Open mic, dead guitar, played the hosts, yikes!

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by lfoo6952

You need to get one of these:
https://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tool...t-O-Meter.html

Hey! Thanks for this. Great little tool. I might have to just pick me up one of these!

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Methos1979

Okay, so I knew this day would come and I always wondered what it would be like. Let's face it - we're all 'guitar snobs' (in a good way) to varying degrees around here at AGF. As a regular, long-time user of this forum I know WAY more about guitars than guitar players that don't come here. I have friends that have been playing a lot longer and are a lot better than me and we talk guitars I go into a level of detail that makes their eyes glaze over.

So we went to a regular monthly jam session where a friend plays and invites many friends to get up and play. It's always well attended and fun. He's a decent player that's been around forever and hosts another regular open mic and his equipment is good and he runs a great open mic. This night I had taken my new Martin D-1 with an active sound hole pup that the battery had died so no go with that.

So I borrowed the host's guitar. It's the only guitar I've ever seen him play and it's a beat to heck Taylor dread something or other. No idea the model. I'm used to dreads (now) so I didn't think that would be a problem scale and size wise and it wasn't. I'm definitely not used to the Taylor thin necks but that didn't bother me either. The nut was definitely more narrow than I'm used to by that was fine as well. What did surprise me as just how HIGH the action was. I'm talking slide guitar like action. But even with the high action the guitar buzzed like crazy. So that was weird.

But it was a couple songs and it went fine. Nobody's really watching or listening to me anyway. All eyes are always on the svelte blonde lead singer to my right. It's always interesting to see what other guitars people are playing and open mics and jams sessions are a great place to do so. I've got a new battery in the sound hole pup and I'm carefully tracking how long it lasts but I'm already leaning towards going with a passive one instead. This guitar is mostly my at home guitar anyway as I would normally take one of the three Cole Clarks.

Anyone else ever have this experience? I always wondered how it would be to have to play someone else's guitar and how I would do with a less than well set up axe. Now I know.

First no that has not happened to me. #1 I always carry a spare battery #2 the one time my pickup system failed I simply mic'ed the guitar.
#3 Something was definitely out of wack with the Taylor you tried. There is no way a correct factory spec. set up Taylor action, is too high. Often when people who are used to other mfg.s guitars play Taylors, they note how low the action is but never too high. Just sayin'

[Goat Mick]

My uneducated guess is that he learned guitar around some old bluegrass pickers. Old school thought was that you had to have high action and heavy strings to get decent tone and enough volume to be heard over the banjo.

[Mr. Jelly]

I have to wonder about the guys that say they bring a battery along. The guitars I had you needed to remove the strings or detach them to replace the battery. I envision finding out the battery doesn't work and saying just a minute while you detach the strings, change out the battery and tune it back up and say there thanks for waiting. The battery issue is a big part of why I don't like those types of pick-ups.

[DownUpDave]

Originally Posted by Brooklyn Bob

If you've got a svelte blonde lead singer you could be playing an Esteban guitar and nobody would notice.

Svelte blonde singer........guitar player, guitar player, we don’t need no stinking guitar player.

[Oldguy64]

I generally play at church.
I only have one guitar that requires string removal to get at the battery.
So, I at least check the battery at each string change. As it’s a 12...that’s about twice a year.
With six strings, I tend to bring a backup guitar with a passive pickup.
But I have a battery in my go-bag.

[MikeBmusic]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

I have to wonder about the guys that say they bring a battery along. The guitars I had you needed to remove the strings or detach them to replace the battery. I envision finding out the battery doesn't work and saying just a minute while you detach the strings, change out the battery and tune it back up and say there thanks for waiting. The battery issue is a big part of why I don't like those types of pick-ups.

Most a/e guitars these days have some kind of 'barn door' or end unit (Taylors) for external battery swaps.

