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TheSanDiegan

Guitar question...

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3 hours ago, 818SUDSFan said:

Btw, I love hearing guitar stories so with indulgence of the reader, I'll tell one I heard.

Saw Steve Miller at the Greek several years ago along with Frampton. They each told a couple guitar stories but one of Miller's was the best. Seems the first time he ever played in NY in the late sixties (guy's from Texas and the Bay Area), he opened for somebody I can't recall and was paid just $50 or maybe the equivalent of $250 today. Obviously he did it for the exposure and the money was so small he wasn't going to let it burn a hole in his pocket. Somebody told him about a guitar shop within walking distance of his gig so he went in there to check it out and discovered that NY is very pricey. He was told the only guitars they had for under $100 were in a bargain basement so he went down there and they were all junk. However, one thing he found was an electric sitar. Having never seen one he asked the owner whether he'd knock $10 off the asking price and a deal was had. About a decade later Miller used that thing to record the intro to Wild Mountain Honey.

He told the same story at Frontier Days in 2006. Mentioned that someone offered him.... a half million??? for it or something after he got big. 

Remember that every argument you have with someone on MWCboard is actually the continuation of a different argument they had with someone else also on MWCboard. 

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6 hours ago, TheSanDiegan said:

I appreciate your thoughts Convert - I was hoping you would chime in. My Strat is a mid-90s MIM ca. early 95, bought in early '96 - alder with MIA Fender double-stamped saddles. My friend (who was accomplished then) came with me when I bought it and we picked out the one with best tone. 

As I understand it, Tom Morrell (sp?) has been playing his MIM on stage as his primary for a quarter-century now.

Anyway, to your last statement - if I'm adding a LP, it's not going to be a Gibson. I'm simply not a good (or serious) enough player to justify the expense. My wife's cousin's husband in India has one, but he's a f*cking virtuouso on any guitar. I on the other hand will be hard pressed to ever squeeze all the juice out of my Strat...

So based on your suggestion, check out the exact Epiphone model I linked to in the OP. Read reviews on that guitar. Watch Epiphone's challenge where they get famous guitarists to take a "blind taste test" and watch them fail to differentiate between the Gibson LP and the Epi '60s Std.

I could never - and wouldn't bother - to pretend for a second to possess your knowledge on the subject, so I'm sure you're aware Epiphone is wholly owned by Gibson, but you may not be aware that in this particular model, their goal was to replicate the '60s-era Gibson LP, and as such they used a lot of Gibson components - quite possibly more Gibson components than the MIM uses MIA components.

All that said, in a Perfect World I would add both the Epiphone LP and the MIM Tele. But I would need to justify purchasing one to myself before I ever consider buying both. 

OK, so maybe they did put the good electronics in that special LP. Yeah, I think most are aware with Gibson-Epiphone. So I’d get the Epiphone LP you’re talking about. You can always try different LP pickups. 

kat.jpg

 

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8 hours ago, TheSanDiegan said:

I totally get and appreciate that comment, as it applies to most things (e.g., watches). But check out the reviews on that Mustang tho. Cheap components aside, it unanimously receives praise for proverbially punching above its weight. Even if  when I pick up the LP or the Tele, I might pick this up as well just for poops and giggles or to use as a 'guest guitar' when friends who play are over.

I bought that exact guitar for my kid. It was kinda fun at first. Really see slinky because of the short scale length but the neck was wack after it acclimated to not being in Indonesia. The neck was so stiff that the strings wouldn't pull enough on the neck to get any kind of relief in the neck and it just became an unplayable piece of crap. At least Guitar Center was nice enough to take it back.

 

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3 hours ago, 818SUDSFan said:

Btw, I love hearing guitar stories so with indulgence of the reader, I'll tell one I heard.

Saw Steve Miller at the Greek several years ago along with Frampton. They each told a couple guitar stories but one of Miller's was the best. Seems the first time he ever played in NY in the late sixties (guy's from Texas and the Bay Area), he opened for somebody I can't recall and was paid just $50 or maybe the equivalent of $250 today. Obviously he did it for the exposure and the money was so small he wasn't going to let it burn a hole in his pocket. Somebody told him about a guitar shop within walking distance of his gig so he went in there to check it out and discovered that NY is very pricey. He was told the only guitars they had for under $100 were in a bargain basement so he went down there and they were all junk. However, one thing he found was an electric sitar. Having never seen one he asked the owner whether he'd knock $10 off the asking price and a deal was had. About a decade later Miller used that thing to record the intro to Wild Mountain Honey.

