“All I’ve got is a red guitar, three chords and the truth” – U2
I helped a good friend work on his BMW motorcycle cycle for a couple of days. We have over a few decades done a lot of work on a lot of different motorcycles. He had acquired a new custom guitar and was needing a spot for it so gifted me a Fender Squier Stratocaster. Knowing I am one of those guys who likes a project and I do have an acoustic guitar I’ve owned for more than fifty years and play pretty much only a few things on. None of them well. I didn’t have an amp or much. I’ve got maybe two handfuls of chords in my pocket, some more easily to hand than others, being of a certain age.
I got to work. Mike had given me a set of new strings. I remembered a wander I’d had through YouTube back during the COVID-19 shut down when I spent a few days watching videos and reading about building electric guitars. I remembered there were adjustments. This strat had a lot on view and some very odd looking orientations. In the photo below is a close-up of the top end of the bridge pickup. Note that silver spring peeking through the gap? Yes, that should not be there. I did more reading and eventually landed on a YouTube from Music Nomad. Now, I was ordering tools.
The backside of that pickup, yes that spring should be around that height adjustment screw.
Some cleanup was in order as well. It was at this point I really should have pulled the neck off to check the serial number, but didn’t. If there is a serial number the only place left to look is the heel of the neck.
With fresh strings I waited on the tools to arrive. Once I received them, I set to work according to the instructions. Checking the nut height, setting all the settings, balancing the tremolo and tuning and tension. It still can use a few more tweaks, but good enough for me to find some scales and get to practice.
To accomplish tuning and practice I’d bought a Fender headphone amp, Mustang Micro Plus. Very cool pice of kit.
Then I added a pair of over the year headphones so I could listen to a lesson on my phone and hear myself play and most importantly bother as few people as possible. I settled on Marty Music app. I like his approach and method.
I am up and practicing. At this point I’m still working on being even and clean, but the first two scales with blue notes are in my brain. They are not yet in my fingers, but every day I improve. I do play around on the amp app a bit. That can’t be helped. I figure this is how as kids we learned to use an instrument and I still recall as a 4th grader bringing home my brand new saxophone after picking it up at Well’s Music in downtown Denver and getting my first lesson. I sat on the couch at home and squeaked and squawked a few times until I remembered how to roll my lower lip over my lower teeth and how to pinch my mouth around the mouthpiece, sit up straight and blow evenly. I remember how heavy that thing was and how hard that first scale was to learn, but I still know it. My fingers can play it in the air. All those memories of that learning process as well as all the other learning in my life that required hours of breaking something down into steps then learning each step and how to get from one to the next and back, until it was not just easy, but natural. From hammering nails to multiplication to playing saxophone to snow skiing and shooting a basketball, riding motorcycles and bicycles. This is a new activity I figure is good exercise for my mind and fingers.
I’ve got time and plenty of friends who play for support and inspiration so I do have a bit more than just a red guitar.
