371 replies to this topic

[Dice_3008]

Pot Odds RAC, on Monday, May 24th, 2010, 5:43 AM, said:

First Love.Woody was a Fender Lead I, born in Fullerton CA sometime between 1979 and 1982. Natural wood - no stain, just a layer of clear coat - and a maple fretboard. Purchased Used but I can’t remember the details of where we met, I think at the Music Stand guitar store in Berkley MI for around $150. Woody was basically a Strat with just a bridge humbucker. Not knowing anything about pups, I went to the Music Stand (that part I remember) where they had these used pickups that cost a TON (Probably $100 which was a "ton" to me back then!). They said they were a set of original 1957 Strat pick-ups. Being ignorant, that meant absolutely nothing to me. I figured that since they were expensive, they must be good. WOW. Don’t know if they were real 57s , but they were pretty great. My brother helped me wire a Strat 5 position switch and a couple of polarity toggle switches. I could get about fifteen permutations for different tones. Woody and I were partnered for years to come. Status: Deceased. Alas, Fate parted us in a tragic incident which I shall only foreshadow for now.Note: I'd always assumed she was born in Japan. But based on my research for this post I learned she was born in Fullerton. I also thought she was born with just a single coil bridge pick-up, but found a picture of her with a humbucker. And I also assumed she was older when we met.

Nice. Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your ladies.My introduction into guitar is a little embarrassing, Guitar Hero and watching my boss play a gig with his garage band. I knew full well that playing a real guitar would be light years different than playing a plastic toy with buttons on it. My first guitar was purchased on Superbowl Sunday four years ago. I'll never forget it. I knew nothing about guitars or amps. I walked into Guitar Center around 1:30pm, about 4 hours from kick off. One of the guys asked if I needed help and I said "Yeah I'm thinking about taking up guitar". "What do you like to play" he asked. I told him and about 30 minutes later I had a new MIM Strat and Line 6 amp. Total cost about $900. The guitar has a sunburst finish with rosewood fretboard, two single coils in the neck and middle position, and a humbucker in the bridge. Didn't play either of them prior to purchasing LOL. He did so I could at least hear what they sounded like.I practiced for a good 6 months just following the beginning guitar section on about.com. I'd also youtube songs I wanted to learn and try to pick them up. The guitar then sat on the stand unplayed for about 6 months because I wasn't getting any better. I really enjoyed playing but was getting frustrated. I picked it up again determined to get better and have never looked back. I started taking lessons about 5 months ago and am really glad I did. It has helped so much. I wish I would have started all this about 15 years ago and took lessons right away.

[Dirtydutch]

Solid, Dice.

[Pot Odds RAC]

Dirtydutch, on Monday, May 24th, 2010, 10:47 AM, said:

Oh shit! The Roadhouse wasn't my first maple fingerboard...just my first maple fingerboard that wasn't scalloped. Because I rolls('d) that way.Note: although the Yngie (clone) is no longer a functioning shred machine, its body was rebirthed as into faggy pink '60s clone partscaster.

I remember thinking that scalloped FBs were silly and sort of a "one trick" pony. Then I played an Yngwie and realized it is not only a great guitar, the scalloped FB is way more responsive than I thought it would be. I loved the one I tried and VERY nearly brought her home with me. Still not my cup of tea, but at least now I can appreciate them.

Dice_3008, on Monday, May 24th, 2010, 11:14 AM, said:

Nice. Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your ladies.My introduction into guitar is a little embarrassing, Guitar Hero and watching my boss play a gig with his garage band. I knew full well that playing a real guitar would be light years different than playing a plastic toy with buttons on it. My first guitar was purchased on Superbowl Sunday four years ago. I'll never forget it. I knew nothing about guitars or amps. I walked into Guitar Center around 1:30pm, about 4 hours from kick off. One of the guys asked if I needed help and I said "Yeah I'm thinking about taking up guitar". "What do you like to play" he asked. I told him and about 30 minutes later I had a new MIM Strat and Line 6 amp. Total cost about $900. The guitar has a sunburst finish with rosewood fretboard, two single coils in the neck and middle position, and a humbucker in the bridge. Didn't play either of them prior to purchasing LOL. He did so I could at least hear what they sounded like.I practiced for a good 6 months just following the beginning guitar section on about.com. I'd also youtube songs I wanted to learn and try to pick them up. The guitar then sat on the stand unplayed for about 6 months because I wasn't getting any better. I really enjoyed playing but was getting frustrated. I picked it up again determined to get better and have never looked back. I started taking lessons about 5 months ago and am really glad I did. It has helped so much. I wish I would have started all this about 15 years ago and took lessons right away.

