In reply to BlueInGreen - Jon :
It's funny you mention that; I just got done messing with it for about an hour. I played until I couldn't play anymore! Gotta work on those chops.
With the tone pot in, you get full beef THICC humbucker action. With it out, it seems to split the coil, and it sounds like a Tele bridge pickup with all the twang you can imagine. The pickup itself is likely a Wilkinson Alnico V, based on the sound and looks, and I know they are capable of doing coil split things. It's really easy to dial in breakup and varied dirty/clean tones with this setup.
The switch full forward seems to be something like a treble boost, and is great for solos and shredding. Middle position seems to be the "normal", and the back/bottom seems to subdue the sound a bit, so I suspect that makes it pot of phase. I have zero idea outside of my ears how to confirm any of this.
I did notice that around the 12th fret, a couple of strings are more dead than others, so I suspect I'll have to make some very minor tweaks. I am almost certain it has 9's on it, and I think it will have 9's on it going forward. It's light and easy to play. I feel like I can do things on this guitar that I can't do on some of my other ones. It's such a cool guitar and I love it.
I'm gonna buy a decent acoustic soon, I was going to awhile back but ended up with a baritone and a piccolo acoustic somehow lol
Kinda thinking of a Michael Kelly Forte, Zircote maybe? I don't know if I can play one locally, anyone played one?
A bit more on this thing:
I finally had a few minutes to play the kit with it in the setup. I dated it, and it's from the mid-90's, so it fits all the rest of my stuff aesthetically. It replaces a much beloved Sabian AAX Chinese that I got about 25 years back that developed a serious crack. I've been looking for a replacement for that one for a while, so with that gear trade-in, I sampled all of the Chinese cymbals they had in the store and came away with this. The only one they had that I liked better was a vintage Zildjian K that was north of $200, and it wasn't significantly better, honestly.
While it sounded good there in the store, it kinda threw me for a loop at home. Unlike the AAX, you really need to lay into it to get sound out of it, and it CUTS big time when you do. I usually play these upside down, but I might have to flip it right side up, because it has a real bell and can make a bunch of other trashy stick tones. I am used to bashing away on these, but this one is a little more complex and musical. I think I'll just have to get used to it. It does make me want to explore other "specialty" trashy sounding cymbals though and maybe add another one to the kit. They had a Meinl Classic with holes in it that was intriguing, but this sounded better.
In reply to Tony Sestito :
That's awesome! I have a china with a bell on the kit too and it adds a different dimension.
Also, it's loud as berkeley, pretty much a WMD in the wrong hands lol
Went to the big city and played a bunch of acoustics, although not the exact one I wanted to play.
Found out I really like Breedlove's necks , the 2 I played were pretty damn beefy which was surprising. Played 2 De Angelicos that were very easy to play although the action was too low for someone with my heavy handed strumming. I like Koa quite a lot and I did get to play 2 Ibanez with a port in the side facing the player and I'm a big fan there
Reinforced that I very much dont like Yamahas and will never buy one. Played a 4000 dollar Taylor and ....didn't see why it was 4k.
Still probably getting the Forte
In reply to Antihero :
I e never touched a Taylor or a Gibson acoustic that I thought was worth the money. Conversely, I've never touched a Martin that I didn't love.
The odd part for me is the acoustic I ended up with. I learned on an old Yamaha-made Eterna. 1986? Idk. Always sounded great, still does, but I couldn't find a Yamaha that I felt at home with, and I looked hard. I actually ended up buying a second hand Epiphone EJ200. Don't like the Gibson jumbos at all, can't put down the cheap version. Funny how that works sometimes. Of the guitars I currently own, I've had that epi the longest by far. It's a lifer and it was $300.
The Eterna belongs to my mom, who doesn't play, but I sent it home for my younger siblings to have. Sister has learned a little, brother doesn't seem interested but he may change. I may end up with that one again in a few years. I'll try to get a picture. Just an old standard dred. The cardboard case has been falling apart since 2002.
