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Post by vikingblues on Sept 16, 2014 19:43:28 GMT
I've not played an electric guitar for at least a month. 15 weeks since I recorded anything with one and that was a one off to see if it still did anything for me. Nearly 10 months since my conversion to acoustic playing. Do I look to start thinning the herd before too long - tricky.  That's the mob. I do need to keep the bass as I often use it on my multitrack mandolin family recordings. The problem is there's just one semi acoustic, just one solid body with humbuckers, just one with single coils, and just one with P90s.  All very different sounds and all feel sort of indispensable on an individual basis. The Hagstrom Viking Deluxe has the best pickups of the lot - Seymour Duncan / Seth Lover SH55s - plus it has the closest to an acoustic sound, plus it's the guitar I got my forum name from for most forums I'm on. The PRS SE Soapbar is very much the most comfortable of the 4 guitars to play. It has very clear sounding vintage Tonerider P90s, which can snarl too if asked, and is probably the most versatile of the 4 electrics. Rock, Blues, Jazz, Melodic, etc. - it does them all. The "Strat" is a self build - single piece body no less. My 6th attempt at a build and the only real success story - the building craze stopped for me with this one. So there's a strong tie to the guitar. It's the lesser of the 4 in terms of quality, but as a no name guitar would be probably sold for more as individual parts. The Vintage Lemon Drop is a Peter Green style guitar on a low budget. Remarkable quality of Wilkinson humbuckers for teh price - and a very strong guitar for the rockier side of things. This guitar gave my electric playing time a sort of Indian Summer and brought out a real creative spell. As such it played a major part in a good few of the recordings I feel happiest about on electrics. I think I'll be putting off the decision for a while. Hope that sounds like a good idea. Mark |
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Martin
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Post by Martin on Sept 16, 2014 19:49:24 GMT
Sounds like you've got solid reasons for keeping them all, Mark and I would keep them all unless you need to sell to raise money or clear space.
I didn't realise you'd built your own strat! That must feel like quite an achievement!
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Post by ocarolan on Sept 16, 2014 22:00:18 GMT
That's a lovely family, Mark - it would be a shame to split them up.....
Keith
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Post by scorpiodog on Sept 17, 2014 14:42:39 GMT
Guitars are for buying, not for selling. That is all.
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Post by Akquarius on Sept 17, 2014 17:32:40 GMT
Do you actually have to get rid of one, Mark?
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Post by grayn on Sept 17, 2014 17:34:32 GMT
+1 to what Martin said.
Lovely collection, particularly the Viking.
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Post by vikingblues on Sept 18, 2014 7:46:45 GMT
Thanks for the encouragement to keep them guys. It sometimes helps me to put a quandary like this in writing - helps clarify things. I don't have to off load any at all - just I have this general (loose) guideline that if I have a guitar that I'm not using it could have a better home where it will be played. Seems cruel not to let a guitar sing. Looks wise - it's only the Viking that has any appeal to me. The Vintage Lemon Drop looks horrible (a very amateurish job at a relic finish on that line) but it makes up for it in sound and playability - heaviest of the guitars at 10 lbs (ouch!). It has some sweet tones (for an electric)  "My Lemon Drop Tastes of Sorrow" "Sadness as Lemon Tears Drop" while it can bite a bit "Hard Time to Drop a Lemon"If you have the nerve to dip into those you'll see I always played slow on electric! I suppose there was a sort of feeling of achievement with the Strat build but it was also relief that finally after so many attempts I had a self build that was a keeper. I hastily add I did buy the body and the neck. I did do a bass and a guitar where I carved / routed the body, but I never had the nerve to tackle making a neck. There were one or two "issues" in the building process that caused me grief - snapping the head off the screw for the string tree when it was almost fully screwed into the headstock for one. I used to really hate the soldering part for the pickups and controls and the nervous tension at the "will the neck fit the body properly so the bridge can be the right height" stage was horrible. Nice grain on the Strat body, helped by it being one piece - it looks very natural.  One video with the Strat - 4 years ago (eeek!) - very tentative and me in disguise. Very nervous in front of a video camera. Maybe I'll delay any decision for a while yet. Who knows when the bug may bite again. Mark |
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Post by Martin on Sept 18, 2014 7:56:21 GMT
Great playing, Mark!
