DISQUS

So you kill the singer but keep the keys??? I may have to rethink this whole internet pen pal thing, Ovidiu! ;)

I think Steve (both of them) should really learn to play his instrument. ;)

With the ease at finding free information (lessons, tablature, chord charts, scale charts, video lessons, etc.) on the web, this surprises me.

I'm late to this post, but good luck Ovidiu.

When it comes time for the Iron Maiden guitar solo (usually a trade-off), I've always much preferred the Adrian Smith "feeling" solo after Dave Murray is finished with the "speed" solo.

i.e., this guy is impressive but B-O-R-I-N-G, even though I'll never be able to do that.

I liked the reactions of the uptight crowd who looked like those sacred instruments were being used for blaspemy.

I'm going to echo the 50w crowd. I've played in a room the size you're speaking of with a guitarist (I mainly sing) who had a 100w Marshall 1/2 stack. He was up around 2 on the dial (maybe 3) and it overloaded the room. My 50w combo (tube) can smoke a room. And of course in a live setting, it's the PA that's driving the room's sound, not the guitar amps.

In my band's current practice configuration, we use no guitar amps. Everything runs through the PA, so we don't have that problem of bassist and guitarist inching the volume upward until it's a wall of sound. As a singer, it's frustrating when that happens because it just becomes a ridiculous competition for volume and the sound mix ends up burying the vocals. It just creates a cacophony of noise.

Ovi,

In the last four (including current) bands I played with here are the guitars used by each main guitarist. All bands have been in the original hard rock/bordering on metal:

~ Carvin - not sure the model, but it was a double cutaway with HB pickups. His tone was horrible. Like a giant bumblebee. He used Carvin everything, but I don't think it was the guitar's fault. I think it was that he had so much stuff between guitar and preamp-then-amp that his sound was compromised.

~Ibanez - RG style. The guy was a phenom on guitar, but his problem was that he thought songs were written so a guitarist could solo. He had a crappy amp, but played through a Boss multi-effects board and his tone was awesome for hard rock. The clean tones were very chimey.

~Fender Strat - about a 1977 made in America model. This guitar was great for the clean passages, but just way too thin for our harder edge. He had to tweak his POD a lot to coax a heavier sound - and he was using a Marshall stack.

~My current guitarist plays mainly a Les Paul Studio and a Paul Reed Smith double cutaway. First off, he's a wizard at finding a good tone for any song. But these guitars are insanely perfect for the sound I've looked for for years.

I play a Les Paul Studio that is identical to his. I purchased mine used for $700, so I got it for close to half off a new one. The other guitar I use was cheaper and it's a Schecter Black Jack C-1 style. No trem on either. The PRS my guitarist uses has a Floyd. So, if you can afford the PRS, I'd recommend that. It's flexible with a five-way selector. I has the Floyd. It has 24 frets and has a familliar shape.

Jon, I hate you. I now covet one of those Surh Moderns. The Trans-Charcoal...okay, two...I also love the denim...and the magenta.

Stunning guitars! Not exactly cheap, though, especially when you start adding the options.

The answer, of course, is to buy one of each!

Okay, you knew that was coming. Sorry. Since Carvin lets you choose exactly the specs you want, you might try them, but I'd find out if they have a return policy. One nice thing about where I live is that there are two guitar stores that can order what I want and return if I don't like. Sometimes there is the risk of a restocking fee, but that's not too large a penalty to risk.

As for making your decision, I think you should decide exactly what your needs will be. Maybe because you have an Ibanez you could buy another desired brand and use both.

Or possibly buy one more expensive model that is on your list and a Mexican Strat, which will satisfy your Strat craving, but at a lower cost and not too much of a quality decline.

re: above post...


i.e., Sammy is jealous...

Nope, not me either. I don't think I ever will either, mainly because I don't have the necessary hours in a day/week to practice to get to that level.

I think a lot of the world's best shredders likely didn't see a real vagina until at least age 25.

I like the selector switch being moved to the lower section. I tend to bump mine on my LP Studio and inadvertantly switch to a different pickup.

Is it just me or did Steven Tyler just butcher that song?

Sure they look real, but I could punch myself in the eye and then tell people I was a in a bar fight to look like a tough guy. It's still a bit phony to me. Or I could buy a cool '68 Camaro that someone else restored or hot-rodded.

I guess I think that a guitar player should "earn" the nicks and scrapes on his guitar. Unless, I guess, you buy some old relic from a pawn shop or old player who earned it. But in that case, if you have any integrity, you should tell the real story of the guitar. Somehow, buying a guitar from a factory that has carefully and precisely placed every cut, scratch and scrape into the guitar is fake.

Ovidiu, you hit the nail on the head when you said "artificially aged". It's a bit phony.

Dear Reverend,

I love your new, fresh Roundhouse RT body shape.

Sincerely,

Les Paul

;)

A couple of weeks ago I commented to my wife about my "friend in Romania". She did a double-take and said, "Yeah right. You don't know anybody in Romania!"

I told her maybe I don't really KNOW someone in Romania but the internet can make for interesting modern "pen pals".

Ovidiu, I'm American, so of course I have no problem with you trying to capitalize on your blog and make a little money (or a lot). ;)

You can count on me to be at least one or two of those daily 5,000.

Ovi, it's the Energizer Bunny. ;)

Go here to see it. Looks exactly like this: http://store.vintagemusicstore.com/gigotoplespa...

I have the Les Paul version.

Very cool! We are the Lilac City (Spokane, Washington) but we do have plenty of tulips here in April. Not this year though, because we had such a long winter.

Ok Ovidiu, thanks to the wonder of the world wide web I looked up your city on Google Maps and Wikipedia and have learned something new for the day. Your town square is pretty cool looking.

Not my cup of tea, but it never hurts to expand your horizons. I just sold some stage monitors to a young woman in a local band. They play original funk-type rock, but found we appreciate each others' bands - mine being hard rock.