Anandtech Guitarists

[ViperXX]

How many members play guitar?

I started about 4 years ago. Me and my son started about the same time. He's better than me. Youth has it's advantages. So who here is good enough to brag and post videos? I might do a YouTube video. Kind of nervous about doing it because I'll be singing while my son plays. I'd do both but it's tough playing and singing.

 

[Markbnj]

Youth does have its advantages, for sure. I started at 20 or so and have been playing for over thirty years, but I have never really been able to get past a certain level with it.

 

[Obsy]

Began about 5 years ago, but I tend to take 6+ month hiatuses. Began playing again a couple weeks ago after about a year off and the skin on my fretting fingers are getting shredded

 

[ImpulsE69]

I would not call myself a guitarist, but I picked up my first guitar probably 20 years ago, but I didn't actually start trying to learn it until about 12 years ago. In the time since then I have gained 2 more guitars. Only got semi serious about learning it 2 years ago. Needless to say, I still suck But I can play well enough to get the point across to my band mates.

Experts might scoff, but Rocksmith actually is very good at teaching you new techniques and styles you wouldn't normally do.

 

[OinkBoink]

****

 

[edro]

I can play about 10 open cord rhythm songs on my acoustic, that's about it.
It's still fun to do.

 

[gorcorps]

I've been playing for a long time, but never very seriously. Never had lessons or anything so I pretty much hit a wall and stopped improving, and don't play all that much anymore.

Rocksmith put a boost in my desire to play again. Great way to learn how to play songs.

 

[OinkBoink]

I never learnt much from lessons either. All my gurus are on YouTube. They're more than enough if you want to learn guitar. Hell, Justin Sandercoe's YouTube tutorials can teach you all you need to know. There are others for other things, of course. A user named m169marroquin (on YouTube) is good for metal rhythm.

 

[CraKaJaX]

I've been playing guitar about 9 years and drums about 17 years now. I also know Platypus & Fritzo play guitar.... and MonGrel plays drums as well.

 

[edro]

Marty Schwartz is an awesome teacher on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/user/martyzsongs

 

[CraKaJaX]

Marty Schwartz is an awesome teacher on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/user/martyzsongs

Definitely great for beginner stuff. Justin Sandercoe is also very good.

http://www.justinguitar.com/

 

[slightlyhuman]

Got my first guitar in a trash can at age 13. It was a 67 Gibson LG1 someone threw away that didn't sell at a garage sale. Still have it. I was always a closet player for many years or campfire drunk player. I didn't really grow with my playing until I learned blues and playing with other people. I don't know theory and should know transitioning from major to minor for as long as I've been playing. I am a lazy player at times and mainly play by ear or watching.

Started playing with some guys about 4 years ago and have grown a lot. I play about 30% lead but could do more, just not a spotlight kind of guy really. The lead player puts the time in to learn solos and kills it. Took up the bass last year after we told the bass player he had to practice more or we were moving on. Bass is a blast! I play about 25ish bass songs and switch back to guitar for 25-30 songs.

I'll try and post a video dicking around on my taylor mini I got a few months. I have a GAS problem and change out a lot of different stuff as far as amps/pedals but I'm mainly a fender guy(2 strats/1 tele). There are some bad ass pickers on the forums, I do know that. Platypus and Fritzo always pop into my head.


Last Dance with MJ a few years back:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-RUtIwRjRw


After Midnight snag from last year:

https://vimeo.com/122489259



And my pride and joy wall hanger I got painted in memory of a straight up nasty picker I grew up with who passed away 4 years ago:

 

[Scarpozzi]

I've got 2 young kids (both under 3 at the moment)....anytime I get my guitar out, I only get to strum a few chords before the strings get muted by little hands.

I play a handful of songs from time to time...like "A Pirate Looks at Forty"....my daughter, who's turning 3 next month heard this song at a restaurant 3 weeks ago when we were on vacation. She was in the bathroom with my wife...she said, "MOMMY!!! MOMMY!!! THAT'S DADDY'S SONG!!!" She was pretty excited about it. =)

That makes me feel good because I can play some stuff well enough that toddlers can recognize professional musician versions.

 

[BlitzPuppet]

I played bass in a metal band in highschool, and always wanted to learn how to play the guitar since it looked fun to do. When I turned 21 my parents bought me a guitar and said have at it. I TRIED teaching myself but there is only so much you can do before hitting a wall, plus I was having issues transitioning from finger picking (bass style) to using an actual pick.

