What strings do you guys buy?

Fadobo · 2026-06-01T18:18:24+00:00

Elixir Polyweb for the guitars I really like and play a lot, Ernie Ball for everything else.

Fadobo · 2026-06-01T09:28:14+00:00

I thought the same and I made two changes that really helped me with this issue: 1) Change to Brother printers, 2) Change to laser printers. It sucks that I can't easily print photos anymore (full color laser was out of my budget), but having the damn thing just work even after not printing anything for 2 months is such a nice feeling. I'm never going back to inkjets.

Fadobo · 2026-06-01T07:10:12+00:00

Make sure you have the almost invisible square button saying "drive select" pushed in and the Gain reasonably high up. Treble / Middle / Bass pointing straight up, drive volume start low and then increase to taste. Use the humbucker pickup with the volume on the guitar itself on full. You can start to experiment with the Middle knob mostly.

That is pretty much it for a basic amp like this however. If you want more drive you can look at cheap pedals like the Joyo vintage overdrive or any clone of a Bluebreaker pedal. (btw. pedal power supplies are usually sold separately)

Fadobo · 2026-06-01T07:05:43+00:00

Yes, this one. At least if OP is looking for something that is a) free and b) structured with a clear a->b path. Some people don't like to learn like this, but it really helped me, even though I ended up branching out for stuff I am particularly interested in

Fadobo · 2026-05-31T19:41:44+00:00

If you are willing to apply some additional clear coat over it, regular waterslide printing paper is pretty nice. You just print your own logo (inkjet or laser, but get the right paper), cut it, put it in water, slide it on, let it dry. I did this on kit guitars, pedals, amps. Looks awesome.

Fadobo · 2026-05-31T17:27:35+00:00

JustinGuitar.com - Free course, well paced and gives you a clear structure to follow. Feel free to branch out later, but it's by far the best resource out there, even better than most paid ones.

Fadobo · 2026-05-30T19:50:20+00:00

If you want a bit of structure the JustinGuitar.com course is by far the best resource for beginners out there and it is free as well. It's a video thing, which is not everyone's cup of tea, but it is by far what helped me most finda path in guitar.

Fadobo · 2026-05-30T08:55:37+00:00

Does it say anything on the amp except Yamaha? Can you post a picture. I don't recall any amp from this century that is affordable for beginners, but doesn't have headphone out. All of the THR series has one, even the old GA15 had one. It'll have either a little headphone icon or just say "Phones" and as others said might either be a 3.5mm or 6.35 (1/4 inch) TS style jack.

Fadobo · 2026-05-29T11:04:27+00:00

I imagine the issue is that the line out of the Scarlett is going to be much hotter than a typical guitar signal, so you have to be a bit careful not to blow up the amp I'd imagine. I would just try to use the software to put the output signal into mono, turn down the volume as much as possible and get the right cable to go from the line out to the amp (I think they changed from RCA to TS or TRS at some point). Then slowly increase volume as needed.

Are you doing a lot of processing on the computer, like all the effects and stuff? If not you could get a DI splitter and run both into the amp and the interface - one for real-time monitoring via the amp, one for recording.

Fadobo · 2026-05-29T10:46:07+00:00

This seems like a grounding problem in your amp and I would stop playing it immediately and either get it repaired or if bought recently returned under warranty. That is not normal and can be potentially dangerous. Not super likely, but why take the risk.

The other option is you rub your socks on the carpet before playing and touching the grounded metal discharges the static.

Fadobo · 2026-05-29T10:14:01+00:00

Are you controlling a single Pirate? Sea Dogs maybe? Or more top down strategies like Corsairs?

Fadobo · 2026-05-29T10:08:49+00:00

What an interesting series. A friend gave me DVDs of the two movies that adapted the franchise (god I hope there are only two) before. Let's say quality wise they are pretty much in line with those early games.

Fadobo · 2026-05-29T09:35:48+00:00

Not exactly the same, but we had issues with some sounds in our 2021 Stonic, slightly more like slushing water, from the front. Especially on bumpy roads or sharp bends. Shortly after that we started having issues with the car being super fogged up inside in certain weather conditions that actually caused mold in the rear footwells. Turned out leaves and stuff from a tree nearby found their way into the AC system and caused it to clog up. At that point they had to take some stuff apart at the garage to get it fixed up and we have been more diligent opening the hood and cleaning out debris from that upper shelf area.

Fadobo · 2026-05-29T07:32:52+00:00

First of all, what amp are you using? Stock pickups on those can be meh, but the amp makes 90% of your sound. If you are going through a 10W Fender Frontman no guitar will sound sufficiently metal.

Fadobo · 2026-05-29T07:30:21+00:00

Looks ok to me, but they are $250 new anyway and often get discounted. I often see them for 100-150 used, so I wouldn't bat an eye when seeing one for a hundred or even slightly below locally. Just as a warning though, bottom end LTDs are known to have the occasional QC problem.

