Guitar anyone? Electric or accoustic

[Jill F]

So pissed I just got royally outbid for that 1991 purple Jeff Beck Strat I've wanted since forever.  I bid too much already, but some dummy paid $400 more than it's really worth.  Those are getting impossible to find nowadays, and I hope to find one again someday. 

Then I just got told I need to pay my amp tech $50 to fix my Clyde McCoy wah pedal.  The guitar gods are clearly mocking me today.

This clearly means I need to bust out an acoustic guitar and play me some blues.

[Jill F]

So, a big, happy update on the 1991 Purple Jeff Beck Stratocaster.  My birthday is Saturday, and I actually found this rare guitar on eBay today when I looked on a whim/had this strange gut feeling.  It was right there, on top, in my face with a "Buy It Now" option.  And yes, I bought it.

Happy birthday to me!!!  I haven't bought a guitar in ages, but what's awesome is that now I have a Stratocaster in every color of the rainbow.  How queer is that?

[CalmRage]

my guitar needs repair.

[Skyler]

got a Yamaha acoustic guitar ,FG700S

Don't get it to play it often though.

[CalmRage]

my guitar broke down pretty recently.

[Avinia]

Somehow skipped past this thread....

I play electric and acoustic, as well as some 12 string stuff(though not too often, mostly when I feel like playing celtic stuff). Though mostly 6 string acoustic.

Mostly play celtic, pop, pop punk, and some indie folk stuff, also like playing classical sometimes(Fur Elise sounds amazing on guitar, in my opinion).

[kittenpower]

So, a big, happy update on the 1991 Purple Jeff Beck Stratocaster.  My birthday is Saturday, and I actually found this rare guitar on eBay today when I looked on a whim/had this strange gut feeling.  It was right there, on top, in my face with a "Buy It Now" option.  And yes, I bought it.

Happy birthday to me!!!  I haven't bought a guitar in ages, but what's awesome is that now I have a Stratocaster in every color of the rainbow.  How queer is that?

What precautionary measures do you take to ensure you are getting an authentic year, brand, and model of guitar when purchasing from eBay?

[AshBear]

I play an '84 Fender Gemini II, because I love dual purpose instruments. 

[Jill F]

What precautionary measures do you take to ensure you are getting an authentic year, brand, and model of guitar when purchasing from eBay?

1) Buy from someone who is reputable or clearly knows what they're talking about.  In this case a well-established music store with a great reputation for vintage gear.   I don't buy from people with no track record or make major purchases outside of the US and Canada no matter how good the deal seems. 

2) Know what you're getting into.   In my case, I know vintage Fenders quite intimately.   I could see by the mutitude of clear hi-res pictures that this was indeed a 1991 Purple Beck that had not been refinished.  I also requested "nude pics" of it taken apart.  Everything was as expected by date stamps, serial numbers, hardware, etc.  They also disclosed that two of the tuners could use replaced and that I probably would need to do a fret leveling to make it play well.

3) If you have ANY doubts about the seller or the product, do not bid.  There are a lot of people who don't know what they really have, and people who are outright frauds. (Yes, sure, buddy, that's not a reissue '62 Strat that you switched serial number plates on or anything  )

[V M]

Pretty sweet Strat, is that a phase or a coil splitter down by the tone knobs?

[Jill F]

Pretty sweet Strat, is that a phase or a coil splitter down by the tone knobs?

That's actually 4 Lace Sensor pickups, but the one at the bridge is a "dually", or 2 singles stuck together in parallel (not series, nor "humbucking", as most people seem to think).  The switch, when in the "down" position will ground out the coil further away from the bridge to give you a more traditional Strat sound, and when "up" will use both coils, giving a tone more associated with humbuckers due to phase cancellations attributed to a similar aperture.   I personally do not care for the tone (or lack thereof) from these pickups and would never record professionally or gig with them, but due to the low voltage lighting in my living room, these are the only pickups quiet enough for me to use at home for practice or making demos.  The sustain is nice too, as it has a miniscule magnetic drag compared to standard wound pickups.   I prefer the Jeff Beck to the Strat Plus simply because the neck is much fatter and I can play it with much less fatigue and carpal tunnel stress.  These are super hard to find and I also suspect it will appreciate much more in value in the years to come.  Also, Jeff Beck is probably my fave guitar player of all time and I like guitars in weird, fun colors. 

