Guitar Megathread II: Unleash the picking fury!!!

[rollerball]

love Mike Stern's tone and phrasing here.

[SwimToTheMoon]

I dunno man, I don't really hear anything in there that I think is extra innovative or out of the ordinary. Although I did like when he used his thumb as a capo and played those cool arpeggios and those little slides he weaves in his phrasing. But outside of that I think he's just using the modern lexicon of shred playing. He's certainly talented but I dunno if I would say his solos are necessarily more interesting than yours.
He reminds me of that one kid from Stranger Things.

Yeah but imagine having that technical ability at that age.. I've only really kind of figured out advanced picking movements in the past 2 years, spent more than a decade just fuking around playing whatever.. Imagine just figuring all that chit out within 3 or 4 years of playing..

Lol at the description of this video.. 7th grade.. I remember I was trying to figure out red hot chilli peppers songs around that time

[rollerball]

Yeah but imagine having that technical ability at that age.. I've only really kind of figured out advanced picking movements in the past 2 years, spent more than a decade just fuking around playing whatever.. Imagine just figuring all that chit out within 3 or 4 years of playing..

Yeah but as Dom referred to, the youtube age has greatly facilitated the ability of young players to grow very quickly into their technique. Don't get me wrong, I wish I could play that well at that age too, but again I don't think he's doing stuff harmonically that's substantially more advanced than what you do.

[SwimToTheMoon]

Yeah but as Dom referred to, the youtube age has greatly facilitated the ability of young players to grow very quickly into their technique. Don't get me wrong, I wish I could play that well at that age too, but again I don't think he's doing stuff harmonically that's substantially more advanced than what you do.

Thanks m8, I was mind blown by that kiesel solo so that's a huge complement lol.. I just wish I could see a day in the life of teenager Jason Becker.. How and what he practiced exactly, did he just listen to chit over and over and try to figure it out?
One thing I noticed in the difference that I practice now as an adult is that just 1 hour of playing is equal to like 5 hours of playing when I was a teen.. I know how to focus on the important things and not get distracted by just jamming and fuking around. I wonder if those child prodigies just have a higher level of maturity when it comes to learning new things and know how to hyper focus and not get bored of the important stuff..

[rollerball]

Thanks m8, I was mind blown by that kiesel solo so that's a huge complement lol.. I just wish I could see a day in the life of teenager Jason Becker.. How and what he practiced exactly, did he just listen to chit over and over and try to figure it out?
One thing I noticed in the difference that I practice now as an adult is that just 1 hour of playing is equal to like 5 hours of playing when I was a teen.. I know how to focus on the important things and not get distracted by just jamming and fuking around. I wonder if those child prodigies just have a higher level of maturity when it comes to learning new things and know how to hyper focus and not get bored of the important stuff..

I often think that prodigies seem to be able to easily see the most efficient path in a sea of options and follow it intuitively. I'm sure they played all the time but was probably more engaging for them because they are able to progress so much more rapidly.
The interesting thing about prodigies however is that the majority seem to fall under diminishing returns - the older they get the less they standout from the best players in the world (who were not necessarily prodigies when young).

[SwimToTheMoon]

I often think that prodigies seem to be able to easily see the most efficient path in a sea of options and follow it intuitively. I'm sure they played all the time but was probably more engaging for them because they are able to progress so much more rapidly.
The interesting thing about prodigies however is that the majority seem to fall under diminishing returns - the older they get the less they standout from the best players in the world (who were not necessarily prodigies when young).

Yeah true... I think another skill the best guitarists in the world have that most child prodigies don't is structure.. Talented prodigies can play all this fancy creative chit with amazing technique but that doesn't mean they can structure and create proper base for the guitar work.. Petrucci, Vai, Malmsteen, Becker, EJ, Andy Timmons.. All those guys create an amazing context for the guitar, they are just using the guitar as their main tool to convey a multi layered story with lots of voices.. They think of the bigger picture when creating music and that's not a skill most musicians have in general, now add their monstrous technique and creativity and that's how you get one of the GOAT guitarists in the world imo..

