: Man it is tough to get feedback on this forum. Well, here goes...

: I am looking for some opinions on the highly praised Sansamp PSA-1 and POD Pro preamps. I have a Johnson Millennium 250W head and though it sounds pretty damn good, I have heard the PSA-1 is simply amazing and that the POD Pro is also superb.

: Hope to hear from some of you. If you want to hear how my Johnson sounds recorded direct, see my mp3's at

: www.geocities.com/b_huether/recordings.html

: Lots of people have told me they love the sound I get, but I still think something is missing...hopefully one of these preamps is the answer!!

: -Brian

well a sansamp will give you that sansamp sound and not much else.a pod sounds like a million amps-none of them particularly great.with a pod youll get adequate tone with lots of options.

id reccoimend a mesa boogie v-twin pedal because for the price of a pod youll get oodles of creamy rich tone and sparkling clean sounds.
ill take a v-twsin over a pod any day of the week!!

: Hello Folks

: 100% beginner here. What guitar(exact model please) would you suggest to a person who has never picked up a guitar?Thank for the replies.

: Got cash and anxious,
: PurpleDude

I'm afraid there's no right answer to this. It's like someone learning to drive saying what's the right car for me to learn on. Well, a Ferrari probably isn't your best bet, and nor is a 1922 Oldsmobile, but between those extremes there's more possibilities than you'd ever know. Try out a few - at guitar shops, or that belong to friends - and see what feels right to you. Have a look at what the people play that you like listening to. To some extent, you could even say, well what do I like the look of? Some people love big, hollow body jazz guitars. Others like sleek, pointy-headstock things. Neither would be unsuitable for a beginner, necessarily, though one might be better suited to what you play. Which is the next question: what sort of noise do you want to make? If you want to come back with an idea of your likes and dislikes musically, who you like, what guitars you've seen people playing and like the look of (or the people themselves if you don't know the type of guitars they're playing) we'll see what we can do. If yu go to a decent shop, though, and don't try and buy the absolute cheapest thing there, you'll probably come up with something that will be perfectly acceptable for learning on. Once you start gigging you might want to trade up. Hope this stream of consciousness has been of some use. My wife says I blabber on sometimes...

It's pretty damned hard. Like steel to cut through. Increases sustain and presence. I believe Rickenbacker use it on the 'Cheyenne' line of guitars and basses, with a light oil finish... gorgeous!

: i have been playing guitar seriously for about a year now! i've gotten a lot better and joined a band so i figure maybe its time for me to get an upgrade! i play with a squier right now! i was going to get a gibson les paul studio! its $1100 brand new...then i saw a Paul Reed Smith for about the same price but used! from what i hear Paul Reed Smith is like one of the greatest guitars you can even get! i was just wondering if they're that great? and does anyone know the scale length? is the scale length closer to a gibson or more fender? i'm guessing gibson but not positive! i'd appreciate any input! thanks a lot!

: ~Rob

To answer your question, PRS guitars are very good, and have a somewhat similar tone to Les Pauls, mostly because I'm pretty sure the guy who started Gibson Co. is one of the founders of PRS. In my opinion, PRS guitars have a more easily playble neck than a Les Paul, but it depends on the type, as always. My questoin to you would be if you think you need that nice of a guitar after 1 year of experience. I have a friend that went from a squier to a Gibson LP studio, but that was after about 5 years o playing. If you are sure you are going to be playing for a while and that you are getting steadily better, then a Les Paul or a PRS would be a good investment. But if you can learn to sound great on a piece O' crap guitar (Namely your squire), then you will sound that much better when you get a really nice guitar. As far as a straight answer to your question, I would go with the PRS, as long as you check it to make sure that it is still working well since it is used. But again thats because it suits my playing style. PRS guitars lend themselves to a somewhat more bright sound than a fatter LP sound, but as always, it depends on the type. Hope that helps you out.

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I reckon PRS too, because it more closely resembles the squire, and it wont throw you like the Les Paul might. The Les Paul is a weighty beast, and takes some adjustment getting used to it... what kind of style do you play man?

