p90jr

I could not fight the urge to get yet another amp... needling in the back of my mind were Suhr Badgers, Jackson Ampworks Newcastles and Britains, and Bad Cats... my ultimate amp has always kind of been a Matchless, which is a "refined Vox" type of thing... Bad Cat amps were originally designed with Mark Sampson after Matchless ceased production for a while, and the early models were kind of a continuation of them... And the winner is... A hardwired 30-watt Bad Cat Cub head... a "demo model" from a store that has no physical storefront for almost half the price (I think these are repackaged items that someone ordered then returned... but since they honor warranties and stuff, hey, I'll take the depreciation discount and the item!). The amp is a single channel amp BUT with a built-in, foot-switchable "overdrive" setting that is very lovely... AND 2 foot-switchable Master Volumes... so functionally it is more like a channel-switching amp but without one of the channels getting shorted in some way... EL34s, probably my favorite tubes (though the Genelex Gold Lion KT88s the previous owner left in my Morgan RCA 35 might be a tie, and the Supro Supreme has me loving 6V6s more than I thought I could) And... yep, I love the way it sounds and responds. "Refined Vox" kind of nails it... it does have an effects loop, and with the simple footswitch provided and the built-in digital reverb, I could honestly see gigging with this amp with maybe just a delay/chorus/modulation pedal in the loop. It's loved every guitar I've plugged into it so far... I'm jazzed!

I have an HX Stomp, which is like a Helix crammed into a smaller box, and I'm blown away by the amount and quality of effects in that thing... man!!! I also have a Variax guitar, which has just about every popular configuration of guitar modeled into it (including acoustics). It's very impressive. I still use a lot of actual guitars, though if I'm playing a cover gig the Variax comes in very handy and it's my primary guitar for those gigs, ceding to a Tele with a palm B-bender for country songs and my Heritage Les Paul thing for some classic rock LP songs, just because I feel like it... I thought the HX Stomp would be a good recording tool, but bundled with it you get a software thing that loads into your DAW that does all of the same stuff more directly... the HX Stomp (and an iPad attached to control the parameters) is great as the effects engine when I play through my Komet AmbiKab... I have yet to be able to gig with that set up, though... when I have mentioned it for upcoming gigs in bigger rooms where the band is fully mic'ed, the soundguys grumble about giving me 3 channels and dealing with all of that... I think if I ever use it I will have to bring my own mics and mixer and argue to get stereo channels and premix the (1) guitar mic + (2) stereo effects mics down to two channels... but you think they'd want some separate control over that... Anyway, I use individual pedals mostly for gigs, because there's more control on the fly over things... I do have a Zoom MS-70CDR, which is a chorus and delay and reverb multi-effect the size of a pedal, and I'm playing with adding that in... but I think there's "creativity" in how you use effects pedals on the fly. Also, every performance space is different... and sounds different. I mostly gig these days with one or two Supro Supremes, which are amps with basic volume and tone knobs (just 2) but even then the tone knob gets futzed with in every space... and the same with EQ knobs on the dirt boxes and preamp pedals. I compare this to a guy I've been gigging with a lot who uses a Boss multieffect thing... who sets up and is thrown off for the first part of every gig because something doesn't sound right and he can't stop singing to bend over and futz with it, while I can take the tip of my shoe and nudge pedals while I'm playing and singing... especially something like the Phaser pedal I've been using tons for these gigs, for the Waylon Jennings 70s outlaw country songs, or the 70s Bee Gees and Andy Gibb songs or the funk numbers we'll decide to do spontaneously. So that's my answer to this never-ending argument: I have friends who play completely through Kempers into powered speakers specially catered to guitar, and they sound great... but they're stuck with what they already have programmed. I have more instant creative freedom... even if I grab a pedal and switch it out with something in the chain, that's quicker than what they have to go through... and they cede that point. Also, I played a Solid State amp for a long time and still have a few I like and use, but whatever it is about that tube sag has gotten under my skin and I do start to miss that if I'm not playing through a tube amp. But any "pro" is going to use any and everything if needs it... the Supros are very clean if you want them to be, and even the amp models of the HX Stomp sound cool through them, so I play around with that and that might end up onstage. Still, nothing in that box makes me as happy, personally, as my Crowther Hot Cake pedals working their magic on actual preamp tubes.

Go to his ranking on the list and read the description...

