Guitar Discussion V10 - February 2013 edition - General

[QUOTE=Schmaaa;40648100]it's harder to get them with the neck pickup, unless you've got a lot of distortion going on.[/QUOTE] My guitar must be incredibly harmonic rich because it is just as easy to get them on the neck pickup as the bridge. I don't have to move my picking hand either.

the sound of the harmonics resonance depends on where your pickups are, prob some people's guitars have pickups underneath a non-resonant point or something so its not audible

Makes sense, I guess if your harmonic nodes are right on top of the neck pickup that could cause a problem. I know I see a lot of 24 fret guitars where the pickups are slammed closer together. Which I don't understand. My Ibanez has 24 frets yet the pickup spacing is relatively normal. Yet I see these new models like the successor to my guitar and the pickup spacing is small. [img]http://imageshack.us/a/img580/3105/ibanezspacing.jpg[/img] Where the hell is it going...

Fuck yea! I made a good deal by calling thomann and saying I want that Kustom410 4x10 400watts cab combined with the hartke ha2500 head at the same deal price of 415€ (original deal had a worse and cheaper cab by hartke) So original price on thomanns website for the cab and amp were about 480€ and I just dealed on the phone and brang that down to 415€ :v: same price, better equipment :smile:

My first string broke today ;'(

[QUOTE=Darkslicer;40651182]Fuck yea! I made a good deal by calling thomann and saying I want that Kustom410 4x10 400watts cab combined with the hartke ha2500 head at the same deal price of 415€ (original deal had a worse and cheaper cab by hartke) So original price on thomanns website for the cab and amp were about 480€ and I just dealed on the phone and brang that down to 415€ :v: same price, better equipment :smile:[/QUOTE] You can actually do that? I thought they were too big to care haha

[QUOTE=war_man333;40651714]My first string broke today ;'([/QUOTE] you're a man now

[QUOTE=deggie;40651932]You can actually do that? I thought they were too big to care haha[/QUOTE] You can deal everything, just call them!

[QUOTE=absinthe;40652374]you're a man now[/QUOTE] you're the man now dog update: my guitar is broken. that escalated quickly. I detached the broken string, no problem there. As I gently, softly, put on the new string, a crucial piece of plastic on the top of the neck broke off. This makes it impossible to apply any 6th string. gg

can someone link me good double-cut guitars? like 500-750 euro can't find any

[QUOTE=war_man333;40653050]you're the man now dog update: my guitar is broken. that escalated quickly. I detached the broken string, no problem there. As I gently, softly, put on the new string, a crucial piece of plastic on the top of the neck broke off. This makes it impossible to apply any 6th string. gg[/QUOTE] the nut? the white thing at the end of the scale? or is there something else very important up there made of something related to plastic?

[QUOTE=deggie;40653479]can someone link me good double-cut guitars? like 500-750 euro can't find any[/QUOTE] There's like a ton of those out there. SGs and Strats all day for that price range on Andertons. Could you be a little more specific? I mean are you looking for something like a superstrat or a les paul junior doublecut style or an SG or something hollow body but doublecut like a casino, or what? [QUOTE=war_man333;40653050]you're the man now dog update: my guitar is broken. that escalated quickly. I detached the broken string, no problem there. As I gently, softly, put on the new string, a crucial piece of plastic on the top of the neck broke off. This makes it impossible to apply any 6th string. gg[/QUOTE] Cheap plastic nuts suck. You can easily buy and install a new one or take it to a luthier and have him do it for you. They sell nut blanks that you'd have to shape and file yourself and they sell pre-cut ones. A luthier will take care of it all for you though.

[QUOTE=thisispain;40648166]the sound of the harmonics resonance depends on where your pickups are, prob some people's guitars have pickups underneath a non-resonant point or something so its not audible[/QUOTE] I hate this canard. There are no harmonic "dead zones" a guitar pickup can sit in. The entire idea of a pickup unable to produce a harmonic audibly because of node position relies on a horrible misunderstanding of b fields and the size of individual partials on a guitar string. I have no idea what moron first used this excuse but I hope they got bludgeoned to death by a physics teacher.

It's the nut yeah, but I'm not sure it can be replaced that easily. It's on an Epiphone Dot.

