tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850403001392456516.post7289410763962978256..comments2022-03-24T06:44:55.958-07:00Comments on Geek Versus Guitar: Recent Developments in Guitar TechnologyPaul R. Pottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401509483200614806noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850403001392456516.post-6085320653353310842009-06-18T09:43:15.853-07:002009-06-18T09:43:15.853-07:00rubken, I think I mostly agree with you. Being abl...rubken, I think I mostly agree with you. Being able to get a guitar that is _mostly_ very playable for cheap has certainly enabled a lot of players to get started at much lower cost. But with everything so cheap, they may never find out that a little more attention to detail (some fret leveling and crowning, a good setup) can still make a big difference. Vendors at the low end all find places to cut corners, and so make guitars that are frustrating because they are almost really good. Like you said, tin foil and weak pickups; I picked up a Daisy Rock guitar for $75 and the fret work is amazing, but the setup was terrible, the nut is made of soft plastic that kills the tone, and it started shorting all the time because the output jack was so loose and flimsy. It becomes a problem if good instruments get squeezed out, and people never learn how to tell the better instruments. Luthiers who really do care and put in a lot of hand labor to make their instruments better then get laughed out of the guitar shops because they can't compete on price. (But folks _do_ pay a lot for "collectible" guitars that aren't really that well-built; I"m looking at you, Paul Reed Smith!)Paul R. Pottshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04401509483200614806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850403001392456516.post-6802942155050988872009-06-18T08:15:19.915-07:002009-06-18T08:15:19.915-07:00The rise of CNC routing and carving is a great thi...The rise of CNC routing and carving is a great thing. The flood of lookalike guitars now on the market mostly come from the same factories that make the wooden parts of your Gibsons, Fenders, Ibanezes and so on. As a result you can pick up a decent guitar for buttons. The pickups will be weak and the hardware will be made of tin-foil but all that can be replaced.<br /><br />The indicator of this improvement in manufacture is the action on these guitars. 20 years ago a cheap guitar would have stupidly high action, now a £60 guitar can be set up like a £600 one.rubkenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18073923534647430463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850403001392456516.post-10613647924174164252009-03-26T11:29:00.000-07:002009-03-26T11:29:00.000-07:00Please note comments are moderated -- and I approv...Please note comments are moderated -- and I approve all reasonable comments that are not obvious spam. You don't need to re-try if your comments don't show up immediately.Paul R. Pottshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04401509483200614806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5850403001392456516.post-28593838022048148842009-03-26T11:17:00.000-07:002009-03-26T11:17:00.000-07:00I think the point being made here is that change i...I think the point being made here is that change is everywhere. Whether we see or notice the change is another matter entirely. Even something as simple in design as a bicycle has undergone changes in materials used and the way in which the machine as a whole functions.<BR/><BR/>Small change is still change. So long as there are innovations in the way we play music or create the sounds to make music, there will always be innovators that will find new ways of making that new sound possible or even easier. You wouldn't use a timex sinclair to build a new OS anymore than you might try using a tapping technique on a washtub bass. <BR/><BR/>It's all about the changes.rumblecatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16955754209750457322noreply@blogger.com