Fender Showmaster

zeppelin4ever · #1 04-05-2006, 11:12 PM

What do you guys think of the Fender Showmaster HH guitar. It's got two Seymor Duncan Humbuckers and an arch top. Is it a good guitar?

On a side note would the two Humbuckers be able to nail a Jimmy Page sound.

**elcid** · #2 04-05-2006, 11:26 PM

Is that the Korean one with the flame maple top?
I played one and the neck felt weird.
If you really want the Jimmy Page sounds just buy a regular Tele like we mentioned last time, or a Les Paul and break your left hand and play away.

zeppelin4ever · #3 04-05-2006, 11:43 PM

Thanks for posting if u don't mind me asking is the les paul standard good?

**elcid** · #4 04-06-2006, 12:43 AM

Depends who you ask
I have one and it's not my favorite guitar, but there's nothing wrong with it.
I prefer my classic and Custom.

ibanezcollector · #5 04-06-2006, 12:53 AM

elcid hit it on the head

its all perception and feeling.. Just cause Jimmy used one doesnt mean you have to, or that you will like it.

I love Stevie Ray Vaughan but buying his signature strat isnt going to make me sound like him or even play like him..

Its good to have idols and to have inspiration from someone but no sense in wasting money on something if it doesnt feel right or sound good to you..

Buy a guitar that feels right to you, comfortable, playable, design wise, and then work on obtaining the chops and the tone.

My 2 cents

ippon20 · #6 04-06-2006, 09:28 AM

I used to think that it was all about the equip SRV used, then I saw him play a 12 string on Unplugged (Satch was on there too). It was then that you realize Stevies tone comes about 40% from his left hand and 60% from his right hand (pick attacks). It's also pretty humbling knowing that he was really "thinking" about what the song sounded like 3 to 4 bars ahead of what he was playing to make sure it would flow evenly. In other words stick to Ibanezcollectors advice and get what is good for you, then try to get the tone you want (heck you may even find something you like better).

red5 · #7 04-06-2006, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeppelin4ever

Thanks for posting if u don't mind me asking is the les paul standard good?

The LP Standard will nail the classic LP tones better than a Custom (due to pickups and fretboard wood) and much better than a Classic (due to the pickups).

The Classic stock pickups are as monotoned as you will ever get. They rock hard with loads of distortion but their cleans are very weak and that's putting it nicely.... I replaced the pickups in my Classic, but I do kind of miss the over-the-top distortion and pinch harmonics the old pickups will do, but the cleans of the BurstbuckerT pickups are still much better than the distortion with the 500T/496Rs.

However, I would suggest getting a Classic and replacing pickups because they are lighter and their neck is significantly thinner (you can get a standard with the same neck now too, a "60s neck"). The 498T/490Rs are fairly versitile and will cover most the classic Les Paul tones and can gain up a little more.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ibanezcollector

I love Stevie Ray Vaughan but buying his signature strat isnt going to make me sound like him or even play like him..

I own a Marshall Major, SRVs favorite amp. I also did own a strat and have 13-58s on it, just like SRV. There were definitely some similarities in the sound, but it did sound significantly enough different that if you took a SRV clip and then recorded me playing the same thing, you would not fool a 98% deaf 110 year old person into thinking that I was SRV.

...that's also the amp that Jimmy Page used for years too, and the same thing holds true with my Les Paul (with BurstbuckerTs, PAF replicas) and the Major. Sounds a little closer to Jimmy Page's live tone for all good reason - he used some damn good micing in the studio to get the tones you hear on the studio albums, and from 1970 until the late 70s his live amp was a Major and his guitar was almost always a Les Paul where in the studio, he used Voxs, Telecasters, Danelectros, Les Pauls Marshall Majors, Marshall 100 or 50 watters... whatever he had sitting around.

But now for a Gary Moore tone.... I think Gary Moore's tone on his version of "The Messiah Will Come Again" is most what my Les Paul-Major sounds like.

You should find out what works for you. You're not going to want to play just Led Zeppelin remember. You might want to through some Deep Purple or Black Sabbath in there as well.... or Whitesnake or whatever. You can get a good Led Zeppelin tone on a JCM 800 or 900 too and add a bit more gain and do later tones for you too, or use an old Fender which will be cleaner but with some more presence (more like Jimmy Page's pre-Marshall days live tone).. I've heard someone playing The Rover through a 5150 on a strat and that worked. And the little 1x12" Fender Blues Jr will crank up for nice Zeppelin tones as well on a budget. There are lots of options.

