Calling all guitarists

[HCMarkus]

The Tubemeister looks pretty. There seem to be a lot of choices out there... Tubemeister will be on the list to explore.

I'm thinking of building or buying a convertable cabinet - closed OR open back. It might be fun to assemble such a cab with two different size/brand speakers that can be toggled/linked with a switch for additional tonal variety.

I love the anti-hi-fi culture of guitar amps and speakers. Such a nice change from studio monitors!

[BKK-OZ]

Just took delivery of my new Tubemeister.
Me likey.

It came with a nice, well-designed carry bag.
Smaller than I expected.
Heavier than expected.
(I never did pay much attention to the dimensions when researching it.)
To my eyes, it looks really well designed (those Germans make good stuff), with solid, practical handles on the ends, and the controls are all nicely and smartly laid out. It has a lovely cool blue glow too. It gets tres' hot, so it needs plenty of ventilation.

I haven't had a chance yet to try the direct recording out (balanced XLR output), but that is one of the reasons I bought it. The power-soak feature works brilliantly. So far, I have only been bashing away at the 1 watt setting using one of my Blackstar cabs and even at that lowest setting, thanx to the power soak, I can really drive those tubes into all sorts of creamy rich sounds. Even at 1 watt, it kicks loud enough to disturb the neighbors (yay!!!), I can only imagine what it will do at its full 18 watts (prob. never get there, don't gig no more).

It has two channels (only one can be used at a time), and both offer a pretty wide range of sounds. I bought it because I wanted more headroom for clean sounds than I was getting out of my Blackstar, and it is delivering. It actually offers up quite a wide range of sounds, thanx in part to the separate gain/master controls for each channel. The distortion is perhaps a little bit less flexible, but it is early days in my playing around. I have tried it out with my Jagmaster (with some nasty after market PAF pickups in both the bridge and neck positions) and my Epi Casino (with the stock pick-ups). The amp responds well, and quite differently to each of those guitars. Haven't put my lappy with a custom-wound P90 through the Tubemeister yet, but methinks it will sound nice when I do.

So far, for the dollars, given its direct out function, size and capabilities, me a happy boy.

[Matcher]

Got me one of these http://www.ibanez.com/RgPremium/specs.html#" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Best guitar I've played in eighteen years.

And while we're at it, here's some fun and inspiring playing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evsatnc7D0k" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Frodo]

My New Year's Resolutions? Save money and stop looking at this thread.

Fire + gasoline = a problem

Got me one of these

Brilliant, Matcher. From what I recall (since before this thread began), the neck was pretty fast on that guitar. I was pondering a Strat at them time, but got shamefully sidetracked in the process.

I even wound up with an Ibanez bass somehow, but that model or something close to it could be within reach soon.

Just took delivery of my new Tubemeister.
Me likey.

Congrats, BKK. I'm listening to a picture of it right now.

One of these days. One of these days.....

Anyone ever have any experience with a Divided By 13 amps?

I know they look contempo-retro, but I was knocked out. Low sig/noise and all tube. Major British profile in a California convenience, but the sound is nothing cheap on the ears.

[zed]

Anyone ever have any experience with a Divided By 13 amps?

I sure do like the colours.

I was recently salivating over a Fender Amp in Surf Green. But of course tonal colour is the most important.

[monkey man]

Zedster, I'm waiting for one of the fellas from our wholesaler to get back from NAMM; apparently he's giong to talk with L6. Hoping to hear whether or not there's a locking trem in the wings for the '89 model. If there isn't I may have to go a '69 and get it set up by a very good lukathier(!).

Hope your baby's still performing. Seems I've simply copped a rare 700 dud, and it's now way out of warranty.

[zed]

Hey Monkey!

Zedster, I'm waiting for one of the fellas from our wholesaler to get back from NAMM; apparently he's giong to talk with L6. Hoping to hear whether or not there's a locking trem in the wings for the '89 model. If there isn't I may have to go a '69 and get it set up by a very good lukathier(!).

I really doubt that a trem for the '89 model is going to come anytime soon, though if you paid 3 times the price for one of the US "custom shop" models, I wonder if they could use a '69 trem bridge in the '89 model.

As far as I know they are still in the process of trying to satisfy customers who have ordered the existing models, and the roll out has been horrendous. You might be waiting for years, unfortunately.

