Let's talk recording-only guitars

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vvv
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Let's talk recording-only guitars

Post by vvv » Sun Jun 12, 2016 10:16 am

OK, so I have some of the usual suspects a 40 year guitarist should have, but I don't wanna talk nice or even player guitars, no.

I wanna know about the junk you buy, keep and use in yer recordings.

Me, I have two shite Chinee guitars, one a Tele 12-string and the other a T-style; both get used as rhythm guitars for recording because they have low-output pups and they sound different that my other guitars.

The T-style is playable - used it exclusively at a 4 hour jam yesterday to check that (it's new) - but the 12 string is good for about 10 minutes before it has to be re-tuned, and it's relatively fragile.

I have an aluminum-neck Kramer that makes a wonderful rhythm sound, but is so neck-heavy and the aluminum roller nuts are so irreplaceable that it doesn't leave the bedio.

I have a generic Jap strat that a girlfriend painted up beautifully, that weighs more than any other guitar or bass I own - too heavy to be comfortable atta gig but a OK sound with the Squier pick-ups I recently put innit to replace the Red Ball actives it had that I hated.

I have a Epiphone Roadie that is tuned to G - it's almost like a soprano guitar.

And I have a banjo I wouldn't dare stage.

Anybody else keep weirdo guitars for recording?
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Post by ubertar » Sun Jun 12, 2016 10:34 am

Rogue sitar-guitar,
Kapa Minstrel (teardrop) 12-string electric,
6-string banjo-guitar

It's nice to have instruments with a variety of sounds to draw from while still being playable by a guitarist. I haven't used these much yet for recordings because I've been in a microtonal-only phase for a while, but soon...

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Post by vvv » Sun Jun 12, 2016 11:13 am

I been interested in one of those 6-string banjo-guitars.

How easy is it to play, as a guitarist?

I can "play" my 5-string banjo like I play keys - learn the song, but it's gone by tomorrow.

But I like the banjo sound on some stuff, like J. Mascis uses it.
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Post by floid » Sun Jun 12, 2016 11:45 am

Pretty much my entire collection is weird cheap stuff. My favorite is an Old Kraftsman with low / thin output that records beautifully. People's general reaction to the solo'd sound is some version of, "that doesn't sound like a guitar," but pulling up the fader in the mix usually changes their mind.
A 60's Harmony Jag I usually keep in G. Chimey, very tweakable tonally. 3/4 scale and light as a feather.
A First Act with homebrew motherbucker I keep in a punky tuning I don't know the name for.
A plywood Harmony duckhead with that crap pickup I keep in same, b/c it's a fun tuning.
A no name nylon I keep in C#m for slide.
My Dad's old Guyatone that, hey, just always sounds good. Makes a nice microphone in a pinch, too.
No name strat I made a Floid headstock decal for, that has the best middle pickup ever. Think the brass nut helps.
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Post by kslight » Sun Jun 12, 2016 1:05 pm

I've got a Schecter Hellcat VI (like a bass VI), I use it as my main axe really?love playing chords and melodies on it. I also use it as "a bass" when I don't need to go real low.

Line 6 Variax is my main axe when the VI just isn't going to work. Love that it has no noise?I pickup a lot of interference on other guitars and this doesn't have that problem? Also cool for messing around, and a no-brainer to plug into the HD500X? The acoustic presets are pretty useful too.

I've got a 7 string Agile multiscale acoustic I tune down to G, which is pretty awesome. Sounds great into pedals, ironically.

A Supro S700 acoustic that is just a nice vibey acoustic, to me doesn't sound like everyone else's acoustics but has a good depth to it.

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Post by RoyMatthews » Sun Jun 12, 2016 1:23 pm

I don't have a recording guitar anymore but this reminds me of a time 20 years ago when a jazz guy needed to do an over dub during the mix and the only guitar around was my BC Rich Warlock. (I got it when I was 17! Inverted headstock. I miss that guitar. Leave me alone). Everyone gave him such shit that day. Luckily for him this was before ubiquitous cell phone cameras.

It sounded fine.
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Post by RoyMatthews » Sun Jun 12, 2016 1:25 pm

DP- Apologies
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Post by ubertar » Sun Jun 12, 2016 5:09 pm

vvv wrote:I been interested in one of those 6-string banjo-guitars.

How easy is it to play, as a guitarist?
It's exactly like playing a guitar.