I’ve told this story before, I think. Back around 1980 Frampton’s gear was on a plane in Brazil and crashed. All his very rare Ampeg Echo Twin ET1A amps were destroyed. These were used on his lead swirly type tone. 

Back in 1998, he had still not found one and he endorsed my friends guitar amps company, Mojave Ampworks. So as a favor to Vic, I started my online search for one. I called every dealer even if their site didn’t list one. After a couple weeks I called this little mom and pop music store way up in Canada, and they had one. I got it for only $300 and sent it to Vic to restore it. Crap, Frampton would’ve probably paid $15k to $20k for one. So Peter got the great news and he was doing cartwheels. Not long after that I found one for myself. 

kat.jpg

 

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2 hours ago, gold-n-brown said:

Never to late!

There was a Laramie band in the eighties called "Special Ed". They had a short bus all decked out with their name and played all the local bars.

GTFO. For real? :blink: Those must be my people. Great minds think alike.

St-Javelin-Sm.jpgChase.jpg 

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Epiphone is way better than Squire, like @smltwnrckr said.  Epi LPs are very serviceable, especially with a pickup swap. I had a really good epi lp that I split time with my Gibson. The epi was a bit brighter and that was just fine.

 

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35 minutes ago, toonkee said:

I bought that exact guitar for my kid. It was kinda fun at first. Really see slinky because of the short scale length but the neck was wack after it acclimated to not being in Indonesia. The neck was so stiff that the strings wouldn't pull enough on the neck to get any kind of relief in the neck and it just became an unplayable piece of crap. At least Guitar Center was nice enough to take it back.

 

Thanks man. That went a long way towards helping me reign in my impulse while I slowly settle on the LP.

St-Javelin-Sm.jpgChase.jpg 

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If you want awesome sound, get ahold of 3 speaker cabs. Use two for a left and right speaker for stereo effects. Then use the other cab in the middle with completely dry tone. That sounds awesome. Just get an amp power soak like the THD Hot Plate.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/143963703613?hash=item2184e7c93d:g:hegAAOSw7axgO-PU

It also has a couple outputs in back. Use one for the dry cab, the other to go to a used affordable guitar effects processor. Then take those two outputs and plug them into a very affordable Peavey power amp like this one. It looks like a POS, but they sound great. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/133745884841?hash=item1f23e03ea9:g:96MAAOSwIR5giybl

Plug each of the effects outputs to the Peavey inputs. Then plug each output into each speaker input and you’re done. 

kat.jpg

 

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1 hour ago, ClevelandBrown said:

Yo, @TheSanDiegan thought I'd chime in here since you're looking at Tele's. I picked up this guitar a few years ago and I love it. I've never been a fan of twangy Fender's so I was surprised when I found this to have a much more rounder and richer tone with the double humbucker pickup and semi hollow body. It's a G&L ASAT Classic Bluesboy and I picked it up for about $600. All of my guitarist friends have commented on how well it plays and it is truly a beautiful guitar, even if it's an "off-brand". I highly recommend checking G&L's lineup out.

Good luck in your search!

20210518_205208.jpg

That's a beaut. I'd be hard pressed to play it because I'd spend all my time just staring at it and drooling.

St-Javelin-Sm.jpgChase.jpg 

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Here's my humble one-and-only. I also have an inexpensive acoustic I picked up in India in the mid-90s. I had a decent acoustic I bought at Guitar Center when I learned to play but it died an inglorious death.

IMG-3730.jpg

St-Javelin-Sm.jpgChase.jpg 

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1 hour ago, TheSanDiegan said:

Here's my humble one-and-only. I also have an inexpensive acoustic I picked up in India in the mid-90s. I had a decent acoustic I bought at Guitar Center when I learned to play but it died an inglorious death.

IMG-3730.jpg

The emoji guitar!

Nothing wrong with that at all.

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53 minutes ago, TheSanDiegan said:

I think you guys have helped me settle on the LP. The next question is, which one? It is offered in ebony, 'bourbon blast,' or 'iced tea.'

49012_Epiphone_Les_Paul_Standard_60s_191

49008_Epiphone_Les_Paul_Standard__50s_19

49011_Epiphone_Les_Paul_Standard__60s_19

 

Ebony.

