[Way Off-Topic] The Music Gear Thread

**Aragorn** · 15th September 2021, 06:00

The new Fender Player Plus series ─ made in Mexico and significantly more affordable than the American-made Fenders.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7xsb-wmxcc

**modwiz** · 15th September 2021, 07:39

Anderton's meets Fender. (Exec)

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxAW6WJ7lRc

**Aragorn** · 24th September 2021, 04:20

Danelectro is a brand of guitars created by Nathan Daniels in the late 1950s for mail-order catalogs and large department stores. They have been sold under different names, among which Silvertone and Dynelectron ─ the latter actually being reproductions of the original Danelectros. The Coral Electric Sitar ─ used among others in Tom Petty's "Don't Come Around Here No More" and Steely Dan's "Do It Again" ─ was also a Nathan Daniels creation.

The guitars were very affordable at the time due to Nathan Daniels' choice of materials and construction. Even though the very first Danelectro was a solid-body guitar, most subsequent models were either semi-hollow or completely hollow, built around a solid wooden rim with or without a center block, and with Masonite board ─ essentially compressed wood pulp drenched in a resin ─ for the tops and backs. The low-output pickups were hand-wound and did not feature a bobbin or pole pieces; the coil wire was simply wound directly around the magnet bar, and Daniels used authentic lipstick tubes from a factory surplus as their housing.

Although cheaply made ─ or maybe it was exactly because of that ─ Danelectros have a sound all of their own, and as such, they have been used by quite a number of famous guitarists, and in quite a number of notable recordings. Among others, Jimmy Page used a Danelectro (in DADGAD tuning) for the recording of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir", Eric Clapton was playing a Danelectro covered in a flowered wallpaper at some point during his days in Cream, and Jimi Hendrix was playing a Danelectro while he was serving in the US military.

The Ibanez TC-530 Talman guitar that I won in a lottery at a Jennifer Batten guitar clinic in August 1994 was Ibanez' attempt at creating a guitar with vintage features and a vintage sound, combining the visuals of the Fender Telecaster and Jazzmaster/Jaguar body styles with the sonic properties of a Danelectro. It has a chambered body made from something resembling Masonite ─ albeit that it's finished with an opaque and glossy polyurethane finish ─ and it has three lipstick tube pickups made by Kent Armstrong.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaV2SU38SDU

**modwiz** · 24th September 2021, 06:34

Well, 59 Divine did not give me GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome).

After I saw the price it gave me ED.

**Aragorn** · 24th September 2021, 07:26

Originally posted by modwiz

Well, 59 Divine did not give me GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome).

To be fair, they're not quite my thing either.

First of all, I'm a solid-body guy, secondly, the shape isn't exactly my taste, and thirdly, those heavily underwound pickups are also not my thing. That Ibanez I won has Kent Armstrong's reproductions of those lipstick tube pickups in it, and they lack any and all punch, just like the originals. They do however sound very even-toned, which makes them somewhat suitable for ambient rhythm guitar stuff, but less so for playing solos.

Originally posted by modwiz

After I saw the price it gave me ED.

Well, at this point in time, everything music-gear-related is pretty much above and beyond my budget anyway. And that, in turn, makes me extra grateful for the gear I already possess, because I wouldn't be able to afford any of it anymore ─ least of all my Gibsons ─ if I had to start all over again today.

**modwiz** · 24th September 2021, 07:29

Originally posted by Aragorn

Well, at this point in time, everything music-gear-related is pretty much above and beyond my budget anyway. And that, in turn, makes me extra grateful for the gear I already possess, because I wouldn't be able to afford any of it anymore ─ least of all my Gibsons ─ if I had to start all over again today.

I am in the same situation and feel blessed for what I have. It's more than enough for my actual needs.

**Aragorn** · 26th September 2021, 04:33

This is an interesting video, because it addresses questions about both an amplifier brand (Laney) and a guitar brand (Ibanez), given that Lee Wrathe works for both, plus that he's also a virtuoso player, which yields some nice jamming.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwyVcPYxnQE

**Aragorn** · 1st October 2021, 16:00

This one's for the Wiz...

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XWiVGWnwBI

**Aragorn** · 7th October 2021, 11:59

Not exactly budget stuff ─ and they won't be light either, because they're real tube amps ─ but man, these things sound good!

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qccG-1N_ATI

**Chuckie** · 7th October 2021, 12:32

Originally posted by Aragorn

Not exactly budget stuff ─ and they won't be light either, because they're real tube amps ─ but man, these things sound good!

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qccG-1N_ATI

yeah, very nice ...

Originally posted by BeastOfBologna

yeah, very nice ...

What would be a price range on one of those be ... used ... even very used? That is clean, pristine even. That has to be digital, right?

**Aragorn** · 7th October 2021, 12:44

Originally posted by BeastOfBologna

What would be a price range on one of those be ... used ... even very used?

That's extremely difficult to say.

Originally posted by BeastOfBologna

That is clean, pristine even. That has to be digital, right?

No, quite the contrary. These are fully analog, old-school tube/valve amplifiers. Lee and Pete even mention the types of tubes/valves they use ─ I think they have four 12AX7 tubes in the preamp and two 6L6 tubes in the power section, but I'd have to watch the whole video again to be sure.

Lee even comments on how heavy they are, saying that even though a traditional Fender Twin Reverb is heavy ─ and I quote ─ "these are in a whole other league."

**modwiz** · 7th October 2021, 17:32

Originally posted by Aragorn

That's extremely difficult to say.

No, quite the contrary. These are fully analog, old-school tube/valve amplifiers. Lee and Pete even mention the types of tubes/valves they use ─ I think they have four 12AX7 tubes in the preamp and two 6L6 tubes in the power section, but I'd have to watch the whole video again to be sure.

Lee even comments on how heavy they are, saying that even though a traditional Fender Twin Reverb is heavy ─ and I quote ─ "these are in a whole other league."

Followed the links to the product and the single head they had was 2500 British Pounds.

Some maps use English EL 34/84 tubes and some use American. One had 4 6v6's in it.

Great sound from them.

**Aragorn** · 7th October 2021, 18:11

Another fresh video from the Andertons channel. This is a killer overdrive/distortion/fuzz effect, which uses an actual tube/valve, but unfortunately, we're staying in the big-budget atmosphere with this one.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX83NqWCUWg

**Aragorn** · 8th October 2021, 12:24

This one's not about gear, but it's a very interesting video nevertheless, in which Lee Anderton interviews his dad, and at the end of the interview, Lee has a surprise gift for his dad.