GUITAR MEGATHREAD: Dan Erlewine is your huckleberry

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plerocercoid: Feb 14, 2012

baka kaba posted:

Just to hammer it home - the CAGED system uses those 5 chord shapes, and each of those shapes has the root notes on certain strings. For example the C shape has its roots (the C notes) on the 2nd and 5th strings

If you want to use that shape to play another chord, say a Gb, you need to find a Gb on one of those strings. Once you know where the root is, you can drop the shape in place on top of it

In the same way, each scale shape has its roots on certain strings. So the one that matches the C shape also has its roots on the 2nd and 5th strings. If you look on the last diagram rio posted, peep the roots he's marked and you can 'see' the open chord laying on top of it. They both naturally fit in the same space, that's why they go together. So if you ever forget, you can work it out!

(The chord shapes are actually made by taking the roots, 3rds and 5ths in that scale pattern, if you think about it)

Coming from the other side, if you have a root note on a particular string that you want to use, you usually have a couple of shape options. If you're on the 2nd string, you can use the C shape because that has a root there. You can also use the D shape because that has a root on the 2nd string too - they just sit on different sides of the note (if you don't get what I mean, pick a note on that string and try both shapes)

Same goes for the scale shapes - a root on a particular string will feature in two shapes, one leaning left and one to the right, just like the chord shapes. You can use either depending on where you want to be and what chord shape you want under your fingers

Ideally you'll have this knowledge tied together so you don't really need to do any thinking - you have a note somewhere, and you know that's attached to chord shape X here and chord shape Y here, and they both have a certain scale shape at the same position as the chord. So long as you know where a root is, you'll always know where you are!

Uh that ended up longer than I meant. That was a great video rio, you're a good dude for doing all this!

rio posted:

I don't like any of those, although they have their place and it is personal preference. Using economy picking or in combination with sweeping the stretch fingerings with two whole steps on a string can be good but even with big hands I think that it is easier to internalize the fingerings that have only half step/while step on a string and to pivot/shift a fret when needed. It makes things so much easier to see on the neck and of course there will be times you have to do a finger extension but the default scale shape fingerings should be without finger extensions using pivots/shifts.

There are of course plenty of great players using those fingerings. And there isn't any standardized way to learn. But just from my own teaching and personal playing experience I really do see fast improvement and internalization using the non extension scale shapes - particularly with students who were already learning those fingerings and dedicate to switching to the CAGED scale shapes without extensions as their default fingerings. To each their own but I am a hard rear end with students so that doesn't apply in lessons haha.

Hey, thanks for all the good info here. I feel like I have a decent grasp of chords and scales individually, but putting them together in a practical sense has been like trying to pat my head and rub stomach at the same time. I think I've got it a bit better now, so it's time to spend the next week or so playing with them to see if I really do understand it.

# ? Aug 28, 2017 09:52

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# ? May 9, 2024 04:17

baka kaba: Jul 19, 2003; PLEASE ASK ME, THE SELF-PROFESSED NO #1 PAUL CATTERMOLE FAN IN THE SOMETHING AWFUL S-CLUB 7 MEGATHREAD, TO NAME A SINGLE SONG BY HIS EXCELLENT NU-METAL SIDE PROJECT, SKUA, AND IF I CAN'T PLEASE TELL ME TO
EAT SHIT

Well this isn't so much about chords and scales in general, it's more about the CAGED system itself. If you look at rio's diagram:

there are only 5 scale patterns
each covers a 4-fret box (with occasional pivoting or whatever he called it, your thumb stays in position)
each 4-fret box contains one of the CAGED chord shapes
you use them by finding your root note somewhere on the neck, and lining up a scale pattern that has the root on the same string
there are only 2 patterns where a root appears on a given string, so you always have 2 choices
those 2 scale shapes sit next to each other on the fretboard, with your target note in the middle where they meet

So there are only 5 scale patterns to learn, each one has a chord shape in it, and wherever you are there are only two choices of which to use. Once you're in position, you have a scale and a chord right under your fingers, and you can move to one of the adjacent shapes if you want to shift up or down the neck

Like you posted there are other box patterns that fit halfway between these CAGED ones, but they're not used here. This is like a stripped-down and simplified system that still gives you everything you need - you always have a scale and its tonic chord exactly where you are. You're trading off a bit of flexibility but you can always add in those other positions and other concepts once you have a solid grounding

# ? Aug 28, 2017 12:50

Spanish Manlove: Aug 31, 2008; HAILGAYSATAN

The hardest part about the CAGED system is that once you get it all down and perfect you just want to stay in those prescribed 4-5 fret boxes and it's not natural to do weird poo poo that overlaps between two chunks.

A good way to break that is to practice things that need to jump between chunks, IE anything that requires short position changes. Otherwise you end up doing poo poo like Kirk Hammet does where you never really have to move your thumb for stuff.

