M
ost 1970s kids who wanted to become the
next Duane Allman, Chet Atkins or any one of
the cool guitar legends of the era would begin
their journey with a trip to Sears or JCPenney. Head
toward kitchen appliances and sporting goods (but
steer well clear of the Twilight Zone mannequins that
came to life after hours), and the little plucker would
eventually find the music section, where plywood six-
stringers could be had for about 20 bucks. The action
on these starter kit boxes was a mighty long throw,
and that voluminous space between the thin string
CNIIARCHIVES
P208
BY KENT TAYLOR
and the neck required a strong set of fin-
gers, so most pre-teens struggled to muster
anything more than a muddy thoof or a muted
plink from the effort. Learning how to play the
guitar was a painful experience.
That's not how it should be, for either wan-
nabe guitarists or new motorcyclists. In most
SMALL
MEAN
BUT
You might easily mistake
Yamaha's RD200 for a beginner's
bike. It was anything but.
The Yamaha RD200
was a small, 200cc
two-stroke, perfect
for a beginner.
However, that
wasn't the case.
Wheelies were
easy on the
RD200. Maybe too
easy.
