Dad3353

Good afternoon, @Jag, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. Tips..? Here's a couple, from another 'oldie'... The fastest way to learn to play anything is to go slowly. Get it right at slow speed, then gradually up the tempo. Slow and steady; that's the way. For longer pieces, learn the last few bars first. Once they're mastered, add the preceding few bars and start again. Rinse and repeat until you reach the beginning You'll find that you're playing into familiar territory as you progress, and the endings sparkle, as you'll have played 'em so much. Have fun, though, that's the important bit.

It's a darned shame that you're the other side of The Channel; that's a quite fine guitar for a more than reasonable price. Good luck with the sale; sooner or later someone is going to get a very good deal indeed.

Some of this comes with practise, but another approach is to not play barre chords..! No, it's not a joke; it's not necessary, for much modern music, to play all the strings. Not the same for the classical guitar repertoire (and there are many tiny tots managing to play full chords on flat finger boards, so it can be done..!). Most of the guitar stuff I play, for instance, uses jazz-style 'drop-two' chords; there are very few barre chords used in jazz playing. What style (what repertoire...) are you aiming for..? I can't think, off-hand of many genres that use the whole width of the finger board, except campfire stuff or some folk strumming. Have a look here, for instance; there are many other sources and examples of how to do without barring and such ... The Barre Chord Alternative ... I started playing, at sixteen, on a Russian-built steel-strung classical-style guitar, with a wide, flat neck, as thick as a baseball bat. My first method book was Mickey Baker's 'Jazz Guitar', where the whole first page is full of chord diagrammes. It was a struggle, and far from ideal, but it taught me a lot. I don't believe in the 'small hands' syndrome, really; it's just a case of adapting one's technique to one's morphology. If you really need them, start off by playing them at the twelfth fret, and move down a fret each week or so. You'll find it all comes together, just by doing it, and there's no 'silver bullet'. I certainly wouldn't recommend a smaller guitar; your choices are already limited enough. Perseverance is the key, I'd say; that's how everyone learnt, whatever their physique. Hope this helps.

Good evening, @Cutsdean, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

It would be unusual for a saddle like this to be glued in (if that's one of the exceptions, it's going to be the devil of a job to remove it...). A tight fit is not even necessary, but over time the saddle may be just stubbornly stuck. Firstly, protect the guitar table with suitable towels or such. Next, you'll want a pair of wide-jawed nail-pulling pliers like these... You might get a better grip on the saddle by wrapping masking tape over the sharp jaws; you don't really want to use so much force as to cut through the plastic. Needle-nose are too narrow, as you've found out. Wide jaws, and gentle 'persuasion' should get it out. Anything else would imply more sophisticated gear, such as a Dremel drill, and mill it out, but that would be best confided to a luthier. Try the pincers first, but be firmly gentle. Good luck with it.

I did that for a while, equally just 'for fun', and it wasn't so bad. Not that I'm particularly gifted 'righty', of course, but I found the adjustment more a question of sitting posture than hand/finger coordination. Maybe it helps that I play drums 'lefty', and half of my parents and siblings are/were lefty. I've reverted, now, to 'normal' playing, but it was an interesting experiment; I learned a lot.

Good evening, @Strongles, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. I doubt that you'll find those parts as originals, although you could try Yamaha themselves. They don't have stocks, really, but you might get lucky. I would suggest rather that you take the guitar to a reputable guitar repair shop, who will be able to replace with equivalent parts with no problems. It shouldn't cost an arm and a leg, and would be done correctly. I can't see your location; that information would help in recommending somewhere. Hope this helps.

It can be as good as it likes; at those prices I'll be keeping my current amps.

