The only thing worse that a musician that is not very good is.....

[Axtman]

a musician that is not very good and does not know it!

There is a guy a play with that just sucks. He has been playing for years but just never seems to improve. The worst part is that he does not seem to care. I am actually embarrassed for him. Sure I have messed up songs but I realize my weakness and practice that song because I don't want to be embarrassed again. The other band members just tolerate him, I guess.

[Psycho]

Define "sucks".

Instead of telling him off, tell him what he needs to work on. Most people get better with constructive criticism, not destructive criticism.

[Blacksack]

wouldnt be a guitarist by any chance would it?

[Axtman]

The electric guitar player:

1) He rushes the tempo and plays ahead of the beat. The drummer and I usually have to try to pull the song back or it will spin wildly out of control.

2) If he starts a song he usually starts it too fast.

3) Tries to play all the rhythm parts of songs in a driving 1/8 notes rock kind of style.

4) Noodles a "lead" of what seems like random notes totally stepping on the vocals.

5) Does not or can not play lead solos that are even slightly complicated.

6) Has a horrible cheap sounding tinny tone. He probably does not know how to use his effects pedals.

7) Does not bend notes use vibrator or play expressively or emotionally. He does not seem to get the feel of the song.

8) If he is not banging out a 1/8 rhythm he plays some sort of strange counter or inappropriate rhythm. The other day he was playing some sort of reggae beat or maybe it was that he was just that far off that everything landed on "and".

9) He can't seem to hold notes out or sustain them. Maybe his strings are dead or he plays on top of the frets.

10) Can't or won't arpegiate chords. I don't think that he strums "up" either.

11) Plays too loud or maybe it seems loud because he is not that good.

We have tried to tactfully tell him how to play but does not get it. So we give up.

[RedLeg]

fire him. plenty of better guitarists that want to get paid.

[ysand]

According to my (short in comparison with others' in these forums) experience:

Don't wait for a bandmate to get better, find someone who is as good as you need.

[hrodbert696]

Originally Posted by Axtman

We have tried to tactfully tell him how to play but does not get it. So we give up.

Does "give up" mean "let him screw up the band with his sucking?" Why on earth are you still playing with him? Let him go and get someone who can play or at least wants to get better, or get out yourself and find a band where you can move forward.

[john_martin_sai]

The only thing worse that a musician that is not very good is.....

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
......a sound engineer that highlights him.

[Lady Kayri]

As has been suggested by others on similar threads: RECORD one of these sessions, play it back, and SHOW him that yes, he needs to work on his skills. Works a lot better, I suspect, in many cases to do this rather than just telling someone they aren't as good as they think they are.

[One Bad Monkey]

I know exactly what you mean, and most people like this (are not that good and don't know it) will refuse to believe anything to the contrary. Don't know why, that's just how it is.

There's another bassist in town that thinks that I stole all of his gigs. In reality, the people that used to hire him got sick of him playing really poorly, having a bad attitude and not taking any sort of direction.

[GianGian]

You are not alone.
Bad musicians are the majority in the "amateur" scene. This is one of the reasons I have stopped playing bands for a while. Maybe I will come back to it someday.

[steveksux]

... a guy that sucks and owns his own PA system.

Because its easy to fire a stray musician that sucks...

Pay particular attention to the guy that owns the PA during auditions. That can be a warning sign.

Sometimes they know they suck, but can't do anything about it so they buy a PA system and start their own band.

Or maybe they still don't know they suck, and can't figure out why they keep getting fired from bands, and that starts the search for a PA system.

Either way, a guy with a PA system is deserving of special scrutiny. Doesn't always suck, but the odds go way up.

Randy

[Indiana Mike]

Originally Posted by Axtman

The electric guitar player:

1) He rushes the tempo and plays ahead of the beat. The drummer and I usually have to try to pull the song back or it will spin wildly out of control.

2) If he starts a song he usually starts it too fast.

3) Tries to play all the rhythm parts of songs in a driving 1/8 notes rock kind of style.

4) Noodles a "lead" of what seems like random notes totally stepping on the vocals.

5) Does not or can not play lead solos that are even slightly complicated.

6) Has a horrible cheap sounding tinny tone. He probably does not know how to use his effects pedals.

7) Does not bend notes use vibrator or play expressively or emotionally. He does not seem to get the feel of the song.

8) If he is not banging out a 1/8 rhythm he plays some sort of strange counter or inappropriate rhythm. The other day he was playing some sort of reggae beat or maybe it was that he was just that far off that everything landed on "and".

9) He can't seem to hold notes out or sustain them. Maybe his strings are dead or he plays on top of the frets.

10) Can't or won't arpegiate chords. I don't think that he strums "up" either.

11) Plays too loud or maybe it seems loud because he is not that good.

We have tried to tactfully tell him how to play but does not get it. So we give up.

hey! I know this guy

I feel for ya...

all i can say is deal with or move on ...

[FuzzBoxVoodoo]

Hey I own the PA system,enclosed trailer,designed the website and I book the gigs,Dang I did'nt realize that I sucked that bad.

[hdracer]

Originally Posted by FuzzBoxVoodoo

Hey I own the PA system,enclosed trailer,designed the website and I book the gigs,Dang I did'nt realize that I sucked that bad.

Me too................

[rutty24]

7) Does not bend notes, use vibrator or play expressively or emotionally. He does not seem to get the feel of the song.

whats the fact that he doesn't use a vibrator got do do with how well he plays guitar?

[steveksux]

Originally Posted by FuzzBoxVoodoo

Hey I own the PA system,enclosed trailer,designed the website and I book the gigs,Dang I did'nt realize that I sucked that bad.

Originally Posted by hdracer

Me too................

Hey, guys, to be clear, its just a warning sign... there's no law against competent musicians buying a PA system.. Just saying it can be a successful camouflage/survival strategy for a lousy one...

Randy

[Baron Von Vik]

Originally Posted by Axtman

a musician that is not very good and does not know it!

There is a guy a play with that just sucks. He has been playing for years but just never seems to improve. The worst part is that he does not seem to care. I am actually embarrassed for him. Sure I have messed up songs but I realize my weakness and practice that song because I don't want to be embarrassed again. The other band members just tolerate him, I guess.

Obviously there is something stopping you from canning him. Is he related to the other members of the band? Is he really big and mean? Does he have some sort of magical voodoo power over the band?

The easy answer is "tell him he blows, and find someone else."

[GlennW]

Complaining to a bunch of bass players isn't going to make him play better.

Get another guitar player.

[Dirty Basstard]

Originally Posted by Axtman

7) Does not bend notes use vibrator

I'm kinda glad my guitar player doesn't use a vibrator...