DetroitBlues

I have to differ on both counts, sorry mate. With youtube you get someone else playing and their sound, recording techniques, etc.

On to Harmony Central. Notice how 80% of the reviewers have to spout about what other gear they use. Like their other aquisitions in some way qualify them to make a decision.

I personaly think reviews should just be an explanation of what the thing in question does. All the ratings thing should be dropped. Were all so individual as players I find its pointless for me to recommend nearly anything to someone else.

On a side note I was reading a interview with Tim from BareKnuckles pickups earlier. (anything to quell the waiting for em to be delivered pains ). He was saying that he was talking to another pickup manufacturer, who then went spouting how all the bareknuckles pickup parts were far eastern imports. Right at the same time a load of reviews of his pickups on harmony central went saying the exact same thing. If you look at the reviews you can spot the 'plants' easily. They completely coflict with the other reviews.

The only review to trust is your own.

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No no and no

If ya ever need anymore...you should see my bookmarks...lol...I'll need to store 'em on mediafire pretty soon.

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

i have to agree about what someone said above .

the "collector " are often not even players or very very poor player . their lawyers , well fortunate , or single guy that what to impress the whole family by buying the "top of the line " but cant link 2 basic chords correctly . they hang around with the seller in the store , talk , watch the high end guitars .

my uncle is like that , own 2 martin 000-28 eric clapton , and a stratocaster clapton .. but he cant even play . but when it come to specs and model ... he know the whole thing . hes proud to show the guitar in front of the whole family but when it come to playing ... LOL . but he read the whole catalog and try to impress everyone by having the "real custom shop stratocaster " . he like to listen to himself when he talk about all that knowledge .


i hate these kind of guys perosnnaly . they enter a guitar store and buy the most expensive just to have a "strat" .. a rock icon . they know everything about their guitar but cant even play .

les paul , stratocaster , marshall amp have always attract non-player .. its the big standard "rock icon" .

that raise the price like hell . they know they gonna find a "fish" whose gonna buy the 2500 $ stratocaster relic knowing nothing . you can sense these guys as soon as they enter the store .



perosnnaly i dont "collect " anything in my life ... so i dont care if my guitare is the relic or a new model . i dont care if my strat sound like a vintage of the 70s . with my HSS im not trying to reproduce any strat tone .

i like fender cause its the best playing guitar ive found , the one that feel right for me .. smooth playing . i play the american standard hss and its perfect for me .

i love when my uncle talk about the "true strat tone" when he cant even plunk a G chord correctlyl lol . i like these non player folk who knows all the specs and models but dont have the commitment to sit down and practice .


but its their choice so i respect that ... but i hate being told that my american standard is the "basic" american like it was a squier just because they can afford the 2500 $ special run and want to make me american standard look like a "mass production " as if it compare to a guitar built in china comparing to his custom shop .

bottom line : yes their done by machine and not by hand .. but you know what ... i trust the machines ... its more accurate than the human IMO . the machine work as great friday late in the afternoon than tuesday or monday morning . it drilled and the die-cut his better imo .

back in the 70s ... some strat came out of the factory and werent that great . not all 70s strat were built perfectly back in the days . some had major flaws in them .


i trust machine and mass production . but thats my opinion . as long as quality control in good at the end .. but anyway the guitar is warranty by fender .. they exchange if you dont like it . whats not to like . by machine they can bring you a guitar 1/2 the production cost as it was before . 999 $ for the standard is a decent price IMO .

Your point does make sense. I guess I can somewhat agree with you. I do however think youtube and harmony central are a start when you are thinking about something new or different then what you have. I also think reviews on Guitar Center or Musicians Friend are edited or some bad reviews are omitted. But as you said, people brag about their gear, I guess my own little blurb at the bottom kind of does that too. Those same people talk about how bad an item is while hamming up how great their stuff is. Plus how they play, what they play, and how they record it all make a difference. Here's how I use reviews...

When I get the itch for a new pedal, amp, guitar, etc.... Usually, I get a little specific, wonder about quality, features, tone, and so on. I will check Guitar Center or Musicians Friend, look it up on Harmony Central or Youtube for individual reviews. That's when I'll decide to go and try it out with my own ears. Usually, I pull down a similiar guitar and amp with a pedal I want. Or guitar, amp, whatever I'm jones-in for. Then I make up my mind to buy it. But I do not like to buy things new. If I don't like it and can't return it, I'll eat the depreciation value of the item. So I check Ebay and Craigslist for the item used. I'll use Guitar Center Used Gear section to figure out a good price. That's how I'm approaching this.

BTW, I'm looking for a looper/sampler pedal now. Trying to find a good deal on a digitech or boss right now...

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"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


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+1
Musician's Friend said that 2008 design MIA standard was the best Stratocaster Fender ever made. Now its the American Special. Next time, it will be whatever promo Fender is doing at the time. Guitar mags never publish negative reviews.

DetroitBlues

Your absolutely correct we do need a reference point, hence the validity of other peoples input. I think we put too much store in others opinions and not enough in our own.
As for a looper trust Miami Mike, that guy knows his onions on that stuff. I'm just a dummy noise maker.


JnastyNE

I did dig out an old guitar mag and see a middle of the road review on the robotronix self tuning system. Is it the one the gibson robot uses? It got 3/5. The mag was two years old though. Thats the worst review I've seen in years. They scored it poorly because the interface was awkward.

I honestly think that review was biased because the reviewer didnt like the idea of a self tuning guitar (it was fitted to an american standard btw ). Tey even said it worked flawlessly.

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No no and no

Too bad we weren't all rich! Which just buy the custom shop guitars then.... Hey, does anyone know how to post pic's? I changed the hardware on my strat to gold (tremolo, screws, input jack, strap locks, tuning machines, and string tree)

_________________
"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


facebook.com/313DBC