***The Official Guitar Thread***

I sold my first ever guitar the other week back to Guitar Guitar. Funny they rated it 4/5....I am the only owner from new and the guitar was played perhaps like 5 times, each time no more than 5mins since I got it...hence the first to go.

www.guitarguitar.co.uk

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www.guitarguitar.co.uk www.guitarguitar.co.uk

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Blackvault said:
Would you not have kept your first guitar @Raymond Lin? Then when you hit the big time, it could be worth a few bob ;)
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Besides it being my first guitar, it has no other sentimental value and no emotional links to it like "I learn this song on that guitar"...because about 2 weeks after this I got a PRS and then went through a crazy guitar buying 12 months where I bought like 7 guitars.

I didn't lose much on it...would have been none at all if I had sold it privately. I paid £1050 and sold it to them for £800. But it is listed as £1600...
 
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Raymond Lin said:
Besides it being my first guitar, it has no other sentimental value and no emotional links to it like "I learn this song on that guitar"...because about 2 weeks after this I got a PRS and then went through a crazy guitar buying 12 months where I bought like 7 guitars.

I didn't lose much on it...would have been none at all if I had sold it privately. I paid £1050 and sold it to them for £800. But it is listed as £1600...
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That's one hell of a first guitar. Mine is a red Rockwood Strat copy that I bought for £170 and while it doesn't get played it still has some sentimental value as it is my first guitar.

When I finish my world tour I'll donate mine to the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame :D
 
Blackvault said:
That's one hell of a first guitar. Mine is a red Rockwood Strat copy that I bought for £170 and while it doesn't get played it still has some sentimental value as it is my first guitar.

When I finish my world tour I'll donate mine to the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame :D
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Haha yes, I did that partly because I had this infatuation with the brand at the time and I thought I would buy 1 guitar to cover everything. Then I realise shortly I was mistaken hence getting other guitars like a Les Paul, Custom 24, tele....etc.

But I also knew a good brand will hold its value better so I lost not too dissimilar amount to a cheap £200 guitar that is now worthless and impossible to sell.
 
Blackvault said:
The HH is easy, that's a Humbucker pickup in the neck and bridge. The LRL, I'm less sure of. I know that IL stands for Indian Laurel, the wood type for the fingerboard, so maybe LRL is a variation on that?

In my opinion on pickup combinations, I would choose an S-S-HB, Single coil (neck), Single coil (middle) and a Humbucker for the bridge. This combination would offer you the widest range of tones, although it depends on what type of music you want to play.

S-S-HB Squire
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Thanks for the info, that makes sense. Keep my options open that way.

I'm not in to anything heavy. I like country music lately, seeing Chris Stapleton later in the year :D very excited for that.
 
kinger8938 said:
Thanks for the info, that makes sense. Keep my options open that way.

I'm not in to anything heavy. I like country music lately, seeing Chris Stapleton later in the year :D very excited for that.
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If you're into county then maybe a Telecaster type guitar might be better. However, at this stage getting any guitar and learning to play is the priority.
 
kinger8938 said:
Thanks for the info, that makes sense. Keep my options open that way.

I'm not in to anything heavy. I like country music lately, seeing Chris Stapleton later in the year :D very excited for that.
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If you like country then surely you have to get a telecaster. The Jet Guitars ones are very good value and so cheap for the level. Honestly. beginners have it so good. Even the Harley Benton £120 tele's are decent.
Jet Tele
 
+1 for SSH on a Strat, if the Humbucker has coil tap / S1 system (which allows you to decouple it basically turning the guitar into SSS) then you've basically got one of the most versatile setups you can get
 
Blackvault said:
That's one hell of a first guitar. Mine is a red Rockwood Strat copy that I bought for £170 and while it doesn't get played it still has some sentimental value as it is my first guitar.

When I finish my world tour I'll donate mine to the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame :D
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My first guitar was £5 off a mate - basically it looked like a DIY plank of wood with a very ropey single P90 style pickup.. I painted a wasp on it (at school). My first amp was the BBC Electron tape recorder that I found if you jam the play and record buttons half way down then it's pre-amp kicks in and you get a distorted sound out of the little inbuilt speaker.

I then got my first real guitar.. my 1989 made in Japan SSS strat along with a Marshal 12W lead solid state practice amp. After that a boss DS-1 distortion and a Pitch shift and delay followed after that.
I lost the amp and pedals at some point in the last 14 years.. but I still have strat. It needs a fret job etc but it's still good.
 
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Blackvault said:
If you're into county then maybe a Telecaster type guitar might be better. However, at this stage getting any guitar and learning to play is the priority.
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Tele handles rock, blues and country with its 'twang' and a fixed bridge. A Strat also works (many country and others play a strat) with its whammy bar.

