Cool thing I found out about Takamine guitars

[Reverend Conehead]

Many of you guys remember when I bought a beautiful and wonderful-sounding Takamine guitar recently. I tried out a lot of acoustic guitars, many of which were quite good, for example, Guild, Alvarez, Yamaha, Ibanez, Seagull, Fender, and Taylor. I ended up pulling the trigger on a Takamine G series six string, which has turned out to the the right choice. I love it.

So recently I started considering getting a 12 string, and, considering how much I like this Tak, of course buying another Tak is an option. When I brought up the topic in a Takamine FB group, one guy revealed a really cool fact. The Eagles used a 12-string Takamine to record Hotel California. That's so cool! Hotel California was one of my favorite songs on the radio when I was about 12 years old and living in Grandview, Texas. Guitar brands that are massively in the spotlight are, of course, Gibson and Fender. They've got huge portfolios of songs made famous by artists playing those brands. For acoustic songs, Martin and Taylor have big portfolios, and and they're totally earned. Those are great brands. Still, it's really cool to learn that a song that has been such a huge part of my life was played on the brand of guitar I just got, and a brand that's a little less in the spotlight. Turns out, Don Felder still has the 12-string Tak that he played on Hotel California. Turns out there are other Tak players that I didn't know about, for example, Nancy Wilson, Jon Bon Jovi, Garth Brooks, Bruce Springsteen, and Don Henley (another Eagles guy).

In the Tak FB group, there are guitar players who are insanely into the brand. One dude posted a photo of his entire guitar collection, something like 20 guitars, and every single one was a Tak. I wouldn't do that. When I get more guitars, I'd like to mix it up more. Plus, I play electric, not just acoustic. I still really want to get a Taylor. They're wonderful instruments, IMO. I didn't get one this time around because they were simply out of my price range. I'm also intrigued by Zaber guitars, which are made right here in my home state of Nebraska (partially -- some parts are made in China and other parts in Nebraska, and then they're assembled here). I also nearly got a Seagull, which is made in Canada. The Seagull was right in my price range, and was even slightly less than the Tak, but I liked the Tak's tone slightly better.

The next guitar I want to get, however, is an electric. I want to build a Stratocaster from scratch from Warmoth parts. You can create a gorgeous work of art of a guitar out of Warmoth parts, which is exactly what you want, a guitar built specifically for your playing needs. That would be a dream come true for me. I also want to get a vintage Ibanez Artist double cutaway from about 1978 to 1980. A vintage Ibanez like that can be a beautiful work of art with great tone without breaking the bank. You can find one of those for around $1200. Something like a 1965 Fender Stratocaster would set you back something like 15K. Ouch. As cool as it would be to own one of those, I don't think I could swing it. I'll build a custom Warmoth Strat.

All right, sorry to ramble. Those of you who are guitar players I'm sure understand the excitement of getting exactly the right guitar that you end up loving to play. If you've followed my previous posts, you know that I played decades ago in high school and have only recently returned to playing. This Tak is a guitar I love so much, I can't not play it. When I see it sitting there, I have to pick it up and play it. It's a habit, and a way better one than something like smoking. I got quite good at guitar when I was a teenager, not because I was this super disciplined player. I never planned out "Okay will practice for X hours each day." I would just see my Gibson Firebird that I had at the time and I would have to pick it up and play. It's practically the only thing I ever did. For the most part, I didn't even plan out what songs I should learn. If I liked a song, I would just figure it out on a whim, or I would learn whatever songs I needed to for the band I was playing in. The result was playing the instrument a lot and learning a lot of songs, and so I got quite skilled at it.

In any case, if there's a type of guitar that you love that was used on a recording or live by a particular artist, do speak up. I'm guitar geeky enough to appreciate your story, whatever it may be. For acoustic, I always thought my Holy Grail was a Taylor or a Martin. I had no idea I would fall in love with a Takamine.

 

[JohnnyTheFox]

Many of you guys remember when I bought a beautiful and wonderful-sounding Takamine guitar recently. I tried out a lot of acoustic guitars, many of which were quite good, for example, Guild, Alvarez, Yamaha, Ibanez, Seagull, Fender, and Taylor. I ended up pulling the trigger on a Takamine G series six string, which has turned out to the the right choice. I love it.