I got my Explorer and decided I was going to go all in, so I started taking lessons from a guy in town that played in the band Scale the Summit, I think I took lessons from him for about a year and a half maybe? In that time I deeeeefinnitely improved my playing skills. I got to the point where I was just learning songs so I stopped taking lessons, bought a fretlight, and use guitar pro to learn the songs I want.

 

[nakedfrog]

I'm thirty-seven now, I started learning when I was fourteen. There are some gaps in there, I'd go a few years without playing, then play for a few years. I was never really much for singing and playing at the same time, just couldn't get all the pieces together.

A couple years ago I started going to weekly local acoustic jam sessions, and after seeing that pretty much everyone sang there, I figured I should get on it. My first time singing there was just... abysmal. I'm confident that I've improved much since then (and have been told as much by some of the other players).

 

[Markbnj]

I play a handful of songs from time to time...like "A Pirate Looks at Forty"

I have a theory that anyone who knows that song would be cool to hang out and have a beer with.

 

[tcsenter]

Youth does have its advantages, for sure. I started at 20 or so and have been playing for over thirty years, but I have never really been able to get past a certain level with it.

I'm telling you, there is an inborn neurological and neurodevelopmental thing that is difficult to overcome after adulthood. I can practice a song 30x, move onto another song and practice it 30x, revisit the previous song and need to check the chord sheet because I can't remember all the chords. And we're talking only a five or six chord song here! It sucks.

I hear music in my head all the time, bordering on musical hallucinations. I can tell you what is out of pitch or whether someone is playing in the "wrong" (psycho-acoustically undesirable) key. I can tune using only one reference tone. I can get pretty damn close using no reference tone. I get music composition, timing, and all that. I just can't develop proficiency in playing an instrument. I mean, maybe I could if I became obsessive about it and be one of those people who spend four hours per day but I don't think anyone "chooses" to become obsessive about anything. Actually, I couldn't play four hours anyway because I get muscle cramps and fatigue after about 40 minutes. My fingers just cease to work with finer dexterity and become more like paws.

I recall it being much easier when I was 16. I shouldn't have taken that 20+ year hiatus!

 

[slightlyhuman]

I'm telling you, there is an inborn neurological and neurodevelopmental thing that is difficult to overcome after adulthood. I can practice a song 30x, move onto another song and practice it 30x, revisit the previous song and need to check the chord sheet because I can't remember all the chords. And we're talking only a five or six chord song here! It sucks.

I hear music in my head all the time, bordering on musical hallucinations. I can tell you what is out of pitch or whether someone is playing in the "wrong" (psycho-acoustically undesirable) key. I can tune using only one reference tone. I can get pretty damn close using no reference tone. I get music composition, timing, and all that. I just can't develop proficiency in playing an instrument. I mean, maybe I could if I became obsessive about it and be one of those people who spend four hours per day but I don't think anyone "chooses" to become obsessive about anything. Actually, I couldn't play four hours anyway because I get muscle cramps and fatigue after about 40 minutes. My fingers just cease to work with finer dexterity and become more like paws.

I recall it being much easier when I was 16. I shouldn't have taken that 20+ year hiatus!

I've noticed my rhythm has been slacking the last year or two. I think it's mostly a mental block but I've been struggling lately with slower songs(can't you see to name one).

 

[Markbnj]

I'm telling you, there is an inborn neurological and neurodevelopmental thing that is difficult to overcome after adulthood. I can practice a song 30x, move onto another song and practice it 30x, revisit the previous song and need to check the chord sheet because I can't remember all the chords.

I agree. I think I can keep about ten songs in my head in enough detail to get through them, but most of them have been on my list for decades . Anyway, I don't think the main issue is hearing music correctly, or even recalling it, but rather the stuff you learn to do without thinking: timing, hearing intervals between tones (I have a friend who started as a little kid and can hear two tones and tell you whether the second is a fifth, third, etc.), moving between keys. Hell, I "played" guitar for fifteen years before I even got what a key was and how the keys relate to each other. Other things, like learning the notes on the neck, are a little like multiplication tables: easy to learn as a child but a lot harder when you're an adult with a cluttered brain.

Most of this shit doesn't really impact my enjoyment at all, because 99 percent of the time I'm just hanging out at home playing for myself. But on the few occasions that I have had a chance to play with actual musicians I have felt lost.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

I've played for nearly 20 years. I've been in many different bands. I've played the Whisky-a - go-go, the Roxy, the Viper Room, etc with a few different bands. My band won the Battle of the Bands back when I was in high school, and I won "best guitarist" - mostly for my rendition of Free Bird.

