For a long time I have wanted to learn to play electric guitar. The idea first came to my mind when I was still in high school, and buying a guitar was a matter of not only having the money to pay for it, but also the time to make a day's trip to find one 90km north --which is more or less the same as today, just that I can afford it on my own now and I am already traveling those 90km back and forth everyday. Back then, it was a near epic adventure. So the idea sat at the back of my mind for some twelve years, making casual appearances from time to time (specially when I was near a guitar or a guitar store), and air guitar became a part of my daily life. Then Guitar Hero, Rock Band and Frets on Fire came out to help me quench that guitar playing thirst. Then I read a Rolling Stone interview with Kirk Hammett where he mentioned he was playing blues for himself at home because "What would I do when I'm 80 years old? Play Master of Puppets?", and that got me thinking about my own future (yes, we rockers tend to have moments of insight and find illumination in the weirdest moments and things). In the future I could play Dungeons and Dragons with my children, and maybe a couple console or online games (WoW will probably still be around), but I think that teaching them to play guitar and maybe even jamming with them at some point could be a more perdurable thing. When I finally made the decision to learn to play guitar, I started asking my guitar-playing friends for a beginner's guitar.
Gerardo said I could easily find Yamaha, Squire, Epihone, Ibanez and Fender guitars in Lima, and it was also possible to find Roland, Fender and Vox amps, and that I could possibly get a good discount if I purchased all my gear in the same store. That weekend I checked a couple websites looking for the one axe that could make my blues-rock playing dreams come true, just to have vague idea of the price range. Being a heavy metal, blues, brit pop and hard rock fan I have always admired Gibson (Jimmy Page, Slash, Angus Young, Noel Gallagher) and Fender (Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Joe Strummer) guitars and Marshall amps, and I knew beforehand I could not afford any of those. Gerardo said he could sell me his used-but-well-cared-for blue Yamaha Pacifica 012, but we had to check prices first. Therefore, we went shopping one fine midwinter afternoon.
We started by checking out the cool Fender guitars at a big store, and then moved on to the more affordable Epiphones, Squires and Yamahas. After a few minutes, we noticed I no longer wanted the Pacifica 012 (and he was not ready to let it go), so we turned the price comparing afternoon into a quest for an affordable good guitar and a decent small amp. I was eyeballing a vintage sunburst Epiphone Les Paul (wich was quickly discarded because I would have ended up broke and hitchhiking my way home), a black Squire Stratocaster and a nice Fender Frontman 15G amp (the one with overdrive controls) that was on sale, but the price tags were a little high. Outside, the sun was already setting and the midwinter sky had a beautiful burnt orange hue.
We then walked to the small stores in the area and asked for the Squire Strats (black please, because red, beige, white and burgundy just do not cut it). The first one we found looked fine, and it came at a discount with a cute little yellow unknown-brand amp, but the guitar jack was acting funky and they did not have another black Strat. So we went to the store next door. They only had it in burgundy, but they carried blackfaced Fender amps (skirted knobs, silver grilled cloth), and had a lot of Ibanez guitars on display (including a beautiful red Artcore with a vintage tremolo I immediately fell in love with and plan on buy it once I learn how to play decently and can afford it), a few Epiphone SGs, and a Dean Razorback with lime green lines.
We continued our quest for a black Squire Strat and a small Fender amp. After walking around and finding only one other black Strat with an expensive price tag (and many red and burgundy ones with cheaper tags... makes me wonder), we decided it was time to go back to the small store with the red Artcore and give the Ibanez axes a shot. We requested to try the guitars with the same amp that was on sale at the big store. Over the next half hour we checked an expensive RG (it was on sale though), a couple others and finally a GRX20. We both liked it, so given I was about to start learning and he was an already somewhat seasoned player, that was a good sign. It turned better when the lady at the counter said it had a lower price tag than all the Strats we saw that afternoon. After some bargaining we ended up leaving the store with a black Ibanez GRX20, a blackfaced Fender Frontman 15G, gigbag, strap, cable, a Korg tuner (I sincerely can not tune the guitar by ear for my life) a Dunlop Nylon .88mm pick and an Alice .71mm pick. Then I just had to try to fit everything in the seat next to me in the bus and ride home. Above us, the midwinter sky was already black as my first guitar.
Over the next few days I noticed that even though I played at low volume, my learning sessions could still be a little bothersome for the other occupants of the house (mom, dad and my older brother... more on him on a future post). Looking for a solution that would still let me overdrive the amp and crank the volume up, I had my broken Genius headphones fixed and used them for about a week, when they broke again. After that I started using my sturdy Targus headphones (the same ones I use with my CD player and my PC), because they work better at loud volumes and are more durable. A couple weeks later I noticed I actually had to unpack and set my guitar (get it out of the gigbag, attach the strap and tremolo arm --just for the looks and because I like playing with it- and plug to the amp), and then unset and pack it two times a day because I was practicing an hour every night and half an hour every morning. It was time to get a stand. I found a nice stand at the same small store for a reasonable price, and since I was already a returning customer and was also purchasing some more Dunlop picks, I got a nice discount and went back home after eyeballing some Boss distortion and chorus pedals. It was early afternoon three weeks after purchasing my axe, and the sun shined lazily behind the clouds of a grey midwinter sky.
The latest addition is a small plastic toolbox I purchased at a plastics store near my house. Its primary use is to keep the tuner, picks and cables in one place. It will be even more useful once I learn to play decently and purchase the Line 6 Floor POD and the Fender Vintage Voltage cables I plan to get myself for Christmas or maybe for my birthday next year.
Now my axe sits in my room, right next to the amp and the toolbox, ready for some practice day or night... even if I do not practice as much as I should. Now, if I could only get Ibanez and Fender shirts and a jacket that reads Dunlop on the back.
'Nuff said.
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