i've been pondering this at practice for the past couple of weeks. the other guitarist flits between a charvel widdle-caster and tokai lester copy. now when he plays the charvel, he tends to play more in the vain of say the 80's sort of players whereas he's more bluesy on his les paul.
i can say the same for when i switch between guitars. on my strat i play in a blues mayer/trower/hendrix/gilmour kinda vein and on my tele i bring more of the keith richards and finger picking country flavours out of me. les paul i tend to be set in a classic rock/blues mode ala bonamassa/walsh/gibbons.
so do you find certain styles are more apparent on certain guitars or a certain guitar causes you to play in the vein best suited to the sound of it.
does style/type of guitar cause you to play differently.
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Progrockabuse
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does style/type of guitar cause you to play differently.
Fender Classic Player 60’s Stratocaster>East Coast T1 Tele>
Epiphone Les Paul SL>Ovation 12 String acoustic>Peavey Strat DIY Relic
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Epiphone Les Paul SL>Ovation 12 String acoustic>Peavey Strat DIY Relic
Marshall Origin 20H>James’s old purple 2x10
Marshall MG10 Combo
1 time host of PROGFEST
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AaronGuitarDude
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grandnoise
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The three things that most affect how I play a guitar: Tremolo, Pickups, and Neck Shape.
Pickups because if they're too high output, I have to adapt to a mellower playing style instead of rocking out at full capacity. I guess I could always roll off the volume, but I like brightness so that's usually not an option.
Neck shape because it affects where my fingers land on the neck. Sometimes if a neck is really thin I'll use my thumb for chords and move around the fretboard more for solos. These also make my hand cramp up and fatigue sooner. If a neck has a fat profile I tend to have to fight it to play it the way I would on a medium profile, but sometimes I feel this makes me focus and play better.
Tremolo is a factor for more obvious reasons. On my ovation, which has a bigsby like trem but with a strat like arm, I tend to hold it in my hand while I play during solos, just for subtle effect. If a guitar has no trem I have to focus entirely on my fingers and bend more, and if it has a strat type trem, I end up just goofing off doing dive bombs too much (at least if I'm playing by myself at home)
Pickups because if they're too high output, I have to adapt to a mellower playing style instead of rocking out at full capacity. I guess I could always roll off the volume, but I like brightness so that's usually not an option.
Neck shape because it affects where my fingers land on the neck. Sometimes if a neck is really thin I'll use my thumb for chords and move around the fretboard more for solos. These also make my hand cramp up and fatigue sooner. If a neck has a fat profile I tend to have to fight it to play it the way I would on a medium profile, but sometimes I feel this makes me focus and play better.
Tremolo is a factor for more obvious reasons. On my ovation, which has a bigsby like trem but with a strat like arm, I tend to hold it in my hand while I play during solos, just for subtle effect. If a guitar has no trem I have to focus entirely on my fingers and bend more, and if it has a strat type trem, I end up just goofing off doing dive bombs too much (at least if I'm playing by myself at home)
Great question. To find out, we also need to ask "what is mojo?"
Do you have a favorite pair of jeans? Is it because they look better or are more comfortable? Yet all jeans have four pockets and most cover your ass.
A guitar is a fairly technical creation with a large number of variables. Color, to neck length, choice of electronics, brand, and age all contribute to the total package in very significant ways. Some guitars have tangible features that will cause you to play differently, like whammy bar, arch top, pickup combinations, or special tuning. But even if they don't, there is a placebo effect that takes place, like with favorite jeans or a lucky shirt that makes us feel better about playing, and may put us in a better mindset to create.
When I got my first Les Paul a few months ago and pulled it out of the case, I started playing Stairway to Heaven on it, never having even thought of trying to play it before (don't get me wrong--it was only a few phrases). Of course different guitars fire the imagination, or else why would we be chasing them? Mojo is in your head, but the right circumstances can tease it out.
[Note that I have not done an NDG for the LP yet. I generally only do that when they are ready to show. Sometimes I can't wait or I show the before pics. But even with Mage's Mustang that I bought I wanted to tighten a few screws and get to know it. Mojo is also superstition. While it sounds silly, it also adds elements of mystery and fun. This is turning into an essay. I should post it on my new unwritten blog site at Tumblr.]
Do you have a favorite pair of jeans? Is it because they look better or are more comfortable? Yet all jeans have four pockets and most cover your ass.
