GUITAR MEGATHREAD: Dan Erlewine is your huckleberry

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Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Yeah, it can be good practice to play while you're watching tv/youtube/hulu, or reading the news, or whatever. You might still have to look down sometimes, depending on what your hands have to do, but that's not a big deal, imo. Then do the same with your singing and breathing and so on.

You don't want your performance to be thoughtless, of course. But it shouldn't take constant, total attention.

Pyrthas fucked around with this message at 20:09 on Sep 28, 2010

# ¿ Sep 28, 2010 20:06

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 23:59

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

The Fool posted:

There's a scene towards the end where they're all sitting around talking about the chord progression of a specific song, and Edge seems to be totally lost.

I'm not the biggest Edge fan, but the only time I can think of is when he realizes that he's been playing the wrong chord, and as I recall, the other two had been, too. You might have noticed something I didn't, though.

# ¿ Dec 20, 2010 01:34

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

baka kaba posted:

Is that how it is for everyone?

No, but neither is it weird to have trouble with it. And like Calvin said, it's not very important. I occasionally find it useful, but it's rare, and it certainly didn't come naturally.

# ¿ Mar 2, 2011 03:58

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

baka kaba posted:

You put an X in the wrong place for your last G7 up there though

Looks right to me.

# ¿ Apr 20, 2011 15:49

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Faffel posted:

What kind of rear end in a top hat puts gold tuning pegs on his guitar?

I didn't put them on there, but I'm definitely the kind of rear end in a top hat that won't take them off.

# ¿ May 21, 2011 13:28

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

crm posted:

that's not possible

It won't be easy (or even possible) at first, but it'll come with practice. You can get your hand into all sorts of bizarre contortions if you keep at it for a while, and sometimes you have to in order to play chords. I do this with my middle finger a lot, too, to play what that site lists as variation 2 of an A11 chord (playing 55545x with the fingering 22213).

# ¿ May 26, 2011 07:58

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Dolphin posted:

Thumb side, roll your finger toward the headstock. I can get a clear tone without even gripping with my thumb, and you should be able to as well. The main issue people run into is that their joints are spaced out just right so that no matter how they position their index finger over the strings, one of the strings always hits a joint and doesn't get fretted well enough, and pressing the strings into the crease where your joint is obviously hurts.

Also, depending on how your neck is set up, certain chords might be much more difficult to play.

Just keep that last bit in mind when you try to play without gripping with your thumb. You should be able to get a clear tone as long as your guitar is set up to be easy to play, and it's definitely a good thing to try to do, but if you have really high action or something, you'll probably never be able to do it. (I know I can't on my archtop with its intentionally high action, even though I can easily do it on my gypsy jazz guitar with its low action and lighter strings.)

# ¿ Oct 5, 2011 22:36

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Liku posted:

Also, is there a thread on drums or could I just ask about drums here? I can't find a thread.

http://forums.somethingawful.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=104&posticon=382

# ¿ Dec 15, 2011 06:30

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

I think you mean 1324. (And I'd move to 1314 because it's an easier transition, but 1214 might be less of a stretch.)

Not sure what to say about fingers being bunched up, though. Just practice, and make sure you're playing with your fingertips?

# ¿ Dec 16, 2011 06:46

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Edmond Dantes posted:

Went ahead and made one.

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3466332

There was a gear porn thread in ML a while ago and it was pretty cool. It's gone now, but I bet another one would get a fair number of posts. Everyone likes posting pictures of instruments they think are pretty. (I'd go post in that thread, but then I have to go all the way to some other forum. That's way too much work.)

# ¿ Feb 14, 2012 03:52

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

They're louder (they were built to cut through bands unamplified, like archtops in the US) and (I'm pretty sure) they have fewer overtones. They're often described as bright and crisp. I'm no good at describing sounds, though, so I won't try. They're traditionally strung with silver-plated, copper-wound strings, rather than bronze-wound strings. The bridge isn't glued to the top, and the strings attach to a tailpiece. Traditionally, the body shape and the bracing are different, the scale is longer, and the fretboard is wider, though of course all that can vary from guitar to guitar.

