Controversial guitar opinions you have.

Moe_Zambeek · August 2023

TTBZ said:

ScreamingDave said:

When Gibson designed the SG, they learned from and corrected all the mistakes they’d made on the Les Paul

Actually kind of agree with this. It's hard to go back to a LP after being used to an SG. Comfiest guitar ever if it hangs right on you which thankfully it does for me.

I consider SGs my spiritual home but IMO it’s harder to find a good SG than a good Les Paul, and another heresy for this thread - I think SGs sound awful, clean.

stickyfiddle · August 2023

Moe_Zambeek said:

TTBZ said:

ScreamingDave said:

When Gibson designed the SG, they learned from and corrected all the mistakes they’d made on the Les Paul

Actually kind of agree with this. It's hard to go back to a LP after being used to an SG. Comfiest guitar ever if it hangs right on you which thankfully it does for me.

I consider SGs my spiritual home but IMO it’s harder to find a good SG than a good Les Paul, and another heresy for this thread - I think SGs sound awful, clean.

You're wrong. Video should start at 5:10, though going from 3:45 is also acceptable

TeleMaster · August 2023

TTBZ said:

ScreamingDave said:

When Gibson designed the SG, they learned from and corrected all the mistakes they’d made on the Les Paul

Actually kind of agree with this. It's hard to go back to a LP after being used to an SG. Comfiest guitar ever if it hangs right on you which thankfully it does for me.

They didn't fix the break angle of the strings through the nut into the headstock which causes so many issues for so many, so they didn't correct everything. LP is still the cooler guitar in any case.

roberty · August 2023

TeleMaster said:

TTBZ said:

ScreamingDave said:

When Gibson designed the SG, they learned from and corrected all the mistakes they’d made on the Les Paul

Actually kind of agree with this. It's hard to go back to a LP after being used to an SG. Comfiest guitar ever if it hangs right on you which thankfully it does for me.

They didn't fix the break angle of the strings through the nut into the headstock which causes so many issues for so many, so they didn't correct everything. LP is still the cooler guitar in any case.

That long mahogany neck is prone to dead spots, too

Sporky · August 2023

guitarjack66 said:

A youtube music fella said something along the lines of 'To 'improve' the sound they compress the music and this then causes distortion.' I have no idea if this is true or not though.

I think it's true for the engineering definition of "distorted", which basically means "altered in a non-linear fashion".

The potential problem is that many people read "distortion" to mean clipping.

flying_pie · August 2023

Sporky said:

guitarjack66 said:

A youtube music fella said something along the lines of 'To 'improve' the sound they compress the music and this then causes distortion.' I have no idea if this is true or not though.

I think it's true for the engineering definition of "distorted", which basically means "altered in a non-linear fashion".

The potential problem is that many people read "distortion" to mean clipping.

Could it also be a synonym for saturation within the mastering stage?

Lewy · August 2023

ICBM said:

Lewy said:

I'm giving serious consideration to having a Custom Shop strat routed for a bridge humbucker.

Why only do things by half? Get an original 50s Strat and rout that instead.

Hmmm...I'm not sure Floyds look good on maple neck strats though. Oh I didn't mention that bit did I.....

Sporky · August 2023

Could be. It's another one where a single word with multiple meaning may be be clear and unambiguous.

It's poosible that was deliberate, given the need to play YouTube's algorithm if you want to earn money there.

Faye · August 2023

Loobs said:

Is that actually your opinion on The Beatles? If so, you're completely whacked.

Absolutely.

Innovative musicianship? Nope, far more groundbreaking stuff going on in jazz.

Greatest songwriting? Nope. Dylan, The Byrds, Zappa... all pushing the boundaries further than the 'fab four'.

The Beatles became mega famous because of their image, mainly. People went to their concerts to scream through them, not to listen to the music.

It was this commercial success, and the money it brought into the music business as people sought to replicate it, which is their legacy.

TTBZ · August 2023

TeleMaster said:

TTBZ said:

ScreamingDave said:

When Gibson designed the SG, they learned from and corrected all the mistakes they’d made on the Les Paul

Actually kind of agree with this. It's hard to go back to a LP after being used to an SG. Comfiest guitar ever if it hangs right on you which thankfully it does for me.

They didn't fix the break angle of the strings through the nut into the headstock which causes so many issues for so many, so they didn't correct everything. LP is still the cooler guitar in any case.

The only uncool thing about SGs is the ACDC association

I guess I've got lucky with mine. No neck dive, tuning issues or dead spots and the headstock has stayed in tact after 10+ years of ownership. Doesn't sound as good or have as much sustain as an LP but I'll take the comfort and playability.

SpoonMan · August 2023

Faye said:

Loobs said:

Is that actually your opinion on The Beatles? If so, you're completely whacked.