So recently I started considering getting a 12 string, and, considering how much I like this Tak, of course buying another Tak is an option. When I brought up the topic in a Takamine FB group, one guy revealed a really cool fact. The Eagles used a 12-string Takamine to record Hotel California. That's so cool! Hotel California was one of my favorite songs on the radio when I was about 12 years old and living in Grandview, Texas. Guitar brands that are massively in the spotlight are, of course, Gibson and Fender. They've got huge portfolios of songs made famous by artists playing those brands. For acoustic songs, Martin and Taylor have big portfolios, and and they're totally earned. Those are great brands. Still, it's really cool to learn that a song that has been such a huge part of my life was played on the brand of guitar I just got, and a brand that's a little less in the spotlight. Turns out, Don Felder still has the 12-string Tak that he played on Hotel California. Turns out there are other Tak players that I didn't know about, for example, Nancy Wilson, Jon Bon Jovi, Garth Brooks, Bruce Springsteen, and Don Henley (another Eagles guy).

In the Tak FB group, there are guitar players who are insanely into the brand. One dude posted a photo of his entire guitar collection, something like 20 guitars, and every single one was a Tak. I wouldn't do that. When I get more guitars, I'd like to mix it up more. Plus, I play electric, not just acoustic. I still really want to get a Taylor. They're wonderful instruments, IMO. I didn't get one this time around because they were simply out of my price range. I'm also intrigued by Zaber guitars, which are made right here in my home state of Nebraska (partially -- some parts are made in China and other parts in Nebraska, and then they're assembled here). I also nearly got a Seagull, which is made in Canada. The Seagull was right in my price range, and was even slightly less than the Tak, but I liked the Tak's tone slightly better.

The next guitar I want to get, however, is an electric. I want to build a Stratocaster from scratch from Warmoth parts. You can create a gorgeous work of art of a guitar out of Warmoth parts, which is exactly what you want, a guitar built specifically for your playing needs. That would be a dream come true for me. I also want to get a vintage Ibanez Artist double cutaway from about 1978 to 1980. A vintage Ibanez like that can be a beautiful work of art with great tone without breaking the bank. You can find one of those for around $1200. Something like a 1965 Fender Stratocaster would set you back something like 15K. Ouch. As cool as it would be to own one of those, I don't think I could swing it. I'll build a custom Warmoth Strat.

All right, sorry to ramble. Those of you who are guitar players I'm sure understand the excitement of getting exactly the right guitar that you end up loving to play. If you've followed my previous posts, you know that I played decades ago in high school and have only recently returned to playing. This Tak is a guitar I love so much, I can't not play it. When I see it sitting there, I have to pick it up and play it. It's a habit, and a way better one than something like smoking. I got quite good at guitar when I was a teenager, not because I was this super disciplined player. I never planned out "Okay will practice for X hours each day." I would just see my Gibson Firebird that I had at the time and I would have to pick it up and play. It's practically the only thing I ever did. For the most part, I didn't even plan out what songs I should learn. If I liked a song, I would just figure it out on a whim, or I would learn whatever songs I needed to for the band I was playing in. The result was playing the instrument a lot and learning a lot of songs, and so I got quite skilled at it.

In any case, if there's a type of guitar that you love that was used on a recording or live by a particular artist, do speak up. I'm guitar geeky enough to appreciate your story, whatever it may be. For acoustic, I always thought my Holy Grail was a Taylor or a Martin. I had no idea I would fall in love with a Takamine.

A few come to mind, at least tone wise.
Billy Gibbons.
Gary Moore, pretty much every guitar in the video


Edward Van Halen's bumblebee guitar used on VH2 and ultimately buried with Dimebag Darrell. Amazing tone, somewhat clean but yet full of power. Not sure if he was still using the variac in 79 or if that was only 78 and before.

https://projectevh.com/2014/12/24/vh2-bumblebee-guitar-floyd-rose-and-charvel/

 

[jsb357]

Back in the 90's when I was playing everyday and into the mid 2000's when I was working with a local struggling
band as a technical advisor I was working all my spare time into getting better, learning more, and procuring
equipment, guitars, amps. etc.

For me the challenge for guitars became find the gems on the cheap. Almost anyone can find a great guitar
in the 750-1500 dollar range. I'm talking about electrics here.

I was looking for great instruments in the $300 range.

When I was just a lad, there were two price ranges for guitars.
The top tier was the $575 Fender Strats and $850 Les Pauls
And the 50-75 dollar specials you would order from Sears or Aldens out of Chicago via mail order.