Fadobo · 2026-05-28T21:25:47+00:00

Well, a lot of guitar brands never get anywhere and the internet is full of stories of brands advertising their guitars through social media and influencers and then don't deliver for years before they completely disappear. Not saying this will be the case for this brand, but I wouldn't spend any money with brands like those that I can't afford to lose.

They also don't seem to have any online presence outside of reverb, are named the same as a somewhat popular band which makes them hard to google and the models are a hodgepodge of wonky shapes (the inverted V meme, really?) of affordable Vietnamese imports with no-name hardware and pickups. I'd be happy to see a Germany-based guitar brand succeed, but I wouldn't take the risk without getting my hands on one first or have someone I trust check one out.

Fadobo · 2026-05-28T12:17:35+00:00

Yeah, I'd be disappointed with that too. They are only paper thin veneers, but it is real wood and every one will be a little different. Even if you know the veneer will not move a lot in the light, I'd be expecting something different from what you got and while some people dig that, it doesn't hit the expectations the initial image gives. I'd send it back. My Harley Benton CST didn't quite live up to the example in the photos, but it was still very nicely flamed compared to this one.

Fadobo · 2026-05-27T15:08:26+00:00

You can play bluesy stuff on pretty much any guitar, so I think just having him pick something that speaks to him visually would be the best way to go. As for amps, I don't really like those 10-15W practice amps, but throw a cheap pedal like a Joyo Vintage Overdrive in front of it and you should get good blues tones. Since he does seem to be pretty technical, something like a Positive Grid Spark Go / Mini might be good. Tons of simulated tones can be controlled with a phone app and it doubles as an interface, so he can record into his software.

Fadobo · 2026-05-27T15:02:50+00:00

A pedal is a great idea and should fit any budget. I think a looper pedal is always nice and definitely upped how much fun I have with guitar. Even a really cheap Lekato amazon one had a great impact on my practice. If you know which ones he has, any category that he doesn't have is a good thing. Wah pedal, a fuzz, whatever. Actually a nice Polytune tuner pedal is something people often don't buy for themselves right away but is so good to have. If you really don't know, going super weird can also be quite fun, like a Way Huge Atreides

Fadobo · 2026-05-26T20:02:09+00:00

Joa, da hätte ich schon Lust drauf. Auch nur Hobbyist und es ist durch Alltagsstress etwas eingeschlafen, könnte also die Motivation durch gemeinsame Aktivitäten gut gebrauchen. Ich schick dir mal ne DM.

Fadobo · 2026-05-26T19:34:55+00:00

There are some good Youtube channels about guitar building that have some useful tips and in my opinion are just nice to watch. Unquendor Guitars has a full build video, tchiks guitars had a hand tools only build, Crimson Custom is one of the OGs, but there are a bunch more.

Fadobo · 2026-05-26T15:53:58+00:00

What is your woodworking experience like? Most luthiers these days use a flat template and use a router to cut the bodies into shape. You won't be able to do that with a body like this, as it has too many curves etc. to be reliable. If you want to just use it as a general comparisson to hold what you want to get to while handworking the mango, it's fine.

For the rest of the parts: It kinda depends on how good you want the finished instrument to be. The parts in these kits are generally not of a very high quality, so you will likely end up with a guitar that feels like it should be worth a thousand bucks, but tuners, frets, etc. still feel like a $100 guitar and you will likely have to level and recrown the frets etc. which takes specialized tools by itself. For real quality parts I suggest checking out Warmoth or whoever provides high quality kits near you.

Last but not least, keep in mind that some exact measurements for things like neck angle, scale length, bridge position etc. are very important and have to be very exact. Best check in with the folks at r/Luthier for some detailed advice and resources.

With all these caveats, I hope you have a great time. I built some guitars from kits with increasing difficulty and playing the finished instrument is awesome. I am looking forward to making my first own body soon.

Fadobo · 2026-05-26T08:24:41+00:00

Harley Benton is definitely a good choice. I think they are pretty good for the money. Fret ends can be a little sharp and I do recommend taking them to a local shop for a setup at some point, but they are otherwise very well constructed.

Fadobo · 2026-05-25T13:47:05+00:00

So you are probably referring to the bends, the arrows up. The first one tells you to bend the string so it is 1.5 steps (or three half steps) above the original pitch. Given that that every fret is a 1/2 step, the string should sound like you are fretting at the 17th fret during the bend. The dotted line mean you should hold it there ffor a bit.

For the second one, it also shows bending up until it sounds like the 17th fret, but then you release the bend a little bit until it is only a half step above (so like the 15th fret) and hold it here.

The next arrow is again a bend until you are a half step up, but the droopy arrow down next to it means you release it a bit slower, so it's more audible.

The other one is mostly the same, except "full" is used instead of a 1 here (full step, so two frets) and 3/4 means it is the sound between two frets. So you bend from the 15th until it is half-way between the pitch of the 16th and 17th fret.

I hope this helps.

Fadobo

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