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A technique-building instrument
The first day I absolutely hated this guitar. The high-E kept sliding off and the action was way too high (even after adjustment), nearly unplayable. Everything came out sounding bad and awkward so I naturally blamed the guitar of course :)
Then I packed it up for return and left it there. After 2-3 days I gave it another try and realised what should have been evident from the very beginning: my technique was just not good enough for this, and the high-E string was sliding off because I was inadvertently pulling slightly sideways, i.e. something I never noticed on other guitars but that I needed to address.
As for string action, I realised that if Yngwie manages to play that fast and clean with high action it means it IS possible, it’a once again a matter of getting the technique good enough to do it. So I kept practicing until I got that sorted.
Eventually I kept this guitar with the intention of improving my technique to be able to play it correctly it and it has helped me loads. Sometimes having a “difficult” instrument is what you need to highlight flaws and start working on them. Had the same on some 58’ Gibsons which had a “baseball bat” neck which initially gave me cramps while playing fast but that was what I needed to finally loosen up my grip.
So, this is not an “easy” guitar and not really intended for beginners but if you want to have something more challenging that can really highlight your flaws and improve your technique, this is it. Personally, I love it.
Then I packed it up for return and left it there. After 2-3 days I gave it another try and realised what should have been evident from the very beginning: my technique was just not good enough for this, and the high-E string was sliding off because I was inadvertently pulling slightly sideways, i.e. something I never noticed on other guitars but that I needed to address.
As for string action, I realised that if Yngwie manages to play that fast and clean with high action it means it IS possible, it’a once again a matter of getting the technique good enough to do it. So I kept practicing until I got that sorted.
Eventually I kept this guitar with the intention of improving my technique to be able to play it correctly it and it has helped me loads. Sometimes having a “difficult” instrument is what you need to highlight flaws and start working on them. Had the same on some 58’ Gibsons which had a “baseball bat” neck which initially gave me cramps while playing fast but that was what I needed to finally loosen up my grip.
So, this is not an “easy” guitar and not really intended for beginners but if you want to have something more challenging that can really highlight your flaws and improve your technique, this is it. Personally, I love it.
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