ANUGDA!!!!

[KuruPrionz]

Another New Used Guitar Day Again.

 

When it rains, it pours. Last week on craiglist there was an Epiphone AJ-220S/VS for $160. 

That was more than I wanted to pay. This week it was $100 so I bought it. 

Solid spruce top and somebody played it quite a bit so it's opening up. Sounds very nice.

Plays pretty well but I can make it play fantastic with a bit of tech work. 

 

I wanted to get started on playing out as an acoustic singer/songwriter cover tune goofball but I don't like taking my Rainsong out to gigs.

Way too expensive. This isn't and I don't care. PERFECT!

[Sharkman]

Aww man, I was hoping anugda was a new word.  It's just an acronym.

[KuruPrionz]

2 minutes ago, Sharkman said:

Aww man, I was hoping anugda was a new word.  It's just an acronym.

Sorry to disappoint!!!! Feel free to assign a meaning as a new word. 

 

It's a pretty nice guitar, once I lower the action slightly at the bridge and the nut it should be really nice. 
I like the body size, not too big. And I haven't owned many sunburst guitars at all. 

[Sharkman]

I own four Epiphones, so I'm somewhat biased in favor of them.  I'm not real familiar with the AJ220S, but it probably has a mahogany back, sides, and neck, with a rosewood fretboard.  Don't be surprised if you really like this guitar, and decide to replace the saddle, nut, and bridge pins with something better.

[KuruPrionz]

14 minutes ago, Sharkman said:

I own four Epiphones, so I'm somewhat biased in favor of them.  I'm not real familiar with the AJ220S, but it probably has a mahogany back, sides, and neck, with a rosewood fretboard.  Don't be surprised if you really like this guitar, and decide to replace the saddle, nut, and bridge pins with something better.

The back and sides are laminated mahogany. The top is solid spruce with spruce bracing - X braced. The neck is mahogany. The fretboard is unfamiliar to me but it's a good looking hardwood. 

I do like the guitar and I am not surprised. It is what I was looking for, a better than decent guitar for a great price. I'll probably just adjust the nut and saddle, the bridge pins can stay. 

 

I plan on adding a pickup, not sure what I'll use yet but probably something I already have and definately a separate output jack, not an output jack/strap button combination. Gigs are coming back and I am tired of playing in bands, too loud!!! This will be a nice gigger for acoustic work. I have a Fishman Loud Box Performer, an amazing sounding little guitar amp/PA system that sounds amazing and louder than you would think. 1 guitar, a mic stand and mic, and the amp and I'll be good to go. Now I have everything but the set up and new strings. 

[Larryz]

Cool find Kuru, has the Gibson J45 look going for it! 😎

[Rene Asologuitar]

Hi KP,

The guitar looks good.

And you are correct, with a little tic, I believe that you can actually make a big difference in the playability of the guitar.

Can't beat that for a solid spruce top.

Rene

[KuruPrionz]

59 minutes ago, Larryz said:

Cool find Kuru, has the Gibson J45 look going for it! 😎

Thanks Larryz, it is a copy of an Advanced Jumbo Gibson guitar. 

Probably not an exact copy but pretty close and certainly attractive. 

[KuruPrionz]

55 minutes ago, Rene Asologuitar said:

Hi KP,

The guitar looks good.

And you are correct, with a little tic, I believe that you can actually make a big difference in the playability of the guitar.

Can't beat that for a solid spruce top.

Rene

Thanks Rene and welcome to MPN. 

The more I play the Epiphone the more I like the tone of it. It's rich, bright and well balanced. 

I plan on getting good use out of it, it should earn back that $100 fairly quickly. 

[Larryz]

Epi's are a great bang for the buck Kuru!  I have a Epi Premium copy of the Gibson ES 175 and it cost 1/4 of the Gibson price.  It came with US made 57 humbuckers, upgraded Gibson pots, etc.  Plays and sounds like the real thing too! Keep us posted on the next solo gig when you bring her out! 😎

[KuruPrionz]

25 minutes ago, Larryz said:

Epi's are a great bang for the buck Kuru!  I have a Epi Premium copy of the Gibson ES 175 and it cost 1/4 of the Gibson price.  It came with US made 57 humbuckers, upgraded Gibson pots, etc.  Plays and sounds like the real thing too! Keep us posted on the next solo gig when you bring her out! 😎

I agree, they are good bang for the buck and really, just plain good. 

