Rudi

Not heard of these. Did a quick search. I dont expect to buy another steel strung acoustic but it looks interesting.

great . Never seen this show before though.

Curious !? Yes, one of the main reasons I prefer the soloist is the wider neck. Not to be confused with the thickness of course, which is very small. I know the compound radii are large (12" + 16" I think) which makes the fretboard quite flat, and that is helpful to me also. Obviously a wider neck makes the string spacing wider too, and I find my Jacksons easy to fingerpick. Both Fender (Strats) and Gibsons (Les Paul) are too small for me. I dont have large hands, but I feel clumsy playing a Strat. I used a regular (maple neck) Strat for nearly 30 years and found my fingers pushing strings off the fretboard more times than I've had hot dinners. I have a 1995 XL professional and a 2012 Elite, both made at the Charvel plant in Japan. I dont have the official neck specs to hand. The XL neck thickness (not width) is a little smaller than the Elite, but the fingerboards are identical so far as I can tell. I do know that the fingerboard widths do vary from model to model and neither of mine are current enough to feature in this link. http://www.jacksonguitars.com/guitars/ I've just measured the Elite with vernier scale calipers. It reads 1.730" at the nut (1st fret) and 2.305" at the body (24th fret) This link features old models but I dont see any neck specs there http://audiozone.dk/index-filer/jackson-pro-professional.php

Estimated Prophet - Grateful Dead (live 89)

Rob. Tidy soloist! I think those are Jackson PUs too right? Moe might find a guitar like this has the neck a little too wide. It cant hurt to try a Dinky though. They are nicely priced.

Liver Birds - The Scaffold

This guy's bass is impressive. Not sure how well he plays it though.

Our bass player is 42, and that's all the dating he's gonna get (being spoken for). We had a gig last night. Someone was out of tune for the first song. We all checked tuning. It was Paul (the bass).

Moe, As you can tell, Mike is a lifelong guitar devotee and knows his business. What he says is diamond advice. It may be that your ambition includes a guitar but that it is not necessarily majorly important in itself. I listened to a little of your stuff. Your writing may be more important to you than guitar playing. Your singing almost certainly is. Your guitar accompaniment sounds good. Its energetic with a strong sense of rhythm. It also sounds different, and in a good way. Its more important to be fresh and unique than greatly skilled and hugely competent. If your guitar ambition is to serve as a writing aid and stage accompaniment, then you may feel that your guitar choice is less crucial in terms of how it plays and feels, and that style and presentation is as important. If that's true I wont tell you you're wrong, but I'm sure you realise that how comfortable you are with your guitar is still petty important. Your playing tells me that. Your choice of another Strat tells me that. So I wont labour the point any more. You owe it to yourself to try guitars out regardless of peer opinion and public perception. Mike's warning about retailers & switching guitars in the shop is vital. Even if you dont have an expert to take along to a store, it might be worth taking someone else along anyway, because just appearing to be young, naive & on your own could work against you. Dad maybe? Dont get despondent about such warnings. Just be careful. Finding the right guitar for you should be exciting. Take your time and enjoy the search and trying stuff out. One more point. When you do try a guitar out, remember to check the basics (intonation, sound, clean pots/switches, straight neck etc) and remember to do your own thing with it. Never let a salesman's skill & knowledge intimidate you or make you shy about playing what you need to play. Any questions about this? Just ask. Rudi

A sustained interest?

Hi again Moe, Looks like you are set on a Strat body. All well and good. Hardware: I am biased toward Jacksons. I have two and have never found anything better. EVH. I hear good reports of these, but wonder if you are paying ‘over & above’ for the name? They are expensive. BC Rich are also well respected. I know nothing more than that. Dean make nice guitars. The frets are quite a large jumbo size (as are Jacksons). The pick ups on this can deliver a nice clean as well as dirty too. Aesthetics: I can’t advise you on the look you are after. You can research the paintjob/livery yourself. Do you want a Van Halen lookalike or go for something more individual? There’s plenty of choice, and if you really want to personalise you could get a custom paint job. It will cost but some of these guitars are very reasonably priced to start with. You could bear it in mind for the future if you fall out of love with the appearance anyway. Happy hunting Rudi

You still there Moe?

