Now to tune the fucker…after lunch!
Looks sweet. I dont remember the string ends being that way round. I probably cut them off thinking about it. No problem though.
Remember to do an intonation check when you get it tuned.
I’ve slowly started putting a list together for a pedal board. The cost is going to be silly, especially it I get some of the boutique pedals I’ve been looking at. Ah well, do it right and do it once
Cannot get this fucker in tune.
Given up. Will leave to my guitar tutor to show me Monday.
I saw the guy at Gibson do it this way on YouTube and just copied him. Not sure I like it but I’m not taking them off now haha
Certainly not.
By the way you’ve put the final nail in the coffin of me ever owning anything with a Floyd Rose on it I think.
Had an absolute ball last night in my own little world between my head phones. Murdered Dead or Alive as I was trying to remember the solo. Got there in the end but needs a lot of polishing but Loved every moment of it. So loud, great sound and ended up going to bed far too late again.
This is why you should learn to play on an acoustic guitar first. It requires practice, and then a little more practice and then a lot more practice. And it will hurt. Some days it will be shear agony. But it will get better. You’ll find your fingers get stronger, the callouses grow harder and it gets easier.
And then playing bar chords on an electric is a walk in the park.
Actually if you really want to be masochistic go learn on a 12 string acoustic that’s sat in the cupboard for too long and the neck has lifted so the action is like the Mariana Trench.
To be fair there is logic to the acoustic first theory but I do lean more to the have fun and keep it fun side. If that’s acoustic you’re laughing. If its electric it’ll still hurt but you can always fall back onto the wonderful juicyness of a heavily distorted E chord.
My lud I present to you the final chord in the song Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus as evidence. Has there ever a greater E played on this planet?
I just don’t have the fingers. They are not long enough. I seem to have an issue with my hand in general in that my fingers really hurt when they are stretched.
I want to play a song that requires a power chord near the top end of the fret board where frets are bigger and you hit chord then leave pinky and ring finger down and move index finger up one fret and I can’t do it. My fingers are not big enough and I can’t reach without other 2 coming off.
Some chords I don’t think I’ll ever be able to play. The em7 being the same for the same reason my fingers are too short, can’t bend and mute all the strings. It just doesn’t seem physically possible.
I do have an acoustic coming so I’ll try on there.
I still have a Hofner like that - years back I took it in to a music shop to have the action dropped - the repair man reckoned you’d have to be bionic to play it.
Still it made playing anything else so easy, even my 12 string Framus.
And you need a fairly high action to play slide!
Yes, the final chord is a bit fruity!
Yeah I see me getting rid of this. My fault and impatience and I’ve shanked £550 on something that’s a ballache.
Dont get one. I’ve been miserable ever since it turned up.
The reason being I’m learning and I don’t have 3 hours to waste on tuning the thing.
It can be very, very frustrating, as well as painful. But persistence, practice and stretches can pay off.
I have stubby fingers, so I should know.
May I ask, can you bar all six strings with your index finger - don’t worry about doing anything with your other fingers for now?
Most of them - normally the G or B string get muted
Oh, come on! Take it to a good guitar tech or luthier, wait until it’s set up and then play the damn thing! I didn’t want a guitar with a floating bridge because it’s very difficult to set up but even those with fixed bridges are tough - being a beginner, I didn’t want to mess with it. Have him polish the frets and reduce the action, it will do you a world of good. Decide on a tuning before you do it, you don’t want to change your tuning when your guitar is set up. Try with thinner strings for easier bending, 9s or 10s should be OK for you. I started with 10s, I’m using 11s now but will probably use 10s again on one guitar.
Seriously it will be a great guitar once set up. They are a pain to change strings etc. but once that’s all sorted it should be rock solid. The only other issue will be if you break a string, the whole thing will be out of tune again. You’ll figure it out and it wont be a big issue from then on.
I was really tempted to get a guitar with a trem system this time, a simpler one but got tempted to the dark side of P90’s and fulfilling that bucket list thing of owning a Fender. No regrets so far but there’s also a little part of me that says I’m not finished yet.
I’ll see what my guitar tutor can do with it then take it for a full set up when guitar shops reopen.
Thinking about it, it’s not the length of your fingers that’s the problem as you can bar the E,A, & D strings, so it comes down to the strength of your thumb and index finger (keeping the finger straight) and the pressure you can apply.
Has your tutor suggested any exercises to strengthen the muscles in your thumb and fingers?
Yes agreed. Common problem when starting barre chords. Fleshy part not quite tough enough yet. It will come.
In my case it’s a coordination problem, the brain sends the correct message, I start strumming and get wierd noises. So I have a look and my index that is being told to stay straight is all wonky. So I watch my hand and force it to do the correct thing but then my strumming goes all wonky. Half an hour later I’m doing really simple stuff to make myself feel better.
It will come. I’ve been at it for years, never really giving it serious enough time or effort for long enough and my accuracy and speed is still lacking. But the general trend is upward.
What @Noo_Noo says. There is no substitute for practice; and when you’re done with practice, practice some more. Eventually it will come, and you’ll find that you won’t have to keep looking at the fretboard.