A guitar is a fairly technical creation with a large number of variables. Color, to neck length, choice of electronics, brand, and age all contribute to the total package in very significant ways. Some guitars have tangible features that will cause you to play differently, like whammy bar, arch top, pickup combinations, or special tuning. But even if they don't, there is a placebo effect that takes place, like with favorite jeans or a lucky shirt that makes us feel better about playing, and may put us in a better mindset to create.
When I got my first Les Paul a few months ago and pulled it out of the case, I started playing Stairway to Heaven on it, never having even thought of trying to play it before (don't get me wrong--it was only a few phrases). Of course different guitars fire the imagination, or else why would we be chasing them? Mojo is in your head, but the right circumstances can tease it out.
[Note that I have not done an NDG for the LP yet. I generally only do that when they are ready to show. Sometimes I can't wait or I show the before pics. But even with Mage's Mustang that I bought I wanted to tighten a few screws and get to know it. Mojo is also superstition. While it sounds silly, it also adds elements of mystery and fun. This is turning into an essay. I should post it on my new unwritten blog site at Tumblr.]
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honeyiscool
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Yes and no. I think I sound about the same on every guitar. However, it takes a different playing style to get the same result.
However, it's also all in your head and has really nothing to do with the sound or the guitar because Stairway is played on a Tele.
I think this is a great example of how this mojo exists and seems very real, yet it's also all in your head. You just associate some guitars with some types of music and your brain is programmed to think that and it happens.DGNR8 wrote:When I got my first Les Paul a few months ago and pulled it out of the case, I started playing Stairway to Heaven on it, never having even thought of trying to play it before (don't get me wrong--it was only a few phrases). Of course different guitars fire the imagination, or else why would we be chasing them? Mojo is in your head, but the right circumstances can tease it out.
However, it's also all in your head and has really nothing to do with the sound or the guitar because Stairway is played on a Tele.
Kicking and squealing Gucci little piggy.
I like to have different guitars with different necks, as well as pickups, body type, shape and size, whammy or not etc. I kind of like each guitar to have its own character, independent from my preferences, if that makes any sense. I even like having different guitars set up in different ways.
I've been playing for a looong time and I think I've got pretty much my own way of doing stuff mostly. Having different guitars pushes me into approaching the playing in a different way - maybe not radically, maybe more subtly - and maybe the result doesn't sound too different to anyone else, but it definitely makes me feel different.
I've had great experiences with guitars that I found less easy to play than others, really. I had a Gretsch Tennessean once which was quite fucking unpleasant to play (although it looked KAF) but I kept going back to it.
I've been playing for a looong time and I think I've got pretty much my own way of doing stuff mostly. Having different guitars pushes me into approaching the playing in a different way - maybe not radically, maybe more subtly - and maybe the result doesn't sound too different to anyone else, but it definitely makes me feel different.
I've had great experiences with guitars that I found less easy to play than others, really. I had a Gretsch Tennessean once which was quite fucking unpleasant to play (although it looked KAF) but I kept going back to it.
Huh. For me, not really. Thinking about the guitars I have and use for practice, I pretty much just play the same on any of them, aside from having to adjust to playing on the different necks.
Then again, the only guitars I use are my Jag, my Supersonic, and my Ibanez GAX.
Then again, the only guitars I use are my Jag, my Supersonic, and my Ibanez GAX.
euan wrote: I'm running in monoscope right now. I can't read multiple dimensions of meta right now
Some guitars are completely uninspiring to play. I think that has more to do with it than anything else. If it's set up badly or doesn't feel "proper," that'll sap any desire to play it and I'll get instantly bored with it.
jcyphe wrote: Mo is the most sensible person in this thread.
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Fran
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I find i play differently depending on guitars. Maybe partly because i've been in different kinds of bands and i do associate models and sounds with areas of music they naturally fit into.
With Fenders i usually lean more toward open chord voicings and more melodic lead lines rather than widdly widdly stuff. Teles and Jags in particular restrict me with lead playing in a strange way that i dont think it feels or sounds right. Odd.
With Superstrats, V's and BCRs my playing becomes more predictable; power chords, pinch harmonics and widdly. I feel more comfortable going higher up the neck on them as well, maybe that's just an access thing.
With Fenders i usually lean more toward open chord voicings and more melodic lead lines rather than widdly widdly stuff. Teles and Jags in particular restrict me with lead playing in a strange way that i dont think it feels or sounds right. Odd.
