NGD & NAD: Reverend Buckshot & Mustang III V2 and Newbie Questions

[thegreatgumbino]

The guitar delivered a week ago and the amp today, but I got a better delivery in the last week that's been delaying the post. My newest daughter was born last Friday. Not much guitar playing or sleep since then.

I purchased both from Prymaxe during their 20% off anniversary sale. It was my first purchase from them, and they were great to deal with. They even threw in a free Reverend hard case, which was a surprise to me when the delivery showed up.







This is my first electric guitar & amp, and I feel like a total noob.

1) The light strings are going to take some getting used to. It has 10's, and the action seems pretty low as I get some string buzz if I strum too hard. I'm used to 12's on acoustic with decent action so I can dig in.

2) The Mustang is quite amazing. I love all the presets and the ability to tweak them. Not knowing anything about electrics, the fact that I can tweak everything within the amp and not have to purchase pedals from the get go is a big plus for me.

3) Is there an electric guitar starter course? Seriously, it seems like there's a lot to learn.

4) What exactly does the tone knob do?

5) Is there a simple explanation for the differences between the various effects you can use with an electric?

[Steve DeRosa]

In no particular order:

1] Feel free to install heavier strings - and if you've been primarily an acoustic player I'd strongly recommend a wound G as well to ease the transition; FWIW until recently I never had anything lighter than 12's on any of my electrics - 13's on my jazzboxes and my Rick 360 - and I think you might be pleasantly surprised at how much tone you'll pick up in the bargain...

4] On most electric guitars with passive circuitry the tone knob is a simple treble rolloff, the degree/character of which is determined by the resistance of the pot (usually 250K or 500Kohm) and the associated capacitor (usually .022 or .047mfd); although most rock and country players prefer to run their pickups flat out, a rolled-off tone control can add a "smoky" or mysterious quality to a lead line - think Stephen Stills' solo at the beginning of "Wooden Ships"...

3] There is a lot to learn - and no offense meant, but every one of us was a total noob at one time or another; as far as an electric guitar "starter course" is concerned, when I was getting my feet wet in the early/mid-60's it was called The Guitar-Cable-Amp School of Discovery: plug in, turn it on, play with the knobs at both ends of the chain until you find a sound (or two or three) that you like, write it down so you can remember it for next time - and leave your hands off the tremolo/reverb/fuzzbox (the only effects available to us back then) until you know exactly what the heck you're doing...

2] & 5] - See #3; while I would've recommended a more basic analog amp (preferably tube) at this stage of the game, you can achieve much the same results by punching up a clean tone that you like - Blackface, AC30, possibly a modern Class-A if they've got one (the old Line 6 Flextones did - had almost a blue-check Ampeg Gemini I character) - and start twisting dials until you get a good basic tone...

6] First and foremost start working on your technique, and avoid the temptation to play with all the built-in toys - you'll find that the electric guitar is a very different animal in many respects, and there's going to be a period of adjustment; once you can play cleanly at any gain/volume level feel free to add effects, as a chef adds spices to a recipe...

Hope this helps...

[Telejonz]

Here is a link on choosing string gauge.... I have to say that 10's are my preferred gauge.....

http://www.guitarplayer.com/lessons/...-strings/59767

[thegreatgumbino]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

In no particular order:

1] Feel free to install heavier strings - and if you've been primarily an acoustic player I'd strongly recommend a wound G as well to ease the transition; FWIW until recently I never had anything lighter than 12's on any of my electrics - 13's on my jazzboxes and my Rick 360 - and I think you might be pleasantly surprised at how much tone you'll pick up in the bargain...

4] On most electric guitars with passive circuitry the tone knob is a simple treble rolloff, the degree/character of which is determined by the resistance of the pot (usually 250K or 500Kohm) and the associated capacitor (usually .022 or .047mfd); although most rock and country players prefer to run their pickups flat out, a rolled-off tone control can add a "smoky" or mysterious quality to a lead line - think Stephen Stills' solo at the beginning of "Wooden Ships"...

