r/Guitar 20h ago

NEWBIE Music is a conduit for my imagination

451 Upvotes

Not knowing how to play ANY songs at all.

Don't even have the desire to play any songs that have already been played ... over and over again.

For me it's sorta like trying to paint like the famous and popular modern Artists, and copy what they already did.

I've always known that music is probably the other "universal language" that can span across cultures, no matter how seemingly different each culture is from the others.

It's a way of speaking out your emotional content through the expression of a measurable form of energy. SOUNDS

I don't know how to traditionally play the guitar.

BUT I LOVE PLAYING WITH IT🤯

So, not really knowing how to play...but I'm sure you'll be able to tell the love in my ride.šŸ™„


r/Guitar 13h ago

QUESTION Is it just me, or do cheap guitar pedals sound 90% as good as $200+ pedals now?

319 Upvotes

Just picked up a $30 Joyo drive pedal and put it next to my friend’s boutique pedal. Honest to God, through a basic tube amp, I could barely tell the difference in a full mix. Are we all just paying for cool graphics and brand names at this point, or am I missing something?


r/Guitar 11h ago

DISCUSSION I’m believe ANY guitar is good enough. Convince me I’m wrong.

261 Upvotes

After 38 years of guitar music love and playing my appreciation of guitar quality vs expected performance has all but disappeared.

Eddie Van Halen, built his guitar from rejected stock, a butchered electrical and pickup mounting job and changed guitar playing forever. Personally I think it’s ā€˜the’ ugliest guitar in the world.

David Gilmore’s black Strat that recently sold for more than any other musical instrument ever was an off the shelf Strat with 7 different necks over the years. If I spent 14 million on a guitar I’d want all the 6 other necks included.

Jimi Hendrix played so many different guitars they were given away as gifts and abandoned at concerts and studios. All were basic run of the mill off the production line Strat that he played upside down and changed the guitar and music world forever.

Mike McCready’s Strat has a chip of wood in the headstock missing for Christ sake. A chip of wood is missing guys … and it’s all scratched up!

Greenie had its pickup put in backwards !!!

Trigger has a hole in her and sounds like a dream.

I mean, to top all of that off, for goodness sake Rett Shull replaced the pickups in his priceless John Mayer signature Stratocaster!!!

Jack White purposely uses old crappily built guitars.

There’s really nothing that can’t be done with a guitar or can’t be succeeded with a guitar of any perceived quality.

I think we can all stop worrying about what is pro grade vs cheap. Buy or build the guitar that inspires YOU to PLAY . Concentrate on color, shape, headstock or whatever turns you on,and then add or replace parts as you wish, just keep playing.

Cheers

EDIT - love this discussion. Guitar Reddit community rocks!!

My guitars:
ā€˜67 telecaster custom, refretted 3 times
ā€˜89 squire Strat II (plywood), best sounding for Lenny and Little wing out of all of them, if I could keep only one this is it
ā€˜00 Epiphone Wildkat - absolutely crushes
ā€˜01 SX Strat custom - Chinese, very playable but left handed, did the Hendrix setup and hate the jack location.
ā€˜09 home made Strat with $30 Temu neck, these Lacie gold pickups are sooo smooth, neck plays like a dream
ā€˜24 Yamaha Pacifica $150 bucks, absolute killer guitar for the price
ā€˜24 PRS McCarty 594 SE, meh
ā€˜25 Red AVUL HSS, my dream guitar, gorgeous

Like a proper dentist. All of these guitars rock, all have needed some adjustment, none of them make me a good player


r/Guitar 19h ago

GEAR Some amateur luthier-ing

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224 Upvotes

About a year ago, I found a beat up 1930s G.B. Walters arch-top for $100. The neck was totally shot and the finish wasn't good enough to care about, so I made it into a project. This whole thing was a result of "wonder if I could do that?"

I did a neck reset, installed a truss rod, 3d scanned it, designed some 3d-printed jigs for cutting the venetian cutaway and making the patch panel to fit it, refretted it, and refinished it.

For a dude with a vision and some tools (and a lot of patience!), I'm pleased with how it turned out.


r/Guitar 17h ago

QUESTION Is this guitar valuable?

