Guitar Thread

[bluejon]

Can’t remember if I posted in this thread before but I might have.

Just to walk down memory lane. I bought my first electric guitar from Argos in 1994. It was a black strat-copy called Hohner. Over the years I spent too much on guitars to the point I had about 15 at one time. I frequent Dawsons at City Centre as it’s along my walking route. Some beautiful guitars. I bought a few there. A Nighthawk tobacco sunburst, a Chris Shiflett Tele. But I also got a few from Thomann online. My Gibson, Gretsches and Fenders were from Thomann. I had to part with them on an emergency basis so had to pawn them off to that guitar pawn shop next to Arndale side entrance. Next to Johnson cleaners I think. No choice as I couldnt get any buyers in the short amount of time.

My dream guitar is the Gibson DG335 (the sky blue signature Dave Grohl) but hefty price.

Not a die-hard Metallica fan (as I’m more Led Zep person) but currently teaching my 12 year old to play Master of Puppets, because she watched Stranger Things.

Funnily enough, also got a 12 year old who's now listening to Metallica more due to her watching Stranger Things (introduced Anthrax to her recently, that went down very well).
As for guitars, i'm of the 4 string variety. Own a Gibson Thunderbird which is my dream bass, had it for about 15 years. I've also had an Ampeg bass guitar, the Big Stud, which i bought in a guitar shop in Atlanta GA where i used to live in 1990. Between those two basses, got everything covered (in fact recently saw Bootsy Collins post a picture of himself with the exact same Ampeg model i have, that was brilliant).

 

[cucumberman]

Funnily enough, also got a 12 year old who's now listening to Metallica more due to her watching Stranger Things (introduced Anthrax to her recently, that went down very well).
As for guitars, i'm of the 4 string variety. Own a Gibson Thunderbird which is my dream bass, had it for about 15 years. I've also had an Ampeg bass guitar, the Big Stud, which i bought in a guitar shop in Atlanta GA where i used to live in 1990. Between those two basses, got everything covered (in fact recently saw Bootsy Collins post a picture of himself with the exact same Ampeg model i have, that was brilliant).

A Gibson Thunderbird is a smooth bass. The DG335 has the inverted thunderbird headstock.

I’ve only ever had 3 bass guitars. A Fender Precision in blond finish, and Epiphones EB-0 and EB-1. My favourite bassists are Sam Rivers (Limp Bizkit) and Stuart Zender (Jamiroquai).

I collect albums (thanks to MusicMagpie) and have a few Anthrax albums but have not listened to them for a very long time. I still have great respect for their work though and Ian Scott. I believe I posted on BM here this video of him playing with Nuno and Morello, probably in this thread or a solo guitar thread. How Ian played his part to hold rhythm to the collaboration. Still worth sharing here:

 

[bluejon]

A Gibson Thunderbird is a smooth bass. The DG335 has the inverted thunderbird headstock.

I’ve only ever had 3 bass guitars. A Fender Precision in blond finish, and Epiphones EB-0 and EB-1. My favourite bassists are Sam Rivers (Limp Bizkit) and Stuart Zender (Jamiroquai).

I collect albums (thanks to MusicMagpie) and have a few Anthrax albums but have not listened to them for a very long time. I still have great respect for their work though and Ian Scott. I believe I posted on BM here this video of him playing with Nuno and Morello, probably in this thread or a solo guitar thread. How Ian played his part to hold rhythm to the collaboration. Still worth sharing here:

stuart zender is an incredible bass player, must admit i don't really know limp bizkit so can't comment. for me, larry graham of sly and the family stone is the absolute king of bass, closely followed by the afore mentioned bootsy collins. when it comes to metal, cliff burton is the don. i'm actually not playing much at the minute, got really into synthesizers in the past few years, but during lockdown got back into playing bass purely for the exercise and it was playing along to kill em all that really gets your chops back into shape.

as for the thunderbird, it's an awesome instrument. it's got a growl to it that no other bass has. pain in the arse in some ways, it's almost impossible to play above the 15th fret due to its shape, but i tend to play low down the neck regardless of that, so not a problem. yes, i'm playing synths at the minute, but zero doubt the bass will be back at some point

 

[Bill Walker]

If I was learning guitar again from scratch, with hindsight I'd be attempting barre chords far earlier than I did.
Even if its just covering all 6 at different frets and getting them ringing out.
It's good preparation.
Most people learn basic chords, then have this bar chord thing thrown at them and it's like learning all over again.

If players are really struggling with barre chords you could do what most Jazz players do and learn Shell chord voicings.
You just play the strings that are fretted. (Chord changes in Jazz are quite fast this is why they do it)
The G chord shapes are Root 6 (Root on the 6th string) and the C chords are Root 5. You can move them up and down the neck.
The numbers underneath the diagrams are suggested fingerings.
I tend to use these mostly.

 

[crublue1]

If players really struggling with barre chords you could do what most Jazz players do and learn Shell chord voicings.
You just play the strings that are fretted. (Chord changes in Jazz are quite fast this is why they do it)
The G chord shapes are Root 6 (Root on the 6th string) and the C chords are Root 5. You can move them up and down the neck.
I tend to use these mostly.

View attachment 53066

That's good info Bill.

 

[Onholiday(somemightsay)]

What guitars have folks been playing/ buying recently?

Starting to get itchy feet again (not that I have the money but credit cards are there for a reason).........

 

[shemnel]

still working on my C / G switches.

I find G with index on 5th, middle on 6th and ring on 1st to be the easiest position by far but this makes transition to C (index on 2nd, middle on 4th and ring on 5th) quite a large jump. Therefore i am practicing the G with middle on 5th, ring on 6th and finally pinky on 1st. This does make the transition simpler, moving two fingers just one string and having the index ready, but my little finger will not behave!! it's all over the shop!! missing the fret board, hitting the wrong strings, i've got feck all control over it

 

[hilts]

still working on my C / G switches.

I find G with index on 5th, middle on 6th and ring on 1st to be the easiest position by far but this makes transition to C (index on 2nd, middle on 4th and ring on 5th) quite a large jump. Therefore i am practicing the G with middle on 5th, ring on 6th and finally pinky on 1st. This does make the transition simpler, moving two fingers just one string and having the index ready, but my little finger will not behave!! it's all over the shop!! missing the fret board, hitting the wrong strings, i've got feck all control over it

I’m not a big fan of shortcuts or ignoring something I find hard. I did that a lot. I play the open G in 3 different ways now. The best tip I got was while strumming Say G for example imagine the the next shape in your mind, you are staring at that shape and be ready to move that ring finger for a C asap.

Do it over and over. After a while it just sinks in. The more you progress the quicker you learn new shapes. If I just think C my fingers go there automatically.

 

[Bill Walker]

What guitars have folks been playing/ buying recently?

Starting to get itchy feet again (not that I have the money but credit cards are there for a reason).........

I just bought a Cort C4 Bass.
A lot of bass for not a huge price $600 new.
Plays passive or active, has a Markbass pre amp built in. Nice woods also. Bartolini pickups.
Nice to play. If anyone is looking for a great bass at a reasonable cost I recommend it.

Cort C4 Plus ZBMH

The Cort C4 Plus ZBMH features boutique high-end looks, materials, components and performance in a high-value package for the serious bass player.

www.cortguitars.com

 

[Meatbag]

+1 for Cort. I’ve just picked up a Cort D8 acoustic and it’s the best acoustic I’ve played. All solid, really well built and sounds great.

Gold-D8

The Cort Gold-D8 has a torrefied top and solid Pau Ferro back and sides for a big, open tone.

www.cortguitars.com