daddymack

the Radial unit you linked to is a 2 channel mixer, not exactly a summing amp. It will take two discreet inputs and allow you to balance them, correct for phase cancellation issues [a nice feature] and send both channels as one output.

funny... 'a player grade example of a ‘52 Les Paul' is a term I never expected to hear But I guess they exist, albeit they were 'modernized' which ruins the collector value....I have seen a few from the trapeze era that were updated to an ABR-1 bridge/short trapeze tailpiece setup, with holes filled and holes drilled [made me shudder], a 'compensated' replacement bar for the trapeze, and one where they made the leap to the compensated stop tail like the '55 [and the LPJ and later Melody Makers]...which eventually gave way to a Leo Quan [at my suggestion, since the damage was already done]. I did offer my client a possible mod, which was to make a new custom TOM-style bridge that would fit on the existing height adjustment posts, and change the trapeze to a shorter length, serving as just a string holder, like on some ES models. I showed him the set up on my ES135 as an example, which is identical to the one I linked. The trapeze and bridge would have to be custom done, and the cost is fairly steep [because I no longer have my own machine shop]. This would not require any drilling or structural alterations to the instrument, and it is easily reversed to original. He is still considering it...but I doubt he will do it...he has plenty of guitars to play😉...and his '53 [there are no actual verifiable means, but he says his provenance puts it as an early '53], and he has the guitar insured at $45,000, which made me very nervous having it on my bench! As to the 'Buddy Holly Story'...it was a story, but not necessarily Buddy's...

I think Buddy was just a goofy kid who wanted something newfangled looking, and didn't really have a 'sound' in mind at the time. It is pretty disingenuous to state that he wouldn't have become who he was without the Fender sound....but I guarantee that he could have written and performed his same material with that Lester...albeit without being as well tuned. The amp, well, may have been problematic, as those early LP amps were pretty dark sounding; but anyone who says you can't 'twang' with P90s has never tried. I do agree with one thing the author said...he could have done the same on a Tele, even with the tuning challenges of the 3 barrel bridge [never stopped Gatton, among others]. I will also agree that those early 'trapeze' Lesters were a major PITA to keep tuned [I have repaired one recently for a local collector, and I saw immediately the 'over/under' issue with the action...really a bad design concept]. And to be fair, I'm sure Buddy went through other less 'loved' guitars before he bought the LP....but we will likely never know, unless he scratched his name into those as well

as an addendum...I started this forum when I was starting out on the solo path in order to pick the brains of the folks I could attract to the forum, and I learned so much about things to do, not to do, gear to try, material that may or may not work...so there it is, almost a decade of absorbing data from others in similar situations. And so I will take this opportunity to thank all the great people who contributed here over the years, although many have moved on, and I have put my solo act on hiatus several times as situations arose.

Voltan is correct.... To the OP, your Taylor is a good standard choice for acoustic. Work with it, build up your left hand. I don't bring an electric/semi/hollowbody for solo gigs. I know people who do, but honestly, I found that no one really cares about your soloing [even with a looper, which if you don't have one, I suggest you get one and start working with it], they are expecting a person who sings and plays guitar. If you can manage fingerstyle jazz, [which I can't seem to do] then bring the Gretsch, otherwise, work on your act with just the Taylor. Why? Because it sounds to me like you have developed some bad habits regarding your singing and playing, most likely from working in bands with 2 guitars [just a guess] where you were not the lead vocalist. You are not alone; I had similar issues when I started out to build my solo act [although I work in a variety of band configurations, usually as the lone guitarist]. Doing a solo act is a 'warts and all' proposition. You are the act, no one to help you, cover for you, etc. Rethink the songs to suit you and your gear. No one has ever complained to me that I did a song on acoustic and I didn't do it just like the record...the audience really wants to be entertained and they don't care if you play the solo note for note....sell them your version of the song. I am in the process of retooling my solo act, but the least of my issues is guitars. I did a lot of things right and wrong starting out, but on my last solo gig, I stripped everything back to me and the guitar and a mic...and it worked fine. Oh, sure, I could have impressed them with my mad skills with the Beat Buddy, Vocal harmonizer and the looper...I can sound pretty close to a full band...but frankly, it was far more work than I needed to do to put on an entertaining show...and that is what you are really trying to do: entertain your audience. Focus on the song. Pick songs that work with your voice and with the rest of your material. Focus on singing, and accompanying yourself while singing. Remember, the audience wants to hear you perform, not a jukebox. Also, a hard lesson learned: trotting out covers of 60s and 70s rock tunes won't get you where you think they will. If you are going for that era, look to the folkier material like CSNY, S&G, JT, Croce...I do a medley of Everly Bros which goes over well as well, and the occasional rework of one hit wonders, like 'Don't Walk Away, Renee'. I am currently digging in o the Great American Songbook material, finding standards that 1: I like, 2: I can arrange the guitar parts to suit my style, 3: I can sing well and 4: not may other soloists are covering... Be bold, be different, but above all else, be entertaining!