Last Nov/Dec I sold an Epiphone SG style bass, not fond of that design but the execution was well done, AND an Epiphone Les Paul - highh quality and low price. 

I don't regret selling either of them, not my jam - somebody else's fun. 

I keep liking this AJ more and more. I've gotta go dig through my parts stash and find a pickup for it. I've got a B-Band system and a few sound hole pickups, maybe both and a 3 way switch?

I might just put a soundhole pickup running straight to a jack in it, that's simple and no battery required. 

[surfergirl]

Nice find, sure you will put it to good use. I wish I had something like that in 2017 when after seeing Darius Rucker on Undercover Boss I decided I want to be a Busker. Very short lived dream.

[KuruPrionz]

34 minutes ago, surfergirl said:

Nice find, sure you will put it to good use. I wish I had something like that in 2017 when after seeing Darius Rucker on Undercover Boss I decided I want to be a Busker. Very short lived dream.

Thanks surfergirl!

Don't give up your dream, delays are not cancellations. Keep an eye out, I passed on many acoustic guitars that would have served my needs but either price or other important details (no slim necks for me!!!) sideswiped the deal. It took a while to find a guitar I liked at a price I liked and when I did, I jumped on it. 

 

One great use is to go to open mic nights. Those are starting to come back here and I've met so many great people that way, sign up, play my 3 songs and hang out. 

Some of the people I've met at open mic have become great friends and/or musical partners on one basis or another. 

 

If you have gigs that are on different nights than the open mic, you can get a quick announcement in at the end of your set too and maybe get some new fans/followers.

If you build it, they will come!

[Larryz]

+1 Kuru and SurferGirl, I Had a lot of fun playing and singing at open mic's at a couple of local clubs and then the Pandemic came along and closed us down.  Met a lot of cool musician friends and we became regulars, kind of like the traveling Karaoke groups.  Only had to practice up on 3 to 5 tunes. Played 3 and had 2 on reserve just in case one of the other players played one to avoid repeats. +1 A great way to announce upcoming gigs.  It was also fun to play with another player and do a duo too.  Might still play one again someday.  Never drank more than 2 drinks if I had to drive home at closing.  😎

[KuruPrionz]

4 minutes ago, Larryz said:

+1 Kuru and SurferGirl, I Had a lot of fun playing and singing at open mic's at a couple of local clubs and then the Pandemic came along and closed us down.  Met a lot of cool musician friends and we became regulars, kind of like the traveling Karaoke groups.  Only had to practice up on 3 to 5 tunes. Played 3 and had 2 on reserve just in case one of the other players played one to avoid repeats. +1 A great way to announce upcoming gigs.  It was also fun to play with another player and do a duo too.  Might still play one again someday.  Never drank more than 2 drinks if I had to drive home at closing.  😎

It looks like open mics are going to start coming back again. When I first moved up here I didn't know very many people. Going to open mic nights changed that for the better. 

My rule on drinking is start early quit early and yeah, 2 is plenty. 

 

And... a classic open mic trick is to go around and chat everybody up, ask them to join you for a rousing version of Lime In The Coconut. It's C7 all the way through and everybody can shout "Doc-Tah!!!"  It's more fun than it sounds...

[Larryz]

Doc-Tah is there nothing I can take, I said Doc-Tah, to relieve this belly ache LoL!  Yeah, the crowd gets to know you and it's a lot of fun when they sing along and dance on the bar! My good-bye song was Jambalaya which is just 2 chords C and G.  And the joint gets rocking with Goodbye Joe me gotta go with my bud on the chromatic harp giving it that Cajun vibe LOL! 🤠👍

[KuruPrionz]

Jambalaya crawfish pie fille gumbo!!! Another classic. 

 

I've only done it at karaoke but Bob Dylan's Rainy Day Women 12 and 35 (EVERYBODY must get Stoned!!!!) is a crowd rouser as well. 

[KuruPrionz]

Yesterday I leveled, crowned and polished the frets on the Epiphone. The truss rod was way too tight, slightly backbowed with medium strings and the action was still too high. 

 

I loosened the truss rod all the way, then put on a set of Extra Light (.10-.48) strings, tuned it and adjusted the truss rod properly with a very slight concave curve. 

