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Topic: Tip from a " beginner" for beginners |
David Shepack
From:
New Jersey, USA
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Posted 1 Jan 2014 9:10 am |
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I just had an epiphany. The slide bar is more than a tool to get to a chord , or to get to a place where a pedal function will fit in. It's to make music
( you knew that )
I just saw ( again ) the Legends of Steel. Mr. Don Helms was playing his Gibson Grand Console. ( NO pedals, No knee levers ) Don was impressive even though he was sitting next to Tommy White, playing a custom PSG with like …….34 pedals and 16 knee levers. It's scary how good Tommy is.
( 10 volume pedals so he can swell individual strings )
( Tommy's shoes only last one gig ) ( Sorry for exaggerating )
TIP # 1 Learn how to tune and adjust your guitar.
TIP # 2 Use your bar, don't let your feet and knees have all the fun.
TIP # 3 It's OK to use two note chords, and single notes.
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Maverick
Fender Blues Deville
Flatiron Mandolin
Gibson RB4 Banjo |
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David Shepack
From:
New Jersey, USA
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Posted 1 Jan 2014 9:12 am
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PLEASE……Feel free to add tips ( and correct me if I say something dumb.)
TIP # 4. Even players with a gazillion pedals, still slant the bar
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Maverick
Fender Blues Deville
Flatiron Mandolin
Gibson RB4 Banjo |
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Mike Poholsky
From:
Kansas, USA
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Posted 1 Jan 2014 11:02 am
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Playing in tune is #1. It involves both having the guitar in tune, pedals and knee levers, and bar placement. The frets are just guides.
I'm still apologizing to my old roomates from when I first started!
You can do this a number of ways, but Bob Hoffner(fellow member) has a Intonation CD available. It drones different chords for about 3-5 minutes a piece. If you play songs or licks that are in the key of the chord that is droning, you can tell when anything your playing is out of tune. Very productive practice session!
Had it been available back when, my roomates would have gladly got it for me then!
_________________
Zumsteel 12 Universal
SGBB
ShoBud VP
'64 Fender Twin Reverb/Fox Rehab
Fender Steel King w/BW 1501-4
FX to Taste |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 1 Jan 2014 1:34 pm
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Also a beginner, I can identify with all three of your tips. Bear in mind that I'm a pro trombone player and a decent mechanic.
TIP #1 - I'm a stickler for tuning and I rebuilt my guitar until it stayed in to my satisfaction. Now I can practise for as long as I want without the distraction of it going out; and even more important, if something does sound wrong I know it's me.
TIP #2 - holding the bar is very natural if you've held a trombone slide. Moving quickly and accurately by ear is at the heart of good trombone playing and I have used vibrato and deliberate smears right from the off without having to "bolt them on" to my playing.
TIP #3 - been there! - trying to make everything into a three-note chord. Save it for when you need impact. Less is more. The instrument has a ton of sonority without loading it up.
As for TIP #4 - I think I'll wait until I can guarantee the bar is 100% straight all the time!
If you'd like me to add a TIP #5, it would be Don't Neglect The C6 (if you have two necks). It was country sounds that brought me to the instrument, but the C6 is a whole 'nother world. I used to think I'd graduate to a universal one day, but every day that passes I'm less sure. It's not just a different tuning - it's really a different instrument.
TIP #6 - tune your C6 neck down a half tone. Then the notes line up and you should adapt to the universal a lot easier if you do ever want to. You don't have to alter the string gauges as they're exactly what you'd put on starting from scratch. Which means the standard C6 set is relatively heavier? Why? I mean to find out.
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Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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