Musician's Thread

Was watching an interesting video by Justin this morning...

https://youtu.be/4Dtct1Xdfgk

I love cheap guitars - when I am out and about if I find one that's in the $50-$100 I normally buy them - they have tones that I just absolutely love. Like he says in the video - they tend to be really good for that earthy bluesy sound.

Not to take away from mid-range to expensive guitars - which I love too. LOL

I have 3/4 acoustic kind of like the one he is playing - it took about 3 years, but it has really warmed up from when I first got it.

Despite what he says about high strings not being good for beginners and best getting an electric guitar to learn with, my first was a classical guitar - it was at half price and I thought I couldn't go wrong - if I couldn't play, it hadn't cost me much.

I still have it and I think it sounds great - as do most people who have heard or played it. £35/$50 ain't bad.

I think learning on that guitar helped me a lot with finger positioning and string fingering because it was a lot harder, like he said. When I got an electric, about 2 years later, it felt like luxury - similar to when I first drove a civvy car after learning to drive in an army landrover.

I started with bass guitar - so moving to any guitar felt so much easier on the fingers.

That said - I think that learning acoustic is definitely beneficial to electric for the reasons you outlined. I kind of like when a guitar fights me a little too - not sure why, but it makes me more sure of my positioning. I find when I play a guitar/bass that is "easier" I tend to rush a little more than normal probably due to years of playing guitars that have a bit of fight in them (heavier gauge strings, slightly higher action, wider neck, etc.)

Playing Nylon stringed acoustics also requires a different approach - but I love the way they sound, especially since becoming a fan of Jerry Reed.

@SimonSays28
Yeah, the work itself might have become less mechanical, nut on the other side keeping the example from cutting film. The technique of really cutting film hasn't changed that much...but in my field you gotta learn all the time (which I really like, I get bored quite fast when I gotta do the same thing over and over again)...which often is unpaid time that gets added to the 40+ hours of a normal work week (or 60-80 hours during crunch time) or you are not that "future safe". I've seen that with several collegues who stopped at some point and now have problems delivering what is asked from them (or was, most of them have changed the industry). Also it's not all computer work (but a special case with my position)...I've spent weeks on construction sites, installing, soldering and doing stuff for multimedia equipment which is often a nice change of pace from sitting in front of multiple screens all day long ;-). But enough of that boring crap.

Thx for letting your friends know, and I know metalheads are often some of the last people to support but it's not necessary. Should pull down the 1$ asking price already ;-).

St. Paddys is not that much a thing here in Germany (except you visit an irish pub, but a) these are friggin expensive b) I don't like the people that frequent these locations) but I enjoyed some glasses of scotch with my girl while listening to original copy and discussing it with my girlfriend. She dug it aswell...and maybe it was the scotch or just that it was getting late but the interludes didn't grate as hard as the first time. So yeah, the songs itself stand strong. I got Multiply bookmarked for listening later on (some 3D animation work keeps the head free to enjoy music) and I'm excited to what you got in store for me with this offering.

And you're welcome to take a taste listen anytime ;-).

@Brixmis
I get that with the hard to play guitars. I've had 2, 3 cheapos over the years but I've sold/dismantled all of them because they weren't feasible to play live (feedback o phoria) or realiable enough. I'm used to locking vibratio systems, so if these parts are cheap you're often worse off than with a non locking cheapo. But when it got to playing live or in a studio, I've always had a "workout" scheduled weeks before where I'd pick one of my guitars that weren't built like my normal ones (super strat, ultrathin necks, wide fretboard, jumbo frets and super low action) and practiced with a heavier to play one until I was proficient on that one as the others (the pink Peavey Vortex I posted earlier can be a bitch to handle but the sounds you can get out of it are worth it; I also had a Steinberger paddle for some years and these have a neck like a baseball bat). And on the topic of cheap guitars, the Justin video was entertaining. My dad often has to buy cheap guitars for beginner students and we're both amazed what kinda quality you can get nowadays with a laughable amount of money. Not all is good but some of it is really OK for a beginner. 10 years ago I bought a strat copy for around 60€...I just wanted the neck for another project but I kept the guitar for some time. It needed some work on the frets/nut and a good setup but after that it was a good instrument to start with. And sounded half decent when played clean.
The only thing that can really deter beginners are high action and too heavy gauge on the string, especially if they are children/teens. If you only hurt but can't get any tone out of that thing, most of them start to question if it is worth it. At least that was/is the experience of my father when he get's new scholars who bring a beat up cheapo western style guitars that their parents had lying around for 30-40 years.

awesome, thanks Lord_Of_Shred :)

As for Multiply - hope you enjoy it. It is our first album and one made through the focus of a producer so it is slightly different from our newer stuff.

