Show your latest guitar


  • Reminds of those big brass blocks they put in Floyd Roses to improve the tone. In that sense, this bass definitely has an interesting tone. It's very percussive.


    I am no expert on how different metals affect frets, though I do know that the Kahlers that Kerry King use have got brass rollers and saddles, or something like that.

  • I am no expert on how different metals affect frets, though I do know that the Kahlers that Kerry King use have got brass rollers and saddles, or something like that.

    Me either. But I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night.


    Brass would make terrible frets. Much too soft. I've played the traditional nickel/silver frets forever and recently switched to SS for a few guitars. Like them both. SS takes some time to get use to because it's very slick. Your bending techniques will need some minor adjustments.


    Nice little fret article here:


    https://www.premierguitar.com/…nding_Frets_and_Fret_Wear

    "I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." - Douglas Adams


  • My bad on the brass. This should sort clarify things.


    http://www.bronzebells.com/whybronze.htm


    Warwick says the frets are bell bronze, not brass (though they are both similar).


    As far as Kerry King: https://www.kahlerusa.com/guit…315kk-6string-brass-steel


    I really do like Kerry's tone. Probably my favourite metal band of all time.


    As far as brass being too soft, they are/were used on some vintage/vintage-oriented instruments, so I suppose that the idea that the frets are terrible is subjective.

  • Hard to tell the exact metal mix when a builder says one material - according to the article there's no silver in nickel/silver frets! - but on average bronze is quite a bit harder than brass.

    "I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." - Douglas Adams

  • SS frets add a tiny amount of high-end sparkle when compared to regular nickels to my ears.


    In the real world it's not something most would notice unless they're specifically listening out for it 'cause it's a bump that sits above what guitarists usually think of as the treble area - a little higher than "presence" even, although there could be some crossover here. At least, this is what I heard when I made comparisons years ago.

  • SS frets add a tiny amount of high-end sparkle when compared to regular nickels to my ears.


    In the real world it's not something most would notice unless they're specifically listening out for it 'cause it's a bump that sits above what guitarists usually think of as the treble area - a little higher than "presence" even, although there could be some crossover here. At least, this is what I heard when I made comparisons years ago.

    If you want more treble, use more treble on the amp. :)Simple as that. There are so many myths guitarists still instists to believe in.

    Think for yourself, or others will think for you wihout thinking of you

    Henry David Thoreau

  • SS frets add a tiny amount of high-end sparkle when compared to regular nickels to my ears.


    In the real world it's not something most would notice unless they're specifically listening out for it 'cause it's a bump that sits above what guitarists usually think of as the treble area - a little higher than "presence" even, although there could be some crossover here. At least, this is what I heard when I made comparisons years ago.

    As some of you may know, sometimes the smallest things bother me. I love SS frets and the tone, but one little thing is to consider, that may sound weird at first. Perfectly crowned new SS strings stay perfectly crowned quite a while - a good thing? Yes and no (for me) :S


    Let me try to explain. I love new frets, but I think the instrument feels and plays perfect after the frets are played in a bit and the contact surface is a tiiiiiny little bit bigger.


    SS frets stay crowned and smooth very long, which has some negative effects (for me) when you are used to press down strings very lightly and at the same time hit the string hard with a pick. So the string has less contact and it tends more to "vibrate", "slip" and even "buzz" on the fret you are pushing down. It' not the same "contact" to the fretboard...


    Hard to describe, but definitely a different feel! I NOW understand why Neil Young wanted his worn-in frets back after his "old black" had a refret once.


    You can also say, SS frets force me to take care a lot more, what my fingers are doing... at least I'm trying to ^^

  • The sound of the string hitting the crown seems to be the tiniest bit louder to me when playing legato licks unplugged.

    "I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." - Douglas Adams



  • Tone is in the fingers :D

  • But some "myths" are easier to bust than others!


    One of my favourites is the arguments about how wood doesn't affect the tone of a guitar.

    One of my favourites is the arguments about how wood does really affect the tone of a electric guitar.

