Changing strings on an acoustic is a huge pain in the ass I don't wanna do it.
It does get easier the more you do it, especially once you dial in a couple of gauge sets that are comfortable for you to practice everyday on as your calluses keep building up and you get a feel for how much to tighten them initially before starting more fine adjustments.
While I was working full time and finishing my BA circa 2003-2004, my boss and I would hang for an hour or 2 afterwork in a room of our business' little strip mall building that we used as a jam/practice space. We'd each keep an acoustic and electric guitar + Amp in there. He had a nice Korg synth with weighted keys and I had a little 7-8 piece drum kit.
Long story short, the acoustic he favored and I was appointed to restring when it'd get played out was an Ovation 12 string (still the most expensive guitar I've ever played, considering it was listed back then at a touch over $5k). Even with nylons, that took forever and a day to swap and a good 30+ minutes to tune.
He threatened to kick my ass (and while thin and spindly, he's still 6'5" with reach for days) one time when I put it in the tuning David Crosby used on Guinevere, (E B D G A D) without telling him
BlackDragon480 on
No matter where you go...there you are. ~ Buckaroo Banzai
+1
Options
BlackDragon480Bluster KerfuffleMaster of Windy ImportRegistered Userregular
What a lame fuckin band. Besides being all "redneck and proud" they're the most boring ass rock band ever. Just choppy fuckin guitars, boring, off time riffs, and no solos. They let somebody bring in a chainsaw for the guitar solos. Like hey, instead of a ripping guitar solo let me just play a chainsaw through a talk box. We have good ideas.
You are not the Texas Chainsaw Orchestra, Jackyl. Play a fuckin guitar solo or go home you Affliction wearing ass lameoids.
Anyway The Texas Chainsaw Orchestra actually plays power tools and they're good at it.
Getting much better at moving the chords and changing between the minor and the flat ones though I'm so slow at it as I often have to look at the fretboard to make sure my fingers are in the right frets
It's fun. The middle part of the song is still much harder though. Because it's a lot more to remember than the first three sections that repeat.
There are so many kinds of solos though. I can't imagine not liking any guitar solos at all. I can definitely understand not digging the kinds of solos played by the kinds of bands that you generically think of when someone mentions guitar solos.
Pete Townshend has some truly beautiful solos on The Who's Quadrophenia. Pete's a song writer first, a rhythm guitarist second, and lead player a distant third but I think that does him good. All of his stuff is very melodic or percussive and he's clearly worried he might be wasting your time and consequently he doesn't.
0
Options
StraightziHere we may reign secure, and in my choice,To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered Userregular
I don't particularly care about solos. I'm not sure I would say I don't like them, I know they're a big part of several bands I love, but they're not why I'm there.
I have a pretty poor ear for music as music though, like, I have a lot of trouble appreciating songs without lyrics or songs in foreign languages without supertitles. So guitar solos are kind of nothing for me, I dunno, maybe I'm dancing and having a good time but they're not at all memorable outside of the song or anything like that.
I think I'm pretty unusual in this but I'm pretty much the opposite, I have a harder time appreciating music if there's lyrics I understand, everything sounds better to me when voices are vague or in another language and I can't really parse it so they're more like another instrument. No particular feelings for or against solos though, they're fine.
I dunno, just every time a solo comes up I roll my eyes and endure until it's over.
One of the only exceptions to this is the band Archspire. I don't know why I don't mind their solos, but all of their music just resonates with me so hard. I thought because of them I should check out other technical death metal bands, but it turns out they're full of the solos I dislike so who even knows. Besides, I'm an uncouth, unrefined philistine. Nobody should listen to my opinions on anything, much less music.
