There was a reissue Rickenbacker bass that did actually have the horseshoe pickup. I would have bought it but, you know, it cost stupid money.
The modern ones don’t have the horseshoes, just a cover that preserves the look. In general, you’d want to remove covers like that on a working bass, because they’re going to interfere with your right-hand damping technique.
Wordman, Yeah I figured out the clip you showed me. Thanks for sending it along. I never specifically asked the guy to teach me that piece.
We never really hit it off. a personality conflict or something. That’s probably mostly my fault. He was fairly egotistical and we never really meshed. It was more like when he was available or I had the time we would get together. He was very into teaching theory and I seemed to have a mental block against it. I know I need to learn it but really he made it seem like drudgery. Besides he didn’t seem like he enjoyed teaching at all. It just wasn’t fun.
I talked to my friend that has the garage band. He told me to furnish the beer and he would show me all I wan’t to know… Sounds like a bit more fun to me. I think I’ll try that for a while. At least he seems eager to show me something. Or he is thirsty.
Thanks for all the help and I will report back.
Nope I aint gonna quit!
OK, at the insistence of WordMan, after I made comments in other guitar-related threads, I will introduce myself here.
I live in Melbourne, Australia. I am 45, have played guitar since my mid teens, so have over 30 years of guitaring experience. I started out influenced by a combination of classic 1960s rock and late 70s/early 80s post-punk art-rock. I’ve expanded my range of influences since then, but I still love everything I used to love.
I started playing in bands in 1984, and played in several between then and the mid-90s, to a small degree of local success, but really nothing worth getting excited about. Played some big gigs, released some recordings, got played on radio, etc, and then it all petered out as it almost inevitably does. I had enough experience of the music biz to know that all those stories about the music biz being run by evil men are entirely true.
Often, in those circumstances, people become bitter and dispose of their gear and never play again; but I never felt like that, and I simply enjoy playing guitar so I kept on doing it. Since then I’ve filled in for people in bands, recorded some sessions, done quite a few acoustic/electric duos and so on, and played some solo gigs. I’m not a singer, so my solo stuff has been either looped/layered stuff or, more recently, acoustic solo pieces.
I’m not really that technical a player, so in coming up with acoustic material I’ve worked around my limitations - I’m not a good fingerpicker and simply can’t do the sort of multi-part fingerpicked stuff that “real” acoustic players do, so I’ve developed a mutant version of my own. I’m more interested in deviations than the norm, anyway.
My main thing nowadays is an instrumental duo with my girlfriend, who is a violinist and has played in rock bands nearly as long as I have. I knew her, though not well, for many years before we got together as a couple last year. Since then, I’ve adapted some of my solo pieces into duo pieces. She’s had classical violin training, but is far more interested in jamming than in playing from a score.
We’ve done a few gigs, and the next plan is to record so we can get more gigs. Since we don’t have a particular style (we just play music, not “blues” or “folk” or anything that has a particular label) it’s hard to describe. I just say “kind of atmospheric/cinematic music” with electric violin and electric guitar. Comparisons with the Dirty Three are inevitable, especially since we’re from Melbourne, but our styles are different enough that no-one would mistake us for them.
I’m also working with a singer/songwriter, which is much more “normal” music, with me simply being a lead guitarist and playing bluesy lead breaks, which is cool because it’s exactly the sort of “normal” thing that I’ve generally avoided doing.
I’m entirely self-taught as a musician, so my theoretical knowledge is patchy; some things I know well, others not so much.
I’m slowly teaching myself steel guitar, too. Not pedal steel, because they’re way too expensive for me to justify. But not lap-style blues either, since I can already play bottleneck guitar pretty well and have been doing so for many years. My steel-style is sort of proto-country, like the sort of thing that’s on country records before pedal steels were invented.
I play in a lot of different tunings, most of them are the standard ones;
open D
open Dm
open G
dropped D
double dropped D
DADGAD
…and any variations on those that I come up with, including some unison/octave ones in the manner of Sonic Youth or, in a completely different way, Nick Drake.
