Sindlei

uses high action live too...and is still insane.

it does, my friend has the same amp, and when i had to record our demo before i had an amp head, we hooked it up to a mesa/boogie 4x12...that was quite ear shattering on low volume. also i thought i read somewhere that solidstate amps can handle any speaker cabinet regardless of ohms without damaging the amp itself, but how does it damage it anyway? does a signal get sent back into the amp after it exits through the speaker outs? how would it damage it.

Line 6 makes some good stuff, i use a spider II HD, 150 watts stereo(75 per channel), gets a real nice range of usable tones, has good effects built in, play it through a mesa/boogie 4x12, and mostly metal and instrumental stuff. i have no complaints except that pedal for it costs a buttload, but you don't need it.

personally, now i use a line6 spider II HD with a mesa/boogie 4x12 loaded with g12h-100 celestions, i love it. and the head is only $400!!!, cabinet to match is also $400!!! what a DEAL!

it's your thread, post your design pics as much as you like, he doesn't have to read it.

any high output pickup will give you a good metal tone really, but it's more up to the rig you're plugging into, it's got to be a high gain rig...EMG pickups are pretty flat and sterile, compared to passive pickups. many people use them because EMG active pickups have a high output, but instead i'd recommend dimarzio passive pickups instead, Evolution, X2N, Tone Zone, Air Norton, just check their site.

Damageplan is lame, he downplays too much... Down on the other hand is bad ass.

chocobo ride anyone

i believe i read a comment from LGM that using 2 truss rods isn't the greatest idea, and it's better to use one truss rod with carbon rod reinforcements.

i don't really see it as a big difference for people with hands that are smaller or bigger, it's more of a "feel" thing, the strings have a different spacing is all.

i'm sure not all ESP LTD suck, but i'm sure there are more lemons in that line of guitars compared to other manufacturers.

you can just pop out the 1 11/16 and pop in a 1 5/8, the only thing that changes is a more narrow string spacing, no modification to the neck is needed, you'll just have a wider neck, but tighter string spacing at the nut.

for mid range guitars, check out Ibanez and Jackson too. Ibanez necks are superbly thin and smooth, and access to those upper frets is no problem at all with their All Access Neck Joint(AANJ). most models however have floating tremolo systems(Lo-TRS, Edge, Edge pro, Edge pro II), that could be daunting for a beginning guitarist, but who knows, maybe he'd love such a technical system, and become quite the whammy technician, i know i love it so much i don't even care about changing strings. for low end riffs...pretty much ANY guitar with humbuckers can pull that off, LPs do it no better than any other, all it takes is some skill, good EQing, and decent pickups. LP necks are pretty chunky compared to most fender/squiers, ibanez, jackson, pretty much everything, LP is probably the biggest. LP is a pretty mellow tone, because of the mahogony, and cause it's so bulky, a strat with a maple fretboard is going to be alot more bright and twangy compared to it, lending itself also to single coils. in the end, make sure he plays a similar model first, and not just pick it out based on brand name, or looks, that's a big mistake when it comes to ESP guitars, the LTD line anyway, they look real nice on the internet, and sometimes in person, compared to other guitars, but the hardware and playability is right down in the crapper compared to jacksons and ibanez, i was quite surprised that the most expensive LTD i could find in the store was about 600, and upon fine tuning the tremolo, the cheapness showed, and had dead notes all over the upper register. one of the most important factors is the neck, is the neck smooth, is it fast, and is it comfortable, it's pretty much half and half when it comes to nut size, 1 5/8 is what you usually find on strats and lps, 1 11/16 is what you usually find on ibanez, jacksons, but not always. that 1mm makes alot of difference to most people, some people prefer the larger nut, i switched from a 1 5/8 myself, and i love the added size, much more comfortable and cleaner in my opinion, but i don't HATE 1 5/8, it's all personal preference. painted necks are going to be slower, so are laquered necks, sanded necks are the finest in my opinon. well enough blather, take him to a nice guitar store, and have him pick out nice ones to play, play them for more than 2 min though, unless it's like those ESP LTD i played...YUCK!! back to the shelf you go.

i have never heard a carvin in action, but the 5150 has a ton of gain, more than you can actually use, and it's true, you turn that up to 10, you're just hearing pure noise. it's an "ultra" high gain amp. but all brands aside, i would go with a combo, you can play many venues with a combo, and if there's no sound system, still be heard, they'll mic you into the PA anyway, so what's the point in using a 300watt tube full stack cranked to 11?

i'd go with a combo, the 5150 combo is a nice one too. but it's also very loud in itself, and it is tube..so it does sound best when it's cranked. i have a similar dilema, but i'm not as worried, as i'll be purchasing a head and cabinet, and maybe a smaller 2x12 cab to leave at home, but also a THD Hot Plate, so i can crank the amp to get a nice tone, but keep it at a reasonable level. Hot Plate is an attentuator(sp?), that you connect between your head and your cabinet, and control the volume going into the cabinet, while turning the excess into heat. this one also has some EQ controls to help out. overall, a combo is alot smaller, managable, and that 5150 combo would be loud enough +1!!! and in the future if you wanted to, you could buy an external cabinet for it, since it's about the same as a peavey 5150 head, except 60 watts, with a built in 2x12 cabinet, so you can use it as a head too...hope i helped.

how about return to forever, excellent excellent stuff.

jeez, all those ??? make you seem so enthusiastic, it's like you're talking to someone.

i believe the more mass the tremelo has the more flutter, which is why quality floyds and edges flutter for days, although this is not the only concern.

I have a video of King Crimson live in Japan, and there are two drummers playing at the same time, different kits.

1 11/16"

pretty sure you could cut the block on the floyd to make it shorter, you have to for some bodys.

what's the problem with a floyd? it really isn't as much of a hassle as everyone says, and when you break a string at the bridge, you just put it back in and relock, locking is the best, why would you want anything else? you wouldn't.

the fanning would be automatic, as i see it, you want the first fret wire to be straight, so you angle the nut to compensate for it, then go from there, and the frets should fan out like you say, because of the same ratio, with a different overall length, i'm not 100% sure, but this sounds right.

don't quote me, but couldn't you mark out the fret spacings using pencil dots for the 25.5" scale on the low side of the fretboard, then mark it out on the high side for 24.75" scale, then just connect the dots, cut, fret, and you're done?

well it's not a jem, it's a uv with a monkey grip that lost a pickup.