Question for the guitar players...

[Superfraggle]

Originally Posted by guzzy

Seriously consider buying an Art & Lutherie or Simon & Patrick. You can buy a great guitar for $400. I guarantee you won't find a better sounding guitar than these (for a $400 guitar). It is a Canadian company and the quality is amazing. It sounds like most guitars worth twice as much. Try Guitarworks. I can't believe I just said that as I have long been a Long & McQuade guy but the selection of A & L and S & P guitars, especially at the 16th ave location is amazing.

My first is a Simon & Patrick from Guitarworks (the 16th Ave. location). I am EXTREMELY happy so far. It's my baby (just over 2 years now). I love it.

[Nufy]

Let us know what you get....

I am waiting on profit sharing from work to get myself a new geetar as well.

My 15 year old Washburn just hasn't held up well to the trip from NFLD and 10 years of camping / partying here in calgary.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Thanks for the tips on Art & Lutherie guitars. I was looking for another acoustic (have a Gretsch Rancher Jumbo -- the big-ass Cowboy one with western motif) and wanted a smaller folk-type guitar.

Guitarworks was blowing out sprucetops for $300 in their Boxing Week sales. Was considering a Guild, but was impressed with the A&L. Great value.

[Cerebral]

I picked up my acoustic from Axe Music here in Calgary. I ended up going with one pretty close to this:

http://www.seagullguitars.com/productoriginalslim.htm

I absolutely love Seagull guitars and I hightly recommend them if you're not sure what to go with. I believe Axe still carries them so check them out if you're down there.

[Hack&Lube]

Anyone know a place with a variety of Strat necks to try out? I'm looking for a sunburst strat but I wanted to try some different necks like V, hard V, SRV, etc.

All the places I look just have the standard plus not much selection at all in Calgary. What are Eric Johnson necks like? E.J. is one of my guitar heroes but I don't know if the neck will be good for me.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Anyone know a place with a variety of Strat necks to try out? I'm looking for a sunburst strat but I wanted to try some different necks like V, hard V, SRV, etc.

All the places I look just have the standard plus not much selection at all in Calgary. What are Eric Johnson necks like? E.J. is one of my guitar heroes but I don't know if the neck will be good for me.

Guitarworks has the EJ. Nice guitar. Neck shape isn't a big deal for me as much as overall weight and, of course, sound.

I chose the American Deluxe with a humbucker over the EJ model. It has the "C" neck like my Jazzmaster.

[Hanna Sniper]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

What are Eric Johnson necks like? E.J. is one of my guitar heroes but I don't know if the neck will be good for me.

I play a '57 vintage series which is a bare bones verson of the EJ Strat. I persoanlly love the neck and wouldn't target any strat that doesn't have V shape. You have that neck type on the EC, EJ, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Vaughn, '57, and the 50's Classic (I'm sure there's others) any Strat based on the 50's style.
One of the keys i love about the neck is it's comfort and it's shape makes it easy for me to fret the low E string with my thumb (ala hendrix)

[KevanGuy]

Originally Posted by fanforever1986

Guitarworks just charged me $100/hr labour to fix the pick up on my acoustic. Probably took them 20 minutes and they charged me an hour of labour.

Please don't go to guitarworks.


Oh and $100/hr??? Are they lawyers or repairmen?

If anyone is looking for a cheaper and faster alternative to the regular guitar shop tech's try out Redline Guitar Services. He works out of his home and can usually get things done ASAP. I have used him before and have never had any problems. I've also had friends send thier guitars to him and they all have been happy with the results.

I dont have his phone number handy but the email is redlineguitarservices@shaw.ca Paul is his name.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Thanks for the tip Kevan. I'll keep the feller in mind.

Let's just say I'm less than enamoured with GuitarWorks tech. Workmanship was fine, but when I had tremolo units installed on a couple of my guitars, he kept the original bridges.

[Nufy]

Whats everyone's opinoin on Ovation Guitars...

I was looking at a shell back 6 string at L&M a while back..

Felt and sounded real good.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Hanna Sniper

I play a '57 vintage series which is a bare bones verson of the EJ Strat. I persoanlly love the neck and wouldn't target any strat that doesn't have V shape. You have that neck type on the EC, EJ, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Vaughn, '57, and the 50's Classic (I'm sure there's others) any Strat based on the 50's style.
One of the keys i love about the neck is it's comfort and it's shape makes it easy for me to fret the low E string with my thumb (ala hendrix)

Yeah, I want to try out a V and Hard V (just see C necks everywhere). They are difficult to find in Calgary all in one place. And I can't stand the atmosphere in guitarworks stores.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Maybe Hack&Lube should look into a FrankenStrat.

I got a question: Do I need a guitar humidifier for my acoustics? Or was this just a sales pitch foisted on me?

[Mayer]

Originally Posted by Nufy

Whats everyone's opinoin on Ovation Guitars...

I was looking at a shell back 6 string at L&M a while back..

Felt and sounded real good.

I bought an Ovation about 3 or so years ago. I liked it at first, but now I'm selling it. Not impressed at all.

These are guitars that are meant to be plugged in, otherwise I've found the sound to be really thin. Also the playability was a little stiff. I found it was very hard to finger pick or anything like that.

I ended up buying a Larivee acoustic in August. This is the best guitar I've ever played. It sounds great and plays great. Let's not forget to mention that it had the look I was going for (small body folksy model). I ended up paying about $1700 for it, but it was worth it. Great guitar.

[Mayer]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

I got a question: Do I need a guitar humidifier for my acoustics? Or was this just a sales pitch foisted on me?

