Hello....My name is Dave and I am a 48 year old beginner from the burbs of Boston. After trying to teach myself to play guitar using the internet off and on for about 10 years, I found an instructor who has the same taste in music as I do, and is an absolutely amazing guitarist. There was just too much information online honestly, and too many websites offering lessons. Some of them are great, but I just wasn't learning like I wanted to. My own fault really.
So, back in December, while watching a band in a local bar, I spoke to the guitarist between sets to compliment him on his playing and to buy the CD's he was selling. Without sounding super dramatic, that conversation changed my life as far as playing the guitar. The guitarist in the band was Ethan Brosh, and he is now my instructor. If you've never heard or Ethan, check out YouTube. He's a great player, and an even better person. Just a nice guy.
So, I started taking lessons using the RG120 I had bought back in 2007. It was then I decided I wanted to upgrade and get a better guitar. And by better, I'm by no means saying the 120 is bad, I just wanted something a little more high end. I asked for Ethan's advice on this, and the only guitar he mentioned by brand and model, was the RG550. So the hunt began, and after 2 close calls of buying the wrong model, I am now the proud owner of a 1987 RG550 FA. I love it, and can now appreciate the difference in playing a high end guitar. And to further enforce my decision, Ethan played it for about 10 minutes one day (which I truly regret not recording) and he said I got an awesome guitar and a great deal. Kind of pathetic how much his approval meant to me.
So, here I am. Like anything else, there are so many options as far as forums to join, and I found that any time I searched online with a question regarding Ibanez guitars, this was the website that came up in my searches the most, and always gave me the information I was looking for, so it only made sense to become a member.
I'm really looking forward to learning as much as I can about my new guitar, and guitars in general. I'll try to use the "search" method as much as possible so I don't post questions that have been asked a million times. I will also try to keep my stupid questions to a minimum. Not sure how that will work, but I'll try.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for having me.