El Toro's Official Guitarded Thread...

[lerxstcat]

Anybody have any recommendations for an inexpensive acoustic? I'm looking to get one for my boys. I've bought them three Agile Les Pauls and they have been great guitars for the money. Rondo doesn't have much of an acoustic selection.

One of them tried a Hohner HW300 and he seemed to like it. Any reviews on this or have others you could steer us to?

I have a nice little Rogue acoustic-electric but i don't think they make the model anymore. It is a copy of a Charvel 625C which was a little more tricked out. 23 frets (The Charvel had 24) a medium thin body and the neck is similar to a Les Paul dimensionally. I think they were like $199 new but I got mine from Ebay for a lot less.

Hohner makes nice guitars that are decently priced, if he digs that Hohner maybe you should go for that, unless the other boy doesn't like it for some reason.

Ibanez also seems to have some pretty nice acoustics and acoustic-electrics for not much money. Maybe go to americanmusical.com, zzounds.com and musiciansfriend.com and search acoustic guitars within your price range. Get some models you are interested in and then look for reviews. There is a lot out there now coming from Asia with decent quality and dirt cheap, but if you don't know brand names to enter - and many are "off" brands, but probably being made in the same factories as the name brands - it can be hard to go through 75,000 listings on ebay.

[ElToro]

Define inexpensive.

[Alphavictim]

I'm just gonna use this thread.

I suppose after about 10 years of daily playing, my Fender Tele shows some wear: The third fret of the B string-section has a noticable dent, and when I fret it, the string rattles. Since that's the only guitar I got with me here and I used that fret A LOT, this is a major bummer.

Is there any quick & dirty fix to this (superglue might not be the best idea)? If not, how much would it be to have it fixed professionally?

[lerxstcat]

I'm just gonna use this thread.

I suppose after about 10 years of daily playing, my Fender Tele shows some wear: The third fret of the B string-section has a noticable dent, and when I fret it, the string rattles. Since that's the only guitar I got with me here and I used that fret A LOT, this is a major bummer.

Is there any quick & dirty fix to this (superglue might not be the best idea)? If not, how much would it be to have it fixed professionally?

You need to have the frets "dressed", or re-leveled. That's about $75 here in the States. There is a kit called the Thomas-Ginex Fret leveling kit that costs about $25, again here in the States, that allows you to do it yourself, and it's fairly simple, but if you are not good with shop-type work I'd just spend the extra $50 and have it done at a music shop. If you do do it yourself, tape off your pickups so you don't get sandpaper grit or metal filings in them. Then you'll have bigger problems; another reason to let the pros do it.

Edit: by "Re-leveled" I mean you have to sand them all down so that they are ALL at the level of that dent - in other words, take the dent out. It rattles because the other frets sit higher than that one. So all of your frets will be lower, but at the same level. An alternate fix is to replace that one fret. You will still have to sand the frets to re-level them, but you won't have to take as much metal off of the rest of the frets. I hope this makes sense. But if you wanted to maintain the existing life of the remaining frets and the exact action you have now, this would work, and be cheaper than a total refret which is about $300.

[Alphavictim]

Yeah since it's just a Tele I'd rather not spend 300$ on a full fret-job.

From what you've said, replacing the one fret and just slightly adjusting the others sounds like the most sensible fix. How much am I looking at here if I have somebody professional do this? I'd rather not fuck up the guitar, to be honest.

[lerxstcat]

Yeah since it's just a Tele I'd rather not spend 300$ on a full fret-job.

From what you've said, replacing the one fret and just slightly adjusting the others sounds like the most sensible fix. How much am I looking at here if I have somebody professional do this? I'd rather not fuck up the guitar, to be honest.

