New answers tagged electric-guitar
5
Depending on what amp, and what's plugged into it, when the master volume is at 0 there is nothing at all going to be amplified. Master is most important, as it controls everything on the amp. There will sometimes be a sharp noise otherwise, as the eletricity surges over the contacts of the switch, which will possibly cause damage not to the amp, but the ...
1
The fact that you suggest it might be your hearing that is being protected tells us you already know that unwanted noises can occur at switch-on. (To which we could add at switch-off, when plugging or unplugging a cable and the possibility of feedback.
None of these are likely to damage the amplifier as such. They might damage a speaker connected to it. ...
2
Different playing styles require different string tensions. Styles that require more bending would be lighter, while rhythm and slide playing would tend heavier. There's a rough center around 10-46 for electric, but what you prefer will vary.
I mean, B.B. King played very light strings and SRV played very heavy strings, both playing electric blues.
There are ...
2
Switchcraft makes some adaptors that can be screwed together to make the adaptor you are looking for. The first is a Switchcraft 44X and it can screw together with a Switchcraft 33-2x. Both can be ordered online. I hope this helps.
2
I've made my acoustic steel string sound like a solid-body electric for years by using a soundhole electric pickup and carefully-tuned effects, especially EQ, sustain, overdrive and cabinet simulator. I like the Markley Pro-Mag magnetic pickups a lot for this. I run the pickup through a multi-effects pedalboard which works as well as individual pedals. The ...
1
The cleanest and cheapest solution would be to let the socket protrude a centimetre from the guitar. Not sure what model of jack Stranberg uses, but many guitars use the type that has a screw profile all over, with two nuts to hold it in place. In that case, you could just release the inside nut and tighten again with the outside nut, and pronto, you'll have ...
1
Assuming it's a mono connection, why not use a stereo/mono adapter? Should work fine, and probably the shortest possible. Hosa GPP-290 is one example.
4
Definitely make one yourself or have someone make it for you. Some additional considerations:
Maybe obvious: If you have an old patch/instrument cord with only one good end, you can cut off and discard the bad end. You have just saved yourself the trouble of soldering the male end. Strip the cut end to solder to a female connector
Instead of making it as ...
3
Get one made up, or get the soldering iron out yourself.
I have to say, that's got to be one of the most awkward-looking jack sockets to try do anything non-standard with, but you've the choice of it being as short as you can get the cable whilst still being able to unscrew the barrel to reach the solder points… eg…
…or long enough you could drop it round ...
6
Second question first: your options shrink when you go 12-string. They always shrink options. They can be cool, but they are specialized gear.
I asked my rep at Sweetwater about adding a piezo bridge to a Fender Player Tele, and the quote put an $800 guitar to a $2000 guitar, with the custom wiring, the routing, etc. If I did it myself, the labor costs go ...
1
"Squire is a brand by Fender. However, they are of less quality than regular Fender guitars."
They are NOT disproportionately lower in quality.
A Squire may be half, or more, costly than a Fender but it's 90% the quality because the bulk of the manufacturing cost is solely due to labor costs.
Fender does not have factory outside North America (USA ...
1
I live in California about 12 miles from the Fender Corona plant. Everyone close to here has been to their museum and knows much about their history. I owned at one time an average of 10 electrics and 6 acoustics. I have owned high end and cheap guitars. I often buy cheap guitars on EBay and mod them to play well and sound good.
If you really want to stay ...
1
Get someone else to look at how you're playing - what handicaps you is just bad technique
Could be a teacher, could just be a friend who's got a decent command of both pick and fingerstyle playing. You want someone who not only knows how to play themselves, but who knows what parts of the techniques available do what.
My partner is learning guitar right now....
3
...it's way easier and so I play a lot better by just using my thumb as a plectrum...
Hey, same! Nice to meet you.
I've been playing rock and blues for a little over ten years (self taught). Never once seriously picked up a pick; it's basically all thumb. It looks like this.
Whether your chosen technique handicaps your playing is completely up to you!
