There we are!

What's a good amp setup for distorted rock/blues? I have a Fender Frontman 25R (piece of junk! :mad: ) and I can't get a nice sound out of it.

Buy a guitar petal. I reccomend the Boss PW-10 V-Wah. I have the petal. Its like 5 Wah Petals in one, AWESOME tremolo, overdrive, and distortion. All in a petal. $200 though. :( Though I got a special deal for only $150. :)

Sorry, I don't speak guiatar (nor play it)

Hmm... thanks, AC!

Ahm... Can any of you cool cats out there in internet land recommend some string set ups for me? I play a Stratocaster, and I've been told they get a weak sound without super-heavy strings, I prefer 9s or 10s, though. Can you help me?

I know NOTHING bout string setups...sorry. Never really look into it. But...if ya got any other questions....ask me...

:giveup:

What's the best way to do vibrato? I use the back-forth, cello-like style, but most guys use the up and down way.

Should I bend up or down? I go down, usually, because when I go up the strings slip.

How do you trill evenly? I find that mine are either too slow or out of control.

Thanks for the feedback AC.

Get it? Do you get it? Pretty good, huh? Made that one up right on the spot, there.

I ave good advice for bending the strings. Its always said to bend up...But bending down is ALOT easier, and the strings dont slip. IMO, it sounds nicer. :)

As far as guitars and set-ups go it's all personal preference. What kind of music do you play? That can make all the difference.


In high school, I used to play lead in a hard rock/metal band on just a strat, a Fender Cyber-Twin, and various types of pedals. You can make a little go a long way. Don't buy into the B*** S*** that stores and "pros" try to sell you! You can get just as good of a sound from a decent guitar as you can with an expensive guitar. It all depends on how well you play, what strings you use, playing in tune, tweaking your amp, FX pedals, the whole 9 yards.




Here's a great site for the aspiring guitarist http://www.olga.net/)





Guitar strings:

The brand is not important. I've played on the cheapest as well as the most expensive and have noticed little difference. Here's what's really important when choosing strings:

1) String gauge (size): Light, Medium, and custom gauge
2) String composition (material): Nickel, Stainless, Bronze, Phospher Bronze, etc.
3) String gauge and tension can effect your guitar in various ways
4) Strings types affect sound, action, and comfort of playing.


I play a lot of Hendrix, Zepplin, ACDC, Metallica, and Van Halen among other hard rock styles so for me I like low action medium-heavy (9+) Stainless and Phospher flat-wound strings. I also have big hands so for me it's easier to bend larger strings on higher action than some one with smaller hands. Somebody with small hands might want to try light or extra-light strings to ease the pain, but you'll probably get a loss of volume, sustain, and a thin or twangy sound.

My main guitar is a '88 Paul Reed Smith (like the one below) that I string with pure nickel 11's. I just bust 9's and 10's, and I like the better tone the heavier strings give you. Builds serious muscle and calluses too.
I usually use 10's on my Strat though, because of the longer neck scale. I usually play though a Fender Twin style tube amp, although I have a few others.

If you want a blues tone you HAVE to have tubes in there somewhere. There really is no substitute. Most blues guys just take an old Fender tube amp and turn it all the way up. It's not like the super-saturated distortion that rock and metal guys play.
If you can't get your hands on (or just plain can't afford) a good tube amp right now, then look into either a tube-driven distortion pedal, or a pedal like the Ibanez Tube Screamer.

The 'cello-style' vibrato is nice, but it is a bit subtle. Eventually you'll find yourself switching to something a bit wider and wilder to really get the point across. Using vibrato properly is one of the best ways to get emotion across on the guitar, and that is, after all, the whole point of doing it, is it not?

String bending is a bit hard at first. Practice targeting a note, then bending a lower note to it. Example: Play a high G on the top E string (15th fret,) sing it, then move down to the F# (14) and then bend to that first pitch. Check it again. Then move down to the F (13) and do it. Then the E (12.) Keep singing the G as you do this, and then check the bent note against the target pitch. Strive to keep the ending note of the bend perfectly in tune, and hold it. As your ears develop you will instantly be able to sense if you are flat or sharp. Do this on different strings on different places on the neck.

http://edlib.homestead.com/files/Sig_4.gif)

i got a fender telecaster that i got years ago. never really got around to actually learning how to play it. i know some chords and can read & play tab, but thats about it. atm it just hangs on my wall in need of new strings.

