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Guitar: A Lets Play (and Learn) Thread.
- Thread starter Coins
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I play guitar!
Been playing since I was about 11 ish (33 now), my dad is a guitarist so he taught me.
I'll post a pic of my guitar at some point - it's a Gibson Les Paul which has been modded a bit to make it the champion of sustain.
I wish I could play electric guitar like Neil Young - he's my ultra favourite. Great big wedgy tone, no fussiness, no noodling.
Been playing since I was about 11 ish (33 now), my dad is a guitarist so he taught me.
I'll post a pic of my guitar at some point - it's a Gibson Les Paul which has been modded a bit to make it the champion of sustain.
I wish I could play electric guitar like Neil Young - he's my ultra favourite. Great big wedgy tone, no fussiness, no noodling.
Lan Dong Mik
And why would I want them?
Thanks my man I appreciate the tips for sure!! Yeah I had a guitar where the heel of the fret board cracked and it raised the strings big time and it was tough to play. I fixed the crack and it's better now but I still need to get me a new guitar ASAP
Figure I should post a picture of my favorite guitar:
Got it for about $200 a couple of years ago, and it's been my workhorse ever since. Three humbuckers + a push/pull coil tap on the tone knob + 5-way selector switch = heaven. If I tap the coils and go with neck/middle I get the sweetest jazz tone I've ever owned. Tapped bridge is somewhere in between a tele/strat. The only problem I have with it is a slightly lower volume when the coils are tapped. Nothing that mild compression doesn't fix when recording.
Got it for about $200 a couple of years ago, and it's been my workhorse ever since. Three humbuckers + a push/pull coil tap on the tone knob + 5-way selector switch = heaven. If I tap the coils and go with neck/middle I get the sweetest jazz tone I've ever owned. Tapped bridge is somewhere in between a tele/strat. The only problem I have with it is a slightly lower volume when the coils are tapped. Nothing that mild compression doesn't fix when recording.
Mixolydian
Member
Bill Lawrence pickups. Nice. Whats up with the lower volume? Is it only when you have a particular combination selected? Or the entire pickup? Check that height. Who did the the soldering? Did they heat the surface where the wires went? Or just press the solder against the iron and let it drop?
Mixolydian
Member
No problem! Man, my posts are painful to read. Replying on a phone sucks.
Anyway, feel free to ask for other things to look out for.
Thanks. Yes approaches to practicing/learning. My end goal is really to be proficient enough to play in a band setting comfortably. Mostly rock music.
Now I mainly practice by via rocksmith and ultimate guitar tabs. I've gone through many justin guitar lessons and I've started reading through Desi Serna's book.
No idea.
Any single pickup (bridge, mid, neck) that is tapped.
Height is at my ideal level already. Didn't make any difference before I setup the guitar earlier this year.
No idea again. Bought the guitar used and it already had all the mods done to it.
EDIT: I should add it's more of a perceived volume drop. When I record, the peaks only vary on average .5-1db when compared to the untapped humbucker.
Coil split or coil tap? Either way, a volume drop is normal.
TIL there's a difference. Coil split is what I have.
Great thread.
How much am I screwing my progress...
Been playing for about a year now (closer to 11 months). Been doing what I mostly just enjoy doing... practicing scale, for hours, every day. Been getting really good playing up an down the neck with a few different scales. My main goal I guess has just been getting super comfortable with the guitar and different techniques (slides, bends, hammer-ons, double-stops, etc). Only thing I've been completely neglecting chords and things of that nature. I can do quiet a few rhythm sections, and I can do a lot of chord changes well enough but probably not as good as I should be able to at this point... it's just not something I'm very passionate about working on. Is this a huge mistake? Should I just suck it up and work on em?
Also getting a 24 fret guitar in the next few months. Will this be a big adjustment from a 22?
How much am I screwing my progress...
