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Main Junction: ASK WHITECHAPEL -- the You Can Haz Help Now thread (Closes March 5th)

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    • CommentAuthorroadscum
    • CommentTimeFeb 20th 2012 edited
     (10478.1)
    #guitarbuyingadvice

    It's far too easy to get obsessed with gear, the whole newest, shiniest, bestest thing.

    Do go out and try some out, preferably in a shop where you don't feel pressured or uncomfortable, if you can find such a place. Pick one that feels right in your hands and looks well finished with decent quality fittings, avoid anything that feels flimsy or cheap. If you're looking at an electric, bear in mind that a lot of the sound depends on the amp and that pickups and electrics are fairly easy to upgrade if you don't mind a bit of soldering. Still, if it sounds bad to start with it's probably best avoided. Don't be afraid of it just because it's cheap, there is some rubbish about but there's also some really quite amazing quality too, especially some of the Chinese stuff. Try a good few, buy the one you like.
  2.  (10478.2)
    Make sure you pick out the opening bars of Stairway to Heaven while you're trying out new guitars .. . .
    •  
      CommentAuthorOsmosis
    • CommentTimeFeb 20th 2012
     (10478.3)
    No Stairway! Denied!
  4.  (10478.4)
    oh, yeah. as a former guitar shop employee, I should probably advise you against playing or attempting to play Stairway, Sweet Child O' Mine, Smoke on the Water, anything by van halen, or anything by stevie ray vaughan. The staff will hate you if you do any of those.
    • CommentAuthorbadbear
    • CommentTimeFeb 21st 2012
     (10478.5)
    #guitarbuyingadvice

    You guys are awesome, thanks so much for all your input.

    I'm definitely looking for an acoustic rather than an electric. Can someone tell me what the difference is between steel strings and nylon? (I assume they just sound different?)
    •  
      CommentAuthortaphead
    • CommentTimeFeb 21st 2012
     (10478.6)
    #guitarbuyingadvice

    Ah, acoustics. The sound is very different, and steel strings are going to be a lot harder on your fingers, especially in the beginning. Work up those callouses. Steel string guitars tend to have narrower necks and radiused fingerboards, classical guitars have wider necks and (nearly) flat fingerboards.

    That's pretty much the sum of my knowledge on acoustics, but I'll just reiterate my main point about focusing on finding a neck you like. The rest tends to be (at least for me) icing on the cake.
    • CommentAuthorOddcult
    • CommentTimeFeb 21st 2012
     (10478.7)
    #guitarbuyingadvice

    Nylon string acoustics tend to be for classical music playing, which specifies one finger per fret, and uses fairly different chords and scales to 'other' music, and are towards 'fingerstyle' picking with the right hand. So, the necks are flatter and wider to accomodate this and gaps between the strings greater. You can play anything you like on them, of course but they're going to mold your style towards a specific way of playing.

    You can't just put steel strings on a classical guitar intended for nylon strings, as the tensions involved are very different and you'd probably snap the guitar in half doing so. Guitars intended to be steel strung have metal rods in them to compensate for the extra tension.

    A steel strung acoustic will be hell on your fingers when you're just starting, unless it's a very good one, which is set up with a low action, but that can be tricky to find or sort out. Steel strung guitars are louder and do sound different, but are also more versatile in terms of how you can play them, and you can strum them with a pick fairly easily, or play lead.

    It's honestly easier to start learning on a nylon strung classical guitar, and I did so, but if you want a guitar to have forever, or which you can bash out songs on and perform with, a steel strung is probably better, despite being iniitally harder to get to grips with.

    I'll stick with recommending a Squier Telecaster as the best all round guitar to start with, but you do have the limitation of having to plug it in. If you're really after an acoustic though, there's plenty of choice of decent instruments at reasonable prices, so try a few.
    • CommentAuthorSteve Toase
    • CommentTimeFeb 22nd 2012 edited
     (10478.8)
    #eyesightconditions

    If you're achromatic (Can only see in black/white/shades of grey) do you notice textures more? Would this feature more in your descriptive terminology?
  9.  (10478.9)
    #helpwithkickstarter

    So apparently they just kept leaving off part of my address. No scam, just stupidity. Awesome.
    •  
      CommentAuthorMorac
    • CommentTimeFeb 22nd 2012
     (10478.10)
    #KickstarterShennanigans

    At least it wasn't something you or UPS were doing wrong.
    • CommentAuthorKosmopolit
    • CommentTimeFeb 22nd 2012
     (10478.11)
    #UK New Computer

    If you were in Australia I'd point you at Graysonline.

    Grays is a major auction house that, as part of their online business, disposes of stock for various major computer brands that they can't sell as new.

    A quick example; I got a virtually new HP laptop off them for A$160. It had been returned due to a defective battery. They replaced the battery but couldn't resell the computer as new because there were some minor scracthes on the bezel.

    So there's demo machines and end of line run-outs and the prices are ridiculously cheap.

    I recommend you look around to see if there's something similar in the UK.
    •  
      CommentAuthorAriana
    • CommentTimeFeb 23rd 2012
     (10478.12)
    #eyesightconditions

    To the first part, yes: google search "color blindness camouflage" for all the sources you could possibly want or need.
    •  
      CommentAuthorFoamhead
    • CommentTimeFeb 24th 2012
     (10478.13)
    #IntroduceYourself/YourselvesThread

    Did I miss the meeting where this was pensioned off to Eel Heaven or was it co-opted into a new all-inclusive thread? The last one Search shows is dated April 2011. Just curious is all.
    • CommentAuthorKosmopolit
    • CommentTimeFeb 24th 2012 edited
     (10478.14)
    Sorry - wrong thread.
  15.  (10478.15)
    @ariana thanks!
    • CommentAuthorKoltreg
    • CommentTimeFeb 24th 2012
     (10478.16)
    #FrenchGhostDogs

    Does anyone have familiarity with #FrenchGhostDogs? I am doing some research to find if there are any black dogs/hellhounds/yeth hounds/grims that are either distinctly French or that are well known through French culture. The British Isles apparently have dozens and I can snag one from there if needed but I like having more regional names if I can for the piece I am doing.
    •  
      CommentAuthorAriana
    • CommentTimeFeb 25th 2012
     (10478.17)
    #FrenchGhostDogs

    The Beast of Flanders is from Belgium which is, you know, just next door...
  18.  (10478.18)
    Stupid Flanders....
  19.  (10478.19)
    Stupid Sexy Flanders
  20.  (10478.20)
    oh, yeah. as a former guitar shop employee, I should probably advise you against playing or attempting to play Stairway, Sweet Child O' Mine, Smoke on the Water, anything by van halen, or anything by stevie ray vaughan. The staff will hate you if you do any of those.


    I once saw a sign in a guitar shop that said 'If you're planning on playing Stairway to Heaven or House of the Rising Sun, use this lead'. One end was a guitar jack. The other end was soldered into a mains plug...

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