Man, I have a ton of non-Fender/non-Gibson guitars. There are lots of very cool guitars that can be made well nowadays without the company having to be "top two" or even medium-sized.

Besides Fender/Squier and Gibson/Epiphone (and yes, I have some of all 4), I have Hamer USA (Special), Peavey USA (Predator "Strat," T-60, Fury I bass), Rickenbacker (620), DeArmond (Jet Star), Schecter (Tempest Special), Agile (Valkyrie II SG-type), Daisy Rock (Retro-H and Retro-H 12-string), Danelectro (Hodad w/Bigsby), Ovation (Breadwinner solidbody electric), Gretsch (Electromatic Special Jet), and even a lowly Brownsville (Choirboy-- actually a very cool guitar).

Every last one of these is gig-worthy. I have a show coming up in a couple days and even though I have USA Fenders and Gibbies available, I plan on using a MIK Epi WildKat and a MIC Gretsch. Simlarly, I played bass in church yesterday, and could've played my Fender (MIM) Jazz, but went with a Squier MIJ P-bass, with a MIK Epi Thunderbird in reserve.

[/quote] Ceri.


And the Shad-O-Tone sounds interesting too. I have an idea where I might be able to demo one...

Anyway: so am I understanding right - the tuners on the Marvin are heavier than regular ones? Is it just that they're full size tuners rather than minis, or something else? Interesting...

Cheers, Rhumba - C[/quote]

Yeah Ceri, the machines are heavier than on the Bison and Marquee and I'm not sure, on how many of my others too.
According to the specs. The Marvin as Burns vintage style machine heads, with an 18.1 ratio gearing to help retain better tuning while using the tremolo unit.
It does hold very well with excessive whammy work.
The trem arm itself is adjustable in three ways by using various tools and all settings are easy to access. First the tension can be set by tightening or relieving the springs, similar to a Strat. Second the stiffness of the swing can be set from tight too swinging loose and anything in between. Thirdly and what I like a lot is the angle of the arm is easily customised to your personal preference. Just loosen a nut, set the angle and tighten again. Very good.
Being an early sixties design and borrowing a lot from the Strat, the tone controls work in the same way as the early strats, with controls on the neck and middle pick-ups.
So I have altered mine so that I have, tone control two working on the bridge and middle pick-ups and control one working the neck pick-up. I like to have it that way and it sounds great, I am very pleased with this guitar.
Those pedals are very expensive I have to say. For a new one you could pay around 150 quid. Are they worth that? Subjective, you decide for yourself, there will be cheaper one's around.
Anyway, glad you enjoyed the pics Ceri, take care.

_________________

My other guitar is a '81 BC Rich Mockingbird Supreme. A beautiful guitar and US made, before BC Rich started going all glam on me. I prefer my Strat, but will keep the Mock because it is so darn cool.

my sandberg alterra and ibanez guitars.

cheers

Rickenbocker, PRS, Martin

I'm very impressed with my bandmate's Rickenbacker guitar -- great tone and a cool look, as well!

I've also wanted to try a Mosrite for some time, but haven't had a chance to as of yet.

I really like my Gretsch 5120

Martin acoustics

_________________
Paddle faster! I hear banjo music!

and PRS

_________________
Paddle faster! I hear banjo music!

Besides Fender and Gibson...?

Mosrite, in this opinion, the most under-rated solidbody electric on the planet.

Then, far behind but great fun, them old lawsuit era Ibanezes and silly but fun Line 6s.

'Keep thinking about a Martin or Taylor, but not that seriously.

Ihave to say I like Danelectro and Gretsch

_________________
Fender DG8
Fender MIM Sunburst Telecaster.
Fender American Vintage'52 Reissue Telecaster
Fender Frontman 212R
Fender Mini Twin
Fender Super Champ XD
Fender Champion 600

I really like my Schecter ATX. Got a lot of compliments on it at a couple of the local guitar shops. I also have my original Epi Granada E444T from when I was a kid ... and dinosaurs ruled the world!

I'm a rhythm guitar player mostly, so I always wanted a Rickenbacker as an addition to my current line-up. Maybe next time...

_________________
"...The final truth is, there is no truth..." - (from "Nice n' Neat" by the Boomtown Rats)

I've got 3 Ibanez guitars: Artcore AG75TBS (hollow); JTK2 Jet King; GAX70, and a Peavey JF2 EX (semi-hollow). I've also got a Johnson JG-622-E acoustic/electric bass. Otherwise, everything else is Gibson (2), Epiphone (4), Squier (4) and Fender (7).

I don't particularly pay attention to the name brand, or even the model, when I'm trying out a guitar. Instead, I'll pay attention to the tones I can pull out of one, on a test drive. There is one "goofy" thing I like to do, when trying out any guitar, which is to turn the tone control(s) all the way down, and the volume control(s) all the way up. If I can dig on the resulting fuzz tones, it's a guitar I'd buy.

Matt

_________________
Fast Cars & Loud Guitars!

ESP, PRS, Schecter, Dean, old school hagstrom's