So..how is the guitar playing coming along?

[SilvrT]

Well the good news is that there is almost zero chance that I will get it for the amount that I bid. If I do, it is one heck of a deal. The auction ends later tonight so I'll know soon but I'm about 99.9% sure already that I won't win it. That would be a GOOD thing because I much as I would like to have it, I sure don't need to buy it right now.

 

Like and Need don't belong in the same sentence!

 

BUY IT !

[Godlover]

I picked up a guitar last year and even took some lessons. I did well with the chord changes but really struggled with the strumming patterns. I practiced every day for months but wasn't improving and it frustrated me enough that I sold all my stuff. Now I'm thinking of trying to learn to play a bass guitar!

[Freebird]

Well, as expected, I did not win the auction. It's for the best though. It went for about $125.00 more than what I had put in as my maximum.

[Aussie Annie]

Hey Freebird, think you're gonna have to nail together a dance floor for MD gotta have some where to boogie to all the music we are gonna hear next year

[saddlebum]

Hey Freebird, think you're gonna have to nail together a dance floor for MD gotta have some where to boogie to all the music we are gonna hear next year

:dancefool:

[dave_wells]

Thanks for the kind words Earle

I am kinda in a funk today I you just got me out of it...

Thanks

This Year I Been playing the Mountain Dulcimer as well as the Guitar

I had the chance to play out recently

1st was Veterans day Celebration with the 5th grade class It school I work in

2nd Played I few old tune at a coffee shop in Powell Ohio

Lately I have been playing guitar for some Christmas Shows With a Dulcimer Group I belong with

This week Christmas songs around work on the dulcimer

 

Thanks Again

 

 

 

 

Jean and I have had the pleasure of having Dave Wells play for us when we visited him and when he visited us this past year. If I remember correctly, he even went down south to attend a "Pick-In" with some heavy weight Guitar talent. Not playing a guitar myself, he sounded excellent and is getting better all the time. Dave is welcome to brighten up any camp fire I have in the future. My hat's off to him.

Earl and Jean

[PastorPaul]

I heard that most of them have graduated to the air guitar. It has been said it was easier to play after a few brews.

[saddlebum]

Maybe this little guy can come to MD and teach us

 

http://www.funlol.com/7583/My_favorite_young_asian_guitar_prodigy.html

[latchkey]

have played for many years but kinda droped it for last ten years. reading where so many are starting out or having trouble with it. the best thing a guy told me when i was starting out on a acostic was to put electric guiter strings on it. there small size really helped me move my fingers around and doesnt take all that pressure to hold them down. i like the sound and always used them from there on. good luck to all.

[Freebird]

Well, I got my old Epiphone back from the luthier yesterday. Now I bought this thing back in 1971 when I was in high school and I knew very little about guitars. The action was never very good, always on the high side, and had gotten much worse over the past 40 years.

 

This luthier did an amazing job on it. He rebuilt the neck pocket and then reset the neck, built a new compensated bridge for it, leveled and dressed all the frets, set the action to Martin specs and finished with a new set of D'Addario EXP 11's. WOW, this old thing plays fantastic now. Nice low action, great sustain and a nice bright tone. Much different sounding than my cedar topped Seagull which has a more warm tone. I like the sound of both but they are different.

 

I honestly don't know that the old Epiphone was worth spending the money on but it still looked very nice cosmetically and it was a shame to just let it go to waste. I'm very pleased with it now.

 

This is the first time I've ever had a guitar professionally set up and it certainly makes a huge difference. Some are fine right out of the box but most can probably use a setup by a competent luthier. I think this is important not just for a great guitar player but maybe even more so for a beginner. It is much easier to learn on a guitar that has a good action that is easier to chord.

Edited December 23, 2010 by Freebird

[SilvrT]

electric guiter strings on it.

 

I've heard this too ... is there a specific type/brand that a nubee like me should ask for when at the geetar store?

 

set of Elixar EXB 11's. .

 

Specifically what is this?

[Freebird]

They are acoustic strings, not electric. While electric strings may be a bit lighter, you will not get the best sound when they are used on an acoustic. Acoustic strings come in different weights. Go with some good lightweight acoustic strings and I think you would be better off. The Elixirs are a coated string and I typed the wrong thing when I posted. He actually strung the Ephiphone with D'Addario EXPs, NOT Elixirs. The EXPs and the Elixirs are both coated strings and either will work well for you. The Elixers have a different coating that you can actually feel, they are a bit smoother and probably feel more like flat wound electric strings than the EXPs.

 

So, I would probably recommend the D'Addario EXPs or the Elixirs in .010 gauge if you are looking for a string that is easier on your fingers.

[Freebird]

I'll add one more thing in regards to using electric strings on an acoustic guitar. Now I'm certainly no expert and my opinion on this is based upon doing a considerable amount of research, NOT personal experience.

 

It is generally NOT recommended to use electric strings on an acoustic guitar. The reason is because the electric strings are generally a lighter gauge string. Due to the lighter gauge, once it is tuned you will have less neck tension than you would with the recommended acoustic strings. The neck tension is important to the structural integrity of the guitar. If you have less neck tension than required, it will probably end up causing the neck to bow and require a lot of adjustment and could even cause permanent damage.

 

I've learned that much of what I THOUGHT I knew about guitars was incorrect. I always thought that it was best for long term storage to do so with the tension taken off the strings. I have learned that most experts recommend that a guitar be stored in the tuned state so that it is stored with the proper neck tension.

