SOUND ON SOUND

[BJG145]

I was just sitting in the garden reading a techniques article, and I muttered: "I need a muckabout guitar", or something closely related. To try out the examples. Indoors, I grab a Tele which is my favourite, but I'm not going to prop that up in the mud.

I've got a fairly rough Yamaha RGX A2 in storage somewhere and I need to dig that out.



The dials light up so it looks quite funky. It's the kind of thing that got thrown in the back of the car without a case for occasional jams. (Ideally I'd like a Pignose for this kind of thing; always fancied one of those.) Anyone relate to this?

[blinddrew]

I have a kit-built Tele with a built in amp that does this job nicely. One of my projects this year or next will be to strip it all down and finish/re-build it properly because there's actually quite a nice guitar hiding in there. :)

[Sam Spoons]

My 'muck about guitar' is my Emerald X7 it goes almost everywhere I go. A bit of mud would not harm it and it would just hose off without damage* It's pretty indestructible in normal usage. My my muck about electric is also my main electric, a Bitsa Strat with P90's I built for not much over £120 with a Boss Micro Cube but I usually muck about on electric in the studio.

* Obviously avoiding the preamp, jack socket and battery compartment would be wise...

[Dynamic Mike]

I have a 'playing out' guitar rather than a muckabout guitar. Comes from when I was little my mum always used to tell me to change into my playing out pants before going in the garden.

My current playing out guitar is a gold leaf plated Duesenberg and I have the butler polish it between chords.

Actually it's a 30 year old Korean squier tele.

[tweedle do]

:clap:

All mine are muck about really, but the most chuck about is a Little Martin LX1 that I got from cash converters for £50, I think they thought it was a child’s guitar....

Great for sofas

[al_diablo]

I always get annoyed by any cables in the garden. I bought a taylor gs mini as a sofa guitar and that and a relatively low end tanglewood both come outside with me for a noodle now and again.

We are getting our garden remodelled and when we have a summer house with power my strat will live there...

[OneWorld]

Taylor big baby, I came from a Classical/Spanish acoustic guitar route which meant I could do bar chords with relative ease, whenever I tried that on a jumbo style steel strung guitar I struggled, my fingers needed the ‘bite force’ equivalent to a pit bull, then I bought the Taylor and the action is as near to that of a Spanish as is possible.

It is a great Swiss Army knife of guitars, I can manage some of the left hand finger contorting stretches that are relatively easier on the Spanish guitar, but also do the atypical jingly jangly sound of the steel strung acoustic, ok not the full bodied chugger of a jumbo, but an acceptable compromise.

The physical size of the Taylor makes it an ideal noodler, being able to loaf about on the sofa and play every part of the guitar with ease and not constricted by the size of a jumbo, just right size for sofa noodling or going al fresco as it is an easily portable size.

[ManFromGlass]

It used to be my Kay acoustic. My grandfather bought it for me when I was about 7 years old. It has a smallish body and has been to many a party in my youth and has received much abuse. But it’s almost 60 years old and has settled in to sound nicely balanced and wonderful and I’m afraid to take it anywhere!

[Watchmaker]

I have a beater Martin MMV. I bought it as a present to myself for graduating college at the tender age of 41. It's basically a poor man's D-28.

This particular guitar is quite promiscuous and has been played by pretty much everyone I know, drunk or sober. She's a good old friend that one. Early on, about 6 months after I got it, the finish blistered up in a few places, not harmful and though I was surprised by a defect from Martin, it freed me from having to be precious about cosmetics. I've done nothing about in 15 years and it hasn't changed at all since then.

[Hewesy]

My 'muck about guitar' is my Emerald X7 it goes almost everywhere I go. A bit of mud would not harm it and it would just hose off without damage* It's pretty indestructible in normal usage. My my muck about electric is also my main electric, a Bitsa Strat with P90's I built for not much over £120 with a Boss Micro Cube but I usually muck about on electric in the studio.

* Obviously avoiding the preamp, jack socket and battery compartment would be wise...

Very envious, an Emerald X10 with MIDI is on my absolute bucket list. Stunning guitars.

My knock about is my Tanglewood Roadster. Lovely little thing, full scale length and cedar wood body/neck.

Hewesy

[Sam Spoons]

My 'muck about guitar' is my Emerald X7 it goes almost everywhere I go. A bit of mud would not harm it and it would just hose off without damage* It's pretty indestructible in normal usage. My my muck about electric is also my main electric, a Bitsa Strat with P90's I built for not much over £120 with a Boss Micro Cube but I usually muck about on electric in the studio.

* Obviously avoiding the preamp, jack socket and battery compartment would be wise...

Very envious, an Emerald X10 with MIDI is on my absolute bucket list. Stunning guitars

Yes very happy with the X7, until recently I've only been playing the X7 and my Selmer style gypsy jazz box. In the last few weeks I've started playing my Brian Eastwood (which was my goto from 1981 until I bought the X7 in, IIRC, 2017) again.

[Hewesy]

Lovely stuff.

Funnily enough my other current favourite is a cheap Aria TA that I've fitted with flats. I've a Blackstar BEAM in the living room which is a great little home amp.

Though it doesn't really leave the house so...

Hewesy

[Sam Spoons]

I have another Brian Eastwood, an ES175/L5 jazz box which has flats fitted. I love having all these different flavours available, they don't just sound different but they make you play differently too.

[BigRedX]

I don't have a muck about guitar. I have guitars I use and the rest have been sold.

These are the current guitars I use:


Gus G1


Fretking Esprit V Custom

Both were specifically made for me to my specifications. I can't see the need for anything else these days.

[Dynamic Mike]

Lovely stuff.

Funnily enough my other current favourite is a cheap Aria TA

If I could get back just one guitar I've sold, that would be it.