The younger crowd don't realize how good they have it concerning decent instrument availability
today as there are some GREAT guitars under $300.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Many of you guys remember when I bought a beautiful and wonderful-sounding Takamine guitar recently. I tried out a lot of acoustic guitars, many of which were quite good, for example, Guild, Alvarez, Yamaha, Ibanez, Seagull, Fender, and Taylor. I ended up pulling the trigger on a Takamine G series six string, which has turned out to the the right choice. I love it.

So recently I started considering getting a 12 string, and, considering how much I like this Tak, of course buying another Tak is an option. When I brought up the topic in a Takamine FB group, one guy revealed a really cool fact. The Eagles used a 12-string Takamine to record Hotel California. That's so cool! Hotel California was one of my favorite songs on the radio when I was about 12 years old and living in Grandview, Texas. Guitar brands that are massively in the spotlight are, of course, Gibson and Fender. They've got huge portfolios of songs made famous by artists playing those brands. For acoustic songs, Martin and Taylor have big portfolios, and and they're totally earned. Those are great brands. Still, it's really cool to learn that a song that has been such a huge part of my life was played on the brand of guitar I just got, and a brand that's a little less in the spotlight. Turns out, Don Felder still has the 12-string Tak that he played on Hotel California. Turns out there are other Tak players that I didn't know about, for example, Nancy Wilson, Jon Bon Jovi, Garth Brooks, Bruce Springsteen, and Don Henley (another Eagles guy).

In the Tak FB group, there are guitar players who are insanely into the brand. One dude posted a photo of his entire guitar collection, something like 20 guitars, and every single one was a Tak. I wouldn't do that. When I get more guitars, I'd like to mix it up more. Plus, I play electric, not just acoustic. I still really want to get a Taylor. They're wonderful instruments, IMO. I didn't get one this time around because they were simply out of my price range. I'm also intrigued by Zaber guitars, which are made right here in my home state of Nebraska (partially -- some parts are made in China and other parts in Nebraska, and then they're assembled here). I also nearly got a Seagull, which is made in Canada. The Seagull was right in my price range, and was even slightly less than the Tak, but I liked the Tak's tone slightly better.

The next guitar I want to get, however, is an electric. I want to build a Stratocaster from scratch from Warmoth parts. You can create a gorgeous work of art of a guitar out of Warmoth parts, which is exactly what you want, a guitar built specifically for your playing needs. That would be a dream come true for me. I also want to get a vintage Ibanez Artist double cutaway from about 1978 to 1980. A vintage Ibanez like that can be a beautiful work of art with great tone without breaking the bank. You can find one of those for around $1200. Something like a 1965 Fender Stratocaster would set you back something like 15K. Ouch. As cool as it would be to own one of those, I don't think I could swing it. I'll build a custom Warmoth Strat.

All right, sorry to ramble. Those of you who are guitar players I'm sure understand the excitement of getting exactly the right guitar that you end up loving to play. If you've followed my previous posts, you know that I played decades ago in high school and have only recently returned to playing. This Tak is a guitar I love so much, I can't not play it. When I see it sitting there, I have to pick it up and play it. It's a habit, and a way better one than something like smoking. I got quite good at guitar when I was a teenager, not because I was this super disciplined player. I never planned out "Okay will practice for X hours each day." I would just see my Gibson Firebird that I had at the time and I would have to pick it up and play. It's practically the only thing I ever did. For the most part, I didn't even plan out what songs I should learn. If I liked a song, I would just figure it out on a whim, or I would learn whatever songs I needed to for the band I was playing in. The result was playing the instrument a lot and learning a lot of songs, and so I got quite skilled at it.

In any case, if there's a type of guitar that you love that was used on a recording or live by a particular artist, do speak up. I'm guitar geeky enough to appreciate your story, whatever it may be. For acoustic, I always thought my Holy Grail was a Taylor or a Martin. I had no idea I would fall in love with a Takamine.

How does this relate to Amber Heard?

 

[Creeper]

I have a Rickenbacker electric, a Les Paul Studio, and a Guild D25CH acoustic. I rarely ever play anymore but when I do I go for the Les Paul. To make you, and me sick, I bought a Les Paul Gold Top in 1969 brand new at Manny's in NYC for $315. I sold it while I was in college for some dumb reason. I have a Marshall 50 watt tube amp which is really awesome but the problem with tube amps is you need to crank them up to get that warm distortion sound. Too loud for my basement. I bought an attenuater that kills the output while driving the tubes but the tone is slightly muted so it is not the same. When I play I use either a Crate amp with a tube pre-amp or I have a little Roland Cube practice amp. The Crate is dual channel with Chorus and Reverb. The Roland is just an amp with gain and distortion.