[BenjiDaldes]

Isn't it funny how you get guys like Petrucci, Vai etc, who are probably 10x the technical guitar player of the likes of Gilmour - but I would still much rather listen to a full show of this :



Even though it's very simple

[cjmadscientist]

Isn't it funny how you get guys like Petrucci, Vai etc, who are probably 10x the technical guitar player of the likes of Gilmour - but I would still much rather listen to a full show of this :



Even though it's very simple

Gilmour is a master of note choice, phrasing, and tone. There's no one like him.



on a side note, is anyone here a 7 string player? I've been putting in time trying to get my head around it, and I'm having a significant amount of trouble coming to terms with the low string tonal shift. I like a lot of music by people who utilize 7 strings, but I can't get inspired by it whatsoever. Technique wise, the extra string isn't throwing my hands off, but my ear just can't stand it.

any advice, tunings etc? I may try a 7 string tuning that Devin Townsend uses (open C variant) to try and have some chord voicings that don't sound "backwards" to me, but I don't know.

Maybe I'm just not a 7 string person.

[BenjiDaldes]

Gilmour is a master of note choice, phrasing, and tone. There's no one like him.
.

That must be what it is. I've never been able to put my finger on it because even though the likes of Paul Gilbert etc are ridiculous competent on a technical level, Gilmours playing is so sick, but in a 'different' way.

Guthrie gets a good balance of shred and emotion tbf

[MrBourbon]

It should be a simple fix raising the bridge height on that side by turning the thumbwheel. No need to let some kid at Guitar Center screw around with your pride and joy.

Thanks for all the help men. Action was 2/64th on the low E. Moved it up to 4/64s and I think it's a good compromise with a little buzz but very fast action. I can always tweak it later.

I adjusted the height of the bridge with the screws. The little thumbwells are up tight against the underside of the bridge, are they supposed to be against the body or the bridge?

[Dominik]

One of the biggest turn-offs to me is when a player has chitty vibrato - like kirk hammett's, ugh that chit sounds like complete chitty chit.

There's really no excuse at that level. Holdsworth crammed a metric fkton of notes into his solos but when he decided to land on one for a while he made it sing with a beautiful vibrato.

[sloppyjoe1]

Hey guys. Just getting back into guitar after a decade. I have a nice ibanez, and I just ordered the focusrite scarlett(which is gonna take awhile to ship im sure) and plan on getting the bias fx 2. Im a metalhead but I'm open to learning via justin guitar & at the same time try to learn complete songs(back in the day I used to just learn riffs). Any advice on tabs? I heard nowadays everything is behind a paywall, but I'm aware of the guitar pros program to upload tabs to. Just wondering how yall learn songs.

[VTheKing]

Hey guys. Just getting back into guitar after a decade. I have a nice ibanez, and I just ordered the focusrite scarlett(which is gonna take awhile to ship im sure) and plan on getting the bias fx 2. Im a metalhead but I'm open to learning via justin guitar & at the same time try to learn complete songs(back in the day I used to just learn riffs). Any advice on tabs? I heard nowadays everything is behind a paywall, but I'm aware of the guitar pros program to upload tabs to. Just wondering how yall learn songs.

Lots of tabs are moving to Youtube, you should be able to find tutorials for most popular songs. There are also channels dedicated to certain genres e.g. Simon Smith has lots of Black Metal tabs, while Nik Nocturnal has plenty of metalcore content.

All that said, I can generally find tabs online either in UG or Songsterr

[MrBourbon]

Hey guys. Just getting back into guitar after a decade. I have a nice ibanez, and I just ordered the focusrite scarlett(which is gonna take awhile to ship im sure) and plan on getting the bias fx 2. Im a metalhead but I'm open to learning via justin guitar & at the same time try to learn complete songs(back in the day I used to just learn riffs). Any advice on tabs? I heard nowadays everything is behind a paywall, but I'm aware of the guitar pros program to upload tabs to. Just wondering how yall learn songs.

Songsterr is great for tabs. It can play thru the song for you, loop sections, slow it down etc.

Check it out on the web first - the phone app isn't free but it's a one time charge ($5 I think?) and well worth it.

[sloppyjoe1]

Lots of tabs are moving to Youtube, you should be able to find tutorials for most popular songs. There are also channels dedicated to certain genres e.g. Simon Smith has lots of Black Metal tabs, while Nik Nocturnal has plenty of metalcore content.