Elliot Easton is the Larry Carlton of New Wave!!! Meant as the highest compliment. I loved how on clips from Tha Cars reunion tour (I wasn't lucky enough to ever see them live) the crowd went nuts when he played his classic solos... you hear some of the crowd singing along to the licks, which is the coolest thing ever! When Tom Verlaine is listed (love him) but Richard Lloyd is left out I don't get it... Tom was the "genius" behind the songs and an interesting guitar player, but Richard was a really good guitarist who made the most of the spots he was given to shine. And more people probably heard Richard's playing on Matthew Sweet's hit singles than have heard Television. James Honeyman-Scott from The Pretenders? and Jennifer Turner, who auditioned for and won the lead guitarist spot in Natalie Merchant's band (never having played electric guitar before that) and played on Merchant's first solo record... was great... and she took a different path and never again played like that, and these days plays bass and keyboards in bands. But I would rate her highly based on that one record.

but rich in clickbait and rage-sharing, which is decidedly the actual goal!

St. Hubbins... the patron Saint of quality footwear

So you don't have to wade through the article if you don't want to and just for me to keep it straight, here's the list: 250 - Andy Summers (The Police) 249 - Brittany Howard (Alabama Shakes/Thunderbitch/solo) 248 - Robbie Kreiger (The Doors) 247 - Ricky Wilson (The B-52s) 246 - Paul Simon 245 - Leslie West (Mountain) 244- Edilio Paredes (from Dominican Republic, in the Bachata genre) 243 - Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner (from The National... + Bryce - Steve Reich, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Jonny Greenwood, and Kronos Quartet. Aaron - Taylor Swift) 242 - Lindsey Jordan (Snail Mail) 241 - Keith Urban 240 - Erin Smith (Bratmobile) 239 - Duane Eddy 238 - Doug Gillard (Guided by Voices/Cobra Verde/Death of Samantha/GEM) 237 - Jennifer Batten 236 - Greg Sage (The Wipers/solo) 235 - Laura Marling 234 - John McGeoch (Magazine/Siouxsie & The Banshees/PiL) 233 - H.E.R. 232 - David Williams (session player - Michael Jackson, Chaka Khan, Kenny Loggins) 231 - Etta Baker 230 - Gustavo Cerati (from Argentina... Soda Stereo/solo) 229 - Barbara Lynn ("You'll Lose a Good Thing") 228 - Steve Jones (Sex Pistols) 227 - Glenn Branca 226 - El Kempner (Palehound) 225 - Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith and Wayne Kramer (MC5) 224 - Marv Tarplin (Smokey Robinson and the Miracles/Smokey Robinson) 223 - Joseph Spence (from The Bahamas) 222 - Molly Tuttle 221 - James Blood Ulmer 220 - Courtney Barnett 219 - Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing (Judas Priest) 218 - Lzzy Hale (Halestorm) 217 - Thomas McClary (Ther Commodores) 216 - Steve Hackett (Genesis/solo) 215 - Kurt Vile 214 - Keiji Haino (from Japan - Aihiyo/solo) 213 - Lucy Dacus 212 - José Feliciano 211 - Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) 210 - Kaki King 209 - Gary Clark Jr. 208 - Amadou Bagayoko (from Mali - Amadou and Mariam) 207 - Justin Broadrick (Godflesh) 206 - Hugh McCracken (session heavyweight - Steely Dan, Roberta Flack, Paul McCartney, Paul SImon) 205 - Eric Johnson 204 - Lynn Taitt (reggae/rocksetady session pioneer - Desmond Dekker) 203 - Grant Green 202 - Vince Gill 201 - Garry ‘Diaper Man’ Shider (Parliament/Funkadelic, Bootsy's Rubber Band) 200 - Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram 199 - Bombino (from Niger) 198 - Jerry Reed 197 - Nuno Bettencourt 196 - James Taylor 195 - Greg Ginn (Black Flag) 194 - Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham (Thin Lizzy) 193 - David Lindley (Jackson Browne/Linda Rondstadt/solo) 192 - Lita Ford 191 - Chalmers Edward ‘Spanky’ Alford (D'Angelo, Mary J. Blige, Total, Rapheal Saadique) 190 - Lightnin’ Hopkins 189 - Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains) 188 - Marnie Stern 187 - Marc Ribot 186 - Steve Lukather 185 - Peggy Jones ("Lady Bo") 184 - Eldon Shamblin (Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys) 183 - Roy Buchanan 182 - Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith (Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Bunny Wailer, Sugar Minott, Jacob Miller, Black Uhuru, Mighty Diamonds, Augustus Pablo, Gregory Isaacs) 181 - Larissa Strickland (Laughing Hyenas) 180 - Mike Campbell (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) 179 - Ernest Ranglin (ska/rocksteady/reggae pioneer) 178 - Skip James 177 - Rodrigo y Gabriela 176 - Sadie Dupuis (Speedy Ortiz) 175 - Rory Gallagher 174 - Marty Stuart 173 - Paul McCartney 172 - Chrissie Hynde 171 - D. Boon (The Minutemen) 170 - Phil Manzanera (Roxy Music) 169 - Jessie Mae Hemphill 168 - John Cipollina (Quicksilver Messenger Service) 167 - James Williamson (Iggy & The Stooges) 166 - Johnny Winter 165 - Rokia Traoré (from Mali) 164 - Dave Davies (The Kinks) 163 - Wah Wah Watson 162 - Rosinha de Valença (from Brazil) 161 - Tim Henson (Polyphia) 160 - Kim and Kelley Deal (The Breeders) 159 - John Lennon 