I love Dunlop picks. But I seem to lose them so much somehow and end up with only fender ones.
I've used Clayton picks forever. They wear evenly and, until recently, their water slide decal would get tacky when it warmed up and stick to your finger. Fender picks are awful.
My GAS "almost" gave in last week, but I promised myself after I finish my practice goals. Been practicing like a madman because I want a new guitar, haha. In that photo, the black John Petrucci Jazz III is my go-to pick.
Nah. A more expensive guitar makes you play and sound instantly better.
Haha jk
I remember learning guitar on my first guitar. A BC Rich Warlock, bronze edition. Probably 99 bucks new. I was like, man I want a better guitar so I can sound better….was 14 I think. Took it over to jam out with a local metal band that were friends of my parents. The guitarist played it and I was blown away…….it sounded amazing.
Was in Danny D's in League City two weeks ago and they had a Collings (I think it was an OM) in the shop. If you're local, maybe go check it out.
Man I hadn't thought of that place in decades. Lived in LC from '91-94 and used to go in there quite a bit. Glad to hear it's still around - it's got to be tough for the independent shops to compete with the internet and chain retailers.
My GAS "almost" gave in last week, but I promised myself after I finish my practice goals. Been practicing like a madman because I want a new guitar, haha. In that photo, the black John Petrucci Jazz III is my go-to pick.
A new axe will definitely help with that motivation!
The problem is my near-impossible goal to learn this Jason Richardson solo (considered one of the toughest). Was able to get one-third of it so far after putting in the insane practice hours -- could be years before I buy a guitar, but I'll be saving money. Lol
Yeah, that harmonic slap/tapping thing he does at the end is unreal. When I see young folks on YouTube (even hot chicks) shredding cover songs, I realize I got a lot to learn.
I sometimes have OCD learning stuff like this - I can't play this solo - but some EVH stuff, Nuno, Monte Mongomery on acoustic, etc.
Often once I get it I hate myself for learning it. So much time spent developing muscle memory, speed, technique, etc, for 1 thing, and I'm left with a really neat trick that only guitar nerds appreciate.
I rarely learn full songs so I suck at jamming with friends who can play every popular rock song from the past 35 years.
I spent about 80 hours over 3 weeks several years ago learning Andy McKee's Africa cover. I remember zilch from it now and would have to do something similar to learn it again.
So much of this technical crap evaporates from my brain as soon as I move on to the next Everest in my "must learn that" bucket list.
For me even if I forget it later, it helped me learn specific techniques I can reuse. Sweep arpeggios & economy picking are things I never was comfortable with until now -- was always strict alternate picking. Need to learn Tim Henson's hybrid picking.
Watching Troy Grady videos actually got me back into guitar after giving up for years. The analysis on right-hand mechanics & various player styles (Marty Freidman, Paul Gilbert, Yngwie, Eric Johnson) helped fix bad habits, such as anchoring with the pinky.
Long run it definitely helps learn the next hard stuff faster.
For me the frustration is that if I do not truly "practice" some of techniques daily the skill diminshes incredibly fast. When I woodshed I can get my alternate picking, economy, and sweep fairly fast and clean. If I don't do it daily though they're skills that fall quickly. As soon as I stop paying attention the atrophy is instant.
Troy Grady's earliest stuff was absolutely killer. I bought his original batch but didn't add more when he added specific players and deeper dives over the years. The editing and style on his stuff is world class.
This was one of my favorites. I dicked around w/it for weeks and could get pretty damn fast but not as Troy. It's like falling down the stairs holding a martini. Once in a blue moon the stars would align and you nail it, but more often than not you F'it up along the way and make a mess
It's a crazy mixture of alternate picking and economy picking.
Saw Jason Isbell in New Braunfels last night. Great show! My wife was was laughing at me as I geeked out on all the vintage guitars he played. Redeye made an appearance for his last song.
I noticed defect on the original one I purchased. The pick guard had a gap opening between the two screw shown. I took a flashlight and saw some wire had gotten out of the cavity and cause the pick guard to bow up and create an opening and warp the plastic. I was like hell nah….
Luckily the return policy is super easy at Guitar Center and they replaced it with a new one within minutes after I arrived at the store. It was an imperfection that wasn't going to fly after dropping some coin on this guitar
Pictured is my replacement with a flush pick guard.
Oh yeah, Austin store had SRV's fender bassman and his pedals too
Pretty sweet.
The LBJ library has a music exhibit (closing Aug. 11) that includes SRV's No. 1. I've seen many pics of it before, but it was cool to see it up close and personal. Definitely some hard miles on it:
Not sure if this is indicative of the state of the guitar market right now or how much fluff is built into the price, but damn that's a lot off for a guitar I didn't even have on my watch list.