[QUOTE=war_man333;40654185]It's the nut yeah, but I'm not sure it can be replaced that easily. It's on an Epiphone Dot.[/QUOTE] It can absolutely be easily replaced, you just might not have the tools to do it yourself. Which is perfectly okay, just take it to a luthier and you'll get a quote and if the money is right (which this shouldn't be an expensive job at all) he'll do it all for you and you'll even get a professional set-up included in the work (he'll have to set it up properly when he shapes the new nut). That plus a new bone nut will definitely make the open notes on the guitar sound even better than it did before. Corian's also a good material as well as tusq, there are also brass and steel nuts, but the guitar tech you take it to will discuss your options with you and you'll see it just all depends on how much you want to spend.

[QUOTE=J Paul;40654331]It can absolutely be easily replaced, you just might not have the tools to do it yourself. Which is perfectly okay, just take it to a luthier and you'll get a quote and if the money is right (which this shouldn't be an expensive job at all) he'll do it all for you and you'll even get a professional set-up included in the work (he'll have to set it up properly when he shapes the new nut). That plus a new bone nut will definitely make the open notes on the guitar sound even better than it did before. Corian's also a good material as well as tusq, there are also brass and steel nuts, but the guitar tech you take it to will discuss your options with you and you'll see it just all depends on how much you want to spend.[/QUOTE] Thanks man that's some valuable information. I guess this guitar was in need for a fix. I'm guessing I should pull the strings off before I go to a luthier?

[QUOTE=war_man333;40654376]Thanks man that's some valuable information. I guess this guitar was in need for a fix. I'm guessing I should pull the strings off before I go to a luthier?[/QUOTE] I would just take it in there as-is with the strings on because he'll end up putting new strings on it anyway during the setup phase and if you take them off it won't hurt the neck or anything, but depending on how long it sits without strings it may take more time for it to settle back in and get used to the tension, so you might as well keep the tension on it. And yeah one of the big things with epiphones, even the midrange or higher end ones like the dot, is that they all come with plastic nuts and that's just not a great material for a reliable nut. They're often soft, or their density is inconsistent, so they can wear away or crumble like yours did, and even when they don't they still can catch the strings sometimes causing tuning instability, plus they're just not as nice-looking (or sounding) as a good piece of bone or tusq or corian. Replacing the nut will breathe new life into the guitar (open chords especially) and allow you to change the action at the low end of the fretboard which is something you'll discuss with the luthier, he should ask you how low you want it and you might want it the same or maybe a little higher or lower than the mass produced factory installed plastic nut was. [url=http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2008/Jan/Going_Nuts.aspx]Here's[/url] [url=http://www.frudua.com/guitar_nut_material.htm]some[/url] [url=http://zeppmusic.com/banjo/nuts.htm]general info[/url] on nuts, [url=http://www.stewmac.com/nuts]and how to shape and install one yourself[/url].

[QUOTE=J Paul;40653595]There's like a ton of those out there. SGs and Strats all day for that price range on Andertons. Could you be a little more specific? I mean are you looking for something like a superstrat or a les paul junior doublecut style or an SG or something hollow body but doublecut like a casino, or what? Cheap plastic nuts suck. You can easily buy and install a new one or take it to a luthier and have him do it for you. They sell nut blanks that you'd have to shape and file yourself and they sell pre-cut ones. A luthier will take care of it all for you though.[/QUOTE] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YToMsOMUqGw[/media] Something like that guitar. I think that's a First Act custom shop. I don't really like Gibson/Epiphone so I'd rather not take any of those. Got any ideas? I've seen some Ibanez ART-series but they look weird with that headstock.

