I found another deal on Reverb.......started watching it, on his 2nd price drop I immediately snagged it. According to UPS, this will be delivered this afternoon. Not sure if my tiny hands will be able to play it, but figured it would be fun to learn some Deftones and try to learn some Meshuggah. And it was cheap enough that if I can't play it or don't like it, taking a small loss to ditch it locally won't hurt. LTD Stephen Carpenter (guitarist for Deftones) SC-208. It's the entry-level signature model from a few years ago.
In reply to z31maniac :
*insert Paris hilton*
Thats hot.
I briefly had a 7 string LTD a few years back. Also with Floyd Rose. It didn't fit. I'd have liked to keep it but I simply couldn't play it. Not sure what I'd do if offered the deal again. No way I could manage that 8. Good luck. I dig ESP/LTD.
In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :
Very valid point. I'm not sure on the future of this ax, aside from I'll probably never sell it.
Im even torn on changing the controls to two-volume/3-way vs. the master-v/master-t/3-way.
In reply to z31maniac :
Nice score! I've always wanted to try a 7 or 8. Those Stephen Carpenter guitars are nice. I've been sorta waiting for my local music store to get a cheap Jackson JS22-7, and I'll trade in my 6 string JS22 on it that I never play anymore. I keep that one in C Standard for maximum metal chugging, but the nut recently broke and the electronics got wonky. Debating whether to go full project on it or ditch it for something with more strings.
Tony Sestito said:
In reply to z31maniac :
Nice score! I've always wanted to try a 7 or 8. Those Stephen Carpenter guitars are nice. I've been sorta waiting for my local music store to get a cheap Jackson JS22-7, and I'll trade in my 6 string JS22 on it that I never play anymore. I keep that one in C Standard for maximum metal chugging, but the nut recently broke and the electronics got wonky. Debating whether to go full project on it or ditch it for something with more strings.
This will make guitar #4. I'll leave it in F# Standard for Deftones, F (down 1/2) for Meshuggah........the Roadie 3 tuner makes it super easy.
The Squier Strat is so terrible I don't touch it anymore. So the Charvel goes between Standard and D# and the Flying V sits at D Standard, Drop C, or Drop A.
My nephews came back down for some more guitar rehab, and they brought back this 80's Martin Stinger PJ bass:
Last we left it, the neck was bowed really, really bad, but I had tightened the truss rod and hoped for the best. After looking at the actual truss rod nut this time, I noticed that it was still pretty loose. Since we had nothing to lose, I decided on just cranking that thing all the way. That really made a difference! Then I noticed that part of the problem was actually the bridge itself. The saddles are super chunky, but when you lower them all the way, they rattle like a mofo. It has a weird bolt pattern, so I'm going to swap the saddles with some Fender-style ones and see if I can get the action lowered a bit more. It's a cool bass, so it will be great if I can save it.
Reverb appears to really suck to sell thru now. It used to be that you got your money the second tracking showed in transit but apparently that's not the case anymore
In reply to Antihero (Forum Supporter) :
I heard they've raised fees as well? Bummer. Probably still beats dealing with Craigslist though.
barefootskater (Shaun) said:
In reply to Antihero (Forum Supporter) :
I heard they've raised fees as well? Bummer. Probably still beats dealing with Craigslist though.
The fees are a little bit high but not too bad imo.
I just.....really don't like the policing of payments that they are doing. They act as if it's their money and they will decide when you get it or if. It's annoying.
Plus since the label wouldn't work I had to pay for it out of pocket, so I'm out $40 plus a speaker. I want my money now
Worked on that Stinger bass tonight a bit. I swapped on Fender-style barrel saddles for the bridge, but that didn't do much to help. After cranking that truss rod to infinity yesterday, the bow is still there. Somehow, intonation is ok, but the action is sky high and it's just not comfortable to play. One thing I did notice is that the string tension was crazy tight, and they are wrapped around the tuning pegs way too many times. I will cut them back a bit and see if that adds some relief to the neck.
