Guitar players
- Thread starter Ollie.ksr
- Start date
Most things you can do yourself. Clean the frets, condition the fretboard. However you may want to take it to someone who knows how to adjust the truss rod. There are plenty of Youtube videos that show you how to do it, but you could screw up the neck if you're not careful.
Here is a helpful video on cleaning your guitar.
Here is a helpful video on cleaning your guitar.
Absolutely yes.
A cheap guitar properly set up will play and sound better than an expensive guitar with a crappy setup. Having said that, make sure they know what they're doing...
Have been playing for 30 years
The last 5 years mark a period of much more methodical practice habits and time spent playing with some really good blues / jam band types - some really good improvisation types as well -- that's something I've always admired in musicians and still try to emulate --- love that "no safety net" feeling to creating music as you go...
in my opinion that's the only thing resembling "art" that remains for rock and roll
My Les Paul Studio has crapped out - something's wrong "down in the pots"
I've all the solder connections redone and everything else checked - gave a good deep / down cleaning etc
Anyone else ever have something like that happen?
basically only one pick up setting works right
the other two have about 1/2 the gain they should have and they sound really luster-less with low freq and some mids cutting though but none of the highs --- you can hear a change in freq response when you adjust the vol pots or bump the pickups as well
Anyone ever have to replace "bad pots"?
I'm told that Gibson makes a drop in wiring harness that's pretty hassle free - and I think under $100?
The last 5 years mark a period of much more methodical practice habits and time spent playing with some really good blues / jam band types - some really good improvisation types as well -- that's something I've always admired in musicians and still try to emulate --- love that "no safety net" feeling to creating music as you go...
in my opinion that's the only thing resembling "art" that remains for rock and roll
My Les Paul Studio has crapped out - something's wrong "down in the pots"
I've all the solder connections redone and everything else checked - gave a good deep / down cleaning etc
Anyone else ever have something like that happen?
basically only one pick up setting works right
the other two have about 1/2 the gain they should have and they sound really luster-less with low freq and some mids cutting though but none of the highs --- you can hear a change in freq response when you adjust the vol pots or bump the pickups as well
Anyone ever have to replace "bad pots"?
I'm told that Gibson makes a drop in wiring harness that's pretty hassle free - and I think under $100?
Mojotone makes a great pre-wired les paul wiring harness for $80 as well. You can contact them to ask which set is best for the LP studio. If you want to go cheap, GFS makes a pre-wired one with Alpha pots for only $25. (With a Gibson, I'd definitely go with Mojotone's. If it's an Epiphone/import, GFS is probably an upgrade over the stock electronics).
It could be a bad switch; which would be the cheapest and easiest fix.
You also could have a pup going out, which would explain why 2 of the 3 settings don't work.
The pup should be an easy test with a multimeter, right? Just disconnect the pup and touch the two wires. if it's under 9 kOhms, it's just a short. If it's over whatever the ceiling is (12 or 14 kOhms, maybe?), the pup is basically done.
Not sure what the pups are (Classic 57's, Burstbuckers, etc- they should all be around 8k-9k, unless you have some high gain Dimarzios in there for your Kiss/Ace Frehly covers lol) but my gut tells me to look at the switch first; I'd douse that thing with Deoxit.
I recently brought back a wah pedal that I thought needed new pot... worked perfectly after using that stuff.
If the guitar is a keeper, don't hesitate to upgrade the wiring (and the pups, if possible). You'll shocked at how much improvement can be had for fairly low $$$.
I used a detox spray on a Les Paul switch that was cutting in and out a year or so ago and it worked like a charm. I'd go with that first as well.
