tailsawaggin
Forum Replies Created
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Hey @Dean-Staff ,
Congrats on the streak you ran, and also, that was a really good rant. It was focused, described your issues and feelings concisely, and didn’t veer into whining and blame. Ranting well is a rare skill, and you brought it. 😁
I understand your feelings. I also just started a new job, and there have been several day streaks of not playing. I find that frustrating, and I find myself getting on myself because I *should* be playing, and that’s just a downward spiral of self recrimination. Sometimes life just happens, and all we can do is roll with it.
There’s usually a light at the end of the tunnel though, and I suspect that this too will pass in time. Sure, it’s a speed bump, maybe even a setback, but I think some day you’ll look back on it, and it will be a blip in your journey. You’ve got the right spirit, and the right attitude, and you’ll find your way back to where you want to be.
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Since there is no “like” button — *like*.
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@DGriff , the phrase “while maintaining the palm touching the neck” jumps out at me. That’s probably what’s holding you back; have you tried using your thumb instead of your palm? Get it somewhere around the middle of the neck, and also somewhere between where your fingers are pressing. The basic idea is to make that thumb the center of pressure so your fingers are free to roam.
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Hello @Skyman ,
The metronome is like that super annoying member of your group of pals. He’s generally helpful and he makes the group better, but man, can he be a pain!
So yeah, I don’t hang out with him all the time. I like to use it for practicing scales, and I find that as time has gone by here on the site, I’ll play Tony’s drills by using the tabs and the metronome instead of the play-along video. The metronome lets me move the speed up in smaller steps than the video’s speed controls. It’s also good for song practice, but only after I can actually play the song . . . if I’m still struggling with the song itself, the metronome is just another layer of difficulty and it doesn’t help yet.
As for a favorite, I too like Pro Metronome from EUMLab. If you’re on iOS, it can be found here — https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pro-metronome-tempo-beat-subdivision-polyrhythm/id477960671 — not sure about Android. This is one of the few apps where the paid upgrade is really worth it, since that unlocks multiple beat subdivisions and it also adds different voices for the sounds. It can simulate a drum kit, and it can count “one and two and three and” after the upgrade.
I think the most difficult part of using the metronome at first was being willing to go slow enough to make it useful. Like so many things with this instrument, it starts off being awkward and unnatural and difficult, but with just a bit of persistence, it gets easier and easier until it feels normal.
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Another thing that can help is to capo up three or four frets. By doing this you’ve effectively shortened the scale length of the guitar and made each fret a little smaller, and you’ve also brought your hand closer to your body, so it will be easier to keep your elbow in by your ribs and keep your fingers running parallel with the frets. All of these things will make it easier to get over the initial hurdles presented by these chords. Good luck!
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@Moonhare , trying again and hopefully this time the post survives. 😁 I have a couple of the $10 Snark tuners, and they do well enough when quick and dirty is good enough. It often takes some fiddling to get things dialed in even after they say “all good here!”
This app seems to be a little more reliable, at least for me, and since the phone is pretty much aways nearby, it’s reasonably convenient. There’s probably an Android version if that’s how you roll.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/guitar-tuner-easy-tune-chords/id838981369
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@VictoriaTACTeam the forum has eaten another reply. This is actually the 31st post — the 30th post disappeared after I edited it to attach a photo.
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Guitarmory is brilliant. 🤣 Me, I’m working on my guithoard.
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@Joemama those are Martin Retro Monel strings, 11-52 (custom light) gauge. I’ve been using them on all my acoustics for a couple years now since I really like the way they sound on my mahogany guitars, they’re relatively cheap at 9-10 bucks a package, and they last a good long time. They also feel softer to me than phosphor bronze.
If I had to pick something to not like about them, it would be that they squeak a lot on position changes. That’s probably more about shortcomings in my technique than the strings themselves, but other strings I’ve played have been more forgiving in that area. Balancing all the other factors, though, I’m happy with the compromise.
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Sweet!
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Oh, I missed one. I don’t think what Bill said about all the strings being the same height from the 12th fret is correct, or at least it’s non-standard, as it’s ordinary and desirable for the high string action to be lower than the low string action. Here’s a Sweetwater article with a useful chart of various guitar manufacturer’s recommendations:
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Hi @Joemama ,
I took a look at the picture, and that saddle is indeed low. Very low. It’s so low that it makes me wonder if there’s something wrong with the neck angle on that guitar, and it’s also low enough that there’s very little break over from the pins to the saddle. That’s going to affect the amount of pressure the strings are exerting, and consequently the amount of energy transmitted into the top, and ultimately the volume of the guitar.
You say your action is 2.25 mm, which is about .089″ imperial. That is a nice low action, and a little lower than the textbook .094″ that’s been mentioned earlier in the thread. For comparison, though, check out the break angle on my Guild OM-120. This guitar’s 6th string action at the 12th fret is .084″, and the saddle height between the 3rd and 4th strings is .339″. That’s just a bit shy of 3/8″, and more in line with what most folks would expect.
Have you given your neck the “straight edge test to the bridge” test? That might shed some light on why that saddle is so so low.
Of course, if you like the way it feels and sounds, this is all academic. It just kind of set some bells ringing over here, and I felt like sharing this information might be useful.
Best,
tails
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I agree with this, because there are so many things that can cause it. I have a Blueridge 12 fret parlor guitar that had bad buzzing on the bass strings from frets 7-12. Turned out the 12th fret wasn’t quite properly leveled, and the previous owner, in trying to work around that, had really goofed with the neck relief and saddle height. So, not only can many single things cause it, it might also be a combination of things, and a pro should be able to get you and your guitar to a happy place pretty quickly.
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Site navigation can be a little weird here. When you first arrive at the lesson, the “Learn” text is black, and next to it, “Play” is in gray. Click on play, and that takes you to the exercise video, and just below the video’s lower right corner, there’s a small image that says “TAB” with the text running vertically. Clicking that will open the tab for the lesson. Those, and a stiff drink, should be all the things it takes to get through it. 😉
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It’s a little wonky. I think replies to replies generate notifications, but replies to original posts don’t. I could be wrong, but that seems to be the pattern. I guess if you get a notification on this, then we have a data point. 😁