But put all that aside. The main question is: Do you want to sound like Django (or Stochelo or Dorado or Bireli or Angelo or any other gypsy jazz guitarist)? If so, get one of these. If not, maybe a regular flat top is better for you.

# ¿ Feb 27, 2012 15:52

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Swimmin Baby Hippo posted:

I'm getting a bad case of the squeaks. Is it possible to have a full set of unwound strings?

Ive heard of using Vaseline, but I don't want that all over my fretboard. Also I don't like that spray lube.

Other people have given you good advice, but you should also listen carefully to recordings of the sort of music you like. If you're listening to acoustic stuff, I bet you'll end up hearing a lot of string noise that you never noticed before.

# ¿ Apr 1, 2012 14:16

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

baka kaba posted:

I guess there are probably some people out there who are used to high action and just prefer the feel

I'm one of these people, on one of my guitars, but because of the sound, not the feel. I strongly recommend it if you want to get a classic big band rhythm sound out of an archtop--high action and decently thick strings really bring them to life.

But that's a very special case. I still encourage anyone starting out to start with low action, and I'm always amazed when I pick up my other main guitar just how much easier it is to play.

And yeah, barres are hard at first no matter what, but high action will be making them much harder.

# ¿ May 8, 2012 00:15

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

baka kaba posted:

Every video I've seen (including justinguitar's) says to just let your third finger mute the high E since very few people can bend their finger enough to clear it.

I think this is good advice. But I also think it's worth occasionally trying to play it with your third finger without muting the first string. I'm sometimes surprised at the stretches or awkward contortions I can get my fingers into just because it's been a year or three since I last tried. Just don't be disappointed if you can't do it all the first time you try.

# ¿ May 21, 2012 02:21

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Lots of discounted, blemished guitars are great deals, but "the neck is twisted in a way that cannot be fixed with a truss rod adjustment" would make me worry that this is not one of them. At the least, I'd want to know what sort of twist it is.

# ¿ Aug 11, 2012 03:44

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

I also vote for wiping everything down every time you play. Doesn't take long and it keeps everything relatively clean.

# ¿ Nov 21, 2012 14:29

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Hydrolith posted:

how do people play in any scales at all without using the pinky?

Cheap answer: http://youtu.be/EYgCMJviD-E. Edit: Easiest to see from about 2:10-3:17.

Pyrthas fucked around with this message at 05:55 on Dec 3, 2012

# ¿ Dec 3, 2012 05:47

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

nrr posted:

I must be blind then, I can see it for some of his other books, but the only format I see for this one is Paperback. Also, do you need a kindle to read kindle files, or can you grab some sort of viewer to let you read it on a pc?

This is what I see. Maybe it's not showing up for you?

And yeah, I'm pretty sure there's a reader PCs.

Pyrthas fucked around with this message at 23:45 on Jan 16, 2013

# ¿ Jan 16, 2013 23:29

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Xabi posted:

It's a myth that bigger strings result in bigger or better sound. Why are you using 11s and 12s? What's your reasoning?

But you're right in that the conversion can be a bit problematic as you'd have to get used to a lighter touch. It's not impossible though but you'd like to use lighter strings on all your guitars, even acoustics.

This has been an interesting conversation for me, coming from 13s and very high action on a big, old archtop. I've never tried anything less than 13s, and I'll be honest: I was just copying the guitarists I like. I'm kind of curious what thinner strings would sound like (probably not curious enough to put up with fixing the intonation and crap, though). But I'll vouch for the high action; raising it when I first got the guitar really did change the sound.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2013 14:54

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Well, that's what I've always thought, too, but Xabi was talking about acoustics, and it made me realize that I'm pretty sure I've never heard or seen an archtop strung with light strings. It just made me a little curious what the difference would be, if any. Again, not enough to screw around with it myself, but still. (Of course, the point about action is largely due to it being an archtop and the sort of music you traditionally play with an archtop.)

