any musicians in here?

[cheezyridr]

there was a rock/metalhead thread,  i wonder if any of you play an instrument?

if you do, how about showing us your gear? talk about what kinda stuff you like to play,  and if you are in a working band, or if you just headline at madison square living room as i do. 

 

i play 60's, 70's, & 80's rock/metal,  and some southern rock stuff.  judas priest, black sabbath, ted nugent, deep purple,  molly hatchet, gov't mule, some allman bros.  currently working on learning green grass and high tides.  i was in a popular cover band and a tribute band back in the 80's.  these days, i just rock out in my house. my gear is nothing special,  but functional and affordable. i have other stuff besides what's below,  if other people post stuff too, i'll post some of my other guitars and amps later on 

 

[Woody B]

I've been playing guitar for 50 years.  (I'm 58)   I've played in several bands and also had a part time job in a recording studio.   It was mostly stuff for radio commercials.   I can play most stringed instruments as well as several brass instruments.  I haven't played the brass stuff (trumpet, trombone, french horn ect) for years though.   

 

We need to have a bass resource jam.

[TnRiver46]

8 hours ago, cheezyridr said:

there was a rock/metalhead thread,  i wonder if any of you play an instrument?

if you do, how about showing us your gear? talk about what kinda stuff you like to play,  and if you are in a working band, or if you just headline at madison square living room as i do. 

 

i play 60's, 70's, & 80's rock/metal,  and some southern rock stuff.  judas priest, black sabbath, ted nugent, deep purple,  molly hatchet, gov't mule, some allman bros.  currently working on learning green grass and high tides.  i was in a popular cover band and a tribute band back in the 80's.  these days, i just rock out in my house. my gear is nothing special,  but functional and affordable. i have other stuff besides what's below,  if other people post stuff too, i'll post some of my other guitars and amps later on 

 

That les Paul tho………

 

 

[LrgmouthShad]

Both my roommates play guitar and one of them also plays bass. Electric, acoustic, bass. They seem pretty good to me ??
 

 

[cheezyridr]

3 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

That les Paul tho………

 

 

 

it's a 2014 studio pro. like everything else, i can't leave things as they are.  i put locking tuners on it, ditched the corian nut for a bone one, and added an evh frankenstein pick up.  it used to coil split, but i rewired it when the greenboard crapped out.  i didn't bother setting up the coil split on the 57 classic in the neck position, the frankenstein doesn't split anyhow.  it's my "hard rock" guitar.  my #1, all-arounder is an ibanez AR325. i LOVE the super 58 pickups that it comes with. the micro switches do coil tapping, and phase. the only mods i made to it were a bone nut, and locking tuners.  it now takes longer to open a pack of strings than it does to change them, because of the tuners and the slotted tail piece. also, the knobs that came on it are the sweetest i've ever used. a  little thing, but i love it

[12poundbass]

I was pretty good at Guitar Hero 15-16 years ago. I even beat Tom Morello in a guitar competition! Does that count? ?

 

I had an electric when I was 14, but became frustrated due to the lack of progress. My father in-law had played since he was 5. He got me an acoustic one year for Christmas with plans that he’d teach me when he retired. He retired, my wife and I had our son, and my father in-law passed away about a year later. We never really got to get into full on lessons. I still have my acoustic and he gave me his acoustic days before he passed. I need to make time for lessons, I really do.

[jhoffman]

My kid is a phenomenal drummer. He started playing a full kit in second grade. Has a full ludwig setup with zildjian symbols. I can play guitar and played bass but I am very rusty.

He played a live 12 song set in the middle of town during an event in 4th grade! Now hes playing in school band and doesnt sit down at his kit unless the drum instructor is here. However, hes also now playing the bells as required by the percussion section. The big problem is hes so good for his age even when he doesnt play that much hes not rusty so hes cocky.

I really hope he learns to LOVE it more than just do it cause he can. If so, he will be awesome.

