Are there any guitar players lurking about?

[jmcclain19]

As an extremely early christmas present, my better half surprised me with a shiny new bass guitar when I got home this weekend.

I haven't picked up a bass in many years, since I had a few lean months in college and had to sell off just about everything that wasn't vital for survival, but I'd been talking about it for a few weeks since a new guitar store moved in right next door to her work. I used to play every day, and the last two nights of monkeying around with it brought back a slew of emotions and joy I used to get in playing.

She picked me up a Stagg BC300, which got pretty solid reviews from Harmony Central.

http://www.stevesmusiccenter.com/StaggBC300-NBig.jpg

It's a thing of beauty - a really solid entry level guitar. Makes me long for my early 90's Fender P-Bass that I spent all those years on, but this will do just fine as I ease back into the world of music.

Just amazing how a few minutes plucking and I was able to jump into all the songs, riffs and lines I committed to memory and how much time and energy I put into playing.

So I'd like to know, are there any other guitar players around on Redszone?

[SunDeck]

I own a guitar, but would never call myself a "guitar player". It's a nice instrument, solid top, a big dreadnaught- not a Martin, but a very servicable Washburn that I bought on a lark a few years back. My playing is limited to accompanying my wife on fiddle or to provide the backbone for sing alongs with the kids.

[GIK]

Have a Fender strat that I haven't picked up in a few years...keep telling myself I need to do that.

[dsmith421]

I play a Taylor 314--it's probably the single most expensive item I own (and yes, I'm including my car).

Unfortunately during law school I practiced substantially less and am now pretty useless, but in college I was a decent fingerstyle guitar player and enjoyed playing and singing the weirder, more perverse folk songs I could get my hands on.

My New Years' resolution is to play at least 30-45 minutes a day once I move for my new job.

[Johnny Footstool]

I play an Ibanez RG570. Like a lot of people, I put it away for a few years after college, but I've been playing pretty steadily for the past 4 years or so, and I'm learning a lot.

My band needs a bass player. You interested in moving to KC, jmcclain? :)

[Joseph]

I started out as a bass player, still have most of my old rig, '78 Gibson G-3, Hartke Head, Fender Cabinets etc etc. I did the band thing in high school and just after before I finally wised up and went to college. I absolutely could not play guitar in my teens save a few songs. I just thought I couldn't do it at all. But to my surprise a few years ago on a whim I picked up a Fender Telecaster and started toying around with it and before I knew it I could play most anything I set my mind to playing. I mean I wasn't Page or anything, but I could do most of the music I listen to.

I'd love to get another one.

[RedsFan75]

I have a 1972 DiGorgio Classical Guitar. I got started playing in the early 70's and played with bluegrass, country, and southern gospel groups for years. Started playing bass in the late 70's, (Still do on occasion. A Yamaha 5-string) THEN in college I discovered Jazz. I had a wonderful Gibson Archtop and loved and played that a lot until it was stolen. Currently just playing my classical and looking for another archtop, one in a price range I can afford. :D

[dman]

I have a Warmoth that I custom built. It's a Jackson Soloist style body and has a Strat style neck with a Strat style reverse headstock. The body is made from Honduran mahogany, so it's kinda' got that Les Paul tone to it. Beautiful guitar though.
Don't know how into hardware you guys are, but this has a recessed original Floyd Rose bridge and a Seymour Duncan George Lynch Trembucker in the bridge plus two DiMarzio singles in the mid and neck position.

[pedro]

I have several guitars. One is a 1960 Kay Swingmaster. It looks really cool but needs some work.

http://www.ggjaguar.com/swingmas.jpg

[dman]

Pedro, I don't what model year it was, but I had the joy of playing some jazz riffs with a swingmaster a couple of years ago. Sweet sounding instruments. My Warmoth is dear to me because I built it, but as far as tone and playability goes I like a Yamaha Pacifica 812W with the Wilkinson bridge and Sperzel locking tuners.

http://www.yamaha-europe.com/picture_archiv/products/10_Musical_instruments/guitars_basses_amps/electric_guitars/pacifica812w_medium_jpg.jpg

[RedFanAlways1966]

Some sweet looking and sounding (from reading, not hearing) guitars here. That is a nice looking bass, jm.... I hope you enjoy it (I am sure you will).

I have 9 guitars, 3 basses and 3 keyboards. I have been makin' music (mostly hard rock-heavy metal) for quite some time. Gigged on the weekends for about 11 years in bands with names like Absolut Rukus, Doomsday, ShockWave and Four Ass Monkey. Still play with a group of friends in the basement studio every other weekend. Here's the list of axes...

