Post: #51

For guitars, two good ones is the way I'd go if you're doing covers. I'd sell your 'ok' gear and spend the money on two solid guitars.
[/quote]

The Mustang III is great. I like using my DS-1 and CH-1 pedals through it on a clean setting; fantastic. The amp has a lot of punch to it for its size. It can get so loud that its like it makes the walls vibrate in my basement music room.

There's a guitar shop in the general area of where I live that can do repairs so I am thinking of getting my left hand Epiphone SG fixed there. I love the tone of the guitar in comparison to my left hand squier strat. It just sounds more 'warm' or 'full' than the single coils on the strat. I've had it since '09. It just needs a whole new imput jack as its punched into the body and is practically useless. If it costs too much to repair then I guess I will replace it.

Yeah. I think that's what I will do. I have my dad's guitar for sentimental reasons, and two lefty electrics I want to keep. Everything else can go. After I do some traveling I will be looking for a new guitar. I'm really keen on getting a maple neck left handed fender standard stratocaster. My computer is working well, my amp is in good shape, as are my pedals and cables, my 5 string bass is still in great shape as is its amp. Yeah I might even just sell off my acoustics as I find them boring. I can save up the money for the strat within 2 or 3 months provided I forego some items. Or I might see about borrowing some money to get one. I don't know.

I have played guitar as a means of coping for about 14 years. My skills are pretty shoddy but I can improve them with more serious practicing. Its a lot of fun just playing power chords through my amp or trying Drop D tuning or drop C.

There's an open mike in my neighborhood pub that I think I'll go to. I want to find people to jam with. There's also a group of people that jam at a place out east of where I am at on Fridays.

My lefty strat squier is in good shape. Its great. I could easily afford some kind of higher end squier if I wanted to but it would be redundant if its not something like a mustang or jazz master or telecaster.

800$ roughly for the standard strat. So I usually get about 650$ to spend on all non essential items a month. So I can afford to save 300$ per month or 400$ per month.

Ehh. I just love the sounds and how fun it is to play.

Post: #52

(05-27-2017 03:10 AM)dain_bramage Wrote:  There's a guitar shop in the general area of where I live that can do repairs so I am thinking of getting my left hand Epiphone SG fixed there. I love the tone of the guitar in comparison to my left hand squier strat. It just sounds more 'warm' or 'full' than the single coils on the strat. I've had it since '09. It just needs a whole new imput jack as its punched into the body and is practically useless. If it costs too much to repair then I guess I will replace it.

Disclaimer- I know f all about electric guitars. But I know enough about electronics to know that a new jack is a five-minutes-with-a-soldering-iron fix. If they want too much then do it yourself.

Post: #53

(05-27-2017 03:49 AM)roberto Wrote:  

(05-27-2017 03:10 AM)dain_bramage Wrote:  There's a guitar shop in the general area of where I live that can do repairs so I am thinking of getting my left hand Epiphone SG fixed there. I love the tone of the guitar in comparison to my left hand squier strat. It just sounds more 'warm' or 'full' than the single coils on the strat. I've had it since '09. It just needs a whole new imput jack as its punched into the body and is practically useless. If it costs too much to repair then I guess I will replace it.

Disclaimer- I know f all about electric guitars. But I know enough about electronics to know that a new jack is a five-minutes-with-a-soldering-iron fix. If they want too much then do it yourself.

Yeah I guess I can.

Post: #54

Because I travel a lot, I want to summarize OP's original topic, and add a few more of my suggestions.

To bring a guitar on the road, we had suggestions for:

-Shorter scale guitars - Parlor acoustics, etc
-Travel guitars - Martin Traveler is one example, Chiquita electric paired with an iphone/irig another example

To NOT bring a guitar on the road;
-Visit local music stores frequently at your destination.
-Stay with friends that play and have guitars
-Play a buskers guitar, or pay a busker to play their guitar

Here is another suggestion I have; visit a local rehearsal studio. At least here in NYC you can pay $20 an hour, and get a guitar, drum set, bass, piano in the studio. Here is a place I frequent for just jamming with friends. Its pricey, but if you go in a few times a week, you could have a few good practice sessions. Guessing they would be cheaper in other locations.

Post: #55

When I travel with my guitar I load the inside of the case with t-shirts and underwear. I can fit a lot of clothes in that case.

Also, I buy stickers of the countries flags that I go to, so my guitar is a reflection of past adventures.

