El Toro's Official Guitarded Thread...

[Sleek]

If you get bored with it let me know.

[Sleek]

Ugh. I just impulse bought a guitar.

I don't feel bad though. I was looking for a les paul...been using a crappy Fernandes, so I was just looking to see what's out there.

So I go to Guitar Center, and there is a model I noticed earlier this year, the 1970's tribute Les Paul. It's got mini-hums (which I love) and Top hat knobs~just the usual '70's adornments.

We;;, I notice GC has one on the wall...and it's marked down to $700!! Apparently, it's the end of the run, and they're closing them out.

So I'm like: :"Whoa." sort of logging it as an option.

Then I wander across the street to Sam Ash, and there is a silverbust version of the same guitar...for $529.

So, long story short, I got one of these US made Gibson's for $529 (plus tax...)



I...just couldn't resist the bargain. Time to retire the Fernandes.

[wattage13]

Score on that Trib LP, nice!

EL T - you got a Zemaitis? That's awesome, the new ones are spectacular.


Picked up a Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster that is ridiculously great, doesn't make sense. Got an EH #1 Echo for the board.

[lerxstcat]

Ugh. I just impulse bought a guitar.

I don't feel bad though. I was looking for a les paul...been using a crappy Fernandes, so I was just looking to see what's out there.

So I go to Guitar Center, and there is a model I noticed earlier this year, the 1970's tribute Les Paul. It's got mini-hums (which I love) and Top hat knobs~just the usual '70's adornments.

We;;, I notice GC has one on the wall...and it's marked down to $700!! Apparently, it's the end of the run, and they're closing them out.

So I'm like: :"Whoa." sort of logging it as an option.

Then I wander across the street to Sam Ash, and there is a silverbust version of the same guitar...for $529.

So, long story short, I got one of these US made Gibson's for $529 (plus tax...)



I...just couldn't resist the bargain. Time to retire the Fernandes.

That is sweet!! Zzounds is selling Les Paul Specials right now from $499 on the 4-payment plan, either double hums or double P-90s. That's satin finish, the gloss finish is like $549. You got a little nicer guitar for your money but those Specials are a great bargain too and available in several finishes including TV Yellow, satin cherry, satin vintage sunburst and tobacco sunburst (Basically the same but the glossy version).

I am attracted to the payment plans that make it more affordable and so I can get stuff on a tight budget. Not looking right now, but the LP Specials are tempting...

[Sleek]

That is sweet!! Zzounds is selling Les Paul Specials right now from $499 on the 4-payment plan, either double hums or double P-90s. That's satin finish, the gloss finish is like $549. You got a little nicer guitar for your money but those Specials are a great bargain too and available in several finishes including TV Yellow, satin cherry, satin vintage sunburst and tobacco sunburst (Basically the same but the glossy version).

I am attracted to the payment plans that make it more affordable and so I can get stuff on a tight budget. Not looking right now, but the LP Specials are tempting...

Well, I also opened up a Sam Ash card for it. I have 18 months to pay it off with no interest!

...but I still don't understand the price...I looked around the web and they just aren't going that cheap. zzounds still has them at $749...

http://www.zzounds.com/item--GIBLP70

Here is the Sam Ash link though...$529: http://www.samash.com/p/Gibson_Les%20Pa ... ag_1952697

Like I said, GC, right across the street had them for $700, and I thought that was a bargain. List is $1399. You figure 40% off list is a good price...

Samash was also doing some *really* nice looking studios for $649, and some of those "classic Standards" or whatever they're called for around $1100....

Those specials look cool as well...that would have been tempting.

[Sleek]

Ugh. I just noticed SamAsh is sold out.

[lerxstcat]

At that price it's no wonder!

[grishnak boss]

So i went and bought myself a Dragonfly parker DF524 blue:



it roolz!!!

[Hungwell]

[ElToro]

Look at you guys!

[ElToro]

I'm going to open a guitar store after the first. At this point, I'm still dealing with architect's drawing for the layout, but have the spot on hold.

It's not gonna be easy because buying lines like Gibson and Fender involves huge layouts of cash, but I have a ton of used and vintage gear and several old friends will be sending a bunch my way.

I wanna go more obscure with the effects and stuff. JoiCo, Mooer, STiFF, etc... rather than waste time with BOSS. What cool stuff do you guys see that is not easy to find as far as new stuff?

