Guitar Players (post not BB related)

If it gets better than 20 MPG then go for it!

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IMO....Not sure this is such a good idea for Krakatoa JR....It looks like it would be easy to make contact with, but I not sure how much carry the ball would get. Maybe with a layer of pine tar on the tuning pegs up to the 6th fret.(any futher and the George Brett rule comes into play)

Sorry, can't be any more helpful. Might try Ebay for comparables...did that once with my old bass "axe" and got a good idea.

Krakatoa,

I dont know about the company or the technical specs of the guitar - but the Tremolo thing is used to pound veal cutlets.

You place the veal on the black thing - pound it with the white tremolo handle - and then get to cooking.

Make sure you sponge down the guitar after each meal.

The Epiphone Wildkat is one groovy feline baby. Save yourself some big dinero on Gretsch and Gibby boxes, and get your box rockabilly mojo going at a made in Korea price. Ooow listen to those humbuckers, and the Bigsby vibrato, waaaaaaaaah. Plug this kitty in to a Fender Twin Reverb, close your eyes and let your fingers do the talkin. Ya baby.

krakatoa:

Aren't you sorry you asked...all of us crazies coming out of the woodwork so to speak!

observer 44 makes some good points and gives you advice on how to keep on the right side of the law and itsinthegame sounds like he hasn't eaten yet or didn't get what he really craves (tenderized veal cutlets) and Tuzigoot probably has your answer but I, at least, don't have a clue as to what he's saying...but I so enjoy how he says it! 'The Sticks' brings out the best!

Maybe I can run it by my guitar playing son and he can shed some light on the subject.

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Woody...Hybrid, gets 40.

of course this begs the question.....What has this got to do with.......moose?

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I think I'll just go cook up some veal, chase it down with some of ajumma's kimchi, then splash lemon soju all over myself -- then start wailing on this baby........

If I brought this guitar to the HSBBW reunion, what are the odds we could get TR to play us something tasty?

Krak,

I thought I was the only crazy parent who talked about guitars here!

I asked my resident guitar player and he said:
This would be a nice guitar for a serious beginner or someone moving up from a beginner guitar (squier strat, etc.). Epiphone makes good affordable copies of Gibson guitars, and Musician's Friend is a reputable place to buy guitars at a very good price. (My son owns a Gibson Les Paul from Musician's Friend, and a handmade classical - not from MFriend - plus a few Fenders, etc., etc. - it's his equivalent of those crazy baseball travel expenses.)

About the tremelo thingy, he said: How can someone not know what a tremolo bar is for? It's for tremolo! LOL But then he did answer the question: When you bend the bar down it changes the pitch - you would use this effect on many rock songs - Eddie VanHalen uses it a lot, and Steve Vai quite a bit also.

Chill might have some input - her ballplaying son is also a serious guitarist (with a new VOX amp hopefully?).

We vote in favor!

Krakatoa:

That sounds like fun...be sure to save some veal for itsinthegame. Lemon soju...is that anything like au jus?

Me...I'm going for a walk and then get some 'beauty sleep'.

What time is it over there? What day is it over there?

You should send me that guitar for investigation......mine is getting a bit old,

I've been playing for about seven years now and that guitar is as almost as good as it gets for any level of player.

While I am more partial to Fender (Strat), you can't go wrong with this one. Hook it up to a Line6 Amp or a Fender Tube amp and you have a pretty nice combo!!

observer44:

Hybrid Moose...now that's a great idea. Runs on four legs for that 'quick get up and go' and then walks briskly using its hind legs only, once it's at cruising speed. Of course to stop he would just sit on his haunches and skid to a stop.

But still...what to do about that...that...moose thing...maybe a catalytic converter...if placed just right...would do the trick?

I know Angus plays a true Gibson SG (because my son told me so) with this 'tremolo' thingy on it, and I suppose some of the wavering notes you hear on certain ACDC tunes are provided by that veal-pounder..........
If one's influences are Angus Young and Johnny Ramone, I assume this would be an okay choice?
(I'm trying to get him to listen to Alex Lifeson's work with RUSH, but he's into the more riff-and-bash stuff)

gotwood, it's 2:42 pm on Thursday afternoon over here. Our weekend comes earlier, but yours lasts longer.........

Krakatoa:

So I've heard!

Enjoyed the back and forth...easy does it with the kimchi...good night.

Krak, you the man baby. Get your son to watch and listen to Alex Lifeson in the Rush In Rio DVD. He'll be converted for life. I'm gonna pop that baby back in to my player now, turn up the VOLUME thru my B&O and blow the frickin "Trees" (none pun intended, Rush fans know) down thru my Klipsch towers. Its midnight, but I'm in the sticks and I'm outta here. By-Tor.

