The Guitar Pron Thread

[jimmyjazz 45430]

Super happy with the job Tyler did on my G&L Tele and my Yamaha acoustic-electric.  He fixed the output problems on both, cleaned both, scraped the funk off the Yamaha neck, and set both up with new strings (which I supplied).  24 hours.  $170 total.

He's setting up my Taylor 310 (ish, can't remember) now.  Should be ready tomorrow, ~ $45.  Again, I supplied the strings.

Minor rant:  Austin metro area is ~ 2M people.  "The Live Music Capital Of The World".  Do you know how hard it is to find Pearse Light Phosphor Bronze acoustic strings in town?  It's basically impossible.  Strait Music in Cedar Park has two sets left, Guitar Center didn't even know about the brand.  What the fuck?

[Goredho 17272]

5 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Minor rant:  Austin metro area is ~ 2M people.  "The Live Music Capital Of The World".  Do you know how hard it is to find Pearse Light Phosphor Bronze acoustic strings in town?  It's basically impossible.  Strait Music in Cedar Park has two sets left, Guitar Center didn't even know about the brand.  What the fuck?

That wouldn’t happen in a small town!

*ducks and runs*

[Deej 76398]

21 hours ago, Deej said:

I just looked at my guitars and opened a pack. Only two are unwound. 

I just looked closer at the strings that are packaged. Not a wound G. Damn my eyes are getting old. Don't know what I put on the LP then, as that one is wound. 

Edited July 27, 2023 by Deej

[Celery Man 20832]

2 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Super happy with the job Tyler did on my G&L Tele and my Yamaha acoustic-electric.  He fixed the output problems on both, cleaned both, scraped the funk off the Yamaha neck, and set both up with new strings (which I supplied).  24 hours.  $170 total.

He's setting up my Taylor 310 (ish, can't remember) now.  Should be ready tomorrow, ~ $45.  Again, I supplied the strings.

Minor rant:  Austin metro area is ~ 2M people.  "The Live Music Capital Of The World".  Do you know how hard it is to find Pearse Light Phosphor Bronze acoustic strings in town?  It's basically impossible.  Strait Music in Cedar Park has two sets left, Guitar Center didn't even know about the brand.  What the fuck?

Honestly a thing that has kinda thrown me off about Raleigh/Durham is how fucking small this place is. Growing up near Houston I always thought of Austin as small, or at least it is the “small” city of the main Texas cities. And there’s a part of me that still thinks of it in that way. And here in NC, the biggest city is the size of Fort Worth, and Raleigh is smaller than that. When I wanted to play a gold top earlier this year, there was not one to be found. My options are really 2 Guitar Centers, a Sam Ash, and a handful of small shops.

[Deej 76398]

The nice thing about Guitar Center is all the new guitars come relic'd.

[Bogeywon 2518]

3 minutes ago, Deej said:

The nice thing about Guitar Center is all the new guitars come relic'd.

Man when I worked there I used to watch other guitar guys pull down like a Martin D41 and knock it against 2 guitars . Like bruh wtf are you doing??? Getting this down for this 14 year old 

[G650 13850]

9 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

Honestly a thing that has kinda thrown me off about Raleigh/Durham is how fucking small this place is. Growing up near Houston I always thought of Austin as small, or at least it is the “small” city of the main Texas cities. And there’s a part of me that still thinks of it in that way. And here in NC, the biggest city is the size of Fort Worth, and Raleigh is smaller than that. When I wanted to play a gold top earlier this year, there was not one to be found. My options are really 2 Guitar Centers, a Sam Ash, and a handful of small shops.

 

Yeah, North Carolina really doesn't have any big cities.

[Deej 76398]

Just now, G650 said:

 

Yeah, North Carolina really doesn't have any big cities.

Mount Pilot?

[hullabelew 3698]

I grew near Wichita Falls and am back in the area dealing with elderly parents so I went to the only guitar shop still open in WF.  They used to carry a lot of great guitars.  Now, all bottom of the line PRS and Squires for electrics and Seagulls and lower Taylors.  They had one Princeton Tone Master for $1,100.  It appears they mostly cater to high school orchestras and bands.  

In the late 70/early 80s, there was another shop called McCarty's.  It was fantastic.  In fact, Bill Welker who owns South Austin Music used to work there before he moved to Austin and bought that shop.  It closed a long time ago.  

