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G.A. Donis
Large Member
933 Posts |
 Posted - 06/28/2010 : 10:58:42
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***CAUTION: LONG, RANTING, POSSIBLY INCOHERENT POST FOLLOWS***
So we played shows on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday this last week. All shows my tone seemed to be utter crap. I don't know what is going on. I broke three strings (2 Friday and one Sunday) on sets that were practically new. And we fired our drummer. Thursday and Saturday were outside in the heat and I'm a little afraid it has overheated and something has gone wrong inside. Friday I broke a B on the Tele mid song so I switched to the Strat. This was on the last song of the set. I replaced the string but the next set I needed the Strat so I played it and on the second song I broke an "A". Then Sunday I broke a "D" on the Tele. I pretty sure the Tele saddles are worn and need to be either filed or replaced. The Strat shouldn't have that much wear on it.
Saturday night I reloaded my patches and that may have helped some. I've been liking these new GHS Boomer strings but now I'm wondering if they are part of the tone problem. I have one patch that after I play a couple of notes, the "Save" light comes on. It's a high gain patch and is used for some of our more "rockin" numbers. I can't quite pin down what it thinks is changing. None of the "knobs" seem to be changing but the tone definately gets brighter. Since I believe the Vetta I body and Judge Dredd logo won't fit into my new Anvil case I'm considering transferring the brains from the I to the II that I've been using to see if there is a problem with the hardware. Any thoughts on what could go bad to make the tone go to $#!+? If I didn't know better I'd think it needed to be retubed, lol. All at the same time it seems thin, fizzy and like someone put a blanket over it.
I'm probably going to need to redo my tones anyway since I've decided I'm gonna buy some Graph Tech String Saver Saddles for the Tele. I'm sure that is going to have some impact on my tone. The saddles have a couple of years of about 3 gigs of week on them so I'm sure they have significant wear. Looking at the neck, with Raceboy who come to the Saturday gig which was outside in the 400°F heat,the frets are in pretty rough shape. My tone sucked and my playing wasn't very good either. I wish Raceboy had picked a "better" show to check out, lol.
I'm trying to decide if refretting or replacing the neck is the way to go. They guy I normally go to charges $325 for a refret and I could get a new neck for less than that probably. It is possible the frets only need a good dressing, $50, but they may be beyond that. The fretboard has some dings but I don't notice them while I play.
If I like the Graph Techs on the Tele I'm gonna put them on my Strat also. I may also end up with a Graph Tech nut on the Strat. I'm thinking I'll leave the nut alone on the Tele since I have no real tuning issues with it.
Oh, I think Raceboy left before our drummer almost got yanked from behind the kit and pounded by the singer. The drummer has a very bad habit of throwing out negative crap during shows. The singer is talking to the audience. A combination of pimping the shirts, CDs, glow in the dark picks and general involve the audience in the show jabber and the whole time the drummer is saying, "come on man you're screwing this up, let's go, let's go, next song." Over and over. He's been asked, told and commanded at least a dozen times to not be so negative during the shows. We did break him of the habit of doing a 110dB cymbal crash whenever the bass player missed a note but his constant stream of negativitey during the shows just got to be too much. Constructive criticism is one thing and has its place, at practice, but yelling at someone mid-song or between songs just screws up the vibe of the whole band. Fortunately we do have someone who can jump in with a couple of practices and do our gigs this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. He may not be as good a drummer, time will tell, but he is definately a better person to hang around with. The shows he's helped out with in the past he was nothing but smiles the whole time.
Sorry for the long ranting post but this last week was pretty bad. I was seriously considering putting all my stuff into the truck and then driving it into the Gulf. Always remember, "This is suppose to be fun!"
I have no idea what is going on...
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No Pride
Member with too much time available
USA
11613 Posts |
Posted - 06/28/2010 : 13:53:48
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Stu,
RE strings breaking: Perhaps there are burrs in the saddles. Try sanding them down by rubbing an old guitar string across the burr (as opposed to in the same direction that the strings sit on them). That said, I was breaking strings a lot until I switched to D'Addario XLs, and GHS used to be my brand. I switched two years ago and haven't broken a string since, except once when I waited way too long to change strings.
