The New Guitar Topic

[Fonz]

4Sound is the biggest (if not the only) chain of music stores in Norway. They buy up local stores and you end up with these terrible little stores which are run by pre-teens who think slash is god, and sell nothing but Epi and Gibson SG's and Les Pauls.

 

Oh alright I bought my 2 most cherished guitars there, but you don't really have a choice.

FFS, those guys... The owner of my old go-to store once confessed to me how tired he was of hearing the same Slash riffs over and over all day, every day.

In Porto there's a ton of stores, but a few years ago they were about to be usurped by this mega chain, Rockmusic, which fortunately didn't happen, as Rockmusic sucked major dick... My biggest purchase there must have been a strap

[mr quick]

Don't get me started on the narrow specter of "flavors" that exists. There are literally no full hollowbody guitars for sale at the one here, which is in the largest shopping center in Norway. They have one 335, one lucille, and buttloads of Epis.

 

That's where I bought my Ibanez a year ago.

 

There are 2 "crews" at that store. 2 different groups of people who work at the same time. There's the oldboys crew, which is just perfect. Then there's the pre-teen crew, who didn't know what flatwound strings are.

[Fonz]

Rockmusic was around the same, except there was nothing but metal guitars (BC RIch mostly, some Deans and the odd RG). Nothing against metal guitars (hell, I own one), but a little variety might have been in order.
The older, more tasteful dudes usually stopped by the store down the street (my favourite one and where I bought the Schecter, too), but that one has also closed down.
The owner now works for a bigger chain, and sometimes talented guitarists stop by their stores. I met a great acoustic player there; the dude played a lot like Andy McKee, using lots of tapped harmonics and open tunings. Pretty good style

[mr quick]

Talked to the luthier. 100-115 € to replace with a bone nut and the following setup. Still on the fence.

[Fonz]

115 is a bit pricey, isnt it? You could try to pay for the nut alone and then do the setup at home, though that might be a delicate operation...

[mr quick]

Well, scratch all the negative sh*t about 4Sound. I went in to the one downtown here. First of all, they have a brand new Epiphone Emperor II Joe Pass:

And some other phresh guitars. So the selection has improved drastically.

 

Second of all, I asked about the nut. The head of the guitar department then filed my original nut and adjusted the truss rod a bit for free, for being a loyal and good customer.

 

Now I'm going to restring the guitar and see if it sounds more clear in an amp

[Fonz]

Right on, man! Looks like you caught a lucky break! How much does the Epi cost? That thing looks amazing...

[mr quick]

About 500 €. Fantastically clear sound and playability. It's a gorgeous guitar and very nice to play. Would like to have it but I don't strictly need it.

 

I restrung my Ibanez and did a setup. Plays like a f*cking dream now, god damn. I'll try to record that melody from before with this (intonated) guitar.

[Fonz]

Damn, so many guitars that I'd like to have... I need to get a job a Summer job or something.

 

Looking forward to hearing it!

[mr quick]

Studio today went completely sh*t. The designated drummer was ill (she didn't tell what exactly what was up, I'm assuming) and was replaced with a guy who hadn't heard the song before. Ended up going WAY too slow 2 times and then the 3rd time gradually slowing down so it loses its energy. In addition I couldn't hear myself in the monitor headsets, and was generally displeased with the end result.

[Fonz]

Aw, man, I'm sorry to hear that... What were you guys playing?
Hope she gets better soon, so you can all get the creative juices flowing again!

[mr quick]

Ah it's too late now lol. Went with the last take, in which my headset got tangled and ughgughughu I can't even bother explaining it. The long and short of it is that it was a bad take, but the best of a bad bunch.

[Fonz]

Ah, I'm sure it's not that bad. Remember, you're your own worst critic. But don't worry, I'm sure better sessions will come What was the song, though? Was it one of yours?

[mr quick]

"Blame it on the boogie" by The Jacksons:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkBS4zUjJZo

 

My sound was fantastic though.

[Fonz]

Really cool tune! Were you playing the Starcaster?

[mr quick]

Yup.

