Mary asks…
Is there a type of special paint that guitar companies market for fixing chipped spots on guitar finish?
I have heard about polyester-type paints, but was wondering if there were any special products for specifically this type of paint job.
NydiaMccartney answers:
Nope. You would have to refinish the guitar and that would require sanding and new paint
Daniel asks…
What type of Guitar should I get for my first acoustic?
I have two electric guitars, multiple types of ukeleles and I am looking to soon purchase an acoustic guitar. I have a budget running around 200 to 250 at the VERY highest. I’m leaning towards classical guitars (specifically cordoba’s) but i am also looking at standard acoustics, though I only like darker woods like mahogany or a black/dark finished guitar. The kind of stuff I’ll be playing will range from the softer songs by Pantera, Slipknot, and Opeth to Rush and Zeppelin songs. Any suggestions as to a guitar I might buy?
NydiaMccartney answers:
You should take a look at Art & Lutherie. They have a lot of dark-body acoustic guitars and they are all very high quality.
Robert asks…
How to remove the glue a sticker on a guitar?
I was being a real noob, putting a large sticker on my beautiful guitar. I have taken it out, but there’s one place, where the glue from the sticker still holds on to the guitar surface. I’ve tried water and rigorous rubbing, but it hasnt helped a lot. Do you know of any chemical to remove the glue from the sticker?
NydiaMccartney answers:
Hello there,
You do not want to use water if the guitar has a lacquer finish. Water will cause the finish to cloud. Most solvents, like paint thinner and lighter fluid, may harm the finish. I have seen people suggest glue gone. However, I am not convinced it is safe for every type of guitar finish. So I never use that, nor do I suggest others try it.
Those who suggested oils, vegetable and WD-40, are not bad answers. However, if you use an oil, you are then faced with the problem of removing the oil.
What I have found best to remove the adhesive from stickers is rubbing alcohol. It is safe for lacquer, urethane and enamel finishes. I put some on and let it soak for a minute or so. Then I rub it off with a clean dry soft cloth. I keep applying more rubbing alcohol until the adhesive is entirely gone. After using alcohol, there is no further clean up needed. I got in a vintage Epiphone Strat clone that was entirely covered in stickers. Completely covered the body and pick guard. There were stickers on top of stickers. Sometimes 3 deep. I got them all off using rubbing alcohol.
Later,
Maria asks…
What type of Guitar should I get for my first acoustic?
I have two electric guitars, multiple types of ukeleles and I am looking to soon purchase an acoustic guitar. I have a budget running around 200 to 250 at the VERY highest. I’m leaning towards classical guitars (specifically cordoba’s) but i am also looking at standard acoustics, though I only like darker woods like mahogany or a black/dark finished guitar. The kind of stuff I’ll be playing will range from the softer songs by Pantera, Slipknot, and Opeth to Rush and Zeppelin songs. Any suggestions as to a guitar I might buy?
NydiaMccartney answers:
I’m not familiar with Cordoba, but Yamaha makes decent entry-level steel-strings and classicals in that price range. Look for one with a solid spruce or cedar top, which will sound better and improve more with age than plywood.
Acoustic guitars should be purchased by sound and feel, not by appearance. Fancy finishes are often used to appeal to beginning players these days, but also serve as a means of concealing inferior wood (usually plywood). On a classical guitar, anything but a traditional finish would suggest a toy-quality instrument.
David asks…
How can I exercise my fingers to moving from one guitar chord to another faster?
Im already getting started playing acoustic guitar, but there are some fingerings and other chords that are hard to transit to. e.g. Am to a G. Does anyone know an exercise or a way to help my fingers to move faster?
NydiaMccartney answers:
There are three things you must do:
1, play a lot of chord changes – others mentioned it, too
2, strengthen your finger muscles
3, keep track of your speed – i.e. Progress
AD 1:
You can just do different chord changes. The best way here is to play a lot of songs. Try playing some jazz songs as well, because these will contain some very unusual chords and thus you’ll get a better workout. So anything with basic chords like rock, pop, country and also some songs with more unusual chords like jazz, bossa nova, samba – but these you might find difficult in rhythm.
Or you can just play random chords (this way it’ll be easier to keep track of your speed).