If I was going to buy stuff today, money no object, I would probably get the Fender Strat, or a PRS guitar and a Fender Twin reverb amp. Best amp I ever owned. Had it in college and sold it with my Les Paul guitar.

Just a note on 12 strings. I love them. I had an Epiphone 12 string as a kid and loved the sound. The nut wore out so I can only string it with 6 strings now and the estimate I got for a new nut was more than I paid for the guitar! I saw a video of Led Zeppelin performing Stairway to Heaven and Jimmy Page played the into on a Gibson 12 string electric - it was actually a dual neck guitar but he played the intro on the 12 string neck.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

I have a Rickenbacker electric, a Les Paul Studio, and a Guild D25CH acoustic. I rarely ever play anymore but when I do I go for the Les Paul. To make you, and me sick, I bought a Les Paul Gold Top in 1969 brand new at Manny's in NYC for $315. I sold it while I was in college for some dumb reason. I have a Marshall 50 watt tube amp which is really awesome but the problem with tube amps is you need to crank them up to get that warm distortion sound. Too loud for my basement. I bought an attenuater that kills the output while driving the tubes but the tone is slightly muted so it is not the same. When I play I use either a Crate amp with a tube pre-amp or I have a little Roland Cube practice amp. The Crate is dual channel with Chorus and Reverb. The Roland is just an amp with gain and distortion.

If I was going to buy stuff today, money no object, I would probably get the Fender Strat, or a PRS guitar and a Fender Twin reverb amp. Best amp I ever owned. Had it in college and sold it with my Les Paul guitar.

Just a note on 12 strings. I love them. I had an Epiphone 12 string as a kid and loved the sound. The nut wore out so I can only string it with 6 strings now and the estimate I got for a new nut was more than I paid for the guitar! I saw a video of Led Zeppelin performing Stairway to Heaven and Jimmy Page played the into on a Gibson 12 string electric - it was actually a dual neck guitar but he played the intro on the 12 string neck.

I know what you mean about amps that only have good tone when totally cranked. That was the reason why I didn't buy a Marshall back in the 80s. They sounded awesome, but only if ridiculously cranked. You would go deaf in rehearsal if you didn't have an insinuator. Tom Scholtz came out with one in the 80s that he called a "power soak," but it was new technology that I wasn't willing to trust. Instead, back then I bought a Sheriff amp, which was a local Honolulu-made amp a lot like a Marshall, except it had way better how volume tone and distortion. Those aren't made anymore though.

I think you might like the Positive Grid Spark practice amp. It's strictly a practice amp, but it's got a massive collection of tones, many of which are very high quality and sound good at low volumes. You can check out Youtube videos of it. It's not designed as a performance amp, but it's the best practice amp I've ever had. You don't have to settle for lousy tone quality when practicing at low volumes. This is a big deal for me because one of the big reasons I quit playing way back when was because of hearing loss due to blasting myself out. This time around, I even considered playing only acoustic. But with this thing, I can play electric and enjoy it sounding like a vintage Marshall, Boogie, Orange, etc., without having it cranked up. You can plug in headphones and play late at night without bothering people. It can even create a drum and bass line for a song you're writing. It's pretty cool. It has acoustic guitar amp settings too, so I can also plug in my Takamine to practice acoustic songs with drum and bass. It's not even that expensive. I'm enjoying it.

How does this relate to Amber Heard?

That evil woman tunneled into a music store and stole a bunch of guitars and basses, including some super rare vintage stuff such as a 1961 Strat and a 1959 Les Paul. I called the FBI to squeal on her, and I could tell they were really concerned when they said, "Um .... sure, kid, thanks for the tip" and then hung up. She'll get what's coming to her.

 

[Vtwin]

My favorite electric is a Shecter Research unofficially known as the PT, for Pete Townsend. Shecter was a manufacturer of high quality components which they supplied to high end guitar manufacturers. They built a one off which ended up in the hands of Townsend and he liked it so much he asked them to build him a few more. These guitars were very well received which lead Shecter to begin producing them for retail sale. Demand forced them to move production from the custom shop in California to a manufacturing facility in Texas still using custom parts produced in California. I have one of these. Eventually they had to source parts from offshore and eventually sold the name and production was moved entirely off shore. The early Shecters made from components made in California are very nice instruments. I've seen them played by Townsend and Neil Schon.

