Post: #26

Just had my first band practice with my new band tonight. Pretty psyched. Shit's gonna be pretty sick

Post: #27

Two questions for fellow guitar players:
1) Do you have your right hand finger nails grown out?
I've been growing mine and I love to play classical with them, but they sometimes drive me crazy. It looks bad, feels weird, and I've already scratched myself in the face a couple of times. Plus, I get paranoid I'll hurt girls when I'm fingering them

2) Have any of you ever sanded your guitar necks?
I sanded both my guitars' 2 weeks ago and I'm loving the result. Your hand just glides so much faster and with much less effort, and by the end of a long jam or practice it doesn't feel sticky or oily, so I'm really liking it so far. Any cons? I've read that if you sand it too much, the truss rod may be unprotected against outside climate/weather and that may damage the neck, but I've only sanded the lacquer, the paint is still there, so I think I might be ok.
I also plan on removing the frets and doing some extra sanding on the fretboard when I get a soldering iron.

Post: #28

No. I mostly always use a pick, or I use my fingers rather than nails when I'm without one.

I quite like a bare, oiled neck, but my main guitar has a stained and lacquered neck. I don't find it causes any real issues, but then I'm pretty much used to it. I usually just go over my fretboard with a wire scourer and some fine sandpaper when I clean it. Removing the frets is a lot of effort, and my guitar has a very intricate inlay design, so I don't want to risk damaging it.

Post: #29

(01-21-2013 12:43 PM)Architekt Wrote:  I usually just go over my fretboard with a wire scourer and some fine sandpaper when I clean it. Removing the frets is a lot of effort, and my guitar has a very intricate inlay design, so I don't want to risk damaging it.

I've tried using a fine sandpaper on one of the guitars' fretboard, and while it feels smoother and the guitar seems to have more sustain now, I couldn't reach the whole fret with it, so the edges are still the way they were before and only the center of it is smoother.

Post: #30

(10-03-2012 01:41 PM)thedude3737 Wrote:  Thing with classical is it's a discipline. You don't go into classical with a blues or rock background; you go into classical from square one. Why? Because to play classical well it's REALLY small details they don't cover in blues or rock; hand posture, body posture. Think of it like

Classical:Rock
Ballet:Hip Hop

I've taught tons of dudes who've played guitar for 5 years, 10 years, they have so many bad habits to break. Can you learn pieces like Asturias or Romanza without taking on the hardcore classical discipline? Yeah, but to other guitarists it shows.

All I'm sayin is, if you're gonna go classical, do it right. Check out Aaron Shearer's instruction books, it's a good start. Learn the Segovia scales. After that it's the Giuliani right hand exercises and the Pujol left hand exercises. Use a metronome. Be hyperaware of bad habits and do your best to slow down and change them. Splurge on the occasional private lesson.

I'd say you can start picking up dope classical songs after a year or two of daily practice. Stuff like the Bach piece above, Asturias, Sor's Etude 17, maybe a tremolo piece (recuerdos de la alhambra)

I just got a killer deal on this guitar and want to start learning classical guitar.

I learned to read sheet music for bass in highschool and have also been fucking around with a real shitty guitar since then too. I never learned that many songs, but I wrote a bunch of my own.

I started with "romance" by anonymous and I've noticed I'm real bad with only using my index/middle finger to pick (I guess habits from the bass days).

I'm looking at the exercises/scales you mentioned, but what would you say are some of the bad habits I should be watching out for are?

Post: #31

Good discussion...love to see some musician talk. Some useful comments on live music and gaming crowds are in here

Post: #32

(10-03-2012 06:13 AM)Architekt Wrote:  come out and chat about what you're playing, what you've learned, where you're playing, all that good shit. Tips/help and advice can go here, too.

Been playing guitar since I was 12 (now 35). Grew up with 3 uncles around me who are musicians, so it's in the family I guess.

Have never played in a cover band, always originals since I was 17 (which I write/co-write). Nothing against cover bands, I just get a bigger kick out of showcasing the stuff I've done, even if no one gets into it, haha.

