Tags: Guitar
…and then I bought a twelve string
April 25th, 2006, by Rich.
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I’m very pleased to report that, at last, I have an acoustic guitar that is playable; debates may rage for years about whether I can actually play it, but it’s undeniable that someone more competent than me could probably bash out a good tune.
My old acoustic guitar has been with me since my undergrad days, when I had to trade my red denim jacket for it (eeh, money was tight back then). Even then the old thing wasn’t particularly good - it was only Tim’s unused reserve guitar. Guitar players among you will most probably wince if I go into detail about it’s vertigo inducing action. Non-guitar playing readers can be satisfied in knowing that it was “a bugger” to play and would often stray out of tune before the end of a single “song”.
It is necessary to put “song” in quotes when describing my old guitar, because it really is that bad.
My requirements for the new guitar were simple; I wanted a guitar that would make a nice sound, be comfortable to play, and one that could perhaps cope with my undainty fingers. It also had to be a guitar that fits in with my preferred musical styles and authors. And most important it needed to be “not impossible” to keep in tune.
I thought “maybe a 12 string, if they’re not too hard to keep tuned”. So I went to the shop, and tried a couple on, both 6 and 12 sting models. The 12 string they happend to have was remarkably affordable (i.e. not exactly hand crafted, but with all the bits in the right place) and it made a jolly nice sound, even when I twanged it. So I got one, and so far, I’m hooked.
Thus far I’ve been rattling my way through Beatles, Pink Floyd, Tenatious D, Eagles, Green Day, Travis, Turin Brakes, Electronic, Supergrass, Lenny Kravitz and the Toy Dolls. It makes waiting for the kettle to boil a more tuneful break from the computer keyboard.
In case you’re not familar with the Toy Dolls and their infamous version of Nellie the Elephant, here it is:
April 25th, 2006 at 5:17 pm
I am about the jealousest green person in the room right now. One day I will have a 12-string (not so sure about the 12 sting you mention in para 5 though - sounds a mite painful).
When you’re done rattling that lot, how about some Grant Lee Buffalo?
April 25th, 2006 at 6:08 pm
Painful? Not at all. Not after the old guitar. Grant Lee Buffalo, check.
April 26th, 2006 at 12:57 pm
Strummed out any !Kpechtunx Brian 109 yet ?
April 26th, 2006 at 1:30 pm
Can’t find the Tablature anywhere! I tried Google already.
May 16th, 2006 at 1:51 pm
By eck, that video brought back some memories.
I saw the toy dolls live at Newcastle Uni around 1985 (I can’t remember exactly when, a bit of a blur really). It was the first time I’d ever heard ‘Fisticuffs in Frederick Street’ and the first bars of solo guitar intro were played by Olga sitting on the shoulders of Filip (the bassist). On completing the solo he promptly jumped off and bounced around the stage like a demented spring. Epic.
Their recording company Volume Records was just down the road from the Uni and I bought their first two albums there.
On the subject of guitars, I have enough trouble with six strings let alone twelve! I did find a way to cure (some of) the vertigo-inducing distance between strings and fretboard though. I removed the strings then lifted out the bridge and filed it down using sandpaper! It is not recommended to remove too much height as the strings can ‘buzz’ against the fretboard if plucked too vigorously. It did help turn a pleasant but cheap guitar into one that I had a slightly better chance of playing without causing too much offence!