Then I began lowering the saddle, tape the strings down at the nut and the 12th fret, loosen them, pull the pins and then pull up the saddle. 

I put 60 grit sandpaper on a flat kitchen counter and removed almost 3/32" off the bottom of the saddle, a bit more on the treble side. 

This took 3 repeats, I prefer to go slowly and not take too much saddle off, third time I got it exactly where I wanted it.

 

The guitar plays beautifully now but there is still a small improvement coming. ALWAYS do any adjustments to the nut LAST. 

It's a tiny bit high, not much but taking it down that small amount on each string will make the guitar play perfectly. 

The intonated saddle is pretty accurate, it's in tune up and down the neck. 

 

I'm looking forward to playing out with this one!

[Larryz]

Kuru, I just ordered a set of 10-48's with a wound 22 on the 3rd string.  I've been searching for a set of polished acoustic strings for a long time and finally found a set.  They are in the mail, and I'll know more in a few days on how well they work. Polished strings reduce finger noise and squeak for recording and performing.  I've been using 10-50's with an 18 wound 3rd so I'm hoping the new gauge will work out and the bass 48 will not be too light...😎

[KuruPrionz]

2 hours ago, Larryz said:

Kuru, I just ordered a set of 10-48's with a wound 22 on the 3rd string.  I've been searching for a set of polished acoustic strings for a long time and finally found a set.  They are in the mail, and I'll know more in a few days on how well they work. Polished strings reduce finger noise and squeak for recording and performing.  I've been using 10-50's with an 18 wound 3rd so I'm hoping the new gauge will work out and the bass 48 will not be too light...😎

The set I just put on has a .22 wound and that's about as small as I care to get because the winds are so tiny and they die quickly. 

I think it was a DR set? Not all .48 strings are the same, a thin core and thicker wrap will feel looser, a thicker core and thin wrap will feel tighter. 

The .48 on this set feels nice to me but I prefer to turn my amps up and use a light touch, the tone is better and you have more options at your fingertips instead of on the floor (pedals? We don't need no stinking pedals!!!! ) 😇

[Larryz]

Kuru, I use a 3rd string wound 18 on all my electric guitars.  I like the bending ability on the 3rd even though I only use half step bends for the most part. The 22 on the acoustic doesn't scare me but I would prefer a 20.  I have no choice on the polished acoustic set I just ordered so I'll have to see how the 22 works... I have had good luck running pure nickel wound 18's in Rollerwound GHS sets.  The polished acoustic set is 10 14 22 28 38 48 Phosphor Bronze Polished and made in Argentina by Magma.  Looking forward to delivery this week hopefully...🤠👍

[KuruPrionz]

42 minutes ago, Larryz said:

Kuru, I use a 3rd string wound 18 on all my electric guitars.  I like the bending ability on the 3rd even though I only use half step bends for the most part. The 22 on the acoustic doesn't scare me but I would prefer a 20.  I have no choice on the polished acoustic set I just ordered so I'll have to see how the 22 works... I have had good luck running pure nickel wound 18's in Rollerwound GHS sets.  The polished acoustic set is 10 14 22 28 38 48 Phosphor Bronze Polished and made in Argentina by Magma.  Looking forward to delivery this week hopefully...🤠👍

Got it. I've been using 10-46 on electric guitar with a 17 plain for a LONG time. I used to use the Ernie Ball Power Slinky set which was (I think) 11-48.

I've switched to D'Addario strings, I like them. I've got a 10-47 acoustic set in the new XS series coming via Players Circle points, will go on the Epiphone. 

That has a wound G, I prefer those for acoustic guitar. The unwound strings don't seem to intonate as well on an acoustic.

 

I had the DR set from an estate sale thing but the 1st and 2nd string both have some corrosion on them, not uncommon up here in the rainy Northwest. 

 

I've used them to do the setup on the guitar, today I cut the nut slots just a bit deeper. It isn't much but it makes a big difference in how the guitar plays in the "cowboy chords" and it also improves intonation for chords like F, Dmin and Bb. To do the setup, I've tuned and loosened the strings probably 8 times. None of them broke, that's nice. Still, I don't trust them to last after that ordeal. Doesn't matter, I've got the Epiphone playiing really well and I like it a lot. 