Post: #56

(05-27-2017 02:47 AM)sterling_archer Wrote:  Cool one Rigsby. Was that model BB King used to play?

I think it was, yeah.

I got in to it via Mr. Robben Ford and his good buddy Larry Carlton (AKA Mr. 335). Robben Ford is a big BB King fan. But Robben also plays Teles a lot as well. Amazing guitarist.

It's a jazzer's guitar but you can play anything on it really.

Check out Mr. 335 and Robben Ford here:




Serious fucking funk. Never mind the jazz. It's bastard sick. Head scratching stuff. Check out Larry's son on bass. He's made quite a name for himself.

Robben is playing a very rare Taku Sakashta guitar at the start of this video. A Les Paul copy - Noupaul. He doesn't tour with it any more. It is priceless now. The guitar maker was senselessly stabbed walking through the park in California. Got the guy who did it. Sakashta's guitars go for silly money. Very silly. But Robben makes good use of his.

You might be able to get one for 40,000 dollars: http://www.modernmojoguitars.com/sakashta-noupaul/

But good luck with that.

Robben plays the 335 a lot too (well his Epiphone). Like I said, I could have got an Epiphone for the same money. But Revelation are just kicking it out the park at the moment, and there won't be any more Rosewood boards due to CITES. The one I played was a dream guitar.

Fuck me, it's just a couple of hundred quid. People spend a grand or more on these by Gibson and they are no better. Epiphone can be great though. They used to be built in the old Matsumoku factory in Japan, where they built some of the greatest guitars ever built. That's another story.

This is a guitar you can play jazz/blues/rock/pop on. I'm really looking forward to it. I could have got the Cherry Red. But I reckon the Black will look better when I stick a Bigsby on it.

cheers.

Post: #57

(05-27-2017 03:10 AM)dain_bramage Wrote:  ...

snip

....
I have played guitar as a means of coping for about 14 years. My skills are pretty shoddy but I can improve them with more serious practicing. Its a lot of fun just playing power chords through my amp or trying Drop D tuning or drop C.

There's an open mike in my neighborhood pub that I think I'll go to. I want to find people to jam with. There's also a group of people that jam at a place out east of where I am at on Fridays.

My lefty strat squier is in good shape. Its great. I could easily afford some kind of higher end squier if I wanted to but it would be redundant if its not something like a mustang or jazz master or telecaster.

800$ roughly for the standard strat. So I usually get about 650$ to spend on all non essential items a month. So I can afford to save 300$ per month or 400$ per month.

Ehh. I just love the sounds and how fun it is to play.

One of my favourite guitars cost just 60 bucks. I did the frets and the nut and the saddles... all good. Superb guitar. Will never part with her.

As for open mic - good luck! Can be brutal. Can be fun. Can make new friends. Go for it. Don't knock it till you tried it.

Yeah, don't go spending silly money on a Tele or Strat by Fender or even Squier. But Ok, maybe for a low-end Jazzmaster. Up to you.

Who the fuck gives a shit about Fender or Gibson anymore. Fender are doing ok, Gibson is fucked with quality control. I don't care. I just love buying the cheapest guitar I can find and doing it up. Gonna have to start selling some of them too. Just love them too damn much. Like a harem!

Man, for that money (800$) you could do some serious stuff. You always pay extra for the name and the decal. Don't be a mug and a brand whore.

It's nice to have a couple of guitars though. Different necks, setups. I'm limiting myself to just a dozen and that's it. For electric guitar anyway. Then a dozen basses. A dozen acoustics. Shit, that's 36 fucking guitars!

I also want to get a baritone at some point too.

The world of people gets old quick. The world of guitar never does.

Post: #58

(05-27-2017 03:49 AM)roberto Wrote:  

(05-27-2017 03:10 AM)dain_bramage Wrote:  There's a guitar shop in the general area of where I live that can do repairs so I am thinking of getting my left hand Epiphone SG fixed there. I love the tone of the guitar in comparison to my left hand squier strat. It just sounds more 'warm' or 'full' than the single coils on the strat. I've had it since '09. It just needs a whole new imput jack as its punched into the body and is practically useless. If it costs too much to repair then I guess I will replace it.

Disclaimer- I know f all about electric guitars. But I know enough about electronics to know that a new jack is a five-minutes-with-a-soldering-iron fix. If they want too much then do it yourself.