[Sleek]

A lot of the places around L.A. do good business with the "standard" booteek stuff...Fulltone, Wampler and Lovedrive.

I doubt the margins are very good on that stuff though.

[lerxstcat]

I'm going to open a guitar store after the first. At this point, I'm still dealing with architect's drawing for the layout, but have the spot on hold.

It's not gonna be easy because buying lines like Gibson and Fender involves huge layouts of cash, but I have a ton of used and vintage gear and several old friends will be sending a bunch my way.

I wanna go more obscure with the effects and stuff. JoiCo, Mooer, STiFF, etc... rather than waste time with BOSS. What cool stuff do you guys see that is not easy to find as far as new stuff?

You may want to focus on used gear as your thing, along with the obscure effects lines and some amp lines that don't require huge buy-ins. Avoid the whole Guitar Center vibe and go for something that appeals to grown-ups who are knowledgeable and have money to spend, rather than selling Squier beginner kits. If you are going to offer some beginner stuff, I highly recommend Yamaha as they make some pretty decent stuff. I have a Pacifica 012 that I bought for a beater off of Ebay and it is WAY nicer than an Affinity Strat for the same money. Yamaha would probably be easier as far as cost to bring in their line. Maybe Ibanez as well. So you could focus on really sweet vintage used gear, and a quality value beginner line to move units.

I would say Jackson, but you're dealing with Fender there.

But mainly, if you offer fairly unique stuff that can't be found anywhere else, that is a niche waiting to be filled in the current market. And you'd save so much on overhead from not carrying major manufacturer's new lines. I think that can kill an independent pretty fast, and is probably not necessary.

[Kerry67]

Anyone have any old catalog brand guitars they want to get rid of ??? Kay, Silvertone, Harmony etc.....Don't care about condition. Beaters, projects, parts ok......

[Captain Morgan]

I'm going to open a guitar store after the first. At this point, I'm still dealing with architect's drawing for the layout, but have the spot on hold.

It's not gonna be easy because buying lines like Gibson and Fender involves huge layouts of cash, but I have a ton of used and vintage gear and several old friends will be sending a bunch my way.

I wanna go more obscure with the effects and stuff. JoiCo, Mooer, STiFF, etc... rather than waste time with BOSS. What cool stuff do you guys see that is not easy to find as far as new stuff?

A used and vintage gear store would rock!

I'd also look into Reverend Guitars and becoming a CMATMODS pedal distributor.

[Liquid Boom Boom]

I went a little nuts this past week:

Egnater Tweaker 15 watt amp- Sounds Incredible on the cleans, and pretty darn good with the gain right out of the box. I ordered some Tung Sol 6v6's and 12ax7's to replace the stock Ruby tubes. I still have my Soldano, but it was just WAY too much amp for me and the garage band. I don't think I ever got it past "2" and none of us could hear a damn thing over it. So far so good, the Egnater takes my pedals so well, it's amazing now that I can actually hear the damn things now. Still trying to get the gain sound I want, coming from a Soldano(which is God-like distortion) it may be tough to replicate.

Basic Audio "Gnarly Fuzz"- I never messed with Fuzz too much but I love the sound of this pedal. Gritty and smooth. It's not for every song out there, but it really sounds killer.

Zvex "Box of Rock" pedal. Trying to find my distortion tone and this one is BADASS. So many great rock tones in this pedal. I just need to dick around with it a bit more.

So now I just have to tweak and figure out where the settings will be and I'm good to go. I am still waiting for my Warmoth neck to come in for my Strat project and I will have a totally new rig to dick around with. Good times!


Toro, I love the idea of a Vintage/NON guitar center type of store. My city sure could use one of those stores and I'd rather buy my gear from there than GC, for sure. Good luck!

[ElToro]

You guys should look at STiFF Amps and pedals.. way cool stuff.

[Liquid Boom Boom]

Sleek,

That is a badass LP! What a great deal. How do the Mini-hums sound on that thing?

[Sleek]

They actually sound great. Super rich harmonically and not at all piercing. Tight...wonderful midrange, and one of the better rhythm pickups I have ever heard.

I used it at a rehearsal the other night in place of a Fernandes with a Duncan in the lead I had been using and everybody was like:"WHY DIDN'T YOU BUY THAT EARLIER???"

I gigged with it last night (Rammstein Tribute ) as well, and it is definitely a power-up.

