Some People (Guitarists) Never Learn

[baileyboy]

I don't know what to do with this guy...

Stop trying, move on.

 

[viper4000]

I would simply tell him that sorting out his tone issues is something he should be doing on his own time, not during rehearsal time.

I disagree. This is actually part of the problem. He wants his "bedroom tone" when he is in a band setting, without changing anything.

Those of that listen know full well that the awesome tone we get in our bedroom is not the same tone needed in a band setting. EQ is everything in this conversation, and you MUST EQ for every room and instrumentation.

The EQ used in a trio is different than the EQ needed for a 5 pc with 2 guitars, which is different than a 5pc with 1 guitar and a keyboard. This applies to all instruments, not just guitar and bass.

"Use you ears" is the remedy that most of us tout. However, this is more of a scientific issue. Knowing the needed frequency range of your instrument is very important. It is the difference between mud and clarity.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

Why do bassists put up with this garbage? Just fire the guy or quit the band. Just don't ever play with people like this!

 

[Rapisme]

My definition of insanity! Doing the same thing over and over an expecting different results! Dude has some issues!

 

[Fishyfishfish]

Suggest watching Tim Pierce videos on YouTube on getting a good guitar tone.
Maybe guitar guy is insecure about his playing and hides it with effects? I know several younger players that cannot play a note with out a pedal board. Just a sign of the times I Guess.

 

[DavC]

bye bye ... hit the road ... find someone else ... life is to short for this stupid crap ...

 

[Helix]

Stop trying, move on.

Yep....he's an idiot....move on

 

[AltGrendel]

Suggest watching Tim Pierce videos on YouTube on getting a good guitar tone.
Maybe guitar guy is insecure about his playing and hides it with effects? I know several younger players that cannot play a note with out a pedal board. Just a sign of the times I Guess.

I have found that if you really want to know how good a guitarist is, hand them an acoustic guitar.

 

[BassFishingInAmerica]

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

[brianrost]

I don't know what to do with this guy.

What to do: find another guitarist. They're a dime a dozen.

Seriously.

 

[Shaunpski]

Serenity prayer? Just sayin...

 

[socialleper]

We had a guitarist that had a hell of a time getting his tone right. He had played for a very long time, but seemed to be completely unconcerned with this general tone. He had some other person problems that eventually lead to us giving him the boot, so maybe a general lack of care about everything was a symptom of a larger disease.
In terms of trying things out at practice, I personally can't do that. If I cranked my rig up to club levels in my house everything would fall off the walls. Things also sound complete different once other instruments start playing. "Living room" sound and "Band sound" are too different beasts. "Recording sound" is also a separate thing.
The guitarist is probably chasing the tone dragon, trying to dial in an imaginary perfect tone in his head. I've done it; it happens. You don't want to have it derail your band's practice, but for me personally, I'm not interested in other people telling me what to sound like unless I ask.

 

[Trabeen]

A thread about guitarists made it all the way to post #16 before the word "guitard" was used, that may be a new record here.

 

[tedious1]

When I tell him it sounds muddy and feeds back because it's a semihollow guitar with too hot pickups and way too high gain fuzz into a crap amp at a drop C tuning and that doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results is the definition of insanity he takes it personally and argues with me by saying he likes his tone deep and fuzzy.

Umm, not to put too fine a point on it, but the guitar player isn't the only one guilty of insanity in this situation...

How many times have you had these conversations with him? Presumably you've had these conversations to elicit a desired result, but that hasn't happened.

Time to regain your sanity, and try something else. I would suggest ultimatum, not conversation, and if that doesn't elicit the desired result, check your pockets, you probably got a dime, that's worth at least a dozen guitar players anywhere I've been...

 

[Bassmann79]

So here's the issue: the guitarist in my band is stubborn as a mule when it comes to tone. He makes pretty bad choices when it comes to guitar choice, pedal choice, amp choice, tuning choice, etc. then wonders why his guitar sounds muddy.

He plays a semi-hollow body guitar from some unknown company that he bought for like $200 that already sounds really muddy and bassy with very hot pickups, then he runs whichever fuzz pedal he bought that week because he wasn't happy with the previous one (he thinks tone comes from pedals) then he runs that into a bunch of other pedals he barely uses into a cheap amp half stack that even the clean tone sounds muddy on.

