***The Official Guitar Thread***

[Raymond Lin]

One thing I found attractive is the all in 1 like the Yamaha, or the portability of it. Even at 1w my amp is still very loud. For practicing, I don't want people hear how bad i am

 

[SexyGreyFox]

Got mine for £120 on ebay with the extra footswitch included... as Fox says above the modelling is really very versatile, not only can you change Genre there are then 12 variations to select from (within each genre) and then for every one of those you can also specify from 3 different types of bassline (essentially controls how much the "bassist" ad-libs around and adds little fills and fluctuations, which are sometimes great but other times not quite what you were going for). You can also just use it to record loops like a regular looper

and nowhere near as good but for whatever style you choose it will give you modeled sounds of amp settings that suit that sound so you can just plug your guitar straight in.
It's a great song writing tool also so on one song preset you can make 5 different patterns such as verse, chorus, mid 8 etc and then programme it to play in a certain order.,

 

[uncle_rufus]

And finally to fully complete how badass it is - it has an optional output which you can route the drums + bass part out to... so what I do is plug that into my wife's bass amp, giving me fantastic sounding bass and allowing me to still use the drive channel on my amp (rather than having that add gain to the drums/bass)

 

[Raymond Lin]

Still not going to get one

 

[a1ex2001]

After more play, the Yamaha does sound better, the Spark is too bass heavy in a way that I can’t really dial out. I think it’s to do with the inherent design of the cab/speaker. I can’t see a port at the back, I’m not sure if there is a port on the front as it’s all covered but as a result it’s quite boomy.

it is still a fab tool for practicing, especially if you like to try out lots of effects. It had far more functionality than the Yamaha in that regard.

If you could only keep one which would it be?

 

[Raymond Lin]

If you could only keep one which would it be?

Erm..............

Probably the Spark. Just...

But then part of me really like the Yamaha for its simplicity, run off battery, plonk it on the coffee table and straight it goes.

 

[a1ex2001]

Erm..............

Probably the Spark. Just...

But then part of me really like the Yamaha for its simplicity, run off battery, plonk it on the coffee table and straight it goes.

That seems to be a common theme on the yamaha, less time spent fiddling around for tone and more time actually playing! Interesting to hear the opinion of someone who owns both and might well be interesting how you opinion changes over the next few months as you spend time with both.

 

[Raymond Lin]

That seems to be a common theme on the yamaha, less time spent fiddling around for tone and more time actually playing! Interesting to hear the opinion of someone who owns both and might well be interesting how you opinion changes over the next few months as you spend time with both.

I actually was going to sell the Yamaha but after the weekend I've changed my mine, I think the Spark being run off wall power it will mean it get moved less and stay where it is. The Yamaha just get moved around and being metal shell it doesn't get scratched or dent like the Spark's fake leather.

 

[Andrew_McP]

If anyone can just take a look at this and tell me why it doesn't work, I'll be very grateful. I'd like the lottery numbers while you're at it.



It's the preamp from my ~1991 era Takamine and while I hardly ever want to play it through an amp, all this chatter about the blummin' Trio+ this week has had me hovering over the "buy tat you don't need and won't be able to master" button all week. No point if I can't use my favourite guitar with it though, so I think my repair frustrations might have saved me £200 I shouldn't really be spending.

My first attempts at looping in the 80s involved a reel to reel recorder and overdubbing until all you could hear was tape noise and someone playing mush in a closed biscuit tin at the back of a cupboard three streets away. Paying 'only' £200 for something which can provide backing and looping seems a bit like magic to me.

 

[LuckyBenski]

90% of the time it's the battery or lead, and likely the jack socket if not.

 

[Andrew_McP]

90% of the time it's the battery or lead, and likely the jack socket if not.

Sadly, my multimeter and I seem to agree it's probably something in there. The EQ sliders have LEDs in them (get me and my fancy lights!) which light up ok, but the tiny toggle that turns the lights off doesn't work any more, and there's no sound whatsoever coming out of the guitar... not even the annoying "we have a problem, Houston" hum of the earth singing songs of damaged leads. I'm going to give my multimeter another attempt at finding a wiring problem, but so far everything seems to be connected to where it's supposed to be.

I think "Songs of Damaged Leads" has just become the title to my first (and never to be written, let alone released) album.

Edit: Pretty sure it's the input stage of the preamp. Connection to the outside world checks out and there's a little pot crackle audible when I whack the EQ up and down quickly, so it's capable of outputting something. And the multimeter measures some variable mV when I test the pickup. The socket where that plugs into the preamp was a little loose and I've taken the soldering iron to it with satisfyingly solid results, but it's made no difference. Maybe it's a dodgy capacitor issue (it's 25+ years old, after all), but whatever it is, I've wasted a day faffing with that instead of playing! Oh well, nothing ventured...