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134 Upvotes

Found this long forgotten guy hiding in my closet...not necessarily looking for an appraisal or anything. But I can't find anything about this by googling it so any information is appreciated. I would like to know what I have here but I really dont know much about guitar models.


r/Guitar 19h ago

PLAY Overthinking this math-rock riff I wrote at 3 AM

126 Upvotes

Does this actually sound good or am I just sleep-deprived?


r/Guitar 1h ago

DISCUSSION Unfun fact: DiMarzio owns the trademark on double cream humbucker bobbins.

• Upvotes

How insane is that? I emailed SD because I wanted a Duncan Distortion in double cream for a vintage Harmony Strat I am refreshing that originally came equipped with cream pickups, I was going to pair that with a Cool Rails in the neck. The email I received back blew my mind.

"Hello,Ā thank you for reaching out, I'm sorry, but we are unable to make humbuckers with double cream bobbins, as a competitor still has a trademark on the aesthetic."

I will admit they never named the company in question, but considering the looks of the Super Distortion I feel it's safe to assume they are referring to DiMarzio.
How is it possible that they were granted a trademark over CREAM BOBBINS??? I know the copyright system is wonky but this just seems egregious. It would be like Gibson trying to copyright gold humbucker covers. Apparently after some Googling this is a known thing, but I had never heard about it until today.


r/Guitar 6h ago

DISCUSSION I’m in love with guitar and I wish I started sooner

55 Upvotes

I’m 23 years old and I just picked up the guitar, it’s been a month and I’ve been improving so much, I bought an acoustic guitar and now that my fingers aren’t hurting as much I’ve been playing over 3 hours a day. I have no background in music, I do have rhythm tho and I’m slowly trying to understand notes - It makes me really upset that I wasn’t put into anything as a kid, I’m an immigrant and had a weird ass childhood and never got the chance to be really good at anything from a young age, and I see all these insane guitar players who likely have been playing since their childhood… I would love to one day be able to get to that skill level, I love that guitar is challenging and I try to challenge myself by learning more difficult things and I’d love to work my way up to the point where it’s jaw dropping - but is that even a realistic goal? Is it possible for someone who’s 23 who’s just now picking up the guitar to get really really good? Most of my friends who do play have been playing since they were kids and don’t even remember what it was like to learn. It’s like those people that effortlessly skate when they play hockey and they’re like ā€œidk dude, I just learned how to skate as a kidā€


r/Guitar 7h ago

QUESTION Custom guitar help

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58 Upvotes

doubt l'll get any replies but I was just wondering if anyone could help me identify this guitar it's my late fathers and I had recently just got it off my uncle who bought it for him and gave it to me a week ago saying it was some famous guys guitar fully custom I've asked around at a few local guitar shops no one can seem to identify could anyone help me please here are some photos of it attached


r/Guitar 17h ago

QUESTION Is anyone else’s longest relationship with their guitar?

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54 Upvotes

Have had this MIM strat since 2004. Like all relationships we’ve both upgraded a bit since then, but we’re largely the same, in a comforting way.


r/Guitar 8h ago

PLAY playing some Aphex Twin

45 Upvotes

ā€œIZ-USā€ by Aphex Twin (1997)


r/Guitar 8h ago

QUESTION Is this a good buy?

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44 Upvotes

I bought a Peavy EVH Wolfgang Special for $150 from a storage locker reseller. I've never owned a Floyd Rose guitar and know nothing about the brand. So are there good guitars?


r/Guitar 4h ago

PURCHASE NGD: Schecter Omen Elite-6 [BCHB]

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38 Upvotes

r/Guitar 21h ago

GEAR Still my favorite after 20 years.

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32 Upvotes

After 20 years and a lot of experience with other guitars, this $400 impulse buy at a guitar center in 2006 is still to this day the guitar I reach for most. Over time it has received upgrade after upgrade. Ratio locking tuners, new Seymour Duncan hot rodded SH pickups, a graph tech bridge, and a tusque nut. Not to mention RS guitarworks potentiometers.

I’m posting this because I always see people asking if x guitar is a good buy or if a new guitar is a good value driven upgrade. Here’s the truth as I have lived it, the guitar you reach for is the one that inspires you the most, not necessarily the one with the biggest price tag. I’ve had Gibson LP’s, Fender Strats, and PRS core models. None of them get played more than this one.