I highly recommend CRATE amps, they are awesome. =)

I myself have been playing guitar for around 3 years now, so it's good to hear that others enjoy the sport of it too. =)

I have a Peavy Rage 158 Amp, I definately will get a HUGE amp once I'm in a band >:D

I'm currently trying to justify to myself getting the Mesa/Boogie I really want.
Either a Mark IV (http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/Mark_Series/Mark_IV/mark_iv.html) or a Nomad 55 (http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/Nomad_Designs/Nomad_55/nomad_55.html).
Either one is too extreme for my needs at the moment, and I'd probably be better off getting a POD for recording purposes,..

BUT I REALLY WANT ONE!!!!

Originally posted by edlib
I'm currently trying to justify to myself getting the Mesa/Boogie I really want.
Either a Mark IV (http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/Mark_Series/Mark_IV/mark_iv.html) or a Nomad 55 (http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/Nomad_Designs/Nomad_55/nomad_55.html).
Either one is too extreme for my needs at the moment, and I'd probably be better off getting a POD for recording purposes,..

BUT I REALLY WANT ONE!!!!

THey both look..... old. But, I recommend the Mark.....More WATTAGE! :p

Yes,.. but also more expensive.

Although,.. there is a Nomad 100...

Besides, I go for great tone over raw wattage. You can always put a mic on a guitar amp and run it through the P.A. to make it louder at a show.

Also,.. I have neighbors. A super-high wattage amp in the house doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

I've got a blue GSA60, Ibanez with a fender mini amp and Ernie ball stings! Glad to have this thread!

I got a peavy raptor plus with metal strings and its black and white, but i got a crappy amp its a ashton *puts down head in shame* i only been playing a year and a bit, but im in a band at lead guitar and singer :D

i got a .......arg i always forget what its called its on the side of the bridge and you press it in and it bends the bridge causing the strings to kinda stretch making it sound like your bending it up

You should know how to do tabs? well heres a good site for songs

mstabs.net (http://www.mxtabs.net) thats where i get all mine

and with tuneing (not hard) i use a electric tuner but once you know the top string sound then you go hold ya fingure in the top string on the 5th fret then play the top two strings and they should sound the same then you go all the way down intill you get to the 4th string then you do that on the 4th freet thenb the rest on the 5th

Originally posted by Death_Jedi
I got a peavy raptor plus with metal strings and its black and white, but i got a crappy amp its a ashton *puts down head in shame* i only been playing a year and a bit, but im in a band at lead guitar and singer :D

i got a .......arg i always forget what its called its on the side of the bridge and you press it in and it bends the bridge causing the strings to kinda stretch making it sound like your bending it up

You should know how to do tabs? well heres a good site for songs

mstabs.net (http://www.mxtabs.net) thats where i get all mine

and with tuneing (not hard) i use a electric tuner but once you know the top string sound then you go hold ya fingure in the top string on the 5th fret then play the top two strings and they should sound the same then you go all the way down intill you get to the 4th string then you do that on the 4th freet thenb the rest on the 5th


Whammy bar?


LOL I think every great guitarists' first guitar was a peavy. My first electric that I bought back in 1990 (I was 13) was a Peavy Predator (black and white of course) with the peavy amp to boot. Now I have aroung 12 guitars including a Hendrix custom strat, Gibson Les Paul, Gibson Flying V (it rocks), an SG special, and a couple others. You can really tell the difference in tone quality in different guitars. :cool:

My first guitar was a '66 Gibson ES-125. Still have it.
I have about 11 guitars right now. Down from my all time high of about 15. All the ones I have now are really good ones though. Mostly old Gibsons, the PRS, a custom Strat, various acoustics, and a couple of basses.
I have about 7 amps too.