BlackDragon480Bluster KerfuffleMaster of Windy ImportRegistered Userregular
Warning, music jargon ahead:
Justin Hawkins has always been amazing, one of my favorite rock vocalists of all time. He should teach masterclasses on proper use of falsetto (which he really doesn't do too much and can be hard to pick up when he does because he has almost no break between head voice and his falsetto) and not hurting yourself, cause he can still hit everything off Permission to Land now. And his ability to keep straight tone with very little vibrato in the upper half of his register is god-like. And he's really smart about his set-up when performing live. Some people give him shit for how low he hangs his guitar, but it's all for supporting his singing.
A Les Paul is not light, and considering some of the Darkness' songs hit over 2 octaves he needs all the freedom in his chest he can get for breath control and support, so letting it hang to his knees and raising and squaring his shoulders, or lifting the neck without fretting or playing anything when he does harder vocal lines is as major reason he can still do it the same as 25 years ago. He's letting his delts take almost all the weight of the guitar the strap exerts off his trunk so he has little to no resistance on his ability to both breath in and belt out, so he doesn't have to struggle or strain to move the air he needs. He also doesn't oversing or put too much juice into a performance very often. He knows how much the PA system boosts his sound and how to have it sound amazing without going completely balls out every show.
And now for something in a Justin Hawkins vein, we have Yannis from Beast in Black:
But it's one of the Epiphone slim lightweight models lol
It also comes down to if you're wearing it for a 90+ minute set and singing at the same time. Frank Zappa wasn't near the vocalist Hawkins is, but he'd always remove his guitar when he'd do lead vocals on tracks live because he felt too constricted with one on.
No matter where you go...there you are. ~ Buckaroo Banzai
But it's one of the Epiphone slim lightweight models lol
It also comes down to if you're wearing it for a 90+ minute set and singing at the same time. Frank Zappa wasn't near the vocalist Hawkins is, but he'd always remove his guitar when he'd do lead vocals on tracks live because he felt too constricted with one on.
Yeah that's probably true. And actually I haven't even tried playing it standing up for any length of time
0
Options
minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
Les Pauls are heavy as fuck, and there’s a huuuuuge difference in weight between an actual Gibson Les Paul Studio and an Epiphone Les Paul Special or similar. I certainly wouldn’t want to wear one for an entire gig.
Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
Weight versus resonance is a big debate in the guitar world I think.
Solid body guitars are heavy but have more volume for the vibrations to resonate through and can create a richer tone (provided decent cuts of wood, neck construction etc) but they tend to be heavier, which can be more taxing if you're playing live.
Enter chambered guitars. They're lighter but the huge chambers cut in them to reduce weight kill resonance.
I'd personally prefer a heavy but tone rich guitar over a semi hollow or chambered guitar.
Edit: also I'm pretty sure most Les Paul's (and honestly most LP style guitars) these days are chambered by default. You typically have to ask for a solid body if you're getting one built.
I think gretsch makes a lot of semi hollow guitars right?
I've never played one but I think they look very cool aesthetically.
I'm not sure what kind of guitar I would upgrade to if I did anytime soon. I keep eyeballing these schecter demon ones that look pretty nice, or if I wait long enough and wanna jump a little higher price maybe something like an esp ec 401. Most of these based on the styling though I would have to noodle on some display models.
I am definitely a person that has way nicer gear than my skill level justifies, though I'm pretty ok at classical style nylon guitar. I have, in order of least cool to most cool:
Fender entry level dread acoustic that I upgraded away from as soon as I started to really learn how to play.
An old entry level Alvarez hybrid nylon acoustic electric. I played this for the first 15 years or so, and was like $270 in 2004 or whatever.
Some kind of Ovation, I can't remember the type. I never played it much because I find the round back hard to keep from slipping while I play (generally on a couch).
Cordoba C10 in Spruce.
A quality intro level Gold Tone banjo.
A taylor 524, GA cedar/Mahongany beauty.
A gorgeous Bedell Blackbird Vegan guitar. European Spruce top, with tiger maple back and sides, and some walnut for the nut and bridge. It's got a black sunburst, and is a very beautiful and unique looking guitar, as well as being super well built.
