William Nelson

No worries Steve. I have answered to worse! Looking forward to next June In the meantime working on those great workouts you provided as an early registration incentive! Up to eighth notes at 120 bpm. Working up my courage before trying 16th notes! Tough on an acoustic!

Not exactly sure who “Skip” Nelson might be. It could be William Gary’s evil twin. LOL

@fray I have looked at some of the Takamine’s on line. Look like great guitars but haven’t tried them out yet.

Thanks @Randy120 That new Taylor looks really nice. Gonna get my Shane’s on one the next time I am at Gruhns. And yes @Fretless the search is half the fun!

@Randy120 Since I play guitar and my wife has taken up the violin, trips to Nashville can get pretty expensive! @matonanjin Remind me to ask about your PRS Paul’s sometime. That is also on my list and I’m trying to decide whether to get the SE or bite the bullet and spring for the core. Oh yes, I do see a nice 12 string hollow body on the PRS site also. I’m sure that one would be awesome for an electric!

Thanks @Oldjock and @Randy120 I’ve seen some pretty good reviews of Seagull guitars as well. I just don’t find many of them around here. I haven’t played any of the lower end Martins but a couple of friends of mine haven’t been too complimentary of them. I’m sure I could find something on Reverb or Sweetwater but I like to touch and feel what I am buying. Besides it gives me an excuse to haunt the guitar stores in Memphis and Nashville.

So - I've been thinking about buying a 12 string acoustic. I have heard they can be quite temperamental, particularly the lower priced ones. Does anyone have any experience they would care to share? Things to watch out for? Recommendations? I'm not looking to spend a fortune, because I know this one will likely live in the case more than it gets played. But at the same time, I don't want to cheap out and end up with something that I am going to hate. The Taylor 150E seems to have good reviews for a moderately priced guitar. Thoughts?

So....based on the replies it seems Fishman is either the king of acoustic amps - or a lot of Gathering folks own stock in the company! Kidding aside - I took the time today to go by a couple of music stores here in town and used a couple of their guitars to play on the Fender Acoustasonic 40, a Boss Katana 50 (with the acoustic setting) and the Fishman Loudbox. I have to agree that the Fishman overall had the most "full" sound and if you are looking to invest in a dedicated acoustic amp it is probably the best choice. The Boss Katana was pretty close after a little tweaking of the EQ - and offers the flexibility of being able to support electrics. I'd have to rate the Fender last of the bunch - sounded "thin" to me. The next step is to take my guitar in with the K&K Pure mini and try them again. Tough decision - but enjoying the process!

Thanks for the feedback folks. Sounds like another excuse to head to the local music stores to play with different amps!

So, is anyone out there using an electric amp for an acoustic guitar? From what I’ve seen online electrics work but may not be as clean as a dedicated acoustic amp. Opinions? Suggestions?

@Mustafa, If you are not familiar with it, you might also listen to the song "This Old Guitar" by John Denver. I think it expresses some of the sentiments others have expressed here. I expect most everyone that has ever touched an instrument has felt periods of contentment along with extreme frustration. But I guess that is what makes it so rewarding. I "played with" a guitar during my school years, but never really learned to play it. I grew tired of it and lost interest. Now, many (many) years later, I have decided to truly learn how to play. Sometimes I feel I've waited too long to start. But I've been encouraged by many on this forum and I hope you will be as well.

Hi folks. Just registered for my first gathering. Trying to coax my wife into attending ,but alas, she is learning the violin. Is there a list of topics that will be presented as part of music theory and will those topics be general enough to benefit any musician?