RE the "save" light coming on and your tone changing: Sounds like a classic case of a common Vetta problem, "pot jitters" (which has nothing to do with inhaled drugs btw). The vibrations from the amp causes tone, drive and/or volume controls to move. You can probably get Line 6 to send you replacement pots free of charge (at least they used to do that), but in the meantime, try "zeroing out" all of your tone, drive and volume knobs; turn them all the way to the left. Of course, you can't turn down your master volume if it has pot jitters (and I've had a couple of rented Vettas on the road that had that problem, which was a major pain in the butt), but it doesn't sound like that's the case with your amp. The bass control on my Vetta still has the jitters (and that's with a replacement pot   ), but I always zero it out and it doesn't give me any problems, except when tweaking.
Good luck! And if you're still considering dumping your gear into the Gulf, please consider sending it to me instead. 
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http://www.baddogu.com |
Edited by - No Pride on 06/28/2010 14:04:31 |
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Craig B
Member with too much time available
USA
11546 Posts |
Posted - 06/28/2010 : 14:10:16
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quote:
Originally posted by G.A. Donis
Friday I broke a B on the Tele mid song so I switched to the Strat. This was on the last song of the set. I replaced the string but the next set I needed the Strat so I played it and on the second song I broke an "A". Then Sunday I broke a "D" on the Tele.
Couldn't help noticing that your strings were mirroring the type of time that you had. 
Chin up, things should get better! 
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G.A. Donis
Large Member
933 Posts |
Posted - 06/28/2010 : 16:31:41
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quote:
Originally posted by No Pride
Stu,
RE strings breaking: Perhaps there are burrs in the saddles. Try sanding them down by rubbing an old guitar string across the burr (as opposed to in the same direction that the strings sit on them). That said, I was breaking strings a lot until I switched to D'Addario XLs, and GHS used to be my brand. I switched two years ago and haven't broken a string since, except once when I waited way too long to change strings.
RE the "save" light coming on and your tone changing: Sounds like a classic case of a common Vetta problem, "pot jitters" (which has nothing to do with inhaled drugs btw). The vibrations from the amp causes tone, drive and/or volume controls to move. You can probably get Line 6 to send you replacement pots free of charge (at least they used to do that), but in the meantime, try "zeroing out" all of your tone, drive and volume knobs; turn them all the way to the left. Of course, you can't turn down your master volume if it has pot jitters (and I've had a couple of rented Vettas on the road that had that problem, which was a major pain in the butt), but it doesn't sound like that's the case with your amp. The bass control on my Vetta still has the jitters (and that's with a replacement pot ), but I always zero it out and it doesn't give me any problems, except when tweaking.
Good luck! And if you're still considering dumping your gear into the Gulf, please consider sending it to me instead.
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http://www.baddogu.com
I'm pretty sure it is the vetta jitters. I tried setting all of the knobs on the amp to be the same as their position for the patch but that didn't help. I figured if it drifted a little then it wouldn't make much of a change. I'll try turning all the knobs to zero and see what that does.
I pretty sure that a lot of the string breakage is grooving and burring in the saddles. The other part is just that I bend the crap out of my strings. I've recently stolen (stealed?) the David Gilmour bend then bend a little more and release that I love so much. I'm nowhere near Mr. Gilmore's ability at it but it still sounds pretty cool. If only I had grown up listening to Albert King then I could bend like he did. I love his bends and am working on getting some of that Albert King feel into my bends. That way people can come up to me and say "you sound like Stevie Ray!" even more than they do now even though I don't really sound anything like Stevie Ray and we all know that in fact Stevie Ray sounded like Albert King.
