About The Smelly Tele

Hear It. Learn It. Play It. Here at The Smelly Tele, my goal is to help you hear the guitar and guitar gear you want, learn how to play that guitar, and give you the tools you need to keep playing! You were inspired the first time you purchased a guitar, and I want to help keep you inspired!

Hear the Gear You Want, Before You Buy

Looking to buy a guitar? Feeling confused by all of the choices? You’ve come to the right place! I’ve been playing music for more than 25 years. I have bought and sold many guitars, and I’ve even made one of my own! In the beginning, buying a guitar was overwhelming. I found it particularly difficult shopping for guitars online. Through trial and error, I learned the best way to shop for a guitar is to do your research first. This blog is here to help you with research!

What makes this blog different? I compare apples to apples, not apples to oranges. What does that mean? There are so many things that can make an instrument sound different: recording quality, amplifier, microphones, effects, etc. On each of my guitar review posts, I make multiple recordings of each guitar using the same recording method so you can truly hear the difference between the guitars and their pickups. Each post also gives a complete overview of the guitar and my own ratings on the guitar’s features and overall sound. The idea is once you have done your research, you will have 3 or 4 guitars you are interested in (within budget!) BEFORE heading out to shop for your guitar. If you’re ready to get started, check out this post on the Martin Custom D.

Learn How to Play

I want you to learn how to play your guitar. I’m passionate about playing music, particularly the guitar. I think it’s important to help more people learn an instrument, and I encourage you to pursue any artistic passion whether it’s music, painting, crafts, hobbies, etc. This blog provides a breadth of lessons for beginner to advanced guitar players. I try to provide you with music theory and I also try to show you how to play songs.

There are so many videos and tabs out there on how to play a specific tune, and the execution is close, but a lot of videos fall short. When I learned how to play guitar, and I was inspired by a lick, I wanted to learn that EXACT lick. Not something that’s “close enough.” Close enough didn’t inspire me, and I’ll bet it doesn’t inspire you! You want to learn it exactly like the record, and I want to help you! Learning the songs that inspire you will encourage you to keep learning. I’ll combine some simple music theory with these lessons, so you will understand what you’re doing. This understanding will make you a better musician when you play with others!

Play Music!

And the final part of my motto is PLAY IT! Play that damned guitar to your heart’s content! Play the music you hear! Play the music you learn! Play your guitar! Get excited, because this is what I live for. Giving you tools to “test drive” a guitar at home so you know what it sounds like takes time, and care. Listening to guitars here provides you with an isolated environment so you can really hear the guitar. Have you ever gone to Guitar Center and have 10 other guitarists or bass players blasting an amp, and playing the Sweet Home Alamaba lick they learned last night? If that drives you crazy, welcome to the club!

The next most important thing you need to do after you buy a guitar is to learn how to play it! Go learn your favorite music and get inspired! The guitar is a never-ending journey of learning. You might start learning rock n roll, and dig into the roots and find blues licks or country licks that inspired rock n roll artists. These blues and country licks may lead you to new artists, and you may become a huge blues fan! You may learn more and more blues, and find jazz influences. When you explore jazz music, you may discover that you truly love jazz music! You will be learning guitar licks for the rest of your life if you continue learning what inspires you. You will learn YOUR OWN GUITAR STYLE if you keep on playing!

The Destination

And the last part is to keep playing your guitar. The guitar will always be with you, and you can keep learning and playing for the rest of your life. In sports, you may reach a point where you are past your prime. It’s time to retire, and your 40 (and that’s not a knock on sports…I played lots of sports). But you’re life’s only half over. The guitar will always be there.

Choosing an instrument is up to you and you alone! I do not endorse one guitar over another. This website is just a tool to help you make the right decision for you.

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