Edit2: Couldn't resist a final test before reassambly. Output cabling confirmed functional by plugging phone into preamp end (thanks Takamine for using standardised plugs!) and guitar lead to amp. Piezo cabling and piezo confirmed functional by plugging RCA into my ancient OcUK supplied Mission amplifier (with electrostatic speakers), instead of the input stage of the Tak preamp.

 

[Bassmansam]

Went to play the other day and no sound was coming out of my amp. I found out the problem, a wire inside the output jack on the guitar has come loose. Guess it needs soldering back on, I'll take it to a local shop on Monday, I assume its a fairy quick and cheap fix if anyone knows?

 

[LuckyBenski]

Went to play the other day and no sound was coming out of my amp. I found out the problem, a wire inside the output jack on the guitar has come loose. Guess it needs soldering back on, I'll take it to a local shop on Monday, I assume its a fairy quick and cheap fix if anyone knows?

Maybe £10 or so. If you're really lucky they might not even charge. It's a 5 minute job if the jack is removable easily.

That said, it's a good opportunity to upgrade it (the replacement Switchcraft socket is under a tenner). Certainly won't break the bank either way.

 

[Invertigo]

So my build-it-yourself bass job is coming along, paint has been curing for 2 weeks now and planning on doing a bit of neck work tomorrow. Got some amber stain to add a bit of colour to the anaemic looking maple neck, so a couple of coats of stain followed by some lacquer should do a job on that. I may consider wet sanding and buffing the body, but ideally with nitro you want to let it cure for 3+ weeks for good strength.

 

[ik9000]

One thing I found attractive is the all in 1 like the Yamaha, or the portability of it. Even at 1w my amp is still very loud. For practicing, I don't want people hear how bad i am

I go pedal board -> amp+cab sim (various) -> interface and headphones. I can play well into the early hours and not disturb a sole. Plus instant recording when I want to remember something/play with it another day.

So my build-it-yourself bass job is coming along, paint has been curing for 2 weeks now and planning on doing a bit of neck work tomorrow. Got some amber stain to add a bit of colour to the anaemic looking maple neck, so a couple of coats of stain followed by some lacquer should do a job on that. I may consider wet sanding and buffing the body, but ideally with nitro you want to let it cure for 3+ weeks for good strength.

nice. What kind of effect are you going for? Did you cross sand and presoak the maple to help pop the grain? (on the body I mean - less common to try and do that on the neck beyond wet sanding on the 1st pass to let the grain do its initial swell)

 

[Invertigo]

I go pedal board -> amp+cab sim (various) -> interface and headphones. I can play well into the early hours and not disturb a sole. Plus instant recording when I want to remember something/play with it another day.

nice. What kind of effect are you going for? Did you cross sand and presoak the maple to help pop the grain? (on the body I mean - less common to try and do that on the neck beyond wet sanding on the 1st pass to let the grain do its initial swell)

The body, from what I could tell, is just basswood and pre-sealed. Gave it a sand down to remove any imperfections and it's been sprayed with a shell pink nitro lacquer, so very much an old school Fender look. Wanting to make the neck actually look a bit like a 60s neck, so needs a bit of yellowing and darkening before being lacquered. The finish looks as good as I'd reasonably expect for my first time working with spray lacquer on wood, but I'm considering experimenting a bit with a bit of a battered looking finish, just for the fun of it!

 

[ik9000]

If you want a truly old school look you need to go nitro - but it is a pig (and not very pleasant either i.e. harmful)

 

[2StepSteve]

That seems to be a common theme on the yamaha, less time spent fiddling around for tone and more time actually playing! Interesting to hear the opinion of someone who owns both and might well be interesting how you opinion changes over the next few months as you spend time with both.

Yep, I hear this too with so much time fiddling, this is my fear if I ever get something like a Helix. Which my friend has and I know for a fact he spends a lot of time fiddling with it! I'd do the same thing, it is a given.

I'm terrible for distractions, instead of playing today, I ended up cleaning and polishing my LP and then photographed it.. when really, I should be using the free time to play!

She looks pretty though, finally pulled off the sticker on the pick guard!

 

[Invertigo]

If you want a truly old school look you need to go nitro - but it is a pig (and not very pleasant either i.e. harmful)

Already painted in a shell pink nitrocellulose. Simple enough to use, just did my spraying outside and with a proper respirator and eye protection then left it to dry in a well ventilated outdoor shed. Been curing for 2 weeks now, going to leave it another couple and then get to work wet sanding and polishing it up.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Yep, I hear this too with so much time fiddling, this is my fear if I ever get something like a Helix. Which my friend has and I know for a fact he spends a lot of time fiddling with it! I'd do the same thing, it is a given.

I'm terrible for distractions, instead of playing today, I ended up cleaning and polishing my LP and then photographed it.. when really, I should be using the free time to play!

She looks pretty though, finally pulled off the sticker on the pick guard!

lol, I know I am more a visual person than audio, I look at my guitar more than I play it.

I’ve also put 9’s on it last week.