Happy day after Memorial Day! I hope you all had wonderful holiday. I was lucky enough to have an extended holiday up in the mountains at my parents cabin where I could just relax and have fun. No Internet and no guitar and I needed to take a break from both. My thumb on my left hand has been really hurting lately, probably because I’m gripping the guitar too tightly when I’m playing, so stepping away from the instrument help me re-evaluate some technique like I vowed in a past rant, “Back to the Basics.” Anyway, I just picked up the axe this evening and it felt good! Didn’t really worry about how well I played because I broke a nail last week and still getting used to picking with skin instead of nail. I did become aware that I’m contorting my thumb a bit behind the neck which is possibly contributing to my problem. I read somewhere that when you play, you should keep your thumb in line with your index and middle fingers. For a better analogy, act like you were holding a piece of paper between your fingers. What I was doing was moving my thumb way …
latest update
Guitar Musings is now three months old and I would like to ask you how I am doing? Below is a brief survey, about 7 questions, and your answers will help me improve upon what I feel is a good start. If you fill out the survey, you will also be entered to win a copy of Tommy Emmanuel’s “Live Center Stage.” Please, only one entry per person. The survey will be open until Wednesday May 28th 8:00 PM MST. Once again, thank you for visiting my site. Larry McDowell (5.28.08: survey is closed. Thanks to all for your responses)
Purchased an Acoustasonic a few weeks back because my old Peavy BackStage practice amp finally died and I must say I haven’t been disappointed. A nice little package with enough effects and drive to please most guitarists. First thoughts: I was happy to see that the Acoustasonic had the ability to sit on the floor at an angle. Makes it so much easier to adjust my settings without having to hunch over to see the controls. I plugged my Seagull S6 in and was impressed with the nice clean sound. It did feel a bit punchy at times , I’m thinking it was because the LR Baggs system on my Seagull was driving the sound too much. After working on both the amp and guitar, I found a tone that I liked. Since I don’t currently play live, I can’t really give an opinion on how it would perform out in the field but it does have a line out so you can plug right in to sound reinforcement. This makes me think that the possibilities are only limited to the mixer you plug into. I was also skeptical with the claim that this was specifically designed for acoustic players. …
A few weeks back, I wrote a post about a guitar repair shop finder on the web, mentioning that I purchased the book “The Acoustic Guitar Adjustment, Care, Maintenance, and Repair,” so I could get a better idea of the inner-workings of my post about a guitar repair shop finder on the web, mentioning that I purchased the guitars. I have become a firm believer that the more you know about your instrument, the better you will play. At least that’s one reason why I feel I have improved. First Thoughts: After I started reading this book, I began to think that I might have went a bit over my head. With some chapters like “Disassembly and Reassembly of Guitar bodies,” “Pearl Inlay Technique” and “Finishing and Refinishing”, I was wondering whether I would be able to use any of this information. This book was definitely meant for someone with some experience in woodworking. What I Found Useful: After getting over the initial intimidation, I did find some chapters that I could use for myself. I was able to utilize “String Action and Tension Rod Adjustment” and “Intonation and Bridging” to tune up and lower the action on my Seagul …
Just got this message from Tommy Emmanuel camp. In case you haven’t listened Bob and Tom, they love practical jokes and are pretty funny. Their energy and Tommy’s should be quite interesting. Tommy will be on the top rated National morning radio program BOB AND TOM atsomewhere around 8:30 am EDT on May 20th – from Indianapolis, Indiana.It is LIVE in 150 cities.Some cities delay it (Pacific & Mountain time) so they can air astheir morning drive show.Here is their affiliate list:http://www.bobandtom.com/gen3/affiliates.htmAlso, here is a pass to their VIP website so you can listen to the show on your computer if Bob and Tom is not broadcast in your city.Just go to www. bobandtom.com .. and select VIP top right tab.USER NAME: airheads05PASSWORD: airheads05This is a great opportunity to expose Tommy and his music to America. Please pass this information on to others, and if you can…Listen in!Regards,Linda So set your calendars and alarms so you can wake up in time for a listen.