AD 2:
There are some basic strengthening exercises that I would recommend. Again two main types:
1, exercises for raw strength
2, exercises for independence of the fingers
1, The first type looks like this. You’ll be doing trills here with two fingers (we’ll use all possible finger combinations). Place your fingers on a thick string (E string or A string) in this way; your index on the first fret, your middle on the second, your ring on the third and your pinkie on the fourth. Each finger has its fret here, so the first finger, if used, will be on its fret and the second finger on its fret etc. You’ll be doing trills (look here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeL_J6DMkAQ). This means you play and pluck the first note. But you won’t be plucking anymore, only the first note. Then you’ll quickly slam with the other finger on that finger’s fret. You must be quick enough to sound the fret. And then pull off back. So you’ll be doing these hammer-ons and pull-offs.
So to sum up, you’ll be doing these trills for a long period of time each (e.g. One minute), never stopping to hammer on and pull off. When you’re finished with the index-middle pair, then again one minute with the index-ring pair (1st and 3rd frets, remember each finger has its fret), then index-pinkie pair, then middle-ring pair, then middle-pinkie pair and then ring-pinkie pair (the toughest). When you got this, then do trills with only your index finger (because we need to teach that one to hammer, too). So you go with this one from open string to the first fret, OK? This means we have six pairs and the index-only trill, this means seven one-minute trills. So this should take you seven-eight minutes to do. Use a stopwatch or something.
2, Then we have the independence exercises. Each finger must be capable of doing exact opposites or other completely different things than the rest of fingers. Again, each finger has its fret (like in the previous one). But you won’t be playing nor pressing the strings. You’ll be performing lifts here.
Place all four fingers on their respective frets, lightly, don’t press. Now lift the index and ring off the string (as high as you can), but keep the other two on the string. Return to the original position (= all four on the string). Now lift middle and pinkie, but keep the other two on the string. OK, you get the idea, so here’s your set of lifts to do:
index-ring; middle-pinkie; index-middle; ring-pinkie; index-pinkie; middle-ring; and keep repeating the cycle for five minutes or so.
AD 3:
Get a metronome or use one of the online metronomes.
You can do one chord per beat if playing random chords.
You can do two notes per beat on the trills.
You can do one lift per beat on the lifts.
Always play at such a tempo so that you can comfortably perform the exercise. Never rush. Go to a faster tempo only when ready. The speed will come in a few weeks and you’ll be amazed.
Susan asks…
What Guitar stuff should i get for my birthday?
My birthday is coming up on may 8th and i have been looking at guitar equipment i could get. But i cant find anything, I Have a line 6 amp, an esp guitar with seymour duncans, a wah and overdrive pedal, and thats pretty much all of the big stuff. I was wondering what some of you veterans think i could get that would be helpful. Thanks and anything guitar or headphones, etc. Thanks!
NydiaMccartney answers:
Hello there,
I would think you have a better idea of what you need than a stranger would. You get the gear you need (or as in some cases the gear you want whether you need it or not). So what do you need to get the tone you want for your music?
A couple sets of strings is always useful. Most newer players do not change their strings often enough. You should expect to get about 30 hours of playing time out of a set of strings. If you play a lot, you will go through a lot of sets of strings.
Nice guitar straps are an easy gift. There are so many nice looking straps around.
Picks are always needed. I keep a jar full of the type of picks I use. I go through a lot of picks.
A single guitar stand is handy. Don’t store your guitar in it. But a stand is handy when you need to set your guitar down for a few minutes. Too many folks lean the guitar against the amp. Then if it falls over, you risk breaking the neck. If you have a lacquer finish on your guitar, don’t leave the guitar in the stand for an extended time. Plastics, rubber and the like can affect a lacquer finish.
Do you have a good tuner pedal? What about a decent EQ pedal?
Do you have a FBV Express pedal to use with your Line 6? Or maybe a FBV Shortboard? What about a simple FBV-2 or FBV-4 channel switching foot switch?
What you ever thought about moving up to a tube amp? The Jet City 20 watt head is a great little tube amp.
This question is actually pretty hard for me to answer. I cannot relate to your situation. I am always thinking of more gear I want. I have no trouble coming up with things that “I must have.” That probably explains the stack of amps, the boxes of pedals and the 30+ guitars sitting around here. I even have a few of those little battery powered amps. A cute little Fender (sits on my desk) and a couple Danelectro (I was a sucker for the surf green ones).
Later,
Helen asks…
How much should I get paid as a guitar instructor?
