Six String

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.

I love the guitar but can't answer your questions about a pickup. Blue Dog knows a good deal about electrifying acoustics so he might be able to help there. I know I really was jonesing for a Mini-GS but realized it was too nice for my use. In my case I needed a low cost small guitar I could travel with and use on the boat with now worries and ended up choosing a Martin LXM.

Ditto on the great job. I suffer with the same anxieties you express and have also been victim to all the gotcha's CapM relates. With 3 sets of material there are some songs where I'm just trying to hang on and get through. When the monitor mix is wrong, or you land on the wrong beat or there is a squeaker note and you don't know if it was you or the other guy all pile on to the anxiety level. However, I've also lead myself into a flub with over confidence when you start showing off or thinking about the next song or something besides the task at hand and suddenly you're flubbing up. We'll be doing our 3rd show with only 2 new songs in the set list but I am more anxious about this show that ever for some reason. I'm planning to run the sets every night I'm home between now and the show and focus on my problem areas in hopes of getting myself in a better place. It seems I always forget about this part right after the show...until the next show.

Really sorry to hear that you lost so much. Glad everyone is OK and you still have your home, even though its damaged. Best wishes for getting a suitable studio assembled ASAP.

This is the one I have. https://www.loop-master.com/looper-wtuner-strip-p-133.html

I wasn't trying to copy anyone, your Bonamassa rig is very close to my analog pedal board. That signal path goes: Guitar>5 Loop Switcher>Loop 1, Cry Baby Mini and Fulltone 70's Fuzz (I use one or the other at not together)>Loop 2, Univibe >Loop 3, MXR DynaComp >Loop 4, Wampler Euphoria > Loop 5 Unused > Budda Superdrive 18 (Bonamassa apparently used Budda's for at least one tour). EDIT - I left out that the loop switcher also has an out for tuner pedal. I have that routed to a Polytune. Definitely an important pedal. That is the one thing about my analog board that is clearly superior to the Helix. The tuner in the Helix is no where near as nice as a Polytune. In the Amp Effects loop the path is: Mooer Orange 90 (Clone of MXR EVH Phase 90)> MXR M234 Analog Chorus >TC Electronics Flasback Delay. The Flashback is a digital delay that gives you a bunch of delay types, and I highly recommend it for its versatility. This makes a pretty versatile rig and you can replace any pedal in it with whatever flavor you like. You can do without the loop switcher but it is a pretty slick pedal in that you leave all pedals on, and only insert the ones you are currently using into the signal path. With all the loops off, the signal path is guitar straight to the amp so you are not running though 4-5 pedals to the amp. I typically run with the Loop 3 - DynaComp always on, and add other effects in and out of the path depending on the song. On the Helix, I use 3 rigs to cover our 3 sets. The virtual rigs are set up in the Helix to be pretty close to the analog rig. They are based on a Fender Deluxe Reverb (maybe 80% of our material). a Marshall 1974X (most of the other 20%) and Marshall JCM800 (one or two songs). I run the Helix in stomp mode because that is what I am used to but there is a Snapshot mode that may be better for someone willing to learn how to use it.

Gotto is spot on. These days there are many paths to tonal nirvana. Tube amps are awesome but even a 5 watter sounds its best at volumes untenable for most of us at home (yet is not quite loud enough to gig). My 18 watt Budda through a 212, will make ears bleed at full roar, and I have nothing but respect for guys that can stand in front of a 50 or 100 watt tube amp through a 412, but most venues today would make you turn down or throw you out. If you can play loud at home and love tubes then they are awesome. Besides being able to dial in good sounds and any volume, modelers offer the advantage of offering an extensive amp and pedal collection. That can be a distraction, but once you get your base tones figured out usually 3-5 setups for most of us, you can forget about the rest until you feel adventurous or want to create some specific tone for a song you are learning. You can get great sounds out of a lower priced modeler as I learned from my POD HD500X. It took a lot of time to study and tweak to get those sounds though. I upgraded to the Helix mostly for the greatly simplified user interface and probably wouldn't have done that if I didn't see how quickly and easily my buddy was dialing in great tones on his Helix. The higher end units aim to be more intuitive but there is still not a 100 percent correlation to a tube amp so there is quite a learning curve even with higher end units.

Welcome to the digital dark side. Have fun dialing in the sounds you are looking for.

