Fretless

Go into a guitar shop that has a McCarty 594 and a Les Paul and try them out. Does one feel better for you? Does one sound better for you? The McCarty 594 was not made to be a straight competitor of a Les Paul, the pickups are in slightly different places so you should notice the Gibson having a slightly rougher sound, some call it mojo, whereas the PRS should sound slightly clearer, more articulate. Some will prefer one, some the other. Eracer_Team-DougH mentioned that, similar to how Gibson has Epiphone, and Fender has Squier, PRS has its SE (Student Edition) as its budget range made in the Cort factory in Sound Korea (shipped to PRS in Maryland for final finishing). The quality of the SE range has been rising fast in recent years, so you may well get better value for money from an SE, just as you might if you buy an Epiphone Les Paul. I have owned a Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul. There was nothing wrong with it; I just didn't gel with it such that it never felt like a keeper. I have 2 PRSs, not a McCarty 594 but a 1991 Custom 24 and a 2007 Hollowbody II and these both fit my hands like two gloves and the sound exactly expresses my heart, especially the Hollowbody, so these are better than the Les Paul ... for me. Your taste, desire, experience and so on will be different than mine, so I will repeat: go and try both of them and then decide.

At least Steve has plenty of subscribers and, hopfully, plenty of viewing hours on his Guitar Gathering YouTube channel that he should be getting at least a reasonable income from that.

Helo Triple-o, Your E Dorian can also be called the E harmonic minor scale. Keep up the learning and practising. Fretless.

That is a dream job without the fame, because it is a supporting role. You get the opportunity to really get your timing spot on and learn to play with others.

For those who have been trying tremolo picking I took the opportunity to ask Steve yesterday and he gave a demonstration and explanation in yesterday's live session, here (the video link should start at 3:36 - Steve has edited his video and so my marker has had to move!):

Maria, how lovely to see you here again; I toostarted L&MG in 2011. I am so sorry to read about how many challenges life has thrown at you in the last few years. May your experiences make you a stronger and more capable person than you were before and may your music give you peace and enjoyment without limitations.

Yes it is just a matter of practice, practice and more practice but don't be in a hurry to speed up your metronome. It is like asking a toddler that has now taken its first steps to speed up to a slow run. They will stumble before long and it will end in tears. As soon as you cannot keep up, slow the metronome back down two steps - not by 2 bpm but to the speed you were alright at before the previous speed. An alternative would be to find a few songs that you enjoy listening to and happen to have helpful tempos, that is, the tempo your metronome is at before you miss a beat. Play your tremolo picking to the whole song, take a good rest, and then try playing along to another song, not necessarily faster. This will help build your muscle memory and will start to make faster speeds more intuitive and less a struggle to keep up. Last thing for now, try to find ways of practising that you find enjoyable; that way you will be able to practice for longer and that will also help. Do let us know in a month or two how you are getting on, what has been helpful and what you find still rather challenging. You will get there.

Hello Aad, Could you point me to what you are looking for, in terms of presentation of the notes for you to practice? For example, lines of notes like the eighth-note exercises 1-6 on page 17 of the Learn & Master Guitar lesson book or notation with TAB as on pages 18 and 19? Are you looking for well-known songs or anything, presumably limited to the first 4 strings. Once I know what you are after I will see whether I have anything I can share with you, either handouts from Steve or other music. Lester

In the UK I don't think we got to hear much but the label's name and reputation I picked up through American guitar magazines I bought. George Winston's Autumn was my doorway into the world of Windham Hill.

Thank you, Tom, for sharing the files, and also DianeB for making them available. I was never part of the Yahoo group but as a long-term L&MG and GG player I am curious to see what there is.

HYA, if you could find someone else who is learning to play some instrument, having to commit to weekly get togethers to explain what you have done in the last week, perhaps demonstrate a bit, ask questions, you could have your own small club that gives you a reason and the drive to be regular and thus keep going.

lebapiv, I would like to start asking what you are about as I see you have posted 5 topics, none of which have anything to do with Steve Krenz and his Learn & Master Guitar course. I notice you have never replied to any help or advice that has been given to you. I hope you don't mind my asking: What you hope to get out of the Learn & Master Guitar course and the course's forum here? How we can best befriend you and help you with learning to play guitar?

Thank you, V7#5b9, that is just where I am in my jazz journey.

Today I auditioned to be the electric guitar player in a country band and got the job, so I just wanted to say a big thank you to Steve for the DVD course (which I bought in 2011 and then added your separate Jazz course) and also the Tuesday night live lessons (and the PDFs), from which I particularly appreciate Will MacFarlane when he comes in as a guest.

That is interesting. Thank you for posting about that, Triple-o.