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2 hours ago, Celery Man said:

*edit*
I’m so jealous of gen z kids some times. Like goddamn I was at least this cool 

IMG_4469.thumb.webp.443bc54bc0d316effb87f270a3e56d59.webp

Honestly their dorkiness is why they are so cool. I'm not even super into their music (Elderberry Wine is great though), but from the first time I saw them I was like these kids are rad.

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1 hour ago, G650 said:

(Elderberry Wine is great though)

That one gives me big Aimee Mann vibes (which is a very good thing).

2 hours ago, G650 said:

from the first time I saw them I was like these kids are rad.

30 Rock Fellow Kids GIF by Peacock

On 6/11/2025 at 2:05 PM, Deej said:

This thing is perfect. Locking tuners, rolled board edges, perfect frets and fret ends, tuner peg heights go from high to low as you move up the headstock, so no string trees. The action was perfect right of of the box. Low and very playable. No buzz whatsoever. 

Like the look of the roasted maple and love the back of the neck being satin. 

So, 2nd Sire guitar, a the bass, I ive had zero nits to pick about any of them.

 

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Good evening, gentlemen and Surly members. I’ve been following this thread and the amp thread for a long time but until now didn’t have a reason to post since I don’t own:

- a Tele with the appropriate amount of pick guard screws

- an exact replica of Billy Gibbons’ Pearly Gates, signed in his blood on the truss rod cover

- the reborn and perfectly restored Eric Johnson Virginia Strat

Now that the Sire has been brought on board, it’s safe for me to comment. 

I have that guitar.  S7 Vintage. You got it at a great price!  I’ve got all the same comments.  Great features at a low price and that neck is so comfortable.  My only complaint after a couple years is that the G string goes a little sharp when I’m playing some chords.  I had the nut slot filled and re-slotted and it helped but I have to watch myself and be delicate with how much pressure I use, especially on the ring finger. 
 

Now for an amp.  I use a Spark Mini but would like something that will take pedals for real.  Hard to argue against the latest Katana for features and price. 
 

 My acoustic is a PRS Alex Lifeson model. Shocking, I know.  Go ahead a neg rep me for not having a $5000 Martin or Taylor or Gibson but I like this acoustic and it plays and sounds great. 

Good evening, gentlemen and Surly members. I’ve been following this thread and the amp thread for a long time but until now didn’t have a reason to post since I don’t own:
- a Tele with the appropriate amount of pick guard screws
- an exact replica of Billy Gibbons’ Pearly Gates, signed in his blood on the truss rod cover
- the reborn and perfectly restored Eric Johnson Virginia Strat
Now that the Sire has been brought on board, it’s safe for me to comment. 

I have that guitar.  S7 Vintage. You got it at a great price!  I’ve got all the same comments.  Great features at a low price and that neck is so comfortable.  My only complaint after a couple years is that the G string goes a little sharp when I’m playing some chords.  I had the nut slot filled and re-slotted and it helped but I have to watch myself and be delicate with how much pressure I use, especially on the ring finger. 
 
Now for an amp.  I use a Spark Mini but would like something that will take pedals for real.  Hard to argue against the latest Katana for features and price. 
 
 My acoustic is a PRS Alex Lifeson model. Shocking, I know.  Go ahead a neg rep me for not having a $5000 Martin or Taylor or Gibson but I like this acoustic and it plays and sounds great. 

If you were a real lurker, you’d know the rules:

Too many words.

Too few pics.
2 hours ago, Vanilla Strange Gato said:

Good evening, gentlemen and Surly members. I’ve been following this thread and the amp thread for a long time but until now didn’t have a reason to post since I don’t own:

- a Tele with the appropriate amount of pick guard screws

- an exact replica of Billy Gibbons’ Pearly Gates, signed in his blood on the truss rod cover

- the reborn and perfectly restored Eric Johnson Virginia Strat

Now that the Sire has been brought on board, it’s safe for me to comment. 

I have that guitar.  S7 Vintage. You got it at a great price!  I’ve got all the same comments.  Great features at a low price and that neck is so comfortable.  My only complaint after a couple years is that the G string goes a little sharp when I’m playing some chords.  I had the nut slot filled and re-slotted and it helped but I have to watch myself and be delicate with how much pressure I use, especially on the ring finger. 
 

Now for an amp.  I use a Spark Mini but would like something that will take pedals for real.  Hard to argue against the latest Katana for features and price. 
 

