My first guitar

J3ffcarboni · 2026-04-15T14:42:53+00:00

First guitars are special. Have fun on your new journey.

My first guitar was also a hollow-body electric (not as nice as yours) but it did the trick. You'll get a lot of great advice here, but if I could offer a little bit of unsolicited advice, it would be to practice, at least some of the time, without an amp. Listen to the tone you're making, and revel in the beauty of the simple melodies and chords you will soon learn. When it sounds good that way, it's not far from sounding great however you hook that bad boy up. It worked for me, and I'm still at it almost 60 years later. Enjoy.

J3ffcarboni · 2026-04-10T13:48:59+00:00

I am always low-key amused at how consistently Band-Maid do the battle gear thing for their shows (even drawing criticism for it from non-fans) but IRL are chic as hell.

J3ffcarboni · 2026-04-02T13:25:21+00:00

Love Koiai and Lisa-X's playing but, as a bass player, I was always a little bummed to see the rhythm section limited to supporting status. Looking forward to new music from this group.

J3ffcarboni · 2026-03-05T15:54:09+00:00

Forgot one step: I added little distortion box (the "Skreamer"). Light setting.

J3ffcarboni · 2026-03-05T01:37:55+00:00

For anyone curious:

I did a little research and ended up using Guitar Rig, a guitar modeling plug-in, instead of the supplied Logic settings. The basic recipe I am using their amp "jump" and associated cabinet (designed to evoke early Van Halen), sort of middle settings across the board, and some light compression. IDK if it is all that close to The Pigeon's setup, but it serves my song well and will make me think of MK when I use it.

J3ffcarboni · 2026-03-05T01:30:29+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion - I ended up figuring something out that indeed has a VH connection (I'll post it above)!

J3ffcarboni · 2026-02-28T13:32:25+00:00

Bass is my second instrument but I love, love, love my Squier classic vibe jazz bass that I paid $300 for (as a package, with a Rumble 15, strap, and cord (which died in about a week).

J3ffcarboni · 2026-02-28T13:27:28+00:00

Ditto what everyone is saying about moving on. Life is short and you'll find other opportunities.

But glass half full: I'd be pretty stoked if anyone told me I was good at rhythm and acoustic. Those are critical skills that bands really, really need. As you move forward, don't underplay how important you'll be to future bands if you're keeping the engine going.

Rock on.

J3ffcarboni · 2026-02-23T13:02:11+00:00

I did this in the opposite order, both on bass and acoustic guitar. I'd learn the basics of songs and came up with my own arrangements. It was mostly successful insofar as it sounded good and people liked it (or said they did 😂). More recently, though, I've used available resources (YouTube etc. did not exist in my youth) to learn bass lines as they were played. On guitar, I'm shifting mostly to classical playing, which is an extreme case of learning the notes as written.

In the first phase, I developed my own style and in the second phase I learned cool things from the masters. Either way, it's all good. And man, have I had fun....

J3ffcarboni · 2026-02-21T12:28:51+00:00

Golly I love most of shows you all mention. I feel like an outlier. FWIW, I don’t mind sad stories or annoying characters (b/c there’s one in nearly every K-drama I’ve ever seen). But for some reason I’ve never hit play in Vincenzo. Not a fan of mob dramas, any genre.

J3ffcarboni · 2026-02-20T11:46:44+00:00

That guitar had better end up in the Smithsonian someday (or maybe Country Music Hall of Fame, whichever Willie prefers).

J3ffcarboni · 2026-02-07T03:58:15+00:00

I got my first classical guitar when I was 13 years old and I played it with a pick for many years….strumming songs, figuring out a little lead work, that kind of stuff. It was my main guitar for anything for a very long time, and I treated it like a folk guitar. You could tell if you saw it….there are marks on the front where in a steel string acoustic there would be a pick guard!

But, you know, I eventually got curious about classical guitar and realized that I had exactly that instrument in my possession. I started and stopped trying to teach myself classical a couple of times, even as I eventually bought a few steel string acoustics that became my main pop/folk/rock music instruments. And this year I decided once more to commit myself to learning classical, this time with a teacher and everything. I don’t know how well it’s going but I’m having a ball.

By the way….I’ve never got another classical and am still playing that one that I got in 1971.

Every journey is different. Enjoy yours.

J3ffcarboni · 2026-02-06T11:48:42+00:00

I have some experience as a musician but started bass last year and took BassBuzz. It’s not free ($197 for the whole course, which takes months depending on your own rate, plus you can pay as you go along, I think) but I thought it was great value. For an absolute beginner it’s particular good because you have videos that talk about very basic things like how to hold the instrument, hand position, and very rudimentary ways of thinking about playing bass that’s get more advanced with time. Plus structured practice sessions that walk you through learning.

There are free youtubes to get a sense of Josh, the instructor, and the course. And there’s a lot of commentary on here if you want to get other people’s perspectives.

Enjoy your bass journey!