# ? Aug 28, 2017 12:58

baka kaba: Jul 19, 2003; PLEASE ASK ME, THE SELF-PROFESSED NO #1 PAUL CATTERMOLE FAN IN THE SOMETHING AWFUL S-CLUB 7 MEGATHREAD, TO NAME A SINGLE SONG BY HIS EXCELLENT NU-METAL SIDE PROJECT, SKUA, AND IF I CAN'T PLEASE TELL ME TO
EAT SHIT

That's so he can always be giving everyone a thumbs up

# ? Aug 28, 2017 14:50

plerocercoid: Feb 14, 2012

baka kaba posted:

Well this isn't so much about chords and scales in general, it's more about the CAGED system itself. If you look at rio's diagram:

there are only 5 scale patterns

each covers a 4-fret box (with occasional pivoting or whatever he called it, your thumb stays in position)

each 4-fret box contains one of the CAGED chord shapes

you use them by finding your root note somewhere on the neck, and lining up a scale pattern that has the root on the same string

there are only 2 patterns where a root appears on a given string, so you always have 2 choices

those 2 scale shapes sit next to each other on the fretboard, with your target note in the middle where they meet

So there are only 5 scale patterns to learn, each one has a chord shape in it, and wherever you are there are only two choices of which to use. Once you're in position, you have a scale and a chord right under your fingers, and you can move to one of the adjacent shapes if you want to shift up or down the neck

Like you posted there are other box patterns that fit halfway between these CAGED ones, but they're not used here. This is like a stripped-down and simplified system that still gives you everything you need - you always have a scale and its tonic chord exactly where you are. You're trading off a bit of flexibility but you can always add in those other positions and other concepts once you have a solid grounding

Yeah, declaring that this made me understand the relationship between chords and scales was a bit of hyperbole. Currently I'm fairly comfortable with the scale box shapes I've posted, and I'm comfortable finding basic major and minor chords, but I can't combine those two ways of thinking. If you asked me to play two bars of rhythm, then one bar of a simple lead pattern, then go back to rhythm there'd be a noticeable pause between those sections as my brain tried to switch gears. Having some simple overlap in chord and scale shapes seems like it would help to break down that barrier I have between the two types of playing. I'd imagine that over time and with lots of practice the need for that overlap would go away, but I'm looking for a good starting point.

Does that sound right, or am I misunderstanding this still?

# ? Aug 28, 2017 15:22

nickhimself: Jul 16, 2007; I GIVE YOU MY INFO YOU LOG IN AND PUT IN BUILD I PAY YOU 3 BLESSINGS

rio posted:

Short scale strings are actually too short for the Douglass because it has a tailpiece which extends the string length. I use black tapewound D'Addarios and they work very well on the bass for what I want from it.

If I'm looking at the D'Addario NYXL Bass strings, which set am I going to want? I really like the NYXL on my guitar, so if I can I'd like to just stick with those for my bass

# ? Aug 28, 2017 15:30

OutOfPrint: Apr 9, 2009; Fun Shoe

Hellblazer187 posted:

Awesome guys, I'd never looked at guitarfetish, and looking at the SD site I was wondering whether putting a $100 pickup made sense in a <$100 guitar. The dream 180 seems like it might be a good fit but I'll check out their other options. While I'm doing all this, I may just update the tuners also....

I can also vouch for the Dream 180. It sounds great clean while still sounding really good distorted.

Does anyone have any experience with the Surf 90? I built a guitar using all GFS XGP parts this weekend (grand total, after loving up the first body, including all tax and shipping was a little under $500) with a Mean 90 in the neck and Surf 90 in the bridge. The Mean 90 works perfectly, but, for some reason I can't wrap my head around, the volume pot does nothing with the Surf 90, and the tone pot functions as a volume knob for it. What's weird is that both pickups are wired into the switch, with the switch outputting to the volume pot. It's not a total dealbreaker for me, since the pickups sound great, but that's a weird rear end wiring issue.

For the record, the Mean 90 sounds like a p90 mixed with a little bit of an acoustic guitar, while the Surf 90 sounds like the bridge of a strat mixed with a p90, and the guitar came out really well for a first time build.

# ? Aug 28, 2017 15:51

baka kaba: Jul 19, 2003; PLEASE ASK ME, THE SELF-PROFESSED NO #1 PAUL CATTERMOLE FAN IN THE SOMETHING AWFUL S-CLUB 7 MEGATHREAD, TO NAME A SINGLE SONG BY HIS EXCELLENT NU-METAL SIDE PROJECT, SKUA, AND IF I CAN'T PLEASE TELL ME TO
EAT SHIT

plerocercoid posted:

Yeah, declaring that this made me understand the relationship between chords and scales was a bit of hyperbole. Currently I'm fairly comfortable with the scale box shapes I've posted, and I'm comfortable finding basic major and minor chords, but I can't combine those two ways of thinking. If you asked me to play two bars of rhythm, then one bar of a simple lead pattern, then go back to rhythm there'd be a noticeable pause between those sections as my brain tried to switch gears. Having some simple overlap in chord and scale shapes seems like it would help to break down that barrier I have between the two types of playing. I'd imagine that over time and with lots of practice the need for that overlap would go away, but I'm looking for a good starting point.