My battery died right before I was to play last week at an open mic. Luckily, I had thought to check while I was waiting, no red light inside when I plugged in my cable. Pulled the spare out of my case - it was dead too! Luckily, a friend had a spare and I popped it in to do my songs, then gave it back to him.

To the OP: 'narrow nut' on a Taylor to me means it must have been a 100 or 200 series with a 1-11/16 nut. 'High action and buzzing' to me means probably had light strings on it (assuming it wasn't down-tuned) and had some back bow, too.

Several years ago I was at an open mic and played the host's guitar - a 12 fret with the strap tied to the headstock. It was the most awkward feeling guitar I'd ever played! So it really is 'what you are used to'.

[generalliamsayn]

Originally Posted by 1Charlie

I messed with soundhole pickups for a while before jumping to a K&K passive pure mini. Better tone and no battery to worry about.

This.

I have an external pre-amp I use for optimal sound, but even when I don't bother bringing it (like at open mics) my guitar sounds as good if not better than anyone else's.

[fazool]

My friend runs and fronts a top local band in Buffalo. They have a big following play a lot of gigs.

My friend is also a super cool band leader and always invites friends to play with the band and the band is so cool - it's like they just expect to have a guest on stage every other show.

So I go out and play a few songs with them once in a while (which is so much fun because the crowds are sometimes HUGE).

Sometimes it's planned out and I bring my guitar and even do soundcheck.

Sometimes it's a very impromptu thing: my wife and I will be in the audience having a drink and, in the middle of a song, he says "hey! there's my buddy - c'mon!" and waves me up on stage. So without preparation I grab his guitar and play.

When I play with my guitar it feels great but when he hands me his guitar it feels a little strange - he has a great guitar but he slings it low so it feels funny to me and his guitar has a narrow neck. It goes fine but I am always super conscious of how different it feels and being very careful to not let it screw me up......having fun and wishing I had my guitar in hand!

[HodgdonExtreme]

I basically can't play a guitar that's not mine.

Any variance in nut width, action height or fretboard radius really throws me.

I also have significant stage fright; my skill level gets cut in half when I perform in front of someone... So if my guitar was non operative, I couldn't perform.

[EllenGtrGrl]

Originally Posted by Oldguy64

I generally play at church.
I only have one guitar that requires string removal to get at the battery.
So, I at least check the battery at each string change. As it’s a 12...that’s about twice a year.
With six strings, I tend to bring a backup guitar with a passive pickup.
But I have a battery in my go-bag.

The battery in my Taylor 150e 12-string bit the dust a few weeks ago, while playing with the church band. At the time, I wasn't 100% sure it was a dead battery (I'd get output through my Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge for a few minutes, and then the sound would would die - it ended up being the battery for the Taylor's pickup), so I brought along a sound hole pickup (a Seymour Duncan Woody) as a "just in case" backup, so I could keep on playing, and be heard (I would have brought my Martin DSS-17, but the music director told me that she likes the sound of my 12-string, so just a backup pickup it is). I've made it a point to bring along sound hole pickup along, in case the battery dies.

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by HodgdonExtreme

I basically can't play a guitar that's not mine.

Any variance in nut width, action height or fretboard radius really throws me.

This is what I always wondered might happen. But it didn't, which was nice. Besides the high strings and buzzing I barely noticed it.

As for batteries, I always keep spare 9v's in the Cole Clark cases. The Martin is new and the sound hole pup even newer. I had just put a new battery in it and they are supposed to last for 120 hours of play. Not sure what happened but since I'll rarely used that guitar for amplified play it might get a passive sound hole pup.

As for the svelte blonde, she's on the website below! At nearly 60 she's aging WAY better than the fat old guy with the guitar!

[Wellington]

Maybe it’s because I played electric mainly for several years before I started playing acoustic mainly, but I can’t stand high actions, I’m always mortified When I play other people’s guitars because they always feel like they have high actions, besides my old mans, don’t know how his action is that low without buzz on that guitar.