Refugee - Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers

(despite listening, I didnt get Rob's either) 50,000 Miles Beneath My Brain - Ten Years After

Hi Moe, Take a look at he link. Dont feel patronised if it starts out telling you stuff you already know. There is info here that I have learned form, and I am very experienced. I recommend playing before you buy. I know that you will likely still buy online, but the sound, size & feel of a guitar is not something you can rely on from a few video links and reviews. If you are anywhere near music store, I suggest visiting and taking a good look after you have read this (or similar) link. Make a note of what you like the look of and eventually ask to try one. Music store salespeople are usually experienced players themselves, and will likely ask you whether you want active or passive pick ups, or whether you want a Floyd Rose bridge etc. so its as well to get more familiar with these details beforehand. Dont get hurried into buying anything. Take a little time over it. Check back when you get any further ideas about what interests you. http://thehub.musiciansfriend.com/guitar-buying-guides/buying-guide-electric-guitars Good luck Rudi

Good answer David. I have a pretty good idea now. You also prompted me to look up 'Bare Knuckle'. Interesting.

I cant think of anyone I know personally that would greatly benefit from my guitars and stuff. Guitarists already have guitars. It will become my son's problem & likely be sold off as quickly as possible.

Hi Scotsman, Well done. You got me. I'm missing the link here? Enlighten me please.

I have a bunch of capos. I would rather re-work the nut/1st fret than use a capo. The Camps action would be difficult to lower from the bridge. It could be done but would need the wood part of it cut back as well as the ivory. I also suspect that I might need to change to higher tension strings if I did this. Bottom line: I really dont want to compromise the sound. Hagstroms? I'll look into them.

Spanish Moon (Lowel George/Little Feat) - Lunar Landing Conspiracy

David, Re: Evolution 2’s I’m not familiar with these (or the original). Can the sound be compared to Fender / SDs / Gibson / Lundgren etc?

I know some players who drop tuning this way. I have done but prefer not to. Years ago I wondered why the C open tuning caused intonation issues upstairs. At that time I didnt understand that tuning abuse caused this. I realise that one tone wont make any discernable difference, but other problems creep in when playing in a band. I mentally transpose quite a bit when I solo live (though not nearly as much as I used to). Having to factor in another tone or semitone difference is more than my meagre brain can cope with. * back to Jazz guitar: Apparently D'angelico EX-SS never visit the uk. I can find no link at all. I may try that odd looking Ibanez when I go to Nevada next. Who knows they may even get a ES175 by then? Otherwise is off to Anderton’s at Guildford over the holidays. Meanwhile... I have been experimenting with my Camps Guitar. I’ve had this nylon Spanish Classical model for about 10 years. I chose it over much more playable instruments for the simple reason that it sounds better. It was also the loudest one in the shop. With acoustics this is common, volume so often equates with a richer sound overall. The sound is how I choose any guitar. It is the first and most important consideration. Let me explain how good the Camps sounds. The Camps is a complete and utter pig to play, and I bought it anyway. That’s how good it sounds. Technically it has been a challenge to use. The large scale has meant that I physically cant reach certain chord positions. I have been able to overcome this by darting from string to another just as the string is plucked instead of holding down a chord. It works 90% of the time. I wanted a Spanish guitar for certain pieces that lend themselves to a classical sound. I also bought it to develop the right hand techniques that can only be used with nylon strings. Last week I abused it shamefully when I used a pick on it for the first time. It actually sounds pretty good this way. I don’t have to worry about latency of attack for one thing. This is of paramount importance to me, because that single issue has spoiled so much of my electric playing. I suspect it has to do with reliance on signal processors. The string tension is fairly light despite the high action, so once my left hand has pushed down the strings, it’s very like playing a well set up guitar in those local hand positions. So far this will suffice for jazz work, and it’s a pleasure using it this way. Mike, thank you for the comprehensive info & guidance. I will resume the archtop quest anon.

Speedo - The Cadilacs (1955)

Heart Beat, Pig Meat - Pink Floyd 'Zabriskie Point' Intro

Kevin Ayres (with & without his band 'The Whole World') was an eccentric genius. He died aged 68 last year on my birthday.