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Post by Drone » Sun Jun 12, 2016 6:38 pm

I have a couple of old guitars I got for $50, with the plan to make one 'good one' turns out they are both pretty good. One's a Silvertone with a couple of gold foils on it, but the weird one is this jag like thing, with a single pickup, with glittery stuff on it, and it has to be a single coil, but it is the hottest, meanest, sludgiest pickup I own. It out sludges my basses, my baritone, it just has this lovely low end girth. This probably is useless to the majority of people, but my main project is a two man thing, so tuned right, you don't need a bassplayer atall. The pickguard isn't even screwed on, I stuck it on with some of those 3M temp tabs, and just played it ever since. :mrgreen:

Image

Oh and it's probably less than an inch thick, and light like it's made of balsa wood.
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Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Sun Jun 12, 2016 6:59 pm

With one exception I'm 100% a weirdo guitar guy. The exception is an early 90's Gibson Chet Atkins Country Gent. It's totally beautiful and I almost never play it. The rest are all varying shades of oddball

A Supro Super short scale les paul jr thing. It's tiny and has the hugest sounding pickup I've ever heard.

A Tiesco Hound Dog Taylor type 3 pick-up thing that I've got strung up as a baritone. Feels weird but sounds great.

An early 60's Kay Jazz 2. Kay's version of the Epi Casino. Not super oddball. Plays and sounds amazing but the pickups are a hair too noisy for most recordings.

A Kay plywood stella style parlour acoustic with a maple fret board. I put electric flat wounds on it and installed a dearmond gold foil in the sound hole. It's one of my main gigging guitars.

A 60's Hofner flat top. Hofner's answer to the J45. This is a great, great guitar. It's my main studio acoustic. I also wired it with one of those huge old Dearmond acoustic guitar pick-ups. Plugged in it doesn't sound very acoustic-y but it sounds amazing.

An Anjo Fender Bullet knock off. Better then the original Fender Bullet I used to have. I pulled the pick-ups and installed a teisco gold foil in the neck.

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Post by Drone » Sun Jun 12, 2016 7:18 pm

As we're talking gold foils, I'm gonna plug this guy.

https://reverb.com/shop/victory-guitars
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Post by joninc » Mon Jun 13, 2016 11:53 am

i've been collecting old Kays, Harmonys and Silvertones... Mostly guitars that I can get cheap! Average price about $350.

Their pickups have so much more personality than most newer guitars... usually some wonky intonation too but you can work around it.

I also picked up a gretsch baritone guitar that i totally love. Has mini humbuckers and a sweet singing tone. Bigsby. It was set up for a full octave below guitar when i got it - which IMO is totally unusable and ridiculous - so i switched to B to B and it's a definite secret weapon. it's super heavy though - the heaviest guitar i own.

I have a few funny old parlour acoustics too (regal) that have unique voices that I like.
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Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Mon Jun 13, 2016 6:34 pm

joninc wrote:
I have a few funny old parlour acoustics too (regal) that have unique voices that I like.
Parlours are weird. They feel so good (to me) but usually don't cut it sound wise. Most of the ones I've owned end up getting bastardized is some way. Of the two I curently own one has electric flat wounds and the another has been set up in Nashville/high strung tuning for years. Parlours are great candidates for nashville tuning.

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Post by floid » Mon Jun 13, 2016 9:02 pm

Not long ago I got one of the Alvarez parlors. Solid top, bone nut and saddle, it's got a nice feel. More jazz than blues, if that makes sense. But I'll admit it's got me on the hunt for something on the other end of some spectrum I haven't quite defined.
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Post by floid » Mon Jun 13, 2016 9:06 pm

Drone wrote:I have a couple of old guitars I got for $50, with the plan to make one 'good one' turns out they are both pretty good. One's a Silvertone with a couple of gold foils on it, but the weird one is this jag like thing, with a single pickup, with glittery stuff on it, and it has to be a single coil, but it is the hottest, meanest, sludgiest pickup I own. It out sludges my basses, my baritone, it just has this lovely low end girth. This probably is useless to the majority of people, but my main project is a two man thing, so tuned right, you don't need a bassplayer atall. The pickguard isn't even screwed on, I stuck it on with some of those 3M temp tabs, and just played it ever since. :mrgreen:

Image

Oh and it's probably less than an inch thick, and light like it's made of balsa wood.
Something about those Japanese pickups, innit?
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