Pretty sure that at the exact moment you were purchasing your first guitar, I was in a Guitar Center in the Detroit area playing the Yngwie as described above. Small world.It is always cool to hear how people got started playing. Everyone wishes they'd started earlier in life. Sort of like Karate.

[Dirtydutch]

Pot Odds RAC, on Monday, May 24th, 2010, 8:41 AM, said:

I remember thinking that scalloped FBs were silly and sort of a "one trick" pony. Then I played an Yngwie and realized it is not only a great guitar, the scalloped FB is way more responsive that I thought it would be. I loved the one I tried and VERY nearly brought her home with me. Still not my cup of tea, but at least now I can appreciate them.

They are also a tone-sucking pain in the ass. They help give you better control (which includes control over whether or not you fret every note sharp)...you have more finger on the string, and more leverage just with the way it wraps your finger, so I guess it helps keep things from sounding too sloppy if you are playing fast with a ton of distortion...but the funny thing is, the guys who use(d) them never play(ed) with much distortion anyway. I think those neoclassical guys mostly just liked the idea of it. Because all in all, it's pretty ****ing terrible. Coming from a former 13y/o shred fan, anyway.

[Pot Odds RAC]

I was Her First.Skunk – Vantage something or other born in the late 70s or early 80s. Purchased New from some Guitar Store – again forgetting the details and not sure of price – I think around $200. Natural wood with rosewood fretboard. Two tone with a lighter stripe down the center. Three humbuckers. Good versatile Guitar. Status: Deceased. She was subject to the same tragic fate as Woody. We were victims of a home robbery. Most of our gear was stolen. I've never felt so victimized in my life. I think I was literally in shock for several days. Just a horrific feeling of helplessness and anger. And knowing that the culprits would probably get about ten cents on the dollar for what the stuff was worth was even worse. My one of a kind guitar, special only to me, was either going to fetch a few bucks, or worse be abused and unappreciated by someone who had no idea what they had.Life went on...

[David_Sklansky]

Insurance rider FTW?

[Pot Odds RAC]

David_Sklansky, on Wednesday, May 26th, 2010, 9:56 AM, said:

Insurance rider FTW?

Yeah. Sort of. Certainly helped soften the blow.

[LongLiveYorke]

Pot Odds RAC, on Wednesday, May 26th, 2010, 9:33 AM, said:

Status: Deceased. She was subject to the same tragic fate as Woody. We were victims of a home robbery.

How tragic!I'm loving this feature, by the way. Keep it up.

[Dice_3008]

Pot Odds RAC, on Wednesday, May 26th, 2010, 5:33 AM, said:

We were victims of a home robbery.

Were you home and actually robbed or did they break in while you were away? That really sucks. Somebody broke into my uncle's house and stole a few expensive guns that were given to him by my grandfather.

[Pot Odds RAC]

Dice_3008, on Wednesday, May 26th, 2010, 2:28 PM, said:

Were you home and actually robbed or did they break in while you were away? That really sucks. Somebody broke into my uncle's house and stole a few expensive guns that were given to him by my grandfather.

It was a break-in while we were away. I think you're right, I used the term "robbery" incorrectly.

[Pot Odds RAC]

Old Reliable.My first Acoustic. I call her "The Acoustic". Clever. Now that I think about it, she may have predated Skunk. Dark wood of some sort. Washburn Unknown birthdate – late 70s early 80s. Purchased Used from a music store in Berkley MI along with my first decent amp. Still some of the best natural harmonics I’ve ever been able to get out of a guitar. We've traveled and moved together any number of times.Status: We’re still together. She survived the break-in that claimed Woody and Skunk because she rarely spends time with with the other girls. Longest tenure in the Harem. She sits in her stand, loyal, on call for when I need her.