First couple of bands were guitar duties only, but eventually I worked my way up to front-man for subsequent projects, after finding my voice so to speak. 3 piece bands (guitar/vox, bass/backing vox and drums) are what I prefer, kind of like the power trio approach.

My style of writing is in the alt rock vein, with a bit of blues rock thrown in. I do get into creating mood through ambient sounds too, so think extended intos/outros.

Although I'm a song-writer, I don't read music (just tab, but that's more for playing covers). Obviously I know chords etc, but my approach to writing is about translating mood/emotion into music, which thankfully I'm decent at doing without the need for knowledge of anything more technical. Writing lyrics hinges around the delivery of words, how they flow, then selecting the most appropriate words to suit the vocal melody.
I find writing lyrics (and the sound of certain words) as enjoyable as writing the music itself.

Scaled my gear back a fair bit after getting divorced recently. Right now I've just got a Martin HD-28V and a handful of pedals. Sold my Strat, Tele, ES-335, Marshall JCM800 combo and THD Flexi 50 head and cab to cover some costs. Plan on eventually building the stable back up again over time.

Not gigging at the moment, but am always writing, even if there are mini hiatus's in there at times.

Music is my passion, and I'll always pursue it one way or another throughout my life.

If you're a serious muso, even if confined to the bedroom, then get onto this forum - it's the best resource for gear/tone etc:

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php

Post: #33

Mind if I bud in guitarists?
Just play the keyboards/piano here..

Post: #34

(01-10-2014 11:38 PM)WesternCancer Wrote:  I started with "romance" by anonymous and I've noticed I'm real bad with only using my index/middle finger to pick (I guess habits from the bass days).

I'm looking at the exercises/scales you mentioned, but what would you say are some of the bad habits I should be watching out for are?

Definitely get going on the Mauro Giuliani right hand exercises. There are Youtube videos showing proper right hand technique.

It's hard for me to describe perfect right hand technique instead of showing you, but I'll try:

For Romance, it's a repeating right hand arpeggio throughout the piece, starting with a bass note plucked by the thumb, and a descending arpeggio starting with the 1st string and ending on the 3rd string. Your ring finger is assigned to the 1st (E) string, your middle finger the 2nd (B) string, and your index finger the 3rd (G) string.

The common newbie mistake when attempting these right hand arpeggios is to pluck the strings with much more movement than necessary, and also for them to pluck the strings outward, instead of inward.

When I say outward, I mean your fingertip plucking the string, and recoiling away from the guitar. You don't want this. The tendency is for fingers to curl excessively; imagine all of your fingers doing this at once and becoming a claw. Again, not what you want.

Instead, you want to visualize the power in your finger coming from your knuckle; makes sense as this is the strongest joint, and your finger joints get progressively weaker the closer they get to the tip.

Rest your fingers on their assigned strings as I mentioned above. One by one, pluck the strings, and as you pluck, leave each finger resting on their respective strings. For instance: pluck your index finger while your middle and ring finger rest on the 1st and 2nd strings. Then return your index finger. Next, pluck your middle finger with your index and ring fingers resting on their strings. Return your middle finger to its resting position. Next, pluck your ring finger with your index and middle fingers resting on their strings. Return your ring finger to its resting position.

As you pluck, make an effort not to pluck "out" in a claw manner, but applying pressure to the string, with the strength of the pluck coming from your knuckle and the first joint closest to your knuckle. Your finger tips should be move ACROSS the string, not raising above the string after the pluck.

By plucking like this, your fingers will have greatly increased autonomy from each other which is a huge hurdle to overcome: when you move a finger the adjacent fingers tend to move as well. There are hundreds of left and right hand exercises dedicated to overcoming this.

If this didn't make sense I'll just make a dailymotion video to describe what I'm talking about. Give me a couple days.

Post: #35

(10-04-2012 11:39 AM)youngman Wrote:  PRS.....Mesa Boogie...12 string Yamaha..12 string Fender..6 string Martin..a couple of cheap but great Spanish Guitars...I had a lot of great guitars...all stolen though...damn..I don´t play much anymore..kind of lost the feeling..don´t know why..