Been playing for about a year now (closer to 11 months). Been doing what I mostly just enjoy doing... practicing scale, for hours, every day. Been getting really good playing up an down the neck with a few different scales. My main goal I guess has just been getting super comfortable with the guitar and different techniques (slides, bends, hammer-ons, double-stops, etc). Only thing I've been completely neglecting chords and things of that nature. I can do quiet a few rhythm sections, and I can do a lot of chord changes well enough but probably not as good as I should be able to at this point... it's just not something I'm very passionate about working on. Is this a huge mistake? Should I just suck it up and work on em?
Also getting a 24 fret guitar in the next few months. Will this be a big adjustment from a 22?
Lionheart1827
Member
Nice thread, I've been playing for about 12-13 years now and own 5 electrics.
My latest buy is an LTD MH330 Flamed maple with a Floyd rose. I converted it from active pickups to passive (Dimarzio crunch lab for bridge and liquifire for neck). Excellent but frustrating learning experience doing the convert.
I think my next guitar I'm gonna do a Carvin custom shop. Anybody have any experience with them? I've only heard good things and they sell direct to customer. Beautiful guitars.
It depends on the music you're playing but chord/Scale learning should be touched upon at some point. As for the fret question no it's not a huge adjustment going to 24,going back though feels restrictive. I never buy guitars under 24 frets now because I like the versatility.
If you play slower and more acoustic stuff, definitely start practicing your chords.
My latest buy is an LTD MH330 Flamed maple with a Floyd rose. I converted it from active pickups to passive (Dimarzio crunch lab for bridge and liquifire for neck). Excellent but frustrating learning experience doing the convert.
I think my next guitar I'm gonna do a Carvin custom shop. Anybody have any experience with them? I've only heard good things and they sell direct to customer. Beautiful guitars.
It depends on the music you're playing but chord/Scale learning should be touched upon at some point. As for the fret question no it's not a huge adjustment going to 24,going back though feels restrictive. I never buy guitars under 24 frets now because I like the versatility.
If you play slower and more acoustic stuff, definitely start practicing your chords.
Mixolydian
Member
First of all, you sound as though you want to become proficient with the instrument. That's fantastic, but please dont become one of those guitarists that is a monster (and also probably very boring to listen to lead wise) lead player, but has trouble with the most mundane rhythm sections.
Guitarists sometimes set strange criteria for themselves as to what they consider "worthy" of practice. Leads and soloing take precedence with many of the younger players. It's like the running back position in football - a glory position. But don't forget everything else required to make that solo really sing. You need a support system underneath. Movements, tempo changes, dynamics. Rhythm can be just as challenging and satisfying as any great lead.You seem to be aware of this. Thats also fantastic.
Apply some of your chord knowledge to your own material. Learning other artist's material can be fun and rewarding, but nothing beats writing your own stuff. Do you ever have music running through your head? Write it down. Go to a chord website. Buy a chord book. Learn different voicings. Take your favorite style of music and try to write something in that specific genre, but yours. Now try to write in another style. Add comping. Try to play a little slap bass on the guitar.
Lots to do, and it doesn't have to be boring.
Mixolydian
Member
Mmmmm. Flamed maple :drool:
Carvins are fantastic. Looking at a CT model? You should
Anything you go with from them is fantastic. My only gripe is I'm not a huge fan of the pickups. If you decide to change them, be prepared to route the stock pickup cavity, as they run smaller than a standard sized pickup.
Mixolydian
Member
A couple good points, but mostly a cynical douche bag. Get what you wanna get. Do the proper research. Ignore people who tell you that you shouldnt get something unless you meet certain criteria.
Carvin guitars (and most larger scale 'boutique' builders) are CNC kings. It doesn't make their stuff crap. You don't have to know what a purple heart/koa combo sounds like to enjoy a guitar, though knowing the general tone qualities of certain popular woods does help.
Suhr guitars are one of the best playing guitars Ive ever laid my hands on, but I'll never own one at 4k a pop for their nicer models. Plek'd necks rule.
I dont believe in spending more than 2k all in. My workhorse is a MIM strat body that I repainted a candy green. It has dimarzio pickups, a blower switch, american strat bridge, and a flame maple warmoth neck. Think I spent 500 altogether on that one.