The first time I saw the one I would eventually own was in a new shop a guy had opened out of the garage attached to his house. I was just out of high school and paying rent etc was a struggle so a new, expensive guitar was out of the question. I did need new strings though so I dug the change out of the couch and went out to check out the new shop. I saw this black with ivory binding tele bodied beauty hanging way up high, The guy saw me looking at it and told me to go ahead and take it down. It was love at first feel. I stroked it for a bit then turned it over to look at the tag on the back. I saw the price and VERY carefully hung it back up, counted out my pennies on the counter, took my strings and slunk out.

Fast forward 1 year. I am back at that shop for the first time since my first visit. Unfortunately the guy was going out of business. He only had two guitars left, a custom Time and my Shecter. I was doing better financially but really not in a position to spend a months salary on a guitar and I wasn't even considering it. The guy remembered me though and said, You really liked that Shecter didn't you? Yes sir, it's out of my range though. He writes down a number on a scrap of paper and says, can you do this? It was about a third of the tagged price and seemed to be one of those to good to be true moments. I quickly decided that going a couple weeks without food would be worth it and gave him the 30 or 40 bucks I had on me with the promise I would be back before he closed that day with the rest. I left the shop with no guitar, an empty wallet and no solid plan on how I was going to come up with balance in a few hours. After a little begging, a little bartering and a little borrowing I hustled up what I needed and went back to get my new baby. We've lived happily ever after since.

 

[Creeper]

I know what you mean about amps that only have good tone when totally cranked. That was the reason why I didn't buy a Marshall back in the 80s. They sounded awesome, but only if ridiculously cranked. You would go deaf in rehearsal if you didn't have an insinuator. Tom Scholtz came out with one in the 80s that he called a "power soak," but it was new technology that I wasn't willing to trust. Instead, back then I bought a Sheriff amp, which was a local Honolulu-made amp a lot like a Marshall, except it had way better how volume tone and distortion. Those aren't made anymore though.

I think you might like the Positive Grid Spark practice amp. It's strictly a practice amp, but it's got a massive collection of tones, many of which are very high quality and sound good at low volumes. You can check out Youtube videos of it. It's not designed as a performance amp, but it's the best practice amp I've ever had. You don't have to settle for lousy tone quality when practicing at low volumes. This is a big deal for me because one of the big reasons I quit playing way back when was because of hearing loss due to blasting myself out. This time around, I even considered playing only acoustic. But with this thing, I can play electric and enjoy it sounding like a vintage Marshall, Boogie, Orange, etc., without having it cranked up. You can plug in headphones and play late at night without bothering people. It can even create a drum and bass line for a song you're writing. It's pretty cool. It has acoustic guitar amp settings too, so I can also plug in my Takamine to practice acoustic songs with drum and bass. It's not even that expensive. I'm enjoying it.



That evil woman tunneled into a music store and stole a bunch of guitars and basses, including some super rare vintage stuff such as a 1961 Strat and a 1959 Les Paul. I called the FBI to squeal on her, and I could tell they were really concerned when they said, "Um .... sure, kid, thanks for the tip" and then hung up. She'll get what's coming to her.

The IC amps today can reproduce any sound including that of the tube amps. Unless you are on stage and turning the tube amps up to 10 there is really no need for tubes anymore. Weirdly, I have an old tube tester in my basement! I remember when they had them at the local 7-eleven.

 

[cowboyec]

my all-time favorite guitarist and my all-time favorite guitar.
black gibson dove guitar.
he gave it away to a fan in the front row in ashville,nc in summer of '75.

 

[Creeper]

Many of you guys remember when I bought a beautiful and wonderful-sounding Takamine guitar recently. I tried out a lot of acoustic guitars, many of which were quite good, for example, Guild, Alvarez, Yamaha, Ibanez, Seagull, Fender, and Taylor. I ended up pulling the trigger on a Takamine G series six string, which has turned out to the the right choice. I love it.

