Any cork-sniffing beliefs and practices?
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Rodan
New member
Mine are mostly feel-related.
1) Must be 25.5" scale (though a '61 SG reissue I've found renders that rule somewhat flexible).
2) If it has a trem' it must lock in some way and stay in tune (my Mirage I is blocked).
3) US-made snob, here.
4) Have never paid as much as $1k (I think that's as much a lucky streak as anything else - easy with certain pre-owned Hamers).
5) Don't have a definite weight limit, but don't want it pulling me over, if I bend forward.
6) No square-edged bodies - bevels or ergo-friendly carves are welcome.
7) Some attempt to minimize obstacles at the neck joint. Love the double-angled back of the neck pocket on Hamer bolt-ons. No big, honking blocks.
I test for intonation, but that's real baseline...pre-criteria. And I'm suggestible, where tone is concerned. Lots of different things sound good to me.
1) Must be 25.5" scale (though a '61 SG reissue I've found renders that rule somewhat flexible).
2) If it has a trem' it must lock in some way and stay in tune (my Mirage I is blocked).
3) US-made snob, here.
4) Have never paid as much as $1k (I think that's as much a lucky streak as anything else - easy with certain pre-owned Hamers).
5) Don't have a definite weight limit, but don't want it pulling me over, if I bend forward.
6) No square-edged bodies - bevels or ergo-friendly carves are welcome.
7) Some attempt to minimize obstacles at the neck joint. Love the double-angled back of the neck pocket on Hamer bolt-ons. No big, honking blocks.
I test for intonation, but that's real baseline...pre-criteria. And I'm suggestible, where tone is concerned. Lots of different things sound good to me.
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FrankieIII
New member
"Dry your wood!"
Mostly this.
I DO think that the string-thru-the-body thing has merit. The way a typical tailpiece sits loose on the studs has an effect, the way the studs fit loose in the anchors has an effect, etc etc etc. Which is why the Sustain Block is such a great bridge - fewer moving parts, and a solid anchor.
BUT - either a guitar works for you or it don't. And sometimes even replacing all the 'bad' parts won't help.
i have spent more than $1k maybe a half dozen times on guitars, yet not one of them was a keeper. same w/ amps.
When I was waiting to receive #0531 in 1980, I went to Sam Ash to buy a pacifier bass.
This was a Precision Bass Special in LPB with a rosewood board and ash body.
I rested my chin on the upper bout and played a little.
The sales guy says "I'll get you an amp to try it with.
I said "no it's fine, I'll take it".
He looked puzzled, and I said "If it doesn't sound good through the wood, it won't sound good through an amp".
I also think that the material a bridge is made of, how it is achored to the body, and how tightly the strings are secured to it makes a big difference in sustain.
Also, how tightly the strings are clamped down onto the nut.
This was a Precision Bass Special in LPB with a rosewood board and ash body.
I rested my chin on the upper bout and played a little.
The sales guy says "I'll get you an amp to try it with.
I said "no it's fine, I'll take it".
He looked puzzled, and I said "If it doesn't sound good through the wood, it won't sound good through an amp".
I also think that the material a bridge is made of, how it is achored to the body, and how tightly the strings are secured to it makes a big difference in sustain.
Also, how tightly the strings are clamped down onto the nut.
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Quartersawn neck. I have two Guild Pilot basses that have 'em and they've spoiled me. I got the two basses for $300 total, which is less than the cost of a single Warmoth neck.
I also prefer good pickups but am not married to one brand. I have Phat Cats, G&L MFDs, G&L alnico SCs, EMGs, USA Bartolinis (sweet!), TV Jones Thunder'Trons, Duncan HBs, NOS Gibson Johnny Smith, and have had Rios and Fralins. In a couple cases I upgraded from stock pickups--not because they sounded bad--but because they lacked dynamics and responsiveness.
The Bartolinis are in a Squier VM fretless Jazz bass, and even with the multi-block agathis body and synthetic ebonol fingerboard, this bass has a more beautiful tone than it has any right to.
These days as I approach 60 and my collapsed disks get more aggravating, I'm most picky about ergonomics and balance of the instrument. For bass the Guild Pilot ergonomics beat everything else I've tried.
I also prefer good pickups but am not married to one brand. I have Phat Cats, G&L MFDs, G&L alnico SCs, EMGs, USA Bartolinis (sweet!), TV Jones Thunder'Trons, Duncan HBs, NOS Gibson Johnny Smith, and have had Rios and Fralins. In a couple cases I upgraded from stock pickups--not because they sounded bad--but because they lacked dynamics and responsiveness.
The Bartolinis are in a Squier VM fretless Jazz bass, and even with the multi-block agathis body and synthetic ebonol fingerboard, this bass has a more beautiful tone than it has any right to.
These days as I approach 60 and my collapsed disks get more aggravating, I'm most picky about ergonomics and balance of the instrument. For bass the Guild Pilot ergonomics beat everything else I've tried.
