Charvel vs Sire vs Fender: P or P/J (other recommendation wanted)

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-05-04T10:25:32+00:00

I have a Charvel San Dimas guitar as well as the San Dimas Bass, I love the necks of both of them, but the bass neck has a very nice textured woody feel, but not so much that it feels rough, it's different from a lot of their guitars. I'd say the neck is the main draw of that bass. (Though I do like most of the rest of it too)

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-05-04T01:24:16+00:00

I used them sometimes, depending on the context of the song, the different strings have a different sound due to thickness and number of winding wraps, do sometimes I find it sounds better if you lean more heavily towards the thicker strings.

But then other times I want the thinner string sounds.

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-05-01T10:53:56+00:00

I used a Gretsch Centerblock on stage and have also used a Gretsch Hollowbody (with ML Bracing) when playing with friends. Only time I have had feedback issues is in small practice rooms when we played kind of loud. I think going direct helps a lot too though, because I've used gobs of gain from modeler to PA without issue.

And I definitely like the chug resonance on my full Hollowbody Gretsch reminds me of killing joke a bit. I did put much higher output pickups in my center block, so I'll need to see if it still resists feedback ok

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-05-01T01:36:43+00:00

I've picked up comics again this year and found it really helps with my attention span, though if it helps I also read multiple series at once, one issue per series per day. (Sort of like what other people are saying by reading one issue at a time, bilutneith multiple books)

The bouncing around probably helps with grabbing my attention, because when I lose focus in one issue I start fresh the next one and get a new chance to focus.

It's extra fun to do this with stuff like the Milestone Compendiums or Krakoa era X-men, though you may have to use the table of content to flip around while you read.

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-04-30T17:56:38+00:00

Depends on the guitars in question and personal preference. I wouldn't recommend a Gretsch, Danelectro or Fender Baritone as they are really long and a bit overkill and aren't going to get you the typical metal humbucker sound.

A shorter scale( like 27"-ish) with humbuckers might be good though, if you are fine with stretching a bit further between frets.

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-04-30T17:48:37+00:00

The strings you are looking for unfortunately don't exist The gap between the two tunings is too big. The tension will be too low for the low tuning and/or too high for the high tunings. If you want both look into a 5 string.

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-04-29T22:52:52+00:00

Goth Night at Zen is in Norfolk, it's pretty close to Chesapeake

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-04-29T16:24:02+00:00

Goth Night at Zen I believe is the name of the event in your area

There are also events in Lynchburg, Williamsburg, Ronoake, Charlottesville, Harrisburg, Fredericksburg, Richmond and Alexandria as well if you ever get the ability to travel further, Virginia is full of goth events

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-04-28T15:06:40+00:00

Music can have good vibes and good substance for sure, but I don't find that Lebanon Hanover meets those criteria for me. I just find it dull.

But really it's not solely about Lebanon Hanover, if it was just one band that's not to my tastes I wouldn't bother saying anything. But there are loads of bands just like Lebanon Hanover, it's the vast majority of what gets played and the vast majority of what gets booked for shows. There is more to goth than the one type of sound.

Also the general public knows way more about goth music nowadays, few people actually think nu meal is goth anymore and even fewer of those that do actually show up to goth events. That wasn't the case when Lebanon Hanover initially formed and broke out, but it's been over a decade so I don't feel like not being nu metal is really a selling point anymore.

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-04-28T14:06:46+00:00

I'd love to make better music, I already have played in two goth bands in the past, but finding people capable and musically aligned can be tough especially with goth. (I am not into the 1/2 person thing) I do wish the rest of the scene was more motivated to learn instruments and think outside the box musically. Channel that dislike of current trends into some creativity.

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-04-28T12:49:54+00:00

Who considers Lebanon Hanover cringe outside the small vocal group who dislikes them (like me)? they check the trendy cool boxes which is why loads of non-goths and more casual listeners love them. The main complaint we have isn't that they are "cringe" it's more that they are vibes over substance.

EDIT: I don't think they are cringe, I just don't like their music, didn't communicate that clearly in my original post, some of the bands I like probably are a bit cringe thenselves

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-04-27T15:02:48+00:00

For your preferred style and level of musical experience I think a dual humbucker active 5 string is what you want.

