Guitarists

[KalMart]

'89 Gibson ES-335

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My latest amp build, based on a late-50's Fender Deluxe. Finished the cab in Butterscotch Blonde like the 50's Fender Telecasters, and stained some cane weave for the grille.

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I had a simple custom badge made with my initials...

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[ChickenScratch]

Nice gear Kal.

[intothevoid]

I'm a guitarist. Been playing for about 11yrs now. Mostly into various types or Rock and Metal. I am a Les Paul/Marshall guy through and through.

I've written a lot of music over the years but my latest band is probably the one i've been most serious about. We just released the first part of our debut album. I've posted about it here:

http://forums.superherohype.com/show...47&postcount=1

[Brain Damage]

That's a beautiful Gibson, Kal
I've always wanted a 335.

I've been playing for about four and a half years and it's been an almost continuous passion of mine. My main guitar is a 2010 Gibson SG and a custom built Warmoth strat I bought off of craigslist. The strat has a smooth-as-butter neck and some of the best sounding pick ups I've ever heard (Wilkinson vintage). Unfortunately, the locking tuning heads are giving me quite a headache and cutting the high E and B strings when I wind them. I need to get that fixed, but other than that it's a superb guitar. I'll post pics at some point

[KalMart]

Cool, good to hear.

I've tried to 'bond' with SG's...as I love the way they look and sound for others...but just couldn't for whatever strange reason. I've owned three...two Standards and one '61 Reissue. Prefer the thicker necks on the Standards, but still it just wasn't working for me ergonomically or something. Too bad, really liked to have had one in the 'arsenal', but I guess it's just not for me....or rather me not for it.

I recently sold the Les Paul Deluxe and have a Historic '57 Reissue Goldtop on the way which I'll also post pics of. But since I'll now have two Les Paul's with humbuckers (I had P90's in the Deluxe), I might choose one of them to do the 'Peter Green' pickup setup, in which one of the pickups has its magnet polarity flipped so you can get this really quacky/honky out-of-phase sound in the middle selector position with the two pickups on. I'm mostly a blues player so it'd be a real cool thing to have.

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[Brain Damage]

Funny, I'm the same way about Les Pauls. I think they sound phenomenal, especially on the neck pickup and the warmness is unmatched, but I just can't get used to how they play. With the exception of one VERY pricey reissue I played, every Les Paul neck I've set my hands on has always felt like an awkward plank of wood. Maybe one day I'll find one that suits me, as I do love their sound.

[KalMart]

So I sold the LP Deluxe I had before and got a Custom Shop 1957 Les Paul Reissue Goldtop. This one's really light at 8.3 lbs, really fat neck, lots of resonance. Pretty happy with it. Unlike the more common "V.O.S." pre-worn finishes, this one came with a new gloss, which doesn't get sticky or collect grime like the VOS ones.




Only thing is that I like the look of aged guitars, and the shiny new pickup covers were a bit too new-looking to me, so I replaced them with some I had that were more 'worn'.

[KalMart]

Originally Posted by Brain Damage

Funny, I'm the same way about Les Pauls. I think they sound phenomenal, especially on the neck pickup and the warmness is unmatched, but I just can't get used to how they play. With the exception of one VERY pricey reissue I played, every Les Paul neck I've set my hands on has always felt like an awkward plank of wood. Maybe one day I'll find one that suits me, as I do love their sound.

If it's because of the neck shapes that bothered you on Les Pauls, there are a bunch of different choices. What model SG do you have, a standard...a special, reissue, etc? We could probably find what vest matches the neck shape that you like.

[ChickenScratch]

Love the goldtop. Always wanted one.

[KalMart]

You could probably get a Goldtop LP Traditional if you like fuller necks, or a Traditional Pro if you like slimmer ones pretty reasonably these days.

[Vengeance of Bane]

I have been playing guitar for a while now, but I have yet to master any guitar scales, but that's what I'm working on right now. I was wondering if you guys could give me any pointers in terms of how to practice and what scales you think are essential. I have already been working on the Minor Pentatonic scale.

[Brain Damage]

Originally Posted by Vengeance of Bane

I have been playing guitar for a while now, but I have yet to master any guitar scales, but that's what I'm working on right now. I was wondering if you guys could give me any pointers in terms of how to practice and what scales you think are essential. I have already been working on the Minor Pentatonic scale.

My best advice would be to learn some Pentatonic based solos from your favorite players. I recommend Clapton and David Gilmour in particular. Don't just memorize the notes however, pay close attention to how they use the notes of the scale to create phrases. If you do this you'll likely avoid getting into the beginner pitfall of just playing one pre-determined lick after another.

If you like older music definitely look into the Blues greats as well. Albert King is a personal favorite and you'll be floored by just how much power and emotion he can get out of a single bend.

[Brain Damage]

Originally Posted by KalMart

If it's because of the neck shapes that bothered you on Les Pauls, there are a bunch of different choices. What model SG do you have, a standard...a special, reissue, etc? We could probably find what vest matches the neck shape that you like.

I have a standard. The neck is great, though a little too thick and round for my tastes. My ideal neck is a V-shaped Fender neck with large frets, though I really like the feeling the 12'' radius gives you.

[ChickenScratch]

Originally Posted by Vengeance of Bane

I have been playing guitar for a while now, but I have yet to master any guitar scales, but that's what I'm working on right now. I was wondering if you guys could give me any pointers in terms of how to practice and what scales you think are essential. I have already been working on the Minor Pentatonic scale.

