Stupid things you did when you first started playing - Page 2

Radspin · June 2nd, 2008, 03:53 PM

I replaced the original tuning pegs on my '67 Strat with mini-Schallers in an effort to keep the tuning more stable on stage. Aggh! Decades, later, I had the original tuning pegs put back on, but the guitar now has conversion bushings on that don't look "right." My repairman didn't recommend putting dowels in and re-drilling, etc.

I will say, though, that the guitar had a little more sustain and string bending was a little easier with the Schallers on. I've read over and over again in various forums that lighter tuning pegs provide better sustain, but this was NOT my experience with this guitar.

I had done some other mods to the '67 over the years--brass sustain block, brass bridge sections, Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound Strat pickup--but those were all reversible.

Mr.Reed · July 2nd, 2008, 04:49 AM

Bought a 1994 American Standard Tele, and a 1994 Blues Deluxe. The Tele was $500, and the amp was $350... now I can't find anything better to spend my time or money on. : P

Dean Gray · July 2nd, 2008, 04:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robin Nahum

Failing to apply myself.

Didn't practice, didn't learn licks, didn't take lessons. Just fantasised.

Still angry about wasting all those years but happy to have started getting it together over the last ten years.

Young ones... are you listening?

Yeah mate, you and me both!

I "kind of sort of" practised, and I really wanted to be good, but it never struck me to sit down with a metronome and really apply myself.

I am now making up for lost time.

Lerb21 · July 2nd, 2008, 02:12 PM

The biggest mistake I've ever made is try to build a guitar.

beep.click · July 3rd, 2008, 12:40 AM

Nothing terrible, but... I blocked the bridge on my Ibanez Strat with a piece of wood (because in the 70s, it was all about susssstaaaaiiiinnnnn). I realize I probably would have liked that guitar a LOT better, with a floating bridge.

Secondly, I paid people to set up my guitars, rather than learning to do it myself. I have since learned that I care a LOT more about MY guitars than 95% of the repair guys out there (no offense to any repair guys here, of course), and I CAN do a good job, and I WILL take the time to get it right.

claudel · July 3rd, 2008, 02:02 PM

Well, when I was a sprout I took a nice maple necked two tone sunburst Strat apart with a steak knife just to see what was inside.

I cut the wiring with the knife to get it apart, and when I put it back together I tried to solder it with matches.

I had the worst time figuring out why the pickups didn't work.

Considering the time frame, it was definitely not a reissue...

All things considered, though, having lazy practice habits was far more stupid.

porknblue · July 5th, 2008, 08:16 AM

My first guitar was a sunburst solid body from Lafayette Electronics. This was in the late 60s and the first thing done was to sand it all down and paint it up in a "SICO-DELIC" scheme. Looked like a Janis Joplin album cover from those days. Next thing was reccomended by my bass player (he played a homemade six string bass that he had filed the frets down on, was called the fretless wonder), so with #10 bastard file in hand (same one used to sharpen dad's mower blades) away we went. First amp was built by dad. It was a metal chassis with the tubes and transformer mounted on top, no cover and two long shaft pots (no knobs) sticking out the side. This was married up to a 10" EV cabinet and the speaker leads were mounted to the amp via screw terminals.

Wish I still had that old stuff!

studio1087 · July 5th, 2008, 02:25 PM

I remember only using the bridge pickup or the bridge and center pickup on a Strat (22 years ago). I thought the neck pickup was stupid.

???

rickalexander · July 12th, 2008, 10:21 PM

In 1963 I was a young kid in a 2 guitars, bass and drums band. The bass player had a 62 jazz bass, the other guitar player had a 56 strat and I had a jaguar - all sunburst finish models.
We got the bright idea to have matching guitars, so we had them all painted baby blue. When I say painted, I mean painted - not refinished.
Next to my first 3 marriages, that was the dumbest thing I ever did.
Some people thought it looked cool, they were dumb too.

Now I have an extreme aversion to refinishing any guitar . .

dave42 · July 12th, 2008, 11:07 PM

Always more the acoustic player, ....

#1 .. When I was young, I listened to the person who said, "Using capos is just cheating."

#2 .. When I was young, I listened to the person who said, "Led Zeppelin III is terrible. Don't buy it."

#3 .. When I was young, I listened to the person who said, "There is only one way to tune a guitar."

#4 .. Traded my 1976 Stratocaster for a 1975 LesPaul.

I have a nice Tele now. I have a line on a like new 2000 American Deluxe Strat for cheap (sign of the times).. I may get a nice Strat back after 31 years!!!! :)

strummin67 · July 12th, 2008, 11:15 PM

Traded in a '57 reissue Strat (at a loss) plus cash, check and charge for a low end Gretsch that I lost money on when it sold.

