Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
At The Back => Time Out => Topic started by: GuitarIv on August 11, 2013, 11:53:37 PM
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Hey guys,
I've had a rather unique experience the last few days. Recently I purchased my bassists Jackson DK2M off of him as he wasn't playing it anymore and put a Holydiver in it. I've been playing on it every day for the past 2 weeks and somehow I really bonded with this guitar. I've been learning lots of hard solos by Sylosis and Metallica and just had that "click" moment, or rather lots of them since I've been practising on that axe, being suddenly able to do alternate picking, tapping and sweeping parts that have always been too hard for me to pull off. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that practise a lot more then I did before and thus I've become a better player, but I still have that certain feeling that this is THE metal guitar I've been always searching for. It's just like a custom made suit, it fits everything so well, starting with the sound (the Holydiver sounds godly in it) from the response, the feeling and the playability, everything is perfect. And it's a damned production guitar.
I love every instrument I own, but it seems that there is nothing that will beat this guitar when it comes down to metal, just like my Custom Strat seems to begging me to play blues on her...
So I want you to share your experiences, have you ever made a connection with an instrument the same moment you played it for the first time? I know tastes differ and thus there are a lot of players praising their instruments that I find utterly unspectacular as soon as I play them. I'm just happy that I found what I've been searching for: a soulmate that isn't just a piece of wood, but a part of me that helps me to express myself in the best way possible :)
Cheers
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My Custom Mayones Regius 7 is pretty much everything I need in a guitar and more.
A guitar that works well with it's player is probably gonna make him 20%-30% better, in my experience.
I have had exactly the same experiences as you. I don't think it has much to to with practise. It's really just that you jive with the guitar - which will make you a better player due to practise, anyway, but I tend to notice an immediate difference in these situations.
I've only felt it with about three guitars 3. Luckily, I own two of those (my Mayones and Les Paul) and the third was a 2nd hand EBMM JPX-6.
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Both of my guitars were ebay purchases so it was a bit like internet dating, after they arrived I had to feel them out for a while. I think I really only bonded with them after I installed the BKPs. I never liked the pickups in either one, and getting my hands on their internals and soldering this and that they feel like part of me now. I always liked the feel of the SG in my hands, but the responsiveness of the pickups is a big part of whether you bond with them or not. I'm still not 100% happy with the A-bomb but I keep fiddling with it. The Cold Sweat I'm very happy with on cleans and I'm happy in most situations with the Warpigs. I'm thinking I will install SD Triple Shots on the Warpigs in the Explorer and fully shield both guitars (and maybe even add a parallel/series switch to the A-bomb in the SG) and then I'll be completely settled with them.
I'm going through a similar process with the Peavey amp. Once I find my settings for each guitar on it I will bond with it. At the moment I just have this 'I'm liking getting to know you' enthusiasm for it.
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The Pearl LP I bought off Twinfan is still probably my favourite guitar out of all those I've played. It initially felt a bit hard to play but I got it fret dressed and set up and now it's effortless - 11s feel like 10s! It only cost £250 as well, including pickups and setup its probably cost me about £600 total and I'd say is the best guitar I've played. Better than my Gibson SG, definitely. Being all mahogany with p90s it sounds pretty beastly as well.
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- My swampash/mapleneck and ebony board MXG Custom Strat (made by Patrick Eggle) is my workhorse for years now. It's lightweight and plays and sounds like a dream. Loaded with Crawler and two Irish Tours.
-My Fender Telecaster American Series is a keeper too. One of the best necks I've played. Great sustain. Loaded wit BG50's (old set, which are BG52's now).
- Surprisingly an all mahogany bolt on Saint Blues Missisippi Bluesmaster (les Paul/Tele-hybrid) is my second stageguitar. I bought it used for 375 euro. The guitar was already loaded with a Mules-set. Absolutely bargain. Neck is great and it has a very mature sound, thanks to the Mules that push this Saint Blues to a higher level. Really nice guitar for (classic) rock, funk, blues and jazz.