All that said, I can generally find tabs online either in UG or Songsterr

Songsterr is great for tabs. It can play thru the song for you, loop sections, slow it down etc.

Check it out on the web first - the phone app isn't free but it's a one time charge ($5 I think?) and well worth it.

Thanks Boyos

[DerkBezerk]

Thanks Boyos

You could look at powertabs - it's a free program and you can get tabs on UG.

on a side note, is anyone here a 7 string player? I've been putting in time trying to get my head around it, and I'm having a significant amount of trouble coming to terms with the low string tonal shift. I like a lot of music by people who utilize 7 strings, but I can't get inspired by it whatsoever. Technique wise, the extra string isn't throwing my hands off, but my ear just can't stand it.

any advice, tunings etc? I may try a 7 string tuning that Devin Townsend uses (open C variant) to try and have some chord voicings that don't sound "backwards" to me, but I don't know.

Maybe I'm just not a 7 string person.

A 7 is likely my next purchase. What model do you have?

Are you playing more rhythm based chordal stuff, or a combination of lead/rhythm?

[Dominik]

Thanks for all the help men. Action was 2/64th on the low E. Moved it up to 4/64s and I think it's a good compromise with a little buzz but very fast action. I can always tweak it later.

1/32 on the low E is ridiculously low so no surprise it was buzz city. To give you an idea Prestige Ibanez and Suhr Modern guitars come from the factory around 3/64-1/16.

For a low action to work you need immaculate fret work, saddles radiused to match the neck or for a compound radius slightly flatter, and of course a very light touch. Forget about bashing on the strings like SRV with a low action. And if the neck has no relief in it then a change in humidity could make it unplayable from one day to the next without adjusting the truss rod.

I specifically went with a 16" radius for a low action and when I finally got that super low action tone and sustain seemed to die in the ass. That might not be an issue with high gain but I ended up going back to around 3/32. Anyway the key to making a medium-high action feel right is a low nut. High nut + high action = garbage.

This guy is an incredible player but you can see the strings are practically laying on the frets and in the cleaner parts the notes die right after he hits them. That's got nothing to do with a thin, plinky sounding amp/modeler tone — the notes can't ring out when the strings are hitting frets. So the message here is find the sweet spot where it feels and sounds right for your playing. Too low and you get fret buzz and less sustain. Too high and you're going to be fighting it plus intonation could be a nightmare.

[Auburn RSX-S]

My hardwire reverb died last night. Much sad I've had that little guy for the better part of 12 or so years and it sounded great.

I've decided to get something a bit more unique as this will be for my acoustic pedal board and I use a lot more reverb and ambiance with that setup so I have this guy on the way.

I love the features and after watching hours and hours of youtube videos of different reverbs, this is the one I kept going back to.

[MrBourbon]

How many guitarists does it take to change a light bulb? 10. One to change the bulb and the rest to sit in the audience going "He's not that great."

My hardwire reverb died last night. Much sad I've had that little guy for the better part of 12 or so years and it sounded great.

I've decided to get something a bit more unique as this will be for my acoustic pedal board and I use a lot more reverb and ambiance with that setup so I have this guy on the way.

I love the features and after watching hours and hours of youtube videos of different reverbs, this is the one I kept going back to.

[img]https://i.redd.it/9lliltrspdy21.jpg[/mg]

[youtube]7LHuVTIW97U[/outube]

I ended up going with a Polara (INSANE pedal) but the Slo is an incredible bit of gear. I don't have onboard reverb so I wanted a pedal that does "regular" reverb along with the crazy stuff.

[Auburn RSX-S]

How many guitarists does it take to change a light bulb? 10. One to change the bulb and the rest to sit in the audience going "He's not that great."



I ended up going with a Polara (INSANE pedal) but the Slo is an incredible bit of gear. I don't have onboard reverb so I wanted a pedal that does "regular" reverb along with the crazy stuff.

I saw that one and there were a few others I considered as well

Keeley Avalanche (mainly because it has delay on it as well). I know that there are some fantastic other reverbs with delays like the EQD Ghost Echo and Dispatch but you can't toggle them individually. I got a Nux Atlantic for my main electric guitar board not long ago and it is a dual pedal also and while very simple with it's controls and sounds, they're quality and it has all the right functions without being overly complicated and doesn't try to do anything weird, which was my goal for that board. I need just a touch of each but need to quickly jack delay through the roof for welcome to the jungle and pardon me.

