Naetharu

[quote name='Graham' timestamp='1450301626' post='2931584'] Are the songs absolutely dependent on having two guitarists? I'd think about canning the second one and going down to a three piece until you can find a decent player [/quote] Alas, first its not really my call. I was the last to join the band so the option is really whether I stick it out or not. It's not really on that I join and then demand they boot other members out. And to be honest I have no issue with the guy being in the band and learning if only he would just listen a bit more. I think chatting to everyone on here has confirmed in my mind that I am not being unreasonable and so I shall have it out with him in a polite but frank way next band practice. Perhaps I have been a little too polite - I think a firmer approach is needed and see what happens. Hopefully if I can force him to de-scoopify is tone he'll be able to hear his playing (as will everyone else) and that might be a good motivator when it comes to learning to actually play properly. We shall see...

[quote name='gareth' timestamp='1450288137' post='2931420'] You get used to the subdued sound. [/quote] I found it took me a couple of practice sessions to get the feel for the sound with plugs in but you do adjust. It's akin to if you have ever worn coloured sunglass lenses. To start with everything looks blue (for example) but soon you adjust to seeing it all looking 'normal' - found the same with the plugs. Also, I actually find wearing plugs under my headphones while trying to transcribe bass parts often really helps. I have ones that filter more db from the higher frequencies (around -40bd at the top end and around -20bd at the lower I think) and it seems to me to work better than simply messing around with the EQ on the PC when it comes to drawing out the bass parts. At the same time it keeps me used to using the plugs and working with the EQ they provide.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1450292478' post='2931464'] I feel Naetharu's pain here. Not only is it hassle jumping from one band to another but I happen to know he also lives in the sticks. If you live in some city like London, Bristol or Manchester there may be a dozen bands looking for a bass, but in a 2 horse town in deepest Essex? Good luck to you Bud. I guess only you can choose. Sometimes I guess I'm lucky in not having time to be in any kind of band anyway due to work commitments. [/quote] Hehe, aye that is part of the issue I guess - I live on the edge of a wildlife reserve on the end of a little peninsula that means I have to travel over an hour to get to any town of reasonable size. Also, the band is kind of cool. The main song-write, while not a great guitarist by any means is a solid enough rhythm player, and really shines at writing a good catchy riff. The drummer is top notch (if a little bit close to the Animal from the muppets - you can see other drummers whince when he plays there kits ) so the band is quite good really. I think what happened is that these two chaps (rhythm & drums) have been kicking the project around for almost three years struggling to find other people who are interested in playing prog. It's not a very commercial form of music after all. I guess they became a bit desperate and just took on the first guitar player who said he would do it, without first checking his ability to actually deliver... I'm more than happy to stick with the band for the long haul and give the fellow a chance to improve his skills - its just start to look more and more like he's not bothering to do that convinced that he is somehow the next Eddie Van Halen despite not even knowing his minor pentatonic scale. Anyhow, I know there is nothing much that can be done: It was just getting me worked up so I felt like venting on here and the mass of empathy from you lot has me feeling more relaxed again. Cheers folks!

Can you not take the bass to a professional lutheir and have them do the work for you? I'd imagine it would be a fraction of that cost and so long as you make sure to check references first the work should be just as good. I must say I am totally shocked about their insisting on doing a complete restoration of the bass rather than merely repairing the actual fault. I'd certainly think twice before getting a Wawick after seeing this...

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1450273152' post='2931225'] Always tricky as people very often end up playing with that tone as it all they can play with... so the technical element trumps all else. [/quote] I think this is perhaps at th base of the issue. The fellow is a terrible guitar player (I mean aweful, knows no theory and cannot string a melody to save his life) and he uses scooped and over-saturated sounds to mask his bad playing. I guess its driving me crazy since how terrible he sounds is going somewhat un-noticed at practice because his tone is so aweful that it cannot be heard properly. I have a video of him doing a 'solo' toward the end of our last set and I just want to die of embaressment to be honest. He even tries to do some speed tapping...out of key and time...oh help me. I guess I need to get him to get a tone that everyone can hear so we can be more honest about how terrible he sounds. And either work with him to get better (happy to do that provided he puts in the time and effort on his part) or...

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1450271314' post='2931202'] This. My main band has a one guitarist into a JCM800 head, into a full-sized 4x12" cab with a scooped tone, and another guitarist with a Peavey ValveKing MkII head into a 4x12" extension cab (smaller enclosure) with a lot more mids. They work really well together, and there's [i]just[/i] enough room for me to poke through with a dirty/clanky jazz bass. Took us a while to find what worked though, so if your guitarist is prepared to listen to suggestions bear in mind that it might take a couple of rehearsals (and even gigs) to find the solution. [/quote] Aye, this is basically what I have been trying to get across. The point being he needs to dial in his tone in the context of the band. Right now he treats the EQ like his own personal candy shop and everyone elses sound be damned. Anyhow, I'm sure that it'll come to be solved one way or another...

[quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1450268605' post='2931152'] He's actually missing out a lot on what his sound could be. Mids (especially the higher mids) assuming he's playing a few solos, will improve all the harmonics, especially if he's using single coils. From what you describe, it sounds like he'd have a better sound with everything flat [/quote] There is certainly a degree of that going on here too. I think it stems from him being quite immature: he's still in the school of thought where he is too cool to wear ear protection etc. I doubt I can handle another couple of sessions with this so I think something is going to have to give. I appreciate that it is nice to be able to shape your tone but any musician should be considerate with their tone, not simply plonk it in regardless of context and ruin the mix for everyone else concerned.

Hi folks, I'm being driven mad by my bands 2nd guitarist and felt like I'd share. He's got a nasty big Marshall solid state head and he sets the thing up so that he's got the contour control maxed out scooping all of the mid range. Add massive gain and we have sonic mush. Then because he can't hear himself properly he ends up cranking his volume more and more to compensate. The guy is driving me crazy with it. I've tried explaining the issue to him but he just retorts that it is 'his tone'.... Anyone else been in this scenario? Did you manage to get it sorted?

A Maruszczyk Elwood might be well worth considering. Here is my one: not regretted getting this for a moment. Its very flexible, feels wonderful to play and sounds amazing. Also, they are made to order so you can specify all the stuff you want in the way of pickups, neck profile, string spacing etc. Edit: Fixed problem with image link

Cheers for the info folks, Sadly I missed seeing the post until after the Ebay auction had finshed but it does look nice. I'd be a little wary of D-tuners only because I have heard very mixed reports on the ones used with bass guitars. After reading through here and having a very good chat my buddy has pretty much resigned himself to a standard fixed bridge six-string which sounds like a great plan to me. He's still learning the basics of guitar playing and I'm pretty sure something simple will be the best conduit to good playing just like it is with a bass (says that man who bought himself a six string after two months of playing >.< )

I'm quite the fan of single coils myself (or at least a classic Strat) for that sharp high articulation they get. It's really hard to describe it yet I know the second I hear that its a strat sound. I'd not say that HBs are mushy - they just smoother and a bit more mellow. The nicest HBs I have ever heard were the stacked ones that Fender used in the Billy Corgan signature guitar. I'm still sulking that I missed out on buying one of those...

[quote name='tedmanzie' timestamp='1450092863' post='2929442'] 7 string guitar is like a 5 string bass - one string too many Retuning between songs? Life's too short (the audiences' life) Keep it simple! (that goes for tremolos too). Sounds like he's on the right path now! [/quote] My thoughts too - I just use a sub-octave and play up on the 2nd string 5th fret when I need to get a really deep sound in D. Works a treat and saves a great deal of messing around between songs.

Hi folks, I'm keen on putting in some time and effort to build up my slapping skills. I've got a spare bass (my 'back up' for gigs) which I would like to set up to be optimal for this kind of playing. Its an Ibanez SR-300. Could anyone experienced in slap playing suggest which string gauge/brand/type would be best and any other tips that I might use to get the bass suited to slapping. All the best James

[quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1449263575' post='2922148'] How are these, other than cheap? [url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/ibanez-rg421-mol-mahogany-oil-finish/85523?gclid=CKyR5syOw8kCFSf4wgodpMkExw"]http://www.gak.co.uk...CFSf4wgodpMkExw[/url] [/quote] The lead guitarist in my band uses one of these paired up with a cheap Marshall amp. It sounds pretty massive and from the little I can tell (I'm a bass player all the way) it feels really good quality - I was actually stunned to find out how much it costs after following your link - I would have guessed more around the £500 mark given how nice it is.

Hi Rocker, You mentioned that you tried and liked a Markbass amp. Have you considered one of these: http://www.thomann.de/gb/markbass_micromark_801.htm They're very small yet when I tried one out a little while back I was amazed at how big they can sound given their size. The downside of these being that they have very little in the way of controls, just a simple Volume and Tone however it does come with an Aux in and Headphone socket which could be nice additions if you're ever wanting to jam along with a track or two while avoiding annoying the neighbors/mrs. All the best James

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1449827361' post='2927177'] Does he use different tunings on different songs or just a single down or drop tuning for the whole set? There's nothing wrong with Floyd Rose vibrato systems provided they are properly set up and maintained - in fact a good guitar fitted with a good FR vibrato that has been properly set up will hold its tuning far better than most hard-tail instruments. However as others have said if he needs to change tunings mid-set a single guitar with a Floyd Rose vibrato system will be useless. In fact I wouldn't really consider any vibrato equipped guitar for changing tunings between songs. Our guitarist just gets away with it switching between standard and drop D on his Bigsby equipped hollow body, but he uses heavier strings and has the vibrato set up to be pretty stiff. Also IME owning a guitar equipped with a Floyd Rose vibrato requires a bit more technical knowledge with regards setup and maintenance than it appears the guitarist in question has. When you say drop tunings do you actually mean drop tunings (where the rest of the guitar is tuned to standard intervals and the lowest string only is tuned down (normally a tone) or down tunings where all the strings are tuned down but normally kept to the standard intervals. I don't know about the guitarist in question, but for me drop tunings are far more about making some chords and patterns easier to play - drop D gives me a 3 string power chord (root, fifth and octave) by barring the bottom three strings and makes 6th and 7th chords much less of a stretch to play - rather than the lower notes. In this case buying a 7 string or a baritone won't IMO be the right choice. [/quote] We tend to use Standard and Drop-D which we shift between a couple of times in a set with our current run of songs. I think he was hoping that by going with the 7-string he would be able to avoid any tuning changes at all since he would have native access to as low as B anyhow. As to the Floyd, you're pretty much confirming my worries. He's a great chap but not a technical one in the slightest. I fear a Floyd based guitar would simply end up never being used which would be a real shame. I've pointed him to these threads and he's back to looking at boring old six-strings with a fixed bridge now Looks like he might end up going for a LTD in the Les Paul style.

