The Guitar Pron Thread

[Deej 76903]

Pandemic can't slow down Goredho's guitar purchasing. 

[Goredho 17419]

Just doing my part to restore the world’s guitar pr0n balance.

[Buzzrock 14937]

[Chad Fuck 17755]

And as fate would have it, my Eastman 335 clone came in the day after Topochico’s wayward Strat.  It’s the closest I’ll get to owning a tux.

Beautiful. Does it play as good as it looks?

[Goredho 17419]

1 hour ago, Chad Fuck said:

Beautiful. Does it play as good as it looks?

Short answer is fuck yes.

The tl;dr answer: hype on these is that they are “as good as a Gibson at 1/3rd the price!”   They are made in China but handcrafted by violin makers using all USA hardware, pickups and electronics.  Lots of posts on the gear page, etc... saying they are the best value in guitars today, blah blah.  So I took a $900 flier on a used one to see for myself.

I have two Gibby’s — a LP standard 60s and ES-330.  I would say this Eastman T486 absolutely belongs in that group.  After a couple hours playing the Eastman I would rank them like so:

Playability:  Eastman may be slightly the best of the three.  It has a slightly wider neck and that may just fit my hand better.  Frets are good and feel played in. Felt good everywhere on the neck playing a variety of styles.  All of them are a joy to play.

Tone:  ES-330 is my fave of the 3 overall and has the best neck pickup tones for bluesy/jazzy stuff.  The bridge pickup tones on the Eastman while driven are phenomenal and the best of three.  Just the right hint of resonance on top of the ringing driven sustain of the LP.  The neck pickup of the Eastman is a little perplexing to me.  It’s my least favorite of the three and by a fairly large margin.  Those bluesy jazzy settings that sound great on both Gibby’s neck pickups sound way too bright and jangly on the Eastman.  I am going to need to experiment there and possibly consider replacing the pickup (it’s a Seymore Duncan Jazz pickup).

Quality, fIt & finish:  Eastman wins.  It stays in tune better and just feels like it’s put together with more craftsmanship and attention to detail.

Looks:  Tie.  I think they are all lookers.

So my goal was to spend under a grand and have a great playing guitar that makes me forget I don’t have an ES-335.  It needed to be as compelling to play as my more expensive Gibsons because who gives a shit if your spending “only $900” if the guitar just sits on the wall because it can’t compete for your attention?

The Eastman accomplishes all of that.  Maybe more if I can figure out that neck pickup.

[hullabelew 3724]

4 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

@Buzzrock  What are we getting?  

[DougO 5256]

On 5/2/2020 at 3:06 PM, DougO said:

 

Stopped by a pawn shop today where they've had a natural Epiphone 339 Pro P90 hanging for a good while. I finally inquied about their bottom line, offered $200, they said the best they could do was $250 plus tax. I asked "how about tax included?" No go. I wasn't really hot to buy a guitar at this point so the $20-ish tax was enough to make me pass...for now. It comes with some kind of crappy soft case which they wouldn't pull out for me, no hard case. The guitar seems in good shape, no easily detectable marks. I'm gonna stew on it for a while, but I'm not really chomping at the bit at this point. I have no semi-hollow electrics in my arsenal that I rarely play anyway.

What do y'all think about that deal?

 

Somebody bought this guitar, which is probably a good thing. I shall wear the cone of shame for failing to produce an NGD.

I saw it hanging in the repair station at the local music store, probably brought in for a setup. I hope it was expensive, they paid full ticket price or it was a Surly guitar pron poster that got a great deal.

The tax on $250 kept me from buying it. That was my bottom line. So, what do I buy now?

[Buzzrock 14937]

[mention=90]Buzzrock[/mention]  What are we getting?  

