Six String

Beauty! Maybe just the photo but the the fretboard looks super wide. Illusion? Good call on straplocks IMHO. Are you a Schaller or Dunlop guy? Something else?

You'd have to be way more of a gear-aholic than me to listen to a 2 hour webcast on amps.

The cut and paste link didn't work and the L&M link leads to the list of articles but I can figure out which one you were referring to. I have to say at this point a product like the Line 6 Pod Go puts near state of the art modeling in reach of anyone considering a mid-range price level tube amp. The Pod Go delivers the same amp, cab and effects modeling of the Helix in a smaller less complicated form for a very attractive price. As a bit of a gear-aholic, who's symptoms have been in remission since going to a Helix LT, I feel the Pod Go is a piece of gear a beginner or intermediate player could be very happy with for a very long time for playing at home recording or even gigging.

Great job! I pretty much only play rock tunes and have a blast. I see the same challenges in your recording that I regularly face as I struggle to play and sing at the same time, especially if there is a tricky strum pattern or unfamiliar chords. I noticed that your playing and singing both improve when you get to the open chord section. For several bars, you don't look at your hands once even through the arpeggiated part. You are on autopilot through these passages and muscle memory for the cords you have down cold are allowing you to relax and freeing brain power to focus on the vocals. It's the barre powerchord sections where you need to look at your hands to get the grip in the correct fret that overwhelms the brain processing power. The only thing you need to perfect this performance is focus on the parts that are hard for you and repetitions. When you can put those barres on autopilot you'll crush this tune. The feeling when you get a tune down to where its effortless is awesome, and you are well on your way. Keep up the awesome progress.

And conversely, Billy Gibbons and Tony Iommi are known for very light gauge strings and no one says they have thin tone which is why I feel its a good experiment for players to explore for themselves. They may find the prefer the SRV heavy is better path but they may find enlightenment on the Billy Gibbons path On set ups, the changes to mine have been relatively minor (surprising even to me). As you note, you most likely will need to adjust for some string buzz with a touch higher bridge, but you will also learn to attack the strings lighter and you're muting will improve. I also needed to adjust the neck relief on one guitar, but not the other (at least not yet). I continue to tweak on the set up as I adjust to the new feel and the guitars settle in to the new tensions. The ability to experiment like this is another reason I've always advocated people need to learn to do their own basic set ups. You don't have to go pay a good luthier for a set up and you rarely find a good luthier (or even guitar tech) at your local Guitar Center. IMHO, the biggest change going to a much lighter gauge string will be to how you approach the guitar Both right and left had technique will have to be adjusted. I'm still getting used to it but feel its forcing me to develop much more finesse and my bends and vibrato are improved greatly over my playing with 10's. That said, I'm mainly a rhythm player though and even there those all barre chord songs are way less fatiguing. You do have to learn to lighten your touch though or you pull everything sharp. For me, this change has been the most inspirational change I've made since going to a digital modeling rig.

Haven't tried on an electric yet but I went from 10's to 8's on my Les Pauls. I tried 9's and 8's and after some initial adjustments decided I liked the 8's better. I first tried Earnie Ball Extra Slinky's then got a few sets of Billy Gibbons Mexican Lottery brand from Dunlop and think they are my new strings. I do figure the lighter strings may need more frequent changes but as you said I don't think you give up tone.

I'd heard the new Management of Gibson was going down the "Sue them" path yet again, suing Heritage among others. I seriously doubt it will come to much and Heritage certainly disagree with the notion they are breaking any agreement as they have sued Gibson. https://guitar.com/news/gibson-sued-by-heritage/

Mike, I also haven't shopped recent Gibson production so can't offer an opinion but I can give a couple of alternatives you may consider besides looking at used Gibby's Heritage Guitars are built in the old Gibson factory in Kalamazoo and are really nice looking LP style guitars. Their quality seems both high and consistent. https://heritageguitars.com Another option is Corsa Guitars. Corsa started out doing mods on Les Paul Faded Standards aimed at the "Peter Green" tone. They upgrade with top of the line hardware and their own pickups. Many models will have a push pull knob for the Peter Green out of phase tone. Corsa maintains the thin finish on the fadededs makes them the best sounding Gibsons. They have chambered bodies so are also very light for Les Pauls. When Gibson stopped producing the Standard Faded Corsa started building guitars from scratch so you can have a fully custom Les Paul where you choose the body block and neck carve for less that a Gibson Historic. I had a chance to buy a Corsa that had been owned by Steve Miller for a not insane price, but I didn't know what they were until too late. They also get trade in Gibsons or find Fadeds to mod so they have used Corsa modded Gibsons for sale from time to time. https://corsaguitars.com Like matonanjin I can't say anything but good about PRS either.

