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Guitaristhelp wrote:There's several possible reasons for tuning down half a step. Here's some of them:
To change key so that the singer doesn't struggle so much on the high notes.
To make string bends easier for the guitarist.
To enable the use of slightly heavier gauge strings without compromising the possiblity of string bends.
To get a deeper - heavier sound.
To be different to everyone else.
To copy your idols e.g. Hendrix
To make it awkward for other guitarists to play or transcribe your tunes - so that they have to keep retuning the flipping guitar depending on what they're playing.
Guitaristhelp pretty much covered it... I sometimes tune down a 1/2 step to get a "darker" tone...especially for slide work. Also when playing a lot of church stuff that's written in flats I can play along in a guitar friendlier chord.
A Gibson SG can be an absolute tone monster (AC/DC comes to mind) but does it have the tone that you want? With some of the higher priced Gibsons you are paying the extra for fancy plating, bindings, trim and things that are labor intensive but do not always add to the tone. It really depends on what you want...if you want a really pretty instrument, that's valuable and will hold it's value, then spend lots of money for a higher end Gibson (or brand or your choice) If you want a player then find the sound that you want and go for it. It is fun to buy something lower priced and then hotrod or modify it until you achieve what you want. When talking to sales people remember that they are just that..."Sales People"... Look at and listen to what other musicians play and then think about the sound that you want...body shapes, woods, electronics, and even finishes all have an impact on the tone...
Guitar about 45 years and Mandolin 5 years...have played around with Banjo, piano, and bass over the years...
Since you didn't specify what you are wanting to play...and that I've seen some phenomenal players with nothing but a basic guitar (telecaster) and a basic amp (maybe with a built in reverb) just play like crazy...I would say that your most affordable accessory would be practice. Give up some tv time or whatever and just play, play, and play... When not playing then listen to what others are doing...and just practice. Cheap effects? Changing picks, playing with fingers, or fingernails, palm muting, bending strings above the nut, bending the whole guitar across your body, scraping strings with the side of a heavy pick, string tapping....Playing with your volume and tone knobs while playing...turn toward your amplifier to get feedback, switch between pickups to get different sounds while playing... I betcha other members can add a ton of ideas... Pick it up, turn it up, and have some fun!
It takes time and lots of practice to develope the strenth and dexterity to make those chords, but it's well worth it. The shortcuts you mentioned are good too it you want to play finger style and leave a few strings open at times. Just don't give up and practice, practice, practice...
You can lightly rest the palm of your hand at the bridge to mute...or sometimes use your thumb or a finger to mute individual strings if you don't want them in a chord...
I prefer a hard pick...when held loosely you can strum and do rythm stuff quite well...then can "dig" in to play lead or runs... everyone has their own preference but I always found the thin picks to "slap" and have a thinner sound... I guess the best answer would be to try some of each for your style of playing and see what works best for you!
http://www.fivefeathers.com/ Try this website...they have a series of CDs called Band in a Pocket. I've got some for guitar and bass playing...
I think that you should consider the product...several companies made Signature models that are designed and approved by the the Artist. Most of those are excellent instruments and are often good investments. As mentioned Gretsch has the Brian Setzler and Rev. Horton Heat models. Gibson has Lucille. Gibson and Gretsch both have made Chet Atkins models. Fender makes lots of Artist models. Gand L makes several...the Will Ray model is a great guitar!
One of my favorite and most versatile guitars is a Peavey Wolfgang...Eddie Van Halen signature model.
The ones that I would be afraid of, especially on ebay, etc., would be Artist Autographed guitars. Those are often cheap, low grade instruments that are autographed by an artist as a promotion or fundraising event. The value in those is due mainly to the value of the Autograph and not necessarily the instrument.
You might try Mandolin Cafe...lots of good info on their site... http://www.mandolincafe.com/ ...
Also you can make your own chart...example: Might have to count everything out and make a chart for the key and chords that you use...some of the music stores and capo companies have a transposing guide that might help...
I have a Regal roundneck Resonator guitar...I believe it's the RD-45. I cut out the three little holes in front of the resonator and installed a Dimarzio Vintage Blues strat Pickup and wired in a volume and tone. I use a heavier set of strings and usually play it fingerstyle and slide in Open G... Regal is not all that expensive for a Resonator (compared to Dobro) and mine has been a good one. This one has the wood body which has a warmer tone, but still that distinctive "sound" of a resonator. The brass bodied ones will give you more of that metallic tone...sorta hard for me to describe...
We have two Mexican Strats...one, that my daughter bought new, is bone stock and sounds and plays great after it was properly set up and adjusted. I bought one at a guitar show that looked new and had a really great action...took it home and just couldn't couldn't get a good sound...I don't know why because the standard pickups are usually pretty good. I ordered a pre-wired pickguard and pickups from Carvin ($110.00 at the time) and now it really sounds and plays great! I had another one that was the 50's reissuse MIM that was a great guitar...I traded it a while back but it too sounded and played great. One advantage of the Strat (and clones) is that there are loads of aftermarket pickups, tuners, and other accessories to enable you to customize until you have that perfect guitar...
I met Roman at a Guitar Show in Dallas and he does make some very fine custom guitars...but he also has an ego at least twice as big as Dallas Texas and commands a price for it. He was very quick to say bad things about other makers that I felt was unnecessary. I think I'll invest in other instruments when I can...
bootleger wrote:www.stewmac.com will give you a varitiy of materials to choose from. If you have never made a nut I suggest that you either buy a preformed (pre made) or buy the material of your choosing and have one made for you at your local shop. Ask for some references on their tech and check out some of his work.
Bootlegger.
