Alexander

ENGL all the way, baby! I've had marshalls, fenders, hiwatts, of all shapes and sizes and the ENGL just kills them all stone dead.

Or go the whole hog and flightcase it? Expensive but in the long run, it'll keep your amp pristine.

I think it's fitting - I reckon he would still want his name on those guitars, I'm hoping he endorsed them because he really thought they were good.

RIP Dimebag. Never a Pantera fan, but he was a stunning guitarist and I respect him for that. He will live on in his music, no psycho with a gun can take that away.

Looks great, but I would not like to play it!

Typo?

I very much like Sperzels, but I also got a set of Schaller locking ones and they're extremely well made, in chrome, and they shine like beauties! Both types use the same technique to lock the string, and both keep em real firmly in place.

Thanks very much! I'll start hunting down a chrome OFR....

Anyone else?

Well, I tend to use it pretty extensively - at the moment I've got a Wilkinson and it's awesome, so sensitive you know. I use it for dives, trills, the whole shebang but it would be good to have something that I can really abuse and it will stay in tune. Also, the less often I have to tune up on stage between songs the better.

Hi all, Well it's been a while but I'm starting plans for my next custom build. I'd really like to put a locking trem on it, ideally a Floyd Rose, but it's confusing as there are so many types and manufacturers. My question is - is it worth getting an "original" 80s Floyd Rose from Ebay, or a Floyd Rose II, or would it be more adviseable to get one of the new ones manufactured by another company? Alternatively, are there any other locking trem systems that kick the FR's ass? Any experience any of you have of the above would be greatly appreciated.

On the other hand, I've never taken a lesson in my life. Does it make me a better or worse player? Couldn't say, but it shows you don't HAVE to have lessons to get good. Like chappie up there said, there's no substitute for practice.

Also, try not to copy other people's licks. Put on a record and jam to it, if you're not trying to match a great guitarist note for note, you'll feel better about yourself. I learned mainly by playing "Band of Gypsys" on repeat and just noodling over it.

I think they're supposed to be £800 but I got mine for £700.

I've been trying to buy myself some new, quality guitar cables. I know exactly what I want: 10m of van damme cable Neutrik plugs (one straight, one elbow) Now, you would think this would be easy? Wrong! Two people on ebay sell van damme cables, but neither will return my emails asking for a price for 10m versions (they list 6 or 5m and say "email us for a quote if you want other lengths"). I'm in the UK - does anyone have any recommendations? They don't even have to be custom made cables, something of a similar quality pre-made would be fine. Thanks in advance!

Eddie isn't rich? How does that work then?

Absolutely, I just bought an Engl Screamer 50 and it's just astounding. I've never heard so much noise come out of a 1x12 50W combo in my life! All the valve attack and sustain you'll ever need, and the distortion channel is really shreddy and meaty if you want it. Awesome piece of gear, but not cheap. Another alternative is the Tech 21 Trademark 60 - sansamps are really in a league of their own. Give it a try, phenomenally versatile amplifier.

Precisely.

I started off with EB super slinkys, but I agree with whoever it was who said they just don't last long enough. Now I use D'Addario 10's and I can make a set last a good couple of months, and I play hard. Because I rarely snap strings (touch wood) I find i can spend a bit extra on a set. I get em off ebay in packs of ten, works out about 3GBP a pack. Not too bad I reckon.

To be fair to the guy, he is fighting cancer.

What's that thing sticking out the back of his guitar? I understand it's to keep his lead up and away, but what could be the benefits of that contraption as opposed to just looping it round your strap like most people do?

Thanks Kevan - I appreciate your standpoint and I'm sure things will settle down soon enough as people either accept and abide by the new rules, or vote with their feet. "Regime" was probably the wrong word! The thing is, like in all things, everyone has different ways of working - we don't all build guitars in the same way, nor would we all run a forum in the same way. I think it's fair to say when this place was started it was hoped it would become as big and busy as possible, which would of course mean larger bills for bigger servers, more bandwidth etc. For my part, I accept this and just keep paying the bills (provided people aren't taking the mickey by abusing the privilege of file uploads etc). As far as hotlinking to other images is concerned, my viewpoint has always been, if they're already on someone's free webspace there's no foul, and if they're from a commercial luthier or company, if they become concerned with the amount of hotlinks to their images, they'll watermark the images so that every hotlinked image is an advert for their site/products. Dialup users, I'm pretty sure, will be prepared to wait to view large pages - certainly, I've only been on broadband for a couple of years, but 56k did me fine, I just had more patience, especially when I was waiting for something good, and it doesn't get much better than a nice big pic of a tasty axe. So basically, you're right to run this place how you like, as you're obviously prepared to put in the time to defend your decisions (repeatedly!) and vet virtually every post for transgressions. But speaking personally, I like the easy life! Most forums I find are self-regulating, and the more moderation you apply, the more people will rebel against it. That said, this is still a great resource and I've learned practically everything I know about guitar building from here, but I'll probably steer clear for a few months to let all this squabbling calm down. Again, just my 2p so please feel free to disregard.

Is every topic going to degenerate into this squabbling about rules? How tedious. I run a number of largeish forums, and in my experience the more draconian you get with the rules, the more crap it produces. I'll bet the large number of argumentative posts as a result of your new regime have hit your bandwidth too, as well as reducing membership. Plus you've just given yourself a hell of a lot more work. I know it's none of my business, but as a forum member I thought I would be permitted to give my opinion.

Oh well that's good news then. Shred on!

I thought Mustaine had to stop playing guitar because of some kind of nerve damage or something?