GOTTA Get this book newbies!!!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Andrew Schofield on June 25, 2010 at 8:00am

Hi susi,
I agree with you on the motivation that reading brings to your practice and play.
You'll love Zen Guitar, I still dip in to it. Maybe next you could try 'The Music Lesson' by the great bassist Victor Wootten.
It's about finding growth through music, and even though Victor plays bass, it applies to any instrument.

Perhaps there should be an AG group for 'Guitar Readers'.
Andrew

Permalink Reply by susi Lawson on June 25, 2010 at 2:46pm

I was thinking the same thing, there needs to be a book review, recommendation- inspiration category! :)
Looking forward to reading Zen!

Permalink Reply by Frogngerm on June 26, 2010 at 2:24pm

Zen Guitar is great. I bought it for a second time and gave it to a guitarist on the London Underground. My philosophy with good books is...you should give 'em away. Need to buy it a third time now!

Permalink Reply by susi Lawson on June 26, 2010 at 2:35pm

Yep , I do that as well! The good ones are just too good to keep to ourself!

Permalink Reply by Walt Pilcher on July 8, 2010 at 9:01am

Susi,

Just finished the book and really enjoyed it. Thanks again for the recommendation. It was encouraging, but at the same time amazing, that he was able to learn to play as well as he apparently did in only six months. His stories of meeting a long list of guitar greats and other characters are entertaining and revealing. I smiled when I got to the part where he buys a Seagull guitar because I had just bought one myself about a week before.

I'm going to read his Song Man next.

Walt

Permalink Reply by susi Lawson on July 8, 2010 at 11:24am

YES! I felt so validated when he said he chose a Seagull, as that is what I bought as well! HA! Yes, fun book to read and a lot of interesting facts along the way. Must have been nice to spend 6-7 months completely focused on his goal. What a gift! I am reading 'Zen Guitar' now about the soul of playing and learning and it is a wonderful book as well.

Permalink Reply by Mark on July 8, 2010 at 12:01pm

Well I was perusing a used book store and came across this book so I decided it was fate...

Gonna start reading it next week (I'm in the middle of a sci-fi adventure novel right now...)

I'm looking forward to it!!

Permalink Reply by susi Lawson on July 8, 2010 at 12:13pm

You will love it Mark!

Permalink Reply by Andrew Schofield on July 13, 2010 at 7:00am

Hi Susi Walt

I would appreciate it if you could tell me which Seagulls you bought, and a liitle about how you are getting on with them.

I am confused by all the makes in the shops, and having trouble deciding which to buy. I would prefer a slightly wider string spacing at the nut which I hear the Seagulls have.

Any help welcome.

Thanks

Andrew

Permalink Reply by Walt Pilcher on July 13, 2010 at 8:13am

Andrew,

I got a Seagull S6 Original, with no electronics package. I bought it used from a music shop here that specializes in used instruments. Based on its condition and what I understand about how to interpret Seagull serial numbers, I don't think it's more than two years old. It is in like-new condition except for one small ding in the top. I paid $215 plus sales tax (7% here) and they threw in a used gig bag. These sell new, with no gig bag, for $399 at Guitar Center and Musician's Friend (owned by GC, by the way), and the cheapest I found at a competing locally owned store was $350. The previous owner had put on medium strings, and I changed them out to lights when I got it home. Lights are what it comes with from the manufacturer, although Seagull says you can use mediums if you want to.

I got it because of the wider nut and the shorter scale length versus a regular dreadnaught. It also has a little smaller body than a dread, especially the upper bout. My main guitar is a Taylor 210e, which I love. It's a full size dread. I wanted to try the Seagull's wider nut and overall smaller size and scale length to see if it might "fit" my body more comfortably and also let me hit strings more accurately without the fingers dampening adjacent strings. It does both. I'm trying out more fingerstyle and individual note/melody picking, and so far I seem to be making more progress on the Seagull than I was making on the Taylor. As my skill and confidence improve, I presume this will translate to the Taylor as well. For some reason, however, I don't find the Seagull as easy to strum. Maybe it's because the strings are a little farther apart, so it takes a tad more effort to hit all of them.

It's a beautiful instrument. It has good volume and sustain, and I like the sound, although I like the Taylor sound better (it's brighter), but that's a matter of personal preference.

This guitar also comes in a "slim" model, which means it has the conventional nut width, so don't get confused.

Hope this helps.

Walt

Permalink Reply by susi Lawson on July 13, 2010 at 3:03pm

Hi Andrew , I bought the Seagull Artist Mosaic guitar and it is a beauty! Cedar top has a nice warm quality to it. Yes, it has a wider nut which makes finger picking a little easier (when u get used to it)
I paid $699.00 and it came with the nice TRIC case.
I am also thinking of buying the Seagull Coastline Parlor for travel and it has a really good price on Amazon under $300.
You can't beat these guitars for craftsmanship , sound quality and price!

Permalink Reply by John Gundrum on July 29, 2010 at 12:08pm

I just put this book and Song Man into my Amazon shopping cart. Looking into the other books mentioned here as well.

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next ›
• Page