Metal Gear - the Musical Instrument Thread

[tuonelan]

Better and better... I was looking at cords online and noticed that the old cords I have come with a lifetime warranty. I screwed the jackets down, checked the connections, looked good. Re-tightened the jackets and the buzzing went away.

Everything working now and bass sounds awesome.

 

[tuonelan]

The herd is growing. Okay, it's a small herd, but...

Just ordered a Cordoba Mini Rosewood nylon string guitar. It's a shorter version of a classical guitar - 20" scale and tuned to A rather than E - like a regular guitar with a capo at the fifth fret. Should be pretty fun.

 

[tuonelan]

I've had a Fender Gemini acoustic guitar for years, got it the year my oldest brother passed away as a final Christmas present and have hauled it with me through every move since then. It's still in decent shape with only a popped fret that affects one string high up on the neck were almost no one plays, but I've been considering upgrading for a long time and just couldn't bear to part with it. Have a friend here who would take it and give it a good home, and Mrs. T. says I can get a guitar for my birthday, so...

Just ordered a new Seagull dreadnought with a cutaway and pickup. Solid cedar top and made in Canada. The wood comes from British Columbia, so it's the North American equivalent of Norway . They cut no Cedar trees, only harvesting trees that have fallen naturally and they are big on environmental stewardship.

The workers all have a profit sharing plan, so there's big incentive to make the guitars as well as they can to maintain their reputation. It's all done with natural glues so that anything they make can be redone or repaired until they get it right.

I got an Entourage cutaway in rustic burst color because guitars with sunburst tops are usually made from wood that has cosmetic flaws in it that the darker edge helps to conceal. It sounds just as good as the more expensive, prettier wood tops and lets them use more wood so there is less waste.

Very excited to be getting such a nice guitar, and to be giving my old guitar to someone who will play it.

 

[tuonelan]

This is a photo of the actual guitar that I am getting. Sweetwater does a great job with documenting their stock and letting you choose based on personal preferences. I picked this one because it was the lightest of the four they had. Hoping that lightness also translates to being a bit more acoustically responsive.

 

[papajohnny]

Nice looking one.

How many instruments do you have?

 

[tuonelan]

Currently: Fender Gemini II acoustic, Hagstrom Swede electric (currently missing it's wiring), Cordoba Mini Rosewood (short scale acoustic) and Yamaha RBX 760 electric bass. The Seagull is going to replace the Fender.

Still can't play any of them worth a damn, but at least my mediocrity is versatile.

 

[papajohnny]

...can't play any of them worth a damn, but at least my mediocrity is versatile.

Sums up my bass playing skills.

 

[Eurynome]

Still can't play any of them worth a damn, but at least my mediocrity is versatile.

Yep, sounds familiar, except for the "versatile". But what the heck, I'm too old to apologize for doing what I like. Anyone having a band and performing their own material is welcome to make fun of me the same way a proper painter might laugh at people (most of them being women of my age, I presume) that amuse themselves with those "coloring books for adults" that are all over the place, but uncreative as it may be, I simply enjoy learning songs that I dig. Besides, it's good exercise for brain and fingers, forces me to learn stuff I wouldn't come up with by myself, and what's more, I've noticed long ago that figuring out what's actually happening in a song leads me to a more profound appreciation of it.

Anyway, funny timing for bumping up this thread, I'm pondering the very same decision at the moment. I have two acoustics which I bought in my teens (Ibanez Lonestar 500, first guitar I ever bought) and early twenties (Gibson L-00) before I got into metal; what I was playing at the time was mostly acoustic blues and the like. Now I have hardly touched them in years, which is a shame, but they're not exactly designed for anything remotely related to metal. So I'm thinking of getting me an acoustic whose feel is more similar to my electrics, haven't set my mind on any specific brand this time as long as the neck feels right, the body has a comfortable cutaway and it comes with an integrated pickup. Been trying out several models just these days but haven't checked all shops in town yet. The toughest decision will be which of my present ones to part with - some may say there's no such thing as too many guitars in the house, but it's a question of space as much as of money. I've bought and sold more than half a dozen guitars and basses over the decades, but somehow I feel attached to these two. Damn... (And don't point that Kon Mari book in my face, thank you.)

