New guitar story

Music and I!:

Anyone that has known me for a while could tell you I have an unbelievable love for music, and that I’ve been trying to get into all styles of music to get some sort of knowledge or experience from it. I like some styles more than others obviously and then again some styles I don’t like at all, but the attempt to like it was always there. I like to go through everything about the way the music I’m listening to was made, from the thoughts in mind of the guitarist to the back story of the song. My favorite types of music in no particular order would be Rock of all kinds especially alternative and 90’s, Soul, Funk, Blues, Outlaw Country and “Wedding Music” Country (Conway Twitty, George Jones, etc.), Classical and Rap. Music I absolutely can’t stand, it would have to be stuff like Electro music, Dubstep, Screamo, and that nasally sounding Country music and New age/Pop Country.  It’s not that I haven’t tried to get into these styles, because a lot of people have tried to get me into it and I have tried to get into it myself, it’s just no way shape or form something I care too listen too or get into.

Now with all this being said, this isn’t about music and what I care for or what I think of certain types of music. No this is about my everlasting story of what guitar am I going to buy, and how I got to that choice in making my final decision. As people know who have been talking to me for the last couple months I’ve been eyeing out a new guitar, since my old knock off Les Paul broke. It’s not the type of broke that can’t be fixed, it’s actually a relevantly easy fix, I just don’t know if I want to do it, and I feel as though it’s time to get a new one because I want just a better-quality guitar. Other than that, Les Paul, I have two other guitars and a ukulele. The two other guitars consist of a Gretsch G5120 hollow body electric 

 and an Epi acoustic, the Epi has also seen better days and I’ve been spotting out a new acoustic while in my searches for a new electric as well. Which I’ll briefly touch on later.

When it comes to guitar, I must have picked up my first guitar by the age of five if not before, but I never started taking guitar lessons until grade two or so. I use to like to just strum the guitar I guess and pretend I was Waylon Jennings doing the Dukes of Hazzard Theme song with the cowboy boots and hat on. I never owned an actual real full sized guitar till grade two on my birthday when I got an Epi acoustic guitar that was almost, if not the same height I was.   Shortly after that, once I become big enough to actually play that guitar I signed up for guitar lessons.  We all know how that goes it was the beginner stuff, rhythm, strumming, reading tab, reading notes, basic songs and chords. Then came along the Metallica book, oh how much I hated that damn book as the years went by.  It was actually two of them put together it was pretty well one big book of all of Metallica’s well known songs such as One, Seek & Destroy, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Master of Puppets and so many more. It started off well, and finally I got away from that boring beginners stuff that burned the fun out of guitar and on to something I actually liked to do or so I thought. I learned pretty well the whole book expect for a few solos, this was probably by grade four or five now. I chilled playing the metal for a bit, playing songs in the same genre as Metallica for the following year or so, I don’t really remember how long exactly. But then the long hair faze I got into started. I started listening to actual rock bands again, going back into my deeply rooted love for rock and all its different sides. Returning to listening and trying to play bands such as Guns N’ Roses, Steve Miller Band, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam and CCR. I started trying to distance myself from metal cause by that point I was sick of it. Around this time, I acquired two Red Hot Chili Peppers books and a couple Gun N’ Roses books.  Everything else I had music note wise was from the world-wide web. Also at this time I acquired a nice cheap Univax knock off Les Paul and amp (too which only broke this year for its first time). Now if I was only too get taught the stuff I wanted to be taught. It seemed harder than expected, after months of arguing that I’m done with metal and getting non-stop taught it, I quit and said to hell with those guitar lessons.  From there on, I pretty well forgot most of the metal I had known (I still can play it I just have to remember the notes again).  I then started self-teaching myself the stuff I wanted to learn, which is all the stuff I know now pretty well. That went on for years, then grade 10 came and I joined music class in high school. The class entailed that you play an instrument learning songs for 10 class days then reciting them in front of the class. Then the other half was theories etc.  It was During this time around Christmas, that my Nan bought me a wicked Gretsch G5120 with a Fender Mustand II amp to go along with it. After that year, I started exploring into rap and all of that fun stuff, leaving guitar and rock for a bit.  About a couple months before I started post-secondary, I got back into playing.  For months, I had in mind of getting a new guitar, but I didn’t know what one I would like to get. Shortly after my decision was made, a part of the head stock broke on the Les Paul, it was time to get a new guitar.

Out with the new and in with the new!:

The start of my search was on, I wanted a new guitar and I was committed to getting one. The money was starting to get saved up, but mean while I still had not the clue of what I wanted. I started it looking into Les Paul’s but the love I once had for them wasn’t enough to justify saving up over 2,500 for ones that I liked so they were out of the picture. I stayed looking into Gibson’s (not SG’s in all honesty I don’t like them), looking into their ES series. But that wasn’t what I wanted either I already had a hollow body Gretsch that was fine, so those guitars where off the list as well.  Finally, I came across a Firebird and played one, I thought to myself I have a contender for a reasonable price.

