Thnx. I will say that’s these vintage necks take a little getting used too, but overall I love it. It’s the first guitar I’ve bought in over a decade. I have my 2012 Gibson Les Paul Studio and now this Stratocaster. I’m loving these fenders not sure how it took me this long to get one. Maybe a jazzmaster or jag will be next on my radar haha

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My new guitar. Les paul slash model…. Bought it for the flame top. Might have to switch out the pickups to something less “hot”. Any custom paf suggestions?

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Every time I talk to a gigging guitarist (including multiple guys who we all know), they say PRS pickups. Every single time.

Brazilian Rosewood?

What kind of tone are you after?

Something less distorted. More classic rock than hard rock.

Gibson 57 Classics are wound to the exact specs of the original PAF. I have them in my ES335 and love the tone.

I picked up this pedal yesterday and it’s awesome!

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Picked up a nice 60th anniversary mim strat for a decent price. Cleaned up well.

Like to keep a guitar in the living that won't break the bank if the cats knock it over or I drunkenly fall over into it.

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My two main guitars, Vala (LTD) and Adria (PRS) .....Any Stargate fans here? ha. Evertune bridges are AMAZING. It'll be hard for me to ever buy another guitar without it.

My rig has changed about 3 times over the last 3 years, but I'm pretty happy with this simple setup now.
My band Artillery & Storm just released our new single Au Revoir two weeks ago:

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Thanks! Honestly the pic is a year old, dug it up after finding this thread, ha! I still have the same desk, but I have next to nothing in it any longer. Sold the Axe FX and got the Helix rack, zero regrets on that move. The Helix is soooo much easier all the way around. Things "just work" with it. The only thing in the desk setup that remains is a Dangerous Source Monitor controller really. Rest of the rack is empty besides a power strip. I've gone the VST route for all my gear, just easier and not locked into anything while recording. The desk right now is a hot mess due to making a bunch of pinball mods for a few games.

The desk: Zaor VISION W Workstation Desk
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/VisionWB--zaor-vision-with-three-3u-bays-workstation

As for ditching pedals, 100%. My rig is 100% controlled by MIDI, patch changing, volume, everything. We of course play to a click/backtrack to make that work when it comes to timing. Our other guitarist does the same, but has a few pedals out front for volume/wah/whammy/tuner......I tuned tonight for the first time since our November show, lol. That's how good Evertune is!

Dude! Love SG1! I was sad that right when things started to get really good with the Ori and their mythos started to really get good and deep, they decided to wrap the show since they knew they'd probably get cancelled. I get it though, 10 years is a LONG time for any show, let alone a CGI heavy basic cable sci-fi action drama.

But, if memory serves me correctly, didn't Vala name Adria after her stepmom, whom she hated?

I moved on to bass so here’s my beginners bass rig.
Epiphone Tbird Pro, Ashdown ABM500 and RBS 410 4ohm.
Bought the amp for a silly sum of $10 because it was broken - the wiring between pre-amp and amp section inside was broken and that was it.
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Check out the Quad Cortex. If I go away from Helix, I'd probably go that route instead.

Competing guitar manufacturers, so it makes total sense! Haha. Everything but the crappy web series was awesome. I really loved the darker side of Universe, but that series got a ton of hate and ended too soon.

And I’d give you the exact opposite suggestion
I considered going to the QC but I just hate their interface, and the Line6 (Helix) computer/USB support is WAY better. You can also buy the Helix “Native” VST (Helix plugin for recording, no device required) for $100. Those were deal breakers for me - the actual units are pretty similar in terms of performance. Get whichever one makes more sense for you based on how you like the actual physical unit, foot switches, etc.

I like the way the helix does the stomp box mode and/or how you can quickly switch between snapshots with one foot switch.

There’s also the Kemper, which has pretty good tones, but that thing is such a pain in the butt to program, and the screen is TINY, it’s like working something from the 90s.

Finally arrived!
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From The Music Zoo? I know the answer is "awesome" but how is it?

Beautiful,I would love to try that out.

Yeah, first season of SGU was a bit draggy and a little too edgy and emotionally driven. Second season really started to feel more like Stargate, especially towards the end.