Does that sound right, or am I misunderstanding this still?

That's what this CAGED thing helps with!

So basic theory - you've got a major scale, it has 7 different notes in it (that end up repeating, just higher versions). To make a major chord from that scale, you need to pick out the roots, 3rds and 5ths in that scale. Those are the 'chord tones' rio highlighted in his diagram, the tones that make up the major chord. (You make other kinds of chords by using a different recipe of tones from the scale, but worry about that later!)

So a chord is really picking out some important notes from a scale pattern, and fretting them all at once. The scale pattern is still there, you're just focusing on certain notes in it. It's a bit like how you ignore notes to create a pentatonic scale, in a way

Instead of having to work out where all those chord tones are and how you can finger them to make a chord, it's good to have an associated shape that you're familiar with. And that's how these scale and chord shapes relate - the C 'scale shape' contains the pattern of chord tones that fits the C 'chord shape' you know and love. That shape just slots over the scale pattern to give you the notes you need.

You don't need to think about this - if you're noodling over a particular box pattern, you can jump straight to the one chord that pairs with it, so just practice switching between the two. Play a bit of lead in that pattern, then switch to the chord, then some lead again. Try leading into one of the chord's tones, or bounce around them individually before you play them all together as a chord. It's something you need to practice, both for the dexterity and making it sound musical

I guess some people can spend their life in the CAGED system and that's great, it simplifies things and gives you a bit of structure to stop you getting lost. But even if you want to break out of it (which you probably will, playing rock music) it gives you familiarity with the fretboard, the ability to make a chord anywhere, and an understanding of how chords are made and what this thing you just played actually is

# ? Aug 28, 2017 16:03

rio: Mar 20, 2008

nickhimself posted:

If I'm looking at the D'Addario NYXL Bass strings, which set am I going to want? I really like the NYXL on my guitar, so if I can I'd like to just stick with those for my bass

Medium or standard scale - I forget which word D'Addario uses for it. One thing to keep in mind is that round wounds will dig into the fingerboard a bit since it isn't ebony or a coated rosewood (or coated maple or anything else other than ebony or synthetic material). How much wear depends on how hard you press down the strings and how much you play so you may not see much wear after a year or you may see some groves starting to appear in the fingerboard.

# ? Aug 28, 2017 16:43

nickhimself: Jul 16, 2007; I GIVE YOU MY INFO YOU LOG IN AND PUT IN BUILD I PAY YOU 3 BLESSINGS

rio posted:

Medium or standard scale - I forget which word D'Addario uses for it. One thing to keep in mind is that round wounds will dig into the fingerboard a bit since it isn't ebony or a coated rosewood (or coated maple or anything else other than ebony or synthetic material). How much wear depends on how hard you press down the strings and how much you play so you may not see much wear after a year or you may see some groves starting to appear in the fingerboard.

Uh... I don't want to do that. Is that a symptom of the strings, or the fretboard itself? If it's the former, could you link a set of strings you'd recommend over the NYXL? If it's the latter, how can I prevent that?

# ? Aug 28, 2017 16:51

Gripen5: Nov 3, 2003; 'Startocaster' is more fun to say than I expected.

OutOfPrint posted:

I can also vouch for the Dream 180. It sounds great clean while still sounding really good distorted.

Does anyone have any experience with the Surf 90? I built a guitar using all GFS XGP parts this weekend (grand total, after loving up the first body, including all tax and shipping was a little under $500) with a Mean 90 in the neck and Surf 90 in the bridge. The Mean 90 works perfectly, but, for some reason I can't wrap my head around, the volume pot does nothing with the Surf 90, and the tone pot functions as a volume knob for it. What's weird is that both pickups are wired into the switch, with the switch outputting to the volume pot. It's not a total dealbreaker for me, since the pickups sound great, but that's a weird rear end wiring issue.

For the record, the Mean 90 sounds like a p90 mixed with a little bit of an acoustic guitar, while the Surf 90 sounds like the bridge of a strat mixed with a p90, and the guitar came out really well for a first time build.

I doubt the pickup is broken. I have a feeling you may have just managed to wire it up wrong. Do you have a link to what diagram you are going by? Can you upload a picture of what the wiring you have looks like? Is it volume/tone and the guitar is acting more like volume/volume? Do you have a second tone pot? Does the tone pot also roll off the treble on the Mean 90 or just the volume on the Surf 90?

I had a weird wiring issue like sounds similar to that, but I could never quite figure out. I plan to sell the guitar as-is, so I don't want to spend any more time or effort dealing with it. Standard strat wiring with volume, tone, tone. The master volume works fine, but the middle pickup volume drops out when rolling back either tone control. I have one tone wired to neck and the other wired to bridge, which could be part of the issue, but I am pretty sure I had the same problem when it was wired neck tone, mid tone. For all I know, it could just a be a short in the 5-way switch. I didn't have any replacement caps or pots of the right values. I could have soldered out some pots and caps meant for humbuckers from a different pickguard, but like I said, I didn't really want to spend more effort on it.

