Tuesday, April 24, 2012

So... here's my plan.



What? Oh. No, I don't have one.

Taught myself a couple of new songs on guitar over the weekend and it brought home several truths. One is that I am no longer even as good a guitar player as I was in my teens (which wasn't very friggin' good to begin with, to be honest). Two is that my brain no longer works like it used to musically - it took staring at the chord changes I found on the internet (probably wrong) for a couple of hours and an ass-load of effort and concentration to memorize, where it used only to take one or two run-throughs and the melodic and muscle memory took it from there. (PLUS, ALL THAT FINGER PICKING. FUCK.) Three is that if I am to consider playing more regularly, I will definitely need to either invest a few hundred in getting my guitars fixed up so they're enjoyable to play, or buy a new axe or two.


Now, as to the first truth, and even the second, I strongly suspect that if I addressed the third truth and either or both axes were fun to play, I would play more regularly - and I could rediscover the muscle memory, musical ear, finger strength, etc.

The acoustic (Yamaha) needs a pretty significant neck adjustment - the action is too high, and it goes out of tune faster than grass through a goose - it's not just no fun to play, it's actually painful. I paid $180 for it in 1989, maybe not worth the money/work. The electric has a bad jack, so the signal cord-to-amp is dodgy, some previous owner has put on some tuning pegs that are alarmingly large and bump against each other (!!!!!!), and also needs some neck work. This is a Fender Musicmaster copy, which I paid about $225 for back in 1984. So again, is it worth it to fix up, or should I just start saving aggressively and buy something that'll be ready to plunk around with when I am feeling like a good strum'n'howl?


Also wouldn't mind a ukelele to dick around with in a rocking chair on the porch on those nice summer evenings, and be the neighborhood hillbilly. But that's another thing entirely, and first things first.

So this is what's been occupying my brain lately. Along with the usual shit.

Speaking of shit, how big a douchebag is Ted Nugent? Surprised anyone is taking him seriously - he is, and always was, irrelevant. What a fucking clown.