neutron619 Posted 8 hours ago Posted 8 hours ago Hello chaps. I'm a very occasional poster here, although I lurk a bit from time to time - please be kind! I'm trying to work out what direction to take my playing and I'm looking for advice. I've been trying to learn electric guitar for about the last 4 years. I've been doing pretty well and am approaching an "intermediate" kind of ability (at least in rhythm playing), but I know I still have practice to do / things to learn before I can properly back that up. For example: I've been able to play a few services at my local church when they've had no other instrumentalists available, but I'm not always particularly comfortable doing it. I'm usually their bassist and often in the "just me" situations I'll still sometimes play piano in preference to guitar, depending on the music. I also sometimes play rhythm in a little trio I've got going with a couple of mates, but again, they really prefer me to play bass, as do I. So, mostly with the church thing in mind, I started looking at the start of the year for an electro-acoustic, thinking that having one would probably be another string to my bow as far as church band goes. Some of the repertoire just seems a more suited to acoustic tone (although I have a Helix and various other bits and pieces for tone shaping, so an acoustic would be a nice-to-have rather than a necessity). Not liking the size of a dreadnought (or anything large) I picked out a nice Alvarez parlour guitar and put a deposit down on it, started saving up etc. Due to delivery / customs issues, it won't be here before October, but I thought I'd use the time to ponder whether I really wanted to spend the money and I'm in no particular rush. I even put some 11's on my LP to improve my finger strength a bit in anticipation of its arrival (it's working so far!). Obviously the waiting time has given me space to think about other things. The main thing is obviously whether spending £400-500 on a(n acoustic) guitar is the best use of the money - a decision made harder by my choice last year to upgrade my other guitar - a strat. Moving from a cheapo £100 strat copy to a Fender Player was something of an eye-opener. Before that purchase I was again concerned whether it would be a wise use of the money - would I end up with the same thing at 6x the cost for the name on the headstock? Afterwards, I saw and felt the difference: playability, tone, tuning stability etc. - all vastly better (even on a MIM) than anything I'd ever played before. So now I'm sitting here wondering whether, rather than buying that acoustic, I should be looking to upgrade my current LP - an Epiphone Stuido LT (pickups Warmanized) instead. Up until recently, I've always been really happy with it. In fact, even post-new-strat, I've tended to use it in church as the tone is fuller and it just seems to work better in lots of songs. But it does also have it's annoyances - tuning stability has never been great (which a new nut didn't cure) and although I've made one or two aesthetic modifications, it was always "what I could afford" rather than "what I wanted" (or at least, "could justify"). On the flip side, it's got some humbucker-sized P90's in it and sounds amazing with the other kit I have. Having moved away from humbuckers, I'd worry that I'd be going back in a direction I'd tried and disliked if I upgraded to a better quality Epiphone (or simillar) that had them. And if I put the P90s in a new guitar, why am I upgrading at all? I'd also be giving up - at least for the foreseeable - the prospect of developing my playing into acoustic guitar and learning the styles and techniques for that. So there's a bit of new kit desire going on, but also a wider question about developing as a player and whether it's better to focus more on what I'm doing already, or branching out into something new. I'd appreciate hearing any experience / opinions. Thanks. Quote
Dad3353 Posted 7 hours ago Posted 7 hours ago (edited) 1 hour ago, neutron619 said: ... I'd appreciate hearing any experience / opinions. ... Jack of all trades, Master of none..? It sounds as if you're doing very well, with a quite eclectic set of strings to your bows. I think, however, that it might be fruitful to stand back a bit, chill a little, and concentrate on one main 'work in progress', whilst still maintaining 'contact' with your current acquired skills. I'd suggest that a spell on the acoustic would be a Good Thing, in general, and will serve you in good stead for all the rest. You have a very decent stable of equipment (no real 'quality' issues with what you've described...); an acoustic will complement this, and give you something to make progress on, if you can keep your mind on the goal that you set yourself. I'm not a church-goer, myself, but an acoustic would fit very well in that setting, as an option over your other instrumental arrangements. If, by 'rhythm playing', you mean strumming chords from charts, that, in itself, is a very healthy skill to have. It can be developed into a whole host of styles, around picking, chord-melody, drop-two chords, alternative rhythms... The list is endless. Whilst waiting for reception of an acoustic, leave the Epiphone 'upgrades' and try thinking of playing it in a new style, as if it were an acoustic. Never mind the 'tone', just the approach to chord choice, right-hand techniques to try, new sets of substitute chords etc. Take, for instance, any church song that you know well, and look for substitute chords (replace any Major chord by a Maj7th, so 'C' becomes 'CMaj7' etc...)..? If such a chord repeats for a few bars, try moving for 'C' 'C' 'C' 'C' to 'C' 'Cmaj7', 'Cmaj6', 'Cmaj7' instead..? Find these chords at different position on the neck, to get different 'colours'..? There is so much that can be done under the heading of 'rhythm guitar'..! Hope this helps, a little. Edited 7 hours ago by Dad3353 Quote
ezbass Posted 3 hours ago Posted 3 hours ago Every guitar player should have an acoustic in their arsenal IMO. 1 Quote