ENOFF

[unclrob]

 :angry RANT   

I know I'm going to get s**t for this but I don't care anymore!!!!

For those that don't know me I've been playing,servicing and learning guitars for over 58 years and take anymore...

fingerstyl guitars,for me is playing with my fingers.I didn't have a special nut  I started on a Silvertone arch top,my main guitar was a Guild dread with a 1 1/4 nut.I play everything with my fingers 12 string and electric nothing special because Its a guitar and you play it.I have so many clients that now want to be fingerstyl and need a special guitar when the guitars they have can do the job.Then they go out and buy a "special" guitar to do so and complain its so hard to do,then they want me to fix it so they can play it....I tell them I wont wreck a fancy guitar and if there not happy sell it,most complain that they will lose to much money.I've told them don't buy the thing in the first just learn how to play better.

24 1/2,25 1/2 scale which is better.Having owned both all I can say is its a guitar play what you like.Me Larrivee and Guilds have been my prefered guitars forever.JUST PLAY!!!!!!and move on its a guitar... .

What Pu???? What ever works and stop bitching that it doesn't sound like my acoustic guitar....ITS NOT FOOL its and electric guitar except it don't keep buy cr*p that someone will tell you make your guitar sound "natural".
I prefer a mic but for some stupid reason everyone wants to be loud.When I was younger I played live thru an SM57,of coarse I didn't dance around I was busy playing.

OK there I said it,so thru rocks,ignore me what ever just get over it and PLAY.

[Queequeg]

:angry RANT   

I know I'm going to get s**t for this but I don't care anymore!!!!

For those that don't know me I've been playing,servicing and learning guitars for over 58 years and take anymore...

fingerstyl guitars,for me is playing with my fingers.I didn't have a special nut  I started on a Silvertone arch top,my main guitar was a Guild dread with a 1 1/4 nut.I play everything with my fingers 12 string and electric nothing special because Its a guitar and you play it.I have so many clients that now want to be fingerstyl and need a special guitar when the guitars they have can do the job.Then they go out and buy a "special" guitar to do so and complain its so hard to do,then they want me to fix it so they can play it....I tell them I wont wreck a fancy guitar and if there not happy sell it,most complain that they will lose to much money.I've told them don't buy the thing in the first just learn how to play better.

24 1/2,25 1/2 scale which is better.Having owned both all I can say is its a guitar play what you like.Me Larrivee and Guilds have been my prefered guitars forever.JUST PLAY!!!!!!and move on its a guitar... .

What Pu???? What ever works and stop bitching that it doesn't sound like my acoustic guitar....ITS NOT FOOL its and electric guitar except it don't keep buy cr*p that someone will tell you make your guitar sound "natural".
I prefer a mic but for some stupid reason everyone wants to be loud.When I was younger I played live thru an SM57,of coarse I didn't dance around I was busy playing.

OK there I said it,so thru rocks,ignore me what ever just get over it and PLAY.

OK.
Deep breaths, Rob.
Inhale...
Exhale... 
Repeat.

Conversely, I know there's a bottle of Scotch on the shelf there.

(It's a bit early for that right now.)
Better yet-
Play your guitar.

 

[William2]

LOL!!! And I agree with what you say unclrub. I've always adapted to the instrument I am playing.

[Silence Dogood]

I think there is a lot of truth here in what Rob says.  People go overboard about nut width, fingerboard radius, scale length, etc.  I've owned my Larrivee for over 20 years and have no idea what the radius or nut width is, how long it is, or even how many frets it has (I do insist on a guitar that joins the body at the 14th because I actually play up there pretty regularly).  I don't think most people know how to read a scale (ruler) properly anyway, and probably wouldn't know how to measure nut width if they wanted. 

When I started playing guitar and paying attention to guitar players circa early 90s, most people seemed to do whatever they were doing on a dread.  Even folk like Michael Hedges played a dread and did all his fancy stuff on one.  Now everyone has to have a "fingerstyle" guitar, or a guitar with a cutaway, or an archtop for jazz, etc, etc.  It's great that we have choices, but "it's all a bit nutty" as one of my Brit friends would say. 

 

[unclrob]

No scotch today and yes I have a bottle or two one not yet open.My Guild JF30 jumbo I could play all style on,finger,folk,blues,rock,jazz and anything else I could think of.My old Gibson arch tops I could also  play anything on it,tonal change was all that happened.I really like playing slide on them.Its time for all to just have fun,never stop learning{I haven't even at my advance age},always strive to play play better even if you don't think you can.

 

[B0WIE]

Amen, Revered Rob! 
 If you can't play it for some reason and aren't willing to try, get something you can play.
And, you're 100% on the pickup thing. A pickup (or the new thing which is a mic stuffed inside a guitar's body) is NEVER going to sound the same as what our ears hear as the sound LEAVES the guitar, bounces around the room (if applicable), and arrives back at our ears. The sound inside the hole is not the same as what we hear as players.