The guitar has mini-pots, which could be part of the problem as well. I have read they are more easily damaged by the heat from soldering, but have no personal experience with that. I don't know what a heat damaged pot behaves like.

# ? Aug 28, 2017 16:53

hanales: Nov 3, 2013

Anime Reference posted:

Being able to capo the 4th fret and have a normal 25.5" guitar would be a neat feature.

Wasn't there a steinberger that did exactly that at some point?

Here it is.

http://www.steinberger.com/ST2FPA.html

# ? Aug 28, 2017 17:09

Hellblazer187: Oct 12, 2003

OutOfPrint posted:

I can also vouch for the Dream 180. It sounds great clean while still sounding really good distorted.

Does anyone have any experience with the Surf 90? I built a guitar using all GFS XGP parts this weekend (grand total, after loving up the first body, including all tax and shipping was a little under $500) with a Mean 90 in the neck and Surf 90 in the bridge. The Mean 90 works perfectly, but, for some reason I can't wrap my head around, the volume pot does nothing with the Surf 90, and the tone pot functions as a volume knob for it. What's weird is that both pickups are wired into the switch, with the switch outputting to the volume pot. It's not a total dealbreaker for me, since the pickups sound great, but that's a weird rear end wiring issue.

For the record, the Mean 90 sounds like a p90 mixed with a little bit of an acoustic guitar, while the Surf 90 sounds like the bridge of a strat mixed with a p90, and the guitar came out really well for a first time build.

So, I can't answer your question, but I have a question for YOU. What tools did you need for the kit build? I was thinking gosh, if I'm thinking of updating all this stuff maybe a kit build is just the way to go. Did you have a good guide to use for making sure you didn't ruin everything?

# ? Aug 28, 2017 18:04

OutOfPrint: Apr 9, 2009; Fun Shoe

Gripen5 posted:

I doubt the pickup is broken. I have a feeling you may have just managed to wire it up wrong. Do you have a link to what diagram you are going by? Can you upload a picture of what the wiring you have looks like? Is it volume/tone and the guitar is acting more like volume/volume? Do you have a second tone pot? Does the tone pot also roll off the treble on the Mean 90 or just the volume on the Surf 90?

I had a weird wiring issue like sounds similar to that, but I could never quite figure out. I plan to sell the guitar as-is, so I don't want to spend any more time or effort dealing with it. Standard strat wiring with volume, tone, tone. The master volume works fine, but the middle pickup volume drops out when rolling back either tone control. I have one tone wired to neck and the other wired to bridge, which could be part of the issue, but I am pretty sure I had the same problem when it was wired neck tone, mid tone. For all I know, it could just a be a short in the 5-way switch. I didn't have any replacement caps or pots of the right values. I could have soldered out some pots and caps meant for humbuckers from a different pickguard, but like I said, I didn't really want to spend more effort on it.

The guitar has mini-pots, which could be part of the problem as well. I have read they are more easily damaged by the heat from soldering, but have no personal experience with that. I don't know what a heat damaged pot behaves like.

I can't crack it open right now since I'm at work, but here's the quick rundown:

There are six components in play: two pickups, a 3-way telecaster switch, two pots (one tone, one volume), and the jack itself, with another ground connection going to the tremolo screw plate.

code:

MEAN---------
              \
               3-WAY SWITCH--------Volume--------OUTPUT JACK
              /                         \
SURF---------                          Tone

The Mean 90 in the neck has a four wire hookup: red and white are soldered together, one wire goes to ground, the last goes to the switch. The volume pot for this pickup rolls down the volume, the tone pot rolls down the tone.

The Surf 90 in the bridge has a two wire hookup: one hot wire going to the switch, and a braided silver cable which goes to ground. The volume pot does nothing, the tone pot rolls down volume.

The three way telecaster switch is wired to go directly to the volume pot on lug 1 (I think. I don't know my lug numbers, but I know that turning down the pot turns down the volume on the Mean 90), which is also connected to the tone pot. The tone pot has a standard .047 cap on it.

The pots interact with the Mean 90 exactly as intended. The Surf 90 is the only pickup affected by this. If it were both pickups, that'd be an easy fix. Considering it's one pickup and how they're hooked up, I'm stumped.

Don't get me wrong, I love this guitar and how the pickups sound with the volume and tone dimed, so I'm not disappointed at all in how it turned out. This is just a weird issue I ran into, and if anyone could give me some insight as to what's happening, I'd appreciate it.

Incidentally, I burned a tone pot before on a different guitar. It warped something in the pot so that rolling it off did very little until it hit 2 on the dial, and then, WHAM, no more treble.