In reply to barefootcyborg5000 :
I played a epi ej200 too actually, it was a very nice guitar really, just brighter than I like but a very nice amount of volume.
I'm weird, I like a guitar that can be boomy when I need it to be.
Played a few Martins too, I didn't dislike any of them really. Played a few Fenders, a Guild, a company I cant remember the name of that wasn't impressive. Played an Alvarez bari that made my cheap Bari look like crap.
I think Yamahas and Martins are great guitars for the average player but I like guitars that veer off the middle of the dial. They gotta be louder, bassier, bigger, crazier etc for them to get my attention. The Forte touches on a few of those and the upper port idea is superb. I now get a real time exact representation of the tone so I can modify what I'm doing for the song
Well , because I'm crazy I now have 2 acoustics on the way lol
Mom's Eterna
she bought it new in 1986 or so. Before I was a thought. Never learned. Loaned it to a cousin for school, it got stolen and recovered and sat in a closet until I picked it up in 2000.
In reply to barefootcyborg5000 :
That's awesome, I don't think I've ever seen one
In reply to Antihero :
I've seen one other, but it was a different model and very much not of the same quality. Made in Taiwan, all solid woods, spruce and mahogany as is traditional. The neck is a rather deep U shape, but it plays pretty comfortably with light strings.
Acoustics have always been an oddity for me. A few I've had for a long time - my Ovation Classical (deep bowl w/ cutaway) since the early/mid-90s, a Gibson L48 (archtop w/ no cutaway or pickup) also bought in the early/mid 90s, and a Tacoma dreadnought I bought in 1999. More recently, I've pickup an old Ovation shallow-bowl from the 80s as well as a Takamine MIJ classical (didn't need, but plays so nicely, sounds so good and was so freakin' cheap I couldn't not by it).
Unfortunately, my separated right shoulder makes playing a normal body acoustic painful after a short period of time so the only acoustic I can play right now without pain is the 80s Ovation.
I've never tried a Martin that really set my heart on fire and Taylors are hit or miss. Some sound OK, but again - not enough to make me want to buy one. I did try a Taylor many years ago that made me regret not buying it. One of the nicest playing and sounding acoustics I've ever tried.
barefootcyborg5000 said:
In reply to Antihero :
I've seen one other, but it was a different model and very much not of the same quality. Made in Taiwan, all solid woods, spruce and mahogany as is traditional. The neck is a rather deep U shape, but it plays pretty comfortably with light strings.
" Rather deep U shape" you say???
I love huge necked guitars, so now it's on my list
In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :
I agree on Taylors, none I played really played well ( for me) but one sounded really nice.
It was above 2k though, and if I'm paying that it better play beautiful too
I have an acoustic I should probably dig out. It's an Ovation Celebrity CC057 I bought around 2001. I liked it at the time, but I haven't played the thing since it took a dive and chunked the headstock. All this acoustic talk makes me want to see how it's doing after sitting in a gig bag for close to a decade.
Tony Sestito said:
All the bass suggestions above are great. I will also heavily endorse listening to Black Sabbath and learning Geezer's stuff. When I was first starting out, the Paranoid album was where I started, particularly with Paranoid, Iron Man, and Planet Caravan. I eventually learned the whole album, then started my way through the rest of the catalog. Some other great songs to learn that taught me a TON about playing...
Okay. A week into it. Practicing every day and having a lot of fun and making measurable progress. Took a lesson last Wednesday, and he started me with "Sweet Leaf", "Paranoid", and "Don't Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow)". Got another lesson again Wednesday.
I'm noticing I lean a lot stronger towards the funk / R&B / jazz side of the spectrum. I've been working on and made progress on:
- Chameleon
- Owner of a Lonely Heart
- Glory Box
- Zombie
- House of the Rising Sun
- Enemy (the theme from 'Arcane')
I really really want to learn "If You Want Me to Stay". That's going to be a challenge, but one I think is a solid song that I can keep working and just leveling up as my skills improve.
