New hobby - Guitars :)

dragon1952

Yep....since I retired at the end of December I've been doing stuff around the house and taking my Mom and Dad back and forth to their appointments in the daytime and listening to music and playing poker online (play money) at night. Getting bored with poker so I decided it was time for a new hobby. Check out my new toys!
Fender Standard Tele and OLP Bass. The OLP is an officially licensed replica of the Ernie Ball Music Man and pretty darn similar at a fraction of the price. I couldn't decide which I wanted so I got both :cool: Oughta keep me out of trouble for a while anyway

mantis

Nice man,
Here is mine.

dragon1952

That's a very, very beautiful guitar dude. Is that an SL-3?

organ

Very cool. I gave the guitar a shot but it's not really for me. I'm thinking about getting back into violin.

So Dragon, you pumping those guitars through tube amps:)?

dragon1952

organ wrote:

Very cool. I gave the guitar a shot but it's not really for me. I'm thinking about getting back into violin.

So Dragon, you pumping those guitars through tube amps:)?

LOL! I wish :rolleyes: I'm embarrassed to say what I'm using but that's next on the list

organ

It's all good man. I borrowed a friend's bass guitar amp for mine LOL.

Are you planning to get a modern or vintage amp? I saw some stuff on the net about SS guitar amps with digital processing that emulate tubes. Sounds pretty cool if you only want to tube roll your stereo. I hear guitar amps eat tubes for breakfast.

dragon1952

I'm really not sure yet. That's the problem with playing both is you need 2 amps. I need to work the old lady slowly here. First the guitars and then oh, by the way...I'm gonna need a coupla amps now ya know I'm using a little Rat Shack amp we got my daughter for Christmas many years ago. I had to dig it out of the garage, evict a coupla spiders and replace a fuse but it's OK for practice.

mantis

dragon1952 wrote:

That's a very, very beautiful guitar dude. Is that an SL-3?

Good call, yes it's a SL3. I picked it up a few months ago. I also have a Vox
Valvetronix Ad120VTX combo amp. Why I got it over everything else I played is the fact it sounded really good, tube amp and has 32 channels. THe flexibility I have with this amp seems unlimited. I was torn buying an amp. I was going to go back to what I owned in the past which was the Fender Twin Reverb. I love that ampp and still do. But With that amp required me to buy all the different effects I use. I found everything I needed in the Vox.

British power is awesome and I love the Vox. I never thought I would own a Vox. I never even considered it until I was shown it. Even then I really didn't want to plug in. I'm a Mesa Boogie, Marshall, Fender kinda guy. I can get all the tones out of this amp I could will all of those.

I didn't take a ny pic's of it yet but here's what it looks like.

reeltrouble1

A very nice inexpensive modeling style amp is the Berhinger line, I dont own one but have fooled around with several of their models on a trial basis from my local shop. They dont cost much but can give you some really good sound.

RT1

unc2701

dragon1952 wrote:

I'm really not sure yet. That's the problem with playing both is you need 2 amps.

What I did in college was use a keyboard amp... you won't have any options to overdrive it into distortion, but that's what a pedal board is for. Covers the full range, so you're good to go.

Demiurge

Mesa (Boogie) makes great Bass amps, and I also like the guitar amps they make as well. I already invested a huge chunk of change in my Marshall equip, so I am good to go for a while. LSi15s and LSi25s are calling my name more.

BlueMDPicker

Cools beans, Rob!

A word of warning: this is a much more expensive hobby than audio. The upside is that wisely purchased musical instruments actually appreciate in value (what a concept!)

Enjoy! (both your retirement and your new hobby)

-justin-

Here's some pics of my Talor Custom that I got last year, I love it, beautiful sound and looks fantastic!

~Justin

wodom1

-justin- wrote:

Here's some pics of my Talor Custom that I got last year, I love it, beautiful sound and looks fantastic!

~Justin

Taylor's are gorgeous. My next guitar is going to be a Taylor. I've currently got a Washburn acoustic, an Ibanez TC-740, and an old Fender Squirre Strat. (my first electric). I can't wait to pick up a new acoustic.