# ? Aug 28, 2017 18:13

darkwasthenight: Jan 7, 2011; GENE TRAITOR

OutOfPrint posted:

I can't crack it open right now since I'm at work, but here's the quick rundown:

There are six components in play: two pickups, a 3-way telecaster switch, two pots (one tone, one volume), and the jack itself, with another ground connection going to the tremolo screw plate.
code:
MEAN---------
              \
               3-WAY SWITCH--------Volume--------OUTPUT JACK
              /                         \
SURF---------                          Tone
The Mean 90 in the neck has a four wire hookup: red and white are soldered together, one wire goes to ground, the last goes to the switch. The volume pot for this pickup rolls down the volume, the tone pot rolls down the tone.

The Surf 90 in the bridge has a two wire hookup: one hot wire going to the switch, and a braided silver cable which goes to ground. The volume pot does nothing, the tone pot rolls down volume.

The three way telecaster switch is wired to go directly to the volume pot on lug 1 (I think. I don't know my lug numbers, but I know that turning down the pot turns down the volume on the Mean 90), which is also connected to the tone pot. The tone pot has a standard .047 cap on it.

The pots interact with the Mean 90 exactly as intended. The Surf 90 is the only pickup affected by this. If it were both pickups, that'd be an easy fix. Considering it's one pickup and how they're hooked up, I'm stumped.

Don't get me wrong, I love this guitar and how the pickups sound with the volume and tone dimed, so I'm not disappointed at all in how it turned out. This is just a weird issue I ran into, and if anyone could give me some insight as to what's happening, I'd appreciate it.

Incidentally, I burned a tone pot before on a different guitar. It warped something in the pot so that rolling it off did very little until it hit 2 on the dial, and then, WHAM, no more treble.

Going to need a picture really because there's nothing there that should stop the circuit working as expected. If you've hooked the output of the switch to the volume pot correctly and you're getting signal from both pickups then they should behave identically.

# ? Aug 28, 2017 18:19

rio: Mar 20, 2008

nickhimself posted:

Uh... I don't want to do that. Is that a symptom of the strings, or the fretboard itself? If it's the former, could you link a set of strings you'd recommend over the NYXL? If it's the latter, how can I prevent that?

It's both, kind of. Jaco was the first person to do fretless and he did it by taking the frets out of his jazz bass. He wanted to use roundwounds and maple is too soft to take them without damaging the neck over time so he used boat epoxy on the fingerboard. This provided a strong surface for the strings that wouldn't dig into the wood. Ebony is used on string instruments (as in orchestra strings) for a bunch of reasons but one is because it is hard enough to resist strings being pressed against it all the time without damaging the wood. Rosewood can take flatwound strings too but something like maple is too soft to use by itself for any kind of strings.

The Douglas fingerboard is rosewood so any kind of flatwound string will be safe. Standard flats like steel ones (which is most of the brands that make them), nickel (Thomastik Infeld, which is my favorite flatwound - they are pricey but last forever) and nylon tapewound strings, which is what I use on my Douglas. Specifically the D'Addario nylon tapewounds. They are cheap and good.

Really it is just that roundwounds have tiny little surfaces that will dig into the strings. Flats of any kind have one surface area that touches the string when you press it down so the board will be safe.

# ? Aug 28, 2017 18:29

Gripen5: Nov 3, 2003; 'Startocaster' is more fun to say than I expected.

OutOfPrint posted:

I can't crack it open right now since I'm at work, but here's the quick rundown:

There are six components in play: two pickups, a 3-way telecaster switch, two pots (one tone, one volume), and the jack itself, with another ground connection going to the tremolo screw plate.
code:
MEAN---------
              \
               3-WAY SWITCH--------Volume--------OUTPUT JACK
              /                         \
SURF---------                          Tone
The Mean 90 in the neck has a four wire hookup: red and white are soldered together, one wire goes to ground, the last goes to the switch. The volume pot for this pickup rolls down the volume, the tone pot rolls down the tone.

The Surf 90 in the bridge has a two wire hookup: one hot wire going to the switch, and a braided silver cable which goes to ground. The volume pot does nothing, the tone pot rolls down volume.

The three way telecaster switch is wired to go directly to the volume pot on lug 1 (I think. I don't know my lug numbers, but I know that turning down the pot turns down the volume on the Mean 90), which is also connected to the tone pot. The tone pot has a standard .047 cap on it.

The pots interact with the Mean 90 exactly as intended. The Surf 90 is the only pickup affected by this. If it were both pickups, that'd be an easy fix. Considering it's one pickup and how they're hooked up, I'm stumped.

Don't get me wrong, I love this guitar and how the pickups sound with the volume and tone dimed, so I'm not disappointed at all in how it turned out. This is just a weird issue I ran into, and if anyone could give me some insight as to what's happening, I'd appreciate it.

Incidentally, I burned a tone pot before on a different guitar. It warped something in the pot so that rolling it off did very little until it hit 2 on the dial, and then, WHAM, no more treble.

Mean 90 has 4 wires? Are you sure? Is it maybe a different pickup? I have a mean 90 and it just has two plus grounding wire, although that was before their quickplug system. But I would think a single coil would just have hot, ground, and the braided ground like the Surf 90. I have a feeling that is not the problem. Might be either the 3-way switch being wired incorrectly, or a maybe an internal short in it? Pictures would definitely help when you get a chance. Probably just something silly.

