It is impossible to enjoy yourself in an expensive guitar store
I played an expensive guitar recently, and I didn't enjoy it at all.
The guitar I'm played? The Fender Eric Johnson Signature Stratocaster Thinline.
Here's my review of the guitar:
Meh.
At no point did I think to myself, "Wow, I could make some serious music with this." All I saw was the price tag, and that's what ruined the experience with what is one of the best Artist Series Stratocaster guitars Fender makes.
I know this guitar is a feat of engineering, even though I believe this model is a bad idea. It is a very trick thing that Fender was able to keep all the contours of a traditional Stratocaster body with semi-hollow construction. But again, that price tag just ruins it all for me.
Said very honestly, I had much more enjoyment playing a $149 Squier Bullet Stratocaster HSS at a Guitar Center.
As is pretty much true on all Squier Bullet guitars, the neck was great on it. And it actually felt and played better than the highfalutin EJ Strat. It wasn't perfect, but hey, you can't really complain about a guitar that sells for 149 bucks new.
There was also something else. I had fun playing the Squier. I had no fun playing the EJ Strat.
One would think...
...that being in a ritzy guitar store where all, repeat, all guitars start at 4 figures would be magical, where if you don't have at least grand to blow, don't bother going. I didn't have a grand to blow, but I went anyway.
One would think it would be a dream to go into a store like this where all the guitars of your dreams (more or less) are right there, all sparkling, all in absolutely pristine condition...
...except that's not how it is.
The best word to describe the vibe of a ritzy guitar store like the one I went to is museum.
The floor echoed when you walked on it. The overall feeling was cold. I felt nervous in there. It was not a place for musicians. Rather, it was a place only for those with very deep pockets.
And, of course, you must ask to touch any guitar for sale. Pick up and play? HA! Not happening here, pal.
I cannot enjoy myself in a guitar store where every axe for sale is a high-priced trinket.
To give you an idea of what I mean by "high-priced trinket", at that rizty guitar shop was also a Gibson Johnny A Signature. How much? I'm not certain what the store was selling it for, but I'm pretty sure it's over 5 grand to buy it. And there were also a bunch of Suhr guitars. Those I do know the price of. They're all either close to or over 3 grand to buy. Each.
The EJ Strat was actually one of the "cheap" guitars for sale, if you can believe it.
Ritzy guitar stores sell nothing but regret
Every guitar player has to make that one big purchase before realizing what a stupid idea it was. I've explained this before but will again because guitarists need to hear it.
You want to buy That Expensive Guitar. You've been eyeing it for some time, you want it and want it bad. But it's too expensive.
Buy it anyway. Get it out of your system. Do whatever it takes to buy That Expensive Guitar. Go right ahead. I'm not joking. Use cash or credit card or financing or whatever. Just do it.
After buying That Expensive Guitar, purposely wait until the return policy runs out. That's when you're going to feel the pain about what you bought. You just spent anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000, but your guitar playing didn't get any better, you don't sound any better and...
...UH-OH! Something went wrong with That Expensive Guitar. Yeah, you thought it would be perfect. Nope. You thought you were paying for "quality". Nope. It wears and tears just like any other guitar you've ever owned. In fact, it wears out faster because it's a boutique instrument.
You may hang on to That Expensive Guitar for a few months or a few years. But you will eventually sell it. And you won't get anywhere near what you paid originally. At best you may get back, oh, about 40%, and only if it's in absolute mint condition. Yes, that means you lose 60%. You thought car depreciation was bad? Ha! Boutique guitars are even worse.
But seriously, I mean it. Go buy That Expensive Guitar. Do it, feel the pain, feel the regret, sell the stupid thing later for less than half of what you paid for it, THEN NEVER DO IT AGAIN. Let that regret always remind you of why you should never buy That Expensive Guitar.
What is a guitar that's worth spending cash on?
Easy answer: The guitar you build yourself.
Whether it's a parts guitar from pre-built pieces, or planks of wood you shape yourself, the guitar you build is the one where you can really make something special.
You can go cheap, go expensive or anywhere in between. The best suggestion I can give when building your own is this: Buy a pre-built neck, because the neck is the toughest part of a guitar build. And as I've said before, a neck is what ultimately makes a guitar good or not. Even a cheap pre-built neck is better than doing it yourself if you've never shaped a neck before.
Whatever you end up building, you will get much more enjoyment out of it compared to a multi-thousand dollar boutique electric.
At some point I will put together my own parts guitar (or at least try to just for the experience.) Squier guitars are great, but I do want to try my hand at a guitar build.
On a final note, I did at one point buy That Expensive Guitar. It was a Fender Jazzmaster. But that's a tale for another day.