Doug Ferguson · July 13th, 2008, 12:47 PM

Taking things apart without diagraming their original state, then having to guess how it all went back together. Oh, and turning one guitar into a fretless by filing painstakingly down the frets flush with the fingerboard without realizing the differences between a fretted and non-fretted instrument. Needless to say, that neck was a goner. Fortunately, it wasn't a strat!

mwaym · July 14th, 2008, 03:12 AM

After my dad taught me some chords and stuff, I wanted a new "ROCK" guitar...... so... I put up his '55 tele

and bought me a pointy head Charvel !!!!

DOH !!!!! I still get to play the '55 when I want, but I think alot about how stupid I was !!!!!!

strummin67 · July 14th, 2008, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mwaym

After my dad taught me some chords and stuff, I wanted a new "ROCK" guitar...... so... I put up his '55 tele

and bought me a pointy head Charvel !!!!

DOH !!!!! I still get to play the '55 when I want, but I think alot about how stupid I was !!!!!!

Well at least you didn't SELL his '55 to get your Charvel.

Dann-O · July 14th, 2008, 12:56 PM

Tried to make a new body for my tele out of mahogany. Routed it without any sort of plan and the wood caught fire.

I do not trust myself with a router anymore.

mrmanley · July 14th, 2008, 01:00 PM

Lessons I have learned over the years:

1. I thought that buying a high-end guitar was necessary if I was going to be a "serious" player. I spent many thousands on high-end acoustics before I learned the hard truth that the skill of the player matters more than the cost of the instrument.

2. When you get over a certain price-point on guitars, you're not paying for sound or build-quality; you're paying for bling and a famous name.

3. Custom-made guitars from small luthery shops may look cool, but they often play like crap.

4. Practice. I spent way too much time early on reading about guitars, talking about guitars, studying guitars, etc. I didn't spend enough time playing guitars.

5. I didn't know how to listen to music when I was younger. It finally dawned on me that if I wanted to play certain kinds of music, I had to listen to it. Really listen. Get the structure, the feel, the tempo. (You can't play a song if you can't hum it, I discovered.)

romo · July 14th, 2008, 03:15 PM

I didn't do too many stupid things other than not enough practice and putting a humbucker in my strat.

July 3rd, 2008, 12:40 AM	#45 (permalink)
beep.click Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: California Age: 49 Posts: 1,966	Nothing terrible, but... I blocked the bridge on my Ibanez Strat with a piece of wood (because in the 70s, it was all about susssstaaaaiiiinnnnn). I realize I probably would have liked that guitar a LOT better, with a floating bridge. Secondly, I paid people to set up my guitars, rather than learning to do it myself. I have since learned that I care a LOT more about MY guitars than 95% of the repair guys out there (no offense to any repair guys here, of course), and I CAN do a good job, and I WILL take the time to get it right. __________________ "It looked like a giant green gum drop to me."

July 5th, 2008, 02:25 PM	#48 (permalink)
studio1087 Friend of Leo's Join Date: May 2003 Location: Near Milwaukee Age: 44 Posts: 3,993 36 Photos	I remember only using the bridge pickup or the bridge and center pickup on a Strat (22 years ago). I thought the neck pickup was stupid. ??? __________________ JLG Carry On

July 12th, 2008, 11:15 PM	#51 (permalink)
strummin67 Tele-Meister Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Sunnyvale, CA Age: 41 Posts: 231	Traded in a '57 reissue Strat (at a loss) plus cash, check and charge for a low end Gretsch that I lost money on when it sold. __________________ Strummin My Guitars

July 13th, 2008, 12:47 PM	#52 (permalink)
Doug Ferguson Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Indianapolis, IN Age: 55 Posts: 1,711	Taking things apart without diagraming their original state, then having to guess how it all went back together. Oh, and turning one guitar into a fretless by filing painstakingly down the frets flush with the fingerboard without realizing the differences between a fretted and non-fretted instrument. Needless to say, that neck was a goner. Fortunately, it wasn't a strat! __________________ If you get hung up on just guitar players, you've missed something.... Don't ever get to a point where you just gotta be a guitar player. You hear something, go try to get that note and sound as much like that as you can.-Buddy Guy

July 14th, 2008, 12:56 PM	#55 (permalink)
Dann-O TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Erie PA Posts: 45	Tried to make a new body for my tele out of mahogany. Routed it without any sort of plan and the wood caught fire. I do not trust myself with a router anymore. __________________ My tunes

June 2nd, 2008, 03:53 PM	#41 (permalink)
Radspin Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: East Northport, NY Age: 53 Posts: 241	I replaced the original tuning pegs on my '67 Strat with mini-Schallers in an effort to keep the tuning more stable on stage. Aggh! Decades, later, I had the original tuning pegs put back on, but the guitar now has conversion bushings on that don't look "right." My repairman didn't recommend putting dowels in and re-drilling, etc. I will say, though, that the guitar had a little more sustain and string bending was a little easier with the Schallers on. I've read over and over again in various forums that lighter tuning pegs provide better sustain, but this was NOT my experience with this guitar. I had done some other mods to the '67 over the years--brass sustain block, brass bridge sections, Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound Strat pickup--but those were all reversible.

