How many guitar heads are there on this website?
What music do you like to play?
What level would you rate yourself at?
What guitars do you own?
Amps?
Do you play guitar with others, solo, or use musical aids?
Tips for learning?
I've been playing on and off, more off since 1988, with about 15 yrs of no play. Just getting back into it after the ACDC concert where I got totally inspired, am trying to learn about 10acdc songs, though not Angus's solo lead playing, more Angus Riffs and Malcolms Rhythm. Also Fan of Led Zep, Jimi H, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath to mention a few
I have noodled for many yrs but am too cr@p/embarrassed to play with others.
Had one gtr lesson - then next morning smashed my left wrist bones into dust on a motorbike.
Nature's way of saving all n sundry from my gtr noodlings I always say.
gtrs:
Samick semi acoustic (Gibson 335 copy) good rythm - rubbish everything else. My 1st gtr and still too nice lookin to get rid of.
Fender 80s Squire Strat - sweet gtr, needs a couple of frets worked but too good for me.
Sigma (Korean made Martin) acoustic.. myeh not that bad - definately not that good either.
amp:
Fender sidekick 30R Lookin to replace soon. Had ordinary tone but tres nice spring ver. Verb is cactus and now hate the amp. Pretty tempted to get a cheap bass n amp.
Have wanted to apply myself for some years now but with young kids etc something always squeezes out the gtr practice. Have worked in and around sound/music to satisfy appetite for music.
Would love to jam with my squids one day (or any other players for that matter) but squids will probably end up as lazy as I. Should knuckle down in winter cause no chance when the breezes are blowing.
Go the ACCADACCA!
How many guitar heads are there on this website? Me (although I moved to piano a few years ago, but I'm back into guitar as well).
What music do you like to play? Jazz fusion, soul, grooves
What level would you rate yourself at? At what I can do, advanced. Compared to a professional session player, just a lounge room basher.
What guitars do you own? Maton acoustic. Martin Backpacker. Cheap old 12 string that has been extensively reworked. Mandolin. Ukelele. Looking to buy an electric later this year. (Also got a piano and a keyboard and a few effects pedals.)
Amps? None but I have a Behringer mixer that can take anything I want to plug into it. It's a new toy and a really really good thing.
Do you play guitar with others, solo, or use musical aids? Solo. Too lazy and too shy to play with others. I have played with professionals and in public in the past so I'm not a total wanker (well maybe a little bit).
Aids:
- Electronic guitar tuner.
- Little digital recorder so you can play stuff and slow stuff down and generally work on playing proper songs. Mine is a Boss Micro BR
- Boss RC-2 Loop station. You can play a section then it loops back and you can add layers over and over. Hugely good fun. Also has built in backing track and drum beats.
Tips for learning?
- Sing. I can't but everybody wants to hear a song. Playing three chords over and over is boring but add some words and you've got music. (Sing the right words the right way and you'll probably score something else. 
)
- Absolute number one is to learn about the "feel" of a song. If you can make the rhythm right you can get really credible songs from just three chords. Most of the truly great popular guitarists are not really good, but they can make a great feel that you just want to listen to. (BB King, John Lee Hooker, Eric Clapton, etc etc)
- Learn to pick up songs by ear. That's how all the best players learned. (You can get slow down software so you can play pieces at half speed to pick things up.)
- Learn some music theory. If you know basic song structure you can play anything you hear.
- Learn to read music. It's another way of learning songs more quickly.
- Play with better musicians than yourself. Music "rubs off".
- Don't give up and practice heaps. 15 minutes a day is fine if you keep slogging away at a piece. You go through years of thumping away on an instrument then one day you realise you're pretty good at it and never noticed.
- Even if you can't play everybody else's music, find your own sound and play that. You might think you're just a bedroom basher but it's your music and just as valid as anybody else's. If you've ever seen video of the Stones in rehearsal or U2 working up a song you'll know how crap great musicians can be
I've been playing on and off, more off since 1988, with about 15 yrs of no play. Just getting back into it after the ACDC concert where I got totally inspired, am trying to learn about 10acdc songs, though not Angus's solo lead playing, more Angus Riffs and Malcolms Rhythm. Also Fan of Led Zep, Jimi H, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath to mention a few
playing on and off since the last 15 years. self taught. cant read or write music, not really interested in doing so either
.....Also had a samick electric but traded it in for one of them death metal axe looking things[}:)]...looks the shizzle, but in all reality the samick probably sounded better.
got a nice electric accoustic in a deep red colour, not expensive but sounds nice....
picked up a 2nd electric off a mate for $100, looks alright too, but havent given it a thrash yet.....sorry i cant remember any of the brands guys.......
