Guitars

[Slim]

Quite tempted by one of these:




I do already have a headless guitar (a Steinberger) but I'm especially intrigued by the fanned frets on these - which presumably improve the intonation as well as making chords a bit more comfortable.

The basic headless concept is not a gimmick - having the tuners on the body is a much more stable proposition. And it looks like these use a clamping system at the end of the neck, so you don't need to buy special strings. I don't really like the zero fret, though.

[Matt2112]

Not my thing aesthetically.

I've been sorely tempted to buy a Charvel So Cal for ages, and the recent release of the "distressed" models* has only made the craving worse; they're relatively affordable too.

I don't need one - I have an Ibanez RG Prestige and an EVH Wolfgang - but the idea of owning and playing one is so appealing that I fear it will only be satiated by an actual purchase. So maybe I do need one... 


* EDIT: These are actually in the San Dimas range but the differences are pretty much cosmetic.

[Slim]

Not my thing aesthetically.

I've been sorely tempted to buy a Charvel So Cal for ages, and the recent release of the "distressed" models* has only made the craving worse; they're relatively affordable too.

Just had a look out of curiosity - I love the stripped down workhorse Strat look - except for the Floyd Rose style whammy bar, I'll never own one of those.

[Matt2112]

I don't think I'll ever grow out of having a whammy bar for doing the odd "stunt".  The Ibanez Edge tremelo "goes both ways", which is a bonus. 

[The Picnic Wasp]

I feel I need to buy a guitar sooner rather than later. I've never owned a Telecaster and feel that's the direction to take but I think something with hotter pickups might be wiser and this would cover up a lot of shortcomings. I do like Charvels but the Sire T7 FM ticks a lot of boxes. Rolled edge fingerboard and locking tuners really appeal as I hate changing strings but I'd prefer it to be hard tail. Andertons Spring sale has Fender Player Teles at £599 just now which is also tempting.

[Slim]

I bought a double humbucker Player Tele from Andertons a couple of years ago, it was really nice except that they'd sent me a B stock item with a chewed neck screw. I sent it back, they sent me another dodgy one so in the end I just went for a refund.

I really liked the Pau Ferro fingerboard.

[The Picnic Wasp]

Quite tempted by one of these:




I do already have a headless guitar (a Steinberger) but I'm especially intrigued by the fanned frets on these - which presumably improve the intonation as well as making chords a bit more comfortable.

The basic headless concept is not a gimmick - having the tuners on the body is a much more stable proposition. And it looks like these use a clamping system at the end of the neck, so you don't need to buy special strings. I don't really like the zero fret, though.

New cheaper version now available.

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/240201418822020--strandberg-essential-6-astro-dust/

[Slim]

That's nice, I prefer the rosewood fingerboard.

[The Picnic Wasp]

Oh no! Wish I hadn't stumbled upon this. I'd read about it before but now it's available just when I had whittled the list down to a PRS SE Custom 24 or a Player series Tele. They're both considerably cheaper and more practical for me but lack the drool factor. In all honesty I hardly ever play my Les Paul but I think that might be because it has the 2015 wide neck. The Less Plus edition which is definitely a Marmite guitar.

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/230329402597008--epiphone-alex-lifeson-les-paul-custom-axcess-quilt-ruby

[The Picnic Wasp]

That's nice, I prefer the rosewood fingerboard.

There's also these EART guitars. I like this guy's reviews.

https://youtu.be/bgWUzryMjFU?si=7FsnYt-gBfejUfJc

[Slim]

A very scholarly piece here about a subject close to my heart - 1980s Squier Stratocasters

https://planetbotch.blogspot.com/2011/12/truth-about-1980s-squier-strats.html

[Thenop]

We went to see Slash last night so it a presentation of Gibson on stage. He even played a Firebird, that I did not expect.
However my brother, who plays guitar, fell for the opening act Wolf van Halen, and his new signature guitar that will be out in May. I would not be surprised if I would get a picture in a month or so of the one he bought..
He was playing the green one on stage and that looked the part!

https://guitar.com/news/gear-news/evh-sa-126-namm-2024/

[The Picnic Wasp]

We went to see Slash last night so it a presentation of Gibson on stage. He even played a Firebird, that I did not expect.
However my brother, who plays guitar, fell for the opening act Wolf van Halen, and his new signature guitar that will be out in May. I would not be surprised if I would get a picture in a month or so of the one he bought..
He was playing the green one on stage and that looked the part!

https://guitar.com/news/gear-news/evh-sa-126-namm-2024/

I like the look of WVH's signature range, but I think my future purchases are always going to be swayed by my preference for a fingerboard radius of around the 9.5" mark. I haven't tried 7.25" as yet but think I should visit a store to see if I'm missing out. It has become a quite limiting factor in choice for me lately. Something which I didn't pay much heed to in the past. Might be due to the ageing process or overthinking. Off topic but fell in love with the Arturia AstroLab today. I think this instrument was designed with me in mind. It's everything I've ever dreamed of in synth design.

[The Picnic Wasp]

In the late seventies my parents finally gave me the go ahead to buy my dream bass, a Fender Precision. My preference was a black finish, but as I scoured the stores, adverts and phoned every music shop accessible to me there was nothing to be had. The only Precision I could lay my hands on was in MacCormacks, Glasgow, but it was in Antigua Burst and I absolutely hated the finish and wouldn't buy it. Due to this I switched my focus to a new kid on the block. The Peavey T-40. It weighed a ton but was a magnificent guitar and I loved owning it. Stupidly, a few years later I traded it in for a synth and have always regretted it. I've recently started to look for another but it has to be in near perfect condition and nothing as yet has persuaded me to part with my cash. It seems ironic timing for Squier to release a range of Antigua Burst guitars just now, including a Precision. I'm still not keen on the finish but the older me doesn't hate it quite as much. Strangely it looks better on the back of a guitar rather than the front. Back in the day I could have picked up a Jazz bass in a couple of nice colours but I really disliked the offset shape. Now, I absolutely love and own Jazzes and would be ok if they were the only ones I could own. It makes me quite emotional now though to think of my poor young sister being asked to collect the T-40 for my Christmas present. I don't know how a fourteen year old girl managed to carry that brute in its case all the way home.

[Slim]

I hate those old Antigua finishes. In and of themselves they look gross but there's also an indelible association with Fender's nastiest era - ungainly, heavy, three bolt neck instruments and shoddy quality control. I assume they're being reissued for Fender's 70th anniversary.