Alhambra Jose Maria Villaplana 50th anniversary classical, with cedar top and Ziricote back and sides, and lattice bracing. It's a beast of a concert instrument, and has that beautiful round and warm tone usually associated with cedar, with a nice duskiness I associate with the Spanish instruments and style.
Actually, not a single Electric to speak of, though a few of them do actually have pickups.
Getting much better at moving the chords and changing between the minor and the flat ones though I'm so slow at it as I often have to look at the fretboard to make sure my fingers are in the right frets
It's fun. The middle part of the song is still much harder though. Because it's a lot more to remember than the first three sections that repeat.
I assume you are playing the Green Day one, right?
It's funny, because when I decided to pick up guitar again and really focus in on getting better after a long layoff, I also first learned Good Riddance, but it my case, it was the one from Hades (more of a fingerpicking song). Bonus for the Hades one, is that my lady, who is a pretty good singer, would do the vocals.
Getting much better at moving the chords and changing between the minor and the flat ones though I'm so slow at it as I often have to look at the fretboard to make sure my fingers are in the right frets
It's fun. The middle part of the song is still much harder though. Because it's a lot more to remember than the first three sections that repeat.
I assume you are playing the Green Day one, right?
It's funny, because when I decided to pick up guitar again and really focus in on getting better after a long layoff, I also first learned Good Riddance, but it my case, it was the one from Hades (more of a fingerpicking song). Bonus for the Hades one, is that my lady, who is a pretty good singer, would do the vocals.
Sarah Tudzin is a mad genius and also the most consistently amazing songwriter in indie rock. Illuminati Hotties are three records deep in four years, all rippers, no skippers.
Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
Getting much better at moving the chords and changing between the minor and the flat ones though I'm so slow at it as I often have to look at the fretboard to make sure my fingers are in the right frets
It's fun. The middle part of the song is still much harder though. Because it's a lot more to remember than the first three sections that repeat.
I assume you are playing the Green Day one, right?
It's funny, because when I decided to pick up guitar again and really focus in on getting better after a long layoff, I also first learned Good Riddance, but it my case, it was the one from Hades (more of a fingerpicking song). Bonus for the Hades one, is that my lady, who is a pretty good singer, would do the vocals.
I'll switch back and forth a bit between my acoustic (rogue dreadnaught) and my electric (Epiphone les paul).
Oh, that's awesome! I dig that song, and kind of a nice mid-beginner intro into finger style. Do you play other styles of guitar, or is this kind of your first push into it? Any thoughts on what you'll play once you've got that one nailed down?
I can't listen to that song if I've been drinking because I have to immediately go find a cigarette and a quiet place to sit and stare off into the night sky and shed silent tears.
Listening to Rainbow has led me into King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard's Nonagon Infinity.
I need to listen to more of their stuff but I really like how uptempo and weird this album is and I feel like the last time I dipped into their other stuff it was significantly not this and so I never really went back.
Posts
https://youtu.be/AGKcT5vlRkE
New Cheekface album is out and it rules.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFUhScaw9t0&list=LL&index=66
It does get easier the more you do it, especially once you dial in a couple of gauge sets that are comfortable for you to practice everyday on as your calluses keep building up and you get a feel for how much to tighten them initially before starting more fine adjustments.
While I was working full time and finishing my BA circa 2003-2004, my boss and I would hang for an hour or 2 afterwork in a room of our business' little strip mall building that we used as a jam/practice space. We'd each keep an acoustic and electric guitar + Amp in there. He had a nice Korg synth with weighted keys and I had a little 7-8 piece drum kit.
Long story short, the acoustic he favored and I was appointed to restring when it'd get played out was an Ovation 12 string (still the most expensive guitar I've ever played, considering it was listed back then at a touch over $5k). Even with nylons, that took forever and a day to swap and a good 30+ minutes to tune.
He threatened to kick my ass (and while thin and spindly, he's still 6'5" with reach for days) one time when I put it in the tuning David Crosby used on Guinevere, (E B D G A D) without telling him
~ Buckaroo Banzai
https://youtu.be/58LLfsFxdco
~ Buckaroo Banzai
Jackyl sucks.
