Guitar Players Thread

Been saving up and shopping around, and a couple days ago I finally pulled the trigger on my first (well, technically first, as I had a ~$75 cheapy I bought in college and rarely played) acoustic guitar, a Martin D0010e:
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(the pickguard isn't pulling off; I just enjoy pulling the protective plastic film off stuff but enjoy anticipation even more). So far it's lovely to play; just has this deep sound I can really fall into. Kinda glad I built myself up on playing electric before investing in this one (for those who don't remember, I got a Les Paul style secondhand around Jan '21 as I stepped back into playing, and have stuck with it since). I'm trying to focus a bit on fingerpicking, as it's a huge blindspot for me.
 
Bull Shannon said:
Been saving up and shopping around, and a couple days ago I finally pulled the trigger on my first (well, technically first, as I had a ~$75 cheapy I bought in college and rarely played) acoustic guitar, a Martin D0010e:
View attachment 148454
View attachment 148455
(the pickguard isn't pulling off; I just enjoy pulling the protective plastic film off stuff but enjoy anticipation even more). So far it's lovely to play; just has this deep sound I can really fall into. Kinda glad I built myself up on playing electric before investing in this one (for those who don't remember, I got a Les Paul style secondhand around Jan '21 as I stepped back into playing, and have stuck with it since). I'm trying to focus a bit on fingerpicking, as it's a huge blindspot for me.
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That's a nice acoustic! If you ever get into open or alternate tunings, check out Martin Simpson (he's got some books and videos but also his albums are wonderful) and joni mitchell
 
Bull Shannon said:
Been saving up and shopping around, and a couple days ago I finally pulled the trigger on my first (well, technically first, as I had a ~$75 cheapy I bought in college and rarely played) acoustic guitar, a Martin D0010e:
View attachment 148454
View attachment 148455
(the pickguard isn't pulling off; I just enjoy pulling the protective plastic film off stuff but enjoy anticipation even more). So far it's lovely to play; just has this deep sound I can really fall into. Kinda glad I built myself up on playing electric before investing in this one (for those who don't remember, I got a Les Paul style secondhand around Jan '21 as I stepped back into playing, and have stuck with it since). I'm trying to focus a bit on fingerpicking, as it's a huge blindspot for me.
Click to expand...
Congrats, enjoy it! Beautiful guitar!
 
Unrelated, but your acoustic guitar post made me think to mention a recent youtube discovery: woodword instrument's guitar repair videos

 
Bull Shannon said:
Been saving up and shopping around, and a couple days ago I finally pulled the trigger on my first (well, technically first, as I had a ~$75 cheapy I bought in college and rarely played) acoustic guitar, a Martin D0010e:
View attachment 148454
View attachment 148455
(the pickguard isn't pulling off; I just enjoy pulling the protective plastic film off stuff but enjoy anticipation even more). So far it's lovely to play; just has this deep sound I can really fall into. Kinda glad I built myself up on playing electric before investing in this one (for those who don't remember, I got a Les Paul style secondhand around Jan '21 as I stepped back into playing, and have stuck with it since). I'm trying to focus a bit on fingerpicking, as it's a huge blindspot for me.
Click to expand...
Nice! I auditioned a bunch of Martins a while back. Great guitars but weren't quite my taste; although I won't knock them...just not for me.

I actually picked up a new acoustic a couple weeks back and your post prompts me to share...

A Yamaha AC5R

PXL_20220804_212243523.jpg

It's funny...if you asked me a couple years ago what I thought of Yamaha guitars, I probably would have said they made fine entry level/beginner guitars. I enjoyed playing someone else's Pacifica years ago and have played their ~$100-200ish acoustics many times (they are well proliferated).

But a couple years ago I was looking to get a semi-hollowbody electric and initially was looking at Gibson ES-335's. I played a bunch but thought they didn't necessary warrant their price. Great guitars, but there is better (IMO). I ended up whittling it down to either an Ibanez JCM model or the Yamaha SA-2200, based on research and reviews.

I ended up going with the Yamaha (I posted images of it way back when I got it) and it transformed my view of Yamaha. Their top line guitars are beautiful and sound great - and represent much better value at their price points than standard competitors.

Like the SA-2200, the AC5R is handmade at their location in Japan. Beautifully crafted, plays excellent, and sounds superb.

Side note on your acoustic....I don't know the humidity levels in your home but do you keep it naked on a stand at all times? Personally, my acoustics and electrics are always kept in their cases with humidity control in the case (I also live in the dry-ass desert) and then the cases are kept on a String Swing stand. Not as nice of a presentation as an open stand or wall hanging, but I feel they are better taken care of and require less intervention over time.

