kayd_mon

@skyisdead I would call it Frances, because that is more fun.

I would like a beer

Personally, I like that it has newfound popularity. I own the entire Decemberists discography on vinyl (I have some on CD, but not all). Most new albums that come out, I can get on vinyl, which I like. Both the Arctic Monkeys and Pearl Jam have new records out, and I'll be picking up the vinyl copies. I haven't heard either record yet - I'm waiting to pop them on my turntable. It's a fun experience.

How sudden was it? I started collecting vinyl in '99, when I received a few Who records as a gift. At that time, you could find a lot of things cheap, "in the wild" as you say. By about 2006, more and more new music was available on vinyl, and people started wanting more for their collections. It's not insane where I am, though. You can still find vinyl at used book stores, garage sales, and the local record shops, and it's not always outrageously priced.

I just bought a copy of Hard Day's Night (complete with instrumental soundtrack versions of a few songs) yesterday. I believe that it was pressed in the 70s, based on the inner sleeve, and the record is super shiny and sounds great. Still missing a few Beatles records for my collection (hard to find affordable, playable copies if the early albums), and that elusive The Who Sell Out. I have never seen Sell Out at a used record shop, garage sale, or whatever. I have every other Who album, even some compilations with not-on-CD tracks (or at least I've never seen them on CD). Yes, I collect vinyl, but my collecting has slowed considerably. Before yesterday, I had only bought a few Sinatra records at a yard sale about two months ago, and that's all the vinyl I've bought this year.

My first Strat had more treble bite than my friend's guitar, and I had this cheap Gorilla amp that had absolutely no low end. My friend would call my guitar "King Treble" and eventually KT for short. So I suppose you could say that guitar's name was "Katy" since that's what we called it. I have built two partscasters, and I named them Mach One and Mach Two. I sold Mach Two, though. The next partscaster I put together will be Mach Three, I guess. Those are the only "named" ones I have.

Cool, I didn't know that the block didn't go all the way through. That would cause a lot more feedback, then.

I got my GC mailer today, and I saw this in there. A semi-hollow design, but without F-holes. Also, they removed the additional volume/tone set. At $1599, it's not that expensive considering the headstock. This reminds me of their most recent 339, which doesn't have F-holes, either. Well, weigh in! What do you think?

I have a low opinion of those types of bridges, but if you're good with them, then I don't see a reason not to go for that guitar.

Killer. Always hoped that when I recorded an album, it could be released on vinyl.

Oh, and as you're just beginning (and it's great advice to eschew upgrades until your ears are more seasoned), remember to not take too much stock in reviews. Yes, they help, but ultimately, it's your ears that need to make the decision. What sounds amazing to one guy is sludgy **** to the next.

First question - are you basing this decision on reviews you read or from listening to your guitar and being dissatisfied? I ask because I have an RG4EX1 with I'm pretty sure the same pickups, and my first thought about the guitar was, "wow, is this versatile! And damn if those pickups don't sound great clean or dirty!" Really, I was/am impressed with the infinity pickups on that guitar - easily cops some LP and Strat tones. That said, you might like Duncans. The JB is a popular bridge pickup, and it's good for rock and other distorted playing. It's fine clean, if a little harsh in the mids. A Gibson 500T is a better choice, I think (not sure about spacing, though) since it's ceramic like the other pickups and has similar high output. If you only replace the bridge, you just need to choose a pickup that has similar output, which in your case is high output.

Hmmmm... My vinyl or a guitar I really want... I don't know which I'd rather.

I have an ok collection, a bookshelf about 5 feet tall and maybe 2.5 feet wide from Ikea holds all of it, except for my 45s, of which I have 20-30. About two thirds of my collection is vintage, from mostly the 60s and 70s. I also have a few from the 80s and 90s, and I have a decent amount of modern vinyl. My parents passed some records down to me from their collections, but not all of it was well-preserved, unfortunately. All of my dad's Beach Boys records, for example, were played to death. My favorite record I have is probably my pretty clean British copy of Revolver. I have a mono Sgt. Pepper, and though it has no scratches, it was played too much and has lost a lot of quality. Another favorite is a very clean copy of Live at Leeds, with all the inserts and what not. There is a local record shop that almost specializes in prog, so I have lots of King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Yes, Genesis, Floyd, etc. The big local shop (called Radio-Active Records) has a guy there that knew I was a prog fan, and he helped me find a squeaky-clean copy of Crimson's Starless and Bible Black. That was a happy day, since that record had eluded me for a while. I have often flipped through garage sale bins, thrift store bins, used book shop shelves, and personal collections of people selling stuff on craigslist. For me, it's mostly a fun hobby tracking down vinyl, though I do like the experience of playing the records. Some sound a good bit different than the currently available CDs, which is cool. Also, the whole side-at-a-time thing changes how you listen to an album.

I think that they only blocked a couple words, like f*ck and c*nt. Pretty much all other cuss words are on (at least) cable tv, and therefore not considered that offensive in the mainstream.

Well, they're both . 75" off the Gibson scale in either direction. I'd think you'd get used to either one in a week or so. The short scale isn't that much to get used to.

Originally Posted by Sheraton Yep, cheap is one of my main criteria. Small and light is another. How's the battery life? I'm wondering if the Monoprice version is made in the same plant as the Vox for half the cost. The battery life on the Amplug is quite good. I can't give you an hour number, but the battery lasts a good long time. I don't know anything about the Monoprice ones.

Originally Posted by Sheraton Yep, cheap is one of my main criteria. Small and light is another. How's the battery life? I'm wondering if the Monoprice version is made in the same plant as the Vox for half the cost. The battery life on the Amplug is quite good. I can't give you an hour number, but the battery lasts a good long time. I don't know anything about the Monoprice ones.

I have an Amplug AC30 version, and I think it's great as a headphone amp. A pocket Pod might be better, but it's also more expensive.

I have an Amplug AC30 version, and I think it's great as a headphone amp. A pocket Pod might be better, but it's also more expensive.

I had a Squier Stagemaster with a Floyd for a little while. I ended up trading it for some recording equipment, since I didn't have as much fun dive bombing harmonics as I thought I would.

I had a Squier Stagemaster with a Floyd for a little while. I ended up trading it for some recording equipment, since I didn't have as much fun dive bombing harmonics as I thought I would.

My first guitar was an Aria Pro II Strat copy, made in the mid 90s. The electronics crapped out after about two years, and the frets were showing serious wear after just over a year. The guitar had nice features (a coil splitter switch for the bridge HB), the finish looked good, and the neck carve was nice, but it was a very cheap guitar. I've returned to it a few times to try to mod it to make it a playable instrument again, but I'll need to switch out a whole lot of parts, and give it a refret besides (which is well beyond my ability). Aria Pro IIs get enough good feedback here and around the net, but while I loved my first guitar more than anything else in the world at the time, it was a very cheap guitar.

Jonny Greenwood. I love Radiohead and their adventures but getting tired of 10+ years of electronic bloops bleeps & noodling. In Rainbows was a slight return but King of Limbs is just -I hate to say it 'boring'. For god sakes can't they just give us ONE more album of guitars. Some of us would be soooo happy. Not to derail, but I like Radiohead enough to make them my avatar, and I like a lot of the bloop-beep stuff... but I kind of agree. I was a little disappointed with King of Limbs (yeah, it could get snoozy), and I miss Greenwood's playing from their first few albums.

Jack White in the White Stripes. I prefer The Raconteurs.