Let's see your guitar and bass gear!

In reply to logdog :

Neat.  I've wondered what one of those would be like to play.  My travel guitar is supposed to be the Kiesel Vader I bought a few years ago, but instead I just keep packing my Strat for work trips.  

crankwalk said:

I've been wanting a hard tail Strat with a maple fretboard for a little bit and after many months of trying different configurations, I concluded what I really was a telecaster. This thing followed me home today:

 

I've never really messed around with a Tele, but I've always loved the looks. And man, this one is a looker! Nice guitar!

Ian F said:

In reply to logdog :

Neat.  I've wondered what one of those would be like to play.  My travel guitar is supposed to be the Kiesel Vader I bought a few years ago, but instead I just keep packing my Strat for work trips.  

So far I like it.  Obviously it has a different feel but I sat in GC and played with it on my lap for awhile before pulling the trigger to make sure it would be comfortable.  It isnt terribly neck heavy with a strap.  It plays decent and I think its the answer I have been looking for.

Previously in this thread I posted a picture of a Martin Backpacker.  I still have it but I really dont like it as a travel guitar.  The shortcomings were noticed when playing it in the store but I didnt realize how much a pain they would be.  You cant really play the Martain sitting and standing the neck wants to drop down really bad.  It really is suited to campfire singalong type work.  I packed it for the Lemons Rally last month but could never find a good playing postion while rolling around the back of a van.

After I gave up on the Martin I was using a Squire Affinity Telecaster.  It wasnt a bad guitar but it was a fullsize instrument which made the "travel" part a little more difficult.  I am in an out of a lot of different size vehicles and I change hotels sometimes 3-4 times a week.  There were some cars that I really couldnt fit it sideways in the hatch/trunk while keeping all my luggage/tools/equipment in same space.  That is why I kept looking for something shorter.  I dont bother bringing something on a plane but I would pack this before I would bother with a full size.  

So far the travelcaster looks like it will be the best Ive tried so far.  It was cheap enough that I wont be totally upset when it gets stolen (Ive already had a car broken into and had everything stolen once, it will happen again), It feels almost like a "real" guitar, it sounds good through a headphone amp, and It packs easy.  

In reply to logdog :

How big is the gig bag? The Vader "soft" case is 35" x 14" x 6.5". Granted, the Vader was a lot more than $100...

In reply to Ian F :

Its 35" long, 3.5" thick and tapers from 10" to 4 " wide.

Tony Sestito said:

I've never really messed around with a Tele, but I've always loved the looks. And man, this one is a looker! Nice guitar!

 

Thanks! It plays really well and it's one of those things that it does actually sound worth the money to me if that makes sense. I really didn't want to like it because my ears and wallet disagreed on the price. LOL

I've been playing for 10 years now so it's kind of a anniversary present to myself.  

Although I'm probably unlikely to act on it, I have had a severe case of Gear Acquisition Syndrome in the past few weeks. I saw someone in one of my cheap guitar FB groups pick up something interesting that caught my eye recently:

It's a clone of a guitar I really like: the Fender set-neck, dual humbucker, Chinese-made Telecaster they produced a few years ago but no longer make. It's made by a company that rhymes with "Scrote".

They retail for around $150 USD and can be had on Amazon with Prime shipping. Reviews seem to be good, and it would be 100% mod fodder. It would likely get new tuners (stock are actually locking ones, but crap quality), a new bridge, new nut, and most likely new pickups as well. I even like the color. People that have them say that they are pretty good out of the box, and even sound decent.

Looks like a decent choice for a start to a decent guitar build, right?

In reply to Tony Sestito :

Damn.....now I want one

My latest find, it's a Chibson but I don't know of many neck thru, 24 fret, fender scaled, Floyd rose Les Paul's out there. 

In reply to Antihero :

That looks incredibly nice!

Pete Gossett said:

In reply to Antihero :

That looks incredibly nice!

Thanks, I thought the same thing when I saw it at the pawn shop.

It sounds and plays pretty good but I need to screw around with the Floyd setup to make it a bit better. First Floyd so there's gonna be a learning curve

Not sure if I need a purple PRS, but it is temping....