    Think for yourself, or others will think for you wihout thinking of you

    Henry David Thoreau

  • Go and play a George Harrison Rosewood telecaster alongside a standard maple and pine/alder/ash one. I'll wait right here. ;)

    "I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." - Douglas Adams

  • I got an epiphone les paul and replaced the guts and pots, etc with Gibson Les Paul parts. Sounded like shit.

    Got a Mahogany Parker PM20 Pro that was as thick as a Gibson LP and did the same. Sounded like shit.

    I figured "I don't like the tone of LPs"


    Then one day, a guy with a lefty Gib LP played my amp and I was like OMG. So I got one, it was OMG, got another in a totally different finish (ie sunburst vs cherry red translucent (both Standards) and they sounded exactly the same.


    My experience is it's definitely MORE than just the electronics. It's more than just the type of wood. It's the type of wood, the wood shape, the neck pocket, etc, etc. There is a whole package that makes some guitars sound like they do.


    On another experiment, I took the same guts and pups of a Duesenberg StarPlayer and put them into a Cedar guitar (locally made) Sounded great, but not the same. But great. So good pickups are key.

  • One of my favourites is the arguments about how wood does really affect the tone of a electric guitar.


    Meh. The idea that it doesn't is born out of the new age socialism/fascism on the Internet.


    If it was just the pickups, there would be no reason to get a Fender or a Les Paul. Just get a block of wood and slap the pickups in it.


    A Fender with PAF humbuckers will never sound like a Les Paul, scale length aside.


    Even two of the same model of guitar can sound different. One will be dead sounding, the other will be alive.

  • Even two of the same model of guitar can sound different. One will be dead sounding, the other will be alive.

    Dead and alive may be a bit extreme but you are 100% correct. And it's overwhelmingly because of the wood barring any obvious major defect with anything else. I don't even bother plugging in guitars when I'm shopping.


    Every chunk of wood is different. Density level and resonance point being two biggies. First off the wood has to be allowed to dry naturally (or sped up via dryers). Once the body is ready you need to marry it with a neck that's going to work with it and not against it. This is done by the smaller guys via 'tap-toning'. With the big guys is usually just a happy accident. (best strat I ever owned many moons ago was a MIM one that only cost me a few hundred bucks. The hardware and pickups were on the lower end but the setup was sound and the thing was alive acoustically. Almost as loud as an acoustic! Strum an open E and the thing would ring forever)


    Re: Drying - if you've ever played a Norlin era Les Paul you know what happens if the wood isn't allowed to dry - might as well strap a boat anchor over your shoulder. Super heavy and dead as a door nail. The age of the wood matters too because of the sap than runs through it. It can take decades after a board is cut before it's finally hardened and crystallyzed. The past 10 years the big deal in boutique guitars is re-claimed lumber. Boards that are cut from really old buildings or lumber that's been dredged from the bottom of rivers.


    One example: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/…rs-find-resonance-detroit


    On the flip side, grab the deadest cheap Les Paul you can find, plug it into a Marshall half stack with everything dimed, and you'll find glory!


    Quick note for anyone that might not know. Brain May's legendary Red Special is made from wood cut from a centuries old fireplace mantel.

    "I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." - Douglas Adams

  • Been playing the same guitar for 26 years , started eyeing the Cutlass when they came out a few years back and the new gear bug bit me a couple of weeks ago.

    [Blocked Image: https://i.postimg.cc/hGGQrRhW/G94082-front-xlarge.jpg]">[Blocked Image: https://i.postimg.cc/hGGQrRhW/G94082-front-xlarge.jpg]

    [Blocked Image: https://i.postimg.cc/T30Wg3dJ/G94082-back-xlarge.jpg]">[Blocked Image: https://i.postimg.cc/T30Wg3dJ/G94082-back-xlarge.jpg]

  • Congrats! MM and the Cutlass are absolutely upper class stuff. That guitar rivals any strat (or knockoff) I've ever tried.

    "I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." - Douglas Adams