Musicians thread

[GrumpyBadger]

Kind of random, but I'm starting to really like my new practice schedule for guitar. I read an article on ultimate-guitar.com that talked about mastering guitar solos the right way, but the concept can really be applied to anything. Basically, the author said that practicing guitar for four minutes a day is ideal. This is because it's easy to say, "oh, I'm going to be the next Steve Vai and practice for hours on end!" but this makes it very easy to be lazy and give up, and make excuses like "oh, I'm too busy."

But if you practice for four minutes a day and slowly add more time each week, it makes for a reward system and you'll feel accomplished. Plus you'll also start to have a desire to do longer practice sessions.

And basically, for that four minutes, you should spend all of your time practicing one single measure over and over. Then the next day, do it again, unless it was something super simple, then just move on to the next measure. And then after the week is up, bump that four minutes up to five, and keep going. Eventually you'll have every measure in the solo (or the whole song, if that's what you're going for) completed.

Personally, I've tweaked that four minutes to ten. I just can't stand picking up a guitar, turning my amp on, and getting comfortable only to stop what I'm doing four minutes later. Still, the same things apply.

It's definitely been helping me out a lot. You guys should give it a try

that's the way I try practically anything, and little by little, it takes more and more time to practice and feel accomplished, and thus makes me better at it.  I love doing it this way, and it's worked for almost everything I've tried.  It works really well for anything craftsman based.

[ThreadJack]

Now if only I'd start practicing that way.....

If I had money I'd take singing lessons. Think they'd teach me the Sully Erna sgrowl?

[TheHobbitofDune]

Now if only I'd start practicing that way.....

If I had money I'd take singing lessons. Think they'd teach me the Sully Erna sgrowl?

I don't see why not. More and more vocal coaches are starting to teach harsh vocals nowadays. I think we have Melissa Cross to thank for that. In any case, I would love to be able to sing like David Draiman. That man's voice is insane.

[Frizzenflyer]

word of advice, never date a violin player.

[ThreadJack]

Instrument porn!

ESP ltd B-154 DX:

[ThreadJack]

Squire J-Bass:











And one of my amp, for good measure.

[RLYHYPERGUY]

INSTRUMENT PR0N FTW!!!!!

Nice basses! How do they play? I think I used a Squire J-Bass when I first started playing. It was actually pretty nice! Since then I've used a Peavey Millenium AC BXP 5-string. I freaking love having that 5th string. It feels weird to play a 4-string now!

[ThreadJack]

INSTRUMENT PR0N FTW!!!!!

Nice basses! How do they play? I think I used a Squire J-Bass when I first started playing. It was actually pretty nice! Since then I've used a Peavey Millenium AC BXP 5-string. I freaking love having that 5th string. It feels weird to play a 4-string now!

Thank you. They both play very well, the necks are very similar, so I don't have a problem switching between them.

The LTD is a little more versatile though, I can get all kinds of tones out of that thing. I can go from Ric, to Fender tones, to a Gibson type tone just by turning the knobs.

The J-Bass is versatile too, but it's stuck in the Fender range. That range covers a lot though, but you're still only getting a Jazz Bass to almost a P-Bass tone.

I want to try a 5 string one day, but for now I'm just going to stick with the 4 string until I'm a bit more competent on it. After all, that 5th string is pretty useless if you don't know how to use it. lol.

[RLYHYPERGUY]

Thank you. They both play very well, the necks are very similar, so I don't have a problem switching between them.

The LTD is a little more versatile though, I can get all kinds of tones out of that thing. I can go from Ric, to Fender tones, to a Gibson type tone just by turning the knobs.

The J-Bass is versatile too, but it's stuck in the Fender range. That range covers a lot though, but you're still only getting a Jazz Bass to almost a P-Bass tone.

I want to try a 5 string one day, but for now I'm just going to stick with the 4 string until I'm a bit more competent on it. After all, that 5th string is pretty useless if you don't know how to use it. lol.

Yeah, it takes some getting used to, but once you're used to it it's hard to get on without it. It's great to have those lower notes, though. I used to tune it to D instead of the standard B, since I would use that more often, but I switched back to B more recently and I'm liking the extra range more.

I might want to get a 4-string someday and use it for faster playing, especially higher up the neck, but I really like having that extra string. 

[TheHobbitofDune]

Nice! Finally some string instruments

This is hopefully going to be my next guitar:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/esp-ltd-v-300-electric-guitar

But my dream guitar would have to be a Gibson Flying V.

[ThreadJack]

My first bass was similar to this(I don't remember the exact model, I got it used):

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Ibanez-AEB5E-Acoustic-Electric-Bass-105956627-i1470159.gc

But it was stolen out of my car last year. I want another one, but I just don't have room for another bass in my living space right now. lol.

Nice! Finally some string instruments

This is hopefully going to be my next guitar:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/esp-ltd-v-300-electric-guitar

But my dream guitar would have to be a Gibson Flying V.

Those are nice guitars, takes the work out of having to put EMG's in a Flying V, at 1/4th the price! lol.

I actually prefer these for a V copy, though:

 http://www.guitarcenter.com/Schecter-Guitar-Research-V-1-SPECIAL-EDITION-PASSIVE-Electric-Guitar-H80623-i2377125.gc

[RLYHYPERGUY]

I really like Paul Reed Smith guitars.



However, I really believe that you shouldn't buy any guitar unless you play it yourself. It's very easy to get caught up in the way a guitar looks or what features it has, but if it doesn't feel right then it's not worth it.

In a weird way, guitars are kind of like girls. 

Fun fact: the traditional guitar shape is actually based on a woman's figure.

[TheHobbitofDune]

@TJ: Yeah, they're great guitars. Though I would personally prefer a maple fretboard, but it's not really a big deal. Also, nice pickups on that one! I'm definitely a fan of Seymour Duncans.

@RLYHYPERGUY: Those are nice as well. Also, I've played plenty of ESP LTD models at Guitar Center. They play like butter for me personally

[RLYHYPERGUY]

@RLYHYPERGUY: Those are nice as well. Also, I've played plenty of ESP LTD models at Guitar Center. They play like butter for me personally

That's good! I played a PRS SE Singlecut model at a Guitar Center once. I really wish I was able to afford it at the time. It played so beautifully!

[TheHobbitofDune]

That's good! I played a PRS SE Singlecut model at a Guitar Center once. I really wish I was able to afford it at the time. It played so beautifully!

Nice. I did see a Gibson Flying V once but I didn't feel worthy enough to even touch it, so I just left it alone. Then some teenager with sagging pants came in, took the V off the wall, and played this less than stellar rendition of Smoke on The Water. Then when he started getting frustrated, he took his anger out on the guitar, bumped it hard against the amp he was playing through, and just left it there on the floor.

I'm not even kidding.