pics? I love those old starters...I still have my '62 Melody Maker I bought in '72 for $145 w/hsc [which I still have!] from the Ernie Ball store in Tarzana, CA.

first acoustic was a Kent, circa 1964, I was 10, spent my xmas and snow shoveling money on it. It was horrible to play, sounded horrible, and the strings kept breaking [in those days we used Black Diamond banjo strings]. and I never learned anything on it. It did look good sitting in the corner of my room, though... It looked something like this :https://reverb.com/item/25119281-kent-parlor-used-black-burst Got a no-name nylon string a few years later, even worse tone and action, but the strings held up better 😉 Eventually both those guitars were destroyed as part of a student film I worked on in 1971 First electric was a Teisco, looked kind of like a Strat, but with plates and switches and four p-ups and it sounded like crap through the old Bogen PA head and 10" radio cabinet salvaged speaker. Looked very much like this one: https://reverb.com/item/154583-rare-teisco-kawai-4-pickup-electric-guitar-60-s-darkburst-final-price-drop First bass may have been an Eko; it was a violin bass with this weird square block where the 'scroll' should have been. Actually sounded okay and played okay to the fifth fret. I gave it to a good friend when I finally decided I was going to be a guitarist [at the ripe old age of 17]. It looked a lot like this, but the 'E' headstock logo plaque was not there, just a blank wooden face: https://reverb.com/item/21123394-eko-995-violin-bass Ya gotta kiss a lot of frogs...

is your T5 imaginary? 😉 There is the rub with most* Solid State amps...you have to 'fatten up' the guitar's tone and presence; part of that is actually just what we have come to perceive as good amplified guitar sound, based on decades of tube amp domination, hero worship, marketing and stringslinger dogma... * There are, of course some outstanding SS amps, going back to the Gibson Lab Series, the more modern take, like Quilter, and then the newer modelers like Kemper, but let's be honest, those amps have always been priced above the average weekend warrior's accessibility.

I'll agree with a Strat-style for funk, but it doesn't have to be American made, or even a Fender......the 'funk' isn't in the body/neck, it is in the p-ups, pots and the player. If it was me, I would try upgrading the p-ups in your Pacifica first, which is actually a very nice Strat knock-off...it just needs better electronics.

Thank you for saying what I've said about Taylors for years...they are consistent, but uninspiring; well made, but lacking panache...