BotoxAgent
Member
*Raises hand*
I grew up learning Chet Atkins and Tommy Emmanuel stuff. But these days, I am venturing into more of that Candyrat modern fingerstyle
Mixolydian
Member
So Andy McKee then. Killer player. Had the opportunity to play with him a few times. It was awesome.
CrudeDiatribe
Member
Yup! Started because I kept losing my flat pick down the sound hole of an acoustic guitar as a kid. While I now go through phases of using a pick on electric guitar, it's 100% finger picking on acoustic.
Very nice!
Yup. If you can afford it and it would make you happy, go for it.
I'm biased, of course; I have two custom guitars, one I built and one I bought.
BotoxAgent
Member
Nice! That must have been awesome! That Greenfield guitar he plays sounds amazing, and then I realized that the base price for those guitars are like 15k, lol never mind.
I can play Drifiting and Rylnn so far. They are always a crowd pleaser
Jeffrey Lebowski
Neo Member
I bought an electric guitar a couple years ago after a particularly bad break-up. Nothing like dropping hundreds of dollars on musical equipment to fill that void in your life. My education, at first, was completely ass-backwards. I had the Led Zeppelin song "Over the Hills and Far Away" stuck in my head for the longest time. So literally the first time I picked up the guitar to learn to play, I was trying to master the hammer-ons, pull-offs and string bending techniques required to play the intro. Thanks to tabs.ultimate-guitar.com and some well broken-down youtube instructional videos, I was actually able to play the song within a few days. The problem was that I didn't know what chords I was playing. I didn't know names for the techniques I was using, and my clarity was god awful. I would akin my guitar skill at that point to a dog who learned a new trick.
It wasn't until I bought a book with an instructional dvd and actually started to learn scales, chords and bar chords that I actually felt like I was learning guitar. My progress over the two years since I bought my axe has been slow, due mostly to the fact that I don't practice as often as I should, but I still continue to gradually improve.
I found it very helpful to learn the open and barre-chords, know the names of the chords I'm playing, and practice songs with different chord transitions.
Learning tablature is tremendously helpful once you've got a feel for playing chords and a basic knowledge of scales. The aforementioned tabs.ultimate-guitar.com has a formidable index of guitar tablature for songs of all genres.
This guy's youtube channel is also great for learning some basic techniques. His song walk-throughs are pretty kick-ass too.
So at this point I'd consider myself a very casual guitar player/learner, but if I ever decide to get serious about it, I've got some decent ground work laid out.
Jeffrey.
It wasn't until I bought a book with an instructional dvd and actually started to learn scales, chords and bar chords that I actually felt like I was learning guitar. My progress over the two years since I bought my axe has been slow, due mostly to the fact that I don't practice as often as I should, but I still continue to gradually improve.
I found it very helpful to learn the open and barre-chords, know the names of the chords I'm playing, and practice songs with different chord transitions.
Learning tablature is tremendously helpful once you've got a feel for playing chords and a basic knowledge of scales. The aforementioned tabs.ultimate-guitar.com has a formidable index of guitar tablature for songs of all genres.
This guy's youtube channel is also great for learning some basic techniques. His song walk-throughs are pretty kick-ass too.
So at this point I'd consider myself a very casual guitar player/learner, but if I ever decide to get serious about it, I've got some decent ground work laid out.
Jeffrey.
ComputerMKII
Banned
TimeEffect
Member
Im trying to learn this original song by a person on Youtube but I cant get the picking pattern and am unsure of the chords being used. Im certain it's C, G, G7, F, but it's a tricky song.
Anyone want to help me learn it or is anyone interested in learning it (and then passing the knowledge down to me)?
Anyone want to help me learn it or is anyone interested in learning it (and then passing the knowledge down to me)?
Mixolydian
Member
Loving that Tele brother. Sexy as hell. And holy hell on that second one. Can you describe the sound?
Nice! That must have been awesome! That Greenfield guitar he plays sounds amazing, and then I realized that the base price for those guitars are like 15k, lol never mind.
