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Guitar chord forum - chordie → Posts by Royce Drake
Ya know . . . I miss read the origional post . . . . I thought it said "Stratocaster" . . . and was basing all my ranting on the yea's or nay's of getting a strat for a beginner. Sorry!
I wouldn't recommend a starcaster . . . even for a beginner . . . maybe a squire . . . but not a crappy starcaster !
Not counting Amps or other stuf:
If you buy a $1000 Strat and later decide playing guitar is not for you . . . you can sell it for $900. If you have the strat and continue playing . . . you've already got a high quality guitar.
If you buy a $200 Squire and later decide playing guitar isn't for you . . . you can sell it for $100. If you have the Squire and continue playing . . . you're definately want to upgrade.
Either way you are gonna be out $100 if you quit playing, but if you continue playing . . . the Strat will serve you better.
Strats are good for just about everything except the heavy metal type of music which most people play with a humbucking guitar like the Les Paul and LP clones.
Since about half of the electric guitars sold in the world are strats and strat knockoffs or clones . . . I'd say it must be a pretty darn good guitar . . . Usually beginners start with a cheeper strat clone/knockoff. If they progress and stick with guitar playing . . . they usually end up upgrading to the real thing.
I think a used American Strat or Tele is still gonna run you around $800 plus . . . BUT . . .
Ya know . . . the MIM Strats and Teles are pretty good for the money. New from $400 - $500 and used they usually go for around $250 - $350. They are light weight (compared to LPs) and play well when set up properly . . . . you can get a "fat" one (with humbucker) and have a huge variety of sound.
And, personally . . . I actually prefer buying used guitars . . . to me they feel more "settled" and . . . tonefull . . .
I don't know about the fancy stuff, but the main verse sounds like:
C - C - G - G - C - C - G - G - C - C - F - F - C - C - G - G - C
First (probably around 1966 or 67) - The Association (Along Comes Mary, Cherish, Never My Love)
Best was Dianna Ross, Andy Gib, Barbara Mandrell and Sisters at a Bob Hope USO Show Christmas Special around 1979 or so. When Dianna Ross sang . . . it was so good it gave you cold chills.
There are lots of great songs out there that can be sung by either sex, but these are easy to play and work well for a female lead singer:
Angel of the Morning (Juice Newton)
Baby It's You (Beatles)
Both Sides Now (Joni Mitchel)
Different Drun (Linda Ronstadt)
Give Me One Reason (Tracy Chapman)
I Love How You Love Me (Paris Sisters)
I Will Follow Him (Little Peggy March)
I'm Sorry (Brenda Lee)
Killing Me Softly (Roberta Flack)
Me and Bobby McGee (Janis Joplin)
Mercedes Benz (Janis Joplin)
Ode To Billy Joe (Bobby Gentry)
Sing In The Sunshine (?)
Soak Up The Sun (Sheryl Crow)
Somebody To Love (Jefferson Airplane)
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (Roberta Flack)
The Loco-Motion (Little Eva)
The Rose (Bette Midler)
Those Were The Days (Gene Raskin)
To Know Him Is To Love Him (Emmylou Harris)
Wind Beneath My Wings (Bette Midler)
Will You Love Me Tomorrow (Carole King)
You Don't Have To Say You Love Me (Dusty Springfield)
You Keep Me Hanging On (Dianna Ross & the Supremes)
You've Got A Friend (Carol King)
Yea . . . electrics are a lot easier to play: easier to fret because of lighter strings and lower action. And, you can dial up the volume a lot easier. But . . . it doesn't necessairily mean you suddenly got a lot better. If you go back to playing your acoustic . . . you'll see for yourself. It depends on the sound you want . . . some songs just sound better acoustic, while others lend themselves more to electric. I really envy the guys who play the acoustic guitar well.
The heavier strings, when tuned, will create more tension and thus will bend your neck a little more and you may have to adjust the truss rod. It's no big deal, but if you don't know what your doing, you should have an expert do it. If you are playing an acoustic . . . heaver strings usually produce a louder sound, but are a little harder to fret. If you like to strum hard, then heavier strings are a better bet. If you like to solo and do a lot of bends . . . then the lighter strings are better. For general all around . . . the mediums are probably a good bet . . . but have the neck properly set up for them.
Sister Goldenhair
In The Year 2525
Earth Angel
Georgia On My Mind
I've got a question for you harpoon players . . . I would like to learn to play, and since I really like to play guitar blues in the key of E . . . what key harmonica should I get to accompany the guitar? Any help is appreciated . . .
