Wow just really discovering this thread. Hello fellow guitar nerds.

If you're looking for an affordable hollow-body then either an Epiphone Casino or a Gretsch Streamliner is where I would look. My favorite guitar is an early 2000's Casino bought cheap off Craigslist. So easy to play and the p90s produce a great tone that is in the sweet spot between humbucker / strat pickups. If I play in a live setting, I play through a Helix so the notorious feedback issues haven't been a problem for me.

I imagine a hollow-body would be good for a beginner as well since you can also practice the acoustic basics without plugging in.

Howdy and welcome!

I'm not looking for a hollow body. If the right one came along and I liked it I would consider it but I'm more interested in solid body guitars.

To me the Casino or a 335 or the Gretsch are wider bodied guitars than I want right now.

Welcome!

This thread also falls under the same rules as every other thread on this site. We need some pics of your ladies!

Yes, rule number one of guitar thread is we must see your guitars.

So, just procrastinating going to sleep, and got stuck watching The Song Remains the Same... as one does. It just reminds me that Jimmy's tone during this concert is what influenced me the most in what I believe the perfect guitar tone is. Honestly, before I really got into Zep and first watched this concert video when I was 20, I used to just crank the gain on my cheap ass amp and think I sounded good.

His tone for The Rain Song is so freaking godly, it makes me cry because I can't replicate it.



Was curious what recording or performance influenced my fellow guitar players on what the "perfect" guitar tone, is.

Edit: had to add my favorite song of all time, because this is also the part in the show where I am blown away by the guitar tone of his Burst.

I'll go ahead and give the cringiest answer and simultaneously least surprising answer for this thread.



Also my ultimate regret now a decade and a half later is selling my Platinum Tremonti model to Guitar Center for a Les Paul Standard that was in rough shape. I had no idea at the time that that color would be virtually non existent to purchase.

Not a new guitar anymore as I've had it since April, but the Yamaha FG-830 my wife got me last year needed a string change. I had the strings and was ready to do it and have been happy with the guitar to this point, but remembered back to you gentlemen saying to get a setup done even on a new guitar.

I never had a setup done. This week I took the Yamaha to my local shop and asked them to do a setup and gave them a set of Elixir 10's to put on it.

I got it back yesterday. It feels even better than before. The action has been adjusted and those new strings are more buttery than the strings from the factory they had on it.

A great setup is the most important thing for playability. It becomes even more fun when you learn to do most of it yourself. No one will take the time and care for your guitar like you will. I have spent 2 hours rolling the edges of one of my Strat's fretboard. That is not something anyone will do who sets up your guitar, but it made a world of difference.

The one piece I need to really learn, now, is filing and polishing frets. I probably need to buy a cheap guitar to practice on.

Pro tip: be sure to tape off your pickups when filing frets, unless you want shavings all over the pole pieces. That's a step the last place I took my guitar neglected to take.

Oh, trust me, I know that. I use 0000 steel wool to clean my fretboard and have to tape off my frets because of all the steel wool shavings.

DallasTeleAg said:

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A great setup is the most important thing for playability. It becomes even more fun when you learn to do most of it yourself. No one will take the time and care for your guitar like you will. I have spent 2 hours rolling the edges of one of my Strat's fretboard. That is not something anyone will do who sets up your guitar, but it made a world of difference.

The one piece I need to really learn, now, is filing and polishing frets. I probably need to buy a cheap guitar to practice on.

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I know nothing about rolling frets but get lots of emails from StewMac and see their video links and realize that it would be easy to fill a workshop space with luthier gadgets. I like the Rhett Shull videos he has done at Dave Onorato's shop. I did learn some stuff in those that helped me when I changed strings on my PRS Lifeson acoustic.

Made a trip by a pawn shop today for the first time to see what kind of guitars they have in stock. Their webpage and social media pages didn't really give a good look.

It was on my way to GC so I thought "How bad could it be?"

Pretty bad. The acoustics were mostly garbage. And overpriced at that.

The electrics were kind of all over the place. Some brands I didn't recognize and some I did that just seemed odd.

Let's see if the wonky TexAgs image filter will let some pics of pawn shop guitars thru without thinking they are boobs. See upcoming posts.

This Strat was on display as well as a bunch of amps. They had Fender, Traynor, Vox, Hughes & Kettner, and probably some other amp brands. Nothing amazing.

Have you seen pickups like this before? I have not. It's unusual.

The truss rod opening looked rough so I shined my phone flashlight in there and I didn't see a truss rod. Is that a thing? Pulling out a truss rod? I didn't bother hooking this one to an amp.

Seems like they wanted around $700 for this guitar but I forgot to get a photo of the tag.

Man I hate the picture filters on this site with a passion.

They're awful.

The PRS looked a little beat up. They don't even wipe these down before hanging them on the wall I guess because this one was messy.

Tuned it as best I could but it was hard to get it to hold tune. The pickups look bad. The action is high. And the bridge looks like it is adjusted really high for some reason.