# ¿ Feb 6, 2013 15:32

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Declan MacManus posted:

7 and 8 strings are pretty neat and it'd be interesting to hear them in a non-Djenty or Deftones situation.

7-strings show up in jazz sometimes. George Van Eps, Bucky and John Pizzarelli, Howard Alden. 8-strings are less common, but there's Charlie Hunter at least.

# ¿ Apr 12, 2013 14:39

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Well, yeah. (Not gonna find many 7-string archtops in shops, either. Not gonna find many archtops period in shops, really. But yeah, you'll still find more than zero.)

# ¿ Apr 12, 2013 14:47

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Haha, well, I guess the broader lesson is still that if you're looking for extended range guitars in anything other than metal, you're not looking at guitars you can approximate for $600 from a shop. (Unless we're both surprised and he's using EMGs now...)

# ¿ Apr 12, 2013 15:16

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

unlawfulsoup posted:

I was hoping it was more than that because I could stand to learn how to mash big fingers magically. Perfect example being A chord on certain guitars, I basically always make contact with the E string no matter what I do and my fingers are reasonably long and skinny. I am not sure how I can even contort them much more and maintain any semblance of speed. That and stretching stuff like 2 to 5 fret on some songs.

It doesn't really help, but there are some stretches that I couldn't make and then came back to years later and did without trouble. (The one that comes to mind is x347xx.) I doubt it would actually take years if you were working on it daily, but like anything where you're trying to stretch some part of your body farther than it wants to, it's not gonna happen overnight. Part of it was also being more careful to play with my fingertips and keep my thumb in the right place, I'm sure.

Remulak posted:

I ALWAYS hit that loving high E to mute it, since I can't do that 'bend your finger backwards' thing. Goddamn I wish I could do that.

Same goes for this, unfortunately. For a long time I couldn't do it, and then I could. And now, in addition to a permanent callus under the first knuckle on my index finger, there's a smaller one at the same knuckle on my ring finger (the one on my middle finger comes and goes, depending on how many 11 chords I'm playing).

But if unlawfulsoup was talking about playing an A chord with three fingers, I'm not sure what the solution is. Maybe try playing it with the fingering (from low to high) 213 instead of 123? That seems to help some people. Edit: Oops, beaten on that.

# ¿ Sep 16, 2014 15:19

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Zuhzuhzombie!! posted:

Really want a hollowbody. Would like a 225 but the fret access is dumb. Same for a Casino or a 330 (but a 330L fixes that, but none are available at stores at the moment). Gretsch has some killer looking thinline hollowbodies but guess what? They're stuck in the 50s neck design so there's like two inches of wood between your palm and fingers when you play above the 12th fret.

Ignore what I had here before; it was wrong. But an Ibanez ASR70 might fit the bill, if the neck is okay. I have an Artcore (from the other end of the spectrum, an AF84E), and it's a good guitar for the price. Edit: ~~There's also the AFD75T if you want a bigsby and glitter (and humbuckers).~~nope, also semi-hollow

Pyrthas fucked around with this message at 16:56 on Sep 16, 2014

# ¿ Sep 16, 2014 16:16

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Zuhzuhzombie!! posted:

Sweetwater says the HB30 is semi.

Yeah, I realized that after I posted, sorry. Looks like I was lying about the AFD75T, too--it's a Falcon copy, and it's semi-hollow. But I think the ASR70 is more or less a 330L copy, with the deep cutaways and a real hollowbody.

Sorry for all the false starts! It's been several years since I've even looked at electric guitar specs. I forgot what to look for.

