Official Guitar, Amp, Pedals, and Gear Thread

I like Gomestar's ES335. That's the upscale version of the Epiphone I posted. Kinda wish I'd never sold my Gibbo, but it's one of those wonders of buying things made of natural materials (i.e. wood) that leads to the occasional bit of unexpected luck. In my case, buying the cheapo version that sounds 99% as good as the 'real thing'. It can happen, and is the perfect example of why you should always try guitars out before you buy them - there really can be noticeable variation between two apparently identical guitars.

Being electrically-minded also means I've changed pickups, switches, pots and wiring in some of my guitars. You can improve a cheap guitar almost beyond recognition with just a £50 ($70 or so) pickup. I may post pics of a couple of these later - currently rocking my beater mule of a Strat that now sports Seymour Duncan full and single-size humbuckers, plus a Lace Sensor at the neck.

Pocketsquareguy's Esquire (is that really yours? Damn!) is just legendary. That's a piece of musical history right there.

Gome, some incredible stuff! That's quite a collection.

Originally Posted by Piobaire

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Gome, some incredible stuff! That's quite a collection.

Yeah, ditto, that stuff is amazing.

I should have pics of my new baby up soon- picking it up on Wed.

Originally Posted by Parker

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Damn, those Teles are nice. I love the custom shop stuff. I think they do a great job.

Having played (and purchased) a lot from the custom shop, I agree. But that tele is in a world of its own, each time I play another guitar I just go back to it. Everything about it is perfect. Too bad they stopped making that a few years ago.

Originally Posted by poly800rock

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@ gomestar

very ******* nice stuff! do you play professionally?

there are a lot of really nice gear in this thread

ha, no, I'm terrible at this point. I used to be pretty darn good, but I kind of put things down a few years ago to focus on a few other stuff, but I'm just starting to pick it back up yet again. I've also taken a "less is more" approach that is suitable for NYC living, my only guitars are the '60 tele custom relic and an American Vintage '60s Strat through a Vox 30 watt Valvetronix amp. And, of course, a Big Muff, Boss turbo distortion, and my wonderful Ibanez WH-10 wah.

Originally Posted by Sherlockian

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You can improve a cheap guitar almost beyond recognition with just a £50 ($70 or so) pickup.

I'd add a professional setup as well. Necks move as time passes (or as nobody gives them a proper setup in the first place), spending $60 or $100 on a setup will make a dramatic difference on a guitar, no matter how expensive or how cheap.

Originally Posted by Sherlockian

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Photo isn't the best quality, but here are the four I currently play the most:

I would kill to have a set up with these 4 guitars...so amazing.

anyone have any experience with these Vox Amplug things? I am buying an electric acoustic, don't really want to pump too much into an amp for the time being. My best friend is a music producer who pointed me in the direction of these...I have some good headphones and decent speakers I could connect it to, and it seems to be well reviewed, but then who knows who writes those things... Any personal experience?

I'm hoping to start saving for my Awesome Guitar. Probably going to have K-Line build it - half the price of Fender's Custom Shop, and he does great work (I played with one of his relics at a guitar show). psych/proto-punk/punk/'80s college-indie/alt-country (etc.) with a side of drone/doom metal, want a Fender-style for indestructability build possibilities: straight '60s style Tele (single-coils, rosewood fretboard) '60s/Keef-style - single-coil bridge, humbucker neck (thinking I could play at being in Sunn 0))) using the neck humbucker) Jazzmaster w/ Mastery Bridge How would you roll?

like the lollar option for pickups. i'd go for jazzmaster style.

Originally Posted by milosz

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How would you roll?

pre-1964 tele, straight

Originally Posted by poly800rock

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wow, orginal 67 tele?

Yep. But, body was refinished so it's not totally O.G. Still, it's got a great sound and the ash body is super light. I love it.

Originally Posted by gomestar

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pre-1964 tele, straight

Yessir. 60s Tele is what you want.

I am very glad to see this thread as I am a HUGE guitar nerd. I have a few more off board for reliability issues. the two kit builds are from 4ms and BYOC. A few mods have been done on this amp (fender hot rod deluxe). Gibson Special Faded SG - pups swapped for sd phat cats (p90s in humbucker fit). RS guitarworks kit and now shielded cavity.

^Those caps are huge, never seen a mod with some that big before. Nice shielding work as well, should help cut down some of the P90s noise issues.

Originally Posted by erdawe

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^Those caps are huge, never seen a mod with some that big before. Nice shielding work as well, should help cut down some of the P90s noise issues.

they're not as big as they look, but definitely larger than the cheapo stock ceramic caps. they're just vintage style paper and oil caps.

the shielding does work pretty well for the single coils, although i wanted to use copper foil tape or shielding paint instead for a cleaner look. expensive, though.

Nice SG! I like modding (some of) my guitars and basses, and have had good experiences with Seymour Duncans. Everyone should have a P90-equipped guitar in their arsenal - the tone, especially for crunchy, biting bluesy rock and huge surf/rockabilly cleans - is unique and full of character. What value pots and caps did you use?

@ Milosz - for playing comfort, the Jazzmaster is my favourite. The problem is, with the offset shape, you can't just lean it up against an amp. You can get Teles with contoured bodies, so that might be worth looking at...the Tele feels more indestructible than the JM too, it has better neck pocket support and much less control cavity routing.

I'd be tempted to go for P90s; I imagine they'd suit a Telecaster's tone and feel pretty well. If I were having a guitar made, I'd go for a Tele with forearm contour and a hot noiseless single coil at the bridge, maybe a P90 instead of a 'bucker at the neck...I've always found neck HBs to be a bit muddy.