Dad3353

Good evening, @Goldilocks33, and ... ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. The one your daughter has researched and chosen is just fine, and will stand her in good stead for many years to come. Yes, there are better (read : 'different'...), more expensive instruments out there, but her choice is very good for starting out on a lifetime's journey. If your budget is up to it, give your lucky daughter an excellent birthday present, that she will cherish. It could have been worse; a double bass is quite a lot more expensive..!

Have a look here, maybe..? Guitar levels explained ... From your description, I'd guess that you're about at Level 5, or 6, which would place you around the Grade 2 or 3 mark. Hope this helps; carry on, you're doing fine. Only another half a century to go to become Master Of All Things.

I make it out to be a rather slow 4/4, with the first syllable of the lyrics falling on the 1 And 2 and 3 and 4 and ... It gets a bit 'lumpy' at times, as the singer, presumably playing on his own, skips bars or adds 'em in, but if I stubbornly carry on with my 1 And 2 and etc, it all comes out in the wash. I don't think these skips and hops are deliberate; it's just the way the fellow has it going on in his head. If I start to count from the first clear chord in this way : 3 and 4 and 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 And 2 ... it seems to work. Try it..? No guarantee, but that's what I'd drum to it. Hope this helps.

Ah, excellent; well done for replying so clearly. It sounds as if you're on the same track as all of us, when starting out. Obviously you should address these concerns with your tutor; he/she will have doubtless heard much the same from many pupils. Meanwhile, if you're not doing it already, I'd recommend playing for short periods, as often as you can, but regularly. Two 15-minutes sessions, each and every day, no exceptions or excuses, will cement the 'information' very quickly. Far better than an hour once a week. I will assume that you have exercises, routines, to practise, from your tutor..? Do these, religiously, in your practise sessions, plus any other stuff you want to do from other sources (method books, U-tube etc...), but avoid playing for too long at a time, especially for the first few months, as this can seal in bad habits and damage your hands. Depending on the complexity, it's normal to have to refer back to the partition (be it tab, notation or chords charts... whatever...) at first, but much will become 'ingrained' over time, as long as you keep plugging away at it assiduously. There is no 'silver bullet', but be assured that every guitarist, whatever their talent, started out with your level of competence. It's only the practising that makes the difference, and it's not overnight. Speak to your tutor, then, follow their advice and method, and trust me; it will all come together, and all the faster for being patient and doing things slowly. I'll end with my usual tongue-in-cheek encouragement ... It's the first forty years that are the hardest, after which things sometimes tend to get very slightly easier.

Good evening, @Bunny, and ... ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. First question : Do you have a guitar tutor, or are you doing this all alone..? Next : What is your age..? Lastly : How fast did you think that learning to play the guitar would be..? As for 'retaining the information' : what, exactly, is this 'information' that you're losing..? Most of guitar playing, as with other instruments, and, indeed, most skills, such as driving a car, or walking, are a case of 'muscle memory', whereby there is no conscious 'thinking' going on, the muscles (and brain...) have learned, mostly through repetition, what to do. How are you learning..? Looking forward to your answers, after which I'm sure some helpful advice, hints and tips will come forth. Over to you...

Replied in the other topic...

Maybe if we could hear it, we could try, because it's guesswork, otherwise. Do you have a Soundcloud account (it's free, and easy to use...)..? An MP3 uploaded to there, the link shared here, and we could all comment. '...Compared to other fingerstyle pieces I’ve heard...' These may have been composed and performed by folk with decades of experience; their own 'first tune' may have seemed 'hollow', too..! Kudos for having achieved even one piece; it's not easy to obtain perfection at the first attempt. Post a recording (you can link an audio file to this topic, or a video if you can do it; whatever you can...) and we'll see how to guide you. Over to you..?

What guitar/vibrato (Floyd-Rose..? Bigsby..? Other..?)..? Most vibratos work behind the bridge, just changing string tension, so don't affect string height (action...). It's probably safe to block as you wish, with no effect on action. You could measure this yourself, of course.

Now there, you're not wrong.

I didn't mean to be mean, or a dampener, but optimised profiles and such are more important for experienced players, that need to perform every night to a high standard (and even then, many don't concern themselves with such details..!). It's much easier, and more rewarding, to practise on a decent instrument, whatever nuance of neck profile. The more one practises, the less it matters; that's where the benefit lies : practise.

I'm not sure that it's as simple as all that. The neck profile is a factor, I'd agree, but comfort, playability, 'feel' and more are also major factors, and the real solution when choosing on such criteria is to try them out yourself. Not easy, I'm aware, but if it's so important to you, you'll avoid an awful lot of disappointment (and financial loss...) if you 'try before you buy'. I realise that this is difficult when deciding on a used instrument several hundred miles away, but them's the breaks, I'm afraid. Another option (one I adopted many decades ago...) is to not be fussy about such things, and adapt to whatever comes into your hands. I've several guitars and basses, acoustic and electric; I don't even think about profiles and such; I just play 'em. OK, not very well, but that's not the point. It has certainly made choosing instruments so much easier..! Hope this helps (but that seems unlikely ...).

