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Guitar Gaf |OT| Fingerpickin’ good

S

SFenton

Member
Traded my Mustang IV yesterday for an Orance Crush Pro!

Real, beautiful gain and distortion > a digital DSP collection, any day.

Maintain that the FMIV is a great amp for learning about tone and playing with different settings, but I was pretty much through with digital stuff.
 
S

Syncytia

Member
Tater Tot said:
I still don't know how to tune my guitar by ear and without a tuner
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I mean... you've got to have at least one string already in tune to do it. Or just tune the guitar to itself and don't worry about it if you're just playing alone or not to other music.

The fifth fret is the same note as the next highest string played open, except on the G string the 4th fret will give you B.

You can also do harmonics, 5th fret then 7th fret on the next string up.
 
T

Tater Tot

"My God... it's full of Starch!"
Syncytia said:
I mean... you've got to have at least one string already in tune to do it. Or just tune the guitar to itself and don't worry about it if you're just playing alone or not to other music.

The fifth fret is the same note as the next highest string played open, except on the G string the 4th fret will give you B.

You can also do harmonics, 5th fret then 7th fret on the next string up.
Click to expand...

I already know these strategies and have been playing guitar for a while. I think I just suck at typing.

What I meant is for example your guitar is completely out of tune. I cannot tune my guitar from zero.

So if every string is out of tune and I do not have a tuner I am SOL. I don't know how to hit the open Es on the 1st or 6th string to then tune my guitar.

I guess my complaint is that my ear sucks.
 
T

teruterubozu

Member
Tater Tot said:
I already know these strategies and have been playing guitar for a while. I think I just suck at typing.

What I meant is for example your guitar is completely out of tune. I cannot tune my guitar from zero.

So if every string is out of tune and I do not have a tuner I am SOL. I don't know how to hit the open Es on the 1st or 6th string to then tune my guitar.

I guess my complaint is that my ear sucks.
Click to expand...

You need perfect pitch to do that. Either you have perfect pitch as a child or you don't. You can train yourself to gain perfect pitch to a degree, but it will never be "perfect" perfect pitch.
 
S

saizo

Member
First off I'm fairly new to guitar. Bought it back in November and was using Rocksmith as my primary means of practice and since hopping on here I've been using Justinguitar.

Been 21 days into it and in the beginner's course could do maybe 7 chord changes a minute. Those are now in the 40-50 range. (A, D, E chords)

Really keeping a log of some kind of tangible evidence of practice is really nice, especially since you can see your progress. This was a huge tip I got from the site, so on to my question.

How much practice is too much?
I'm up to the third lesson with G and C chords and the 1 minute exercises are getting... long. 12 total exercises, which may not seem like much but my hands and my forearm are actually sore and tired.

Tried to pick it up today for my scheduled practice (have been messing around all week with new songs) and it is almost painful.
Am I gripping too tightly? I don't feel like I am. I've rechecked my form and it I'm not using too much pressure to push down on the strings. Should I take a few days off? I hate the idea, but I hate the idea of not being able to play more. I've finally hit like a mini-milestone of being able to play some fun stuff with the chords I've got together so far. Herrupu me gaf.
 
C

CrudeDiatribe

Member
saizo said:
How much practice is too much?
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It's not worth an RSI. After taking a couple of days off, if it doesn't go away or comes back quickly, take some time to examine how you're holding the instrument and how hard you're squeezing the neck— you only need to press the strings down to stop against the fret, not the fretboard— which is hard when you've just started and have no calluses (you'll have to push your finger to the fretboard since the skin is so soft).

You may end up needing a guitar with a thicker neck (I did), a lower action, a shorter scale, or down a gauge of strings— or two or three or four of those things.
 
T

teruterubozu

Member
You don't have to have a disciplined regimented practice routine every time you pick up the guitar. You can just noodle some days. Yes, it's important to work on technique, build strength and do warmups, but it's easy to get caught up in the "training" aspects of mastering an instrument like an athlete obsessing about conditioning. Sometimes it's good to just play with no aim or goal, just explore musically and let yourself go. You can always practice those painful scales and chords another day.
 
B

blinkz

Member
LPC-AWGH1-Finish-Shot-jpg.aspx
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I am having to hold myself back from buying this from my local shop.
 
T

theepicoftyler

Member
saizo said:
Thanks guys, I guess I'll take a couple days off and figure it out. Shit was starting to get really fun too. :(
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You can do a lot with your guitar even if you're not doing the lessons you planned to do. Just holding it and getting the feel for it, and get the feeling of how you want your hands to be shaped playing different styles and chords. You don't even have to play.

I've spent many a day sitting in front of my TV fingering chords on a guitar without actually playing.
 
P

PandaPedinte

Member
teruterubozu said:
You need perfect pitch to do that. Either you have perfect pitch as a child or you don't. You can train yourself to gain perfect pitch to a degree, but it will never be "perfect" perfect pitch.
Click to expand...

