johnchop

I auditioned for piano performance placement as a freshman in college. The first audition request? 'Play a D Major scale.' Been playing D major scaleâand all other keys and minor and other scalesâfor over a decade at that point. Both hands, in thirds, sixths, triplet feel... whatever. 120 bpm... no sweat. I started and had complete hand-brain lock-up. Absolute nightmare. I think I played Debussy after that. Who knows, because f***ing D major. Anyway I ended up majoring in history.

Oof... all the roads not taken... But had I taken some of them, my kids wouldn't be here, and they're non-negotiable. I learned too late that what I really enjoyed was composing, and perhaps should have gone all in on that at some point. It's not like my college degree had any bearing on my current career anyway. As it is, I'm finding more and more time to learn something new (guitar!), get lost in a soft synth, or just work on small ideas. Zero pressure, pure self-indulgence. It would be fun to get a small like-minded group together once a week and just play.

Indeed, although I've appreciated the input on stuff a relative n00b would need to consider. In playing in store I realized two things: the ergonomics of strat bodies and mojo of the hollowbodies I tried just beat everything else. And that I want a strat-style first AND a hollowbody down the line. And that my budget was a little smaller than I planned, but that's ok, because there are some really excellent options between 500 and 700.

Haha was wondering when an Expanse reference would kick in. GREAT show.

https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/25713/first-audio-recording-of-sounds-on-mars Simultaneously wondrous and terrifying.

Despite being the OG OP, I defer to Dr. Fortner"s thread

https://www.gearnews.com/native-instruments-izotope-join-forces/ Don't know what this collab could mean. Izotope's mastering tools and reverb (from Exponential Audio) portfolio + NI's ...everything? How do you all read this?

Ah, yes, the more premium ones, since it adds depth and therefore cost. But these are all good examples of you get what you pay for.

I wish controller manufacturers could sort out a form factor that puts knobs above sliders while still keeping the buttons below the sliders. Or perhaps give us longer throw sliders in one section with a separate knob/switch section. And a pony.

Commence "no wheels on top" and "76-key version" comments! I wonder if this is the same action as the previous version, which ranged from "nice" to "crap" in various user reviews.

The Yamaha Pacifica 611HFM (Amber Burst) per CEB's endorsement is now on the short list. Seems to slot in the "inexpensive but not cheap" category very nicely and has the right features. Yamaha guitars are sort of unobtanium at the moment but could be found in my local area. Stimulus and a much more favorable tax return has taken the sting out of super non-fun expenses, so... soooon.

Understood. BTW the Arturia feels pretty synthy to me, in that there's not much resistance. However, I've always found they had good aftertouch and velocity control, despite being a pretty featherweight action.

Komplete Kontrol's sound library and mapping functionality is fine, but it's not multitimbral (a la Kore, VIP, etc.). It becomes more of a nice-to-have than a selling point. The GP scripting to indicate split points... ok yeah, that's pretty nice I would recommend checking out the M-Audio Oxygen Pro as well. M-Audio has a rough reputation, I know, but my experience with them has been good (maybe I got a unit that wasn't built on Friday) If the keybed on that is the same as the Code or CTRL, it's a winner for me, especially at that price. Unlike the SLMk3 or Kontrol, however, there are no onboard labels above the controls to indicate what they do.

Novation. Huge feature set, which you can grow into, and excellent action. The Arturia action is super light and synthy. Great features but may be too springy for your tastes. As for the KK, I just find paying for lights and the rather weak Komplete Kontrol feature set is just not worth it to me.

Oh hoo-freakin-ray! It didn"t bother me that much until I wanted to sell a license, which meant buying an elicenser. I do wonder how we will handle software use on more than one machine, which previously just meant moving the elicenser.

Upgrades at $499. I've got Total Studio 2 MAX but have separate licenses for MODO Bass and Hammond B3X, so I'm not seeing the option to merge all of that into a Total Studio 3 license. Guess I could put those up for sale to offset the cost.

Thanks for the tips and well wishes. In the meantime my upstairs AC died. I don"t know which deity I failed to appease, but I"m going to take it as a sign that I should keep playing my acoustic and the right guitar will be available at the right time I suppose buying used from a dealer with a return policy is an option. I"m actually interested and in the super Viking (25.5 scale). Will have to play more 24.75' scale guitars to see how they feel. My initial feeling was 'cramped'.

I'm almost positive the Rosanna solo was covered in Keyboard mag by Jerry Kovarsky. I may still have that issue!? Looked online but didn't see where MusicRadar posted the content... only the interview (and ads.... so many ads...) Edit: I am positive. The reference is online

Aaaaaaaaand the car died. Like "need a new car" dead. Welp, even more time now to ponder the possibilities! I'm really liking the sound of both the Super Viking and Fender HH FMT Tele. Worth a short trip to try them out. You know, in a car. That I'll have to buy now.

Well, a Tele ended up catching my eye (https://shop.fender.com/en-US/electric-guitars/telecaster/special-edition-custom-telecaster-fmt-hh/product-026200.html), but that's pretty different from the garden variety at the local shops. I'm at 7 options now: D'Angelico, Ibanez, Hagstrom semi-hollow/hollow bodies, and a Dean, Schechter, Reverend, and the aforementioned Tele. So the next purchase is obvious. Thanks again, everyone, for the input and the interesting tangents. Will report back when I find THE ONE. Or perhaps THE FIRST.

The back and forth on this thread has really pushed me to think about preferences and biases... in a good way. It's been difficult to cut through guitar marketing speak, as it all seems very targeted at "guitar X = style X" when the final output obviously includes amp+effect variables. The YouTube folks who do clean sound demos have been invaluable, albeit hard to find. A lot of online demos go straight to shredland, making me think the guitar isn't for me. I love the look of the Reverend Robin Finck and the control simplicity. Going in another direction, I like the potential of the Hagstrom Super Viking (much better tailpiece than the one I tried). Will see what Epi, D'Angelico, and Gretsch have to offer next. I'm just not that jazzed to pick up a Tele, in that they don't feel particularly special. Sacrilege? -John

Well as Kuru said above, you gotta play it. So I went to the GC store (cause other local places stock Ibanez and Jackson models I"m not interested in). Holy cow the LP I played was a heavy chunk of wood, and turns out that scale length felt way too crowded. Apparently there is a weight I just don"t want to bother with. The strats (Fender Player model and a Charvel) were way more comfortable, as was the Hagstrom hollow body I tried (hated the tailpiece though). Still on the hunt but I"ve ditched the idea of buying sight unseen. Appreciate all the other feedback so far.

Winston, thanks for the suggestions. Will do some research. The Firebird won't win any prizes from me for its looks, but featurewise is in the ballpark.

Great suggestions all! My response: - Yes, this will be played at home until I think other people could stand to listen to me. I've got a few years to sort that out - Hadn't heard of Music-Go-Round... will check that out. - Will consider Epiphones, as they are very easy to come by in my area. PRS less so. Yamaha and Reverend... nada. - Those Reverends are sweet looking - Genre-wise, I'm playing pop-rock tunes, lots of rhythm + supporting riffs. Think XTC, not Albert King or System of a Down. That's not to say I'd never play a country or shred lick, but I'm not going deep in those catalogs. I have medium-sized hands. On keys, D-to-F# is the upper limit. I keep thing "shorter scale" for comfort, but I guess I have to pair that with a reasonable neck. Will check out some local options and report back. Thanks again. -John

Long-time keyboard-only player making a concerted effort at getting my fingers around the guitar. Learning on acoustic--Seagull Coastline Spruce S6--which is adequate. But the electrics are calling. I'm squarely in mid-life and can afford something that gives me room to grow. Current preferences: - Fixed bridge - 25" or less scale, PRS and LP-style in contention - up to $1100 - Solid or semi-hollow... but appreciate a full-bodied clean tone and otherwise versatile guitar. I'm not out to djent my way into people's hearts. "Buy used" would be good advice for someone who knows where to look for problems. That's not me. What I've dug in terms of looks, which matter as far as wanting to pick it up and play it: PRS Paul's Guitar SE PRS Zach Myers SE (the new model) Yamaha RevStar 820CR Reverend Robin Finck signature (probably too hard rock focused but damn it looks cool) TIA... and take it easy on me -John