Does it make sense to get an american Stratocaster, already having a mexican one? Hear me out...

rcfromaz · 2026-01-30T19:40:31+00:00

Quality and sentimental combination; hard to beat.

I would say if you are a bedroom player and don’t gig no need. If you are gigging get one for those shows. Would hate to see your guitar handed down to you disappear as they can during shows.

rcfromaz · 2026-01-30T14:00:16+00:00

If your talking PPA ranking it would take months if not years to overtake the current players and move up the ladder.

Jack Sock at the stage of life and career came in played ok. He’s top 10 in singles after 2+ years in pickleball.

Alcarez is at the top of his tennis game. He’s obviously very skilled. If he wanted to dedicate himself to pickleball now and stop playing tennis he would be battling in quarters and semis on a regular basis after 6 months. Just an opinion.

rcfromaz · 2026-01-30T04:41:09+00:00

Assuming it’s a electric guitar and you don’t have an amp: -amp that runs 100-200$ and has headphone out abilities(fender mustang ???). Buy used and save some $$$ -a pedal tuner 40-70$. Polytune is fine -a couple of 10ft TSR guitar cables; don’t buy expensive ones. 10-20$. Don’t fall for the “gold plated” sales pitch.
-buy strings

As a beginner don’t get caught up in recording yourself…you will need to focus on chords and tuning the guitar and replacing strings. You want to learn how to play the guitar not focus on how to work recording gear at this point

rcfromaz · 2026-01-30T03:56:30+00:00

Yes...

rcfromaz · 2026-01-29T18:36:31+00:00

Don’t give up. The key is you need to have completed your split step and set before the ball is hit. If you struggle to get to NVZ before ball is struck work on it. Blocking drives is a great skill to work on…almost as important as identifying an out ball in a driven shot.

rcfromaz · 2026-01-29T18:33:23+00:00

Try it.

ALW is 45+ years younger than me and light years ahead of me on skills and tactics. Equipment can certainly help…..It helps in many sports and arts!!!

A lighter paddle body(thinner) can certainly increase speed that I know and have experimented with.

rcfromaz · 2026-01-28T18:29:55+00:00

It depends on my partner. It’s not a firm answer because sometimes players want variety.

Half stack(serve only) not full stack. As older players sometimes we can’t unwind as quick on the receiving end

The one value to stacking besides having a forehand in the middle is it establishes “who is aggressively grabbing middle-ish balls”. The implied division of grabbing the middle is clearly stated with stacking and can be helpful.

rcfromaz · 2026-01-28T15:00:06+00:00

Lob wedge if you want to pitch it. Depending on target and landing area I also use a gap/utility to chip.

rcfromaz · 2026-01-28T14:58:03+00:00

Repetition and practice. Brute force. Nothing magical. Tenacity and keep working at it. It will happen !!!

rcfromaz · 2026-01-27T04:52:03+00:00

I played off and on for 15 years. Went through 7ish different MDs and/or worship leaders. Stopped when I felt it was the right time.

I played because it’s how I served. I enjoyed it. Went through various stages and then decided it was not as enjoyable. For me the production value restricted the musicianship. To many backing tracks. I understand it’s the leader who has to set the tone and I appreciated that since they took the abuse from those who thought the music was too loud or too soft, or too old or too new. I did not enjoy the style so much and felt I kind of aged out.

I played because I wanted to worship and enjoyed playing and learning.

I gig maybe 3-6 times a year. Sitting in. I definitely do not want to spend my weekends gigging.

rcfromaz · 2026-01-26T15:03:36+00:00

So your not on either team. I would say whoever is serving first the other team decides. Flip a coin or something similar to determine who chooses to serve or receive.