I never really got on with the whammy bar (tuning goes out of whack quickly). So I always played without it. The guitar I built has a fixed bridge. I've not missed it.
 
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NickK said:
Tele handles rock, blues and country with its 'twang' and a fixed bridge. A Strat also works (many country and others play a strat) with its whammy bar.

I never really got on with the whammy bar (tuning goes out of whack quickly). So I always played without it. The guitar I built has a fixed bridge. I've not missed it.
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You're correct @NickK, Telecasters are more than just country instruments. Especially when you consider the most famous solo in rock was recorded on one :)

I don't use my whammy bars on my Strat much, and even less on my Custom Black Beauty with Bigbsy, except when I want to do this
 
kinger8938 said:
This one looks tasty

Cheaper on the rainforest

https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Squier-Affinity-Telecaster-MN-3-Color-Sunburst/3T0K

Do like the yellow too
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Both are good starters. The body is poplar and the neck maple so they will be light. The older tele bodies are made from alder or ash. Not that really matters in this context - you may get a different sound but until you can play then you'll have no reference. 9.5" neck radius is the standard for teles and it seems a good starting point.

You'll find the body woods on teles and Strats will pickup dings etc, that's part of the patina they acquire over time.

As a shopping list - get a shoulder strap and a medium plectrum to start. You may want something to hold it on the wall or a case.

I have a Fender strap that works well enough, for my build I went with an Ernie Ball strap as the designs are funkier. If you go for a leather strap - it's expensive but there's non-leather straps that are far cheaper.
 
NickK said:
I have a Fender strap that works well enough, for my build I went with an Ernie Ball strap as the designs are funkier. If you go for a leather strap - it's expensive but there's non-leather straps that are far cheaper.
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I love Heistercamp straps and have three that I use.

www.heistercamp.co.uk

Classic Straps • Handmade leather guitar straps by Heistercamp

Classic Straps - Handmade leather guitar straps by Heistercamp, available in a wide variety of styles with endless customisation possibilities!
www.heistercamp.co.uk www.heistercamp.co.uk
 
kinger8938 said:
This one looks tasty

Cheaper on the rainforest

https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Squier-Affinity-Telecaster-MN-3-Color-Sunburst/3T0K

Do like the yellow too
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The Jet I linked is better in a few regards especially for a beginner. The main reason being the fretwork and rolled fretboard edges. I had a Fender Player tele which was a nice guitar but the edges of the maple board were sharp and caused me a bit of discomfort. It was at least two level above the affinity but the finish wasn't that different. You can also get a rosewood board if that's your thing. Squier are good but to an extent you are paying for the Fender ownership. At the £200 price you can do better. If you want a a squier I'd look for a second hand Classic Vibe.
 
If it goes to a tech for a propper setup and fret dress then it should have any fretsprout sorted. Only issue is basically any guitar with open fret slots (most of the lower end) is going to suffer from that at some point as the humidity changes. However box shifters from the internet are definitely not going to have that level of setup.

After getting fired during the week (<2 years service and I've delivered my programme - nice place eh?!) I have some time to sort out a couple of things in-between the applications. On my list are to finish my amp cabinet and sort out the fret board on my DIY build guitar now that the guitar has had time to settle with string tension and playing since it's build in January. I also want to continue my music learning, specifically musicality of scales.

The guitar and amp sit a foot away from my chair here so I can, with a flick of one switch, play electrically or simply play acoustically.

On the guitar some notes over the last 8 months:
* the upper frets have a little lift and therefore some buzz - this area of the fret board could do with a llttle reduction in thickness too to help the curve of the fretboard probably less than 1mm. The lifted frets (just enough to get a nut file under) can then be sorted. I'm likely to need to replace the fret wire rather than reuse it.
* dress the frets
* dress the nut and secure it
* tuning accuracy of each fret - as I'd analysed previously there are some frets that need some filed tuning and as a whole the frets needs tuning against each other.
* tuning stability - the nut isn't glued in so the tuning can go out
* neck profile - I think a small adjustment to the neck profile rather than the thickness
* some body shape adjustment - reducing some of the weight a little as the guitar weighs ... 5.8kg which is actually ok sat down but if I take a little off the neck I can remove some counter balance. So dropping down to 5kg may be an option. Most guitars are under 3kg.. even basses are 4.5-5kg with the heaviest I've seen at 5.4kg.

Todo this means removal all the hardware and unsoldering the electronics wire back to the bare guitar so I can rework and then re-coat with danish oil as if nothing has happened which is why I've not varnished/painted it rather than simply oil it.
 
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