Absolutely.

Innovative musicianship? Nope, far more groundbreaking stuff going on in jazz.

Greatest songwriting? Nope. Dylan, The Byrds, Zappa... all pushing the boundaries further than the 'fab four'.

The Beatles became mega famous because of their image, mainly. People went to their concerts to scream through them, not to listen to the music.

It was this commercial success, and the money it brought into the music business as people sought to replicate it, which is their legacy.

They made lots of teenybopper pop music that was very popular with screaming teenage girls (the boy band effect).
Then they got into lsd.

They did have a massive effect, just look at all the boy band clones that came after.

Philly_Q · August 2023

Lewy said:

I'm giving serious consideration to having a Custom Shop strat routed for a bridge humbucker.

Me too. I'm also thinking of getting the neck heel rounded off and using a curved neck plate.

Image: https://www.waltons.ie/res/?s=aGlnaGxpZ2h0X2Zlbl8wMTEzOTRfZmVhdHVyZV8wMi5qcGd8fGltYWdlfGltYWdl&ext=.jpg

Faye · August 2023

guitarjack66 said:

I've seen a few comments about The Beatles being overrated but this often boils down to 'I hate Scousers' and becomes water from a duck's back.

Nothing against scousers, I just think it's daft the way the Beatles have been set on a pedestal which completely exaggerates their achievements.

I expect a lot of it is nostalgia for something which seemed to epitomise an era. They'll probably be viewed more objectively when the generations who lived through the 60s are gone.

RocknRollDave · August 2023

Loobs said:

RocknRollDave said:

Middle pickup alone on a Strat is a horrid sound that should never be used.

Jerry Garcia and Lenny Kaye say fuck you.

You’re just convincing me even more now!

roberty · August 2023

SpoonMan said:

Faye said:

Loobs said:

Is that actually your opinion on The Beatles? If so, you're completely whacked.

Absolutely.

Innovative musicianship? Nope, far more groundbreaking stuff going on in jazz.

Greatest songwriting? Nope. Dylan, The Byrds, Zappa... all pushing the boundaries further than the 'fab four'.

The Beatles became mega famous because of their image, mainly. People went to their concerts to scream through them, not to listen to the music.

It was this commercial success, and the money it brought into the music business as people sought to replicate it, which is their legacy.

They made lots of teenybopper pop music that was very popular with screaming teenage girls (the boy band effect).
Then they got into lsd.

They did have a massive effect, just look at all the boy band clones that came after.

Not worth arguing over. There's always one :-)

Philly_Q · August 2023

RocknRollDave said:

Loobs said:

RocknRollDave said:

Middle pickup alone on a Strat is a horrid sound that should never be used.

Jerry Garcia and Lenny Kaye say fuck you.

You’re just convincing me even more now!

Robin Trower too, although he probably wouldn't say fuck you.

KrisGee · August 2023

Telecaster is the worst guitar ever made.

thecolourbox · August 2023

Here are some of mine

Guitars specifically:
"Amp in the room sound" is overrated - unless it's a nicely designed and treated room, you just get far too much volume in spikes, boominess in frequencies, and once the volume gets loud enough it just sounds like noise. Give me a tone that sounds like a nicely recorded guitar and amp setup and I'll play for much longer because I sound like the sounds I enjoy and which make me want to play.

An easier to play guitar doesn't make your playing more interesting. As long as it's not completely untuneable or any kind of intonation is impossible, then a bit of challenge makes your playing just sound more exciting as you're battling it and not just massaging it/your ego.

The Hot Rod Deluxe drive channel sounds great.

Very rarely do acoustic guitars played in public sound good, regardless of whether they are a £200 Baby Taylor or £10k posh one. In person, yes I get it, but nobody really plays like that now do they?

General music stuff:
Playing with other people can be very overrated if you're just not very musically sociable and are easily ignored. If I do things by myself, then I'm trying to make music that appeals to me and not what pleases some other bloke sat opposite whose opinion is worthless to me.

Music with some introversion rather than fully extroverted music is just more interesting. It's too easy to sing and play about how happy you are and how that makes you want to dance

Guitar music sounds rubbish on the radio/in the car. Just squishy noises accompanied by trebly cymbals.

60s and 70s blues based chord sequences in songs are just as hackneyed as the I-vi-IV-V sequences used a lot these days, but nostalgia makes the current songs seem rubbish and samey compared to the supposed amazing use of I-IV-V with alternative 5th and 6th notes in the chords as back in the day.

Philly_Q · August 2023

Moe_Zambeek said:

TTBZ said:

ScreamingDave said:

When Gibson designed the SG, they learned from and corrected all the mistakes they’d made on the Les Paul

Actually kind of agree with this. It's hard to go back to a LP after being used to an SG. Comfiest guitar ever if it hangs right on you which thankfully it does for me.

