Looking for advice on Guitar Clinics

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CaptainApollo
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Looking for advice on Guitar Clinics

Post by CaptainApollo »

Hi All,

I'm going to my very first Mark Tremonti guitar clinic next week, got it as a present from the other half. :D
My dilemma is, by I've recently bought myself a new PRS guitar, but unfortunately delivery is very slow and it looks unlikely to arrive on time for the clinic :(

And even if by some miracle it does arrive on time (or I could bring my 20 year old Yamaha Pacifica), I'll be flying from Ireland to the UK for the gig, and I don't really trust Ryanair to handle my guitar with care :no

So leading to my questions:
Has anyone gone to a guitar clinic before?
What should I expect?
Do many people turn up without guitars?

It feels somewhat foolish to not bring a guitar to a guitar clinic.
But given I'm flying to the gig and I don't have a hard case, I don't want to take the risk.

Looking forward to the gig and clinic regardless, just overthinking things and the thought of shame if I'm the only one without a guitar :lol

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Ryan
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Re: Looking for advice on Guitar Clinics

Post by Ryan »

I’ve done the clinic before. There were a few without guitars that bought it just to witness/hang/do the stage rig tour thing. Seemed odd to me though.

As for flying, if it’s not too expensive, you could purchase a second seat for your guitar. I’ve never done that, but heard people have before.
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Blackbird
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Re: Looking for advice on Guitar Clinics

Post by Blackbird »

Have a look at the review I posted a few weeks ago: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3721

The clinic this year is very different to those of past years because it's officially a Guitar and Songwriting clinic. At least in Leipzig (where, admittedly, Mark overrun by 30 minutes), the songwriting part was actually the larger one.

The guitar part mainly consisted of him showing us what he does in order to improve, with a focus on improvising. He then played a few AB solos and gave us the opportunity to ask questions about specific parts of them. That's bascially the only part where you could need your guitar, i.e. to play along and try to put his tipps into action, but from my perspective, it's not even remotely worth it if bringing a guitar with you is that complicated. You're really not gonna miss out on anything.

Just go there without a guitar, enjoy what he has to say, enjoy what he shows you, and you'll have an amazing experience. I didn't bring one either and I didn't miss it for a single second (I'm not a great guitar player though).

abw1987
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Re: Looking for advice on Guitar Clinics

Post by abw1987 »

I went to a clinic during one of the Tremonti tours and out of maybe 5 of us who attended, there was one guy who did bring a guitar but only to get it signed, as he couldn't play at all. So he just watched, which was cool enough to see the magic up close and personal in such an intimate setting. From what the previous poster describes, it sounds like this clinic is even less focused on teaching technique, so I'm sure you'll be fine attending without a guitar in hand.
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Andy92
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Re: Looking for advice on Guitar Clinics

Post by Andy92 »

I would only bring a guitar if driving. Probably not worth the cost to fly one for the time length unless if you just really want it signed.
anguyen92 wrote:Oh well. Deal with it.

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gbruin
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Option C - Ask Tim Tournier to grab you one of Mark's for the lesson

Post by gbruin »

It's totally fine to attend without a guitar. Many people do.

If you really want a guitar with you, there are a couple things I'd recommend. Whenever I travel with my guitar, it is always carried on and stowed in the overhead. I would never ever check a guitar with luggage these days. Ever. Never. I have a hard case when I travel, but if you carry your guitar with you the whole time, a soft case should be just fine.

Another option, if you don't want to lug your guitar around but really want one to play at the lesson, is to rent a guitar at your destination. One time I travelled to Milwaukee and there was a Guitar Center in the same parking lot as my hotel. I had a lot of downtime over the weekend so I popped over and rented a beautiful gold top Les Paul for the weekend for under $100.
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