Guitar Players Thread

Well, this came in today. Wasn't supposed to see it till Monday so I'm glad to have it. I feel bad for my Tele 'cause it doesn't know just how long it's gonna sit in its case.

I've eyed this guitar for three years. Between figuring out it's what I really want, backorders, leaving the U.S. for work, and finally settling back in to buy it....I've had a long journey with this guitar without ever even playing it.

I've had Fender (my Tele and Teles in general are my fave archetype electric), I've had Gibson, and I've had many guitars in-between. This Yamaha is bonkers nice. I read a review that referred to it as a guitar with a tuxedo. Well...it is beautifully done.

I originally began looking at Gibson ES-335s for that classic semi-hollowbody look. I played a bunch. I liked them. Didn't love them. So I wanted to see what their main competition is. That took me to the Ibanez and Yamaha line of semi's. Both great guitars - both less expensive than the Gibson (I have a lot to say about Gibson as a company compared to their big competitor, Fender, and really most other guitar makers - Gibson's troubles our fully their own; nothwithstanding that my '72 SG was my first great guitar in high school I consider Gibson the Harley Davidson of the guitar world and that is not a compliment).

I was drawn to the SA2200. And holy hell how right that inclination was! I've only got an hour or so playing it but it is superb. The low end is so nice and open; the highs crisp. I can't wait to play it some more.

Also Yamaha did the coil taps really well - no large gain losses when splitting.

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Picked this up yesterday: Fender Mustang micro amp. I'm impressed. I spend some weekends away from my house and don't haul any of my amps or guitars with me. But I figured I could put up w grabbing one guitars case, this little guy, and some headphones.

It cost me about $100. There are other ones at about half the price but reading reviews the Fender offers a lot more - it models about a dozen amps or so, plus eq and effects (mostly some variation of a reverb). It sounds really nice in my Tele w some over the ear vmoda cans.

For anyone wanting to go somewhere with their guitar or be mindful of others in the home... I recommend.

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I wound up wandering into a Salvation Army yesterday.....and came across an almost-new Ovation Celebrity CK-047 for 199.99. Great price, right? Except the guy quotes rings it up as 99.99. Well, OK, if you insist, Salvo Dude. So I ask "are there any discounts going on?" and he drops it 30%. And so that's how I picked up an almost new $600 acoustic-electric for $70.
 
yukbon said:
I wound up wandering into a Salvation Army yesterday.....and came across an almost-new Ovation Celebrity CK-047 for 199.99. Great price, right? Except the guy quotes rings it up as 99.99. Well, OK, if you insist, Salvo Dude. So I ask "are there any discounts going on?" and he drops it 30%. And so that's how I picked up an almost new $600 acoustic-electric for $70.
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Score!

 
Hey friends! I'm surprised with how good I've gotten at guitar last late last summer or so when I picked it back up for the first time in YEARS. Looking to get the input fixed on my old washburn, and maybe get a korg volca, and a pedals, and try to record some. Anybody have any recs? How are used pedals? I've watched some videos on walrus' reverb and delay pedals and they seem cool as hell.

Edit: just scrolled through and found some already! That Dark Star is badass!
 
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ayayrawn said:
Hey friends! I'm surprised with how good I've gotten at guitar last late last summer or so when I picked it back up for the first time in YEARS. Looking to get the input fixed on my old washburn, and maybe get a korg volca, and a pedals, and try to record some. Anybody have any recs? How are used pedals? I've watched some videos on walrus' reverb and delay pedals and they seem cool as hell.

Edit: just scrolled through and found some already! That Dark Star is badass!
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Used pedals are great.

Since I mentioned that Dark Star let me reiterate it is NOT a swiss army reverb. It is not subtle but it is unique.

Since you are mentioning Walrus I'm going to assume your price point on pedals. Walrus new reverb (R1, right?) looks good on paper but I'd suggest some others that may be in your budget if you're looking at Walrus.

Strymon Big Sky and Source Audio Ventris are two that are in competition w one another and I think the new Walrus may have taken some cues from. I'm not gonna go down the list of features and specs but I'd check those out over Walrus. If you want something s little less expensive the Keeley Omni reverb (a Sweetwater exclusive) is a simple two-knobber w hall/spring/plate. The plate is worth price of admission and will easily give that washed out shoegaze sound.

