More Clips, Less Talk

László

Too Many Notes
Joined
Apr 26, 2012
Messages
34,435
Location
Michigan
We have a lot of talk about guitars and tone here. And that's great, because one of the reasons we come here is to talk about our passion for this stuff!

But --

But there's only so far that talk will take us. Words do not adequately describe or convey the tone of an instrument. I mentioned this in another thread, but the old saw, "Talking about music is like dancing about architecture," is true.

Several members here post clips of their instruments - in music tracks with other instruments - and solo - regularly. That's the best! Tag was my inspiration for doing so, he started way back in the day on TGP.

You don't have to be a great, or even a very good player, to post clips. It's OK to be yourself. This should be a "zone of encouragement" and not a place where we critique each others' playing.

But...we have these wonderful guitars, amps, processors, etc. And it's so easy, and so inexpensive, to record them - we can do it with a PHONE if need be.

It's cool to ooh and aah over pictures of the guitars. That's fine, but they're designed to make music. NGD? Show me a picture AND post a clip of how it sounds. And how you sound on it. And what you like to play. That's the fun part.

If a friend comes over, do you just pull out a guitar and say, "Look at this?"

Or do you plug it in and play a little, maybe let the friend play it, hear it, etc? Well, my feeling is, if you're going to show it to the world, why not play it for the world?

Don't be shy! It's OK to be you.

For those who don't know me: I've posted clips of every guitar and amp within a few days of getting it. I wish I was a better player, but I do it anyway. I try to set a good example.

EDIT:

I wanted to add a thing or two...

For 16 years I've participated in various guitar forums: the original PRS Forum, TGP, BAM, VR and here. And there'll be statements like, "Pickup A sounds so much better than pickup B." And my thought is always, "In whose hands? And on what style of music? And if it's so much better, WTF, SHOW US!!"

You want to make a point about a guitar you have that you're critical of? How about a clip? This bridge sounds better than that bridge? Your new guitar sounds so great?

I'll believe it if you can demonstrate it in a clip.

Etc.

We are fortunate enough to live in an age where anyone - seriously, anyone - can engage in telecommunications. You are all TV stars and recording artists. You have a point to make - and this goes double for criticisms as far as I'm concerned - show us. You can do it.

The usual saying around here is "Pics or it didn't happen." Well, for me it's "Clips or it didn't happen."
 
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Good point Les! I'm in...but I guess recording and posting clips will need to grow on everybody. It is not as easy as posting pics and you are a whole lot more vulnerable.

But I do think everybody will try a little harder to play a little better or something more sophisticated than his or her current level. So I guess that is a positive side effect. I'd be scared as hell, but ket's do it!

Now let's hope I have a NGD soon!
 
lol no one would want to listen to what I could record! I suck....
 
lol no one would want to listen to what I could record! I suck....
I think it would encourage the rest of us to try it.

I'll do it, but I have to figure out how to record first. I bought a DAW with Studio One, but I have yet to figure out how to use it. Admittedly I need to spend more time on it. It's just so easy to sit down and play. It's harder to record what you are playing. I bought it to record myself and play it back to hear the weak spots, but I suppose I could try to record and let the rest of the world hear those weak spots.
 
For some, the thought of getting up in front of your family and playing is as frightening as facing Godzilla, let alone getting on stage in front of a couple hundred people, or worse, put it on the Intarwebby for everyone to cast stones upon. But if you're not shy, post away!

My concern is more from the quality perspective...performance and recording-wise. I'm a horrific perfectionist and try to break myself of the habit by releasing stuff way before it's "soup" but still I cringe at the thought. I'll do what I can.
 
lol no one would want to listen to what I could record! I suck....

I want to listen to it!

I'm not gonna judge it. In fact, has anyone posted a single word of how bad someone's playing is on a clip, on this forum? No! I see us all encouraging one another. If you're a beginner or an expert, there's always someone who plays better, and someone who plays less well than you. Always!

So why be shy?

I don't care how good or bad someone is. Play something really simple. A cowboy chord. One note.

Thing is, if we're talking about the sound of a guitar, or a pickup, or an amp, you don't have to play anything complicated to get the point across.

Seriously, we're all friends here, let's treat each other well, have a listen to what we're talking about, and encourage each other.
 
If you do it, please also let us know what your recording chain is - there are a million ways to record a guitar, none of them wrong but they need to be laid out so we know what "else" we're listening to. Pedals, mic (if any), interface or DI, plugins... etc...!
 
For some, the thought of getting up in front of your family and playing is as frightening as facing Godzilla, let alone getting on stage in front of a couple hundred people, or worse, put it on the Intarwebby for everyone to cast stones upon. But if you're not shy, post away!

I get the fear. I performed my first piano recital when I was four years old, and that was over 60 years ago. I shook then, and my knees still shake getting up in front of a group of people and playing, whether it's guitar or piano.

You've seen my posts of clips, and I always apologize for the bad playing. I know I'm not any good on guitar.

But that's not the point.

You can be all by yourself in a room making a clip, and play take after take until you get it just the way you want it. There's nothing to be nervous about, it's nothing like playing in front of a group of people.

Like I said, play a danged cowboy chord if that's all you want to do. One chord. Anyone can do that.
 
If you do it, please also let us know what your recording chain is - there are a million ways to record a guitar, none of them wrong but they need to be laid out so we know what "else" we're listening to. Pedals, mic (if any), interface or DI, plugins... etc...!

Good point. Very good point!
 
I get the fear. I performed my first piano recital when I was four years old, and that was over 60 years ago. I shook then, and my knees still shake getting up in front of a group of people and playing, whether it's guitar or piano.

You've seen my posts of clips, and I always apologize for the bad playing. I know I'm not any good on guitar.