I had a '78 P-Bass (looked like this but had a built-in Alembic pre-amp)...

...stolen out of my car.
Three years later a detective knocks on my door asking if I owned said bass -- the cops found it at a pawn shop (which they check regularly for stolen merch, it seems).

Lesson Learned: WRITE DOWN YOUR SERIAL NUMBERS. (duh)
(And don't leave gear in the car overnight.)

Post: #36

I have been playing guitar since I was a young child, probably starting around the age of 5 or younger. Both of my parents played and had guitars around the house. My mom a folk player, my dad country. My brothers played. I also play drums pretty well and trumpet, as well as piano. Have played covers and recorded and written lots of music, still write and record now but gave it up in my early 20's, I am 38 now. I was a roadie for a few bands like Ride and Afghan Whigs, Superchunk and few others of that genre.

Right now I have a Fender Am Jazzmaster, Am Strat, Guild acoustic, Epiphone(60s hand me down from dad), a Gibson parlor style L-00, Seagull acoustic. Buying a new Jazzmaster soon, my buddy at Fender is sending me a new one right off the line.

Post: #37

(01-11-2014 03:02 PM)thedude3737 Wrote:  

(01-10-2014 11:38 PM)WesternCancer Wrote:  I started with "romance" by anonymous and I've noticed I'm real bad with only using my index/middle finger to pick (I guess habits from the bass days).

I'm looking at the exercises/scales you mentioned, but what would you say are some of the bad habits I should be watching out for are?

Definitely get going on the Mauro Giuliani right hand exercises. There are Youtube videos showing proper right hand technique.

It's hard for me to describe perfect right hand technique instead of showing you, but I'll try:

For Romance, it's a repeating right hand arpeggio throughout the piece, starting with a bass note plucked by the thumb, and a descending arpeggio starting with the 1st string and ending on the 3rd string. Your ring finger is assigned to the 1st (E) string, your middle finger the 2nd (B) string, and your index finger the 3rd (G) string.

The common newbie mistake when attempting these right hand arpeggios is to pluck the strings with much more movement than necessary, and also for them to pluck the strings outward, instead of inward.

When I say outward, I mean your fingertip plucking the string, and recoiling away from the guitar. You don't want this. The tendency is for fingers to curl excessively; imagine all of your fingers doing this at once and becoming a claw. Again, not what you want.

Instead, you want to visualize the power in your finger coming from your knuckle; makes sense as this is the strongest joint, and your finger joints get progressively weaker the closer they get to the tip.

Rest your fingers on their assigned strings as I mentioned above. One by one, pluck the strings, and as you pluck, leave each finger resting on their respective strings. For instance: pluck your index finger while your middle and ring finger rest on the 1st and 2nd strings. Then return your index finger. Next, pluck your middle finger with your index and ring fingers resting on their strings. Return your middle finger to its resting position. Next, pluck your ring finger with your index and middle fingers resting on their strings. Return your ring finger to its resting position.

As you pluck, make an effort not to pluck "out" in a claw manner, but applying pressure to the string, with the strength of the pluck coming from your knuckle and the first joint closest to your knuckle. Your finger tips should be move ACROSS the string, not raising above the string after the pluck.

By plucking like this, your fingers will have greatly increased autonomy from each other which is a huge hurdle to overcome: when you move a finger the adjacent fingers tend to move as well. There are hundreds of left and right hand exercises dedicated to overcoming this.

If this didn't make sense I'll just make a dailymotion video to describe what I'm talking about. Give me a couple days.

Thanks man! I think I get what you're saying I'll practice all that stuff and look up the proper postures. I think my worst habit will be that I always played my electric lying down on my bed or in fucked up positions in my chair.

Post: #38

Any recommendations for a light weight, sturdy acoustic guitar gig bag?

Post: #39

(02-15-2014 11:13 PM)soup Wrote:  Any recommendations for a light weight, sturdy acoustic guitar gig bag?

Road Runner Polyfoam
I've had one of these for 2 years. It fits my nylon guitar and semi hollow. Light and good protection.

