Fender Strat Guitar All along the watchtower Cornford Harlequin

[thedrifter29]

WHAT??!! NO TOP COMMENT

HURRY UP SAY SOMETHING STUPID!

[maximanttra]

Finally a good cover of this song!!!!!.

[chilipeppers85]

stop sliding down the neck so much

[viruskate]

i think these guitar is hard to play easy or have jumbo frets ?

[unununium77]

which kinman pickups are you using? sound pretty good. woodstock? traditional mkII?

thanks...

[superflipperman]

Hey! What would you say is the best and cheapest electric guitar for a semi beginner?

[guitarbyron]

Probably a used Strat, look out for the MIJ one's they are great IMHO.

[feet2oofast]

I know I'll probably catch some crap for saying this but I had a MIJ strat that sounded just as good as the American Standard that the guy I bought it from owned.

That being said, another good option is the SE series by PRS. They are made in Korea, but they are surprisingly good guitars for the price.

[guitarbyron]

I've played a few, nothing touches the MIJ. But to be fair I've not played a good old one, may be they are better....

[feet2oofast]

I just bought my PRS SE EG, and it blows just about any other guitar away that I've ever owned. I did find out though that the guy that owned it before me had a new nut cut for it with a different string width because he thought the stock string width sucked. So to be fair... I have never played a stock SE EG :D

[PeazyG420]

The cool thing about stratocaster shapes is that they are very versatile and cheap. You don't really need a Fender strat, just buy a knockoff strat, although the actual fenders are high quality guitars and are worth every penny. The best guitar I've ever played was an old strat.

[guitarbyron]

They are such a lovely confortable shape IMHO.

[brymacbluesband]

Try a PRS

[guitarbyron]

I wasn't impressed sadly...

[abergreg]

Get a mexican strat with a rosewood board and change the bridge pickup for a duncan lil59 or lil screamin demon.

[turtles12]

@abergreg rosewood is inferior to maple

[blackbrooke]

@turtles12 Well its not but humour me as to why you think so.

[GuillermoSmyser]

@superflipperman

IN terms of tuning stability and playability (as well as bang for your buck) I'd say go with Ibanez SZ or anything of theirs you liek that's atleast $400 once you get up that high (with Ibanez at least) you have a guitar that will still be good enough for you when you've been playing 10 years.

[mizzouse]

Hi! I was wondering whether you could tell me which Kinman pickups you used. Thanks.

[guitarbyron]

Sure, they are Kinman "blues".

[mizzouse]

Thanks a billion. Have you used the vintage MK-IIs yet? If so, would you recommend them over the blues set?

[guitarbyron]

No sadly not, they are a bit too expensive for me to try lots of them :)

[bluesGuitars0ul]

wow,thats is the real jimi sound

[o0sunsi0o]

Ok, now I'm really impressed when you can play the guitar like the Master, "Is it Jimi or is it Memorex" (nobody's going to remember that commercial, lol).

[guitarbyron]

I always used to buy Memorex tapes until I realised how hopeless they were!

[o0sunsi0o]

Just might be your life that's hopeless if you have one, lol

[guitarbyron]

It's good that tape is consigned to the bin IMHO!

[sk8akid666]

that sounds awesome man, what kind of tubes do you have in there?

[guitarbyron]

That was a pair of Mullard ECC83's and a Brimar El84. Pretty cool huh? :)

[stratmarshall666]

wow very awesome job

haha

kick ass tone too

[guitarbyron]

Cheers!

[jimladen78]

I'm stuck between one of these and a Cornell 7 watt plexi. Really tough decision.

Great playing and feel!

[guitarbyron]

Go for the Cornford, it won't let you down...

[guitarbyron]

changing valves is easy, making sure that the bias is correct is a technical job for sure. Best to get a set that work (via a technician), Mullards get rarer by the day! I bought enough to last the lifetime of the amp!

[guitarbyron]

No problem, waffle away... They are supposed to add a lot to the sound, google Watford Electronics valve comparisons, very imformative. On the early videos I was using the mic in the camera, which is pretty good actually. In the later videos the amp is miked up running through my desk before being recorded, gives me more control. If you aim to record, that's where you should concentrate your efforts. Just moving the mic a little can make a difference. Also mic the back too, captures the bass.

[nigelcuff007]

Thank you for your suggestions.  I've actually turned down the bass and treble to 4 and the sound is a lot smoother. In answer to your question no I bought the amp second hand but it looks in good nick. I'll check out Watford Electronics but I don't know much about valves so I'd imagine changing them would be a bit of a technical job.

[nigelcuff007]

Continuing the previous thread I've found is the sound is different when I've miked the amp and the sound has gone through the preamp and my recording gear so maybe I should concentrate on getting a great recording sound first. I don't know much about Mullards but how much better do you think they are than the stock valves. Sorry to waffle on!

[guitarbyron]

Yep, Cornford amps are tops in my books :)

[nigelcuff007]

I've tried your suggestions but it doesn't work too well. My reason for buying the Harlequin is the record and I have a partially soundproofed acoustically treated recording room so the sound is fairly dead. I found having the master on 2 meant no sound at all and having the treble at 7 made the sound a little clanky and fizzy. I suppose this could be down to the stock valves and the Strat's pick ups.

[guitarbyron]

The dead room will make a world of difference, miking it is your best bet. Did you buy the amp new?

[nigelcuff007]

Great sound and playing. Love the tone of the Cornford Harlequin.

[nigelcuff007]

Hi,

Great sound and playing. I've been considering buying a Cornford Harlequin for some time for recording and after watching your videos I was sold and bought one. What I would like to know is what settings you have on the amp for your Strat sound in this video. It sounds great but I can't seem to get quite the same sound with my Strat. I know a lot of it is in the fingers but I've been getting a rather fizzy tone when the amp is cranked so is it best the back the treble off on the amp?

[guitarbyron]

Hi Nigel. My settings are preamp 9, treble and bass 7 master 2. However, there are a few things to take into consideration. The Kinman pickups have more output than a standard strat, my Harly has "Mullard" valves fitted (no idea what the stock ones sound like), my playing style I tend to dampen unplayed strings. Also, my studio has quite a "live" sound. I've even found that keeping the amp on the floor improves the sound over putting it on a stand, let me know how you get on, I'm happy to help.

[cdbasler]

excellent! what model of Kinman pickups are you using?

[guitarbyron]

Hi. Thanks very much for the comment. I use the "blues set" they seemed the most strat like to my ears......

[cdbasler]

wow- i also have the blues set but have not been able to get the sound you have. i'm sure it's mostly in your fingers! are you using the bridge pickup?

[guitarbyron]

Well I suppose it is a combination of all the components. Kinman pickups are fantastic, I was lucky to get a very nice strat. The Harlequin is quite stunning, everything sounds good through it! Then there are the fingers, I hadn't realised until watching these videos how much I'm doing without thinking. Things like damping un-played strings to avoid horrible noises etc.

[dozgursel]

great tone and improvization.

[guitarbyron]

Very nice of you to say so, thank you...