|
Gin_Rummy posted:Jesus, almost $100 to ship a $100 guitar… is there really any substantial difference between a Harley Benton and like a Squier Affinity? The price point is right at the edge of “why not just get a classic vibe for a bit more,” and then classic vibes are starting to teeter on the edge of “why not a MIM?” Yeah, it’s not without its costs. If it’s really at $100 these days I’d say look for a used or B-stock Classic Vibe. Still some deals out there last I looked. If you want to go new, an Affinity is OK, but I would probably spring for a CV honestly. Maybe go try some out too. Probably gets you a better idea what you’re paying for and whether or not it matters to you.
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 20:14
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 27, 2024 07:38 |
|
|
Yeah, I’ve been on the hunt for decent used CV deals. I think I’ll just continue to keep my eyes peeled until something falls into my lap.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 20:22
|
|
|
TheMightyBoops posted:Yeah I like mine. I just thought it was worth mentioning that there’s some overly long threads on the gear page complaining about them. Those people will complain about transistors made on the wrong day of the week
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 20:40
|
|
|
I switch between my tele and Strat quite often. The strat sounds a bit better most a lot of the time but it's got way better pickups so I would hope so. But my tele is hardtail, with modern spec so it has the satin neck and extra fret and stuff, it does some utlity push pull mod with switching pickups into series/parallel and it still sounds great, maybe even a little bit better output for being in front of pedals. it's also my only poly guitar so I can abuse it a little more. If you're the kind of person who feels guilty owning more than one guitar, probably shouldn't be your second pick over say, something with humbuckers. But there's definitely utility to having both single coil imo. The tele also just looks so cool
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 20:40
|
|
|
Epi Lepi posted:Update, playing left seems to be more natural for them but now we have an added complication. My partners hands are teeny tiny and we might need to try to find a short scale left handed guitar which sounds very difficult. I was surprised that my Epiphone LP still seemed a little large for them, since it's a 24.75 scale but the neck is a little chunky compared to my Jazzmaster. We're going to try again when they're not so discouraged but if people know companies that sell short scale lefties let me know. your partner does not need a short scale guitar, unless their hands are literally smaller than a small child's. don't confuse being unable to play things because they're new to the instrument with needing to buy very specific things. cowboy chords and barres might be difficult stretches initially, but there's lots of things you can do on the instrument that aren't. teach them power chords, shell chords, and simple voicings that don't require big stretches.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 20:44
|
|
|
I'm not going to say there aren't positive ergonomic aspects to playing short scale, but if your partner can fret a fifth then they shouldn't have any issues with full. Starting out everything is going to feel a little uncomfortable regardless of scale and that comes with time so limiting yourself immediately is a big jump.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 21:18
|
|
|
Angus Young has the smallest hands ever but he also prefers an SG so... Maybe an SG is the way to go
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 21:33
|
|
|
creamcorn posted:your partner does not need a short scale guitar, unless their hands are literally smaller than a small child's. don't confuse being unable to play things because they're new to the instrument with needing to buy very specific things. this. short scale guitars are an outdated weird idea from the 60/70s or even earlier that nobody suggests to students anymore. Good Soldier Svejk posted:Angus Young has the smallest hands ever but he also prefers an SG so... Maybe an SG is the way to go this should tell you a guitar student shouldn't worry about neck size, the big pickguard sg neck is maybe the chunkiest you could get on an electric these days. I also think students should start on acoustic, not to worry abbot the neck or specs. Just get something cheap and with decently low enough action to not be unplayable. the instrument is too unnatural to be caring about specifying that stuff as a beginner you really shouldn't be overly concerned about thick neck as a student, it's nit pick thing, not a real issue. I started on an acoustic, I played a big neck sg for years. I didn't start thinking about neck size until like.. recently. I have small trumpian hands. I can play any size guitar neck. But do get a normal scale length imo. ethanol fucked around with this message at 21:53 on Jul 31, 2023 |
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 21:44
|
|
|
ethanol posted:I have small trumpian hands. Lol but also  I too have small, Trumpian hands. But I will third all this advice. Almost any adult should be perfectly capable of playing any regular, adult sized guitar. It just comes with time and practice.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 22:03
|
|
|
I disagree with that attitude in general, learning an instrument is hard enough, why put additional barriers in the way of anyone who's learning? I remember teachers telling me 15-20 years ago "start on an acoustic because it's harder so when you try electric it will be easier" and if that isn't the most boomer "uphill through the snow" bullshit I don't know what is. My partner absolutely has tiny hands, they were having difficulty with a basic power chord shape. I told them put your first finger on the 5th string 3rd fret and ring finger on the 4th string 5th fret and they said "I can't" which I still don't quite understand. We're definitely going to give it another shot and make sure they were in a proper posture but if a cheap mini strat means they have a better chance of learning and sticking with it then I'm going to do that instead of say "just try harder".
