Retro Hound
September 24th, 2009, 09:43 AM
Hello,
Just to introduce myself, I’m 43 and just started playing guitar. I very happily married and have 4 boys ages 7-14. My job is a librarian at a mid-sized state university.
I’ve always been a huge music fan, I have over 600 vinyl albums and about 400 CDs. Makes me wonder what took me so long to start playing.
Well it all began with my 2nd son expressing an interest in learning guitar. We bought him a starter Squier acoustic for $180USD. I started fiddling around with it and really enjoyed it.
At a garage sale we found a blue 3/4 Harmony that looked brand new and sounded not too bad for $25 for the younger kids. While talking to the lady about the guitar, she said they had another full-size one they might sell. It was a metal flake red Squier with really nice resonance for $75 and it came with a hard case, a book, a stand, an electronic tuner, and a bright red strap (doesn’t match the red of the guitar at all). It also looked like it had never been played. My wife asked if I was really going to learn and I replied that I could sell it for more than $75 if I don’t.
After getting all the way to learning the 4th string in the book, I started lusting for an electric. So at another garage sale I bought a Squier Affinity Stratocaster that’s basically new and Roland Cube 15x. He said “You want a bag with that?” and I laughed, but he was talking about a gig bag. He threw in the cord, a Fender gig bag and a pick(!).
My lust still not satisfied, I wanted a Les Paul. One came up on Craigslist in my area so I got a Epiphone Les Paul Ultra (a hollow body Les Paul). I kinda wish I’d held out for an Ultra II, but the price was $250 and I didn’t think I’d get an Ultra II for anywhere near that. Once again, I figured I could sell it for more than (or at least) $250 if I changed my mind.
I should mention that I live in a small town and the one and only music store in town carries only Fender (and Squier) for guitars/amps. There are 3 or 4 music stores in a town about 45 minutes away, and I’d like to get over there and try out some various guitars and amps, but that’s a half-day or more commitment and I haven’t had the time yet. I’ll probably be asking a question about modeling amps here soon.
My oldest son wants to learn banjo. We also have a Casio keyboard that the kids and wife play around with.
Music styles I like: just about everything. My favorites are probably blues (Buddy Guy, B. B. King, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Stevie Ray Vaughan), 60s fuzzy psychedelic (Jimi Hendrix, Big Brother & the Holding Company, Oxford Circle), bluegrass/folk (Doc Watson, Flatt & Scruggs), 50s & 60s R&B/Soul (Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin), 80s alternative (U2, The Cure, Mission of Burma), and classic rock (Led Zeppelin, Alman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd).
Just to introduce myself, I’m 43 and just started playing guitar. I very happily married and have 4 boys ages 7-14. My job is a librarian at a mid-sized state university.
I’ve always been a huge music fan, I have over 600 vinyl albums and about 400 CDs. Makes me wonder what took me so long to start playing.
Well it all began with my 2nd son expressing an interest in learning guitar. We bought him a starter Squier acoustic for $180USD. I started fiddling around with it and really enjoyed it.
At a garage sale we found a blue 3/4 Harmony that looked brand new and sounded not too bad for $25 for the younger kids. While talking to the lady about the guitar, she said they had another full-size one they might sell. It was a metal flake red Squier with really nice resonance for $75 and it came with a hard case, a book, a stand, an electronic tuner, and a bright red strap (doesn’t match the red of the guitar at all). It also looked like it had never been played. My wife asked if I was really going to learn and I replied that I could sell it for more than $75 if I don’t.
After getting all the way to learning the 4th string in the book, I started lusting for an electric. So at another garage sale I bought a Squier Affinity Stratocaster that’s basically new and Roland Cube 15x. He said “You want a bag with that?” and I laughed, but he was talking about a gig bag. He threw in the cord, a Fender gig bag and a pick(!).
My lust still not satisfied, I wanted a Les Paul. One came up on Craigslist in my area so I got a Epiphone Les Paul Ultra (a hollow body Les Paul). I kinda wish I’d held out for an Ultra II, but the price was $250 and I didn’t think I’d get an Ultra II for anywhere near that. Once again, I figured I could sell it for more than (or at least) $250 if I changed my mind.
I should mention that I live in a small town and the one and only music store in town carries only Fender (and Squier) for guitars/amps. There are 3 or 4 music stores in a town about 45 minutes away, and I’d like to get over there and try out some various guitars and amps, but that’s a half-day or more commitment and I haven’t had the time yet. I’ll probably be asking a question about modeling amps here soon.
My oldest son wants to learn banjo. We also have a Casio keyboard that the kids and wife play around with.
Music styles I like: just about everything. My favorites are probably blues (Buddy Guy, B. B. King, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Stevie Ray Vaughan), 60s fuzzy psychedelic (Jimi Hendrix, Big Brother & the Holding Company, Oxford Circle), bluegrass/folk (Doc Watson, Flatt & Scruggs), 50s & 60s R&B/Soul (Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin), 80s alternative (U2, The Cure, Mission of Burma), and classic rock (Led Zeppelin, Alman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd).