guitarcomet
Well-known member
I've been playing in bands since I was 16.
Many configurations;
2 guitars, bass, drums
one guitar, keys, bass drums
one guitar, bass drums
I even played in a 7 piece band once!
But at the moment, it's just me & the bass player.
We're one of the top acts locally, but we're limited in the song selection we do.
We're tried out several players, but most can't hang.
The last guy was great! Good tone from tube amps, plenty of pedals, great licks...he had it all! But after 2 rehearsals, his job has forced him to move to Canada.
Bummer, huh?
Well, as much as an extra guitar player can help a band's sound, it can easily hurt it, too.
One song we played with the most recent guy, he played an extra lick in one part. It wasn't a bad lick, but just not in the original song. This issue nearly got us off on the wrong foot, but I dropped it and felt the difference it made was nominal.
Afterwards, I went to his previous band's MySpace page (he just left that band). On one song "Brass In Pocket", the guitar in the bridge was played wrong. It's things like this that make it hard for me to play with other players. People figure stuff out wrong, then are too close-minded to accept another way (the right way).
Anyhoo, being the only player, I don't have these problems.
I don't have to worry about sharing lead parts so the other guy can get his rocks off a few times a night (stealing my thunder in the possess).
I also don't have the dreaded volume wars that 2 guitars usually have.
One trick I use to compensate (sound wise) is using two speaker cabs (one on each side of the drums) to get a fuller guitar sound.
I also dig the extra space on stage, the extra pay and the lese complex setup/breakdown.
One less person to cancel practice, one less person to quit the band, one less person to keep happy.
Many configurations;
2 guitars, bass, drums
one guitar, keys, bass drums
one guitar, bass drums
I even played in a 7 piece band once!
But at the moment, it's just me & the bass player.
We're one of the top acts locally, but we're limited in the song selection we do.
We're tried out several players, but most can't hang.
The last guy was great! Good tone from tube amps, plenty of pedals, great licks...he had it all! But after 2 rehearsals, his job has forced him to move to Canada.
Bummer, huh?
Well, as much as an extra guitar player can help a band's sound, it can easily hurt it, too.
One song we played with the most recent guy, he played an extra lick in one part. It wasn't a bad lick, but just not in the original song. This issue nearly got us off on the wrong foot, but I dropped it and felt the difference it made was nominal.
Afterwards, I went to his previous band's MySpace page (he just left that band). On one song "Brass In Pocket", the guitar in the bridge was played wrong. It's things like this that make it hard for me to play with other players. People figure stuff out wrong, then are too close-minded to accept another way (the right way).
Anyhoo, being the only player, I don't have these problems.
I don't have to worry about sharing lead parts so the other guy can get his rocks off a few times a night (stealing my thunder in the possess).
I also don't have the dreaded volume wars that 2 guitars usually have.
One trick I use to compensate (sound wise) is using two speaker cabs (one on each side of the drums) to get a fuller guitar sound.
I also dig the extra space on stage, the extra pay and the lese complex setup/breakdown.
One less person to cancel practice, one less person to quit the band, one less person to keep happy.