Here you go ... Amazon : 100 Most Popular Songs for Fingerpicking Guitar: Solo Guitar Arrangements in Standard Notation and Tab Paperback – July 1, 2019 ... Hope this helps ...

All three models proposed are in the €100-300 range; one would suggest that they are of equivalent construction, and not hand-built concert models. A Goya would be second-hand, I think, and prices vary (the Custom 4 costs ten times more, typically, than the Model 4...). Not much to choose between them, really, except confidence in their provenance (guarantee in case of a fault, maybe..?), aesthetics, and, of course budget. In this range, though, there are many, many offers, from so many brands, it's really quite moot to pick out anything really special, nor really bad. Sorry; hope this helps, a little.

A new set of strings are a Good Investment when starting out on guitar. However, it may be useful to find your local guitar tech and have him/her show you how to change a set of strings. It's easy, of course, for those that know how, but can be daunting, the first time, and some important errors would be avoided. Which strings..? Hmm... A rabbit hole to be gone down here, potentially. For basic strumming, the usual recommendation is for a set of phosphor-bronze, with a gauge 13-56 (usually classed as 'Medium'...); these bring out the best of folk guitars, but can be troublesome for those beginning, as they are not forgiving on tender fingers. Personally, I do little strumming, and use the same gauge as my electric guitars (10-47, classed as 'Extra-light'...), which sound fine to me, and are easier for debutants (I've been playing for well over half a century, but still prefer the lighter gauge...). As for manufacture, I use Elixir coated strings, for their longevity, and because my fingers corrode most other strings. The Elixir coating is, to me, undetectable when playing, and doesn't affect the sound at all, but last well over a year, as long as I wipe the fingerboard down after any session. Disclaimer : I'm a drummer; bass and guitar are secondary instruments to me, so I'm not playing several hours a day, typically (unless recording...). You are likely to get several opinions here and elsewhere; your own experience will guide you in the end, so jump in and enjoy the ride. Seek advice on how to change strings correctly, though; that'll serve you in good stead for decades to come. Hope this helps. Douglas

Any room will having all sorts of reflections, many of which will be picked up by any 'live' mics around, to a greater or lesser extent, and with a rather random phase relationship to the sound source. This is part of recording with mics, and only becomes an issue in particular circumstances. A classic example would be recording a drum session using stereo overheads. These are usually positioned to be exactly equidistant from the snare head, so that they receive the same phase each. It's only a matter of chance, though that this be perfect in anything but a 'dead' room, as reflections, from many sources, will be picked up. It's not important, though, usually, as the final result, when listened back, is satisfactory, especially when in the final mix, rather than taken in isolation. Having a perfect phase match is an academic ideal, but in 'real life', is seldom reached, and even less often important enough to lose sleep over. There are specific exceptions (some orchestral recordings in a concert hall, using multi-mics, for instance...), but for an acoustic guitar, it's not that often that one wants a true 'stereo' image; rather a bi-mic image (sound-hole plus body, or neck...), where phase issues become moot. Moving one of the mics even a little further away render phase issues unimportant, in my experience. The final listening is what counts most, and careful mic placing (and good ears...) make this possible, in all but laboratory experiments. Just my tuppence-worth.

No. ... Disclaimer : I'm a drummer, I play pretty well nothing but down-strokes all night, every time I play.

I've used Smooth Hound successfully.

Nor can an acoustic drum kit in a 'live' room. Does it matter..?

Good afternoon, @repoman, and ... ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

Good afternoon, @John2016, xxxxxx, and ... ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

For a p/u swap, 'like for like', it's possible, usually, to lift the p/u, cut the cable and either splice the new one in, or fit plugs. This won't work if wanting to replace a two-wire for a coil-tapping p/u, but does do away with the need to work through the f-holes. Just sayin'.

Good evening, @Alistair G, and ... ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. (... and I concur with my learned friend, above : consult. Medical advice is what's required, as we are all different. Let us know the outcome, please..? )

Good afternoon, @Bass Novice, and ... ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

I deliberately neglected mention of the BlackStar range, precisely to avoid 'muddying the waters'.

Good evening... As you have already found, 100w is way too much for domestic use, so keeping the Champion amp somewhere where it will be useful is a splendid initiative. As for the conundrum : with what to replace it..? I'd suggest a fairly simple amp that should do the trick. Of the four you mention, I'd suggest the Fender Champion 40 as being the best compromise between small practise amp and boxy-sounding 'toy' amp. As we know from bass, speaker size is not the only factor in cabs, so an 8" can sound glorious, but it's probably not the case in the Fender 20w. If you liked the native sound of the Fender 100, the 40w version would probably please most, and your Fx will add any extra sounds you want. Your daughter will, in time, find her own way with Fx; meanwhile she will have a solid, quality native sound when using the Fender 40, without the fuss and bother (and distraction...) of Fx. Not that the others are not good amps, and there are many more that could be considered, but the Fender Champion 40 has the advantage of being already a known starting point, very close to the Fender 100 that you liked. That's my tuppence-worth; welcome to the forum. Douglas