The jack socket on my Gibson Les Paul was fucked. Sent it back. Still fucked. 1000 bucks guitar!

Jack socket on my Revelation was fucked too. Had to open her up and just pinch it back in to shape.

I've mentioned both these things before. The LP was under warranty so I thought I'd just take advantage. Big mistake. Should have just done it myself. The worst there can be is a bit of soldering or god forbid a new component. Don't trust anyone else on a loved guitar.

In fact, one of my Teles has started playing up. Need a new jack socket job on that too. Oh well. It's the weakest link in the chain.

In fact, there are actually two types of socket/connection and sometimes they don't always get on, so trying a different cable can help. It's true. I have a cable where this never happens (cutting out), but I have a cable where it always does. Then again, I have other guitars where it does not make any difference at all. It's a fucking mystery to me.

I sent a guitar (bass) back to a music shop for them to sort out the horrendous buzz when plugged in. I could not play it. They said they had fixed it. They did not. I sent it back again. It was fucking worse and totally unplayable by this point.

How many times are you prepared to send your guitar back to the shop to just get fucked up again. I fucking hate guitar shops. I do it all myself now. Next time I'll break a fucking guitar over someone's head.

"Oh, it wasn't like that when we done it".

It's hard to know the extent of the taking of the piss.

Broken jacks are part and parcel of guitar. Open her up. Pinch her and tweak it to get contact back. If the contact looks broken, solder her up. Save the time the hassle the wanting to murder people.

Then again, the bass I had that was totally fucked, righted herself. Not a peep these days. Totally solid. It's like the solder joint just fused back together (is that possible?).

Guitars. A mystery.

People that work in guitar shops. Not so much.


(sorry for the cursing, but fuck it, this is serious business)

Post: #59

I see. Yeah better to do it yourself for sure. I don't have the skills yet but I guess I could work on that. Seeing as I have the summer off school. I was thinking of getting one of those guitar kits and putting it together myself and having it all customized. My own paint jobr my own pickups. That would be cool.

A musician family member of mine knows a guy that can build guitars. I could see about that.

The jack is pushed in and there's a dent making it difficult to re attach it. I'd have to show you a picture of it. It doesn't stay in place other than being inside the guitar rather than being connected to keep it in place. I know a guy that might be able to help me. He's family so he won't charge me for the work.

Post: #60

(05-28-2017 11:42 PM)dain_bramage Wrote:  I see. Yeah better to do it yourself for sure. I don't have the skills yet but I guess I could work on that. Seeing as I have the summer off school. I was thinking of getting one of those guitar kits and putting it together myself and having it all customized. My own paint jobr my own pickups. That would be cool.

A musician family member of mine knows a guy that can build guitars. I could see about that.

The jack is pushed in and there's a dent making it difficult to re attach it. I'd have to show you a picture of it. It doesn't stay in place other than being inside the guitar rather than being connected to keep it in place. I know a guy that might be able to help me. He's family so he won't charge me for the work.

Both of my Telecasters have been playing up with that dodgy input jack in to the amp. I just took a screwdriver and opened up the plates and then checked there were no loose connections. There were not. All that it needed was for me to squeeze the thing back together. Don't be afraid now. Give it a good squeeze. It worked perfectly after. I guess that all that plugging in and out loosens it after a bit. Thankfully no soldering needed.

...

I got a new guitar today.








It was only 80 quid in the sale. 100 bucks to you.

It's an exceptional instrument. We aren't just talking MIM (made in mexico) good here. We are talking MIA (made in America) good.

The paint work is flawless. The frets are level. The pups are outstanding. This is the equivalent of an 800 quid (1000 bucks) guitar. It really is that good.

I collect Aria Pro II guitars. This one has just outdone everything I have.

You can find examples of it on Amazon. It's a STG-003. You can find one on ebay now for 50 quid used. Or 95 quid, brand new.

I would advise you to try and find an old copy left in the back room stock of your local guitar shop though, if you can. They had this little beauty of mine for over a year. They just wanted to get rid of it and get some money back.

The electronics on it are very sturdy. The pots and controls are high quality. It's an outlier. A sleeper. Aria do this every now and again. Even the machine heads work perfectly. No corners cut.

80 quid. 100 bucks.

You would need to spend a thousand bucks to get the equivalent of this, if it had a 'Fender' decal on the head-stock.

