N-lightMike
Forum Replies Created
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That’s a great win @albert_d . I have wanted to do that more than once. A very few times I have played for family or friends because I wanted it badly enough that they were willing to “put up with me”.
So the really big win that I see in this is that your family and friends actually wanted to have you play for them. That has never happened for me.
MG 😀
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Hey @Dage ;
The “tell” is when you said “it was a lot of money”. I agree, that $700 or $800 is a lot of money. However, given the price range of guitars, that’s pretty darn cheap. The GS Mini is one of the best guitars you can buy for under $1000. At that price point all the manufacturers use plastic parts. When you have a guitar that looks that good, plays that well, and sounds that good, you have to make some clear, notable differences between it and guitars that cost 4 or 5 times as much. Consequently, you must pay over $2000 to get bone nuts and saddles… usually.
You get what you pay for, and what you got was a great guitar. It’s not a “showcase” guitar. Save up your pennies and pay $3500 to $5000 and you will have a “showcase” guitar. It’s all in what you want.
My most expensive guitar cost me $800. I have 2 others that cost $700. Then I have another 6 guitars that cost under $500. I love all my guitars and think they sound and play great. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Do I sometimes get a little envious of the very cool and special guitars that others can afford? Yeah, but I get over that pretty quickly when I pick up one of my beauties and start making it sing.
So my first “advice” would be to love your little GS Mini. And second? If you really must, go to Luthiers Mercantile International (lmii.com) and replace those plastic parts with the materials of your choice. The bonus would be you could learn some DIY guitar maintenance.
MG 😀
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Hey Gordon @GGrav , I would think buying from a small startup could be a really smart thing to do. Being a small guy, and they are obviously for real if the offer a full refund, they have to try harder. And when they are better known, their price will go up. And guess what? The guitar you bought will be worth more than you paid for it… used. Gotta like that.
There are a number of people who own and play resonators on the Virtual Open Mics. The schedules are at justmusicgeeks.com. Zoom is used to get together virtually. Many people only listen at first and don’t turn on their camera or microphone. You should come by and give us a listen. It has been very inspiring for all of us “VOMers” and it has contributed to a lot of growth and improvement in our musical ability and guitar playing.
MG 😀
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The simple answer Mark @the-old-coach , is yes, absolutely. In fact, most songs that say they are for beginners are actually simplified. What’s important is the sound, not the technical aspects of how you play something.
And it is also a yes that many, if not all, people have difficulty at first putting singing and playing together. It is tough to learn. At first, it’s easier if the lyrics line up with the beat and you just do simple down strums. But, you pretty much gotta memorize something. I like to memorize the chord progression first. But others with memorize the lyrics first. Something has to be gotten off the pile of stuff your brain has to remember. It’s too much. Especially if you don’t have the chords down automatically and you have to think about making the chord shapes. That would be nearly impossible. So absolutely, use simple chord shapes.
I hope this helps. Oh, and there are a blue million sites for free on YouTube that teach how to play popular songs. Just type in the name of the song followed by tutorial and you’ll get a bunch of options. Pretty soon, you’ll run across the same sites and decide which ones are your favorites.
Eventually, you want to reach the point where you can work up a song on your own just by looking at sheet music and listening to a recording. Or, maybe just listening to a recording. That’s how a lot of sheet music is created in the first place. An awful lot of popular bands never actually wrote down their scores in the first place. Someone else wrote them down by listening and learning the song from ear only.
MG 😀
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You have risen to the next level, grasshopper. 🤣
Hey Denise ( @Cadgirl ), this is so awesome. In the old days (before computers, etc 😅 ), there wasn’t much a person could do with their guitar journey if they didn’t get into a band and/or start playing small gigs at clubs. So many of us on TAC start playing 20 – 50 years ago. And there are all sorts of stories about how that went. But now?