My musical involvement has slowed down considerably in recent years, although I have tried to do some home recording. I did this as an exercise:

https://soundcloud.com/garth-the-great/after-the-thrill-is-gone

Everything there is me - drums, bass, keys, 12-string acoustic, Strat, Les Paul on the solo, and all the vocals. I learned a lot doing it - mostly that I hate programming drums. Haven't really done much else for that reason.

Started a new band recently and it's been fun. Still sorting out the line up though and trying to find our sound. Once I give it up I'll probably find some casino cover band to play with just for shits and grins.

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

I've been playing off and on (mostly off) for 30 years. Only in the last few years did I take much more seriously. I enjoy the hell out of playing guitar, I've been working on "For You Blue" by The Beatles, and it's a nice challenge for me.

Keep playing, keep practicing, you'll have peaks and plateaus, just keep playing.

 

[slightlyhuman]

I've played for nearly 20 years. I've been in many different bands. I've played the Whisky-a - go-go, the Roxy, the Viper Room, etc with a few different bands. My band won the Battle of the Bands back when I was in high school, and I won "best guitarist" - mostly for my rendition of Free Bird.

My musical involvement has slowed down considerably in recent years, although I have tried to do some home recording. I did this as an exercise:

https://soundcloud.com/garth-the-great/after-the-thrill-is-gone

Everything there is me - drums, bass, keys, 12-string acoustic, Strat, Les Paul on the solo, and all the vocals. I learned a lot doing it - mostly that I hate programming drums. Haven't really done much else for that reason.

Started a new band recently and it's been fun. Still sorting out the line up though and trying to find our sound. Once I give it up I'll probably find some casino cover band to play with just for shits and grins.

Nice vocals and great job on everything else!

Would be cool if someone here made a 12 bar blues backing track and whoever wanted to add to it could contribute an improv or some licks. I just don't know much about making music/editing other than physically playing my guitar

 

[CraKaJaX]

I've played for nearly 20 years. I've been in many different bands. I've played the Whisky-a - go-go, the Roxy, the Viper Room, etc with a few different bands. My band won the Battle of the Bands back when I was in high school, and I won "best guitarist" - mostly for my rendition of Free Bird.

My musical involvement has slowed down considerably in recent years, although I have tried to do some home recording. I did this as an exercise:

https://soundcloud.com/garth-the-great/after-the-thrill-is-gone

Everything there is me - drums, bass, keys, 12-string acoustic, Strat, Les Paul on the solo, and all the vocals. I learned a lot doing it - mostly that I hate programming drums. Haven't really done much else for that reason.

Started a new band recently and it's been fun. Still sorting out the line up though and trying to find our sound. Once I give it up I'll probably find some casino cover band to play with just for shits and grins.

Awesome. What do/did you use for recording? Back in the day, I was fortunate enough to have half of a garage (heated, AC'd) all to myself for all my music gear. No neighbors ever complained to my parents either. I blew ALL of my cash on recording equipment back then. I would have people over and we'd play all day and drink all night - good times. I ended buying a Presonus FirePod (8 Ch) and ran everything through that using Cubase SX3. I had a 'control room' in the back of the garage with a huge desk, computer, monitors, etc. I ended up selling most of the recording shit because I went off to school and became a real person unfortunately. The old computer is still back there, I would LOVE to hear some of those recordings.

 

[Markbnj]

Awesome. What do/did you use for recording? Back in the day, I was fortunate enough to have half of a garage (heated, AC'd) all to myself for all my music gear.

It's gotten so much easier for a hobbyist to get decent results. I have been able to get pretty clean recordings in my home office using just the ADC on my integrated sound chip and Audacity for editing. I have two pretty cheap condenser mics which I run into an M Audio DMP3 preamp, and then into the line-in on the sound chip. I play acoustic guitar, and although I have a Seagull with a built-in pickup I typically just mic the guitar, as it sounds a lot warmer and realer to me.

 

[CraKaJaX]

It's gotten so much easier for a hobbyist to get decent results. I have been able to get pretty clean recordings in my home office using just the ADC on my integrated sound chip and Audacity for editing. I have two pretty cheap condenser mics which I run into an M Audio DMP3 preamp, and then into the line-in on the sound chip. I play acoustic guitar, and although I have a Seagull with a built-in pickup I typically just mic the guitar, as it sounds a lot warmer and realer to me.

A had a ton of mics, and I'll agree with the mic on an acoustic. A virgin acoustic with a mic is the BEST. I had some really good sound using a pair of Rode NT-5s overhead for a group of acoustic guitars. I even went as far as building my own sound panels. I think I may have started a thread here when I was doing it.. But don't remember.