A Call for Help to Guitar Players

[evil edna]

i use d'addario 11-49s on my jazzmaster and ernie ball 10s on everything else though once ive used all the 10s i have left ill probably switch everything to the 11s.

cant really imagine playing 8s, surely they sound thin as fuck and go out of tune all the damn time

[Seamus]

they sound thin yep, but thats what im lookin for, like someone playing a glass vibraphone. If i could still shred theyd probly be shit for staying in tune, but the worst they go through is some neck vibrato. Its p different to using proper strings, you can get a sound as loud as with a pick by pushing down onto a string and releasing. 3rd order harmonics are also not much quieter than normal notes. Worth trying if you have a spare guitar lying around vov

[Klesk]

These:


Never used anything else, should I?

[filingo]

These:


Never used anything else, should I?

[Klesk]

These:


Never used anything else, should I?

So yellows for a fatter sound and less broken e strings?

[filingo]

yellow sounds fatter than pink

or

the gauge of the strings is the thickness - thicker strings = meatier sound

[Klesk]

Interesting, might be the boost my £10 second hand guitar needs... and maybe a stand to stop it clattering against my radiator.

[filingo]

the string tension will be different so it will feel different to you and if it was a serious guitar you would have to set it up again for the new tension.. adjust the truss rod, bridge, shim the neck etc.. but its just a cheapie it wont be too big a deal. that and its not a particually big hop up, drastically changing the gauge obviously has more of an effect.

[Klesk]

Does anyone have any experience of rebuilding guitars? I'm thinking of completely dismantling mine and changing all the pickups and switches and rewiring it.
When I got it none of the pickups worked and I had to do some dodgy soldering to get it working (think industrial soldering iron and tiny terminals).
I know I could probably just buy a better guitar for the less money than new parts but I'm probably going to do it anyway.

[Cool09]

I put 9s on my Ibanez rg350ex... but I haven't been able to completely eliminate fret buzz while keeping the strings as low as I'd like. Going to put 10s back on and mess around with it. Fatter sound is a plus too!

[evil edna]

Does anyone have any experience of rebuilding guitars? I'm thinking of completely dismantling mine and changing all the pickups and switches and rewiring it.
When I got it none of the pickups worked and I had to do some dodgy soldering to get it working (think industrial soldering iron and tiny terminals).
I know I could probably just buy a better guitar for the less money than new parts but I'm probably going to do it anyway.

yes and also building them from scratch, what do you want to know?

[Klesk]

I should be fine with the wiring as I can pull some schematics off a website or something, my main question is what to spend out on.
Whats the difference between a £20 pickup and a £100 one? I'm assuming its just the tone or something?
Will one type of pickup fit any guitar? (physical dimensions and amount of connections on them)
Can you recommend a good parts retailer? (I live in the UK)

[Seamus]

http://www.axesrus.com/axecart.htm
built a couple too, but used these guys to replace the wiring in my dads tele. off to work shortly so cant check right now, but iirc they do whole wired setups ready soldered (or as soldered as they can be in a kit.) Prices are reasonable, and imo unless you're a serious session player (or have the money to spend on luxuries) a pair of £40 pups is more than enough. Ebay cant be good for pups ofc too.
in terms of physical stuff, most humbuckers/single coils/P90s are standard, the only major exceptions are mini humbuckers or angled single coils. Teles often have their own dimensions also. Best to check tho tbh, and that site at least is comprehensive with specs.
Ooooh, also, the only place ive consistently found little soldering irons is tool stalls in markets.
Anyway, work.

[Cool09]

Whats the difference between a £20 pickup and a £100 one? I'm assuming its just the tone or something?

Yes... its the tone. You can find clips of most popular pickups on youtube, that's how I chose a replacement for mine.

[evil edna]

imo the difference between £20 and £100+ pickups will be huge. thats not to say cheap ones are bad or that you cant find some you like, but ive found you get what you pay for to a large extent. its all the kind of nebulous tone shit thats super hard to describe but that you will understand once youve played them (assuming you have a good amp). the more expensive ones just have more clarity and a much wider kind of range, they tend to react much better to changes in volume and tone. you may luck out and find cheap ones that you like, as tone is all subjective, but if you spend money on quality pickups youre unlikely to be disappointed. personally i use http://curtisnovak.com/ and https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/.

as for sites, try http://www.axesrus.com/ and http://www.allparts.uk.com/ for UK based places, but also check the prices against http://www.stewmac.com/, although thats US based it often has worked out cheaper to buy from them despite postage charges for me. also ebay.

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/ for wiring diagrams.

but without seeing your guitar i dont know what would fit in it.

[Klesk]

Great advice and bookmarked all of those, thanks guys! Once I've finished paying for this wedding I might have the cash to do something.

[walrus]

So how legitimate would it be to go on stage and perform naked. Would this be a good move or would it ruin your musical career.

awful +1 attempt.

TBH, it worked well for RHCP.

[filingo]

what amp do you use ednor?

I've recently got back my fender blues junior and fender champ 600 from the states but i need to replace the transformers on them as they are 110v

I've got a laney lc-15 which has been a real workhorse for many years, going to try swapping out the valves with the spare set i have to see if theres any difference. might try that this weekend..

[evil edna]

i have a laney vc-15, it sounds pretty good. id really like a fender twin or bassman, but its probably too much amp for me

[filingo]

vc-15, nice

i played on a twin in a rehersal studio in new york, was pretty nice but beaten to hell and back and so a bit "twitchy"