Questions from newbie wrt Floyd Rose, Buzz Feinten etc.

Codex7 · 2013-03-07T09:12:30+00:00

Good day gentlemen! I have been skulking around here, reading up and trying to educate myself. Just some background about me: I started playing acoustic e...

Questions from newbie wrt Floyd Rose, Buzz Feinten etc.

Codex7

Arno West wrote:
Codex7 wrote: sharonzaz, Alan Ratcliffe and psyx - thanks so much for your advice! I think I will take your advice to heart and rather:

1. First concentrate on getting good at playing guitar on my acoustic
2. Wait until about June (when hopefully I have some more skill at playing ? ) and then look around for an electric guitar.
3. Mostly avoid Floyd Roses and gimmicks in my first electric guitar purchase ?

Thanks again!

PS: It seems to be pretty difficult getting details of local Yamaha Pacifica's. Anybody knows where one can get them at a reasonable price from a reputable seller?

PPS: I will probably be back looking for some Amp advice as well.

I have read the post about recommendations for beginners - where the Pacifica is recommended. Will first go through that around June and see if I can get all the bits and pieces ?. is that guide still current? I guess gear does not really "age" very quickly?
Agree with all the above regarding Floyd-Rose. A general pain in the butt. Stay away....for now.

Re Yamaha: Don't know where you are from, but their Head office is in Kelvin (JHB next to the M1 close to Marlboro Drive).
I was there about 2 weeks ago for a video shoot and spotted a lot of Pacificas in their showroom. Some really good looking Guitars. Make a turn there, get to be buddies with the sales guys and I am sure they will give you a good price once you decide to buy something.

BTW, if you're in the market for a boat or a bike, you can get it at the same time cos they have all their products under the same roof.

Apologies!!!!

Thanks Arno West - I'm in Midrand, so pretty close to me!!!

Malkav

Okay, that's not one of the nicer Washburns, I am highly skeptical about that having the Buzz Feiten, the owner may just be misinformed when when you look through their catalogue it's only American models that get the Buzz Feiten.

Norman86

Welcome to the forum!
Good thing you gave your location, as it would have been the first thing i would have asked.

guitars are a very personal thing.. what works for one does not always work for another.
so try a ton of guitars, single coils, humbuckers and see what works for you.

good luck! ?

Codex7

Thanks for all the great advice guys!!! Think I will pass on the Washburn.

@ Arno West - would they (Yamaha) sell to me from their showroom? Or will they just tell me to go to one of their resellers?

Norman86

World of Yamaha send you to one of their dealers, the showroom is only a showroom ?

Codex7

Norman86 wrote: World of Yamaha send you to one of their dealers, the showroom is only a showroom ?

Aaah crap - LOL! ?

guidothepimmp

Jeepers guys, its washburn not santa fe..

If you're gonna judge the brand by the entry levelguitars then you may as well talk gio instaed of prestige.

3 key words there

Stephens extended cutaway..

How many of those have you seen on a washburn? Not many? Right, that's because their high end jobs have the SECas a feature..
At that price its a steal..

*edit: Chad beat me to it

Malkav

guidothepimmp wrote: *edit: Chad beat me to it

Gotta represent for the shred guitars of this world yo 8)

guidothepimmp

Chad Adam Browne wrote:
guidothepimmp wrote: *edit: Chad beat me to it
Gotta represent for the shred guitars of this world yo 8)

Respect 8)

To OP, if you need help with a setup or want to be sure about a fiddle, gimme a shoutn I'm up the road and if the guit is in the area I'll happily give it the once over..

BMU

Chad Adam Browne wrote:
guidothepimmp wrote: *edit: Chad beat me to it
Gotta represent for the shred guitars of this world yo 8)

Yeah well as a proud owner of only shred guitars, high end ones with high end Floyds, I've gotta go with the conventional wisdom on this (much as that hurts.)

Floyds are a PAIN IN THE ...

Having a Floyd will make you dread string change day and procrastinate changing them strings for months on end. A cheap Floyd... 8 times worse.

Malkav

BMU wrote:
Chad Adam Browne wrote:
guidothepimmp wrote: *edit: Chad beat me to it
Gotta represent for the shred guitars of this world yo 8)
Yeah well as a proud owner of only shred guitars, high end ones with high end Floyds, I've gotta go with the conventional wisdom on this (much as that hurts.)

Floyds are a PAIN IN THE ...

Having a Floyd will make you dread string change day and procrastinate changing them strings for months on end. A cheap Floyd... 8 times worse.

True dat

However if this is a midrange Washburn and has one of those official floyds that are made in China, like the Schecter Jeff Loomis, then it's not so bad. If he just blocks the floyd completely he can end up with a decent guitar that has a fixed floyd for a better price.