And man, does it feel great. I know this guitar. I've played it all my life. It's my best friend. And we will make much more beautiful music together.

Life is good. It doesn't get any better than this.

Post: #61

Well I did get a new guitar on my trip I took to the states. I got a mexican stratocaster. It sounds great through my amp, has a humbucker in the bridge position, nice colours. It has some small scratches and dents. They are not really noticeable at all. I got it for 150$ less.

I'm pretty much done buying any more guitars that are more than say 200$ or so. I have to get working on getting my driver's license and pay for gas and insurance and any repairs.


I have what I've wanted since I was 14. That's 14 years. My fende ramp and my stratocaster. I did get a good left handed acoustic about 6 years ago for less than 150$ Canadian new. It still sounds good and I haven't broken any of the strings.

I did see in Guitar Center a guitar that was left handed and basically the same as the one you shared but with a maple fretboard. It was a fender stratocaster and was running at least 1000. There was a right hand less expensive version that was 600.

Man I can't believe those guitars are that inexpensive!
I will look that brand up and see what some cost. I'm thinking a les paul kind of shape would be cool.

I'm glad life is good for you! Positive stuff is important these days.

Post: #62

(06-16-2017 12:11 AM)dain_bramage Wrote:  Well I did get a new guitar on my trip I took to the states. I got a mexican stratocaster. It sounds great through my amp, has a humbucker in the bridge position, nice colours. It has some small scratches and dents. They are not really noticeable at all. I got it for 150$ less.

I'm pretty much done buying any more guitars that are more than say 200$ or so. I have to get working on getting my driver's license and pay for gas and insurance and any repairs.


I have what I've wanted since I was 14. That's 14 years. My fende ramp and my stratocaster. I did get a good left handed acoustic about 6 years ago for less than 150$ Canadian new. It still sounds good and I haven't broken any of the strings.

I did see in Guitar Center a guitar that was left handed and basically the same as the one you shared but with a maple fretboard. It was a fender stratocaster and was running at least 1000. There was a right hand less expensive version that was 600.

Man I can't believe those guitars are that inexpensive!
I will look that brand up and see what some cost. I'm thinking a les paul kind of shape would be cool.

I'm glad life is good for you! Positive stuff is important these days.

If you are after a Les Paul type then check out -
http://ariaguitarsglobal.com/product-cat...pe-series/

I like this one:


And this one:


Not sure of the price, but they will deffo be cheaper than a real one. Gibson quality control is total shit at the moment. Has been for a few years. I got lucky with mine.

Actually, scrub that. Those Aria LP's are expensive. I forgot that Gibson is super litigious when it comes to their stuff. I guess it's worth it for Aria when they do high-end stuff, but they probably don't want to risk it for cheap knock-offs. Not like my Fender copy! Fender are pretty good on the whole as long as you don't take the piss.

My Revelation 335 just got changed because Gibson weren't too happy about how good it was - so the bloke in the shop told me. Then again, they did stop making them and changed the shape.

I've not seen those Aria LP copy guitars around where I am, but you might have more luck. Don't discount ebay and amazon. I prefer not to use them, but if they have something I want... I think you are looking at the same price as a proper Gibson though.

Have a look at Epiphone. You can get one of these - Epiphone Les Paul Special VE -


For about a 100 bucks! And Epiphone are pretty good these days. Maybe better than Gibson in the quality control department.

...

Congrats on the mexican strat. They really do some great guitars. You can get a bad one of course, but you can get a bad MIA too. But let's not knock Fender too hard. Yeah, you pay for the decal. But on the whole, the quality control is an order of magnitude above what Gibson are doing now. In fact, I'm looking quite hard at a particular Squier Telecaster, that is out of this world and only a couple of hundred bucks.

...

Back in Aria Strat land:

I changed the strings and did a little set up on my new guitar. I sandpapered down the edges of the frets and made the satin neck even more satin. It plays like butter. You would spend more than that on a rosewood neck all by itself. Really, it is that incredible. I can't get over it.

I put some Lemon Oil on the fingerboard to condition it a bit and bring out the grain. Nice. It's got a beautiful pattern. Rosewood is actually a harder wood than maple, believe it or not. People think maple is harder because it is usually lacquered to make up for the fact. But there are different strains of each anyway, so it's hard to tell sometimes. This has nothing to do with hard and soft woods. Balsa wood is a hard wood believe it or not - don't get much softer than that.