What a lame fuckin band. Besides being all "redneck and proud" they're the most boring ass rock band ever. Just choppy fuckin guitars, boring, off time riffs, and no solos. They let somebody bring in a chainsaw for the guitar solos. Like hey, instead of a ripping guitar solo let me just play a chainsaw through a talk box. We have good ideas.
You are not the Texas Chainsaw Orchestra, Jackyl. Play a fuckin guitar solo or go home you Affliction wearing ass lameoids.
Anyway The Texas Chainsaw Orchestra actually plays power tools and they're good at it.
https://youtu.be/AwZuN6JEP6I
Well, as good as you can be on the Husqvarna.
Getting much better at moving the chords and changing between the minor and the flat ones though I'm so slow at it as I often have to look at the fretboard to make sure my fingers are in the right frets
It's fun. The middle part of the song is still much harder though. Because it's a lot more to remember than the first three sections that repeat.
I'm going to go home, get my guitar and play a solo aggressively in what I think to be your general direction.
I'm considering going full Schenker when I get home tonight:
https://youtu.be/g_xKnfs-ykc?t=234
(3:55-9:02)
~ Buckaroo Banzai
https://youtu.be/HNcJ0pEZmjc
Steam ID XBL: JohnnyChopsocky PSN:Stud_Beefpile WiiU:JohnnyChopsocky
Pete Townshend has some truly beautiful solos on The Who's Quadrophenia. Pete's a song writer first, a rhythm guitarist second, and lead player a distant third but I think that does him good. All of his stuff is very melodic or percussive and he's clearly worried he might be wasting your time and consequently he doesn't.
I have a pretty poor ear for music as music though, like, I have a lot of trouble appreciating songs without lyrics or songs in foreign languages without supertitles. So guitar solos are kind of nothing for me, I dunno, maybe I'm dancing and having a good time but they're not at all memorable outside of the song or anything like that.
One of the only exceptions to this is the band Archspire. I don't know why I don't mind their solos, but all of their music just resonates with me so hard. I thought because of them I should check out other technical death metal bands, but it turns out they're full of the solos I dislike so who even knows. Besides, I'm an uncouth, unrefined philistine. Nobody should listen to my opinions on anything, much less music.
(example of an Archspire song with solos I like)
https://youtu.be/LY8RFaMs0Ac
The Darkness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKjZuykKY1I&ab_channel=RHINO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkOvA53YCRQ&ab_channel=TheDarkness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSP8zikWPDw&ab_channel=TheDarkness-Topic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P2vF9RxhSQ&ab_channel=Wind-upRecords
Justin Hawkins has always been amazing, one of my favorite rock vocalists of all time. He should teach masterclasses on proper use of falsetto (which he really doesn't do too much and can be hard to pick up when he does because he has almost no break between head voice and his falsetto) and not hurting yourself, cause he can still hit everything off Permission to Land now. And his ability to keep straight tone with very little vibrato in the upper half of his register is god-like. And he's really smart about his set-up when performing live. Some people give him shit for how low he hangs his guitar, but it's all for supporting his singing.
A Les Paul is not light, and considering some of the Darkness' songs hit over 2 octaves he needs all the freedom in his chest he can get for breath control and support, so letting it hang to his knees and raising and squaring his shoulders, or lifting the neck without fretting or playing anything when he does harder vocal lines is as major reason he can still do it the same as 25 years ago. He's letting his delts take almost all the weight of the guitar the strap exerts off his trunk so he has little to no resistance on his ability to both breath in and belt out, so he doesn't have to struggle or strain to move the air he needs. He also doesn't oversing or put too much juice into a performance very often. He knows how much the PA system boosts his sound and how to have it sound amazing without going completely balls out every show.