You can start by working on it. The major scale and it's modes in A then expand to all the other keys.

[KalMart]

Originally Posted by Brain Damage

I have a standard. The neck is great, though a little too thick and round for my tastes. My ideal neck is a V-shaped Fender neck with large frets, though I really like the feeling the 12'' radius gives you.

I like V's too, I had one on a Fender Strat reissue that I really likes. That's a bit tough as far as Les Paul equivalents...the only profile close to a 'soft V' being a '59 REissue which is VERY expensive. If the SG Standard's 50's profile is a bit too big for you, have you tried some 60's profile slimmer ones? They can get pretty thin sometimes, and you seem to like it deeper in the middle, but less 'shoulders'. If you could swing it, maybe get something with a 50's neck and have a good luthier shave down the shoulders a bit to give you more of a V.

[Polux]

Hi, I just started playing guitar very recently ( a couple of months ago) and I wanna buy an electric guitar; I saw on the Guitar Center website the Epiphone les Paul Special II, saw some videos and heard is a good guitar for begginers; also at a very good price (I'm kinda broke right now ) so i decided to buy it; but then I saw that they also have a LP Special I with P90 pick-ups for a lower price; my question would be, which one should I get?? Is there a big difference between the 2?? I, didn't even know there was a "Special I" model, I thought there was only "Special II"; some friends told me that the P90s are really good pick-ups, and kinda pricey; I can't go to the store I try'em myself cause i don't live in the US and I'll have to ask a friend to bring it over for me, so I need to be sure I'm making the right decition with this.

I'll appreciate any help on the matter.

Thanx in advance!

Polux

[moviedoors]

Originally Posted by Vengeance of Bane

I have been playing guitar for a while now, but I have yet to master any guitar scales, but that's what I'm working on right now. I was wondering if you guys could give me any pointers in terms of how to practice and what scales you think are essential. I have already been working on the Minor Pentatonic scale.

To get the most out of learning your scales and the modes, you need to also learn your chords in tandem. How the various modes relate to the chord tones is everything. I've known the modes forever, but for example, I couldn't make a Dorian scale work until I learned how to make it fit with a minor one to a major four chord. Once you've got the modes ingrained, that's when it gets fun, because that's when you can start playing with non chord tones and modulating the modes. That's where the real flavor of music is.

[KalMart]

[Brain Damage]

Originally Posted by KalMart

I like V's too, I had one on a Fender Strat reissue that I really likes. That's a bit tough as far as Les Paul equivalents...the only profile close to a 'soft V' being a '59 REissue which is VERY expensive. If the SG Standard's 50's profile is a bit too big for you, have you tried some 60's profile slimmer ones? They can get pretty thin sometimes, and you seem to like it deeper in the middle, but less 'shoulders'. If you could swing it, maybe get something with a 50's neck and have a good luthier shave down the shoulders a bit to give you more of a V.

The '59 might have been exactly what I played. It's been a while and I didn't know nearly as much about guitars back then. But I appreciate the advice, I'll definitely heed it whenever I decide to add a Les Paul to my collection (which is inevitable, really).

In other news.

I just got $150 in Amazon credit for trading in textbooks and I'm thinking about using it to buy a Fender Mustang I for $100 and then some other accessories. My main amp is a Blackstar HT-40, which while sounding beautiful also has led the neighbors to calling the cops on me before. Thus, it's reserved for band jams/shows/recording. So I'm in need of a small, portable amp I can play at whisper level volumes and also bring to small jam sessions/open mics. I haven't played it, but from the research I've done the Fender Mustang seems to be easily the best bang for my buck.

I'm a classic rock and blues player primarily so I'm much more concerned with the clean and low-gain tones. Does anyone else have any cheap practice amp they'd recommend? Or also anything else I should buy with the $50 remaining?


EDIT. ALso. Those guitars. Hot damn.

[KalMart]

I actually have a Mustang II as a sort of practice/backup amp. I don't necessarily find any of the setting particularly great, but they have their uses. I kinda' got it on a whim a while back for pretty cheap, but thinking back I should have gone in for a bit more and got the Super Champ XD which has actual tubes.

[Brain Damage]

At the volume I'll be playing at, the tubes aren't gonna be making a whole heck of a difference, so I think the Mustang I will suit me just fine for home practice.

I decided to buy myself a little guitar inspiration package

[KalMart]

Originally Posted by Brain Damage

At the volume I'll be playing at, the tubes aren't gonna be making a whole heck of a difference, so I think the Mustang I will suit me just fine for home practice.

I used to think so to, but they certainly do it they're your think. It's just that they are loud for their wattage. My Tweed Deluxe build is only 12-18 watts, but it will blow the 40-watt solid-state Mustang II out of the room. Even at consveration level though, the Deluxe's clean tube tone is wonderful. Somewhere down the road, I will probably build a 1-3 watt little tube amp for practice/quiet playing. There are quite a few things out there, some are kinda' pricey, though. One that really interests me is the Rock Block....



But even at 1 watt, it can get pretty darn loud for practice/room use...

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[Polux]

Sooooo...any help with my question???


Polux

[KalMart]

It seems that they'll be pretty similar guitars, with only pickups being the real difference. P90's will be a bit sharper and more focused in the high-mids, the humbuckers will be a bit fatter/warmer. Either guitar should be fine for a beginner. The Humbuckers may be a bit more forgiving/less 'hard' sounding on more amps, but some prefer the sharper more stinging sound of the P90's.

[KalMart]

Rock Block on the way.

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