The Great Ongoing Guitar Thread

Cafe Society
3484

BigShooter - nice to hear from you. Is the Fender demo work a good gig? What can you tell us about it? As squeegee said, you fit the cool studio guy part quite well!

As for the circuit swap / solderless Strat - you know, ultimately, I would say it is a solution in search of a problem - but it is a pretty good solution :wink: Guitar and amp makers are always searching for the Holy Grail of Variability - our guitar, amp, effects box, etc, can do everything you need, so you should feel great about buying it. Each solution has its compromises - so, as a player, you need to decide two things: 1) do I need that variability?; and b) do I like this particular solution and its compromises?

Unfortunately, for me, it loses me at 1) - I don’t seek out that level of variability. I would really enjoy living with one for about a year, with all of the “Personality” cards. I would try them all, through my favorite amp and effects, twiddling the knobs on the Strat and playing the way I play. I don’t have a lot of experience with all of the circuit mods I read about in guitar mags, so it would be educational to hear/play/live with them and get a feel.

Ah - but then I would pick the one Card that I liked best and glue the fucker in place and shut the door and tape that over :wink: I would worry the cards could work loose; or go missing or something - and I am not interested in switching them out during a gig.

3485

Thanks… I think :dubious:

The guitar comes with 3 cards - the Standard, Cutter, and Splitter. The only problem I saw with the cards is there needs to be one in the slot in order for the guitar to work. So if you loose your cards or they break or something, you’re SOL and have an electric guitar that won’t work when you plug it in. :smack:

Other than that, it was pretty cool. I would love to have one of these in my home studio because of all the different convincing tones you can get out of it.

3486

It’s no big deal. I have a couple of close friends that work at the corporate HQ here in Scottsdale, AZ. One of them is Al Abbassi, the Fender Guitars product manager, who’s the guy in the video. The other is their videographer who gets to tape all the demos and artist interviews. I’ve known him since the 3rd grade.

There’s no pay - my buddies just buy me dinner or something - but it is pretty cool to play all the new stuff they come out with. :smiley: Actually, the amp I played through on that video is the new '68 Custom Deluxe Reverb which I really liked, so they were able to hook me up with one for 50% off street price. It gets here around the end of March… :cool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQyaZ00_3OI

3487

Hm. But what about that infinitely rewireable thing that, uhm… Music Man? was doing a few years back? You could control individual magnets, if I remember right, with their app.

3488

Question for the guitar experts. How hard is it to restring an acoustic guitar? Is it one of those things I might as well know how to do and can do at home or is it worth taking someplace to have done? (Guitar is a Kay Model 115, no clue how old. Found it in my father in law’s childhood attic.)

3489

Hmmm, generally, re-stringing is not too bad until you’re re-stringing something with more than 6 strings. Even then, it’s not hard to do, just tedious. If you’re planning on playing the guitar, I think you should learn how to string it.

Now, if it was my first time, I’d like someone who knows what they’re doing to watch and advise me. It took me a few re-strings to get the hang of doing it cleanly, with several broken strings and ugly windings before I got it right.

3490

Just started reading this thread; what did I miss? :stuck_out_tongue: As a couple of you know, I’ve picked up the guitar again and started taking some lessons every week. Fun trying to get the hands to do what you want again and working through the calluses. I have a Brazilian acoustic 6 made by Gianini that my wife bought me back in about 1993. It sat in a closet for the past 15 years or more, unstrung, and developed a crack down the back. Took it to a local repair shop and they were able to glue it and use some epoxy on the irregular problems, and restrung it for me. Damn, but I don’t remember it sounding that sweet! Beats the electric I’ve been farting around with and easier to practice on, as I keep fat-fingering the strings on the electric. The electric is a local hand-made telecaster; it’s fun, but I think I’ll be spending a lot more time on the acoustic.

3491

Yeah, a shop will be happy to restring it for you if you buy the strings from them. They might charge you for the labor and they might not. They’re not going to teach you how to do it yourself.

I’d strongly suggest you find a friend who plays guitar. He’ll tell you what kind of strings to get, he’ll string it for you, and he’ll explain what he’s doing so you’ll know how to do it. Hell, if it was me, I’d have you doing at least the last 3 strings yourself. Probably, besides the cost of the strings, it’d only cost you a couple of beers.

3492

Jeez, I would assume there are a bazillion vids on YouTube walking you through it, based on the type of guitar, tuners, etc.

Yep - I Googled “youtube changing guitar strings” and got plenty of responses. I can’t type the time to review them and point you at one, but they strike me as a place to start.

3493

It’s easier than restringing a tennis racket. Tuning a racket is harder, too.

3494

Yeah, but just try hitting a decent backhand with your strat.

3495

Nah, my tennis racket is in tune.

Thanks for all the replies, I’ll try some of the videos.

3496

May I complain here?

It’s a complaint about my fretting hand. I’ve been to a hand doc before for nerve issues, which I have a solution to, but I think I just keep overdoing things, and it’s frustrating.

I’m not looking for medical advice, either. Just venting!

So, back in October, I picked up Rocksmith 2014. I use it primarily as a practice tool; I think the session mode is fantastic to learn how to noodle around with your scales in front of a backing band.

Everything is going along fine. I updated my Epiphone Les Paul to new pickups / pots, I got myself a guitar throne (for proper form!), and added strap locks to all my guitars. For the first time in a very long time, I was playing at least a half hour every day. I was playing things that were new to me; I was learning how to play standing.

Winter hit, and it’s like a bomb went off in my hands. Especially my left hand. I would guess tendonitis. It keeps coming and going, though, and this week it’s the worst it has been. All that shoveling of snow, and moving around of furniture inside means my hand won’t heal. (My wife is due in 3 weeks! So, of course, that means I need to do all the heavy lifting.).