The soundtrack from the animated movie "Cars" . . . .
I have a "Made in Korea" Tele with beautiful flamed maple top, set neck, and dual humbuckers that are coil tapped so you can play them single coil or humbucking. It can sound like a Les Paul or a Telecaster . . . a very very nice guitar that runs around $650-$700 new. I have seen a couple of them for sale used . . . but the asking price used is usually around $400 to $500. Once in a while you see a Thinline Tele with dual humbuckers . . . but they are generally a little higher priced also.
I think you should consider buying a used MIM strat or tele. I find that they are way better than the cheap epiphones and squires. They run around $400 to $500 new (depending on the model you get) but are often sold used for around $250 to $300, and are often available with Humbuckers in the bridge.
There are some pretty good deals out there . . . check Craigslist.
1) G&L ASAT Bluesboy . . . the perfect "Tele", outstanding Tone and playability, my favorite
2) MIK Special Edition Custom Tele w/set neck, humbuckers & coil tap . . . beautiful guitar, sounds from "Les Paul" to "Tele", very light weight, outstanding playability
3) MIM (95) Fat Tele w/Hummer in neck and 5 way switching . . . Fun to play and great tone
4) MIM (94) Standard Strat . . . Put a "hot rail" in the bridge . . . has lots of sounds
5) Saga "Tele" I made from a kit . . . It's the "throw in the back of the pickup in case you are somewhere and feel like a little pick'n" guitar
I guess you can tell that I really like Tele's . . .
I think the trem is your problem . . . If you never use it . . . then block it off. Remove the back plate and wedge a small block of wood between the body and bridge trem piece in there. That will stop the trem from moving. Another solution might be to add more springs to the trem if it only has 3 instead of 5 and tighten the screws that hold the springs to the body. Once you've blocked or tightened the trem . . . you'll have a little bit of tuning change all over when you detune some of the strings because of a little less string tension on the neck, but after you get all the strings in tune . . . they should stay there. Also, make sure the screws that hold the neck to the body are all tight . . .
Hey Southpaw . . . I agree . . . I've got a 1966 J-50, which is essentially a J-45 but different finish. I've got a question for you . . . what size strings do you use. I've had this guitar for 40 years, but only played a little. It always sounded great. I started to get serious about playing guitar a couple of years ago and play mostly electric (teles). Anyway . . . it had the same strings on it that came with it . . . so . . . a year or so ago I replaced the strings (I can't remember what size) and it doesn't sound as good . . . I had a luthier make me a bone bridge to replace the rosewood bridge, but it still doesn't sound as good to me as it used to. I think I went to lighter strings and that might be the problem.
Do you know what gauge strings came with it?
What do you use?
Any info is appreciated . . .
Thanks . . . R
Go Here for setup info . . . http://www.fender.com/support/setup_guides.php
Duh . . . The BEST Guitar EVER is the Fender Telecaster . . . Everyone knows that . . .
Samick Guitars by:
PEACE IN THE VALLEY - Elvis Presley
ACOUSTIC
Gibson J50 (1966)
Takamine Jasmine
ELECTRIC
Fender MIM Strat (1994)
Fender Nashville Power Telecaster (2004)
Fender Fat Telecaster MIM (1995)
Fender Special Edition Custom Telecaster FMT HH set neck (2006)
Traveler Speedster Travel Guitar (2006)
G & L ASAT Classic Bluesboy (2006)
Jerome is quite correct . . . most blues, rock and country songs I play are based on the chord progressions he suggested.
It's called a I - IV - V (1-4-5) progression usually called a "blues" progression.
I would also add: B E F# and F Bb C to cover all the different Keys . . .
My two cents . . .
R
I built 3 saga kits . . . a strat, a les paul, and a tele. The tele was first and I made the mistake of trying to paint it myself. The les paul was next . . . then the strat. I used gunstock oil finishes for both and they turned out really nice. Latter . . . I stripped the tele and finished it natural also. I found the quality of everything to be pretty good except for the cheep pickups. The Saga tele does not have "string thru body" which I think is a large part of the tele sound. I've since sold them all, but have decided that if I do another . . . I'll buy one of the more expensive tele kits with string thru body and a 50's style bridge. Also . . . I would buy some fender tele pickups instead of using any "no name" pickups that usually comes with the kit.
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Posts by Royce Drake
