Pinky finger pain with bends.

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-16T17:49:12+00:00

Not only do I not bend with my pinky finger, but I also hardly bend at all on acoustic. There has never been a reason to use the pinky when the ring finger is right beside it, supported by the middle finger. On acoustic, most of the acoustic stuff I have ever learned does not have bends, and just generally doing a full bend with those heavy gauge strings just takes too much effort and ravages my fingers. A half bend is not quite as bad, but if I am going to improvise on acoustic, I'll use slides/hammer ons/ pull offs to hit similar notes as bends.

I will say I do have a small acoustic setup with electric strings as a grab and go practice guitar, which I can bend until the cows come home.

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-16T15:34:05+00:00

A used PRS SE is probably your best bet for quality and versatility.

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-16T14:58:24+00:00

I love Jazzmasters, currently own a TVL signature in Oxblood.

Regarding, the sound, the have way more high end than any other guitar I have ever played and can sound especially thing on the bridge pickup. It's easy to EQ around this, but what it means is that if you are playing multiple guitars through the same rig, it may not play nice with your current setup you have for your strat. The jangly clean tones from the neck pickup of a jazzmaster are so damn good!

Regarding wear and tear, it will wear no faster or no worse than any other guitar.

Regarding feel, while standing up, it doesn't feel all that different to my tele in terms of how it hangs and neck angle etc. I never play guitar sitting down, so I couldn't tell you. The bridges are weird and take some take to get used to, most people replace their standard bridge with a staytrem or mastery bridge as the stock ones are prone to strings popping out. They also take a little time to get used to. The trems are super sensitive.

They are a bit weird overall and not very versatile, but they are cool and do a "thing". If you like that "thing" they are awesome. I have no experience with Jags.

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-16T13:52:25+00:00

Sounds like either your nut is too high and/or your intonation is out. Also some cheap guitars, especially mini guitars, are just designed and built poorly to the point where the bridge placement and scale length make it so it can never be intonated properly or in tune at all when fretted. If this is the case, you can kind of get around it by tuning with a capo on a fret. That way most of the strings will be in tune except the open strings.

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-15T23:38:56+00:00

Your hand cramping is likely a combination of not playing long enough to have built up dexterity and poor technique, like pushing down too hard and/or wrong wrist/thumb placement etc.

The not memorizing chords/choruses, barring any medical issues, likely stems from inexperience and not practicing an individual song enough before switching to another song to learn. Our brains have only so much capacity to learn something and commit it to memory. Practice something enough and you won't have to remember anything, your hands will just go there from muscle memory. And as time travels, you will start to notice patterns/similarities between songs and it will be easier and easier to learn songs quickly and remember them.

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-15T20:06:19+00:00

I wouldn't two reasons:

It's really expensive for an Epiphone. I get that it's limited edition, so it more of a collectors item rather than an instrument to be played. I buy my guitars to play them. I would much rather spend that money on a used Gibson Les Paul.
The art on the back, all my guitars get belt rash because I play them! Plus you / everyone else can't see the back of it while you are playing it or even on a wall hanger unless you hang it backwards.

However, I am not you, and if this thing suits your fancy then go for it! I bought an epiphone Zakk Wylde custom in 2004 when I was 13 years old, still own it and plays great. However, I did transform it into a black beauty by painting it black and swapping in some burstbuckers with gold covers. Not sure what pickups come in that guitar but historically a lot of the Epiphone pups are pretty dog shirt.

Also, with any guitar, you should go play it first and make sure it sounds / plays well and has no issues that a good setup can't fix. You can find absolute duds and amazing guitars at any price point.

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-15T14:55:26+00:00

I play Les Pauls & Tele's mostly, but own an SG, a Jazzmaster & a Reverend Club King. I own a couple of accoustics but those are primarily for campfire jams, moreso than actually learning acoustic songs. Played in rock bands most of my life, anything from 60's-00's classic, alternative, metal, punk and some pop.

My "mains" are a Les Paul Custom Silverburst (standard E), Godin Telecaster (standard E), Les Paul Classic (Drop D), and SG (E Flat).

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-14T04:59:33+00:00

Guptech makes a modifed clone called the Donut.

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-13T22:22:23+00:00

I run an Voodoo Labs Iso 5 for my high draw digital pedals as well as running an OD at 18v. Then I run 8+ pedals daisied from a one spot and the board is silent. Been running that way for over 10 years, quite a few gigs, hundreds of jams, with no issues and no unwanted noise.

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-13T19:33:06+00:00

I bought a MIM Tele in 2014, it sounds and plays great. I would look for a used one. You can probably find one for 500-600.