Demiurge

Taylor makes a great acoustic. I love them and Martins a whole lot. They make the best ones, IMO. Yammy makes a decent acoustic for the cheap price point, surprisingly.

dragon1952

I'm having a little problem with the 6 string. The pads of my fingers are very fleshy and I'm muting some strings on chords, especially on the first 4 strings. Most 6 strings have a nut width of around 1.63 - 1.68 inches I've discovered. I may check out the Rickenbacker 650 series which are about the only ones I've found so far that have a wider neck. They have a 1.75" nut width. Not sure if it would make much difference though. That's only 1/10 of an inch. Any other suggestions?

dragon1952

BlueMDPicker wrote:

Cools beans, Rob!

A word of warning: this is a much more expensive hobby than audio. The upside is that wisely purchased musical instruments actually appreciate in value (what a concept!)

Enjoy! (both your retirement and your new hobby)

Thanks for the warning I always seem to pick the most expensive hobbies. But really, the 2 guitars were only about $550 combined and if I add another $1000 for amplification that's not too bad. That's way less than half of what my 2 channel system retails at.

BTW Mantis, that Vox looks like a really great amp. A little out of my range at the moment though unfortunately. So are the Mesa Boogies. I would love to have a tube amp though. The Berhinger's look like a very good possibility for now though. I might check that out. Thanks reeltrouble

unc2701

Your left thumb is probably in the wrong place (assuming you're right handed). Make sure you're putting it directly opposite your fingers on the other side of the neck. The tip should never extend beyond the top of the neck and should be close to the centerline of the neck. Also make sure you aren't collapsing your fingers/lyaing them flat. It takes a little practice to get them to bend right but if this dude can play the Uke, you can handle any guitar

dragon1952

Yeah, I'm working on technique right now and waiting for my callouses to develop so hopefully it'll improve. I used to play a little when I was around 12 as my Dad taught a little so I kind of know the proper technique. Whether I'm using it properly is another story.

unc2701

Yeah, I learned from this really good classical guitar player... and I'd drive him completely batshit because I'd always plant my right pinky on the soundboard. Still do it, too.

wodom1

Here's a far-away shot of my Ibanez. I don't have any close-ups on this comp.

Demiurge

wodom1 wrote:

Here's a far-away shot of my Ibanez. I don't have any close-ups on this comp.

Nice set-up you got there, Wodom.

audiobliss

wodom - What are those speakers you have setup in there?

cmy330go

Looks like RTi70's.

wodom1

Thanks Demiurge.

Yep, they're RTi70's.

audiobliss

The slanted back piqued my interest. Is there something leaning against it or is that just a shadow?

BlueMDPicker

-justin- wrote:

Here's some pics of my Talor Custom that I got last year, I love it, beautiful sound and looks fantastic!

~Justin

Very nice! That must be you in the Polkfest pics of the "Kluge"? What type pickup does your Custom use?

BlueMDPicker

dragon1952 wrote:

Thanks for the warning I always seem to pick the most expensive hobbies. But really, the 2 guitars were only about $550 combined and if I add another $1000 for amplification that's not too bad. That's way less than half of what my 2 channel system retails at.

Pfft! Report back in a couple of years.

If I ever get a 2CH setup that comes close to half of what I have invested in rare/vintage instruments, I'll be in one of those photo galleries we all love to hate (but drool over.)

wodom1

audiobliss wrote:

The slanted back piqued my interest. Is there something leaning against it or is that just a shadow?

That's the grill leaning against the back of the speak.

rskarvan

Stick with Fender and get a Hot Rod Deluxe on the used market for $400. Great amp.

dragon1952

Someone mentioned a keyboard amp. Think this would work ok?
http://cgi.ebay.com/HUGE-200-WATT-Bass-Guitar-AMPLIFIER-Amp-Free-Shipping_W0QQitemZ7395749270QQcategoryZ64397QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem