u/EvenDog6279

I'm not completely new to the guitar, but might as well be, since this is my first time making a meaningful investment of time and effort into lessons, not just playing around casually and out of curiosity (not that there's anything wrong with the latter).

This is also my first time owning a decent instrument. In the past, I didn't see the value in anything other than a budget instrument, because it never made sense to me spending the money if I wasn't going to take it seriously and put the time into it.

Over time, I know it's inevitable there will be scratches and dings. I'm not worried about that because it just means the guitar is being played regularly, and that's a good thing.

That said, I want to take good care of the instrument and maintain it best I can, because I care-- not just about the financial investment, but the sentimental aspect of it as well as my first serious instrument, and one I'm spending a lot of time with.

Other than keeping up with the strings over time, what (if any) specific products do you prefer to use for cleaning the neck, body, etc? I could just grab something like furniture polish from a kitchen cabinet, but there are also a lot of products marketed for guitars.

I'm curious what people's preferences/suggestions are when it comes to ongoing care and maintenance. I'm talking about things like oils and residues from your skin, and dust/grime in general. What I don't want to do is blindly use something from our household cleaning supplies, only to find out later that it degrades the finish or leads to damage over time.

What are you using and what's your routine? Anything in particular you'd point out to a beginner other than grabbing a microfiber cloth and wiping it down before putting it back on the stand between bursts of playing throughout the day?

Appreciate the suggestions..

Edit: it is a maple neck and alder body

For those in the US, hope you have a nice holiday weekend.

I'm putting together a very basic pedal board for a new guitar that has me inspired, and even with hundreds of hours of content out there to watch, I'm on the fence. Since pedals are a really personal thing, it's not like someone can come along and say, this will be the one you like the most.

Unfortunately, there's not really a way I can feasibly try all the different options.

My basic setup is a Fender AmPro Classic Telecaster, matched with a Vox AC15C1 that I'm playing through the normal channel for clean tone that takes pedals well.

I'll be playing a variety of music, and most of it will actually be blues stylistically, but I really enjoy a lot ambient sounds and plan to do some experimenting that combines the guitar with some analog synths to (hopefully) come up with some creative ideas and sounds.

I'm trying to keep my setup somewhat minimal, not stack a ton of pedals for the sake of having them, but there are so many options in that "ambient" space depending how you define it that it's hard to parse through all the potentials.

Price is a factor, but not to the extent it would stop me from investing in more of a boutique pedal that fits the bill.

These are some of the options I've been considering as an example:
- Strymon CloudBurst
- Strymon blueSky
- Red Panda Context V2 (have owned the V1 previously, but it's been several years)

I'd really appreciate any first-hand experience and suggestions on pedals to look at, especially for folks into ambient music.

Let me know if I've left out any critical details, sometimes I know there's not enough information provided to really provide useful input.

Thanks very much.

This is a bit of an odd post, I guess, but I'm curious to get some perspective from others. I'll try to keep it short and concise, but admit I can get wordy when I'm passionate about something.

If it helps, I'm located in a rural part of the east coast, in the US.

Music has been a part of my life in one form or another for as long as I can remember, starting as a young child and continuing well into adulthood.

My background is primarily percussion, specifically playing the drums, with several years of that also spent learning/playing the piano.

Over the years, I played the drums in a number of different bands, where the piano was more of a classical focus, and something I did for no other reason than the love of music.

Anyhow, fast-forward to today, my family moved to a rural area. It's beautiful here, but there's really nothing out here but farms-- no bars, clubs, or meaningful local music scene that I'm aware of.

Since we don't have neighbors right on top of us, playing music and being loud in general isn't an issue. The lots are large enough that, while you might be able to hear people playing instruments, there would never be noise complaints or anything of that nature.

In recent months, I've been spending a lot of time with music, and I've realized how much I miss playing in a band-- multiple aspects of it- the songwriting, the friendships that are formed along the way, and the fun of getting together and jamming, for the love of music more than anything else.

While I'm a drummer and piano/synth player first and foremost, and those are certainly the things I'm best at, I've acquired a lot of gear over the years, a lot of which was mostly in storage since I hadn't been meeting with other musicians and actively playing in a band type setting for quite a while.

Over a period of about six moths, I've been pulling things out of storage, getting equipment cleaned up and setup, and spending at least a couple hours every day playing the instruments available to me, but I'd really like to pull a group of people together, nothing super serious at first, but just trying to find some folks where there's musical chemistry and we could have fun with it, wherever it leads.

As a drummer, I obviously have my drum set, along with a variety of keyboards/synths.

By far, my biggest challenge has been figuring out where to meet/find people who share a love for music and might be interested in jamming, first just to see if there are common interests, with the ultimate goal of getting a band together that plays on a regular basis.

As for genre, I have an open mind, and have played music that spans most of them over the years, with the exception of country. Most of what I've enjoyed the most has been rock music, or blues influenced rock.

Anyhow, I'm creating this post because I'm curious if others have been in a similar situation, see if folks have any particular suggestions on how to branch out, meet other musicians, find people who might be interested in starting a band. While I love where we live, and the peace and quiet that comes with a place that's out in the country, it's just been difficult to make new connections here.

In the meantime, I haven't let that discourage me-- I've just been pressing on with an "if you build it, they will come" sort of mindset, gradually getting things in order with my practice space, and trying to create an inviting environment where others would feel comfortable.

The whole idea is to try to create a space where, ideally, people could get together to play music, without having to drag a bunch of gear around, or worry about where we can play.

Realistically, it's probably an hour out of the way for anyone who might be interested in getting together (just thinking in terms of nearest major city), but my thinking has been that if I have a dedicated spot to play, most of what's needed is already there and setup, and people don't have to worry about constantly loading and unloading equipment (on top of any travel time), that would create a scenario where people are more likely to show interest, since a lot of the logistics are already sorted out (I know that in the past, having a practice space and lugging my drum set around was always one of the biggest headaches).

Music is one of the few things in life that brings me true joy and fulfillment, and I don't want to give up on that, just because we happened to move to a rural area-- and I won't, I'll continue to play regardless, but I'd ultimately like to get a new band going.

I'd love to hear any feedback/suggestions, regardless of musical background-- anything on the best ways of making new connections, finding other musicians who have the time and interest to invest in a new project, and anything else that might be helpful.

Unfortunately, I have to do a bunch of running around to take care of some things before returning to work tomorrow, but I'll definitely respond to anyone once I get things situated on my end this morning.

I'm new to the community, and a mediocre guitarist at best, but was hoping others with more experience would be willing to offer some feedback on a potential guitar purchase.

To provide some context about me as a musician-- I'm a percussionist first and foremost, who also has a lot of experience with piano/keys, and I'm far better at both of those things than I'll ever be at playing a guitar.

I do some songwriting, and also play with a few local musicians when there's an opportunity, though I'm almost always behind the drums and/or synthesizers.

Still, I really enjoy picking up a guitar and just having fun with it, and I'll often do that in the context of songwriting. I use the guitar mostly to explore different musical ideas and come up with things that might work in the context of the songwriting process. Perhaps most importantly, my relationship with the guitar is almost exclusively about having fun and trying new things, certainly nothing professional.

With that out of the way, these are the problems I'm trying to address--
The instrument I currently own is a hand-me-down Epiphone that's pretty beat up, was acquired from the used market at least fifteen years ago for very little money; it was always a student instrument, and while there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, it definitely comes with a bunch of trade-offs.

a.) it won't stay in tune, period-- I don't care how much effort is put into it, it's constantly drifting out of tune, and that happens quickly, even when you're gentle with it.
b.) the intonation is out, so no matter how much effort is put into tuning, it's all over the place regardless.

If we were to make a comparison between the quality of the guitar, compared against the quality of every other instrument I own (keyboards, drums, etc..), they're just miles apart. Since my music education was focused on percussion, and that's where most of my time playing is spent, it's been a priority for me to have high quality instruments.

It's not at all necessary for me to own a very high-end guitar, but what I would like very much is to purchase an instrument of a decent enough quality that it's worth the time, effort, and money spent having someone go over the instrument fully, and dial everything in with the intonation, along with any other adjustments that make sense.

All I'm really looking for is something of sufficient quality that it's inspiring to pick up and play. I find that when you're struggling with the most basic things like tuning and intonation, it just completely sucks the joy out of playing at all. As a result, that guitar is spending more and more time put away, because I know I'll be fighting with it from the moment I pick it up. To say that's disappointing would be an understatement. Even though I'll never be an amazing guitarist, I do love the instrument, and would like to spend more time with it.

Over the last couple weeks, I've been researching instruments, and trying to make a decision about what will suit my needs. I completely understand that huge aspects of that are ultimately a personal decision, and have to do with personal preferences.

What I was hoping for with my post is to get some feedback from those with more experience on the overall quality level of a couple of the guitars I've been considering. My budget is not unlimited, so what I'm really looking for is the best possible "sweet spot", where I'm not just throwing money at the problem, but investing that money in an instrument that's worth the investment, and will be something I can hold on to for quite a few years (with proper care).

Here are a few of the guitars I've been considering, but there are so many product tiers with companies like Fender (and quite frankly, all the other big names), that it's tough to know what you're getting yourself into.

In general, I'm a fan of the classic Telecaster sound/tone, but I've also always loved the sound of a Les Paul.

Can folks provide some insight in terms of what I should expect from a quality point of view for these instruments? This also provides some insight in terms of the budget I'm generally working within, with a little wiggle room.

Fender American Professional Telecaster: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TeleAPCBB--fender-american-professional-classic-telecaster-electric-guitar-butterscotch-blonde

Fender Player II Telecaster: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TeleP2RCB--fender-player-ii-telecaster-electric-guitar-aged-cherry-burst-with-rosewood-fingerboard

Gibson Les Paul Studio: https://www.guitarcenter.com/Gibson/Les-Paul-Studio-Figured-Limited-Edition-Electric-Guitar-Dirty-Lemon-Burst-1500000440688.gc?algoliaQueryID=8e6f88182945302e51503697639e176a&algoliaIndexName=guitarcenter

Fender Special Edition Telecaster: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TeleHHFMIAMB--fender-special-edition-custom-telecaster-fmt-hh-amber-with-indian-laurel-fingerboard

Really appreciate anyone who has some feedback.