I went down to the local music shop, and purchased a cheap Fender squire bullet,a stratocaster imitation with a fixed bridge, complete with a small amp for about a hundred and fifty bucks. I gave it too him with some picks, and a half dozen sets of strings or so. Needless to say he was thrilled, but I figured, like all kids, he’d grow sick of it, and move on to something else in a short amount of time.

Over the following year I’d see him from time to time, at family get togethers, and the like. We’d talk about his progress on the guitar, and what he was playing. As someone who’s been into music my whole life, especially classic/blues rock, I was glad to hear that he was learning to play tunes from AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. On an impromptu visit to my sister’s house, about a year after giving him his setup, he asked if I’d like to hear some of the stuff he was learning. I of course agreed, quite honestly I was proud of the kid for just sticking with it.

We went into his room, a typical teenage disaster area. I cleared off a place to sit, and he proceeded to play half way through the Stevie Ray Vaughan version of the classic Jimmie Hendrix tune, Little Wing . I was absolutely floored at how good it sounded, in fact I was inspired. A light went on, and that little hopeful nice feeling you get in the pit of your stomach, when you know you have to do something, came to the forefront.

At any rate I went down to the same place I got my nephews rig, and purchased the exact same electric guitar setup. I figured there was no need to get anything expensive, because knowing me; I’d be down the road from this current obsession in no time.

I strung up the black squire bullet , tuned it, plugged into the amp, and began trying to play the chromatic scale from a printed out beginner lesson I found online. The first sit down lasted about ten minutes, because my left hand fingers hurt so bad I wanted to kill myself.

Over the next few weeks I built up some calluses, and was able to practice for an hour or so. Granted my fret fingers were wildly all over the place, and picking one string at a time was an unattainable dream. Over the next year I learned the five major scale positions along with the major and minor scales , I learned the major and minor pentatonic scales, and unlike anything else I’ve ever been passionate about, I was more interested a year later, than when I first started.

Since that time I’ve gone nuts. I’m a true Guitaraholic, I love playing them, building them, experimenting with different amps , and effects pedals, you name it. Really for the first time in my life I’ve found something that I will stay passionately interested in forever.

If you're a beginner, or even an advanced guitarist, check out the Electric Guitar Info:Guitar Store , there's literally hundreds of entry level guitars, and even some for the advanced player, There are even entry level strats, like the one I started on.

My goal is to build a web site you’ll want to come back to over and over again. Though by no means am I an accomplished player, I do have a background in electronics, woodworking, and engineering. My pledge to all that visit is that the information you find here is accurate, and objective. I will never promote something I haven’t used, nor will I provide generic content you can find in a hundred different places. All equipment reviews will be on stuff I actually own or have owned, not some reprint from another page. Every project you see here has been done by me , and I’ll give you the honest lowdown on whether it’s worth doing or not.

My philosophy is that the day you stop learning, is the day you stop living. If I’ve done something wrong, let me know. Most of all have fun here, and I hope you find something you can use to improve your sound, and your playing.

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