In the late '60s/early '70s, there were yet to be 'classic' guitars that would become reissues, really. Maybe a few people 'at the top' knew how to identify the good'uns; the rest of us scouted around seedy music shops or second-hand shops, trying out whatever we could find. I've already described previously the Hampton Hill 'Mrs Nichols' front parlour (that's where I came across the Hofner President...), or the dimly-lit shop down the station alley in Staines, selling mostly Cathedral strings and kazoos. The Japanese, at the time, were more known for their 'plastic metal' motorbikes; it was the fiefdom of Triumph and Norton, or the Ariel Arrow. My group van was a Thames 15cwt, rescued from a scrap yard, my younger brother's fuzz box was a valve tape recorder, bigger than his (Linear Conchord, all of 15w ...) amp. John Mac, for whom I bought a Shaftsbury Les Paul copy so that he could play lead with us, brought his parent's radiogram to venues (mostly village church halls, or youth clubs...), which took up more space in the van than my Edgeware drums. I was making my own amps, back then, from the newly-published circuits using 4 2N3055 power transistors, for a whole 100w..! I didn't know about speaker cab dimensions, so my 4x12 (with cheap Fanes...) were cut from cheap chipboard, with a face panel 3ft square. That's 3ft by 3 ft; try it, you'll see just how big that really is..! The amps and cabs got covered in the cheapest vinyl I could find, which was quite thick, and turquoise. No wonder that the van was full..! We couldn't afford the 'quality' WEM PA stuff, so hired Simms-Watts, with their weedy little mics. Shades of 'we wuz poor but we wuz 'appy' in there somewhere. It's quite remarkable the difference to be found these days, and the griping and, sometimes, snobbism, that this opulence seems to have generated. Home-made guitars were common, back then, and folk were proud of 'em. Just sayin'.

No, that was the end of that saga, but plenty of others came and went all around. They will be related in great detail in DrumChat.co.uk and PAChat.co.uk in due course. Cars, truck, bikes and more will be dealt with in VariousTransportChat.co.uk, and the first season of 'Maj-Jong For Beginners' will appear in 'ParlourGamesChat.co.uk. Watch this space....

I didn't keep my Burns Bison for long, back in the day. I'd very foolishly swapped my Hofner President Thinline Florentine for it (I'd love to find another of those...). A skinny neck, 'quirky' electrics (that's being generous...) and not really suited, at all, to the style I was playing. I traded it for a Vox double-keyboard organ (my then Good Lady wanted to learn keys; both didn't last either...), and finally opted for a Hohner Pianet, which ended up at my parent's house for my father to learn on, which he did until it started to go out of tune, and we found that there's no real way to tune 'em. Oh well...

I've never been a fan of the AC30, with its 'Top Boost' an'all. I know that there are plenty of fine players that use 'em a lot (Yes, you may now take a bow, Mr May ...), but for myself, or even the folks I played with, they seems agressive, tinny, trebly. Loud, OK, but not 'musically' loud. All this until, just a few weeks ago a friend brought his Vox in for repair. Easy enough (duff rectifier valve, fuses blowing; new valve and fuses, problem solved. If only they were all such easy fixes...). He was not available to come back to pick it up, so I was able to 'soak test' it for a couple of weeks. My, my... What a fine amp..! Not that I play all that well, but it really did make it sound as if I could..! When at last the fellow did return, I was able to go through all the settings and gadgets, to show him just how nice his own amp now sounded; he, too, was impressed, and he tottered off with it (OK, it's heavy...), leaving me bereft. An eye (and ear...) opener. My opinion has changed; they can be good, or even very good indeed.

Fixed.

Maybe so, but 'talking to the audience' is not necessarily 'banter'. The 'Peter Gabriel Trick' was to begin a fantasy story, ostensibly explaining the context of the next song, which would often segue into the song itself, in which there was no mention of the preceding 'explanation'..! Meanwhile, the band were preparing, tuning up, whatever, and the audience attentive, so there was no 'dead air'. OK, they had a particular genre to 'em, but our singer, far from being an improviser, rolls out his one-and-only 'joke' at these moments, sometimes two or three times during an evening..! This, in itself, keeps the 'flow' of the set alive. Dealing with heckling is another skill; we don't get heckled, so I don't know how we'd react. Probably floods of tears, I expect.

