Well, after about a 20-year hiatus, I'm back to playing guitar. My dearie has facilitated the acquisition of an OM type from John S. Kinnard.

I got my start on guitar on an old Stella that was in the family, then for my 16th birthday got a Yamaha classical, which I mostly fingerpicked.

About 20 years ago, I took up clawhammer banjo, and neglected the guitar in the meantime. astro wanted to get me back to the guitar and thought that if I had a new one, I'd feel obligated to play it... I guess he's right.

I've been trying to figure out what kind of music I'd want a guitar for and now that I'm starting to noodle about on it, what comes out is sort of an old 1930's country sort of thing - Woody Guthrie, Maybelle Carter, "Goodbye Old Paint", etc.: strummy, with a little bit of melody in the bass or middle strings, or some simple bass runs. Definitely song accompaniment, not solo instrumentals. Nothing particularly fast, either,

I didn't use picks on my classical guitar (I'm no Willie Nelson ;-) I find I'm inclined to use a flat pick on steel strings: the downpicking feels like what I do on banjo. When I put on a thumbpick, I get confused, though I know that's what some folks who I like the sound of use.

(This guitar would do fine for fingerpicking, too, so that may come later, also string band accompaniment strumming, if I can get the speed up...)

Anybody else into making that kind of sound (the Guthrie, Carter one)? How do you go at it?

Any songs or players or albums you'd recommend of that era or flavor?

Any other thoughts or encouragements?

Muchas gracias in advance --

~ Becky in Long Beach