Missing the end piece on the pickup selector switch. It would be a project at $459.

This Les Paul is a color I have not seen offered. I tuned it up and plugged it into that Fender amp you see in the PRS photo series. After a little while it started to crackle and get static so I switched to the Hughes & Kettner. More crackle and static.

Bad cord? Two bad amps? Or electronics on the guitar are bad? I'm going with the latter.

I *think* they wanted $900ish for this guitar.

How many Les Pauls have you seen with no fret markers?

Last one of the pawn shop tryouts today.

What is a Robot Guitar? Truss rod cover says robot guitar. Serial number starts with RG. I'm not familiar.

Wait! The tag says Robert Guitar!!!!

What if the guitar is made from pieces of Robbie the Robot from Forbidden Planet, starring Leslie Nielsen in a serious role and the timeless beauty of Anne Francis?????

What kind of tuners are these? They clicked like a gas cap getting tightened. And they would let me tune down. Only up.

The Ex Machina covers on the back are nice so you can make sure your wiring is still in place.

The knobs on the volume and tone pots are certainly interesting.

Is this a real Les Paul? $1700 seems steep.

Some Junkie Cosmonaut said:

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Man I hate the picture filters on this site with a passion.

They're awful.

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Yep.

I'll see if I can screenshot it and post it again. Sometimes that works for whatever reason

maroon barchetta said:

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Some Junkie Cosmonaut said:

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Man I hate the picture filters on this site with a passion.

They're awful.

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Yep.

I'll see if I can screenshot it and post it again. Sometimes that works for whatever reason

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Nope

The robot guitar will switch to different tunings with that switch with letters instead of numbers. I've never used one or looked into them too much so I can't say how well that system works.

Those are all fake.

Why are they fake?

Fender: Says it is Fender USA, but that is not a USA serial number, and modern fenders don't use two string trees. In fact, i've not seen a Fender with two string trees. Also, no sticker that says "Original Contour Body"
Edit: After looking, it actually would be a '97 serial number, but still seems shady, to me.
First Gibson: That is not a correct Gibson logo
Second Gibson: That is not a Gibson headstock and that is not the correct stop bar tailpiece.
PRS: Never seen one look like that, but to be honest, I'm not as well versed in spotting a fake PRS. I will err on the side of fake because the others are, and I've never heard of a PRS being that poorly setup.

maroon barchetta said:

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What is a Robot Guitar?

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A mistake by Gibson.

The 90's Fender American Std Strats have 2 string trees. I bought one new back in '96.

It could possibly be a 90's Fender Strat, but it sure seems like a fake, to me.

On the strat, I'd have to see more. I looked up the 90's standards, and the headstock seems to actually match. The lack of truss rod is extremely suspect. I would need to see the rest of the guitar. From everything I've ever heard, the 90's Fender Standard Strats were very hit and miss.

Those Gibsons definitely look fake, to me.

The PRS looks legit to me. It would seem an odd choice to fake a SE but who knows.

Yeah... I guess I just don't like the look of either the Gibson headstocks. TBH, I've not spent a lot of time with the LP Robot guitars, seeing as they are trash.

That first les paul with the Gibson screen printed logo is hella incorrect. The dot of the "i" should not be touching the G. Once I see one fake at a pawnshop, I start thinking they are all fake.

I noticed the dot as well on the orange Gibson. I've only looked at pawn shops a few times and have never been impressed with what they have. You can't really trust they know instruments well enough to pick out fakes.

Edit: NVM... looks like there are some 2007 Robot guitar models.

The ones I'm seeing on Reverb are all numbered similarly. Something looks odd around the logo though. Like it's a water slide decal that is peeling.

I would love to show you the Strat body so you can see the weird pickups but the image filter sees too many sexy curves on that guitar.

Your Virgin eyes must not be violated by such images.

Lol... wrong thread

One of the better feeling guitars I played today was at GC and was this Gretsch Les Paul copy on the right. It played easier than the actual Gibson Les Paul next to it. It was just very well set up from the factory.

I played a Schecter that felt good too. And a Jackson. Very easy to play.

My bias is toward a Gibson or Fender or PRS but I haven't had my hands on enough of them yet. Especially the PRS. My GC is sold out of those.

Next weekend I'm going to try to hit some stores in other cities.

Gibson is notoriously sub-par, at that price range. I would much rather have the Gretsch, than the cheap LP.

Now, I think it's a failure on Gibson's part to be so sub-par on those models, but it is what it is.

It's especially ridiculous when you compare them to the Fender Mexican line of guitars, which are great quality instruments for under $900.

For Gibsons, the LP Specials can be very good, in that $1,000-$1,300 used and $1,400-$1,600 new range. The Les Paul Classics start around $1,800-$2,100. I have a LP Classic, but I am not super impressed with it. In the $900-$1,200 rage, I think the Fender American Standard Strats, Teles, and Jazzmasters are some of the best deals out there.

Fender owns the marketing, production, and distribution of Gretsch guitars.