I drove to Ft. Worth, looking to play a J45 and some various electrics.  I refuse to step foot into a GC, so the best store I found was a Music Go Round.  I went to Zoo Music...holy fuck...what a warehouse of shit.   Not a price on anything.  No amps were plugged in. NOTHING has a price on it.  You had to go talk to the surly fucker to drag any information out of him.  I know these places have taken a beating from the on-line stuff and GC.  Makes me sad that the small shops don't exist any longer.  

[Goredho 17272]

1 minute ago, hullabelew said:

I grew near Wichita Falls and am back in the area dealing with elderly parents so I went to the only guitar shop still open in WF.  They used to carry a lot of great guitars.  Now, all bottom of the line PRS and Squires for electrics and Seagulls and lower Taylors.  They had one Princeton Tone Master for $1,100.  It appears they mostly cater to high school orchestras and bands.  

In the late 70/early 80s, there was another shop called McCarty's.  It was fantastic.  In fact, Bill Welker who owns South Austin Music used to work there before he moved to Austin and bought that shop.  It closed a long time ago.  

I drove to Ft. Worth, looking to play a J45 and some various electrics.  I refuse to step foot into a GC, so the best store I found was a Music Go Round.  I went to Zoo Music...holy fuck...what a warehouse of shit.   Not a price on anything.  No amps were plugged in. NOTHING has a price on it.  You had to go talk to the surly fucker to drag any information out of him.  I know these places have taken a beating from the on-line stuff and GC.  Makes me sad that the small shops don't exist any longer.  

Paging @noharleyyet

[noharleyyet 2832]

46 minutes ago, Goredho said:

Paging @noharleyyet

My bride bought me a Martin and a Strat in the late 80's for Anniversary presents from McCarty's on Kemp St.  Family managed IIRC, nice people... spent a good bit of time there drooling. 

 

48 minutes ago, hullabelew said:

I grew near Wichita Falls and am back in the area dealing with elderly parents so I went to the only guitar shop still open in WF.  They used to carry a lot of great guitars.  Now, all bottom of the line PRS and Squires for electrics and Seagulls and lower Taylors.  They had one Princeton Tone Master for $1,100.  It appears they mostly cater to high school orchestras and bands.  

In the late 70/early 80s, there was another shop called McCarty's.  It was fantastic.  In fact, Bill Welker who owns South Austin Music used to work there before he moved to Austin and bought that shop.  It closed a long time ago.  

I drove to Ft. Worth, looking to play a J45 and some various electrics.  I refuse to step foot into a GC, so the best store I found was a Music Go Round.  I went to Zoo Music...holy fuck...what a warehouse of shit.   Not a price on anything.  No amps were plugged in. NOTHING has a price on it.  You had to go talk to the surly fucker to drag any information out of him.  I know these places have taken a beating from the on-line stuff and GC.  Makes me sad that the small shops don't exist any longer.  

Do you mean Sam Gibbs? 

Hayley's Music on North Kemp has a pretty good inventory & the manager is savvy...good luthier also. His personal guitar and amp collection is damned impressive. 

 

 

Edited July 28, 2023 by noharleyyet

[hullabelew 3698]

8 minutes ago, noharleyyet said:

My bride bought me a Martin and a Strat in the late 80's for Anniversary presents from McCarty's on Kemp St.  Family managed IIRC, nice people... spent a good bit of time there drooling. 

 

Do you mean Sam Gibbs? 

Hayley's Music on North Kemp has a pretty good inventory & the manager is savvy...good luthier also. His personal guitar and amp collection is damned impressive. 

 

 

Yep.  Sam Gibbs.  I bought my first 'real' guitar and a Super Reverb there in 1978.  

I'll have to go check out Hayley's.  I just saw that on the www but the pictures were old.  Thanks for the input.  At least P2 is still open.  

[tbone_ 14016]

I grew near Wichita Falls and am back in the area dealing with elderly parents so I went to the only guitar shop still open in WF.  They used to carry a lot of great guitars.  Now, all bottom of the line PRS and Squires for electrics and Seagulls and lower Taylors.  They had one Princeton Tone Master for $1,100.  It appears they mostly cater to high school orchestras and bands.  
In the late 70/early 80s, there was another shop called McCarty's.  It was fantastic.  In fact, Bill Welker who owns South Austin Music used to work there before he moved to Austin and bought that shop.  It closed a long time ago.  
I drove to Ft. Worth, looking to play a J45 and some various electrics.  I refuse to step foot into a GC, so the best store I found was a Music Go Round.  I went to Zoo Music...holy fuck...what a warehouse of shit.   Not a price on anything.  No amps were plugged in. NOTHING has a price on it.  You had to go talk to the surly fucker to drag any information out of him.  I know these places have taken a beating from the on-line stuff and GC.  Makes me sad that the small shops don't exist any longer.  