3] There is a lot to learn - and no offense meant, but every one of us was a total noob at one time or another; as far as an electric guitar "starter course" is concerned, when I was getting my feet wet in the early/mid-60's it was called The Guitar-Cable-Amp School of Discovery: plug in, turn it on, play with the knobs at both ends of the chain until you find a sound (or two or three) that you like, write it down so you can remember it for next time - and leave your hands off the tremolo/reverb/fuzzbox (the only effects available to us back then) until you know exactly what the heck you're doing...

2] & 5] - See #3; while I would've recommended a more basic analog amp (preferably tube) at this stage of the game, you can achieve much the same results by punching up a clean tone that you like - Blackface, AC30, possibly a modern Class-A if they've got one (the old Line 6 Flextones did - had almost a blue-check Ampeg Gemini I character) - and start twisting dials until you get a good basic tone...

6] First and foremost start working on your technique, and avoid the temptation to play with all the built-in toys - you'll find that the electric guitar is a very different animal in many respects, and there's going to be a period of adjustment; once you can play cleanly at any gain/volume level feel free to add effects, as a chef adds spices to a recipe...

Hope this helps...

Thanks for the good tips, Steve. I appreciate you taking the time to give me your insight.

[thegreatgumbino]

Originally Posted by Telejonz

Here is a link on choosing string gauge.... I have to say that 10's are my preferred gauge.....

http://www.guitarplayer.com/lessons/...-strings/59767

Good info, thanks.

[Dadzmad]

Really nice guitar I've had my eye on one of these

As usual Steve offers very good advice. Go right ahead and put on a set of 0.12s with a wound 3rd. Moving from acoustic to electric will be smoother. I alternate between Martin Monel Retros (round wound) and Rotosound Top Tape (flat wounds) on my Strat.

One thing I will add is to avoid playing this type of solid body unplugged. If you do you're just messing with the worlds worst acoustic that maybe has a nice action. This guitar is all about touch and the interaction with an amp. A solid state amp is fine and they turn down real well.

But trust me you eventually will get a tube amp. They have a presence and using one in the house with she who watches TV is problematic. My Excelsior stays in the garage spring to fall.

I find an amp sim type pedal to be useful for quiet playing in the house during the winter. It will out put to any powered speakers, computer, or audio equipment with an Aux In. If you go this route order a few mono big plug to small plug adapers. This will let you go to both channels in a stereo system. I've found running through my Joyo American Sound pedal to an old solid state stereo with 4 speakers turned down is actually quieter (or just less disturbing) than a flat top played with a thumb pick.

Again that Reverend you got looks great

[thegreatgumbino]

Originally Posted by Dadzmad

Really nice guitar I've had my eye on one of these

As usual Steve offers very good advice. Go right ahead and put on a set of 0.12s with a wound 3rd. Moving from acoustic to electric will be smoother. I alternate between Martin Monel Retros (round wound) and Rotosound Top Tape (flat wounds) on my Strat.

One thing I will add is to avoid playing this type of solid body unplugged. If you do you're just messing with the worlds worst acoustic that maybe has a nice action. This guitar is all about touch and the interaction with an amp. A solid state amp is fine and they turn down real well.

But trust me you eventually will get a tube amp. They have a presence and using one in the house with she who watches TV is problematic. My Excelsior stays in the garage spring to fall.

I find an amp sim type pedal to be useful for quiet playing in the house during the winter. It will out put to any powered speakers, computer, or audio equipment with an Aux In. If you go this route order a few mono big plug to small plug adapers. This will let you go to both channels in a stereo system. I've found running through my Joyo American Sound pedal to an old solid state stereo with 4 speakers turned down is actually quieter (or just less disturbing) than a flat top played with a thumb pick.