I used to tune my guitars by ear when I was younger and I don't have a perfect ear, but nowadays it's just more convenient to use a tuner. Also hello Guitar GAF
 
Aizo

Aizo

Banned
Hello! I've never posted in here before, but I read from time to time.

Obviously this is up to personal preference, but what do you think some of the most essential pedals are? I'm looking to pick up some more, but damn the prices are intimidating.
 
P

PandaPedinte

Member
Aizo said:
Hello! I've never posted in here before, but I read from time to time.

Obviously this is up to personal preference, but what do you think some of the most essential pedals are? I'm looking to pick up some more, but damn the prices are intimidating.
Click to expand...

It really depends on what type of music you play, for myself I like overdrives, some modulations (chorus and tremolo), a reverb and a delay. Pedals on my country are also expensive so I'm most likely going to buy from local handmades when I decide to buy new ones, though some brands are not bad and offer a good price like Electro Harmonix or even Mooer.
 
R

Red Blaster

Member
Aizo said:
Hello! I've never posted in here before, but I read from time to time.

Obviously this is up to personal preference, but what do you think some of the most essential pedals are? I'm looking to pick up some more, but damn the prices are intimidating.
Click to expand...

compressor, reverb and an overdrive are things everyone should have
 
B

blackjaw

Member
Aizo said:
Hello! I've never posted in here before, but I read from time to time.

Obviously this is up to personal preference, but what do you think some of the most essential pedals are? I'm looking to pick up some more, but damn the prices are intimidating.
Click to expand...

Tuner!

And an OD if you don't have good OD in your amp.

I always fall back on a good delay as well. And maybe reverb if you need that kind of thing.
 
K

kasane

Member
anyone got impressions from the faded gibson line?

i could buy one online for what i think is a steal but i have absolutely no way of trying it thats why im on the fence
 
A

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
kasane said:
anyone got impressions from the faded gibson line?

i could buy one online for what i think is a steal but i have absolutely no way of trying it thats why im on the fence
Click to expand...
I've had one for years that is nice, but it's not like I can say all of them are good. It's hard to say because there are hits and misses across the entire Gibson line, including the higher end production stuff. Just be prepared to send it back if it's a dog and realize that sometimes dogs get through the QC process.
 
A

adamsappel

Member
Aizo said:
Hello! I've never posted in here before, but I read from time to time.

Obviously this is up to personal preference, but what do you think some of the most essential pedals are? I'm looking to pick up some more, but damn the prices are intimidating.
Click to expand...

What pedals do you have? If you want "some more" I imagine you already own what people are suggesting. Essential pedals are reverb, tuner, delay, overdrive, looper. What kind of amp(s) do you have? Does it have a reverb tank? OD channel? Maybe you want a multi-effects pedal, but use it in the effects loop as individual pedals. What style do you play?

I'm still not sure about what individual pedal needs I have. I bought a couple of iStomps to try different types out. They're $50 on Reverb. The Hotone Xtomp does the same thing, probably better, but costs $250.
 
B

blinkz

Member
kasane said:
anyone got impressions from the faded gibson line?

i could buy one online for what i think is a steal but i have absolutely no way of trying it thats why im on the fence
Click to expand...

I have a faded SG and I love it. Needed some small tweaks after I got it from guitar center their setup was not great.

It's my #2 guitar behind my strat.
 
T

teruterubozu

Member
kasane said:
anyone got impressions from the faded gibson line?

i could buy one online for what i think is a steal but i have absolutely no way of trying it thats why im on the fence
Click to expand...

My 2017 SG Faded T. I absolutely love it. The neck is amazingly fluid! It's tough to put down.
The tag with the Faded line is that it has a "played in" feel which is spot on. It feels like it's been loved even though it's brand new. My setup was fantastic on this, the action is super low.

0K2REQw.jpg
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Z

zbarron

Member
I'm trying to play Thunderstruck but a lot of the tabs are conflicting. Does anyone know of an accurate tab for it? I'm looking for the notes part not the chord part (lead not rhythm?)
 
K

kasane

Member
Surfinn said:
Where are you? I'm selling a Faded Special. I'm in Sac California.
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im from canada so shipping would fucking kills u lol

also i would get it for about $600 cad it retails for about 1k here.

I just really want to treat myself to a nice axe since i never actually had a les paul
 
S

Surfinn

Member
Anyone ever use the Kemper profiling stuff? Does it truly sound indistinguishable from the real thing? If so I'd be willing to drop the money for one.

kasane said:
im from canada so shipping would fucking kills u lol

also i would get it for about $600 cad it retails for about 1k here.

I just really want to treat myself to a nice axe since i never actually had a les paul
Click to expand...

Ah ok :p Good luck finding a great guitar.
 