I got a jade 75watt amp, had it almost the whole 15yrs, replaced the main speaker once....it still pumps but, you could still p!ss off your neighbours neighbours neighbour with it.
Got a zoom pedal and an RP50 pedal, both good pedals. the zooms got some heavier sounds for grunge and metal, but the RP50 has a built in drum machine and the loop feature, which is fun, makes you sound pro no matter how smashed you are...........
Sometimes i am able to play stuff i hear off the radio or cds, but mostly i just seem to pick the riffs i like and turn them into something else......origanally inspired by metallica ,The pre albums leading up to black, haha even old sepultura and megadeath......moved on to linkin park ,pappa roach that kinda thing but really just play my own kinda style.....depends on your mood really i rekon, if your angry you really just thrash some hard and fast stuff....and if its a sunday arvo i find myself plucking away at some john butler sounding stuff........
Biggest tip......learn how to down tune your top string to "D"..... i call it drop D.....it makes playing everything so much easier and gives it a deeper sound.....i dunno if anyone understands what i mean.......sometimes even i dont...
out of the blue i sing Lady Gaga's alejandro.
something like this .....alejandro,alejandro.....alejandro.
bass player has a roadie on the floor , punching him in the head, sound guy pulls him off and says, why ? "he detuned one of the strings on my bass". thats no reason to keep hitting him. "He wont tell me which one !!!"....
hardie,
If you like AC/DC check out this guys Youtube channel...whilst there are lots of people on youtube who can play good covers, few play with such passion as this guy...a complete AC/DC junkie.
I learnt Back in Black and You shook me all night long from him...
Lounge room basher playing Epitone Gibson 6 string steel acoustic and a cheap 12 string. Have been playing on and off for probably 30 years. Have to sit and concentrate to read music (you can see my lips move). Mostly bash chords or finger pick arpeggio style but at my mediocre level I play OK once I put in some practice. Main problem though is I can't really play the 12 string any more since I crushed my left index finger a couple of years ago. Even some of the fingering on the 6 string is a bit awkward.
I hear yer. Jammed my fark orf finger on my left hand in the chicken loop/bar on a demo kite last year. Now i play really really really sh!t (before i only played really really sh!t)
What's got 3 legs and a c**t on it?
A drum stool.
Drum machines drink less of the shared beer and don't avacrack atya missus.
I'm a guitarist that hasn't progressed in 15 yrs. Good enough to get gigs but not good enough to make a decent living out of it.
I have an Ibanez GT (elec) and i recently snapped the head off my lovely elec accoustic by greg bennett. Hoping to replace it with a Maton.
I generally play the same old tired tracks that you hear in pubs all over Australia IE eagle rock, khe Sahn, Johnny B Goode etc etc.
In my spare time i like to do inappropriate parody songs at social functions, like 'the devil went down on Georgia' and 'the hooker' you could find these on youtube if you want to see what i mean.
I also like long walks on the beach
I use a fender Keyboard Amp. Doubles as a bass amp and has excellent crisp sound to it, but not good for a filthy metal sound.
No tips for learning......gone stale myself.
I have a six string seagull, not a big name but sounds good!!! Playing for 8 years, I have lost tip off finger so it makes it a little harder. I play more mellow stuff than most of you guys, folk, 60s, 70s & a little bit of county (im no where near as cool as you guys
). Mainly strumming, arpeggio & a little
finger picking.Fav muso Christy Moore. Best tip for learning... take a few lessons from someone who knows what there on about , just to get the right technique. Record yourself as much as possible even if sounding S**t. Lets you know that you have improved, when things get tough. I make sure I practice at least 15min everyday 5 min warm up 5 min playing song i have learnt, 5 min learning new song.
I am thinking of taking singing lessons....If i am unable to learn how to sing i will start playing heavy metal
i have played on and of for 22 years starting at the age of 6 I dont belive being in a rock band will now put enough food on the table for the fambily.
