[geeks] new guitar

[Joshua Boyd]

On Mon, Feb 16, 2004 at 11:08:37AM -0600, Bill Bradford wrote:

> The local GC only had the one-pickup version in stock.  I could have gotten
> the 2-pickup version off the web site, but didn't want to wait.

I certainly understand not wanting to wait.
 
> > I play a very heavy '81 guild electric guitar.  I can't seem to find 
> > pictures of it online.  It weighs about as much as a Gibson les paul
> > standard, and certainly more than the Epi Les Pauls I've played.
> 
> Guilds are *nice* guitars.  Amy's uncle used to run the company.

I particularly like their acoustic guitars.  But, my electric is nice
too.  It's not like I read reviews or thought it was the greatest thing
ever.  I just liked how it played out of the guitars I could afford.  I
think I bought in in 1996 for $300.  It was scratched up (worse so now
than it was on the back because me belts keep ruining it), the polish
lost it's shine in places, the chrome's chipped in places, and it has a
friction peg instead of a screw in one[0].  But, it sounds nice.
 
> > I like it, and my hands know it.  The electronics could use an overhaul,
> > and that wouldn't cost too much, but the neck has also developed a
> > slight twist, and while it's not a major problem right now, I'm hesitant
> > to invest in a guitar that is starting to have neck problems.  
> 
> Take it to a proper guitar shop and pay $50 (or less) for a proper setup
> job, and they should be able to fix the neck twist.

Maybe I didn't take it to quite the proper place, but the guitar shop I
took it to[1] for a "setup" charged me about $50 to set the intonation
and adjust the tension rod, along with some other stuff, not sure what
all, and didn't make any different to the twist.  I heard that I could
try having some neck work done that involved taking it off, steaming it,
then trying to set it while still steamy, but they wouldn't provide
guarantees.   I also heard that if I switch to a set of strings that
keeps the same low E weight (0.42), but uses heavier weights for the
heigher strings (like 0.11 for the high E rather than the 0.9 I use now)
that that would help.

I need to have the intonation reset again anyway, so I think I shall ask
around at a few different places.


[0]  You know, for attaching a strap.  Some previous owned replaced the
original peg with a friction peg (meaning cone shaped and held in by
friction).  When I went to put a strap lock system on was when I found
out, and so I has to mount the strap lock above the peg rather than
actually replacing the peg (actually, I could have had the peg replaced
with a proper one, but I didn't feel like paying for it to be done, nor
for risking splitting the body while trying to do it myself, and since
it's already an ugly guitar, I left it that way).

[1] Gibson dealer, but also does a lot of business in vintage and
specialty stuff.  This is a store that appears to cater to professionals
more than students.  For instance, while he does teach, he has no
"starter kits" and doesn't really carry any cheap instruments except
for some really old used stuff that is generally fairly beat-up (but
seemed to be in good condition for the instruments I've test played over
the years).  And even that "cheap" old stuff seldom reaches much below
$300.