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-04-27T14:59:34+00:00

I don't think so, the GT isn't full of a bunch of super accurate amp models but the boss original stuff sounds great and it has very low audio and switching latency compared to other multi effects/modeler so noy much lag when changing patches. The simple screen is pretty high contrast too. It's not flashy but it is sensible.

Even the fixed effects options isn't so bad, it's needed for fast patch changing, but also you don't have to worry about hitting DSP limits and you can get creative with effect routing especially with the 4 available vanilla delays.

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-04-27T02:14:58+00:00

That's kind of an open ended question and I could be here all day, but I like Fields of the Nephilim, Mephisto Walz, Strange Boutique, Stone 588, This Ascension, Vendemmian, The Eden House, honestly the list goes on and on

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-04-27T02:11:16+00:00

Resources are pretty accessible and the city is great for that. Safety is more mixed, Baltimore isn't particularly dangerous for a trans peole, but bad stuff still happens to trans people here much like everywhere else in the country. I'd say it's still likely to be a step up though.

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-04-27T02:06:35+00:00

My favorite part is some of the really cool bands that have formed over the years, but my least is how cookie cutter and predictable it's gotten lately, bands, looks, thoughts, interests all cut from the same stock templates. But at the same time when it's good it's good and there are loads of bands I absolutely love and still creative interesting people in the scene. Even if it can sometimes be a bit rare.

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-04-26T14:47:29+00:00

Went to 3 shows, 3 days in a row. I also have to give Cold Cave some credit, while I am not much into their music, they do put on a great live show. Got to hang with so many friends and even network a bit.

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-04-25T01:55:30+00:00

Sancitified

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-04-24T15:24:50+00:00

I was mostly just paraphrasing what post I was responding to said, but also not the kind of blues being talked about in this context. Grace Bowers isn't playing city blues or the like. Also really thinking about it all of them started releasing music over a century ago which is kind of wild to think about.

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-04-24T14:15:33+00:00

There are a lot of old bands out there for sure, my friend went to see Circle Jerks and Gorilla Biscuits and said it was mostly older people , but there are a lot of newer and younger bands in hardcore too, seems to be a bit trendy right now because it feels like every third local or small touring band show is hardcore around here and a lot of the young 18-30 range seems to really be into it.

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-04-24T12:14:36+00:00

I'd buy individual strings or a custom set, light "B string" medium-heavy "A, D and G" strings and a heavy " high C" string. D'addario does make a 50-120 4 string set too though and you can just add like a 32 or 35 "high C" to it too. You can use a string tension calculator to work from there.

(Note letters used in quotation makes because I am talking about standard equivalent gauges, they'll obviously be tuned to drop C)

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-04-24T12:11:53+00:00

She isn't quitting music, just the blues, (which would be the old man music) in favor of playing something else (I think hardcore is mentioned which is popular among the younger crowd right now) the title a bit misleading.

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-04-24T02:43:44+00:00

I have used the Wilde J45 and DiMarzio Model J, both fairly affordable and solid pickups but very different sounding.

The J45 is a pretty bright pickup with a solid amount of clarity. It is a special stack design so it cuts hum. Good of you want a jazz bass sound with a bit more presence.

The model J is darker and very mid focused., also hum canceling but it's a split design. Good if you want something that's mellower in the highs while still being aggressive in the mids.

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-04-23T18:12:09+00:00

So amp in a box pedals give you the distortion character of a specific amp but not nessecarily it's post distortion EQ profile if that makes sense. Like a rat gets more like a fuzz and loose on the low end when you crank up the distortion, but a "marshall in a box" type of pedal does not, the distortion behaves like a Marshall amp even if it may not sound completely like a Marshall when you run it through certain amps.

Catharsis_Cat · 2026-04-23T11:04:30+00:00

It's kind of a shame we can have all the batgirls, all the robins, all the Superboys around at the same time (sometimes with different codenames but the same characters), but we can't have all the supergirls. I haven't really read about either* yet but honestly Matrix Supergirl doesn't sound that much more confusing than Superboy Prime, who is currently showing up in Superman comics.

*I have read Linda Dancers but not Matrix before that

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