I've likewise heard the Walrus delay is nice. Id be remiss if I didn't mention a classic the Boss DD-series. Everyone should own one at some point. I also have the EHX Canyon Delay and it is very nice and if its numerous feature don't suffice there is the even more packed Grand Canyon.

Other brands to look at all-around and will give you boutique-ish quality but you can still find at, say, a Guitar Center or easily on reverb.com:

Keeley Electronics
Wampler (their Velvet Fuzz is nice if you want a more "polite" fuzz)
Earthquakes Devices (EQD) - there is always something a bit left field in there pedal designs

I also recommend all these companies cause I've owned their stuff and it is nice

A good site to check out is Analog Man if you want some straight up boutique and/or modded stuff. He is known for modding Tubescreamers.
 
Lord Diaper Baby said:
Used pedals are great.

Since I mentioned that Dark Star let me reiterate it is NOT a swiss army reverb. It is not subtle but it is unique.

Since you are mentioning Walrus I'm going to assume your price point on pedals. Walrus new reverb (R1, right?) looks good on paper but I'd suggest some others that may be in your budget if you're looking at Walrus.

Strymon Big Sky and Source Audio Ventris are two that are in competition w one another and I think the new Walrus may have taken some cues from. I'm not gonna go down the list of features and specs but I'd check those out over Walrus. If you want something s little less expensive the Keeley Omni reverb (a Sweetwater exclusive) is a simple two-knobber w hall/spring/plate. The plate is worth price of admission and will easily give that washed out shoegaze sound.

I've likewise heard the Walrus delay is nice. Id be remiss if I didn't mention a classic the Boss DD-series. Everyone should own one at some point. I also have the EHX Canyon Delay and it is very nice and if its numerous feature don't suffice there is the even more packed Grand Canyon.

Other brands to look at all-around and will give you boutique-ish quality but you can still find at, say, a Guitar Center or easily on reverb.com:

Keeley Electronics
Wampler (their Velvet Fuzz is nice if you want a more "polite" fuzz)
Earthquakes Devices (EQD) - there is always something a bit left field in there pedal designs

I also recommend all these companies cause I've owned their stuff and it is nice

A good site to check out is Analog Man if you want some straight up boutique and/or modded stuff. He is known for modding Tubescreamers.
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Hell yeah, thank you so much man!
 
ayayrawn said:
Hell yeah, thank you so much man!
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Also since you mentioned, the Korg Volca series....what are you looking for because there are a lot of different things in those series....drum, sequencers, etc....

Are you married to the Volcas? Is it the price point that is attractive - because they do have a low buy in for sure? Or do you have a higher ceiling for what you may be looking for?
 
Lord Diaper Baby said:
Also since you mentioned, the Korg Volca series....what are you looking for because there are a lot of different things in those series....drum, sequencers, etc....

Are you married to the Volcas? Is it the price point that is attractive - because they do have a low buy in for sure? Or do you have a higher ceiling for what you may be looking for?
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It's mainly the price point and general accessibility that draw me in. I know jack shit about synths, and I've heard it's a good and affordable starting point?
 
ayayrawn said:
It's mainly the price point and general accessibility that draw me in. I know jack shit about synths, and I've heard it's a good and affordable starting point?
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So Volca is a series rather than a singular item and each does different things. There are synth versions, percussion, sequencer, bass synth, etc in the line. I'm not sure how many there are. I've only toyed w them and have no intimate experience but I've seen people enthusiastic w them respective to their price point (ie if you shit on them cause it's not a $2K Moog then you're missing the point). I do know however that if you're actually trying to learn the "art of synthesis" (I say that without trying to sound like a turd) and the manipulation of soundwaves via oscillators and filters, these aren't gonna get you there. But they will get you some cool and serviceable sounds with a price that isn't intimidating.

Note: my interest in synthesis is only periphery but I think what I'm saying about Volcas is accurate and fair but I welcome any amplifying info or counterpoints.
 
Did a quick retube of my Peavey Delta Blues 115 today. Changed out all 3 preamp tubes and the 4 power tubes.

Had a mix of Tung-Sol and JJ Electronics in the preamp sections and four Tung-Sols in the power tubes.

I've changed it out to all JJ Electronics w/ an 803S (long plate) gold pin in the V1 position, 83S in the V2, and High Current Gold Pin 83S in the V3.