 

[tuonelan]

What sort of electric do you have and what's the nut width on that neck? How much of a radius does your electric's neck have? What's the scale length? Those would be my starting points for looking at acoustics that would play well with my electric.

Ibanez , Takamine and Ovation are common choices for electric players that want an acoustic that feels familiar. Gibson, Epiphone, Fender acoustics also tend to have a more curved fingerboard like an electric for easier chording, but the necks may be a little more stout. Not sure about mainly European brands like Tanglewood (which is what the Amo guys play). My Seagull will have a wider neck than my Hagstrom, but not too wide from an acoustic standpoint, but it has a bit more width at the bridge so there's more space between the strings for fingerpicking. Not as much of a concern if you always play with a pick. Scale length on the Seagull is also closer to a Les Paul (and my Hag) than an Strat.

You'll probably be most comfortable playing an Ibanez or Ovation with a thinner depth body. I wanted something with more depth for the deeper tone, but if you are playing through a pickup that won't matter as much.

 

[tuonelan]

Also, I think my Seagull will have about the same neck and scale as your Gibson (which is a lovely little guitar).

If I were you, I'd part with the Ibanez long before the Gibson, unless I needed the money I could get for the Gibby. The Ibanez, while rare, isn't going to attract as much attention and the wood is not as nice. A dreadnought is way more common than a OO, too, and far easier to replace. That Gibson has a lot of vintage appeal and is solid wood. I'd save it until I found someone who would pay what it was worth.

Nothing you don't already know, but that's the way I'd approach it.

 

[requiem]

I still occasional bang around on my crappy Samick guitar that I got in 1995! I just don't play enough to justify a better one. I wrote all three Rainshadow albums on it though, and it's a loyal trooper.

I don't have a picture to post but just imagine a kind of nice looking shitty guitar. White and a darnkind of plum red. Typing this out reminds me how much I love that thing hahaha.

 

[tuonelan]

The Seagull has arrived and it is an astoundingly good guitar considering it is under 500 ($/£/€). Maybe all those years playing on a quality budget acoustic and struggling to get a more beautiful tone out of it paid off when transferring those to a resonant, balanced, sweet sounding guitar like the Seagull. The Seagull is easier to play and the notes shimmer. It sounds equally great through my little Vox amp as well.

Eury, think you'd like the neck on this guitar a lot, thought the body on it is probably deeper than you'd prefer it to be. Still, I'm just blown away by how great this guitar is.

 

[Eurynome]

Congratulations on the Seagull!

What sort of electric do you have

An ESP Eclipse with an extra thick body (the Esa signature model) and a regular LTD EC-1000 (the Korean version of the Eclipse). Haven't been downtown since my last post so the remaining shops are still unchecked, but after all it's not an urgent matter. Of those I tried lately, I took quite a liking to the feel of the Ibanez Talman but wasn't so sure what to think of the sound (naturally - a guitar that small is not gonna sound any bigger. I'm pretty sure my neighbor would love it!). But I'll have to test the possible alternatives and see/hear what suits me best. Like with wands and wizards, it's usually the guitar that chooses the player.

If I were you, I'd part with the Ibanez long before the Gibson, unless I needed the money I could get for the Gibby. The Ibanez, while rare, isn't going to attract as much attention and the wood is not as nice. A dreadnought is way more common than a OO, too, and far easier to replace. That Gibson has a lot of vintage appeal and is solid wood. I'd save it until I found someone who would pay what it was worth.

Well yeah, the Gibson is by far the more special guitar of the two, which is why it would deserve to be with someone who plays it actively. And it's not like I couldn't use the money. But I'm still very much undecided about it all. What I do have decided, though, is to take guitar lessons again (been a long time since...) and it's going much better than I feared. I doubt I'll ever be a good player, but at least it's never too late to become a better one.