 My acoustic is a PRS Alex Lifeson model. Shocking, I know.  Go ahead a neg rep me for not having a $5000 Martin or Taylor or Gibson but I like this acoustic and it plays and sounds great. 

I owned one of those PRS Alex Lifeson acoustics for awhile.  Great little guitar.

32 minutes ago, Chad Fuck said:


If you were a real lurker, you’d know the rules:

Too many words.

Too few pics.

Here is the acoustic, with the “birds in flight” pattern for the fret markers.  Alex wanted his to look different. 
 

I only found out about this model after seeing a YouTube video of him and his wife visiting a guitar store in Tokyo and seeing one of his guitars in the Private Stock line, which were $15k then.  Later I found they had made an SE line but it been out of production for several years. 
 

Reverb became a frequent visit and one came available in Florida for $800 or so, and I debated for a day or two and it sold. 
 

Another came up, listed from upstate New York. It was $725 and sold fast.  
 

Time passed and I saw this one while checking Reverb during lunch.  It was at the Tone Shop in Addison.  I called them, they said “we just listed it two hours ago!  It’s very playable and sounds great!”

They said if I bought it from them instead of from Reverb they would charge me no tax and ship it free and next-day. I did that and it was $520.  Good deal!  Reverb probably wouldn’t like this story. 

IMG_0020.jpeg

IMG_0021.jpeg

Oh, and that PRS had 13’s on it when I got it.  I must have sounded like SRV on the phone. 

I took it to a tech at Rockin’ Robin and got it set up, he leveled a couple of frets and put 11’s on it. I eventually put 10’s in it. 
 

Chad wants pics of the Sire, but they are going to look familiar!

My family gets me Sweetwater gift cards for birthday and Christmas and I had a few stacked and had been trying out guitars, trying to see what neck profile I liked before I ordered something. I didn’t have an electric so I was trying them all, but good Lord is Guitar Center a beating for trying out anything. 
 

Electrics I almost bought while taking time to find the one that felt best:

- used Ibanez Prestige in salmon color (not great but I’m not exactly playing in front of people yet). It was $1200.  They had it marked too low.  Reverb had similar models much higher.  The Japanese do good things in their guitar factories

- Fender Player Strat.  Fret edges and fretboard edge felt rough compared to the Sire. That would have been $800

- Silver Sky SE. $899 or whatever they were.  I wasn’t crazy about the colors, and they were not offering the maple fretboard yet.  Plus, I knew I could never show my face here if I got one because Paul Reed Smith is an arrogant jackass, probably on the spectrum, is doing to Leo Fender what Edison is said to have done to Nikolai Tesla, and regularly fire bombs orphanages and no-kill animal shelters. (One of those might be true)

- Schecter Nick Johnston, used, was maybe $950, and was pink.  That guitar played nice!
 

Eventually I saw a convincing video from that Canuck named Darrell Braun and he went on and on about the Sires.  Then Lee and Pete at Anderton’s raved about them. 
Yeah, their job is to sell guitars.  But then there were demos for amps and pedals, and Lee kept reaching for the Sire even with a room full of sweet ass guitars. 
 

I finally ordered an S7 vintage without seeing one in person. Sweetwater has a great return policy so no real risk, and there wasn’t a Sire in Texas for me to try anyway. It was $641 delivered.  I bought a gig bag later. 
 

Great guitar, feels like the easiest neck to play, was even still in tune out of the box.  And less expensive than everything else I tried. 
 

Lee Anderton changed the pickups on his but has no complaints otherwise. I’m not there yet with mine. 

IMG_0023.jpeg

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One more note for you fellas and a word of thanks. 
 

I was a choir kid growing up. Had an older brother that was a well and was a monster bass player.  He played a mean bass and was invited into some bands in high school and after. 

When I got into high school, some older guys got a band together for a school talent show. None of them sang or played bass.  They asked me to front the band because they knew I could sing and “your brother plays bass and we figure you have learned from him.”

Why yes.  Yes I have. 
 

Followed by me telling my brother, “Dude, you have to teach me how to play bass right now   And I need to borrow it and your giant ass Peavy amp.  And I need a ride to practice.”

That eventually led to me playing bass and some keys and singing in other bands, but all that went away in my early 20’s.

I got a Takamine acoustic in my late 20’s and took lessons for six months but once being a husband and father entered the equation, I put it away.  Plus I worked at a job with a lot going on and hobby time was not a thing. 
 