5 of the best and easy rock chord strumming songs
If soloing is not your thing (and it isn't for most guitar players) and you just want some cool songs that are easy to rock out to, these are 5 of the best you could learn.
Before showing you the songs, here are a couple of questions answered.
Why aren't there more simple, easy rock songs out there?
Some believe that every simple guitar chord progression possible has been copyrighted by someone at some point, and that's why more simple rock songs don't exist. True? Not really.
Guitarists will routinely, and often, add in needless complications to songs just for the sake of doing so.
If more guitar players would subscribe to the "less is more" way of doing things, there would be more good, simple songs out there.
Is there any way to find new simple rock songs these days?
Yes.
I'll write up another article about that, because truth be told, it's not easy unless you very specifically know where to look.
The songs
867-5309/Jenny by Tommy Tutone
Insanely catchy riff that has definitely withstood the test of time. This one is played in standard E tuning and there are only two riffs. The main riff, the small switch when the "I got it!" lyric is heard, then back to the main riff.
There is a solo, but the nice part is that you can play it however you want. Nobody cares as long as it's in the right key.
A Girl Like You by The Smithereens
This song is played in Eb, so you'll have to tune down. Easy riff with short easy solo. However, it does have that "sounds more complicated than it is" vibe to it. Trust me, it's not complicated. The riffs are simple.
Basket Case by Green Day
This song is also played in Eb. Simple chugger riff in the beginning, and then after that all the chords are played open afterward.
Believe it or not, this can be played 100% acoustic and it will work. The chords are that simple. This means you can clean it up, slow it down and totally get away with it.
Born On The Bayou by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Back to standard E tuning for this one, and is another song with an insanely catchy main riff. What really makes this song sound like it does is the use of a rotary effect (a.k.a. rotary speaker).
Jet Airliner by Steve Miller Band
This is the only one here that's slightly weird, because you have a choice of what key to play it in.
Using standard E guitar tuning, the studio version of this song is played in B. However, when played live, it's in A.
The easier of the two is A. Strum style, it's A, G, D, back to A. And that pretty much covers almost the whole song.
I honestly believe what Steve did in the studio was play A-G-D, but stuck a capo on the 2nd fret so it was B-A-E instead. That's what it sounds like to my ears.
Fender Player Jaguar, a modern take on the Jag
This is an interesting modern take on a Jag. But whether players take to it remains to be seen.
My pros and cons of this guitar are as follows:
Pros
The Fender Player Jaguar is available in Sonic Red. Great color for this guitar shape. The other good color is Tidepool, which the Jag body also takes to very well. Black and Sunburst are also available, but are decidedly boring.
Satin urethane finish on the back of the neck. Very comfortable for long play sessions, doesn't get squeaky/gummy from sweat.
Medium jumbo frets. This suits the Jag better than jumbo.
Center-grooved string saddles. Great choice by Fender here for this particular guitar.
Splittable humbucker with alnico 3 magnets, and a Jag-specific alnico 2 single-coil. Good combo, good brightness without being screechy. Does have that "sounds like a Jag" tone to it.
Cons
The "JAGUAR" is not the stylized Fender Jaguar logo, and it's itty-bitty. That's a let-down.
Slider switch to toggle humbucker split has a stupid position at the upper horn, which is exactly where guitarists don't want it. The switch should have been eliminated entirely, the upper horn left blank, and the toggle assigned to a push-pull on the tone knob.
POSSIBLE PHOTO GOOF BY FENDER: The Sonic Red version seen above does show a vibrato plate with a lock switch and traditional Jaguar knobs, while every other color like the Sunburst shows skirted amp knobs and no vibrato lock switch. Fender considers a locking vibrato a highfalutin option reserved for American models, so if you order a Sonic Red Jag, don't be surprised if the vibrato has no lock switch and the knobs have the switcheroo done to them.
Buy or not buy?
It's a buy, provided you like short scale guitars. The Jag does have a 24.0" scale, after all.
The best part about this guitar is that because of the pickup combo, it's a pedal-friendly guitar. You can pretty much throw any sort of effect at this Jag and wrangle a good sound out of it. This means it will work well with most if not all overdrives and distortions, but also take well to the more unique effects like uni-vibe and phaser.
I'd personally go for the Sonic Red or Tidepool color as mentioned above. Those are the eye-catcher colors.
Is country guitar difficult to play?
I received a comment on one of my YouTube videos and it really got me thinking about country vs. rock music.