: i have been playing guitar seriously for about a year now! i've gotten a lot better and joined a band so i figure maybe its time for me to get an upgrade! i play with a squier right now! i was going to get a gibson les paul studio! its $1100 brand new...then i saw a Paul Reed Smith for about the same price but used! from what i hear Paul Reed Smith is like one of the greatest guitars you can even get! i was just wondering if they're that great? and does anyone know the scale length? is the scale length closer to a gibson or more fender? i'm guessing gibson but not positive! i'd appreciate any input! thanks a lot!

: ~Rob

I only know two things about PRSs.

First one. Paul Reed Smith built a prototype guitar with Carlos Santana in mind. He managed to get to meet Santana and asked him to play the guitar to see what he thought. Apparently Santana played it for a while and said yeah, it was pretty good, but this could be better, that ought to be different and so on. Paul Reed Smith goes away and builds another prototype, incorporating the suggestions made by Santana. This was back when Santana had stopped using Les Pauls and was pretty much exclusively playing Yamaha SG3000s. Anyway, a year or so on, Paul has finished his second prototype and he manages to get to see Santana again, after a gig. He reminds Santana of the last time they met, and that Santana suggested various improvements to the guitar. Santan says yeah, he remembers. He has a bit of a play on the new, improved version, and says yes, that's better. I'll have six of those. He's been playing PRSs ever since. The story is true so far as I'm aware. However, I would point out that buying a PRS is not, repeat not, going to make you sound like Carlos Santana. It's all in the fingers, whatever you're playing.

My other PRS story. I studied guitar for a while at the Guitar Institute in London. One day I was with a couple of other students in Chandlers guitars in Kew. One of the others asked if he could try out an efffects unit he's read about in a magazine. The guy gets one out and my friend is looking this unit over while the shop assistant sets up a guitar and amp for him to try it through. My friend's paying no attention at all to the shop assistant and is concentrating on the effects unit. I, on the other hand, am holding my breath because the guy has picked out an incredibly beautiful PRS for my friend to play through. My friend sits down, still concentrating on the effects unit, takes the guitar across his lap with scarcely a glance and begins to play, footswitching through the effects. After a while he stops and says, 'Yeah, it's really nice, but what the hell is this guitar because it is absolutely brilliant to play?!'

Still not going to make you sound like Carlos Santana though.

hey my name is taylor, barnett i have a tradition micheal angelo batio "no boundries series" and my emblem that says that is coming off if i wipe it (is there any way i can get a new one please email me bak)

it sounds like beginner problems,everybody has them at first. The size of the guitar shouldnt effect the chording. I may be wrong but i dont see where it would be a factor. the problem isusually caused by not pressing down hard enough, or not arching your wrist enough. it takes time and some pain, you know no pain no gain, my fingers, especially the pinky bled before my fingers got toughend up. maybe this will help, maybe not, but dont get frustrated and quit, if you really want to play it will all come togather with time and practice.

: today I just bought a 3/4 size guitar. I thought this size would be easier to play because I travel alot and I have small hands. I have tried playing a few chords but some of the strings will not resonate any sound...I have tried making sure every finger does not touch and other strings but this is almost imposible...when I put my finger down on one note and strum it it sounds fine it is just when I am trying to play more than one note at a time...is this just because I am a begininer and I need to work on getting my fingers around the strings or did I buy to little of a guitar?
: If anyone could help me I would really appreciate it!
Hi how are you? Look you might have gone out and bought a Lemon I don't know. But your not going to get aa quality instrument like a good Acoustic Guitar very cheaply. As an example I own two Acoustics one is an Al Dimeola Signature Series Ovation, the other is a Taylor 710CE, each one cost me over $1,500. The idea of buying a quality instrument of the bat is first of all, the heigth of the strings of the fretboard is extremely low, which makes it easier to play, especially for a beginner. I would suggest you trash any notion you may have of reading a chord book and enroll in classes. Do you have a Conservatory of Music where you live? Anything worth doing is worth doing well.