Hi all,

Don't know how many folks are still lurking around here, but here it goes. I haven't really been playing guitar much, really over the past year. It's not really a lack of time. I just haven't. I wanted to do something that would re-motivate me to play and possibly add some incentive. Something that got me thinking are the Fender Deluxe Strats/Nashville Teles. I like the flatter fretboard, bigger frets, noiseless pickups, etc. I think either would complement my Jackson well. Of course, there's no point in even thinking about getting one if it's just going to gather dust.

I've tried different things to improve my soloing speed in the past. It has become abundantly clear that I just don't have the manual dexterity to be a shredder. Only took me 50 years to admit that. So saying "if I can play such and such screaming solo by such and such date" is really out of the question. My thought was to learn a group of songs, mainly rhythm but also possibly the solo, assuming it isn't too technically adventurous. Assuming I would accomplish this by a certain date, then maybe look at getting one of those as a "reward." Then I know I'd be playing it and I might even be able to convince my wife to allow it. I could also start saving/looking for a good used one.

I do enjoy playing, but I've just found it way easier to pick up a PS4 controller and play a game rather than grab a guitar. I'd like to at least tip the scales a bit.

Any thoughts? Ideas? Things you've done? I'm all ears.