This is the comment (quoted exactly as he typed it):
i like your playing. seems to be difficult. i m a beginner.. i have the feeling that country is much more difficult to play than Rock. thats why everyone plays Rock... maybe ??? haha.. i like country and Jim Reeves and Patsy Cline.. already learning their songs.. and Humperdink as well .. great songs.. but not rock.. i guess the Bullet is just the right guitar for that kind of music. soft. sweet. and warm tone..Lovesong country...
The Bullet he mentions is in reference to my Telecaster.
As for my playing style, yes I am leaning more towards a country sound these days. I was into rock for the longest time, then surf, then country.
I'm not personally into Patsy Cline or Jim Reeves, but do respect that old-school country vibe.
The main question the comment poster brings up is:
Is country music more difficult to play than rock music?
Yes.
Rock music's beginning point on the guitar is what's known as the power chord, which in musical terms is a fifth chord. The first fifth chord anyone learns is of course E, which literally only requires one finger to play.
Rock guitar also starts as a distorted guitar sound. The distortion effect does make it easier for guitar players because you can simply "hide behind" the effect and cover up mistakes relatively easily.
Country music's beginning point on the guitar are cowboy chords. And while the chords themselves are easy, rock players do experience frustration getting the technique correct.
Country guitar is also not distorted like rock guitar is. Much more emphasis is put on getting a "clean twang" out of the instrument instead of burying it behind muddy distortion.
Right out of the gate, getting a correct country sound does require more effort. More fingers are required to play the chords, more concentration is put on rhythm play, and you can't hide behind a guitar effect.
The #1 thing I've learned from country guitar play
Full chords are mandatory.
With country music, the guitar's voice is the full chord and not the solo. And what do I mean by full chord? I mean something that is more than just a fifth. Something that fills more sonic space, and does it clean without a bunch of ratty distortion getting in the way.
Full chords do require more effort to play correctly. An example of this is the 6/9 major chord, which is something I found out about while learning surf guitar, oddly enough. The 6/9 major is actually used in jazz, but surf uses a lot of "non-standard" chords and styles at times.
As it turns out, the major 6/9 finds its way into country music too from time to time.
That is but one example of a full chord. Many times in country guitar, 5 and 6-note chords are used often to bring out the fullness of the guitar.
Rock guitar however absolutely does not allow for use of the major 6/9. Rock is mainly a sea of fifths, all of which revolve around the minor scale, so when you try to throw in a major 6/9.... no way. Doesn't work.
You quickly discover the limitations of rock guitar when you try to use something like a major 6/9.
In country, it is important to bring the melody forward
I may (and probably will) write more about this later, but the guitar's function is to not be squarely in front as the lead but rather a supporting instrument in a proper country song.
You don't think of guitar when listening to Patsy Cline or Jim Reeves. At all. Ever. What you're thinking about is the entire song. The guitar is almost always there, but it's not about the instrument. It's about supporting the main melody from the vocalist and keeping that in the front.
This way of thinking when playing guitar can be a difficult concept for a rock guitarist to grasp. As far as a rocker is concerned, he's all about putting the guitar in front. To not do that yet still meaningfully contribute to the song is a bit of a foreign concept to Rock Guitar Dude...
...but it can be learned. Turn off the distortion, dive into full chords, and think about the song more than the guitar itself. Doing these things will make country guitar a lot easier to learn.
The Yamaha Pacifica you actually want
This is one of the best Pacifica guitars from Yamaha. And it's not in your local guitar store.
Yamaha for whatever reason does a really crappy job letting guitarists know this guitar actually exists. Or to be more specific, letting guitarists know the good versions of this guitar.
The Pacifica model has 5 trim levels. PAC100, PAC200, PAC300, PAC500 and PAC600. Any model starting with PAC6 is upper tier. The above model is a PAC611HFM, and wow is it loaded with goodies.
Pacificas that you see in guitar stores are only the PAC1 and PAC2. I best describe those as "okay". Things get better with the PAC3 and PAC5, but it's at PAC6 where this guitar really shines.
Put simply, every upgrade that a guitarist would ordinarily put into a guitar is already here with the PAC611HFM. String saver saddles with Teflon that make your strings last longer, GraphTech TUSQ nut, Seymour Duncan SP90 at the neck, Seymour Duncan TB-14 at the bridge with push/pull at the tone knob for coil split, Grover locking tuners, alder body with flame maple top, 25.5" scale maple neck with satin polyurethane finish, rosewood fingerboard with 13 3/4" radius (very flat for effortless note bending)...
...wow. Just wow.
Considering the price this thing sells for, it should be selling for a lot more.
Good guitar? No. Great guitar.
The only problem is actually finding one. At the time I write this, there are a few of them on Amazon. Grab one while you can.