With Superstrats, V's and BCRs my playing becomes more predictable; power chords, pinch harmonics and widdly. I feel more comfortable going higher up the neck on them as well, maybe that's just an access thing.
Ooh, good question...
Yes, while I sound like shit on all my guitars, the feel, style and look of a guitar definitely effects the way I play. On my Jazzmaster, I tend to baby it a little: the neck's quite small and it's a beautiful thing, and it seems to respond well to a lightness of touch. Teles, on the other hand, I play like a caveman and they suit me down to the ground, plus the way I anchor my hand on a tele bridge makes them the comfiest guitar for me. You're going to think me silly, but I always think that James Iha was the coolest looking Gibson player, and I totally understand the way he always looks like he's really concentrating on what he's doing. This is possibly because both he and I are shit guitarists. Anyhow, that's how I tend to play Gibsons. Except my Gordon Smith, which I just pull loads of Townshend shapes on, and point over the heads of an imaginary crowd a lot.
In a similar vein, there are some guitars I just can't play because of the way they feel: the height of the strings off the body on a Rickenbacker is totally at odds with how I anchor my hand o a guitar's body - can't play them for toffee.
Yes, while I sound like shit on all my guitars, the feel, style and look of a guitar definitely effects the way I play. On my Jazzmaster, I tend to baby it a little: the neck's quite small and it's a beautiful thing, and it seems to respond well to a lightness of touch. Teles, on the other hand, I play like a caveman and they suit me down to the ground, plus the way I anchor my hand on a tele bridge makes them the comfiest guitar for me. You're going to think me silly, but I always think that James Iha was the coolest looking Gibson player, and I totally understand the way he always looks like he's really concentrating on what he's doing. This is possibly because both he and I are shit guitarists. Anyhow, that's how I tend to play Gibsons. Except my Gordon Smith, which I just pull loads of Townshend shapes on, and point over the heads of an imaginary crowd a lot.
In a similar vein, there are some guitars I just can't play because of the way they feel: the height of the strings off the body on a Rickenbacker is totally at odds with how I anchor my hand o a guitar's body - can't play them for toffee.
It definitely does for me.
I love the feel of Fenders, but rarely use them, in a band situation any more, sticking mostly to my LPs. And the difference comes out a lot in writing too. If I pick up a LP then I might knock out a few riffs, but pick up my Strat and I'll inevitably write some nice picking thing. I play my Strat and Jag clean more than any of the other guitars. Think it might be the singles over HBs. The exception it seems is the Tele, seems to be bridging the gap and a mixture of how I play on the others mentioned.
When I play my Jagstang it feels like home and I wish all my guitars had the same neck! Often find myself reminiscing and playing old tunes I wrote when I got it, or knocking out Lithium or something.
I love the feel of Fenders, but rarely use them, in a band situation any more, sticking mostly to my LPs. And the difference comes out a lot in writing too. If I pick up a LP then I might knock out a few riffs, but pick up my Strat and I'll inevitably write some nice picking thing. I play my Strat and Jag clean more than any of the other guitars. Think it might be the singles over HBs. The exception it seems is the Tele, seems to be bridging the gap and a mixture of how I play on the others mentioned.
When I play my Jagstang it feels like home and I wish all my guitars had the same neck! Often find myself reminiscing and playing old tunes I wrote when I got it, or knocking out Lithium or something.
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Fran
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benecol wrote:Ooh, good question...
Yes, while I sound like shit on all my guitars, the feel, style and look of a guitar definitely effects the way I play. On my Jazzmaster, I tend to baby it a little: the neck's quite small and it's a beautiful thing, and it seems to respond well to a lightness of touch. Teles, on the other hand, I play like a caveman and they suit me down to the ground, plus the way I anchor my hand on a tele bridge makes them the comfiest guitar for me. You're going to think me silly, but I always think that James Iha was the coolest looking Gibson player, and I totally understand the way he always looks like he's really concentrating on what he's doing. This is possibly because both he and I are shit guitarists. Anyhow, that's how I tend to play Gibsons. Except my Gordon Smith, which I just pull loads of Townshend shapes on, and point over the heads of an imaginary crowd a lot.
IRL LOLZ.
This thread prompted me to cook the Orange TT up and have an experiment. What i originally said happened. I played the Tele differently to the Stagemaster and the Jag-Stang differently to the Jackson Rhoads. A middle ground would be Ron Asheton meets a drunken EVH blagging his way through some scales.