[Way north bass guy]

I can barely play the radio, but my wife and all her family are ridiculously good at many instruments. Her dad used to play in a band, and family gatherings feel more like a concert sometimes than a dinner with family. She plays pretty much anything with strings, played wind instruments in high school band ( our high school band was one of the best in the country back in the day), and plays the heck out of a piano. We have a whole wall of our house that’s covered in guitars, fiddles and mandolins. She has an old Gretsch electric from the 60s that was her dads. It’s a Chet Atkins Tennessean, that’s worth a mint! 

[cheezyridr]

6 hours ago, 12poundbass said:

I was pretty good at Guitar Hero 15-16 years ago. I even beat Tom Morello in a guitar competition! Does that count? ?

 

I had an electric when I was 14, but became frustrated due to the lack of progress. My father in-law had played since he was 5. He got me an acoustic one year for Christmas with plans that he’d teach me when he retired. He retired, my wife and I had our son, and my father in-law passed away about a year later. We never really got to get into full on lessons. I still have my acoustic and he gave me his acoustic days before he passed. I need to make time for lessons, I really do.

 

youtube is slam full of good lessons in every genre. i would recommend you learn to read tab. you don't need to be fast at it. just good enough to understand what you're looking at. tab for a song is almost always wrong.  but it's good for getting you close enough to figure out the rest on your own. 

the best thing you can do for yourself is, to keep it fun.  don't make a chore out of it. 

playing an acoustic is more physically difficult than playing on an electric.  if rock is what you want to play,  get an electric guitar and a small amp that accepts headphones. learn to play rock and don't bother (in the beginning) trying to learn what you don't like as much. 

what ever your flavor is, there are easy songs you can learn to get you started.  this will help you:

https://theacousticguitarist.com/how-to-read-chord-charts/

https://theacousticguitarist.com/what-are-cowboy-chords/

 

this is where you want to start.  oh, and one other thing. get yourself a tuner, and keep your guitar in tune. as you learn, this will also train your ear to know when something isn't right, without actually trying to learn it

 

[tander]

Been playing the guitar since the 60's off and on. Owned several guitars since then but the 2 that has remained are the Taylor 714 and the Fender '52 RI Tele. Play nothing but 60's and early 70's stuff.

[Hammer 4]

Use to play a bunch, blues, rock, and some country. With my carpal tunnel deal, can't play no mo. Here's a sampling of my gear. Not pictured is my Fender Baja tele in blond ash. Started playing in 1973.

 

[MN Fisher]

I'm the odd-ball again. I did trumpet back in grade school and junior high. Switched to folk guitar which I did for about 10 years. Then found this little beauty and learned it. Don't play much anymore, but occasionally haul it out to keep the fingers limber.

[scaleface]

My Dad was a heck of a harmonica player. I picked it up at the age of 50 and we would sit around the camper and play them . I never became good  but still play it when I'm by myself around a camp fire .

[cheezyridr]

On 12/17/2022 at 10:34 PM, Hammer 4 said:

Use to play a bunch, blues, rock, and some country. With my carpal tunnel deal, can't play no mo. Here's a sampling of my gear. Not pictured is my Fender Baja tele in blond ash. Started playing in 1973.

 

 

i ABSOLUTELY LOVE that tele with the natural finish. i call it "school desk finish" i had a 335 copy like that.  i've had a few strats, i have a love/hate thing with them.  i have trouble with the F spacing, and the scale length.  but man, when i'm in a mind to fight with one, they sound amazing.  here is the last strat i had, i called it the bat strat.  if the adam west batman had a strat, it would be this one

 

american standard, i think it's an '06. i rewired it so that it was just 3 position, dropped one vol knob, evh frankenstein in the bridge, custom pickguard from warmoth, lsr roller nut, locking tuners, extra string tree, tremol-no, custom engraved neck plate. this pic was taken before the final mod, a spinal tap volume knob.  it went to 11.  ?

because i'm stupid, i sold it a couple years ago.  when covid hit and they said they were gonna do lock downs, i panicked and sold it so i would have an extra mortgage payment.  i had no idea that soon i would make more staying home than i did going to work as a union sheet metal worker. i tried buying it back, but the guy refused , because unlike me, he's not stupid. that's life.  i like trying new stuff, so other than my lp and the ar,  anything else i have usually gets turned into something else eventually. i built a red strat before that one, which was all the same except seymour duncan pick up in the bridge.  i traded that for an explorer,  which i traded for a vox nite train  and a bunch of other stuff...

