Having to fight my guitar...

[B2D]

Re: Having to fight my guitar...

I guess the longer you play, the more your eye's, ears, and hands start to zero in on what you really love. Sometimes, you have to come to the realization that some guitars, amps, and strings, are "you", and the rest are "someone else's taste."

My only point is that forcing your hands to get used to anything will only help your hand control in the long run. If you can pickup a strat, paul, or Floyd guitar, which all have different necks and string tension, and get used to them, it's amazing that your bends will eventually be perfect on all guitars. At first, you put down a strat, then pickup a Paul and overbend sharp, or visa versa. It's a good thing, I think, to get used to all your guitars equally, even if it means tailoring your string gauge to give a more consistent feel from guitar to guitar.

Another good point! Whenever I pick up a guitar that's set up VERY differently from my own (like that Les Paul with a scalloped board and 11's) it usually takes me a minute or so to get used to it but generally I can get around on any guitar I want just fine. On Gibsons it's always so easy to race around on the fretboard but then I have to make sure I don't overbend (fixed bridge) and the strings don;t slip out from under me (low frets).

I've been playing a lot more acoustic guitar (friend's steel strings and my mom's Fernandes classical) and after about an hour of running through all my usual stuff on that electrics feel reeeaaallly good.

After looking at it, on a scale of 1-10 (1 being impossible to play, 10 being effortless) I'd say most acoustics to me are a 4 or 5, my strat is a 7 and those EBMM's are 9.

[rspst14]

Re: Having to fight my guitar...

I played an '02 mexi strat yesterday.

Man Did I dig in.
If only it didnt hum like a bumble bee on flowers. Damn!

I dug in big and the tone was sweet when on the middle and bridge pups, could do with a better amp than the one i used tho (marshall valvestate 100 (hybrid tube preamp crap) )...

I think A fat strat would be sik, and get it properly shielded.
I'm keen, Although - I couldnt shred on it like my LP.

A simple star-grounding rewire would likely cut down on the hum quite a bit. Lots of good information about that at www.guitarnuts.com. You could also get some shielding tape and cover the control cavities with it. I just bought some from www.guitarelectronics.com, and I was able to shield an entire guitar with one square foot. Proper shielding and wiring can greatly reduce the hum from single coils.

Ryan

[Biu]

Re: Having to fight my guitar...

I have the same problem, B2D, but I'm sorta lucky because my Ibanez's posess that "easy-bending/playability" thing. It could be the fact that I use DR 09-42's, but I think some of it may have more to do with the neck somehow. Maybe even the bridge (My RG3120 has Edge Pro and my SA160QM has a Wilkinson-esque bridge). I know what you mean about other guitars being tougher to play. My Epiphone Explorer is like that. I use 10's on it and once (looong ago!) brought it down to a set of Ernie Ball 9's. Strings broke faster that way, but it did get that easier feel. Maybe you just need to try a different brand of strings?