100% this

[Goredho 17272]

Agreed, and is true for every mom & pop, brick & mortar small retail business killed by big business leveraging the economics of scale (Walmart, Amazon, etc...)

Things like Craigslist, FB Marketplace, Ebay and Reverb have played a role, too.  Some fraction of those small store's business was buying used equipment for 50 cents on the dollar and reselling it.  I wouldn't imagine many/any people are doing that any more with so many other options to get much closer to 100% of used value.

[hullabelew 3698]

On 7/27/2023 at 10:52 AM, Celery Man said:

I generally don't like "guitar dudes". Like, I've never been to a G3 show and have no interest in going to one, I appreciate strong instrumentalists but I don't appreciate instrumental acrobats, or at least I don't appreciate viewing feats of instrumental acrobatics outside of the context of songs where it adds to it. Something like Eruption gets a pass because fucking Van Halen rocks outside of just shredding and even then I'm not going to play it all the time.

For a long time I have perceived Billy Strings as a "guitar dude" of that type. But, I think I'm at least partially wrong and have started to nibble at his music. His name is part of what gave me that perception.

Just watched his Rig Rundown.  He has an old 1945 Martin that belonged to Jody Payne.  He showed it to Mickey at Willie's 90th and Mickey pulled out a container from his harmonica case and sprinkled some of Jody's ashes in the guitar.  

https://www.jambase.com/article/billy-strings-guitar-rig-rundown-video-2023

 

Edited July 28, 2023 by hullabelew

[Deej 76398]

46 minutes ago, hullabelew said:

Just watched his Rig Rundown.  He has an old 1945 Martin that belonged to Jody Payne.  He showed it to Mickey at Willie's 90th and Mickey pulled out a container from his harmonica case and sprinkled some of Jody's ashes in the guitar.  

https://www.jambase.com/article/billy-strings-guitar-rig-rundown-video-2023

 

[Horn Dogg 3796]

Recently I went and heard Christone Kingfish Ingram play live.  I decided to get one of his signature Tele Customs.  It’s basically what you get when you hire a Les Paul player to endorse Fender.  Bad ass guitar for the money, but I still did not sound anywhere near as good as Kingfish unfortunately.

[Horn Dogg 3796]

18 hours ago, hullabelew said:

I grew near Wichita Falls and am back in the area dealing with elderly parents so I went to the only guitar shop still open in WF.  They used to carry a lot of great guitars.  Now, all bottom of the line PRS and Squires for electrics and Seagulls and lower Taylors.  They had one Princeton Tone Master for $1,100.  It appears they mostly cater to high school orchestras and bands.  

In the late 70/early 80s, there was another shop called McCarty's.  It was fantastic.  In fact, Bill Welker who owns South Austin Music used to work there before he moved to Austin and bought that shop.  It closed a long time ago.  

I drove to Ft. Worth, looking to play a J45 and some various electrics.  I refuse to step foot into a GC, so the best store I found was a Music Go Round.  I went to Zoo Music...holy fuck...what a warehouse of shit.   Not a price on anything.  No amps were plugged in. NOTHING has a price on it.  You had to go talk to the surly fucker to drag any information out of him.  I know these places have taken a beating from the on-line stuff and GC.  Makes me sad that the small shops don't exist any longer.  

These days most of my shopping is done through the gear page forum, local Craigslist, or through guitar Facebook groups.  It’s a lot of “buy and try and sell what you don’t like,” but I’ve been able to get some really nice stuff at good prices over the years.

Edited July 29, 2023 by Horn Dogg

[Mileslong 4709]

[jimmyjazz 45430]

Furk.  The bridge on my Guild Jumbo is coming unglued.  It's not a high end guitar but it's my favorite, even over my Taylor.  Dialed in it sounds amazing.

Who is a true luthier in Austin?  Is Mark Erlewine still working?  I know it's probably ridiculous to spend several hundred dollars on a what might charitably be a $1K Chinese made J200 knockoff, but it sounds amazing and I don't want to just give it up.

