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At 9/6/09 06:37 PM, Nev wrote:

How do you know your playing is clean if you're not playing through an amp? There could be loads of mistakes in your playing that you're not aware of because the amp isn't amplifying them.

Agreed.
Just the little things like harmonics when you're palm muting, there's no way you'll hear it without an amp, but with one it's really noticeable.

At 9/6/09 02:41 AM, PolishMatt wrote:

Chords are fun for the first year but you will eventually get the point where you will be single picking notes and that shouldn't be holding you back no matter how you like the strings positioned from top to bottom.

what

Chords are not something you stop doing after your first year, they are in fact much more complex than picking single notes.

Also if I understand correctly, the way he's playing is the same as one of Roger Water's accompanying guitarists. (observe the solo at about three minutes in) It doesn't seem to be holding him back.

Hey guys.

The reason I want to get this $175 one is because apparently it's on sale, comes with some accessories, and is usually $200. That and it is a better guitar than my crap $99 one. They actually had the cheap on in the store and the guy explained the differences. I got to hold the newer one and it felt a hell of a lot easier to play.

I would love to take the challenge of playing...weird...but the problem is that it requires a left handed guitar, and a lot of patience on my part. I'm pretty sure chords are a bit more important than for just the first year, but I'm also sure I could play that way if I really wanted to. But the place I went to only had 10 left handed guitars, and the cheapest one was $275, so it looks like I'll have to learn the regular way.

Also, which guy in the video are we talking about, the one with the red guitar? Because he plays left handed, so it's hard for me to tell if the strings are switched or not.

Really, it's up to you to decide what guitar to get, all we can do is tell you which are the ones we think are better.

As I said, it's the dude who plays the solo at about 3:00. Notice how when he plays the higher notes, he plays them in his top strings (top as in nearer to his head)

At 9/6/09 06:37 PM, Nev wrote:

At 9/6/09 04:48 PM, PolishMatt wrote: He's looking for an instrument to practice and learn on, not to perform a gig in front of Nicolas Sarkozy. Hell, this is going to be my 5th year playing and I don't have an amp. It's all about the fucking notes and keeping it clean MOTHA FUKKAS

How do you know your playing is clean if you're not playing through an amp? There could be loads of mistakes in your playing that you're not aware of because the amp isn't amplifying them.

Very true. Also, I don't understand what the point is in wasting the extra money to buy an electric guitar if you're not even going to buy an amp to go with it. Acoustic guitars are better for playing without amps than electrics, that's why they're acoustics.

Buying an electric guitar without an amp is like buying shoes if you have no feet, it's pointless.

At 9/6/09 08:08 PM, TheWolfe wrote: so it looks like I'll have to learn the regular way.

If you're normally right handed, then you shouldn't have any trouble adapting at all.

When I first picked up the guitar, I held it upside down because it felt way more comfortable. But after a couple of weeks practicing with it the correct way, I got the hang of it ;D

At 9/6/09 06:37 PM, Nev wrote: How do you know your playing is clean if you're not playing through an amp? There could be loads of mistakes in your playing that you're not aware of because the amp isn't amplifying them.

I completely agree, it is better but I stick mainly to exercises rather than songs and I build speed on anything I do and I typically play the pieces long enough to get them engraved in my head and then I can tell if I make any mistakes when I get to the high spectrum of tempos.

At 9/6/09 07:02 PM, Kiddmeizter wrote: Just the little things like harmonics

Yeah, those are impossible to play without an amp, good thing I rarely use them.

when you're palm muting

Unless sweeps would fall into the category of being some what connected to palm muting (Silencing the note right after attacking it), I would say that it's been years since I legitimately made any use of them.

At 9/6/09 11:41 PM, ToastedCupcake wrote: Very true. Also, I don't understand what the point is in wasting the extra money to buy an electric guitar if you're not even going to buy an amp to go with it.

Considering my Marshall weighted a good 40 to 50lb, the shipping would come out to being half of what I paid for the amp, if not more so I sold the amp when I moved back to Poland earlier last week.

Acoustic guitars are better for playing without amps than electrics, that's why they're acoustics.

They're definitely a shit load harder to play on though.

Buying an electric guitar without an amp is like buying shoes if you have no feet, it's pointless.

It's audible on quiet nights; which coincidently happens to be the main time I usually play at.

At 9/7/09 02:44 AM, PolishMatt wrote: Yeah, those are impossible to play without an amp, good thing I rarely use them.

That's not what Kidd meant. There are things that are too quiet and too subtle for your ears to pick up unamplified. Noises, buzzes, harmonics that you don't get without an amp. Flaws you may be unaware of because you can't hear them.

Acoustics aren't even hard to play. I started off on my friend's electric, then I played on my acoustic for about five months before I got my own electric. They're not that hard to play, you just have to position them correctly. And I still don't see the point of buying an electric without an amp. The whole point of an electric guitar is to be amplified, that's why it's electric.

Plus, acoustics sound a shitload better than unamplified electrics.

At 9/7/09 09:32 AM, ToastedCupcake wrote: Plus, acoustics sound a shitload better than unamplified electrics.

Acoustics aren't ideal for what Matt plays though. He's a shreddah!

I just bought a new Ibanez tubescreamer...
It sounds like shit.

At 9/7/09 09:32 AM, ToastedCupcake wrote: Acoustics aren't even hard to play.

There is an obvious difference in playability between the two, If there wasn't; people wouldn't be mainly sweeping on electrics or shredding on them in general for that matter of a fact. There is also the physical fact that strings are available in two varieties for the two types of guitars which carry their own unique qualities and feel to themselves.

They're not that hard to play, you just have to position them correctly.

Position what? The action of the strings? The guitar's neck? Your body to the guitar's body? It would helpful if you were a bit more clear with your astounding statements.

Plus, acoustics sound a shitload better than unamplified electrics.

Are you the grand ruler of the Universe that governs what is good, bad and what may continue to exist and what must cease to exist? Though I wouldn't disagree with the statement that the majority would lean to prefer acoustics over unplugged electrics but I seriously don't mind it. It must be my family's fucked up history of being.. er.. different from everyone else. I'm too obsessively compulsive to accept such foolish norms. Be gone.

And I still don't see the point of buying an electric without an amp.

Update me when you move into an apartment where you have three psychopathic neighbors living on every side of your house. The noise being caused from simply walking around my house had given me at times; 19 noise complaints a month.

The neighbor below me would at times go the extent of making a 4 page paper, specifying the exact time to the last second, of when he heard something and then had it filed to the head of the building. And now how am I suppose to put an amp to 1/4th of the way to 1 and still have a place to return to after work and school.

At 9/7/09 11:30 AM, Nev wrote:

At 9/7/09 09:32 AM, ToastedCupcake wrote: Plus, acoustics sound a shitload better than unamplified electrics.

Acoustics aren't ideal for what Matt plays though. He's a shreddah!

Why shred when you can Chug your way out of just about any situation?

At 9/7/09 11:26 PM, Kiddmeizter wrote: Why shred when you can Chug your way out of just about any situation?

Because I feel a sense of very euphoric level of gratification at the mind level when I have the pleasure of playing single notes with little time to think in between the next and exploring all of the fretboard for all that it's worth. Chugging is nice when I'm training at the gym and need something to... er.. give me that one last bit of encouragement or when I'm sad and need HEAVY MET4LZ >:(

At 9/7/09 11:26 PM, Kiddmeizter wrote: Why shred when you can Chug your way out of just about any situation?

Cause Ynwgie fucking said so!

At 9/8/09 11:30 AM, Nev wrote:

At 9/7/09 11:26 PM, Kiddmeizter wrote: Why shred when you can Chug your way out of just about any situation?

Cause Ynwgie fucking said so!

Ynwgie Mamstleen that is.

Lets see:

1) Guitar: Fender Stratocaster (Sunburst)
2) Favorite Band: Pink Floyd
3) Time Playing: About 3-4 years on an acoustic guitar and about 2-3 weeks on an electric guitar.

At 9/7/09 01:29 PM, Sevkat wrote: I just bought a new Ibanez tubescreamer...
It sounds like shit.

What model tubescreamer, what settings, and what amp are you using?

Also Matt, have you considered purchasing a line 6 guitarport/toneport/pocket pod? Not only could you practice with headphones, but you could record some stuff for us to listen to. I've wanted to hear your playing for quite a while now.

At 9/8/09 01:17 PM, jarrydn wrote: Also Matt, have you considered purchasing a line 6 guitarport/toneport/pocket pod? Not only could you practice with headphones, but you could record some stuff for us to listen to. I've wanted to hear your playing for quite a while now.

I been able to record for a while now with that Guitar > GT-8 > Computer set up of mine but I simply never gotten around to it because since a year ago, I had been putting my main focus on computers and it was my last year of school so shit got serious with that as well.

Needless to say I nearly completely stopped for the past few months and since (As mentioned before) I moved to a completely different continent, I'm pretty much without most of my possessions till about the end of this month. Only got a laptop and my Jackson.

When things calm down a bit and I finally have everything set up in my room, I'll definitely whip something up and record it. Also, I'm able to use headphones with the set up as well but once again, never got around to it / those 2 minutes to set everything up always kept me away from it.

Quick question, do you think it's worth it to learn how to play fairly well on the acoustic before moving on to the electric? The way I see it, the ultimate goal is the electric, because I think it's 10x as fun and gives you more various sounds. And buying another acoustic is that much more $ out of my wallet. Maybe I should cut right to the chase and just get electric and save myself $175?

At 9/7/09 11:30 AM, Nev wrote:

At 9/7/09 09:32 AM, ToastedCupcake wrote: Plus, acoustics sound a shitload better than unamplified electrics.

Acoustics aren't ideal for what Matt plays though. He's a shreddah!

Normally shredding requires the ability to hear without the room being silent.

At 9/8/09 07:01 PM, TheWolfe wrote: Quick question, do you think it's worth it to learn how to play fairly well on the acoustic before moving on to the electric? The way I see it, the ultimate goal is the electric, because I think it's 10x as fun and gives you more various sounds. And buying another acoustic is that much more $ out of my wallet. Maybe I should cut right to the chase and just get electric and save myself $175?

The ultimate goal is to play what you like, at a skill that you are happy with. It doesn't matter what kind of guitar you are using as long as you like the tones it can make. Lots of people write songs on acoustic guitars and then add in the other parts later on. Whatever works for you there is no wrong guitar to learn on, it's a matter of what you need it to do, and a matter of getting down the technical side of the instrument. If it feel right in your hands, then use it.

At 9/8/09 08:34 PM, ToastedCupcake wrote: Normally shredding requires the ability to hear without the room being silent.

Think of it as a form of meditation and skill training in one. When the time arrives for the need of amplification, amplifiers will exist at the location.

Did that rhythm? It's 4AM here.

I picked up my Jackie today for the first time in a while and I'm pleased to inform that my technique is almost as top notch as it was 7 months ago, though I can't even remember the the main meat of Scarified which was my favorite warm up song (Lots of fun techniques in there) so I'm going to having to brush up on that. More updates to come.

The best advice any guitarist can give to another is shut up 'n play yer guitar.

Discuss.

At 9/12/09 01:35 PM, ChocloMan wrote: The best advice any guitarist can give to another is shut up 'n play yer guitar.

Discuss.

Not if they're a really shit guitarist...

At 9/12/09 11:42 PM, positively-negative wrote:

At 9/12/09 01:35 PM, ChocloMan wrote: The best advice any guitarist can give to another is shut up 'n play yer guitar.

Discuss.

Not if they're a really shit guitarist...

They won't get better without continued practice, which is still playing guitar.

At 9/13/09 12:21 AM, Scrotaculous wrote: They won't get better without continued practice, which is still playing guitar.

What if all they practice is power chords for an entire decade? Because they're shit and don't know any better.

At 9/13/09 04:36 AM, PolishMatt wrote:

At 9/13/09 12:21 AM, Scrotaculous wrote: They won't get better without continued practice, which is still playing guitar.

What if all they practice is power chords for an entire decade? Because they're shit and don't know any better.

I agree, if they just "play" guitar, they won't learn any advanced chords etc., so they won't progress.

That's true, but if they don't know any better then they aren't trying to be bad, they just have no guidance, although in todays age with youtube, there is pretty much no excuse on not learning new techniques, except that they don't interest you.

Besides, if you play power chords for years you'll probably get bored and start learning other things, even if you don't know what they're called. And if you don't get bored then you'll be the best power-chorder ever, which isn't necesarilly a bad thing :P.