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 22:04
|
|
|
I got big hands and I still love short scales. My jaguar and my mustang are both v fun to play. Not quite the same deal but I also love short scale basses too. Honestly jaguars are such surprisingly versatile guitars I'd say if you're interested in getting a first or a one and only guitar, and think you might enjoy a shorter scale, get a Jaguar
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 22:07
|
|
|
When I was first learning bass, on a short scale, I could not do the things with my fingers and left hand placement that were being asked of me. Through practice, building up the muscles and tendons, it became second nature to me and perhaps even Easy. It is not a natural thing for a hand to do and you have to do work to get the hands used to doing it.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 22:09
|
|
|
Pollyanna posted:Weird model hounding poo poo like that explains things like “real ‘50s strat!” or “original 1969 telebuttlicker SG restoration” or whatever. It’s not about the guitar itself, it’s about worship of the time period and the associations the individual has with that time period. Urrrrrr why can’t we go back to the ‘60s with good music good beer and good fun Hendrix Hendrix Hendrix i assure you you do not seem cool by posting these things like this and the other post or being one of those "gently caress gear man it doesn't matter" people. if you care about the art, you should care about the craft. and if you care about the craft, you should care about your tools. there ARE people who probably don't have too much of an artistic bone who kind of seem to be buying gear because it's the thing to do. and it IS an easier ritual for the terminally unromantic than practicing is. but tools are important and pretending they aren't is, imo, a red flag. it's not all there is, but bad tools ARE more distracting and difficult to use. the more strife that exists in the process, the slower it goes, which makes it harder to get into the flow state, which literally murders inspiration and creativity. you can't hear the chords and tune into them, and start hearing melodies in your head, or let your brain tell you what the next thing to play should be, in improv or in writing, if the very act of playing the instrument is unnecessarily difficult. if your left hand thumb is aching, if the intonation isn't right, if you go to push a note and it's dead/sounds like a sitar. those things are flow breaking.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 22:11
|
|
|
I tried learning acoustic at 13 when I wasn’t fully grown (and I’ve never been all that big either) and I totally bounced off. Having fun on a telecaster now. Electric is fine, it doesn’t matter just make some drat noise.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 22:12
|
|
|
if you're learning an instrument some 'try harder' should be involved imo. I'm hard no against short scales. acoustics.. eh.. I suggested acoustic for a number of reasons. Not because it's harder. imo many ways it's easier. No requirement to buy an amp. No need to understand how to work the amp (it's so easy to sound terrible with amps at first, especially cheap ones). There's tons of easy acoustic songs. You learn to sound good with chords on the top of the neck. I don't care that much that much to draw a line though. if a student came to me with an electric im still gonna be like ok lets go
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 22:12
|
|
|
I dont have a tele but I have this thingy I need to do some fret and nutwork on it but it's cool I think 
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 22:13
|
|
|
i just see the "short scales are unnecessary" thing as a mark of the player. maybe they aren't necessary for basic open chords and barre chords. however, this: is maybe actually playable by some humans on a 24 inch scale length but i have salad fingers and that poo poo is impossible on my strat.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 22:15
|
|
|
landgrabber posted:i assure you you do not seem cool by posting these things like this and the other post or being one of those "gently caress gear man it doesn't matter" people. I agree, I think.. unless I mistunderstood you. I have some nice guitars and sometimes the thread is complaining about guitar snobbery or whatever but it's like overwhelming majority squire buyers here and the reverse snobbery about the guitars is unappealing. I played cheap guitars for 20 years, they're great. But like not everybody a boomer out to get you. We don't have to be so committed to the cheap guitars rule!! thing? I like vintage guitars, they're cool. landgrabber posted:i just see the "short scales are unnecessary" thing as a mark of the player. maybe they aren't necessary for basic open chords and barre chords. however, this: it's all subjective, but like that's no where near a beginner chord. That's not even a normal chord for like any human. I'm not buying a short scale to play that, I'd play it one of the other inversions that doesn't require crab fingers ethanol fucked around with this message at 22:22 on Jul 31, 2023 |
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 22:20
|
|
|
If you can't play that exact shape one fret higher on 25.5 then a short scale will not help. In any case, nobody is suggesting a four fret inverted interval within a chord is a reasonable stretch for beginners anyway. Once you get to the stage of needing those chords and find you STILL can't play it then you'll have the knowledge to work out a comfortable way to work around them.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 22:27