And now for something in a Justin Hawkins vein, we have Yannis from Beast in Black:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXZK2PIL3pc
~ Buckaroo Banzai
But it's one of the Epiphone slim lightweight models lol
It also comes down to if you're wearing it for a 90+ minute set and singing at the same time. Frank Zappa wasn't near the vocalist Hawkins is, but he'd always remove his guitar when he'd do lead vocals on tracks live because he felt too constricted with one on.
~ Buckaroo Banzai
Yeah that's probably true. And actually I haven't even tried playing it standing up for any length of time
Solid body guitars are heavy but have more volume for the vibrations to resonate through and can create a richer tone (provided decent cuts of wood, neck construction etc) but they tend to be heavier, which can be more taxing if you're playing live.
Enter chambered guitars. They're lighter but the huge chambers cut in them to reduce weight kill resonance.
I'd personally prefer a heavy but tone rich guitar over a semi hollow or chambered guitar.
Edit: also I'm pretty sure most Les Paul's (and honestly most LP style guitars) these days are chambered by default. You typically have to ask for a solid body if you're getting one built.
I've never played one but I think they look very cool aesthetically.
I'm not sure what kind of guitar I would upgrade to if I did anytime soon. I keep eyeballing these schecter demon ones that look pretty nice, or if I wait long enough and wanna jump a little higher price maybe something like an esp ec 401. Most of these based on the styling though I would have to noodle on some display models.
Fender entry level dread acoustic that I upgraded away from as soon as I started to really learn how to play.
An old entry level Alvarez hybrid nylon acoustic electric. I played this for the first 15 years or so, and was like $270 in 2004 or whatever.
Some kind of Ovation, I can't remember the type. I never played it much because I find the round back hard to keep from slipping while I play (generally on a couch).
Cordoba C10 in Spruce.
A quality intro level Gold Tone banjo.
A taylor 524, GA cedar/Mahongany beauty.
A gorgeous Bedell Blackbird Vegan guitar. European Spruce top, with tiger maple back and sides, and some walnut for the nut and bridge. It's got a black sunburst, and is a very beautiful and unique looking guitar, as well as being super well built.
Alhambra Jose Maria Villaplana 50th anniversary classical, with cedar top and Ziricote back and sides, and lattice bracing. It's a beast of a concert instrument, and has that beautiful round and warm tone usually associated with cedar, with a nice duskiness I associate with the Spanish instruments and style.
Actually, not a single Electric to speak of, though a few of them do actually have pickups.
I assume you are playing the Green Day one, right?
It's funny, because when I decided to pick up guitar again and really focus in on getting better after a long layoff, I also first learned Good Riddance, but it my case, it was the one from Hades (more of a fingerpicking song). Bonus for the Hades one, is that my lady, who is a pretty good singer, would do the vocals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnq8dZYH_tg&t=209s
Every show I every played was with it but back in like 2014 I decided I was done with music
I was wrong - when I dove back in I bought I a fender mustang
I like it but compared to the weight of my les Paul it feels like a toy
It’s also way easier to move around the fretboard due to the neck shape and also the shorter scale
No that's the one I've been practicing
I'll switch back and forth a bit between my acoustic (rogue dreadnaught) and my electric (Epiphone les paul).
Sarah Tudzin is a mad genius and also the most consistently amazing songwriter in indie rock. Illuminati Hotties are three records deep in four years, all rippers, no skippers.
Oh, that's awesome! I dig that song, and kind of a nice mid-beginner intro into finger style. Do you play other styles of guitar, or is this kind of your first push into it? Any thoughts on what you'll play once you've got that one nailed down?
Gonna get all proggy and mystical.
it's not from that album but w/e, it's still blackmore and dio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmJIccPWnEk
this has apparently been in my drafts for a while but I agree
I need to listen to more of their stuff but I really like how uptempo and weird this album is and I feel like the last time I dipped into their other stuff it was significantly not this and so I never really went back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFcy9stNLLg
Track 6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsXPp3bttP4
Final song on the album
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEsKebPkfds