The Great Ongoing Guitar Thread

Cafe Society
3584

That sounds right! I bet you can use the hardware you got with Rocksmith.

Scuffham comes with a standalone player, but you’d have the same problem of figuring out how to play along with a CD or MP3. It has a free 15-day trial, so give that a shot to see if you like how it sounds and the features it offers. You can also use it to see if most software can use your Rocksmith audio interface.

Just install it and run the standalone, and click File -> Audio Driver Configuration. See if you can find the Rocksmith interface in the list for “Driver:”. If so, pick it, and see if it works.

If not, and if your computer has line inputs, you can try your computer’s built-ins, but you’ll need to install ASIO4ALL driver to make your built-in drivers low-latency. (Without ASIO4ALL, you’d hear what you play almost a half second after playing it, which is no good.) It’s free, google to find it. I have a MOTU audio interface, but I often use ASIO4ALL with the built-in just for convenience. You’d also need an adaptor cable. Ideally you’d want an instrument preamp, but since we’re on the cheap here, you can plug an electric guitar straight into line inputs and they’ll work. (If your guitar has active pickups, there’s definitely no need for a preamp.)

Unfortunately the S-Gear standalone doesn’t have a built-in media player.

Cantabile allows you to load “media files” and play them, but it only supports .wav and MIDI files, so you’d have to convert MP3’s to waves, which is inconvenient. So the best bet there might be to find a free or cheap “media player vst plugin” and use that along with whatever host you select.

BTW, there’s a free VST host, which I used for many years. It’s fiddly to set up; it was intended to be a host for testing VST plugins. But it works, especially if you like having one setup that you don’t change much. It’s “VSTHost” by Hermann Seib. Definitely worth trying out and saving you $100 for a host like Cantabile or Reaper.

For example, here’s a very simple free one: http://www.vst4free.com/free_vst.php?plugin=vstPlayer&id=972 (didn’t try it)

I’d like to find one that supports pitch shift, so I can learn tunes in the key the vocalist wants. I had found one years ago, but for some reason it didn’t work out well (don’t remember why, but it was a convenience issue.) I think it was this one: Askywhale's VST (scroll down to Mp3play VST).

3585

Sweet…15 day trial! I know what I’m trying this weekend :slight_smile:

That’ll be great if that rocksmith cable works.

3586

New amp day! I’ve never owned a tube amp before, and since I have a couple of old Teisco guitars that I’d get an old matching amp for them.

1967 Checkmate 17 Tube Amp. Now I just need to paint the walls of my study seafoam-green and my home practice vibe will be complete. :slight_smile:

3587

Cool!

I know a guy who often plays a Silvertone who’d probably kill for that. (He’s really good, too, one of the better players in the area.)

3588

Sounds pretty good here:

Play both of these at the same time, so you can hear the amp while you hear someone talking about it. :D
3589

That looks very cool. Get the caps and tubes checked out - if any are in need of replacement, it can make or break the tone. Love the sound of the demos that Learjeff linked to.

3590

Fortunately the caps have all been replaced with modern ones, so no immediate toxic superfund disasters to worry about. It’s perfect except the reverb part of the circuit comes and goes, I need to adjust the Heisenberg Compensator or something.

3591

I would have SO much fun trying different dirtboxes through that. My Blackstone MOSFET would be fun to try. And my other distortion is an original Rat I got back then :wink:

3592

Wow, I am totally envious. That thing sounds sweet in the youtube vid. The reverb and tremolo are both nice. Your reverb cutting in+out is likely a loose wire if it’s not a dirty pot.
My gear news is that my MiniFooger delay is finally built and should ship on Monday! Christmas is finally getting here!:smiley:

3593

OK - Installed S-gear…didn’t work. Installed ASIO4ALL, restarted S-gear and it is picking up the signal from my guitar. :smiley:

However, I can’t seem to get anything to come out my speakers. Tried changing audio outputs but nothing seems to work…hmm…so close! Tried turning up all the level and stuff in S-gear too.

3594

Reverb circuits tend to use a preamp tube/valve. Check that and the wiring can be tricky as well. Fender used a very crummy RCA style connector for theirs, I have soldered a ton of them.

Capt

3595

And I did a little research, there are some issues with those reverbs.

Cannot make a link but the vids can be found at

This is a 65’ but it should be very similar

Capt

3596

There’s a thread over on the Rocksmith forums on using Amplitube (the free demo version) with the Rocksmith cable, with some advice for getting it working. Maybe the same advice will work with S-gear. ETA: See especially post 7.

3597

There seem to be a lot of very knowledgable folks here, so I thought I’d throw out a question to you all.

