All Activity

Clamp onto a wooden block or "caul" instead of directly on the guitar wood. Attach heavy felt or cork to one side of yoir caul of you like.

@matonanjinI'd take a sizable chunk of cash for me to part with it! I've had it about 10 yrs, and the more I play it (lately every day) the more I love it. Cheers; Neil

The title is self Explanatory. The Five Most Expensive Guitars Ever Sold

If you have been contemplating taking the plunge into full-featured notation software, good news: Finale is now priced at $299, a full 50% drop from its previous list price of $599. The learning curve is a bit steep (think Photoshop) but the help system is voluminous and there are many online tutorials to get the beginner up and running. Finale has been a huge boost to my music education. The ability to write music and hear it played back is priceless. The principal competitors to Finale are probably Avid's Sibelius and the open source, free MuseScore. I believe Steve uses Finale. Their capabilities are essentially equivalent; in my case the choice was a matter of compatibility with my theory instructor. Here's a sample of mine from a couple of years ago, created six weeks from the starting line.

And thank you for sharing your inspirational, encouraging story!

Quick history lesson: back in the mid 90s I bought my first guitar, learned a few chords, and jammed with friends. A few years later I was never playing, sold my gear and had nothing from about 2006-2010, started learn and master in 2010 but only stuck with it off and on for about a year…I never really progressed, my plateau was low, I just kind of stayed at the same level. then in Jan 2021 I said “that’s it, time to play” and made it my mission to practice daily, every day, and stick with it. here I am 18 months later and I finally feel like I can call myself a “guitarist” and while I still have a whole world of material to learn, when I watch a tutorial, or see how a friend plays, I understand what is happening and can use that for myself. for me, a big hump has always been the opening solo in Metallica’s song One. Hammer ons, pulls offs, bends, sweeps, all over the fret board from 2nd fret to the 19th. I finally can play it! thanks for all the encouragement it’s a journey and dedicated practice.

@Plantsman13 I hope you enjoyed the performance at the club. I’m sure you know that Jazz guitar is not really gear specific, but it does set the standard. Ed Bickert, Ted Greene, John Scofield are good examples of jazz players using Teles. Although purists may claim that Gibson L-5 is the only true jazz box, what you’re most comfortable with, matters the most. Great jazz tone can be dialed in using solid-, semi-, or hollow-body guitar. Nonetheless, I see that the most frequently used guitar types for Jazz are: ES-335, ES-175, and L-5. It’s nice to have the options.

Congratulations on a great looking guitar. I was at a local Club featuring Nicole Zuraitis, a jazz pianist who has a lovely voice, and her guitarist was performing with a Telecaster-like guitar. I’m not a Jazz Cat, but the Tele surprised me. Go figure.

I’ve been trying to complete my guitar arsenal for the past 9 months. Not an easy task, especially when you’re looking for an affordable archtop jazz guitar. Since I’m not into the used market, I initially chose D’Angelico Excel EXL-1. But, after nine months of delays and no ETA, I began to consider alternatives that might be still in stock. I already have an entry level jazz box, so this time I needed something better. I settled on an Epiphone Broadway. But, I didn’t want just a stock item. I decided to have it customized to sound more like a Gibson L-5. Guitar tech who inspected the electronics said that the pots were actually CTS and the toggle switch was Gibson spec. Those parts didn’t have to be replaced. Since the stock item comes with 10 – 46 string gauge, that had to be changed. I ordered a new TUSQ nut slotted for 12 – 52 string gauge, flat wound strings, Gibson ‘57 Classic humbuckers, and low action setup. Hardshell case had to be added as well. All this made the guitar still affordable, but not cheap. There was one thing I wasn’t sure about - the Frequensator tailpiece. And as luck would have it, the guitar tech actually owns a 40s Epiphone archtop and has nothing but good things to say about the Frequensator, and the way that it balances out the bass and treble strings. Here’s what the person I was dealing with had to say about the archtop after the modifications: “The guitar is all done and sounds great! I just gave it a quick test through a Deluxe Reverb and the new pickups and the set up with flat wounds has made a huge difference!” and “Let me know how you get along with the guitar once it arrives, I was quite impressed once it was finished so I'm hoping you have a similar experience.” I got this beauty out of province. Even though it was strictly an Internet deal, I was confident about the end result. The stock guitar might’ve been transferred to a preferred local store for my personal inspection before modifications. However, I was impressed enough with detailed communication and the level of service, so I passed on that. So what’s my experience with it? I’ve only had it for a few days, but my initial experience with the instrument is very positive. It is easy to play and sounds really great through my BluesCube Artist. It does cause feedback if it’s too close to the amp, so it’s something to be aware of. I think the modifications were a good choice. There are no flaws in the finish, and I find the whole guitar a fine piece of workmanship. Despite its L-5 dimensions and tone wood combination, I find the guitar quite comfortable and not very heavy. If you’re into jazz guitar and not a beginner player, this guitar offers a big bang for your buck. Add a few modifications and you have a premium jazz box. By the way, it’s not a paid endorsement, just an honest review. In case someone finds it useful, I’m including the full specs (modifications listed in bold) for reference: 2019 EPIPHONE BROADWAY – Hand-Crafted in China Headstock: Large "Clipped Ear" style with Mother-of-Pearl "Vine" Inlay Tuners: Grover Rotomatic, 18:1 ratio Hardware Plating: Gold Nut: TUSQ XL ¼” Epiphone slotted Nut Width: 1 11/16” Neck Material: Hard Maple Neck Shape: Slim-taper, C Profile Neck Joint: Glued-in, Set Neck Fingerboard Material: Pau Ferro (offers feel and tone between rosewood and ebony) Fingerboard Inlay: Mother-of-pearl/Abalone Block and Triangle Fingerboard Radius: 12" Frets: 20 medium-jumbo Scale Length: 25 ½" Body Type: Hollow-body Body Shape: Broadway with Venetian Cutaway Body Material: Laminated Maple Top Material: Select Spruce Binding: Multi-ply on Headstock, Body & Fingerboard, Single-ply on F holes Body Size: 17” Lower Bout, 3 1/8” Deep Body Finish: Gloss Color: Vintage Natural Pick-guard: Multi-bound Imitation "Tortoise" with metal "E" Bridge: Adjustable Floating, Pau Ferro Tailpiece: Frequensator™ Split Trapeze Neck Pickup: Gibson ‘57 Classic Humbucker Bridge Pickup: Gibson ‘57 Classic Humbucker Controls: 2-Volume, 2-Tone Pickup Selector: 3-way Toggle Switch Strings: D’Addario Chromes 12 – 52 Flat Wound Optional: Jumbo Acoustic Hardshell Case I may install a Tune-o-matic bridge for archtop, or even change the tailpiece in the future. But for now, I’ll leave that vintage look intact.

This is a first recording on my new resonator guitar. It took some experimenting with the EQ of my DAW because the tone of this guitar is quite different from my other acoustics. It is also louder, so the signal-to-noise ratio is better, especially when compared to my all mahogany parlor. Wim.