Saying farewell to 2017 and bringing in a new 2018

2017 was an ordinary year for me. Nothing terrible happened, but nothing outstanding happened either. I neglected this website and all of my social media channels. I lost my way, but I have plans to get back on track in 2018. One thing that I know will be new, is this website’s design. I am making the transition into a new theme design. Exciting right!?

Well, considering the lack of … everything in 2017. This is a big step forward. But there will be more. So read on to see what is planned. If you care to.

… Saying farewell to 2017 and bringing in a new 2018

Guitar Scarebear

Megatober … the guitar challenge did finish successfully

I’m not* saying that I’m a little bit behind in my blogging, but Megatober was actually a successful challenge for me. I did manage to attempt 31 new Megadeth riffs during Megatober. I just didn’t manage to write about them or the things I learned—other than the riffs themselves—in a timely manner. So I thought as 2016 comes to an end I would wrap up the challenge that was Megatober—two months after the fact.

* I’m saying I am incredibly behind! … Megatober … the guitar challenge did finish successfully

Guitar Scarebear

Megatober hits week three … I’m still going!

As far as Megatober attendance goes, I’ve managed a 75% success rate so far. That’s from the grand total. Not from the 21 days so far. From the 21 days so far, I’ve managed 100%. So I’m totally winning. But Megatober isn’t about attendance. It’s about learning 31 different Megadeth riffs in the month of October. I’m almost certain I’ll nail it. I won’t perfect 31 riffs—I’m not that good a guitar player—but I sure will continue to have fun trying.

Last week’s entry ended with a mention of day 15. So let’s start with day 16’s learning. It is not where the third week began, but it was a bit of a Disconnect. … Megatober hits week three … I’m still going!

Guitar Scarebear

Megatober continues into week two

My monthly challenge to learn a new Megadeth riff a day—which I have cleverly called Megatober—continues. Did I bite off more than my guitar playing skillset can handle? Absolutely. Can you teach an old dog new tricks? Not according to the saying. But I’m very stubborn. I’m very quickly discovering what my limits are, but damned if I’m not enjoying trying these daily challenges.

If you watch the following examples of the second week’s progress, you may not share that enjoyment. Kudos to you for continuing anyway. … Megatober continues into week two

Guitar Scarebear

My Megatober beginnings—So far, so good … So not.

Remember my last blog post? It’s the one before this one that mentions my plans to play a different Megadeth riff on the guitar every day. It’s a challenge I stupidly set myself in an attempt to get back into some regular guitar playing. It’s a challenge called Megatober.

In regards to the daily guitar practice, it’s absolutely working. In regards to choosing sensible songs appropriate for my skill level … Megadeth was a stupid move. I’m way out of practice. Still, I have been capturing daily videos and I thought I’d share some of the less-sucky moments from the last eleven days.

Enjoy? … My Megatober beginnings—So far, so good … So not.

Guitar Scarebear

Megatober … The plan for 31 riffs

One of the reasons I started writing a lot less on this site in recent months, was so I could dedicate more time to the act of guitar playing. Less time writing. More time learning.

To be honest, it’s not gone exactly to plan. I have played more guitar than I had played in previous months, but it hasn’t been enough. I’ve spoken to some friends on Twitter about collaborating and I am yet to get around to that. Thinking about that further, there are more than a few people I would love to do online collaborations with. But my skills have slipped. I need to improve that before it’s too late. I realise this. And I have a plan.

That plan is called Megatober. … Megatober … The plan for 31 riffs

Guitar Scarebear

2015 in review—My five favourite guitar moments

This is a top-five style list. But it’s my top-five list. This is the list of my five favourite guitar moments from 2015. This is the Scarebear 2015 in review article I never thought I’d do. What can I say, I’ve rediscovered the blogging bug.

I’m pretty sure there’s a cure for that. I just don’t care to take it. … 2015 in review—My five favourite guitar moments

Guitar Scarebear

Did you miss me?! No … Me either

52 Pedals. That article series certainly isn’t going to plan is it? I’ve covered 26 different pedal manufacturers which sounds like a small victory, but it isn’t. I could say “Yes! Half way there!”, but as far as the calendar year goes, we are actually in week 37. Epic fail. I have some serious catch-up to do—and right after the last post I made about catching up! Oh well.

I could say I’ve been busy doing all kinds of cool guitar related things. That would be an acceptable excuse right? “I hand carved a solid body electric guitar using nothing but a whittling knife!” … But I’d be lying. The past month or so has simply been real-world chaos. But I’m hopefully now on top of all of that. Why? How? Good questions. I don’t have the answers because I’m not that smart. What I will say though is this. There are new articles, pictures and possible audio/video to come.

Excitement. I can feel it in the air*. … Did you miss me?! No … Me either

Scarebear

52 pedals, week 1—BOSS DM-2W Delay

Every year I like to challenge myself to find 52 different guitar related items from a theme. Two years ago it was 52 guitars. Last year it was 52 amplifier heads. This year I’ve decided to write about 52 different guitar pedals. Knowing this would be the theme, I decided a few days ago to ask folks on social media for suggestions. I just didn’t let people know why I was asking. Evil right?

I asked the same question on Instagram. One suggestion I ended up with was delay. Many individual models of delay were suggested, but I decided to focus on one of the more recent models—the DM-2W—because it’s a very nice blend of old and new.

Let the next 52 article series begin. … 52 pedals, week 1—BOSS DM-2W Delay