T-Nation Guitar Players' Thread

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661

Some riffage. LaCobra straight into Carvin Legacy 100w. Seymour Duncan JB pickup.

Gonna switch it out for a Pearly Gates for a bit. Ordering a Duncan Distortion.

[quote]treco wrote:

[quote]SteelyD wrote:
Just finished another build.

Suped up La Cabronita style Telecaster. I call it the “La Cobra-nita”

Style based on a 1970 Gold/Black Ford Mach I Super Cobra Jet Mustang. Color is “Ford Sunlit Gold” similar to the original “Sunburst Gold”.

Custom anodized aluminum pickguard. Custom laser etched Ford Cobra into the neck plate.

Seymour Duncan JB (TB-4), Floyd Rose, maple neck, ebony fretboard, Jackpot 500k volume pot. Body has Stratocaster contours and tummy cut.[/quote]

Sweet build!
How about demoing a little boogie woogie on it for us?
[/quote]

662

Swapped out the JB pickup for a Seymour Duncan “Pearly Gates”. Much better sounding. Totally revoiced the guitar.

The PG pickups are modeled after Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) pickups in his “Pearly Gates” Les Paul. Favorite pickup ever.

Just noodling with clean tone through the Carvin Legacy. I’ll try to get some dirty tones up. Too late tonight.

663

I’m trying to get my shredding up to par. I can rock out a bit, but I’ve always really treated guitar playing as an accompaniment for my singing.

So for the first time ever I’m practising with a metronome, learning scales, modes, etc. Not the most fun thing ever but it has to be done.

I wonder if it’ll be easier for me to learn seeing as I’ve already been playing for close to 20 years, or if it’ll be harder seeing as I’ll basically be trying to unlearn 2 decades of self taught bad habits.

Steely, I’ve heard the way you shred. If you can offer any insights into practice techniques, resources or whatever I’d appreciate it.

664

What “shred” songs/bands do you listen to, Yogi?

665

[quote]dt79 wrote:
What “shred” songs/bands do you listen to, Yogi? [/quote]

Well that’s also sort of an issue in that I don’t really listen to much in the way of shredding, but I still want to be able to do it.

The guys I’m in the band with listen to a lot heavier stuff than I’m into, and there’s tons of stuff like tapping and sweep arpeggios in their tunes that you don’t really get in the stuff I listen to or the band actually plays (classic rock mostly, bit of grunge here and there). I can plug in a crybaby and rip up and down a pentatonic scale over an AC/DC tune or whatever but that’s as far as I’ve ever really taken my soloing.

I mean obviously I know dudes like Vai, Satriani, Malmsteen, Buckethead etc but I rarely ever listen to it as I’m actually not much of a fan of a one man shred fest.

Even still, I’d like to give it a bash. I reckon consistently doing 30-60 mins a day of boring ass scales or whatever should see a return fairly quickly.

I’m all ears if you have any recommendations for some serious shredding tunes?

666

[quote]Yogi wrote:

[quote]dt79 wrote:
What “shred” songs/bands do you listen to, Yogi? [/quote]

Well that’s also sort of an issue in that I don’t really listen to much in the way of shredding, but I still want to be able to do it.

The guys I’m in the band with listen to a lot heavier stuff than I’m into, and there’s tons of stuff like tapping and sweep arpeggios in their tunes that you don’t really get in the stuff I listen to or the band actually plays (classic rock mostly, bit of grunge here and there). I can plug in a crybaby and rip up and down a pentatonic scale over an AC/DC tune or whatever but that’s as far as I’ve ever really taken my soloing.

I mean obviously I know dudes like Vai, Satriani, Malmsteen, Buckethead etc but I rarely ever listen to it as I’m actually not much of a fan of a one man shred fest.

Even still, I’d like to give it a bash. I reckon consistently doing 30-60 mins a day of boring ass scales or whatever should see a return fairly quickly.

I’m all ears if you have any recommendations for some serious shredding tunes?[/quote]
If I understand correctly, you just want to learn play really fucking fast and be able to improvise with a wider ranger of scales?

667

I think you may like this guy:

668

[quote]Yogi wrote:
as I’ll basically be trying to unlearn 2 decades of self taught bad habits.

[/quote]

Such is life, in a nutshell.

669

^^Haha, good old Nuno, forgot about him!