BMU

Chad Adam Browne wrote:
BMU wrote:
Chad Adam Browne wrote:
guidothepimmp wrote: *edit: Chad beat me to it
Gotta represent for the shred guitars of this world yo 8)
Yeah well as a proud owner of only shred guitars, high end ones with high end Floyds, I've gotta go with the conventional wisdom on this (much as that hurts.)

Floyds are a PAIN IN THE ...

Having a Floyd will make you dread string change day and procrastinate changing them strings for months on end. A cheap Floyd... 8 times worse.
True dat

However if this is a midrange Washburn and has one of those official floyds that are made in China, like the Schecter Jeff Loomis, then it's not so bad. If he just blocks the floyd completely he can end up with a decent guitar that has a fixed floyd for a better price.

Ah. Ok you win. ? Sounds like good points. (I don't know Washburns at all, sounds like this is a good deal then. I'm just opinionating on floating trems for new guitarists in general.)

Floyds can be turned into fixed bridges like CAB says, you just shove a block of something in the back cavity, like wood, or a battery or something.

guidothepimmp

The wg780 i believe is a Korean model.

Certainly no slouch

Speaking of Floyd's.. i prefer top mounts as opposed to recessed ?

BMU

guidothepimmp wrote: The wg780 i believe is a Korean model.

Certainly no slouch

Speaking of Floyd's.. i prefer top mounts as opposed to recessed ?

If they're recessed so far that the string block screws are below the body... now that is a PAIN. The original Universes were like that. It means you have to lever the trem forward to unblock the strings. So string changes are still a pain, even with a blocked trem. (Only half as much a pain, you still don't have the balancing issues...but still.)

Codex7

guidothepimmp wrote:
Chad Adam Browne wrote:
guidothepimmp wrote: *edit: Chad beat me to it
Gotta represent for the shred guitars of this world yo 8)
Respect 8)

To OP, if you need help with a setup or want to be sure about a fiddle, gimme a shoutn I'm up the road and if the guit is in the area I'll happily give it the once over..

Thanks Guido - much appreciated!!

MattAttack

Everything said on both sides of the floating bridge argument is correct.

Depends on your preferred music style and your tendency towards simplicity or technicality.
For me, true to all my 'hobbies' over the years, I've always found that half the pleasure is maintaining you own gear. Even when I couldn't play guitar great, I learned how to pot my pickups and solder on new pots and things, I found that stuff just as exciting as learning to play the thing.
I'm more lazy nowadays so I just stick to playing, except when my buddies need help with repairs.

If you're the type that'll pay a mechanic to change a spark plug, then chances are you won't appreciate the 'joy' of fiddling with a Floyd Rose ?

When I got my Kramer I fitted a Tremol-no thinking it'll be good to be able to block the bridge whenever needed. Was a waste of time though, don't even use it when restringing. Will take it off when I have absolutely nothing else to do =D
I agree with rather staying away from licensed Floyds', especially 2nd hand one's that'll likely have wear on it, it'll never behave itself.

But if you have any doubt, rather go for a fixed bridge. It's much easier to swap to a FR down the line, than to be stuck with a FR wanting a fixed bridge.

Codex7

Holy smokes - got some prices on new Pacifica 112V's.

Ranges from R4500 to R6500 !!! My word, was thinking they'd be a bit less pricey. Secondhand, 112J's looks to be around R2000. Difficult to find any 112V's secondhand at the mo.

O well, not in a hurry - will rather wait for a good 2nd hand deal.

Or is importing an option on entry level guitars like these? Which international sites ship to SA?

I see in the UK they go for between 199 and 215 British pounds, which comes to (215 * 14) = R3010 ZAR. Seems even with shipping and tax it would be cheaper than local ??? .

Eish ☹

guidothepimmp

I would recommend playing the guit you intend buying..

Forhigh end guits it can be worth the risk of buying unsighted, I wouldn't risk it for entry level guitars though, lots of variation in quality and you could end up with a lemon..

Plenty options locally.. Worth waiting for the right one to come along

exsanguinator

Chad Adam Browne wrote: Everyone here is really giving floyds way more of a bad rep than they deserve, they're not really that hard to setup and there are a ton of benefits.

Too true,ive used them all my life...
I only tune them twice a year when I change strings..and play daily sometimes...and divebomb like a WW2 kraut..LOL
really,i'm tired of always checking the tuning and never adjusting anything ...
I now only check tuning before recording,for obvious reasons
Changing strings after breakages used to take 2 minutes..never really break strings anymore...
I must mention I only use Ibanez Edge's with bell brass blocks...
Its the same with all my guitars,so its just not a lucky Edge thing....
But there are horror stories with other licenced floyds...
I dont know what style of playing youre into,or funds avaliable...but i see theres a good MIJ Ibanez RG470 in the classifieds here,its not a RG550 but its priced right and is actually better than anything new in that price range...I see it as.... youre buying the trem and the guitar comes free....at those prices or cheaper...

guidothepimmp

?

Change strings twice a year?