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Where Is Everyone???


strayGoat

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Cannot help but notice that this forum has gone drip... drip................................................................... drip slow. What gives? Posts seem to stagnate for days, weeks, before there are replies, often of a cursory nature. Quite an amazing contrast to the wildly active, if argumentative, forum this used to be a decade or so ago. Has everyone essentially quit giving a crap about acoustic guitars (and bridge pins and tone woods and strings - Oh My!)? Or have a lot of folks simply migrated to another forum? If so, which one?

 

And of course, by "everyone," I do not mean everyone. Some of you die-hards still clearly maintain a keen interest. But there used to be more of you. What on earth has become of this population?

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Well, I am still here. Sometimes. But the lack of traffic does not help. Discussions are rare and nothing ever happens here.

I would not mind a more lively environment, but music is going to die. The electric part of our world is shrinking. Look at Fender's and Gibson's company results. Falling down like the top floors of the WTC after the impact of the planes.

Our little acoustic world is doing comparatively well, but the fact is, that almost nobody is going through the chores of learning to play an instrument anymore. It's uncool and apps on mobile phones can arrange samples quicker than anyone can puck a string or fret a note.

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Bill Collings died this past week and no mention of it on an acoustic guitar forum.

I'll try not to draw any inference from that.

I love my acoustic guitars, play them every day, but I'm not shopping, don't suffer from GAS, and if one of you guys likes your Elixir strings I'm totally OK with that.

I don't know what the best capo is (so I have a couple of each).

I haven't discovered a hot new player I'm excited to hear or see in concert for a long time now.

Maybe I should take on a new project...

Relic a PRS acoustic or something.

If you have one you'd like me to do for you, I'll give you the customary 10% forum discount.

Currently there's a 6 month waiting period on these from the date of receipt.

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Guitars made out of fossilized swamp ash are hundreds of times better than guitars made out of boring old spruce. Anyone who believes otherwise is an idiot. And the same idiots probably also believe that the headstock doesn't play any part in the sound of the guitar. B*ll*cks! - at least 90% of the sound comes from the headstock and it's even more for an electric guitar.

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lol.

 

I have found that this place gives me too much GAS. I am now into my 8th month with no NGD. Coincidentally, I don't hang around guitar forums too often (or any other online forums, for that matter), nor do I any longer have a FB acc't with friends enabling my insanity. I think 7+ months is the longest I've gone without buying a guitar in 10 years!

 

I've learned a lot here, for which I am very grateful.

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A few of us have aged and moved on, whether it's out of spite or to resist temptation or just because we were sick of arguing about stuff that was only keeping us up at night I can't tell. A couple of have moved on and stopped aging and assumed room temperature, which also caused those of us left behind to re-examine our priorities on this earth. Some of us aren't getting along too well and trying to just make the best of what we've got left to look forward to. Some of us have had life take us on little side turns and we've had to step on the brakes. I just come here when real life sucks or I feel like I have something worthwhile to contribute but really I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'm not getting any younger and I've got to live for the day because you never know what tomorrow might bring and there's no sense worrying about yesterday unless you can learn from it.

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lol.

 

I have found that this place gives me too much GAS. I am now into my 8th month with no NGD. Coincidentally, I don't hang around guitar forums too often (or any other online forums, for that matter), nor do I any longer have a FB acc't with friends enabling my insanity. I think 7+ months is the longest I've gone without buying a guitar in 10 years!

 

I've learned a lot here, for which I am very grateful.

Interesting. I haven't bought a guitar for myself in a few years. The last was an electric. I did buy an amp earlier this year. The day before Palm Sunday I bought a guitar for a guy at church who had his damaged in a house fire and a couple of weeks ago I almost bought a beat up ukulele from Goodwill but that's all. I still come for the VOM and to offer advice and encouragement to new folks, and if a rousing discussion ever starts again I'll be right here.

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Interesting. I haven't bought a guitar for myself in a few years. The last was an electric. I did buy an amp earlier this year. The day before Palm Sunday I bought a guitar for a guy at church who had his damaged in a house fire and a couple of weeks ago I almost bought a beat up ukulele from Goodwill but that's all. I still come for the VOM and to offer advice and encouragement to new folks, and if a rousing discussion ever starts again I'll be right here.