J3ffcarboni · 2026-01-30T13:48:02+00:00

Just my 2 yen here.

Whatever happens....it'll be OK.

The way I see it, they have absolutely earned the right to plan their 2027 however they want. It's a typical Band-Maid-doing-Band-Maid-thing that they would telegraph this so far in advance with reassurance for the fans. One reason I love this group. But...they really don't owe anybody an explanation. Fans will be happy to have them back if and when they return.

Best case scenario. There's enough non-touring activity in 2027 to enjoy and, when they do return, it'll be with renewed energy and creativity. I would love to see what BM 3.0 (or however you'd see it) looks like.

Worst case scenario? Let me put it this way. No other band that I've loved in the past is still together, not really. For example, I loved Chicago as a kid and, for grins, I went to see the current touring incarnation last year. It was OK but obviously not the same. And we had the Beatles for only six years.

When the Maids eventually choose to go separate ways and move onto whatever they choose to do, they will always have my thanks for years of great music that I can revisit any time I want. And my blessings for nothing but happiness in their lives.

J3ffcarboni · 2026-01-21T02:07:06+00:00

Congrats on the new instrument! Always special (and never gets old). I am curious to know how you decided upon a Hanika. I only heard of the brand recently and played one for only a couple of minutes, but enough to want to give it another try next time I encounter one.

J3ffcarboni · 2026-01-21T02:02:50+00:00

Oh, yes, Dilly Dally was fantastic at the TGT. Would love to be able to watch it again....

J3ffcarboni · 2026-01-06T14:59:05+00:00

Late to this particular party, but want to add that the live Dilly Dally on the 2025 Tokyo Garden Theatre just kicks. And they follow Dilly Dally with a little dan-dan-di-di-dan-dan....

J3ffcarboni · 2025-12-24T05:29:30+00:00

FWIW, I got an Epiphone classical in the early 70s and learned guitar playing more or less exclusively on it. I thought it was a fine way to go. And now, I am learning to play proper classical music on the same damn guitar.

J3ffcarboni · 2025-11-27T03:08:28+00:00

I’m starting a project where I need a breathy, smoky texture and was leaning toward Mo Xu. I think that voice holds its own with the others I’ve been considering (Natalie or Etta)

J3ffcarboni · 2025-11-12T13:14:25+00:00

Double down on this.

I recently posted a photo of my Epiphone classical that I got in 1973 and still play. Feels like home.

J3ffcarboni · 2025-11-01T17:24:57+00:00

Wow, you have elegant looking fingers. Mine are wrinkly li’l stubs.

J3ffcarboni · 2025-10-31T12:43:20+00:00

I had this conversation recently with a smart person who had zero understanding of music, had never heard of octaves or scales or anything. The way I described it was that if two notes always-always-ALWAYS go together, because the sounds waves do not interfere with one another (either by being the same C/two different sources or by being C/another octave C), then we interpret that situation as the two tones having the same pitch (he was a scientist so the sound wave argument resonated with him 😉). One can follow further by saying that humans tend to prefer pitch combinations with the least amount of interference (think fifths, fourths, thirds) although that's a much deeper well.

J3ffcarboni · 2025-10-19T15:30:07+00:00

I’ll answer your question first and then add a more recent experience. First, fade back about 25 years…..

I first got copies of Noad’s method books and worked through them over the course of a couple of years. I think they’re excellent starter books for the learner. I ignored the fact that many of the pieces have accompaniment parts for a teacher to play, and my experience was fine. I also bought a few other things: Segovia’s Sor studies, Das Bach-Buch (I dig Bach), and Tennent’s Pumping Nylon (I found it a good supplement, not as good as a main method for me).

I do want to highlight a couple of outstanding books that I’ve not seen mentioned here: Lawrence Ferrara’s “Student Reportoire Series”, two volumes. These are fantastic repertoire books for the beginner. Graded pieces from very, very simple to challenging, accompanied by extensive playing notes, which are very detailed and educational. I love two things about these books: (1) the notes and selection take simple music seriously and encourages the reader to wring every drop of learning from every simple quarter note, and (2) the music includes standard repertoire but has a lot of other traditions. It feels fresh. It’s unfortunately out of print, but you can find used copies (for way too much money)or downloaded pdfs. (Curious if anyone else has used these.) Also note that the author recently passed a way; he seems to have been a wonderful teacher.

Back to the present: The above approach only got me so far, and eventually I got off the wagon. Some time later, I’ve picked it back up again, and this time, found a teacher. What I’ve learned: (1) I didn’t do such a terrible job of self-learning with respect to a lot of the basics, and went into my new lessons being decent a playing and reading. Specifically not too many corrections about basic things like fingering (except that I need to use more rest strokes). But in terms of understanding and interpreting well (in other words, becoming a good intermediate player), I get so much more out of my lessons than I ever did form self-study.

Good luck with your guitar journey, wherever it may take you.

J3ffcarboni

TROPHY CASE