That Paul Gilbert thing was immense! Notice how all these dudes use Ibanez guitars? Maybe that’s the secret. Nothing to do with practice or whatever, just buy an Ibanez.

Wish I hadn’t spent the last couple of decades cultivating a Gibson fetish now.

670

[quote]countingbeans wrote:

[quote]Yogi wrote:
as I’ll basically be trying to unlearn 2 decades of self taught bad habits.

[/quote]

Such is life, in a nutshell. [/quote]

haha, maybe this one time it’ll work!

671

[quote]dt79 wrote:

If I understand correctly, you just want to learn play really fucking fast and be able to improvise with a wider ranger of scales?

[/quote]

That der riff-ology.

Shreading is so not my thing, but I nothing but respect and awe for it when it’s done right.

672

[quote]Yogi wrote:
^^Haha, good old Nuno, forgot about him!

That Paul Gilbert thing was immense! Notice how all these dudes use Ibanez guitars? Maybe that’s the secret. Nothing to do with practice or whatever, just buy an Ibanez.

Wish I hadn’t spent the last couple of decades cultivating a Gibson fetish now.[/quote]

Bucket head wreaks a “Gibson”*.

*(The whole ghost built guitars with Gibson on the head stock rumors/talk.)

My Les Paul knockoff has the sanded heal to get better access frets 14+. I’m not good at it, but it helps. PRS has those cuts too. A lot of neck thru’s I’ve seen do.

But yeah, there are “shredder” guitar brands.

673

I didn’t realise that Paul Gilbert dude was the guitarist for Mr Big.

When I googled how to shred a couple of weeks ago, there was a site saying your first lesson to master the advanced technique is to learn the opening riff to Colorado Bulldog.

I listened to the first 30 seconds and realised I was more of an intermediate guitar player than advanced…

674

[quote]countingbeans wrote:

[quote]Yogi wrote:
^^Haha, good old Nuno, forgot about him!

That Paul Gilbert thing was immense! Notice how all these dudes use Ibanez guitars? Maybe that’s the secret. Nothing to do with practice or whatever, just buy an Ibanez.

Wish I hadn’t spent the last couple of decades cultivating a Gibson fetish now.[/quote]

Bucket head wreaks a “Gibson”*.

*(The whole ghost built guitars with Gibson on the head stock rumors/talk.)

My Les Paul knockoff has the sanded heal to get better access frets 14+. I’m not good at it, but it helps. PRS has those cuts too. A lot of neck thru’s I’ve seen do.

But yeah, there are “shredder” guitar brands. [/quote]

Yeah I was just being a dumbass, I know you could use any guitar.

My 1998 Les Paul Standard DC is still the love of my life.

Still think my next purchase will be an Ibanez though. Love the JEM7 with the floral pattern

675

[quote]Yogi wrote:

My 1998 Les Paul Standard DC is still the love of my life.

[/quote]

I remember now, you posted that in the other thread. I’m jealous af of that instrument and the fact you own it. It’s like an SG, without being a step off due to the neck placement to the body everytime you grab the thing.

If at any point I can convince my wife to let me spend 2-3k on a guitar I’d consider a Heritage, but he head stock is ugly. Or maybe a local shop’s “LP” custom. I really want an LP with a maple fret board, and the only one I can find is an Agile, so I’ll likely just do that.

I never, and I mean never see LP DC’s around here. You scored.

676

[quote]Yogi wrote:
I didn’t realise that Paul Gilbert dude was the guitarist for Mr Big.

When I googled how to shred a couple of weeks ago, there was a site saying your first lesson to master the advanced technique is to learn the opening riff to Colorado Bulldog.

I listened to the first 30 seconds and realised I was more of an intermediate guitar player than advanced…[/quote]
Haha I’m not a real “shred” fan myself. That’s why I asked if you just wanted to play really fast.

Check out Paul and Marty Friedman jamming. Skip to 5.45

You don’t really have to learn to “shred” to play like this.

677

[quote]Yogi wrote:
^^Haha, good old Nuno, forgot about him!

That Paul Gilbert thing was immense! Notice how all these dudes use Ibanez guitars? Maybe that’s the secret. Nothing to do with practice or whatever, just buy an Ibanez.

Wish I hadn’t spent the last couple of decades cultivating a Gibson fetish now.[/quote]
I can’t play with the standard Ibanez neck. It’s too thin for me. My vibrato goes to shit.

