Hi all,
I’m Gary, from Geelong Australia. At the age of 70 I’ve decided to take up electric guitar - specifically to learn Blues, with a side aim of keeping my brain intact…
3 days ago, after a long chat with a friend who has multiple guitars and a wall of thousand watt amps, I lashed out and bought a Squire Classic Vibe 50’s Fiesta Red strat and a Fender LT50 amp, plus a few other goodies.
In 3 days I’ve learned
1, keep the fingernails of your left hand really, really short
2, I am currently very uncoordinated
3, my fingers &%&*%& hurt!!!
4, I like Justin’s approach to teaching
5, It’s really hard to only fret one string with a finger…
In addition, my guitar was poorly set up from the factory (action high, poor intonation, crappy strings)
Looked at some Youtube videos and set to work setting it up. Figured I’d have a go at setting it up myself as the worst that could happen was that I’d have to pay someone to do the setup if I screwed up.
1, adjusted neck truss rod (neck was bowed)
2, restrung with quality strings
3, Put graphite in the nut slots
4, adjusted intonation
Guitar now sounds fantastic, has a nice low action, zero fret buzz and holds tuning. I don’t think I’ll ever have to pay someone to do it.
Sounds like you’ve jumped in at the deep end! Dont worry the fingertips will harden up over a bunch of weeks, and coordination will come, currently going through all that for the second time so I know theres light somewhere at the end of the tunnel
Nice work on getting the guitar sorted too, I probably need to at least have a check over of mine they’ve been sat for a very long time…
Welcome Gary! Sounds like you’ve got some great equipment and a good setup on your guitar. And, you’ve come to the right place for support and encouragement as you work through Justin’s course. Looking forward to reading more about your progress - don’t hesitate to ask any questions you have along the way.
Wow Gary! That’s a busy 3 days! Very exciting! (I’ve used exclamation points on three consecutive short sentences, so it must be really exciting, right?)
Keep up the enthusiasm, but try to take your time. Celebrate small victories like being able to fret a single note and have it ring out clearly; being able to play a simple chord; being able to play another simple chord; etc.
Hello Gary. It feels odd to say “welcome” when I also just joined. I am delighted that there are some other mature students of guitar that are out here. And it is thrilling to be in my sixties and to not be the old guy .
I look forward to our journey together as we learn the guitar and sharpen our minds.
Welcome to the Community, Gary. Well done on sorting out your guitar. Take it slow and easy and you’ll begin playing the blues in Grade 2, building on the foundation you will lay in Grade 1. Take it step by step and you’ll achieve your goal.
Nope no prior musical experience at all as a player, only as a listener!! It will be a very long time before I let anyone listen to me I’m afraid!
cheers
Gary
Thank you all for the welcome, it’s nice to know this is a friendly place. Progress is happening even over the course of a couple of days. Have been doing the 1 minute D to A chord change count.
Yesterday had 6/10/13/11/12/12
Today had 15/15/20/20
and todays were a little (only a little) better and more precise…hanging out to get to 30 so I can do the next lesson…
Gary
Good to see you dive right in with the guitar setup. Most would be too afraid to attempt such things at an early stage. Sounds like you did pretty well.
Those fingers will toughen up soon enough!
Great community here too mate. Ask away for any help or guidance anytime. Folks here of all levels are always keen to help each other out.
Well that’s a great way to start off, jumping straight into a set up but sounds like you have done a good job. And its never too late to learn. Your observations took me back to each time I tried starting this journey but you have a great teacher in Justin, so you’ll be playing the Blues in no time.
Hello and welcome Gary. You’ve got a really good combo of guitar and amp for some blues there. I look forward to reading/hearing more about your progress here
Let me add another Welcome, Gary! Your fingers will stop hurting as you develop the calluses and your mind will continue to sharpen with every lesson.
I am curious to know how you get along with the LT50. I am considering adding one to my amp group.
.
