Topic: guitar kit

[GoatBaSS]

Steal on the Micro stack. I do work in a pawn shop part time, but I tell you the deals are there. Not all the time but they are there.
Wail away ye master of the surf.
There were Charvel surfcasters, and I had an Ibanez talman that pulled off a great surf tone a la lipstick pickups. I traded that bad boy to a friend. I have been assured I will get it back one day, when I pry his cold dead hand from around it. C'est la vie....

[fuzzybutt]

back in the late 80's and early 90's my "practice amp" was a 65 fender twin reverb. that with the mosrite sounded so right to me. played through a super reverb when i played with the band. i really got away from playing after a real bad car wreck in 99 left me with some brain damage and severe memory loss. i had to relearn to do alot of stuff after that and playing the guitar kind of got lost for a few years. i want to start playing the bagpipes again too someday.

[75modrat]

Not that anyone asked, But I love the way the Marshall JCM 900's sound. I used to have two of them and loved them. I only liked the 50 watt models because you had to drive the 100 watters too hard to get them to break up right. I still have one and recently picked up an Orange Rocker 30. It is amazing. Just a basic 30 watt, Class A amp. As for guitars, I prefer Fenders but have a Gibson Les Paul and Sonex. The Sonex is like the red headed step child of the Gibson line. They didnt make it all that long. Its a bolt on neck and resin core body (like resin around a wood core). It has great tone (but you cant do any clean playing with it). If I could have a perfect guitar made I want all the aspects of my les paul made into a telecaster. I know it is stupid but I'd love it.

[fuzzybutt]

when i got the micro stack, i was looking at a dillion copy of the mosrite johnny ramone guitar too. i might just have to get one once i have some more disposable income. played as good as the original mosrite, electronics werent up to snuff but thats an easy fix

[BobbyR]

If you wanted a decently made Guitar on a budget, I would suggest the Yamaha Pacifica series. There is a lot of skill needed to build a decent Guitar. I know people who have taken courses in it and good results take a lot of practice. Good luck on your kit.

[fuzzybutt]

i didnt end up with the kit, i got a dean evo xm from musicians friend for 99 dollars. picked up a marshall micro stack at a local pawn shop for 125

[Sheik Yerbouti]

Ah yes. The Saga Guitar Kits. I've made several.

They're about what you'd expect. Cheap basswood bodies, some sort of awful grainfiller that you absolutely must paint over, poorly cut frets, etc. etc.

But that's not to say they can't make a decent kit guitar. The pickups on the strat variation are actually pretty darn good, if not better than similar squiers. If you want to spend the extra dough and get a quality kit, check out the bolt kits from www.carvin.com

Also, a great source for some cheaper Chinese made guitars is www.rondomusic.com

Check out the Agile line.

[754]

Last night on,
RANDY'S VINYL TAP.....CBC Radio

 Bachman told the story of how he got a 59 Les Paul i think it was.

 They had drove by bus from Winnipeg to Nanaimo BC, were playing a gig in a church..way back.. he had broke his favorite or main guitar and was using a POS to get by (I forget the make and model)

 Anyway they started playing and after a short while a fellow came up to him with a Les Paul and motioned, like he wanted to trade.. so Randy did.. right then and there, tuned it up and kept playing..

 After the gig Randy found the guy and wanted to switch back, guy said, No Way, we traded!. So Randy said that is a better guitar I have to give you something for it. (I think he said the guy was given the guitar by a relative or his dad and he did not like it, it was really heavy). So Randy scraped together 72 dollars and got the Reverend to witness that they had made the trade.

 Well Randy said that guitar has been appraised for a lot of money. In fact it is THE GUITAR he used when he first came out with American Woman... and it is going in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on display..very soon.

 They played in the stadium herea few times, it is like about 1100 feet from my shop. To thwart the scalpers they usually release tickets on the date they play. We got some and got to sit right where they come in and looking right down the stage at them. like maybe 50 or 60 ft from center of stage. But right in front of us was the Guitar wrangler.. they had about 8 of their guitars, like 12 ft in front of us. should have tried to figure out what they were, but I am not a guitar guy..