Anyway, the CITES laws have totally fucked things for the moment. That is why I've gone a bit mad spending money on guitars before they disappear. The ones I want anyway. As I said, you don't need to spend more than a hundred, maybe two hundred quid on a very nice guitar. Maybe up to 300 hundred in a push. Everything after that is vanity.

On another note, but related, I just played my 60 quid Strat that I got a while back and I thought the bridge tone knob was not working. Funny. Just got a new strat and that tone knob on the bridge doesn't work either. Doh. Then I google it and find out it's supposed to be that way!

My first proper guitar was a strat over a quarter of a century ago, and I've been playing them all this time, and only now I find out the bridge tone knob for that pup doesn't work - it's designed that way. What a fuckwit I am.

Here's some links:

http://guitarnoise.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35038

http://menga.net/why-doesnt-the-tone-con...ratocaster

https://www.strat-talk.com/threads/no-to...pup.17276/

https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/s...-control-1


I got a bit confused because my other Aria Pro HSS strat that only has a volume and tone knob - well that tone knob works on all the pups. Weird. Not weird. I'm just a fuckwit. Ah well, I know now.

But that 60 quid strat! It quacks like a duck. It's more strat than a strat. I love it and I would never part with it. The fingerboard is Maple, but it's dirty maple. It's not been treated and is dis-colouring badly. I like it. The wood on the fingerboard doesn't affect the tone but it gives a bit of a different feel. It's light as well coz it is cheap. Incredible guitar. 60 quid! And it's not broke!

I lowered the action on my Aria Strat a bit as I wanted one guitar that has low action. I usually like to dig in and most my guitars are a bit higher than average. Didn't take long and even the intonation was pretty much spot on when I did it. The A string has a bit of fret buzz for some reason. I'll have to deal with that later, but on the whole, when I checked the fingerboard with a fret rocker, the setup was pretty much spot on. I'm still learning about these things.

The tremelo was blocked off and hardtailed. So that was a nice touch from the factory. I'll mess with that later. I like to be able to bend up a whole tone like Jeff Beck. I find a Kahler trem is best for that - can't deal with Floyd Rose. But recently I found a youtube demo where a guy floats his stock strat trem and gets the same effect. I'll give it a go.

Talking of fret buzz. I found out that my Revelation 335 is buzzing like a bastard on the G and B strings around the second fret. Really bad. I need to sort that out. But the action is very low. I could probably cure it by taking it up a notch. Lots of work to do.

I don't aim on buying many more guitars. I have an SG in my sights as the clean sound from that is astounding. Then it is just another Telecaster with a maple board, and I'm good. A dozen guitars or so. Each with different actions and setups, and the odd drop tuning for when I sing. Not extravagant at all.

I'm totally blown away by how good this Aria strat is. Even the tuners are pretty decent. The nut is cut properly. But the thing that really stands out for me is the pick ups. The tonal variation is massive for a guitar at this price. I know enough to know that putting in a set of Lindy Fralins for 200 bucks is not going to make it sound that much better. I lucked out. Again. I'd say it's definitely as good as a MIM strat. Probably not as good as a MIA strat thinking about it now the glow has worn off, but for a 100 bucks, I'm good.

dain, check out those Epiphone LP copies I linked to earlier.

I really want one of these:







The name on the head stock gives it away. It says: 'The Aria' - these were the guitars that were hand-crafted by the master Japanese luthiers. Very expensive. That guitar you could buy for a couple of grand if you had the cash. It's a Les Paul 'copy' but taken to another level.

Good luck in your search.

Post: #63

(06-16-2017 12:11 AM)dain_bramage Wrote:  I will look that brand up and see what some cost. I'm thinking a les paul kind of shape would be cool.

When I originally-upgraded from my beginner guitar I made the mistake of buying a Les Paul.

A lot of musician's I've known over the year have referred to the Les Paul's as 'Widowmakers'. They're heavy, for a guitar, so back and neck problems tend to go along with them if you play them for any length of time.

I'm a strong man, so, I arrogantly thought weight wouldn't be as big of a problem, but there's just a nagging sense of irritation whenever I play the damn thing that I can't quite put my finger on. I've played other guitars - hell, my Yamaha Acoustic is a joy to play and the songs just fall out of that one. I've never written one song on the Les Paul. I guess that's a plus: the songwriting can't hide behind a wall of guitar effects.