July 2nd, 2008, 04:49 AM	#42 (permalink)
Mr.Reed Tele-Meister Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Pullman, WA Age: 19 Posts: 199	Bought a 1994 American Standard Tele, and a 1994 Blues Deluxe. The Tele was $500, and the amp was $350... now I can't find anything better to spend my time or money on. : P

July 3rd, 2008, 02:02 PM	#46 (permalink)
claudel Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Just Outside Area 51 Posts: 629 31 Photos	Well, when I was a sprout I took a nice maple necked two tone sunburst Strat apart with a steak knife just to see what was inside. I cut the wiring with the knife to get it apart, and when I put it back together I tried to solder it with matches. I had the worst time figuring out why the pickups didn't work. Considering the time frame, it was *definitely not* a reissue... All things considered, though, having lazy practice habits was far more stupid.

July 5th, 2008, 08:16 AM	#47 (permalink)
porknblue TDPRI Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: South Bend, IN Posts: 39 6 Photos	My first guitar was a sunburst solid body from Lafayette Electronics. This was in the late 60s and the first thing done was to sand it all down and paint it up in a "SICO-DELIC" scheme. Looked like a Janis Joplin album cover from those days. Next thing was reccomended by my bass player (he played a homemade six string bass that he had filed the frets down on, was called the fretless wonder), so with #10 bastard file in hand (same one used to sharpen dad's mower blades) away we went. First amp was built by dad. It was a metal chassis with the tubes and transformer mounted on top, no cover and two long shaft pots (no knobs) sticking out the side. This was married up to a 10" EV cabinet and the speaker leads were mounted to the amp via screw terminals. Wish I still had that old stuff!

July 12th, 2008, 10:21 PM	#49 (permalink)
rickalexander NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Florida, USA Posts: 4	In 1963 I was a young kid in a 2 guitars, bass and drums band. The bass player had a 62 jazz bass, the other guitar player had a 56 strat and I had a jaguar - all sunburst finish models. We got the bright idea to have matching guitars, so we had them all painted baby blue. When I say painted, I mean painted - not refinished. Next to my first 3 marriages, that was the dumbest thing I ever did. Some people thought it looked cool, they were dumb too. Now I have an extreme aversion to refinishing any guitar . .

July 12th, 2008, 11:07 PM	#50 (permalink)
dave42 TDPRI Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Ohio Age: 50 Posts: 32	Always more the acoustic player, .... #1 .. When I was young, I listened to the person who said, "Using capos is just cheating." #2 .. When I was young, I listened to the person who said, "Led Zeppelin III is terrible. Don't buy it." #3 .. When I was young, I listened to the person who said, "There is only one way to tune a guitar." #4 .. Traded my 1976 Stratocaster for a 1975 LesPaul. I have a nice Tele now. I have a line on a like new 2000 American Deluxe Strat for cheap (sign of the times).. I may get a nice Strat back after 31 years!!!! :)

July 14th, 2008, 03:12 AM	#53 (permalink)
mwaym Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: anderson, indiana Age: 44 Posts: 115	After my dad taught me some chords and stuff, I wanted a new "ROCK" guitar...... so... I put up his '55 tele and bought me a pointy head Charvel !!!! DOH !!!!! I still get to play the '55 when I want, but I think alot about how stupid I was !!!!!!

July 14th, 2008, 01:00 PM	#56 (permalink)
mrmanley Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Rochester, MN (USA) Age: 41 Posts: 101 1 Photos	Lessons I have learned over the years: 1. I thought that buying a high-end guitar was necessary if I was going to be a "serious" player. I spent many thousands on high-end acoustics before I learned the hard truth that the skill of the player matters more than the cost of the instrument. 2. When you get over a certain price-point on guitars, you're not paying for sound or build-quality; you're paying for bling and a famous name. 3. Custom-made guitars from small luthery shops may look cool, but they often play like crap. 4. Practice. I spent way too much time early on reading about guitars, talking about guitars, studying guitars, etc. I didn't spend enough time playing guitars. 5. I didn't know how to listen to music when I was younger. It finally dawned on me that if I wanted to play certain kinds of music, I had to listen to it. Really listen. Get the structure, the feel, the tempo. (You can't play a song if you can't hum it, I discovered.)

July 14th, 2008, 03:15 PM	#57 (permalink)
romo Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Toledo, Ohio Posts: 228	I didn't do too many stupid things other than not enough practice and putting a humbucker in my strat.