[mr quick]

Added this to my pedal board:

 

This first then into the T-Rex tonebug, where I round off the tone slightly. Add some chorus and I'm closing in on a sound I like

[Fonz]

Looks great, bro! I heard a few demos of it and was quite impressed! Glad to know you're achieving your desired sound
My best friend asked me to teach him jazz guitar yesterday after I played some jazz and bossa tunes on his axe (he's starting to evolve from the pentatonic phase and frequently asks me for pointers with regards to technique and improvisation). Felt great for that!

[mr quick]

Nice. What guitar?

[Fonz]

 

Nylon string Alhambra. Pretty good for classical playing, though his has got some problems with tuning stability

[mr quick]

I've played a few of those (in jazz situations though) and agree that tuning stability can be a problem, or at least has been on those I've played. Classical tuners are a dime a dozen though, and I can only imagine how easy to find in a southern european country.

[Fonz]

I have one of those clip-on tuners from my beginner days, but it must be out of batteries by now. I've grown unaccustomed to using tuners now, though. I usually just get an E or an A from a keyboard and go on from that. I'd imagine that tuners come in handy at concerts where you need to change tunings silently and quickly. I used to use mine to change up the tuning as discreetly as possible when playing for people.

[mr quick]

I always use a tuner. It's part of being a professional, and has become a habit. Don't get me wrong, it's fine to tune by ear alone, but never ever(I'm not assuming that you do) when playing with others. Used to play with this bassist(am actually playing with him again in a rock project) who always tuned by ear. Ugh.

[Fonz]

I always use a tuner. It's part of being a professional, and has become a habit. Don't get me wrong, it's fine to tune by ear alone, but never ever(I'm not assuming that you do) when playing with others. Used to play with this bassist(am actually playing with him again in a rock project) who always tuned by ear. Ugh.

I always used it for more delicate classical playing, even though that was usually solo. I guess it had more to do with my being a stickler for perfection in classical playing. Still, I can appreciate an "imperfect" but expressive classical player (see Eliot Fisk, for example). On a side note, I recently found out I have absolute pitch. I had never tested before, honestly.

 

Is your bassist good, though? In a band context, I mean?

Edited January 28, 2015 by Black_MiD

[mr quick]

Awful. Excellent player but not fun to work with at all.

 

..They say that the ones who do have perfect pitch don't need to say it

[Fonz]

Sorry, reading back I realise that might have sounded like boasting I was just kind of surprised with it, because I had never paid any attention to it...

I know some dudes like that, especially violinists. Really good players, but a bit too serious. And one of my classmates who plays violin says he cannot think of the guitar as more than a basic "chord" instrument. That made me a sad panda...

[mr quick]

Indeed. The guitar has become underrated as a means of artistic expression because of the troglodytes that use it as a "basic 'chord' instrument". It's bitter-sweet; parts, strings, accessories etc. are a dime a dozen and you will find them anywhere. The bitter part is that it isn't as respected as it should be. There is a lingering feeling of some kind of unspoken norm which says that one must prove himself as a guitarist(to which I will not conform).

[Fonz]

Very true, and it saddens me to think of how centuries of music written by incredible composers for the guitar that have cemented its status as a tool for expression are overlooked because of a bunch of wankers banging out power chords with their index and pinkie all day and never evolving from that.
It's unbelievable how in the 21st Century people still doubt the potential for artistic expression in one of the most complete and diverse instruments, one for which people like Paganini and Rodrigo wrote solo pieces and full concerts. I hate how it is frequently relegated to the role of an accompanying instrument and how the piano and the violin are always seen as the "elite" instruments. Few things piss me off as much as that unwarranted elitism, especially when you consider that it came from a dude who presumably has some knowledge of classical music.

[mr quick]

Very well-written post. I'd like to add that elitism in any form is a botheration.

[Fonz]

100% agreed! At the end of the day, they all have a common purpose: expression.

I've been listening to Shawn Lane and trying to absorb some of his ideas for outside playing; the picking patterns take a bit of getting used to (I'm mostly a legato-style player), but sound pretty good in context. What are your thoughts on him, Marwin?