I can play Drifiting and Rylnn so far. They are always a crowd pleaser
Nice job! Its a style I got into late in my playing, but work on when I can. He's a monster. He used to live in Topeka (not my home town), so I got to hang with him a few times when one of my buddies took lessons from him. Most recently saw him open for Dream Theater.
CrudeDiatribe
Member
Loud and subtle as a freight train. People who don't know about resonator guitars think it sounds more like a banjo than they were expecting.
Keeping in mind that I'm still quite a hack at playing bottleneck (even with the six years between these), here are some videos: one
two
Second would have been better with a brass slide and better tuning.
EDIT: Oh yeah, plugged in it's really lo-fi and feeds back like a motherfucker.
bennywhatever
Member
Any Mark Tremonti fans in here? That guy inspired me to play, along with Petrucci (but lol Petrucci I can't play that stuff). Love his guitar work in Alter Bridge... Every new album that comes out, I try to learn as many songs as I can.
Lionheart1827
Member
Mmmmm. Flamed maple :drool:
Carvins are fantastic. Looking at a CT model? You should
Anything you go with from them is fantastic. My only gripe is I'm not a huge fan of the pickups. If you decide to change them, be prepared to route the stock pickup cavity, as they run smaller than a standard sized pickup.
Thanks for the info!
I was looking at the DC600 and 400 models and just exploring what the paint, wood, and burst options would look/sound like. As for tone, my general aim for all of my guitars is to sound slightly different so I have a bit more versatility in sound. I'm looking forward to it!
Here is what I got:
Yamaha Pacifica 112 in sunburst. EMG 81 in neck. This was my first guitar and I have since retired it.
Ltd Viper Deluxe in see through black flamed maple. This is my favorite guitar. Awesome feel and tone, sperzal locking tuners, dual EMG81s, set neck, abalone inlays, binding and knobs.
Agile PS970in deep red quilted maple. This guitar is beautiful but I don't play it much. It's got a Floyd Rose and gold hardware. Plays really well but I need to change the stock pickups.
Agile Ghost III in black. This is a Gibson Explorer copy and I primarily use it for down tuning. Awesome play but has horrible neck dive when strapped up. Nice meaty guitar. Need to upgrade the pickups on this one as well.
I run this all through a Line 6 Pod XT to my pc.
I can post some pics of these bad boys over the weekend. More guitar porn!
Mixolydian
Member
Love it man. Good stuff
I enjoy Tremonti. And Petrucci is one of my all time favorite players in the history of ever.
Grab the official tab books. They're done by a few guys from the Petrucci forum. They actually sit down with John to make sure they are transcribing and tabbing correctly.
Lionheart1827
Member
Petrucci is one of my biggest inspirations along with Vai(who I met after a show back in 2008).
I actually live a few minutes away from Petrucci.
I actually live a few minutes away from Petrucci.
Mixolydian
Member
The progfather. Just an all around great guy, teacher, and player.
bennywhatever
Member
I managed to get the Images and Words tab book (favorite album btw). I can play a lot more than I thought I'd be able to, but some of his runs and awkward time signatures just screw me up.
For instance, in Surrounded, where the main words start ("Dreams are shaking..."), I can play an easy version of it, but to play it the way Petrucci plays it as tabbed in the book is just beyond me.
Mixolydian
Member
Structurally, BC&SL was like I&W. Do you dislike that one? I'm well aware of the divided fanbase after they took a more metal turn up until the last few albums.
Anyone looking for good instructional videos should check out his DVD. Also, Rick Graham, Guthrie Govan, Greg Howe. Rick and Guthrie are probably the two best guitarists I've ever heard technically speaking. Rick is also a classically trained guitarist as well.
For great music, check out Richie Kotzen. A musical and singing wunderkind.