My double-neck steel is tuned to Open A (same as open G but a whole tone higher) on the “far” neck and C6 (which is a classic steel guitar tuning) on the “near” neck; CEGACE low to high.
OK, tired of typing now. I’ll tell you about my gear later, but since I am (a) poor, and (b) entirely unconvinced that expensive gear is really better than the cheap stuff, there’s nothing all that interesting in the pile.
**Craneop2 **- well, then - there you go. Classic bad chemistry. Sounds like a different teacher or two would do you good.
More importantly, how does the riff feel? Can you feel a groove in there? Have you sat in front of a ballgame on TV and run through it a bazillion times? Muscle memory is at the heart of finding the groove.
What other riffs do you want to learn? Have you sought them out online?
**Shakester **- thanks for joining us; I think you will find that we tend to focus on just enjoying different aspects of guitar - hopefully the same intent that kept you playing through the ups and downs. Your story sounds very similar to my oldest music friend - nearly got signed, opened for Ted Nugent, Cheap Trick and a few others right when glam metal was emerging in California. Tough business.
And I have learned the same way you have - mutated versions of the “right” way that are a combination of faking it due to my limitations, trying to keep the groove going when playing by myself, and what sounds cool to my ear. Over time I have developed a solid rhythm style that works well in a band setting.
I’m familiar with the Dirty Three, but can hear where you are going after a different sound. I’d love to hear some of your jams with guitar and violin. I’m jealous of a musical partner who is also a partner - I am sure it has its ups and downs, but musical communication is so cool; that must be an added layer. Sounds like you might be after an Eno/Lanois feel? Not their U2 stuff - their solo/ambient stuff.
…and I’d love to have you over and talk gear. Since I play mongrel homebrew electrics and vintage acoustics, I guess I will say that gear matters, and sometimes that leads me cheap and other times, not so cheap. 
And besides, there’s plenty of weirdness in less expensive gear to play with. I got four guitars now, all under two fifty, and the closest to a normal one is the parts-o-caster I’m rebuilding again as soon as I find a good neck.
I’m sure there’s something interesting to say about why you chose whatever you chose.
Got it yet?
Anyhow, so update on the Tele. Well. I found out why the graphite bridge snapped, and why it was harder to finger. They put Jazz Extra Lights on it somehow. .010 .014 .022w .030 .038 .049.
Versus the .010 .013 .017. 026 .036 .046 regular light gauge. Having the bone nut put in now, as well as a mini-setup to fit it for the .010s normally. $80, but hey, worth it.
I found a thing. It might be interesting.
More stompbox thing.
http://www.beavisaudio.com/techpages/BuyingParts/
Not yet. UPS tracking says it’s been in Shrewbury, MA -> Hodgkins, IL -> San Jose, CA, where it sits now. I’m thinking I’ll see it on Monday or Tuesday. I’ll snap a couple pix and write quick impressions when I get it. I’m looking forward to those “dogears” 
.
Remember to let it sit for a few hours if it’s even vaugely cold, before picking it up.
I didn’t even get that far, just played some music-biz showcases and got some attention from record company A&R guys and the like.
I think that’s the way to do it. You’re more likely to come up with something interesting that way, in my opinion. And I’m more interested in “quirky and interesting” than I am in “dazzling technique” anyway.
I love Eno, his ambient stuff is a big inspiration to me. No so much in the sounds I make, more in the approach to sound itself. But his ambient series of albums from the mid 70s are great, and the ones with Fripp are particular favourites.
Yes, it is great to have a musical partner. I’ve been loving it. Though it can add another level of complexity to the relationship, too. I wouldn’t say that she and I are a perfect match, and we’ve had some ups and downs. Only time will tell. But it’s my opinion that we sound really good together, and reaction from people at our gigs is really positive. Hopefully we will record soon; I’m trying to make it happen.
I’ve owned a range of gear over the years, and the conclusion I’ve come to is that gear is about 2% of the equation and the player is the other 98%. You sound like yourself whether you’re playing a Chinese Epiphone or a quarter-million dollar '50s Les Paul. You can’t buy good tone; you have to grow it yourself. So I don’t think anyone needs to worry about getting anything more than something solid and usable.
