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Guitar - General/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| Sada yairi | 2/5/2012 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: i have a sada yairi luthier guitar and was wondering what year it was made and its value.. says sada ... A: I normally point value questions of this type to an article of mine dealing with the issue; I ... | ||
| slammer guitar | 1/23/2012 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: I am trying to find out how old my slammer guitar is, maybe you can help. the serial numbers are ... A: As for the age, here is the serial number information lifted directly from the Hamer Guitar site: ... | ||
| Bass cabinet impedance. | 1/23/2012 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: I hope these questions aren't too in-depth, feel free to ignore if it's too much: I've got an ... A: Good question. Before we go further, I have to ask what might seem a sillywhat type of speaker ... | ||
| guitar i.d | 1/22/2012 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: I'm hoping you might be able to help me ID my semi acoustic guitar. I've been trying to myself via ... A: This is a beautiful guitar, Lana! I've not seen one before that I can recall. Considering the ... | ||
| Volume | 1/19/2012 | Jason Fryer |
| Q: Hey on my eletric guitar when i have the volume clean it stays pretty quiet even with the volume all ... A: Hey Greg, the volume is going to seem more responsive when you have distortion on because the gain ... | ||
| martin guitar | 1/15/2012 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: I have a martin d28 flat top acoustice guitar in good condition number on the inside are 343642. was ... A: Normally, I point value questions of this type to one of my articles, found at this link: ... | ||
| Help figuring out a song on guitar | 1/13/2012 | Frank A Dornay Jr |
| Q: I have a question about the chords used in a song. Jeff Suszczynski of The Gifted Children played ... A: Hey, Eric. I want to say that he's playing his guitar in Db Standard. I'm pretty sure he's using ... | ||
| Accoustic Guitar | 1/11/2012 | Frank A Dornay Jr |
| Q: I have been playing for many years, but the guitar I bought did not have the little dots on the fret ... A: If I'm not mistaken, the dots are used as a sort of marker for which feet you're on, (3, 5, 7) or ... | ||
| guitar color | 1/6/2012 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: I have a SG that is painted what I would call creamy yellow, I have never seen another like it, also ... A: Jerry! Do you have any more info on the guitar? For instance, is there a logo anywhere? The SG is ... | ||
| Value of a Martin guitar | 1/5/2012 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: I have a Martin HD-28 that I bought new in 1977 that I may need to sell.IT is all original(no ... A: Joe! Normally, I point value questions of this type to one of my articles, found at this link: ... | ||
| Alvarez 5947 | 1/5/2012 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: I'm trying to get some basic information on an old Alvarez 5947 guitar i acquired, except that I can ... A: Jose! I'd like to point you to Bill Ruxton's expert answer to a similar question a while back. ... | ||
| Clueless guitar buyer. | 12/30/2011 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: I'm wanting to buy a guitar as a present for my boyfriend who is a very good and experienced ... A: Wow, Michelle - what a sweet thing to do! I am a die-hard Ibanez fan; these are mostly the guitars ... | ||
| Acoustic guitar | 12/22/2011 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: A couple years ago, I bid on an autographed Gretchen Wilson guitar at an auction and won for $1600. ... A: Katie! First, I'll address the issue of value in general. I'd like to point you in the direction ... | ||
| acoustic guitar | 12/20/2011 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: I am a beginner in guitar. I've always wanted to start with an acoustic guitar. So now i have been ... A: Vadim! You're in luck; there are probably more entry-level acoustic guitars available to players ... | ||
| Charvels guitars | 12/15/2011 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: I just visited the Jackson/Charvel website and it seems that I owne two custom build US Charvel ... A: I get so many "value" type questions that it's pretty impossible for me to look up the value of each ... | ||
| guitar brand | 12/14/2011 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: I have a vintage flying v guitar. I have had it for many years.I am curious what brand is this? the ... A: Steve. Thanks for sending the other photo. It does still seem to be a custom job. I'd say you ... | ||
| guitar brand | 12/12/2011 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: I have a vintage flying v guitar. I have had it for many years.I am curious what brand is this? the ... A: Steve! I've studied the photo of the guitar and have come up with an answer - although it may be a ... | ||
| Jose Ramirez Estudio Guitar 1970 | 12/10/2011 | Lynne May |
| Q: I have a Jose Ramirez classical studio guitar 1970 that I inherited. It has the blue and white ... A: Christy-- These guitars are difficult to identify. I recommend that you go to: ... | ||
| Learning Guitar | 11/30/2011 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: I recently purchased a Gibson Epiphone Acoustic Guitar, and I have no clue how to play it. I've been ... A: Darryl! There are quite a few good guitar method courses out there; any of the ones you've ... | ||
| Steel bodied guitar | 11/30/2011 | H-Bomb |
| Q: I have a steel bodied guitar with a built in resignator. We had a house fire and it melted to of ... A: First off, I'm sorry to hear of the fire, and hope you didn't lose much as a result of it. I hope I ... | ||
| Shredding, Solos & Melodies | 11/29/2011 | Lynne May |
| Q: I've been playing guitar for a couple of years now but i'm still struggling on a couple of things. ... A: Steve-- It is difficult to give you specific advise without actually hearing you play. Here are ... | ||
| Value | 11/29/2011 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: I have a Guild Guitar D NT, (I don't know what the NT stands for) serial # DA111061 made in 1982. ... A: Pat! I am - as far as I know - one of the only (if not THE only) expert in this category that ... | ||