158 - Johnny Thunders 157 - Pat Metheny 156 - Carl Perkins 155 - Yvette Young (Covet) 154 - Bill Frisell 153 - Otis Rush 152 - Ani DiFranco 151 - Pete Cosey (Miles Davis) https://www.premierguitar.com/artists/forgotten-heroes-pete-cosey 150 - Marissa Paternoster (Screaming Females/Noun) 149 - Ron Asheton (The Stooges) 148 - Ike Turner 147 - Memphis Minnie 146 - Mike Bloomfield 145 - Dickey Betts 144 - Odetta 143 - Ira Kaplan (Yo La Tengo) 142 - João Gilberto 141 - Fredrik Thordendal (Meshugga) 140 - Stephen Stills 139 - Susan Tedeschi 138 - Teenie Hodges (Al Green/Hi Rhythm Section) 137 - Liz Phair 136 - Joe Perry (Aerosmith) 135 - Roger McGuinn (The Byrds) 134 - Bob Mould (Hüsker Dü/Sugar/solo) 133 - Robert Cray 132 - Nils Lofgren 131 - Dimebag Darrell (Pantera/Damage Plan) 130 - Joe Walsh 129 - Nita Strauss (Alice Cooper/Demi Lovato) 128 - Bob Stinson (The Replacements) 127 - Steve Vai 126 - Kim Thayil (Soundgarden) 125 - Viv Albertine (The Slits) 124 - Mike McCready and Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam) 123 - Steve Howe (Yes, Asia) 122 - King Sunny Ade 121 - Dick Dale 120 - Warren Haynes (Gov't Mule/Allman Brothers) 119 - Donita Sparks (L7) 118 - Adrian Belew 117 - Albert Collins 116 - Ana da Silva 115 - Nels Cline 114 - Robert Quine (Richard Hell & The Voidoids/Lou Reed/Matthew Sweet) 113 - Allen Collins and Gary Rossington (Lynyrd Skynyrd) 112 - Rowland S. Howard (The Birthday Party/Crime And The City Solution/These Immortal Souls) 111 - Kelley Johnson (Girlschool) 110 - Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac, solo) 109 - Mick Ronson (David Bowie, Spiders From Mars/Ian Hunter/solo) 108 - Merle Travis 107 - Clarence White (The Byrds) 106 - Peter Buck (R.E.M.) 105 - Slash 104 - Ali Farka Touré (from Mali) 103 - Nancy Wilson (Heart) 102 - Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) 101 - John Fogerty 100 - Kerry King (Slayer) 99 - Tosin Abasi (Animals As Leaders) 98 - Link Wray 97 - Stephen Malkmus (Pavement/Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks) 96 - Mark Knopfler (Dire Strais/solo) 95 - Mary Timony (Helium/solo/Wild Flag/Ex Hex) 94 - Joe Satriani 93 - Leo Nocentelli (The Meters) 92 - Wata (Boris) 91 - Cat Coore (Third World) 90 - Mdou Moctar (from Niger) 89 - Lou Reed 88 - Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) 87 - Poison Ivy (The Cramps) 86 - Sonny Sharrock 85 - Larry Carlton 84 - Muddy Waters 83 - Adrian Smith and Dave Murray (Iron Maiden) 82 - Wes Montgomery 81 - Bert Jansch 80 - Derek Trucks (Tedeshi-Trucks Band/Allman Brothers) 79 - Ernie Isley (Isley Brothers) 78 - Charlie Christian 77 - Willie Nelson 76 - Joan Jett 75 - Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple/Rainbow) 74 - J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.) 73 - Hubert Sumlin (Howlin' Wolf) 72 - John McLaughlin (Mahavishnu Orchestra/Miles Davis) 71 - Franco Luambo (from Republic of the Cong/Zaire) 70 - Django Reinhardt 69 - Robbie Robertson (The Band) 68 - Les Paul 67 - Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine) 66 - Ry Cooder 65 - T-Bone Walker 64 - Carrie Brownstein (Sleeter-Kinney) 63 - Richard Thompson 62 - Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac) 61 - John Mayer 60 - Scotty Moore (Elvis Presley) 59 - Robert Fripp 58 - Alex Lifeson (Rush) 57 - Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) 56 - Johnny Marr (The Smiths) 55 - Mick Taylor (The Rolling Stones) 54 - Bonnie Raitt 53 - Trey Anastasio (Phish) 52 - John Lee Hooker 51 - Tom Verlaine (Television/solo) 50 - Elmore James 49 - PJ Harvey 48 - Curtis Mayfield 47 - The Edge (U2) 46 - Frank Zappa 45 - Steve Cropper 44 - Johnny Ramone (The Ramones) 43 - Jonny Greenwood and Ed O’Brien (Radiohead) 42 - Vernon Reid (Living Color) 41 - Bo Diddley 40 - John Fahey 39 - Chet Atkins 38 - Angus Young and Malcolm Young (AC/DC) 37 - Pete Townshend (The Who) 36 - Elizabeth Cotten 35 - Eric Clapton (Bluesbreakers/Cream/Blind Faith/Derek & The Dominoes/solo/COVID-19) 34 - Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead) 33 - Brian May (Queen) 32 - Jack White (White Stripes/solo) 31 - George Harrison 30 - Neil Young 29 - Eddie Hazel (Parliament/Funkadelic) 28 - David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) 27 - Buddy Guy 26 - St. Vincent 25 - John Frusciante 24 - James Burton (Ricky Nelson/Elvis/Emmylou Harris) 23 - James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett (Metallica) 22 - Albert King 21 - Randy Rhoads (Ozzy Osbourne) 20 - Stevie Ray Vaughan 19 - Freddy King 18 - Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine/Audioslave) 17 - Mother Maybelle Carter (Carter Family) 16 - Robert Johnson 15 - Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones) 14 - Prince 13 - Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) 12 - Jimmy Nolen (James Brown) 11 - Carlos Santana 10 - Duane Allman (Allman Brothers/Derek and The Dominoes) 9 - Joni Mitchell 8 - B.B. King 7 - Nile Rodgers (Chic/Diana Ross/Sister Sledge/David Bowie) 6 - Sister Rosetta Tharpe 5 - Jeff Beck 4 - Eddie Van Halen 3 - Jimmy Page 2 - Chuck Berry 1 - Jimi Hendrix

