New instrument sounds first notes

GUITARS have come a long way since the 1960s and my first unbranded six-string acoustic with a neck like a hunk of ‘four by two’ timber.
But one thing remains the same through time: The guitar’s ability to take over lives and settle in for long-term tenancy in Cardio Street.
The slightly clumsy piece of joinery that first stole my heart found me through a classified advertisement in my local paper. No, it wasn’t in the personal column.
Imperfect as it was, the basic six-string steel started a passion for collecting guitars and many have passed through my hands on their way to a groping elsewhere.
The list includes not only the common top-line brands, such as Maton, Gibson and Fender, but also lots of other well known names (Ibanez, Washburn, DiGiorgio, Guyatone).
Some brands , such as ColTone, Horola and Bolero, are so obscure that references are hard or impossible to find.
All the guitars have been special to me. I miss some and regret ever letting them out of my control.
After flirting with so many cuties over the years I now have a longterm relationship with something a little meaner, a Telecaster copy.
The Hurricane by Morris stayed in its case under my bed for more than a decade during an emphasis on acoustic.
However, the black tele began to love me after a fair bit of fiddling to get the action and the neck angle just right.
A shim was needed to tilt the neck back slightly because the action was so close to the pickups and scratch plate that it upset the righthand movements.
This change simply meant a bit more height at the bridge.
I now cannot bear to think that the Hurricane and I ever will part company.
It is as good to play as any of the big name guitars I have caressed but, as one would expect, the pick-ups are not as good.
The sound tends to muddy at the higher levels but I have found that just a touch of reverb on the amp helps to sharpen it, without introducing more treble.
As a classic tele copy, it naturally has treble capacity galore but I have it set for a nice warm jazzy sound.

THANKS for joining me on this blog where I will soon get off my own (guitar) case and on to others, such as the bloke who has had a Fender Jazzmaster since its release in, I think, 1958, and another whose one-owner early 60s Telecaster came unscathed through a car accident that left him in a coma for months. Remarkably, the tele owner still plays professionally. As things progress, with permission of the players, I will introduce them to visitors to this site.

THE name for this blog, adayinthelifeofaguitar, honours the great Brazilian guitarist Luiz Bonfa. His great melody, Carnival (subtitled Manha de Carnaval or Morning of the Carnival), inspired a change of lyrics to suit the non-guitar-addicted community. The orginal says, "I'll sing as I play my guitar ..." The rewrite: "A day in the life of a fool ..." It makes one wonder why they bothered.