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- As far as Blues goes I have my Custom Strat (does old school metal as well) and my 62 Framus Hollywood
- For Metal I have a 93 Jackson Fusion Pro and the mentioned Jackson DK2M
- For Acoustic Stuff I have a proper Western and an Acoustic Guitar
- And I have a cheap Ibanez RG with EMGs for all the generic Drop C Metalcore stuff, it's my August Burns Red Cover guitar :P
I'm glad I have an arsenal of guitars to fit every style of music I play and right now I have no urge to get another one :)
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Gosh, I've bought and sold so many guitars it's a bit hard to claim I've really bonded with any of them.
When I was younger I used to get that "honeymoon period" thing where you buy a guitar, get all excited about it for a while, then gradually start to realise the things you don't like about it. But now I find it's usually a "love at first sight" situation - a guitar either feels a bit special straight away... or it doesn't. There aren't many "growers". But I do find the longer I've had a guitar, whether it's a good one or not, the harder it is to sell it.
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To me I ususally notice quickly if I like a guitar or not. There are bad guitars, good guitars and those few special guitars which in a way can be both. Good guitars are the ones you pick up, notice good sustain, clear sound, generally well crafted but they are missing that thing.
That thing can be found in both good and bad guitars, maybe you come around something shoddy and half fallen apart but when you strum it it just clicks.
So what I do is I find those guitars where I notice that there is something there. Then I need to find out what it is that is there, which is where the bonding sets in. I got my Ibby S series and I saw something in it. I bought it as a metal axe, but when I played it I over time noticed that to me it was not a metal axe, that thing that was there drove me towards general rock things. Bit poppy, bit old school.
Therefore I went and got the according PUs and bäm, it was there. Now it is my dear Rose.
This is generally the bonding process with all my guitars. I see something, let it show me what that is and then make according adjustments to bring that thing out even more and use it. The guitar dictates to the most part what I play with it too. I automaticaly play differently on all my axes, though my general preferences always shine through of course. It is that back and forth, giving and taking which you develop during bonding.
Now Rose, Kezia, Yuna, Dawn, Jana and Kayla form a beautiful bunch. Some more I have in mind (tone and feel and all) and gotta find them / have them build like Wendy (a Tele), Deedra a LP and the newest vision is a Cosi, plus I will certainly meet new ones along the way I cannot even forsee. The friends you make along the way, am I right?
To non guitarists or generally instrument players I tend to seem strange, but hey, what I can not say I can play thanks to them. That sharing and expression of emotions makes for a strong and deep bond.
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Now Rose, Kezia, Yuna, Dawn, Jana and Kayla form a beautiful bunch. Some more I have in mind (tone and feel and all) and gotta find them / have them build like Wendy (a Tele), Deedra a LP and the newest vision is a Cosi, plus I will certainly meet new ones along the way I cannot even forsee. The friends you make along the way, am I right?
We had a whole thread about naming guitars a few years ago:
https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=13835.0 (https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=13835.0)
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My 93' Jackson is called Lilith and my DK2M is called Fey. Would have to come up with names for my other babies...
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I'm not very inventive with names I'm afraid.
I call my Explorer 'The Warpig' now after its pickups.
The SG is just 'The SG' :?
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This is mine.
a 1996 Gibson Les Paul Custom in cherry burst. Although it looks more like yellow to wine red these days, which is cool. I lusted for an LPC for a long time and this was the cheapest one I've ever seen. I prefer the Norlin spec guitars to this one now, but this is like an old friends and it's been with me to a lot of places. I keep it at my Dads place and play it when I visit him.
I just got it because it was cheap at the time and it played ok. I added A-Bombs and the TP-6 bridge and removed the guard. It's got some tour scars but nothing too bad. No breaks. I've played it at some shows I never thought I'd play the likes of so I guess those memories are attached to it, more so than bonding with it for playability reasons.
I'm currently favouring a Natural finish 1981 Norlin era Custom. 3 piece neck with a volute. It's been looked after and plays SO well! I couldn't walk away. Doesn't have the history with me that my old 96 has though.
