***The Official Guitar Thread***

SexyGreyFox said:
You can't go wrong with the entry level Yamaha Pacifica - https://www.yamahamusiclondon.com/Pacifica-012-Electric-Guitar/pidPAC012-SUPER

I was in the Yamaha London shop the other week trying out a POD Express and after making a noise for 15 minutes one of the staff asked me to try out a guitar for him because he wasn't that good.
He said it was the new Yamaha Pacifica Professional and he wanted to hear somebody play it - https://www.yamahamusiclondon.com/P...ic-Guitar-in-Various-Colours/pidGPACP12-SUPER
As soon as I put it on and felt the neck I was in love, I can honestly say it's the best guitar I've played in 54 years and the salesman knew exactly what he was doing :)
"How much is this?", "£2,500 but I can do you a deal for £1,999" :)
I still can't stop thinking about it.
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I think the Pacifica's that are on price parity with the vibe are decent. The base one is a bit basic.
 
That said when I tried to start playing again I picked up a cheap used battered Pacifica and it's been great. I actually also picked up an epiphone Les Paul but don't really love the shape, especially for sitting down. I've never beyond the living room with it.

I also didn't really get back into playing much so I'm glad I didn't over spend on it.
 
Raymond Lin said:
£2k for a Yamaha though, the depreciation of them would be insane.
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Certainly not an investment piece no matter how well it plays.

The stigma around Yamaha guitars is really odd they are a fantastic musical instrument maker and everyone acknowledges the brilliance of the Pacifica as a beginners guitar but you almost never see one on a stage even with bands playing similarly priced Epiphone or squire guitars which isn't uncommon.
 
Guess it's the image.

Chris Buck,
  • Bob Dylan
  • Big Country
  • James Taylor
  • Bob Marley
  • Paul Simon
  • Frank Gambale
  • Liz Phair
  • Mick Jones (Foreigner)
  • Kerry Livgren (Kansas)
  • Brian Robertson (Thin Lizzy)
  • Al McKay (Earth, Wind & Fire)
  • Andy Taylor (Duran Duran)

 
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I suspect once you get a certain skill level, you couldn't care less about the $$$ image as you can play with your eyes closed or looking out at the crowd, singing and touring.. which has a very different definition of "good" (ie plays good to touch, sounds good, and stays stable with changes of environment).

If you gave those folks a plank of wood, strings and pickups.. I suspect they'd still sound good..

Now I have my DIY guitar I don't look at PRS the same way... I look at the guitar as wood that can be modified and plays good. Hence thinking about making another out of the leftover bits.
 
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NickK said:
I suspect once you get a certain skill level, you couldn't care less about the $$$ image as you can play with your eyes closed or looking out at the crowd, singing and touring.. which has a very different definition of "good" (ie plays good to touch, sounds good, and stays stable with changes of environment).

If you gave those folks a plank of wood, strings and pickups.. I suspect they'd still sound good..

Now I have my DIY guitar I don't look at PRS the same way... I look at the guitar as wood that can be modified and plays good. Hence thinking about making another out of the leftover bits.
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Every time I think about buying an expensive guitar I just ask someone good to play mine to remind me that it isn't the guitar holding me back, every instrument I own sounds annoyingly better when played by someone with more ability/dedication/experience than me!
 
NickK said:
I suspect once you get a certain skill level, you couldn't care less about the $$$ image as you can play with your eyes closed or looking out at the crowd, singing and touring.. which has a very different definition of "good" (ie plays good to touch, sounds good, and stays stable with changes of environment).

If you gave those folks a plank of wood, strings and pickups.. I suspect they'd still sound good..

Now I have my DIY guitar I don't look at PRS the same way... I look at the guitar as wood that can be modified and plays good. Hence thinking about making another out of the leftover bits.
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This is the same for me with cameras. The more experienced I am at photography, the less I care about having the latest camera and lenses.

I’ve not updated my Sony bodies since 2017, it is the longest I’ve held a generation of camera. It does the job as good as the latest one for the jobs that I do.

Same thing for guitars, if you are ever only playing blues or rock, you don’t need the latest shredder from Ibanez. Plus the technology in guitars hasn’t changed for like 80 years, the purists are still yearning for the 50’s and 60’s stuff to be as closely accurate to those as they can.

Regarding PRS, it’s funny you say that because that is the one story Paul Rewd Smith always tell in his interviews about how he got started guitar building. When he was young he took one apart and “there is nothing to it?!” Was his reaction. Then he went down the path of knowing the recipe and just fine tuning it for the next 40 years.

It’s funny my guitar purchases was the most expensive at the start, my last guitar was the cheapest.
 
I have just thought of a modification for my amp..

I have a 5Vac 1A supply winding on the transformer that is not used (typically it's used for 5V rectifier filament heaters) but what if I boosted using a voltage doubler to give 10V+dc.. I can then use that to power a pedal or two. I've made very very low noise power supplies before so I could make one for this!

5Vrms (ie ac rating off the transformer) = 5*1.414 = 7.07Vdc, so using a voltage doubler should be able to get around 14.14Vdc minus diode drop so that could be around 12Vdc. I then have more than enough voltage 'drop' to add a linear low noise voltage regulation for 9Vdc at the pedal.
The 1A max would drop to 500mA as you'd half current in doubling voltage but my Peterson tuner is 85mA, whereas a delay is around 100mA at 9V whereas a Boss SD-1 is 10mA. So in reality I don't think I'd get to 250mA current draw!

