Thinking about starting guitar lessons this fall? I have a few openings here in Camas and Vancouver, Wa
Above are four of my electric guitars that I teach from. Each has a distinct tone and feel. Let me offer an opinion about each:
Fender Telecaster with a B bender. Yes, the B string bends a whole step high, when you pull down on the stap lock. It simulates the sound of a pedal steel guitar. This Fender is an American made Nashville: the three pickups configuration of a Strat, but with a body shape of a Telecaster. Maple neck, single coil pickups, and the famous “telecaster” twang rings out from this guitar. Fender makes entry level models of this guitar, and its a great guitar to learn on. Its much more than country music.
Gretsch Black Falcon.. need I say more. Its true, there is nothing else like a Gretsch, in tone, feel and looks. They rise and fall on popularity, but once you hear and love a Grestch, no guitar collection is complete without one. The filtertron picks add a nice chimmey sound, and with the famous “mud” switch, you can copy and get the old school jazz guitar tone. Its a bit harder to play, with a 12″ radius on the neck and a floating Bigsby bridge. But the old school technology of this guitar is what appeals to me.
Gibson ES 335 dot: This was my very first electric guitar that I purchased back in 1983. It has Shaw PAF pickups ( humbuckers) and I installed a Stetsbar tremolo. Made famous by BB King, Larry Carleton and the Doobie Brothers ( among others) it offers a nice, warm and fat tone unique to itself. The 335 dot plays well with all amps ( tube and solid state) and it know for countless genres of music. It covers rock, blues, country, jazz and gospel. In my guitar lessons, its a valuable tool in my lessons, when covering a variety of styles. Yes, its a heavy guitar, about the same weight as a Les Paul. Semi hollow with a block.
Finally, I play a Taylor T5 Koa custom. Depending who you talk to, you either love or hate this guitar. Its a hybrid of acoustic and electric sounds. Its very light weight and looks awesome with the Koa top. Mine is a 2005, with a nice worn neck that feels great. It is by far the most comfortable guitar I play with. The pickups are active, and offer a Telecaster, Grestch and Strat tones. You really need to work hard to get some great tone with this guitar. In my opinion, it sounds the best through analog effects, avoid modelers.
With two teaching locations here in Camas and in Vancouver, I help my students understand how these four different styles of guitars, make them better players.
Looking forward to hearing from you about guitar lessons.