That is very cool.  Thank you for sharing the link to the video.

Quote from: Scarebear on April 23, 2014, 10:39:59 AM
I've purchased online and had mixed results. My last purchase (from Moniker Guitars) I am incredibly happy with. Being able to design the guitar myself helped.  I have also purchased very cheap guitars from eBay for my children though. They were ... Well, you get what you pay for. My problem is that there are so many boutique guitar options that I can't test in person. Sometimes I think you need to take the plunge (if a boutique guitar build interests you).

Glad to hear that your guitar from Moniker guitars came out good.  Ebay... I have bought a generic mandolin that I was happy with for the price, just to say I have one and mess with it.  I bought an Asian instrument for a friend that we couldn't find locally, we ended up with a decoration because it was terrible (but it was also inexpensive).

I used to sell custom rugs and furniture for years and I remember all the angry customers expressing loudly how it wasn't what they ordered or how they expected it would be, and didn't want it anymore even though it was exactly what they chose.  The majority of people were very happy with their purchase.

If someone told me they really like a certain guitar I made, but they wanted this or that option, I would definitely give it a try, but I would still prefer them to try it before committing, at least at this point since I don't have any reputation yet and don't want to start with a bad one.

One of the great (or terrible, depending on my financial state) things to me about going to a music store is finding things that I haven't seen before or trying things out that I have only seen online, whether it is new or just a cheap piece of old gear.

People ask why I have so much music stuff.  My response... It's nothing compared to all the stuff I want.

I don't normally listen to a lot of indie music, so my opinion might not mean much, but it sounds good to me.

What are those things on the gutless records site?  I would have to bust out my old four track recorder to play those as all my other tape players (and most of my tapes) died long ago.  Makes me sad because I had some good stuff that will never be available again, but I don't miss having to fast forward and rewind.

Are you going to do affordable vinyl?  I say affordable because I remember punk bands putting out split records into the early 00's that were under $10 (US) but now I see all these bands charging $25 or more per album.  I am not willing to pay that much for any album. 

Just dropped this one off at Loud & Clear Music in Cotati, CA.  It has a slightly "worn" finish.  Bill Lawrence Twin Blade XL-500's, CTS volume and tone, Switchcraft three way toggle.  Maple neck, flame maple capped alder body, and Pau Ferro fingerboard.

I feel like I should have used a push/pull pot to split the coils.

Cool looking pedal.  Possibly a stupid question, I have never seen a pedal with a light dependent resistor before, is it the thing between the foot switches? How does it work?  Youtube video?

I have had a range of different experiences with music stores.  Some of them were great and some even gave great deals. Most others have been so rude that I vowed never to shop there again.  It confuses me how you can be a music store worker or owner and be so rude to customers.  Some of them seem to hate what they do, yet it is not a job you do for the money, so why are they there?   I know there are a lot of stupid people they have to deal with, I have a lot of retail experience myself and so I have experience in that area, but that doesn't excuse the attitude and behavior exhibited by so many music store employees.

I miss one of the music stores I used to live near, the guy was always super friendly and we would just hang out and talk, he gave great deals and was just really nice to everyone.  I have been shopping my guitars around recently and see that there are still some good places out there (which is a requirement to me, I have standards for where I will sell them).  I don't mind spending an extra dollar or two to help out a local store and in turn help out the local music scene (which most stores help contribute to).  But there are times I do end up buying stuff online too because some things are so much cheaper online or just not available locally.

When it comes to buying an instrument, I will definitely need to try it in person before buying and I don't want to sell one to someone without them trying it either.  No two instruments are exactly the same and even when they are made the same, by a machine, from the same materials, there can still be differences enough to be a deal breaker to some people.  I have seen forums discussing the wide variations of a single model in size, weight and tone just in a single line of factory guitars made to a specific spec.  With mine, they are handmade so they are all very different.  Others may not be so picky but for me I need to play it and compare it to a lot of others, even ones I don't think I would like, just to get a good feel.

Those are some nice pedals.  I like the 1906 myself.  The raw look is cool too.

