Trying to Start Again

In the ebb and flow of life, there are times when we find ourselves straying from the harmonious pursuits that once fueled our passions. The lingering shame of walking away from something we once held dear can cast a formidable shadow over our return. Yet, here I am, rekindling my connection with an old flame – my guitar.

Admittedly, the pandemic played its part, introducing a discordant note into the symphony of my routine. However, the primary catalyst for my hiatus was the all-consuming allure of a newfound hobby that captured my unwavering attention. It lured me away from the strings of my guitar, steering me down an uncharted creative path.

Recently, however, the familiar chords have begun to resonate once more. Intrigued by the realization that there are genuine readers, hailing from towns unknown to me – some entirely unheard of – I find myself drawn back to writing, if only to fill the hours.

Venturing into the heart of my renewed musical enthusiasm, I've made a deliberate move. My playing space, once located in a dark basement corner, has now emerged into the light of day, finding a new home in my home office. Transformed into a dedicated workspace (courtesy of the pandemic, silver linings and all), this setting has become the backdrop for my renewed string slinging.

Needs paint...and more hangars... and less fisheye.

The proximity of my guitars, now within arm's reach, has proven to be a catalyst for inspiration. Obvious, perhaps, but the truth resonates. It goes beyond mere accessibility; it's about the tangible presence of creativity within grasp.

Reflecting on this, I've conisdered some strategies that helped reignite my own musical flame. 

Guitar Revelations

In the wake of my rekindled passion, my ventures into local music stores have become frequent, unveiling an inescapable truth – the guitar's intrinsic quality takes a back seat when the setup is subpar and the strings are left in disarray.

The context? My recent renewal was convincing me that I deserved a new piece of gear. Something good. Something... expensive... 

I've oscillated between a top-tier amp (the Tone King Imperial or Suhr Hombre leading the charge) and the prospect of a new guitar. Initially, I found myself enamored with the Ibanez Prestige AZ. A high-performance reinterpretation of the classic S-Type guitar (marketing-speak!), promising to catapult my playing abilities into the stratosphere...

...as if the only thing hindering my musical prowess were a couple of Fender signature guitars deemed worthy by the likes of Eric Johnson, but unworthy by me...

In light of this, I resolved to buckle down, investing time at the bench – meticulously polishing frets, scrutinizing neck relief and action, and giving each instrument a thorough cleansing. The revelation? I already possess fantastic guitars!

One last thought on this – residing in Ontario, Canada, means grappling with some seriously wonky humidity swings, even for solid body electrics. We all acknowledge this fact in passing, but having shifted my entire setup into a snug 12x12 room equipped with a diligent humidifier, the difference is crystal clear. My guitars are now riding the stability wave, and let me tell you, they play better than ever.

Learn Something New, Not Hard

With all my guitars polished and proudly displayed, I found myself falling back into the familiar routine, cycling through the same 7 or 8 tunes I've been strumming since before the pandemic. How my fellow housemates haven't staged a string-cutting intervention or hidden my tubes remains a mystery.

Thankfully, YouTube rode to the rescue. A serendipitous stumble led me to some arpeggio lessons that broke the monotony (amidst a sea of examples that seemed either too complex or irrelevant). For a captivating deep dive, I wholeheartedly recommend checking out the Marcus Cirillo channel, especially the gem titled "Beautiful Arpeggios for Guitar."

While this one was also great, I couldn't resist tweaking the fingerwork to break free from the usual boxy approach.

I think the key is to challenge yourself with something fresh, while ensuring it's a joyride for your musical sensibilities.

Tear it Apart

Aside from being distrated by other pursuits, I think one of the primary reasons I fell out of love for awhile was that I was locked into one very specific sound. It's a litte complicated, so suffice to say I was running a stereo rig in a wet dry configuration with most time-based effects (delays, reverbs) in the loop of the wet amp.

Here's the thing though, as incredible as that sound was, it was a very singular sound that lead to very singular style of play - clean tones, lots of room to breath, adding gain yielded unpleasant harshness, but the cleans were so good I just stayed away from the dirt.

With the move upstairs, I've had to rediscover what my guitars and amps can and can't do on their own. It's inspired new ways to play, and I've gone from "mission-control-for-tap-dancing" to my King of Tone in the front of the Maz, a reverb in the loop (because that reverb is done poorly), and playing dyanmics!

This might have been the most helpful, if I'm honest.  Less gear, and especially fewer time-based effects, meant less stuff to hide behind. I hadn't realized how lazy a player I was becoming.

Will You Keep it Going?

I mean, probably not. 

That said, I almost fell in love with a Gibson ES-335 at the local retailer over the weekend, and you'd best believe that dropping that kind of scratch would have guilted me into doing a bit more work here. More sensible heads prevailed, for now, but I am toying with the idea of investing a bit of money in some affordable gear that seems to be of interest to the folks who stumble across my ramblings...

We'll see.