randythoades

I will have to pop over to Guitar Village in Farnham for an afternoon, they seem to have a stock of the Gretsch, Ibanez and Peerless. Looking at their website the Ibanez Pat Methany PM 2 looks good, as well as the Peerless Tonemaster in orange (the only rockabilly colour to have...) On eBay, there is a second hand Ibanez AF75 hollow body for £250 + delivery, and a Gretsch 5120 for £395. Would the Gretsch be worth dropping the extra £ for just because of the name?

It is a bit scary but quite fun when the band don't know what song. In our rockabilly band we do quickfire playing so everyone has to pick a song in turn (from the repertoire, granted) and just start without announcing and everyone just has to come in as best they can. Keeps you on you toes and keeps the set list fresh. As per Mr Berry though, it helps when most of the songs are similar in structure. Not sure I would like to gig it like that mind.

Hey, Thanks Dad Thy look great,very reasonable too. Will look into these further. The XV950 in particular looks great.

Very true!! Still very much on the radar. Trouble is, I am not keen on a tremolo and I think a Gretsch may be a little bit twangy for my needs. Plus you pay for the logo so am happy to have a cheaper alternative if the quality is better.

Not sure I have the funds for this!! Drool, drool... It looks a bit to way out for what I need. The rockabilly bunch are really conservative so want to stay quite traditional, visually at least, otherwise I might have opted for Line 6 Variax.

Hi Rhys Thanks for this, I will do, have seen a couple on eBay. As a '335' owner, would this be jazzy enough and have enough bottom end to do the job? There are far more 335 style guitars out there and obviously a bit more versatile in the future should I move on. On Ebay there are a couple of second hand Ibanez Artcore hollows, a couple of Vintage and Peavey Rockingham. Anyone got an experience of these?

BotB, cheers for that, I did think of a traditional archtop, I will check out the Godin, have heard good things about them. Maybe I confused things, it is not the actual true acoustic sound that I am specifically seeking. I use the acoustic for the rich bass tones but find the lead lines much harder than on my strat and I feel like a bit of a prat when my fingers get all twisted. I am thinking that the hollow body will give enough air so that the bass is fat and rich but the lead much easier to handle,and still look traditional to the period.

Hi Chaps I think I have the need for a Jazz box type guitar. I have been playing acoustic in a stripped down rock and roll / jump blues band as the lone instrument except drums, the emphasis on the vocals. I am playing the bass line (palm muted to give the 'tic tac' sound) as I used to on my upright bass for the I chord, then adding melody or strumming on the IV and V chords as needed. Works really well but I am struggling to play solos with any authority on the acoustic as the string balance doesn't quite work with the piezo, plus it is much harder to play. I could just add a magnetic soundhole pickup try and even out the tone, but hey, a new guitar will feed the GAS too! My thoughts are that a large jazzbox will retain enough 'acoustic' ness to sound nice and rich for the bassline an also smooth enough for solos (my strat doesn't have the richness in the basslines). Not looked at them before so not sure which are good and which are not. Don't want to spend a fortune so looking at the lower end, and don't need tremolo necessarily, Epiphone,Vintage, Cort, Gretsch Electromatic etc around the £300-600 mark. The material is softer and jazzier, not as raw as full on rockabilly, Bill Haley, Elvis, Ray Charles, Ricky Nelson, Louis Jordan, Chuck Berry. So I need rich bottom end with the ability to switch to a more balanced solo tone My thoughts initially are: Epiphone ES175, Epiphone Joe Pass, Cort Yorkville, Vintage VSA575. Anyone play a hollow body?

Ah well, guitarist says that the 'hole' has been fraying for a couple of weeks, then tore through on the first song of the first set. I could have gaffer taped it. The keyboard player looks after the PA generally but I have 'taken over' with leads and stands etc as there is never the right stuff to do the job properly. Saturday was just a case of the stage being bigger than I thought and in my OCD like frame of mind, I don't like cables running across the stage so route them round the back to keep them neat. I completely agree on some though, it does frustrate me that in general they don't look after their own gear but I have taken on a role such as a road manager. I have the stuff, have the responsibility and then don't get disappointed

I agree about the Arias. I have decided to sell the backups and maybe just keep the first ones to use at home. I did take 4 guitars to a gig once and felt the need to change halfway through each set and at our break. Someone asked why I changed - different tunings? problems? different strings? Nope, I said, all set up the same, simple reason is: because I can... I was young, foolish and arrogant. Now just old and foolish.

Gig Saturday night. Needed: spare amp as powered monitor failed. Check. Needed: spare strap as guitarist strap broke. Check. Needed: extra mic cables as run back to PA longer than expected. Check. I feel vindicated.

