srsly...who needs 4 different Strats? Mayyyyyyyybe Eric Clapton.

MAYBE.

anyway...what do you guys laud as the best free recording software? I'd like to start recording some middle/high quality demos to bring before my band for them to laugh at. 

I know of Audacity, Krystal, and Sequitur. 

I like guitar hero. It gets repetitive, though. 

That, and it's nothing like actually playing the guitar. Five buttons as opposed to six strings...wtf? 

if you have a mac, garage band works great for recording ... provided you have a digital interface 

I will digital your interface. Yeah. 

He's serious guys. I've seen him do it. 

I'd like an acoustic-electric, maybe a shallow bowl like those Ovations. Anybody have one?

i have a 1976 ovation legend, but it has the bigger bowl. it's a great guitar but i much rather play http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Taylor-T5-Custom-Guitar-with-Koa-Top?sku= 514163 

That guitar is hot. I want to sex it up. 

you get sloppy seconds. 

I'm okay with that.

...as always. 

Line 6 man, I've gigged the shit out of mine and it won't die. I only wish I'd bought the POD instead since that does so much more and you can plug straight into a PA or a pair of headphones.

I've got a Patrick Eggle Berlin which I've played for years, it's got the nicest neck I've ever felt, I can't play Fenders because they play like baseball bats next to the Eggle.

Given up on my guitar playing now and I'm playing mandolin and it works perfect through my Line 6 too.

Maybe at times the Line 6 isn't the perfect sound but you'd be hard pressed to find much better.

If you're after something different though look at Orange amps. Bloody great sound on those. 

ew, i hate strats. i find their necks incredibly slow. 

My favorite guitar is an Explorer.
There's just something about that body.

I love the style myself (and the firebird), but the weight! Have you ever picked one up?

I myself own a Squire Strat on a Fender Champion 30 amp as well as an Art & Lutherie green Acoustic. After playing a Gibson at the local Guitar Center, I may have to pick one up...it just felt so good. 

exactly...I really don't even notice the weight of the Firebird because it has such a perfect center of gravity. I played a 2 hour gig with it a couple weeks ago and it was great. 

if you have a mac, garage band works great for recording ... provided you have a digital interface

griffin imic works good--I use it with my mac. But its bargain basement recording, desktop mics and acoustic guitars (Takemine). I use a Lyon 1/4" to USB cable for the Peavy bass and plug it right into the computer. 

but the weight! Have you ever picked one up?

Yes I have and it is a kind of nuisance, but I play bass so I'm used to a heavier instrument.
The big downside for me is that because of the cool shape it's very awkward to sit and play it.
It can't rest on your knee well. 

As far as acoustics go, I prefer the old Seagull my dad gave me...it has the brightest sounds Ive ever heard in an acoustic. Electrics....Telecaster..hands down. Amps...I hate to sound like a fanboy but the Line6 series is spectacular. I plug my old Ibanez sound tank pedal into it and rattle the neighborhood. 

you don't even need a digital interface for garageband on a mac if you have an audio line in. Just buy a 1/4" adapter at radio shack or any music store and plug your guitar in. The presets actually aren't that bad and you can tweak any of them any way you want with it. 

So how can I build speed on the fretboard?

I built up a reasonable amount of speed by improvising along with fairly fast Iron Maiden-esque tracks. It was a pretty fun way of doing it, but I guess you could be boring and power out scales faster and faster each day.

As for the best guitar body, I love my Epiphone Les Paul body. It's probably the cheapest guitar in their range, the 100 version, but it has a thinner body that the standard Les Paul, and is very light.

As for the high action complaints, I adjust mine quite low, so it didn't really matter...

I bought a cry-baby wah pedal a while ago - wah pedals are great fun, if you haven't tried them.. 

My favorite guitar is an Explorer.

ive got one ... gigged more than a few years with it ... loved it

as i get older, im not playing it and gonna sell it

im sure ill miss it when its gone 

Sonic Infidel said:

On acoustics: I have a small classical and a regular acoustic, but I'd like an acoustic-electric, maybe a shallow bowl like those Ovations. Anybody have one?

Definitely, definitely play one of those for a bit at a store before committing to one.
Pay particular attention to how it tries to slide away from you at times.
I have one, and haven't touched it in years, but I don't play much acoustic,
and I have an early-90's Taylor 812C now anyway.
When I did play it, the bowl would make it try to slide so it was face-up.
If I recall, it was worse when strapped on and standing up than when just resting on your leg sitting down. 

I bought a cry-baby wah pedal a while ago - wah pedals are great fun, if you haven't tried them..

Yeah I've got one too. Great fun to wail on, especially if you change the resistor to a unit with a smaller sweep. That way you don't get the irritating piercing highs and the muddy useless lows. 

ovations are really nice guitars, but you do have to watch out for the rounded body while you're holding it/playing it. 

http://www.hangmester.hu/pic/termek/gitar/epi/arc/bb_b.jpg

This is definately the next guitar I'll be buying. I should probably buy a tuxedo too.... 