Congrats. I got to borrow a PR from a buddy, so got to play one for a while. It's a really killer little amp. I'm pretty much digital now, but my main amp model is the Fender Deluxe which is the closest thing in the Helix to that Princeton.

Hi Chris, Amp shopping is a journey that will likely lead you down many roads over a long period of time. I noticed your comment RE: Marshalls and I thought I'd throw out that "Marshall" covers a lot of territory. If you are looking in the price range of the Katana, I personally would take the Katana over any digital Marshall. It is an amp that could take you from bedroom to small bar gigs at an entry level price. There are other cool small amps int that price range if you don't also need something to deliver band volume. If you move up from the Katana price point. There is a big price jump to entry level Tube Marshalls (or other major name brands) like the Origin Series and then double plus some to get to amps some Marshall purists will tell you are the first "real Marshall". With any tube amp, including a Marshall, they sound best at full band volume and can be difficult to get the sound you want at more reasonable volume for solo practice at home. Many folks buy tube amps and are shocked at how loud they need to be to get that tube sound. I was a tube amp guy for many years, and keep a tube amp at our rehearsal space for use with my band at full volume. However, at home in my practice studio and out at gigs, I use a Helix Guitar processor through a PA monitor, as it sounds great at bedroom volume up to full band level (there is some tweaking involved between low volume and full blast). That said I know a mid-high range modeler like a Helix plus a monitor is not an entry level price point for most folks, but is in the price range with mid to high level tube amps but offers a lot of versatility for someone considering options in that price range and it includes dozens of amp models and hundreds of pedal models to help keep future GAS at bay. Thought I'd throw out some things to mull over as you do your research. Good luck.

Congrats! They get lots of love online. Blue Dog has one also. I considered the 100 watt to use for gigging in conjunction with my Helix plugged in through the FX loop I figured in the Helix died, I could resort to plugging in the front of the amp to save a gig. I decided to go with a Powerblock into a cab I already had, but it wouldn't be close to the versatility of the Katana if the Helix died on me.

That might make you miss out on the fun of having your band come in behind you and realizing you started the song way to fast and now you're gonna have to play it that way in front of people!

What most here have found is that getting into digital recording using a DAW and mic's is a learning curve just as steep as learning to play an instrument and can become just as gear intensive. Even doing a simple recording of acoustic and vocals through a DAW will require some learning, but if your goal is to eventually do high quality recordings of your playing, its the way to go. That said, I still wish I had gone with a Zoom/Tascam as my first recording solution rather than a DAW.

If you are an iPhone user, try the "Just Press Record" app. It will most likely suffice for what you want. If you want the capability to record at a higher quality but still a fairly simple setup/interface you can get a Zoom or Tascam portable recorder for around $100.

Congrats! That should inspire you keep on climbing!

Cool! I think you'll like it. EHX, Boss and MXR put out some really cool, reasonably price effects pedals. Just add gain a bit at a time and set the volume to be a little jump from your rhythm tone and you'll get it dialed in. Too much gain and/or too much volume boost are common issues trying to dial in a useable tone. FWIW, I have the EHX Soul Food but its not currently on my board, due to space considerations. The SF works best as a boost to put some hair on the amps tone and I among many don't love it at higher (still relatively low) gain settings. I got a deal on a used Wampler Euphoria and didn't have room for both as I would like. The SF is its own thing and I like it for cleaner stuff but the Wampler got the spot for now. If I ever rearrange my analog board, I'll take the amp switcher off it and make room for both the SF and the Euphoria. This is the downside of cutting and soldering your own custom length jumpers. It makes moving anything other than just a pedal swap more of a proposition.

Lots of folks in there I'd love to see, but the math doesn't work for me. Unless maybe I can convince them I need to be there for work......

I reckon Gilmour's Stats will bring way more than that and many of the most prized LP's have some sort of provenance as well but I get your point. I guess I never got the "collector" gene. Never could get into coins, stamps, sports cards, etc. so I guess its no surprise I never really think of my guitars in terms of a "collection" just various implements of enjoyment. Since I don't have the gene, I can't fathom the collector mentality.

Right. Was the difference worth $98,000 to $175,000.00 though?

Or you could buy a Helix for $1600 (or Helix LT for $1100) and have a Dumble-esqe model (Litigator) along with 59 other amps and several thousand dollars worth of pedal effects. JB might hear the difference, but I guarantee your audience won't and since most of us can't afford the real thing this is as close as most mortals will get.