NGD... well, NUGD anyway...

[Larryz]

@KuruPrionz, Jeff Beck is truly one of the best.  I can't pick a favorite player for electric guitar, but I like John Fogerty, Scotty Moore, Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, Eric Clapton, BB King, Roy Clark, Roy Buchanan, Frank Vignola, Les Paul, Jimi, George Harrison, etc. For acoustic guitar, I can pick Tommy Emmanuel. 😎

[KuruPrionz]

47 minutes ago, Larryz said:

@KuruPrionz, Jeff Beck is truly one of the best.  I can't pick a favorite player for electric guitar, but I like John Fogerty, Scotty Moore, Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, Eric Clapton, BB King, Roy Clark, Roy Buchanan, Frank Vignola, Les Paul, Jimi, George Harrison, etc. For acoustic guitar, I can pick Tommy Emmanuel. 😎

I've seen Carlos Montoya and John Renbourn so it's hard for me to choose an acoustic guitarist!

[Caevan O’Shite]

2 hours ago, Larryz said:

In addition to my problem with the volume knob location, I don't care for the floating tremolo.  Jeff was a master with both.  My problem with the floating tremolo design (which is one of Leo's great accomplishments) is when I rest my palm on the bridge saddles it causes the guitar to go out of tune here and there.  So, I lay my tremolo plates flat on the body so they do not move when I rest my palm on the saddles, and I can't use the upward whammy bar.  They still work fine for the downward whammy and dive bombs.  I like the way Jeff played using both up and down strokes, but I like resting my palm on the saddles and play further back most of the time.  

I like ALL the different ways they can be set up- floating, flat mounted, whatever; and non-trem guitars (Les Pauls, Teles, etc.), too! I love 'em ALL.

Now, I know what you mean about floating trems being easily put out of tune when you rest your hand on 'em and/or damp and mute at the bridge-saddles. I got pretty good at not having that happen when I played a Strat-style with a floating whammy bridge for years and years.

But what was harder yet was how other strings could go flat when I bent one up while holding others; I developed a way of slightly bending them all up a little, which in turn meant I had to bend the bent string up even more to hit the desired pitch. Or, I would press back on the bridge a little, or sometimes try to hold the arm in place. I tried a Hipshot Tremsetter; it was a great product, but I needed there to be no 'bump' for up and down trem warble on that guitar, at that time. I had a learning curve when I went to the Les Paul after years of all that!  
 

  

2 hours ago, Larryz said:

BTW, I tried the DR Blues strings that you recommend on my LP and LP jr. in 10-46 gauge.  I liked them so well that I'm cutting off new sets of Magmas and replacing them with DR Blues on all of my electrics and DR Sunbeams on my 2 acoustics...The DR's really sound alive and I can put up with a little squeak here and there.  The round cores are more flexible than the hex cores and they bend easier with less tension.  😎

I'm very glad that you're happy with those! Those in 11's are the ONLY strings I'll put on my Les Paul, and I like them in 10's or 11's for a Tele or Strat. I also love the Sunbeams Acoustic strings, too, in 13's.

It turns out that my three favorite brands and types of electric guitar strings all happen to have round-cores and solid/pure-nickel wrap on their wound-strings: DR Pure Blues, Thomastik-Infeld BeBop "Jazz Round-Wound", and Thomastik-Infeld Swing Flat-Wound.

[surfergirl]

I've used Pure Blues, for some reason I prefer nickel wound. Now trying out D'addario NYXLs and XTEs. Next I'm  going to try out some DR Veritas. 

[desertbluesman]

7 hours ago, Larryz said:

My problem with the floating tremolo design (which is one of Leo's great accomplishments) is when I rest my palm on the bridge saddles it causes the guitar to go out of tune here and there. 

I lock the tremolo down immediately upon setting a new guitar up the first time. I am a stickler for keeping the guitar in tune for as long as possible in any set. The tremolo is a useful tool for many players. Jeff beck was an outstanding example of that, however I can bend whatever strings I wish with my fretting hand.

[desertbluesman]

2 hours ago, surfergirl said:

I've used Pure Blues, for some reason I prefer nickel wound. Now trying out D'addario NYXLs and XTEs. Next I'm  going to try out some DR Veritas. 

