Masterofnocaster
TDPRI Member
Good morning.
I'm on my own personal Route 66, looking forward to retirement and dedicating more time to practising. (That's a joke, son - I didn't practise enough 60 years ago when I was taking piano lessons.)
I came to guitars later in life. I bought an acoustic in my final year of university and basically taught myself to a level somewhat above cowboy chords. I listened to a lot of rock, but had no interest in buying an electric until my brother-in-law was throwing out a trashed mid-70s Fender Duo-Sonic someone had given him. There was a bridge but no saddles (unless you count the popsicle stick that was there), the pickguard had been mangled fitting in a larger bridge pickup and the entire body had been dipped in black paint. I stripped it down, found period-correct pickups, and it sounds, well, not bad.
About 15 years ago I found a two-inch slab of walnut burl, roughed out a Jazz Bass shape and took the bandsaw to it. I bought Bartolini pickups, a badass bridge and Warmoth neck and hey presto, bass guitar. A few years later I did the same to a mahogany plank, except this time it was Tele-shaped and I bought a Samick neck. Now I'm attempting another Tele.
This much I know to be true: if I'd spent a few hours in a guitar shop trying them out rather than fiddling and fussing trying to fit things together, I'd have had a lot more time to be actually playing.
I'm on my own personal Route 66, looking forward to retirement and dedicating more time to practising. (That's a joke, son - I didn't practise enough 60 years ago when I was taking piano lessons.)
I came to guitars later in life. I bought an acoustic in my final year of university and basically taught myself to a level somewhat above cowboy chords. I listened to a lot of rock, but had no interest in buying an electric until my brother-in-law was throwing out a trashed mid-70s Fender Duo-Sonic someone had given him. There was a bridge but no saddles (unless you count the popsicle stick that was there), the pickguard had been mangled fitting in a larger bridge pickup and the entire body had been dipped in black paint. I stripped it down, found period-correct pickups, and it sounds, well, not bad.
About 15 years ago I found a two-inch slab of walnut burl, roughed out a Jazz Bass shape and took the bandsaw to it. I bought Bartolini pickups, a badass bridge and Warmoth neck and hey presto, bass guitar. A few years later I did the same to a mahogany plank, except this time it was Tele-shaped and I bought a Samick neck. Now I'm attempting another Tele.
This much I know to be true: if I'd spent a few hours in a guitar shop trying them out rather than fiddling and fussing trying to fit things together, I'd have had a lot more time to be actually playing.