This should be the diagram you should be using right off Seymour Duncan's site.

https://docs.google.com/gview?embedded=true&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.seymourduncan.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F05%2F2H_3B_1V_1T.pdf

Gripen5 fucked around with this message at 20:19 on Aug 28, 2017

# ? Aug 28, 2017 20:12

hanales: Nov 3, 2013

OutOfPrint posted:

The Surf 90 in the bridge has a two wire hookup: one hot wire going to the switch, and a braided silver cable which goes to ground. The volume pot does nothing, the tone pot rolls down volume.

That would mess me up so bad.

# ? Aug 28, 2017 20:51

Spanish Manlove: Aug 31, 2008; HAILGAYSATAN

Is it considered lazy to use weird chords that other bands use? Vektor has some awesome dissonant chords and some interesting triad ideas that I don't mean to purposefully try to incorporate in stuff but some of them just work so well in places.

# ? Aug 28, 2017 21:11

baka kaba: Jul 19, 2003; PLEASE ASK ME, THE SELF-PROFESSED NO #1 PAUL CATTERMOLE FAN IN THE SOMETHING AWFUL S-CLUB 7 MEGATHREAD, TO NAME A SINGLE SONG BY HIS EXCELLENT NU-METAL SIDE PROJECT, SKUA, AND IF I CAN'T PLEASE TELL ME TO
EAT SHIT

I think we've all 'invented' a chord or tuning for our inevitable guitar magazine interview

Yoink away, friend!

# ? Aug 28, 2017 21:16

Salt Fish: Sep 11, 2003; Cybernetic Crumb

Spanish Manlove posted:

Is it considered lazy to use weird chords that other bands use? Vektor has some awesome dissonant chords and some interesting triad ideas that I don't mean to purposefully try to incorporate in stuff but some of them just work so well in places.

All english poets draw from the same dictionary of words without being automatically unoriginal.

# ? Aug 28, 2017 21:18

NonzeroCircle: Apr 12, 2010; El Camino

Head and Munky refer to flattened fifth chords as the "Bungle Chord" because they believed they were stealing it from Mr Bungle.

If I play it and put an additional octave on top my brain refers to it as a "Dillinger chord"

# ? Aug 28, 2017 21:18

Kilometers Davis: Jul 9, 2007; They begin again

Spanish Manlove posted:

Is it considered lazy to use weird chords that other bands use? Vektor has some awesome dissonant chords and some interesting triad ideas that I don't mean to purposefully try to incorporate in stuff but some of them just work so well in places.

Steal everything cool from the people who found it first.

# ? Aug 28, 2017 21:26

Lumpy: Apr 26, 2002; La! La! La! Laaaa!; College Slice

Hellblazer187 posted:

So, I can't answer your question, but I have a question for YOU. What tools did you need for the kit build? I was thinking gosh, if I'm thinking of updating all this stuff maybe a kit build is just the way to go. Did you have a good guide to use for making sure you didn't ruin everything?

Tools I used to build my kits:

Screwdrivers
Allen key (for truss rod)
Soldering iron
Drill
Sandpaper
More sandpaper
Holy gently caress, I can't believe I'm heading out to get more sandpaper
Crescent wrench (tuners / jack)

# ? Aug 28, 2017 21:44

Spanish Manlove: Aug 31, 2008; HAILGAYSATAN

NonzeroCircle posted:

Head and Munky refer to flattened fifth chords as the "Bungle Chord" because they believed they were stealing it from Mr Bungle.

If I play it and put an additional octave on top my brain refers to it as a "Dillinger chord"

Funny you should mention it because the specific chord I wanna steal is basically the dillinger chord played x45600 low to high and is used a bunch in Ultimate Artificer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNmHtWERWyw

I think it's the second chord.

But awesome, thanks you guys. Now I don't feel so bad about using the Abbath octaves that are 138 (scale degree, not frets) in everything.

# ? Aug 28, 2017 21:55

Dang It Bhabhi!: May 27, 2004; ASK ME ABOUT
BEING
ESCULA GRIND'S
#1 SIMP

NonzeroCircle posted:

Head and Munky refer to flattened fifth chords as the "Bungle Chord" because they believed they were stealing it from Mr Bungle.

If I play it and put an additional octave on top my brain refers to it as a "Dillinger chord"

who?

edit: oh lol korn

# ? Aug 28, 2017 22:25

baka kaba: Jul 19, 2003; PLEASE ASK ME, THE SELF-PROFESSED NO #1 PAUL CATTERMOLE FAN IN THE SOMETHING AWFUL S-CLUB 7 MEGATHREAD, TO NAME A SINGLE SONG BY HIS EXCELLENT NU-METAL SIDE PROJECT, SKUA, AND IF I CAN'T PLEASE TELL ME TO
EAT SHIT

I just learned Korn was cribbing from Mr Bungle, what a day

Although it puts Jonathan Davis's vocal stylings into perspective

# ? Aug 28, 2017 22:43

Full Collapse: Dec 4, 2002

Yep, they were obsessed with Trey Spruance. Trey produced Head's solo album saying Head was the weirdest dude he ever met, Mr. Bungle fan-boy not withstanding.

# ? Aug 28, 2017 22:51

baka kaba: Jul 19, 2003; PLEASE ASK ME, THE SELF-PROFESSED NO #1 PAUL CATTERMOLE FAN IN THE SOMETHING AWFUL S-CLUB 7 MEGATHREAD, TO NAME A SINGLE SONG BY HIS EXCELLENT NU-METAL SIDE PROJECT, SKUA, AND IF I CAN'T PLEASE TELL ME TO
EAT SHIT

That's weird as hell, but cool. I went on YouTube hoping they covered Platypus or something but no 😔

# ? Aug 28, 2017 23:11

Professor Science: Mar 8, 2006; diplodocus + mortarboard = party

Spanish Manlove posted:

Funny you should mention it because the specific chord I wanna steal is basically the dillinger chord played x45600 low to high and is used a bunch in Ultimate Artificer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNmHtWERWyw

I think it's the second chord.

But awesome, thanks you guys. Now I don't feel so bad about using the Abbath octaves that are 138 (scale degree, not frets) in everything.

Terminal Redux is such a good album. ripping off Vektor is never wrong

# ? Aug 28, 2017 23:32

NonzeroCircle: Apr 12, 2010; El Camino

If I'm in drop tuning I really have to try hard not to use the Devin Octave (ie played on the bottom two strings) otherwise I lose focus and play SYL stuff instead of whatever it was I was doing.

Its fun if you can do it off the first fret of the lowest string (and sixth on the next) cos it sounds like a drat tuba. Stretch city on the fingers though.

Edit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSB44KR28JY
Its kinda Bungley I guess. Warning, epitome Davis lyrics

NonzeroCircle fucked around with this message at 00:15 on Aug 29, 2017

# ? Aug 28, 2017 23:40

Kilometers Davis: Jul 9, 2007; They begin again

How do you guys (rio) feel about the Alain Benbassat method? I finally sucked it up and starting doing daily ear training with it using the iOS app "Functional Ear Training". The app is great so far but it's a little dense even with the logical layout.

# ? Aug 29, 2017 00:18

BDA: Dec 10, 2007; Extremely grim and evil.

nickhimself posted:

Uh... I don't want to do that. Is that a symptom of the strings, or the fretboard itself? If it's the former, could you link a set of strings you'd recommend over the NYXL? If it's the latter, how can I prevent that?

Did you get a fretless? If you didn't, don't worry about it. The frets will take the abuse rather than the fretboard.

# ? Aug 29, 2017 00:21

rio: Mar 20, 2008

Anime Reference posted:

Did you get a fretless? If you didn't, don't worry about it. The frets will take the abuse rather than the fretboard.

Oh that is a good point that I forgot to ask. I got the fretless one as did the couple students I have who got them after seeing mine. I forgot that they make fretted ones and also forgot if he got a fretted or fretless now...I think it was fretless but yeah the strings wouldn't matter for a fretted.

# ? Aug 29, 2017 00:50

TollTheHounds: Mar 23, 2006; He died for your sins...

Recording video & audio at the same time[edit] I just realized I can put this question in the Home Recording thread, I'll move it there.

While I've got a post though...

I'm worried about hanging my guitars again, despite having them hanging for the past 2 years ( although I've since fully cycled through all 3 into different models in the past year ). I have them hanging more for aesthetics and to keep stuff off the floor ( wife requirement ), and since every guitar store ever seems to have them hanging I figured NBD.

But since I've been recording and playing through my computer a lot more, I tend to keep my primary guitar on a basic stand/rest just like this:

Right beside my desk/computer and generally always plugged in.

I've noticed since I started doing this, that after sitting for awhile and being in tune, if I hang it for a day the tuning goes quite sharp, probably 1/4 semitone. If I then re-tune, and sit it again then after another day the tuning goes slightly flat, probably 1/8 semitone ( roughly ).

So my concern is the bowing of the neck being so dramatically ( to me ) affected by these changes in position.

Should I do either or - like either hang always, or sit always? Or is this kind of sharp/flat scenario not that big of a deal? Is it always going to be a case where how you store the guitar is going to affect the bow of the neck in some way, and that's just the way it is? Should I keep it in an anti-gravity compartment??

TollTheHounds fucked around with this message at 02:58 on Aug 29, 2017

# ? Aug 29, 2017 00:50

rio: Mar 20, 2008

Kilometers Davis posted:

How do you guys (rio) feel about the Alain Benbassat method? I finally sucked it up and starting doing daily ear training with it using the iOS app "Functional Ear Training". The app is great so far but it's a little dense even with the logical layout.

I haven't used that method or app so it is my lucky day where I get to check out two new teaching tools. Methods, in particular, are hard to find because I have seen a lot so finding one I am not familiar with is awesome. I'm going to see if there is a digital version I can purchase to check it out and I'll let you know my impressions of and when I see it.