Still, I'm no competition for my dad,.. who at one point had well over 50 guitars, all vintage. I'm not sure what he has now, but I know he's unloaded a few of them.
The nice thing is that he occasionally gets tired of one and sends it my way rather than selling it.

I have two basses (5-string & 4-string) and a Vox Venue amp. :D
I plan to get a nice green 4-string shortly, just need to find one and somehow get the money. :p

In the spirit of keeping this thread alive for a few more days at least, everyone post a short list of the musicians (guitarists and others) who are a big influence and/or favorites of yours.

Ready?

Eddie Van Halen - First guitar hero. Made me want to play the guitar. Still one of the best, most inventive soloists on the guitar (or any instrument for that matter) in any genre.

Steve Morse - Guitar powerhouse. Can play any style you can name like he invented it. Scary chops. And a great composer.

Kenny Burrell - My favorite jazz player. Swings like a madman.

Eric Johnson - I wish I sounded this good. Made everybody re-think thier definitions about what great guitar tone should and could be.

Others worth mention:

Steve Howe
Alex Lifeson
Wes Montgomery
Joe Pass
Jim Hall
Ty Tabor
Steve Vai
Joe Satriani
Carlos Santana
Roy Buchanan
Dickie Betts
Duane Allman
Warren Haynes
The Edge
Bireli Lagrene
Pat Metheny
Danny Gatton

I own an American Strat and Crate GX65 amp. I might sell the amp, buy a prosonic head and a Telecaster. Or something vintage like Jaguar or Mustang.

Big influences...Tom Morello (the biggest), Kurt Cobain, Ares, Trevor Keith, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and many more.

Jimmy Page - When I was 7 I remember listening to a lot of Zeppelin with my parents (big fans of 60s and 70s rock). Just hearing his style was a major influence to play and progress.

Jimi Hendrix - He sent me over the top. I became obsessed with his style of playing as a teen. The way he played still amazes me.

Slash - For some reason there are a lot of GnR fans, but no one will admit it? :confused: He plays some of the greatest licks and riffs I've ever heard (Sweet Child, November Rain, Paradise City solo).

Stevie Ray Vaughn - I really didn't get into SRV until I was 16. I always heard his songs, but didn't know who he was. He is one of my absolute favorites.

Eddie Van Halen - He is the reason why I bought my second guitar; so I could play a half step down without retuning! lol! He has great style and technique. Now if only he and Lee Roth could get together again and not kill eachother :cool:


Carlos Santana
Ynwagie Malmsteen
Bo Diddly
Eric Johnson (Blue on Black)
Steve Vai
Joe Satriani
Dimebag Darrell! (Shedding Skin, you know it!)
Eric Clapton
Pat Matheny
"Smokin" Joe Walsh
BB King


and of course a million bands that have a great guitarist, but I think they are better with the group than solo like Wes Borland.

Eric Clapton, Hendrix, all the good ol' guys......

Some of my heavier, newish type of playing comes from people like Ben Moody of Evanescence.

I have a Fender guitar, but haven't really got into playing it that much. :(

I played piano for about 6 years and got good enough that my teacher couldn't really teach me anything, so I have a good start, but still need a lot of work.

I really need to start playing. It seems to be a lot of fun when you can just sit there with a group of people and play.

*runs off to practice* :D

I play a big waste of money. :( I bought a Mexican Fat Strat for 600 bucks and I'm really disappointed with it. I have some serious buyers remorse on this one. I keep beating myself up when I look through the classified ads and see some killer git-box for like $250.

I started off listening to music when I was about 12. I loathe pop music, so a lot of the newer rock bands I inadvertantly avoided. I started out liking stuff like Zeplin and BTO (:D ) But now I find that my tastes have really changed. I listen to a lot of Claptons older stuff, like the Bluesbreakers and his Yardbirds stuff with Sonny Boy Williamson. I also like SRV and Hendrix. I also got a big intorduction to Funk/R&B from Albert Collins; now I like guys like James Brown and Lowell Fulson. I got hooked on BB King when I heard "Just Like a Woman (Rockin' Twist)" on a compelation CD, but I havn't been able to find much of his stuff that was like that.

