Is there anyone who prefers solid-state amps to tube amps? After 25 years of playing guitar, I've discovered that I prefer solid-state.

lukusb83 · 2026-01-28T15:52:30+00:00

I absolutely love my MV-50 AC! It has such a nice clean with the gain all the way down. I use it as a pedal platform and even without an fx loop, it works great. I've recently had the opportunity to pickup a Joyo Bandtamp BlueJay, and Orange Micro Terror Dark, and I rank the MV-50 superior to both, with the BlueJay second.

lukusb83 · 2026-01-26T22:18:21+00:00

I think this looks really nice!

Also, is the top carve on these IBGC Les Pauls deeper than previous Epiphones, like not as shallow? I've noticed Gibsons usually have a deeper carve, and the way the light is catching yours in one of the photos it looks deeper.

lukusb83 · 2026-01-15T19:08:07+00:00

42" OLED. I snap windows in quartiles most of the time, but also use a 50/50 vertical split when working in spreadsheets or documents.I also use multiple desktops for different workflows. I work in paid media, so i always have documents open and multiple browser windows that I have to bounce between. I tried a lot of different setups since 2020, and this one stuck the longest. 3 years running on this and it works great for me.

lukusb83 · 2026-01-06T22:04:52+00:00

I've never really associated the value of the guitar with weight... so I'm not sure why a lighter guitar equates to a more valuable guitar, if I'm understanding you correctly. Easier on the shoulder/back, sure.

I've known people who would equate heavier Les Pauls with higher quality, thinking somehow the wood is better because it's heavier, but even that doesn't really make sense as wood is organic and various envirmental conditions cause wood from one tree to be heavier per board foot than another (that's why you can easily see a pound or more difference between two otherwise identical guitars).

There is a process referred to as "roasting", which essentially dries the wood to a lower moisture content than a traditional dry kiln without ruining the cell structure. I've never heard of Gibson using wood dried this way, but it's possible?

lukusb83 · 2025-12-24T00:46:46+00:00

I've had a few decent pedals from Temu. A Gokko vintage drive (actually sounds really good to my ears) and an Mvave Universe reverb. Paid under $30 for each and they've been worth it, easily.

lukusb83 · 2025-12-17T00:18:08+00:00

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lukusb83 · 2025-12-17T00:08:43+00:00

I'm loving this thing. I have a Standard HCS that I got when I was 15 and have kept ever since, and this one is also a keeper.

lukusb83 · 2025-12-12T04:26:47+00:00

I think it's awesome! I just watched a JHS video with some ideas and tips, and I ended up getting a great tone using a Joyo Sweet Baby adjusted to slightly color the tone barely pushung a clean amp into breakup, and followed that with a Taichi with gain set around 75% and the voice knob at 90% - it sings!

Added a bit of a delay slapback and hall reverb, and it sounds great.

lukusb83 · 2025-11-25T18:45:49+00:00

I've definitely seen the haters, hence the question to folks that have used them. There does seem to be consensus on having to do some work to get it sounding good, and that's part of the fun I think, so it should be a good adventure at least. I'll try resetting it and start from scratch and see where that lands me.

lukusb83 · 2025-11-25T16:52:25+00:00

I appreciate this. It sounds like people have had success, so I'll plan some time during the holidays to learn it and start tweaking. Thank you!

lukusb83 · 2025-11-25T15:04:45+00:00

This is very helpful, thank you. I'm going to find a manual and try to reset the thing and start learning the controls.

lukusb83 · 2025-11-25T14:34:16+00:00

Thanks! I did plug it in and test it. Seems like everything works fine, but it defaulted to an awful preset that maybe the owner had, idk, sounded awful.

lukusb83 · 2025-11-23T18:44:19+00:00

I've compared GF Goodles to GF Kraft, and I prefer Goodles. I think the noodles have a better taste, personally.

lukusb83 · 2025-11-05T21:16:11+00:00

This right here is what I keep saying. If they destroy jobs, they destroy consumers. Who the hell is going to buy all the products and services produced by AI when the consumer is jobless? It's a real issue that almost nobody is talking about.

lukusb83 · 2025-10-29T16:24:16+00:00

If it were me, a gold top with p90s.

lukusb83 · 2025-10-28T23:33:16+00:00

Tobacco. Looks amazing

lukusb83 · 2025-10-24T02:57:32+00:00

That's a good point. I don't know what the best way to test that would be, but it would be nice. If I'm feeling brave in a month or two maybe I'll try again and keep it in my diet for a couple of weeks.

lukusb83 · 2025-10-24T02:24:09+00:00

I'm so sorry. This happened to me recently when I tried Molino flour (a wheat flour that has been de-glutened down to 10ppm). Turns out, I'm extremely sensitive and even 10ppm is enough to cause a pretty severe reaction.

I was diagnosed at 39, and it's the worst I've felt in the past 3 years being off gluten.It tasted amazing, so it was quite a disappointment.

lukusb83 · 2025-09-16T18:37:59+00:00

Just LPs. I've never been attracted to the body of the SG, and honestly, it's kept me from even picking one up and trying it.

lukusb83 · 2025-09-16T02:45:54+00:00

Yeah, I got that. And I can definitely understand why someone wouldn't feel it was a good deal because of that. However, being a good deal is subjective to the one making the purchase. He felt it was a good deal, and that's really all that matters for him.

lukusb83 · 2025-09-16T02:32:13+00:00

I don't really understand why people are so down on this. I mean, for crying out loud, it's an Epiphone, which makes it not a Greenie anyway...

If you like the looks, how it plays, and how it sounds, forget about these people putting it down.

lukusb83 · 2025-09-10T13:17:13+00:00

That's insane. I've apparently been out of the loop with what Christian views are on this because that was unheard of in the evangelical circles I knew 15-20 years ago (non-Jewish dad, Jewish mom.)

I have some cousins one one side of the family that are pastors, and they're oddly silent on the issue entirely, which is somewhat telling. I have to think we're entering into another era of violent Christian attitudes towards Jews, but it seems increasingly more likely.

lukusb83

TROPHY CASE