The Nux Cerberus may be my end-game effects piece for my electric shows though. It's got everything I need and nothing I don't but what has held me back is being confined to using just those effects instead of mixing and matching. ... which I guess really wouldn't be an issue if the Cerberus has all good sounding effects. The delay/reverb on the cerberus are what are used in the Atlantic but I also use that Jackson Audio prism and a JHS Klon and there's no way in hell the NUX can touch those for drives.

[Dominik]

Surprised you guitar brahs aren't hooked on stereo delay/reverb pedals. Stereo gets you closer to sound of the finished product like your favorite albums. Axe-FX users with studio monitors have no excuse since it's so easy to run everything in stereo. Every time I bring it up I hear crickets.

Andy Timmons goes out of the effects send of one amp into a Strymon Timeline and takes one stereo output into the effects return of amp 1 and the second output into the effects return of amp 2. Since you're only using the second amp to power the effects it can be any old solid state box like a used Peavey — no need to break the bank.

People fap over the tone these guys get live and wonder why they can't come close with their bedroom rigs. Obviously playing and the quality of the gear is a big part of the equation but in many cases stereo is also a part of it.

4 mins in. Audience is hearing that in stereo and it sounds majestic.



2:30 Petrucci showing off his stereo delays.

[SwimToTheMoon]

Who mirin my new baby guitar? It's full scale midi guitar, something I dreamed of having since i was a teen trying to make music with a chitty midi keyboard.. I was only gonna use it for midi but the regular pick ups on this chit are amazing, like the guitar actually sounds pretty awesome through the axe and it's so comfortable to play..

Surprised you guitar brahs aren't hooked on stereo delay/reverb pedals. Stereo gets you closer to sound of the finished product like your favorite albums. Axe-FX users with studio monitors have no excuse since it's so easy to run everything in stereo. Every time I bring it up I hear crickets.

Andy Timmons goes out of the effects send of one amp into a Strymon Timeline and takes one stereo output into the effects return of amp 1 and the second output into the effects return of amp 2. Since you're only using the second amp to power the effects it can be any old solid state box like a used Peavey — no need to break the bank.

People fap over the tone these guys get live and wonder why they can't come close with their bedroom rigs. Obviously playing and the quality of the gear is a big part of the equation but in many cases stereo is also a part of it.

4 mins in. Audience is hearing that in stereo and it sounds majestic.

[youtube]Pf5yadex7EI[/youtbe]

2:30 Petrucci showing off his stereo delays.

[youtube]CFc8g2YBwTo[/youube]

I tried it out few times, sounds epic as I'm playing but when I upload my music to instagram it sounds like chit cause it's mono or some chit..

[Dominik]

Who mirin my new baby guitar? It's full scale midi guitar, something I dreamed of having since i was a teen trying to make music with a chitty midi keyboard.. I was only gonna use it for midi but the regular pick ups on this chit are amazing, like the guitar actually sounds pretty awesome through the axe and it's so comfortable to play..

I tried it out few times, sounds epic as I'm playing but when I upload my music to instagram it sounds like chit cause it's mono or some chit..

Look forward to hearing some music with the MIDI guitar.

re: instagram I remember there was talk about mono being an Apple thing and Android being able to upload in stereo but I did some reading and it looks like they stopped that and only certain channels can do it. I'd just do a mono mix for social media and upload stereo to youtube, etc.

As for the sound in the room when playing mono is fine at higher volumes but at low volume stereo makes a huge difference.

[Auburn RSX-S]

Surprised you guitar brahs aren't hooked on stereo delay/reverb pedals. Stereo gets you closer to sound of the finished product like your favorite albums. Axe-FX users with studio monitors have no excuse since it's so easy to run everything in stereo. Every time I bring it up I hear crickets.

Andy Timmons goes out of the effects send of one amp into a Strymon Timeline and takes one stereo output into the effects return of amp 1 and the second output into the effects return of amp 2. Since you're only using the second amp to power the effects it can be any old solid state box like a used Peavey — no need to break the bank.