Anyway, I'll post my personal favorite Tab site, www.mikesguitarsite.co.uk)

-PS- Hey, Obi-wan, Pan Pan is fat!

The Mex Fenders aren't all that bad, considering some of the other crap that's out there right now. You could have done a lot worse in that price range, let me tell you.
Take it to a reputable tech nearby and have him dress the frets properly, set up the action, and gut the pickups and electronics and replace them with Seymour Duncans.
Most people I know with Mexican made Fenders like them after they go through these steps.

I suppose that would solve my problem, but I really have no idea what a good price for work is, so I'm scared to blow a wad on something I don't need. I spent about a thousand bucks on my guitar/amp, so I'm not really in the mood to go spend too much more until I get a job.

I've been interested in learning how to make a guitar myself, though. My dad is a carpenter, so he has the equiptment, but I have not been able to locate any books on the subject so far. Just a pipedream, I guess...

Originally posted by edlib
Take it to a reputable tech nearby and have him dress the frets properly, set up the action, and gut the pickups and electronics and replace them with Seymour Duncans.


Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that basically just remaking 3/4 of the guitar?

Anyway, I've been playing for a little over two years.. I don't really have much to show for it:( I have two Fender Squires.. one acoustic, one electric. I know most of the major and minor base cords (E, Em, A, G) etc etc.. I only know one scale by nature though. I can play pretty fast too, but eh, you know...

At some point I'd like to get better. Maybe take lessons. Who knows.

Slash- Hes my fav guitar player i wanna play like him when i get older (im only ....nearly 13 and i been playing for jus about 2 years)

Good Charlotte - we play most of their songs in our band

Thats me

Why dont we start posting a few tabs

heres one from blink 182 it jus poped to my head

---------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------- *
-----0-0--3---------0-0--3-----------0-0--3-------------3-3--0 *
3-3-----------------------------0-0--------------------------------
----------------3-3--------------------------------1-1-------------

Thats the start if u want more here it is

-----xxxxxx-----xxxxxx---------xxxxxx-----------xxxxxx
-----xxxxxx-----xxxxxx---------xxxxxx-----------xxxxxx
-----xxxxxx-----xxxxxx----------xxxxxx----------xxxxxx
- 5-xxxxxx------xxxxxx---------xxxxxx-----------xxxxxx
--3-xxxxxx--5--xxxxxx------7--xxxxxx-------3--xxxxxx
-----xxxxxx--3--xxxxxx------5--xxxxxx-------1--xxxxxx

Thats the whole song it repeats itself......really easy (x means put hand oveer the strings and strum...play quite fast)

Originally posted by Datheus
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that basically just remaking 3/4 of the guitar?
The things that seperate a great guitar from a cheap one are the craftmanship on the final setup, and the quality of the electronics. The wood is usually just fine, and since almost every Fender you can buy these days (with the possible exception of certain Custom Shop creations) are designed and built on the same computer-controlled CAD/CAM machines, so there will be little difference in the bodies and the necks.
Replacing the pickups and having a fret job and setup by someone who REALLY knows what they're doing can go a long way towards making a nice guitar out of a dog.
I know a lot of guys who play Mexican made Fenders who like them better than much more expensive models once they have them worked on. And you can usually buy 2 of them and have them worked on for the price of a single top-o'-th'-line model.

Ah, a topic I can relate to. I've been playing for about 2 and a half years. But I play mostly Acoustic, so I can't help you too much.

Ahh guitars love them. Been playing for 3 years and I have a Ibanez RG-series with a crate amp. My favorite tab site is www.guitartabs.cc) they have all the cool tabs from almost everyone.

Originally posted by edlib
The things that seperate a great guitar from a cheap one are the craftmanship on the final setup, and the quality of the electronics.

I know a lot of guys who play Mexican made Fenders who like them better than much more expensive models once they have them worked on. And you can usually buy 2 of them and have them worked on for the price of a single top-o'-th'-line model.


I agree. Changing the pickups is a good start. I think he feels ripped off for spending a grand and doesn't see any benefit from it.

