Questions... Just a few!

Hey Tine,

The action is the distance between the strings and the fretboard. The higher it is the harder you have to press to fret a note, the opposite with a lower action. A high action has a louder sound the opposite with lower.

Don't try adjusting your guitar if you don't know what you're doing, you could do it permanent damage!

Get someone to adjust it for you or try to exchange it for something you like playing.

Silver lining: If you do play a guitar with a high action and get good, everything else is easy!!!

Good luck and keep going!

Wow.  First off, your guitar is not your ex.  With a little gentle treatment, your guitar will make you happy and sing like a bird.  We men are not quite so simple as that. 

Second, action can be adjusted.  If you really don't like the guitar, it may not be worth trying.  Trade it on something you'll play.  Guitar playing is far too much fun to let residual ook from an ex get in the way. 

Third, I love the concept of a face on a guitar.  Make it a happy face, though.  Wilson.  Funny.

Fourth, I really shouldn't go to four because three is just such a natural number for bits of things to say.

Fifth, One lesson per fortnight is not too few.  Weekly is probably too often, but it does help guitar instructors to pay the bills, which is not an easy thing for a guitar instructor to do otherwise. 

Sixth, Six?  I surely can't that many things to say.  Let me think.  Oh yes!  Christmas was just a few months ago.  You shouldn't be good yet.  If you were, you'd make us all jealous and angry and stuff.  Instead, we're all sympathetic and want to be helpful.  A friend of mine who teaches guitar said this about progression of most students.  After a year, you'll be getting the hang of it.  People might not run when you pull out your guitar.  After two years, you'll feel pretty good and you'll sound pretty good.  By the time you're solidly into your third year, folks will ask if you brought your guitar with you.  Four months?  Piffel.  You're doing great.  Keep up the good work. 

- Zurf

Thankyou for that... I will try to stick with this guitar at least until I get a bit better. I hear what you folks are saying.

I used to have a simple nylon strung guitar as a teenager and although I only knew  a few basic chords I loved picking it up.

Before I started playing this time around I was vocalist of a band but we split up cos of the breakup with my ex who was drummer. We might get going again once he has gotten out of here. Who knows.

But I now like the idea of accompanying myself... The band was heavily influenced by the guitarist.... The folk and country music I wanted to sing ended up heavy and well... more like metal. I have nothing against this to listen to but I just want to chill for a bit!

Im not speaking as an expert like the other guys but i have lowered the action on my guitar. You need to take off the strings and the little white plastic thing in the saddle. Put it bottom down on a piece of fine sandpaper and give it a rub, just be sur to do it with the sandpaper flat on a table and in even strokes. Be sure not to take to much as you will then get frett buzz on the higher frets. Its acctually even easier then i just made it sounds. If i can do it anyone can.

Please do not take sandpaper or any other abrasive/cutting tool to your guitar. It's easy to take off but impossible to put back.

Adjustment of a guitar is not only personal but involves more than simply sanding nuts and saddles. If you wreck your guitar and can afford another go for it - most of us can't and appreciate that those who do know more about the interplay of different types of wood and metal and their job in the complex machine that is a stringed instrument.

KEEP PLAYING, YOU WILL GET BETTER!!!

I dont mean to the guitar it self just to the plastic inlay in the saddle. if you do mess it up my local music shop sells them for 2euro. I found this tip in a guitar magazine a few months ago helped me out a lot. when you think you have it done you just use a tuner then to tune the strings and when they are all in tune check it against the 12 fret harmonic and it should be in tune to be 100% perfect, if not perfect it will be good enough as Gibson guitars are the only guitar where this is individually done to each guitar, by hand, before it leaves the factory. Trust me you wont do any damage to your guitar because its just the white pieceof plastic you will be sanding. the guitar could be in a different room.

hi tine,

can i just say that you can take the guitar to your local music shop and ask there if they have a guitar doctor or a contact number for one. it may cost a bit, so sort that out first.

if you dont get on with your guitar, try a few out in the shop, they may give you part ex for yours but play it for a good while, dont just listen to the sales person, who is most likely an accomplished player and would make any box sound good.

also, the action would raise if the strings were tuned wrongly,[if they were too tight?]
maybe the strings are too heavy for the guitar, for acoustic i would recommend a 10 or 11 guage set, not too light not too heavy.

i've given you a couple of options, try one or more....but please dont give up

phill