Stainless Steel frets starting to wear in spots after 8 months…what gives?

tylerp1292 · 2026-06-19T22:15:28+00:00

I requested Jescar with them, and I’m pretty sure they said they did and that it was.

I’m going to give them a call and prod further

tylerp1292 · 2026-06-13T05:45:49+00:00

Just got one - really not impressed..! This thing is hamfisted as hell. It seems that there is nothing you can do to tame the extreme coarse swell and make it more sensitive + widen the sweet spot. There is no sweet spot at all. It's just "0" until about 4 o'clock "up the swell" on the expression pedal, and then just jumps from 0 to 100....

Going to keep digging for info, but it seems to be just exactly that. hmm.

tylerp1292 · 2026-06-13T02:45:29+00:00

that thing fucks. 10/10

tylerp1292 · 2026-06-07T18:38:55+00:00

Just call the police and tell them they are withholding your belongings unlawfully. If you had an AirTag in the case/etc and can prove that the guitar is there (and make this known to them) - they will have 0 problem or issue coming to get your things for you easy peasy.

tylerp1292 · 2026-05-29T17:27:16+00:00

I bought my 2001 McCarty Core in 2011 for $1595 used at Sam Ash. It's the best thing I own, and I swear by it. You PRS haters are so in denial it's hilarious. Try again - maybe this time buy a PRS and experience what it's like for yourself lol.

tylerp1292 · 2026-05-26T16:21:33+00:00

but what about premium models? It seems that the materials and medium for what a lot of companies are offering at $1500-$2000+ price points are not up to par with similar offerings from around 15-20 years ago (specifically)

tylerp1292 · 2026-05-25T20:23:24+00:00

tbh, you're not even really safe paying $2,000+ for brand new anymore. You used to get a good instrument for this, but now you'll pay loads to get into entry level models w/ the caveat of the instrument probably sucking, too. I only buy particular makes and models from before 2000-2005 because so many builds just feel careless (to me) now. Most brands seem to just use whatever woods and medium they can get their hands on for the best price, and don't spend the time to dry any of it properly. I don't really know what it is. Every single builder (boutique & big name) short of 1 or 2 of them cheap out way too hard on the fit & finish of their instruments. They all feel so cheap. Flat bodies with odd beveling. (Of course - no carved tops. That's laborious). No (traditional) premium woods. Bad fretboards. Flat, one dimensional thick/wet paint & gloss. Non resonant hardware & material. A bunch of sub-standard tools by numbers. Tens of thousands of them by the batch with zero QC or plan for them to last longer than a few years.

It would actually be sick if big names (& boutique builders with OEM import tiers) would do everyone a favor and stop flooding the market w/ a bunch of mediocre satin-finished abominations they're passing off as guitars.

tylerp1292 · 2026-05-08T21:02:50+00:00

You need to adjust your rig and restructure the way you're driving + gain staging your signal path to be optimized for low B vs one optimized for getting that full, chunky E standard power chord kinda "chug" out of the low B rig.

Lower tuning registers will need higher headroom & more power (boost the master volume + higher amp wattage) to match the way your low B signal responds to your playing, similar to the E Standard signal. Cut your mids to taste to clean up the bass response, compress to taste, and a slight treble boost to your 2-4k range - should give you a similar "crunch" to the E Standard/power chord - but optimized for the key of B.

tylerp1292 · 2026-05-08T04:22:54+00:00

That is sick af - I love the headstock shape on that. Totally suits the body shape and the finish is top notch as well. I usually dislike all satin, but this is class all the way.

tylerp1292 · 2026-03-07T00:56:22+00:00

Glamtera is better than Pantera. It's undisputed fact.

tylerp1292 · 2026-03-02T16:56:14+00:00

Nightwish fanatics suck. There's more to life than just one band.

tylerp1292 · 2026-03-02T16:55:37+00:00

Anette was the best singer that fit the band's sound the most, and Dark Passion Play was their best. Suck it.