Gibson Les Paul Studio, 2001 (maroon)
Gibson XPL Flying V, 1985 (creme)
Gibson Standard Nighthawk, 1995 (sunburst)
Jackson Rhodes RR-1 V, 1994 (black)
Charvel Rhodes V, 1992 (red)
Epiphone Les Paul Special, 1998 (Autographed by Dream Theater)
Washburn Lyon, 1990 (custom painted)
Kramer Focus 5000, 1987 (white)
Epiphone Mini Flying V, 1982 (red/black)

[ghettochild]

http://www.phate.tngamer.com/images/guitars.jpg
left to right
mini strat-i saw this at a pawn shop and i thought it was awesome lol, i'm gunna fix it up and sticker it up and then hang it up lolol
epiphone special II-got this for xmas about 2 years ago, when i really started getting into guitars. its ok
ibanez acoustic-nothing special about this one, but good lord do i love this thing...its probably what i spend a majority of my time on and where i get a lot of my licks from.
fender p-bass-my first instrument i got about 4-5 years ago. i mainly pick, no plucking or slapping. everythings worn in and i got my groove in it.

and of course my goofy kitten that decided to join in the picture too. ;)

i've been playing for a better part of maybe 4-5 years. started out with my bass, and then recently transitioned to guitar, mostly acoustic.

i make up a lot of my own stuff, in fact...thats all i do lol.

i use a program called tabit (http://www.tabit.net) which is where you can put down your music in the form of tabs and it plays it back in MIDI. you can set up your guitar, bass, drum tracks in there, and theres so many styles you can go with. if anyone would like to get it, pm me and i'll zip everything up and send it your way.

anywho here is an example of how everything sounds, its my work, took me about 2 hours to make and everything. clicky (http://www.phate.tngamer.com/mymusic/song7_edit_ghettostyles.mid)

ya its really repetitive but i think it sounds cool lol.


also for those who are constantly having to buy strings---boil your strings. put maybe a teaspoon of vinegar and boil them for about maybe 5-10 minutes. it not only cleans them, but it brings out the metallics in the strings, so whenever you go back to play them they sound brand new.

just make sure you completly dry them before you put them back on.

i haven't had to buy strings in maybe 2-3 years.


prolly the next thing i'm going to buy is a 12-string acoustic. i've been toying around with one at guitar center latley and they sound ab-so-freaking-lutley beautiful.

[Johnny Footstool]

I use Elixir coated strings -- they last twice as long.

[RedFanAlways1966]

D'addario EXL125 strings for me (for many years). I have never heard of the boiling thing... and I probably would not have the patience to do that! I make it a habit to change strings every other weekend (unless I break a string before that). The speed winder/unwinder thing is a Godsend. I use three diff. guitars when playing (3 diff. tunings), so I have to do 18 strings each time. Only one of those guitars has a locking tremolo, so life is not that difficult when changing strings. Like anything else in life... the more you do it, the faster you get. And of course the pain of changing is worth it when the fresh-sound and long-gain comes forth. I used to break at least one string every gig back in the days of playing out. Hard downpicking and a very thick pick was the problem. But the style of music required it. My rest-breaks between sets usually incl. changing strings on one of the axes. If one breaks on a guitar , I have to change them all... to keep them all on the same "level" (perhaps a mental thing).

Pick preferences for you all? I prefer the Jim Dunlop Nylon 1mm picks.

[ghettochild]

dunlop 1mm picks, ernie ball super slinkies for bass strings...which is why i went with boiling because bass strings are like 20 bucks each.

[RedFanAlways1966]

dunlop 1mm picks, ernie ball super slinkies for bass strings...which is why i went with boiling because bass strings are like 20 bucks each.

Ah... that makes sense with the expensive bass strings! Of course they don't break like guitar strings, but a rusty string sounds like crap regardless of the instrument. I must admit that I thought I knew almost everything about little "guitar nuances" ghetto, but the boiling thing is new to me. I need to try it. And I will be sure to tell the friend who currently plays bass with me.

[jmcclain19]

Good stuff guys.

Being a bass player, I have never actually broken a string - but I've played around enough that I do know what I'm doing when I change them - every few months.

I personally have a softspot for Fender Flat wound strings, they just feel fantastic. However, they really don't return a sharp sound, almost shall I say kathudy type of beat that isn't real impressive or distinctive.

[Caseyfan21]

I play the air guitar, I'm pretty darn good too. ;)

But seriously, I'm a huge fan of accoustic guitar playing. The more I listen to Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds recordings (together and Tim solo), the more I want to learn how to play. My plan was to learn this past summer but I ran out of time. So now the new plan is to buy something cheap and learn accoustic either next quarter, but probably summer.

[paintmered]

I play the air guitar, I'm pretty darn good too. ;)

But seriously, I'm a huge fan of accoustic guitar playing. The more I listen to Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds recordings (together and Tim solo), the more I want to learn how to play. My plan was to learn this past summer but I ran out of time. So now the new plan is to buy something cheap and learn accoustic either next quarter, but probably summer.