 

Depending on how the 22 is made it may not be too much different from the 18. If the core is small and the winds are not so small it might feel almost the same and last longer. 

 

[Larryz]

2 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

 

 

I had the DR set from an estate sale thing but the 1st and 2nd string both have some corrosion on them, not uncommon up here in the rainy Northwest. 

 

 

 

Juststrings.com sells singles. When I order my 10-50 GHS pure nickel Rollerwounds, for a couple of extra bucks, I get a 10 and 13 (1st and 2nd) strings by Elixir.  They are made with special alloy that prevents rust and corrosion on the plain strings.  Makes the whole set last a long time...😎

[surfergirl]

I lean a little towards the treble side, so I thought what about an unwound 4th string. Bad idea.

 

https://youtu.be/Bzgiu5E-uN8

[KuruPrionz]

1 hour ago, Larryz said:

Juststrings.com sells singles. When I order my 10-50 GHS pure nickel Rollerwounds, for a couple of extra bucks, I get a 10 and 13 (1st and 2nd) strings by Elixir.  They are made with special alloy that prevents rust and corrosion on the plain strings.  Makes the whole set last a long time...😎

 

D'Addario seals their sets in a corrosion resistant plastic bag. About 4 years back Guitar Center had a Christmas deal with a dozen sets for $30 and I bought $60 worth. 

I still have half a dozen sets of those, every single string I've used so far has been in brand new condition. It's one of the reasons I switched to them, no corrosion - period. 

 

Add in the Players Circle points I get for each set of strings - which has meant several sets of free strings with free shipping, including a couple of sets of bass strings and all the free strings are also good for points towards more strings. Plus, as a guitar tech and having a friend who is still experimenting with bass strings and gives me the used ones, I've sent about 9 pounds of used strings back to D'Addario for their recycling program and I get points (more free strings) for those too.

 

It's just a win in my book, the strings have been consistently excellent too. I didn't like the ground-wound bass strings but at least they were free and I recycled them. They keep making them so somebody likes them. 

 

No affiliation, just a great company to work with on all levels. 

[KuruPrionz]

1 hour ago, surfergirl said:

I lean a little towards the treble side, so I thought what about an unwound 4th string. Bad idea.

 

https://youtu.be/Bzgiu5E-uN8

The 4th string experiement from the video sounded kinda weird. 

That doesn't mean it couldn't be used for evil instead of good!

[Larryz]

SurferGirl, I didn't like the sound of the plain 4th string in the video, but I did like the fact that you posted it to give us an idea as to what it would sound like LoL! 👍

[Larryz]

Follow up:  The new acoustic 10-48 strings (with the 22 wound 3rd) arrived last night, and I put on a set this morning to give them a try.  I'll give them 5 stars for now and will see how long they last before locking in that rating.  They are made by Magma in Argentina and can be found at Magmastrings.com.  They are "Flat Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Guitar" strings and only come in 10-48's.  They are round wound polished down to smooth on a hex core.  Similar to flatwound strings for electric guitars but they do not sound dull and are nice and bright on my acoustic unplugged.  Plugged in, they sound great with nice bass on a 48 set!  I played about 15 songs and they did not turn my fingers black at all which is great for uncoated strings. Very smooth and fast feel...

 

They came in a sealed pack to avoid corrosion and then each string was also in a sealed package (except for the 1st string).  There is absolutely no finger noise or squeak!  The 22 wound 3rd is pretty stout and not an easy bender.  It will work just fine for me as my bends are all half steps these days.  Intonation stayed perfect on all 6 strings on my Taylor.  They run $16 bucks a set.  I got mine on Amazon and bought a 3 pack bundle at $14 bucks a set ($42 bucks).  I have two steal string acoustics and this will leave me a spare set.  I've been looking for polished acoustic strings for a very long time.  Now I'm a happy camper!  😎👍

 

 

[Larryz]

2nd follow up:  The hex cores are a little stiff, but I still like the acoustic set of 11-48's.  A friend just emailed me that he found a set of 12's on Walmart so he's going to give them a try.  I also found a set of electric 11-50's Magma stainless steel flat electric strings in the same polished design with hex cores.  I have 3 sets ordered on Amazon for $15 bucks a set.  They come with two 3rd strings, so you have a choice of a 22 wound or 18 plain.  😎