 

My guitar insanity was my version of the mid-life crisis. Some guys get Corvettes, or a trophy wife, or both. I went guitar crazy. I don't know how many guitars passed through my hands in the last 10 years, but it is a crazy amount. I'm sure if I tried to tally them, I'd miss one or more. I still have, like, 19. Which is, still, insane. Guitar buying was also insane insofar that it was my way of dealing with health and other crises over this period, of which there were far too many. I am very lucky that my wife tolerated it all. Early last December, I got a nice classical spruce/rosewood guitar (Hanika 54PF), and I knew that was that.

 

Discretionary income has gone towards beautiful trips abroad, and my wife and I are learning Tai-Chi, so we'll be fit into our dotage. In other words, we are investing in ourselves and our well-being. There's only so far one can go with external 'things' to make one happy. Truth is, that never works out, really.

 

 

 

 

 

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New management dropped in and told everyone to play nice, not to fight and act like adults. For stale bagels, cold sammiches and light beer? I'm a tolerant feller fighting off the cur of age but a man's got his limits.

 

I came here in the way-way back already snot-nosed smart about guitars, looking for a musical scrap, and all I got was people trying to get snot-nosed smart about guitars. Man, that was grinding. I already had enough of myself, though, so I was like treading water in the interest pool.

 

Still, good people, hilarious times and lot's of marshmallow's flamed. But, back to basics. This place is like the new Phoenix from the flames but from what I've seen there's a new fire suppression system installed to stunt its growth. Unlike the days back in the late SEA period when things were fun, peace time just isn't worthy of a fire brand's visit.

 

A tip of the hat to all.

 

 

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People got married and left. People lost interest in guitars and left. People lost interest in this forum and left. People got tired of the incompetent forum management (NOT present forum management) and left. People got pissed at other people and left.

 

According to some, people got pissed at me and left. I guess it's all my fault.

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I think the information age and the removal of information barriers is the root cause. The journey from physical gatherings, to early chat rooms and bulletin boards, to forums, to social media have brought us to a point where most of the people that really want to learn about a specific topic will have gotten their knowledge AND a broad range of opinions.

If the forum doesn't slow down we have to invent things to talk about or bump old discussions. When that happens, the actual nuggets of acoustic guitar info get lost in the squabbles that are the real reason many used to come here (to let off steam, which is legit) and people who want guitar talk give up and the forum slows down naturally like now.

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I'm over here in Thailand, where are you? Am coming back to USA next month, for what that is worth Hope to bring back my 69 Gibson got 10 years ago for a song (more like a commercial ditty) unless the bright lights big city overwhelm me with a GAS attack...

I'd like to ask question or start topic on some semi intelligent subject, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards.

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. . . . I would not mind a more lively environment' date=' but music is going to die. . . almost nobody is going through the chores of learning to play an instrument anymore. . . . apps on mobile phones can arrange samples quicker than anyone can puck a string or fret a note.[/quote']

 

Hm. Here in Maine, I've noticed the opposite. When I was first learning to play guitar in the late sixties in New York, most kids in my neighborhood didn't have an instrument. Now the majority of the kids I know have at least one and often more. And some of them are real wunderkinds - all over their instruments.

 

I played at a local festival today, and the act before my trio's was students from a high school class doing credible covers of Stevie Ray Vaughn, Stevie Wonder, and other music heroes.

 

Meanwhile, the college music progams here seem to be drawing plenty of people. So I doubt the problem is that the world is running out of musicians.

 

Anyhow, I'm not worried about attendance here. I have a good time checking in, even if it's just to respond to all the NGD, "Which should I buy?" and "How do I amplify it?" posts.*

 

-------------------------------------------------------

 

*Congratulations! The one you like. Mic it.