PXL_20220812_220358806.jpg
 
Big Diaper Energy said:
Nice! I auditioned a bunch of Martins a while back. Great guitars but weren't quite my taste; although I won't knock them...just not for me.

I actually picked up a new acoustic a couple weeks back and your post prompts me to share...

A Yamaha AC5R

View attachment 148543

It's funny...if you asked me a couple years ago what I thought of Yamaha guitars, I probably would have said they made fine entry level/beginner guitars. I enjoyed playing someone else's Pacifica years ago and have played their ~$100-200ish acoustics many times (they are well proliferated).

But a couple years ago I was looking to get a semi-hollowbody electric and initially was looking at Gibson ES-335's. I played a bunch but thought they didn't necessary warrant their price. Great guitars, but there is better (IMO). I ended up whittling it down to either an Ibanez JCM model or the Yamaha SA-2200, based on research and reviews.

I ended up going with the Yamaha (I posted images of it way back when I got it) and it transformed my view of Yamaha. Their top line guitars are beautiful and sound great - and represent much better value at their price points than standard competitors.

Like the SA-2200, the AC5R is handmade at their location in Japan. Beautifully crafted, plays excellent, and sounds superb.

Side note on your acoustic....I don't know the humidity levels in your home but do you keep it naked on a stand at all times? Personally, my acoustics and electrics are always kept in their cases with humidity control in the case (I also live in the dry-ass desert) and then the cases are kept on a String Swing stand. Not as nice of a presentation as an open stand or wall hanging, but I feel they are better taken care of and require less intervention over time.

View attachment 148546
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I keep mine out and about, except my spanish guitar, which is in the case -- it's much more sensitive to heat/humidity than the steel string -- I am also in serious ambient heat, but SoFla heat is very, very humid (although I keep the house humidity low and the temp in the mid/low 70s)
 
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Need a little help. My son Tyler is in a band, but all of the members live in other parts of the country, and they have someone who needs the band to send him their tracks digitally so he can mix. I have an iMac, and don’t know how to record the guitar to a digital file. I downloaded Audacity to the computer, Tyler has an iRig2, but there isn’t a USB port, just a headphone jack. Ideas?
 
Sonicpharmacist said:
Need a little help. My son Tyler is in a band, but all of the members live in other parts of the country, and they have someone who needs the band to send him their tracks digitally so he can mix. I have an iMac, and don’t know how to record the guitar to a digital file. I downloaded Audacity to the computer, Tyler has an iRig2, but there isn’t a USB port, just a headphone jack. Ideas?
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I’m wrapping my head around the iRig2; based on google it sounds like it connects directly to a Mac or iPhone? Seems like there are some YouTube videos about recording via GarageBand.

I’m more experienced with recording voice rather than music, but my thought would be to just use an aux cable from the headphone jack of his amp to the computer.

But we have several people in this thread with more music recording experience; hopefully they’ll give you more definitive advice!
 
Bull Shannon said:
I’m wrapping my head around the iRig2; based on google it sounds like it connects directly to a Mac or iPhone? Seems like there are some YouTube videos about recording via GarageBand.

I’m more experienced with recording voice rather than music, but my thought would be to just use an aux cable from the headphone jack of his amp to the computer.

But we have several people in this thread with more music recording experience; hopefully they’ll give you more definitive advice!
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My computer doesn’t have a headphone input, and it looks like the iRig will let you record to a tablet, but not a computer, so we’re gonna try that.
 
Sonicpharmacist said:
My computer doesn’t have a headphone input, and it looks like the iRig will let you record to a tablet, but not a computer, so we’re gonna try that.
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no headphone input at all? is this a laptop/desktop?

The important thing is to get the audio recorded somehow -- and to that end, recording onto a tablet (or phone) and then uploading to google drive (or whatever) will very likely be Good Enough. I have had "perfectly acceptable" (but admittedly far from pristine or ideal) results recording using the built-in mic on my phone and then pushing it up to google drive for later manipulation in audacity or a DAW*.



*I assume since you mention Apple that you're at least messing around in GarageBand but my personal non-apple DAW of choice is Reaper, which is shockingly complete for both what it costs and what it can do. Reaper is written by Justin Frankel, whose main claim to fame was WinAmp and Gnutella, but relevant to your son's band, he also wrote NINJAM which lets people play music together online.
 
yukbon said:
no headphone input at all? is this a laptop/desktop?

The important thing is to get the audio recorded somehow -- and to that end, recording onto a tablet (or phone) and then uploading to google drive (or whatever) will very likely be Good Enough. I have had "perfectly acceptable" (but admittedly far from pristine or ideal) results recording using the built-in mic on my phone and then pushing it up to google drive for later manipulation in audacity or a DAW*.



