A little late for my intro but, here goes...

[Tarin]

Hello, Tarin here from Tijuana, Mexico... yep, that violent city just south of the border from California.
33, bald, short, architect with small fingers (damn fingers!), recently married and believe it or not... with a stable job (stable?, i hope so).

I've been listening to rock music since 5 thanks to my then 19 year old uncle who used to babysit me while mom worked. Uncle introduced me to The Who, Iron Maiden, led Zeppelin, Rush, Black Sabath, ZZ Top and all those in the "must" list of classic rock... go figure, went to my first concert at 11: Iron Maiden's Powerslave tour in Tucson Arizona.

Started out as a heavy rock n'roller but once i started growing up i learned to appreciate other genres like... New Wave (is it still called like that?), you know: Duran, Cure, Depeche, Def Leppard (never considered it heavy metal), Police and such... with that, 50's oldies started to sound on my radio then Reggae, Swing, Big Band, Mambo, Salsa, Jazz, Bob Dylan and Blues... man, Blues!

My rocker-freinds got stuck on heavy metal and couldn't give me any credit for liking other types of music. Now we are all in our 30's and some of them will take off the black t-shirt every once ina while to discover something else... i'm glad to have covered this at a very young age (and still discovering new stuff).

By the end of 2007 while drinking beers at our favorite cantina, listening to the jukebox and talking music (yes, it was 2007), my buddy said "tarin, how come you know so much about music but don't play any instrument?"
There and then i decided to learn guitar... at 32.
My buddy guessed it was a drunk-man's decision, but no, the very next day i started reviewing guitar types, brands, sounds... prices.

Ended up buying a Squier M80 and a Danelectro 1 watt battery amp to start out in my apartment.

Didn't notice when, all of a sudden i was caught in this way of life: eating web pages learning new stuff, licks, tips, tricks everything... just like my Nintendo days: in my room, in front of a monitor, callous in my fingers and a smile in my face.

[just strum]

Welcome Tarin, your starting out a lot younger than many of us and like you, many of us just started playing in recent years. This is a good place to be, whether you are a beginner or a seasoned vet.

I've dealt with a few companies in Tijuana, but never made a trip down there as of yet. One company just located recently near where the MIM Fenders are made and I tried to get a deal on one, but it never materialized (the guy I dealt with is friends with the owner of the factory that makes the Fenders). I also had a lot of dealings with the Eaton facility located in Tijuana.

You certainly have a good background in musical taste and it's good to see you've discovered the Blues. A lot of people here share your taste.

[marnold]

Hehe, sounds like we have similar tastes in music. Welcome!

[peachhead]

Howdy Tarin- good intro, good story, good decision and you've found a good place to be. Welcome!

[Tarin]

Question to Mr. Moderator... am i the only mexican in this forum? (mexican as in, living in Mexico).

[tjcurtin1]

Welcome aboard, Tarin!

[Spudman]

Question to Mr. Moderator... am i the only mexican in this forum? (mexican as in, living in Mexico).

No. We're all Mexicans. I hope that makes you feel right at home now.:)

Welcome anyway. You might be the only person south of the border not in South America that has posted on the forum. It's neat that you have endeavored starting to learn an instrument at a later age. There are a few others here as well. Just make sure to make enough time to consistently play and you'll make great progress. Also stop by Dolphin Street for some of Roberts great lessons.

[Robert]

Welcome! I'm not sure if we have any other Mexicans on here. It's not a requirement to state your origins. You could be our first!

You're very welcome here in any case. Great to hear you want to get into guitar playing later in life. It's never too late. Rock on!

[sunvalleylaw]

Welcome and thanks for the great intro! I started late too. You will have fun here!

[Tone2TheBone]

Hola! Welcome to the Fret.

[oldguy]

Welcome to TheFret, Tarin! Glad you joined us here.
That was a good introduction you posted.

[Gil Janus]

Welcome aboard TheFret. Don't worry about starting at 32 - I first started at age 27, and then life got in my way after a few years for the next 30 or so odd years - here I am retired and I'm re-learning the guitar at age 64 :AOK:

So grab a seat and hold on, there's lots to learn, and it's all good :D

Gil :cool:

[warren0728]

great intro tarin....glad to have you here at the fret....fellow blues lover here (there are a bunch of us).....

i see you have an rp250....so do i....i really like it....how about you.... :pancake:

[Tarin]

The RP250's been a great pedal!
I use it mostly for the acoustic simulator and the effects, little amp or cab emulating... although i've downloaded some user presets from Digitech's web site and i've also made my own.
I don't gig, don't play in a band so i'm not in need of that "perfect tone" that many claim only comes from analog devices and, since my "ear tone" has not fully developed (or, i really don't know what's a good or bad tone for others than me), i'm pretty satisfied with the digital sound quality of this pedal... great for starters! i have lots of fun tweeking and finding new stuff (learning).

[warren0728]

i'm just a home player too and live in a condo so sometimes i use the rp250 with headphones and sometimes into my classic 20....if you haven't already i recommend downloading the x-edit software from digitech....makes working with the rp a lot easier!

[Brian Krashpad]

Bienvenidos!

TJ, eh? When I was a kid back in the '60's I lived just on the other side of the border, in Chula Vista.

[Tarin]

I have family in Chula Vista, that's where all my Ebay stuff arrives... and my BMG cd's, and my Columbia House dvd's, and my issues of Rolling Stone and my... hmmmm, now i know where my money's going.

Guess i'll have to start cancelling subscriptions cause, as a buddy of mine once said "time's, they are a changing" and as of now, i can really relate to that.

Back to Chula Vista, you'll be surprised how much it has grown in the last 10-15 years. Mostly to the East, what's now known as Otay Ranch and East lake... it's enormous.

[Brian Krashpad]

I have family in Chula Vista, that's where all my Ebay stuff arrives... and my BMG cd's, and my Columbia House dvd's, and my issues of Rolling Stone and my... hmmmm, now i know where my money's going.

Guess i'll have to start cancelling subscriptions cause, as a buddy of mine once said "time's, they are a changing" and as of now, i can really relate to that.

Back to Chula Vista, you'll be surprised how much it has grown in the last 10-15 years. Mostly to the East, what's now known as Otay Ranch and East lake... it's enormous.

I'm sure it would be unrecognizable from when I was a kid-- we're talking 40 years ago! I can remember as elementary school students we used to go ride our bikes out into the desert scrub for miles and miles. If we rode far enough there was an adobe house that was very old. We used to do foolish things like climb down into the underground cistern below the house.

If we rode further still, we would get to a rise and on the other side was some college or university. or maybe a junior college or community college, off in the distance (to the east)... San Diego State maybe?

My dad was in the Navy with his ship over at Coronado (or wherever the ships dock) I think. Back then I don't think there was a bridge out to the island (I think I saw something somewhere saying there now is such a bridge), you had to drive up the causeway. I still remember the world-class zoo, and of course Cinco de Mayo and celebrations in Old Town.

Que mundo pequeno!

PS--my Spanish is almost nonexisitent so forgive my attempts. ;)

[Cottonwood King]

Welcome to the Fret! I'm pretty new myself, and new at playing guitar as well, so we're on the same page (or should I say fret?) haha, anyway, glad to have you with us.

[scgmhawk]

Welcome, Tarin, and Cheers! :beer:

[evenkeel]

Welcome!!

Terrific intro!!

[mrmudcat]

Welcome!