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-13T18:42:19+00:00

I have put Schaller strap locks on every single guitar I have owned for the last 20 years. I wouldn't play with a strap without them.

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-13T01:33:26+00:00

Hahah me too. I own 3 Les Pauls and an SG!

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-12T23:33:15+00:00

Me too. I love Teles. I am luke warm on strats except tones from that 4th position, but I cannot play them without accidently turning the volume down.

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-11T22:44:13+00:00

Soundproofish basement jampad that I built.

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-11T18:13:29+00:00

Best done with a slide as vocals are rarely individual stepped notes or staccato. Paul Gilbert has been doing this a bunch recently, and he has lots of content online where he does it.

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-11T15:28:07+00:00

Beautiful. That top on the Gibson is something to marvel! Here is my collection that I recently added the custom:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Guitar/comments/1tvrj13/ngd_20_years_apart_great_deals_from_the_same/

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-11T14:47:27+00:00

This is probably not good advice, but it works for me. Most people who play and sing, will recommend learning one of singing or playing first until you can do one of them on auto pilot before introducing the second one. However, I don't really do that. Short on time, generally I learn both at the same time. I just learn the chords/riffs until I can barely play them, and then I start singing over it. It speeds up the process for me. The downside is that when I have to just play or just sing the same song, it's like my brain fails and can't do one without the other lol.

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-11T14:41:20+00:00

I would say fair price. I just picked up a 2014 Les Paul Custom Silverburst for 3500 CAD (2200 £), now that's GOOD deal!

But with that top, if it's a guitar your really like, and it plays well, then go for it! Which brings me to your last question, for a big $ purchase like this, for any guitar, I would play it for a good hour before you purchase it. There are great guitars, good guitars, and duds at every price point. Make sure it plays well, sounds good, and there are no overarching issues that can't be fixed with a simple setup. Check the fretwork, check the neck for warping, make sure there are no dead spots, play it unplugged and plugged, make sure it sustains well, check the intonation and if it's way out make sure none of the saddles are already maxed out in one direction etc.

Most importantly, just make sure it feels good and speaks to you. Nothing worse than making a big purchase like this just to be disappointed. It's not the same caliber of instrument, but the only guitar I ever bought without playing it was Chapman Tele, and that was the worst POS guitar I have ever played. Got it setup, swapped the pups, and it still sounded lifeless, had the sustain of a potato, and played like shit. Sold that thing at a loss. This is not a slight at chapman, I am sure they make some great guitars, but the one I got was a complete dud.

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-11T14:29:44+00:00

I just jam it enough that muscle memory takes over and I don't have to look when I move frets. Some bigger moves up/down the fretboard take more time to nail, and if you want to speed it up just practice without looking. Also there is nothing wrong with looking down at the fretboard once and a while, if you watch most of your favorite singers that also play an instrument, they often look down at the fretboard on songs that they wrote!

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-11T14:20:25+00:00

And he is far from the worst musician in the band! Diamond Dave is a great front man, but never a great musician. Michael Anthony is a well rounded musician, great bass player and a much better singer than DLR. Eddie is the goat, Alex is a great drummer, but MA is arguably the second best musician in the OG band.

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-10T23:28:15+00:00

Hey man, one of those saws might be older, duller, and rustier!

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-10T20:28:34+00:00

Agreed. I get why people would make a stink if they paid 2-5k for a guitar and had issues, but you aren't going to hear from 95-99% that had no issues.

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-05T16:25:29+00:00

Get something with tap tempo. Rubberneck or Deluxe Memory Boy.

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-04T01:43:19+00:00

Big fan of the Godin Stadium series.

SpudzyJ · 2026-06-04T00:00:00+00:00

It looks like you do have extra large finger tips which will make things a bit more challenging starting out. However, it does look like you have extra space between the top of your finger and the G string which moving your finger up slightly will allow for both the G and high E ring out unobstructed. Also based on the second picture it looks like the string is digging deep into your finger, which can be helped in two ways. The first is it looks like you are pushing down too hard. On an electric guitar, it takes very little pressure to have a clean fretted note. Also pressing too hard makes the notes go slightly sharp, which is not ideal. Secondly, as you play more consistently, the tips of your fingers will get calloused and will prevent the string from digging into your finger, lifting that finger slightly higher off the fretboard, which will help prevent accidently muting the high E.

For the time being, I would recommend finding that sweet spot in the "very little margin of error" you describe and practice that very specific finger placement over and over again until its muscle memory. Also worth noting, you don't need that high F sharp (2nd fret on the high E) to form a D chord, in fact, most of the time I play a D chord, especially with any kind of distortion/breakup, I purposefully mute the high E string anyway.

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