*this is where y’all come in*

I had read this site for a long time and used to post on one or both of the Shaggy sites way back when.  Mostly I was into football but I got turned off by the decisions made for the program over the years and the delusional idiots on the football board. 

This board, and this thread in particular, were encouraging. During the pandemic I picked up guitar again and signed up for lessons.  Y’all were a bigger part of that than you know.  The sharing of tips and tricks and gear knowledge and more on this thread has been a huge help.  And some of the other threads as well. You men have a lot of good info to share, and I’m sure there are other lurkers thankful for your posts here. 
 

Don’t be shy about speaking what’s on your mind about guitar stuff or music or practicing.  You do good work here. 

4 hours ago, Vanilla Strange Gato said:

 

Don’t be shy about speaking what’s on your mind about guitar stuff or music or practicing

 

Well that's one thing you never need be concerned of.

 

Welcome aboard, good to have new blood.

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

Still have the Takamine?

No.  I sold it.  I had started lessons again during the pandemic and was using it and it was fine. 
 

A couple months in my birthday came around and my wife surprised me with a Yamaha FG-830.  
 

She had gone into GC looking for an acoustic for me and asked the guys up front for help and gave them a budget number.  They had gotten that Yamaha in a few days prior and were keeping it at the front to play behind the counter during lulls between customers.  
 

It played better, looked better, and sounded better than a $320 guitar should sound.  I read reviews and watched videos on it after she gifted it to me.  The reviewers said the same things. “It’s a starter guitar, but you won’t think that when you hear it and play it.”

*this is where y’all come in again*

I took the Yamaha to my next lesson. My instructor tried it out, was complimentary of it, but said “Can you have your wife take it back and exchange it for one with a cutaway?  You’re going to need access to the upper frets where we’re headed.”

I asked him if he was married and he said yes, he was. I asked him to consider the results of asking your wife to take back a gift.   He saw the point but still said maybe I should go exchange it. 
 

At that point, I said I had read some advice in a forum that said if you need a guitar that allows you to do something your current guitar does not allow, you don’t get rid of that guitar, you just buy another guitar.

That is when the search for Lifeson PRS started.  And of course when it showed up my wife said “You don’t like the Yamaha I got you????”

Yeah. Girls, man, I tell you what. 

2 minutes ago, Vanilla Strange Gato said:

you don’t get rid of that guitar, you just buy another guitar.

Etch this in stone brother.

14 hours ago, Vanilla Strange Gato said:

One more note for you fellas and a word of thanks. 
 

I was a choir kid growing up. Had an older brother that was a well and was a monster bass player.  He played a mean bass and was invited into some bands in high school and after. 

When I got into high school, some older guys got a band together for a school talent show. None of them sang or played bass.  They asked me to front the band because they knew I could sing and “your brother plays bass and we figure you have learned from him.”

Why yes.  Yes I have. 
 

Followed by me telling my brother, “Dude, you have to teach me how to play bass right now   And I need to borrow it and your giant ass Peavy amp.  And I need a ride to practice.”

That eventually led to me playing bass and some keys and singing in other bands, but all that went away in my early 20’s.

I got a Takamine acoustic in my late 20’s and took lessons for six months but once being a husband and father entered the equation, I put it away.  Plus I worked at a job with a lot going on and hobby time was not a thing. 
 

*this is where y’all come in*

I had read this site for a long time and used to post on one or both of the Shaggy sites way back when.  Mostly I was into football but I got turned off by the decisions made for the program over the years and the delusional idiots on the football board. 

This board, and this thread in particular, were encouraging. During the pandemic I picked up guitar again and signed up for lessons.  Y’all were a bigger part of that than you know.  The sharing of tips and tricks and gear knowledge and more on this thread has been a huge help.  And some of the other threads as well. You men have a lot of good info to share, and I’m sure there are other lurkers thankful for your posts here. 
 

Don’t be shy about speaking what’s on your mind about guitar stuff or music or practicing.  You do good work here. 

Welcome to the conversation.

10 minutes ago, AnotherUTFan said:

Welcome to the conversation.

Thank you.  Been watching for a long time and am glad to have some people to ask “how do I get awesome really quickly” since I’m sure y’all have the answers. 

1 hour ago, Vanilla Strange Gato said:

Thank you.  Been watching for a long time and am glad to have some people to ask “how do I get awesome really quickly” since I’m sure y’all have the answers. 

You buy more guitars, amps and pedals. It's the only way to be sure it's not the gear that's holding you back. 