[LongLiveYorke]

First and OnlyI was given my first guitar last Christmas. It's a new MIM Telecaster, black body, white pick guard, maple fretboard. It's nothing crazy or special, but I think it's pretty. I only started playing last Fall when I moved in with a roommate who had a telecaster of his own and a nice acoustic Martin. I'd been meaning to learn for a while, but it's difficult to start if you don't, you know, have access to a guitar, and it's difficult to convince oneself to buy one if you've never played one before. It's sort of a Catch-22. So, I had him teach me a bit, I learned some chords, and have since been learning on my own, using the internet as a guide. I guess it's going well. I'm still very much a beginner, but I try to play every day and learn new songs as often as I can. If nothing else, I've discovered that learning guitar is extremely difficult and takes a lot of practice and work. Happily, I have enough love of music to stay committed and to push myself. The work is hard, but the reward can be large. Those moments where things seem to "click," even if few and far between, are very nice.Any advice from you experts for how to start out / how to make a plan to progress and get good / things to focus on / etc?

[Dirtydutch]

LongLiveYorke, on Monday, May 31st, 2010, 2:43 AM, said:

First and OnlyI was given my first guitar last Christmas. It's a new MIM Telecaster, black body, white pick guard, maple fretboard. It's nothing crazy or special, but I think it's pretty. I only started playing last Fall when I moved in with a roommate who had a telecaster of his own and a nice acoustic Martin. I'd been meaning to learn for a while, but it's difficult to start if you don't, you know, have access to a guitar, and it's difficult to convince oneself to buy one if you've never played one before. It's sort of a Catch-22. So, I had him teach me a bit, I learned some chords, and have since been learning on my own, using the internet as a guide. I guess it's going well. I'm still very much a beginner, but I try to play every day and learn new songs as often as I can. If nothing else, I've discovered that learning guitar is extremely difficult and takes a lot of practice and work. Happily, I have enough love of music to stay committed and to push myself. The work is hard, but the reward can be large. Those moments where things seem to "click," even if few and far between, are very nice.Any advice from you experts for how to start out / how to make a plan to progress and get good / things to focus on / etc?

MIM tele is a hot guitar. Hugely popular in the indie world too; thing's a workhorse; amazing value. There are so many things to learn. This is super trill: http://www.cyberfret...itar-codex.htmlthis site is good just in general: http://justinguitar.com/Learning a little bit of theory is so useful. People swear by this: http://www.amazon.co...4P185RA6KVBMVBWAlso, learning to play a lot of chords is really a great foundation...you might want to buy like the complete Beatles sheet music set or something you like that's similarly diverse, thorough and fun, and just force your way through it. Along with doing other stuff, like messing with that Justin guy's lessons and learning other songs, you'll come out the other end with a ton of knowledge and the ability to fret most chords. I hate recommending method books to adults, because no one wants to play "Camp Town Racer" or some stupid shit...with the internet and all now, learning to play a song you like is so easy and instant, I think those two sites, youtube searches, and possible a good songbook and that theory book would be a pretty great place to start...but I'm a horrible teacher and learned when I was a kid and didn't use the internet, so there are probably better answers.

[Dirtydutch]

Like this:http://www.amazon.co...r/dp/0634022296If you peak inside, there are chord diagrams at the beginning, and then throughout the song, it just tells you the chord to play, and you can learn them and then play along with the album or whatever if you like. You'll learn a shit-ton of chords, be able to impress simple girls, etc. This is seeming like a better and better idea to me.

[Pot Odds RAC]

Dirtydutch, on Monday, May 31st, 2010, 7:39 AM, said:

MIM tele is a hot guitar. Hugely popular in the indie world too; thing's a workhorse; amazing value...