[QUOTE=deggie;40654616]Something like that guitar. I think that's a First Act custom shop. I don't really like Gibson/Epiphone so I'd rather not take any of those. Got any ideas? I've seen some Ibanez ART-series but they look weird with that headstock.[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.andertons.co.uk/semi-hollow-amp-hollow-body/cid670/semi-hollow-amp-hollow-body.asp#page-1[/url] There are literally tons of them at or well below the price range you specified, it just depends on your tastes. However, a vast majority of those guitars like that will be Gibson or Epiphone simply because, besides Gretsch and Guild and a few other brands who've carved out a niche in that style, they seem to be the name that is most known for that style of semi-hollow or hollow guitar. Gibson refers to it as their [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_ES_Series]ES style[/url] (electric spanish), and the ES series is the basis of a vast majority of semi-hollow and hollow guitars like that, so you might want to go into a store and try a few, it might change your opinion. Never buy based on the brand though, buy based on how it feels and how it sounds, don't let something silly like a brand name steer you away from a guitar that you might really love. Rickenbacker are one of the brands who have done something that looks and feels completely different in this style, but they're also incredibly expensive. Gretsch and Washburn have a few there that might suit your tastes though, so does Ibanez, and obviously you might also be able to score a sweet deal in your local used market, but yeah you have a ton of options.

[QUOTE=J Paul;40654544]And yeah one of the big things with epiphones, even the midrange or higher end ones like the dot, is that they all come with plastic nuts and that's just not a great material for a reliable nut. They're often soft, or their density is inconsistent, so they can wear away or crumble like yours did, and even when they don't they still can catch the strings sometimes causing tuning instability, plus they're just not as nice-looking (or sounding) as a good piece of bone or tusq or corian. Replacing the nut will breathe new life into the guitar (open chords especially) and allow you to change the action at the low end of the fretboard which is something you'll discuss with the luthier, he should ask you how low you want it and you might want it the same or maybe a little higher or lower than the mass produced factory installed plastic nut was.[/QUOTE] I actually found out that the nut on my epiphone is not plastic. I am still gonna replace it with a TUSQ nut but the nut is not nearly as soft as I originally thought it was. But I still like to know what my guitars are made out of.

[QUOTE=Nazereth666;40655970]I actually found out that the nut on my epiphone is not plastic. I am still gonna replace it with a TUSQ nut but the nut is not nearly as soft as I originally thought it was. But I still like to know what my guitars are made out of.[/QUOTE] Yeah I believe you're right, having done some research just now, I am seeing that some epiphone models do come with what they advertise as "synthetic bone nuts" which are probably made of either tusq or micarta or corian or something in that realm (it doesn't specify, but those are all likely candidates and very good materials). Which means you probably really don't even need to replace it unless you're going full-in with a nice unbleached bone nut.

[QUOTE=Xenocidebot;40654160]I hate this canard. There are no harmonic "dead zones" a guitar pickup can sit in. The entire idea of a pickup unable to produce a harmonic audibly because of node position relies on a horrible misunderstanding of b fields and the size of individual partials on a guitar string. I have no idea what moron first used this excuse but I hope they got bludgeoned to death by a physics teacher.[/QUOTE] im sorry???

you'd better be this is serious business

[QUOTE=J Paul;40657715]Yeah I believe you're right, having done some research just now, I am seeing that some epiphone models do come with what they advertise as "synthetic bone nuts" which are probably made of either tusq or micarta or corian or something in that realm (it doesn't specify, but those are all likely candidates and very good materials). Which means you probably really don't even need to replace it unless you're going full-in with a nice unbleached bone nut.[/QUOTE] I was thinking about putting a bone nut on it but either way I want to replace it because the nut doesn't sit perfectly in the slot. It's just a wee bit too small which isn't a big deal but the OCD in me says to fix it. It's a cheap and quick fix.

[QUOTE=thisispain;40658857]im sorry???[/QUOTE] I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at the fact that it exists. Nothing winds me up like people getting science wrong. [editline]15th May 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=absinthe;40658863]you'd better be this is serious business[/QUOTE] People not knowin guitar wisdom costs this country at least $5mil annually.

[QUOTE=war_man333;40651714]My first string broke today ;'([/QUOTE] I've only ever broken Ernie Ball strings, D'addario and even shit Fender strings that come with squiers have never broken on me

Fender strings are made by D'Addario as far as I know.

[t]http://puu.sh/2Uxo4.png[/t] :vomit: Its apparently dubbed the Flycaster

[QUOTE=dcalde78;40661885]Fender strings are made by D'Addario as far as I know.[/QUOTE] That explains why the stock strings on my Tele lasted almost a year before they started breaking.

I like Fender bass strings. They stayed pretty bright even though they were on my main bass for a minimum of 8 months.