Rabs

I had been working with my niece on her music exam. She had to come up with an idea on some guitar music and I helped write it and then I did a recorded version for her to learn (so it had to also be quite basic). She wanted something that could be like a theme for a horror show or something like that and she wanted it to start of slow then get fast. Thats all I had to work with. In the beginning when I started recording it I hated everything I did and really started to question if I could even do it at all any more. But after some editing it actually turned out reasonable. I enjoyed the task anyway. Thing is for me these days I need a reason to do stuff like this. I do enjoy it but when doing it by myself, just to do it. Well I feel its a lot of work for something that in the end very few if anyone will ever hear so I dont really see the point any more.. Which is sorta sad but hey.. It is what it is.

I know its meant to be funny.. But its still funny 🙂 And of course

Well if you have a tablet its much the same thing (depending on what type you have). But a lot of them run off android so you can use a tablet too. Nothing wrong with not having a smart phone really. I have one but dont use it in the way most people do. I have hardly any apps. I use it as a phone, a camera and a music playing device mainly. I have so many people moaning at me about not being on whatsapp its annoying.

How about this?

I have actually been looking at stuff like this.. I think you need some midi software to run it. Its actually amazing what these devices can do.. I recently saw this one and was completely blown away by not only what it can do but the way the software is presented on the little screen with each effect having its own different visual interface.. Really cool. And this video was made 7 years ago.

Seems he has put the whole album up on Youtube as this is from his official channel

Heres another one

Yeah.. Good stuff 👍 We need to see more like this on here.. I have to get back to it myself soon which I fully plan to in the next month or so.

Yes... Sorry to hear that Duane.. Also been there. My father died in 2018 followed a few months later by one of my oldest and closest friends. My condolences to your and your family. Take care of yourself.

Well it depends I guess.. If they do it by exploiting people and using illegally cut wood then yeah, that would be an issue. Im not saying they do that but it is mad just how cheap they can do it for.

The thing is all the shops are doing it now, making their own brands from cheap asian guitars and what they make these days are much better than ever before... Like this one for £179.. I dont know how they do it for that price either And this one £135

Well mostly this is just a fan forum.. We have a couple of Gibson people about but even then, they cant tell us anything that is not already public knowledge. They are just about mainly to keep things clean on here but do post stuff and answer questions sometimes if they can.

The thing I dont get about this (well I do from a certain point of view) is why not just make Epiphone pickups better and make the whole line better without having to charge so much.... Its a bit weird. But I get they are trying to move Epi up in the market.. It will just be a shame if they totally abandon the lower end... Not that long ago I picked up a brand new Epi Wilshire for my niece for like £350... Its solid mahogany neck and body, set neck, nice finish and plays really nice too.. It could do with some better pickups but thats it.. Its a fine guitar... I get the feeling decent Epi's at a decent price like that will be a thing of the past soon. I know these are meant to be customs and I am not even bashing them really.. I just dont really like the direct Gibson or Epiphone are moving in... Its all about the premium market and normalising these sorts of prices for the lower end brand.. (like Gibson trying to normalise 50k for a guitar).

They do an interesting side by side tone test with an older Epi, one of these new ones and an actual Gibson at 16:40 in.

You see... This is the sort of thing I am talking about.. Its a shop brand (PMT) and actually I have one quite close to me. Not that im looking for a new guitar.. But how they even make things like this at that price is just crazy. I couldnt come close. Not that im comparing what I did to cheap end guitars, just more about how crowded the market is and more importantly. It wasnt that long ago that you would never buy a cheap guitar cos you knew it wasnt worth it as they were just often unplayable. That has changed. The cheap end guitars of today are generally pretty decent. Especially when you consider the price. Oh and dont get too excited, its not actually rosewood, that would be beyond crazy.

Worth it just for the solo

Thats pretty good.. But really after my 336s, I cant even be looking at buying one 🙂 Yeah, hopefully I will get my own, better one finished.

Well thanks for that. But sadly its not just that, its also the fact that my hands are pretty screwed up. I have to be pretty careful these days and give them time to rest. Like I did some fencing for my mum the other week. About three hours working with my hands and I paid for it the following few days after. Then theres also what to make. I have looked at all sorts of things over the years. Recently I had the idea of making really nice wood cabinets for speakers. Like build an equivalent cab and just like fit someone's amp into it, that sort of thing. BUT these days with the mini CNC machines you can buy, almost any idea you can think of and theres already people set up and doing it. And then you have to work out if its worth the time to do that and be able to sell it for a reasonable profit. There arent many things you can build out of wood that can do that. So some might say well build them anyway. But I did that once before and then if I cant sell them you just end up with a load of guitars that no one wants and just sit in a cupboard. I do still want to finish the last few guitars I started building for personal reasons but its not a business. Its a weird world we live in at the moment.

And this is why I think Gibson and Fender do what they do.. The market is way over crowded. Its why I havent gone back in to making them. With the likes of Harley Benton and many other cheap makes these days, I cant compete.. There also seems to be more luthiers than ever before and while I always liked my guitars, I cant really pretend I can offer anything really different. Maybe some different wood selections and some variations on body design and hardware but thats about it. Where as Gibson and Fender almost sit alone in the historic and high end. So thats where they live these days and actually I cant say I blame them. It is a shame though. It didnt seem that long ago where I was buying new Gibsons for like £750 (like my goldtop studio and the LP DC Special Faded, even the Gary Moore BFG I had was like £850).. I doubt we will ever see those days again.

Let the moaning begin 😄 Some have sold already (of course).. Actually while I dont really care for the guitars, I do REALLY like the amps (the straps are quite nice too). Master Artisan Collection - Rickie Hinrichsen (gibson.com)

Well from what I understand, there are no holes drilled in the back of the neck for the usual tuners so, if say you were replacing current manual tuners, the only thing I would want is to match the positions of the holes already drilled. But as said that shouldnt be an issue. All you have to worry about is the size of the tuner post hole. If its the standard size then you can use any tuners that will fit a USA made model. Cos say the Chinese made ones, they use the metric measurements where the US ones use the imperial system.

They dont talk about price but you get a good look at it and he talks about the guitar a bit. If its a USA made one it will probably be what 3k?