Ryhthm guitar srtealing my thunder

[Toastfuzz]

I personally don't like playing in bands with rhythm guitars. I have done it before, and I didn't like the dynamic.... I didn't like not being clearly heard, I didn't like having to argue with 2 guitarists about tone instead of just one (hmm both guitarists insist their "tone" is all EQ freqs boosted and amp turned to 11?,) didn't like that constant nagging feeling that either of us were disposable (in all honesty, if either of us bought an octave pedal the other guy could have been immediately fired.) I'm inspired by bands like Rush, who were famous for making such a huge, full sound as just a 3 piece.

My new band only has 1 guitarist, and its great. Takes us no time at all to get levels aligned, tuning our amp EQs to compliment each other is actually fun and not a chore, and I have so much flexibility and options with where to take songs sonically. It lets me be more expressive through pedals and whatnot, as theres parts of songs that you need to layer on some fuzz / od / etc. to thicken it up and make up for not having rhythm guitar. It gives you the opportunity to lay down a big heavy thick bassline and really carry the song, and be solely responsible for bridging between the drums and the lead guitar.

 

[bolophonic]

It's a pain in the neck to find the right bass sound, but there is nothing wrong with having two guitarists in a band. Unless the rhythm guitarist is also a guitard.

 

[stingraysvt]

I've found that playing with two guitarists was quite easier, and I did get to play more expressively, not having to feel responsible for filling in the gaps, these guys were tasteful players too and didn't have their Mesa and Marshall 412's cranked... but there is a dynamic between 3 players that can't be touched, you can lock in and play as one,

I'd suggest everyone standing on the Dance floor turn the pa off and listen to their tone and volume coming off the stage, you should have a great mix of your stage volumes and Eq settings along with the drum volume,

That and record your practices and live shows to show the guitar players how boosting their lows muddies up the sound of the band as a whole, they're probably used to cranking the lows at home to get a full sound but now they have YOU and you're providing the fundamental low frequencies, so they should back off!!! lol!

 

[teleharmonium]

if anything, i find playing with a rhythm guitarist means you have more freedom to play around the song - after all he/she is mostly playing the root chord. score!

That's how it works with a good rhythm guitarist - not that they are necessarily playing a simplistic root-centric form of the chord, or even a chord at all, but that they are helping outline the harmony and provide rhythmic propulsion without taking up a huge amount of space.

I gig as a rhythm oriented guitarist myself and most of my favorite guitarists are either rhythm players, or guys with a seamless transition between rhythm work and solos. The best players (outside of heavy rock) tend to avoid barre chords and overly thick voicings, use lots of single note lines, and may relate closely to the bass part.

I consider Jimmy Nolen and Steve Cropper to be rhythm guitarists, for example. I think a lot of people think of more chord-happy players like Tom Fogerty, Sterling Morrison, or Malcolm Young when they think of rhythm guitar.

As a bassist, I've never been in a band with a guitarist that plays rhythm guitar in that style, but I think I could relate to a bassist that is used to being in a smaller group and being a source of counter melody in the band feeling a bit boxed in by a rhythm guitarist that is handling some of what would otherwise be their job.

But there's still a need for the bass in a typical group like that, it just becomes a more specific task where you have to play close attention to another player and relate to them (and vice versa) for it to work as well as it can. This can be taken as a positive or a negative.

 

[mbelue]

Fighting for room in the mix doesn't have a smoking gun. Most of it is cooperation(compromise to some) with your band mates. Two guitars to me says get an extra string. If they play all day at the bottom of end of their "E" string move your lines further up on your "B".
On my corvette my "B" string can easily push a guitar out of the bottom.
Just get your intonation right.

 

[AfroCubanFunkMa]

IMO, the funkiest bands have two guitars.. Check out some James Brown to hear the possibilities.. Two guitars and a bass weaving in and out makes it funky like a bow legged monkey

 

[bluewine]

thanks all the ideas.
As well as the encouragement!
ive actually got a wah so ill bring to my next practice and maybe get myself an eq pedal opefully ill be able to "punch through" better now

I don't get any of this, but it's interesting.