Tag Archives: guitar

Music, Photoblog, Project 365

Project 365 : Takamine EF740SGN

Well, I couldn’t hold out, and stopped by Mozingo Music on the way home from work, picking up my new guitar.

This beauty is a Takamine EF740SGN acoustic/electric. Cedar top, mahogany back and sides, and a rosewood fingerboard… It looks like a well-worn friend, straight out of the case. (BTW, a hardshell case was included with it. There’s some value!)

It’s definitely got a different feel from my Yamaha. The Takamine is an “OM” (Orchestral Model) body style, versus the straight dreadnought style of the Yamaha. So what does this mean? Well, the Yamaha is very boomy with thick tones, while the Takamine is brassy and clear. Both are great sounding, but are definitely different.

I also like the neck a tick better on the Takamine. I believe the neck may be just a little thinner front-to-back, and it just seems to feel better in my hand as a result. And with the thinner body, it’s really comfortable sitting on my lap as I play.

Needless to say, I’m thrilled. It’s a beautiful instrument, and Mozingo took good care of me, as they have through my this whole experience of taking on the six-string. This is gonna be fun!

Music

New (Future) Gear : Takamine EF740SGN

A few weeks ago, the folks at Mozingo Music were talking with me about a line of Takamine acoustic/electric guitars, and had suggested the EF340. Unfortunately, they just weren’t able to get them in long enough for me to take a look at ’em. I’d discovered that Guitar Center had one in town, and was just a few minutes away from heading there to look at it when I saw a tweet from the folks at the local Mozingo Music. They had just received the EF740SGN.

The ‘740 is an OM-style body, slightly smaller than a regular dreadnaught, and without the cutout that the ‘340 sported. I figured I should go take a look at it, and lay hands on a Takamine for the first time. Even with my extremely limited experience, I could feel the difference in that guitar. The neck was more to my liking than my Yamaha, and it was soooo easy to play. The smaller size makes it not nearly as boomy as my Yamaha, yet still producing a really nice tone. And the color makes it look like an old friend.

I couldn’t resist, and put it on layaway. I guess I’ve got the disease. 🙂

So, in a few weeks, I’ll extricate the new toy from Mozingo, hopefully in time for the next jam session. Of course, now I have to think about an amp, but that’s a search for a different day. For today, I’ll be content with the knowledge that a new guitar-child is entering the house soon!

Music

Jam Session

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There’s a pretty active set of musicians at work, and last night, ten of them rented a studio space downtown at Utopia Studios for a jam session. As a newb to the whole thing, I was invited along. “Bring your guitar,” I was told. And I did.

The room was big enough — 34 x 18, part of an old converted warehouse — and was really rustic. Frankly, had I not been so interested in playing (and learning to play!), I would’ve loved photographing this building and the warehouses and alleys near it. It was a really cool spot.

We started just past 6.30, and when I left at 9.30, folks were still in full steam mode. The studio stays open until 2am, and I wouldn’t be surprised if our little group was pushing that time. We had a bassist, dobro, drums, bongos, and nine six-string guitars (including me). Needless to say, that many guitars made for some interesting music on some tracks!

So did I play on every song? Nope. In fact, I probably only played fully through three or four tunes, while I plinked along with the chords I knew on many others. But, man, did I ever enjoy being part of the music for once. As someone for whom music has been such a big part of my life for so very long, wrapping myself in the tapestry of live music, and weaving my own little corner of the sound was such an amazing experience.

It wasn’t without a few lessons learned though:

  • My cheesy little music stand I bought Thursday wasn’t really up to the weight of the music I had on it last night. I’ve gotta get something more substantial.
  • I need to have ready access to picks on the stand.
  • I need a water bottle holder on the stand. Reaching to the floor for my drink proved to be a precarious situation for my guitar.
  • My stand needs to also have a light. The side of the room I was on was pretty dang dark, and made it tough to see my music.
  • When printing my tabs for the night, I need to use a bolder, larger font. That’ll help with the dark, and frankly, makes it easier for me to focus on what I’m playing instead of trying to figure out what’s on the page.
  • I’ve gotta remember to take my guitar stand next time! I didn’t have anyplace to put my guitar during the night.
  • I’ve gotta find some way of keeping my picks out of the body of my guitar. I’ve dropped three in there over the last few days, and I accomplished that feat again last night.
  • I need to work on my chord transitions desperately! I couldn’t keep up on many songs because I kept having to think about what chord shape I needed next. That’s just practice, but definitely something of note!

In the end, I had a blast! I thoroughly enjoyed a few hours of playing last night, and absolutely wanna do it again!

(BTW, click for a Flickr set of last night’s fun!)

Music, Photoblog, Project 365

New Gear : Levy MS26E Guitar Strap

As I’ve started to practice more with my new guitar, it’s become really evident that I needed a strap to help support it in place — one less thing to pay attention to while trying to figure this stringed beast out. I looked on the ‘Net, but the number of choices is simply overwhelming. Add to that that there’s no way to figure out how any of ’em actually look and feel, and suddenly this simple shopping excursion becomes a daunting one.

So I bit the bullet today, steeled myself against the potential exposure of being a newb, and took a trip to one of the local guitar shops. In my internet travels, I’d seen Levy straps, and found ’em at the shop. I took a look, found one I liked, and escaped with my babe in the woods secret still intact.

I wound up with a Levy MS26E strap, and really like it. Of course, I had to figure out how to put it on the silly guitar — as I’m learning, acoustics frequently don’t have but one button on which to mount the strap. The other end is tied onto the head. And, after putting it on wrong-side-up, I finally wound up with the thing installed right, feeling nice, and ready for the somewhat lackluster action I can supply!

Entertainment, Photoblog, Project 365

Project 365 : New Addition

I’ve been wanting to learn to play the guitar for a long time. Music has been such a part of my life — as a listener — for as long as I can remember. I’ve played around with learning the piano (a small dose of classes), but that’s been about it during my adult life. My brother is quite the guitar player, and works for his favorite guitar company, Carvin. We’ve talked some about putting me in a guitar — and Carvin makes beautiful instruments — but as I looked at the pricing, I realized those are “big boy” guitars, and at this point in my playing experience, that’s probably a bit more of a commitment/investment than I’m willing to make right now. I bet there’ll be on in my future though! 🙂

Becky and I visited Mozingo Music in O’Fallon during lunch yesterday, and I found a guitar that sounded good, looked good, and was priced within my pre-set budget. It’s a nice Yamaha acoustic, and seems to be exactly what I was looking for. I still need to find a strap I like, but aside from that, I think I’m set.

Last night, I played with it for an hour or so (with my Guitar for Dummies book at my side). The tips of the fingers on my left hand are so tender! Guess it’ll take time before those tender tips get used to manhandling the strings on the neck. I’m having terrific problems getting my hamfist and fingers away from strings that I don’t intend to be touching. I’m sure I’m not the first one with that problem!