no June Millington from Fanny (unless I missed it) but Tracey Lamb from Girlschool seems strange to me...

Annie Clark (St. Vincent) and Jennifer Batten are on the list... the list is diverse, which is very good, it's just that the "ranking" aspect is dumb. No matter how they try to justify it they don't live up to their own description... they assembled a diverse group of writers and then made political decisions about what ranks ("Clapton is angering people with his anti-vax stance so we don't have to put him in the top 10 this time and there probably won't be too much outcry!"*). But... should Chrissie Hynde (one of my favorite singers and songwriters) be here and not at least James Honeyman-Scott among her lead guitarists... I'm sure she'll have something to say about that as she praises him and his successors in the band at every chance. * Don't take that as a claim that Clapton should be in the top 10 one way or the other... it's just amusing that RS of all magazines didn't put him up there as usual for them...

Django and Wes (I think...) and in there... honestly 250 is so many it's hard to remember after looking through it 5 times. Now, I will actually make a playlist and check out the ones I haven't heard of, and that will primarily be the latin music guitarists... I did see one young player in a facebook group say "Why did they put Yvette Young as the largest pic in the illustration when she's nowhere near the top of their list?" and the answer is "to get you to click on it!"

Had the article just been "250 great guitarists in alphabetical order" it would be great... but in what universe does the incredibly influential and recognized innovator and huge selling band-member (whose sound and style became the standard for the decade of the '80s on par with EVH's tapping) at number 250 rank that low?

I have to say that I think the very concept of this list - and it being published by that particular magazine - is incredibly stupid. Since founder Jann Wenner basically said "in my opinion. only white males are intellectually capable of making good rock music" this seems like an attempt at correction... but guitar playing is not a simple sport so ranking players is always a bit ridiculous, and especially when you don't limit it to specific genres. And then there also seems to be an attempt to ram in very recent players to be hip and relevant, on top of making sure it is not just rock and blues and not just males... which, yes, RS does need to get its head out of its own ass and move beyond its 1960s/70s worship, but this is lame... even seeing some players I love get ranked (Bob Stinson from The Replacements, Johnny Ramone, Mary Timony, Carrie Brownstein from Sleater-Kinney) seems a bit absurd on this list... which states no critieria and just seems to be what the editorial board sat around and assigned numbers to... and, of course, the top 10 is exactly what you would expect anyway... https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-guitarists-1234814010/

oh yeah, I have a SD Pickup Booster around here somewhere and it is cool...

As I've noted here many times I am a devotee of the Lizard Leg Flying Dragon clean boost pedal, which just gives you more of your sound but also manages to sweeten all the frequencies in a pleasant way, too... sometimes I don't want to turn it off and just use the guitar volume knob or a volume pedal, https://www.premierguitar.com/gear/lizard-leg-flying-dragon-pedal-review They were made in the next town over from by a guy and his wife in their garage and he seems to have stopped bothering and disappeared, but I've picked up a bunch of them for cheap from Guitar Centers or online over the years. I also love the Solo Dallas Solo X pedal, which is the one knob simplified version of their pedal that replicates the preamp in the Schaffer wireless unit that was the secret tone weapon of Angus Young and others... it might have a little more of a change in your tone (in a good way, IMO) than you're looking for... and then there's the Komet Mirasol (full disclosure, I did the artwork for it), which is two knobs, representing a clean boost circuit and a Rangemaster-style treble booster, so it's great when you're using a Vox or Marshall-style amp that can get dark and woofy as you overdrive it, and you can tighten up the bottom end (the original concept behind the Rangemaster).

Caev, it will probably hurt your heart (as it does mine) a bit to know that most people down here who request these songs have no idea who Van Morrisson is... I used to deflect the requests for "Brown Eyed Girl" by saying "I will play it IF you can tell me who wrote it and recorded it first..." and most of the time that shut it down because nobody knew... They know those songs here because a popular local "swamp pop" performer played and recorded versions of them all... they don't seem to be on YT, but to give you an idea... here's his take on...

BluMunk, there was a time about a decade ago I would go up and talk to guitarists in cover bands just to work around to telling/showing them that the opening chord stab in Prince's "Kiss" was an E7sus2 (in the context of that song's progression, some people argue it should be called one of the other many names instead) at the 12th fret... it was killing me hearing wrong takes on that... most of them were very grateful... ("I could not figure out what the hell it was!!!") though a few would take a "whatever, nobody cares, they still dance" attitude

well, if I'm on guitar and singing I do have a habit of throwing in a bit of a song with the same chord changes (or close enough that the melody works over it) in at the end of a song in an improvised manner... like sticking a bit of "Hit The The Road, Jack" and/or "Beat Generation" into "Stray Cat Strut" or the other night when a drummers' kids made us play "Another Brick In The Wall" sticking in a bit of the Bee Gees "Staying Alive" (which was the production inspiration, believe it or not, for the Pink Floyd track) at the end... some people get a kick out of that... some get furious... I guess it's just a way of weeding out who calls me again, really.

oh, the other thing that bugs me is that even if I play an A on the bass against their Dm chord, it is still not "wrong," it's just an inversion... it doesn't sound wrong and I doubt if anyone in the audience would think there was a mistake if there wasn't a over-reaction by somebody onstage, which is another thing, don't clue the audience in that there's any mistakes... when I played in my stepdad's big band jazz group, one of the sax players used to always say "Now, remember... if you play a wrong note once it's a mistake, if you play it twice it's jazz... at least that's what Ornette Coleman told me..."