As for cutting tape - it is exactly the same between physical and digital mediums, it is just easier to do in the digital world. I understand the appeal of film / tape and the analog world. But I think that the gains (perceived warmth and maybe bragging rights) aren't necessarily worth the trade off of the near infinite possibilities of the digital world.

I love my cheapo guitars - I mean I have had to put work into them but they perform admirably when I need them too. I'm still firmly one foot planted in the past as far as guitars go - a standard wammy bar on a strat will do me fine, no need to worry if the guitar goes a bit out of tune (if you stretch the strings ahead of time they are usually fine). I agree though - definitely don't want to start off as a new player on something super cheap or they might not stick with it. Too expensive though and you have a nice paperweight.

The way I pick out a guitar is I strum the open strings - if it is bright and loud I will pick it up (tune it if needed) and play a few pieces on it and see where the fight is on the guitar. If there is none - or it doesn't bother me (stuff like a fret needs to be shaved down, or the action needs to be adjusted, heavier gauge strings needed, etc.) there is a good chance that if I am there to buy I will buy it. On the other hand if low and muted sounding (whether acoustic or electric) I'll just move on - usually for every 8-10 guitars I look at in the store there is a magical one I will pick up and play.

Yay a music thread! I've been playing guitar about 30 years or so. Currently using a Schecter Omen 8 as my main beast and an Ibanez Jem 7Vwh for those milder moments. Running through a blackstar modelling amp and record with Reaper using their stock plugins. Have an old westfield bass and some other non mentionalble axes in various states of disrepair.. Cannibalised in one way or another.. Currently running Bare Knuckle aftermaths in the 8 string for a way better sound than the stock pickups that come  on the omen.. they were so muddy!

https://soundcloud.com/bagnet-1/white-rain

Thats the latest complete track i did. Been a while now.. that sound cloud page has all my musings on it. equal parts songs and riff ideas. never liked doing the vocals myself so not many have them..

https://soundcloud.com/bagnet-1/h-d-a

That ones like an electronicy rocky mix thing..

https://soundcloud.com/bagnet-1/deathgaze

and this ones the one that seems to get all the plays.. never worked out why!

Am at work at the moment but will check out the linked tunes on this thread when i get to my speakers :)

@SimonSays28
Yeah I dig Multiply. I have my problems with the mix at some points. It sounds too maximized. Too much compression/limiter on the master bus (might be partly due to the 128kbps encoding of the bandcamp stream) but the songs...Yeah! Different from the other stuff but I like the 60s inspired riffing with a early 90s retro 70s Grunge sound, at least that's what I'm getting from hearing it for the first time. Has a bunch more energy than these damned lazy Hippie bands it reminds me of ;-). The drums could use more presence in the mix, especially the toms (I'm listening on AKG K702s at work) and the vocals are sometimes to front and center in the mix and later in the song they get drenched out...but that's all critique on a high level. Will download this one aswell for further listening.

Yeah I'm a bit of a spoiled child with the locking bridges, but I started with the RGX which had a really good low profile licensed Floyd Rose...I don't even use the whammy bar that much but for palm muting or resting the picking hand I now got real problems playing on anything thats not a Floyd Rose style bridge...I also learned that I could use my picking hand to add a second, much more subtle vibrato by adding pressure/trembling...my left has 3, 4 vibrato styles that I can pull off quite good if I might say so but combining it with this I get a lot of more possibilities when needed and it gives an extra effect that I haven't often heard before. But believe me, everytime I gotta change strings or a string breaks I hate myself for being so stuck on those things. Had several fixed bridge or standard whammy guitars over the years but I sold all after some time because I wasn't playing them due to not feeling at home on these bridge types. Les Paul Style Tune-O-Matics or these PRS one piece bridges are hell for me.

I don't often buy guitars. I bought a lot when I was younger and scouted ebay on a regular basis. But I never spent more than 500€...and I got 2 real sweet ones that I still have. The pink Peavey Vortex (used for the rhythm on both Bleak and the first Nocturnal Escape -> left side) which is quite a collectors item and very special and a Yamaha RGX Standard which is rare as well (used for the rhythm on both Nocturnal Escape recordings for the .right side)
http://www.axebition.com/electric-guitar/yamaha-rgx-standard
The RGX Standard is one hell of a thing, weighs in at about 6 kg. Solid 1.5cm maple top and mahagony body. It's like a PRS with a ball bearing based floating vibrato. Haven't seen this system since then. 
Then I also picked up a Jackson Warrior, a Steinberger Paddle, an 7 string Ibanez and a PRS SE Tremonti. All of the latter ones have been sold, most of them to my scholars.
Last one I bought was a new Ibanez Prestige...was an unneded buy...but I sacrificed 8 months of nearly all time for work and wanted to treat myself and went to the local guitar store with a budget of 1500€ and didn't leave until I found something to buy. Picked this one up as a "replacement" for my RGX 421 as main lead axe. It does the job well but it's not a full replacement. Besides that I traded my father a new Lenovo tablet for a Yamaha Compass series acoustic some years ago. Great acoustic for my needs, good action and integrated piezo bridge as well as a good sounding microphone.