Meh, every one has an opinion on this and every one has line where people on the other side are collectors/non-players/posers/clowns/etc./etc.. I think I'm pretty close to the right number with 7 electrics (Strat, Tele, 2 Gibson Les Pauls, Gibson ES-135, Epi SG and Flying V and 4 acoustics (two suitable for campfires). I would like a P90 equipped guitar and nicer Tele than the one I have but doubt I'll have many more guitars. I hardly ever pick up an acoustic but regularly play most of the electrics except the Strat. The SG is in my office and I pick up to to do skills drills without plugging in. All the rest get played though the LP's get the most action. At that I'm probably on the wrong side of some peoples lines.

I guess it depends on your definition of "portability". For me, the Helix (or a Pod Go), a PA speaker for a monitor and a guitar is way more portable than a heavy tube amp and analog pedal board to take to a jam or gig. At home, my Helix stays planted in my studio and that's where I go to practice. If moving quickly from the family room to the bedroom to the deck is key and you must have bluetooth, then a THR wins.

For that cash, I'd strongly recommend checking out the Line 6 Pod Go and a powered PA speaker. The Pod Go delivers much of the capability and the tone of a Helix for very competitive price compared to entry level tube amps. Its like having a collection of awesome amps/cabs/effects and works for practice, recording and gigging. Its a seriously capable piece of kit. It sounds good at low volume through a powered PA speaker, studio monitors or even silent playing with headsets and can go to a big PA for gigging. The Helix was a real game changer for me. I haven't bought any gear since going with the Helix, but would have gotten a Pod Go if it was available 2 years ago.

1) What strings do you all use? I'm experimenting after seeing this and similar articles. I currently have 8's on one LP and 9's on the other. 2) What are your thoughts on the results of this? Tony Iommi and Billy Gibbons are both known for using very light gauge strings. Neither is known for a thin tone. Lighter strings require an adjustment in your playing, but its an adjustment that requires less effort and more finesse which puts less stress on fingers. I believe it could prolong my ability to continue playing as I get older, so I'm making the adjustment now. For me, vibrato, bends and vibrato on bends are more achievable but still not a skill I've mastered. 3) Has it changed your opinion of what string gauge to use? Yes, I'll not go back to 10's. 8's are a huge initial adjustment and still trying to decide if I want to go that light. Sometimes, I seem to prefer the 8's over the 9's in some ways. The thin bass strings give me more issues at this point, but at first I had to really lighten up not to pull everything sharp on the high strings. Ernie Ball just came out with a set of 8.5 to 42's which actually sound perfect to me however since so many a so firmly entrenched with the "what came on the guitar" vs. "what's best for me", I worry that they will not get a lot of market penetration and will be hard to find. Going to 8's from 10's absolutely will require you to tweak your truss rod and maybe bridge height. 9's you may or may not not need to do a set up.

Sure isn't like the old days when a post like this would prompt 20 different posters to congratulate you on the new amp and share their experiences with similar amps. So, since it seems its just the odd stray (being me), I'll say I hope you are enjoying the new amp and being inspired to learn something new and Congrats X 20.

I don't remember who I heard if from but I often repeat that "the player determines the genre, the guitar is a tool". Pretty much every (Fill in the blank)genre guitar has been used by someone for every other genre of music. Rock Flying V's for blues, Country Tele's for heavy metal, Jazz Box Hollowbodies for Rockabilly etc, etc etc. If you enjoy playing it and it sounds good to you for what you are playing - its good.

Thanks. Trying to find some way to wrap my head around modes that will allow me to apply them to the fretboard. This is going to help with how to apply them.

Congrats on the new Axe! I have a Classic Vibe Tele and really enjoy playing it and I've thought about trading up to to an American but I'm pretty committed to my relationship with my Les Paul's and the CV plays and sounds great so I'll probably never pull the trigger.

Interesting. I wonder if the problems started after a change of some sort at the company? I took zero care of mine, frequently used it as a PA monitor at near full volume, carried it around to practices where it got bumped around and it worked fine and looked good as new when I let it go.

Double/triple check to confirm there are no "ID10t" errors since its been a while since you used the amp. Check your gain staging, where you are plugged in etc, etc, etc. These simple things are all mistakes I've made at various times. If you don't find a fix, look for an internal fuse, If not that then I concur with Eracer its time to visit a Tech but with a quality Solid State amp like a Fishman, I think its unlikely it died from sitting.