 

I also thought that it would be better to NOT leave my guitars in the cases. Not only do I like to have them out where they can be seen but I thought it would also be better for them. Again, not true. I've learned that guitars do best when stored at 40 - 50 percent relative humidity. It is best to store them in the cases with a humidifier in the case. This recommendation varies depending upon what part of the country you live in but I'm told that in this area, there is no danger of over humidifying my guitars. Keeping a humidifier in my guitar all the time and re-wetting it every 3 to 4 days is recommended to keep it at the proper humidity. The better the guitar, the more important this is. More expensive guitars have solid wood tops whereas cheaper guitars use laminates. The most expensive guitars have solid tops, sides and backs. My Ephiphone is a laminate guitar where my Seagull has a solid top and laminated back and sides. Storing them in the proper humidity is more important on the better guitars that are solid wood as they are more prone to develop cracks if they dry out too much.

 

This is why if you go to a major guitar store, the acoustics are typically displayed in a closed off room. That room is basically a large humidor.

[RandyR]

Good advice and observations Don.

 

btw I like the Daddario EXP's also. I use EXP12 medium gauge. Your EXP11's should be regular light gauge with a .012 high E string. These are coated 80/20 bronze strings. The other EXP's for guitar are the EXP17 and EXP18 which are made of phosphor bronze.

 

PB bronze has a slightly different tone, and they do seem to last slightly longer, but I like the brighter tone of the 80/20 bronze better.

[Freebird]

They are a little different. The Epiphone is strung with EXP26 Custom Light strings. They are .011 - .052. The high E is actually a .011 and they are the coated phosphor bronze.

 

The Seagull is strung with D'Addario EXP 16 Lights. .012 - .053, also coated phosphor bronze.

 

The Epiphone has a brighter sound but I suspect it has more to do with the laminated spruce top as opposed to the solid cedar top of the Seagull more than the strings.

[saddlebum]

I tried the coated elixers on my seagull accustic, and I did not like them. I found that the sound quality was a little dead or flat not as crisp or clean as a proper set. I put a set of D'Addario phosphor bronze EJ16 light .012 - .053 strings on and I reaally love the sound. I also found these strings seem to hold thier tunning better.

 

TIP replace the plastic string pegs with hard wood ones such as ebony or rose wood. it really improves the sound quality of an accustic quitar.

 

With regards to keeping the quitar in the case, it has one down fall --out of sight out of mind--. This is why I keep mine on a stand next to the couch. If you are concerned about humidity there is a humdifer you can buy. It is a thin sponge encased in a vinyl pouch. The pouch is designed to fit the sound hole and the inside surface has holes in it to allow the moisture to escape into the guitar.if the guitar is stored in a damp area put it in dry to help reduce moisture. It is also usefull to leave in when practicing so as to quiet the guitar down a bit when the wife is upstairs sleeping. This might lust save you from getting your head bit off the next day (no gauranties though).

Edited December 23, 2010 by saddlebum

[SilvrT]

Such a wealth of information on this site.... who needs to go elsewhere, ya can get it all right here!

 

[Freebird]

Here's a pic of the old Epiphone. Not too bad considering it is almost 40 years old.

http://www.venturerider.org/images/epiphone.jpg

http://www.venturerider.org/epiphone.jpg

Edited November 28, 2011 by Freebird

[BEER30]

Well been off the site for a bit....as I've been busy wearing out strings and building AR's. Still not an expert, but stil trying to perfect Sweet Home Alabama, White T's songs(Delilah& 1234) and just all around jiberous. Learn a few Blues licks, but mostly trying to remember what I have learned (CRS). Usually take the strings to shop to practice during breaks, but the employees complain that Wes (employee) and I play to dam loud! Wes has been teaching me a thing or two, but he's a Death Metal guy who plays in a band and get's to carried away and looses me. Was taking lessons but the late hours and work was taking it's toll on me, so dropped the lessons for awhile.

Last year , I got me an Ibanez Artcore (lefty) and a Peavey Vypher 15 watt amp. Now I have added a Vox tube amp to the collection. So far at the home front, the wife hasn't bitten me , nor the dog cuss me out. So I must be doing OK. As a matter of fact, wife came into the living room last night as I was practicing, laid down and fell asleep to the tunes.

Maybe a Jam Party at MD, perhaps we can drive the Pond Monster away or get Don ran out of the neighborhood!

 

BEER30

[Freebird]

Well, I added another guitar to my collection this week. Ran into a deal on Craigslist. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for but the review are very good on it and I like the natural maple finish. I'll try it for a while and see how it works out. It was cheap enough that I can get my money out of it if I decide I don't like it.

 

Washburn HB30

[skydoc_17]

Dave Wells Stopped by our place on the way back from his NY Christmas Vacation and brought his Mountain Dulcimer with him! This guy is amazing! We had such fun listening to Christmas songs on his Mountain Dulcimer and he was so generous with information about the instrument.

Thanks Dave, you certainly brightened up OUR Christmas!

Earl and Jean

[Aussie Annie]

Hope Dave is planning to come to MD Would love to hear him play. Maybe he could learn an aussie song

[skydoc_17]

Hey Annie,

If you know of an Aussie song that would play well on the Mountain Dulcimer, I could try to get some sheet music or a recording of it, and we will get Dave to playin' it, and by the time you get here, he will have you cryin' in your Foster's! Nothing is too good for our Aussie friends!

Earl

[Aussie Annie]

OLD: Waltzing Matilda

 

NEW: I Still Call Australia Home

Tenterfield Saddler [both by Peter Allen?]

[Sleeperhawk]

Hey Annie,

If you know of an Aussie song that would play well on the Mountain Dulcimer, I could try to get some sheet music or a recording of it, and we will get Dave to playin' it, and by the time you get here, he will have you cryin' in your Foster's! Nothing is too good for our Aussie friends!

Earl

 

Maybe we can get Sling, Peggy and Dave in a jam, when them dulcimers guys (gals too) get to jam, some really good sounds.