Hi Jeff,

Thanks for your elaborate reply! The internal struggle is real sometimes, but I like the sound of the guitar too much to not pick it up and practice. I will definitely keep going, but it is nice to hear some supportive comments like yours.

Currently I have been practicing with a 20 year old Valencia VAL-100, the first thing I did was replace the strings (as they were also 20 years old and quite dirty/dusty/worn and I cleaned up the fretboard). I have measured the action height on the 12th fret for the low E-string (6) and the high E-string (1) and these are the results (metric):

- Low E: 4.1 mm

- High E: 3.7 mm

As a birthday gift I got a "Fender CD-60SCE Blk WN" but that is due to arrive next week. Can't wait to practice on that one.

I also notice that I cramp up a lot with my fretting hand when try to play along with ease songs, cramp in the sense that I almost push the strings through the guitar neck (or my finger). Do you have any pointers on how to losen up a bit?