Not ...
3
I feel your pain. I've been playing for over a decade now using primarily my thumb (example) and I'm sorry to say there's nothing you can do but start slow.
The issue is that the motion of picking introduces a shear that will quickly wear away any coating, material, or other expedient. Much less the skin. It's like building up the calluses on the fretting ...
1
If you ever want to play Van Halen songs (or similar), learning to use a plectrum properly is probably compulsory.
I have seen some very fast finger players in my life but none who could play a Dragonforce solo.
That's not to say it can't be done.
I would also suggest, anything like a David Gilmore solo also looses something when played finger style.
However,...
1
TL;TR: Be careful not to pick bad habits
The simple fact you ask this question tells that you have no guidance (teacher, friend or whatever). I recommend you find one for the very start at least: it's quick to pick bad habits but long to loose them. Been there, done that, the bad habits I had from beginning 6 months alone took several years to correct ...
5
I was a left-hand-only player like you for about a year. I knew a ton of chords and theory up and down the neck, I just still "sounded" like a beginner. Even with all the theory in the world, my right hand was sloppy, and the right hand is what actually sounds the notes you grip with your left hand.
On to your actual question, Do I need to use a ...
2
If you're strumming chords to a song, using a pick will be a good move. It may even save your thumb from getting worn down to the bone!
For just about any other sort of guitar playing, you, and you alone, will have to decide what's appropriate. And that may incorporate thumb, several fingers with/out thumb, pick alone, or hybrid picking, where both come into ...
2
If the musicians you are trying to imitate don't use a pick there is no reason to use a pick. Imagine a classical guitarist wasting time with a pick when not liking any style of music that it produces.
6
There are two reasons to use this or that technique:
It's easier.
It adds an additional tool for expression.
You may be able to play to your satisfaction using only your thumb. That's good-- maybe you will be extra good at it and it can be your signature sound.
However, what's the advantage of NOT learning to use a pick (or pull-offs, or finger-tapping, ...
13
Let me answer another question:
« Is it ok to play everything with the thumb, except parts that absolutely need a plectrum? »
Now, we could start with the usual platitude that everything is “ok” in music. Yeah, you can play with the thumb if you're satisfied with that.
But I will say that playing with the thumb alone is extremely limiting. Anything you can ...
3
Both teachers need to have a re-think. There's no 'correct' way anyway. We each find our own depending on our fingers, their strength, and where we are on string/fret, and where we are going next, also considering where we were before. All that lot means no two situations and no two players will do the same. The right way is the best way for each player in ...
5
The most important thing about bending is not to bend with only a single finger, if possible. E.g. if you bend with the third finger, if possible, support it with second and first finger.
Both third and fourth fingers are frequently used for bends, and I would advise a student to practice bends with each of them.
Each of the teachers makes valid points. ...
2
My first inclination is to say that both teachers are wrong; there's no way that one fingering choice applies across such a broad range of circumstances.
(I am also inclined to say that teacher number one is more wrong for mentioning "all the great guitar players" which is not even a thing.)
But, I would like to be more generous in my assumptions ...
1
I also have a 339 by Epiphone. It has the same situation that you show. When I purchased it the stop bar was screwed down to the body both ends. That gave a very steep angle over the bridge. I adjusted to achieve a shallower angle at the bridge and the result is just like yours. The angle of all strings is about the same over the bridge. I put spacing ...
1
I also want aged strings. i have no idea what the string are on my guitar (bought in a market) but they are near the end of their life. one broke already and two more have breaks in the wound metal so that only the nylon inner makes contact with the frets.
When i had to replace a string the bright sound was really out of keeping with the rest of the sound. i ...
1
On Maggot brain he uses a 60's/70's fuzz and wah. If you combine the Wah pedal with the vibrato technique mentioned above you can achieve some awesome sustain. You can achieve this using more gain but you will need to be a lot more accurate with your technique otherwise you will sound like you are failing a Guitar Hero song. It takes a lot of practice! good ...
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