 I think Bachman has hundreds in his collection, cant remember how many he said, But he did say one of the Stones had 1600 I think

[dustyc]

I used to work doing guitar and amp repairs for a vintage dealer here in Athens.  The story he told of how he got the money to open his shop was that he found a 59 Les Paul in a local pawn shop and it was priced ridiculously low for what it was because it was so perfect that they thought it was a new guitar.  I believe the story goes Eric Clapton has it.  If he doesn't have it, he was reported to have said it was the best one he'd ever seen.  He also procured guitars for George Harrison, Neil Young, had a black Mosrite that he loaned to Santana at a show on which he played Black Magic Woman, he had a '52 gold top with Muddy Waters scratched into the top.  Not that it means Muddy did it, but that's part of the mystique of old guitars... He had a book we called the "feel bad book".  It was a photo album of beautiful vintage guitars with stacks of money piled beside them.  I saw and worked on some great guitars, amps and old effects there. 

[BobbyR]

That must have been a great job.

[fuzzybutt]

well i got a very nice surprise when i opened the box from ups this afternoon, this is a nicely made, great playing guitar. fingerboard feels like glass the action is so smooth. the only thing i'll want to change eventually in the distant future is the pickups. they have a faintly muddy sort of sound, no buzz or noise just not at bright as i like. nice quality materials and great playability all for 99 dollars.

[azuredesign]

I also worked for a vintage store back in the late 70's in western Ma. I can't remember what Lp's were going for then, but had the opportunity to purchase a mint early model with the long tailpiece for $400. and turned it down. So it goes... I did end up with a bunch of nice guits, one of which helped put my son through college, and that was a while before folks started paying $250k for LP's. Nowadays, I'm pretty partial to the reissue LP specials. For around $500 used, they work pretty well for me.

I'm glad you like your new guit Fuzzy!

I used to work doing guitar and amp repairs for a vintage dealer here in Athens.  The story he told of how he got the money to open his shop was that he found a 59 Les Paul in a local pawn shop and it was priced ridiculously low for what it was because it was so perfect that they thought it was a new guitar.  I believe the story goes Eric Clapton has it.  If he doesn't have it, he was reported to have said it was the best one he'd ever seen.  He also procured guitars for George Harrison, Neil Young, had a black Mosrite that he loaned to Santana at a show on which he played Black Magic Woman, he had a '52 gold top with Muddy Waters scratched into the top.  Not that it means Muddy did it, but that's part of the mystique of old guitars... He had a book we called the "feel bad book".  It was a photo album of beautiful vintage guitars with stacks of money piled beside them.  I saw and worked on some great guitars, amps and old effects there. 

[Peterbylt]

A friend of mine as a sideline to his regular business used to have guitars made and imported from china. Then he would sell them on EBay. I was over at his house one day when he showed me this Guitar. I could not resist and bought one. As it turned out the electronics are quite good It has incredible action and it stays in tune like no Guitar I have ever owned and I've had a few over the years, Plus the holes make it much lighter than you would think. Just about everyone who has ever played it has offered to buy it from me but it is just too unique and too good of a guitar to ever sell and the few my friend had made sold out immediately, I wish I had bought a couple of them.



Peter 

[dustyc]

That's kinda cool. 

Azuredesign.  I'm sure I'll be saying I wish I knew then what I know now about some of the guitars that passed through that shop.  That's life though.  I still have a bunch of guitars, though I sold all the Les Pauls.  They're mostly too heavy for me.  If it's not comfortable, then I don't want to play it.  I do still have a '61  Les Paul Junior(SG body style) with a single P-90.  It's got superb tone.  (You probably know this, but for most everyone else, it's a common misconception that all LP's are heavy and that's how they get their great tone.  Their weight comes from the amount of minerals the wood absorbed while it was a tree, and there are alot of older Les Pauls that don't weigh a ton and are quite comfortable with amazing tone.) 

I like kind of oddball guitars.  My 12 string is a Framus Texan(so good I have 2 of them).  I've got an old Silvertone hollow body that I put a strat neck on kinda my tribute to a Paul Bigsby guitar -Someone started a refinish job on it, so I don't feel bad.  I started over on it and made it a blonde.  It's got a great flamed maple top that was mostly hidden under the finish.  A '51 LG3.  A '64 EB2 bass.  A great Rick 4001 copy, a later P-bass with a Jazz bass pickup added and a Badass bridge.  My first bass which I converted to fretless with a spare neck I had laying around.  It's just a cheap bass, but you have to keep your first right?  I also have my first little guitar from Christmas when I was 8 and my grandad's Harmony archtop from the 40's.  And a few others.