Coupla those cheapo Firefly teles

[Goredho 17419]

44 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

 

Coupla those cheapo Firefly teles

 

We need to just crowdsource some Thujone Custom Shop Surlycasters from Alibaba.com at like $30 a pop.  Early prototype:

[noharleyyet 2846]

....masturpiece esquire

[jimmyjazz 46116]

My favorite bits:

1.  27-25

2.  6 strings at the headstock

3.  5 strings at the bridge

4.  4 magnets on the pickup

[Goredho 17419]

Just now, jimmyjazz said:

My favorite bits:

1.  27-25

2.  6 strings at the headstock

3.  5 strings at the bridge

4.  4 magnets on the pickup

The kids at the sweatshop in Wuhan do the best they can.

[DougO 5256]

28 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

My favorite bits:

1.  27-25

2.  6 strings at the headstock

3.  5 strings at the bridge

4.  4 magnets on the pickup

The scale becomes longer when you play with it.

[topochico 1049]

This looks like it would be fun. 

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/stupid

 

[topochico 1049]

Forgot the pic.

[Foggy Notion 1202]

A Gretsch with P-90s and a Bigsby for under four bills?  Yeesh.  That’s tempting.  Cool color too. 

[Chad Fuck 17755]

Very tempting.  Of course, I like the other color that's $200 more.  But damn.  A real Gretsch for $400?

[topochico 1049]

That one checked a lot of boxes. It's already gone.

[Goredho 17419]

Neo-classical pwnage.  Not personally my thing on guitar, but she's damn good at what she does and only 17.

 

[Buzzrock 14937]

[Buzzrock 14937]

These are kinda cool. They didn’t make me a better finger picker but at least I can’t drop them. They are spring loaded and don’t squeeze my finger so uncomfortably.

[Chad Fuck 17755]

31 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

These are kinda cool. They didn’t make me a better finger picker but at least I can’t drop them. They are spring loaded and don’t squeeze my finger so uncomfortably.

That's pretty interesting.  How does the spring work?  Is the pick "floppy"?  I'd like something like that for lap/pedal steel, but It has to be able to to work without using the index finger to hold the pick steady.  Maybe I'll just have to craft my own thumb pick holding gizmo.

 

[hullabelew 3724]

@Buzzrock  When do our Tele's get here today?  

[Buzzrock 14937]

[mention=90]Buzzrock[/mention]  When do our Tele's get here today?  

[Buzzrock 14937]

That's pretty interesting.  How does the spring work?  Is the pick "floppy"?  I'd like something like that for lap/pedal steel, but It has to be able to to work without using the index finger to hold the pick steady.  Maybe I'll just have to craft my own thumb pick holding gizmo.
 

The pick is on the heavy side. The spring is tight enough that it doesn’t move around but not uncomfortable like other thumb picks I’ve tried. They were an impulse buy from an IG ad.

[Buzzrock 14937]

[hullabelew 3724]

@Buzzrock   Sweet!

 

 

 

Edited May 22, 2020 by hullabelew

[tbone_ 14154]

How do they play?

[Foggy Notion 1202]

Nice. Just in time for F-Hole Friday!

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

How’s this for F hole Friday?

[Goredho 17419]

That seems rather... used.

[Buzzrock 14937]

So first impressions: there are a few little fit and finish issues as expected, and they need a little setup work (fret buzz). Neck like a baseball bat. But they sound pretty damn good through the Fender.

The Facebook group has lists of drop in parts so I’ll probably at least replace the tuners at some point. They’re crap.

And I don’t love the lack of belly cut for my belly.

But I’m most impressed with how they both sound. They definitely prefer the Fender to the Katana at least initially. And they look pretty spiffy.

[tbone_ 14154]

It would seem to me that if the neck joint is at least somewhat routed well and you can get a decent plane and consistent action then you could replace everything else if you wanted and still be in it for cheap. They look great.

[jimmyjazz 46116]

My buddy grabbed a blue one . . . he says it sounds good, plays well, but the electronics are noisy as hell.  He thinks it's all in the pots.

