Possible new band constellation.

Astral Traveler

Astral Traveler

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You know I play in this blues band. I think I've mentioned it... We haven't played since this summer, with the current situation and all but I think everyone expects to start again once it's over.

As the rest of the band is a couple of towns south of us (me and bassist) , and we have to drive there for rehearsals, we don't play every week even when we do play. Me and the bassist have been talking about starting something local too, to play more frequently. Today I sold the Marshall Valvestate to one of my neighbors (I had no idea he played) and it turns out he's actually a drummer. He also knows a good singer, also local, and they both want to play. I texted the Bassist and within 5 seconds I got "I'm on!"

Now, playing inbthe 5 piece blues band is quite relaxed. I do my best during solos and do some fills. Rhythm playing is very laid back with one other guitar and keys filling the mix. Being only guitar sounds like hard work, especially if there are actual covers to learn... :eek:

Still looking forward to it :)
 
Being the only guitarist in a band can be tricky indeed, been doing it for the last 6 or 7 years now.

At first everything sounds kinda "too quiet out there", your ears will miss the other guitar and keyboards. You'll have to develop a more "filled in" playing style, and be more careful with pauses, as they get much more noticeable when nobody's got your back (or if you're not getting anyone's).

But if you have a tight bunch, I mean, if you really have chemistry with your drummer, bassist and singer, you might find this a great project.

Us, we play basically blues and classic rock (60s and 70s) with a lot of fuzz, and I kept things as simple as possible: ditched most pedals, including the clean boost I used for soloing, and got down to just my guitar, a BOSS TU3 tuner, a good Fuzz, a Wah and a driven tube amp. My guitar's volume knob is what I use for boosting/taming my volume and also dealing with light and shade, I clean up the tone as I want by riding the knob. Yeah, old but gold.

Another tip: many might say "are you nuts?" but try it and see for yourself what you make of it. When you are playing the only guitar in the house, volume is your friend. Also, explore fuzz, it's hairy and noisy and helps a lot with fattening up your tone. Think White Stripes or the Black Keys. That's pretty much what I do live. I remember seeing Joe Bonamassa play a vintage strat and someone asked him what he did about the strat's peculiar hum. He said "I play louder".

Edit: Becoming the only guitar player in the band also reduced the fist fights and insults in about 60%. That was good. :)
 
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Astral Traveler said:
You know I play in this blues band. I think I've mentioned it... We haven't played since this summer, with the current situation and all but I think everyone expects to start again once it's over.

As the rest of the band is a couple of towns south of us (me and bassist) , and we have to drive there for rehearsals, we don't play every week even when we do play. Me and the bassist have been talking about starting something local too, to play more frequently. Today I sold the Marshall Valvestate to one of my neighbors (I had no idea he played) and it turns out he's actually a drummer. He also knows a good singer, also local, and they both want to play. I texted the Bassist and within 5 seconds I got "I'm on!"

Now, playing inbthe 5 piece blues band is quite relaxed. I do my best during solos and do some fills. Rhythm playing is very laid back with one other guitar and keys filling the mix. Being only guitar sounds like hard work, especially if there are actual covers to learn... :eek:

Still looking forward to it :)
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Congrarts man and good luck.
My guitarist bailed on us, now its just me and drummer...

cant seem to get this bloody band going....
 
Go for it !!Live for a new jam situations !!

We set up for real for real first time in 5 years on the 15th. Oh man has it recharged me & lit my life up !! Live music seems to be the whole reason i started this way back when. How to write, record & get the songs to an audience. All this down time... time to unleash
 
Astral Traveler said:
You know I play in this blues band. I think I've mentioned it... We haven't played since this summer, with the current situation and all but I think everyone expects to start again once it's over.

As the rest of the band is a couple of towns south of us (me and bassist) , and we have to drive there for rehearsals, we don't play every week even when we do play. Me and the bassist have been talking about starting something local too, to play more frequently. Today I sold the Marshall Valvestate to one of my neighbors (I had no idea he played) and it turns out he's actually a drummer. He also knows a good singer, also local, and they both want to play. I texted the Bassist and within 5 seconds I got "I'm on!"

Now, playing inbthe 5 piece blues band is quite relaxed. I do my best during solos and do some fills. Rhythm playing is very laid back with one other guitar and keys filling the mix. Being only guitar sounds like hard work, especially if there are actual covers to learn... :eek:

Still looking forward to it :)
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Congrats on getting this together, Have fun!
 
Beagle said:
I can't think where you would have got that notion. :wink:



Good luck with the new venture and please remember to wash your hands.
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Hehe!

Thanks, I'm looking forward to it. A few more hours to nail the songs. I have until tomorrow evening to do it.

The acoustic Ibanez has proven more difficult to sell and the interest for my Quilter head is low, very low. Quilters are virtually unheard of here, there are no domestic retailers at all.
 
Crap, can't decide what amp to bring...

The 20 watt tube combo with built in verb and a few pedals (2 fuzz's and a bluesdriver). Or the Quilter head with a reverb pedal.

Songs on the table are Tush, Mustang Sally and Sunshine of your love.
 
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