I just wish I had more time to play these days.  I guess I'll have to make time.

[GoatBaSS]

Making time is true.
As for keeping the first, I kinda wish I had but I have traded or sold all of those " you know I wish I still hads". I do have a question as you get older do you feel less enthusiastic about "gear". I have become content with what I have, and am less about the grass is greener/ thrill of the hunt. I am still surprised by some makes from time to time, but not jazzed like I used to be. Maybe if money were no object...
I dont think I am settling, I love to play and do, it is just they new toy aspect that has become droll..

[dustyc]

I think there is a thrill to the exploration of something new still.  There's just not so much new stuff now that I've tried alot of it.  Definitely alot of thrills playing a Plexi Marshall the first time or a Laney, a Vox AC30, Fender Super(Twin, Deluxe, Pro) Reverb, or a Showman, playing through an Echolette, a WEM Copycat, Echoplex, Audiovox, different digital units, different effects, I love Fuzz Pedals and was really excited(and still am) to find my Bass Brassmaster.  It's a Maestro pedal.  It has the Fuzztone sound, plus some extra tweaks.  It was a new old stock item I found in an ancient store that was going out of business.  30+ years old still new in the box. 

At the same time, I'm really content with what I have.  There are some things I'd like to either get or get again.  I really regret selling my Stratocaster.  Same with my Deluxe Reverb.  I kick myself for getting rid of what in hindsight was my favorite rig.  Then in the new column, I'd like to try a Gretsch.  I've never spent any quality time with a Gretsch.  Just a little time with a Duojet, which I thought was great.  But in the meantime, I'm happy to play what I've got. 

[Peterbylt]

I've had my 65 Fender mustang since I was a teenager. I have bought a number of other guitars over the years. When I came to the realization that I was trying to make them all sound and play like my Mustang I stopped trying for something better and have only picked up a few guitars that are unique in other ways like the Holystrat in the picture in my previous post.

Peter   

[fuzzybutt]

played a neighbors jazzmaster this afternoon, damn i'm in love. the feel of it and the sound! oh my lord the SOUND.

[azuredesign]

I wish I had a relative that played something, and I would love to have something that they played! I've heard that my grandmother was a good pianist, but she was gone before I was born. Aside from my youngest brother, who's a solid rock drummer, and an uncle who's an avid jazz fan, my family wouldn't notice if music ceased to exist.

Those early 60's lp/sg's are lovely. Very light with great sustain. I think I prefer single coil pickups in general, but really like the p-90 and nowadays the p-100. I also like oddball guitars, particularly if they play well. A few years ago, I got inspired after reading that Ry Cooder and David Lindley had been rehabbing and using old Teisco guits. I had some fun with a couple. It was surprising to find even the fingerboard was laminated though, and kind of turned me off for a bit. Recently I took one out to play, and really enjoyed it. There's something I just love about a green sunburst.....

That's kinda cool. 

Azuredesign.  I'm sure I'll be saying I wish I knew then what I know now about some of the guitars that passed through that shop.  That's life though.  I still have a bunch of guitars, though I sold all the Les Pauls.  They're mostly too heavy for me.  If it's not comfortable, then I don't want to play it.  I do still have a '61  Les Paul Junior(SG body style) with a single P-90.  It's got superb tone.  (You probably know this, but for most everyone else, it's a common misconception that all LP's are heavy and that's how they get their great tone.  Their weight comes from the amount of minerals the wood absorbed while it was a tree, and there are alot of older Les Pauls that don't weigh a ton and are quite comfortable with amazing tone.) 

I like kind of oddball guitars.  My 12 string is a Framus Texan(so good I have 2 of them).  I've got an old Silvertone hollow body that I put a strat neck on kinda my tribute to a Paul Bigsby guitar -Someone started a refinish job on it, so I don't feel bad.  I started over on it and made it a blonde.  It's got a great flamed maple top that was mostly hidden under the finish.  A '51 LG3.  A '64 EB2 bass.  A great Rick 4001 copy, a later P-bass with a Jazz bass pickup added and a Badass bridge.  My first bass which I converted to fretless with a spare neck I had laying around.  It's just a cheap bass, but you have to keep your first right?  I also have my first little guitar from Christmas when I was 8 and my grandad's Harmony archtop from the 40's.  And a few others.

I just wish I had more time to play these days.  I guess I'll have to make time.