Tuzigoot; you of all people should know that, In The End, SNOWDOG saves the Overworld after defeating By-Tor under the sign of Eth!!

The only word in this thread that I've understood so far is "veal" ....

I guess I'm musically challenged.

its: Do you cook that the same as moose??

Krakatoa, We bought an Epiphone for my daughter for Christmas last year, and she loves it. It's a great guitar fo beginers. Go for it.

I've also heard the tremelo bar called a whammy bar. Why? Because some rockers would hit the bar during a note, or wham it.

As usual, MN-Mom and her son give good advice.

Epiphone is owned by Gibson and produces their so-called lower end guitars. Guitar snobs tend to look down on them becuase they are made off-shore, mostly in Korea these days. Those snobs also pride themselves on spending way too much for the Gibson brand, in my opinion.

This is probably a pretty good guitar, meant to be played not collected. Certainly good for beginner and intermediate players.

Here's a hint: Guitar Center has a lowest-price guarantee policy, and they also own Musicians Friend. If you take this ad to a local GC they will beat the online price and you can have the guitar of your choice that day, rather than wait for MF to ship one that you haven't seen. Also, get GC to throw in some kind of case or gig bag. Epi makes some decent guitars, but they don't have the best track record regarding consistent quality. It would be best to touch one before buying.

The tremelo (**** bar, or whatever) is used to loosen the strings to lower the notes or tighten them to raise the notes. Overuse leads to a couple of things: 1) out of tune strings, 2)exposing the fact that you're out of ideas.
The combination of this style of tremelo with the tuners on this guitar could lead to intonation problems; just something to be aware of.

Good luck! The world needs more guitar players.

Krak, just hope he hasn't watched the old films of Pete Townsend! If so, you may need to order more than one, and a broom to clean up with...

Great advice PioneerDad and MN-Mom

PioneerDad is absolutely right on the money about Guitar Center. My son and many of his baseball buddies play guitar. I am sure my interest in guitars rubbed off on him. I had purchased a maple-body Yamaha which is a Strat copy for a very reasonable price at GC.

My son took it with him to college and found that their were other guitar enthusiasts on the team. Ask TRhit, baseball and rock & roll go very well together

Try the MARTIN GUITAR=== they make one of the sweetest sounding guitars

The Les Paul is a great instrument--Ricky Derringer uses them, at least he used to when in the studio with us

And yes guitars and baseball go well together--ask Bernie Williams and also the Red Sox

MN-Mom says:

quote:

it's his equivalent of those crazy baseball travel expenses.

As one whose older son plays bass can attest, every passion carries its need for "resources!"

A word to the wise: When your son's bass-playing friend comes over and announces that he's "stepping up" to a Modulus bass and Ampeg amplification equipment, don't raise your hand and offer to pay for half! You'll need to protect your assets for the post-Epiphone "ax" in your future!

All the best to your musician!

Some guys here at Damage Control have bought Agile guitars and have been blow away with the quality. These are guys with $10k+ in Gibson and Fender guitars.

Here are some reviews.

HC

Shameless plug...
When he's ready to get some effets, check out Damage Control

SoCalDadx5,

It took me a while to learn that not only would he always need another guitar and a bigger amp, but they never have enough footswitches or effects, either! My son has quite a few, but the stuff on the Damage Control site looks cool, and Christmas is coming ... Which wonderful gadget goes with a Gibson Les Paul and VOX amp?

How many guitars does a guitar player need? One more.

What kind of music does he like? If he likes more modern, heavy stuff, then the Demonizer is the ticket.

Gregg,

His band plays mostly original songs, but it's classic-rock inspired, definitely not heavy metal.

EDIT: I checked out the video samples on the Damage Control website, and my son is definitely more of a Womanizer than a Demon(izer)!

Check out the video and sound clips on the products page and that should give you an idea for the right fit.

Krak

Epiphone is a good reputable company. I owned a similar guitar in highschool and loved it. It is a great entry level guitar, but keep in mind as your son progress with his musical interests, he will always want the next best thing. In retrospect, I wished my parents bought me a $200 starter guitar and then spent $800 on my next instead of $400 starter and $600 advanced guitar.

A Tremolo bar is like a whammy bar. I am sure you have heard of that before. It helps bend the note you are playing. It also helps pull the strings out of tune much quicker.

