Acoustic 12 String Guitars that is ??

G`day Folks,

                 One of the other things I like to do…..apart from model railways…is play my guitars.
  I am self taught….which is pretty obvious when you hear me play….and I can`t read a note of music….but playing is like a therapy for me……I just let go and let it rip……it doesn`t matter because I don`t play to entertain……I just play because I like to play and it helps me chill out.

  I usually don`t use a plectrum, but rather the ends of my forefinger and thumb held together as if I were holding a plectrum. 
   The guitar is a 12 string Seagull from Canada. It`s actually a factory prototype as far as I can tell from the serial number.

  So for better or worse…..here I am…..all acoustic….no amplification…..all the sound comes from the guitar.

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTjOM1Ma8RY


Avant d'accéder à YouTube


:cheers   Gormo

Fantastic, Brian.  :doublethumb

I'm a Bluegrass double bass player myself . . .

The Cherry Pickers

If you're ever in Adelaide, we must have a pick.  :cheers

Thanks Max,

                  If I ever get back to Adelaide….I`ll let you know and we can have a session. I was in Ireland last year chasing up family history, and I got a chance to see some real Irish traditional music and dancing being performed at a one off performance.

    Honestly….some of it really hit a nerve with me….it was wonderful……it wasn`t the mamby pamby soppy stuff they play for tourists. This was the real deal and it was just magic. One song ,sung unaccompanied in Gaelic and English ,just went right through me and seemed to find my soul.

    One of your tunes on your website…The Immigrant Song….has backing that has some of those Irish influences in it I reckon.

    I`ve thought of trying to find a traditional Irish band around the traps in Sydney and try and join up with them but as far as I can tell, they are few and far between

    Well done to you too   :doublethumb I enjoyed your music

:cheers  Gormo
  

I'm impressed,

Even got the moody look. How many guitars do you have ? I had thought about a six string folk guitar.

Brill

Toto

Absolutely brilliant Brian,that really got the feet tapping.:doublethumb

Thanks Toto & Spurno,
                      Toto I have two guitars as shown below.
                      

  The one on the left is a Fender F75 six string acoustic bought for me as a gift for Xmas 1976. This is an early model acoustic from Fender. They only started acoustics in 1972 in Japan. The equivalent version now is made in Korea and they just haven`t quite got that class any more ?

  The one on the right is a Seagull 12 string acoustic made in Canada in 1993. I usually have it tuned down by one note to keep the stress off the bridge. The normal tuning for a guitar is E A D G B E.

   The Seagull is tuned to D G C F A D. The Seagull needs tuning on a regular basis , however the Fender rarely goes out of tune ?

  The Fender is the quality out of the two and would fetch the price of a new version if I were to sell it.

  They won`t be sold though….they are to be passed on to my son when I`m gone. He is a brilliant guitarist and has a collection of guitars, mostly electric.

  A folk guitar is a good way to start. The nylon strings are easier on the fingers, however the neck is usually wide, similar to my 12 string, which can be a bit of a stretch for the fingers for newbies.
:cheers   Gormo

Hi Gormo,

Very nice. I would be new to guitars although I have played Clarinet before and also own a beautiful hardwood chanter. I don't think the neighbours would be impressed If I went out and bought a full blown set of bagpipes though.

I had been looking at Ibanez, Fender and a few others . Probably a future thing though as I have enough expense shooting out the door at the moment with what I have on, and of course, until this shed issue is over, I think I better keep any available cash in reserve.

One thing, I thought folk guitars had steel strings and classical guitars had nylon for that softer and shorter tone. Maybe I have that the wrong way round.

Lovely instruments anyway.