I have had something of a gear epiphany the past few days. I have been kicking around the idea of a new bass amp lately. You read a lot online about what someone says is great, another guy says is junk, etc-very easy to get caught up in whether you mean to or not, especially if you live somewhere that there isn't a lot of places to try different gear out. Last night I saw a band using all off-the-shelf kind of stuff-the bass player was using two Peavey T40s, a few pedals you could get at generic big box music store, an old Peavey Mace head, and an Ampeg 810...thick, nasty tone that drove the whole band. All the members of both of these bands were using stuff like that-pretty plain gear and sounded incredible. Friday I saw a band and the bassist had a standard Jazz bass, 4 pedals (Boss and one Maxon), the solid state SVT head and the really basic Ampeg 4x10...his tone was killer also-articulate, warm, all the things people look for. I look at the stuff I have and think, I am not anywhere close to what these dudes are writing and playing, I am going to make the most with what I've got already and not worry about gear. Granted there is something to be said for knowing how you like your sound to be, and to have functioning stuff that won't break on you, but I am pretty far off from sniffing cork for the time being.
My 10 rules of musician's life.
For electrics:
1. Body and neck material is irrelevant. Material stiffness defines resonance and sustain.
2. Pickups create sound.
3. Brass supports over tones.
4. I believe in series wiring.
5. Custom quality guitars come with quality hardware, build quality and look nice. That doesn't have anything to do with sound.
6. The only one of my guitars, eventually, I will never alter or change is the Talladega. It's iconic with the Double-Ds.
7. Tone flows through fingers.
Amp extended:
8. Analog kills digital, although digital may be more versatile.
9. Tube punch cannot be beaten.
10. It's all about mojo.
For electrics:
1. Body and neck material is irrelevant. Material stiffness defines resonance and sustain.
2. Pickups create sound.
3. Brass supports over tones.
4. I believe in series wiring.
5. Custom quality guitars come with quality hardware, build quality and look nice. That doesn't have anything to do with sound.
6. The only one of my guitars, eventually, I will never alter or change is the Talladega. It's iconic with the Double-Ds.
7. Tone flows through fingers.
Amp extended:
8. Analog kills digital, although digital may be more versatile.
9. Tube punch cannot be beaten.
10. It's all about mojo.
My top 10;
1 Black guitars always sound more metal than any other colour.
2 Ebony fingerboards sound more metal than rosewood or maple because they're blacker.
3 A zebra, covered, or cream pup in the bridge position will ruin your metal rhythm tone. It has to be black.
4 The only reason Hamer Standards have white or M.O.P. logos/fret markers is that if they used black inlay, you wouldn't see it against the black headstock. Or the ebony board.
5 Cream or white binding - plus chrome hardware - is reluctantly permissible - but only because the contrast makes your black guitar look way blacker.
6 The flightcase has to be black as well. Any non-blackness will seep into your axe during transit and make it less metal.
7 So does the strap.
8 And your picks. Hard playing with a .88mm Tortex will deposit an extra layer of black dust between your neck and bridge pups, increasing the fullness of the tone and reducing dangerous non-metal resonances.
9 If you insist of giving your axe a name, make sure it's 'Blackie', 'Dark Lord' or something similar. Anything less will cause the guitar to worry that it isn't metal enough.
10 Any questions - see point 1.
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1 Black guitars always sound more metal than any other colour.
2 Ebony fingerboards sound more metal than rosewood or maple because they're blacker.
3 A zebra, covered, or cream pup in the bridge position will ruin your metal rhythm tone. It has to be black.
4 The only reason Hamer Standards have white or M.O.P. logos/fret markers is that if they used black inlay, you wouldn't see it against the black headstock. Or the ebony board.
5 Cream or white binding - plus chrome hardware - is reluctantly permissible - but only because the contrast makes your black guitar look way blacker.
6 The flightcase has to be black as well. Any non-blackness will seep into your axe during transit and make it less metal.
7 So does the strap.
8 And your picks. Hard playing with a .88mm Tortex will deposit an extra layer of black dust between your neck and bridge pups, increasing the fullness of the tone and reducing dangerous non-metal resonances.
9 If you insist of giving your axe a name, make sure it's 'Blackie', 'Dark Lord' or something similar. Anything less will cause the guitar to worry that it isn't metal enough.
10 Any questions - see point 1.
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I really wish that Joe would get back into winding. He still winds for me when I ask...but the dude is such a recluse, really a shame. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, sounds like Joe's pickups. I have had people offer me huge money for the ones I have and some have even offered me huge money to get Joe to wind them some. I will do the odd favor for an HFC member The Mods, Kiz, McChris, and several others have all received theirs. The problem is that once you have them, you are spoiled and want more. Joe will wind me a pair for $300...I can't believe he regularly turns down $1k for a set.
Keith Richards preferred black Telecasters because the wood they used for opaque finishes (not as good looking) sounded better to his ears.
atquinn
New member
I'm picturing some sort of "Get me blackie" scenario going horribly wrong if I was working on your crew. /emoticons/default_laugh.png
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Austin
ROTFLMAO!!!!!! Dude...I just spit coffee all over my monitor in the middle of giving the kids a test! HA!!!