[it's going well....]

That is very cool! I had a Fender HR Deville 410 once when I didn't care what happened to my back. haha. It was a decent sounding amp... but hissy for sure... and that was on one in working order!

 

I am not working towards gigging but I am learning songs at a decent clip now. Instead of taking months to work out A song... now I tend to get a few songs going at once and just work on the one that I have momentum with at the moment. I found the hold up before was writer's block. Now, if I have writer's block on one tune, I might not on another and I continue with that one.

 

I have maybe 7 or 8 solo guitar arrangements done and more being worked on.

 

• Maybe Baby (slight swing to it)
• White Christmas
• Summertime
• Autumn Leaves
• All of Me
• Sleep Walk
• My Life (yes, Billy Joel)
• She's the One (Ramones)
• Work in progress: In the Pines (Appalachian folk tune)
• Work in progress: Just the Way You Are (again, Billy Joel)
• Work in progress: Beyond the Sea
• Work in progress: Georgia on my Mind
• Work in progress: Wonderful Tonight

I've found that I get more out of my arrangements if i get the piano/vocal music to versions of tunes. Something about guitar books makes me try less hard. That... and I find tab distracting.

[Fat Strings Are Better = Urban Myth?]

It really is a balance of things. I like very, very low action. I mean... 'not many people can play it but me' low. With this, you have some choices to make. How much neck relief do you want? For me, I want no relief or as close as possible. I want the nut cut and bridge dropped as low as it can go. Beyond that, I have to experiment with string size. The bigger the string, the less wobble it gets for to make a note relative to a smaller string. With the less wobble, the lower I can get the strings to a flat neck.

[Smoothing out the bumps]

If the Tokai does the trick, it does the trick!

 

+1 on the paid to play comment... that is why so many guitarists in the US at least are NOT getting paid to play in my opinion.

[Week 25 (May 17, 2010)]

You have really been working hard!!! I wish i had the time to do what you are doing.

Me too! haha. No, I wish I had more time to do more of what I am doing. What little I have been able to do has really paid dividends!

[Week 14 (February 24, 2010)]

Enjoying this Blog Barry. Thanks for keeping it up to date.

My pleasure, man! Glad you are enjoying it.