I picked up a Gretsch Rancher Jr. today to start the course with. I’ve had my eyes on it for a while at the music shop in town, and they marked the floor model down $100 to $399 this week and I pounced. I’ve always wanted to play acoustic, and I only originally bought an electric because it was easier. I have the nylon string, but that doesn’t have quite the same sound. I feel a huge difference in the difficulty, but love the feel more than the electric already.
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Thanks pal, they’re mostly good, but they do try and eat the turds of anything with cloven hoofs 
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Here are my guitars in order of purchase.
First we have a Schecter PT Special in purple burst.
Next up is a Seagull Cedar Original with the Presys II preamp.
Followed by an Epiphone Les Paul in Twilight Shift. Depending on the angle it can look blue or purple.
And finally my latest purchase and my main guitar for the course. A white Harley Benton DC 600 VI Vintage Series.
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Is the HB a bolt on neck?
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I got my new Eastwood TB64 (Teisco bass vi reissue) a couple of days ago. I like the feel and sound much better than the Squier CV bass VI that I had.
I took the trem off, ripped the flats off, put on a set of stainless 24-95 rounds and got everything adjusted. I’m a couple of lessons in and so far, so good. The pickups are voiced for a guitar sound more than the Squier / Fender imo (good thing for how I want to use it). It’s only 1.68in at the nut, so string spacing is tight with those string gauges.
I’m working on my Helix patch still. I’m trying to get a set up that cuts as much mud out as possible on full 6 string chords. I can get a decent sounding G, barre chords are still a work in progress. Those stainless steel strings are going right through whatever calluses I thought I had built up.
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No news yet but narrowing in on a choice.
It will surprise no one.
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I’ll be surprised if you opt for the neon yellow one over the merlot 
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sounds like a creature of habit to me lol
Not a bad thing…I mostly listen to old tunes bc I know they rock lol
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Nice. The middle pickup on a triple always gets in my way. I lower them as far as possible to make playing easier. If it has the typical neck dive, locate the strap buttom on the end of the horn like Iommi does.
The complete guitar packages are $289 +shipping. Solid deal if the guitar has good fretwork and proper setup.
What is the scale length? 25-1/2"?
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Lovely!! Alll of them!!!
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I haven’t noticed any neck dive but I’ve only been playing sitting down so far. The scale length is 24.75”, which is common for the Gibson and Epiphone versions. I think the final cost including shipping to Iowa and tariff fees was ~$325, so not too bad. The setup was actually really good.
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I’ve introduced my Orlando already, but to it’s right is an ES 335 that was a ‘Just Do It’ purchase I made after scanning Reverb for a Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion model several months ago, and deciding something close enough and also new might not be a bad idea.
I am doing the class using the ES 335 because with my headphones on it’s nice to have the extra volume, even though the headphones have a ‘transparency mode’. Things are working really well with the ES plugged into my Fender Rumble amp.
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I have a chibson SG and it has 25-1/2" scale. The neck dive is noticeable on mine. It may be because of the torn rotator cuff, but I don’t play that one anyway. The white is a nice finish.
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Yeah but I’ve owned two of the Merlot ones.
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I get it. I had a Spector bass once that had really bass neck dive. I ended up getting rid of it.
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Neck dive is real on my Epiphone SG. I put a Bigsby on it to add some weight to the tail, and moved the strap button.. it’s a bit better but still annoying.
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As someone who doesn’t think they’ve ever experienced neck dive, how big a problem is it when playing? Do you actually find yourself holding the neck up with your fretting hand?
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Yes. And it gets annoying.
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It’s a total pain. Fine when sitting with my SG, but if I’m playing standing I’m constantly holding up the neck. It’s not a good look having the guitar headstock pointing at the floor.
Also if makes me nervous that the strap will detach from the bottom post since the guitar is trying to fall away from that end of the strap. I always use a strap lock on my SG for that reason.
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