Well the fret level is still $75 and they'd probably charge you $25 to replace the one fret? The fret level is kind of a constant charge regardless. I mean I have a local friend who does them for $40 and that is awesome, but you can't count on a rate that cheap at a shop. One fret is cheap, it's the labor of pulling the old one and matching a new one so that the fret leveling can be kept to a minimum. If it is a Mexican Tele or an inexpensive one like that I can see why you don't want to spend a lot. Unfortunately they are going to charge you like an hour's minimum labor which accounts for most of that $75-$100. I know costs are higher in Europe; here in the U.S. I might even buy a used neck off of Ebay that had the frets in good shape, could be cheaper than $100 if you went with a Squier Tele neck. They are really pretty much the same as the Mexican Fenders in quality.

[bane]

My local guy charges 35 bucks per fret plus 75 to dress the rest of them. I just had 5 frets replaced and the rest dressed on one of my guitars (along with a bunch of other work). It cost me 250 and took 4 days.

[Alphavictim]

Thanks for the info, guys.

I'm not sure if it's a Mexian one, I got the guitar for Christmas ten years ago and just played it, never bothered with the hardware. It's a Fender Tele Squier from the Affinity series, at least according to the writing on the neck.

EDIT: Ugh, "allmity"? Thanks for the heads up Sleek.

[bane]

Thanks for the info, guys.

I'm not sure if it's a Mexian one, I got the guitar for Christmas ten years ago and just played it, never bothered with the hardware. It's a Fender Tele Squier from the Allmity series, at least according to the writing on the neck.

If it's a Squier I wouldn't spend much money on it unless you just love that particular guitar.

[Sleek]

Squier affinity are the cheepest series.

Nothing against them. My main strat is an Affinity that I tarted up a bit...now people keep asking me about my "great old strat". It was $129. Including tax. At Sam Ash. (I did put a $50 set of GFS texas alnico pups in it...but still)

...but you could replace that guitar for a lot less than a fret job would cost.

[lerxstcat]

Thanks for the info, guys.

I'm not sure if it's a Mexian one, I got the guitar for Christmas ten years ago and just played it, never bothered with the hardware. It's a Fender Tele Squier from the Allmity series, at least according to the writing on the neck.

If it's a Squier I wouldn't spend much money on it unless you just love that particular guitar.

Affinity Series were made in China 10 years ago; now they are made in Indonesia. Like I said, you might buy a used neck with frets in good shape off of Ebay. An Affinity neck might go for $40-$50, plus shipping. If you find one nearby you might be able to pick it up. They are inexpensive but surprisingly decent guitars. I have a '98 Affinity Strat and I like it a lot for my traditional Strat needs. The '98s have 22 frets, which they "corrected" that because it made them, to me, more desirable than the Mexicans that have a Fender logo. At the time it was $179, the Mexican Fenders were around $300 and an American Standarde Strat was about $900. To get a 22-fret neck you had to go with the Squier Affinity for $179 or the American Standard for $900. I liked the Squier way better than the Mexi-Strat and sold it. I prefer Superstrats with Floyds, 24 frets and humbuckers for the most part, so for a traditionsal Strtat the Squier did the trick for me. Just go to ebay, guitars, parts, necks, then enter "Squier Tele". You may be surprised how cheap you can get a replacement neck.

Then you could buy the Thomas-Ginex kit and practice fret dressing on your original neck. If you do a good job, you'll have a serviceable spare neck. If you screw it up, you aren't without a guitar because you have the spare neck.

[Liquid Boom Boom]

ordered an Xotic EP Boost pedal the other day and should be getting it in tomorrow...looking forward to it.

[ElToro]

I have a guy here who refrets for $150 and he KILLS IT!

[T.O.N. of green]

I have a guy here who refrets for $150 and he KILLS IT!

Damn Toro thats a great price. Over here i know a guy who has done work for Frehley and Leslie West and his work is also great, but the price is $350. Also has a few week waiting time. I am almost tempted to buy the tooling and give it a go myself, that way i could refret a few other axes that i just never got around to fixing.

[ElToro]

I have a guy here who refrets for $150 and he KILLS IT!