Bursts are played out blues lawyer guitars.

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55 minutes ago, toonkee said:

Ebony.

Bursts are played out blues lawyer guitars.

I dunno. Used to hate bursts. But I find them increasingly beautiful. 

Planning is an exercise of power, and in a modern state much real power is suffused with boredom. The agents of planning are usually boring; the planning process is boring; the implementation of plans is always boring. In a democracy boredom works for bureaucracies and corporations as smell works for skunk. It keeps danger away. Power does not have to be exercised behind the scenes. It can be open. The audience is asleep. The modern world is forged amidst our inattention.

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I have three guitars now, 15-20 years after I was always playing/buying/selling guitars. Sorry I don't have pictures, but maybe this will convince me to take them out of the closet and post start playing them. 

1. Taylor 310 CE acoustic-electric that I bought when I was 17 with the tip money I saved from delivering pizzas for like a year. That's the guitar I still play right now. Started taking it out again and playing songs my little boy sung at day care and other kids songs. I need to change the strings. Otherwise, best purchase of anything I ever made. 

2. Fender California Strat, fiesta red. Back in the late 90s, Fender released a line of guitars under the California series that was kind of halfway between American Standard and MIM. IIRC, the components were American, but assembled and painted in Mexico. Something like that. The pickups (called Tex Mex) were shitty, so I installed the hotter Texas Special pickups they put in the Am Standards within a year. That guitar is hot shit, but I beat it up pretty good back in the day. I haven't touched it or looked at it for 15 years. It's sitting in my closet. Right before the pandemic. I went to the local guitar shop that is a fender dealer and they said they could do a basic tune-up and once-over to get it back into playing shape. Maybe I'll do that for father's day. It's a great guitar. Sounds great, plays great. 

3. A garbage DeArmond flat top in the Les Paul style, but with a single bridge pickup. I saw it for like $90 bucks back in the day and bought it on the spot because I had a bridge pickup sitting around from a real les paul. Installed the pickup, and put on some Grover tuners (the tuners and pickup were worth more than the guitar), and that puppy was my punk rock Stradivarius. Loud as shit, great feedback, stayed in tune, durable. I haven't touched that thing in 15 years.

I got rid of all of my amps except a single little practice amp. When I was playing a lot, I ran my shit through a weird amp setup that worked great for me. Fender RocPro 1x12 with a Randall 2x10 cab. That shit was loud and sounded fine. There wasn't a bar or club or even a theater that I couldn't blow the lid off with that setup. 

Maybe I'll get my electrics tuned up and play them on the little garbage amp. I gave my RocPro to my buddy a while back, but he's told me over and over I can have it back if I want. I dunno, I feel like a small single speaker tube amp would do fine by me at this point in my life. That will fill up my garage. 

Planning is an exercise of power, and in a modern state much real power is suffused with boredom. The agents of planning are usually boring; the planning process is boring; the implementation of plans is always boring. In a democracy boredom works for bureaucracies and corporations as smell works for skunk. It keeps danger away. Power does not have to be exercised behind the scenes. It can be open. The audience is asleep. The modern world is forged amidst our inattention.

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7 hours ago, smltwnrckr said:

I dunno. Used to hate bursts. But I find them increasingly beautiful. 

okay old man blues professor boomer dad :P

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8 hours ago, toonkee said:

Ebony.

Bursts are played out blues lawyer guitars.

I have an Epiphone Les Paul Standard that I bought over 20 years ago in a wineburst color that I absolutely love. I also replaced all of the electronics and pickups in it after I got it to give it a better sound. I really need to get a new amp though. My old Mesa/Boogie Studio .22+ finally bit the big one a few years back.

edit:

With the amount of instruments I have, I really need to start playing them again. 

  • Martin HD12-28
  • Martin DM
  • Jay Turser Jay Jr.
  • Epiphone Les Paul Standard
  • Baby Taylor
  • Ibanez Soundgear SR805
  • Rogue Mandolin
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Guitar playing is getting so un-punk rock.

Gibson and Fender have become behemoths as lifestyle brands, like Harley Davidson.   

 I want to get a guitar like this...some amazing one-off with a story and no brand pretense.

 

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So Guitar Center shows the Epi LP Std '60s in stock. 

Do any of you know how often they issue coupons? I found multiple 15% off coupons from earlier this beat that have expired and wouldn't mind saving $100.

St-Javelin-Sm.jpgChase.jpg 

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