I’m currently working on recreating a few classics for a cover album I’m calling, Famous By Association: Songs of The Dead, Done & Declining. It will essentially be a self-produced thing I can hand out when people ask me about my playing. A sort of musical business card, if you will.
Ah - huge SRV fan, clearly - if the Twin was a '59, you’d basically have his rig! Well, except for the Cesar Diaz mods and the lack of a Dumble String Singer, but then again, that would set you back about $30K these days…
Sounds like fun. I love my Tweed tone and my Strat - I have some Bill Lawrence pickups I dropped in - basically the same ones as your 50th Anniv. Strat that he worked with Fender to design. They are the BEST noiseless single coils I have ever heard…
I played a few 50th anniv Strats - there are some made with a bigger 50’s style neck that are really very good.
I am not a LP Supreme kinda guy - too fancy. I beat the shit out of my guitars and don’t trust myself with anything but the most basic appointments. I need to think of them more as tools…
Thank you for putting up my song, but you might as well take it down… I’m severely outlclassed here. I don’t have any “gear.” Just an acoustic guitar and a bass and an SM 58 and a sound card. I don’t even know any other musicians.
Gosh, in this thread I guess I really should trigger my sig.
Is anyone having as much fun as I am reading the ads at the end of the thread?
There was a thread about gear a while back, but I can’t find it now. If someone can, put up the link. It was fun. (The second quote in my sig comes from there.)
Nothing pithy to add to the thread at this time. I’m sure I’ll be inspired later.
I am using this, though mine has a darker finish. It’s an ok guitar, nothing great. My electric is a 1960 Les Paul Goldtop. I am going to go get a Strat body guitar here pretty soon. I love my Paul but it ain’t the best for fast soloing, the neck is fat. I am alos going to get a nylon string, I have a couple classical pieces I’d like to record, and a 12 string.
I am having a problem getting good heavy tones. I have a little Fender Ultra Chorus amp, no bad but the gain channel could be better. I have been playing with the Amplitube plugin and finaly figured out how to get an ok sound out of it. I have been thinking about picking up a new amp, possibly a Boogie, but man, those things cost ALOT.
I’ll probably have a heavy song to post tonight. Going off to record right now…
I love fat-necked guitars (I have huge hands and don’t remotely shred) - not baseball bats, but 50’s Gibson chunky. Are you sure it is a 1960 re-issue? '60 is typically considered shorthand for “Slim Profile” necks - the ones Gibson switched to that year…
As for your lack of heavy tones - easy to see why, with a “little Fender” as you describe. FWIW, I would NOT recommend a Boogie unless you are a 100% Rectifier Tone kinda guy - as a rule (and lots of Boogie lovers hate when I say this) but Boogies often sacrifice features for tone - jack of all features, master of no tone. I have done a ton of research on amps and tones; if I can help, email me and let me know the types of ones you are after and your price point…
And, hey Euth - not to look a gift host in the mouth, but when you get a chance I would really appreciate it if you can post those couple of songs I sent you - thanks!
It’s a Custom Shop 1960 Gold Top. Beautiful guitar. Hand built. It cost a lot when I got it a bunch of years ago. The neck isn’t quite a baseball bat, but it is larger than I like for speedy playing though it is the shit for rhythm stuff. Great big thick sound.
I worked on this today. I need to work on the changes but it is coming along. Not bad for two takes (one heavy, one clean). Now I just need to finish writing the damned thing then rerecord it. Once I do that (and decide if I like it) I am going to work on the solo bits as this is probably going to be an instrumental. This was done using my guitar straight in then Amplitube. I am starting to like Amplitube.
About Boogies. I do dig the rectified sound. Most of the players who have a tone I like use Boogies (James Hetfield, John Petrucci, Brad Gillis for example). I am going to go amp hunting in a month or two and play through one of everything before I buy but the last time I played through a Boogie I really liked it.
I am way impressed with everyones tracks. There is a whole lot of talent on this board. I am really impressed with the covers. Everytime I try to play a cover it comes out sounding like me playing a cover, not like the artist in anyway. I do learn the occasional riff but I sorta gave up on playing other peoples stuff. So I write. I’ve been in cover bands but at this point I don’t think I know a cover all the way through. Well, I can play Modoc by Steve Morse all the way through but that is about it.
These tracks all feature my band, The Weekenders, recorded live at a gig and mixed by my drummer, who is also a record producer. The first song is Pretty in Pink, featuring my bassist Mark on vocals (yes, he’s really British - he toured in a bunch of bands in the 80’s, had a record deal, the whole bit). I like the way all the pieces work together. If you want to hear my guitar, go to the last 30 or so seconds of the track and hear the outro - Mark does some funny free association, and I have a pretty cool neck-pickup on a Les Paul kinda tone going on with some slow, melodic lines…
Okay - the next track is Stray Cat Strut, with me on vocals and playing the lead about 1:20 into the song. A fun song to play…
Everyone else that has sent me their work, know that I have uploaded the tracks and replied to your collective emails with the links you need to post your songs here. Let me know if you have any problems.
Yeah, I play guitar, sing and write the songs. And I don’t mind being compared to Green Day…although I’m damn near old enough to be Billie Joe’s dad. We’re likely influenced by the same groups - The Jam, The Clash, The Buzzcocks, et al.
I recorded those tracks using a Les Paul Standard though some Yamaha amp (it was a studio thing). These days, I play a Rickenbacker 330 through a Marshall JCM-900; no effects or anything.
Again, those demos are old; we’re fixing to record some newer songs I wrote that are more pop, yet still just as hard-rocking. I’ll post them somewhere when we get done.
