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Advice to "Newbys" seeking advice.....

First of all, I hate the term "Newby". This community is not some inner sanctum of CBG monks that you have to approach with your hat in your hand. It is just a bunch of folks doing the same thing you are interested in. Walk up and talk to them...

The real advice? Post pictures when you ask for advice. There isn't a person on here that hasn't built their first one, screwed one up, overlooked an obvious fix, or got distracted by a cool song on the radio and glued and clamped a fretboard on backwards without realizing it until late the next day when they have already spent hours shaping the neck. Ok, maybe that was just me.

Nobody here is going to laugh or put down your work. They are simply going to fall all over themselves to help you.

When you go to the doctor, you have to let him look at it.

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on June 29, 2013 at 2:28am

yep

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Permalink Reply by Randy S. Bretz on June 29, 2013 at 2:34am

I always try and give anyone who wants it advise, they don`t have to take it. I`ve been doing this homemade instrument hobby a long time and like everyone one else that's been doing it a while were always a learning something new. As for the term " newby " the old timers here call new builders that, and probably always will.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on June 29, 2013 at 2:58am

I honestly think the new people are more inclined to call themselves Newbys than the more experienced folks are.

I agree with the posting of pictures. Being able to see the problem makes it a whole lot easier to help.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin (Voodoo Rat) Hoelting on June 29, 2013 at 4:49am

That's what I meant Dan. I was just trying to be encouraging.

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Permalink Reply by Reeds Taylor on June 29, 2013 at 3:14am

Being new too building, just a written explanation to a problem may not be enough. Posting a picture to the problem usually solves all confusion. I can say for myself, when I first started building..all the technical gibberish threw me off....but seeing a picture explained everything clearly.

Enjoy your new found hobby!

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on June 29, 2013 at 6:32am

Newbie is a long-time Internet term, going back to the online bulletin board days. It is absolutely proper Netiquette to refer to one's self as a Newbie the first time or two on a site new to you. It immediately identifies you as a novice, not necessarily an idiot ( although people often say things like "He's a complete noob when it comes to ( insert arcane technique here).).

It's kinda like the big L for Learner on Driver's Ed cars: it lets the more experienced know to look out for the less experienced. But Kevin is right: people here will practically jump down a Noob's throat to offer helpful, semi-helpful, semi-unhelpful, and commiserating advice. And after a few months, one is no longer a Newbie.

Which doesn't prevent one from making Noob mistakes occasionally. All of us were Newbies once...

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Permalink Reply by Pascal on June 29, 2013 at 8:37am

i never make mistakes. i got just to good in hiding them :)

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Permalink Reply by Thomas "Duck" Petry on June 29, 2013 at 6:26pm

"This community is not some inner sanctum of CBG monks". It's not? You mean to tell me I shaved my head and bought the robe for nothing? Guess I'll just have to chill out and relate to all the others here who seem to love building these crazy boxes into works of musical art.

As Oily said, "Newbie" is generally accepted terminology for the new arrivals to most any web sites and activities. Nothing to take offense at. There's a lot of knowledge here and after over a year of this stuff, at times I still feel like a "Newbie" on some things when I'm working on a build. Hell, I still have a lot to learn and I turned 67 in April. As an old tool maker I used to work with would say, "anytime you think you know it all, you are about to find out how little you actually know".

OK...Time to go put on my robe and meditate on the sound of one string twanging in the forest with no one there.

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Permalink Reply by Clock The Wolf on June 29, 2013 at 6:58pm

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Permalink Reply by Slowpaw Steve T on June 30, 2013 at 7:21pm

Everybody is a newbie at first, but a word of advice to before you ask questions - check the search facility as many topics that come up have been discussed extensively in the past and keep coming up !

When i first came to CBN i spent weeks just searching, studying plans, videos and build photos and found much of what i needed to know there before i started on 1st build - i still got some things wrong but nothing wrong with that, it's how you learn! (-:

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Permalink Reply by Bama Hound on July 1, 2013 at 11:13am

I had said on a post I put in the web and internet section of this forum. The search engine has quit on this site. It still hasn't been fixed. You can't use what quit. Refer to OP for more.