People fap over the tone these guys get live and wonder why they can't come close with their bedroom rigs. Obviously playing and the quality of the gear is a big part of the equation but in many cases stereo is also a part of it.

4 mins in. Audience is hearing that in stereo and it sounds majestic.



2:30 Petrucci showing off his stereo delays.

Stereo live is really time consuming if you're using amps. I've done it a few times and yeah it sounds awesome but you have grounding issues you typically encounter and need a special splitter with a ground lift (I used a Radial Bigshot AYB) and you have to also bring that 2nd amp and a second cab if your cab isn't stereo and if it's a single stereo cab, it's not as pronounced of an effect.

On top of that, you then have to deal with switching amp channels at the same time. Run out of feet? That'll cost you a midi controller and time programming it. No midi on your amp? That'll cost you a switching unit that can adapt 1/4" cables into amp switching that can be run via Midi.

So yes, it's really badass and it's something the pros can both afford and have someone they pay to set it up and manage it during shows if needed. For the rest of us, the easiest way to facilitate true stereo is to use a preamp and stereo power amp. I did that back in the day with my Mesa Studio preamp, a Carvin T100 tube power amp and a TC electronics G-Major.

Eventually I'll do that again. I sold that Mesa preamp but then last year bought another one that was still brand new in the box after 30 years :O and will either grab a Simulclass 2:90 or VHT/Fryette 2/90/2.

Mission have the Gemini 2x12 that can simplify a bit more but you're limited to the sound/voice of that cab and the power amp it uses.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...owered-cabinet

[Dominik]

Stereo live is really time consuming if you're using amps. I've done it a few times and yeah it sounds awesome but you have grounding issues you typically encounter and need a special splitter with a ground lift (I used a Radial Bigshot AYB) and you have to also bring that 2nd amp and a second cab if your cab isn't stereo and if it's a single stereo cab, it's not as pronounced of an effect.

On top of that, you then have to deal with switching amp channels at the same time. Run out of feet? That'll cost you a midi controller and time programming it. No midi on your amp? That'll cost you a switching unit that can adapt 1/4" cables into amp switching that can be run via Midi.

So yes, it's really badass and it's something the pros can both afford and have someone they pay to set it up and manage it during shows if needed. For the rest of us, the easiest way to facilitate true stereo is to use a preamp and stereo power amp. I did that back in the day with my Mesa Studio preamp, a Carvin T100 tube power amp and a TC electronics G-Major.

Eventually I'll do that again. I sold that Mesa preamp but then last year bought another one that was still brand new in the box after 30 years :O and will either grab a Simulclass 2:90 or VHT/Fryette 2/90/2.

Mission have the Gemini 2x12 that can simplify a bit more but you're limited to the sound/voice of that cab and the power amp it uses.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...owered-cabinet

I always thought it was too much trouble until I tried it.

Andy Timmons' approach with two amps works fine and creates a much bigger sound than one amp. Let the stereo delay do its magic bouncing the sound around going into each amp's return.

To be honest I'm surprised pedal builders are still selling expensive digital pedals in 2020 with mono algorithms and mono only output. To me it's sloppy design. Even if there's only space in a small enclosure for two jacks why not use TRS? You might only want mono now but if a year down the road you decide you want to go stereo at least your delays and reverbs can do it instead of having to buy more gear.

Anyway no one is playing gigs anytime soon so I'm talking exclusively about getting big sounds at home and for recording.

[Dominik]

Well done Andertons. You made a bunch of pedals sound like absolute garbage.

[DerkBezerk]

Well done Andertons. You made a bunch of pedals sound like absolute garbage.

Any recomended videos on building signal chains etc?

I've been playing around in the Boss software for the Katana, but outisde of downloading pre-made patches I'd like to learn more around working with modelling software to nail that tone.

How did you Kemper/Axe-FX guys do it?

[BenjiDaldes]

didn't realise guthrie govan played with dizee rascal

check the solo @ 2:35

[gtrzrus]

I’ve been learning drums for the past month or so. I played each part ‘live’. I’m not into the ‘cut and paste’ and wave editing stuff. I did the guitars, bass and drums on this short song.

https://soundcloud.com/dsoll705/relic-ww1

[orangetide]

Home recording/interface bros, what are some good gear/programs?

I already havea line 6 ux1 & use reaper