Friday, December 4, 2015

My New Zad80CE

I recently took delivery via Fedex of my latest guitar a Zager Zad80CE; made by Denny Zager who operates a family run guitar making enterprise in the USA! This instrument is easier to play and gig  with than any instrumemt i have owned so far. Thanks to the built in tuning indicator i can leave my clamp on tuner and pitch pipes at home. Thanks to the custom built construction it does not weigh much, nor does it require much finger pressure on the fret board to get a clear tone out of the light gauge strings.
Everyone who manages to be playing a guitar as an adult was given a guitar, or something that resembled a guitar in childhood. Because wood is porous, humidity is a consideration when storing a guitar before or after it has been played. My first guitar as a child came to me without a hard shell case or a guitar stand. Nobody else at my house played the guitar or knew how to take care of one. But  in all fairness that Harmony guitar had survived up to the point it was given to me. I don't remember anybody telling me why it should not be stored by the wall radiator. This meant it was ruined  shortly after i leaned it against a heated wall. The Zad80CE (a dreadnaught body style guitar with a Venetian cut out for greater fret access)  is able to be shipped direct from the Zager factory to the customer in it's own custom hard shell case with a built in humidity indicator. In this manner the chance of the guitar falling off of a guitar stand or being placed in a hot location that dries it out are minimized. The old Harmony guitar i received  as my first guitar had open tuning gears that sorely needed some sort of lubrication. Since i was unable to move the tuning machines with my childhood fingers, the teeth marks on the tuning pegs betrayed my earnest ambition to tune it. The Zad80CE is easy to tune because the sealed tuning machines it uses are lubricated and  sealed Grover(s). The fact is if you are playing for people out of tune it not only leads to poor ear training. Out of tune instruments are not spectacular or pleasant to listen to from any perspective. Carrying a heavy guitar around the stage at a gig is another thing of the past with the Zad80CE. This has got to be one of the best built and yet lightest dreadnaught body guitar i have ever owned. I like the white binding of the fret board because I can add marks which help me keep my place in dark lounges and other gig venues. I actually own a high end instrument in this category as well as many different mid range guitars from various makers and styles. The Zad80CE has an adjustable truss rod in the guitar neck. This is a facet i look for after i purchased a "big name" fine dreadnaught instrument only to find it had no adjustable point or allen key i could manipulate. That other guitar also had to be set up by a guitar shop so that i could play longer with less hand fatigue. Before playing  I do stretch  and exercise my hands and fingers the way an actual guitarist musician taught me in my teens. It is a good idea to warm up and stretch the hands and fingers by steepling with mild  resistance at the finger tendons before playing since it helps with fine motor control. By overcoming the tendancy to curl the fingers inward to grapple- this activity helps the hands do what is needed on an individual string or fret when playing the guitar or practicing scales and arpeggios, pull offs and hammer ons etc, etc. Zager guitars are advertized to be easy play and it is a pleasure to have a guitar that is set up right but made by an actual guitar player who had a teaching and performing carreer with the guitar before he ever made any guitars! The many considerations incorporated into Zager instruments are why i am among the guitar players who have aquired a Zager guitar. You can find Zager guitar videos on youtube.com with links to the Zager web site. Aquiring this fine instrument was easy and fast delivery made me glad i discovered what Denny Zager and his son Dennis jr have been up to all these years since 1969!

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