In reply to Tony Sestito :
What about loading up some lighter gauge strings? I went through a big .010-.060 phase some years ago and found more than one guitar that just couldn't handle that in standard.
In reply to barefootskater (Shaun) :
Might be worth a shot. This neck is all sorts of messed up though. The strings that are on it have been on there for a long time and are super tight, which is likely what caused the bow/twist. If it needs a neck, it needs a neck.
I've been trying to set up my Sawtooth Strat for a better tone and feel like it's gone "hollow". It kind of booms and echoes all the time and I can't get it to sound good. Any advice on setting the thing up to not be so "boomy"?
In reply to Javelin (Forum Supporter) :
How did you change it in the first place?
In reply to Antihero (Forum Supporter) :
I loosened the screws in the backside that the tremelo springs attach to.
In reply to Javelin (Forum Supporter) :
A strat style trem should sit flush on the body. If you loosen those springs too much you'll have issues. That said, trying to diagnose something from a description of how it sounds is difficult. Is the boominess always present? Only while amplified? Only while played unamplified? Are the pickups at the correct height? Some guitars are extra sensitive with regards to how they're played (picking too hard or too soft, or too close or too far from the bridge (not that any of that is wrong, but what seem like slight changes can have big differences in tone))
Any chance you can upload a short video?
In reply to barefootskater (Shaun) :
Hmmm. I may have confused myself with a video on setup that claimed that the trem should be up a bit. I'll set it back down and see what happens.
It booms when amplified, especially with any reverb dialed in and in positions 1-3.
In reply to Javelin (Forum Supporter) :
The trem should be flat against the body. I don't like trems so I either block it it use 5 springs.
Is it clicky and boomy? Single coils can't get too close to the strings or they start pulling on them. Upload a pic on how close the strings are to the pickups.
If they aren't close you can drop the bass side and lift the treble side a bit
Quick update on that Stinger bass: I clipped the existing strings and re-strung them to see if that helped with the excessive tension, and it definitely helped! The bass is playable now and the neck is happier, but it still plays like a bass that was sitting in a basement for about 30 years. A fresh set of lighter gauge strings and an examination of the electronics are up next.
In reply to Antihero (Forum Supporter) :
They are very far away. I have to play it with the trem tightened back down and see what happens and then adjust the pickups from there.
In reply to Javelin (Forum Supporter) :
I've known some guys that liked to float the bridge a little. But trying to do that yourself while trying to learn to play and do all the other setup work is overkill at this point. Imagine it's your first autocross. Don't worry about tire pressure yet, learn to navigate the cones first.
In reply to Javelin (Forum Supporter) :
How far away is very far away? Are all pickup positions roughly the same volume?
Speaking of Strats...
Almost 9 years ago now, I picked up this guitar for my oldest nephew:
That's a 2004ish Squier Affinity Strat in HSS configuration, right after I cleaned it up when I got it for him. This was my first guitar rehab project ever. Fast forward to today: He's thrashed the thing for nearly a decade, and he brought it over last weekend to freshen up. It specifically was experiencing input issues and scratchy pot noises, not to mention it was really dirty. He's also been wanting to switch up the look with a new pickguard, so we went to our favorite music store, which had nothing in stock. We also noticed that it is an 8-hole pickguard, and finding a HSS pickguard with 8 holes is not easy. At least we found an input and jack plate easily.
We cleaned it up and changed the input and got it playing great with a restring. He had been complaining about some strange noises when recording direct with it, and we discovered that the humbucker had become microphonic. So, now he wants to switch to a SSS setup, since he plays mostly clean with this one and he has other guitars with humbuckers he can use for that kind of tone. Finding a drop-in pickguard with SSS and the proper 8 holes affordably has been a challenge. I can just get a 11-hole pickguard and drill for the extra holes, right?
tuna55
MegaDork
3/10/21 11:12 a.m.
In reply to tuna55 :
Can you play any locally?
I haven't played a lot of lower end PRS but they do have their fans.
