Small Changes...
AddThis Social Bookmark Button
Greetings all. I used to come to this site all the time up until about 3 or 4 years ago, and I didn't even realize it still existed until just recently. I'm glad to see that not only is it still around, but it seems to have gotten better. It looks like a pretty solid site again. I can tell already that I'm gonna miss the "Miscellaneous" board ("Offbeat" just doesn't have the same ring to it) but I'm liking the new features available already.
Unfortunately, I can't give you the intensive lessons that other bloggers on the site can, but I'll try to offer some advice in whatever way I can. If you're not satisfied, you're more than welcome to take your $0 dollars back.
...
So being home for Christmas break has made me realize just how much small changes can have an effect on your playing. How so? Well, I've had a Jackson for the last couple years that's never really clicked with me. I keep my strat with me at school, so it just sits in my closet 9 months out of the year. I've played around with the setup, but something always felt off. I've tried to sell it a couple times, and I was planning on putting it up on ebay for good this time, but I decided to give it one more shot. After pulling out the neck shims that I'd put in, and lowering the bridge, suddenly it felt like a whole new guitar. It played awesomely, and I felt like I was playing better on it. This thing went from being at the bottom of my guitar totem pole to being near the top, after just a few small adjustments.
That's not all. My sister got me guitar picks for Christmas, but the ones she bought were not my usual size or shape. I'm used to using 1mm Dunlop Nylons, but she got me medium gauge tortex and celluloid picks in the "bloated triangle" design (the kind where you basically get three identical points). My first reaction was that I'd never be able to use the things. Once I tried them though, I realized that I actually liked them a lot more than my old ones. Every problem I've ever had with losing my grip is gone (I have ape hands, btw) and they're just more comfortable overall. End result: I'm playing more, and I'm playing better. 
There were a few other slight adjustments over the last few weeks. I put some new tubes in my amp, and new pots in my telecaster, but I think I've made my point already. If you start running into a brick wall with your playing, change something. If you're bored, turn some knobs until you find a new tone, or try a different tuning. There's no point being stubborn if it's not getting you anywhere. Whatever it takes to get you playing more is worth doing.

 Archived posts
Search Blogs