Cheers

Toto

G`day Toto,
                Ah!!!…what`s the difference between a Folk guitar and an acoustic guitar and a classical guitar.???
                Well firstly let me say I usually associate Folk music with nylon string guitars. Don`t know why, but that`s just me….I`m a dope. The reality is Folk style or Folk music can be played on any guitar because it`s the choice of the performer. Most Folk style and or Folk music would actually be played on steel stringed instruments because they are brighter and louder.
                Now if you look at guitar manufacturers, they market all sorts of species of guitar and one of those happens to be a Folk guitar.
               It seems that most of the so called " Folk guitars" offered have a slightly smaller body to a regular guitar. Some even say they have a different action to a regular guitar. That`s interesting,  because you can pick up any two identical guitars and I`ll bet most guitarists will say each one has a different action.
               The reality is that all these guitars ( excluding electric ) are acoustic guitars. They vary in shape and size and type of strings and materials used, but they are all acoustic.
               In the past, famous Folk performers have been known to use a particular brand or style of acoustic guitar and over time, because of the famous performer association, that guitar has become known as a Folk guitar.
              So in my book…..it`s a marketing ploy. At the end of the day, there are many and varied types of acoustic guitar to choose from. When you pick one up and it feels good, especially along the neck, and if it has a nice tone and good volume……that`s probably the one for you…..regardless of it`s place in the market and it`s brand.
             Now back to where I started. A steel string acoustic has a different bridge and machine heads to a nylon string guitar. Machine heads wind the tension on the strings.  The steel string body is also stronger, to take the strain of the steel strings.
             There are more details I could bore you with ,but as you can see, guitars are like women, there are many types and sizes and shapes,but a good one is lovely to hold.
:cheers   Gormo

                 

You've been hiding your light under a bushel Gormo - that was brilliant for anyone but if you're self taught, then that's certainly a masterpiece.

If, or rather, when you get to Adelaide and have your jam with Max, don't froget to record it and post it on here - there'd be enough buyers to pay for the recording studio I'm sure.

I've got a couple of Max's Cherrypicker CD's that he kindly sent "for marketing purposes" and they get a regular airing.  As we live in the country with no near neighbours, I can play them at full blast and "trot" around the garden to them. :thumbs  One with the pair of you would add to the collection of "greats I "know"" ………………:cheers

G`day Peter,
                 I don`t know what to say to that except thanks very much…..I`m glad you liked it. 

   The lack of musical knowledge is in some ways good in that there are no rules to be broken, so I soldier on experimenting with different things. On the other hand I guess it really holds me back in many ways.
 It`s like living in modern society without being able to read.

Fortunately, it is not important and has no effect on my life, so I just practice , practice , practice and make noises.

This instrument, like many others, is one that you have to persevere with. When I first started, I remember working from a chord chart and following the dots to work out where to put my fingers. Initially, the fingers had to be placed on the strings by the other hand because I had trouble co-ordinating them when wanting to change from one chord to the other.

  Eventually, you learn, they call it muscle memory and you gradually build up a repertoire of chords that you can play easily. A lot of music can be accompanied by three chords, so strumming a guitar along to a traditional song after a while is not that difficult.
:cheers  Gormo

Well Gormo,

Your thread has induced another ambition from the past which was to learn either the guitar or the piano as I love these instruments in equal measure. So ……… With all the negative vibes with the R & GLR lately and considering it has come to a crashing halt at the moment, I decided to go out and buy myself a guitar. An acoustic guitar, ………… A Faith Saturn Eclipse to be exact. I shall post up some pictures shortly. I also picked up a Marshall 50 watt two channel acoustic practice amp whilst I was at it.

So. ……. It's all your fault. at least that is what I told SWMBO. Unfortunately that sort of buggers up any chance of you staying at out gaff if you decide to come over.

Cheers

Toto

Hi again,

here is a few pictures of the gear as mentioned above.;

The Faith Saturn Eclipse,

Solid spruce top, solid Mahogany back and sides.



Onboard digital tuner and 3 way EQ and volume control



 another from the side……. don't know why.



Comes complete with hard shell case.



and the all important Marshall 2 channel accoustic 50 watt practice amp





hope all you axe wielders like it.

cheers

toto

G`day Toto,
                   Over the last few days I have had the odd little stabbing pain in the back of my neck. I now think your SWMBO must have a little voodoo doll with my name on it and every now and then she sticks a pin in it. Ahhh yes it all makes sense now…...