678

[quote]Yogi wrote:
Steely, I’ve heard the way you shred. If you can offer any insights into practice techniques, resources or whatever I’d appreciate it.[/quote]

It’s not necessarily about sitting for hours going up and down scales. It’s more about patterns and shapes.

You still have to practice at least a little :wink: There’s something to be said for learning something so engrained that you don’t think about it.

Listen to Freebird solo. The vast majority of that is just little pentatonic licks and patterns repeated over and over.

The last few bars of Stairway to Heaven where it’s that classic little pulloff triplet lick repeated very quickly.

Paul Gilbert mastered “Box 6’s” where the pattern is 1-2-3 (next string) 4 (back to starting string) 5-6. Repeat. Move up a string.

Yngwie Malmsteen plays a few “bread and butter” patterns in every song.

“Shredding” is more about patterns and knowing how to start and where to end. Some patterns you start with up strokes to make the ‘math’ work.

Of course, knowing scales is fundamental to know which notes to play otherwise its just all gibberish. “Fast” and “tasteful” don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

Google a guy named “Troy Grady”. He has a series, many of which are free, called “Cracking the Code”. He really goes in depth about the “pick hand” of fast players versus the “fret hand” where most people get hung up on. It really is largely about pick technique for playing fast. Left and right hand must be in synch.

Paul Gilbert is a great teacher and his videos really are priceless because he breaks things down so simply.

TL;DR
Practice scales and patterns. Get fast.

I’ll post more later. Gotta run.

679

[quote]SteelyD wrote:

[quote]Yogi wrote:
Steely, I’ve heard the way you shred. If you can offer any insights into practice techniques, resources or whatever I’d appreciate it.[/quote]

It’s not necessarily about sitting for hours going up and down scales. It’s more about patterns and shapes.

You still have to practice at least a little :wink: There’s something to be said for learning something so engrained that you don’t think about it.

Listen to Freebird solo. The vast majority of that is just little pentatonic licks and patterns repeated over and over.

The last few bars of Stairway to Heaven where it’s that classic little pulloff triplet lick repeated very quickly.

Paul Gilbert mastered “Box 6’s” where the pattern is 1-2-3 (next string) 4 (back to starting string) 5-6. Repeat. Move up a string.

Yngwie Malmsteen plays a few “bread and butter” patterns in every song.

“Shredding” is more about patterns and knowing how to start and where to end. Some patterns you start with up strokes to make the ‘math’ work.

Of course, knowing scales is fundamental to know which notes to play otherwise its just all gibberish. “Fast” and “tasteful” don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

Google a guy named “Troy Grady”. He has a series, many of which are free, called “Cracking the Code”. He really goes in depth about the “pick hand” of fast players versus the “fret hand” where most people get hung up on. It really is largely about pick technique for playing fast. Left and right hand must be in synch.

Paul Gilbert is a great teacher and his videos really are priceless because he breaks things down so simply.

TL;DR
Practice scales and patterns. Get fast.

I’ll post more later. Gotta run.[/quote]

Yeah I’m with you on the pattern thing, as that’s kind of how I play now. Just need to learn more patterns and how to play them faster!

I’ll check out Troy Grady, thanks very much for that

680

[quote]countingbeans wrote:

[quote]Yogi wrote:

My 1998 Les Paul Standard DC is still the love of my life.

[/quote]

I remember now, you posted that in the other thread. I’m jealous af of that instrument and the fact you own it. It’s like an SG, without being a step off due to the neck placement to the body everytime you grab the thing.

If at any point I can convince my wife to let me spend 2-3k on a guitar I’d consider a Heritage, but he head stock is ugly. Or maybe a local shop’s “LP” custom. I really want an LP with a maple fret board, and the only one I can find is an Agile, so I’ll likely just do that.

I never, and I mean never see LP DC’s around here. You scored.

[/quote]

Yeah she’s a beaut. They stopped making the Standard DC’s in 1998, apparently. You can still get DC specials and juniors but they’re not so sexy. I’m not sentimental, but I doubt I’ll ever part with the DC.

It’ll be a long time before my girlfriend is ok with me buying another guitar seeing as I’ve spent the best part of £4000 so far this year. She’s also made it very clear that the engagement ring I will eventually have to buy her better be worth at least the same as my guitars!

I loved the look of that guitar you posted earlier in the thread too.