Then he starts every practice by spending about an hour trying to reduce the feedback and make his guitar sound less muddy.

When I tell him it sounds muddy and feeds back because it's a semihollow guitar with too hot pickups and way too high gain fuzz into a crap amp at a drop C tuning and that doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results is the definition of insanity he takes it personally and argues with me by saying he likes his tone deep and fuzzy.

I try to tell him he doesn't need that much low end because, hello, I'm over here playing bass. I've got the low end covered, he should focus on the mids and highs if he wants to be heard in the mix.

Then when I bring over my strat and plug it straight into my 5w all tube Blackheart Little Giant amp he says wow that sounds great, why can't I get my guitar to sound that good? I just roll my eyes. Then later I suggest trying a guitar with single coil pickups or at least something less hot, he says he doesn't like single coils.

I don't know what to do with this guy. It's like somebody struggling to build IKEA furniture without the instructions and I'm over here waving the instructions like, it would be much more efficient if you just follow these. I'm trying to help!

I think the problem here is you, YOU choose to play with such an idiot so don't complain IMO.

 

[electracoyote]

The best advice I ever heard for guitarists was: Stop spending $200 every other week for the latest distortion or overdrive pedal. Bank the money saved and get yourself a really good amp instead.

Yep.

I'm on guitar as much as bass, and I finally "got it" with tone long ago when I bought my first great tube amp and learned how to coax good tones from the electronics already onboard the amp and the guitar. If you skip that step, you may be doomed to chasing your tail and frustrating yourself and your band mates for a long time.

 

[delta7fred]

If any band member is regularly wasting an hour of my (and the rest of the band's) rehearsal time then they had better be both a superb player and be finding big money gigs to compensate.

I suspect neither of the above apply to the guitarist in question so in the time honoured TB tradition - fire him or quit.

(IMO, YMMV of course.)

 

[yookh4u]

I liked the definition of insanity part

 

[40Hz]

Yep.

I'm on guitar as much as bass, and I finally "got it" with tone long ago when I bought my first great tube amp and learned how to coax good tones from the electronics already onboard the amp and the guitar. If you skip that step, you may be doomed to chasing your tail and frustrating yourself and your band mates for a long time.

Yeah. I do a little guitar from time to time. But only a little, so I need all the help from an amp I can get. I've successfully fought off the urge to just get a Princeton Reverb long enough that I'm finally within walking distance of the Magnatone Stereo Twilighter I've been secretly lusting after ever since the night I heard one. 22 watts of 6V6-driven AB goodness with a true vibrato circuit to die for. I figure my Strat-wielding blues playing guitarist ladyfriend won't have any issues with us getting one of those.

 

[shawshank72]

So here's the issue: the guitarist in my band is stubborn as a mule when it comes to tone. He makes pretty bad choices when it comes to guitar choice, pedal choice, amp choice, tuning choice, etc. then wonders why his guitar sounds muddy.

He plays a semi-hollow body guitar from some unknown company that he bought for like $200 that already sounds really muddy and bassy with very hot pickups, then he runs whichever fuzz pedal he bought that week because he wasn't happy with the previous one (he thinks tone comes from pedals) then he runs that into a bunch of other pedals he barely uses into a cheap amp half stack that even the clean tone sounds muddy on.

Then he starts every practice by spending about an hour trying to reduce the feedback and make his guitar sound less muddy.

When I tell him it sounds muddy and feeds back because it's a semihollow guitar with too hot pickups and way too high gain fuzz into a crap amp at a drop C tuning and that doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results is the definition of insanity he takes it personally and argues with me by saying he likes his tone deep and fuzzy.

I try to tell him he doesn't need that much low end because, hello, I'm over here playing bass. I've got the low end covered, he should focus on the mids and highs if he wants to be heard in the mix.

Then when I bring over my strat and plug it straight into my 5w all tube Blackheart Little Giant amp he says wow that sounds great, why can't I get my guitar to sound that good? I just roll my eyes. Then later I suggest trying a guitar with single coil pickups or at least something less hot, he says he doesn't like single coils.

I don't know what to do with this guy. It's like somebody struggling to build IKEA furniture without the instructions and I'm over here waving the instructions like, it would be much more efficient if you just follow these. I'm trying to help!

Are playing in a band with my guitarist also?