Guitarists can't live with em, can't live...

ken_swearingen · Post by **ken_swearingen** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 7:20 am

I saw SR71 a few months ago [not on purpose]I have to give them credit though.,they had a guitar and bass tech who handled all tuning of the guitars and basses it was impressive to watch there guitar techs were getting a work out but there was no wait time in between sets or songs very impressive.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 7:42 am

Personally, I'd love to see a picture of that pedal board that rivals a piece of living-room furniture. Should be good for a laugh.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 9:29 am

I tried out for a punk band ... the guitarist smelled bad and played cheap guitars through cheap amps and produced a cheap sound ... anyway this guy beat on his guitar like he hated it or something ... he would continuously break strings ... he would not stop to change or retune ... he would just keep playing until he was down to 3 strings and then he would pick up another guitar and do the same thing again ...

another guitarist have a bizarre rackmount setup with several preamps, processors, noisegates and other things in the chain which he sent to a stereo and mono setup of 3 separate speaker cabinets ... the resulting sound really sucked ... it literally sounded like crickets in helicopters ... a horrible chirpy, whirly, sucking sound ...

then I was in another band where they would dawdle and kill time between songs ... tuning dead air, switching guitars, asking if everybody is ready ...

Then in my current band the lead guitarist refuses to use the in-ear monitor system and he gets drunk and plays too loud and is an *** in practice and he thinks the pa is there for him to order drinks from the stage ... he will be out of the band soon ...

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 9:38 am

I've gotta stick up for our guitar player on this one...one of the most professional players I have ever played with! He plays an Ibanez RG550, locking nut and whammy bar, and that sucker stays in tune like nobody's business, even with extreme whammy use. He always has a backup and tunes if he has to between songs with the microtuners and no one notices.

Last night, great example of professionalism, we were just starting our second set with "Mr. Crowley" by Ozzy, and he breaks a string in the verse. By the end of the verse, he has the backup guitar on and is back in. No one would have noticed had they not heard him drop out and saw him put the other one on. And he SHREDS!

Tonewise, no complaints at all, Mesa/Boogie rocks! And a simple channel-switcher, all programmed and set up, clean, dirty, solo, and chorus. Switches back and forth effortlessly. All guitar players should be like Mark.

I switch between basses a lot during the show, Thunderbird to 12 string to 5 string, and I have it down to about 20 seconds. Mute the amp, bass is off, other one on, plugged in, and off we go. Usually I pick a song that someone else starts to switch on, and I am back on before the intro is over.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 10:56 am

I have found a lot of guitarists don't know how to use effects, distortion and get good tone ...

most of them go into the basement and set up a patch that sounds good at low volume and then when they play with the band it won't cut through the mix ...

too much gain and distortion will yield a giant sucking sound ... a little distortion goes a long way ... the louder you play the less you need ...

sabbath_of_bass · Post by **sabbath_of_bass** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 11:34 am

I hate guitarist. And Im glad to know its not just me haha. The distortion thing is kills me. I dont see why they always need it!

kcole4001 · Post by **kcole4001** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 11:37 am

I use a volume pedal ahead of my effects. To switch: cut volume, unplug, lock bass into stand, put on 2nd bass, plug in, rock the pedal back to full volume. Done deal. The thing that takes the longest is locking the little rubber straps on the stand that keep the basses secure.
If I break a string, just soldier on 'till the end of the song, then change. THAT you can learn to work around.
Our guitar player uses a Mesa Boogie 50 watt combo & plays clean a lot. He has a very good handle on the few effects he uses.
Basically, he IS the band. He's an awesome player who everyone comes out to see. The rest of us are basically a supporting band, though it doesn't have that kind of vibe to it. We are quite democratic & the guitar player is very humble. A great guy really.

tomg · Post by **tomg** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 11:45 am

Our guitarist is a joy to work with. He brings the Vox amp, two guitars and a very small multiFX unit.

He's got excellent ego-less chops and is completely hassle-free.

We have our first gig with the new band at the end of the month. I'm hoping the singer breaks her habit of saying "oh sh*t" when she makes a mistake ;-(

rickfan63 · Post by **rickfan63** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 12:21 pm

Man, I was beginning to think that I was in the minority that has to endure **** like that! Except in my case, it's not the guitarist that's the problem. The drummer is hyperactive, and wants to play everything too fast usually. The lead singer like to drink waaaaay too much and screws up the lyrics. All the while reading them all off a cheat sheet! What's bad is that some of these songs we've been playing for years. Sometimes, it just gets on my nerves

Anyway, now that I've heard what some of you guy's go through, I don't feel so bad now.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 1:19 pm

Drummers !$%^&*?$#% ... most jazz drummers play from the wrists ... most rock drummers play from the elbow ... well out of control heavy metal drummers play from the shoulders!!!

I played with a drummer who had a huge drum set and played from the shoulders ... he could drown out a full marshall stack ... it was insane ... he would mike every single drum and the sound man had to mute every single mike except for the bass drum mike because he played too loud ... the only time he ever sounded good is when we were in the studio and they had digital drums ... we had a volume control on the freak!!!

you know ... why does the music business attract the dregs of humanity? egomaniacs, substance abusers, jerks, dictators, losers ... its like do these guys wake up and look in the mirror and think gee I am really screwed up ... I think I'll join or start a band ...

OK I am ranting ... there are some wonderful people who play music ... but the music business has more than its share of **** ...

sabbath_of_bass · Post by **sabbath_of_bass** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 1:53 pm

A drummer that cant keep time is kind of umm... I dont know of a word. But they dont need to be a drummer tho haha. Then again... I was always told not to rely on the drummer haha.

Speaking of metal drummers. Whats up with the double bass just none stop. Sure it can be kind of kool. But it becomes annoying to me haha.

bobcat · Post by **bobcat** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 2:27 pm

I hate hate HATE it when, recorded and live, the kickdrum is the focus of the drum sound. I DON'T WANT TO HEAR THE KICKDRUM DROWNING EVERYTHING ELSE OUT!!! IT INTERFERES WITH THE BASS'S LOWER NOTES AND KILLS ALL THE OVERTONES FROM THE REST OF THE BAND!!! When a drummer has a double-kickdrum and uses it tastefully, it's amazing. But more often than not, it's straight sixteenth note kickdrumming and it just ruins everything. It's not appropriate EVER, except maybe in a drum solo. I'm definitely a toms and "light" cymbals (i.e. no humongous crashes every downbeat) kind of guy.

Still, when you look at it, a lot of the musicians with the biggest egos are the leaders in their respetive fields. The ego may be unpleasant, but, given the choice, I would choose to put up with the ego to hear the music, rather than getting rid of the ego and losing the music. Obviously, though, it's different when you're in a band with the person.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 4:59 pm

talking about drinking too much ... I had a guitar player who almost set me on fire because he was too drunk to smoke a cigarette ... and somehow he thought he was sober enough to play guitar ...

jps · Post by **jps** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 5:22 pm

"I dont see why they always need it!"

To drown out bad playing?

green_us90 · Post by **green_us90** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 5:22 pm

The guitar player I play with is great- he knows a lot about bass and music in general, is not overbearing and knows what a song will sound like before it is recorded so that when laying down the backing tracks (he plays drums as well, pretty well I might add) he coaches me and I get feedback on what will sound good in the mix etc etc. I put my two cents in and we both play off eachother's creativity. it's fun.