the epi is great and the strat is back

having a great time with the epi dot. Sounds great unplugged, and really good through the fender amp. There is a little fret buzz, but I'll fix that when I change the strings. It doesn't bother me much.

As for my next guitar, I"m back to the strat. I can handle the 25.5 scale length for my RnB single note improv stuff. The Epi I'll use for the acoustic-style Blues. This makes sense -- I can play both guitars -- take my Epi to school for lessons, and play the strat at home for the solo stuff that Tom (my teacher) doesn't cover. The epi is good for school also because Tom sometimes forgets to bring an amp, and the epi plays well unplugged -- I can hear it when he's playing his classical guitar, which is the one he usually brings.

Ahh, guitars..... they're so great!

i got the Epiphone Dot!

I Got the Dot.

Black finish with chrome hardware. Beautiful! The 24.75 scale length is great! Much easier to play than a strat 25.5 inch. I'm not into strats anymore! The quality in the guitar is just excellent. Fine craftsmanship. It sounds great -- great tone. The neck feels great. I'm getting used to the bigger body size. It's great unplugged, too. Semi-hollow body.

I Love the Dot!

epiphone dot soon

It looks like the weekend of the 18th I'll be heading up to Milwaukee and Marty will get me the Epiphone Dot. Looking forward to it!!!

After that, do I really need another guitar? My Yamaha Pacifica is a nice strat-type. So with that and the Epi Dot I've got the range covered: 2 scale lengths, single coil and humbucker, solid body and semi-hollow.

Maybe I don't need a Fender strat. I have thought of the Gibson Melody Maker. Made in the USA, 400 bucks (!), 1 single coil, mahagony body, Les Paul body style. That would get me my "made in America" fix and save a few hundred bucks compared to the Strat Highway 1.

But maybe the Epi Dot and Yamaha are all I need. Two nice guitars.....

pick winning now

now I"ve gone to using the pick for solos. well, my fingers were hurting -- mild arthritis or something. so now the pick feels better and I'm going with it.

also I've picked up the acoustic again to mess around with, especially while sitting on the couch or in the kitchen. just a nice smaller guitar with easy to play nylon strings.

the lessons progress. i'm learning more how to structure a blues solo against the 12 bar pattern in a way that makes sense.

fingers winning over picks

it's back and forth, right?

This weekend I've been soloing with my fingers instead of the pick, and I like the increased speed and accuracy. Now I"m thinking of keeping up with the pick for my scales and exercises for my work as a student, but to solo and improvise with my fingers. This can be a bridge until my pick work is up to snuff.

I put a little flange on the amp and my guitar sounds good - a little spacy! It works best with just the bridge humbucker pickup. And I use the hot rod amp setting -- whatever that is! I don't know much about fender amps.

I did try an Epiphone Dot... nice guitar! but I'm still gonna get me an american strat highway 1.

Fresh Strings!

I put a new set of Dunlop 9 gauge strings on my guitar -- man do they sound good! Light, clear, ringing tones. I can feel the vibrations in the body of the Yamaha. And they feel great -- smooth, silky. Well, those old strings I imagine were pretty old! Dark, pitted, rusty, and pretty worn out.

Also I went to Guitar Center and bought one of those winder tools you put on the tuning knob to speed up the process. It comes with built in wire cutters. Cool device. I also sat down and played an Epiphone Dot (the Epi version of the Gibson ES 335). It costs 399. Marty recommended it as a great blues guitar. It's made in China but he has his students buy them -- he says the quality is really spot on. BUT, it didn't pass the wife test! She said it made me look like an old man playing it -- she likes the Fender Strat look better! Hey, I don't have a problem with that! I wanted to try out a Strat Highway One but they didn't have one in stock. Maybe next time!

fresh strings!

picks win over fingers

ok, i'm comfortable enough with picks that i'll be using them, and give up the notion of fingerstyle blues. picks are the way to go.