Next thing I started looking into was a few Fenders and I wasn’t really looking for a Stratocaster.  I don’t know why; it was just not what I wanted at this time. Next up was the Mustang series, but the short neck of the guitar just wasn’t what I wanted either. Next thing was the Jazz master I liked this one a bit, but there was just something about it again I didn’t like. So, that was off the list. Which left me between the Telecaster which I had been seriously thinking about buying and the Fender Jaguar special HH series which again I was seriously thinking about buying. So here I am at an impasse.  After playing both guitars, I liked both the same. I like the versatility of the Jaguar and Its feel, but I also like the classic style of the telecaster as well as its feel. So, after all this looking I was now stuck for weeks on which one I was going to get the Tele or the Jag.

 I looked at a few Ibanez’s and other brands but none of them got to my list. Until a completely new epitome happened to me in the shape of a solid body Gretsch. Up to that point, I forgot that Gretsch had the pro jet series. Though the pro jets are chamber, they don’t have the “F” holes in them, making them what I would qualify as not a complete hollow body guitar. This chamber gives the guitar its own distinct sound and it kind of even has a sort of Les Paul look to it, and after owning one Gretsch for a while and loving it I definitely had to give it a try. So, I finally saw one and gave it a try and it just felt right and I instantly fell in love with it. That familiar feeling of playing a gretsch on a solid type body had me sold right away plus I could get it gold-top, which is my favorite color scheme on everything. To top all of it off, the guitar is only about 700 compared to the other guitars I was thinking of buying which cost around 1500. This budget opened up some more room for another acoustic guitar that I wanted to get which is a 12&6 string Gretsch Rancher White Falcon, but I won’t be getting that until around my birthday in May. So, after all that being said, my decision was made on an electric guitar, it’s going to be a Gretsch Pro Jet Electromatic Gold-Top.

 I’m getting it without a second question about it. Now, it’s just to complete the saving process which is almost done.  So, it looks like just before Christmas I get to buy myself a guitar which is going to be rad!  Anyways, this is my decision.  The guitar I’m about to buy and my past with playing guitars.  Thanks for reading!

Snapchat

Snapchat the story what is it?  Where did it come from?:

  Snapchat is probably one of my most used and favorite apps that’s has ever been put out on the market. Snapchat got its start back in 2011- 2012 by creators Evan Spiegel, and Bobby Murphy.  started off as an idea of “Picaboo” a “selfie app” where users could send self deleting pictures of real time events that are going on around them with a viewing length of 10 seconds, this app was brought out in around July 2011 on IOS. Then came back out remastered under a different project, of the name “Snapchat” two months later.

  Snapchat started off just being able to send picture messages called “Snaps” then their next move in December 2012 they added the abilities of sending 10 second videos confined to the same file size as a picture to make it easy and accessible to send and receive videos live and in real time. Snapchat improved in 2013 when they did an overall update of the app.  In general, this update included speed and design enhancements such as swipe navigation, improved friend finder and double tap to reply features.  Then shortly after the feature of “snap stories” became a thing, Snap stories allowed users to take there ten second post (pictures, videos) and compile them all into 24 hour chronological storylines for everyone who is following them to be able to see. Around 2015, they added a feature so that you can reply over there snap on their story. Such things as live stories and feeds were created and added as well to the app so that business could live stream events that were taking place such as concerts and shows. These live stories also take other random users snaps that are sent to the live stories feed to show their experiences with the event, a great way to show all aspects of the event from the creators of it to the audience.

  Then in 2014 they made it possible to video chat/call on the app along with direct messaging (text) so not only could you use this app to send quick pictures and videos, you could now use it for those such things. Which meant you didn’t need to use Facebook messenger or Skype anymore to do these things. Then sometime in between this update and the major new one in September 2016 they made it capable for companies such as BuzzFeed, IGN, Daily Mail too post their articles such as “top ten this” and just general native advertisements and click bait blogs along with new products, etc. These advertisements are estimated to be 500,000 to 1,000,000 times a day.

  Then in September of this year there most recent update to the app, they added there first hardware gadget a pair of glasses that have a built-in camera that allows users to take snaps right from their own spectacles and post them to their snap chat. Snapchat has a whole variety of features that I still haven’t touched on such as “Lens” that’s allows you to put a live filter over your face using face detection,

 and “memories” which allows the users to save his own snaps that he/she has taken. Snapchat published stats in May of 2015 saying there where 2 billion videos sent by users a day and of may 2016 Snapchat Raised 1.81 billion in equity offering and achieved almost 10 million daily active users in the U.K alone. Snapchat is very popular with the millennials and the generation before them but has also recently started catching on with even older users who have cell phones.

