(01-20-2016, 08:26 PM)BengalsRocker Wrote: I bought that USA Strat Deluxe(which plays great BTW)and usually tote this thing for back up anymore.

Does yours have the compound radius fingerboard?  If so, do you notice a big difference when you play that vs the other strat you listed?

(01-20-2016, 11:05 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: I haven't played much of the new stuff but it seems like a lot of people aren't all two impressed with Gibson's quality nowadays.  Fwiw, I too just bought an Epiphone Standard Plus and absolutely love it.  It's not the same feel to me as a real one, the weight and balance is a little different, but it plays fantastic.  Fit and finish are good too.

And IMHO their pricing has gotten to the point where it's a little ridiculous.  Street price on a Les Paul Standard is $2,799.  A Les Paul Custom is $4,799.   Street.  List is $6,800.Craziness.  Off the top of my head, I think in around 2000 those Standards were about $1,800 and the Customs around $2,750.  They've damn near doubled.  The new studio is $1,499.  When I worked at GC these could all day long at 899.

Meanwhile, the quality of the imports has never been better.  What you can get for 500 is pretty damn amazing.

For me, if I'm shelling out that type of coin and have to have a Les Paul I'd either look at Heritage (Original Kalamazoo plant) or I'm looking at a slightly older one.  There was a Studio they did in the early 80's that they actually did in Sunburst, with binding.  But it has the dot inlays instead of the trapazoid.  And it's out of the old plant.  I'm guessing you could get one of these for around the same price as the new ones.

I'm actually quite impressed with the Epi 60s Tribute in particular. 

Even though it had locking Grovers on it I didn't care for the ones that came with it.

I changed those out with some better quality ones(at least IMO).

That model has the USA pickups and guts.  The neck is fantastic.  At least in my hands.

From the Gibson the traditional seems like pretty good quality that's not $4,000. LOL

Gotta take that pickguard off though.  Like Shake hates the knob set-up on Strats.  I hate those things.

I have had many guitars throughout the years and never had hand/pick marks on the body from playing.

I just don't play into the body like that.  I guess I'm not the norm.

(01-20-2016, 11:10 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: Does yours have the compound radius fingerboard?  If so, do you notice a big difference when you play that vs the other strat you listed?

Yes it does have that.  It is extremely comfortable.

The one thing I love is the roller nut.  I have never had a guitar with one.

It makes bends really easy lower on the neck.  So little resistance.  Stays in tune like a champ too.

Though I do love the noiseless pickups(especially playing in clubs with shit power/wiring)they're not as hot as i would like.

I just wish the humbucker had a little more bite to it for solos and harder rock sounds.

Of course it's perfect for a lot of other things especially clean tones.  The combos of pickup configurations are really nice.

(01-20-2016, 10:41 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: Small surface scratches and stains on the neck can be removed with #0000 ultra fine steel wool, or an equivalent synthetic steel wool. Do not allow steel wool or shavings to be exposed to the pickups, frets or finished body and peghead surfaces. Regular use and cleaning will keep the frets clean and shiny. If the frets should need additional work, it is recommended to let an experienced technician perform this operation. Do not scrub the fret surfaces with steel wool unless the fingerboard is properly masked as staining of the maple fingerboard may occur.

I think the way they wrote it you can use fine steel wool on the back of the neck but not on the fretboard itself? I personally would never use steel wool on the neck.
Why take the chance? If something goes wrong theres no turning back. Is the neck that dirty?

(01-19-2016, 08:38 PM)BengalsRocker Wrote: Any of you guys know who Johnny Hiland is?

Tim McDonald(keys)and he are playing before us at a club this Friday.

The guy tears it up.  So does TM.

I've read about him but never listened to his playing until recently.  

He's a chicken pickin' guru, but jams sometimes with rock guys Steve Vai and Sammy Hagar too.

Check him out!  Really versatile player.

