[TBaggins]

Guitar players:
I myself have been playing guitar for a year and a half and have a few questions about guitar playing.
-When I solo, I can't really move my wrist really fast. So I looked into other methods on how to shred, and I've found that I kinda have to move my forearm in combination with my wrist to play blistering fast solos. Is that a bad thing that I move my arm when I'm not moving from string to string? I've seen people criticized for using their arms while playing solos, and I don't really want to fall into that league.

-Why are solid state amps criticized so much?

-I tend to detune my guitar every once in awhile, and I was wondering if having a guitar with a whammy bar would affect that at all?

-This next question doesn't involve MY playing per se, but I would like to see everyone's opinion on sweep picking. Personally I don't like it because it's overused in today's music and carries no emotion, but I would like to see other guitar player's opinions on this.

Thanks for your help!

[DustyCloud]

I just started learning how to play. Like a week ago. And I've already got 3 strings down!

[3 mm picks]

Well I play guitar and I am alright. Personally I don't really pay attention to what I do during solos, it just kind of comes natural, so I will answer the other questions. My best advice would be just to find what works, and if it does then go with it.

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-I tend to detune my guitar every once in awhile, and I was wondering if having a guitar with a whammy bar would affect that at all?

Using a whammy bar makes your guitar go out of tune unless you use a locking nut, but I would recommend getting someone who knows what they are doing to put one on so the neck does not break. And if you get a locking nut, you can't change the tuning (or I don't think you can), so if you do a lot of alternate tunings, I would not suggest it, but just deal with the guitar going out of tune when using the whammy.

Quote

-This next question doesn't involve MY playing per se, but I would like to see everyone's opinion on sweep picking. Personally I don't like it because it's overused in today's music and carries no emotion, but I would like to see other guitar player's opinions on this. smile.gif

I think that unless you can sweep pick like Rusty Cooley, you shouldn't. Or at least I would say use it in moderation. No one likes to hear a solo of all sweep picking, because it is just a cheap trick. I am not sure how to say this right, but I think that it can sound awesome when you just do a down stroke, then an upstroke, then a down stroke, then an upstroke, then move on. It sounds cool for a few seconds but after a while, it just kind of dies i guess.

Hope that helps a little bit, I don't know too much technical stuff about guitars.

Also, I am just wondering who your favorite guitar players are, and what music you play?

This post has been edited by lord Isaac: 07 July 2008 - 05:54 PM

[TBaggins]

First off thanks for answering my questions.


Mostly I play metal, but I play blues and reggaeish stuff (very rarely). The sole person responsible for me picking up a guitar is James Hetfield of Metallica. Some of my other favorite players are Kirk Hammett, Zakk Wylde, Randy Rhoads, Dimebag Darrell, Eddie Van Halen, David Gilmour, Tony Iommi, and Carlos Santana.

[Wozzname]

Which arm?

[Themistocles]

Quote

-Why are solid state amps criticized so much?

Though I don't play. from having worked on Electronics for years.
It is a matter of power. Vacuum tube amps can typically handle more power than
Solid state ones. Greater power means greater distortion.
It is harder to blow a power tube than it is to blow a solid state final.
Vacuum tube amps (or analogue) amps tend to have greater distortion potential than
Solid state amps. If you play metal, you want distortion.
Vacuum tube amps, though they run hotter and are hard to find parts for
are the best route if you play metal. Marshall is by far the best brand to go with.

[Wozzname]

Themistocles, on Jul 8 2008, 08:07 PM, said:

Though I don't play. from having worked on Electronics for years.
It is a matter of power. Vacuum tube amps can typically handle more power than
Solid state ones. Greater power means greater distortion.
It is harder to blow a power tube than it is to blow a solid state final.
Vacuum tube amps (or analogue) amps tend to have greater distortion potential than
Solid state amps. If you play metal, you want distortion.
Vacuum tube amps, though they run hotter and are hard to find parts for
are the best route if you play metal. Marshall is by far the best brand to go with.

^This.

To expand on that, I've owned a Hughes and Kettner Matrix 100 Amp (solid state) and a Marshal AC 150 (valvestate). The valvestate I now have admittedly has higher wattage, but the solid state did blow on stage a few months ago (irreparably), whereas the valvestate is still working very nicely.

[Themistocles]

Wozzname, on Jul 8 2008, 02:11 PM, said:

^This.

To expand on that, I've owned a Hughes and Kettner Matrix 100 Amp (solid state) and a Marshal AC 150 (valvestate). The valvestate I now have admittedly has higher wattage, but the solid state did blow on stage a few months ago (irreparably), whereas the valvestate is still working very nicely.

In a analogue amp (Vacuum tube) you use only a power tube and resistors to regulate power.
In a solid state amp or even a digital amp, You use a transformer, Power finals, Diodes, resistors and capacitors to regulate power. You blow a final, Transformer, diode, Resistor or capacitor your out of business period. and you spend all afternoon hunting down what you blew.
On the other hand, if you blow a power tube, about a 5 minute fix and your back up and running.
a speaker is a linear induction electric motor. The more power you can ram into that driver motor,
the more that speaker is going to distort. Vacuum tube (or valvestate, analogue, etc.) will enable you to deliver more power to the speaker.
Basically, Vacuum tube amps will far exceed solid state or even digital amps.

This post has been edited by Themistocles: 08 July 2008 - 01:23 PM

[TBaggins]

Wozzname, on Jul 8 2008, 11:57 AM, said:

Which arm?

My picking arm (my right arm)

[Esau of Isaac]

Quote

My picking arm (my right arm)

Then no, not really. When playing the guitar with the pick, especially faster solos, I was taught to pick with only the wrist, as bringing the forearm into it could screw everything up.

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-I tend to detune my guitar every once in awhile, and I was wondering if having a guitar with a whammy bar would affect that at all?

Yeah, of course. It can detune your guitar. There are tools that will help against that, but in the same sense that you can detune your guitar by bending strings too much, it's the same with using the whammy bar.

Of course, that depends on the guitar and the strings as well.

Quote

-This next question doesn't involve MY playing per se, but I would like to see everyone's opinion on sweep picking. Personally I don't like it because it's overused in today's music and carries no emotion, but I would like to see other guitar player's opinions on this.

Sometimes I like it, and it can be very awesome to hear depending on the song, but some artists carry a session of it for way too long and need to tone down a bit on it.

[Wozzname]

Focus on just that arm for now. Go through the same stuff, but way slower, and concentrate on keeping your wrist where it is.

[Scott Robb]

I feel it is best to rest your fingers inbetween the buttons. That means you can get the YRG combo really quickly. Riffin' can get pretty difficult past Hard level, so it is generally best to ignore it and try to keep your no miss bonus.

[auto98]

Scott Robb, on Jul 9 2008, 09:17 AM, said:

I feel it is best to rest your fingers inbetween the buttons. That means you can get the YRG combo really quickly. Riffin' can get pretty difficult past Hard level, so it is generally best to ignore it and try to keep your no miss bonus.

Might i just say LOL

[Themistocles]

Scott Robb, on Jul 9 2008, 03:17 AM, said:

I feel it is best to rest your fingers inbetween the buttons. That means you can get the YRG combo really quickly. Riffin' can get pretty difficult past Hard level, so it is generally best to ignore it and try to keep your no miss bonus.

LOL I don't believe he was referring to Guitar Hero or Frets on Fire lol.

[Ezko]

You shouldn't really be moving the forearm while picking individual notes, its not an economical movement (hence why economy, tremolo and sweep picking are fast). Moving your arm while staying on one string is Not good! Find yourself a Metallica song, say, Master of Puppets, and just trem pick your low E while keeping the "butt" of your palm on the bridge or body, making sure the movement is very relaxed. Using arms to play guitar is like running a race while carrying an excessively large water bottle - it isn't wrong, but you'll tire and not be able to maintain speed as long as everyone else.

If you use the whammy bar a lot then your guitar will go slightly out of tune. This can be largely avoided if you have a locking nut and floating trem (e.g. any of Dimebag's guitars). My Ibanez didn't go out of tune for 3 months because of that

Its hard to convey emotion sweeping because it is a linear movement - purely up and down, very limited in ability to make original sounding music. Check out Serrana by Jason Becker, really tough, really flashy, but not as musical as a lot of other music.

[TBaggins]

Ezko, on Jul 9 2008, 03:46 AM, said:

You shouldn't really be moving the forearm while picking individual notes, its not an economical movement (hence why economy, tremolo and sweep picking are fast). Moving your arm while staying on one string is Not good! Find yourself a Metallica song, say, Master of Puppets, and just trem pick your low E while keeping the "butt" of your palm on the bridge or body, making sure the movement is very relaxed. Using arms to play guitar is like running a race while carrying an excessively large water bottle - it isn't wrong, but you'll tire and not be able to maintain speed as long as everyone else.

If you use the whammy bar a lot then your guitar will go slightly out of tune. This can be largely avoided if you have a locking nut and floating trem (e.g. any of Dimebag's guitars). My Ibanez didn't go out of tune for 3 months because of that

Its hard to convey emotion sweeping because it is a linear movement - purely up and down, very limited in ability to make original sounding music. Check out Serrana by Jason Becker, really tough, really flashy, but not as musical as a lot of other music.

Thanks for the advice, but I haven't gotten tired using my arm at all? It's weird, and I should have said earlier that I have a weird joint problem with my wrist.

[FERGUS_MANERGUS]

To the whammy bar question:
Depending on you bridge, nut, and saddle specs, it can affect tuning a lot.

To the sweep picking question:
This is just an opinion, but no matter how you use sweep picking (or any other technique for that matter), it depends on if you put emotion into it or not.

[Ezko]

Do you have a video of your playing we could check out?

And if you have a condition that means your arm doesn't tire, thats not really a "problem"

[-Wolverine-]

For your solo's, look into Santana;s work. He plays blistering fast solos, yet at the same time, they are very emotional.
A world of difference from shredding.

[Kenadian_2006]

TBaggins, on Jul 7 2008, 07:36 PM, said:

-I tend to detune my guitar every once in awhile, and I was wondering if having a guitar with a whammy bar would affect that at all?

-This next question doesn't involve MY playing per se, but I would like to see everyone's opinion on sweep picking. Personally I don't like it because it's overused in today's music and carries no emotion, but I would like to see other guitar player's opinions on this.

Whammy bars, unless there is something to keep it locked in, will tend to throw the strings out of tune.

Sweep picking makes for awesome solos.