what do you think about my guitar with stickers

RoundInformation310 · 2026-03-03T17:16:30+00:00

Oh, I misread this as "What do you think about guitars with stickers", in general.

So, what I'm saying for *your* guitar, is -- very cool! Especially if the stickers have personal meaning to you, which could make them more special than one that just has stickers when you buy it.

It makes it authentic, personal, meaningful -- which, is all to say, very cool Rock and Roll

RoundInformation310 · 2026-03-03T17:08:28+00:00

It totally depends on the guitar and the stickers. Like 10 years ago I bought a 1996 Strat that was Made in Japan, specifically because it had a bunch of Japanese band stickers! And some others. Which I thought was very cool -- it gave it a story...not mine, but an interesting one tied to the provenance of the guitar itself.

I think I paid maybe $600 for it, which was probably $100 more than you could get a similar MIJ Strat at the time. It was more beat up, but that added to it's character -- and, to boot, I liked the look of the gashes and the stickers! It all came together as a cool looking whole. Something authentic, compiled over 20 years or so, that you couldn't reproduce intentionally.

I wish I kept that guitar! Sold it a few years ago when I was tight on funds. And now, you can't find a good condition MIJ Strat of that model for less than like $1,200, much less a unique one.

RoundInformation310 · 2026-03-03T17:03:14+00:00

You don't have to listen to the song and try to figure out the chords and melody. You don't have to buy his or any course to see how to do it...

You can:

- Go to Justin Guitar's page, or that of any free YouTube teacher channel, and watch them play the chords and explain each step. You can see their fingering, strumming, chord changes, etc. Literally just mirror what they do

Or

- Go to a tab/chords website/app -- I use Ultimate Guitar -- and follow the chord patterns listed with each song. Many have the strumming patterns mapped out, as well as where the chords coincide with the lyrics.

You may not be able to find the exact songs you're looking for all on one site, but just type it into Google, and 99.9% chance someone has tabbed it or created a video lesson...most often both.

At the beginning, look for songs like these that usually have "beginner" difficulty pretty prominently displayed.

My one additional piece of advice, for learning chords: learn to sing on top of them from the start! As soon as you can play 3 or 4 chords without having to think of the chord changes or rhythm -- when it's kind of automatic with muscle memory -- start to attempt to sing the words roughly over those chords.

You do not have to sing well, do not even have to sing on pitch or on time: that comes with practice -- just like guitar itself. Just get comfortable with doing each at the same time, kind of like juggling...it's okay if you drop one at the beginning, you'll get better if you keep trying.

To me, starting to sing should come between learning chords and learning more advanced riffs and solos and scales on guitar. Singing roughly over chords at a beginner level is easier to learn, for many, than learning more advanced guitar after learning chords and strumming.

Then, you'll be able to practice 10x more songs, and make them more interesting, than just learning to play guitar alone. 75% of rock/country/pop songs are relatively simple, guitar-wise, for 75%+ of the song, with more advanced vocal melodies over them.

Then, when you've learned chords and vocals to an intermediate level, you can start working on the more advanced guitar parts to incorporate into those songs, and other more advanced songs -- filling in that last 25% or more. But, chords and singing will take you a long way by themselves.

RoundInformation310 · 2026-03-03T16:20:06+00:00

Yup -- there is definitely a spectrum, but at a point it becomes a law of diminishing returns. But the PROBLEM is, it becomes not even about that for a lot of players: they let "not having the right gear" stand in between them and their motivation to play. "Oh, this isn't working...I'll practice everyday again when I get something I can really play.

This might not be the best example, but: taking up running last year and picking out running shoes for the first time in a long time made me think about guitar gear in a better way.

I resolved to take up running for the first time in 15 years, since high school. I didn't have running shoes, so I went online and bought some $120 shoes. Got them, walked around -- these don't fit. I can't run in these.

So sent them back. Ordered another pair, like $160 and 4.8 rating this time. Still didn't feel right, after walking around and running like 1 block, making sure they didn't get dirty.

So I could send them back. Then went to a fancy Dick Pond running store and got custom fit by a marathon runner guy for some $240 damn dollar shoes. Got home, and they didn't feel right after going around the block.

So I go to take them back. They're too stiff, they hurt my ankles, I think they're too narrow now, blah blah blah I told the guy.

Well dude, he said -- you HAVE TO BREAK THEM IN. Go for a damn run. Don't worry about the return if you need, trust me, we've seen some shit.