I consider SGs my spiritual home but IMO it’s harder to find a good SG than a good Les Paul, and another heresy for this thread - I think SGs sound awful, clean.

All guitars sound awful clean.... But I agree it’s harder to find a good SG than a good Les Paul, not that I particularly want to buy Les Pauls, but there are millions of them to choose from. Whereas SGs only come in a handful of colours, many of them have a weak neck joint, most of them are neck-heavy and 99% of them have skinny necks.

Faye · August 2023

Most people's electric guitar tone is way too bright.

If you need to 'cut through' a mix, then your mix is probably horrible.

Lewy · August 2023

Philly_Q said:

Lewy said:

I'm giving serious consideration to having a Custom Shop strat routed for a bridge humbucker.

Me too. I'm also thinking of getting the neck heel rounded off and using a curved neck plate.

Ah mine's already got one of those, and I just had Dunlop 6000 frets put on it too, so the sacrilege train has already pulled out of the station

Kilgore · August 2023

Faye said:

guitarjack66 said:

I've seen a few comments about The Beatles being overrated but this often boils down to 'I hate Scousers' and becomes water from a duck's back.

Nothing against scousers, I just think it's daft the way the Beatles have been set on a pedestal which completely exaggerates their achievements.

I expect a lot of it is nostalgia for something which seemed to epitomise an era. They'll probably be viewed more objectively when the generations who lived through the 60s are gone.

Their influence in the US is arguably much greater than the UK. I'm on the AGF whose membership is largely made up of aging American boomers.

In any discussion about the Beatles there is a common theme: The Beatles appearance on the Ed Sullivan show changed everything overnight. Musically and socially.

They weren't just a product of social change but were drivers of that change.

Yes the girls screamed at the concerts but the boys went out and bought guitars and started bands in numbers unheard of before.

For most of them their cultural impact was far greater than even that of Elvis.

Philly_Q · August 2023

Lewy said:

Philly_Q said:

Lewy said:

I'm giving serious consideration to having a Custom Shop strat routed for a bridge humbucker.

Me too. I'm also thinking of getting the neck heel rounded off and using a curved neck plate.

Ah mine's already got one of those, and I just had Dunlop 6000 frets put on it too, so the sacrilege train has already pulled out of the station

@Lewy I applaud you, sir. Mine has 6100 frets (original, but I wish there'd been a stainless option). And in retrospect I wish I'd gone for 22 frets, but I can't do anything about that. Vintage-correctness be damned.

Stuckfast · August 2023

People who claim they can't see what all the fuss over the Beatles is about are just trying too hard.

Faye · August 2023

Kilgore said:

They weren't just a product of social change but were drivers of that change.

I'd still argue that that's more down to right place, right time, rather than anything particularly wonderful in their musicianship.

They were a social phenomenon, which occurred because the economic and cultural conditions were right for it.

The Beatles didn't create those conditions, they simply benefited from them.

Philly_Q · August 2023

If Fender guitars are just two bits of wood screwed together, then Gibsons are just two bits of wood glued together.

TeleMaster · August 2023

TTBZ said:

TeleMaster said:

TTBZ said:

ScreamingDave said:

When Gibson designed the SG, they learned from and corrected all the mistakes they’d made on the Les Paul

Actually kind of agree with this. It's hard to go back to a LP after being used to an SG. Comfiest guitar ever if it hangs right on you which thankfully it does for me.

They didn't fix the break angle of the strings through the nut into the headstock which causes so many issues for so many, so they didn't correct everything. LP is still the cooler guitar in any case.

The only uncool thing about SGs is the ACDC association

I guess I've got lucky with mine. No neck dive, tuning issues or dead spots and the headstock has stayed in tact after 10+ years of ownership. Doesn't sound as good or have as much sustain as an LP but I'll take the comfort and playability.

I never said they're not cool they're just not as cool as Les Paul's, that's all. ACDC are/were cool.

Sporky · August 2023

Philly_Q said:

If Fender guitars are just two bits of wood screwed together, then Gibsons are just two bits of wood glued together.

Six, I think?

Offset · August 2023

Philly_Q said:

If Fender guitars are just two bits of wood screwed together, then Gibsons are just two bits of wood badly glued together.

Minor amendment.

Kilgore · August 2023

Faye said:

Kilgore said:

They weren't just a product of social change but were drivers of that change.

I'd still argue that that's more down to right place, right time, rather than anything particularly wonderful in their musicianship.

They were a social phenomenon, which occurred because the economic and cultural conditions were right for it.

The Beatles didn't create those conditions, they simply benefited from them.

That argument implies that it could almost have been anybody else. Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Merseybeats etc, etc.

We'll have to disagree on this one.

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