I was lucky enough to attend the two big Propworx auctions just after the entire franchise wrapped many years ago. The first one, up in Seattle, had all the coolest hero props there. It was amazing to see and touch all that screen used stuff. I even got to sit at the briefing table from SG1 and even in Hammond's chair! They even had the animatronic Thor there. So many great props they had on site there!

Sam Ash is closing around 20 stores soon. Sad to see them go, but all the indicators have been present the past few years. I worked there for many years back in my 20’s and am going to miss the store that was 2 minutes away from my house. Place has been dead every time I’ve gone in there the past few years.

I’ve been searching for a local 60th Mexican strat. All I’ve ever seen are the champagne color. The blue looks great!

From what I’ve read, the 60th used premium hardware and better pickups than the standard Mexicans. Is that about right?

Chicago Music Exchange, but they basically just did the sale, setup and shipping. I did most of my communication through Powers.

One thing that totally shocked me is how LIGHT this thing is! My Washburn N4 (which is a 7/8 scale to boot) is almost twice as heavy.

If you’ve seen the Tim Pierce video where he talks about the guitar, he mentions how it’s almost like an acoustic - the strings are SO loud you can hear it over the amp. Well I am here to confirm that is the case.

I went in on this guitar because I knew how they’d re-thought some fundamental aspects of the instrument; things just taken for granted, like the bridge and tremolo, pickups, etc. the guitar looks vintage-y but it’s completely modern in engineering. Reminds me of PRS trying the same thing. They are still around, so I hope these guitars stick around too, but man the price point is SO high.

That said, the only thing I don’t really like is the neck! It’s an old telephone pole thick neck, and I’m used to playing super slim Ibanez Wizard necks, so this will take some getting used to. I still have my shredder guitars but I haven’t been in a thrash band in years.

Sad days. I grew up not far from the original Sam Ash and knew Sammy and his boys pretty well. Always loved visiting them and seeing what they were hiding for me.

Yeah, word is the whole thing is going under.

That sucks, because back in the 80s they were one of the "mail order" joints that everyone bought from.

You would have thought that they could have transitioned to online sales easily.

I've had both of these guitars for 20+ years, but added some puck lights to their display cases today. Neither of these are "good" guitars, mind you, but they're signed.

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The one on the left is a Kramer Focus 111S that I picked up probably around 2001-2002. I grabbed it because I'm a big Rob Zombie fan (I still dig his music - and he's a fantastic showman) and thought the custom airbrushed artwork was cool. The pickguard was signed by Zombie (I can't remember the story behind it, but there was legit photographic evidence provided of the actual pickguard getting signed when I bought it). I've also got a ticket stub in the case that's signed by Zombie and Riggs, and a CD signed by both on top of the case. Both of those items were obtained personally after a show here in AZ back in 2002. I was walking to my car after lingering at the venue, and as I walked by, Rob was right there on the other side of the fence, approached ME, and exited the gate to chat. We shot the shit for 5 minutes or so and he honestly could not have been any nicer. Super cool guy. He signed my ticket stub and CD, and then was like, "Hey, Riggs. Come here!" and got him to sign my stuff, too.

At a show in 2018, he jumped into the pit, stuck a mic in my face, and we got to scream "More Human Than Human" together. Good times!

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Now the one on the right...

When I started playing guitar in 1996 (I was 16), Eddie Van Halen was my hero. I still have VH stickers plastered on my first guitar. In 1997, for Christmas, my parents got me a '93 Squier strat that he signed at a golf tournament in 1994. The photos of him signing it are probably still at my parents' house somewhere, but it's legit.

I never got to meet the guy, and because I was pretty late to the VH party, I only got to see them perform once, so I've got my ticket stub from 1998 in the case (yes... the GARY CHERONE ERA. LOL).