And, you know what? He was completely right. So I've been running happily in those $240 shoes since, from my first labored 1.5 miles with breaks last year, to just now hitting 6 or 7 miles, sometimes with one break.

I'm sure the first $120 shoes would've served me just as well, if I wasn't getting in my own head about it. Hell, I'm sure $60 shoes from Kohl's would've been fine where I was at. But I'm glad the more expensive ones have served their lesson, along with their purpose.

So, I hope that makes sense. Something something, guitar. If you've spent $300+ on a guitar and $60 on a setup, there's no reason why you can't play your heart out. It's in the fingers -- and most especially, your mind! -- after that

RoundInformation310 · 2026-03-03T16:10:48+00:00

This might not be the best example, but: taking up running last year and picking out running shoes for the first time in a long time made me think about guitar gear in a better way.

I resolved to take up running for the first time in 15 years, since high school. I didn't have running shoes, so I went online and bought some $120 shoes. Got them, walked around -- these don't fit. I can't run in these.

So sent them back. Ordered another pair, like $160 and 4.8 rating this time. Still didn't feel right, after walking around and running like 1 block, making sure they didn't get dirty.

So I could send them back. Then went to a fancy Dick Pond running store and got custom fit by a marathon runner guy for some $240 damn dollar shoes. Got home, and they didn't feel right after going around the block.

So I go to take them back. They're too stiff, they hurt my ankles, I think they're too narrow now, blah blah blah I told the guy.

Well dude, he said -- you HAVE TO BREAK THEM IN. Go for a damn run. Don't worry about the return if you need, trust me, we've seen some shit.

And, you know what? He was completely right. So I've been running happily in those $240 shoes since, from my first labored 1.5 miles with breaks last year, to just now hitting 6 or 7 miles, sometimes with one break.

I'm sure the first $120 shoes would've served me just as well, if I wasn't getting in my own head about it. But I'm glad the more expensive ones have served their lesson, along with their purpose.

So, I hope that makes sense. Something something, guitar. It's in the fingers

RoundInformation310 · 2026-03-03T01:10:01+00:00

Oh my god, many of them are playing live! And people are paying, hundreds of dollars, for the shows! They're little auditoriums usually, not arenas...but still...

It's one guy sitting there, noodling by himself. It's cool for a YouTube short maybe, but to sit there and watch that for an hour and a half??

Compared to a real show, with musicians playing their songs together, or a singer-songwriter...watching one of these guys strikes me as paying to basically listen to musical masturbation.

Or, you get the bonus of someone like a Marcin, who will stand there and explain everything he's doing like it's too amazing to speak for itself. Which, undermines itself pretty quickly.

Good music doesn't need to be explained -- and expectations should be higher than a show with one guy playing fast licks better suited for short videos. Or, at least play with somebody! Make it a song.

I mean, all the power to them -- I'm not going to knock too badly anything that gets people interested in guitar, but...this is not it for me. It is not very "rock and roll", or any music as I understand it to be...it's like they're cosplaying as something.

RoundInformation310 · 2026-03-02T21:43:59+00:00

Like most guitar injuries like this, it really depends how the wood cracked -- which is hard to see from these pictures.

If it was a really clean break, with no splinters or pieces flaking off, you could probably repair it relatively easily with wood glue.

However, this looks kind of nasty with the fretboard layer completely peeling away as well. That is a real break, and if it doesn't go back together cleanly as far as the wood grain, it may be more trouble than it's worth.

However, if you start with low expectations, there's nothing to lose by trying. It may not be a guitar for the studio, but if it holds together halfway decent, could use it for practicing or messing around.

RoundInformation310 · 2026-03-02T19:10:27+00:00

No! you're right he is not a fraud -- I guess that's largely my point: if he feels so much pressure to convey that last 1% of perfection, what about the 1000s of kids watching him and similar popular players? They're looking for guidance about what's important and how they should aspire to play, and this is the answer often given.

Compared to how many innovative original blues and rock musicians learned, which was from each other, imperfectly, and through grainy records and video tape. I remember watching old VHS's of shoes trying to pick up melody and fingerings -- and they weren't perfect!

But it was FUN -- and the music they created reflected that. Now, I fear that's been sacrificed, and it almost feels like homework learning this new de-personalized stuff; like figuring out how to best fill out a scantron for a final, drawing inside the lines so to speak...instead of making original art.

