ianLP59
March 6th, 2007, 08:24 AM
HI All,
Recently joined this forum so I thought I'd say hello and introduce myself. My name is Ian, I am 53 years old and have been playing guitar on and off since I was around 15 (some might say more off than on, but that's another story). I mostly play fingerstyle acoustic, blues, rags, folk, traditional music although I love occasionally getting my Lester out for a decent crunch session from time to time ! I live near Southampton in the UK.
Last year my lovely wife booked me on a weekend workshop with Martin Simpson whose playing I had then really started to get into. I had a fantastic weekend and it really has changed my playing a whole lot, not just my actual guitar playing but my whole approach to playing and arranging stuff for the guitar. I now rarely use standard tuning at all and have been exploring a number of other tunings which I have really got into over the last year or so.
I have a day job... My wife and I own a computer software business which we run between us which does for us as far as covering the grocery bills and so on.
As far as acoustics go, I love both my Collings guitars. About three years ago, after a longish "off" spell of not really playing all that seriously, I felt I needed a push in the right direction or rather, should I say, some inspiration and self-motivation. I had grown tired of the Martin I had which didn't and still doesn't do it for me. I shot along to a high end acoustic shop in Brighton, which isn't that far from us and spent a few happy hours playing a number of high-end guitars. I walked out with a used Collings 002H which I fell in love with the moment I picked it up. Some months later a Collings 0002H came up on e-bay. I simply had to have it. The 0002H is currently my favorite guitar and the one I use for most of the altered tuning stuff because it has a slightly longer scale length and can take being tuned down some. Collings guitars are renowned for their consistency and there can be no better testament to that than my willingness to buy one unseen and unplayed. I have not been disappointed.
Alas for GAS though...On the workshop weekend with Martin Simpson I got to play both of his Sobell guitars. Wow, these babies are in another league but they are also very different. Anyway, I was hooked. After delicate negotiations with my better half I am now on Stefan Sobell's order book for a Martin Simpson Signature guitar. The waiting time is two years though so I've got plenty of time to improve my playing as well as to save up for the cash !
All the best,
Ian
Recently joined this forum so I thought I'd say hello and introduce myself. My name is Ian, I am 53 years old and have been playing guitar on and off since I was around 15 (some might say more off than on, but that's another story). I mostly play fingerstyle acoustic, blues, rags, folk, traditional music although I love occasionally getting my Lester out for a decent crunch session from time to time ! I live near Southampton in the UK.
Last year my lovely wife booked me on a weekend workshop with Martin Simpson whose playing I had then really started to get into. I had a fantastic weekend and it really has changed my playing a whole lot, not just my actual guitar playing but my whole approach to playing and arranging stuff for the guitar. I now rarely use standard tuning at all and have been exploring a number of other tunings which I have really got into over the last year or so.
I have a day job... My wife and I own a computer software business which we run between us which does for us as far as covering the grocery bills and so on.
As far as acoustics go, I love both my Collings guitars. About three years ago, after a longish "off" spell of not really playing all that seriously, I felt I needed a push in the right direction or rather, should I say, some inspiration and self-motivation. I had grown tired of the Martin I had which didn't and still doesn't do it for me. I shot along to a high end acoustic shop in Brighton, which isn't that far from us and spent a few happy hours playing a number of high-end guitars. I walked out with a used Collings 002H which I fell in love with the moment I picked it up. Some months later a Collings 0002H came up on e-bay. I simply had to have it. The 0002H is currently my favorite guitar and the one I use for most of the altered tuning stuff because it has a slightly longer scale length and can take being tuned down some. Collings guitars are renowned for their consistency and there can be no better testament to that than my willingness to buy one unseen and unplayed. I have not been disappointed.
Alas for GAS though...On the workshop weekend with Martin Simpson I got to play both of his Sobell guitars. Wow, these babies are in another league but they are also very different. Anyway, I was hooked. After delicate negotiations with my better half I am now on Stefan Sobell's order book for a Martin Simpson Signature guitar. The waiting time is two years though so I've got plenty of time to improve my playing as well as to save up for the cash !
All the best,
Ian