I am now at week 39 of my guitar tuition, it has and, continues to be a lot more difficult than I first predicted, learning to play. That said, I am pretty proud of myself for not quitting, and I am still enjoying the learning curve, pushing myself to discover the various chord shapes, notes, scales and the what seems like endless things to understand, in order to get a semblance of a tune from my guitars.
So far I have learnt about tablature and I can play some fairly simple songs by finger picking. I can even string some chords together, with the correct chord shapes, and play a song.
My biggest accomplishment to date is being able to play The Foo Fighters, Times Like these on my acoustic guitar. It took me days and days of watching YouTube videos and then trying to memorize the chords. Not only that, I have even managed to add the embellishments just like in the original recording. Yeah! I still cock up now and again, miss a note or don't get my fingers in the right place, however one of the most difficult things I found was getting the strumming patterns down. The strumming patterns are a big part of every song and even if you are playing the correct chord, if the strumming pattern is incorrect, well the song just doesn't make sense.
Oh! And don't get me started on trying to sing along to a song whilst also trying to concentrate on playing it. My poor brain can't quite take all that information on board. I think the only song I can kind of sing along to is Mad World, the Michael Andrews version, and that is because it's finger picked and slow.
Anyhoo as I am enjoying my musical journey and no one can really say I am wasting either my time or money as I have practised playing my various guitars every day since I got them I decided to treat myself to yet another toy.
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Blackstar Carry On Deluxe
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I had seen the Blackstar Carry On reviewed some months earlier and really liked its small form factor. I thought it would be great as a sofa electric guitar. Something I could just pick up and have a bit play with. So I invested in a deluxe kit, getting it from PMT online.
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Came well packaged
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The Guitar and Amp are tiny
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The Blackstar Carry On deluxe, comes with the guitar, obviously. I opted for the vintage white with the like a tortoiseshell finish. You also get - Award Winning Fly 3 Bluetooth Mini Amp
- Premium Gig Bag With Rugged Fabric, Shoulder Strap and Multiple Pockets
- Quality Braided 2-meter Blackstar Guitar Cable
- Blackstar Webbing Guitar Strap
- 3 X Medium Blackstar Guitar Picks
- Travel Notebook to Write Down Ideas or Lyrics
- Blackstar 0.5mm Mechanical Pencil
Following unboxing the guitar and Amp I had a go at playing a few tunes I knew. I practised a few scales and generally just played with the gear, trying different settings on both the guitar and Amp. From a total Noob's point of view, I have to say I was extremely impressed. For starters, the tension on the guitar strings, for it being a tiny guitar, is great. It's not really much bigger than my concert ukulele, the fretboard is longer, and for being such a small guitar feels quite wide, more like a regular guitar. The Blackstar Carry On is so easy to play, with my limited experience. I expect as I gain more experience and knowledge it will also play and sound even better
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Hard to get an idea of just how small the guitar is
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I have an Ibanez GRGM21 I whilst I love that guitar for messing around with I have never felt the string tension or sound for that matter to be great. I don't know a great deal about guitar set up, but my low E string buzzes, it has been like this since new. Saying which I did have a go at adjusting the truss rod myself, after looking up a tutorial, and I think my little Ibanez sounds better.
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Very well-made
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Looks and sound the part
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The colour combo looks great
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The strings strung through the rear of the guitar body
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Strings feel amazing on such a small guitar
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The wee Blackstar sounds awesome through the small Fly 3 amp. I mean considering the amp is like tiny, it kicks out a decent punch, more than loud enough for jamming, or should I say in my case making a noise in my sitting room.
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| The pick guard looks awesome too |
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Wee Guitar
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Chrome Tuners
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As I am new to this game, I can't really say much more than that. I am not knowledgeable enough to go on about pickups, and so forth. I did find a list of specs so for anyone interested so thought I'd pop them here.- Body: Okoume (Gaboon Mahogany), single piece construction for body and neck
- Fingerboard: Laurel, 19 frets
- Scale Length: 20.7" (527mm)
- Pickups: Mini-humbucker with coil-split via the Volume pot
- Controls: Volume (pull for coil-split), Tone
- Machine Heads: Der Jung Sealed Tuners x 6, 1:14 gear ratio
- Strings: D'Addario EXL145 nickel wound strings, 12-54 (Heavy)
- Finishes: Vintage White with tortoiseshell binding and tortoiseshell scratch plate
Ok I am off to try to play something.
Take Care.