|
|
|
Drunk Driver Dad posted:did i post my long guitar in here yet? It is not normal, the one I had had excellent fretwork. It seems this latest batch of guitars has a few turds, there was someone in the facebook group with a Tele that had crooked bridge screws, off kilter string ferrules, poor fret finishing, AND a few listing frets. All fixable, but something that shouldn't happen.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 22:27
|
|
|
TEMPLE GRANDIN OS posted:I dont have a tele but I have this thingy I need to do some fret and nutwork on it but it's cool I think that's whats up
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 22:30
|
|
|
darkwasthenight posted:If you can't play that exact shape one fret higher on 25.5 then a short scale will not help. yeah if you're thinking about that chord and you want a short scale for that I have absolutely no business telling you not to get one, and wasn't my intention. My main point was beginners should worry less about specs, but small hands can play normal scale just fine. Epi Lepi posted:I disagree with that attitude in general, learning an instrument is hard enough, why put additional barriers in the way of anyone who's learning? I remember teachers telling me 15-20 years ago "start on an acoustic because it's harder so when you try electric it will be easier" and if that isn't the most boomer "uphill through the snow" bullshit I don't know what is. ethanol fucked around with this message at 22:48 on Jul 31, 2023 |
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 22:31
|
|
|
Epi Lepi posted:I disagree with that attitude in general, learning an instrument is hard enough, why put additional barriers in the way of anyone who's learning? I remember teachers telling me 15-20 years ago "start on an acoustic because it's harder so when you try electric it will be easier" and if that isn't the most boomer "uphill through the snow" bullshit I don't know what is. playing a regular-scale guitar isn't adding an additional barrier; insisting your hands are too small to play one creates a barrier when it comes to finding decent, affordable gear, especially with the added hurdle of finding lefty gear. it's a matter of conflating the difficulty of learning an instrument with the difficulty of learning the instrument itself. there absolutely are stringed instruments where the player's physical size can be a barrier, i play one (upright bass); a regular scale guitar is not that. there is no additional barrier from the size of a regular guitar, they aren't that big. i struggled playing power chords when i started, and i have fairly big hands; it's generally a technical thing, not an innate physical limitation. landgrabber posted:i just see the "short scales are unnecessary" thing as a mark of the player. maybe they aren't necessary for basic open chords and barre chords. however, this: idk about the other short scale deniers, but i generally hate barres and cowboy chords (they sound like mud on a 12 string in a band context, especially with any sort of gain). there's a lot of easier ways to play that chord though, even if you really want the third in the bass. I'd probably just do 0 x 10 12 12 12 or 0 3 2 4 x x. your shape definitely has voice leading applications, but in that case i'd probably just give up on the fifth and play an inverted shell chord instead of the noneuclidean scary chord lol.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 22:57
|
|
|
i don't want this to sound excessively racist but teenage/young adult japanese girls regularly play full scale bass guitars in professional bands to the extent that they have signature full scale basses
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 23:01
|
|
|
Epi Lepi posted:My partner absolutely has tiny hands, they were having difficulty with a basic power chord shape. I told them put your first finger on the 5th string 3rd fret and ring finger on the 4th string 5th fret and they said "I can't" which I still don't quite understand. FWIW I also found power chords nigh-insurmountable when I started at 15 and I have big gangly hands. It really bummed me because everyone was like "lol this track is so easy it's all power chords!" and I hung my head in shame knowing I couldn't stretch my hands like that. This is a tiny anecdotal nugget, but guitar is not a particularly intuitive or ergonomic instrument. I agree with your general sentiment of "why make it harder for yourself", but only up to a point, because beyond a certain point it just is hard and unnatural. Don't despair if your partner can't do power chords at first, build up to it? EDIT: It might sound counterintuitive but I started by learning lead. Single note lines were much easier for me starting out than chords, and it was quicker to get satisfying results. Chords came later as I just started playing notes of the scales I'd learnt together instead of sequentially. I came to guitar from violin so there's bias there, but there's plenty you can do with the instrument without doing some weird-rear end spider-fingers chords. You can play thunderstruck practically with 1 finger and feel cool while doing it. Tommy the Newt fucked around with this message at 23:08 on Jul 31, 2023 |
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 23:04
|
|
|
sirs! permission to be heteronormative and use a turn of phrase that is frowned upon sirs!
