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Odd question: how many bands here have rhythm guitarists?

#41
nsmar4211 said:
In a cover band, rhythm guitar=one more person to split the money with. Getting enough for 4 to get paid is hard enough, 5 is impossible most times in this area. Unless the singer plays rhythm, they are kinda rare.
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If you have four including a rhythm guitarist, there is no need for a lead singer. Between the bassist, rhythm and lead guys, at least one person should be able to sing. The rhythm guy perhaps can sing over his lines, or the bassist can, or both of them can. Or the lead guy can sing when he (or she, as it may be) isn't playing lead.
 
#42
The blues/rock band I am in now, both guitar players share the lead duties. Both guys are great players who understand space. They don't pile up on top of one another. In the middle of a jam, things get interesting.

As a bass player, I play a lot differently. My lines are less busy and focused more on the groove.

I played in a three piece metal band a long time ago. We always talked about adding a second guitar, but I am glad we never did. I loved filling the space between the drums and the guitar. I used a lot of distortion back then too. Now, I play a cleaner tone. I use some fuzz on "Crossroads" and "Killing Floor" just for fun. Nobody can hear it over both guitars, but when the solos come around you can hear it pretty well.
 
#43
I've been in rock bands with: one guitarist; two guitarists who alternate between rhythm and lead; and two guitarists with clearly defined lead/rhythm roles.

My current band has a clear lead/rhythm distinction. The leader/songwriter/vocalist plays rhythm guitar, and he's pretty good. He's a talented musician, but can't play lead at all. Here's the weird thing: our lead guitarist can only play lead. The guy can't play chords with any sort of flow, so he just solos whenever there's no lead vocal. It's bizarre and limiting, but somehow it works with the material.

I do believe good rhythm guitar playing is becoming a lost art. I don't hear much at all these days.
 
#44
Nedmundo said:
I've been in rock bands with: one guitarist; two guitarists who alternate between rhythm and lead; and two guitarists with clearly defined lead/rhythm roles.

My current band has a clear lead/rhythm distinction. The leader/songwriter/vocalist plays rhythm guitar, and he's pretty good. He's a talented musician, but can't play lead at all. Here's the weird thing: our lead guitarist can only play lead. The guy can't play chords with any sort of flow, so he just solos whenever there's no lead vocal. It's bizarre and limiting, but somehow it works with the material.

I do believe good rhythm guitar playing is becoming a lost art. I don't hear much at all these days.
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They're around. My guitarist is mainly a (very good) rhythm player, having a real talent for writing awesome riffs. Some other guitarists find his stuff hard to play because he has a habit of using big, huge full chords.

Lead guitarists that can only play lead well are all too common. Usually it's because that's all they practice.
 
#48
Rhythm guitarist here (I'm on talkbass because I'm learning to double and I hate guitar forums). I'm a less-is-more Lennon type of player who loves to lock in with the rhythm section and doesn't drown people out or hog musical space. Yet, although I'm classically trained and know theory I can't find a band because I'm not a trained singer. It seems to me like a good lead player will more easily be invited to join a band than a good rhythm player, as most singers can strum chords. But there really is more to it than just strumming chords! When I hear a band with a lousy strummer it absolutely kills the music for me. Either he's always strumming every eighth note and hogging all the space or he's playing power chords and goofing around with distortion pedals. Ask him about voice leading and he won't know what you're talking about, it's all barre chords.

Two staccato strums per measure, like pretty much everything on Rubber Soul, adds so much depth to a band's sound!
 
#49
Funny you (OP) should ask. My cousin was playing guitar in two of my three bands, but he just quit both. And in my third band, the guitar/keys guy is quitting as of 1/1/10. So we'll be down to one guitar in each of the three bands! Time to go for a sparser sound LOL.
 
#52
Munjibunga said:
No one has answered your question yet. Of the 76,522 bands represented here on TalkBass, 59,371 have rhythm guitarists.
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Close, but you missed TheBasicBassist's post stating they're losing one of their rhythm players, so the new number is 59,370.

Please be a little better at updating the stats. Man I have to watch you like a hawk.

:D ;)
 
#53
Munjibunga said:
No one has answered your question yet. Of the 76,522 bands represented here on TalkBass, 59,371 have rhythm guitarists.
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I disagree - in Jazz there is very rarely a concept of this and most small bands have piano but no guitar at all - this refutes your answer and I would say it's more like 64.78% !! :p

Seriously I was listening to some early Steely Dan the other day and thinking that the rhythm guitar work was excellent and really made most of those songs ...:)
 
#55
I used to have my singer do it, but I like it better when my singer just sings, he has better stage presence.
Also rare to have a rythem guitarist? from what I see its more rare to see just one guitarist...
 
#56
My band's singer is our only guitarist at the moment, so he and the keyboardist switch off playing lead and rhythm stuff. Its pretty freakin sweet for an indie band.

We had rhythm and lead guitars, but our lead guy moved, so we picked up the keys. Probably for the better, as with two guitars we were moving away from indie into more rock.
 
#58
Most of the bands that I have been have had only one guitar player. When our current band's lead singer moved away, we brought in another who happens to play guitar and (some) keys.

This is the first time in more than twenty years I've been in a band with more than one guitar player -- and I was the rhythm guitar player in that band, taking a short break from bass.

It was always fun to fill in the space vacated by a second guitar in songs that traditionally have two guitars, but I like the added dimension of the second guitar.
 
#59
lunarpollen said:
Finding a good rhythm guitarist who has a good sense of dynamics and tone (i.e., not just an incessant wall of mud or white noise) is becoming difficult these days.
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+1

IMO a rhythm guitarist shouldnt jsut be the 6 stringer who isnt talented enough to play leads. its a different skill set, or a different application of skills.

I find it very frustrating to play with RG players (and keyboardists for that matter) who dont have a good band sense. Weaker RG players have a bad tendancy to step all over bass lines.

Playing with a talented RG player is a joy. I guess as one gets better they are able to draw in and be accepted in with better talent, so for many of you the point is moot.
 
#60
Crockettnj said:
+1

IMO a rhythm guitarist shouldnt jsut be the 6 stringer who isnt talented enough to play leads. its a different skill set, or a different application of skills.

I find it very frustrating to play with RG players (and keyboardists for that matter) who dont have a good band sense. Weaker RG players have a bad tendancy to step all over bass lines.

Playing with a talented RG player is a joy. I guess as one gets better they are able to draw in and be accepted in with better talent, so for many of you the point is moot.
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Indeed, my band's guitarist is primarily a rhythm guy (we get one of our friends to fill in for us on lead guitar for live), and he's a monster of a player, and writer, as well. He's probably the best guitarist I know personally, though he rarely solos, as he's just more focused on chords, riffs and arrangements.
 

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