You better listen to him, he's pre med.

Yeah, all my Sires are fantastically easy to play. Amazing what attention to detail on the neck and frets does. 

1 hour ago, Deej said:

Yeah, all my Sires are fantastically easy to play. Amazing what attention to detail on the neck and frets does. 

The satin finish on the back of the neck will be a must-have on any guitar I get going forward.  And rolled edges.  It’s incredible and you don’t feel like letting go of it.  
 

I want to thank whatever Indonesian kids they have making these in the Sire factory.   It’s got to be labor costs that let them put out this quality at those prices. 

On 6/20/2025 at 11:29 PM, Vanilla Strange Gato said:

Chad wants pics of the Sire, but they are going to look familiar!

My family gets me Sweetwater gift cards for birthday and Christmas and I had a few stacked and had been trying out guitars, trying to see what neck profile I liked before I ordered something. I didn’t have an electric so I was trying them all, but good Lord is Guitar Center a beating for trying out anything. 
 

Electrics I almost bought while taking time to find the one that felt best:

- used Ibanez Prestige in salmon color (not great but I’m not exactly playing in front of people yet). It was $1200.  They had it marked too low.  Reverb had similar models much higher.  The Japanese do good things in their guitar factories

- Fender Player Strat.  Fret edges and fretboard edge felt rough compared to the Sire. That would have been $800

- Silver Sky SE. $899 or whatever they were.  I wasn’t crazy about the colors, and they were not offering the maple fretboard yet.  Plus, I knew I could never show my face here if I got one because Paul Reed Smith is an arrogant jackass, probably on the spectrum, is doing to Leo Fender what Edison is said to have done to Nikolai Tesla, and regularly fire bombs orphanages and no-kill animal shelters. (One of those might be true)

- Schecter Nick Johnston, used, was maybe $950, and was pink.  That guitar played nice!
 

Eventually I saw a convincing video from that Canuck named Darrell Braun and he went on and on about the Sires.  Then Lee and Pete at Anderton’s raved about them. 
Yeah, their job is to sell guitars.  But then there were demos for amps and pedals, and Lee kept reaching for the Sire even with a room full of sweet ass guitars. 
 

I finally ordered an S7 vintage without seeing one in person. Sweetwater has a great return policy so no real risk, and there wasn’t a Sire in Texas for me to try anyway. It was $641 delivered.  I bought a gig bag later. 
 

Great guitar, feels like the easiest neck to play, was even still in tune out of the box.  And less expensive than everything else I tried. 
 

Lee Anderton changed the pickups on his but has no complaints otherwise. I’m not there yet with mine. 

IMG_0023.jpeg

IMG_0022.jpeg

IMG_0024.jpeg

You should take the film off the pickguard.

The next evolutionary leap of the Stratocaster design by PRS.

  • Author

Rocks so hard it makes your dick go sideways 

image.thumb.jpeg.081335273e682fe9a98b9506a44e485f.jpeg

 

Ahh, Dragon Force

 

20250625_174726.thumb.jpg.dd4846621b303fda359abed97f4ef17a.jpg

 

Got a really good deal so couldn't help myself. American Vintage II Strat in Sonic Blue.

Phil does a deep dive on it.  I expected him to have some negatives in here somewhere.  He usually does.  
 

Not this time.  Very favorable review, and  knowing that the design is due to Herman Lee from Dragonforce, I understand why it looks so different.  
 

 

  • Author
15 hours ago, G650 said:

20250625_174726.thumb.jpg.dd4846621b303fda359abed97f4ef17a.jpg

 

Got a really good deal so couldn't help myself. American Vintage II Strat in Sonic Blue.

I love pastel fenders. It’s silly that I have … 7 of them and they’re all natural/blonde sunburst or black.

29 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

I love pastel fenders. It’s silly that I have … 7 of them and they’re all natural/blonde sunburst or black.

Group pic?  

45 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

I love pastel fenders. It’s silly that I have … 7 of them and they’re all natural/blonde sunburst or black.

 

So one of the things that suckered me into this was the color, my first Strat was a Daphne Blue 57 MIM reissue. The nostalgia bit got me. Plus the guitar was almost 700 of retail. 

 

I have to say the Pure Vintage '65 pickups in this thing are really fuckimg good. I was fairly surprised. I'm thinking of putting some in my Strat Plus. 

 

The neck is a little chunkier than I like but not anything crazy.

