What were they thinking?

bbill335

Philly_Q said:

They'll be making shitty auto-tuned digital dance music and thinking guitars, what the fuck?   

"I hear you're buying a synthesizer and an arpeggiator and are throwing your computer out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Yaz record.

I hear that you and your band have sold your guitars and bought turntables.
I hear that you and your band have sold your turntables and bought guitars."

professorben

Given that I own one, fan fret and extended range guitars, 8/9+ string guitars. 

I think things are coming to a kind of logical conclusion regarding low tunings, with drop C now seen as a fairly high tuning in metal circles, there will be a realisation that just tuning low doesn’t automatically make everything heavy. 

In metal at least I think people will look back on really low tuning like they do chorus on clean tones in the 80’s 

EricTheWeary

Relics.
Still buying new valve amps.
PRS Silver Sky - £2k for something that looks like a Harley Benton reject, in twenty years time how they'll mock us for this folly.

phil_b

guitar gear youtube channels

HarrySeven

I think it’s a really interesting question.

From my own perspective, technology in the ‘80’s promised a radical new world - just look at the Roland GR-700/G-707, Stepp DG-1, SynthAxe, Bond Electraglide, fridge-sized rack systems for those uber-processed tones, Floyds on everything, blahblahblah.

Although (some of) the core ideas behind the above have survived and evolved, that promised techno-revolution never *quite* materialised/swept away those boring old Strats and Les Pauls...

crunchman

phil_b said:

guitar gear youtube channels

Thanks for that.  Just imagining Chappers with no hair.

wrinkleygit

I’m just hoping it will be Eggles 

maltingsaudio

Valves will be totally unavailable and we’ll be wondering why all the marshalls etc we still have do t sound like they used to!

bluechargeboy

Guitars plugged into amps with an actual wire!! The very idea!!

(Our first VHS video recorder had a wired remote...)

tony99

rather than listen to music we'll inject it intravenously

Sassafras

Gibson, the way they're going.

Funkfingers

professorben said:

there will be a realisation that just tuning low doesn’t automatically make everything heavy.

I recall a YouTube video presentation in which some chap set out to prove exactly that. He took this to the extent of widening nut slots as the strings got bigger to accommodate the lower tunings. 

The chap would play the same riff through the same amp at the same settings. Restring, retune, rinse and repeat.

To me, things sounded the same, just transposed down - very like they might if a pianist transposed to accommodate the range of a vocalist.

Stevepage

Evertune bridges. "They really cut 1/3 of the body out just to stay in tune?!"

professorben

“They really thought the species of wood affected the tone?”

DrJazzTap

Dumble stuff and valve amps.

Dominic

That there were venues that hosted live bands !!

professorben

Dominic said:

That there were venues that hosted live bands !!

That people actually used to go out to see bands. 

OilCityPickups

earwighoney said:

OilCityPickups said:

earwighoney said:

scrumhalf said:

Given enough time we'll have period-correct re-issues of period-correct re-issues.

I think that kind of already exists.  I've seen reissues of Dry-Z pickups, that themselves were reissues of PAF's AKAIK.  Maybe I'm missing something, maybe @OilCityPickups Ash could fill in the details. 

I'm actually making a set of Dry-Z clones at the moment for a customer ... with all the factory information and a reference set. 
Let me tell you the Dry-Z is actually nothing like a PAF in the so called 'important' details inside, even if it produces a PAF like tone. It shows that good design can approximate a sound very well even if 'traditional' materials aren't used. I may well go on to make these a product line.  

Thanks for the info Ash, and pleased to be corrected. 

I've found a bit of info about the specs for Dry Z pickups, rough cast A3's, maple/mahogany spacers and a few other things but I can't find any info about the wire.  I presume it's AWG42 like PAF's? 

Back to Japanese pickups, even if some of the guitars weren't of the best quality there were some truly exceptional MIJ pickups eg Teisco, Guyatone and the Dry Z's. 

The biggest difference is they they were wound with the only wire available to the manufacturers: .0,063mm modern poly coated wire or 'polysol'. 'PAF Purity Nazis' will tell you that there is no way you can wind a PAF with poly wire and it sound 'right'. This is actually not so ... the winding pattern, tension and the turn count has to be adjusted to take account of the different wire coating ... but it's perfectly possible. True it's easier to wind a PAF that sounds period correct with PVA plain enamel wire, but the Polysol brings it's own advantages, among others: durability and long life,  

Gassage

Strymon pedals.

They'll be doorstops.

guitars4you

HarrySeven said:

I think it’s a really interesting question.

From my own perspective, technology in the ‘80’s promised a radical new world - just look at the Roland GR-700/G-707, Stepp DG-1, SynthAxe, Bond Electraglide, fridge-sized rack systems for those uber-processed tones, Floyds on everything, blahblahblah.

Although (some of) the core ideas behind the above have survived and evolved, that promised techno-revolution never *quite* materialised/swept away those boring old Strats and Les Pauls...

Looking back at certain guitar trends that were tech based - Was it the late 80's, even early 90's when the Ada MP1 or the Marshall JMP1, or the Marshall 9000 models, sat at the heart of many 19" rack assemblies - With the TC2290, Quadraverb, Korg SDD3000 etc etc - If you had the funds what about the Mesa Boogie Quad and Studio pre-amps and the huge + expensive Boogie power amp (can't recall's it name) - Then the Boogie Tri-axis followed for guys who liked rich toys

Then add midi mapping and various floor boards switching options etc  to run the above

Trying to recall the name/brand - Competitor to the Alesis Quadraverb - Not Dod/Digitech - Still 19" rack etc - Just found it - Art

Then an all singing all dancing 19" rack by Nobel - can't remember the name/model - recall a bright pink/purple frontage

Then in the 80's add the Gallien Krueger stereo combo - Almost an early version of the current Yamaha THD models - And let's not forget the Tom Scholz Rockman