• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

3rd Guitarist has nothing to add.

#21
Keep her. If she's not harming the band, there is no reason to ditch her. Though it sounds sexist, she's helping the band just by being female. That lends itself to a perspective and vocal ranges that mose all-male bands don't have. It also lends itself to marketing the band.

If she can sing, write some songs for her. If she can't, take a stab at letting her come up with lyrics on your songs.

If she can't do that but plays her parts well, change up her sound. Someone mentioned an acoustic guitar, which might work. But what about effects? Could she play something with a sitar pedal? Could she play clean notes that mirror the bass for added texture? Tremolo effects that wind through the song?

Also - ask her to contribute ideas. Maybe she has some ideas on things to play to add some spice to your songs - instead of giving her parts, ask her what parts she can come up with.

I'd love to find a competent female guitarist. I think they can add a lot creatively!

- netgeist
 
#23
dtripoli said:
I hate to sound shallow here but if you happen to be older, it's always a good idea to keep or have chicks in a band.
The girls in the audience want to be their friend and the guys in the audience would like to do them. I'm in a cover band with a bunch of older guys but a young female vocalist front and center. I'm pretty positive folks are paying attention to her and not my spot on bass lines. We gig out a lot.
Click to expand...

+1 I am currently in the cover band scene and having a girl in the band is a huge advantage. I've had entertainment directors at casino's tell me that they don't hire dance/cover bands that don't have at least 1 female member. I would find a way to keep her in the act .....gives you an advantage from stage presence visual and you'll like it when her girlfriends start showing up at your shows and parties. You can always keep her playing low in the mix for now until she becomes a better player.
 
#24
Just to add my vote, have a talk with her and tell her what you told us. You want to honor your promise but you're not feeling like it's working with her guitar playing. Ask what SHE wants to do about the situation. I don't know her and I don't know what she can do nor what she wants to do. Options would be that she could...

1) quit.
2) switch to being band manager, work on promotion and booking and stuff.
3) Invest in improved gear and lessons and step up more musically.
4) Switch to backup singing, miscellaneous percussion, keys, something like that, that won't have her tripping over the two existing guitars

I guess it's 5), but I'm also wondering if you can work your arrangements to just having two guitars going at a time. Have some songs (I assume she's better at some than others) where your singer doesn't play and she does, other songs where the singer does play and she's tambourine girl/bongo girl (or just takes a break), etc.

See how she responds. I get the impression that she's a fairly cool character and will understand what you're saying and try to work with it. If she does, great. If she won't, and stubbornly insists on wrecking the band's sound, then promise or no promise she'll have to go. I would honor the promise insofar as not firing her just because she's a former band member's gf or (ex-gf or whatever it was). But I wouldn't say that promise means you're obligated to keep her in the band forever, no matter what, no matter how badly she plays or messes up the band. All band members still need to pull their weight or get out.
 
#26
This will always be an issue, think of the bands direction not the personnel, my band had two guitarists, one pretty average rhythm, singer and small part lead and the other a very good lead player, the rhythm player and I decided to let the lead player go, result is that the band is now much tighter and better balanced with one guitar, we dont have great lead but we choose the songs to suit the abilities on offer, also the rhythm player has upped his game now he is the only guitarist .
There are so many guitarists out there who think they are special and that a band is there solely to back them, they dont realise that an audience is there to enjoy the band as a whole and not just them .
I digress but the message is to `keep it simple` :)
 
#27
rc127.jpg
 
#29
What stands out as most important in this is that you say she plays the parts you write for her really well... That important fact, plus everything you've said about her--do you realize what a great tool you have at your disposal (and I don't mean tool in a derrogatory sense)?? Sure, she's limited by her inability to improvise or create, but you have someone who is extremely cooperative and is fine playing what you guys write for her. USE that!! Maybe get her a decent amp modelling pedal to simulate a Vox or Fender combo, and have her keep the Marshall at a clean setting in order to use the pedal's drive sound. Find a few cheap used effects pedals for texture, like reverb, delay, tremolo, etc. And encourage her to experiment with them a bit, or write parts for her specifically meant for the pedals and tell her which pedals to use and when. Maybe even convince her to get a cheap guitar with two single coil pickups (even something like an SG or Les Paul-type but with P-90s) for a clearer sound that takes up less sonic space.

If she wasn't willing and able to play the stuff you write for her really well, I would say get rid of her, but she is willing and able to, so take advantage of those limited skills she has and write parts for her specifically tailored to enhance your band's sound, even if they are simple and non-flashy... And who knows, maybe over time, she will open up more and become more creative. I know that I feel limited and hobbled when my gear can't give me sounds that inspire me, but when I have a guitar, amp, and effects that I can actually do stuff with and enjoy the sounds I'm making, I'm much more apt to write parts, come up with interesting bits, etc.
 
#30
dtripoli said:
I hate to sound shallow here but if you happen to be older, it's always a good idea to keep or have chicks in a band.
The girls in the audience want to be their friend and the guys in the audience would like to do them. I'm in a cover band with a bunch of older guys but a young female vocalist front and center. I'm pretty positive folks are paying attention to her and not my spot on bass lines. We gig out a lot.
Click to expand...

Three words: The Pretty Reckless. The concept works.
 
#33
This whole thing sounds very Spinal Tap...

If she's hot, put her in a bikini and let her dance in a cage suspended from the ceiling.
Otherwise, if everyone has to do extra work to accommodate someone who admits she adds nothing to the band, punt!
 
#34
You know, even if you turned off her amp and just let her play on stage (kinda like Jason Newsted in Metallica) she could still do TONS of work for the band in the way of public relations, advertising, merchandising, online presence, etc. (also similar to Jason Newsted's real impact in Metallica)

As far as the "promise" thing, how many of you guys have promised a woman you'd be with them forever? Yeah I thought so. Promises mean jack, and she's naive to believe its permanent, though we've all been naive and believed things like that before.

I liked the early comments like switch her to an acoustic guitar, or set her up with a bunch of effects to layer the songs. Heck, if it works really well for some songs and not well for others, throw her a tambourine for those. You found a guitarist who will let you, the bassist, touch her amp's EQ.... I found one of those in my guitarist/singer and I'll never let him go. The drums are the only constant variable in our band, and the guitar amp/bass amp/PA controls are all at my disposal **maniacal laugh**
 
#36
powderfinger said:
I've never seen a band before, where I thought to myself,

"man, that 3rd guitarist really makes this band sound awesome!"
Click to expand...

Lynyrd Skynyrd used 3 guitarists to good effect.

Lots of studio recordings use 3 or more guitars.

The trick is really to give each guitar a distinct role and sonic space to work in. That does for 2 guitar bands as well.

To the OP if she can competently play her parts and the problem is simply her sound then fix that problem. As someone else pointed out a bandmember who plays their part without fuss or drama is always a good thing. Even better if if that bandmember is a woman since women always seem to increase the draw.

One of my first garage bands had three guitar players. The third was a really good friend of ours who had no musical ability whatsoever. He wanted to be involved and we didn't have the heart to exclude so he played a very, very quiet third guitar. Everyone was happy with the arrangement.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back