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I poke my head in the door every now and then. Life has been full of twists and turns for me since I joined up in '07. Back in 2010 got married, then hubs was severely injured in a work accident. 2014 - 2015 I fought a battle with cancer - still winning, mind you, and I've even got my hair back. Yay! Dealt with deaths in the family and other major life events, several house moves, but never really totally turned my back on this place. I've made some good friends here - some that I'll keep forever. A few losers, a-holes and enemies have come and gone. Meh, that's life. And thanks to incredible advances in hearing technology, I'm playing again in spite of being nearly deaf (yeah, I'm in cochlear implant territory but no-go on that).

So, that's where this scrap of "everybody" is now. Let's keep the music going and not let the VOM die. I'll try to cobble something together next month.

Cheers, Everyone.

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I have been a member here longer than most. I remember the days when this forum was so active it was like a big party, especially on the weekends. I don't buy for a second any nonsense about technology killing forums or people not playing guitar anymore. This forum has gone through some very tough times and lost a ton of members. Just poor decisions, poor management, bad coding. This coupled with some bad apples as members. Lot of people got fed up and left.

 

I spend most of my time at AGF when I want to talk about acoustic guitars. I come back here now and again to check in. Honestly, I think activity is improving lately. So maybe that's a good sign. Around four or five years ago, this place was as dead as a door nail.

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My guitar insanity was my version of the mid-life crisis. Some guys get Corvettes, or a trophy wife, or both. I went guitar crazy. I don't know how many guitars passed through my hands in the last 10 years, but it is a crazy amount. I'm sure if I tried to tally them, I'd miss one or more. I still have, like, 19. Which is, still, insane. Guitar buying was also insane insofar that it was my way of dealing with health and other crises over this period, of which there were far too many. I am very lucky that my wife tolerated it all.

I am lucky that my wife also deals with my crazyness, still I sort of agree. Midlife something, possibly. But what does that mean in regards to the fact that I haven't even felt the urge to extend my collection in the past months?

By the way, I still beat you by 5 or 6... If I find the time to count 'em all...

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I did a post like this last year ( if my memory serves me ) this time of year alot of us are out and about on our vacations plus we tend to stay away from the computer to do outside stuff -even playing a bit more -

Thou im here at present -but i dont come here as much as i use to (as well other forums ) \

one good thing is that Im playing more and putting in less time at the forum -

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Everyone grew up and out, then. That said, I've been watching my food intake and I'm close to my target weight. I was on a near-vegan insanity plan and decided to regroup beginning with a revised quantity and then a look at quality. I ditched the midday meal and lost 20 pounds. So, I reversed my growing out. People go nutso making all kinds of doomsday noise about my way of establishing weight control. You'd think they knew what they were talking about from the way they act. But, like most people and such things, parroting and go-ogling does not the expert make. But they're just so sure of themselves you'd think they were shilling a J45 magically transformed into a Goodall by use of brass bridge pins and fossilized ivory sitting atop the clay method for seating a UST. The standard method of turning a J45 into a Goodall (parlor) is to drop a silver salute into the J45 and then ship the pieces to James.

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I have been a member here longer than most. I remember the days when this forum was so active it was like a big party, especially on the weekends. I don't buy for a second any nonsense about technology killing forums or people not playing guitar anymore. This forum has gone through some very tough times and lost a ton of members. Just poor decisions, poor management, bad coding. This coupled with some bad apples as members. Lot of people got fed up and left.

 

I spend most of my time at AGF when I want to talk about acoustic guitars. I come back here now and again to check in. Honestly, I think activity is improving lately. So maybe that's a good sign. Around four or five years ago, this place was as dead as a door nail.

 

Funny, I've tried Acoustic Guitar Forum a few times, and found it very hard to use - slow, a weird set-up, and not many replies. I find a lot more happening here and at a couple other music sites that I also check almost daily.

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The AGF is a fun read if you're into the eye-rolling content people here cast off a decade ago. The HCAGF membership aborted on-topic speak and redirected the forum to the flames of divisive self-worship cliques. When they realized they were tired of themselves most exited stage left just as some stupid with a flare gun burned the place to the ground. The smoke is still clearing. So, the AGF is the new stage for acoustic guitar decadence.

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