The tech I've been taking things to this week said "hell no I'm not gonna try to fix that, you need a luthier".

[G650 13850]

Fraid I can't help in that neck of the woods

[tbone_ 14016]

Furk.  The bridge on my Guild Jumbo is coming unglued.  It's not a high end guitar but it's my favorite, even over my Taylor.  Dialed in it sounds amazing.
Who is a true luthier in Austin?  Is Mark Erlewine still working?  I know it's probably ridiculous to spend several hundred dollars on a what might charitably be a $1K Chinese made J200 knockoff, but it sounds amazing and I don't want to just give it up.
The tech I've been taking things to this week said "hell no I'm not gonna try to fix that, you need a luthier".

Whatever that guitar cost you is sunk cost. The only real analysis is is it worth a couple hundred bucks to have a great acoustic you love. Sounds like not a bad deal to me.

[Horn Dogg 3796]

1 minute ago, tbone_ said:

Whatever that guitar cost you is sunk cost. The only real analysis is is it worth a couple hundred bucks to have a great acoustic you love. Sounds like not a bad deal to me.

Right - there’s no such thing as spending too much if it’s the right instrument for you!

[jimmyjazz 45430]

Oh, I completely agree.  I'm not about to sell it for a few hundred, add the repair cost, and buy some $600 "replacement" that will probably suck ass.

This is my lifer, she stuck with me through (create your own metaphor about some chick who wasn't gorgeous but who was amazing).  I just need to find the right person for the repair.

[tigol 2383]

2 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Furk.  The bridge on my Guild Jumbo is coming unglued.  It's not a high end guitar but it's my favorite, even over my Taylor.  Dialed in it sounds amazing.

Who is a true luthier in Austin?  Is Mark Erlewine still working?  I know it's probably ridiculous to spend several hundred dollars on a what might charitably be a $1K Chinese made J200 knockoff, but it sounds amazing and I don't want to just give it up.

The tech I've been taking things to this week said "hell no I'm not gonna try to fix that, you need a luthier".

Send Erlewine an email.  He'll get back to you in a few days.

As of last year he gave me an estimate on one of mine.

[Superhero 8699]

A day late to the strings conversation. The best set I’ve used were the Gibson Brites. They felt and played better than anything I used. They were a splurge at $15/set. Now they’re going for $24/set.

I don’t play well, or enough to justify anything better than the basic D’Addarios. 

[Deej 76398]

21 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Is Mark Erlewine still working?

Yes

[topochico 1048]

PSA: Fender is blowing out their current Vintera line to make room for the Vintera II series. 

https://www.fender.com/en-US/electric-series/vintera/

[Deej 76398]

3 hours ago, topochico said:

PSA: Fender is blowing out their current Vintera line to make room for the Vintera II series. 

https://www.fender.com/en-US/electric-series/vintera/

Grab them now. The price increase will be in effect on the VIntera II's.

And grab you a month's subscription to Fender Play for an extra 10% off. Then cancel it after your purchase. 

Edited July 31, 2023 by Deej

[topochico 1048]

Well, I don't know if that was a flash sale over the weekend, but the price is back up. Price on a Mustang bass was MSRP $1150, 20% off sale $920 and then this weekend price dropped to $735. At that price, I picked one up. Hopefully Fender doesn't send me an email and claim a computer glitch of an accidental 20% off the prior 20%. NBD if the sale goes through....

[Celery Man 20832]

On 7/26/2023 at 8:56 PM, Deej said:

I just looked at my guitars and opened a pack. Only two are unwound. 

[Deej 76398]

I cant tell on my phone. Wound or unwound? 

My old man eyes are so bad. I could be wrong about what I saw. 

Edited August 1, 2023 by Deej

[Celery Man 20832]

Unwound g. Looks like the brites are unwound as well (btw $10 at Sweetwater - not cheap but not the $18 or whatever superhero mentioned)

[Deej 76398]

Let me know what you think. I've been a fan of the VR's for years. 

I never thought the g was wound until it was asked. Then I second guessed myself. It had been a while since I'd strung them up on an LP. It's what happens when you have too many guitars and lean towards Fenders. I use Suoer Slinkys on all of them. 