| 61 SG Custom | 11/17/2011 | H-Bomb |
| Q: My guitar has been put away for safe keeping since the early 70's and I would like to restring and ... A: What a closet queen to pull out after all these years! :) Flatwounds, eh? Well, when it comes to ... | ||
| Multi Effects Unit | 11/16/2011 | Jason Fryer |
| Q: I've been playing rock n roll guitar for about 20 years. I play in a band recreationally and we do a ... A: Hey Jay, in my opinion, stomp boxes are the only way to go. I just recently was in the studio & this ... | ||
| Classical Guitar | 11/13/2011 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: I was an intermediate classical guitar player back in my day, and am thinking of playing again. I ... A: Joel! Good question. Of course, if you read my archives you'll see I'm an Ibanez user to the max ... | ||
| Martin Guitar Value | 11/10/2011 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: I want to sell my guitar, but don't know what to charge. Years ago (20 or so) someone told me it ... A: Jennifer! I am - as far as I know - one of the only (if not THE only) expert in this category that ... | ||
| Guitar Polish | 11/9/2011 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: I have a Martin 000CX1E and I am wondering what polish I should use on the top and fret board. I'm ... A: Josh! Good question. There are a ton of different guitar polishes out there that all will work ... | ||
| songwriting and such | 11/4/2011 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: I didn't know where to put decimals so I put it in this area. I have a project in school and I ... A: Great question. There is a TON of math in music. Time signatures, as you mentioned, are great ... | ||
| Plugging guitar into speakers? | 11/1/2011 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: I have an electro-acoustic guitar which has a 6.3mm slot to connect to an amp. I have read that ... A: Rahul! I need to ask you; is the jack converter you're using mono or stereo? I've seen people ... | ||
| Tone Pot Troubleshooting | 10/29/2011 | Jason Fryer |
| Q: I just replaced the original tone pot (500K) on my guitar with a brand new pot (500k) because the ... A: Hey Benjamin, I'd say that you probably wired it wrong man. If you can send me a pic of your wiring ... | ||
| Vintage vega lap steel guitar USA made | 10/29/2011 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: I found one of these and am wondering around how much it is worth. A: Tim! I have seen these models sell on Ebay and Craigslist for an average of about $800 given that ... | ||
| Tuning | 10/25/2011 | Leeroy |
| Q: How do i know if my guitar is tuned up? I'm just a beginner, bought my guitar last month. I got it ... A: You do not have to memorise all of the scales & there are far too many anyhow. But what you will ... | ||
| Tuning | 10/24/2011 | Leeroy |
| Q: How do i know if my guitar is tuned up? I'm just a beginner, bought my guitar last month. I got it ... A: I will try to help, but if you don't have a natural ear for music & pitch, this may be difficult & ... | ||
| Beginning Guitar Playing--Resources? | 10/16/2011 | Lynne May |
| Q: I recently bought a Yamaha classical style guitar and have not gotten much beyond tuning it so far. ... A: Geoff-- Welcome to the world of guitar! There are a lot of good instructional courses available, ... | ||
| How Can I Develop Impprovisation Skills | 10/10/2011 | Lynne May |
| Q: A while back, I asked you about chords, etc b/c I was self teaching myself on how to play the ... A: Wo-- Of course you and your friend could just play together a song that you both know the chords ... | ||
| How Old is My Abeline Guitar? | 10/6/2011 | Lynne May |
| Q: i just got this old abilene acoustic i have never seen a acoustic with a bolt on neck. kinda cool it ... A: Spencer-- There is no reliable source that I know of to identify the date of manufacture of these ... | ||
| project guitar | 9/27/2011 | J Ross Smith |
| Q: Can I build a strat with a Kona body? Can I use Fender parts( neck, tuners, bridge, etc..) ? I ... A: Nate! Of course you can! As long as the body accepts the parts (is routed correctly); if it is a ... | ||
| Martin 00-17 1948 Value | 9/21/2011 | Lynne May |
| Q: .. I have a Martin guitar, model 00-17 which was built in 1948. Can you help me with the value of ... A: Paul-- It is difficult to advise you because normally any modifications or repairs will diminish ... | ||
| Martin 00-17 1948 Value | 9/20/2011 | Lynne May |
| Q: .. I have a Martin guitar, model 00-17 which was built in 1948. Can you help me with the value of ... A: Paul-- This would be the second version of the 00-17. Here is the pricing info: 1946-1949 ... | ||
| Fingerstyle vs Picking? | 9/17/2011 | Frank A Dornay Jr |
| Q: So here's my story, I only own a classical guitar and I've been playing fingerstyle (not necessarily ... A: I just checked out some of Nils Lofgren's stuff and he's amazing! I can't believe i haven't heard of ... | ||
Guitar - General
Answers by Expert:
J Ross Smith
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
Over 15 years of guitar playing, teaching, building, and modifying; have worked as a touring musician, studio session guitarist, engineer, guitar tech, and guitar teacher. Registered member of ASCAP. Registered member of Freelancers Union. I have a working knowledge of music theory and styles, and a taste for all types of music and instruments. If you have a favorite guitar player or style, chances are I share it! If you have a question I can't answer, I'll rely on experienced and knowledgeable people I know to get the correct information for you, and I hope I can help inspire your playing style and tone. Promotional photo by Sebastian Castillo at Castillo Photography, San Diego, CA.
Experience
Over 15 years of guitar playing, teaching, building, and modifying; have worked as a touring musician, studio session guitarist, engineer, guitar tech, and guitar teacher.
Organizations
American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP), Freelancers' Union, IAVA (Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America).
Education/Credentials
I have a working knowledge of music theory and styles, and a taste for all types of music and instruments. If you have a favorite guitar player or style, chances are I share it!!!
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