Guitar playing is going well (Update to 'I want to buy an electric guitar but have no idea how to go about it')

[graylocks]

JoeM wrote:
Both good points, I agree with you. It is odd looking but I’m so used to seeing many pros using them so I got used to it. Now that I’m dealing with arthritis in my left thumb it certainly is hard to manage putting it on.

take a look at the planet waves. it braces against the inside of the palm with the pulling action coming from the ring and middle fingers. thumb not involved at all.

[JoeM]

graylocks wrote:
[quote=JoeM]
Both good points, I agree with you. It is odd looking but I’m so used to seeing many pros using them so I got used to it. Now that I’m dealing with arthritis in my left thumb it certainly is hard to manage putting it on.

take a look at the planet waves. it braces against the inside of the palm with the pulling action coming from the ring and middle fingers. thumb not involved at all.
Thanks, I will!

[mrbigstuff]

hal wrote:
My reach and bar chord ability is pretty good - my problem is fat fingers, I use my pinky for E and Am. I have a really hard time doing an A with three fingers.

Fell outta habit of using a pick, but when I do, I use a dunlap nylon .6.

Keep the random advice coming - love it!

You use your pinky for Am? In the open position?

[hal]

yeah - it's easier to stuff the 2-3-4 fingertips in there than 1-2-3. come to think of it, I might do that for Amaj too.

[mrbigstuff]

Well, that's good for moving up the neck, I guess. I've got short fingers so I need to make adjustments to chords but I've found that other voicings sometimes work.

[Dennis S]

Here's some of my advice: Don't get a curly cord. Get a straight one with straight end jacks. I prefer D'Addario XL or EXL nickle strings. I do not like coated strings.

[rich in distress]

Capo?
Schmappo!!

miley-excited001:

[JoeM]

hal wrote:
My reach and bar chord ability is pretty good - my problem is fat fingers, I use my pinky for E and Am. I have a really hard time doing an A with three fingers.

Fell outta habit of using a pick, but when I do, I use a dunlap nylon .6.

Keep the random advice coming - love it!

You should learn to play open or first position E and Am with index, middle and ring fingers. That way you have the pinky available to add extensions to the chords (Esus, E6, E9, Am6, Am7 etc.) The way you are doing it with the pinky you lose the finger adding these notes. It might be easier now to do it that way but you'll wind up limiting yourself in what you can play.

This is where moving the wrist that I mentioned comes into play to help you. It's going to feel super awkward when learning, like putting stumps down but in a short time it begins to become natural. You just need to soldier on through the boring awkward period. As far as A first position, you can play it by barring the first finger across EAC#.

[Will Collier]

Hey, that's great! Really happy to see this.

Those Firefly 335 knockoffs are nice and resonant even unplugged. You have to watch your volume for feedback if the pickups are anything like the one I got (but then again I probably played a lot louder and certainly through an amp with a lot more gain). I think they just reused the same pickups from their Les Paul models, and those are wound a little too hot for a semi-hollow.

But that's all extraneous; the important thing is that you're entertaining yourself and having fun. Worry about the details of your gear down the line, for now just enjoy it.

[Will Collier]

jonny wrote:
[quote=hal]
[quote=jonny]
What kind is it?

Also, a recommendation: I've been loving these strings. They are suuuuper light & fun.... https://www.amazon.com/Dunlop-RWN0738-Re...1?dchild=1&keywords=mexican+lottery+strings&qid=1616800389&sr=8-1

Are those 7 gauge? Wow - I didn't know they got so thin.
Zuper zecret formula!
Yep. Billy's strings are pretty amazing. Light as a very narrow feather, but tough to break. Whoever he worked with to develop them did a hell of a job (even if getting the first string put on is like playing with a spiderweb).