New Guitar

[Clive]

I guess the effects of working for iBreatheMusic.com have started to rub off on it's design guy because I went out and bought myself a guitar today;-)

(a 3/4 size cheapo nylon one from Argos (http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/commerce/command/ExecMacro/ols_prod_detl.d2w/report?prrfnbr=5405112&prmenbr=6970&type=big&thisMode=ols&cgrfnbr=65494) only £20.... but I think its kinda cool :)

Clive

[Guni]

man, I think this is very, very cool :-)

iBreathe is a disease ...... ya should have known this from the start ........ knowing me ..... :D

Guni

[Bongo Boy]

That's fantastic--your first, then? This is a road to ruin, you know.

[Clive]

Thnx Bongo, Yeah, this is my first ;-)
(I have a bass too which I've been tinkering with for a while)

Clive :)

[szulc]

Your life will never be the same, enjoy the Quest.

[Blackbolt]

Mine's a cheapo guitar from Argos as well, but I've grown to love the old thing. There's nowt quite like your first guitar - use it wisely!

[EricV]

Man, I wish I still had my first guitar...
Actually, my first guitar was a cheap old nylon string acoustic... my grandpa paid half of it ( long story )... don´t have it anymore, which is a bummer.

My first electric was a very cheap red guitar, looking very similar to the Jackson Steve Vai used in the "Crossroads"-Movie.
It had one pickup and one volume knob. The body sounded like styrofoam, and the frets were done after about 3-4 months. I wish I still had it. I sold it to get money for my second electric guitar, which in fact I still do have... it´s a black Samick Flying V, and it actually was ( is ) a decent axe... has a surprising amount of sustain, and the string action really can be put low, which was cool...
I did butcher it, though... ripped out the pickup and electronics, installed a Bill Lawrence L500 XL, a three way toggle and a mini switch ( coil-splitting ), and spray-painted silver f-holes ( I had caught the "Racer X-fever" back then ) on it...
As I said, I still have it around, might be able to post a pic either here or at my site soon...
Warm regards
Eric

[EricV]

Originally posted by EricV
As I said, I still have it around, might be able to post a pic either here or at my site soon...


Oh well, here it is... just got the results from a photo session I had last week....

Man, good ol´ days... that V went through hell and back with me ;)

Warm regards
Eric

[Blackbolt]

Christ, I didn't think people actually owned those guitars for real! I'm impressed!!

[EricV]

Hey, I was young, I needed the money... :D
Eric

[Blackbolt]

As good reason as any. Anyway, who am I to talk, I play drums!

[EricV]

Well, actually I don´t have a problem with that guitar. I liked it back then cuz I was into Heavy Metal, and this guitar also was in a prize-range I could afford.
I also liked the fact that a Flying V is actually a comfortable guitar to play. ( I also learned fast that the shape actually is a classic, and guys like Albert King and Eric Johnson use / used Flying V´s as well ).
And these days, it still brings back memories once I pick it up. To me, it was and still is more important how the guitar sounds, not how it looks. Sure, the look of a guitar is something you consider when you think about buying one, but it´s only on place no.3 after sound and playability.
Some people used to laugh when I came in with that guitar back then, like "Look at that metal-dude"... well, after I had played some jazzy and blues-stuff, they were rather confused. Not only because "that dude with the V" was able to play stuff like that, but because it sounded good with that guitar too...
So that´s why I don´t mind playing the old V, not even today. I am sure that many people don´t like my choice of guitars ( the Vandenbergs etc. ), but I am happy with them, they feel great and I can get pretty much every sound I need to get... and I need a bunch o different ones since I am playing several different styles, often sitting in as a sideman with acts from lotsa different musical styles...
Wow, did I get long-winded again or what ?
Warm regards
Eric

[Essatic]

Hey Eric,

My first guitar was a cheap stratocaster imitation, though made by fender. Was called Fender Sunn Mustang. The guy in the shop tried to sell me a more expensive axe by saying " you can't play metal with it, only good for soft rock". Sure, i can agree, it's single coil.. but there are many ways to distort that guitar.

Anyway.. after a while i got myself a boss metalzone.. and then a boss 7-band equalizer.. and amazed a lot of guys in the neighbourhood. It was actually my live setup when I was 17, and running thru a good PA it ruled.

Now when I look back to that guitar shop, i know they're right in a way... but also wrong in so many ways.. never bought anything there again.