[Chad Fuck 17755]

2 hours ago, Anton Chigurh said:

How’s this for F hole Friday?

More like "WTF-hole"

 

[jimmyjazz 46116]

How does one design that headstock and think "hell yeah, I nailed it"?

[Buzzrock 14937]

My buddy grabbed a blue one . . . he says it sounds good, plays well, but the electronics are noisy as hell.  He thinks it's all in the pots.

The pots aren’t great. But I dime everything so I don’t care.

[Buzzrock 14937]

I love how they both have totally different vibes. Flat black vs sunburst and different pickups.

[Deej 76903]

7 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

How does one design that headstock and think "hell yeah, I nailed it"?

I'm imagining there's some neck dive with those boat paddle headstocks.

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

I'm imagining there's some neck dive with those boat paddle headstocks.

The big WTF-Holes ( by Mr. Fuck) don’t help either.

[Goredho 17419]

On 5/19/2020 at 6:15 AM, Chad Fuck said:

Beautiful. Does it play as good as it looks?

I am going to swap out the Eastman’s SD jazz neck pup for a SD Seth Lover pickup.  Haven’t changed a pup in 30 years and never on a hollow/semi-hollow.  Is it as easy as it looks in this video?  Or am I going to probably fuck shit up to where I wish I had just dropped it off with someone competent?

No backplate access has me envisioning a really fucked up game of Operation through an F-hole for some fumbled piece.  “Take out the pot for one-hundred dollars!  Don’t touch the sides!   BZZZZT!”

 

[Deej 76903]

If you aren't changing out the wiring harness and you have enough lead left to wire the new one, it should be simple.

[tbone_ 14154]

From last night

They asked us to do every Friday for a while.

[Deej 76903]

tbone! (Very nice)

Edited May 23, 2020 by Deej

[Handcruser 2805]

From last night




They asked us to do every Friday for a while.

Which event will she be getting naked?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[tbone_ 14154]

Good question.

Unfortunately for you probably just the ones you dream about.

[Goredho 17419]

In the spirit of @AnotherUTFan‘s bay-area bohemian bordello, figured I’d post pics of my music maker’s space.  My “office” has been in progress for two and a half years now and is nearing my vision finally.  I started with a prefab cabin shell, hired an electrician to wire it up then I finished the interior — insulation, dry wall, ceiling, flooring, trim, lights, etc...  

Exterior view from the deck.  Snowing today.

 

My collection all hung up.  I really only want to add two things at some point — a good dreadnought w/electronics (probably an Eastman) and a bass of some kind for recording.

My semi-hollow/hollows:  Eastman T486 and Gibson ES-330.

My solid bodies:  Gibson Les 60s Standard Les Paul and Fender American Standard Strat.

My only real amp left, a Vox AC30.

My “desk”. Mac book pro and monitor on the left are for work-work.  The Mac Pro on the right is for recording.  A pair of JBL active studio monitors flank em and on the right side is a Line 6 Helix LT.  90% of my playing is done here through the Helix into the monitors now.  This is also where I do all my recording.  And sometimes I push code for work.

In another year I hope to have the dread and bass hung up and I’ll consider my maker’s space complete.  Would love to see what others are doing for their practice/recording/playing spaces.

[Deej 76903]

Accidentally negged you. 

Should have built that on top of a bar if you wanted to keep up with AUTF. 

I don't  think that would be big enough for all my gear.

Edited May 24, 2020 by Deej

[Goredho 17419]

8 minutes ago, Deej said:

Accidentally negged you. 

Should have built that on top of a bar if you wanted to keep up with AUTF. 

I don't  think that would be big enough for all my gear.

Don’t think anyone is competition for AUTF’s space 🙂.  But I’m pretty stoked at what I’ve built.

[Deej 76903]

Built a 16"x20" colonial style shed for a friend once. Never doing that again, although I could use the room. At least I have a covered stage in the yard.