"One Day"

cheapsunglasses · #1 May 3rd, 2005

I turned 40 last month and with the cake I didn't need came a long mental list of stuff I said I would do "one day." Well, if you have gone through this reflective time you come to the realization that "one day" has arrived. I have been fortunate and have done a lot of the stuff on my "one day" list except,,,learn to play guitar. So here I am with nothing more than a pawn shop box guitar, some picks that cost more than the guitar, a "how to play guitar" book with pictures of fingering chords by a guy with fingers as long as Louisville Slugger baseball bats, some already sore fingertips, and a scuffed up scalp from trying to make it all work. I am looking forward to abusing this forum.
Andy "cheapsunglasses"

Kirk Lorange · #2 May 4th, 2005

Welcome cheapsunglasses ... good to hear you're crossing this twanging business off your list. It's definitely one of life's better endeavours. One bit of advice though, if you do think you're going to pursue it, get yourself a good guitar. It may be that the one you have is OK -- cheap doesn't automatically mean crappy -- but chances are it's difficult to play. Maybe that's why it wound up in a pawn shop. Make it easier on yourself with an instrument that's nice and straight and properly set up.

Cheers,

allthumbs · #3 May 5th, 2005

Hi csg. I agree with Kirk. What is the brand of your guitar and did you get a guitar tech to set it up for you? In canada, at least, it is not uncommon to find Norman B20's for 120 to 150 bucks. They are a good beater for the money. I even saw one that was electric-accustic for only 127.00. Glad to see you here,have fun with your guitar.

Spyder F16 · #4 May 7th, 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirk

Welcome cheapsunglasses ... good to hear you're crossing this twanging business off your list. It's definitely one of life's better endeavours. One bit of advice though, if you do think you're going to pursue it, get yourself a good guitar. It may be that the one you have is OK -- cheap doesn't automatically mean crappy -- but chances are it's difficult to play. Maybe that's why it wound up in a pawn shop. Make it easier on yourself with an instrument that's nice and straight and properly set up.

Cheers,

Sometimes if you're lucky, you may come across a nice guitar in a pawn shop... some people will sell the nicest things for dirt cheap if they need the money bad enough...

cheapsunglasses · #5 May 8th, 2005

i'm not sure if i have a decent guitar or not, it was a gift for my birthday. it is a peavey SD-9P,,cedar top, mahogany back and sides, and a maple neck. it has an adjustment on the inside of the box (neck side) to adjust the height of the strings. am i on the right road for now??
cheapsunglasses

allthumbs · #6 May 8th, 2005

It sounds like the super drednought they sell. It seems like an ok low end guitar. If it sounds good to you and is comfortable in your hands then your good to go. Don't fool with the truss rod yourself to lower the strings, it is easy to damage the truss rod. Take it to a guitar shop for that. Sounds like your ready to start twanging.

Spyder F16 · #7 May 10th, 2005

Peavey tends to be a good company as far as amplification and microphones... They might work well for instruments...