Having been an apartment dweller for a long time, I have learned to live with headphones as a necessity.  For me it is to keep from annoying others in the apartment and to block out their sounds, T.V., music, etc.  I had a nice set of sound cancelling headphones with a really long cord that were wonderful except for the fact that they fit too tight on my head and ended up breaking at the hinge in the middle.  I could really get lost in the music.

I suppose I should mention I also don't currently have an amp setup as an option in the apartment either.  I play through a POD XT into a mixer and through the computer speakers or headphones... Plan to get a bigger place, set up a studio/office room and get some decent monitors to hook up to the mixer and a nice little tube amp for practicing eventually.  There is really something to be said for playing through a decent amp even if it is quietly.

Definitely a worthwhile upgrade.  Cheap electronics are so annoying.  Even mid-priced guitars seem to have poor quality electronics.  Switches that quickly wear out and scratchy pots that start to cut out in spots, grrr.  I have never had any luck with cleaning them either (nor do I understand how they could have gotten so dirty so quick in a nearly sealed housing that is in a covered chamber.)  Replacement is the way to go.     

The DOD Death Metal pedal.  It is one of the few that can be used without a guitar once the battery gets low (which doesn't take too long).  Horrifically annoying squeally noises that can be altered by messing with the knobs.  With the guitar plugged in it is limited to extreme distortion, but it is good for what it does.  Maybe not a favorite, but I do like it.

I have an old Peavey Hotfoot distortion pedal that is pretty cool too.  Goes from slight distortion to a good hard rock/metal sound.

I mostly just play through a POD XT since I currently live in an apartment.  I usually just use the same couple of tones because I am too lazy and time constrained to program it, but it doesn't require 9volt batteries which have gotten expensive or multiple bulky adapters.  I probably would have been just as well off with a pedal board that has the daisy chain power supply and the equivalent spent on some pedals.

I'm going to revive this by commenting and hope to hear from others because I was about to ask the same thing.

I used to change the pickups in most guitars I bought because they were all cheap pawnshop guitars (quantity over quality).  One of the biggest sound changes you can make on a really cheap guitar is the pickups.   Plus I liked tinkering with them.

It is my understanding that part of buying a more expensive guitar is getting really good pickups already installed as part of the guitar's tone, or the ability to request specific ones.

In the guitars I build, I use good quality pickups that I think compliment the guitar, but I wouldn't be offended if someone asked me to swap them out to their preferential set if they had one.

My dad had a guitar and would jam with some of his friends when I was young.  I never really paid attention to it, picked it up once or twice and couldn't figure it out, and was too scared I might break it or something.

In junior high, the high school rock band come play at our school and I thought it would be awesome to play drums and got interested in being in a band... That was the last year the high school had anything like that and my parents definitely were not getting me a drum set.  So then I decided maybe bass...

I talked to my dad about getting a bass and he said to start on his guitar to learn the notes until I had money to get one and he taught me a couple of open chords and notes.  Then I found a Metallica tab at the music store while looking at basses (this was before an internet connection was a regular household thing).  It was all downhill from there.

Eventually I plan to learn how to play decently, but right now I still enjoy making noise with them and building them.

Cool looking and good sounding amps.  I like the sounds that are coming out of them too.  Thanks for sharing.

That is a nice looking guitar, and I am sure it is great quality and sounds really good.  Well out of my affordability range.

I wonder if the people who buy a guitar like that actually play them or just collect them though?  It seems crazy to me to buy something like a guitar just to put it in a case and not touch it.  Exception would be if it was already played and of significant historical value, like the stuff you see at Hard Rock Cafe or a museum.  But what if you do play it and scratch it or worse?  Do you get insurance for a guitar like that?

I would have chosen "other" too.  I would say Buckethead is one of the few famous straight instrumental guitarists I really like.  Rumor has it that he was a student of Steve Vai (and more far fetched ones that he is an alter ego of), so I voted for him.

Of course, I don't know how you would measure the "greatness" of a guitarist.  I do know there are a whole lot of really great guitarists that I have never heard of, but I find that I am always discovering new music.

In my opinion it takes more than just awesome technique to be great.  You have to have the feeling to make it awesome, to write the music that is more than just a wow, that guy can shred.  Youtube is full of kids that can shred just as well as many of the "greats" and maybe even better.