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Those photos tell a hell of a lot more story than just what you relayed about those guitars! Love the Swearwolves sticker. Who signed the Monster Squad one-sheet? Did you get that signed at the rescreenings when Nards was released? I see Andre Gower, Ryan Lambert, Duncan Regehr, Jason Hervey. Awesome. RIP Horace

Thanks! I'm a huge horror fan, and I go to conventions all over the country to meet people and get stuff signed. In fact, I'll be adding Tom Woodruff Jr (Gillman) to my Monster Squad one sheet next weekend in Las Vegas. So far, it has all the signatures you mentioned, plus Carl Thibault (Wolfman), Michael Reid Mackay (The Mummy), Stephen Macht (Del), Stan Shaw (Det. Sapir), and Lisa Fuller (Patrick's sister). I've also met Fred Dekker, but that was before I had this poster (he signed my Night of the Creeps poster though).

That whole room is full of signed horror movie posters (all originals). If you look close, you can see the bottom of my Nightmare on Elm Street 3 one sheet peeking above The Monster Squad). I've also got a bunch in my game rooms, and even more in a big portfolio so that I can rotate what's displayed.

That’s very cool! Bug Woodruff about getting the Pilot version of The 2011 Thing released! (He will roll his eyes right out of his head)

Guitar content: Kurt Russell smashed a 100 year old Martin guitar to bits on the set of the Hateful Eight (grabbed the wrong prop)

A Kramer Focus! Holy shit, I still have mine too! I remember going to my buddys house, dumping the whammy bar to where the strings are literally dragging across the pickups, and that fucker would just spring right back in tune. Didn't even have fine tuners on it. I put a DiMarzio pickup in it and played it for years all over Detroit, had a great sound.

Looking into getting an Epiphone Les Paul; either the Modern or Custom.

Is the coil splitting something people actually use, or do you just grab a single coil set up guitar as needed?

For reference, I won't be gigging anytime soon, if ever.

Thoughts?

If not playing live, you’ll probably never use coil splitting honestly. The only one I found somewhat useful was a PRS Custom 24-08. I wouldn’t get hung up on it.

I use coil splitting extensively - but I play out a lot and the tones for different songs we play sound better with split coil, some sound better with humbuckers. Split coil isn’t exactly the same as having an actual single coil pickup, but it’s better than having to change guitars during a set. At home I still use it for the same reason, almost all my guitars have humbuckers. So I guess if you wouldnt mind using a tone closer to a single coil at times, coil splitting is where it’s at.

I love the coil splitting option. I have a PRS SE "Paul's Guitar" that allows you to split either the neck or bridge pickup, and it creates such a great range of tones. I also use it a lot in my Schecter Omen Extreme FR. Great option to have.

You guys talked me into trying it, so I split the right flipper coil on my CFTBL.
But now the flipper doesn't work any more. Do I need to adjust something?
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All of my PRS have a coil tap, and I use it quite a bit live. It cleans up the gain a little and gets a strat like tone. If I had one main guitar at home, I'd absolutely recommend it. Personally, if I want a strat sound at home, I'll put down the PRS and grab a strat.

So, that was kind of my thought. I could go straight HB and then buy a nice Strat later...

I have a cheap Yamaha Pac 012 right now, so I can get "clean" tones.

True, but I have 15 or 20 electric guitars with all sorts of pickup / electronics configurations. I STILL really enjoy playing the guitars with coil tapping capabilities and switching back & forth on the fly. I'm just weird like that.

Yeah, but how am I supposed to justify more guitars if one does so much!?

Seriously though, thanks for your insight. I have a ton to learn, and only know about an ounce so far.

I will say this. It's more fun to have two guitars, but if you have to choose, I'd take the guitar with the neck I liked most, and live with the pickups (or worry about pickups later).

Picked up a Les Paul over the weekend.I had to choose between a les Paul and a foo Fighters topper.Easy choice for me.

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Sure. Everyone knows that sometimes Les is more.

Thought it was odd that Sweetwater was calling my wife...

And then a package arrived!

It's not a Gibson, but then again, I'm not Les Paul.

This Modern is stunning!

Here is the Sweetwater photoshoot of my newest acquisition.

On the wall it appears to have gold hardware, which, imho, would look quite nice.

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Beautiful

Question guys. To my understanding, when tuning the guitar the open strings should match the note when holding the same string on the 12th fret. But my tuner does not show that same note when I press the 12th fret.

How do I correct this?

Adjust the intonation

Yes, even changing to heavier strings can cause you to have to reintonate