Slight change of plans....they have one in Heritage Cherry that I think I'm going to get instead. Same price, same condition. IF they can change my order.

Well, last night was fun. I'd already been thinking about gigging again and that settled it. No new guitar day coming but I'll be having a new mixer day and new speaker day soon. Got a Mackie DL16S coming in and a pair of JBL Eon710s on the way.

TequilaMockingbird said:

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I'd be interested to hear your opinion on the P100s if that's what they are. Most people seem to hate them. I'm curious to know what's different about them (ie more/less bright, more/less mids, etc).

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Wanted to spend some time with them before answering you. I played with the P-100's for the last week and thought they sounded fine. They were definitely humcancelling, so are great alternatives for someone who wants that "P-90 thing" but doesn't want any hum.

However, as anyone who has spent any time on this thread can tell you, I am a purist. When I play a P-90 guitar... I want them to sound like the P90 tone I have in my head. I swapped them out today with a pair of Seymour Duncan antiquities, and this thing is now exactly what I was looking for. As someone who grew up loving Green Day, and was a senior in high school during the American Idiot years, I just always loved the sound of his LP Juniors.

I wouldn't be able to provide a good comparison between the Gibson production P-100s and P-90s, because I've not A/B'd them. I'm just a fan of handwound/scatterwound pickups that are unpotted and slightly degaussed. There's a particular harmonic quality to them that I love and is hard to describe.

Quote:

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was a senior in high school during the American Idiot years

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Which "American Idiot Years" do you mean? There have been several even since I've been on the earth...

So, as I'm getting ready to go through a few of the Nashville guitar stores, a good Telecaster with authentic Tele sound is my highest priority.

What in y'all's opinions is important for achieving the authentic Tele sound these days?

ravingfans said:

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So, as I'm getting ready to go through a few of the Nashville guitar stores, a good Telecaster with authentic Tele sound is my highest priority.

What in y'all's opinions is important for achieving the authentic Tele sound these days?

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That is so subjective. Everyone seems to have an idea on what the "authentic Tele" sound is.

As I've gone into elsewhere in this thread, the one that spoke to me had the following specs:

• Ash body
• Slab rosewood fretboard
• vintage ashtray bridge with steel threaded saddles
• Fender custom shop '63 HW pickups. They are Alnico 2 staggered poles

This particular combo is what created my favorite guitar. But those are all so completely different from a vintage Broadcaster, which some would argue is the true authentic sound.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm less excited when I get tracking on something and it's FedEx or USPS than if it's UPS. And it really sucks when I get a UPS tracking number and they transfer it to my crappy local post office that marks things delivered to meet their SLAs and then actually delivers a day or two later.

Appreciate all the inputs here, guys. Went to some pawn shops and a music store in my area (didn't make it all the way into San Antonio) and the most interesting thing I saw was a pretty PRS SE for $560, which is maybe a good deal, but more than I'd LIKE to spend, given that I'm just fiddling around with the idea of playing and don't even know if I'll stick with it...

Been doing a lot of research online and came across these, which happen to be on sale ($309, down from $349). Based on the review, it SOUNDS like this is a really great value. I like the yellow/gold color for the LP shape, but apparently everyone else does, too and they're out of stock. The "Blackburst" guitar in the YouTube review looks pretty nice to me, though, and I'm thinking about going for one of those. Anyone familiar or have comments? TIA

https://www.guitarfetish.com/NEW-PRO555-Floyd-Tremolo-Coil-Tap-Kwikplug-Flamed-Maple-Top-LP-Blackburst_p_38422.html

Just to throw this out there:

I understand what you're saying about not wanting to spend much. But keep in mind, used guitars hold their value or appreciate in value. As long as you get a good deal on a used guitar, you can always sell it on Reverb after 6 months, if you decide not to play, getting you most of your money back. For this reason, I HIGHLY recommend investing in a decent instrument, even for just messing around.

Cheap guitars suck. They are hard to play and they sound bad. This isn't always the best motivator to learning how to play.

Spend $500-$800 on a decent used guitar and just sell it if you decide not to pursue it. You may end up being out $100-$200 from taxes and Reverb fees in the long run. The only reason you should be spending under $300 on a guitar is if you just don't have the financial means to spend more.

You want to mention Floyd Rose setup to him?

maroon barchetta said:

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You want to mention Floyd Rose setup to him?

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I was thinking about that as well. I've never dealt with a Floyd Rose personally, but my impression has been that they're not super easy.

Quincey P. Morris said:

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maroon barchetta said:

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You want to mention Floyd Rose setup to him?

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I was thinking about that as well. I've never dealt with a Floyd Rose personally, but my impression has been that they're not super easy.

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Every shop or tech that does setups charges more for Floyd Rose setups. I was looking at a guitar when a Floyd Rose at one point before I bought my new guitar.

Reading this board talked me out of it. I need to focus on playing, not tinkering with a tremolo.

Definitely do not get a Floyd Tremolo for your first guitar…particularly if you are already wishy-washy on it in the first place.

maroon barchetta said:

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You want to mention Floyd Rose setup to him?

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Honestly, didn't get that far in his post, lol.

Agreed with what everyone else has said, I would advise against a Floyd Rose tremolo on a first guitar. Hell, I would advise against any tremolo on a first guitar, especially if you are going cheap. That guitar will NEVER be in tune.

Roger that guys. I'm listening and learning. Thanks!

For example, here is a 2014 Mexico Fender Strat: https://reverb.com/item/65629306-amazing-fender-standard-stratocaster-2014-brown-sunburst

I would offer the guy $500 and see if he takes it. A Made in Mexico Fender Strat is a great value instrument with that Fender logo on it. Yeah, it has a tremolo, but you can block it or flatten the bridge if you don't want to fight with it. In 6 months, that guitar will still be worth $500 or maybe a little more if the market increases.

There are other great deals on Reverb you can find. There are others on this thread with more experience in that range that can provide great recommendations among other manufacturers, I'm just more of a Fender guy.

Taking y'alls advice, I'll go with a premium brand. I *think* PRS is a premium brand? So, should I go south and look at the MIM Strat in San Antonio, or head north to Austin to check this one out?

https://reverb.com/item/68421785-prs-se-singlecut-tobacco-sunburst-korea-2009

It's nice looking and seems like a really good deal (if you guys agree.)

PRS is a solid brand, but the SE line is their foreign made line. Nothing wrong with them and they're a great value. Every major guitar company has a foreign made line that goes for a little cheaper. Gibson has Epiphone. If you're after a two humbucker guitar like the ones you've posted, the PRS SE line and Epiphone are solid brands to look at.

As far as the PRS SE line specifically, the differences for them going to be in the top carve on the body which is shallower. Any figured wood is going to be laminate, which for a guitar means a thin layer of figured wood attached to a piece of unfigured wood as opposed to their US guitars which will be a single piece of figured wood, usually maple. The parts will also be all foreign made, but that's basically the same across the board.

Obviously the foreign made versions aren't going to be as nice as their US counterparts, but I think a lot of them are priced really well for what you're getting and there are definitely deals to be found on the used ones.

Thanks for all the inputs. I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the PRS. I definitely get the foreign line being somewhat below the domestic made versions, but the alternative was a MIM Strat.

I've always been the guy that had a Firebird rather than a Camaro, so the non-strat body shape just appeals to me a bit more, and the price seemed really good.

Appreciate the sage advice you guys offered. Big thumbs up to you all!

TX AG 88 said:

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Thanks for all the inputs. I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the PRS. I definitely get the foreign line being somewhat below the domestic made versions, but the alternative was a MIM Strat.

I've always been the guy that had a Firebird rather than a Camaro, so the non-strat body shape just appeals to me a bit more, and the price seemed really good.

Appreciate the sage advice you guys offered. Big thumbs up to you all!

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Good choice. I'm a fanboi of the 2005-2011 SE line. Made in Korea. I've owned eight over the years, and still have three including one just like yours except in dark cherry sunburst. I can't think of a better made "budget" import guitar. The current ones made in Indonesia are also good overall but IMHO not as consistently good as the Korean ones.

I didn't see this in the specs, but upon closer examination, the tuners on my Sire are staggered. So not only locking but also staggered.

This thing has a lot of features for this price point.

I'm ready for my gig bag to show up.

Speaking of the Floyd Rose bridge, one of the fine tuners is bottomed out and I am about to readjust all of them to be mid-thread. Is it better to unlock two strings at a time to do the adjustment or unlock all strings at once?

Do not unlock all at once, that would release all of the bridge tension and you'd have more work on your hands getting it all back together*

This is from an experience of mine about 15 years ago, I don't have the Floyd rose guitar anymore so my memory may be foggy on it.

Also another thing to consider. I configured my low E string differently at the bridge. Actually set that one off of "neutral" for standard tuning. It allowed me the flexibility to tweak it to drop D without undoing anything. Maybe not the best practice but it worked for me and I liked the quick change aspect.

Just doing two at a time was my first instinct. Guess I will try 3/4, 2/1, then 5/6 for the order

Well, hell. The dude that supposedly had the PRS for sale now can't deliver it. Fortunately, he did initiate a refund thru Reverb. Unfortunately, it was a really good deal, and it now feels like someone took a bite of food out of my mouth. Back to the drawing board!

Get the MIM Strat I posted above!

TX AG 88 said:

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Well, hell. The dude that supposedly had the PRS for sale now can't deliver it. Fortunately, he did initiate a refund thru Reverb. Unfortunately, it was a really good deal, and it now feels like someone took a bite of food out of my mouth. Back to the drawing board!

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That sucks. What do you want to bet he relists it later at a higher price? I'm betting he realized he could get a little more for it because at today's prices that one was pretty low.

That happened to me a couple of years ago on a Les Paul Junior Special that was listed at a pretty low price. I had a back and forth conversation with the seller about it, then pulled the trigger. The guy then ghosted me immediately.

Any more, I try to stick to dealing with stores as opposed to individuals.

BTW here's another one- https://reverb.com/item/67120180-prs-se-singlecut-tobacco-sunburst?bk=

Similar model
Cheaper price
Close to the buyer

This is a good outcome!

Whatever guitar you get, get it setup by a good luthier. It's amazing how poorly the used guitars I buy are setup. It makes me wonder if the reason the seller was looking to get rid of it was because it didn't feel very good to play. I ran into this with my ES-335 and my newest LP Special. Neither had just the right neck relief and action.

It takes some messing around, but I just got my LP Special dialed in perfectly on Saturday, after changing the pickups, and this thing feels absolutely amazing to play. Also, I polished the fretboard and polished the frets. Bending and playing is so smooth and effortless now.

I'm a big believer in learning how to maintain your own instrument. It takes time to get good at it, but it's so worth it when you are. You learn exactly how you like a guitar to be setup specifically for your playing.

So... what are all the variables needed to get your guitar dialed in?

Went to Gibson Garage yesterday. Was cool and all, but basically a specialized for Gibson Guitar center IMHO.

Here's a couple items that caught my eye, but nothing especially exciting.

Treat fretboard. Polish frets. Use good strings. Set neck relief just right. Set string height just right. Set pickup height just right. Intonate.

Once you can do all of that well, you will be surprised how great your guitar feels to play.