[mopmonster]

I'm looking to get a 5 string bass. I currently have a no-name neck-thru that isn't cutting it for me... Great lows, not enough mids/definition; just doesn't cut through. I also own a Carvin LB20 which I love so I was thinking of getting another Carvin. I'd mainly be using this for metal, sometimes with overdrive. Any suggestions on what I should check out?

[ElectricBallroom]

I heard a rumor about your new store last week. Best of luck. You know that I'll open you up for PA gear, if you want. Have some cool new digital guitar wireless, too...

I'm going to open a guitar store after the first. At this point, I'm still dealing with architect's drawing for the layout, but have the spot on hold.

It's not gonna be easy because buying lines like Gibson and Fender involves huge layouts of cash, but I have a ton of used and vintage gear and several old friends will be sending a bunch my way.

I wanna go more obscure with the effects and stuff. JoiCo, Mooer, STiFF, etc... rather than waste time with BOSS. What cool stuff do you guys see that is not easy to find as far as new stuff?

[mopmonster]

I'm looking to get a 5 string bass. I currently have a no-name neck-thru that isn't cutting it for me... Great lows, not enough mids/definition; just doesn't cut through. I also own a Carvin LB20 which I love so I was thinking of getting another Carvin. I'd mainly be using this for metal, sometimes with overdrive. Any suggestions on what I should check out?

Never mind, already got me one! I just picked up a used Stingray.

[ElToro]

EB;
You heard a rumor?

[ElectricBallroom]

EB;
You heard a rumor?

Yes, not too dramatic, though. Guy calls me and asks " you know ET, don't you", answer 'yes, but I haven't seen him since June 2004". He then reported that he heard that you were opening a store in the East Valley.

Good luck with it. It seems like a tough business to be an indie, but McKnight, Raptor (bad example, as they're closed, but the owner may or may not have killed a cop), Naked Dave, and a bunch of small shops around town have been able to keep it going. Key is to offer value adds like lessons and service.

[ElToro]

Lessons and service cover costs... vintage and used makes PROFIT!

[skoobeesnak]

I posted this in the main forum instead of this thread a few days ago. Just looking for some advice from some experienced guitar slingers out there...

I used to play quite a bit in the 90's but haven't been that much into it the last 10 years or so. Lately I have been wanting a real good quality adult guitar to play around with.

In the past I have always had the typical strat copy with humbuckers and a floyd rose copy. I have always bought mid range guitars, I have an ibanez S470FM and a low end Hamer that plays pretty good but want something different.

I have watched a few videos on the Fender G-5 and it looks incredible. It would be fun to have all of those sounds and tunings from one guitar. Just curious what the Sludgers think of them if anyone has any hands on experience with one. I would love to hear about it.

[skoobeesnak]

Or opinions on this?


http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/ ... tar#review

[ElToro]

G-5 is a fun toy. If you are a gigging/cover guy that needs a lot of sounds quickly, it's great. If you don't care about the tuning options, just find a used Strat.

The LTD Les Paul types play way better than Epiphones. Way better. I almost bought a gold one just cuz it was fast and sounded good. Thank God I forgot my debit card!

If you want an "adult" guitar, Sam Ash is selling a satin gold LP Deluxe for $500 right now.

Your S470 is a mahogany bodied guitar and probably plays great. If you want it to sound good, just try new pick ups. DiMarzio Crunch Lab and Liquifier pick ups sound great it in (a friend did that and I loved it!).

What kind of amp are you using?

[skoobeesnak]

Thanks for the reply El Toro.

My Ibanez did play great until it got knocked over and cracked the neck. Now I can't find a replacement and I kind of want to try something with a fixed bridge for ease of use.

I ended up ordering one of the black LTD eclipse Les Paul type guitars. I has Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge and a '59 pickup in the neck position so it should sound good. I will be playing through either my POD or my Mesa DC-5 depending on how loud I want to go. I wouldn't mind getting a newer preamp at some point or a good pedal for that marshal sound. Any recommendations?

I remember playing an ESP eclipse years ago and being blown away how well it played. Liked it much better than my friends Les Paul Studio. Hopefully this one will end up being good for $350 with decent pickups I can't imagine it being too much of a risk.

[ElToro]

Brent Gutierrez can fix that neck and make it play better than new. He's reasonable too! [email protected]

If you really want that guitar to scream, change the volume pot with a 1 Meg pot and replace the tone cap with something of quality like an orange drop. It will do wonders!

What part of the country are you in?