I just changed the strings on my Telecaster for the first time and now have fret buzz. I put the same size strings, .09 to .46. Any clue to why the string changes would cause this? I had absolutely none prior to this.
I did remove all of the strings at the same time in order to clean the fretboard.
Which string(s) buzz, on what fret(s) ?
You could have knocked a bridge saddle, lowering things. Your neck adjustment might have changed, although this seems unlikely (although look upthread and you’ll see it happened to my Tele, but I don’t know when exactly or if a string change were involved).
I’m sure others here will have more diagnostic suggestions.
Wait, was that a Xaviere tele? Cause those come strung with .010s by default.
First things first: CBEscapee, are you sure you’re up to standard tuning? I sometimes would tune low, by ear, and end up with a buzz until I used a tuner.
Confirming string gauge makes sense, too. Beyond that, I got nuthin based on what I’ve read. Keep us posted.
I’ve always enjoyed playing that way - feeling inadequate vs. hardcore technique gods but enjoying what I do enough to stick with it - but over the past few years have come to understand how it is the “right” way for me and I should embrace it, not apologize for it.
Cool - a definite mindset I respect from a distance; I never venture far from having some groove in my playing; I use drone strings to fill out the sound of my groove, and not nearly as much for atmospherics, which is why it amazes me when it is done well.
Would love to hear it.
No argument - and in terms of a good tool, I agree. I have come to think of guitars in different categories - e.g., the different between a guitar for home vs. a guitar for gigging. For gigs, I need a guitar that plays good enough-to-great, but has the features I need to make it through the set list. And I would prefer it not be “precious” in any way so I don’t have to think about it when I am playing and selling the song live.
For playing at home, I prefer a guitar that inspires me to play more. Some combination of playability, tone - I can’t really explain it, but all the stuff I try on one of those guitars sounds like it might work and is worth exploring. Some guitars are more “forgiving” perhaps or emphasize the right harmonics so notes are less-inclined to sound harsh and take you out of your groove? I dunno - but I know there’s a difference and some guitars make me want to play them more. With electrics, I have gotten closer to that by piecing them together with parts that conform to my preferences. Cool. With acoustics, I have found that an old, well-made acoustic - a good one - is really fun to play for me. Would I sound much different on a $350 Tak? Nah - but it wouldn’t be as fun to play…
Fender. And it sounded incredible unyil the string change.
Wordman it is tuned to standard E.
I got nuffin, then. Did you change string brands? Is it a barrel bridge or a six-saddle like a modern?
I’ve been playing the Subhuman while the Telemaster’s in the shop. Everything’s so much easier with .009s. But it feels so flimsy.
Back to working on barre chords again. I’m getting better at playing them without looking at the neck. I’ve started to get to where I think ‘C’ and slide to 8, rather than thinking ‘C’ ‘C is… eight?’ and then looking to slide. So hey. Go me.
This is a big deal. Good job and keep it up! Make sure you are also fluent with the A string roots.
Forgive the (minor) hijack, but a good friend of mine (single-handedly) re-created and recorded Eno’s Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy in 2003 and has sound clips of all the songs on his web site including an mp3 of Eno’s phone message about the recreation…
**CBEscapee **- bottom line, it sounds like you definitely hear a buzz and it is new. Given that you just changed the strings for the first time, you would be well off taking the guitar to where you bought it and ask them. I’ve been in a situation where the issues with the new guitar I bought was boneheaded (changing strings on a Strat and trying to tune and not getting a 5th fret harmonic - oh no! is the guitar broken? - only to be told to flip the selector switch to the bridge pickup because you can’t catch a 5th fret harmonic off a clean neck pickup :rolleyes:) and I have heard of friends changed strings, found it wouldn’t tune and there being something structural underlying it.
It’s new, you just changed the strings…go get it checked out; better safe than sorry.
**phungi **- that sounds cool; I will try to give it a listen
E-Sabs - total yay. Getting your fingerboard position more second-nature is very freeing.