BEWARE: Muscian's Friend does not set up their insturments. There is no truss rod adjustment or anything included in that price. You would have to take it to a local dealer to do that for you. Probably cost about 60 bucks. The set up will help create the action on the neck your son is looking for. Some players like their action set high, others like it low. It also has a lot to do, believe it or not, with how the guitar will sound. A proper set up will do wonders for tone and sustain. *If the guitar is set up properly it will be easier for him to play.

PM me if you have specific questions, I have been playing guitar for nearly 14 years now ... most local dealers will match or beat a lot of "huge" guitar dealers. They have to to stay in business. I bought a Takamine Acoustic for my brother last month and went to a local guy, same price, but he threw in a free hard shell case. Something to think about.

Being that Epiphone guitars are made in Korea, I should probably go to the music market here in Seoul and see what prices they have. The problem is that Korea is THE land of the fake, and it wouldn't surprise me at all to find rip-offs of rip-offs of Epiphones and all others as well. "Caveat Emptor" (I learned what that meant from Greg Brady in the BB episode where he buys a car!!)

SoCal, in reading reviews online, I have noticed the Agile name comes up quite often, always in raves. I'll have to check them out, and your site as well.

Rifles, when I was 18 I bought myself a no-name electric at a pawn shop in Gainesville, Georgia for $40. I think one of the main reasons I never really learned to play is that this ****** guitar was very difficult - - - I remember the strings being especially bad and being situated very high off the fretboard. Not a good learning set-up! Thanks for the tip on the set-up issues at MF; that's good to know, as I'd have no clue that it wasn't set up properly.

quote:

A Tremolo bar

Ahh jimi Hendrix.........

piaa_ump, my son has many musical influences, but his two all-time top favorites are Jimi H, and Bob Dylan. I think he has good taste!

Wow, those AGILE guitars look great and, again, the reviews are all raves. It's very tempting. I did contact Rondo and they will ship to APO. However, Agiles are made in Korea, so I'll hit the music market first and see how prices compare.

The two models that look good to me are the Valkyrie III and the AL-2500 w/ Floyd Rose. Decisions, decisions........

Word of advice:

Avoid Floyd Rose locking stuff for beginner players. Yes, it will hold the tuning so you can "tremelo" low and often. However, changing strings is frustrating to the point of quitting guitar. I have been playing for many years and I used to sell guitars; I have seen many a young shredder lose their desire thanks to these things. And they can actually harm resale value.

Seriously: Just Say No to Floyd Rose (until you can handle it AND have a backup guitar ready when a string breaks during a show; it will take 10 - 20 minutes to change the string and get going again).

Also, many, many guitars are actually made by Samick in Korea, then re-branded. Do yourself a favor and check out Samick guitars.

Get him a Digitech GNX 3000. See http://www.digitech.com

quote:

Originally posted by MN-Mom:
SoCalDadx5,

It took me a while to learn that not only would he always need another guitar and a bigger amp, but they never have enough footswitches or effects, either! My son has quite a few, but the stuff on the Damage Control site looks cool, and Christmas is coming ... Which wonderful gadget goes with a Gibson Les Paul and VOX amp?

Just a 'ditto' regarding some of these posts - from a guy that made his living for a long time with guitars.....

Floyd Rose...grrrr...not for the newbie. The luthier's dream....$$$$$$ for setups! A Fender Squire witih a standard Fender tremelo, set up properly, will stay in tune and you won't want to douse the thing with gasoline every time you change strings.

Samick - makes a very good product at an affordable price point, and many guitars actually built in the Samick factory have other more 'noteable' brand names. Things may have changed in the last several years but Ibanez is/was built by Samick. At one time an Ibanez 7 string guitar sold for more than twice what it's manufacturer's brand (Samick) sold for. Same exact guitar.

The large mail order houses are all well and good, but as stated, guitars come delivered without being set up. $$$ for the guitar repairman. Also, NONE of them are actual factory warranty/repair stations. And the guitar repair guy hates warranty work; it doesnt pay squat, so if yo didn't buy it there, good luck getting warranty service. A good excuse is that he will be out of the country for the next three months visiting family in Siberia.

I was in a mom and pop music store today - Fender Squire Strats priced at $125.00 for Christmas. You can't beat that, and the store sets it up for you before delivery.

My daughter's boyfriend (heaven help me..) is a drummer that also plays a little guitar and would like one for Christmas. I can buy him a Fender electric, a Takamine Jasmine acoustic and an Epiphone Les Paul copy for right at $470.00. I'm considering trading the guitars for the girl.......

itsagreatgame,

"I'm considering trading the guitars for the girl......."

Is that a reverse dowry?