Power tubes are a matched quad of EL84s.

Complemented with damper rings.gfgsd.jpg
 
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This arrived today:
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Roland JC-40

If anyone is familiar with the famed Roland JC-120 (Jazz Chorus) this is its smaller brother.

- 40W (2x20) vs 120W;
- 1 channel vs 2 (JC-120 has one clean channel and another w/ all effects, JC-40 just cuts the effects by putting them to zero in the case of the distortion and reverb and has a toggle switch between the vibrato, chorus, or off)
- 35lbs vs ~70lbs (the JC-120 is a beast and has wheels)
- 2x10" speakers vs 2x12"
- Digital reverb vs spring tank reverb

This thing is a clean tone beast. It's just so clear and nice. And that's what it's known for....that and the chorus effect. While chorus effects are properly best associated with the grandiose guitar sound of 70's rock, the JC-120 (and now the 40) make it usable for a wide range of sounds by not making it the main course, but rather a spice. The 2x10" speakers work in true stereo and the wet chorus is mixed in stereo with the dry signal. This makes it subtle and tasteful (although you can certainly thicken up both effects greatly). It makes the sound so round and enveloping without modulation saturation (unless you want it to). Also, there is both a fixed and manual setting for the chorus. The fixed gives what I assume Roland links is an all-around good speed and depth and in this setting the actual speed and depth knobs are bypassed. I will say that the fixed setting is quite nice. But if ya gotta tinker, tinker all over those knobs in manual mode. Also, the vibrato is really nice too, but I'm only gonna gush over the chorus. It is, after all, the Jazz Chorus and not the Jazz Vibrato, you animals!

The reverb is digital, which I would think, personally, that I'd want the spring reverb of the 120. Honestly, the digital reverb is very nice. More of a plate style reverb sound than a spring; but that's cool 'cause I have external 'verb pedals that can cover hall and spring. But I will probably use the on-board most of the time because it is legit good.

The distortion is not the star, but one shouldn't expect it to be. Usually I would get my overdrive through tubes. But, alas, this is a solid state amp. Wait...did I bury the lead? This. Is. A. Sick. SOLID. STATE. AMP!!! Seriously, I've been a tube amp player since I was a teen. And don't get me wrong, I've got two tube amps sitting next to me. But they are gonna feel abandoned for a while. So, back to the distortion. It's fine. It's better than the gain channel on my Peavey Delta Blues that I just re-tubed. I imagine I'll use it sometimes. But, like I said, I've always gotten my gain/overdrive through natural tube breakup or overdrives (favor more transparent ones like a TS-808 or Klon Klones, but sometimes some really dirty distortion like your muffs or fuzz). I'll have no problem putting my Tubescreamer in front of this.

Speaking of pedals....it has an effects loop in the back that can be set series or parallel. Oh and it can be used in mono or stereo. So, if you've got some stereo-capable pedals then it's on! Did I also mention the front panel can take a stereo input? I didn't?! Well, go fuck yourself! My head is spinning from this awesome amp, you inconsiderate pieces of garbage! Not a must for me (although all of my amps seem to have effect loops, but I swear it's not something I seek out just so happens....) It also has footswitches (sold separately, folks) that can be hooked up in the back to activate the reverb, distortion, or chorus/vibrato. And a bright switch to boot!

In conclusion, awesome amp. Sorry I gotta a little mean toward the end. But this post (which, really, I felt compelled to write and that's on you) kept me from my new amp and that made me cranky.
 
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yukbon said:
what is the moon one on the left? the big muff pi with the cyrillic is legit?
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Those are Sovtek Russian Big Muffs (green muffs - there's a history there and they're very legit)

While muff is on the menu...


This is a good read through if youre looking at muffs and also admire David Gilmours tone. This guy puts in a lot of research. The Sovtek muffs have a section in there.
 
Supreme Being Diaper Baby said:
Those are Sovtek Russian Big Muffs (green muffs - there's a history there and they're very legit)

While muff is on the menu...


This is a good read through if youre looking at muffs and also admire David Gilmours tone. This guy puts in a lot of research. The Sovtek muffs have a section in there.
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huh, i'll have to check 'em out. I used to have one of the big red ones the size of a small plate, always did the trick. lost it to my old guitarist....
 
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