I'm tired of re-filing saddles so I ordera set of the Graph Tech String Savers. I got the ones that are mostly steel body with a teflon insert. Hopefully that won't make a drastic change in the guitars tone. Of course I had to buy them online and because I'm a cheap bastard I ordered other stuff to get the free shipping so it'll take about a week to get here. I guess I have at least one more night of buffing out saddles to get me through this week's gigs. It's a good thing I have a lot of spare strings from all the broken packs when I steal one during a gig. Although I'm running pretty short of D's. I'm a string breaker. That's all there is to it and it is something I'll have to learn to live with just like I've learned to live with the fact that there is an Irishman somewhere in my ancestry 
I have no idea what is going on...
www.zachtate.com |
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G.A. Donis
Large Member
933 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2010 : 10:07:39
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Anybody have any feelings one way or the other about re-fretting versus buying a new neck? The neck is maple.
I have no idea what is going on...
www.zachtate.com |
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No Pride
Member with too much time available
USA
11613 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2010 : 12:15:15
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quote:
Originally posted by G.A. Donis
I'm a string breaker. That's all there is to it and it is something I'll have to learn to live with
It's not like it's an incurable disease, Stu. With the right gear and strings, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to bend the crap out of your strings to your heart's content without breaking them.
As far as refret vs. a new neck, there's no guarantee that one will be better than the other. I've had brand new guitars that needed a fret file right out of the box (even among the most reputable brands). And some luthiers are much more adept at fret work than others. If the neck itself is in decent shape and you have a guitar doc who knows what he's doing, I'd opt for the refret.
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http://www.baddogu.com |
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franjo
Member with too much time available
Germany
5352 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2010 : 18:38:45
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dear g.a.donis,
concerning the massive number of broken strings, i am a bit suspicious. if it was on one guitar, one could imagine that all bridges underwent some wear. but it hapened on both axes, right?
i usually break more than one string on a gig when there is some stress occuring, especially the breaking of fresh wires belongs to that. it might be necessary to turn up the amp or fire the drummer  .
all the best
franjo
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"You're just a fleck of vomit in the parking lot of life" by sluggo
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Boogie
Member with too much time available
USA
5988 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2010 : 21:33:19
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my week didn't suck, but I did break a B string on Sat. night's show that I had just put on (a new set) Wed. for Thurs. night's show. It has been a good while since I broke strings much but I think I remember breaking a B on this same guitar a couple months ago. Breaking right near the locking tuner ?? I'm still using GHS. I like their sound and they last a while. They are also cheap, recently began coming in a sealed pkg., and even though I bend a lot I rarely break a string. Not 2 years, rarely,... but not regularly by any means.
If you like the neck...keep it and get the refret. If you want a tone change or different neck...sounds like a good time for the change.
I pimped myself out to some guys for a private biker B-day party. Had fun. Great party. They had all kinds of food and boats and swimming pools filled with ice and like 50 different bottles of every kind of homemade hooch you can imagine. People were coming up to me with bottles of moonshine, rum, apple pie wine, red cherry wine, and all manner of tasty inebreation. I didn't know a soul there except a drummer I barely knew who promised me a Franklin if I came and played 3 sets of classic rock type stuff with a rhythm player, bass and drums. I just needed to bring my own rig and though I normally shy away from non-rehearsed gigs...I showed up knowing I had no idea what songs they'd throw at me. I figured it good to throw myself into a new impromptu situation and I like both parties and money.
I get there and there are over 100 bikers etc. and a good party going. The rhythm player is playing on their first song as I'm setting up. He looks kinda like Jeff Healey did and plays with the guitar half in his lap with a thumb pick and fretting thumb over the neck playing everything with his thumb and in open E tuning. It was pretty crazy. The dude has Cerebral Palsy and can't walk..and has some other issues ...He sang pretty well and pulled off some nice leads and rhythms. The drummer and bass player both sang, too. They did a fair job overall and I heard them get some kudos after the first set and they got 3 more biker party gigs....one next Sat. on the 3rd. I told them I'd play with them for a min $100. I enjoyed the private party biker gig much more than the bar gigs. We did all kinds of cool rock tunes...which I got off on because all I've been doing is blues band for a while now. The CP kid had to go home and take meds at MN so I stayed a couple more hours and played with them. I got to rock out and improvise my ass off and had a lot of fun. My guitars liked being tuned up to standard, too. I noticed they liked to stay in tune better than normal when I've got them at E flat. |
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franjo
Member with too much time available
Germany
5352 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2010 : 10:54:14
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nice story, boogie! at least someone is having fun, that's definitively alright with me  !