                   Well I don`t really have a pain and that is one nice guitar. I had a look on YouTube and found some people playing the exact same guitar and it has a lovely warm tone. I like that.

                 Now Toto you must practice , practice, practice and when I come over and find some alternative digs near you…..we can have a jam session and run some trains…..and maybe partake in the odd medicinal nip…..Life doesn`t get any better than that !!!!!

     PS….make sure you put it in it`s case when you`re not playing it. You don`t want any knocks or dings in it…..it`s a thing of beauty to be preserved.

:cheers   Gormo
                

Hi Gormo,

Glad you like it. I wondered what SWMBO was doing with the dressmakers pins and the plastiscene the other day there.

I had my first practice session yesterday and I already have numb fingers. I only played for about 40 minutes or so to make sure that I did not overdo it.

Sore fingers are one thing but the wrist is worse. Trying to keep it straight to enable my fingertips to hit the strings without fouling anything else. Anyway I have devised a few  wrist exercises ( nothing dodgy of course ) in order to try and get the wrists a bit more supple and the tendons stretched a bit prior to playing.

I've bought a few books …….. As you do and I'm now just waiting for Clapton to give me a call for a jamming session.

It is a welcome distraction at the moment with all that's going on with the shed issue.

I'll let you know how the bonding is progressing between me and said geetar.

Cheers for now

Toto

G`day Toto,
                You`re at the difficult stage. Everything hurts and your fingers won`t reach far enough and it is frustrating. This is stage where some people push the too hard button and give up.

               Don`t do that…. just persevere. Your fingers will start to adapt. The tips of your fingers on your fingerboard hand, will develop a thicker more leathery skin that eventually will take longer periods of playing without pain. Eventually your fingers will stretch across the fingerboard quite easily. Your brain is starting to memorize the finger positions already ….a bit like driving a car where you don`t have to look at the pedals. Repetition develops all these things, so patience and a desire to learn to play the instrument is the important thing.

               Once you can play a few chords, you should develop some practice exercises where you move backward and forward through them and then play them at random. This will increase the speed of your chord changes. Then start trying it without looking……a further tax on the memory….but very helpful. I used to play in the dark just to make it harder for myself.

              After a few months…..look back at where you started and you will realize that you have come a long way.

              So mate….best of luck with the guitar…..give Eric a kiss from me…..and have fun.

             By the way can you do me a favour ???……can you hide those pins and plastiscene from your missus. 

:cheers    Gormo

Hi Gormo,

I don't mind the pain, it's only just begun. I ain't ready for quitting, I've only just started.

The idea for me is that I will build up my time spent destroying my finger tips over time.  I am also doing some finger stretching exercises and trying to exercise my wrists a bit more to make them a bit more supple. ( nothing dodgy you understand )

I'll tell Eric you are asking for him. As for the pins ……… I fear you are to late ………. But as you say, you'll get used to the pain after a while then you won't feel it as much.:tongue

Cheers

Toto

Oooh…Oooh…Ouch….Ahhh……..Geeezzz!!!!!

Hi Gormo,

Had my second practice session last night and I was practising along with a Justin Sandercoe tuition book.

I am learning chords D, A and E to start with and even only the second session in I can notice a difference in my " hit rate " . I am getting these chords clearer more often and the fingering is becoming slightly easier.

Not perfect by any means but improvement is obvious. I will carry on until my hit rate is better still and then the next progression is joining up the dots ….. Or the chords.

My fingers are steadily getting a bit number but no huge onslaught of pain ……. Yet.

Cheers for now

Toto

I envy you Toto - I'm far to old and "set in my ways" to start learning a musical instrument but I wish I'd tried harder as a child ………

It just wasn't as exciting as building Airfix kits and learning to use air rifles etc to blow them up ……………….:roll::roll:

Good one Toto,
            That`s the ticket… you`re on your way. Try a G major when you get a chance …that will give you a bit of a stretch.
            As a warm up exercise I do repetitions of G , C , and D7 chords played in any sequence. The fingering for each is almost the opposite of the others so it gives you a bit of a work out.

         Keep up the good work
:cheers   Gormo