So recently I started considering getting a 12 string, and, considering how much I like this Tak, of course buying another Tak is an option. When I brought up the topic in a Takamine FB group, one guy revealed a really cool fact. The Eagles used a 12-string Takamine to record Hotel California. That's so cool! Hotel California was one of my favorite songs on the radio when I was about 12 years old and living in Grandview, Texas. Guitar brands that are massively in the spotlight are, of course, Gibson and Fender. They've got huge portfolios of songs made famous by artists playing those brands. For acoustic songs, Martin and Taylor have big portfolios, and and they're totally earned. Those are great brands. Still, it's really cool to learn that a song that has been such a huge part of my life was played on the brand of guitar I just got, and a brand that's a little less in the spotlight. Turns out, Don Felder still has the 12-string Tak that he played on Hotel California. Turns out there are other Tak players that I didn't know about, for example, Nancy Wilson, Jon Bon Jovi, Garth Brooks, Bruce Springsteen, and Don Henley (another Eagles guy).

In the Tak FB group, there are guitar players who are insanely into the brand. One dude posted a photo of his entire guitar collection, something like 20 guitars, and every single one was a Tak. I wouldn't do that. When I get more guitars, I'd like to mix it up more. Plus, I play electric, not just acoustic. I still really want to get a Taylor. They're wonderful instruments, IMO. I didn't get one this time around because they were simply out of my price range. I'm also intrigued by Zaber guitars, which are made right here in my home state of Nebraska (partially -- some parts are made in China and other parts in Nebraska, and then they're assembled here). I also nearly got a Seagull, which is made in Canada. The Seagull was right in my price range, and was even slightly less than the Tak, but I liked the Tak's tone slightly better.

The next guitar I want to get, however, is an electric. I want to build a Stratocaster from scratch from Warmoth parts. You can create a gorgeous work of art of a guitar out of Warmoth parts, which is exactly what you want, a guitar built specifically for your playing needs. That would be a dream come true for me. I also want to get a vintage Ibanez Artist double cutaway from about 1978 to 1980. A vintage Ibanez like that can be a beautiful work of art with great tone without breaking the bank. You can find one of those for around $1200. Something like a 1965 Fender Stratocaster would set you back something like 15K. Ouch. As cool as it would be to own one of those, I don't think I could swing it. I'll build a custom Warmoth Strat.

All right, sorry to ramble. Those of you who are guitar players I'm sure understand the excitement of getting exactly the right guitar that you end up loving to play. If you've followed my previous posts, you know that I played decades ago in high school and have only recently returned to playing. This Tak is a guitar I love so much, I can't not play it. When I see it sitting there, I have to pick it up and play it. It's a habit, and a way better one than something like smoking. I got quite good at guitar when I was a teenager, not because I was this super disciplined player. I never planned out "Okay will practice for X hours each day." I would just see my Gibson Firebird that I had at the time and I would have to pick it up and play. It's practically the only thing I ever did. For the most part, I didn't even plan out what songs I should learn. If I liked a song, I would just figure it out on a whim, or I would learn whatever songs I needed to for the band I was playing in. The result was playing the instrument a lot and learning a lot of songs, and so I got quite skilled at it.

In any case, if there's a type of guitar that you love that was used on a recording or live by a particular artist, do speak up. I'm guitar geeky enough to appreciate your story, whatever it may be. For acoustic, I always thought my Holy Grail was a Taylor or a Martin. I had no idea I would fall in love with a Takamine.

Your posts got me interested in playing guitar again after many years. I went down the basement and took out my old guitars and attempted to play. I encountered quite a bit of rust (me, not the guitars, although I had to replace guitar strings due to corrosion). I am also finding that at 68, I do not have the memory I had when I was younger. I can't recall any of the music I used to play from memory.

In any case, I have two 6 string electrics, a Guild 6 string acoustic, a Fender base and an old beat up Epiphone 12 string acoustic. I also have 4 amps. I was considering buying a new 12 string, but at my age and level of interest I did not want to spend a lot of money on one. I was getting ready to buy a Takamine but for $550 I was questioning my decision. At my age and level of interest it makes no sense to add another guitar to my collection so I decided to refurbish the Epiphone instead. It needs a nut which wore out. I once took it to a repair shop and they wanted $150 to fix it. Needless to say I chose not to get it fixed. But now, with the internet, I can purchase a new nut and repair the guitar myself! $25 for parts, tools, and a set of new strings! Woohoo! You gotta love the internet! The Epiphone sounded great when I first got it in 1973. I polished it up and removed about 25 years of dust and dirt buildup and it looks used, but still pretty good. No cracks anywhere and the frets are in decent shape. I may need to clean the tuners a bit but otherwise it will be good enough for me. If I was younger I would probably buy the Takamine 12 string. But I am looking at downsizing which means 3 of my 4 amps have to go, maybe even all 4 if I buy a new practice amp. The amps today have so many nice features that eliminate external effects pedals and all the wires. I have a pedal board I used to use and about 6 ro 7 effects pedals.