The app is also great to know about because students often ask, at some point, which app to use for ear training and there are just so many that I haven't chosen a favorite. I have a favorite tuner, metronome, music reading, music writing, fakebook app etc. so not having a go to ear training app for students is not good and I should figure that out.

Edit: I just checked it all out. The app is great - very simple but effective. Being able to set your own parameters is neat - doing any random key, any octave chromatic seems to be the hardest thing and I would like a little more options for difficulty but that would be beyond the scope of the simplicity of the concept I think. I also don't know about how they treat minor as relating only to natural minor and would prefer that you could set melodic minor as a default for how it resolves notes. But overall the price is right and I have already sent it to a student who is excitedly downloading it so this is going to get some mileage. Thanks for recommending/mentioning it!

rio fucked around with this message at 03:16 on Aug 29, 2017

# ? Aug 29, 2017 02:58

Sweaty IT Nerd: Jul 13, 2007

I'm probably the worst player posting.

Anyway, I started trying to learn the intro to Still Got the Blues and those bends are tearing up my fingers. I sit around and noodle with minor pentatonic and I guess I haven't been asking much of my fingers. It's good tho. I guess this is what all that callus talk is about.

# ? Aug 29, 2017 18:34

Hellblazer187: Oct 12, 2003

Kilometers Davis posted:

How do you guys (rio) feel about the Alain Benbassat method? I finally sucked it up and starting doing daily ear training with it using the iOS app "Functional Ear Training". The app is great so far but it's a little dense even with the logical layout.

My ear is dogshit but my wife (degree in classical piano) said it's a good method. She didn't know about it before but I showed it to her when I was using it and she said it made a lot of sense to her. Lately I've just been using the Justin Guitar ear trainer tool, which is just another one of the interval ear trainers you can find anywhere. It's just easier to do it at a computer for me rather than getting my phone out. My ear is improving, but its still dogshit. Maybe it's now dogshit from a dog who eats like, high priced organic dogfood or something.

# ? Aug 29, 2017 20:30

Dr. Faustus: Feb 18, 2001; Grimey Drawer

...and the pitch! posted:

I'm probably the worst player posting.

Anyway, I started trying to learn the intro to Still Got the Blues and those bends are tearing up my fingers. I sit around and noodle with minor pentatonic and I guess I haven't been asking much of my fingers. It's good tho. I guess this is what all that callus talk is about.

O yeah, that's a great tune. Used to play it all the time in a blues/rock band (minus the ~~horns~~ string section) and it was so much fun to play.

I love that bit in the outro solo where he switches from the neck pickup to the bridge pickup right in the middle of a 1/2-step bend. It sounds like he's re-picking the note but it's actually the brightness of the bridge pickup kicking in. I fell in love with that album when it came out. It got stale eventually, but he was a lot of fun to listen to. RIP, Les Paul dude.

# ? Aug 29, 2017 21:01

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# ? May 9, 2024 04:17

Kilometers Davis: Jul 9, 2007; They begin again

Hellblazer187 posted:

My ear is dogshit but my wife (degree in classical piano) said it's a good method. She didn't know about it before but I showed it to her when I was using it and she said it made a lot of sense to her. Lately I've just been using the Justin Guitar ear trainer tool, which is just another one of the interval ear trainers you can find anywhere. It's just easier to do it at a computer for me rather than getting my phone out. My ear is improving, but its still dogshit. Maybe it's now dogshit from a dog who eats like, high priced organic dogfood or something.

rio posted:

I haven't used that method or app so it is my lucky day where I get to check out two new teaching tools. Methods, in particular, are hard to find because I have seen a lot so finding one I am not familiar with is awesome. I'm going to see if there is a digital version I can purchase to check it out and I'll let you know my impressions of and when I see it.

The app is also great to know about because students often ask, at some point, which app to use for ear training and there are just so many that I haven't chosen a favorite. I have a favorite tuner, metronome, music reading, music writing, fakebook app etc. so not having a go to ear training app for students is not good and I should figure that out.

Edit: I just checked it all out. The app is great - very simple but effective. Being able to set your own parameters is neat - doing any random key, any octave chromatic seems to be the hardest thing and I would like a little more options for difficulty but that would be beyond the scope of the simplicity of the concept I think. I also don't know about how they treat minor as relating only to natural minor and would prefer that you could set melodic minor as a default for how it resolves notes. But overall the price is right and I have already sent it to a student who is excitedly downloading it so this is going to get some mileage. Thanks for recommending/mentioning it!

Cool and cool! I'm definitely feeling it so far. My only issue is that I'm running at it blindly without REALLY knowing what I'm doing right but I guess at the end of the day it is ear training and if I'm slowly getting better scores then I'm doing something correctly. I'm glad it seems legit and useful. I'll keep plugging away at it and see how it comes through in my playing.

# ? Aug 29, 2017 21:35

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > No More Drake > Musician's Lounge > GUITAR MEGATHREAD: Dan Erlewine is your huckleberry

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