Hi there, for the last 13 years I have been registerd Blind and was wondering if any of you out there are in a similar situation. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

mrpink, i am not blind but i am curious to know more about you. do you play? what's your set-up? how do you do it? vision is just one more thing i take for granted.

Hey welcome mrpink, do you know Johnny Hiland?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6LMCtPU ... re=related

He's legally blind as he says himself, but man can he play.

Claude.

Hello Mr. Pink and welcome to the Forum although I'm not visually impaired I have a very good friend who is and is a gifted multi instrumentalist,he also owns and operates his own recording studio. He has been blind since 12 yrs old due to a rare hereditary form of cancer I believe it was the same type Jeff Healey had.He hasn't let that slow him down as he is always busy with recording projects and is always in demand for his musical abilities-he's also a fabulous drummer.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Hey, thanks for all your respnses. That Johnny Hiland is amazing. I am nowhere near as talented has he is. It's been all about cover bands for me. I Usually play rhythm but I do a few solos on Stereophonics and Nirvana songs. My main guitar is my Fender Tele 52 Reissue, although I have recently purchased an Epiphone Casino which I also love. The Tele is my prefered guitar because it has a maple neck and black dot inlays ehich is easier to see than a Rosewood board. My amp is a Marshall MA50, no effects on it just Gain and Reverb. I try to keep my rig simple although I do like a bit of Wah(Danelctro Auto Wah). The only thing that I wish, is that I could play with the guitar lover down, Johnny Ramone style. But hey I'm just glad to be playing.

thank you all again

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Fender Tele 52 RI (Japan)
Epiphone Casino
Squier Jagmaster (modified)
Tokia USG50
Epiphone Les Paul Ultra
Marshall MA50
Vox Pathfinder 15

I just love Epi Casinos,I have 2-a natural finish MIC and a 65 John Lennon the Lennon is the most comfortable guitar that I've ever played.BTW it doesn't matter how low your guitar is the main thing is that's it's comfortable to play,I've tried to play the Johnny Ramone-Jimmy Page hanging low way but it just isn't comfortable they must have very long arms to play that way comfortably.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

im not considered visually impaired, but i do get very dizzy when i stare at the idiotbox for a while, like 15 minuts. dunno if its got something to do with my brain or my eyes. but i am physically disabled on my right limbs.

speaking of johnny ramone-i love his style, i've tried to play with my guitar hanging down to my knees before, i can kinda do it but its uncomfortable.

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riley

yep. i gotta admit the low guitar thing looks cool. i tried it for awhile mainly because i'm a big james hetfield fan. truth is i play better with the guitar body centered at my belt buckle.
who the hell am i kidding? i'll never look cool.

that is the same thing which i have been suffering too. i see clouds without glasses.

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***God made men and men made guitar***

Hello mrpink

You are really great. I admire your talent. I am hoping that someday I can hear you play.. Good luck to you!

Well I think we should open ths topic to any sort of disability. As I was also paralyzed on my left side of my body for a while. Here is my story so you get where I'm coming from.

July 7 1997

Went to work as normal making furniture. About 3 hours later I felt a little diizzy and had a sit on my work bench. When I tried to stand up I went SMACK!!! Next thing I'm in Hospital wired up to all kinds of things. After tests and scans I was told I had suffered a bleed on my brain which caused me to have a stroke. I couldn't move my left side of my body at all. As the days past I noticed how funny eveything looked, very dark all the time even though it was in summer. I kept asking for the light to be put on. After more tests I was told the bleed had damaged the Optic nerve which sends signals from the eye to the brain. Anyway to cut a very long story short, I nad a lot of Physiotherapy and a great family and girlfriend by my side for support. After many years of rehabilitation I was able to do simple things like catch a bus or walk to the local shop, things we all take for granted.

So for me picking up the guitar again was my next challenge. I tried but it seemed almost impossible, but I wasn't ging to give up. I took it slowly and started with simple open chords and after a while progressed to barr chords and even a solo (Teen spirit). It really is all about practice practice practice. I now jam with a freind of mine once a week and we are looking to get a covers band togetber doing Ramnes, The Clash, Nirvana and Stereophonics material. Well that's it in a nutshell. So if I can help anybody else in a similar situation then I would be more than willing. Off to practice now guitar at belt buckle level for me too.

Welcome to the Forum mrpink and heavymetalguitar! mrpink, sorry to hear about your disability. Glad that you have a great attitude and are a guitar player.

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

Dude! you wont believe it! unfortuanetley ive had a stroke to, on my right side at the age of 9, im 14. finally someone on here i can relate to. i'll tell you my story from memory;

it happened at school, we were playing in the sandpit, i was crving out something with my right arm, and suddenly i fely very very dizzy, then i couldn't feel or move my right arm or side for that matter. then i realized i couldn't talk. the bell went, i was left lying out in the sandpit when a teacher came and eventually picked me up. i cant remember anything else about the accident, but i do remember me waking up with a bunch of tubes going inside and outa me, and a doctor tryed to describe that i had a childhood stroke to me, but i couldn't understand anything at that point. my right side remained un movable for about 2 minths, when i finally got some movement back, followed by many months of rehabilitation. the doctors are not sure but they think i have a form of dystonia in both my right limbs. i hate it. but im so glad i found someone whos on the same boat as me, sometimes i feel like im the only one in the whole world. i can barly do stuff like picking up a pencil without my hand spasming up, so thats pretty damn frusteating if you look at all the other things compared to picking up a pencil. the doctors say i have post stroke depression, which is kinda understandable, but sometimes when my guitar playing goes right, its the best feeling in the world i reckon.
Do you play lefty or righty?? i play right, and play grunge, punk, alternaive, and alot of the times i play my own songs, which i would consider sludge metal/grunge maybe? but i dunno, i cant hold a pick at the moment cause the other day i had an injection thats suposed to relax the muscles, and my pointer finger automatically goes out, which is very frusterating.

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riley

This is amazing. I am so glad I started this thread, the response is unreal. To find soneone else on here who has had a stroke is unbelievable. You say your 14, I'm 38 and I was 25 when I had the stroke. I know EXACTLY what you mean. Whenever I learn a new song/chord/solo, I get such a buzz that is undescribable.
I play righthanded which means my affected hand has to do the fret work which is why I keep things simple and it's mostly Ramones, Nirvana,The Clash,The Strokes,Stereophonics, Sex pistols,AC/DC, New York dolls and The Faces. Hope we can pass on some tips to each other. All I know is my guitars have kept me sane over the last 13 years and I want to pass on ny experiences and things I have learned to others in similar situations so they know they are not alone.
Thank you

Paul

Hi Mr.Pink I'm glad that you stuck to the guitar in the face of adversity, that's the type of tenacity that's inspiring to guys like me who suffer from neuro-muscular problems in their hands.Guys like you,Riley,Les Paul and Django Reinhardt are to be commended for your devotion to your craft.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.