Anyone play acoustic guitar?

[mark_m]

Make sure you keep that Taylor in a case and humidified in the winter - dry air will wreak havoc on a solid spruce top.

Thank you! This website strikes again... shopping for a Taylor hard case and D'Addario Humidipaks to keep the humidification up.

 

[mark_m]

Make sure you keep that Taylor in a case and humidified in the winter - dry air will wreak havoc on a solid spruce top.

Thanks @Lurch i scored a hard case (from Taylor) that came in a giant box from Amazon. Wife was all like “what did you buy?!”

I also picked up the D'Addario humidity packets and dropped the hanging bag across the d &g strings and into the sound hole. Other single back behind the top of the neck behind the tuning pegs.

I think it’s actually helped to hold tuning a little better and swear it sounds better. Thank you again for the advice!

 

[Lurch]

YW! You reminded me to get my brood humidified. That pack in the head/neck area is important too, I had a fretboard shrink and take lacquer off the fret-ends.

 

[mark_m]

Wife was concerned ? with the box ? for the hard case…

 

[84rzv500r]

I have a few i have a couple fender first gen acoustics (tele and strat) that I use for boating and some tenor Ukes but my favorite is a lanaki bari 4 string uke... my new fave is a 2022 fender usa custom shop teleacoustic electric... i also have a Gibson USA SG standard with a Townsley stainless all roller setup with a bigsby whammy... full-size Epiphone 200... for amps I run a pair of VOX AC100CPH all tube heads into a Vox BN412 cab and VOX tone lab stomp petal with a Dunlop wah wah. for practice I have a fender acoustic 40W dual 6.5" with reverb on both channels... its small and light and doubles as a monitor...

 

[roxcntrum]

Your acoustic guitar journey sounds awesome! Congrats on the Taylor 213 ce. It's a fantastic guitar choice! Learning through Fender Play and YouTube is the way to go! Marty Music and Rick Beato are top-notch resources for sure.
I've been on a similar path, and those online resources are a game-changer. Marty Music and Rick Beato are absolute legends when it comes to guitar lessons. You're in good hands with them!
Also, I stumbled upon some happy birthday chords recently. I thought it would be a fun way to play for family and friends on special occasions. Can't wait to surprise them with a personalized serenade!

 

[scokill]

I've played for 40+ years. Mainly acoustic. Have a Martin D28 that is from the late 80s. Played in bands over the years but not much in the past 15+ years. Got back with a garage band and started playing electric. Have Strat and Tele. Got my chops back somewhat and have learned some new stuff. Chords and fingering no problem. It took me months to get used to playing with a pick again.

 

[Scoobygt]

That Taylor is a sweet pick! I started learning the same way, just jumping between YouTube videos and apps. Marty Music and stuff like that are great, but honestly, online music lessons made a difference for me. It’s cool to have someone guide you through the tricky stuff like finger placement and transitions. Makes everything feel smoother, and you don’t have to figure it all out alone.

 

[Maxpilot]

Learn to read music, not just tabs. Get "A Modern Method For Guitar" by William Leavitt. It has helped me learn the notes up and down the neck. I also have a Taylor 214ce.

 

[TommyMcK]

Cool, a back from the dead thread from a few years ago. Did the OP stick with guitar? Sounds like we may need a guitar thread in any case.

Interesting how we all seem to learn different. I hate Tabs (they are often incorrect), and as to learning to read sheet music, is there really sheet music available for most of what you really want to play? Maybe, but for me anyway, after a couple of lessons (that I hated) learning basic chords, I found the best way to learn was to listen and play by ear. Admittedly I was 10 at the time, and music was played on a turntable, but there is nothing like using your ears to figure out how to do things like muting strings at the right time or how to coordinate right and left hand.

More than anything though, I think that the best way to get better fast is to play with other people. I ended up putting myself through college playing in a working band and yeah, you need to learn some theory if you want to really get creative... But if your goal is to play and sing pop songs and sound good, learning basic chords and working things out by ear is as good as anything in my opinion. There was no youtube when I was learning, but I'm not sure it would have helped in the long run...though it would have definitely cut the time that it took to figure out how to play Honkey Tonk Woman (by a decade...open G tuning wasn't a "thing" that I was aware of, which lead to some ....creative..... fingering positions to try to duplicate the sound in standard.... )

I still play out, though lately acoustic duo stuff for the happy hour crowd. There isn't anything that I play when out that I couldn't have played just as well in my teens when all I did was listen and play.

 

[Seadeals]

After only listening to music for 40+ years, I finally gave it a try. My first acoustic was a Fender FA-100 which got me hooked (but I hated the sound). I tried an Ovation next like several others here. I have a KOA Celebrity and babysit a nylon string 1978 for my guitar instructor. Unless plugged in, I was never a fan of the higher gbe string tone. Playing became an obsession once I bought a Taylor GS mini (I have 2 now), I love that sound and they are so convenient and easy to play. I have done all the things mentioned in this thread while learning. I have a note on my phone with my favorite songs. It is enough for me to recall the song and experiment with both chords and finger style while easily seeing the structure of verse/chorus. Example:

Fire Away (Chris Stapleton)
Capo 2
(I) G Dsus4 Em Cadd9 X2
(V) G Dsus4 Em7 Cadd9 G Dsus4 Cadd9 x2 Am Em Am Dsus4
(C) Em Dsus4 G Cadd9 Dsus4 x2 Cadd9 G

You do a hammer on of the g string with the Dsus4. I don’t need that to write that down to remember, so this “shorthand” lets me run through lots of songs without screenfuls of tabs or Ultimate guitar scrolling.