SGJarrod wrote:yeah, I have never understood people who do not think Tube amps sound better, It seems like anyone who spends sometime with one agrees they are better than SS

For the most part. My '78 Yamaha G100 puts most TO SHAME.

Nice score, dude. Looks right classy!

In all seriousness I think it's because guitar is getting less and less important or "cool". I'm gonna sound like an old fart now, but it is widely understood I'm the oldest 24-year-old in the world: Kids who take up guitar don't learn music. They learn chords, riffs, and scales, but not ...

The vast majority of the guitar market is targeted at beginners and novices who don't know what they're looking for, other than "that one Hendrix played." There's no incentive to improve anything.

Dave wrote:Next questions: Why are Fender incapable of properly designing new models that don't have discrepancies between bridge and neck radius (all AOM guitars) or between bridge and pickguard (Mustang Pawn).

Because Fender isn't run by musicians.

A neighbor in college had an '80s Ibanez S series that sounded like the best strat ever. He bought it at a pawn shop for $120 and spent another $100 on a fret-dress and setup, but it was dead stock. Played amazing and sounded beautiful - that was my big surprise. Most HBs now are too hot. A nice, co...

I think it may be a hold over from the trend towards simpler music back in the 30s-50s. Narrower necks do lower that initial difficulty of getting the fingers to stretch. And, of course, replace it with the difficulty of making each string ring clearly. To make it subjective: do you feel, given equa...

In the last 100 years or so. If you look back to that era you see a lot of necks in the 2" neighborhood, like a modern classical. Then you find Martins in the gut-to-steel string transition era (1920s) starting to creep down to 1.75". By the '50s, 1.625" becomes dominant and stays pre...

I've found putting in lower-gain transistors helps quite a bit. I think I put BC108s in mine.

The 339s somehow look awesome and crummy at the same time.

I love Taylors. They're the highest quality factory-made guitars in the world IMO.

They do sound a bit brighter than the Gibson/Martin standard, but that makes them easier to record.

The philosophy behind American products for the last 60 years has been to make them affordable for everyone.

And the whole guitar market state-side has tanked in the last 3 years.

The 339s are really great. You encounter the usual American-guitar-quality-control BS that seems to plague a lot of the big 3 these days, but that's just character. It's like an American car. If you want something perfect and reliable, you buy a Toyota. But then you get bored with it and never fall ...

Sometimes I think the brand recognition of "name" guitars is a disincentive to quality. Like, there's not a compelling reason to raise the quality of a Gibson beyond a certain point, because enough people will buy one just for the name and heritage. It would just cut into profits. Smaller,...

The black one reminds me of:

HLY SHIT I JUST HAD A HEART ATTACK.

MUST. RESIST. PURCHASE.

DO. NOT. NEED. NEW GUITAAAAAAAAARRRRR!!!!!!!!!

[flatline]..................................

Sounds like a power tube was going bad. Then you blew a fuse, or possibly a resistor.

Just jam random luggage keys and bits of metal in until it turns. Get creative.

Locks are a joke. I can start my car with a dime.

Paper clip. They're easy as hell to pick.

That's a really solid guitar. Classic Korean guitar in my opinion - like a Les Paul DC, but still its own thing. Before the whole foreign market switched to boring strat/tele/LP ripoffs.

It never ceases to amaze me how Joe Bonamassa can continually top himself in the highly competitive field of looking like a complete tool.