Associate
Well, I ordered one. A wee Xmas pressie to myself 
***The Official Guitar Thread***
- Thread starter Nitefly
- Start date
Man of Honour
Well, I ordered one. A wee Xmas pressie to myself
Which one did you get?
This is my Laney AH300
Associate
Only the 40 as its for home use only, so should be more than enough for me.
Man of Honour
Definitely, in fact I wish I went that route because mine goes into a 3000 watt PA anyway.
Soldato
Can anyone recommend an electro acoustic for c£250? I’ve got an old beater one but would quite like something a bit nicer that I can plug in for recording. Happy to go secondhand but I’m not sure which brands I should be looking at around that price point.
Man of Honour
Electric guitars are very easy to recommend but with acoustics I can only say go and try some.
Soldato
This, plus don't rule out spending that cash installing a pickup in a guitar you already know and love. There's value in making a good thing, better.
If you do buy new, make sure you test the amplified sound. Ideally through a similar setup (maybe tricky if using for recording)
Soldato
What would you recommend for a pickup? My guitar was my late fathers and although not valuable (60s EKO Ranger) it's sentimental. Be cool to record stuff, just for my own learning so I can hear myself. I was thinking of a decent USB mic but then wondered if a transducer setup or under saddle pickup would be any advantage if I ever step it up down the line (I wanna teach myself well enough to play an open mic night, it's on my before I'm 40 list).
I guess the mic is the most versatile option to start with and useful if I wanna attempt vocals and combine with another or a pickup on the guitar.
Man of Honour
I use a Seymour Duncan Woody on stage, it sounds really good.
I also put it through a cheap Behringer EQ700 graphic.
Soldato
Useful, but not too convenient for recording guitar demos etc. It won't make it appealing to just plug in and get going.
The SD Woody SexyGreyFox suggests is nice as you can fit it yourself and doesn't require modifying the guitar. You can be up and running in a couple of hours to try it out!
Man of Honour
Soldato
I heard BB King could do it while still playing
Man of Honour
I heard BB King could do it while still playing
I saw Jan Akkerman from Focus change a string while he was still solo'ing.
Soldato
Thanks @SexyGreyFox @LuckyBenski
Thanks, much appreciated. They can be picked up second hand for not much, see what I can do with my soundcard but likely get myself a proper interface. It's just to hear myself back in some sort of quality for now.
My dad always told me a story about Jethro Tull changing a string whilst playing live but cannot find any record of it. I'll stick with changing chords for now
Thanks, much appreciated. They can be picked up second hand for not much, see what I can do with my soundcard but likely get myself a proper interface. It's just to hear myself back in some sort of quality for now.
My dad always told me a story about Jethro Tull changing a string whilst playing live but cannot find any record of it. I'll stick with changing chords for now
Man of Honour
I'm going to see Tull next year but their guitarist Martin Barre won't be with them so I can't ask.
Associate
Soldato
After you wrote that I wondered if it was 'just' the huge step up from weedy 'silk & steel' strings on my Faith to the 12-54 Earthwood phosphor-bronzes I'd put on the retrieved Takamine that was putting me off. So I got some Light 11-52s and, slowly, got used to them. In the time since, the Takamine has become the guitar I prefer to pick up even though my fingerstyle preference is for even lighter strings, and it's a bit too loud for thrashing about in the living room with. To be fair to the Faith though, a £300 second hand guitar in '94-ish may well be a better instrument than a £400 new one in 2018.
The brighter, tenser strings definitely make some things far more satisfying, now my left hand's (kind of!) used to them. My bluegrass phase continues, and there's no doubt that the Earthwoods handle crosspicking very nicely. Whether my plectrum precision will ever do them justice is a different matter, but I'm enjoying getting better.
Anyway, thanks for giving me pause for thought. I'm about to replace the saggy old strings on the Faith and although I have some more silk & steels, I think I may step up to something a bit more lively like some 10-50's. I do like the two guitars to have distinctly different sounds, but the Earthwoods are dragging me out of the mellow muddiness.
Man of Honour
Nice
Associate
AH40 arrived SGF, just what I was looking for. Thanks for the advise
No Xmas pressie pics ? I'll put mine up later.
No Xmas pressie pics ? I'll put mine up later.
Man of Honour
AH40 arrived SGF, just what I was looking for. Thanks for the advise
No Xmas pressie pics ? I'll put mine up later.
Excellent