Pyrthas fucked around with this message at 16:59 on Sep 16, 2014

# ¿ Sep 16, 2014 16:54

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Smash it Smash hit posted:

so i am kinda GASing for a gretsch style guitar kinda hard atm. Is there any sort of cheaper clone that I should keep an eye out that would be comparable. I know Aria and the Artcore series but, are they more towards the 335 or Getsch type?

Don't know about Aria, but Artcores cover a pretty wide range. They have some 335 copies (even a 330L copy), but they have four that are sort of like Falcon copies (humbuckers and bigsbys):

AF75TDG: single cutaway, full-sized body (15 3/4" lower bout, 3 5/8" max depth)
AFS75T: single cutaway, thin body (same lower bout, 2 5/8" max depth)
AFD75T: double cutaway, full-sized body
AGR73T: single cutaway, small body (14 1/2" lower bout, 2 7/8" max depth, 5/8" shorter)

Dunno what they sound like, but most people seem pretty happy with their Artcores (I have an older one, an AF84E, which was good for the price).

(Sorry about all the edits, if you saw this post earlier!)

Edit: Ibanez isn't very helpful here, but going by Sweetwater, it looks like all the single cutaway models are hollowbodies and the AFD75T is semi-hollow.

Pyrthas fucked around with this message at 18:52 on Oct 29, 2014

# ¿ Oct 29, 2014 18:21

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Having a thicker pick also makes a difference for some kinds of strumming! Jazz rhythm guitar, for instance.

# ¿ Nov 28, 2014 06:50

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

After The War posted:

I want to get more into jazz, but the rhythm sections always make me lose the plot.

I know this might not be the kind of jazz you're thinking of, but I can't imagine losing the plot with a rhythm section like this. (There's some talking you can skip in between the tunes, if you keep watching.) And hey, this is still kinda on topic--it showcases Freddie Green, the greatest rhythm guitarist of all time (and certainly one of my two biggest influences). Just one chord per beat, and he carries the whole thing.

Pyrthas fucked around with this message at 15:28 on Mar 3, 2015

# ¿ Mar 3, 2015 15:21

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Alleric posted:

And I just find it curious that the people that I witness playing at "OMG SHRED" speeds are either 1. playing low tension strings, 2. playing with gain on, or 3. both. And this isn't just an "effect" they use sometimes, it's on constantly. So this made me wonder at what point a person goes "screw it, hit the OD".

In the hope of putting the tension stuff to rest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpzCePYoI8E

(I actually had no idea what the likely tension was here. My vague memory of playing electrics and classicals is that Selmer-style guitars have more tension than classicals, and are something like an electric with non-super-light strings. But honestly, in 21 years of playing guitar, I've never looked these numbers up before. Anyway, my guess is that he's playing something like Savarez's Argentine strings, either 10s or 11s, and I see that D'Addario makes gypsy jazz sets, which are probably also kinda like Argentines, and they list their tensions: http://www.daddario.com/DADProductFamily.Page?ActiveID=3768&familyid=12. So my wild-rear end guess is that Stochelo's playing with something like those tensions. He's almost certainly playing with a 670mm scale length, too, if that matters to you.)

E: Don't get me wrong: Strings can make a difference! I mainly play two guitars. One is an archtop with phosphor bronze 13s and very high action. The other is a Selmer-style guitar with Argentine 11s. The latter is, without question, easier to play fast. I'm just saying it's not physically impossible to play fast and clean with more tension than a classical. (And while it's definitely easier to play fast on the Selmer-style guitar, it's not like it's impossible on the archtop. I just have to be much more precise, so it takes more practice.)

Pyrthas fucked around with this message at 00:35 on Mar 13, 2015

# ¿ Mar 13, 2015 00:27

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

While we're all talking about picks, I guess I'll add that I've been using Wegen picks for almost 15 years now. I just play old-fashioned jazz on old-fashioned guitars, and these days I use a 3.5mm and a 1.8mm, depending on the strings. Among other things, they last a while: I don't play a ton, but even so, I've been using the same 3.5mm pick for about 10 years, and the only change is that the bevel is a little more worn than it was to start with.