My Snap Story:

As I said in the opening paragraph Snapchat is one of my favorite social media apps, I personally love the app and I’ve pretty well had it since it came out, getting it around late 2012 early 2013. I’ve seen what the app used to be, to what they have turned it into. The app has so many strengths when it comes to social media, its literally almost at this point a one stop shop app where you can pretty much do anything on it. Even Instagram has recently taken on the way Snapchat has their “stories” done out. You can go on Snapchat now and call, facetime, message, or snap people and if you don’t want to do that you can go on it and take pictures with one of their many filters and save it to your memories or post it as a story, and if you feel like reading an article you just swipe over right and Discover gives you a bunch of different articles to read.

  There’s so much when it comes to Discover giving a whole new aspect to Snapchat completely, users can now answer surveys read articles post in live story feeds and even find new products and give live real time thoughts to these companies about what they think. Snapchat is a great way to keep up with people and meet and start talking to new people because you can actually send your emotions and tone through video unlike text. Snapchats real time 24-hour time frame aspect makes it really engaging to users, content on Snapchat will only be up for 24-hours unless user delete it, making users always having to check there Snapchats for the most recent news and updates. Seeing how engaging Snapchat is, a lot of big named people have gotten their own verified Snapchat accounts where they can post story’s an engage with the everyday user, and us the everyday user get to take a look inside the life of the people we look up to making us feel a little closer to them. Some of these people are really good with this app and creating good client based relationships, my buddy who has been into rapping for years has got a few people he likes to listen to on his Snapchat and he’s after sending them snaps of him rapping or asking a question and these people actually message him back and answer him and his questions and or send him a rap back or tell him to keep up the good work with his own raps. These people in this case I’m referring to would be Necro, Sha Mula, Chase Benji, Anilsyt, many more do it but these are just the people I’ve witnessed with my own two eyes doing it.

 This app has been looked at by a lot as a sexting app but truthfully only 15% of people who report using this app say that they’ve ever used it for sexual purposes, most people that use this app use it for what it’s meant for to take stupid selfie photos and catch 10 second snap shots of their daily lives and put it up for others to see. Whenever I was using Snapchat or anyone of the “bys” I was around we’d mostly be using it to pretty much mess with each other. It was an everyday challenge of who was going to get one of the slyest and embarrassing photo on their Snapchat story, all in good fun never taking it way too far. But those days are over.  Now a days I use it to follow people I used to go to high school with to see where their lives are taking them. I also use it like my friends to follow celebs and business people to get insight and pointers from them and also just to see what it’s like in their daily lives. Snapchat does have some problems like the cyberbullying and the creep aspect to it, but all social media plat forms have that. Another problem being that they sort of lied in the beginning that the snap just disappears to never come back. They’ve also put out some really dumb and unsafe filters out for use such as the filter that allowed users to track how fast they are going causing a few car accidents with people using the app. But other than that, this app to me is a good thing and a revolutionary platform in which social media will be copying for a while.

#Twitter

Twitter: what is it?:

     Twitter is an online news and social networking site where users post and read short 140 character messages called "tweets". Registered users can post and read tweets, but those who are unregistered can only read them if users don’t have their settings set on private. Users access Twitter through the website interface, SMS or mobile app. Twitter got their start in 2006 and really took hold by 2012-2013. Right now, Twitter is one of the top used apps and social media platforms. The statistics of Twitter stated off http://www.statisticbrain.com/twitter-statistics/ are:

·         Total number of registered Twitter users: 695,750,000

·         Total number of active Twitter users: 342,000,000

·         Number of new Twitter users signing up everyday: 135,000

·         Average number of tweets per day: 58 million

·         Number of Twitter search engine queries every day: 2.1 billion

·         Percent of Twitter users who use their phone to tweet: 43 %

·         Percent of tweets that come from third party applicants: 60%

·         Number of active Twitter users every month: 115 million

·         Percent of Twitters who don’t tweet but watch other people tweet: 40%

·         Number of days it takes for 1 billion tweets: 5 days

·         Number of tweets that happen every second: 9,100

     Twitter has its pros, for example: its easy to use. It takes only a minute to tweet and get your thoughts and ideas out into the twitter universe; if a business is using it, it’s a great way to get their brand recognition; It also allows you better access to looking into what celebrities and other big name people are doing. But twitter also has its cons as well, for instance the simple lack of space in tweets. You can only put 140 characters into each message, and when directing a message towards someone, you can only direct it to one person at a time. If you don’t know the analytics, a lot of tweets that you post can get buried in seconds and posts are not private so anyone can comment and start a riot.