(01-20-2016, 01:43 AM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: I remember seeing him in a lot of the mags a few years back.  I've watched a few videos before too.  Is he opening for you guys?  Cuz, uh, that would be pretty impressive.

I met both Johnny and Tim McDonald.  I have to say those two were some of the nicest guys I've met.

They hung out and listened to us play.  Tim was giving out contact names for clubs for us to book at.

I just really can't say enough good praises for these guys.  Super talented and great people as well.

They just played in the Cincinnati area before coming up to Columbus on Friday, and I'd highly recommend anyone to check them out if they play there again.

(01-24-2016, 01:59 PM)BengalsRocker Wrote: I met both Johnny and Tim McDonald.  I have to say those two were some of the nicest guys I've met.

They hung out and listened to us play.  Tim was giving out contact names for clubs for us to book at.

I just really can't say enough good praises for these guys.  Super talented and great people as well.

They just played in the Cincinnati area before coming up to Columbus on Friday, and I'd highly recommend anyone to check them out if they play there again.

What was his setup like?  PRS or Tele?  Or maybe something cool I don't even know about...



What kind of stuff does your band do, Rocker?  And by the way, if you have any of your guy's stuff available online I'd love to hear it.

Bump.

I am getting my pickup on my Fender Strat fixed soon.

I am not much of an electric guitar player as i am more of a chord player and accoustic guy.

Kind of crazy being that i love heavy guitar. Cannot wait to improve on this part of my geet playing.

I need to get a nice pedal as my old one is down right ancient....

Any good pedals i should look into for pretty cheap fellas?

(01-27-2016, 08:44 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Bump.

I am getting my pickup on my Fender Strat fixed soon.

I am not much of an electric guitar player as i am more of a chord player and accoustic guy.

Kind of crazy being that i love heavy guitar. Cannot wait to improve on this part of my geet playing.

I need to get a nice pedal as my old one is down right ancient....

Any good pedals i should look into for pretty cheap fellas?

It depends on what you're trying to do with it.

If you are looking to put a pedal in front of an amp or run it through the effects loop inputs?

If you are just looking to screw around and jam by yourself. 

I suggest getting a Line 6 Pod or Line 6 XT live pedal.

It models a lot of amps/cabs/effects and you can run it through a regular home stereo.

You can even run it through your amps effects loop and either use it as just effects, or simulate amp sounds.

You can pick up used ones rather cheaply.

Front of the amp pedals I'm not real up on.  Tube Screamers were all the rage for distortion.  Not real sure what's popular these days.

(01-25-2016, 01:01 AM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: What was his setup like?  PRS or Tele?  Or maybe something cool I don't even know about...



What kind of stuff does your band do, Rocker?  And by the way, if you have any of your guy's stuff available online I'd love to hear it.

Right now Johnny is playing a Musicman Silhoutte.



Really clean sounding.  I'm sure his playing has something to do with that as well.  LOL

(01-27-2016, 08:44 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Any good pedals i should look into for pretty cheap fellas?

I cannot recommend this pedal enough:



http://www.amazon.com/Fulltone-OCD-Obsessive-Compulsive-Drive/dp/B000U0DU34

Hands down, without a doubt, my favorite pedal I've ever owned.  Everyone needs a decent overdrive and this thing has a pretty wide range of sounds.  I've had TS9 modded tube screamers, Blues Drivers, DOD 250's and this one is by far my favorite.

Now if you don't want to pay that amount of money there is Chinese company called Joyo that makes clones of a lot of pedals.  Supposedly, this almost identical to the OCD:

http://www.amazon.com/JF-02-Ultimate-Overdrive-featuring-components/dp/B005M0CK9M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453946651&sr=8-1&keywords=joyo+drive

They do some Sansamp clones and have a whole line of different effects.  If you're on a budget you can probably snag 5 different effects for under 175 bucks.