CitizenVectron
Member
Okay, so I started teaching myself to play guitar about 2 weeks ago. Previously I had tried about 5 years ago for about 3 weeks, but had forgotten everything. I just learned my first song, Blister, by Our Lady Peace. It's really easy since it only has 4-5 chords and they are fairly simple (except for an F-mini which I hate with a passion). Anyway, here is my first recording of me playing, and the first time I have ever let anyone hear me sing! So be gentle!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3EekFgOPnU&feature=youtu.be
I realize it's pretty rough and my transitions aren't great (never mind the 1-second gap between some parts, haha) and I have some dead strings sometimes, but I am happy after less than 2 weeks and I am really really enjoying practicing. After a practice sessions I get the same endorphin rush as if I have just worked out at the gym. My biggest concern is my singing voice, haha.
EDIT - Here's the full rock version of the song, just in case people are interested. My favourite song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pbF_AAZpjY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3EekFgOPnU&feature=youtu.be
I realize it's pretty rough and my transitions aren't great (never mind the 1-second gap between some parts, haha) and I have some dead strings sometimes, but I am happy after less than 2 weeks and I am really really enjoying practicing. After a practice sessions I get the same endorphin rush as if I have just worked out at the gym. My biggest concern is my singing voice, haha.
EDIT - Here's the full rock version of the song, just in case people are interested. My favourite song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pbF_AAZpjY
CitizenVectron
Member
Yeah that looks really simple with easy chords, and it sounds nice. I will try that one next maybe!
Hello guitar GAF! I'm a classical player. Here's me doing some DeFalla (early 20th century Spanish composer)
http://youtu.be/kZRxa9zSkw0
http://youtu.be/kZRxa9zSkw0
Dude. The background. Wtf.
krypt0nian
Banned
Subbed. Finally have the time to recommit.
Guitar is the one hobby I have that when I sit down and play, the hours will just evaporate.
All I can say is keep playing new stuff, even if it's not your jam. You won't necessarily need to learn music but the more variety you include in your playing, the more you'll "get" it.
All I can say is keep playing new stuff, even if it's not your jam. You won't necessarily need to learn music but the more variety you include in your playing, the more you'll "get" it.
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
Great thread OP. Seriously. As a lapsed guitar player, I finally have some time to sit down and get back into it. I never took the time to learn any of the theory and what frustrated me most was never having the knowledge to understand what I was doing and why it worked. That's kinda fundamental if you wanna write your own songs without dicking around for hours. Will definitely check out the Desi Serna podcasts
CrudeDiatribe
Member
In that you:
1. can't find a way to play a chord that doesn't feel awkward
2. can't get the notes to sound cleanly
3. you have trouble switching chords smoothly
?
They're all normal. Make each chord sound fully and properly each time and your fingers will get used to it.
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
I'd also be mindful of the amount of pressure you're exerting. Beginners tend to clamp down on those chords like they're strangling the neck
FloatingDivider
Member
No tension, this is the biggest thing about playing guitar. I developed a cyst on a tendon at the base of my thumb by squeezing too hard on everthing when I started out. it self resolved after I learned to minimize the pressure in my left hand. If your guitar is setup correctly th amount of pressure you need to prduce a clear note is minimal. too much pressure also makes notes ring out sharp. The second thng I will stress into infinity is that a guitar is a relative instrument, if you want to learn every note on the fretboard that's your choice but I find it useless. learn the notes one string and the relative position of other strings. Same goes for chords learn how to find the third fifth and seventh in a relative position from your root note and soon you'll be making up chord shapes on the fly. It's a lot less work than memorizng all the constituent notes of a chord and allows for effortless tranposition. what im saying is that figuring out where cegb is for a major c7 takes a lot longer than finding a c root note and the relative position of 3 5 and 7. It's equally useful for soloing if you're quickly capablr of determining chord tones without having to worry about which exact note it is.
FloatingDivider
Member
one minute chord drills, dead serious look it ul on justinguitar. Also some chords can be fingered in a lot of different ways, I have chubby fingers and I cant play an open a chord by stacking three fingers, same goes for a major chord with a 5th string root but I have hyper flxble fingertips so i can do it with just one by rolling it over slightly. Don't feel forced to stick with a fingering that doesn't work for you.
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
Which chords are bothering you? Barres I'm guessing?
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