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Post by shmoolie on Jun 26, 2007 23:19:52 GMT
I just got a Dean EVO XM for $100. It's a Les Paul copy, with a flat-top basswood body & bolt-on neck. It needed a lot of setup adjustment (nut, trussrod, bridge, pickups). I had to epoxy-in the tailpiece, because a stop tailpiece was designed to go in maple or mahogany - not soft basswood. This greatly improved the tone & sustain. After tweaking it for a few hours, it now has the kind of action you'd expect from the real thing. This may be true of many cheapos. Setup is everything on an electric guitar, because everything's adjustible, for a reason. The tuners need to be replaced. I tried adjusting & lubricating them, but you can't make up for the poor tolerances they were made to. The neck was worth the price, by itself. It has an ebony fretboard (really, not rosewood like it was supposed to have). The fretjob is perfect. Everything's smooth & level, with no sharp ends or rough edges.
If you have a guitar that just feels or sounds rubbishpy, have a luthier spend an hour or two adjusting it, and I bet you'll be amazed at the improvement. By the same token, I would think that you're probably not getting a fundamentally better guitar, until you spend well over $1000, and get one made from the best woods, with the best hardware. What's the difference between a $1000 guitar and a $4000 custom shop guitar? Probably just the few minutes, which the custom shop guitar spends, being checked & adjusted by a real luthier, with decades of experience. The parts & materials are probably the same.
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Post by banjosaurus on Jun 27, 2007 1:21:33 GMT
Well I tend to agree with a less expensive approach. I have been playing for over forty years and have owned Gibson SG's & Les Pauls, Baldwin/Burns, Fender Strats & Teles, Westones, Tursers, Ravens, Michael Kelly's, Arias/Ibanez's and many custom ones I've built. I have played PRS's, Jacksons, and Hamers, 'higher end' Schecters and 'relics' and really would rather own ten 300.00 guitars than one 3,000.00 guitar any day because you can beat up a $300 and not feel like you've thrown away your life savings plus you get the added bonus of having 9 other colors and styles to choose from when you go out not to mention the tonal variations that 10 guitars offer. And I don't see all the buzz about these so-called collectors antique models which in my opinion are great historically, or rare, but are they playable? Ever tried those funky klusons tuners on an old fender they don't stay in tune they are of inferior design to the newer Gotohs, Grovers, Shallers or any number of sealed tuners that have the adjustable set screw. Those older models with only the bushing slip out of tune easier. We haven't even talked about the old big block tremolo units compared to wilkinson or floyd rose or full contact bridge / tremolo units. However, I do like the old fender split shaft/peg design in good shape but with limitations they go bad once they get old and worn. Finishes have improved in modern times or you might even go to the local auto paint repair shop and get them to give you a custom paint job from some 'left over' car paint. You can't beat the color choices for the price. I could go on and on, but it's what ever the market will bear ultimately and whatever look or feel or sound the particular musician is trying to achieve, if it works for you then go with it.
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Post by shmoolie on Jul 6, 2007 23:27:37 GMT
I just installed a set of Grover Sta-Tite 18:1 tuners, to replace the useless ones that my cheapo Dean EVO came with. These tuners are great! The're old fashioned open-gear tuners, like the ones I'm replacing. But they're made to really precise tolerances. They work at least as well, and as smoothly, as any sealed tuners I've used, and with almost no discernable slop.
They were $35 at Stewart Macdonald, which is only $5 more than the "economy" tuners that came on the guitar. Dean could really class-up their cheap line, by substituting these Grovers.
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Post by mickyb on Oct 17, 2007 14:03:18 GMT
Jesus what A MEMORY By Themd21 my first guitar was bought in Smithfield to, it was a Hondo 2 strat copy £35 and thats wot I began playing with electric Guitars. oh my God seems like a different world now so I want the time machine back as well. lol.
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Post by mickyb on Oct 17, 2007 14:23:07 GMT
Anyone got any recommendations or reviews on the Gibson Epiphone delux 's seems like a really good quality build for £5oo
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bobsynth
Member
Still Rockin After All These Years
Posts: 109
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Post by bobsynth on Nov 7, 2007 18:41:36 GMT
I have played a Westbury Custom, since 1979. I have always wanted a hollow body electric for jazz and mellow sounds and tried quite a few, but never really fell in love with one I could afford. Then I found the Dean Jazz Stylist Standard. You can get these on EBay for around $200, in excellent condition. They are fantastic. The sound is awesome. It will take some work to get the action the way you want it, but it is worth the effort. The secret to these guitars are using the right guage strings. They require a jazz set and I find the 011 to 050 set just perfect. Try one, you won't regret it and I think you will be surprised. The only criticism I have is that the gold plating is cheap and wears easily and some time the hardware will need tightening. But for $200 these are a steal.
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Post by mickyb on Nov 19, 2007 17:15:51 GMT
well I decided on a TOKAI LES PAUL(JOHN SYKES SIG SERIS ) LOVE THIS GUITAR AND BOUGHT MYSELF THE NEW PAEVEY 212 VALVE KING AMP GRAET SOUND ,BUT MY WORD THESE AMPS ARE HEAVEY ,STILL I THINK YOU NEED THAT FOR TONE AND DEPTH.
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Post by Steptoe on Nov 19, 2007 23:49:30 GMT
well I decided on a TOKAI LES PAUL(JOHN SYKES SIG SERIS ) LOVE THIS GUITAR AND BOUGHT MYSELF THE NEW PAEVEY 212 VALVE KING AMP GRAET SOUND ,BUT MY WORD THESE AMPS ARE HEAVEY ,STILL I THINK YOU NEED THAT FOR TONE AND DEPTH. Hi Micky I'm using a Peavey ValveKing 2x12 as well, best sounding Amp I've had in ages! and they don't cost an arm and a leg. Very happy with it. You are right though they are heavy! I've put castors on mine. Cheers John P.S Can you turn off your caps lock when posting, using Capitols is the equivalent of shouting! |
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don
Member
Posts: 53
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Post by don on Nov 23, 2007 23:35:22 GMT
Hi Steptoe and all Variaxe users.
I have been using my Variaxe 300 for about 2 years and is still as good as new.
I have invested in a wireless system and the down side of the guitar is that it has to be powered by 6 AAA batteries which last about 4-6 hours. So I find the price and duration of battery life is prohibitive.
Cheers. Don.
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Post by mickyb on Dec 16, 2007 22:12:18 GMT
Ok folks caps off ,sorry for the bad protocol. and yes iI got my amp flight cased with castors. Finding it hard to get any good tones but at low volumes any suggestions?
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Post by Steptoe on Dec 17, 2007 1:12:00 GMT
Finding it hard to get any good tones but at low volumes any suggestions? My settings on the valveking are: Input 1, Clean channel, Bright switch on. Bass -12 o'clock, Mid-12 o'clock, Treble around 8 - 9 o'clock, same with presence. Resonance at zero, texture at full A/B. I'm using a Tele nowadays so I have a fairly bright tone anyway! John |
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Post by bumchord on Jan 7, 2008 19:59:01 GMT
yeah jimmy g i was the the one who sold that guitar in smithfield for 30 bob so you were robbed [alex[
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Post by mickyb on Jan 10, 2008 22:16:51 GMT
thnx m8 for the settings ,I would try them out but my amp is in getting fixed {only a few weeks old} runs fine for a couple of mins then distorts, It appers to be a fault in the amp and not the valves as I first thought,and a word of advice to anyone buying a new Peavey Valve amp , They guarantee the amp for 3 yrs with extended warranty but the valves for 3 months only. first time I played through it sounded sweet so I hope to have a replacement soon
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Post by Steptoe on Jan 14, 2008 2:14:36 GMT
thnx m8 for the settings ,I would try them out but my amp is in getting fixed {only a few weeks old} runs fine for a couple of mins then distorts, It appers to be a fault in the amp and not the valves as I first thought Hi Micky I had exactly the same problem with the Valveking 112. The music store replaced the valves(tubes) but it still happened, so rather than stuff around I traded it for the Valveking212 which worked fine. After doing a couple of gigs recently with stairs I've decided that lugging a big amp isn't for me anymore so I traded the Valveking for a Peavey Classic 30, so far so good. Let me know how you get on with your amp... Cheers John |
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Post by mickyb on Feb 3, 2008 10:54:29 GMT
Well John update on my amp ,got it back this wk ,it had to go back to Peavey ,were they found out the outputs had blow{I never had it up over 3 -4} This was a big surprise ,but working fine now and using almost your recommended settings. It may be heavy John but the quality of sound from this amp surpasses anything I have played through recently.I would post some pics of my set up if some of the members or Moderators would be kind enough to pm with the details how too Many Thx.
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Post by Steptoe on Feb 3, 2008 11:54:32 GMT
Glad to hear you got that sorted Mickey, since my last post re my amp I've had a case of GAS (Gear. Acquisition. Syndrome) ;D After visiting the local guitar store I tried the new VOX AC30 CC1 and ended up leaving with it  Luckily I've been dealing with that store for around 30 years so they gave me a huge discount! A great sounding amp, has that signature VOX chime, I think I'll hang onto this one for awhile. |
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bobsynth
Member
Still Rockin After All These Years
Posts: 109
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Post by bobsynth on Mar 25, 2008 20:55:55 GMT
I love Dean guitars for an inexpensive Axe. I wanted to add a jazz hollow body electric to my act so I ended up buying a Dean Stylist. Well I liked it so much I put my Westbury Custom in storage and use the Dean exclusively. It gives me a great country, blues, jazz or light rock sound. I'm not much into distortion or heavy metal, but it would not be the guitar to try that genre. I paid $350, new, with a case. I liked it so much I bought 2 more.
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kmcl1
Guest Member
Posts: 2
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Post by kmcl1 on Nov 14, 2008 22:49:19 GMT
I had a variax 300 and found it to be totally unreliable for gigging - got rid of it on ebay - I have a mixture of expensive and cheap guitars - have a Japanese Squier Strat cost me £100 - gigged it for years, main guitar is a mex nashville Tele backed up by an Indonesian Tele with three pups that cost me £80. If I break a string on the mex I just get out the Squier - does the job great. Also great in the pub if some drunken punter wants to play a song or if it gets dropped. The Les Paul stays safe and sound at home.
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Post by weegeo on Feb 25, 2009 2:18:25 GMT
Hiya guys i don`t normally talk about guitars [being a drummer ]lol lol lol but the topic headline got me thinking does anyone remember the class looking guitars that woolworth used to sell at an amazingly high price of 6.9/6 [thats six pounds nine and sixpence]lol or in current money 6.471/2p from memory i think they were called `top20`and came in the 1 colour bright red they had the fender strat look and were made from the very best `marine ply`but were very well finished nonetheless, and for the type of music going round then sounded not too bad. If anyone has any memories of these musical `icons` please share NB i think you got a free copy of `Bert weedon`s play in a day` as well
weegeo----------stuck in a very early sixties time machine lol lol were all the good cymbals were zynn lol lol
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Luckily I've been dealing with that store for around 30 years so they gave me a huge discount!