concering the broken strings: a few years ago (or was it decades???) i had a habit of killing the d-string as i aimed for a meaty angus-young-attack (strong KNACK with lotsa SCHMATZ) and somehow that lead to breakin' the d at the bridges of my axes as the core of the d usually is the thinnest, even thinner than the e-string. i think that the angle from which i stroke the string was pretty diagonal as i did it with my right hand in the position for dampening them, that is half-resting it on the bridge.
one source for string breakin' i have is when i hack into the guitar when i hear myself not too well beyond a certain point (but not low enough to decide to soup it up  ).
franjo
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"You're just a fleck of vomit in the parking lot of life" by sluggo
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G.A. Donis
Large Member
933 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2010 : 13:59:27
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quote:
Originally posted by franjo
dear g.a.donis,
concerning the massive number of broken strings, i am a bit suspicious. if it was on one guitar, one could imagine that all bridges underwent some wear. but it hapened on both axes, right?
i usually break more than one string on a gig when there is some stress occuring, especially the breaking of fresh wires belongs to that. it might be necessary to turn up the amp or fire the drummer .
all the best
franjo
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"You're just a fleck of vomit in the parking lot of life" by sluggo
Well, we did fire the drummer so I believe the stress level in all band members and maybe my strings will decrease. Tonight I practice with the new drummer. Last night he practiced with the singer and bass player and I was told that he did very well and remembered most of the arrangements from when he filled in for the now ex-drummer.
I spent quite some time Monday night filing and polishing the saddles of the Tele. I need a magnifying glass but I saw what looked like a small "hole" in part of the string area in the "D" saddle. I couldn't really tell how deep it was but I can see where it wouldn't take much wear for that area to have two burrs that would saw right through a string. Replacement saddles are on the way.
I have no idea what is going on...
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Boogie
Member with too much time available
USA
5988 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2010 : 08:37:31
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I broke two strings this time. same guitar as last week (ESP- LP type). These were "new" strings, but they were actually kinda old and came in the non-sealed pkg. I won't start talking smack about my fav strings yet....but I will be examining that guitar closely. I think it is just a different scale length with a fixed bridge and I'm simply bending them til they snap. We'll see.
I got paid before the gig started. I helped them sound good last week so they invite a 3rd guitar player to sit in ALL NIGHT. Now I can sprinkle a little sugar over the bass player and Cerebral Palsy kid's sonic mayhem and make it pallatable...but adding more players to the mix certainly makes it that much more challenging. I hate playing with more than one guitar in a band and 3 is more than I can abide. They have several more gigs to do this summer, but I'm gonna have to set some groundrules if they want me to play with them. They are even talking about getting together to practice "as a band" etc. which ain't gonna happen. Last couple months I haven't even been practicing with my own band...though we could use it. I do enjoy the challenge of showing up and trying to make their group sound big and slick, but I don't have time to commit to another project and if I did this wouldn't be it. |
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G.A. Donis
Large Member
933 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2010 : 09:14:56
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quote:
Originally posted by Boogie
I broke two strings this time. same guitar as last week (ESP- LP type). These were "new" strings, but they were actually kinda old and came in the non-sealed pkg. I won't start talking smack about my fav strings yet....but I will be examining that guitar closely. I think it is just a different scale length with a fixed bridge and I'm simply bending them til they snap. We'll see.