And, since you got me fired up, I want to post this pic every time someone says they need a cut-away with 14 frets. The first time I saw a video of ol' sausage fingers, as a kid I looked at my Ibanez electric and my long, skinny fingers and realized there are no excuses anymore.

[unclrob]

So true.I remember people make fun of those of use our thumb over the top....THAN.. saw a video of him using his thumb....so threr  

[Silence Dogood]

Segovia (et al) could surely reach notes beyond the 12th, but that's not the same thing as doing whole step bends on steel strings up there.  Not even close. 

[B0WIE]

Segovia (et al) could surely reach notes beyond the 12th, but that's not the same thing as doing whole step bends on steel strings up there.  Not even close. 

For me, bends are honestly much easier up there. I think where people get caught up is thinking they need the thumb. Past the body joint, you have your body to anchor the guitar so it's even more stable than the thumb. I play in classical position though. It also works standing. Playing on the right leg will have mixed results.

[unclrob]

I've never owned an acoustic cutaway when play past the 24th fret I just turned my hand.As maninly a rythem player what little lead I did play up there I never went for a whole step bend but a slight bend with vibrato.

[Silence Dogood]

I play acoustic like it's an electric and always have.  I can't do that on a 12 fretter. 

[Queequeg]

I play acoustic like it's an electric and always have.  I can't do that on a 12 fretter. 

Me neither. Andrés Segovia, I am not. (He could do many things I could never do.) And most of my guitars are standard scale, but I have to admit I can appreciate the comfort of a short scale neck.
In this, the Golden Age of Acoustic Guitars, we have so many options.
Choose the one(s) that are right for you.

[William2]

Me neither. Andrés Segovia, I am not. (He could do many things I could never do.) And most of my guitars are standard scale, but I have to admit I can appreciate the comfort of a short scale neck.
In this, the Golden Age of Acoustic Guitars, we have so many options.
Choose the one(s) that are right for you.

I agree, it is nice to have many options. For me, scale length is not important. And the 12-fret, 14-fret connection is somewhat as I can really hear a different type of sound. And I have both. Recently a bought a Martin 000-15SM. The instrument is smaller than my dreadnoughts and I am really attracted to its sound. I'm amazed at this smaller instrument putting out what seems near equal loudness and such clarity in all its registers. I don't know if it is the mahogany top or its 000 size. This has got me thinking maybe I need another smaller sized instrument with maybe a different top wood.

As far as Segovia is concerned, I listened to him when I was young and was able to see him in concert 3 times on the 70s. The performances were very colorful, had nice interpretations, and combined his ability to emphasize the melodic line. But as a student in the 70s, I became attracted to players like John Williams and Julien Bream and I tried to emulate their sound. It just sounded different and less romantic than Segovia. Even some of the key changes on the Spanish works that Williams uses changed the quality of the pieces. Recently I spent some time listening to Segovia recordings on You Tube. I was blown away with that romantic sound and made think of how many of the young players all sound so much the same today.

[StringPicker6]

I'm on your side with your rant, Rob. The poor craftsman (or player, in this case) always blames their tools. I think the internet has opened up too many options and gear to drool over. I do miss "the old days" of getting my acoustic guitar magazine in the mail and trying to learn a song that I liked which was transcribed in that issue.

[Silence Dogood]

I miss the days of guitar magazines and the hours I'd spend in each issue! 

[Koamon]

UnclRob has been my repairman and playing buddy for over 35 years and his words ring true. Being encumbered by family and a day job my actual play time did not allow me to immerse myself into a rigid discipline to actually get better as I could as a player. GAS in this environment has a tendency to rear its ugly head where you get obsessed with guitars and equipment. Many times, UnclRob would have to talk me off the roof over some new thing. Surfing that learning curve helped me build a good knowledge base about guitars and equipment but did nothing to make me a better player. He always said that if I spent more time playing than searching, I would be a better player. Segovia is a prime example. I had the pleasure of seeing in preform in 1969 in the Miami Dade County Auditorium. He came out with his guitar, alone, sat on a stool with no microphone and no other equipment and filled the venue with his genius. I should have learned from that experience but I was only 14 and totally clueless. Going on 70, I only now realize my missed opportunity.

[unclrob]

Koaman is fooling you he has done what most have not.He has his own playing style and as a not really a lead player I play better lead with then anyone else.

[Queequeg]

Koaman is fooling you he has done what most have not.He has his own playing style and as a not really a lead player I play better lead with then anyone else.

That's so nice.
I didn't realize you guys had been friends even before this forum.

[lackstone]

My own progress was significantly inhibited by a long lasting hiatus from playing between 1975 and 2005. I won't point a finger at the guitar as an added aggravation to that. I went through many guitars but all of it was exclusively sound related. I will say that because I hold my connection with music as a very private thing, I probably could have grown as a player had I been more socially engaged with it, strictly as a developing player, because being an entertainer won't be found in my allotted humility.

[StringPicker6]

Well said, lackstone. I hope that the guitar brings you some joy in a world that has always been sadness tinged with malevolence. Lets try to make it a slightly better world with one sing at a time.