[Kidflex]

wannabe rockstar here. Been playing for 30 years. i should be a lot better than i am but i enjoy making noise with my buddies

 

[Woody B]

Since we're showing pictures here's a picture of a guitar I built.  I'll post some more after work.  I'm having to resize them.  

 

[Dan Strain]

lifelong guitarist here -

 

im also lucky enough to have my day job be building 50s-60s style aged electric guitars  ( DANOCASTER ) 

Here’s a “lace paint” finish I love to do - using fabric as a stencil

 

[cheezyridr]

On 12/19/2022 at 6:51 AM, Woody B said:

Since we're showing pictures here's a picture of a guitar I built.  I'll post some more after work.  I'm having to resize them.  

 

 

22 hours ago, Dan Strain said:

lifelong guitarist here -

 

im also lucky enough to have my day job be building 50s-60s style aged electric guitars  ( DANOCASTER ) 

Here’s a “lace paint” finish I love to do - using fabric as a stencil

 

 

holy smokes!  coolest posts so far!  y'all 2 making beautiful guitars certainly beats me playing mid-budget ones poorly. hahahaha

[islandbass]

Keys if you please. That’s my main instrument. 
 

I didn’t get too much into guitar for two reasons. One lots of my friends played guitar so I didn’t have a need to. But when I tried to get into it, my first acoustic guitar was terrible and no matter how well I tuned it (I was in my early 20s), certain chords always sounded off but I didn’t know why. 
 

Yes, I have an ear so it really bothered me so I dropped it. Years later, I realized the issue was that my bad guitar had serious intonation issues. So now if I pick up a stringed instrument, it’s the first ding dang thing I check so I don’t waste my time. 
 

I started playing the ukulele in 2019 and my son’s bass guitar sometime in 2020 when it was available. 
 

And I ain’t playing only hawaiian songs only on the ukulele. I’ve figured out songs from the eagles (working on my own rendition of desperado) and even the instrumental for metallica’s master of puppets on my own.  On the bass, I’ve figured out songs by Linkin Park, Old school Motown, 70s funk, Santana, Earth Wind and Fire. Unfortunately, I have yet to figure out how to slap. ?
 

Fortunately for me, My keyboard experience has allowed my hands to adapt to fretted instruments and also having an ear has enabled me to learn both those instruments by myself.

 

Lastly, my kids have been blessed with musical talent. My son was a natural on the trumpet and able to hit the high g in 5th grade, the grade he took it up. He also plays piano and is quite proficient with the guitar and all self taught but he’ll come to me if he can’t figure a song’s chord progression. I guess that’s all I’m good for, lol.  He did give up his trumpet when he discovered the piano a realized that trumpets and other brass and wood wind instruments are limited to one clef, lol. 
 

I can’t play any brass or wood winds but I think I’m going to give his trumpet a go. 

[TnRiver46]

2 hours ago, islandbass said:

Keys if you please. That’s my main instrument. 
 

I didn’t get too much into guitar for two reasons. One lots of my friends played guitar so I didn’t have a need to. But when I tried to get into it, my first acoustic guitar was terrible and no matter how well I tuned it (I was in my early 20s), certain chords always sounded off but I didn’t know why. 
 

Yes, I have an ear so it really bothered me so I dropped it. Years later, I realized the issue was that my bad guitar had serious intonation issues. So now if I pick up a stringed instrument, it’s the first ding dang thing I check so I don’t waste my time. 
 

I started playing the ukulele in 2019 and my son’s bass guitar sometime in 2020 when it was available. 
 

And I ain’t playing only hawaiian songs only on the ukulele. I’ve figured out songs from the eagles (working on my own rendition of desperado) and even the instrumental for metallica’s master of puppets on my own.  On the bass, I’ve figured out songs by Linkin Park, Old school Motown, 70s funk, Santana, Earth Wind and Fire. Unfortunately, I have yet to figure out how to slap. ?
 

