Leaderboard

Here's my cover of a Bob Dylan tune. I don't play harmonica, so I tried a few guitar solos instead. Please enjoy.

Greg is not measuring string height when he capos at the first fret and holds the sting at the 12th. The video shows the 14th fret. He is using that step to judge how straight the neck is. He also taps at the 7th and uses a piece of paper to make sure the neck isn't too bowed or needs more straightening. I usually take a peek at parts of the DVD when I do my latest setups. There are a lot of steps during the setup especially on electric guitars which is why I review it. Adjusting string height (action) is done at the saddle on most guitars; Taylor NT necks excluded. If you think about it holding down fret 1 and 12 doesn't tell you about string height because now your holding the string down on the neck at two different points which will obviously lower the strings. He says hold down the string at the 1st fret and measure the distance to the bottom of the string from the top of the fret wire at the twelfth fret. Greg made it very clear that there is not a certified standard for luthiers or guitar techs. Many techs can get by without following Greg's method exactly. I myself have all my guitars in great shape. Mostly I use Greg's method, but on my nylon acoustic I add Taylor's string tie method and a few other tips I learned along the way. The bottom line is you can become your best guitar tech with a little research and a few inexpensive tools.

Or you could buy a Helix for $1600 (or Helix LT for $1100) and have a Dumble-esqe model (Litigator) along with 59 other amps and several thousand dollars worth of pedal effects. JB might hear the difference, but I guarantee your audience won't and since most of us can't afford the real thing this is as close as most mortals will get.

David Allen Coe out there? Not that many of his songs would be acceptable on this forum. "You don't have to call me darling, darling," and "Would you lie with me in a field of stone" are two that don't contain offensive language. DAC was an outlaw in his day--outrageous outfits and language. Lotsa luck.

HYA, this won't make you feel much better, I'm sure, but I think we all had difficulty with that chord. I sure did. It's a lot of fingers in a small area. It just takes a lot of practice developing the muscle memory getting those fingers to land in just that exact spot so the chord will ring clearly. It will come.

B7 chord . Why is it so difficult to be consistent with that chord? Sometimes I make it and sometimes it sounds incorrect. any idea?

@Triple-o I think standardization is a problem in the industry. Greg really tries to seek technique that anyone can implement to achieve high quality setups. Take into account where he practices his trade, I'll listen when he speaks! I've have good results following his setup course on my acoustics. Bryan

Have you considered a Modeller of some kind? If you are looking to really streamline your rig, you can get a modeller that has both guitar and bass amps within and then use an FRFR active wedge to play through. Otherwise, there aren't any really good options out there.

It is great to see you back here Jusca, I hope you are feeling better.💐 Here is a discussion about the Yamaha THR Yamaha THR for a bass amp? Having one amp would definitely be a compromise. I have a small Vox Pathfinder for my bass and use the Yamaha THR for guitar.

@HYA You will not be a master sight reader by the end of session 3. The first four sessions are just an introduction. Don't cheat yourself by trying to skip this part. You will benefit from reading music in the long run. Write the notes in until you don't have to. I locked in on a few notes in the beginning then used them for a reference to learn the rest of the notes. I learned the E on the first string before I learned the F and G. I learned the A on the third string because it is so visually obvious. I learned the C on the fifth string by sight also. The E on the 6th string because of the three staff dashes above the note. From there I learned the rest including going to the higher notes above the staff. This isn't easy. Give yourself credit for doing something hard. Anyone can learn a few cowboy chords and be a perfectly mediocre guitar player. Learning to read music, music theory, and playing better than you ever imagined takes time and practice. Don't give up.