Hope your baby's still performing. Seems I've simply copped a rare 700 dud, and it's now way out of warranty.

Around here there are a lot of previous generation models available on Craigslist for between $300-$500. I even saw a brand new 600 at my local music on Boxing Day for only $400. You might want to consider checking your local Craigslist.

Mine's still working well, though it doesn't get a lot of use since I have some other guitars I really enjoy playing. Just got myself a Danelectro Baritone, and I am love, love, loving it.

I think every guitar player should own a Danelectro. I am officially planning to start a Danelectro guitar collection, I love this first one so much.

[monkey man]

Thank you, Stevo.

All good fodder for thought...

[monkey man]

I got to thinking that I could live with just one guitar if it were easy enough to play, stayed in tune and proved versatile sound-wise. Said versatility has always been behind all of my L6 purchases over the years (mainly processors), but this V'axe situation is ridiculous. I'm told to wait 'till the dude at the Aus wholesaler has had a week to catch up after NAMM, but beyond that and assuming "still no news" on the '89 trem situation...

I think I'm in love. The Music Man BFR Luke - Koa Top, Ebony Board. Somehow I doubt the pics do it justice. I'm not mad about the BFR badge at the 12th fret, but hey. Coincidently(!), Steve has been my favourite pop/rock guitarist since age 10 in 1978 when Hold the Line was the first rock song I felt passionate about.















I'd trade any L6 guitar and one leg for one of these.

Oh, and if you like it loud:

[Gravity Jim]

For many, many years I lived with one electric guitar exactly as you describe, MM, and a guitar very much like the Luke. Only this last year did I indulge in a full hollow body with a P-90 (Godin Kingpin) and a PRS with humbuckers.

The Zencaster is a chambered mahogany Strat with a compound radius ebony fingerboard, locking tuners with ebony knobs, EMG SV pickups (Luke uses a slightly hotter version of these pups for insole coils), a blender pot wiring scheme, a 3db clean boost on board and a Callham vintage bridge block. It outplays the best CS guitars, rings like a bell even unplugged and exhibits a tonal versatility that's off the scale. Frequently described by other players as the bastard child of a Strat and a 335, the Z-caster does everything from ear-piercing surf to Larry Carlton blues tones.



I assembled it from Warmoth parts and finished it in Danish oil and beeswax. If I had to buy a guitar off the shelf, I'd think real hard about the Luke signature.

[mhschmieder]

Picked up an odd liquidation instrument last week for $140 figuring it was low-risk. Turns out it's a keeper!

The Squier Cyclone is another hybrid like the Fender Marauder. It has a Mustang body, a humbucker bridge pickup, and a slanted Strat-like neck pickup. The tone knob gives a wide range, as do the pickup switches.

I am finding this guitar a perfect match for pre-1970 Brit-rock; including The Who and The Kinks as well as The Beatles.

It feels nice and is possibly one of the few Fender short scale guitars that I can say that about.

It's only available via Guitar Center, Musician's Friend and Music123; it was a custom model just for Guitar Center Inc. and affiliates.

[monkey man]

EDIT: Congrats Mark! You lucky devil, you.

Jim, thank you for the tip. The issue I have with going "custom" is that I've employed two luthiers in the past at a total cost of 6 grand (starting 20 years ago), which unfortunately resulted in threats to my well-being and huge (by my standards) financial loss.

The L6 experiment has burned me too, but in the opposite direction (retail model), and so the middle ground, that of purchasing the highest quality instrument I can afford off the shelf, seems from where I sit to be the safest option; I need it to be right this time. I've got 2 Music Man basses and am impressed by the craftsmanship, robustness, sound and action of 'em. They're by far the most serious instruments I've ever owned and are surely at my outer limit price-wise - the first was cheap from the "Cash Converters" (a seriously lucky find), but the second took 6 or 7 years to save for. I've finally reached the point where I can afford to start sorting out the guitar thing, having saved for one since acquiring the L6 guitar on a hunch I'd never get it sorted. It seemed logical to start with the only guitar company that has thus far "delivered" for me.

That said, if the L6 '89 model doesn't receive a trem soon and I can be convinced that the '69's one stays in tune well enough, at a third or half the cost of both "your" and "my" "first thoughts" said model may well be worth checking out. The only catch would be that I cop another dud, and that's where I need to rely on others' judgement as I can't audition one.