Edited August 1, 2023 by Deej

[Celery Man 20832]

Yeah I feel like I need to slap these on my other Les Paul and Dona side by side with the gold top just to verify that’s what it has on it now.

went ahead and got a variety pack of picks just for shits and gigs, even though I have near a lifetime supply of the one true pick, the tortex wedge

[Celery Man 20832]

On 7/29/2023 at 1:01 AM, Horn Dogg said:

Recently I went and heard Christone Kingfish Ingram play live.  I decided to get one of his signature Tele Customs.  It’s basically what you get when you hire a Les Paul player to endorse Fender.  Bad ass guitar for the money, but I still did not sound anywhere near as good as Kingfish unfortunately.

how are you liking this guitar? it's interesting... looks like it is essentially a 72 Deluxe with a tuneomatic bridge

(from the googles)

bet that thing looks like a fiddle on kingfish

[G650 13850]

7 hours ago, Celery Man said:

Yeah I feel like I need to slap these on my other Les Paul and Dona side by side with the gold top just to verify that’s what it has on it now.

went ahead and got a variety pack of picks just for shits and gigs, even though I have near a lifetime supply of the one true pick, the tortex wedge

Oh man, some old gator grips.

[hullabelew 3698]

NGD pending.   

 

Edited August 1, 2023 by hullabelew

[hullabelew 3698]

Sweetwater is sending me at least two packages of candy.  I also had them throw in a Katana 50 watt demo model.  And what good is an amp without a guitar.   If I'm going to be stuck in Young Co. Texas for an unknown period of time, might as well have a new toy to spend some time with.    The new Katana has a foot switch to switch between the channels so that should be fun.  I actually just bought it to use as a practice amp for my pedal steel when I get home, but then I pondered the idea of having an amp with no guitar out here.  That was just silly.  

[Deej 76398]

Spend time learning how to tweak that amp through the computer software. A lot of amp models that aren't onboard already. 

[Horn Dogg 3796]

23 hours ago, Celery Man said:

how are you liking this guitar? it's interesting... looks like it is essentially a 72 Deluxe with a tuneomatic bridge

(from the googles)

bet that thing looks like a fiddle on kingfish

You nailed it.  Yeah, it’s a great guitar, the build quality is higher than your average American Fender and it sounds good. 
 

Kingfish needs to lose some weight.  He also smokes cigarettes.  He’s a generational talent and we want him to last!

[Buzzrock 14859]

Ernie Ball has a pure nickel wound option as well. I can’t remember which guitar YouTuber recommended these but I like them. Supposedly a little warmer than regular Slinkys. Available in all the sizes.



Plus they say Rock n Roll on them.

[hullabelew 3698]

 

 

[Goredho 17272]

 

7 minutes ago, hullabelew said:

 

 

I dig that!  Nice score.

[tbone_ 14016]

I can’t see shit captain

[tbone_ 14016]

I generally don't like "guitar dudes". Like, I've never been to a G3 show and have no interest in going to one, I appreciate strong instrumentalists but I don't appreciate instrumental acrobats, or at least I don't appreciate viewing feats of instrumental acrobatics outside of the context of songs where it adds to it. Something like Eruption gets a pass because fucking Van Halen rocks outside of just shredding and even then I'm not going to play it all the time.
For a long time I have perceived Billy Strings as a "guitar dude" of that type. But, I think I'm at least partially wrong and have started to nibble at his music. His name is part of what gave me that perception.

Honest question - would you consider this a “guitar dude” song?

[noharleyyet 2832]

https://acousticguitar.com/billy-strings-expands-beyond-bluegrass-and-finds-his-own-voice-with-renewal/

[Buzzrock 14859]

I just realized my Katana was on standby for weeks. I guess I’m glad it’s not a tube amp.

[topochico 1048]

Vinteras are back on sale 36% off MSRP and free shipping on Fender’s site. My Mustang should tomorrow. 

[Celery Man 20832]

19 hours ago, tbone_ said:

Honest question - would you consider this a “guitar dude” song?

 

 

 

no, and particularly this song... I was watching a bit of maybe is... lollapalooza performance(?) (and I was watching because I've already had the thought of 'i have this guy incorrectly classified as a guitar dude') and this song started and I thought "oh, that's billy strings?"

15 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

I just realized my Katana was on standby for weeks. I guess I’m glad it’s not a tube amp.

 

would that actually cause a problem? I mean I wouldn't want to do it but would that wear out your tubes in some way?

 

21 hours ago, hullabelew said:

 

 

i've been tempted by this previously, await your review