I would not plug an acoustic/electric ukelele into an electric guitar amp...then again, I dislike feedback, ymmv... but into an acoustic amp? Sure. Much like anything else, opinions are just that, and unless you want a cookie cutter solution, then go for it. I own several ukes, but I'll be frank, I would not spend $500 on one...hell, a large portion of my gigging guitar collection cost less than that. My most expensive uke is the Epiphone Les Paul model, which is my only a/e ukelele. That said, in that price range, I would be inclined to get a Martin T1K...they sound and play fantastic...but, no a/e. Next would be a Lanikai...why? Because that is what they do, and they make great sounding [and looking] ukeleles. They offer a myriad of wood options, finishes, 5-string tenors, 8 string tenors... Kala also makes some very nice ukes as well. I do know some one who has a Kala a/e [not sure the model], and I know she paid close to $500 for hers. I have had the privilege to play some outrageous custom made ukeleles in Hawaii, many in the $3-5000 range, but honestly, most of that is about bling, not tone or playability, tuning stability, etc.

unfortunately your link failed...

puking from too much tequila never put me off playing guitar...

I try to cover the early weekend cleanups, but not at 4:00AM.......[unless I've been out all night..]

I'm not certain if this will work for you guys, but if you hover over the forumite's name, a pop-up window should appear...in the lower left corner the settings 'gear' symbol should appear.If you click the down arrow, it should say flag as spammer....PLEASE let me know if you have access to this or not. You should not be seeing a lot of spam these days, although some mods are fast to flag and slow to delete, we are trying to clean these up all day

this is really par for the course. We used to do a lot of festival/fair work, and sometimes it would be years before we were asked back...because there are so many bands here, that for one local band to sew up all the plush gigs just can't happen.

No Steve, you won't burn in hell...they have a far more special place for the likes of you, mate... So...had he said his 'mum', would you have gone into Bungalow Bill? I guess he's lucky he wasn't with his Uncle Albert...

hey, man, nuffinz pirfict, dude... From the Mods' standpoint, this is a vast improvement...I just miss being able to ban them with a pithy comment attached...but, oh well...

new tubes will likely make a huge difference, especially if the existing tubes have been in the amp for years and years [this thread started over ten years ago, and those amps were already discontinues then, so...], in fact, typically, when I buy a used amp [and sometimes even brand new amps because many come with crappy tubes], I just re-tube the whole set, pre's and power. Why not make sure the amp is running at it's best? I'm not certain about the biasing on that particular amp, but I would suggest having it done, unless you are qualified to bias it yourself.

after the 1994 Northridge quake*, I try to NOT keep too many guitars out at a time, although I have a bad habit lately of having at least 4 out on stands around the house at any given time.[big house]. Although I can appreciate the convenience, living in earthquake country adds an element of, shall we say, serendipity, to the decision-making process. We also only keep 3 guitars 'out' locking wall hangers] in the studio control room, more for show than anything else, and not even one in the 'guitar room'...just an empty stand. * oddly, two days before the quake, I cased all my guitars, which was unusual, as I usually kept at least one acoustic and two electrics out on stands...no explanation, just did it. Now most of the guitars are cased except the four or so I keep out for 'grab and play'

I was very impressed with a couple of the MarkBass heads, the combos not as much...I really liked the Gallien-Krueger MB210, compact, lightweight, 500W/2x10"...punchy and deep. Phil Jones makes some absolutely amazing lightweight amps that sound killer...pricey, but worth it. Eden [and stepchild Nemesis] make some outstanding bass rigs as well.. On the flip side...since you said price was no object, you can still get an Ampeg SVT Tube head, '300W 50th Anniversary Special Edition', 6550 output tubes [valves], XLR DI out, SpeakOn outputs and user biasing about US$2700.00 [€2433], plus a nice cab, like a Hartke HyDrive 1x12...around US$400.00 [€360].

he might have 12 years ago, but he hasn't been here in quite a while...as you may have guessed by now, there are no replies as these amps are not common, and nearly all of them are in the EU. I believe the company was Italian.

ah, 'lanta... Waffle House, Cracker Barrel, Peach or Peachtree being the name of every road in the city that doesn't have a state route number...some have both...

Welcome to HC, Riley! I have been touting the SA220 from the day mine arrived [like 10 years ago!], and have been ogling the SA330 for many months.

hmmm...where did I hear/read that before?