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Post by Phil Taylor on Sept 18, 2014 8:57:51 GMT
Ooooooo.... lovely video - makes me wish I had an electric again  Phil |
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Post by missclarktree on Sept 18, 2014 17:40:33 GMT
Although I normally recommend getting rid of excess clutter as an exciting and therapeutic kind of hobby, you've managed to persuade me that it's probably wise to hang on to these for a bit longer.
Great playing, and in such a stylish hat! |
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Post by michaelm on Sept 18, 2014 18:29:54 GMT
I was going to start a thread on this... I went to pick up a guitar the other night, thought to myself "which one shall I play for a change?" Decide on the Tele, then realized that what I was playing didn't sound too good on the Tele, so I changed to the Taylor - that's better. Onto a different tune... time for the Gretsch to come out. A quick diversion onto the classical, then back to the Tele... I don't often do that, but it was fun to change guitars depending on what I was playing... which is a long winded way of saying you might as well keep seeing as you went to the trouble of buying them  |
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Post by vikingblues on Sept 28, 2014 14:15:05 GMT
Thanks Martin. I really am impressed with the way you seem so relaxed on your videos Phil - I feel like a rabbit in the headlights in front of the camera, but the microphone for an audio recording is no problem at all - weird!  Why is it such a long winded hassle to record a video, transfer it to the PC, get it in the right format, synch the audio and upload it to YouTube - I recall that video took several hours to do all that.  You're quite right Alison - a stylish hat indeed - the sort of sartorial splendour I don't usually aspire too!  More inspired by the cause of anonymity to be honest. That changing guitars to play different things you mention Michael is what would make it extra difficult to sell one of these. They all have particular sounds / tone / feel that suit different music. Though if anything the pressure on needing to consider a sale (or two) has increased with the arrival of the Lowden. Mark |
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Post by Phil Taylor on Sept 28, 2014 18:15:57 GMT
I really am impressed with the way you seem so relaxed on your videos Phil - I feel like a rabbit in the headlights in front of the camera, but the microphone for an audio recording is no problem at all - weird! Why is it such a long winded hassle to record a video, transfer it to the PC, get it in the right format, synch the audio and upload it to YouTube - I recall that video took several hours to do all that. Mark I can assure you Mark that I am not relaxed when recording a video. It is almost as bad as playing when someone is listening - I really struggle and I don't know why. I can play something perfectly but as soon as that red light comes on Phil |
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Post by vikingblues on Sept 28, 2014 18:48:23 GMT
Appearances are deceptive then. Like the Swan I guess Phil - all serene above water and thrashing away in an ungainly way unseen under the surface.
Mark
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Post by vikingblues on Jan 24, 2015 23:31:36 GMT
Four months on and my electric family in the photo are still all together. The thoughts of selling have faded a lot. I can't say they're being used a great deal but I did manage a collaboration with the owner of an old blues forum I'm a member of earlier this month. I did quite enjoy it but the musical landscape sort of only looked half familiar - very odd. Doing that has now somehow prompted me to sign up for two collabs with other members. I've used 3 of the 4 electrics in the last three weeks so I think it has been good advice by you all that I didn't need to move any of them on. The Hagstrom Viking was on that collab, the Lemon Drop has had a spin or two .... ... and today the PRS SE came out of it's gigbag for the first time in about 4 months today. After coughing from the dust I was surprised how good it sounded through the SCXD and grabbed a BT off the hard drive to give a blues improv a quick whirl. The Backing Track is in F Minor and is from JamTracks Central (by Paul Harvey - called "The Conjuror"). My playing was a bit ragged in the faster section, but so was some of the backing track too - nice to think that there are flaws on a recording that aren't just mine. If anyone fancies a listen ...... Rabbit from a HatRest assured - shortly after this was complete I was back to playing the Acoustic and loving it.  Mark |
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Why is it such a long winded hassle to record a video, transfer it to the PC, get it in the right format, synch the audio and upload it to YouTube - I recall that video took several hours to do all that. 
More inspired by the cause of anonymity to be honest.
Jo whoever he is.