I use D'addario XL110's on every guitar that I own. Been using them for 40+ years and have had no complaints for tone and feel so far.

 

I even used the D'addario XL110's on my acoustic guitars when I had them and played them

[Caevan O’Shite]

3 hours ago, surfergirl said:

I've used Pure Blues, for some reason I prefer nickel wound. Now trying out D'addario NYXLs and XTEs. Next I'm  going to try out some DR Veritas. 

It can be really cool to find just the right string brand, type, and gauges for one given guitar, and possibly find different ones that best suit another guitar, bringing out the best of each.

[KuruPrionz]

Well. the gig I was going to sit in on tonight has been cancelled.

Which is OK, I've got a few more tweaks to make.

Missing playing the scalloped fretboard though, that's another world.

[Larryz]

5 hours ago, desertbluesman said:

I lock the tremolo down immediately upon setting a new guitar up the first time. I am a stickler for keeping the guitar in tune for as long as possible in any set. The tremolo is a useful tool for many players. Jeff beck was an outstanding example of that, however I can bend whatever strings I wish with my fretting hand.

+1 I'm not really a whammy guy unless I'm playing a few surf tunes with my old buds.  I have one guitar with a Bigsby and I find myself using it on the last chord of just about every song.  For some reason I like the subtle ending effect.  I had an Eric Clapton Custom Shop Strat.  They come with a block of wood just like Eric uses blocking the tremolo.  It could be removed if one wishes, and they threw a spare whammy bar in the case.  I sold it to my brother as I did not care for the "V" neck after playing it for an hour or so. I will buy it back if he ever wants to sell it. 😎

[Larryz]

9 hours ago, Caevan O’Shite said:

I like ALL the different ways they can be set up- floating, flat mounted, whatever; and non-trem guitars (Les Pauls, Teles, etc.), too! I love 'em ALL.

Now, I know what you mean about floating trems being easily put out of tune when you rest your hand on 'em and/or damp and mute at the bridge-saddles. I got pretty good at not having that happen when I played a Strat-style with a floating whammy bridge for years and years.

I'm very glad that you're happy with those! Those in 11's are the ONLY strings I'll put on my Les Paul, and I like them in 10's or 11's for a Tele or Strat. I also love the Sunbeams Acoustic strings, too, in 13's.

It turns out that my three favorite brands and types of electric guitar strings all happen to have round-cores and solid/pure-nickel wrap on their wound-strings: DR Pure Blues, Thomastik-Infeld BeBop "Jazz Round-Wound", and Thomastik-Infeld Swing Flat-Wound.

+1 I love playing different guitars too...Nylon strings, Steel string acoustics, Strats, LP's, Taylor T5 and T3B, Archtop semi and hollow bodies too.  I find myself playing without the tremolos for the most part. I run 10-46 gauge on my Electric guitars and 10-48 gauge on the acoustic guitars. I like keeping the guitars with almost the same gauge for both acoustic and electric. I'm getting used to playing different guitars with different width fretboards too.  I play mostly rhythm guitar to back my vocals so I'm not bending a lot.  I appreciate the DR round core strings just in case I do have to take a lead and bend a few notes.  I used Thomastik flat wounds for a few years until they just got too expensive.  I get the DR's for about $7 bucks a set! 😎

[Caevan O’Shite]

On 9/23/2023 at 9:13 PM, KuruPrionz said:

Well. the gig I was going to sit in on tonight has been cancelled.

Which is OK, I've got a few more tweaks to make.

Missing playing the scalloped fretboard though, that's another world.

I am sorry to learn that>

And sorry we so highjacked your thread...

Hmmm, maybe the Assassin could be a scalloping project... ?

[KuruPrionz]

32 minutes ago, Caevan O’Shite said:

I am sorry to learn that>

And sorry we so highjacked your thread...

Hmmm, maybe the Assassin could be a scalloping project... ?

No biggie, somewhere around 3,000 gigs in so missing one here and there is just part of the deal. 

I've come to the conclusion that the Assassin isn't something I need. I leveled, crowned and polished the frets, set it up and cleaned it. 

It's nearly like new in many respects but it is a cheap guitar. I was drawn to the light weight but it's just not my jam. So, local craigslist for $75, we'll see what happens. Guitars come and go around here, some of them get to stay. 😇