I have this thing with playing guitar. I love to play and all, but I hate when your over a freind's house and he picks up his guitar and starts to play. . . and he stairs at you while he's playing like he expecting an "Oh i love that song" or something. It creeps me out. just play it and look somewhere else. Everyone and their mother knows the first 30 seconds of stairway. ok I just needed to get that off my chest. 

What is this "stairway" you speak of? 

no stairway?!? denied! 

Also:

Did you know?

Lostshoe420 has started three guitar threads, two of which share identical titles. Neat!

Back on topic, you scoundrels.

Hrm, I didn't even know that.

It's cool to see another guitar thread here. I joined a guitar messageboard the other day but it's not nearly as 'busy' as I expected. They post some lessons/vids/books/etc. in IRC though. However, I spend far more time collecting guitar videos and e-books than actually playing guitar.

Anyway, I finally learned my major-scale mode shapes. More stuff makes sense now and it's always rewarding when the theory clicks.

Favorite guitar vid of late -- Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival 

Fuzzy said:

I have this thing with playing guitar. I love to play and all, but I hate when your over a freind's house and he picks up his guitar and starts to play. . . and he stairs at you while he's playing like he expecting an "Oh i love that song" or something. It creeps me out. just play it and look somewhere else. Everyone and their mother knows the first 30 seconds of stairway. ok I just needed to get that off my chest.

I know exactly what you mean. I have guitaring friends, and they just sorta go into a hypnotic coma and stare at you blindly.
I know for a fact it can be hard to have an intellectual conversation while playing something difficult, but in which case - don't play while your friends are over unless you're actually performing!! 

I'm afraid I might have done that a couple of times...purely by accident. Fishing for compliments is beneath me - at least I'd like to think.

Let's hear from the bass players. I recently switched to Fender flatwound strings on my acoustic because the fret and finger noise of roundwound was just too much for my passive pickup to overcome. I've noticed that they seem to have an odd harmonic ring to them that I don't particularly care for. I was hoping for a smooth, deep tone with very little treble, and I got the smooth and deep part, but the harmonic ring annoys me. Will this go away as the strings get broken-in? If not, what would I need to obtain the rich, clean sound of Jack Johnson's bassist, for example? 

MAN! I didn't know the stare was so well documented!!

Stop that shit! 

bump?

I want this thread to get started again fazed! 

Anyone that plays an Ovation is undeniably ghey. 

http://www.lentine.com/uploads/88134-5756.jpg
my main electric.

whenever i unlazify myself i'll take pictures of all my random equipment. 

That's a pretty sick axe, m4x0! 

JMZ said:

Anyone that plays an Ovation is undeniably ghey.

then i'm "ghey".

can anyone suggest a cheap (but good) bass amp? 

Sonic Infidel said:

[...] When I get a satisfactory decision made, we can talk about why the Les Paul is the best body style.

The Les Paul looks better to my eye, but I prefer the Strat's ergonamocs. It fits your body more comfortably, doesn't weigh 11/2 a ton and the contols are well-placed for easy access.

Their popularity has created a huge number of after-market parts, so you can customize them to suit your needs. Just about all of them bolt on without major modifications.

I built my Frankencaster out of parts that I picked up on sale at several stores and it all went together in an afternoon. It has a 22 fret Schecter Tele style neck, Schecter body, Peavey bridge, Gotoh tuners, re-wired Seymor Duncan Hot Rails lead, stock Fender middle and DiMarzio vintage Strat rhythm pickups.

It could be argued that Les Pauls need less upgrading, but I was able to build exactly the guitar I wanted on a pretty tight budget. 

my axe

http://www.gilbertguitars.com/images/Vintage/PS10LTD.jpg

may be up for sale soon ;( 

^Iceman? 

yup 

JMZ said:

Anyone that plays an Ovation is undeniably ghey.

A friend of mine had an Applause back in the day. 

I've got a beautiful 'new penny' Ibanez electric, and my wife has a Martin.

I can't play a single song all the way through, but I love to plink out bits and pieces now and then.
My wife took three lessons and quit.

Seems a shameful waste, but they'll be around if our little guy ever decides to pick them up.

I think I enjoyed building guitars more than trying to play them. 

Does anyone have or played a Breedlove acoustic? I see them advertised in Guitar World all the time but no one locally carries them. They are incredible looking, but I wonder if they sound as nice as they look. 

Breedlove's are good. Get a decent thing like a Washburn to get good. 

I have been playing for years, but I have a hard on for for the Breedlove designs for some reason. Currently building a Tele, so I doubt I can sell the wife on a new guitar for a while. 

Do any of you actually play 3 chords? 

I've known the first two for a while.
I keep meaning to learn the third one,
but it's tough. 

Anyone that plays an Ovation is undeniably ghey.

funny, i cant disagree. I only know 2 people with ovations. My roomate is a 20 year old virgin by choice. The other is a John Mayer wannabe, and he actually has a gay roomate who I can see rubbing off (lawl) on him more every day. 

JMZ said:

Anyone that plays an Ovation is undeniably ghey.

I dunno, they made some sweet axes back in the day.
/never played an Ovation
//not ghey