Yes. Great guitar. No apologies necessary for that one.Also all good advice on learning stuff.Also there are some pretty good DVDs for specific styles.There used to be a site called "Power Tabs" that had guitar tabs that you could play on your computer. It would step thru the song playing note by note and you could slow it down or loop sections to concentrate on learning them. Even as a relatively experienced player this helped me learn a ton of songs. They got shut down, but there is another computer tab source that I haven't tried that is likely a similar sort of thing. I'll try and find it.

[Mercury69]

Dirtydutch, on Monday, May 31st, 2010, 7:51 AM, said:

Like this:http://www.amazon.co...r/dp/0634022296If you peak inside, there are chord diagrams at the beginning, and then throughout the song, it just tells you the chord to play, and you can learn them and then play along with the album or whatever if you like. You'll learn a shit-ton of chords, be able to impress simple girls, etc. This is seeming like a better and better idea to me.

Also, the Beatles used a pissload of jazz/blues type chords, too, so a book like this has added value in learning chords that suit other styles of music.Anyone know a good book that discusses open tunings and "odd" tunings, like Keith Richard and Joni Mitchell use?

[Dice_3008]

LongLiveYorke, on Monday, May 31st, 2010, 3:43 AM, said:

First and OnlyI was given my first guitar last Christmas. It's a new MIM Telecaster, black body, white pick guard, maple fretboard. It's nothing crazy or special, but I think it's pretty. I only started playing last Fall when I moved in with a roommate who had a telecaster of his own and a nice acoustic Martin. I'd been meaning to learn for a while, but it's difficult to start if you don't, you know, have access to a guitar, and it's difficult to convince oneself to buy one if you've never played one before. It's sort of a Catch-22. So, I had him teach me a bit, I learned some chords, and have since been learning on my own, using the internet as a guide. I guess it's going well. I'm still very much a beginner, but I try to play every day and learn new songs as often as I can. If nothing else, I've discovered that learning guitar is extremely difficult and takes a lot of practice and work. Happily, I have enough love of music to stay committed and to push myself. The work is hard, but the reward can be large. Those moments where things seem to "click," even if few and far between, are very nice.Any advice from you experts for how to start out / how to make a plan to progress and get good / things to focus on / etc?

This is the site I used when starting out: http://guitar.about....ssonarchive.htmIf anything it does a good job of teaching you some of the most common chords, strum patterns, and a couple scales. Glad to see you're playing every day. Playing every day, even if it's only for 10 minutes, really helps.Edit: If you ever do the youtube thing look for Marty Schwartz. He has lots of clips from specific lessons to covering songs. I think he does a great job of explaining the song/subject. I strongly suggest looking him up.

[SBriand]

My new S470 has a crack between the neck and headstock. Just noticed it last week after the move. Pissed. Too late to send back for a refund. Now have to try and see if Ibanez will honor their 1 year warranty and not blame me and get out of fixing it. Would rather send it out than take it and spend more pocket money that I don't have on my guy that thinks he can fix it without breaking the maple top on the headstock. Grrrrr.

[Pot Odds RAC]

SBriand, on Tuesday, June 1st, 2010, 2:31 PM, said:

My new S470 has a crack between the neck and headstock. Just noticed it last week after the move. Pissed. Too late to send back for a refund. Now have to try and see if Ibanez will honor their 1 year warranty and not blame me and get out of fixing it. Would rather send it out than take it and spend more pocket money that I don't have on my guy that thinks he can fix it without breaking the maple top on the headstock. Grrrrr.

That sux. Probably won't affect tone, but still stinks. Might be worth trying to return it for Store Credit.

[SBriand]

Pot Odds RAC, on Tuesday, June 1st, 2010, 2:47 PM, said:

That sux. Probably won't affect tone, but still stinks. Might be worth trying to return it for Store Credit.

It's growing while not even being played. It's gone from maybe _____ that big to ________________ that big over the weekend with no playing at all. Tried for store credit and it is past the 45 day return policy by like 12 days. lol Never buy a guitar in the middle of a big move because you just case it and wait to settle in. Since it has grown the B and high E are dead on the first 3 frets.