Another hobby... Guitars!

[Krooser]

I

I've had a love for electric guitars since the 80's and always wanted to give it a shot, I finally did. Started off cheap figuring I wouldn't stick with it and bought a new Jackson js22 and a Marketplace Peavey Vypr3 amp. I've since upgraded to an LTD MH1000 and a Marshall dsl40cr amp, I should have jumped in long ago.. so much fun! Lot's to learn...View attachment 1483235View attachment 1483236

Started playing in 1963...Kay acoustic arch top.

Followed by a '64 DuoSonic, several Teles and Strats.

I collected Memphis built St. Blues for several years....the best guitars I have ever played.

Now I own a Squire '51, a Squire Strat, a Jap- made Lead II copy ( sounds fabulous with quarter pounders) and two incomplete builds...a Jaguar and a Jazzmaster.

I also have a vintage Club Date drum kit.

I am building my own Princeton reverb amp from scratch and also own a Fender Musicmaster bass amp, a Dan-O Nifty Thirty and Fender Pro Jr.

I also have started repairing own tube amps doing cap jobs and misc. R
repairs.

 

[blue69runner]

Nice job. Have a peavy would like up graded and some work done on it. It is also a Strat. copy.

 

[Coelacanth]

Nice job. Have a peavy would like up graded and some work done on it. It is also a Strat. copy.

Too bad you live far from Alberta, Canada. Strat clones can be made far superior to Fender Squier guitars, for much less money. Graphite nuts, roller string saddles, usually the bridges are sufficient but you can upgrade the tremolo block, replace the cheap ceramic pickups to quality Wilkinson Alnico pickups, add a mini toggle switch and some soldering, some locking tuners and you'll have a Strat clone that's on par with any intermediate guitar costing several hundred dollars more, even after buying all the upgrades.

 

[YY1]

I paid $225 used for my Schecter Sunset FR.

It blows away any Fender Strat I've ever played including ones costing thousands and even pre CBS.
(I know...gasp)

I would, however take my '84 Squier Strat back, given the opportunity.

 

[KiwiKid72]

Not quite a guitar. But an old dilapidated bass I picked up at a pawn shop. My son and I stripped it down and cleaned it up.

Another pawn shop find was this early '90s 130W amp for US$91. A hybrid of sorts with valve and solid state (valvestate). It cranks. Wife not happy.

 

[1STMP]

Would have loved to learn to
play the guitar. (paralyzed
left arm, no feeling in hand
or fingers).
Found something else as a
sideline. Still novice, but
picking up tricks here and
there.
Started also with casting.
Got the casting machine
installed in the bench.
Ready for some reading and
experimenting. Should be
able to cast just about any
emblem given I've got a
good origonal to start with
creating a silicon mold.

 

[Big bill]

My 1980 super lead.

 

[YY1]

Not quite a guitar. But an old dilapidated bass I picked up at a pawn shop. My son and I stripped it down and cleaned it up.

Another pawn shop find was this early '90s 130W amp for US$91. A hybrid of sorts with valve and solid state (valvestate). It cranks. Wife not happy.

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Wow, you have the actual room from the meme-

"What kids think the 80's looked like"

 

[KiwiKid72]

Wow, you have the actual room from the meme-

"What kids think the 80's looked like"

I put the nostalgia filter on the photos to make it look legit.

 

[Coelacanth]

Here's a cool bass I specifically chose for it's small, lightweight body and headstock with 2 tuners per side, making it significantly easier to play than a traditional bass. It's a Greg Bennett Designs Corsair CR-1 bass. I upgraded the pickups and pots, upgraded the cheap plastic knobs and did a full setup on it. The finish is flawless so I didn't think it needed repainting. It looks great posing next to my Greg Bennett Malibu MB1 Strat clone.

These Greg Bennett guitars punch well above their weight for the money. I think they were targeting the entry-level guitar niche but even stock, they could be considered intermediate-level guitars. With upgrades, they're fantastic.

 

[Coelacanth]

I put the nostalgia filter on the photos to make it look legit.

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Wow...you could murder someone in that room and nobody'd know.

 

[YY1]

I put the nostalgia filter on the photos to make it look legit.

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The egg chair and boom box are nice touches.

Is it just me---I never heard the term "boom box" until the 90's.
In the 80's we called them a "jam box".

 

[toolmanmike]

ANyone try these crazy little amps? They are 1 tube amps and about $150. I don't know a lot but they sound pretty good I think.

 

[KiwiKid72]

Chinese made and Chinese company. These amps are starting to gain traction after people have found them to be reliable with a very good valve sound. I've heard one attached to cab and was shocked at what sounded like great quality sound.

I think it's just the Chineseness that will put folks off. Go for it. Let us know what you think.

I remember when things made in Japan were considered junk. Now many 'Made in Japan' items are considered quality. I'm pretty sure China can make quality products if they put their minds to it. These amps seem to prove that. JMHO.

 

[Xp29h]

Just picked this one up a few weeks ago..not a USA make but plays and sounds incredible through the wet dry wet rig! I should have done that long ago!

Wet dry wet explained on the YouTube channel, the woodshed. It’s definitely geared toward the EVH tone but you don’t have to! It uses the Boss SDE3000 which is all set to hookup w/d/w. They use EVH amps but at 53:10 they start to change to 3 Roland micro cubes and still sounds huge.

 

[YY1]

Chinese MFG is as good as the specs the designers give them and the QC.

Bad spec = bad product.
Bad QC = unreliable product.

 

[1STMP]

Chinese MFG is as good as the specs the designers give them and the QC.

Bad spec = bad product.
Bad QC = unreliable product.

Little more to it than that.
Have you ever tried to
assemble a bookshelf
purchased from Walmart
with China's version of
english printed on the
instructions?
Rave about these amps.
Can you invision what they
may sound like if they were
good ol' USA designed and
built?.
I learned my lesson about
mechanic tools and shop
supplies made in China.
I will not support that
market, even if I have to go
out of my way, or do a little
more searching to find
good quality products.

 

[toolmanmike]

Little more to it than that.
Have you ever tried to
assemble a bookshelf
purchased from Walmart
with China's version of
english printed on the
instructions?
Rave about these amps.
Can you invision what they
may sound like if they were
good ol' USA designed and
built?.
I learned my lesson about
mechanic tools and shop
supplies made in China.
I will not support that
market, even if I have to go
out of my way, or do a little
more searching to find
good quality products.

Western Electric makes vacuum tubes in the US. The only mfg that I have heard of. The rest are made in Russia, China, and Slovakia. How many US amp manufacturers are there and do they use all US made components? Do they offer a small 1 tube amp like I pictured above and in that price range. This all makes the old used market so popular.

 

[YY1]

Does the end user have to assemble these amps themselves?

 

[YY1]

Plenty of US companies have been having extremely high quality electronic/mechanical products made to spec in China for over a decade.

The manuals for these are VERY technically complex including how to program different "speed curves" with a moving "Q" like a parametric EQ, and how to remap functions controlled by a third party remote system (DCC), and are at least proofed, if not written by American English speaking people. Very few grammatical mistakes.



So...it can be done.