I still have fever dreams of an array of pastel Teles that I match to my ugly suit of choice each gig.

Probably need to get some gigs first.

I think you should start with a vast arsenal of high-end instruments and gear.  Everything else flows from there.  

2 minutes ago, Paul Wesley said:

I think you should start with a vast arsenal of high-end instruments and gear.  Everything else flows from there.  

Michael Richards Yes GIF

  • Author
8 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

Group pic?  

I should set that up. Maybe I try

 

18? Don’t typically see her playing Martins I don’t feel like.

  • Author

I’ll fight anyone I don’t give a fuck. I legitimately like Taylor Swift and have mad respect for both her talent and her work ethic, and I think she gets way too much shit for dating like 7 guys in her twenties. My daughter loves Tay Tay and I think she’s a great role model.

 

her cousins got her this shirt and I’ve tried really hard to explain how badass of a gift it is -

IMG_4618.thumb.jpeg.a9d69aff07061b36e8bf61a8fd99c80d.jpeg
 

her loog is in her closet and I heard strumming and singing - “Disney WOOOOOrrRrrRrLD! Disney Woooorld, oh Disney…..

WORLD”

I talk to her about how her songs are great and that she can write songs and sing them on stage like Daddy or Taylor Swift if she keeps it up.

23 hours ago, Vanilla Strange Gato said:

Phil does a deep dive on it.  I expected him to have some negatives in here somewhere.  He usually does.  
 

Not this time.  Very favorable review, and  knowing that the design is due to Herman Lee from Dragonforce, I understand why it looks so different.  
 

 

I dig it, but I’m kinda fascinated by really thin metal guitars like the Nita Strauss signature Ibanez. 

25 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

I dig it, but I’m kinda fascinated by really thin metal guitars like the Nita Strauss signature Ibanez. 

The white body with the black binding Nita Strauss guitar is really sharp. 
 

Nita is aight as well. 

8 hours ago, Celery Man said:

I’ll fight anyone I don’t give a fuck. I legitimately like Taylor Swift and have mad respect for both her talent and her work ethic, and I think she gets way too much shit for dating like 7 guys in her twenties. My daughter loves Tay Tay and I think she’s a great role model.

 

her cousins got her this shirt and I’ve tried really hard to explain how badass of a gift it is -

IMG_4618.thumb.jpeg.a9d69aff07061b36e8bf61a8fd99c80d.jpeg
 

her loog is in her closet and I heard strumming and singing - “Disney WOOOOOrrRrrRrLD! Disney Woooorld, oh Disney…..

WORLD”

I talk to her about how her songs are great and that she can write songs and sing them on stage like Daddy or Taylor Swift if she keeps it up.

 

I'm not a big fan of her tunes but I also have immense respect for what she's done. She's A OK in my book.

 

Plus I love how she riles up the olds.

I’ll fight anyone I don’t give a fuck. I legitimately like Taylor Swift and have mad respect for both her talent and her work ethic, and I think she gets way too much shit for dating like 7 guys in her twenties. My daughter loves Tay Tay and I think she’s a great role model.
 
her cousins got her this shirt and I’ve tried really hard to explain how badass of a gift it is -
IMG_4618.thumb.jpeg.a9d69aff07061b36e8bf61a8fd99c80d.jpeg
 
her loog is in her closet and I heard strumming and singing - “Disney WOOOOOrrRrrRrLD! Disney Woooorld, oh Disney…..
WORLD”
I talk to her about how her songs are great and that she can write songs and sing them on stage like Daddy or Taylor Swift if she keeps it up.
I have that same shirt! My daughter bought it for me at one of the LA shows.

I have mad respect for her. I think she's the biggest thing since the Beatles and you have to admire how's she's connected with a whole generation or two. I've really tried to get into her music, I even went and watched the Eras Tour film at the theater. She's just not writing music aimed at middle aged men yet, and I'm ok with that.

BTW, my shirt fits me a out the way that one fits your daughter. Thise shirts were way bigger than their sizing indicates. I have an XL that fits me like a XXXL.
Shake it off is both catchy as fuck and a great life lesson.

I could have used that advice as a young kid. Instead, we got Madonna. TS is a badass role model for my niece.
6 hours ago, G650 said:

 

I'm not a big fan of her tunes but I also have immense respect for what she's done. She's A OK in my book.

 

Plus I love how she riles up the olds.

Google some of her isolated vocals. She's all marketing. Her singing sucks. 

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