Update! Today's SDOD is the Quilter 45. A stomp pedal sized 45 watt amp for $99. You can add this to you pedalboard and only carry it and a speaker cab to you gig! Also handy for a guys using modelers like a Line 6 Stomp/Helix/Helix LT. I was considering one of these but came across a Crate PowerBlock locally, so I'm no longer in the market. Good shopping.

I'll admit to having more than one guitar I bought with the full intent of hanging on the wall because I liked they way they looked. I too have as many used guitars as new ones and none of the new ones that weren't on sale. Some turned out to be guitars I really enjoy playing, and some I thought I'd play are wall hangars. I'm one of those that takes a while to decide if I really like a guitar but if you like the way they look, they can be art in their own right IMHO.

Even though I'm not looking to add a new guitar I've made a point of checking out some of the "pointy" guitars like Schecter, Jackson and Ibanez over the past year. (Work travel had me hanging out in Guitar Center to get some play time in) I've mainly looked at entry level to mid level products from these companies and have to say they put out some products with quality equal to a Mexican Fender or similar. Maybe not quite the quality of a PRS SE, but also not quite as expensive either. Long story short, there are way too many good guitars and way too little time and the common web recommendations are really just reflections of what a lot of people do and there may well be a better choice for the same money for some players. I know its harder and take longer to find your axe but the old, "go play a lot of them" advice is still the best, but I'd add that it may pay to have an open mind and look beyond the popular recommendations online while you are doing it and look beyond Fender, Epi, and PRS for that first guitar

Yes, I use Udemy to take classes to keep up my Project Management Professional credential. I consitently take classes listed at north of $100 for $10-$12. Checking frequently and waiting for the sale is the key.

Thanks for the video. The Stomp is an amazing product. It has the same amps and effects as the big brother Helix/Helix LT, but lacks the dual processors and some of the I/O of the larger units, so you are more limited for effects and routing. However, I'm pretty confident a Stomp would cover our entire set list (from spanky clean like Tambourine Man and There She Goes to Heavy dirt like Hash Pipe and No More Mr Nice Guy). If the Stomp does Snapshots (which I haven't learned to use on my LT) I'm sure I could work out any and all effects I'd ever need with some effort to learn the capability. The only bummer is that a Stomp plus a 10" or 12" powered monitor, is still at a price point that would dissuade most beginners, otherwise it would be my go to recommendation. Its truly all many players will ever need as it will scale from "twinkle twinkle little star" in the bedroom to a full on stage show into a massive PA system and sound great all the way through. As is, its a great option for those ready to step into mid-high end modeling with a budget below the Helix or higher end modeler.

Very much agree with Randy on this. A Boss looper pedal is far more useful than the loopers built in to a multi-effects pedal even mid-high end ones like the Helix. I'm not a huge user of the loop function but when I want to, I hook up my Boss rather that try to use the built in one.

Your ability to save some money by going with a multi effects pedal is directly proportional to your ability to ignore the grass on the other side of the fence. Some are good at it, others, not so much. I owned electric guitars and tube amps for a long time before finally starting to learn to play them at 50. So with my background, I started down the tube amp and pedal path, and bought and sold several amps and pedals over a few year period. Then I decided to try a multi-effects digital pedal with an inexpensive Digi-Tech pedal that put me off the digital trail and back on the tube amp path for another couple of years mainly due to how fiddly it was, but also it didn't sound "real" to my ear. During this time I was hearing guys like CapM and a few others here getting fantastic results using 100% digital units like the Axe FX, so I knew what high end modelers were capable of. However, I thought they were more aimed at studio recording work and I was focused on trying to play live plus those units are pretty pricey. At the point I started going to regular band practices, lugging an amp head, cab and pedalboard, the idea of something easier to move started to become attractive, so I again took the digital plunge and picked up a used Line 6 Pod HD500x and powered PA speaker. The learning curve on that thing was like El Capitan, but I eventually got tones that kept me happy and the HD500x took me through a few live gigs as successfully as my tube rig. I was eventually tempted to trade the 500x in for a Helix LT. The 500x could sound as good as the Helix, but its way easier/faster to create a good sound with the Helix interface and there are a lot of cool effects in the Helix the 500x didn't have. Plus they continue to update the Helix, so I get new amps and effects when they update the firmware so I'd say its my main rig now though I still have my analog rig also. So, I was pretty bad at ignoring the grass on the other side of the fence and now have a stage ready tube rig and a stage ready digital rig and bought and sold both types of units loosing money along the way but also learning what works for me. So, don't worry if your path wanders, just enjoy the voyage and accept there are many paths to tonal nirvana.