I got paid before the gig started. I helped them sound good last week so they invite a 3rd guitar player to sit in ALL NIGHT. Now I can sprinkle a little sugar over the bass player and Cerebral Palsy kid's sonic mayhem and make it pallatable...but adding more players to the mix certainly makes it that much more challenging. I hate playing with more than one guitar in a band and 3 is more than I can abide. They have several more gigs to do this summer, but I'm gonna have to set some groundrules if they want me to play with them. They are even talking about getting together to practice "as a band" etc. which ain't gonna happen. Last couple months I haven't even been practicing with my own band...though we could use it. I do enjoy the challenge of showing up and trying to make their group sound big and slick, but I don't have time to commit to another project and if I did this wouldn't be it.
With three guitar players aren't you bound by the laws of physics and the universer to play several Molly Hatchet and Lynyrd Skynyrd tunes? Possibly even a whole set of southern rock?
In the past, before I really was in a real band, I always thought two guitars were needed. Then I started jamming with Rusty and being the only guitar in the mix was very liberating. I was suprised how much a second guitar limited what I could get away with. I can't imagine how much more constriction a third guitar would add.
I have no idea what is going on...
www.zachtate.com |
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Boogie
Member with too much time available
USA
5988 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2010 : 15:38:04
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that was about the only type stuff that I didn't hate having 2 other guitar players, but I didn't like it either.
Give me a strong bass player and a steady drummer and I'll take care of the guitar. I'm gonna tell them I'm bringing another bass player to sit in and jam with us ALL NIGHT. I'm not, but I'll bet they will be thinking "wait a minute here"....but drummers and bass players seem to think their guitar playing buddy is always welcome. |
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Craig B
Member with too much time available
USA
11546 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2010 : 00:32:23
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Make sure you plug your guitar into at least three or four distortion effects as well. Hey, if no one is going to hear any definition out in the audience, you might as well have fun with the situation, no? 
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Boogie
Member with too much time available
USA
5988 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2010 : 13:22:39
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absolutely! 
I need all that gain to cover up the regular hand cramping I've been getting lately when I play. Last week I got a terrible cramp about a second before a big lead and struggled through the part playing what felt lame with a couple fingers and a crippled hand ...kinda like Django without the talent and speed....but anyway, we finish and the drummer yells something at me..I walk over and say ..what ? ...and he says "that was a great lead, man!"...
Crazy ....maybe he's figured out I'm about to replace him and he is just sucking up |
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G.A. Donis
Large Member
933 Posts |
Posted - 07/08/2010 : 12:22:10
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quote:
Originally posted by Boogie
absolutely!
I need all that gain to cover up the regular hand cramping I've been getting lately when I play. Last week I got a terrible cramp about a second before a big lead and struggled through the part playing what felt lame with a couple fingers and a crippled hand ...kinda like Django without the talent and speed....but anyway, we finish and the drummer yells something at me..I walk over and say ..what ? ...and he says "that was a great lead, man!"...
Crazy ....maybe he's figured out I'm about to replace him and he is just sucking up
I've had similar things where I've deliberately held back on a solo because of sore fingers or cramping and had someone say "great solo". I think it happened in my case because the discomfort FORCED me to slow things down and look for a more melodic solo versus just blowin' and goin' trying to be cool.
Oh, last night at practice I broke a B string Brand new set of strings. I was waiting for more time to replace the saddles but I didn't want to go into the next group of shows (Thu-Sun) with a guitar I couldn't trust. So after practice I took off the old saddles and put on the new String Savers. The old saddles looked pretty bad when I looked very close at them. I'm not sure if I helped things or made them worse the other day when I tried to smooth them out.
Anyway I also took the opportunity to raise my action a touch. A big bluesy bend high up on the fretboard would bottom out and my finger would "roll over" the string during the bend. Factory Fender spec is 4/64 at the 17th fret. I set it up at about 5/64. That may be a touch high but I definately was not bottoming out with my bends. I'll leave it for awhile and see if I like it or not. I finished up at 12:30am and went to bed. That is way past this old man's bed time on a school night
I have no idea what is going on...
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Last Week Sucked Now I'm Fretting about the Future