@Bagnet
Hi and welcome to the conversation. I listened to your stuff. I'm not that big of a fan of this chugging guitar work that's been popular the last few years (I've been a fan of Meshuggah and Gojira since 2005's From Mars To Sirius but that's most of the music in that style I listen to on a regular basis) so I can't really tell you anything about "White Rain" & "Death Gaze" besides that it sounds competent...and that Soundclouds audio quality sucks at the same level that MySpace has in 2004 :D.
"Hopeless Dope Addict" on the other hand I really enjoyed. Could be a perfect soundtrack for a Cyberpunk movie. Also liked the solo/lead at the end. Somehow in my mind it would fit perfect in the movie "Hardware - M.A.R.K. 13"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr9M7_UGmho

@lord_of_shred Thanks mate :) yeah chuggings kinda what i do. I obsessively sit and learn Meshuggah tracks for weeks on end. Done that since i became a living room guitarist.. so when i do write things now they tend to be in that kind of vein. There are some lighter tracks on that page such as millionaire, home and beside you but they are few and far between! White rain was an attempt to keep 2 different rhythms going at the same time in the same riff. the high note of the main riff changes in a 4 4 pattern and the bottom note and bend change on a totally different loop. i kind of like how it moves around.. been trying to apply the theory to newer stuff i have been writing but its hard to initially work out lol. I'm happy you enjoyed HDA, always had a soft spot for that one. My only venture into the world of vocorders. Can never get the bloody things working right!

I have noticed soundclouds sound getting worse of late. they were pretty good a couple of years ago but i uploaded a partial track idea the other day at really high quality and it sounded like bad am radio! might be time to use another provider!

To barge slightly into your bridge conversation.. The Jem has a nice floyd on it. I did find though that it does not return to the same position from a pull back and a dive. If you dive down and let it come back its back in tune but things are slighty sharp after a pull up. I suppose it needs filing to a point again. it got like that about 3 years after owning it and does not seem to have got any worse but its annoying as hell. The schecter is an 8 string with no floater on it.. getting used to muting 7 other strings while chugging on the 8th was hard work. Also playing regular 6 string songs on it is really difficult! hardly touched the jem since i bought it though :)

Have been looking at getting in a Faith acoustic.. some of those look really really nice.. have you tried one?

This one really floats my boat haha

https://www.faithguitars.com/guitars/by-series/blood-moon-series/product/225-fncebmb-blood-moon-neptune-cut-electro

@Bagnet, nothing against chugging. I get what you're doing (figured the changes out during listening) but honestly that's some kind of stuff that doesn't hit me ;-). I find it impressive (and I've often worked with timesignatures that aren't 4/4 in the past or a lot of tempo changes during songs) but not that interessting. I like a lot of progressive stuff but I also got to have a way to weave some kind of progression and/or melody. My style of chugging, was/is more in the vain of Iced Earth or Pantera, God Forbid, Lamb Of God...if that can be counted as chugging ;-). I'll check the other stuff out.

That sounds like a damaged "knife edge" or post. Both can be replaced (even though Ibanez replacement parts are horrendously expensive...at least over here). Did you ever adjust the post height while the strings where under tension? That could damage these parts and lead to this behaviour. 
I've tried 8 strings, and I've had the 7 string Ibanez for some years. And I really tried playing it (had some 7 string songs with my old band so I had to learn how to play the other songs on a 7 string) but it wasn't something I really enjoyed I must say. I haven't got the biggest hands and pulling off some stranger "jazz" chords while banging on stage was hard enough on a normal 6 string one, but on the 7...it hurt and wasn't fun at all. No probs while sitting though ;-).

Sadly I've never heard of Faith guitars before (but I'm mostly out of the loop whats cool now, most of my guitars were made in the 80s or early 90s except the Ibanez and I'm fine with them) but this one looks really nice! And the price seems to be OK as well. My acoustic looks a bit more "flashy"