Sorry for the long-whinded response; the guitar saga is for me the longest of a bunch that I've endured in attempting to get the whole music thing sorted. Thank you again for your suggestion. I googled it and all I could find were your posts at the Warmouth site and the Fender Forum. Unfortunately reading about what you did simply brought back the nightmares of those two custom jobs I mentioned; I don't have the strength to invest energy on the nitty-gritty involved in placing one's trust in the judgement of a pro in designing something new, hence, again, my preference for buying something tried and tested.

This is all obviously up in the air and subject to change, so I still welcome your wisdom should you wish to offer more of it. FWIW, your guitar looks and sounds sensational (from the spec); it'd be perfect for me too, my only concern being the lack of bridge humbucker, but I suspect you knew what you were doing and I'm simply underestimating the SC you chose. Thank you again, Jim.

[Gravity Jim]

Well, I didn't use a "luthier" of any kind: I bought the parts from the Showcase/Thrift Store at Warmoth.com and screwed it together myself. The pickups came through an EMG dealer, everything was purchased right off the shelf. Total cost, including a G&G hardshell case: $1,100.

The trick in assembling a parts guitar is knowing what you want. I had played hundreds of Fender-style guitars in the years preceding the birth of the Zencaster, and I knew I wanted a soft-v neck profile, a compound radius neck, tall/narrow frets, the Callaham block, etc etc.

When you know what you're going for, the rest is just a screwdriver and a soldering iron.

True. I did have the initial setup done by a guy who performed a complete smeg-up on the guitar, but fortunately he only cost me 30 bucks and convinced me to start setting up my own guitars, which has not only saved me a small bucket of cash but gives me the time to really seriously dial them in.

BTW, I have considered replacing the SV in the bridge with an EMG hum bucker, but finally just bought a cheap PRS SE SInglecut... great player, wonderful string tone, and when it gets a set of Zhangbucker boutique pickups in about a month, I'll have about $500 in a guitar that will tonally disembowel any Gibson product on the wall at Guitar Center.

[monkey man]

Dang, that there's the sort of wisdom I was talkin' 'bout. Thank you, Jim.

The Luke has a soft V (like the '59 strat?) neck profile too, and, relating to your post prior to that one, I've read reviews where folks have said the Luke's sounds range from mega Strat to LP also. The BFR Lukes offer a baked birdseye neck; the heating/drying process ensuring better warp resistance and resonant characteristics or something; I imagine you'd know about that stuff. Oh, and the SCs are "wound" to Steve's spec and are apparently way gutsier than standard EMGs, as well as more "glassy".

What I'm saying is that much of what I've sought for 25 years now is present in that thing, as well as in yours, so I reckon you know exactly where I'm coming from. I simply don't have your knowledge of parts. Heck, I don't even know what a block is, which is why, at the risk of sounding redundant, I turned to Music Man first.

Thank you ever so much for the great food for thought, Jim. At this point it'd take a supremely well-worked L6 '59 strat at a good price to tempt me into the fire again. Failing that, a MM and your suggestion are both sooo tempting. I'm excited already at the prospect that soon (ish - meaning this year) I'll actually have my first guitar that stays in tune and is easy to play!

[mhschmieder]

Oops, I added yet another guitar to my collection last night during a Guitar Center sale: Schecter C-1 Custom. I had picked this one out a while back as my 24-fret guitar (I didn't have any yet) with thin body design, ebony neck, '59 pickup. It is versatile, smooth, fast, and easy for muted playing techniques (compared to many other guitars). Might be an SG stand-in (I hate how those feels); not sure yet. My best buddy approved of the purchase and sees it as bridging the gap between 70's/80's hard rock sound and modern shredding.

At some point, I might whittle my collection down a bit. Most of what I bought was quite cheap; I only have one that was over $700 and that's the Gretsch Tennessee Rose. I still plan to complete the group with an authentic Jaguar, and that one will probably be over $1000 unfortunately. About four in my collection are in the $500 to $700 range. The others are all under $400. So as I get better on guitar, I may find that I start to notice flaws in some of those that aren't yet apparent. Even so, my favourites amongst the bunch are well-known to me and are also the ones that friends go for when they come over. Most of them are Schecters.