Fortunately for me, My keyboard experience has allowed my hands to adapt to fretted instruments and also having an ear has enabled me to learn both those instruments by myself.

 

Lastly, my kids have been blessed with musical talent. My son was a natural on the trumpet and able to hit the high g in 5th grade, the grade he took it up. He also plays piano and is quite proficient with the guitar and all self taught but he’ll come to me if he can’t figure a song’s chord progression. I guess that’s all I’m good for, lol.  He did give up his trumpet when he discovered the piano a realized that trumpets and other brass and wood wind instruments are limited to one clef, lol. 
 

I can’t play any brass or wood winds but I think I’m going to give his trumpet a go. 

[JackstrawIII]

I play drums well and guitar fairly well. I actually don't have a drumset now (gave it away years ago when my wife and I bought our first house and I didn't have room for it). I play at church periodically and have kept up the skills somewhat. 

I mostly play guitar these days. Always been a Taylor guy. This one (a First Edition 524ce) is my favorite of those I own at the moment. I've had 800 and 900 series Taylors, but those are gone and this one is still here:

[cheezyridr]

11 hours ago, islandbass said:

Keys if you please. That’s my main instrument. 
 

 

keys are very cool!  jon lord is 80% of why deep purple is such a cool band. as a guitar player, i loved blackmore,  but in my mind, jon lord made  deep purple what it was.

also, in my mind the coolest song ever written was tocata and fuge.  bach wrote it when he was just 17 years old.  you tell me what you think.  crank your speakers up super loud and play this. if i EVER get the chance to hear this played on a real pipe organ in person, a 20 mule team won't keep me out of that church

 

1 hour ago, JackstrawIII said:

I play drums well and guitar fairly well. I actually don't have a drumset now (gave it away years ago when my wife and I bought our first house and I didn't have room for it). I play at church periodically and have kept up the skills somewhat. 

I mostly play guitar these days. Always been a Taylor guy. This one (a First Edition 524ce) is my favorite of those I own at the moment. I've had 800 and 900 series Taylors, but those are gone and this one is still here:

 

love the black board, is it ebony?  that top is very rich,  what a nice guitar!

Edited December 21, 2022 by cheezyridr
my typing skills are even worse than my guitar playing

[JackstrawIII]

53 minutes ago, cheezyridr said:

love the black board, is it ebony?  that top is very rich,  what a nice guitar!

Yes, the fingerboard and headstock are ebony. Top, sides, and back are mahogany. 

[islandbass]

3 hours ago, cheezyridr said:

 

keys are very cool!  jon lord is 80% of why deep purple is such a cool band. as a guitar player, i loved blackmore,  but in my mind, jon lord made  deep purple what it was.

also, in my mind the coolest song ever written was tocata and fuge.  bach wrote it when he was just 17 years old.  you tell me what you think.  crank your speakers up super loud and play this. if i EVER get the chance to hear this played on a real pipe organ in person, a 20 mule team won't keep me out of that church

 

 

love the black board, is it ebony?  that top is very rich,  what a nice guitar!

Oh yes. I know of that piece but haven’t learned it. Love it. Part of it is in the old school video game called Gyruss. Imagine planet hopping with this pumping through you spaceship. ?

 

There is a organ of this worthy and capable of playing it at the St. James Cathedral in Seattle. They probably shoot me if I tried to sneak in there to play it. 
 

Even though I know I’d get most of it by ear, I respect quality pieces such as this to play it the way it was written. Now I am going to look for sheet music for this, lol. 
 

You probably know this song too, but Bach’s Bouree while a piano piece, has been done with guitar countless times. 
 

Just a thought but I wonder what would happen if some of us here collaborated on Tocata and Fugue going from classical and metal renditions, both acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, bass and percussion and even wind instruments. Now that would be cool. ?????
 

 

[Catt]

Haven't touched a guitar since the mid to late 60s, opting to play the sound system instead, something I still do today.

 

"Audiophiles don't use their equipment to listen to your music, they use your music to listen to their equipment." -Alan Parsons