Readers' Instruments

[Mr Larrington]

Kim: scaring electronics into working properly just by giving them a Hard Stare?

[rogerzilla]

Kim would probably connect it to the Internet Of Shit so it orders an unusually disgusting Deliveroo from "Louisiana Fried Roadkill" when you play the chords from Stairway To Heaven.

[PaulF]

Kim would probably connect it to the Internet Of Shit so it orders an unusually disgusting Deliveroo from "Louisiana Fried Roadkill" when you play the chords from Stairway To Heaven.

 A fair and proportionate response I think

[Woofage]

PaulF & pcolbeck: you've got me watching YouTube reviews of effects units now! 

The Sonicake Matribox (who thinks up these names?) has a lot of feature for not very many beer tokens. Here's a review.

I have a Flyspeck headphone amp from the 1980s.  It probably needs Kim or someone to look at it, since the hiss is atrocious.

The Yamaha SVs have a headphone amp built in, which is nice.

[pcolbeck]

The last couple of years multi-fx / amp / cab modellers have gone silly (in a good way). What would have costs thousands and thousands of pounds and required a whole 19 inch rack of effects is suddenly available for around £300 and smaller subsets for £100.
Boss have just released the IR-2 which basically provides studio quality amp modelling of 10 amps plus loadable cabinet IRs and a stereo effects loop in the same format as one of their famous stomp boxes and it costs £150! Bonkers.

[andytheflyer]

My new (to me) alto sax.  Had to be mine after the first note.  Gorgeous sound.  A partner for my Yamaha alto and tenor saxes.

1924/5 ish Conn New Wonder II alto.  Aka a Chu Berry.

20231209_100211 by AndyFtheflyer, on Flickr

[nicknack]

I used to play one of them.

I stick to modern ones now.

[Woofage]

Nice. How does it differ from a modern instrument?

As mentioned upthread, Woofage jnr plays a 1940s HN White King Zephyr which is a lovely instrument. Apparently there's a minor difference in the keys at the back when compared to a modern alto but not so much as it makes it difficult to play.

[andytheflyer]

It's just different - quite a rich tone, I'm not musical enough to elaborate!  The register key is tricky - getting used to it slowly.  It needs only the slightest touch of your thumb to operate and if you don't get the thumb off completely it messes up lower G.  The g# is different and although the main keys are the same there are other small differences, like the alternative f# key.  It'll take me a bit of time though as I'm concentrating on my Yamaha tenor for this year's Grade 5 exams.

[T42]

Passing our old office store-room half an hour ago I noticed a dusty old guitar-case leaning up against the wall.  Couldn't remember if there was anything in it and almost went on into my own office, then opened it anyway and discovered a BM Malaga entry-level classical guitar I bought almost 50 years ago to replace one I'd had to leave behind during one of our Citroën-Dyane-borne country-to-country removals - IIRC its usual place in the car was taken up by a nearly-new nipper.

Anyway, even as a "vintage concert guitar" I doubt if it would fetch 400€ these days - I think it cost around £25 - but that doesn't stop it having a beautiful tone and a lovely low action - possibly just the thing I need to start playing again. I stopped a few years ago once my hands became too shaky to find a chord reliably, but I think it will be a lot more forgiving than the guitars I've had since.  Here's hoping.

[Steph]

Just getting used to a new mando. Handmade, very lightweight, but lovely sustain so that stopped notes really ring on.

[road-runner]

Just getting used to a new mando. Handmade, very lightweight, but lovely sustain so that stopped notes really ring on.

That sounds like we need to hear it, not just see it.

[rogerzilla]

Ideally with two dwarfs and a 1/12 scale trilithon.

[Steph]

 

[rogerzilla]

Has there always been such an enormous range of Ernie Ball strings?  Back in the day you just asked for 11s, 10s or 9s (8s if you didn't mind replacing them every week). Now there are over 20 types, and who on earth is delicate enough for Zippy Slinky (7s)?

[Woofage]

I know that Hybrid Slinkys have been around forever (probably in a couple or three gauges). It was my string of choice in the days when I thought I could play guitar.

[rogerzilla]

This arrived last week.  It's a "60s" Epiphone SG, the model that used to be called a '61 until they brought out the more expensive 1961 Les Paul SG (yes, that name is confusing).  Plays well out of the box.  The shorter Gibson scale length makes A-shape barre chords a bit harder if you have fat fingers, but it's a lot easier than on the really bad Epiphone Les Paul I once acquired for free - that one had everything wrong with it, like high action, massive frets and scratchy pots.

20240426_085445 by rogerzilla, on Flickr

[PaulF]

Very nice, and the only colour for an SG

[bobb]

The shorter Gibson scale length makes A-shape barre chords a bit harder if you have fat fingers

If you can tell the difference at any given position on the fretboard, then you have an astonishingly sensitive touch! Even if you're barring at the 1st fret, meaning your fingers are squeezed up* at the 3rd fret, the difference between a 24.75" and a 25.5" guitar, centre fret to centre fret is less than 1mm! Having jumbo rather traditional frets will make a more noticable difference....

Nice rig though 

* No self respecting guitarist plays an A shape barre like that anyway, use the flat of you 3rd or preferably 4th finger