What this means is I could make a AC-DC converter with low noise that could power a pedal board. Maybe an additional mod for next year..
 
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NickK said:
I have just thought of a modification for my amp..

I have a 5Vac 1A supply winding on the transformer that is not used (typically it's used for 5V rectifier filament heaters) but what if I boosted using a voltage doubler to give 10V+dc.. I can then use that to power a pedal or two. I've made very very low noise power supplies before so I could make one for this!

5Vrms (ie ac rating off the transformer) = 5*1.414 = 7.07Vdc, so using a voltage doubler should be able to get around 14.14Vdc minus diode drop so that could be around 12Vdc. I then have more than enough voltage 'drop' to add a linear low noise voltage regulation for 9Vdc at the pedal.
The 1A max would drop to 500mA as you'd half current in doubling voltage but my Peterson tuner is 85mA, whereas a delay is around 100mA at 9V whereas a Boss SD-1 is 10mA. So in reality I don't think I'd get to 250mA current draw!

What this means is I could make a AC-DC converter with low noise that could power a pedal board. Maybe an additional mod for next year..
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If you can spare the floor/pedal board space I'd probably recommend you keep as much circuitry out of the amp as possible. Probably being overly cautious of noise/heat, it's a valve amp, it makes heat! But would be cool to have a little control box taking a feed from the amp and regulating it.
 
So after almost ayear of playing the DIY guitar I've had a little time to check the setup and build properly. I've deliberately left it and played it to let it settle and adjust to some truss rod changes. It's pretty stable but it still has the issues that I've seen already:

1. I've created a notched straight edge and that confirms that the fretboard at the upper frets bows up a little hence it makes it a little more complex. I had my suspicions eyeballing it but that confirms it. Good news is it's not as bad as all that. It also allows me to check the frets, and with a small rocker edge I can see 16, 18, 22 and 23 frets are slightly high (they cause the rocker to show they're higher than the other frets). To solve that I have a couple of options - I can pull and reseat the fret wire (they're not bonded in), or, I can file down the frets. Given I can see a little space under the fret wire it looks like they've lifted a little or didn't seat. I have some more fretwire left over so I can replace a couple of the worst ones. All the frets need proper dressing so that will also be in the list.
2. The nut needs to be levelled a little and then super glued in.
3. I'll skim some wood off the rear to thin and clean up the rear. I may adjust some of the carve too and I need to add a rear enclosure door.
4. I want to clean up the neck a little bit, just to clean up a little.
5. I'll then need to clean down and then reapply the danish oil.
6. I need to finish the electronics inside the guitar (currently the volume sort of works and the pull/push allows pickup change, the rear isn't used).

In short todo this I need to strip the hardware down again and a new set of strings on too which will take an age, hence not being in a rush!
 
PRS Core guitars, before even cutting, all the wood are dried to a desired humidity. When they cut the neck, it is rest for about a month before anything is done to it to let it settle. I forgot the exact time scale but it is the biggest difference between the USA PRS and the SE line. They spend a lot of time prepping, and letting the wood settle besides the finish.
 
Raymond Lin said:
PRS Core guitars, before even cutting, all the wood are dried to a desired humidity. When they cut the neck, it is rest for about a month before anything is done to it to let it settle. I forgot the exact time scale but it is the biggest difference between the USA PRS and the SE line. They spend a lot of time prepping, and letting the wood settle besides the finish.
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Yep, the woods will warp, bend and even split based on acclimation stresses.
I bought from climate controlled, except for a 2.4m plank that needed to be acclimatised and then selecting the most stable section.
The woods can also move on each cut too, even if it’s stable.

The guitar has been exceptionally stable which surprised me considering it’s my first guitar. No bends, twists and splits thankfully. The adjustments I need todo are due to my mistakes :D

Classical guitars, the wood is cut to approximate size and then kept in controlled environments for years, it’s not unknown for some woods to be 5-10 years before being used!

I have a warped neck on my acoustic but it occurred to me I could use my off cuts to make a new neck and fretboard - you can see the damage here https://imgur.com/a/c5T5u9Y
 
NickK said:
Yep, the woods will warp, bend and even split based on acclimation stresses.
I bought from climate controlled, except for a 2.4m plank that needed to be acclimatised and then selecting the most stable section.
The woods can also move on each cut too, even if it’s stable.

The guitar has been exceptionally stable which surprised me considering it’s my first guitar. No bends, twists and splits thankfully. The adjustments I need todo are due to my mistakes :D

Classical guitars, the wood is cut to approximate size and then kept in controlled environments for years, it’s not unknown for some woods to be 5-10 years before being used!

I have a warped neck on my acoustic but it occurred to me I could use my off cuts to make a new neck and fretboard - you can see the damage here https://imgur.com/a/c5T5u9Y
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I made a outdoor table thing for my bonsai trees, all measured and cut accurately, screwed together. The first day one corner was about2 inches off the ground....the tension or stress from being released after being cut was still sorting itself out. The next day it just levelled itself out.

sw0tN85.jpg
 
a1ex2001 said:
Every time I think about buying an expensive guitar I just ask someone good to play mine to remind me that it isn't the guitar holding me back, every instrument I own sounds annoyingly better when played by someone with more ability/dedication/experience than me!
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Yep. If you gave Jeff Beck an orange box with some elastic bands nailed to it, he'd have made it sing.

Having said that, I'm considering a new classical with a cutaway, as my upper neck (above octave) technique is rubbish.
 
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