A mexi-strat is a good guitar as far as the body and neck go. I had a red fat strat three years ago that I bought locally for $250. Don't worry, I know the owner and I practically put his kids through college with the dough I've spent on guitars and amps over the years. :) Anyway I hated the sound it produced (sounded really flat and dull). I changed the pickups and electronics myself and I had Dave (the owner) change the action. After that it sounded GREAT! A really nice clean sound!

Here you go, Grilled-Sarlacc.

First of all, familiarize thineself with the fretboard. As you play along it you will find some relationships between the strings and frets, for example, how the 5th fret of the 6th string sounds the same as the open 5th string.

Next, learn some chords. I learned barre chords first, but most people start out with open chords. Learn E and A right away, you'll need those. I have a book called "Play Rock Guitar". It's really thick and has lots of diagrams, but it gets pretty musical early on, so if you just want to play the guitar and not play "music", like me, I don't reccomend it.

Learn to read TAB, if you can't read music. TAB is basically just a diagram of where your fingers will be when you play a song.

Try out some songs once you can read them. Don't try songs that are too hard, but also don't play songs that you don't like to listen to, or you won't know/ won't care if you make a mistake. I, for one, started out learning Blues Theory because a) It's simple b) It's in just about every rock song you've ever heard c) It helps you learn lead guitar.

If you can, look for guitar books in a local library. That's what I do. Songbooks are expensive, and internet TAB is often inacurate, so free songbooks are a good solution.

Anyway, I hope this helps...
:guitar2

Thanks Bro,

I'll start working on some of that in the near future (as soon as school gets out :) )

Get a metronome (or drum machine) and work with it.
The biggest problem I see with beginning guitarists (who have no other real musical training) is with thier time. It's still my biggest problem to this day.

Practice EVERYTHING you do with the metronome at first, until you develop an internal sense of time.

Of course I play the guitar!

I have a Black Fender Stratocoaster, American Series.

I also play in a band, called "Russin"
:band1

Nearly forgotten to say, OLGA (http://www.olga.net/) is my favorite tab site

Yeah, i've taken music most of my life (trumpet), so I know how to count and whatnot, so I just need to figure out the whole guitar thing.:)

Originally posted by edlib
Get a metronome (or drum machine) and work with it.
The biggest problem I see with beginning guitarists (who have no other real musical training) is with thier time. It's still my biggest problem to this day.

Practice EVERYTHING you do with the metronome at first, until you develop an internal sense of time.


Very true. I've been playing music my whole life so it's easy for me to pick up a new instrament or keep a beat because it feels natural. I know a lot of good players that haven't been taught the basics of music and have problem keeping time. I think it makes a huge difference as far as being able to right your own music and parts for other instruments like percussion and woodwinds. :cool:

Dude, you should learn to "right" english, first. (Jus' jokes!:D)

Timing is a real pain in the butt for me. I can hear it in my head, but unless I have a recording playing in the background, I go too fast.

Originally posted by Grilled-Sarlacc
Yeah, i've taken music most of my life (trumpet), so I know how to count and whatnot, so I just need to figure out the whole guitar thing.:)
That's good. That means you already know scales and theory, and have a sense of time.
First you should develop a couple of purely mechanical exercises to get you fingers and pick hand in some kind of shape. Running scales and arpeggios are the best, but it can be as simple as playing chromatically up and down one string, or across all 6 strings.
Like this: http://www.wholenote.com/default.asp?iTarget=http%3A//www.wholenote.com/cgi-bin/page_view.pl%3Fl%3D5200%26p%3D1%26a%3D0)
Spend 5 or 10 minutes doing these type of exercises a day, as a warmup before practice, speeding them up a little more each day to develop muscle memory and to get your hands in sync with each other.

Hey nice thread you got going on. I just today got an Ibanez Bass Guitar Case (Guitar comes on the 30th of June) and a Fender 60B amp. For my birthday (on Tuesday). Does anyone know of good places to get free online lessons and tabs. Links are appreciated;)

I said before, OLGA (http://www.olga.net/) Is my favorite tab site. They have both guitar and bass tabs there.

A very nice song to play is "Ain't talkin' 'bout love" by Van Halen

www.wholenote.com) has lessons and TABs, though I'm not so sure about bass...