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 23:06
|
|
|
Epi Lepi posted:I disagree with that attitude in general, learning an instrument is hard enough, why put additional barriers in the way of anyone who's learning? I remember teachers telling me 15-20 years ago "start on an acoustic because it's harder so when you try electric it will be easier" and if that isn't the most boomer "uphill through the snow" bullshit I don't know what is. In the spirit of actually trying to answer your question both fender jaguars and Brian May red specials have a 24 inch scale length as standard. Which coincidentally is the same as a short scale strat.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 23:12
|
|
|
Technique question. If you’re boosted/distorted enough, letting one string ring out while playing a step down or so on the next sounds like absolute poo poo. Means that some things I come up with while unplugged are unworkable when I shove them through the Rat. Is that just a fact of life with distortion, or is there a way to make two strings sound better (or at least not clash)?
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 23:27
|
|
|
Distortion definitely amplifies any dissonant / discordant sounds that you wouldn't really notice on a lower gain setting, but it could also be an intonation problem (assuming the notes you're playing are harmonious in the first place). I'd probably check that first. I've covered some Smashing Pumpkins and Dinosaur Jr. songs recently and that stuff is famously like quad+ tracked and uses a lot of power chord shapes surrounded by open strings, but it all works ... so could just be a style thing?
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 23:32
|
|
|
The notes as they ring out are either a minor third or a fourth apart, so I dunno if it’s sheer harmony at work here. Maybe I’ll record it and explain what I mean.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 23:41
|
|
|
Electrosocket is soooo much easier than default Tele jack cup. I don't see why the latter exists in 2023. Certain things are better when they're old fashioned, and jack cups are definitely not part of that.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 23:47
|
|
|
muike posted:sirs! permission to be heteronormative and use a turn of phrase that is frowned upon sirs! You're not allowed to call other guitar players the f word
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 23:50
|
|
|
i'm gonna say it. fretlovers
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2023 23:53
|
|
|
Pollyanna posted:Technique question. If you’re boosted/distorted enough, letting one string ring out while playing a step down or so on the next sounds like absolute poo poo. Means that some things I come up with while unplugged are unworkable when I shove them through the Rat. Is that just a fact of life with distortion, or is there a way to make two strings sound better (or at least not clash)? gain amplifies dissonance by adding more harmonics to a sound, some of which are inherently dissonant. this sounds amazing with consonant intervals since it adds crunch and grit to them, but it also makes dissonant intervals sound really dissonant. there's a couple techniques you can use to combat this •play your riff higher on the instrument. the human ear perceives dissonance much more acutely in lower registers, and high gain tones will add high frequency overtones anyways, so you can reduce the audible size of your waveform and the distance between the fundamental and the added audible overtones. some of the higher order overtones will wind up just being inaudible when you play up high, since they'll be in the dog whistle area of the audio spectrum that we don't really hear. •play less dissonant intervals. your examples are minor thirds are fourths, which are what i'd categorize as medium dissonant intervals (the fourth is more dissonant), but it can be a real challenge to make things like ninths or tritones sound good with high gain. i think you've already hit on a pretty fundamental concept here, which is that things that sound beautiful without gain can sound gnarly when you slam them into gain. •use less aggressive gain staging. this is a little tricky with a RAT, they're generally pretty rowdy, but try turning down both the tone knob and volume on your guitar, as well as tweaking the parameters on the pedal. reducing the input volume will reduce the RAT's ability to make the signal clip and produce those gnarly harmonics; gain is multiplicative volume, so changing the input volume can have a huge impact on the overall sound. the tone knob will reduce the breadth of frequencies being multiplied by the gain, although if you roll it off too much and keep the gain in the pedal high it'll still be muddy. •EQ at the amp, or post-amplification. you don't want to add too much additional gain from the amp, since you're delegating a lot of that to the pedal; keep the volume and gain low on the amp, and emphasize mids over lows and highs. post-amp EQ is really important, and can really let you polish sounds you aren't initially thrilled by. low pass filters will let you cut the mud, high pass filters will let you avoid some of the screechy/dissonant higher order harmonics, and multi-band or adjustable EQs will let you surgically target problem areas. if your setup allows it, I'd strongly recommend looking at everything through a scope in a DAW while you do this; being visual with the waveform helps you see where the problem areas are, and lets you see in real time what your changes do to your signal.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2023 00:04