*I assume since you mention Apple that you're at least messing around in GarageBand but my personal non-apple DAW of choice is Reaper, which is shockingly complete for both what it costs and what it can do. Reaper is written by Justin Frankel, whose main claim to fame was WinAmp and Gnutella, but relevant to your son's band, he also wrote NINJAM which lets people play music together online.
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Yeah the iMac doesn’t have a headphone input, so we’re going to try using his iRig on his iPad, upload it to Google drive, run it through audacity and see what happens from there.
 
I got a very up close look at Marc Ribot on Monday night. He was playing this super beat up acoustic guitar. He’s always had a rep for playing super messy and rough sounding. But after getting such an up close look at him playing it dawned made me realize the strength it takes to play that way. Lots of “non musical” sounds with strings being stretched to their limit.

Here’s a picture in his beanie and sport coat. My friend joked that he’s seen that look on homeless people.

4237655D-CBC2-4CFB-B888-682DF319F812.jpeg
 
I figured we'd have a guitar thread in here. Now comer to this corner of the forum!

So for the past few years my wife has kicked around the idea of trying to learn guitar, and this year we pulled the trigger for Christmas. After some shopping around and some homework she fell for a Gretsch and we came home with a G2627T Streamliner. I'm here to get any advice you fine folks might have on what else she might want to consider for other gear and getting started. She'll obviously need a cable, amp, strap, probably a stand, and lessons are on the agenda as well.

The amp is obviously the next big element. The manager at the store directed us to the Fender Mustang LT25, which feels like a pretty good option. But we don't have it yet, so if there are others that should be considered, feedback is welcome!

We also haven't done much research on stands and straps. If there is anything we should consider around those items, we're all ears. Appreciate the help and all the great photos in the thread.
 
displayname said:
I figured we'd have a guitar thread in here. Now comer to this corner of the forum!

So for the past few years my wife has kicked around the idea of trying to learn guitar, and this year we pulled the trigger for Christmas. After some shopping around and some homework she fell for a Gretsch and we came home with a G2627T Streamliner. I'm here to get any advice you fine folks might have on what else she might want to consider for other gear and getting started. She'll obviously need a cable, amp, strap, probably a stand, and lessons are on the agenda as well.

The amp is obviously the next big element. The manager at the store directed us to the Fender Mustang LT25, which feels like a pretty good option. But we don't have it yet, so if there are others that should be considered, feedback is welcome!

We also haven't done much research on stands and straps. If there is anything we should consider around those items, we're all ears. Appreciate the help and all the great photos in the thread.
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straps: splurge and get the most comfortable one you can find. I recommend big, wide and pillowy. something like this:

1670992860631.png

Amp: look into Line6 amps like the spider and also the Fender Champion (Fender Champion vs Mustang: Which Amp Should You Get? - Guitar Space for a mustang vs champ comparison). I have a fender twin reverb tweed that I love but the spider is easier to deal with. If money or volume are considerations, consider a pignose amp or a headphone amp modeller (line6 again like the POD).

any stand should be padded where the guitar touches it and have a neck lock to keep the guitar from being knocked out of it.
 
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Ps used/ craigslist/fb marketplace selection gets better after Xmas when people try to sell their old stuff (after getting new stuff for the holidays). I picked up my line 6 spider IV amp for $50 this way.
 
yukbon said:
straps: splurge and get the most comfortable one you can find. I recommend big, wide and pillowy. something like this:

View attachment 161138

Amp: look into Line6 amps like the spider and also the Fender Champion (Fender Champion vs Mustang: Which Amp Should You Get? - Guitar Space for a mustang vs champ comparison). I have a fender twin reverb tweed that I love but the spider is easier to deal with. If money or volume are considerations, consider a pignose amp or a headphone amp modeller (line6 again like the POD).

any stand should be padded where the guitar touches it and have a neck lock to keep the guitar from being knocked out of it.
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Thanks for the info and links! I think this further reaffirms the Mustang LT. Seems like it just offers more room to grow for a reasonable price increase. But we’ll certainly check out Line6 as well.

And great tip on the strap. Wouldn’t even have thought of the plush ones.
 
yukbon said:
Ps used/ craigslist/fb marketplace selection gets better after Xmas when people try to sell their old stuff (after getting new stuff for the holidays). I picked up my line 6 spider IV amp for $50 this way.
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Didn’t think about the post holiday inventory surge. We’ll definitely keep that in mind.
 
Also, you're gonna want a tuner. Get a digital one. Tuning is easily the hardest part when you're really green. That bigsby bridge is a lot of fun but takes a bit of getting used to, to bring it back to tune.
 
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