TL;DR : I’m so sick and frustrated. Every time I seem to make progress with my guitar, my hand(s) stop me.

3497

**Koldanar **- that sounds so frustrating. At least you are doing things with your hands for all the right reasons - best of luck with your wife and soon-to-be new baby!

As for your hand - a couple of minor thoughts:

  • Check your form: Is there a way you can get a lesson or two to ensure that you are using proper technique? I hear stories about how a cleaned-up technique can help. Is the elbow of your fretting hand out away from your body correctly and positioned forward so your fretting hand isn’t more crabbed than it should be?

  • Don’t worry about playing standing up right now - in fact, try playing sitting, with the guitar resting on your LEFT knee, which you should elevate by putting it on the guitar case or something up to about 8"-10" tall. Like classical players - there’s a reason they sit the way they do - they need to optimize their hand position and those factors really help with that.

  • Check out different neck profiles - if you have big hands, and your Epi has a slim fast neck, try playing a guitar with a much chunkier neck. I have big hands and really find slim fast necks to be super uncomfortable, especially just to grab and play open chords on the first 5 frets.

Best of luck!

3498

As far as the form goes, I’ve been constantly tweaking my guitar strap to keep from getting to crabbed up; it seems to be an uphill battle.

Once this heals, I’ll definitely move back to the sitting position. Le Ministre de l’au-delà actually gave me advice in this thread a few years ago to move to the classical position, and it helped immensely. I think I just get too excited, and try to move on too quickly.

I’ve taken lessons before, but they were from a guy that was all about music theory, and less about form / comfort. I should look and see if anyone around could advise me that way; I always feel like I’m doing something wrong the way my hand has to be positioned to play.

I actually have the opposite issue with my hands; they’re short fingered and wide. I have a wider neck guitar that is easier to play single notes on (it’s got 9’s instead of 10’s on it) but the Epi is much easier to barre / play chords on for me.

I played a tele once in a store, and that neck felt magical to me. I’ll have to see about trying one out again, but a new guitar is not in the budget!

And thank you for the well wishes :slight_smile:

3499

All of that makes sense - the most important is hearing you say that you tried a different guitar and the neck felt better. That really, really matters. Between a better sitting position, a check on better form, and a better neck for your hand, you could be well on your way to some relief.

All in good time after you focus on your family - but good to hear that there are things you can do…

3500

Oh, I’m so sorry to read this! All I can really do from this distance is to try to offer you some encouragement - it can get better. But I’ve also been exactly where you are right now - “How can I keep playing when it hurts to button my shirt?”

Is it possible to head back to your hand doc? He or she will have much more intelligent things to say than anything I can come up with. There are concrete solutions such as hot/cold pads, stretches, braces, massage balls, which can all help.

One of the few good things about all those other tasks - the shovelling, the furniture, etc. - you don’t have to do them in the same way each time, and you don’t have to do them in time the way you have to with music. If your wrist starts to hurt while shovelling, take a break. (Up here in Toronto, this winter’s snow has been like a curse laid on a boreal Sisyphus. I’ve had at least ten times where by the time I was finished clearing the sidewalk, it was time to start all over again. Try to leave it, and the parts people have walked on turn into these icy death traps that are too thick for the ice scraper.) You also have the freedom to explore - what is the minimum grip required to shovel, or lift? For the most part, gripping too tight is the biggest source of carpal tunnel syndrome or tendinitis. Cold is also a factor - working outside in winter is harder on your hands than summer work. Manitoba, where I grew up, has an astonishingly high rate of RSIs in construction workers.

Can you try treating Rocksmith the way you would treat playing during the commercials in a hockey game? In other words, play for no more than 5 minutes at a time, and take breaks of 10 minutes between each session.

Something my guitar teacher has me do constantly - he has me play as softly as possible, with the LH only touching the right string at the right fret. In other words, you’re moving your fingers to the correct positions in the correct time, you just aren’t putting the string down behind the fret to make a note. All you will hear is a thuddy little click, or a soft and gentle open string. This exercise allows your fingers and forearm to develop maximum dexterity without having to support the weight of the arm into the string. Then, the one in ten times that you do play full volume and necessary weight, the fingers find their spots easily. They may have even become accustomed to lifting before shifting.

That above exercise is what is getting me through this week’s preparations - I have a CD launch party on Sunday where I’m going to play/sing half of the new album live. I have the luxury of being able to take it easy on my hands in other aspects of my life, but playing through this rep 2 1/2 hours a day just wouldn’t be possible if I weren’t keeping an eye on how my hands are feeling.

Wishing you and your wife a great time with the new baby! And playing less hurt does get better, really, it does. Good luck, et bon courage!

3501

I knew you’d have input on this issue, Le Ministre.

And I just got your CD! I am on the road, but heard it arrived and was very nicely autographed! I know a famous person!! :wink: Best of luck with your launch party!!

3502

I’m glad to hear that - I was afraid that it had either been seized at the border, or that you hated it and hadn’t the heart to tell me. :wink:

If anyone’s interested, here is February’s sneak peek track from the disc -
The Truth of Matter - 1. The Inside of Things Music by William Beauvais, Poetry of Linda Hogan.

3503

My wife: “you got something…Canadian”
Me: “oh, from Le Ministre!”
Her: “No…it says MacNaughton”
Me: “Yeah - that’s him - cool!”
Her: “is this one of those Dope things?”
Me: “well, yeah”
Her: (basically saying well, at least I am not surfing pr0n on the web) :wink: