it new a couple years ago.

If you look for something used at a pawn shop, have a guitar shop restring it and get it setup. I would stay away from First Act, but most of the Squier guitars can be made into decent guitars. I think the entry level is the Affiniy Series.

Or set it up yourself It's kinda fun and fairly straightforward with an electric. Not as easy with an acoustic.

paranoid_android74 wrote: Extra win for having a Marceline axe!

Gimp wrote: My new girl (the upright) meeting the rest of the family.

I have far too many hours into that for it to be a prop. I might have to build a real one.

Anyone have good suggestions of gear/FS sites? Craigslist is a mess and ebay is, well, ridiculous. Giving up my rock star dreams and purging after not playing for almost five years. 82 LP Custom, 10 Epi LP, Mesa Triple, 4x12 Hiwatt, lots of cords, tuners, etc if anyone is interested.

In reply to Paul_VR6:

https://reverb.com