The one at the gig and three pubs beforehand..? ...

Well, there's your answer right there. Rehearse. S'what actors do for theatrical performance, or film répliques. It doesn't matter what you rehearse (the 'standard' would be a couple of jokes, usually cheesy, but could be any anecdote or flight of fancy, à la Peter Gabriel...). The important part is that it's not adlib, it's rehearsed, in front of a mirror, maybe. Take the opportunity during band rehearsal, while this 'tuning' goes on, to step up to your mic and 'speak to them' (the fictional audience in the rehearsal room...). S'no big deal once you're used to it; you'll see.

Good evening, @ubit, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

Not sure if this is on topic or not, but seeing the HB pics above ^^, I thought I'd share this photo of my Xavier, with a similar pick-up disposition ... Based, loosely, on the Tele Thinline (one day I'll maybe be able to afford a real guitar ...), the p/u's resemble Filtertrons. A push/pull splits to single coils; the mini-switch cabling has been removed (was for phase change, but too much of a faff...). You can't really appreciate the Black Sparkle finish. An excellent 'player'; it's really my 'go to' guitar these days, for any electric stuff. Sounds very nice through a Germanium 4 Big Muff, and records nicely, too.

I have a Fender Bassman Export 50, and its associated 2 x 15 cab, and can confirm that it is excellent as a guitar rig. I also used it for several years as my bass amp, on big stages and exterior gigs, as well as home practise, and it worked splendidly for that, too. The head is currently with my amp repair man, awaiting pick-up after its major overhaul (re-caps, and a duff o/p tranny...); I'll have to make time to get it, as it was ready before Christmas, but travel wasn't allowed, so... Hmm... Maybe next week..? S'been too long since I used it. Here's a (very...) old photo; it's just visible on the left ... ... and again, with one of my guitars ..

Good evening, xxxxx , and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

Doesn't work for me 'We could not locate the item you're trying to view' message. No idea why. Hmm...

Only partly, in truth. I've been playing guitars, of many sorts, for over half a century now; I worked in a music shop for several years, too. I can't honestly say I've ever known anyone, least of all myself, that consider the 'tone' of any make of strings, from Cathedral through Ernie Ball to D'Addario and Elixir, passing through many others (Dean Markley, Fender etc...). The gauge will have an effect, but when I changed from Fender Bullets to Elixir, I noticed only that they lasted one heck of a lot longer. Tone..? That's my fingers, and (partly...) the guitar and amp. OK, pedals, too, when used. But the make of strings..? That's a new one on me. Others may have better ears than me (not difficult, especially these daze..!); I'll ask Our Eldest (a luthier and guitarist...) and see what he thinks. No, it's not a factor I've ever considered, tonally. The feel, yes, but not the tone. Blind, I'm not sure anyone could tell what brand is what. Edit: Our Eldest is also surprised by the notion. If there is an effect, it's well down on the list of potential tonal changes, behind fingers (obviously...), pick-ups, potentiometers, amp, jack lead and more. Very difficult to do a real 'A/B' test, too, but our experience is that the brand matters little, tonally. Just sayin'.

Tone..? What is this 'tone' of which you speak..?

Probably too soon to tell for longevity.

My first week's wages, in a little brown envelope, amounted to 6£, as an apprentice, in '66. It was spent on my first guitar, a Russian-made acoustic classical guitar, strung with steel strings about 1/2" from the 12th fret. The neck joint was a simple horizontal bolt through the heel to the body. I would, of course, need a guitar method book, so I bought, at the same time (from Bell's Music, Hounslow...) the Mickey Baker Complete Course In Jazz Guitar. Here's the book ... ... still available, very inexpensive, from Amazon and elsewhere. Here's Lesson one, on Page Two ... I can't say how many hours, days, months, years I've spent breaking my fingers on those chords. Things improved somewhat when I 'upgraded' to a Hofner President, but it was a hard slog. Happy daze...