Its a lot of open and bar chords as well as some 5th chords. He tends to play bigger chords with a crunchy tone while our other guitar player does power chords with more drive. I kind of feel the seven string sounds like a lot of faf for what amounts to three extra notes over a standard guitar in drop d

Its a lot of open and bar chords as well as some 5th chords. He tends to play bigger chords with a crunchy tone while our other guitar player does power chords with more drive. I kind of feel the seven string sounds like a lot of faf for what amounts to three extra notes over a standard guitar in drop d

[quote name='Bradwell' timestamp='1449662016' post='2925650'] Van Halen holds the 5150 trademark and Peavey re-badged the amp as a 6505 when the licencing deal ended in the mid 2000s. The 6505 or 6505+ can easily be picked up for around £500 second hand. I think the 5150 badged Peavey amps hold a bit more value but are still fairly common. There's also a 6534+ (which I own and love) same amp but runs on EL34 tubes, not a common variant of the amp though. All will be solidly built and versatile enough to cover most playing styles including high gain metal. I'd love to try the 6505 Mini Head but they don't seem too common in the UK, I'd also have reservations about how loud it can be played cleanly (20 watts distorted will still be ridiculously loud). Blackstar would be the other recommendation, can easily be picked up S/H, plenty of good reviews. Definitely go with a 2x12 cab and not a 4x12. [/quote] Thank you, that's really helped. I'm going to try and get my buddy to come with me to a couple of stores sometime next week and see what we can try out - the Peavy stuff is certainly going to be something we have a good look at. The Blackstar sounds interesting too. I actually had an HT1R practice amp and found it to be an amazingly well built and fantastic sounding little thing. Volume wise I would think around the 20/30 watt mark should be fine as we're always going to be going into a PA even at practice, so volume from the amp itself is less of an issue than just good and flexible tone.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1449661514' post='2925642'] The quality of Floyds on cheaper guitars isn't brilliant, though it varies. The main problem with licenced Floyds is that the pivot points are usually made from a softer metal so they wear out quickly & problems with the guitar returning to pitch can occur. [/quote] Thank you! That's very interesting to know.

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1449617471' post='2925342'] Peavey 5150! Any 2x12 cab! [/quote] Just had a search and cannot find anything on those - seems Peavy don't make them any more? They do the 6505 mini-head that looks interesting however. Has anyone tried one of these?

Cheers folks, that's been really helpful. I'm not honestly sure of his budget but its the lower end of things - we're talking a working-mans axe rather than a post bit of tone-wood here (say sub £500 at the most). Interesting to hear your thoughts on the Floyd Rose - I had similar mis-givings regarding the difficulty getting the thing in tune. One worry I have is that given hardware tends to be the bit that cheaper instruments cut on (I am assuming this from bass experience) will the Floyd on a cheaper guitar be nasty..? Also handy to hear about chordal issue on the 7-string. The chap in question is a very good chord-based player and its what he does 80% of the time so that would be a bit of a worry I think. I'll have a chat with him and see how things go. Finally, Do you have a link to your guitar for sale Sifi?

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1449612708' post='2925288'] First of all - what's his budget? [/quote] Under £500 for the head - cheaper is better.

Hi folks, My bands rhythem guitar player is currently trying to upgrade his kit. He's been using a hollow-body guitar which is just not suited to the heavy metal music we play - it suffers from terrible feedback a lot of the time. However, he knows very little about guitars and has asked me to post a couple of questions here: (1) We often use dropped tunings. He's thinking about getting a 7-string in order to avoid having to re-tune all the time. Has anyone here got experience with using a 7-string, and if so how do you feel about it. Is it easy to get used to or did you find it a very different instrument to play to a standard 6-string? (2) He's spotted a guitar he quite likes the look of, however it has a Floyd Rose bridge. Previously he has only ever used fixed bridges (The ones found on Les Paul gutiars) and so is unsure about this style. I have heard a great deal of grumbling about how they are difficult to use, but have no personal experience to back that up. Would you advise against such a bridge, or is it not an issue. He may use the trem for a bit of expression now and then but he's not a lead player at all and so will not be using it for dive-bomb style stuff or anything else along those lines. Cheers James