I haven't tried a lot of other picks, so I can't make any real comparisons. But I've been more than happy with what I've got.

# ¿ Mar 23, 2015 20:31

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

If we're talking about a nice acoustic, I honestly think it's just worth buying a decent room humidifier. I have one running year-round. If the guitar is worth about as much as the humidifier+filters would cost after 2 or 3 years, though, I'm not sure I'd bother.

# ¿ May 2, 2015 13:43

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

I have a pretty hard time believing that your fretboard can ever look like that if you always wash your hands before playing and always wipe down each string individually with a dry cloth after playing (you can hit the fretboard a bit when you do that, too), so I guess it's a question of whether failing to do that amounts to actively treating your guitar poorly. I'm inclined to think it does (not that that's always a bad thing--since when was rock concerned with treating guitars well, anyway?).

# ¿ May 7, 2015 04:43

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Hollis Brownsound posted:

Some people just have garbage hands. I have a friend who plays a lot less then me, but his fretboard will look like after a few months, where I've literally never had a fretboard ever get that bad.

I know people say this, and honestly, I do actually believe them. I guess the more accurate thing is: I don't understand how this is physically possible. If your hands don't have dirt on them when you start playing, because you just washed them, and your guitar doesn't have dirt on it when you start playing, because you wipe it down every time you play (and, I suppose, don't let it get covered in dust between times you're playing, or wipe off the dust before you start), where is the dirt coming from? Is it just sweat and skin that cakes on before you're done playing, so that even when you wipe everything down as soon as you stop playing, there's crap left that won't be picked up without serious cleaning? Is it something else?

(I understand it just fine if you don't wash your hands, or if you don't wipe your guitar down, or if you let your guitar get covered in dust in between times you're playing, or if you wash your hands but then constantly touch dirty crap while you're playing, or whatever. But otherwise I feel like there's something I'm just missing, because I can't figure out where the dirt comes from.)

Pyrthas fucked around with this message at 05:21 on May 7, 2015

# ¿ May 7, 2015 05:17

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Yeah, I guess that could be. Some mix of sweat and skin and rust, maybe? It still seems like wiping everything down all the time would help, but without first-hand experience, I obviously can't say, so I'll shut up.

# ¿ May 7, 2015 05:23

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Yeah, that's amazing, and I'm sorry for being so skeptical before! I never realized how lucky I was to not destroy everything with a touch.

# ¿ May 7, 2015 07:00

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

I ended up playing jazz, so obviously 100% true.

# ¿ Jun 16, 2015 17:54

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

sofullofhate posted:

Was ist das?

Hollis Brownsound posted:

So we've finally got a working website for the Pick Peelz (i don't like the z either) http://www.pickpeelz.com

If you have pick guard that we don't have listed on there message me and I'll see if I have the template for it. I have many more than what's listed on the site, but it would be too time consuming to chomp with renderings for them and add them all as options.

Of course there is a goon coupon code GOONTAR.

I'm always open to pattern suggestions to keep in stock as well.

# ¿ Jun 19, 2015 04:02

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Hollis Brownsound posted:

I really hate everything about that. Symmetrical shapes on guitars look awful.

Exceptions: classical guitars and noncutaway archtops.

# ¿ Jul 3, 2015 03:15

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 23:59

Pyrthas: Jan 22, 2007

Kilometers Davis posted:

Finally got a pack of Wegen picks. The 1.2mm Bluegrass picks specifically. I like these a lot. Maybe even more than V-Picks. They feel velvety across the strings and have hardly any pick noise, no "chirp" at all. On acoustic they sound much louder than most picks somehow and have a very warm yet entirely balanced tone. If they hold up as well as the Internet claims I have a feeling I'll be trying out quite a few of his picks.

Woo, someone else to mention them the next time everyone starts talking about picks!

# ¿ Jul 4, 2015 19:32

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