And.. will never sell that axe too.. hanging on the wall :-)

[EricV]

Hi Essatic,

yeah, it´s all a matter of opinion. I bought a lot of stuff ( or DIDNT ) based on what the guys in the store said.
Until I finally decided to see for myself whether it would work or not.
One of my strats is equipped with a Seymour DUncan Distortion HB in the bridge-position. And you CAN play metal with it :D

Ted Nugent is a good example... I knwo it confused a lot of people to see him play all that agressive, feedback-soaked stuff on a Byrdland, which does not look like a guitar to play hard rock with.
By the way, I saw a lot of guys in the studio use guitars like a Gretsch White Falcon or other semiacoustics to double their powerchord-rhythm guitar with... those semiacoustics add a lot of punch and attack, even though they´re pretty responsive to feedback.
If you double your regular "Explorer-or-Flying-V-through Marshall amp"-powerchords with one of those, you´ll have enough punch to blow your pants off :D
Warm regards
Eric

[RM II]

To get off on a bit of a tangent, we run into that all the time from other guitarists (and sometimes non-guitarists). People don't always think Peavey (or fill in blank yourself) can make a decent guitar, you have to go with Jackson, BC Rich, Fender, Gibson, or something else that we have been led to believe is "the best".

Purchase and play whatever you like. You can take a $3000 guitar, put it in the hands of a novice, and they will still sound like a novice. Take a $200 guitar (assuming it's playable....LOL), put it in the hands of experience and it screams.

I've read people slamming Korean made guitars. My NJ Warlock was made in Korea and I think it's pretty high quality. To each his own and so it should be.

[Essatic]

Don`t you guys love those situations, some guitarist playing good gear, but telling... it`s a bad guitar or bad amp. Then you take over and play the **** out of his gear.. and afterwards... "was that my stuff?" :) Happend to me several times! You can argue with me, but I think loads of musicians or ego-maniacs, though we don't always want to admit it!

This was a special message.. sent from my holiday at greece, Crete... bloody 40 degrees celcius over here... but then agai.. the women wear less!!!! :)

[furiousnewf]

My first guitar was a crappy flying v imitation..... I can't remember the company. May have been Horner, or something like that. It was terrible to play, wouldn't stay in tune and sounded like ****. But man, I loved that guitar. And I regret everyday that I sold it...

Here's a pic
http://images.mp3.com/mp3s/52/resources/984/711/files/9847113.jpg


Because when it comes down to it, I'm sure the way it sounded/played was due to my inability to play at the time...

Now I'm hooked on Ibanez... I have an RG550 (tens years old) and a new Saber... I still like the RG much more, the neck feels sooo much better than the saber!

[Essatic]

can't disagree with you dude. i also have 2 ibanez rg's. The stange thing to me is, that my "cheap" 470 sounds way better than my rare 770. recently i saw a 470 for sale secondhand for 200 euro, was really a shame, and if it wasn't the same colour as mine, it would've been mine!!

Greetzzz

[Bongo Boy]

I always enjoy this tangent. It came up on the conga forum a month or so ago, too. A guy paid extra for 'better' congas, and he didn't like the sound of the drums. Point here is, 'better' may mean a lot of things--more expensive materials, finish and hardware for example. None of those things may positiviely influence the sound of the drum (or the guitar).

I can't imagine how the origin of manufacture can have anything to do with the quality. It's the machinery, the materials, the quality control processes. As far as APPARENT quality in guitars, so far for me, Schecter stands out as extraordinary for the under $1000 USD mass of guitars in the US made abroad. I have no idea how they sound.

I bought a Gibson for $1000 and am not impressed (at all) with the fit, finish or materials. I love the guitar, mind you--but it is in no way a thing to behold. I also looked at a $2000 Gibson (new semi-hollow) that should never have left the factory Any American should certainly know that crap can be built in the US just as easily as it can anywhere else in the world--nobody has anything on us in that regard!! :D

...and while I'm on this silly rant, I've also been told that there are $25,000 custom archtops out there, new, that show fairly immature workmanship, too. MANY things go into setting the price for a non-commodity product--including whimsy.

[Essatic]

Yes bongo man, i've also seen lots of guitars with bad finish and stuff.. as a beginner you don't see those mistakes.. but you pay the same price.. actually my first rg has also a little part of metal sticking under one fret.. it sounds bad.. but you hardly see it.. and you sure can notice it while playing. lucky me :)

I've seen some nice scheckter guitars too actually. but my dream guitar stays the jackson king V1, i hope they continue making them for a long while.. with the stopping of megadeth and stuff.

they are already very pricy, what if they become collectors items... I'll never be able to afford it then!! lol

Bye for now..

Greetzzz\ Essatic