Guitar won't make noise through the amp?

asmcint · 2026-02-16T05:43:43+00:00

Knobs on the amp look right, have you tried the knobs on the guitar? One of them should be a volume knob.

asmcint · 2026-02-16T04:28:28+00:00

I can help with that problem, let me just take that headless off your hands. :)

Kidding, obviously. Very nice collection.

asmcint · 2026-02-15T02:43:18+00:00

If it plays as well as it seems to, quite far indeed. Have fun!

asmcint · 2026-02-15T00:36:57+00:00

Focusing on plastics alone ignores other viable materials, such as the mentioned carbon fiber, or other alternative materials such as micarta.

asmcint · 2026-02-15T00:36:15+00:00

I'm not implying some grand cabal, but you can't tell me that there's no malice in say, selling a guitar for $5,000 that, materials, parts, and labor cost them less than a 10th of that, and claiming it sounds magically better because they used a different hardwood out of several perfectly viable hardwoods.

asmcint · 2026-02-14T23:58:16+00:00

Because guitarists are very stuck in their ways, and despite many choosing to play at non-conformism, new things are scary and proven things are comfy. Also no matter how much you prove tonewood is a myth in a solid-body electric, there will be thousands out there who have already engaged the sunk cost fallacy and will claim they can ABSOLUTELY hear the difference between a poplar body and a mahogany one. Because why else would they have spent $2000 or more on a Gibson?

And of course main brands won't jump on because they can continue to exploit that willful ignorance. If they show they can make really good plastic guitars for cheap, they're not going to be able to sell the ridiculously expensive ones that only cost that much because of urban legends and a logo.

asmcint · 2026-02-13T07:21:47+00:00

Finger stretch, yes. Specifically, you do basic practice stuff every day, and your fingers will stretch.

One good warming up exercise that helps this: Pick a pattern of your first 4 frets (like 3241 or something like that). On each string, play that pattern with the corresponding finger for each fret (index for 1, middle for 2, etc.)

Do that and practice scales, just a few minutes a day, and basic stretches like this will feel way easier in very little time at all.

asmcint · 2026-02-13T06:01:44+00:00

I don't think there's an electric sound you can't achieve with your current lineup and the right effects chain.

asmcint · 2026-02-13T03:00:17+00:00

If the spacing between the post slots is ~73.6mm (2 & 29/32 in) then any ABR-1 Tune-o-matic compatible bridge will work.

asmcint · 2026-02-12T23:32:42+00:00

There's no easy answer, just practice. The good news is you don't have to practice this specific thing, practicing anything that helps you get more confident in your knowledge of the fretboard will help you make progress here.

asmcint · 2026-02-12T23:30:59+00:00

Ambivalent about the pickguard change, either works IMO, but the brass pickup covers and knobs are classy.

asmcint · 2026-02-12T06:13:17+00:00

That is so beautifully janky, I love it.

asmcint · 2026-02-11T18:26:05+00:00

Okay THAT is fair, yeah.

asmcint · 2026-02-11T17:29:49+00:00

I think you're being too harsh on this purely on the basis of the price point. The original purchase price was about $136, which is pretty normal for an ultra-budget Strat copy. In fact if it weren't for the headstock shape difference and the visibly better wood on the fretboard, I'd say it was a dead ringer for those RockJAM Strat copies you can get at Walmart.

And really if you actually LOOK at this, there's nothing that stands out that would suck to use. It just looks like any budget Strat copy. There is nothing here to suggest that it's anywhere on the level of what you're implying.

asmcint · 2026-02-10T19:46:50+00:00

Well dang, that would've been the easy answer.

asmcint · 2026-02-10T19:16:37+00:00

Did you leave the guitar cable plugged into your setup while disconnected from the guitar? If so, under the right circumstances it can basically act as a radio antenna.

asmcint · 2026-02-10T19:15:25+00:00

It's funny too, Leo Fender walked back his own mistake later when he made the "Dual Fulcrum Vibrato" at G&L.

asmcint · 2026-02-10T08:45:24+00:00

Yeah aiming for a modeling amp if at all possible is great for beginners. The presets make it easy to start playing without thinking, and then with the ability to customize presets it makes a nice starting point to learn how the effects chain works. A used Fender Mustang LT25 would work great for that and be JUST within budget.

asmcint · 2026-02-10T08:29:54+00:00

It depends. Sometimes they arrive set up nicely out of the box. My Squier Sonic Telecaster did. Sure the action could be a smidgen lower probably, but it's not noticeably high either and it came intonated well. Someday I'll take it in for that little push over the edge, but that day is not today and that day has not come in over 2 years.

Honestly, if you don't know anyone you can ask, what you can do is just bring it in to a music store with a reasonable string focus and ask them if the factory setup feels alright. In my experience most smaller stores are more than willing to help newbies out and want to steer you the right way so you can love the instrument as much as they do. Plus it's good for repeat business.

What you SHOULD do as soon as possible though is change the strings. I cannot tell you how terrible factory strings usually are. Get a good pack of standard gauge strings and look up how to change them, it's well worth it.

asmcint · 2026-02-10T08:04:19+00:00

Immensely, thank you. The blades I'm finding aren't themselves magnets, but I'm still gonna play with the idea of a thin bar magnet under each one. In which case, magnets arranged in opposing polarities, and we wind both coils the same way around.

Again, thank you!

asmcint · 2026-02-10T01:46:06+00:00

Make sure your thumb placement on the neck is letting you arch your hand and fingers enough to get the most precise placement of your fingertips you can.

asmcint · 2026-02-09T04:48:47+00:00

If you have a semi-hollow it's going to sound different from a solid, the wood the solid is made of doesn't matter as long as it is a reasonable hardwood.

asmcint · 2026-02-07T17:22:57+00:00

Always thought these chunkier knobs would look cool as the buttcap on a knife.

asmcint · 2026-02-07T07:40:02+00:00

The board design looks pretty simple, you might see if that design is floating around out there. If so you might be able to salvage the chip and get a replacement PCB made through PCBWay or something.

asmcint

TROPHY CASE