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Here's my fave (hence the username) 1979 Guild S-60, maybe it's the fact we were born in the same year that makes me gel with this guitar so much. It's been gigged, dropped, used and abused but still plays like a dream.
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I'm not very inventive with names I'm afraid.
I call my Explorer 'The Warpig' now after its pickups.
The SG is just 'The SG' :?
Mine are just called "the white doublecut Les Paul Junior", "the white singlecut Les Paul Junior" and things like that..... it might actually be sensible to gave them names. Or maybe numbers.... :?
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I also just give my guitar descriptive names.
In terms of bonding its hard to say. I only really bond with the guitars I play live, but I of course don't take out a guitar I wouldn't want damaged. Generally the guitars I bond with the most come out from leftfield, and are often cheaper instruments, or ones other people overlook.. something with a bit of character.
I like alot my mustard yellow Yamaha SGV, and also my 84 Flying V.
1984 is not a fine year according to V experts. The body is alder and the neck is maple. Also the neck shape is unsophisticated and the Dirty Fingers are somewhat gruff. At first I hated the Johnny Winter signature. Then one day I was playing a show with it and I realised it was a really awesome guitar.
The SGV is for me kind of like a strat (I'm really into strats these days), but its got enough Gibson features (scale length and frets) to make it easy to pick up. Also it looks wild, where as strats look boring. Its my strat alternative for live playing. For some reason I really like the neck on it, though it is unremarkable.
I should one day get an expert to measure my favourite necks so I know what I like about them :)
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Here's my fave (hence the username) 1979 Guild S-60, maybe it's the fact we were born in the same year that makes me gel with this guitar so much. It's been gigged, dropped, used and abused but still plays like a dream.
love that body shape!
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I'm in the Philly camp with names, though I tend to add the year too, like 60 LP Spec, 71 LP Custom or the maker if they are custom made guitars (Wez Junior, Bravewood 58 Strat [I have 4 Bravewood strats so I have to differentiate them!])
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1984 is not a fine year according to V experts. The body is alder and the neck is maple. Also the neck shape is unsophisticated and the Dirty Fingers are somewhat gruff. At first I hated the Johnny Winter signature. Then one day I was playing a show with it and I realised it was a really awesome guitar.
I had no idea Gibson were making alder-bodied Vs (or indeed any other alder-bodied guitars) at that time, really surprised by that! :o
The SGV is for me kind of like a strat (I'm really into strats these days), but its got enough Gibson features (scale length and frets) to make it easy to pick up. Also it looks wild, where as strats look boring. Its my strat alternative for live playing. For some reason I really like the neck on it, though it is unremarkable.
I should one day get an expert to measure my favourite necks so I know what I like about them :)
I don't know if there's any consistency at all in Yamaha neck shapes, but about 20 years ago I had a Pacifica 604. Didn't have it very long at all, I swapped it for a Strat, but I do remember really liking the neck on it - it was rounded, fairly chunky (although perhaps not so much compared with the guitars I buy now!) but narrow at the nut, probably 1-5/8" like a vintage Fender. I think I like that kind of deep-but-not-wide shape, the complete opposite of a "speed" neck.
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Hmm, I love my strat (which is why I bkp'd it) although I'm not really a strat fan... I went out to (probably) buy a tele... but it's my favourite.
I have a vintage 52 hotrod tele that I had to special order... and I've never really bonded with it. Breaks my heart, was my most expensive guitar by a long way!
My Tokai Loverock was bought over the Internet (it looked the nicest out of about 20) and was reasonably cheap. Love that one too! Felt nice straight 'out of the box'.
Couldn't name them though, then again I don't go in for naming things (I did name my last mountain bike but that was an exception/brain phart)
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I've owned so many guitars that it's actually a bit embarrassing, if I kept one for a few months that would be an achievement. Looking back, I was practically a trader rather than a player for a long while (which is why it's embarrassing to admit), always searching for the one. I kept trading guitars upwards getting more and more expensive each time.