#Twitter and #I:

     I’ve seen Twitter used by many of my peers throughout the years. It never really caught on with me while I was in junior high or in high school like it did with most of my class mates. While I was in school, I was mostly only seeing it used by the school to give status updates for things like snow days, PD days, etc. While my friends used it to pretty well to follow trends, celebrities, and people of interest (which I could already do with my Facebook and Instagram). When they actually posted things, it would more than likely just be their status updates they used to be doing on Facebook. When it first started up before it became mostly sharing stories/pictures site, the stuff people were posting was just stuff I didn’t care for or want to see or read about for example, “gone drinking wtb’s going to be a night”, “shopping with the fam this is so boring hml” and sometimes it can be kind of comical such as “wonder how many people I called last night between the hours of 2:30-4 that seen my name an went f*** that guy”. 

     For the most part back then, I only saw Twitter as a “talk-shit website” where people literally do most of there shit talking and bullying on Twitter.  My opinion in the past of Twitter would have been that it’s a horrible platform, almost as bad as Ask.fm for being able to harass and do nothing about it or worse you actually know the person and it could escalate into a physical fight. That’s not even saying what celebrities and other significant figures have to put up with on this site. Most of the tweets towards celebrities are ruthless and absolutely uncalled for but sometimes it is sensible, but the way that the person responds to the tweet is vital.

     After actually using this app to some extent this week, I can see my self continuing to use it but not as one of my main apps, not because it’s a bad app or anything. The way I used to find it in high school is no longer the way I find it now even though the app didn’t significantly change the atmosphere so I actually find it a lot more pleasant to use. It’s just what I use my apps for currently, Twitter wouldn’t be the most interesting or convenient. I like to use Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook because I like to see the videos and long stories with archives of comments to talk to other people in and share. You can do that on twitter as well to some extent but the 140 characters is really limiting. When I do use it, I would certainly fall under the 40% that watch tweets but don’t tweet their selves as stated in the beginning.

  When Twitter gets #Rowdy:

    An example of someone who reacted to a tweet made about them badly would be Bardock Obama (Meme Twitter Page Admin) calling out and talking shit to Rapper/Musician Lupe Fiasco and him responding when he should have just left it.  Bardock called him out and it started a very long argument between the two with thousands of people tuning in also talking shit about Lupe with him still responding. Meanwhile all this publicity in this little stunt didn’t make Bardock look like a “dick” because Lupe got heated and responded to a Twitter troll. He should have left it alone because it showed his bad character and he actually lost a quite a few fans because of the stuff he was saying (this got deleted by Lupe in the following week after it happened).

     A nice few people can actually take this hate and these troll tweets and turn it around for them in a good way. A lot of famous people have gone on Jimmy Kimmel Live and done this segment called “Mean Tweets” where he gets them to read extremely mean tweets about them and record how they react to the tweets. Some people on it got offended and they retaliated back towards the tweet but others have completely turned it around and made it into a joke and showed a more loved and almost down to earth character. *Warning: Video is probably not what you would call appropriate*

Maybe it’s not that bad #Theturnaround:

     Since I’ve been out of high school and I’ve gotten into post-secondary, I’ve started to find more of a use for Twitter, whether its following some company I buy things from or have products of such as game companies to following a few friends that I haven’t seen since high school. I follow a user named @BlizzardCSS, a game company known for “World of War Craft” and a recent hit “Overwatch”, to get the latest information and news about updates, patches, how-to’s, or generally new and cool stuff they’re releasing. Clothing companies and local companies I follow also tweet updates on their twitter account so people can know what new deals they’re bringing in and new products they’re getting. I get live notifications if I want them as soon as the user posts them, keeping me up to date and involved in all the things they’re doing that I could be interested in. The hashtag system on Twitter works outstandingly well so finding any new information about a certain trend or anything really has become extremely easy. When using it as a business, this allows you to group your posts for certain groups. People will know exactly what hashtag to type to get your business page and tweets up. When the Fidget Cube started its online campaign, their use of their own hashtag really helped the product spread around the web using #Fidget Cube

     After actually using this app to some extent this week, I can see my self continuing to use it but not as one of my main apps, not because it’s a bad app or anything. The way I used to find it in high school is no longer the way I find it now even though the app didn’t significantly change the atmosphere so I actually find it a lot more pleasant to use. It’s just what I use my apps for currently, Twitter wouldn’t be the most interesting or convenient. I like to use Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook because I like to see the videos and long stories with archives of comments to talk to other people in and share. You can do that on twitter as well but I’d just rather the apps that I’m already used to. When I do use it, I would certainly fall under the 40% that watch tweets but don’t tweet their selves as stated in the beginning. So, if you want quick, up-to-date information and news about anything, then I definitely recommend Twitter for you.