wateroftyne Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 [quote name='deaver' post='269078' date='Aug 24 2008, 08:15 PM']Saw a 70's cover band last night that consisted of a drum machine, a bass player and four guitar players. Surely that's not right[/quote] Please tell me you only lasted half a song... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Dave Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 I think one's enough in a pub band - the sound gets too swamped with more - but it can depend on what sort of sound the dude has. A single , cleanish Tele say in a 3 piece. That would create a hole every time there was a solo. One guy with a big sound is fine. In bigger venue's 2 fill out the sound in a much more interesting way. Trouble with a lot of '2nd guitarists' in pub bands is they tend to be somebody else's mate , usually the lead guitarist who they're in awe of , and don't contribute much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjb Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 (edited) Totally depends on the band - it specifically depends on the arranging talents of the group/composer. A super-talented band like Radiohead, for example, often have three guitars intertwining (Thom on acoustic, Ed playing clean arpeggios and Jonny blasting out the crazy stuff) and still leave plenty of space for a creative bassline from Colin. Paranoid Android is a great example of this. The Eagles have already been mentioned - not everyone's cup of tea, but their arranging skills are excellent. It's also an ego thing. If there are three guitarists then they have to accept that they usually ain't going to play [i]all the time[/i]. If you have three egos trying to outshred each other simultaneously then you'll end up with an awful racket. Edited August 26, 2008 by rjb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 My covers band has one guitarist My originals band has two I think the Eagles get away with it because: 1) as has already mentioned, they're arrangments are second to none 2) Each of them often plays piano or organ = they are multi-instrumentalists 3) As with maiden, they have some harmonised solo lines which obviously require 2 guitars, and in my opinion I always like to hear a guitar doubling the bass whilst anything solo'y is happening = 3 guitars. But these are exceptions, most bands that have more than two guitars, and even some bands with two, really haven't a clue how to use them effectively! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassMunkee Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 You don't need a guitarist - couple of bassists works perfectly well tbh. Rothko did very well with just bassists... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinynorman Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 (edited) The last school my daughter was at has a band made up of teachers and parents. 4 rhythm guitarists, keyboard, bass and drummer with electric kit. The kick drum on the electric kit sounds exactly like a bass guitar. The bass player is a better guitarist than any of the guitarists. They're very popular. The Peter Green version of Fleetwood Mac had 3 guitarists in its later stages. At the time I thought that was so Greenie could skive off and drop acid. Edited August 26, 2008 by spinynorman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkypenguin Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 1 guitarist is ample. 2 is too many. especially if you want to do something other than play roots and 5ths in the band. and thats before the egos and all that jazz set in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markytbass Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 (edited) Thin Lizzy had the right Idea with 2 guitarists with one playing off the other. Any more that 2 and your off into folk territory, and thats only so you can't tell who's pissed. And this drove me nuts. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G55eY8oD730"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G55eY8oD730[/url] It reminds me of the time I gave my son a harmonica and he just breathed in and out through it all day. See how long you can listen to this for [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdLhRB4dJJI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdLhRB4dJJI[/url] I rest my case m'lud Edited August 26, 2008 by markytbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 I was quite stuck in the "three-peice is best" mind set for quite a while. It works well for the kind of thing I like to play, so that's why. However, there have been good examples on this thread of some great bands (i'm mainly thinking of radiohead) who have more than 1 or 2 guitarists and work well. I remember seeing a band headline the sugarmill in stoke after we played a support slot, and they had 3 guitarists all playing exactly the same thing ALL of the time (except for a couple of solos). It's so boring, contributes nothing, makes the stage look untidy, and it SOUNDS messy! You can have as many people playing whatever instument they like, as long as they are working together to contribute to the music rather than just the volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 [quote name='dlloyd' post='270358' date='Aug 26 2008, 02:30 PM']What do you make of this? 11 guitar parts, 2 bass parts. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohMynbDlb2c"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohMynbDlb2c[/url][/quote] This is stuff for guitar ensembles, a little different to what I think as too many guitars....recorded material is a different ketttle of fish IMO, things can be written and arranged, etc. Actually there is a live vid on youtube, just gets annoying in the end! In a live situation I don't see the need for an extra guitar, I'd rather see/hear another instrument if other parts need to be played, or just keep it to the old classic 3 piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 [quote name='dlloyd' post='270381' date='Aug 26 2008, 03:13 PM']Yep, I couldn't find any decent live versions of it on Youtube, I'd be surprised if it wasn't possible though. I've played in a band with three guitarists before and it worked well, because everyone had well-defined roles and knew when [i]not[/i] to play. I've also been in a band as the sole guitarist where there was a keyboard player who was there purely because he was the drummer's mate. That was intolerable because he didn't know where to leave space.[/quote] Hats off to you mate, I couldn't cope with that 3 guitars???? Noooo. As you say, if roles are well defined then I can see how that would work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 I find it easier having just one but The Funk Brothers did an amazing job with three! Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Funk Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 To answer the original question, any more than Los Lobos and you've got a real problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 [quote name='dlloyd' post='270570' date='Aug 26 2008, 08:16 PM']This is what they sounded like... [url="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=201582767"]http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fusea...endid=201582767[/url] Sadly, I was only depping, but I've worked with a few members of the band since. The band leader has recently got a gig with Mark Lanegan from Queens of the Stone Age.[/quote] Two drummers! I've always wanted to do a gig with another bass player, but Canon...very good, just two much of one thing for me, they do sound very good though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike257 Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 I've done the 3-guitar band thing, it's ok if they all know what they're doing!! Anyone heard Oceansize? They've got three guitarists, all kinds of bleepy electronica, and a total monster of a drummer (not to mention some bizarre time sigs), but they manage to find a space for it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teen t-shirt Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 [quote name='Stan_da_man' post='269595' date='Aug 25 2008, 04:52 PM']QFT. You don't need a rythm guitarist - otherwise there would be no point in having bass.[/quote] thats the rule i use for my band we're a 3 piece with me singing lead and my mate on drums and my lil brother on lead... and when he switches to do a solo because we both have really big sounds my bass is quite boomy and in your face and is guitar is very dirty and heavy and so the combination allows us to go on with out a rythm guitar plus it gives me more room to fill the gap and throw in fills when i see fit... so yeah i'm completely against the whole rythm guitar infact now i'm writing stuff for us there will never be a need for a rythm guitarist... so my vote no more than one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 [quote name='dlloyd' post='270583' date='Aug 26 2008, 08:40 PM']The two drummers were in the band at different times! Both were/are amazing musicians, one now plays fiddle in a gypsy jazz inspired acoustic act and the other is drummer in a fantastic Glasgow band Laki Mera. Edit: there was only ever one bass player at a time as well [/quote] Oh, right one drummer...I knew there was only one bass player at a time though...I'm clever like that ya see Also notice they think very highly of you, well done mate! I'd still like to do a gig with another bass player though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 [quote name='teen t-shirt' post='270640' date='Aug 26 2008, 10:05 PM']thats the rule i use for my band we're a 3 piece with me singing lead and my mate on drums and my lil brother on lead... and when he switches to do a solo because we both have really big sounds my bass is quite boomy and in your face and is guitar is very dirty and heavy and so the combination allows us to go on with out a rythm guitar plus it gives me more room to fill the gap and throw in fills when i see fit... so yeah i'm completely against the whole rythm guitar infact now i'm writing stuff for us there will never be a need for a rythm guitarist... so my vote no more than one...[/quote] 3 piece is the future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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