But that's not the point.

You can be all by yourself in a room making a clip, and play take after take until you get it just the way you want it. There's nothing to be nervous about, it's nothing like playing in front of a group of people.

Like I said, play a danged cowboy chord if that's all you want to do. One chord. Anyone can do that.


Actually, it's bull**** when you say you're not any good on a guitar - you're a giant compared to me. So stop saying that! it might keep other people from posting, if they get the impression (consciously or otherwise) that THAT is the bar :) (all said in good humour, of course)

I agree, post away!! But especially do it if you ARE shy about it. It will do WONDERS for you. Even just recording yourself if you're not used to it, you will probably mess up much more than usual due to nervousness. It's wonderful practice that way. A great way to get over yourself :)
 
The reason I post clips is actually because I'm not a particularly good player. Sometimes, especially with somebody who has a bunch of gear, you can come off on-line as more of an expert than you really are (speaking for myself anyway...) I think that posting clips every now and again let's people calibrate the comments with the player. Any pro who listens to a clip of mine would rightly add a grain of salt to whatever I'm saying, which I think is appropriate.

Regarding being shy, it's actually a bunch tougher to play something in front of a mic all by your lonesome than it is to play in front of a couple of hundred people at a gig (again, speaking for myself anyway.) I'm not much of an improviser, and I wouldn't even know how to go about recording myself against a backing track in any case. I post the schlock anyway...and nothing bad has happened (yet:) )
 
Amen brother! I also want to learn about making recordings. Also, I used to really struggle with playing in front of people but, then a few things happened. First, I started to play in front of some people-church, open mics, with friends-whatever and I found it's not so frightening and actually very rewarding. I learn something every time. Second, I started to really notice that no matter what I play through-amps, pedals, etc., I seem to have the same sound and seems that I can't change that. So, I have started to accept myself as a player and I think this is really going to be a revelation for me.
 
What it means for me is really simple -- this is a gear forum, right?

So if we're talking about musical gear, it makes sense to me to, you know, hear the gear we're talking about.

It's not like we're here deciding who gets a record deal, or to be entertained with each other's dazzling chops. And I'll add to Aristotle's point; not only is it good to put things in context of each other's playing styles (BTW, Aristotle, you're a very good player), but on a personal level, I really want to hear what X pickup sounds like, or Y amplifier.

Got a great pedal? I just wanna hear it. And maybe it's better hearing it from a guy for whom guitar playing is a hobby, as opposed to a pro like Tim Pierce. Well, actually, I want to hear it both ways. I want to hear it in an average Joe's hands, and I want to hear what a pro can do with it.

So what's wrong with that? Swallow your pride, and just play a few strokes on the instrument, and have at it!

In fact, my next demo will be playing one chord. Seriously. I will demo something by playing only an open G chord. That's it. That's how simple it can be. That's something anyone here can do.
 
Regarding being shy, it's actually a bunch tougher to play something in front of a mic all by your lonesome than it is to play in front of a couple of hundred people at a gig (again, speaking for myself anyway.)
I am the same. I've never been bothered by being on a stage in front of any number of people. They came to listen and they can leave whenever they want if they don't like it - but someone always stays.
Setting up a mic or a video camera, it just doesn't work nearly as well for me. I've seriously considered just setting up a camera permanently and pressing record when I walk into the room - then I have anything interesting captured and can just erase most of it.
A couple of months ago I did 12 days of short videos I threw up on Facebook for my tiny circle of friends. There were only a couple that I would say I was satisfied with, but I said I would do it so just sat and told myself "today I'll try this".
 
Fair enough... When we move I am going to rework my computer equipment and will get some quality recording capabilities... That gives me a couple months more practice too! I'll post my horrible playing lol. I have thick skin.
 
I'm in pls Les. although I still cant drive this thing very well (not for the want of trying") ive got my niece coming round to show me, she's good at this sort of thing. I don't care about someone's ability "I'm at (BEST) probably average" it's the fun & joy we get from our instruments. Great Post Sir!!!.
 
I play like poop on a stick, but I put up videos once in awhile.
I need to experiment more, as I always play with too much gain.
Gain cranked 100% is good for some stuff, but not all.

I am trying to dial in some good AC/DC like tones since that is my favorite style to play right now.
Pete Thorn's latest video has inspired me to try out my Schaffer Replica pedal some this weekend.
 
OK, self-doubters and professed non-experts. Here's a demo of the Suhr Koko Boost pedal, ONE CHORD. This is how SIMPLE it can be to make a demo of a piece of gear.

Setup: McCarty maple neck, bridge humbucker on 5 (that is, the guitar volume is turned up only half way). The guitar's tone control is about on 8.

DG30 amp and cab, amp set up as per the picture, except the master volume in the pic is not turned up, and I recorded with it at 1 o'clock.



Open G chord, strummed, first once without pedal, once with pedal. And then played one note at a time, once without pedal, once with pedal.

Recorded with a Shure SM57 halfway between the dustcap and the edge of the speaker. There is no simpler, easier setup.

My fretting hand has a completely numb pinky finger. I could hardly hold the chord in place, you can hear it go sour at the end, so NO EXCUSES for you! This took maybe two minutes, including setting up the mic, turning on the computer, and recording.

You can hear the difference between not having the pedal, and having the pedal on, and yes, that's how it sounds. It's literally that EASY to demo a piece of gear. No reason you can't do this.

By the way, the little bit of distortion with the pedal on is a tiny bit of breakup from the amp, not from the pedal. I barely had the pedal driving the amp.

https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/one-chord-pedal-demo
 
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Wait... Didn't you say that the demos had to be guitars in an actual song mix?
 
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