Love the info
Played the Strat quite e bit today - love the guitar vol-pt toned down to about 3 or 4 with the guitar going through "channel 2" (kind of a 70-75% gain setting for grit - but much smoother and cleaner with the volume rolled off of course) -- I LOVE the neck pickup on that thing -- just beautiful tone
Rarely used the offset pick up positions on the start though -- last two days it's like I've finally "Discovered" the one that's just 1 up from the neck position -- playing that settings through the clean channel is pristine
I need to find a way to record snippets of what I''m talking about on the IPOD and then upload a little clip here -- that would be cool
The Les Paul is too depressing to play now -- but I'm really glad the "fix" isn't really going to cost that much
Played the Strat quite e bit today - love the guitar vol-pt toned down to about 3 or 4 with the guitar going through "channel 2" (kind of a 70-75% gain setting for grit - but much smoother and cleaner with the volume rolled off of course) -- I LOVE the neck pickup on that thing -- just beautiful tone
Rarely used the offset pick up positions on the start though -- last two days it's like I've finally "Discovered" the one that's just 1 up from the neck position -- playing that settings through the clean channel is pristine
I need to find a way to record snippets of what I''m talking about on the IPOD and then upload a little clip here -- that would be cool
The Les Paul is too depressing to play now -- but I'm really glad the "fix" isn't really going to cost that much
Here's a YouTube link/clip where I played at a local open mic night -- this was in 2012 and I was playing my Yamaha acoustic
(bought while stationed in Japan in 1993 - it's not an imported Yamaha - paid about $650 for it and have broken the neck twice...)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGfW3qxJEkc
Originally just a finger exercise I wound up demo'ing this tune as an original track called "Charlie the Choo-Choo" **
** I was reading Steven King's Gunslinger series at the time and the sentient monorail named Blaine was the inspiration for the name....the monorail was intelligent but out of control - speaking riddles that, if unanswered, would result in killing everyone aboard by running them off a section of dead-ended tracks......playing this tune FEELS a little like that after about 40 seconds.....
PS: one of my daughters just pointed out that I should create my own YT channel in order to host some of the info more readily etc....so I'm going to start that today and see if I can upload some quick clips showing the tone settings and amp sounds I'm getting from the Strat ..... if other players on here want to do the same we can have a kind of guitar-players training thing going on....
(bought while stationed in Japan in 1993 - it's not an imported Yamaha - paid about $650 for it and have broken the neck twice...)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGfW3qxJEkc
Originally just a finger exercise I wound up demo'ing this tune as an original track called "Charlie the Choo-Choo" **
** I was reading Steven King's Gunslinger series at the time and the sentient monorail named Blaine was the inspiration for the name....the monorail was intelligent but out of control - speaking riddles that, if unanswered, would result in killing everyone aboard by running them off a section of dead-ended tracks......playing this tune FEELS a little like that after about 40 seconds.....
PS: one of my daughters just pointed out that I should create my own YT channel in order to host some of the info more readily etc....so I'm going to start that today and see if I can upload some quick clips showing the tone settings and amp sounds I'm getting from the Strat ..... if other players on here want to do the same we can have a kind of guitar-players training thing going on....
This was an attempt to:
a) set up my YT channel and
b) upload / share a quick clip with my Strat
The amp / tone settings are detailed in the clip - assuming it actually made it.....I may have confused myself along the way
Just need one person to confirm that they can see this -- and then WERE SET BABY
I've been in TN a while - away from things
Here comes a clip with the '65 Strat and some grease
That's the sweet-asssssss-neck pickup....my bends are a bit oblique I know
but I make no excuses for the Strat -- that's a nice freakin G-Tar
Here comes a clip with the '65 Strat and some grease
That's the sweet-asssssss-neck pickup....my bends are a bit oblique I know
but I make no excuses for the Strat -- that's a nice freakin G-Tar
uploading 2 more in a sec - strings are shot but I've been playing 3-4 hours at a trot again lately so I'm liking some of the blues / funk mix stuff - tell me if any of you guys have luck mixing those styles etc
I made about 7 or 8 quick cuts on two separate channels with 2 or 3 different pickup settings - always ride the volume knobs when I play so you'll sometimes hear those micro-adjustments.
I started getting that technique under better control about 5 years ago when I permanently ditched all pedals and started running right into my amp
The two cuts that made it -both are on channel 2 of the Fender Frontman amp - I may make it a point to get a clean channel sample up tomorrow morning just because it's so pristine -- as good as a non-tube amp gets anyway
I'm working on developing some of the passing licks in a jazz/funk style phrasing while riding an overall blues melody or whatever
Do any of you try to blend styles like that?
Starts are the best when it comes to that approach I think
My Les Paul is still unplayable - can't get it fixed properly with the new wiring harness until I land the new job....
Here's one of the Strat clips from tonight -
I started getting that technique under better control about 5 years ago when I permanently ditched all pedals and started running right into my amp
The two cuts that made it -both are on channel 2 of the Fender Frontman amp - I may make it a point to get a clean channel sample up tomorrow morning just because it's so pristine -- as good as a non-tube amp gets anyway
I'm working on developing some of the passing licks in a jazz/funk style phrasing while riding an overall blues melody or whatever
Do any of you try to blend styles like that?
Starts are the best when it comes to that approach I think
My Les Paul is still unplayable - can't get it fixed properly with the new wiring harness until I land the new job....
Here's one of the Strat clips from tonight -