I think I developed my wiry, irritated, scratchy lead style - which I tend to think of it as little arcs of electricity sparking in a lab - due to how much I despise playing it. I'm always kind of pissed off at having to use the thing. On the plus side, this stops my ballads from ever sounding like Phil Collins.

My latest girlfriend recently had a little burst of girl power after seeing that stupid 'Wonder Woman' movie with her friends and was challenging me that women can do anything men can do, and better. A couple of days later, she tearfully called me to tell me that my Ute had broken down on the way home and that it 'wouldn't steer' any more. I cycled the 12 ks to where she was to check the problem out: turns out the power steering belt had broken.

When I told her there was no reason she couldn't have driven the Ute home, she protested that 'the wheel was locked' and it was 'impossible to drive now', so I threw the pushie in the back, and told her to get in.

She argued I wouldn't be able to turn it, and by the time she accepted I could easily turn the wheel, due to that whole difference in physical strength thing between men and women that doesn't exist according to Feminists, we were halfway back home.

Of course, I was expected to fix it right away.

I couldn't help but tease her. "Why? We can drive it easily enough." (I figured she wouldn't know that's not a good idea long term).

She got really pissed off then, which was my intention.

My telling her "If you were wearing pantyhose, like a girl, you could have fixed it yourself," didn't help matters.

Good sex later.

Where was I going with that? Oh yeah... playing a Les Paul is - for me - like driving a car without a Power Steering Belt. More demanding, with a nagging sense of inefficiency.

My suggestion: test drive a few different models before you buy a guitar.

Post: #64

I play both ways with a preference for left handed but definitely able to play right handed. Hard to explain... but I switch something off in my head to be able to do it. A shift from one side to another. Does that make sense?


I'm quite partial to stratocaster looking guitars. I have an old Squier from the 90s I got more than a decade ago. Then the bullet strat with humbucker. Then the Barracuda, then the left handed squier and now the mexican strat.

I also have a 5 string bass, a left handed acoustic, and a right handed acoustic, plus a broken F note hole acoustic I got for 2 dollars or so, and a First Act one pickup with a missing saddle. Oh and my 3/4th size acoustic.


I did try a Les Paul a long time ago and in comparison to my stratocaster its a weird guitar. I like the look though. What I noticed is that its easier to reach the higher frets on the SG and stratocaster models. I haven't played one in ages so I can't say for certain whether or not its the right one to purchase.


What has made you guys want to play guitar and what drives you to keep doing it? In my case I like just how fun it is and its a good way to keep myself sane.

Post: #65

(06-18-2017 01:04 AM)dain_bramage Wrote:  What has made you guys want to play guitar and what drives you to keep doing it?

Necessity. It was simply easier to learn to do it from scratch than to keep dealing with any more out-of-control Guitarist Egos, who simultaneously seem to be the most cocky AND fragile of bandmembers.

A couple of years back, I remember spending a few hours rehearsing and playing in a very, difficult, intricate guitar solo, as I'm always pushing beyond the boundaries of my limitations with any instrument I play, so as to force improvement.

I thought the rough demo came out well, for a song I was deeply-ill during the recording of, but when I gave it a more serious mix so as to write the string arrangement, I looked at the solo, and thought: "You know what? Those three notes there are really cool."

I wiped the entire solo except for those three notes, and then repeated them a few seconds later. Now the moment went from baroque to awesomely-stark. Sometimes it's what you don't play.

Try suggesting that to a Lead Guitarist, and see how long your band lasts.

Post: #66

Oh cool! Its nice having you respond to my question! Thank you! That's cool. It is better not to be too complex sometimes.

I have pretty much no experience playing in bands. I did some jams on bass and acoustic with a few people years ago. Also did a few open mikes here and there. I was in a blues band in highschool but seeing as we already had 2 guitarist... pushing 3 that one guy wanted to be I volunteered as the lead singer. It was a lot of fun and I recently got in touch with the bass player... this is a decade later too. I prefer guitar over any other instrument. singing is okay but I find myself to be rather below average.

I've heard from a relative that plays in bands about the dynamics sometimes. The rhythm guitarist in one of his was absolutely abysmal. I saw them live twice. The lead was carrying him as well as the singer and the bass player was solid. Drums were great. But my god... the guy was off.

I've been trying to learn new songs recently. I want to get the rhythm for One by Metallica. The opening part is not too hard.