Post: #40

In my younger years i was really into extreme death metal, this was one of the first song's ive learned on the guitar (took me a whole year)




as i grew older i fell in love with Bossa Nova





i also enjoy singing, i've studied the metal Vocal technique of screaming , that gave me a very solid base to sing bossa nova and MPB (popular brazilian music), it strengthen the diaphragm and pulls the voice out of the head and throat and places it in the chest, increasing overall vocal projection.
Bossa nova vocal's are very low-volume but requires an enormous control of air output to create harmonics and tone

Post: #41

Really? I've had two roadrunners and they fell apart. I think that's guitar centers own brand.

Post: #42

Guys in bands - what are some of the ways you get people to give a shit about your music? I'm 2 albums and an EP deep and it's like pulling teeth to get anyone to care. (Granted, we do industrial so it's not like we have a huge scene anywhere.)

Post: #43

Let's get the obvious #1 out of the way: stop doing industrial music

Post: #44

(02-16-2014 01:05 PM)aphelion Wrote:  Let's get the obvious #1 out of the way: stop doing industrial music

Laibach can pull. They came to NYC once and the first thing they asked my friend was where they could go to meet girls.

Post: #45

(02-16-2014 01:05 PM)aphelion Wrote:  Guys in bands - what are some of the ways you get people to give a shit about your music? I'm 2 albums and an EP deep and it's like pulling teeth to get anyone to care. (Granted, we do industrial so it's not like we have a huge scene anywhere.)

you can be eddie van halen or mozart , most people these days don`t care about harmony, melody, rhythm , etc

People mostly respond to the symbols and lyrics ingrained in the song than anything else (almost all viral songs released in the 5 years consisted of only this) people don`t wan music, they want memes , they want art as a social lever, something they can relate with other people

make some stupid videoclip that dumb people will share with others and voila, youtube is the best platform for this

here are some examples of how this shit works on Brazil ( we practically dominate internet social media)

take a look at this crap

13M views






19 M




The theme in the 2 videos : slumboys who like to flaunt money and lifestyle they don`t have (notice the sealed red label bottles in the second vid(probably rented for shooting the video))

if you want people to care about your music you don`t need a band, you need a brand

Post: #46

(02-16-2014 02:14 PM)Scesci Wrote:  if you want people to care about your music you don`t need a band, you need a brand

Spot on, this describes the absolute majority of mainstream music.

Post: #47

I'll post my stats in-case anyone has questions.

I've been playing guitar for almost 15 years now, and I have been engineering/mixing/producing indie and rock records for a little over five years. I mostly just work on records now, but I have a past full of touring and teching.

Guitars: Gibson Les Paul std., Gibson SG std., G&L ASAT Classic, Gibson SG Special (x2), Martin DC16GTE
Amps: Orange AD30 (twin channel), Orange Rocker 30, Marshall JCM 800 2205 (1986), Vox AC15
Cabinets: Mesa 4x12 traditional, Mesa 2x12 traditional, Marshall 1960AV

I have bought and sold a lot of boutique amps, so I know how most of the tube amps on the market sound and act. Feel free to ask me anything from acquiring certain types of tone to how to set up a guitar properly.

I also do a lot of mixing of studio sessions for groups. I am proficient in Pro Tools, so feel free to ask me anything regarding that, EQ, compression, signal path, mic placement, etc.

Cheers.

Post: #48

Any fellow producers here?
Just got my mini-studio set up here in London and bought the full line of Waves plugins.

Post: #49

Yeah man. I produce studio music. However, the signal path for my mixing rig at home is:
8-core MacPro: Pro Tools 9 -> Apogee Rosetta 200 -> TC Electronic knob -> ADAM A7 monitors.

I own and basically only use the following plug-ins:
Waves SSL collection
Waves CLA compressors
Massey DeEsser
SoundToys Echo Boy
SoundToys Decapitator
AudioEase Altiverb

Edit:
forgot drumagog and melodyne. I don't use those much though. I usually engineer well enough not to replace drums, and produce well enough not to have to tune vocals.

Post: #50

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