There is a larger Zoom than the R16, the R24. Still only 8 simultaneous recording tracks but good ability to overdub anyway should you want it. Great unit, I have done plenty of recording on mine. But for simple demos and live recordings I use the Zoom H2 handheld. A bit of experimentation about where to put the recorder (mounts onto a mic stand) and you can record full surround sound or just stereo with a variety of 4 or 5 internal mics. Really good sound quality as long as you don't overload it. You can then take the take and re-EQ it in Cubase or whatever and leave it at that.

To paraphrase Smaz: My problem is I take a cable out of my gig bag of pedals/amp head/cables, and put it in my guitar case to take to practice. I then take a different case to a gig, and voila - I'm a cable short. this is exactly my reasoning! I am saving myself from my own forgetfulness. I also took out a cable to practice guitar with over the weekend. Forgot to put it back and needed extra cable at rehearsal last night. No fear, the backup backup was still in place and ready for action. Proof of point. However, I think that most stems from my inability to sell on instruments that I don't use for whatever reason, and as I like to have a backup, each redundant instrument is actually 2 redundant instruments. A clear out is needed.

as TimR and Marc S say, I do carry a DI and don't do backup amps for some reason. I have two amps, one set for DB and one for EB but prefer the DI backup for both. Although I rarely have needed the backup of anything myself, I like to be the one who saves the day by having a spare cable, mic, connector, strap, strap locks, pens etc. I mean who takes spare guitar strings and pedal patch leads to a gig where they play bass and no effects? Me! What a plonker...

Thanks for the comments... I think that justification to my wife is probably a major part!!! I do appreciate that something might not quite be right with my situation, mainly an insecurity or a deep mistrust of technology in general.

No spare strings? I couldn't sleep at night! Although, as for Bilbo I haven't actually broken a string for at least 15 years.

Oops about the 'backup' posts! Too ready on the mouse clicking!! Backup partners? Difficult road to start down I think. I am very happy with the one I have, of course. I think it must be getting OCD like with the guitars though. I have no real need for all of them. All of them were my main instrument for a time, hence the backups, but as I moved on to other instruments (as you do), I could never bring myself to lose the backup too. I might just have to trim the herd and sell both main and backup versions at the same time to stop the palpitations and sweating palms... Then when I get another new one I will just have to get 2. As they say, 'fail to plan, plan to fail'. I am very conscious now that if I don't take the backup, then something will go boom...

This is the thing. I am obsessed by making sure I have a backup of all of my musical equipment, even equipment that I don't really use... I have spent a big effort this year getting my credit card back to zero. Achieved it last week, and then last night found the exact same bass as the one I usually use on eBay over in the US. Kerching! Buy It Now and bass on it's way... credit card back in use. But why? I currently have 7 basses. Two home made Precision (one as backup), and 2 Aria TSB 350 (one as backup), and 2 Aria CSB 380 (one as backup) plus my main bass which is an Aria 1420b violin bass (backup on it's way). I rarely use the TSB or CB Arias as they are too heavy for me to play live a I have a problem with my shoulder, so I only play at home with them but still feel the need for a backup. I have the same for guitars 2 strats, 2 teles, 2 Ibanez, 2 acoustics. And a similar thing with cables with backups of the backups. I actually have a backups case for cables which I take to rehearsals but leave in the car 'just in case...' even though I only buy top quality cables and already take at least one backup cable in my main case. Thing is, I have never had a cable or guitar go down on me, but still feel the need of the safety net. Anyone else in this predicament? Or do you just fly by the wind, what will be will be?

Hi Gareth. I struggled to find anything for mine. I just use a Hidersine 3/4 bag and it is a bit floppy, but it does work. Sometimes I use a bungee to keep it tight onto the body.

I have a Thomann bass, a slimline European one. It is a lovely bass. Walbassist has just had one delivered so you could get his opinions. Ebony fingerboard, good (ish) hardware and a good sound. It has the benefit of a smaller body cavity so is easier to manage the bulk, but does compromise on the volume because of this which may not be ideal if she plays in orchestra. it is only £520 delivered. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_slim_line_double_bass_europe_1.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_slim_line_double_bass_europe_1.htm[/url] Then they also do the non European version as a full size at £413 [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_kontrabass_111.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_kontrabass_111.htm[/url] Overall Thomann basses seem to have a reasonable reputation

I have used them in a custom build. Very nice pickups, especially for the price, certainly would recommend. My own preference though are the Wilkinson Alnico premium P bass pickups. I have them in both my P builds and are great for a vintage tone with a touch of extra bite.

I have one too for gigging (not that I do much gigging at the moment). Great amp but a little on the heavy side to lug to rehearsals. I use it at home and take a tiny lightweight GK head for practices but it doesn't have the oomph and presence of the HA3 500. Cracking amp for hard and classic rock.

Excellent news. Slap on those silver slaps!

Very jealous. I want one!

I know nothing about it, but it looks very cool indeed. Good one.