Well, one way to make our guitar journey more exciting is what you have gotten into. You can actually do this with a simple home computer and free software. Many of the TACers use Audacity. When I was very new to TAC I asked how others were recording and making the amazing videos I was seeing pop up on the forum and found out about Audacity. I tried it, but I settled on Ableton Live. Ableton Live Lite is also free. I haven’t used my DAW much because I got into the VOMs. And I use Musescore to draw up my sheet music, and it is also a free, open source program. Then there is Shotcut, another free, open source application that I use as my video editor (even though I had already bought one, I like this one better). And then of course, there is Open Office, you guessed it, free, open source office suite. I am a big fan of the free, open source software. It’s a bit of a story why Audacity didn’t work for me. But I realize now it wasn’t actually Audacity that caused me problems, but the audio interface I was using.
Anyway, back to your new discovery, Audacity. I am really happy for you. This is a whole nother rabbit hole and you can find hours and hours of fun inside this rabbit hole. And it can keep you entertained for years. Forever, really. And here’s the biggest kicker, it will make you a much better guitarist. Turns out, laying down tracks takes the same skill as playing in a band. You have to adjust your timing to an outside source. Nice. I have heard it said that getting a DAW was the break through that propelled a certain YouTuber, professional guitarist up to professional level. So, congratulations.
MG 😀
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Hey Denise ( @Cadgirl ), before you buy the 12 string, think about the body size. Most of them are dreadnought body size and shape. There are some smaller bodied 12s that are very expensive. Taylor and Collings make smaller ones, but their cost is equivalent to Martins. The lest expensive 12 I found that is smaller than a dread is the Breedlove Solo 12 string for $800 and it’s still a grand auditorium size. But I have been able to adjust to it, although I can’t play it as long as my other guitars.
MG 😀
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Hey @stevieblues ;
An HD 28 is a model of Martin Guitars. In fact, it is one of their 2 “flagship” guitars. The D18 and D28 are very famous and very respected among professional, performing artists. The D18 has mahogany back and sides and the D28 has rosewood. The D stands for dreadnought. The D18 dates way, way back (40s maybe?) and was the guitar that introduced the dreadnought shape to the guitar world.
MG 😀
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First, @Skyman , you can’t go wrong with a Taylor. Really. They are one of the few manufacturers I would say it doesn’t matter what you buy. They are built with playability as one of the chief factors in mind. Not many people buy a Taylor and end up not loving it. Any model. Second, a GS Mini for $199? Wow, if you can afford it, what are you waiting for?
MG 😀
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Thank you @jumpinjeff 😊👍🙏
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Marty @Marty69 , you’d be welcome at a Sunday VwA. Very similar to the Scones. 2pm EST on Sunday, smaller crowd than Friday and Saturday and very welcoming.
MG 😀
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Nobody ever liked me enough to give me a nickname. Or, I never lived in one place long enough. Or,… I don’t know,… I guess I could have gone with justmike. 😎 (Too late now. It’s been taken.)
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That is correct, Denise @Cadgirl . So, you design automobiles, eh? That’s interesting. Of course, it’s probably not interesting to you since you’ve done it for 20 years. I wish I had learned CAD when I went back to school in 2000. Instead, I just messed around with art programs leading to a degree that was useless for a person of my age.
Anyway, yes, the phone can work and others have done it. But, you can spend $20 bucks for a webcam and have both a camera and microphone. But be careful, it’s a deep rabbit hole that you could fall into. 🤣 (When you come to your first VOM you will understand what I mean.)
MG 😀
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When you go over to JMG, on the main Forums page, the fourth group down the page is called “Virtual Open Mic Nights”. Then, it has a separate folder for each open mic. You can also see the links on the calendar.
MG 😀
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You are very welcome, Denise @Cadgirl . We all need encouragement. And our journey and improvement takes what it takes. Some people go faster on the journey than others, but I don’t think anyone would claim to have learned guitar quickly and easily.
And then there is sing and playing at the same time. Then there is posting videos, which takes some knowledge of techy things. Then there is playing in front of others. Then there is coming to an Open Mic, in real life. Or an Open Mic through Zoom, thus the “Virtual”. All of this takes more knowledge and more confidence. It takes time to gain both. But I will say that most people who come to the VOMs, especially people who are new to gutiar, end up feeling like they should have come earlier. It is such a positive and “safe” experience. And it really gives inspiration, motivation and improvement in large doses.
MG 😀
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Again, Mark @the-old-coach , the simple answer is yes. Like Denise said, it is just a little taste. But it was created as a Fretboard Wizard primer.
MG 😀