Wonderful... and though they changed some other chords they kept the second one most of the tine, which I think is best for the melody... I did this version of "Blackbird" for a "White Album" tribute show... because the vocalist for the song wanted to and the guy running the show thought by the time it come up it was time to deviate a bit to keep it interesting, since he said he'd heard the sing 1,000,000 times at open mic nights over the decades,,, some people came up to me and complained, though... We did a "Revolver" show and after one rehearsal of "Yellow Submarine" we all kind of looked at each other and said "does anybody really need to hear that done faithfully, really?" and instead did it with New Orleans parade/Bo Diddly beat verses and Dixieland Swing Choruses and I sang in my best Louis Armstrong impersonation. It was great fun and the horn players got to cut up and it went over great wherever we did it except New Orleans, where the kind of people who come to a Beatles' tribute show are tired of hearing anything that sounds like stereotypical "New Orleans" and they just rolled their eyes...

I just noticed in my original post I made a mistake... it isn't E/A, it's F/A... a great example of Muphy's Law - any internet post about a typo or mistake or incorrect information will itself contain a typo, mistake or incorrect information.

Well, then that would be a "Hey, we do it our own way, like this..." beforehand thing, not a "HEY, YOU ARE MAKING A MISTAKE... WE DO IT THE WAY IT IS ON THE RECORD.... WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!" thing... get it? Is it reasonable for people to know that you have changed the underlying chord sequence without informing them, and react like they're making the mistake for not knowing it the first time through? That's nuts. And I have to say these are people who also get lost if the arrangement varies from the record in any way... and I have a MUCH better than average ear, I correct to their way of doing it by the second time the change comes around... The reason I hate the I-III-IV-V way of doing "Tupelo Honey" is that it then makes it just like "The Weight," which has usually come earlier in the set...

I used to start playing this one during shows with a band I played with in college, and the crowd would instantly go nuts, so the rest of the band would be pissed and annoyed that they had to try to play along and didn't know it... and I refused to teach it to them, because it was more in the punk rock spirit if they screwed it up,... (though, you know, they could've bothered to learn it on their own... it ain't ELP or anything...)

The Beths from New Zealand are my current obsession... great songs and melodies and I love her vocal delivery. The guitarist does some great tasteful things... good textures, and he rips out some cool "above standard issue indie rock" riffs and solos occaissionally... eths

I found the complete Beatles Songbook at the Library, and my pianist Mother had these "Biggest Hits of (insert Year)" songbooks she would play through, and those all had the first position chords notated (along with fingering diagrams!) and that was the first stuff outside of the Mel Bay books I played along with... and I started to realize there were "formulas" for songs and chord progressions and my brain started to file them together in groups... but none of it sounded "right!" I could tell it wasn't what they were actually playing on the records, though it was close enough to sing along and resemble the song. Anyway, impressed enough that I could sit with the radio with the Global cheesegrater action acoustic that was around the house and crudely strum along in the right key (in first-position chords) with any song that came on, my dad (a music teacher and saxophonist) came home one day with a Memphis Les Paul Custom copy and a Holmes Minipicker 12 amp. I had played trumpet for a few years and could play by ear so soloing actually came easy once I had that thing... I knew scales, and this was easier having a visual connection than trumpet. Still... I couldn't understand what was going on with chords on records? I guess I had a monophonic brain... I could pick out the progressions but I was stuck in first-position chord land, which seems weird, right? Around that same time I got drafted by some classmates to sing in their garage (er, one of their dad's painting and art studio) band, and I noticed the guitarists (who were taking lessons from a local hotshot who owned a guitar store) were playing barre chords, and my brain connected "oh, wow... that's just an E shape but his first finger is the nut moving up and down the fretboard!!!" And the secrets of the universe were revealed and I probably did not sleep for 4 months and played constantly, playing along with records, the radio, whatever music turned up on TV... separating out the different parts, even playing along with basslines on the guitar to understand what that was all about. I was 12 so I had the luxury of no distractions other than the pool or whatever neighbor kids I felt like bothering with... unplugged guitar and TV were a good combination. When school rolled back around I had major Social Capital from being able to play Pat Benatar songs, Cars songs, the entire "Back In Black" record note for note, play enough of "Eruption" to impress kids before the tapping part that I couldn't figure out yet came up... the first Rock songs I remember getting down completely are "More Than A Feeling" by Boston, "My Sharona" by The Knack, and "I Want To Hold Your Hand," which I immediately recognized Ric Ocasek had brilliantly re-written as The Cars' "Just What I Needed," which I got down next... forgive me if I've shared all this before... I drop in on a lot of boards and can't remember when I'm repeating myself...