I had a bit of an epiphany when I got a beaten to death RG550 off another forum for under £200 and realized I was having infinetly more fun with it than all the expensive stuff I had knocking about. All those guitars helped me find out what I didn't like more than what I did like.
Got there in the end, though - I'm practically married to my Daemoness and it's been the only electric I've owned for a few years, it's so cool to see the guitar age 8)
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1984 is not a fine year according to V experts. The body is alder and the neck is maple. Also the neck shape is unsophisticated and the Dirty Fingers are somewhat gruff. At first I hated the Johnny Winter signature. Then one day I was playing a show with it and I realised it was a really awesome guitar.
I had no idea Gibson were making alder-bodied Vs (or indeed any other alder-bodied guitars) at that time, really surprised by that! :o
yeah, I assume everyone said how Gibson's standards were dropping, not using the right woods, bolt-on neck guitars (M3, Corvus), MDF guitars (Sonex) etc. I imagine it was a bit like now really!
In fact I rather like those 84 Vs, or my one at least. The action can go very low, and to be honest its better put together than my '79 V.. and it has a silky ebony fingerboard!
The SGV is for me kind of like a strat (I'm really into strats these days), but its got enough Gibson features (scale length and frets) to make it easy to pick up. Also it looks wild, where as strats look boring. Its my strat alternative for live playing. For some reason I really like the neck on it, though it is unremarkable.
I should one day get an expert to measure my favourite necks so I know what I like about them :)
I don't know if there's any consistency at all in Yamaha neck shapes, but about 20 years ago I had a Pacifica 604. Didn't have it very long at all, I swapped it for a Strat, but I do remember really liking the neck on it - it was rounded, fairly chunky (although perhaps not so much compared with the guitars I buy now!) but narrow at the nut, probably 1-5/8" like a vintage Fender. I think I like that kind of deep-but-not-wide shape, the complete opposite of a "speed" neck.
It is fairly chunky, and the nut width may indeed be a smidgen narrow - I should measure it.
I think its a misconception that thin neck = fast, thick neck = slow. Obviously there are limits, but you can go pretty thick and still play rapidly. I don't mind a Fender Modern C, but any thinner and I don't like it very much, probably end up playing slower then to be honest.
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I have two guitars that I have had for over 30 years and I bonded with them many years ago- my old Strat and my Precision bass. But I also have one that I bought for next to nothing, a Fender MIM Tele which hung around the house and was used for noodling around. Until one day when I picked up the wrong Fender case and got to a gig with the Tele. having no option I played the gig and bonded with the Tele (it has country boys btw). That was about 2 to 3 years ago and it has been my main gigging guitar since though I did take my old Strat out for an airing at a gig recently and fell in love with it all over again. So I have 3 guitars that I love- and love is not the wrong word. My MIJ Strat is nice but I really don't feel the same about it as I do about the others. My Gibson 339 is almost there though. I haven't quite bonded with it yet but I am getting there.
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I only own ONE good guitar so the bond I have with it is quite special, rather like jimmy page and his 'no1' or his wife as he calls it. When you have less guitars but they are much higher quality it makes the relationship that bit more special. I never give guitars names though! :lol:
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I never give guitars names though! :lol:
+1, its just weird! I know some poeple who name their bikes as well which is also odd.
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Nowt wrong with naming guitars ;)
Like gwEm, I've bonded most with my two main gigging guitars. My 'eureka' moment actually happened with my first PRS McCarty - as soon as I picked it up and played it I realised immediately that this was the feel, vibe and tone I'd been looking for in 20+ years of guitar playing.
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I fell in love with all of my Gibson's as soon as I picked them up. No naming them here for me.
Paddy
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It was my wife's idea partly to name my guitars :-)
I call the ESP Eclipse "Goldie", because of the gold hardware, and the Voodoo "Claire", although I don't even remember exactly why.
I think the Voodoo Les Paul is the only guitar I've bonded a bit with... all the other ones are in theory replacable tools for me.