Again that Reverend you got looks great

Thanks for the info, Dadzmad. I can see the electric setup and search for the sound being never ending. I've had a blast fiddling with the guitar & amp thus far. I will say the light strings and lower action require me to focus on a lighter touch, which is a good thing because I'm a medium to heavy handed acoustic strummer. I'm currently getting quite a bit of fret buzz when strumming, so I'm going to leave the 10's in hopes that it will ultimately help me increase the dynamic range of my acoustic strumming.

I'm already thinking about other pickups and their sounds. Makes me wonder if an electric guitar exists that has hot swap-able pickups so you can try out various types. I'm fairly certain I know the answer, but it would be pretty cool to experiment with.

[micahwc]

I've owned a Mustang 3 V2 for a while now. The official forum has a lot of discussion about how to use it, how to get good sounds out of it, and a lot of presets people have made up. You can get a lot of good sounds with it if you put the time into it.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by thegreatgumbino

...I'm already thinking about other pickups and their sounds. Makes me wonder if an electric guitar exists that has hot swap-able pickups so you can try out various types. I'm fairly certain I know the answer, but it would be pretty cool to experiment with.

Actually, it does - or rather, did - and in two different incarnations at two different times. The first guitar with user-friendly pickup interchange was the Ampeg Dan Armstrong circa 1969, for which five different pickups - none of which could be adapted to any other guitar - were available TMK; changing your tone was as simple as sliding the existing pickup out of its ramped cutout - you didn't even need to remove the strings - and slipping in the unit of your choice. Unfortunately, even if you can locate one of these instruments for sale the replacement pickups are rarer than tyrannosaurus turds, and when/if one does turn up in usable condition - the cover material has a disturbing tendency to disintegrate after nearly fifty years - expect to pay about as much as you paid for your current rig...

The second option - while not an easy one, at least within the realm of possibility - is to locate one of the solidbody guitars Taylor produced until a couple years ago. With the exception of the top-of-the-line Custom (which boasted direct-mount pickups) they were equipped with the "swimming-pool" routing used on many current Stratocasters, which allowed for the replacement of the entire pickguard-mounted circuitry by simply removing the pickguard screws and plugging in a Molex connector - about a 20-minute job; the pre-wired pickguards were available in a variety of configurations - 1/2/3-PU, mini-/full-size humbucker, high-definition/high-gain/PAF - and in several colors, which allowed an owner to customize the same guitar for a country, R&B, jazz, blues, or metal gig. The Achilles' heel of these guitars was the ultra-lightweight sintered-aluminum bridge assembly which, although it had a sleek modern appearance compared to a traditional Fender hardtail or T.O.M., had a disturbing tendency to crack when performing routine adjustments; in addition, in the usual idiosyncratic Taylor way it wasn't even remotely interchangeable with anything else, so if it went south the only option was to order one from the factory - and I was informed by the factory-authorized tech who installed my third bridge assembly last year that I had obtained the very last one in Taylor's inventory. I've heard from several sources that the pickguard assemblies were discontinued cold-turkey and dumped on the market when the solidbodies ceased production, so if this sounds like a viable possibility you might want to check with some of the larger independent Taylor dealerships, the gold-certified warranty techs, or classifieds/eBay to see what's available; the good news is that the guitars themselves, while made to the usual standard of fit/finish and workmanship (they really are fine-sounding/playing instruments - I own a burled-walnut Custom myself), are grossly undervalued on the market, so you should be able to pick up a good example for well under $1K...

Good luck...

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by thegreatgumbino

...I'm already thinking about other pickups and their sounds. Makes me wonder if an electric guitar exists that has hot swap-able pickups so you can try out various types. I'm fairly certain I know the answer, but it would be pretty cool to experiment with.

Found this in my e-mail today - looks like it might be just what you're after:

http://www.guitarfetish.com/GFS-Guitar-Pickups_c_7.html

[thegreatgumbino]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Found this in my e-mail today - looks like it might be just what you're after:

http://www.guitarfetish.com/GFS-Guitar-Pickups_c_7.html

Thanks for the link, Steve. That looks like fun!