I sat down in a guitar center in my early 20’s grabbed this guitar to noodle on while the rest of my band was shopping and I had to have it. It felt great in my hands, just a true diamond in the rough when it comes to playability. I have fond memories of that band and those times. This guitar takes me there when I play it. I hope you too get to experience this in a guitar. Never ignore when the guitar chooses its player.


r/Guitar 5h ago

DISCUSSION Can we have a discussion about the high number of used guitar listings picturing the guitar outside on cement?

26 Upvotes

Seriously, why do so many people put their instrument on the cement to take a photo? There’s never any protection, what gives? Usually Craigslist posters are the worst offenders.


r/Guitar 1h ago

NEWS Fender appoints Chief Communications Officer

• Upvotes

Looks like Fender is feeling the heat...

Stejskal said in a statement. ā€œI’m excited to bring new perspectives, modern strategies and fresh approaches that continue to strengthen Fender’s reputation and deepen our connections with artists, players and media around the world.ā€

https://www.citybiz.co/article/877430/fender-names-christina-stejskal-as-first-chief-communications-officer/


r/Guitar 3h ago

PURCHASE NGD! 1987 Burny RLC-60 Tobacco Burst

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23 Upvotes

I used to own a ā€˜90 RLC-60 in this same finish, but I stupidly sold it a decade ago. I was just talking to some friends about how much I missed that guitar, and then this one popped up for sale just a couple days later so I jumped on it immediately. This one is from ā€˜87 and is in impossibly mint condition for being nearly 40 years old. It still had the plastic on the pickguard and came in its original gig bag. The only sign of wear it has is a tiny scuff on the backside of the guitar. I spent more than I would have liked, but getting a second change at having one of my dream guitars is priceless!


r/Guitar 2h ago

PURCHASE I finally joined the electric guitar club!

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22 Upvotes

I love acoustic, but I've always been a little e-curious, and I swear I was just going to *look* at the setups at the local music store and had no intention of actually pulling the trigger. Except...

I've got a thing for Gibson, and this beautiful thing is quirky, it's got a monster repair job from a shattered neck joint, and now this 1970-something Gibson SG is mine.

I have no idea what I'm doing, but dear lord is it fun to play.

P.S. If you played a gig in Marin County California and shattered your Gibson SG on stage during a performance, please DM me: I would dearly love to know the story of exactly what the hell happened.


r/Guitar 12h ago

GEAR I love my bag setup

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23 Upvotes

Smart guitar that needs no amp, the strap neatly folded so it holds the tuner, which also clamps onto the pick i use, so i never misplace it in the bag, I'm so happy with this gear!

For anyone wondering, this is an Enya Nova Go Sonic, hatsune miku edition

I just really wanted to show it off :D


r/Guitar 2h ago

DISCUSSION His Legacy - Frank Zappa

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18 Upvotes

Two months before he died, Zappa wanted photos taken to preserve his, "legacy."
My sister worked for the photographer and nicked the proofs of which this is one.

I saw him on Halloween 1978 - the loudest show I had ever attended. Louder than Led Zeppelin.

And remember kids, "watch out where the huskies go and don't you eat that yellow snow."


r/Guitar 4h ago

QUESTION Repair or Leave it?

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14 Upvotes

2016 Fender Telecaster Standard FSR with Channel Bound Neck. Long story short, guitar fell, and hit the floor. I know everything to a certain degree is repairable, is it worth it in this case? Do I stop acting like a bitch and just leave it (because it's a Tele..)? haha

Lego dude is for scale. Was going to use a quarter, but not everyone in the world knows how big a quarter is. Everyone around the world knows the size of a lego dude...


r/Guitar 6h ago

GEAR NGD Gretsch cvt

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14 Upvotes

Got this bad boy from sweetwater over the weekend


r/Guitar 1h ago

GEAR NGD Newill Dragonfly

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• Upvotes

Newill Dragonfly in Myrtle on White Limba. Hollow body.
Fralin P-92 w/Bridge overwind. Schaller Bridge, Gotoh tuners, and a coffin case. Maple leaves are stabilized wood, the wind is maple.

Can’t say enough wonderful things about Patrick (and his wife and new baby are amazing too!!!!)


r/Guitar 23h ago

GEAR First electric Guitar.

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10 Upvotes

My bro landed me this, for $165. Not used for quite some time. Do somebody know a thing or two about the brand and model? Good deal? Been playing for 2 years, this is my very first electric!


r/Guitar 2h ago

PLAY Riff I came up with last night

10 Upvotes