Beginner guitar

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When I visit the luthier, his tuner is a metal plate hanging on the wall of his shop; He whacks it once, and does everything else by ear.

I don't even know how many instruments I have anymore.  It's a sickness.
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;D understand that very well. Our Music Director called my favorite music store a couple of days ago, to be sure they'll have his next uke in stock; He mentioned "I'm bringing Tom along, because he has a good ear, and doesn't have enough ukuleles".

Last time I was in the store, I picked up a mandolin. It wasn't in tune, and I didn't know how it's tuned. I'll be prepared for the next visit.
 
LOL

If you think the guitar is hard on yer' flibberty digits wait 'till you play the 'mangled limb' for an hour or two.

Tuned GG DD AA EE  but the running joke is that if you've played one for 30 years you've spent 15 years tuning it and 15 years playing out of tune.
 
Understood. My 8-string uke is tuned G/low-G  high-C/C  E/E  A/A. Two pairs are an octave apart, while the other two aren't  ;D
 
One of my ukes has a polypropelyne body and wood top. Everyone who hears it says it has a "great tone". The shape of the body is such that it sits "upright on the floor" (think of a uke with the end sawn off), and has been accidentally kicked across the room several times. But it never needs re-tuning. Go figure.
 

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I can't imagine a poly-uke.  Was it roto or blow molded?  If it was roto molded does that make it sound like a Leslie Organ speaker?

It looks a bit like a Martin Backpacker only smaller.

Taylor made a guitar out of packing pallets.  I especially like the mother of pearl inlaid forklift on the neck.
(It originally sold for $10,000.  How crazy is that?)

http://www.laguitarsales.com/pages/3157/Taylor_Custom_Shop_Pallet.htm

Luthiers are strange folks.
 
Was it roto or blow molded?
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I have no idea what either one means.

Not sure if you saw this recent discussion (and photos) of a relative making his own (wooden) uke. Not a luthier, but a good woodworker and a good musician.

Luthiers are strange folks.
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The guy I use looks like he's right out of Santa Cruz in the 60's.
 
;D. One of my guitars was made in Santa Cruz.....  By a crazy luthier extraordinaire.  It's beautiful but too fragile to be a workhorse.
 
I've been vascillating between a mandolin (8 string) and a charango (10 string). I suspect that, at some point, I'll end up with both. Maybe I can grow an extra 5 fingers on my left hand.
 
Had my first guitar lesson yesterday. Only two of us in the class, other guy being another member of our ukulele band. Feels like a repeat of the process I went through to learn to play the uke, and is clearly going to take continual practice.

Meanwhile, my new guitar strings arrived several days ago. I'll put them on just to feel the difference, and decide where to go from there.
 
Tom said:
Meanwhile, my new guitar strings arrived several days ago. I'll put them on just to feel the difference, and decide where to go from there.
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Save the old strings, you might be putting them right back on.
 
As I mentioned before I use nothing but Elixir lights and super lights.  I started using them because they kept giving me freebies but found that I really like them.  I buy them by the case from musiciansfriend or zzounds . Com

I used Martin Phosphor Bronze for years but they don't last very long compared to Elixir's.

I've been playing for 49 years.  (Holy crap! I should be really good my now.  At least 20-30 times better than I am!).  In all those years I've tried lots of different strings and the #1 lesson I've learned is not to go cheap.  Unless you can get expensive strings free!
 
I can't imagine playing guitar enough to need to buy strings by the case. How many sets are in a case? There's also no way I'll be playing for 49 years  :(

I'm not sure I understand the expensive/cheap part; The DR Zebras I bought are about the same price as Elixir. However, having done a little more research, I see that I bought those strings for the wrong reason.

Based on your recommendation, I'm ordering a set of Elixir strings, and look forward to a pleasant surprise.
 
I hope you're happy with them Tom. 

A case is 12 sets and it looks like prices have gone up since the last time I stocked up.  They are now selling 8 sets for about what I paid for 12.

Liked it better when I got them free.  :eek:

Started when I was 16, much to the consternation of my family.
 
I sometimes (often) wish I'd learned to play various instruments when I was younger. It doesn't come naturally.

Last evening was Paul McCartney's concert at Candlestick Park. Haven't heard how it went, but It blows my mind whenever I watch and listen to him play.
 
My niece was at Pauls concert at Candlestick. She emailed me to tell me she was on her way there in a limo.

I don't have a string recommendation. I think that basically they all sound identical. If there is small sound differences I sure as hell can't hear them. I think finding the right gauge is the most critical thing. 9s are way too light for a rhythm player. I have 9s on my electric and 12s on my acoustic. I would suggest trying a set of 10s then a set of 11s then 12s and see what feels best to you after a week of strumming.
 
Thanks Tom. I assume your numbers refer to the diameter/gauge of the thinnest (highest) string  ???  The Elixir 'light' strings I ordered last evening are .012-.053, the same diameters as the strings Yamaha puts on this guitar.
 
My niece was at Pauls concert at Candlestick. She emailed me to tell me she was on her way there in a limo.
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That would have been an awesome concert. Hope she made it inside the stadium. Countless folks with tickets were stuck in traffic for several hours and never made it. Others were turned away because the parking lot was full.
 
Tom said:
Thanks Tom. I assume your numbers refer to the diameter/gauge of the thinnest (highest) string  ???  The Elixir 'light' strings I ordered last evening are .012-.053, the same diameters as the strings Yamaha puts on this guitar.
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Yep, that is standard to call a set of strings by the thinnest ones. 12s would be the best set for you right now. They will hurt your hands a bit more than 9s will to begin with, but overall they will sound much better. 9s are just too thin for rhythm work.
 
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