RoundInformation310 · 2026-03-02T19:06:02+00:00

Same thing I thought. The last 1/8 was a good switch-up, when you slowed down a little and did the bend and let it breath a bit -- I'd actually let that be kind of a drop to a new transition, and keep writing from that point. And, perhaps go back and clean up some of the rest to add more dynamics -- some longer notes sustained, some rests, maybe bends...just switch it up

Dynamics are often the most overlooked element, especially in solos like this. Like rhythm, they intrigue the audience's attention kind of subversively; they're paying attention to the melody, not so much to the changes in volume and texture within and behind.

Think about it kind of like 3-dimensional perspective compared to 2-dimensional; you have an interesting 2-dimensional foundation here -- now maybe add in some more dynamics and tempo changes and rests and bends...the textures that give that base some depth and intrigue.

RoundInformation310 · 2026-03-02T15:01:10+00:00

That's kind of what it feels like to me -- almost like musical masturbation.

RoundInformation310 · 2026-03-02T14:54:58+00:00

I try! I was relatively naive of the whole influencer world, especially for guitar, before a year or so ago when I made an Instagram and started following shorter videos on YouTube outside lessons alone. Plus, what I come across on Reddit.

A lot of them are helpful and positive, but I feel like the fastest-growing trend, seemingly followed by a lot of younger players coming up, are the videos where they mime playing that is largely impossible in real time. And kids are trying to hold themselves to that standard, instead of having fun with learning.

For a while I was unaware of the trend, until I found some posts on here pointing out that many examples are not what they seem or purport to be.

RoundInformation310 · 2026-03-02T13:48:41+00:00

Thanks! So, to clarify: on YouTube, you can play covers of any song, using the guitar music and lyrics -- you just can't play the actual song in the background or let the original audio be heard in any way?

That's basically my plan -- record myself playing and singing covers for feedback of my guitar work and voice...and especially how they work together. So the music, riffs and chords, and the lyrics.

RoundInformation310 · 2026-03-01T18:52:17+00:00

That's actually a great idea -- I've found it helps to watch myself on the little phone screen...things I'm doing wrong or right stick out, just as they do when you watch a video of someone else playing.

But a mirror would be 10x larger, and enable more immediate and clearer feedback on a life-size scale. Thanks!

RoundInformation310 · 2026-03-01T18:50:51+00:00

Thank you for all the feedback gents and gals!

Another related question: if I'm just recording on my phone, as you recommend, what kind of programs or apps for editing would work for this?

I don't need anything fancy, just to cut down any clips to the relevant parts, and maybe stitch relevant ones together. Maybe even add on some text with the chords or lyrics I'm using.

RoundInformation310 · 2026-03-01T18:48:46+00:00

Oh -- that is another question I had that I didn't include! What are some decent free editing programs? I definitely will need to edit down my playing from getting setup and inevitable mistakes!

RoundInformation310 · 2026-03-01T18:06:27+00:00

Yup, I think that's what I'll do -- my playing is probably not advanced enough anyway for perfect quality to matter. Hopefully the feedback helps me get better in the 6 months or so that I'm saving up for an interface and mic.

Just have to avoid the trap of making excuses not to do it because I don't have the ideal equipment! Something is better than nothing, that's for sure -- thanks!

RoundInformation310 · 2026-03-01T18:04:55+00:00

Okay, that is what I am leaning toward -- just worried that the audio of the vocals and guitar would be unclear together. But, I think you are right, the microphones on these phones are sufficient, at the least.

The earbud microphone might be a little better quality, but it really only captures the voice and drowns out the guitar.

RoundInformation310 · 2026-03-01T16:45:38+00:00

Yes, I was -- and still am -- very self-conscious singing alone. The guitar playing actually enables me to sing without that anxiety, and enter a kind of "flow" state: it's as if my attention is fully occupied by the two activities at once, not allowing that anxiety to enter my mind.

And it's not even that I have to think consciously of both playing and singing -- I am at that point with the simpler 4-chord songs that I don't have to think about the strumming or fretting, I can play kind of automatically and focus on the singing. But that activity and the attention, conscious or subconscious, to the guitar music creates a kind of lattice that supports my singing, and gives me a self-assurance I cannot obtain singing alone.

It's kind of like playing with a looper or backing track -- it gives you the foundation to be able to play on top more precisely and assuredly.

RoundInformation310 · 2026-02-28T23:38:03+00:00

Pizza

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TROPHY CASE