I tried making my own before and didn't want to invest the money in buying a proper set of nut files. I found it better (for me) to buy the materials...fit the nut and pins and then having a tech file the nut slots and set the guitar up for me...I love to tinker and work on guitars but some things that seem simple can cause lots of headaches and aggravation for someone who doesn't have the proper tools or skills...it's dangerous to turn me loose with a set of files...
Detman101 wrote:patrickjacques wrote:yo detman since you are the only guitat player you might ask the keyboard player to get together just you and him and work at figuring the chords to the songs. have him play his chord and slide a bar chord up and down the neck until you hit the right chord.You can the transform it to an open chord. One thing I would suggest also is that at the next preformance you bring a tape recorder and record the songs. With the recorded music you can practice and figure out chords replaying as much and as often as needed. People often tell me that I am lucky to be such a good guitar player. I attribute that to only one thing. The amount of hours and hours I have practiced . I honestly beleive that anyone with that many hours of practice would be as good or better than me on the guitar. Keep Pushinhg and it will come
Also it is quite common when playing electric. Everyone wants to be louder than the other, thus drowning out the other guy. Place you amp so that you are standing directly in front of it and not pointing directly at the other musicians. This sould help so that at least you can hear yourself
Thank you for the advice. In my church, I am the audio technician as well as a budding guitarist.
I have recorded the band and musicians singing on multiple occasions and have quite a few of their songs that I play to at home to practice. I will admit that I do a lot better when there is no audience or anyone else around to hear me mess up.
I will point my amp at me this sunday so that at least I get to hear myself play. If everyone else can hear too then more power to them. But as long as I can hear myself playing that's all that counts because I will get better. Plus, as loud as the music is, I should be able to still hear it along with my amp.
=]
Dm
I truly hope that it's just misunderstandings and learning pains and not egos at work with your Church group...sometimes getting a good sound is a real challenge. Typically I'll set my amp over to the side and point it back at me and away from the keyboard...that way I can hear it and use it for a monitor...once I get my sound set then I'll place a mic in front of the amp and the sound tech can mix it with the overall sound. Sometimes this is difficult in a smaller church with limited space and sound resources but ideally the amps should each be micd and the drums should be "boxed in" in with a plexiglass sheild and also micd...then let the sound person mix everything. I find that I can stand in front of my amp and hear what I'm doing over the overall mix, or I can step to the side and hear the stage monitor to hear everything. Hopefully you are able to have some practice sessions to check things out...
I'm 54 and started playing at about 10... One thing I really like about Chordie is the maturity of most players and the willingness to help others... Occasionally a little ego will creep in but this is the best information and learning forum out here...
Dropped tunings opens up a wonderous world for fingerstyle playing...I play a lot in dropped D and double dropped D.
Most guitars will have string gauges listed in their specs...then you can change to suit your needs. Fender Strats typically use 9-42 sets and Gibson Les Pauls 10-42... Often slide players will use a heavier gauge and lots of blues players will tune down 1/2 step or so and then use heavy strings and bend like crazy to get their sound. Remember that if you change gauges then your guitar might need to be set up to accomodate them to prevent buzzing, etc.
If you can tell us what guitar you have then we can probably help you with some recommendations....
Lots of good info posted for you on this forum. I would suggest approaching the worship/song leader or some of the members and see if you can sit in privately and work on some stuff. Check to see if you instrument is tuned with them and then see what your ability is...SouthPaw (accurately) mentioned that a lot of Gospel is played in flats and sharps which works well for keyboard/piano but is often confusing to guitar players...but with standard tuning a person can usually capo and find a guitar friendly key...example...lots of stuff we play is in Eb...capo 1st and play a D chord. I play in a praise worship group and sometimes the music drives us nuts trying to figure it out...but all of us will do anything to help out and encourage others...main thing is to keep trying and don't get discouraged....jg
Time to invest in a guitar tuner...they range anywhere from around ten dollars to several hundred dollar rack units...if you have a piano or keyboard then you can find the corrosponding notes and tune to those. Any of your music stores or pawn shops should have several tuners in stock...or can check out www.musiciansfriend.com to order or simply check out the different types and specs. jg
I've bought several electric guitars off of E-Bay but all were cheap bids and looking for project guitars to repair/hotrod/or rework. If I was buying a "quality" guitar then I would first check out my local music stores and play it before buying.
We've had a Carvin P620 kit for years...it's a 6 channel portable mixer with speakers, mics, stands, cords. Sounds great and has been absolutely reliable. Carvin has several kits available that are easy to use and high quality. Even though there might be only two, I would suggest getting a 6 or 8 channel unit...that leaves room to add extra instruments (keyboard, bass, etc.) or more vocalists... You can check them out at www.carvin.com ... Peavey also makes some good quality and easy to use portable systems too! I hope this helps...we've used ours for churches and outdoor venues...
I wonder why he thinks the SG's are so much "cooler" than other guitars? I agree that the SG's is an excellent guitar but why is it apparently the ultimate statement of "Cool". I wonder why "Cool" is important anyway...
I'm afraid that you're either stuck with buying the Fender Investment grade guitars or waiting for someone to come out with a cheaper imitation...unsually something substandard built and imported. What do you think of obtaining all the parts and building your own as a tribute to your Guitar hero...doesn't have to be exact or necessarily close but something that satifys you and you can say that it was inspired by your Van Halen influences? Depending on your skills, you could even start with a complete guitar such as a Mexican made Fender Stratocaster and grab some tape and paint and repaint it. Speaking of Van Halen, one of my favorite and most versatile guitars is a Peavey Wolfgang...it is an awesome guitar!
A quality strap is a small investment ... I've seen people slinging around a $2000.00 dollar guitar on a $5 dollar strap. Also if you do a lot of movement then straplocks are a must! I've got some Planet Waves and Dunlop straps...also Levy's makes some good leather straps...
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