In reply to Antihero :

I've heard one of the critical points of a Floyd is the knife edge where it contacts the posts.  Apparently those need to be sharp and clean for the bridge to work (stay in tune) properly.  It's also one reason why the higher quality bridges are worth it - they were made with better metal that holds the edge better.

Ian F said:

In reply to Antihero :

I've heard one of the critical points of a Floyd is the knife edge where it contacts the posts.  Apparently those need to be sharp and clean for the bridge to work (stay in tune) properly.  It's also one reason why the higher quality bridges are worth it - they were made with better metal that holds the edge better.

You are right about the higher quality ones. Ill probably end up replacing it someday. I more bought this as a project guitar because of all the features. It needs a bit more love to get to perfect

picked this up for the little one for Xmas. I need a tuner, or someone with an ear, but it plays. It needs new strings, some were bent out of the box and she likes to pull them, but it makes guitar noises

In reply to RevRico :

Awesome! Oh, and I'm 100% jelly of the unicorn. 

A couple years back, I bought this 1987 Peavey Foundation S bass for $40 as you see it here:

It was gross and a little beat up, and had the adhesive tar that used to hold the case foam in stuck to the bass all over. After some cleaning and a quick re-string, I got it working, sorta. The P-pickup, a SGC Nanyo-branded one from, well, a SGC Nanyo bass (an obscure Japanese bass manufacturer from the 90's) was in there in place of the stock Schaller "DiMarzio" copy, and it didn't seem like it was working correctly. I tossed it back in the case and saved it for another day.

That day was yesterday. I got bored and decided to see what was going on with it.

After a thorough cleaning (again), oiling of the fretboard, and an examination of the electronics, it seemed like everything was working. But why were the A and G strings not registering as strong through the right side of the P-pickup? Simple: string height. I lowered the bridge saddles and that fixed it! The pots are still a little crackly (need to clean those again) but I played it for about 2 hours between yesterday and today after the tweaks. I am in love with it now!

These 80's Peavey USA Foundations are amazing instruments. This one was used and thoroughly abused, but with a little elbow grease, it's back in business. The thing plays amazing now and sounds killer.

In reply to Tony Sestito :

That's awesome! I'm glad it was a simple fix. It sure dose shine after a good cleaning!

In reply to Pete Gossett :

Thanks! Two of the biggest concerns with the bass were the electronics and the neck. I still plan on swapping out that P pickup later, but at least this one works for now. The neck, specifically the fret board, looked BAD out of the case. I didn't know about lemon oil until fairly recently, and the stuff I used to polish the frets when I first got it dried the rosewood out to the point that I thought it was cracked (and I even masked off the board). I oiled it about 3 times before it soaked in enough to look better.

And that neck... the neck is one of the best parts of this bass. 33 years later, and the frets are still perfect. The edges have that perfectly rounded feel, and it's just so comfortable to play. With the action lowered now, it's so good. I had a serious case of G.A.S. that has now been staved off! 

Peavey stuff has been overlooked for years but most of it is suprisingly great.

In reply to Antihero :

The US-made stuff is really great. I'd put this thing up against a similar vintage Fender any day. It has the feel, sound, and (most importantly) the mojo of a quality instrument. The cat's out of the bag on the earlier T40's and T60's, but the later stuff can still be had for cheap.

Tony Sestito said:

In reply to Antihero :

The US-made stuff is really great. I'd put this thing up against a similar vintage Fender any day. It has the feel, sound, and (most importantly) the mojo of a quality instrument. The cat's out of the bag on the earlier T40's and T60's, but the later stuff can still be had for cheap.

Yeah, prices have gone up hugely recently.

I'm a pretty big fan of my old Vulcan and Dynabass( amp not a bass). I'm stunned nobody really cared about them back when

I've been contemplating running this and a Triple XXX for whenever I get the band room finished. I run 4 tunings ( standard, c#, bari in b and a bass vi) so my rigs get eclectic at times. Could run a "bass side" with the mark iv and Dynabass and a guitar side with the vulcan and triple xxx

My stepdad bought a cheapo 30 dollar acoustic online and I plinked on it for a bit...it's crap but it got me wanting to learn how to play.

I want an electric guitar though, real cheap, but in a bitchin' blue or green color. Current budget is "free used crappy one that would get thrown away otherwise" though.