petelanger
Forum Replies Created
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Tuners can be finicky devices. I’ve been very lucky with my Fender tuner, it seems to give me a clear reading in a stable manner. I have another one that came with one of my guitars, sometimes I’ll hook them both on the neck to sort of calibrate. That one is not as stable in it’s reading, flickers the green (lock indicator) a lot more but when I’m nicely tuned they agree with each other.
I will usually tune with a pick rather than a bare finger, I think it’s more reliable in producing a steady vibration in the string. I would imagine that it’s best to pick near the 12th fret (middle of the string) for optimum energy transfer, although I don’t do this, it just occurred to me that strings might vibrate slightly irregular. Speaking of irregular energy transfer: have you ever seen video of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsing?
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NpsDLes2bWM -
Yeah, I did fail to mention it’s fine to have the strap go to the end of the neck but just make sure it’s not hooked onto any strings. Even if you just feed a little strap under the strings and around the back of the neck, you can attach to that.
I’ve never been fond of that setup, don’t really know why? if your guitar is neck heavy (and one of mine was!) I imagine balance is probably less troublesome with the strap on the end of the neck.
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Oh yes @Bayvu2 , while it’s a setback it may very well have a silver lining if you do what have planned. Absolutely work on your right hand technique! To make it more pleasurable to your ears you can experiment with alternate tunings. Drop D for example will allow you to play some beautiful melodies with just one finger on the fretboard.
Wish you the best through your surgeries and recovery time!
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I can’t contribute a whole lot, I’m very new to this game, I found out what a nut was about 2 years ago, I’ve known about the saddle for a lot longer but still had no idea what they were made of and what effect they have on guitar playability and tone.
I had the pleasure of replacing both the nut and saddle on my guitar a few weeks ago, thanks to your encouragement and instruction @jorgemac . It was very satisfying to make those adjustments. I was mainly aiming at improving the action on all my strings up and down the neck. But I used unbleached cattle bone and I do find it improved the tone, I am not sure what material the guitar had before, it wasn’t specified in the description of the guitar. If it was natural bone then it was most likely bleached because they were a lot more white.
Did you say you notched your saddle? I left mine alone on the exposed side, I did sand it down quite a bit because the ones I bought were very high, and I had to shorten both saddle and nut for proper fit. I have heard that some people put slots in the saddle to prevent the strings from moving up and down. Have you ever done this?
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The Quick Start Guide that Jorge mentioned above lays it all out. It’s not very complicated.
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Somehow I’ve been called to do this @Skyman911 ! Thanks for all the many ways you have helped me in my journey!
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Awe thanks, that was a wonderful compliment. You have been a lot of help and a shining example for me, @jumpinjeff
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You wouldn’t want to have the guitar strap hooked around your strings, this could cause issues. The strap should be attached to both sides of the body. Yes you may have to drill a small hole to attach a button on bottom of the neck heel.
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Interesting (very old-school) website, I did save it to my favorites. A treasure trove of information, it seems!
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What were you in when you lost your place? Here are some links to various series that a new member 30 days in might be at:
30 Days to Play is here: https://tonypolecastro.com/courses/30-days-to-play/
5 Day Routine is here: https://tonypolecastro.com/courses/5-day-guitar-routine-challenge/Daily Challenges: https://tonypolecastro.com/home/
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Palo Alto, that’s interesting. Actually one of the few places in California that I’ve actually spent some time in. I was there in ’76 and again in ’89. The headquarters of the telecommunications company my Dad worked for was in Palo Alto: Farinon which later was absorbed by Harris Corp
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Oh! I see the resemblance, LOL!
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Great choice! I might have to try that at some point. I bought a bag of 6 max-grip jazz III’s that I really like. But what if there’s something that suits me better?
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Hello @AmyK thanks for jumping into the dialogue. I was there where you are a couple of years ago, going through my collection of picks and trying to find one that would work for me. I also favored the thin ones in the beginning. This will change for you as you develop your strumming and picking. It’s a multi year journey, enjoy the ride!
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When I read the words “there are a few goals from which I have resigned as a result of modified desire” it triggered a recollection from a video of a fellow musician that I follow quite closely: Rick Beato. I owe the fact that I am a guitar player today to him. His channels are what inspired me to take it on at age 63. I thought I would share here so that he could inspire others.