|
|
|
widefault posted:It is not normal, the one I had had excellent fretwork. It seems this latest batch of guitars has a few turds, there was someone in the facebook group with a Tele that had crooked bridge screws, off kilter string ferrules, poor fret finishing, AND a few listing frets. All fixable, but something that shouldn't happen. as far as I can tell, they are reasonably level. I think the action is at 1.5mm without much buzzing(and I haven't really done any tweaking to further improve it yet). They are just really rough and scratchy. Like, impossible to ignore when you try to bend or vibrato.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2023 00:20
|
|
|
unrelated: sounds like fender is about to raise prices again coinciding with launching new vintera II line.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2023 00:49
|
|
|
Did some mixing today on the recordings I pulled from our last show. Bout to take them out to the car and give them a real listen. Got 18 songs so far, a few more on there but this is probably enough for now.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2023 03:23
|
|
|
This is very cool and those guitars are cheap even with shipping to the US. Tommy the Newt posted:FWIW I also found power chords nigh-insurmountable when I started at 15 and I have big gangly hands. It really bummed me because everyone was like "lol this track is so easy it's all power chords!" and I hung my head in shame knowing I couldn't stretch my hands like that. Thank you it's been so long since I started learning I can't remember what I had trouble with and what I didn't so when they said they just couldn't do that shape I was at a loss. creamcorn posted:playing a regular-scale guitar isn't adding an additional barrier; insisting your hands are too small to play one creates a barrier when it comes to finding decent, affordable gear, especially with the added hurdle of finding lefty gear. it's a matter of conflating the difficulty of learning an instrument with the difficulty of learning the instrument itself. there absolutely are stringed instruments where the player's physical size can be a barrier, i play one (upright bass); a regular scale guitar is not that. You also said "just learn righty" which was also advice I don't agree with. It was immediately obvious to me when I handed my partner a guitar that lefty was going to be more natural. Yes there's not a lot of left handed guitars on the market and less at smaller scale lengths but there aren't NONE and I don't really give a poo poo about throwing $400 bucks at something if that might give my partner a better chance at sticking with learning. And I was never ruling out all standard scale guitars forever, I was asking for more resources since the big 2 sites didn't really have many options for lefty guitars to begin with. You're being weird and aggressive about the thought of someone not learning the way you did instead of just answering the questions I asked. muike posted:i don't want this to sound excessively racist but teenage/young adult japanese girls regularly play full scale bass guitars in professional bands to the extent that they have signature full scale basses You're absolutely not wrong, but again, I was looking for options to possibly make things easier.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2023 04:16
|
|
|
Epi Lepi posted:Update, playing left seems to be more natural for them but now we have an added complication. My partners hands are teeny tiny and we might need to try to find a short scale left handed guitar which sounds very difficult. I was surprised that my Epiphone LP still seemed a little large for them, since it's a 24.75 scale but the neck is a little chunky compared to my Jazzmaster. We're going to try again when they're not so discouraged but if people know companies that sell short scale lefties let me know. You may want to consider getting a relatively cheap guitar in short scale (Squier Mustang or a mini Strat/Jazzmaster) and then have a luthier set it up for left handed. They'll need to either reverse or replace the nut to fix the slot widths, see if they need to do anything with string trees, and then redo setup/intonation. It would be more expensive than you want and look funny, but it would be reliable. The short scale left-handed guitars that are available for sale new look either incredibly cheap or shockingly expensive (Kurt Cobain Jaguar/Jagstangs). I cannot speak for the quality of this guitar, but passing it along anyways as it is a 23" scale left hander: https://www.rondomusic.com/rst123tslh.html
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2023 04:16
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 27, 2024 07:38 |
|
|
Honestly the rondos are not awful, if they are set up correctly.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2023 04:23
|
|