Learning an instrument today is so much easier than when I was a teenager. I'm not stuck sitting in front of a piano by myself with just some sheet music. Endless lessons online. Programs with accompaniment. The ability to play along with someone on YouTube and slow down the play speed to 0.5x or 0.75x
I inspired my wife to *literally* dust off her old guitar and start practicing again. Looking forward to practicing some together. Gotta pick out some songs that we can work on together. "Zombie" is a solid pick for that. See what else she's excited to learn.
Look what you guys made me do.
First time out of its bag in years. It's pretty beat, with lots of dings and dents I didn't remember, but even after years of sitting, it was damn near close to still being in tune!
I paid $225 for this used at Guitar Center back around 2002 in near perfect condition. A bandmate had a vintage Ovation Balladeer (the one with all the crazy sound holes near the neck) and I loved how it played. I wanted something that was comfortable and easy to play, so it was between an Ovation and the then-new Fender Stratocustic. I saw this, immediately loved it, and bought it on the spot.
A few years back, I was shuffling around my guitars, and this happened. It took a tumble and the corner broke off. Broke my heart and I tossed it in the gig bag. This is the 1st time its been out since then. I'll probably just dab some black paint on there so it doesn't stick out so much.
I'll be tossing a set of strings on it soon and playing it more. Even with the rusty, nearly 20 year old strings, it still plays great. When I was in my band, we actually used this over that aforementioned Balladeer on multiple recordings; it sounds great through the factory preamp. Someday, I'd like to replace it with an all-wood acoustic, but for now, it's back in the lineup.
In reply to Beer Baron 🍺 :
Really cool that you are settling into a comfort zone already. Play what you like, and keep at it!
Antihero said:
In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :
I agree on Taylors, none I played really played well ( for me) but one sounded really nice.
It was above 2k though, and if I'm paying that it better play beautiful too
The one I wish I'd bought was used for about $750, IIRC. But that was about 25 years ago, so around $1400 in 2024 money - good luck finding a used USA Taylor for that price today (their budget line didn't exist back then). I had hopes the new-ish budget nylon string Taylor would speak to me, but neither of the examples I've played in a couple of music stores did.
In reply to Beer Baron 🍺 :
That's awesome, and House of the Rising Sun is a good way to get in to slightly different time signatures
Antihero said:
In reply to Beer Baron 🍺 :
That's awesome, and House of the Rising Sun is a good way to get in to slightly different time signatures
I feel like I've got a leg up on time signatures and rhythms. I'm a dancer. I instruct swing, blues, tango, and fusion. I *love* 6/8 time. At the lesson last week, the instructor was surprised at my sense of time for someone with zero previous guitar experience.
Tony Sestito said:
In reply to Beer Baron 🍺 :
Really cool that you are settling into a comfort zone already. Play what you like, and keep at it!
Trying not to get *too* settled into a comfort zone. I want to challenge myself and keep my repertoire broad. Get comfortable with a good variety of genres and styles.
Looking forward to building up the skills to tackle target songs like "Roundabout" and "Rio".
In reply to Beer Baron 🍺 :
Want a fun way to shut up people playing too loud at guitar center? Play Manic Depression, it's in 3/4.
I've done it a few times and the loud guy that plays over the top of everyone in the store doesn't know how to play to 3/4 lol
In reply to Beer Baron 🍺 :
Now that I know what you like-
"I Want You Back", by the Jackson Five. Also- "YMCA", "September", "Hold On, I'm Coming", "Escape" (the pina colada song), and "December 1963 (Oh what a Night)"
In reply to Recon1342 :
Good suggestions. Looking at tabs on these, "Hold On, I'm Comin" is a *really* good suggestion. I'm not at that level yet, but I can see it. That'll be really good practice to build up some of the skills I need to be able to hit songs like "Rio".
Acoustic guitar #1 has landed, sounds awesome!