With all the amature musicians around producing good quality music (go down to an open mic night there 100 people all want to be rockstars)and the availibility of downloading and fileshare producing i think the industry has crashed.
Nightclubs now have moved on to tecno music and other styles rock and roll was a fad.
I still play guitar on a regular basis but to follow this as a career would be a falacy unless it was in the teaching etc career path.
i think photography is another skilled feild which interupted with tecnoligy
In all honest i enjoy having a sing and a strum with friends over a beer reguardless of the tallent everyone has fun.
There is no money to be made in the music industry.
ive been known to dabble in it for the last 25 years or so. still no shredder but have fun.
Another tip, replace your strings fairly frequently. Strings lose their crispness and volume after a couple of hours of playing. A cheap guitar with good strings will sound just as good as a much more expensive guitar.
There you go I had always thought RichieFish was a nick-name.
Surf gtr ey? Any chance of posting some toons?
Yeah, I got back into it a few years ago and enjoy both acoustic and electric.
Play most of the usual criminals with more enthusiasm than ability.
There are so many learning tools out there that were not around when I started 30 yr ago.
Lots of good accurate transcriptions out there.
I have a nice collection of those, which makes it very interesting to play. Since I'm playing for myself, and not a pub audience, I can work on obscure songs rather than staples. Did a band thing for a while, I found myself spending a lot of time on songs I really did not like.
It's a great hobby, and I back up the advice to learn to sing. Not only will it develop your ear, but people love to hear a song.
ALso, tune your guitar accurately and often. Playing even slightly out of tune will cruel the fun for you and everyone else. Tuning by ear is an advanced skill, so use a tuner(flame suit on).
Started playing more often when junior got into it last year, he's settled on bass now which works out well. Had the attention span of a pea though
had heaps of guitars over the years strata, jazzmaster, jaguar, Les Paul, prs was favourite though sweetest tone for everything from jazz to grinding metal and the best action out of all of them. Now I'm down to my Mex strat which is sweeeeet and a ****jouse accoustic covered in stickers, lived thru hell with that one haha. Had to sell Marshall last year due to gfc, jcm 800 from 1980 something, filthiest head I've ever heard and quad. Now I'm down to sharing juniors squire crudbox. Planning on getting a sweet little combo again soon though, any suggestion. Thinkin another Marshall.
hey globetrotter, Ive got an acoustic segull as well, nice guitar. just play for my own amusement really. have a couple of mates that are musos so pick up tips from them.....
I nearly bought a Seagull about 15 yrs ago. Still kicking myself. The $$ for one of their solid tops at the time were super good. Great sound and beautiful finish too. Durn!
Yes i was lucky, at the time i brought it, I knew little about guitars & had a few lessons on electric,it was the only guitar i could play as i had lost the top of a finger & had probs making chords. It action was spot on for me. Best of all was the price. Nothing compared in sound or feel in its price range. It was priced as a beginners guitar & I don't think I will ever need to upgrade. Didn't know of anyone with a seagull until now although they must have sold heaps.
What style or genre of music do you play arancini
(DGDGBD] one finger dave hole
Got a Maton
Want a telecaster, mid 70's and a Marshel amp over 100w
Also would like a young blonde, mid 20's, fit with nice ass and likes beer.
Plus world peace, no climate change a bank account with over 1mil in it, good
constant waves at my local every day, endless beer in my fridge and a job
that allows me to get back on the bongs....
Not much to ask for i reckon...
i play 4 and 5 string G&L Basses (L2000 & L2500).
I have an Ampeg 500W solid state bass amp and avalon U5 Preamp.
Been playing for 16 years.
Made a few of my own basses too check out the pix below...
inspriations are les calypool, geddy lee, rex horan, jaco pastorius, cliff burton, robert trujillo.
have home studio which i make some tunes in my (rare) spare time...
am waiting for the mid life crisis before i join a real band, either that or a real GFC that requires me to sing for my supper or some tragic acident that stops me from windsurfing...
a couple of my tunes herehttp://soundcloud.com/organized-lines-1/postweddingjamb
soundcloud.com/organized-lines-1/a-slap-in-the-face-nicmaccormac-organized-lines-320kbps