I’ve been playing for 48+ years now, always just a weekend warrior, in bar bands, etc. I’m not the least bit learned when it comes to the various parameters that define a guitar’s make-up (i.e., type of wood, finish, physical construction, etc.). So I need some help on the acoustic side of things (one of my two present outfits is an acoustic duo).

Here’s the thing: for various reasons, the style of playing I’ve developed over the years is a very chunky one. I use medium-gauge strings on my acoustics, and I play them hard. I’ve always believed that a guitar’s sound should come from the physical action of pick on string as much as it does electronics — I feel the same way about electric guitars.

My dilemma is finding an acoustic guitar that will stand up to my preferred methods. My most recent one is a Martin DX1AE. As the guy who sold it to me pointed out, it’s a “Martinez”…that is, made in Mexico rather than in Nazareth. At the time I bought it, I couldn’t afford anything above its price range.

I like the tone of it well enough – lots of bottom end, which I consider essential…especially since my duo partner plays very wimpily (I swear he doesn’t even hit the low E and A strings half the time!).

But I’ve had nothing but trouble as far as it holding up to my style of play and the medium-gauge strings. It’s gone out of adjustment several times, so much so that upon a guitar tech’s recommendation a few months ago I had some kind of bracing system added to the interior. It was OK for a while, but now it’s gone again, with the top E and B strings not sounding properly — they’re twanging again rather than ringing out true in relation to the other strings.

At this point, I’m inclined to give up on the Martinez rather than pouring still more money into having it adjusted again. I’m prepared to spend a bit more money this time…top end maybe $1,000-$1,200 or so.

Hence my question: what is my best bet for an acoustic-electric guitar in this range that is truly robust…that will stand up to the extra tension of medium-gauge strings as well as my style of playing? And one that has the tonal qualities I’m seeking…a rich bottom end and a clear, ringing tone.

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

3598

I play with a heavy hand, too, with medium gauge strings. Boy, that doesn’t sound right - I can’t understand how heavy playing would throw a guitar out of adjustment. Don’t know enough beyond that - that particular guitar may have an issues with the neck joint, or perhaps there is something about how you care for it - do you leave it out of the case? - or something.

Either way, “clear, ringing tone with a strong bass” sure sounds like a rosewood Martin dread to me. Rosewood = ring; dread = strong bass; and a Martin-type bracing and long fingerboard scale all sound about right for you. There are plenty of makes and models that are based on that approach - Taylor, Takamine, Martin, etc. - within that price range.

By the same token, you might consider a carbon fiber guitar like a Rainsong since those guitars can handle pretty much anything and keep on playing…
ETA: Having a “proud papa” moment today - my kids played at a local talent show. Songs my son wrote - he played guitar and my daughter sang - it went really well. Yay.

3599

Maybe try a set of those bottom heavy top light strings? If nothing else, it’s a cheaper solution than replacing a guitar.

3600

If you’re hitting your guitar hard enough to knock it out of alignment, you’re doing it wrong.

Yes, the way you hit the strings matters to the sound, but beyond a certain point you’re just wasting energy, and that point is nowhere near the point where you’re likely to break a string, let alone affect the action.

3601

I can’t give any specific advice for acoustic guitar, since I haven’t owned one in over a decade, but I can say with good certainty that if you’re in the $500-1000 range, you should be able to get something that stays in tune when you hit it hard. :stuck_out_tongue:

3602

This exact problem is discussed in the first of the two videos I posted above. The reverb shell shorts out the connections. Trivial fix with some electrical tape. (That might not be what they did in the video, but should do the job.)

3603

Good luck. I believe in playing instruments, not worshiping them or handling them with kid gloves. That said, I don’t believe in pounding the snot out of them, either.

I can’t imagine what would cause a guitar to fail so that strings start buzzing, due to heavy handling. The usual problem with a guitar (esp. one with heavier strings) is for the action to get higher, not lower, due to the string tension bending the neck up.

Buzzing is caused by too little neck curvature. Heavy strings cause the neck to bend too much. So, it’s not the heavy strings.

I’d advise you to consider learning how to adjust a truss rod, but any half-decent guitar tech should be able to spot this as an issue, and wouldn’t recommend additional bracing or anything like that.

I admit I’m perplexed. I really can’t figure out what you must be doing, unless you store your guitar in direct sunlight, or on top of a heat register, or something like that.

I have a Martin HD28, which you’d love: it’s got nice deep bass, lively enough for fingerpicking, but doesn’t complain when strummed hard with a good solid pick. I’ve had it since I bought it new in 1982; had medium strings the first 10 years, then switched to light for about 10, and then back to medium after a neck reset. I play it pretty hard at times, and it’s doing just fine. Remind me not to let you play it!

Maybe post a video of your playing. Unless you’re really extreme, it’s probably not your playing style, but something else that’s causing the issue. If it’s your playing style, the video will be painful for most of us to watch.