I will probably sell the Guild acoustic and my Rickenbacker electric. I am not sure yet. It depends on how this Epiphone repair works out. I can't wait until the parts get h ere and I fix this thing. I always loved the sound of a 12 string. And yes, the opening guitar part in Hotel California is played on a 12-string. There are a lot of guitar parts in that song.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

Your posts got me interested in playing guitar again after many years. I went down the basement and took out my old guitars and attempted to play. I encountered quite a bit of rust (me, not the guitars, although I had to replace guitar strings due to corrosion). I am also finding that at 68, I do not have the memory I had when I was younger. I can't recall any of the music I used to play from memory.

In any case, I have two 6 string electrics, a Guild 6 string acoustic, a Fender base and an old beat up Epiphone 12 string acoustic. I also have 4 amps. I was considering buying a new 12 string, but at my age and level of interest I did not want to spend a lot of money on one. I was getting ready to buy a Takamine but for $550 I was questioning my decision. At my age and level of interest it makes no sense to add another guitar to my collection so I decided to refurbish the Epiphone instead. It needs a nut which wore out. I once took it to a repair shop and they wanted $150 to fix it. Needless to say I chose not to get it fixed. But now, with the internet, I can purchase a new nut and repair the guitar myself! $25 for parts, tools, and a set of new strings! Woohoo! You gotta love the internet! The Epiphone sounded great when I first got it in 1973. I polished it up and removed about 25 years of dust and dirt buildup and it looks used, but still pretty good. No cracks anywhere and the frets are in decent shape. I may need to clean the tuners a bit but otherwise it will be good enough for me. If I was younger I would probably buy the Takamine 12 string. But I am looking at downsizing which means 3 of my 4 amps have to go, maybe even all 4 if I buy a new practice amp. The amps today have so many nice features that eliminate external effects pedals and all the wires. I have a pedal board I used to use and about 6 ro 7 effects pedals.

I will probably sell the Guild acoustic and my Rickenbacker electric. I am not sure yet. It depends on how this Epiphone repair works out. I can't wait until the parts get h ere and I fix this thing. I always loved the sound of a 12 string. And yes, the opening guitar part in Hotel California is played on a 12-string. There are a lot of guitar parts in that song.

That's awesome. I'm so glad you're playing again. Don't let being an older guitar player intimidate you. I'm 56. I found that I could remember how to play some things, but not be able to play them. My mind was writing checks that my hands couldn't cash. I had to practice and re-train my hands, building up their strength and dexterity. Some things I couldn't remember anymore. I could remember some, but not all of my scales. But there's wonderful technology to help with that. I have all those scales on an app on my phone, so I've been busy re-learning them. For a long time, I would play rhythms and be all clumsy. I wondered if I had just lost coordination due to being older. But as I kept doing it, I kept getting better and better. It was a little bit like being a beginner again. I know there are some people who have an attitude like your life is less valuable and you can't do cool things anymore when you're older. People like that can have my middle finger! If you're in your 50s or 60s or even older and you want to play guitar, go for it!

I'm blown away by the amazing technology they have nowadays. There's no such thing as ever being out of tune if you don't want to be. I remember bands that sounded lousy because they weren't any good at tuning. I used to have to tune my rhythm guitarists' guitar because he wasn't any good at tuning, though he could play okay. Nowadays you can get a good tuner for 20 bucks. And my Spark practice amp does a zillion different tones, effects, and has practice modes where I can have it create a bass and drum line to play along with me while I jam. It even has a built-in tuner.

I'd bet you can get that old Epiphone sounding great. It might even be worth some big bucks. I had this silly Orange Squeeze booster/compresser effect that my guitar teacher got in about '72 and sold to me in about '79 for probably ten bucks or so. That stupid thing is now selling online for 400 bucks! And his 1965 Stratocaster would sell for 25K! It's insane.