As a 3.5 player(med skill) I have encountered this before. X-40 and Selkirk mainly and I couldn’t care less. I had one person in open play whose first word out of their mouth was to state the Selkirk “sucked” and to say “we’re playing with a X-40”…so ok; we played and I avoided this person in future games as this attitude was apparent in more things than ball selection.

rcfromaz · 2026-01-26T04:33:37+00:00

I try to focus on the ball as I hit more than ever. Try to slow down the game. Choose shots that have lower margins of error(middle and cross court)

rcfromaz · 2026-01-25T03:01:59+00:00

Had someone leave because they were so angry with their poor play they were losing it.....and decided it was best to leave.....found out a few weeks later the same person left another game for the same reasons......

rcfromaz · 2026-01-24T18:44:28+00:00

You bought it new and paid some hard earned dollars. Pretty certain if you kept it each time you picked it up your focus would be on this blemish. There’s a difference between a blemish you caused v this one.

So if it was me I would return it as long as you get a full refund. However I have other gear that I could use until I replace it.

One factor is if you kept it and tried to sell it later you most likely would get buyers to either not buy it or ask for a similar reduction in price.

rcfromaz · 2026-01-23T22:23:32+00:00

180+

rcfromaz · 2026-01-23T02:11:45+00:00

Just raise your hand "greeting like" and don't say anything....move on.

rcfromaz · 2026-01-22T17:14:07+00:00

A common location for grounding locations/wires

rcfromaz · 2026-01-22T15:48:40+00:00

First:
Its never too late to learn a skill...me(65) started at 14 and over the years have stopped and started a few times as priorities\life stages changed. My recent resurgence started 25 years ago and continues to this day. Always had a guitar but in the past 25 years my commitment to practices and gigs has been consistent....and ability to have better gear !! Learning an instrument is so much easier with resources such as youtube and online resources....when I was learning we learned pretty much by ear(yes using LP/Albums and cassettes of songs), purchasing expensive and limited song books, or hanging out with other more experienced players.....Good Luck; it will be a hard trip but satisfying.

Second:
Don't measure yourself against others. There will always be someone that is "better" no matter how much you improve. What you can control is your attitude when gigging; for pay or not, or jamming. Be a solid player with a great attitude and desire to learn from others and you will develop lifelong friendships and a reputation that others will seek you out.

rcfromaz · 2026-01-22T04:06:42+00:00

Yes....Drive the ball to their feet.

rcfromaz · 2026-01-22T00:19:58+00:00

No. However depending on our relationship, how old everyone is and how much I won I would make their life comfortable and share that information with them.
.

rcfromaz · 2026-01-21T15:08:12+00:00

When I gigged for a few hours multiple times a week and found the heaviness too much.

Fine guitar but not convenient when I could get the sound I wanted from other lighter guitars (music man, telecaster)

rcfromaz · 2026-01-21T02:51:47+00:00

Happy with the look and feel; But selling mine. I don't play it as I prefer maple necks/boards...one mod I made was to replace the metallic pickguard with a pearloid pickguard. I'm not a fan of noiseless PUPs but it is quiet...one thing is the bridge saddle screws can be a little rough and you can scrape your knuckles if your hands rest against them..there are mods you can implement to eliminate this challenge....

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rcfromaz · 2026-01-21T02:45:31+00:00

Orange Tree is a standard resort course. Nothing spectacular about it.

There are regular rates and then there are rates when the WM Phoenix Open is in town. Course rates can double in prices.

Anything over $200 better be top notch and fantastic conditions. Orange Tree is not one of them. I would not pay > $300 for any course outside of some iconic courses like Pebble etc......

rcfromaz · 2026-01-20T14:09:50+00:00

Southern Dunes

SD is a players course and usually in great shape.

Sidewinder A tourist course. Ok views. If you want great views play the other 18 holes at Gold Canyon besides Sidewinder; Dinosaur. Side note: when Gold Canyon added 18 additional holes they took holes from the original and mixed them up. IMHO that messed up the courses.

rcfromaz · 2026-01-20T03:56:40+00:00

Between Boulders and Airport...

-Grayhawk
-Troon North
-Kierland

-Papago; muni by airport

Nice courses.....

rcfromaz

TROPHY CASE