So earlier today I was playing guitar in a nearby park. A man approached me with his young son and daughter and started talking to me about guitar revealing he and his son both wanted to learn how to play guitar. Eventually the conversation progressed to a point where he asked me if I would teach his son how to play guitar (he son appeared to be around age 10 or 11) and offered to pay me for it. I am 17 and have no official guitar credentials aside from a semester long class in high-school about 2 years ago; I am self-taught. He is fully aware of this. Anyways I gave him my phone number and he said he would text me later and we could talk about price. I was wondering if anyone knew what a fair price would be?
NydiaMccartney answers:
It depends on your level of expertise, teaching training, whether or not your have any formal ‘grades’ in guitar and what your knowledge of music theory is like.
But just to teach someone by ear, the same way you learned, I’d say you could easily charge $15 – 20 for a half hour session. Though an hour once or twice a week would be better, you’ll get more done. $30 for the hour I’d say. I’ts not extortionate and it doesn’t make you seem cheap. Just have a rough idea of what you want to achieve in each lesson and be patient and realistic. Teaching kids can be frustrating if you let it. And make sure you goad him to practice what you’ve taught him.
Once I finish my grades and degree I would be looking to charge about $50 an hour (roughly £30 per hour) for an hours guitar lesson, but with that there’s the knowledge of the theoretical side of playing, how to construct chords and recognize chord patterns, how to figure keys, how to write within vocal range, how to use modal scales over chords and keys, information on guitars themselves, alternate tunings, how to construct vocal melodies over chord patterns and vice versa, how to play for effect, percussive guitar, and all the rest of the knowledge that comes from 10+ years experience of playing guitar and a degree in music. Though in saying that, for a 10 year old I’d go cheaper, they won’t understand half of it anyway.
Also be aware of what type of music the kid’s into. There’s no point going in and teaching him how to play Brown Eyed Girl when he’s into Nirvana, that’s why I generally avoid trying to teach songs and instead concentrate on simple chord progressions and technique to begin with. Make sure he isn’t bending his fingers at awkward angles, put a small amount of oil on his fingertips so his fingers don’t start to hurt too much when he’s moving and sliding around strings (he’s only 10 after all), and be really, really patient.
Also, try to advise that his dad gets him a half-size or 3/4 size guitar. I learnt on a normal sized guitar and it hindered my progress.
Linda asks…
How do you play harmonics on the guitar?
I know how to play guitar I just need to learn how to play harmonics the artificial and natural.
NydiaMccartney answers:
1. Pick your favorite type of bread. White, wheat, wholegrain,or rye. It can also be a roll, or pita bread. You need 2 whole slices of bread to make a full sandwich and you can use one slice to make half a sandwich. You can also toast your bread.
2. Choose a spread that will make the bread stick together. Margarine, butter, mayonnaise or avocado are always good choices. Combine the spreads for a different and delicious taste.
3. Decide on the filling. Jam, peanut butter, ham, cheese, various other meats, lettuce, tomato, pickles, bacon bits, onions, turkey, beef, chicken, — you’ve got a lot of choices. What you put on a sandwich is really up to your imagination and preferences. Just remember to put together things you enjoy eating because you have to eat it.
4.When you have finished putting together the foods you like to eat, slice the sandwich for easier handling.
5. Add a cup of soup, pickle, fruit juice, milk or a drink of your choice to go with it for a complete and healthy meal. Keep in mind that sandwiches can be served at any time but are best during lunch.
Alternate Method
Steven asks…
What type of finish should I put on a hand painted guitar?
I used acrylic paint on the guitar, and I have a lacquer gloss finish in a spray can. I’m worried this will harm the paint and the design. Is it safe? If not what is my best bet without getting too expensive?
NydiaMccartney answers:
Lacquers are the best thing for guitars. Unfortunately, acrylics are terrible. Acrylic paint is a polymer (plastic) and has a very hard time adhering to smooth surfaces. I’m assuming you used the acrylic right over the original paint. If so, it’s going to chip or peel off. Clear coating may give it a little more longevity but if the bottom layer has poor adhesion, it’s eventually coming off and taking the top layer with it.
If you want to use the lacquer, start with a few very light dust coats, letting it dry between coats. Then go ahead with your wet coat. Lacquers are very aggressive and tend to bite down a few layers. No real adhesion problems there. A wet coat of lacquer without a few buffer coats in between could cause your acrylics to wrinkle.
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