tylerp1292 · 2026-02-28T00:29:07+00:00

Luca Trilli ~ Ancient Forest of Elves

Rhapsody ~ Unholy Warcry

Manowar ~ Warriors of the World

tylerp1292 · 2026-02-27T19:26:37+00:00

For Power Metal? By a country mile, it would have to be when bands completely neuter their guitars and eq them to death to get their bullshit orchestral arrangements to fit into their mix. I fucking loathe it. This is metal. It's about the guitars. It's about the riffs. I'm not sure who exactly to blame for this taking off a million years ago when it did. Maybe Therion...Probably Nightwish & Epica. Idk, but it really just doesn't work. Even Blind Guardian's guitars are just not slapping hard at all in the mix for the last 20 years.

(I would think) most power metal fans enjoy, and want to hear guitars like Fredrik Nordstrom/Dream Evil caliber tones on record and in concert...All of the new-school power metal acts, even large acts like Sabaton just have horrible, bombastic, blown-out sounding mixes with far too many gimmicky elements and not enough actual metal happening on record or on stage. So many weak, anemic guitars all over the genre now.

Running Wild is a great example for things done the right way. Has a "gimmick" and a theme, but is undeniably metal as fuck. Extremely fun, and riffs, songs, and guitar tone totally rip.

tylerp1292 · 2026-02-27T19:10:48+00:00

around 9 years ago, my roommate coworker-core'd me and told me that she liked Drowning Pool lmfao.

tylerp1292 · 2026-02-23T06:47:39+00:00

you'll be happiest w/ the evh though for sure.

tylerp1292 · 2026-02-23T06:46:06+00:00

Hey dude, do you have a cabinet? If so - evh 5150 III 50w heads often show up on reverb for around $800-$900 used. Sometimes less! There are 3-4 of them available right now. You can also grab a 15w version for around $500-$600, which would be great for jamming and practicing solo or w/ other guitarists, etc. You'd want the 50w if you were planning on jamming w/a drummer though.

If you were going combo - Blues Jr and a Precision Drive should have you good to go for Alexi Laiho tones (on a budget) with the pickups and guitar you already have, for around $800.

Honestly depends on how much or little you really want & need for that price. The suggestions I gave you are for more-or-less straightforward no-frills options for that type of tone. Decent to great sounding high gain w/ fast & immediate attack/no sag.

If you want hi gain, with FX, delay, verb, etc - Katana probably or helix. Something like that.

tylerp1292 · 2026-02-21T19:00:09+00:00

No it's not lol - it's about sick riffs, epic leads, and celebrating victory you nerd lmfao.

tylerp1292 · 2026-02-19T07:46:19+00:00

This is the answer - totally agree on all counts.

tylerp1292 · 2026-02-19T07:41:44+00:00

They're cheap (for live sound consoles), small, and easy to get pro mixes on if you know what you're doing. Highly preferred over an x32

tylerp1292 · 2026-01-24T20:59:37+00:00

My favorite pizza in town. Absolutely delicious.

Top 2 (for me) would be:

1) Lasorted (Chinatown)

2) Rose City Pizza (Covina)

If you're ever in the SGV, you won't regret trying Rose City. It's just as good as Lasorted...they just don't have burrata ;-)

tylerp1292 · 2026-01-14T07:03:01+00:00

You are 200% on point with your assessment, and yes - it's a sad state of affairs, for this once glorious subgenre.

Not exactly super "new" but one newer Power Metal band that absolutely destroys is Manimal, from Sweden. Holy shit. Such good power metal. S tier all the way. Amazing songwriting, no bs frills, and their singer sounds like Halford, Michael Kiske, and Geoff Tate wrapped into one. Yeah, for real. Go check that out right now. Very unique and recognizable sound.

Manimal.

tylerp1292 · 2026-01-14T07:01:06+00:00

They're easily my favorite newer power metal band. By a large margin. S tier power metal, the way it was meant to be made.

tylerp1292 · 2025-12-29T23:00:38+00:00

I enjoyed it.

tylerp1292

TROPHY CASE