U2 & Guitar Gear: Q & A

Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:[..]

The way to tell if a string is in proper intonation, is tune the open string so it's in tune, then play the note on the 12th fret of the same string, and if it also says it's in tune then you're good.

Originally posted by vanquish:What about yours Harry, does it play every note at the correct pitch if u check using an electronic tuner?

Originally posted by WojBhoy:[..]
Yeah pretty much - I'm going by my Explorer here, seeing as it's the guitar I play the most and is of the best quality. The Les Paul is an arse to tune and goes out of tune easily because of the components used, i.e. shit bridge etc. It's a Chinese-made Epiphone whereas my Explorer is a Korean-made one, and people often talk about the differences in quality between the two places of manufacture but it is very noticeable.

Originally posted by vanquish:Ic, i'm getting it set-up tommorow morning by a professional so I'll see if the international shipping has damaged its playability. I was talking to some guitar technician on the phone today and he seems to think the fact that my tuning changes depending on whether the guitar is leaning forwards or backwards is a neck problem and requires trussroad adjustment.

Another question for you, how the hell do you manage to play the damned thing standing up?
Did you reposition the mounting points for the strap?

Cos mine is unplayable with the strap, the neck is nowhere near horizontal, I can't see the fretboard (have to look in the mirror and play, which is confusing lol, or play by feel) and the strap hurts my shoulder (despite using a shoulder pad )

Originally posted by WojBhoy:[..]
I know people do reposition the mounting points - a couple of reviews that I found when first looking into buying one mentioned that he moved the 'neck-point' to in between the cutaway and the neck, and one who placed it on the reverse of the body, in similar to something such as a Casino. However, I've not changed anything, nor do I intend to for the moment - the only thing I'm considering is investing in a locking strap, because the original owner had installed locking-points and left them on when I bought it (along with the original 'points'). I sometimes find my strap slips off at the point by the neck if I elevate the angle too much when I play. The only problem I do get is that sometimes my left shoulder starts to twinge when I tune it standing up, but I put this down to the fact I'm regularly switching between 3 different-shaped/weighted guitars, and so each time I change my shoulders are having to adjust. As for actually playing it whilst standing, I have no problems whatsoever - I can't say I've ever had any problems such as what you've mentioned to be honest

Originally posted by vanquish:Oh ok, maybe i'm just wearing the strap wrong then.
So can you see the fretboard while standing up? or do you just play by feel?

Originally posted by WojBhoy:[..]
Could well be - might be worth messing around with the length to see if that makes any difference. The strap I have isn't the longest, but I have it pulled as long as possible so the guitar sits as low as it can, partly due to the fact that I've got a big frame in the torso/shoulders area, so I need it as long as possible just to make it comfortable to play. And re. playing, both - I can see the fretboard perfectly well when standing up, but often is the case that I'll memorise parts or just make stuff up, and so there's no particular need to look at the frets

EDIT - Anyone got any thoughts on the Boss ME-20 or the Korg AX-3000G? I'm looking for a decent affordable multi-FX pedal and with both retailing at £140 or so, they fit the bill - just wondered if anyone's got anything to say for or against either or know anything about 'em? I'd think they both come from good stock, as it were, but reputation alone doesn't necessarily mean it'll live up to good billing...what with all you lot yacking on about the M13, I had a look too but at £349 a time, I can't afford that, nor can the family lol

Originally posted by vanquish:[..]

Also Harry what strings do you use on your Explore, mine's probably going to have to be restrung tommorow and I dunno what type of strings it originally came with and what to replace them with.

Originally posted by vanquish:[..]

Maybe look at the Boss ME-50 as well or even the new M9 (it's practically identical to the M13 except $100 less). It would definitely be worth the extra dough though
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And I recommend you buy from eBay you'll save HEAPS, my M13 would have cost around $1200 here if I bought retail, I ended up paying $600 for it all up inc. delivery and with a replacement power supply (and it's brand new too, not used)

Actually at the time I actually thought the M13 was affordable, amateurish gear lol, if I had known it was at the serious end of the spectrum I would probably have saved the money and gone for a Zoom or Boss ME or something being a complete noob and all.

But the ME-20 is apparently quite good for a basic Multi FX unit, my friend has one and likes it and sounds good (but he does mostly your standard rock tones, not anything exotic like the Edge does)
http://www.musicradar.com/gear/all/guitars/fx/multi-fx/me-20-guitar-multiple-effects-34764/review

Also Harry what strings do you use on your Explore, mine's probably going to have to be restrung tommorow and I dunno what type of strings it originally came with and what to replace them with.