And if you don't want to go the single pedal route I'd recommend a Zoom G3.  Sounds pretty damn good and has a built in 90 second looper, with various drum beats too.  Absolutely great for playing at the house.

(01-27-2016, 10:28 PM)BengalsRocker Wrote: Right now Johnny is playing a Musicman Silhoutte.



Really clean sounding.  I'm sure his playing has something to do with that as well.  LOL

I feel like he should be almost required to play an old, beat up butterscotch blackguard Tele.

(01-27-2016, 11:10 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: I feel like he should be almost required to play an old, beat up butterscotch blackguard Tele.

I know what you mean.

Actually a lot of his fans want him to return to the Tele.

I think he just wants to play other styles as well and wants a more versatile instrument.

I'm sure the endorsement deals make it worth changing from time to time.

When he played the other night he only did a few chicken pickin' tunes.

Those to two guys were rather eclectic in the song choices.  They even played some Prince.

(01-27-2016, 10:01 PM)BengalsRocker Wrote: It depends on what you're trying to do with it.

If you are looking to put a pedal in front of an amp or run it through the effects loop inputs?

If you are just looking to screw around and jam by yourself. 

I suggest getting a Line 6 Pod or Line 6 XT live pedal.

It models a lot of amps/cabs/effects and you can run it through a regular home stereo.

You can even run it through your amps effects loop and either use it as just effects, or simulate amp sounds.

You can pick up used ones rather cheaply.

Front of the amp pedals I'm not real up on.  Tube Screamers were all the rage for distortion.  Not real sure what's popular these days.

Major reps to you for this sir.

I looked up the front of the amp pedals and there are some real good ones but they are spendy.

The thing is i want to not only jam by myself but be able to hook up and play with a band if needed.

I am willing to pay extra if that is the case. I have tried to play it too cheap in the past and it can bite your ass.

(01-28-2016, 10:54 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Major reps to you for this sir.

I looked up the front of the amp pedals and there are some real good ones but they are spendy.

The thing is i want to not only jam by myself but be able to hook up and play with a band if needed.

I am willing to pay extra if that is the case. I have tried to play it too cheap in the past and it can bite your ass.

No prob.

The Zoom G3 and other models that Wes mentioned are not bad either.

Definitely worth checking out. 

Hilarious and so, so accurate...

Discovered by accident today that Steven Seagal is a guitar player. Also has a pretty decent singing voice too. Any other names of people you didn't know were guitar players?

(02-02-2016, 12:17 PM)McC Wrote: Discovered by accident today that Steven Seagal is a guitar player.  Also has a pretty decent singing voice too.  Any other names of people you didn't know were guitar players?

Keifer Sutherland has a really, really nice collection from what I've heard.

And Paul Allen (Microsoft Co-Founder, Seahawks owner) has probably the greatest guitar collection in the world.  (Hendrix Woodstock strat, Clapton's Brownie, etc.)

I heard an interview with Jason Schwartzman  where he swears that Michael Cera is really good at guitar.

(02-02-2016, 12:40 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: Keifer Sutherland has a really, really nice collection from what I've heard.

And Paul Allen (Microsoft Co-Founder, Seahawks owner) has probably the greatest guitar collection in the world.  (Hendrix Woodstock strat, Clapton's Brownie, etc.)

I heard an interview with Jason Schwartzman  where he swears that Michael Cera is really good at guitar.

Thank, man.  I love finding out such things.  I think Conan O'Brien plays too. There must be some athletes who play too.

(02-02-2016, 12:45 PM)McC Wrote: Thank, man.  I love finding out such things.  I think Conan O'Brien plays too.  There must be some athletes who play too.

He does. Back when he was on Late Night on NBC, he often played guitar for skits (I could tell that he was actually strumming chords). 

Adam Sandler obviously plays guitar. So does his wanna-be Jimmy Fallon.

I'm looking for a good delay for less than $100. Anybody have a suggestion?

I'm kinda looking for that clean, shimmery Cure sound.