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Talladega versus Monaco III?


Feynman

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In another 'I'll never learn' sort of way, I am thinking I actually do need an electric guitar after all. These two Hamers have always appealed to me on paper, but I've not handled either one in real life.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on them.

Is either awkward for nancy-boy-seated-playing style?

I'm curious about the tonal differences/variety, v-neck comfort, which would make me look fatter, sharp edges, which will bring more bras on stage, etc.

Thanks.

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Have not played a Monaco, but owned a Tally

Loved the V neck - probably one of my top 3 necks for comfort

Great comfort standing or seated

Tally having smaller body might make you look fatter

I was never crazy about the body cave of the Tally, the bass bout edge always felt a little sharp on my forearm

I actually think the Monaco III is a sexier guitar - might get u an extra bra or 2

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Have not played a Monaco, but owned a Tally

Loved the V neck - probably one of my top 3 necks for comfort

Great comfort standing or seated

+1 Very comfy. The neck is thick and the v is pronounced. My left hand never really got tired of playing on the guitar. The thin narrow necks of some guitars wear me out after a while.

I was never crazy about the body cave of the Tally, the bass bout edge always felt a little sharp on my forearm

I actually think the Monaco III is a sexier guitar - might get u an extra bra or 2

-1 It is my favorite Hamer body style. Very clean and elegant. It doesn't have the "shelf" on the treble side where the neck meets the body like the Monaco Elite.

And the Tally's maple tops will have more of a bra producing effect than a Bigsby will - in fact, you might see more man-thongs flinged at you with the Monaco. I won't judge if you like a woman that can pack a man thong or other. I'm not saying anything, I'm just saying... :blink:

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Buy one of each. :blink:

+1 Both are very different guitars having totally different setups:

- P90s vs. P90s

- hollow body vs. chambered solid body.

Just kidding. The Tally really goes Tele vs. the Monaco would have more acoustic vibe. At least my Newport has... I cannot really speak for the MIII though, but expect many similarities to the Newport.

What's your intention to play electrically?

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you might want to go to one of Gerry's (Quietly) websites... he has some videos of playing a Tally and a Monaco III... that might give you some food for thought on the differences between the two.

hope you don't mind that i post this Gerry:

http://vimeo.com/19873291

Not at all here is me playing the Monaco III http://vimeo.com/19872074 and here is one of me playing the Talladega http://vimeo.com/17856040 . OK I'm biased as both guitars are superb, both are different in tone and neck profile.

Which one would I grab in the event of a fire? I'd most probably burn with them as by the time needed to make my mind up it would be too late.

There is only one answer which has already been given you have to get both.

TalladegaandMonacoIII3.jpg

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In another 'I'll never learn' sort of way, I am thinking I actually do need an electric guitar after all. These two Hamers have always appealed to me on paper, but I've not handled either one in real life.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on them.

Is either awkward for nancy-boy-seated-playing style?

I'm curious about the tonal differences/variety, v-neck comfort, which would make me look fatter, sharp edges, which will bring more bras on stage, etc.

Thanks.

i love mine... it's not awkward for seated playing at all. the v-neck is simply wonderful. nice and full and comfortable... big without being too big. you can practically play it all day (and i have a few times when i have the right beer!).

i cannot speak for the tonal "differences"... as i do not own a Mon 3... but i can tell you i love the tones i get with the Tally... spanky, tele-ish, p90-ish... you can get a little jazzy or do blues or rock. it's really a great guitar. it's "very" familiar sounding in a tele-ish way... yet it isn't. i love playing Robben Ford type stuff with mine and blues and a bit of jazz... but i have no doubts that you could play some kick ass rock with it as well. if you like tele's you can probably easily enjoy and Tally. i'm not saying it's 100% tele... it isn't... but it's enough in the neighborhood to be familiar and on top of that, it's got it's own thing going. a VERY nice guitar indeed! i have quite a few guitars... and i just about always reach for the Tally first. in fact, i'm rolling around some ideas in my head for another possible custom built Tally.

good luck on your quest!

here's mine:

CustomTally7.jpg

IMG_3255.jpg

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Just for the Double D pups and the sustainblock bridge, I would get the Tally. The DD easily are the pickups I've liked the most in my entire life. And the sustainblock bridge is absolutely great.

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What's your intention to play electrically?

I know a few chords from Rock You Like a Hurricane, and I'm bravely venturing into an attempt to tackle Row, Row, Row Your Boat, so as you can imagine my tonal requirements are most demanding. Also, I plan to run the guitar into a mic input on my tape deck and play it through my Realistic speakers. Perhaps this is a better question for the Gear Page now that I think of it.

Edited to add: No fair posting these amazing Tally pics. Personally I think the Monaco III looks like a work of art and I have some aesthetic preference toward it, but the control positions seem awkward (ha! I don't even use the controls), but some of these Tallies look great too.

I also want a Reflex. And a Y2D. Stupid electric guitars.

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I've owned both and thought they were great guitars,,, the simplest comparison I can offer is the Tally is like a tele on steroids while the MIII is like a strat on steroids. The MIII can really rock with the stock P90s (I had replaced mine with Lollars which offered up great "piano" like tones). Of the two, I liked the neck on the Tally but overall liked the MIII best for its versatile tones and Bigsby.

Good comparison. Now there's a thought the V neck on the MIII :blink: I just picked up the Talladega again and reminded myself why they are such great guitars. Still couldn't say which is the best as they are different but I agree the MIII is perhaps more versatile out of the two.

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...while the MIII is like a strat on steroids...

Reading this I thought putting the Newport into context. On mine I had replace the Phat Cats with classic P90s in humbucker format from LeoSound.de. They very much sound stratish too. Since having Thomastik Infeld Sliders .10 gauge strings on I have the impression listening to an acoustic play, because the sound is so clear and twangy. The P90s add the warms from the hollowbody to the bottom end what the Phat Cats are missing.

So, the Newport might be another option.

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I am currently recording a track and thought it would be a good test to play them back to back. My fault :blink:

the Talladega sounds much fuller more melodic where as the Mon III is more twang and Rock & Roll.

Like I said before get both as they compliment each other but are totally different animals in their own right. Having played them back to back and the style of music I play I would lean towards the Talladega. Both superb but they sound as different as they look JMHO.

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