If you have a one piece solid top acoustic then I'd definitly get one. Especially if you payed a lot for it. It's not quite as good as having it in a humidified room, but it's definitly better than nothing. Another thing to consider is if you have a glossy finish on your guitar. It will be much more vulnerable to cracking if you don't use a humidifier.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

Maybe Hack&Lube should look into a FrankenStrat.

I got a question: Do I need a guitar humidifier for my acoustics? Or was this just a sales pitch foisted on me?

I've considered just getting some necks from ebay but I've heard some bad things about assembling your own frankenstrat.

I didn't buy a humidifer for my acoustic (Ibanez Talman TCM50VBS) and after a month in my house, the body or neck changed point where the higher frets at 14 and above all buzzed on the high e string. I am told this is natural for an acoustic to adjust to your house (after being in the humidified room) and especially in Calgary with our wierd elevation and crazy weather and humidity changes. I've seen this happen to normal acoustics as well but that didn't matter because those you wouldn't play above the 12th fret much anyway. I went to Axe music and they tried the truss rod and when that failed, they went and found a totally new guitar bridge, sanded it to fit, and setup the entire guitar for me free in like 15 minutes. I was told if the entire guitar needed to be overhauled, it'd only be a one-time $25 fee.

Far cry from the ridiculous $100/hour story for Guitarworks we have in this thread. Only cements my distain for that store. I went to guitarworks previously looking for an acoustic and they totally ****ed me off with that jail-cell like acoustic room and the stuffy staff who were "too knowledgable" and "too helpful in pushing more products on me"...ala "I can make a deal for you and throw in this and that if you buy this and that (unecessarily expensive humidifer, case, etc.)". What really killed it was when I tried to sit down and play a cheap guitar, they freaked out and were all "take your jacket off". I left, went to L&M and Axe-Music and just went into their guitar rooms and played freely.

Anyway, it's now been several months and still no humidifer, my guitar sits on a stand and not in a case and with the new bridge, it plays great after the free setup at Axe.



- addendum
besides my search for a good place to try out different strats and strat necks, I'm also wondering about jumbo frets. What are the biggest frets out there, when can I try them out, and what's the difference between using jumbo frets and smaller frets? I have smaller hands and have trouble barring on guitars without really low action or low gauge and I think jumboer frets might help but I've never seen jumbo frets on an acoustic. If I get a strat, I supposed I'd want something with the biggest frets possible as well.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Jayems

I'd hate to see you get out of the motor home

LOL. My friend has a trailer; I actually still camp in a tent. Here we are shredding at Lower Kananskis Lake this summer. That's me on the right. Not a bad vertical leap for a 40 year old! Note the Flames cap too. My friend on the left is a pro (plays in bands). I'm a real hack (but I've got the moves). We're too old to play until 2:00 am.

[shane_c]

I've been thinking about picking up a cheap acoustic one of these days so I can learn on it.

[Bobblehead]

I visited Music Centre Canada, Long & McQuade and Axe today.

MCC - walked in immediately had a staff member offer to help me. Told him what my experience level was and what my budget was. He looked at a few and recommended one that was over my budget (a Garrison) but he said he could be a bit flexible on the price and would include a case. Overall, a good experience.

L&M - Pretty busy. In the acoustic room there were at least 7 people. A couple staff appeared to be helping others, so I just browsed for a while. No one ever asked if I wanted any assistance, and in fact they were too busy complaining about someone who wanted to play De-Lite, so I figure they didn't need my business and left.

Axe - Went in, found the acoustics. A staff member joined me almost immediately. Told him my experience/price range and he immediately pulled a couple Seagull guitars down (I kind of like this one). Man, thig guy really liked to talk, but he had a lot of information and really seemed to know his stuff. Another good experience.

So I'm leaning toward the Seagull from Axe. I'll give myself the evening to think about it.

Thanks for everyone's advice.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

The best service I've had at a guitar store in Calgary was at Axe Music.
http://www.axemusic.com/

The staff are fantastic, many of them stayed way past their shifts to help me out with guitars, do free work on my guitars, or just chat and be friendly.

The online webstore there is probably also the best online guitar catalog in Alberta but they have more brands in store like Fender guitars that aren't listed on their website for some reason. Great acoustic guitar room that you can just sit in and play, beats out the little jail cells that Guitar Works (pushy used car salesmen for guitars) has or the dinky room that Long & Mcquade (horrible customer service) has.

They are up at Blackfoot Trail.

And Jayems, thanks for the guitar tips. I'm also self-taught but I started at 21 and therefore I'm not very good and I think I've hit a wall with progressing any further. I don't know quite what to do at this point.

Just take some lessons. Go back where you found your guitar and ask them about lessons. I am sure they will have people you can be referred to. Lessons wont necessarily help your musicality, that is what you are born with, but they can help with fingering, all those type of tech things that make playing easier.

Also, go to harmonycentral.com (maybe .ca but I think .com). You can download all kinds of guitar arrangements for the songs you like to play. They will usually have the same song, various versions by different artists, or even versions or hints by others who play the song.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by guzzy

Seriously consider buying an Art & Lutherie or Simon & Patrick. You can buy a great guitar for $400. I guarantee you won't find a better sounding guitar than these (for a $400 guitar). It is a Canadian company and the quality is amazing. It sounds like most guitars worth twice as much. Try Guitarworks. I can't believe I just said that as I have long been a Long & McQuade guy but the selection of A & L and S & P guitars, especially at the 16th ave location is amazing.

My son swears by these guys.