I now have a vintage Strat in every color of the rainbow, so how awesomely queer is that? 

[V M]

That's interesting about the PU configuration and the tone, I nearly bought a Strat with Lace Sensors years ago when they first came out on market but decided I didn't care for the sound - I remember thinking "Sounds like diet soda", plus the sales guy just kind of annoyed me

I love the purple finish and kinda like the PU configuration, but I'd probably go with hot wound standard PUs and maple fretboard

May the smooth action and tasty licks be with you

Hugs

[allisonmaybe?]

Electric!!!

[toniwest]

I need another one. I had an Ultra Strat. It was over kill for me. I ended up selling it. It sure did sound great

[Jill F]

That's interesting about the PU configuration and the tone, I nearly bought a Strat with Lace Sensors years ago when they first came out on market but decided I didn't care for the sound - I remember thinking "Sounds like diet soda", plus the sales guy just kind of annoyed me

I love the purple finish and kinda like the PU configuration, but I'd probably go with hot wound standard PUs and maple fretboard

May the smooth action and tasty licks be with you

Hugs

Thanks!

Lace Sensors are very sterile sounding, but this is actually fine if you're using modeling preamps so that you can let the processor do the work and take a lot of your guitar out of the tone equation.  I agree with generally using hotter output Strat pickups to slam the front end of the amp, but too much winding will make them sound dark and lose sparkle.  I sort of like using a Duncan Quarter Pound (read: WAY overwound) sometimes in the neck position so I can get that fat Ritchie Blackmore sound on certain leads.  The other thing I like Lace Sensors in is the Eric Clapton Strat because they are quiet, and using the 34dB boost circuit will amplify seemingly nothing but hum along with the signal if you use a standard pickup.

[StrykerXIII]

Just discovered this thread, hope I don't derail the conversation too horribly.

I play both electric and acoustic. Started out in middle school, think I was like 11, on a cheapie acoustic my dad found. Moved up to a beautiful vintage Yamaha Pacifica 912, only to have it stolen. Currently own a First Act Adam Levine series acoustic and a Fender Squier Stratocaster with a busted Behringer amplifier. Looking to upgrade to a BC Rich Warlock or Beast, would love to eventually get my hands on a flying V-style guitar.

I primarily play punk rock and metal, but I do sometimes fiddle around with acoustic adaptations of my favourite songs.

[katrinaw]

I am "trying to learn" not very well though...

Have 2 accoustic, one is spanish style, nylon strung, wide neck, the other is a Fender "tim armstrong" hellcat Accoustic, metal strings and thinner neck...

One I can't stretch my fingers over properly, the other; metal strings are sore on the fingers... Aya.... Just a complainer... LoL

Still on scales and finger speeding (as the guy I took a few lessons from told me) very slowly getting there tho. Which is comforting to my fingers

L Katy

[Kitty June]

Figured I'd jump in.
Started playing guitar around 17 years old. Tried that for a while with a cheap ibanez. Ended up switching to bass because nobody played that. Played in bands as a bass player through my twenties but had to give it up and get a real job. I could finally afford  nice gear but no time to play.
So, currently I have
Ken smith bass  5 string which pretty much covers what I need.
Taylor acoustic
Ibanez electric and a schecter electric.
Lost my job recently and joined a band as a bass player again. Love playing guitar but I can get work as a bassist.
Small city so there isn't a lot of opportunity but at least it's something.
So who wants to form an all transgender band?  That would be interesting.
Take care.
Ella



Ella

[SmartAlex]

I started electric guitar two years ago, I'm not really good, but I love to play ! I'm also going to learn electric bass.

[StrykerXIII]

I am "trying to learn" not very well though...

Have 2 accoustic, one is spanish style, nylon strung, wide neck, the other is a Fender "tim armstrong" hellcat Accoustic, metal strings and thinner neck...

One I can't stretch my fingers over properly, the other; metal strings are sore on the fingers... Aya.... Just a complainer... LoL

Still on scales and finger speeding (as the guy I took a few lessons from told me) very slowly getting there tho. Which is comforting to my fingers

L Katy

I LOVE Spanish-style guitars. Grandmother's old roommate had one, I couldn't get enough of that sound.