That's my plan for this winter.

[RedsFan75]

I play the air guitar, I'm pretty darn good too. ;)

But seriously, I'm a huge fan of accoustic guitar playing. The more I listen to Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds recordings (together and Tim solo), the more I want to learn how to play. My plan was to learn this past summer but I ran out of time. So now the new plan is to buy something cheap and learn accoustic either next quarter, but probably summer.

Did you happen to catch Matthews on PBS the other night. Great stuff.

You want to hear some impressive Guitar work Check out Pat Metheney.

[Johnny Footstool]

Caseyfan and paintmered,

Are you guys planning on taking lessons, or learning from a book/video?

IMO, it all depends on your personality type, but for me, taking lessons when I just started out was very frustrating. I made better progress learning the basics from a book first. I found one that taught finger patterns for chords and practiced for 20-30 minutes a day. Also, I picked two or three songs simple songs I liked and learned them, because "Yankee Doodle" got a little old.

After I got comfortable with chords, I took lessons and they went great.

[Caseyfan21]

Did you happen to catch Matthews on PBS the other night. Great stuff.

You want to hear some impressive Guitar work Check out Pat Metheney.

I catch everything Dave Matthews and Dave Matthews Band :laugh: Some might call me obsessed but it certainly provides stiff competition to my love of baseball. I'm actually going to the show tomorrow night in Detroit, it will be my 7th Dave Matthews Band concert of the calendar year.

[Caseyfan21]

Caseyfan and paintmered,

Are you guys planning on taking lessons, or learning from a book/video?

IMO, it all depends on your personality type, but for me, taking lessons when I just started out was very frustrating. I made better progress learning the basics from a book first. I found one that taught finger patterns for chords and practiced for 20-30 minutes a day. Also, I picked two or three songs simple songs I liked and learned them, because "Yankee Doodle" got a little old.

After I got comfortable with chords, I took lessons and they went great.

I was planning on just teaching myself chords at first, then maybe take lessons if I find I really enjoy it. I have a long history with music (almost all of my twenty years on this planet). I've played trombone for 9 years, my dad is a band director, and my mom and sister also play instruments. I know quite a bit about music and chords. It's obviously different from a guitar, but my best friend, and both of my girlfriend's brothers have all played for several years. They all have tried to get me to start multiple times offering to teach me and whatnot. The thing I do want to do is get a book and learn the basics behind it, not like most guys I know that just go online and get their favorite songs. My roommate last year could play just about any current song and any DMB song, but he couldn't tell you the first thing about notes or theory. He couldn't even read music. I want to avoid that.

[Sean_CaseyRules]

I have a 1961 Supro Belmont, a 1970 Hondo "Strat", and a 2004 Epiphone SG, im in a band, but we dont play anywhere yet

[paintmered]

Caseyfan and paintmered,

Are you guys planning on taking lessons, or learning from a book/video?

IMO, it all depends on your personality type, but for me, taking lessons when I just started out was very frustrating. I made better progress learning the basics from a book first. I found one that taught finger patterns for chords and practiced for 20-30 minutes a day. Also, I picked two or three songs simple songs I liked and learned them, because "Yankee Doodle" got a little old.

After I got comfortable with chords, I took lessons and they went great.

I'm planning on learning from a book. I have a fairly solid musical background so the technique will be the biggest hurdle for me and not the theory.

[Johnny Footstool]

The thing I do want to do is get a book and learn the basics behind it, not like most guys I know that just go online and get their favorite songs. My roommate last year could play just about any current song and any DMB song, but he couldn't tell you the first thing about notes or theory. He couldn't even read music. I want to avoid that.

It's the opposite for me. I started off trying to learn theory, but it got very frustrating -- I wanted to play cool songs. A few years later, I learned how all those songs fit into music theory. It makes more sense now.

[jmcclain19]

It's the opposite for me. I started off trying to learn theory, but it got very frustrating -- I wanted to play cool songs. A few years later, I learned how all those songs fit into music theory. It makes more sense now.

I've always been the exact same.

Funny thing is, my fiance is a guitar player, and is the opposite of me.

I can listen to any thing, and usually pick it up quickly. But I'm a total and complete novice when it comes to theory. I went the same route you did, I wanted to play cool songs so I skipped the middle man.

Playing catchup now, years later, is not so fun. I can do a sizable library of entire songs and read tab but I can barely read the Bass Clef - at least slowly anyway.

[ghettochild]

same as above posters.

i started out playing basic stuff, blink 182, green day, etc. i can read tabs no problem, its actually quiet simple lol, but sheet music? i don't think so...lol.

i understand some theory and how it all goes into place and how it flows and everything but other then that nahh.

i can usually listen to a song, and pick up the bass riff within the first couple bars, and have it down by the end of the song.