Damn Toro thats a great price. Over here i know a guy who has done work for Frehley and Leslie West and his work is also great, but the price is $350. Also has a few week waiting time. I am almost tempted to buy the tooling and give it a go myself, that way i could refret a few other axes that i just never got around to fixing.

If you are patient, it's a great investment.

Personally, I love stainless steel frets, so I'll have a pro do it, but I've done it and it's not that hard.

[MCSmallDink_]

Define inexpensive.

Good point Jim. Wanted to stay in the $200 range.

[ElToro]

Define inexpensive.

Good point Jim. Wanted to stay in the $200 range.

I love the Washburns for the money, but in that range, I think the above recommendations are better.

[ElToro]

A little binding scraping, fine sanding and matte clear! Evil Orange is ALIVE!!! ALIVE!!! ALIVE!!!!!!

[Liquid Boom Boom]

Tested out my new Xotic EP boost pedal this weekend and it is a magical little box. Sustain, and that piercing boost tone is all there. It just sounds incredible. It really gives you a distinct, rockin' magical fairy dust on the overall tone. Love it.

[Liquid Boom Boom]

Tested out my new Xotic EP boost pedal this weekend and it is a magical little box. Sustain, and that piercing boost tone is all there. It just sounds incredible. It really gives you a distinct, rockin' magical fairy dust on the overall tone. Love it.

[T.O.N. of green]

A little binding scraping, fine sanding and matte clear! Evil Orange is ALIVE!!! ALIVE!!! ALIVE!!!!!!

That looks like its turning out nicely. Just an odd question, was there ever binding at the end of that fingerboard? I just wonder why they would bind the rest of it and not do the end.

[ElToro]

I have to replace it....

[ElToro]

The epoxy went bad... I have to start over.

[demolition23]

If you were looking to get a single coil start-style guitar, and you could get this http://www.godinguitars.com/godinprogressionp.htm for the same price as the cheapest available mexican strat, would it be a good move? I like the look of it and it seems a little better put together, but I don't know anybody who has ever played Godins, or what value the revoicer thing might add.

[wattage13]

Godin makes excellent guitars

Not sure about the Revoicer but it makes it an active EQ which is a cool option.

[lerxstcat]

If you were looking to get a single coil start-style guitar, and you could get this http://www.godinguitars.com/godinprogressionp.htm for the same price as the cheapest available mexican strat, would it be a good move? I like the look of it and it seems a little better put together, but I don't know anybody who has ever played Godins, or what value the revoicer thing might add.

Godins have a good reputation and I personally did not find the Mexican Strats to be that great. As for the revoicer, it sounds like you can use the pickups either passively or in an active mode. I may be misunderstanding that, but that's how it sounds. I would say it seems to have many more features for the same price, I'd go for that of those are what you've narrowed it down to. It boils down to playing them both and deciding which you like better, but the Mexican Fenders are overrated in my book. I actually liked my Affinity Squier better for a traditional Strat. Nicer neck and the pickups were actually hotter.

[Sleek]

My main strat is an Affinity...I tried every strat in the store from $500 on down and it was the best feeling, best playing and most resonant.

It was $129 out the door.

Stuck some GFS alnico texas pups in it, and it rules.

[ElToro]

I'm gassing for a new distortion, so it's time sell a couple boosts.
1) Frankenstein - Rangemaster Treble Boost Clone - think Brian May
2) HBE ParaDrive Prototype - Like a TS9 plus an extra clean boost
3) Kran Cheetah Scream with built in buffer - 30 dB of clean

[Liquid Boom Boom]

Just ordered an EVH Frankenstein pickup for my custom Wolfgang(Northern Swamp Ash). I just couldn't say no this time...getting it installed Thursday, pretty pumped about it. A buddy of mine has a FrankenStrat that he built last year and put in the Franky pup and said it was incredible. I've read some great reviews and really looking forward to hearing it.

Anyone have this pickup? Thoughts?

[ElToro]

I have a friend that swears by those!