String Retainer and Bridge

[fhm555]

...BTW I'm self taught too. ...

But I'd bet you actually took the time to study up as you learned. I'm not really what I'd consider a musician, I'm just guy who learned enough bass as a kid to play music with my dad, then later got talked in to playing out by my brother, who is in fact a very good guitar player and musician who taught me what I needed to know to keep up with him.

My right hand is good for two fingers and an imitation flat pick/banjo roll with my thumb and two fingers. Over the years I've learned to play with my index and ring finger or middle and ring finger when one of my regular fingers was injured and/or broken, but beyond that I'm very much the epitome of an old dog and new tricks kind of player.

 

[Brad Johnson]

But I'd bet you actually took the time to study up as you learned. I'm not really what I'd consider a musician, I'm just guy who learned enough bass as a kid to play music with my dad, then later got talked in to playing out by my brother, who is in fact a very good guitar player and musician who taught me what I needed to know to keep up with him.

My right hand is good for two fingers and an imitation flat pick/banjo roll with my thumb and two fingers. Over the years I've learned to play with my index and ring finger or middle and ring finger when one of my regular fingers was injured and/or broken, but beyond that I'm very much the epitome of an old dog and new tricks kind of player.

I actually bucked "conventional wisdom" on several points. So it really wasn't a matter of studying so much as looking at things and figuring out how to refine my playing experiences. For instance I was doing "floating thumb" before there was a name for it.


I also figured out how to really let my amp do more work so I could physically do less, have more control AND sound better regardless of desired volume. That kind of discovery was just plain fun for me. And this was long before the internet.