Guitar Nerds Anonymous

Ah, do you reckon?
No sense of adventure in that...
Fair call. Just thought LDN might have better 2nd hand stuff. O/S things over here are $$.

Strats are ten a penny all over Oz, I'd recommend something spicy from Fender Japan. Can't mess with the Mexican stuff either or anything 70s/80s lawsuit era, lots for you to choose from.

They are for sure. (You know I'm in all the groups)
I still think there's an 'antipodean tax' over here.
I fancy something American... ahem. Maybe.
But also I need a modern C neck so would have to be a little more 'modern' I think.

Hoping to sit in a shop and try a bunch. See what gels.

If you’re coming all that way how about a train to Brighton
GAK is a large box shifter, crap service IME but they have a lot of kit
More importantly there is
https://www.mudpiemusicbrighton.com/solid-body-guitars
And
https://www.northlainemusic.co.uk/

The formers website is pretty up to date, the owner is a nice guy. The latters website is not great but they are they Facebook etc. they have some beautiful instruments in there and the owner is a good guy too.
All three are within a 100 yards or so of each other and half a mile of the station.

Last time I was in Brighton GAK had a nos JagStang in the window, looked original, not one of the later reissues.
Still pretty ugly though.

I’m not really a fan of faux patina(especially if it involves puppy killing perfectly good guitars), but these chaps make some really fun builds.
I assume it’s all stewmac/warmouth bits just put together with a bit of flair.
https://instagram.com/grit_brothers_guitars?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

American Performer might be what you want I think. I personally really like the Yosemite pickups in them too.

I went to Andertons once. They have more stock on the floor than any of the central London stores for sure but not sure if it’s worth the trek unless there’s something specific you want to try. I like Wunjo.

do you get to meet THE CAPTAIN at andertons though?

Thankfully not, when I was there at least. No sign of Chappers or Danish Pete either.

Denmark Street is pretty cut back in terms of range since it's heyday but Wunjos is still there & still pretty decent, and the shops on either side are good too.

If you're coming into town you'd may as well go to GuitarGuitar in Camden too - pretty much the same stock as Andertons but without having to get the train to Guildford.

I've been to GAK twice, both times I've found it pretty limited actually in store (they store most of their stock in an out of town warehouse), but I'm a bassist so most stores are limited!

I didn't like GuitarGuitar in Camden very much and I found them to be a lot smaller than Andertons. They had maybe a fifth of the stuff Andertons had, maybe less.

In other Fender news, I recently missed out on an 80s MIJ Paisley Tele, a total minter for only AU$1800. I slept on it and it was gone the next morning, a few days later a very similar looking guitar turned up for sale at Pedal Empire for twice the price. Still kicking myself!!

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Fender Redondo had its first outing this evening, with a 90 min lesson unplugged. What a joy to play, big acoustic sound, the size and depth of the dreadnought body will take a bit of getting used to, but I am totally in love with it. This weekend gonna plug into the Vox amp on full blast

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I'm about to buy my other half a Malibu (a la Ray), how does it sound compared to the Sigma? I've got a Martin 00-15M and I can't imagine a cheapie Fender getting anywhere close to it. I know the Sigma isn't a true Martin but they sound pretty good IME.

A mate once owned one of the original 60s Fenders, he said it was absolute shite. Love the Coronado headstock, they haven't exactly replicated that, have they?

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I can't imagine a Malibu getting close either but they look cute... burgundy or the dark blue maybe? I wish I'd nabbed one of the 000-15 or 000-15S Martins when you could import them for £750 new from Nashville, I organised that for a mate once. Funnily enough I tried a new 00-18 in Camden just the other day and thought it was really good. £2900 now over here for a Standard series 18 is just wild though, I can't get my head around it...

hey Wicksie!! Gonna drop down to polo...?

I think mine was around AU$2300 during the pandemic, first post covid shipment into Oz! It's such a great guitar, so sweet sounding. The neck did move after a few months, my tech guy fixed it no problem, he said it was a common issue with new Martins. I then got an LR Baggs pick-up fitted, was expecting great things into my DAW but it sounds a bit ropey, does the job with a bit of brutal EQ but it isn't terrific.

Dearly beloved is getting this for full on Kinks '67 vibes. I'm hoping it'll sound good straight into Logic as well!

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fabulous ^

Whatever gets you through the night, baby! Was just wondering what precipitated the change. :)

While I'm here, has anyone else tried Neural Amp Modeler yet? It's pretty fucking cool!!

Got it to talk to Logic and it creates some pretty great guitar sounds, it's been an absolute game changer for me. Had never heard of it until I saw Brian Wampler's video a couple of weeks ago. I've been recording feverishly ever since, it's THAT good. I've always struggled to get convincing guitar sounds in Logic.

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I just didn’t play the Sigma at all, I think it’s too good for me. Also my learning focus has been on the Strat. The Redondo was pre owned by my teacher. We talked about playing acoustic and what that means. This year my learning focus is on rhythm and strumming patterns. On a whole I want a guitar I can take to the streets or park without being too precious about it. So expect a large marajuana leaf sticker on the Redondo and a bunch of reggae tunes :)

Fender Redondo had its first outing this evening, with a 90 min lesson unplugged

Nice one! I have a Newporter and the comfy neck and low action make it the easiest playing acoustic I've experienced (not a lot to be fair).

On the subject of acoustics. Does anyone want one of those Recording King single O guitars we all got from thomann a few years back? Barely played.

Edit, it's an RP-M9M

Ah I was playing mine yesterday! great little guitar, cheap enough not to be precious about. Its the one my kids get to play on too.

Thanks for all the tips, appreciate it.
Agree Regal, American Performer is top of my list atm but haven't played the Yosemite's.

Hey Rick! Unlikely ;)
But you never know...

Thanks Pifko, having a Strat now for a few years. So playing the Redondo is comfortable on the fretting hand. Just need to crane my neck abit as I’m still looking at my fret hand position and it’s not as close to the body.

Gorgeous finish and colour with a Dunlop flame strap has turned heads too.

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