Anyway, enjoy playing, and write back on this board at any time if you want to talk about what your experiences are like. I do miss playing in bands as a young guy in high school. Playing guitar was a total chick magnet. I haven't performed yet as an older player, thanks to covid, but I plan to when this thing is finally over.

 

[Roadtrip635]

The IC amps today can reproduce any sound including that of the tube amps. Unless you are on stage and turning the tube amps up to 10 there is really no need for tubes anymore. Weirdly, I have an old tube tester in my basement! I remember when they had them at the local 7-eleven.

10? Need to be able to go to 11, for when you need that extra push over the cliff..........

 

[catiii]

Many of you guys remember when I bought a beautiful and wonderful-sounding Takamine guitar recently. I tried out a lot of acoustic guitars, many of which were quite good, for example, Guild, Alvarez, Yamaha, Ibanez, Seagull, Fender, and Taylor. I ended up pulling the trigger on a Takamine G series six string, which has turned out to the the right choice. I love it.

So recently I started considering getting a 12 string, and, considering how much I like this Tak, of course buying another Tak is an option. When I brought up the topic in a Takamine FB group, one guy revealed a really cool fact. The Eagles used a 12-string Takamine to record Hotel California. That's so cool! Hotel California was one of my favorite songs on the radio when I was about 12 years old and living in Grandview, Texas. Guitar brands that are massively in the spotlight are, of course, Gibson and Fender. They've got huge portfolios of songs made famous by artists playing those brands. For acoustic songs, Martin and Taylor have big portfolios, and and they're totally earned. Those are great brands. Still, it's really cool to learn that a song that has been such a huge part of my life was played on the brand of guitar I just got, and a brand that's a little less in the spotlight. Turns out, Don Felder still has the 12-string Tak that he played on Hotel California. Turns out there are other Tak players that I didn't know about, for example, Nancy Wilson, Jon Bon Jovi, Garth Brooks, Bruce Springsteen, and Don Henley (another Eagles guy).

In the Tak FB group, there are guitar players who are insanely into the brand. One dude posted a photo of his entire guitar collection, something like 20 guitars, and every single one was a Tak. I wouldn't do that. When I get more guitars, I'd like to mix it up more. Plus, I play electric, not just acoustic. I still really want to get a Taylor. They're wonderful instruments, IMO. I didn't get one this time around because they were simply out of my price range. I'm also intrigued by Zaber guitars, which are made right here in my home state of Nebraska (partially -- some parts are made in China and other parts in Nebraska, and then they're assembled here). I also nearly got a Seagull, which is made in Canada. The Seagull was right in my price range, and was even slightly less than the Tak, but I liked the Tak's tone slightly better.

The next guitar I want to get, however, is an electric. I want to build a Stratocaster from scratch from Warmoth parts. You can create a gorgeous work of art of a guitar out of Warmoth parts, which is exactly what you want, a guitar built specifically for your playing needs. That would be a dream come true for me. I also want to get a vintage Ibanez Artist double cutaway from about 1978 to 1980. A vintage Ibanez like that can be a beautiful work of art with great tone without breaking the bank. You can find one of those for around $1200. Something like a 1965 Fender Stratocaster would set you back something like 15K. Ouch. As cool as it would be to own one of those, I don't think I could swing it. I'll build a custom Warmoth Strat.

All right, sorry to ramble. Those of you who are guitar players I'm sure understand the excitement of getting exactly the right guitar that you end up loving to play. If you've followed my previous posts, you know that I played decades ago in high school and have only recently returned to playing. This Tak is a guitar I love so much, I can't not play it. When I see it sitting there, I have to pick it up and play it. It's a habit, and a way better one than something like smoking. I got quite good at guitar when I was a teenager, not because I was this super disciplined player. I never planned out "Okay will practice for X hours each day." I would just see my Gibson Firebird that I had at the time and I would have to pick it up and play. It's practically the only thing I ever did. For the most part, I didn't even plan out what songs I should learn. If I liked a song, I would just figure it out on a whim, or I would learn whatever songs I needed to for the band I was playing in. The result was playing the instrument a lot and learning a lot of songs, and so I got quite skilled at it.

In any case, if there's a type of guitar that you love that was used on a recording or live by a particular artist, do speak up. I'm guitar geeky enough to appreciate your story, whatever it may be. For acoustic, I always thought my Holy Grail was a Taylor or a Martin. I had no idea I would fall in love with a Takamine.

I can tell you one fact from experience. Most pro Nashville songwriters play Takamine and Guild.