And a little more of this novel.... Around the time I bought my Marshall Major, I was actually going to get a JCM 900 of 800 figuring they were cheaper and had more gain to them over a reissue of an old Marshall since they don't sound the same and you need extra gain before they start to sound acceptable. I just happened to find a Major at a good price so I bought it, and as it turns out, I happened to like the amp much more about 4 or 5 years after I bought it as it worked for a lot more than a classic rock tone - it sounds killer for any tone up to as much gain as I can get out of it at my hearing's expense. There was a point where I almost sold it to buy a high gain head, but I am so glad that I did not! My point is things do change and you might want other tones as well.

ChopTart · #8 04-06-2006, 06:52 PM

On another note to add on to what red said, in addition to all the gear differences specified, humbucker type makes a big difference. There are literally hundreds of combinations of humbuckers you can have, and each one is so different from the next, you can't say "humbuckers will nail a JP tone". I'm not sure what pups Page was using, but they sounded like a good glassy tone, but other times really warm and punchy. This is probably due to his changing instruments on recordings.

Generally LP's have a warm, rich tone (accentuated by the deep body) that can cover a wide range
SG's have more chunk and crunch to their sound, especially the low end
Single coil instruments have a glassy, bell-like tone

Prior advice in mind, I would reccomend pups that have Burstbucker-type qualities. Hear great things about those.

Just remember, tone starts with the fingers

ibanezcollector · #9 04-06-2006, 08:10 PM

SRV didnt just use one amp either he daisy chained them.. Just for the record and modified amps were def in there, including a few VERY RARE Dumble amps..

His tone was him, he had a soul to him that was his and his only.. Often duplicated but NEVER reproduced the same.

As for Pages tone which im going to get flamed to hell for this, I thought was mediocre at best. A good marshall and a mahogany double humbucker guitar would fit the bill..

again Its one thing to like and be inspired by a person but best way to develop yourself as a player is to find your own unique tone.

Demogorgos · #10 04-06-2006, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ippon20

I used to think that it was all about the equip SRV used, then I saw him play a 12 string on Unplugged (Satch was on there too). It was then that you realize Stevies tone comes about 40% from his left hand and 60% from his right hand (pick attacks). It's also pretty humbling knowing that he was really "thinking" about what the song sounded like 3 to 4 bars ahead of what he was playing to make sure it would flow evenly.

Yeah, those were the days. I remember composing a song when SRV died. It was called "Why wasn't it Clapton?" The man was awesome! What a loss!

zeppelin4ever · #11 04-07-2006, 12:02 AM

I see what u guys mean I don't want just a jimmy page tone thanks for the posts. Better go try out more guitars.

Shredcows · #12 04-07-2006, 02:40 AM

Just to add on about the humbuckers that choptart mentioned...

Try to get hums with a lower DC resistance... as in lower output hums.

The higher the output, the more compressed you get, and when your base tone is compressed, it kind of defeats the purpose of playing thru a tube amp.

As some of them have mentioned, them classic rock/blues heroes are all about pick attack, dynamics, vibrato, dynamics, phrasing, dynamics... and you would want a hum that can give you dynamics.

Earthrug · #13 04-09-2006, 09:42 AM

I think people blow SRV way out of proportion. He was a great modern bluesrock player but thats it. SRV loved the blues and poured "his all" into his playing but his tone as cool as it was is nothing more than a variation of Albert Kings Big Solid blues tone mixed with some Albert Collings sting and Jimi Hendrix fire. You folks need to get over it.

ibanezcollector · #14 04-09-2006, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Earthrug

I think people blow SRV way out of proportion. He was a great modern bluesrock player but thats it. SRV loved the blues and poured "his all" into his playing but his tone as cool as it was is nothing more than a variation of Albert Kings Big Solid blues tone mixed with some Albert Collings sting and Jimi Hendrix fire. You folks need to get over it.

OMG haha

his tone is and will always be one of the holy grails of modern guitar. People search for it forever and try 1000's of things and yet they never obtain it.

Correct me if im wrong but when the words guitar and tone are brought up I can almost guarentee Albert King and Collings will never EVER be brought up. To most guitarists they probably arent even aware who they are.

Earthrug · #15 04-09-2006, 12:08 PM

Albert king and Albert Collins are Blues tone LEGENDS/ MASTERS and are very well known to anyone that really listens to the Blues. They will eventually get brought up in any serious conversation about Blues, Blues music and Blues tone. You dont get nick' named the "Master of the Telecaster" because people dont know who you are.