Guitar Fraud - Can't walk the talk.

[Rosemarie]

I actually tried mandolin a long time ago and kinda like it. My Dad picked up a Gibson mandolin at a flea market for $2 (the person had no clue of their actual value) and he got some lesson books for playing bluegrass. My biggest problem was getting it tuned right because I couldn't find a pitch pipe for a mandolin. Now it sits in my Dad's closet.

[cody78]

I actually tried mandolin a long time ago and kinda like it. My Dad picked up a Gibson mandolin at a flea market for $2 (the person had no clue of their actual value) and he got some lesson books for playing bluegrass. My biggest problem was getting it tuned right because I couldn't find a pitch pipe for a mandolin. Now it sits in my Dad's closet.

 

$2 for a Gibson mandolin! I'd love to find a deal like that, but never have! Do you know what model & year it is? You can use an electronic guitar tuner for mandolin or tune it from one of your guitars as a reference... or if you really struggle have a look on Youtube, I'm sure there are some videos for tuning there. Tuning is G,D,A,E - like violin or a guitar's bottom 4 strings in reverse, but as it's a double course (pairs in unison) you have the extra string per note. Obviously, it's pitch is higher than guitar, so bear that in mind when tuning.

[J.4knee]

I have a confession to make.

I'm a retired gentleman of adequate means who has a Walter Mitty self image as Guitar Hero.

I bought a guitar 40 years ago when I was at university and liked to carry it around, looking cool. Cut my fingernails on my left hand really short and grew the nails on my right hand. All carefully manicured like the folk music finger picking superstars of the day. My talent peaked when I could chord with friends while we sat on the floor in front of a fire. Pretending that we were in Greenwich or Haight Ashbury.

 

So Christmas 2014 I decided I would achieve the latent inner guitarist that lay dormant in my being and bought myself a Les Paul Standard and started lessons. I like the cool jazz tones of George Benson and Wes Montgomery so I'm going all out... learning to read music and play the whole neck. Scales and variations on scales, the building blocks of Jazz for the untalented like me.

 

What I've learned so far is that guitar playing that you really want to listen to is difficult and takes time, dedication and talent. Attributes that have elluded my being.

 

I may suck, but I'm having fun. And for $22.00 a week, guitar lessons and a half hour per day of practicing is the biggest bang I get from my pension buck. And it gives me an excuse to buy guitars. I now have my LP, a Gibson archtop, and a Martin dreadnought. The next guitar will be an American Deluxe Stratocaster even though I have no aspirations of wailing like Jimi Hendrix. It is just another iconic guitar to hang on my wall.

 

So, for all you true guitarists out there, I bow to you and follow in your footsteps, even if far behind. Never to reach the impossible dream, but having fun along the way.

 

 

Kind of my story as well. I picked it back up after about a 30 year hiatus. Now I am taking lessons and playing and practicing. I can hear myself improve but Lordy I hit a bad note or the guitar tune starts to drift a tad, it's like scratching fingernails on a chalkboard.

 

I used to play a Squier JV series Strat and an Ibanez 12 string. I still have them both but my disposable income has improved a fair amount and I've picked up some nice guitars along the way. Mostly I am amusing myself and enjoying this thing all anew. Good times!!

[Rosemarie]

$2 for a Gibson mandolin! I'd love to find a deal like that, but never have! Do you know what model & year it is? You can use an electronic guitar tuner for mandolin or tune it from one of your guitars as a reference... or if you really struggle have a look on Youtube, I'm sure there are some videos for tuning there. Tuning is G,D,A,E - like violin or a guitar's bottom 4 strings in reverse, but as it's a double course (pairs in unison) you have the extra string per note. Obviously, it's pitch is higher than guitar, so bear that in mind when tuning.

 

I don't know how old it is or the model, I haven't touched it since I was 16. I do remember that it is a very pretty cherry burst with F cuts. I played it well before the days of Youtube (26+years ago) and I learned WAY later about it being tuned similar to a violin. One day I will have to ask my Dad to dig it out of his closet and maybe give it another go. :)