T

teruterubozu

Member
My next build project: I scored an Epiphone G-400 body/neck for $80 on eBay. I thought it would be a strip-and-paint job but the finish is very intact so I'm gonna keep it this way. I'm planning on just rebuilding it to factory specs - I've found most of the parts - but will do a 50s wiring for the pickups for vintage tone. Planning to sell it after it's built, but I might keep it if I really like it.

EjfL2nq.jpg
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T

teruterubozu

Member
Epi G-400 restoration complete! I tried to keep with the original specs as much as possible, including stock pickups and Tune-o-matic bridge. But I made a few upgrades including 18:1 ratio Grover tuners (I think original is 14:1 Grovers) and 50s-style wiring with orange caps. My soldering could be cleaner but ah well, it works and there's no grounding issue. It sounds quite awesome actually, now I kinda want to keep it!

jJOfZTO.jpg

48qAa1e.jpg

gUi6FXw.jpg
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N

NEO0MJ

Member
teruterubozu said:
Epi G-400 restoration complete! I tried to keep with the original specs as much as possible, including stock pickups and Tune-o-matic bridge. But I made a few upgrades including 18:1 ratio Grover tuners (I think original is 14:1 Grovers) and 50s-style wiring with orange caps. My soldering could be cleaner but ah well, it works and there's no grounding issue. It sounds quite awesome actually, now I kinda want to keep it!
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Solid work. Why did you insist on going stock for most of it, though?
 
T

teruterubozu

Member
NEO0MJ said:
Solid work. Why did you insist on going stock for most of it, though?
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Thanks NEO0MJ! Cuz I'm thinking of reselling it and I figured if I kept as stock as possible it would be more acceptable to the average buyer. The G-400 is a nice entry level guitar so I didn't want to be too hardcore and put EMGs or no-brand name pickups. It's actually an upgrade of sorts cuz I found more modern improved Epiphone pickups, whereas this is an '07 model so it had earlier more generic G-400 pickups as stock. Plus Epi pickups are cheap cuz people are always stripping and upgrading their Epis to more Gibson-like specs and dump the parts on eBay! With the vintage 50s-style wiring and orange caps though, the tones really clean up on the stock pickups. It seems to be a common DYI upgrade as I read about it on various guitar forums so I thought I'd check it out, see how much it wold improve stock pickups. And it did really amazing! It has more like a high gain Angus tone. Oh and I also put in a XL Tusq Graphtec nut. The '07 neck is as thick as bat though - it's a beast!
 
T

teruterubozu

Member
forrest said:
So many great guitars in this thead!

Decided to try and record myself playing guitar for the first time. It's recorded from my S7 phone propped up on a piece of furniture, so forgive audio quality. Just a little improv (messing around) with a ditto looper. Anyhow, thought I would share.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7U4ZO92qZw&feature=youtu.be
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Dude! That's very nice! Laid back and chill, great for a Sunday morning! Nice clean tone and playing sir!
I wish more folks posted their playing vids here.
 
F

forrest

formerly nacire
S

Syncytia

Member
Damn it I finally bought GP6 a couple weeks ago. I see they reduced the number of computers, although 3 is actually perfect for me so I can't really complain.
 
T

Timeaisis

Member
What up, guitar GAF. I'm looking for some suggestions for recording covers overdubbed on top of music/backing tracks on PC. I know there's headphone amps, usb "amps", mixers, interfaces, etc.

I've been using a pretty awful setup with my amp + a microphone hooked up to my PC while a backing track plays and I'm recording both. It sounds alright, but since I'm overlaying it from a completely digital track to one that is actually recorded in a room, it's off.

Looking for a pretty simple, introductory-level solution to this without having to buy a crap ton of audio gear. So...what's the easiest way to record guitar on a PC?

EDIT: Oh, I should let ya'll know what I currently own, in case that helps. I currently have a guitar and bass, two amps (one for each), nice recording headphones, and a decent quality mic.
 
A

adamsappel

Member
Timeaisis said:
What do you need to know? Sorry, I'm new at the audio recording thing. :p
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What brand is your "decent quality mic"? Maybe someone will say, "Oh, that has a known issue of clipping at higher recording volumes." Or, "You should use the line-out from that amp instead of miking it." What recording software are you using? Do you have a sample for us to listen to? I don't record, but specifics will help with getting good advice.
 
O

Oveja Negra

Member
God dammit!!!!!!!

Like two months ago I lent my precious Ibanez Jem 7VSBL (not sold anymore for a long time so it became a collector item) to my best friend.

Yesterday I got it back and today I began to inspect it under the sun light only to discover that pretty much every metallic part is covered with rust/oxide 8:::::::::...(

Now I need to disassembly it completely in order to clean absolutely everything, including the floating trem.

I called him to ask what the hell happened and besides apologizing, he said all his other guitars are suffering of the same, it seems his sweating + living in a very humid apartment in front of the sea is the problem.

Damn, damn, damn and damn again >:/
 
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